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CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip
CNN Covers President Donald Trump's Inauguration. Trump Attends Inaugural Balls on First Night Back in Power; Trump Returns to Power in First Night of Second Term; Trump Pardons January 6th Defendants from Oval Office. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired January 20, 2025 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN's special live coverage. I'm Abby Phillip. It's 10:00 P.M. here on the East Coast in Washington.
Donald Trump is now the president of the United States yet again, and his first day has gone by fast and furious and will end with some pomp and circumstance.
But for millions of Americans, it's been a dramatic and a very sudden change.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Coates. You can see the White House behind me. It now has a new occupant. Tonight is a MAGA celebration that follows a day of checking boxes on MAGA priorities. Trump says the American decline is over and he put his pen to a seemingly endless stream of executive orders all designed to remake the country according to his vision.
PHILLIP: Trump framed his ascension as Liberation Day, and for the people who took his talk of a stolen election seriously when they attempted to undo American democracy, he meant it literally. The president ended legitimate prosecutions of January 6th defendants, he pardoned or commuted the sentences of 1,500 January 6th rioters, and I'll be speaking with one of them in just a moment.
COATES: Let's get the right to see a man's Kaitlan Collins, who was at the commander-in-chief ball. Kaitlan, what are we expecting to see?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: This is really more of the pomp and circumstance part of the inauguration. Laura, obviously Trump has been out all day, starting with that meeting at the White House this morning, a trip to St. John's church. This is where they will end the inaugural festivities this evening.
There are three balls happening across Washington right now. There is the traffic to prove it, and many of the attendees are gathered here to see the president and the first lady. He is going to be speaking at every single ball, and they kind of rank in different priorities in terms of, some of them are filled with VIPs and the highest donors to his campaign. A lot of them are filled with supporters and Republican allies are here and celebrities who support him there. You can see one of the performances happening here across Washington. We just saw Kid Rock here to our left on stage tonight. AND so this is really more of that part of this.
But underlying all of this is Trump just left the White House. He was just there for a few hours for the first time since being sworn in earlier today, already carrying out a lot of those executive actions that he was planning to do. A lot of them that if you've been watching on true social he has been teasing much of what he did today. And, of course, he was arguing today this is just the work only beginning.
And there are several things to watch, including potential legal challenges to some of those executive actions he signed tonight, including one attempting to get rid of birthright citizenship. Obviously, that's protected by the 14th Amendment. The president can't just undo the Constitution. So, they know that they're going to face legal challenges. And, of course, Laura, this is something you'll be watching very closely, I'm sure, seeing if it does end up in front of the Supreme Court and where that goes.
And, of course, in addition to the pardons for the January 6th rioters, who are -- some of them being released from jail tonight, we believe, and also ten executive actions related to the southern border, which is one of Trump's biggest campaign pledges.
COATES: Kaitlan, we'll come back to you with so much more. Abby?
PHILLIP: Thanks, Laura. Among those pardoned by the president tonight, many of them were convicted of some of the worst crimes that were committed on January 6th. There is one rioter who hit a police officer with a metal baton, another who attacked a police officer with a fire extinguisher, a wooden plank and a pole.
Joining me now though, is Pam Hemphill. She served two months in federal prison for participating in the January 6th attacks. Pam, thank you very much for being here.
You've been on this show a number of times, talked about your experience, your regret over your involvement. But now, will you accept a pardon from President Trump if you receive one?
PAM HEMPHILL, CONVICTED JAN. 6 PARTICIPANT: Oh, no. That would be an insult to our Capitol Police officers and to the rule of law. I broke the law. I pleaded guilty because I was guilty. And we know all of them are guilty. I'm still in shock. I'm not surprised because Trump is sending a message to the DOJ that the lie he had been putting out there that the DOJ was weaponized against him and the J6ers, which we know it's not true, but this is a sad day.
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I'm still trying to process all this. The ramifications of this is going to be horrifying.
PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, what are the ramifications, do you think? What message is the president sending by pardoning 1,500 people, commuting the sentences of some of the people who were convicted of the most serious crimes? What message is he sending?
HEMPHILL: Oh, again, like I said to the DOJ, that they are weaponized against him and his followers, which is not true. I've studied all their cases and they tell you one thing and then you read the court records and it's totally different. Every one of them gaslight you and try to have you feel sorry for him that the Capitol Police attacked them. They were the victims that day. They were not the victims. They were the perpetrators. It was an insurrection. They know exactly what they were doing. It's just so difficult to wrap around my head right now that Trump could let these criminals out and they had criminal records before January 6. They're very dangerous people, especially Ryan Sampson and the proud boys and the oath keepers. Oh, my God. Those Keepers' wife had to go in hiding. I mean, these are dangerous people.
And what I see, this is what my feeling is, that these peaceful protests will not be able to be peaceful. Because, you know, the Proud Boys go out there and start trouble. They're white supremacists. And it'll be really hard for people to go out there and protest now, because I think he'll send them out there.
