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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Rep. Don Bacon, (R-NE), Is Interviewed About Trump Claims He Was "Framework" Of Future Greenland Deal; Justices Seem Skeptical Of Trump's Push To Oust Fed Governor; House Panel Votes To Hold Clintons In Contempt In Epstein Probe; Trump Says Canada Should Be "Grateful" For United States; Trump Skewers NATO, Canada & Others In Davos Speech; Awaiting Verdict Of Former Uvalde School Officer. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 21, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thanks very much to my panel. Really appreciate you guys being here today. Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well. Don't forget, you can now stream The Arena live. You can catch up whenever you want in the CNN app.

You can scan the QR code below on your screen. You can also catch up by listening to our podcast. There's a QR code for that too. Follow us on X and Instagram. We're at the arenacnn.

But of course, do not go anywhere because Mr. Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Hi Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Hi, Kasie. We're look for more tomorrow in "The Arena."

HUNT: Have a wonderful show.

[17:00:37]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start with breaking news in our world lead. Hours after delivering a speech at Davos that was received as warmly as the frigid Swiss Air, President Trump now claims he's one step closer to his goal of the U.S. acquiring the Arctic island of Greenland, which is belongs to Denmark. Trump wrote on Truth Social today, quote, "Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and in fact, the entire Arctic region.

This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America and all NATO nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1," unquote. Just minutes ago, the president was asked about this and pressed by CNN Kaitlan Collins, on whether this framework of a deal includes the U.S. ownership that President Trump has insisted must happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Does it still include the United States having ownership of Greenland like you've said you wanted?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a long term deal. It's the ultimate long term deal. And I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else.

COLLINS: How long would the deal be, Mr. President?

TRUMP: Infinite.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you speak to Denmark? Did you speak to Denmark?

TRUMP: There is no time (inaudible) forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Forever and ever. So the answer there would actually seem to be a no, that the president's demand that the United States will acquire Greenland, it doesn't sound like that's part of this deal. This all followed Trump's speech this morning where for the very first time he said he would not use military force to annex Greenland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won't do that. OK? Now everyone's saying, oh, good. That's probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Trump was referring to the correct plot of land here, Greenland. Unlike other times in his speech in Davos when he referred to Greenland as Iceland. Before I play the actual video of the President saying this, I want you to see what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when a correspondent for a different network, Libbey Dean, pointed out on social media the mix up. The White House press secretary wrote on X, quote, "No, he didn't, Libby. His written remarks referred to Greenland as a piece of ice because that's what it is.

You're the only one mixing anything up here," unquote. So keep in mind what the White House is saying about whether or not the President confused Greenland and Iceland. Here's the reality of what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm helping NATO, and until the last few days, when I told him about Iceland, they loved me. They called me daddy, right, last time. Very smart man, said, he's our daddy. They're not there for us on Iceland, that I can tell you. I mean, our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland. So Iceland's already cost us a lot of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Quote, "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command," unquote. That's George Orwell in 1984. In other words, Trump clearly said, Iceland, it's not that big a deal. Why lie about it?

Here's a map that shows Iceland is not in fact Greenland. Iceland is an independent nation to the east of Greenland. More importantly, let's talk about Trump ruling out this hostile takeover of Greenland. It comes as welcome news to Denmark and European allies who have been alarmed, to say the least. The Danish foreign Minister saying this news is positive.

So what is actually in this so called framework of a deal that the president is claiming is happening? Is it real or is it just an off ramp for the president as he faces not just opposition to this Greenland thing from European allies, but a public even more opposed to how President Trump is handling the issue of Greenland than how he has handled the Epstein files, which honestly is quite an accomplishment.

