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CNN International: Trump Begins First Full Day Of Second Term As President; Trump Pardons Nearly All January 6 Defendants; Today: Trump To Meet With Congressional Leaders. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 21, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
And ahead on CNN Newsroom, promising a golden age, Donald Trump begins his second term on his own terms. We're live in Washington with the very latest. Plus. President Trump signs a slew of executive orders, including cracking down on immigration. We'll take a look at how this is already impacting those at the border. And returning home to destroyed homes in flattened neighborhoods in Gaza, the latest on day three of the fragile Israel-Hamas truce.
It is the first full day of a new Trump era, and the nation's 47th President wasting no time wielding the power of the presidency. Right now, the Washington National Cathedral is hosting an interfaith service of prayer for the nation, capping off the inaugural events. Both President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance are expected to attend. Later, the President plans to announce more executive actions. That's after his -- he spent his first few hours in office yesterday signing off on a barrage of them and reversing Biden-era policies.
He pardoned nearly all of the January 6 rioters, including those convicted of violent felonies and commuted the sentences of 14 far- right extremists. He also declared a national emergency at the southern border, and he kicked off the process to end birthright citizenship. The President also pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization, and he delayed enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days. And there is more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next item here is the withdrawal from the Paris climate treaty. Protecting women from radical gender ideologies.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is actually an executive order designating the cartels and other organizations to be foreign terrorist organizations.
TRUMP: That's a big one. So, this is January 6. These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TRUMP: -- full pardon. We hope they come out tonight, frankly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. Let's turn now to our Kevin Liptak, who is at the White House. I'm not used to seeing you indoors, Kevin. So, that threw me off. Usually you're outdoors, but good to have you. Trump is beginning now his first full day in office with this prayer service. What more can you share with us?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. The Trump administration now 23-hours-old, and President Trump wasting no time, really trying to wield his executive power, really testing the bounds of his presidential prerogative to try and bend the federal government to his will. He is on his way at this hour to the National Cathedral here in Washington. This is kind of the final one of the inaugural rituals. It will be an interfaith prayer service. We're not expecting to hear him speak while he is there. He'll just be sitting in the crowd listening to various people, sort of deliver their prayers for the start of this four-year administration.
And we did get a good window into how President Trump plans to govern yesterday with that raft of executive orders, some were more symbolic, things like renaming the Gulf of Mexico, renaming the mountain in Alaska back to Mount McKinley. But, a number of them were very highly consequential, including that raft of blanket pardons for the January 6 rioters. President Trump saying that there were 1,500 pardons in all. And I think it's notable that that includes low level offenders, but also those who were accused of violence on January 6. So, that is highly significant. He rolled back almost 80 Biden-era executive actions. He withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord. He withdrew from the World Health Organization, really trying to reshape the federal government to his liking.
I think it's also notable, though, what he didn't do yesterday, and which he had promised to do on day one, he did not apply yet new tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He said that those could go into effect on February 1st. We'll see if that happens.
And I'll just note that we're now an hour away from his own self- imposed deadline for ending the war in Ukraine. He said he would be able to finish that up within 24 hours of taking office. Of course, that was implausible at the time, and it doesn't appear as if it's going to happen now, but he did say he wants to talk to President Vladimir Putin and figure out if he is open to a deal. So, certainly a lot on President Trump's plate.
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Later today, we'll see him meeting with Republican congressional leaders here at the White House. Those executive actions were an attempt to go around Congress in a lot of areas, but at the end of the day, he will need Congress to do the most sweeping actions that he hopes to do while President, things like funding for immigration reform, raising the debt limit tax issues that are very complex that he'll need to work with Republicans on, and they want to get on the same page as this administration gets underway.
And then at 04:00 p.m. Eastern Time today, we do expect to see President Trump making what his press secretary said was a massive infrastructure announcement. If that sounds familiar, President Trump tried to talk about infrastructure during his first time around. It kept being obscured by other issues. But, I think it's notable, on the day, first full day of his presidency, we'll see him talking about infrastructure. What exactly he'll say remains to be seen. But, certainly, a full day for President Trump, as this administration, as this new Trump era begins in earnest.
SOLOMON: Yeah, and perhaps more to come on promises of tax cuts and tax reform. And just for our audience, Kevin, thank you for our audience. We just sort of dipped in there. We have seen the Vice President J.D. Vance as well as his wife already at the National Cathedral. I believe, on the opposite side, the other side of the aisle, we also saw Speaker -- House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as some lawmakers. But, of course, we'll keep our eyes out for President Trump. When he arrives, we will likely take you there.
