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CNN International: Democratic Congressman Reflects on January 6; Canada's Trudeau Could Resign as Party Leader; Biden to Visit New Orleans Attack Site; Congress to Honor the Four who Died on January 6, 2021; CNN Goes Inside Suspected Chemical Weapons Lab; The Brutalist Wins Best Drama, Best Actor, Best Director. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired January 06, 2025 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
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AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hi everyone, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Aamara Walker. This is CNN Newsroom. Just ahead, exactly four years after demonstrators storm the U.S. Capitol, Congress meets today to certify Donald Trump's election win.
And bracing for a snow emergency tens of millions of Americans are under winter weather alerts. We will have a full forecast just ahead. Plus, is at the end of an era in Canada, reports say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could be ready to resign. We are live in the Capital of Ottawa this hour.
It happens every four years in the United States after a presidential election, each state's electoral votes are counted during a joint session of Congress. It used to be a procedural event, and then January 6th happened. Four people lost their lives on that day in 2021 when a mob of Donald Trump supporters overran the Capitol in a violent assault.
And for the first time since that day, Congress will again meet to confirm a new president, but this time, we expect, with little or no drama at all. Just a few hours from now, Trump's election victory will be certified, and law enforcement on Capitol Hill is on high alert.
President Biden, meanwhile, says he is determined to see a peaceful transfer of power, and here's what he told reporters about the incoming administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you still believe he's a threat to democracy?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think what he did was a genuine threat to democracy. I'm hopeful that we're beyond that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox has more. LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, before four years ago, January 6th was typically not a date that many viewers would be paying attention to. It was simply an opportunity for the House and Senate to meet in a joint session and count the votes that had already been cast in the November election. It was really just a formal reckoning of what those votes had been.
Now, however, it's taken on new significance after the violent attack against the Capitol four years ago. Today, we expect that the President of the Senate, Kamala Harris, she, will be presiding over a joint session of both the Senate and the House, and her job is simply to open each state certification then hand it over to the four tellers.
That's the top Republican and top Democrat on both the Senate Administration Committee and the House Administration Committee. At that point, the tellers will read and record each state's tally of who their electoral ballots are going to. At this moment, we don't expect Democrats to be challenging any of the results of this election, and reforms to the Electoral Count Act that passed several years ago would make that much harder.
It would really raise the threshold of how many lawmakers it would even take to challenge the election. All said and done, if everything goes according to plan, we expect that this would take under an hour to accomplish, and lawmakers are not expected to do any additional business today. So, this is it. They will certify the election, and then they will gavel out for the rest of the day.
WALKER: Lauren, thank you. Now the events of January 6th, four years ago will live long in the memories of many Americans, and especially for lawmakers who were there. Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss had been elected to Congress a few days before the attempted insurrection. He has been reflecting on the day with my colleague Kasie Hunt.
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REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): It was a devastating day for our democracy, and what Joe Biden said, I think, are wise words. When George Washington first handed off power, it shocked the world, and when John Adams, after the -- after the country's first contested election, handed off power to Thomas Jefferson, it shocked the world and impressed the world all over again.
And I grew up with pictures of those founding fathers in my bedroom wall. I swore an oath to the Constitution as a Marine Officer, and I came to Congress really worshiping those hallowed halls and to see them defiled by those insurrectionists was a terrible day. And now I'm back here four years later, on a snow storm because I want to watch Kamala Harris certify her own defeat in an act of patriotism that Donald Trump just could never understand.
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: What does it say about our country and your view that it has played out this way? AUCHINCLOSS: I think that the country takes for granted that members of Congress walked back into those chambers on January 6th and certified the election results and it allowed Americans to move on to concerns about the economy to concerns about border security
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Because they are able to presume that our institutional and constitutional order has been taken care of, and that's a good thing. Today should be boring, but as Joe Biden said, we should also remember that we have to protect that transfer of power every four years, and we also need to remember those officers who lost their lives on January 6th because the next president aid and abetted their murder and their families have not gotten the justice they deserve.
HUNT: What is it do you think that convinced Americans that this shouldn't be their top-of-mind voting issue, or even a top-of-mind voting issue? Was it efforts by President Trump, President-Elect Trump, to re explain it to people, or was it something else?
AUCHINCLOSS: No, I think January 6th remains unpopular. I think the attempted insurrection on January 6th is a mark of dishonor upon the American Republic, and actually a majority of voters recognize that, and a significant number of Republicans recognize that it just was overshadowed by other more pressing and salient issues.
