Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Event/Special

CNN's Coverage of the Inauguration of President Donald Trump; Trump to Hold Signing Ceremonies; Families of Israeli Hostages in Gaza Seen in the crowd. Aired 5-5:30p ET

Aired January 20, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:00]

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: -- wants to go to the Oval Office, but he is going to use this rally as a working moment. So he is in the arena right now. His supporters, as you know, Erin, have been waiting for him for several hours. It is warm in here, but they are ready to see him and ready to see him get started. There is going to also be an indoor feel of a parade. There's going to be a band from Tennessee.

There's going to be really some touch tones of the president's childhood and life as well as J.D. Vance's. The Middletown, Ohio band is expected to be here. So this is now the celebratory afternoon phase, but there is going to be some work done as well. And this crowd is absolutely ready for it, Erin.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN NWS ANCHOR: Yes, they are. You can hear the chants of USA. I was just chuckling a little bit here, Jeff. You said it's warm in here. It is not warm in here. It is freezing in here.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: I guess it's warm where you are. I guess it's warmer than Jeff --

BURNETT: I cannot feel my --

HUNT: -- Jeff, in fairness, was out in the cold this morning. I was not

BURNETT: I suppose it was all relative.

ZELENY: Earlier today, Erin. I promise you it's warm in here.

HUNT: We loved your hat.

BURNETT: Oh, you softies from Washington. All right, so we talk about who's inside. There are people who are still, you know, desperately were trying to get in. It looks as if now pretty much every seat is taken. There was sometimes during the day that there would be some empty as people were walking around arena. But now everybody is waiting for the president. Brian Todd is right outside of where we are.

And Brian, as we're just talking about who got in and who didn't, obviously the people in this room, while it is full, is a very small fraction of the people who desperately wanted to see Donald Trump in this special moment.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Erin. We talked to a lot of people who had tickets for the mall, who couldn't get there, and wanted to try to get into Capital One Arena behind me for this inaugural parade and for the rally last night and who couldn't get in. People talking to us about chaotic scenes outside Capital One Arena last night as they tried to get in for that rally. It was really kind of crazy.

This is the security posture here. You've got fencing all over the place. There's the arena. Nobody can really get that close to it at all at this point, but there were large crowds coming in trying to get a glimpse of the president. Here's one of them. This is Matt Yacobinas (ph) from Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. Matt, you came here just to try to get a glimpse of the president and you had tickets to the mall, you could not get in, what was the experience?

UKNOWN: We had tickets to the mall at the Capital, but obviously we were disappointed to hear the news of the move on Friday, but we had our plans for the weekend, we figured we'd come down and see what the -- get a plan B together and try to enjoy it as best we can. And it was a great experience, obviously the crowds were huge. But the support and the enthusiasm was just -- it was just fun to be around and fun to be a part of it.

TODD: Talk about the energy in the city. There was a lot of disappointment like you had not being able to get on the mall, but lots of energy around this venue and others, right?

UNKNOWN: We weren't the only ones disappointed. A lot of people had the same experience, but we're all together. You know, we all came here to celebrate the inauguration of President Trump. We pulled for him over the last eight years and we're happy to see him win, we're happy to see a new start. And like I said, being around everybody, it's been a party atmosphere, very fun.

TODD: What's your impression of how the city, the police and just the overall -- the management of the venues, how they handled it, because we did hear scenes of some chaos outside the arena yesterday, people kind of pushing to try to get in. Did you have any experiences like that?

UNKNOWN: We came down for the rally yesterday morning about 8:30 trying to find where the line, the queue was, which was immense. Blocks and blocks, tens of thousands of people which we expected. We just wanted to experience it. We waited about three hours and decided it was a futile effort for us and then, you know, we ventured out with some people we met locally and friended up with and just, you know, bounced around town the rest of the day.

TODD: You're here now to see if you can maybe get a glimpse of the president as he leaves?

UNKNOWN: I don't know. We're hoping to see the motorcade depart on the way out so we're kind of wandering around checking some of the vendors out and it's just great to be in the city during this exciting time, so.

TODD: Well Matt, thank you for talking to us. We really appreciate it. Good luck.

UNKNOWN: Thank you.

