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The Lead with Jake Tapper
ICE Agent's Cellphone Captures Fatal Confrontation In Minneapolis; Iran In Near-Total Internet Blackout As Crackdown Fears Worsen; Some Oil CEOs Don't Commit To Investing In Venezuela At W.H. Meeting; Trump Suffers GOP Defections On Key House, Senate Votes; New Jobs Data: Weakest Annual Job Growth In Decades; Top WNBA Players Commit To New Global Basketball League. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired January 09, 2026 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thanks to my panel. Really appreciate you guys being here on a Friday. Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well. Don't forget, you can watch much more of The Arena tomorrow. The Arena Saturday airs at noon Eastern right here on CNN.
Please do join us. But right now, Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thanks, Kasie. Good to see you. We'll see you back in "The Arena" next week. [17:00:39]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. And we have breaking news out of Minneapolis. Another day of tension. Two days after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman in her car, a U.S. Citizen named Renee Nicole Good. CNN has now obtained the video captured by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on his phone of the tense moments just before he fired those deadly shots at Goode We're going to show this video to you right now. And a warning, it is tough to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Show your face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not mad at you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's OK. We don't change our plates every morning. Just so you know. It'll be the same plate when you come talk to us later. That's fine. U.S. citizen, former fucking president.
(Inaudible) you want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car. Get out of the car. Get out of the fucking car. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fucking bitch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: This video seems to have only reinforced the views of those publicly commenting on it. Vice President J.D. Vance, who seems to have a very definitive conclusion about what exactly happened here, wrote on X, quote, "Watch this. As hard as it is, many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn't hit by a car, wasn't being harassed and murdered an innocent woman. The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self-defense," unquote. On the other hand, Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, responded to the VP saying, quote, "When did it become proper weapons handling to have your cell phone in one hand and your gun in the other?
No law enforcement ever trains to get in front of a vehicle. And why did he continue to shoot even after she drove away? A U.S. Citizen died and the vice president is trying to justify it," unquote.
Today, for the first time, we're hearing from Renee Good's wife, Becca, who was the other woman we saw in that video. In a statement to Minnesota public radio and shared with CNN, it reads, in part, she says, "We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve. We thank you for ensuring that Renee's legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values, rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love," unquote.
The Minnesota attorney general and county attorney are now taking steps to try to collect evidence to begin a separate investigation from the federal one. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey is challenging the FBI's move to block Minnesota state investigators from being involved in the probe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JACOB FREY, (D) MINNEOPOLIS: By the way, we're not even talking just about full control here, we're talking about being at the table. We're talking about an investigation that includes the bureau of criminal apprehension. And for those that may say that we have a predetermined outcome, we are not the ones that are conducting the investigation. The investigation would be conducted by the bureau of criminal apprehension, they are well equipped to do it. They have a long track record of doing thorough investigations.
And by the way, coming to results that both saw culpability and a lack thereof.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: Let's take a closer look at this new video of Wednesday's deadly shooting in Minneapolis. CNN's Tom Foreman with us once again to break it down.
Tom, tell us more.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with the staging of where this was being taken. I'm going to start with the video that we've seen many times. I'm going to stop it almost immediately here. Look, this is where Renee Good is, right here in the car. Right?
The officers are going to approach from over here. This is her partner over here, Becca. And this is the officer who shot her. She's holding a phone up to tape him going around the car. And he's holding a phone up as he circles the car.
Now let's watch in its entirety the video of him walking around the car talking to her. Just watch and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Show your face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not mad at you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's OK. We don't change our plates every morning. Just so you know. It'll be the same plate when you come talk to us later. That's fine. U.S. citizen, former fucking president.
(Inaudible) you want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car. Get out of the car. Get out of the fucking car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:05:00]
FOREMAN: Now, you can sort this out to your own mind. Just watch it. Let's go through it again, though, as we point out some things here that are worth noticing in all of this. As he's walking around here, this is where she's talking to him. Seems to be smiling.
You can take her delivery any way you want to. He circles around the back here. That's where he gets into, you know, some kind of back and forth.
TAPPER: He's recording their --
FOREMAN: Yes.
TAPPER: -- license plate. And she says, we don't change our plates.
FOREMAN: Right. Which has been one of the complaints that ICE agents are always changing plates so people don't know where they are. They're trying to hide where they are. Then he starts coming around the front of the car here. This is important here, because look at this, as she's going back this way. Look at this guy coming up here.
You'll see in a little while how they all come together. But he goes circling around. They're now approaching that side of the car. He's coming up over here. And he comes to the front.
Now watch this. You can see she is aggressively turning the wheel away from his position.
