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CNN This Morning
Soon: Supreme Court Could Announce TikTok Decision; Johnson: Intel Chairman Change Was Not Trump's Decision; Extreme Cold, Gusty Winds Predicted for Trump's Inauguration. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired January 17, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, January 17th. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[05:59:17]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The clock is ticking. How one of Donald Trump's now favorite social media apps looking for a Hail Mary to save it from being banned in the U.S.
A deal reached. Israel confirms a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas. But deadly bombardments still pound Gaza.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've achieved the most incredible political thing. Look, what happened. Is this crazy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: A second chance. Trump readies to take the oath of office again. We'll talk to Democratic Senator Ron Wyden about how his party is trying to flip the script on this administration.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, you want it.
SYLVESTER STALLONE, ACTOR: Why not?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Aligning the stars. Sylvester Stallone among those the president-elect is calling on to be special ambassadors to Tinseltown.
All right. It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at the Capitol dome. Rehearsals, preparations have been well underway for the inauguration, in and around that building as Washington prepares for the inauguration of Donald Trump for the second time.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us. Happy Friday.
In just hours, the Supreme Court expected to release its latest opinions, including one that might determine the fate of America's -- one of America's favorite apps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president is now on TikTok.
TRUMP: It's my honor.
Hello, everybody.
I'm having a lot of fun here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo, yo, yo, yo.
TRUMP: I'm going to save TikTok.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Without intervention from the nation's highest court.
The ban on TikTok should go into effect on Sunday, though it does seem that one of Joe Biden's last acts as president may be to punt on the issue.
The Associated Press reporting Biden will not enforce the ban, and a White House official telling CNN Biden also won't use his authority to issue a 90-day stay. That's part of the law.
The decision will be left to his successor, and sources close to President-elect Donald Trump say he's considering granting an extension. Here was Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE WALTZ, INCOMING U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark in the legislation allows for an extension, as long as a viable deal is on the table. And then, you know, essentially that buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: If Trump can buy time, who can buy TikTok? The first possibility, one of Trump's closest allies. "The Wall Street Journal" reports this, quote, "Chinese officials have
internally discussed options, including the possibility of allowing a trusted non-Chinese party such as Elon Musk, to invest in or take control of TikTok's U.S. operations, people familiar with the discussions said."
As the world's richest man, Musk could easily afford TikTok's price tag, which Forbes reports would be in the 40 to $50 billion range. That is how much Musk paid for Twitter in 2022.
Last year, Musk came out against a TikTok ban. He wrote this: quote, "In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform. Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for," end quote.
Musk has not commented on "The Wall Street Journal" report. And a representative for TikTok's owner, ByteDance, told the paper that it was, quote, "pure fiction."
So, could there be another billionaire Trump ally out there who might be interested?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN O'LEARY, "SHARK TANK" INVESTOR: Hey, Mr. Wealthy (ph) here. Everybody's asking me, why do you want to save TikTok? Because it's good for American business. That's why my companies use it. It's the best way right now to acquire customers.
So, we don't want to turn it off. We don't want it to go dark, but we can make it even better. As I like to say, let's make TikTok wonderful again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: OK. Joining us to discuss: Mark Preston, CNN senior political analyst; Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst, national political reporter for Axios; Kate Bedingfield, CNN political commentator and a former communications director for the Biden White House; and Brad Todd, CNN political commentator and a Republican strategist.
Welcome to all of you. Thank you so much for being here.
I kind of want to underscore how we got here and why this is such a flip-flop. Like, let's watch what Donald Trump say -- said. This is him going back and forth, and back and forth. Because, if you remember, this whole thing was actually originally his idea. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're looking at TikTok. We may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things.
It'll either be closed up or they'll sell it. So, we'll either close up TikTok in this country for security reasons. I'm going to save TikTok.
Biden wants to get rid of TikTok. You know why? Why? Because he has no idea.
I'm now a big star on TikTok.
I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points.
TRUMP (via phone): I think that's a big, you know, a big credit to TikTok. So, I'm not opposed to TikTok.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Brad Todd, how did we get here?
BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Donald Trump is a creature of pop culture, and nothing is more pop culture than TikTok. And I think he's also attracted --
HUNT: That was true in 2020, and he wasn't --
TODD: It is true. It is true, but it is still -- it's still a villain on the right.
