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TikTok Vows To Go Dark On Sunday; TikTok Content Creator On The U.S. Ban Of The Popular App; Trump Plans Aggressive Day One Immigration Crackdown; Netanyahu: Biden & Trump Support Isrrael Going Back To War If Hamas Doesn't Follow Ceasefire & Hostage Deal; Netanyahu Demands Names Of Hostages To Be Freed On Eve Of Ceasefire; Approval Ratings: Biden Leaves At A Low Point While Trump Sees Boost Ahead Of Inauguration; Arctic Blast Will Make Trump Swearing-In The Coldest In 40 Years; Trump Inauguration Address To Be Delivered In Capitol Rotunda, And Secret Security Shifts Security Protocols Amid Move Inside. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 18, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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


[16:00:00]

WHITFIELD: And then that plane will take off and make its way to Washington, D.C. for his inauguration, swearing-in scheduled for Monday.

And this programing note CNN presents an encore presentation of the HBO original series "Real Time with Bill Maher." That's tonight at 8:00 right here on CNN.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM with Jessica starts right now.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And tonight, the clock is ticking for TikTok. In just a few hours, America's ban on the popular video sharing app goes into effect. The app says it will, quote, "Go dark on Sunday," cutting off service unless the U.S. government assures Apple and Google they won't be punished for hosting the app. But the Biden White House calling that threat a stunt and is allowing the incoming Trump administration to decide ultimately what to do here.

President-elect Trump saying that he will most likely try to delay the ban for 90 days once he takes office on Monday.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter, and TikTok content creator Joanne Molinaro are both joining us live now to talk more about this.

Brian, let's start first with you. Just set the scene for us. For all the TikTok users out there, what happens at midnight?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, I was just on the phone with one of these big tech companies. One of these executives trying to figure out exactly how this will go down because the word is that at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, that's when the law takes effect, that's when TikTok might suddenly start to disappear on people's phones. If that happens, if it goes dark, it will be because service providers, basically the in-betweens, the go-betweens that make your phone light up with videos, they will feel they have to take TikTok down.

They will feel legal consequences and financial penalties. Now the Biden administration has signaled again last night and again today that it will not enforce the law tomorrow. In other words, it's telling these service providers, don't worry. Keep TikTok online. This is Donald Trump's problem now. However, some of these service providers might not feel comfortable with that guidance from the Biden administration. They might still fear prosecution.

So long story short, it is possible, Jessica, that TikTok will disappear overnight. But if it does, it's probably coming back on Monday because Trump has signaled that he wants to resolve this. He wants to negotiate something. He'll probably put a 90-day pause in effect. So if TikTok disappears Sunday morning, it will probably be back on Monday or Tuesday.

DEAN: All right. So more to come. And you just can't underscore enough just the timing of this as well with the outgoing administration, the incoming administration.

STELTER: It's crazy.

DEAN: It is a little crazy. Brian, thank you for laying all of that out for us. I'm sure we'll be talking more between now and tomorrow. Thanks so much.

I also want to talk with Joanne Molinaro, who is a content creator on TikTok.

Joanne, thanks so much for being here with us. We really appreciate it. You said this about the ban and if it would be enforced, I just want to play this clip really quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOANNE L. MOLINARO, TIKTOK CONTENT CREATOR: If I had to guess, TikTok is still going to be around post Sunday. There are so many people who have a vested interest in continuing this app, and it's not just us, the users, the creators and the consumers, but there are a lot of political pieces that are moving around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And just to give people a little background information on you, you are an attorney. And now I believe you're a full time TikTok content creator. So you have a background in kind of assessing the legality of something like this.

Where do you think we are? We just heard Brian laying it out. As someone who's using the app all the time, where do you think we are right now? MOLINARO: Well, first of all, Jessica, thank you so much for having

me. And I think Brian did actually a phenomenal job of laying it out. And by that I mean that we're not really talking about the law anymore. We're talking about practicalities and we're talking about sort of extrajudicial, extralegal commercial dealings and political dealings that might take place over the next 48 hours.

