Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Event/Special

Today: Trump To Be Sworn In As 47th U.S. President; Biden Issues Preemptive Pardons For Milley, Fauci, And Members And Staff Of January 6 Committee; Soon: Doors Open At Capital One Arena Ahead Of Inauguration Events. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 20, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENATATOR: That's an amazing turn of events. And let's not -- I don't want to minimize the coalition that Trump put together.

I was looking at Van and I know Van was thinking when that interview was happening -- damn, how do we win those guys back? I mean, how do we win those guys back?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Van also looks a little skeptical to me.

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, listen, I --

COOPER: What's going on in your head?

URBAN: Yeah.

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first, I want -- I want to say Donald Trump should be flattered that Biden did these pardons. Joe Biden apparently thinks that Donald Trump is an honest man. Donald Trump said he's going after his enemies. Biden believes Trump -- Trump's an honest man and so he pardoned them. So you can't be too mad if somebody believes what you say.

But with regard to today -- yeah look, a lot of people that we thought were going to be Democrats forever are not. There's a lot of people who are nervous though and it's not just Democrats.

This is an important day because we're doing the right thing. Biden's doing the right thing. We're honoring our traditions.

But if you are a small business owner you might be nervous that maybe in a couple of months your workers are going to get run out of the country. You may be worried about -- if you're -- if you're an immigrant you might be worried, and you might be worried if you -- if you work for clean energy companies.

So there's joy and there's nervousness in America right now.

COOPER: And just briefly, what happens in this handover? I mean, there's a very quick amount of time that everything gets moved out of the White House and everything gets moved in.

ANITA MCBRIDE, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO LAURA BUSH, DIRECTOR, FIRST LADIES INITIATUVE, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Right, and it's all happening now at the White House. I mean, many of the residence staff -- some of them would have slept at the White House last night. Others have been there since 4:00 in the morning. They know what their job is, and their goal is to be professional. It's OK to be emotional but there is a process.

It's starting. Moving trucks are already there.

COOPER: Literally, moving trucks are there.

MCBRIDE: They're there --

COOPER: Right.

MCBRIDE: -- already.

COOPER: We'll have more on this throughout the day.

Still ahead, the big names who are attending the inauguration, the expected no-shows, plus as we get closer to President-elect Trump's swearing in at the U.S. Capitol, we'll talk to one of the interfaith religious leaders taking part in the inaugural ceremony.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:35:15]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Two of the three centers of powers here in Washington, D.C., the White House and the U.S. Capitol, the backdrop for presidential history that is about to unfold on this Inauguration Day.

President-elect Donald Trump is just hours away from reclaiming the title of commander in chief, coming full circle after his White House defeat in 2020.

The first ceremony of the day kicks off soon.

Jeff Zeleny is part of our team at the U.S. Capitol right now. And Jeff, we expect some very big names to attend the inauguration, including some former presidents.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, we do. It's another gathering of the former president's club. Of course, they came together just about 11 days or so ago here in Washington to pay tribute to Jimmy Carter, but this is an entirely different moment, of course.

The Bidens will be joined by the Bushes, the Clintons, and President Obama. Absent again today will be former first lady Michelle Obama. Her aides say she simply chose not to attend, not giving any other reason for that. But they will be making their way behind me here to the Capitol in just a few hours.

Of course, also joining for the inauguration ceremony here in the Rotunda of the Capitol will be tech giants. We've seen them gather throughout the weekend here and last night at a candlelight dinner as well. Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and, of course, Elon Musk just three of the many tech giants who will be here on hand and are key advisers to the president, but Elon Musk chief among them. He spoke at a rally last evening here in Washington. He was the only one invited on the rally. He will also be here in the Rotunda we're told.

It's a very intimate crowd. The Rotunda, of course, can only hold a couple hundred people -- far different than the west front of the Capitol. But it will be a dramatic moment, of course, when that happens.

Marine One has just arrived here a short time ago. It is likely to take President Biden and first lady Jill Biden off to Andrews Air Force Base. And, of course, they will take their leave.

But as the sun is now rising on the U.S. Capitol all eyes will be on the Rotunda here for the inauguration of the former president and soon future President Donald J. Trump -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny at the Capitol for us. Thank you so much.

Religious leaders from a variety of faiths will take part in the inauguration ceremony today, including Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, a senior pastor at the 180 Church in Detroit. He joins us now. Pastor Sewell, thanks so much for joining us.

So after the inaugural address you're going to deliver the benediction. You're going to be joined by a Catholic priest, and a rabbi, and an imam.

Did you all agree about what you wanted to say?

