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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Claims "Framework" of Deal with NATO on Greenland; Jury Acquits Former Uvalde Officer in 2022 School Massacre; Major Winter Storm to Impact More Than 70 Million Americans; Emotional Prince Harry Testifies Against Daily Mail Publisher; Trump Takes to World Stage at Economic Forum in Davos; Measles Cases Hit Highest Level Since 1991. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 22, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: And hey, everyone, thank you so much for watching. I'll be back here on CNN at 10:00 a.m. Eastern for Jack Smith's testimony on the Hill. Yes, that's tomorrow. So for now have a good night and stick around for THE "STORY IS" with my friend Elex Michaelson, next.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS Davos drama. President Trump hours away from a meeting with Ukraine's president after inviting Vladimir Putin to join his, quote, "Board of Peace."
THE STORY IS not guilty. A Texas jury acquits a former school police officer on 29 counts in the Uvalde school shooting case.
THE STORY IS measles outbreak. Why the disease is making a comeback. Doctor Ian Smith here live to weigh in on the consequences.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
It is Thursday morning in Switzerland, where President Trump is preparing for a busy day ahead. In the coming hours, he will host a signing ceremony in Davos for his so-called Board of Peace to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. Sources say he also plans to meet with Ukrainian president Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
On Wednesday, he announced the framework of a deal which he says would satisfy his demands on Greenland. The social media post came after talks with NATO secretary general in Davos. Now the details are still being worked out, but Trump says if consummated, that was his phrase, he will no longer impose tariffs on European countries set to take effect next month.
Here's what he told our Kaitlan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Does it still include the United States having ownership of Greenland, like you've said you wanted?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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's no time limit. It's forever.
COLLINS: And how would you ratify the deal?
Thank you Money involved. It's not forever.
COLLINS: But you haven't signed anything yet, right?
TRUMP: It's a deal that's forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Now, a source familiar with the matter says the prospective framework includes renegotiating the 1951 agreement that formalized the U.S. Military presence in Greenland. And a NATO official tells CNN discussions involved Denmark possibly granting sovereignty to the U.S. over parcels of land in Greenland for new military bases.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are mineral rights involved? Or is ownership involved? Did the Golden Dome sway people?
TRUMP: I don't want to say. I don't want to say yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Earlier in the day, President Trump made it clear he would not pursue Greenland by military force, but he renewed his demand for U.S. control of the island.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: All we're asking for is to get Greenland, including right title and ownership, because you need the ownership to defend it. You can't defend it on a lease. Number one, legally, it's not defensible that way. Totally. And number two, psychologically, who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The president went on to call -- Denmark, I should say, ungrateful for not giving up control of Greenland to the U.S. Four times during his speech, he appeared to mix up Greenland and Iceland, and he once again questioned NATO's commitment to the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The United States is treated very unfairly by NATO. I want to tell you that. When you think about it, nobody can dispute it. We give so much and we get so little in return. I mean, we've helped them for so many years. We've never gotten anything. But the problem with NATO is that we'll be there for them 100 percent. But I'm not sure that they'd be there for us if we gave them the call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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MICHAELSON: Now, this was kind of remarkable. California's governor, Gavin Newsom, was in the room for the president's speech. At one point, the president talked about him being there. Afterwards Newsom called the president's speech boring. He also spoke to CNN's Kaitlan Collins and said that President was never going to really invade Greenland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: I don't think, I don't think the military force was ever real in the first place. But I think the tone reflected deep anxiety here. Bessent, you know, to talk about him, reflecting the anxiety he heard from everybody, including all the business leaders, reflected in the markets when they open, reflected in the comments of the leadership here yesterday in three critical speeches. I think reflected a tonality of this speech. And so, in every way, it didn't surprise me at all, except for how just redundant it seemed to be with what he always says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining me now here in studio is Benjamin Radd, senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center. One of our favorite foreign policy minds. A lot to unpack there today.
BENJAMIN RADD, SENIOR FELLOW, UCLA BURKLE CENTER: Indeed.
MICHAELSON: So not a lot of specifics when it comes to this deal, but in terms of what we do know, how different is this prospective deal from the deal that's already been in place since the '50s?