[17:05:04]

Trump's other remarks in Davos are causing European allies to cringe. In his speak, Trump still insulted Denmark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: After the war we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. But we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, fact, first of all, a lot of soldiers from Denmark were killed fighting for the United States after 9/11. So I don't know that calling them ungrateful is, correct? Another fact, after Germany invaded Denmark in World War II, the U.S. assumed responsibility for Greenland's defense and established a military presence on the island. But the United States never possessed Greenland. The President also questioned NATO and the future of NATO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We give so much and we get so little in return. And I've been a critic of NATO for many years and yet I've done more to help NATO than any other president by far. The problem with NATO is that we'll be there for them 100 percent, but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: So again, fact, the only time in history that NATO's Article 5, which is an attack on one, is an attack on all. The only time Article 5 has been invoked was NATO being there for the United States after 9/11. The president then turned to wind farms and windmills, insulting European countries that use them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: China makes almost all of the windmills, and yet I haven't been able to find any wind farms in China. They make them, they sell them for a fortune. They sell them to the stupid people that buy them, but they don't use themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: China, in point of fact, has more wind farms than any other country. I think an estimated 20 percent of their energy comes from wind. But the big picture, according to three sources, is that many top European officials worry that NATO's very survival remains at stake. They feel an urgent diplomatic intervention is needed for the president. I guess a question we all have right now is whether this claim that this issue is about to be resolved, is that real?

Is that Trump waving a white flag? Sources tell the New York Times that during a NATO meeting today, top military officers from NATO member states discussed this so called compromise in which Denmark would give the U.S. sovereignty over small pockets of Greenland where the U.S. could build military bases. The officials did not know if this idea was part of the framework announced by Trump.

Let's discuss this all with Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska, who's on the House Armed Services Committee and served nearly 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a general.

So Congressman, you are in a really good position to answer this question. If this is part of the deal, sovereignty over parts of Greenland that are parts of U.S. military bases, is that really any different from how military bases normally operated or embassies for that matter?

REP. DON BACON (R-NE), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, I've been a lot of bases overseas and they give us a lot of leeway to build and do things that we want on these bases. I'm sure in Greenland, because there's so few people, whatever bases we put there, we would largely be all American and could probably build what we want. And so I think this is probably just a continuation of what we've had since World War II. We had 15 bases there at one time. We're down to one.

I think we may have an opportunity to add a base or two for missile defense and other things. But we could have done this without all the drama and hostility and tensions that were done. I mean, this is something that Denmark and Iceland, or excuse me, now I'm saying Iceland, but it would have been Denmark and Greenland would have been glad to probably do over a very friendly discussion over at table. So I just think all the drama and angst was unnecessary. TAPPER: So another question I have, and it would be fantastic if we could get Secretary Rubio or Hegseth on to talk about this, but another question I have is it's not clear to me why Trump is negotiating this with the NATO Secretary General. NATO does not control Greenland. Denmark does. Denmark is part of NATO. I guess I just wonder, is this President Trump just ultimately surrendering, looking for an off ramp on what has been an unpopular issue for him globally and domestically?

BACON: I have no doubt that whatever is agreed to that Denmark also was agreeable to it. But you know, the talks of invading was very off putting to most Americans, I would say. I mean, the polling I saw at very best, 14 percent of Americans I saw the polls with lower numbers supported any kind of military operation against an ally. In the end, these guys are our allies or NATO allies, and threatening force was just wrong, immoral. And has created -- it's created damage with our relationship with our friends in Europe.

[17:10:11]

And I've talked to them. I was talking to many of the elected leaders last night that were in D.C. and I just met with some more in my office today. There's been some long term damage from all of this that we're going to have to rebuild. But I do think in the end the president realized that the path he was going on was not going to happen. And all they had to do for the beginning was pick up the phone, call the leader of Denmark and Greenland, say I would like to have a ballistic missile defense base and a few other things and it would have happened.

TAPPER: So, president -- as you note, there's damage done here. Even if this isn't off ramp for the president, there has been damage done. A lot of European leaders are still worried about the future of NATO. Do you share those concerns?

BACON: I do worry about the future of NATO and I want it to survive. I want it to be strong. It's been the most successful alliance. I believe, in the history of mankind, maybe outside of the alliance that led to victory in World War II. But this alliance has worked. It worked against the Soviet Union, it would work against -- it's working against Russia, with our Baltic friends in Poland.