But for now, as I mentioned, the President pardoned nearly all of the January 6 rioters, wiping away four years of work by the Justice Department, with the stroke of the pen. The pardons and commutations signed by the President on Monday bring to an end the largest criminal probe in American history. The pardons include those convicted of assaulting police officers that day in an effort to stop the transfer of power. The move is in sharp contrast to what we heard throughout the campaign when Trump aides and supporters on Capitol Hill maintained that those who committed violence should not receive clemency.
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TRUMP: So, this is January 6. These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TRUMP: -- full pardon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Full pardon or commutations?
TRUMP: Full pardon. We have about six commutations in there. Well, we're doing further research. Maybe it'll stay that way or it'll go to in a full pardon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And we have more now from CNN Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Outside the D.C. jail this morning, a smattering of supporters of January 6 rioters, as they await the release of people pardoned by Donald Trump or whose cases in the D.C. federal courts related to January 6 2021 are being dismissed by the Justice Department.
So, this is a scene that last night led to the release of two men who were sentenced just on Friday, the Valentine Brothers. Those men were convicted of assaulting police, one tearing the baton or trying to tear the baton out of a police officer's hands during the Capitol riot. The other throwing a chair at the police line. Those men spent the weekend in this jail and then were able to walk out following the pardons from President Trump last night. There are others, though. This jail only holds a small group of the defendants related to January 6. This is a local holding facility.
But, in Bureau of Prisons across the country, there are others that are being released, including the chairman of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, sentenced to 22 years in prison, being released. His mother saying the President is giving his son his life back. There is also Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, or the leader of the Oath Keepers. He is being released from federal prison. He was sentenced to 18 years, of which he will not be serving in full.
All at the same time, there are rejoicing among the supporters of January 6, families and their friends. They are here. There is someone with an American flag, a MAGA hat. There is one person who was in the Capitol riot and convicted and served a sentence. He is here as well. So, a recipient of one of the pardons is here on the grounds outside of the D.C. jail. They're waiting to see who else is going to be released and to welcome them.
But, at the same time, there are people who are unhappy with how this is going, that Donald Trump pardoned not just the misdemeanor defendants, but more than 1,000 people in total, including the people that attacked more than 100 police officers, assaulted them at the Capitol riot on January 6, including one of the groups that is unhappy that would be the family of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, saying there are no words that adequately describe the pain of losing Brian and the suffering that they are still feeling.
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They say it is up to the American people to decide whether this purpose will be achieved, involving far more serious questions than how our family feels about the death of a son and brother, and the undoing of the justice that was previously determined by the court's sentencing of Brian's assailants. It is our hope that the truth of what happened that tragic day will survive, irrespective of partisan political objective.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SOLOMON: And our thanks to Katelyn there.
In just a few hours, President Trump will meet with several congressional leaders at the White House. House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing a historically narrow majority which became smaller when Republican Mike Waltz resigned from the House on Monday to serve as Trump's National Security Advisor. That now leaves the chamber with 218 Republicans and 215 Democrats.
Joining us now is CNN's Lauren Fox, live from Capitol Hill. So, Lauren, as we said, Trump is expected to meet with congressional leaders from both the House and the Senate. What more can you share with us?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. There is still so much that the House and Senate are disagreeing on when it comes to this major policy proposal. Right now, they haven't even come to a consensus on whether or not they're going to do one bill or two bills. You hear a lot of House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, advocating for the one-bill approach, in part because of that narrow majority that you were just alluding to, and it's going to get more narrow for a period of time, because we do expect that at some point Elise Stefanik will be confirmed to the cabinet, and once again, he will lose another Republican member of his conference and a reliable vote in his camp. At that point, there is not going to be much wiggle room to move through a major legislative policy.
Now, we should note that that majority is going to get a little larger once people get confirmed to those seats, but that process is just going to take a couple of weeks to play out. So, that's the first dynamic that Johnson is contending with. And the disagreement over one bill or two bills is really just the beginning, because you have conservatives in the House who are pushing for dramatic spending cuts as part of this proposal. They said that they don't want to continue with another tax proposal without trying to offset some of that spending. You also have Republicans in the United States Senate who are arguing this is going to be hard enough. Let's just do a simple border package first, and then we can move forward with a broader tax package later in the year.
It's just going to take a lot of work to get everyone on the same page. I mean, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, he is already arguing that perhaps he would move forward with his own budget proposal that would essentially give Republicans in the Senate an opportunity to work on a two-bill strategy, just in case that one-bill strategy in the House doesn't work.