And the reason that it became less salient is that the American electorate has confidence that, frankly, Democrats are going to protect the peaceful transfer of power. They know that we'll respect the rules of the game win or lose.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: All right. Well, winter weather is impacting parts of Europe. Much of the UK and Germany are blanketed in heavy snow, disrupting flights and causing power outages across the region. Sleet and ice are making conditions dangerous for drivers as well. CNN's Max Foster has more.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may look pretty from above, but heavy snow covering parts of Europe over the weekend caused widespread disruption to travelers on roads, railways and in the air. Snow and freezing rain cut power to tens of thousands of homes in Northern England.
And the UK, MET Office warned that sleet and snow could lead to flooding in some areas when the icy mixture thaws. Airports in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol were forced to close some runways temporarily, and several roads were impacted with conditions slicker than usual.
At a time when many people were traveling, returning from Christmas break or heading back to university, much of the same problem in Ireland, parts of which were also coated in snow. The Irish Weather Service says that bitter cold conditions will continue over the next few days, at a time when nearly 60,000 homes, farms and businesses were without power.
German officials warned of black ice for drivers and pedestrians, as the snow and ice snarls transportation here too. Frankfurt and Munich Airports warned passengers of potential delays or cancelations, and some authorities are advising people to stay at home, if possible, Max Foster CNN, London.
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WALKER: And while the certification plays out on Capitol Hill, Washington is being hit by a major snow storm as well. Right now, about 60 million people from the Central U.S. to the East Coast are under winter weather alerts. You can see a lot of snow there, and our nation's capital Washington, D.C.'s Mayor has already declared a snow emergency as the region prepares for up to 40 centimeters or 16 inches of snow in some areas it looks like a white out.
Further West, conditions knocked out power for more than 200,000 people across the Central Plains as a dangerous combination of snow, ice and freezing rain, wallops the area. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us with the latest on this massive snowstorm. Happy New Year, Derek.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Happy New Year to you Amara. On a good day traffic is difficult in D.C. You add in the several inches of snow that's already falling with the additional snow that's coming, and you've got yourself a recipe for a nightmare, especially on the roadways.
We'll get kind of a one two punch with a storm, the initial heaviest band of snow coming in now. We'll get a break and then a secondary round of snow later this evening, just in time for the rush hour tonight. Now 25 degrees that's, of course, in Fahrenheit, so well below zero degrees Celsius.
And I promise you, the Lincoln Memorial in D.C this is "The Washington Mall" that is in the distance, but you can't see it because it's shrouded in so much cloud and snow that is currently ongoing. This is a very large and dynamic storm system. It stretches over 800 miles, or roughly 1200 kilometers, from West to East.
We have these winter weather advisories stretching from just East of St. Louis all the way to the Atlantic seaboard, basically including the nation's capital and part of the storm as it was moving through the Midwest, this is coming out of Missouri caused cars to slide off the roadways. This 18-wheeler almost jackknifing right in front of this motorist.
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So, that just shows you the dangerous road conditions that people are experiencing right now from this storm, not to mention on the ground, but also in the air. We've got many delays and cancelations already taking place in and around Dalas International Airport, Reagan Airport. This is quite a mess.
28 Degrees in D.C., so supportive of snow. But just to the south of that, look at how the temperatures warm to just above the freezing mark. So, we have had a mixture of rain, snow and freezing rain in this area, across Virginia and into West Virginia. So, this area is going to be very difficult as the ice begins to accumulate.
D.C. looking for potentially historic numbers. But will it happen? Not likely just looking at the latest radar trends. We have to go back to January of 2016 where we saw it over a foot of snow in the nation's capital, additional snow still to come. You can see on our models here, basically one to three inches, or just a few more centimeters of snow expected in and around D.C.
But it's that secondary round of snow that will form later this afternoon and evening that could cause some troubles. Look at this, we still have more ice expected, and with that weighing down power lines and tree limbs, we have already seen power lines come down, and power starting to come - to be taken out. Look at 250,000 customers without power.
And then this is the other part of the story, Amara. We can't forget as the system departs; it draws down the coldest air of the season. It's going to get windy and dangerously cold for the nation's central part of the U.S. Look at that those are feels like temperatures you step outside, negative 25 Degrees Fahrenheit.
WALKER: Yeah, that is bone chilling. Derek Van Dam really appreciate you breaking that down for us. Thank you.
DAM: All right.
WALKER: Now CNN's Gabe Cohen. He shared a glimpse of what the Washington, D.C. area is dealing with at this hour. Take a look.