TAPPER: From the -- from the other guy.
FOREMAN: Yes, from the guy who's shooting the video here. He's standing here --
TAPPER: OK.
FOREMAN: -- and she is absolutely turning that way away from him. Then the video goes forward, and now the shots ring out, and the rest of it happens. If we put it into a split screen, it's even easier and better to see this way. Look, there he goes around the side of the car. This one he's already talked to her.
He's coming around to the other side. Now, this is the video of what's happening simultaneously as he's circling around. And it's a little hard here, but we'll try to make sense. Now, look, the officers -- now these officers are out --
TAPPER: Yes.
FOREMAN: -- and they're starting to approach. That's back here behind her. So she's got her back to this happening on the other side of the car. You move forward a little bit more, and they come into sight. And now she's over here trying to get into this side of the car while the officer is trying to yank open the driver's side of the car.
And watch, because you see where this camera angle is here? That means that the officer who is going to be the shooter shortly, he's just out of sight over here. You move forward a little bit more, and there he comes into view.
TAPPER: Right. Here he is, here he is right here.
FOREMAN: Just see him there. And he simultaneously stops shooting video and pulls his weapon as this starts to move forward, and then we have what happens next. One of the things that I think is really important to notice about this after it has happened, if we go back to the original video here, after the shooting happens, you have to ask these questions, I think, if he's taking the correct action, if he felt he was threatened and had to defend himself, every officer out there has that same responsibility. If they think someone's being threatened, including another officer, and yet not one other officer draws a weapon.
TAPPER: He looks like he has his hand on hip.
FOREMAN: He puts his hand on his hip.
TAPPER: But he doesn't draw it. Yes.
FOREMAN: He doesn't draw anything. Nobody draws a weapon except for this guy. So, was he right or wrong or were they right or wrong? And isn't that part of the equation here?
Here's another question. If he was in fact hit, and I have watched all this video over and over again, I cannot conclusively say if he was hit or if he wasn't hit.
TAPPER: Right. It's not clear --
FOREMAN: Not at all.
TAPPER: -- there's a thump, but it might be the phone thump.
FOREMAN: Could be any number, it sound at that point.
TAPPER: Yes.
FOREMAN: But I do know this, if he was hit, if he was under a direct threat, how come no other officers are approaching him and saying, are you OK? Let's check on you. Because I've seen a lot of police shootings and things like this, and believe me, the other officers' crowd around and say, are you OK? This is not definitive. This is one video.
But it's more evidence adding to what has to be considered by all these investigators.
TAPPER: All right, Tom Foreman, thank you so much.
Let's bring in CNN's Josh Campbell who was a former FBI supervisory special agent.
And Josh, you say there remains a big question about the ICE agent's tactics in the video. Tell us more.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is critical new video because we see his vantage point, specifically when he walks in front of the vehicle. That's a big question there because law enforcement agents and officers around the country are trained to not put yourself in that type of situation. I will say that at the moment that vehicle comes forward and at the angle, you actually see her looking towards where that agent is. So I think the question is answered from this video, did she even know he was there? It looks like she did because she's looking in that direction. As she turns, if he was indeed struck, you know, an agent can articulate that they felt that they were -- their life was in danger in order to justify the use of deadly force which might occur here. But there's a question about judgment, could he have jumped out of the way and the like? The final point I note on tactics, which is also illuminated in this video that we did not know before the bystanders that are behind that car when the agent opens fire. We didn't know that before that there were that many people there. Officers are trained.
You're accountable for every round. You have to know what's beyond your target. In this case, it looks like the open -- officer opened fire with that split second decision. Thankfully, none of those people were hit.
TAPPER: A lot of people wonder how credible the investigation is going to be, given the fact that they're freezing out local officials, the FBI is, and obviously the president, the vice president and the secretary of Homeland security have already said that this is a good shooting. Walk us through what would happen next in a legitimate shooting investigation to determine whether this ICE officer was justified in using deadly force.
[17:10:13]
CAMPBELL: Well, the feds have completely shut out the local officials, which obviously is going to raise questions because we've seen incidents in the past that have been worked jointly. The idea is transparency to the public. The way these investigations work. I've been part of these shooting review investigations from the very moment that the shot is fired. You'll have the team that responds.
And what actually happens is you'll have a senior officer who will arrive, take the firearm of the agent who opened fire. That's now evidence. They'll hand him another weapon so that he is now, you know, fully armed and on duty again, that all becomes evidence.