We've seen some incredibly powerful and very wealthy people publicly commit to trying to save TikTok. And when that happens, what that inevitably means is that there's a lot of political horse trading that's probably happening behind the scenes that we're not even privy to. And so I agree with Brian. Come Monday, Tuesday, maybe even next week, even if things go dark on Sunday, the lights are probably going to turn back on.

DEAN: And are you talking about you think that there would be a deal on this, or you think it's -- you as a content creator, you think that it could just continue to exist, that Trump will somehow save it in its current form?

MOLINARO: Well, when I think about how Trump could potentially save it, I think the law is pretty clear. And I think that legislatively it would be very difficult for him to find a way to enact some sort of preservation of TikTok.

[16:05:03]

But where I think, you know, we've seen Trump succeed in many, many other ways is the sort of political capital that he has with him. He could speak with legislators. He could speak with potential buyers. We've already seen Kevin O'Leary say I'm offering $20 billion for this. We've seen reports that Elon Musk has thrown his name into the ring. We've seen that Trump can happen to make deals and potentially save TikTok.

We've also seen that the CEO of TikTok himself has come out and said, thank you, Trump, for committing to saving TikTok. So a lot of people are putting their bet on Donald Trump over the next several days to do what he can perhaps extralegally to try and save this app.

DEAN: Yes, it's going to be really interesting because obviously ByteDance, which does have to report to the Chinese government, has to agree to sell it to an American seller. And that, you know, we have a bipartisan deal that is now a law that has been upheld with a unanimous decision from the Supreme Court. So there's a lot of pieces at play as you well note there.

I do want to ask you about where people are going, where creators are moving to. If it's not TikTok, there are these other Chinese run apps, Lemon8, RedNote. What are you seeing and what are you thinking as someone who relies on TikTok?

MOLINARO: As a content creator, I have seen more comments than I can even describe asking me, hey, have you started a RedNote? Where can I find you on RedNote? It was the number one downloaded social media app over the last two days, and there's a reason for that. I think a lot of it is perhaps it gives folks a little bit of the same vibe as TikTok.

The algorithm appears to work very similarly, but I think some of it is also, Jessica, motivated by a sort of, hey, I'm going to stick it to you because you told me I couldn't use this app. Well, I'm going to go to one that's just as bad or just as similar as the one that you're telling me I can't use. Remember, the demographic on TikTok skews young, and that's often how they exercise their free speech.

DEAN: Yes. And what is your sense, too? Because a couple of things. There are concerns that -- there are national security concerns over, you know, TikTok, ByteDance, not just being able to collect data, which I know some people are like, I don't care, take my data. Why do I care, what, if you know what I'm eating for lunch? But it's not just that. It's also that that they could try to influence people's opinions. And, you know, you think about if China were to invade Taiwan and if most Americans are getting their information from TikTok, what kind of algorithm are they sending a lot of Americans? It allows them to put a lot of information out there.

Do you get the sense that anyone kind of in your world, again, creators, people that are using it for their own, you know, businesses and to communicate and to build community, is that concern kind of talked about in any way?

MOLINARO: No. I can tell you point blank in my circle as a content creator, and I've been doing this since 2020 on TikTok, that is not a concern. It's not a concern that we've talked about. And I can understand why people might think that that's a problem. You should be concerned about it.

Here's what I'd have to say to that, Jessica. I personally have never felt influenced in any way that would somehow be construed as propaganda, pro-China or anything of that sort. I've never talked to anyone who felt that they were influenced by that. But you know what they have been influenced by? They've been influenced by a TikTok ban. They've been influenced by a Supreme Court opinion that seemingly curtails their First Amendment right without regard.

Those are the things that are influencing them to download a RedNote app that is very admittedly openly owned by a Chinese company. So I think that's something that people should take into account.

DEAN: And so what do you see for you? How do you move forward?

MOLINARO: Well, I think I'm going to move forward first thing by posting a TikTok, probably a fairly emotional one that says essentially goodbye to my community in the event that the lights don't flicker to life at some point in the near future. That's the first thing I'm going to do. The second thing I'm going to do is to continue investing in the platforms that I have communities in, like Instagram reels or YouTube, or of course in my own newsletter, which is the e- mail list that I've cultivated over the next couple of years.

