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CNN This Morning
Musk Dabbling in International Politics; Congress Certifies 2024 Election Results for Trump; Winter Storm Moves Out, Freezing Temps Move In. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired January 07, 2025 - 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, January 7. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[06:00:11]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a new star. A star is born, Elon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Musk, making waves. The world's richest man dipping his toes into international politics.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): There's some merit to a one-bill strategy, and there's good arguments for the two-bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: One bill or two? Republicans already at odds about the best way to get Donald Trump's agenda passed through Congress.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in the tough guy business. And this man is the toughest, most resilient human being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: From the octagon to the boardroom. One of Donald Trump's closest allies has a new role with Meta.
And later, panda-monium. At least someone is having fun, frolicking in the snow that blanketed D.C.
All right, 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at Palm Beach, Florida. You know why we're showing you that this morning.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
So, starting next week, the newly seated Senate will begin holding confirmation hearings for Donald Trump's cabinet picks. And among them is Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is Trump's choice to become the next secretary of state, America's official top diplomat.
But in recent weeks, another Trump ally, Elon Musk, has been the one trying to interact with world leaders. The world's richest man, the owner of the social media platform X, has been busy, as he always is, online. He has posted dozens of times about foreign affairs.
The topics have included promoting a far-right political party in Germany, calling for Britain's prime minister to resign, and alleging Britain's leaders covered up sexual abuse cases.
At one point, Musk even put up a poll. He wondered if, quote, "America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government," end quote.
Without calling out Musk by name, Britain's prime minister said this about the recent firestorm generated online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims. They're interested in themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Trump has stayed mostly silent on the latest international dispute involving Musk, who is, of course, one of his biggest donors and advisers.
But he does seem to be reveling in the downfall of Canada's liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, who just announced he's stepping down as prime minister. Trump posting after the announcement, once again referring to Canada as the 51st state and wondering what it would be like, quote, "if Canada merged with the U.S."
With Trump now a little under two weeks away from returning to office, some American allies are left wondering what this all means for diplomacy in the years ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Ten years ago, if we'd been told that the owner of the largest social media networks would support an international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections, including Germany, who would have believed it? This is the world we live in, in which we have to conduct diplomacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: Musk responded to those comments from France's president by accusing Britain's prime minister of acting against Trump's bid for reelection.
Our panel is here to talk about all of it: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, CNN political analyst, White House reporter for "The New York Times"; Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst, national political reporter at Axios; Kate Bedingfield, CNN political commentator, former Biden White House communications director; and Brad Todd, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist.
Welcome to all of you. Thank you so much for being here.
Alex Thompson, at what point is it Elon Musk, who seems to be acting as though he is, if not, you know, president of the United States and at least secretary of state or something. I mean, at what point does this get to be too much for Donald Trump?
ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think --
HUNT: Or does it?
THOMPSON: I don't think they can really separate themselves at this point. I mean, he wrote a $200 million check to -- to elect Donald Trump. He has billions and billions of dollars of government contracts. He also has billions and billions of dollars of businesses all over the world.
And as was noted, he has a social media company where he can basically, at a press of a button at 2:51 a.m., basically just cause an international incident.
So, they -- they are going to be intertwined these next four years. There's no way of getting out of it.
HUNT: So, Maggie Haberman -- I was talking with Kara Swisher on her podcast, and she had some -- a little bit interesting to say about how Donald Trump may be feeling about Elon at the moment. Let's watch what Maggie said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: A longtime Trump friend said something to me recently about how, you know, Trump is a one-ring circus. I'm not sure that Musk has figured that out yet. And, you know, Trump does complain a bit to people about how Musk is around a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: I mean, Brad Todd.
BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, the richest man in the world, whoever that has been at every stage, has always had a lot of influence in global affairs. They just didn't own a social media company to tell us about it. [06:05:08]
And I remember when a lot of liberals, especially in this country, mocked Elon and said he overpaid for Twitter and said that it was a mistake. But it turns out he's got a lot out of it, and I think he'll continue to get a lot out of it.
