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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Inauguration Plans Upended By Cold, Trump, China Cozy Up; Saving TikTok?; Who's In Charge On Border?. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired January 17, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:32]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Trump inauguration plans derailed. This as China takes extraordinary steps to cozy up to Trump, including an unprecedented appearance at the inauguration. Chinese students even learning how to dance to YMCA.
Plus, will anyone buy TikTok and save it from the ban that's happening in two days? Kevin O'Leary from "Shark Tank". He's got $20 million to spend. Tesla stock surging over speculation that Elon Musk might swoop in.
And Kristi Noem, Trump's pick for homeland security on Capitol Hill, and a lot of questions tonight over who's really actually going to be in charge of it, Noem or Trump's border czar? This is people in her own state are asking if she's qualified.
Lets go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett, OUTFRONT tonight, bone chilling chaos. Freezing temperatures have now thrown Trump's inauguration into a logistical nightmare. The entire swearing in ceremony is now going to take place inside the Capitol rotunda. And many now are without tickets.
But there is someone who will not be left out in the cold, the vice president of China. He will now become the first senior Chinese communist leader to witness the democratic transfer of power in the United States, and news of his appearance came just after an extraordinary call. Trump spoke today with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, as he did not do that for Biden.
And that call is a big deal. It's not just a big deal, for obvious reasons. Just look at how China is treating it front and center on the main communist paper, "The People's Daily", we translate it for you. Xi Jinping speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump on the phone. That's the main headline. And headlines like that are appearing across many major Chinese newspapers.
On Truth Social, Trump writes: The call was a very good one for China and the USA. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together and starting immediately.
Well, this talk of goodwill and this appearance at the inauguration, this unprecedented moment is a bit puzzling, of course, given what Trump has been saying about China consistently through the election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm unpopular with China. China doesn't like me too much.
China was going crazy with me. Please don't put any more tariffs on.
The China chips, they're all over the place.
China wants to take all of the jobs. They've annihilated your steel mills decimated your coal jobs, assaulted your oil and gas jobs, and sold off your manufacturing jobs to China.
We get the China, you know, they call it the China curse. We get the China curse. Their better (ph) and their air is dirty.
COVID, that our gift from China.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
BURNETT: All right. So talking about Trump, about China, that has been the hallmark of Trump's career. Now though, China is pulling out all the stops to cater to Trump. The vice president headed to his inauguration. Chinese kids are even learning the YMCA, right, the song heard at about every rally that's going to be performed at Trump's inauguration.
Artists are making sculptures of Trump, and there's one person very close to Trump. Oh, extremely close his partner, in fact, right now in governing, who no doubt is hoping that Trump will be won over by all the flattery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: Well, I'm a big fan of China. Let me just say that. I mean, I've got a lot of fans in China. Well, the feelings are also reciprocated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Elon Musk -- I mean, of all the people in Trump's inner circle, Musk has the biggest financial stake in China. I mean, it's -- it's -- you can't underestimate it. It's crucial to his entire business empire, to his hundreds of billions.
China is one of the biggest markets on earth for Tesla, $21.75 billion for Tesla alone in 2023. That is about a quarter of Tesla's entire revenue just from Tesla in China. Musk is a celebrity. Their newspapers document what he eats when he's visiting.
Here he is reportedly eating at a famous hotpot restaurant in Beijing. So the question tonight is, given all the influence that Musk has over Trump, will Trump caved to Musk when it comes to China? Is this the ultimate test?
Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT live in Washington.
And, Jeff, the inaugural planning thrown off course by the weather tonight. Sudden, chaotic decision to move it inside. But it's going forward in the rotunda. The vice president of China certainly is going to get an indoor ticket. And this is a very important moment for Trump.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, there is no question that scramble tonight is going on because the inaugural for months has been planned to be right here on the west front of the Capitol on Monday.
[19:05:04]
There were intended to be hundreds of thousands of people right here on the National Mall. Now, that will be inside, as you said, for the first time since Ronald Reagan's second inaugural 40 years ago, back in 1985, a big question tonight in Washington, who will be in the rotunda? Just a couple hundred people, but you can bet China's vice president will be among them, observing Donald Trump's becoming America's 47th president.
Erin, that is the biggest sign yet of a fresh start that both sides are eager to have in this new relationship. You'll remember the relationship started off eight years ago with Donald Trump's first term in office quite warm. He traveled to Beijing in 2017. I remember watching Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping really being warm with each other, that frayed during COVID-19.
