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Connect the World

Musk, Ramaswamy Tapped to Lead New Department of Government Efficiency; Trump Picks Fox Host Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary; Trump Picks Mike Huckabee as U.S. Ambassador to Israel; Republicans to Vote on Leadership in House and Senate Today; Trump Arrives in DC for Meeting With Biden, GOP Leaders. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired November 13, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:28]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this is the scene on Capitol Hill in Washington where Republicans in both Houses of Congress are today choosing

key leadership positions. It's 9 a.m. in D.C. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will shortly touch down in the U.S. Capitol for some key meetings,

including one with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Well, it's 6 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching Connect the World. And wherever you are watching, you are more than

welcome.

Also coming up, a Fox News anchor, Elon Musk and Mike Huckabee, key figures in Donald Trump's next government. Details on that coming up.

And Special Counsel Jack Smith, the man who pursued two criminal cases against Donald Trump's plans to resign before the President-elect takes

office.

Well, the stock market in New York will open about 30 minutes from now. Futures indicating a mixed open. 9:30 is the open, of course, 30 minutes

from now, back to New York for that.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returning to his once and future home this hour as he lays the groundwork for his second term. Trump is expected

to touch down in Washington shortly. He will meet with Republican lawmakers and with President Joe Biden to discuss the transition. Melania Trump not

attending.

Trump is taking a break from interviews at Mar-a-Lago, where he has been busy filling more positions. Flying in with Trump is Elon Musk, who will

join the President-elect for some of the meetings. Well, Trump just named Musk and conservative politician and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to his

team. He picked them to lead a new department aimed at trimming the federal budget. And in a surprise move, he has picked Fox News host Pete Hegseth as

Defense Secretary.

Right, let's get you to Washington, where CNN's Stephen Collinson is standing by. We do expect to see a lot more of Donald Trump today. We will

watch his moves, of course. We understand Elon Musk traveling with him, so it seems already crucial to the transition. What do we know about the so-

called Department of Government Efficiency that Trump says he, Elon Musk, will head with Vivek Ramaswamy, Stephen?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, this is what Donald Trump promised he'd do in the campaign trail, and he's setting about doing

what his voters want. Elon Musk is his new super buddy, and he is promising to help Trump gut the size of the federal government.

I think there are real questions, obviously, about the conflicts of interest this involves, since Musk has billions of dollars of contracting

contracts and relationships with the U.S. government. But he is saying that they are going to come in and massively reduce the size of government.

Listen to what Musk said when he was asked a few weeks ago about how this would all work.

(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, TECH MOGUL: Well, I think we can do at least $2 trillion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

MUSK: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $2 trillion.

MUSK: I mean, at the end of the day, you're being taxed. You're being taxed. Your money is being wasted. And the Department of Government

Efficiency is going to fix that.

(APPLAUSE)

MUSK: We're going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook. The future is going to be amazing!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINSON: So he's saying he's going to cut $2 trillion, at least from the budget. The size of the budget is actually about $6.5 trillion. So he would

absolutely paralyze the operations of government. A lot of the money that would be cut would potentially come not just from wasteful programs, but

from the military, from health care, from retirement payments for senior citizens. So you could see this would be very unpopular.

And furthermore, I think there are real questions about how serious this actually is. Does this department actually exist? Is it just outside the

government commission? And Congress actually sets government budgets, not Elon Musk or Donald Trump or the White House or anybody else.

[09:05:11]

ANDERSON: The Department, of course, called DOGE. We know that name from Musk's own crypto coin, of course. Here's how Ramaswamy suggested

theoretically then making government smaller. This was on the Lex Fridman Podcast about a month ago. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVEK RAMASWAMY, U.S. ENTREPRENEUR: I mean, I'll tell you one easy way to do it. This is a little bit -- I'm being a little bit glib here, but I

think it's not crazy, at least as a thought experiment. If your Social Security number ends in an odd number, you're out. If it ends in an even

number, you're in. There's a 50% cut right there.

