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Erin Burnett Outfront
Tulsi Gabbard On Government Watchlist This Year; Moms of Russians Soldiers Speak; I'm Lovin' It? Aired 7-8p ET
Aired November 22, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:27]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, Trump's pick for director of national intelligence was on a government watch list. Why? This as "The Washington Post" reports Trump plans to fire special counsel Jack Smith's entire team.
And tonight, first OUTFRONT, the mothers of Russian soldiers speaking out as Putin threatens to launch more of his newest missiles, hypersonic ones.
And McDonald's is about to debut a new value menu after customers have been revolting over high prices. So what are the actual savings? This is pretty fascinating.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news on two fronts right now, CNN learning that Trump's pick for director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was on a government watch list this year as "The Washington Post" reports, the Trump plans to fire his entire team or the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith.
Well, let's start first with Gabbard, because sources are telling CNN that Gabbard was placed on the list because of her overseas travel pattern and foreign connections. Now, we don't yet know where Gabbard traveled or who she met with to prompt the alert, but we do know she has a history of siding with America's enemies.
I mean, so much so that Russian state television celebrated when Trump picked her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLGA SKABEEVA, RUSSIAN TV HOST (through translator): She from day one clarified the reasons for Russia's special operation in Ukraine, criticizing the actions of the Biden administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, Gabbard has been clear where she stands on Russia's war with Ukraine and the fact that she has pushed Russian propaganda went so far as to even prompt Senator Mitt Romney to come out on Twitter and say, quote, her treasonous lies may well cost lives.
And she didn't only publicly side with Russia, she also broke with U.S. intelligence over Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Do you think Assad is our enemy?
TULSI GABBARD, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Assad is not the enemy of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, Gabbard also met secretly with Assad, and after U.S. intelligence determined that Bashar al Assad's regime was responsible for a chemical weapons attack in which dozens of people were killed in 2017, she had this exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: You say you have doubts about these generals providing that kind of proof to the president?
GABBARD: Yes, I'm skeptical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, all of that prompted Nikki Haley, the Republican, to issue this warning just days ago about Gabbard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer. DNI has to analyze real threats. Are we comfortable with someone like that at the top of our national intelligence agencies?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, for her part, Gabbard says she was placed on this government list because she spoke out against Kamala Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABBARD: My own government has placed me on a secret terror watch list targeting me as a potential domestic terror threat. Why? Political retaliation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, that saying it's about political retaliation could be part of why Trump has pushed her nomination, despite her history because that sort of speaks to the way he sees things. He wants that retaliation and, of course, retaliation is clearly what Trump's move at the DOJ is about tonight. He's planning to fire the entire team that had prosecuted him. And that may sound like exactly what you would expect.
Of course, Jack Smith has made it clear he's going to be leaving, right. So, all that makes sense because they were investigating Trump's actions.
But it is important to give this layer to it. And that is, as "The Washington Post" reports, that team includes career attorneys and those career attorneys are typically protected from a situation such as this, a political retribution situation. They usually career workers would not be impacted.
Zach Cohen broke so much of these stories tonight, joins us now from Washington.
So, Zach, let's just start with Tulsi Gabbard. What more are you learning about how she ended up on this? This watch list -- this TSA sort of watch list.
ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY & JUSTICE REPORTER: Yeah. Aaron, our source is making clear that she was added to this list not because of political retribution, but because she triggered a government algorithm that essentially looks at things like overseas travel and an individuals foreign contacts, and matches that up with a database of U.S. intelligence and also other data that's compiled by government agencies to identify potential threats and potential individuals who and passengers who need additional screening before they're allowed to board a flight.
And Tulsi Gabbard -- Tulsi Gabbard met that criteria based on what this algorithm picked up about both her overseas travel pattern and those foreign connections, our sources are telling us.
[19:05:02]
And look, we're told that Tulsi Gabbard was quickly removed from this list once she publicly claimed that she was added to some sort of a secret government terror watch list, which is not what this is. But still, she was removed once officials recognized who she was and were able to look into it further.
But still, Tulsi Gabbard is facing a lot of questions. As you pointed out in the intro about her foreign connections and about her foreign travel. Frankly, that trip to Syria in 2017 to meet with the dictator Bashar al-Assad has raised a lot of questions and concerns, even amongst Republicans like Nikki Haley and Republicans on the Hill that will have to vote for her confirmation.
