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CNN International: Trump Expected To Fill More Key Roles This Week; Biden And Harris Attend Wreath-Laying Ceremony; Trump Picks Former Acting ICE Director As "Border Czar". Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired November 11, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ISA SOARES, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and a very warm welcome to our viewers right around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London.
And ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, President-elect Donald Trump is building his team and announcing key players. We are live with new details inside the Trump transition that is all taking shape at his Mar-a-Lago home. And a U.S. official says Russia is readying tens of thousands of troops, including some from North Korea, to launch an assault on Ukrainian forces in the coming days. We are live for you in Moscow with the very latest. Plus, the COP29 climate summit is officially underway, but this year, there is a new but familiar threat overshadowing the conference. We will, of course, explain it all.
And around the world today, of course, is known as Armistice Day, a day to pay tribute to those -- all those who died in World War I and all the wars, of course, since then. In the U.S., it's known as Veterans Day. And this hour, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expected to honor veterans at a wreath-laying ceremony on the centennial anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We are standing by. As you can see there, these are live images coming to us from Virginia for President Biden to deliver remarks this hour, and we'll bring them to you, of course, once they get underway, incredibly solemn ceremony once it takes place. It will be the first time, of course, that President Biden and Vice President Harris have been paired together publicly since last week's election.
And the winner of that election, Donald Trump, is making some key appointments for his new administration. Just a short time ago, sources told CNN he plans to announce Stephen Miller as his Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Miller has led the calls among Trump allies for much more restrictive border policies. The President-elect is also nominating Republic Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to the role of U.S. Ambassador to United Nations, and she is a long-time Trump loyalist.
And selected to be Trump's border czar is Tom Homan, who served as Acting Director of ICE in the last Trump administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TOM HOMAN, FMR. ACTING U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT DIRECTOR: Every President I've worked for said they're going to secure the border. President Trump actually did it. I got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden has released in our country in violation of federal law, you better start packing now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And Trump is moving quickly to fill out political appointees from his Mar-a-Lago club, which is once again becoming a hub for Republican power brokers. CNN reporting allies like Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have essentially moved into the beachfront resort while nominees are being finalized. And Trump, meantime, is calling on Senate leadership to allow for recess appointments, which would allow him to fill positions without lengthy confirmation hearings. On Wednesday, Trump will travel to the White House for a transition meeting with President Biden.
Let's get through all these latest lines. Joining me now from Washington, D.C. is CNN Senior Political Analyst. Mark Preston. And Mark, I mean, let's start with the Trump transition. We've got border czar announcement. We've also just heard Stephen Miller stepping in. I'm starting to see a thread here, theme "immigration front and center". Just talk us through this.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, no doubt. Listen, less than a week since he has been elected President, just a couple of months before he'll assume the office, we're starting to see what the contours of the Trump administration is going to look like. And to your point, he has shown us no surprises right now. Tom Homan will be the border czar. What does that mean? It means he is going to oversee the southern border, the northern border, any kind of maritime or air travel, anything that has to do with that. But, most importantly, one of his top roles is going to be the deportation of illegal immigrants in the United States back to their countries of origin.
Why this is important? It's important because Homan has experience in doing this, a common theme that we're going to start seeing under this whole thread of what the Trump administration is going to look like. Homan has done it before. He has been in positions, and understands government. You talk about Stephen Miller, again, seeing the same thing. Miller understands government, a hardliner on immigration. These two gentlemen alone, just in the past 24 hours, knowing that Trump is absolutely putting them into those positions, really is foreshadowing what we're going to see once Trump assumes office, and I do believe we will start seeing immigration efforts underway pretty handily.
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SOARES: And Mark, let's talk to the -- to another position that's being filled, and that's the U.S. Ambassador to United Nations. What more can you tell us?
PRESTON: Well, that is likely to go to the New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Now, an interesting choice. She is somebody who was once critical of Donald Trump, but literally has had an above face in the past election. She has been so behind Donald Trump, considered a very loyal and trusted advisor. When she goes to be the spokesperson for the United States at the United Nations, world leaders will know that she is speaking for Donald Trump. That's incredibly important, because many times when people go into these positions, they just go in and they don't necessarily have the gravitas to get things done.
SOARES: I'm going to apologize. Apologies. I want to interrupt here because I want to take you to Arlington National Cemetery, where President Biden and Vice President Harris, you're seeing there, are attending a Veterans Day ceremony. Let's listen in.
