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The Situation Room

Trump Defends Tucker Carlson; Interview With Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Pro Tempore Dante Anderson. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired November 17, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: So that doctors can identify whether a patient's at an increased risk for complications.

And we know, here in the United States, the March of Dimes gave the U.S. a D+ on its report card for having a high preterm birth rate. So preterm birth is just one example of those complications that can result from not having the care that you may need.

If you see a doctor early in pregnancy, they may be able to identify whether you have diabetes or high blood pressure. Those are just some of the examples of chronic diseases that can increase your risk for complications later on.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, Jacqueline Howard, important reporting there. Thank you so much -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Very important reporting indeed.

And just ahead: the new target of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. We're talking about Charlotte, North Carolina. I will speak to the mayor pro tem about the operation in that city. That's next.

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[11:35:27]

BLITZER: Happening now: Immigration raids are under way in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the fear there is palpable.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

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BLITZER: Homeland Security releasing this video claiming that the driver of that white van tried to ram into law enforcement yesterday. DHS says that led to a high-speed chase. The alleged ramming attempt isn't seen in the video. Federal officials

just updating us, by the way, confirming at least 130 people have been arrested so far.

The North Carolina governor, Josh Stein, giving this update:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOSH STEIN (D-NC): We have seen masked heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks, going after landscapers simply decorating a Christmas tree in someone's front yard.

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BLITZER: Joining us now, the Charlotte mayor pro tem, Dante Anderson.

Mayor Pro Tem, thanks so much for joining us.

What are you seeing on the ground in your beautiful city since this operation started?

DANTE ANDERSON, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, MAYOR PRO TEMPORE: Well, thank you for having me.

We are waking up today to a second day of continued fear and intimidation here in the Queen City. We have armed agents patrolling our streets in paramilitary garb and face masks, pulling people off of their front yards, pulling people out of their houses of worship and out of their workplaces.

We have small businesses putting signs on their doors saying "Closed Until Further Notice" Because they are in fear that patrol will come into their places and arrest them and arrest their customers.

BLITZER: It's really shocking what's going on going on.

Federal agents, as you know, Mayor Pro Tem, the Trump administration and your state's Republican Party, they all say these raids are about public safety. What do you say?

ANDERSON: Wolf, they did indeed tell us that this was about public safety and crime.

And I can tell you that Charlotte is a safe city. Our crime statistics are down double digits year over year. Violent crime is down. And we are laser-focused on public safety through a whole community lens. So we don't need any assistance as it relates to crime and public safety.

The presence of patrol is casting a wide net of fear and anxiety throughout our city, and it's actually hurting public safety, instead of helping.

BLITZER: Have you or any of your colleagues on the City Council received any sort of direct communication from the Trump administration since this operation began?

ANDERSON: No, we have not.

In fact, we have had very little close communication, no insight to what the plan is, no insight to what the real objective is. And that is why, without additional information, we are left, our citizens are left to look at what has occurred in other cities as a bellwether to what might occur here.

And we will say, if patrol is here to help truly with public safety, please communicate with us. Why not work with us and complement what our good officers and within the CMPD are doing here? Instead, we are met with zero communication and zero transparency.

BLITZER: I know you have talked about the fear that this is stoking in your city.

Earlier today, we heard from the owner of a rather popular Colombian bakery who has closed his shop for the first time in more than a decade. Here's what he told our colleague Sara Sidner. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANUEL "MANOLO" BETANCUR, OWNER, MANOLO'S BAKERY: Yes. I have been carrying my passport all this year. And nowhere in the Constitution says that, as an American citizen, I have to carry my passport to show that I'm an American citizen. But because my -- the color of my skin, my race, my accent, and I feel like now they are profiling me.

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[11:40:00]

BLITZER: What is your city doing to protect its citizens and what's your advice right now to residents who are clearly scared?

ANDERSON: Well, first I will say Manolo's has been a bastion and a stalwart to the East Charlotte community. The small business is well- known throughout the entire city.

But we are directing our residents to do a couple of things. One, if they feel like that crime is occurring and that their rights are not being met, please do not hesitate to reach out to 911. We want our residents to have faith within our CMPD officers. So reach out to 911 if you believe things are occurring.

