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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Trump Calling Senators, Asking them to Confirm Gaetz for AG; Ongoing Questions About DNI Pick Tulsi Gabbard; Questions Swirl About Controversial Trump Nominees; UFC Fans Tell Why They Support Trump; Trump Picked Up Larger Share Of Voters Under 30 In 2024 Vs. 2020; Study: Nearly 40 Percent Of Young Americans Get Their News From Influencers, Many Of Them Lean To The Right; Biden Allows Ukraine To Use Long-Range U.S. Weapons In Russia; Masked Burglars Wanted For Breaking Into Windsor Castle Estate. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired November 18, 2024 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ibarra has pleaded not guilty. He waived his right to a jury so that judge will decide his fate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO (on camera): Erin, the prosecution said today in open court, they expect to wrap up their case tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the defense says it should take them less than half a day to present their testimony. The trial resumes tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning here at the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse.
Back to you.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right, Rafael, thank you very much. It is absolutely horrific.
Thanks so much to all of you for being with us. Anderson starts now.
[20:00:34]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360: The president-elect picks another Fox host for his Cabinet, doubles down on Pete Hegseth despite sex assault allegations, and is now working the phones for his attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz despite allegations against him.
Also tonight, sources say President Biden is giving Ukraine the go ahead to fire American missiles into Russia. What impact that may have on the battlefield and on the threat of a larger war?
And later, Royal revelations a robbery on the grounds of Windsor Castle and what the thieves got away with.
Good evening, thanks for joining us. The breaking news tonight is that the president-elect has chosen another Fox News figure for his Cabinet. Former Congressman Sean Duffy, to be Secretary of Transportation.
We begin, though, with perhaps the two most consequential and controversial nominees, a Fox News host who paid a sexual assault accuser to keep quiet about her allegations, and a former Florida congressman and alleged sex trafficker. President-elect Trump seems determined to have them both in his Cabinet, Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, Matt Gaetz as Attorney General.
There's new reporting tonight that the president-elect has been calling senators, lobbying them directly for their support, telling allies how determined he is to get Gaetz confirmed.
Over the weekend, a number of Republican senators who could block the nominees instead signaled their acquiescence or outright support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): You have to have people you trust to go into these agencies and have a real reform agenda, and that's why I think there's real momentum, real momentum to get these nominations confirmed.
SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): We've got the numbers. Let's step to the plate, do our job because we have to get this country back going in the right direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So, the expressions of support are not coming from nowhere. In addition to the president-elect's private lobbying, his eldest son is also pushing publicly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP: The swamp doesn't want that. So were going to go all-in and make sure that those people have the best chance at getting confirmed as possible, because they're the people who are most effective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The question is most effective for what?
Early this morning, the president-elect confirmed a social media post and reports that on taking office, he would declare a national emergency and use military assets to deport undocumented migrants. His reply, which you see there on the screen, "True."
Presumably those orders would go through Pete Hegseth even though he paid a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2017 as part of a settlement which included a confidentiality clause. Now, that's according to Hegseth's own attorney who also, by the way, called the payment extortion. Hegseth denies the allegations and was neither charged with a crime nor named as a defendant in any civil suit.
That said nominations, especially for national security positions, have been withdrawn over far less. But the president-elect is standing by him. He said to be, "all-in" for Matt Gaetz, who resigned from the House just days ahead of an Ethics Committee report on those allegations.
According to the committee itself, concerning, "sexual misconduct and illicit drug use." Here's how one Republican Senator put it last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): He was accused of sleeping with an underage girl and there's a reason why no one in the conference came and defended him, because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor that all of us had walked away of the girls that he had slept with. He bragged about how he would crush ED medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That's Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, who more recently said, "I completely trust President Trump's decision making on this one."
Here's what the attorney for two women who spoke to the House Ethics Committee says one of his clients said on CNN tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEL LEPPARD, ATTORNEY FOR TWO WOMEN WHO TESTIFIED BEFORE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE: She was invited to a party in July of 2017. She testified to the House that as she was walking out to the pool area, she turned to her right and she witnessed her client, I'm sorry her friend having sex with Representative Gaetz, and her friend at that time was 17.
So, she testified to the House that Representative Gaetz did not know her friend's age at the time they had sexual intercourse, and when he found out about her age that Representative Gaetz stopped having sexual intercourse with her and he only started the sexual intercourse interactions later on when she turned 18.
BURNETT: So, then it continued again.
LEPPARD: That's correct.
BURNETT: There were a lot of girls, it sounds like at this party who were in that age range, your clients among them.
LEPPARD: Right, but the testimony that my client gave was she believed Representative Gaetz did not know her age at the time, that the minor was 17.
BURNETT: Okay, so -- but it's a party where this sort of thing is happening, and just to be clear, your clients knew he had paid also your clients for sex, he was paying for sex? LEPPARD: The testimony before the House was, yes, that Representative Gaetz paid my client, both of my clients for sexual favors throughout the summer of 2017 all the way to the beginning of 2019.
BURNETT: And how did he how did he pay them?
