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Erin Burnett Outfront
DOJ Investigating Minnesota Governor Walz & Minneapolis Mayor Frey; Ex-DOJ Attorney Speaks Out; MAHA: No To Birth Control. Aired 7- 8p ET
Aired January 16, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:25]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, the Trump DOJ now investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as the FBI director and the deputy attorney general make an appearance in the city. We're live on the ground there tonight.
Plus, he's a 10-year veteran of the DOJ who quit because of what Trump was doing, and he is speaking out now in his first interview. Why he says he couldn't stay silent any longer.
And MAHA says if you're a feminist, you don't take birth control. And that message is catching on, interestingly, with some Democrats.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news under investigation.
CNN learning the Justice Department is now investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both are Democrats. The investigation is for allegedly obstructing federal law enforcement. The investigation news coming just hours after Trump posted about Walz and Frey, "The governor and mayor don't know what to do. They've totally lost control and are currently being rendered useless." Interesting timing right ahead of this news.
And Walz, meantime, has just issued a statement which I'll read here saying, "Two days ago, it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week, it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her."
And, you know, just to make that point, right, the one person that with all these investigations into Minneapolis that have been announced, the one person who is categorically not being investigated criminally by the DOJ, they say is the ICE officer who shot and killed Good. They said it did not merit an investigation, even though doing one would be standard in such a situation. News of this this latest investigation, though, coming just hours
after FBI Director Kash Patel personally flew to Minneapolis. There on the ground with that jacket, he donned, posting that it was there, he was there to support his team, which is working 24/7 here, cracking down on violent rioters. That, of course, is a direct quote from the FBI director.
President Trump tonight also refusing to rule out, again, using that Insurrection Act to deploy even more U.S. troops to Minneapolis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's been used a lot. And if I needed it, I'd use it. I don't think there's any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I'd use it. It's very powerful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Just to be clear, he did say it was being used a lot. It has been used, but not for the past three decades. And there are already, according to what the government has said, about 3,000 federal agents on the ground, dwarfing multiples of the number of Minneapolis state police -- Minneapolis, I'm sorry, city police.
And all of this has served to fan the flames as protesters are continuing to confront ICE agents on the ground. DHS says at least 12 people were arrested just yesterday, and the situation growing more fraught as the administration seems to be on the cusp of sending another possible 1,000 additional ICE agents to the city. It's incredibly hard to get an accurate account of how many are actually even there.
But the expected surge follows the shooting of Renee Nicole Good, and we've got new details tonight emerging about her killing. According to an incident report. Good may have been shot up to four times by the ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, after she appeared to bump him with her SUV. You may have heard about three shots. We've all heard that a lot, but they're now saying possibly four.
And there's an analysis by "The New York Times" tonight. It's really spectacular and it's shedding light on the contested seconds leading up to Ross firing his weapon. And in a moment, we're going to show you that shot by shot by the reporter who went frame by frame to show you really kind of cut to the facts here on some things that are being said and alleged. According to the times, their analysis, quote, establishes how Mr. Ross put himself in a dangerous position near her vehicle in the first place. That reporter is coming up here in just a few moments.
But with this breaking news, let's go to Minneapolis and Shimon Prokupecz.
And, Shimon, investigation now into the mayor, into the governor, as you are there on the streets of Minneapolis tonight. What are you learning about this investigation? SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well,
certainly, Erin, this is coming at a really, really significant and bad time here in Minneapolis.
[19:05:00]
People here are so on edge. They're already concerned about the future of the city and are just hoping for all of this to somehow come to an end. And that seems like that's not going to happen anytime soon.
And you know, this reporting coming from our Kaitlan Collins, our chief White House correspondent and anchor, and, you know, keep in mind that exactly what's being investigated is not entirely clear. But we know that, of course, the governor has been very critical of federal law enforcement here, specifically ICE and DHS and what they've been doing. And he's been encouraging, you know, just a couple of days ago was encouraging people that if they see ICE, if they see these going on by these federal law enforcement officials to take their cameras out, to take photos, and certainly we know that the mayor has been very critical of ICE activity, you know, telling them to get out of Minneapolis.
But here's the thing to keep in mind here in Minneapolis, local law enforcement by law, is prohibited -- prohibited from working with ICE on immigration issues. So it's not entirely clear what this obstruction that they're claiming could possibly be. However, there is this one thing, Erin, and of course, that the local police have come under criticism from the president and the federal government is that when we see ICE activity, here's what's happening here in Minneapolis. There are these ICE watchers, and its mostly made up of women and moms in Minneapolis and in Chicago and other parts of our -- of our country.
