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Key GOP Senators Raise Questions About Hegseth Confirmation; South Korea In Turmoil After President Declared Martial Law; Leaders Scrambling To Flatter Trump As He Returns To World Stage; Supreme Court To Hear Challenge To Bans On Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth; Source: Stowaway Blended In With Groups Of Travelers And A Flight Crew To Board Delta Plane Without A Ticket. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 03, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, an ominous sign for Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a key Trump supporter Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, just now calling the allegations against Hegseth disturbing, and telling reporters this confirmation fight will be difficult.

Also breaking, major political turmoil shaking a key U.S. ally as South Korea's president declares and then rescinds martial law. U.S. officials completely caught off guard as they watch the situation with deep concern.

Plus, Trump's return to the global stage is sending world leaders scrambling to cozy up. How allies and adversaries alike will respond. Are trying to influence, impress, and flatter the incoming president.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

And first to the breaking news on the Trump transition, key Republican senators raising serious questions right now about Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is up on Capitol Hill with an update and CNN's Kristen Holmes is joining us from outside the Trump transition headquarters in Florida.

Manu, first to you. What is Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina saying about Hegseth's chances right now?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He says it's going to be a difficult road ahead. And that is what is echoed by a number of Republican senators that I have been talking to over the last couple of days, indicating that while Hegseth could potentially get the votes, getting there could be a slog, in large part because of these allegations of misconduct, because of these reports that have come out, and because of questions about whether he can actually do the job, or the monumental job, of running the Pentagon.

Now, remember, in order to get confirmed, you would have to limit defections to just three Republican senators, assuming all Democrats vote against it. There are more than three Republican senators who have concerns about this, and that's essentially what Graham echoed to reporters in speaking to them earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Some of these articles are very disturbing. He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of this stuff is -- it's going to be difficult. You know, time will tell. I like Pete. I've known him for a very, very long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, behind the scenes, Hegseth has tried to lock down support, meeting with individual Republican senators over the past day. One of the senators that he plans to meet with coming up is Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. I asked Cramer about the last time that a defense secretary nominee had been voted down. That was back in 1989. In fact, that was the second -- excuse me, here's Senator Lindsey Graham.

Senator Graham, I just want to ask you what's your comment about -- do you think that he can get confirmed, Hegseth? Okay, all right. So, Senator Graham, he's with her sister. I hope he has a nice day with her. He didn't want to comment right now about that, about Hegseth, but you heard what he said earlier.

I was talking about Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. He was -- I had asked him about the last time a cabinet nominee had been rejected. That was John Tower in 1989 over issues of womanizing and drunkenness. And I asked Cramer about that, the fact that that standard was set back in 1989 compared to the allegations, similar allegations, that Hegseth is facing now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHY: John Tower was rejected over claims of womanizing and drunkenness. Hegseth has faced similar allegations. Have the standards not just changed?

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Well, I don't think there's much question that the tolerance for certain things has changed. But I would say, in many respects, grace abounds all the more, and I think that's not such a bad thing. That's why I mean, I love a good redemption story and I hope that's what Pete has.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But there are several other senators who are still concerned, including Senator Joni Ernst, who said that she wants to have a thorough and frank conversation with Pete Hegseth when they meet later this week, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who told me that she wants a thorough FBI background check over all these allegations before she would consider how she'll vote. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Manu, I want you to stand by. I want to go to Kristen right now as well. Kristen, I understand you have some new reporting about one of Trump's picks withdrawing his name just now.

[18:05:02]

What's going on?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. This is actually one of his lesser known picks of a guy by the name of Chad Chronister. He was a sheriff or is a sheriff in Hillsborough County, Florida, and he was tapped by Donald Trump to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration.

He just withdrew his name in a statement that he posted on X. I'm going to read it to you. He said, over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I've concluded that I must withdraw from consideration. There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County, and a lot of initiatives that I am committed to fulfilling.

