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One World with Zain Asher
Four Major Fires Burning In The Los Angeles Area; Infernos Burn Out Of Control In Los Angeles Area; Fast-Moving Wildfires Rage Across Los Angeles; DOJ Wants To Release Report On Trump And January 6; Trump Muses On Land Grabs Of Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal; New Book: Trump Camp Fed Questions Before Fox News Town Hall; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired January 08, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:33]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching ONE WORLD.
It is going to be a long day in Los Angeles. Daylight shows the blanket of smoke from four wildfires raging across the Los Angeles area right now.
Look at these images.
We just learned that two lives tragically have been lost in the fires. Some 1,400 firefighters are currently on duty. But officials say the fires are
zero percent contained as of now. And they blame that on the warm, dry winds.
We want to go live to our Julia Vargas Jones, who is in Altadena, California. And, Julia, press conference is ongoing right now, just talking
about the severity of these now. Four fires and just tragic to hear that we already have fatalities, multiple injuries, thousands of buildings
destroyed.
And the fact that these fires now all are zero percent contained. Talk to us about what you're seeing behind you there.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's chaos, Bianna. Honestly, we just saw some of these injuries you're talking about. We've seen paramedics
treating people for things like, you know, a slip and a fall and an elderly woman we just saw here.
And this is the situation. You can probably see the wind behind me. It's the wind. The wind is spreading these flames on both sides of the street.
This is not a forest fire. This is not a wildfire. We are in a place where people live. You can smell the houses burning. You can smell the
construction materials in the air.
It's been -- you can't see the sky here. And this is where people's children grow up. On both sides of the streets, every street that we went
by in Altadena here, we've seen fires on both sides. It's absolutely incredible.
More than 30,000 people under evacuation orders. The residents that we've been speaking with here, they're saying, I'm coming back just to see the
house is still standing.
And a lot of them have just given up. They can't get to their homes. They can't even have a sense if it will make it. We saw volunteers as well here
trying to douse these houses in water from their own hoses to see if they could contain some of it.
But at this point, paramedics and firefighters, they're telling, Bianna, for people to just turn around. It's too dangerous. They won't want to see
any more fatalities. They don't want to see any more injuries from this. It is dreadful. It's apocalyptic.
GOLODRYGA: It is just horrific to see these images behind you, these homes along these streets in this neighborhood just engulfed in flames. We'll be
thinking about all of those residents.
Julia Vargas Jones, please be safe yourself. Appreciate your reporting.
Well, Captain Sheila Kelliher joins us now by phone. She's a Los Angeles County Fire Department's public information officer. Captain, thank you so
much for taking the time. I know this is a very busy and devastating time for Los Angeles County, for the state. We've been covering these horrific
fires now, and our thoughts are with you and residents there.
First and foremost, give us a sense of the situation, your message to residents for those who were not able to listen to the press conference
about an hour ago.
SHEILA KELLIHER, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT (through phone): Thank you for having me. I think the biggest
message is this is massive, like nothing we've seen. Usually it's one of these fires that kind of puts us all back on our heels and puts everybody
to work for quite a while. We have three moving on four major incidents in a very small -- you know, sorry I say small, but Southern California.
It looks like Armageddon out here. I have been at the Palisades fire all night. I am floored by the extent of the wind and how fierce it is and how
sustained it is. Usually come nightfall, the winds tend to die down a little bit and normal Santa Ana red flag conditions, that's not the case.
They actually picked up and got even more severe and more erratic.
So that just, in combination with the dry fuel beds, the low humidity. It's just a perfect storm for volatile fire conditions.
GOLODRYGA: And as you noted, a perfect storm. I was hearing reports from those who were experiencing the winds there and said they felt almost
tornado-like, winds up to 100 miles an hour, obviously making the work.
[12:05:05]
KELLIHER: Oh, yes.
GOLODRYGA: And making your work and the work --
KELLIHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- of your colleagues that much more difficult.
You've been doing this for decades now. Have you ever seen a situation --
KELLIHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- quite as extreme as this one we're covering now?
KELLIHER: Not as extreme and not as pervasive. And I want everybody to really think about, like, when we look in, you know, Florida and the Gulf
areas, when they get the hurricanes that come through.
Now, you can't stop the water coming. You can't stop the wind. You -- there's nothing you can do. You have to wait till it passes through and
then you pick up the pieces.