Just to put this all in context, though, back in 2017, at this point, once Trump was already inaugurated and had had his first day in the Oval Office, House Republicans had already taken the very first step forward with their effort to try to repeal and replace Obamacare. They had already passed a budget resolution. Obviously, that is still weeks away at best. So, that just gives you a sense of where things stand now, vis-a-vis where they were a couple of years ago. We should point out, of course, that that effort to repeal and replace Obamacare ultimately failed in the United States Senate. Rahel.
SOLOMON: And Lauren, stand by, if you might, for just a moment. For those watching your screens right now, your mobile screen, your TV screen at home, what we're seeing, of course, is President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, as well as Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha Vance. I believe we also saw his Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, I think maybe a row behind him, as President Trump's family now comes in. What you're looking at is the Washington National Cathedral. They are hosting an interfaith service, a prayer service for the nation, as it is built. As we look at Trump's family enter the cathedral, we have also seen Speaker Johnson on the opposite side of the aisle. I believe we saw Representative Mike Lawler, a congressman from -- a Republican congressman from the state of New York. So, again, we'll keep our eyes on this.
But, Lauren, as I have you, it's a really interesting point you mentioned about sort of governing right now between a very narrow majority in the House and the Senate, because on the one hand, Trump obviously has a very ambitious, to call it, I mean, his own words, a very ambitious legislative agenda. But, in order to do it, he is going to need to really unify Republicans that may not necessarily be unified.
FOX: Yeah. And I mean, the one or two-bill strategy, it sort of is this looming large question, and in some ways, it's a little bit silly that they are still having this discussion. But, in other ways, I think it's really representative of the bigger issue for Republicans moving forward, which is that every single vote is going to matter. And if you can't decide on one bill versus two bills, how are you ever going to decide on whether or not you lower the corporate tax rate, another point?
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How are you ever going to decide on whether or not you're going to retool the child tax credit again? How are you ever going to decide on whether or not some of these tax cuts need to be paid for if you expand them? How are you going to decide on whether or not everyone agrees with what the Congressional Budget Office's score of this bill is going to be? I think that those are major questions.
And I would just lay out that behind the scenes, the House Budget Committee has been circulating to members a series of ideas, sort of rough drafts, on what the opportunities could be to include new policy, to make spending cuts, and they're all really getting pushed back from people, because everyone has something that is a sacred cow for them, right? Everyone has something that they don't want to touch when it comes to federal spending, and that's the challenge ahead here, especially if you have a one, two, three-vote margin. I mean, that just --
SOLOMON: Yeah.
FOX: -- is not a lot of room to maneuver. And we've seen in the past. That's a huge issue for Speaker Johnson. SOLOMON: Yeah, not to mention President Trump would rather not be
dealing with a debt ceiling limit in his first year in office, and how that gets in the way, perhaps, of his agenda.
Lauren Fox, great to have you. Thank you.
All right. And still to come for us, how President Trump's foreign policy could change the world, from important climate initiatives, the conflict in the Middle East, to Russia's war on Ukraine? Plus, imagine trying to reconstruct your house and rebuild your entire life amid these apocalyptic ruins. That's the challenge facing Palestinians in Gaza, as a fragile ceasefire takes hold.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is questioning Donald Trump's commitment to NATO and Europe in general, as the U.S. President begins his second term. Mr. Zelenskyy spoke a short time ago at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He urged European countries to stand together against the threat from Russia, and said that Europe needs to learn how to, quote, "fully take care of itself so that the world can't afford to ignore it".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: When we in Europe look at the United States as our ally, it's clear, they are an indispensable ally. In times of war, everyone worries, will the United States stay with them? And every ally worry about that. But, does anyone in the United States worry that Europe might abandon them someday, might stop being their ally? The answer is no.
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SOLOMON: Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders on his first in office that could extend far beyond American policy. Hungary's far- right Prime Minister Viktor Orban praised the move, saying that those new orders will transform, quote, "the entire world". The U.S. President did not levy any new tariffs on day one, as he had vowed, but he did threaten to impose them against Mexico and Canada on February 1st.
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On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump told voters that he would end Russia's war on Ukraine in just 24 hours after taking his oath of office. That clearly did not happen, but Mr. Trump says that he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon. And on Monday, the new President signed an executive order to delay enforcing a federal ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.
Let's bring in now Ravi Agarwal. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Policy Magazine, and he is actually in Davos for the World Economic Forum. Ravi, always a pleasure to have you. I know you spoke with Zelenskyy, and I want to turn to that in a moment. But first, because we have you and because you were there, talk to me a little bit about the mood in Davos, because usually the attention is on Davos, but this time, I imagine it's on Washington, even for those there attending the forum. What's the mood been like? What's the chatter been like, especially considering Trump's renewed threats to slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico?