Those are the things that I'm going to continue to do, and I'm also going to continue to work on my, like, plan Z, which is to write a book and to find a life outside of social media altogether. DEAN: All right. Well, Joanne Molinaro, thanks for talking us through

kind of your feelings about this. We really appreciate your time.

MOLINARO: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. And when we come back, President-elect Donald Trump has big plans for immigration as soon as he gets back into the Oval Office as his incoming administration gears up for an aggressive crackdown that includes raids in major cities and several executive orders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:14:28]

DEAN: New tonight, President-elect Trump says mass deportations of undocumented immigrants will start, quote, "very quickly" after he takes office on Monday. And it's part of an aggressive immigration push that is expected to begin then. Sources telling CNN his team has readied a slate of executive orders to be released hours after he is sworn in. That includes sweeps in major cities.

CNN's Steve Contorno is live in West Palm Beach, Florida, with more details about this.

So, Steve, as we look ahead to Monday, what more are you learning about these executive orders?

[16:15:01]

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, the executive orders dealing with immigration are expected to be some of the very first steps that Donald Trump takes after swearing in to office. They include, as you said, the sanctioning of ICE raids across the country, moving more resources from the Pentagon to the U.S. southern border, and undoing many of the policies of Donald -- excuse me, President Joe Biden that he has taken when it comes to immigration and asylum statuses and such.

And Donald Trump's own border czar already saying that they expect this to be a nationwide effort that will begin shortly after Donald Trump takes office. Take a listen to what Tom Homan had to say yesterday on FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, TRUMP'S INCOMING BORDER CZAR: There's going to be a big raid all across the country. You know, Chicago is just one of many places. And we've got 24 field offices across the country. On Tuesday, you can expect ICE because ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We're going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, speaking just moments ago to NBC News, Donald Trump declined to say exactly which cities will be targeted in his initial raid, saying, quote, "It will begin very early, very quickly. I can't say which cities because things are evolving and I don't think we want to say which city. You'll see it firsthand."

And of course, this is something Donald Trump has been promising all throughout the presidential campaign. So these actions really shouldn't be a surprise. However, it also appears that many Americans are actually welcoming this action from the incoming administration. A new "New York Times" poll released today shows that 55 percent of Americans support deporting people who are illegally here, and that includes 63 percent who said they support getting -- deporting those who have arrived in just the last four years.

And then there's overwhelming support, nearly 90 percent, for the removal of anyone who has a criminal record -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Steve, that is all helpful information as we look toward Monday and what to expect.

We're also looking toward the actual inauguration, which of course has been moved indoors due to the cold. We also know that the Chinese vice president is going to be attending. That's the first senior Chinese official to ever attend an inauguration. What more do we know about that? And what does it mean about the relationship between the Chinese government and America as President Trump takes office?

CONTORNO: Jessica, Trump actually invited President Xi himself to attend. He is instead sending his vice president. But you're right. This is an unprecedented step to invite someone so closely affiliated with the communist regime there.

Trump has welcomed a whole slate of foreign leaders and dignitaries to his event. He really wants this to be a sort of global event, although obviously the eyebrow raising inclusion of China, who has been a top U.S. adversary for a number of years, certainly stands out. And Donald Trump, though, is someone who has been -- had some harsh language for China but also has been incredibly complimentary of President Xi.

And the two actually spoke by phone this week and President Trump or excuse me, President-elect Trump saying after that call that it was, quote, "My expectation that we will solve many problems together starting immediately." So even though we have seen this hard posturing by many in Washington, including from within Trump's own party, at the top of the list, his incoming secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who has been very hawkish against China.

Trump himself inviting and opening the door to an opportunity to work with China on issues at least where they may have -- where there might be mutual benefit, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Steve Contorno in West Palm Beach, thanks so much for that.

And joining me now, political reporter for "NOTUS," Jasmine Wright, and national political correspondent for "Politico," Alex Isenstadt. He is also the author of "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power." Great to have both of you here.