RADD: It's really difficult to see the difference there. And I think if we look at Guantanamo Bay as an example, where the United States has jurisdiction but no sovereignty, is this sort of where we end up now? Again, it's not that far. The United States is not given full sovereignty over Greenland. There's the option to use more military bases and limited sovereignty over some spaces. This basically seems just like a Trump branded license of a deal that was already in place, one that he gets to renew with his name attached to it.
MICHAELSON: And we know that before he was president, a lot of President Trump's money came from licensing his name on buildings, and there were all sorts of Trump buildings that Donald Trump actually had nothing to do with. They just had his name at the top of him, and he would get paid for that.
RADD: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: Are you suggesting this is sort of a version of that?
RADD: It's difficult to see where this moves the needle in terms of protecting U.S. national sovereignty and security, which is one of the points he raised, that we need this in order to keep China and Russia out. But NATO already guarantees that. NATO provided for that. The mechanism was there to rely on NATO for this. So what exactly does this accomplish? It's difficult to see at this time.
MICHAELSON: And a lot of people don't know this, but there are U.S. military bases already in Greenland, right? And they have the ability to make those even bigger.
RADD: Absolutely. There were bases that are secret bases. Before the 1951 agreement the U.S. had bases there. Absolutely. And Denmark was willing to grant the U.S. concessions to build more bases. So what was -- what does this deal do? Until we get details, it's difficult to see.
MICHAELSON: You think that this might actually be a smokescreen for something else. What do you think is really going on here?
RADD: So some subterfuge. There was last week, I was here, and you and I spoke about what was happening in Iran. The president had stated on social media a pledge effectively to come to the aid of the Iranians who were protesting against the Islamic Republic. That went unfulfilled. And so there's been criticism that he let down those protesters, thousands of whom were killed. And now we have two carrier groups moving into the Gulf in the coming days.
Why all this fuss over Greenland if we're only going to end up back where we were unless really it is to divert attention and distract from other operations that might be planned? This is what we saw last summer with the attacks on the nuclear facility and the sudden attack on Soleimani back in 2020, where, you know, that sort of came out of nowhere for many people as well. So it's interesting. I'm not saying that's necessarily what's going on, but it's something that I'm looking for. MICHAELSON: The possibility that all this is really just setting up an
Iran attack, and it gives you, oh, maybe you might need the carriers there for Greenland. But in reality it's about the Iran situation.
RADD: Right. Or the carriers could be there for the Board of Peace for all we know. Right? But yes.
MICHAELSON: How does NATO you think react to this concept of this deal? And what do you see in the coming days now at Davos?
RADD: So the Canadian prime minister gave a very impactful speech yesterday. It was widely regarded where he said this marks the end of sort of the American peace that was established after World War II. This deal with Greenland, whatever it is, the whole pressure campaign to get to a new deal with Greenland reflects what he sees as a broken promise from the United States. That era is over.
And so the international community, the NATO states, need to now think for themselves how they're going to revisit this alliance and protect their own security. And I think we're going to see in the coming days greater discussion among NATO allies. We've seen now Canada enter into a trade deal with China. They're going to find other avenues and pathways to really protect themselves. They can't rely on the U.S.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Davos hasn't been so important in a long time, but it'd be really fascinating to be in a fly on the wall on some of these discussions that are happening away from the cameras right now.
RADD: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: Benjamin Radd from UCLA, thank you so much for starting us off. Really appreciate it.
RADD: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: What a fascinating moment in world history.
Meanwhile, a jury has acquitted a former school police officer of all charges in the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre in 2022.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 29 counts, we, the jury, find the defendant, Adrian Gonzales, not guilty. That's it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Adrian Gonzales was found not guilty Wednesday of child endangerment or abandonment charges this was the first criminal case from the tragedy. Gonzales pleaded not guilty, did not testify. His attorney spoke to reporters after the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JASON GOSS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There's no real winners, I mean, because obviously there's so much tragedy and hurt behind this. We're blessed that the jury looked at all the evidence. We had a chance to speak with them. They considered everything. And this is a long day coming for Adrian and his family. But we're humbled by the verdict. But we also know that there's families on the other side that are dealing with this new normal that they've had for three years, and they're still in pain. And so this was a disappointment for them. So we acknowledge that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Gonzales was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the school while the 18-year-old gunman was still outside. Prosecutors allege that he did not follow his active shooter training. They say 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 that shooter. In the meantime, 19 children and two teachers were killed in that massacre, which happened back in May 2022.
