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Erin Burnett Outfront

President Trump Fires DOJ Officials Who Prosecuted Him; Ramping Up Raids; Elon Musk's Message. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired January 27, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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


[19:00:45]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT tonight:

The breaking news: Fired. Trump purging the prosecutors who worked with special counsel Jack Smith. And tonight, Trump ordering a new investigation into January 6th prosecutors.

Also breaking tonight, ramping up those raids. Trump reportedly is not happy with the number of migrants being detained, wants it to go up, as we are learning tonight, new details of what's happening inside those raids. One woman, whose cousin was detained at his restaurant job this weekend is OUTFRONT.

And Elon Musk cozying up to a far right German party whose leaders have used Nazi rhetoric. A major Tesla investor is not happy with Musk. He's my guest.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

An OUTFRONT on this Monday, the breaking news, the Trump purge. President Trump firing more than a dozen Justice Department officials who worked on the investigations into Trump and his role on January 6th. So I'll just show you the termination letter.

It's blunt. It leaves no doubt the motivation. It starts off from the acting attorney general. This letter provides official notice you are being removed from your position, effective immediately.

The attorney general, that's acting attorney general, then continues to write: You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump. Given your significant role in prosecuting the president, I do not believe that the leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the president's agenda faithfully.

Now, keep in mind the people who were working on this case, as far as is understood at this time, were veteran career officials, not political appointees, people, you know who had a career at the Department of Justice, right? So their job isn't to politically uphold anybody. Their job is to do what they were assigned to do, and they were carrying out orders given to them by the special counsel, Jack Smith. Excuse me.

But Trump has been obsessed with the DOJ's investigation into his actions, as you know, and he spoke about it just moments ago to House Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was investigated more than any human being in history. Scarface was not investigated as much as your president was investigated, and it turned out to be a positive thing for me. Can you believe it? It turned out to be we got a lot of votes. I think we got a lot of votes because -- because they saw it was weaponization. It was a fight against a political opponent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Trump wants those who took him and his supporters on to pay again, even if they were career people assigned to work in a case. So in addition to firing those who worked in his January 6th case, he has ordered his administration. So firing not -- not it, right? Also wants an investigation into the prosecutors who investigated the January 6th defendants. So doing a formal investigation there.

And those January 6th pardons, at the heart of that are, of course, the men and women from January 6th and scenes like that, that Trump is now pardoned.

And tonight's breaking news comes just -- just a couple days here after the White House in the middle of the night, fired 17 inspectors general.

Now, inspectors general, are the government watchdogs basically tasked with rooting out fraud and corruption. Now, this move may have actually been illegal because Trump did not notify Congress.

And he has to do that 30 days before removing them. That's required by law. He did not do that in this case. So this one we will see what happens here. It has even one of Trump's staunchest allies, though, his supporters in the Senate, Senator Chuck Grassley, demanding answers. In a statement, he says Trump owes them an explanation.

Now, Grassley is a diehard Trump supporter at this point. So for him to call this out, it's not nothing. But Grassley may be waiting a while because Trump made it clear during the campaign that -- well, this is what this is about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, revenge does take time, I will say that.

DR. PHIL MCGRAW, HOST: It does.

TRUMP: And sometimes revenge can be justified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: That was an interview with Dr. Phil.

Of course, now that he's in charge. Well, so far these moves are revenge. That is not taking long at all.

Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT, live outside the White House.

So, Jeff, you know, I understand there are certain positions in the Justice Department, political appointees that when you get a new president, they flip over, right? These, though in many cases are quite different, whether it is in terms of the process with which they are being handled or the people who are being targeted, in the case of the January 6th investigations, how unusual is all of this?

[19:05:03]

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, this is incredibly unusual. And by this I mean everything. Of course, there has never been a case like this in modern time where there has been a president who was charged, investigated, and of course, come back to office. So this is one more example.

We are one week into the Trump administration tonight. It was tonight, one week ago when he was walking to the Oval Office for the very first time, and now these firings, as well as the wave of firings over the weekend, as you said.

So no, it is not unusual at all. And this is why the language that you were reading in that letter there so important to focus on the faithfully implement the presidents agenda, that is not the traditional role of the Department of Justice. That is not what these career prosecutors and attorneys normally do. However, in this case, it is very clear the president, thinking back to his first term in office, where one of his biggest mistakes he still believes, was appointing Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, his first attorney general, because he recused himself.

