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Biden Authorizes Ukraine To Use Long-Range US Weapons In Russia; Trump Determined To See Gaetz As AG Despite Controversies; Biden, Xi Stress The Importance Of Open Dialogue Between Both Nations In Last Meeting. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 17, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:41]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with this breaking news. a major policy shift from the White House with potentially huge ramifications for the war in Ukraine. For the first time, President Biden is now authorizing Ukraine to use long range US weapons inside of Russian territory. The decision comes after North Korea deployed thousands of troops into Kursk as part of a new Russian offensive.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is traveling with the president in Brazil and we are also joined by CNN chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh.

Good evening to both of you.

So, Kevin, you first. What more are you learning about this decision and why now?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is a significant change in policy. It had been a long time under consideration inside the Biden administration. President Biden now determining that the time is right to allow Ukraine to fire these long range US provided ATACMS missiles inside of Russia and it comes at what American officials say is something of an inflection point in this conflict.

Tens of thousands of Russian troops are massing near the northern region of Kursk as they prepare to try and claw back some territory from Ukraine, and they have been supplemented by thousands of troops from North Korea, that is causing a great deal of alarm in Washington, and that is part of what has led to this decision today.

American officials say that they want to send a signal to the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un that he is sending his troops into Ukraine at their own peril.

But I also don't think you can ignore the fact that this is coming two months before President Biden hands off power to Donald Trump. Of course, Donald Trump has voiced deep skepticism about American assistance, both military and financial, to Ukraine. He says he would be able to resolve this conflict in one day. He hasn't necessarily said how he would do that, but the implication, of course is that it would require some territorial concessions on the part of Ukraine and what American officials want to do now is put Kyiv in the best possible position to win this war, or at least to eventually regain some momentum on the battlefield before Trump comes into office.

Now this had been the subject of an intense internal debate inside the administration. Of course, you did have the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, putting intense pressure on Washington to arrive at this decision, but you also heard leaders from other NATO countries who said that Ukraine needed this capability if it was able to regain some momentum, essentially saying that Ukraine's hands were tied, if it wasn't able to fire these missiles inside of Russia.

But on the other hand you had officials who are deeply worried about the risk of escalation certainly, that is something that President Biden has been at the forefront of his mind every time one of these new capabilities comes on the table.

You also heard officials on the military side of things in the United States worry about the stockpiles. At the end of the day, these are not weapons that are in limitless supply.

Now, President Biden has come to this decision. It does follow something of a pattern of certain capabilities being off the table for a while, whether its F-16s, whether it is tanks, only for President Biden to come to the decision to allow Ukraine to use them.

And, of course, the Ukraine war and Donald Trump's return to the presidency, all of that is a backdrop for the G-20 Summit that is getting underway here in Rio de Janeiro. President Biden will be arriving here later tonight.

WHITFIELD: Okay and then, Nick, you know, I wonder how potentially impactful or helpful will this policy shift, this delivery of long range missiles be for Ukraine?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Fred, in practical terms, as Kevin was saying, there aren't really enough of these ATACMS that the US has to spare to give to Ukraine that this is going to make an overnight massive change on the battlefield.

I think what is most important here is the amount of time in which the Biden administration simply said they didn't want to do this because they feared the potential for escalation.

Now, clearly, with North Korean troops potentially about to be involved in an offensive to retake Kursk, which Ukraine moved into in August, part of Russia, they are now saying, okay, we need to escalate back against Moscow.

[15:05:07] And I think that makes the symbolistic nature of this so much more potent and perhaps, it may be in practical terms. I've got to remind you, Fred, you know, in the gap between Ukraine asking for these for many months, they've been developing their own longer range drones to hit deeper inside Russia. Sometimes it seems even deeper than these ATACMS would be able to hit themselves, wreaking havoc around Russia's energy infrastructure and its airports too, as well, so that's a capability in which Ukraine has been improving with. And indeed, the US has been saying they will help fund as well.

So the ATACMS have become, I think deeply symbolic thing in which you saw Kyiv, you saw president Volodymyr Zelenskyy loudly demanding it. Essentially, I think trying to get the United States deeper involved into Ukraine's war, to have precision missiles like this, supplied by the United States, fired deep into Russia, is a bit of a sea change, frankly, in Washington's involvement in this particular war.