So this is where it begins right now. But a phone call between the two leaders today, I'm told, talking about fentanyl, talking about -- yes, TikTok. Also other things really is setting this new tone. The question, though, for the Trump administration, as any U.S. president. What is this U.S.-China relationship going to look like? That blistering campaign rhetoric, of course, has cooled somewhat, and it's in both countries interests, of course, to have a productive governing relationship.
Donald Trump clearly wants to do that. He invited President Xi here. He's sending his vice president instead. That's extraordinary in and of itself.
So for all the questions about the logistics of this inaugural, one thing is clear China front and center -- Erin.
BURNETT: Front and center there, along with, you know, Elon Musk and the tech CEOs, thank you very much, Jeff Zeleny.
Now, China, Trump has become a cultural phenomenon. I mean, that's incredible to see. And we shared a little bit of that. But wait until you see what Will Ripley has to show you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Extraordinary diplomatic moves by Chinese President Xi Jinping. A phone call Friday with Xi and President-elect Donald Trump.
TRUMP: I have a very good relationship with President Xi. We have been communicating with each other.
RIPLEY: The phone call, seen as a rare public signal of Xi's willingness to work with Trump, an unusual move by Chinas leadership.
Adding to the diplomatic gesture, Xi for the first time, sending Vice President Han Zheng to Washington for Monday's inauguration.
Han, the highest ranking Chinese official ever to attend a U.S. presidential swearing in.
Trump's return to the White House is a trending topic on Chinese social media.
People are calling the latest SpaceX Starship explosion a fireworks celebration for Trump from his friend Elon Musk.
China's admiration for Trump comes with an ironic twist. On social media, he's nicknamed nation-building Trump, a reference to how his divisive policies and personality, along with his focus on China, propped up Beijing's global standing.
Also, comments like these the dragon king is coming back. The official photo of American empire's king Trump. Don't worry, TikTok is the home base for Trump. He won't ban it.
These Chinese kids are even learning to dance to YMCA. The Village People are on Trump's inauguration performance list.
Trump's popularity in China is a cultural phenomenon. His likeness has appeared on lunar New Year items from a year of the dog statue to a year of the pig shirt. Now Trump is being called jokingly, the king who knows everything, a nod to this popular new MAGA hat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chinese people look at him and contrast him with their lifeless leaders, and they say he's the guy we like.
RIPLEY: On Chinese social media, comparisons are emerging between Trump and Zhen Huan, the cunning and resilient protagonist of the hit Chinese drama "Empresses in the Palace".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was even a Trump fandom in China. The Chinese called Trump (INAUDIBLE). The meaning is a great Trump grandfather.
RIPLEY: This is not Trump's first cultural impact in China. During his first presidency, he became the only foreign leader in modern history to dine in the Forbidden City. The move, orchestrated by Beijing, appealed to Trump's love for spectacle, a brief honeymoon phase in U.S.-China relations later derailed by trade wars and the pandemic.
TRUMP: You're having fun?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. (END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (on camera): It all can go downhill very quickly, as we saw the first time around. But despite all of this rhetoric and the tough on China cabinet led by Marco Rubio that Trump is assembling, people in China do genuinely, really respect him, almost love him. They like the fact that he's rich. They like the fact that he has socially conservative views. A lot of people in China share those views.
So it's really interesting to go on the Chinese Internet and just see all of this praise for Trump, even with people knowing that it could be a very bumpy four years ahead.
BURNETT: Yeah, it is. It is really fascinating, but incredible how overwhelming. I mean, down to learning the YMCA.
All right. Will Ripley, thank you very much.
And Fareed Zakaria is OUTFRONT with me now.
Fareed, you know, I mean, you talk about learning the YMCA, it's just a small thing that actually means a lot and says a lot. And then you've got this phone call between Trump and Xi, and you've got the Chinese vice president heading to Trump's inauguration, which is an unprecedented event, to send someone of that, that level.
What do you make of this moment?
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Well, what is truly fascinating about it is Trump is a unique figure in American politics in that he can change his mind about almost anything, and his base doesn't care. He's able to do it.
You know, the political gymnastics that Donald Trump can achieve are breathtaking. Just think about it. This is the guy who originally banned TikTok. The original TikTok ban was put in place by Donald Trump in an executive order, and then the court ruled that he had overreached. You can't do it. You have to do it by law.
And now he's trying to use an executive order to undo a congressional law that has been passed nine-zero by the Supreme Court. So he's changed on China. And, you know, the Democrats run scared on China. They\re worried that they'll be seen as soft and dovish.
