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U.S. Embassy in Kyiv Closed; U.S. Companies Prepare for New Trade Policy; Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) is Interviewed about Gaetz; Trump Picks McMahon for Education. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired November 20, 2024 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:31:41]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this just in to CNN. The White House set to announce a new support package for Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin telling reporters it would be up to $275 million and include rocket systems and artillery. It comes as another major policy shift from President Biden as he attempts to bolster Ukraine in the last months of his presidency. The administration is now giving the Pentagon the OK to send anti-personnel landmines to that country. And this comes after Biden gave Ukraine the green light to strike deep inside Russia with these long-range missiles, the first strikes coming on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responding by lowering the threshold for their use of nuclear weapons. Russia now saying that any attack supported by a nuclear power could be met with a nuclear response. The State Department slamming that change in policy.
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MATTHEW MILLER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The change in this policy in itself just highlights Russia's hypocrisy. Russia is suggesting here that they would use - or could use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state if they undertake the same kind of aggression that Russia itself is inflicting upon Ukraine and its people.
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HUNT: And new overnight, the U.S. embassy in Kyiv has been closed. That's something that hasn't happened since the invasion started back in February of 2022. Apparently, there's a risk of an aerial assault.
CNN's international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Kyiv for us this morning.
Nick, what can you tell us?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, this embassy not (ph) shut since the invasion. You wouldn't really see around it any other signs of the concerns expressed by U.S. diplomats. Life is kind of going about as normal. Kyiv so used to the regular bombardment.
But it's a very specific piece of information from U.S. diplomats here saying they're not coming to work and basically telling other American citizens to take cover. Some of the guidance around this suggesting it's not necessarily a response to Putin's nuclear saber rattling. It's hard to define exactly what the Kremlin head means when he changed the doctrine, other than simply to be able to use the word nuclear again and escalate people's anxieties.
Because of that, the embassy shut today, and possibly for more than (ph) maybe just today because of the concerns about a larger aerial assault across Ukraine and possibly the capital, too.
I should point out, Kyiv was hit hard over the weekend. One of the worst attacks for months, frankly. So that may be the reason why you're seeing ordinary life continue around us.
But as you mentioned there, the remarkable fact now that the Biden administration seems to be day by day by day trying to increase the tools at Ukraine's capability. I think it's a reflection of how badly Kyiv, sadly, is doing for its soldiers on the battlefield, losing on multiple fronts along the east to Russian forces slowly advancing. And also I think we are in a remarkable moment here that I'm standing in front of an American diplomatic facility saying it's closed because they're concerned it might get hit by Russian strikes. That's a stark change from where we were a week ago. I think a reflection, perhaps, of concerns in the Biden administration that Russia may seek to retaliate after they gave permission to Ukraine to use those longer range ATACMS to hit targets inside of Russia.
[06:35:05]
They did that in the last 24, 48 hours. And indeed Ukraine overnight saying they hit more targets, probably with different weaponry, inside Russia as well.
That maybe, I think, this closure is a part of a wider concern across the NATO alliance. We're hearing that some European embassies are limiting their facilities today, perhaps out of a shared concern there may be some kind of response. Would it be targeted towards NATO members' diplomatic facilities or just across the capital, as you've seen over the past months intensifying? We don't know. But we're in a starkly different chapter in this war, Kasie, than we were just a week ago.
HUNT: And certainly, indeed, we are. And you really put that into stark relief for us.
Nick Paton Walsh, thank you. I really appreciate that.
And actually, briefly, Stephen Collinson, I mean, the big picture here, I mean, this is - the Biden administration is taking all of the tools that they have and trying to deploy them right here at the last minute before they have to leave office. What - what does - what does that set up here across the world big picture? STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, it's always been clear that even if Biden won the election there was going to be some kind of negotiation next year about ending this war. That's become more intense by the fact that Trump won and he's made no secret of the fact that he wants to end the war.
This is all about creating situations on the ground that advantage Zelenskyy in the eventual negotiations that come. Everyone knows what it's going to look like. There's going to be a divide. Putin is going to get his reward for the invasion. He's going to bite off more Ukrainian territory. He's trying to get as much as he can. He's trying to expel Ukrainians from the Kursk region of Russia to set up the negotiations. It's all about the terms. Does Ukraine get some kind of path to NATO? Does it get some association with the EU.
