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Biden Holding Final Meeting With China's Xi; Scrutiny Over Growing List Of Trump Picks; Some Raise National Security Alarms Over Gabbard As Intel Chief; Interview With Congressman-Elect Eugene Vindman (D-VA); House Speaker Johnson: Releasing Gaetz Report "Would Open A Pandora's Box"; California Voters Shift More Conservative In Latest Election. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired November 16, 2024 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[17:00:14]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. And I'm Jessica Dean in Atlanta.
And we're following two big stories this hour. Let's go first to Peru, where President Biden and China's President Xi Jinping are meeting right now, likely for the final time.
We're about to get our first video of that meeting, and we have new reporting on what is being discussed. Stand by for the information.
But first, the Trump transition also moving at a rapid clip. Just moments ago President-Elect Trump announcing he's tapping Chris Wright to be -- who is the head of a fracking company -- to be his secretary of Energy. This comes amid growing scrutiny for many of Trumps key cabinet picks.
RFK Jr. chosen for head of Health and Human services has rung some bells -- alarm bells in the medical community.
We've also learned that Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth was accused of sexual assault.
And Trump's choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, was the subject of several investigations including alleged drug use and sex trafficking.
Let's head now to West Palm Beach for the very latest on all of this.
CNN's Steve Contorno is near Mar-a-Lago, where President-Elect Trump is considering more cabinet selections. And Steve, as we've been talking, this is moving at a very fast clip. It is very fluid.
What can you tell us about Trumps newly-announced pick for Energy secretary.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're certainly right, Jessica. We are seeming to get a new name every single day, sometimes multiple
a day, as Trump quickly assembles his cabinet for his second term.
Let me walk you through a little bit of Chris Wright's biography, to give you a sense of who he is. He is the CEO of Liberty Energy, that is a company that services oil and natural gas extraction and production companies. He is -- he and his wife are together major Republican donors and in fact held a fundraiser for Donald Trump earlier this year.
He is also someone who does not believe in climate change and has said things like there is no climate crisis, which, given Donald Trump's position on this issue, shouldn't be surprising. But it is notable given the department that he will be leading.
He will -- he will be joining a newly-formed Council of National Energy, along with Doug Burgum as well.
DEAN: All right. Steve Contorno for us with the latest on Trump's latest pick and could be more tonight and throughout the weekend.
Again, thanks so much for that reporting, Steve.
Meantime some members of the intelligence community are raising some national security concerns over former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. President-Elect Trump has tapped her to be his director of National Intelligence.
But Gabbard has a history of spreading Russian conspiracy theories and propaganda, even cozying up to some of America's biggest adversaries, including Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad who is accused of being responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians.
Here's what -- here's some of what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think Assad is our enemy?
TULSI GABBARD, NOMINEE FOR DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Assad is not the enemy of the United States because the Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States.
Here's something you are not going to hear in the mainstream media. What you do hear is warmongers arguing that we must protect Ukraine because it is a quote, unquote "democracy".
But they're lying. Ukraine isn't actually a democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Joining me now is the newly-elected Democratic Congressman of Virginia Eugene Vindman.
Congressman, thanks so much for being here with us.
EUGENE VINDMAN (D-VA), CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: Thank you for having me.
DEAN: I just want to ask you first, if you agree with critics who say that Gabbard would be a threat to America's national security in this role.
VINDMAN: Well, look, I do. The bottom line is that I think she's unqualified. She peddles in conspiracy theories. She kowtows and caters to dictators and really, our adversaries. And she's unfit for that position -- a critical position, national security.
Look, there are a number of Trump nominations that are concerning, but the ones in my mind that are most concerning and the ones that we can't trifle with are the ones in the national security realm because those are the ones that have to do with use of force and potentially putting American troops on the ground and in harm's way.
DEAN: And you played a key role in the first impeachment of now President-Elect Donald Trump, raising concerns about an alleged quid pro quo call between him and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
[17:04:52]
DEAN: And in his campaign for reelection, Trump talked a lot about retribution for what he called his political enemies. Are you concerned about that? Do you have to have a lawyer, or is this something you've thought about?
VINDMAN: Actually, I haven't spent a great deal of time thinking about it. I'm thinking about how to perform the duties that I have been elected to perform as a member of Congress. as a member of Congress, I have a constitutional obligation to not only represent the voters that elected me to this position, but also to be a check and a balance on the president's power. Congress is a co-equal branch of government.