PHILLIP: Are you worried at all that you'll be criticized by MAGA world for refusing a pardon or, or perhaps even targeted for having a pardon revoked or having you not be in this number of people who the president has decided to pardon tonight?
HEMPHILL: Oh no, I've had a smear campaign going on for a year-and-a- half. I've had death threats. I went and saw my probation officer because they called her and they've been trying to get me in trouble. Oh no, I'm so used to this. It doesn't matter though. You have to be -- this is part of my amends to stand up to the facts of what really happened on January 6 to stop the gaslighting and all the lies that's been perpetrated out there for their own benefits.
As you know, most of them have made some of them over a $100,000 just by all their lies that they're putting out there. But I don't want to be a part of them trying to rewrite history. So, I would not take a part in it being an insult to the Capitol Police, and the rule of law, and to our nation.
PHILLIP: What do you say to the people who argue that there are some people who were treated unfairly in this process? I keep hearing Republicans say, well, there were grandmothers who just walked in, or maybe they just destroyed a little bit of property. Maybe you are among the people described in that way. What do you say to those people who say that these people have been overly punished for minor indiscretions on January 6th?
HEMPHILL: That Capitol was closed down to everybody. It was illegal to be there. That's reality. That's a fact. I don't care if you just walked around. It was against the law, period. And it doesn't matter what you did or didn't do that day. You know, you had a choice. I had a choice. I'm not a victim of January 6th. I'm a volunteer that stayed and I didn't leave and I regret that to this day, and I'm still trying to make amends for ever being there that day.
But, no, they, they do that. They try to have you feel sorry for them that they're victims. No, they had a choice that day. They just don't want to grow up and face it. And they got all these enablers around them telling them, oh, the DOJ has been weaponized against us, and they're saying they've never gotten to process. Well, I researched the court recordings. Every single one of them have had due process.
So, they've lied about everything that's out there, and it's been fact checked, but it doesn't matter. They're just following Trump, you know, and, of course, this is Trump's message to the DOJ, that the DOJ has been weaponized against him. And if he didn't pardon them, he would be agreeing that the DOJ wasn't weaponized against the J6 or so. He had to pardon them, because this is his message.
PHILLIP: And there are real victims of January 6th, officers whose names people are not talking about. They've been maimed. They've been permanently injured physically, psychologically. There are families who have officers who didn't make it past that week of January 6th as a result of their injuries.
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What do you say to those families now that Donald Trump has taken this step and we're all full circle now, it's four years later?
HEMPHILL: They are the heroes. And I hope that somebody's listening and will put up that plaque that they will refuse -- it's already been approved for the officers that day. They are the heroes. They have been through more than we could even imagine, more than I've been through. They are the innocent ones. They were doing all they could that day to save everyone, even me. They stepped on me, on my head, and tried to kill me. I wasn't breathing. But the Capitol Police officers took time to help me. They were trying to help and save lives that day.
Just know that you are the heroes. We know who the criminals are. And I feel really bad for you and what you're going through. But just know there's thousands, millions of us that look up to you, honor you, and appreciate everything you did that day on January 6th to save everybody and save our democracy.
PHILLIP: And, Pam, as you probably know, President Biden, before he left office, he issued a number of pardons for members of the January 6th committee, people who testified as well as the lawmakers and the staff who participated in that investigation. Do you think that was the right decision?
HEMPHILL: Absolutely. However, I know what they're going through because they are innocent. They're not like me. I was guilty. Okay, so I shouldn't take forum (ph) from anybody. However, they are innocent.
Trump is so dangerous. I'm glad the pardons were given and I hope they take them. I hope they took them because he cannot be counted on with anything he's put out there. He has a plan B where it's Ivan Raiklin and Michael Flynn, and now Ammon Bundy. They have plan B. This is where they believe the Constitution, under the Constitution, they can form their own grand jury and arrest officials and put them on trial for treason. And you know what happens with treason. And this is going out. There's a video that Ivan Raiklin put out today. He said, if you're on that list with Biden, you're now on the top of our list and we're coming after you. So, they need to be careful because they're not done. They're out for revenge no matter what.
PHILLIP: Well, Pam Hemphill, thank you very much. We appreciate you joining us. And you've been on many times with me and you always are very transparent about your role in all of this and your regret for what you did on that day. It's interesting now to see all of these other people just walking away scot free. Thank you very much, Pam. Laura?
HEMPHILL: Thank you.
COATES: Really fascinating conversation, Abby. I want to go to CNN Correspondent Donie O'Sullivan. He is actually outside the detention center where some of the January 6th rioters are being held and very well may be released tonight. Donie, what's happening there?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Laura. Yes, we're just about a mile or two away from the U.S. Capitol itself. And here actually for more than 900 nights, for more than the last 900 nights, January 6 activists, I guess, supporters of the people who have been sent to prison, who have been found guilty of crimes that they committed on January 6th, 2021, those activists have been gathering here for the past three years, every night, holding a vigil.
