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Erin Burnett Outfront

WSJ: Trump Draft Order Would Make It Easier To Purge Generals; "No Such Thing As A Palestinian"; China & Russia Versus The U.S. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired November 12, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:29]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, "The Wall Street Journal" reporting tonight that Trump is considering an executive ordering that will make it easier for him to fire three and four-star generals.

Plus, more breaking news from our K-FILE. And Mike Huckabee, the man Trump wants to be his next ambassador to Israel. KFILE revealing Huckabee said, quote, there's really no such as a Palestinian.

And China and Russia closer than ever and are they on a collision course with the U.S. CNN live in Moscow with the special report.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news, Trump preparing to oust three and four star generals. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting tonight that Trump's transition team is considering an executive order that would give Trump the power to oust three and four star generals from Vivian Salama at "The Wall Street Journal". And according to a draft of this order, which was reviewed by the WSJ, Trump would appoint a so-called "warrior board", and that board would have the power to fast track the removal of generals and admirals that are found to be, quote, lacking in requisite leadership qualities.

Of course, the U.S. military, the most powerful in the world, is so powerful, in part because decisions about generals are made and promotions by a military structure yes.

As the commander in chief, the president has authority to fire any officer at will, but this warrior board would circumvent the Pentagon's system that is already in place. And this talk of Trump ousting the four at will, former five star general -- sorry, three and four-star generals is consistent with what Trump has said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERVIEWER: Are you going to fire those generals? The woke generals at the top. You've been talking about it. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I would get rid of them, yeah. But see now, I know them. I didn't know 'em before, but you know, I came in. What do I know? I was a New York real estate person, but no, I'd fire 'em. I would fire them. You can't have woke military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for saying you would fire those few woke generals who are a big problem.

TRUMP: They're gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURENTT: All right. This breaking news coming as one person in Trump's orbit right now is a crucial voice in making decisions about hiring and firing. That person is Elon Musk.

For the past week, the world's richest man has essentially set up shop inside Mar-a-Lago. According to new reporting from Axios. Musk is one of only a couple of confidants attending Trump's cabinet selection sessions. Trump reportedly embracing Musk's innovative and quirky ideas for restructuring the federal government.

Musk is all in, posting online, I'm happy to be first buddy, and he's not just that. He's practically family. Look, he's in a Trump family photo.

Also in this photo with Trump's granddaughter who posted Elon achieving uncle status. Of course, Musk's net worth has surged $70 billion in just the one week since Trump won the presidency.

And much of Musk's wealth is wrapped in shares of Tesla. Investors are so bullish that Tesla is going to benefit from Musk's support of Trump, and frankly, this could just be the tip of the iceberg. Musk has businesses and electric cars, renewable energy, space travel, tunnels, satellites artificial intelligence, social media. He could be handed billions more in federal contracts.

Just take SpaceX and Starlink. SpaceX has already received billions in contracts from the government, and that could grow under Trump. "Fortune" magazine reporting that Trump himself suggested awarding Musk's Starlink satellite service hefty contracts to provide new broadband service.

And then there's Musk's Boring Company, which is all about building underground tunnels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, SPACEX AND TESLA CEO: We're trying to dig a hole under L.A., and this is to create the beginning of what will hopefully be a 3D network of tunnels to alleviate congestion, of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Of course, Musk was paid more than $52 million to build an underground tunnel in Las Vegas. It could be tapped now for countless more government infrastructure projects.

Now, of course, there's no issue with Musk winning contracts fair and square. He is one of the most innovative humans on the planet. He's revolutionized entire industries, but one man, one billionaire joined at the hip with Trump as president of the United States, making decisions on who is in the cabinet, saying things like abolish the Federal Reserve, calling himself first buddy does raise some concerns. Just be honest about that.

First of all, Musk can feed Trump's taste for conspiracy. His misleading election claims have been viewed more than 2 billion times on X, according to one analysis. And while Musk's desire for things like a slimmed down government could have positive impact, for sure. His role is beginning to have the potential to be crony capitalism, be uncomfortable on the -- or the type of political oligarchy we see in Russia where Putin rewards his wealthy oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska with valuable contracts.

[19:05:04]

Kristen Holmes begins our coverage tonight. She is live in Washington.

And, Kristen, you have new reporting tonight about this room where Musk and Trump are, this war room that's been set up at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump and Musk and others are picking the new team. What have you learned?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erin. This is a room that really caters to the president-elect, which means a lot of TV screens and a lot of information. I am told that these are long tables in rooms that have been cordoned off inside Mar-a-Lago with curtains, although I was told by one member they were able to make contact -- eye contact with the former president, President-elect Trump at one point, so maybe not as private as they think.

However, they are really giving Donald Trump, as one senior adviser called it a 360 view of every candidate. And there is a reason for that. The reason being that Donald Trump told people around him one, he wants to be completely involved in the process, and two, that there was some embarrassing moments in 2016 and 2017 when he would make a public backing for a particular candidate or a potential pick, and then learned later that this person had said a number of negative things about them, about him behind his back.

