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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Gaza Ceasefire Deal Agreed By Israel And Hamas; Pam Bondi Faces Tough Questions In Confirmation Hearing; Two American Hostages Are On List To Be Released Under Gaza Deal; Bondi Faces Contentious Confirmation Hearing; Hamas And Israel Agree To Ceasefire-Hostage Deal; Biden Closes Out Final Days As President With Farewell Speech. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 15, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: This deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented for the most part by the next administration. In these past few days, we've been speaking as one team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: A Democratic insider tells me that the threat of what President-elect Trump might do when he takes office if this is not resolved by then was a, quote, huge, unquote, factor in making this agreement happen. Sources say that Trump's Middle East envoy has been on the ground alongside Biden's team during this final stretch of the negotiations.

So what exactly is in this deal? Well, we're told fighting in Gaza will pause for 42 days and 33 hostages being held by Hamas and allied terrorists will be released. Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian aid will ramp up in Gaza.

Sources tell CNN that amongst the hostages set to be released are Americans Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen. Seven Americans in total are still being held hostage by Hamas, but only three are presumed to still be alive.

Now, remember, this all hinges on Israel and Hamas upholding their obligations under the deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cautioning that there remains much work to do. CNN is covering this major news from Israel to Qatar. CNN's Bianna Golodryga in Tel Aviv, former Israeli diplomat and columnist for Haaretz newspaper, Alon Pinkas, also joins us from Tel Aviv. CNN's Becky Anderson's in Doha, Qatar.

And Bianna, you spent most of the day today at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. What's the reaction there?

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Jake, for most of these families, especially those that would be included in the first phase, the 33 hostages that would be released over the course of six weeks, Sunday cannot come soon enough.

I have to say, the mood at Hostage Square was a bit subdued. It definitely was not celebratory. There were people reflecting upon, yes, good news that hostages would come home. But nobody called this a perfect deal. And there's a lot of concern about the remaining hostages that would only be released in phase two and then phase three. I spoke with a woman who was there in Hostage Square, and here's how she described the mood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I think, you know, it's not a celebratory mode because everyone knows it's not a perfect deal. But I think every single hostage that can come back, it's as if we can save the whole humanity. So on the one hand, there's relief and hope that some of the hostages and women and children especially will come out. But I don't think there's any, you know, celebration because we also know that on the other hand, some terrorists that have killed a lot of people are going to come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: And Jake, understandably, the families of these hostages, especially in the first round here and first phase, do not feel very comfortable giving interviews, speaking publicly about this just because they are so concerned about doing anything to disrupt this very fragile deal right now.

There was a lot of disillusionment over the last 15 months. You can imagine, obviously frustration and blame at Hamas. The onus was on them. They could have released the hostages. But it got to the point where there was a lot of internal finger pointing at the government itself.

This is a very similar deal to the one that was presented last spring. And since then, we've seen a number of hostages tragically killed since then. But again, all anticipation now as to the first round of this cease fire hostage deal and these hostages starting to come home on Sunday.

TAPPER: And Alon, you say that the substance of the deal has largely remained unchanged over the last eight months. Biden presented a deal like this in May. So what's your take on what got us to this moment?

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Well, tragically, the deal could have been made or struck in March, again in May, and it was rehashed, rekindled in July and in August. And Mr. Netanyahu refused. I mean, Hamas wasn't very helpful, let's be honest. But it was Mr. Netanyahu ultimately that rejected the deal.

At the time, he wanted to prolong the war for political reasons. Going into the summer, he said I should wait for the American election, see what transpires once President Trump was elected and became president- elect. Netanyahu sets a date, the 20th of January, Inauguration Day. And he extended the war for no apparent reason, for no utility, for no tangible or attainable goals for months. And so if you're asking what the game changer was, what the reason

that brought him to say yes now, as opposed to the many resisting NOS (ph) in previous months, it was the Donald Trump factor.

