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CNN This Morning

Minnesota Sue Trump Admin. Over "Federal Invasion"; Minnesota and Illinois Sue Over Trump's Immigration Crackdown; Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariff on Countries Trading with Iran; Iran's Security Forces Violently Crackdown on Protesters; Australia's Social Media Ban for Kids Enters Second Month. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired January 13, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much for joining us here on Early Start. I'm Danny Freeman in New York City. CNN This Morning starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Four key issues to President Trump's campaign under the microscope. His immigration crackdown, the state now filing a lawsuit as more federal agents are deployed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has to stop. It just has to stop.

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CORNISH: Inflation. Could the case against the Fed chair backfire for the president?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we were to do an indictment on everybody that misled Congress in a hearing, we'd have to build a couple new federal penitentiaries.

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CORNISH: And his tariffs. Is that the solution to solving the crisis in Iran?

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Diplomacy is always the first option for the president.

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CORNISH: And the ban on transgender athletes for the first time. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on trans girls and girls' sports teams. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ridiculous. We have to fight for our space so that we can compete and have our own thing. This is for women. This is for girls.

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CORNISH: And we're going to begin here, a federal invasion. That's how the State of Minnesota and the Twin Cities are describing President Trump's immigration crackdown in a new lawsuit. They're suing to block thousands more ICE agents from surging into Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D-MN): We don't retreat in Minneapolis. We don't back down in Minnesota. We stand up against bullies. And right now, what we are asking for is an intervention from the court to push back on this unconstitutional conduct, pure and simple.

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CORNISH: Illinois also filed a lawsuit. Both states invoke the 10th Amendment, alleging the Trump administration has commandeered local resources.

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KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: This surge has made us less safe. Thousands of poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the state, of the federal government have rolled into our communities, overwhelmed our local police departments, and law enforcement agencies should be focused on our public safety. But instead, many are dealing with the aftermath of DHS agents' chaos and violence.

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CORNISH: And that chaos and violence played out Monday near the site where Renee Good was killed. Video shows the moment protesters and ICE clashed. One protester pepper sprayed point blank. It can later be heard saying, I need help. In a statement, the DHS assistant secretary said the protesters were threatening officers and impeding the investigation. She went on to say that all officers were able to safely exit the scene.

Joining me now in the group chat, Jasmine Wright, White House correspondent for NOTUS, Chuck Rocha, former senior adviser to Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns, and Ashley Davis, former White House official under President George W. Bush.

I want to turn to you, Jasmine, because if I look at this in the context also of the National Guard lawsuits, where you have states pushing back, saying you can't just activate the guard over crime or that sort of thing, the Trump administration is facing some roadblocks in the court. So, what do you think is the sort of way they're going to approach these blue states pushing back on ICE?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CO-AUTHOR, NOTUS MORNING NEWSLETTER AND WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NOTUS: Well, I think we've seen the administration for the most part kind of go full force into that pushback. Obviously, a few weeks ago, the president removed some of the National Guard and some of those former hotspot cities, including Chicago. That's why I asked. Like, they did pull back when the legal questions were raised. But clearly now they're surging more sources into Minnesota.

We know that the administration feels as though immigration is probably one of their most fundamental issues that they push forward on. They believe that it is popular with the American people. And I would say two things. First is that the reason why there is so much pushback from these Democratic states is because they're all kind of talking to one another about legal strategies. You've heard it from the governors. You've heard it from the attorney generals of these states, trying to formulate what the best way possible is to get the means that they want to when this inevitably goes to the Supreme Court. Secondly --

CORNISH: You said inevitably.

WRIGHT: Inevitably goes to the Supreme Court.

CORNISH: Yes.

WRIGHT: Secondly, though, the fact is that this all is happening in this political moment in which while the public may still believe in the president's overall immigration moment or immigration idea in which they want to deport more people, they are starting to disagree with the tactics. And I think when you see somebody get pepper-sprayed point-blank, it feeds into this narrative that they want to deport more people. They are starting to disagree with the tactics.