In a way, what the president is doing, while it's escalating the situation, it is giving Trump some tools because Putin is doing so well right now in the war. I don't think he's going to make it easy for Trump in ending this war. He's going to drive a hard bargain.
HUNT: Very interesting.
All right, let's turn back now to the evolving Trump transition and how U.S. companies are preparing to deal with the president-elect's trade policy.
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BRANDON SINK, CFO, LOWE'S: Definitely staying very close to this. we're preparing internally for what may be coming from the new administration. And as we look at potential impact, certainly it would add product cost.
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HUNT: It would add product cost. That is a very dry way of saying it's going to get more expensive. That was the CFO of Lowe's. And that was their earnings call yesterday. And basically saying that if they enact Donald Trump's proposed tariffs, your products would get more expensive. The Walmart CFO, John David Rainey, also told CNBC yesterday that while that company never wants to raise prices, there will probably be cases where prices will go up for consumers.
The statements coming as other retailers like Elf Beauty, AutoZone, Columbia Sportswear also warned they may have to raise prices to offset heavier tariffs. This, though, is a key part of Trump's economic agenda.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: If I'm going to be president of this country, I'm going to put a 100, 200, 2,000 percent tariff. They're not going to sell one car into the United States.
We'll put a tariff of approximately 100 to 200 percent on each car. A 25 percent tariff on everything they send in.
Just notifying John Deere right now, if you do that, were putting a 200 percent tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States.
If I was Mr. Tariff, I would say, please get me a PR agent. I have to straighten out. It's one of the most beautiful words in the whole world.
The word tariff, it's more beautiful than love.
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HUNT: More beautiful than love. Well, Brad, I mean, look, the reality is, Americans chose to send Donald Trump to the White House, in no small part because they were upset about the economy. They're upset about inflation. Tariffs are inflationary. Basically every economist will tell us. And there does seem to be some tension inside the evolving Trump transition around this. Like, who's going to be Treasury secretary, who's going to be Commerce, et cetera.
I mean, where - where are we going on this?
BRAD TODD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, first off, you know, we talked a lot in the campaign about how Kamala Harris wasn't telling her base no, right? There was no element of the Democrat base coalition that she was resisting.
Donald Trump is telling CEOs, big business, which long has been a Republican ally, he's putting them on notice that they can't just take for granted that he's going to do what they want.
I look at that clip and I see Walmart. You know, back in the '80s, Walmart grew by marketing that it sold things made in America. So there's going to be a new niche here. A new niche for companies who want to promote American manufacturing, promote - bring back jobs here. I think people will respond to it.
This is something Trump has believed for a long time. It's things that Americans voted for. And I think you'll see that his tariff policy will be pretty popular.
[06:40:00]
HUNT: Do you - I mean, Mark, I will - on the one hand, I take your point about Trump and his base, but Americans have also shown, like, they want the cheapest thing on Amazon more than they are willing to, you know, spend more money.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It sounds really good to say that I'm going to do it, and to threaten that I'm going to put a 200 percent tariff - I mean it plays so well. But the fact of the matter is, is that it is going to boomerang back on - on the average consumer. Again, does it help try to push, does he not do it? I mean, does the threat in itself help to - you know, help position us against China? Maybe. But the fact is, if he enacts it, I mean, then all bets are off.
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: I just think a lot of his policies are not actually geared towards working class people. And a lot of working class have sent him to the White House. So, I think that we're going to have a real, real reckoning here of the - the reality of what his policies actually do. I mean he lost manufacturing jobs when he was president before. I mean they were (INAUDIBLE) the Chips and Science Act, and that's bringing American - or bringing jobs to here - to America.
So, I just think there's going to be a real reckoning here with working class people. And we'll see what happens.
TODD: But, you know, the tariffs that he put in place on aluminum and steel, the Biden administration kept after running against him. So, tariffs are an effective tool.
HAYS: But the - all the economists that looked at his economic plan during the election were saying that this is going to put over $4,000 of costs back on the average family. So, I think that we'll just have to see what plans actually go through and what actually happens. But going back onto the working class people I think is going to be a real problem for the Republican Party heading into the midterms in 2028.
TODD: I think you're right that it's an opening gambit, right?
HAYS: Yes.
TODD: The number will change. But I wouldn't bet against Donald Trump on keeping working class voters.
HUNT: All right, coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, Laken Riley's final moments captured on tape, and the damning DNA evidence revealed as prosecutors wrap up their case.
