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Trump Says His Russia-Ukraine Plan Is "Not My Final Offer"; Top U.S. & Ukrainian Officials To Meet In Switzerland Tomorrow; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Will Resign In January; Trump, Mamdani Vow Cooperation After Months Of Trading Insults; Supreme Court Pauses Lower Court Ruling Blocking Texas Maps; Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell Running For California Governor; Trump Administration Proposes Oil Drilling Off Florida And California Coasts. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired November 22, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:33]

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

And new tonight, President Trump is suggesting a 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine has room for negotiations, saying this is not his final offer. This plan does include major concessions to Russia, including a limit to the size of Ukraine's army and land concessions, which would be recognized by the U.S. as Russian. Top U.S. officials will meet tomorrow with Ukrainian officials and European national security advisers in Switzerland to discuss next steps. A U.S. official says the meeting will then happen quickly with a Russian delegation.

Let's bring in CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, there's a lot of questions around where exactly this goes from here. What are you hearing tonight?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I think bottom line is the pressure is now on Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to agree to this plan or something similar to bring this conflict to an end. President Trump making very explicit that he thinks that now is the time for this peace agreement to go into effect, and it is kicking off this intensive stretch of days for diplomacy before that Thanksgiving deadline. The president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, now heading to Switzerland for talks with the Ukrainians so that they are able to put their imprint on this plan, and then followed up quickly by meetings with Russian officials.

Now, the president did say today that he did not view this as his final offer. And I think that will be reassuring somewhat to Europeans, to many in Washington who view the plan as it currently stands as essentially a Russian wish list. It includes provisions like that Ukraine give up the entire eastern Donbas region, that it not join NATO, that it limit the size of its military, that it give up some of the long-range weapons capabilities that it has been provided over the course of this war.

All of those maximalist demands that Russia has been making since this conflict began, I think the real question, and I posed this to President Trump earlier today, is what happens if Zelenskyy doesn't agree? Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: I would like to get the peace. It should have been -- it should have happened a long time ago.

(OFF MIC)

TRUMP: The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened. If I were president, it never would have happened. We're trying to get it ended. One way or the other, we have to get it ended. So --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, President Zelenskyy doesn't agree to this deal by Thursday. Will you cut off military aid? Will you cut off the intelligence?

TRUMP: Then he can continue to fight his little heart out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, you hear the president there not saying explicitly what the consequences might be if Zelenskyy does not agree to this deal. But I think implicit in his answer is that this will become Zelenskyy's war and that he will essentially wash his hands of this.

Now, this has all generated an enormous amount of concern among the Europeans. You know, European leaders were meeting today, including at the G20 in South Africa, and they came out with a statement that said this plan still needed a major amount of work. And they say that in particular they're concerned about the provisions of the document that would limit the size of Ukraine's military. They say that they reiterate that the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to NATO would need the consent of E.U. and NATO members respectively.

And remember, Europe has essentially been cut out of this entire process. They're not part of this negotiations. You've also heard from Republicans in Washington, including the senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, saying that the plan as it stands now could be problematic. Perhaps more blunt was Mitch McConnell, not a fan of President Trump's by any means, who said that Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool.

Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Kevin Liptak with the very latest now from the White House. Thank you for that.

We are joined by former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker. He also served as a U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations during the president's first term. Ambassador Volker, good to have you here. We really appreciate your

time tonight. I just first want to get your general thoughts about this deal. Is this a feasible framework? It certainly heavily favors Russia.

KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Right. As this document has been drafted, it is one sided. It's only places limitations on Ukraine, not on Russia. It provides assurances to Russia, but not to Ukraine, really. And Russia is the one that has invaded Ukraine twice.

[19:05:07]

So, if anything, instead of asking for Ukraine to withdraw from Ukrainian territory, we should be asking Russia to withdraw from Ukrainian territory. And this plan doesn't do that.

So, there's a lot of things that are fatally flawed with this plan as it is. That being said, when you ask if this is a framework, look, I think if you sit down with Ukrainians, with our European allies, France, Germany, U..K, as will happen tomorrow in Geneva, you can then start amending this so that it becomes something reasonable.

