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CNN This Morning

Soon, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Kicks Off in New York City; Elon Musk Publicizes Names of Government Employees He Wants to Cut; Trump Team Says Several Cabinet Picks Targeted by Threats. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 28, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And I think there's a little bit of that on deck for you and your family.

ANDY GRAMMER, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SINGER: Yes. You know, my daughter came home from her dance recital with like (INAUDIBLE), getting a bunch of clothes together to give to people that are suffering from homelessness. And to see you're so excited about that. That was really awesome.

We've also done stuff where we give, you know, go to different like soup kitchens and stuff like that, but it really connects you back to what the whole thing is about. Friends and family is really it. In life, in general, this is like, you know, we get caught up in other stuff, but this is really what it's all about.

HILL: I know you're actually at home right now, but you're actually gearing up for another tour in the New Year. You have a new album, Monster. What are you excited about coming up on the tour?

GRAMMER: Man it's a really fun new sound for me. I got a mandolin before I wrote this album, which I had never played before. So, a lot of songs are like mandolin-based kind of like uptempo anthems. And to get to go out with my band, I just got off of a tour that was a one man show. There was like a lot of spoken word poetry and kind of deep, beautiful themes of grief. And now I'm ready to go party with the full band and rock out and jump around and have a blast.

HILL: All right, good. Well, I'm looking forward to it come 2025. Andy Grammer, I really appreciate you taking some time to join us on your holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Have a great tour and happy Thanksgiving.

GRAMMER: Thank you so much. See you soon.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, and stay with us. CNN This Morning continues right now,

Thursday, November 28th, right now on CNN This Morning, Happy Thanksgiving that is the headline. We're getting you ready for the big Thanksgiving holiday. We will be live at parades across the country.

Also ahead --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, OWNER, TESLA: Well, I think, We will be live at parades across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Fears among federal workers are growing as Elon Musk's pledge to slash federal spending takes a personal turn.

And under threat, the Trump transition team says several of the president-elect's top picks are dealing with threats to their safety during this holiday week.

All right, it's 7:00 A.M. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at New York City, a rainy morning there ahead of today's big parade.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Acosta in for Kasie Hunt. Thank you for joining us this Thanksgiving morning.

In less than two hours, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade gets underway. Visitors from all over the country and around the world ready to welcome in Thanksgiving, and you get a front row seat to the biggest parades across the country right here on CNN with our inaugural Thanksgiving in America coverage starting one hour from now.

Meanwhile travelers this Thanksgiving week are expected to shatter records with an estimated 80 million Americans expected to either fly or drive and in some cases dealing with some very bad weather.

We've got it all covered for you. CNN's Brynn Gingras in New York and meteorologist Allison Chinchar standing by in Atlanta.

Brynn, we hate to rain on your parade, as the saying goes, but it's raining on your parade. How are things going out there?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Like Allison said, last hour, it's sort of -- sometimes it's, you know, raining hard and sometimes it's a little light. And right now it's a little light and everyone is taking advantage of the fact that there's a little bit of relief.

Let me get out of the way, Jim, so you can see where we are at the top of the parade row. This is the big opener and they're rehearsing it right now. Just a minute ago, we were seeing them. This is where Billy Porter will start and kick off that giant parade that, of course is iconic to New York City and their whole entire country on this Thanksgiving Day.

And you know what, I got to tell you, we walk about ten blocks to get up here. The entire avenue is full of people. So, people don't mind that it's raining out. I actually met these two lovely people who just moved here from Mississippi. So, guys, already checking off a bucket list item.

HAYDEN OSWALT, ATTENDING THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE: Yes, exactly. Bucket list item, for sure.

GINGRAS: Tell me the rain didn't stop you at all?

TYLER IRWIN, ATTENDING THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE: No, of course not. Take advantage, just a little less people here.

GINGRAS: That is true. What do you guys most excited to see? Why is this a bucket list item?

OSWALT: Oh, just growing up, watching it every morning, you know, waking up early, I don't know, the balloons, the floats, everything, honestly, everything, the performers, just really excited and just being -- and the atmosphere is really cool. We're just excited to be here.

GINGRAS: Yes. And you just moved to New York City and this -- you know, were you just -- this was already on your plans? Like, were you just like, oh, let's just try it? Was this part of the moment? What was behind this?

IRWIN: Always on the plans. I hope so. I didn't mean to take the mic. But, yes, we love the holidays. So, we really wanted to get here before Thanksgiving and Christmas and really enjoy it. That's kind of like the magic of New York City. Always has it, but kind of the special events of it.

GINGRAS: And you get to see Santa Claus. Hello?