Trump can do anything. He's able to, you know, kind of suddenly turn himself into a panda lover and boast about it. And it doesn't matter. And I'm sure the Chinese people look at this and they think this guy maybe, you know, he wants better relations.
Now, you point out that behind all this, there may be the reality that Trump's principal advisor at this point is Elon Musk. And Elon Musk has always had soft views on China. He, as you say, China is a huge market for him. He admires China's engineering and skills.
So we might see the most extraordinary thing in this Trump second term, which is despite an administration of hawks, Donald Trump ends up being the dove.
BURNETT: It is amazing. I mean, certainly you heard, you know, Marco Rubio. Be clear where he stands, right? They're going to end up in a situation where China controls everything in the United States if we don't watch. I mean, that's the tone right now.
But can I ask you about Elon Musk? Because he has -- you know, I called him the word partner because I struggle sometimes to find the word. I mean, that kind of captures his, his, his omnipresence. You know, he's always with Trump. He's -- he's -- he's so much a part of things, holidays at Mar-a-Lago.
But let me just play again, part of what Musk said about China that we have on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: Well, I'm a big fan of China. Let me just say that. I mean, I've got a lot of fans in China. Well, the feelings are also reciprocated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So I know you're not a fly on the wall in their conversations, but Trump is the one who initially put these incredibly tough tariffs on China. The Biden administration continued.
So do you think Musk changes Trump's mind on this? I mean, for Musk, this is everything. I mean, it's existential when it comes to his business and net worth.
ZAKARIA: Yeah. And to be fair, I think Elon Musk genuinely admires China. He thinks it's a huge market. He also thinks they're amazing. You know, engineers, they have managed to achieve extraordinary things, you know, and there's a -- there's an argument to be made without any question.
But you're right that Trump in his first term, it wasn't just the trade wars. He established the Space Force entirely as a -- as a response to China. There's been there was a comprehensive shift in U.S. policy under Donald Trump toward a much more hawkish view on China.
So for him to reverse course and unravel that all would be something. And it would point to Musk's ability to moderate him.
Look, it might end up, uh, resulting in the U.S. and China having a better working relationship around issues of trade, issues of technology and issues of geopolitics, which would be a good thing.
BURNETT: Fareed, I have to ask you also about China and Russia. I mean, you know, the U.S. has said China has been very helpful to Putin in various ways over the course of Putin's war in Ukraine.
And today, Putin signed a new pact with Iran's new president. So there's this new pact that got signed, already close relationship between the two. We know Iran is such a crucial provider of the Shahed drones and other things, but how significant is this deal that was just signed?
ZAKARIA: It's significant in that it reminds you once again that Putin is in bad shape. Putin needs arms from Iran. He needs the drone technology that they have. Imagine that Iran is providing. Russia, once considered one of the most advanced, technologically sophisticated countries in the world, with weapons technology.
He needs North Korea for personnel, for military forces.
[19:15:02]
And he needs China for all kinds of technology, computer goods and money. Without China, Putin would not be able to do what he's doing in Ukraine. And so, it's -- it's an absolutely critical meeting.
And by the way, back to our earlier discussion, if Trump wanted to achieve something really heroic on foreign policy, it would be to take his new relationship with China and get the Chinese to stop supporting Putin's war. And in fact, pressure Putin to sign a peace deal. Now, that would be something.
BURNETT: All right, Fareed, thank you very much.
And so much more of Fareed, with "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS". That is on Sunday morning and it is at 10:00, as always.
So thanks so much to you, Fareed, for taking time out to talk to me on a Friday.
And next, TikTok -- Fareed mentioned it -- in limbo because that ban is set to take effect in hours. So will Elon Musk save it, or will "Shark Tank's" Kevin O'Leary often on this show save it?
Plus, new details about what Trump will do in the first hours he's in office, including mass deportations in Democratic led cities.
And countless burning Tesla's and other electric cars, adding to the toxic soup around Los Angeles air now delaying residents from returning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:37]
BURNETT: Tonight is TikTok about to be goners in the U.S.?
Massive speculation this hour over who could step in to buy the social media app used by 170 million people after the Supreme Court ruled today that a ban on TikTok can take effect in two days. Well, just hours ago, Kevin O'Leary, the famous co-host of Shark Tank, says he has 20 billion. I'm sorry I misspoke earlier, billion in cash lined up to put towards a pile towards a buy. Tesla shares jumped amid speculation Elon Musk could buy the popular app. Talk about putting random companies together. OUTFRONT now, Democratic congressman Ro Khanna of California. His district is in the heart of Silicon Valley. He opposes the TikTok ban.