Instead of unilateral limits on Ukrainian size, the Ukrainian military, there are no limits on the size of the Russian military, and they're the ones that have invaded. You could either make it reciprocal or you could lift those limits. Instead of saying Ukraine has to withdraw from territory, how about just having a ceasefire in place so that the de facto rules on the ground are there?

Instead of recognizing Russia's conquest as legitimate, why don't we just say we accept that they are occupied, we're not going to contest this militarily, we'll pursue this by other means.

DEAN: And so, as you're describing all of that, why do you think this plan is so lopsided toward Russia at this point?

VOLKER: Well, because it was cooked up only with the Russians. You know, I don't know Steve Witkoff, I'm sure he's a decent guy, but he has never been to Ukraine, he doesn't know Ukraine, he doesn't know these issues, and the Russians have been feeding him information that is simply wrong.

For example, in this agreement, there is something about religious freedom in Ukraine. If there's a problem with religious freedom, it's in Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. It talks about respect for culture.

Well, Russia is going about erasing Ukrainian culture, forcing people not to speak Ukrainian, removing textbooks that are in Ukrainian, putting them into Russian. So, this is a very ill-informed plan as well.

DEAN: And so, for Ukraine, what kind of leverage do they have right now? What kind of leverage do the Europeans have to make sure that they are properly represented in any deal? VOLKER: Well, ultimately the leverage here is that instead of the U.S. abandoning Ukraine, which is what President Trump may view as a threat, it's going to be Ukraine and Europe abandoning the United States, which is not in our interest as the United States, and it would mean much greater risk of conflict in Europe, possibly a wider war. But Europe essentially cannot live with a situation where Putin has seized territory by force, been rewarded for that, and feels emboldened to do it again, this -- and is exonerated for any war crimes that he's committed in the process. This is very dangerous for Europe and European security going forward. Europe will not be able to accept that.

So, this is why I think everyone is focused on amending this plan, fixing it so that it is more balanced, more reasonable. But short of that, if this is take it or leave it, I have a feeling it's the U.S. that's going to be left.

DEAN: At this point, how would you grade this administration's efforts on ending this war?

VOLKER: Well, you know, that's a tough question because up until President Trump took office, no one was talking about ending the war. You had the Biden administration saying, as long as it takes, providing some weapons but with limitations and not providing other weapons. So, it was always a little too little, a little too late, with no clear strategy as what we're going to do.

President Trump has squarely placed ending the war at the center of the discussion. I think that's a very good thing. I also think he has gotten the U.S. and Ukraine in agreement on a ceasefire immediately in place if we can get it, and he's got Europe stepping up to do a lot more. Those are all positive.

But when it comes to handling Vladimir Putin, I think the administration's approach has been all wrong. Putin only responds to force if he feels weakness, if he does not feel any counterpressure. He keeps pushing and he keeps advancing. And the result of that is the kind of plan that we saw presented the other day.

DEAN: All right. Ambassador Kurt Volker, thanks for your thoughts on this. We really do appreciate it.

VOLKER: My pleasure. Thank you.

DEAN: Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a leading figure in the MAGA movement, says she's now resigning from her congressional seat, the longtime Trump ally becoming embroiled in a bitter public fight with the president over the past few weeks. She says that's part of why she's stepping down. She said, quote, "I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for."

[19:10:09]

CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now. Camila, tell us more about what we're learning in the fallout.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Jessica, Marjorie Taylor Greene's resignation announcement definitely came as a shock to everyone, not just members of Congress, but across the entire Republican landscape.

Now, earlier on in her tension, she made it clear that she was a strong supporter of President Trump and said that she would do whatever she could to push his legislative agenda forward. But in recent months, she's become increasingly critical of the president, often accusing him of focusing too much on foreign policy and not enough on the issues that were impacting Americans here in this country. And she also did not shy away from criticizing her own party.

Even during the government shutdown, she was openly critical of the House Speaker Mike Johnson, saying that he needed to do more to address the growing health care crisis in this country. And it's also pretty notable that she, even though she's considered a polarizing figure on Capitol Hill, during these last few weeks, she also took part in a big bipartisan push to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files. Now, that did not go over well with President Trump.