OSWALT: Oh my gosh. That is actually what I'm most excited for. Let me change my answer. Most excited for Santa Claus.

GINGRAS: Amazing. Happy Thanksgiving, you guys.

[07:05:00]

And then, you know, not too long. It's going to kick off.

And you're already catching all this action. This is so exciting. And you guys, of course -- whoa. You guys know that we kick off our celebration beginning at 8:00 with Erica Hill and John Berman. We can't wait to join your living rooms for this Thanksgiving celebration. But, guys, I got to tell you, it's getting pretty exciting out here.

ACOSTA: We can feel it, Allison. And, Brynn, thank you for hanging in there for us. Allison, let me go to you. How's the weather impacting things out there? We know it's raining in New York. I think it's raining in Washington. It was raining when I was on my way in. But how are things going where you are?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it was definitely raining earlier when we were here, but now the rain has finally ended. And it could not be a better time for the rain to end because the race behind us is about to begin. It's set to start maybe just about 30 minutes from now. And there's going to be a half marathon, then a five-mile -- or a 5K, then a one mile, and then a little cute 50-yard dash for the little ones to be able to participate. Everybody trying to burn off some calories before they go and eat a giant meal later on today.

But, yes, the weather cooperating here in Atlanta, not so much in other places. We're still seeing that huge line of rain showers extend essentially from Maine all the way back to Mississippi. That includes places like Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and, yes, even New York. And, yes, we mentioned last hour, it's going to come in waves, so it's going to start to pick up and get a little heavier. Then it will get a little bit lighter.

Right now, we've got some of the heaviest rain we've seen so far set to push into New York. That's not exactly ideal conditions for the parade today. But you know what? Most of those folks that are out there, they don't care. As Brynn mentioned, this is a bucket list item. They just want to be there to experience it.

Now, interior northeast, this is where it's going to get tricky. You're actually going to see some snow showers here, several inches of snow accumulating on the ground. And then you start getting up into the higher elevations, you could see as much as a foot of snow.

As for the rest of the country, you're going to start to see those temperatures maybe get a little bit on the cool side, even for some of the other parades that we have going on today, cities like Chicago and Detroit, you're looking at highs in the thirties, maybe creeping out at 40 at absolute best.

The rest of the country, though, we're looking at much better conditions, especially the central U.S. and out into the western portion of the country, much nicer conditions, they're not really having to deal with any rain, Jim. But this, we could not have asked for the rain timing to be any better here. This is the largest half marathon race in the country to happen on Thanksgiving Day. They've got nearly 12,000 people set to run this morning.

ACOSTA: All right. Allison and Brynn, thanks for hanging in there. I really appreciate it so much. Happy Thanksgiving to both of you.

In the meantime, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have made it no secret that they have plans to slash government spending. The two men tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Federal employees understood that their jobs could be at risk.

But now, Musk has also begun to draw attention to at least a few relatively obscure government employees and their jobs and posts on social media. Musk quoting one post that read, I don't think the U.S. taxpayer should pay for the employment of a director of climate diversification, she/her, at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, with a partial screen grab of an employee and her location, and Musk adding, so many fake jobs, obviously going after that employee there. The president of the American Federation of Government Employees telling CNN, quote, these tactics are aimed at sowing terror and fear at federal employees, adding it's intended to make them fearful that they will be afraid to speak up.

And joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman of Michigan Debbie Dingell. Congresswoman first of all, happy Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for being with us early this morning. I really appreciate it. But what is your reaction to this? I mean, nobody elected Elon Musk. He's been tapped to do this Department of Government Efficiency, which is really sort of a misnomer because, apparently, it's not going to be a part of the federal government, and yet he's going after federal employees on social media. What's your reaction?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): So, I have several. First of all, Happy Thanksgiving.

ACOSTA: Happy Thanksgiving.

DINGELL: I love watching all the praise. You're going to be covering Detroit as part of your coverage today, and that's a ritual since I was a child, and I'll be watching the CNN, but I've shared that parade for many years and I'm still on the executive committee and the Lions game is a tradition in today's big.

So, let's start in a positive and the lines, well, I want to say that. Look, we all have to be careful. I don't care who you are, what side of the government you're on, to try not to go after in the way that he has done, let alone in a Thanksgiving week after a very specific targeted employee.

I don't think people understand. I don't like the fact that some of Donald Trump's cabinet received bomb threats and other threats yesterday. I don't like the fact that my colleagues on either side of the aisle are getting so many threats.