And, Congressman, I got to say to you, you know, at this point, whatever people may have thought about it at the beginning, if there's thievery going on on TikTok, they already got everything they want. And if it's propaganda you're worried about, they can put it on any site, whether they own it or not. So I guess I understand it from that point of view.
But the ban does appear to be moving forward for now. You got that Supreme Court ruling. So is TikTok going away on Sunday?
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I don't think so. I think Washington and the beltway are so out of touch with ordinary Americans. I spoke with 50 content creators today.
One person, she her husband, left her, cheated on her. She has four kids, two toddlers, and she is a content creator on TikTok. She wasn't making any living. And then she started to tell her story. And now is getting an income to support her family, to support her special needs kids.
Another person talked about how she wasn't making rent, she was laid off and she gets $500 to $1000 a month. And that is what she needs.
And these folks, some of them were in tears. They were saying, were not even going to ensure if we get unemployment, what are we going to do?
No one is talking about the real people who are really getting hurt with this ban. It is tone deaf. It's a bunch of Washington politicians listening to the foreign policy blob and totally out of touch with Americans. And we've got a million, almost a million petition signatures. That's unheard of. And never have I had that in eight years to call on the president to put a pause.
And he should do it. I don't know if he's ever been on TikTok himself. I mean, that's part of the problem in this town. These folks are not living in the online world. They're totally out of touch.
BURNETT: I like foreign policy blob.
Okay, so, Congressman, after the Supreme Court decision, the CEO of TikTok put out a, you know, I guess a TikTok reacting to the upcoming ban. I just want to play part of it for you. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHOU ZI CHEW, TIKTOK CEO: I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us, to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States. We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Worth reminding everybody what Fareed said earlier, which is, of course, originally it was Trump who banned TikTok and did the executive order to do just that. Now he's on the other side of this, but the CEO there never said anything about selling TikTok, Congressman, and I'm curious about that. It's glaringly absent in this conversation where were talking about, you know, Kevin O'Leary or Elon Musk or who knows what it might be.
What happens if China if that's a statement, if China is not selling?
KHANNA: Well, we need to figure out a resolution. And I don't want to score political points on this. I'm going to work with Mike Waltz, who is a colleague of mine in Congress now going to be the national security advisor for President Trump to try to figure out how to save the app.
Either you could have an American buyer or you could have a TikTok make certain commitments to be in compliance. They can say, look, we're going to safeguard the data in a U.S. site. We're going to make sure that there is no leakage to the Chinese. We're going to make sure that there is no algorithmic interference by a foreign government, and there may be a way for the president to say that they're compliant, that he understands the concerns Congress had and that that has complied, or maybe he's going to help facilitate a sale.
But the point is, we need to make sure these 170 million Americans who are not just on here for speech, but who are literally relying on this app often for income, are not left out in the cold. And one person said, what are they going to do? Are we just going to be shafted? Does the government compensate us for our businesses that are going to shut down?
I mean, people are hurting out there.
BURNETT: And some of the people who've been trying other apps, I mean, who knows? You know, that's -- that that will be a free market enterprise on where people land. But whether its RedNote or there were a couple of others -- I don't want to even say like more or less Chinese, but some of them were not even there's not even a fig leaf between them and the Chinese government.
I mean, that's -- that's it just seems like you're not going to be able to outrun this. Is that how you see it?
KHANNA: You're totally right, Erin. It's actually they're going to apps that are more Chinese and you know, people saying, oh, you can just go to another app.
It would be like if I said, okay, tomorrow and CNN is shutting down. Well, you could just get another job. Well, maybe you could. You're popular. I'm sure you could.
But it's not in insignificant. And all the people who work for you on the show. So what we're saying is we're just going to shut this whole thing down. Now, you go figure it out.
And Instagram is not the same as TikTok, and X is not the same. So it's a real issue.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Congressman, I appreciate it. Thank you I really do. As always thanks for coming on.
KHANNA: Thank you. Thanks.
BURNETT: Okay. And next, Kristi Noem, Trump's pick for DHS, in the hot seat on Capitol Hill. As a longtime political reporter who has covered Noem for years, says she's eyeing the White House. He's my guest.
And Trump's judge coming to his defense again, you will hear what she is saying right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:37]
BURNETT: Tonight, Trump's border crackdown. We are learning that for the first time, concrete details about Trump's plans for his first day in office three days from now involve mass deportations as front and center sweeps targeting major Democratic led cities. One source telling our Priscilla Alvarez, and I quote, you will see removal plans, reports of arrests occurring, ICE action and sanctuary jurisdiction.
