Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump To Meet With Biden In Oval Office On Wednesday; Trump Allies Jockeying For High-Powered White House Roles; Susie Wiles To Make History As First-Ever Female WH Chief Of Staff; Sources: Qatar To Kick Hamas Out Of Doha At Request Of U.S.; DOJ Announces Charges In Thwarted Iranian Plot To Kill Donald Trump; Trump's 2nd Term Likely To Look Far Different From 1st. Trump's 2nd Term Likely To Look Far Different From 1st; Dangerous Wildfire Burns 20k Plus Acres, 14 Percent Contained In Southern CA; Source: Elon Musk Joined Trump- Zelenskyy Call After Election. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired November 09, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: That is all we have time for. And don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching and I'll see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We've got this breaking news at this hour on a planned meeting between outgoing President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump. According to the White House, the two men have now agreed to meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday. That meeting comes as Trump and his transition team are rushing to fill key White House positions, and sources tell CNN we could learn some of those names at any moment.

Trump just made history this week by announcing Susie Wiles as the country's first ever female chief of staff. And now there's a scramble underway at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as members of his circle and the GOP sphere are battling behind the scenes for a spot on his team.

We've got a team of correspondents covering all of these developments for us. CNN's Alayna Treene is covering the Trump transition near his Florida home. Let's begin with Arlette Saenz at the White House about this upcoming meeting now on Wednesday. Biden extending a meeting to Trump, something that didn't happen when Biden was the incoming president.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, but they will be meeting, the White House announced today. President Trump and -- President-elect Trump and President Biden will be meeting in the Oval Office around 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. It comes as President Biden has made clear that he wants to ensure that there is a peaceful and orderly transition to the next administration.

That is something that he told reporters just earlier this week that he had told President-elect Trump directly when they spoke on the phone. And when he extended this invitation for the two men to meet at the White House. Now, it does come four years after Trump had not given this opportunity to Biden as he was president-elect.

Trump had put up many roadblocks during the transition process and did not concede the election. So, in many ways, this is a return to tradition. Former President Barack Obama had actually met with Trump when he was president-elect back in 2016. Just a few days after the election, the two men sat down in the Oval Office.

For Biden, this will also be the first time that he is expected to engage with Trump since that debate that really derailed Biden's own candidacy this past summer. The two men did both attend a September 11th ceremony in New York City, though the cameras didn't catch any interaction between the two men.

But really, this comes as Biden and his advisers have tried to stress that they will ensure that there is an orderly transition, the federal transition agency officials have been in touch with the Trump team. So there are still some key memorandums that need to be signed in order to fully give the Trump team access to some of the facilities and agencies that they will need going forward into the next administration.

But there will be a lot of eyes on this meeting playing out in the Oval Office on Wednesday as Biden and the President-elect will sit down together for the first time since the election.

WHITFIELD: All right. And thanks so much, Arlette. I'll get back to you in a second.

So Alayna, I wonder from you if you're learning anything from the Trump inner circle there about this upcoming meeting, what he's planning, the anticipation as he meets with Biden.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Yes. Look, I mean, it comes after they had spoke on Wednesday shortly after the race was called for former President Donald Trump. They described that call as short and brief and cordial, according to my sources familiar with the call.

And during that call is when the President had actually told Donald Trump that he was extending an invitation for him to come and meet with him at the White House in Washington, D.C. Now, look, I've asked several of Donald Trump's top aides about what we should expect out of this meeting.

They essentially said that this is pretty standard. He did it back in 2016. He was always going to meet with him again. They've argued that he is also committed to a peaceful transfer of power. You know, obviously we didn't see that back in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

But that they -- he -- that Donald Trump is going to be going along with some of this, that they recognize that this is reverting back to traditional norms and that he is looking forward to meeting with Biden. We haven't heard many more details apart from that.

And one big question I have as well is whether or not former First Lady Melania Trump is actually going to travel with the former president to Washington and meet with First Lady Jill Biden.

[12:05:01]

WHITFIELD: Well, that could be interesting too. And so I wonder too, Alayna, is there anything more we're learning about the search to fill positions for the Trump transition team?