And that is something that the president has never forgotten or forgiven. So this now is hanging over all of this and infusing. It's one more example, perhaps the biggest example of what the president has learned his second time in office here. So they are not wasting any time his acting attorney general did this.

Pam Bondi, the attorney general nominee, who likely will be confirmed, perhaps this week, does not have to do any of this. It will be done before she arrives at the Department of Justice.

So yes, it is incredibly unusual. It is not surprising, though, to say the least. But the question is, these are career prosecutors, so they are protected by some type of -- of a civil service law there. So we will see if there's any fallout from that. They are government employees. But now, the president obviously does not want them at the Department of Justice. And it seems they've been fired, Erin.

BURNETT: Right, right, effective, effective immediately. There is no ambiguity about what they're trying to do here. It's a very short letter as of course, Jeff, and has seen just again so everyone can look at it themselves. Thank you, Jeff Zeleny.

So let's go now to former Democratic Congressman ,Mondaire Jones, who served in the Department of Justice under then-President Obama; the host of PBS's "Firing Line", Margaret Hoover, and former Republican Congressman Ken Buck, also a former federal prosecutor under three administrations, Democratic and Republican.

So appreciate having you all here, because putting context around this is so crucial to understand what really is abnormal and what people should be deeply concerned about.

So, Congressman Jones, how troubling are these firings?

MONDAIRE JONES (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, they're very troubling. In 1973, when Richard Nixon was president, they had the Saturday night massacre. Well, in 2025, we have the Friday night massacre, in this case, the president of the United States firing 17 inspectors general, whose sole purpose is to root out corruption in various departments and agencies.

I mean, this is something that Trump said that he wanted to do when he said he wanted to drain the swamp. But it's critical to understand that these firings are a prerequisite to the authoritarianism that we want, that this president wants to implement. I mean, to have no one who's independent investigating his own corruption at these various departments and agencies, especially given the kind of people he's been nominating to lead these departments and agencies, is exactly the kind of thing you would expect an authoritarian to do.

BURNETT: So, Congressman Buck, to this, I just want to read part of the letter from the acting attorney general again, because they're trying to get this done before Pam Bondi comes in, effective immediately, and then continues to say, you played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump, given your significant role in prosecuting the president? I do not believe that the leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the president's agenda faithfully.

Now, Congressman Buck, you served under, as I said, Republican and Democratic administrations in the Justice Department, I'm curious what you think about this. These were career Justice Department employees, as we understand, which would mean that their job is not to uphold the president's agenda. They're doing what they were assigned to do. In this case, it was to work on these investigations.

So what's your -- what's your reaction to what were seeing here in black and white?

KEN BUCK (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: The Justice Department is not the president's law firm. The Justice Department seeks justice. The duty of the Justice Department is to the American people and to this country and to the Constitution for the president, or, you know, we have an acting attorney general making a decision right now for that order to come down, firing career prosecutors is unique in my mind for political reasons, is unique and is wrong. And, you know, this president came into office with a honeymoon and he

came into office with a mandate to work on immigration, not to seek this -- what appears to be retribution.

BURNETT: Margaret, I mean, retribution.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, Congressman Buck, you're exactly right. I couldn't agree with you more. We all know, and we have known and been reminded throughout the course of our history that the Department of Justice is not the president's personal lawyer.

We also know that it is not the job of the Justice Department to ensure that its civil servants faithfully implement the president's agenda. Their job at the Department of Justice is to faithfully enforce the law of the United States of America and the Constitution of the United States of America.

And Republicans know better. Republicans in the House of Representatives who are down there in Mar-a-Lago, not in M-a-Lago. I'm sorry. They're at a different Trump property. I don't feel like giving it an advertisement right now.

But they are -- they know better. And the House of Representatives, your former colleagues, both of you have become a fully owned subsidiary of Trump Inc., and in the senate, they're afraid to stand up to him, mostly, especially the ones who know better because they have been threatened with primaries funded by Elon Musk if they know any better. A U.S. senator told me that, you know, an unnamed U.S. senator, that if Republicans don't endorse and don't support the Trumps nominees to his cabinet, they will be primaried and Elon Musk will pay for the primaries.

BURNETT: So, Congressman Buck, can I ask you in that context, what we heard from Senator Grassley, who, you know, in recent years has staunchly supported Trump's efforts? Okay. And I -- and I say that because that is why what he's saying now stands out in a statement, says Trump owes them an explanation.

I mean, does any of that -- does any of that matter? Does it -- does it matter to anyone, even in the Senate, to hear that Grassley at least, is kind of raising a finger?

