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Trump "Open" to Host Jan. 6 Rioters at White House; Trump Travels to North Carolina and California; Rain Could Cause Flash Floods, Mudslides in L.A.; Asheville Business Owner Gives Update on Recovery. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 24, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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


[10:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't know. I'm sure that they probably would like to. I did them something important. But what they did is they were protesting a crooked election. I mean, people understand that also, and they were treated very badly. Nobody's been treated like that. So, I'd be open to it. Certainly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Fact-check, they were not just protesting. They were beating police officers. They were storming the Capitol and they were not protesting a crooked election because the election was not crooked.

But these are some of the so-called protesters the president is considering welcoming to the White House, Violent rioters who not only attacked democracy that day, but also the police officers who tried to stop them. That includes former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who you can see here, fighting to protect the Capitol that day from -- against that violent mob and Mike Fanone joins me now.

Mike, good to see you. I mean, it almost seems like we're in a bizarre world here that January 6 rioters and insurrectionists would be welcomed over to the White House. What do you think about that?

MICHAEL FANONE, DEFENDED THE CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6, 2021 AND FORMER D.C. POLICE OFFICER: I actually disagree, Jim. I think it makes perfect sense. I mean, I like to hang out with people that I have things in common with. And Donald Trump is a convicted criminal and an insurrectionist and he wants to hang out with fellow convicted criminals and insurrectionists. So, you know, for me, this makes perfect sense.

ACOSTA: And, you know, for all the talk that you hear from his aides and allies that it's time to move on, it's time to look forward and so on, he keeps coming back to this and saying it was a crooked election and so on. He's back in the White House and he can't even admit that he lost in 2020. He downplayed the violence that day during this recent Oval Office interview, if you want to call it that. Let's take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Most of the people were absolutely innocent. OK. But forgetting all about that, these people have served horribly a long time. Some of those people with the police, true, but they were very minor incidents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. Mike, I mean, we've seen the video of what you went through that day. We've shown -- this is your body cam footage. We can show it again. These were not minor incidents. But he's trying to whitewash obviously what took place on January 6th. And it seems to me -- I know you guys are disappointed, you and the other officers are disappointed that Trump's back in the White House, but it seems you almost have another mission ahead of you and that is to stop the whitewashing of January 6 from happening. I wonder what how you feel about that.

FANONE: Yes. No, absolutely. I mean, listen, the American people chose Donald Trump to be their president. What outrages me is not the fact that Donald Trump is in office so much as these attempts to, like you said, whitewash the events of that day, to turn the January 6th insurrectionists and convicted criminals into the patriotic heroes that Donald Trump would like them to be. And watching so many American people complicit in that attempt.

You know, listen, what happened to me that day and what happened to hundreds of other police officers was nothing short of horrific. It was violent and it was brutal. For those that don't remember, the individuals that were charged for assaulting me all pled guilty, were all sentenced to lengthy jail sentences and Donald Trump let them free. It's an outrage. The American people should be outraged. I mean, quite frankly, there should be protesting in the streets about this absolute unbelievable crime that's been committed against our criminal justice system.

ACOSTA: And, Mike, I know I'm worried about, you know, reprisals, the potential for reprisals. I mean, some of these offenders, some of these criminals who were let out of jail, what happens if they re- offend? I mean, that is a key question in all of this and what does that mean for folks like you? I know your mother has been through an ordeal in all of this. What does all of that mean for folks like yourself? The fact that these people are back out on the street?

FANONE: Yes. Well, first, let's address one of the one of the big lies that's being told about these individuals that were convicted of crimes. Many of them, many of them had significant criminal histories. These were not grandmas and grandpas that just, you know, wandered into the United States Capitol and, oh, next thing you know, they're being charged with violent felonies. These were individuals who were already predisposed to committing acts of violence. Many of them were drug users, drug dealers, spousal abusers, sexual predators. These are the individuals that Donald Trump is, you know, claiming are great American patriots, and they committed acts of violence against law enforcement officers. [10:35:00]

So, that's who Donald Trump has released back out into the community. And the idea that these individuals will not re-offend is outrageous. It's ridiculous. And you know, many of them view people like myself as the reason that they are behind bars. They now feel emboldened, because Donald Trump has told them, if you commit crimes on my behalf, I'm going to protect you. I'm going to absolve you of all accountability. So, why wouldn't they target people like me, people like you, and attack us, assault us?