Well, put fire on top of that. And that's what we're dealing with. The fire tends to -- there's no stopping it when it's at that velocity and it burns
through. And we do something called fire front following. And then we go in right after the firestorm has come through and then we try to start saving
things.
And, you know, a big part of it is the notifications that go out early to warn people, hey, you're up for evacuation, get your stuff together, get
out. And I think because this fire started so early in the day, it was a beautiful day, I think it lulled a few people into complacency. So they
waited a little too long. So we definitely had some backed up streets and challenges getting people out.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. I mean, tragically, we've come to cover many fires there every year now, the past few years with climate change. And so people who
think that they may be accustomed to them obviously should not get complacent, as you just noted.
We heard from the fire chief at the press conference today saying that aside from this fire being zero percent contained, that first responders
are stretched and emergency services are stretched to their limits right now.
How concerned are you about your colleagues? And what do you need right now most? What do they need? Will you be getting out of state help, for
example?
KELLIHER: Yes, yes, you said it. We are stretched thin and I am worried about my colleagues. It's a long -- I've been on -- I haven't been asleep
in over 24 hours. They're doing the same except out there in a really, you know, physical, arduous pulling hose and doing the things that they're
doing.
So we did put in the request for help from all over the state where Region one Chief Marrone put in that request. So we've got engines and resources
coming from all over the state and from out of state.
So we look to the end of today and tomorrow where those resources are going to start arriving. So until that happens, we've got to take care of each
other and we've got to hold it down and keep doing what we do. And help is on the way.
GOLODRYGA: Well, that is a relief, but it can't come soon enough, obviously. And for a size, a region, this large community with the
population, this large in the country, Los Angeles, the fourth largest city -- or the second largest city in the country, when you hear the fire chief
say all residents of L.A. County are in danger, what is the message to all residents? What should they do?
KELLIHER: Well, I think -- I think pull on situational awareness, because I drove from the Palisades fire this morning to Downtown L.A. for the press
conference. And when you look at the sky, everywhere you look, it looks like Armageddon.
And I'm not being, you know -- I'm not overstating that.The sky is pitch black. There's red embers everywhere.
So even just the air quality is going to affect all of Southern California. So if you're not directly impinged by the fire, the air quality is
definitely going to be an issue, especially if you have anybody in your family that has health issues or respiratory issues. So it is dangerous and
it's like I've never seen it, honestly.
So and then with that said, there -- we are surrounded in a way to the north, to the east, to down south by the Malibu and Palisades. We got -- we
got fire -- or excuse me. We got wind all day today and our red flag conditions don't start to kick out until tomorrow.
So there's still so much potential out there for something else to kick off in an area that hasn't been affected yet. So everybody just needs to be
incredibly careful.
GOLODRYGA: About Nearly 300,000 customers across Southern California are now without power. Talk to us about your concerns on that particular issue.
I know the fire chief was talking about the influx of emergency calls that were coming in as well.
KELLIHER: Yes, that -- and that happens. People do get overwhelmed. They get stressed out. They -- you know, it puts everybody under pressure in
that respect. That power going out, some due to the wind blowing it down, some to the power being shut off intentionally. So it doesn't cause more
fires in areas that haven't already started. So those are safe things.
I think, you know, in our household, and I tell all my friends and family members, it's like, you know, as soon as those winds starts blowing, make
sure everything's charged up, get your backup portable battery, whether it's the generator, just portable battery, because you know that for the
good of all, that power is going to go down. And also just by the fact that that's what nature does is it knocks out the power.
[12:10:02]
So it is part of living in Southern California right now with all these fires. So, you know, it's an emergency preparedness plan that all families
really need to have and it's small little things like that that make it easier when you're not in direct line of the fire, but you know you're
going to be OK, you're going to ride it out for a couple of days.
GOLODRYGA: You mentioned that help is on the way from other parts of the state and surrounding states as well. But as we noted, the weather will not
be on your side or in your favor, at least for the next several hours. We talk about the high winds that are impacting the containment of these
fires.
What is your biggest concern right now over the next few hours?
KELLIHER: Just that wind has not died down. So I think -- I think that's our biggest concern. And, you know, strategically placing everybody. That's
what we're up against.
