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Erin Burnett Outfront
White House Posts Fake Image Of Arrested Protester It Is Now Calling A "Meme"; Trump Admin Versus Blue States; Trump's Niece OutFront. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired January 22, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:31]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The White House defending a fake image of an anti-ICE protester saying the memes will continue. This as a Minnesota official says ICE is also misleading Americans on important numbers. He's our guest.
And so is the lawyer for the woman arrested for protesting at a church service.
Plus, more breaking news this hour. The Trump administration now investigating more than a dozen Democratic states, including New Jersey. The state's new governor, Mikie Sherrill, is OUTFRONT tonight.
And Trump is a, quote, "deeply psychiatrically disordered man". That from the president's niece, Mary Trump.
So, what changes has she noticed in the president? She's our guest.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the memes will continue. Those are the flippant words from the White House about the misinformation it is putting out about an anti-ice protester and all of it coming as tensions on the ground in Minneapolis are high. We're talking about this image of Nekima Levy Armstrong. She is one of the organizers of the protest that interrupted a church service in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Now, she was on this program last night. She was arrested today. Now, let's take a look at the image. It appears to show Armstrong crying. It was posted by the White House with the headline arrested.
Now, the problem with it is, is that it is fake. And there are several ways we know that. First, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem actually posted the actual image. It shows Armstrong being led away with a serious expression on her face. Absolutely no tears.
Secondly, the White House essentially admitted it was doctored when asked about it, the White House response was enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue.
A meme. Now, obviously, nowhere in their original post of her crying did they say or suggest it was a meme. It was just put out from their official account, which Americans should be able to trust as truth. Federal government, an actual official site.
Well, this is what Armstrong was talking about when I spoke to her last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG, ORGANIZER OF ANTI-ICE CHURCH PROTEST: Personally, I will not be gaslit by the Trump administration. They are trying to turn a peaceful, nonviolent demonstration into a crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, in a moment, I'll speak to Armstrong's attorney. And that image is not the only thing. Raising questions tonight about this case. There's also DHS claim that Minnesota has more than 1,300 people in its custody, that DHS wants turned over.
Now, Minnesota officials, though, are saying that that is not true, that those numbers are not real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL SCHNELL, COMMISSIONER, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: That total is 301 individuals, nowhere close to the 1,360 DHS has publicly discussed. They continue to publicly repeat information that is inaccurate and misleading.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That was Paul Schnell. He is the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, and he is accusing the administration of misleading the American public. It is a serious thing to say, he says. The administrations number is off by 1,000 people. And at this point, when they continue to say it is very hard to say it's a mistake.
So, he's going to join me in just a moment. But the discrepancy should concern every American, regardless of who you support politically, because Americans should be able to trust when they get hard, factual numbers from the United States government. That's really important.
And it comes as Vice President J.D. Vance showed up in Minnesota today. He said that he was showing up on the ground in an attempt to tamp down tensions. But it did turn into finger pointing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It would make our officers a lot safer, and it would make Minneapolis much less chaotic if we had a little bit of cooperation from the state and local officials. It's a lack of cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal law enforcement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, just moments ago, the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, responded to Vance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS: We agree. We have extensively worked with federal agencies under both Democratic and Republican administrations. In Minneapolis, we want to solve crime. We want to arrest murderers. Let's do it. Let's work together to drive down crime. Again, this is not that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Look, I think everyone can agree cooperation would be great.
[19:05:00]
It would be important when someone is a criminal for states to help bring them into custody, for them to leave. Everyone can agree also that it is important and time to turn down the temperature. But then you get headlines like this. The five-year-old taken by federal agents along with his father, and that fuels more outrage in the community. That is something Vance was asked about today
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: A local school district here is alleging ICE agents detain a five-year-old after preschool on Tuesday. Are you proud of how your administration is conducting this immigration crackdown here in Minnesota?
VANCE: Well, I'm proud of the fact that were standing behind law enforcement, and I'm proud of the fact that were enforcing the country's laws. And I see this story, and I'm a father of a five-year- old actually, a five-year-old little boy. And I think to myself, oh my God, this is terrible. How did we arrest a five-year-old?
Well, I do a little bit more follow up research, and what I find is that the five year old was not arrested, that his dad was an illegal alien. And then they went -- when they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran.
So the story is that ICE detained a five-year-old. What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Omar Jimenez is OUTFRONT, live in Minneapolis.