And so, he is torn between this desire to please the right, which definitely sees TikTok as a legitimate national security risk and villain, and something that's cool.
And I think he's also a little bit attracted to the fact that it's an outcast among social media platforms. It's the black sheep. It may be the only platform he's not been banned or suspended on, too, for that matter, that he may like that about it.
[06:05:03]
I do think, in the end, Republicans on Capitol Hill still have great concerns. We don't let government devices use TikTok for a reason. It's because the Chinese Communist Party sucks in all the data and does who knows what with it.
So, I think that Donald Trump has a tough road with Republicans in Congress on this.
ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: And I'll just add to that, a lot of the people that Trump has appointed are China hawks, people that have, you know, in the past, previously spoken out against TikTok.
And there's going to be an internal divide within this administration, this incoming administration, about what to do about that.
HUNT: Let's watch what Mark Warner, who's of course -- has been -- he's the outgoing Senate chairman of the Intelligence Committee, had to say about this. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MIKE WARNER (D-VA): I don't get it. Eighty percent of the Congress, Democrats and Republicans, agreed that TikTok is a huge national security concern.
And the irony in all of this was Donald Trump was the first guy to point out this problem. Matter of fact, his administration had to convince me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Well, and Kate Bedingfield, now, also, the Biden team seems to be willing to go along with letting Trump do what he wants to do about this.
KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the Biden team is saying were out of here on Sunday and this is now your problem.
I mean, I don't think this is -- I don't think they're making a statement of policy, so much as saying, this is a thorny issue. And, you know, guess what? When you become president of the United States, this is your problem.
But I have to think, unfortunately, the Chinese government is probably salivating, watching our government fall all over itself to try to walk back this policy that, you know, 80 percent of Congress thought was necessary.
And by the way, the data concerns and the concerns about the Chinese government having influence over the algorithm that's -- that is determining what young people across this country are -- are seeing, those concerns are still there.
There's this -- there's the political issue that Donald Trump believes that TikTok helped him win the election. And it -- you know, it probably did.
But should that override the concern about giving the Chinese government undue influence across the -- on the minds of kids all over the country? I would argue it should not. But that's where we are.
TODD: I agree.
BEDINGFIELD: We do, we do.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: But I'm confused. So -- so, I'm confused that Marco Rubio is somebody who was supposed to be carrying on the policy of Donald Trump over the next four years as -- as his secretary of state. Yet, he's against TikTok. Donald Trump is for TikTok.
We know Donald Trump gets what he wants. The head of TikTok is going to sit in a seat of distinguished whatever on -- on the dais, on -- on Monday. I'm confused. Why is it -- I guess I'm confused with Republicans.
Why is it OK to not have it on government devices? But it's OK to put it on our children's devices? I don't understand.
TODD: I think most Republican policymakers would agree with you that we should not have it on either government devices or on our kids' devices. And I think in the end, TikTok's in trouble in the United States over this.
The policymakers are not going to drop their concerns. If they get a 90-day reprieve here, this is not the end of the story.
HUNT: Are your guys' kids addicted to TikTok?
PRESTON: Oh, my God, that's where they get their news, is -- is from -- is from 19-, 20-year-old. I mean, that is the biggest story right now.
I know everyone's focused on the inauguration. I mean, if you're between the ages of, like, 12 and 32, you're focused on what's happening to TikTok over the next couple of days.
TODD: There's no TikTok in my house.
PRESTON: Oh, God, listen to you.
HUNT: Dad Brad over here, laying down that law.
(CROSSTALK)
BEDINGFIELD: -- the Chinese government and Todd. Love it.
HUNT: Oh, man. All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, a SpaceX fail. What went wrong when Elon Musk's giant spacecraft exploded in the skies, mid-flight?
Plus, President Biden's warning about oligarchy in his farewell address. We'll discuss live with Democratic Senator Ron Wyden.