LEPPARD: Those were primarily through Venmo and PayPal payments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:23]
COOPER: So, that's some of what the Ethics Committee apparently heard and presumable included in their report. Late today, one Republican senator told CNN's Manu Raju he'd like it released.
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SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): I do, but more importantly, I want the Judiciary Committee to be able to see it prior to the hearings and then after that, depending on what happens, then of course, it could be released to the to the other members that are going to at some point have a vote.
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COOPER: Well, late tonight, the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee also weighed in.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
REP. SUSAN WILD (D-PA): We have a scheduled meeting on Wednesday and it remains to be seen what the chairman's agenda is for that, but I believe we should vote on whether to disclose it or not, and we'll see what happens after that.
Everybody on the committee now has the report, so they have got the opportunity to be reviewing it.
I believe there will be a unanimous Democratic consensus that it should be released.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, she only speaks for Democrats.
As for Republicans, House Speaker Mike Johnson who's been flying between Washington and Mar-a-Lago for days now, does not want that report to come out, even though, as CNN's Jake Tapper pointed out, there is precedent for it.
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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): There's a very important protocol and tradition and rule that we maintain that the House Ethics Committee's jurisdiction does not extend to non-members of Congress. I think that would be a Pandora's box.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: The House Ethics Committee in the past has released reports of individuals who resigned from Congress, Congressman Bonner, Congressman Lukens.
The House Ethics Committee after the resignation of Mark Foley even began an investigation and then released a report. So, it's not unprecedented.
JOHNSON: The speaker does not have the authority to stop the release of a report by the Ethics Committee. But I've just simply said what I believe is an obvious point that we don't want to go down that road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Late this evening, he moved the goal post a bit further, telling CNN's Manu Raju, we are in a "different era" and saying, "Now we live in the age of the 24-hour news cycle. Now we live in the age of social media, the politics and the dynamics are very different."
As for allowing the House to set a recess along with the Senate so the new president can bypass the confirmation process entirely. Speaker Johnson weighed in on that over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: We'll evaluate all that at the appropriate time, and we'll make the appropriate decision. There may be a function for that, and we'll have to see how it plays out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, starting us off tonight CNN's Kaitlan Collins, host of "The Source" at the top of the hour.
So, Kaitlan, is it clear to you just how dug in the president-elect is tonight on Gaetz and Hegseth's nominations?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, he's clearly using his own political power, Anderson, to call these Republican Senators that are going to be making these decisions and try to urge them to support his picks for these positions.
What we've heard from a lot of them coming out and saying that the president has the right to put who he wants in his cabinet is obviously a signaling that regardless of if this report comes out or if the details itself come out, as the congresswoman alluded to, there, that they are still going to be supporting him.
But it's not really most of the Republican senators that the Trump team is worried about. It's just a handful of them because Matt Gaetz can only afford to lose about three Republican senators before he would not be able to get confirmed for this position. Otherwise, JD Vance may have to get involved in breaking the tie or casting his vote there. Basically, there's not a lot of room here. And it's not just these allegations. This is also someone who has gone after a lot of these Republican senators, who will be voting on whether or not to confirm him as the next attorney general. But the other part of this that I've heard from Trump people is that obviously, Trump just was overwhelmingly re-elected or elected back into office. And so, that is something that is weighing on these Republican senators.
Do they want to start off this four-year term that he's about to have by defying him and going against one of his picks to put in his Cabinet. The question is whether or not there are other people waiting in the wings, certainly with the Pentagon.
I've talked to two sources over the weekend after CNN reported and other outlets also reported that Pete Hegseth had paid a sum of money to the woman who accused him of sexual assault, something that he denies that his attorney says is not true and was consensual.
And what we've heard from them is that they're not bothered by that. That they are still standing by Pete Hegseth and they're not making any kind of alternative plans when it comes to the Pentagon.
Whether or not that holds, Anderson, of course, you know, were watching this all day by day here.
COOPER: And what's the latest on the Treasury secretary nomination? Are there reports of, you know drama behind the scenes there?
COLLINS: It's a huge fight. I mean this is really actually the one thing that people are talking about a lot behind-the-scenes, more than those other two picks that we were just talking about. That seems kind of baked in at this point for, for the transition team. It is an open question right now who Trump is going to pick to lead Treasury and this is notable because that was a department that during his first term was relatively stable as far as who was leading it.
[20:10:10]
There was a lot of turnover at the Department of Homeland Security, at the Justice Department, at the Pentagon. But Treasury had Steven Mnuchin there all four years during Trump's term. But he is really struggling tonight to find someone to fill that position.
He's interviewed several candidates, his own transition co-chair who was bringing him the names, Howard Lutnick also advocated for the job, something that I was told he did so much that it essentially irritated Trump. And now it seems unlikely that that he is going to get that position. I say unlikely because nothing is final here until it is final, but what Trump is looking for with this is something that does not upset Wall Street.
He wants an impressive person to put in at Treasury, and so far he has yet to find that person or to land on them. And as of eight o'clock here tonight, Anderson still, last I heard, no decision made by Trump on Treasury yet.
COOPER: All right, Kaitlan, thanks. We'll see you at the top of the hour for "The Source".