REV. LORENZO SEWELL, SENIOR PASTOR, 180 CHURCH, DETROIT, MICHIGAN, WILL PARTICIPATE IN INAUGURATION CEREMONY: Well, we didn't necessarily agree about what we wanted to say because prayer -- it is spontaneous but also prepared, right? So today is Martin Luther King's birthday so I believe that Jesus would have me pray that his dream is fulfilled through our 47th president. I'm so excited to see our nation be able to live out the true meaning of his creed that we hold these truths self-evident that all men are created equal.

TAPPER: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that -- if MLK Day was going to play a role at all in your remarks.

SEWELL: Absolutely. I mean, it's a day that we celebrate his birthday. We know that our nation needs a time of unity. We know that our nation needs a time where we can be able to judge each other by the content of our character and not by the color of our skin. We know that our 47th president -- he needs our prayers, he needs our intercession, and he needs us as a nation to be one nation under God indivisible with unity and justice for all. TAPPER: President-elect Trump visited your church this summer and after hearing you pray, Mr. Trump promised that if he won you would pray at his inauguration.

Tell us more about that day and about your preparation for this big moment.

SEWELL: Jake, can you believe that a president would come to the hood hood? We're on the west side of Detroit. We are in a context that is challenged but yet the president -- he didn't come to have a rally. He could have came easily and talked about what he wanted to do. He came to listen, and when is listened not only did he listen to the aspirations and the longings of our community, he listened to this preacher pray for him. It was unscripted. It was not something that we planned but God planned it.

And we prayed for him. And we prayed specifically that God would protect him. And we know about 30 days later he received the millimeter miracle.

[07:40:00]

And when he and I were talking intimately he said I want you to pray at the inauguration. Obviously, we didn't know then what we know now that he is the president-elect. And he and his team reached out to me and now I have the honor and the privilege of being able to pray over him and be able to proclaim a blessing over our nation.

TAPPER: The millimeter miracle, of course, a reference to President Trump narrowly, thankfully, dodging that assassination attempt against him in Pennsylvania on July 13.

Best of luck to you, and God bless you, sir. Thank you so much for joining us.

SEWELL: Thank you so much, Jake. God bless.

TAPPER: Let's go back to CNN's Pamela Brown who has some reaction from Gen. Mark Milley, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the preemptive pardon he is getting from President Biden.

We should note Donald Trump gave Gen. Milley, at one point, the Presidential Medal of Freedom before he decided he was a political enemy of his -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I just received the statement from Gen. Milley. We are the first to obtain it here, Jake. And let me just read the statement to you in response to this preemptive pardon from President Biden.

The statement says: "My family and I are deeply grateful for the president's action today. After 43 years of faithful service in uniform to our nation protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our great country in uniform for over four decades, and I will continue to keep faith and loyalty to our nation and Constitution until my dying breath. I thank my wife Hollyanne, my children, my dear friends, and my trusted colleagues who have supported me throughout my life. God bless the United States of America and the troops who sacrifice so much in order to protect us against all enemies."

So that is the statement from Gen. Mark Milley -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Pamela Brown. Thank you so much.

The first inaugural events will begin soon setting the stage for the 47th president's return to the White House as number 47.

Straight ahead the tidal wave of presidential actions we expect to see in the first hours of the new Trump era. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:45:45]

COOPER: Let's go over to St. John's Church here in Washington. It will be the first stop of President-elect Donald Trump on this Inauguration Day. The Trumps are expected to leave for the church very soon from the presidential guest quarters at Blair House with just a few hours to go before Mr. Trump's return to power and the immediate launch of his agenda.

I want to bring in Maggie Haberman and Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, you have some new reporting on these pardons that President Biden issued.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah. Obviously, this is pretty broad to say the least, Anderson, and all-encompassing in terms of who President Biden is pardoning here. Some obvious people here, in terms of Dr. Anthony Fauci and Gen. Mark Milley, and the members of the January 6 committee -- but also the police who testified before that committee as well.

And this is something that some of these members of this committee that I have spoken to in recent weeks as this was very clearly on the table for the Biden White House weren't totally sure that they wanted because, of course, as Biden is acknowledging in his statement today this isn't because he's saying that they did anything wrong, but he was worried about Trump seeking vengeance after he does regain the power of the presidency in just a few hours from now. But that is not all how everyone will perceive it, and a lot of these people knew that.

And I should note, Anderson, that I'm hearing that some of the people who got a pardon from President Biden with this announcement just now did not get a heads up that it was coming. They knew it was something that the White House was considering but obviously people were torn on that. And one thing that I think is important to watch here is that Trump

right now is at the Blair House. He is getting ready to go over to St. John's Church and then he'll be going and having coffee and tea at the White House with President Biden before sharing a limo ride with him here to the Capitol. I confirmed last night that they will indeed be riding together.

