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CNN This Morning
Trump Picks Army Veteran, Fox News Host For Defense Secretary; Today: Senate Republican Leadership Vote; 35 Killed After Driver Plows Into Crowds At Sports Center In China. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired November 13, 2024 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:31:40]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 5:31 a.m. here on the East Coast, 2:31 a.m. out in Las Vegas, Nevada where still lots of activity going down on the Strip, as there always is at this hour of the morning or late-night there.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
In just a few hours President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House. He will be meeting with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office as he ramps up his transition.
Just a week after his re-election he has already made a number of major picks for his next administration, including at least one choice that sources say took many in Trump's orbit by surprise -- the Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.
Hegseth served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is expected to keep up his longtime loyalty to Trump if he is confirmed to the role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, FOX NEWS HOST: It's -- I mean, it's one thing to have DEI inside your corporation or inside your university. It's a whole nother thing to have it inside the 101st Airborne. You can move to a different state if you want to go to a different school or if you want a different tax rate. We only have one military, and if the military goes woke then it's less equipped to fight the wars it needs to fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Only time will tell if he will be confirmed by the Senate.
Joining us now, retired Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good morning to you.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, AIR FORCE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST Good morning, Kasie.
HUNT: Thank you very much for being here. What was your reaction when you heard about this pick?
LEIGHTON: Surprise. You know, Pete Hegseth has done a lot of things -- good things for veterans in a previous life about a decade or more ago. But his experience is on the tactical side of things. It is not on the strategic side of things.
And it is not the type of experience that is commensurate with a role like secretary of defense. To do that job, whether you want to reform the Pentagon or not, you need to have had experience within the Pentagon. You need to have had experience running a large organization. And Pete Hegseth doesn't have any of that.
HUNT: Can you give us a sense of the scope of the organization that the Pentagon represents?
LEIGHTON: So we are talking at least two million people that are active duty -- Reserves, Guard -- that play a role in the Pentagon, plus the civilian workforce that's very large. And that organization -- this organization has its tentacles all over the world, so it's working not only with its own people but it's working across various departments. It's working with allies.
There's a huge international relations component to the Pentagon. And, of course, most importantly it is our warfighting organization.
HUNT: Most importantly, indeed.
So let's look at when Donald Trump appeared on Fox and discussing -- this phrase "woke military" is one that we've heard Hegseth use. Trump also talked a little bit about it. Let's watch how he described it in this interview -- watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's not woke in the military. There's woke at the top. They want there to be woke. But these guys aren't meant for woke.
RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS HOST: Are you going to fire those generals -- the woke generals at the top because Pete's been talking about it?
TRUMP: Yes. I would get rid of them, yeah. You can't have woke military. You said it so great, you know. You have -- you need people that want to win -- they want to win wars. That's what their purpose is to win wars, not to be woke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So that's obviously the framing here.
[05:35:00]
This news also came as The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Trump team plans to put together a board to potentially -- you know, to evaluate generals and admirals. Potentially remove them.
How do you think these two things fit together, and what does it mean for the military?
LEIGHTON: Well, this could be a really big problem for the military, and it could be disastrous. And the reason for that is this. The military has a promotion system that basically raises people from their educational level -- their initial college level or their service academy all the way up through potentially general or flag officer.
When you go through this kind of a situation where you have the accusation being made that these people don't want to win wars that's exactly counter to the military ethos. The military is designed to win wars. To fly, fight, and win, as we say in the Air Force. And that is one of those key elements that is being lost in this discussion.
They believe that because there are elements of what on the corporate -- in the corporate world you call DEI. That does not mean that it makes us less effective. In fact, it makes us more effective because what we're doing is we're bringing a diverse group of people from every background in American society together, and the failure to continue to do that is going to weaken our ability to defend our nation and to protect our allies as well as ourselves.
HUNT: All right, Col. Cedric Leighton for us this morning. Colonel, always grateful for your perspective. Thank you.
LEIGHTON: You bet.
HUNT: All right, let's turn now to this. In just a few hours Senate Republicans are going to convene to decide who will be their new leader. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is stepping down from the role. He was the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.