Here's what I want to warn people, though, agents are told, and it's part of training, part of legal training, that after a shooting, they're expected to tell investigators what happened, what -- you know, where did you shoot, how many rounds, what occurred? They're not in the moment required to tell people why at that moment. In fact, a lot of them will get lawyers and, you know, just in case that they end up facing some type of prosecution.
So my point is, because we know that this, you know, Justice Department, this FBI, are highly political, numerous officials, including, you know, all the way up to the president, have already exonerated the agent here, there'll be -- will be a question about whether we actually hear what his side of the story was, what was going through his mind, or whether they're going to simply, you know, declare that he's innocent. The fact that state officials aren't part of this investigation is also going to have a lot of lingering questions about whether this was, you know, done thoroughly.
TAPPER: In fact, you could argue that all of the declarations of exoneration and the refusal to cooperate with local officials actually does a disservice to the ICE agent in question --
CAMPBELL: Yes.
TAPPER: -- because the exoneration is seen by many people as tainted when perhaps it shouldn't be.
Josh Campbell, thanks so much.
CAMPBELL: Yes, conclusion coming before the investigation.
TAPPER: Yes. Two days after the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, Oregon, authorities are investigating yesterday's shooting of a man and a woman by a Border Patrol agent at a targeted traffic stop in that state. According to DHS, both the man and the woman are from Venezuela. They're in the country illegally and they say have ties to the violent criminal gang Tren de Aragua. CNN's Nick Watt has more for us from Portland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caller saying that he was shot twice by ICE and his wife was shot as well.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The caller, we're told, Luis Moncada, the woman, Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras, both, according to the Department of Homeland Security, are illegal aliens and members of Tren de Aragua, the transnational organized crime gang founded in Venezuela. DHS says she is involved in a prostitution ring and a recent shooting here in Portland.
This was, says the DHS, a targeted traffic stop 2:19 p.m. Thursday. "When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents," according to a DHS spokesperson. "Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot."
MAYOR KEITH WILSON, (D) PORTLAND, OREGON: We know what the federal government says happened here. There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time is long past.
WATT (voice-over): Oregon's DOJ is now investigating, quote, |whether any federal officer acted outside the scope of their lawful authority." Moncada was shot in the arm, according to a source. Zambrano-Contreras, shot in the chest, currently in the hospital. When released, they'll be in custody of the FBI investigating an alleged assault on federal agents.
The so far pretty peaceful protests relating to the Minneapolis killing and what happened here are centered on this ICE facility. At least six arrests last night, minor offenses. Protests centered here, as they were last year when President Trump deployed the National Guard to Portland under legal challenges, they never hit the streets. Still, President Trump falsely claimed Sunday, we got it down to almost no crime and made a promise or perhaps a threat.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can go back. We're allowed to go back in, but we'll go back in with the crime starts. Look, the crime will soon start because they now know that we're out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT (on camera): And listen, if it gets ugly here, maybe he tries to use that as a pro -- as a pretext. Right now, very calm. Their message today, as it has been for months, the same message as politicians here in Portland, they want ICE out of their city. Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Nick Watt, thank you so much.
We're going to continue to monitor both situations in Portland, Oregon and Minneapolis, Minnesota this evening. We're also following events in Iran leading to a near total blackout, the protests there.
[17:15:00]
Demonstrators want the regime gone. The warning from the Ayatollah, who is Iran's supreme leader, as he urges President Trump to mind his own business.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our world lead, despite Iran's near total Internet blackout, protesters filled the streets of Tehran tonight as the authoritarian regime there tries to keep a lid on the demonstration now on their 13th consecutive day. Hundreds have been injured, 45 protesters, including eight children have been killed by the regime according to a Norway based Iran human rights group. Here's President Trump on the topic this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Iran's in big trouble. I've made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved. We'll be hitting them very hard where it hurts. They've treated their people very badly and now they're being paid back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Earlier today, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei weighed in, saying that President Trump should, quote, "manage his own country." Khameini accused protesters of destroying buildings to please the president of the United States and even predicted, quote, "he too will fall."
Joining us now is Professor Abbas Milani. He's the director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University.
Professor, thanks for joining us. So we had activist and journalist Masih Alinejad on yesterday. She called this moment Iran's Berlin Wall moment. CNN analyst Barack Ravid reports in Axios that the United States is watching for signs if Iran's protests could actually ultimately bring down the regime. You wrote an article in the New Statesman titled Iran is on the Edge of Revolution.
[17:20:12] Tell us why you think these protests might have a different outcome than previous ones.