[17:05:08]

It's not that Trump pressured him. It's that he's afraid of the unpredictability and transactionality of Trump that Trump is known for that caused him to say, I better get on his good side and I should do this now.

TAPPER: And Becky, Qatar has been a major player in getting this deal done. A lot of the Hamas political leadership lives in Qatar. You're in Doha. You asked Qatar's Prime Minister how confident he is the deal will move to phase two. What did he have to say?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, Qatar have taken a lead in mediating these talks on and off, of course, alongside Egypt and the U.S. for some 400 days. Remember, the last temporary ceasefire was back in November. I was here for that when a number of hostages, a significant number of hostages in Palestinian prisons were exchanged.

Since then, as Alon says, we've been back and forth and there have been opportunities at times to get a deal done, but it hasn't got done, of course, until today. And we've got today the first temporary ceasefire phase of what is this multi phased deal.

Is this the beginning of the end? Well, that's certainly what I put to the Prime Minister earlier on. Just have a listen to the exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: We have faith, Becky, that brought us to this moment. And I think that's the most important part that we are committed. There is a follow up mechanism that Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. are going to handle. It will be placed in Cairo. And this follow up actually will be a joint team from the three countries that will monitor the implementation of the agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The question very specifically was just how much confidence do you have about this deal going beyond phase one? And what he's saying there is that there are mechanisms in place to try and ensure that everybody holds to the parameters of the deal for the next six weeks, starting of course on the 19th of January, if the Israeli cabinet and security -- cabinet and government agree to this deal.

But of course, there is ultimately no one who can say at this stage whether we are going to get beyond this phase one. We do know negotiations for phase two, which is intended to end this conflict, will happen around about the 16th day of this first phase. So it will be interesting to see what happens next.

But certainly the Prime Minister today applauding the efforts of the Trump administration's envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, in conjunction with Brett McGurk, who is the Middle East coordinator for Joe Biden, applauding their efforts in working together to get this across the line. Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks one and all. I really appreciate it. So how confident are U.S. officials that this deal will take effect on Sunday? Could this lead to the end of the war in Gaza? What about the other Americans still being held? I'm going to ask a senator on the Foreign Relations Committee in just moments.

Plus, the deal was just one of many topics brought up today as a handful of Trump's Cabinet picks testified on Capitol Hill. The fireworks, the tough questions, the moments of bipartisanship, the praise. All of that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:12:54]

TAPPER: Back with our breaking news in our worldly Hamas and Israel agreeing to a ceasefire and hostage deal. The horrors of Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, where some 1,200 civilians were brutally murdered and 251 people taking hostage, including more than 40American citizens, sparked an Israeli invasion of Gaza that has left much of that area in ruins. It's also created a continuing humanitarian crisis.

For reaction today's news and what it might mean for the road ahead, we turn to Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Senator, the deal has been in the works for months. What's your reaction now that it's here?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D) FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Yes, I wish this deal had been cemented back over the summer, but of course, better late than never. You are talking about hostages who have gone through absolute hell and back finally coming home to their families, talking about Israeli forces moving out, which means we will be able to begin the process of rebuilding Gaza.

And hopefully we can now sit down and start to talk about the plan moving forward. I mean, ultimately, that's the most important question still outstanding. Who is going to run and rule Gaza? But at least you have the opportunity to have that conversation now.

So, really proud of President Biden for sticking with this. Glad that he was able to coordinate with the Trump administration who's going to own this deal. Obviously, a really unique moment where you have an outgoing administration and an incoming administration, political opponents being able to work together on something really important.

TAPPER: What can you tell us about the status of the American hostages? CNN is reporting that of the three that we know to be alive, there are seven total, but three of them we believe are alive, American authorities believe are alive. Two of them will be released in the first phase. MURPHY: Yes, I have not gotten today a briefing on exactly which

hostages are being released on what time. We've obviously been stuck in nomination hearings, but obviously we've pressed for Americans to be at the front of the line and we hope to see them home very soon.