RAVI AGARWAL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE: You're right. Davos isn't used to not having the attention solely focused on itself, but everyone has their own Davos mood story. I think mine would be a little bit of surprise that Trump hasn't already done more than he said he would. So, people here at least were bracing for him to do a lot more on tariffs, on deportations, and we can talk about that separately. But really, there is an early sense that wait and watch his bark might not be as worse his bite, might not be as bad as his bark.
But, otherwise, there is also a sense that the old sort of Davos man, what we thought of as the global elitist person who typically tends to come to Davos that their moment really is up. This is now an era for more nationalism, more protectionism, not free trade and globalization, the kinds of things that people would discuss at Davos over the last 20 years, and the new era is really Trump's era.
SOLOMON: Yeah. In a sense, borders are very much front and center. Talk to me a little bit about, you wrote a piece in Foreign Policy. The title is, "Trump is ushering in a more transactional world." Transactional is a word that is often used to describe sort of the way President Trump sort of sees relationships. But, you lay out how world leaders are already working on plans to make Trump feel as if he is winning, to essentially try to keep the peace, try to stay in his good graces. Say more about that.
AGARWAL: Oh, absolutely. So, Trump is transactional. We know that he is nakedly transactional, and he is an opportunist. The thing is, this time, country after country around the world, they know this. They're prepared for it. They've seen it before. They have sources within the administration. They have friends and allies who can connect them to Trump and his people. They know what he likes. He loves flattery, by the way, and they're all working different angles to try and get in with this new administration in the best way that they can.
Even Zelenskyy, when he was speaking to a few of us reporters just about an hour ago, he made clear that the only person who can move things, who can move the needle on the war in Ukraine is Trump. In that, Trump is the only person who can guarantee security for Ukraine. Trump is the only person who can pick up the phone and call Putin and actually change things.
That kind of messaging, the way I read it, is a mix of flattery, and is sort of one way of trying to appeal to Trump's transactional nature. He likes to put his name on deals. He likes to be seen as being the difference maker, and countries are going to play that.
SOLOMON: And Ravi, was that flattery, what you also heard when Zelenskyy spoke at Davos more openly, more broadly, to the cameras? And what I thought was interesting is that, at times, his comments were strong. He echoed some of what Trump has said about defense spending for NATO members, even saying as much as five percent of GDP, which it should be noted even the U.S. doesn't meet that five percent threshold right now. Is that what you heard, flattery, and trying to sort of appeal to Trump in that way?
AGARWAL: So, flattery directed at Trump and a little bit of anger directed at Europe. I think Zelenskyy's tone has evolved over the last couple of years from hope originally, now to a little bit of disappointment. He feels that European countries, especially Germany, have strung Ukraine along for many years now, made lots of promises, but haven't truly opened up a pathway to NATO membership. He feels that they could all be doing a lot more, because, after all, Ukraine is the forward line of defense for the rest of the continent, and in a sense, he wants European leaders to put their money where their mouths are.
And he is worried that, just as the United States has seen a change in leadership, you could see a change in leadership in Germany this year. You could see one in France, and the outcomes you could have in those places could radically alter what kind of support Ukraine actually ends up getting from what are currently Ukrainian allies that may not be for that much longer.
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So, there is a sense of the clock ticking. There is a sense of desperation, and also really just focused on how Trump can make a difference here.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Ravi, it's such a fascinating point that depending on what happens with these elections, we may see more relationships built out of transactional convenience, as opposed to shared values, shared national values. Just talk to me a little bit more, Ravi, while we have, you about your conversation with Zelenskyy, anything else he said to you and the other reporters that stood out.
AGARWAL: So, definitely the appeal to Trump was one, but also, the fact that every single time they have tried to negotiate with the Russians, and this isn't new, through mediators, I should add, both sides have come at it with absolutely maximalist positions, and neither can budge, in large part, because in public, it's impossible for them to acknowledge that they will give up anything, for Putin that he would accept a loss, and for Zelenskyy, that he would give up any territory. In private, of course, I think all sides now realize that they're going to have to budge. Both sides have lost immense amounts of blood and treasure, even though they're not willing to fess up to it off the record. We hear, of course, from mostly U.S. officials with dire numbers of the real number of people who have died on both sides. That is not sustainable.