ABBAS MILANI, DIRECTOR OF IRANIAN STUDIES, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Because they are more expensive. They go beyond classes. Some of the past demonstrations were limited to, for example, the youth, limited to women defending their right, unemployed workers. Now you have demonstrations virtually across the country, from some of the small cities to the capital and major cities, including all class, all startups of society. And they have become more radical in their demands.
They no longer want their votes counted. They want Khamenei gone. They want this regime gone. They want a democratic future for Iran. And it is different because this time, in spite of Mr. Khamenei's bravura, the regime is at its weakest moment domestically and internationally.
TAPPER: You also write, quote, "Women have become the regime's most consistent and courageous critics. Through sustained acts of civil disobedience, from defying dress codes to reclaiming public space, women have transformed everyday resistance into a national political force," unquote. How does the role of women this time compare to the 1979 Iranian Revolution?
MILANI: Well, surprisingly, as I say there, the Iranian women who were very much helped in their liberation by the Shah regime, the laws were changed. All of the misogynist laws that were on the books were changed by the Shah. But woman, to a large extent, joined a coalition that brought down the Shah. Now virtually that entire coalition that brought down the Shah has joined forces again primarily to demand democracy, to demand an end to this regime, to bring Iran to where it can possibly be as great as its natural resources, as its human resources afford.
TAPPER: President Trump, as you hear -- as you heard just a second ago, has been talking about possible strikes against Iran, against the regime, for the oppression of the Iranian people, what could he do that actually would be constructive? Would that be viewed favorably potentially, by the Iranian people?
MILANI: My sense of whatever I read on the media and whatever I -- contacts I have in Iran is that his threat has been, or was till yesterday, very effective. The regime had been very cautious in using violence against peaceful demonstrators.
I was just listening to your coverage of the death of one woman and how you can go into details and question the veracity of the official narrative, thousands of people are killed by this regime over the last few years, and no one seems to pay any attention. Now, the international community is. It's not just President Trump. The E.U. has joined in, the U.N. has joined in, and they have said, this time we will hold you accountable. And when you tell a weakened regime that the international community is going to hold you accountable, they might, they might think twice before opening fire.
Khamenei hasn't. In the last 24 hours, they have unleashed violence. They have used, literally, I have from credible reports on inside Iran, they've used machine guns against peaceful demonstrators outside Tehran. So I hope the international community, I'm not in favor of any country attacking Iran, but I hope the international community clearly tells this murderous regime time is up. You cannot use weapons against defenseless people.
TAPPER: Professor Abbas Milani, thank you so much, sir. Really appreciate it.
Just moments ago, Trump told oil executives he's going to decide which companies can enter Venezuela. Coming up next, I'm going to talk about the President's plan for oil in Venezuela with one of the so called Citgo Six once imprisoned in Venezuela under the Maduro regime and now a free man.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:28:01]
TAPPER: Breaking news on our money lead, President Trump this afternoon meeting with oil company executives as part of his strategy to try to encourage hefty investment in Venezuela following last weekend's capture of President Maduro. Some executives are not yet sold. ExxonMobil CEO called Venezuela, quote, "uninvestable." ConocoPhillips CEO did not commit to his company operating in Venezuela. And a Chevron official detailed the company's current operations but made no mention of scaling them up.
I want to bring in Jorge Toledo, one of the Citgo Six. That's a group of six former oil executives who were imprisoned in Venezuela from 2017 to 2022 under the Maduro regime. Toledo documented his ordeal in the memoir "1775 Days of Captivity, Survival and Growth."
Jorge, thanks for joining us. What do you think about the Trump administration's goal to try to get U.S. oil companies once again heavily invested in Venezuelan oil, given your experience with the Maduro regime?
JORGE TOLEDO, RELEASED FROM VENEZUELA AFTER 5 YEARS OF DETENTION: Well, I just overseeing this from the -- from the business perspective. So we have here in the U.S., the U.S. Gulf Coast, a refining capacity of in excess of 4 million barrel per day. So in all this refining capacity can process the heavy crude oil coming from Venezuela. So, Venezuelan barrels have this potential market. So today Venezuela is not even producing 700,000 barrels per day.
So there's a lot of potential on bringing barrels to this refining capacity that we have in the U.S. Gulf Coast. So from the business perspective makes a lot of sense. Now there's -- they need juridical securities, financial security to repatriate capitals, the respect on the loss and the due process. And that I think is the concern from the ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips executives.
[17:30:01]
TAPPER: Well, that -- yes, that's my question because obviously a business decision also needs to take into account the stability of Venezuela. And the Maduro regime is still there running things even if Maduro himself and his wife aren't there. I mean the vice -- the president is the former vice president and four of the six people indicted by the U.S. in that indictment that justified the capture of Maduro and his wife for the six are still there running things. In terms of future stability, do you -- I mean the President seems very confident that things are going to be fine because otherwise the U.S. will just attack again, but as a business decision, I would think that would be complicated.