So they're trying to avoid what one adviser said was any surprises? Donald Trump does not want to have anything that alarms him. So what this room looks like is essentially you have these TV screens that have the pictures, the bios of each of these candidates, but they also are playing tightly edited clips of each of these candidates.

One thing that Donald Trump cares a lot about is television presentation. Can this person present in a way that is receptive or able to be received by outsiders, is this somebody who can communicate my message? And that's one thing that they're looking for.

And not all of these TV clips or podcast clips are positive. Some of them have the negative things that people have said about Donald Trump or the more critical things, but it is just one indication of just how seriously they are taking this process and just how involved the president elect is this time around compared to what we saw in 2016.

BURNETT: Right, although interesting in that context, how fast and furiously all these appointments are coming out. You know, even with all of that, as you report.

All right. Kristen, thank you very much.

With all of those new details, General Wesley Clark is OUTFRONT now, four-star general, former NATO commander and former presidential candidate.

And, General, I have a lot to ask you about this evening as a former -- as a four-star general. You heard Kristen's reporting, though, first on Elon Musk and the power that he has been getting increasingly in Trump's inner circle by Trump's side, weighing in on major decisions on that call with Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, which they said was a short social call, but it just shows the influence and the presence that he has.

Does that concern you at this time at all?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Look, this is entirely the prerogative of President Trump. The American people elected him. He's responsible to the American people for his performance in office. He has unparalleled power by virtue of the Supreme Court, the Senate and probably the House of Representatives. And he's going to run the government the way he wants. And that's democracy.

BURNETT: Well, and you also, I guess you're referring it. You know, in a sense, it's not just the Supreme Courts composition, but the immunity ruling. Although I know that is -- that's still being sorted out sorted out for sure.

But when it comes to this, this transition team, "The Wall Street Journal" reporting, Vivian Salama that they are reportedly considering an executive order to create what they're calling a warrior board, General. To be able to fire three and four star generals that Trump doesn't like.

Now, of course, he's got the authority to fire generals that comes with the territory. He could do that. You're a four star general. You knew that.

But many respected people, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, are raising concerns, really saying this board could amount to what he was referring to is really a vigilante hit team. Do you have worries like that sure?

CLARK: I mean, I'd like to see what the criteria are. If you don't like diversity training in the armed forces, just say there'll be no diversity training if people in the armed forces insist on it, then they either follow the order or they leave. If you think certain generals didn't perform their duties in the Afghanistan evacuation, which is one of the items carried in the Wall Street Journal article, do an investigation.

But remember when you're looking at the actual performance of generals in complex operations, you've got to look above the generals because they're taking from the policy level. So it's not always the generals decision that leads to the bad outcome.

And then if you simply don't like these generals, what are the criteria? What's it based on? And I think, you know, that's remaining to be defined, when -- when President Trump says a rogue general or in response to a question, what is that exactly?

[19:10:02]

There's a selection process in the Armed Forces. These people have all been vetted numerous times at each level of promotion, someone has said they're very competent.

So if there's going to be a review of their -- of their record, then let it be a review published the criteria and, and let's look at it.

Remember, the diversity training was put in the armed forces for the benefit of the performance of the armed forces. I was part of that armed forces in Vietnam, where there was a lot of racial unrest and there were incidents and there were a lot of problems.

We put in the equal opportunity human relations training in the 1970s. Some people let it lag, some of it's been put back in.

BURNETT: Yeah.

CLARK: It's really about the effectiveness of the armed forces. So that's what your ultimate criteria should be.

BURNETT: Right, effectiveness. And, of course, we don't. To your point, we don't know. And maybe that's the whole point of a board like this, that there would be no transparency or accountability on that.

But it is that sort of that the checking the boxes and knowing that has made the U.S. military so great. That transparency that exists.

It does come, General, on the context of CNN's reporting that the Pentagon is bracing for Trump to call up troops possibly inside the United States, to use, you know, for mass deportations. He's talked about this. So the Pentagon has met to talk about what that would mean.

Do you think they're right to prepare for such a scenario?

CLARK: Well, first of all, if they are preparing for it, it's under the direction of the current secretary of defense and the chain of command.

Secondly, if it's a legal order, if the order is issued, it's going to be checked for legality. If its a legal order, then they're obligated to obey it. If they choose not to, then they either they resigned from their positions. BURNETT: Yeah.

CLARK: Or and -- or they could be court-martialed for refusing to obey a legal order.

BURNETT: All right. Well, General, I appreciate your time. Thank you. So very much, General Wesley Clark, as I said, four star general.

CLARK: Thank you.

BURNETT: Former commander of NATO, thank you.

And also breaking tonight, President-elect Trump choosing Mike Huckabee for the job of U.S. ambassador to Israel. Now this is a decision that would have huge ramifications. And we have a very different view on policy. What Huckabee has put forward than any other ambassadors, so publicly who have served in that role.