They go out and they do patrols and they look for ICE activity, and they follow ICE around. And, you know, in some cases, they're being called domestic terrorists, right? So perhaps there is something with that that's under investigation. And these people, these women and these moms, they drive around, they take photos, they follow ICE around.
And of course, that activity has come under criticism by the president and by ICE officials. So, we'll see. It's just truly not very clear at this point what they could possibly be looking into in terms of the obstruction with the mayor and the governor.
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah, it certainly is. All right. Thanks very much.
And I just will point out there to Shimon's point, if, you know, they're saying things like encouraging people to take video of what's happening would somehow merit an investigation. Obviously, ICE very clearly is requesting their agents to be taking videos all the time to document what's happening. So -- by the way, people are allowed to do that, but if that's a basis for investigation, just making the very simple intellectual point that they would be investigating themselves as well. OUTFRONT now, Patrick Kent is the former attorney with the DOJ civil
rights division. This is his first interview since he resigned in May over concerns with what was happening in the Trump administration. Also with us, the former Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo and criminal defense attorney Mark O'Mara.
So, I appreciate all of you.
But, Patrick, I want to start with you. Obviously, you know, a couple hours ago, I thought we might have been having a slightly different conversation, but the world we live in is one which changes so quickly.
So you've worked extensively on a case involving Minneapolis police. This is very familiar territory for you in every way. The players, the mayor, the governor, the prosecutors. So, what's your reaction to this breaking news? The DOJ now investigating Governor Walz and Mayor Frey for obstruction?
PATRICK KENT, FORMER DOJ ATTORNEY: Well, I think it's important to cut through the noise. This isn't a serious investigation. This is simply an effort by the administration to intimidate the mayor, to intimidate the governor.
And I'll be clear, having spent quite a bit of time in Minneapolis, they will not be intimidated. They will not back down. They will see what this is. This is a weaponized DOJ.
And I am confident that they will exert and do everything to show exactly what occurred here is not proper and is overreach.
BURNETT: So when you hear Governor Walz with that statement, I read it in part, Patrick, but, "Two days ago, it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week, Jerome Powell before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her."
Obviously, that's a statement of fact. Now, of course, it's coming from -- you know, democratically elected Democrat, right? So, it is a political person who's putting it out. But does that change the fact that what he's saying is true?
KENT: So it is clear that there is going to be no investigation of this officer. They have already made clear that they have assured that they will do an investigation, but they already know that every all policies and protocols will have been filed. But what we know from the video, its unambiguous this was not a good shooting. This was not a lawful shooting.
BURNETT: So, you know, what does all this do to the DOJ's credibility?
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KENT: Well, it clearly has undermined it. The department used to have quite a bit of credibility when it would come into the courtroom, and it was deserved. But what I can tell you is the lawyers are no longer believed. The pleadings, what they write and what they tell the courts are no longer believed. And candidly, they shouldn't be because it is no longer founded on the truth
BURNETT: So, Chief Arradondo, Patrick, stay with me. I want to bring in Chief Arradondo, Mark O'Mara as well.
Chief, you know, the governor and the mayor. What's your reaction to you know what -- what you're hearing here?
MEDARIA ARRADONDO, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: Yeah. Erin, it's really -- it's news that I was hoping not to hear. I'm thinking about. I've obviously, I served, working as chief for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. And certainly, I'm familiar with Governor Walz.
And you know what Shimon Prokupecz is, reporting stated, you know, Minneapolis right now, Erin, they're under trauma fatigue. The 450,000 residents have gone through a lot over the last five and a half years. And you know, we've also had a separation ordinance prohibiting, as you mentioned, Minneapolis police from getting involved in immigration issues for a couple of decades now.
So also with the police department, with very limited resources. I don't know, realistically, that would even be a role for them to take on. So, the concern about this investigation into Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, what I can tell you from my being a public servant, having served for them. They will do all they can to make sure that that is not a distraction in terms of this investigation news, and make sure that the 450,000 residents of Minneapolis, and certainly the people of Minnesota, continue to have the services that they so rightly need.
BURNETT: Well, and there's got to be fatigue among those officers. I mean, it's incredibly exhausting. And my understanding is there's what, 600, or 700 of them just in Minneapolis itself. Obviously, now, we're understanding 3,000 or more federal agents on the ground. So, at the least disruptive. And that's a huge understatement.
Mark O'Mara, I want to play for you and people have heard this themselves over the past weeks, but I'll put it together. Look, Mayor Frey has made it clear how he feels about what ICE is doing right now and how this has been handled. Okay, so he's been open about that.