So, Omar, what are you learning? Is a family responding to the charges there that Vance is putting out? OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So that five-year-old's name,
Liam Conejo Ramos, and he was taken from his Minneapolis, Saint Paul area home after coming back from preschool. I mean, the image is pretty striking.
They're now pretty much in line with what the vice president said. The Department of Homeland Security said that they were targeting this this five-year-old's father, that the father ran, and then they didn't want to leave this five-year-old without his father.
So, he was taken with that father. But I want you to listen to what an attorney for the family said today in response
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC PROKOSCH, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING THE FAMILY: This family was not eluding ICE in any way. They were following all the established protocols, pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings, and posed no safety, no flight risk, and never should have been detained.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Now, regardless, they are both now being held at a facility and ICE facility down in Texas. This also comes as you saw on a day that Vice President J.D. Vance was here and in his words, to try and understand some of the stress points that have been going on here in this community. I actually asked him if this recent surge was meant to send any form of political message to the local and state leaders here, especially since ICE has been operating in this area for years with less pushback than what we're seeing.
He said no, and that the best way to lower the temperature is going to come from the local officials. And Mayor Frey agreed that peaceful protesting should be happening, but push back on the idea that Vice President Vance understands what's happening here in Minneapolis just by being here for a few hours, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Omar, thank you very much.
And I want to go OUTFRONT now, as promised to the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Paul Schnell.
And, Commissioner, I appreciate your time.
And, you know, really stood out to me when I saw you, you know, having to publicly speak out about the discrepancy in these numbers. I'll show everyone again, the difference, obviously, is striking.
DHS says that there are more than 1,300 people on ICE detainers in state custody. You say the real number is 301. So that's a difference of 1,000. And just to be clear on the definition of what an ICE detainer is, that's when ICE request law enforcement to hold someone in custody.
So, at this point when you've reached out to them, I understand to tell them, look, your numbers are wrong. Here are the numbers. Here are the facts. But they're still -- they're still putting out that number.
How do you explain what's happening and why the numbers are off by 1,000?
PAUL SCHNELL, COMMISSIONER, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: It is inexplicable, and we simply do not know where that number is coming from. We have attempted to reach out to try and square those numbers, and that has not been successful. And so, as we sit today, we cannot understand the reason or the rationale why the administration would continue to perpetrate this false information out into the community.
BURNETT: I mean, when you call them, are they -- I mean, are they responsive? Are you -- are you getting through to people or decision makers? I mean, it's really bizarre. I mean, one would think if you're giving them the facts, it would be very hard at this point to explain why they would be refusing to put out the truth.
SCHNELL: That -- that's exactly right. And then it causes us to question what the motive behind this is. And at the end of the day, we want good public safety. We participate and we cooperate with ICE. We notify them of detainers.
And just last week, we released a couple of people. And the next day, they were -- it was indicated that they were picked up as part of their surge effort, when in fact it was a coordinated transfer of custody. And this just fuels misinformation and mistrust.
[19:10:03]
And we think it's critical that that people know exactly what's happening both in Minnesota. And these things are happening really around the country.
BURNETT: Yeah, they are.
All right. So, when you talk about who they're apprehending, they're taking credit for apprehending a lot of people. People that you're saying that Minnesota actually turned over to ICE. So, they're basically saying Minnesota is not doing its job. We're having to step in and do it for them.
And you're saying that's false. I mean, there's a video of two suspects that was turned over to ICE. You say this was a coordinated transfer of custody. I mean, how many people, because the numbers being put out here, the image that they're putting out.
Right, is that there are a lot of people who are illegally in Minnesota, and Minnesota is doing absolutely nothing about it, even when they're criminals. And therefore, ICE is required because Minnesota is doing nothing, right? That's the narrative.
What is the reality?
SCHNELL: The reality is, is that the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the state has fully cooperated with ICE and ICE detainers. We continue to and will continue to do that. Many jails across the state do this.
There are some challenges, logistical challenges and challenges, staffing challenges that ICE has on that front. There are things that can be worked out, and it is time to bring down the heat. As has been widely talked about.
But rhetoric and putting out information that's not factual does not help and does not result in that end.
BURNETT: No, it doesn't. You know, there's another -- you know, we were talking about the five-year-old, but another story that's gotten a lot of pickup. And that is on the left, the focus on the man in his crocs that, you know, they said when ICE agents went to his home that he was -- had done nothing wrong and they shouldn't have been there.
On the right, they're saying, well, that's because they were looking for two convicted sex offenders who were living there illegally. And again, that Minnesota had refused to you know, even despite the conviction to, to have leave the country. So, these are the two stories out there. You know, they have one man they say DHS says sexually assaulted a minor and is currently at large.
