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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump to Host "Board Of Peace" Ceremony, Meet Zelensky; Trump Claims "Framework" of Deal with NATO On Greenland; Trump: No Need for Tarriffs on Europe over Greeland. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 22, 2026 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And for my kids, they love TVs and mirror screens in the bathroom.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Those are the worst TVs though. They just don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're seven.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this is going to be a unifier, a view of the ocean.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ultimate luxury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a boat sitting out front.

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PHILLIP: Some combination between the two of your wish list items. All right, everybody, and thank you for watching News Night. You can catch me anytime on your favorite social media, X Instagram and On Tik Tok. CNN's coverage continues next.

RACHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Thursday, January 22, 4:00 a.m. here in New York. And straight ahead on Early Start.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump renewed his demand for U.S. Control of the island.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's the ultimate long term deal and I think it puts everybody in a really good position.

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SOLOMON: A lot of pushback from those European at this conference in Davos towards President Trump.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of this is not about Greenland or the Arctic. First of all, this is about how can we protect ourselves.

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SOLOMON: Roughly two dozen states are under some type of winter weather alert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never too soon to worry about the weather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't ever wait until the last minute because supplies run out.

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SOLOMON: It's just about 10:00 a.m. in Davos, Switzerland, with a busy day too for Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum. The president is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony for his so called Board of Peace which will oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. He's also expected to meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the conference.

The White House says that negotiators are working out the details on a framework of a deal that would satisfy President Trump's demands on Greenland. Sources tell CNN that it will likely include and expanded U.S. Military presence on the island. And if it's approved, the president promised to drop his tariff threats against European countries which were set to take effect next month. Here's what he told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Does it still include the United States having ownership of Greenland like you've said you wanted?

TRUMP: It's a long term deal. It's the ultimate long term deal and I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else.

COLLINS: How long would the deal be, Mr. President?

TRUMP: Infinite. There is no time limit. It's for everyone.

COLLINS: And how would you ratify the deal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There'd be money involved.

TRUMP: That's signed forever. COLLINS: Had -- but you haven't signed anything yet, right?

TRUMP: It's a deal that's forever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: More now from CNN's senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes.

KRISTIN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It was somewhat of a rollercoaster day for President Trump in Davos, starting out with his remarks to the World Economic Forum where he both promised or essentially noted that he would not be using U.S. Force to take over Greenland, something that made a lot of our European allies breathe easier. But he also spent a remainder of that speech attacking those same European allies. European leaders as well as NATO.

Then held a meeting with the secretary general. Mark Ruta came out of that meeting and said that they had agreed to some sort of framework for a deal on Greenland. But that framework does appear to be very thin on details at this point.

President Trump was asked in an interview what it entailed. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Well, we have a concept of a deal. I think it's going to be a very good deal for the United States also for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A deal of ownership, a deal?

TRUMP: Well, it's a little bit complex, but we'll explain it down the line.

UNKNOWN MALE SPEAKER: Are mineral rights involved? Is ownership involved? Did the Golden Dome sway people? Is it --

TRUMP: I don't want to say -- I don't want to say yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, CNN's Kaitlan Collins also asked him if this new framework of a deal would include the U.S. acquiring Greenland. That was something that President Trump had essentially said was a non negotiable, that the United States didn't want to defend a place it didn't own or was just leasing. He danced around that question of acquiring Greenland, saying that it was a very good deal, a very long deal. When asked how long, he said infinite.

But again, still a lot of questions as to what this means. We should note that this comes as Republicans, lawmakers, even some administration officials had been looking for an off ramp for President Trump. We had seen a lot of pushback from those European officials at this conference in Davos towards President Trump and his stance on Greenland. He had at one point threatened an increase in an extra 35 percent in

tariffs to countries who opposed the United States obtaining or acquiring Greenland. He also announced when he talked about this framework that he would be dropping the idea of those tariffs. Kristen Holmes, CNN the White House.

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SOLOMON: NATO Chief Mark Ruta says that his conversation with President Trump on Wednesday was a, quote, good discussion.

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MARKE RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GERENALE: President Trump in his first term, already said we should spend more time and more energy on the Arctic and to defend the Arctic against the Russians and the Chinese. What we discussed yesterday, it was a very good discussion, is how can we do that? One, how can collectively the NATO allies help here, the seven in the high north and also others to support that, but the seven in the high north, including the United States, because also so the United States is an Arctic country because of Alaska.