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you look, you can see there's already several inches accumulated here on the ground, expecting maybe 6 to 10 inches in D.C. by the end of the night, it's shaping up to be the biggest storm to hit the nation's capital in at least three years. That's why there's a snow warning into effect, in effect until late tonight, and emergency declarations here in Washington.
And in at least six states right now schools are shut down across this entire region. Federal Government offices are also closed today, and it's possible this could extend -- into tomorrow, maybe into the rest of the week, because, as you mentioned, D.C. sometimes has a little trouble getting back on its feet when we experience snow fall like this, especially potential record snow fall.
And it's happening right now on this critical day as we're waiting for the election to be certified. Here at the Capitol, you can see this line of police cars going in right now to the Capitol. We've seen dozens Kate, maybe even hundreds this morning. It is a fortified center right now. You can see the fencing that's gone up around the building there. MPD, that's the local police department here, as well as federal law enforcement really on high alert right now, not just because of what happened on January 6th, four years ago, but also what happened in New Orleans a couple weeks ago? We know that the local police department fully activated today, every officer on the street working 12-hour shifts Kate.
That's going to continue through the rest of the week. The question for them is, how does this storm affect things? They're hoping it's going to mean less security concerns.
WALKER: All right. Gabe Cohen, thank you. Now this just into CNN, US Steel and Nippon Steel have filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration for blocking their proposed merger. The two companies say the move by President Joe Biden last week to block the $14 billion deal was made for purely political reasons.
Biden blocked the deal last Friday after federal regulators failed to come to a consensus on the national security risks of the deal. All right, just ahead poll ratings in free fall and an election around the corner, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in a tough spot with a big decision to make. We'll have the details next.
And as one of his last acts in office, Joe Biden is playing the role of Consoler in Chief, once again, details of his visit to the site of the New Year's terror attack when we come back.
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WALKER: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could announce today that he is stepping down as leader of his party, according to reports in the Canadian media. Mr. Trudeau is facing a mounting set of crises, from threats by Donald Trump to slap tariffs on Canadian goods to a steep slump in his poll ratings.
Various reports are saying the prime minister hasn't yet made a final decision on stepping down. CNN's Paula Newton is standing by for us in Canada's Capital of Ottawa. Paula, what more do we know about when Trudeau might make this announcement, and I guess perhaps what his calculus might be?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, here's the thing Amara. I mean, although this has been brewing for weeks, he even had the resignation of his Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister, in a scathing resignation letter. And yet, the way the party system is set up here in Canada, in terms of the Liberal Party of Canada, Trudeau's party.
It's really his decision, and in the last few weeks, he has not shown a reluctance, despite the polls, to step down. And yet, now at least the Globe and Mail Newspaper is reporting that he has decided to step aside. And Amara, this is where it gets into uncharted territory.
Firstly, we don't know if he's going to stay on, as you know, Prime Minister temporarily, until his party can elect a new leader and then go to a general election sometime this year, or something that's never happened in Canada, which is that an interim prime minister would be appointed until the Liberal Party elects the leader.
Though, suffice it to say, Amara look, this has been brewing for months in fact, in Canada. Canadians really dissatisfied with the level of inflation, certainly the high level of legal, legal immigration, which has put -- you know a huge crunch on things like affordable housing and other public services, including health care.
You know, the polls right now show Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre perhaps somebody unknown to the rest of the world, but he's been at this a long time. He's leading the Liberal Party right now, but more than 20 percent and so the Liberal Party certainly decided it was time, after more than nine years, to as -- you know, gently as they could, although it's not so gentle right now at this hour to tell Trudeau to step aside.
WALKER: As you know, and you've been watching this carefully Paula, the pressure on Trudeau has been mounting for some time now. So, in terms of the timing, why might he make this move now?
NEWTON: Pretty much, because he has to. And look, this is not an example of how you should have any kind of succession planning. We are -- as I just said, this is not going to be easy, and it is not going to be easy for his Liberal Party to recover from this, which means that -- you know Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre believes that he has a great shot at being Prime Minister.
And more than that, Amara having a majority government, which means being able to put forward a lot of the key legislation he wants to for the next four years. I mean, look Donald Trump saying that he had 25 percent tariffs on Canada coming into office. Justin Trudeau whipped down to Mar-a-Lago had a conversation with him.
But the tariffs are still on the table, and many Canadians are wondering, given all the economic frustration right now, if Justin Trudeau is the best person to really fight for Canada in that situation. But look, there have been a long list of scandals Amara going back years. This is a government that has passed its due date in terms of this leader, and I think Justin Trudeau is finally getting the message.
