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CNN International: Jan. 6 Rioters, Supporters Hopeful of Trump Pardon Promise; Trump Taps Fox News Host Hegseth for Defense Secretary; Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to Head Up New Department; Mike Huckabee Tapped to Be Ambassador of Israel; Trump Arrives in D.C. To Meet Biden, Republican Leaders; Republicans to Replace McConnell as Their Leaders in the Senate; Blinken Meets NATO and EU Ministers in Brussels; Russia and China Drawing Closer Together; North Korea and Russia Strengthen Military Cooperation; State Department Says Israel Not Violating U.S. Law on Gaza Aid; Special Counsel Jack Smith Looking at Stepping Down; U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.6 Percent in October From 2.4 Percent in September. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired November 13, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, right now, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is enroute to Washington ahead of a historic meeting with President Joe Biden. We will have full coverage ahead.

Also, Elon Musk, Mike Huckabee, and a Fox News anchor, Donald Trump unveils some unconventional picks for roles on his team. All the details are coming up. And a closer look at how Russia is looking to Asia for new allies.

All right, in just a few hours, Donald Trump will set foot in the Oval Office for the first time since he left Washington in 2021. The meeting between the incoming and outgoing presidents is a longstanding tradition until four years ago when Trump refused to meet with Joe Biden because he maintained and he still does, that he did not lose that election.

Today's meeting comes as Trump's team comes into focus. On Tuesday night, the President-elect said he has picked Pete Hegseth, a host with Fox News for Defense Secretary. Hegseth has interviewed Trump several times, including this summer when they had this exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, FOX NEWS HOST: Laura from Nebraska said, "I'm the mother of two Army officers. What are you going to do to rebuild our military?" And I would add to that, rip out the woke stuff that's happening.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, yeah. Well, that's --

HEGSETH: Let all the vets and the service members see it is embedded in our Pentagon right now.

TRUMP: You know the military better than anybody. I'd put him in charge. I really would. I often think of it.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS HOST: He'd do a great job.

TRUMP: I've talked to him about it a little bit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: OK, delivering on his word there. Trump also announced these two men, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk will head up the new Department of Government Efficiency, an effort to cut government spending. And he has chosen the former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee as the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

Let's bring in CNN's Senior White House Correspondent, MJ Lee. MJ, let's talk about this upcoming historic meeting between Biden and Trump, and what we can expect when the two sit down.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly Amara, the imagery here at the White House in just a few hours is going to be quite remarkable. President Biden welcoming back to the White House his predecessor Donald Trump who, as you mentioned, four years ago would not offer him that courtesy that presidents always do, of inviting who is going to replace them to the White House to welcome them in a sign of a peaceful transfer of power.

And President Biden and White House officials have made clear that is precisely why they believe it is so important to do this. That, in a moment when the country is so divided that they want to send a clear message about the election having been fair and that it is so important that one administration to the next, that there is a clear and peaceful transfer of power.

In terms of just the choreography of what will happen later today, we don't have a ton of details. We know that the two men are going to meet in the Oval Office, perhaps they will spend a little bit of time together in the dining room as well. But in terms of who else might be in the room when the two presidents meet behind closed doors, that is unclear.

We also don't know, Donald Trump who, of course, is famously unpredictable, whether he might decide to take some time to talk to reporters that are here, take some time to roam around the grounds, a place where he had lived, of course, for four years when he was president. This is going to mark also, Amara, a rare opportunity and perhaps the only one for President Biden to try to press on some of his top priorities heading into a new administration to Donald Trump.

For example, we know that National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan said the president intends on bringing up the importance of the U.S. continuing to support Ukraine's war efforts when he sees President Trump. But politically speaking, one of the reasons that this meeting is going to be so noteworthy is because it wasn't that many days ago that President Biden had some incredibly harsh words for his predecessor, calling him a fascist, saying that he is a clear threat to democracy.

So, all of those things are going to be at least briefly put to the side when this meeting happens. And talking to some of the folks who are in this building, working in the administration, I'm told that the president has been pretty head down and remaining focused on the work that he is continuing to do as president. One person who saw him on Monday on Veteran's Day said that there seemed to be a little bit of a heaviness when they saw the President.

[08:05:00]

And as we've reported, the president believed when he dropped out, and he believed right up until Election Day, that he still could have defeated Donald Trump. And I am told by one source that he is very aware of all of the finger pointing and the blame that is being put on him for his decision to seek a second term, and that he's unhappy about it and does not think that the blame has been fair.

WALKER: Well, this will clearly be a poignant and heavy moment for President Biden. MJ Lee, thank you very much.