[07:10:03]

And leaders in the government, whether he's paid or nonpaid, but part of Donald Trump's inner circle, the one thing I'm asking everybody, dial it down. Just stop it. Just stop targeting people. This bullying, this violence, this division of each other is what I am praying that in this next year that we can stop. Are there discussions that you want to have? Let's have them. Let's have them in a civil, respectful way. Not this way.

ACOSTA: Well, I guess that leads to this question. Does it make you worry about what's coming when Donald Trump comes into office, that this climate of just people going after one another and, you know, going for the jugular all the time, no matter what the political discussion might be, is just getting out of hand?

DINGELL: It is out of hand. It's been out of hand. And I've been very clear, Jim. I will work across the aisle. I have a record of working across the aisle. I have many close friends who are Republicans. And there are problems that the American people want to see solved. But I've been begging for a long time.

This isn't anything new for me. I have spent my life trying to bring people together, to try to respect each other. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason, to listen more and talk less. But the violence that we are seeing out there, the bullying, I've been an object of some of it myself. Quite frankly, I'll use me so they don't go after somebody else.

I don't know when someone's going to come up and attack me publicly, start screaming at me, creating a scene. I'm very lucky I live in a in a community where people know me. So, the vendors at the farmer's market come up immediately and we try to deescalate. The mayor has been my bodyguard. You know, it just -- it's not right.

Can't we talk to each other? Can't we disagree? Can't we have real conversations about maybe we do need changes without intimidation and hate and violence and bullying?

ACOSTA: Yes, and maybe we can start some of that on Thanksgiving. You know, we're going to have a lot of relatives over who we might not agree with. Let's get the more civil dialogue going there, no question about it.

And, Congresswoman, I do want to ask you about Trump's proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico and how things might be affected in your state, which voted for Donald Trump for president. The New York Times reports that Trump's tariffs threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada sent shivers through the auto industry, which depends heavily on both countries for parts and manufacturing.

The prospect of tariffs is a two-alarm fire for the auto industry, said Patrick Anderson, chief executive of Anderson Economic Group, a consulting firm in Michigan. There's probably not a single assembly plant in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Texas that would not immediately be affected by a 25 percent tariff.

You know, Congresswoman, I don't have to remind you. I mean, you were saying this before the election that you were deeply worried that Kamala Harris might lose Michigan. She did. Do a lot of folks in Michigan realize that they may have, by voting for Donald Trump, voted for tariffs that might negatively impact the auto industry there in your state?

DINGELL: So, I think that we've got to like rebrand the way we talk about all of this. No, quite frankly, too soon. People don't understand it, but I also want to say tariffs are a tool in the toolbox to get level playing field for trade. I have said I will work with Donald Trump on trade. I said he got elected in 2016, and, Jim, you remember back then everybody thought it was a thousand percent crazy when I said he was going to win. And I said he was going to win because of the trade issue.

Now, I will work with him. I worked with him. NAFTA was the worst trade bill we'd ever seen. We worked, we got the USMCA, needs to be improved. China should not be able to build plants in Mexico and then bring them into the United States and label them as a North American vehicle. They're not. We've got to improve that.

But we are intertwined. The auto industry is totally intertwined in North America. Quite frankly, at this point in my life, I treat Mexico and Canada differently. I think there's got to -- you got to take time to understand what a day one implication would mean. And I don't think that it is intent. I hope it is not an intent to either hurt the domestic auto industry or the consumer.

So, I hope they'll take time to understand the impact. I'll work with them on trade. Let's do it right.

ACOSTA: All right. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thank you so much. I won't say go Lions because I'm a Commanders fan, but I know Detroit has been hoping for a winner to come along for many, many years and you've got one there in Detroit. So, I hope that you're happy at the end of this Thanksgiving after watching that football game. Thanks a lot, Congresswoman. I really appreciate it.

DINGELL: Thank you. Have a good Thanksgiving.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you.

Coming up here on CNN this morning current and former Trump nominees targeted. As the Congresswoman was saying just a few moments ago, the Trump transition team says several top picks for his second term in the White House involved in bomb threats and swatting incidents.

[07:15:04]

We'll talk about that.

Plus, how a breakthrough ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah is giving renewed hope for the families of October 7th hostages.

And a turkey day mix-up, how an accidental text message to a stranger sparked a nearly decade-long friendship and Thanksgiving Day tradition that is still going strong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. I'm Pamela Brown, anchor at 11:00 A.M. Eastern weekday on CNN. And I am so grateful for so much, especially when you look at everything going on around the world. It's always a reminder to me just how grateful I am to have three healthy kids. I had a baby this year. He was very healthy and I have a loving family and wonderful friends who keep me grounded and wonderful job where I had the privilege of having a show every day on CNN, talking to the American public and helping them inform their daily lives. It really is a privilege.