[17:15:00]

TAPPER: CNN's reporting indicates that President-elect Trump, or at least the threat of his presidency, was a major influence to get this done before Inauguration Day. I've seen reporting in The Atlantic suggesting that Hamas concluded they're not going to get a better deal under Trump and also that Netanyahu is eager to stay in Trump's good graces. How do you see his role?

MURPHY: Well, I think the Biden administration has been very clear that it was important to have Trump's envoy at the table delivering a message that, you know, this deal was something that President-elect Trump wanted. So, you know, no doubt that it was important for both Israel and Hamas to hear that both key Democrats and the incoming Republican administration wanted this deal done.

Listen, I think we're likely going to be at our throats politically on some pretty divisive issues starting on January 20th. So at least for today, let's celebrate the fact that when it comes to this peace deal, both parties and both the leaders of both parties could be working together.

TAPPER: Barak Ravid, who writes for Axios, is reporting that the current leader of Hamas spoke in Qatar and said that the October 7 attacks on Israel, quote, will forever be a source of pride for our people, unquote. He expressed, quote, no regret for the destructive consequences and he, quote, promised another October 7th. What's your response?

MURPHY: Well, I mean, we are going to continue to stand with Israel to make sure that they are forever protected. That remains a U.S. priority. But listen, let's be clear. Many of us have been calling for Israel to stand down militarily for months because our worry has been that the number of civilians that have died inside Gaza, and you're now talking about 60,000 plus who have died from traumatic deaths, would end up being permanent bulletin board recruiting material for those that want to harm Israel and harm the United States.

Our own intelligence analysts here in the United States have told us that threats to Israel and to the United States are as high as they have ever been. So the long term tale of this conflict may ultimately be that the forces aligned to try to hurt Israel and the United States are going to be able to draw in more recruits.

We'll do everything to try to prevent that. But many of us had been hoping that Israel would pull back its military forces much earlier because we thought ultimately they were doing much more harm than good.

TAPPER: I've never heard the figure 60,000 or 65,000, which you decided. I don't know where you got it from. I've heard 45,000. Too many civilians, no matter what.

MURPHY: That's a Lancet. That's a new Lancet peer reviewed report that came out through the New York Times about a day ago.

TAPPER: How many of those 60,000 are actually terrorists?

MURPHY: Well, I don't know that the Lancet did a, you know, did a breakdown. Of course, many of the people who died inside Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military were bad people were perpetrators of the crimes on October 7, but the majority were not.

And I think you just have to live with the reality that far too many civilians died in an operation that could have taken out the military capacity of Hamas without doing as much damage to civilians.

TAPPER: Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, thanks so much. Former CNN senior international correspondent and founder of INARA, or the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance, Arwa Damon joins us now. Arwa, you've been to Gaza four times during this bloody war. What have you heard about the mood on the ground there now that there is this possibility of at least a cease fire, if not peace?

ARWA DAMON, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, INARA: You know, I think a lot of people are still struggling to understand it. I was messaging with a couple of our staff and some of my friends there who were saying, you know, I can't believe it. Is it really happening? You know, did I survive?

But then at the same time, they also talk about this sort of level of dread that they have because now they're really going to have to face everything that was lost. And what Gazans really crave is the life that they had before, the memories that they had before, the homes that they had before, even though it was so far from perfect. But there is this, you know, before that people are so desperate to return to that they're never going to be able to.

And they've been in survival mode for so long that many have actually buried the pain, pain of loss of loved ones, of home, of -- you name it. And now that is all becoming to surge and come out again. And then of course, there's all these unanswered questions, especially when it comes to, you know, is humanitarian assistance actually going to be allowed in and what levels, you know, through which mechanisms because the bombs can't stop falling. But if that assistant doesn't get into Gaza, people will continue dying every single day.

[17:20:00]

TAPPER: Sources tell CNN that a wave of Israeli strikes hit Gaza as this deal was being confirmed. Clearly the destruction there from Israel's efforts to wipe out Hamas is still fresh. How does one even start rebuilding in Gaza?

