Return to Transcripts main page
One World with Zain Asher
Trump Moves Forward Quickly With Mass Deportation Plan; Trump To Visit California Today To See Wildfire Damage; Hamas Says It Will Release Four Female Soldiers Saturday; Senate To Hold Final Vote On Hegseth's Nomination Today; Vladimir Putin Calls For A Meeting With Donald Trump; Serious Contenders Emerge As Potential Buyers Of TikTok; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired January 24, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: To these comments from the president. He is there surrounded by local government officials in
the state of North Carolina. North Carolina, just to give you a sense, is a state that tends to be red, but at times during presidential elections has
gone blue, so you might call it a swing state. But it has voted for President Trump the last three elections.
And he said earlier that when he was elected, everyone was talking about California, but he said, I can't go to California until I get to North
Carolina, perhaps hinting at the political differences between a state like California, which is solidly blue, versus North Carolina.
And as I just said there a moment ago, we heard Trump today, multiple times, blast the federal government's response to last September's
hurricane. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Probably less FEMA because FEMA just hasn't done the job. And we're looking at the whole concept of
FEMA. I like, frankly, the concept when North Carolina gets hit, the governor takes care of it. When Florida gets hit, the governor takes care
of it, meaning, the state takes care of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, while he is in North Carolina, his administration is making clear that it's the president's immigration crackdown that is front and
center. And the words of his border czar, the gloves are off. The White House says that hundreds of migrants were arrested on Thursday, and others
have been flown out of the country on military aircraft.
It all comes as 1,500 active U.S. troops remain poised at the southern border, and as the Justice Department directed its prosecutors to
investigate state or local officials who stand in the way of the president's agenda.
Let's go now to Natasha Bertrand who joins us live at the Pentagon. Natasha, what more can you share with us about the president's deportation
plans of migrants, especially using military aircraft? What do you know?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is really an all hands on deck moment for the Pentagon. And that's because the
president has indicated that this is a national emergency that's happening at the border now.
And so whereas the Department of Homeland Security really bore the brunt of having to patrol the border and having to, you know, come up with all of
the resources that come, of course, with patrolling the border.
Now the Department of Defense is getting more and more involved in a way that it wasn't under the previous administration to include the use of
these military aircraft, including C-17s and C-130s.
This is a pretty unprecedented picture that we are seeing. And it was actually tweeted out by the White House press secretary this morning of a
U.S. military aircraft being loaded up with migrants in handcuffs being prepared for deportation back to, we are told, Guatemala in this first
flight that occurred yesterday. It is a very striking image here.
And it's one that the Department of Defense has not always been eager to play a role in because it is very sensitive for the military to be
conducting operations domestically.
And so while we are told that the military right now at the border, which includes around 2,200 active-duty forces in addition to the roughly 1,500
that are going to be arriving there, really any day now, they are not going to be conducting law enforcement per se. They are not going to be making
arrests. They're not going to be seizing drugs, for example.
But the presence there and, of course, the use of these military aircraft, it does send a message that the Trump administration has been eager to send
to these migrants that this is really an emergency and that the U.S. military is going to have a very beefed up presence and very, you know,
robust mission now at the border.
So what we are told is that we can expect up to 10,000 additional active duty forces to be deployed to the border, again, in furtherance of this
goal by the administration to make this look like it is a really huge emergency and all possible resources are being used for it. And we are
going to be seeing these troops arriving in waves.
And just this morning, we were actually told that the 82nd Airborne Division, which is one of the most storied units in the military, is going
to be deployed in the coming weeks down to the border. Why is that significant?
The 82nd Airborne is typically used in global crises. It is basically like the 911 service for the U.S. military. They can deploy extremely quickly to
global crises, really anywhere in the world. So by sending them down there, you have the optics, of course, of this being the kind of emergency and
crisis that President Trump has made it out to be, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Natasha Bertrand, reporting live from the Pentagon for us. Natasha, thank you.
And immigrant communities throughout the U.S. who are facing growing fear and uncertainty, are now bracing for the worst. The mayor of Newark, New
Jersey says that his city has been, quote, unlawfully terrorized after federal agents raided a local business and detained multiple people on
Thursday, including U.S. citizens, without producing arrest warrants.
The mayor called it an egregious violation of the U.S. Constitution. And he spoke about it a short time ago. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAS BARAKA, NEWARK MAYOR: Obviously, some ICE agents raided a business in our city without a warrant. They went in the back of the establishment. We
believe that there were three people who they say were undocumented that they detained, but they also detained folks that were in fact citizens of
this country.