WALKER: All right. We'll watch it closely with you. Paula Newton, thank you so much. Well, South Korea's anti-corruption agency says it will ask for the arrest warrant for impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol to be extended. It is set to expire at midnight local time today.
Now Yoon is accused of abuse of power and leading an insurrection over his botched attempt to impose martial law last month. CNN's Mike Valerio brings us the latest now from Seoul.
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MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, investigators here in Seoul did two major things today, and let's spend some time talking about the first thing corruption. Investigators asked South Korea's police force to take over to carry out the arrest warrant against South Korea suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol.
He is suspended because lawmakers voted last month to impeach him after he declared martial law on December 3rd into the early morning hours of December 4th, he has not been removed from office. That decision is up to a court, and that decision could be made within the next six months.
So why would corruption investigators here ask the police force to carry out this warrant. It is because on Friday, these corruption investigators tried and failed to arrest suspended President Yoon. They went to his home, but Yoon's Presidential Security Service and members of the military formed a human shield protecting Yoon from arrest.
Now Yoon's lawyers say the warrant was illegal and invalid. So again, why move this into the hands of South Korean police rather than keep this with those same corruption investigators? Well, the police have a larger force, more people and more resources to carry out an arrest.
But it is still anybody's guess if this will be successful, because Yoon has told his supporters he does not intend to turn himself in. Investigators are also working against the clock here. That is the second major thing that they did today. They have requested an extension of their arrest warrant because they were facing a midnight local time deadline.
Now, even though suspended President Yoon has managed to escape arrest, at least up until this point, there is still the first trial session for his impeachment process that has been set for next week. And again, that process is what could remove him from office. Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.
WALKER: Ukrainian forces are refusing to give up their foothold in Russia's Kursk region, where they have held their ground for several months now. Ukrainian officials say they have launched counter attacks against Russian units that are trying to reclaim the territory. Russia's Defense Ministry says it is repelling the Ukrainian attacks, but according to Ukrainian officials, Russia is, quote, getting what it deserves.
Meanwhile, Russia's military says it is making advances in Ukraine's Donetsk region. A Russian military blog claims that fighters have raised a flag near a key Ukrainian transit hub. Ukraine's President is paving, trying to pave the way for a good relationship with the incoming U.S. President. Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Donald Trump during a conversation with an American podcaster.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: When I talk about something with Donald Trump, whether we meet in person or we just have a call, all the European leaders always ask, how was it? This shows the influence of Donald Trump. And this has never happened before with an American President, I tell you, from my experience, this also gives you confidence, you know, that he can stop this war.
That is why we and Trump come first, and Europe will support Ukraine's position, because they understand that Ukraine has every right to have its voice heard in this, because we are at war. Trump and I will come to an agreement, and then if, and I am sure that he can offer strong security guarantees, together with Europe, and then we can talk to the Russians.
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WALKER: But Mr. Zelenskyy insists that neither he nor anyone in Ukraine would accept an unjust compromise with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Well here in the United States, later today, President Joe Biden will visit the site of that deadly terror attack in New Orleans.
The outgoing president said he is hoping to be able to deliver a personal message to families of those who died in the Bourbon Street attack. 14 people were killed, when authorities say an ISIS sympathizer drove a pickup truck through a crowd early on New Year's Day.
Let's go now to CNN's Arlette Saenz at the White House with more. Arlette, tell us more about President Biden's plans today and the message that he will be bringing to the people of New Orleans.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Amara, President Biden is hoping to offer some solace and comfort to those families who are grieving the loss of their loved ones following that terror attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans. The President and the First Lady, Jill Biden will travel down to Louisiana a bit later this afternoon. They are expected to spend about 5.5 hours on the ground there in New Orleans.
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They will meet with local officials, but also meet face to face with those families who's had lost loved ones and who were victims of this attack, the president and first lady will also attend an inter faith prayer service in New Orleans, marking that incident.
Now it comes as President Biden told reporters yesterday here at the White House that he is really hoping to convey a very personal message to these families, trying to stress to them that there is support from the federal government, but also that there will be a time in their grieving process where they can think about their loved ones with a smile on their face.
Take a listen to a bit of the what the president shared his message will be with reporters yesterday.
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BIDEN: There's nothing you can really say to somebody who's has had such a tragic loss, about they just have to hang on to each other. There will come a day when they think of their loved one and they'll smile before a tear comes to their eye. That's when they know they're going to make it, but it takes time. They just got to hang on. They got to hang on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now this could be one of the final moments where we really see President Biden step into that role as consoler in chief. It's a role that he's taken on time and time again in the face of senseless tragedies while president, of course, he also always brings a very personal connection to all of this, having lost his wife and baby daughter in a car accident when he had just been elected to the Senate, and also losing his son, Beau Biden to brain cancer back in 2015.