Let's turn now to CNN's Senior Politics Reporter, Stephen Collinson. So let's talk start with Elon Musk and this new Department of Government Efficiency. I guess it's no surprise that Elon Musk will have a role in Trump's second administration. But, what exactly will we see him doing with this agency, which agencies might be targeted or gutted as a result?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Musk, as you know Amara, is widely regarded as a genius. If you want someone to push innovation, to cut through red tape, he has proven with his businesses, SpaceX and Tesla, that he can do that. Having said that, this appointment raises all sorts of questions about conflicts of interest given the fact that Musk has billions of dollars of U.S. government contracts for his businesses. He's deeply involved in national security and ostensibly, now he is the person who's going to be deciding which bureaucrats get fired, which regulations get swept away.

So, there are all sorts of questions about this appointment, and I think it's fair to ask as well, whether this is a real government department, whether it will be funded, and how effective it will be because the White House doesn't set spending, it is Congress. And if there are massive politically painful cuts that Musk recommends, I think there are questions even though Republicans will control both House of Congress, how much appetite there is for that sort of re- invention of government in the coming years.

WALKER: We're also already hearing reaction to Trump's choice for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. He is an Army veteran. He also is a Fox News Anchor, a lot of questions about whether or not he is indeed qualified. What do you make of this choice?

COLLINSON: There was quite a lot of mystification up on Capitol Hill last night when this came out. As you say, Hegseth is a veteran. He served honorably in Iraq and Afghanistan, but this is one of the most critical jobs in the United States government, if not the world, controlling the U.S. military, the most powerful military in the world. Hegseth doesn't have any strategic or international experience.

His main qualifications from Trump's point of view, appear to be that he is pledging to sweep out wokeness in the military, which translated means diversity and the U.S. military has traditionally been one of the most diverse organs of the United States government going back many, many years. In fact, it was pioneering in terms of racial diversity. So, this is raising quite a lot of questions. There will be an issue potentially about whether he can get sufficient votes in a Republican Senate to get confirmed given the concerns about his experience.

But I think to a great extent, complaints about Hegseth, people saying in Washington that he's not qualified, that this is an erratic pick, that is exactly the point. This is what Trump's voters want. They wanted disruption of government. They don't want the usual people running it. And Trump made no secret of exactly what he was going to do and who he would pick, the kinds of people, when he was running for office. He won a democratic mandate in last week's election. And I think we're going to see much more of this as he unveils the rest of his national security and government picks.

WALKER: All right, Stephen Collinson, appreciate you. Thank you very much.

Now, before the president-elect goes to the White House today, he is expected to meet with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill in less than an hour from now. Both the House and the Senate are picking their leaders for the next session of Congress. And while control of the House is still up in the air with some key races yet to be called, Speaker Mike Johnson says he is confident that he will remain in the top job and says he is ready to deliver on Trump's agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Speaker, has the president assured you that he would support you for speaker again?

MIKE JOHNSON, (R-LA) SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Yes.

RAJU: And what if you -- are you concerned about a tight margin, losing one or two votes being a problem on the floor on January 3rd?

JOHNSON: On January 3rd? No. We'll have it all lined up for January 3rd. It's going to be fine. The president is fully supportive, he's been saying that. And we got to get this team together and move forward, and I'm excited about the opportunity to do that. So, I'll work with whatever margin I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:10:00]

WALKER: Also taking place next hour, Senate Republicans will meet behind closed doors to vote on who will succeed Mitch McConnell. Three candidates are in the running right now -- John Thune, John Cornyn, and Rick Scott. CNN's Lauren Fox joining me now live from Capitol Hill with more. Hi there, Lauren. So, walk us through how this leadership vote will play out today.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this first leadership vote this morning is going to start around 9:30 in the morning, and there's a number of positions that Republicans are vying for in the Senate. But they are going to start with this most important one, that is the race to replace Mitch McConnell. He is leaving that leadership post after nearly two decades controlling Senate Republicans majority.

But one thing to keep in mind here, right now, is this race is still wide open and despite the fact that Rick Scott has gotten a late surge of MAGA support, this is a secret ballot election. So how this is going to run this morning is, at 9:30, each of the candidates are going to be nominated. There will be up to two nominating speeches for each one and a couple of really interesting folks are going to be nominating each of these candidates.

I want to highlight Marco Rubio, who was just picked by Donald Trump to be his Secretary of State. He is going to be nominating fellow Floridian, Senator Rick Scott. Then that speech will be seconded by Bill Haggerty, another conservative from the state of Tennessee. We also expect for John Thune that Senator Mike Rounds is going to nominate him. Then Senator Steve Daines, who was responsible for helping Republicans clinch the majority as the Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he is also expected to give a nominating speech for Thune.

