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President-Elect Trump Announced Several Key Positions for His Administration; Musk and His Increasing Influence on Trump; Sen. Bernie Sanders says the Democratic Party Abandoned the Working Class; Worries in COP 29 During Trump Presidency; Unprecedented Record of Air Pollution in Pakistan and India; Europe Anxious of Another Trump Presidency; Xi Congratulated Trump, Called For Respectful Ties; Netanyahu: Trump & I See Eye-To-Eye On "Iranian Threat"; Japan's Prime Minister Survives Parliament Vote. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired November 11, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Erica Hill. Just ahead, the second Trump administration now taking shape, who the president-elect has just announced for several key positions.

Plus, officials from around the world gathering in Azerbaijan for the UN's annual climate conference. Is Donald Trump's reelection casting a shadow over this year's talks?

And what the Trump presidency could mean for the future of the U.S.- Israel relationship.

Less than a week after the election, president-elect Donald Trump is taking steps to build his new administration. We just learned he's tapped former acting ICE director Tom Homan to join him again, announcing on Truth Social that he'll be in charge of the nation's borders overseeing, quote, "all deportation of illegal aliens back to their country of origin."

Earlier, Trump announced he had asked New York congresswoman and campaign surrogate Elise Stefanik to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. These announcements just part, of course, of what we're learning about Donald Trump's plans for his 2nd term. He's been holding daily meetings with advisers and with his transition team at Mar-a-Lago, getting input on a wide range of both policy and personnel choices.

On Wednesday, Donald Trump will make his way back to the White House for a traditional transition meeting with outgoing president Joe Biden. A tradition it's important to note, Donald Trump shunned on his way out of the White House 4 years ago. Trump is also expected to announce several more key positions in the coming days. One person though who doesn't seem to have any desire to fill a formal role in the new administration is nonetheless playing a key part in this entire transition process. Alayna Treene has more on the political evolution of Elon Musk.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home has been teeming with allies, members, and potential new officials over the last 48 hours as many people are angling for a top spot in his second administration or trying to influence him and who he will select for those roles. But the one person who's really been looming over all of it has been Elon Musk.

Now, of course, Elon Musk was on stage with Donald Trump, his top, campaign advisers, and his family on Tuesday night when he declared victory, during the election. But he's also been at Mar-a-Lago and around Donald Trump in the days since. I'm told, many days this week, he dined with Donald Trump. Just the day after the election, he brought his children to Trump's Florida home where Donald Trump gave them a tour of his resort.

But he's also been sitting in many times when he's been with Donald Trump, on some of the calls from foreign leaders, including, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Now I'm also told that Elon Musk has been weighing in on some of Donald Trump's potential picks, making it clear to the president-elect who he believes should have that role. And he's also been calling up allies of Donald Trump himself, including lawmakers and starting to exert his influence in that way as well.

Now, one thing that we saw happen on Sunday is that he came out and waded into the Senate Republican leadership fight. He quickly endorsed Florida Senator Rick Scott after Scott had supported an idea from Donald Trump to allow for recess appointments, essentially, trying to make sure that he can swiftly confirm some of his nominees and in many times bypass the Senate confirmation process.

Three of the men are vying for that spot, but Elon Musk said that he supports Rick Scott. And all to say, Musk has been very influential. He is very close with Donald Trump, specifically so in these final weeks before election day where he has been out there campaigning for the former president. And now he is spending a lot of time with Donald Trump and making it clear that he's going to be a top person, who Donald Trump relies on as we look ahead.