Joining us now, three Republican strategists Ana Navarro, Joe Pinion and Erin Perrine. Ana Navarro supported Kamala Harris, this time, also with us Ashley Etienne, who served as communications director to the vice president.
Ana, let's start with you. I mean, Johnson said he wasn't going to get involved with the ethics report. Do you think he's moving the goalposts?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think he is going to do everything he can to help Donald Trump get his nominees through, whether it's trying to impede the release of the Ethics report, whether its agreeing to putting the House in recess so that they can do recess appointments.
You know, he is complicit. His position is, I'm going to help this president fill out his Cabinet with his people, whether they get any scrutiny and any vetting, whether there's hearings, whether there's voters, whether there is ethical issues, whether there is criminal issues, it doesn't matter. I'm getting them through.
COOPER: Joe, I think that Johnson is saying that he hasn't spoken to the president-elect about this -- about the Gaetz Ethics report. I mean, do you buy that?
JOSEPH PINION III, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look, I think for a multitude of reasons, its' a good chance he probably has not spoken directly to President Trump about this issue.
Look, I'll just simply say this. Two things can be true at once it's very difficult to have an ethical conversation about the contents of an Ethics report that has not been released. And then also trying to parse the testimony that we cannot verify.
Having said that, it seems highly implausible that we are going to be able to confirm somebody for the attorney general post as if somehow the Ethics report doesn't exist, right?
And so, whether that report gets released to the Judiciary or whether they have to convene their own investigation, certainly at some point we're going to figure out on some basic level, some version of the contents of that report.
COOPER: You don't think that that there are enough senators -- I mean you think that there are at least four Republican senators who would just say, look were not doing this?
PINION: I think the reality is, at the end of the day, you're talking about the highest law enforcement official in the country. And so, I don't believe for the purposes of the American people, it is likely that they're going to say, we are going to pretend that this piece of information --
COOPER: Doesn't exist. PINION: -- doesn't exist. I just don't think that you can sell that. And so, I do think that whether it's the Ethics report or some other investigation that we are going to get some type of adjudication.
COOPER: Erin, do you do you think that's true?
ERIN PERRINE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF PRESS COMMUNICATIONS, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: I think that's completely correct. And you're already seeing that play out in real time.
CNN had the attorney for two of the accusers against Matt Gaetz in that Ethics report on tonight. This information will get out there in drips and dribbles, the matter is whether or not the House Committee believes that they should be releasing it.
There are a few ways for them to be able to do so. They could send it just to Judiciary right now in the Senate Committee and say, hey, you guys are looking at this nomination, here's our report. They could release it to more broadly to the full Senate within itself, to be able to look at.
There are options on the table but I think that senators are clear and there are enough Republican senators now without looking at a Susan Collins or a Lisa Murkowski, who you know, are going to likely be in a much more firm no camp on Gaetz from the beginning that are saying we want to see this report and we think the committee should have access to it.
COOPER: I mean, Ashley, do you do you believe that there are four Republican senators who would stand up? And I mean, for them, I would imagine the pressure would be intense to just go along with what President-elect Trump would want.
ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VP HARRIS: No, I think there are -- I don't believe there are four that will stand up against Gaetz. I think this is what the speaker is trying to do now, Trump nominating him and the other gentleman for Secretary of Defense really speaks to how morally bankrupt the Republican Party is right now that they would try to silence a report about a member who is accused of sex trafficking and sex with a minor.
But the thing is, the Democratic Party, the strategy is going to be to try to force a vote, force a floor debate on this issue. They want Trump and the Republicans to defend these choices, to defend these nominees and their actions.
But regrettably for the Democratic Party, voters did not hold the Republican Party accountable for their contempt against women in this last election.
They've not held Republicans and Donald Trump accountable for how they've treated women and their disposition toward and their consternation towards women. I mean, you can look back at Kavanaugh, you can look back at the Hollywood Access tape. I mean the Republican Party right now is incredibly --
[20:15:34]
NAVARRO: When Speaker Johnson said, we're in a different era, he's right, we are in the Trump era and the laws and the statutes and the protocol that applied every other time just seems not to apply to Donald Trump. I mean, remember, let me just say this.
I remember you and I are old enough to remember when Bill Clinton had two attorney general nominees, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood who were eliminated, who had to withdraw because they had employed illegal nannies.
Matt Gaetz is accused of sleeping with a girl who's almost young enough to need a nanny, and Republicans are saying there's nothing to see here.
PINION: Look, I just --
PERRINE: They aren't saying that, though. I just want to push back on that. To be abundantly clear, Republicans themselves are not morally bankrupt. The majority of the American people --
ETIENNE: The speaker is saying he wants to silence the report --
PERRINE: No, wait, let me finish.
The American people said very clearly the majority of them, Donald Trump won the popular vote in this country. They don't believe Republicans are morally bankrupt.
And so, if you guys want to change the conversation and you want to stop a nomination like Matt Gaetz, you've got to stop saying the Republican Party is morally bankrupt because the American people immediately are going to turn that off and say, we've already voted beyond this. We're moving past this.
