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CNN This Morning

President Trump Unleashes Flurry Of Executive Actions; Trump Bipartisan Backlash For January 6 Pardons, Commutations; Rep, Stefanik Vows Support For Israel In Confirmation Hearing; Four Men Arrested In High-Profile Burglary Probe. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired January 22, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:35]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Wednesday, January 22nd.

Right on CNN THIS MORNING:

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They served years in jail. The American public is tired of it.

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HUNT: Doubling down. President Trump defends his blanket pardons for January 6th rioters.

Plus --

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We've got to bring them to heel. These cities that have that have led to this chaos that created the humanitarian catastrophe that came from that border.

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HUNT: Border orders. New directives from the Trump administration, making it easier to carry out mass deportations.

And buying TikTok. President Trump says he's open to Elon Musk making a bid for the app. We'll discuss live with Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss.

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HUNT: All right. It is 5:00 a.m. here on the East Coast.

A live look at a snowy Houston, Texas. This is incredibly rare for them. This is a massive storm that has swept across the south. Many people there waking up to cold and snow.

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

Donald Trump spending his first full day in office sprinting toward change, not only looking to enact new policies, but trying to reshape how the government operates, following the tsunami of executive actions he signed Monday. The White House announcing yesterday that employees in any diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices have been put on paid administrative leave with the intent to do away with the positions altogether.

Trump, also unveiling a $50 billion A.I. infrastructure investment in the U.S. but with the flurry of announcements came some bipartisan backlash. After pardoning more than a thousand people in the January 6th, 2021, attack on the Capitol, where more than 140 police officers were injured, Trump did have to play some defense.

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TRUMP: I am the friend of police, more than any president that's ever been in this office.

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HUNT: His decision to make these pardons forced Republicans on Capitol Hill to try to answer for the decision.

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SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): It was a horrible day. However, the American people have chose to move on.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): To me, I just cant agree. It was surprising to me that it was a blanket pardon.

JOHNSON: It's not my place. It's the president's sole decision. And he made a decision, so I stand with him on it.

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): I think we need to continue to be able to say we are a party of law and order, and that is incredibly important to be able to protect those folks who are protecting us.

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): The deck is cleared. Now, can we just stop talking about January 6th?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Trump also commuted the sentences of 14 members of far right extremist groups. He said his administration is reviewing those cases to see whether pardons are appropriate in the future.

One individual who was part of Trump's sweeping pardons is Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys. He was convicted for seditious conspiracy and sentenced to more than two decades in prison. Today, a free man.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) ENRIQUE TARRIO, FORMER PROUD BOYS CHAIRMAN: I'm happy that the president is focusing not on retribution and focusing on success, but I will tell you that I'm not going to play by those rules. The people who did this, they need to feel the heat. They need to be put behind bars, and they need to be prosecuted.

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HUNT: All right. Joining us now, White House correspondent for "Semafor", Shelby Talcott.

Shelby, good morning.

SHELBY TALCOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, SEMAFOR: Good morning.

HUNT: Nice to see you.

So Donald Trump yesterday was directly asked about one in particular, one person who committed was convicted of crimes on January 6th for tasing police officer Brian Sicknick. Of course, Sicknick later died in the wake of the Capitol riots.

This is really a departure from the law and order Republican Party of the past. That said, the message from Capitol Hill Republicans seems to be we need to move forward. What is next here?

TALCOTT: You know, I think that is what Republicans are hoping, because this is what Donald Trump has done. And there's really not much that they can do.

And I think this is an instance where the Republican Party is still trying to figure out where to push and pull with Donald Trump. When is it worth sort of putting your foot down and pushing back on things he wants to do? They have decided that, right, this is an executive order. What's done is done. They would like to move on.

Now, I -- as I say that, I know that there are people within the Republican Party.

[05:05:04]

You heard it. Mitch McConnell, others who are more quietly sort of expressing surprise that Donald Trump did a blanket pardon. I think the party would have been much more comfortable if it had been on a case by case basis. And, you know, I'm not sure exactly the reason why it wasn't on a case by case basis. What I do know is obviously this was a huge amount of pardons, and Donald Trump really wanted that done on day one.

HUNT: I should note the Taser to the neck was actually Michael Fanone. The Washington police officer Sicknick came under other violent attacks. The president was asked about -- about that yesterday.

And, Shelby, to your point, it seems as though there was -- I mean, J.D. Vance had telegraphed that there wouldn't be pardons for violent offenders, that perhaps there was some back and forth inside the Trump camp over this was whether this was the right thing to do.

