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Trump Cabinet Choices All Exhibit Loyalty to Him; Source: Justice Department Officials Brace for Chaos, Retribution; Dangerous Wildfires Burning on Both Coasts. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired November 12, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Tuesday, November 12. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

[05:59:21]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): President Trump has not just transformed our party; he has inspired a movement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Rewarding loyalty. Donald Trump looks to stack his White House with staunch defenders as he's expected to tap Senator Marco Rubio to be the nation's top diplomat.

Bracing for retribution. DOJ employees prepare for the potential revenge Trump has promised for his political enemies.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): I want the Donald Trump agenda implemented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Jockeying for leadership. Republicans scramble for the top spot in the Senate, but who will the president-elect endorse?

And pushing back. Donald Trump's new border czar's message to Democratic governors planning to reject their deportation plan.

All right. Just a few seconds before 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at a beautiful sunrise in New York City on this Tuesday morning. We are now one week out from the election. It feels like longer. I don't know how you guys feel about it.

Anyway, good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

The second Trump White House taking shape as Donald Trump picks more cabinet members and other high-ranking officials. The president-elect making these decision with one key trait at top of mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Loyal. We could use more loyalty. I will tell you that.

I love loyalty.

People in politics can be very disloyal. I've never seen anything like it.

Loyalty. You know, some of these people have, like, a 10 percent loyalty, meaning if they sneeze in the wrong direction, they're gone.

I would have wiped the floor with the guys that weren't loyal, which I will not do. Which is great. You know, I love getting even.

If given the opportunity, I will get even with some people that were disloyal to me. I mean, I had a group of people that were disloyal.

CHARLIE ROSE, FORMER PBS HOST: How do you define disloyalty?

TRUMP: They didn't come to my aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Loyalty, a quality that Donald Trump has prized -- you can see there -- throughout his life and one that seems to be the key to getting a job in the second Trump White House.

Shortly after the election, Mike Davis, a conservative legal operative and possible contender for attorney general, posted this on Twitter, now X, quote: "Dear Trump job seekers. Before asking me for help, I am going to ask you to provide me specific and concrete evidence of your loyalty to Trump," end quote.

The headline this morning in "The Wall Street Journal": quote, "Loyalty is Common Thread as Trump Fills Foreign Policy, Immigration Jobs."

And CNN's own Steven Collinson writing this, this morning, quote, "Each selection or anticipated pick so far has one thing in common: ultra-loyalty to Trump, especially during his indictment-strewn post- presidency. Each person is known for paying the kind of exaggerated homage in television interviews that the president-elect adores. A sense of betrayal often burned in Trump's first term when members of government prioritized their oath to the Constitution over their fealty to him."

Overnight, CNN learned Trump is likely to pick Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, according to two sources familiar with his thinking. He'll join Governor Kristi Noem for secretary, who's Trump's choice for the secretary of homeland security; Rep. Mike Waltz as national security advisor; Tom Homan, border czar; Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy; and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, ambassador to the United Nations. Each of them staunch Trump loyalists and each messaging clearly and publicly that they are all in on Trump, ready to execute and not question his agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: The only way to make America wealthy and safe and strong again is to make Donald J. Trump our president again.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): I was a proud member of Donald Trump's impeachment defense team.

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): He exhibits peace through strength. He destroys our enemies and swiftly, without hesitation.

REP. MIKE WALTZ (R-FL): He sat across the table from the bureaucrats and the generals and said, if you don't give our troops what they need, you know what he told the generals? You're fired.

TOM HOMAN, FORMER ACTING ICE DIRECTOR: These cartels are animals, and that's why President Trump's going to take them off the face of the earth.

STEPHEN MILLER, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR: Are you going to surrender, or are you going to follow the example of President Donald J. Trump and fight, fight, fight to the finish and save this nation, save this country, save this civilization, and save this glorious republic?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: There you have it. Joining us now to discuss: Annie Linskey, White House reporter for "The Wall Street Journal"; Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor; Kate Beddingfield, CNN political commentator, former Biden White House communications director; and Doug Heye, Republican strategist, former communications director for the RNC.

Welcome to all of you. Very nice to have you here.

Elliot, so, the big -- biggest difference here -- I mean, as we showed, Donald Trump has wanted people loyal to him for his entire life, right? This is not a new thing.

But there is a difference from the incoming -- the 2017 administration and now, where the people who surround him are unquestioningly loyal to him. When you look at -- he did this fascinating interview I recommend with David Rubenstein about the -- it was presidential history, basically.

And Rubenstein kept asking him what was your biggest mistake last time? And Trump kept saying, the wrong people. I put the wrong people in there.

There were a lot of people who held up his impulses, because they felt loyalty to something else. That's not going to be the case this time.