And I'll work with the president where I can. I worked for him for 19 months in the previous administration. And I will work with him where I can and then I will hold him to account where I must.
My interests are to improve the lives of the voters of the seventh congressional district and all Americans. And so in areas of taxes and reducing costs, I'll work with the president.
And in areas where I disagree with him and certainly on national security I will hold him to account.
DEAN: And on that note, I am curious what you make of this news that Elon Musk joined the call between Trump and Zelenskyy last week.
VINDMAN: Look, Elon Musk has no foreign relations, diplomatic training. It's an odd call. It's certainly not something that you would typically see.
Elon Musk has talked about his own peace plan. I'm not sure exactly what that looks like. But the president has promised to end the war in Ukraine. He said numerous times that he will do so within 24 hours. And so really now the pressure is on him. You're not going to end this
war in Ukraine by just putting pressure on the Ukrainians. You're going to have to put pressure on the Russians.
And the Russians are frankly feeling pretty good. They're feeling pretty good about some of the progress they're making. And it's not a, you know, massive progress on the battlefield, but they've got initiative on the battlefield.
They're also feeling pretty good about some of the nominations he's got. So he's nominating a relative lightweight in a secretary of Defense, somebody that has no strategic level experience, somebody that's never managed a large operation.
He's nominating folks like Tulsi Gabbard, who's an apologist for the Russians.
He's nominating people like Ratcliffe, the former congressman from Texas and CIA, who's primarily known as a partisan.
And people like Matt Gaetz, who's not a serious -- a serious candidate. I mean, just look at what the Republicans in the Senate have said about him. And you know, his commitment to the rule of law at best is questionable.
So, I think they're feeling pretty good. And I think the president is going to have to come to grips with the fact that he will have to put pressure on the Russians to come to the bargaining table and end this war.
DEAN: And so I am curious then, just to kind of circle back to where we all began with this. If he has -- if Tulsi Gabbard for example, is indeed confirmed and is sitting in that position, how does that impact how he's going to try to end this war and what those negotiations might look like depending on who's around him.
VINDMAN: Look I think that some of these nominations are not a foregone conclusion. And I'll go back to my statement of what Republicans in the Senate have said about some of these nominations.
And so I think he's got a long road to go before we see whether he'll have some of these people in position like Tulsi Gabbard and Matt Gaetz and Mr. Hegseth, who's recently been accused of frankly, you know, sexual assault, as I understand it.
And so I don't think we should count out the fact that they won't make it through the process. But if they do make it through the process somehow, obviously it'll be highly concerning.
But's he's going to have some headwinds. How he communicates with the Russian government to bring them to the bargaining table when they feel like they're better off continuing to fight and that they're -- they can continue to seize Ukrainian territory. I'm not sure how he does that.
It's going to require pressure on the Russians in order to bring them to the bargaining table.
DEAN: And you mentioned Pete Hegseth. I'd like to just play some of what he said in the past. Here's a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, NOMINEE FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY: the dumbest phrase on planet earth in the military is our diversity is our strength.
[17:09:51]
HEGSETH: It's one thing to have DEI inside your corporation or inside your university. It's a whole another thing to have it inside the 101st Airborne.
We only have one military, and if the military goes woke then it is less equipped to fight the wars it needs to fight.
I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Congressman-elect, as we listen to those clips, this is -- these are the people that President-Elect Trump has selected. He won this election. What do you say to the idea that the American people said to him and he was not quiet about any of this. He was very honest about what he wanted to do. And the American people voted for him.
What do you say to them -- what do you say to that, in the sense that this is what America voted for.
VINDMAN: Look, I would say first of all, that the comments that Mr. Hegseth has made are reprehensible. They're an insult to so many women that have served in uniform, so many people from diverse backgrounds.
I mean, I've had -- when I was jumping out of airplanes in the 82nd airborne, it didn't matter whether you were black, white, Hispanic, Republican, Independent, Democrat.
We had a mission to do. And that's the mission focus that every soldier, every service member in uniform has. And so to denigrate their backgrounds, it doesn't make sense to me.
In fact, in the sense that those that come with diverse backgrounds, whether they come from parts of the world where I came from, my family came from the Soviet Union and bring that understanding of language and culture, or whether they come from the Middle East or Africa.
Those are actual positives. They provide a lens that very few other countries have. So you don't have many immigrants that come to, to China or Russia that bring that kind of skill set and knowledge. And that diversity has been our strength.