Let me just play a bit of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: I have a message for ICE. To ICE: get the fuck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. That's the line, right, Mark? From the very beginning, I would imagine they're talking about him encouraging people to film things on cell phone, which obviously ICE is also encouraged to do. But does that line mean anything? Is that obstruction? MARK O'MARA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I try and stay away from
the politics, but its undeniable the political influence that has now happening in Minneapolis and unfortunately across the country.
And I do -- I think that the mayor needs to be careful. ICE has a federal law that they are enforcing. We may not like the way they're enforcing it and the fact that they're doing it, but they do have federal jurisdiction over immigration, and that's what they're doing. When anybody, even a mayor or a governor, and trust me, I'm very concerned about the chilling effect on the First Amendment, particularly when you are mayor of a city or a governor of a state.
But having said that, he does need to be careful because if what his words are being interpreted by other people, other citizens, is that they are going to, quote, do his bidding to interfere with ICE when they do have the legal authority to do what they're doing as obnoxious as some may think it is, he needs to be careful.
I don't like that Powell is being investigated, and now mayors and governors are being investigated. But I do think -- chilling effect on the First Amendment aside, he needs to be a bit careful.
BURNETT: And, Patrick, how do you see it? Right? That even in the context of people being able to say, if they're honest, that this is politicization and that that's what's happening in so many ways, that you have to be really careful how you respond to that and fill that space.
KENT: I don't think there's any question that you do have to be careful. I think I would have a bit more of a nuanced perspective that I don't think it is in the benefit of the mayor or the governor to give in to what is clearly a weaponized Department of Justice.
They have a message. They have a right. They have a First Amendment right to say it. They have said it. I don't think they've come remotely close to any line.
And at this point, I don't know what else were supposed to ask of them.
BURNETT: So, Chief Arradondo, in the midst of this, this news just breaking right about this investigation.
[19:15:01]
The FBI Director Kash Patel shows up along with the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche. They show up today in Minneapolis.
Okay. What -- everything just seems to be trying to take it one level up on the escalation chain, Chief.
ARRADONDO: Well, obviously, you know, as you mentioned, the number of federal, agents and federal resources that are in the state of Minnesota right now are unprecedented historical numbers. You know, we've certainly always had a footprint of federal departments working in Minnesota, but certainly not to this level. And certainly, the absolute priority has been immigration enforcement. Now having the heads come in to Minneapolis. Certainly, it's sending -- it's sending a message. You mentioned Director Kash Patel is wanting here to be here to support his folks on the ground.
But it also, again, as Shimon reported, tensions are high in the city. And you know, you don't want there to be one sort of tipping point, that really sets things off. And so while folks and leaders on the ground are urging for peace and calm, all of these different dynamics can certainly disrupt that.
BURNETT: Well, and, Mark, just in the moment that we're in right here, it is fair to point out that you have no investigation into ICE -- the ICE agents actions, which would be standard in any situation like this with law enforcement of any type, whether federal or state, right? They said, no, it's not needed because we already know what happened. But in addition to the mayor and the governor, they are.
And I'll ask Patrick about this in a moment. But you had a mass series of resignations in Minneapolis because they were being pressured to investigate a dead woman and her wife. That's where the investigation eyes are.
O'MARA: And I agree, that's where it should be. I wasn't suggesting that either the governor or the mayor or somehow, you know, along the edge of a criminal investigation, a legitimate criminal investigation. I don't think that behaviors are anywhere near criminal in the suggestion that they're interfering with federal behavior or federal action.
But I do just think that everyone needs to calm this down a bit, if at all possible. Certainly, having the director of the FBI show up was not necessary. I don't think that that any of this is helpful. And I do understand the mayor's position on this, because he feels as his city is being invaded, I don't think it's a criminal offense. I don't think it should be investigated as such.
And you're absolutely right. We know that we have a death of a woman that is at least very questionable. Now, some of the recent video that has come out that I think we'll talk about in a minute suggest even more that it's a question. And for the transparency of it, there should be an investigation.
BURNETT: And, Patrick, you know, we talk about you obviously, a few months into the Trump administration reaching the conclusion that you could not continue there. And now we see this, you know, this six or seven resignations in Minnesota. But I don't want to treat the DOJ like it's some monolith, right, because of what's coming out on the politicization side.
There are so many people who work at the DOJ. Many of all three of whom -- all of you know. Patrick, what is the -- what are they feeling? What are they thinking? People inside the DOJ right now.
KENT: It's an absolute intense pressure, right? Because people came to the department, they were dedicated, dedicated to the Constitution, dedicated to doing the greater good. And now what they've been told to do is the law doesn't matter.