I sincerely appreciate the nomination, outpouring of support by the American people, and look forward to continuing my service as sheriff of Hillsborough County.

Now, one of the things to keep in mind here is that while there was a lot of applause for this sheriff, there was also a lot of backlash, particularly in the MAGA wings of the Republican Party. They pointed out the fact that Hillsborough -- excuse me, that the sheriff had arrested a pastor in 2020 for violating COVID protocols, something that clearly upset people around Trump. He also pointed out past comments he made where he seemed to indicate there was no place for people who didn't support Trump in the Republican Party, also indicating that he was apolitical in some ways.

One of the things we know, Wolf, is that Donald Trump is trying to stack his cabinet, trying to stack his administration with loyalists. It was continually pointed to various aspects of this sheriff's life that indicated that he might not be a loyalist.

So, that could potentially be part of the reason he withdrew. He doesn't cite that here, but we do know now he has taken his name out of consideration.

BLITZER: Kristen, we've also learned that the transition team, the Trump transition team, is taking a pretty significant step, in my opinion, very significant step, in regards to vetting the president- elect's picks. Tell us about that.

HOLMES: Yes, and this is coming as you just heard Manu on the Hill hearing from various senators who wish there was more vetting of these candidates, particularly when it comes to Secretary of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth. So, what we know now is that the campaign or the transition has signed a memo of understanding with the Department of Justice to initiate the transition process.

But one of the most important parts of this memo of understanding is that it allows for the team to submit names to the FBI for background checks, meaning they would get these official checks and just really quickly one of the things that we had reported with our justice team earlier this year was that they were foregoing this FBI vetting and going with private investigators. Instead, it appears now they're going to take a different path. Wolf?

BLITZER: Very significant development, indeed. Kristen Holmes, thank you. Manu Raju, thanks to you as well.

Let's bring in our political experts for some serious analysis right now. And, Jasmine Wright, Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, as all of us know, what is his decision to call the allegations against Pete Hegseth disturbing signal to you?

JASMINE WRIGHT, REPORTER, NOTUS: Yes, well, I think if I was a Republican, it would be kind of concerning to me because Lindsey Graham is somebody who, yes, is a key Trump ally, but he's also a pretty frank senator with reporters, he says things how we feel. So, if he's saying that publicly, I think you have to question what he and other senators are backchanneling to the Trump transition privately, what their feelings are about the secretary of defense.

My outlet, NOTUS, has been on the Hill the last two days asking senators about all of these people that they would have to confirm. And it's really clear that the conversations and concerns around Pete Hegseth are very different than some of the other nominees. And so, of course, now these background checks are going to go something that I think gave senators a lot of concern that these background checks are going to go forward. Of course, they're going to get more information, but certainly these drip, drip, drip leaks about allegations, from drinking to sexual assault, to other issues, does not forebode well for the nominee.

BLITZER: Do you think, Lauren Tomlinson, you think that these comments from Lindsey Graham are going to necessarily open the door for other -- not just Democrats, but Republicans to question Pete Hegseth's confirmation.

LAUREN TOMLINSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, I don't think so. I think, like you said, Lindsey Graham is pretty blunt when it comes to speaking with reporters, particularly about national security issues, which is a good thing. But you've also seen an outpouring of support among Republican senators with some that he's met, you know, Tommy Tuberville, for example. I really pay attention to Roger Wicker and what he is saying about the nominee since he's the incoming Senate Armed Services chair.

So, you know, I think there's a mixed bag here. I think, like you said, the FBI checks are going to be a game changer for this, because right now, these allegations are through the media and they're saying the Trump team is saying that this is a disgruntled employee, it's a single source, you know, that this might not be as important or as credible as The New Yorker is making it out to be.

But that's where FBI checks come in because, particularly when it comes to drinking, you know, with Matt Gaetz, you know, the drug use was concerning, these issues are going to be something that need to be thoroughly looked into because that determines whether you get a security clearance. And, obviously, you need to be able to deal with classified information if you're the secretary of defense.