And so, it's not really about the fact that Tulsi Gabbard was simply added to this list. It's that she was added to this list because there were legitimate criteria that she met based on how this program works and also that her explanation, her claims about why she was added, the political retribution part of this are simply not in line with what our sources have described as legitimate security protocol.
So all this is in normal circumstances would be something that the FBI and senators who were going to confirm the top intelligence official in the country would want to know more about. We know there's not a formal FBI background check process happening, though for Gabbard or for Trump's other cabinet nominees. So it'll be interesting to see if this raises more questions during her confirmation process.
BURNETT: Absolutely.
All right, Zach, thank you very much. And breaking that news tonight.
I want to go OUTFRONT now to the Democratic Congressman Jason Crow because he sits on the House Intelligence Committee.
And I appreciate your time, sir. So can you just when you heard this, Trump's pick for DNI was on this watch list. And you hear Zach reporting the details and what the algorithm picked up the matching with the national security information that they would have had.
What's your reaction?
REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): I wasn't surprised at all, Erin. I've had questions since the very first moment I heard that Tulsi Gabbard was nominated because she has a long history of affinity towards autocrats and dictators, the traveling to Syria, to making pro-Putin and pro- Syrian propaganda videos and interviews, some very disturbing conduct over the last couple of years. So it didn't surprise me at all.
And, frankly, this is why you vet people, right? You know, Donald Trump has a history of just doing things impulsively. And some people say they like it, right? They look at his rallies and they say, oh, he speaks his mind. He's authentic.
You know, he just acts by his gut and that might -- might make for a good political rally. But when you're talking about the national security of the United States and the person who is supposed to be in charge of our entire intelligence community, it's very dangerous.
BURNETT: And also, I guess there's -- there's questions about how much of this, you know, Putin -- I'm sorry, Mitt Romney, when talking about her comments about Putin, had said of her, your treasonous lies may well cost lives.
The question is, I suppose, where -- where some of those propaganda talking points came from. I mean, when you look at her right now, do you think that she would actively and knowingly betray the United States as DNI?
CROW: Well, I don't know. We don't know. Nobody knows, which is why we have to go through a vetting process.
Which is why the Senate exists. They have to do their job. They have to do their research. They have to hold hearings. You know, there is a process here, and the process is not just for the sake of process.
You know, I get it, people around the country, in Colorado, in my district, they're like, well, we want to, you know, cut back on government inefficiency. I want to do the same. But when there are really important national security things at risk,
like the director of national intelligence that oversees all of our intelligence officers, the security of our troops, the security of our satellite systems, of our financial institutions. We have to go through that process.
And it just was not done by Donald Trump. And nobody should be surprised by that. So we have to go through it now.
BURNETT: I want to ask you also, Congressman, here tonight since I've got you in this conversation, "The Washington Post" is reporting that Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith.
Now, Jack Smith expected to go. He was leaving. He was right that -- that's the way that would go because -- but this includes a full team many of whom are career Department of Justice employees. What's your reaction to this news tonight?
CROW: Well, we have to look at what's happening here, the overall pattern of conduct of Donald Trump and almost all of his nominations now, not all of them, because there are actually some -- some experienced competent folks that he's nominated.
But, you know, 80 plus percent of his nominees fall into one of several categories, either they are people that he is appointing to destroy and dismantle agencies that are -- that are doing important government functions to keep Americans safe, or they are cronies or political donors who he is appointing to repay political favors. They can line their own pockets and make money.
Or they are people -- they are loyalists, they are people that are being appointed to weaponize government agencies to exact vengeance and retribution against his opponents. So almost all of the nominees, again, not everyone, but most of them fall into one of those three categories.
[19:10:03]
So we shouldn't be surprised that in particular, he's looking at the Department of Justice. He's taking special interests in the intelligence agencies, the FBI, the military, and the DOJ. Those are the four that Trump himself is showing particular interest in because he has he has bent on retribution here.
BURNETT: So may I ask you, just because while you and I were speaking, there was just one more development. And that is Trump has just posted that he's going to pick Russell Vought and if anyone's not familiar with that name, it is important because Russell Vought is one of the main architects of Project 2025, which, you know, Trump has disavowed. But Russell Vought is one of the main architects of it, and he has been picked by Trump to head the Office of Management and Budget.
Congressman, what do you make of that?