On his end, he did not hold back on criticizing her, and he went as far as calling her a traitor. And even earlier today, when reporters asked him about her, he called her a nice person, but ultimately said that he would still support trying to support another person to challenge her in the primaries.

Now, Jessica, the Republican lawmaker did not say what she plans to do after leaving office, but her departure does beg an even bigger question. And that is, will we be seeing more Republican lawmakers leave office if they begin to openly criticize Trump or even the Republican Party while he's still in office?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Camila DeChalus, thanks so much for that.

And still ahead, it's being called a charm offensive. Why New Yorkers say they're glad Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani took the chance to meet face-to-face with President Trump. We'll talk to an expert on all things New York politics about why the meeting may have been a good thing for both parties.

Plus, the Supreme Court temporarily blocking an appellate court ruling that would stop Texas from using its new redistricting map, the one designed to give Republicans five new seats in Congress.

And a high-stakes race in the most populous state in the country just got a little more crowded. The latest lawmaker to throw his hat in the ring to become California's next governor.

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[19:16:53] DEAN: Today, President Trump saying he will only send the National Guard to New York City, quote, "if they need it." This coming, as Trump and New York City's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani surprised both sides of the aisle yesterday with a seemingly productive meeting at the White House. After months of exchanging insults and feuding, the two appeared to hit it off in their first face-to-face meeting. The president now saying he's rooting for Mamdani to succeed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. It was a great meeting. I enjoyed the meeting. We had a great meeting. I think you're going to have -- hopefully, a really great mayor. I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great. He has a chance to really do something great for New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest now from New Yorkers on their reaction to that White House meeting.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, now, Jessica, I first want to give you a little bit of context about where we are right now, right? We are at Columbus Circle, right next to Central Park. Behind me is the Trump Hotel. And this is actually an area of Manhattan that almost went 50-50 for Zohran Mamdani and the other half for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was also running in this general election.

So, we got a good mix of people from this area who both supported Mamdani and those who remain skeptical about him, but who had a pretty good reaction watching the coverage and the video out of the White House yesterday showing that meeting between Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani, two people who are very much diametrically opposed, politically speaking, but who had a pretty friendly and sort of warm reception at the White House yesterday.

So, we spoke to New Yorkers about how they were viewing this moment and how they thought that Zoran Mamdani performed. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So, you saw the clip. What was your reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really don't like the guy, but I'm glad that he was able to go in there and do a good job with the president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hoping that Mamdani does what he has to do to do what's right for the city. I think it's a lot of theater.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that Trump continues to be the most transactional president we've ever had. And if people are smart, then they find a way to give him something, which may be meaningless, but it's important to him. And then he loves you and rolls out the red carpet.

PAZMINO: Are you guys supportive of Mamdani at this stage, or do you want to wait and see?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll wait and see. I'd like to give him a chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, as you mentioned, the president earlier today saying that he would only send a National Guard into New York City if -- if it is needed, and that is already being seen as a major victory and a win by Mamdani so early in his administration, which hasn't even officially began yet. He takes office on January 1st.

But the fact that the president is saying he will not send the National Guard into New York City right away after he takes office is something that Mamdani's allies and his supporters are seeing as essentially a deliverable after that meeting in the Oval Office yesterday. That is one of the key issues that is on the table, because we've seen Trump deploy national forces into other blue cities around the country.

[19:20:13]

There's other issues that are still at stake, right? We're talking about federal funding, immigration enforcement here in the city. So, this relationship is going to be very important for the future of New York City, for the future of the city's financial health, and also will be key for much of what Zohran Mamdani wants to put into action here in New York City when he enacts his agenda. He's going to be dependent on funding from the state, which is dependent on funding from the federal government. So, that is going to be an important relationship.

We'll see what happens. We know that these things can shift dramatically quickly, depending on what the political landscape is looking like. But I think what we saw yesterday surprised a lot of New Yorkers, considering how these two have talked about each other in the past few months.

Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Gloria, thanks so much.

And joining us now is WNYC Radio's Brian Lehrer, host of "The Brian Lehrer Show."

Brian, great to see you, as always. I did think about you yesterday as this was happening, and I'm glad you're here, because I wanted to hear your thoughts on what you saw kind of transpire yesterday in the -- in the Oval Office.

