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CNN Live Event/Special
Live Coverage of Inauguration Day. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired January 20, 2025 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Well, (INAUDIBLE) -
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And one of the hindrances that Democrats have is that they believe in rules and laws and norms and institutions.
JONES: Yes, it's a -
AXELROD: Trump does not.
JONES: Look, it's -
AXELROD: And that is an advantage in this kind of real politics.
JONES: I agree with you. It's - it's two things can be true at the same time. On the one hand -
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I just want to point out, this is the president-elect's motorcade on the move from St. John's Church going to Blair House.
JONES: On the one hand - on the one hand, any business would be happy to have no taxes and no regulation. That's just built into the thing. So - and Republicans seem to benefit from that. But the other thing that's true is, Democrats used to take - Bill Clinton took care of Silicon Valley. You would expect Kamala Harris, being a Democrat, she would have taken care of Silicon Valley. We didn't do it, so we're paying the price in a way that I think is going to be -
AXELROD: Isn't there a half way? Go ahead.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: In that room, by the way, in St. John's Church, those pews represents the most powerful room on the planet because you have all the titans of the tech sector and the incoming president of the United States. And Democrats, as they're kind of flailing, determining who their next leader is, but also who's their - who's their boogie man? Is it just Trump? Biden kind of, you know, teased this by talking about the corporate oligarchy and the, you know, tech industrial complex, which, he's identifying something smart, but it goes back to the point, who in union hall is talking about the corporate oligarchy or the tech industrial sector? It underscores what Democrats missed in this election so much, which is, we're not talking - you're not talking like normal people, you're not talking the way that Donald Trump is able to actually, and for whatever reason, communicate to people better.
COOPER: We just saw the motorcade arriving back at Blair House.
Let's check in with MJ Lee at the White House.
MJ.
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson, this is the very, very final last moments at the White House, of course, for President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. If you look on your screen there, they posted what I think might be their last selfie here at the White House. Jill Biden posting this with just the caption, "one final photo."
You know, watching these images and thinking about just everything we have heard from our sources and our reporting in recent days, you cannot help but think about just the road not taken for President Biden. And that road, of course, is President Biden not running for a second term and Kamala Harris, or perhaps a different Democrat, getting the full runway to run a full robust campaign. And, obviously, as Democrats had hoped, Donald Trump not getting that second term back into office, and President Biden being celebrated in a different way for all of his accomplishments.
When you talk to even the president's allies, some of the former aides and those who really fully supported him during his first term, there is a lot of anger for the promises that President Biden reneged on. That, of course, starts with the decision to run for a second term, even though he had initially promised he would be a transition and a bridge candidate. And then the decision recently to pardon his son, Hunter, after repeatedly having said that he wouldn't do so because he believes in the integrity of the integrity of the judicial system. And then, of course, followed by what we saw this morning, these preemptive pardons of people that President Biden believed would be pursued by the incoming president. That potential erosion in trust in the judicial system that could be sparked by President Biden's decision, President Biden, who has called himself his entire career as an institutionalist, somebody who strongly defends the judicial system, I think the irony of that potential is very hard for some of his very own supporters to accept and clearly is a reality of how much in big ways his last final days and moments in office and in his presidency, how they have really been tarnished at the end, Anderson.
COOPER: MJ, thanks very much.
You're seeing the vice president, Kamala Harris, the first gentleman, Doug Emhoff, they are going to be receiving Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and his wife. We have seen the Trumps returning to Blair House. They will soon be received by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
The relationship - I mean, obviously, this is a fascinating moment. The relationship between President Biden and President-elect Trump, it is just going to be fascinating to see those two.
DAVID URBAN: Yes. That was strained (ph) here. This - there is no relationship. The vice president did not invite the vice president- elect to the Naval Observatory, that is tradition held. So, I think this will perhaps be their, you know, kind of Vance's first meeting.
COOPER: Let's listen in.
URBAN: Yes.
[09:35:12]
COOPER: They'll be posing for a photo.
Sorry, David, you were saying?
URBAN: No, I was just going to say, and, you know, you remember J.D. Vance, during the Tim Walz - during the vice presidential debate, everyone was kind of expecting to see, you know, this kind of, you know, pugilistic vice presidential nominee and, you know, J.D. Vance comes out and, you know, butter couldn't met in the guy's mouth, he was so kind and genteel and nice and a different kind of guy. And, you know, I'm sure that's the vice president-elect who's walking in there, not someone who's holding a grudge, but someone who's -
AXELROD: Not the guy who after - the day after -
COOPER: Is it just me or does that feel like a thousand years ago, that debate?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We were all much young then.