So, all of that sounds really terrible, but you looked into it, Commissioner, and this particular man you say is not at large.
SCHNELL: Not at large. He is, in fact, in prison and subject to a detainer. And this has been one of the big challenges, and I think because we have not been able to get together face to face work through the information that's out there and make sure that what we're putting out is accurate and reflects information that's in the interest of public safety. That's what's ending up, you know, perpetrating these, these stories that are just simply not factual.
BURNETT: So, commissioner, I just want to be clear in this particular case, with this individual, ICE has been spending time looking for somebody, right? Spending time looking for somebody who if they had asked you, you would have told them is in prison right now.
SCHNELL: Yes. And they should know, because we did notify them that they were in our custody and they are subject to a detainer. And this is one of the big problems that we have. And I think at the local level, coordination is really, well, well established and has been long standing. This is happening at a much higher level. Political level. And I think that's part of the challenge here.
BURNETT: Commissioner Schnell, I am very appreciative of your time and laying out these facts in such a thoughtful manner. Thank you.
SCHNELL: Thank you.
BURNETT: And Jordan Kushner, the attorney for Nekima Levy Armstrong, is now OUTFRONT.
Jordan, I appreciate your time. You know, I spoke to your client this time last night, hours before
she was actually arrested. At that time, she expected that might happen. And she was defiant. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARMSTRONG: Personally, I will not be gaslit by the Trump administration. They are trying to turn a peaceful, nonviolent demonstration into a crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: She obviously has pleaded not guilty. How confident are you that she will actually prevail?
JORDAN KUSHNER, ATTORNEY FOR ARRESTED ANTI-ICE CHURCH PROTEST ORGANIZER: Very confident. There isn't any merit to this charge. This was a peaceful, legal protest. The kind of protest that's part -- part of what American politics is all about.
So, she would not have been charged with a crime. She -- there's no state crime that would have occurred. And there's certainly no federal crime. And so, we expect that the court system will be able to sort through the process. The question is, how much trouble do we have to go through to get there?
BURNETT: So, my understanding is that she's still in custody right now. Obviously, she hasn't been released. I mean, do you have any idea when that might happen?
KUSHNER: Well, unfortunately, what happened today was that the magistrate who heard the case ordered that she be released. But then the government appealed to a higher up judge.
[19:15:03]
And the judge is still considering the case. So unfortunately, she's stuck there for tonight because the court is closed. So hopefully, she and her codefendant, Chantal Allen, can get out tomorrow.
BURNETT: All right. So, I want to just ask you something because you talk about how there's no merit to this, that, you know, at the heart of this, right, is the fact that it happened in a church and a place of worship.
Nekima told me yesterday that she and the other protesters went to the church, that they actually sat down before the chanting videos that we saw, and they participated in the service, right? She said they waited for the prayers to finish before the interruption. The basic question remains, Jordan, which is should she and the other protesters have protested at any point inside a place of worship?
KUSHNER: Well, it's a moral question and not a legal question. And you know what? The crime they're charged with is conspiring to violate people's constitutional rights by preventing them from being able to worship. And they didn't do anything to prevent anyone from engaging in religious worship. They went into a church. Most of they're all Christians themselves, Nekima Levy Armstrong herself as a reverend, a Christian reverend.
And they went there to express their opinion about what this church was doing and why it was wrong to hire a high level ICE official as a pastor of the church, someone who's overseeing all kinds of human rights violations on a daily basis, ranging from detaining people for no reason, including U.S. citizens, to actually murdering people on the street. And that person shouldn't be a pastor.
This was a religious protest. It was a protest by religious people against a religious institution. So how can it be a crime for people to be able to express their differences in that kind of forum?
BURNETT: Well, it's interesting as you're saying religion is at the heart of it. I want to ask you about something else that happened today, which is a photo of your client that was posted by the White House and Jordan, this photo is fake. I'll just show everyone on the left. A photo posted by Secretary Noem showing her arrest. Okay, that's what actually happened.
On the right, a digitally altered post that the White House put out. And in that, your client is crying. Now, the White House defended doing this. They said enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Trying to make light of it by referring to how President Trump posts.
So, I guess just to get at the basics here, was that image completely doctored? I mean, was Nikema crying at any time during her arrest, or was that completely fake?