Because when you have -- when you have fewer resources, you have to be very particular where you put everybody.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Captain Sheila Kelliher --
(CROSSTALK)
We appreciate everything that you're doing. Please keep us posted and best of luck to you there as you're helping out your fellow colleagues there and
all the civilians who are impacted.
Well, around the Los Angeles area, some 55,000 people have already been told to leave their homes. Here's a look at where the fires are burning.
The latest fire, the Woodley fire, broke out earlier near the city of Van Nuys and has burned at least 30 hectares.
The largest is in Pacific Palisades, however. Warm winds are carrying the embers and making battling the blaze a slow, grueling task.
We spoke with one woman in Pacific Palisades who said her neighborhood was unrecognizable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRICIA CONSENTINO, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: As we turned a corner, the plumes of smoke were just billowing up the road. There was burnt ash. There
were flames on either side of us. The car was very quickly getting smoky. We had wet towels over our faces.
I felt like we were in that movie, "The War of the Worlds." It -- I didn't recognize the streets that I were on as our own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Fire officials say the Eaton Fire, near the cities of Altadena and Pasadena, has grown to more than 900 hectares. Two civilians died in
the Eaton Fire, but the L.A. County Fire Chief says causes of death are not yet known.
In Sylmar, California, the fast-moving Hurst Fire has forced more evacuations there. Last check, it has burned more than 200 hectares.
Let's bring in meteorologist Allison Chinchar with the latest conditions.
Allison, of course, the number one question is, is there any relief in the forecast in sight?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It kind of depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for relief in the form of rain, not really.
If you're looking for relief in the form of those winds dying down, yes, we will get there eventually. Certainly by tomorrow. But in the short term,
no.
I mean, scenes like this are likely going to continue as we go through the rest of the day today, just moving from one neighborhood to the next, as
these fires continue to spread.
So here are the four main fires. You've got the Eaton Fire, the Hurst Fire, the Woodley Fire, and the Palisades Fire. And for those who are not
familiar with this particular area, we've put some kind of markers on here so you know.
So here's the Hollywood sign, the Griffith Observatory, there's Dodger Stadium. Again, just to kind of put this in perspective.
Now the Palisades Fire, specifically, when we kind of zoom down, you can actually see we've got the file here that shows you exactly where this area
has burned. So this red outlined area, this is the area that we know.
And keep in mind, this is several hours old, so it's likely spread even beyond what we have here. But this is the latest file that we have showing
all of those burned areas for the Palisades Fire. And this is the city of Pacific Palisades here in the foreground.
Again, you can see all of these structures, the roads, all of the businesses that are kind of in the path of these fires as they continue to
come on down.
Now, one of the concerns we have are the winds going forward. They are still very, very strong and will likely maintain that way even through the
afternoon hours.
Now, keep in mind, some of these wind gusts have been about 70, 75 miles per hour all the way up to 100 miles per hour. Those are going to be cut in
half by the time we get to the evening. But think about those numbers. That's still 35 to 50 miles per hour in some of these spots, even through
the afternoon hours.
So we will be making improvements, but you're still talking tremendously strong winds. We really don't start to see them really creep down, say
maybe to about the 20 to 10 to 15, maybe even 25 mile per hour range, once we get to the evening.
And then by the time we get to the overnight hours and certainly into tomorrow, we really start to see those numbers coming back down to
hopefully where those firefighters can get those planes back up into the air and also on the ground start to make some progression there in terms of
the containment numbers.
[12:15:00]
Red flag warning still in effect, again, not just in L.A. proper, but all of these areas you see here in pink. It's that combination of the wind
gusts of 25 to even as much as 50 mph. In some of these spots, the gusts even higher than that. So that 25 to 50, those are the sustained winds,
meaning, the continuous winds. The gusts are higher than that, so they will be infrequent at times. And those are the ones that really make it more
difficult on the firefighters because they come and go at a moment's notice.
You also have incredibly dry air. You're talking humidity at about 10 percent, which is incredibly low for this time -- of this time of year.
Again, this is normally the rainy season, December all the way through March. This is when we should be seeing rain in the forecast, and we're
simply not. All four of these fire locations are dealing with those incredibly dry conditions. That means as the fires continue to spread, they
are spreading over very dry ground, the brush that doesn't have the moisture from recent rainfall to at least help slow the spread.