URBAN: A few weeks ago.
But, Anderson, we've been through - we've been through a lot of Bronco chases and slow car rides through Manhattan and (INAUDIBLE).
JONES: What's so - what's so amazing is how young J.D. Vance is. We're not even talking - we can get -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our millennial VP.
JONES: Yes, we act like it's - like it's normal for a 40-year-old -
URBAN: But think of the guy - think of the arc of J.D. Vance's life.
JONES: I was (INAUDIBLE) that. Yes.
URBAN: Think of the arc of the guy's life.
COOPER: We're showing the first images - by the way, we're seeing inside the - the Capitol Rotunda where the inauguration is actually going to, of course, take place.
AXELROD: Quite a different scene than a four years ago.
URBAN: But I'm - just back for a second. Let's think about J.D. Vance, a guy who has, you know left his mom, who was a - you know, had a substance abuse issues, was raised by his grandmother, graduated from high school, didn't have a future, enlisted in the Marine Corps, grew up in kind of a dead-end town in America.
COOPER: By the way, this is the Lincoln Combined Choir inside the Rotunda.
GRIFFIN: Yes, regardless of anyone's political views on J.D. Vance, it's a true American success story.
URBAN: Yes, I mean incredible. Yes, incredible arc. And you see his mom spoke the other night.
JONES: Well, there's - sure.
URBAN: And it's got to be an incredible story, and America should celebrate that.
JONES: But he - and they - but there are two success stories there. The other one is Kamala Harris. And I just want to give her, her due, because she also come from - came from humble beginnings, humble background, fought to be the first woman of color D.A., attorney general, senator, vice president. And when the - when the baton was dropped, she picked it up.
URBAN: Yes.
JONES: And a lot of people stood with her and believed in her. And she has shown, at least today, the grace to stand there. She - remember, she's the person that had to say officially, Donald Trump is now president of the United States. And she - she played that role.
AXELROD: One of - no, I'm sorry, finish, please.
JONES: No, I'm sorry.
AXELROD: One of the things that I - when you mentioned J.D. Vance and how young he is, we have a one-term president here. I mean Donald Trump can't run again. And so, the question is, does Vance become the inheritor of a movement that is vibrant, that he can carry forward? He has more at stake in what happens in the next four years than Trump himself.
GRIFFIN: And it will be a very interesting dynamic to watch unfold because Donald Trump really has two years to enact his agenda until the midterms, where we would expect Democrats may win back the House. And at that point, J.D. Vance, who's going to start thinking about his political future. And something Donald Trump doesn't love is when his VP may be seeming as campaigning or thinking about the next thing. That's going to be interesting.
COOPER: Let's just listen in.
(CHOIR SINGING)
[09:41:10]
COOPER: That was the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Combined Choirs.
David Axelrod, the - in terms of immigration, we're hearing more about what some of the actions that may be taken today.
AXELROD: Yes, including ending birthright citizenship, which flows from the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. This idea that if you're born in this country, you're a citizen of this country. And a lot of this is going to be contested. So, you're going to see a package of proposals using the military at the border and so on, that there are going to be legal questions raised. That one in particular is going to be tested on the -
COOPER: Some of this is for, I mean, the - sort of the sweeping nature of it. Some of it is for just to say that they tried to do it.
AXELROD: This is shock and awe. This is the shock and awe. I mean I think they want to be as audacious as they can be. Now, again, this is a proposal that two to one the American people don't support. So, this is chump for the base on - on day one.
URBAN: But I think also - I think also these - a lot of this EOs will stir, you know, discussion. Just like Trump's, you know, proposal on Greenland or Panama and these things, they're meant, you know, people are talking about it all over the world. So, the birthright citizenship, you know, is it right, if you come to this country illegally and you have a kid here, you know, I understand that the - what the - what the law says, but a lot of - across America people think that's not right.
GRIFFIN: But then some of this also, we should remember, is deeply popular, declaring a national emergency on the border. That's going to free up potentially Pentagon funds or emergency funds to address -
AXELROD: Right, which is - yes.