(VIDEO OF JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS ATTENDING WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY)
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(VIDEO OF JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS ATTENDING WREATH-LAYING
SOARES: A solemn moment there in Arlington, Virginia, as President Biden, you saw there, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, marked Veterans Day, also known around the world as Armistice Day, by laying a wreath, of course, as you saw there at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a moment, of course, to recognize the valor, the courage, as well as the sacrifice of all those veterans who fought in the World War I and all the war since. We also saw, just in the last few minutes, Vice President Kamala Harris there. It's the first time we are seeing the Vice President, of course, since she spoke in session speech just last week. Earlier, we know that President Biden, alongside the First Lady Jill Biden, were also hosting veterans and members of the military at the White House.
Later this week, as we were telling at the top of the show, we said that President Biden is expected to meet with Donald Trump there to discuss the transition of power, which is our top story this hour, and of course, important context here, no such meeting has happened after Trump lost the 2020 election, and of course, refused to accept the results. But, it's been an incredibly busy day in Mar-a-Lago.
Let's put some context on what has been announced, some of these key positions. Matt Mowers is a former senior Trump campaign official and was part of the Trump transition team in 2016. Matt, great to see you. Welcome to the show.
Let me start then with some of the names that we were talking just at the top of the hour that are being discussed now and being announced by the Trump administration. What do you make of the first few appointments that we've had, Tom Homan, of course, Elise Stefanik, and the last number announced name being floated, which is Stephen Miller? What do you make of those?
MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ADVISOR: Well, thanks so much for having me. And what it shows me is that, compared to eight years ago, Donald Trump is going to be selecting people that he knows very well. All of these are very familiar names to Donald Trump. He has worked closely with them for a number of years, some dating back to his first campaign, which kicked off almost 10 years ago. It's hard to believe about nine years ago, in 2015.
And so, you've got folks like Stephen Miller, for example, who've been one of his longest serving policy aides, someone I've known for quite some time. He is a true advocate for President Trump's policies around the border and illegal immigration. He was one of the leading architects of the immigration plans in the first term, and I'd expect you're going to continue to see him do so in this term, in this role as Deputy Chief of Staff, choosing someone like Tom Homan, who, again, has had tremendous amount of experience doing this in the first Trump administration.
And the other key thing I think that's different from eight years ago, when he first got elected, there were challenges finding people who both understood his policy priorities and also had the requisite experience trying to enact those, that doesn't exist today. Today, you have a number of folks who cut their teeth from the first term that he had, have had additional government experience, so they're going to be able to hit the ground running to advance his policy agenda on day one.
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SOARES: Yeah. Like you said, Matt, I mean, he is well known, isn't he, Tom Homan, serving as acting -- served as acting ICE Director under Trump, and he has shown, as we have seen in the campaign, shown support for Trump's mass deportation plans. In fact, this is what he said. Let me play it out what he said recently in an interview on 60 Minutes. Have a listen to this, Matt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CECILE VEGA, CBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT, "60 MINUTES": Is there a way to carry out mass deportation without separating families?
HOMAN: Of course there is. Families can be deported together.
VEGA: Why should a child who is an American citizen have to pack up and move to a country that they don't know?
HOMAN: Because their parent absolutely entered the country illegally, had a child knowing he was in the country illegally. So, he created that crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, Matt, just your perspective. I mean, do we expect him to stick to those words? I mean, are we likely to see mass deportations, and how in reality would this work?
MOWERS: Well, you've seen President Trump come out and say that their first priority is going to be deporting those who've been convicted of crimes or have connectivity to criminal gangs and as well as drug rings. And so, that is going to be the first priority.
What you are going to see, and I think it was really telling that Tom Homan was nominated, or not even nominated, but has been announced that he is going to be the border czar, what it means is he is not necessarily going to be just the Secretary of Homeland Security, right? He is going to have an across multi-agency role, and part of the reason for that is because the Trump transition and the soon to be Trump administration believes that this is going to be a whole of government effort. This is not going to be just something that Homeland Security does to focus on the border through Border Patrol and CBP, Customs and Border Patrol.
