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Today Trump Arrives In D.C. For Meetings With Biden, GOP Leaders; Trump Picks Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee As Ambassador To Israel; Supporters Pressure Trump To Deliver Pardons For January 6 Rioters. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired November 13, 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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[07:31:30]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Moments ago -- we're showing you Donald Trump's plane leaving Palm Beach, and now he's headed off to Washington where he's going to be meeting with President Biden in the Oval Office in an invite that Biden extended to Trump, which is tradition -- an invite that Donald Trump never offered to Joe Biden after his loss in 2020. The two men in the same room -- once Trump gets there, of course -- for the first time since the CNN debate back in June.
And it's not just that. While in Washington the president-elect is also going to be meeting with Republicans on Capitol Hill. In the -- in the Senate, Republicans are facing a new day. After the leadership vote there this morning it's going to be the first time that Mitch McConnell will not be the party's leader in the Senate in 18 years.
The race to be the new Republican Senate leader is down to three -- these three men -- two Johns and a Rick.
CNN's MJ Lee is at the White House. CNN's Lauren Fox is on the Hill.
Lauren, let me start with you. What are you expecting from Donald Trump and his visits today?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, obviously a really momentous day on Capitol Hill first off when Donald Trump meets with House Republicans in just a couple of hours. You can expect this to be a warm reception. That is, in part, because some of his staunchest allies have been in the House Republican Conference.
In fact, yesterday at a Republican leadership press conference, you heard Speaker Mike Johnson say that he is actually going to go down to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to spend time with the president to discuss what agenda he wants to move forward when January comes.
This is going to be a big day for new leadership on Capitol Hill though because in the United States Senate, starting at 9:30 a.m. this morning, you're going to see this first race for a new Republican leader in nearly 20 years -- two decades. Mitch McConnell stepping aside. That now is clearing the way for either John Thune, Rick Scott, of John Cornyn to take that mantle.
And despite the fact that Rick Scott is getting a late surge of MAGA support it is really unknown who is going to win this race. That's because it's all going to happen behind closed doors by secret ballot.
And despite the fact that so many of Trump's allies in the MAGA world have started getting behind Rick Scott, the underscoring reality is that Republicans that I was talking to last night on Capitol Hill made clear this is an internal Republican leadership election. Any one of these candidates is going to be able to work with the incoming president, Donald Trump, and they are arguing that therefore, it should be Republican senators who make this final decision -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: And we will know soon enough, and we will be following every moment that we can. Lauren, thank you.
MJ, let me ask you then the focus also turns to Donald Trump headed to the White House on the invitation from the president -- from President Biden. What is the White House expecting from this sit-down?
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You know, Kate, the imagery here at the White House in a couple of hours is going to be quite remarkable four years after then-President Trump declined to offer this courtesy to then-President-elect Joe Biden. Joe Biden is having to sort of put aside any hard feelings he might have about his predecessor and welcome him back to the White House.
It's clear that he is trying to send a message -- and White House officials have been talking about this too -- that in this moment in time when the country is clearly divided he would like to send a message that the election was fair, the results are going to stand, and that he is very much focused on a peaceful transfer of power.
[07:35:07]
Now, in terms of exactly what we are going see later this morning -- the choreography, what kinds of remarks we might see, activities that the two men might engage in -- that's all a little bit up in the air. We know that there is going to be a meeting, of course, in the Oval Office. Perhaps they will spend some time together in the dining room as well. But in terms of the former president -- the incoming president, Donald Trump, and what he might do in a place that he lived in for four years, that is entirely unclear.
We also don't know what kinds of aides might be joining the two presidents when they meet behind closed doors.
One of the things, of course, that is significant about this meeting is that it is going to be a really rare opportunity -- perhaps the only opportunity for President Biden to make his case to the incoming president about some of the things he sees as his top priorities. We saw his national security adviser Jake Sullivan saying over the weekend that one of those things will be pressing the case for the U.S.' continued support for Ukraine, for example.
But Kate, just keep in mind what makes this so remarkable, again, is the fact that not that many days ago the president was describing his predecessor as a fascist, saying that he was a threat to democracy.