TOLEDO: No, you need legal framework, but mostly from the political standpoint. So there's a -- the need of a change on regime. So because we're not dealing with an ideology or we're not dealing with a normal government. We are dealing with criminals and that's a different story. You could -- and within a political environment running by criminals, there's no possibility nor feasibility to conduct business in a healthy way.
TAPPER: The Venezuelan military is involved in the operations of the state-run oil company PDVSA due to the rampant theft there. If the U.S. were to decide Venezuelan oil is a worthy investment. If these executives were going to make the decision President Trump wants them to. Do you think U.S. Military placement in Venezuela would be the best way to secure safety there given the security needs that you've already spoken of?
TOLEDO: Well, there are -- there's people in Venezuela and also outside Venezuela from multiple backgrounds that think that there's an important percentage of the military sector that is not aligned with the current regime. I don't have any evidence of this. But I think the security in multiple aspects is going to be a challenge not only for the military sector. You need to take into consideration that a militia that was created by Hugo Chavez and continued by Nicolas Maduro and that militia is part of the security issue. He's an urban guerrilla in other words.
TAPPER: Jorge Toledo, thank you so much. Appreciate it, sir.
TOLEDO: My pleasure.
TAPPER: We're standing by to see President Trump takes any questions when he leaves the White House for Mar-a-Lago. We're going to talk about some of his biggest headlines of this week with Maggie Haberman of The New York Times. She's going to join us in studio, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:36:43]
TAPPER: Authorities in Portland Oregon are talking about the Border Patrol shooting last night. Let's listen in.
CHIEF BOB DAY, PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU: A demonstration that evening and then the demonstrations last night and the public order events that are happening today and throughout the weekend. I have high expectations that we will continue to be able to express our dissent in a way that demonstrates our commitment to showing how we want to be governed and that means doing so in a way that is calm or is peaceful or is non-violent whatever the terminology that you choose to use but an expectation that these public order events can be held and participated in by all and that they are a place of safety for all including our public officials and our First responders.
Last night, we had a couple of events that occurred one that was across the street here at City Hall several hundred participants and then we also had several hundred down at the facility in South Waterfront. We along with our partners from the Oregon State Police were present down at South Waterfront last night. We did see an increased amount of energy and intensity which we anticipated given the events of yesterday and on the heels of Minneapolis.
And appropriately so, I understand Portlanders concern. I understand Portlanders fear and frustration. I believe there is legitimacy to that. And we anticipated that there would be an increased amount of energy. Historically, this past year in our public order events through dialogue officers through announcements and through cooperation, we've been able to achieve results and minimize arrests and minimize conflict.
Last night, there were some who chose not to follow the direction of the officers and we were required to make a couple of arrests, six actual arrests for disorderly conduct. We had a couple of officers that were slightly injured. There was one force event not involving munitions, just a force event that will be thoroughly investigated and reviewed through our after action process. But overall, considering the heightened amount of energy and concern last night, I'm still very grateful for the overall vet and the participation and in looking forward to the weekend where we can continue to demonstrate our ability to express those First Amendment rights.
We will continue to --
TAPPER: All right. We're going to continue to monitor this news conference out of Portland, Oregon and note, we're going to talk to the Portland police chief in our next hour.
But now on to our Politics Lead, two key defeats for President Trump on Capitol Hill, 17 House Republicans voted with Democrats to restore those health insurance subsidies for Obamacare and five Republican senators joined with Democrats to limit President Trump's war powers when it comes to Venezuela. Let's discuss this with somebody who knows President Trump better than almost any journalist out there Maggie Haberman White House correspondent for the New York Times and a CNN political analyst.
Thanks so much for being here Maggie. So taken together these two defeats just this week not to mention, of course, the Epstein files vote. What does it say about his control of his party right now?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think that on most things President Trump is still tightly in control of his party, but you do have these House members who are facing a real problem on the Obamacare subsidies. They are the ones who are going to be on the ballot this coming year. President Trump didn't seem bothered. They know that their constituents are actually going to face a problem in terms of premiums going up. So I just think it's simple math and economics and bread and butter issues.
[17:40:13]
In terms of the war power vote, look, putting aside the precision of the military operation to get Nicolas Maduro, which clearly was very effective. The White House has not clearly articulated either what its plan is or what is going to happen or exactly, you know, there have been, it's clear for Trump it's about oil, but there have been several different rationales along the year for why they did this and none of them were about regime change or at least, you know, getting Maduro out the way he is.