And it's just kind of incredible to think about this looming over that car ride that they are going to share together. Because not only is President Biden issuing pardons on his way out the door, we know Trump is going to be issuing pardons as soon as he is president again, and that includes pardons for those who were convicted of crimes on January 6.

And I'll tell you that I've been hearing from sources that they were kind of torn inside Trump's orbit over how broad to go with the January 6 pardons. Should it be a blanket pardon or should they do it on a case-by-case basis? Whether this changes that calculus is something to watch, Anderson.

COOPER: Um, and Maggie Haberman is sitting here next to me. What do you expect from the speech today?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I think the speech is actually going to be fairly different than what we saw with 'American Carnage.' I don't think Trump actually needs to deliver a speech like that again. He was very clear about what he was going -- he was very clear what he was going to do when he was in office last time. He was very clear when he was campaigning this time what he planned to do. He won on that platform.

Now, there are voters who are going to say they weren't voting for everything. They didn't realize he actually was going to be as aggressive as he's going to be, but they did vote for him.

And so I think that he is going to give a different kind of speech because he is feeling as if he has a lot of power as he is returning to Washington.

But I think what's going to be more revealing than the speech is going to be the various executive orders that he signs. That is going to tell the story of the first 30 days, 90 days of this White House.

COOPER: And what story is that going to tell?

HABERMAN: Well, it's going to tell a pretty aggressive story. Trump has wanted to move pretty quickly. He has wanted to move with power. He actually said those words yesterday with strength.

It is going to tell a story about undoing a lot of what President Biden did in terms of energy, in terms of economic efforts, in terms of climate efforts.

But then, as Kaitlan said, you are also going to see things like pardons -- and we don't know how sweeping they will be -- for people who attacked the Capitol in Donald Trump's name essentially on January 6, 2021.

As well as a TikTok executive order we're expecting to see. That's pretty striking because there is currently a law in effect that bans it, and Trump is essentially saying I'll indemnify you to these companies.

This is going to be a government that is about what Trump wants to the greatest extent that he can make it happen. And he felt very stymied in that in his first term. We'll see how far he can get with it this time.

COOPER: And Kaitlan -- I mean, what we saw the last time there were all these legal challenges to executive orders. No doubt that will occur as well.

COLLINS: Yeah, but we've never seen a president on day one issue this many executive orders as we're expecting to come from President Trump once he takes office. I mean, he's going to start here at the Capitol signing those executive orders and continue to do so during various stops throughout the day.

[07:50:00]

And I remember I was at the White House when President Biden took office that first day and signed nine executive orders. That was a flurry of executive orders, it seemed like in that moment. This is obviously going to essentially put that to shame with the degree and the level of what these are going to look like and in terms of sorting through the impact of the different ones.

And there is also some -- you know, the obvious ones we know on immigration, on January 6, on energy as well. But also look at how he's changing how he wants to do hiring in the federal government. It may not get as much attention as the others, but it could have a lot of impact in terms of who he's able to hire and fire inside this.

Because the last time he was in office he felt like his agenda was stymied by what he described as the deep state -- career officials who he thought was working against what he ultimately wanted to enact. He wants to change that Anderson so he can put people who he believes are more willing to do what he wants to do with the federal government in positions this time.

So this is really going to be broad and all-encompassing, and it will shape what the next four years are going to look like.

HABERMAN: Can I make one point --

COOPER: Sure.

HABERMAN: -- Anderson, though.

One thing that we have been hearing concerns about for days now is how well-staffed these agencies are. How able they are going to be to go through with these executive orders. Yes, there will be court challenges, but they will still try to implement them. I think we are going to see a lot once this new administration comes

in about how prepared they are at the agency level. There was a lot of focus on senior level cabinet jobs, far less so on individual agencies and staffing. That is really where a lot of the mechanical work takes place. And so that's a big question mark for me on how this all goes.

COOPER: So you're --

COLLINS: Yeah.

COOPER: -- saying that they are more organized on that level?

HABERMAN: No. I'm saying they're not.

COOPER: They're not.

HABERMAN: I am saying that there has been, as we understand it, a pretty significant personnel bottleneck. Now again, the proof will be how many passes get issues. What this ends up looking like. Could it be that they very quickly stocked up in the last couple of days and we just haven't seen it? Entirely possible. But there have been concerns about this for the last few days.

COOPER: And Kaitlan, the issue that you raised is there is concern of sort of loyalty oaths for people at different levels of the federal government as opposed to having kind of a bureaucratic class who is there whether it's a Republican or a Democratic administration.