GRIFFIN: And, obviously, you know, calling cartels transnational criminal organizations opens up some ways that we can respond.
AXELROD: Yes.
GRIFFIN: But to the - the point of any Trump presidency, there's always things that are very much in line with what the people asked him to do, and then things that become a woeful distraction and can often bog him down and take him away from executing what they wanted him to do.
COOPER: Let's check in with Kaitlan Collins.
Kaitlan.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Anderson, just to give you a sense of what we're looking at, given this is such a rare thing that we almost rarely see, in our nation's history, which is an indoor inauguration. And what you're looking at right now is something that was put together just in a matter of days. This is the rotunda of the Capitol. Of course, the main centerpiece of the Capitol. When you remember and look at the iconic images of the Washington skyline. In this Rotunda is where, you know, heads of former presidents have lane in state, where dignitaries have as well. It's a very solemn but grand space that they are going to be holding this inauguration. And you can see the stage there and the few chairs around where President-elect Trump will take the oath of office and be sworn in.
He'll be sworn in by the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts. J.D. Vance will be sworn in by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Obviously two figures that have played critical roles in Trump's presidency and what it looks like from the first time around to eight years later.
And in those seats, it's about 750 chairs, based on what I heard from someone I talked to this morning as we were coming in and looking at what this is going to look like, it's going to be filled with Supreme Court justices, senior congressional leadership, members of Trump's cabinet, he hopes, if they get confirmed by those lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and some of the biggest VIPs that are going to be showing up at this inauguration here.
Of course, we're looking at a lot of Trump's family that is in town with him. Also his former vice president, Mike Pence, is going to be in that Rotunda. And that will be one of the most fascinating moments in a day filled with them, which is, what it looks like to see Mike Pence and Donald Trump in that Rotunda together for the first time. Of course, the famous place where Pence was four years ago on one of the darkest days that Rotunda has seen as it was filled with Trump supporters who had attacked the Capitol and broke inside.
[09:45:01]
That all seems like so far away, thinking that it's four years ago. But, of course, the memories will still echo throughout that, during that ceremony today.
And so, Trump's children will be seated in there. You saw Lara Trump walking in, who co- chaired the Republican Committee during this convention.
But looking at that Rotunda on January 6th, remember we heard from - from Andy Kim, he was brand-new on Capitol Hill when January 6th happened. He said he didn't know what to do that day. He was kind of at a loss for words. And he said at the Democratic Convention, you know, he got a trash bag and just started picking up trash. Picking up track in the halls of Congress because of what had happened to it on that - on that day.
Obviously, the scene is very different with there Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump and her husband as well, all entering the Rotunda for this - this moment.
We're here in Emancipation Hall, which is not far from where you see everyone walking into the doors right now. And there's a slew of Trump aides that I see entering the doors behind them.
Emancipation Hall also is filled with a lot of notable figures. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is here. His coms director said on Twitter that he was just invited a few hours ago, earlier this morning. And, obviously, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago not too long ago. And word that he is hoping for a pardon for his own legal troubles.
There's Donald Trump Jr. entering the building with his Secret Service as well.
Also, it says something about who else is invited here. I've seen Logan and Jake Paul and also Conor McGregor here. All of these figures that are often with Trump at events that he's held during the campaign, or certainly some of his biggest allies and MAGA media as they've tried to use alternative forms of media in this - in this campaign, Anderson. Obviously, just seeing who is in the room for this, especially when they had to narrow it down because it's happening indoors does speak to who has had the most influence and could have the most influence on this second Trump term.
And, of course, there is Marine One sitting outside the west front - or the east front of the Capitol. That is what will take President Biden to Joint Base Andrews after this is over and then he is going on to a vacation in California and will no longer be on a plane designated as Air Force One, Anderson.
COOPER: You know, Kaitlan, what's fascinating is there was a lot of discussion of, you know, who would be seated inside the Rotunda given the limited seating. It's no longer outdoors.
When you think about who is seated inside St. John's Church, which is obviously an even smaller room, the fact that Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, all the tech titans were in that room, including Joe Rogan as well, it really gives you - I mean that wasn't by accident. That wasn't because they are so close to Donald Trump. Donald Trump, the president-elect, is sending a message by having them in that inner sanctum, if you will. Clearly they will be in the Rotunda as well.
