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Trump Names Susie Wiles As His White House Chief Of Staff; Biden Policy Shielding Undocumented Spouses Struck Down; Israeli Soccer Fans Targeted In "Antisemitic" Attacks In Amsterdam. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 08, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:15]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning the blame game is swirling around President Biden as President-elect Donald Trump builds his transition team.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is outside the White House for us this morning. Arlette, this is Biden's final 10 weeks in power. What are -- what are you learning this morning?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, Democrats continue to have these debates about what exactly went wrong in this election with many laying the blame squarely on President Joe Biden.

But for President Biden's part, yesterday he appeared here at the White House offering his first public remarks reflecting on this election, saying that he is committed to a peaceful transfer of power but also urging his supporters to stay engaged. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. We all get knocked down but the measure of our character, as my dad would say, is how quickly we get back up. Remember, a defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, President Biden is planning and preparing to meet with President-elect Trump at some point here at the White House. They are still ironing out the details of that date.

But so much of President Biden and his team's focus in the coming weeks will be trying to shore up his legacy and safeguard some of those initiatives that he had rolled out in his past four years in office.

That includes this commitment to trying to get additional aid to Ukraine out the door. There is also the implementation aspects of various legislations. Things like the CHIPS agreement, the infrastructure law, and climate emissions in that Inflation Reduction Act. There are still many agreements that need to be finalized, for instance, relating to CHIPS.

There's also just this week the Biden administration did move to limit drilling in one of Alaska's arctic wildlife reserves. That could be significant, especially going forward if Trump would maybe take aim at a policy like that.

Pardon the noise. I know it's very loud here at the White House.

There is also the issue of judicial nominations trying to get some people potentially across the finish line going forward.

But still so many questions about how much the Biden administration can try to get done in these final weeks as they're trying to safeguard a lot of these initiatives that there are some concerns that Trump could try to undo when he comes to office.

SIDNER: Arlette, I'm so proud of you for not blowing it with the guy behind you. Listen, jobs have to be done at 7:30 in the morning. They must -- there he goes again. He is going to get overtime pay. We're all rooting for him.

SAENZ: Yeah.

SIDNER: All right, Arlette Saenz. Thank you --

SAENZ: Thank you.

SIDNER: -- so much -- appreciate it -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, it's just back and forth. I'm wondering whether or not he actually even is doing it or just hey, I'm just going to go back and forth as much as I can. These laps are getting shorter --

SIDNER: It's like the best.

BERMAN: -- and shorter.

Behind the scenes in Donald Trump's inner circle there is maneuvering to join his staff.

The president-elect named Susie Wiles as chief of staff. Wiles has run his political operation for nearly four years now.

With us now, Shermichael Singleton, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist. And Bakari Sellers, CNN political commentator and former South Carolina state representative.

Bakari, I just want to start with you on the Susie Wiles pick. What does that tell you? What does it mean, do you think, for the incoming Trump administration?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, (D) FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE (via Webex by Cisco): Well, first of all, I think Susie Wiles is very capable. I mean, I've come on this show many times before and talked about it on TV over the past years that Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, and Jason Miller actually ran the most disciplined campaign they could with such an undisciplined force as a candidate.

[07:35:00]

Now, what does this mean for the Trump White House? I mean, it gives Donald Trump a level of comfort, but I am still one of those people who believes that chaos is coming sooner rather than later. The past is prolog, and we know what this means -- that she'll probably be one of many chiefs of staff. She wants to limit the amount of access people have to him, but good luck with that.

You know, I --

BERMAN: What --

SELLERS: For the betterment of the country I want Susie to be successful, but history tells me it's a tough job to have.

BERMAN: What do you think, Shermichael?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I mean, look, she's been around the president -- former president for four years. A lot of people in Washington, D.C., John, really trust her. I've spoken with folks who are not the most Trump- fond individuals in Washington, D.C. -- Republicans, that is -- and when the news broke that the former -- or president-elect selected Susie, people thought it would bring confidence.

She's a great executioner. She has decades of experience in Republican politics and circles with the establishment, and sort of the activist base of the party.

And one of the key rules of her job not only by preventing individuals -- wrong individuals going to the president-elect, but you also need to make sure the White House operationally runs smoothly, well, and on time in regards to executing the president's vision.