TREENE: Yes. Well, I think, you know, we have heard from Trump's campaign even said this yesterday that more announcements around who could fill key cabinet roles and top White House roles to be announced really imminently. So we're kind of waiting to see when more of those announcements could drop.

But it's been really interesting to watch because over the past several days now, ever since Donald Trump won the election, we have not seen him. We have really very little -- heard very little from him. He hasn't been writing as much on Truth Social. He's been keeping a very low profile.

When I talk to his advisers about that, that's -- they say that it's because he is holed up working on this transition process. And I will say as well that they have acknowledged that Donald Trump really has been more involved in this process than he was back in 2016 before he went to the White House, the first time around that he wants to be making these decisions himself.

That he no longer feels like he has to rely on people around him who may have been more experienced with D.C. politics and the government to make those decisions. That he feels confident that he wants to have the final say.

Now there's a couple top positions that matter the most to Donald Trump. I think the first one, which is the one that he cares about the most is Attorney General. We know that, and we have reported on his plans to want to move the -- to have essentially the Justice Department really operate less as an independent entity.

It's already under the executive branch, but to really have it operate as part of Donald Trump's essentially have the Attorney General be his legal pitbull. Other top roles that he wants to announce very soon that he is prioritizing right now is the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, noting that, of course, Donald Trump has very big plans for what to do about immigration in this country.

He's already been working on with his team in plotting for what he has vowed to do on the campaign trail, which is a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and also CIA director. These are the roles that I'm told that he is most focused on right now. He is taking the most calls about and that we could potentially learn about who these people are in the coming days. Fred? WHITFIELD: All right, Alayna, thanks so much.

Arlette, back to you at the White House. I'm wondering if you're learning anything more about what if anything President Biden is trying to do to try to protect his legacy if there are, you know, other things on his to do list in this last month and a half, nearly two months of time in the White House.

SAENZ: Well, I think one thing we'll be trying to ensure that this transition does go off in an orderly way, but there are certainly other areas where President Biden is still looking to leave his mark. And there are so many initiatives that they are just trying to see through the end to make sure that they get it done before Trump takes office.

One of those is trying to surge additional or the remaining approved aid to Ukraine at a time when there have been questions about what U.S. support for Ukraine would look like going forward. There will also be a big focus on the implementation of some of the key laws that were passed during Biden's four years in office.

That includes infrastructure, the chips, semiconductor manufacturing bill and also that Inflation Reduction Act, which also addressed climate initiatives. They also could try to cement some environmental rules and regulations. And then finally, judicial nominations.

This is another area that the White House already has an eye on, hoping that they could maybe confirm some additional judges before the time -- the end of his time in office. But so for President Biden, the work in the coming weeks and less than or about two months until he leaves is really trying to shore up the work that he has already done at a time when Trump has promised to undo so much of what Biden had accomplished.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz and Alayna Treene, thanks to both of you.

All right, as we mentioned, President-elect Trump has named Susie Wiles as his chief of staff. CNN's Randi Kaye reports Wiles brings a long resume, resume rather, of political experience to the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Come here, Chris (ph). Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The ice baby. We call her the ice baby.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's newly minted chief of staff, Susie Wiles, does not enjoy the spotlight like her boss. The 40-year veteran of Republican politics prefers to operate behind the scenes.

JOE GRUTERS (R), FLORIDA STATE SENATE: She's a steady hand and she's a loyal foot soldier.

KAYE (voice-over): On her LinkedIn page under specialties, Wiles listed this, "Creating order from chaos." A skill that came in handy while running Trump's presidential campaign.

SUSIE WILES, AMERICAN POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Candidates matter. What they stand for matters.

KAYE (voice-over): That was Wiles in 2020 speaking to CNN Affiliate WPLG after she delivered a win for Trump in Florida as head of his campaign operation in the state. She rarely gives interviews. Wiles first successfully ran Trump's Florida campaign in 2016. Then again in 2020.

[12:10:09]

WILES: The traditional Republican voter coalition just simply can't. I don't believe elect Republicans any longer. So beginning to bring into the tent a larger number of Hispanic voters.