As you get into 30 days and first 100 days, that's where you'll see a consistent drumbeat. Well, it comes as Trump's pick for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is raising a lot more questions than answers about who actually is going to be in charge of the border. Will Trump allow her? Will she have any powers as DHS secretary, or will it be going through others, including Trump's border czar Tom Homan?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): I guess I'm uncertain about roles and responsibilities regarding your position and Tom Homan's. I guess I just want to ask you just point blank, like, who's going to be in charge of the border?
KRISTI NOEM, DHS SECRETARY NOMINEE: Well, the president will be in charge of the border. Tom Homan has a direct line to the president. He is an advisor to the president, the border czar. I obviously will be, if nominated and confirmed and put into the position of being the department of homeland security secretary and responsible for the authorities that we have and the actions that we take.
KIM: I say this because I want to make sure that were empowering the next secretary of homeland security.
NOEM: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And there are some in Noem's home state of South Dakota, obviously not a border state that are uncertain about her plans. Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: So how many hours does this go on?
GREG MOES, SOUTH DAKOTA DAIRY FARMER: It's 24 hours a day.
LAH: So you need workers like this year round?
MOES: Yes. Yes.
LAH (voice-over): South Dakota dairy farmer Greg Moes supports Donald Trump and his pick of his governor, Kristi Noem, to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
NOEM: The sheer number of illegal migrants coming into this country has made it so that every state is now a border state.
LAH: In this sparsely populated, landlocked state, these three South Dakotans have strong views of their governor and see what a potential Secretary Noem would mean to the rest of the country.
The dairy farmer is drawn to what launched Noem into national politics, her pledge of a MAGA style crackdown on illegal immigration. But it's a tricky issue for Moes.
What percentage of your workers are not U.S. born?
MOES: Probably half.
LAH: About half?
MOES: Yeah.
LAH: Do you know what the immigration status is of any of your workers?
MOES: I don't know.
LAH: Do you ask?
MOES: Well, can you ask? We have the right papers on file, and there, there is there.
LAH: Are you worried if there were a mass roundup of undocumented migrants that you might lose workers? He might not have enough workers.
MOES: How are they going to do that? Nobody will be filling the shelves. Nobody will be producing food. Within two days, we will not have food. There will not be food anywhere.
LAH: It sounds like you have a lot of faith that they're not going to do what they're saying. MOES: That's pretty much what I'm thinking. We have to trust in our
officials that are put in place.
LAH: Two hundred and fifty miles away in another corner of South Dakota, a community lies broken.
And the water came, how high?
DENNIS JOHNSON, MCCOOK LAKE, SOUTH DAKOTA RESIDENT: About to the base level of the house. So you see that wood.
LAH: Floods this summer ravaged Dennis Johnson's neighborhood in the southeast corner of the state.
JOHNSON: The National Guard was not here. They were not deployed. They weren't here to help.
NOEM: In order for the National Guard to be activated, the county has to request it. And then I make a decision if it's warranted. That's usually typically a very crisis situation, and the National Guard is extremely expensive.
LAH: But she did send the state's National Guard to the U.S. Mexico border, about 1,200 miles away, five times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Noem from South Dakota.
LAH: Elevating her national political profile.
If Noem is confirmed as DHS secretary, she will oversee FEMA and respond to the nation's disasters.
South Dakota is a Republican stronghold, and even as we stood at Dennis Johnson's mangled home, the signs of this family's faith in Noem holds tight as she eyes federal leadership.
JOHNSON: I would rather have her standing strong on the issues of abortion and traditional families and things like that, than whether the National Guard was here to help me clean up.
LAH: That's more important than what happened to your house.
[19:35:01]
JOHNSON: Yeah, yeah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH (on camera): Now, Governor Noem's office did not respond to our repeated requests to reply to our story. And, Erin, you did see her in those confirmation hearings on the Hill. She did defend that decision to deploy the National Guard, the South Dakota National Guard, to the border, saying that the voters of her state overwhelmingly supported those deployments -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Kyung, thank you very much. And just amazing what he said there would rather have her taking on
issues like abortion than -- than dealing with the floods, right? That that was what the priority was.
Seth Tupper is with me now, the editor in chief of "South Dakota Searchlight". He has been covering Kristi Noem since he first met her 15 years ago, when she was running for congress. And Lulu Garcia- Navarro, "New York Times" podcast host, and has an extensive past career covering immigration issues.