Bereaved family members cried silently as Gonzales was acquitted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE RIZO, UNCLE OF 9-YEAR-OLD VICTIM: What message does it send out there that if you're an officer, you can simply stand by, stand down, stand idle and not do anything and wait for everybody to be executed, killed, slaughtered, massacred? Is that the message that you send today?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's Laura Coates is our network's chief legal analyst and host of "LAURA COATES LIVE," which airs every night right before this program. She's live with us right now from Washington.
Laura, thanks for staying up late with us. What's your sort of big takeaway from this? Are you surprised by the verdict?
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: This is such an unbelievable case and so tragic for so many reasons. And so when you think about what the burden of proof has to be for the prosecution in this case, you have to go beyond simply the feelings of the community. They would have had to prove the case that this particular officer, above anyone else who arrived on the scene, either had some duty of care or a heightened one, and chose to do nothing in a total dereliction of duty.
And I think one of the things that probably did not set well with the jury was just the sheer number of officers who were on that scene and the sheer amount of time that it took, 77 plus minutes, to go into that school to confront the shooter, and the tremendous loss of life, I think it could lead some of the jurors to believe that the prosecution had to prove why this was the officer to be left holding the bag and all the accountability. Now there is another person, the police chief, Arredondo, who's trial
date has not been set. He was a more visible figure in the investigation into what happened and unfolded in Uvalde. But I think the word scapegoat is one that the defense wanted to be lingering in the minds of jurors to suggest there is nothing that can be done to change what has happened to these young people, the teachers now.
But justice would not look like they said in their closing argument an injustice towards this person. And that seemed to have resonated. And you compare that to what the prosecution did, which was to suggest that what their verdict might do, Elex, would be to set the bar and standard for how police are responding to mass shootings in the future.
And I have to wonder about the decision of this officer to go first, and then finally, they tried to make a very big case that this officer actually did not see the active shooter before even activating the active shooter training. And so there was a lot I think the defense was trying to pull out.
MICHAELSON: Yes. So what does this sort of do in terms of setting a precedent, as you mentioned, for other cases and potentially the case of the police chief?
COATES: Well, the defense wanted to suggest that this would have a chilling effect. A guilty verdict would have a chilling effect on future law enforcement's desire or response time because they would think I'm going to be held accountable for any misstep I make, even though I have to make split second decisions. And if all of the chaos that's happening around me, if I'll be held to being able to be clear minded in spite of it, to the fact that I prevent every death, then maybe I shouldn't respond at all. That was the defense essentially thought here.
But in reality, there have been sadly, Elex, many school shootings, even since Uvalde. And it has not necessarily undermined the responsiveness of police, even though they've been under the spotlight here.
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But I think training overall has transformed to talk about how and when to respond, how and when to penetrate the area, and what to do to respond more expediently because life truly was on the line.
MICHAELSON: Laura Coates, host of "LAURA COATES LIVE," weeknights at 11:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
Laura, thank you so much. Really appreciate your perspective.
COATES: Thanks, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Talk weather now. The U.S. is bracing for a massive winter storm set to affect more than two dozen states later this week. Winter storm watches have been issued for more than 70 million people across the country, and more are likely to come before the storm hits. States in the southeast are most concerned with freezing rain and ice, which could cause major power outages.
Georgia's governor, Brian Kemp, says crews are mobilized in preparation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R), GEORGIA: Never too soon to worry about the weather. I can tell you we, you know, 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. You know, hopefully we get snow and not ice. But, you know, Director Lamb the rest of our team is on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG ANDERSON, GENERAL MANAGER, BLACKHAWK HARDWARE: Never wait until the last minute because supplies run out. It's been crazy for a couple of days. But we've gone through all our supplies, so we've sold out of ice melt. We've got some sleds left. They're going quick, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now with the latest forecast -- Allison.
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, as 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. So 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 at least a 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.