BUCK: Oh, I think a lot of senators are raising fingers. I won't say which finger, but they're raising fingers privately about some of the president's actions. I do think that, you know, the there was a debate during my time in Congress whether inspector generals should be moved over to the general accounting office or some office like that, and be under the control of Congress as opposed to the control of the executive branch. It's a very interesting debate. And I think this -- this president has triggered that debate to start again, and we'll see how it -- how it's resolved.

BURNETT: So, Congressman Jones, you know, he says, you know, that they're being fired because they will not assist in implementing the president's agenda faithfully -- again, not their job of the career appointees there at all. And Trump is speaking out tonight and doing something he often very successfully does, right? Which is when he does something saying that he is taking care of the fact that other people were doing it. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I also signed an order to end the weaponization of our government against the American people and investigate all abuses of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, Congressman Jones, from the perspective of Democrats, is there anything productive or proactive that Democrats can do at this point in this context?

MONDAIRE: Well, first of all, I think it's really important for Democrats in Congress to remind the American people that their number one issue, which is the economy, is not being addressed. We have not heard any real pretense of an effort by this new administration to lower the cost of eggs and gas.

And, you know, you name it. Instead, we've heard, you know, threats towards Denmark and Panama, and obviously, we've seen the pardoning of a lot of people who assaulted police officers, among other folks on January 6th. And now were seeing this just coordinated effort to fire people whose sole responsibility it is to root out corruption in government. So I think reminding people of that is really important.

But also, the American people don't like to see corruption. I mean, they think that politicians are corrupt, but it's worth reminding people that this guy who said he's not part of the establishment, that he's not like Washington, D.C., is actually very much part of that apparatus.

BURNETT: Congressman Buck, you know, in recent days, you know, the president has referenced and people around him have referenced another term, and it's not something I've mentioned or talked about because, you know, sort of it seems silly in some contexts, but he just brought it up again a few moments ago. And I just wanted to play for you how he said it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I've raised a lot of money for the next race that I assume I can't use for myself, but I'm not 100 percent sure because I don't know. I think I'm not allowed to run again. I'm not sure. Am I allowed to run again? Mike, I better not get you involved in that argument.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Congressman Buck, he's already the oldest president to take the office, so maybe that's something that gives people more calm than they otherwise might have. If he were ten years younger with all of these comments that he keeps putting out there. What do you say to it?

BUCK: I say we should not get distracted with some of the statements that Donald Trump makes. He was attempting to be humorous. Absent January 6th and some other events in history, it may have been more humorous, but I've heard the president say something very similar at the Republican National Convention in 2020, when I was the state chair, Republican chair in Colorado.

[19:15:07]

I am absolutely positive that the president knows he can't run. And that was a joke.

BURNETT: Final word, Margaret.

HOOVER: You know, none of its funny after January 6th because we've seen that he is -- the Constitution isn't a bar on him, and it's not a guardrail on him. He doesn't respect the Constitution. He doesn't respect anything other than strength.

And so I just -- we can't laugh off anything that Donald Trump says.

BURNETT: Well, it's like when you talk to Newt Gingrich in the interview the other day and he told you who he would respect the separation of powers, he was referring Trump.

HOOVER: And then he said, up to a point, and unless he has to. And he will respect the separation of powers and he will respect his authority, his -- the Constitution as a check on him as much as he has to.

So this -- I mean, this is J.D. Vance's favorite quote from Andrew Jackson's chief justice. I've read the chief justice's opinion, and now I invite him to enforce the law.

Who will enforce our laws? Who is going to help ensure that our separation of powers and the checks and balances in this country hold out over the next four years? And it's we the people. And so this is -- I mean, these are -- these are -- these aren't jokes anymore. And that's -- that's the thing we have to take so seriously.

BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate all three of you very much. And thank you.

And next, the breaking news, President Trump pressing immigration officials to dramatically increase the number of people being detained in these raids, which are now taking place across the country. So, a woman whose cousin was detained by agents who did not have a warrant, her cousin was undocumented, is going to be my guest.

Plus, Elon Musk embracing a German group that's used Nazi rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: I think it's like, frankly, too much of a -- of a focus on past guilt. And we need to move beyond that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: A top Tesla investor is OUTFRONT.

