Return to Transcripts main page

Erin Burnett Outfront

Marines On Standby Outside L.A. As Protests Spread Across U.S.; "Brazen Abuse Of Power": Newsom Seizes On Fight With Trump; U.S. Withdraws American Personnel In Middle East Amid Heightened Tension; Sources: Musk Called Trump Before Publicly Expressing "Regret". Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 11, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:33]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right. Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett, and we are OUTFRONT live from Los Angeles.

Right now, there are hundreds of Marines outside this city at the ready just outside L.A., ready to come in. Tensions remain high on the sixth day of protest. There were 200 arrests last night. As we are now just a few hours away from the second night of a curfew taking effect, a curfew that was extremely effective last night. And we will see what happens here in these next few hours.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth making it clear that if there are other cities and we are seeing these protests now spread to other cities, including New York and Chicago, that if there are other cities like Los Angeles, that the Pentagon could send troops there as well.

Here with me in Los Angeles are Kyung Lah, and also in New York tonight, Shimon Prokupecz covering the rising tensions there. Protests there outside federal immigration detention facilities.

Let's begin, though, with Kyung here also in L.A. with me.

Kyung, what have you been seeing today?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you just said that the curfew was extremely effective, Erin. And let me show you. Part of the reason why is this interagency communication and planning. What you're looking at here is the on ramp to the 101, the California Highway Patrol, you can see that they're in a very relaxed state, the officer there, the patrolman there wearing a cap. There's no riot gear.

They have completely shut down the on ramp and off ramp to the 101 Freeway. We're in the middle of rush hour, and this was a huge problem a couple of days ago. And what you see over here is that traffic is able to move quite freely on the 101.

I'm going to swing you over this way. You can -- I'm about a block away from where you're standing, Erin. And if you look over there, more officers really trying to control the traffic.

So, what this is really been about in the city is planning and trying to control the crowds and the anger and the sentiment, and also that curfew is in effect again. So, what you're seeing is coordination and planning and how effective it can be to try to prevent these problems.

So, protesters know that if they try to come this way, if they try to jump onto the freeway again, they're going to be met with the CHP who are blocking their path, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Kyung, thank you very much.

As Kyung said, you know, as that curfew is about to take effect, I mentioned there were 200 arrests here in Los Angeles last night. There were 80 arrests in New York City, where Shimon Prokupecz is tonight as protesters are gathering outside federal immigration facilities.

And, Shimon, what are you seeing tonight?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ,CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, look, there are a couple of hundred protesters that have now gathered here in Foley Square, exactly where this all started last night. You could see the crowd here. There is a group of organizers that are up over here that are chanting, leading the chants, and they've been out here for almost two hours now, chanting and voicing their opinions about certainly about what's been happening in Los Angeles.

What's really interesting here tonight, Erin, is that the NYPD seemed to have been very surprised by the numbers that came out last night. The nearly 2,000 protesters, some of the largest protests that the city has seen in quite some time. And so, as a result, they have increased the security here.

They don't have anywhere near the numbers tonight, but you could start to see here some of the officers, which we didn't see last night wearing helmets, they were out here tonight. And they also have a lot more officers on standby. And the key here for them, Erin, I want to show you -- Emilio, come, come this way, so I could show Erin here.

So up this street here. This is the key thing. This is the area that they are trying to protect. Because this is where the ICE offices are here in New York city. And this is where the vans that are transporting the people that have been detained will come in, will come out. And so, this has been an area that has been a flashpoint. We saw well into late last night, even after 11:00 p.m., where protesters were gathered here trying to intercept and interrupt the vans. And officers made arrests. And that's where most of the arrests came, as you said, around 80 arrests.

But for now, the NYPD certainly prepared. We're seeing a very different posture from there, from them here tonight.

[19:05:00]

I think the surprise there was some surprise at the numbers. We're not seeing that so far tonight. But again, it's early and most of the activity that did occur here yesterday was late into the evening around 9:00 or so once it got dark. So, for now, certainly, Erin, not seeing the numbers that they were seeing yesterday in terms of the protesters, but definitely an increase in NYPD officers out here.

BURNETT: Shimon, thank you very much in New York.

And as I said, all of this starting here in Los Angeles and now spreading across the country, Los Angeles City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, Democrat, joins me now.

And, Katy, you know, as were standing here, we are a few hours away from the curfew taking place for the second night, 200 arrests last night. You're seeing more people come in sort of as word gets out, more of those horns, people driving by.