We want it to be strong. But I do think trust has been violated by the actions of our president. And I hear it from the leaders in multiple different countries, not just one, but many different countries. And they don't trust that President Trump will be there if they're -- if they, you know, combat, if Russia, say goes into Poland. They think it's all about transactionalism with him and that we're not dealing at a higher level of what, you know, freedom, free markets and defending that.

It's going to take a while to repair this and restore confidence. And it's a shame because I've worked with these countries. I served in NATO, they were with us in Afghanistan, many of them were with us in Iraq. And they've been great allies. And we want to protect that, not undermine it. TAPPER: I want to quickly just turn to President Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza. This afternoon, CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked President Trump why he had asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to join if he's so concerned about Russia taking over Greenland. Here's part of his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Because we want everybody, we want all nations. We want all nations where people have control, people have power. That way we're never going to have a problem.

Yes, I have some controversial people on it, but these are people that get the job done. These are people that have tremendous influence. If I put all babies on the board, there wouldn't be very much. So he was invited. He's accepted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What are your thoughts?

BACON: Well, you can't trust Putin. He does not like our country. He wants to undermine us at every spot. He's a adversary to Israel, I would say, as well. So you can't trust him.

I don't know why we really want him on the board. I will give the president credit that, yes, Putin does have influence, but it's a very negative influence, and it's a maligned influence as far as our values and principles are concerned. So it would not have been my choice. I don't -- there's other folks on there, too, I wouldn't include. And -- but I will give credit here.

The president got out those 20 hostages, and I think that's one of the biggest successes this past year. But I wouldn't have Russia on the board.

TAPPER: Absolutely. Big success. And also stopping the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska --

BACON: Thank you.

TAPPER: -- thank you so much, sir. Appreciate it.

We have some breaking news in the Epstein saga. A House committee just voted to hold former President Bill and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify. The vote was bipartisan. We're going to talk about where that effort is now headed. And the season's most extreme winter storm set to blanket almost half the U.S. in a matter of days. We're tracking what could be the defining line that determines who's going to get snow, dangerous ice, and a brutal blast of cold air, and who isn't.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:17:52]

TAPPER: In our law and justice lead, today conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appear reluctant to allow President Trump to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over these allegations, and they are allegations, not proven facts, of mortgage fraud, which Lisa Cook denies. Today's line of questioning to the administration Solicitor General D. John Sauer seems to reaffirm that the highest court in the land is unlikely to interfere with the Fed's independence on the president's behalf.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE BRETT KAVANAUGH: Your position that there's no judicial review, no process required, no remedy available, very low bar for cause that the president alone determines and that would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve that we just discussed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Here with us now, CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes, Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig.

Elie, you listened to these arguments. What's your impression about where this is headed?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I think Lisa Cook is going to get -- to keep her job at the Fed for now and for the immediate future. So this law that created the Federal Reserve Act back in 1913 says the president can only remove a governor for a good cause. No president has ever tried to do that until Donald Trump last year. The problem is he basically did it by tweet. He put out a social media post saying, I hereby dismiss Lisa Cook over this mortgage fraud stuff.

And as you just heard in that clip from Justice Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court had a problem with that. They basically said there's no process, there's no fact finding and she had no chance to defend herself. So I think they're going to send this back. I think they're going to keep Lisa Cook in place for now and probably beyond that.

TAPPER: Kristen, the Supreme Court has, generally speaking, according to analysts, let Trump have more executive power as he's requested it, chipping away at norms and traditions. How is the White House reacting to today's arguments where they seem to be taking kind of an opposite view?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I spoke to one administration official while these arguments were going on who essentially said it doesn't look like this is going well for us. And when you look at how these conservative justices who, as you noted, have often sided with President Trump, were asking questions. It certainly appeared that this was a red line that the Supreme Court, even in Trump's Washington, didn't want to cross.