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[07:20:00]

ACOSTA: This morning, the FBI is investigating a rash of threats against Donald Trump's picks to lead his incoming administration. CNN has now confirmed eight people chosen for cabinet roles have been the targets of bomb threats or swatting incidents in recent days.

Meanwhile, after President Biden was briefed on the incidents, the White House said the administration, quote, unequivocally condemns threats of political violence.

Joining me now to talk about these incidents, CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem, Juliette, what did you make of these threats when you saw this happening?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, the swatting threats are actually quite scary, because in those instances, the cabinet nominee is sort of sitting at home with the police get information that maybe they're being taken hostage or something bad is happening or come into a home where everyone is unprepared for some sort of interaction between the police and the nominee. Those tend to be quite scary because something very bad can happen. And we have seen that before.

So, these are real. They have to be condemned. They have to be investigated. They are clearly targeted against the Trump administration. And they come at a time when the nominee is not quite yet the cabinet officials so that their secret service detail and the kind of protections that they would get is not quite, you know -- sort of it's not the equivalent of if they actually get confirmed. So, they're in a vulnerable stage. And whatever you think about their politics or whether they should be the nominee, the Biden administration was right to condemn this and to get the FBI on it.

ACOSTA: Yes, absolutely. It's unacceptable. I mean, no matter who the target is, it's just absolutely unacceptable.

And, Juliette, I do want to ask you about the dangers of doxxing online. And, you know, we were just talking about this with the congresswoman Elon Musk going after federal workers, putting their names on his X page, which obviously has millions and millions of followers. CNN reports that CNN reached out to multiple experts, academics who specialize in cyber harassment, doxxing, online abuse. Several declined to comment on the record, to CNN, for fear of themselves being Musk's targets.

This does not sound like a good sign of things to come as this administration is coming into office, and Elon Musk having a very important perch in that new administration.

KAYYEM: Yes. I mean, he's essentially -- I mean, you know, he's essentially sort of a vice presidential sort of foil. We don't need to see Vance much anymore. We see Elon Musk a lot more. He's very close with the president. You know, I know people are nervous to take this on, but it really does have to be taken on.

So, I mean, Elon Musk just needs to honestly grow up, just grow up. I mean, this is silly behavior. And he may view it as a as funny. I mean, he sort of has an odd sense of humor. You know, he's just very excitable. And so what happens is people see and they take it as a license to do something very unfunny. And so anyone who's an expert in these fields on whether online or incitement or has seen the wave of incitement through violence over the last 4, 8, 12 years really understands that kind of language, whether a joke, whether he just thinks he's powerful. It's that punching down that he does. It's not only scary for the recipient of it, the unnamed person, right, but also just -- it's so easy to punch down, right? And I think we have to just grow up at this stage.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, he is a man in his 50s. So, I mean, by now, you know, one would think he would be able to grasp that, you know?

But, Juliette, I mean, the thing that is concerning about all of this, and you touched on it, Is that, you know, the folks who dish this stuff out, people like the incoming president and so on, they don't -- maybe they don't realize or perhaps they do realize, and that's the point, that people absorb this information, people absorb this cyber bullying that they see on these social media platforms, and then they direct it at the targets that Elon Musk is going after, Donald Trump is going after. And that's what can make it very dangerous, quite frankly.

KAYYEM: Yes. And it can make people nervous. In the academy where I am, others, it can make people very nervous about speaking the truth. I think the one counter to that and what has to be understood is the crassness and the ugliness that has been unleashed, that is sort of part of the philosophy, I think, of how the president-elect is now president. I mean, it's just this -- that's amplified online. It turns against them.

I mean, this president-elect has been the focus or the target of two assassination attempts.

[07:25:04]

The idea that he can control it, I mean, in other words, that he can unleash this, or that Elon Musk can unleash it, and it's not going to turn back around. That's the scary part. And that's why they have to understand that no one is in as high leadership as they are, right? You know, people online, people on podcasts, people on CNN, we don't amplify like they do. And that they can really begin to set a tone that won't turn against them. I mean, when you think about the assassination attempts as well as, of course, this doxxing against the cabinet nominees, they can't -- once unleashed, they can't control it.

ACOSTA: Yes. Well, maybe we can start something on Thanksgiving here and try to tone things down. We'll start at the dinner table with all of our family and relatives. We might not agree with all of them, but let's try to get to a more civil dialogue. That would be great.

Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much, always great to talk to you. I really appreciate it.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Still coming up on CNN this morning from celebrity appearances to live views of parades across the nation, stick around for Thanksgiving in America this morning at 8:00 A.M. Eastern on CNN and streaming on MAX.

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