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CNN This Morning
Trump Says "U.S. Will Take Over The Gaza Strip... We'll Own It"; Rep. Mace: New Trump Order Will "Protect Women's Sports"; Mass Shooting In Sweden Leaves 10 People Dead; Bodies Of All 67 Victims Recovered From Potomac River; USPS Suspends Parcels From China And Hong Kong. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired February 05, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:36]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Wednesday, February 5th.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip. We'll own it.
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HUNT: A stunning proposal to take over the Gaza strip, potentially with American troops in a plan that could permanently relocate millions of Palestinians.
Plus, a major makeover. The CIA offering the entire agency a buyout. Just how far will the president go to reshape the nation's top agencies?
And --
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TRUMP: I want the states to run schools, and I want Linda to put herself out of a job.
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HUNT: Shutting it down. President Trump lays the groundwork for his promise to close the doors at the Department of Education.
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HUNT: All right. It's 5:00 a.m. here on the East Coast.
This a live look at Southern Gaza. That's Rafah that you are looking at. It is about noon, just a little bit afternoon there in Gaza. The focus, of course, here on the East Coast as well.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
Quote: The Riviera of the Middle East, end quote. President Donald Trump detailing his vision for transforming the Gaza Strip, a move that would potentially derail decades of U.S. diplomacy that has been aimed at stabilizing the region. While he was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump restated his proposal for neighboring nations to take in Palestinians, while the U.S. takes over Gaza.
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TRUMP: I would like to see Jordan. I'd like to see Egypt take some. Look, the Gaza thing has not worked. It's never worked. I think they'd love to leave Gaza if they had an option, right? Now, they don't have an option.
The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.
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HUNT: Reaction from both sides of the aisle quickly pouring in. The reaction to what would be a seismic shift in U.S. policy.
Three Republican senators who spoke to CNN, Senator Lindsey Graham, called it, quote, an interesting proposal. He added, quote, it might be problematic.
Senator Thom Tillis suggesting there are, quote, probably a couple kinks in that slinky.
And Senator John Cornyn says, check back with me tomorrow.
Delaware Senator Chris Coons seen here covering his face in disbelief as reporters told him about Trump's idea for the first time, had this to say.
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SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): You can report that I was speechless. I'm speechless. That's insane. I can't think of a place on earth that would welcome American troops less, and where any positive outcome is less likely. This is between offensive and insane, and dangerous and foolish.
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HUNT: Major actors in the region also responding overnight, the terror group Hamas, which governs Gaza, released a statement calling Trump's proposal a, quote recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region before adding our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass. But far right lawmakers in Israel are hailing the U.S. president.
The former national security minister, Ben Gvir, writing on the platform formerly known as Twitter, quote, Donald, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Joining us now to discuss, Avi Mayer, the former editor in chief at "The Jerusalem Post".
Avi, good morning.
The terms of our conversation, considerably different than the many that we've had about the war that's been ongoing for the last number of months because of what we heard from President Trump in the Oval Office. I think my big question is simply, is this something that is real? Is this a real proposal?
Or is this one of those situations where Donald Trump is putting something out there that lays out a negotiating position and relates to other things that ultimately he wants to see play out in a region or place.
[05:05:02]
I mean, we've seen it with the tariffs lately with Canada and Mexico.
Now, obviously, this was stunning to everyone who heard it here in the United States yesterday. How is it being received in Israel, and what's your view of the actual realism to this versus bluster and negotiating tactic?
AVI MAYER, FORMER EDITOR IN CHIEF, JERUSALEM POST: Well, Kasie, good morning. Look, I've been an observer of this region for many years. I did not have this on my bingo card.
HUNT: Really?
MAYER: Reversing decades of U.S. policy, declaring that the U.S. will take over the Gaza strip after it is emptied of its 1.8 million residents, will level it, develop it, and turn it into a hub of housing and employment. It is a remarkable, I would say. I agree with you, stunning statement from the president of the United States.
And I think your question is exactly the right one. Is this his actual position now? Does he really believe that he's going to invest the human capital, the financial resources, the diplomatic weight that will be necessary to bring this about? Or is this some kind of opening gambit in a long run effort to bring about some kind of grand vision, some deal that he's been talking about regarding Iran and Saudi Arabia and Israel?
My instinct, my rational instinct is to say the latter. But Donald Trump is an unpredictable guy, and this may be his actual position. We'll have to see what the next few weeks and months bring.