One other thing to note too, when we talk about this area in general, you look at the fire weather forecast. We talked about it. It's the combination
of the winds but also the incredibly dry air. This is the target point, this purple. This is where you're talking level three of three, the extreme
category for that fire weather. And that does include those northern areas of Los Angeles.
To put this in perspective, because not all California is the same. When you look at Northern California, they have actually had 200 percent of
their normal average rain. So again, they are doing much better in terms of dryness than Southern California, which is only about 10 percent of their
average rainfall.
So quite a stark difference because what we've seen over the last month, and especially the last several months, the bulk of the rain has really
been focused over the Pacific Northwest and portions of Northern California, but really has yet to slide into Central and Southern
California where they desperately need to see the rain.
Now let's take a look at the forecast. This is a look over the next seven days. Again, you've got some in the north, but nothing across portions of
the southwest. Areas of Arizona, Nevada, even portions of California. Still expected to remain dry. This goes to the next seven days.
If we do that, you're looking at the middle of the month now of January without really any measurable precipitation.
That -- if we end up going the entire month, by the way, without any measurable precipitation, this would tie for the lowest amount of
measurable precipitation in the month of January on record.
So again, you're talking a pretty stark difference between the southern part of the state compared to the northern part.
So again, wrapping up here. The good news is the winds are expected to die down as we go through the next 24 hours.
Rain, however, not likely looking at any of that in the forecast for the next seven days.
GOLODRYGA: It's unbelievable. Rain not seeing that state perhaps for weeks on end. That is just stunning and they need it desperately right now.
Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.
We're going to have more in today's other news after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:36]
GOLODRYGA: New developments now in Donald Trump's efforts to quash the final reports written by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The Justice Department
tells a U.S. Court of Appeals that it should be allowed to release the report on Trump's role in the January 6th insurrection.
But the DOJ says, it will not make public its investigation into Trump's mishandling of classified documents because there is still legal action
pending against two of Trump's co-defendants in that case.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz is tracking the story for us. And it just broke in the last few hours, Katelyn.
So, given this development, how soon could we see Jack Smith's report on the January 6th insurrection case?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, that's going to be up to the appeals courts and other courts, maybe even the
Supreme Court.
But what we know right now is that this summation, the final report of the charging decisions, the investigation done by Special Counsel Jack Smith
into Donald Trump related to the 2020 election and to his handling of classified documents after he left the presidency in 2001.
That report, it's done, it's in the hands of the attorney general, and the Attorney General Merrick Garland wants to release it.
He has a plan where he wants to release publicly and to Congress the part of the report about the 2020 election case. And then he doesn't want to
release publicly the part of the report, the second volume of it related to the classified documents case. That's because Trump has two co-defendants
who continue to face court proceedings there, even though the case is essentially dismissed.
But this is the plan from the Justice Department. What they need now is a court to sign off on that plan. They articulated it for the very first time
to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but there is already a pause in place so that report can't be released publicly, summing up Jack Smith's
investigation until the court does something, allows them to do it, or until the -- there are three days that pass where the trial-level judge
says, OK, it's time to go.
So what this is coming down to, Bianna, is a timing issue. We're in the last 12 days of the Biden administration with Merrick Garland as attorney
general. Are the courts going to act quickly enough and definitively enough so that volume of this report about January 6, Donald Trump's actions after
the 2020 election, will become public before he becomes president? It is a moving target to see exactly what's going to happen next.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Up against the clock, up against the calendar, eight dates until the president-elect will be taking over.
Crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much.
Well, in a provocative news conference yesterday, Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to the parties engaged in ceasefire talks. All hell will break
out if they don't come to an agreement before he takes office.
That's even as talks proceed, there is no letup in Israel's deadly attacks across Gaza. Palestinian officials say dozens of people have been killed
this Wednesday. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, 2025 is already proving to be a deadly year for Palestinians inside of Gaza and particularly for
children. At least 74 children have been killed in the first days of this year, according to the United Nations.
And in just the last 24 hours, we have seen dozens of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes inside of Gaza.
Overnight in Southern Gaza, in particular, a deadly night for children where eight children were killed in strikes that killed 19 people
altogether.
We're also monitoring a strike that happened in the West Bank in the village of Tammun, where three people were killed. The bodies of those
three people were returned by the Israeli military to Palestinian health services.