[17:20:10] I want to point to two things in particular. One, Justice Alito, who is known, again, to side largely with this administration, he is incredibly conservative. He seemed annoyed when questioning Sauer by the fact that the Trump administration was trying to rush this process through. And then you heard a lot of questions from Justice Kavanaugh who has ruled sometimes not with President Trump, but often with the president, saying that this would set a precedent essentially for down the road, that the cause wasn't great enough, that essentially you'd see this the next time a Democrat was in office trying to change it.

TAPPER: Elie, Lindsey Halligan, Trump's handpicked interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, left the position, acting U.S. attorney, after a scathing ruling from a Trump appointed judge. Tell us about that.

HONIG: She's left DOJ altogether now. In a word, this has just been a debacle from the start. Lindsey Halligan never been a prosecutor before. They put her in the sum total of her resume is she brings these politically charged failed prosecutions of Letitia James, Jim Comey, then a court rules that she was installed unconstitutionally and kicks her out and now she's left. I think the lesson, Jake, is you can't just dabble in being a prosecutor.

It doesn't work and it does nobody any good and it's dangerous for the country, bad for the Justice Department. TAPPER: Kristen, let's turn to what's happening in Minneapolis because

Vice President Vance is expected to head there tomorrow to meet with ICE agents. The vice president doesn't exactly have a reputation for bringing the temperature down. What are you watching for?

HOLMES: Yes. And of course, we'll just remind you that when he gave that briefing in the briefing room with Karoline Leavitt and he essentially said that we back the ICE officer 100 percent in the shooting of Renee Good. And that even if there was an investigation that the administration was behind that ICE officer all the way. We also know he's going to deliver remarks that are defensive of the administration and their tactics when it comes to immigration. And of course, this is coming at a time where federal appeals court has essentially frozen a ruling that put guardrails on federal agents in Minnesota when they were dealing with protesters.

And I would agree, Jake, this isn't likely to be something that is going to turn the temperature down. He has taken this issue on and continued to fight in -- fight for these federal agents saying that the Administration backs them.

TAPPER: So Elie, today the House Oversight Committee took the next step towards a full House vote that would find Bill and Hillary Clinton, the former president and former first lady and Secretary of State and presidential candidate, in contempt of Congress because they didn't agree they defied the subpoenas related to the Epstein investigation. If you were providing legal advice to the Clintons, what would you tell them?

HONIG: Well, I would have told them to show up in the first place. I think the big mistake is they fought this subpoena by sending a bunch of letters to the committee, but they never went to court to challenge the subpoenas. And now as a result, they've walked themselves right into what I think is likely to be a contempt charge. It's already gotten through the committee. It next goes to the full House.

But today on the committee, nine Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted for contempt against Bill Clinton. Three voted for it against Hillary Clinton. If it gets to the House, it goes to DOJ next, where Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche are going to have the decision. I think the Clintons have played this wrong. I think they've showed hubris in defying this subpoena.

And if they want an example, not saying they're going to jail but if they are going to complain about this, Peter Navarro, Steve Bannon defied congressional subpoenas, charged with contempt prosecuted. They went to prison for four months each. So.

TAPPER: So you think that if they had challenged the -- what would --

HONIG: Yes.

TAPPER: -- have been the basis to challenge the subpoenas?

HONIG: So the argument they've made is these subpoenas are not tied to any valid legislative purpose. The House has said we need to hear from you Bill Clinton, 'cause we're writing new anti-human trafficking legislation. The argument that they've made -- that they should have made to a judge is what does Bill Clinton's knowledge about what Jeffrey Epstein was doing 30 years ago have to do with writing anti- human trafficking legislation now? But they haven't gone to court. And so they've left themselves exposed to what I think will be contempt charges.

TAPPER: All right, Elie Honig and Kristen Holmes, thanks to both of you.