Jasmine, I want to start first with you. We just heard that clip from Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, saying that the handcuffs will be taken off for ICE. What are you hearing and how is it being described to you about these mass deportations that Trump has promised all along the campaign trail, and now appears poised to try to take action on?

JASMINE WRIGHT, POLITICAL REPORTER, NOTUS: Yes, Jessica. Well, this is something that really the Trump team, even though that November election was just two months ago, they've been planning for months and months, if not years and years since the former president, now future president, left office really of his affiliated services, America First Policy Institute, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation have been planning ways to, in effect, if he were to come back in power, really be able to deliver on these promises on immigration that they weren't able to deliver the first time around.

[16:20:19]

And so these are really well-thought out executive actions that they're planning to put in position. Now, I've been talking to a lot of people close to Trump, some folks who have advised him on immigration in the past, who say that these executive orders that we should expect, yes, they will take some big swings potentially. We may see some deportation kick off, if not the first day, maybe within the first few weeks.

But really, they're meant to jump start the -- what they feel is a government that has been really dormant and really been lacking in its ability to curtail the border and curtail really people crossing the border and really being ineffective at doing that job. And so we heard from Tom Homan in that clip talking about how it's going to jump start ICE. They say it's going to jump start ICE. It's going to jump start the Border Patrol.

Really to become more severe in how they treat folks who are coming over the border. Even though he is inheriting some of the less amount of crossings that -- from people crossing over the U.S.-Mexico border than he actually left the government with in 2020 and 2021. And so I think that they're really serious about these issues. This is something that's a long time coming, but it's really to kick off what we expect to be kind of an elongated process to kind of get a control, as the Republicans say, on immigration.

DEAN: Yes. And Alex, look, you've covered Trump for a long time now. You've written the book. This appears to be a more organized, a more determined, more focused Trump administration, certainly than we saw the first go around.

How would you assess the differences between what, you know, an incoming Trump administration in 2017 and an incoming Trump administration in 2025?

ALEX ISENSTADT, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: It's a night and day difference. You'll recall back in 2016, and many your viewers will recall as well, it was complete chaos in those opening days of the White House. There was miscommunications. One hand didn't know what the other hand was doing. Trump was tweeting, and it was in terms of the things that they wanted to put out, such as the travel ban, it was absolute mayhem.

This time around, Susie Wiles, his incoming chief of staff, has established a very much more structured environment. It's going to be like 2017 when you had warring factions within the White House that create a lot of those tensions. What you have this time around is Susie Wiles has brought in a lot of her Florida loyalists, and those people, they know each other. They've worked well together. They didn't leak on each other during the campaign, and they're unlikely to start leaking on each other now.

And so that has real world implications for potentially helping Trump push forward his agenda in a much smoother fashion. Now, that doesn't mean there's not going to be drama in this White House. It's Donald Trump's White House, of course. But there is -- this is mechanically going to be a very different White House than the one Trump had the first time around.

DEAN: Yes, it certainly seems that way. And you note Susie Wiles being such a driving force behind that.

Alex, do you think -- what do you think are the challenges then that they potentially have in these first 100 days?

ISENSTADT: Sure. Well, you know, one of the big questions is, and voters are saying that they really support the sort of a tougher crackdown on immigration, but one of the questions is, is once people start seeing visuals and images of the raids, does that sour their perception of what's going on? It's easy to say that you support something in theory, but when you actually start to see it in practice, sometimes support for that kind of thing goes down.

And so you're going to start to see an onrush of executive orders, and it's going to be interesting to see how much support does Trump maintain for those kinds of things through those 100 days. And so where do things stand heading into Monday versus where do things stand 100 days in in April.

DEAN: Yes, that's a great point. And Jasmine, to that point, look, we are seeing a stark difference in just how Americans are receiving Trump compared to his first inauguration. His approval rating for handling the transition is higher than it is than it was in 2017.

Do you get the sense that -- has the country changed? Has Trump changed? Is it about just kind of starting off at this higher point and then seeing where we are in 100 days? What do you kind of make of those numbers and just where we are at this point?