COLLINS: Yes. I've asked Trump allies, how does he feel about these big tech executives now coming down to Mar-a-Lago, singing his praises. You know, Mark Zuckerberg, heavily critical of the Biden administration during a podcast with Joe Rogan, who was also inside that church today, just bringing everything full circle. And, you know, I've asked, do they - do they believe that there is support and their 180 that they've done on Trump for many of them is genuine? It has kind of split the MAGA universe in a fascinating way. And it will be something to watch, that I'll certainly be watching as Trump takes office.
Steve Bannon, obviously a powerful voice in the MAGA world, a senior adviser to Trump the last time he was in the White House, has been heavily critical of Mark Zuckerberg and has said that he doesn't believe his support of Trump is genuine, that it's just very clearly beneficial to him. That will be interesting to see how Trump handles that, and how he wields that. Because I think what a lot of them have watched and are trying to emulate is the ultimate person who has curried the most favor with Trump, and that is Elon Musk. The only person he brought on stage with him yesterday at that rally. He did not bring on the vice president-elect, J.D. Vance, or anyone else, only Elon Musk came up there to speak, albeit briefly, during those remarks. It speaks to the people who have a lot of influence on Trump in this moment. And also those tech executives worried that Elon Musk has a lot more than they do in this moment.
COOPER: Yes, I think all of them saw Elon Musk's rise within the inner circle of Donald Trump and, obviously, have now reached out as well, as you said, at Mar-a-Lago and are now in the inner sanctum.
COLLINS: And, Anderson -
COOPER: Yes.
COLLINS: One other thing to just say is just, as we look at the historical notes here, it's been decades since a president was sworn in inside. The last one to do so, of course, was Ronald Reagan, given the weather the day that he was scheduled to be inaugurated. Inside that Rotunda, lining it, are statues of former presidents, Ulyssis S. Grant and others. Ronald Reagan's is in that room where Trump will be sworn in, just like he was.
COOPER: Lets go to - check in with Jeff Zeleny, who's outside the Capitol.
Jeff.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, we are on the east front of the Capitol. And we are watching as family members, as Kaitlan was saying, just arrived a few moments ago.
[09:50:02]
We saw Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, of course, and their children. And this is one more example of really the notable difference between the second Trump term and the first. They will not have West Wing offices. They are here as family members, not senior advisers.
However, as Kaitlan was just talking about, the Elon Musk office on the White House complex, that is who is surrounding the soon to be president.
But as we look behind here, there are more arrivals coming. And we are on the east front of the Capitol. And until Ronald Reagan's inaugural in 1980, his first one, all inaugurations were on the east front of the Capitol. The sun is shining down this way. We're looking out toward the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. But it was changed to the west front of the Capitol about four decades or so ago.
Well, today, of course, will be inside. But we are watching the arrivals now.
The former presidents will be arriving soon. But Vice President Mike Pence, former Vice President Mike Pence arrived just a few minutes ago, a short time ago. And think of the difference of four years. Four years ago it is these windows directly behind me here that were breached on the morning of the January 6th.
And we are seeing now former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush arriving here at the Law Library door from the east front here. Of course, this is - he now is the second in the line of former
presidents, if you will. An extraordinary piece of history. George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump, all born in the same year, three months apart, in consecutive months, in June, in July and in August of that year. So, George W. Bush here, of course, arriving. He's the last Republican president to win the popular vote in his re-election bid.
We also, of course, know and remember well what he thought about the first inaugural address, the American carnage address. He told several people sitting around him, that was some weird - the s-word. That was some weird stuff we will say. So, we will see what his reaction is to the speech this year.
But he is one of the presidents who will be here. Bill Clinton also will be here with Hillary Clinton. And former President Barack Obama will also be here. Michelle Obama, notably, has decided not to come to this inaugural, as she did not also attend the funeral of Jimmy Carter, Anderson.
COOPER: And, Jeff, we expect President-elect Donald Trump and the first - future First lady Melania Trump will be leaving Blair House momentarily in order to go to the White House and spend - have some time with the Bidens and then ride in the same vehicle, President- elect Trump and President Biden both riding in the same vehicle.
Let's talk about the relationship of these two. I mean, this - this is not something that then President Trump afforded President Biden the courtesy of this polite transition, this tea at the White House, the ride together. It was obviously a very different time four years ago.