[17:24:07]

In just a few days, one of the most extreme winter storms in years is set to produce damaging ice and heavy snow in the United States. We're going to tell you what early models show about what's about to hit us next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our national lead, millions of Americans are bracing for what could be record breaking snow and cold this weekend. Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

Alison, what is the very latest forecast?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Roughly two dozen states are under some type of winter weather alert in preparation for this next system and it is expected to be a widespread one. Look at this. You've got snow that stretches all the way from the Colorado Rockies up into portions of New England. And then on the farther south side now you're looking at the potential for some ice and sleet and freezing rain to be a big component. So let's take a look at the timeline again. By Friday evening you really start to see some of that wintry precip begin across portions of Texas, Oklahoma and into Kansas. By the time we get to Saturday morning, you really start to see more of that pink and purple color, really start to expand and impact a lot more areas. Then we go through Saturday evening, it continues to spread east. And by the time you get to Sunday morning now you've got even areas of the Carolinas, Virginia and the mid-Atlantic now starting to see more of those winter precipitation impacts coming in. The south side still maintains mostly rain at this point, but you could start to see some of it wrapping back around in portions of northern Louisiana into Arkansas and even eastern Texas, looking at some wintry precipitation there. And then by late into the day, Sunday again, a lot of this area is the temperatures warming back up, changing over into rain.

[17:30:00]

Now, one thing to note is that the weather models aren't necessarily in complete agreement with where this storm sets up, and that means as you have a slightly different track, it could mean vastly different impacts for certain areas. For example, if we get more of a northerly track, the system lifts farther north, so some areas don't really end up getting much of anything.

However, if it begins to shift a little farther south, you could see much bigger impacts for cities like Atlanta, Columbia, and Charlotte, especially in terms of the amount of ice that they ultimately end up getting from this system.

Now, overall, when you look at the map for snowfall totals, the highest amounts are expected to be where you see this dark pink and even very deep purple color. Now you could be looking at least a foot of snow total. And then farther down to the south, where ice is going to be the big concern, you have some spots in here that could end up picking up an inch of ice. That is devastating because that sticks to the trees and power lines and could lead to widespread power outages.

TAPPER: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for that report.

Greenland, not Iceland, Greenland was the big topic for the President today, but he also criticized a bunch of U.S. allies. His words for Canada, we'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:30]

TAPPER: In our World Lead, let's go back to that global stage in Davos, Switzerland, where President Trump escalated his feud not only with European leaders, but with Canada, casting our neighbors to the north as entirely dependent upon the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They should be grateful to us. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Mark, of course, Mark Carney, the leader of Canada. The comments were clear tit for tat. This is one day after Carney warned world leaders of a dangerous rupture in the global order, the suggestion being it was caused by Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in Canada's longtime ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, who is exiting our fair country, going back to our neighbors to the north. So Prime Minister Carney's comments seem to resonate with the President. He seemed to hear it. He posted this A.I. picture on Truth Social where you have the American flag not only on Greenland and Venezuela and Cuba, but also on Canada. What do you make of this all?

KIRSTEN HILLMAN, CANADIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Look, I think that what in terms of the President's comments, it's clear it's a benefit to Canada to have the United States as our one and only neighbor. We're deeply integrated economies, and it's been a very mutually beneficial relationship. But make no mistake, it's a very good relationship for the United States as well.

TAPPER: Yes, but he says can't -- address this part of it. Canada lives because of the United States.

HILLMAN: Canada lives because of the strength of Canadians, because of the ingenuity and hard work of Canadians. You know, and right now, that's what we're focused on. We're focused on doing for ourselves what we can in this time of volatility, in this time of change.

But we're also keen to continue to have a very productive relationship with the United States. We're your biggest customer. We buy more from you than any country in the world, manufactured goods that create lots of jobs here. So it's a very complex and deep relationship that we are, you know, we're in the middle of, I think, a change, as the said. But the prime minister is very focused on Canada and doing things for ourselves.

TAPPER: He didn't call it a change, called it a rupture. And in another one of his lines, Prime Minister Carney warned allies, "If you're not at the table, we're on the menu." Do you think his warning, the prime minister's warning to European allies like Emmanuel Macron or Keir Starmer of the U.K., do you think it landed?