So tonight, the vibe here, the feeling here is extraordinarily celebratory, it's jubilant. You know, I will say, we've been speaking to a lot of these activists for quite some time now. Everybody wanted Trump to pardon everyone, right, from violent, nonviolent, from Oath Keeper, Proud Boy, on down.
But I think there was always a nervousness here that, you know, he may succumb to pressure from even, of course, within the Republican Party, people were saying that he shouldn't pardon folks who engaged in violence, people who beat up cops on January 6th. So, I think there was even a surprise here among the activists when they heard the news just a few hours ago, really, of this broad set of pardons.
Now, what is expected to happen tonight? We've been given very little information but it was a pretty big crowd gathered here and they are watching very closely the front doors of the D.C. jail where they expect, we think, there's about maybe 10 to 20 J6ers in this facility and folks here expect them to come out tonight.
We were speaking to actually on the phone earlier tonight Rachel Powell, who is a woman, she's serving -- she was found guilty on multiple accounts for what she did on January 6, including breaking a window at the Capitol with a pickaxe.
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She called us tonight from inside that jail. She said, folks are obviously very excited. They want to get out tonight, and she said that if she gets out, she plans on trying to attend one of the inaugural balls in the city tonight.
So, just really quite surreal scene here tonight. What are folks will actually come through those doors or not, you know, remains to be seen. But, certainly, none of these people are going anywhere unless some folks get out tonight.
COATES: Donie, this is fascinating. We'll see how all this unfolds this evening and a lot of reaction in Washington and across the country. We will stay close to you.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny is actually at the White House. And as you all know, at the White House, he signed these 1,500 pardons for the January 6th defendants. What did he say?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura, one of the first official acts that President Trump took while walking into the Oval Office, back into the seat of power, was indeed that mass pardon, as you said, and it was the ultimate step in a whitewashing the history of January 6th.
It was the really end of an extraordinary day. When you think back to where President Trump began the day walking into the east front of the Capitol, I was standing just a few feet away, walking him and President Biden walk in just right by the windows that were broken and that were breached that day on January 6th to have him ending the day here, you know, going through his pledge to pardon and commute the sentences. But it's far more than many Republicans were comfortable with.
So, we will see how this sort of shakes out in the days ahead. He signed up a lot of executive orders, a lot of action. This is, you know, the return of a very different type of executive. He throws a lot of things out at once. We saw immigration executive orders, a variety of things. But this is something that, you know, certainly when we take a step back and look what brought us here over the last four years, it is an extraordinary move tonight and it's sweep and it's a breath.
So, there's no doubt that the attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, she was asked about this at her confirmation hearings just last week. She demurred a bit. She's not been confirmed yet. We'll see if there are more questions on that front. But as Donie said, people could be walking tonight. And I think the issue is not a dividing between the violent offenders and the nonviolent offenders, just giving that mass pardon issue. That is not what some people at least expected. Perhaps they should have been because that's what President Trump has been talking about at campaign rallies, everyone we've gone to over the last two years.
COATES: Unbelievable to think about the breath, as you say, the scope. And I want to bring into to discuss all of this former assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Wehle, also senior political correspondent for Puck, Tara Palmeri. Good to have both of you here. We're overlooking the White House. We know a lot of these actions took place. Kim, many people had talked about the pardons. They thought, well, I wonder which he's going to actually pardon, the violent offenders and nonviolent offenders, they thought to be compartmentalized. It was a very broad stroke. Are you surprised that he pardoned, or commuted, or dismissed all of those January 6th cases?
KIM WEHLE, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY: Yes and no. I mean, Donald Trump does things that are somewhat surprising. The traditional criteria for a pardon under the Department of Justice guidelines excludes pardons for people who can go on to commit violent offenses. So, that is antithetical to the idea of the pardon.
I did think he might sort people based on loyalty. I mean, we just had a guest who has said publicly that January 6 was not a proud day, that we have people that have rejected the big lie. But this is a moment where he's pulling all that together and essentially saying, I should have been here the last four years. And now it's my rule of law. It really does undermine that idea of law under a government by rule.
COATES: It is his prerogative, right, to think about it, but the idea of all of the scope of it. Tara, I mean, there was a split screen earlier today while he was talking about getting ready to sign the executive or the pardons for these people, he was speaking about hostages and the backdrop were the families of Israeli hostages. Many people were looking at that and with discomfort for obvious reasons of the term that was consistent. But, politically, it doesn't seem that Trump is concerned at all about the optics of this. Do you think that it has any connection to the fact that Biden issued his own preemptive pardons today, and some think it gave him political cover to say, well, I'll do what I want too?
TARA PALMERI, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, PUCK: Yes, I think that Donald Trump all along was planning to pardon the January 6th rioters. All of them. I think so, but I don't know that for a fact, but I think he always felt that if they ended up in prison, even the ones who are involved in violent crimes, like it would always sort of be a reflection on him and his own innocence, right?
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So, I do think he wanted to absolve them of their sins and in turn absolve himself.