WIRGHT: I think yes and no to both are your answers, Jessica. I think that the country has changed to an extent after COVID, but I think that underlying what always drives Americans is the economy, is making sure that they are their wallets are intact, that they can pay for the things that they need, that they can put food on their family's table. And we saw that as an incredibly motivating factor for the November election.

[16:25:03]

I think that a lot of things around the president have changed. And in fact, the president has changed because he spent four years in office, which, remember when he came in 2017, to Alex's point, you know, folks talked about the fact that they couldn't even find the lights in the White House to turn on the lights in their offices. And so they're really coming in with experience under their belt, but also, and he's coming in with experience under his belt.

But also they're coming into a Republican Party that has really been transformed in his image. So many more of the people in Congress, both House and Senate, are more MAGA Republicans, folks who are more aligned with the America first agenda and more really wanting to put what President Trump wants to do in legislation and send it back to him on his desk. And so I think you're finding an environment that is way more favorable to him than in 2017, where he entered office, kind of unpopular.

And also I think you can say that for the American people. Trump tweeted or put on his social media site a couple weeks ago, everybody wants to be my friend, and I think that that is the accurate take. He's coming into a way more favorable environment. But of course, there are going to be a lot of questions going forward. One, how much money will Congress allocate to doing things like deportation?

How much is too much for some of those Republicans who voted against raising the debt ceiling last month? What can Trump do in legislation versus executive order? How does he want to wait for Congress for tariffs? Or does he want to do it on his own? And so I think there are going to be a lot of unanswered questions going into Monday about how far his reach is, but I think he is absolutely entering office and it's just a completely different circumstance than when he entered in 2017. And it's going in his favor.

DEAN: Yes.

WIRGHT: And I think that's what is providing that momentum that you see him really coming back to Washington with.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Jasmine Wright, Alex Isenstadt, our thanks to both of you. We appreciate it.

As Donald Trump begins his second term, history unfolds live right here on CNN. Don't miss our special coverage, "THE INAUGURATION OF DONALD TRUMP." It is live Monday starting at 8:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Some of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas 15 months ago could soon be free, reunited with their loved ones when a ceasefire and hostage deal goes into effect. Also bringing the people of Gaza their first relief from airstrikes in months.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:31:44]

DEAN: In just a matter of hours, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is set to take effect. But in an address today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel reserves the right to go back to war, quote, "if necessary," and that they would do so with U.S. support.

A deal was reached earlier this week after months and months of negotiations. A number of hostages are expected to be released tomorrow., the first of 33, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

With us now, Israel's former ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren.

Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much for being here with us. We appreciate your time today.

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Thank you, Jessica. Good to be with you, as always.

DEAN: I first just want to ask you about what we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu. There was some concern we might have a last minute delay or setback over this list of hostages coming from Hamas.

What do you expect to happen tomorrow morning?

OREN: Well, they -- Hamas missed the deadline for submitting it's list. And various parties, the Saudis, the Qataris are saying, well, they missed the deadline, but we're confident that eventually we will get this list.

The first three hostages to be released will be at Eastern Standard Time about 1:30 in the morning, tonight. And we'll know. We'll know whether these hostages are who they are, whether they are alive. Some of the hostages may not be alive.

There's particular concern in the state of Israel for two of the youngest hostages, the Bibas brothers, Ariel and Kfir, aged now 2 and 5. And a tremendous amount of tension in the state of Israel over the fate of these very, very young hostages.

DEAN: Yes, I know that there has just been outcry and deep concern over they're so, so young, just babies.

But just to underscore what you're saying, at this point, there's no reason to believe this would be derailed at this moment in time?

OREN: No, I don't. It probably will go through. And Hamas will -- will go through. But there's always -- Hamas is always going to be trying to move the goalposts because they are a terrorist organization and there will be a ceasefire.

But, you know, a rocket could fall somewhere in Israel, or there could be an ambush of Israeli soldiers. Hamas could say, well, it's not us. It's somebody else. And we didn't violate the ceasefire.

And they'll will always be moving that goalpost as frequently and as far as they can to see if they can get away with it. Keep in mind, a terrorist organization, they're not honest brokers.