Now, Republican senators will have to make a choice. Their options: Sen. Rick Scott, John Thune, and John Cornyn. Thune and Cornyn have been seen as the establishment picks while Scott has the backing of many MAGA Republicans. Trump himself has not endorsed a candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think Trump should support Rick Scott?
SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): You know what? I've told people -- and I haven't talked to the president about it -- we're a different entity and we need to kind of stay separate.
RAJU: So he should stay out?
TUBERVILLE: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, it's up to him but I -- if he was asking me, which he hasn't, I'd say listen, let us handle this. I mean, you know, you've got a lot of people to hire.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: So whomever wins will lay the groundwork for just how much Trump will be able to accomplish over the next four years.
Joining us now, Axios congressional reporter Stephen Neukam. Stephen, good morning. Wonderful to see you.
STEPHEN NEUKAM, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Good morning, Kasie.
HUNT: So who is leading this race right now?
NEUKAM: It's hard to tell. I think that the public endorsements -- if you're going by the public endorsement tracker -- people who have said that they're going to vote for candidates -- right now it's Rick Scott. He has seven public endorsements -- people saying that they will vote for him.
Now, it's a secret ballot. People can say what they want to say publicly. We know there's a lot of pressure from Trump allies to back Rick Scott. Obviously, the people in Trump's circle want Rick Scott to be the Senate majority leader. Trump himself hasn't weighed in. But again, a secret ballot. People can say whatever they want publicly and go into that room today and vote a different way.
I still think the inside track for this is John Thune. But if we get past the first ballot -- you need 27 votes -- if we get past the first ballot who knows where this thing goes.
HUNT: Yeah.
So, Stephen, on Thune, the question, of course, has been the nature -- the texture of his relationship to Donald Trump because, of course, he endorsed Tim Scott for president in the primary race. In fact, we reported at the time that Thune had encouraged Tim Scott to enter the contest. He pushed him to visit early voting states, including Iowa. It was a little bit more than just saying hey, I'm on board.
And The Hill frames it this way. They say, "The biggest wildcard in the race is President-elect Trump who has yet to make an endorsement. If he were to come out strongly against Thune before the vote, he could decidedly tip the race. Prominent MAGA voices have, of course, weighed in on behalf of Scott and painted Thune and Cornyn as members of a long-reigning GOP establishment."
What impact do you think -- I've covered the Senate long enough to know that none of them welcome this interference, right --
NEUKAM: Right, sure.
HUNT: -- in their kind of behind-the-scenes. Like, they all have their individual power. They are fiercely protective of it.
Is there any concern or discussion around what having someone like Thune, who has a history of a testy relationship with Trump -- that being a problem for the Senate GOP?
NEUKAM: Yeah. I mean, certainly. I think that's the number one issue when you look at Thune's candidacy. I mean, it wasn't just that he endorsed Tim Scott for president and pushed him to run for president.
When -- the last time Thune ran for re-election Trump wanted a primary challenger. He wanted his political career to end. He wanted John Thune out of the Senate. Now, obviously, we find ourselves in this position.
I think the question that conservatives need to ask themselves if you want it to be Rick Scott or if you want it to be somebody who isn't John Thune or John Cornyn -- yes, you want a Trump loyalist. Somebody who might let him do recess appointments. That's important for the start of the administration.
[05:40:00]
But what happens when you have to get a tax package through the Senate and you have to deal with folks like Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, and maintain those relationships? Do you trust John Thune, do you trust John Cornyn, or do you trust Rick Scott?
HUNT: Well, and there's also just the basic question that, you know, there are times when Congress is not unlike high school.
NEUKAM: Sure.
HUNT: And we may remember that the -- you know, the president of your high school class was -- probably the most popular available choice is Rick Scott. The most popular available choice, some questions there.
NEUKAM: Yeah.
HUNT: Stephen Neukam, thank you.
NEUKAM: Thank you.
HUNT: I appreciate it.
All right. Ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is here with his unique take on how and why the election went so horribly wrong for Democrats.
Plus, Klay Thompson's emotional return to the Bay Area to face his former NBA team. That's next in the Bleacher Report.
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[05:45:00]
HUNT: All right, welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING.
We're going to go now to China where 35 people are dead after a driver plowed their car into a crowd at a sports center. This is the deadliest known attack in China in a decade.