So, I disagree wholeheartedly with that. And the president did win the election but he's got to get his appointments through the Senate and we'll see what happens there.
DEAN: All right. Congressman-Elect Eugene Vindman, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.
VINDMAN: Thank you.
DEAN: Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Few Trump cabinet picks have the chance to disrupt Washington like the former Florida congressman could.
The former acting deputy attorney general, Ed O'Callaghan joins us now in just a moment to help break that all down.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
[17:12:28]
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DEAN: We are waiting for the first video out of this final meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Now this is happening in Peru, kind of a sideline conversation during a summit of Pacific leaders. I believe we're getting this in right now.
And you can see the Chinese president there waiting to greet President joe Biden, who walks in. And we're being told that China's president told -- we'll listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How will the two nations address North Korea?
President Xi, are you prepared for President-Elect Trump?
Mr. President what will be your advice on president-elect --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Again, seeing those two together for what is likely the last time, very likely the last time, that President Joe Biden is in the Oval Office.
I want to go to Marc Stewart who is in Beijing. And Marc, we're getting reporting that China's president told Joe Biden that the U.S.- China relationship would remain unchanged following the election of Donald Trump.
What are you gathering from this meeting? Again, underscoring that this is likely the last time these two will meet as Joe Biden is president of the United States.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting Jessica. It's just after 6:00 in the morning here in Beijing. and from what we are seeing, the reporting from Chinese state media, which is the government's messenger service, once again, China is trying to play this diplomatically-safe and send this message through the current administration to the incoming Trump administration that China craves stability and communication as it moves forward.
One thing that caught my attention looking at some of the coverage here in China, a lot of the phrasing that Xi Jinping used with President Biden is the exact phrasing that he used when congratulating President-Elect Trump, talking about win-win cooperation, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence.
China is at a pivotal time right now because for the moment it has had a diplomatic relationship with the United States that appears to be somewhat stable.
We are seeing regular diplomatic conversations. We're seeing regular diplomatic visits. And now we have an administration coming in once again bringing up this idea of additional tariffs among the many issues facing these two global leaders.
[17:19:55]
STEWART: So it is in China's best interest to try to -- try to roll out the welcome mat, if you will.
These two leaders, President Biden and President Xi, have had a relationship for a decade. There have been some points of deep contention, but right now it's a little bit stable.
DEAN: All right. Mark, thank you so much.
And I believe we can listen in a little bit as there is translation available. Let's listen for a second.
XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): -- mutually beneficial cooperation can lead to common development.
(INAUDIBLE) is not what a major country should pursue, only openness and sharing can improve the well-being of humanity.
As two major countries, China and the United States should bear in mind the interests of the whole world and inject more certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world.
It is my consistent belief that as the world's most important bilateral relationship, a stable China-U.S. relationship is critical not only to the interests of the Chinese and American peoples, but also to the future and destiny of the entire humanity.
The two countries should bear in mind the well-being of the two peoples and the common interests of the international community. Make the wise choice to keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other and realize the long-term, peaceful coexistence of China and the United States on this planet.
May the United States has recently concluded its election. Chinas goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged.
Our commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win (ph) cooperation as principles for handling China-U.S. relations remains unchanged.
Our position of resolutely safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged. Our desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged.
China is ready to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship for the benefit of the two peoples.
I look forward to an in-depth exchange of views with you on China-U.S. relations and on issues of mutual interest. Thank you.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. It's good to see you and to see all of you again.
You know, one year ago we met in the woodside summit in San Francisco and I'm very proud of the progress we both made together. Our military communication at multiple levels, our leaders are now regularly talking to one another on a regular basis.
On A.I. we have brought together our nation's experts together to discuss risks and safety.
Our counternarcotics, on that issue we resume cooperation and I want to note in my country, Mr. President, overdose deaths are coming down for the first time in five years.
We have a lot to discuss, but let me close with this.
For over a decade, you and I have spent many hours together, both here and in China and in between. And you know, we -- I think we spent a long time dealing with these issues.
Let me close with this. We, I think, and I once had to count up the number of hours you and I spent alone together. I remember being on the Tibetan plateau with you, and I remember being in Beijing. I remember all over the world.
And both as my -- first as vice president, then as president. We haven't always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank. We have never kidded one another. We've been leveled with one another. And I think that's vital.
These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict. In competition, not conflict.
That's our responsibility to our people, and as you indicated, to the people around the world. We are the most important alliance or most important relationship in the entire world. And how we're getting along together is going to impact the rest of the world.