What this is, is also going to be DoD, using the Department of Defense dollars to implement this. There is going to be a health and human services component. We are talking about benefits. There is going to be a whole host of different government agencies engaged in this. And now you have Tom Homan and likely Stephen Miller, who are going to be overseeing this multi-agency plan to not just get tough on the border, stop new crossings across the southern border, but also implement President Trump's deportation plan.
And I'll say I think this is also a window into the overall approach that the Trump administration is going to be taking, which is focusing on those key priorities that he talked about in the campaign trail. I mean, he did not make any mistake and hide what his plans were around immigration. Similarly, you should see the same thing around taxes, when the tax bill comes up in the next six months, as well as then some of his foreign policy goals, where he is trying to mediate an ultimate conclusion to what happens in Ukraine, as well as lower the temperature in the Mideast.
SOARES: Let's speak, Matt, to the -- to Musk, of course, because, as you've probably seen, my colleague Kaitlan Collins has been reporting that Elon Musk has been kind of ever present, let's say, at Mar-a-Lago since the election. What kind of influence do you think that he is having, or may have on this administrations, as it takes shapes? What kind of role do you think he will get?
MOWERS: Well, I think I would be surprised to see Elon Musk go inside of government. I think he is going to be an outside advisor to go inside a government, would involve a lot of divestment from private sector businesses, as well as possibly walling off from some of those businesses, which I assume he is not prepared or interested in doing right now. But, but what it shows is that Donald Trump is going to do something he did quite a bit of in his first term as well, which is lean on outside advisors, whether they're business people he has known for his entire life, or whether it's individuals he has just gone to no better in the last year, like Elon Musk. He is not going to be afraid to engage outside advisors in the private sector to address some of these challenges.
I mean, obviously, the role that Elon Musk is playing in Ukraine right now, given the dominance and use of Starlink in order to provide communication ability to Ukraine, is so instrumental in what's going on. He has done the similar thing in the response to some of the hurricanes that we've seen in the United States. He is so involved in so many different sectors now that I expect him to be called on quite a bit to try to engage in different policy areas, both domestically and around the world, in order to try to solve some of these problems. SOARES: Well, there is certainly two very large egos. Let's see how long before they clash. We shall see. Matt, I appreciate it. Matt Mowers there. Thank you very much, Matt. Appreciate your time.
MOWERS: Thanks so much.
SOARES: Thank you.
As we mentioned, President Biden will meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Our Kevin Liptak joins us now for more from Washington. Kevin, what more do we know about the meeting here and also the expectations?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. The meeting is set for 11:00 a.m., and I think the part of why President Biden was so quick to extend this invitation was he does want to make clear that this will be a smooth transition of power, a peaceful transition of power, all of the things that he wasn't afforded by Trump back in 2020.
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Trump never invited President Biden for this customary visit to the Oval Office. And I think when you talk to President Biden's aides, they make very clear that that's not happening this time around. But, I do think the atmospherics that are surrounding this meeting are so interesting. The last time that President Trump was in the Oval Office as he was preparing to depart back in January 2021, he had been under siege by members of his own party for January 6. The Coronavirus was raging in the United States. He was kind of a man on the outs, and certainly a pariah here in Washington.
Now, the atmosphere is very different. He is coming back with what appears to be a popular vote mandate from the voters in the United States. And the other thing that's different is he has been there before. He knows how the building operates, and it is sort of a return for someone who very much wanted to come back to the White House and is very eager for this meeting to take place.
Now, these meetings are typically pretty punctual. They don't necessarily last for an extended amount of time. But, what we do know from President Biden's national security advisor is that he will use this meeting in part to encourage Trump to continue aid to Ukraine, because that has been one of the big questions about a Trump presidency. Donald Trump on the campaign trail, talked about cutting off American assistance to Ukraine. Part of what President Biden will do in this meeting is to encourage him to maintain that support with an eye towards sort of painting it in a bigger perspective, talking about what this would mean for the broader world, and not just for Ukraine. And so, that will be among the items that they discuss.
But, of course, this is not necessarily a meeting that President Biden would have wanted to be doing, but according to his aides, he does think it's important. And so, he will be doing that on Wednesday here in Washington. SOARES: And we are waiting to hear, of course, Kevin, from President
Biden any moment. We're seeing live pictures there, as we wait to hear. We just saw in the last few minutes, of course, marking Armistice Day, Veterans Day, laying in wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
You talked about Ukraine. What other key issues, be it foreign policy and domestic, do you think that President Biden will want to exert some sort of influence over the President-elect here?