BLITZER: You know, Ashley, it's interesting because the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a powerful committee, especially dealing with a potential nominee to become the secretary of defense, says he expects to see a whistleblower report outlining allegations of misconduct during Hegseth's time running a veterans group.

[18:10:13]

How tough will this confirmation process wind up being?

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I mean, for me, it's -- you know, welcome to Donald Trump's America, where you have someone who was fired by a veterans organization for financial misconduct, as well as for being a drunk, whose mother actually said he's abuser of women, and who's actually not qualified for this position, could run the most powerful military in the world. That should not only concern, you know, the senators and the incoming chairman, but it should concern all of us.

And here's my other -- the other way I look at this. Can you imagine if this were a Democrat, how outraged Lindsey Graham would be? I mean, he'd be losing it, you know, all over the place. I mean, and these were people who said that Kamala Harris, who's the sitting vice president, was not qualified to be the president. Not only is it an insult, it's the height of hypocrisy in the Republican Party.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, you know, I want to get back to Jasmine. It's interesting that Republican Senator John Kennedy called the email from Hegseth's mother, an email obtained by The New York Times, as we all know, the most serious allegation against him.

I want to read part of that email, and here's a quote. I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man, and have been for years. And as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth. Do you think he could overcome a damning email like that from his mom?

WRIGHT: Well, his mom did also come out in that same article and say that she regretted it and she, you know, was at the heat of the moment or whatever, basically saying that she no longer believed that. But, certainly, that's something that the senators are going to have to look at and something that's certainly something that the American public is going to be influenced by too if he were to be confirmed and run that department.

I think that there are going to be a lot of things that come out in the wash, not just for him, but for certainly all of these nominees, particularly because the vetting was done by private companies initially, and now it will go to the FBI. And so this is going to be one of the things certainly that he has to overcome. But they're going to be looking into those allegations that just continue to kind of pour out from these different media companies, that one included,

BLITZER: And we'll see what emerges from the upcoming FBI background check, which could be very significant as well. What do you think?

TOMLINSON: I think that the senators have laid the groundwork that they're going to ask these questions and make sure that there's sufficient answers there. But the Trump team is framing this as corporate media going after him, the defense industrial base being scared that he's going to come in and shake things up.

So, you already have this messaging that's coming out that this is an attack and that we shouldn't believe any of these things. And like you said, a lot of these attacks have also been, oh, it's one whistleblower that has been discredited. The mother retracted the statements. It was in the heat of the moment, she sent an apology. So, I think that there's the confirmation hearings are going to be very important to watch and like they said, very important.

ETIENNE: Yes. I mean, I think, Wolf, at the end of the day, this really continues to lower the bar. And what do we -- this is what we should come to expect from Donald Trump, who himself is a convicted felon who's standing trial, who's, you know, accused of, we saw with our own eyes, initiate an entire insurrection against our government. So, it's like, what do we come to expect from this incoming president?

And I think that's the unfortunate part, is the bar continues to be lowered and lowered and lowered.

TOMLINSON: I don't think so. I think that it's just that it's different. And I think that there is a lot of attacks right now because he's sitting out here for multiple weeks and people are going to just continue to lobby attacks against him and see what sticks.

ETIENNE: From his own mother. His mother said he has a history --

TOMLINSON: She also said -- she said that she regretted the statements. And I'm not going to get into family fights. I mean, we know how you know those go.

BLITZER: I do know that if he still is the nominee, the Senate confirmation hearings for him are going to be very, very lively indeed. We'll watch it closely. All right, everybody, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, chaos in South Korea as the country's president declares and then lifts martial law. Why U.S. officials are watching the turmoil with grave concern.

Plus, the latest on the bizarre case of a stowaway who evaded multiple checkpoints to actually board a Delta flight from New York to Paris. What a source is now revealing to CNN about how she was able to sneak onto the plane undetected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BLITZER: There's more breaking news we're following tonight, historic political chaos engulfing South Korea as the country's president declares martial law only to lift the decree just hours later. The turmoil now rocking a major U.S. ally, catching officials right here in Washington by surprise.