I don't --
HUNT: He might have lost some money, but what he gained instead --
TODD: He didn't need money, but he did need influence. And he did -- and he got that, I think, out of that purchase.
Trump is somewhat of a one-ring circus. That's a pretty good description of it, however. But he does need allies, you know. And I remember when people mocked the kind of people Trump had around him and said, why didn't he get the best people, as he promised? Well, Elon Musk is one of the brightest people in commerce in America. And so, I think most people ought to have confidence that he's around him.
KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, but America also needs allies. And so, it's just interesting. You know, is there any strategic -- any grand strategic vision behind what Musk and Trump are doing here? Is -- are they ultimately trying to strengthen America's hand?
Are they thinking about how, you know, the governments in power in some of these places could potentially be of benefit to the United States of America when we need them?
I mean, that's the thing about global affairs. It's not -- you know, it's not always as simple as sending a tweet. I know that -- that may seem shocking in this day and age, but it is not actually always as simple as sending a tweet.
So, you know, it's interesting to me.
And I think this question of whether they can be separated. One, you obviously have the Trump ego question. At what point does Trump look up and say, wait a minute, this guy is sucking up more oxygen than I want him to be sucking up.
And then, two, you know, do we reach a point where you can see a strategic divide between what Trump and his team, Rubio et al, are trying to do and what Musk is doing?
HUNT: So, one of the other pieces of this -- and this has a little bit to do with -- or a lot to do with domestic politics, in addition to international politics. But Steve Bannon, Zolan, what -- really went after Musk over the weekend.
Let's -- let's watch what he had to say, and we'll talk about it on the other side. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVE BANNON, HOST, "WAR ROOM" PODCAST: He's got a glass jaw. He can't take -- because of the -- I don't know, the autism or where he's on the spectrum. He's clearly not -- he's got the maturity of an 11-year- old. You can tell that.
One of his weaknesses is that he -- he needs to be loved. He needs the masses to love him. You can tell when he's on the stage. He needs that glory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And again, he was talking there about Elon Musk, saying that he has a glass jaw. And this is, of course, one of Donald Trump's longtime supporters, as well.
ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. As we kind of continue here through this new Trump era, it will be interesting to see just how various Trump allies, as well, continue to react to Elon Musk's growing influence.
And that is a growing influence. Look, he seems to be sort of copying a play -- Elon seems to be copying a playbook that he used previously when it came to the U.S. election. But now in Canada, Germany, as well as the U.K.
But you were saying, you know, is there a strategy here? Elon's also unpredictable at times. When you're firing off dozens of tweets in a matter of days about these different elections, you know, but also meeting with a -- the head of Reform U.K. at Mar-a-Lago, seemingly backing him. But then just hours later, flip-flopping on -- on support, as well.
This is sort of -- this is why it's hard to track the positions of somebody with this kind of influence when they seem to just be firing off tweets on, you know, a myriad of policy positions that impact foreign affairs throughout the world.
THOMPSON: You know, you -- just you talking about it, some -- it strikes me how similar Elon and Donald Trump are. I mean, talk about a guy with a glass jaw who really wants to be loved and, you know, is just -- and is firing off tweets over -- at all times of day about various policies, and you don't really know where they stand. I think, in some ways, they're made for each other.
TODD: But Elon Musk is a rookie at politics, and he's also a very bright man. He's going to learn politics quickly.
The mistakes he's making now about being -- two different opposite tweets within two hours, that's going to change. He'll get better at this as time goes on.
KANNO-YOUNGS: The thing to watch moving forward, as well. We've seen the tweets. Will you see the money, as well, in some of these other elections?
Elon spent $277 million in American elections, you know, this past time around. Will we start to see the money backing some of these candidates, as well, overseas?
HUNT: Kate, one of the things that Elon Musk has right now with Donald Trump is proximity. We've written about this --
BEDINGFIELD: Yes.
HUNT: -- $2,000-a-night cottage he's staying at in Mar-a-Lago. So, he has continued access.
That's going to change when Trump goes to the West Wing now.
BEDINGFIELD: Presumably.