MICHAELSON: Allison Chinchar, thank you for that.
A tearful Prince Harry takes the stand against the powerful publisher. What he told the court about "The Daily Mail" and what he says are the harmful impact of its articles. Plus, a U.S. Border Patrol official is seen throwing a chemical agent into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis as the immigration crackdown spreads from Minnesota to Maine.
Stay with us.
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MICHAELSON: We are just hours away from hearing Jack Smith's side of the story. Remember, he brought two criminal indictments against Donald Trump that were dropped after Trump was elected. The former U.S. special counsel will testify before the House Judiciary Committee, which he has done before but this time, the cameras will be on. Lawmakers have previously grilled Smith over his criminal investigations into the president's mishandling of classified documents, and the president's role in trying to overturn the 2020 election.
President Trump has repeatedly called for Smith to be criminally prosecuted himself, but Smith's legal team says he is not afraid of him, and they are prepared for plenty of grandstanding from members of Congress.
When do they ever grandstand?
His testimony is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 a.m. here on the West Coast. CNN will bring you that live. And tomorrow night here on THE STORY IS we'll talk with Democratic Congress member Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who will be a part of that hearing. House lawmakers will continue their investigation into Jeffrey
Epstein's sex abuse scheme at a closed door hearing next month. The House Oversight Committee has called Epstein's co-accused and ex- girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell to the stand. The committee's chair, James Comer, warned that she'll likely invoke her right against self- incrimination and not answer questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): We've been trying to get her in for a deposition. Her lawyers have been saying that she's going to plead the Fifth, but we have nailed down a date, February 9th, where Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed by this committee. Now, her lawyers have made it clear that she's going to plead the Fifth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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MICHAELSON: Maxwell serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein's years long sex trafficking scheme, which included sexually abusing underage girls. Representative Comer says he hopes she'll change her mind and decide to talk.
A House oversight committee voted to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt for not complying with a subpoena to testify in that Epstein investigation. The committee's decision, with bipartisan support, sends the case to the full House for a vote. The former president of the United States and secretary of state did not appear for a deposition last week about Bill Clinton's relationship with Epstein. They said they were being unfairly targeted. Instead, Bill Clinton offered a limited interview with two top committee members. If the Clintons are found in contempt, they could potentially face a criminal prosecution.
Now to London, where Prince Harry was visibly emotional as he took the stand against the publisher of "The Daily Mail." He told the court on Wednesday that the tabloid has made his wife's life an absolute misery. Associated Newspapers Limited is accused of gathering information through illegal and deceptive means.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prince Harry got choked up and struggled to hold back his emotions while he testified in a London court. He arrived at London's high court waving and smiling at people who had gathered outside. He is the first to testify in what is set to be a nine-week trial.
Seven of Britain's most famous faces, including Prince Harry, are suing the publishers of one of Britain's top tabloids, "The Daily Mail," accusing it of engaging in criminal activity to illegally obtain information about them to publish in these tabloids. Now the publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited, has denied these accusations outright, calling them lurid, calling them preposterous.
Prince Harry, in his witness statement, says there was 14 articles in particular that caused him deep distress that were published between 2001 to 2013. He was cross-examined by the lawyers for the publisher of "The Daily Mail," who asked him why he hadn't brought these complaints sooner. Prince Harry said, "It was because of the institution I was in," a reference to the royal family.
Now the exchange was extremely tense and at one point Prince Harry responds to a question by saying, "This was part of an endless pursuit, a campaign, an obsession of having every aspect of my life under surveillance so they could get the run on their competitors and drive me paranoid beyond belief, isolating me and probably wanting to drive me to drugs and drinking to sell more of their papers."
Now, Prince Harry went on to say that taking the stand meant that there was more difficulty and more misery, particularly for his wife, Meghan Markle. He did go on to say that he felt that ANL, the publisher of "The Daily Mail," should be held accountable.
Now, there are many more weeks left in this trial, but it could very well shape the future of British media.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thank you, Salma.
Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has asked President Trump for an early release from prison. That's according to a request filed last year with the U.S. Department of Justice. Holmes has nearly six years left of her sentence after she was convicted in 2022 for defrauding investors. Remember, she claimed that Theranos could accurately test for conditions like cancer and diabetes with just a few drops of blood. Of course, that was not true.