Of those who remain, if your Social Security number starts in an even number, you're in. And if it starts with an odd number, you're out. Boom.

That's a 75% reduction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Becky --

ANDERSON: Stephen, he admits that the idea is, quote, "a little glib," but let me just go. He and Musk are known for controversial and unorthodox

ideas. What do you think they might actually try and do and be able to do in terms of reducing the government?

COLLINSON: I think that quote you just played there, Becky, gets to the whole point of this. What he's proposing there, even though he said he's

being glib, is basically throwing people off retirement payments who spend their whole life paying into them. And, you know, this is their only source

of retirement funds.

You could see, solutions like that would be exceedingly unpopular. First of all, it's very unlikely they would get through Congress, notwithstanding

the fact that the Republicans hold majorities, presumably in both Houses if they go ahead and get their win in the House confirmed, it would be a very

narrow majority. I don't see many lawmakers lining up to deprive people of their retirement payments. That would be hugely unpopular.

And my suspicion is that this commission is going to come up with a lot of ideas for cutting the government, which sound very good, but would involve

very painful choices for Donald Trump. And when he finds out exactly what this involves, I don't think he's necessarily going to go ahead and endorse

them.

ANDERSON: OK, look, that is the Vivek and Elon show, as we know it to have been loosely thought through to date. Let's park that for a moment and

let's discuss the other high-profile nominee and that I started the show with. That's Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth as the

Secretary of Defense.

First of all, I want you and our viewers to get a little taste of his opinions about the military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, FOX NEWS HOST: It's one thing to have DEI inside your corporation or inside your university. It's a whole another 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 is less equipped to fight the wars it needs to fight.

I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made

fighting more complicated. We've all served with women and they're great. It's just our institutions don't have to incentivize that in places where

traditionally -- not traditionally over human history, men in those positions are more capable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's be clear. His opinions are going to resonate with some people out there and with others, they will be offensive.

Stephen, Hegseth still has to be confirmed by the Senate, which is voting on a leader itself later this hour. Incidentally, how likely is the

Republican held Senate to confirm a candidate with no global and practical experience? And let's be quite clear about this, to be the head of the most

powerful military in the world.

COLLINSON: Well, there are already concerns up on Capitol Hill about Hegseth's lack of experience, notwithstanding his service in the military

in Afghanistan and Iraq. As you point out, he's got no international security experience whatsoever. The Republicans will have 53 seats in the

Senate, so that gives them a little bit of leeway.

I think his remarks on women -- women serving in the military could be a problem for several women senators. More traditional Republican national

security conservatives might find his appointment troubling. But this is why Donald Trump was talking earlier this week about bypassing the

constitutional role of the Senate and Congress in confirming nominees.

[09:10:00]

So even if Hegseth doesn't make it through the hearings and the vote on the defense secretary post, it's possible that Trump could try to install him

anyway. But the fact this guy has been on Fox News for years and has presumably, you know, weeks and weeks of tape of controversial statements,

I think there's a good chance that the momentum towards his confirmation will start to ebb over the weeks ahead.

ANDERSON: Stephen, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. That is the top of the show then and three key appointments. Israeli officials

welcoming Donald Trump's announcement that he will make Mike Huckabee his ambassador to Israel. Huckabee just made headlines when he said on Israeli

radio that it is possible the U.S. would back the Israeli government if it tried to annex the West Bank. Now, Huckabee has been a staunch defender of

Israel throughout his career. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It's Judea and Samaria.

There's no such thing as a settlement. They're communities, they're neighborhoods, they're cities. There's no such thing as an occupation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Kylie Atwood is following this part of the story for us from Washington. Another key appointment here, particularly given the

current conflict, the three conflicts, in fact, that Israel arguably is involved in, that of Gaza and Lebanon and then the wider crisis, if you

will, with Iran, which could, of course, widen Israel or many in Israel, obviously very pleased with the Huckabee pick. Is it clear how this is

going to play out with Palestinians and their supporters at this point?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's not clear right now. I mean, I think the former Arkansas Governor's comments are very

instructive in the sense that they give us a sense that he, as Trump's ambassador to Israel, is very likely to favor building up and maintaining

that relationship with the Israelis, not necessarily working on a relationship with the Palestinians, but we'll have to watch and see really

how that plays out.