BERMAN: Sure, and zero percent of --

SINGLETON: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- Donald Trump's chiefs of staff -- you know --

SINGLETON: Maybe she can break that curse.

BERMAN: -- in the last administration were able to do that. The question is will she be different this time?

What other -- what other signs are you looking for as he announces or as his selections are announced -- staff picks? Because this one may indicate some level of desire to control the chaos, as Bakari and you were both saying --

SINGLETON: Um-hum.

BERMAN: -- but what wouldn't?

SINGLETON: I mean, look, I think if you were to choose someone who would be perceived as a bit extreme in their ideas about execution or certain policy dispositions -- but from the names I've seen I don't think you're going to really see many of those names, at least not in terms of those major cabinet positions.

The former president and the president-elect have been given a mandate, and a part of Susie's job is going to be to decipher from the litany of names that are now coming their way through this transition process. Who are the most experienced individuals with the highest level of pedigree? Who can be trusted? Who are conservative-minded? And when selected, and nominated, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate when they're in those cabinet positions running those agencies, how well can they run the agencies on day one?

There are a lot of names I've seen coming that way with past experience from previous Republican administrations that give me and a whole lot of other individuals, John, I've been texting with confidence that this is going to be a very, very different Trump administration from what we saw in 2016.

BERMAN: We'll see. I mean, we'll see over the next few days.

All right, Bakari. Then there are the Democrats and what happens with the Democratic Party in the short term and the long term.

In the short term, Politico -- you know, the Politico Playbook this morning, their entire lead was about apparently, discussions among some people in the Democratic Party to try to convince Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire so that Biden might be able to get one more Supreme Court pick, or get a younger, more liberal-leaning justice on the bench.

Here's a quote. "Democrats would have to convince her to retire immediately, Biden would have to nominate a successor, they would have to figure out to bring enough senators on board, dodge whatever obstructions, and get it all on the floor. No room for error or delay."

What do you think about that, Bakari?

SELLERS: No, I think that's actually a very good plan. I think it's something that should happen. You know, Justice Sotomayor has been a more than able justice. I know that she may be having some personal issues that she contends with while serving on the bench. But I don't want Justice Sotomayor to be another Ruth Bader Ginsburg in terms of staying too long.

What does this mean for the -- for the dynamic of the court? The court is 6-3 now. If we're able to replace it with a Biden justice, it will still be 6-3. The possibility of Justice Sotomayor having to resign or retire in the next four years is extremely high. You couple that with the Alito and Clarence Thomas -- BERMAN: Thomas, yeah.

SELLERS: -- then that means that you go from a -- you go from a seven -- a 6-3 court to a 7-2 court in terms of conservative versus liberal.

And so I hope that Joe Biden makes the next 10 weeks as consequential as he can. I don't care about drawing outside the lines or what Republicans may think about it. This is within your purview, you can actually do it, and you should do it.

And one more thing, John, is you have a helluva of a vice president right there who has a legal pedigree to sit on the Supreme Court and let Republicans go crazy and ape that I'm even mentioning that option.

SINGLETON: That's interesting.

BERMAN: Are you floating -- are you floating -- you know, 7:39 a.m. on the East Coast. Did Bakari Sellers just float Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential Supreme Court nominee?

SELLERS: Not only am I floating it, but I want to stir up everything. I want people's heads to explode this morning so we go into the weekend just knowing that the chaos has not ended just yet.

[07:40:00]

BERMAN: So, Shermichael, did it work, what Bakari just did there?

SINGLETON: I mean, look, it's an idea that I haven't heard anyone mention thus far, but best of luck getting around Mitch McConnell who is arguable one of the most surgical individuals to ever lead or be in the minority --

BERMAN: Yeah.

SINGLETON: -- position of the United States Senate. I think if Democrats were to attempt to nominate the vice president or anybody else, I think Mitch is going to do everything he can within the confines of the Senate rules to prohibit it. To give the incoming president the opportunity to make every single nomination and ultimately confirm those nominations that he can.

BERMAN: It can be done quickly. Look, we saw it happen with Amy Coney Barrett. You know, it would take a lot of maneuvering by Chuck Schumer at this point.

SINGLETON: It would, and Chuck Schumer --

BERMAN: And Manchin on board, and Sinema on board.