COLLINS: Yeah. And part of that staffing issue that Maggie is talking about there in terms of the lower-level jobs that are still quite important and actually do a lot of grunt work in these agencies is how this hiring process has happened.

And, you know, dozens of people who have gone in for interviews at Mar-a-Lago over the last two months -- you know, they're taken into a room. They're questioned about not just the qualifications for the job or what they believed the agency's agenda and goals should look like, but also loyalty is a huge part of this.

And it's not a surprise to anyone that Trump wants loyalty from his staffers. We've known that for eight years now. But they're approaching it in such a different way because the one mistake that Trump will acknowledge he made in his first term is he says staffing. That he didn't put the right people in the right jobs.

And they're not just looking at those who are going to be inside the cabinet room with him for those meetings. They are looking at the people who are going to be serving underneath those cabinet officials as well.

And they bring them in. They ask them their views on January 6. They ask them who they felt won the 2020 election. And obviously, people who are going into these meetings know what the right answer is in order to get these jobs. But that has been a big part of this in terms of staffing up and sorting through not just whether someone is qualified for the job but also if they're willing to say that they will be loyal to Trump and also share his views on things.

COOPER: That's fascinating. So this part of the job interview actually asking them about who won the 2020 election and about January 6.

COLLINS: Yeah. I've heard from dozens of people. This is not just handful --

COOPER: Yeah.

COLLINS: -- of people, or maybe they worked for someone that they wanted to check with them on that Trump doesn't believe in -- is loyal. They really have -- this has kind of been carte blanche and Trump has given them the authority to go in and ask these questions and really make these calls themselves before even bringing it --

HABERMAN: That's right.

COLLINS: -- to Trump.

COOPER: Kaitlan, Maggie, thank you very much.

Right now let's head to the Capital One Arena here in Washington -- the last-minute venue for what is now an indoor inauguration. Brianna Keilar is there. What's happening, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Anderson, people are not allowed in yet, but I will tell you they are going to start coming in soon. And I can see Wolf Blitzer's Wizards seats from my live location, which is something I never thought that I would say during inauguration coverage.

But as we are looking here at the stage behind me, we have been seeing inaugural staff putting bunting up around the podium. They have been putting the presidential seal up on the stage. Last-minute touches that really are a data point to just how quickly this event has come together after moving the inaugural parade inside -- or what was a parade inside to be a bit of a procession inside here at the Capitol One Arena.

[07:55:00]

So we do know that this arena accommodates about 20,000 people seated. Is it going to be full? What I can tell you is getting in here this morning before 6:00 a.m., it is clear there are a lot of people flocking to the area -- a lot of supporters. So it's not going to be because of demand if every seat isn't full. There are people who want to fill those seats. It will be certainly just a testament to the logistics --

COOPER: Yeah.

KEILAR: -- of paring down credentialed folks to a much smaller event.

But we're going to start seeing how that will take shape here soon. People will start coming into the arena around 8:00 a.m., several hours before events are going to take place. We'll get a picture very soon.

COOPER: All right, Brianna. We'll check in with you as we get closer to the inauguration of Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol.

We'll get more on the message he's planning to send his supporters and to nation. A top Trump adviser takes us inside the speech ahead.

(COMMERCIAL)

TAPPER: A spectacular view of chilly and snowy Washington, D.C. where events surrounding the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States are about to get underway. That's all leading to the U.S. Capitol where President-elect Donald J. Trump will make history as the second former U.S. president ever to return to power following in the footsteps of Grover Cleveland, taking the Oath of Office in the Capitol Rotunda during a very rare indoor inauguration prompted by concerns of dangerously cold weather.

If you're just joining us, I'm Jake Tapper with CNN's special inauguration coverage. And we're going to soon get our first glimpse of President-elect Trump and first lady Melania Trump as they kick off the pomp and ceremony of this new day and a new era in the history of American politics.

We expect President-elect Trump to leave the presidential guest quarters at Blair House, which is just across the street from the White House, just minutes from now along with soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump and members of the Trump family.

Once the Trump family leaves Blair House, they will begin this monumental day by taking a brief drive through the city to attend a traditional inauguration morning service at St. John's Episcopal Church. Sometime after that service ends, they will head to the White House where the Bidens will be waiting to host them for tea and coffee, reviving an Inauguration Day tradition that didn't happen four years ago.

The outgoing and incoming presidents demonstrating that this inauguration is a peaceful transition of power. We're told that they will ride together to the U.S. Capitol along with their wives for the inauguration, as also has been tradition and also did not happen four years ago.

Let's check in with Kaitlan Collins on Capitol Hill. And Kaitlan, tell us about where you're positioned in the Capitol right now and why.

COLLINS: Yeah, Jake.