It is through those personal experiences that President Biden often tries to connect with people who have lost their loved ones. A bit later in the week, we will actually also see President Biden deliver eulogy at the memorial service for Former President Jimmy Carter, another moment where he will take on that role of consoler in chief.
But for today, the president's focus will be on those families in New Orleans as he's trying to offer them some comfort in the wake of their loss in that devastating attack.
WALKER: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much. Live for us there outside a very snowy White House in D.C. Thank you so much. Well, this is the last day that people in Georgia can pay their respects to Jimmy Carter. The late president, is lying in repose at the Carter Center in downtown Atlanta.
On Tuesday morning, his body will be moved to Washington, D.C., where it will lie in state until his national funeral on Thursday. Dignitaries from around the world are expected to be there to honor a man who forever changed expectations of what an ex-president can accomplish. We'll be right back.
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WALKER: In just hours from now, the U.S. Congress will meet to certify Donald Trump's election win. It comes four years to the day after the attack on the capital. Trump's poll ratings sank in the aftermath of that episode, but over the past four years, they have made a remarkable recovery. CNN's Harry Enten and Manu Raju break down the numbers.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Remember, after January 6, what do we have? We had the impeachment of Donald Trump, and then, of course, we had the trial in the United States Senate. I want you to take a look at republicans who voted to impeach or convict Trump in a second impeachment or impeachment trial.
You know, you go back to January, February of 2021, what was it? It was 17. You know, that's a significant chunk of folks, right, Manu?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
ENTEN: That was most of the GOP didn't.
RAJU: Yeah.
ENTEN: But 17 is a pretty big number here.
RAJU: Yeah, absolutely.
ENTEN: And then you go to January of 2025, how many of those folks are still in the United States Congress? It's just five. It's just five. Pretty much, the ones who did were all run out of town. They're just 2 House members, 3 Senate members who remain the bottom line is this, and we'll say over and over and over again, this is Donald Trump's Republican Party.
That's why he could pick up the phone make those calls to ensure that Mike Johnson held on to his speakership. But it's not just within the Republican Party. It's nationally among the general populace as well. So, take a look at Donald Trump's net favorable rating. Take a look here, Trump's net favorability rating.
You go back to January 2021, Donald Trump was way under water, way under water at minus 20 points. That's your favorable minus your unfavorable. Look, he's still a little bit under water, but he's now at minus one point. He's considerably more popular. So, folks who are writing off Donald Trump's political career.
Writing his political obituary, he rose up from the grave. He almost looks like one of those WWE characters, right? Who kind of grows up, and that is what Donald Trump is that he's right now broke even, he's about as popular with the American public, Manu than he has ever been. Wow.
RAJU: And he's been talking about on the first day when he comes into office, pardoning all these January 6 prisoners. How does that fair with the American public's view?
ENTEN: Yeah, how does that fair? Well, I will tell you. It ain't popular. It ain't popular. Donald Trump may be more popular than he's ever been, but the idea of him pardoning these January 6 protesters is simply put, not a popular proposition. You look overall, it's 33 percent. It's 33 percent. Look at the opposition, 59 percent of the American public.
You barely get 59 percent of the American public to agree on anything, but they do agree on opposing Trump, pardoning the January 6 protesters, even among the Republican Party. Look at this number. Yes, it's two thirds who support it, at 67 percent but you know, Donald Trump's favor rating with the Republican Party is like 85, 90 percent.
RAJU: Yeah, that's low for Trump.
ENTEN: This is low for Trump. You have this 21 percent who are opposed to it. That is a pretty significant chunk of folks who are opposed to it. So yes, Republicans like Donald Trump, but they aren't necessarily in love with the idea of party, certainly not overall. Now you may be asking yourself, OK.
How the heck then did Donald Trump win that election back in November, right? Given that you see this support and you see this opposition among the American public and most Americans, I will note in our CNN poll said that they expected that Trump was going to try and harm. How did it work then?
Well, take a look at January 6 memories. Take a look here. All right, January 6 is the biggest memory of Trump's first term. Look at this.
RAJU: Wow.
ENTEN: It's just five.
RAJU: That is something.
ENTEN: It's just 5 percent. I mean, most folks, simply put, were willing to dismiss it without much of an issue. And among Republicans, what do we see? It was just 2 percent.