Plus, in just a few hours, the House Ethics Committee is going to meet to weigh whether the report about Donald Trump's AG pick, Matt Gaetz, should be made public. Congressman Steve Cohen here to discuss.
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[06:46:14]
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SETH MYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT SHOW WITH SETH MYERS": House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he would ask the Ethics Committee not to release its report on former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. Oh, I'm sure if anything is in there, it's minor.
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HUNT: The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet today to weigh whether or not to release their report on Matt Gaetz, the former Florida Republican congressman who has now been picked to be Donald Trump's attorney general. He was at the center of a year's long investigation into alleged sexual misconduct with a minor, as well as illicit drug use. If it's released, the report would contain the testimony of at least two women who told the committee that Gaetz paid them for sex and attended drug fueled parties with them, where one of the women witnessed him have sex with a 17-year-old.
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JOEL LEPPARD, LAWYER FOR GAETZ ACCUSERS: They testified that they had met up with - with Matt Gaetz in New York in January of 2019 for his appearance on Fox News.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ABC NEWS: Met up with or traveled with, do you know?
LEPPARD: So - so, Mr. Gaetz paid them for the tickets to come to New York for the trip and they went to Broadway shows while they're there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What show did they see? I'm just curious now.
LEPPARD: "Pretty Woman."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About a sex worker.
LEPPARD: Yes. I had not even thought about that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Interesting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Oh, "Pretty Woman.
Joining me now to discuss, Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee. He's a former member of the House Ethics Committee and served alongside Gaetz on the House Judiciary Committee until Gaetz resigned from Congress last week.
Congressman, thank you very much for joining us on the show.
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Good to be with you again.
HUNT: So, we are expecting the Ethics Committee to meet today. Unclear whether they will vote on releasing this report. I know you've already called for them to do that, but what's your sense of what they are actually going to do? Is the pressure from House Speaker Mike Johnson going to impact Republicans and mean this report never sees the light of day?
COHEN: Well, it's really not from House Speaker Mike Johnson, even though he has power. His power is, he's - he's just a conduit for the power that comes from Mar-a-Lago. And so that's the fear is Trump. He's - he's - he's the bad guy.
And I don't think they'll release it. I think it will be 5-5, and at 5-5 it won't go out. But it should go out because the American public has a right to - not has a right, but they - they need to see it. They need to see who's been nominated to be the top law enforcement officer in the country. And it would also be a teaching tool to the Congress people, including myself. I don't know - I mean it was talking about the salacious things, the sex and the 17 year old and the drugs. And that's wrong and bad and illegal and blah, blah blah.
But there's stuff in there about taking a bribe. I want to know what kind of - did he - did he get $50 and vote for something or $500 or something else that's kind of a quid pro quo deal. They said he used his congressional perquisites for people that was unauthorized. I don't know what they mean. Did somebody vote him? Did he give his voting card to somebody and they voted for him or what - whatever he did. I don't even understand from the charges.
And then there's some other things in there concerning using his campaign fund for personal expenses. Did he charge the - the plays and the - and the tickets to New York and the hotel room to the - to his campaign members representation allowance, which is illegal. Those are the kind of things that would be a very good tool to teach congresspeople more about ethics, but also as a prophylactic so people will think, I don't need to do that.
The Ethics Committee needs to be strong. It needs to be respected. And that would happen if this was released. So, I think there's a lot of things to look at.
It's been - reports have been released after people have resigned in the past, Bill Boulder (ph) from Tennessee, Foley from Florida, Matter (ph) or something. He was only there for about a year.
HUNT: OK.
COHEN: Eric Massa - Massa. And so they've done it.
[06:50:01]
And especially if somebody's going to a higher office. If you're going to leave and go home and be out of the public eye, maybe - yes, maybe. But if you're going to try to be attorney general and have influence over the government and the American people, and you've got information about the person that might be relevant to the Senate's confirmation hearings, yes, you've got a duty to release it. And if don't release it, you're doing an injustice to the Justice - to the House, to the institution, to the system of checks and balances, to democracy and to this country.
HUNT: Congressman, some former or current members of the House, Markwayne Mullin sticks out in my mind as now a senator, they have talked about personally experiencing Matt Gaetz's bragging about some of the behavior that may be detailed in this report.
Do you have personal experience? Have you seen Matt Gaetz brag about having sex, about other things that show up here?