HILLMAN: I, you know, we'll have to see what they make of it. I know that it was well-received at Davos. I think we all saw that. But I also think the prime minister, he's setting out his vision for his leadership and our country. That's what he was trying to do. If that type of leadership, if that type of vision resonates with others, then that's good news, because we are a country of allies. We're a country that's interested in making sure that we're working well with our allies.

TAPPER: Well, you know, I do have to ask, you talk about this relationship we have and we're allies. Canada had a recent military simulation in which the U.S. invaded Canada. This is reportedly the first in about 100 years. Was that triggered by what's going on right now with President Trump?

HILLMAN: Yes. I don't know the details of this.

TAPPER: You've heard of it though, right?

HILLMAN: We do. Yes, we do military simulations of all kinds. I guess that's a question for our chief of defense staff and, you know, why she feels she needs to be having certain things done.

TAPPER: What do you know or make of this announcement by President Trump that there's some sort of framework for a deal for the U.S. and Greenland? It looks, based on the sketchy details we have, that it's kind of just, it looks like President Trump's just throwing in the towel. But I don't know what the details are.

HILLMAN: Yes. Honestly, we don't know the details either. I guess our premise is if it's good for the people of Greenland and if it's good for Denmark, if it's something that they're willing to participate in and leads to a solution that works for them, then that's great news.

TAPPER: So I don't know if this is the last time you're going to be on the show, but it's been an honor to have you and a pleasure. You know I have Winnipeg roots.

HILLMAN: I do.

TAPPER: My great-great-grandfather was the mayor of Winnipeg for four days, then he lost the recount. So great to have you here.

HILLMAN: Great. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.

TAPPER: And tell all my cousins up in Canada.

HILLMAN: I sure will. Thanks, Jake.

[17:39:51]

TAPPER: President Trump did not just single out Canada. He had a long list of complaints about plenty of nations. Some of their leaders were sitting right in front of him today. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead in a frigid Davos, Switzerland. Let's talk about how President Trump went scorched earth today. Aside from making his demands for Greenland, he did take aim at some of his favorite targets. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also, but they're not. After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. But we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now? And I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good. But it's not heading in the right direction. They don't appreciate what we do. Talking about NATO, I'm talking about Europe. They have to work on Ukraine. We don't. The United States is very far away. We have a big, beautiful ocean separating us. We have nothing to do with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:45:19]

TAPPER: The timeless art of diplomacy. Mike Dubke, let me start with you. So President Trump said he's close to striking a deal when it comes to Greenland. We don't know the details. "The New York Times" is reporting it might be allowing the U.S. to have sovereignty over some new military bases, which I'm not sure how that's different at all from how military bases.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Like a lease program or we?

TAPPER: I don't know. I'm not really sure. He hasn't really announced.

DUBKE: Brits got Hong Kong from the Chinese for all?

TAPPER: Do you know anything?

DUBKE: I do not know. I do not know.

TAPPER: OK.

DUBKE: I think, look, we were -- the President's been serious about Greenland. I think it started out as a bit of a joke. People at least thought that at the beginning of the administration. And then he's really been very, very serious about it. It has been surprising to me how much it has dominated the discussion in Davos.

The first 20 minutes of his speech was about economics, was about energy, a whole bunch of other things. And then he finally got to Greenland. But that has also been what's been dominating the coverage of his speech all day.

TAPPER: Kate, what do you think? Obviously, President Biden, for whom you worked, had a slightly different style when it came to working with allies.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. He thought it was useful for us to strengthen our relationships and have an effective working relationship with the free world. Yes. Look, I think when it comes to Greenland, I mean, look, first of all, I guess it's Taco Wednesday, right? Because we've heard -- TAPPER: Uh-oh. Here we go. Taco stands for --

BEDINGFIELD: It's Taco Wednesday. We've heard a lot of tough talk about --

TAPPER: Your microphone, I'm told, is bad right now. So we're going to go to you.

