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CNN Live Event/Special
Donald Trump's Second Presidential Inauguration to Soon Kick Off in D.C. As Friends and Foes Flock to the Nation's Capital; Trump Promises to Release All Classified Records Connected to the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy; TikTok Back After Blackout Over the Weekend. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired January 20, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
KASIE HUNT, ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING: It's Monday, January 20th, and that, of course, means, it is inauguration day. Right now --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, you're going to have a lot of fun watching television. They said, like hell, we're going to do it over weeks. We're going to sign them at the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: On inauguration day, President-elect Trump already preparing to take dozens of sweeping actions within hours of taking office. On this day, we also honor civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Trump is pledging to release all classified records connected to his assassination, as well as the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.
And TikTok went dark for users over the weekend, but now it's back. Donald Trump is taking credit. Is it here to stay? All right, it is 5:00 a.m. here on the east coast, this is a live look at the White House. This is, of course, Joe Biden's last night in that house as President Trump and his wife, Melania move in after he takes the oath of office.
All right, it is wonderful to have you with us as we kick off this inauguration day, I'm Kasie Hunt. America is waking up to history on this inauguration day as Donald Trump prepares to sweep back into power. Four years ago, he tried a different approach to remaining in the White House, rallying his supporters on January 6th in what the House Select Committee on January 6th called an effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.
Now, his predecessor is extending him a courtesy that he didn't receive on this day in 2021. President Biden will host the Trumps at the White House for tea before he rides with him to the inauguration. Four years ago, Trump skipped town before Biden's inauguration, flying away from the White House hours before the transfer of power. But that is not what today will look like. Today, Biden will attend
Trump's swearing in, returning the nation to a more normal transfer of power, again peaceful. Once that moment happens at noon, the President-elect is promising sweeping action with dozens of executive orders at the ready.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You're going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy. Lots of them. We're going to stop the invasion of our borders -- oh, we're going to stop the destructive and divisive diversity, equity and inclusion mandates. Somebody said yesterday, sir, don't sign so many in one day. Let's do it over a period of weeks. I said, like hell, we're going to do it over weeks. We're going to sign them at the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right, joining us now for our coverage of Donald Trump's inauguration is CNN's John Berman, who is out in the cold. The rest of the country will not be experiencing the inauguration that way, because, of course, it's been moved inside for the first time since the year I was born.
John, you've made your way up to the Capitol. What are you seeing so far on this historic day?
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Actually, looking down on Lafayette Park behind us right now. And as you said, you know, it's not warm. It's like 25 degrees right now, not expected to get any warmer. Although, I will say it's significantly warmer than when Ronald Reagan moved his inauguration inside in 1985.
That was about 7 degrees. So, this is downright balmy compared to that. And as Kasie noted, waking up to history here in Washington D.C., and I'm here with Audie Cornish, and Audie, behind us, we're kind of looking down on history because behind us, directly behind us is a White House where a President is sleeping, but also Blair House, where a former and future President is sleeping or waking up, and it's the same guy --
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: It is --
BERMAN: This time --
CORNISH: It is. And when I think back to Trump's inauguration, which I attended back in 2017, there was a real question mark in the air. People were shocked. There was a "resistance" air quotes, building. So, the preparations on the street were around protests. You had a number of Democrats who said they weren't going to be attending at all.
The atmosphere is very different this time around where it's quiet, not just because of the security, but because of, I guess, the full supplication of so many different communities, whether they'd be the Republican establishment or corporations, they are all here to pay deference to someone who's had the most deft and stunning political comeback in decades.
[05:05:00]
BERMAN: And we've seen it -- man, have we seen them out and about over the last 24-48 hours?
CORNISH: Yes, it's just a very different energy in particular because things are moved indoors, it also allowed the Trump folks to hold this indoor rally, which is not usually the approach heading into inauguration, which is all about sort of bringing people together, saying to the folks who didn't vote for you, come aboard.
This felt like a further extension of the campaign and more of a victory rally on the eve of something that in other contexts, might feel a little more sort of compromise-oriented or open to other parts of the country.
BERMAN: Yes, look, as I said, a whole bunch of things that we, you and I have never seen, we weren't here in what? Eighteen-ninety-three. Last time we had a President inaugurated for a second time. But it is -- there are a number of things you and I will be talking about over the course of the next two hours. A number of things, Kasie, to watch for today.
It's really a series of set pieces, every inauguration is, but today even more so, because as Audie said, you know, it's all indoors, weather protected, but it may make things seem a little bit more scripted. Kasie?