HUNT: So, Avi, let's say that this is him executing the art of the deal just because I think its a little easier to imagine how this might play out than it is to imagine the entire Gaza strip being cleared, Palestinians being moved elsewhere, and the whole thing becoming Mar-a-Lago on the Med. But if in fact, this is something that has to do with negotiating, can you sort of talk a little bit about the question around normalizing Israeli relationships, especially with Saudi Arabia, in a way that would take on Iran? Because and correct me if I'm wrong here, but my understanding of the situation is that the Saudi demands for that include a two state solution for Israel and Palestine.
And that, of course, is something that's not tenable on the right in Israeli politics anymore. So if Trump puts this out there as his negotiating position to start with, the ultimate goal of normalization, something that he worked on, you know, set up with the Abraham Accords and other and other things. How does that impact potentially getting to a place where Israel and Saudi Arabia, essentially, you know, lay down their arms in the joint effort to take on Iran?
MAYER: Look, you know, I don't know that there are many people in this region who look at Gaza and the West Bank and say, were ready for a Palestinian state. I think there's broad recognition that even if that is the ultimate goal, it's not going to happen anytime in the near future.
But you're right that Saudi Arabia has said that a pathway towards a Palestinian state is a prerequisite for any kind of normalization arrangement with Israel. Its possible that the president is putting this out there as this very dramatic statement that he will then withdraw from in exchange for some kind of movement by Saudi Arabia in the direction of normalization, even absent the establishment of a Palestinian state that has been a large priority of his for many years now. Of course, it's a priority for Prime Minister Netanyahu as well.
And they of course, they all share the same goal of containing the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran. That is not a reality, that any of the rational actors in this region, or, quite frankly, the world want to see. And it's possible that this is president's effort to push the region in that direction.
HUNT: Well, I have a feeling there are a number of conversations between you and I set for the future about this. So, Avi, I always appreciate having you on the show. Really appreciate your level headed expertise on all things. So thanks for being here with us. I appreciate it.
MAYER: Thank you. Have a great day.
HUNT: All right. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, making good on a campaign promise, President Trump taking on transgender athletes in women's sports.
Plus buyout offers, ominous emails, questions being raised over possible mass layoffs at critical federal agencies.
And the teachers union pushes back as the president moves to get rid of the Department of Education. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: The move is not legal. You're talking about millions of kids and what that department really does is it actually makes sure that the money goes out and it's not stolen.
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[05:14:12]
HUNT: All right, welcome back.
President Trump is expected to sign more executive orders this afternoon, according to Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace. One will pertain to transgender Americans and sports. The South Carolina Republican tweeting it will, quote, protect women's sports. Reports indicating the order is expected to impact all U.S. educational institutions that receive federal funding.
The signing coinciding with national girls and women in sports day. It also fulfills a promise that helped fuel President Trump's campaign for the White House.
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TRUMP: We will, of course, keep men out of women's sports. Who would want men playing in women's sports? They want it. Who would want transgender operations for almost everybody in the world? They want them.
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[05:15:00]
HUNT: Joining me now is Julia Manchester, national political reporter for "The Hill".
Julia, good morning to you.
JULIA MANCHESTER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Good morning.
HUNT: This is what Nancy Mace tweeted about this. Tomorrow will be at the White House as the president signs an executive order to protect women's sports, ban transgender women from playing in on women's sports teams. MAGA is the new feminist, she says. We hold the line because women are counting on it.
Obviously, she has made this something that she has used to gain a lot of media attention. But bottom line, what do we expect from the president today on this and what real world impact is it going to have on the, we should say, very few number of people that this would apply to? MANCHESTER: Yeah, that's absolutely true.
Remember in Utah, a state with a Republican governor, we know that Governor Spencer Cox vetoed legislation at one point that would have banned transgender women in sports in that state, saying that there was only evidence of what? Four trans people playing on women's sports teams. So there's a real question of what kind of impact it has.
But look for the president, for his team, they say this is promises made, promises kept. This is a campaign issue. They really touted throughout the campaign.
And then following the campaign, you heard a lot of Democrats actually saying we should have been more aware of this issue and messaging and responding to this issue. There are numerous polls that show that a majority of Americans are opposed to trans women or trans people playing on women's sports teams.
However, members of the trans community advocates would say that's because there hasn't been enough messaging and education around this issue. But I think we're seeing this issue becoming much more mainstream and how Americans look at it. And you're seeing the president take executive action on it.