[17:24:50] BIDEN: And so, you know our two countries cannot let any of this competition veer into conflict. And as I said, that's our responsibility. And over the last four years, I think we've proven it's possible to have this relationship.
And so, Mr. President, I'm anxious to get our meeting started and discuss the issues we have remaining. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are you concerned about U.S.-China relations under the incoming Trump administration?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: All right. Again listening to President Biden and President Xi Jinping there. Their opening statements of their meeting. While they have been there at the APEC summit, they have a pull-aside at the summit there in Peru.
I want to go to White House correspondent Kayla Tausche, who is there in Lima, who has been traveling with the president.
And Kayla, before we listened to their remarks, our own Marc Stewart was telling us how China was really coming at this trying to emphasize their desire for stability in their relationship with the United States.
As we have President-Elect Trump coming into office, of course, threatening these very hefty tariffs that could -- that could really have quite an impact on China. What is the president -- the current president, Joe Biden, and his team trying to accomplish in this final meeting with Xi Jinping?
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Jessica, they acknowledge that this final meeting is more of a capstone to tie up a relationship between these two leaders that has spanned multiple administrations rather than a meeting that is structured to deliver any massive outcomes or agreements.
I mean, to be sure, in the words of one foreign policy expert, the upside is tiny and the downside is enormous. If you are President Xi Jinping and you are bracing for an incoming Trump administration 2.0, during which you expect that there's going to be the need to negotiate on trade, on defense, on a whole host of issues.
So for today's meeting you there heard both leaders saying that whatever happens between the two nations is vital for the security of the entire world. That was a common theme that you heard from both President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping.
And while he says that the relationship will be unchanged going forward regardless of who's president, we know from our own reporting, the top Chinese communist party officials have been canvasing foreign policy experts and asking them exactly which Trump policies from the campaign trail could actually become his second term agenda. How he approached the military footprint in the South China Sea, in the Indo- Pacific more broadly? Is there a grand bargain that might be possible on trade? Is he serious about these tariffs?
So all of those are questions that Beijing is asking of people who know Trump and his team. Well, they're seeking intermediaries to figure out if ok, is there another crop of perhaps business executives or family members that perhaps the Chinese could deal with to circumvent the hardline China hawks that Trump has appointed to his cabinet?
Of course, all of that is a work in progress. But for now, the Chinese are focused on tying up their relationship with the Biden administration. Biden is too.
And then the day after comes next on January 21st, Jessica.
DEAN: All right. Kayla, thank you.
We also have David Sanger with us. And as Kayla is talking about that, David, you just -- you can't help but notice Trump looms large in all of this. And to her point, the Chinese very much want to know how serious is he about all of these promises?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's a great question, Jessica, because while you look at these images, it looks like every other China-U.S. meeting you've seen. I'm just a few miles right now from where the Woodside meeting took place a year ago. And the thought was at that time that that was stabilizing the relationship.
In fact, on both sides, it's not as stable as it looks. Obviously the entry of President Trump, brings upon the possibility not only of tariffs but of a much broader change in other policies that the U.S. has pursued, including military to military communication, including a fairly lengthy dialog on the future of the South China Sea and on Taiwan on which President Trump's views are still not well known.
But the biggest difference Jessica, is that when Trump left power four years ago, the relationship that exists now between Russia and China was really nascent. It had not turned into much.
Now we have China supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, providing it with technology. And the question is going to be, is President Trump going to view it as his strategy to get in the way of that superpower partnership?
[17:29:51]
SANGER: And we don't know. It never came up in the course of the campaign. It's probably the biggest single change in geopolitics since Trump left office.
DEAN: It's such a great point.
All right. David Sanger, Marc Stewart, Kayla Tausche -- thank you to all of you.
We're going to continue to keep an eye on all of this. but let's take a quick break. We'll be right back.
[17:30:11]
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DEAN: Controversy dominating President-Elect Trump's pick for attorney general. Former Congressman Matt Gaetz resigning from Congress this week, closing the door on a House ethics investigation.
Now it's not clear if that ethics report will ever see the light of day. In the meantime, some GOP members are revisiting their harsh criticisms of Gaetz.
Here's House Republican Mike Lawler talking to CNN's Manu Raju.
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[17:35:00]
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Remember, I called him a clown and a charlatan.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And you stand by that?
LAWLER: Yes.
RAJU: One quick question. Should a clown and a charlatan run that Justice Department?