HUNT: I mean, would -- what would Trump have to give Musk to maintain that proximity? Is it an office in the West Wing? I mean --
BEDINGFIELD: Maybe, although I don't think there has to be -- actually, in the case of -- of Musk, I don't know if there has to be physical proximity that he needs an office in the West Wing. He needs his cell phone number. He needs a way to directly reach him that goes around the phalanx of people who are around any president of the United States to prevent, you know, stray voltage from coming in.
So, as long as he has a direct electronic line to Trump, he'll be able to reach him.
TODD: You know, I hear the Waldorf Astoria Hotel's for sale and might need someone to buy it on Pennsylvania Avenue. So maybe that could become the Musk Hotel.
[06:10:01]
HUNT: Well, if he does that, you heard it -- We'll give you credit --
TODD: There you go.
HUNT: -- for that actually happening.
(AUDIO GAP) -- on Greenland continues. He is now sending his son to the Danish territory and once again flirting with the idea of controlling it.
Plus, certifying her election loss. Vice President Kamala Harris's message about American democracy.
And the president-elect promised to pardon January 6th rioters. But some of his allies say not everyone convicted should be treated the same way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): It's going to be a call that the president has to make. My assumption is that they will look at these on a -- on a case-by-case basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:15:18]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald J. Trump of the state of Florida has received 312 votes. Kamala D. Harris --
JON STEWART, CO-HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE DAILY SHOW": (EXPLETIVE DELETED) It's like attending your own funeral. And even the mourners are like, "Woo-hoo!"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Vice President Kamala Harris, serving in her role as president of the Senate, presided over Congress as they certified the election that she lost.
Monday's events on the Hill, it's an understatement to say that they stood in stark contrast to what happened four years ago, when a violent mob stormed the Capitol to contest Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory.
Hellas [SIC] -- Harris, telling reporters that what took place yesterday, a peaceful transfer of power, should be the norm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And today, I did what I have done my entire career, which is take seriously the oath that I have taken many times to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which included today performing my constitutional duties to ensure that the people of America, the voters of America, will have their votes counted, that those votes matter, and that they will determine, then, the outcome of an election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Kate Bedingfield, a pretty striking moment there, where she, you know, had to say the exact count Donald J. Trump received and then Kamala Harris received.
But worth underscoring and stopping to say, OK, look, we went back to the way that this is supposed to go.
BEDINGFIELD: Yes, yes. Sends, I think, an incredibly important message about the durability of democracy. It was obviously -- just on a human level, you can imagine, that was not easy for her. I think she did it with a lot of grace.
You know, having the entire chamber stand and applaud your opponent's victory, I think. Brutal.
But what we didn't see in the clip with Jon Stewart there is the chamber also stood and applauded her, too. And I thought that was a really nice moment of kind of acknowledging --
HUNT: There it is right there.
BEDINGFIELD: There we go. And which I thought was a really nice and kind of moving moment yesterday.
But yes, it sent an incredibly important message about what America stands for. And I thought in a -- in a really tough moment, she was incredibly graceful.
HUNT: Yes. And I think we should note it was half the chamber, it looked like.
BEDINGFIELD: Half the chamber also applauding Donald Trump.
HUNT: Brad Todd, Mike Pence wrote yesterday on X, specifically commending Kamala Harris, saying that it was particularly admirable that the vice president would preside over the certification of a presidential election that she lost.
He has not spoken so publicly, as we have seen, you know, the president-elect become so throughout this transition. But it's pretty clear how he feels about what happened on January 6, 2021. How did you take in what we saw yesterday?
TODD: Well, it ought to be the norm. Dan Quayle, of course, had to do it in 1992 after the '92 election. Al Gore had to do it in 2000. They'd both been on the ticket that lost and then had to certify their loss. So, what Kamala Harris did yesterday was not exemplary.
I thought. One thing I did note was this was the first Republican presidential victory certification that had no Democratic member of Congress protesting since 1988. I think that's -- we've lost that a little bit. And in all of the stain that was January 6th, we've lost the fact that protesting these losses has become the norm.