LIPTAK: Yeah. And I'm interested to know whether they discuss the Middle East. Of course --
SOARES: Yeah.
LIPTAK: -- President Biden has been trying and failing for the last year to try and secure some kind of ceasefire agreement in Gaza that would result in the release of hostages. President Trump, incoming President Trump, has said that he could resolve, like Ukraine, that he could resolve that crisis very easily. And we know that Trump has been speaking regularly to the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. So, it will be of interest to see how President Biden deals with that particular issue in the Oval Office, or whether he decides Trump has his own perspectives on this, and he doesn't think that he will be able to exert all that much influence on him.
The other question that I have is whether they will discuss this broad scale issue of democracy that President Biden had been so intent for the last four years of talking about and discussing and warning about the risks that Trump could pose to democracy if he is returned to the Oval Office. Does President Biden use this moment as an opportunity to try and impress on Trump the importance of maintaining certain institutions and certain guardrails that protect that? And I remember covering Trump's visit with President Obama back in 2016, and that was a topic of discussion between the two men, President Obama trying to impart the importance and gravity of the office that Trump was about to assume. Of course, Trump had no experience in the office at that point.
But, I do wonder if Biden will try and use this opportunity to make similar warnings. Of course, he knows that Trump knows the levers of power much better this time around than he did back in 2016. So, it is a very different meeting in a lot of respects, but certainly, President Biden feels very deeply about those institutions, and it will be interesting to see just how much he conveys those to Trump when they sit down.
SOARES: It will be good to get a sense of what was said, be a fly on the wall.
LIPTAK: Yeah.
SOARES: Important points to talk about, of course, democracy and upholding democracy, but very awkward as well.
Kevin Liptak, do stay with us. We are waiting to hear from President Biden.
We're going to take a short break. We will back on the other side.
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SOARES: If you're just joining us, let me show you live images coming to us there from the United States, in Arlington, Virginia, in the last, what, 10, 15 minutes or so. We have seen President Biden alongside Vice President Kamala Harris marking Veterans Day, Armistice Day around the world, of course, Veterans Day in the United States. And we saw them laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is this year it's centennial anniversary, recognizing, of course, the valor, the courage, as well as the sacrifice of all the veterans that fought in World War I, and all the war since. It is the first time we have seen the Vice President today, Kamala Harris, since -- make her first appearance since her concession speech.
We also know that earlier today, President Joe Biden and the First Lady Jill Biden hosted veterans and members of the military at the White House, later this week, is scheduling, giving you the breakdown here, we know that Mr. Biden is expected to meet with Donald Trump there to discuss the transition of power. We are expecting to hear from President Biden, and of course, as you can see him there on your screen, as soon as he starts speaking, we will, of course, bring that to you.
While we wait, I want to go back to my colleague Kevin Liptak. Kevin, I'm hoping you're still with me. Yes, you are. Just as we look ahead, Kevin -- apologies I have to interrupt in advance when President Biden starts speaking, incredibly a solemn day in United States and right around the world. But, as we look ahead to Wednesday, just talk us through what we are likely to see, and really the tone that we see, because it is really a divided America right now, given the result just from last week.
LIPTAK: Very much so. And I would expect the tone to be courteous, professional. Having covered these sort of transition Oval Office meetings in the past, it's not filled with a huge degree of pomp and circumstance. I don't think President Biden is going to roll out a red carpet and get the marine guards to welcome Trump back into the Oval Office.
This is much more of a professional meeting, and it's really meant to demonstrate the visual of this peaceful handoff of power between the sitting President and the incoming President. And what we'll see is the two men in the Oval Office. They'll sit. They'll talk. We may get a pool spray, some visuals, a photo op of the meeting. We don't know exactly the specifics of that quite yet. But, I wouldn't be surprised, because so much of this meeting is about demonstrating to the American public that President Biden is happy to help facilitate this transition of power. And again, the subtext of that is that President Biden was not offered
that when Trump was leaving office back in 2020. He was not offered this Oval Office meeting, this highly symbolic handing of the baton to President Biden when Trump was departing, and I think he wants to emphasize, particularly to those Americans who are watching and may be disappointed in Trump's victory, that it was a legitimate victory, and that he is doing everything he can to make that handoff as easy as possible.