LAWLER: Look, obviously, the president has every right to nominate who he chooses. There will be a confirmation process. We'll let that process play out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: While critics say the ethics report should be made public to make a fair judgment, Trump loyalists, including House Speaker Johnson, say it should stay private.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): People who are no longer members of Congress, I think it would open a Pandora's box. I think it's a very important rule that should be maintained.
If it's been broken once or twice, it should not have been, because that would be a Pandora's box. I think it's a very important tradition to maintain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: For more now, we're joined by Ed O'Callaghan, a former federal prosecutor and formerly a top official in the Justice Department.
And thanks so much for being here with us. ED O'CALLAGHAN, FORMER U.S. DEPT. OF JUSTICE OFFICIAL & FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Nice to be here. Thanks for having me, Jessica.
DEAN: First, I just want to get your reaction to the selection of Gaetz. It's been a few days now. You can kind of let it settle in. What do you think?
O'CALLIGHAN: I'm surprised but I'm not surprised at the same time, Jessica. It is very Trump like to select someone kind of out of the box, someone who people didn't expect. Certainly, Matt Gaetz fits that -- fits that shoe.
But look, there are concerns, mainly not only does he not have experience in the Department of Justice. He doesn't have any prosecutorial experience.
And you know, the viewers should know, because they've seen it over the course of the most recent administrations, the critical role the attorney general plays in so many facets of the national security and law enforcement apparatus of the country.
It's an important job, and it needs a serious person at the top of it.
So as Representative Lawler and others have said, there is a Senate confirmation process. And I think that the Senate leadership should take that -- that responsibility seriously, ask critical questions, and really put the president-elect's candidate to the test.
DEAN: Do you think that ethics investigation should be made public, should be part of that conversation?
O'CALLIGHAN: Well, I think that whatever the Senate leadership believes, they should be able to access and review, to exercise their constitutional duties to make an assessment of the fitness of the individual for such an important role.
And if the Senate leadership believes they should have access to it, that makes sense to me.
I'm not so sure whether it's something that should be made public. You know, I am a Department of Justice veteran and, you know, the principle, the main principle of the Department of Justice investigations that don't become public by way of an indictment, is that the information in the grand jury investigation remains sealed.
And so that is obviously to protect the privacy of any individuals who were investigated. And so I do think that there's merit to maintaining those findings in private by the -- by the House.
But I do think the Senate leadership should have a -- have a review of it.
DEAN: And as somebody who has been in the DOJ, you know, Trump talked a lot about -- about going after his political enemies, about exacting revenge, really, his allies, too, have talked a lot about this. Matt Gaetz has talked a lot about exacting revenge on his political enemies, on Trump's political enemies.
Are you concerned about that? Do you think that's a real thing?
O'CALLIGHAN: Look, I -- you have to be -- and pay attention to statements that people make publicly, of course.
But I do, I want to caution that, you know, the Department of Justice and all of the law enforcement agencies that are part of the Department of Justice, 115,000 employees, that are critical to the national security, you know, violent crime, law enforcement apparatus of the country.
There's a lot to do. And so the -- the cases that get covered sometimes, ones that have a political tinge seem to have overweighted attention paid to them.
But I think that the real -- the real scrutiny should be, does he have the right experience to -- to play the role in the fabric of the national security apparatus of the country that the attorney general plays?
And so I think what's also important is to look at some of the other appointments that the -- that the president has indicated he's going to make. Todd Blanche for deputy attorney general and Emil Bove for the position of paddock (ph), which is the position I held.
[17:40:00]
Of both of them, one has really extensive federal prosecutorial experience in violent crimes, which I would expect to be a primary priority of the department. And the other has deep experience in national security, which I've been harping on a little bit, is very important for it.
So it's not just the person. It's the people who that person is surrounded by. And I think the Trump team is indicating that they -- they really do understand how important and critical the whole department leadership apparatus plays.
DEAN: All right. Ed O'Callaghan, thank you so much for your thoughts on that. We really appreciate it.
O'CALLAGHAN: Thank you for having me, Jessica.
DEAN: Well, California is known for being a liberal state, but this election showed its residents drifting more to the right. That's next here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[17:45:28]
DEAN: Votes are still being counted in California. And while the state has a history of being reliably blue, this election has shown many are choosing more conservative policies, especially when it comes to crime. CNN's Camila Bernal is joining us now.
Camila, walk us through the voter shift to the right in California and how this might be mirroring what's going on across the country.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jess. So the expert that I spoke to told me it's all about perception. Specifically when it comes to crime.