[06:05:00]

And I think when you see somebody get pepper-sprayed point-blank, it feeds into this narrative that there is perhaps some sort of federal agent overreach. And so, I think that those are what this administration probably, you know, has to look out for. But fundamentally, they're going to go full force ahead --

CORNISH: All right. Let me bring it over here because there's a little bit of a conversation right now that says some people are calling the demonstrators insurgents that somehow need to be dealt with. You have the Fraternal Order of Police saying we're deeply concerned by the reckless public statements and premature judgments, the rush to condemn law enforcement without a full understanding of the facts, talking about this shooting of Renee Good, but also the idea that ICE is inherently doing something unconstitutional.

How are you guys hearing it in your world, you kind of former security people, but Democrats also, who have to deal with images of people throwing rocks and fireworks and fighting ICE?

CHUCH ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, PRESIDENT, SOLIDARITY STRATEGIES AND FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO BERNIE SANDERS' 2016 AND 2020 CAMPAIGNS: I think what I've been hearing is exactly what Jasmine said. The administration wants us talking about immigration because they don't want us talking about the price of everyday goods, which is affecting people dramatically. What folks don't like are the images they're seeing on their TV. They're all about it. If somebody's come here and they've done something illegal, sure, they should be deported. But killing people in our streets that are U.S. citizens, point-blank pepper spraying, it doesn't stop, and it's happening in more and more cities.

And I think this is the pushback you're seeing with the midterms. I think this is the pushback you saw in elections just four months ago in Virginia.

CORNISH: But isn't it going to be a split screen? You're going to see people throwing rocks in protests if that is the kind of channel you're watching.

ROCHA: I think people in America are OK with somebody throwing a rock. They're not OK with somebody getting shot in the face that was unarmed.

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL, FOUNDING PARTNER, WEST FRONT STRATEGIES AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, after they went towards them with their car. I mean, I get it. But listen, any loss of life, I say, is horrible, so that's what I'll say. But I do think there's a whole other half the country that hate that people are throwing rocks or doing anything against law enforcement.

The biggest statement I've seen that I really, really appreciated and resonated with was actually the police chief in Chicago, who no one would think would be like pro-Trump. All he said was, do not box federal, any type of law enforcement individual into anything that would make them react. Their training is to react. So, protesters, take a step back, don't throw, don't try to drive your car into somebody. Don't try to attack law enforcement officers because you're going to get hurt. And it was actually a shocking, I would love to see it at some point again --

CORNISH: Yes. But this is also following up on something the DHS assistant secretary said, Tricia McLaughlin. She was on NewsNation on Monday. And here is part of an argument from the administration that looks at the protests as coordinated. Here she is.

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TRICIA, MCLAUGHLIN, DHS ASSISTANT SECRETARY: What we've been seeing is a highly coordinated campaign of violence against our law enforcement officers. Just last week alone, there were 10 vehicle rammings. That's a deadly weapon being used against our law enforcement. We've seen a thousand percent increase in assaults against them. So, Chris, why it's really important that we surge law enforcement is so that our law enforcement officers are still able to conduct their operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Did you want to --

DAVIS: No, I was just going to say, this is kind of goes back, I'm having flashbacks of the defund the police. I mean, it's the same kind of rhetoric that happened, you know, and I just don't think that's a winning argument for Democrats. Maybe.

ROCHA: I would totally -- I would totally push back on my good friend Ashley. These guys are thugs. They're masked federal agents that are terrorizing neighborhoods. And I think it's not an equal if, when or that. I haven't seen a protest to do anything except voice friendly resistance. Even the woman in the car, I may not be an expert on foreign policy or know what's going on with the White House every day, but I know about evading the police since I was a teenager. And that woman was pulling away. And I just think the American people have had it up to here with people terrorizing neighborhoods.

CORNISH: Yes, Ashley, that's going to be a question. One thing with the Black Lives Matter movement is there was often a sense of saying, well, the victim did something wrong. They were somehow by definition a criminal. With Renee Good, that's also the attempt here. And it does not seem to be working the same way to say the suburban housewife was a domestic terrorist. And I think that does affect the public view. So, there are some key differences here.