COOPER: I understand the argument also that's made, which is, look, a president who gets elected by a majority deserves to have the people around him he wants. That being said, obviously there is a process here. But to what degree? I mean, if all the attention is on Gaetz and how many people can Democrats actually oppose with some kind of impact?
PERRINE: But I also want to push back because at a certain point, Republicans themselves don't find fault with this or wouldn't want to see that report because we just watched reporting where Kevin Cramer, a senator, a sitting senator in the United States --
ETIENNE: Only one though.
PERRINE: No, he's not the only one. I heard John Cornyn today.
COOPER: I'm sure there's many, many who have private doubts.
PERRINE: Wait no, but then we've got to stop speaking in totalities and generalities about the Republican Party and about Donald Trump. But if you guys want to ever win an election again, stop talking that to American people.
NAVARRO: I want to win an election with Republicans that have a moral compass.
COOPER: Joe, let me just ask you.
Just from a practical standpoint, how many nominees can be pushed back on because on? Because I mean, Democrats can't push back on everybody.
PINION: At some point --
COOPER: I mean, Tulsi Gabbard is causing a lot of concern.
PINION: Look, the reality is Democrats have taken issue with pretty much everybody for different reasons. Let's be very clear. These are very serious concerns. I would also push back against the notion that somehow the Republican Party has become the party that is okay with people having sex with underage girls. That is completely untrue. It has no basis --
ETIENNE: Well, we'll see in the vote.
PINION III: To be clear, it has zero basis in what Speaker Johnson is talking about.
All Speaker Johnson is talking about is protecting the premise that we do not actually release Ethics reports for members that are out of the House and on something like this, it is pertinent specifically because there is somebody who is applying to be the chief law enforcement official in the country, but it could then also lead to a whole bunch of other releases for people who are not up for a similar job.
COOPER: All right, we've got to take a break.
Coming up next, several other choices, what Robert F. Kennedy's cousin, Caroline said today about his views on vaccines. We mentioned Tulsi Gabbard, the ongoing question about the Director of National Intelligence pick and her history with Moscow and Syria.
Later in the week, the president-elect's attendance at a UFC event over the weekend. A look at the fight fans who helped elect him and where they got the information that helped them decide. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:23:24]
COOPER: Looking there to photograph the president-elect, his son, Elon Musk, and RFK, Jr. enjoying McDonald's meal on a plane. Now full disclosure, I enjoy a Big Mac meal and a number seven, which is two cheeseburgers, a fries and a Coke.
But it doesn't seem like RFK, Jr. is enjoying the saturated fats and high sodium. Some political observers to call this photo the hazing of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the president-elect's choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has called this kind of food just poison.
It's his views on vaccines, however, among other things, which are making his confirmation potentially bumpy and drawing criticism from many quarters, including the Kennedy family members, including his cousin, Mrs. Caroline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROLINE KENNEDY, COUSIN OF RFK, JR.: Yes, I think Bobby Kennedy's views on vaccines are dangerous and I-- but I don't think that most Americans share them. So, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Back now with the panel.
Ashley, do you think some of these nominees are kind of red herrings? Like, kind of provide cover for some of the other choices?
ETIENNE: Absolutely, I mean, I think Democrats are sort of thinking strategically about which battles they want to fight. You can't swing at every ball.
I think that Gaetz is a smokescreen. I think he's going to be a sacrificial lamb. My caution to Democrats in the Senate would be, keep your eye on the ball as Tulsi Gabbard who is in the position to do the most harm and danger to the American people.
COOPER: Do you think Tulsi Gabbard really?
ETIENNE: Absolutely. She is going to be housing American's secrets. You know, it's widely held that she's compromised. She's a Putin sympathizer. She pals around the country, I mean, around the world with terrorists and dictators.
Absolutely, people should be very concerned about who's housing American's secrets. I mean, the reality is you can get any MAGA Republican lawyer to be the AG, but the person that actually has, you know, America's secrets should be above reproach and she's not.
[20:25:14]
PINION: I mean, look, I just think that Democrats are in fact swinging at every pitch in the dirt. It doesn't appear that there is a singular rhyme or reason, it's just that President Trump remains crazy, his supporters remain insane, and somehow all of the policy positions of the modern Republican Party are somehow not acceptable in polite society.
And yet the majority of the American people just went to the polls and said they want the foreign policy vision of President Trump, much of which overlaps with what Tulsi Gabbard is talking with you.
NAVARRO: I don't agree with you. Listen, nobody batted an eyelash on either side about Marco Rubio. Nobody batted an eyelash about Waltz, nobody said much about Sean Duffy. Okay.
You know, I mean, really, when you're -- the only thing you're asking for is that they not have criminal allegations, sexual allegations, compromised with foreign foes. Is that too much -- and maybe not insane conspiracy theories and anti-fascist who could put the country in danger?
PINION: What should we say? First and foremost there's allegations and there are things that are confirmed. Everything that we are talking about is an allegation.