And the fact that it's been weaponized, the fact that you see these mass resignations, it's not hard to know what's going on. People are not leaving because they want to. People are not leaving because they can do the job that they were there for. They're leaving because they are being prevented from doing the job that they need to do.
And of course, it makes absolute sense that in the context of Renee Good, that when there is no investigation, when the video is incredibly, incredibly sickening to watch and has that, in fact, you have this mass departures from the department.
BURNETT: Yeah. And of course, it raises the questions then of who will replace them, which I know I'm sure kept them up at night as they thought about it.
All right. Thank you all very much.
And Mark mentioning this new video, which is even more disturbing because it goes to the heart of some claims that might have felt a little bit fuzzy for the past week or so when you looked at it. But when they go in into those minutes, moments, literally seconds that led up to Renee Nicole Good being killed by that ICE agent, you may be really surprised what becomes clear enough to make it clear that we do need an investigation.
"The New York Times", with an in-depth video analysis, one of their investigative reporters breaking it down next.
[19:20:02]
Plus, they voted for Trump because he said he'd fix the economy. So what is their response when the president says that everything is great right now?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They need to come out here. They need to come out here and live in my shoes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And an alarming warning from the FAA tonight. Now urging all airlines to exercise caution when flying south of the border. We'll tell you the reason.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, protests throughout the day on the ground in Minneapolis as we're getting new information about the moment Renee Good was shot. This is video analysis by "The New York Times", and it sheds a lot of new light on those crucial seconds and milliseconds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIC TOLER, NEW YORK TIMES VISUAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER: This is also the moment many have said, looks like Agent Ross getting run over.
[19:25:00]
And it does when watched at full speed.
But looking more closely, we can see in multiple angles that there's a visible gap between the vehicle and his legs, indicating his feet are positioned outside the SUVs path.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. We're going to go through this angle by angle with the reporter who did this new analysis.
Aric Toler of "The New York Times" is OUTFRONT now.
And, Aric, I really appreciate your time and you and your team took an incredible amount of time to go frame by frame and then to line up the other angles so that every single millisecond lined up and compare them. So, when Trump and others in his administration are adamant that Good, quote, "weaponized" her vehicle, right? That is something that they've all used again and again. The president said Ross was run over at the beginning, but they've said weaponized her vehicle consistently against the ICE agent.
When you synchronized all the videos, including some new ones that maybe viewers haven't seen again and again, was that what you found?
ARIC TOLER, NEW YORK TIMES VISUAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER: Well, the videos don't quite show that. It -- if we had more videos, it would be nice. But from what we can see, she's trying to crank her steering wheel away from the agent, and he doesn't get, like, hit full on by the car. I mean, Trump -- President Trump said that she was run over, that she ran him over, which isn't what happened.
If you watch the videos, especially the cell phone footage that came out, much of the impact that comes from is when he has his hand up against the car and its pushed up against his body. So, he's not hit full on by the front of the car? But we can't say exactly how much. If he was sideswiped or anything like that. But there's nothing that shows from the video clips, at least that she was trying to run him over or anything intentionally.
BURNETT: Which is crucial. And now, on the incident report, we're hearing there may have been four -- four shots. You went through the seconds of the second and third shots, and when they were fired, which, I mean, just to state the obvious for anybody, right? If you're -- if the whole argument is we don't even need to look into this because it was such obvious self-defense by the second and third shots, that would be excruciatingly clear, right? I mean, that -- that's what would happen in that case. So let me play more of your analysis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOLER: The other angle shows he's still standing, continuing to maintain his grip on his phone and his gun. And we see a clear and growing gap between his body and the SUV as he fires a second shot and a third.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, maybe we can pull that up and pause it again. I think because the -- I want to be really clear about the significance of what you're saying there. This would be that when the second and third shots were fired in a case of self-defense, because you think you're about to die, the car is pulling away from him. His body is moving away from it. And it is. Then you say that he is firing the second and third shots.
TOLER: So the first shot he fired he looks like his body was at least very partially in front, according to the video, at least very partially in front of it. But he's kind of -- to the side here. The second and third shots at that point, he's kind of closer to the driver's side window, right? He's like kind of like away from it, away from the front of it.
And he is -- his body is completely outside the trajectory of the hood of the car at this point. And his feet are slipping back a little bit because it's very icy, right? Like when he made contact with the vehicle, he doesn't fall down and his hand doesn't drop the phone. Right. Because even though its not that much impact, it's much to knock him down.
BURNETT: Yeah.
TOLER: But at the point that he fires the second or third shot, the car is already moving in different trajectory and he's reaching over. At that point. Theres a gap of a few feet or so between his feet and the body, or in the body of the car.