[12:05:14]
One person showed their military veteran identification and was still questioned anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, CNN has not been able to independently verify those details. But as we mentioned a short time ago, President Trump is touring two areas
of the country utterly devastated by natural disasters.
Mr. Trump's first stop is Western North Carolina, where we saw him a short time ago. That area's still recovering from the massive flooding brought by
Hurricane Helene in September.
While surveying the damage there, the president said that he thinks he wants to get rid of FEMA, the federal agency that handles recovery from
natural disasters. And he says that he wants to let states tackle disaster recovery.
North Carolina voted for the president, and he visited the state numerous times during the campaign, promising to help it rebuild.
President Trump will then fly across country to Southern California where recent wildfires have wiped out entire communities. He has been highly
critical of democratic politicians in the state.
And just moments ago, he said he wants to attach conditions to any aid he gives the state. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I want two things. I want voter ID for the people of California. They all want it. Right now, you have -- no, you don't have voter ID.
People want to have voter identification. You want to have proof of citizenship.
Ideally, you have one day voting, but I just want voter I.D. as a start. And I want the water to be released and they're going to get a lot of help
from the U.S.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Let's get to CNN's Julia Vargas Jones, who joins us live in Altadena, California. Julia, give us a sense of when the president reaches
California, what he'll see on the ground there.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rahel. Look, he will be getting a sense of the destruction, both via an aerial tour of the Palisades fire
on the west side of Los Angeles. And we're not sure if he will make his way over here to Altadena.
But we do know that Governor Gavin Newsom said that he plans to welcome the president at LAX when he lands here this afternoon, despite not getting
much communication from the White House.
The governor said he looks forward to being there on the tarmac and thank the president. He said he was happy that he took his invitation to be here.
Of course, this is a test, Rahel, of this relationship between Trump and Newsom, who had their tensions in the past, but they have also been able to
work together back in 2018, when the governor was already in his first term, and the president as well. They worked together through the campfire.
And at this point, it's a test of not just their relationship, but also of these policies that Trump is now saying that he wants to impose. Governor
Gavin Newsom has released about $2.5 billion of aid to California, to Southern California, to help with both fighting these fires, which are
still ongoing in -- over here, but also to help with the rebuilding.
But the estimates is that the cost of rebuilding all of this will be at least 10 times more than that, and that he is relying on the federal
government for this kind of aid.
So the hope with this visit is that Trump himself might be able to see the devastation and perhaps be able to find a way to get this aid to
Californians that need it the most.
I'll add, Rahel, that we're not done with a disaster here in Southern California. We're expecting rains in the coming days that could turn into
mudslides and potentially drag all of the toxic debris that is here in Altadena and in the Palisades and other parts of the state that have been
hit by these devastating fires.
That could flood into residential areas. The city and the state and the county authorities have gone -- have received a lot of criticism for their
handling of the fires. But they said that they are prepared for this time with different machinery coming up and down.
We've been seeing all morning here in Altadena, they are digging basically trenches to stop the water from rolling down the San Gabriel hills and into
these neighborhoods here in Altadena.
In preparation for this also handing out sandbags for the population telling people to turn off their electricity at home if they are in these
flood prone areas.
Rahel, we still don't know what more could come from these rains. But authorities and meteorologists saying that if the rains hit these badly
burned areas heavily, it could be as deadly as the fires.
SOLOMON: OK. Julia Vargas Jones live for us there in the devastated community of Altadena, California. Thank you.
Now let's get to where President Trump is right now, North Carolina. And our CNN's Jeff Zeleny is also there.
[12:10:02]
Jeff, we heard the president blast FEMA repeatedly, both in those comments he just made and the comments he made at the top of the hour. He said FEMA
is slow, they cost a lot of money, they're bureaucratic. Are those criticisms fair?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, I mean, there's no question that there are critics on both sides of the political
aisle about how FEMA operates and how it hands out housing vouchers and food assistance, et cetera.
However, I think painting with a broad brush like that, something else is going on here. This is part of the Trump administration's and the
president's essentially his effort to remake and reshape the government.
It has long been -- FEMA has long been in the crosshairs of some conservatives thinking the agency as a bit of a waste.
But the challenge here is, of course, whenever there is a disaster, people need a, you know, responsible agency to come in and help them. So the
politics of this and politicizing this is not something that is going to be helpful.
Thinking back to many disasters, of course, they strike red states and blue states. And now there is a discussion about sort of attaching strings and
conditions on some of this funding.
But the FEMA, in particular, here in North Carolina, there has been a criticism. There's no doubt about how long it has taken some of the relief.