KAYE (voice-over): After his presidency, Wiles served as Trump's de facto chief of staff, then led his 2024 campaign. One of her goals, keep a close eye on who had access to the former president. Wiles has a string of political campaign success stories.

In 2010, she helped Rick Scott eke out a win to become governor of Florida. In 2018, she was tapped to save Ron DeSantis campaign for Florida governor. He won by 32,000 votes, the closest governor's election in state history.

After that, amid tensions, Wiles was ousted from DeSantis inner circle. She went back to work on Trump's Florida re-election team, but was dismissed at DeSantis's urging. In 2020, Trump brought her back amid concerns about his campaign's standing in Florida polls. He ended up winning Florida by more than three points against Joe Biden.

GRUTERS: Susie Wiles is the political version of Muhammad Ali. She does not lose. She is a relentless fighter.

KAYE (voice-over): That fighting spirit was instilled early on. She grew up with two brothers and is the daughter of professional football player turned television broadcaster, Pat Summerall.

Before agreeing to her new role in the Trump White House, CNN has learned Wiles insisted on certain conditions. Top of the list? More control over who has access to the Oval Office.

GRUTERS: She wants to make sure that the president's priorities are first and foremost followed through on. And that they're -- don't want distraction. She is laser focused.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

KAYE (on-camera): Senator Joe Gruters also described Susie Wiles as calming. He says she's a real leader. He said that Donald Trump likes to surround himself with winners and that Susie Wiles has certainly earned her stripes as a winner given all of her campaign victories that she stacked up here in the state of Florida and the most recent presidential election. Now, keep in mind, though, of course, that Donald Trump had four chiefs of staff during his first term as president. But Susie Wiles seems to want to bring an anti-chaos environment to this next Trump White House. So we'll see how that plays out.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, the top leaders of Hamas live in Qatar, but that may be changing. What we're learning Qatar plans to do after a U.S. request to kick Hamas out of that country.

Plus, we go to Southern California where residents are dealing with the aftermath of a raging wildfire that sent many scrambling to safety. And later, voters in several states passed measures expanding reproductive rights. But as Donald Trump prepares to retake the White House, we'll take a look at what that might mean for abortion access now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:17:38]

WHITFIELD: A senior Hamas official is denying reports that Qatar has agreed to expel Hamas officials from Doha at the United States request. That statement to CNN coming just hours after we learned Qatar did agree to kick out Hamas in recent weeks.

Let's get right to CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Matthew Chance in Jerusalem. Matthew, what are you learning?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, within the past few minutes, CNN has learned from sources familiar with the matter that Qatar has announced that it's suspending its role as mediator in talks between Israel and Hamas.

That source telling CNN the two sides are no longer negotiating in good faith, this coming after U.S. figures of -- U.S. officials in the Biden administration told CNN essentially that it's no longer appropriate, to paraphrase what they say, because they projected repeated proposals to read [ph] hostages. Its leaders should no longer be welcome in Qatar.

So, we've got a situation now where both the Americans and the Qataris are saying that, you know, Hamas leaders should no longer be in Qatar. Hamas is no longer, you know, rather Qatar is no longer going to be negotiating with Hamas and Israel.

And it's all about the fact that in the past few weeks and months, neither side or no side has been able to reach any kind of agreement for a ceasefire, any kind of an agreement to release the 101 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas inside Gaza.

And so, I think there's a degree of frustration, particularly on the U.S. side, you know, which blames Hamas for refusing to make the compromises necessary to get that ceasefire and that hostage release over the line as it were. And so, you know, by essentially stopping these negotiations with Hamas in Qatar, by putting pressure on the Qataris to eject Hamas and forcing them to look for somewhere else to be based, yes, I think probably the thinking is on the U.S. side and the Biden administration which is of course in office for the next several months, that it can put as much pressure as possible on Hamas.

[12:20:03]

Hopefully, that will force the group to make some kind of concessions that would lead to a ceasefire or a hostage release. Hamas, I should say, Fredricka, for it part, has denied that it's being kicked out of Qatar saying that this is just another sort of form of pressure being placed upon it for it to compromise its positions in Gaza.