DAMON: I mean, the task is enormous because just about every single building has either been entirely flattened or levels. I think one of the key issues, especially for the humanitarian space, is how do we address the immediate needs of the people. People are still hungry, people are starving, people need food and people need to be able to stay warm. At least eight babies have died, frozen to death because of the cold. We need to look at sewage pipelines, desalination plants. You need to look at rebuilding Gaza's medical infrastructure.

So in the grand scheme of things, this whole idea of rebuilding Gaza is enormous and it's something that's going to take a massive international effort. More short term, more immediate is what needs to be done, what aid needs to get into Gaza to save people's lives.

And also these medical evacuations need to start up as soon as possible because tens of thousands of people have been injured. And the waiting list of people, children who are trying to get out of Gaza for life, saving medical care, it just grows by the day. And that is something that is extremely important because we can right now, if the bombs stop falling, save Gazan lives. If we fail on that front, Gazans will continue to die.

TAPPER: Arwa Damon, thank you so much. Appreciate it. President elect Trump's pick for Attorney General is on Capitol Hill today testifying during her confirmation hearings, pressed about her loyalty to the President-elect and whether or not the Justice Department would have a so called enemies list. What Republicans and Democrats are saying about Pam Bondi's chance for confirmation, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:26:02]

TAPPER: And our politics lead, new reaction after a big hearing on Capitol Hill featuring President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. Attorney General. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was pressed by Democrats earlier about her defense of Donald Trump and his actions after the 2020 election.

She was also highly praised by Republicans. Next up for Bondi turning in written answers to questions asked by senators well before today's hearing. Let's go straight to CNN's Manu Raju live on Capitol Hill.

And Manu, what are you hearing from both Democrats and Republicans after so much ground was covered during today's confirmation hearing?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's clear that she has GOP support and enough support to get confirmed by the United States Senate, even though some Democrats were sharply critical about her comments and say that she's not show enough independence from Donald Trump. Did not suggest that she would break from Donald Trump if you were to order any sort of illegal action, and said she had said that those are hypothetical discussions that she did not want to get into.

Also, some of her nuanced language about the 2020 election raised some concerns about Democrats. She got into a very tense exchange with Senator Adam Schiff, a freshman member, now a member of this committee, about the issue of election fraud, about the January 6 investigation, about his call for her to hold on to evidence that the Justice Department has gleaned from its investigation into Trump's election subversion case.

And she went after Schiff. She said, you were censored by Congress for comments just like this but beyond those fiery exchanges, there were some Democrats who came in with a positive impression. One of them, Peter Welch of Vermont, who told me that she did a, quote, good job and he asked her if he's considering supporting her. And he would not comment on that and did not show share the same concerns as other Democrats that she would not be independent enough from Donald Trump, who on the campaign trail vowed to go after his political enemies.

Now, this nomination, though, could move in the next few weeks. It's uncertain, Jake, when exactly the vote would happen in the Senate Judiciary Committee. There's still paperwork that needs to be completed.

The chairman of that committee, Chuck Grassley, told me that once that is completed, they plan to have the vote in his committee. And John Thune, the Senate majority leader, plans to move on these nominations rather quickly in this Congress. So her confirmation hearing today, Republicans believe she did what she needed to do ultimately to get the job in a matter of weeks here. Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Mani Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Let's bring in Ameshia Cross, who worked in communications former President Obama. Also with me, Alex Conant, who was the communications director for Marco Rubio's presidential campaign in 2016. Jeff Zeleny, of course, CNN's chief national affairs correspondent.

Ameshia, let me start with you. So take a listen to this chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa. He was among the Republicans to praise her. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA): I think she answered every question appropriately. She had some of the toughest questions you could have. And I think she's going to be a darn good attorney general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It looks like she is going to be the next attorney general. Do you think that there is any one of these nominees who will not be confirmed?

AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I don't think so. Not at this point. Democrats are pushing very hard, I think, for some of these appointees or some of the appointee nominations. Pam Bondi, because of the conversation in her own past statements around Trump's not wanting to give up the fact that he lost the 2020 election. I think that's very important to be brought up.

But quite frankly, the Republicans in the Senate are going to confirm all of these individuals. Democrats will not create much of a stall war there. More importantly, I think that for her, she's in Pam Bondi, she's somebody who was attorney general of one of the largest states in America. She's someone who has a very public record. She's somebody who has the faith of the Republican Party.

And she's someone in my opinion, who Donald Trump should have probably chosen for this position first instead of going down the role of Matt Gaetz.

TAPPER: One of the things that Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, said today to Pam Bondi was the reason that the fact that Democrats kept bringing up Kash Patel, the controversial nominee to be director of the FBI, is an indication that they have so little to go after Pam Bondi on.

Turning to Kash Patel, is his nomination in trouble in any way, do you think?

[17:30:12]

ALEX CONANT, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, MARCO RUBIO FOR PRESIDENT: I don't think so right now. Look, as you said, they just need Republicans to vote for the -- for Trump's nominees. And I don't see -- the Republican Party is so united right now. I really expect every Republican senator to vote for virtually every one of Trump's nominees. And I think for the administration, look, you want to go into Inauguration Day with momentum.

And this week is giving Trump a lot of momentum because of how well his nominees have performed so far on the Hill. I think most of them, many of them will be confirmed next Monday, including my former boss, Marco Rubio, I think could be confirmed unanimously on Monday. And so you're just going to have an administration that's going to be able to hit the ground running knowing that they have a bold agenda.

So if I was -- if I was on the transition team right now, I would be ecstatic about the job that they've done over the last three months because it really sets them up for success in the first 100 days.

TAPPER: Jeff, what do you think? What's your reporting indicate? Do you think he's going to get all of his nominees confirmed, including Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence and Robert Kennedy Jr. to be director of the Department of Health and Human Services?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I think those are more of the open questions. There's no doubt that the, really all the hearings of today, from Pam Bondi to Marco Rubio to others we aren't even talking about, from energy to CIA, seem to go pretty well. I think RFK, there are still some questions about that. I think there's still more being learned about how he made some money.

There are still some concerns from the right about his abortion positions. There's a lot of concern on the left. So I think RFK Jr. remains one of those that will likely be confirmed. But I think we will learn so much about him and his viewpoints and how he plans to represent the President during his confirmation hearing. So regardless of the outcome of that, I think his hearing itself will be very fascinating. As for Gabbard, I think hers will as well. The DNI is not as viewed as powerful perhaps at this moment as it was in some previous moments. I think she has made a lot of ground or she's covered a lot of ground and made some headway. I still think she is has to answer some questions, but RFK is, I think will be worth tuning into.

TAPPER: Speaking of your former boss, Marco Rubio, he stood very firm on his commitment to NATO, almost as if he was Secretary of State of the Rubio presidency. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: The NATO alliance is a very important alliance. Without the NATO alliance, there is no end to the Cold War. In fact, without the NATO alliance, it's quite possible that much of what today, at the time, today we know is Europe would have fallen victim to aggression.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That doesn't sound very MAGA. That sounds conventional Republican, conventional establishment wisdom.

CONANT: Well, I mean, look, his entire opening statement was about how his administrator -- he -- he -- his secretary of State, the State Department under him is going to be America first. They're definitely going to look out for the national interest when it comes to any issue. I think what you have to understand about Rubio is that for the last 10 plus years he sat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate Intel Committee, where he's worked across the aisle with Democrats. He's traveled the world extensively where he's met with foreign leaders, often one-on-one, because frankly, they thought he was going to be president of the United States someday.

He's probably the best prepared person we've got going -- we've had going into Foggy Bottom in a generation. And so and -- and that was on display at the hearing today. It's why all the Democrats were applauding him and why I think he's likely to be confirmed unanimously.