And it's being called A.I.'s Sputnik moment. As China overtakes the United States, one U.S. company on the heels of it losing nearly $600 billion in value, equivalent to the value of GM and Ford combined.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:28]

BURNETT: Breaking news now, Trump is demanding more immigration arrests, praising his ramped up deportation flight so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You got 300 people sitting in a plane. Every one of them either a murderer, a drug lord, a kingpin of some kind, the head of the mob or a gang member. And you're flying that plane. It's not going to end well. Do you ever see the movie "Con Air"? That's what -- yeah. Except here's the difference, the people in "Con Air" were actors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: We do know that not all the people on these flights are drug lords or gang members. We also know ICE officials have been ordered by the Trump administration to majorly increase arrests. ICE claimed nearly 1,000 such arrests just yesterday, and that's because "The Washington Post" reports that Trump is disappointed with the results so far.

Now the latest raids are being produced and consistent Trump fashion, sort of like a reality TV show. Sources telling CNN that agents have been told to make sure they're wearing uniforms that clearly indicate the agency they're working for, in case they're captured by a camera crew.

Trump also allowing one of his top allies in the TV world to come along on some of these. Dr. Phil posting videos of himself at an ICE command center in Chicago, speaking to Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, Dr. Phil repeatedly asking Homan to downplay claims that agents are raiding schools and businesses.

Later, the two were seen together on the streets where a migrant was allegedly arrested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PHIL MCGRAW, HOST: But you've never been deported before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Phil, you are Dr. Phil?

MCGRAW: Yeah. How do you know me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I seen -- I seen a Dr. Phil, you know, on TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: That live coverage of an immigration enforcement mission is clearly what the Trump administration wants out there, right? That video.

And OUTFRONT now is the San Jose Mayor, Matt Mahan, to start our coverage here.

Mayor, I appreciate your time. And I know that immigration raids have been going on in San Jose. So, just to try to understand and in the context of the fact that the president wants these to obviously ramp up, what's happening there. What have you seen and heard?

MAYOR MATT MAHAN (D), SAN JOSE, CA: Well, thanks for having me on, Erin.

Yesterday, we were alerted by ICE that they would be carrying out an operation in San Jose. We get through our police department, essentially a real time alert as a courtesy. There was no request for our department to participate, nor do we. That's not our role in local law enforcement.

We know that there were at least a couple of targeted actions in the community. We were not provided with any additional details.

And --

BURNETT: So they don't tell you the targeted action. They don't tell you who's arrested or whether they say they're criminals or any information like that, even though it's happening in your city?

MAHAN: No, there's no obligation for them to give us any information. They give our police department a courtesy heads up before an operation so that if other residents are calling 911, our departments aware that something is happening and they don't inadvertently take action against another law enforcement agency, that tries to be a basic level of coordination.

BURNETT: So you heard Trump say that those on the deportation flights are filled with drug lords and gang members, as he was just speaking a few moments ago. We know that that's -- that's -- that's not the case. I mean, there are people who are not that. But I'm curious what your understanding is by and large, right? Is that what it really is? I mean, what's your response to him saying that?

MAHAN: Well, so far, the actions yesterday appeared to be very targeted. We certainly had operations like this under the Biden administration and previous administrations.

[19:25:00]

My general view is if you are in our city or country and you're undocumented and you're committing serious or violent crimes, you should be deported. And I don't think that's very controversial. I don't think it's particularly controversial to say we want to have a secure border and know who or what's coming in and out of the country. At the same time, I think the federal government has failed us at a

local level for decades. We have thousands of families in San Jose who are otherwise law abiding, hardworking, raising their children here, contributing to society. And we need a way of rationalizing, rationalizing peoples existence here, bringing people out of the shadows, whether its a pathway to citizenship, its a work permit. It is some way of getting into a formal process and paying your dues, paying a fine, whatever it is.

But we have been failed in enforcement alone isn't going to solve this problem.

BURNETT: So in New York City or just outside New York city, in Nassau County, which is on Long Island, the county executive, Bruce Blakeman, told CNN in a statement today that local law enforcement will help federal enforcement in the county.

You had referenced that your police get a courtesy heads up, but will your police, if asked, assist ICE in rounding people up?

MAHAN: So our policy and this is true across the state of California, is that we do not have our local police officers engaged in enforcement actions that are primarily related to somebody's status or enforcing an immigration law, and that's for a very good reason. We have extremely limited police staffing. We need our community to feel comfortable calling their local 911 emergency response when there's a crime in action. We want all residents to feel comfortable being witnesses if they witness a crime.