The late Italian designer Valentino is now lying in state in Rome, and his beloved dogs, pugs, also there. Valentino died after a life well lived Monday at 93. He founded one of Italy's most renowned luxury fashion houses and became famous for his red gowns. He'll be laid to rest on Friday.
More countries join President Trump's Board of Peace. Ahead, we'll hear from the president on why he invited Russia and Vladimir Putin to talk about peace. Plus, political analysis from the one, the only, Mike Murphy, joins us live when we come back.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at what's making news tonight.
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Two sources tell CNN that the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders are expected to meet in the coming hours.
In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, President Trump said he was planning to meet President Zelensky later in the day to discuss the war in Ukraine.
But as of Wednesday evening, Zelensky was still in Kyiv.
Rescue crews are searching for survivors of a landslide in New Zealand. Heavy rains caused rubble to crash into a campsite on the Northern coast. Officials say the number of people missing is in the single digits.
The severe weather also caused power outages and widespread damage.
In the coming day, former special counsel Jack Smith will publicly testify before a congressional committee. Lawmakers are expected to press him on his unprecedented two criminal indictments against a president.
Donald Trump has called for Smith to be prosecuted. Smith's legal team says he's not afraid of Trump. CNN will have live coverage of that hearing.
President Trump is also expected to host a signing ceremony today for his so-called Board of Peace in Davos. An administration official says dozens of countries are expected to attend that.
The committee is set to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, but there's concern among some officials that the board could attempt to replace the work of the United Nations. These remarks didn't help in terms of those concerned about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want your Board of Peace to replace the U.N.?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, it might. I mean, the U.N. just hasn't been very helpful. I'm a big fan of the U.N. potential. But it has never lived up to its potential. The U.N. should have settled every one of the wars that I settled. I never went to them. I never even thought to go to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Dozens of countries, including Russia, have been asked to join Trump's board. President Trump was asked why Vladimir Putin was invited, if there's concern about Russia being a threat to Greenland. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Because we want everybody. We want all nations. We want all nations where people have control, people have power. That way, we're never going to have a problem. Yes, I have some controversial people on, but these are people that
get the job done. These are people that have tremendous influence. And, you know, if I put all babies on the board, there wouldn't be very much. So, he was invited. He's accepted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining me here live in Los Angeles is longtime Republican consultant who also is an anti-Trumper, the co-director of the USC Center for the Political Future, and the host of "Facts on Tap" podcast, Mike Murphy. Great to have you here.
MIKE MURPHY, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Hey, Elex. Good to be here.
MICHAELSON: What do you make of President Trump on the world stage?
MURPHY: You know, a painful embarrassment wrapped in danger. I mean, the NATO alliance has kept the peace since World War II. And he's like a toddler with a machine gun, running around trying to screw it up.
I mean, I -- these Europeans have to be looking at him and the Canadians, saying they've got a crackpot in charge. How do we manage this guy?
MICHAELSON: Is there an argument, though, that actually, some of that stuff could be brilliant? I mean, that he got to a deal in Gaza when President Biden wasn't able to get to a deal, and some of these guys being thrown around a little and messing with the system that hasn't always worked for everybody is a good thing?
MURPHY: You know, in small doses it can be. I mean, Gaza came down to the fact that the Israelis had basically won, and then they were ready to try to put a cap on it.
And now what President Trump has done -- and I can -- the great foreign policy presidents are all spinning in their grave. Now we own it. You want to own the rebuilding of Gaza? So, I don't know.
I mean, I think this whole Greenland thing, I mean, if you step back, it's like a comedy movie, or Orangeland, as the president prefers. Our 51st and second state.
And now, you know, he did the 180, because I think the staff talked him into it. And I think the Europeans did the right thing. He's a bully. They stood up to him and said, no, you don't get to invade Greenland.
By the way, we have a defense treaty with Denmark. We can put as much military force there, serving NATO, as we need to. It's all about the minerals. It's just like Venezuela and the oil.