TAPPER: He could still be president someday because he's -- he's a young man.

CONANT: He's young guy.

TAPPER: He's a young guy. I want to get --

ZELENY: -- the easiest day though, of his -- of his time, I think.

TAPPER: Oh, yes.

ZELENY: To be with the President-elect and the various envoys could be more complicated.

TAPPER: Not to mention the world, not to mention everything that's going to happen because of the world. I want to get all your reaction to "The Washington Post" has a new interview with the outgoing First Lady, Jill Biden. She was asking -- she was asked about speaking with Trump last month at the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. She told "The Post" that Trump reportedly said, quote, I had a good meeting with your husband in the Oval Office. Trump said, according to Jill, adding that the visit went for two hours. Yes, Jill replied, because you're both talkers. A nice -- a nice-ish moment.

CROSS: No, I -- I think that it was nice. It was congenial. Joe Biden knows what the role of -- she's, you know, closest to the President that you could possibly be. I think that she is very serious about the protection of that man's legacy. She also has -- has been there with some of the most egregious attacks against Joe Biden, not only from Donald Trump, but also from some people within his own party.

I think that for her, it is acknowledging that this is a turning of the chapter, but also respecting the results of the election process, respecting that our nation needs to come together, also acknowledging that she wants to be a part of that peaceful transition.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to one and all. Appreciate it.

[17:34:48]

Coming up, a woman directly impacted by today's hostage ceasefire deal. Five members of her family were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th, 2023. What she's hearing before this deal goes into effect, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Back with the major news in our World Lead, the ceasefire deal that could soon see the release of 33 hostages taken by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7th of 2023. Many families have endured unspeakable loss and an agonizing weight to find out anything about their missing loved ones. Alana Zeitchick is one of those people. Six of her cousins were taken hostage. Sharon and David Cunio, their twins Emma and Yuli, Danielle -- Danielle Alony and her daughter, Amelia, all of them have been released except for David or David. And Alana Zeitchick is joining us now. Alana, thanks for joining us. How is your family holding up right now? How are you doing?

ALANA ZEITCHICK, COUSIN OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE DAVID CUNIO: It's a precarious moment. So we are -- we're -- we're stressed, you know. It's a bittersweet moment because we know some people are coming home. But David's fate is still up in the air.

[17:40:04]

TAPPER: Is there anything behind the scenes going on that you feel comfortable sharing with us?

ZEITCHICK: There's nothing that has been confirmed to us or that we know, really. Anything that's public is what -- is what you know and what -- and what -- what we know. But based on the framework, David is a man in -- in his 30s, so he wouldn't be included in the first phase of the deal. So that's our -- our understanding at this point. TAPPER: He would not be included because he's still theoretically of -- of fighting age?

ZEITCHICK: Correct, because he is a man in -- in his 30s, so he's considered kind of a young soldier, even though he's technically a civilian.

TAPPER: What are you hearing from other families whose -- whose loved ones are still being held hostage?

ZEITCHICK: I think that people are, I mean, we're all -- we're all on the same page. Everyone wants to see hostages return. So we're all certainly hopeful to celebrate the return of some of the hostages. But it's still a precarious moment, like I said, because phase two is dependent on continued negotiations. So, you know, we are trying to stay cautiously optimistic, of course, that this all continues forward. But I think there's some anxiety depending on who, like where your family falls within the potential framework.

TAPPER: What's kept your family going through these last 15 months? I can't imagine the pain and the heartache.

ZEITCHICK: Survival, honestly. That's it. It's pure survival and -- and hope. There's really not much else that we can do. I mean, of course, we've also been advocating tirelessly. Me here in the U.S. and my cousins who returned, my aunt and uncle, any -- anyone that possibly can, has been tirelessly advocating on the news, doing what we can, meeting with politicians, really continuing to take action is what keeps us going, because we don't know any other way.