And we just don't have the capacity. Nor is it our role to carry out immigration enforcement, which is its own body of law. So we don't participate, nor have we been asked to participate.

But I will say again, if someone is here committing serious or violent crime, if we have relevant information, we -- our goal is to keep the community safe. So sure, San Jose Police Department, when appropriate, will certainly coordinate with each other and share information with other law enforcement agencies if it is in the interest of keeping people safe. That's our primary duty.

BURNETT: Yeah.

MAHAN: But we do not ask people their status or engage in immigration enforcement as routine business in our -- in our city. That's just not our law. Our police department's role.

BURNETT: All right. Mayor Mahan, I appreciate your time. And thank you very much.

And here with me, OUTFRONT now on set, is Jennifer Jimenez. Her cousin was detained during the surprise sweep by ICE agents at a seafood distributor in Newark, New Jersey. If you were watching our show on Friday night, it was really minutes after that it happened and we were just getting the details on that. And you see those officers going in.

So, Jennifer, you have chosen to speak out, which I know is, you know, you don't do you don't do lightly. David, your cousin works at the facility that was raided, and he was there because he was at work and he was doing his job. ICE shows up, city officials say, without a warrant in this case. And you see them in this video going in. So what did David tell you happen next?

JENNIFER JIMENEZ, COUSIN OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT DETAINED IN ICE RAID: So basically, my cousin went to work like a normal day. He was working in the back. He said the officials came in without a warrant. Of course, they came in and asked him for his ID, he gave him their -- his ID, they checked on the system and they took him away because he didn't have any case open.

Okay. That happened. And then they took him to the detention center, kept him there, and I lost contact with him. So that's what happened at first. And then after that, I went to go see him.

BURNETT: At the detention center?

JIMENEZ: Yeah. Not the same day, the following day, because the visitation hours, the hours were over. He told me they came in. They took him away with two other male coworkers and eight females. After that, he told me they treated him good at the detention center and everything.

But it wasn't fair because he does not have any criminal record. He's a hard working man. He goes to work every day. He has no record.

BURNETT: So, so, so let me ask you about that. You -- you said he'd been in the U.S. for 4 or 5 years, right? And he is. He has a job, so he's paying payroll taxes. He's paying those sorts of things.

Obviously, though, he's -- he's -- he's here illegally, right? I mean, he's undocumented.

Can you just share with me as far as you know it, Jennifer, what were his hopes, what was his reason for coming here and his dream about being here?

JIMENEZ: He came here four years ago to maintain his family. The main reason was his younger sister. She's not here with us anymore. She was battling with cancer, and she had -- she left a two year old, without a mom and a dad.

Unfortunately, he came here to pay her bills, because over there, Ecuador, you can't make a lot of money. That was his main reason in coming here.

[19:30:01]

And four months after he came here, she passed away sadly.

BURNETT: And he's taken care of that, the baby?

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

BURNETT: So he's raising that child? JIMENEZ: Yeah.

BURNETT: Alone, on this job that he had at the seafood distributor.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

BURNETT: So when you hear people say, and, you know, including obviously those who are now enforcing this, that, well, he is a criminal because he broke the law to come here, that that's a crime. How do you respond to that?

JIMENEZ: I don't think those people that are commenting that understand why they are coming here, I feel like, yeah, it's unnecessary for them comments. Because they don't know the reason that they're coming here is not for them to create any harm. It's for them to prosper, to keep their family alive. And I don't think they -- they comprehend what's going on.

BURNETT: So what happens to him next? Does he understand? And what has happened to that, also that child, that little girl?

JIMENEZ: Yeah. At the moment the child does not know, but he understands what's going on. We're working hard to see what's going to happen next. We're trying to get him out. We're going to see what's going on because I know he's not the only one there. There are a lot of families impacted by this.

BURNETT: Just even of the ones that, you know, from -- from his job.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, I know a lot of families that work at his job. They're going -- they're going through hard times as well.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Jennifer, I appreciate you very much. And I thank you for, you know, having -- having the courage to come out and speak. So thank you.

JIMENEZ: Thank you for having me here.

BURNETT: Jennifer Jimenez, as I said, that was her cousin David, who was rounded up in that raid in Newark, New Jersey.

And next, an OUTFRONT exclusive, our David Culver is going to take you to Guatemala. That's where Trump deportation plane has just landed. So who are they? What are they saying about their detainment? He's actually there on the ground to tell you exclusively.