KFILE tonight is revealing that Huckabee said, quote, there's really no such thing as a Palestinian, never mind a state. Huckabee, making extensive comments on this topic when he was running for president in 2008, and Andrew Kaczynski of KFILE joins me now.

In the context of the war and the fears that it could become a much, much bigger war, this reporting is so crucial. What more do you know about what Mike Huckabee has said?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, KFILE EDITOR IN CHIEF: Right. And this nomination of Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, this is a extremely hawkish pick by President-elect Trump. He has a track record of highly polarizing comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These views go back years, with him repeatedly questioning the legitimacy of a Palestinian state on the border with Israel.

He has said that if a Palestinian state were to be created, it should be not created where it is now, it should be created with land from the neighboring countries, Syria, Jordan, Egypt. He even described the Palestinian identity in one of the clips he found as, quote, a political troll -- tool to try and force land away from Israel.

Now, I first obtained these comments. Were about to hear when he ran for president in 2016. Just take a listen to them right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: Basically, there really is no such thing as -- I need to be careful saying this, because people will really get upset -- there's really no such thing as a Palestinian. There's not.

You have Arabs and Persians. And there's no such complexity in that. But there's really no such thing. That's been a political tool to try to force land away from Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Just obviously hugely significant. You're talking about it -- he would, if anything, take land from neighboring countries. Obviously, the clear implications there would be for Israel to annex the West Bank, which is obviously seismic, if true.

Andrew, obviously, this isn't the only time Huckabee has talked about this issue. I mean this is an issue that he feels is deeply personal.

KACZYNSKI: That's right. That's right. He takes trips to Israel. This goes back all the way, I mean, to 2008, where we played that initial clip from. But this is a position that he has -- he has consistently had it is far from the only time that he has said it. He has said consistently that he opposes a two-state solution.

He has said, quote, there's plenty of land outside Israel and the rest of the world for a Palestinian state take a listen to him going a little bit further on that in 2015.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUCKABEE: The two-state solution, if we mean two governments holding the same piece of real estate, is irrational and unworkable. If there is a two state solution, the Palestinian state needs to be outside the boundaries of the nation of Israel. There's plenty of land in the world that we could find a place and say, okay, let's -- let's create a Palestinian state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:15:09]

KACZYNSKI: So we did reach out to Huckabee personally. We reached out to the Trump transition, and we asked them if he stood by those comments. We didn't hear back from either of them. So it's going to be interesting to see how all of this plays out, especially with the conflict that's going on right now in Gaza.

BURNETT: Certainly. And raises questions of the voters and the voters who had voted for Jill Stein as an opposition to Kamala Harris. So they may feel about what --

KACZYNSKI: Some of them even voted for Trump as well.

BURNETT: And some of them even voted for Trump. And this is -- well, this is what you would have thought Trump -- this is consistent with the words that they've put out before.

Andrew, thank you very much and hugely significant to hear that there.

And now we've got some more breaking news, just as Andrew and I were speaking, former President Trump just announcing he's tapping Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host, to be the next defense secretary of the United States.

I want to go back to Kristen Holmes.

So, Kristen, what more are you learning about this one?

HOLMES: Yeah, Erin, I mean, this really goes to some of what we were just talking about, which is Donald Trump really wanting people who can put forward his message on television. And he likes the way that Pete performs.

Now, I do want to note that Pete Hegseth has a very long record in the military. He was an army combat veteran. He served both in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And this is what we got from a statement from Donald Trump. He said, Pete has spent his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for the country. He is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm America's enemies are on notice. Our military will be great again, and America will never back down.

Then he goes a little bit into his biography. I will tell you a couple of things. I talked to a number of advisers in the last few minutes as this was unfolding. They said this they said that one, Pete has been an informal adviser to the former president, now president-elect, for a number of years. He did that while he was in office. He did it while he was out of office.

The other thing I learned is that he was considered for a number of positions back in 2016, eventually got passed over. Now, obviously, he is going to serve as secretary of defense. This is a critical role for the former president, now president elect in this administration.

We know that for example, Mike Waltz, was somebody who was also up for this job. Obviously, he is now going to be the national security adviser. This kind of rounds out or at least adds to this level of who is going to be serving at the Pentagon intelligence and foreign policy.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Kristen, thank you very much.

And in context of the reporting just out there, that that this warrior board that Trump is looking at potentially by executive order, will remove three and four star generals. He doesn't like, what Andrew was just reporting from KFILE about the nominee for ambassador to Israel saying that there's no such thing as a Palestinian just puts the influence the crucial nature of the secretary of defense position in stark light and that of course, will be Pete Hegseth from Fox News. That is the nominee for this president.

Well, next, Trump tapping Governor Kristi Noem, one of his biggest defenders. She will run one of the country's biggest agencies as well. So is she qualified for that job?