Our Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): South Korea's biggest political crisis in decades ending almost as quickly as it began. President Yoon Suk Yeol vowing to overturn his surprise declaration of martial law hours after parliament voted unanimously against it.

South Korea's first declaration of military rule in more than 40 years igniting massive protests in Seoul, despite months of political gridlock, bitter clashes with opposition leaders and mounting public frustration. Almost nobody saw this coming.

JOHN NILSSON-WRIGHT, HEAD OF JAPAN AND KOERAS PROGRAM, CENTER FOR GEOPOLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE: This is an enormous overreaction by the president, to say the very least, but for him to escalate in this way is really, frankly, bizarre.

[18:20:00]

RIPLEY: Chaos outside the national assembly. Inside, an emergency session, parliament voting unanimously, 190-0, to overturn martial law, just 150 minutes after Yoon's shocking order. The vote, a rare moment of unity in South Korea's deeply divided legislature. Opposition leaders described the president's move as an unprecedented assault on democracy.

LEE JAEU-MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country. The judicial system is suspended and an emergency martial law regime where soldiers deliver a summary of judgment has begun.

RIPLEY: Veteran South Korean journalist Kenneth Choi says the nation is in collective shock.

KENNETH CHOI, SOUTH KOREAN JOURNALIST: Everybody's flabbergasted. The very essence of our democracy has probably come to a halt.

RIPLEY: The road ahead, uncertain. President Yoon's popularity was already plummeting. Now, some are calling for him to resign. Underlying issues, political polarization, economic struggles, and public discontent remain unresolved. South Korea's democracy may have withstood this test, but serious questions remain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): The immediate question, Wolf, as Asia wakes up on this now Wednesday morning here, is how long can President Yoon stay in office? There are these accusations of treason, these growing calls for his impeachment, and South Korea does have a long history of holding its leaders accountable. Four former presidents have gone to jail after leaving office in less than 40 years of South Korea being a democracy. Wolf, a lot of people wondering if Yoon is going to be number five.

BLITZER: Yes, very serious development indeed with enormous ramifications. Will Ripley, thank you very much.

I want to get some analysis right now. I want to bring in CNN's M.J. Lee along with our military analyst, retired Colonel Cedric Leighton. We're also joined by Korea expert Victor Cha. He's the author of several books on the region, including his latest entitled, there you see the cover, The Black Box.

And, Victor, let me start with you. This was a stunningly fast turn of events by a president who's been embroiled in controversy now for some time, as you well know. Why did President Yoon do this?

VICTOR CHA, KOREA CHAIR, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Wolf, I think the reason he did it was for reasons that we're very familiar with here in the United States, political polarization, weaponization of instruments of government, social media demonization on both sides that led to complete gridlock into the legislature such that he could get nothing accomplished, including the budget for next year. And then I think in a fit of both frustration and anger, he declared this martial law completely unknown to his own people, unknown to the U.S. government, for certain, and creating a lot of ripple effects throughout the region as well as in the U.S. government.

BLITZER: Important point. M.J., you're learning this all took the White House by complete surprise. Take us inside how the U.S. is responding to this crisis in South Korea.

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this took everyone in the Biden administration by a complete surprise. Nobody was expecting this, whether it's the officials here in Washington or even the folks traveling with President Biden in Angola. You know, initially the first few hours as these scenes were pouring in, clearly the White House was trying to sort of process what was going on figure out what the White House's official reaction should be.

And within the last hour or two, we actually got the first reaction from the White House responding to Yoon agreeing to lift martial law. This is what that statement said from an NSC spokesperson. We are relieved President Yoon has reversed course on his concerning declaration of martial law and respected the ROK National Assembly's vote to end it. Democracy is at the foundation of the U.S.-ROK alliance, but we will continue to monitor the situation.

