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CNN Live Event/Special

TikTok Credits Trump; Artic Blast Forces Inauguration Inside; Biden Welcomes Trump at White House; Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) is Interviewed about Trump Administration; Doris Kearns Goodwin is Interviewed about Presidential History. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 20, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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


[06:30:00]

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Biden administration with pressuring social media companies on what they could allow on their platforms and what they're not.

I think the move to TikTok in some ways is a - is, in fact, a counter action to that. Donald Trump knows who dangerous social media companies have become. He knows how adversarial Silicon Valley has been, how willing it's been to collaborate with the left. I think some of his affinity for TikTok is seen as (INAUDIBLE).

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Let me just - let me just - let me just push back slightly.

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Very briefly.

SELLERS: Because I heard the Mark Zuckerberg talking point just there about the Biden administration pushing back and telling people and dictating what you can put on your platform. That's not exactly accurate. What the Biden administration was doing is saying -

TODD: They called it disinformation.

SELLERS: Disinformation and misinformation. And it is, first of all, it is ruining the fabric of our democracy. But they were also pushing back on things like anti-Semitism, which, if we talk to the ADL, if we talk to other organizations, it runs rampant on places like TikTok.

TODD: They left the Iranian Mullahs (ph) on there calling for death of America. I mean if that -

SELLERS: Who is they?

TODD: The social media companies who were - who were -

SELLERS: I'm not - I'm not -

HUNT: All right.

SELLERS: I'm not vouching for them. TODD: Biden didn't try to stop that. I mean he - he's very selective.

He wanted his enemies in America to be deplatformed, not American enemies abroad.

HUNT: All right, gentlemen, we could talk about this all morning, and I'm sorry that we are out of time to continue the conversation, but we will pick it up in a second.

Our -

SELLERS: We can finish it on TikTok.

HUNT: Our - exactly.

TODD: I'm not on.

HUNT: All right, let's go now to the weather, which is a huge story today because the arctic gripping our city, Washington, D.C., has forced today's inauguration to take place inside the Capitol Rotunda. It's only the second time this ceremony has been held indoors since Ronald Reagan's 1985 inauguration. The temperature then, just 7 degrees.

Let's get straight to our meteorologist, our weatherman, Derek Van Dam.

Wow, Derek, that is a hat. He is in Washington. How cold is it actually?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: OK, so, Kasie, if my hat doesn't speak for itself, my frozen breath will do it for you, right? I mean, it is bitterly cold, just as we predicted.

The one thing that's really unique about this particular day is that we've got this well- documented, historical record of the weather dating back to 1871. And this will go down as one of the coldest inauguration days in American history, but not the coldest.

So, you have to go back to '85, like you said, to see the actual mercury in the thermometer to be colder than it was today. But many of us in the most recent memory remember Obama's inauguration in 2009. That was 28 degrees.

So, what we have now is the windchill factor that makes it so bitterly cold. In fact, the National Weather Service has issued this cold weather advisory, warning that frostbite and hypothermia will occur on exposed skin, especially if you're exposed to this for long durations of time. And that's what Donald Trump was particularly concerned about, talking about on his post on Truth Social about the thousands of spectators, the police, the safety personnel trying to keep this event safe. So, that's why one of the reasoning for moving this indoors.

Now, the current temperature, what it feels like on your exposed skin is 16 degrees. And it is expected to get colder through the course of the morning because the winds are going to start gusting today between 20 and 30 miles per hour. I think all the VIPs and dignitaries are breathing a sigh of relief that they can watch from indoors.

Kasie.

HUNT: Yes, except for the ones that no longer will have seats because there are fewer seats inside than there are outside.

VAN DAM: You are correct.

HUNT: Derek Van Dam, thank you very much for that. Stay warm, my friend, or go - go inside and warm up a little bit before your next appearance.

VAN DAM: (INAUDIBLE).

HUNT: All right, coming up next here, President Biden does plan to keep with tradition as he leaves the White House today, and leave a letter behind for his successor, despite their bitter and deeply personal campaign battle.