And so, the appeals to Trump, in many cases, not that different from the Middle East, where the mere fact that you have a change in leadership, not that Trump is more predisposed to help in any way, I should make clear, but just that there is a change is an occasion for every country to try and jockey and see what they can get out of it. And again, knowing that Trump is transactional, knowing that he wants to be seen as someone who came in and made a difference, there is a window of opportunity there for every other country.
You mentioned the rules-based order there. One of the things I've been writing about is that in an era where Trump is transactional and the world welcomes or some of bigger countries welcome that transactionalism, spare thought for smaller countries. The countries that don't have the size, the salience or the strength to strike their own deals with Trump to have their own way, they're in trouble. We're no longer in a moment where there is a rising tide that is lifting all boats, and in many senses here at Davos, Davos was originally about there being a rising tide such as globalization, such as more free trade. That moment feels very far away now.
SOLOMON: Wow. That's quite a point to leave it on. Ravi Agarwal, we appreciate you being there and coming on for us. And I will say, I hope you can enjoy Davos, although here in New York, it feels like we're in Switzerland too, because it's been quite cold here, Ravi. So, hopefully you can enjoy Switzerland.
AGARWAL: I think this is my first Davos. This is my first Davos where it feels warmer than where I came from. So, New Yorker is home --
SOLOMON: Yeah.
AGARWAL: -- and it is freezing.
SOLOMON: Enjoy it. Good to have you, Ravi. Thank you.
All right. And Donald Trump is taking credit for brokering the fragile truce, now on its third day in Gaza, even as he questions whether it will succeed in ending the war. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has finally brought a moment of reprieve for Palestinians, allowing them to begin returning home and grieving all that they have lost. Well, in Israel, dozens of hostage families are eagerly awaiting the release of their loved ones after the return of three hostages on Sunday. Their families now advocating for those still in captivity.
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MEIRAV LESHEM GONEN, MOTHER OF FREED HOSTAGE ROMI GONEN (Interpreted): There are 94 more of our brothers and sisters to whom we are all committed. We are strong. We are powerful, and together, we will bring them back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: U.S. President Trump suggests that he might have a role in rebuilding Gaza, praising it as having a phenomenal location on the sea and the best weather. In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas congratulated Mr. Trump on his inauguration, saying he is ready to work with him to achieve peace guided by a two- state solution. On the Israeli side, an official says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to meet President Trump in Washington in the coming weeks. They're expected to discuss Israeli- Saudi relations, Iran's nuclear program, and the ongoing ceasefire and hostage deal. Mr. Trump now casting doubt on whether that truce will hold. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm not confident. It's not our war. It's their war. But, I'm not confident, but I think they're very weakened on the other side.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you support a two-state solution?
TRUMP: Gaza, boy, I looked at a picture of Gaza. Gaza is like a massive demolition site -- that places. It's really kind of rebuilt in a different way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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SOLOMON: And for Palestinians, a ceasefire is bittersweet. Well, it has finally brought a moment of reprieve and is allowing them to return home. They're also grieving for all that they have lost over 15 months of war.
Our Nada Bashir has more on the situation on the ground in Gaza.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): This is what returning home looks like after 15 months of unrelenting war. There is little left to salvage here in what once was Gaza's densely populated Al Bureij refugee camp, Israel's military onslaught leaving this small strip of land almost entirely uninhabitable. This was our house, our garden, Amal says. This was our whole life, all our memories. Her daughter clutches on to whatever toys they were able to recover from their destroyed home. Like all families here, they will now try to carry on with life, no matter what uncertainty lies ahead.
In Gaza City, the streets have already begun to fill in the absence of airstrikes and artillery. Little girls dressed in the traditional Palestinian thobe, celebratory cakes being shared in the streets. For many, amid so much loss, the ceasefire is both a moment of long- awaited respite and a moment of rare joy. Even though we are heading into a difficult and uncertain phase, the thought of no longer losing the people you love, of being able to sleep one night without the fear of losing someone dear to you, is truly a relief, this woman says. For over a year now, Palestinians in Gaza have spent each night hoping to survive just one more day. Gaza is small, but it survived against the world. The whole world was defeated, and we endured. To persevere is in itself a victory.
But, even under a ceasefire, the war has made survival at its most basic level, a persistent challenge for Palestinians in Gaza. In Rafah, an area once designated a safe zone, the remains of decomposing bodies are a reminder of the kind of brutality Gaza's people have survived. Buildings stand hollowed beside mountains of rubble, some returning to their now destroyed homes, but this time, alone, their loved ones killed over the course of the war. We are defeated. We have no life left. We will live in the streets, Mohammed says. I came here hoping to see my house still standing, but I found it destroyed.