AXELROD: Not only did he not afford him that, but he did not afford him the courtesy of a concession, or an acknowledgement that he had won. And then he left town, you know, and left Biden to be sworn in outside a scarred Capitol that was fenced in because of the events of January 6th.
So, you know, it is - it is hard to forget that history. And if you're Joe Biden in particular, and it, you know, the end of this saga for Biden has been an unhappy one as well. So, there's a lot of emotion swirling around here. It's really hard to imagine what these guys say to each other at this juncture.
KING: If you were trying to forget it, President-elect Trump, just yesterday at his rally, said that he wanted -
COOPER: That was Trump's motorcade headed to the White House.
KING: Yes. Yes. But he said he won the 2020 election, just yesterday, at his rally, and that it was stolen from him. So, it's going to be impossible to forget.
But, again, that is one of the norm - I just want to mention something else, Anderson, because it just jumped out at me again. Donald Trump does this because he just won an election and he does this - he did this as a candidate, and he just won an election, so there's nothing to stop him. But I think it was Kaitlan who just said, among those at the service was Conor McGregor. Just two months ago a jury in Ireland awarded a woman $250,000 because she said he raped her and the jury agreed and he's standing there with the president-elect of the United States of America.
COOPER: Let's go back to Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Anderson.
So, we see right now the outgoing first couple, outgoing President Joe Biden, and outgoing First Lady Jill Biden standing at the Portico of the White House waiting for the incoming President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming first lady, Melania Trump, to arrive.
[09:55:00]
It is one of these great American traditions, the peaceful transfer of power. And the hospitality of bitter political rivals coming together because we are all Americans. It is a sight to see. It is a sight that we, as an American people, were denied four years ago. But it is good to have it back and hopefully it will continue in perpetuity.
Here is Donald J. Trump, the incoming 47th president of the United States.
Let's take a - let's take a look and see if we can hear.
There they go inside the White House. The 46th president of the United States and the 47th president of the United States with their respective first ladies. It is, as always, nice to see the peaceful transfer of power, even between bitter political rivals.
And President Biden, and President-elect Trump, have certainly had some rather unkind things to say about the other. But on days like today, we put that aside and we celebrate the fact that we're Americans and we have this democracy.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Jake, Joe Biden ran for president to rid the country of Donald Trump and Trumpism. He was successful. And then, four years later, he lost that. He lost that bid. And it was completely overturned, turned around. And this is a moment that Joe Biden warned about, warned about democracy, warned about what would happen to the country if and when this moment happened. And here it is.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and it's such an important point of the moment that we're in where President Biden said Donald Trump was a threat to democracy, and there are a lot of his supporters who were not very thrilled that he welcomed President Trump to the White House a few weeks after he won the election.
I'm just listening in, just to see if we can hear any questions there. But this was from a few moments ago.
But he welcomed Trump into the White House despite all of that. He has had meetings with him. He has largely refrained from criticizing Donald Trump. They worked hand in hand on a major hostage deal and cease-fire in the Middle East. And there are a lot of people who are upset about that.
But Joe Biden is, in many ways, not perfectly, but in many ways an institutionalist. And he, according to our MJ Lee, never even considered not extending the hand to Donald Trump that he should have been extended four years ago.
And as I watched them walking into the White House, I mean you can't forget that it's not that often that a former president gets to walk back into a house that he's going to live in after having been moved out four years earlier.
BASH: Only the second time in history.
PHILLIP: It's only the second time. And Donald Trump is walking back in there. He probably still recognizes and knows a lot of the staff that are there. It looks different because each president gets to make it look the way they want it to look. But that in itself is just a very unusual moment for this country. And it must be weird if you're Donald Trump and if you're Joe Biden.
TAPPER: Just one note on what you said, Abby. The fact that presidents like Joe Biden and Barack Obama have been friendly and collegial to Donald Trump, whether at the Jimmy Carter funeral, or today, or after the election when President Biden welcomed incoming President Trump, that has not only upset Democrats, it has been used by Trump supporters as evidence that Biden and Obama never really meant the things that they said about Donald Trump.
PHILLIP: Yes.
TAPPER: And the truth of the matter is, I think Biden and Obama meant completely sincerely the things that they said about Donald Trump. I'm not saying I agree with it or disagree with it, but I think they completely meant it. I think that they also, in addition, believe in these institutions of the peaceful transfer