So, Seth, today, Governor Noem was very deferential to President-elect Trump. But you say that anybody who's saying, oh, actually, no, she's just going to cede power to Tom Homan, the border czar, don't worry about it. That's how it will go.
You say those people will be sorely disappointed. Tell us why.
SETH TUPPER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SOUTH DAKOTA SEARCHLIGHT, A DIGITAL NEWS SITE: I think Kristi Noem has been underestimated ever since she ran for Congress 15 years ago. And this is a person who's attracted a Trump to South Dakota three times to appear with her in 2023. They held an event together behind Governor Noem where she spoke. People held up Trump Noem signs. And she was considered to be somebody in the running to be chosen for -- for Trump's -- Trump's running mate.
As we all know, about nine months ago, a certain book came out that did some serious damage to those hopes for --
BURNETT: About a certain dog -- shooting a dog, yeah.
TUPPER: But -- yeah, I think people will remember that. And incredible that that was only nine months ago. And here we are today. But, you know, this is a person who clearly has high ambition and is a hard charging person. And she had her eyes on the on the VP prize. I think she's decided that, you know, the next best, best thing for her future ambitions would be if she can be the person who can become known as solving the border, whatever that means.
I think she's decided that that's something that is going to be her next step. And anybody that thinks she's going to be a wallflower and cede power to Tom Homan or whoever I think is probably going to be mistaken.
BURNETT: Well, it's going to be fascinating to see how that plays out.
But, Lulu, you know, Priscilla -- Priscilla Alvarez, our White House reporter, she's done extensive reporting on what Trump's going to do on day one. A lot of executive orders, mass deportations, sanctuary city raids, all these things happening. Do you think that that how does this play out with Kristi Noem as Kristi Noem is going to be head of the DHS? It doesn't appear that this is going to end any other way when it comes to congressional approval.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, I think she is going to be approved, but I think there are two people who really are going to be running the immigration issue. Obviously, Donald Trump is the president, but he has ceded that portfolio to Stephen Miller. You'll remember that from the first administration. He has only accrued more power.
And this is an issue that is very close to his ideology. This is an issue that he has really had a lot of control, and he micromanages it, and hell be the face behind the curtain. And in the front of the curtain will be Tom Homan, as we mentioned.
So I think Kristi Noem, I'm not saying she's going to cede power, but she's going to be taking direction from those two people, make no mistake.
BURNETT: So, Seth, you know, Noem talking about taking direction, she is in lockstep, I mean, verbally, in lockstep, not just generally saying the same thing specifically and explicitly saying the same thing when it comes to Trump's plans at the border. Listen to what we put together here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOEM: As we focus on the southern border and what were seeing as far as the invasion there.
TRUMP: This is an invasion.
NOEM: It is a war zone down there.
TRUMP: This is now a war zone.
NOEM: Our nation is a nation with borders, or we're no nation at all.
TRUMP: Without a border, you cannot have a nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, Seth, I mean, do you think there's any situation in which she would be willing to stand up to Trump on anything as DHS secretary?
TUPPER: Probably not. You know, one of the most striking parts of the hearing today, I think, was when Senator Blumenthal pushed her on this kind of an issue. And I think his question was, if Trump asked her to condition aid from FEMA, for example, on somebody's politics or -- or on the politics of a state, would she stand up to him and would she say no? And he pressed her on that several times, and she was not willing to say she would do that. She said that she would -- and, you know, carry out the law as its written and that she would not dispense aid with, with political bias.
She was not willing to say that she would say no to Trump or stand up to Trump, and that that comes in contrast to another politician from South Dakota, Majority Leader John Thune in the Senate. He was asked recently on another television -- television show if he would tell Trump when he thinks he's wrong, and he said, I will. When she was asked that question very similar today directly, she was not willing to say that she would -- she would do that. [19:40:00]
BURNETT: Yeah. And John Thune would obviously very different sort of politician.
Lulu, I mentioned Priscilla's new reporting about Trump's plans for his first hours in office. She's got incredible detail here. Immigration raids and Democratic sanctuary cities, more federal resources surge to the border, possibly a travel ban starting, reinstate remain in Mexico, and options to end birthright citizenship, which would be a hugely significant change in something that is obviously defined America since its first days. Does all this sound realistic to you that this is what he's going to do?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: It's definitely what he's going to try. And I think what they're planning is really just a slew of activity. They've been planning this for quite some time. They're working hand in hand with congress.