[06:05:03]

You worked inside DOJ and all these other agencies. What does that mean?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Look, it remains to be seen. The former president, the first time around, actually did have a number of competent people and professionals who shared his ideological vision in government, but they didn't last.

His secretary of state, his chief of staff simply did not make it from -- from doing their jobs. And let's use the example today of Marco Rubio, who is somebody who, by any metric, is eminently qualified, spectacularly qualified to be secretary of state, having served on the Senate Intelligence Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

But it will be interesting to see how that plays out, if the excessive loyalty to the president is what wins over, or if the places where he has deviated from the president over the years -- immigration, are you listening -- might -- might be sort of sticking points. Immigration being the really big one. Because it involves the secretary of state.

HUNT: Right. Well, so, you mentioned immigration being the big one. But you may remember they ran against each other for president back in 2016. Let's take a little walk down memory lane. No pun intended on that word "little." Watch it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: Have you seen his hands? They're like this. And you know what they say about men with small hands? You can't trust them.

TRUMP: Look at those hands. Are they small hands? And he referred to my hands: if they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there's no problem. I guarantee it.

So, I looked at him. I said, Marco, those hands can hit a golf ball 285 yards.

I want to show the size of my hands, how I could grab him, how I could grab him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, we didn't hear him say "Little Marco," but that was the nickname.

ANNIE LINSKEY, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": That's the thing. I feel that Trump -- you know, he wants, you know, recent loyalty.

I mean, if you look at -- at Rubio, the clips you just showed, but also J.D. Vance, who he picked to be his vice president, certainly was no paradigm of loyalty, you know, just you know, a decade ago.

So, Trump does seem to show a significant, you know, ability for forgiveness for disloyalty.

And then the other thing about Rubio is he also broke with Trump on a key thing, which was the 2020 election. I mean, he did vote to certify Pennsylvania, Arizona. So, that was another area where -- and he used the rationale for doing that, for breaking with Trump and certifying the election, was how the country looked to foreign governments.

So, I think Rubio has shown some independence, even if he's, of course, a bearer (ph) -- campaigning for the president.

HUNT: Well, so Doug, how do you come back from this kind of a thing with Trump, if you are a Marco Rubio? How is it that he is in the inner circle, considering that -- these realities?

DOUG HEYE, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: How did Kamala Harris come back for Joe Biden after she knifed him in the presidential debate?

Look, we saw the series of clips of people criticizing Donald Trump and people being loyal to Donald Trump. Yes, there's a fealty to Donald Trump. But a lot of this is very normal.

I would get calls almost every week during the campaign from reporters about Michael Whatley, the RNC chair, because I'm from North Carolina. Every article would say, "Michael Whatley, a Trump loyalist." Never one time did I see "Jamie Harrison, a Biden loyalist."

Of course, you're loyal to your boss. And if you're in a very difficult political crisis, and you stay loyal to him, you're rewarded for that.

Bill Clinton still talks about the people who were loyal to him in 1998 through his impeachment. Yes, does Donald Trump come with a higher standard? And are you at risk of a button being pushed and the floor falling out from under you? Absolutely.

HUNT: I think that --

HEYE: But a lot of this is very normal.

HUNT: I get that, but like, what's the difference between Rubio and Pompeo? Right? Pompeo actually served with Trump and has been booted.

HEYE: The difference is with Donald Trump, Donald Trump doesn't give points. He only takes them away one at a time. And Mike Pompeo lost his points.

Nikki Haley, who was trying to come back on the campaign trail, Trump very shrewdly never acknowledged her, never allowed her to. And we see that she's on the outside now. Even though, if he had, he might have been able to increase his margin a little bit.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Doug is right that there is a certain -- you know, I'm always loathe to normalize Trump broadly, because I think so much of what he does is abnormal and often dangerous, frankly.

HEYE: The hand stuff, yes.

BEDINGFIELD: And -- well, yes. And just, you know, takes our public discourse to just a really low and cheap and kind of gross place.

But I mean, yes, Doug is right, of course. There is -- it is true. There is an element of loyalty that is baked into how presidents think about who -- who they staff up. That is true for Democrats. That's true for Republicans.

I mean, the difference with Trump is that he's often asking his loyalists to do things that are wildly -- or at least what we saw in, you know, 2020 -- that are wildly outside of the bounds of the Constitution.

So, it's -- it's a little different to say, you know, Jamie Harrison is, like, working to put, you know, money in the campaign where Kamala Harris wants it; well, versus Donald Trump is asking, you know, senators to not certify the election and fulfill their -- you know, their constitutional duties.

[06:10:05]

So, it's -- it is absolutely true that loyalty is a -- is a component in politics. Of course it is.