You know Jesse Jackson Jr. did it in 2000 when George Bush was elected. John Lewis and Barbara Boxer did it in 2004 after George Bush was reelected. Perhaps we can move past that, where that becomes the norm.
THOMPSON: But those --
HUNT: Yes, go ahead.
THOMPSON: I was going to say, those are, like, constitutional procedures. Like there's a -- there's provisions in the Constitution that allow for objections.
There aren't --
TODD: Sure.
THOMPSON: There aren't provisions in the Constitution to do what Donald Trump did on January 6th. Right? TODD: Yes, that's correct. But they -- if you accept the loss -- and I
think, by the way, the Pennsylvania objectors were in rightful stead in 2021, too.
But if you accept the loss, then -- then you want this to be a purely perfunctory, ceremonial thing. I think you have to look backward and see, when did this object -- these objections start? And I think you have to say that they started in 2000.
HUNT: Well, but, Brad, I mean, this was taken in 2021 to a level that we -- I mean, we -- this was the interruption of the peaceful transfer of power --
TODD: Completely.
HUNT: -- which these objections were not. And they -- you know, Democrats clearly have went, OK, then we're not going to -- we're not going to even take those procedural steps, based on, you know, what -- where this was taken. I mean --
TODD: Completely. It's a stain on Donald Trump's legacy, and it should be forever.
But I think we -- the fact -- as we celebrate the peaceful transfer and the acceptance of defeat, I think we need to rewind the tape and conclude that perhaps we -- this began further back.
HUNT: All right. Still coming up here after the break, Facebook's parent company has a new board member. It is a close Donald Trump ally. It's taking place just two weeks before Trump takes office.
[06:20:01]
Plus, the snow might be over for now. Icy temperatures, though, moving in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": "Washington, D.C., Hit by Winter Snowstorm." That headline again: "Hell Freezes Over."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
The dangerous snow, sleet and ice that has blanketed much of the country, it's mostly moving out. But frigid temperatures are moving in, and conditions are still hazardous.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Bleep, indeed. So that's black ice on the roads in Kansas City. It forced this driver to jump from the car as it exited the freeway. Thankfully, she was not hurt.
[06:25:05]
The incoming freezing temperatures are going to lock in that snow and ice on the ground. So, everyone should be prepared for more of this.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wow.
HUNT: Let's get to our meteorologist, our weatherman, Derek van Dam.
Derek --
VAN DAM: How they had --
HUNT: I mean --
VAN DAM: How they had the inclination to jump out of the car at that last second is incredible.
HUNT: Quick reflexes.
VAN DAM: So, props to that person.
Yes, that is an ice-skating rink, right? And I don't see the conditions on the roads in Kansas City, where that video came from, getting any better anytime soon. Right?
Like, this is what it feels like as you step outside in Kansas City: - 12 degrees. Look how cold it is in D.C. this morning: 13.
This is all thanks to the hefty snowpack from the last snowstorm, which, by the way, dumped over six inches or more of snow over a 1,000-mile-plus stretch from Kansas City all the way to the nation's capital. Daytime highs today really not edging much above freezing.
And of course, with the ice and the snow comes the power outages. Nearly 2,000 [SIC] -- 200,000 customers without power.
Guess what? The cold air sticks around. And the reason this is important is because it's going to set the stage for the potential of another snow and ice event, particularly across Texas, the Southeast by Friday, and potentially, the East Coast by Saturday. More on that through the course of the week.
But the culprit is this low-pressure system that's actually driving a strong wind event in Southern California. This is a particularly dangerous situation with extreme fire behavior and damaging winds expected for Ventura and Los Angeles counties again today -- Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Keep an eye out for that.
Derek van Dam for us. Derek, thank you. Really appreciate it. VAN DAM: You're welcome.
HUNT: All right. Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, Donald Trump Jr. is heading to Greenland. Why he's visiting the Danish territory, which his dad wants the U.S. to control.
Plus, one "big, beautiful bill" or two? Donald Trump and his allies debate how to turn his election promises into political reality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): If we're going to do a single bill, including the tax cuts, we need to get started quickly. We need to get started quickly anyway. But that's going to be very, very complicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:00]