Now, sources familiar with the conversations say that Musk is not expected to take on some formal role in Donald Trump's second administration. Donald Trump has mused before that he would love for him to be a cabinet secretary. However, Musk and others believe that he could have just as much power on the outside. Alayna Treene, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

[02:04:59]

HILL: Senate independent Bernie Sanders is doubling down on his belief that the Democratic Party has in fact abandoned the working class. He, of course, first made that statement in the wake of Tuesday's election. On Sunday, he explained his thinking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Biden promised to be the most progressive president since FDR in many ways on domestic issues. I think he kept his word, but here is the reality. The working class of this country is angry, and they have a reason to be angry. We need an agenda that says to the working class, we're gonna take on these powerful special interest and create an economy and a government that works for you. And by the way, that can't happen unless you get big money out of politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to his initial claims from Sanders telling the "New York Times" in an interview last week, quote, "I think the message that Bernie Sanders has put out is not the winning message for the American people. I love him. I think he's great, but his point of view is not correct."

Joining me now is Tom Gift, Director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. I don't know, what's your take in looking at this? Has the Democratic Party not only lost working voters but lost the ability to reach them and speak to them?

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECETOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LONDON: Well, thanks so much for having me, Erica. It's great to be with you. I largely do agree that this election was about the economy, and Republicans spoke more about the economy than Democrats. Of course, there's been a significant realignment among both parties to the point where now Donald Trump has really captured particularly the white working class, but in doing so also added, significant percentages of vote shares among Latinos, and black Americans as well.

And I do think that this is partly a substantive problem in terms of Democrats not offering exactly what middle class voters are looking for, but it's largely also a communication problem. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris really did not do a good enough job kind of communicating how they're going to help these Americans.

HILL: Is it your sense that, that has gotten through, in fact, to party leadership that this is look, it could be an opportunity for an important reset for the Democratic Party, but this is certainly and you and I spoke about this, I believe, last week. This is certainly not the first time that Democrats have had an issue with their messaging.

GIFFT: No. I think you're absolutely right. There's going to be a postmortem among Democratic elites about what went wrong with this campaign. And I think that there's sort of a lot to grapple with. But if you listen to some Democrats, all they're doing is blaming Republican voters and saying essentially that they can't believe that, they wouldn't prioritize some of these, social and cultural issues over economic issues.

I think rather than blaming voters, I think that there needs to be inward introspective look at what Democrats aren't doing, what they can do better because there's certainly an opportunity here. I think that there were significant percentages of voters, particularly in the center that voted for Donald Trump reluctantly, that really didn't buy into sort of his character, his morals, what he represents, but felt that they were better off economically under his administration.

HILL: It is an interesting tactic to blame the voters, especially after what we just saw. We'll see how that all that plays out. Let's move now to the Republican side if we if we could. When we look at some of the some of the announcements coming from Donald Trump today, what also struck me is, frankly, the loyalty test already in effect when we look at Senate leadership.

Donald Trump saying whoever is in that role of Senate leadership needs to be all in on recess appointments and there is some concern, right, that these could be used to bypass Senate confirmation. How do you see Donald Trump using that?

GIFT: Well, I think that this is all about loyalty, and it's all about Donald Trump kind of throwing his weight around in Washington. I mean, we saw that with the speaker debacle when Kevin McCarthy was toppled that he's exerting a huge amount of influence on Congress members. And Congress members by and large are happy to acquiesce to him because he's so powerful.

And that's even gonna be more so now after Donald Trump took this resounding victory. There's gonna be very few, leaders in Congress, in either the Senate or the House that's willing to stand up to Donald Trump. They'll have to do what he says is (inaudible).

HILL: When we look at this lame duck session that we have now entered into, essentially, I also thought it was interesting that the former president, the president-elect posted no judges should be approved during this period of time saying that Democrats can, in his words, ram through their judges. The reality is, they don't need Republican votes there. But there's also a certain element of the pot calling the kettle black in some ways.

GIFT: Sorry, I didn't catch that last part.

HILL: I said there's also a certain element of with Donald Trump saying, hey, you can't just push this through, and you can't do anything right now in this lame duck session is somewhat rich given what we've seen from Republicans.