CROW: Well, first of all, you know, I remember this past summer when he talked about 2025, when J.D. Vance talked about Project 2025. They ran on all the elements of Project 2025 during the campaign. And then when it became politically unpopular, he distanced himself from it. So now he's coming back to it. Now that he's in power.
The position of director of OMB, the Office of Management and Budget is actually a very powerful agency that not a lot of folks around the country pay attention to, you know, you don't hear a lot about it, but it touches on all aspects of government, has a lot of control on budgeting, on management of agencies.
So he is putting the architect of Project 2025 in a central position to enact the agenda of Project 2025, and that's everything from federal abortion bans to weaponizing the military for his culture wars. And, you know, gutting Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, all the things that are explicit in that program are articulated by Mr. Vought. And he wants him in a key role to effectuate it.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Congressman Crow. I appreciate your time on this Friday night.
And let's go straight now to Ryan Goodman and Juliette Kayyem.
Ryan is former special counsel at the Department of Defense. Juliette Kayyem, of course, former assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Juliette, can we just start with this the news on Tulsi Gabbard, and just to explain more? Because the reporting, right, is that she's on this list. It's a TSA watch list. This Quiet Skies program, as Gabe was talking about. What more can you tell us about the TSA Quiet Sky program and what it would take to end up on that list.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So I want to be clear. It's not a terrorism program. So there's lots and lots of criteria that are put into systems to collect information about travel. And one of them is called Quiet Skies. Why is that? Because there's a lot of things that are nefarious that fall far short of terrorism.
So the criteria are things like where are you traveling? When did you pay for a ticket? How often are you traveling, where to and when are you coming back? And then and then there's randomness. There's other features.
I say that because Tulsi Gabbard forget that she was on the list. She was doing enough of the things to raise alerts about what her travel is because we don't really know what her travel has been as a private citizen.
BURNETT: We don't actually know what it was that triggered it, right.
KAYYEM: Yeah, yeah. Exactly, so just basically -- so the question is, is what are -- what was she doing to get on this list, right. She says it's terrorism -- it's not terrorism. And secondly, for the head of DNI, I just have to say, like why is
this even close? Like this is one of the things that we have to just sort of keep our -- our focus on which figure out, oh, did they have this communication with the Russians or does she like, you know, the Syrians? It's just -- there's so much stuff about her that that it's -- like it shouldn't be this close.
And that is what I think this Quiet Skies story is about, is that here's another piece of her activities, how and where she travels, that we don't know anything about.
BURNETT: So, Ryan, you worked at DOD and you teach about watch lists specifically at NYU. So, here's -- the context is, you know, when Juliet mentioned Syria, the Syria visits with Assad, that we know about were 2017. She was added to the list this year is the reporting and the understanding when she talked about it in September. So do you think something just recently happened that would have prompted this?
RYAN GOODMAN, JUST SECURITY CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: It does sound as though it would be more recent activity, more recent travel than something that happened way back in 2017, that that could be a data point. But the interesting part of this is the people who know this are inside the U.S. government.
And the only way in which we would be able to find this out for Congress's purposes is through a background check. It kind of cries out for an FBI background check, the idea that the Trump transition team is hiring private companies to do background checks, they're never going to be able to find out what were the reasons that the alerts went off for the algorithm to identify her as a risk.
BURNETT: And hiring those private companies, ostensibly because they don't -- there's a lack of trust in the FBI, right? Institutions that exist.
[19:15:01]
I mean, so, Juliette, Gabbard has talked about this on various news shows, as you referred to it. She talked to it, about it inaccurately as a terror watch list. She actually brought it up in September.
Here she is here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABBARD: The Harris-Biden administration have added me to a secret domestic terror watch list the very day after Kamala Harris was endorsed by Joe Biden and I was on TV and warning the American people about what I saw as the dangers of a Kamala Harris presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Sources obviously flatly denied that this had anything to do with Harris and Biden.
You know, but what stands out to you about this, Juliette? KAYYEM: Yeah, I mean, she's just lying because the reason timing is
that if its true that that she was put on a list because of something she said that she fly internationally between the -- the day before and when she's on CNN? So that is just a flat out lie.
I just, I just every once in a while, it's just worth saying that direct word. And so I think, you know, part of this is the persecution of the cabinet members. They like that persona about them. They're very, very sensitive one would say, you know, just sort of weak in that sense.
They can't handle criticism. So she's lashing out against the -- against the agency. She can solve this, right? If she feels a victim, she can solve this. Which where did she travel to with whom? And the most important thing is, who's paying for these trips that's always --
BURNETT: Right, and that's crucial as well.