KUSHNER: No, I was present when they arrested her and we offered to -- by background. We offered to report to the courthouse for her to turn herself in, and they insisted that they had to arrest her at the hotel. And the agent actually was recording it on a cell phone. I've never seen anything like that. It's so unprofessional.
He was ordered to do it because the government was looking to make a spectacle of this case. I observed the whole thing. She was dignified, calm, rational the whole time. And it was despicable, first of all, for them to record this and make a spectacle out of it, you know, when it's supposed to be a legal process, not a political circus, which they made it. And to actually all make up a whole story to do altered video.
Let's not sugarcoat this. This is -- this is all the -- this is a hallmark of a fascist regime where they actually alter reality. In this case, literally in order to meet their narrative where they're willing to just completely lie not only by their words, but to actually make up a video. It's despicable. It goes against everything. The justice system is supposed to stand for, and it certainly goes against everything that our Constitution is supposed to stand for.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Jordan, I very much appreciate your time and thank you so much. I know you've -- this is all in process here as we're talking. Thank you. KUSHNER: Okay. Thank you for looking into the story.
BURNETT: And next. Trump is now on his way back to Washington after overseeing in Davos a meeting for his new so-called board of peace. Well, who showed up and who said no way, speaks volumes tonight.
Plus, the Trump administration now digging into the finances of more than a dozen blue states, including New Jersey, the new governor, Mikie Sherrill, is OUTFRONT.
And a powerful winter storm threatening to bury millions under more than a foot of snow expected to paralyze travel. Forecast is constantly shifting. We've got the latest some shifts happening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:24:05]
BURNETT: The breaking news, President Trump is en route to Washington now returning from Davos after a trip to meet with world leaders. One European after the next, suggesting that the United States can no longer be relied upon to uphold the center pillars of world order that have held since World War Two.
Here's the German chancellor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: The calm and peace up here on the magic mountain in Davos is at stark contrast to a world whose old order is unraveling at breathtaking pace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Unraveling at a breathtaking pace.
While another European diplomat described this week as a whirlwind of absurdity that damages transatlantic relations, distracts from Ukraine and makes China and Russia very happy.
But tonight, Trump is acting like nothing happened at all, seeming not to care that none of America's closest Western allies attended the signing ceremony for his new board of peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every one of them is a friend of mine, a couple, a couple, let's see, a couple I like, couple I don't like. No, I like -- actually this group, I like every single one of them. Can you believe it? Usually I have about two or three that I can't stand.
They're great people. They're great leaders. Everybody in this room is a star or you wouldn't be here. Theres a reason that you're here and you're all stars
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Among those people, Hungary's far right prime minister, Viktor Orban, of course, Saudi Arabia, no one, though, representing any of America's major Democratic allies. In fact, some of them just point blank, even turned down to even be on it. U.K., France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, all of them said no.
OUTFRONT now, Nicholas Burns, who is the former U.S. ambassador to NATO, has served under Democratic and Republican administrations, along with Bill Kristol, who worked in many Republican presidential administrations and was vice president of -- and was Vice President Dan Quayle's chief of staff. Sorry.
All right, Ambassador Burns, so let me just start with you, though. You just heard the German chancellor there, Merz, and that came on the heels of what we heard from Mark Carney just a couple of days ago, talking about a rupture. Merz refers to an old order unraveling at a breathtaking pace.
Is there any turning back?
NICHOLAS BURNS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO AND CHINA: Well, I think the problem now is that most of our allies see us as an agent of instability in the world. They look at our tariff regime that has turned global trade upside down in a Wild West atmosphere. We have 50 percent tariffs on some of our strongest partners like India, helping us contain China. They see the president for weeks on end and his spokespeople threatening military force against a NATO ally.
No American predecessor, president, predecessor to President Trump would have done that. And they see the United States going its own way, and that the people on the stage with President Trump today are all authoritarian leaders. There wasn't a Democratic leader in sight. And so, it's a very disturbing time for people like me.
And I'm sure, Bill, too, because this world order was created in our image by great presidents, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, Reagan. And they believed that we could support democracy and human rights, and we would support the sanctity of borders. And we seem to be out of that business.
BURNETT: So, Bill, you know, when President Trump referred to the stars, all of his friends in the room, now, Ambassador Burns is talking about how those were authoritarian leaders. Now, one of the people not in the room. So Putin wasn't technically in the room, but he's on the board, right? He's on the Board of Peace. Even though the UK., France, Italy all said no.