TAPPER: Yes. Well, we were told that it was a law enforcement operation, right? But four of the six people in an indictment remain in power in Venezuela.
HABERMAN: Correct.
TAPPER: The President is focusing on oil as you said, as you note, he said the U.S. is now getting along extremely well with Venezuela, which is still the Maduro regime, just minus Maduro and wife. What does he mean when he says the U.S. is running Venezuela when they're obviously not really? And do you sense that there really is any sort of plan for elections or replacing the regime or for security for these oil companies if they choose to go back in?
HABERMAN: I don't think that they have figured out exactly how this is going to work yet. There certainly is not a plan yet for elections. I think for a variety of reasons going back to the one we said about the oil, they have clearly decided that they think they can work with and, you know, possibly control the vice president who's in charge right now, but that's not a long-term solution.
And I think Marco Rubio made clear. That's not a long-term solution. But what the alternative is, I think is unclear. What they don't want is Venezuela devolving into chaos. I do know that is not what they are looking for. But, you know, depending on what route they choose that could happen regardless.
TAPPER: We've heard Trump float military action against other countries --
HABERMAN: Right.
TAPPER: -- since the Venezuelan operation. Here's something that President Trump told your colleagues at "The New York Times" during that interview Wednesday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you see any checks on your power on the world stage? Is there anything that could stop you if you wanted to?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, there's one thing, my own morality, my own mind. It's the only thing that can stop --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not international law?
TRUMP: -- and that's very good. I don't need international law. I'm not looking to hurt people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: It's quite a view of the President's view of his powers.
HABERMAN: Yes, I mean and I think we're seeing it on display over and over which is that essentially you have seen this administration say that courts that try to stop him are illegitimate authorities or usurping his power. He is saying he doesn't -- essentially saying I don't require international law because I know what's right and wrong and what I want to do is what's going to guide me and that can get into a very -- it's we are clearly seeing him flex and he is emboldened in a way. I don't think we've ever seen before but where that leads remains to be seen.
TAPPER: Threats to Colombia and Cuba are one thing, threats to take Greenland from Denmark, which is a NATO ally and that are another you may have -- I know you're busy work working on your book, but you may have -- you may know that I did an interview with Stephen Miller earlier this week in which he really talked about his view, which I think is the President's view of just Bernie Sanders called it imperialism just the U.S. control of this hemisphere and what he said drew some rebukes from European leaders. Do you think that they're really going to try to take Greenland?
HABERMAN: I think they're going to try to continue talking about this. I think take meaning is in military force, I would be quite surprised. But again, do I also we have a base in Greenland.
TAPPER: Right.
HABERMAN: So we have troops there already.
TAPPER: And we have the potential for unlimited bases in Greenland.
HABERMAN: Correct. And there are ways to negotiate this at what is bothering European officials is that this is coming in the form of a threat and coming in the form of this is what I want and I'm going to grab it. I don't know that it would be feasible for the U.S. to buy Greenland although that was a discussion last year. But again, we will see.
TAPPER: We're almost one year into this second presidential term of President Trump. What stands out to you looking back at the on this first year of term two?
HABERMAN: So I think that he has actually had accomplishments that he promised on the campaign trail. He did close the border whether people like it or not that is what he said he was going to do. He did crack down on universities in terms of their policies related to DEI, corporate America clearly welcome that. But I don't think that the immigration enforcement has happened the way he thought or the way he said it was going to on the campaign. It's been, you know, people being taken off the street by people in masks.
Iran, a lot of people believe is a huge accomplishment, but prices are still not what he says keeps telling people they are. Tariffs I think is an open question. And there is a lot less trust in what this government says and that is a -- it's own issue.
TAPPER: All right, Maggie Haberman. Thank you so much.
HABERMAN: Thank you.
TAPPER: Thanks for coming to see us. We always love having you.
[17:45:00]
A live look this hour at the Capitol, St. Paul, Minnesota. This vigil in the wake of this week's deadly ICE shooting just a few miles away in Minneapolis. We're -- will we see more of this as we have in other cities this week. We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, one of the weakest years of annual job growth since 2003 according to the final jobs report of 2025 out today, the economy added just 50,000 new jobs in December. And if you were scrolling through the President's social media feed last night, you would have seen the preview of that data. Let's bring in the panel.
So not only has hiring slowed, Americans don't feel all that great about being able to find a job according to the latest survey by the New York Fed, "The perceived probability of finding a job hit a record low of 43.1 percent in December." Matt, what is your reaction to the numbers 11 months out from the midterms, which is obviously largely almost always about how voters feel about the economy.