HUNT: Yes, I'm interested to see it because it's obviously not something that we have seen in the last 40 years or so. So, it's all going to be new and different for all of us. John and Audie, you're going to stick with us through the next couple of hours. We'll be back to you soon. But our panel is also here.
Margaret Talev; senior contributor at "Axios", Sabrina Rodriguez; national political reporter at the "Washington Post", Meghan Hays; former Biden White House Director of Message Planning, and Matt Gorman; former senior adviser for Tim Scott's presidential campaign. Welcome to all of you.
Meghan Hays, I actually want to take a moment to reflect on one of the things we are going to see that we have seen before, but that is going to be different from the last inauguration. And that is the sitting President embracing an incoming President, bringing him into all of the formalities that we as a country undertake to underscore to people that their votes matter, and that there is going to be a peaceful transfer of power from one President to the next. And that is what President Biden is planning to do today.
MEGHAN HAYS, CHIEF OF STAFF TO LUCY FATO & FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: Yes, and I remember four years ago, I worked for President Biden then, and we didn't know if Donald Trump was going to leave the White House. It was a question of if that helicopter was actually going to take off, and if we were going to actually get access to the building on January 20th. So, I do think -- you know, Joe Biden is the ultimate statesman. He's
going to do this the right way, the way that the traditions have always done. And that is what he's going to do here, and I think that's important to him, not only for his legacy, but I think it's who he is as a man.
MATT GORMAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER FOR TIM SCOTT'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: I mean, look, I think one of the underrated, underreported parts of today is, it's the last day of Joe Biden's political career --
HAYS: Yes.
GORMAN: Fifty years. And you know, he leaves office extremely diminished, right? Not just me saying that, the public polling says that, 37 percent, I think what I saw recently, and I think certainly, he, you know, especially since he left the ticket, has done several things, whether it's kind of this grudge against Nancy Pelosi that's bubbled up over the weekend, some of the pardons and some of the actions around kind of things. He leaves office at a very different spot among Democrats, certainly Republicans, than he was four years ago.
HUNT: So, Matt mentioned the back-and-forth with Nancy Pelosi, Margaret Talev. And this, of course, comes from Jonathan Martin, "Politico" column where he quotes Nancy Pelosi's daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, and she's got some tough words for the Biden family. She said this, quote, "if I was lady MacBiden" -- of course, a reference to Jill Biden comparing her to lady Macbeth. I'd put on my big girl pants, play the long game and think about my husband's legacy."
Alexandra Pelosi; the former speaker's daughter, told me Saturday, "there aren't that many people left in America who have something nice to say about Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi is one of them."
MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS: Wow, right, like, if not for the fact that all this is overshadowed by an impending inauguration of Donald Trump, this would be gobbling up all the air space. It's a -- it's a family feud. And it's a daughter coming to her mother's defense and protection, and the back story of this, of course, is that former Speaker Pelosi was sort of key to the pressure campaign to convince --
HUNT: Biden to get out of the White House --
TALEV: President Biden that he could not run for re-election again. Nancy Pelosi, in the meantime, has hurt her hip, had a fall. The Bidens have not been part of the -- sort of friends and family group --
HUNT: Did he send flowers?
TALEV: They have not -- they haven't talked as far as I know. And so, there is a lot of bitterness here, and it -- it is a very sort of, obvious marquee lights, exploration of what's going on right now, which is not a lot of good feeling inside the Republican Party, among many with the Biden family's final days.
I think we just saw Jimmy Carter's funeral and the accolades a few days ago, I think that was an important moment for President Biden, because it did give him some comfort that your legacy, you may be remembered differently than you are in the moment as you exit a presidency.
[05:10:00]
There was one big difference as we all know, Jimmy Carter died at 100, had four -- had ten times as long after office --
HUNT: Right --
TALEV: To work on that legacy, and Biden is not going to have that ten X factor.
HUNT: No -- right --
TALEV: Yes --
HUNT: And of course, the question, Sabrina, is his legacy the return of the very thing that he says got him in to the presidential race in 2020 in the first place, which is to prevent the return of Donald Trump to power. There was a very large story in the "New York Times" over the weekend detailing how a number of his very closest aides essentially helped protect, keep him in the dark and put him in a position where he made the decision, announced that he was going to run for re-election back in April of 2023. And of course, we know how it ended.
SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: And this is an incredibly difficult day for Joe Biden, there's no question. And I think how he has had to navigate the last few weeks is tough. I think, you know, offering that farewell address and saying, you know, how do you toe the line of a bright future for the United States, but you're worried about all these threats?
How did you campaign and have a Vice President campaigning, talking about, you know, Trump being a fascist, this being, you know, a threat to democracy, but you're helping uphold this democratic process. There's a lot of just sensitivities here, and I think really difficult, but of course, I mean, it -- as Meghan said, this is Joe Biden. Joe Biden is going to, you know, do --
HUNT: Yes --
RODRIGUEZ: The peaceful power -- the peaceful transfer of power. He is going to sit with Donald Trump today. He is going to talk to Trump. He is going to do all the things that by the book and by tradition. But I think we do all have to recognize that this is tough, and this was not something that was extended to him four years ago.
HUNT: Meghan, is there -- how much anger is there among Democrats at how this played out? Because, you know, I think "The Times" put it that he put narcissism over patriotism. Is that something that you feel?
HAYS: So, I do think there's a lot of anger from the Democratic Party. And I do think that there is -- and it's not misdirected, but it's also not a 100 percent incredibly fair to Joe Biden. He did do a lot for this country and did do a lot. But I do think in the moment, there's a lot of anger right now because we are back to the place we did not want to be four years ago.
And I think that people are blaming the President for that. And I do think when it comes to his legacy, time will judge him more favorably than today will. But today is going to be a hard day for him. He is ending his political career, but knowing that Donald Trump is coming back into office is going to be incredibly challenging for him.
HUNT: Yes, absolutely. All right, we are going to bring you the latest from Washington throughout this monumental day. Among the inauguration invitations, at least, one, a January 6th rioter, the new details on just how far Trump is willing to go with pardons. Plus, why Trump wants to release all the files on the assassinations of JFK, RFK and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
And even though, we still have some hours before the new Trump administration officially begins, we're already seeing some changes take place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Before even taking office, you are already seeing results that nobody expected to see. Everyone is calling it the -- I don't want to say this, it's too braggadocious, but we'll say it anyway -- the Trump effect, it's you, you're the effect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:00]
HUNT: Welcome back. In just a few hours, Donald Trump will be sworn into the Oval Office for a second time. And he has vowed to take immediate action in a serious show of executive power, perhaps none more notable than his intention to pardon those convicted, many of those convicted for their roles in the January 6th Capitol riot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Tomorrow, everybody in this very large arena will be very happy with my decision on the J. 6th hostages.
(CHEERS)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Very happy. I think you'll be very happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: Roughly 1,600 people have been charged in connection with the
insurrection. More than 600 of them charged with felony offenses like assaulting or impeding police. This morning, we've learned through multiple sources and court filings that some rioters, both charged and convicted, will be back in the nation's capital for the inauguration.
And again, Matt Gorman, we talked a little bit about this earlier. When I say earlier in the program -- in the middle of the night.
GORMAN: The day, it already had plans --
HUNT: Sorry on that, no, but look, this is again -- and I was at the Capitol complex on January 6th. Part of what makes Donald Trump's return and what has kind of underscored, I think, feelings of momentum, even sort of this sense of invincibility, is that all of that happened, and yet, here he is, here he has gotten re-elected again.
GORMAN: Yes --
HUNT: I could not have imagined it on that day.
GORMAN: I know, I mean, and that day, I think many people in this town would agree with you. And we talked about corporations, you know, and folks getting behind Trump. They were -- corporations were refusing to give to Republicans who were supportive of, you know, a lot around that day, too. I mean, that era, that month was really, you know, an idea in the party we hadn't seen since probably Obama took office after the Bush administration.
But in many ways, that makes today and the political resurrection we are seeing culminate today all the more remarkable. And you add in and you mix in trials and guilty verdicts, I mean, Kasie, you know, I feel like I kind of track a lot of the momentous moments of the campaign and sitting next to you, guys.
[05:20:00]
You know, the shooting, the conventions, the -- both debates --
HUNT: Yes --
GORMAN: Biden and Harris, all of that leading to today. And really, you know, the last ten years, it's remarkable how we are here.
HAYS: Yes, I also think, though, that one thing, it was just four years ago and how quickly time changes, right? So, it's -- if we want to stick back there four years ago like you were saying in the last hour, that's not a place -- that's not a good place for Republicans to stay. So, I do think the time -- it can shift very quickly to not be in Republicans' favor.