BILL KRISTOL, DIRECTOR, DEFENDING DEMOCRACY TOGETHER: Yeah. I mean, it's really hard to almost get your head around how disastrous this is. Honestly, Chancellor Mertz, you played the clip from the German is pro-American. I mean, he would it be he was a business guy. He's a CDU, the center right party.
He's what you would want to have as the German chancellor if you were an American president and you wanted Germany to increase its defense spending. Some do more for NATO. Sweden and Finland just admitted to.
BURNETT: Buy from American defense companies.
KRISTOL: Right. I mean, he's a very and these are people who want the U.S. to do well. They want the U.S.-led world order to do well. Sweden and Finland just admitted to NATO. And then we have I mean, the situation when Trump took over, it's worth saying maybe for a second was pretty good in terms of NATO. Trump talked about as if it's a disaster. NATO is upping its defense spending.
We were pretty united on Ukraine when Trump took over. We had bipartisan support here for Ukraine. It's all been thrown away, all thrown away in a year. Its really a just a foreign policy catastrophe.
BURNETT: Ambassador Burns a point that I just made the passing point about defense spending in Germany. You know, Seth Jones from CSIS, he was, you know, saying how that there are literally defense companies now in Europe who are making it clear they're not going to buy American anymore, right, that this is a shift and obviously a largest industry in the United States, outside health care.
So, on the economic front here, you've got the tariffs that were already across the board in Europe, and they're on and then they're off. And then Trump had said, well, if you block me on getting Greenland, I'm going to put 10 percent tariffs that ramp up to 25. And now, all of a sudden, those are gone away.
But then somebody said to him, well guess what. European countries might sell U.S. assets, stocks and bonds because of all this. Right. So here's how he responded to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If that would happen, there would be a big retaliation on our part. And we have all the cards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I want to break this down into two things. Ambassador, first to you, big retaliation on our part. What do they hear there?
BURNS: The Europeans are holding a lot of cards. They're our largest trade partner. They're the largest investor in our economy. Their economy is actually bigger than the economy of the United States. Put them all together. So they've got cards. We've got to respect that.
Erin, what most disturbed me this week was to see what President Trump said in that room in Davos. He personally criticized Macron and Carney. He excoriated the basis of European society, how it structured.
[19:30:03]
He said they don't rate in the world anymore. He couldn't have been more bullying. And, you know, I just thought we've -- Bill and I have worked for a lot of different Republican and Democratic leaders. Can you imagine Ronald Reagan going into a room like that and saying that, or Dwight D. Eisenhower or George H.W. Bush? No.
And so, we shouldn't normalize this behavior. This is unacceptable for an American president to be so discourteous. So, you know, denigrating to an entire continent. And these are our best friends in the world.
BURNETT: And yet they were saying, this is, you know, Reagan would love this speech. And the response that Trump got.
KRISTOL: Yeah, Trump thinks it's a -- it's a good thing to say we can crush them if they try to come after us and put up their own tariffs and buy European instead of American, or sell a few American treasury bills. We have all the cards we can do.
We want to be in a -- aren't these our allies? Don't we want a world where were working together, where they're helping our economy, we're helping theirs? Trump thinks it's a great idea to have a giant, you know, tit for tat with Europe.
And again, I think the degree to which this is hard to repair once they lose basic trust in the U.S., we don't have. God knows we didn't get along well. Nick was ambassador to NATO. I mean, there are plenty of fights over the years, but never this fundamental distrust that the U.S. didn't care about our allies. And indeed, it's sort of behaving like a mob boss, really, you know, bullying them.
BURNETT: There's fights and there's divorce are two different things.
KRISTOL: That's a good way of putting it. Yeah, yeah.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much. I appreciate it.
And next, the breaking news, the new Democratic governor of New Jersey will be OUTFRONT. Her state is now the focus of a new Trump investigation. What is her response?
Plus, what has President Trump said recently that has his niece questioning his mental fitness? She's known him since the day she was born. And Mary Trump will be OUTFRONT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:35:57]
BURNETT: Breaking news the Trump administration tonight is zeroing in on more than a dozen Democratic states. The Office of Management and Budget, led by the same person who led Project 2025 is now digging into blue states specifically, and they're spending to reduce the fraudulent use of funds. Now, it is important to note that every state that they have chosen for this specific review did vote for then Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. So, it is only those states that are being investigated for this fraudulent use of funds.
The details of the review are all spelled out in an OMB memo, which has been reviewed by CNN.
And joining me OUTFRONT now is the Democratic governor, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, which is one of the states being investigated. And Sherrill, of course, was just sworn into office on Tuesday.
So, Governor, I appreciate your time tonight.