As you said, his comments in that Israeli radio interview were incredibly noteworthy because he firmly kept the door open to the incoming Trump

administration, backing, supporting Israel, annexing the West Bank. Obviously, Israel has occupied the West Bank for decades now, has had

settlements there. But the expansion of those settlements is illegal under international law. And just as a bit of a compare-contrast, the Biden

administration has been firmly opposed to those settlements expanding at all while it has been in office.

And now it appears that there is likely to be a shift in policy. Of course, as Huckabee said in that interview, it's going to be dependent on Trump and

what he decides to enact in terms of policies. But also insightful and, you know, giving us a sense of how he feels about the Palestinian people were

comments that he made in 2008. He was running a campaign for president at the time, and he said that there's no such thing as a Palestinian. There

are Arabs and Persians. But he said the term Palestinian is a political tool to try and take land away from the Israelis.

So clearly, his perspective there is something that many far right Israelis are going to welcome, as you said. But we'll have to watch and see how that

plays out on the ground, particularly at this moment in time, Becky, when, as you mentioned, there are these ongoing conflicts and there have been

tens of thousands of Palestinians, innocent Palestinians who have been killed in the in the Gaza war. And, of course, Lebanese -- innocent

Lebanese who have been killed in that conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

So this is not only a bit different than it was when he was making those comments, but those are realities that an administration, no matter what

type of administration, but, of course, the incoming Trump administration is going to have to grapple with as they develop their policy towards

Israel and the Palestinians and Lebanon.

ANDERSON: Good to have you a second day as we discuss some of these appointments certainly being announced, some, of course, to be confirmed if

indeed they end up needing to be confirmed through Congress. Kylie Atwood on the story for you. Thank you.

Republicans in both Houses of Congress are today choosing key leadership positions in the House of Representatives, the lower House. They are

expected to stick with Mike Johnson for the top job of speaker.

[09:15:06]

Senate Republicans holding leadership contests as well. They need to replace 82-year-old Mitch McConnell, who is stepping aside as the chamber's

party leader. Those elections set to begin just minutes from now. CNN's Lauren Fox on standby for that. And she joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Alayna Treene outside the Hyatt Hotel in Washington, where House Republicans are holding a pre-election candidate forum.

Let's start with you, Alayna. You're there in front of the Hyatt where the Trump-Johnson meeting, as I understand it, will happen. We expect Donald

Trump any moment. Is it clear what his message to congressional Republicans will be today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: From my conversations, yes, it is. Essentially, Donald Trump is planning to take a victory lap here in

Washington, D.C., when he meets with House Republicans. And you're right, he's expected to land. His plane is expected to land here any moment now,

and then he'll head over.

But I'm told really that he wants to remind Republicans that he believes that he has a mandate, that because he won the popular vote that he has a

mandate to carry out his agenda, and that he wants them to fall in line with that agenda as well. And I'm also told he's expected to walk them

through some of the decisions that he made for his Cabinet post and other top levels of his second term. But also, again, going back to the fact that

he wants them to be unified and he wants to be able to hit the ground running once he is sworn in on January 20th.

Now, one interesting thing as well is that one name we keep hearing in relation to Donald Trump who has been appearing with Donald Trump is the

billionaire, you know, Elon Musk. Now, he has been at Mar-a-Lago repeatedly over the last week or so ever since Donald Trump won the election. But I'm

told that he's actually going to be traveling or he is traveling with Donald Trump currently. He is currently flying with him to D.C. on Donald

Trump's private plane. And then he will be accompanying him to this meeting that is supposed to take place behind me soon.