Among those three bodies, two of them were children, an 8 and a 10-year- old. We are watching as these airstrikes and this violence is continuing.
There are negotiating efforts aimed at ending all of this carnage, those ceasefire and hostage negotiations that have been going on, start and stop
for months now. They are progressing as we speak in Doha, Qatar.
And with not only the current Biden administration, but also the incoming Trump administration. Steve Witkoff, President-elect Trump's incoming
special envoy for the region, arriving in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday to join Biden administration officials and kind of presenting a united front in
these negotiations.
[12:25:13]
And it's clear that both the Biden and the Trump officials are indeed rowing in the same direction, saying that they are aiming to get a hostage
and ceasefire deal in place before Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th.
Witkoff said that he's seen some great progress towards that directions, you know, sounding some optimism that he believes that deal can be reached
before January 20th. Biden administration officials and Israeli officials sounding a little bit less optimistic, making clear that there are still
some very difficult issues that need to be resolved.
Israeli officials are telling me that they are still waiting for a list of the living hostages to be provided by Hamas, a critical demand that they
have been making, of course, at this point for months now.
What is clear, though, is that these two sides are very, very close to an agreement, whether or not it can be reached, and whether or not it can be
reached before that date of January 20th remains another question altogether.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Jeremy for that report.
Still to come for us, retreating from the world but doubling down on allies, even neighbors. President-elect Donald Trump threatens military and
economic force to expand the U.S.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:05]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
Let's get back to our breaking news today. Rapidly spreading wildfires engulfing parts of Los Angeles. At least four major fires are burning homes
and businesses across the city.
L.A. officials held a news conference last hour where they begged residents to heed the warnings if they are ordered to evacuate. And they had a
message for looters who think they can take advantage of the evacuations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT LUNA, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF: It's always sad when I have to say this, but part of our responsibility is to make sure that no one loots or steals
from our residents, our community members who are already being impacted. And I'm sad to report we made two arrests this morning for looting already.
So if you are thinking about coming into any of these areas to steal from our residents, I'm going to tell you something, you're going to be caught,
you're going to be arrested, and you're going to be prosecuted. Don't do that. Stay out of these areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Stephanie Elam is on the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, California, and she joins us live. Stephanie, you are a
California native. You have covered many fires for us. Just walk us through the difference in what you're experiencing with these fires, especially
given the high-speed winds.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's nothing like I've ever experienced before, Bianna. This combination of this wind, which it does feel like I'm
standing in a hurricane, except for I'm getting pelted with sand because the ocean is literally right there.
And also, I'm surrounded by the smoke and embers that are flying off and like little pieces of ash that are flying off as well. You can see this
building here is still on fire. In fact, every now and then, like right now, I get a wave of heat that actually just comes up off the building and
you can feel it here even across the highway.
We watched as a part of that building burned down this morning. The top right-hand corner burned down of that building. And then we saw this
flooding of the -- of the area by firefighters, first responders, who shut down Sunset Boulevard and are not letting anyone go up there right now.
They actually just roped it off.
See that wind? It's really strong. And then more back here in this canyon on this side, too.
It's unbelievable how the lighting has changed. When the sun was coming up, we couldn't even really tell. And then there's waves of darkness here where
we really can't see. And then it clears up again because the smoke is just so thick.
And you're talking about a fire that just, I mean, exploded in size in a very densely populated area. As of now, officials do not think that anyone
has lost their lives. They don't have any knowledge of that, but there have been a lot of injuries by people who stayed. And they have been injured.
We know on the Eaton Fire, which is a fire on the other side of Los Angeles, up by the foothills that there have been two people that lost
their lives. Ongoing evacuations there as well. Tens of thousands of people just in this area have been evacuated. Tens of thousands of people without
power.
Many school districts shutting down classes for today, just making it just obviously was too much to try to get teachers and support staff and
students and parents all moving in that way. So you're seeing that. They're also seeing that they're having difficulty getting enough water. So they're
also telling residents, water's just fighting fires right now.
So the priority is lives and then its property. But when you look at this and see how massive this is, you can see why they have called in resources
from other parts of the state to help fight this fire. They've asked firefighters in Los Angeles County if they are off to return to work all
hands on deck because this fire is something that we have not seen.