This split screen is obviously incredibly jarring. There were a lot of really jarring images this evening, including, you know, Elon Musk and the signal that he sent out to supporters.
But I think Donald Trump did what he said he was going to do. I think he always knew he was going to do this. And, sure, I mean, it was not a great day for justice. You could say that. The Biden family getting preemptive pardons for a date back in 2014, like, you know, what is that all about? Why did it start on January 1st, 2014, this alleged criminal activity that could have happened to the Biden family?
I understand that he's afraid that the Trumps will go after him because Trump has promised justice, right? They have said justice will happen on day one, but it's just not a great start or end. It's not a great day for justice.
COATES: Well, talk to me about this. You've written the book really on pardons and this idea, Biden went to great lengths to try to write in the statement about how it's not an admission of guilt, he's anticipating the things you're talking about, but you do have this concern about a preemptive pardon and what that means. At least two members of Congress who were a part of that committee, Schiff, now Senator Schiff, and Congressman Adam Kinzinger, said they didn't want the pardon, they've done nothing wrong and yet, it's out there.
How do you see those preemptive pardons and how they compare to Trump, essentially undoing a lot of the work of the prosecutors?
WEHLE: Yes, it's like the clash of the pardons. You know, I think the preemptive pardons, given Donald Trump's promise to use the Justice Department in an unprecedented way as a mechanism for his own personal political retribution, just like the Hunter Biden pardon, it makes sense to do it to protect certain people.
Now, given that that Joe Biden went on and pardoned five more of his family members and left a lot of people vulnerable, right, didn't include witnesses in January 6th, didn't include Judge Merchan, the other judges, Jack Smith, Letitia James, grand jurors, jurors. And let's keep in mind, he's now -- Donald Trump in charge of the Justice Department. All those records, internal confidential grand jury records, witnesses, people who have cooperated with the Justice Department in connection with the Donald Trump prosecutions, you know, it could be open season to some degree on them.
And it's expensive to defend this stuff, Laura. You know, the lawyers in Washington are very expensive, even if there's really no there, there.
PALMERI: I was also thinking to myself that, you know, Trump did have the option to pre-pardon his own family on his way out. He had the option to pre-pardon all the January 6th rioters as well.
COATES: The thought he might have.
PALMERI: Yes, exactly. It was a really big debate. But he clearly realized that he didn't have like the political mandate, but it just shows the force that he's coming in with, that he thinks that he can do this, that he believes that he can do -- take these really controversial measures starting out and there'll be very little pushback, not just from like corporate America, but from the Hill. Like you're really not hearing that much of a resistance going on right now. He just seems to have this power and he may realize it may be limited. And whereas the way he left office, he left on a very low note and he probably thought, I can't pull this off.
COATES: Well, Abby, I mean, that's why I do a lot of favors for people who now wanted to maybe invoke the Fifth. They cannot. There's no criminal prosecution threat, which means Congress could technically get information from them and subpoena them for testimony. We'll see what happens, a really important looming question, even today on day one.
PHILLIP: Yes, they could. However, this Congress, I think, it's a question whether they would want to do that. Thanks, Laura.
Back in the studio here, Paula, talk to us about the people who are on this short list of commutations, because I find this very interesting. What should we take away from why they were not immediately pardoned? And what is Trump reserving the right to do at a later date?
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So, what they're going to do is they're going to review the commutations. The folks who didn't get a full blown pardon, but their sentence is gone now. They're either released from prison if they're in prison, or they no longer have any of the punishment that was applied. They're going to review these cases.
This is process, small P, because for two months I've been asking Trump's sources, when Vice President Vance or President Trump say they may make exceptions for people who are engaged in violence, what does that mean? How are you going to suss that out? It's actually a very complicated question, given the way these cases were charged. And no one could really explain it to me, and they said we don't want to do a case by case analysis, because that takes time. We want to do this on day one.
So, I was actually surprised how broad the pardons were and then you have this shorter list of commutations that's I think even shorter than I would have expected it to be because some of the folks who got pardons are those who attacked and assaulted police officers.
But there still could be more people pardoned on that list of commutations. So, it's going to be interesting to see if additional people get relief on that short list. It's a very, very short list.
PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, everybody else, including people who were violent, who assaulted police officers, were pardoned.
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REID: Yes.
PHILLIP: Just before we bring everybody else in, I just want to say one thing. We're going to have this discussion about the January 6th pardons. This is a no false equivalency zone. We will talk about Joe Biden later in the show. But I want to talk about this right now because I think these conversations have been getting kind of confused because everybody's like, well, what about this? What about that? We're talking about the January 6th pardons.
Donald Trump gave blanket pardons, basically, with the exception of a couple of handful of people, including people who were violent, including people who assaulted police officers. Scott, why is that okay?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, if you were Donald Trump, you would say that I think these people were, in many cases, unfairly charged or overcharged and I made a promise and I kept it. I mean, that's going to be his political argument.
PHILLIP: Do you think that that's true?
