Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
Federal Agents Clash with Protestors in Minneapolis; Trump Hits Pause on Military Action Against Iran. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired January 16, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: "Occasionally." The 12-track record is produced by his longtime collaborator, Kid Harpoon.
[06:00:06]
Styles' last release, "Harry's House," featuring the mega-hit, "As It Was," was Grammy -- won the Grammy and the Brit Award for Album of the Year.
The 31-year-old singer rose to fame as part of the boy band One Direction.
Now, I feel motivated to listen to "As It Was" again. That was -- that was a good era.
Thanks for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with us. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. And we are going to be talking about the protests and clashes with federal officers that have gone on another night.
Agents deployed pepper spray and tear gas in the streets of Minneapolis as the president threatens to send U.S. troops into the city.
And hitting pause. President Trump calls off military action in Iran for the time being. What move is the White House eyeing next in the Middle East?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: All options remain on the table for the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: A Nobel peace offering. Venezuela's opposition leader arrives at the White House bearing a gift. Will it help make inroads with the president?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: I presented the president of the United States the medal of the peace -- the Nobel Peace Prize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. And we begin here. Another night of tensions unfolding in Minneapolis as the president threatens to dial up even more pressure on the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're starting to throw the -- those -- Hold on. Let me just come back here. As you can see, basically, now they're just deploying tear gas, because what's been happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, CNN crews were on the scene when federal agents fired tear gas and stun grenades into a crowd of protesters outside the federal building in downtown Minneapolis.
ICE has been using the location as a staging ground for operations.
The scenes of unrest come as the president and his officials ramp up threats of invoking the Insurrection Act, which would authorize the use of military troops on American streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I describe it as violent and -- and a violation of the law in many places. I discussed with the president this morning several things that we are dealing with under the department and different operations. We did discuss the Insurrection Act. He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Noel King, co-host and editorial director of the "Today, Explained" podcast; Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor; Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of "The Daily Signal"; and Lulu Garcia-Navarro, CNN contributor and "New York Times" journalist, also podcast host of "The Interview."
So, I want to start with some CNN polling very briefly, just to set the table for this conversation, where I think we found 62 percent of independents believe that the ICE agents are -- the ICE agent used an inappropriate use of force.
The reason why I'm starting the conversation here is because what does the public feel right now? What is the public sentiment about how ICE is behaving?
When it comes to calling in the military and the Insurrection Act, what's the history there?
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's been called up dozens of times over the course of the history of the United States. But like you said, Audie, the goal here --
CORNISH: So, do school segregation in the South, protecting civil rights marchers, which is some irony here, because that's protests.
WILLIAMS: Right.
CORNISH: And then the 1992 L.A. riots.
WILLIAMS: 1992 L.A. riots. Now, but also the Civil War being the big one.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Now, the 1992 L.A. riots tapped into a provision in the Insurrection Act that makes clear that, when ultimately, violence or unrest so overwhelms state and local law enforcement that they cannot carry their jobs without the insertion of federal force, then the president has the authority, or at least the governor has the authority, to ask for the help of the federal government.
The challenge in all of this is that the language of the Insurrection Act is exceptionally vague, with language like, you know, "allowing the hindrance of an insurrection that hinders the execution of laws."
Now, that's a Rorschach test. It may seem very clear to many people, but that's -- that's very, very vague language. And it empowers the president to sort of implement his judgment as to what he thinks the -- the hindrance of American law is.
CORNISH: Yes. The ACLU calling this unprecedented, the threat of this. And I think the person we have might be Teresa Nelson of the Minnesota chapter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[06:05:00]
TERESA NELSON, ACLU OF MINNESOTA LEGAL DIRECTOR: I mean, those threats to essentially deploy the military against the people of Minnesota, against protesters and immigrants, is authoritarian. It's unnecessary, dangerous and wrong.
We've always had a separation between military and civilian government. And civilian law enforcement, you know, engaging -- the military engaging in civilian law enforcement is just unprecedented to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: It's also been a preoccupation on the left, this conversation that says, don't take the bait. When people say don't take the bait, it feels like they're alluding to this idea that, if people are out in the streets creating even more of a problem, the president has an excuse somehow.
Have you heard this? NOEL KING, CO-HOST/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "TODAY, EXPLAINED": Yes, of
course. I mean, we've seen this a lot over the last five or so years, right?
There are protests, and maybe they start out peaceful, and then they turn unpeaceful. And then, there's an excuse to kind of go in and crack down. So, I understand why people in Minneapolis are saying, don't take the bait.