That may be one of the reasons why they were so keen to avoid this step. Potentially balancing up the risk versus the reward. You know, I really don't know at this point quite how many ATACMS Ukraine is going to get their hands on and how much damage they can cause.

Remember, too, Fred, over the past months, we've seen increasingly particularly here in Europe, sabotaged by people who are linked towards Russia's intelligence services, of civilian targets and that may be weighing in the minds of western governments as they debate this particular choice.

But you have to remember, here we are seeing a limited capability being introduced at a late stage from the Biden administration. They had in fact, themselves been hinting in various media reports that some of the attack aircraft, some of the key targets these missiles might be used against, had potentially been moved deeper inside Russia to be outside of the range of the ATACMS themselves.

So, it is really not clear quite how this is going to change the battlefield, but it does change one important thing. It puts the United States deeper inside this war than it was simply 24 hours ago, when, 24 hours ago, the focus was really upon quite what kind of peace deal Donald Trump might try and propose.

He said he can end this war in 24 hours. I've been talking to European allies over the past week, and they are really having to deeply reassess where this war may go, where the kind of red lines, where their final finishing points are.

Now, the Biden administration essentially saying that one of the things they were most worried about being escalatory, they are quite happy to do, Trump could reverse that come January, the 20th. But it certainly I think changes the nature of this particular conflict in the months ahead, months that are going to be about both sides and Ukraine's allies doing everything they can to improve their battlefield positions, because everybody wants to go to the table if there are peace talks in the best possible position -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, okay. And so they are called ATACMS, the Army Tactical Missile System or ATACMS for short. Thank you so much, Nick Paton Walsh and Kevin Liptak, I appreciate it.

All right, let's talk more about all of this with former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, retired General Wesley Clark.

General, good to see you. I wonder, on Nick's last point there about timing that this is happening in the last two months of the Biden administration, might this set it up as such it will be much more difficult for the Trump administration, the incoming administration, to change this policy now that these long range missiles are going to be in the hands of Ukraine for the purpose of targeting Russia?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well that might be a factor, Fredricka, but I think the biggest thing is what Nick said about the leverage on the possible negotiations. The fact is that both sides are going to escalate as best they can to put maximum pressure on the other side to get the greatest concessions they can get from what looks like it will be a negotiation. And the question really is how much damage will these ATACMS do?

As nick said, we don't know how many they are, a lot of the targets that they could have attacked have been moved back and the United States still maintains control of the targeting because without US satellite data, they can't actually effectively target these missiles.

So they're going to have US permission on every strike and these missiles could be effective against logistics targets, they could be effective against troop concentrations, but the targets have to be developed by intelligence. They have to be verified and there is only so many of these missiles.

So I think this is a political gesture, first. You know, the thing about the Biden administration's policy all along has been they don't want to escalate, they want to manage the escalation. Well, the problem is they've prolonged the war.

If they had given Ukraine what it asked for, what it could have absorbed early on -- tanks, artillery, F-16s -- those pilots on the F- 16s could have been -- their training could have started at the time of the invasion.

[15:10:04]

And these ATACMS, you might have generated the combat power to push Russia back off their occupied territories. Instead, what we are doing is a step by step prolonging the conflict.

So in one sense, and Mr. Trump is right, time to stop this. The problem is that Ukraine doesn't want to cede these territories and none of us believe that you could actually trust Mr. Putin with a negotiated settlement because unless he changes his objectives of wanting to roll back NATO, take back the Baltic states and all of Ukraine, it is only a stopgap measure.

So you have to evaluate this ATACMS decisions in light of these larger factors that are overhanging the conflict. WHITFIELD: So you mentioned the targets are going to come with the help of US Intelligence. It seems presumably they already know what those targets would be, otherwise the US wouldn't say, okay, we are going to allow you to have these long range missiles. So how long before Ukraine actually has possession of these long range missiles? And when might they be used? In a matter of days or weeks?

CLARK: Well, we don't know exactly. We think they have the missiles right now, some of the longer range versions. These probably single warhead versions, so it has got a one ton warhead on it, pretty powerful. It needs to go against hardened installations, factories and things like this.

The dual purpose, improved conventional munitions, the older warheads that have the bomblets, that is better against troop concentrations, airfields, and anti-aircraft locations. So it is a mix of those.