You can still see behind me here, this is just one tiny slice of the long recovery ahead. This used to be an art gallery here in the River Arts
District of Asheville. The president is going to another location to see some devastated homes and things.
So, is FEMA perfect? It's not. But the question is, is dismantling it going to be helpful for the next disaster? That's something that Congress will
have to decide.
SOLOMON: And also the thought, Jeff, of conditioning aid in some places, perhaps not others. He said repeatedly today that he wants to attach
strings to California funding for the fire recovery.
But when asked if he planned to attach aid or conditions for North Carolina funding, he said, look, we're going to do a lot for North Carolina. It's
been very slow. We're going to make up for lost time. Talk to me about that.
ZELENY: Look, that was very different and suggesting that Michael Whatley, who's from North Carolina, the chair of the Republican National Committee,
putting him in charge of relief efforts here, that is injecting politics into this.
But in terms of tying funding, the president talking there about if California wants funding, he would like to see a voter I.D. bill passed.
That, of course, would be a state law that would be a pass for voters to show identification before casting ballots, which has nothing to do with
disaster aid.
So this is going to be a conversation that the president has injected himself in, adding politics to it. Perhaps a shiny object, if you will, to
take away from the actual discussion of the amount of the aid, but it seems now to be central to this conversation.
And Republicans in Congress are serious about tying some strings to this aid. Of course, Democrats will argue no strings were attached to a Katrina
aid back in the day and other things in red state.
So the politics are at the center of this, even as people in California and here in North Carolina still need so much help. Rahel?
SOLOMON: Jeff Zeleny, great to have your insights and analysis there. Live for us in Asheville, North Carolina. Jeff, thank you.
Let's get a bit more now on what President Trump will find in both North Carolina and California. We are joined by Lilly Knoepp, a public radio
reporter in North Carolina, as well as Mo Kelly, a radio talk show host from Los Angeles. Good to have you both.
Lilly, let me start with you. We've already heard from the president there in North Carolina. Give me a sense of what he will actually see there.
LILLY KNOEPP, SENIOR REGIONAL REPORTER, BLUE RIDGE PUBLIC RADIO: Yes. I think we expect President Trump to go to Swannanoa on the ground here.
After Helene, there's still a lot of damage and debris cleanup that is underway. And he is headed out to some of those sites and to meet with some
of those families who still are trying to figure out what their next move is.
We still have a lot of folks who were in transitional housing and working with FEMA to try and understand what to do now that their homes have been
destroyed.
SOLOMON: Yes. And, Morris, talk to me a little bit about what the president will see when he gets to California. We'll talk about the politics in just
a moment, but obviously, the need is significant.
MORRIS O'KELLY, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, my concern is whether he will see everything that he needs to see. If he only sees Pacific Palisades,
which is on the west side, it's going to be very limiting and not understand the scope of the damage, which is across demographics and
economic strata.
So unless the president sees how widespread the damage is, he may not get a clear understanding.
But this is something which has devastated the state, I would say, of California and usurped a lot of our resources. And I want the president to
understand that first and foremost, you said, we'll get to the politics later, but unfortunately the president put the politics first and he put
them above the people. I want the people to come first before the politics.
[12:15:09]
SOLOMON: Mm-hmm. Lilly, let me talk to you speaking of politics. North Carolina, I mean, that's a state that can swing either direction in the
presidential election, but the last three elections it did go for Trump.
Talk to me about what you heard from Trump and how much that influenced what we heard from him there. I mean, one thing that I thought was
interesting is he said, look, everyone's talking about California, but I said it, and I'm paraphrasing here. But he said, I said that I'm not going
to California before I go to North Carolina.
What did you hear in terms of the politics of North Carolina?
KNOEPP: Yes. It's been really interesting to hear how this has been such a political issue, getting aid for North Carolina. And, you know, we saw as
President Trump was scheduling his visit today.
Originally, there wasn't really a discussion about governor -- newly elected governor, Josh Stein, who's a Democrat coming along, but Stein was
there with Trump on the tarmac as they were discussing these issues. And as we heard, you know, President Trump say that.
And one of the things that was really interesting, and you've touched on this the way that he's talking about FEMA, but he was also talking about
the state's kind of leading that charge. And, you know, in our coverage of the legislature, the states have said -- North Carolina legislatures have
said, we need federal funding. We need federal help with this.
And so how that relationship plays out with, you know, Republican lawmakers from this part of the state saying, we need federal funding for this, North
Carolina can't fund this alone, will be really interesting as he's discussing, you know, changing the way that FEMA works in some way that we
will hear about in coming weeks, it sounds like, to be more direct with aid directly to North Carolina.