But kudos to the Europeans for pushing back. And so, Trump did the 180 today and said, I won't forcibly invade a NATO country's territory.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, this sort of remarkable moment of President Trump there talking. MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And then Gavin Newsom --
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- in the back. And then cut to Gavin Newsom sort of watching as Trump is talking about him.
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And Newsom has been trolling him from there, says that the whole thing is boring. What do you make of the idea of the governor showing up there? Does that make him look big, or does it make him look small?
MURPHY: Well, it kind of depends. We're so fragmented now, and the partisan divide is so wide. If you're a Democrat who can't stand Trump and you're shopping for potential presidents, probably works for Newsom.
If you're a Republican who likes Trump, you're like, who is this clown in the back?
It -- everything is performative now in politics, which is entertaining. But, you know, we have a superpower to run here. And meanwhile, the Chinese and Putin are running the table. So, you know, it's troubling to me.
I think what happened with Governor Newsom was the Trump guys made a call and screwed up his speech, because the president of United States is always going to have more swat.
MICHAELSON: So, yes. So, let's give some background on that. So, he was -- So, after that whole thing. And Newsom is in the back.
MURPHY: Right.
MICHAELSON: And then he calls Trump's speech boring on CNN.
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Then they get word, the Newsom team, that the speech that -- that Newsom was supposed to give, that "Fortune" had invited him to give --
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- at this USA House, that the State Department, according to the Newsom team, put pressure on "Fortune" and the -- and everybody to disinvite Gavin Newsom.
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MURPHY: Right, right.
MICHAELSON: And then he doesn't give the speech. And they say, Governor, you're not allowed in the building.
MURPHY: Right. Well, in these kind of things, the president will always have the little home team advantage, because the State Department can lean on the organizers.
So, I like Governor Newsom. You know, ideologically, we don't agree on everything. But I think he sometimes goes the performative route. And I think the staff should have known, where -- this is pro wrestling, and we're going to a place where the ref's working for the other side here. So, you know.
MICHAELSON: And Donald Trump literally went as a pro wrestler guy who's got the head of the WWE in his cabinet.
MURPHY: Right, right. Well, he's --
MICHAELSON: You know, it's tough to compete when you're doing wrestling against him.
MURPHY: Yes, yes.
MICHAELSON: And then there's a moment -- yes.
MURPHY: There's one bragging point here, though. Nobody in the Democratic Party gets under Trump's skin more like Newsom.
MICHAELSON: Yes, well, and that --
MURPHY: He's very good at it. And that might be good for him.
MICHAELSON: And that was reflected by -- by Scott Bessent --
MURPHY: Yes, right.
MICHAELSON: -- who is the treasury secretary, who said this about Governor Newsom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I think it's very, very ironic that, you know, Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, of course, Patrick Bateman is -- is Christopher [SIC] -- Christian Bale in "American Psycho." And then --
MURPHY: Right.
MICHAELSON: Sparkle Beach Ken.
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And then Newsom sort of leaned into this. Let's put up on the screen what he put out on his social media, sort of saying, "Coming soon to the patriot shop. You're welcome, America." Making himself into a Ken doll.
By the way, if you look at pictures of Sparkle Beach Ken, he really does kind of look like Sparkle Beach Ken.
MURPHY: You know --
MICHAELSON: But, you know, I mean, this is where have we gone?
MURPHY: Yes. Well --
MICHAELSON: As a country, this is what we're doing?
MURPHY: The Chinese are watching this, thinking those idiots. We'll rule the world in 20 years.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MURPHY: Because they're playing these games. And, you know, some 23- year-old wrote that for Bessent.
You know what he looks like to me? Massively incompetent treasury secretary. That's a big, important job. Shouldn't be doing insult comedy.
MICHAELSON: Well, and lastly, real quickly, because we're out of time.
MURPHY: Sure.
MICHAELSON: There's this wealth tax that's being potentially proposed here in California.
MURPHY: Yes. Could be on the ballot.
MICHAELSON: Five percent on the billionaires. You've polled this for your clients. What are you seeing?
MURPHY: Yes. Well, it could be on the ballot. It says 5 percent of your assets. You've got $1 billion. You owe the state 50 million.