BRIAN LEHRER, HOST, "THE BRIAN LEHRER SHOW ON WNYC": It was unbelievable. When I first started watching the event, I thought, wait, did somebody slip a Xanax into the president's Diet Coke or something like that? Because it wasn't just the words that you played in the clip, it was the president's tone and body language. He was soft-spoken --

DEAN: Yeah.

LEHRER: -- like we don't usually see. And he was patting Mamdani affectionately a few times. So, you know, it's crazy. I read that before the meeting, Mamdani asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who of course is a congressman from New York City, for some advice on how to deal with the president. Well, Jeffries is going to be on my show, on my radio show on Monday, and I'm going to ask Jeffries, what advice did you give him? Because probably every other Democrat in the country would like to hear it.

DEAN: Yeah, I mean, certainly. And to hear those comments from the president today, he won't be sending the National Guard in unless New York really needs it, he doesn't think it needs it right now. That certainly had to be music to Mamdani's ears as he tries to, you know, already he's got this ambitious plan he wants to get through that's going to be tough on its own, much less if federal funding is pulled or if the National Guard is sent throughout the city of New York.

LEHRER: Yes, but this is just the very beginning of their relationship, right? So, just a few days ago, the news in New York was that Tom Homan, the border czar, reported in the "New York Times," said he is going to have to amp it up in terms of ICE enforcement if the city of New York doesn't cooperate more with the mass deportation.

So, Trump today says only send the National Guard if we have to. Homan the other day says they better cooperate more. Mamdani is still saying this is going to be a sanctuary city at the level that it's been. So, this is just the beginning. And of course, we don't know where it's going to head.

DEAN: I want to play another clip from yesterday and then ask you about the impact it might have on another race in New York. This is the clip from yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, Republican Elise Stefanik has campaigned multiple times by calling Zohran Mamdani a jihadist. Do you think you're standing next to a jihadist right now in the Oval Office?

TRUMP: No, I don't. But she's out there campaigning. And, you know, you say things sometimes in a campaign.

REPORTER: Isn't that sort of --

TRUMP: She's a very capable person.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: But you really have to ask her about that. But I don't particularly -- I think I met with -- I met with a man who's a very rational person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Congresswoman Stefanik responded on social media, saying, in part, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one, and then went on and on again, repeating that Zohran Mamdani is a jihadist. What did you think about that? Because it was a really undercut Stefanik there.

LEHRER: Absolutely. And to me, the Mamdani part of this meeting makes sense. He went in to try and he called the meeting. He asked the president for the meeting. The president agreed. And everybody's saying charm offensive. I guess he went in with a charm offensive. But I don't buy the narrative that he just went in and successfully charmed the president. The president's doing something.

You know, the last time I was on with you, just before the election, I said maybe Trump is playing three-dimensional chess, endorsing Cuomo to actually help Mamdani get elected so he can use Mamdani as a foil in the midterm elections. Oh, the whole Democratic Party is going socialist, all of that. Well, this seems to turn that on its head.

[19:25:10]

So, I don't understand the Trump approach here. Who's his constituency for this? Elise Stefanik is not. Obviously, he threw her under the bus. You reported last hour that Steve Bannon doesn't like this.

The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has said all kinds of things about Mamdani that are now being contradicted. So, the only thing I could think of is maybe now Trump is playing four-dimensional chess, where he's setting himself up to say next year, see, I tried to be nice to the guy, but he's doing all these radical things, and then turn up the volume again. But honestly, I don't know. I am puzzled by what the president did yesterday.

DEAN: Yeah. And so as New York looks to mayor-elect Mamdani taking office January 1st, what are you watching for in addition to this between now and then as we kind of look to see how he's going to govern?

LEHRER: Well, I think in that cross-section of New Yorkers in a 50-50 district, Cuomo-Mamdani, that you played, we see a small sample, but I think we see an example of how much of a win this was for Mamdani. Everybody liked that he tried to find common ground with the president on affordability.

But now he has to govern, right? He has to actually bring affordability. He has to actually bring public safety. He still has a big problem with the Jewish community here, which largely voted against him and voted against President Trump, an interesting combination.

