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Gaetz Resigns from House; Trump Picks Loyalists for Top Jobs in Administration; Biden and Trump in the White House; "The Onion" Wins "InfoWars" Auction; Trump Picks Zeldin to Lead EPA. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired November 14, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: -- Kate Bedingfield and former director of strategic communications for Trump's 2020 campaign, Marc Lotter. I think I got all of that right.

Olivia, let me start with you first. After Trump selected Gaetz, you posted that this is like putting the Hamburglar in charge of McDonald's security. I guess that begs the question, who is Grimace in all of this, but your thoughts?

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Yes, I mean, this is making a mockery of our judicial system. And here we have someone who has undermined ethics and the rule of law while serving in Congress, and now we're going to put him in charge of our entire system here? I mean, this is a complete joke, and it's also dangerous for America for him to be in charge.

Think about all the divisions he'll be working on. Think about our civil rights. Think about hate crimes. What does that look like? Who's going to actually keep people in check when they try to do things that are outside the boundaries of how the federal government should be operating? This guy? I seriously think not.

ACOSTA: You know, Mark, this looks like Trump is putting together a government that is of the trolls by the trolls and for the trolls. A lot of these pics have tried to own the libs as it's called over the years. But this is serious. Gaetz has made a lot of controversial remarks during his time in office, particularly on January 6. Let's listen to some of those, followed by what he's told January 6 defendants outside the D.C. jail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): We know this, January 6 last year wasn't an insurrection. No one has been charged with insurrection. No one has been charged with treason, but it -- they very well may have been a fed-surrection.

I just wanted to say how sorry I am that there are any Americans that are having to ignore this two-tiered justice system.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Now, Gaetz has introduced legislation to limit sentences for January 6th defendants. Marc, I mean, is that why Trump is putting Matt Gaetz -- is that part of the reason why he's putting Matt Gaetz at the Justice Department to help him with all these pardons that he wants to issue for those defendants?

MARC LOTTER, FORMER TRUMP 2020 DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT TRUMP AND CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, AMERICA FIRST POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, I can't obviously speak for the president-elect, but I think what you see in all of his cabinet picks, including Matt Gaetz, including some of the others that he's named is that he wants people who are going to go out there and are going to be supportive of the America first agenda, that a majority of Americans voted to support.

He doesn't want to see what happened in the early years of 2017 where we had a lot of people who were not in a fully aligned with the president's policy agenda, trying to invoke their policy views on the president rather than actually executing the plans of the president and the duly elected leader of the free world.

So, I think all of these pics are about that. And it's really, I would say, a warning shot to the deep state, to the bureaucracy that remember, it's the people's elected representatives that are in charge, not you.

ACOSTA: Kate, what do you make of that?

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Look, I mean, this is what Trump said he was going to do. There's -- I mean, he spent a lot of time on the campaign trail talking about the wrongly incarcerated January 6th hostages. I mean, he didn't hide that this was something that he was going to do when he got elected.

So, I think, you know, I agree certainly with Olivia, this does not -- this is not a serious choice. This is a political choice. This is choosing somebody who is going to use the platform of attorney general and the office of the attorney general to presumably, you know, persecute political prosecutions. And that's a dangerous thing for the country.

So, you know, remember now he has to be confirmed, and I think that there's going to be a lot of ugliness in his confirmation. I think, unfortunately, ultimately, given what we've seen from Republican Senate leadership over the years in the Trump era, I think ultimately, you know, I don't expect that a lot of these people are going to stand up and be a profiling courage on this, but you never know. And the process is going to be, I think, very painful for Matt Gaetz, and I think a lot of what's going to surface in the confirmation process is going to be painful.

So, in some ways, this may wind up being a showdown of whether Republicans in the Congress love Donald Trump more or hate Matt Gaetz more and we're going to see that play out. ACOSTA: I mean, there's also the matter of loving the constitution, but I'll set that to the side for a moment. Olivia, Kate, Mark, stay with me. We're going to take a quick break. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: All right. Welcome back. We're talking more about President- Elect Donald Trump's picks for his cabinet for his second term. Let's go back to the guys here to talk about this. I want to show this on- screen, Marc. In 2016, he had Jeff Sessions picked for attorney general, General James Mattis for defense secretary, Senator Dan Coats for director of national intelligence.

Look at the picks heading into the new administration. Matt Gaetz, attorney general, Pete Hegseth, defense secretary, Tulsi Gabbard, DNI. I mean, besides the fact that this looks like Trump is using Booker for Tucker Carlson Show to fill his cabinet. I mean, in 2016 heading into 2017, Marc, these were individuals who were willing to buck Donald Trump, to show some independence.

Jeff Sessions recused himself in the Russia investigation. James Mattis ended up being somebody who warned that Donald Trump was perhaps not a unifier in this country and so on. What does that say about these cabinet picks, Marc? You said that this should be a warning shot to the deep state, but these are also folks who eventually became worried, in some cases, about how Trump viewed the constitution and fundamentally our democracy in this country.