They're in the -- they're in -- in the occupation. They're in the business of terror. And that includes emotional terror.

It's important to point out, you talk about the number of Palestinians that are going to be released from Israeli jails, you're talking about over a thousand.

These are Palestinians who have murdered Israelis. I've been in touch with some of the families of these Israelis even today.

Interesting, today is Martin Luther King Day coming up. And one of the -- one of the Palestinians to be released from prison murdered an Israeli-American by the name of Richard Lakin Avni, who marched with Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement.

And was a prominent activist for civil rights in this country before moving for Israel. He is now getting out of prison after murdering Richard Avni.

Ari Fuld, another American-Israeli I know, he was a teacher for my own kids, was murdered. His murderer is getting out of jail, too.

These families are devastated, Jessica, devastated. They feel that the state has abandoned them.

[16:35:00]

And it's very difficult, this concession, if you want to even call it that, of Palestinian prisoners getting out of jail. These are terrorists. They've killed people, innocent people. And it's excruciatingly painful for the people of Israel.

DEAN: And you and I have talked about this, and I know you've written about it. You've talked about it other places, just kind of the push and pull that's involved with all of this.

And you're getting at one of those push and pulls that we're talking about, which is for Israelis, the importance for so many of them to get back these hostages.

And at the same time, the families you're talking about feeling abandoned by their state, just how difficult both sides of that coin are.

OREN: And basically, remember, this is the upshot of the failures of October 7th. If the -- if the state of Israel, the army of Israel had reacted in time to the terrorist onslaught, we wouldn't be in this position.

So we're paying a price. Israeli society is paying a price for the failure of its leaders on that day. And that's just the bottom line. You know, the Israeli government came out early on and said, our goal is to win. We're going to destroy Hamas and achieve the release of all the hostages. But those two goals proved to be mutually exclusive, because the more

you pressured Hamas militarily, they didn't release hostages, they shot the hostages.

And so this deal is inevitable. But that doesn't make it any less painful. And it is -- it is almost mind boggling how painful it is for Israelis.

Everyone wants to see the end of the war. And, yes, for the Palestinians to -- to end their suffering. Any Palestinian casualty is one Palestinian casualty too much. But we want to see the end. But this is an end that enables Hamas to survive.

DEAN: It's interesting because I know you wrote in a piece in the Free Press this week, you actually wrote about this. And I was going to ask you about it. You brought it up on your own.

But you said perhaps this outcome was unavoidable from the beginning. Perhaps the deal is the only way of reconciling Israel's mutually exclusive goals of annihilating Hamas and repatriating the hostages.

Perhaps despite Israel's subsequent military triumph, this is the price for the failures of October 7th. Yes. And you get at why you believe that.

OREN: It doesn't mean there was an alternative. Israel had to strike back at Hamas. Hamas posed an existential threat to the state of Israel.

No one was going to move back to the south, which is a big chunk of the country. 62 percent of the country. No one was going to move back to that part of the area as long as Hamas posed that kind of threat.

You had to degrade Hamas. At the same time, you had to degrade Hamas in a way that they wouldn't shoot the hostages, which is extremely difficult.

Meanwhile, Israel is fighting on multiple other fronts. It was fighting on six other fronts and performing militarily. By any military standards, this was an outstanding victory.

They'll be studying this in West Point for the next 50 years, how Israel won the war militarily. But that did not solve the fundamental problem of how to achieve -- how to achieve freedom for these hostages who have endured unbearable suffering, unbearable suffering.

Even the hostages who were in custody, were in captivity for 50 days, released a year ago last November, they're still suffering emotionally and physically from their ordeals.

These hostages have been in 15 months and more in captivity, and they're -- the damage to them emotionally and physically is just incalculable.

DEAN: All right, so we look ahead to tomorrow to see how this unfolds.

And former Ambassador Michael Oren, as always, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

OREN: Thank you very much.

DEAN: And this just into CNN. President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, right now leaving Palm Beach, Florida, boarding -- they're boarding the plane to go to Washington, D.C., ahead of Monday's inauguration.