And, in fact, I think we have some sound from one of the very last things that President Biden said about Donald Trump just before the election. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's one thing Trump and his Republican friends want to do. They wanted a giant tax cut for the wealthy. Now, I know some of you guys are tempted to think it's macho, guys. I'll tell you what, man, when I was in Scranton, we used to have a little trouble going down the plot once in a while (INAUDIBLE). But I'm serious. These are the kind of guys you'd like to smack in the ass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Now, since the election last week we've not seen President Biden out in public too much. He, of course, has been working here at the White House. I've talked to aides who have described him as being pretty hyped down and focused on whatever the meeting is being -- is focused on.
I'm also told by one person who saw the president on Veterans Day that there did seem to be a little bit of a heaviness about the president, though that could have very well been about his late son Beau given that this was a meeting that happened during Veterans Day.
But again, this is going to be a moment where the president will have to put aside any hard feelings he has about his predecessor and all of the comments that had been made during the political season all in the name of a peaceful transfer of power -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: MJ Lee, thank you so much. Lauren Fox, on Capitol Hill, thank you so much as well, Lauren -- John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, Christine Quinn, the executive committee chair of the New York State Democratic Committee. And Lee Carter, former Republican strategist.
Christine, I just think we need to step back here and acknowledge that four years ago Donald Trump never conceded, and still hasn't conceded, when he lost.
CHRISTINE QUINN, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR, NEW YORK STATE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE, FORMER SPEAKER, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: Sure.
BERMAN: By the way, a popular vote margin a lot larger than Kamala Harris lost this time in the popular vote.
He never invited Joe Biden to the White House. He left before the inauguration. All these things. But this time Biden is doing it 100 percent differently.
What's the lesson here? QUINN: Well, I think the lesson here is really about putting your country first. Putting the good of the nation ahead of petty politics. And although I don't think all of the secrets of being president are going to come back and forth in this meeting, it sends a message to the country that we're a democracy and there will be a calm and peaceful transfer of power. And for hundreds of years that's what we have been about.
And this meeting is getting a lot of attention but really, what happened four years ago was the thing that is different and not correct and led in part the first step towards January 6.
BERMAN: I mean, Lee, what do you -- what do you hear? What should I tell my kids about this, honestly? Like, what's the lesson here? Because Donald Trump did all those things, and he just got elected president again. Joe Biden's doing the right thing, and his administration is getting the boot.
LEE CARTER, FORMER REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND POLLSTER, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS EXPERT (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I think that the lesson here is that Joe Biden is putting the American people first and the transfer of power and the symbolism of all of this is really important. And my hope is that we're putting the election denialism and the kinds of things that happened the last time behind us and we're moving forward in the right way, and that we're going to see a different kind of Donald Trump a second term.
BERMAN: I want to talk about some of these announcements that were made yesterday. We covered Pete Hegseth coming in as secretary of defense a little bit earlier. But this -- the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). By the way, I'm not sure it's efficient to call it a department when it's not actually a department, but that's a discussion for another time. That's kind of meta there.
[07:40:00]
I want to remind people Vivek Ramaswamy, who is going to run this, has said some pretty interesting things in the past.
He said, "Why am I the only person on the stage who can say that January 6 now looks like an inside job," basically. That's a paraphrase there. He also said, "I think it's legitimate to say how many police and how many federal agents were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers." He speculated the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce relationship was artificially, culturally propped up by the media and may have been kind of a White House conspiracy.
Lee, the kind of person you want in charge of reshaping the government?
CARTER: I mean, those aren't the kinds of things that we want to focus on when we're thinking about what he might do.
Now, I think he and Elon Musk have talked a lot about what they want to do to make the government more efficient. They've both talked about how they are outsiders who have done a lot of things in the private sector that they want to bring into the government sphere.
I think one of the things that Vivek was so popular for, even though he didn't clearly pose a real challenge to Donald Trump, was that he was -- he had all of this experience that he was going to bring in and drain the swamp so to speak. He was a -- he was an alternative version of Donald Trump. And I think that's what they're looking to do here.
There's a lot of conversations about how to streamline and make things more efficient, bring in innovation, do outside-in kind of thinking. And I think that's the approach that they're really focused on here.
BERMAN: Yeah. And, you know, Christine, I'm old enough to remember Simpson-Bowles, Al Gore's reinventing government commission.
Look, cutting fat in government and trying to streamline and taking a look at it always a good thing.
QUINN: Always a good thing.