SINGLETON: And I respect Chuck Schumer, but Chuck Schumer is not Mitch McConnell. I just don't see it happening. Could Mitch do something like this, absofreakinglutely. Chuck -- yeah, I wouldn't -- I wouldn't hold my breath on it.

BERMAN: All right, throwing down -- you guys just stirring it up -- stirring it up on a Friday morning.

Bakari Sellers, Shermichael Singleton, thank you both very much.

SINGLETON: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A federal judge has set a final deadline now for Rudy Giuliani to turn over, once and for all, what he is court-ordered to hand over after being found guilty of defamation. A judge has ordered him to give his most valuable possessions to the two Georgia election workers whose lives he basically tried to ruin after the 2020 election as part of the nearly $150 million judgment against him. Turn it over, or else now.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is following this one for us. Katelyn, what are you learning?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Kate, it is contempt of court for Rudy Giuliani if he doesn't follow the orders of the judge and doesn't get the keys and the title of his classic car -- the one that he took to vote in Palm Beach on Tuesday -- that Mercedes-Benz convertible.

If he doesn't get those things to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss and doesn't get them about two dozen luxury watches, including one he inherited from his grandfather, furniture he has that he moved out of his Manhattan apartment that they're also able to take control of and sell, sports memorabilia that he has that Rudy has said is quite dear to his heart, including a Joe DiMaggio-signed jersey -- all of that is due to these two women because he is so in debt to them -- paying down those debts.

And the reason he's in court is because the judge in the federal court in Manhattan is enforcing the payments to these women. They are in court with their lawyers trying to collect, but it's been very difficult. There was already an order that Rudy had to give all of these things to the women at the end of October and it didn't happen. And so they're back in court.

Rudy himself was there yesterday. I was there to watch it and it was an astonishing more than an hour before the judge where Rudy was just being reminded over and over again you have to tell the truth and you have to follow the court's orders. And he's sitting there at the defense table mumbling, trying to speak to his lawyer quite a bit.

BOLDUAN: Does Donald Trump's re-election change anything for Giuliani now?

POLANTZ: Kate, as far as I can tell, no. Because Donald Trump -- as president, he's going to have a lot of powers but primarily is powers -- the pardon power and this is not a criminal case. This is a civil case where Rudy Giuliani was found -- was found to have to owe these women money. But it is that sort of situation where Giuliani has to pay and the deadlines are the deadlines, and they're coming quite soon. He says, too, that he is not looking to Trump for help -- Kate. BOLDUAN: All right, let's see.

Katelyn, thank you so much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, three people facing charges in connection to the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne.

And again, monkeys on the lam. A public alert issued after dozens broke out of a research lab.

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[07:47:30]

SIDNER: As Trump promises mass deportations when he gets into office a decision by a federal judge has put undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens in jeopardy. A judge struck down a Biden immigration policy that protected those undocumented spouses. It estimated that this policy would have impacted as many as 800,000 people across the country.

It's just one of several cases the incoming Trump administration may refuse to defend once the president-elect returns to the White House.

Joining us now is CNN's Kevin Liptak. Kevin, what did the judge say in his ruling on this particular case?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, he essentially said that President Biden overstepped his authority with this execution action. That he didn't have the power to do this. And in his words, he stretched legal interpretation past its breaking point.

And this was a sweeping action that President Biden put into place back in June after Congress had refused to move on comprehensive immigration reform. It was one of the biggest actions meant to help migrant families in years.

And what it would have done was to protect from deportation the undocumented spouses of American citizens who had been living in the United States continuously for 10 years. It would have also protected their children. It could have potentially affected hundreds of thousands of people.

But it was challenged in court by Texas and a number of other Republican-held states who said that this would strain their state resources and potentially encourage more undocumented immigration into the United States.

Of course, this now leaves those hundreds of thousands of people in a great deal of uncertainty that's layered on top of the uncertainty that already exists as President Trump is coming into office. Of course, he has promised mass deportations. There was no question that he would have reversed this executive order once he entered the Oval Office. And there is certainly no question that the incoming Trump administration will not defend this in court. But certainly, this is a major setback as President Biden said when he

signed this, this was meant to keep families together who had been living in the United States for a long time and who had been making their lives here. All of that now in question, Sara.