COHEN: He made some statements to me when he was a freshman that I found just kind of amazing and shocking, and I just was on the - I just had to look forward. Now, we were in the committee room and he - I guess he thought he was a young guy and he was getting started and - and I sponsored a decriminalization of marijuana laws and he came up and he said something. And I just thought, oh, my God, I can't believe he's saying that to me.
HUNT: Saying what?
COHEN: But it's consistent with what he -
HUNT: What did he say?
COHEN: I'm not - I'm not going to go into it, but it's consistent with what he's been charged with.
HUNT: Can you give us a little bit more detail?
COHEN: No.
HUNT: What did it relate to? I mean, come on.
COHEN: I know you want to - you want to do something that Mika and the other Mika does, that the - I know you don't want to go to Palm Beach, but we're not going to give you something exclusive that Mika and Joe don't get.
HUNT: OK.
COHEN: Not that I - I quit watching Mika and Joe. They're off.
HUNT: So, sir, let's talk for a second about Democrats and how you push back against the incoming Trump administration because, obviously, any party that's not in power often views itself as the party of opposition. There are some who look at how Democrats push back against Trump in his first term that they felt went too far, perhaps. I'm curious what you think Democrats did right and wrong in pushing back against the first Trump administration, and how you should do it differently this time.
COHEN: Well, you know, the first time was really a shock because of his conduct and some of the things he said about, you know, just women in particular and - and the way he used the federal government to enrich himself. I mean the people that stayed at Trump Tower, the Trump Hotel, and the monies he charged the Secret Service and they took - they took flights in Europe, not to stop in - they made them go to Scotland and take a 40 mile drive to Trump's hotel where they stayed. And it was all - he was -- he grifted totally. And it was an improper volume - the emoluments clause was violated. So, it was terrible.
I don't want to say we're inured to it, but we know he's going to do it. And now with the Supreme Court saying he can't be - he's got a privilege, he can't be sued if he's - if it's in his official capacity, he sees - he's, you know, Al Capone selling liquor right on the main streets of Chicago. It's not - he's got no - no guardrails at all. I think we need to stand up and let the American public know that when we think he's wrong and he's violating the emoluments clauses, he's going to do it constantly. I mean that's just kind of the way he does it. And that's the way the people he admires, Putin. He runs Russia. He's an oligarch. He's got lots of business interests and he's got - does things for his friends. And the same thing for Xi and - and I'm sure kung pao, whatever his name is, in North Korea, he does the same thing to.
HUNT: King Chunlin (ph).
COHEN: Yes.
HUNT: OK, Congressman -
COHEN: Kung pao pork.
HUNT: Congressman Steve Cohen, thank you very much. You, speaking of pork, it's the barbeque we got up here.
COHEN: No, its rock n roll.
HUNT: Rock n roll. I'm sorry.
COHEN: Elvis, Johnny Cash, Will Robinson (ph), Jerry Lee.
HUNT: Very nice. OK. Well, we're a hat friendly set. So, come back.
COHEN: Good. James Carville.
HUNT: All right, 53 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
Surveillance video in the Laken Riley murder case shows her out for a run just moments before she was killed off of a nearby trail. Experts testified Tuesday they found the DNA of the defendant, Jose Ibarra, under Riley's fingernails. Something unlikely to have happened by accident.
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ASHLEY HINKLE, GBI CRIME LAB SCIENTIST: It has to have some sort of scratching or contact with the inside of the nail. These were shorter nails, so they - it wasn't like they were long nails that you can just accidentally have contact with.
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HUNT: The state has rested its case against Ibarra. The defense will continue calling witnesses when the trial resumes in about two hours.
Today, One Direction star Liam Payne expected to be laid to rest in England. The musician died last month after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. And so far three people have been charged in connection with his death.
Texas looking to help Donald Trump with his mass deportation plan. The state offering 1,400 acres near the southern border to build detention facilities. No word yet from the Trump campaign and the Trump transition on whether they'll accept.
All right, let's turn now to this.
[06:55:01]
The future of the Education Department as we know it hanging in limbo. Donald Trump has vowed to send education, quote, "back to the states."
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're going to take it all out of Washington. We're going to send it all back to the states.
I believe that school choice is the civil rights issue of our time. We want federal education dollars to follow the student rather than propping up a bloated and radical bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., which is what we're doing now. Ultimately, we want to close the Federal Department of Education. And we're going to do that.