With so much lost in Gaza, the road ahead will be long and difficult, but despite the incomprehensible suffering this small enclave has faced, there remains an unwavering sense of hope.
Nada Bashir, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And coming up, we'll take a closer look at President Trump's sweeping executive actions on immigration, including an attempt to end birthright citizenship. Plus, a deadly fire ripped through a ski resort hotel, leaving dozens dead. We'll have the latest on the investigation.
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[11:35:00]
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York, and here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.
A huge fire broke out at a ski resort hotel in Turkey overnight. Officials said that at least 66 people were killed and more than 50 others were hurt. It happened in Bolu Province, which is in northwestern Turkey. As flames raced through the building, two people reportedly died after jumping out of hotel windows. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but four people have been detained.
South Korea's detained President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a Constitutional Court hearing for his impeachment trial today. The trial may give the President a chance to argue his case and answer questions about his short-lived bid to impose martial law back in December. Yoon told the court that he is committed to a free democracy in South Korea.
And the prisoner swap, years in the making, pulled off in the final hours of Joe Biden's presidency, the Taliban agreeing to exchange two Americans being held in Afghanistan for one Taliban member serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. Americans Ryan Corbett, shown in this image, and William McKenty, are on their way back now to the U.S. today.
State and local leaders, meantime, across the U.S. are bracing for a tidal wave of aggressive immigration policies and possible mass deportations. This comes as President Trump launches a series of sweeping executive actions. On day one, he declared a national emergency at the southern border, immediately ended the use of a border app called CBP One, which allows migrants to enter the U.S. legally, and attempted to end birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the Constitution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I made it my number one issue. They all said inflation was the
number one issue. I said I disagree. I think people coming into our country from prisons and from mental institutions is a bigger issue for the people that I know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And some of these executive actions already having an immediate impact on thousands of migrants making the trek to the southern border. Some people who arrived on Monday only to find out their hopes of seeking asylum and their previously set immigration appointments were canceled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): It was a very hard announcement, because it means that our hopes to be able to achieve our dreams right now are over. In other words, with this closure, it was the only way we had a way to legally reach the United States, and now the sacrifice we made to leave our countries has been completely in vain. We had to go through many countries to get there. This has been a very, very, very hard blow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And Trump's new immigration agenda is already facing backlash from the American Civil Liberties Union.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.
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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump started his first hours back in office by signing sweeping executive actions on immigration. They included, for example, a national emergency on the U.S. southern border to essentially shore up Pentagon resources along the border, as well as designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. That was a resurfaced idea from his first term that didn't come to fruition, as well as kicking off negotiations for his signature border policy, known as Remain in Mexico, which required migrants to stay in Mexico while they went through their immigration court proceedings.
But, while he talked about each of these executive actions, over the course of the day, it was something that he didn't talk about that had the fastest implications for those migrants along the U.S. southern border, and that was the turning off of a border app known as CBP One that allowed migrants to schedule appointments at legal ports of entry. So, thousands of migrants who were queued up for those appointments will now have those canceled, raising concerns among some Homeland Security officials I've spoken with, who say that some of them may be prompted to cross the border illegally.
Now, in addition to that, I'm also told that at the Justice Department there was a purge of career public civil servants who had been serving in key leadership roles at the immigration office within the Justice Department. That is an office that oversees the nation's immigration courts. In other words, those immigration judges who choose who stays in the U.S. and who is deported.
Now, we have also started to see legal challenges come in. The ACLU, for example, suing on the executive order to end birthright citizenship.
[11:40:00]
Of course, that can't be taken as a unilateral action. It rather kicks off a process, but the ACLU already taking the Trump administration to court, and we'll see if there are more legal challenges that follow, but certainly, the Trump administration coming in, trying to execute on President Trump's promises on the campaign trail to initiate an immigration crackdown.
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.
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SOLOMON: All right. My next guest is the President of the Migration Policy Institute, which is a global nonpartisan institution that seeks to improve immigration and integration policies. Andrew Selee joins us now from Washington, D.C. Andrew, great to have your perspective on this. This is obviously an area that you cover and follow very closely. So, what's your reaction to some of the executive orders that we've seen so far?
ANDREW SELEE, PRESIDENT, MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE: These are certainly much more organized and well thought out than the last Trump administration. It's the same approach as last time, where he is very much focused on unauthorized immigrants, stopping people from coming across the border, deporting people already in the country, but this time, they're organized. Most of what changed, very little change from yesterday to today other than the app and other than some of the pathways and the refugee program, they paused some things and stopped others.