I also think, I mean, you said CNN polling. There's now lots of polling out there. Americans do not like this. They do not want this. I think the polling is screaming at this point not to do this, but who knows?
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: And I think the reason is, you know, we're able to see the videos, right?
We saw this, actually, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. There was no international media there. And there were a lot of videos that were being shot by regular people. And that changed public opinion very broadly against the Israelis.
And so, what we're seeing here is the same kind of tactic employed, where people, citizens are videotaping what they're seeing, and they're putting it out on social media. This is not being mediated by anyone, right?
CORNISH: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is going out just unfiltered into people's feeds. And they are forming their own ideas about what is happening, which is why it is so difficult for the administration to control this narrative.
CORNISH: Yes. Though, too, be -- one thing to point out there is the student protesters here in the U.S. also felt a backlash from the public because of their protest tactics on campuses.
ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": Of course they did. And it was I thought it was interesting yesterday, because you had Governor Tim Walz encouraging people to go out there with their cameras and -- and be on the streets.
And then by the end of the day, he was actually saying, let's take the temperature down and asking the president --
CORNISH: Yes. Let me play some of that. We have some of the Democrats in Minnesota. I want to -- want you guys to hear it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): Donald Trump wants this chaos. He wants confusion. And yes, he wants more violence on our streets.
MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: They want us to respond in a way that creates a military occupation in our city. They want an excuse to come in and show the kind of force that will create more chaos and more despair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I want to ask you guys about one more thing. In this conversation about ICE tactics, there has been the question about whether or not it is legal for a federal officer to demand that you validate your identity on the spot, just because they've approached you.
First, is this something you're into? Before I go to Elliot, is this like -- is this --
BLUEY: I'll defer to the lawyer on this one.
CORNISH: Oh, well.
WILLIAMS: Oh. I'm good.
CORNISH: Let's let Kristi Noem speak, then. This is Kristi Noem on Thursday, who was asked this question directly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we seeing Americans being asked on the street to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota? Is that targeted enforcement? And are you advising Americans to carry proof of citizenship?
NOEM: In every situation, we're doing targeted enforcement. If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there, and having them validate their identity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Papers, please.
WILLIAMS: Papers, please. Look, a police officer can ask you whatever they want. No. 1, you don't have to answer. You're not obligated under law. Now --
CORNISH: Is that different for --?
WILLIAMS: That's what the law says, right?
CORNISH: But for ICE, is that different?
WILLIAMS: I mean, they -- they have broad discretion to approach and ask anyone for anything, but it's -- and someone does have an opportunity to sue if their -- if their civil rights have been violated. ICE has very broad discretion.
Again, the challenge here is that no one ever has to respond. The problem is that, OK, an ICE officer's cornering you on the street and says, show me your papers. GARCIA-NAVARRO: And then breaking your window and dragging out of the
car and then -- and then taking you into custody.
CORNISH: Because this is why it's important. Let's get to the legal point of this, though.
WILLIAMS: Right.
CORNISH: You're saying you don't have to respond. So, let's say you don't respond. And they say you're not cooperating.
WILLIAMS: Right.
CORNISH: Smash, smash. Now you're in an altercation you don't want to be in.
WILLIAMS: Right. And your recourse down the road is ultimately to file a lawsuit over whether it's the violation of your rights, the violation of your search and seizure rights, the damage of your property, which could take years. And it's actually not practical.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And can I just --
WILLIAMS: It's not -- it's not very pro --
CORNISH: Let me let Rob get a word in, because sometimes I go online, and you're out there saying online like, this is good. I'm glad the president is going after these illegals.
And I don't hear you addressing these kinds of questions, which is, if you're someone who's not in this dragnet, what are your rights?
[06:10:03]
BLUEY: Look, I -- I think that ultimately, Audie, a lot of this could have been solved, had the local law enforcement in Minneapolis had a better control of the situation.
The only reason we're --
CORNISH: Are you going to start carrying papers, Rob? Are you going to start carrying, like, RealID or passport or --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Well, the fact is he doesn't have to. I mean, my daughter said to me in the car yesterday, "Hey, Mom, we're Hispanic. Do you have to carry I.D. now? Should I carry I.D.? Are we going to be stopped? Are you going to be taken away?"
I mean, you know, this is the reality here, where maybe for you, you won't be stopped, and you might not be dragged out of your street. But there are swaths of people. We are seeing Native Americans.
CORNISH: But let him answer this, because I am genuinely curious. No, I'm curious.
BLUEY: But again, I think we need to take a step back. We wouldn't be in this situation if we didn't have, what, 10 million illegal immigrants coming to this country during Joe Biden's four years.