All right, Ryan, before we go, the other breaking news from "The Washington Post", and that is that Trump's plan to fire the entire team that worked with Jack Smith, which would include a lot of career attorneys as well, and Pam Bondi is going to be ostensibly approved and will be the attorney general overseeing that. What's your reaction to the decision to fire the whole team?
GOODMAN: It's extraordinary on so many levels. First, these are civil servants who have legal protections. They're probably include people who did not have any choice but to work with the team.
BURNETT: Right, get assigned. And this is your job and you're doing research.
GOODMAN: Yeah, and they might be some of the best in the country. So to fire those people categorically who have protections, which also means that it would be probably illegal firings. And a huge part of the Justice Department and Pam Bondi will be caught up in a huge amount of employment litigation over all of their claims were they to go down that path.
So it's just very destructive. It smacks of political retribution. Even the idea that he's announcing this, or its being reported that this is what he wants to do now before any kind of investigation into individuals --
BURNETT: Right.
GOODMAN: -- is another reason in which they'll have very strong legal claims were they to try to do this.
BURNETT: Right. And, of course, as you point out, at the very least, incredibly a waste of time, use of time for someone like Pam Bondi to come in have to be dealing with all that when she comes in.
All right, Ryan, thank you very much. Juliette, thanks to you. Thank you. And next, Trump's pick for education secretary, the former wrestling
honcho Linda McMahon accused of turning a blind eye to some pretty horrible child sexual abuse. Could this be a fatal blow to her nomination?
And Russian state TV saying exactly what they want from Trump
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump can easily say now, Ukraine can go to hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Plus, breaking news this hour, Trump tapping billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department. What do we know about him?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:40]
BURNETT: Tonight, Trump's pick for education secretary, Linda McMahon, right alleging that she enabled child sexual abuse taking place while she was in charge of World Wrestling Entertainment. She is accused of knowing about a ringside announcer who allegedly was abusing young boys for years and that apparently, according to this complaint, she knew and did nothing about it.
What do we know about McMahon?
Sunlen Serfaty is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her name is synonymous with wrestling. Linda McMahon, who built an empire and became a billionaire with her husband Vince McMahon, founding and leading World Wrestling Entertainment.
It was in the ring when she first met future President Donald Trump during an appearance on Wrestlemania. A relationship which would eventually set the stage for her political future.
LINDA MCMAHON, TRUMP'S PICK FOR SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: He's a big fan of the product of WWE and he came in. He was in some of our storylines, some of the highest-rated story lines. We became friends and we've been friends ever since.
SERFATY: In 2009, McMahon left WWE and stepped into local politics.
MCMAHON: I think it was my first kind of foray into public service beyond our philanthropic areas that we worked in is when I was appointed by Governor Rell to serve on the state board of education.
SERFATY: Running and winning a spot on the Connecticut Board of Education, where she tapped into what she said then was a lifelong interest in education, revealing she once intended to become a teacher.
MCMAHON: Education is something I'm incredibly passionate about.
SERFATY: She later poured millions of her own money to run twice and fail twice for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.
MCMAHON: We've got two weeks left to make history in the state of Connecticut by electing the first woman to the United States Senate from Connecticut.
SERFATY: After Trump won the White House for the first time --
TRUMP: I, Donald John Trump --
SERFATY: He tapped his longtime friend to lead the Small Business Administration.
MCMAHON: His top priorities for his first year in office have been about helping businesses thrive.
SERFATY: And Trump has kept her close since, with McMahon co-chairing his transition this year and calling on her once again, this time for a cabinet level position at the helm of the Department of Education.
TRUMP: No, so that we can --
SERFATY: But her selection being shadowed by allegations from her roots in the WWE.
[19:25:05]
A new civil lawsuit filed just last month naming her directly, alleging that she and her husband knowingly allowed their employee a ringside announcer who worked for the WWE in the 1970s and 1990s, to groom and sexually exploit children as young as 13 years old as ring boys.