TODD: Hope you can see something out here. Alright guys, this is an experience that we've seen kind of play out. You heard Matt talk about what it was like. What's interesting is you hear people talking about how disappointed they were not being able to get on the mall, not being able to get into Capital One Arena. Yes, there's disappointment, but you don't see a lot of bitterness. I didn't really encounter too many angry people.

We've talked to a lot of people who are frustrated at not being able to get into these venues, guys, but there's just not a lot of anchors here. You heard Matt talk about it. They're just happy to be here and experience the energy of the city at this moment.

BURNETT: Yes, and absolutely 2you know, that's the way it is on the inside here too, Brian. The people who are here, these are people who are incredibly, you know, proud and happy. They're joyful in this moment and they're here and they're now waiting for the president to come out. And as we await that, they are -- half still standing and all looking towards the back of the arena, Jake, where they expect the president will come out momentarily.

[17:05:01]

HUNT: And you know, one quick note, Erin --

BURNETT: Yes.

HUNT: -- before I know we go back to Jake, but some of the families of Israeli hostages that are still held in Gaza are here holding pictures of their loved ones wearing yellow scarves in a position of honor in the front row right near the floor. I think it's just worth taking a moment to note, as obviously many of them have given President Trump credit for the deal that's going to see more Israelis released.

BURNETT: Yes, indeed. All right, Jake, let's pass it back to you. As we await any moment, the President coming out here and speaking to this crowd.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thank you so much to Erin and obviously to Kasie as well. And we are awaiting really some meat on the bones. We're expecting President Trump to come out and not only address his supporters, and I'm sure he'll give them the lively speech that they are waiting for, but also, he is anticipated to sign some executive orders that will radically change the shape of the United States as it exists.

Right now, if you're a supporter of President Trump, then obviously that will be something you're looking forward to, presumably. And if you're not, then it is something you are dreading. But let's talk about what we are expecting. We don't really know, Dana Bash, the details of these executive orders. We are waiting to hear what they are. But we do think they will dramatically reshape the border. We do think they will dramatically reshape deportations. And we do think they will dramatically reshape immigration policy.

There's also a number of other executive orders that could touch on energy policy in the United States, that could touch on tariffs. But we're told by Tom Homan, who is President Trump's border czar in the White House, that starting at 6:00 tomorrow morning, the executive orders that President Trump signs, perhaps even in just minutes away will have a direct impact on the United States.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There are key buckets that he campaigned on, as you said, starting first and foremost, when we look at these executive orders with immigration and a whole slew of changes, big changes, at least the ones that he thinks he can do with the stroke of the pen without Congress. And then also with regard to the economy and specifically energy and oil. And there's that so-called culture wars.

And we just got an e-mail, a story out from our colleague Tammy Luby reminding us that one of the things that he promised to do in the inaugural address, an executive order, making clear that the law of the land in the United States is that there are two genders, a man and a woman, and that the immediate impact is going to be across the federal government, just even as, maybe we think of as minor as what it says on people's passports, which now has the option for an ex if you don't believe you're a man or a woman.

Those are just some of the -- maybe to some people small changes, but changes that will have a bureaucratic ripple effect, never mind, more importantly, a cultural change. That's a cultural change that a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump are really excited for. And just less than half of the country, many of those, certainly not so much.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: And it has absolutely no effect on the price people pay for groceries and how much their rent goes for and all of those other things. But it's incredibly symbolically important to the base assembled in that room that we're looking at there. You know, Donald Trump said something interesting today when he was speaking to his supporters in the overflow room. And he said that people kept telling him to talk about inflation and how expensive things have gotten.

But he really thinks that the thing that he should have focused on and did focus on and that won him the election was immigration. And that's why what we're seeing today is such a heavy focus on the issue of immigration. It's because Trump himself believes that more important than even the state of the economy, more important than the prices people pay and bringing those down as he promised to do, is following through on these immigration policies.

And already, right now, the changes have already gone into effect in some ways. CBP-1, which is this app that migrants were able to use in order to get in line for an orderly process and not just cross the border illegally, that app has gone down. So people who had been waiting in line they no longer have that avenue. And so on the other side of the border, Trump's taking office told (inaudible) today has already had a pretty profound effect and there is a much more to come in these executive orders that he's putting in place.