SOLOMON: Yes. The theme of it all is quite interesting.
Morris, let me ask, I mean, obviously the politics of California are very different. It's a solidly blue state. But as you pointed out, the need in
California crosses demographics, it crosses perhaps political ideologies.
That said, it is a state where his former opponent, Kamala Harris, is from. He often spars politically with the governor, Gavin Newsom, and it's
Senator Adam Schiff.
How concerned do you think -- and what I love always talking to radio hosts is that you actually get to hear from people, viewers call in, you get a
real sort of sense of the pulse.
How concerned do you think people are in California that politics, that tension could play into the real need that they have on the ground?
O'KELLY: Let me go one step further. Just on my job, I know of at least 10 people, 10 people who've lost everything, lost their houses and everything
inside. So it's very personal for people in California.
And it does traverse different ideologies and different demographics, but the concern is real. And, yes, the politics are also real. We know that
Governor Gavin Newsom most likely is the presumptive front runner for 2028, running for president. So the politics cannot be denied.
But there's a contradiction which hasn't been addressed Trump has said that he wants states to be more self-reliant and self-sufficient. Well, at the
same time, we talked about the infrastructure of North Carolina and California, and that's just not possible.
The states do need the federal government to step in times like this. And if the president is going to predicate aid on the politics, then we're
going down that proverbial, slipperier slope, and disasters here on out will probably be more -- be worse than what they were without the president
intervening.
SOLOMON: Morris, let me stick with you for just a moment because our conversation has focused a lot on whether politics will play a larger role
than the real need on the ground here.
But speaking of politics, I mean, you could argue that also applies to Gavin Newsom, that a lot of people will be watching your governor to see if
he can put politics aside because it is the people of his state who are hurting right now so much. Talk to me about the expectations for him.
O'KELLY: Absolutely, 100 percent. I said that on my radio show last night where we're looking at Gavin Newsom, who has previously positioned himself
as the anti-Trump, the answer to the Trump administration, and whether he's going to rise above the politics of the moment and demonstrate that he can
be an effective leader for justice, not just the state, going forward, if he's going to have any presence on the national stage.
Yes, the visuals are very important. Yes, Governor Newsom said that he's going to be there to meet President Trump on the tarmac, but those public
remarks are going to be very important to see who is going to be more of the state's person in this moment and be what the state needs and also send
a message for the rest of the country.
SOLOMON: Yes, certainly a lot to watch. Great to have both of you. Mo Kelly, thank you. Lilly Knoepp, thank you as well.
KNOEPP: Thank you.
SOLOMON: And coming up, in anxious wait, Hamas lists the names of four more hostages set to be released this weekend. We will have a live report from
Israel when we take this short break on the back of this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:37]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Hamas says it intends to release four female soldiers Saturday as part of the next wave of hostage-prisoner exchanges.
Israel confirms that it has received the list. It's phase one of the complex Gaza ceasefire deal, which calls for 33 hostages to be released in
exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
This comes as Donald Trump says that the ceasefire, in his words, should hold. And if it doesn't, there will be, what he's calling a lot of
problems. That's a turnaround from what he said earlier this week.
Let's get to ONE WORLD Anchor and CNN's senior global analyst, Bianna Golodryga, who joins us now live from Tel Aviv.
Bianna, talk to us about this list of names. It apparently was not what Israel was expecting. Have we heard any reaction yet from the government?
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, Rahel, and that's created quite a complication here and a delay in the public release of the
names, given that Hamas and Israel had agreed that this second stage of phase one, with the release of what was expected to be four female Israeli
captives there, hostages in Gaza, they would include civilian hostages as well.
Instead, Hamas has released a list with four names of IDF female observers out of the five that were taken hostage, and that has created quite a bit
of a situation here in Israel, given that those were not the terms agreed to.
The prime minister's office released a statement saying that a list for the release of hostages has been received through the mediators, and Israel's
response will be provided later.
And that's raised some concerns about the status, the welfare of those two remaining female Israeli hostages in Gaza. They were expecting at least one
of them to be released today.
They're Arbel Yehud, who is 29 years old, who was taken hostage from her kibbutz in Nir Oz. And then there's Shiri Bibas, the mother of two
children, Ariel Bibas, 5 years old. And Kfir Bibas, 2 years old as well.
So the Israeli government not releasing these names yet. Though, Rahel, these names have been circulating online as well. And you can understand
the cruel situation it has led to here in Israel with some of these family members already hearing names of their loved ones, perhaps on this list,
and the Israeli government having to decide whether or not they will follow through on their end of the bargain given that Hamas has not.