And you combine with that, Bianna, the fact that we are in a drought here in Los Angeles, County. We have not had any real measurable rain this wet
season. In fact, this is the driest start to any wet season on record. That's 80 years of record. Records there that shows you that dryness, along
with the densely compacted area, those tight streets, makes it very different -- difficult to fight fires, and was also very difficult for
people to evacuate with this fire growing just as quickly as it did.
And these winds, the winds, if you have just a little bit of fire, the wind can catch it, throw it to another place, and that place can explode in
fire. That is how this fire grew so quickly like it did.
GOLODRYGA: And, sadly, there is no rain in the immediate forecast for that part of the state anytime soon. Fortunately, though, the winds are expected
to die down in the coming hours.
But it is just barren behind you. It is apocalyptic to see some of these images, and at least a bit reassuring not to see many residents there, just
first responders and emergency workers combing the streets.
Stephanie Elam, stay safe for us. We appreciate your reporting.
Well, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, there's not a snowball's chance in hell Canada will become part of the United States. Now that sharp
retort coming after Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to use economic force to annex America's neighbor to the north.
[12:35:13]
But Canada wasn't the only U.S. ally the president-elect took aim at in a freewheeling press conference yesterday. At one point, Trump revealed his
plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. And he said he might turn the U.S. military on other friendly sovereign nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.
You're talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this. We need them for economic security. The
Panama Canal was built for our military.
I'm not going to commit to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Amid Trump's push for American expansionism, his oldest son, Don Jr., traveled to Greenland with the bobblehead of his father perched in the
plane's cockpit. Right before the younger Trump landed, the president-elect posted, Make Greenland Great Again on his social media site.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann joins me now live from Havana, Cuba. Patrick, where do we begin? You've already hear response from both the president of
Mexico, the Panamanian foreign minister, and also an E.U. commission spokesperson, also all reiterating that these transactions will not happen.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA-BASED CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A lot to unpack there. And as you mentioned, these are all American allies, people --
countries that have enjoyed close relations with the U.S. for decades and now receiving, in some cases, threats.
I was just in Panama over the holidays and people there were sobering the 25th anniversary of the return of the two -- of the canal to Panama
something that is unites all Panamanians. And Panamanians feel that they have bandaged the canal much better than anyone expected.
They've expanded trade so much of the goods that come to the United States from Asia or from the West Coast and East Coast and vice versa, come
through the Panama Canal. It's absolutely important and it's just very confusing for them because, of course, if you disrupt that kind of trade,
it's just going to make prices of all goods, many goods in the United States rise even further.
And we are talking about a country that is a rare stable democracy in the region that has been supportive of the U.S. over the years, particularly in
terms of migration in recent months.
So Panamanians that I spoke with said, they didn't know whether laugh or cry because, of course, there is a history of U.S. involvement in the
region, a history that they thought was really relegated to the history books.
And you hear those kinds of threats now of using economic or even military measures to try to pry back at the Panama Canal, pry back to try to wrest
control from Denmark of Greenland, to strike some as bizarre if they were not coming from the president-elect of the United States.
So Panama's president said that, you know, he'll deal with Donald Trump when he is actually president. But there is a lot of concern over what the
next four years could bring because you see how much concern and anxiety this does bring countries when they seem to realize both that Donald Trump
is serious about this and that there are very few people around him in his potential cabinet, his advisors, that unlike in his previous administration
seem to be willing to kind of speak out against ideas that for many people seem completely crazy.
GOLODRYGA: Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much.
Time now for The Exchange, and what Trump's comments might mean for America's foreign policy going forward. Our friend Susan Glasser is a staff
writer for "The New Yorker" and she joins me now live from Washington. Susan, happy New Year. It's good to see you.
So, a different administration, Trump 2.0. Some things are quite the same, though. I remember in the first administration reading that South Korea
actually and their government have created their own department just to analyze the president's tweets.
I'm wondering what, if anything, is going through the minds of our allies around the world when they're already, at this point, he's not even sworn
in, having to make public statements saying the Greenland is not for sale, the Panama Canal deal cannot be disrupted, the Gulf of Mexico will not be
renamed.
What do you -- and Canada won't be a 51st state. I mean, what do you make of all of this?
SUSAN GLASSER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: Yes. I mean, you know, first of all, happy New Year and thank you so much.
I mean, you know, the more things change with Donald Trump, the more they stay the same.