JENNINGS: Look, I think that most of these people, a vast majority of these people paid some kind of price and a deep price for what they did. I don't like what they did. I didn't like it the day it happened. I don't like it today. But they did pay a price. Most went to jail, served a term, were financially ruined, had their lives effectively ruined by this process. There's no question. They face consequences unlike if you get a preemptive pardon when you face no consequences.
So, I think if he were arguing it out, he would say, I don't agree with the way they were handled by the Justice Department and it's my prerogative to make --
PHILLIP: I'm, not asking you what Donald Trump's position is. I'm just asking you as a person, as a Republican, as a human being. These are people who were sentenced. But they also committed a particular kind of crime that the government has a very distinct interest in preventing from ever happening again. Don't you think that there is a responsibility for that to remain on their record, for people to take responsibility, for them, for the country to understand there's no get out of jail free card if you try something like that again?
JENNINGS: They didn't get it. I mean, they all faced punishment.
PHILLIP: Scott --
JENNINGS: They all faced punishment. And so --
PHILLIP: Donie O'Sullivan -- we're watching the president and the first lady walk out onto the stage at the ball. I just want to show you what we're listening to and watching here on our screen. We'll get back to our conversation in just a moment, but this is the commander- in-chief ball in Washington, D.C. This is the main ball, the premier ball of the night, and the president is there in a tuxedo. The first lady is there in a beautiful gown. Kaitlan Collins is in the room.
Kaitlan, tell us what you're seeing and hearing there.
COLLINS: Yes, Abby. This is the first of three inaugural balls that the president and the first lady will go to tonight. Obviously, people watch this is the first time kind of seeing them in their formal attire in this evening after Trump was sworn in earlier at the Capitol. They've had a very long day, obviously, of events and festivities to go to.
And, John Berman, you've been here watching this crowd. They've been here for hours actually waiting to see him. And just a reminder, this is a lot of political people, a lot of military people that are here tonight watching this first dance.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This is the first dance, absolutely the moment that everyone in this room has been waiting for. You can see the phones going up to film it. Let's listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome Vice President J.D. Vance, accompanied by Second Lady Usha Vance.
BERMAN: Full of marines and soldiers and sailors and all kinds of service people, in a way, the least political of the balls, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: We should note that J.D. Vance is actually missing a very important football game that's right now in the fourth quarter.
BERMAN: I don't know what you're talking about. I have no knowledge of any football game that may be happening right now, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: He did tweet right after that it was clear that Ohio State was going to the National Championship, but it looks like they might be on their way to securing that. We'll see what that looks like. But this is our first look at both of the first couples here, and obviously just even still as someone who covered Trump eight years ago, it's remarkable to see that it is not Vice President Pence up there. Obviously, so much history has happened since then, the January 6th pardons play a big role in that, but we are just seeing how fundamentally different this Trump term will look like in part because of that.
BERMAN: Very, very different. And, of course, when you're looking at the vice president and his wife, Usha, you're looking at a generational difference from the president of the United States. And I know a lot of Republicans were looking at today as a look into the future of the Republican Party, the beyond Donald J. Trump, and many of the people saw that future in J.D. Vance.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I should note they are each dancing with different members of different parts of the U.S. military.
BERMAN (voice-over): It's a pretty bold service member who taps the president on the shoulder and says, do you mind if I cut in?
COLLINS (voice-over): Yeah, and of course this is the commander-in- chief ball. That is why you're seeing these different service members up on stage. And also, a lot of military here in the crowd. And I'll note, we also saw Pete Hegseth earlier, Trump's pick to run the Defense Department, not yet confirmed, but potentially on his way there.
BERMAN (voice-over): It's very hard to hear it here, it is so loud, Kaitlin. Yes, we did see Pete Hegseth who did secure a committee approval inside the Senate today to be the next Secretary of Defense. And he was shaking hands, he was very popular here, being cheered by everyone in this crowd. There is a lectern set up and we do expect remarks shortly from the President of the United States.
COLLINS (voice-over): And obviously, J.D. Vance himself here, Vice President, was in the military, served as a U.S. Marine. And the term of, in the view and the lens of this being the Commander in Chief Ball, a lot of military here in the room watching this with Trump now being sworn in as Commander in Chief. Let's listen to see what he has to say. We've heard from him several times publicly today. We'll see what he has to say to the supporters in the room and also the members of the U.S. military.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, thank you very much. This is a great honor. We have a lot of Space Force here, by the way, a lot of Space Force. We're very proud of Space Force. But there's nowhere else I'd rather be tonight than with some of the greatest American patriots of all, the men and women of the United States military. Thank you very much.
This is quite a gathering, huh? It's a celebration because we're going to turn our country around. We're going to make America great again.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: I've had no higher privilege in life than to serve as your commander in chief, not once, but twice.
(CHEERING)
And you're incredible and the people of our -- the people of country respect you and they love you so much. You don't see it, you don't hear about it too much, but they love you just so much, you wouldn't even believe it. So, thank you very much. They're honored to have you.