MATT GORMAN, FORMER SR. ADVISER, TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: This is certainly I think something that Republicans we've taught -- we've known this for months now, I think and certainly this data coming in. It doesn't come as a huge surprise. I was buoyed at least by the fact that the 30-year mortgage is down dip below 6 percent to the first time since 2022. But this is something that certainly the White House Republicans know they have to fix and have to talk better about. And make sure that people as we go in the election year people have to feel better about this stuff.
[17:50:14]
I think as we get some rate hike or see rate lowerings, as we get to the spring of this year things will might loosen up a little bit. You saw best and talking about this a little bit in Minneapolis. They have to sell it to. Vance and Bessent did a good job this week. They have to keep doing it. TAPPER: And Karen the president didn't directly share today's report numbers, I should note, but he shared this chart including the December data. There are rules that prohibit officials from sharing jobs debt until after the official release. Why would that normally be a big deal but not isn't today?
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, gee, because normally part of what you care about in government is something called transparency making sure there's accuracy. That's not something that Donald Trump is particularly concerned with. But here's one of the most important things in the numbers, so January to May on average, we were -- it was about a 102,000 jobs were being created. Then we had Trump's Liberation Day, June to December --
TAPPER: The tariffs, the directions of the tariffs.
FINNEY: June to December about 10,000 jobs on average. So you can't tell me that and I think most Americans are there plenty of charts out there on social media. The tariffs have harmed the economy, the tariff despite what the markets are doing. That's not the economy that people live in day-to-day that does not control the cost that people are experiencing.
So I think the bigger problem everything I agree Matt with so many of the things you said, however, the problem Republicans have is that the one person with the biggest microphone does it is not on this at that message. I mean instead he spent a day trying to convince oil executives to spend billions of dollars in Venezuela and committing American troops potentially to that. So people aren't seeing this President put that kind of energy into their lives and that for Democrats makes a very compelling argument going into the midterms. This man does not care about you. He is not making our streets safer. He is not making your lives better.
TAPPER: So on Tuesday President Trump predicted an epic midterm victory with House Republicans keeping the house which obviously would be an anomaly if that were to happen. He sounded a little less optimistic last night on "Fox." Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you go back a long way the sitting president whether it's Democrat or Republican always loses the midterm even if they've done well, almost always. There's something down deep psychologically with the voters that they want maybe a check or something. I don't know what it is exactly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Not a very optimistic note.
FINNEY: No.
GORMAN: It wasn't. I'm just trying --
TAPPER: A factual though. I should give him a factual note. FINNEY: -- a long way back, meaning don't look at what happened with Joe Biden when we actually cross --
GORMAN: Got the House, you guys lost that.
TAPPER: You lost the House.
FINNEY: We did pretty well --
TAPPER: But anyway.
FINNEY: Go ahead.
GORMAN: No, look, I'm just trying to get through the year because right now we have a likely come March when all the special elections are done. We will have a one-seat majority with the terrible death of Doug LaMalfa. So that is brings its own special chaos to Mike Johnson who I don't envy who's done a really good job so far.
The history is absolutely true. I was there in 2018 when this when this happened one of the things that was so pertinent when Trump was campaigning in 2024 not just for himself but for down ballot candidates because he knew going through the last four years.
What is at stake when the house flips? He and others did not want impeachment on day one of a new presidency. So I think that is something that's also that specter of that is in his mind as well.
FINNEY: But again, that's about him. That's not about the American people. That's also not saying hey guys, you're going to have -- you may have to campaign against me or not have me come into your districts in order to win. I know I am very unpopular. Instead, he said, hey, they're going to impeach me on day one. It was I mean, he made it all about himself.
GORMAN: But that's a priority. But that's stopped. We've been through several of these. That stops everything in Washington. It has to Constitution.
FINNEY: Well, it's not like --
GORMAN: I will say this though to Susan Collins got any kind contribution in Blue State Maine by Trump coming out against her a little bit last night so two days ago. That's one thing actually counterintuitively that might help her a little bit.
TAPPER: There is this new video today showing a different perspective the ICE officers perspective on that deadly shooting in Minneapolis. I want you to take a listen to what Speaker Johnson had to say about it today. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think people have made their observations known about the video. There's multiple angles of the video. Everybody's commented on that in the media and on social media even elected officials, but we all understand there has to be a full investigation. That's the appropriate thing that will happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So frankly, that's refreshing to hear somebody just saying like everybody has their opinions. There's going to be an investigation. I am interested in your guys' view your take on it. What do you see in that video?