Now, the question is then how soon can the Ukrainians get these specific targeting coordinates and information they need to fire? And how many will they fire? What is their total allocation of missiles. We are not going to know those things. We will have to watch this on a day-to-day basis.

WHITFIELD: Would there be training involved? The use of these long range missiles?

CLARK: I don't think there is any training involved, really. It is just a matter of how you set up the missile. You've got to put the coordinates in. You've got to get to the launching site. You've got to have a lot of data that feeds into the missile, so when it goes, it goes.

WHITFIELD: Okay. And even based on your comments earlier is it your assessment that this is just too little, too late, or might it still be a potential game changer?

CLARK: It is too little, too late militarily. It might help the outcome of the negotiations. And this is one of the problems we've had. The US military advice to the president has always been about winning militarily, but in a battle like this, you have to consider what the political and diplomatic impact is.

And so this could have a very helpful impact on the negotiations if it helps the Ukrainians hang on for example, to that Kursk salient, if they can strike the North Korean forces as they are massing and getting ready to go in there, they'll hold on to Kursk. That's an important piece of bargaining leverage in the negotiations.

If they punish the Russians by taking out the factory that is producing these guided bombs that are being used a hundred times a day, these two and three-ton bombs that come in on the Ukrainian troops, that's a military aspect.

But the Russians typically have more than one factory. They stockpile these weapons. So the real impact, I think, is going to be diplomatic. If it says the United States is going to do what it needs to help Ukraine regain terrain on the battlefield, that would be a complete game changer, this is it.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating. All right, General Wesley Clark, thank you so much.

CLARK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still to come, we are learning President-elect Donald Trump is determined to see Matt Gaetz confirmed as his US Attorney General even as widespread criticism grows. We have the latest on Trump's transition.

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[15:18:43]

WHITFIELD: All right, with just 64 days until President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, he continues to stand in support of some of his most controversial Cabinet picks.

Trump took time out last night to appear with a few of the people he has already named to his administration at a UFC event at Madison Square Garden in New York. It is the same venue he hosted a widely scrutinized campaign rally in the closing days of the campaign, and among his guests, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk.

Trump's return to the Garden comes amid new revelations and concerns about some of his most high profile Cabinet selections including his Defense Secretary pick, Pete Hegseth. Hegseth's attorney now says the former Fox News host did pay a woman who accused him of sexual assault. But he says the 2017 incident was "consensual sexual encounter."

Meantime, President-elect Donald Trump is pressing forward with his decision to nominate former Congressman Matt Gaetz as US Attorney General despite allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.

CNN's Steve Contorno is joining us now.

Steve, what more are you learning about Trump's determination to see Matt Gaetz become his Attorney General.

[15:20:02]

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Fred, we are told that Donald Trump has heard the chatter and the heartburn from within his own party about the selection of Matt Gaetz as attorney general, but he remains committed to Gaetz and is pushing through 100 percent as one person close to the former president told us, he is not going to back off. He is all in.

And just to give an example of what that means, his former press secretary, Sean Spicer, telling CNN: "Telling Donald Trump something isn't going to happen is a surefire way of him doubling down." And that is what we are seeing happening right now, even as Donald Trump hears from Republicans on Capitol Hill who tell him look, Matt Gaetz is someone who is not well-liked within the party. There are concerns about these sexual misconduct allegations in his past and this ethics report that could come out detailing some salacious accusations against Matt Gaetz, the now former congressman, and that there is a concern whether or not he could get the 51 votes that he needs.

But at the same time, we are already seeing some people change their minds on him within the Republican Party who have been long time opponents of Gaetz, who are now saying that they intend to see his nomination through.

WHITFIELD: All right, Steve Contorno, we will leave it there for now. Thank you.

All right, up next, more on our breaking news, in a significant reversal, President Biden authorizes the use of long range US weapons by Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia. This comes the same day Russia launched massive strikes across Ukraine.

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[15:26:01]

WHITFIELD: All right, we are following breaking news out of Washington. For the first time, President Joe Biden is authorizing Ukraine to use long range US weapons inside Russian territory.

The decision comes after North Korea deployed thousands of troops into Kursk, the Southern Russia region where Kyiv launched its surprise counteroffensive. This decision, made while -- and announced while President Biden is in Brazil.