I'm also told that he's not currently expected to travel with Donald Trump to the White House later today when the former president meets with

President Joe Biden.

Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. And just a reminder to our viewers, 218 seats, of course, to control the House. Republicans at 216. As we speak, Democrats

at 207. So no clear outright winner as of yet.

Lauren, the Senate voting on leadership this hour and the House later today. How is Trump's presence in D.C. affecting these votes?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really depends who you ask, Becky. Rick Scott, who is vying for this slot, he is trying to

make a very big deal of the fact that he is very close to the incoming President, that he's very close with Maga World. He's got a late surge of

endorsements. But it is really still a wide-open race. And many Republicans that I spoke with last night view this as a private decision for the

Republican conference to make. Every single member who's voting today in the old Senate chamber, they're going to vote by secret ballot. That means

no one, not their colleagues, not their staff, not even Donald Trump, is going to know who they supported in today's leadership election.

And a lot of members are keeping their powder dry. Maybe they know who they're voting for, but they are not saying so publicly, knowing that that

is their right as a senator to have this vote in a private room, in a private session. And no one will know who they supported.

Now, we just saw a couple of minutes ago Mitch McConnell, who has held this post for 18 years, going into the old Senate chamber where the vote will

happen today to replace him. The way that this is all going to work is senators are going to have nominating speeches. The three men who are vying

for this role. Then they will each have an opportunity to plead their case with their colleagues. Then the vote will take place.

Now, it could take several minutes, even several hours for this to conclude. That's because if no one gets a majority of the votes and the

special number today is 27, then the lowest vote getter will drop off and they will do it again. They will do that until they have, someone has

gotten 27 votes.

So a really important day today on Capitol Hill, a really important day for the Republican Senate majority that will start in January.

Becky.

ANDERSON: Fascinating times. Thank you, Lauren. To both of our correspondents, many thanks.

You're watching Connect the World. Still ahead, an announcement on future policy towards Israel from the Biden administration. Why aid groups are not

happy about the U.S. decision. More on that is after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:58]

ANDERSON: Well, no change in U.S. policies towards Israel. That announcement in Washington on Tuesday, coming at the end of the Biden

administration's 30-day deadline for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential reduction in military aid. Jeremy

Diamond connecting us from Jerusalem today.

This news coming late-ish on Tuesday. What is the reaction to this news where you are?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question that Israeli officials were concerned about this letter. They were nervous that

it could result in changes to U.S. policy. And clearly they are now relieved that it has not.

But the question now is why? Why did the United States put out this letter and then ultimately choose not, at least for now, to make any changes to

its policy, despite the fact that numerous aid organizations, including very reputable ones such as Oxfam, Save the Children, Mercy Corps are

saying that not only has the situation in Gaza not improved, but that it has actually gotten worse since the Biden administration put out this

letter.

But the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, this morning reacting quite differently, saying that he believes that the intent of this letter was to

inject a, quote, "sense of urgency" with Israel to take steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. He said of the 15 points that the Biden

administration raised and urged Israel to take action on, that Israel has begun to make progress at least on at least 12 of those 15 steps.

That language, though, about, you know, taking early action and beginning to make progress on those steps certainly doesn't indicate that Israel has

actually fulfilled or met the bar for those steps. And certainly when you look at the number of trucks of aid that the United States has asked Israel

to allow into Gaza, 350 aid plus commercial trucks, Israel is nowhere close to that number, sitting at about 75 trucks of aid per day and still not

allowing any commercial trucks to enter the Gaza Strip.

The Secretary of State did make clear that there are some outstanding issues still, though, including the fact that he would like to see extended

pauses in fighting to allow that aid to be distributed inside of Gaza. And also saying that action needs to be taken against these criminal gangs that

have been looting aid trucks and preventing the distribution of trucks, including some 900 trucks were sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom

crossing and simply cannot move due to the threats of these looters. So clearly issues persist. The humanitarian situation in Gaza certainly not

improving with any speed, but the United States for now saying no changes in policy.