You just have to get to the point where we can credibly say, yes, you believe these people did something that was illegal, or we don't. And I just think that, yes, where there's --
NAVARRO: You know, Joe, but on Tulsi Gabbard, it is not an allegation that she advocated for the pardon of Snowden, who is the biggest leaker there's been of American secrets, who is now living in Moscow. I mean, is that an allegation or is that a fact?
ETIENNE: She traveled to Syria and met with Assad several times.
PERRINE: Isn't this about the United States Senate, isn't this all about --
ETIENNE: She blamed the US for --
COOPER: Erin, I mean, do you believe that there are going to be recess appointments? I mean, do you think that this will --
PERRINE: I mean, right, that's the biggest word. That's the biggest question and right now there's no need for them. The Senate will be in doing its regular work. It can do the committee hearings. It can vote to send a nomination out of committee to the floor. It can vote on the floor.
Recess appointments are pulling the fire alarm. It means that something has gone terribly wrong and it's so jammed up that they're not able to get things moving in the Senate or when it was originally put together you just couldn't get everybody back in town to be able to confirm these nominations on a short --
COOPER: Is that like the old way it was done, would this be a new use of recess? I mean maybe --
PERRINE: So recess appointments do exist but you have to be able to agree to the recess or vote to the recess, right? That's 60, in the Senate everything exists around 60, except for the occasional arcane rule, which puts it at 50.
Anyways, we can go into the Senate procedure, and I love the Senate --
NAVARRO: John Thune, was just a --
COOPER: You don't think they could do 60 votes? PERRINE: No right now, there's no need to talk about 60 votes. We're talking about a boogeyman that doesn't exist yet. We're talking about the hypothetical --
ETIENNE: Who introduced this?
PERRINE: You know he's talked about a procedure that does exist already.
PINION: But he is talking about recess appointments in the context with Democrats is how to light the United States Senate on fire and not appoint anybody.
ETIENNE: How could that be possible when you're in the minority? You can't light it on fire when you're in the minority.
PINION: The point is if they're going to effectively drag the entire process out, make the entire process so painful that we are going into February, we're going into March, and we have empty seats --
NAVARRO: If Republican senators do not capitulate on their duty to advise and consent, and they conduct vigorous hearings where they, you know, these folks are questioned --
PINION: The only people that have said it --
NAVARRO: And then they vote their conscience -- we shouldn't be having this conversation.
PERRINE: But I can also tell you this, you asked a question about John Thune and whether or not what I believed about John Thune. I'll tell you this --
NAVARRO: I've known John Thune for 20 years.
PERRINE: I know John Thune, too, I worked for him.
NAVARRO: I think he is -- I think he's an institutionalist.
PERRINE: Yes.
NAVARRO: And I think he's a good guy.
PERRINE: Yes. We all agree.
NAVARRO: And I hope that he will conduct himself as the new leader of the Senate and be ethical. Like he has always been.
PERRINE: This is one thing that MAGA doesn't understand about why John Thune was such a great selection is that he understands how the Senate works. He knows these rules and procedures. He knows what it takes to run the clock on a nomination.
Listen, if Democrats want to make it painful and never get home to see their districts or their families, they can run the clock on every nomination. It also eats up floor time in order to get the agenda done, that Donald Trump was elected to do on behalf of the American people.
If Democrats want to jam the floor of the United States Senate and ultimately have a fire alarm pulled because they're unwilling to do both of their jobs, which are nominations, and not jam up the floor. And they want to run the clock, or they vote to the legislative counter --
NAVARRO: Listen, Democrats cannot throw their hands up in the air and say --
PERRINE: Then they run the clock and they stop the American people from getting the agenda they want done.
NAVARRO: Okay, let me just say this.
PERRINE: That's exactly what you're saying.
NAVARRO: You're going to see, they are not even Mitch McConnell --
PERRINE: Having worked in the United States Senate, I can tell you this --
NAVARRO: Mitch McConnell who has --
PERRINE: They will run the clock.
NAVARRO: May I speak?
PERRINE: You can --
NAVARRO: Mitch McConnell who had -- okay, who had polio -- I have a hard time thinking that Mitch McConnell, who had polio and knows the benefit of those vaccines and eradicating those diseases that almost wiped out children, would throw his hands up in the air and say, oh, it's RFK.
PERRINE: That has nothing do with the current nomination.
COOPER: Everyone, let's -- appreciate it. Thank you.
Coming up, the president-elect, Elon Musk, and many in Trump's inner circle spend fight night with some of Trump's biggest fans. Our or Donie O'Sullivan was there, his report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: 20 days after the Trump campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, the President -elect returned there for a UFC event this weekend. He entered to a hero's welcome into something of a reunion. Beside him, UFC President Dana White, who spoke at the Republican National Convention. Behind them, House Speaker Mike Johnson.
About a minute later, he exchanged a hug and handshake with Joe Rogan, who helped call the fight and who hosted Trump on his podcast before the election and endorsed him. Also in attendance, Elon Musk, Kid Rock, and Cabinet picks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. Our Donie O'Sullivan was outside the garden.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
[20:35:03]
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you guys excited for tonight?
NICK, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Of Course. Chandler knocking out Oliveira in the second round? Mark my words.