So, you know, a fluid situation, but it seems that the ground is sort of moving a little bit in some way when it comes to these efforts to achieve a ceasefire agreement.

WHITFIELD: So then now, who is at the table of any of these discussions?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, that's going to be the big problem because one of the key advantages for Qatar hosting Hamas. Remember, Qatar is very close ally of the United States. It's where the United States has one of its biggest military bases in the region in that sort of tiny sort of Arab Emirates off Qatar.

And it's been very useful as a place to stage negotiations, to facilitate negotiations with kind of groups like Hamas. Other groups as well have been negotiating in various other conflicts via Qatar as the mediators. I think one of the questions now is, if Hamas are kicked out of Qatar, where will they go and what will that do to, you know, kind of add pressure to any -- you know, how would they be contacted by Israelis or the U.S. that may want to negotiate with them?

And that question has not yet been answered, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, very problematic.

All right, Matthew Chance, thank you so much.

All right, also new today, Iran is denying the U.S. Justice Department's claims that it plotted to kill Donald Trump before the election. Iran's foreign ministry says it categorically dismisses the DOJ's allegations, describing them as completely baseless.

The Justice Department revealed Friday that it charged three people in the alleged thwarted plot. Two of the people charged are U.S. citizens, and one suspect is still at large in Iran. CNN's Evan Perez has more.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department says that the latest Iranian plot to try to kill Donald Trump was part of a broader effort to carry out attacks on a prominent critic of the Iranian regime as well as against U.S. and Israeli citizens. The U.S. prosecutors unsealed in federal court in Manhattan complained against an alleged IRGC operative living in Tehran and two U.S. citizens who allegedly -- he allegedly recruited in at least one of these assassination plots.

The two Americans are in custody and have been ordered -- held pending trial. Now according to the court documents, Iranian government officials tasked Farhad Shakeri, 51 years old, to focus in recent weeks on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump.

He couldn't come up with a plot in a short time frame before the election and the Iranians apparently believed Trump would lose and that they could target him later. Shakeri is still at large in Iran according to the Justice Department.

Now also on the Iranian target list was journalist and activist Masih Alinejad. She's a prominent critic of the Iranian regime, who the FBI says that the Iranians have been trying to kill several other times. Prosecutors say Shakeri told the FBI in voluntary interviews about the various tasks that he was given by the IRGC.

Now, this includes plans for a mass shooting that targeted Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka. And Shakeri also told the FBI that he was tasked with surveilling and assassinating two Jewish business people living in New York City.

The U.S. government has repeatedly raised concerns that Iran is trying to retaliate for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed IRGC General Qasem Soleimani. Now they say that he is -- they've plotted to kill Trump who ordered the strike as well as a number of Trump administration officials.

More recently in this summer, a Pakistani national was arrested and charged with seeking to hire assassins to target Trump as well as other U.S. political figures, including some in the Biden administration.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Evan.

All right, Donald Trump is heading back to the White House as president-elect, but this time his office is recruiting a very different team from four years ago. Perspective on what this second Trump term may look like, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:29:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, this week, Vanity Fair spelled out Donald Trump's profile this way, but it didn't stop him from winning the White House again. 34 felony counts, one conviction, two cases pending, two impeachments, six bankruptcies, and four more years.

But what will those four more years look like? Will his second term in the White House be a replay, or will it be far different from his first?

Here with us now is the author of that cover story, Vanity Fair Contributor Eric Lutz. Eric, great to see you. So take your best stab. Will it be much more of the same or will it be a Trump White House 2.0?

ERIC LUTZ, CONTRIBUTOR, VANITY FAIR: I think it's going to be Trump White House 2.0. Donald Trump is who he is. He's always been this person. So we know some of what he's going to try to do in those four years. They're going to look a little bit like the last four years, except a lot of the guardrails won't be in place.