But, you know, let's talk about draining the swamp for a second. The last time Donald Trump was president he said he was going to drain the swamp and all he did was add more muck into the system and more corruption into the system.
You know, I all -- I think although there have been commissions in the past, as you said, I think it's rich whenever you're going to improve government efficiency by creating more government. That almost never does it. Why not charge the agencies with doing this themselves?
And it's hard for Elon Musk to say he's an outsider when he stood on stage with Donald Trump more frequently than Melania Trump stood with him on stage.
I think this is really just a show to try to distract people from what we could very see, which is an inefficient government based on petty politics, which is what we saw in the first Trump term.
BERMAN: What about the issue with Elon Musk that he's got billions of dollars in government contracts --
QUINN: Absolutely.
BERMAN: -- and could potentially be making recommendations on government contracts?
QUINN: Right. And what type of screening is Elon Musk going to go through? Is he actually going to be a co-cabinet secretary with this new department? Is he going to divest of all his money and put it in a blind Trump -- blind trust, excuse, or a blind Trump -- who knows? You know, those -- there are big questions with this appointment.
BERMAN: Well, we'll find out about all this. I suspect this is separate from government. That it will not require confirmation, and it won't have anything other than nominal funding.
QUINN: But that's troubling too. BERMAN: Yeah.
QUINN: In going through confirmations questions get asked. Being some kind of outside adviser who is a billionaire with hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts really opens you up to corruption and an opaque government.
BERMAN: Lee, let's get back to Pete Hegseth. And again, I'd like to stipulate I think cable news hosts can do anything. I've been concerned about what my next job might be after this and now I'm not because the sky is the limit apparently.
Pete Hegseth is a veteran -- decorated veteran here who has written about the military, but is he the best person? Can you think of no one else maybe more qualified to run the Pentagon?
CARTER: I mean, I haven't done the vetting process myself, but I think that the focus on the fact that he is a Fox News host rather than all of the other experience that he has I think is short shrift to who he is.
He is -- you know, as you say, he is a decorated veteran. He's been to Guantanamo Bay. He's been to Afghanistan. He's been deployed multiple times. He is -- you know, he's gotten the Bronze Star twice.
He has written a number of books. He's been an advocate for veterans. He's held a number of different positions in that regard as well.
He's a graduate from Princeton. He's a graduate from school -- from the Kennedy School at Harvard.
There's a lot of qualifications that he does have. And I think it's easy to point to the fact that he is just a cable news host, but the truth is there's a lot more to him than just that.
BERMAN: I do think he gave his Harvard degree back, but maybe it still counts.
Christine Quinn, Lee Carter, thanks to both of you. I appreciate it -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: One would not know because they did not attend Harvard, Kate says. John, say you? Moving on.
What Donald Trump's re-election means for January 6 -- the insurrectionists that are currently serving prison sentences for their actions on that day. CNN speaks with them and their families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: How did you feel when Trump won last night?
SHERRI HAFNER, JANUARY 6 PARDON ACTIVIST: I knew that meant freedom for our guys. And I was overwhelmed, thankful, and I know that God heard our prayers. (END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:45:10]
BOLDUAN: And People magazine names its Sexiest Man Alive. Feast your eyes on that hunk of blurry blurriness. The new reporting on how that man's wife is planning to incorporate the cover in their new home decor.
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BERMAN: This morning Spirit Airlines is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy. The Wall Street Journal reports the move could be just weeks away as the airline is in "advanced discussions with bondholders." That's an ominous phrase.
The news comes after talks of a possible merger with Frontier fell through. Both Spirit and Frontier have declined to comment.
[07:50:00]
This morning an investigation is underway after the homes of Kansas City Chiefs' stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were burglarized. Deputies responded to a robbery at the quarterback's home on October 6 and one day later Kelce's house was broken into. Twenty thousand dollars in cash was taken from his house. No words -- no word on whether anything was taken from Patrick Mahomes' place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": This year's People's Sexiest Man Alive is John Krasinski. I just -- I just really thought this was going to be my year. No, who are we kidding? I'm never going to be the sexiest man alive.