BURNETT: And just to be clear, I just have to keep saying this. If you're able to do this, you would think the DOJ could do that. And, and, and we could have a real investigation into what happened here, which is, which is what should happen.
You're doing it. It's crucial that journalists do that, but it should be done by law enforcement. So, the administration is then also pointed to the video that that many of us have seen, Aric, from the officer's cell phone because, right, they -- the ICE has been encouraging officers to also film interactions. And so, his phone jerks up, right? And they're saying, well, that's because he was in danger, right?
He lost control of his phone. That's what they're saying. Okay. So you've gone through that. Aric, let me show your analysis there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOLER: Well, it appears the agent's getting knocked over. We can see that's not the case from the other angle, which shows he's standing with his hand near the headlight, his torso and legs away from the vehicle. In the cell phone footage, the agents face flashes on screen. Then it goes black.
The other angle shows us why we can see the agent's foot sliding, his hand bracing against the SUV and his arm getting pressed into his chest. It is impossible to determine if this is happening because of the SUV's movement or the icy asphalt, or more likely, both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Also a crucial conclusion there, the ice.
[19:30:00]
TOLER: Yeah, it was an icy road. And you can even see the wheels spin a little bit out right when he's doing a three point stop to leave at 1.2. And the point of the clip you just showed is that when you watch this cell phone clip in isolation, you think, oh my God, he's getting run over by this car. It's like hitting the full force, right? Because it has the phone flip up at the sky.
But when you watch it in synchronization with the other clips, like you're doing right here, you can see what happens. The phone, he's holding his hand out the phone and it flips up because it hits up. And so, it points up sky, but he's still on his feet.
Like even with the icy road, he's still on his feet with the with the amount of contact the car is making with him, which seems like, you know, were kind of doing the CSI doing like ultra -- ultra, you know, the exact angles and all this stuff.
But it's important here when you think about kind of deconstructing exactly what happened, what parts of his body were touched and not touched and hit and not hit by the vehicle. And we've done the best we could of kind -- of with all the available evidence of showing that.
BURNETT: Yeah. Well, again, it's so crucial that you are and you know, it -- it's important somebody is doing it. You know, we wish there were there were a fulsome investigation that would give everybody in this country the confidence, but at least they have the ability to go and look at your reporting where you do that hard work and everyone you can go ahead and see Aric and his teams work, but go to the New York times home page. That is where it is at newyorktimes.com.
And next, nearly 60 percent of voters in CNN's new poll say Trump's presidency so far has been a failure. Now, that's a stunning number. But what do people who voted for Trump think? They matter so much? This man who voted for Trump has a message for Trump on his promise to fix the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you better hurry up because we can't -- we can't stand this much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And MAHA's new message to women -- if you're a feminist, skip the birth control. Is that message catching on?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:36:00]
BURNETT: Tonight, the majority of Americans, nearly 60 percent are saying Trump's presidency is a failure in a new CNN poll. Now, that includes two thirds of independents and 11 percent of Republicans. Obviously not so much Republicans, but independents, crucial.
And there is a lot more bad news for Trump. He is underwater on every single issue, right? Usually, you could pull out of it and say, well, there's this issue and this issue here right now, not the case, 61 percent disapproval on the economy, which voters said by a nearly 2 to 1 margin was the top issue. That includes 15 percent of Republican voters who disapprove on the economy.
And despite Trump's repeated claims that he has improved the economy, nearly half of Republicans say he hasn't done enough to bring prices down.
And that that obviously really stands out. Even the Federal Reserve president of Minneapolis, Neel Kashkari, who previously worked in the Bush administration administering TARP, told me he's surprised that prices every time he goes to the grocery store.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEEL KASHKARI, FEDERAL RESERVE PRESIDENT OF MINNEAPOLIS: I still get sticker shock every Saturday when I go to the grocery store. And so, I think that for anybody, Republican or Democrat, to try to convince the American people that they're experiencing something different than what they are living and experiencing, I think that's a tough thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT with new reporting on what voters are saying is the crucial state of Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANZ ROWLAND, GEORGIA FARMER: I don't know who dropped the ball in Washington to allow these prices, this trade to diminish like it's -- like it has, but somebody dropped the ball. Somebody wouldn't looking out for us.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On his farm here in southern Georgia, Franz Rowland is taking stock of the last year and fearful of what's ahead.
ROWLAND: Trump says, you know, be patient. The farmers are going to be better than ever. Well, you better hurry up because we can't -- we can't stand this much.
ZELENY (voice-over): He voted for President Trump, hoping a stronger economy and better trade deals would follow.