And one through line from his first four years in office is certainly a consistent, and to many observers, of course, of the United States, bizarre
predilection for criticizing America's allies, you know, while at the same time often praising or amplifying views that seem more consistent with
America's adversaries.
[12:40:07]
And this is one example where also I think you've seen people sort of shrug their shoulders or laugh off some of Trump's more outlandish ideas. That's
what they did when this issue of purchasing Greenland came up in first term.
They treated it like a joke, whereas our reporting for our book, "The Divider," suggested this was something that Donald Trump actually wanted to
pursue throughout his presidency. He was constrained at times by many of his advisors from bringing it up publicly.
In the end, of course, he did so in the summer of 2019. And, you know, it was treated as sort of a Trumpian oddity. But I'm not surprised that it
came back along with views about the Panama Canal, which he's had for years, by the way.
What's notable and striking about it again is how confrontational Trump is choosing to be, first of all. Second of all, how it's distracting. It takes
the attention away from some of the very specific and hard to execute on promises Trump has made about foreign affairs, like ending the Ukraine war
in 24 hours.
I think it's safe to say right now that very few people think that he's going to end the Ukraine war in the first 24 hours of his second term as
president.
And so, you know, here we are all over again, right, sucked in to this news cycle of sort of disbelief and disruption that Donald Trump thrives on.
GOLODRYGA: And when you hear the president, as you said, some of these policies he was speaking of and wanting to pursue in his first term, the
Gulf of America is a first I've heard as his the 51st state of Canada.
But as it relates to Greenland, I do wonder what role now, given that we have a war in Ukraine that is largely based on the autonomy of a sovereign
territory being disrupted illegally and invaded by Russia, a war that's going on now for two-and-a-half years.
Is it too much to worry then that his views of sovereignty and autonomy are at play here? And it's not just a strategic acquisition that he wants to
make, but perhaps speaks to something larger.
GLASSER: Yes. I'm glad you brought that up because I think this is, again, an important and often overlooked aspect of Donald Trump's worldview, which
is a consistent predilection for seeing the world in ways that are much more -- have much more in common with that of Vladimir Putin or other
strongman leaders or Xi Jinping in the sense that he is absolutely willing to undermine America's role in the world, to undercut the treaties, the
obligations, the laws, and the commitments that the United States has made in administrations other than his own.
And so that's, I think, consistent when you've seen him undermine NATO or misdescribe the terms of the mutual defense obligations that we've
undertaken as a founding member of NATO. I think it's consistent in not believing in sort of the sacrosanct nature of independent nations, their
sovereignty, the idea that borders are fixed. This has been a core principle of the United States and other guarantors of the international
order for decades.
And you see Donald Trump believing -- I think it's consistent with his view that, you know, (INAUDIBLE) that, you know, all about what Donald Trump
defines our national interest, not what the existing laws, treaties, and national consensus have been.
GOLODRYGA: Underlying that the Panama Canal issue and even Greenland is what Donald Trump, and even some of his national security advisers say is a
looming Chinese threat.
Can you walk us through whether that threat actually exists and how it relates to the Panama Canal and where Greenland is strategically located
and its natural resources?
GLASSER: Yes. It's interesting. You know, in reporting that we did after the first Trump administration on Trump and Greenland, it was very notable
that even people who were completely skeptical understood that this was a non-starter of an idea for the United States to buy or take over Greenland
in an explicit sense.
Still a concern on the part of people like Trump's, at the time, National Security Advisor John Bolton, now very publicly estranged. Bolton asked his
staff to look into ways in which the U.S. might focus more on relations with Greenland, more on beefing up our national security presence there
because of both China's access to strategic minerals that are increasingly valuable in a much more nationalistic world, a world of conflict between
Russia and China and the United States. We can't count on having access to areas that are under the strategic purview of China and Russia in the
future.
[12:45:15]
So that was something that even skeptics of the Greenland purchase idea were interested in pursuing the first Trump administration. But their view
was that Donald Trump are going public with it would blow up the chance for more cooperation.
And, frankly, that's the thing about Donald Trump that doesn't get covered enough is that his actions produce reactions and nothing unified targets of
his criticism in his first term more than Donald Trump going after them.