Plus, he's the new mayor of one of the most liberal cities in America. How he won his race, sometimes sounding like a Republican.

And officials now sounding the alarm inside the Pentagon. New satellite images tonight showing China is fast tracking plans to build a nuclear reactor for military use.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:17]

BURNETT: Tonight, nepotism.

Donald Trump's allies want his daughter in law to be appointed as senator. Sources close to Governor Ron DeSantis say he's being pressured to name Lara Trump to the seat when Marco Rubio becomes secretary of state. It comes as another of Trump's fiercest defenders will run one of the nations biggest agencies. Governor Kristi Noem is Trump's pick for homeland security secretary, which means she will oversee more than 260,000 employees, more than a quarter million.

Sunlen Serfaty is OUTFRONT

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trump loyalist Kristi Noem --

TRUMP: We have a very special woman who's hot as a politician.

SERFATY: -- being rewarded as for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, sources say.

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: When these election results came in, they clearly said they want a secure border. They want their streets to be safe.

SERFATY: A massive job putting her at the helm of a sprawling agency, overseeing everything from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service, in charge of a $60 billion budget and hundreds and thousands of employees.

TRUMP: On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.

SERFATY: Placing Noem helping to deliver on some of the incoming president's most critical and controversial priorities, slashing illegal immigration and executing his plan for mass deportations.

NOEM: The United States of America is in a time of invasion.

SERFATY: The South Dakota governor has closely aligned with Trump on some of his most hard-line immigration policies, and rhetoric in the past.

NOEM: Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs.

SERFATY: Noem's expected elevation is now completing a transformation that has been years in the making.

NOEM: Mr. President, when you were in the White House and I was governor of South Dakota, every single day, I got to get up and be on offense.

SERFATY: With Noem recalibrating her public image mimicking Trump's style.

NOEM: He is the toughest man that I have ever met. Nobody has endured more than what he has gone through.

SERFATY: Becoming more flashy and brash.

NOEM: The team here was remarkable and finally gave me a smile that I can be proud of and confident in.

SERFATY: Getting national scrutiny for this infomercial style testimonial video in March, lavishing praise of her dental work and seemingly unafraid to shock people, even flaunting in her book an incident where she shot her hunting puppy, which she described as un- trainable.

NOEM: It's a tough decision. The reason its in my book is because that book is filled with challenging times and hard decisions.

SERFATY: Which Seth Tupper, who has been covering Kristi Noem since she first ran for Congress over a decade ago, says is to get the attention of Trump.

SETH TUPPER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SOUTH DAKOTA SEARCHLIGHT: Starting controversies on social media saying incendiary things to get attention and then using that attention to get more attention.

[19:25:07]

Keep stoking the outrage machine, and just build and build and build on that and raise your profile.

SERFATY: A calculation of loyalty paying off for Noem for now.

TUPPER: I attribute that entirely to the rise of Donald Trump, her realization that she could attach herself to Trump and rise nationally with him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: So, Sunlen, Kristi Noem would be part of a bigger team, and as you could hear from your report there, I mean, immigration really is the core of it.

SERFATY: It certainly is, Erin. And Noem is expected to be working with two other immigration hardliners in the administration.

Stephen Miller, a name we all know very well. He was president elect Trump's top immigration adviser. He will serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

And Tom Homan at former acting ICE director will become the border czar. Trump clearly here, Erin, moving very quickly to get, as you said this very core group in place to deliver on some of his top immigration promises.

BURNETT: All right. Sunlen, thank you very much -- Sunlen Serfaty.

And we now have some more breaking news. And that is 14 House races still not called. So what that means is that here we are, right, and its been a full week, but we do not know yet the balance of power in the House at this hour still undecided.

Republicans have 215 seats, Democrats 206. Obviously you need 218 for control. And this is so crucial because if Republicans control the house, then they have the House, and they have the Senate and they have the White House. And of course, in terms of conservatives versus liberals, also the Supreme Court.

It comes as this nation's biggest and most liberal cities are part of the reason why we've seen this push to the right, moving right, including ultra liberal San Francisco. Its progressive mayor, London Breed, voted out, replaced with Daniel Lurie. My guest, in just a moment.

But, first, I want to go to Harry Enten.

And, Harry, it is historic what were seeing here. You know, there was just -- these maps of the United States with the red arrows of the shift.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: I know those --

BURNETT: I mean, my gosh, it's like something being, you know --

ENTEN: All over the place.

BURNETT: All over the place.

ENTEN: Red nation.

BURNETT: Yes and you see them in the cities.

ENTEN: It's exactly --

BURNETT: The biggest, most liberal cities.

ENTEN: Exactly right.

I mean, Donald Trump, you remember back in 2017, the -- you know, the liberal cities were the resistance, the core of the resistance. What happened in 2024? You think of a major city in the United States, Donald Trump put up the best Republican performance for a Republican nominee for president, and at least 20 years, if not the entire 21st century.