ZELENY: When you hear politicians and others in Washington saying the economy is doing great, the country has never been better.
ROWLAND: They need to come out here. They need to come out here and live in my shoes. The economy may may be doing better for some people, but on the farm, it ain't doing better.
ZELENY (voice-over): As the president begins his second year back in office, a majority of Americans call the first year a failure.
Here in Georgia, a state critical to this fall's midterm elections, economic concerns are top of mind for Florence Allen.
FLORENCE ALLEN, TOY STORE OWNER: My economy is not hot. I'm paying the bills.
ZELENY: Cost probably across the board have not gone down on many things.
ALLEN: Oh no, my costs have not gone down on anything. Not here at the store and not at home. Got it.
ZELENY (voice-over): Allen, a Democrat, has owned her toy store for 20 years and tried to navigate a whiplash tariff policy that's impacted much of her inventory.
ZELENY: When you've heard the president say, were making all this money on tariffs.
ALLEN: Give it back to me.
ZELENY: Because -- because tariffs are passed along or you swallow them, right?
ALLEN: Yeah.
ZELENY: Right.
ALLEN: Yeah. Yeah. So, you know you've raised my costs. So, I think for most people he's not fooling people with that line.
ZELENY (voice-over): Georgia has long stood as a leading barometer for Trump's performance. He won the state in 2016. Lost in 2020 and won again in 2024, flipping Baldwin County in central Georgia for the first time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He gets a plus from me.
ZELENY (voice-over): Janice Westmoreland said she feels more secure with Trump in office, a sentiment reflected in many of our main street conversations.
ZELENY: Do you like having him back in office?
TONY AGEE, GEORGIA VOTER: I do. I voted for him. I'm tired of the United States getting pushed around.
ELINOR CARRICK, GEORGIA VOTER: Looking at where my 401(k) is, I'm going to give him an A.
ZELENY: Yeah, it's done pretty well?
CARRICK: Yes.
ZELENY (voice-over): For Trump maintaining his coalition of Republicans and independents will be at the center of the fight for control of Congress as voters weigh his broader actions, including deep cuts made to the government.
Vi Le was among the hundreds of workers whose jobs were eliminated at the CDC.
[19:40:01]
VI LE, FORMER CDC EMPLOYEE: Terminating me and my teams like, that's one thing. But CDC that remains what's happening there now, that is mostly untold. Like that's still continues to be really harmful.
ZELENY (voice-over): Back on Rowland's farm, the 72-year-old Republican is as disappointed as dismayed.
ZELENY: Were you expecting things might get a little bit better with Trump back in office?
ROWLAND: I did, yeah. I thought -- I thought by now we would have a -- we'd have some really good trade. I did think there would be better by now. Yeah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: And Franz Rowland told us he does not see a light at the end of the tunnel here, as he thinks about planning season coming up. Yes. He's grateful for the government assistance. But, Erin, he said he is disappointed with what he thought President Trump would do in office. Of course, that is one of the challenges facing the White House. That disappointment is going to lead to votes in the midterm elections.
But Rowland left us with this thought. Yes, he likes assistance. But he said farmers want trade, not aid -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much.
Max Rose, Gretchen Carlson are here.
So, Gretchen. You know, I found that man extremely compelling, that Trump voter and I don't know, maybe it's just his personality, but he seemed to exude a feeling of weariness and sadness that was hard to turn away from. He told Jeff, you better hurry up, because we can't stand this much longer.
And these numbers, obviously, you know, polls are a snapshot in time. They're a balance sheet. They're not an income statement, but they aren't good. How worried should Trump be?
GRETCHEN CARLSON, JOURNALIST: I think he should be worried, especially maybe not Trump, but the Republicans running for the midterms should be worried. Look, he had so much power when he got all the independents and became president of the United States on the economy and on immigration. He is his own worst enemy. He should be flying high with all of these things. Instead, he's calling affordability a hoax.
And now he's sending in more ICE agents to Minnesota. And the majority of Americans do not agree with either one of those things. Then you have only 29 percent of independents supporting him. I mean, that is really bad news for Republicans coming into the midterms.
And I know that Trump oftentimes only cares about himself, but if he wants to get anything else done moving forward, he better start changing his tune to help the Republicans, or the flip side would be the Republicans start speaking out against him.
BURNETT: Right. Now, of course, you know few and far between when that happens, how long it lasts. But as you point out, you never know, right? The numbers will become the numbers.
Max, the Cook Political Report has just shifted 18 different House races to Democrats. Okay. Now, by the way, its January, so if there are Democrats watching, they shouldn't get excited yet. Who knows? David Plouffe has a lot of warning signs tonight.