You won't have a John Kelly. You won't have a lot of those people who are the so-called adults in the room. You're also going to have a Supreme Court that has granted the presidency extraordinary new powers. So I can't predict what, but we can take a stab. This could be a much more empowered Donald Trump. And again, one with a party entirely unified behind him and now in power.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: You know, in -- in your article, you know, you spell out all the things that make him rather unique, all the things that might discount anyone else from winning the White House, let alone winning it again. A lot happened during that first term and a lot happened in between. Hence, you know, the convictions, the impeachments and the pending cases.

And no, I hope we didn't really lose that signal. We're going to try and restore that. But I'm going to keep talking. OK. I think you can hear me still. However, you know, I wonder, as you remind us in your article, of all of those intricacies and overt actions that make him very different, why is he the exception that voters are willing to overlook all of those things and then give him still another chance in the White House?

LUTZ: He -- he's weathered political storms that would sink any other candidacy. Why that happens? Part of it, I think, he's got a personality. He's charismatic. He is a creature of television. He is someone who has a dominant hold over a certain section of the population.

Of course, in 2016, wins not by the popular vote, but by the Electoral College. In 2020, he loses both the popular vote and the Electoral College. This time, he wins the popular vote. This is who Americans chose. And many more, may -- maybe not many more voters, but by the majority of voters, have chosen this man to be the president. That's a disturbing reflection of the country, but I think also something that Democrats really need to look in the mirror and do some soul searching about.

WHITFIELD: And he's wasting no time getting to business, right? Because he -- Trump has already now named his chief of staff in Susie Wiles, someone that he has worked with for a very long time. She knows him, he knows her. But what's your expectation of how Trump now will make selections for advisers, cabinet members? What's the criteria he's looking for beyond, you know, loyalty. We know that that is, you know, a -- a mainstay with him. LUTZ: Right.

WHITFIELD: But what is he looking for and how does he go about looking for these individuals?

LUTZ: Well, I think you can look at the surrogates that he's had on the campaign trail forum, the folks who spoke at the R&D. You know, we've seen Elon Musk have an incredibly elevated role in Trump world. You have seen Vivek Ramaswamy. You've seen a lot of these figures who exist at the fringe of -- of Republican politics. And -- and in some cases not even strictly speaking Republican politics, but just the kind of weird dark MAGA is -- is Elon would put it.

I think Trump is certainly looking for those folks, people who are above all else, people also who will out -- outshine him. I think the -- the clear message of the first four years of Trump is that no matter who's around him, he has to be the perfect star example. Steve Bannon fell from grace in Trump world in -- in the first administration because of the whole, quote unquote, President Bannon thing. So he's not going to want someone who's going to outshine him, but he's going to want someone who can execute his agenda and when he just says do it, people who will.

WHITFIELD: And people who are seemingly more civil servants, in his view, and less political operatives too. Eric Lutz, thank you so much. Really appreciate your perspective and enjoyed the reading as well.

All right, happening right now, raging wildfires consuming thousands of acres of land in Southern California. We have an update on the homes and livelihoods destroying, destroyed, as some residents describe, barely making it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:34:25]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is like surreal. I mean, I know we live in a fire danger area, but this is not. It came out of nowhere. It was so fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Southern California, firefighters are racing to take advantage of improving weather conditions and get the upper hand of the so called Mountain Fire. It has already torched 20,000 acres and destroyed dozens of homes. And it's only 14 percent contained. Some people have already started to come back to the homes to see what's damaged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAWN DAMART, CAMARILLO, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT: We were in Minnesota and our friends were texting us, asking us if were OK. And I think they didn't want to tell us, but they knew that our house was on fire. It's devastating, you know, and you look around at your neighbors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just glad that everybody was OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining us right now is Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson. Captain, great you could be with us. So what kind of progress are you able to, you know, say that you all have made overnight?

[12:40:08]

TREVOR JOHNSON, FAIR CAPTAIN, VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: Yes. Again, my name is Trevor Johnson with the Ventura County Fire Department. Appreciate you having us on today. Overnight, we definitely, like you stated earlier, we're able to take advantage of those weather conditions. The Mountain Fire initially started in a -- in a severe Santa Ana wind event here in Southern California. We were initially engaged across the spectrum of operational capacities on the incident.