Where are we in this right now? Where are we?

KATY YAROSLAVSKY (D), LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCILMEMBER: Well, we're living through a very surreal time, right? We're watching the unraveling of democracy before our very eyes. And, you know, this was a calculated. Increasing in intensity. It was a calculated move by the Trump administration.

Last Thursday, Los Angeles was calm, but then ICE agents descended on the city, making arrests and workplaces, schools, home depots, striking terror into the heart of our city. And then he did it again by federalizing, the National Guard, by the National Guard. That's right.

BURNETT: National Guard now federalized --

YAROSLAVSKY: That's right. Without -- without the request, in fact, in opposition to what the governor and our mayor wanted, the city council, none of us wanted this. And then he further ramped it up, poured gasoline on it, intentionally inciting this sort of response by calling in active duty Marines.

We have more military here right now than they have in Iraq. This is -- this is not what's making Los Angeles safe. This doesn't make us safe. This is -- this is theater, political theater.

BURNETT: Seven hundred Marines, of course, now at the ready.

YAROSLAVSKY: Right, right.

BURNETT: Right here outside Los Angeles. Trump just spoke a few moments ago. I want to play for you something that he said, Katy. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very proud to have helped Los Angeles survive. Los Angeles right now, if we didn't do what we did, would be burning to the ground. And that's not over yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: If we didn't do what we did, would be burning to the ground right now. That's how the president United States just described Los Angeles.

I mean, I'll say we've been here the past few days. Certainly, that's not what we've seen. There were some incidents of violence that were specific individuals involved in that. By and large, peaceful protests and all of in a very narrow area.

But when he says L.A. would have burned to the ground, how do you respond to that?

YAROSLAVSKY: It's the -- it's opposite day all the time with him, right? This is -- what he's done is actually make things much worse. Our LAPD is trained to handle normal civil disobedience. Most of what we've been seeing for the last week has been peaceful protests. And when it hasn't been peaceful, LAPD has stepped in and made arrests.

If you're violating the law, if you're breaking the law, you're going to get arrested. But for the most part, people have been peaceful. What he's trying to do is distract from the fact that he's engaging in unlawful arrests and detentions of people and then disappearing them.

BURNETT: So, let me ask you, how long do you expect this curfew to last? It was effective last night. You couldn't go anywhere in this area of downtown ten minutes before the curfew started, and they only had 90 minutes warning it was -- we're shutting down the stores.

So how long does this stay in effect? Right now, we're -- we've got a couple hours. So, you still have people out? Not many, but more as people have gotten out of work. How long for this curfew?

YAROSLAVSKY: Look, I think as long as it's necessary, as long as it's necessary to show the administration that we do not need National Guard here. We don't need active duty Marines here.

We are grateful for their service in other capacities. But the state of California, the city and county of Los Angeles have said in no uncertain terms, we don't need your help here right now. And in fact, it's making things worse, which you can hear and see around us right now. This is not making Los Angeles or Angelenos safer, and it's distracting from the fact that families are being torn apart and the rule of law is being trampled on right now by the Trump administration.

BURNETT: In terms of where we -- where we go from here, the temporary restraining order that the governor of California requested to stop these National Guard that are right here from being taken over by the federal government, was denied. Now, I know there's going to be hearing, there's a process here.

But how big of a disappointment is that? It did not hit the hurdle with that federal judge in northern California to pull them back, right? And here they are right now.

YAROSLAVSKY: It's frustrating and it's disappointing because Los Angeles is not as safe as it would be if they weren't here right now. And I know that people looking in from around the world see this chaos, but it's really, mostly peaceful protest, and we have LAPD out in full force. We have mutual aid where we've called on other nearby local governments that are trained in civil disobedience and how to respond in a way that de-escalate rather than ratchets up.

[19:10:01]

And we've seen incidents across the city of federal agents actually raising the temperature, ramming into cars, engaging in chases on the street. This is lawlessness. And it's not being perpetrated by LAPD. LAPD, we do not need federal agents here in Los Angeles.

BURNETT: All right, Lisa, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

She was just talking about people running down the street. You know, I was talking to some people who worked in different establishments. I'm not going to say what type or where they wouldn't want me to do that, Hispanic men, and one of them who is legal, said, well, if you don't have children, you know, you can try to outrun them, but it's the people who have the children who have the most fear.