The filing accuses the McMahons of knowing and tolerating their employees peculiar and unnatural interest in young boys. An attorney for Linda McMahon calling the allegations false, saying the civil lawsuit based upon 30 plus year old allegations, is filled with scurrilous lies exaggerations and misrepresentations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY (on camera): And an attorney for Vince McMahon did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Now notably, this new lawsuit is just coming up now, 30 years after the fact, Erin, because the Maryland legislature, the state where this suit is brought forth, they recently enacted a law that opens up the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits, for sexual assaults involving children, this lawsuit certainly will be a line of questioning in McMahon's confirmation hearings in addition to all the questions about her qualifications -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Sunlen, thank you very much. Let's go straight to Marc Caputo, national political reporter for "The
Bulwark", joins me now. He has been covering Trump and his inner circle for many years.
So, Marc, obviously, McMahon is a close friend of Trump's. They go back at least 30 years. So if she is found liable of this -- does -- is this disqualifying in Trump's world or in anyone close to him? Do they see it that way or no?
MARC CAPUTO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE BULWARK: I doubt it. I haven't really asked about it, but if past practice is any indication of future performance, generally speaking, business people wind up in a variety of suits and that includes Donald Trump and Trump's general belief is to side with the business owner who gets sued, having been sued himself a number of times. You can sort of see why.
In this case, understand that the suit was just filed. It's going to take a long time to work through the courts. And Linda McMahon's confirmation vote will be long in the past by the time this thing gets adjudicated.
BURNETT: Right.
CAPUTO: So in addition to the fact that Trump probably doesn't give it much stock, just a guess, there's the fact that the timing is not really going to match up to affect her confirmation.
BURNETT: Now you know, the thing about this, though, is that this isn't the one. Maybe you would have expected it of, but McMahon is now the fourth Trump cabinet nominee embroiled in some sort sexual scandal. That is obviously shocking. I mean, right, before you would usually expect zero.
Is Trump signaling anything with these picks?
CAPUTO: I think the Linda McMahon one is different from the various allegations that involve Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth and RFK, Jr. So that is a bit different.
But, you know, the -- I'm trying to put this delicately, the political culture that surrounds MAGA is generally -- puts a lot of stock in alpha males, and there is an emphasis on virility and therefore sex- related matters can sometimes come up.
That would be the best way for me to explain why three of these nominees -- well, it's now two because one just dropped out. Matt Gaetz had this various issues that swirled around them. Otherwise, it's just a coincidence. And that's a little hard to believe.
BURNETT: Yeah, well, I mean, it's interesting, but it is. I'm glad you took a moment to catch your thoughts because I think it's a very well said, now memorable. Thank you so much, Marc.
CAPUTO: I probably should have -- I probably should have taken a little more time to catch my thoughts, but thank you. I appreciate it.
BURNETT: All right. Well, it's good to see you.
And next, an ominous warning tonight from Putin saying he'll fire more of his experimental missiles at Ukraine and beyond.
Fareed Zakaria is OUTFRONT.
And breaking news, Trump picking billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department. So what do we know about him? And by the way, some really interesting ties to George Soros.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:35]
BURNETT: Tonight, Putin's ominous warning.
Russian state TV taking a victory lap after the strike that you see on your screen. This is in Ukraine, and it was using a new nuclear capable hypersonic missile that can strike multiple targets at one time that has never been used in war until now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Everything has changed after a new missile complex Oreshnik hit Yuzhmash for the first time, there was a feeling that America was under threat and they were not psychologically ready for this
Trump can easily say now, Ukraine can go to hell. There is no more Ukraine. Now this is about American security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: They even showed the photos you saw on this show last night, which were provided exclusively to CNN and Fred Pleitgen. That's why you saw them here by Ukraine of missile debris. They were showing them there after that.
And tonight, Putin is saying that there is more where that missile came from.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There are currently no means of countering such a missile. No means of intercepting it in the world.
And I will emphasize once again, we will continue testing the latest system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Putin making it clear there that he will continue to press forward here and still sending hordes of new troops to the front lines.
[19:35:02]
Tonight, the mothers of those troops who have been rarely heard from throughout this war are speaking out to Fred Pleitgen who is OUTFRONT in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the war in Ukraine is close to entering its fourth year, more and more Russians are signing up to fight.
Vladimir Putin saying more than 700,000 are currently stationed in and around Ukraine.
We got rare access to an event in Moscow honoring the mothers of Russian soldiers battling in what the Kremlin still calls its special military operation -- mothers whose sons are fighting have been killed or injured.
Oksana Medvedeva son Yegor (ph), was severely wounded on the battlefield earlier this year.
He had surgery on his leg and the nerves had to be sewn back together, she says he also had surgery on his jaw, but it still has not recovered properly. He is still being treated. I am proud of my son that he is such a hero.