ANDERSON: Thank you, Jeremy. I want to get back to Joint Base Andrews, where Donald Trump's plane has just touched down. He -- this is his first

trip to Washington since his resounding election victory last Tuesday, just a week or so ago.

[09:25:14]

CNN Senior White House Producer Betsy Klein looking at what is an extremely important trip. Tell us what we can expect on this Washington stop. There

are a number of key meetings on Trump's agenda.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's exactly right, Becky. And first he will leave Andrews Air Force Base just moments from now, and

he will go meet with House Republicans, a really key meeting for him to lay out some of his legislative priorities in the coming months. But then he

will head to the White House for this very critical meeting with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office expected about an hour and a half from now.

And it is notable because this is a meeting that Trump himself refused Biden back in 2020 when he was baselessly contesting the results of that

election. So now it's really a moment for them to put their differences aside and a moment for Biden to show the country and the world that there

will be a peaceful transfer of power in January.

Now, of course, this comes after Biden repeatedly cast Trump as a threat to democracy on the campaign trail. And we're also learning that privately

told people around him that he thinks Trump is, and I'm quoting here, "an asshole."

But really, the tone today is likely to be courteous. One senior administration official telling CNN everyone is going to be polite, and

that includes the White House staff who are still reeling from last Tuesday's loss.

And Biden is expected to share his views on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues, according to his national security adviser, Jake

Sullivan. He said that he will explain to Trump, quote, "how he sees things, where they stand, and talk to President Trump about how President

Trump is thinking about taking on these issues when he takes office."

Now, we do expect him to make a significant push for continued aid to Ukraine, even as Trump himself has cast doubt for support in the future of

the war-torn country. And the Biden administration says it will spend the remainder of the aid allocated by Congress by the end of his term in

January. But Biden will make a push for that to continue.

And really notably, there is going to be press coverage of the beginning of this meeting, what we call in Washington a pool spray. So we are likely to

see them together. We'll be watching very closely how they're engaging and interacting and what they both have to say.

Becky.

ANDERSON: So as we understand it, and they are wheels down now, this is Donald Trump with at least Elon Musk in tow today. No Melania, as I

understand it. What do we know about the First Lady-elect's plans about where she will live in the next Trump White House?

KLEIN: Well, Melania Trump spent the first four years of her term showing her willingness to buck tradition. And she is laying an early marker here

that this is no different. And particularly starting today, as she is skipping that meeting with First Lady Jill Biden, that Biden extended the

invitation as their husbands meet in the Oval Office.

Melania Trump has confirmed she will not be present for that. Sources citing a prior commitment related to her book. But we are also learning, as

you mentioned, that she is not likely to live in Washington full time when the Trumps take office in January.

She is more likely to split her time between New York City, where Barron is in college, and Palm Beach, of course, the home of Mar-a-Lago club. But we

do expect her to be present for some of these big events. She will have a platform. She will have her own priorities.

And one thing she said recently, she told Fox News that this time is different. And different because she has the experience of having been

there for four years. She knows what to expect. And I think a big question here is how she plans to leverage that experience. Is she going to bolster

her staff? Is she going to refocus that the best platform? And will she take up another cause entirely?

ANDERSON: But I'm really pleased that you didn't take my ill phrased question about what Melania Trump's plans are for living at the White

House. But I didn't mean to ask you whether we knew which room she would be in when she was there. And you deftly swerved that, as I said, ill phrased

question.

Thank you for that. And as we look at Trump's plane wheels down now on the tarmac, and we anticipate this White House meeting that you have described

today, the difference between now and, what, four years ago is, of course, that there was no meeting with the outgoing Donald Trump back then when Joe

Biden was coming into office. Any idea how tense this meeting might be? Have any of the sources or teams that you've spoken to described what they

expect the atmospherics to be?