So, he's got to start and actually deliver. And this is a good sign, you know, what happened with the president yesterday. But it's not policy. And he's actually got to get in there and roll up his sleeves and do it. And New Yorkers who voted for him, New Yorkers who voted against him are going to be watching.

DEAN: Yeah, they will. And probably a lot of other people as well. Brian Lehrer, it's great to see you. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. LEHRER: Thank you.

DEAN: And still to come -- yeah -- the redistricting arms race reaching the Supreme Court. Why the latest decision from the nation's highest court could have major implications for next year's midterm.

Stay with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:31:47]

DEAN: The battle over Texas new congressional map has reached the supreme court, and whatever they decide could have enormous consequences for next year's midterm elections. On Friday, Justice Samuel Alito signed an order temporarily blocking a lower court ruling that found the new GOP friendly Texas map is likely unconstitutional because of a racial gerrymander.

The map's boundaries were redrawn as part of President Trump's plan for Republicans to gain more votes and maintain control of the House during the 2026 midterms. Let's bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who has been following this. So what happens next, Julia?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned late last night, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito paused the lower courts order that blocked the new congressional map in Texas.

So that pause came just a few days after a federal court ruled that the new map is likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. And this would have big consequences. However, it plays out for the upcoming elections as well as just here in Washington, long term.

That map aims to help Republicans flip five Democratic held seats. The GOP currently holds a razor thin majority in the House, so those five seats at play could make a difference in who holds the majority. Of course, who holds the majority will have an impact on what President Donald Trump is able to get done in his final two years in office.

In the filing, Texas asked the Supreme Court to block the lower court's ruling by December 1st. They're hoping to see an expedited process, and they focused in here on timeline as it relates to the upcoming elections, saying this, "The chaos caused by an injunction is obvious. Campaigning has already begun. Candidates have already gathered signatures and filed applications to appear on the ballot under the 2025 map, and early voting for the March 3rd, 2026 primary was only 91 days away."

Alito asked the groups that challenge the Texas maps to respond to the emergency appeal by Monday evening. So he's suggesting there that this might move quickly. The case will likely be referred to the full court soon, and Alito's administrative order will remain in place until the nine justices are able to review it.

DEAN: All right, Julia Benbrook, with the very latest. Thank you so much. If it was a country, California would be the fourth largest economy in

the world. Up next, we're going to break down the high stakes race for the next governor, who's jumping in and why it becomes such a flashpoint in U.S. politics. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:00]

DEAN: Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell, now running to be California's next governor, joining a packed field of candidates looking to replace Gavin Newsom. The longtime critic of President Trump, says he'll be, "California's fighter and protector."

He also cites high prices in his decision to run for governor. And joining us now is CNN correspondent and anchor, Elex Michaelson. It's so great to see you here. You have such an amazing history of covering California politics. So you're a perfect person to talk through about all of this. You had the first sit down interview with Swalwell since he jumped in. What did he tell you?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Well, he told us that he's getting in for two different reasons. One, to fight Donald Trump, which is something that we've seen him doing on the national scale for years. But two, to try to lower prices in California, which is interesting because by a lot of different measures, California is the most expensive state in the country to live in, highest prices for housing, highest prices for gas, highest prices in terms of most homeless people.

And so, he's trying to lay out a plan to try to bring the cost of living down at the same time that the state is run by Democrats and try to modernize the state while at the same time fight against Trump. And what we've seen politically that's worked in this state, in statewide elections in the last few terms has been running against Donald Trump and who can be the biggest Democrat on the ballot. And that's clearly something that Eric Swalwell is trying to do.

DEAN: And it's interesting because the timing of all of this, look, this race, there have been people in this race for some time now. What does it say to you that he's jumping in now, even when there were already people in the race. No one has really managed to clear the field.

MICHAELSON: Yes, there is no clear frontrunner in this race, which is unusual for a California governor's race. That was not the case when we had Gavin Newsom running and Jerry Brown running, and we had Arnold Schwarzenegger before. This field is wide open and there's some notable people who chose not to run. You know, for many, many months, the thought was that Kamala Harris would get in the race. She chose not to.