I should say, Wolf, there has been no substantive and direct response to all of these events from President Biden himself. He really hasn't been engaging the media much while on this trip in Angola, particularly after the pardoning of his son, Hunter. We should say for context, you know, strengthening the U.S.-ROK alliance has been a big part of the president's foreign policy in the region, and President Yoon is somebody that he has had a number of occasions to see. So, I do think there's going to be many folks here in the U.S. who are still eager to get that direct response from President Biden.

BLITZER: Colonel Leighton, the Pentagon, as we all know, has nearly 30,000 U.S. military troops and other assets. What would this mean for the U.S. position and for the alliances in the region?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, any instability, Wolf, in South Korea, of course, has major ramifications for our Indo-Pacific policies. And when it comes to Korea, it's basically a, we will fight tonight, kind of scenario that the U.S. forces are basically geared for, and that's a fight tonight against North Korea, of course.

[18:25:06]

So, the idea that there's any instability in South Korea kind of takes us back to the early 1980s, where this kind of stuff did happen. And, of course, with the new way in which South Korea handles its democracy, that is something that not only the people didn't expect, but neither the South Korean nor the U.S. military expected it either. So, it's a major issue for both, and the less stability there is in South Korea, the worse it gets for us to fulfill our policy goals.

BLITZER: And, Victor, I wonder if you expect that President Yoon to be impeached. Where does the country go from here?

CHA: Well, it's a good question. You know, I think on the one hand, he did the right thing, which was he declared a martial law. The legislature overruled him. And then after a few long hours, he decided to accede to the legislature. That is constitutionally what he's supposed to do. Ironically though, even though he did the right thing, I think his future is very uncertain. Whether he'll be impeached or whether there will be -- they'll have enough votes to impeach him, that's one question in the legislature. The other is whether there'll be street protests that call for his resignation.

But, you know, he's not in a very good position now. As you said, Wolf earlier, he was at 10 percent in terms of popularity already. So, the future is quite uncertain for him, even though he probably did the right thing today to save democracy in Korea.

BLITZER: Yes, I suspect you're right. To everyone, thank you very much. Good analysis, indeed.

Coming up, more fallout from President Biden's decision to pardon his son, Hunter. I'll speak with one Democratic senator who's calling the pardon a gift to Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Breaking news, in a new legal filing, Donald Trump is now citing President Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter, as he tries to get his own hush money conviction thrown out. A key section from that Trump document reads this, and I'm quoting now, in issuing a ten-year pardon to Hunter Biden that covers any and all crimes, whether charged or uncharged, President Biden asserted that his son was selectively and unfairly prosecuted and treated differently. This is the same Department of Justice that coordinated and oversaw the politically motivated election interference witch hunts targeting President Trump.

Right now, I want to bring in Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado. Senator, thanks so much for joining us. Is this what you were concerned about when you first spoke out about this pardon?

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): This is exactly what I'm worried about, Wolf. I think that President Biden shouldn't have pardoned his son, but he also shouldn't have done it based on the idea of selective prosecution, which basically makes the argument that the Justice Department was acting politically, frankly, acting corruptly, which is exactly the argument that Donald Trump has been making for years. It's exactly the argument that we were running our elections against, which is that we were going to protect democracy, not undermine it. And you can see that Donald Trump is already using it in that filing as a precedent.

People have said to me, Michael, how naive. You know, don't you know that Donald Trump would have done this anyway? Of course, but now we have lost, or at least dramatically reduced, the moral high ground that we have to make the argument that what Trump is -- the case that he's making is without any merit.

BLITZER: Reporters covering the president, Senator, attempted once again today to ask President Biden about his decision to pardon his son. I want to play a little bit of that moment. Watch and listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, why did you pardon your son?

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Welcome to America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Welcome to America. That was his answer. Is President Biden, Senator, grappling with the full impact of this very controversial pardon?