So you've just taken office now there's this review happening, which I just laid out the details, right? Fraudulent use of funds is the investigation. And it is only into states that happen to vote for Kamala Harris. How worried are you about this?
GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL (D), NEW JERSEY: Well, Trump seems to have the opposite of the Midas touch, meaning everything he touches turns to crap. So, you see, across the country, some of our biggest economies, when we are facing an affordability crisis and costs are going up everywhere. He is trying to then attack these states.
We see with the ICE raids across Minnesota making people incredibly unsafe. And now he wants to do that in Maine. We see him building this personal militia that is going against the constitution.
And again and again, he has taken in a very short time, I think, a country where we all felt safe. We slept at night. We didn't think our kids might be, you know, getting carpooled home from a basketball game and then tear gassed by ICE. Or we would think we could really count on the federal government as a partner in running strong and resilient economies.
And now we are literally seeing the federal government attacking our states in a politically motivated attack. We shouldn't be surprised. We saw this in the first Trump administration, but it is still breathtaking.
BURNETT: Okay, so the -- when you look at the states under review and I just laid out, they all happen to be states that voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. Do you believe that this is about political retribution?
SHERRILL: I, 100 percent, believe it's about political retribution. He again did this in his first administration, and now he's continuing it. He continues to attack states that disagree with him or that point out how he is really failing to try to, I think, take the focus off the fact that while he runs a worldwide tariff regime that is upending the economy of the United States -- we just saw Canada, for example, which had 100 percent tariffs on the automotive industry of China. So, it could bolster our U.S. manufacturing. They just said they don't find us a credible ally anymore. They've taken down those tariffs.
We see costs going up everywhere. And he's pocketing billions. And so, to sort of take our eyes off of that, he comes up with these spurious reasons to attack blue states.
BURNETT: So I wanted to ask you about something we talked about at the beginning of the program, actually, but I wanted to show it to you. It was this -- the White House today posted from their X account a photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong. Now, she's one of the people who's been arrested in Minnesota for protesting during the church service.
But the image that they posted from the White House shows her sobbing in handcuffs. It is. It's fake. It's an A.I. generated image. On the left is the actual photo, which was incidentally posted by the homeland security secretary, Noem, and in that she's very stern. There obviously were no tears.
But what I'm curious about is that when we asked about the altered photo, a White House spokesman said, and just part of what they said was the memes will continue, both to basically say, okay, sure, who cares? And also, this is the way its going to be.
Do you think that that matters coming from official accounts like the White House?
SHERRILL: Of course it matters. All of this matters.
[19:40:00]
We see a federal government that is trying to co-opt power by any means possible. That is undermining the Constitution of the United States. In my inaugural address on Tuesday, I listed out the reasons where a country, the reasons in the declaration of independence that Thomas Jefferson listed for declaring our independence, and those reasons were things like the king had put troops on the streets without the legislative approval, things like making judges act on his will alone.
These are all things Trump is enacting. He is moving our country into a very dangerous space, and that is why we see he is standing now with dictators across the world. He is not standing with democratic allies. It was amazing to see all of our consul general ambassadors who came to the inauguration, who are looking for a different path forward, and we are going to find it here in New Jersey.
We are going to fight this. We are going to fight for our values, and I'm going to fight for opportunity for all New Jerseyans.
BURNETT: So, you know what's interesting? When you're -- as you're -- as you're levying these criticisms of Trump, I'm thinking about the meeting he had in the Oval Office with Zohran Mamdani. When someone asks Mayor Mamdani, you know, do you think he's a fascist? And Mamdani kind of pauses and Trump laughs and goes, oh, pats on the back and says, go ahead and you can say it. I know you think it. You know, that I'm a fascist.
Trump's called him a communist. But yet in that meeting, there was this sort of collegial, warm feeling. And now we hear that the mayor, Mayor Mamdani actually texts with Trump that they text back and forth, that there's a warmth and a friendship.
You know, Gretchen Whitmer, obviously not quite the same sort of relationship, but she's maintained a relationship with the president. Do you think that that could be you, that you could have a working, warm, collegial relationship with him, even as you say, and feel the things that you've just expressed here?
SHERRILL: I don't see what the point of that is, when every deal you make with him, he walks back and then uses it as a point of leverage to re-trade that deal. It's why we see countries across the world moving away from us. He is simply not credible in any way. He, for example, you see the Empire Wind Project in New York. That deal had been struck. And then he, you know, capriciously, just said, you know what? No, we're not going to move forward there.