We're talking about Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, across the map, Donald Trump put up historically strong numbers for Republican candidate for president in places that truthfully, if you had asked me eight years ago, I would have never thought possible. BURNETT: No, I mean, it is really stunning. So what exactly is driving

it?

ENTEN: What's driving it? You know, I think immigration, one of the things you mentioned earlier on in that last segment is part of it, but I think crime is a big part of it as well.

BURNETT: Yeah. If you look at Gallup polling and you ask Democrats nationwide, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with our efforts to control and bring down the crime rate? What you see is the dissatisfaction number now versus a decade ago.

Look at that, the unsatisfied number from 35 percent to 58 percent, satisfied number dropped by 20 points. My goodness gracious. And I think that's part of the reason why you have seen these liberal D.A.s be ousted in places like San Francisco, in places like Alameda County, in places like Los Angeles. The crime rates have simply moved a lot of these voters to the right.

BURNETT: And, you know here in New York talking about this in Manhattan, where there was a swing. But when you look at a map of New York City, the biggest city in the country the big swings, right -- yes, it was in Manhattan, but it was also in other parts of the city. And that gives you a real sense of who it was driving the ship.

ENTEN: Yeah, exactly right. It was in the Bronx. It was in Queens. It was in Brooklyn.

And if you break it down by racial areas, right, you look at the assembly district that has the most Asians in it, you see a massive shift, a massive shift. Look at this, Donald Trump gaining 27 points versus where he did four years ago, the highest Hispanic percentage in an assembly district, a 25-point shift, highest Black percentage for an assembly district, a six-point shift.

What's going on is if 2017 or 2016 was the election of the white working class moving over to the Republican ranks, the 2024 election, was Trump doing historically well with minority voters?

BURNETT: I mean, it is really incredible, and those numbers --

ENTEN: They're amazing.

BURNETT: They're amazing. I mean, they are they if that doesn't give you pause, if you're a Democrat looking at this world, I don't know what will.

ENTEN: Yeah, exactly right.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Harry.

So Daniel Lurie is now OUTFRONT. He is the mayor elect of San Francisco. It's a nonpartisan position. Although, of course, Mayor- elect, I know you are a registered Democrat.

So I have so much I want to talk to you about. But when we look at what Harry just was presenting Republicans seeing their best numbers in decades, and those swings -- I mean, it's unbelievable, right, just to think about it in the liberal strongholds of New York, Chicago, and of course, your city of San Francisco.

So, Mayor-elect, how big of a wake up call is this for the Democratic Party?

DANIEL LURIE, MAYOR-ELECT OF SAN FRANCISCO: Well, Erin, first, thank you for having me.

I am a lifelong Democrat but we don't think of ourselves as progressives or moderates or conservatives here in San Francisco. We just want to get back to common sense. We have to deliver the basics and that's my plan. That's the mandate that I was elected to fulfill.

We have to make sure that we have a fully staffed police department. We have to get our behavioral health and drug crisis under control in our city.

We need to make sure our small businesses can thrive. Our big businesses need to be coming back to San Francisco. We need to be open for business again. I don't believe that that's a rightward swing. That's a common sense approach.

BURNETT: Well, it's interesting you put it that way. But you did unseat the incumbent Mayor London Breed, of course. You know, she is one of the most prominent progressive Democrats in the country. And part of the reason she fell out of favor with voters, where you are was, sure, rising crime, but slashing the police budget.

You talk about you need to be able to fully staff your police department. Sure, that seems common sense, but it only seems that way in the context of what you're dealing with, where you are, slashing the police budget, growing number of homeless tents across the city. And yet -- and that's what we heard from you in your campaign, zeroing in on this issue time and time again.

Here you are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LURIE: I'm going to be a candidate that prioritizes safety here in San Francisco. You can't just be for public safety during an election year.

We need more police focused on our hospitality so that our conventioneers, our shoppers, our tourists feel safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I know you're calling it common sense. It would appear it's that way to most people. But nonetheless, you're, you know, you're -- the current mayor, your predecessor led differently.

How much do you think your win came down to this to saying something as simple as we need a fully staffed police department in the city of San Francisco?

LURIE: I think people want results. And they were not seeing that.

Erin, there's nothing progressive as to have 806 people die of drug overdose in our city last year. Property crime is rampant. Our small businesses are struggling each and every day.

They want a mayor that is focused on delivering results. That's the mandate I was voted in with, and that's what I'm going to do. I don't believe that that is anything more than those are progressive values. And so I understand I'm talking to a national audience here.

This is not a liberal, progressive, conservative. People want to feel safe walking down the street. We had so many instances of anti-Asian hate on our streets. Those are things that we need to get addressed.

BURNETT: All right. So let me just ask you one other -- one other thing.

You talk about you're a lifelong Democrat, but you're also not someone who served in elected office before. And you've chosen to do this now and take this on.