Also ahead, we'll talk to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin about what she'll be listening for in Trump's inaugural address today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:27]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must hold on to hope. We must stay engaged. We must always keep the faith and the better day to come. I'm not going anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That was President Biden yesterday. At this moment, he is right behind me in the White House right there, waking up there for the last time.

Donald Trump waking up not far behind me, as well, in Blair House this morning. And then the two of them will have tea. The traditional morning tea. Although, I think it should be coffee given that we did fight a revolution to not have to drink tea when we don't want to.

I'm here with Audie Cornish for -

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Committed tea drinker, by the way.

BERMAN: Committed tea -

CORNISH: I will be going to have more shortly.

BERMAN: I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about the whole revolution thing in that case.

And, look, the dynamics between President Biden and President Trump is one of the first things I will be watching today. That human interaction. To see how gracious President Biden is, how Dr. Jill Biden looks during this whole interaction. It may set the tone for the day.

CORNISH: And also, I think, in our minds we're comparing it a bit to the first inauguration for Trump, where there were Republicans on the stage who clearly didn't want to be there. The sort of antipathy and sort of resistance approach, that's all done. Everyone who you're going to see today is sort of like MAGA involved or at least very committed to the cause. And you're going to see this rallying around him. And I think that's also why you're going to hear so much about these executive orders because they are going to flood the zone with everything that he wants in these coming days.

BERMAN: And that's part of the two things that I'll be looking for today. And I've been at most inaugurations since 1992. I guess last time none of us came because of Covid and all that.

CORNISH: Yes.

BERMAN: But the speech, the inaugural address, I'm going to be looking at how much it reaches out to the 49 percent or so of Americans who did not vote for him. And then the executive orders, Audie, you just talked about there. We all know so much about them now. But how far will it go? The pardons of the January 6th rioters. The degree that he pushes these things will be very telling.

CORNISH: Yes, because I think most Republicans you hear talking about this idea of a mandate. Well, there's also the idea of overreach. And most parties do reach that point when they have this kind of big, political victory. You can decide that you want more than the public really wants and that they have committed to.

BERMAN: And an inauguration, as we know, Kasie, is always a celebration, but I think, in this inauguration, as in all, it's also a calibration. A calibration of how much momentum you have and how much you will use whatever mandate you have over the coming hours, weeks and months, really.

[06:40:05]

HUNT: In many ways become an exercise in trying to do it all as quickly as possible because so much of it can essentially evaporate pretty quickly, especially if -

BERMAN: Yes.

HUNT: Now the question I think is going to be whether Democrats mount an effective opposition to some of what the Trump team is going to be doing because that can play a significant role as well.

All right, John Berman, Audie Cornish, thank you very much.

Let's take a little brief look at what we saw from Donald Trump. He held a celebratory rally last night ahead of his inaugural address today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're going to stop the invasion of our borders. We're going to reclaim our wealth. We're going to unlock the liquid gold that's right under our feet. Liquid gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The border and energy are top priorities as President-elect Trump begins his new term. Even with Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, the agenda he has set is ambitious. He has pledged a series of executive actions in the early days. But what will happen on Capitol Hill?

Joining us now, Montana Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke. He was also the secretary of interior during the first Trump administration.

Congressman, good morning. Thank you so much for being here.

REP. RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): Great to be with you.

HUNT: Wonderful to have you on this Inauguration Day.

Obviously, Donald Trump has planned all of these executive orders. But as we've been talking about this morning, and as President Biden, you know, is understanding, what can be done with a pen and a phone can be undone with a pen and a phone. And what really matters at the end of the day is what you're able to pass through the United States Congress.

What can you tell us about the incredibly narrow majority you have and how much time you think the Trump administration has to get this agenda through Congress?

ZINKE: Well, first, you're right, executive order, it can't bypass, can't skirt the law. What it - an executive order does, give guidance to the cabinet members. This is the plan. This is your part of it. So, executive orders are important, but they can't skirt law.