And it was a pretty stunning moment just to hear people talking like that in this country about being chased down by agents, and that when we look at what's happening in other places, like in Omaha, 700 people were detained in ICE raids there, meatpacking facilities, obviously huge part of Omaha.

And joining us now is the mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, John Ewing, Jr.

And, Mayor Ewing, I really appreciate your time.

We're talking about these 70 detentions in Omaha, at least as we understand it right now. Is that the number as you see it? Have there been more things happening? And why do you think Omaha right now specifically is being targeted?

MAYOR JOHN EWING, JR. (D), OMAHA, NE: Well, the number is around 70, and I don't want to speculate about why we're being targeted. My belief is that whatever happens, we as Omahans have a can do spirit. We will address the issues, and we will do the things necessary for our city.

BURNETT: So, is there fear in Omaha right now? I mean, certainly when you go into restaurants here in Los Angeles, there is fear. There is fear among people who are legal and people who are not legal. They're afraid. Is that fear now in Omaha?

EWING: Yes. There's been some unnecessary fear created by the incidents. Yesterday there was one raid and then there were several attempts by federal agents to go into businesses without warrants, and they were denied entry. And so that's created fear.

We had our South Omaha business district closed down for the afternoon yesterday. Our community colleges south campus closed, as well as our South Omaha library. So those are the types of things that keep cities from being as productive as they could be, and create a sense of unease in our community and communities across the country. That's quite honestly, unnecessary.

What we really need is for the federal government to do their job and create a comprehensive immigration plan that will allow for some orderly addressing of these issues.

BURNETT: So, Mayor, you were sworn in just two days ago, and I think it's important to emphasize to everybody you did so after 25 years with the Omaha police department. So, you speak from the perspective of understanding law enforcement.

I'm just curious, when you look at Omaha and you see what's happening here in Los Angeles, is the situation that you would see in Omaha something that Omaha police would be able to handle, or would you somehow welcome the National Guard being sent into Omaha as well if the president chose to do that.

EWING: We have an amazing police department. I've been actively involved with the Omaha Police Department for 43-1/2 years, 25 years active duty, where I retired as a deputy chief, and then the last 18 years partnering with them on an effort to reduce violence in our community. And the Omaha police department can handle the policing needs of the city of Omaha.

BURNETT: So, Mayor, I know you know, your two days in into an unprecedented moment. What would you do if President Trump called the National Guard to Omaha now?

EWING: I would do everything I could resist, just like Los Angeles is doing. The Omaha Police Department is a very capable police department. They are one of the best police agencies in the United States of America. We've had very peaceful protests yesterday, and we believe that that is primarily due to our citizens and our community understanding the need for calm when we've asked for them to protest peacefully.

As well as the Omaha police department and the relationships that we've built over the four decades that I've been involved with the Omaha police department. We've worked really hard to build great community relationships with our community because we know community policing is the most effective way to police.

[19:15:02]

BURENTT: All right. Mayor Ewing, I very much appreciate your time, and thanks so much for sharing all of that with us.

As we look at the protests here in Los Angeles and New York, also in other cities, Chicago and Denver. And the mayor of Denver is going to be our guest just after this.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BURNETT: All right. The breaking news here in Los Angeles, approaching curfew. Still a bit of time to go, but more and more people have been coming out into what had been a quieter afternoon after work. You can hear the horns. You can hear more people coming out, as we can see people gathering anytime police officers come in.

[19:20:05]

Here with Nick Watt.

Nick, you can watch some of these vehicles come in and out the National Guard. But a bit of tension building here.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, for sure. We were here at noon. It was very quiet. Frankly, the media outnumbered the protesters. The National Guard had a very chill posture. They've now got these shields back, which they did not have earlier. And as you mentioned, every time we've seen a convoy come in the loud the noise gets much louder. Tempers flare a little bit.

And that is, remember yesterday when they closed this down? That was after bottles were thrown when one of these convoys was coming in. So, listen, we've got a few hours until the curfew for sure, but definitely the temperature is changing around here as we get nearer to that curfew.

Be interesting to see if they allow the protesters to stay out here in front of the detention center for much longer. If this really keeps on going. We've already heard the cops saying, don't be in the road, you've got to be on the sidewalk. Perhaps that could be a pretext to close this down.

