Return to Transcripts main page

Inside Politics

Dems Search for Answers and a Path Forward after Trump's Win; Did Spending Fight Give Dems a Playbook for Fighting Trump; Longtime GOP Strategist Susie Wiles will be First Female White House Chief of Staff; Christmas in Central Park. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired December 25, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Today on a Special Christmas Day Edition of "Inside Politics" in the wilderness, Democrats struggling for a way forward after losing the White House in both chambers of Congress, but they're hoping last week's spending fight may be a road map for how to fight the Trump agenda and claw back power in 2026.

Plus, Florida man elected president. We're going to look at how Trump is bringing a Sunshine State ethos and a lot of local friends with him to Washington, starting with his no-nonsense Chief of Staff. And it is a white Christmas in New York City. What you can expect today and for the rest of the week in Norman the Woods. Hi everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in for Dana Bash today. Let's go behind the headlines and "Inside Politics".

Up first for us today the resistance 26 days until Donald Trump's inauguration and a total Republican control of Congress in Washington and at the White House. For Democrats, that means a race to put together a playbook for being the opposition. So, we want to spend some time talking about the party out of power and their emerging plans to win it back.

And to discuss it all with me our Merry Panel of Reporters. Merry Christmas to all of you. CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere, Marc Caputo of the Bulwark, Stephanie Lai of Bloomberg and CNN's Steve Contorno. It is great to have all of you here with us. Isaac, I want to start first with you, because you've done a lot of reporting on the Democrats as they do try to find a way out of kind of this existential crisis that they're having. Where do they go from here?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SEIOR REPORTER: Well, where they go, it seems like necessarily, is to the states and to the Democratic Governors who are in power. Obviously, in the House and the Senate, they do not have the majorities. Come January, they will not have the White House.

And so, it's these Democratic Governors who have been trying to figure out how they will navigate their relationships with Donald Trump. They want to push back on some of the things that he is going to do that they disagree with. They want to work with some of the things that they do agree that, at least for political reasons, they need to find common ground on.

But they also don't want to spark Donald Trump's ire. We know from his first term in the White House that he was vengeful when even -- when it came to things like disaster aid against states where he was having problems with the Governors.

The Democratic Governors that I've spoken to say that they want to make sure that as they're pushing back, they're also not doing things to get into those just fights for television or fights for being a resistance hero that could cost their states.

Even when it came to COVID supplies like Gretchen Whitmer, if you remember, she was fighting with Donald Trump at the beginning of the pandemic, and that led to some delays in supplies getting to the state that cost -- the health of people in Michigan. So, it's all of that trying to come together as they figure out what this new age of Donald Trump is going to be like and how much it resembles the first?

DEAN: Yeah. And Marc, there are some indications that this might be a little bit different than when he was in office for the first time around, there was a "POLITICO" quote the headlines, Dems finally get some good news. GOP dysfunction. Democrats starting to cobble together a playbook for the second Trump era.

Mock Republicans for their dysfunction, attack the incoming president for being a step behind Elon Musk, and keep praising themselves as the adults in the room. And of course, that's all referring to last week's battle over a potential government shutdown, when Elon Musk and President-Elect Trump stepped in, blew up that deal at the last minute.

And then we saw the president-elect ultimately not getting what he wanted, which was the suspension of the debt limit. How do you think Democrats came out of that? And do you think it's the beginnings of a playbook?

MARC CAPUTO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE BULWARK: I guess it's a play, because they're using it. But in the end, a lot of what we talk about political obsessives, me, you, Isaac, Steve, all of us, that's not what a lot of voters and Americans are concentrating on. They don't really care about the debt limit. They don't know what it

is.

They don't know what it is. They don't care about who gets the credit or who gets the blame. So, if Democrats think that appealing to kind of hyper focused, politically minded people who are paying attention to debt limit fights are going to help them prevail against Donald Trump in the midterms, I'm not sure that's really going to work.