And they have momentum right now that they might not be seeing in 6 to 8 months or even the next 100 days, depending on what he decides to do. And this pardon, I think, is a huge part of that. TALEV: President has the power to use pardons and commutations for a
whole number of things to right the wrongs of the past, to send political statements about how they feel about people and issues. And I think for President-elect Trump, even if there are several hundred of these folks who have been convicted, around whom there is violence, violence against police officers, there are many hundreds more whom are sort of in a slightly less controversial category, although still controversial.
Part of his entire argument for all of these past four years has been that, there was nothing wrong, that these people are great Americans, they didn't do anything wrong. So, it's not surprising to me at all that out of the gate, he wants to use some of his powers to sort of further that narrative and build excitement among his base, right?
HUNT: Yes --
TALEV: And I think the question is, is there going to be any backlash for him, or is he just going to go shock and awe with so many executive orders that everybody forgets --
HUNT: Yes --
TALEV: Within a day or two that he did what he's about to do?
HUNT: Yes, all right, and speaking of that, coming up next, Donald Trump's day one, he is promising over 100 executive orders. Many of them are going to undo, reverse or eliminate President Joe Biden's policies. Plus, the Trump transition team sets the stage for mass deportations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:25:00]
HUNT: We are just hours away from Donald Trump's second inauguration. Trump and his team already gearing up for dozens of executive orders, which the President-elect says he plans to sign in the first few hours that he's back in office. CNN reporting that many of these will be designed to reverse or eliminate ones that were issued by the Biden administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will end four years of failure, disaster and decline.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country. We're going to turn it around. We're going to turn it around quick, and we're going to do things that nobody thought even were possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Trump's plans include action on some of his biggest campaign trail, promises like immigration reform and what they're calling government operations. His incoming deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller shared some insight into some of these actions on a call with senior congressional Republicans yesterday.
Joining us now "Axios"-Trump White House reporter Marc Caputo. Marc, good morning, lovely to see you.
MARC CAPUTO, AXIOS TRUMP WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good to see you.
HUNT: Thanks for being here. So, let's -- I want to talk about just how different this is than it was in 2016. What this town is bracing for, and how Trump is kind of being embraced in ways that for -- frankly, the whole rest of his life, he was often rejected.
CAPUTO: He finally submitted everyone. This was the Donald Trump that knew he was going to win all along, whereas in 2016, I think he kind of lucked into it. And whereas Washington wasn't prepared for him in 2017, I think it's at least prepared for him now. But he has promised an administration where he is going to exact a measure of revenge. So, I think there are some people who are a little worried.
HUNT: Yes -- no, of course. Maureen Dowd put it this way, and she's of course, kind of speaking, I think, for Democrats who feel there is a chill in Washington, that's the headline that Donald Trump brings a chill to Washington. And she writes that Trump is returning -- this is -- this is a little bit different. The mood is very different in Washington this time around.
Instead of having this rowdy resistance and a women's march that drew some 5 million people across the globe, you have a much different thing. It's Republicans who have gotten even more sheep-like Democrats who still seem deflated and flummoxed, no compelling ideas or polls to lead them out of the wilderness.
And she also notes Trump is returning as a colossus. He has brought Washington Democrats and Republicans to heel. He's teamed up with Elon Musk. He slapped a gold Trump sign on Silicon Valley. But this, of course, you know, it's hard to forget that this is all happening in the same Capitol that was ransacked on January 6th, four years ago.
CAPUTO: And not only that, but somehow the ransacking of the Capitol, the riot at the Capitol, Donald Trump was able to turn into a political advantage in the Republican Party. He made the party submit to his will. And now, here he is able to essentially kind of rewrite history, not only about January 6th, but you know, you were talking earlier about TikTok, for instance. He has this --
HUNT: Yes --
CAPUTO: Amazing ability to judo and jujitsu away, you know, his way into these winning positions. Now, you know, things come at you fast in politics and in America. So, how long is he going to remain on top? I'm not sure. But for the next two years, the next two sessions of Congress, so-to speak, he really is in a position that I think he didn't even think he'd feel he'd be in four years ago. HUNT: Yes, let's talk for a moment about the outgoing President Joe
Biden. James Carville, who, of course, famed for saying "it's the economy, stupid", back when he was running the Clinton campaign in the 1990s, he had this to say when he talked to "NBC" last week, quote, "the Joe Biden story is one of the great tragedies of American politics.
I really mean that. He should be having a glorious, well-deserved, highly acclaimed retirement, and he's not, because it's hard to blame anybody but him."