BURNETT: Well, and we were both here yesterday. Yesterday, that is what happened. People were spilling in the street. They said that a few times in the bullhorn we can hear. And when it was defied, eventually they went. That's when there were arrests.

And, you know, as you knew when you got caught on the wrong side of that, even as a reporter, you could be briefly detained. So I, you know, this this building that were at, the federal building, you see all these National Guard, the detention center, you had your naturalization ceremony here, right? This is the heart of immigration in Los Angeles.

And we know there are Marines right outside the city. So far, we still just see a lot of National Guard.

WATT: Correct. Correct. Marines we have not seen at all so far.

But, you know, Mayor Bass, she said this morning the curfew is going to continue. The protests are going to continue as long as the ICE raids continue, and as long as the soldiers remain here in Los Angeles.

So, she is putting the blame for this squarely on the federal government for essentially provoking all this by carrying out these raids. And we've heard of more raids today, Erin, in Downey, just south of here.

So, she is saying that this is their fault. And, you know, city and local officials put out some numbers today as well. They're saying about 4,000 people protesting a tiny fraction of them doing so violently.

And there are nearly 18,000 officers between the LAPD and the sheriffs department. Add in all the other city departments around here. Their message is we've got this under control. Feds, you're only stoking the flames. Get out.

BURNETT: Right, right. And making the point 18,000 is a lot. And we've seen them. And I think it's fair to say. And you know, you're here all the time. I'm here now. I was here during the fires.

The LAPD know what they're doing.

WATT: Yeah.

BURNETT: They know how to manage crowds, emergencies, natural disasters. That's what they do. And they do it very well. And there are a lot of them. And they have been the ones on the streets that we have all interacted with, right?

The National Guard, although we have seen them out with ICE, have remained here --

WATT: Yes.

BURNETT: -- along the federal building.

WATT: Now, it was interesting last night when that curfew hit at 8:00 p.m., the LAPD didn't immediately swoop. They were very professional about it. They took it very slow. They moved very slowly.

There were no dramatic scenes of arrests. It was under control. This was an LAPD, a police department, showing that it can do so do its job with I wouldn't say a light touch, but with a considerate touch.

And they did not slam in there 8:00 p.m. and start zip-tying people. They were calm. They were a city police force doing what a city police force is trained to do.

BURNETT: That's right. Of course, we'll see what has happened.

As you said, the temperature has risen here. Figuratively, literally. It has dropped, thank god, but figuratively. Temperatures rising here with these protests.

All right. I want to go now to the mayor of Denver, because the protests, as we've been saying, have been spreading to other cities, Denver among them.

Mayor Johnston joins me now.

Mike Johnston of Denver, it's good to talk to you again, mayor. I appreciate your time.

So, thousands have been protesting in your city as well, and they're calling for an end to ICE raids, of which were talking about the ones here in Los Angeles. Youve seen them in Denver. I was just talking to the mayor of Omaha who said they've seen them there, but I am I am curious, are you worried that what happens here in Los Angeles in terms of the federal involvement, the Marines, the National Guard could happen in Denver? As the defense secretary made clear, really, any city is on the table for the same treatment now.

MAYOR MIKE JOHNSTON (D), DENVER: Yeah. Thanks, Erin.

We see no reason why there needs to be any federal law enforcement in Denver. We absolutely have the capacity to manage this here. We've had protests almost every week since Trump has taken office in Denver. They have been peaceful. They've been collaborative. We have an incredible police department here who is prepared. We are prepared and handled it last night.

We understand why folks are angry when you're rounding up grandmothers or arresting American citizens, or picking people up when they're coming out of work at Home Depot or Target, folks will be frustrated, but we're very confident we can handle that here locally in Denver. And we have a police department fully prepared to do it. And protesters who can make their case, we think peacefully and appropriately.

[19:20:05]

BURNETT: So, I'm curious in terms of the ICE raids, you know, the mayor of Omaha was just telling us that it's about 70 people who have been detained here in Los Angeles. There's a -- there's a palpable fear. And when you talk to people, it's because it is happening in so many places, whether that is a city park or whether that is a church parking lot, or whether that is a restaurant or a Home Depot.

Because it is anywhere, it feels like it is everywhere. And that's the fear that is palpable.

What are you seeing in Denver in terms of ICE action, and do you have any idea how many people they've detained up to this point?