And the coldest air of the year blowing into D.C. just in time for the inauguration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON": An arctic blast is about to slam the country, and it could make Monday the coldest inauguration ceremony in 40 years. There's a real chance Elon Musk's, Jeff Bezos' and Mark Zuckerberg's lips could all freeze to Trump's butt. That is true. That might -- that might happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:13:21]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): This place used to be considered a check and a balance on the power of the president. That's why we exist. And the message just went out that, if you check this president, you're fired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: House Democrats this week sounding the alarm over a Republican shakeup atop a powerful committee. Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio was informed he will no longer be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Turner has largely backed Trump on an array of issues but has notably broken with the president-elect on some topics, like funding for Ukraine.
Another issue that may have drawn Trump's ire: this moment from 2019, when Turner was one of only a handful of Republicans who were critical of Trump's phone call with Ukraine's president, the call that eventually led to Trump's first impeachment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): I've read the complaint, and I've read the transcript of the conversation with the president and the president of the Ukraine.
Concerning that conversation, I want to say to the president, this is not OK. It is -- that conversation is not OK. And I think it's disappointing to the American public when they read the transcript.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The speaker, Mike Johnson, says his decision to remove Turner from his post is not related to any conversations with Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It's a new Congress. We just need fresh horses in -- in some of these places.
It is not a President Trump decision. This is a House decision. And this is no slight whatsoever to our -- our outgoing chairman. He did a great job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: But Congressman Turner does not seem to agree with that characterization.
CBS News reporting that Turner told them this: quote, "House speaker Mike Johnson fired him, citing," quote, "'concerns from Mar-a-Lago,'" end quote. "Turner also confirmed Wednesday night that he had been removed from the committee entirely."
Brad Todd, this is "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board takes significant issue with this. They also take issue with Tulsi Gabbard, and they sort of tie those two issues together.
But they write, "Mr. Turner has been one of Mr. Johnson's main supporters in the conference. The speaker is sending the wrong message about the rewards of loyalty. It's one thing for the speaker to let Mr. Trump dictate to him on policy, but control over House leadership should be the speaker's prerogative, and his ouster of Turner is a sign of weakness."
TODD: I disagree. First off, Mike Johnson came into -- to this Congress as speaker after in mid-term last time. He was not involved in selecting the chairman of any committees last time. He was -- he was a backbench member.
This time he is in charge. The speaker has wide latitude to pick the chairman of committees. It's only right that Mike Johnson have a little bit more latitude to pick the chairman.
And by the way, if he deems that part of the reason to pick that chairman is to -- to cooperate with the Senate intel chairman, Donald [SIC] -- Tom Cotton, who is from Arkansas, the same state as Rick Crawford, who's going to be the new chairman of intel, is from, that's his right.
If he wants to pick someone who could work with the administration, that's his right. I think this is a completely legitimate move by -- by him.
And Turner is not the most popular member of the Republican conference. That's probably playing into this, too.
HUNT: Mark Preston.
PRESTON: That's his right. But the reality is -- is that when they set up the government, when the founders set up the government, there were three equal, you know, separate branches of government.
And right now, that doesn't exist in Washington, D.C. Donald Trump controls the legislative branch right now, controls the executive branch. And some would argue he also controls the Supreme Court right now. So, this town is entirely run by Republicans.
And Mike Turner, there was never -- in as far as him being removed, Johnson didn't give any reason why he was removed. And it seemed like Turner was doing a fairly good job at a pretty volatile time right now in -- in our foreign policy.
HUNT: What -- Yes.
THOMPSON: I was going to say, to add to that, I think concerns from Mar-a-Lago is going to be a phrase we're going to repeat a lot over the next four years.
And, you know, Mike Johnson is also, you know, the broader context is there's a little bit of a competition between who has more influence over Donald Trump, Mike Johnson or Senator John Thune on the Senate side. And you're going to see both of them trying to cater to Donald Trump over who can, you know, lead legislative strategy.
TODD: This goes both ways. Donald Trump needs Mike Johnson, and Mike Johnson needs Donald Trump. They're going to end up collaborating and compromising on some of these things.
But I will go back again. Tom Cotton is the new chairman of Senate intel. Brand-new situation there. His delegation mate is now Rick Crawford, going to be the chairman of House intel. This is a better thing for the United States security.
BEDINGFIELD: It is true that the leaders of the Congress are going to work with the president of the United States, but what is unique about this situation is that, in Donald Trump, you have a president who has flouted political norms, has flouted constitutional norms.