Firefighters did an outstanding job. But with this break in -- in wind and improved temperatures, we're able to access all the areas on the fire, put stuff out, and they're still actively looking for hotspots, securing our containment lines and truly taking advantage of that improved weather.

WHITFIELD: And -- and how optimistic are you about being able to take advantage of, you know, the break in winds and allow you to make more ground?

JOHNSON: Yes, we're -- we're highly confident in our ability with improved weather conditions. You know, when a Santa Ana wind like this blows, it's very difficult and challenging for our resources to get engaged due to the rapid spread of the fire. With the work that's been completed by our firefighters and the improved weather conditions, we're optimistic and confident in our ability to engage all areas of the fire, secure what pieces of line remain open, as well as monitor for hotspots and get in and around Camarillo and within Somas.

WHITFIELD: And this really is a multi-agency effort. Talk to us about how you are working together, how -- how you're able to coordinate efforts and resources.

JOHNSON: Yes, that's a great question. I was the initial operations chief on the incident when the fire started. And it takes every county, state, national agency to combat a fire like this. We have tons of local partners here from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, our Office of Emergency Services. We're working with the water districts. There's a variety of other partners that I can't mention all of them right now. But it takes everybody's efforts to -- to fight this type of fire.

We've got Cal Fire Incident Management Team 5 that's come in and taken command of the fire, assisting Ventura County Fire with all those needs, managing the fire both operationally, logistically, from a planning perspective and then also fiscally. We're also working with agencies and planning ahead as in neighborhoods that it has. We want people to be prepared during the winter months if any flooding were to come up.

So we're already looking at type -- that type of stuff. We're making the necessary notifications and planning for the future, repopulation, as well as getting this community, the community that we live in, that we're a part of, that get them back on their feet. And we're going to remain here until we do so.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's for short term and long term. So I wonder for the short term, the more immediate right now, what do you say to those who have not yet evacuated? They haven't been ordered to, but they perhaps are on the periphery of all that's taking place. What are your recommendations as to how they prepare, how they activate, how they quickly, you know, gather themselves, their belongings, loved ones up in order to find safe -- safe ground?

JOHNSON: Yes, absolutely. That's a great question. How -- we want people to be prepared across the incident. So when -- when we make any type of evacuation warning order, that's of -- of paramount importance across the incident. So our operational folks look at that. They make those notifications through our Ventura County Sheriff's partners and other local law enforcement.

We'd like all citizens in the area and all of our -- our -- our county people to be aware of vcemergency.com that's where you can get the most updated and relevant information. Be aware with the weather conditions that those things happen fast. So it -- it requires constant checks. It requires preparation of your family, your -- your loved ones, your belongings, and then heeding those warnings and orders as they become available because what's important to us is our people and their property.

But number one, over everything, we want to protect the lives of the citizens of Ventura County. And by people listening to those, it -- it gives firefighters the best chance, not only protecting their lives, but also saving their property.

WHITFIELD: Of course. And in all this, quickly, Captain, I'm wondering, do we know the source of this fire?

JOHNSON: Currently, the -- the cause of the fire is under investigation. We have all the specialists that we can call to the scene to determine that. I don't have that information specifically, specifically -- specifically, excuse me for you, but look for in the coming weeks for a lengthy investigation to be underway.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson, thank you so much. Thanks for taking the time and continued safety to you and your team.

JOHNSON: Thank you very much.

[12:44:47]

WHITFIELD: All right. Donald Trump saw a strong showing on Election Day, but so did reproductive rights. We'll take a look at where access to abortion stands now after voters in several states weighed in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A source tells CNN, Donald Trump's congratulatory post- election phone call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was joined by tech tycoon, Elon Musk. Our Brian Todd has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than two months before he even steps back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump has already thrown a controversial wrinkle into his foreign policy, having billionaire, Elon Musk, join a call between the president-elect and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the day after the election. That's according to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke to CNN.

[12:50:12]

SUSAN GLASSER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: It's an extraordinary breach of what we might consider to be any kind of normal protocol.