I think what we're going to see is, obviously, energy is very important. We're going to see border. And now it's going to be a challenge of a promise made should be a promise kept. And keeping the promises on border, on tax, on - and economic recovery or stimulation or success, those are going to be hard challenges in a very, very narrow, you know, House.

HUNT: Let's talk about what we're going to expect here out of the gate with what will happen as the executive orders unfold. Do you expect mass deportations to begin today?

ZINKE: No, but I do expect it to begin. You know, first of all, we're at a CR, a continuing resolution. So, that means fiscally is you really can't move money around. You can't add new programs. The deportation effort is going to take a new program. So, there is a shortened window because he's going to run out of funding like everyone else. He's going to need Congress' help to put money into the system so he can do deportation, judges, et cetera, et cetera.

HUNT: Should the Trump administration separate families to execute its mass deportation plan?

ZINKE: Well, the families are part of the problem. And I surmise that in Montana, what's going to happen is, we'll empower the sheriffs. And Montana's a little different than most. Montana's had a long history of rounding things up. The sheriffs are going to round up. But they know who's naughty and who's nice. The sheriffs are out there. They know - they're not after the dishwasher, they're after people in the community that are doing harm.

Now, the question is, when you round them up, where do they go? So, you're going to have to have a deportation in Montana, probably a mobile deportation. But this is a - you know, a very complicated, and, you point out, there's a lot of one-off, two-off, in this case, probably hundreds of thousands of off, of, what are you going to do with the families? What are you going to do with kids? What are you going to do with unknowns? You know, where are you going to put them? Where are you going to feed them? Where are you going to house them? Where are you - you know, medical. There's lot of questions out there. And it's going to be expensive.

HUNT: What should we do if one these naughty people, as you call them, has a child who's a U.S. citizen and they're their main guardian? I mean what should happen to the child?

ZINKE: Well, there's foster care. There's a lot of things that have to be worked out in detail. The devil's going to be in the detail. And certainly when you have probably in the order of 20 million illegal immigrants, how far are we going to take it? I would imagine it'll going to be a pyramid. We'll go after the criminals, the hardened drug dealers, et cetera, first. And then see where we - see where we are. But, again, it's going to take funding up front. And I think he probably has a few months before the people go, you know what, we elected you to do this, why isn't it getting done?

HUNT: Let me ask you about TikTok because we talked about the difference between an executive order and a law. Obviously, the law allows for a 90-day period if a sale seems imminent. This is a law you voted for. You voted to ban TikTok. A number of your colleagues, including Senator Cotton, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, are out there warning today that this app should stay banned.

[06:45:00]

But TikTok is back, and they're saying that they're back because of Donald Trump. Do you think TikTok should stay legal now in the U.S.?

ZINKE: Well, the problem is, is Chinese ownership of a platform where they manipulate the message. And when you have a Chinese company, you have the Chinese Communist Party. So, I think the intent of the law was to separate the control of TikTok but leave a platform where people can exchange ideas.

President Trump, you're right, in the last - previous segment, what's happening is the youth, the younger group, primarily uses TikTok, see Donald Trump as a person who saved the whole system.

HUNT: But he's the one, who in 2020, tried to ban it. I mean if you ask Mark Warner, who was the outgoing Senate intel chairman, I didn't think this was a good idea until Donald Trump came and told me that it was, and he convinced me.

ZINKE: Yes, and now it's 2025. So we're here. TikTok is back for a period. But I do think the ownership has to be separated. And you can't have the Chinese government penetrating in American population that deeply.

HUNT: All right, Congressman Ryan Zinke, very grateful that you spent some time this morning with us. Thanks very much.

ZINKE: Great - great to be with you.

HUNT: Enjoy the inauguration.

ZINKE: And stay warm - stay warm. It will be fun today.

HUNT: I was going to say, it will be inside today. Stay warm. Hope you got a seat.

ZINKE: Yes, it will - it will be fun. Thanks. I did.