His daughter, Ivanka, her family, we also saw them boarding the plane there, again, as the wheel's in motion for this inauguration set for Monday.

[16:38:41]

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:22]

DEAN: As President Biden prepares to exit the White House, President- elect Trump is making his way to Washington to take the oath of office amid a brutal cold spell due to hit the nation's capital on Monday.

While Biden's approval ratings exiting office are frosty, Trump appears to be enjoying a bit of a honeymoon period.

Joining us now to run the numbers on this, CNN senior data reporter, Harry Enten.

Hello, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Hello.

DEAN: This is a pretty typical pattern, but these numbers for Biden seem especially low.

ENTEN: Yes, they're historically low there. I dare say, historically awful. What am I talking about here? Well, job approval at the end of the first term, I'm just looking amongst those who lost or didn't run for reelection. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to see which is the lowest number on your screen right now.

In an average of polls, my average, Joe Biden's at 38 percent. He's actually lower than Donald Trump was at the end of his first term. Remember, at the end of his first term, everyone was saying Donald Trump's political career is over.

Joe Biden's approval rating is even lower than Trump's was by just a point. He's lower than Jimmy Carter, who was at 44 percent by the end of his presidency. Not even close to George H.W. Bush, who was at 56 percent, saw a nice rebound.

But the bottom line is this. Joe Biden came in to end the Donald Trump reign in this country, right, end Donald Trump's political career. And all that's ended up happening is Joe Biden has managed to end up at a lower approval rating at the end of his first term than any president on record -- Jessica?

DEAN: And how are people reflecting on his entire presidency at this moment?

ENTEN: Yes. So if you think this approval rating number is bad, take a look at this particular number.

[16:45:92]

All right, a good or great president at the end of their terms. Well, Barack Obama, 52 percent of Americans thought he was a good or great president at the end of his presidency in 2017. Donald Trump, very much behind Barack Obama at 36 percent.

But look at how low Joe Biden is. My goodness gracious. You can't really get lower than 25 percent in our polarized era, because the bottom line is, there's going to be a bunch of Democrats who would say that Biden was a good or great president, no matter what he did.

But yet, it's only a quarter of the country who believes that Joe Biden was a good or great president. It is the lowest number since AP- NORC started tracking this back at the end of Barack Obama's second term.

Bottom line is, Joe Biden goes out a very unpopular man at the end of a 50-plus year political career.

DEAN: It is -- it's so interesting. And there are so many questions, too, about like, is it -- do we -- are we so more divided now than we were back in 2017? Is it Joe Biden? There's a lot there to chew on.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: I do want you to talk us through Trump's -- Trump's popularity at this point.

ENTEN: Yes. So if Joe Biden's numbers are at his lowest point, right, Donald Trump's are right near his top point. I -- literally, we have a little thing up here I go -- I'm so tall. I was able to actually bump it.

Look at this. Trump's record favorable rating. You know, you go back four years ago, he was at 38 percent. Look at where he is today, 47 percent. That is the highest favorable rating Donald Trump has ever registered in an average of polls.

So what we're dealing with is something very interesting, whereby, as I was saying, Joe Biden's at his worst point. Donald Trump is actually at his best point being with this, such a high favorable rating.

One other little last thing I will point out, because I want to get to the forecast a little bit, is just take a look at this. Will Trump be a good president in January of 2017?

You saw 48 percent for Donald Trump. Look at where we are today. A majority expect that Donald Trump will be a good president. So expectations for him are quite high. We'll see if he's able to meet those expectations -- Jessica?

DEAN: And you mentioned the weather. How cold will it be historically?

ENTEN: Brr, brr. I mean, my goodness gracious. I mean, what are we talking about? We're talking Monday's forecast is in the low 20s, a low 10s windchill. That would make it the second -- potentially second-coldest inauguration on record.

Remember, Ronald Reagan was at 7 in 1985. We're looking right around where JFK was in 1961. And look, this is even going to be colder than Obama's at 28 -- at 28.

And then let me just say this much. You know, I have a forecast here. I have a forecast for tomorrow, Jessica. That is the Buffalo Bills are going to be taking on the Baltimore Ravens in Buffalo.