HUNT: Well, the messaging war clearly won by Republicans in the last campaign on this.
MANCHESTER: Right.
HUNT: Let's look at that at the ad that the Trump campaign put a significant amount of money behind in some crucial states ahead of the election in November. Watch this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala supports transgender sex changes in jail with our money.
AD NARRATOR: Kamala even supports letting biological men compete against our girls in their sports.
Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.
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HUNT: A very simple message there, Kamala for they/them, Donald Trump for you.
In the wake of the election, this has some Democrats, as you point out, trying to reckon with this and saying, hey, maybe our party is out of step one of them, probably the person who got most out front on this was Seth Moulton, who I talked to about this on the show a couple of months ago. Now let's watch what he had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: You told them that Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend, rather than being brutally honest about the challenges Americans face. I have two little girls. I don't want to see them getting run over on a playing field by a male or a formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I'm supposed to be afraid to say that.
REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): I was using this as one of many examples where the Democratic Party has lost touch with the American people, but the problem is that were so insistent on, you know, policing our words and even refusing to engage in debates about contentious issues that we're just losing on them.
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HUNT: So, Moulton put out there, hey, I'm not allowed to say this out loud. And this is part of the problem. How do you think were going to see Democrats react to this today?
MANCHESTER: You know, look, I think you're going to see a number of different responses. We could this is a major test, I think, for Democrats as they seek to essentially rebuild and rebrand their messaging following the election. This is one of those issues that they found themselves on the back foot on, that they were divided on, that they didn't have a unified message on. So I think you'll definitely see a lot of Democrats speaking out in favor and support of the trans community.
But you could see some Democrats like Seth Moulton, for example, urging his party to maybe take a different stance or at least have that tough, uncomfortable conversation about the issue going forward.
HUNT: Yeah, Julia, how do you anticipate, you know, on Capitol Hill today when you, you head up there to just kind of do your day job? We're still in this kind of unrelenting world of Trump. I mean, there's Gaza, there's still the tariffs. I think that is still an important story. There's obviously this.
How do you anticipate and we saw Democrats yesterday rallying to oppose Elon Musk running government.
What do you anticipate is going to be the focus today?
MANCHESTER: You know, it's a good question because even before I went to bed, I saw that a number of obviously USAID employees were placed on leave. Look, this is all about flooding the zone from the Trump administration. Like I said, we're looking to see what message Democrats put out. Is it a unified response? Are they divided on this issue?
But also, I think it's -- I'm also curious to hear what Republicans have to say. Remember, after that announcement President Trump made about Gaza last night? We heard a lot of Republicans, Senator Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis raising a lot of concern and kind of confusion about what that means going forward.
Remember, Trump also campaigned on not getting the U.S. involved in foreign wars or foreign conflicts or troops abroad.
[05:20:08]
Taking over Gaza you would assume, would do that.
HUNT: He didn't rule out using American troops.
MANCHESTER: Right, right.
HUNT: Yeah, I was struck by that as well, considering when you went to Trump events, it was always, let's prevent world war three. I mean, a physical takeover of land by the United States in the world's most -- one of the world's most contentious regions doesn't seem to necessarily align with that larger goal.
Julia Manchester for us this morning -- Julia, thank you very much.
MANCHESTER: Thanks, Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Coming up here on CNN this morning, President Trump, as we were just discussing flooding the zone. Are all the freezes firings, buyout offers just designed to leave us all in a daze?
Plus, why the U.S. Postal Service says no more packages from China and Hong Kong will be coming until further notice.
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[05:25:07]
HUNT: All right, 24 minutes past the hour.
Here's your "Morning Roundup".
The worst mass shooting in Sweden's history, leaving ten people dead, including the gunman. It happened inside a school for adults about 100 miles west of Stockholm. Police believe the suspect acted alone. He was not known to authorities before the incident. No motive has been released.
The bodies of all 67 victims from the deadly mid-air collision in D.C. have been recovered. Crews working on the site now clearing the remaining wreckage. Today, American Airlines will observe a moment of silence to mark one week since the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in decades.
The U.S. Postal Service temporarily suspending international parcels from China and Hong Kong until further notice. No reason was given. It follows the 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports and threatens the business models of e-commerce giants Shein and Temu.
All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, everyone on the payroll offered a buyout at the CIA. What impact might that have on our national security?
Plus, President Trump's shocking announcement, his plan for the future of Gaza.
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TRUMP: Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.
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