[12:25:03]
I spoke many times throughout the last 15 months with the parents and families of some of these hostages, including two that are included in
those five female IDF observers, the mother of Naama Levy and Liri Albag. I spoke with them in October of 2024.
Here is what Ayelet Levy, Naama's mother, said back then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYELET LEVY SHACHAR, MOTHER OF NAAMA LEVY: We are hoping, hoping that they are together there and helping each other survive and, you know, keeping
the faith for each other and being strong for one another. And, you know, we're trying to be strong for one another here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: This whole nation has been trying to be strong for one another and for the families of these hostages, especially, Rahel. And so we're --
as we are waiting to hear Israel's official response, we are waiting to hear whether or not they will then release 50 Palestinian prisoners. Fifty
was the agreement that they would release in exchange for the female IDF observers. Thirty was the number of Palestinian prisoners that they would
release for the female civilians.
Once we get any more information, any more clarity as to whether this list will be publicized, of course, we will bring you that later this evening.
Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yes. We know -- we know you'll stay on top of it, Bianna.
At the same time, we're also hearing that a private American security company will take over a key checkpoint on the road to Northern Gaza. What
more can you share with us there?
GOLODRYGA: Well, therein lies another bit of the problem here, because that was all contingent upon the fact that these female hostages would be
released, and thus, the Palestinian prisoners would be released as well.
And once the female hostages would be on Israeli soil is when another part of this deal would go into effect, and that is when Palestinian civilians
would be allowed to return to the northern part of the enclave there in Gaza.
And so this civilian checkpoint, the company agreed upon to be represented by the U.S., Israel, and Egypt, that this company would serve as a
checkpoint at the Netzarim Corridor that separates the northern part of the enclave from the southern part and would serve there as a checkpoint for
cars that are making their way through the north.
Civilians walking on foot would not have to be subjected to this checkpoint, but all of this hangs in the balance now as we are waiting to
see what Israel's response will be to Hamas basically reneging on their end of the deal.
SOLOMON: OK. Bianna Golodryga, please keep us posted. Reporting live for us there in Tel Aviv. Bianna, thank you.
And we're getting mixed signals about peace talks over the war in Ukraine. Will the leaders of the U.S. and Russia sit down to potentially end the
war? You'll hear from both sides after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:31]
SOLOMON: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Rahel Solomon.
Donald Trump's controversial pick for Secretary of Defense is just one step away from being confirmed. The full Senate is set to vote on Pete Hegseth
tonight. The former Fox News anchor narrowly cleared a key procedural vote yesterday, despite two Republican senators joining every Senate Democrat in
opposition.
Hegseth faces a string of accusations, including that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017. He denies the allegation.
But documents newly obtained by CNN show that he told the Senate that he paid his accuser, $50,000 as part of a confidential settlement.
CNN's Lauren Fox has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's little indication right now that these new details are going to have any impact on Pete Hegseth
finally being confirmed to be the defense secretary in the next couple of hours.
We expect a late vote tonight on the Senate floor. That assumes that Democrats don't give up any of their time in this process. They are really
trying to slow walk this nomination. But, ultimately, it is up to Republicans to confirm Pete Hegseth without a single democratic vote.
Now, we do know of two Republican women who have already come out opposed to Hegseth, Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from the state of Alaska,
who said that she had a lot of concerns about Hegseth's nomination, not the least of which, she said, were concerns about his ability to lead such a
massive organization, given the fact, she said, she had doubts that his past experience had prepared him to lead the Defense Department.
We also know that Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from the state of Maine, also is opposed to Pete Hegseth. She also cited concerns about the
fact that she was not sure that Pete Hegseth had had a legitimate change of heart on the issue of women serving in combat roles.
Now, Hegseth had said previously in other writings that he did not believe that women belonged in combat roles, but throughout this process he had
convinced other Republican senators that he had a change on that issue.
And he had said repeatedly, during his public confirmation hearing, that women just had to meet the same standards as men for these roles.
There's also just a larger question right now of what this means for nominees moving forward. Lawmakers are expected to move forward with
Hegseth's nomination. Then Republicans want to turn quickly to confirm other nominees, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Treasury Secretary
pick, Scott Bessent.
It's not clear how long Democrats are going to drag this process out, which could mean the Senate may be in session this weekend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And the Kremlin, meantime, says that it is ready to hold talks between the Russian and American presidents and is waiting for the signal
from Washington. That's the word earlier from spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who adds that there's no word when or even if the two leaders will meet.