Plus, Elon Musk appearing in front of a far right group in Germany, a group that has used Nazi rhetoric. Tesla stock, though, is surging. We'll talk to an investor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:25]

BURNETT: Tonight, bill gates is calling Elon Musk, quote, insane for supporting Germanys far right AFD party, a party which includes members who have been convicted of using Nazi rhetoric. Gaetz speaking out -- obviously, the founder of Microsoft, telling "The Times of London", quote, its really insane that he can destabilize -- destabilize the political situations in countries. This is insane. You can see it on your screen.

That after Musk said this at an AFD rally just this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSK: I think there's like, frankly, too much of a -- of a focus on past guilt. And we need to move beyond that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Fred Pleitgen spoke to a top AFD party leader in a story that you will see first here tonight OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Elon Musk, larger than life. The virtual guest of honor at the far right Alternative for Germany's election campaign kickoff event. Some AFD members have been accused of using Nazi rhetoric. Musk calling for more German nationalism.

MUSK: I think there's like, frankly, too much of a -- of a focus on past guilt. And we need to move beyond that.

It's okay to be proud to be German and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that that dilutes everything.

PLEITGEN: Music to the ears of AFD supporters.

MUSK: You know, go, go, go! Fight, fight, fight!

PLEITGEN: Musk speaking even before the party's main candidate, Alice Weidel, who makes no secret on immigration the AFD sees eye to eye with the Trump administration.

Weidel telling me just how important Musk's support is.

ALICE WEIDEL, AFD CANDIDATE FOR CHANCELLLOR: I'm incredibly happy that he made it. And, I wish him and Donald Trump, J.D. Vance all the best and God blessings.

PLEITGEN: What would you do if you became the chancellor immediately?

WEIDEL: Well, closing our borders, controlling them and then sending out all the illegals and also these people who do crimes. They have to leave our country.

PLEITGEN: Germany has taken in millions of refugees in recent years, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. But after a string of high profile crimes like a recent stabbing by an Afghan asylum seeker killing a two year old boy and a man trying to stop the rampage, many Germans have soured to the migrant influx. Musk, inserting himself into German politics, calling German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an incompetent fool and saying only the AFD can save Germany.

Well, Germanys established parties have said they will not cooperate with the AFD. The party is currently riding a high in the polls and could soon be one of the strongest political forces in Germany.

CROWD: Elon Musk, what the? No one wants your Cybertruck.

PLEITGEN: Outside the venue, Musk also a lightning rod for those protesting against the AFD.

I understand what happened in 1933, this man says, where many people didn't want to see it. And I don't want my children to ask me, dad, where were you when the Nazis started again? The AFD rejects accusations of being right wing extremists. And the party leaders say, like it or not, the AFD is on the rise, with Elon Musk fueling their ascent.

MAXIMILLIAN KRAH, AFD POLITICIAN: Now, Elon Musk is on our side, so you have to make a decision. Do you want to have a party with Olaf Scholz and with all those eunuchs of the other parties, or you are on our side with Elon Musk, with Donald Trump, with almost the entire world?

[19:40:10]

So which side of the firewall has more sex appeal?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): And, Erin, tonight a new poll here in Germany does have the far right AFD in second place, garnering around 22 percent of potential votes in Germanys upcoming election in late February.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is now calling the election here in Germany important for the very future of civilization -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Fred. Important for the future of Western civilization. Of course, Elon Musk has posted that it is Trumps victory that is saving Western civilization. So the connection there.

OUTFRONT now, Ross Gerber, president and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, a longtime major Tesla investor.

Ross, I appreciate your time.

You know, we spoke to you after Musk endorsed Germany's far right party. The party, of course, as Fred mentioned, they've had a regional leader convicted of using Nazi rhetoric. You at the time said it was -- was, quote, disgusting to use your words. So now here Musk is speaking to that group at a rally and telling that particular group, it's okay to be proud to be German and to move past their -- move beyond their past guilt. What's your reaction to that?

ROSS GERBER, TESLA INVESTOR: Well, personally, I'm actually part German and my father served in 1961 when the Berlin Wall was put up by the communists in Germany. I spent a lot of time in Germany as a child. He was stationed in a place called Bad Kreuznach.

So the United States has defended Germany for a very, very long time. And we have a very long history.

I also have a family of Holocaust, not survivors, victims, in Germany. So I find the whole move to fascism extremely disturbing. It's just -- Germany has come so far as a country from, you know, 60, 80 years ago, from the war. And to see this push back, it's the same exact playbook that Hitler used in the '30s to create the Nazi party.