So, we took a poll, 800 Californians, scientifically. And it's interesting. Do you like billionaires? Hell, no. Should billionaires pay more taxes? Voters say absolutely.
What do you think of this thing? Total joke. We're voting -- we're not for it. Why? They will leave the state, and we'll get hurt on jobs. They will tie it up in the courts for 100 years.
And when they leave the state, we'll lose all the income tax revenue with our high income tax. We already get --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MURPHY: -- dramatic budget cuts. So, this thing vote yes on it. When you read the actual ballot language, we're the first poll to test what the voters will see. Only 48 percent yes.
And anybody who knows ballot measures, you want to start around 60 because "yes" always goes down over time.
MICHAELSON: Goes down.
MURPHY: So, it's a loser.
MICHAELSON: Mike Murphy, check him out on one of my favorite podcasts, "Facts on Tap," with him and David Axelrod. Thanks so much, Mike.
MURPHY: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Coming up, not a great headline here. Measles making a comeback. Dr. Ian Smith joins us live in studio to talk about who's being affected by the latest outbreak, what you should know about the measles vaccine, and more. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:48:01]
MICHAELSON: Officials in Maine are condemning a new federal immigration enforcement operation, which is now underway in that state.
Governor Janet Mills says residents are living in fear, accusing the Trump administration of, quote, "sowing intimidation and fostering division."
The senator from Maine, Angus King, also denouncing the operation and says he plans to push back by targeting ICE's budget.
In Portland, city leaders say they are alarmed by reports of aggressive tactics: people thrown to the ground and forced into trucks. And public school attendance is dropping as some families are keeping their kids home amid the raids.
We see that in a lot of different cities around the country when this happens.
New video out of Minneapolis shows Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino throwing a chemical gas canister into a crowd of protesters. It happened during an altercation between demonstrators and federal agents on Wednesday.
Before he threw that canister, Bovino can be heard warning the crowd, saying, "Gas is coming."
That incident comes just ahead of Vice President J.D. Vance's trip to Minneapolis on Thursday. He's expected to meet with ICE agents and deliver remarks defending the immigration operations underway.
Tensions in the state remained high after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent earlier this month. In St. Paul, one of the state's largest and most diverse school districts is now offering temporary online learning for students who do not feel safe going to school amid those raids.
Health now. The ongoing measles outbreaks in several U.S. states are threatening the country's decades-long elimination status, but a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said the potential change is not a big concern.
According to the CDC data, the U.S. recorded more than 2,200 measles cases last year, which is the most since 1991. Of those cases, 93 percent -- 93 percent -- were among unvaccinated individuals or those with unknown vaccination statuses.
This comes as vaccination rates have dropped. The CDC says about 3.6 percent of kindergartners last year had an exemption from at least one mandated vaccine.
[00:50:09]
Dr. Ian Smith, a "New York Times" bestselling author, joins us now, live on set. His latest book is "The Last 15: Say Goodbye to the Most Stubborn Pounds."
Welcome to THE STORY IS for the very first time. We will talk about the book, which is your 185th, in a second. But in the meantime, let's start with some of the news of the day, because you're such a great medical analyst.
What do you make of -- of those measles numbers? What's going on in this country? Because I thought measles were, like, gone. That was over.
DR. IAN SMITH, AUTHOR: The World Health Organization, in the year 2000, classified U.S. as having eliminated measles. Why? Because of vaccinations.
So, the fact that we're seeing this upsurge and now deaths, unfortunately, from the measles and everyone is alarmed. Why are you alarmed? This is what was expected. Any medical health professional knew that this was going to happen.
You have a secretary of Health and Human Services who's never taken a medical, virology, or immunology course in his life. And he is sitting above the organizations that are telling us what our vaccine should be, what these numbers are.
This is absolutely not surprising. It's dangerous. It's unethical. And it's a shame. And people need to wake up and pay attention.
MICHAELSON: So, who should people trust right now for their health information? Because for so many years, the CDC was one of the gold standards.
SMITH: Yes, that's an easy answer, by the way. You need to trust your physician. You need to trust medical organizations. American Academy of Pediatrics, those kind of organizations.