[17:55:00]
FINNEY: So here's what concerns me Jake. I worked in New York City government during the actually the Giuliani administration during 9- 11. So I know something about crisis comms and the city government. What is going on is disgusting. We should stop, you know, Trump they released the video through right-wing media and then J.D. Vance tweets it out. That is not how you create a culture or an environment of transparency to ease the tensions.
They're trying to inflame rather than ease tensions rather than to make people feel more comfortable. What's going on? And this is not about public safety.
GORMAN: We can play media critic all we want. What -- we -- all we're doing right now is what my takeaway was two things. She wasn't panicked and she was not dropping her kids off. I think that what that video showed me was much more into the driver state of mind and the person she was with state of mind.
TAPPER: All right. Thanks to both you appreciate it.
In our Sports Lead, the WNBA and its players are still without a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of tonight's deadline putting the start of the 2026 WNBA season in jeopardy. Meanwhile, some top WNBA players are already committing to a whole new global women's basketball league called Project B. CNN's Brynn Gingrass a college basketball player herself lays out what Project B is and its ties to a Saudi based company.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guys, I'm so excited to announce.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be joining Project B.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jewell here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alyssa Thomas here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot wait to compete with and against some of the best possible players in the world on an international stage.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Project B, it's a new global basketball league that could be a game changer for the sport and its players.
GINGRAS: This is a big moment. GRADY BURNETT, CO-FOUNDER, PROJECT B BASKETBALL LEAGUE: Yes.
GINGRAS: -- for women's basketball. It's just growing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's growing as fast if not faster than almost every tech industry right now.
GINGRAS (voice-over): That's Grady Burnett, a titan in the tech industry. He along with Skype founder Geoffrey Prentice are plugging elite players to sign on promising them equity in the league.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is substantial equity.
GINGRAS (voice-over): A platform to build their brand and salaries reportedly in the millions.
GINGRAS: You were the first one to sign on to Project B. What was it that drew you to this new league?
NNEKA OGWUMIKE, WNBA ALL-STAR AND PROJECT B PLAYER: We have an amazing league on the western side of the world, but I've played globally and there's a lot of great basketball being played everywhere. So being able to be a partner in something have a say in that way is huge.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Players like Seattle Storm all-star Nneka Ogwumike are committing at a time when the 2026 WNBA season is still uncertain. The league has struggled to come to a compromise with players on a contract revenue sharing and salary increases are top sticking points.
GINGRAS: Is it fair to call it a disruptor to the WNBA?
BURNETT: Sure. This is something where we're adding to the ecosystem. There's 3 billion basketball fans in the world. It's important to be able to play high-level games with incredible world-class athletes in the cities around the world where these fans are living, breathing.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Project B will have the hallmarks of a Formula One circuit 66 players compete in many tournaments in seven cities across three continents during the WNBA's offseason.
BURNETT: So you can really dig into the country celebrate the fans and put the player at the center.
GINGRAS (voice-over): It's partly backed by well-known athletes like Sloane Stephens, Novak Djokovic and Steve Young, but the league has also taken on some early controversy. It hired sporting entertainment company Sela which is owned by Saudi Arabia's public investment fund.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, SPORTS COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: Of course, it's understandable that some WNBA players want to make more money. But to do it in any way with in partnership with the Saudis, it's truly unthinkable because their brand everything about these players is activism.
GINGRAS: Why partner with a Saudi based company when obviously the optics of that say something.
BURNETT: So they have a company that has done, you know, the Olympics. They did the America's Cup. They've done a bunch of high-level boxing events globally. And so they just knew a lot and we're sort of a hungry young organization that really had thoughts and it could help us in a bunch of areas.
GINGRAS (voice-over): But as seen most notoriously with LIV Golf, Saudi involvement with U.S. sports can be problematic, partly because of the country's human rights record.
BRENNAN: The difference here is that the WNBA has always been about social activism and men's golf has never been about social activism. And so this is why this matters.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Unlike LIV, Project B says it's not receiving any Saudi funds to operate.
BURNETT: The money goes to them, not to us.
GINGRAS (voice-over): So far, Project B's roster includes both WNBA and international players, veterans and up and comers, some with social media followings in the millions. And while the biggest name in women's basketball, Caitlin Clark, isn't committing to the league, she celebrated what it could mean for the sport.
CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER GUARD: People are really believing and putting their money where their mouth is, and that hasn't always been the case for women's basketball.
OGWUMIKE: Hopefully it could serve as a blueprint for how, you know, we seek value. I really would like to live in a world where we can migrate away, you know, from asking women, do you want this or that or why not both end.
[18:00:10]
GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