I spoke to the restaurant owner of the place here behind me, Casa Vega. And what she told me is that she was driven to vote for maybe more conservative measures because of the crimes happening at her restaurant and in this area.
She says that it was really hard to get these crimes prosecuted. And so when you see that, when she experiences it and the people around and see that, that's when you have this perception of crime being extremely high, which then led a lot of people to vote a little bit more red in very blue California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERNAL (voice-over): With it's dark interior and festive lights, friendly servers, traditional Mexican food, and of course, margaritas, many consider Casa Vega a Los Angeles institution.
CHRISTY VEGA, OWNER AND PRESIDENT, CASA VEGA: Our little immigrant family from Tijuana made such an impact on L.A. And it's my honor to continue this legacy.
BERNAL: But to continue the legacy, Owner Christy Vega says she's recently had to vocalize her political views.
VEGA: As a Democrat, lifelong Democrat, I 100 percent feel the Democratic Party turned their back on people like me.
BERNAL: Among her top concerns, crime and homelessness.
You've seen it on viral videos, smash-and-grab stores being targeted, vandalism, and it's happened at the restaurant.
It's why Christy decided to support California's Proposition 36. The get-tough-on-crime measure passed in blue California and will now increase penalties for repeated theft offenses and certain drug crimes.
VEGA: I voted for Kamala Harris. I voted for Adam Schiff. But I voted for yes on Prop 36 and on Nathan Hochman.
BERNAL: She's referring to the newly elected Los Angeles district attorney, a former Democrat-turned-Republican and now Independent, who beat L.A.'s more liberal D.A. George Gascon.
NATHAN HOCHMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY-ELECT: So many people would come up to me, and they would just shake their head, and they'd say, what the heck is going on here in L.A. County? They were fed up with crime.
BERNAL: In San Francisco, a Democrat also defeated its current mayor, seen as being ineffectual in fighting homelessness and crime.
And in Oakland, the mayor and the Alameda County district attorney both recalled after similar criticism, a trend USC Professor Christian Grose says is directly related to crime.
CHRISTIAN GROSE, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE & PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: The national views on crime are not that different than the state attitudes on crime.
BERNAL: He says social issues still trend blue, and voters here still prefer liberal candidates.
GROSE: But the crime issue is the one exception, where the crime issue is really becoming more conservative in this state.
BERNAL: It's about perception, he says. Adding that while crime may not be at historic highs, that public perception is what motivated people to vote.
At Casa Vega, it was also crimes that were not prosecuted. But Christy says that the election results give her hope.
VEGA: I will definitely continue to be a Democrat, but I will not just be a tribal Democrat. And I think that that's where the country in general has lost its way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERNAL: And Christy says she really hopes this election is wake-up call. She said that after various incidents at her restaurant, she now has to spend about $100,000 a year on private security.
She's hoping that after this election, it means she may be able to spend more money on her restaurant and her employees instead of having to spend it on private security.
She also hopes that the crimes that do happen get prosecuted so that people committing these crimes get the message. And so ideally, this changes things. But of course, only time will tell -- Jess?
DEAN: Yes. That's right. And Casa Vega, such an institution, indeed.
Camila Bernal, thanks so much.
[17:49:47]
New tonight. Prosecutors in New York are now saying rapper, Sean "Diddy" Combs, is trying to obstruct the government's sex trafficking case against him from behind bars. We're going to have more on that coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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DEAN: Time is running out to vote on who you think should be CNN Hero of the Year. We are reintroducing you to the top-five candidates.
It includes Rachel Rutter, an immigration lawyer who saw the many physical, social and educational needs of unaccompanied migrant children have and decided to go well beyond her free legal representation to meet them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: The cartels started asking for money. They were telling my family they were going to kidnap me and my sister. My mother chose to just leave everything we had.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[17:55:00]
RACHEL RUTTER, CNN HERO: Once the children arrived here in the U.S., they've already been through so much trauma it can be jarring when they arrive here and realize that it's really just beginning.
These kids are not coming here to ruin the United States, or take our jobs, or commit crimes. They're coming here to be safe and to take care of their families.
They want to study. They want to work. They want to achieve something here in the U.S. And they are some of the hardest working, kindest, most resilient kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: And you can go to CNNheroes.com right now to vote for Rachel for CNN Hero of the Year or any of your favorite top-five heroes. You get 10 votes per day, every day to help the heroes who inspire you the most.
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