(CHEERING)
We're joined this evening by the service members from every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and Space Force. And I salute you all. Let me also thank our incredible military spouses -- what you have to put up with.
(APPLAUSE)
They put up with a lot. And family members here tonight, we have so many and so many brilliant families. And you do more than anyone else to support our nation's heroes. And on behalf of every American, I want to thank you very much.
We have some people with us tonight. You know, we have the head of the Republican Party, and we won, and then she said, all right, dad, I think that's enough for me now. Let's win and let's go to something else. And she wants to get back to her beautiful babies, but she's married to a guy known as my son, Eric Trump.
And Lara was essentially chairman, along with Michael Watley of the Republican party, and they were tough. They weren't going to stand for any nonsense and they did a fantastic job. And we won every single swing state. We won. The -- you know, we won the popularity. We were the most popular candidate in long term.
(CHEERING)
And I have to tell you, with the military, we really won. (CHEERING)
We really won. I want to thank, obviously, a tremendous supporter of yours. And if I ever got out of line, she'd get me right back in line when it comes to you. Melania, First Lady, she's been fantastic First Lady.
[22:35:00]
(APPLAUSE)
And our Vice President, you know him well, he's all about you. He's a big believer in our military, J.D. Vance and Usha.
(CHEERING)
And I have other family members. Yudon's in there somewhere, and Ivanka's there. Where is Ivanka? There's so many people. But we have a lot of family members. Tiffany is here. Barron was with us today. He's a tall one, I will tell you. And he's doing a good job.
But today we celebrate the enduring strength and resilience of our glorious republic. And so, it's highly appropriate that we also honor the men and women who keep us safe. And that's what you are. Your bravery --
(CHEERING)
-- your bravery inspires us. Your service unites us and your sacrifice and spirit protect us all. We made a little speech today, I think you probably saw it. Who -- who did see it or hear it? Did anybody?
(CHEERING)
Well, I think we said a lot and we said more than anything else that we love you, we respect you so much and we have a big commitment to each and every one of you. Starting today, America will be stronger and greater than it's ever been before. That's happening. That was a big win. That was a tremendous win. We all worked hard for it. Under the leadership of our next Secretary of Defense, who I just saw -- Pete Hegseth, who's fantastic.
(APPLAUSE)
Where is Pete? I saw him backstage. I don't know. So many people. How do you find anybody in this crowd? This is a big crowd. But if Pete's around, if Pete can hear this, come on up here, Pete. But we will again build the most powerful military the world has ever seen. We're going to have it.
You know, we did that four years ago, and then it was a little bit dissipated. But we're going to do it again, but much bigger, much stronger than ever before. We're also doing the Iron Dome, all made in America. We're going to have a nice Iron Dome.
You're going to protect us with the use of the Iron Dome. Instead of worrying about political agendas, you don't have to worry about that at all. There's only one focus. Defeating America's enemies. We're not going to be defeated. We're not going to be humiliated. We're only going to win, win. We're going to win, win.
And we really do have some just incredible people working with us. So, I've been looking around for generals like George Patton, Douglas Spigartha, Ulysses S. Grant, his stock has gone way up in the last 20 years, wouldn't you say, J..D? They used to say bad things about him, now all of a sudden he's very well respected. But we all fight to win and we're going to win and we're going to win like never before.
In many ways, economy -- the economy is going to be strong. We're not going to let all of our nations, our friendly and unfriendly nations, push us around from any standpoint, including the economy, because we have something that they don't have. We have a power that they don't have. Liquid gold under our feet, the likes of which no other nation has.
(CHEERING)
Yet as I said in my inaugural address, we will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. It's called peace through strength. We won't have to fight the war, right?
(APPLAUSE)
We don't have to fight the wars. If we can do it without fighting, as long as we have total victory, we do it without fighting. Through our power and might, we will lead the world to peace. Our friends will respect us. Our enemies will fear us. And the whole world will admire the unrivaled greatness of the United States military.
And I will tell you, we made big strides. We totally rebuilt the United States military, 2017, 2019, 2018. We rebuilt the entire U.S. military. And now? We're going to do it again. A lot of it's been dissipated by people that don't know what the hell they're doing.
But we're going to do it again. And this is going to be the dawn of the golden age of America. This is the golden age of America. And tonight, I'm filled with optimism for what lies ahead over the next four years. We will replenish the pride of our armed forces, end the recruitment crisis.
[22:40:00]
And by the way, the recruitment numbers are through the roof in the last two months.
(CHEERING)
I wonder why. Why? Why? I don't know. Why the hell are they through? You know, you have a little problem with recruitment. That's not good. And now the numbers are higher than they've just about ever been. You know why? They love what they see for the future of our country. And they didn't love what they were seeing for the last four years. It was ridiculous.