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I think the other audience that he may be wanting to demonstrate that to, our foreign adversaries. And when you talk to people in the United States, they do say that these transition of power moments are always moments of vulnerability for the United States, and particularly at a very tense global moment, be it in the Middle East or Ukraine, and certainly in Asia as well, that these are moments that foreign adversaries sometimes look and see an opening to demonstrate sort of their implications and their military might. And so, I think President Biden very much wants to demonstrate that American power will continue going on unimpeded, at least in this moment of transition. And so, that will be an important moment for him on Wednesday.
I think there are a number of unopened questions that we haven't necessarily gotten details yet. One question I'm wondering is whether the incoming First Lady, Melania Trump, will accompany her husband to the White House on Wednesday. Certainly, we know that Dr. Jill Biden has extended an invitation. There are a lot of unknowns about what Melania Trump's intentions are for the next four years. Will she actually move back to the White House, or will she remain down in Palm Beach or in New York? And so, that will be another moment to look at. What we don't -- also don't know is whether Kamala Harris has invited J.D. Vance, the incoming Vice President, to meet with her at some point over the next couple of weeks as well. That would be customary. That would be traditional.
And so, those are details that we haven't necessarily gotten answers to, but certainly we will know soon enough.
SOARES: Lots of unknowns at this stage. Kevin, stay with us. We're going to take a short break. We'll bring President Biden's speech, of course, as soon as it gets underway.
We'll see you on the other side.
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SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Isa Soares, and I'm coming to you from London.
The world's biggest climate conference, COP29, kicked off today in Azerbaijan, with Donald Trump's re-election, the trending topic, as you can imagine, of discussion. Anxieties are brewing among world leaders over how the U.S. will tackle the climate crisis with Trump back at the helm. The President-elect has long questioned, as you all know, the existence of climate change. He has again vowed to pull the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, like he did when -- during his first term.
During opening remarks, the summit host called on nations to urgently resolve differences, to agree on a new climate finance goal. Have a listen.
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MUKHTAR BABAYEV, COP29 PRESIDENT: Dear colleagues, to enable action, the COP29 presidency's top priority is to agree a fair and ambitious new collective, quantified goal on climate finance.
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This must be effective and adequate to the skill and urgency of the problem.
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SOARES: Let's get more from CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir, who joins me now from New York. And Bill, apologies if I have to interrupt. We are --
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: No problem.
SOARES: -- waiting to hear from President Biden. And we'll talk politics, President-elect Donald Trump in just a moment, and what relates to climate change. But, can we just discuss the COP29 conference and being held in Azerbaijan, one of Europe's biggest suppliers of oil and gas? And now seeing today, Greta Thunberg writing in today's The Guardian newspaper, she says that the host nation, I'm going to read it out, "Despite what it may claim, Azerbaijan has no ambition to take climate action. It is planning to expand fossil fuel production incompatible", she says, "with the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change." I mean, just explain why is it being held there? Why is UN holding it there in the first place?
WEIR: Well, it shifts. The location, it rotates around the world, and it was Eastern Europe's turn to host, but Russia has a vetoing vote on who gets it, and they were protesting against places like Poland, who would very much like to have hosted this, but were supporters of Ukraine. And so, the geopolitics has left just only a couple options, Azerbaijan, yes, a small little petro-state there on the Caspian Sea with no real climate ambition, hosting this a year after. Last year, it was the Emirates, another petro-state. But, at least then, a year ago, the world came to the conclusion that the end of fossil fuel era has begun. It's time to transition away.
Now, there is so much sort of skepticism already built in. There are 30,000 delegates, but a lot of corporations, a lot of suspicion of greenwashing and a lot of lack of big, bold-faced names to signal to the world that they're still taking this seriously. Keir Starmer, the only G7 leader who is there. President Biden sent a delegation. John Podesta, acknowledging the Trump win is going to change things. You see some of the skipping countries there, presidents, Biden, Macron, EU chair as well, but John Podesta saying, look, California is a top five global economy. They're still going full steam ahead. 70 percent of our GDP comes up cities where the mayors are committed to this. So, the hard work is going to continue with passion, regardless of a Trump presidency.
But, the U.S. electing this at this time, when the global temperatures have passed now 1.5 for the last year, the timing couldn't be worse.