JOHNSTON: You know, we haven't seen a lot of ICE raids like those in Denver yet. What we have seen are the high profile, really political persecution that is meant to instill fear. We had a local activist and leader, Jeanette Vizguerra, who was arrested. She was one of the Time 100 most influential leaders in the country, also coming off of work at Target.

So, they're taking those kind of either high profile cases or, yes, coming to public locations to be able to make to drive fear. I think that is the purpose. But it's more watching these stories around the country that I think drives fear.

In Denver, we've been insistent on protecting courthouses and churches and schools and hospitals as places where there shouldn't be enforcement. And we're happy to say that hasn't happened yet in Denver.

So, President Trump threatened to arrest governor Gavin Newsom. They have obviously been in a very strong rhetorical. And now also, you know, war of words here. But Trump supporters are also once threatened to jail you over a deportation issue. So, are you prepared for that? Are you worried that the administration could act on that?

JOHNSTON: I'm not worried about that. I'm focused on running the city. But this is what we were afraid of, right?

They are turning American soldiers on American citizens in American cities. That is both illegal and it's immoral, and it's exactly what we wanted to make sure did not happen. And I think they were looking for a chance to bring that fight. We think the American people are going to respond even more negatively to this idea.

When there is no crisis in Denver that requires this kind of intervention, we can handle it here. We don't want any federal troops here, and there's no reason for them to send them.

BURNETT: All right. Mayor Johnston, I very much appreciate your time, and thank you very much.

JOHNSTON: Thank you so much for having me.

BURNETT: And we're going to take a brief break. When we come back, the governor here of California, Governor Newsom, just moments ago, comparing that what is happening to Los Angeles in terms of federal military taking over for local law enforcement is comparable to what happens in third world countries.

We're going to take a brief break. We'll be back with that right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:29]

BURNETT: Breaking news, you are looking at images out of Raleigh, North Carolina. These are protests that are happening. Immigration related protests in Raleigh that we are now seeing in multiple cities across the country. And I think when I say Raleigh, it sort of makes the point they can pop up in various places. But it is something that started here in Los Angeles with these ongoing protests that has now spread across the country.

As we are hours away from the curfew here now in Los Angeles, Marines, we are told, are standing by outside this city.

Governor Gavin Newsom seizing the moment moments ago in a podcast to say that President Trump is politicizing the troops when it comes to the situation and calling all of it a propaganda play.

Here's the governor of California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Police should police, not the military. That's what happens in third world countries. And that's what Donald Trump. Thats exactly what Donald Trump is trying to impose upon the American people is that mindset of militarization, power, dominance, control, the rule, not of law. This is a very, very serious moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Governor Gavin Newsom of California here and just showing you images of what we're seeing, there was a crowd of it was hard to exactly tell, but it seemed to be about 150 people just marching by where we were. Those are the images you're looking at your screen right now.

Our photojournalist Tom is marching alongside them to get visuals to understand exactly where they're going. We'll see if they come back here by this federal building in just the next few moments.

But Gavin Newsom has been speaking out more, has also been taking an increased presence on social media and talking to some more progressive outlets to make his voice heard, including the anti-Trump "Midas Touch" podcast.

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWSOM: This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Governor Gavin Newsom is on the attack, saying Los Angeles police had trouble in the city contained and winding down days ago.

NEWSOM: But that -- that's not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety.

FOREMAN: After months of Democrats hungering for anyone to lead opposition to Trump, Newsom's social media following is skyrocketing. He has trolled right wing lawmakers over seemingly performative patriotism. He responded to a Trump accusation of protesters disrespecting the National Guard with you sent your troops without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep.

And he has met Trump's chatter about cutting aid to states by noting California pays billions more in federal taxes than it receives in funding.

NEWSOM: So, if Donald Trump is going to continue to threaten 40 million Americans that live in California, maybe we should consider withholding those resources.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I think Governor Newsom is stepping up to meet the moment. FOREMAN: Some top Democrats are delighted. Some Republicans --

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: He ought to be tarred and feathered.

FOREMAN: -- are clearly disturbed.

TRUMP: He's an incompetent governor.

FOREMAN: The wildfires that scorched L.A. signaled the first skirmish of the year, as the president threw roundhouse insults and the governor punched back hard. They touch gloves long enough to get disaster aid flowing.

TRUMP: I appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me -- Gavin.

FOREMAN: But the clash only intensified the spotlight on Newsom, who frequently does what Trump seldom dares -- debating folks on the other side of the political divide.