BENNET: I don't know what that -- I don't know what that answer was. I guess we didn't hear from him. I'm sure he is grappling with it. Look, I'm the father, Wolf, of three beautiful daughters. And they know that one thing would never happen, which is that I would pardon them. Because they believe that those of us that are in elected life have to meet a higher standard and that we can't put our private interests ahead of the nation's interest.

I think Joe Biden has served this country incredibly honorably and incredibly well, and I grieve for the hardships that his family has faced, but he made the wrong decision in this case.

BLITZER: Senator, our Kaitlan Collins has some new reporting that Pete Hegseth, Trump's embattled pick to run the U.S. Department of Defense, will sit for an interview with his former employer, Fox News, tomorrow, in an attempt to alleviate concerns from several Republican senators. What's your reaction to that?

BENNET: I think it's going to turn out to be too little, too late. I think his nomination is in serious trouble. It's good to see that there are Republicans that are worried about the allegations about his private life. I hope they also focus on the fact that the guy is completely unqualified for the job that the president has nominated him for. And I hope that if he stays in it that we will come together as Democrats and Republicans and reject him on a bipartisan basis and show the president that the United States Senate can work together and take seriously our constitutional duty to advice and consent.

[18:35:09]

BLITZER: Do you think it's possible he might actually be confirmed by the Senate?

BENNET: If I had to guess, I would not bet my life that he's going to be confirmed by the United States Senate.

BLITZER: All right, we'll see what happens. Senator Michael Bennet, as usual, thank you very much for joining us.

BENNET: Thanks, Wolf, for having me.

BLITZER: Okay. And just ahead with Donald Trump about to return to the White House, world leaders are dusting off their playbooks for flattering the incoming president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House is sending leaders across the world scrambling right now to try to flatter the incoming president. Brian Todd has more on all of this for us.

Brian, many of these leaders have plenty of experience stroking Trump's ego.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf. And that is seen as a necessary skill for any world leader going to visit with Donald Trump.

[18:40:03]

The former and future president is quickly making President Biden's status as a world leader fade into the background.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): He was the first world leader to congratulate President-elect Trump on his victory in November. And now, France's 46-year-old president, Emmanuel Macron, is preparing to flatter Trump again, inviting Trump to Paris this weekend for the unveiling of the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral.

MAX BOOT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: I think President Macron is basically reprising his first term playbook of trying to get chummy with President Trump.

TODD: Not many leaders were as deferential to Trump as Macron was during Trump's first term, laying on the charm, treating Trump to the fanfare of a Bastille Day parade in Paris in 2017, which impressed Trump so much that Trump said --

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're going to have to try and top it.

BOOT: Trump came back and demanded that his military stage their own parade through Washington, which the armed forces were not eager to do.

TODD: In recent days, another world leader, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, went to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump to appeal to Trump to back down on his threat to impose tariffs on Canada.

REPORTER: Prime Minister, was it a productive meeting with the president-elect?

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: It was an excellent conversation.

TODD: A conversation that, according to two sources briefed on it, included Trump joking to Trudeau that if the tariffs were too tough on Canada, maybe Canada should join the U.S. as a 51st state. Trump then posting on social media an A.I. generated image of him standing next to a Canadian flag in the mountains.

But Trump's audiences aren't just with Macron and Trudeau. Even before his win in November, Trump met this year with Poland's president and Britain's foreign minister, had phone calls with Saudi Arabia's crown prince and the king of Bahrain, and staged a glamour gilded event at Mar-a-Lago with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, gushing over Orban's autocratic style.

TRUMP: He said, this is the way it's going to be and that's the end of it, right? He's the boss. I didn't know, he's a great leader, fantastic leader.

TODD: Analysts say the scramble of world leaders clamoring to meet with Trump may only intensify.

JOSH ROGIN, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: The Trump administration is making a list and checking it twice. They want to know who's on board and who's not on board. No matter what country you're from, a dictatorship, a democracy, this is just the beginning of what will be four years of people traveling to Mar-a-Lago and Washington to kiss the ring.