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HUNT: And now he's apparently got his choice to spearhead that effort. Republican donor, former pro-wrestling executive Linda McMahon. McMahon has, of course, spent plenty of time in Republican circles in recent years, and she served in Trump's first administration as the administrator of small business and is the board chair of a pro-Trump think tank known as the America First Policy Institute. But of course, before she entered Republican politics, she was the CEO of the WWE, which she co-founded with her husband.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this is my last night as co-GM in this ring.
LINDA MCMAHON: I hope not (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for the memories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no. No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Our panel is back to discuss that and, of course, the other Donald Trump pick we learned about yesterday, which is Doctor Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Mark Preston.
PRESTON: I mean she's very cool. I mean you see her drink that beer.
HUNT: I - I mean, yes, I hadn't before today, but, yes.
PRESTON: No. Well, no, go back to earlier in your show, the era of the American oligarchs. She's incredibly wealthy. But even more so, she has been involved in this Trump policy formation prior to the election. So, talk about going into the Department of Education and literally what they want to do is to try to piece it out to other departments, to other cabinets, and then move maybe the core out into the hinterlands, you know, out - you know, out into America. It will be very difficult for them to do it, but it is going to be a huge fight.
HUNT: Meghan Hays, what is the risk, the political risk, to doing what they say on the Department of Education. I think there may be a lot of people out there that don't realize the extent to which the Department of Education may actually be involved in the lives of children in their own communities.
HAYS: Yes, I think this just goes back to what we were talking about with working class people and people with families. The Department of Education pays for things like special needs programs and states for - and funded programs that, you know, there's a lot that goes into public universities that comes from the Department of Education. I just think that we don't realize the extent of what these departments do. And so maybe it will be a good wake up call for the rest of America to see what these departments do. But I do think this is going to impact greatly just the basic standards of education, and it will impact their children and their education that they're receiving.
TODD: You know, I think this is going to be a great debate. If we - the - there's no question that we're going to continue to have federal support for education. The dollars that we're spending on kids, on special needs kids, we're going to continue to do that. We're going to continue to have a student loan program. But if you think 3,900 employees in Washington are making your kids' school better, then you're just crazy. And this - when we started the Department of Education, it's the newest department, we started it in 1979. America was first -
HUNT: Well, you're forgetting about the Department of Homeland Security.
TODD: Well, OK, OK, OK.
HUNT: But, otherwise, I take your point.
TODD: Yes, America was first in education when we started it and we're a long way from first now. I think it's OK to stop and say, hey, maybe trying to control things from Washington is not working. So, we can continue to fund schools with federal dollars, but we don't need 3,900 people here in Washington running it.
HAYS: I just don't know - actually know that we know what those 3,900 people do. I'm not saying that there - some of those people don't need to go. I just think that there are more programs housed within that department than people realize. And I think if you start breaking it apart and start taking money away, it will impact people in their daily lives with their children's schooling.
HUNT: Yes.
All right, I do want to leave you with this today. The celebration trend in the sports world, the Trump dance.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): YMCA.
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HUNT: Trump's double fist pump has been a rally staple for years now, usually to the "YMCA." If we could keep playing that, that would be great. But now the dance jumping from rallies to sports. Monday night, U.S. soccer star Christian Pulisic busted out the move after scoring a go ahead goal against Jamaica. On Sunday, it was pro football players hitting the Trump dance after big plays. Raiders rookie Brock Bowers in the end zone. Lions player Za'Darius Smith with a quick move after getting a sack. And Titans wideout Calvin Ridley celebrated with teammates after a long score before it was called back on penalties. And one of Trump's favorite sports, UFC, not left out.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. He did the Trump dance. Ah, he did the Trump dance.
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HUNT: That was UFC champ Jon Jones hitting the dance after knocking out his opponent while Trump watched from the front row at Madison Square Garden this weekend. Jones took his celebration next level. He handed the champion belt to Trump for the photo op after his win.
[07:00:05]
But, Mark Preston, the Trump dance, now all the rage.
PRESTON: OK, so just watching it right now, I think Ridley did it best. I think everyone else does it too fast. If you're going to do it, you have to motionally do this. If you ever see how Trump moves his hands - I've - I've studied Trump. I played him many times in debates. It's like this.
HUNT: This is why you're the perfect person to talk about this. And I will say, this was widely celebrated at the Republican National Convention. I think there were some eyebrows raised at the time, but, here you go. They, I guess, made it iconic.
Thanks to you guys for being here with us today. Thanks to all of you at home for joining us as well.
I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.