But I guess that's the question. If -- how do the Democrats see such a moment and not sit around dancing and getting all excited and going off and talking about their special little pet projects that are not compelling to people either?
MAX ROSE (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Sure. Certainly, the Democrats should not go out there and try to find new issues that are potentially divisive. But what an opportunity here. If you just look at the state of the House and quite frankly, the Senate as well.
Democrats seem to be awfully united around a bold agenda, which is not something we've seen in a long time. And certainly, we are seeing Donald Trump just abandon what he promised he would do. Remember, this was the guy that said, for instance, that he wasn't going to start new wars, right? He was going to end them. He ran on opposition to forever wars. More service members in the Middle East today than when he started, invades Venezuela. Talking now about invading and annexing Greenland.
This is military adventurism writ large and it is alienating his base. But the reason why Republicans are so vulnerable is the elected officials are just following him blindly, and they're going to do so to their electoral detriment.
BURNETT: Now, Gretchen, what's interesting is that, you know, you've heard and maybe some of these aren't people who would surprise people. But recently people, Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Tillis is not running for reelection. They're standing up. But you're hearing it from some MAGA powerhouses. So, Trump met with
Tucker Carlson at the White House today. He's -- Tucker has been getting slammed. The screed by Laura Loomer, the right wing activist who's obviously very powerful in this administration about Tucker was, very, very direct.
Do you think we're going to see more MAGA voices like Laura speaking out?
CARLSON: We have been -- I mean, the second administration for Trump, MAGA has been ultra fractured. We started seeing the influencers come out right, right in the beginning. But in the last week, I would say that the most important one was Joe Rogan saying, do we really want the gestapo in Minneapolis?
Now, most people, unlike the three of us, probably are not paying attention to news. Every single moment of every single day. This is why influencers are so important.
BURNETT: Yeah.
CARLSON: They decided the last election and in this case, a person who say an independent hears Joe Rogan say that. And that's the headline that they remember for the whole week or two weeks.
[19:45:04]
And they're like, wait a minute, is this what we voted for? Right?
I think that the fracturing started early on with the influencers. We'll see if it moves into Republicans in the House and the Senate.
BURNETT: Yeah.
CARLSON: But the Epstein vote, I'm going to keep going back to that. I mean, I think were going to remember that as maybe a turning point when some got guts to do something.
BURNETT: Yeah. And then there was something that Frank Luntz, the veteran pollster, pointed out. This was fascinating last night caught my eye. He points out that in Alabama district, so this is red, okay? Nobody's talking about this possibly going Democratic. I mean, you know, all right. Dream, dream there, Max.
But it went 18 for Trump in 2024. It just went Republican by 29.
CARLSON: Wow.
BURNETT: Okay? By 29. Now obviously this is a local district, but it does point out something that I don't think a lot of people have been hearing lately. They're all hearing, oh, 18 races are turning Democrat, red states that, you know, some districts are going Democrat. What I just said there is that a unicorn or is that a canary that Democrats should watch?
ROSE: It's not a canary for Democrats. What you're seeing is look at these special elections, right? The vast majority of them in swing areas went to the Democrats. So that's increased political polarization.
Certainly, I think the base, which is Alabama in a lot of ways, might be still with Trump, but that small base, that 25, 30 percent is not representative of the majority. That's why so many of these Republicans in these swing areas are caught between a rock and a hard place. That's why Dan Sullivan in Alaska has to try to figure out how to defend what just happened in Venezuela, has to try to figure out how to back the president who wants to annex Greenland.
It's a horrible place for him to be in, and that's why he's going to lose.
BURNETT: Yeah, well, I think that kind of a unicorn or a canary is one of those ones where I feel like I would somehow have mixed my animals, my creatures.
CARLSON: It's okay. We understood what you did.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both.
And next, MAHA taking on a new mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's completely nonpartisan to say, hey, birth control is poison for women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, that message is gaining traction with more women. We're going to explain the special report from M.J. Lee.
And right now, the FAA warning all American Airlines to exercise caution when flying over Mexico and beyond. We'll tell you exactly where and why for such an unusual warning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:51:39]
BURNETT: Tonight, birth control backlash. MAGA heavyweights pushing against the pill. Katie Miller, Stephen Miller's wife, just tweeting, "Fact, birth control is poison for your body and mind." As you can see, Elon Musk cosigned that post.
So, who is behind this movement?
M.J. Lee with this special report tonight OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE BOCEK, MOTHER OF TWO: We have just under 11 acres.
M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stephanie Bocek grows vegetables and raises chickens and tick eating guinea fowls to try to keep her family healthy organically.