JOHN KRASINSKI, ACTOR-DIRECTOR, PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S SEXIEST MAN ALIVE: Hey, Stephen. Hi, guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: There he is, People's Sexiest Man Alive, according to People -- the pride of Newton South in Newton, Massachusetts, actor and director John Krasinski. His wife Emily Blunt already joked that she will wallpaper their house with the cover. Krasinski told People magazine he could think of some people who may take issue with the title.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRASINSKI: Probably my brothers will probably wonder how this is possible for years to come. And luckily, we'll go right into Thanksgiving, so we can just jump right in and talk about it right away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Really, I would just say it gives hope to all of us -- Kate. I mean, if John Krasinski can win --
BOLDUAN: I mean, he's won sexy mother. Can you guys put that -- yeah. Also, any man who just does that pose --
BERMAN: I mean, that's smoldering.
BOLDUAN: -- with that face -- let's see it.
BERMAN: I can't. I can't smolder like that.
BOLDUAN: You can.
BERMAN: I can't smolder.
BOLDUAN: Delicate hand -- delicate yet manly hand --
BERMAN: I can't smolder.
BOLDUAN: -- to the forehead.
BERMAN: I can't smolder.
BOLDUAN: Smolder me and wear a cute t-shirt.
BERMAN: I can be secretary of defense, but I can't smolder.
BOLDUAN: We have all seen John Berman in the field covering a hurricane. We know what he looks like in a t-shirt.
BERMAN: I can smolder.
BOLDUAN: There you go, America.
BERMAN: All right, I'll smolder.
BOLDUAN: You're welcome every morning. Let's move to this. We could do that. I could do that for hours and just see you sweat.
OK, Donald Trump has tapped former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is known as a strong supporter of Israel but now he is facing questions and criticism for some of his past statements, like saying in 2008 that there is "no such thing as a Palestinian."
CNN's Kylie Atwood is tracking this one for us and she's here with us now. And Mike Huckabee spoke out yesterday. What'd he say?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so he spoke out. It was an interview that aired actually earlier this morning on Israeli TV (PH). He was asked if under a Trump administration the U.S. would support Israel annexing the West Bank. And, of course, we should note that Israel has occupied the West Bank for quite some time. They have also carried out settlement activity, but that settlement activity is illegal under international law.
What Mike Huckabee said was, of course. He then said that this would be a policy decision -- a policy creation that President Trump would actually make. But he kept the door firmly open to a Trump administration supporting Israel annexing the West Bank. That is noteworthy because it gives us an indication of where this incoming ambassador's head is at when it comes to U.S. policy towards Israel and the Palestinians.
And we should also note that he did an interview yesterday with Fox News where he called for a complete reset when it comes to U.S. foreign policy under a President Trump administration. Listen to what he said there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR, TRUMP PICK FOR U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: It's time for a complete reset of our internal and international relationships. That's what Donald Trump is clearly setting out to do and I couldn't be more delighted to see this take place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ATWOOD: Now, he also has been someone who throughout his entire career as the former Arkansas governor, as a former evangelical pastor, has been incredibly supportive of Israel. We'll have to watch and see how it plays out when he actually does come -- become the U.S. ambassador to Israel. But he would be the first non-Jewish politically appointed ambassador to Israel in quite some time now, Kate.
One of the interesting things that we'll be watching for is his relationship with the Palestinians when he is there because as you said, our colleague Andrew Kaczynski actually reported on some comments that he made in 2008 when he was running a presidential campaign. He said, "There is no such thing as a Palestinian." He went on to say that there are Arabs and Persians. But he said that the term Palestinian is a political tool to try and take away land from the Israelis -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for the reporting as always -- John.
BERMAN: All right. New this morning, Donald Trump's most loyal supporters expect him to honor one of his campaign promises to pardon January 6 rioters, but that could upset some voters and even some of Trump's allies.
CNN senior correspondent Donie O'Sullivan with the latest.
[07:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICKI WITTHOEFT, MOTHER OF ASHLI BABBITT: Today was amazing. I woke up with the President of the United States -- the rightful president back in his spot. And today, after 828 days, we're going to pop some champagne and raise a glass to President Trump.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): This the mother of Ashli Babbit, the rioter who was shot and killed by Capitol Police on January 6.
HAFNER: Mama Micki, we love you, honey, and we are so grateful for you bringing this freedom family together.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): It's the night after the election. Trump supporters have gathered here as they have every night for the last 800 nights outside the Washington, D.C. jail.
O'SULLIVAN: How did you feel when Trump won last night?
HAFNER: I knew that meant freedom for our guys. And I was overwhelmed, thankful, and I know that God heard our prayers.