Joining me right now is Heather Nauert, a former spokesperson for the US State Department under President Trump's first term. Heather great to see you again.

So what does Ukraine's use of US long range missiles into Russia mean for the war in Ukraine today? And possibly under the incoming Trump administration?

HEATHER NAUERT, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR THE US STATE DEPARTMENT UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FIRST TERM: Sure. Well, I think this is obviously a very important development. This is something that Ukraine has been asking for, for quite some time.

I was in Ukraine just in February, meeting with frontline commanders and that is one of the things that they said to us, not only do they want more ATACMS, but they want to be able to use them in a long range capacity.

So the Biden administration is providing an authorized use of this now, a major change in this. Will it make a big difference? I am not sure that it will. It might help Ukraine hold off Russia from further aggression. You know Russia right now is trying to retake Kursk, so it could be of help in that regard. I think it is a good morale booster for the government of Ukraine.

You know, one of the troubles is the Biden administration wanted to prevent escalation at all costs. The problem is escalation came to the Biden administration, and as we look at what is happening right now, we have North Korean troops participating in Ukraine right now and that is a result -- a direct result of the Biden administration not taking decisive action early enough.

The Biden administration has provided too little too late all along and this is yet another example of that.

WHITFIELD: So for now, do you believe the use of these US long range missiles might help Ukraine end the war sooner or at the same time, do you worry that it indeed might escalate tensions?

NAUERT: Well, I don't know that it will help them end the war sooner, I will leave that for the military experts to decide, but this is obviously a major shift and it is one that the incoming Trump administration is going to have to take a very close look at.

One of the things that Donald Trump has said is that he obviously intends to end the war. We will see if that is in fact, possible. He may be looking at naming a peace envoy to Russia and Ukraine, but one thing is for sure, it will be a game changer when there is a new administration and don't assume that they are just going to give Russia a free pass.

A lot is set to be to be determined, and we will just have to wait and see what happens then.

WHITFIELD: President Biden, you know, he held his final meeting with Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Summit in Peru yesterday. Obviously, the President is in Brazil today, but while in Peru, Xi said, you know that despite a change in the White House, I am quoting now, "China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China- US Relationship remains unchanged."

Do you see that as potentially happening with the incoming Trump administration?

NAUERT: No.

WHITFIELD: No?

NAUERT: Not at all. Look, China says a lot of things. Russia does the same. They say a lot of things and frankly, they're not being honest.

When we look at China's destabilizing actions all around the world, whether it is massive infrastructure projects in South America or on the African continent, stealing our intellectual property from American companies to sending over precursor drugs to fentanyl to kill Americans. China is involved in a lot of bad stuff, and I think the major shift you'll see when the Trump administration comes in is calling China out for each of those destabilizing acts.

And I've only named a few, there is a lot more than what I named, a lot going on in the South China Sea as well. So the Trump administration is going to call that out.

[15:30:11]

I think you'll see a whole of government approach. This will be the top foreign policy priority. It will be coming out of Congress, it will be working in all of the agencies to try address what China has been up to, and then I think we will also hear a lot about a "strategic decoupling" and that is basically where the Trump administration is saying to American corporations, hey, you're all too -- you're in too far, you're in too deep in China, here is what you need to do, you need to pull back.

And that could mean pulling back in terms of its manufacturing in China, or it could mean other things as well like Chinese investments. So there are going to be major changes to our China policy. Biden tried to have a light approach with China. China takes advantage of that, and they've taken advantage of us for far too long and I think you'll see the Trump administration really calling that out and trying to make some changes.

WHITFIELD: So you served in Trump's last administration as State Department spokesperson, it almost sounds like you could be working under the Trump administration again. I understand you were in Mar-a- Lago this week where it has been widely reported that a lot of people have been jockeying for roles in the next administration.

You just mentioned that you could see a peace envoy to Russia or Ukraine in some capacity. Is that a job that you might be up for?

NAUERT: Well, no one has asked me to do anything. I am happy where I am, but I am always willing to serve if asked in the right role.

WHITFIELD: Do you see that you might be working under the Trump administration?

NAUERT: You know what? No one can assume anything. I think we've seen that over the past several weeks. So President Trump will assemble the team that President Trump wants, and he will pull that team together, and I have not had any conversations with the administration about it or the incoming administration about that.