[02:09:57]

GIFT: No. I think, you're absolutely right. But, you know, in the past, we've seen Republicans do something similar. Remember whenever Merrick Garland wasn't pushed through during the -- in the Supreme Court, and instead kind of Republicans were able to blockade, to stall, to say that you can't install Supreme Court justices during this -- during this lame duck session. So, yeah, I mean, it's certainly right.

I mean, Donald Trump did a lot at the end of his term before Democrats were able to take power. And so for him to say, essentially, that Democrats can't do the same, I think, as you suggest is quite rich. HILL: I'm curious. What are you hearing right there at University

College in London? What have you been hearing since the election? What are the questions that people are asking of you as they try to make sense of what things will look like moving forward in the U.S.?

GIFT: Well, I think that there was a lot of angst and anxiety in the lead up to the election, and there are a lot of questions about how, Americans could vote for a convicted felon, someone who has been impeached twice, someone who has been just riddled with all these scandals and many scandals.

I think that there's still a lot of curiosity about what is sort of the underlying trends driving American politics because, you know, I think here in Europe, all they saw was kind of Trump on the world stage, taking it to multilateral institutions, and not respecting world leaders, and so on and so forth. And so I think a lot were relieved whenever Donald Trump lost in 2020, and now some of that that bracing, for what's to come is back.

HILL: Yeah. It's gonna give you a lot to talk about and a lot to study. Thomas Gift, good to talk to you as always. Thank you.

GIFT: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: Just ahead here, the COP 29 Climate Summit officially underway. With Donald Trump bringing his America First agenda, though, back to the White House, a shadow looms over the global fight against climate change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: The United Nations Climate Change Conference is now officially underway. Nearly 200 countries are represented at COP 29 in Azerbaijan. But Donald Trump's reelection is really dominating that conversation on day one. Trump has, of course, called climate change a hoax. And you recall during his first term, he withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. While president Biden did reverse that move, Trump has vowed to do it again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARJEET SINGH, FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY INITIATIVE: Trump winning elections is a huge setback to not only climate talks, but global cooperation in general. We know he's likely to reverse all clean energy policies and incentives in the U.S. He's going to go for fossil fuel extraction much more, which is going to be devastating for the planet. And he's not gonna provide any climate finance, which is so vital for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:15:00]

HILL: 2024 will almost certainly end as the hottest year on record, and some climate experts say without cooperation from the United States, pushing for more investment in climate action will be difficult to negotiate.

For more on the environmental implications of a second Trump presidency, I'm joined by Jeffrey Sachs. He's the Director of the Center For Sustainable Development at Columbia University. It's good to have you here today. So as we look at where things stand, right, we've heard some of the concerns, the talk about Donald Trump overshadowing COP 29, which kicks off today. As you look at where this could go, there are a lot of lessons in Donald Trump's first term. What does that tell you in terms of what we should expect for round two?

JEFFREY SACHS, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, COULUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Well, first, let's be clear. Climate action will continue no matter what because the world faces a very great peril. Countries around the world are moving to renewable energy or zero carbon energy. Countries around the world are moving to electric vehicles. The countries around the world are moving to take steps to make their societies more resilient to droughts, floods, heat waves, and so forth.

None of that's going to stop. Not in the United States or in the world because the climate crisis is going to continue. We're going to have a bigger problem though with making formal global agreements. I find it hard to believe that there will be anything significant achieved in that regard in the coming months simply if nothing else because the fact is that Biden is finished. It's the lame duck last weeks of an administration.

They cannot actually commit the United States to anything. There are major issues on the table, that Biden, even if he wanted to, could not agree to in a way that is credible. So negotiations on major global issues will definitely have to spill over to 2025 and beyond. Then comes Trump's specifics, which is that he's got strong fossil fuel interests, in his -- among his backers, but at the same time his lead backer is Elon Musk who is our lead producer of electric vehicles.

This is not so straightforward inside the United States. There's a struggle going on between the old guard and the new interests, and Trump is in the middle of that actually.