We know that Congress has delegated money to the Gateway Tunnel Project, and he keeps trying to roll that back illegally. So, at every turn, it's just not credible. You cut a deal with him and then he walks it back. He is not somebody that you can work with.
BURNETT: All right, Governor Sherrill, I appreciate your time. And next, that dangerous winter storm that we've been talking about threatening. Now, two thirds of the United States with heavy snow, damaging ICE could leave millions, many millions without power. Officials are telling people to prepare. Now. Storm track is shifting, and we have the latest on that as it shifting this hour.
Plus, Donald Trump's niece is next. She's now calling Trump a quote, deeply psychiatrically, psychiatrically disordered man. And she will tell us why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:49]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump responding to questions about heavy bruising that you can see there. That's his hand in Davos. That's his left hand. He said that he hit his hand during his Board of Peace signing ceremony today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I clipped it on the table. I take the big aspirin. And when you take the big aspirin they tell you, you're bruised. The doctor said, you don't have to take that, sir. You're very healthy. I said, I'm not taking any chances.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURENTT: And now, of course, he said that hours after, you know, he had done the ceremony so that that image was taken as he got on the plane.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who advised the White House medical unit under President George H.W. Bush, tells OUTFRONT tonight that the president has and I'm quoting Dr. Reiner, the president has repeatedly fallen asleep during public events at the White House, has chronic bruising, swelling in his legs, and has had unexpected advanced imaging tests. The public deserves to know if the president is well, and it comes as Trump's estranged niece, Mary Trump, is writing about Trump's mental fitness.
She writes we do not need any more proof that Donald is a deeply psychiatrically, disordered man. But if we did, more evidence can be found every day in his outbursts, his hypersomnia, his alarming lack of impulse control, and his increasingly obvious deviance and corruption.
And Mary Trump is OUTFRONT now.
So, Mary, obviously you know him, as I said, you know, since the day you were born, he's your uncle.
MARY TRUMP, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NIECE: Yes.
BURNETT: So you grew up with him. And now you happen to be a clinical psychologist. And I know, you know, you're not here diagnosing. I'm just mentioning that you have that background as well.
So, what are you noticing now that makes you feel that something has changed?
M. TRUMP: It's not so much that things have changed qualitatively. It's just that things seem to be rapidly getting worse. I think that Donald has had undiagnosed, untreated psychiatric disorders for many, many years, predating his first administration. But given his advancing age, clearly, there seem to be some indications that he has some cognitive issues.
Hence all of the cognitive tests he's taking. And the MRIs we've heard about. But I have no specific information about. And just his behavior, the way he speaks, his inability to rein himself in, his inability to stay on topic. And oftentimes it seems that he's not exactly aware of where he is or the audience he's speaking to.
BURNETT: All right. So, I want to ask you about all the peace prize stuff, because I think that is something that, regardless of one's political persuasion, his obsession with that and then getting the FIFA one they made up just for him was a bit unsettling for people. But I also just wanted to read to you something that he just posted on social media.
Okay. He writes record numbers all over the place. Should I try for a fourth term? So he puts that in all caps. Now, this is something that just gets to the heart of, you know, people on the left are going to say, look at him. He's trying to become a dictator. And on the right they're going to say, can't you take a joke?
Okay? How do you see it?
M. TRUMP: Well, Donald doesn't really have a sense of humor, so I think were long past the time that we can pretend that he's kidding when he says he wants to stay in office. Also, I find a little alarming that he thinks he had a third term already when he hasn't.
But the truth of the matter is, he's a lame duck president and it doesn't matter.
[19:50:08]
BURNETT: Actually, I bet he's counting the Biden term.
M. TRUMP: He probably is. BURNETT: Now that you say that, I'm realizing, right, because he says
that, yeah.
M. TRUMP: It was allegedly and not at all stolen.
BURNETT: Right, right, right. Anyway, sorry. Go ahead. Yeah.
M. TRUMP: Yeah. So, I think that it doesn't matter if he's joking or not. The fact of the matter is, as I said, he's a lame duck president, and he is causing untold harm to this country. And I think at this point, we need to start focusing on our attention, on the people who are allowing that to happen, the enablers. And I think this is one of the biggest problems we're seeing on the world stage.
We look at Donald and we talk about his unfitness, his psychological issues, his perhaps neurological decline or, sorry, his cognitive decline. But other world leaders look at the United States as the problem. We have almost 78 million people put him back into office. We have an entire party dedicated to keeping him in power and enabling him, as well as the corrupt, illegitimate supermajority of the Supreme Court that is giving him imperial power. That is what the world sees.