I mean, go back to the underlying issue that seems to be at play here, which is Turner's criticism of Trump, you know, getting on the phone and behaving in a way that runs counter to, historically, the way a president would conduct himself.
And I think the idea that Mike Johnson is going to kowtow to Trump by putting somebody in place who will stand back and say, it's fine for Donald Trump to put his own political interests -- This actually ties in some ways to this conversation we were just having -- put his own political interests ahead of the security interests of the United States, that's -- that's a problem.
This is not a normal situation where you have leaders in Congress trying to work with a president. You have a president demanding leaders who are not going to hold him accountable for behavior that is potentially dangerous to the interests of the United States of America.
TODD: This is the Intel Committee, though. This is not a -- this is not an oversight committee. These are people who are supposed to work with the agencies and the administration.
HUNT: Well, no, it is supposed to be. They do have a very strong oversight role in the wake of the Church Committee and other things.
TODD: Yes, that's true, but John Ratcliffe is a former House Republican, and Mike Walsh is a former House Republican. I think it's fair for the administration to say, we would like to have people on the Intel Committee who we're comfortable with and who we can work with.
HUNT: All right. Coming up next, Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a ceasefire. And the remaining hostages, even as more Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of civilians in Gaza.
Plus, Trump names names. The actors who will be special ambassadors for him in Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: See? All done.
DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR: Yes.
GIBSON: Grab the cat! (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:23:38]
HUNT: All right, welcome back.
An arctic blast over the Northeast and the nation's capital -- This is my least favorite story today -- likely to give Donald Trump the coldest inauguration in 40 years.
Meteorologist Derek van Dam here to break it all down.
Derek, clearly -- to be clear, my dislike of this story is -- is personal and not political in any -- in any way, shape, or form.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Gotcha.
HUNT: It just means we're all going to be really cold on Monday. Tell us about it.
VAN DAM: Least favorite story to deliver, but happy to hear it from this individual. Right? OK.
HUNT: I love you. Yes.
VAN DAM: I'm thinking about all the -- all the VIPs, the dignitaries, the media who will be outdoors covering this. The general public who will line the National Mall. I mean, this is a significant thing.
And this is some of the coldest air that we've experienced since 2022. And that's really saying something.
So, if we go stack up all the previous inaugurations, we have to go back to the '80s. That is Ronald Reagan era, the second time he was inaugurated, to go back to the coldest ever inauguration. So, we're -- we're actually comparing it to that. So, we're going way deep back in the records.
We anticipate that noontime temperature to be about 22 degrees. That's the actual temperature. You factor in the wind, it's a whole different story. We'll get to that in just a second.
Arctic air. Yes, that's a lot of purple. That is a lot of cold. And it's not just casual cold. We're talking about the potential for dangerous cold, especially throughout the Midwest, the Great Lakes, and yes, all the way to the East Coast.
[06:25:02]
So, this is Sunday. Look at D.C., 12 degrees. That is for Monday around the inauguration time. That is the wind chill. That is what it will feel like on your skin as you step outside.
To make matters even more interesting, more complicated -- worse, better, whichever way you look at it. Half glass, half empty, half full. We've got a snowstorm. On Sunday that will blanket D.C. to New York and Boston with a fresh layer of snow behind it. That's when the cold arctic air settles in.
And yes, you might not actually see the mercury rise above the freezing mark until Friday of next week. Good luck, Kasie.
HUNT: Terrific. Our city is so good at -- at -- I don't know if you've ever been down here for inauguration, Derek. Moving around this town is absolutely impossible when they're underway. And if we have three inches of snow on the ground the night before --
VAN DAM: Nice.
HUNT: -- we are not exactly very good at that either. It is going to be a total mess.
Derek van Dam, thank you. I really appreciate it.
VAN DAM: All right.
HUNT: All right. Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, with Donald Trump returning to power in just a matter of days, how are Democrats approaching his second term in office? Senator Juan [SIC] -- Ron Wyden joins us live to discuss his personal philosophy about fighting for change in a polarized Washington.
Plus, cryptocurrency gets ready for a moment in the spotlight with an inaugural ball and a special guest.
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(MUSIC: SNOOP DOGG, "GIN AND JUICE")
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