And you need to trust, of course, advocacy groups: American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association. Groups of people who have had researchers and scientists for decades who understand the science, who have been talking about it. They're the ones you need to trust.
I've got to be honest with you. Stuff coming out of the CDC, I don't believe their numbers. I don't believe their recommendations. I think you have to trust those who are in the trenches who understand this stuff.
MICHAELSON: I mean, but even -- even they're admitting 93 percent of the people getting it are unvaccinated. It's like, hello, right?
SMITH: People are getting exemptions. And by the way, people who understand vaccines, understand one basic thing: that it's just not vaccinating yourself. It's called herd immunity.
So, if you don't have enough people in a group -- in a group that are vaccinated, then the virus or the bug remains contagious among those, and so it stays alive.
So, I'm getting it, and you're not getting it. That doesn't solve the problem. It may protect me for a while, but you're going to be able to give it to someone else who's unvaccinated. Vaccines are one of the greatest medical inventions --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SMITH: -- in the modern era. Period.
MICHAELSON: And if this thing starts spreading again, then maybe it starts to mutate, and then maybe it goes against all these things. So --
SMITH: You have a whole host of problems potentially.
MICHAELSON: All right. Let's talk about your book, "The Last 15" --
SMITH: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- "Say Goodbye to Those Most Stubborn Pounds."
SMITH: Yes.
MICHAELSON: I think that this is a real thing. When I've tried to lose weight, usually the first 5 or 10, easy. Maybe you can do that even in a week. But then that last 15 is awful.
SMITH: There's real reason. There's real science behind it.
MICHAELSON: And sometimes impossible to do. So, what's your advice?
SMITH: So, here's three things that happen. No. 1, when you're losing weight, the amount of calories you need to eat also need to decrease as you get smaller, because you require fewer calories.
So, if you're consuming the same amount of calories that you were consuming when you were heavier, now that you're smaller, you are now not having that calorie deficit that leads to weight loss. That's No. 1.
No. 2, people try to say, I'm just going to eat one meal a day. Well, that's going to work up to a point. But then what happens? Your body starts fighting back.
Your body says, whoa, I'm going to switch to starvation mode, because I don't know if more calories are coming. So instead of burning fat, it turns the fat into hibernation, and you hold onto the fat.
And the last thing is this. The body generally has a natural propensity not to want to lose weight. It wants to hold onto energy. It's expensive to lose weight.
And so, what happens is your body says, I know what you've been doing. I know your offense. Now, I have a good defense. And so, it's not that you're doing something wrong. You need to do a different right.
And in "The Last 15," I'm showing people how, in seven weeks, you can attack this issue in many different ways to get the weight loss.
MICHAELSON: And a lot of that is about the diet, right?
SMITH: Well, it's about the diet. Well, it's all -- this is not a diet. This is really a meal plan. It's a customized meal plan of regular, affordable food. It's about how you combine the nutrients.
You know, I have a Facebook group called "The Last 15" group, and people should join it. We do have thousands of people doing it together. I'm supporting with free Zoom calls.
But in that group, people are losing 6 pounds week one, 5 pounds, 8 pounds. But the reason why they're doing it, not because of special foods, it's because of how they're combining their foods. And that's what the book shows you.
MICHAELSON: Well, I'm going to do this, so I look forward to it.
SMITH: Well, you have me.
MICHAELSON: Look forward to reading it. I got you and I got the book now. "The Last 15" will help you, and I hope it helps me. And I hope it helps you at home.
Dr. Ian, great to see you.
SMITH: You, too, man.
MICHAELSON: Congrats on the book. How many books, actually, is it?
SMITH: Number 29.
MICHAELSON: Number 29.
SMITH: Yes. But I don't count. I just keep working.
MICHAELSON: Very impressive. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:59:43]
MICHAELSON: Nominations for the 46th annual Razzies have been announced. The satirical prize is officially called the Golden Raspberry Awards. Go to the worst projects in Hollywood.
Among the nominees for Worst Picture are Disney's live-action remake of "Snow White." It ties for the most nominations with the "War of the Worlds" remake.
Worst Picture also includes "Star Trek: Section 31," which is the first "Star Trek" movie made for streaming.
Winners, if you call them that, will be announced March 14th.