Cornyn's office not releasing who will be giving those speeches for the Senator behind closed doors. Then they are going to have a vote. Essentially it will be a secret ballot. The votes will be counted by Senator John Barrasso's team. He is the conference chair. At that point, they'll see if anyone has 27 votes. That's the magic number. That is the majority that you would need to clinch this race on the first ballot. If no one gets 27 votes, then the lowest vote getting candidate will drop off and Senators will vote again.

Now, many Republicans I talked to yesterday, they expect that this could go a couple of rounds and it may take several hours to get an answer. But it's just really important to highlight how monumental this moment is. Because Mitch McConnell has been leading the Republican Senators so long, this is really the first big open three- way race that they have had. And it's just going to be really essential to see who is going to be taking the helm because, obviously, that person is going to have to work really closely with the incoming president, Donald Trump.

WALKER: That's right. Lauren Fox, appreciate you. Thank you.

Now, NATO officials are meeting today in Brussels, discussing help for Ukraine as a brace for a second Trump Administration. Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken held talks earlier with NATO and EU ministers as well as Ukraine's foreign minister. Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt over America's commitment to Kyiv. And while in Brussels, Blinken raised concerns over North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKED, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a profound and incredibly dangerous development in two ways. First, of course, because it's adding fuel to the fire for Russia's aggression against Ukraine and that's a deep concern to everyone around the NATO table. But it's also a two-way street. The relationship between Russia and North Korea is working in both directions, and there's deep concern about what Russia is or may be doing to strengthen North Korea's capacities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Meanwhile, Russia's President Putin and China's Leader Xi have declared a friendship with "No limits," a new era in international relations, all to help them strengthen both militarily and economically. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports from Moscow on this growing alliance and what it could mean for the West.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Jet fighters streaking across the skies at China's largest air show, aiming to show just how fast the People's Republic is modernizing its massive military. China's main partner is Russia.

The Head of the Russian National Security Council, Sergei Shoigu in Beijing, praising ever closer ties. We are not a military political alliance like the ones formed during the Cold War, he says. Relations between our countries are superior to those forms of interstate ties.

This as China shows off its brand new stealth fighter called the J-35A for the first time ever, while the Russians were showcasing their own stealth jet, the Su-57, which has already been used in combat operations.

[08:15:00]

Russia and China have dramatically expanded their military cooperation in recent years with regular exercises like these major naval drills, that Russians say were the largest in more than 30 years. This as Vladimir Putin says, he wants what he calls a new world order with less U.S. influence and more power in the hands of countries like Russia and China.

Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the main stabilizing factors in the global arena, he said. And China's Xi Jinping added, in the face of the turbulent international situation and external environment, the two sides should continue to uphold the original aspiration of friendship for generations to come.

All this as relations with the U.S. grow evermore adversarial. Washington concerned about Chinese territorial claims and military expansion in the South China Sea. President-elect Donald Trump vowing to rein Beijing in.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are certain countries, I can tell you everyone, I can give you from top to bottom. China's the toughest of all, but we were taking care of China with the tariffs.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the U.S. now also faces an emboldened North Korea. Kim Jong-un heavily courted by Russian President Vladimir Putin recently conducting another round of ballistic missile tests. The U.S. also believes more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are currently fighting on Russia's side in its war against Ukraine.

Russian political analyst, Sergei Markov telling me the alliances forged by Vladimir Putin will be a major issue for the new administration.

SERGEI MARKOV, RUSSIAN POLITICAL ANALYST: All this coalition has a major goal, to support each other in the only one thing, sovereignty. And because the challenge to sovereignty comes first of all from United States and the Western coalition. It moves them automatically as a little bit (ph) anti-American. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right. Coming up, Trump chooses Mike Huckabee as his Ambassador to Israel, a politician who has made several controversial comments about Palestinians, the West Bank, and a two-state solution. A live report is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Israel is not in violation of U.S. law and has made some progress in improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Now, those comments from the U.S. State Department came on the 30-day deadline the White House set for Israel to ramp up access to aid in the enclave. U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinked met with a top Israeli official Monday to review the steps that Israel says it has taken. Not everyone agrees with the U.S. assessment.

[08:20:00]

Eight humanitarian aid groups say Israel has failed to meet Washington's criteria. Meanwhile, we have brand new video showing crates of undelivered aid pallets in Gaza. Humanitarian agencies have been sounding the alarm on the lack of food assistance managing to reach Northern Gaza in recent days. CNN's Nada Bashir is following the latest developments from London. Nada, the U.S. deadline for improved conditions inside Gaza has come and gone. The State Department saying that Israel is not violating U.S. law when it comes to aid to Gaza. What is the reality on the ground?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We've often heard these words of concern and condemnation from the Biden Administration with little substantial action to follow. And that is certainly what we're seeing once again, the Biden Administration saying that they believe there is no cause -- for any sort of violation of U.S. laws which govern foreign military assistance, that they have seen an improvement in the humanitarian situation. That as things stand at this stage, there will be no change in policy when it comes to Gaza and Israel.