What is probably going to work is, as Isaac said, with those Democratic Governors and those Democratic Leaders in charge, picking the right battles where they happen to be on the right side of public opinion and on the areas where they might be on the wrong side of public opinion, probably keeping their mouth shut and letting Donald Trump trip over himself. DEAN: And Stephanie, what's your sense of covering? I know you cover Trump and you've been covering the transition as well as Dems try to kind of figure this out.

[12:05:00]

To Marc's point, part of this seems to be that they want to let Trump kind of do himself in in some cases. Do you get the sense that Trump and his allies are preparing for that. What do you make of that?

STEPHANIE LAI, WHITE HOUSE & POLITICS REPORTER, BLOOMBERG: Certainly, I mean, I think when we look at just how smoothly the transition has played out in the moments in which Trump tries to put his -- you know, his foot on the -- on the scale, versus when he doesn't, it really is telling of just how organized they are and how they're willing to let something slide and -- you know jump in when there is a reason and a value in weighing in on the matter.

When we look at some of you know, what we're looking forward to going into the transition, you know, he really hasn't been saying a whole lot -- you know maybe putting out a couple of statements here and there about the nominees and the picks that he's putting out, but he isn't really putting a whole lot of controversial statements out as of now.

And part of that could be just the sense of him and his organization being much more professional this time around, and a large part of that is due to some of his top leadership.

DEAN: So, while they're preparing to take office, the Democrats, as we're talking about, trying to figure out how they do face off against Trump and the Republicans in the second go round. We're also hearing from some Democrats who are taking a bit of a

different approach, especially when you think back to 2015 going -- or, I'm sorry, 2016 going into 2017 when he was about take office the first time.

And just the resistance and everything that was so amplified by Democrats. I want to play what Senator John Fetterman, of course, a Democrat of Pennsylvania, had to say, let's listen to that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Guy been warning people like you got to chill out, you know, like the constant, you know, freak out. It's not helpful. So, you know, pack a lunch. Pace yourself, because he hasn't even taken office yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think he has the potential to be a successful and a good president?

FETTERMAN: I hope, I hope, because I'm not rooting against him. If you're rooting against the president, you are rooting against the nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: Steve, what are your thoughts? Do you think Democrats have begun again, like kind of piggybacking off of John Fetterman there to find a new way forward. Do you think it will be different this time around?

CONTORNO: Well, look, Donald Trump has been willing to welcome Democrats and non-Republicans into his circle already, and I think that people like Senator Fetterman and people like Jane Unger, who is -- you know at this turning point event over the weekend, who are progressives, but see some potential to align with Trump on more populist issues like clearly, there is, is an opportunity to collaborate with Donald Trump.

And maybe that is part of the playbook for certain Democrats to stand out or be relevant or even affect policy. There were so many times in the first term where Donald Trump seemed willing to work with Democrats on issues like immigration, and ultimately, Democrats took the resistance approach, and then Trump also pivoted hard away from them at times.

It was always sort of interesting to see that -- you know, when they thought they had a deal on Dreamers, for example, along with -- you know trading Dreamers and giving them citizenship in exchange for the wall. And then suddenly, Trump talked to someone else in his orbit who shuts that down.

So, it is a difficult challenge for these Democrats to both try to play, get into themselves, into Trump's world, and try to affect policy and be relevant. Because while he has been open to those kinds of conversations, because he's not necessarily a partisan, it often is the last person who speaks with him who is the most influential.

DEAN: And so, Isaac, as Democrats begin to start this New Year in 2025 who is emerging as the face of the Democrats? I thought it was really interesting. We saw -- we were seeing these leadership battles for various committees on the House side for oversight, Jerry Connolly beating out Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. What does that tell us about who the face of the Democratic Party and the ethos of the Democratic Party is going to be going forward.

DOVERE: I wouldn't read too much into an internal battle over who the House Oversight Chair is going to be, or a Ranking Member on House Oversight will be to see who the leadership of the party is. Some of this is very simple. Hakeem Jeffries, the Leader of the House Democrats, is clearly going to be an important part of this.