You're a philanthropist that, you know, not a politician. You founded Tipping Point which is a major nonprofit in California. So primarily you've spent your time focused on anti-poverty initiatives.

You happen to also be an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune. And so that helped you at least put your own money behind this campaign, $9 million of it. I'm mentioning that, though I thought about it, it's not usually in the context that we would mention, you know, someone's wealth or where they got their money.

I'm mentioning it because Mayor Breed, on election night reportedly, Mayor-elect, said, quote, it is really -- I'm sorry, she said it has been really one of the most sad and horrible things I've seen in politics in San Francisco that someone would take their wealth and just basically buy this office. It's really unfortunate and pretty disgusting.

She has conceded. She has said she'll have a smooth transition, but how do you even respond to something like that?

LURIE: Well, listen, the election is over. The mayor has been incredibly gracious during the first few days of this transition I thank her for that. We are going to hit the ground running.

I grew up in and around an iconic company Levi Strauss. My stepfather was part of that family, and I understood from an early age that business can be a force for good. Taking care of community is at the heart of everything that I have led with my entire life. I was born and raised here, Erin.

My two children were born in the same floor, on the same at the same hospital that I was born at. I have a deep sense of pride in our city, and I know you're sitting in the second best city in the world. San Francisco, when we are at our best, is the greatest city in the world. And I look forward to bringing our city back because I know we can do this.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Mayor-elect Lurie, I really appreciate your taking the time. Thank you so much.

LURIE: Thank you for having me, Erin.

BURNETT: All right.

LURIE: And next, the breaking news. Trump tapping Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as the country's next secretary of defense. Congressman Dan Goldman on the Homeland Security Committee is next OUTFRONT to respond.

[19:35:01]

Plus, should New York's governor pardon Trump from the state charges? Why are some Democrats saying absolutely yes?

(COMMERCIAL BREAKK)

BURNETT: All right, the breaking news, Trump naming his pick to head the Department of Defense. That's the Fox News host Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth has been a long time staunch Trump defender. Here he is back in 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, FOX NEWS HOST: This is a president who has said, I want to make America great again. And he's up against the forces of the left who believe that America was never great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. So you can see exactly where he stands. And he has been consistent in that.

Hegseth is an army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it comes as "The Wall Street Journal", of course, this hour is reporting that the Trump transition team is considering a draft executive order, which would establish a, quote/unquote, warrior board of retired senior military personnel with the power to remove three and four star officers that they want.

OUTFRONT now, the Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman of New York. He also served as lead attorney for House Democrats during the first Trump impeachment. He's on the committee for homeland security. And we were going to talk about Governor Noem and her role there.

[19:40:01]

But, you know, ten minutes have passed. So the world has changed.

And the world has changed in a few ways. First is Pete Hegseth. Trump choosing him. The Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.

What do you think?

REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): I'm shocked, truly. And this is exactly what we worried about and we warned about Donald Trump, which is that he is going to appoint unqualified loyalists to shape this government into his own personal fiefdom and get revenge on generals and put essentially really unqualified people.

I appreciate Mr. Hegseth service in our armed forces, but being a serviceman, it does make you qualified to lead the Department of Defense and to have access to our nuclear weapons. I'm very disturbed by this, and I'm very concerned about what it demonstrates about Donald Trump's priorities, which now seem to be coming true as many of us warned.

BURNETT: I've been looking here. We've really just had this news for just a few moments and so we've been obviously -- he's a Fox News host. He said a lot of things over the years.

Let me just play a little bit more of what Hegseth has said specifically, Congressman, about Trump. And what I'm going to play now is from 2019.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: God has used imperfect people forever because were all imperfect. But what he is withstood is unlike what really any other mortal could -- could understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So that's Pete Hegseth talking about God has used imperfect people. They're referring to Trump.

Look, he's a television host. There's going to be thousands more of those sorts of things. But what do you hear when you hear that?

GOLDMAN: Look, that was 2019. That was before January 6th, right? That was before Donald Trump tried to overturn an election. That was before Donald Trump hid classified information in his bathroom and refused to give it back while he was having phone conversations with Vladimir Putin.

This guy is clearly a sycophant for Donald Trump and has been his biggest cheerleader on Fox News, the biggest cheerleading network, and that is not what makes one qualified to be a cabinet secretary and secretary of defense. And the fact that Donald Trump thinks that is appropriate is very dangerous for our national security. It's bad enough that you have Kristi Noem who has zero experience with the border, with homeland security being a governor from South Dakota heading up our Department of Homeland Security. Now you have a Fox News host who's got his finger on the nuclear weapons. It's very dangerous.

BURNETT: So when you think about the Hegseth selection as secretary of defense in the context of "The Wall Street Journal" reporting, I want to ask what you think. That reporting, just in case you didn't hear, Congressman, is that Vivian Salama is reporting that they've been working on a potential draft executive order that would give a so- called warrior board the power to remove senior officers, three and four star officers.