BOCEK: Look, you have an egg. I really was doing all this stuff before MAHA was even a named thing.
LEE (voice-over): A quintessential MAHA mom, Stephanie says there's one decision dating back to her college years that she now regrets.
BOCEK: I was at the naval academy and I was prescribed birth control as a solution for women's health issues. I ended up having severe side effects that I was unaware were caused by this birth control. I had lost my emotional resiliency towards stressors. I wasn't able to turn in assignments on time, and I would be overwhelmed by them.
LEE: And you were sure that these effects were coming from birth control?
BOCEK: It was only in -- a decade later, researching and looking back and realizing I never suffered from those issues when I wasn't on it.
LEE (voice-over): She's part of a growing wave of women, increasingly skeptical of hormonal birth control. That skepticism has, in part been fueled by the Trump administration.
Listen to Trump's pick for surgeon general and maha influencers raising alarm.
DR. CASEY MEANS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE: We are prescribing them like candy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is completely nonpartisan to say, hey, birth control is poison for women.
LEE: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says any suggestion that birth control can affect your libido or sexual attraction can affect future fertility. They will say those things have no basis in clinical data. You don't buy that.
BOCEK: I think in any major medical organization, they have a certain agenda that they want a message that they want to get out.
DR. MARIAM GOMAA, OBGYN AFFILIATED WITH JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE: I have been getting more questions, I would say about hormonal contraceptives.
LEE (voice-over): Dr. Miriam Gomaa, a board certified OBGYN, has noticed the growing questions about hormonal birth control.
LEE: The surgeon general nominee says hormonal birth control presents horrifying health risks for women. Do you hear that and think that's too alarmist?
GOMAA: I absolutely think that's alarmist. You know, it's unfortunate because she's a physician who did not complete residency.
LEE (voice-over): Gomaa says the potential side effects of birth control include breast tenderness, bloating and blood clots, but that it all varies patient to patient.
LEE: There is one woman we spoke with who said she lost her emotional resiliency. She felt overwhelmed by stress. Obviously you're not her doctor, but can you talk to us about whether those are potential side effects of going on birth control?
GOMAA: There's not necessarily data to suggest that this happens to people overall.
LEE: Yeah.
GOMAA: And that's not to say her lived experience is not true. It may be.
LEE (voice-over): She's worried that too much misinformation is going unchecked.
GOMAA: It can lead patients to be dissuaded from seeking treatment for things like PCOS or endometriosis, a lot of which we use hormonal contraceptives for.
LEE: Is hormonal birth control safe?
GOMAA: Yes, it is safe. Is it safe for everyone? Not necessarily.
[19:55:00]
LEE (voice-over): Dr. Marguerite Duane is a family practitioner who specializes in natural family planning. A professor at a Catholic university who is affiliated with anti-abortion organizations, Duane argues that hormonal birth control, potential side effects are too often ignored.
DR. MARGUERITE DUANE, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: All medications have side effects. I think there are better options that women can choose because hormonal birth control may not be safe for all women. We can learn to chart the signs of our cycle to monitor our health using fertility awareness based methods.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've helped a lot of my friends learn to track their cycle, and they're actually pretty grateful for it.
LEE (voice-over): Research shows hormonal birth control methods can be up to 99 percent effective for preventing pregnancy. While fertility tracking is 77 percent effective.
Tracking fertility cycles isn't new to Rachel Ulmann (ph), who's been doing it for more than two decades, not because she considers herself MAHA.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I would not consider myself that at all.
LEE (voice-over): But in large part because of her Catholic faith.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I track the peak that's leading up to that fertile moment when the egg is released. If you are wanting to achieve pregnancy, we have an acronym DTD, do the deed. You want to do the deed, when you're on that bell curve.
LEE: How many children do you have?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have four children.
LEE: You have four children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've all been planned. We plan our date nights around when the DTD can happen.
LEE (voice-over): M.J. Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And next, why is the FAA warning U.S. airlines to use extreme caution right now when flying commercial jets south?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: And breaking news we are following right now, an alarming warning to airline pilots tonight. They're saying use caution when flying near Latin America because of increased military activity. Again, something you wouldn't have thought that we'd be saying a few months ago.
The FAA is specifically warning of potential risks when flying over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico, as well as Central and South America.
Now, the advisories are similar to the ones issued following U.S. strikes targeting suspected drug boats around Venezuela. The FAA is going even further. They banned flights over the Caribbean during the U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. That, of course, took days to unwind. The FAA has not said what potential military activity could be behind the newest warnings.
Thanks for watching.
"AC360" starts now.