The -- Donald Trump was crystal-clear during the presidential campaign of 2024 that he was going to carry out the largest deportation in United States history. That is what he is doing right now.
CORNISH: So, this is --
BLUEY: This should come as no surprise to anyone.
CORNISH: No, I like this argument, because this is the midterms argument. And you'll be making this argument in the face of polling like this.
Does ICE make cities more safe? Fifty-one percent say less safe. That's a lot of people you've got to convince of your point heading into midterms.
BLUEY: Yes, it's definitely going to be one of those issues. In fact, there are -- there's a debate within the Democrat Party, as well, over whether or not they want to go all in on ICE or whether they should keep the focus on affordability and healthcare and other issues.
CORNISH: Yes. We're actually going to talk about that --
BLUEY: OK.
CORNISH: -- on the show. Bringing back the "abolish ICE" thing.
But I just wanted to make sure that, like, you got a chance to answer this. Because it's one of those questions that, within MAGA circles, I remember the RealID argument. We shouldn't have to carry documents -- like we shouldn't have to have. Do you remember covering this?
KING: I remember. Yes.
CORNISH: It was like a story about paperwork that turned into a story about civil liberties.
KING: Yes.
CORNISH: And these same people are saying, well, maybe you should carry something. Maybe you should prove you belong here.
WILLIAMS: And the one thing I would say is, having worked at ICE for five years is, yes, the president was not shy about saying this is going to be the most massive deportation effort in history.
The problem is that the agency is not equipped to handle that. And when you end up --
CORNISH: With or without state support? Or --
WILLIAMS: No -- there's also -- no. I mean, so, for instance, under the Obama years, you're talking about 400,000 removals a year, which was unprecedented. A lot of people. If the president is talking about removing a million people a year, that's necessarily going to involve, No. 1, hiring agents who are unfit to carry out their jobs.
No. 2, engaging in pretty rampant violations of civil rights, in order to hit those kinds of targets that the president is talking about.
So, yes, the president is more than welcome to ramp up or quadruple the country's immigration enforcement, but we are not equipped to do so in a lawful, efficient manner.
CORNISH: All right. We're going to talk more about this today.
WILLIAMS: And it just -- that's how -- that's how doors end up getting smashed open, and people end up having their civil rights violated.
CORNISH: All right. Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about even more things, somehow.
U.S. carrier strike group heads to the Middle East after the president decides to hold off on military action in Iran. So, what is the next move?
Plus, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk is back in court today. Why his lawyers are asking the judge to disqualify prosecutors from the case.
And Venezuela's opposition leader greets the president at the White House with a gift that he has long desired. But is it enough to win his favor?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: It was a very emotional moment. I decided to -- to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:18:13]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven't made a final. I like to make a final decision one second before it's due, you know, because things change. I mean, especially with war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: President Trump appears to have hit pause on a military strike against Iran.
After a late-night meeting in the Situation Room Tuesday night, top national security officials were confident the president was poised to authorize military action.
Sources tell CNN he was moved and deeply troubled by videos of protesters being executed by the Iranian regime, and he had already declared, quote, "Help is on the way." But some Iranians don't seem to want it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMRAN KAHIR, IRAN RESIDENT (through translator): We don't have Internet. We are not informed. We cannot learn what is happening inside.
Iran is beautiful. We don't want Trump to start a war.
MOHAMMED NEVIZADEH, IRAN RESIDENT (through translator): Trump cannot do anything. When we are united in Muslim countries, they cannot do anything. There is nothing going on anyway. There was turmoil for a few days, but everything has ended.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, we're going to talk about this response. Did the Iranian government somehow convince President Trump to hold off? Is he simply waiting for the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to arrive in the Middle East next week?
Holly Dagres joins the group chat. She's a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Holly, when you were here last time, you mentioned this idea that people are going out into the streets to protest. They do have awareness that the international community sees what they are doing, and they do have awareness that the U.S. president said, quote, unquote, "Trump is on the way."
First, how do they have this awareness?
HOLLY DAGRES, SENIOR FELLOW, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: Well, Iranians across the board, whether you're pro-regime or anti-regime, have satellite dishes that are illegal. And I've been to South of the country, where I've even seen them in villages that don't have much. But they have a satellite dish and they're tuning in to diaspora news channels like Iran International and BBC Persia.
[06:20:07]
And so, everything that's been happening on the outside, including the reporting on the massacres, they're watching it live. That's what they're tuned into with an Internet shutdown.