[09:30:20]

KLEIN: Well, on its surface, certainly, I think it might feel a little awkward for both of them. But, you know, President Biden did speak to

President Trump last week, congratulated him on his victory. And sources described a very warm call. And Biden, I think, has sort of studied Trump

and understands that the way to have a cordial relationship with him is through flattery. So I certainly expect some of that on display here.

And I think they both understand that there is a need to be professional. Again, as I mentioned, a need to show the country and the world that there

is going to be a peaceful transfer of power, obviously, something that Trump did not afford Biden four years ago.

And, you know, there was there were these questions about the Trump team limiting the access to the Biden team of the key briefings and meetings

that they needed to have during the transition to hit the ground running on day one. And one thing that's interesting now is that the Biden

administration is willing and has offered those meetings, but they have told us that the Trump team has yet to sign a pair of key agreements to

unlock the access to that.

And that is, we are told from sources, because of some hang ups over an ethics agreement that Trump has expressed some concern about, among other

issues. And really an interesting space here to watch, as we do expect President Biden and his aides to push Trump to get the ball rolling so they

can take the mantle on day one and be ready and fully briefed on the full range of very complicated national security issues going forward.

ANDERSON: Bringing Katelyn Polantz at this point, as we see the steps just being delivered up to Trump's plane there, which looks as if it said a new

paint job is certainly looking extremely smart. And this is a triumphant return, Katelyn, to -- thank you, Betsy -- triumphant return for Donald

Trump, of course, to Washington.

And it's likely we will see him milking that today, and certainly with the House Republicans that he is meeting and with those senators. And it's been

an interesting week. You and I were talking about the prospect for any of these legal cases that have been swirling around Donald Trump now for

months and months, how those are likely to land now that he is the president-elect.

As we wait for that door to open and for Donald Trump to come out of his plane now for the first time in Washington since he won the election that

was held last Tuesday. Just describe who this is arriving in Washington, as it were.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: I mean, this is a person, at least from my perspective as a legal reporter, who has been a

criminal defendant and has repeatedly in the course of facing the various criminal cases over the past year, he has said over and over again, he

believes it is Joe Biden, the current president, who is the architect beyond of those things.

Now, that is not the facts as we know them. We know that prosecutors individually in New York state, in Georgia, a special counsel's office that

has some separation from the leadership of the Biden administration, that they brought those cases through grand juries. But Trump has really placed

himself on the campaign trail, appearing for cameras out in court every day in criminal trial in New York, saying this is the Biden administration

coming after me. This is Joe Biden. These two men were both investigated by special counsels about how they handled classified documents after they

were in positions at the top of the executive branch.

Joe Biden previously as vice president, Donald Trump as president. Biden was not charged because he gave those documents back. He was forthcoming

about what had happened with them as far as what his recollection was. Whereas Trump, what we knew from his classified documents case, he loaded

up the plane, departing from the White House on January 20th, 2017, with documents that were classified that he believed he could take for his own

personal reasons. He said that publicly. It has been well documented in the criminal case. He was criminally charged for that, and that case was

dismissed for other reasons, about Justice Department powers.

And so this is an extraordinary situation where Trump has positioned himself as a -- as an opponent -- a direct opponent of Joe Biden, who has

been under fire in criminal courts. But at the bottom of this, Becky, there is such a difference between how these two men handled national security

issues for this country and the responsibilities that they had as president.

[09:35:32]

ANDERSON: And Special Counsel Jack Smith in developing news here on CNN today, looking at stepping down before Donald Trump takes office and is

discussing how to end the prosecutions.

Katelyn, it's good to have you. And viewers, if you are just joining us, Donald Trump has touched down near Washington for the first time since he

won what he and his allies call a landslide. It was certainly a big victory.

But to discuss the pictures that we are seeing from Joint Base Andrews, we have on our panel Katelyn -- Katelyn Polantz, still with us, Senior White

House Producer; Betsy Klein, CNN's Political Analyst and Historian, Leah Wright Rigueur.