JOHN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah.
O'SULLIVAN: How? How?
We are here at Madison Square Garden for the UFC with special guest, President-elect Donald J. Trump. And we are speaking to some of the young men who helped get Trump elected.
NICK: Saving our country. I don't got no taxes on my tips now. So, thank you, Donald Trump. Love you. Pookie.
O'SULLIVAN: You guys both vote for Trump?
NICK: Of course.
JOHN: Of course.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes?
NICK: Of course, man. I've been working at the same restaurant for four years. I've been a waiter, I've been a busser, I've been a barback. You know, I just don't -- all the taxes that -- can I correct? No, I'm on it.
O'SULLIVAN: Oh, of course, as much as you want.
NICK: They (INAUDIBLE) you up, man.
O'SULLIVAN: Well, I mean, where'd you get most of your news and information?
JOHN: Most of it through --
O'SULLIVAN: I know it's not CNN.
JOHN: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: That's why I'm here, like, I want to hear it like --
JOHN: Actually, most of the information I got was from Joe Rogan.
O'SULLIVAN: Joe Rogan?
JOHN: Joe Rogan.
NICK: The legend, man.
JOHN: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes?
NICK: But mostly, like, social media. If you want to be honest, it's social media.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, like TikTok?
NICK: Yes, usually. That's what everything spreads around, man.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
JOHN: TikTok's everywhere, man.
STEVEN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I don't watch a lot of mainstream stuff.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes. Where'd you get your news?
STEVEN: Like Reddit.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
STEVEN: A lot of podcasting.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, like who?
STEVEN: Joe Rogan.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
STEVEN: The Joe Rogan experience.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think it was a mistake for Harris not to go on Joe Rogan or do you think --
STEVEN: Probably. Honestly. I think like a long conversational talk is better than a debate.
O'SULLIVAN: Right.
STEVEN: Honestly. You can see how a person actually interacts.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
STEVEN: I think Trump's good at interacting on a -- he doesn't need a script.
O'SULLIVAN: You're a New Yorker?
EDWARD: Yes, born and raised.
O'SULLIVAN: Nice.
EDWARD: Brooklyn, New York. O'SULLIVAN: Right.
EDWARD: From the hood.
O'SULLIVAN: Did you ever consider voting for Harris?
EDWARD: I actually voted for Obama.
O'SULLIVAN: You did?
EDWARD: Yes. That was the last time I ever voted for somebody that's not Trump. Yes. So --
O'SULLIVAN: So what changed?
EDWARD: My level of thinking. Me not thinking that the police are above me and white men are above me. And I'm all good about like, yo, we can learn about history and all that stuff, but don't tell me or don't try to put it in a way that it's like our country is racist.
Our kids are important guys, you know. And if we're not teaching them well, if we're not teaching them about credit, if we're not teaching them about how to get a home eventually, and we're always talking about is racism and, you know, trans and gays, which like I said, I'm all good. Like you do what you do.
Just don't force it on people. And that's where we're about. Like, as long as you're not forcing it, we're good.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The power of the alliance between Trump and the UFC was on full display here in Madison Square Garden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sound in this room --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is so loud in here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is so loud.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trump was flanked by Elon Musk, Kid Rock, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and some of his new Cabinet picks including RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. As he made his way into the arena, Trump embraced UFC commentator and the world's most famous podcaster, Joe Rogan, who endorsed him after Trump appeared on his podcast.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: I'm joined now by Donie O'Sullivan, our Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten, Politico's Meredith McGraw. Do you think that -- Donie, I mean, would people at the UFC match more excited to see Trump or the fight?
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Everybody, everybody we spoke to was -- were there to see the fight. However, every single person we spoke to, all of whom were young men, were very excited to see Trump. So there was nobody there who was not a Trump supporter, at least of the dozen or so people we spoke to.
COOPER: And Harry, I mean, walks us through the numbers, how they've changed since 2022.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: It is unbelievable, unbelievable. You know, there's sometimes they'll look at data points and go, whoa! And this is one of those points, because take a look at men under the age of 25. Compare how Donald Trump did four years ago versus how he did this past election cycle.
Four years ago, he lost men under the age of 25 by 20 points. Look at that data now. Donald Trump won them by two. I went all the way back to the record archives. You know I love going through those spreadsheets. You sometimes go through --
COOPER: Your office is in the record archives.
ENTEN: That's exactly right. Yes. My life is an archive.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): They give you an office?
ENTEN: That's -- I know. Who knew? And you have to go all the way back since 2000 to find a Republican candidate who won among men under the age of 25 before Donald Trump. So it was truly a record setting performance for him.
COOPER: Who is that?
ENTEN: That was George W. Bush back in 2000.
COOPER: OK.
ENTEN: He beat Al Gore. You remember that election.
COOPER: Yes, sure.
ENTEN: Yes.
COOPER: Meredith, is it clear to you how much the Trump team is counting on support from young male voters in the court of public opinion during any confirmation battles in the Senate?
MEREDITH MCGRAW, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, certainly during the campaign, they really pushed getting young men's attention and not just young men, but young people who were just disaffected by traditional media.