But as you mentioned, this stands in stark contrast to the statements and messaging we are hearing from the humanitarian organizations directly engaged in operating the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip on the ground. As you mentioned, at least eight aid organizations joining together to release essentially what is a score board of what is actually taking place on the ground and where Israel stands in terms of meeting those requirements. They have said, A, that they believe Israel has failed to meet the requirements outlined by the U.S. in its letter to the Israeli government back in mid-October with that 30-day deadline.

And also, they have gone so far as to say that they believe Israel has taken steps to worsen the situation, the humanitarian situation within this 30-day period, particularly when it comes to the situation in Northern Gaza which of course, for weeks was laid siege two with many civilians trapped. Now, we're seeing the forced evacuation of civilians with many being told that they will not be allowed to return to their homes in Northern Gaza, essentially separating Northern Gaza from the rest of the Strip.

And what we continue to hear from these humanitarian organizations, including U.N. agencies, is that there is now the real risk of famine on the cards in Northern Gaza, that we are seeing severe malnutrition spreading across the Strip, dwindling medical supplies, of course, and already overrun, frankly collapsed healthcare system now, in the Gaza Strip.

And while the Israeli government maintains that it is allowing aid to get in, this again has been disputed by humanitarian organizations who have accused the Israeli government of enforcing a blockade which has prevented aid trucks from getting into the Strip. Just in October, we saw around 57 trucks getting in a day into the Gaza Strip. That is well below the 600 trucks a day that aid groups say need to get in just to meet Gaza's basic needs. And of course, this deteriorating humanitarian situation is all happening along the backdrop of continued airstrikes and a continued ground operation by the Israeli military.

WALKER: Nada Bashir, thank you very much. Meanwhile, Israeli officials are welcoming Donald Trump's announcement that he will make Mike Huckabee, the former Governor of Arkansas, his Ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a controversial choice. Listen to what he said back in 2008.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) FORMER GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS: I need to be careful about saying this, because people will really get upset -- there's really no such thing as a Palestinian.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: And as recently as Wednesday, he said it's possible the U.S. would back Israel if it tries to annex the West Bank. He was speaking to Israeli media. Under international law, Jewish settlements in the area are considered illegal. Let's bring in CNN's Kylie Atwood. Kylie, tell us more about Trump's pick of Huckabee and how he is likely to approach this role.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, as you said, those comments that he made to Israeli media in a Israeli radio interview just earlier this morning are quite revelatory because they demonstrate the approach that he is likely to have in this role as Trump's Ambassador to Israel, keeping the door firmly open to the Trump Administration supporting if Israel moves to annex the West Bank.

Of course, Israel has occupied the West Bank for decades now. They have also carried out settlement activity there, but that settlement activity, as you said in the introduction there, is illegal under international law. So that is something that, of course, if you draw a contrast to how the Biden Administration has responded to any of that activity, they have been firmly opposed to it. So the fact that he's keeping the door open to supporting that is noteworthy.

We should also reflect on the fact that just earlier this week, the far-right finance minister in Israel, said that preparations should begin taking place for Israel to expand those settlements to potentially annex the West Bank. So clearly, Israel is taking note of the fact that Trump is coming into office, his policies while he was serving as president during his first term were highly favorable towards Israel.

[08:25:00]

And they are making preparations with the expectation that that will likely be the case again. Now, Huckabee who is the former Arkansas Governor, he is a former evangelical pastor, has long been a supporter of Israel's. A question emerges, however, with regard to what his relationship would be like with Palestinians while he is serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, particularly because we saw those comments that you played just there in the introduction, where back in 2008 when he was running for president, he made those comments that there is no such thing as a Palestinian.

He said there are Arabs and there are Persians, but he called the term Palestinian a political tool to try and take away land from the Israelis. So, when the U.S. Ambassador serves in Israel, they are effectively also the U.S. Ambassador to the Palestinians. They have to have a relationship there. But he may or may not actually have that relationship and that, of course, will be an area that we continue to watch. Amara?

WALKER: All right. Kylie Atwood, thank you. And this breaking news into CNN, a Justice Department official says, Special Counsel Jack Smith is looking at stepping down before Donald Trump takes office. Trump, of course, has threatened to fire Smith. The source says, Smith is talking to the Justice Department about the mechanics of winding down the federal criminal cases against Trump and other legal issues.