WHITFIELD: But you'd be interested.

NAUERT: I'm not saying yes, and I am not saying no. I left 20 years the news business to serve my country in a way that I felt I was qualified to do.

So it was the highest honor of my career, serving in Washington to help advance our foreign policy goals in America. Look, we've got a lot of troubles going on around the world and for the first time in a very, very long time, we have several major adversaries who are cooperating together.

We have China, North Korea, Iran and Russia all working together. It is a dangerous world. The Trump administration, any administration for that matter, is going to need all the good qualified people that they can get to come together to address these very real threats that could certainly come to home.

So we will see what happens, but thanks for the question anyway.

WHITFIELD: All right, Heather Nauert, good to see you. Thank you so much.

NAUERT: Thanks. Thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come, in Syracuse, New York residents are worried that lead in the pipes could be poisoning their drinking water after the city found elevated lead levels. That is next.

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[15:37:46]

WHITFIELD: All right, people in Syracuse, New York are concerned about the safety of their drinking water after the city's water department sent notices to residents warning them about a dramatic spike above the federal limit, but Syracuse officials insist the drinking is safe.

I'd like to bring in now CNN's Gloria Pazmino.

Gloria, tell us more about their concerns.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it is the last thing any parent or any caretaker wants to hear that there is a smell- less, tasteless chemical in the water that they use to bathe and feed their children with, but that is exactly what is happening to some Syracuse residents.

Now as you said, this started back in August after the city's water department sent a notice letting people know that they had found elevated lead levels in the drinking water at some homes and buildings.

They said that water samples taken from 104 homes, out of those homes, 27 of them, so more than a quarter had been found to have this elevated level for tap water, which is set by the EPA.

Now, since then, the city has retested these homes and they have said that some of the tests were administered wrong and they have tried to tell Syracuse residents that the water is safe to drink, but residents there remain skeptical, they want the city to take action. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIK OLSON, SENIOR STRATEGIC DIRECTOR, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: A lot of people still don't even know that there is a lead in drinking water problem in the city. We need a declaration that will let people know that there is a problem, that they need to install filters, and that they need to take action to protect their families.

DEKAH DANCIL, PRESIDENT, URBAN JOBS TASK FORCE: You can't boil lead out your water. There is nothing we can do. They have to replace these pipes, they have to give everybody filters. They have to declare a state of emergency, and they have to act on this stuff fast and urgently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, we know just how dangerous a lead in the water is for children, for pregnant women, and the EPA has said that when the water levels are this high, the city government has to take action in order to remediate it, including making sure that there is public information about what is happening and putting a plan in place to replace some of the pipes.

[15:40:03]

Now, it is important to mention that the water source in Syracuse is not the source of the problem here, but rather the very old pipes and feeding lines that are still found at many of these homes -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so in the short term, we heard from the one woman who says, you know, some filters, new pipes, but in the short term, what are the residents asking for?

PAZMINO: Well, as you know, Fred, you can't just replace pipes overnight. This takes an incredible amount of time and funding. So residents want an emergency declaration by the city and what that would do is open up some federal funding, some local funding, in order to make sure that these projects can move quicker.

There is no question that they have to replace these pipes, but they do not want them to take as long as it typically does.

WHITFIELD: All right, Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much.

When we come back, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says he will tackle obesity and make America healthy again without wildly popular medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. Why doctors say that his stance on GLP-1 is misinformed and perpetuating stigmas.

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[15:45:52]

WHITFIELD: All right, President-elect Donald Trump has tapped anti- vaccine advocate, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The controversial pick sent shock waves through the public health world, raising concerns that Kennedy's stance could impact vaccination rates and now some in the public health community fear that comments Kennedy made during a recent appearance on Fox News, suggesting that the wildly popular Ozempic is not going to "make America healthy again" misrepresent the evidence.

I'd like to bring in now doctor, Rob Davidson. He is a Michigan ER doctor and the executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care. Dr. Davidson, great to see you again.

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT HEALTH CARE: You as well.

WHITFIELD: So what are your thoughts on Trump's pick to lead Health and Human Services.