HUNT: All right, we now know that Trump is trying to stoke an optimistic tone in his inaugural today. Perhaps in the vain of Ronald Reagan. I'm going to speak with presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin about how this moment compares to the last time we saw an indoor inauguration in 1985. And we'll dive into whether Trump can deliver on the laundry list of promises he's made to voters who gave him a second chance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: And we're going to end the Biden war on American energy and unleash our energy resources to quickly defeat inflation and achieve the lowest cost of energy and electricity on earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:36]

HUNT: Today's inauguration of Donald Trump will be just the second held inside the Capitol Rotunda. The first since the historic moment Ronald Reagan was sworn in, in 1985. It's moments like that tied to the presidential inauguration that offer a chance for Americans and history buffs alike to reflect and recall the times that inspire and, in some cases, even define a presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN F. KENNEDY, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (January 20, 1961): And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Quite a moment.

Joining us now, perhaps America's most prolific history buff, presidential historian, author of "An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s," Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Doris, I'm so grateful to have you with us on this historic morning. And I'd like to start with just, you know, your reflections on the day. Just remarkable that Donald Trump going to take the oath of office for a second time, non-consecutive terms, in the wake of what happened on January 6, 2021.

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Yes, the comeback is really astonishing when you think about it. It's not just a comeback from a loss. It's not just like Cleveland came back non-consecutively. It's not just a comeback from January 6th. But he was facing the possibility of trial, of potentially even going to jail, and the resilience that he's shown in coming back is extraordinary.

Now, the real question, though, is, that would have broken many people. It did not break him. But Earnest Hemingway had a phrase. He said, "everyone is broken by life, but afterwards some are strong in the broken places." Will he come back with more recriminations about the past or will he put that beside him and realize 's been given a chance to be president again, to learn from what didn't go wrong. That's what usually happens during adversity. When presidents experience it, they get wisdom because they acknowledge what went wrong, what was - what could be changed, and how they could be better.

So, that's what I'm really looking at, not just will he pivot, will he - I think he will pivot from the last inaugural and not make it as dark, and he'll probably talk about being president of all the people. But then the question is, will he carry that out? When we see him at the arena later, will he go back into campaign mode? What will happen with the executive orders? But it is a chance to reset. And you've just got to hope for the country that he will take that.

HUNT: Doris, we're learning about the initial sets of his remarks. He's going to call this a revolution of common sense among, you know, other comments. As you note, it does seem to contrast with what he said back in 2017 when he talked about American carnage. What does that term, revolution of common sense, mean to you in this kind of historical context?

GOODWIN: Well, incredibly, revolution of common sense, the "Common Sense" was the title of Thomas Paine's pamphlet. There was this great 47-page pamphlet that was arguing for separation for Britain during - during the American revolutionary time. So, I don't know whether he's harkening back to that. I think he's maybe talking about the need for common language to deal with problems that are cultural problems more than any, and how we can talk about it.

And to that extent, he may have something to be on track with because I think people want to have people talking. When a president is able to talk in a folksy way, with the language that people want him to hear, that's what, interestingly, Franklin Roosevelt always talked, if he could, in one-syllable words, common words that people could connect to. And I think there's this feeling that there's been an elitism in the society in the last four years, an academic elitism. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with that, but maybe there's a sense of, we're going to talk to people where they are and they will listen because we're talking to them on their level.

HUNT: Interesting way to think about it.

Doris, the last time we saw a president inaugurated indoors, it was, of course, Ronald Reagan back in 1985.

I want to play for you a little bit of his first inaugural address, which was, of course, back in 1981 and then we'll reflect.

Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (January 20, 1981): As we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and the beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:55:05]

HUNT: A really striking moment as Trump comes back into office, in no small part because in many ways the Republican Party that he now leads has repudiated the legacy of Reagan, and particularly this idea of America and the role that they have on the world stage. It's something that Republican voters seem to have said to their leaders, we don't want to do.

How do you think Donald Trump is going to position America vis-a-vis the rest of the world today?