When it comes to Greenland, particularly that we ensure that the Chinese and the Russians will not gain access to the Greenland economy, to militarily to Greenland, and that will be a discussion taken forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Meanwhile, Sweden's deputy prime minister was critical of President Trump for sending what he said were mixed signals to his European allies.

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EBBA BUSCH, SWEDISH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Today's progress might be tomorrow's headache. It's still too soon to tell what this deal really entails. We're not out of the woods. And let's be very clear, the last few weeks, apart from a very turbulent first year, has been very damaging for the relationship between the European Union, Europe as a whole and the U.S. My message to President Trump and to the Trump administration is it's time to come to your senses and calm down.

SOLOMON: And President Trump will have a signing ceremony for his Board of Peace this hour. An administration official says that about 35 countries are expected to attend. The committee is expected to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.

Dozens of countries, including Russia, have been asked to join President Trump's board. So far, at least 20 have accepted the invitation. President Trump says that Vladimir Putin is one of them. But on Wednesday, the Russian leader did not commit to joining the board and said that his foreign ministry would, quote, study the documents.

Okay. Joining us now from London is Ambassador Dennis Ross, who served as special assistant to former President Barack Obama. He is now a counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Ambassador, we appreciate the time this morning. Let's just start with President Trump's speech today, perhaps in the next 30 minutes or so.

DENNIS ROSS, FMR. SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRES. OBAMA: What are you going to be listening for, well, I'll be looking for his description of not just who's going to be on the Board of Peace, but what is the expectation about what will happen now. For example, how soon will disarmament of Hamas begin?

Disarmament is the key to everything else in Gaza. There'll be no significant reconstruction without it. There'll be no Israeli military withdrawal without it. There are clearly commitments that Hamas has made to Turkey and to Qatar about a process of disarmament or decommissioning. So it'll be very interesting to see what the President says about that and what else he says about what the role of the Board of Peace is.

It is interesting that the charter doesn't mention Gaza, even though the whole reason for creating the Board of Peace was that what it tells me is the Executive Committee that will be part of the Board of Peace will be responsible for overseeing what is a national committee for the administration of Gaza made up of 12 Palestinians.

The relationship between the Executive Committee and that National Administration Committee, I think, that's going to be the key. They'll be managing this day to day. The combination of the management day to day where it will take place between the Israeli Green Zone, the Red Zone controlled by Hamas, how that fits together. I'll be looking to see what the President says in broad terms, but also more specific terms.

SOLOMON: Yeah, I mean, it's a fair point that certainly a lot of questions remain about what this looks like logistically on the ground moving forward. Ambassador, the list of countries that have been invited, it's broad. Do you have concerns about the list of countries that have said that they will join the Board?

ROSS: Well, it is interesting at this point that the Europeans seem somewhat ambivalent. The President announced that Vladimir Putin will be on it. It's clear there's a statement made by Muslim and Arab states that all of them will be on it.

Again, the size of the Board of Peace is so large, and at the level of leaders, it's not going to be overseeing what's happening, except in a very broad sense. So what's more important is to see who is going to be on the Executive Committee, what the role of that is going to be, how it relates to the Palestinian technical Committee that is really responsible for day-to-day governance.

SOLOMON: I mean, among other peace negotiationsm, Ambassador, you played a big role in helping Israelis and Palestinians reach the 1995 Interim Agreement. Do you think based on what has been released so far, this Board of Peace can truly bring peace in Gaza?

[04:10:04] Well, the interesting thing is if the President aspires to make the Board of Peace have a role beyond Gaza, the only way that's going to happen is if the Board of Peace and its subsidiary mechanisms demonstrate that they actually deliver. If we see a transformation of Gaza, then in a sense, the Board of Peace will have proven itself as an effective means or mechanism for dealing with conflicts. At this point, I think it's an aspiration. The real focus needs to be on transforming Gaza, making sure that Hamas in fact disarms, that reconstruction begins, that the Israelis are able to pull out. And you make this a critical first step in terms of the President's laying out his 20 points.

Point 19 of the 20 points talked about, if the Palestinian Authority faithfully carries out reform that can create a pathway to self- determination and statehood for Palestinians. In other words, the more the Board of Peace succeeds in transforming Gaza, the more it can set in motion a series of steps that could actually lead towards a real change between Israelis and Palestinians. As someone who's worked on this for 40 years, I certainly hope to see that.