TAPPER: Well -- but he did say in an interview, I forget whom with -- that may might have been with Christian Walker when he -- she was at -- he was asked why he thought he won and he said prices, grocery prices, groceries, and that really was a moment of clarity because I think that is a correct analysis.

[17:10:07]

I think inflation was a major driver. I think immigration was legitimately an issue as well.

PHILLIP: I mean, he said it today too. I mean, I do think immigration is a big issue because not only is it a motivating issue for his base, but it's also one of those issues that on top of prices, I think led to a huge amount of dissatisfaction across the country, especially thanks to his allies in Texas and in Florida sending migrants into major cities that really spread out the dissatisfaction with the spreading thin of resources in cities and in suburbs across the country.

Trump fundamentally believes, not just in this election, but also in 2016, that's the issue for him. That separated him fundamentally from the rest of the Republican Party and created this movement that he is now riding to the presidency yet again.

TAPPER: Alright, we're going to squeeze in a quick break while we wait for President Trump to come out and speak to his crowd and sign some executive orders that we think will reshape the United States of America as it is right now. Stay with us, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:15:00]

TAPPER: Welcome back to our special coverage of the inauguration of Donald Trump. Any minute we're expecting President Trump to take the stage and speak to a crowd of supporters inside Capital One Arena. He's also set to sign a slew of executive orders there. You see his adult children there from left to right, Don, Jr., Eric Trump, Laura Trump, Eric's wife. There's Barron Trump, his son. He was 10 years old when he first came to the White House eight years ago. Now, he is a college freshman.

Next to Laura Trump, you see Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump, the adult children, and one in-law. I believe in between Don, Jr. and Barron Trump is Melania Trump's father. Melania Trump sadly lost her mother roughly a year ago. But this is really going to be, Abby, the substance amidst all the pomp and circumstance and the celebration of American democracy, the celebration for his fans, of Donald Trump and his presidency. This is going to be -- we're really going to see what this means. And then starting 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, according to Tom Homan, Trump's

borders czar, we're going to see the results of the deportations and the like that will no doubt upend American society in some ways. Obviously, some of them will be criminals that we'll all be happy to bid adieu, but it will not likely stop there.

PHILLIP: Yeah, you know, I think it's an interesting decision for them to do some of the E.O. signings in this room in front of supporters. And it's actually a nice touch, I think, so that people can actually see this moment happen. I'm watching the seats and the stands there. It's almost exactly the way that they had it set up at the RNC --

TAPPER: Yeah.

PHILLIP: -- the Republican National Convention, where the family and dignitaries, it was kind of a rotating cast of Trump characters in those seats, and they basically set up something very similar. So, this is going to feel like opening up some of that process to regular Americans, supporters, people who came from all over the country to witness this moment. And I think that's Steve Witkoff there who just helped Trump and the Biden administration negotiate a ceasefire and a hostage deal with Israel and Hamas.

One other note about, you mentioned Tom Homan has promised deportations. There's been some back and forth about what that's going to entail. At first, there was reporting and he seemed to confirm that there would be raids in cities like Chicago and others. Then they started to question whether they might do that because that news had gotten out and it might make the raids more ineffective. So it's still unclear exactly what we're going to see this week as they do try to have a moment of shock and awe.

And talking to Democratic sources on the Hill, you're not going to hear a ton of pushback from them about deportations, as you said, of people who are criminals who have final orders of deportation. They're waiting to see what else Trump does and pick their battles carefully because there's gonna be a lot going on.

TAPPER: The Democratic Party just seems so browbeat these days.

PHILLIP: Yeah, yeah.

TAPPER: That they really just seem defeated. I mean, obviously they lost the White House.

BASH: They really are defeated.

PHILLIP: Yeah. I mean --

TAPPER: No, I don't mean -- but I mean, it's not just -- but they're not -- look, contrasted to eight years ago --

BASH: No, no question.

TAPPER: -- when you had the Women's March and a group of the resistance --

BASH: Sure.

TAPPER: -- and like, you don't even -- and like I don't expect it today because it's Inauguration Day. But you don't even really hear much in terms of what Abby just said about, like, we're going to stand up against this or we're going to stand up against that.

