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Mayors React To ICE Operations, Immigration Concerns In Cities; Bomb Cyclone Expected To Bring Snow, Strong Winds To Southeast; Iran Warns Of Immediate Retaliation To Any U.S. Attack. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 30, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:12]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning mass protests are being planned here and will be held here in Minneapolis and across the country over President Trump's immigration sweeps.

Now while the administration is giving mixed messages now about what they are going to do with the operation here where they've sent in 3,000 ICE and other federal agents to a city that has about 600 police officers, border czar Tom Homan says they're planning a drawdown. But the president did not back him up, saying he's not pulling back at all.

And the crackdown has many mayors nationwide wondering will their cities be next and what will they be facing.

Let's get some bipartisan perspective on this. Joining me now are David Holt, the Republican mayor of Oklahoma City, and Todd Gloria, the Democratic mayor of San Diego. They are in Washington for the annual mayors' conference.

Thank you, gentlemen, for joining me. It is nice to see two people on opposite sides of the aisle coming together to have a discussion. We do not see that all the time.

Mayor Holt, let me ask you what you make of the position that this mayor is in -- Mayor Frey -- when it comes to him versus the administration? If you're put in this kind of position, what do you think of the job he's done here?

MAYOR DAVID HOLT, (R) OKLAHOMA CITY: Yeah. Well, first of all, thanks for having us.

I want to say that actually you see this type of bipartisan conversation happening all the time among mayors. It's not unique to us and we think that's something that we're very proud of.

But to answer your question -- listen, mayors take these roles and fundamentally the most important thing -- most important obligation that we feel we're taking on is to defend our city, to defend our residents. And we're even given a police department -- people with guns -- to help us in that endeavor. And so it's very challenging when you are faced with something that is threatening your residents that you really can't actually fight back against.

You know, the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution is a bit of a legal absolute and it's a very powerful thing, and so nonetheless we often have to explain it to our residents. But, you know, our police officers cannot impede ICE. They cannot arrest ICE. They cannot stop ICE from entering a city.

So I think what you've seen Mayor Frey and anybody who would be in that position do is just do their best to communicate, and sometimes very passionately, and advocate for their residents. And I think ultimately what he's trying to do is get -- you know, get a message received in Washington -- the only place that can really influence this situation, whether it's the administration or whether it's people in Congress.

And so I -- you know, I think we all have great respect for that, and we all also recognize that this is an incredibly impossible situation that he's been put in because he's really been put in between federal and local issues that are in conflict.

SIDNER: Yeah.

Todd Gloria, to you now. Look, the Trump administration has already sent a large number of federal agents to Los Angeles. You are, of course, south of Los Angeles in a city that could be next if you will. You know, California has been a real focal point for the president when it comes to his immigration crackdown.

So I'm curious what you are planning for. What you are preparing for in case your city is the next target.

MAYOR TODD GLORIA, (D) SAN DIEGO: Sara, I couldn't quite hear all of that, but I do think I got most of it. And what I would say is that the only thing in this administration that's consistent is the inconsistency. Whether we're pulling back or not, you know, this is just in the last couple of hours a change of direction. So it's difficult for us to plan for how to respond to what may come to our communities.

I will tell you that we have made preparations in the city of San Diego. I've held tabletop exercises with our police department, our fire department, and our office of emergency services to make sure to the extent that this has happened that we can keep the peace and we can protect our residents, immigrant and non-immigrant, and try and maintain what we're very proud of as mayors is that we've been able to drive down crime all across this country.

Crime is down in my city and it's down in most cities. That is no accident. That is a result of purposeful planning and a lot of hard work. And that's why we see bipartisan mayors coming forward and saying that we have a real problem with what's happening. Because the trust that we've built in communities that helped us to drive down that crime is being eroded with the scenes that we're seeing out of Minneapolis and all throughout Minnesota. [07:35:00]

SIDNER: Mayor Holt, what is your message to the Trump administration, you know, who is coming into cities with very large numbers of federal agents?

Here things have gone off the rails if you will, and you heard Tom Homan admit that this is not something that he wants to continue. That there is going to be changes. Really, the changes he's speaking of go back to the way things used to be and how some of these enforcements used to happen.

What is your message to the administration about how cities plan to either work with them or not?