TAPPER: All right, Alana Zeitchick, thank you so much for joining us. Our -- our thoughts and our prayers are with you and your family. And we really hope that there is finally peace in the region for all the innocent people of Israel and in Gaza. Thank you so much for joining us.

ZEITCHICK: Thank you.

TAPPER: In just a few hours, President Biden is set to give his farewell address from the White House. But while he's likely to laud what he sees as his major accomplishments, my next guest compares Biden's presidency to a story of a Greek tragedy. He's here to explain why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:47:10]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, ahead of President Joe Biden's farewell speech to the nation tonight at the White House, a new CNN poll shows Mr. Biden leaving office with his approval rating remaining at the lowest level of his presidency. Overall, only 36 percent of American adults say they approve of the way Biden handled the presidency, 64 percent disapprove.

Let's bring in our old friend Ed Luce. He's the U.S. National Editor and columnist at the Great Financial Times. He wrote an opinion article this week titled Joe Biden's Tragic Curtain Call. Hubris kept him too long in the presidential race and he will be remembered chiefly for easing Trump's return.

Edward, great piece. And you write in your opening line, quote, if the essence of Greek tragedy is that the hero is undone by his flaws, Joe Biden gets star billing. How does he -- how so?

EDWARD LUCE, U.S. NATIONAL EDITOR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, the Greek tragic hero is of course a virtuous figure whose own sort of errancy brings them down. And in Biden's case, I think he was -- has been a very good President. And we're seeing just at the last minute that sort of Carter kind of sense of public service that he's bringing Trump in to -- to get a ceasefire -- fire deal regardless of what he thinks of Trump, that's his public duty.

And yet, the stubbornness with which he clung on to that nomination and to wanting to beat Trump again and thinking he was the only person who could beat Trump, could undo most of the accomplishments which are considerable that he's achieved in the last four years. So that's the sort of hubris, that's the pride that only I can beat Trump.

And I know it's hard not to sort of think of that classic Greek tragic hero undone by their own flaws. When you look at this tragic, what I call curtain call, the exit of -- of --

TAPPER: Yes.

LUCE: -- of Biden's career.

TAPPER: Take a listen to what Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont argues. He said that President Biden accomplished a lot domestically, as you suggest, as well, but failed to effectively communicate those accomplishments. This is what he said to Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Problem is, record is strong, but I think he is not -- was not been the kind of leader and communicator made that record understandable to the American people. The truth is, given where the American worker is today, it is simply not enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you agree that the -- that the issue is both in his leadership and, as Senator Sanders suggests, his ability to communicate his accomplishments, which, let's be honest, in the communication age is a vital part of being president.

LUCE: Hugely important thing. I mean, FDR mastered radio, JFK and Reagan mastered T.V. And unfortunately, the technology of our age, social media, has been mastered by Donald Trump. Look, one of the reasons is, you know better than I, Jake, that he wasn't good as -- as Senator Sanders laid out at communicating what he'd accomplished and providing a sort of a bigger narrative of what was at stake was because he was restricted from interacting with any unscripted events, with whether it's a press conference or public events.

[17:50:21]

He was really sort of shielded and cocooned by his staff for a couple of years, really after the midterms for most of that time. And that sort of cut him off. And I think it also cut him off from the kind of feedback that he might have been getting if he'd been more out there as a president. And so it sort of feeds into the same theme that we're talking about, Senator Sanders critique there.

And it is tragic because Biden's accomplishments have been really considerable. I mean, arguably, he's passed more domestic legislation, bigger reforms, than either Barack Obama or Bill Clinton did. These -- these were serious bills, and they're now in jeopardy. Trump -- Trump has most of -- most of Biden's accomplishments in his sights.

TAPPER: Is -- do you think there's anything Biden can say in this farewell speech that will alleviate any of the frustration the Democrats feel? Because as you know, and as I know just from reporting like Democrats are very, very upset, and many of them seem quite angry at Joe Biden for -- for running for reelection to begin with.