BASH: Yeah, I think they're trying to feel it out and figure it out. Lessons learned from eight years ago, very different to, I mean, a lot of Democrats, I'm surprised, have very different points of view on how to deal with it. Some want to, even especially the leaders, want to take a breath and be very strategic about what to push against.

Meanwhile, what we're looking at right now, you were talking about how this looks like the RNC, it's also a very quick change into what was supposed to be what is behind us now. We are across from the White House, kind of a reviewing stand for a parade that is, at least in recent history, outside. And now it's not because of the cold weather that was predicted. It is now inside in that arena.

TAPPER: It's interesting, you mentioned Steve Witkoff was there. Steve Witkoff, who the Biden team worked closely with on trying to get the ceasefire and hostage deal. And Kasie mentioned that some of the hostage families are there at the arena.

[17:20:02]

It's weird -- it's funny because Biden and Trump have gone back and forth about who gets credit for the deal, obviously negotiated to a large degree by the Biden team, but were it not with the threat of Trump, a Democratic insider told me, were it not the threat of Trump, it would not have happened because Hamas did not think they could get a better deal during the Trump administration. Trump was threatening all hell would break loose if they didn't start releasing the hostages.

And also Netanyahu wants to be on Trump's good side. So Trump did play a big role in it. But Witkoff has been -- Witkoff and the Biden administration officials have been much more gracious about working with the other than the two presidents have been.

PHILLIP: Yeah, I mean, there's this overlay, obviously, of ego and politics with the principals, but behind the scenes, not only has Witkoff been very public about his cooperation with Tony Blinken, who was the Secretary of State and others at the negotiating table. But it's also a fact that the deal that they ended with was the one that has been on the table for some months now that the Biden administration put on the table.

So yes, I mean, it probably would not have happened if both sides, Hamas and Israel, had not been cognizant of the fact that Donald Trump was coming in and had said he wanted this done before he took the oath of office. The hostages are not all home, but there is a plan --

TAPPER: Only three -- only three. PHILLIP: -- and a process in place for them to come home over the coming weeks and months.

TAPPER: Erin Burnett is in the room. Erin, tell us what you're seeing inside there.

BURNETT: Well, sorry, Jake, and it's hard to hear you, but I can hear you saying my name. So what we're looking at here, this is a performance score written specifically for the 47th president.

HUNT: That's right.

BURNETT: And they are performing it here. There's an announcer for the parade, Dan Taylor. So they've sort of started the parade announcing as the first family has come in. We are still awaiting the president. As Kasie and I are sitting here together, we are noticing a few things as the family is filed in and their pictures are put on the big screen, they get this resounding massive applause.

We don't yet see Jared Kushner sitting there in the front row. You do see the children along with Lara Trump, Eric's wife.

HUNT: Right, and Melania's father --

BURNETT: But Jared Kushner's not out there yet.

HUNT: -- as well.

BURNETT: And Tiffany Trump's husband is also not sitting there on the front row, so it's a little unclear, the seating here, but mostly the dais is filled out, as you can see in part, right, Kasie?

HUNT: Right, that's right, and of course the song that we just heard there called "Brass in Glory," according to what we heard there. And of course, these are the opening bars potentially of, "Hail to the Chief."

UNKNOWN: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 50th Vice President of the United States of America, Vice President J.D. --

HUNT: Not yet. Not quite "Hail to the Chief," just yet.

(CROWD CHEERING)

TAPPER: Now we see the brand new Vice President, J.D. Vance, his wife, the Second Lady, Osha Vance, and their three children. The daughter, I believe, was covered with something familiar to anybody who's ever had a toddler.

PHILLIP: As a mom of a three-year-old, I can already tell you.

TAPPER: At one point, was covered with Band-Aids before her father's swearing-in ceremony, which --

PHILLIP: I think she still has them on.

TAPPER: Relatable. Well, there she is. You can see her Band-Aids on her hand. Okay.

PHILLIP: I don't know if they're princess Band-Aids.

TAPPER: I don't know, whatever they are.

PHILLIP: But good luck getting them off.

TAPPER: Yeah, exactly. Good luck telling her that she can't have them.