Then there was speculation that Alex Padilla, the Senator, would get into the race. He chose not to. Katie Porter is seen as the frontrunner. She's had controversies. So we've seen a bit of a slippage in her poll numbers. A lot of the folks in the Democratic establishment are not huge fans of her. So, there is an opening right now to get the Democratic base behind you. That's why Swalwell decided after this big win for Prop 50, for the Democrats to jump into this race and give it a try.

DEAN: Yes, so back to the Swalwell then of it all. I think you have a clip from your interview. What did he tell you in that clip?

MICHAELSON: He brought forward a lot of different ideas, including this idea of modernizing California, going more technology savvy. And here's what he talked about voting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): I want us to be able to vote by phone. I think every Californian --

MICHAELSON: Vote by phone.

SWALWELL: Yes, if we can do our taxes, do our, you know, make our health care appointments, you know, make, essentially your -- do your banking online. You should be able to vote by phone, make it safe, make it secure. But it's actually already happening all over the United States.

I want us to be a blue state that doesn't do just a little bit better than, like, Georgia or Alabama when it comes to voting access. I want us to max out democracy. Also as it relates to democracy, if you wait in line for 30 minutes or more, if you do want to vote in person, I think you should find every county for every minute that a person has to wait longer. We have to be better, not just a little bit better than the other states.

The DMV, I don't think Californians should have to go in person to the DMV anymore. I think we can do that virtually. I think you can have the DMV employees do it virtually, but that's a lot of real estate.

MICHAELSON: Is that the most popular position outside DMV?

SWALWELL: Digitized DMV.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

SWALWELL: We can modernize the state, and I look forward to bringing these ideas to Californians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: I don't know anybody in either party who likes waiting in line at the DMV.

DEAN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: So that's an interesting thing. He chose that, but he also talked about we need to pause some taxes for a little bit. We need to change some of our housing regulations. I mean, he came, which I was interested in, with real specific ideas that we had not heard before that interview with CNN yesterday.

DEAN: Yes, no, he certainly has some very, very specific ideas. And it's going to be interesting to see how this race shakes out. And just to your point, just the role that California is playing right now, I mean, a lot of it has to do with Gavin Newsom and how he's positioning himself. But as a foil really to President Trump and his administration.

MICHAELSON: Yes, I mean, he sees himself as the leader of the resistance, right? I mean, California is the most populous state in the country, but also one of the most Democratic states in the country. One out of eight people in the country live in California. Gavin Newsom, right now by some, is seen as a frontrunner in the race to be President next time. That's what Jonathan Martin of POLITICO just called him in a new column that was out last week.

And so, he is trying to show that the way of doing business in California is different than what's being done in Washington, and that he's sort of running almost a shadow government. I mean, it's interesting that Eric Swalwell used the phrase California is the best country in the world, not the best state, the best country, sort of making the point that the way things are being done in California is another possibility.

Obviously, a lot of folks in the middle of the country hear that and say, I don't want to do things like California because it's the most expensive state in the country. That's not a good idea. But in terms of some of the progressive policies, progressive ideas, progressive social ideas, they're trying to make the point that there's another way to do things.

DEAN: Yes, a fascinating race out there. All right, Elex, thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate it.

MICHAELSON: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. And coming up, environmentalists are raising alarm bells as the White House announces plans to drill for oil off the coasts of California, Florida and Alaska. Why, they warn history could be repeating itself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:40]

DEAN: The Trump administration is moving forward with one of the Presidents favorite campaign promises -- drill, baby drill. This week, the Interior Department put out a five-year plan to allow offshore drilling off the coast of Florida and California. Both parties have previously opposed offshore drilling off these coasts.

In 1969, California suffered a devastating oil spill that destroyed coastal wildlife and killed much of its fishing industry. And in 2010, America watched in horror as millions of gallons of toxic crude spilled into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 straight days after an explosion on the deep water horizon oil rig. CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir joins us now for more on

this move from the White House -- Bill.