But the question, the fear, the challenge comes when the president is potentially asking these people to do things that run counter to the Constitution of the United States.

(CROSSTALK)

HEYE: If Kamala Harris were -- if Kamala Harrs had won, we wouldn't see a series of clips of "these people who are backing Kamala Harris are now getting these cabinet appointments."

Because we'd say, this is business as usual.

You're right. Donald Trump asks people to do things that morally, they probably don't want to do. They somehow find a way to get there. Certainly, that had ramifications for January 6th.

But politicians hire people who are loyal. When you win a campaign, your team comes with you. That's true of a mayor's race, congressional race, presidential.

BEDINGFIELD: That's true. No question.

HUNT: Right. Again, I think hitting the nail on the head, right, when the loyalties collide, what are these people asked to do by their boss? And what are they expected to do in those situations?

All right. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, and this plays directly into the conversation we're having. It could be Donald Trump's most important cabinet pick. How the DOJ is bracing for his selection for attorney general.

Plus, the president-elect's new border czar delivers a warning to Democratic governors hoping to stand in the way of mass deportations. And Senator Rick Scott tries to ride the MAGA momentum in his bid for

Senate majority leader. Will it be enough to secure an endorsement from Trump himself?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT: I'm very optimistic. I believe I'm going to win.

Here's what I bring to the table. I clearly believe in the Trump agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They've demeaned us. They've demonized us, and censored us, and deplatformed us, and weaponized the power of our own government against us. They've gone after their political opponent, me. It's unbelievable.

I call it coordinating with the Injustice Department. NO. I thought it would have looked terrible to take Hillary Clinton -- I could have locked her up. She did so many bad things. But wouldn't that be -- wouldn't that be terrible?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: As Donald Trump fills out his cabinet picks for a second term, who he wants to lead the Justice Department could be among, if not could be the most consequential choice he makes.

The department and Special Counsel Jack Smith opened two prosecutions against him under the Biden administration. Trump has vowed to end those cases as soon as he takes office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGH HEWITT, RADIO HOST: The day after you take the oath of office, or maybe even the day that you take the oath of office, you're either going to have to pardon yourself or you're going to have to fire Jack Smith. Which one will you do?

TRUMP (via phone): It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Now CNN is reporting current Justice Department employees are bracing for possible political retribution in a second term, something Trump and his allies have talked about on the campaign trail.

Using the DOJ to go after opponents is something Trump has long sought from his attorneys general, going back to Bill Barr during his first term in office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP (via phone): Unless Bill Barr indicts these people for crimes, the greatest political crime in the history of the country, then we're going to get little satisfaction unless I win and we'll just have to go. Because I won't forget it.

But these people should be indicted. This is the greatest political crime in the history of our country. And that includes Obama, and it includes Biden. These are people that spied on my campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Elliot Williams, there are people inside the Justice Department who are worried about political retribution to the point that the attorney Mark Zaid is recommending that -- that people take a vacation. Just watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ZAID, NATIONAL SECURITY ATTORNEY: We're talking about people who have been specifically called out by the former president of the United States.

And we're not -- we're not rushing to it. I'm not saying sell your home, move overseas, never come back, become an expat. I'm telling certain clients, a small number, that you know what? Take your vacation for inauguration. And let's see what happens in the days or week or two afterwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Remarkable. What would you expect?

WILLIAMS: I would say, the converse is probably better. Which is that it is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical career class of employees that will save government.

And it is, in fact, not a great idea to resign and step down and start taking vacations, because you're afraid of an incoming president.

Look, I think a message that's lost in all this -- and frankly, I served in both Republican and Democratic administrations. And there is a shift in policy from administration to administration. That's OK, and quite frankly, that's a good thing. You don't want the government just doing one thing in perpetuity. There are different ways to skin a cat.

HUNT: They're responding to the voters.

WILLIAMS: Responding to the voters. That applies even at the Justice Department, as well.

When you start talking about, No. 1, specifically targeting individuals; retribution against opponents and so on; you start -- and firing employees simply because they disagree with you, that's where you start getting into a very, very dangerous place for the Justice Department or government, generally.

HUNT: What -- what do you think are the real differences among the candidates that Trump is said to be considering? I mean, are there choices that seem materially stronger, in your view, in terms of the rule of law versus others?

WILLIAMS: It's hard to say what's actually a serious choice.

You hear about Mike Davis, the sort of conservative provocateur who, frankly, probably would not make it through Senate confirmation and may end up somewhere else.

[06:20:00]

You know, the ideal candidate has at least served in the Justice Department in some capacity and recognizes that, even in a government agency where not everybody is going to agree with you, you can still have a vision and a mission and still carry it out.