NEWSOM: I want comprehensive immigration reform. I want to actually address the issue more comprehensively, just like Ronald Reagan did in 1989.

FOREMAN: Sometimes he battles the right, sometimes he bruises the left, for example, by telling a conservative media host trans athletes don't belong in women's sports.

NEWSOM: I think it's an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that.

FOREMAN: But as widening protests show Trump enraging some voters, Newsom appears to be engaging others with a simple call reaching far beyond California -- resist.

NEWSOM: What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (on camera): There is simply no doubt that Gavin Newsom is getting under Donald Trump's skin. Theres also no doubt that in all those other places, Erin, where people are protesting right now, other leaders, Democratic and Republican, are looking at him and seeing if this opposition to Donald Trump, this approach can work -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Tom, thank you very much.

And Lulu Garcia-Navarro is OUTFRONT, of course, podcast hosts, as well as with "The New York Times", and the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, Marc Short.

So, I appreciate both of you.

And, Lulu, you know, I think anybody watching this who's been following Democrats struggle to find a voice or to find someone with a voice you think of, okay, Cory Booker, you know, staying up all night and not going to the bathroom and making his speech. And these moments that Democrats have tried to cling on to that has been met with a lot of frustration about Gavin Newsom, right, who's done podcasts and been interviewing people like Steve Bannon and things like that.

So, I just thought it was interesting. There was George Takei or Taki, I thought summarized it the sentiment very well on social media. He put on a post saying, I like this Gavin more than podcast Gavin.

And that was when someone on the right was complaining about the Mexican flags at this rally and saying, I wish there were American flags. Gavin Newsom replies, oh, you mean like this? And posted multiple pictures of January 6th and people at the riot bringing the American flag.

So that post by George Takei, I thought, sort of summed up the attitude that feels to be out there among Democrats right now. They want that Gavin Newsom. What do you think?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, I think they do. I think there has been a real hunger among the Democratic base for someone to stand up to Donald Trump and to land some punches, frankly, because what we've seen is a lot of incompetence on the side of Democrats, a lot of disarray, as we always talk about, Dems in disarray. They have been disarrayed since the election.

And so, Gavin Newsom looking very their presidential with a flag of California behind him. We know that he has ambitions for 2028. And this in a way is his moment. He is articulating something that many Democrats and many Democratic voters feel.

They want to take the fight to Donald Trump, and they want someone to talk to him in the way that he talks to them. And so, this might be the moment where Gavin Newsom becomes the leader of the Democratic Party, at least for now.

BURNETT: Marc, is that how you see it? And because it is a stark contrast to the path taken by Governor Newsom until this, this moment of crisis for his state, right? He had been going another way, reaching out to people on the right to try to understand them better via his podcast.

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, I do agree with Lulu. I think the reality is that the Democrat Party has been struggling to find a leader right now. They clearly seem to be in disarray as to what their message is.

I think Gavin Newsom is a very talented politician. I think on the substance, there's a lot in the record of California where the state is in fiscal disarray. You've had a lot of businesses and job creators flee the state, and I think, you know, he's choosing to more or less side with people who broke the law to get into the United States, which I'm not sure is going to help him long term.

[19:40:04] But I think if he wants to be the nominee in '28, you first have to win a primary. And he is definitely, you know, standing out. And I think to I would think that for Democrats, to win a primary, if you have a foil as Donald Trump, that's probably a pretty good formula for him.

So I do agree that he's a gifted politician. I think that this is right. But, you know, as you said, Erin, yourself, you know, it's not as if he doesn't participate in the theatrics himself, that it condemns Trump for when his first podcast hosts are Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk.

BURNETT: Right. But, you know, I'm also curious, Marc, now he's out there responding, right, in a sense saying there is no post that's going to come out there that I am not going to come and punch back if I want to, right? It's a shift, right? I'm just saying, for example, we were going through the thing that he did about the flags, but then this post to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, right. So, she claimed that Arkansas values order over California, quote/unquote, chaos.

So, Governor Newsom responds. He comes out, Marc. He says your homicide rate is literally double California's. Right? He just steps right in on it.

I mean, is that -- is that going to work? Right? There's going to be -- it seems, at least right now, there's nobody that he's not going to be afraid to come out and punch.

SHORT: I mean, I think it's obviously worked for President Trump. President Trump has been very good at trolling the left. I think the question is, is it the formula work the similar way on the left? And I think there's no doubt, you're right. That is -- that is what he's doing. And he's probably doing it pretty effectively and probably gets a lot of liberal support for doing so.