But, what they did yesterday with the executive orders that Trump signed, where it was really begin to get all parts of the U.S. government working on shutting down the border, make it hard for people to cross, and being able to get people out of the country, including bringing the military into some of this, and we'll see how this plays out over time. But, it's a big change.
SOLOMON: I mean, it sounds like a pretty big task, as you think about sort of mobilizing governments, local, federal, etc. I want to play for you a clip from incoming border czar Tom Homan. This is from a Fox News interview Monday. Take a listen.
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TOM HOMAN, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION "BORDER CZAR": The interim border operation starts tomorrow. ICE Agents, they're going to loosen their handcuff they've had to put on them by the Biden administration. They're going to put the handcuffs on the bad guys. Massive parole is over.
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SOLOMON: So, Andrew, obviously, that's just a small snippet. But, my question is, is it as easy as it sounds, or is this going to be quite the herculean effort?
SELEE: It's going to be a herculean effort. I'm even bringing in the military, and we'll have to see how far the military is willing to go in some of the tasks that they want them to assume. I'm bringing the Justice Department, the State Department, of course, Homeland Security. I think it's going to take a lot of effort to build up a deportation apparatus like the one they want, as well as to discourage people from crossing the border, because, as we just heard from the clip, a lot of people are willing to try and sneak in if they can't come in through an appointments process or a legal pathway. So, it's going to be a lot harder. I do think they can build some of this over time, but probably not as ambitious as they -- as President Trump has said in the past, but more than there is now, and it'll take some time.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And to your point that you just touched on there, the concern among some officials that spoke to our Priscilla Alvarez that at least with the app, some of this could backfire if you have, I don't know, people waking up and realizing their appointments that they had been waiting for are now canceled. Does that run the risk of some of these people trying to illegally get into the country? What are your thoughts?
SELEE: I think in the short term, most people are going to wait and see. They're not going to try and cross the border. They're going to see what Trump does, right? But, I do think that without any legal options, you will see an uptick in the number of people trying to sneak into the country, across the border right there. There have been legal pathways. Under the Biden administration, the numbers had gone down because the enforcement had gone up, but they'd also allowed some legal pathways. I think people will start sneaking in in four months, six months. We'll see once people have taken a measure of what's going on.
And I do think you will see them deporting more people. The most the U.S. government has managed to deport in eight years is 250,000 people, and those in the interior, people already living in the country. The U.S. government often deported lots of people from the border. But, 250,000, so let's assume they can double it, triple it over time, it'll take them a few months, but get up a -- an operation allows them to do that. It's a large number of people that will be deported, and it's still a small fraction of the probably 13 million people that live in the country unauthorized.
SOLOMON: Lastly, as we already said, ending birthright citizenship is already one that's being challenged in the courts. Talk to me a little bit about what you heard, Andrew, just in terms of how immigration groups, the ACLU, but even some local governments may have been preparing for Trump's second term. It's interesting that you describe sort of your reaction to the slate of executive orders as organized. One might question if some of these organizations have been sort of waiting for this as well and are sort of prepared to pounce. What have you heard? What have you seen?
SELEE: I think there is lots of organizations that are going to push back, that are helping immigrants understand their rights. There is due process for people that are living in the country, that might be deported, and so working with them to know what their rights are.
[11:45:00]
And I think you're seeing lots of states and localities in the U.S. deciding how they're going to collaborate or not with the Trump administration. Some are very anxious to jump in, and police departments and the criminal justice system in some jurisdictions really want to work with the federal government on deportations, but others are going to resist it, and are going to slow walk and say, why are we using state, local resources for something we don't agree with? So, I think you're going to see a patchwork in the United States of responses across the country. And many of the places where most immigrants live will be the places that probably resist collaboration over time, because they have become much more used to people from other countries being there.
So, I think it's going to be a patchwork, and Trump administration will try and pressure. They'll push back, and we'll see where this ends.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Really great to have your insights today. Andrew Selee there joining us. Thank you.
SELEE: Thank you. Great to be with you.
SOLOMON: Great to have you.
And still ahead, the markets are reacting to the inauguration of Donald Trump. We'll take a look at the big board and the potential future impact on global business. We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. It is the first full day of Donald Trump's presidency, and the stock market opened higher on Tuesday, as traders absorbed the late-night executive orders. Taking a look at the Dow, the Dow is up an impressive one percentage points almost, or almost 400 points there, perhaps on the back of this news from Trump that maybe the tone on tariffs won't be as strong as he had said on the campaign trail, I should say the S&P and the NASDAQ, also both up. The S&P is up about a half a percentage point. The NASDAQ is basically flat, but still in the green.