RAJU: Wow.
ENTEN: So even though you had that significant chunk of Republicans who said, we oppose it, even though the vast majority of Americans opposed it, the bottom line when it came to November, even when it comes now, most Americans, simply put, Manu, are not thinking about it.
WALKER: And that was CNN's Harry Enten and Manu Raju. Let's do a deeper dive now on the significance of this day. Thomas Gift is the Director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. He's joining us now from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Thomas, appreciate your time.
So, we were saying just about 4.5 hours from now, at 01:00 p.m. local time, we will see a joint session of Congress convene. They will be the newly sworn in members will be counting the electoral votes to certify President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election.
It sounds like a mundane event, but as we know, four years ago, it wasn't. If you could just spend some time reflecting on just how dramatically different the environment is today, four years later.
THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR OF CENTRE ON U.S. POLITICS AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, thanks so much for having me, Amara. It's great to be with you. Trump really has all the political momentum right now. We're just in a totally different environment than we were four years ago, after January 6, 2021.
Then Mitch McConnell had called Trump morally responsible for the Capitol Insurrection. Trump had just been impeached for a second time. Most experts were writing Trump's political obituary, but Trump has really defied the odds.
[08:35:00] And I think the numbers that you just showed suggest just how much he has to scale going from negative 20 favorability to just negative one favorability, and just 5 percent of Americans saying that January 6 was the most significant memory from Trump's first term.
That is stunningly low and sort of how Trump managed to do this, I think it's going to be the question for historians to write.
WALKER: Yeah, it really is stunning to think that people's memories are that short. You know that this wouldn't be seen as a huge moment in America's history years later. So, we will also see Vice President Kamala Harris, you know, presiding over this certification. And unlike Trump, you know, Harris is not casting doubt on the election.
Obviously, she lost the election to Donald Trump, and we saw in a pre- recorded video that, you know, she's focused on ensuring that there is a peaceful transfer of power that is the expectation today, obviously. Could you also talk about the significance of this moment for Vice President Harris? I mean, it has to be, you know, awkward and, you know, a disappointing moment for her.
GIFT: Well, certainly not the position that she hoped to be in. I think the significance of Harris presiding over her own electoral defeat, it shouldn't be remarkable, but it is, because before 2021 as was noted, very few Americans even realized that there was a certification process by a joint session of Congress because it was so pro forma.
But that's no longer the case. Trump has taken an ax to virtually every single democratic institution and norm, but Trump's biggest legacy has to be eroding trust in the legitimacy of U.S. elections. You know, after the 2020 election, more than half of Republicans thought that votes weren't counted accurately.
Now that Trump has won upwards of a quarter of Democratic voters now don't think that the 2024 election was fair. So, this is a problem, and it's not clear you can put the genie back in the bottle.
WALKER: Yeah.
GIFT: But I do think that it's good thing that Harris is going through the motions, as we would expect, that she should.
WALKER: Yeah, this will be the first full week for the 119th Congress, Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, will obviously be presiding over the House, albeit with an extremely narrow lead. We also saw last night that Trump called on Congress to get to work on one powerful bill as soon as possible.
And I want to play some sound from Mike Johnson, the House Speaker on Fox, where he's talking about pushing through one big policy bill. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I think at the end of the day, President Trump is going to prefer, as he likes to say, one big beautiful bill, and we're going to be dismantling the deep stake all along the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: How feasible is that?
GIFT: Well, it's going to be sort of a big challenge. I think one mistake we often tend to make as a shorthand is to assume that all MAGA Republicans believe the same thing and have the same approach to governments. Clearly, they don't. You know, Trump is much more transactional than ideological.
He's not a fiscal hawk, and even suggested raising or eliminating the debt ceiling in the recent spending bill. Meanwhile, there are a lot of Republican allies put allies in quote, who -- essentially their raise on -- is to lower governments funding. So, I think Mike Johnson is going to be put in a very difficult position.
He's going to need to be both Trump's interpreter as well as his enforcer. But there are plenty of Republicans I think, that aren't four squares behind the Trumpian agenda and trying to get all of these items through one bill. I think it's almost impossible, especially whenever you consider what's going on in the Senate, where Republicans certainly don't have a filibuster proof majority?
WALKER: Perhaps the thinking from Mike Johnson is that. It will be easier to pass through one bill versus two. I mean, who knows, if we could also listen to sound from Senate Majority Leader John Thune. He was on CBS this weekend, and he struck a different tone about tempering Trump's expectations. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you tell him when you think he's wrong?