(APPLAUSE)
It's a big thing, actually. This big story is that recruiting has gone really through the roof, and that's good. I want to thank every service member here tonight and across the globe to know that you're at the heart of America's greatness. It's an exceptional honor to join you again in serving this magnificent nation that we all love and that we're going to make greater, better, bigger, stronger.
We're going to make it something that even you will be surprised. You'll see that. And it's going to be led by our great military, the strength of our military. We're going to make our military so strong that we don't have to use it. Wouldn't that be good? We don't have to use it.
They'll look at us and they'll say, there's no way. There's no way we're going after that one. So, I want to just say to you, God bless you. God bless our armed forces. God bless our men and women serving overseas. And God bless the United States of America. Thank you. Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
(CROWD CHANTING, "USA, USA")
(MUSIC PLAYING)
COLLINS (voice-over): We have been listening to President Trump adjusting the commander in chief ball here. It is a room filled with a lot of his supporters, but also a lot of the U.S. military there, John. And he was talking about what he wants to do with the Pentagon.
We've talked a lot understandably about what he wants to do when it comes to immigration, the January 6 pardons, but also the Pentagon is certainly another area to focus on. And one thing that Trump has been incensed about is the pardon that came for General --
TRUMP: And I have no idea how we're getting them on the screen. I've been waiting for it for about two seconds. Oh, here it comes. No, that's a cake. There they are. Hello everybody, how we doing over there? How's Kim Jong-un doing? How are you? That's a good-looking group of people, isn't it? Thank you for being with us.
LT. GENERAL CHRIS O'NEILL, COMMANDING GENERAL, 8TH ARMY: Mr. President, Sir, do you hear us?
TRUMP: Yes, I hear you fine.
O'NEILL: Sir, I'm Lieutenant General Chris O'Neill, Commanding General, 8th Army. And this is Command Star Major Rahman Bulmer. We're based in Camp Humphrey, South Korea, United States bedrock of unmistakable land power on freedom's frontier in Asia. Protection of both homelands, Sir. Profound honor to stand before you today, representing our incredible team here in Korea. We're deeply grateful for this opportunity to be part of this occasion.
Sir, on behalf of the brave men and women who serve under my command, the thousands of dedicated service members that are part of the joint team in Korea, congratulations on your victory as the 47th President of the United States. Welcome back, Mr. President.
(CHEERING)
So, we'd be privileged to host you hear in Korea soon. You can see first-hand (inaudible) of our soldiers here. Our formations are our Fight Tonight focus and our ironclad commitment to the defense of Korea and our homelands. To meet the families who serve alongside our warfighters, Sir. Pacific Victor, Sir!
TRUMP: How about that? So, could I ask you, how is it going in South Korea right now? How is it doing? You have somebody with pretty bad intentions, I guess. You know, you would say that, although I developed a pretty good relationship with him, but he's a tough cookie. How is it going over there? How is it doing?
O'NEILL: Sir, every day we train, we stay hard. We are playing for anything that you possibly can need us to do.
COLLINS: And you are watching President Trump and Vice President Vance. They are talking to U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, getting a check in with them here as we are with the commander-in- chief ball, John Berman. And obviously, the president speaking to them, he just spoke briefly to everyone in the room. What's it all to you?
BERMAN: Well, two things. One, he's literally talking to troops in South Korea, asking them, how are things going with Kim Jong-un, which is an interesting thing to think about. The people who are in there, in that country to defend largely against the possibility of North Korean aggression, to ask them that right now in this public setting is interesting.
The other thing that's interesting in this room, Kaitlan, as you said, President Trump has said he is going to radically change the U.S. military and he's going to make the military strong so the U.S. doesn't have to fight wars.
[22:45:10]
But at the same time today, for the first time in my lifetime, for the first time in generations, we also talked about territorial expansion. And you do wonder what the military, what the men and women who may have to be involved with that think about that.
COLLINS: Yeah, the Panama Canal obviously was one big part of that. He is very frustrated about the treaty that was signed by President Jimmy Carter returning control of the Panama Canal to Panama. Also the thing that Ronald Reagan also was upset with but never like, never really sought to overturn it to change.
Trump was lately arguing today that that was not how he was going to handle this. And also talking about Greenland making the case again in the Oval Office tonight saying he believes it's national security crintern for the United States to have control of it.
All of that is something that we've heard from people like John Bolton who say maybe -- maybe the Greenland part is not such a bad idea but it's that Trump has said he's not going to rule out using U.S. military force in order to do so.
BERMAN: No, it was actually the word expansion, territorial expansion and using the word to manifest destiny. Was he referring to space? Was he referring to territorial terrestrial gains? A little bit unclear, there's always some gray area but words that I don't think the military has used hearing. Right now, he's talking about the giant cake. I don't know if we see it. There is a huge cake on that stage behind us.
COLLINS: Yeah, shaped after Air Force One here as the commander-in- chief is now going to do that. And I should note, this is one of three balls that President Trump will be attending tonight along with First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, as well.