While the Russians have been making significant battlefield gains recently, they appear to come at a heavy price. Moscow doesn't publish casualty figures, but Western governments believe the attrition rate among Russian forces is significant.
To increase manpower, the U.S. and Ukraine say more than 11,000 North Korean troops are now also on Moscow's side mostly in Russia's Kursk region.
Yelina Melina (ph) son Mikhail is still fighting in Ukraine. She won't say where, but acknowledges for him it's tough.
He went through a lot of moments he doesn't like to talk about, she says. But I found out by chance I think he's a true hero.
The U.S. and its allies continue to condemn Russia's president, urging him to withdraw from Ukraine immediately. But this week instead, a major escalation, after the Biden administration allowed Ukraine to use longer distance, U.S. and U.K. supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia, Putin hit back with a new intermediate range ballistic missile capable of delivering devastating nuclear warheads and he threatened to hit U.S. assets as well.
We should we consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military objects of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our objects, he said.
Back at the event for soldiers' mothers, a Russian parliamentarian backing Putin up We are a strong country and we've been patient for a long time, she said. But in the case of mass deaths of our people, if the collective West does not sober up, we should proceed to more decisive actions. We can no longer lose any of our men.
But for now, the battles continue to escalate and the losses continue to mount, as Vladimir Putin warns the struggle between Russia and the West.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (on camera): And, Erin, tonight, more threats coming from the Russians against the U.S. and its allies. The former president of this country, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy head of Russia's national security council, saying that scenario continues, it would be impossible to exclude anything -- Erin.
BURNETT: Fred, thank you very much in Moscow tonight.
And let's go now to Fareed Zakaria, host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS".
So, Fred, you know, when you see those missiles and you hear them talking about the escalation chain and Putin saying that they can use a missile against any country that even provides missiles to Ukraine, its clear what he's saying. And that he's going to keep using this new hypersonic missile that he just used on the battlefield for the first time, that they can carry multiple warheads nuclear weapons, and can evade air defenses, they say.
And "Reuters" has been reporting, Fareed, that he's been mass producing these nuclear bomb shelters, that they've been putting images out.
What is his point here? What is Putin's point?
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Well, I'm glad you're focusing on this, Erin, because it's actually a very significant moment, it's a critical moment. Putin is trying to draw a line and say, if you allow weaponry to go -- to hit inside Russia, as opposed to in the territories of Ukraine, where Russia is battling, I will regard that -- I, Putin, will regard that as a as an attack from NATO on Russia.
So he has made a very, very consequential threat. The Biden administration and the British government are now testing that threat. I wouldn't say calling his bluff because we don't know if it's a bluff, but they are testing the threat and seeing whether or not he will, in fact follow through on what he's suggesting, which is, A, that he might escalate by hitting actual NATO targets, maybe hitting into Poland or something like that.
[19:40:14]
And secondly, that he might use tactical nuclear weapons. It is a very consequential moment. I would tend to believe that Putin is -- I wouldn't say bluffing, but he will not carry out a -- you know, the most extreme version of these threats. He may -- he may do some kind of pinpointed strikes on a weapons depot somewhere in Poland but it's a very, very significant moment of escalation.
BURNETT: And in this significant moment, you know, in conversations over these past couple of years, I know we've all probably had, Fareed, where, you know, you look back at history and you say, you know, we give a moment to when a war begins, the shot heard round the world as an example, right?
But in the moment, those things weren't clear. And they took time. And in that context this week, I noticed the former top commander from Ukraine, General Zaluzhnyi, who had been running this war for two years, he said that World War Three has already begun.
Do you think we are possibly at such a tipping point right now?
ZAKARIA: Well, I think World War Three is a -- is a very big and, you know, grand way to describe it. And I'm not sure I would use that, but I think it's fair to say that you now have the outlines of a global coalition. The Russians are being actively assisted by the Chinese, by the North Koreans, by the Iranians. And Ukraine, of course, has the support of a very large cohort of Western and significant non-Western countries.
So if you think of it in those terms, this is a struggle limited in one place. But the coalitions are global. And, you know, if you think about the axis of Russia, China, North Korea, they're collaborating more than the Japanese and the Germans did during World War II. So, yeah, there is a global dimension to it, though. I don't think it's a world war in the sense it's not going on all over the world.
BURNETT: No, no, hopefully, hopefully never, but obviously, and not at this time.