For his part, Donald Trump says that he is willing to meet with Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the war in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Russia should want to make a deal. Maybe they want to make a deal. I think from what I hear, Putin would like to see me. And we'll meet as soon
as we can. I'd meet immediately.
Every day we don't meet, soldiers are being killed in a battlefield.
It would be nice to end that war. It's a ridiculous war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, despite that, Russia's foreign minister tells Russian state media that there are no signs that Ukraine and the West are ready to talk.
Matthew Chance is in Moscow.
[12:35:00]
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin has lavished praise on President Trump, while
urging a meeting between the two leaders to discuss Ukraine and other issues.
In an interview on Russian state television, Putin insisted he, quote, always had an exclusively professional and business-like relationship with
Trump. A U.S. leader he appears to hold in very high esteem. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): He is not only a smart person, he is a pragmatic person. And I can hardly imagine that
decisions will be made that will harm the American economy.
Therefore, most likely, it would be better for us to meet and talk calmly about all those areas that are of interest to both the U.S. and Russia. We
are ready, but this primarily depends on the decision and choice of the current administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, those remarks coming after President Trump said he would meet Putin immediately to bring a rapid end to the conflicts in Ukraine.
Earlier, Trump told Putin over social media to make a deal about Ukraine and to end what he called this ridiculous war or face increased U.S.
sanctions.
Putin's response has essentially been to agree in principle to talks, but also to flatter the U.S. president. In his state T.V. interview, Putin
called his relationship with Trump trustworthy and added that he agreed with the U.S. president that, quote, if his presidency had not been stolen
in 2020, maybe the crisis in Ukraine would not have happened.
Putin, of course, launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 when Joe Biden was the U.S. president.
Rahel, back to you.
SOLOMON: All right. Our thanks to Matthew there.
Well, several potential buyers are emerging as serious contenders to become the possible new American owner of the social media site, TikTok. The U.S.
law to impose a ban if the website was not sold to an American was delayed for 75 days by President Donald Trump.
And any deal still has to be approved by TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
CNN's Brian Todd has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a 75-day clock well past its starting gun, the outlines of a possible deal to purchase TikTok are
starting to take shape, driven in no small measure by President Trump, who's pressing potential buyers to purchase 50 percent of TikTok.
TRUMP: What I'm thinking about saying to somebody is buy it and give half to the United States of America, half, and we'll give you the permit.
TODD (voice-over): On inauguration day, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve before being banned in the U.S., unless the platform's operations in the
U.S. are sold to an American buyer.
Until now, TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has rejected a sale, but a board member of ByteDance now predicts there will be some type of
deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe a deal will get done?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do believe it will get done.
TODD (voice-over): So who are the best known potential buyers?
JAMES DONALDSON, YOUTUBE INFLUENCER: I might become your guys' new CEO. I'm super excited.
TODD (voice-over): Mr. Beast, the super influencer on YouTube with more followers on that platform than anyone, almost 350 million, claims he's
putting in a bid for TikTok.
DONALDSON: Just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires. TikTok, we mean business. This is my lawyer right here. We have an offer ready for
you. We want to buy the platform. America deserves TikTok. Give me a seat at the table. Let me save this platform, TikTok.
TODD (voice-over): The engaging 26-year-old star, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has made a fortune and a gigantic following, posting videos of
contests, stunts and huge giveaways.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: It makes sense why you would want to have an influencer who understands these platforms so well, what makes them
work, what makes users attracted to them.
TODD (voice-over): Another potential purchaser? None other than the first buddy, Elon Musk, who Chinese officials have been thinking of selling at
least a portion of TikTok to, according to the "Wall Street Journal" and Bloomberg.
TODD: Why would the Chinese want to do that?
SARA FISCHER, MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Because they would have an in with Trump. Elon Musk has become such an ally to Donald Trump, there's no
question that China wants to develop that relationship further.
TODD (voice-over): President Trump, Musk's new boss, was asked about that idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you open to Elon buying TikTok?
TRUMP: I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes.
TODD (voice-over): Trump says he's also in favor of Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison, buying TikTok.
There's also been a bid from a group including Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
How anxious are TikTok users in the U.S. for anyone to step up and buy it?
DUFFY: I mean, it's huge. These are people who rely on this platform for not just dance videos and cat videos, but in many, many cases for their
careers, for their livelihood.