HOLT: Well, OK. So I think this is a great opportunity to say that we have enforced immigration law in this country for over a century and ICE has existed for over two decades and we have never seen this type of chaos in the streets of our cities. So, yes, I think that's what we seek ultimately is just a return to some level of normality.

And I think we understand that it is this administration's goal to have an elevated enforcement, but what this is is chaos. It's tearing our country apart. And obviously, what happened last Saturday is still very much with us and we are still very much in the aftermath of that. And what everybody last Saturday and since has been saying across the partisan spectrum is this isn't it.

Take a pause. Make a new strategy. Certainly, we understand that immigration enforcement has to continue in this country but there is a better way, and we've demonstrated that in the past. So what worked then is what we need to return to.

SIDNER: Just one quick question, Todd. Mayor Frey was at the meeting or made a -- comments at the meeting. What was the response?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY, (D) MINNEAPOLIS: Stop -- not just in Minneapolis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLT: No, she asked you -- yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

GLORIA: What was the response?

HOLT: Yeah. What was the response to Mayor Frey's speech, yeah.

GLORIA: Oh. There is a ton of support for Mayor Frey in our conference. All of us, as I think you mentioned, are fearful that this could happen to us.

And I think his comments were extremely powerful. I think he was giving voice to the city and his residents who are obviously very afraid. I think that's often what mayors are called upon to do -- to give voice to our residents. To be the human personification of our city. And I think his city is hurting right now and he is expressing that extremely clearly and very well, and there's a lot of support for the mayor.

We have each other's backs. I mean, we are on the front lines of these issues and it's the support that we gain through the U.S. Conference of Mayors that I think have allowed us to get great results in our various cities. But those results are obviously being challenged as our plate is now full of this kind of chaos coming from the federal government. These inconsistencies -- these changing of edicts that make governing cities like ours difficult.

SIDNER: I can't tell you how heartened I am to see you both sitting together. I know that mayors do come together like this but from opposite sides of the political spectrum. I think the country needs to see more of this -- more of this coming together.

Gentlemen, thank you both so much for being here. And I do know as a reporter that the mayors have, I think, the hardest job in the country because they are so close to their constituents and they have to take things from all sides. You are very easy to get to and easy to talk to. Thank you both, Mayor Holt and Mayor Gloria -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, not just coming together but apparently sharing the same seat. They're sitting very, very close together there.

All right, happening now, a bomb cyclone expected to intensify off the southeast coast with more than 28 million people under winter storm watches and warnings from Georgia to Virginia.

Let's get right to CNN's Derek Van Dam in Virginia Beach. So bomb cyclone is A-Comin, Derek. What are you looking for?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Bomb cyclone's incoming, John. It's hard to believe we're actually facing another high impact event that came off the heels of last weekend's major winter storm, but these two storms are not created equal.

Last weekend was kind of a curtain-raiser -- a stage-setter for the cold air that this storm will take advantage of. That means that the primary precipitation for this storm will be light, puffy, kind of fluffy snowfall, and we're not going to get that freezing rain -- and that is a driving factor on what kind of conditions we'll get here on the ground.

We're in Virginia Beach right along the Chesapeake Bay, along the Atlantic Ocean. We're going to get battered with -- get this -- blizzard conditions by this time tomorrow morning. Conditions could be completely whitened out here.

And this storm is going to draw down significant cold air. Guess what? The first cold weather watch -- extreme cold watch for central Florida ever. This is really saying something. We've got extreme hard freeze watches in place for Miami-Dade County. That's as far south as southern Florida. So I want to get to the graphics because there's so much to talk

about. Winter storm warnings for over 20 million Americans. You can see it mainly highlighted across the Carolinas.

[07:40:00]

The Outer Banks here -- this is the area we're worried about that astronomical high tide with the full moon this weekend. So we could see coastal flooding and coastal erosion as this storm bombs out along the Eastern Seaboard. That's just a meteorological term for a drop in pressure indicating the strength of this storm as it's expected to get.

Now the snowfall -- because the snow ratio will be so high, we're talking 20 to one inch of liquid precipitation. That means it'll be fluffy and it will accumulate very quickly. But because it's so dry and fluffy the wind that will guest over 50, 60, even 70 miles per hour will blow that snow around and it will reduce visibilities, and it will get dangerous for these locations.