So, look, that's a draft, but that's the context here.

And you've got now, secretary of defense with a name on it, Pete Hegseth from Fox News.

So what do you think is going to happen here with the Defense Department?

GOLDMAN: Well, I think Pete Hegseth is clearly going to do whatever Donald Trump wants him to do. And Donald Trump has made it very clear that he is going to politicize the entire executive branch, the entire federal government.

And I'm just hearing about this news now. Ill have to look into this executive order a little bit more. But if it is, as you say, and you have retired generals selected by Pete Hegseth, who's essentially an arm of Donald Trump to target three and four star generals, who do you think is up first on that list? John Kelly, other, you know, McRaven, other -- Mark Milley.

I mean, these are people who have stood up as patriots for our country and confronted and opposed, Donald Trump. And this is what Donald Trump will do to get revenge and retribution against them, against them. And Pete Hegseth is clearly the pawn in Trump's scheme to do that.

BURNETT: All right. Now, as we were speaking, there was just another development. So let me share that with you, Congressman, this is new to me as well. And that is that Trump has just announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are going to lead the DOGE, as Elon Musk has referred to it, but that is the Department of Government Efficiency.

So that's what Trump is calling -- it's unclear exactly what that's going to entail, but they are going to lead it. They have been named. So I guess on this one, take a step back because we don't know much about it other than that.

We know Elon's been talking about it for a while on social media. Do you think such a concept, being run by someone like Musk from the business world, could actually have the potential to be helpful?

GOLDMAN: I think in the abstract, yes. I do think that our government needs to be streamlined, that we need to make it more effective and more responsive.

[19:45:04]

I do agree with that.

I think the conflicts of interest that Elon Musk brings to any government job are beyond the pale and how can we be sure that Elon Musk is not going to be making efficient everything in favor of his own companies. If he's not going to divest and he's not going to separate himself, and we know he's not, because Donald Trump didn't do that as president of the United States, then how can we be sure that he is acting in the interest of the country and not in the interest of himself.

So I think Elon Musk is a brilliant businessman. I don't think he belongs running our government. And that appears to be what he's doing right now.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Congressman Goldman, I really appreciate your time and thank you very much as all this news is coming out for being with me.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

BURNETT: All right. I'm going to go straight now to Ty Cobb, the former White House lawyer during Trump's first term.

So, Ty, all right obviously we have a whole conversation planned here. But I want to give you a chance to respond to this new development. Fox News host Pete Hegseth named as Trump's choice for defense secretary. Does -- does that surprise you?

TY COBB, FORMER WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Oh, yes, of course, it surprised me. I don't know Mr. Hegseth well, and I do know that he's a veteran with a distinguished service record and obviously deserves our thanks for that.

But I think we're seeing, you know, a shot across the board. You've got some -- you've got some excellent and capable people like Marco Rubio who's well qualified to be secretary of state. And yes, he's conservative. Yes, he's a Republican. But elections have consequences.

But I think in some of these lower down -- well, that's not really lower down. Doesn't get much higher than the secretary of defense, I guess. But in some of these subsequent nominations, I think we're seeing a lot of Bronny James and not many Steph Currys.

BURNETT: And, you know, well, obviously homeland security, Kristi Noem.

But, so in the context here of what's at stake and you talk about elections having consequences, this is what the American people voted for, to give Trump the ability to do this. And he is doing it.

The former vice president, Mike Pence, spoke out today publicly, and he was more direct than he usually is, Ty, as you know. He doesn't -- he often chooses not to be but now he is. He specifically said that he doesn't, urging Trump to not pardon the January 6th rioters, obviously some of whom of course, threatened to hang Mike Pence.

He told "The Dispatch" and I quote, I don't think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the United States Capitol on January 6th. Now, obviously, as I said, you know, the chance among some of those

rioters were hang Mike Pence so what do you think. Trump has said he's going to pardon most or almost all of the January 6th rioters. He's called them hostages. He's posted free the January 6th hostages on social media.

What do you think he'll do?

COBB: Well, I history has, you know, more tarnished the rule of law than Donald Trump. And I don't think -- I don't think it restrains him at all, the concept that he might do that again. I think its highly possible that he will go forward with these pardons.

I would join the choir with the former vice president, who I respect and know to be a man of great character and who loves his country. I think this would be a tragic event, further -- further, demeaning the rule of law to those of us in this country and it's not going to go unseen around the world.

I mean, this conduct that when viewed internationally makes it impossible to distinguish the United States from, you know, from a third world country or a you know, South American dictatorship. This is this is really lawlessness of a high of the highest order. And there's no principled basis for it, I think it would be it would be a very sad event.

BURNETT: So, Ty, all right, let me just ask you about the New York hush money case. I know that there's a big development there. Judge Juan Merchan just announced he is delaying Trump's sentencing and he hasn't decided whether he's going to wipe the conviction away altogether. Obviously, you know, he's got the Supreme Courts immunity ruling, a decision on that.