Trump went on all four of the top Spotify podcasts, Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Tucker Carlson, and really engaged with social media platforms and outlets that were getting the eyeballs from young people that they just wouldn't with other traditional media sources.
And you've seen how some surrogates are still going on these different podcasts, and they are advocating for some of Trump's Cabinet picks.
[20:40:00] So it's -- in terms of the court of public opinion that you're talking about, it still plays a big role in Trump's support, and the support for this movement that he's built.
COOPER: And Donie, also where they're getting information, I saw the study from Pew Research Center, 40 percent or nearly 40 percent of young Americans get their news from influencers, many of whom lean to the right. That's certainly, I mean, it shapes the way a lot of folks.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Absolutely. And, look, this is the thing -- so 40 percent of young men are getting their news and information as you heard a lot of the guys in that piece there. Not from you or me, Anderson Cooper, or even --
ENTEN: Thanks for looking my direction.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Or even, you, Harry.
ENTEN: I know.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): But I think what's really important what hard to get our head around maybe for folks who are used to just regular politics is that a lot of these influencers even Joe Rogan don't necessarily fall into the Republican-Democrat bucket (ph). And a lot of times they can be conservative here, but very liberal here.
COOPER: Well, I'm going to say it just -- it makes them more interesting, frankly.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Absolutely, yes. And so, even, you know, I love -- there's been a lot of talk of people saying, well, the left needs their version of a Joe Rogan, and I think it was Jon Stewart who actually pointed out just last week that, I mean, if you actually listen to Joe Rogan --
COOPER: That sounds like when -- like, you were a kid and, like, your mom says, let's go buy some cool clothes for you, like, that doesn't -- that's -- what?
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Yes, yes, it's not going to --
ENTEN: So my mother didn't buy my clothes, I just want you to know. I bought my own -- actually, no, no, she bought my clothes.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): But I do think this is where Democrats are misunderstanding, I think, a bit of this new media landscape. It's like, it is not as black and white as folks in Washington, D.C. might like to think it is.
COOPER: Right. Well, and, I mean, Harry, the Harris -- how did she -- I mean, she underperformed with almost every kind of young person.
ENTEN: Yes, that's exactly right. I mean, look, I know a lot of --
COOPER: Although, we shouldn't point out the popular vote count now is actually much closer. ENTEN: It's much closer. In fact, Donald Trump at this point, I think if you go back since 1824, ranks 44th out of 51 for popular vote victories. He's under 50 percent.
COOPER: But Biden in 2020 had a bigger one.
ENTEN: In fact, every single person who won the popular vote had a wider margin than he has -- again, yes, you have to go all the way back since 2000 when Al Gore only won the popular vote by 0.51 percentage points. But, look, I know a lot of folks on the left want to blame, you know, young men for Kamala Harris' downfall.
But the bottom line is she underperformed with pretty much everyone who was under the age of 25. So if you look and you compare it to how Joe Biden did four years ago, you can see it there. Joe Biden's margin was 34 points with voters under the age of 25. Kamala Harris was just, you know, 12. That is, again, the weakest performance for voters under the age of 25 for a Democratic candidate since Al Gore back in 2000.
COOPER: It's also so interesting, Meredith, because, I mean, there's a whole generation of, you know, young people who only know American politics as being centered around Donald Trump. I mean, that's, that's actually kind of an incredible power because they're, you know, older people are sort of comparing it to other times in American history that they've lived through or other presidents. But for a lot of young people, this is all normal.
MCGRAW: Well, I think that's why Donald Trump going on so many of these podcasts was such an important strategy for them, because he would go on with some of these guys and talk for hours, and not really just about politics or policy, but, you know, about pop culture, or Trump's past celebrity life.
Or, you know, Theo Von was talking about cocaine with him, and, you know, drug use. And, you know, so he was going off on different tangents and the Trump campaign really felt like it was good for him to be shown in a different light and be shown more of like this pop culture celebrity side of him that they felt could really appeal in particular to these younger people who are tuning in.
A lot of their sources of media now are, like you said, you know, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and places where it's not so focused on the policy, but more on vibes.
COOPER: Yes. Meredith McGraw, thank you. Harry Enten, Donie O'Sullivan as well.
Up next, President Biden at the G20 summit, a day after giving the green light to Ukraine to use long-range U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia. Question is, will that actually change the course of the war for Ukraine? Nick Paton Walsh joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:48:33] COOPER: President Biden attended the first day of his final G20 Summit today in Rio, a day after sources say he authorized Ukraine's use of long-range missiles inside Russia for the first time. Biden told attendees today that everyone should support, quote, "Ukraine's sovereignty -- sovereign territorial integrity".
The Kremlin today said the President's decision will, quote, "throw oil on the fire and escalate the conflict in Ukraine."
Nick Paton Walsh has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The desperately familiar scramble to find survivors after Russian missiles slammed into the border town of Sumy on Sunday night. Less usual, the death toll of 11. Two children, a residential block hit.