SIDNER: Kevin Liptak, thank you so much for your reporting this morning -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, also new this morning, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy now confirms there have been -- have been deadly clashes with North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region. This news comes as Ukraine's push into Russian territory has stalled and as Ukraine is preparing for an uncertain future following Donald Trump's election victory.

[07:50:05]

Trump has promised that he would end the war there quickly but has also threatened to pull back on U.S. aid to Ukraine.

So where does this leave all of this?

Joining us right now is Georgetown University adjunct professor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty. And Washington Post columnist, Max Boot. It's great to see you, guys, Thanks for being here.

Max, what do you think this new Trump presidency means for Ukraine? How quickly do you think -- how quickly do you think that the country sees the impact of Donald Trump's influence on that war?

MAX BOOT, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST, SENIOR FELLOW, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, I think you'll certainly see it beginning January 20. I think the big question mark is Trump has made these promises that he's going to end the war in 24 hours --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

BOOT: -- but he's never said how. And certainly, he can pressure Ukraine to make concessions and to try to agree to a ceasefire in place with the Russians, but the issue is why would the Russians agree? Because right now, the Russian forces are actually advancing in Donetsk.

And I'm sure from Putin's vantage point he's looking at what's happening in Washington and saying it's unlikely that a Republican Congress is going to continue funding Ukraine. So why would he be satisfied with only taking part of Ukraine? Why wouldn't he want a march on Kyiv?

And I think the challenge for Trump is going to be not just how to coerce Zelenskyy but how do you coerce Putin? And I think the best way to do that actually would be to make clear that if Putin does not agree to this -- to end the war, that Trump will radically increase weapons deliveries to Ukraine. That's how he can actually create pressure for an actual settlement. But whether he'll do that or not who knows? BOLDUAN: And to -- I mean, great, great question.

And on that point, Jill -- I mean, Vladimir Putin offered his congratulations to Trump yesterday, which was his first public comment on the outcome. The way it was said is his behavior at the moment -- well, part of what he said was his (meaning Trump) -- this is Putin talking. "His behavior at the moment of an attempt on his life left an impression on me. He turned out to be a brave man. He manifested himself in the very correct way, bravely as a man."

Though his spokesperson said just the day before that he had no plans to congratulate Trump, saying, let us -- Peskov saying, "Let's not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in the war against our state."

What's going on here, Jill?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I think Putin is playing around a little bit here. I think he's playing coy.

He didn't immediately jump into congratulating Trump because I think Putin wants to show he is the president -- he is a strong president of a country, and he doesn't have to sit on pins and needles waiting for another election. But, of course, he wanted to congratulate Trump.

And I think it's interesting the way he began to talk about Ukraine. You know, I'm open to discussing things. And it bears listening to what the American, soon-to-be president will say because it would deal with dealing with Russia in order to solve Ukraine. And I think that's one of the problems.

If Trump really wants a big win, which apparently he does -- a big deal right at the beginning -- then Ukraine is the perfect thing. So Trump and Putin apparently could come together and say well, let's solve it ourselves. Zelenskyy is never going to go for that. And Zelenskyy politically will have difficulty giving up any territory that Russia now holds.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

And Max -- I mean, you wrote about -- I think it was just maybe a couple of days before the election in one column. You wrote that, "If Trump were to win next week, he's likely to do great damage to the U.S. military just when it is needed more than ever to protect the United States and its allies from looming threats abroad."

And just this morning -- I thought about this because this morning I also saw in The Washington Post new reporting that the Pentagon is preparing for and anticipating a major upheaval now. I mean, that could be in all -- in many aspects but also including the fear of will he follow through on the threat and promise of using the U.S. military on American citizens to root out the enemy from within.

I mean, what do you think this could mean for the military? BOOT: Well, it certainly creates huge dangers to military professionalism and their apolitical nature if he, in fact, demands personal loyalty from generals, as he said that he wants, or if he uses the military against the "enemy from within."

And you could imagine the military being used as part of these roundups of undocumented migrants that Trump has threatened, and there could be massive protests after that. You could imagine Trump demanding the military be deployed for those purposes.

I think this is a very perilous moment for the U.S. military. And I think it's going to be very important who Trump appoints as Secretary of Defense and who the Senate confirms. I hope it will be somebody who is pretty mainstream and moderate and understands the need to keep the military out of politics. Understands the need for the military to respect the Constitution and not simply to follow orders whatever they may be.