TODD: CNN's Clare Duffy says any American buyer would most likely have at least one big challenge. They would probably have to buy TikTok's U.S.
operations without the app's successful algorithm, the formula TikTok uses to feed you the best videos to keep you hooked, instead of videos and
pictures from your friends like you see on Instagram and Facebook.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And still ahead for us, the mother of missing American journalist, Austin Tice, returns to Syria to try to find her son. Still ahead, why she
believes he is still there in a safe house, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:40:10]
SOLOMON: All right. Let's get back to President Trump in Western North Carolina. He's there to survey recovery efforts. After last year's massive
flooding from Hurricane Helene, he is speaking again after meeting with affected families. Let's listen together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Good man. He's done a great job. Fantastic job. And we've come to North Carolina with a simple message for all the people of this region who
were hit so hard by Hurricane Helene. And that message is very simple, you are not forgotten any longer. You were treated very badly by the previous
administration. And I'm here after a few days of the administration.
We're going to California, Los Angeles. They got hit hard, as you know. A lot of that could have been prevented, I think, if they had water, which
they had plenty of, but they didn't use it. But I'm going there, but it was set up to go there.
And I said, well, wait a minute, what about North Carolina? They said, well, what would you do? I said, I have to stop there first. I'm stopping
in North Carolina. So we made the stop. And I feel very good. You're represented by some great people. Great congressmen are with us. And we're
going to get involved with them.
And Michael Whatley is here, who is the head of the Republican Party. He worked with Lara Trump to take us through to a tremendous victory. One of
the -- as the media says, one of the most consequential presidential elections ever. They say in 129 years, whatever that may mean.
But whatever it is, it was a great election we had, and we won your state all three times. We won your state. And all three primaries, we won your
state. So we won it six times, I guess, Mr. Congressman, huh?
And it's a great place. And I wanted to come here. And before I went anywhere, Franklin.
And the campaign, I promised that I'd come back to Western North Carolina to help the people of the state. And today, here I am to deliver on that
promise. And we have a lot of things in mind. And we're getting the Corps of -- the Army Corps of Engineers all set.
You need your riverbanks fixed. You need a lot of roads fixed. And we're going to get it done in rapid time.
And I've asked Susie Wiles and all of my people to start calling up, get the Corps ready, and they're going to get ready to go.
I don't know what it is. I don't know what took so long for the other administration. But remember, I wasn't here for the first four months or
three months, whatever it may be.
See, we can only start as of essentially one or two days ago. And we've made a lot of progress over the last couple of days, Michael. I understand
we're going to get you the resources you need and the support that you deserve. And we'll be at your side through every step of the rebuilding.
And no American is going to be left behind.
The people that I just met are so great. And the people that own that house, that house is going to be very beautiful in a little while. And who
knows, if Franklin decides maybe he'll rip it down and build him a new one. Because sometimes you can do that just as easily, but we're going to take
care of the people.
[12:45:10]
I want to thank our great First Lady for coming today. She really wanted to be here. She said, no, I want to go. And, you know, she sees what happened
and she felt very badly and she wanted to go. And we're then going out together to Los Angeles, but she wanted to be in North Carolina. She saw
what happened. She has a -- she has a feeling like I do for North Carolina.
So thanks as well to a great gentleman, Franklin Graham and his father, Billy Graham. I used to go with my father to Yankee Stadium and places to
watch his father preach. And he was some preacher. Where is he? There he is.
You got good stock. You come from -- you come from the ultimate genes, I can tell you. But he was -- he was really something.
And, Franklin though has done so much and his father's looking down on him right now. I guarantee for a long time he's been looking down on Franklin
saying, I'm very proud of you, son. He really is because what Franklin's done with Samaritan's Purse is incredible.
They told me just yesterday that Samaritan's Purse has been great. But the FEMA people sort of left you high and dry, but we're going to change that
around. We're not happy with FEMA.
As well as all of the representatives. You have great representatives here, Chuck Edwards, is here someplace. Where's Chuck?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here.
TRUMP: Where is Chuck? Chuck? Tim Moore. Tim, thank you, Tim. Great job too. Both of you guys.
Virginia Foxx, a power. She's a power, that one. Don't ever have her as your enemy. It's not good. It's not healthy.
Pat Harrigan. Good job, Pat. Addison McDowell. These guys were just here, just put in. And they're doing a fantastic job.
Addison, thank you very much. Great. Mark Harris. Thank you, Mark. Thank you, Mark. Brad Knott. Thank you, Brad. Greg Murphy. Fantastic guy. My
friend for a long time now, right?
And the RNC Chairman, Michael Whatley, who really, as I said, brought us to a great victory with Lara, the chairman of the party, the whole Republican.