SOARES: OK. So, with that in mind, I mean, what could we expect to come out of this climate conference? We know -- we knew, we talked at great length what happened with the first Trump administration.
WEIR: Yeah.
SOARES: What does a second Trump administration mean for climate change here?
WEIR: Well, it really seeds a seat at the table. The world is electrifying, regardless of the U.S. --
SOARES: Yeah.
WEIR: -- wants to play or not. The momentum is already there. It gives so much more power to China, who at this up until now has said, look, we're a developing country. We should not be kicking into the loss and damage funds that were promised $100 billion a year to developing countries who didn't really make this problem but have to help clean it up. We'll see how that funding goes now that Trump is there. Biden promised $3 billion last year, but Trump could hold that back. So, internationally, it really complicates things. It could embolden climate denier leaders in other parts of the world and stop that progress.
But, there is so much momentum now, billions in this clean energy economy, and a new report out of the International Chamber of Commerce, look back from 2014 to 2023, $2 trillion was lost, as much as the 2008 recession to climate damage, loss and damage around the world, these unnatural events that are just blowing up economies already. So, the cost of inaction is that, and the promise of cleaner futures are there, but the diplomacy just got so much more complicated.
SOARES: Indeed. Bill Weir, I know you will stay across. It is going to be a busy few years for you, I can imagine. Bill Weir, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
WEIR: My pleasure.
SOARES: Well, for the first time, Israel has confirmed it was behind the operation September to detonate hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah, if you remember, in Lebanon. Dozens of people were killed and thousands more injured when the pagers exploded, including civilians. Many people suffered eye injuries. Others had fingers blown off. Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed responsibility during a cabinet meeting, saying some of his top officials were against the operation, but he went ahead with it anyway. Mr. Netanyahu says he has spoken, meantime, with U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump three times in recent days. He says they see eye to eye on the threat from Iran. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince is urging Israel not to attack Iran. At a conference of Arab and Muslim leaders in Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman also called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Let me get more from Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv. And Jeremy, let me start off with the news that we reported one in the last hour or so, and these comments that are being made by a member of Netanyahu's ministers, and that's Bezalel Smotrich.
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Give us a sense of what he is saying and how serious it's being taken by Netanyahu. Is he commenting on this?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Bezalel Smotrich is a settler himself. He is the Israeli Finance Minister and also a minister in the Defense Ministry overseeing settlements and settlement activity inside of the West Bank. And he has long, of course, dreamed of annexing Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and now, in the wake of Donald Trump's election victory, that is exactly what Bezalel Smotrich is laying the groundwork to do. And we should be cautious, of course, that these are initial steps that he is laying out.
We haven't yet heard from the Israeli Prime Minister himself, but they should also be taken seriously, because Smotrich, in this statement, says that he is ordering the key departments that he oversees within the Ministry of Defense to begin to make preparations to apply Israeli sovereignty to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, effectively annexing those settlements as sovereign Israeli territory. And he is tying it directly to Trump's victory, saying that he sees an important opportunity for Israel in the wake of Donald Trump being elected, and that he believes that Trump will ultimately support and recognize Israel's annexation of these settlements in the West Bank.
Now, he has cause to believe that, because Donald Trump's peace plan back in 2020 did indeed envision supporting Israel's annexation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, recognizing them if Israel abided by a four-year pause in any expansion of settlement activity. But, we don't yet know what Donald Trump's -- whether he would actually support this now, especially amid the war in Gaza, and certainly in the early part of his term. There is no indication as of yet whether he would or not. Isa.
SOARES: And I understand these are new developments, Jeremy. So, I understand, if you won't have it. Do we have a sense of a timeline? How soon we'll be looking here potentially? We're talking about annexation. How soon that would happen? And speak to the domestic politics, the domestic pressures in Israel.
DIAMOND: Well, it's not clear exactly when, but in his statement, Bezalel Smotrich called 2025, quote, "the year of sovereignty". So clearly, this is something that he is looking to get done in the near term.
As far as the domestic politics, I mean, look, we have the most right- wing government in Israel's history, currently at the helm, overseeing Israel's war in Gaza, but also what really is a quiet war in the West Bank, where we have seen the expansion of Israel's military power there against Palestinian militants in the West Bank, but also, of course, activities by the Israeli military that have really served to buttress the activities of settlers in the West Bank as well. Now, we don't know whether Netanyahu would actually support these steps of annexing --
SOARES: Yeah.