We'll continue to monitor all of them on Donald Trump's first day in office now that he has been sworn in as he noted to the room here for the second time as the commander in chief. Much more in a moment. We're going to take a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:50:42]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: You've been watching President Trump at the ball that's honoring service members, but his administration, they wasted no time reigniting his feud with the former Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Mark Milley. Look at this.
One of the first things to vanish from the Pentagon today was actually a portrait of Milley, and it was unveiled just 10 days ago. Trump's issues with Milley have been very, very well-documented, but it hit a fever pitch when Bob Woodward said that Milley called Trump, quote, "the most dangerous person to this country" and "a fascist to the core". Trump today appearing to reference that very line when he blasted Joe Biden's decision to pardon Milley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Why are we trying to help a guy like Millie? Why are we doing Millie? He was pardoned. What he said? Terrible what he said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Joining me now is the military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel, Hedrick Layton, and senior politics reporter for "Axios" Mark Caputo, here as well. I'll begin with you, Colonel. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, one of the most respected positions in the military. What message does this send, do you think, on a night like this?
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, RETIRED COLONEL, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it's quite an extraordinary message, Laura, because the chairman is the number one ranking military officer in the United States when he serves in that capacity. This is the very first time that a portrait like this has been removed from the wall at the Pentagon, in the hall in the E-ring where these portraits hang.
So, the message that it sends is basically one of intimidation to the military leadership, to the brass. And it basically says, you serve at the pleasure of the president, which is true. I mean, that is what the law says. But it also means that their tenure could be very short- lived if they displease the president.
COATES: Do you think this will land well with the rank and file members to know that somebody who is so senior literally has his picture, I guess, kind of snatched off the wall?
LEIGHTON: It's almost Stalinist in terms of removing from, you know, from the wall and maybe even from the history books. But the -- the fact is that the rank and file are going to do their job. But they're also going to be paying attention to this and it's going to impact morale, especially if these kinds of things continue.
So, that's -- that's going to be, I think, something that the new administration is going to have to thread that needle and they're going to have to do it very carefully if they're going to maintain the morale of the troops.
COATES: It appears the White House is the one to order this removal. It wasn't like a coincidence it had to be cleaned all of a sudden today. It was quite intentional, right? And so --
MARC CAPUTO, "THE BULWARK", NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Oh, they're happy to send that message.
COATES: They're happy to send that message. But even though at the risk of perhaps alienating or rubbing people the wrong way?
CAPUTO: I don't think that's how Trump thinks about these sorts of things. His posture currently is he's rather elated and he's feeling at the height of his power and he's going to exercise it. And this is one method of him doing that.
COATES: You know, Marc, on this point, Milley actually thanked Biden for the pardon that he gave him today.
CAPUTO: I bet he did.
COATES: And I want to -- he said, quote, "I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights." Is that the reason you think Biden did this? CAPUTO: Oh, clearly. I was surprised that out of all the pardons that
Biden did, including his own family members when he had sort of four years ago suggested that's a bad idea, was that he didn't proactively pardon Jack Smith, the prosecutor in the case.
But it was pretty clear, at least as of last month or the month before last, that Biden was thinking about people who could be prosecuted or investigated who had helped him or his administration that he was going to pardon. And so, Millie rose to the top of the list and so did Anthony Fauci.
COATES: I mean, you know, well, what company to keep it in that point, Colonel, the two couldn't have done more different jobs in the country during their tenure and yet on the same pardon sheet essentially of one another.
Pete Hegseth is on his way likely to be confirmed as defense secretary. Obviously, a pardon is the end of the road for a criminal prosecution on the federal level. Would Hegseth have any control over any investigations into Milley even now?
LEIGHTON: Potentially, depending on certain things. It depends on how broad the pardon actually is from President Biden.
[22:55:00]
This is certainly an unusual case from a military justice standpoint. There's always a chance that, you know, something could be found where a person is, especially a general officer, is recalled to active duty. I think it's unlikely in this particular case. And I think the pardon is probably broad enough so that -- that won't happen. But it's definitely something that should concern General Milley and, frankly, anybody who is, you know, who is part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at that time.
COATES: You can imagine, again, the pardon does not say you cannot testify for civil matters now. It removes that Fifth Amendment protection you'd otherwise have, so you can bet if the fact-finding mission persists, Congress might want information. We'll see what happens, though, gentlemen.
Colonel Leighton, Marc Caputo, thank you so much for joining me in this wonderful cold of Washington, D.C. Abby, in that beautifully warm studio, what's up?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: I am thinking warm thoughts for you, Laura Coates. Thank you very much. Coming up next for us, change is coming to Washington. We have much more special live coverage from the second Trump inaugural. We're live outside the D.C. Dissension Center where some of the January 6th riders are being held and may very well be released tonight. Much more ahead.
[22:59:24]
COATES: Well, day one of the second Trump administration is nearly done. We just watched maybe the moment of the night, the newly minted first couple walking in for their very first dance of this administration. And while celebrations here in Washington will run long into the night, there's a palpable anxiety about what has already transpired and what will happen when the country wakes up tomorrow.