ACOSTA: Yes. And Mike, I did want to ask you one final question, and that is, there's a Republican congressman who has introduced a resolution that would allow Trump to serve a third term in office. Are you concerned that this could lead to more political violence in this country?

FANONE: I mean, Listen, I don't understand what it's going to take for the American people to wake up and view this guy for who he is. You know, we all experienced him during his first term, but for some reason, four years later we have whitewashed all of the outrageous things that he has done. And you know, here we are saddled with another four years of Donald Trump.

The idea that we would break from our Constitution to allow this person to serve again should absolutely shock the conscience of every American.

ACOSTA: All right. Mike Fanone, thank you for what you do and for what you continue to do, and that is tell the truth about what happened on January 6. Mike, good to see you. Appreciate it.

FANONE: Likewise. Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, as firefighters battle new blazes in Southern California, rain is on the way. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is live in Altadena. Julia, the rain could bring a new set of problems. Isn't that right?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could, Jim. We could be looking at potential mudslides if the rain hits these burnt areas of Altadena and the Palisades. I'll tell you more after the break here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: President Trump has begun the first trip of his second term. He's en route to Western North Carolina to tour the devastation left by Tropical Storm Helene across that state. Trump will then travel to the West Coast where wildfires continue to consume many areas in Southern California. CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House and joins us now with the latest. Alayna, what more can you tell us about these trips?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well look, this is something Donald Trump has been wanting to do for a long time. Actually, when I was talking to Trump officials last week, they had been considering doing it then, but Trump had said that he wanted to be president when he made those visits. But first, he's going to North Carolina where he's going to first receive a briefing, and then later, you know, meet with some families. He'll do similar things when he goes to Los Angeles for briefings there as well.

One thing that's interesting is that he's invited both Democrats and Republican lawmakers, local officials, but also those in Congress to participate in the briefings in both North Carolina and Los Angeles. One person, very notable, who will be at that briefing in Los Angeles is Karen Bass, the mayor of this city, someone that Donald Trump has been very critical of.

Now, Jim, one thing that I'm looking for today is whether or not Donald Trump, who has been very harsh in his condemnation of local leaders, particularly Democratic leaders, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, for example, about their response and how they have handled the hurricane in North Carolina and the wildfires in California.

I'm curious if Donald Trump is actually going -- you know, to try and be more stately. When I talked to one White House official, they said they really want today's visits to keep the focus on those who have been impacted in the community, not about the politics or any sort of criticism. Although, that official added to me that they believe the criticism is justified.

Another thing to watch for as well is Donald Trump has talked about wanting to change the way that FEMA operates. FEMA, of course, is what help send aid and emergency responders to cities affected by these different disasters. Donald Trump has said he wants to streamline the process and perhaps give the aid directly to the states from the federal government. So, there could be an announcement or something related to that later today as well. Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you. This morning, meanwhile, in Southern California, nine wildfires are burning, including two new blazes that have broken out in San Diego County. Much needed rain is in the forecast, but that brings an ominous new danger, Mudslides. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones joins us from Altadena. Julia, what are you seeing there?

JONES: It's such a paradox, right, Jim? We need that rain to be able to contain these wildfires, but at the same time, it could bring potentially more disaster to these areas, like here in Altadena and in the Palisades, where the Palisades Fire burned so many homes.

Look, the reason why it could happen is because where basically both of these areas are in the foothills of mountains, that water could come down with all of that brush burned from the side of those hills. It just sweep not just dirt and mud, but also some of the toxic substances that are in this disaster zone essentially, all the toxins, the toxins that are in these household materials that officials have been warning against.

[10:45:00]

They have made available 250,000 sandbags throughout the city. And we've been watching as they come in with heavy equipment here in Altadena, some of that, I assume, will be from the California Department of Water Resources who said they're digging debris dams on the hillsides exactly to catch that sediment, Jim, to make sure that it doesn't run off into these neighborhoods and L.A. Fire advising residents to make sure that they have those sandbags at home and they know how to shut off their utilities at home. That is the level of danger.