So we're watching out for blizzard conditions, coastal erosion, and major snowfall for areas that haven't seen snow in quite some time -- John.

BERMAN: And then maybe snow all the way back up to Boston again, which just got two feet. They don't need any more because it hasn't gone anywhere.

Derek Van Dam, great to see you there watching this very closely. Thank you very much.

VAN DAM: You keep mentioning that.

BERMAN: Yeah. Look, there's two feet of snow on the ground in Boston --

VAN DAM: All right.

BERMAN: -- and it's -- and it's stuck, and they don't need six more inches.

All right. Happening today, accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione due in a New York courtroom as a judge weighs whether the death penalty is on the table for his federal trial.

Now, yesterday, a man was arrested for impersonating an FBI agent and allegedly trying to break Mangione out of jail. Officials searched Mark Anderson's backpack. They found a barbecue fork and a round steel blade, which looks like a pizza knife. A law enforcement source tells CNN the Minnesota man arrived at the prison impersonating an FBI agent and claiming he had a court order for Mangione's release.

With us now CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

Let's just start with that very quickly. How much trouble could this guy be in? JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Uh, trouble because nobody wants to go to jail. He faces a maximum of three years. No indication that Mangione knows who he is or coordinated with him at all nor that it was a serious attempt.

A stack of papers that he was with him. Asked to produce his information in terms of federal credentials. He gives them a Minnesota driver's license. But up to three years in jail. Do not do this. It's not going to do anything other than end you in the same jail, MDC -- Metropolitan Detention Center -- that Mangione is in.

BERMAN: Let's talk about the business in court today. Prosecutors basically trying to get the death penalty thrown out here or not on the table.

What factors are in play for that?

JACKSON: So John, I think they have a very good shot here at the status conference. Why do I say that? Because there is a death penalty-eligible crime that he's being charged with, OK? It deals with using your firearm to commit a crime of violence. Now the violence is the critical term.

What the underlying crime here is is stalking. The defense is arguing that stalking doesn't necessarily need to have any intent concerning violence. You can stalk someone and not physically harm them. You can stalk someone and not attempt to otherwise cause them any ill will at all otherwise -- other than your presence.

And so unless you have an underlying crime of violence that's used with a firearm -- like carjacking, like kidnapping, like a hundred other things we can talk about -- the death penalty would be ineligible.

And remember, the death penalty is eligible federally where in New York, New York State does not have that same thing. So in a state trial there will be no death penalty, but the judge here in federal court today will rule, presumably -- she can take more time -- will rule as to whether or not it meets that standard.

BERMAN: That's interesting. So whether or not stalking in itself is inherently violent --

JACKSON: Correct.

BERMAN: -- that may be at play here.

Let's talk about the backpack because that continues to be such an important legal issue here -- whether or not the search was legal.

Why is this still being argued? How much longer will it be argued? What are the standards and when will we get a decision?

JACKSON: OK, a lot to unpack and I'll unpack it this way.

Remember, there's two separate things going on. They had a state court hearing that lasted three weeks, 17 witnesses. This -- now we're in federal court. In federal court it lasted 90 minutes --

BERMAN: Ha.

JACKSON: -- one day, one witness.

But the issues are quite frankly the same. The backpack, in terms of you have a Fourth Amendment right -- a right not to be searched unless, of course, there's a warrant.

Now there are certain exceptions to that. If you have a backpack and there's an emergency circumstance, it could be searched. If we think there's a bomb, it could be searched. If there's none of those imperatives, then you wait and you swear out a warrant to a judge and say you have probable cause to believe that the contents of that backpack contain instrumentalities of a crime. That was not done.

Why is this so significant? Because the contents of the backpack have a lot of information, like a gun. Like a silencer. Like a manifesto, which the defense doesn't want to be called a manifesto. Like fake I.D. and other things. You get that thrown out and that's evidence the jury will not see.

And so the contents of the backpack -- a judge will make that determination in federal court. And then, of course, a state judge will make it too. The state judge says they'll make it in May. Maybe we'll get some information from the federal court today or maybe not. It's up to the judge.

BERMAN: A big deal in this case --

JACKSON: Yes.

BERMAN: -- to say the least.

Joey Jackson, great to see you. Thank you very much.

[07:45:00]

All right. Iran warns they will immediately retaliate on U.S. forces if the U.S. strikes first. And there's new reporting overnight that the president is reviewing plans for major action.