And I think the tactic really is shock and awe. They want to instill as much fear in these communities as they can because lets face it, there are millions of illegal immigrants in this country, people who are undocumented. And you cannot, you know, get rid of them all.
It was so striking hearing that report before just how much people rely on them. And so what he's going to be planning really is to instill fear in the community.
BURNETT: Well, it's interesting, you know, that dairy farmer, obviously, he was very big Trump supporter saying, well, he just assumed on this issue Trump wouldn't do what he says.
I think certainly in Los Angeles, they'd be assuming that if they're going to have any kind of rebuilding, we'll see what happens here. We're going to see a lot on Monday afternoon.
Thank you both very much. I really appreciate your time, Lulu and Seth.
And next, Trump's judge, Aileen Cannon, appears likely to rule in his favor again. Ty Cobb is up next to tell you about it.
And the breaking news, troubling details are emerging about when officials issued that first evacuation order when the L.A. fires broke out. We told you about all the cars, all smushed on top of each other before the bulldozers even came through. People were fleeing in such panic and gridlock. Well, there's color as to why that happened. Why the orders came when it was reportedly already too late.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:21]
BURNETT: Breaking news. Trump's judge does it again. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee signaling that she will not allow the release of Jack Smith's report on Trump's mishandling of classified documents. After hearing today, Cannon, of course, is the same judge who repeatedly delayed the case, dismissing ultimately the 37 felony charges against Trump ran out the clock. And her decision to not now -- to now not allow the release basically guarantees that it will never be seen. Because once Trump takes office, he can ensure it's not shared, right? So this is something where the clock is literally ticking down in the final hours of the Biden administration.
Ty Cobb is OUTFRONT, former White House lawyer under Trump.
Ty, good to see you.
So today, Judge Cannon said, and I'll quote her. At the end of the day, what's the urgency of doing anything -- I'm sorry. I'm not really laughing of doing this right now. What's the urgency, Ty, three days before inauguration?
TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Yeah. The mere fact that she can ask that question shows why she is the star of the mental Olympics. You know, it's such a silly question, because the whole reason for this happening is the alleged urgency of Trump's codefendants needing to prevent the justice department from following its own internal regulations and sharing with four members of Congress, only four members of Congress, the chairman and ranking members of the various committees that have -- have appropriate jurisdiction over this issue.
And, you know, in a -- in a locked room where they cant take notes to review -- the review, the materials in which Congress has a compelling interest in terms of potentially legislating with regard to how to further protect classified documents and how -- and how to tighten up on classifications, if necessary, of the type that are at issue in the documents that Trump clearly took -- clearly had in his possession, clearly showed other people, there were really no secrets here.
So it's -- it's, you know, the theory that, why -- why is this urgent? It's urgent for the reason you pointed out, which is on Monday, you know, if this issue has not been resolved, it will be promptly resolved at the Justice Department with a change of heart and no desire for transparency of the information so critical to the public interest.
BURNETT: So Trump has said he's going to do a lot of things as soon as he's sworn in. Going to be a busy afternoon with his executive orders and things. In his case and all -- all presidents do this. But in his case, he said what his will be mass deportations, a migrant ban and a birthright citizenship. These are all things he said he's going to do.
Pardons for people convicted in January 6th. Prosecution of some political opponents. You have said your words, Ty, that were going to see some wild things right off the bat. Like what? What do you think he'll do first?
COBB: Yeah. Well, I think -- I think, you know, just like your last segment, you know, there's going to be some shock and awe, I think, in some of this stuff. I think, you know, even on the January 6th pardons, keep in mind, you know, the people convicted in the January 6th, approximately 1,270 people, I believe, you know, they've been convicted from a variety of crimes, from unlawful parading up to -- up to and including seditious conspiracy.
Now, you know, there's a big difference in pardoning somebody from unlawfully parading and somebody who committed seditious conspiracy, and particularly who did it, did so with some violence. And it would be shocking, but its possible that Trump could indeed pardon a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise merit a pardon. And that would be that would be a tragedy.
Same thing is true on the on the immigration front. I mean, there could be raids of the type that people fear. I think there quite likely will be.
[19:50:04]
And certainly on the -- on the -- on the efforts to rebuild the border, to start building the wall, to repurpose agents from some of the administrative duties that they have been forced into. Now, the actual work -- I think I think were going to see a lot of that.
So I do think that -- I do think that Trump will -- will try to play big. And Ukraine is another place where he could play big, because obviously you were you were talking earlier with, Mr. Zakaria about, you know, triangulating Putin, perhaps with Xi. I think you'll see -- I think you'll see a Putin outreach, and I think you'll see Trump be very aggressive in terms of trying to resolve Ukraine quickly.