He is a very popular leader within his own conference, not as well- known beyond the House at this point, but getting there. And it is a very, very tiny majority that the Republicans have, and as we saw last week, they will probably need Democrats to help make the majorities for a lot of the critical votes that are ahead.

[12:10:00]

Then you look again to the states, and you see people like the Governors of some of the big and notable states, in Illinois, J B Pritzker in Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro in California, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan. It's not a coincidence that these are names that often get thrown around in the presidential prospects of 2028 though I think that that's way too early.

And there will be some senators too. John Fetterman, obviously has made himself very much a person who lots of reporters like going to he tends to be very candid and frank with his thoughts. Other people like Corey Booker from New Jersey, these are the sorts of people, but I will tell you I remember where things were eight years ago, when the Democrats were licking their wounds over the 2016 race.

And if you thought in 2016 you knew where the party was going, or that it would end up with Joe Biden being the Democratic Nominee and then the President in 2020 you would have been called crazy. And so, we just don't know who these people are. It's possible that the Democratic Nominee in 2028 Presidential Nominee will be one of the people that I just named.

It possible we don't even know that person's name yet, that they haven't gotten into politics, or that they're still emerging, climbing up the ranks. And in the meantime, though, it will be those people who have the centers of power, and I think especially those Governors and Hakeem Jeffries in the House are going to be in the position to be leading the party in these first couple of fights, first year or two of fights, and getting prominence from doing so.

DEAN: Yeah. And to your point, every anytime I have this conversation with people, it's always let's let it play out. Let's just see, because we don't know yet, there's a lot more to come before we get some answers on this and see how it develops. Stay with us up next, Trump is bringing a number of Floridians with him to the White House, including his quiet but powerful Chief of Staff. But could she be losing influence to Elon Musk? We'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:00]

DEAN: Florida, once the ultimate swing state in presidential elections, is now the breeding ground for Republican politics. A number of Floridians will serve in Trump's second administration, from the Cabinet level to White House aides. But one of the more consequential picks is Susie Wiles, Trump's Campaign Manager and incoming Chief of Staff. The longtime Florida Republican Strategist is known to stay out of the spotlight even after winning a presidential election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL- ELECT: Susie likes to stay sort of in the back let me tell you. The ICE thing we call it the ICE thing, right? Come on here -- Susie likes stay in background; she is not in the background.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Our panel back with us now, Marc, we see in that clip Susie Wiles. He's trying -- Trump is trying to get her to talk and she's just shaking her head. What should people know about Susie Wiles as the incoming White House Chief of Staff?

CAPUTO: What you said about how Florida used to be the ultimate swing state and isn't anymore. Susie Wiles has a hand in that. She was a top advisor to some of the most successful campaigns that we've seen in the state over the past 14, 15, 16 years. And that matters.

One of the reasons that Susie Wiles is very effective is she knows her place. She knows her role. She tries to work with other people. She doesn't spend time backstabbing, trying to hog the spotlight and get credit for what other people do. And that's a rarity in Trump where sort of skullduggery and backstabbing and assassinating people who are supposed to be on the same team as sort of blood sport.

And she notably sorts of broke that chain and ran a drama free campaign. And that for Susie Wiles is sort of her brand. And that's one of the things that Donald Trump likes about her. Before we came into the last break, you'd mentioned whether she's losing sort of market share or power to Elon Musk.

I think that sort of frames it a little bit in the wrong way in that Elon Musk is certainly a Trump advisor and someone who's hanging out with him a lot of -- a lot of the time. What Susie Wiles does is she puts things into motion. She is the person who kind of makes the trains run on time and make sure that the principal's vision is executed. And that's what makes her so good. Is that sort of egoless service of the principal or in this case, the president, president- elect?

And Steve, you wrote a piece for CNN and it had this very memorable quote in it at the top the list. This is when she's trying to figure out if she's going to take the job. At the top of the list was more control over who can reach the president in the Oval Office.

Quote, the clown car can't come into the White House at will. The whole -- the source quoted Wiles is saying, and Trump agrees with her. And that kind of gets at what Marc is saying about how she streamlines the process, tries to keep things in motion, tries to keep the train on the tracks.