And just hours later, another 10 killed in a strike on Odesa. Horrifically, this is now the norm for Ukraine. The weekend seeing a particularly large nationwide attack after nearly a thousand days of war. Donald Trump's election may have made diplomacy a likelihood again, but Ukraine's Zelenskyy clear how the strike showed, quote, "what Russia is really interested in, only war."
He visited two frontline towns under intense Russian pressure Monday. Pokrovsk, key to Ukraine's entire southeastern front, and Kupyansk, a town Russia was kicked out of in late 2022. All signs the war, for months, has not been going Ukraine's way.
Perhaps behind the stark and significant U.S. policy change Sunday, sources telling CNN President Joe Biden has finally permitted Ukraine to use long range American missiles to strike inside Russia. Something Zelenskyy has for months begged for.
[20:50:16]
The plan to strengthen Ukraine is the victory plan I had presented to partners, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Long-range possibilities for our Army is one of its major points. Missiles will speak for themselves, he added.
One U.S. official said the missiles would focus on Kursk, the part of Russia-Ukraine invaded in August, where Moscow is due to make a counterattack and a key bargaining chip if peace talks begin. Biden's decision process familiar.
Like with HIMARS missiles, he said no while Ukraine struggled to push Russia back in 2022, and then relented. And with Abrams tanks, he paused, so they arrived too late to help in 2023's counteroffensive. An F-16 jets at first rejected, and now helping Ukraine push Russia's advances back.
The ATACMS won't change Ukraine's war overnight, there are not enough of them. But it is a move Biden refused to make for months, saying it was too escalatory, but now endorses, entangling the U.S. deeper into the war, just months ahead of Trump taking office.
The fear? How Putin will react. When the idea first emerged, he said it would be a stark escalation.
This will mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries are fighting Russia, he said.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: Nick Paton Walsh joins us now. Nick, has Vladimir Putin responded to this new U.S. policy yet? And is there a sense of how he may respond?
PATON WALSH (on-camera): Yes, not specifically since the announcement. And previously as you saw up there, he has intimated this would essentially be NATO, the United States and Europe joining the conflict against Russia and that would require a fulsome response.
Now those comments were echoed by a foreign ministry spokesperson today but we've seen Putin in the past make his red lines a bit fuzzier when he's put in a more uncomfortable position. Does Russia really at this point, exhausted by the war in Ukraine, have the muscle to take on NATO in its entirety? Probably not.
But what this move has really done, Anderson, is deeply complicate the next two or three months of the war. It puts Ukraine potentially with a short term advantage over a few of these longer range missiles. Indeed, they have at their disposable, but the ultimate effect is to complicate that which Donald Trump, the president-elect inherits in January the 20th.
He said he's keen on some kind of talks or at least stopping the killing, but this escalation from President Joe Biden, something this White House was so reluctant to do, has certainly made the idea of rapprochement harder. Anderson?
COOPER: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.
Still ahead tonight, a major security breach in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Mass thieves got on the property while Prince William and his family were likely sleeping nearby at their home. I'll tell you what the burglars got away with next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:36]
COOPER: Well, the search is on for two mass men who broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle and stole items. And while it's believed, the Prince William, the Princess of Wales and their three children slept in their home elsewhere on the sprawling property.
Now, the breaking happened last month. It was confirmed today by police. CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster has to tell us.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You would have thought it was one of the most secure compounds in Britain, a base for all the U.K.'s senior royals. But that didn't stop burglars from breaking into Windsor Castle grounds.
Police say thieves entered a farm building on the Crown Estate land late on Sunday, October the 13th, stealing a pickup truck and a quad bike before making their escape. The farm just minutes away from Windsor Castle and from Adelaide Cottage, where the Prince and Princess of Wales have a family home, and they were likely there that night.
There's no indication the royal family was targeted or ever in danger, but the incident does show yet another security breach surrounding the royals. Kate and William live on their own without staff at their home on the estate, but with security on the premises. For their part, both Kensington and Buckingham Palace saying they don't comment on security matters.
The break in just days before King Charles and Queen Camilla's long flight to visit Australia and Samoa. The couple weren't at Windsor when the break in took place. Incidents like this aren't new, and this one certainly not the most serious.
In 2021, a man broke into Windsor Castle itself wearing a mask and armed with this weapon, a crossbow. The 19-year-old was hoping to kill Queen Elizabeth II, but he was stopped before he could harm her. Still, the incident raising serious concerns about security around the royal family.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: And Max Foster joins us now. You mentioned in the report that Kensington, Buckingham Palace have said they don't comment on security matters. Is there a sense of how security around Royals changed after some of those previous break ins?
FOSTER (on-camera): Well, it's such a difficult issue to get information on, frankly, Anderson, because as soon as you ask the palace about it, they closed down as does the government, as does all the various police forces involved here.
That's for a very practical reason. They don't want to give those security arrangements away, but also because of the sheer cost of it. So it's by far the biggest cost to the public for having a royal family. The only estimate we've got is from the anti-monarchy group Republic. Estimates it around $200 million a year. We don't get much information on it, I'm afraid.
COOPER: All right. Max Foster, thanks so much.
Well, that's it for us. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. See you tomorrow.