CNN's Senior U.S. Justice Correspondent, Evan Perez is live in Washington. Evan, this obviously doesn't come as a surprise, but what more do we know?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Amara. The surprise here, or I guess the news here would be the details of how this winds down and how exactly Jack Smith makes his exit. Now, part of the discussion here is producing a report. He's required to produce a report of his investigation and that would be done after he closes these cases. And if it goes as planned, he's not going to be -- he's not going to wait for Trump to fire him. He will quit before that.

Part of the discussion centers on the idea of whether this report that he prepares has to be submitted to the intelligence community. That's part of the routine process for producing special counsel reports. But a lot of what Smith found in his investigation, part of his -- what would be in this report is already in court filings. They've already gotten clearance from the intelligence community because he was -- they were going to use it in trials, in cases that of course are now likely to be done and over with.

Another part of the complication here, Amara, is you'll remember that in the classified documents case that was filed in Florida, there were two other defendants, two people who he is accused of cooperating with to obstruct the investigation, his employees, and those people obviously are not protected by immunity that the Supreme Court ruled over this summer. So, those are some of the details that are still being worked out.

But if it goes as planned, we expect that Smith will be gone before Trump arrives in -- on January 20th. The other question here, of course, Amara, is even if he's done, doesn't mean that Republicans and Donald Trump are done with him because we anticipate that there will be an investigation. They've already said that they want to do that. And we might see Jack Smith be brought up to Congress to take questions from those Republicans who believe that this was an investigation that should never have been started. Amara?

WALKER: I -- what message then would you say this sends to other law enforcement officials and those within the Department of Justice?

PEREZ: Yeah, look, I mean, that's the big -- the tough question here, because one of the things that, that Jack Smith -- the whole purpose of these two investigations is that no one is above the law. And we've now seen that the way this is going to work out, it does mean that if you're president, you can pretty much do anything you want because you're not touchable. That's the message that is being sent. Certainly not only by the Supreme Court over the summer, which expanded the protections of the presidency, it made them more immune, but also the idea that because he has won the election, it means he cannot be prosecuted at all.

WALKER: It's incredible turn of events. Evan Perez, thank you.

PEREZ: Thanks.

WALKER: Still to come, Donald Trump has not been in the White House since the day his term ended until now. What we can expect from the Trump-Biden transition meeting later. Plus, from campaign pledge to reality, a look at the many challenges of delivering on Donald Trump's promise of a mass deportation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:13]

WALKER: All right. Updating our top story, in just a few hours, U.S. President Joe Biden will be meeting with the man who will take his job in just a few weeks from now. The president and Donald Trump will be discussing the peaceful transfer of power. The last time this -- the two stood eye to eye was at the CNN debate over the summer, which ultimately led to Biden dropping out of the race.

Trump's wife, Melania is not with him on this trip. Usually, future first ladies also meet with the outgoing first lady. This time though, Melania Trump is not expected to attend the meeting citing a scheduling conflict. Sources tell CNN she is not likely to move to Washington full-time as well.

Lots to talk about this morning. CNN's Presidential Historian, Tim Naftali. He's joining us. He's also Former Director with the Nixon Presidential Library and a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University.

Tim, it's great to see you this morning. Let's talk about what's about to happen in about two-and-a-half hours from now, where we're going to see Biden hosting Trump in the Oval Office. It's a symbolic move to show that both sides are engaging in this peaceful transfer of power. It's something as we keep saying that Trump did not extend courteously to Biden in 2020 when he lost.

What will you be watching for? And I would imagine it's going to be quite awkward given -- just even the statements, some of the attacks that Biden has leveled against Trump in recent days, calling him a fascist and a threat to democracy.

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: No doubt, it'll be -- it'll require a lot of self-restraint on the part of both gentlemen. Just for a bit of context, Amara, eight years ago around this time, President-elect Trump went to meet President Obama and some people might recall the photographs from that meeting, where President-elect Trump didn't look that comfortable. One of them goes -- some people described him as having the deer -- a deer in the headlights kind of expression on his face, as you learn the enormity of the job to which he'd just been elected.

Of course, the feeling is going to be very different at this point. This is the first time since the 19th century that a former president is about to take over from a sitting president. There are a number of things on the plate for both men. They will be discussing national security issues. This is not -- a get acquainted meeting is not necessary for Joe Biden and Donald Trump. And I think top of the list will be Iran. Iran apparently attempted to kill, at that point, former president, now President-elect Trump.

[08:35:00]

And normally, when a foreign power tries to assassinate a former head of state or a current head of state, the country affected or potentially affected will respond. So, I believe Iran will be part of the, the discussion between these two men, so it's going to involve some very serious matters. It's not just a matter of housekeeping, that comes later. Four years ago, of course, this meeting didn't happen and that's because right after the election, as we all remember, then President Trump didn't recognize the outcome.