I want to ask you one other thing, Fareed, if I can, and that was because there was some more breaking news and I just mentioned it coming into one of the teases in the show. I don't know if you heard it, but Trump's named the billionaire Scott Bessent as the treasury secretary. Now he's obviously a very accomplished, respected successful person. No question about it.
He did spend much of his career working for George Soros. In fact, he was the chief investment officer for a Soros hedge fund. Now, why would that matter? For many, that's a great resume thing but in the case of Trump, right? Trump has personally and consistently railed against Soros -- Soros, putting him at the -- at the center of many of his greatest conspiracy theories.
So what do you make about the -- make of this pick?
ZAKARIA: Well, I think it shows you one more time that Donald Trump can do anything, and his base will go along with him. Imagine if somebody else if some other, you know, Republican had done this. As you say, George Soros is the boogeyman for the Republican, right, and particularly for the MAGA people. Look, as far as we can tell, Scott Bessent is a highly talented, very
accomplished person. We were actually, it turns out, at college together. We were a year apart. I didn't know him. At least I don't think I did.
But the real challenge he will face is, you know, what he needs to do to reassure markets and what he needs to reassure Trump of his loyalty may be two different things, and that's going to be an important conflict he'll have to navigate.
BURNETT: Yes, absolutely.
All right. Well, thank you so much, Fareed.
And I hope everybody will tune in, as always, on Sunday at 10:00 and 1:00 Eastern to "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS".
And next, the war on fluoride. Florida's top health official tonight echoing RFK, Jr., telling cities to stop adding fluoride to their water citing health risks. So what does the research show?
And McDonald's hoping to win back customers who aren't liking the fact that it can cost $60 to take a family of four to lunch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:48:33]
BURNETT: Breaking news, Trump naming another Fox News personality to his administration. Janette Nesheiwat is his pick for surgeon general.
It comes as Trump's choice for HHS secretary, RFK Jr., is leading the war on fluoride in drinking water. So what's the truth about this? What does the science say?
Nick Watt is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NARRATOR: In several Western towns, children rarely got tooth decay. Why? Their drinking water contained fluoride.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever since we started putting a trace of fluoride in the water, there have been those who say we really shouldn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were criticized. They were ridiculed. They were called conspiracy theorists. They were called tinfoil hatters.
WATT: In 1964, Dr. Strangelove, this was the sign, Ripper had gone bananas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face. WATT: But fluoride skepticism is now mainstream, according to a "New York Times" headline and a "Washington Post" columnist who now thinks it's not an entirely crazy idea.
Because this recent government report finds, with moderate confidence that higher estimated fluoride exposures, more than double the dose in our water, are consistently associated with lower IQ in children. More studies are needed.
And because a federal judge recently ruled there is an unreasonable risk of such injury a risk sufficient to require the EPA to engage with a regulatory response.
[19:50:08]
And because RFK Jr. was just tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
TRUMP: I'm going to let him go wild on health.
WATT: And on fluoride.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., TRUMP NOMINEE FOR SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: It causes loss of IQ. It causes neuro developmental injuries.
WATT: Worth noting RFK Jr. has also said this.
KENNEDY: There's no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.
WATT: Not true. And this --
KENNEDY: COVID 19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people.
WATT: Also not true.
The CDC still touts fluoridation as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.
DR. JOHNNY JOHNSON, JR., PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FLOURIDIAN SOCIETY: At least 25 percent fewer cavities, and as a clinician, I will tell you that it is more like 50 percent.
STUART COOPER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FLOURIDE ACTION NETWORK: If you look into it, you'll realize very quickly that the science is not on the CDC side.
WATT: Do you have contact with any people who have been sort of definitively harmed by this -- by fluoride as a child and have suffered neurological impairment?
COOPER: It's hard to tell if that, you know, that person with a neurological disorder was it was exclusively caused by fluoride.
JOHNSON: They'll take the science and cherry pick tidbits out of it. And take and mix in their opinions, throw it in a blender, and then pour it out over an unsuspecting public.
WATT: We don't know that it causes harm, but we don't know that it definitely doesn't.
JOHNSON: You don't know that it doesn't cause gray hair.
WATT: After nearly 80 years of this kind of debate now might be a turning point.
Inauguration Day, says RFK, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.
KENNEDY: I'm going to give them good information about the science, and I think that fluoride will disappear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT: So, RFK Jr. and his side of this debate, they're fine with fluoride in toothpaste because that's topical and it's not dosing everybody they just don't want it in the water.