PHILLIP: Yeah. But you don't often see those three little ones with their parents.

[17:24:58]

It is obviously very difficult to have young children out and about in this kind of political environment.

TAPPER: I'm trying to think of the last time that there were children so young. Here's President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump entering the Capital One Arena, greeting his adoring fans, many of whom came thousands of miles to attend his inaugural, were disappointed to hear that it was being moved inside because of severe weather forecast, but they are happy to see him. They are happy to see him, delighted to see him. And he is doing something that I don't know that has ever happened before, which is the signing of executive orders for a crowd.

PHILLIP: Even seeing him walking through this crowd, it feels a little unusual that he is really up close and personal with his supporters. Again, with Trump these days, you're reminded that there is this incredibly heightened level of security around him, but they've allowed him and his supporters to get very, very close in this moment. And I'm sure for those people, this is sort of a time of a life, their lifetime.

TAPPER: Erin Burnett inside the arena. Tell us what it's like.

BURNETT: So it look -- its electric and ecstatic in terms of the feeling of the people who are in this room to see him. And they are watching -- actually, Jake, from the side where Kasie and I are sitting, you know, you can see the president walking down. But you can also see all the people watching it on the big screen right who aren't exactly at the spot where he is walking down. I don't have quite that same exuberance. I'm sure there's a bit of disappointment that they're not that close --

HUNT: Right.

BURNETT: -- from what I can see but now --

HUNT: And you can probably -- you might be able to hear a little bit of that roar that just kind of went up as they --

BURNETT: Yeah.

HUNT: -- he's now waving to the entire crowd there with his binder. And I think --

BURNETT: Pointing to his executive orders it looks like in that book of what he's here to sign.

HUNT: That's what it looks like. And you know I think it is interesting that he walked down through his supporters. That was an explicit choice to be with the people because obviously he easily could have come from any one of the entrances onto the floor directly of the arena that's not available to the press, walked out onto the floor and not been among the people.

And again you can hear the crowd going up as Melania waves and that's what we saw from each of his children as the camera shot pan from one to the next. The crowd would respond. Ivanka Trump blowing kisses to the crowd. Donald Trump, Jr. kind of making a joke of whether he or Eric got more applause.

BURNETT: Chants of USA throughout this arena. And the president is right now standing in the middle of the dais, right next to the presidential seal.

HUMT: And it does seem as though perhaps those were his remarks, Erin, because he stopped and he put the binder on the podium and now he's walking over toward the desk where he may sign more executive orders. The desk appears to have actually a stack of folders sitting on it, presumably. And there's the pens you can see to the left, the ceremonial signing pens. That's also part of these types of rituals because each one will then often be given to someone as a souvenir or remembrance piece.

BURNETT: Now -- yes, and so we do know he's going to be signing those. And there is a microphone by that desk, as Kasie and I have been saying, Jake and Wolf, but you see he's going here now with the First Lady. They're going to take their seats. And it seems like they're going to view the actual parade as opposed to going straight to the podium and giving comments right there on the side or the desk. But he is going to watch.

HUNT: And again, this very reminiscent of the Republican National Convention where you may remember not that long after the assassination attempt against the president in Butler, he came to the initial night of his own convention, and then every night after and watched with his family.

(CROWD CHANTING)

HUNT: It sounds to me like they're chanting fight, fight, fight --

BURNETT: Yeah, fight.

HUNT: -- which of course is the rallying cry. That fist in the air, that word fight is the rallying cry that came out of that assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania after the president- elect, or I guess now the president of the United States, then candidate for president, just barely dodged that bullet, had the presence of mind to stand up, say to fight as the Secret Service tried to protect him going forward.

It really is reminding me of that first night at the convention, that Monday night, where he came in, it was a similar, you know, it was the first time everyone had really seen him in the wake of that difficult situation. And he's clearly trying to replicate that here.

BURNETT: There is a feeling in the room to try to capture it, and I know that so many who have covered the rallies are familiar, but of adulation. This is somebody -- you know, people in this room, there is an adulation about this. This is an incredibly important moment for them.

[17:30:00]

Now, this is the parade, so what we're watching is essentially on the dais, the president observing several of these bands who are going to be --