And so, this opportunity to begin the discussion of how to pass the baton never actually happened.

WALKER: Yeah.

NAFTALI: So what we're seeing now is normal transition. This is actually the way it's supposed to be.

WALKER: Exactly. And by the way, Trump has continued to deny that he lost the 2020 election on the campaign trail of this election cycle. You're talking about the two men discussing national security, foreign policy issues during this meeting. When you look at the issues that are happening around the world, the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza, Trump and Biden seem to be on complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

NAFTALI: Oh, they certainly do. And President-elect Trump has a mandate from the American people to shift American foreign policy dramatically. That doesn't mean that they have nothing to talk about. One of the things that outgoing administrations will do is to alert the incoming administration to major decisions that they're making. The outgoing George Herbert Walker Bush Administration took an initiative, a humanitarian initiative in the country of Somalia in 1992 and made the incoming Clinton Administration aware of that new American involvement.

So, if President Biden is considering increasing our assistance to Ukraine to stiffen or to weak -- as to strengthen the Ukrainian hand in any future Trump-led negotiation, he'll be telling President Trump about -- President-elect Trump about that now. The thing that Biden understands as well as anyone, perhaps better than anyone in Washington, is how the system is supposed to work. And I anticipate he's going to do everything possible to make this transition as smooth as possible. WALKER: I do want to ask you about these top government posts that Trump is naming many of his loyalists to, the latest being Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Yes, he's an Army veteran. He's also a Fox News host, a strong staunch ally of Trump. A lot of questions about whether or not he's even qualified, and if you could talk about this critical role of Secretary of Defense, especially right now where there are wars raging around the world. And traditionally, people who've held this role have had extensive, decades of experience at very high levels. NAFTALI: Well, the Secretary of Defense is part of the chain of command. The Secretary of Defense has enormous responsibilities. They are in a position -- they're obviously not Commander in Chief. The Commander in Chief is the President of the United States, but they are right under the President of State in the civilian chain of command. So, this is a highly significant place, a very significant role in the United States government.

The Secretary of Defense also manages a huge bureaucracy. It's not just -- we're not just talking about the Armed Forces of the United States, but it's sort of central logistical hubs. We know more famously as the -- or most famously as the Pentagon, but also all the other headquarters around the country, in the world. So it's a job that requires management skills. It's also -- it requires a very good sense of hiring because you hire your civilian team at the very least, which is why people look to individuals who have management experience.

President Kennedy, for example, President-elect Kennedy chose someone who was the president of Ford Motor Company, Robert McNamara. He had great management skills. He had some other defects, but those only became observable later. But the fact of the matter is the job is a huge job. And I suppose that's the reason that people will wonder about Hegseth's management capabilities that he certainly has an understanding of the military. So that's why people raise it.

But let's keep in mind that a president can nominate anybody they want. It's up to the Senate to decide whether that person is qualified. And I believe that President Trump has made it clear, President-elect Trump has made it clear that he expects all of his nominees to sail through the Senate. And if the Senate is not in session, he expects him to sail through the Senate in recess.

[08:40:00]

WALKER: Yes, exactly. He did tweet about that on X recently. Tim Naftali, we're going to leave it there. Appreciate the conversation. Thank you.

NAFTALI: Thank you, Amara.

WALKER: Fighting illegal immigration was a cornerstone of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, including his pledge to deport millions of people. But now that he has won the election, how will Trump deliver on that promise? CNN's Tom Foreman looks at the realities of mass deportations

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): $315 billion taxpayer dollars to round up and ship out 13 million people. That's how much the American Immigration Council estimates Donald Trump's mass deportations could cost.

STEPHEN MILLER, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They begin on inauguration day. FOREMAN (voice-over): And other challenges are also adding up, starting with just finding those folks. Many of the top states where undocumented people live are huge, and Pew Research says 70 percent of them reside in homes with U.S. citizens, undocumented parents with American-born kids, for example, posing the puzzle should families be broken up?

TOM HOMAN, FORMER ACTING ICE DIRECTOR: It's not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Tom Holman, Trump's former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement now tapped for the new effort, has suggested to CBS an already reduced goal. Start by going after convicted criminals, federal numbers say they account for about 4 percent of undocumented migrants picked up in Texas this year. Still --

HOMAN: If I'm in charge of this, my priorities are public safety threats and national security threats first.

CECILIA VEGA, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: First implies others follow though, right?

HOMAN: Absolutely.

FOREMAN (voice-over): There is broad agreement that immigration and customs enforcement does not have adequate facilities for the Trump plan. With just 41,500 beds and an average of 29 repatriation flights a week, and even a slimmed-down plan would likely require many more agents.