I took -- I took Michael Whatley from North Carolina because he did the best job and put him in charge of everything. And the job they did together
was incredible.
Last September, Hurricane Helene became one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern American history. Rainfall rose to far more than 30
inches, which is lethal, unleashing unprecedented devastation throughout Western North Carolina and many other states, as you know, but you get hit
the hardest.
The highest responsibility and deepest obligation of the American government is to protect its people. And that's never truer than in times
of emergency like this.
Unfortunately, our government failed you. But it wasn't the Trump government. It was a government run by Biden. What a -- what a terrible
situation. But our government failed. The people of North Carolina in this horrible crisis.
For two months, Asheville lacked running water, and even today, some North Carolinians can't take a hot water shower. They can't drink water. They
don't know where to get it. They have to -- it's delivered to them by some where they just go out and somehow find some.
It's been four months since the storm made landfill, and still 180 roads remain closed. And in ruins earlier this month, the Biden administration
kicked 2,000 displaced North Carolinians out of their temporary housing into freezing 20-degree weather. I don't know how they did that one,
because it was cold, even while your government provided shelter and housing for illegal aliens from all over the world.
But under the Trump administration, the days of betrayal and neglect are over. They are over. As I said in my inaugural address, we restore the
integrity, competency, and loyalty of the American government.
And I think I said most of it in the inaugural address. We said a lot of things, but one of the groups of people I was thinking about is you in
North Carolina. A lot of that was in reference to you and what you've had to suffer.
I'm pleased to announce that under our leadership, the federal government will be surging housing solutions to the state that go beyond mere
temporary hotel stays that ended up being very short-term. The government wouldn't do it any longer, which is ridiculous.
We'll marshal all available resources that bring back potable water and make your water and infrastructure dramatically more reliable very quickly.
Today, I'll also be signing an executive order slashing all red tape and bureaucratic barriers and permits to ensure the rapid reconstruction of the
roads here in Western North Carolina. We're going to go through a permitting process that's called No Permitting. Just get it done. That's
the way they built them many years ago, I guarantee you that, right?
[12:50:12]
We will get them back very quickly and we'll begin the work of fundamentally changing, terminating or overhauling FEMA. FEMA has been a
disaster no matter where they are.
We're honored to be joined today very quickly by several families affected by the vicious storm. I'd like to ask each of them to share their story.
Chris and Kim West, you could come forward. Ramon and Nick. Jackie Mitchell and Thomas Garybright (ph). And finally, the Wright family and come on up
and maybe say a few words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. We've just been listening to U.S. President Donald Trump there as he continues to tour Western North Carolina, which continues
to be hit months after Hurricane Helene, from the damage of the flooding from Hurricane Helene in late September.
A few things we heard from the president there. He said, we've come here with a simple message, you are not forgotten any longer. You were treated
very badly by the previous administration.
Despite the fact that he is on the ground there to assist Americans who are dealing with the aftermath of severe weather, catastrophic weather, it was
a lot of politics both then and some of his earlier speeches today.
His earlier comments, he has blasted FEMA. He has blasted the former administration, President Biden's administration multiple times.
Politics aside though, there is significant need on the ground in Western North Carolina. Some estimates put the damage in North Carolina, Western
North Carolina, at $59 billion.
President Trump saying earlier that he will be sending aid directly to the state. He just said a moment ago, he will be marshaling all resources to
try to get aid into North Carolina a bit quicker.
And that he will also be signing an executive order to cut what he called the red tape around the permitting process of rebuilding the roads.
We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington is welcoming its newest residents to giant pandas. After months of planning
and preparation, Bao Li and Qing Bao made their public debut earlier today.
These are pictures of the pandas from inside their exhibit. The three-year- old black and white duo are on loan from China for the next 10 years. And they're the first ones to be sent to Washington in nearly a quarter of a
century. A little bit of a panda diplomacy on display.
[12:55:13]
And finally, this week's rare record snowfall in Texas forced the Houston Zoo to close for a few days, but the winter wonderland did also bring some
of the animals outside for a bit of fun. This is a young Asian elephant named Teddy who went for a run in the snow as his keeper tried to keep up.
Yes, there they are.
Also a pride of lions apparently unsure what to do with all of this cold stuff, which is also how I feel these days in New York. What to do about
this cold stuff. The deep freeze that swept across southern states from Texas to the Carolinas this week will stick around a little bit longer
through Sunday. But cute.
And that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Rahel Solomon. Pleasure to be with you today. Thanks for watching. "AMANPOUR" is coming up next. Have
a great weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