You know, that was true in Germany. I think it'll be true inside Denmark now, inside Canada, inside Mexico. You know, what can they do but to stand
up for their own national interests and Trump will be a unifier of the opposition to him in some ways.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And that is the point. I'm so glad you brought it up, that John Bolton made on our air just yesterday, in not beating down what he
does consider U.S. strategic interest in Greenland, but just the pursuit and how Donald Trump is approaching it, being so public and the bluster, as
opposed to having these conversations privately behind closed doors.
Susan Glasser, it is good to see you. To be continued. As we noted, Donald Trump has yet to be inaugurated and we're already having these
conversations.
A factoid that I found out, too, that Greenland was first owned by Denmark in 1380, declared a Danish county in 1953, with further self-governance
established in 2009. So a bit of history there for those that didn't know the back story of Greenland.
Susan Glasser, thank you.
GLASSER: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Still to come for us, there are shocking claims in a new book about a Fox News town hall with Donald Trump last year. We'll have a live
report with our media reporter, ahead.
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GOLODRYGA: Now to a startling claim in a new book about Donald Trump and his campaign. The book claims that the president-elect's team was given the
questions ahead of time for a Fox News town hall in Iowa last January.
Fox says it plans to investigate the report in the forthcoming book, "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power."
If true, it would be a serious breach of journalism ethics.
Let's bring in CNN media correspondent, Hadas Gold, who joins us now from New York. What more are we learning about this, Hadas?
[12:50:07]
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna. So we got an exclusive first look at excerpts of this book by Alex Isenstadt, he's a national
political reporter for "POLITICO."
And there is two really interesting nuggets in this book that we were -- that we were given. But the most -- the most stunning of them is what you
mentioned is that this took place during the town hall in Iowa that Fox hosted last January with anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.
And actually what this book says is that Trump's advisors initially didn't want him to do this because unlike some other Fox knows Bret Baier and
Martha MacCallum are known to actually ask some tough questions and that they were expecting some tough questions about political retribution and
political violence, especially after January 6th.
But then, I want to read you part of this excerpt. About 30 minutes before the town hall was due to start, a senior aide started getting text messages
from a person on the inside at Fox X the team thought. They were images of all the questions Trump would be asked and the planned follow-ups down to
the exact wording. Jackpot. This was like a student getting a peek at the test before the exam started.
So then what Alex Isenstadt writes is that the Trump team began to workshop for some of these answers so that Trump would be appear cool, wouldn't be
caught off guard. And that is essentially what this book says happened.
Now, that would obviously be a huge breach of journalistic ethics. Somebody on the inside at Fox that don't name who this person is, sending questions
to the candidates' team before this town hall.
I asked Fox News for a comment. And this is what they said. They say, while we do not have any evidence of this occurring, and Alex Isenstadt has
conveniently refused to release the images for fact-checking, we take these matters very seriously and plan to investigate should there prove to be a
breach within the network.
I asked Alex, he says he stands by his reporting that he has multiple sources on the matter.
And when I went to the Trump campaign to ask them about this, they didn't actually directly address my questions about the town hall. They're simply
saying, President Trump was the most accessible and transparent candidate in American history.
So, very interesting, scoopy nugget from this book that's set to be released in March by Alex Isenstadt. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Damning allegations there. Hadas Gold, thank you so much for bringing us the reporting.
Well, it may be the worst fires Los Angeles has ever seen. After the break, we'll update you on efforts to put out the four fires now raging across the
area.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:55:06]
GOLODRYGA: We want to update you on the breaking news this hour. Sunrise in Los Angeles brought the sad news that two people have lost their lives.
Wildfires rage across the area.
The L.A. County fire chief says, it's not yet known how they died, but we do know that many more people are injured.
At least four distinct fires are now currently burning in the area. The numbers are just staggering. Fifty thousand people are out of their homes
at this hour.
Some 1,400 firefighters are battling the fires, which have scorched more than 5,500 acres so far.
As thousands of Californians are forced to get out of the path of these fast-moving fires, many have a dilemma. What to do with their beloved
animals that they cannot take with them?
The iconic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena has opened as an evacuation hub for pet owners looking for a safe place for horses and other livestock. And
the Pasadena Humane Society says that it is prepared to help those with small animals. And we are thinking about all of those residents today as we
continue to cover these devastating fires for you here at CNN.
That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga. "AMANPOUR" is next.
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