And then donkey on the lam, but it's an awesome donkey because that donkey is named "Dolly Parton."

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BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight, Iran's military warned it will respond instantly to any new attack but also said just now it is ready to participate in fair and just nuclear talks with the United States. President Trump said he has been holding conversations with Iranian leaders even as he threatens to strike Iran if it does not agree to negotiate a new nuclear deal.

[07:50:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now and it would be great if we didn't have to use them. I told them two things. Number one, no nuclear; and number two, stop killing protesters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh, and retired Army Major Mike Lyons.

Notwithstanding what the president just said about protesters, in a Truth Social post where he basically outlined the parameters with the United States might use military force, he said dismantling the nuclear program, cutting back on missiles -- the Iranian missile program, which can reach hundreds of miles. And the third thing was to stop supporting proxies all throughout the Middle East, like Hezbollah and whatnot.

How much room for discussion do you think there really is with Iran on that?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Uh -- well, you know, I think with Iran there's certainly -- if the president and his team are engaging with Iran to have these discussions and bring them to the table, I think there's always room, of course, as the president likes to say, for negotiations. But it remains to be seen how much Iran is willing to give. And, of course, their rhetoric certainly indicates that they're not going to give an inch here.

But the fact is if this administration is having talks I think one of the places where this administration can really push Iran is to stop supporting their proxy groups that we know operate in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanese Hezbollah, of course, in the north of Israel, and then, of course with the Houthis in Yemen. There is -- there are mechanisms that the administration can force on Iran to stop them from supporting these groups.

But, you know, trying to force Iran to give up its nuclear program, to give up its arsenal of ballistic missiles -- I think that's going to be a lot harder for Iran to stomach, and I don't know they are going to give on that. And so maybe it does come down to another strike that the United States engages in that we did in June of last year. But I think that remains to be seen on what Iran is willing to give up when it comes to their arsenal.

BERMAN: Major Lyons, a second ago we had a map up which showed the U.S. assets now in the region. There it is right there. What would this allow the United States to do inside Iran?

Overnight, The New York Times is reporting the president is getting briefed on all kinds of options, which presidents do. But those options include, according to The New York Times, the possibility for targeted ground operations -- commando raids and whatnot. MAJ. MIKE LYONS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yeah, John. I wonder what the target package looks like. Maybe it's "Operation Midnight Hammer 2.0" where we strike IRGC facilities, missile capabilities, air defense platforms -- things that could attack U.S. forces that are in the area. There's about 10,000 troops within the Middle East within target range there. We'd have to involve the Israelis. We'd have to put them on high alert as well.

In some ways, the question is who fires first? I'm just surprised if we would preemptively go to that route. We know that there's going to be some naval exercises in the next few days with the IRGC units in the Strait of Hormuz. Well that, to me, is the trip wire. If we try some kind of naval blockade or do something there, that might be a red line. And if Iran does make the mistake and fire at us first, well then, I think all bets are off. I think all of those become real targets.

BERMAN: Sabrina, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said something really interesting at hearings the other day when asked what would happen after the United States struck and if the Iranian regime fell. And he more or less said that it's impossible to tell.

So much does that factor in, do you think, as to what type of operations ultimately the United States decides to do?

SINGH: I think this is the looming question that this administration is going to have to reckon with.

Iran is very different from Venezuela where you saw, you know, kind of an extension carried out of the Maduro regime. It is going to be much more different and much more difficult in Iran to determine who -- if there is a regime change, would take over and control, you know, some of the militias within Iran but also just the larger apparatus.

And so I think that is the larger looming question. But I also think what allies and partners are urging this administration to have some restraint on is if there is regime change in Iran, does that spill over into a wider regional conflict, potentially bringing in Arab nations into a larger war, which I don't think anyone wants to see, frankly.

But I think, as you saw, Secretary Rubio did not really have a clean answer when asked in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee what this will look like.

So I don't know what, you know, regime change could look like for even the Iran people, but it's certainly not going to be clean any which way you cut it.

BERMAN: And Mayor Lyons, let's talk about the Iranian capabilities right now. Because again, some of the reporting overnight is that in comparison to what happened before with Israel they could hit more populated cities. They could hit harder this time than they did even then.

[07:55:00] So how much capability do they even have?