DUBKE: All right. I can lean in.

TAPPER: While the microphone is fixed.

BEDINGFIELD: Should I take mine?

DUBKE: We can borrow. We can share.

TAPPER: Well, you're very polite.

DUBKE: I know. There's a lot of diplomacy here.

TAPPER: I appreciate it. But while we fix that, and they put the camera on, Mike, and they fix the thing, let me ask you about this, Michele Tafoya.

DUBKE: Yes. Because you and I were just talking about your beloved Buffalo Bills, and I was expressing my condolences. We have seen, as football fans, Michele Tafoya on the sidelines, reporting on NFL games. She just launched a bid to run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota. Here's a little bit of her ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELE TAFOYA, REPORTER: For too long, hardworking people have been ripped off by criminals, corporations, and career politicians. And the people doing everything right are the ones paying the biggest price. Well, I'm not going to stay on the sidelines any longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Ah, little sidelines.

DUBKE: Yes, I like that. A little play on words.

TAPPER: What do you think? Minnesota, generally speaking, is a pretty tough place for a Republican to win statewide.

DUBKE: It is. But you've got, well, you've got a state in chaos right now. And I'm not just talking about ICE. I'm talking about before that, why Tim Walz, the governor, decided not to run for re-election.

TAPPER: Because of that fraud scandal.

DUBKE: Well, waste, fraud, and abuse. It was defined by that scandal. So I think whenever you've got an open seat, you've got a state in chaos, and then you have your opponents, the Democrats, who are pitting a centrist against a progressive. And that's going to be a fairly fierce primary. You have an opportunity to pick up an open seat.

And the Republicans just got a, you know, "sideline celebrity" to run. So I think it's a good thing for them and a good pickup opportunity.

TAPPER: What do you think Kate?

BEDINGFIELD: I think the reality check here is that a Republican has not won statewide in Minnesota in 20 years, since Tim Pawlenty in 2006. You know, we have -- you're looking at a year where Trump's unpopularity in the state is high. His popularity is sinking. The impact of the ICE raids in Minnesota have continued to cause his favorability to take a hit.

You know, Michele Tafoya is obviously, she can run as an outsider. And there is, that is a compelling -- that's a compelling argument. But she's also somebody who's had a political podcast for the last three years, which will be ripe with opportunities for the Democrats to pull out, "to tie her to an unpopular Trump."

So I think the idea that this is going to be a pickup opportunity for Republicans is probably a little far-fetched. It'll be interesting to see what her getting into the race does, inducing not only her own fundraising because of her national profile, but also fundraising for the Democratic candidates who have jumped in quickly to say, Trump was able to recruit his number one choice for this race. We're going to need more resources. So it'll be interesting to see how they're able to capitalize on that too.

TAPPER: So let me -- now that your mic is working, let me go back. Let me just jump back because I was asking you about what you're seeing -- what you saw in Davos today from President Trump.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. Well, I was just saying when it comes to Greenland, it's Taco Wednesday. I mean, we've heard nothing.

TAPPER: You have to explain what taco means.

BEDINGFIELD: We have -- Trump always chickens out.

TAPPER: That's an acronym, folks. OK.

BEDINGFIELD: This was something that was bandied about when he --

TAPPER: But you didn't want him to send in troops. You didn't want him to send in troops.

[17:49:59]

BEDINGFIELD: Of course not. But I do think that the President's words matter. And so when you have Trump consistently running this playbook of laying out the most belligerent, most aggressive position, walking back from it, signaling to our allies that they can't feel confident about where the United States stands and what our position is, I think that's a problem. And that only continues to create an environment where the Europeans are going to be inclined to look elsewhere. They're going to be inclined to look to China. They're going to be inclined to look to India if they feel like the United States isn't a reliable partner. And I think that's what we saw from Trump today in Davos.

TAPPER: Not just Europeans, because we saw Canada talking about new ties with China.