LUCE: I think a lot are, and I think understandably so. Yes. I mean, it might be a cliche, but if you go to farewell addresses, Dwight Eisenhower's one in 1961 is really the sort of the standard there, because what he said was relevant to the future, and it was a warning that echoed and still echoes today.

TAPPER: About the rise of the military industrial complex?

LUCE: Exactly.

TAPPER: Yes.

LUCE: About the rise of the military industrial complex. Now, from what I understand, President Biden tonight will say that he's left America a more prosperous and secure place. I fully agree with the prosperous. The secure thing is just not true. Donald Trump is coming into office again. And all kinds of norms and guardrails are now directly under threat. And I think if he could direct his speech to what America can do to withstand this and warn of what Trump is capable of doing, I think that would be a great service, a great parting service by the president.

TAPPER: What do you make of kind of how he's gone out these last few months marked by his Hunter for, I mean, his pardon for Hunter Biden saying repeatedly that he could have won if he had still been the nominee? I mean, obviously there are still accomplishments. We see that today the -- our whole show has been about that, the ceasefire deal. But still it's kind of -- there's also this other stuff.

LUCE: Yes. I mean, the Hunter pardon -- Biden pardon was very understandable as a father, given the sort of tragedy of the Biden, the whole Biden family story.

TAPPER: Sure. LUCE: I understand that. I think as a president, I understand it a little bit less as Biden, not me being president, Biden being president.

TAPPER: You have my vote.

LUCE: Yes. Thank you.

TAPPER: Oh, wait, you're not born in America. You're not American. You're not American.

LUCE: But as I think that was, you know, something he pledged repeatedly not to do. And -- and that just sort of gives Trump another sort of reason to say, we're all the same.

TAPPER: Yes.

LUCE: And so I -- I didn't stand up and give innovation to that.

TAPPER: All right, Ed Luce, thanks so much. The column is in the Financial Times. Join me tonight for special coverage of President Biden's farewell address, five days left in his term. Special coverage starts just before 8 Eastern right here on CNN.

[17:53:32]

Coming up next is surprising nice moment today on Capitol Hill. Why Democratic Senator Duckworth of Illinois revealed she is grateful to Republican Senator Marco Rubio who's up to be Donald Trump's secretary of state. It's a -- it's a crowd pleaser. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Our last lead start in our National Lead, the U.S. is about to get hit with a frigid Arctic blast. Brutally cold air from Siberia is going to rush into the northern United States Saturday morning before exploring expanding over most of the country. Wind chills are predicted to reach a life threatening 40 or 50 below zero in where else, North Dakota. And single digit wind chills are possible as far west as Nevada, as far east as Maine, as far south as Texas.

And our Politics Lead, confirmation hearings can be contentious, as we've already seen this week. But take a look at this moment on Capitol Hill today between Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and her Republican colleague, Senator Marco Rubio for Florida, who Trump nominated to be his Secretary of State.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: When I first got to the Senate and I was in my first year and you just run for president and I didn't think you would know who I was pregnant with my daughter and trying to change Senate rules so that I could bring her onto the floor so I could do my job and vote because I can't come through the normal back door to vote because there's stairs there and it's not accessible for wheelchairs. And I remember in the middle of that battle, rolling through the Senate floor to vote and I heard, Tammy Duckworth, from across the Senate chambers and you came running down from the top back of the Senate chambers to tell me, I'm with you, I will support you. You have the right to vote and I will support you being able to bring your daughter, your child onto the floor when she's born. And I want to thank you for that kindness because you did speak to your leadership about it and it was a moment of true bipartisanship. But also as parents and as someone who was new to the Senate, I was extremely grateful to you for that kindness.

RUBIO: I think what I exactly said is, what's the big deal? This place is already full of babies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Kindness and humanity. Imagine that in Washington.

[18:00:02]

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and on the TikTok at JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts, all two hours. A reminder, I'm going to be back in just a few hours for our special coverage of President Biden's farewell address. It begins just before 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room. I will see you in a couple hours.