But, also, anyone living within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area can call 311 to get assistance with immigration assistance and advocacy, as well as we have other institutions within our community, like the Carolina Migrant Network, like the Legal Aid of North Carolina, that are standing on ready to assist our residents.

BLITZER: Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Dante Anderson, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck to you. Good luck to all the folks in Charlotte. Appreciate it very much.

ANDERSON: Thank you, sir.

BROWN: All right, coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM: President Trump coming to Tucker Carlson's defense after his interview with white nationalists and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes divided the MAGA world.

Up next, I will speak to a former skinhead about the fallout to get his perspective on all of this -- up next.

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[11:46:30]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, President Trump is defending Tucker Carlson's decision to interview the white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Here's what the president said last night.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have had some great interviews with Tucker Carlson, but you can't tell him who to interview. I mean, if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don't know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out. Let them -- people have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide.

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BROWN: You might remember that Trump met with Fuentes three years ago at Mar-a-Lago when he was a guest of Kanye West. Trump said at the time, and again last night, that you heard that he had really no knowledge that Fuentes would be there and that he didn't know him well, doesn't know much about him.

Fuentes, for his part, has now ignited the civil war among some Republicans.

So joining us now to get some perspective on this dynamic, what's going on here is Frank Meeink. He was once a member of a hate group as a self-described former neo-Nazi. He has since done a complete 180. He's written a book about his experience, "Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead." He's testified to Congress. He had previously worked with law enforcement to combat white nationalism, neo-Nazism.

Thank you for coming on, Frank. I'm going to dive into your backstory in just a moment.

But, first, what do you make of the president defending that interview that Tucker Carlson had with Nick Fuentes?

FRANK MEEINK, AUTHOR, "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A RECOVERING SKINHEAD": Well, I mean, look, Donald Trump always says he doesn't -- any time he's caught in something, he says he doesn't know such and such, he doesn't know about that guy. And obviously he knows very much well about Nick Fuentes and the Groypers, because I think they're trying to keep the Groypers on their side. They fear them a little bit. But then, on the other part, I do believe

too that anyone does have the right to interview whoever they want too. So, I agree with him on one part.

BROWN: Just, if you would, just tell our audience who the Groypers are and what you make of Nick Fuentes responding to President Trump posting on X, "Thank you, Mr. President," kind of the message all of that sends.

MEEINK: Yes.

So the Groypers are basically an online presence of mostly white nationalist, young white males who go after people and are very much followers of Nick Fuentes.

BROWN: So I'm wondering, from your perspective, what were the elements that drove you to become a white supremacist and neo-Nazi in the first place? And why do you believe Fuentes has this influence now with this following of the Groypers that's now on the rise?

MEEINK: Yes.

And it's the same story as mine, is, when I was younger, I felt out of place. I felt like I didn't belong. I had a rough upbringing, not that every one comes from a rough upbringing, but I felt that I didn't matter. I felt that my voice didn't matter.

And I felt that white people were being oppressed. And so this is the same thing that's going on with these guys, is that they don't feel that their voice matters and that liberal media doesn't give them the right to say what they want. And now they found a guy who blatantly says things that they might have thought about or they might have had some feelings about.

And here's a guy who puts it into context and is really good at his job.

BROWN: And so he gives them validation that they're looking for.

And I'm wondering. On this show, we have covered some of the crises among young men and boys that they're facing in American society. And I'm wondering if you have concerns that more boys and men could turn to these hateful and extreme ideologies, especially with how prevalent some of these social media platforms are, kind of pulling them in?

[11:50:14]

MEEINK: And -- absolutely.

And, I mean, I grew up before kind of the Internet thing. And when people talk about our generations coming up right now, and there's a lot of pressure on our Gen Z'ers coming up. And then you add the standards of what social media applies to them. It's hard to navigate.

And so it's easy to find people that say the right things when you're angry. And that's what this is. It's a lot of anger and fear. And that's what I had inside me was this anger and fear. It's just like how FOX News and other groups keep saying, like, we're losing our country to the left-wing radicals and just keep dehumanizing the other side and saying, they're taking your country. It's yours.