DAVIDSON: Listen as a physician for 25 years and talking with my colleagues, people within the Committee to Protect Health Care, certainly those of us who are advocates on a regular basis, but people I work with who aren't politically motivated, who may be Republican or Democrat or just don't think about it much, are completely shocked by this.

We believe this guy is not only unqualified, he is uniquely disqualified to do this job. His views on vaccines alone, his participation in an outbreak of measles in Samoa in 2019 leading to 83 deaths, you know, elevating anti-vax rhetoric in that small population. You know, those are things that just should keep him away from public health altogether.

WHITFIELD: In the run up to the election, Trump signaled he planned to let the vaccine skeptic go wild, that was his word. His words "go wild on health, food and medicine." Here, in fact, is RFK, Jr. talking about his stance in July of 2023.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you name any vaccines that you think are good?

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. SECRETARY FOR US HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NOMINEE: I think some of the live virus vaccines are probably -- saw averting more problems than they are causing. There is no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So what kind of impact could that kind of language have if he is confirmed?

DAVIDSON: Listen, we already have vaccine hesitancy that was amplified under COVID-19 by folks like RFK, Jr. and other groups. You know, they first were out against COVID vaccines which clearly saved lives. We see absolute discrepancies between folks who follow Donald Trump and watch Fox News and folks who didn't in their uptake and their survivability after vaccines came on board.

But now, we are going to have, you know, potentially a mouthpiece of the US government of the public health infrastructure of this country, you know, spewing things like that. I mean, vaccines have eradicated diseases that I've never seen. I mean, I learned about them in medical school. I haven't seen measles. I haven't seen certain cases of meningitis, epiglottitis. You know, these were deadly diseases. We could have a generation of women not dealing with cervical cancer if HPV vaccines had wide uptake.

And with someone like him coming in and spewing nonsense like that, I just fear we are going to go backwards and it is going to result in a lot of deaths. WHITFIELD: Measles, you mentioned measles. Measles cases are surging globally, you know, according to a new warning from the World Health Organization and the CDC and the health organizations point to a drop in vaccinations as the driver behind the rise of a deadly disease the US declared eliminated more than 20 years ago.

So at what point, you know, do we need to be concerned, you know, about herd immunity, especially as it pertains to measles and other things that people have been vaccinated against in recent years.

DAVIDSON: Yes, I think we should be concerned right now. I think you know, myself, folks within this organization were mobilizing doctors across this country, tens of thousands of doctors to come out and speak out against this nomination, out against RFK, Jr. having any hand in public health and we are going to mobilize doctors to talk with folks in their community, to talk with their senators to push back against this. This is where we have some power. We have knowledge. People trust us. Our patients trust us, they should. They should not trust him and he should be nowhere near those levers of government.

[15:50:03]

WHITFIELD: So what will it be like for you and others in the medical community, if indeed he is confirmed or by, you know recess appointment, he becomes the next director or secretary of?

DAVIDSON: Listen, the fight for our patients never stops. We are all advocates on a daily basis for what our patients need. We will continue to do that. We will continue to speak to our patients about the necessity of vaccines, continue to speak out publicly against any objectionable language he brings out or policies that he puts forth and hopefully, you know, can convince the wider world of health care, which is on the side of vaccines and of science based medical practice, convince those folks to continue to do what we need to do for our patients.

You know, if there are doctors out there watching, please go to committeetoprotect.org and join us in this fight, because we just can't get to that point. We don't want to have to do all of that fighting all of the time just to take care of the folks we know how to take care of.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Rob Davidson, thank you so much. Thanks for being on with us and always talking about and advocating for the fight for our best health. Appreciate it.

DAVIDSON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right tonight, join Dr. Sanjay Gupta as he ventures across the globe to see how the new weight loss medications are transforming lives. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports, "Is Ozempic Right For You?" It premieres tonight at 8:00 PM right here on CNN.

All right, up next, Donald Trump is promising the largest deportation in US history. How some families with mixed legal status are preparing, after the break.

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[15:56:05]

WHITFIELD: As President-elect Donald Trump fills out his Cabinet, some families are growing more worried about how his policies could impact their lives. Earlier today, House Speaker Mike Johnson explained how mass deportations may play out as part of Trump's immigration policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I think what the president is talking about is beginning with the dangerous persons that we know are here. There are criminals, known criminals. There are known terrorists in the country. There are some who have been apprehended for committing violent crimes after they've come across the border illegally.