[10:40:00]

LOTTER: Well, and I think -- and obviously, I served alongside all of those folks in 2017 that you mentioned and I thanked them for their service, but they were also creatures of Washington, D.C. I think what you see right now in the Trump picks is this is the next generation of America first leadership. You see younger folks who didn't necessarily come up through the traditional career paths of Washington, D.C. They're outsiders. And I think they need to bring an outsider's view into some of these agencies to ask questions about, why are we doing this way? Is this the reason why, because we've been doing something this way for the last 40 or 50 years we have to keep doing it this way, or should we start adjusting and making the, government, the bureaucracy, a little more responsive to the people rather than responsible to Washington D.C.?

So, I think it reflects the president's commitment to put America first and make sure our government is actually delivering on behalf of the American people not just serving --

ACOSTA: Yes, but, Marc -- I mean, but, Marc, have you looked -- we put that graphic back up on screen. I mean, on the left side, you had professionals, people with experience going into each and every one of these important positions. On the right, I mean, honestly, this looks like the guest lineup on Fox's primetime lineup tonight.

I mean, Olivia, if you can talk about the change in just the level of expertise here, the level of gravitas here.

TROYE: Yes, and there's certainly a level of lack of experience, especially when it comes to our national security, given the picks. And I would say maybe, yes, we're bringing outsiders in. We're bringing in Russia's influence is what this is because we have people like Tulsi Gabbard who are spreading Kremlin talking points and spreading conspiracies.

And so, quite frankly, to me, who's someone who served in our national security community and to actually takes great offense to the term the deep state and I always have, because all of us serve for the greater good of the country without really truly what they accuse us of being a partisan lens. We're actually just trying to follow our constitution, our oaths, and obey the rule of law.

And so, when I see this cast of characters, I worry. I worry about what it's going to look like for intelligence sharing with our country. I worry about how our allies view this. I worry that they're no longer going to share that intelligence when they worry about where it's going to end up. And I worry about what that means for our homeland security. And whether that means we're more susceptible to attacks like what we saw at 9/11 when this happens.

ACOSTA: And, Kate, I did want to talk to you a little bit about President Biden inviting Trump to the White House yesterday where they met for a couple of hours. They were smiling for the cameras. I'm just wondering what you thought about that. What was going through your mind? I mean, what do you say to Democrats who see this picture, for example, right here and are disappointed that the president would look so chummy after calling Donald Trump a threat to democracy?

BEDINGFIELD: Well, I think it's important to demonstrate that we participate in the peaceful transfer of power in this country. So, I think, first and foremost, even if you're a Democrat who felt uncomfortable when you saw those photos, then, you know what, I'll cop to being one of them. I looked at the photo of, you know, President Biden smiling and I felt a little uncomfortable.

But I think it is incredibly important that he sends a signal to the country, to people who -- many of whom -- the majority of whom voted for Donald Trump. Then he sends that message that says, you know, we as a government will continue to function. I think that's important. We obviously did not get that in 2020 when we were coming in. President Trump did not extend us, the incoming Biden team, to say the least, did not extend us that courtesy.

But it is an important signal. I also think it is a show of unity. I mean, again, we have to accept the majority of the country who voted voted for Donald Trump. And I think it's important as a show of unity, which is something that President Biden does feel very strongly about, that he was sending that signal. So, I think as a Democrat, you can feel uncomfortable with the photo and also recognize that it serves an important purpose for our country.

I -- also, can I just quickly respond to what Marc was saying about outsiders coming in? ACOSTA: Sure.

BEDINGFIELD: You know, I think that -- I think the problem with that framing and that talking point is you have in Donald Trump, somebody who has asked -- of the people who serve him has asked them to violate the constitution, asked them to do things in 2020 to not ultimately certify Biden as the winner of the election. So, it's one thing to say you're going to bring in people who are going to look at all of the government with a new lens and shake it up, it's entirely another to say you're bringing in people who are going to be willing to do only what Donald Trump wants when there is a long history of Donald Trump asking them to do things that are at odds with the constitution of the United States. That's what's frightening about these nominations.

ACOSTA: Well, and as Olivia remembers during the first Trump administration, I suppose Marc does as well, is that Trump would have these cabinet meetings and they would go around the room and it was -- people refer to it as sort of the dear leader moments where each individual cabinet secretary would go around and lavish praise on the then president. I suppose that's going to be coming back on steroids.

[10:45:00]

Olivia, Kate, and Marc, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it. Still to come, how the very people, Alex Jones, defamed paired up with a satirical news site to get the winning bid to take over InfoWars. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: New this morning, the satirical news site, The Onion, has just won an auction to acquire the media outlet InfoWars.