GOODWIN: I mean one of the things that Reagan understood still was that strength abroad and America being a beacon of hope for other countries was a big part of the heritage. That that was not an isolationist move, that was an interventionist move and a sense of responsibility. And I just hope that there will still be a memory of what happened during World War II, what happened with Munich, what happened in the Cold War. I mean this is a country that is being depended upon by many other countries in the world, and the strain of the Republican and Democratic Party worked together for so many years. And that's going to be an interesting thing to see.

I think what's interesting also about Reagan is that both he and FDR showed confidence and optimism. They had very different ideas about what government should do. Government was the solution for FDR. It was the problem for Reagan. But they both connected to the American people because they showed that confidence, that optimism, that belief in America, and the belief in what America's responsibilities could be. And that was really an enchanting thing for people to hear.

HUNT: Doris, how do you feel about the historical significance of President Biden riding in the limousine to the inaugural address with President Trump, demonstrating that we are going to have a peaceful transfer of power in the wake of an election? Something that, of course, was interrupted - a long American tradition that was interrupted in 2020.

GOODWIN: I think it's more important this year than it would have been in the past. We were expecting it ever since 150 years ago with the Civil War. It happened one after the other. But, of course, it didn't happen four years ago. And I think there was a fear then, and I know I experienced it myself, what if, in a divided country, each year we have one of these four-year elections, then people question the legitimacy of it. The other person doesn't go. And there's a sense that we're not really able to accept this fact that we have a divided country, it's going to be close and one side's going to win, and one side's going to lose.

And I think when Biden was asked, will he go, he said, of course I'm going to go. I mean that's my job to make that peaceful transition available.

So, I think we'll be looking for what they seem like when they're sitting there over their tea this morning, and when they're going up to the Capitol in the cars. It's not always been friendly. Sometimes it's been frosty. When Hoover was there with FDR, they didn't talk very much. When Eisenhower and Trump were - Eisenhower and Truman were together, there was - there was even a cold chill, even more than that.

So, it will be good to see them. I suspect face-to-face, they're going to look fine this morning. Biden will make sure of that. And Trump has every reason to. He's won the election. The guy who loses is the one that it's hard for.

HUNT: Yes, he absolutely has.

All right, Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of "An Unfinished Love Story: Personal History of the 1960s." So grateful to have you on this historic day.

And as we count down toward the inauguration, buckle up. Allies of Donald Trump likening the agenda of the first 100 days of the presidency to shock and awe. We are expecting a dizzying 100 executive orders and actions today. Among his agenda items, immigration, energy, and pardons for January 6th convicts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: You're going to see something tomorrow. You're going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy. Lots of them. Lots of them.

By the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt.

Tomorrow, everybody in this very large arena will be very happy with my decision on the J-6 hostages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, I'm joined once again by Bakari Sellers and Kristen Soltis Anderson, as we wrap up.

We have just a little over a minute here, so I just, honestly, would like to take your final thoughts here.

Bakari, let me start with you.

Obviously, we heard those are campaign style promises he made last night. We are expecting him to take a more sweeping view here when he takes his inaugural address. What are your reflections on this historic day?

SELLERS: You know, I think it is an historic day. I think it's a reflection of where we are as a country. I mean to quote Raphael Warnock, who said this in his sermon yesterday, it's better to be rich and guilty in this country than innocent and poor. And I think Donald Trump, today, is emblematic of that.

There are lessons to be learned for everybody, including Democrats.

HUNT: Yes.

SELLERS: But, you know, we will continue to look forward, and I wish prayer and peace and success to the 47th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

[07:00:01]

HUNT: Kristen, we have about 15 seconds.

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND POLLSTER: Donald Trump will be judged on the actions and what Americans feel from those actions as much as any words that he says today.

HUNT: Yes, that's a really, really good point to end on here as we watch and wait for Donald Trump to be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States.

Thanks to my panel. Thanks to all of you at home for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. Our special inauguration coverage is going to continue right now and all day long.