CORNISH: So, then when you hear something like this, I want to play for you the Iranian foreign minister talking about the number of deaths that have been reported. Here's that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ABBAS ARAGHACHI, IRAN FOREIGN MINISTER: My message is do not repeat the same mistake that you did in June. You know, if you if you try a failed experience, you will get the same result.
You know, in June you -- yes, you -- you destroyed the facilities, the machines. But you -- but the technology cannot be bombed. And the determination also cannot be bombed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And sorry for that. This is a slightly different cut. What he said was that -- that he wouldn't deny the numbers and figures that have been said. He called it a misinformation campaign. What are you hearing, because you used the word "massacres"?
DAGRES: Yes, well, for starters, I watched the FOX News interview. And it was as if it was a copy paste of what the Bashar al-Assad regime was saying in 2011 when the uprising starting -- started.
What we're hearing from human rights activists in Iran -- it's a group that you've also cited extensively. There's been officially from there and over 2,400 deaths, over 19,000 arrests. But there's, I would say, reputable documentation that the deaths are closer to 12,000.
And so, that's what we're seeing. And that shut-down -- it first started as a communications shutdown, where the phone lines were also dead -- was used purposely to commit these massacres. And though, we're seeing via Starlink. And the world is only just seeing a tiny bit, a sliver of what's actually happened, because we don't have full access to what's happening.
CORNISH: In the meantime, the president hit pause. Right? We don't know if there's going to be any kind of action. What does that mean, if you are out on the streets protesting in Iran right now?
DAGRES: I mean, he literally said repeatedly. He told them to take over their institution. Help was on the way.
To mem if I was an Iranian protester, I would think that that means America is coming, that there's going to be some help from the outside against a regime that's using military-grade weapons to shoot at protesters.
So, I mean, I think that they, if they're watching that, it's going to be like 1991 Persian Gulf War, where George H.W. Bush told Iraqis to take a hold of their future, and then they were slaughtered.
CORNISH: It's interesting, because they're cyclical. There are these uprisings periodically in Iran. And the U.S. always says, good. Democracy. Now is the tipping point. This is the time.
Does this feel like a tipping point to you for that regime?
DAGRES: I mean, this is the, I would say, the most vulnerable we've seen it in its years because of this newfound fragility. In the post October 7th world, they've dealt a lot of blows. Everything from the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, the maiming of its proxies in the region.
We saw the 12-day war left its nuclear program in shambles and unable to defend its airspace. And of course, we've seen this historically high anti-regime sentiment.
And in a resource-rich country that has been dealing with power outages and the possibility that the capital, Tehran, will run out of water.
So, this is where things are at. And it's clear that this regime has become a collapsed state. It was reported in "The Atlantic" in a thoughtful essay that said, for the first time that it's checked all five boxes for regime collapse since the 1979 revolution.
CORNISH: So, it's a tipping point. We just don't know to what right now, it sounds like.
DAGRES: Yes.
CORNISH: Holly Dagres, thank you so much. I hope to bring you back.
After the break on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump unveils his healthcare plan. But will it actually make health insurance premiums and prescription drug prices more affordable?
Plus, there were new clashes overnight in Minneapolis. Will the president follow through on his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:28:20]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My husband's has increased about 110 percent, which I don't know how we're going to afford that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is jumping to $1,000 a month, $1,000 a month for a single-income family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where's Trump? I need his help. He told me he was going to help with this whole health insurance thing. This is insane. I am paying out the wazoo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: President Trump rolling out his new healthcare proposal in response to many Americans, like you just heard, who are struggling to keep up with premiums, now that the Affordable Care Act subsidies are over.
The president calls it a great plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The government is going to pay the money directly to you. It goes to you, and then you take the money and buy your own healthcare. Nobody's ever heard of that before. And that's the way it is.
The big insurance companies lose, and the people of our country win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: President clearly feeling pressure to move the needle on the issue of healthcare. A just-released CNN poll finds 63 percent of Americans disapprove of the president's handling on healthcare policy.
Joining me now to discuss, Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Good morning, Julie. And first, we're going to come to the plan, but let's respond to what those people heard, because I'm not saying TikTok anecdotes are science.
Open enrollment has closed. What is the state of play for people's health insurance premiums right now, if they are the folks who use these subsidies?
JULIE ROVNER, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION: Well, everybody's health insurance premiums are up, regardless of whether or not you're on the Affordable Care Act.
But if you are on the Affordable Care Act, most of those people were getting -- there are still some subsidies, but the additional subsidies that were added under the Biden administration have now expired. And a lot of those people are getting real sticker shock.