HILL: You also haven't in terms of the scraggle or even perhaps what we'll just see in terms of differences. There is, you know, Donald Trump pulling out of Paris again, talking about changes that he wants to make based on what President Biden did. But the reality is there are actions being taken at the local, at the state level that Donald Trump does not control. How much of those actions are going to continue to be helpful even if we're not seeing that on a larger scale, from the federal level?

SACHS: Well, it's a funny thing. Most of the new projects that are coming online because of the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA, which is a misnamed piece of legislation to promote decarbonization are actually going to Republican dominated states, and the Republicans in Congress know this. It's creating jobs, creating new industries. Many of the fossil fuel producing states actually have lots of solar power and wind power. Texas is an example of that. And so it's not so clear cut even within a state, even within a fossil fuel producing region. For this reason, it's not an all or nothing proposition by any means. I think we're going to continue to see lots of investment in the new sectors. Also, the United States should be aware China is absolutely in the lead of zero carbon technologies. So whether it's, low cost photovoltaics, wind power, 4th generation nuclear, electric vehicles, battery supply chains, hydrogen economy.

So, if the United States wants to be competitive, if it wants to be competitive in the world, it has to understand that the world's going forward on these technologies, you know, whether that's the political rhetoric or not.

HILL: In terms of the world going forward, what is your sense of how much of the world has maybe just decided that, look, the U.S. is not going to be a consistent player here, likely not going to be a leader at least at this point. So, I mean, how important given the back and forth that we've seen here in the United States, is the rest of the world moving on without the United States?

SACHS: Well, I think psychologically that's definitely the view all over the world. Everyone would like to say look we're not waiting on any one country, even one country as significant as the United States.

[02:20:04]

So that's the mood. The practical issues are financing. How to get this transformation done? Most of the world or I should say more precisely, the poor half of the world does not have access to the climate financing that it needs actually to carry forward. So there are real issues on the table would be much easier if the United States is present at the table.

I think it's gonna have to be one way or another no matter what the campaign rhetoric or President Trump has said, but I think that it's going to take a while actually to sort that out. There are real issues of how to get the job done of making the energy transformation. It will get done. The question is whether it gets done in time to avert extraordinarily bad outcomes on global warming and climate change.

HILL: Jeffrey Sachs, good to have you with us. Thank you.

SACHS: Great to be with you.

HILL: Residents in Lahore, Pakistan are being urged to stay home as record pollution continues to engulf the city, forcing schools and other public places to close. Last week, the city's air quality index again pushed past the 1,000 mark. That's more than 3 times the level needed to be deemed hazardous. Here's CNN's Sophia Sai.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The traffic is still flowing in Lahore. The government officials are urging people to stay at home. The smog, too toxic. For a city that often ranks as one of the worst in the world for air pollution, face masks are mandatory. A thin shield against the skyrocketing amount of pollutants in the air.

The city's air quality index topped 1,000 again last week. That's an unprecedented level as the IQ Air Index defines hazardous as anything over 301. Many public spaces like zoos, parks, and historic monuments have been closed along with many schools which have shifted to online classes for at least another week.

UNKNOWN: Everyone has a right to clean air. Everyone has a right to enjoy seeing the sun.

SAIFI (voice-over): Some types of tuk tuks and barbecue restaurants have been banned. But the smog is a recurring problem, especially at this time of the year. When particles from low grade diesel fumes and crop burning get trapped in the cold air. And some residents say that the closures aren't stopping that.

MOHAMMAD QASIM (through translation): They have closed schools that don't create the smog. They have not closed the factories and brick kilns. They are not closing the things which create the smog.

SAIFI (voice-over): Delhi's air has also reached hazardous levels in recent days, though some residents are still exercising outdoors. The World Health Organization says breathing toxic air is harmful and can cause strokes, heart diseases, and respiratory infections. One clinic in New Delhi says there is a 20 to 25 percent rise in patients, especially after the Diwali holiday when people set off illegal fireworks. Sore throats, burning eyes, and trouble breathing are common complaints.