LYONS: Look John, their capability has been degraded, no question, and they probably have one real good shot I would say. And the United States and Israel will have to defend something -- a barrage, let's say, of missiles coming, but that might be it. And so I think that's kind of the calculus that we're doing with regard to whether or not we decide to strike there. But they have thousands of missiles but again, one good shot is probably what -- all they have left.

I think -- I think the indispensable force here inside Iran is this Artesh. It's this conventional force. If there's going to be a regime change it's got to come from within. And if there's some kind of civil war there and if the people rise up and have some security on their side, I think that's going to be successful. But other than that, just kind of throwing beer from the bleachers on the outside -- I just don't think it's going to work.

BERMAN: Major Mike Lyons, Sabrina Singh, great to see you both. Thank you very much.

So this morning a Florida family is back home after a travel nightmare. Their American Airlines flight out of Hartford, Connecticut never took off after a pipe burst, and it sent water rushing down the aisle. The family says they were shocked by what they saw and frustrated when the airline called it a weather-related incident, which limits refunds. They applied for a refund anyway but have not heard back.

A California man in a Batman costume criticized ICE before his city council.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (bleep) are we doing here? I don't give a damn if this is outside of decorum. People are dying on our streets. I'm not begging you; I'm (bleep) demanding that you act with some semblance of a (bleep) spine. Do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The man urged the Santa Clara City Council to not cooperate or provide resources for ICE enforcement.

Donkey on the lam -- a mini donkey named "Dolly Parton," by the way. She got through an open gate and left her pasture. State troopers eventually led her back, but she was not happy about it. That, I guess, is what an angry mini donkey looks like right there.

All right. This morning first lady Melania Trump's new documentary film is out in theaters across the country. The film documents the first lady's life in the days leading up to the Trumps' return to the White House. Its hefty price tag is raising concerns -- some, what, $40 million to Melania Trump's production company.

President Trump was asked if his wife's lucrative deal with Amazon could be considered corporate corruption.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't know. I mean, I don't know, really. I'm not involved in that. That was done with my wife. Uh, I think it's going to be -- I think it's a very important movie. I think it's really going to be very important. It shows life in the White House. It's a big deal, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter is with us now. So $40 million to make it to the production company, $35 million to market it. That's a lot of money, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right. Many Hollywood types and documentary filmmakers think this was a pay off to the Trumps. A big way for Amazon to curry favor with the Trump administration.

Let's break it down by the numbers. A typical documentary film might cost one or two or three million dollars to make, and that's on the high end. In movie theaters, that documentary might be lucky to make a few million dollars.

In this case, we're talking about something that was exponentially bigger. This "Melania" documentary cost about $40 million for Amazon. That was the amount Amazon was willing to pay, which was a lot more than the other studios that bid on this movie back when there was a bit of a bidding war this time last year or early in 2025.

So the first lady is also a producer of the film and according to The Wall Street Journal, she will pocket about 75 percent of the license fee. So 75 percent of the $40 million -- that's about $28 million. That also is highly unusual.

And as I said John, Amazon spent another $35 million on marketing. Look, that's a documentary maker's dream come true. A typical documentary would never see that kind of budget. These are exponentially higher figures than normal.

However, for Amazon, maybe it'll pay off, maybe it won't. We're about to find out.

In the meantime, many critics are calling this a bribe. Last night on "THE DAILY SHOW," for example, this was called out. Look at the caption on this post. "The best bribe disguised as a documentary goes to 'Melania.'"

But director Brett Ratner, who made this film, who is usually known for big-budget blockbuster films before he was accused of sexual misconduct during the MeToo movement -- he denied those allegations.

And this is a bit of a comeback for Brett Ratner. He said on the red carpet last night this film deserves every dollar. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT RATNER, DIRECTOR, "MELANIA": She put this deal together as a private individual, and she's not an elected official. So I don't see why we would restrict her in any way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Ratner and others excited this is now out in theaters -- 1,500 theaters today.

And this theatrical release is like a referendum on the Trump family, let's face it. The ticket sales and how it does in the box office this weekend, it's going to be a big story. Rival studios will certainly have a spin about the numbers. Right now there's a sense that it'll make $3 million to $5 million in the theaters this weekend. Anything more than $5 million will be considered a happy surprise for Amazon.