O'SULLIVAN: Were you emotional?
HAFNER: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Jan 6 inmates calling to talk to the organizers nightly.
HAFNER: The journey -- the stressful journey has finally come to an end with the election of our beloved president, Donald J. Trump. I couldn't stop crying last night that you guys are finally going to get pardoned. You're going to be set free, and all of this is going to be behind us.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Trump has repeatedly promised to give pardons to some people service time for their actions on January 6.
SUZZANNE MONK, FOUNDER, J6 PARDON PROJECT: And now we have to continue to put pressure on the president to make that right decision to fulfill that promise. And I know that he will, but I also know my president understands trust but verify.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): One person who certainly hopes to be pardoned is Rachel Powell.
O'SULLIVAN: How do you feel when you watch this?
RACHEL POWELL, CONVICTED JANUARY 6 RIOTER: You know, I think I -- I'm more numb when I look at this stuff. It's like surreal to me. I mean, look how angry I look.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): I met Rachel back in January of this year right before she was about to go to prison for crimes she committed at the Capitol on January 6, protesting what she believed was a stolen election.
O'SULLIVAN: Have you ever had a moment where you're like maybe I'm wrong? Maybe Biden actually won the election. Maybe I'm the conspiracy theorist.
R. POWELL: No, not at all.
PRISON RECORDING: This call is from a federal prison.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Rachel and I stayed in touch throughout the year.
R. POWELL: I just need to be home with my family.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Rachel has eight children ranging in ages from eight to 28, along with seven grandkids. We spoke to three of Rachel's older daughters, Adah, Rebekah, and Savannah.
O'SULLIVAN: This is you and your mom?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: OK. When was this taken?
REBEKAH FEDOSICK, DAUGHTER OF RACHEL POWELL: Yeah, this is in the prison. This is Adda, our mom. This is Gideon, me, and my husband.
SAVANNAH HUNTINGTON, DAUGHTER OF RACHEL POWELL: The only think I could think of when I heard that Trump won the election was that my mom is coming home. She's going to be able to come home now.
FEDOSICK: Yeah.
HUNTINGTON: Just -- we're going to have our mom back.
FEDOSICK: You just know she's freaking out.
HUNTINGTON: Yeah, she's so excited. She's so happy.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Their mom was found guilty of engaging in physical violence and of destruction of government property for breaking a window at the Capitol with an ice axe.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you ever just think oh, mom, I wish you didn't go to Washington, D.C. that day?
A. POWELL: I feel like that's a pretty normal thought to have --
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
A. POWELL: -- when there's so many consequences to the actions.
FEDOSICK: Yeah.
A. POWELL: But ultimately, she was going to support something she believed in.
O'SULLIVAN: Um-hum.
FEDOSICK: Yeah.
A. POWELL: And she is our mother, so we support her in whatever she decides to do.
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
FEDOSICK: I don't blame her for going. I kind of wish she had a little, like, held herself back.
A. POWELL: Maybe a little more restraint would have been nice.
FEDOSICK: Exactly, yeah.
O'SULLIVAN: You guys are not of the opinion you mom went to Washington, D.C. chasing a conspiracy theory? Chasing a lie?
A. POWELL: No.
FEDOSICK: No.
A. POWELL: Yeah. She had a strong belief, and she wanted to go support it. And we all shared her beliefs that it was definitely stolen, in our opinions.
O'SULLIVAN: Um-hum. You're certain he will pardon your mom?
A. POWELL: Yes.
HUNTINGTON: Yes. He will -- he will keep to what he said. He will keep his word. He is going to pardon her.
O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): While we're at Rachel's home she called from prison.
R. POWELL: Oh, man. When Trump won it was amazing. It was -- which I knew -- I knew that that's what the American people wanted so I had no doubt. But as everybody knows, I believe there was election fraud last time and so I just wondered are we going to have a fair election this time? And it appears that we did because Trump got elected.
O'SULLIVAN: And do you think he's going to pardon you?
R. POWELL: I know he's going to pardon me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN: And there is a debate now as to who and how many people Trump should pardon. His former vice president weighing in saying that he didn't believe the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer on January 6.
But there's a whole movement that's built up around this, John. As you saw, people gathering outside the D.C. jail there where they have for 800 nights.
[08:00:00]