BALRAM KUMAR, FACTORY WORKER (through translation): I have a severe cold and cough. No medicine seems to be working. I have been taking medicines, but there is no relief.

SAIFI (voice-over): Officials in New Delhi began a trial program recently to spray water from drones to clear away dust and pollutants. But critics say this is just a band aid. And the smart problem in South Asia is in need of more long term solutions. Sofia Safi, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Many in Europe are worried about what will become of the war in Ukraine when Donald Trump takes office. Will the purse strings be cut? A closer look at Donald Trump's foreign policy. How and how it could play out after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:00]

HILL: U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Sunday speaking with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, the subject, a return to peace in Europe. We're told they exchange views on the current challenges around the world. Many world leaders, of course, are watching Donald Trump, and many with trepidation as they wait to see just what changes are in store when he takes office. Despite Trump's tough rhetoric on Ukraine, it's not yet clear whether he'll cut the purse strings for Russia or for Kyiv rather.

While in Russia, many are celebrating Trump's win, hoping that the turmoil at home could maybe distract him from foreign policy. Joining me now is Steven Erlanger. He's the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for the "New York Times." Steven, it's good to have you with us. There is all this trepidation. I feel like we've been talking about it, of course, leading up to the election. And then in the days since. We're seeing some of that play out in real time at COP 29, which just kicked off today. Where do you see the most anxiety today?

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: That's a very good question. Trump is very good at inspiring anxiety. He thinks it's part of his bargaining toolkit. But there's a lot of anxiety in Ukraine, I would say first, and in Europe generally, and some in China too.

I mean, there's a few things Trump cares a lot about even though he likes to be unpredictable. One is he loves tariffs. He says it's the best word in the English language, and he is threatening to put 10 to 20 percent tariffs on everything coming into the United States from Europe, which would be a disaster for the European economy. He's talking about even higher tariffs on China, but that's a whole other question.

But the Europeans are trying to prepare for this with the possibility of counter sanctions, making offers about buying more American goods because Trump is obsessed with balance of trade figures, but the real issue is security. Trump likes to be credited for ending wars. He wants to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon. He certainly wants to end the war in Ukraine.

He's been talking to Vladimir Putin. He's been talking a bit to Zelenskyy. I think he wants to get -- and he has levers to get both sides into talks. Now the question is talks about what? What would satisfy both sides to end the war? If it's not a good deal, Ukrainians will try to keep fighting, and some Europeans will certainly try to help them.

If it's giving Putin 20 percent of the territory of Ukraine, that's not gonna be very happy for Zelenskyy, but that's the way his advisers seem to be talking. And then, of course, there's NATO. I mean, Trump doesn't like multilateral alliances, but in general with NATO, he just wants people to pay more, which is perfectly reasonable.

He thinks of it as a kind of protection racket that people have to pay the United States to get protection. And that's not what NATO is, but that's the way he thinks it is and he's thought that way for 40 years. So, this is what people are really worried about. I mean, does Ukraine represent a serious special security threat to Europe from an aggressive Russia? Most Europeans think it does. Does, Mr. Trump agree? It looks like he doesn't.

HILL: And that that is understandably the concern. It's something we've been hearing; I think for some time. You know, as you point out there to the way that Donald Trump does business, if you will, it is very transactional as we know. So even when it comes to the tariffs, right? We saw that last time around.

[02:29:59]

In his mind, this is also a push to get other countries to react in a way that he sees will be favorable to him. As you pointed out, he doesn't like multilateral alliances. As you look at the U.S. moving forward under a second, Donald Trump administration with this very much this America first policy, multilateral alliances, in your view that really matter to Donald Trump at this point?