And it's good to have you. And as we keep an eye on these pictures, Leah, let me ask you, how important is this day for the President-elect and what

message will he be bringing to Washington?

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST & HISTORIAN: So it's a huge day for President-elect Trump. And I think it is huge --

ANDERSON: Let's stop for a moment -- hold on. This is, of course, Donald Trump. Carry on.

WRIGHT RIGUEUR: Yes. So this is a huge day for President Trump -- President-elect Trump on multiple levels. On the first level, it is

essentially his retribution tour. He is back. He has -- you know, part of his message has been about how he needs to be back in the White House, how

he needs to be in the center of power, that he will -- that he was wronged. You know, we call him the grievance president, in part because he ran a

campaign that was about grievance and about being wronged.

And so this is his moment, essentially, to gloat. He is back in Washington, D.C. He is back here on very radically different terms. And he's certainly

going to use this as an opportunity to remind his supporters and, I think, also those who opposed him that this is -- you know, this is going to be

his city again.

It's very, very different from four years ago, when, you know, the President -- the former President, now President-elect, was thinking about

what are the best ways to essentially not leave the White House despite having lost to Joe Biden.

So the other thing I think that is really important for us to keep in mind is that he is doing this from -- you know, he is back in Washington under

relatively historic circumstances. Only one other president has done what Donald Trump has done. That's Grover Cleveland, and that was a long time

ago.

And so I think there are going to be a lot of people who are thinking, what does this mean? What does this mean going forward for the future? What does

it mean for the Democratic Party? And, really, what does it mean for the country as a whole? But here we are, back four years ago, that rematch, and

Donald Trump has come out triumphant. And that's what's going to be on people's minds today, but certainly it's going to be part of the message

that he sends, both in his public remarks, his remarks to legislators, and with his conversation with Joe Biden.

ANDERSON: And, Betsy, let's just round this out. What do you expect the key takeaways to be from what is this first trip into Washington since the

election? A very controlled Donald Trump, not even acknowledging those on the tarmac until he got to the bottom there of the steps. What do you

expect the key takeouts to be?

KLEIN: Yeah, well, I just want to point out one thing that really struck me as we were watching President-elect Trump descend the steps, and that is

just simply the fact that he is at Joint Base Andrews. He has been a private citizen for the last four years, and when he's traveled to

Washington, he's had to travel to Reagan National Airport, as opposed to Joint Base Andrews, which is where Air Force One, Air Force Two, all of the

other official planes take off from. So, really notable here that that is being extended to him.

He is now the President-elect, and he is preparing now to assume the reins of the U.S. government in just about 68, 67 days from now. So, I think he

is really setting the tone. He's -- we are starting to see the officials that he is naming to his team.

But we do expect today to be a relatively cordial day, as he takes a victory lap first with those House Republicans, but then settles into that

meeting with President Biden. And on the White House side, we expect aides and the president himself to be quite professional, courteous, and really

set aside a lot of this quite inflammatory rhetoric we saw on the campaign trail over the last two years or so.

[09:40:14]

ANDERSON: It's good to have you all. Thank you very much indeed. Busy times in Washington. Busy times for what is this global news cycle. Thank you.

Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. We will take a very short break. You're watching Connect the World. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Time is just before quarter to 7:00 in the evening here. You're watching Connect the

World.

Let's get you a quick look at the U.S. markets. I promise you those at the top of the hour. And this is the state of play. A little better than the

futures were indicating, but only just a pretty flat to slightly higher open.

And you are looking at live pictures. Are we? What are we looking at now? Oh, from Capitol Hill, indeed, and Washington, D.C., where Republican

senators gathering behind closed doors to vote on who will replace longtime leader Mitch McConnell and lead their new majority next year.

They've got a lot more to come 15 minutes from now, but World Sport is just before that. Amanda Davies will have that for you. She's got the very

latest from the year's final tennis event in Italy. Carlos Alcaraz headlining the early action there. As promised, I'll be back with more

Connect the World in 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORT)

[09:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

END