Our Marc Stewart reports from Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is much sadness in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai after this deadly hit and run. We have some images of people dropping off flowers outside the sports center where this happened as people process their grief.
The focus is on the driver, a 62-year-old man. An initial investigation from police suggests he was unhappy about the outcome of a divorce settlement. They want to talk to him but as of Tuesday night he was unconscious. They say he hurt himself using a knife that was found inside his vehicle and has severe neck injuries and was getting emergency treatment.
Violent crime as a whole in China is very rare but we've seen some sudden episodes of violence in recent months at a time when many families are dealing with a slow-growing economy.
We've seen some censorship on social media of images from the scene when this happened, and some of the online condolences.
It took a full day for authorities in Zhuhai to release specifics about the extent of this. Police initially said a car knocked down multiple pedestrians.
Chinese President Xi Jinping described this as extremely vicious, urging officials to prevent risks at the source.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNT: All right, thanks to Marc for that.
It is now 46 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixera sentenced to 15 years in prison by a federal judge. The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman admitting he leaked highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine. Prosecutors called it one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in U.S. history.
Eleven employees injured in an explosion at a food and beverage coloring plant in Louisville, Kentucky. Some of them rushed to the hospital for chemical decontamination. It's not clear what chemicals were involved in the blast. One worker was killed at the same site during a 2003 explosion.
RFK Jr. calling for the firing of 600 employees at the National Institutes of Health. He wants to replace them with handpicked staffers. As a potential health czar in the new administration Kennedy says he will only hire people who "are not going to embarrass" President-elect Donald Trump.
Good luck there.
All right, time now for sports. Steph Curry spoils Klay Thompson's emotional return to San Francisco to face the Warriors.
Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Andy, good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, good morning, Kasie.
Last night a big night in the NBA. It was the first night of the NBA Cup, which means all of those colorful courts were back. And it was the return of Klay Thompson to San Francisco. Klay spent the first 13 years of his career with Golden State, winning four titles.
A cool moment when he arrived. Hundreds of Warriors employees greeted him with captain hats that they gave out to honor his return. Klay then also got an extended standing ovation after a tribute video was played in the arena.
Then it was vintage Klay in this game. He made six threes, including two big ones in the fourth quarter. Klay scored 22 points. But his old splash brother Steph Curry spoiling his return. Steph, the step-back three with 27 seconds left. That was the dagger. The Warriors win 120- 117.
And here was Klay afterwards on his return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KLAY THOMPSON, GUARD, DALLAS MAVERICKS: It was a really cool experience. I appreciate the fans very much. The captains hat ended up being a great touch because I'm such a passionate boater. And I saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, and it was a warm-hearted feeling. So it was really cool to see the fans' gratitude towards myself and it's something I will never take for granted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. Elsewhere, the Heat -- they were up two with a second left against the Pistons and look what happened. They give up an alley-oop dunk to Jalen Duren to tie the game. And a mad Erik Spoelstra then storms onto the court and calls time out. One problem -- they didn't have any. So not only is it a technical, they lose possession. The Pistons made a free throw. The Heat ended up losing 123-121.
And Coach Spo said that loss was on him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK SPOELSTRA, HEAD COACH, MIAMI HEAT: Well, I just made a -- just a serious mental error, you know, there at the end. That's on my -- that's on me. I feel horrible about it. There's really no excuse for that. I'm 17 years in. And we had talked about it in the huddle. I knew that we didn't have anything. I just got emotional and reactive on that, and I just made a -- just a horrendous mistake there at the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:50:10]
SCHOLES: Yeah, you can see how bad he felt about that -- yeah.
A huge college hoops game last night in Atlanta. Sixth-ranked Duke and 19th-ranked Kentucky coming down to the wire.
Seventeen-year-old Cooper Flagg is expected to be the top pick in the NBA draft. He scored 26 in this one, including some huge buckets in the final minutes. But he did have back-to-back turnovers in the final 15 seconds of this game that were really costly.
The Wildcats end up pulling off the upset, winning 77-72 over Duke.
All right, and finally, the second edition of the college football playoff rankings are out with undefeated Oregon remaining at number one. The Big 10 claiming four of the top five spots.