But you say that the New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Democrat, obviously could make a big play here. What is it?

COBB: Well, she could pardon him. You know, I think -- I think Judge Merchan and, you know, postponing this -- asking for guidance from the prosecution as to, you know, how best to proceed if at all. You know, kicks the can down the road in a way that, doesn't eliminate the ability of the Trump team to appeal these convictions. And try to create the perception that there was no legitimacy to the prosecution, even though they -- they do have an argument based on that under the law.

[19:50;03]

But she could take that -- she could take that all away from the newly elected president, by pardoning him if she. If she pardons him, you know, there'll be no appeal. There'll be no court of appeals to overturn any opinion. The convictions will be there in history forever with an asterisk saying that he was pardoned.

BURNETT: So can I ask you one quick thing before we go?

COBB: Sure. BURNETT: You know, back in the last election, it was lock her up. And then he did not obviously pursue that with Hillary Clinton. This time, though you know, he said his critics should be arrested for treason. He said it countless times.

Jim Jordan, judiciary chair, is saying he's not going to do that. But obviously he singled out President Biden, Liz Cheney, former President Obama, Adam Schiff, the entire January 6 Committee as people who've engaged in treason.

So do you think that Trump will actually target them legally?

COBB: So I actually do not. On the other hand, you know, this warrior board is -- sounds like targeting, and it sounds, you know, very menacing to me. Now -- I mean, and it also seems totally irrelevant because Trump already has the power to fire any general he wants. You know, keep in mind Obama fired Stanley McChrystal, you know, famously Truman fired MacArthur.

So, so this is a -- this is, you know, a process in search of a problem. It's not necessary. Trump has the power already to do it if he wants to, and I think this is -- had this would have a very chilling effect within the military and further politicize a military where, you know, one of the one of the most important things we've -- we've avoided is, is having a politicized military. That -- and a military that's been under civilian rule.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Ty Cobb, thank you very much.

COBB: Nice to be with you, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. You, too.

And China now beefing up nuclear forces and teaming up with Putin to take on the U.S.. We are live in Moscow after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:16]

BURNETT: Tonight, alarm bells inside the Pentagon, and not about everything. We just were talking about this about, well, war and peace, new satellite images and documents signaling China is building a prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship. It's a concrete sign that Beijing is making strides toward producing its first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, a crucial development.

It comes as Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are closer now than ever, deepening their ties in hopes of forming a new world order that boxes out and diminishes the United States.

Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT in Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jet fighter streaking across the skies at China's largest air show, aiming to show just how fast the People's Republic is modernizing its massive military.

China's main partner is Russia, the head of the Russian national security council, Sergei Shoigu, in Beijing, praising ever closer ties.

We are not a military political alliance like the ones formed during the Cold War, he says. Relations between our countries are superior to those forms of interstate ties.

This, as China shows off its brand new stealth fighter called the J- 35A for the first time ever. While the Russians were showcasing their own stealth jet, the SU-57, which has already been used in combat operations.

Russia and China have dramatically expanded their military cooperation in recent years with regular exercises like these major naval drills the Russians say were the largest in more than 30 years.

This, as Vladimir Putin says he wants what he calls a new world order with less U.S. influence and more power in the hands of countries like Russia and China.

Russian-Chinese cooperation and world affairs acts as one of the main stabilizing factors in the global arena, he said.

And China's Xi Jinping added: in the face of the turbulent international situation and external environment, the two sides should continue to uphold the original aspiration of friendship for generations to come.

All this as relations with the U.S. grow ever more adversarial. Washington concerned about Chinese territorial claims and military expansion in the South China Sea. President-elect Donald Trump vowing to rein Beijing in.

TRUMP: There are certain countries I can tell you, everyone, I can give you from top to bottom. China is the toughest of all. But we were taking care of China with the tariffs.

But the U.S. now also faces an emboldened North Korea. Kim Jong-un, heavily courted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently conducting another round of ballistic missile tests. The U.S. also believes more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are currently fighting on Russia's side in its war against Ukraine.

Russian political analyst Sergei Markov telling me the alliance is forged by Vladimir Putin, will be a major issue for the new administration.

SERGEI MARKOV, POLITICAL ANALYST: All this coalition has a major goal to support each others in the only one thing -- sovereignty. And because the challenge to sovereignty comes first of all, from the United States and Western coalition, it moves them automatically as a little bit anti-American. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): So, as you can see there, Erin, some pretty big challenges coming for the new incoming administration. And of course, also the incoming secretary of defense, as the Russians have made absolutely clear that their relations with both China and North Korea are only going in one direction towards closer economic and military ties -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much.

And, of course, that incoming secretary of defense nominee, we now know, Pete Hegseth, former veteran, of course, and also host for Fox News.

Now, thank you so much, Fred Pleitgen. He is in Moscow tonight, crucial place only CNN can go now.

Thanks so much for joining us.

"AC360" starts now