DIAMOND: -- the West Bank. He has in the past started to head in that direction and then ultimately stopped short of doing so. But, we do know that this is a government that certainly does not want to see the establishment of a Palestinian state, something that Bezalel Smotrich called a threat in his statement today, and Gideon Sa'ar, the new Foreign Minister, saying no, when asked whether or not he would support the establishment of a Palestinian state.
SOARES: And meantime, I understand the Israeli -- the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been commenting on his conversations with President-elect Trump. What has he been saying?
DIAMOND: Yeah. Three conversations in just a matter of several days, according to the Israeli Prime Minister. Now, we've only heard Netanyahu's side of these conversations. So, that's an important caveat here. But, Netanyahu described these as, quote, "very good and very important conversations", and he also critically said that he believes that he and Donald Trump see, quote, "eye to eye on the Iranian threat and all aspects of it", as well as the, quote, "danger that it poses". And that's obviously an indication that, first of all, Netanyahu is clearly trying to make sure he has a solid relationship with Trump following Trump's election.
The two men had a very close working relationship during Trump's first term, but of course, that became rockier following Trump's defeat in 2020 after Netanyahu congratulated then-President-elect Joe Biden. There was some expletive laden terms that Donald Trump used to describe Netanyahu in private, according to several reports. So, their relationship appears to be back on track. And critically, there is no indication to believe that Donald Trump will be any less pro-Israel than he was in his first term, when he racked up a slew of policy areas on Israel that really heed very closely to the Netanyahu government.
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He recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He recognized Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, and in his peace plan that he released in 2020, he really hewed closely to nearly every single Israeli demand, offering only a fig leaf, really, of recognition for a Palestinian state. But, beyond that, I think you can expect that an incoming Trump administration will give Netanyahu far more leeway in terms -- SOARES: Yeah.
DIAMOND: -- of the war in Gaza, in terms of policy in the West Bank, than the Biden administration has.
SOARES: Jeremy Diamond, as always, appreciate it. Thanks, Jeremy.
And still to come on the show, anxiety and shopping joining forces this holiday season. We'll take a closer look at what the so-called doom spending being felt among many Americans. Are you doing it? We'll look at that.
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SOARES: Well, anxiety over issues such as the economy as well as politics has many U.S. shoppers engaging what's been called as doom spending. It's a way for many consumers to take back a bit of control in an uncertain world. A shopper may treat themselves to a pricey new impulse item, as my producer has done. However, financial advocates warn this type of rationalization can damage a consumer's long-term financial health. Third quarter credit card delinquencies last year surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
I want to go to New York and Vanessa Yurkevich. And Vanessa, just very quickly, heads up, we are waiting to hear from President Biden. So, apologies if I have to interrupt. So, just talk us through, why is this happening? How much is the last week's election factoring into this?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. This is something that we've seen for a while. Now, it just has a trendy new name, and you've had several things over the course of the past few years that have fueled this, right? You've had people dealing with an economy that hasn't been so great over the last few years. So, maybe they see that they can't afford a nice house. So, instead, they'll spend money on a nice pair of shoes, obviously, a little less than buying a house, or with politics. Many people obviously not happy with the outcome of this election. So, to take their mind off things, they may do a little retail therapy, that hit of dopamine to make them feel good when they're not feeling good in other aspects of their lives.
But, the problem is, is experts are warning that if you are doing this regularly, if you're doom spending regularly, you could be putting a lot of this on credit cards. And 50 percent of Americans report that they are carrying some kind of credit card debt, and debt right now in the U.S. on credit cards is over a trillion dollars. That is a new record. So, it's OK if you doom o spend if it fits in your budget, but if you're doing it on the regular, it's really something to look out for to make sure you're not completely destroying your budget.
SOARES: OK. Vanessa, give us some advice, then, for all of us who may be doom spending. How can we stop ourselves from doing it?
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YURKEVICH: Yeah. Advice for all of us, right?
SOARES: Yeah. Exactly.
YURKEVICH: So, the main thing is to -- yeah. The main thing is to look at your relationship with money. Are you using it to emotionally cope? Are you spending to emotionally cope? Another thing is stop doom scrolling. Stop reading all of this stuff about the economy, all of the stuff about the election. If you really need to be on your phone, pick up the phone and call a friend, talk about something else. And then there is also other ways to get that hit of dopamine, go for a walk, join an exercise class, hug a pet, hug a dog, go volunteer at an animal shelter, things that may take your mind off what you may be feeling bad about, but also might give you that chemical dopamine surge that you're looking for when you're making those purchases, when you're shopping. Isa.