So this is what the matchups would be as of right now. It would be the Ducks, Texas, BYU, and Miami getting first round byes right now because they are the four highest rated conference champions. We would have some juicy matchups. You've got Ole Miss at Penn State. Alabama would go to play at Indiana. So, Boise State -- they're 13th right now but they would get in over 12th-ranked Georgia because they would be the fifth-highest rated conference champion.
But Kasie, still a whole month to go in these rankings. And Georgia -- a big game against 7th-ranked Tennessee this weekend, so they could easily get their way -- work their way into the playoffs. But it should be a fun debate in this final month.
HUNT: Wait. So, Andy, put that back up. Can we put that graphic back up because I want to know -- you are my favorite sort of oracle. Every time I ask you about this stuff you're always right. What's right and wrong about what we see on the screen?
SCHOLES: Well, you know, Ohio State -- their only loss right now is to top-ranked Oregon. It's a shame -- I think it's a shame the way they do that the conference champions have to get in because Miami just lost to Georgia Tech, and they fell all the way to -- they were ranked actually ninth in the rankings but they would be getting a first round bye.
So, you know --
HUNT: Yeah.
SCHOLES: -- this is the first year of the 12-team playoffs. I think they might end up making some changes in the future. That would be my big gripe because I think a lot of people are actually looking at that Ohio State path. They would get to play Boise State, then they play Miami. They get all the way to the semifinals -- a pretty easy path there.
But --
HUNT: Yeah, nice. SCHOLES: -- this is all going to change over the next few weeks.
HUNT: I mean, look, I hate -- I hate talking about Ohio State being great, but I am with you on the general problems going on in the college football playoffs.
Andy, love you. Thank you.
SCHOLES: All right.
HUNT: I appreciate it.
All right, a quick roundup here. From "Reflex" to "Rio," Duran Duran has been one of Britain's most beloved musical acts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DURAN DURAN, POP BAND: Singing "The Reflex."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And now lead singer Simon Le Bon has been named an official member of the order of the British empire. Prince William awarded him this designation Tuesday for his contributions to music as well as his charity work. Bon is an ambassador for the Blue Marine Foundation, which works to raise awareness on how people can work together to save the oceans. Our congratulations to Simon.
All right. Fans of "Bridget Jones" are eagerly awaiting the fourth film in the franchise, and we've gotten a look at the first trailer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAILER FROM "BRIDGET JONES."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Rene Zellweger -- you can see here there -- back in the title role. Now she's widowed, single mother searching for love after the passing of her beloved Mark Darcy played by actor Colin Firth. Also returning -- you've got to love this -- Hugh Grant. Count me -- count me as one of those fans, although I actually had no idea they were putting out a fourth film, so news to me here on the set this morning.
All right, coming up in our next hour here on CNN THIS MORNING, Donald Trump filling out some key posts in the West Wing. It's a little bit of an understatement. We're going to speak with Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke and Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan about what Trump's military and defense picks reveal about his plans for his second term.
Plus, the secretary of cost-cutting? The new department headed by Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much do you think we can rip out of this wasted $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget?
ELON MUSK, WILL LEAD NEW DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Well, I think we can do -- we can do at least $2 trillion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:58:50]
HUNT: It's Wednesday, November 13. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: It's one thing to have DEI inside your corporation or inside your university. It's a whole nother thing to have it inside the 101st Airborne.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Surprise selection. Donald Trump picks a Fox News host and Army veterans as his defense secretary.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR, PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP'S PICK FOR U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: It's time for a complete reset of our internal and international relationships.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: A familiar face. Mike Huckabee tapped to be Donald Trump's right-hand man in Israel.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): I know what to do and I will get it done. I will make sure Trump's agenda is done, and I think that's why I'm going to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Trump's man on the Hill? Senate Republicans meet today behind closed doors to vote on who will replace Mitch McConnell as their leader.
And then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VIVEK RAMASWAMY, WILL LEAD NEW DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Fire 75 percent of the federal bureaucrats.
MUSK: We're going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: It's a DOGE eat DOGE world. Federal workers' jobs at the mercy of Elon Musk. The president-elect naming him and Vivek Ramaswamy to run the Department of Government Efficiency or the DOGE.