It's -- you know. And -- and I really do believe the important role here is for the career attorneys, not the mid-level political managers or anything like that. It's the people who were here yesterday, will be here today, and will still be here tomorrow, regardless of who's -- who's president.

HEYE: Remember, this is also reality TV. This is Donald Trump we are talking about. So, as we have these names coming out, the one that everybody is looking at the hardest is the attorney general. Wouldn't surprise me if Trump keeps this going on, tune in next week, and that the A.G. is the one we find out about last.

HUNT: Entirely possible.

BEDINGFIELD: There's also just a question for him of, as he looks at his kind of political landscape, what does he want to prioritize? You know, he -- yes, he's going to have a significant majority in the Senate; likely going to have the House. He was given a huge mandate in the election, no question about it.

So, Donald Trump has the opportunity to look at the -- the landscape here and say, here are the, you know, two or three -- two or three things I want to prioritize coming out of the gate.

Is that really going to be, like, trying to go after, like, career folks at the Justice Department? Or is he going to spend his political capital on some of the promises he made on immigration or some of the promises he made on the economy?

I don't know the answer to that, obviously.

But he has people around him who are politically shrewd, obviously, who are making these decisions. So, you know, I think we can't -- we've got to overlay the broader kind of political landscape on this, too.

LINSKEY: I would also say, you know, the last, Biden and also Trump in his first term were both investigated, to some extent, by their own DOJs.

And I think, you know, if you want us to look at a litmus test, I think you can probably be safe to assume that Trump is going to want a head of the Department of Justice who's not going to appoint a special counsel.

And I do wonder whether Joe Biden really wishes that Merrick Garland had not decided to allow a special counsel to go forward who searched his home.

So, I think, you know -- I think that's a sort of a given that you can expect that that will be, like, a flat-out litmus test.

HUNT: Yes. Fair enough.

All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, racking up endorsements. Senator Rick Scott getting support from Trump allies to lead Congress's upper chamber. Why the president-elect still holding out.

Plus, what do AOC and Donald Trump have in common? Apparently, Instagram has the answer.

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[06:26:49]

HUNT: All right. At this hour, the United States is bookended by wildfires.

In California, wind advisories in place for parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, raising fears the Mountain Fire will keep spreading.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is, like, surreal. I mean, I know we live in a fire danger area, but this is -- it came out of nowhere. It was so fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Hundreds of structures in the area. And agricultural officials estimate more than $6 million in damages to crucial farmland.

On the East Coast, the Jennings Creek Fire raging across parts of New York and New Jersey. And that's where we find CNN's Leigh Waldman this morning. She joins us live with the latest there -- Leigh.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kasie, good morning.

So, the high winds that we're experiencing, and dry air, combined with the historic drought, is making this really, really difficult.

You can see, law enforcement vehicles blocking an area of the roadway where there's active wildfire burning. On the other side of the road, we saw a few trees actually sparking this morning. There's not mandatory evacuations in place, but officials are telling

some residents here, it's time to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was not on fire a half hour ago.

WALDMAN (voice-over): Thousands of acres near the New York and New Jersey border have been burned by the Jennings Creek Wildfire since it sparked last week.

STEVE NEUHAUS, ORANGE COUNTY EXECUTIVE: We are asking for people that live on Cliff Road in Green Lake to voluntarily evacuate. People in other areas, be prepared to.

WALDMAN (voice-over): Historic drought conditions are fueling the fire, aided in part by wind and dry air. Chris Franek, with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service says the rugged terrain is also a challenge for the response.

CHRIS FRANEK, NEW JERSEY FOREST FIRE SERVICE: It's making access to go fight the fire hard. Hard to get equipment in there, because some of the areas, it's too steep for bulldozers to go to.

WALDMAN (voice-over): Fire crews from New Jersey and New York are working together, attacking the fire from the ground and from the sky, working to contain it and keep it from threatening homes and other structures in the area.

Some who live there are being encouraged to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police knocked on our door, like, maybe an hour or two ago and just said, "If you guys want to get a bag ready and if you have somewhere to go, maybe you should go."

WALDMAN (voice-over): Franek says one volunteer firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation over the weekend.

And 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez died Saturday while working as a volunteer New York State forest ranger. In a GoFundMe page, his family describes him as, quote, "a true hero, someone who lived his life with purpose, who put others before himself."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNT: All right. That was Leigh Waldman, reporting for us in Hewitt, New Jersey. Thank you.

All right. Ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, three Republicans vying for the top job in the Senate. Why President-elect Trump might be hesitant to support the one that's backed by Elon Musk.

Plus, why Trump's pick to head the EPA is making environmentalists nervous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, day one and the first 100 days, we -- we have the opportunity to -- to roll back regulations that are forcing businesses to be able to struggle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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