TODD: And the reelected president may rekindle his kinships with strong men. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about her impressions of Trump during his first term.

ANGELA MERKEL, FORMER GERMAN CHANCELLOR: Well, in the way that he spoke about Putin, the way that he spoke about Putin, the way that he spoke about the North Korean president, obviously apart from critical remarks he made, there was always a kind of fascination at the sheer power of what these people could do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): And possibly crossing paths with Donald Trump in Paris this weekend will be current First Lady Jill Biden. She will officially represent the U.S. at the reopening of Notre Dame, and it could be awkward if she and Trump encounter each other. During the campaign, the first lady urged voters to choose, quote, good over evil in the election. Wolf?

BLITZER: Excellent report. But, Brian, we also know from Trump's first administration that relationships with these leaders sometimes can sour.

TODD: They certainly can, Wolf. And that happened with Emmanuel Macron in the first Trump administration. They were buddy-buddy for the first year or two, and then they got into a disagreement over the idea of a European army that Macron had come up with. And then Trump mocked Macron's low popularity rating and then tweeted that, you know, support for Macron's political opponents. So, it really did kind of get a little bit ugly in that time period.

BLITZER: It potentially could again. All right, Brian, thank you very, very much.

And coming up, the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear the most consequential transgender rights case in history. How tomorrow's arguments could impact medical care for trans youth across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:09]

BLITZER: The U.S. Supreme Court is on the verge of hearing a landmark case on transgender rights. Tomorrow, the court will listen to oral arguments over state level bans on gender affirming medical care for trans youth.

Our chief legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid, has more on this.

So, Paula, this case could have a huge impact on transgender Americans all across the country.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Wolf. This is the biggest case of the Supreme Court term so far and we got one of the only interviews with the teen at the center of this historic case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REID (voice-over): Last year, Tennessee Republicans voted to make it illegal for transgender youth to be prescribed certain medications or treatments for gender dysphoria.

L. WILLIAMS, PLAINTIFF: I couldn't imagine that I would be headed to the Supreme Court.

REID: L. Williams, a teen identified only as "L" in court documents and speaking to us in shadow, was one of those directly impacted by the law. She and her parents sued Tennessee after the ban disrupted her treatment.

At the start of adolescence, something to you felt like it wasn't quite right. What was that?

L. WILLIAMS: Well, it was because essentially I was born in a male body and I am a woman, and that's incredibly uncomfortable for me.

REID: Her parents, Brian and Samantha, had no idea.

SAMANTHA WILLIAMS, PLAINTIFF: I was surprised, but I was never -- I was still like, from the very beginning, supportive like, okay, this is what's going on with you. We're there for it.

REID: And debated whether this was all just a phase.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, PLAINTIFF: I asked lots of questions, had a lot of pushback, you know, asked probably a lot of the questions that people are -- who are in opposition to this case are probably asking, you know, is this a phase? What does this mean?

[18:50:00]

REID: They got her a therapist and eventually started treatments when L was 13 years old.

L. WILLIAMS: It's been very helpful, life-changing even. I -- for some people, it's even been lifesaving.

REID: The Tennessee ban forced doctors to stop treating transgender patients like "L" with treatments that included puberty blockers and hormone therapies.

S. WILLIAMS: It was just purely political. It was let's use these poor kids and these families as a pawn. And like, we just want to be able to take her to the doctor.

CROWD: Protect trans kids!

REID: Roughly two dozen similar laws have been enacted in recent years in Republican led states.

Now, L's case, which was joined by two other families, is before the U.S. Supreme Court.

CHASE STRANGIO, ACLU ATTORNEY: When I go before the high court, I am not going to be thinking about myself as the first transgender lawyer.

REID: Chase Strangio will make history as the first known transgender person to argue before the high court on behalf of teens like "L".

STRANGIO: It is, of course, not lost on me that I will be in that courtroom advocating for medical care that has transformed my life and enabled me to be the lawyer that I am.