TALCOTT: And I've done a lot of reporting on this over the past few years. And Donald Trump's sort of shift has been really interesting. And it's been in part because there have been a number of -- of individuals who are supporters of these January 6th defendants who have slowly sort of figured out how to lobby Donald Trump on this issue. And that combined with Donald Trump's own legal issues, sort of helped him shift on this over the past two years. But again, at the same time, when I talked to people inside Trump's orbit over the past two years, it was on the basis of this would be a case by case situation.

But I think at the end of the day, Donald Trump wanted it on day one, and I'm just not sure that there was the time to look into every single case individually and also have these pardons on day one.

HUNT: Yeah. So, Shelby, you, of course, are now the White House reporter at "Semafor". For those who may remember, I've covered the first Trump administration. The sheer pace of how this unfolds is worth remarking on, as our Stephen Collinson, who writes, kind of big picture takes for CNN.com, writes under this headline why Trump's two days in the White House already feel like a full term.

And he writes, it already feels like he's been back for months. Donald Trump is setting a frenetic, pace, fulfilling campaign promises, imposing undiluted power, settling scores after the sedate Joe Biden years, the return of a presidency that is an incessant assault on the senses is a reminder of why so many millions of Americans see Trump as a compelling, historic figure, and why millions more deeply fear him.

Trump has cracked down hard on immigration, held a splashy $500 billion tech investment announcement, renamed the Gulf of Mexico, outlawed much of the diversity policy in the federal government, shopped around TikTok, fired people by social media posts, mooted territorial expansion, threatened trade war, talk to reporters more than Biden did in months, danced with a sword, mocked the rule of law by freeing January 6th, 2021 rioters, lied about the 2020 election, exacted revenge against critics, including by pulling security from an ex-aide who was threatened by Iran, criticized a bishop, threatened ethics and government, stigmatized trans Americans, and cleared the way for ICE arrests in schools and churches. And it's only been two days.

TALCOTT: Yeah, I mean, this is definitely different than the Biden administration, but this is what the transition team for the past two months has been planning. They wanted to come into this administration with sort of the shock and awe news-wise, and that's what they've achieved.

And part of the reason that they wanted to do that was because right now they have a trifecta in Washington. They don't know how long they're going to be able to have that trifecta. And also, they understand that this is Donald Trump's last term. So he really needs to get everything done, not just in four years, but potentially in the first two years.

HUNT: So what are you anticipating for today, Shelby?

TALCOTT: I wish I could tell you. We don't have a readout. I do anticipate there's going to be probably some other big news. I think, you know, they're sort of trying to schedule this so that the first week has big news every single day.

Obviously, the first day was focused on all of these executive orders. The second day was focused on the infrastructure announcement. From my understanding, they are planning big news every single day throughout the week. Later in the week, Donald Trump's obviously going to travel. That will make news in and of itself.

So I don't know. Stay tuned.

HUNT: Got a lot in for ahead of you. Shelby Talcott, thank you very much for being with us this morning.

All right. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING:

A southern spectacle states across the southeast pummeled with record breaking snow. Plus, Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins us live to talk about president Trump's ideas for the future of TikTok and how a bishops appeal for mercy has the president demanding an apology.

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MARIANN BUDDE, BISHOP: There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.

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[05:14:14]

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ELISE STEFANIK, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS NOMINEE: If confirmed, I stand ready to implement president Trump's mandate from the American people to deliver America First, peace through strength, national security, leadership on the world stage.

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HUNT: Representative Elise Stefanik of New York appearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for her confirmation hearing. President Trump's pick to be the U.N. ambassador, laying out her vision for the role if she is confirmed, including a full throated defense of Israel.

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SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): I did ask you whether you subscribe to the views of Finance Minister Smotrich. STEFANIK: Who? I'm sorry?

HOLLEN: Smotrich, this is the Israeli finance minister Smotrich, and the former national security minister, Ben-Gvir, who believe that Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank.

[05:15:02]

And in that conversation, you told me that, yes, you shared that view. Is that your view today?

STEFANIK: Yes.

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HUNT: While the fighting in Gaza has stopped, Israel now launching a major military operation in the West Bank, at least ten Palestinians, including a child killed overnight in the city of Jenin.

CNN's Max Foster joins us live now from London with more.

Max, good morning to you.