It's literally the same attack on immigrants. And in this case, it was Jews. Now it's immigrants. It's really a disturbing trend in the world, but it is not what people want. It is not the majority of what Germans want or Americans. And I think the perception on social media is completely different than what's actually happening in real life. And so he's simply manipulating people's views.

BURNETT: So but -- of course, you know, we live in this world where sometimes the virtual is more real than the reality. And that's what can happen in these scenarios.

Ross, I guess as somebody who you were one of his earliest and biggest supporters, right? You know how he operates. You've been a long time investor in Tesla. When Musk goes and speaks in front of a group like this, a group that he's endorsed, AFD, right? And it is the right wing group and tells them it's proud to be German. It's okay to be proud to be German. I mean, it almost sounds ridiculous to say, does he not know what he's doing?

I mean, is there any question in your mind that he understands the significance and the importance of exactly what he was saying to that group?

GERBER: Yeah, 100 percent. I mean, Elon is certainly somebody who knows what he's doing. And once again, I'm proud to be German, too, because I'm proud of what Germany has become, OK?

BURNETT: Right, absolutely, yeah.

GERBER: But -- but I don't understand what nationalism or what we call white supremacy is somehow being proud to be German. In fact, being proud to be German is exactly what Germany has become. And it's a wonderful country today.

So it's a democracy and people can have different views. But I think what Elon is doing is extremely detrimental, A, as a shareholder to Tesla. But this is all about power. And Elon is trying to become one of the most powerful people in the world. And that's what he's doing.

BURNETT: Well, he's already the richest right. So, so -- right now, the power equation.

So on that front can I and I ask you this, Ross, to be direct, since he endorsed Trump and became so close in that inner circle, he spent almost every day since the election by Trumps side. So that's clearly where he's spending his physical time and his social media posting time is on a variety of things, but most of them are political.

Tesla's stock price has surged. I mean, surged, it's up more than 70 percent. That is stunning by any stretch of the imagination. This is just since Trump won.

So you as a shareholder have made a hell of a lot of money. Are you selling because of what you see here? I mean, is this a matter of conscience or what do you do? And are you worried about Tesla, given how we just laid out how he's spending his time?

GERBER: I mean, I think you got to pull this chart back a little bit because it was actually in 2021 when Tesla was over $400 a share. So the truth is, I haven't made money in Tesla in four years unless I bought it a year ago. You know what I'm saying?

BURNETT: Yeah. No, I understand.

GERBER: So, in fact, it's the actually -- it's the opposite of the truth. The real situation is he hasn't made us money in years. The stock is extremely expensive and vulnerable to a price decline if valuations change in the market and their core products and services have not been developed in a competent way, and that's all going to come to roost at some point.

[19:45:07]

Like full self-driving still doesn't work. He wants to release a cab that's going to drive on its own, but I use it every day, and I couldn't use it the other day because it was raining too hard. And it doesn't work in the rain. Well, that's a real big problem because it rains in a lot of places, okay?

So we want to make robots, I guess. And so I think, you know, Tesla sales declined last year. I expect them to be stagnant again or even decline this year. And consumers don't want anything to do with the brand.

I mean, every day, you know, people complain they're getting flicked off for driving Tesla. So Tesla makes some of the best cars in the world, but it has the worst image as a company of any company I can think of right now.

BURNETT: And one of the fastest turnarounds, if that continues. Well, Ross, I appreciate your time and thank you for coming OUTFRONT.

GERBER: Yeah, thanks for having me.

BURNETT: All right. Good to see you, Ross.

And next, an OUTFRONT exclusive on the ground in Guatemala, a Trump deportation plan has plane has just landed.

And guess what? David Culver is there. And one migrant talks to him, says she's thrilled to be back. He can see who's really on these planes.

Plus, stocks tumbling. One company losing $600 billion in market value just today because of a little known Chinese company. And it is a tiny little speck of a thing, but it is completely upended the world today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:34]

BURNETT: Breaking news CNN on the ground in Guatemala as a U.S. military aircraft deported migrants touches down. Now Trump, of course, is keeping his promise of more mass deportations, nearly started a trade war with Colombia over the weekend because Colombia didn't allow U.S. military planes to land with deported migrants, then it was an about face. Colombia caved.

In Guatemala today, CNN was there watching two of Trump's planes. One of them was a commercial charter plane that had about 120 migrants on it.