TRUMP: You need very tough people to solve it.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump has proposed using military troops, but some legal analysts say that would be flatly illegal, as would be invoking old laws like the Alien Enemies Act from the 1700s to dodge overcrowded courts.

LEE GELERNT, ATTORNEY, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: We think that there's no way this law can be stretched for regular deportations. Now, whether they try it is another case, but we are prepared to challenge that in court

FOREMAN (voice-over): And we should throw in concerns about skyrocketing labor and consumer costs if millions of workers suddenly disappear, particularly in construction and in agriculture and in the hospitality industry. It all means Trump's plan could fall far short of his promise according to Edward Alden at the non-partisan Council on Foreign Relations. EDWARD ALDEN, SENIOR FELLOW, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Let's say they're deporting a million a year. That's more than twice as high as we've ever seen before in the modern year of immigration law. That's a lot of people, right? That's going to be really, really disruptive.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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WALKER: All right. Still to come, does a Trump presidency mean freedom for the January 6th rioters? CNN speaks with one convicted rioter who is certain of it.

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WALKER: Hundreds of Trump supporters arrested for their roles in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol are now waiting to see whether the President-elect will deliver on a promise he made on the campaign trail. Trump has said he would absolutely consider pardoning every one of those defendants, but his team has since hedged a bit saying any decision would be made on a case by case basis. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has more.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today was amazing. Woke up with the President of the United States, the rightful president back in his spot, and today, after 828 days, we're going to pop some champagne and raise a glass to President Trump.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): It's the night after the election.

SHERRI HAFNER, J6 PARDON ACTIVIST: Mama Mickey (ph), we love you, honey. And we are so grateful for you bringing this freedom family together.

(CROWD CHEERING)

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trump supporters have gathered here as they have every night for the last 800 nights, outside the Washington D.C. Jail.

O'SULLIVAN: How did you feel when Trump won last night?

HAFNER: I knew that meant freedom for our guys, and I was overwhelmed, thankful, and I know that God heard our prayers.

O'SULLIVAN: Were you emotional?

HAFNER: Yes.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah. O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): J6 inmates calling to talk to the organizers nightly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This whole journey, this stressful bearing journey has finally come to an end with the election of our beloved President Donald J. Trump.

HAFNER: I couldn't stop crying last night that you guys are finally going to get pardon. You're going to be set free. And all of this is going to be behind us. But I'll tell you, brother, I am so blessed to be part of this J6 family.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trump has repeatedly promised to give pardons to some people serving time for their actions on January 6th.

SUZZANNE MONK, FOUNDER, J6 PARDON PROJECT: And now, we have to continue to put pressure on the president to make that right decision to fulfill that promise. And I -- I know that he will, but I also know my president understands trust, but verify.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): One person who certainly hopes to be pardoned is Rachel Powell.

O'SULLIVAN: How do you feel when you watch this?

RACHEL POWELL, CONVICTED JAN. 6 RIOTER: You know, I think I -- I am more numb when I look at this stuff. It's like surreal to me. I mean, look how angry I look.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): I met Rachel back in January of this year, right before she was about to go to prison for crime she committed at the Capitol on January 6th while protesting what she believed was a stolen election.

O'SULLIVAN: Have you ever had a moment where you were like, maybe I'm wrong, maybe Biden actually won the election. Maybe I'm the conspiracy theorist.

R. POWELL: No, not at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This call is from a federal prison.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Rachel and I stayed in touch throughout the year.

R. POWELL (via telephone): I feel like I just need to be home with my family.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Rachel has eight children ranging in ages from eight to 28, along with seven grandkids. We spoke to three of Rachel's older daughters, Adah, Rebekah, and Savannah.

O'SULLIVAN: Oh, this is you and your mom?

ADAH POWELL, DAUGHTER OF RACHEL POWELL: Yes.

O'SULLIVAN: When was this taken?

REBEKAH FEDOSICK, DAUGHTER OF RACHEL POWELL: Yeah, this was in the prison. This is Adah, our mom. This is Gideon, me and my husband.

SAVANNAH HUNTINGTON, DAUGHTER OF RACHEL POWELL: The only thing I could think of when I heard that Trump won the election was that my mom is coming home. She's going to be able to come home now. And it just -- I was so excited, you know?

FEDOSICK: Yeah. HUNTINGTON: Just, we're going to have our mom back.

FEDOSICK: You just know she's freaking out.

(LAUGH)

A. POWELL: Yeah. She's so excited. She's so happy.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Their mom was found guilty of engaging in physical violence and of destruction of government property, for breaking a window at the Capitol with an ice axe.