You guys stay with me. We've got a lot more to talk about. Coming up on CNN This Morning, President Trump's solution to Iran. Well, he's starting with tariffs, but it's a gamble on the U.S. relations with China. Plus, former President Bill Clinton called to testify before Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. And the president's own party has concerns about investigating the Fed chair.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Federal Reserve of the United States and the executive branch of the United States get into a pissing contest. We don't need it.

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[06:10:00]

CORNISH: President Trump issues a new warning as Iran continues its crackdown on anti-government protesters. In a Truth Social post, he says the U.S. will issue a 25 percent tariff on countries that do business with Iran, and that could strain relations between the U.S. and China, because China heavily relies on Iranian oil imports. It comes as weeks of nationwide protests have left hundreds dead with communications inside Iran cut off completely. And as the president also floats potential U.S. military action.

[06:15:00] We've got CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Abu Dhabi. Paula, good morning and I want to ask about Iranian officials, whether they've issued a response already.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Audie, they haven't responded specifically to the tariffs that we have heard of. We have heard China responding though, as you mentioned there, China stands to be hit fairly hard by this, being one of the main trading partners with Iran. We've got the statement that says China firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

Now, consider that the China last year exported more than six billion dollars of goods to Iran. There were close to $3 billion of goods imported and experts think about 90 percent of Iran's oil goes to China through different intermediaries. So, this potentially would have a significant impact on both China and Iran.

It's not clear though how quickly this could have an impact on the Iranian regime. The details are fairly thin, we really just have that Truth Social post and of course it also begs the question, how does this help the protesters? This isn't a measure or an option that is going to help the protesters immediately on the ground.

We do know though that the U.S. president is having other discussions about what else can be done and of course, he's looking at the military option. There are concerns with that option, what would be targeted, who would be targeted and would it actually play into the regime's hands as the regime is saying it is foreign interference and what they call foreign terrorists that are causing these protests and of course there is the option of diplomacy. Audie.

CORNISH: That's CNN's Paula Hancocks. We'll be checking in with her today. And after the break on CNN This Morning, the battle over transgender athletes. Today the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case, the justices to watch for. Plus, reclaiming childhood, the movement to have more joyful children and it all begins with less screens. And good morning Pittsburgh, again sorry about your Steelers.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're looking at other people's posts and they're thinking, oh, I want to be like her, or I want to be like him, or how come he has that? And it's just like losing their self-esteem and like changing their whole personality.

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CORNISH: So, that's what some kids are facing. Social media that they say can hurt their self-esteem, even their sense of self. Lawmakers here and around the world are taking action to address the issue. In Australia, for example, kids under 16 facing a new year with no access to social media accounts. It's one of the first moves like this anywhere. Now, the ban's been in place for a little more than a month. Companies like Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and X have already removed thousands of underage accounts.

More places are moving to limit screen time for kids. For instance, here in the U. S. New Jersey banned cell phones in public schools from the first bill to the last. That happened just last week, and the governor, Phil Murphy, called it one of the most important laws he's ever signed.

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GOV. BILL MURPHY (D-NJ): This growing youth mental health crisis did not appear out of thin air. It has only grown worse as smartphones have become more ubiquitous. So, with this legislation, New Jersey is going to set a national standard for protecting our students, their mental wellbeing and their ability to succeed in the classroom.

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CORNISH: Joining me now to discuss Jonathan Haidt, American social psychologist and author of "The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen Filled World." Welcome to CNN This Morning. Thanks for being here.

JONATHAN HAIDT, "THE AMAZING GENERATION: YOUR GUIDE TO FUN AND FREEDOM IN SCREEN-FIELD WORLD" AND AMERICAN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Oh, my pleasure. Thanks so much, Audie.