BURNETT: Lulu?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, I think this is a dangerous moment, though, for Democrats because, you know, immigration is an issue that is very complicated and it is being distilled down to its most brutal sort of essence, which is on the one side, you have Republicans and Donald Trump saying immigrants are bad, immigrants are evil. And then on the other side, what you're seeing with some of the base among Democrats is this idea that, you know, were going to protect all immigrants in this country, no matter how they came here.

And so, you know, this is not good for Democrats. And it might transpire if these protests actually metastasize. We saw this in 2020. We saw the whole movement, you know, after the killing of George Floyd, there was initial sympathy. And then there was, quite frankly, a real pushback into what happened.

And so, you know, you know, Gavin Newsom might be seen now as a hero for Democrats. But depending on the way that this goes, he eventually could be condemned as an enabler of illegal immigration, which is something that the majority of Americans, at least at this moment condemn.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much. Lulu, Marc, I appreciate it.

And we have some more breaking news this hour as we are watching these protests unfold around the country preparing for curfew here in Los Angeles. Also, American troops being relocated in the Middle East in advance of what could be an incredibly significant moment in the Middle East in terms of Israeli strikes.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:58]

BURNETT: We are monitoring the growing protests around the country tonight. The live images on your screen right now from Raleigh, North Carolina, where we have seen crowds building this hour, also protests here in Los Angeles and New York at this hour.

We have other breaking news, though, breaking this moment. The United States on high alert at this hour. We understand that American military personnel in the Middle East have been relocated, some of them amid rising tensions and a possible major Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Trump was just asked about this moments ago. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Why are U.S. dependents of military personnel being authorized to leave the Middle East?

TRUMP: You'll have to see, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: You heard what he had to say. You'll have to see.

It comes as U.S. oil prices on the back of some of the speculation about a major strike are spiking in their biggest single day jump that we have seen since last year. You have to go all the way back to October to see something like that. Of course, there were strikes then as well on Iran.

I want to go straight to Oren Liebermann. He is in Jerusalem tonight.

And, Oren, what are you learning from your sources?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: So first, on the movement of personnel, we have seen the State Department order the evacuation of nonessential personnel from embassies in Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain without giving much of an explanation. But crucially, those are countries that are, of course, very near Iran. Meanwhile, the military has authorized the evacuation of nonessential

personnel, and this is voluntary at this stage from bases in the Middle East. And there are some major ones, particularly in Bahrain and Qatar, not mandatory, but voluntary. Still, that sort of authorization is a significant indication of how the U.S. views the tensions in the region.

Meanwhile, a defense official said U.S. central command is monitoring those developing tensions and the increase in those tensions that as the commander of U.S. Central Command, General Eric Kurilla, missed or skipped a day of testimony so that he could better monitor what's happening here.

The question is, of course, what exactly is the concern and how imminent is it? That is a lot less clear.

[19:50:01]

But it is worth noting, of course, that the U.S. has monitored Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities over the course of the past several weeks, and Iran's defense minister warned earlier today that if there was a strike on Iran, the Iranian response would force the U.S. to leave the region and would leave the adversaries with very heavy casualties.

So it is within that rhetoric, within that that threat that were seeing, these levels of tensions and the departure or movement of U.S. personnel in the region -- Erin.

BURNETT: Oren, what you're talking about, though, you've got relocating of personnel. I know you say it's voluntary, but you have that happening. General Kurilla choosing to miss that testimony to be prepared. The posture on this seems to be elevated from other things we've seen, and we have seen some pretty dramatic strikes by Israel on Iran and Iran on Israel.

So, what does that say in terms of scale of what we're talking about?

LIEBERMANN: Well, look, it could be significant. In fact, President Donald Trump said just a short while ago that the Middle East could become a dangerous place. We also know in a phone call earlier this week, Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, effectively to cut out the threats and tone down the rhetoric when it comes to Iran and a -- and the threats around an Israeli attack on Iran, that as Trump is still pursuing a nuclear deal between Washington and Tehran, and at least as of right now, the talks are still set to continue in the next few days.

BURNETT: All right. Oren, thank you very much. Live from Jerusalem as we are watching that breaking news situation and the deep concern over that.

Let's go to Shimon Prokupecz, because these protests continue across the U.S.