Of course, the view that Elise Stefanik expressed there, one that you do hear from the right, but it does not align with what have been the international norms around this, what do you think Trump taking office means for the West Bank in Israel, as, of course, many Jewish settlers have moved in there again, something that's extraordinarily controversial. But the right wing in Israel seems to think that the Trump administration may embrace it.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, the idea that, you know, that, you know, Israel has a biblical right to the West Bank is something reflected by someone who Donald Trump has appointed, obviously, into that position. So they feel quite emboldened by this, the right, and Smotrich is very much, you know, the representative of in the government of that idea that, you know, Israelis should have more control over the west bank. So Donald Trump also talking about how getting rid of sanctions against some of those settlers who have been fighting to get more control of the West Bank is also an indication.

So in terms of Netanyahu, he talks about the general axis, Iranian axis that he's taking on. They are -- they exist within the West Bank. Hamas has become much more powerful there. So I think certainly Israel feels much more empowered to create more settlements to dig in in the West Bank, off the back of Donald Trump. And what he's said.

HUNT: Max, can we just talk big picture for a second? You know, we're talking at the top of the show here about kind of the shock and awe campaign of governance, of Trump coming into power here in the United States.

Can you just give me a sense of what the reaction has been like in the U.K.? In Europe broadly to both what we saw the tech billionaires on stage with Donald Trump as he is sworn in and just the blitz of actions he's taken since. I mean, how is the world taking this all in?

FOSTER: Are there not because there's so much to take in? And if Americans are struggling with a lot of what's happening here, you know, what is an executive order? What does it mean when there are so many of them? It's just so much to take on.

Obviously, we've had some practice at this with the first Trump presidency. I think everyone's just trying to work out exactly what it means for their particular country. Obviously in Canada and Mexico, they're very worried right now because of this idea of tariffs, perhaps not as big as they thought they were going to be, but that's a direct thing that they can digest.

But for other parts of the world, it's really just getting a sense of what he's actually going to do. What these executive orders mean, obviously very much caught up with the show, the idea, you know, when he was signing off those executive orders, throwing the pens into the crowd, something we don't see with politicians on this side of the pond, certainly.

HUNT: Just you wait, you never know.

FOSTER: But there's lots of entertainment there. Yeah, I know exactly. Well, we've got, you know, I think what's going to be interesting is the German elections coming up where, you know, Elon Musk is very involved. The far right is doing particularly well. That is Europe's biggest economy.

Will something in the German election be reflected from the American election and the type of leader that comes through that? You know, it's what he inspires really in other countries as much as what America will do in relation to those countries.

HUNT: Really, variant can be very interesting to watch. Max Foster always grateful for you, sir. Thanks for being there for us.

All right. Coming up here on CNN this morning, new developments in the burglary at quarterback Joe Burrow's house. Police now reporting a big break in the case.

Plus, take a look at New Orleans. We'll talk about how people in the South are dealing with record snow.

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[05:23:37]

HUNT: All right, 23 minutes past the hour. Here's your "Morning Roundup".

A rare sighting in the South: snow. The historic winter storm brought eight inches of snow to New Orleans. Some people had a little fun with it on Bourbon Street.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who needs Vail Resorts? We can do this to NOLA.

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HUNT: Wow. The winter storm, though, is also causing dangerous conditions on the roads like in Mobile, Alabama, and a lot of it -- a lot of the snow. It's on the ground. It's refreezing because its so cold.

The record breaking snowfall has hit multiple states across the Southeast, and Tuesday's storm stretched across Texas, all the way up to the East Coast. The heaviest snowfall, though, hit the Gulf Coast.

Fire crews in southern California fighting a new blaze overnight sparked by the Santa Ana winds. The Clay Fire now 40 percent contained thanks to those winds dying down a little bit. But the gusts expected to pick back up today. Red flag warnings have been issued through tomorrow.

President Trump pardoning the founder of the dark web site Silk Road. Ross Ulbricht created the site, which federal prosecutors called the, quote, most extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today. Ulbricht was 11 years into serving a life sentence before the president's pardon.

A break in a multi-state investigation into high profile home burglaries targeting professional athletes.

[05:25:02]

Four men have now been arrested in Ohio. The arrests may be tied to the break in at the home of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. According to a criminal complaint, an old LSU shirt and a Bengals hat were found in the suspect's car.

All right. Still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, President Donald Trump throwing TikTok a lifeline. But how long could it last? Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss will join us to discuss how the president is handling the TikTok ban and other sweeping actions in the opening days of his presidency.

Plus, the Department of Homeland security now announcing new guidelines allowing immigration raids in sensitive places.

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TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: We're going to enforce the immigration law. If they're in the country illegally, they have a problem. It's not okay to enter this country illegally.

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