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): I will. And I think my job is to do everything I can to help him achieve success. We have the same set of objectives. We want to get to the same destination, but I think at times, there will be differences in how we get there.
And understanding the unique aspects of how the Senate operates, something that I'm going to have to be able to share and convey to the president and help him understand, I think, what the you know, what the contours are, what we can accomplish here in the Senate, what's realistic?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: So, similar question again, Thomas, about you know, this -- how realistic will it be for Trump to, you know, push through his agenda?
GIFT: I think it's going to be very, very challenging. You know, the big question for me is whether Mike Johnson and worlds leaders in the Senate contain a very fractious chamber.
[08:40:00] You know, the one thing that Trump can do is threaten any Republican, who doesn't get in line by saying that he's going to support a primary opponent, but I'm not sure if that's going to work, particularly among Senate leaders who have pretty safe seats in their respective states.
So, you know, we've heard so much about the fact that Donald Trump is coming in with a unified Congress and a conservative Supreme Court, but where the rubber really meets the road. That's going to be a big challenge for Donald Trump. I think he's got about 100 days to get through one major piece of legislation.
That's what we've seen in the past with George W. Bush, No Child Left Behind, with Obama, the Affordable Care Act with Biden, the pandemic relief bill. So, Trump is going to have to prioritize and he's going to have to ensure that one allies on Capitol Hill can really help at least work through some of those compromises --
WALKER: Yeah, in political years, he doesn't really have four years to get it done, more like two before the midterm elections.
GIFT: Yeah.
WALKER: Thomas Gift, appreciate the conversation. Thank you. Still to come as the Syrians celebrate the fall of the Assad regime, a toxic legacy is coming to light up next. CNN goes inside a lab that may have been used to develop chemical weapons.
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WALKER: Right. Now, two hopes for a Gaza cease fire and the release of the hostages. Reuters citing a Hamas official as saying, the group has approved an Israeli list of 34 hostages to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in a possible deal. The report says an exchange would depend on reaching a permanent cease fire agreement and a deal for Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza.
But Israel is casting doubt on this report and denying that there is any agreement with Hamas on hostages. Gaza's Ministry of Health is reporting another baby has died of hypothermia. They say a one-month- old child named Yousef died because there was no warm shelter as temperatures across Gaza plunged.
The health ministry says he was the sixth baby to succumb to hypothermia in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Syrian officials met with Qatar's Prime Minister in Doha over the weekend and called on the U.S. to lift sanctions on Syria. That's according to Reuters. The sanctions have been imposed on ousted President Bashar Al Assad's regime.
Since Assad fled, a number of facilities have been discovered that may have been involved in developing and using chemical weapons. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh goes inside one of those facilities.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're gearing up for one of the most dangerous missions in Syria, and they have to be prepared. Exposure could be lethal.
FAROUQ HABIB, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER OF WHITE HELMETS: While we are searching for these secret prisons, we received information that there could be hazardous materials in this facility.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The White Helmets, Volunteer Rescue group suspects this is a chemical weapons research site.
[08:45:00]
We joined their hazmat team at a former state security building. They wanted us to witness what they find throughout the war, the regime and its Russian backers have repeatedly tried to discredit them with respirators fixed and suits sealed, the final touch chemical agent detector patches. With oxygen tanks and detection devices, these two men lead the way into the unknown.
They have to move carefully and methodically, looters got here first. Every surface is scanned for traces of chemicals. A suspected weapons delivery system sits in the middle of this room, but no traces detected so far, their advanced team already told them it's the upper floors where they need to be.
Slowly they move upstairs, step by step, on every floor and in every room, they're searching for clues. What was the Assad regime doing here? Evidence of what appears to be a secret chemical lab emerges in several rooms, they find countless label bottles and containers filled with chemicals.
KARADSHEH: Their main mission today is to document, try and find out as much as they can about the chemicals they find in this facility.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Something sets off the detector. They take pictures for experts to review the reading. It says, TIC, Toxic Industrial Chemical. He checks his patch and carries on, until another alarm goes off. They realize it's one of the oxygen tanks he has to get out fast.
It's becoming clear they were experimenting with dangerous substances here. Tucked in the middle of a residential Damascus neighborhood, the local Druze community had long suspected this was more than just a state security building. As regime forces withdrew, people rushed in to see what was really inside this feared compound.
It was a local pharmacist who sounded the alarm and the White Helmets were called in. Securing sites like this one is critical amid a post regime vacuum and a volatile security situation.