I really find it to be an indicator also of who it is that Donald Trump is listening to as he prepares potentially to abandon this partner of the United States, Ukraine.

TODD (voice-over): The Ukrainians have been concerned that Trump, when he becomes president, will dramatically cut back America's aid to Ukraine, or maybe cut it off all together.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It would be really very, very difficult. And that's a nightmare scenario for Zelenskyy.

TODD (voice-over): Musk, as the head of SpaceX, has a security clearance that gives him access to some classified information. He has allowed Ukrainian forces to use his crucial Starlink satellite communications network on the battlefield.

GLASSER: And so he has enormous power over Ukraine.

TODD (voice-over): Musk posted a proposal to end the war in 2022. He wrote, quote, Crimea, formerly part of Russia, Ukraine remains neutral, redo elections of annexed regions under U.N. supervision, Russia leaves if that is the will of the people. It was welcomed by the Kremlin, while the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany said, F off.

Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022, according to "The Wall Street Journal," a report denied by the Kremlin.

Trump has campaigned on ending the war in 24 hours, without much specificity. But his running mate described a deal where Russia keeps the parts of Ukraine that it has already taken.

SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: What it probably looks like is something like the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine that becomes like a demilitarized zone.

DOUGHERTY: In other words, the Ukrainians would have to give up, probably Donbas, that eastern region, and -- and Crimea. This would not be to the advantage of Ukraine at all.

TODD (voice-over): Trump has also blamed Zelenskyy for Russia's invasion.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: He should never have let that war start. That war's a loser.

TODD (voice-over): Then there's the personal friction, going back to when, as president, Trump pressured Zelenskyy to investigate Hunter Biden during a call about U.S. aid to Ukraine. Democrats alleged a quid pro quo, and Trump was impeached, but acquitted. And more recent tensions, such as Zelenskyy telling CNN this.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I can't understand how -- how Donald Trump can be on the side of Putin.

TODD: This all comes at a precarious moment for Ukraine. In the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, Russian forces have been making gains and Vladimir Putin plans to capture the entire region and as many as 10,000 North Korean troops are now bolstering Russian forces, and U.S. officials expect them to enter into combat soon.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Over the next three weeks, more voting. This time, though, it's for your favorite CNN Hero of the Year. One of them is Venezuelan violinist and conductor Ron Davis Alvarez. When he came to Sweden in 2015, he saw large crowds of refugees arriving and he wanted to help. And now he gives them a chance to learn an instrument and connect with others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, and three and four, three and four.

RON DAVIS ALVAREZ, FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF DREAM ORCHESTRA: Dream Orchestra is open for anyone who want to learn an instrument, especially families who are arriving to Sweden.

And it's an orchestra where the main language is music.

I need one more chair.

We have more than 300 people, kids, parents, youth, more than 20 languages and more than 25 nationalities and kids who are born here. We all need to learn from each other. This orchestra offers more than just notes. This orchestra offers something for your soul. Music connects us. Dream Orchestra is a dream, but it's a dream who come true.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[12:54:11]

WHITFIELD: Oh, they're having a lot of fun there. And you can vote for Ron Davis or any of your top five CNN Heroes of the Year at CNNHeroes.com. You get 10 votes every day to choose the hero who inspires you the most.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A strong showing of support for Reproductive rights in 10 states where abortion protections were on the ballots. So what does that mean overall for abortion access in the U.S. under a Trump administration? CNN's Jacqueline Howard has details.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: These are the states that voted this week to protect abortion rights, Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York. But in most of those states, five total Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New York and those states, abortion is already legal and the ballot measures maintain access under the state's constitution. Voters in only two states, Arizona and Missouri, approved measures to expand abortion access.

And keep in mind, even if the ballot measures in Arizona and Missouri improve access in those states, about 40 percent of women of reproductive age will still be living in states where abortion is either banned or restricted. Now, it's not clear what the new Trump administration's strategy will be around abortion. We know Trump's campaign has said he would veto federal ban if elected. But we also have seen his position on the issue shift many times over the years. Back to you.

[13:00:29]

WHITFIELD: Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.