So, yes, I think there will be a lot of -- a lot of those things. And also in the in the drilling and petroleum fronts, of course, where, you know, refilling the strategic oil reserves, which Biden dropped down by about 40 percent and allowing exports of LNG again, which is very important to Americans, very important to American jobs, very important to -- to the economy.
BURNETT: Yeah. And obviously, you know, these are all -- all of these things are, you know, some of them -- some of them are things you would think a lot of people will support. Others we will see.
Ty, thank you.
COBB: Others are -- others are dangerous. Others are dangerous.
Thank you. Erin, great to be with you. Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. You, too. You, too. And have a good weekend.
And next, there was no escaping the toxic fumes and the fires in Los Angeles and burning electric cars like Tesla's deserve part of the blame.
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[19:56:11]
BURNETT: Breaking news: homes in the palisades, they were already on fire before the first evacuation order ever came. By the way, we heard that from residents there. They saw the fires coming down the hill. That's when they ran. They had not been evacuated. That's what they told us.
And now the "A.P." has gone through the forensic on this. And their analysis shows that houses have been burning for a full 40 minutes before an alert was sent.
And while the flames in the actual neighborhoods are now contained, the air is toxic. And I can tell you, when we stood amidst that charred rubble, it's a smell that stays with you. And one of the reasons is the sheer number -- well, just all the nastiness that burned. But the number of cars that caught fire, specifically, you can see all these electric vehicles and could have been burning far longer than a gas-powered car because the batteries.
Natasha Chen is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scattered amongst the ruins of California's devastating wildfires sit countless Teslas and other electric vehicles, mostly left behind by owners forced to flee from the fast moving flames. The charred EVs are a grim reminder of a new frontier facing firefighters and residents when battling wildfires, and the daunting environmental challenges in cleaning up some of the remains.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: It's a little different world now, today, with batteries, not just car batteries, but battery packs, people with solar, those Tesla wall batteries and the like. So the hazmat side of this is made a little bit more complicated.
CHEN: Just last month, the EPA approved the states ambitious plan to end the sale of new gas operated vehicles by 2035. California has seen a surge in electric vehicles over the last decade. There were more than 3,000 EVs per 100,000 residents in California in 2023, the highest per capita of any state in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy.
CHIEF ROB REZENDE, SAN DIEGO, CA FIRE-RESCUE: Twenty, 30 years ago, when these things were not present in these fires, you didn't have to think about that.
CHEN: San Diego Fire Battalion Chief Robert Rezende is a member of the EPA's lithium ion battery task force. He says the surge in batteries in homes and in EVs creates a new layer of complexity in firefighting.
REZENDE: As the batteries start to burn, they actually release flammable gases like hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and then they also release their own oxygen. And so smothering the fire doesn't really work in these situations. Putting a bunch of water on them doesn't really work in these situations.
CHEN: Rezende says a normal gas powered car fire can be managed in 5 to 15 minutes, but putting out an EV fire could take 2 to 12 hours. REZENDE: So the battery just kind of has to run its course and its
chemistry needs to be consumed before they'll stop being on fire.
CHEN: If there is a vehicle that's burned out right now in one of these wildfire zones in L.A., that was an EV, is it possible that if the battery is intact, it could still reignite?
REZENDE: Yes.
CHEN: Because of the ignitions, he says it could take a swimming pools worth of water to fully extinguish an EV battery fire.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been hyper critical of the state's response to the wildfires, claiming that the immense loss of homes in L.A. is a result of overregulation and bad governance in the state. Musk even wrote that it's over for Gavin when reposting a truth social message from President-elect Donald Trump calling for Newsom to resign.
But with Tesla selling more electric cars in the California market than anywhere else in the nation, Musk has also been providing resources to assist in recovery efforts, positioning Starlink-equipped Cybertrucks and free Wi-Fi in areas of need and providing helpful resources to first responders.
REZENDE: Tesla has -- they've also developed some video training for first responders, so we've shared those with our fire department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHEN: Rezende says that he's in conversations with the EPA about their initial plans to come through and clean up hazardous waste in the burned areas, including all the batteries that you find in home products and electric vehicles.
And that process could take a very long time. So if people are allowed to come back to properties in the near future, he said, just be aware that it may not be 100 percent cleared. Wear a mask and be careful where you walk, Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Natasha, thank you very much from Altadena tonight.
And thanks to all of you for being with us.
"AC360" begins now.