SOLOMON: You know, as we just said in the lead up to you, Ambassador, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited, but hasn't said whether they'll actually join. Just that his Foreign Ministry would study the documents and consult with our strategic partners. What message does it send that a country that is still actively waging war would be part of a peace group like this?

ROSS: Well, I wouldn't say it's necessarily a reassuring message, but it does show that I think President Trump is trying to bring President Putin into this. Now, the question is, does it give President Putin a voice that he might otherwise not have? Does it give him an incentive to be more responsive to President Trump? At this point, we've not seen much example of President Putin being responsive to President Trump, at least on the issue of Ukraine.

There you've seen constant movement by the US You've seen no movement by President Putin. Does bringing him onto this border peace increase some potential for that? Here again, I think the proof will be in the pudding. We certainly have not seen it yet.

SOLOMON: Okay. Ambassador Dennis Ross, we appreciate the time this morning. Thank you.

ROSS: You're welcome.

SOLOMON: U.S. vice President J.D. Vance is set to travel to Minneapolis today. He is expected to meet with ICE agents and deliver remarks defending the federal enforcement operations that are underway. New video out of Minneapolis shows Border Patrol official Greg Bovino throwing a chemical gas canister into a crowd of protesters. It happened during an altercation between demonstrators and federal agents on Wednesday. Now, before he threw the canister, Bavino can be heard warning the crowd, saying gas is coming.

And tensions in the state remain high after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent earlier this month. In St. Paul, for example, one of the state's largest and most diverse school districts, they are now offering temporary online learning for students who don't feel safe going to school amid the raids.

Former special counsel Jack Smith will publicly testify before the House Judiciary Committee today. Lawmakers are expected to press him on the unprecedented two criminal indictments he brought against Donald Trump. The president has called for Smith to be prosecuted, so Smith's legal team says they're not afraid of Trump. CNN will have live coverage of the hearing starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

A jury has acquitted a former school police officer of all charges in the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre in 2022.

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In each of the 29 counts, we the jury find the defendant, Adrian Gonzalez, not guilty. Be seated.

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SOLOMON: Adrian Gonzalez was found not guilty Wednesday of child endangerment or abandonment charges. Gonzalez was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the school while the 18 year old gunman was still outside. Prosecutors alleged that he did nothing to stop the gunman in the early moments of the shooting. Hundreds of police rushed to the scene, but it took 77 minutes for them to confront and kill the shooter. 19 children and two teachers were killed in the massacre in May 2022 at Robb Elementary School.

The U.S. bracing for a massive winter storm set to affect more than two dozen states later this week. Winter storm watch been issued for more than 70 million people across the country and more of the alerts are likely to come before the storm even hits.

States in the Southeast are most concerned with freezing rain and ice, which could cause major power outages. Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp says that crews have been mobilized.

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BRIAN KEMP, GEORGIA GOVERNOR: Never too soon to worry about the weather. I can tell you we had the whole team ready this past weekend, but we're already looking at next weekend. We'll be prepared, treating roads, having teams ready. Hopefully, we get snow and not ice. But Director Lamb, the rest of our team is on it.

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SOLOMON: Other officials and experts are urging those in the path of the storm to be prepared. Many essentials have already started flying off the shelves.

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CRAIG ANDERSON, GENERAL MANAGER, BLACKHAWK HARDWARE: Ever wait until the last minute because supplies run out? It's been crazy for a couple days, but we've gone through all our supplies. So we sold out an ice melt. We've got some sleds left. They're going quick, too.

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SOLOMON: CNN meteorologist Allisson Chinchar has the latest forecast.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Roughly two dozen states are under some type of winter weather alert in preparation for this next system, and it is expected to be a widespread one. Look at this. You've got snow that stretches all the way from the Colorado Rockies up into portions of New England and then on the farther south side now you're looking at the potential for some ice and sleet and freezing rain to be a big component.

So let's take a look at the timeline again. By Friday evening, you really start to see some of that wintry precip begin across portions of Texas, Oklahoma and into Kansas. By the time we get to Saturday morning, you really start to see more of that pink and purple color, really start to expand and impact a lot more areas. Then, we go through Saturday evening, it continues to spread east. And by the time you get to Sunday morning now you've got even areas of the Carolinas, Virginia, and the Mid-Atlantic now starting to see more of those winter precipitation impacts coming in.