It's the same type of language that I used to use when I was recruiting people into the neo-Nazi world back in the late '80s, early '90s. It's the same language. It's just recycled.

BROWN: Well, you are now reformed. You have talked at length about that, even testifying to Congress about your experiences and writing your book.

How would you try to change the thinking of those who are following Nick Fuentes or wanting to get into those extreme ideologies?

MEEINK: Yes, that -- I mean, we have a radicalization problem in this country. We have very much a radicalization problem.

And it's one of those things where I had to realize what I contribute to the world. When I went out because -- and I went out and was proud of something that I had nothing to do with, honestly -- my parents just happened to be both be Caucasian, so I got to go out with no -- I didn't achieve anything. I just had this color skin and thought I was better than another human being.

And that leads to this fear that, again, I was talking about in the earlier part of the segment, that I don't matter. But now I get to matter. And when we have this, for me to change was, I noticed that, when I was around my family when I was very hardcore into this stuff, like, I noticed sometimes my family wasn't inviting me to barbecues, because I ruined every -- everywhere I went, all I did was talk about my beliefs, any opening at a barbecue, a family function.

And people, it starts to wear on them. And they loved me, but I can get it now. And so when I notice today that, if I have some humility -- if I have humility today, I'm not humiliated about my behavior from yesterday. And that's the type of things where I started to learn that, if I had carried myself differently, and to know that someday in this country that this country isn't going to be a white country.

And 300 years from now, the mixed-race American is going to be the most prevalent part of our country. And that's just naturally going to happen. And that goes back to Nick Fuentes and all those guys talking about the Great Replacement Theory and how it's the Jews' fault.

You know, we're all going to be replaced. We live here. We're going to love one another. We're going to continue to mix and mold and make this beautiful tribe. And I want to be part of that in this world, and not the one fighting against another human being.

Again, I believed, because of the color of my skin, I was better than another human being. Now, that, to me, is idiotic now. But, back then, I thought that was the core of my being.

BROWN: Just quickly, how do you go -- just very quickly, how do you go to understanding that was idiotic? MEEINK: By just meeting other people, being around other human beings

who I get to look at and see a good father, see a good person, see people that are standing up and doing good in their communities, and knowing, like, wait a minute, I'm the guy running around screaming hateful stuff and even acting criminal.

And here's men and women that are achieving things on their own and coming up. And I just had much love and respect for that.

BROWN: Frank Meeink, thank you so much for coming on to offer your perspective. We really appreciate it.

MEEINK: Thank you.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And thanks from me as well.

Coming up: a man rescued from rushing waters in Southern California after record-setting rain. New warnings of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with more dangerous weather on the way.

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[11:59:07]

BLITZER: Happening now: rockslides, flooded roads, and even a rare landspout in California. New video this morning shows fire crews rescuing a man who had been swept more than a mile downstream yesterday.

Officials say the man was able to grab onto a ledge. Someone heard him calling for help and tried to drop a rope down. Fire crews eventually used their truck's ladder to pull him to safety.

BROWN: All right, let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

What is the primary threat as the storm moves in?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, there's additional rain coming into this part of Southern California that you saw, some of that dramatic video coming out.

This is what happens when you get and set a daily rainfall record. This is near Long Beach, people kayaking through their neighborhood of Naples, California.

Yes, the kids here may be having a good time, but the parents, they all know what this means, water into homes, water into businesses, and I see dollar bill signs flashing before my eyes, right? So that's a concern. So we don't want more rain. We have already set daily records.

Santa Barbara, by the way, the wettest November on record for them. That's something. So here comes the next batch of precipitation moving across Central California, entering into the equation for the Los Angeles area right in time for rush hour this evening. So plan accordingly.

This will bring one to three inches of rain, especially in those favored areas along the transverse range. Heads-up, some of these burn scars here could cause more landslides and mudslides concerns going forward -- Pamela, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Derek, Derek Van Dam, reporting for us.

Derek, thanks very much.

And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

BROWN: "INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts now.