BURNETT: And it's unclear whether the Senate would have done anything about actual military invasion of Greenland. Right? You had heard some raise their hand, whether it was Rand Paul or Thom Tillis. We had heard some, but it was very unclear where that would have gone. But his, focus on the Nobel Peace Prize. Okay, is it's real.
M. TRUMP: Yeah.
BURNETT: Okay. This isn't just like something that people make up. He is -- he is obsessed with this. He talks about it all the time. And he was -- then when FIFA came in and made up a prize just for him. He was very happy about it. Maria Machado -- Corina Machado had to give him her prize.
M. TRUMP: Yeah.
BURNETT: Which he accepted. So, you know, then he sent that text to the prime minister of Norway, where the first lines of the text were -- you know, I'm not going to tell you about Greenland because you didn't -- the Nobel Peace Prize.
M. TRUMP: Right.
BURNETT: Okay?
M. TRUMP: Right.
BURNETT: And then he again accuses the prime minister of Norway of, of, you know, basically interfering with the Nobel Peace Prize and that you could have given it to me.
M. TRUMP: Right.
BURNETT: So I talked to prime minister of Norway yesterday about what he said. Here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONAS GAHR STORE, NORWAY'S PRIME MINISTER: I've told President Trump many times that the Nobel Committee is an independent committee. It is staunchly secretive about the way it works. I am informed about the Nobel Prize alongside the rest of the world. At 11:00 on that day in October, you know, I see bigger problems in the world than world leaders wanting to get the peace prize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, but Trump won't stop. What does it say to you? What do you think this whole thing comes from, this peace prize?
M. TRUMP: I think specifically in regards to Peace Prize, it doesn't have to be more complicated than the fact that Barack Obama got one, and he can't handle that. But there's a more general and serious issue here. Donald is a deeply insecure man, and I refer to him often as a black hole of need, and he's constantly in search of things to fill that void. Usually it's money, but sometimes its recognition, and sometimes its power.
But the problem for us is that there is literally nothing that he can get. There is nothing that he can steal. There is no compliment he can receive that will make him feel better about himself. So, he is always in search of the next thing, whether it's more money whether it's more power or whether its stealing property territory from sovereign nations, this is basically what we're dealing with right now.
BURNETT: Mary Trump, thank you very much. It's good to see you.
M. TRUMP: Thank you so much.
BURNETT: All right. And next, that long lasting winter storm starting about to hammer the South, the Midwest, the Northeast. And we've got a shifting track, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:58:01]
BURNETT: Breaking news, more than 230 million people bracing for what could be one of the most menacing winter storms ever in the U.S. people going to the grocery store shelves, emptying like a hurricane, a tornado all in one amid record shattering forecasts. Dozens of states bracing for freezing temperatures up to a foot of snow, maybe more. North Carolina warning that all roads in the entire state could be impacted, and major airlines are warning passengers to prepare for major delays and cancellations.
Chris Warren is OUTFRONT in the CNN Weather Center.
Chris, it's the intensity, but also the breadth of this storm that is so stunning. When can we expect it to start? CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tomorrow. And it's going to be the
duration as well. You can add that on to it. It's widespread. It's going to be intense and its going to last for a long time. Winter storm warnings posted already in the pink. That's likely to expand into the weekend into the Northeast.
It's going to be dangerously cold as well. In fact, it will be tomorrow morning, and this is going to continue throughout the weekend and into next week. At times, it's going to feel like 50 below in the northern tier. This cold air dropping down sets the stage for the winter mess.
We're talking about 1,500 miles of snow that could be a foot deep from Oklahoma to New England, but it's ice in the south. That's the pink color here. That could lead to power outages, downed trees and branches and power lines, power outages that could last for days well into next week. While we're seeing significant snow on the north side, its going to be ice on the south side and in between, perhaps a little bit of a mix.
Some areas in the northeast could see eight to even 12 inches inland areas, possibly anywhere up to a foot and a half isolated pockets close to two feet of snow. Big snowfall footprint and the ice. Again, this potentially day, we're talking dangerous cold and the catastrophic ice damage with the ice accumulation, Erin, means people could be in that cold out of power for several days.
BURNETT: It's unbelievable considering some of those numbers that you were sharing. Can only imagine with the wind chill and what that would mean in certain parts of the country. So, so truly life-threatening for some.
Thank you so much, Chris.
And thanks for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