Right wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The Onion's bid was backed by the families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting, the very people that Jones defamed. And now, Alex Jones is responding on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX JONES, FOUNDER, INFOWARS: The Connecticut Democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us. They asked, did they outbid? They said, well, it was competitive. So, they changed all the bidding rules, made it secret two days ago. I had a bad feeling. I told you that. And just like they tried to shut us down back in late May without a court order, they're supposed to have a court order. There's going to be injunctions filed. I'm about to go live out of Harrison's American journal studio. I don't know what's going to happen. But I'm going to be here until they come in here and turn the lights off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: Joining us now, CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter. Brian, how did this go down? This is a pretty stunning development. BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: This is. It's both hilarious and also very serious, Jim. For those who don't know, The Onion, this is the print newspaper of The Onion. The Onion's a long-time comedy brand, a satire brand, making fun of real news. The Onion was fake news before that slogan ever erupted in our politics. Here's an example from The Onion paper, Jim. Trump launches his own brand of voting machines. Like, that's the kind of humor that we need. The Onion is known for.

But they're doing something very serious here. They were able to bid for the InfoWars media empire. InfoWars, of course, a very different kind of fake news. InfoWars and Alex Jones, is all about fear, fear of immigrants, fear of Democrats, fear of government. He is a disinformation artist. And it was his defaming of the Sandy Hook families that caused all of this to happen.

That lawsuit, it was that $1.4 or $1.5 billion judgment against Jones that sent this to auction. And as of today, a judge has ruled that The Onion, a satirical news website, gets to own all of the InfoWars assets. So, as we speak, Jim, infowars.com, the website's already been taken down. And now, the new owners, whether they use it for comedy, or they use it for advocacy, we're going to find out in the months to come.

ACOSTA: Fascinating. Especially after Alex Jones caused so much pain for the families of the Sandy Hook victims, defaming them, just putting them through hell. A lot of people are seeing --

STELTER: And that's why --

ACOSTA: Yes. Some justice here.

STELTER: This is another example of the courts bringing real punishment for defamation. Jim, you and I have been covering this for a few years now. We've seen how it's really only the courts that are able to bring justice to the big liars out there, promoting big lies. And Alex Jones, in some ways, was the biggest one of them all.

Look, he's going to set up shop somewhere else. He's vowing to fight on. He has allies like Steve Bannon. They're going to help him do it. But The Onion was able to partner with the Sandy Hook families and they've actually struck an advertising deal with the gun control group, Every Town for Gun Safety. So, they're trying to do some good to take out a lot of all the damage that Alex Jones caused, Jim.

ACOSTA: Well, hats off to them all. Brian Stelter, thank you very much. Very important story this morning.

In the meantime, President-Elect Donald Trump has announced many of his cabinet picks this week, including the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Hasn't gotten as much news, but this is also fascinating. Former Republican Congressman of New York, Lee Zeldin, in 2014 he was asked about climate change, and this was his stance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FMR. REP. LEE ZELDIN (R-NY): I'm not sold yet on the whole argument that we have as seriously a problem with climate change as other people are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: With me now to discuss this pick is CNN's Bill Weir, our climate guru. Bill, what can you tell us about this? Because, I mean, he could have picked a coal industry lobbyist or something like that, but Lee Zeldin.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that was the move, the last go around. You remember Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general, who spent most of his career suing the EPA, put in charge of it, and then he flamed out during ethics scandals. Andrew Wheeler, a coal lobbyist, replaced him there. And probably wanted that job back again, from what we understand.

But Lee Zeldin, like all these picks, a true loyalist, of course, voted against the 2020 election certification, sat with the Trumps in the box many times. He -- former New York from Long Island. Put himself actually on climate solutions, caucuses, and estuary committees because the environment matters very much to folks on Long Island there.

But if you look at his voting record, 50 times he voted against climate change legislation, against clean water legislation, 11 times clean air, eight times. The League of Conservation Voters tracks the voting records of every member of Congress, and on a scale of 100, he gets a 14, which is actually better than most Republicans who are in the single digits. He did vote for regulating PFAS, Forever Chemicals, at one point, and to give Native American tribes some money to -- you know, to actually release wild buffalo. So, that boosted his League of Conservation score a little bit.

But it just seems like if these other picks, Jim, that you're talking about are in the indication, these are pressure tests, you know, for the American and for the Senate. And when it comes to environmental rollbacks and what -- you know, what he would hope to do and gut from day one on, you got to imagine the sky is the limit for Lee Zeldin and that agency. And there's a lot of folks who were there, survived first term, who are terrified today, Jim.

ACOSTA: And, Bill, this is happening as we're still getting new indicators, warning lights about our climate.

[10:55:00]

WEIR: Exactly. Yes. I mean, the temperatures are off the charts. The ocean temperatures were at the verge of these tipping points that once we go past them when it comes to ocean currents or, you know, permafrost melting, we can't get back right. So, these are such vital years right now that we're dealing with. And then it's new administration, not only ambivalent about the science but almost antagonistic. So, we'll see. We'll see who was able to hold the line. ACOSTA: All right. Bill Weir. And of course, Donald Trump, at the head of all this, has made a lot of claims that are just outright climate denialism. Bill Weir, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it this morning.

And thank you for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of Newsroom with Pamela Brown. She's just in the studio down the hallway. She starts after a short break. Have a good day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]