For more now on how the global markets are reacting to Mr. Trump's return, let's bring in CNN's Anna Stewart, who joins us from London. Anna, what are you watching? What's the latest?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a lot for markets to digest yesterday, clearly, and this is the first day of trade in terms of the U.S. stock market because it was closed yesterday. At this stage, I think this is very tariff-focused. Particularly yesterday, it was, will he? Won't he? Will he implement tariffs on some of the biggest trading partners, like Mexico and Canada? And he did say in remarks that didn't seem that prepared, I'll be honest, that he is intending to implement the 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada on the first of February. It could, of course, still be part of a negotiation, but we're seeing some reaction there in currencies. That's where the biggest reaction is. You can look at the Mexican peso, the Canadian dollar, both trading lower against the U.S. dollar. You see them there.
Now, the Euro has been interesting. The Euro has been trading water all day, and I think this is kind of the story that we're going to see for the next few days or weeks of this presidency is, will the tariffs be implemented elsewhere? There was, of course, much talk during the campaign of a universal tariff of 10 percent. The EU, particularly the big car makers in Germany, they are very concerned about this. So, it's going to be a bit wait and see, I think, in terms of global markets, Rahel.
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SOLOMON: What about Trump's Bitcoin, I mean, plunging 26 percent in 24 hours? And Anna, if I'm not mistaken, earlier, or maybe this was last week or over the weekend, it had sort of soared. So, it's been a bit of a roller coaster. Talk to me about what's happening there.
STEWART: And what is it? This is a Trump meme coin. It is apparently official. It launched on Friday, I think around $10 at the time. At one stage, it went up to more than $74. It has now, I think, halved in value today, but we're still talking about a meme coin that is valued at billions of dollars at this stage. Now, just to be clear, this is a meme coin. It has no tangible value. In that sense, it is worthless. And if you look at the website of Trump memes, it does say it's intended to function as an expression of support for and engagement with the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol. It's not investment opportunity. It's not a contract. It's not a security of any type. There is also one for the First Lady. There is a Melania meme coin as well, which has been following a very similar path to that one. This, of course, Rahel, raises huge ethical questions.
This is not the only crypto project that President Trump is involved in, but clearly this is one where you could really profit from the rise of cryptocurrency, and the President is expected to implement new regulations for crypto to make it easier to trade. Bitcoin hit its highest level ever yesterday in the inauguration.
So, yeah, raising a lot of questions, but it's been an interesting few days.
SOLOMON: Yes. It has, and also appointing an SEC Chair that apparently appears more crypto-friendly. And so, for those who have been waiting for a thawing of the crypto winter, it appears, at least, that it may be upon us.
STEWART: Yeah, get beach ready. I think it's quick this summer. SOLOMON: Yeah. Well, beach ready here in New York sounds really nice,
right about now, Anna Stewart. I don't know if you know about the weather here in New York these days, but it is something to talk about.
Anna Stewart live in London. I hope it is a little warmer where you are, Anna.
STEWART: Never. The UK is great. It's cold.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Yeah. That's terrible. All right, Anna, thank you. Good to have you, nonetheless.
All right, and we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Two new fires are burning in Southern California today. This is the Lilac Fire in Bonsall, in the northern area of San Diego County. Right now, about 80 acres have burned, and the fire is 10 percent contained. Now, just north of the Lilac Fire is a second fire. It's called the Paula Fire, and it has scorched about 17 acres of brush. That fire is zero percent contained. These new fires come as authorities make progress against wildfires in the Los Angeles area that have killed at least 27 people.
And from the fires to the Arctic blast, and first ever blizzard warning in effect for portions of South Texas and Louisiana. Bone- chilling temperatures are sparking weather alerts. There is also a possibility of historic snowfall throughout the south all the way to the Florida Panhandle. Mind you, some of these are areas that are not accustomed to snow, may not be ready for the snow. We know the snow has already come down in major Texas cities like Houston, San Antonio and Austin. The National Weather Service described the winter system pushing through as, quote, "a generational winter storm event". They are telling people in its path to take it seriously.
[11:55:00]
And before we go, one more thing. Champagne sales have apparently lost their pop, as people around the world are apparently not in the mood to celebrate. The number of champagne shipments from France fell last year by nearly 10 percent. It's the second straight year that sales have dropped. A champagne trade association says that people are not partying as much because of inflation, wars and political uncertainty.
OK. We know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next. I'll see you tomorrow.
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