[07:55:05]

And I think it's going to -- it's going to be a time of testing I think for leaders of the military such as they haven't seen, at least since the last Trump term.

BOLDUAN: And Jill, when it comes to the relationship between Trump and Putin and what it's really going to be this time around -- I mean, we've heard Donald Trump for years since he -- since -- well, during his time and when he left office just heaping compliments on how Putin rules. And it's not just when -- not just Ukraine. It's the impact in Syria. It's Iran. It's North Korea.

So what are you watching for to find out how this really is going to go -- this relationship?

DOUGHERTY: Well, looking at Putin, yes -- of course, Russia wanted Trump to win. There's no question.

But that said, I don't think that Putin looks at Trump as at all predictable. There is kind of a strain of saying well, we're still at war with the United States right now over Ukraine. And there's a little bit -- 10 percent maybe -- of lack of trust of what Trump will actually do because he has reversed himself in some -- in some ways.

So I think I'm going to watch -- I'm going to watch Putin and what he says literally because he always hints at certain major things by talking directly about them. So it's going to be extremely interesting to watch. I don't think there's a lot of trust either on Putin's side.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

Jill, great to see you. Thank you. Max, it's great to see you as well. Thank you very much -- John.

BERMAN: This morning the Food and Drug Administration says a popular decongestant should be pulled off the shelves. The agency says oral phenylephrine does not work. The ingredient is found in Sudafed PE, Vicks Dayquil, and Mucinex Sinus Max. The decision is not yet final, but some stores have already started taking those products off the shelves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHOIR: Singing "O Christmas Tree."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So once again, Massachusetts being called on to help New York. This year's Rockefeller Christmas tree comes from the Bay State. The 74-foot-tall Norway Spruce tree chosen for Rockefeller Center is now on its journey from west Stockbridge, where I once worked a summer construction job.

It will be decorated with five -- 50,000 -- 50,000 colorful, sparkly lights. It will be on display until mid-January.

On behalf of Massachusetts, let me say you are welcome.

All right, this morning, monkeys on the lam. Forty-three monkeys escaped a South Carolina research lab. The police department posted an image of the type of monkey that escaped. They are believed to be in the wooded area surrounding the facility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW GARNES, YEMASSEE TOWN ADMINISTRATOR: I imagine they'll be getting hungry so they might be on the lookout for some food. But they're not violent in nature. They're very inquisitive in nature. They're small, they're skittish. I'm kind of emphasizing to people to make sure your windows and doors are closed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Make sure your windows and doors are closed. That's reassuring.

The town says a new employee accidentally left one of the enclosure doors unsecure. The facility says the monkeys are all very young females weighing about six pounds each. Traps have been set. Police say not to interact with them. Call 911 if you encounter one.

I have to say I can't fully blame the monkeys, Sara, at the research lab.

SIDNER: Absolutely not. I'd try to escape, too, if someone was doing research on me. But they are cute. I'm sorry, I know we're not supposed to interact with them, but they are adorable.

All right. New this morning, the Dutch government is condemning violent antisemitic attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam overnight. Tensions had been rising in the leadup to Thursday night's Europa League soccer game between Israel, Maccabi, Tel Aviv, and the Dutch side, Ajax. Multiple brawls broke out after the match in the City Centre. CNN's Nada Bashir is joining us live from London. Nada, can you give

us some sense of what happened here?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been getting more details from the Dutch authorities who have been speaking about the arrests that have been made following the clashes that we saw overnight, as you mentioned, between supporters of the Tel Aviv-based Maccabi soccer team following that game in Amsterdam.

Israeli authorities saying that hundreds of supporters were, as they described, ambushed following that match overnight in the City Centre. These were violent attacks. At least 10 people, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, were injured.

We've also had an update saying from local police that five were taken to hospitals to be treated for their injures, and a further 62 people were arrested following the clashes that we saw in the City Centre.

Now, as you mentioned, tensions have been rising ahead of this match. Video has been circulating online which appears to show supporters of the Tel Aviv-based soccer club chanting anti-Arab slogans and distressing rhetoric regarding the war in Gaza.

CNN hasn't been able to just yet independently verify these videos, but we know that the authorities have expressed deep concern over the violence that they have seen.