And David Culver was there. Who are these individuals? Who are they? He was there as they landed with an exclusive look that you will see first here tonight, OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stepping off a commercial charter and onto Guatemala city's military tarmac, 124 migrants deported for illegally entering the U.S. now back home, they processed past officials, including the country's vice president, and into a reception hall. Cookies and coffee await.

One by one, they're called up to be officially documented. Now, that's a change from their status in the U.S.

She lived ten years in the U.S. in Alabama. She did roofing, construction and car repair while in the U.S.

Here we meet Sara Tot-Botoz. At 43, she says she carries a criminal record related to child endangerment.

She was shopping at Walmart, with her grandson, and she said he didn't have a car seat, and she was pulled over as she was leaving the Walmart by a police officer in Alabama.

She went to jail for two months and was detained for five more months, she says, by immigration officials in Louisiana before being sent back here.

She's actually grateful, thanking God for being back.

Do you want to go back to the U.S.?

SARA TOT-BOTOZ, DEPORTED FROM U.S. BACK TO GUATEMALA: No. Yeah. No.

CULVER: No? TOT-BOTOZ: Yeah. No.

CULVER: Sara seemingly uncomfortable though, speaking with us in what she's wearing, she's eager to get to her bag, which sits in a pile of plastic sacks and stapled shut. And as she heads into the bathroom to change, we meet Fidel Ambrocio.

So how many years altogether did you live in the U.S.?

FIDEL AMBROCIO, DEPORTED FROM U.S. BACK TO GUATEMALA: Almost 19 years.

CULVER: Nineteen years?

AMBROCIO: Yes. And I'm scared. Because now the Trump, they say they have to go, you know, go with the criminal. But we're not a criminal. You know.

CULVER: But you have a trespassing conviction.

AMBROCIO: Yes.

CULVER: Are you going to try to stay here or do you think you'll go back?

AMBROCIO: I have to go back, for sure.

CULVER: You'll find a way back.

AMBROCIO: Yes.

CULVER: While Fidel walks freely here, others are pulled aside by Guatemalan police as soon as they arrive, accused of crimes not only in the U.S., but also here in their homeland. They require a lot of resources so as to reintegrate the returnees.

Guatemala's vice president, tells me. Its about the same number, though, that have been arriving in recent years under President Biden, though she says the use of U.S. military planes, which Guatemala is permitting, is new under President Trump.

Back in the reception hall, we almost don't recognize Sara. She's changed into her indigenous wardrobe and feels more at home now, ready to step out.

To reunite with her daughter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER (on camera): So those are obviously incredibly emotional scenes. And you see those replicated across many people who are reuniting with their loved ones. But it is interesting, Erin, because you would think perhaps that would be indicative of resentment towards President Trump or the U.S. administration. But when you speak to some of these deported migrants, they almost just pass it off as it's a situational scenario that they had to get through. And it is what it is.

They don't really hold that personal resentment. And many of them say, and this perhaps is indicative also of this being a deterrence, that they will not go back to the U.S. now.

BURNETT: It's fascinating, but just to be able to speak to them and see them and the sacrifice made to stay here and to send the money home, and then to have such joy with reuniting, it is so complex and so incredible that you're able to tell those stories. David, thank you.

David Culver with that, an incredible reporting from Guatemala City tonight.

[19:55:01]

And later tonight, Trump's border czar Tom Homan will be on the source at nine.

OUTFRONT next, China's A.I. technology stuns the United States. One little company now causing America's biggest to lose $600 billion in value in a day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news: President Trump just moments ago applauding China's powerful new A.I. called "DeepSeek", calling it a positive, but then also saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The release of DeepSeek A.I. from a Chinese company should be a wake up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Trump's comments coming after U.S. stocks lost $1 trillion today, $1 trillion, because of DeepSeek, which is Chinese, and they're offering it to users for free. Well, it sent the market into hysterics after its explosive debut on the stock exchange.

I mean, what it did to Nvidia, which is the most valuable tech company in the world, which has a new A.I. chip coming out that this apparently throws into question. It fell 17 percent, more than $600 billion in value wiped out in one day.

That is the biggest loss in American history. The equivalent of the value of Bank of America and American Express combined. One of Silicon Valley's top investors saying, the reason why is this DeepSeek R1 is A.I.'s Sputnik moment.

Going to China, not America? China spent only $6 billion to develop DeepSeek. Compare that to the U.S. tech companies right now on track already to spend a trillion.

Thanks so much for joining us.

"AC360" starts now.