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, he is a very pro-Israeli president and he is very much feels the father of the so-called Abraham accords, which pulled together the Gulf Arabs and Saudi Arabia those are in danger because of the war. I can see him making trying to make a sort of regional deal with the Saudis.

The gulf is Lebanon, Israel and even the Palestinian authority to try to end the conflict, at least for a while. And that would create a kind of alliance, because the Saudis want defense agreements with the United States.

I think he's also very worried about North Korea, which he was in his first term. He did this bromance with Kim Jong-un which didn't work out. But, you know, North Korea is a nuclear power developing missiles that can hit the United States.

So I think Trump is very conscious of that. He wants to work on -- on China. And we have a lot of allies in Asia. So I think those things matter.

What he doesn't like are things like, you know, the world trade organization and he basically thinks alliances that depend on the United States are manipulating the United States. And taking advantage of the United States, and doesn't seem to see that the United States has its own interests, too, like in, you know, to have a peaceful Europe is in America's interests for economic reasons, let alone security reasons.

But you know, with Trump, it's always what he thinks last. John Bolton said not very nicely about Trump. His mind is like a pinball machine. And there's something to that.

I mean, Trump goes from issue to issue, but always it's about what I can do as Donald Trump to look like I've solved something that I've solved. It's huge problem no one else can solve that. I'm the best that's ever been. So this is the way people try to manipulate him also.

HILL: And we'll be watching to see as this all plays out.

Steven, good to talk to you today. Thank you.

ERLANGER: Thank you.

HILL: Well, Trump's promise of those steep tariffs on imports to the U.S. with a significant tax on goods coming from China is already changing the way some companies do business, though perhaps not exactly as Trump would like. Chinese President Xi Jinping, of course, congratulated Trump on his presidential win and urged both nations to find the, quote, right way to get along.

CNN's Marc Stewart is live in Beijing at this hour.

So in terms of finding the right way to get along, how do we define this relationship right now between Xi and Trump?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, as your guest alluded to, Erica, there's a big question facing world leaders right now. Will things begin where they left off, or is this going to be a fresh start? And is this going to be a friendly reunion or is it going to be one of foes?

Now in the case of Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, you know, at one point, they have a very affable relationship. The former president or the president-elect, I should say, hosted him at Mar-a-Lago. They had chocolate cake. There were an abundance of photo ops.

But then things turned sour. Certainly there was COVID response and then there was this big issue of trade and tariffs.

Now the president-elect is saying that he will hike tariffs. He's made it a campaign promise toward Chinese goods coming into the United States. It's an issue that China has been facing, not only from the U.S., but also from Europe, an effort to try to equalize, to create some equity in the global marketplace.

But a lot of American companies depend on China for manufacturing. I remember first going to a Chinese factory ten years ago. I mean, the efficiency and the technology that was in place then left an impression and now, more than a decade later, it's gone -- it's become even better.

So we have seen at least one notable U.S. company, this being Steve Madden shoes, decide to basically cut back its production in China in half as part of a preemptive move if these tariffs go in place. Because certainly it will cost this company more and us consumers more.

And so, a lot of people are asking, well, why would the president throw this forward? Well, a very real possibility. At least one source is said to me is that this is going to be a negotiating tool to create this equality in the global trade that the United States and other nations want.

[02:35:07]

So we'll have to see if that happens.

The one thing though, I think, is noteworthy, Erica, is the language that we are seeing from Beijing upon this looming threat. It won't get into hypotheticals but we have just heard statements in the last few days from the central government talking about how there are no winners in a trade war and that it would hurt the world as a whole, Erica,

HILL: Marc Stewart live in Beijing, appreciate it. Thank you.

Yet another deadly weekend in Lebanon, in Gaza.

Lebanese media reporting Israeli strikes have now claimed at least 80 lives. You're looking at video. This is from the town of Almat, that's in central Lebanon, north of Beirut. Almat is a Shiite majority village. It's outside of Hezbollah's usual strongholds in the South and the East. On Saturday alone, more than a dozen separate locations within Lebanon were hit.