O'SULLIVAN: Do you ever just think, oh mom, I wish you didn't go to Washington D.C. that day?

A. POWELL: I feel like that's a pretty normal thought to have --

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.

A. POWELL: -- when there's so many consequences to the actions.

FEDOSICK: Yeah.

A. POWELL: But ultimately, she was going to support something she believed in.

FEDOSICK: Yeah.

A. POWELL: And she's our mother, so we support her in whatever she decides to do.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.

FEDOSICK: I don't blame her for going, kind of wish she had a little, like, held herself back.

A. POWELL: Maybe a little more restraint would've been nice.

FEDOSICK: Exactly. Yeah. O'SULLIVAN: You guys are not of the opinion your mom went to Washington, D.C. chasing a conspiracy theory, chasing a lie?

HUNTINGTON: No.

A. POWELL: No.

FEDOSICK: No.

A. POWELL: You know, she had a strong belief. She wanted to go support it. And we all share her belief that it was definitely stolen in our opinions.

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O'SULLIVAN: You're certain he will pardon your mom?

FEDOSICK: Yes.

HUNTINGTON: Yes, he will -- he will keep to what he said. He will keep his word. He is going to pardon her.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): While we're at Rachel's home, she called from prison.

R. POWELL (via telephone): Oh man. When Trump won, it was amazing. It was, which I knew, I knew that that's what the American people wanted, so I had no doubt. But as everybody knows, I believe there was election fraud last time. And so I just wondered, are we going to have a fair election this time? And it appears that we did because Trump got elected.

O'SULLIVAN: And do you think he's going to pardon you?

R. POWELL (via telephone): I know he is going to pardon me.

O'SULLIVAN: There's already some media talk about Trump shouldn't pardon people, Trump shouldn't pardon J6 people. What do you say to those people?

R. POWELL (via telephone): I'm not worried about what they say because I believe that Trump is a man of his word and I believe that he's going to do what --

O'SULLIVAN: We got cut off. That's how it normally is, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It does. 15 minutes, you're done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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WALKER: All right. We have breaking news on the U.S. economy. Brand new numbers show inflation actually rose in October after it had been slowing for six straight months. CNN's Matt Egan joining us now from New York. Matt, why are we seeing this reversal? What can you tell us?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Amara, this is a step in the wrong direction, hopefully just a temporary one. We just learned that consumer prices increased by 2.6 percent year-over-year in October. Now, that was exactly as expected, but it does mark an acceleration from the prior month when the rate of inflation fell to a three-and-a- half-year low of just 2.4 percent.

Now, it's important to note that consumer prices were only up 0.2 percent between September and October, and that is hardly an alarming increase. It does suggest that a lot of this has to do with the calendar. And what I mean by that is, the fact that a year ago, we actually had the rate of inflation falling rapidly and that was always going to be tough to live up to. And so, I do think that that's why the initial reaction from the market is relatively positive because they're sort of chalking this up to something more driven by the calendar than anything concerning here. You see U.S. Futures pointing to a slightly higher open. Now digging into this report, we can see a number of positives. We saw that prices actually fell on a monthly basis for a number of categories, including gasoline and close, new cars were basically unchanged. There's also some bad news too. We saw the prices increase significantly for used cars and trucks, and that could have to do with a demand spike related to the hurricanes. We also saw that housing continues to get more expensive and that does remain a concern.

I do think big picture, when you look at the trend, it's clear that things have improved significantly from two-and-a-half years ago when we had the rate of inflation at a four-decade high. It was 9 percent, right? There was $5 a gallon gasoline in America. That was a nightmare for a lot of people. But also, it's clear that things are not quite back to normal yet, and there's going to be some bumps along the way. So, that is obviously something we need to watch for.

We should also note that people have to spend a lot more than they used to, right? Even though the rate of inflation is down, prices are not, they're still going up, just at a slower pace.

[08:55:00]

Moody's has found that the typical household has to spend about $1,100 more per month for the same goods and services that they did in the beginning of 2021, all because of higher prices. Amara, I do think one of the questions from this report is going to be whether or not these numbers are good enough to allow the Federal Reserve to continue to cut interest rates at the next meeting in December, or if this gives more ammo to those economists like Larry Summers who are arguing that the Fed needs to pause here, especially as they assess what the new economic agenda from the incoming Trump Administration is going to mean for inflation. Amara?

WALKER: Yeah, we'll see what the Fed does, but obviously, it's so frustrating for so many Americans. This is a huge campaign issue, election. People voted on this, on the economy, on inflation, and people just want those prices to go down and they could feel that in their pocketbooks. Matt Egan, we're going to leave it there. Good to see you. Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Amara.

WALKER: Thank you so much for being with me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is next.

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