My prediction is this, it is going to be Bills by a billion points. I'm ready to go on the record here. Bills by a billion. You can see the coldest game in Buffalo history on your screen right there against the Los Angeles Raiders. The Bills won that game.

And what I'm going to tell you, Jessica Dean, is the Bills are absolutely 100 percent going to win tomorrow. And well see if my prediction pans out.

If it doesn't, I'll come back next week and take my whacks. But Bills by a billion. You heard it here first, by a billion.

DEAN: By a billion.

ENTEN: By a billion, yes.

DEAN: Someone wrote it down.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: We'll see you next week.

ENTEN: Great.

DEAN: Harry Enten, thanks so much.

[14:48:17]

Still ahead, big changes for Donald Trump's inauguration as frigid weather moves it inside the nation's capital, making a last-minute security change for law enforcement. We'll talk more about that.

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[14:53:06]

DEAN: Major changes are coming to Donald Trump's second inauguration as president. The ceremony is being moved inside because of the frigid temperatures forecast for Washington, D.C., on Monday.

CNN's Brian Todd is at the U.S. capitol with more details on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dramatic change of plans. Instead of being sworn in outdoors in front of the capitol, on a platform full of dignitaries, and before a crowd of hundreds of thousands, Donald Trump will be sworn in indoors, inside the Capitol Rotunda, a venue that was used for Ronald Reagan in 1985.

Trump saying in a post, "I don't want to see people hurt or injured in any way, the tens of thousands of law enforcement, first responders, police, canines and even horses and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours."

Wind chill in Washington, expected to be in the single digits.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This isn't regular cold. This is potentially dangerous cold, especially when you're exposed to these elements for long durations of time. It could lead to hypothermia and frostbite.

(MUSIC)

TODD: An indoor inauguration means less room for invited guests, VIPs and the public, and might have a different feel.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I think it's a buzz kill for Donald Trump. In his imagination, he's expecting a sea of people in a worshipful fashion, and it's the revenge, the comeback.

TODD: Blake Marnell came all the way from San Diego to view the inauguration up close.

BLAKE MARNELL, CAME FROM SAN DIEGO TO SEE INAUGURATION: Personally, I'm disappointed. I was very much looking forward to seeing President Trump being inaugurated. But given the forecast and the record lows that are that are predicted, I can understand it.

TODD: But Trump also announced that after his swearing in, he would attend an event at Washington's Capital One Arena downtown, where crowds could watch a live broadcast of the inauguration. And then some form of the presidential parade would be held inside.

Authorities have been building a platform, setting up checkpoints and erecting 30 miles of fencing for a crowd expected to include hundreds of thousands of ticketed guests.

[16:54:59]

Now, within a span of just a couple of days, new security plans have to be implemented for up to 25,000 security personnel involved.

MATT DOHERTY, FORMER SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: Their marching orders, fundamentals, where do they report to, where are they posted? So it's a complete adjustment from perhaps the pre- briefing they have received. TODD: Including a security plan for the new event at the arena.

DOHERTY: It actually makes it a little easier as far as the security of the president inside a venue for the screening, the metal detectors, all of that.

TODD: In 1985, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in the Capitol rotunda, daytime temperatures were seven degrees with a wind chill of -25. The parade was canceled.

But a far worse outcome may have been in 1841 with the inauguration of President William Henry Harrison, who gave a nearly two hour address in bad weather.

BRINKLEY: He died a month later in office, getting pneumonia from standing out in the cold giving that inaugural address.

TODD (on camera): Former Secret Service Special Agent Matt Doherty says, in addition to all the stress of having to make all the changes in the security posture for the inauguration, what's adding to that pressure for the Secret Service is all the fallout from the two assassination attempts against President-elect Trump last year, and all the scrutiny of the Secret Service over them.

Doherty says, in their internal meetings, he is certain that senior Secret Service officials are stressing to their agents the need to get this right.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Brian, thank you.

And after the inauguration, President-elect Trump has a long list of promises about what he's going to do during his first 100 days in office. There are some immediate challenges that could slow down that political momentum. We'll talk through it when we come back.

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