On Sunday, the IDF hit two homes in Gaza. At least 41 people killed in those strikes. Here's the aftermath of one of those in central Gaza. We're told that the other home was in Jabalia. Of course, you've heard a lot about Jabalia over the last several weeks.

One NGO says parents, children and grandchildren were among those killed. The IDF says it was targeting terrorists.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is eager to turn the page on his often difficult relationship with the Biden administration, and happy to see Donald Trump, frankly, back in the White House.

As Matthew Chance reports, the prime minister and the president elect have already been discussing what lies ahead for the U.S. and Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he and President-elect Trump have spoken three times in recent days, a sign of just how closely the two figures are now collaborating.

Netanyahu described the conversations as very good and important and quote aimed at strengthening the alliance between Israel and the United States. He added that he and Trump see quote eye to eye on the Iranian threat and the dangers that it poses.

Well, Netanyahu was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump after his U.S. election victory last week, calling it the world's greatest comeback.

Many Israelis expect the Trump administration will offer full throated support to the Jewish state, especially amid an ongoing Israeli confrontation with Iran and its allies in the region.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Our coverage continues after this short break.

Stay with us

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HILL: Haiti's prime minister is out, fired by the country's transitional presidential council.

Garry Conille had only been in office for about six months. One council member, though, says they voted to remove him because Conille made decisions without informing the council and also took on some of the duties of the president.

[02:40:03]

He's set to be replaced by businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime.

It is the latest political shakeup in a country which has been devastated, of course, in recent years by widespread gang violence, food shortages and significant political instability.

In Japan, the prime minister just survived a critical parliamentary vote to stay on as leader.

Let's take you live now to Tokyo, to my colleague Hanako Montgomery for more.

So, surviving this vote, but it's a bit of a rough road ahead.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Erica. It's good to see you.

Yeah, as you just described Shigeru Ishiba, the current Japanese prime minister, was just reelected, so he's going to remain in power. Not much difference there, but what's different and interesting about this parliamentary vote is the fact that it went to a runoff in the first place. Actually, it's the first time in 30 years that a vote to select the new Japanese prime minister had to go to a runoff, which really just highlights and underlines how weak the Japanese leadership currently is.

If you recall, Erica, the Liberal Democratic Party, which is a conservative political machine in Japan that's been consistently and continuously running the country, pretty much since 1955, was hit with a slush funds scandal. It was found that several lawmakers didn't properly report kickbacks, that they were receiving, and when the public found out, they were very angry. They were disillusioned with the LDP.

And that anger translated into how people showed up at the polls last month. We had a general election in Japan for the lower house and we saw for the first time in 15 years, the LDP losing its majority. So now that makes it very difficult for Ishiba and his party to push forward any new policies. Now it's also top of mind, Erica, for many of Japan's lawmakers and also for the general public, is the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Now the last time the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was in the White House, the Japanese prime minister was Shinzo Abe. Now, Abe was assassinated in 2022, but he's remembered as a very charismatic leader, a diplomatic politician and someone who was a smooth talker and knew how to handle Trump.

Now, of course, because of Abe's skill, it's widely believed that the U.S. and Japan maintained pretty stable relations. But Ishiba on the other hand, is not known to have the same skills as Abe. So there is some concern at the moment about how Ishiba will handle Trump, whether he'll be able to maintain those good relations as Abe did, especially because, as we know Trump is known to challenge the status quo when it comes to foreign relations.

But, of course, that won't stop Ishiba from maintaining and seeking good relations with Trump and also trying to get a meeting with the president-elect hoping to become the first foreign leader to meet the president. Just as Abe was back in 2016. -- Erica.

HILL: Hanako, appreciate it. Thank you.

And thanks to all of you for joining me this hour. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned.

"WORLD SPORT" is up next. I'll see you at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM.

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