REID: The other side of this case, the state of Tennessee, has gotten support from groups like Do No Harm and Dr. Stanley Goldfarb who believes this treatment should not be available to minors.

DR. STANLEY GOLDFARB, FOUNDER, DO NO HARM: We feel that children just are really unable to do this in a way that involves informed consent primarily, and that many of them are just children that are very troubled.

REID: We pressed him on why patients like "L" claim their lives have benefited from this treatment.

GOLDFARB: There's a huge placebo effect. Anytime a patient is told, you know were going to help you with this medication, you're going to feel better. It's going to be the answer to your problems. There's often an acute response that's positive to it.

REID: But "L" says that explanation belies her experience.

Supporters of this bill say it's too easy. You're saying there's nothing easy about it.

L. WILLIAMS: There isn't anything easy about it.

REID: L's parents, who have had to travel as far as Ohio to continue her treatment, have not ruled out moving to another state. If this case does not go their way.

B. WILLIAMS: You have, you know, strong career ties and neighborhood that we love and a house that we love.

S. WILLIAMS: Kids have friends.

B. WILLIAMS: Kids have friends. I don't want to pull them out of school and go to another state. It's just -- I don't know, we shouldn't have to do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on camera): The justices will hear arguments tomorrow and then its unclear how long it will be before they reveal their decision. But of course, in about seven weeks, we have a new Republican administration that is not expected to be supportive of transgender care for minors. But "L" and her parents say that even if they don't have federal support, their lawyers at the ACLU will continue to advocate for them -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Paula Reid reporting on this important case, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, the latest on the delta stowaway. What officials are now saying about this very strange case as they try and fail to return her to the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:30]

BLITZER: Let's get an update now on that stowaway who managed to sneak past multiple security checkpoints and onto a Delta flight from New York to Paris last week. A senior law enforcement official now tells CNN the woman was able to blend in with groups of travelers and a flight crew as she made her way to the gate.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another failed attempt in France, as authorities again tried to send back a woman accused of stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris last week, evading multiple security checkpoints.

Paris airport official tells CNN she boarded a Delta flight at Charles de Gaulle Airport today, but that the airline refused to fly her. It was not the first attempt to return the 57-year-old Russian national and U.S. green card holder to the United States. Passenger cell phone video captured the woman causing a disturbance before flight took off from Paris on Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to go to United States!

SANDOVAL: She was also removed from that New York-bound flight, recalls Gary Treichler, who was sitting right across the aisle.

GARY TREICHLER, PASSENGER: What I saw was basically this lady that was progressively getting more and more irate and raising her voice louder and louder, and was ultimately restrained with handcuffs and yellow twist ties and held down by three individuals.

SANDOVAL: Delta Airlines, not commenting about its decision to kick her off today's flight or elaborating on the initial security breach in a previous statement, a spokesperson for the airline wrote in part, Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred.

TSA says before stowing away on this flight last week, the woman slipped past TSA officers at JFK checking, boarding passes. They had she and her carry on bags were screened but that she somehow bypassed ID verification at the gate.

A source familiar with the incident said she evaded detection in flight because the plane wasn't full, though passengers previously told CNN she hid by moving between lavatories.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And, Polo, thank you very much for that report. By the way, the next attempt to fly this woman to New York is planned

for tomorrow. According to the Paris airport official, who adds French security personnel will escort her back to the United States. We'll see how that works out.

Let's have an update right now on that E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's. The CDC now says the e coli outbreak with slivered onions -- slivered onions, I should say, and quarter pounders, is over. The FDA investigation into the outbreak found that yellow onions were the likely source of the E. coli. The final case count stands at 104, with 34 hospitalizations and one death across 14 states.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks very much for watching. You can always follow me on X, formerly known as Twitter. You can always Instagram me at Wolf Blitzer.

THE SITUATION ROOM, by the way, is also available as a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.