We are hearing that this could potentially become an event just as deadly as these fires as Los Angeles is just at the beginning of the recovery from this. We're hoping that the rains come steady and slow to help with the fires, but that they don't cause even more destruction. Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you very much for the reporting. Really appreciate it. Coming up, as President Trump heads to Asheville, North Carolina, we'll check back in with a business owner there. We'll see how things are going and what he hopes the visit will do in terms of recovery efforts. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: Months after the devastation of Helene recovery efforts continue across western North Carolina, the area was battered by heavy rain, flooding, and deadly winds causing tens of billions of dollars in damage. Many communities were almost destroyed, including -- a small town on the banks of the French Broad River near Asheville.

Joel Friedman had built his business there, Zuma Coffee. That's the shop that you're looking at right there being overtaken by that heavy flooding. We all remember that back in October. It was so devastating. And, Joel, hey, good to see you again. When we spoke in October things were anything but certain. Get us up to speed on the recovery efforts there, our stellar senior producer Jordan Nash is also from Asheville and she tells us there's still a lot of debris around town and you still need help. What can you tell us?

JOEL FRIEDMAN, LOST COFFEE SHOP IN TROPICAL STORM HELENE FLOODING: Oh boy, that's all true. Thanks again for having me, Jim. It's good to be able to tell our story. My little town of Marshall is doing fabulous. It's definitely in cleanup mode, but more importantly, we're in recovery mode. We've made amazing progress. Businesses are starting to get back on the ground. A lot of electricians, a lot of plumbers. There's new countertops being built in my business. I was in another business last week that was inviting the public in. Things are looking good here.

ACOSTA: That's great. And the president is going to be in Asheville momentarily. What's the message to him?

FRIEDMAN: Oh, boy. I would urge President Trump to listen to the community.

ACOSTA: And there's Air Force One landing right now in Asheville. Go ahead.

FRIEDMAN: Excellent. Well, if you're listening, we need funding. I would urge him to listen to the people, the community, the politicians, and understand that small businesses are the backbone of our community. It is the key to our recovery and to our rebirth. And what we're asking for small businesses in particular is big money, big funding, big help.

ACOSTA: Yes, I've been to Asheville a bunch of times -- and, again, we're showing our viewers here at home, the live pictures of Air Force One touching down in Asheville, North Carolina. But as I was saying, Asheville is such a great town because it has so many of these small eclectic businesses, local art shops, restaurants, coffee shops like yours. That's why Asheville is so darn special.

How is the devastation uniting this community? Has the community been rallying around this relief effort? What can you tell us about that?

FRIEDMAN: Yes. I think last time we spoke, I said that this whole situation has been heartbreaking and heartwarming. The heartwarming part is the communities have come together and bonded unbelievably well. Neighbors have gotten together. There's town meetings. There's business meetings. And there's always this sense of rejoicing and rebirth and this -- considering everything that's been done, we are in a really beautiful place right now.

ACOSTA: And, Joel, can you discuss the support you've gotten from the federal government so far? How was it going in the months right after Helene? And what would you like to see now?

FRIEDMAN: The federal government has been fabulous in sending out people to help clean up our community. The National Guard, the Army, so many people, there's still so much work being done that the government is funding. And that's fabulous. But what we're doing now is we're in a recovery and rebirth stage, and we need funding for the businesses. We need to show the love to the people that come every day to pour the coffee, to make your sandwiches, to do the hotels. Every little bit that tourism brings is all because of the small businesses.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Joel --

FRIEDMAN: Encouraging --

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Joel, I got to think this cold winter that we've been experiencing is not making it any easier.

[10:55:00]

FRIEDMAN: No, it doesn't. But it also shows how tough we are as a community.

ACOSTA: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: We're willing to work through anything to make this happen.

ACOSTA: Yes. And I guess if you had a chance to ask for one thing in Asheville, what do you need the most right now?

FRIEDMAN: Funding.

ACOSTA: Just funding.

FRIEDMAN: We need money. Yes, sir.

ACOSTA: Yes. Yes. All right. Well, Joel Friedman, thank you very much for your time. Again, we're showing live images of Air Force One touching down in Asheville, North Carolina. We expect the president to deplane in just a few moments. He'll meet with local officials and then be taken on a tour of the damage, as Joel was saying just a few moments ago, that really exists everywhere across the Asheville community, a very special community that we want to keep the focus on as they recover.

In the meantime, though, thank you very much for joining us this morning. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of Newsroom with Pamela Brown starts after a short break. Have a good weekend.

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