And, Shimon, I believe that were now seeing a bunch of arrests in New York. What are you seeing yourself there?

PROKUPECZ: Yeah. So several arrests were just made. Here, let me show you. Show her that those are some of the people that were just arrested. What happened was, as we started the show, we were on around the corner from here at Foley Square and the protesters moved out of the park and started marching around the corner and then came to this to Broadway, which is on the other side of Foley Square. And police told him to get out of the street to get on the sidewalk. Some of the protesters refused, and so the police moved in.

We're certainly, Erin, tonight seeing a very different posture, as I was saying from police tonight versus last night. Last night, they allowed them to march in the street. They left them alone. That's not happening tonight. And as you can see, more of the protesters now and police telling everyone here now to move back onto the sidewalk, as you can see, the police here.

But certainly, Erin, things have changed here tonight, given what happened yesterday. The police here certainly are taking a different position here, being more aggressive and making sure that the protesters don't get in the street. They want to keep control of the situation. And for now, we're all just in a standoff here. The protesters with the police here on Broadway.

This is also the street. We're on the street now where, as I was telling you earlier, many of the vehicles that belong to ICE. This is the road that they drive through. This is an active driveway. And so, this is partially why the NYPD is trying to keep some of these people back.

But you can see now, we're surrounded, completely surrounded here by the protesters. And right now, the NYPD -- NYPD just trying to keep them on the sidewalk.

BURNETT: All right, Shimon, thank you very much.

Shimon, obviously, in the middle of what we're watching unfold in New York with the breaking news at this moment. We're going to take a brief break and we'll be back with our breaking coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:02]

BURNETT: All right. These are live images out of Los Angeles where we are tonight. Protesters facing off against police. And this couple of hours before the curfew formally begins. Second night of a curfew here. And obviously important, we'll see how all this plays out in these next moments as we follow developments here in Los Angeles.

This comes as the president of the United States took a phone call from Elon Musk, after which Elon Musk went on Twitter to say that he regrets some of his attacks against Donald Trump. He didn't say specifically what those were, whether he meant Epstein or anything else. He said some of them, quote, unquote, went too far.

Ryan Mac is with me now, "The New York Times" reporter who has covered Musk so extensively.

Ryan, it's good to see you again. I know you're also coauthor of the book "Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter".

So, you think about how much was at stake and how Defcon and really over any red line that that one could define as a red line Elon Musk went that. Now the two have a phone conversation and Elon posts that he went too far. Regrets some of the things he said.

Are you surprised by how quickly he, I guess, essentially put his tail between his legs?

RYAN MAC, REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: You know. I'm not -- I'm not that surprised that he apologized. He has a history of doing these things. He's gone -- when he goes too far, you know, he says too much online. He often puts his foot in his mouth.

So I'm not surprised that he has apologized. You know, I think it's probably best for the both of them, given how much they're intertwined to, you know, make up and make things at least seem like they're okay.

BURNETT: So why do you think Musk stood down now? I mean, you know, a cynical person might say, well, it's because of all the threats about losing all of his government contracts, losing his access to power, whatever it might have been. But you know him better than anybody else. Why do you think he did it?

MAC: I think he realizes it's a terrible look to be feuding with the most powerful person in the world. You know, it's one of the few instances where he doesn't have the upper hand. And, you know, with Donald Trump, it's someone who he's tied his star to for the last couple of months.

So, you know, he realizes he's -- he doesn't have the upper hand here. It's pretty embarrassing for him. But at the same time, I think some of the things that he said, you know, you can't unring that bell. You can't take back the accusations about Epstein. You can't say -- you can't take back that. You think the president should be impeached.

You know, these are kind of things that are unforgivable in Trump world. And it really -- we have to see whether he'll be taken back in full.

BURNETT: All right. Ryan, thanks so much. I really appreciate it. It is -- it is good to see you.

As we are here in Los Angeles now, just about 5:00. We're about three hours away from the curfew formally taking effect here in Los Angeles. We've seen a few hundred protesters just moved by where we are. Right now, we're here, these National Guard switching on and off, the National Guard outside the federal building.

As we are monitoring the protests here. We had about 200 arrests last night. We'll see what we see this evening as we are also watching protests grow across the country, from Raleigh, North Carolina, to New York, to other cities. We'll continue with our breaking news coverage just after this. I'm

Erin Burnett in Los Angeles.

And "AC360" begins right now.