And you know, there's a couple of months before RFK even takes starts his new job. But he is already having an influence in the past couple of weeks, more than a dozen municipalities have voted to stop fluoridating their water. Winter Haven, Florida at their city council meeting, RFK's name came up numerous times in this debate, and they voted no more fluoride in the water. Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Nick, thank you very much.
And next, McDonalds overhauling its menu to give customers more bang for their buck. So what does it get you?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Mmm, this is delicious.
BURNETT: Cold McNuggets, mmm.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:52]
BURNETT: And finally tonight, McDonald's is trying to add mc value back to its menu. The struggling fast food chain is hoping to win back customers who've been put off by higher prices. They're launching a new budget friendly menu. They say rising costs have forced it to raise its prices by about 40 percent over the past five years.
The new menu includes a buy one, get one for $1 on some popular items and extends the $5 meal deal. Harry Enten is with me now.
I mean, Harry, I you know I was going to McDonalds recently getting lunch. You know, three happy meals. But you literally walk out. It was $64. It was to get lunch at McDonalds. It was insane. I mean --
ENTEN: It's insane. And, you know, we should point out that while were, you know, having some fun times, you know, with these different props that we have here, et cetera, that the average American you know, eats out at a fast food restaurant at least once a week. More than half of them do.
So what were talking about here is serious stuff. It's really about peoples budgets and what we know is that, you know, if you essentially, let's say you're a family of five, right? The two parents and then three kids who are going to get them three happy meals and you're going to get, you know, two Big Macs and fries with that. That price compared to where we were at the beginning of this century, back when I was a kid, when I was one of those kids going through my parents McDonalds, those prices are up 26 percent, even taking into account inflation, right?
BURNETT: Right, that's inflation adjusted. So that's 26 percent price increase on top of the underlying inflation.
ENTEN: Correct. So you know, if you don't take into account inflation, were talking about a rise of like $20 taking into account inflation. We're still talking about a high single digit rise in talking about a rise that is north of 25 percent at this particular point.
BURNETT: All right. So I'm just looking by the way, everyone should notice that most of the fries are gone and cold fries are kind of disgusting. But we ate them anyway.
How good of a now you're not supposed to talk with your mouth open, Harry, but --
ENTEN: Don't worry, I'm going to wash it down.
BURNETT: You look at the -- is it diet or regular?
ENTEN: It's regular.
BURNETT: Okay. Yeah. Why cut the calories?
ENTEN: Why -- we're in it to win it.
BURNETT: How good of a deal is it, though, compared to what's out there?
ENTEN: Yeah, it's a tremendous deal. So, you know, essentially, if you, you know, you get your four McNuggets here, right? You get a McChicken, you get a small fries and you get, you know, your small soda. What are we talking about here?
Well, you know, if you go back to when the dollar menu was first introduced at the beginning of the century, back in 2002, right? Taking into account inflation, were talking about $7. Now, if you had all of those items, right, and you didn't have this value meal, it jumped to $9.
Now, all of a sudden, what's going on? Well, those items become now $5. So you're not just getting a significantly better deal than you were at the beginning of the year, when you weren't taking into account the value meal. You're actually getting a better deal taking into account inflation than you were at the beginning of the century.
And here's the real great nugget, I was looking on my phone earlier, right? I was looking on my phone earlier and going to that McDonalds app. And what I found was in New York, if you were, in fact, you would still get the value meal and if you didn't have the value meal, the price would be something like $13.
BURNETT: How is there an app on that thing that thing is like out of Michael Douglas on the beach.
ENTEN: And no, it works. I could place a call to my mom right now.
BURNETT: The last Blackberry you and Jeff Zucker are never getting rid of that.
ENTEN: No, no, never ever.
BURNETT: Okay, Trump was at the drive through. Correct the famous picture. And you were looking into what that meant. McDonalds has been struggling. But what that has done.
So tell me something I don't know.
ENTEN: Yeah, all press is good press that's what you should know. Everybody was talking about this. And what do we know is what we saw was the Google searches for McDonalds rose, get this, get this. It rose by over 64 percent compared to the prior week for its highest level in over two years.
BURNETT: You know, you look at this cold and it does make you go --
ENTEN: You know --
BURNETT: But it's better than when it's warm and toasty.
ENTEN: It's still pretty good.
BURNETT: Thanks for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