[19:50:19]

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, timing and context is everything when it comes to this announcement, coming out of the White House. Of course, the world has gathered at COP30 down in Brazil, where, earnest countries are trying to figure out ways to move away from fossil fuels, transition into a new electric age, stop the overheating the planet by digging up and burning these fuels and finding transitions. But of course, what is complicating that is not only the American's lack of presence at any sort of global climate multilateral negotiations, but this announcement that President Trump wants to open up 1.3 billion acres of offshore to brand new oil and gas leases that would take this country into the next 50 years or 100 years of committing on the fossil fuel track.

The Trump administration wants to open up the California coastline. There hasn't been a new oil platform there since the 60s, when a big spill sparked the environmental movement as we know it. He wants to open up the entire coast of Alaska, including the high, icy arctic, which has never been drilled before, hundreds of miles north of the Alaskan Coast.

And also more of the Gulf of Mexico near Florida, near the gulf deep water horizon spill, which is the deadliest, most expensive in recent history. And this is all happening at the same time the Trump administration is trying to throttle the offshore wind industry.

This President famously does not like the sight of turbines while he's playing golf. And as a result, he's trying to kill projects that are 80 percent done in some cases off the East Coast. Ron DeSantis in Florida and other Republican governors in the first term forced any sort of, offshore drilling, any energy production away from Florida saying that is no go.

He's obviously softened this time around, allowing for some of these drills rigs to be popped up. It's still many miles offshore, not visible from the beaches there, but very different stance on this as opposed to the offshore wind energy, which again, not visible but very much opposed by this administration.

This will be fought by the attorney general, Congress folks back in California, especially environmental groups vowing to take this to the Supreme Court. It took years for these rules to change as well. And it'll be interesting to see if there's any real market interest in leasing out these areas.

There's less than 20 offshore rigs operating in the United States right now. The number of onshore rigs has fallen by the hundreds in the last couple of years. Oil near $60.00 a barrel. There's just not a lot of market demand to go out and spend hundreds of millions to open up brand new projects in ocean deep water as well.

So this, as much of a statement about the Trump's priorities and a forcing of geopolitics, that is as it is about near-term gas or energy prices going forward. But just the latest symbol, Jessica, that the Trump administration is flying in the face of the world when it comes to the future of energy, back to you.

DEAN: All right, Bill Weir, thanks so much.

After the break. The roads may be a bit packed if you're headed out of town for Thanksgiving. Just how many people are expected to drive and when it's the best time to head out. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[19:58:07]

DEAN: And here are some of the top stories we're also following this evening. Authorities say former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was arrested today at his home to prevent a possible attempted escape. This happening just days before the start of his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt.

This evening, the Brazilian Supreme Court releasing a video they claim, shows Bolsonaro admitting he tampered with his ankle monitor. Bolsonaro's attorneys are vowing to appeal the arrest and deny he was planning to escape. The former President has been under house arrest since his sentencing earlier this year.

A fire that broke out on a cargo ship at the Port of Los Angeles last night has been substantially contained. That's according to the seaport there. More than 180 firefighters were needed to battle the fire, which started as an electrical fire on a lower deck that led to an explosion, which then shook the vessel. The ship was carrying several cargo containers filled with hazardous materials, but no injuries were reported, and the ship has since been moved.

And a look ahead at what to expect if you're traveling this Thanksgiving Holiday. AAA projecting 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over this holiday period, which is stretching from Tuesday to the following Monday. That's 1.6 million more than last year. It would also be a new record high. AAA, saying nearly 90 percent of those people will be traveling by car.

So, knowing that the best time to travel is before noon on Tuesday and before 11:00 A.M. Wednesday. If you leave Thanksgiving Day, you'll have at least -- you'll have the least amount of traffic. The worst time to travel and be on the road is apparently between 11:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. on Wednesday.

NASA astronauts capturing a stunning cosmic light show from space. NASA releasing video of the Northern Lights, as seen from the International Space Station. Wow! It's a sight astronauts are seeing more frequently now because the sun is at its solar maximum.

Thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean, and remember, if you are in the U.S., you can now stream the CNN App whenever you can catch us whenever and wherever you go, you visit cnn.com/watch for more on that. I'm going to see you again right back here tomorrow night. We're going

to get started at five Eastern. "Real-Time with Bill Maher" is headed your next. Have a wonderful night everyone.

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