The south side still maintains mostly rain at this point, but you could start to see some of it wrapping back around in portions of northern Louisiana into Arkansas and even eastern Texas, looking at some wintry precipitation there. And then by late into the day, Sunday, again, a lot of this area is the temperatures warming back up, changing over into rain.

Now one thing to note is that the weather models aren't necessarily in complete agreement with where this storm sets up. And that means as you have a slightly different track, it could mean vastly different impacts for certain areas.

For example, if we get more of a northerly track, the system lifts farther north, some areas don't really end up getting much of anything. However, if it begins to shift a little farther south, you could see much bigger impacts for cities like Atlanta, Columbia and Charlotte, especially in terms of the amount of ice that they ultimately end up getting from this system.

Now, overall when you look at the map for snowfall totals, the highest amounts are expected to be where you see this dark pink and even very deep purple color. Now you could be looking at least a 4 foot of snow total.

And then farther down to the south where ice is going to be the big concern, you have some spots in here that could end up picking up an inch of ice that is devastating because that sticks to the trees and power lines and could lead to widespread power outages. SOLOMON: Allison, thank you. Rescue cruiser searching for survivors of

a landslide in New Zealand. Several people, including children, remain missing. Heavy rains caused rubble to barrel down on a campsite on the northern coast, destroying campers and other equipment there. Officials say that the number of people missing is in the single digits. Severe weather also caused power outages and widespread damage.

So to come. President Zelensky has arrived in Switzerland for a meeting with President Trump. More on what they're expected to discuss coming up next.

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SOLOMON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Switzerland. He is expected to meet President Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum where Ukraine's allies had this panel discussion hours ago. Now, at the same time, the top U.S. negotiator is expected to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow today. Let's get to Salma Abdelaziz who is keeping an eye on this story and joins us live this morning from London.

Salma, good morning to you. So we're -- we've been here before, we've heard optimism from negotiators before about where things stand. What's the status of the conversation in negotiations right now?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, bigger picture here, Rachel. If the chances for reaching a peace deal in Ukraine were slim before this week and the Greenland debacle that has played out and dealt a major blow to the European partnership, well then those slim chances are that much slimmer.

Now, President Zelensky is sure to meet a President Trump who is going to be hostile, unpredictable, potentially on edge after that rambling one hour speech in Davos where he mocked his European partners, insulted his closest friends and allies, and even just brushed away the importance of Ukraine saying there's a big beautiful ocean between us, essentially it is not our problem.

But this morning his top envoy is painting a some optimism in this peace process. Take a listen to what he just said to reporters a short time ago.

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STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: To the Ukrainian people here. You have an amazing negotiating team. We spent a lot of time together. I don't know how much, but it could be 100 hours together since Geneva. It's literally that comprehensive.

And I think we've got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it's solvable. So if both sides want to solve this, we're going to get it solved.

ABDELAZIZ: Now a couple of things we need to watch out here for Rahel. First of all, we don't know the timings of these two meetings. President Zelensky meeting with President Trump at some point today. We do understand that he is on his way right now to Davos. The second meeting is, of course, between President Putin and The special envoy, Mr. Witkoff, who you heard there, and of course, President Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner.

Now, who gets the first word in, whether that's President Zelensky to President Trump or President Putin will be a significant indication of how the day is going to move forward for President Zelensky. He has two major issues on the table, something called a prosperity deal. This is an $800 billion support package and then security guarantees that he wants to see come through if there is to be a deal between Russia.

You hear that special envoy, Mr. Witkoff again, speaking about one outstanding issue. One can only assume that's a territorial issue. That dispute has continued over, of course, so we'll wait and see what happens in Moscow to try to resolve that. But yet again, you are looking at a time when the environment Davos, after that belligerent speech again from President Trump is simply not conducive to a peace deal. Rachel.

SOLOMON: Salma Abdelaziz for us in London. Salma, thank you. And President Trump's Board of Peace is in focus at the World Economic Forum today. We continue to monitor developments in Davos as we await remarks from the US President. We will bring those to you live.

Plus we'll take a look at what else politicians and business leaders are accomplishing this week at the World Economic Forum. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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