So you start with that number, you've got by some counts, as many as three or four million people that fit that category, begin there and then see how it transpires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: House Speaker Johnson also said that Trump will pursue executive actions in the beginning of his administration though Congress will focus on passing legislation.

Families with mixed legal status are watching closely. Here is CNN's Rosa Flores.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How many of you are U.S. citizens?

How many of you support Donald Trump?

You're undocumented and you support Donald Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I support Donald Trump for the economy.

FLORES (voice over): Two Hispanic families with mixed legal status in Houston with two different takes on President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House.

This is the Espinosas' first gathering since Trump's win.

FLORES (on camera): How many of you fear that deportation could impact your family?

FLORES (voice over): Cesar Espinosa, a husband and father, was a DACA recipient until this summer when he got a green card. His sister and brother-in-law are DACA recipients. His sister-in-law is a green card holder, and the rest of his family here are US citizens. Some who are not present, are undocumented. FLORES (on camera): You're a green card holder. Your wife is a US citizen. Why are you afraid of deportation?

CESAR ESPINOSA, FEARS DEPORTATION UNDER TRUMP: I just became a green card holder after 33 years of being in this country.

I don't think people understand the fear. It's a constant shadow hanging over our heads.

FLORES: What was your reaction to Donald Trump winning?

KARYNINNA ESPINOSA, FEARS FAMILY MEMBERS COULD BE DEPORTED: I cried a lot. It was -- it was emotional. Half my family, like if they're going to be here or they're not going to be here. And how do you tell all of our kids? Like my nephews, they're also our kids.

C. ESPINOSA: To tell people that this doesn't live in kids and children's mind and teenagers, in young adult's life is a lie.

FLORES (voice over): Gelacio Velazquez is an undocumented mechanic who has worked in Houston for 25 years.

GELACIO VELAZQUEZ, UNDOCUMENTED TRUMP SUPPORTER: Oh.

FLORES: He plays in this park with his two US citizen children, ages five and nine, and stands by Donald Trump.

FLORES (on camera): So you support Donald Trump because of the economy?

VELAZQUEZ: For the economy, yes.

FLORES: But you don't support the anti-immigrant rhetoric?

VELAZQUEZ: I'm not support of the anti-immigrant action.

FLORES: Do you support his mass deportations?

VELAZQUEZ: No. It is not human.

FLORES: Are you afraid that you could be deported in this mass deportation?

VELAZQUEZ: I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.

FLORES (voice over): Espinosa runs a migrant advocacy group and says many people are afraid and have called him in tears.

C. ESPINOSA: I think there's a heightened sense of fear.

FLORES (on camera): Explain why Latino men are going to Trump.

C. ESPINOSA: Democrats forget the promise when these guys are in the office in the Washington. The Latinos want a better nation.

FLORES (voice over): Espinosa believes some of the Latino support for Trump was a vote against the prospect of the first Black female president.

C. ESPINOSA: There's still a lot of machismo. There's still a lot of misogyny. And something that we need to say aloud is there's a lot of anti-Blackness.

FLORES: Velasquez says he hopes Trump finds compassion for immigrant fathers like him who are not criminals.

FLORES (on camera): If you get deported, would you regret your support to Donald Trump?

(GELACIO VELAZQUEZ speaking foreign language.)

FLORES: He is saying that he wouldn't regret supporting Donald Trump.

So, you're really not thinking about yourself. You're thinking about your children and the future of your children?

VELAZQUEZ: Yes. I want the better for my children.

FLORES (voice-over): Cesar says he feels guilty for bringing so much uncertainty to his family.

FLORES (on camera): What's it like for you to see your wife go through this and the emotions that she's going through?

C. ESPINOSA: I apologize to her a lot. We fell in love right away and we got married almost right away because when you know, you know.

FLORES (voice-over): We asked Velasquez and Espinosa the same final question.

FLORES (on camera): Do you have a plan in case you get deported?

VELAZQUEZ: I respect that decision. I leave the country. I'm not coming back.

C. ESPINOSA: There is a plan. We've talked about it openly with our family.

FLORES (voice-over): Turns out, these two Hispanic families with two different takes on Trump's win have the same plan if they get deported. They would go to Mexico as a family.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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