HABIB: These materials could not only pose risk to the civilians in neighboring areas, but also, if they fall into wrong hands, they could be used elsewhere and pose a threat to other communities and maybe other countries.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): CNN shared images with four experts. Based on that snap shot, they all agree this was a chemical lab. It's unclear whether it was used for chemical weapons research or something else, including analysis of environmental threats or illicit drugs, among other possibilities.
Strewn about, they find what they describe as a trove of documents, one we can't independently verify, mentions communications between the facilities command and a Russian military officer. Preserving documents like this is now part of the team's mission.
They also find weapons storage and production rooms. We see all the necessary components to build modified and improvised explosive devices.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was shocking how the previous regime used all these government institutions as multi-purpose facilities.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Down this dark and dingy, cockroach infested basement is perhaps the most dangerous discovery so far. Almost every surface and sealed container sets off the detector. It registers Lewisite, a blistering chemical agent. Experts say it could be a false positive.
Unlike everything here, it will need additional testing. The fall of the regime may be uncovering what until this day, had been hidden in the dark, leaving Syria and the world a dictator's toxic legacy. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Well, thanks to Jomana Karadsheh for that report, and we'll be right back.
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[08:50:00]
WALKER: Amid a sea of blockbusters and major stars, two smaller films that have been barely seen by the public, walked away with the two biggest prizes at the Golden Globes on Sunday. The brutalist, the story of an immigrant architect and the millionaire who falls in love with his work, won the prize for best drama.
It's Star, Adrien Brody and Director, Brady Corbet also won Golden Globes and the Netflix film Emilia Perez swept most of the major awards in the musical or comedy categories. But perhaps the most emotional moment was Demi Moore's win for best actress, best dramatic actress, I should say, the first major award of her long career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEMI MOORE, WINNER OF BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA: 30 years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress and at that time, I made that mean that this wasn't something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged. And I bought in, and I believed that.
And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out of the box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called the substance, and the universe told me that you're not done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Wow. That was incredibly moving. Let's get more now from CNN Entertainment Correspondent, Elizabeth Wagmeister. Hi, Elizabeth, so take us through some of the night's big moments. Obviously, Demi Moore's speech was one of them. And any wins that caught you by surprise?
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Demi Moore when she won, I was in the room, and that was a surprise, Amara. She was not necessarily predicted to win, but the room just was so excited. You obviously felt that watching from home on screen, but people were so excited for her.
And you know, the Globes is the first award show of award season every year, so it's always a wide-open race, and this really helps to set the table for the rest of award season, all the way to the road to the Oscars, which is in March. So last night, some of the big winners, as you said, were the Brutalist and Emilia Perez on the film side.
And on the television side, the big winners were Shogun, Hacks and Baby Reindeer. So, the TV side was more anticipated. It was essentially a repeat of the Emmys. But the film side, we did get some surprises. And as I said, this really starts to set the table for the Oscars. And going into the night, Emilia Perez had the most nominations of all with 10.
And they fared very well, which sets it up very nicely for the Oscars. Then you look at the brutalist, which became a big winner last night and won more awards than Conclave, and both of those films were also leading the nominee list. So, this looks very good for the Brutalist going into the Oscars, but it's still a long road.
There's still two months to go, and the Globes don't always predict who is going to win at the Oscars.
WALKER: It was Nikki Glaser. I know you caught up with her before the Golden Globes. She did make history as being the first female solo Golden Globes host. How did she do?
WAGMEISTER: She did incredible. I have to tell you. She worked in the room and she worked at home.
[08:55:00]
The reviews from critics have been great. People were cracking up in the room, and this is not an easy room to please. Now, as you said, I did get the chance to catch up with her a few days before. We sat down when she was in the midst of rehearsals and practicing, and she told me that she was going to do some light roasting, but she didn't want to make enemies of any of these celebrities.
So, she didn't go full Ricky Gervais, but she did have some jobs in there. She poked some good fun at Timothee Chalamet. She made a joke about Diddy, which of course, has been one of the biggest stories in entertainment of the year. So, there were some moments where people in the room are going, oh my gosh. I can't believe she went there.
But it really all worked. And I have to tell you, Nikki told me that she would love to come back again. This isn't something that she just wants to do once. Of course, Ricky Gervais hosted five times. There's been a lot of repeat hosts, so I think she has a good shot of being asked back again.
WALKER: And she did look stunning in that champagne-colored gown there on the red carpet. Elizabeth Wagmeister, really good to have you. Thank you so much.
WAGMEISTER: Thanks so much.
WALKER: And thank you for being with me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is up next.
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[09:00:00]