CORNISH: You actually got a shout out from the New Jersey governor at the recent bill signing, probably because of your first book, which is called "The Anxious Generation." Can you talk about how you see this movement since the book came out? Are these country bands -- do these state bands sort of make a difference?

HAIDT: Well, so the first thing to understand about the movement is that the mothers of the world were at their wits end. When my book came out in March 2024, I had no idea how quickly it would be translated into action because mothers around the world felt their kids being pulled away. And some of these mothers are governors, and others are married to governors or heads of state.

So, there's been really a mom's rebellion. And that's why, if you just suggest the idea like, hey, why don't we raise the age? You don't face a lot of opposition because everyone sees the problem. So, the movement is going amazingly well driven by the passion of parents.

CORNISH: Now, there's also frustration by a lot of students who, like, for instance, in Australia, they're trying to get around the band, they're trying to put in fake ages. You hear some people who are sort of concerned that this is about censorship. And now, you have Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pressuring Australia to lift some restrictions. First, let me just play for you some of these kids from Australia.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's really going to help because people are probably going to like hack into social media accounts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they really wanted youth to be outside, they would make life more livable, life more affordable and life more enjoyable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's almost like all old people have forgotten what it's like to be a teenager.

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[06:25:00]

CORNISH: Jonathan, have you forgotten what it's like to be a teenager?

HAIDT: No, just the opposite. Talk to anybody over 35 or 40, ask them about their fondest childhood memories. No one's going to mention a screen or a video game. Everyone's going to talk about being outside with your friends on a bicycle, being independent. Kids around the world, certainly in the U.S., used to have that.

CORNISH: But did you hear that second student? She said they need to make life more livable, more affordable. I mean, those are kind of real critiques of this. Is there like -- tell -- you're telling us to go touch grass, and maybe there's not a park nearby.

HAIDT: Well, that's right. But so that's what is so much fun about this book, "The Amazing Generation," because as with "The Anxious Generation," it's not just get off your screens. It's, this is about childhood. Do you want a fun, exciting childhood, or do you want to rot on your bed seven hours a day like other kids?

So, in "The Anxious Generation," there are four norms. No smartphone before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, and far more independence and free play in the real world. If kids have that kind of childhood, and a lot of kids are getting it now, they have an amazing childhood.

CORNISH: Independent play is a very big deal. Your new book is actually a graphic novel for pre-teens. I see you sneaking in early. And in it, there's like, I think they're kids, they're fighting wizards who want to sap their energy. What's important here is the rebel code, which I found on page 10. Use technology as a tool. Don't let technology use you. And fill your life with real friendship, freedom, and fun.

What are you hoping, what message do you want kids to take away from this moment? Because the first book was kind of aimed at the parents. This one is aimed at the kids.

HAIDT: Exactly. The first book, "The Anxious Generation," was aimed entirely at parents, teachers, and lawmakers, because we have to change our laws and policies very quickly. The damage to an entire generation of kids is already possibly baked in, or at least it's big. We've got to stop it right away.

But as soon as the book came out, I started hearing from parents saying, is there something I can give to my kid? So, I teamed up with Catherine Price, who just did an amazing job of putting it in ways that are really interesting to kids. What we're hearing, and you see it on the Amazon reviews, is as soon as the book is introduced, kids pick it up, and they read it cover to cover. And they struggle with each other over who gets to read it first.

Catherine did an amazing job of translating it into a book for kids, with all kinds of interesting call-outs and activities and questions to ask your parents. What we're trying to give kids is agency, to say you're not just a passive victim of screens or parental rules. You can actually craft for yourself a fun, exciting childhood, just like your parents and grandparents probably had.

CORNISH: OK. That's Jonathan Haidt. Congratulations on the new book, and thank you for being here.

HAIDT: Thanks so much for having me on.

CORNISH: All right. You can learn more about his book, "The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World."

And straight ahead on CNN This Morning, some in the president's cabinet, they're unhappy with the move to open a criminal investigation into the Fed chair.

Plus, on strike, thousands of nurses in New York City walk off the job. We're going to talk about those demands this morning.

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