DUBKE: Right. But we're also having Canada and the Europeans and others continue to talk to the United States. You call it Taco. This is really the way that Trump has negotiated as a developer and as President 1.0 and 2.0. You take a position, put it so far out to the side that your adversaries come running over, trying to have a conversation about that, and you get back towards the middle and you still win most of what you're looking for.

So I think it's a bit rich to say that the Europeans are going to walk away from America, that Canada is going to walk away from the United States and our relationship with them. What you have with Donald Trump is a politician who acts in a different way that has a following in the United States and, frankly, has a following in Europe.

Part of all of the European right-of-center groups that are emerging now, a lot of that has to do with what Trump has done in the United States over the last several years.

BEDINGFIELD: But the only tangible results that that strategy has gotten thus far has been the application of tariffs that have essentially raised prices for Americans. So you've had Trump lay out, you know, I'm going to -- we're going to put a 200 percent tariff, 180 percent tariff, and we'll actually know we're going to come back down. We're going to find middle ground. Actually, it's just going to be 15 percent. Well, Americans are paying the price for that.

So the idea that Trump throwing out a rhetorical, far-fetched argument in order to win back some position in the center that's been good for the country, I don't think the tangible results of that have borne out. All we've gotten out of that are tariffs.

DUBKE: I think the bottom, and I'll just be quick about this, I think the bottom line of the speech today really was that first 20 minutes where he articulated a path forward for Europe and he articulated that the United States is not backing away from the world. And then we decided to talk about.

TAPPER: Mike, he liked the part that was on the teleprompter.

BEDINGFIELD: They always like the part that's on the teleprompter.

DUBKE: As the former communications director, I absolutely do like the teleprompter part.

TAPPER: Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

DUBKE: All right. Thank you. TAPPER: We're monitoring jury deliberations right now in the trial of that former Uvalde school police officer. There's a lot going on. We're going to go back in a moment to Uvalde.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:57:15]

TAPPER: We have some breaking news for you in our Law and Justice Lead. The jury is considering the fate of former Uvalde Texas School Police Officer, Adrian Gonzales, and they are deliberating at this hour. Gonzales faces 29 counts of child endangerment in connection with the May 2022 massacre in which a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is in Corpus Christi where the trial is being held. Shimon, have we heard anything from the jury this afternoon?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, you know, the jury is really working here. They've been deliberating now for about five hours, and one of the first notes that they gave to the judge was they were asking for all of the evidence. They were asking for an easel, markers, they wanted the witness list, and then they sent a second note asking for a monitor or a laptop so they could watch video.

One of the key pieces of evidence in this case is Adrian Gonzales's own words in a statement that he made to the Texas Rangers just the day after the shooting. Of course, this case is all centered around the fact that prosecutors here allege that Gonzales did not take action to try and stop the gunman. Now, both sides this morning made their final closing arguments to the jury arguing why, respectively, he should be convicted and why he should be acquitted, and both attorneys arguing that this case will set precedent. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON GOSS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You convict them, what does it tell all the police officers? It's going to tell them, I'm not getting in that crap. I'm not getting in that chair. If I see somebody running towards the school, I'm not going after them, because if I'm mistaken and it takes me to the other side of the building from where the shooter is and then I can't understand or know where the shooter is, I can go to prison. I can get prosecuted.

CHRISTINA MITCHELL, UVALDE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Are we going to continue to hold teachers and students to a higher level of responsibility than we are going to hold police officers for school districts who raise their hand and say, I will be a police officer. Those hallways will be mine. Those children are my people. Those classrooms are at my houses, I will protect them. Are we going to continue to do that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And so the jury continues to deliberate. It's unclear at this moment, Jake, how late they will go, but no doubt whatever their decision ultimately is going to send ramifications through law enforcement all across the country. Family members are here waiting. It's been really an emotional nine days here, and they here, too are waiting and hoping for justice. Jake?

[17:59:57]

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, a lot of buzz, very few details after President Trump claims that there's some kind of path that he's agreed to on Greenland. He calls it, "a framework of a future deal." He says it --