SOARES: Very important. Look, running works for me, works one --
YURKEVICH: Yeah.
SOARES: -- that clears the mind, gives you that extra level of dopamine, just what we need.
Vanessa, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
YURKEVICH: Thanks.
SOARES: Still to come right here, honoring the fallen.
Prime Ministers attend armistice state commemorations in Paris since World War II, bringing that story as well, as President Biden's speech, as he marks also Veterans Day. That's next.
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SOARES: President Biden speaking. Let's listen in.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's a great honor for standing here again. Over 160 years ago, when it only become his final days in office, President Abraham Lincoln addressed this nation, and he said, let us try on to finish the work we're in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle.
My Fellow Americans, First Lady, Vice President Harris, and second gentleman, Secretary Blinken, Austin, Donna, Mayorkas, Chairman Brown, most importantly our veterans, service members and their families, I've said it many times before, I got in trouble for saying when I was a young Senator, I said, we have many obligations, but only one truly sacred obligation, sacred, prepare those we send into harm's way and to care for them and their families when they return home and when they don't. It's an obligation not based on party or politics, but on a promise unites us all. Today, as we strive on to finish the work of our moment, to bind the nation's wounds once again, we commit, recommit to this sacred vow.
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This is the last time I will stand here at Arlington as Commander in Chief. It's been the greatest honor of my life to lead you, to serve you, to care for you, to defend you, just as you defended us generation after generation after generation. You are the greatest fighting force, and this is not hyperbole, the finest fighting force in the history of the world. I'll never forget standing at Valley Forge, our nation's first soldiers laid down their lives, to deliver a nation where everyone is entitled to inalienable rights, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.
I'll never forget walking the hills of Gettysburg where thousands more shed their blood to make those words real. I'll never forget Bella Woods visiting there to pay tribute to the heroes who stepped on that beach or standing in the cliffs of Normandy 80 years after D-Day to honor the service members and veterans who literally saved the world with absolute heroism, just standing there, you wonder how, in God's name, that they have the courage to do what they did.
I'll never forget visiting bases in Korea, where America's sons and daughters answers a call to defend the people they had never met, or paying my respects in Hanoi where so many of our troops defended democracy, including my friend and once worked for me, John, the Senator John McCain. I will never forget my trips to Afghanistan and Iraq for tour after tour. Young men and women served and sacrificed to keep our nation safe. Four presidents faced a decision after we'd gotten Bin Laden, whether to end our longest war in history in Afghanistan. I was determined not to leave it to the fifth.
Every day, I still carry a card with me. I schedule every single day for the last 10 years. On the back of my schedule, it says, U.S. daily troops in Afghanistan, U.S. troops died in Afghanistan, as of today, 2,465, troops wounded in Afghanistan, 20,769, U.S. troops Iraq, died in Iraq, 4,620, wounded in Iraq, 32,766.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is my duty as President, but also as a parent. Like many of you, our son Beau Biden deployed in Iraq for a year with the Delaware National Guard. I still remember the day asked me to pin his bars on him. He stood ramrod straight. How proud Jill and I and our entire family felt. Like so many of you, we also remember how hard it was when he was deployed, empty seats at the dinner table, missed holidays and birthdays, prayers of hope and worry repeated every morning, every night, just we ask everything of our veterans, we ask everything of their families.
English poet John Milton wrote, and I quote, "They also serve who only stand and wait, as so many of you have. So, for all the military families, for all those with a loved one still missing or unaccounted for, for all Americans grieving the loss of a loved one who wore the uniform, Jill and I want you to know we see you, we thank you, and we'll never stop working to meet our sacred obligation to you and your families.
Jill and I, Doug and Kamala and our entire administration are proud of our work for the past four years. Together, we passed more than 30 bipartisan laws to support our veterans and their families, caregivers and survivors. We brought veterans homelessness down to a record low, delivered more benefits to more veterans than any ever before in VA history. We've invested record resources, reduced the scourge of veteran wives to suicide. We took action to protect veterans from scams, because no veteran should be defrauded by those defended -- they defended.