CONTORNO: Exactly. She is incredibly well respected because she doesn't try to get in the way. She is not someone who's trying to necessarily influence how Donald Trump thinks. And I think a lot of his past chiefs of staff sort of fell into that, that problem with him where they were trying to guide him one way or another.

She takes what he says and tries to get him the best outcome based off of what he wants. And if that means keeping Elon Musk close, then that means keeping Elon Musk close, if it means being more populist, if it means bringing RFK Jr., into the mix.

But where she also can be effective is being a gatekeeper for some of the Klingoron (ph) some of the people who hang around the Trump World that can cause him problems and headaches. And that was a key role for her during the campaign. In fact, she was in charge for a time of the flight manifest, in turn deciding who could and could not get on to Trump Force One. And so that is sort of how she exerts her influence in a lot of ways.

DEAN: And Stephanie, when you look at Susie Wiles experience, she is -- she is of Florida as Marc and Steve are explaining that is where she has really cut her teeth in in politics. This will -- now she'll be, of course, working from the White House, the federal level.

[12:20:00]

DEAN: But he's also, in addition to Susie Wiles, bringing a number of people from Florida with him, which is interesting because he's only been an official resident of Florida for not that long.

LAI: That's a really good point. And I think we sometimes forget that some of tops Trump's top advisors are longtime political operatives from the state, Susie Wiles being one of them. Senior Advisor, Brian Hughes being another. They have very deep relations with Florida politicians. They face very well.

And I think it's very telling just how many Florida politicians were some of Trump's top allies on the campaign trail? You know, they were at many, many events, stumping for him, either on TV or speaking to the press. And in many ways, this engendered a sense of loyalty that really proved out over time.

And it's one of those reasons why Trump tends to come back to them, because he knows that they're reliable friends and allies, and that really is one of those things that is super consequential when it comes to the personnel picks that he's been making. We've been hearing for months that he's really valuing loyalty above all else when it comes to picking these people to fill his next administration. And the fact that some of his closest friends and allies are from Florida just speaks to that act.

DEAN: And Isaac, when you talk about these Floridians coming to D.C., that's nothing new. You think about Clinton bringing Arkansas people Texas George Bush, of course. So that's not necessarily different. However, the fact that Susie Wiles, again, just for example, has really done all her work in -- there in Florida, you think back to Trump's first Chief of Staff in 2017 which was Reince Priebus, of course, a creature of D.C. and Republican politics.

You think about Joe Biden bringing in Ron Clain, again, a creature of D.C. and D.C. politics. How is that different for Wiles, who is coming in as more of an outsider, in that particular way?

DOVERE: She's more of an outsider. She does have probably the most important thing for a White House Chief of Staff, which is the trust of the president-elect, who will be the president for her. But I think what Marc and Steve said is totally right about the way that she managed Trump so far, and how well it worked out for the way the campaign was run, and obviously his winning the election.

But being president is a lot different than running a presidential campaign. It's different levels of stress by factors of about a million. The around the clock nature of it is different. The number of issues that are involved are different. Susie Wiles, she's been a political operative and a very successful one.

Now she's going to be running the entire federal government, domestic policy and international policy, and with many more people than she has ever managed. So, we will see how she does that part of it, and also Donald Trump coming into the presidency now, we know from his first time in office what he was like as president.

We will see how much that is a predictor of what his second term will be. But one way or the other, it will be a lot more stress on him and a lot more people who are coming to him, much more to manage, just in his own day to day life. And that leads to a place that we don't know yet. It may work out just as well as it did for him over the course of the campaign.

And it may be that we end up with the same kind of chaos as the first Trump term, or different kinds of dysfunction and cast it's just -- it's so much is happening here. And I think importantly, as other people have pointed out over the course of last couple months, this is a different world in a different country.

Things are in a different place than they were when Donald Trump came in eight years ago, and if he is expecting to approach the presidency and the problems that he has in front of him in the same way that he did eight years ago. He may find some trouble with that.

DEAN: Yeah, it's going to be very, very interesting to watch it all play out. A big thanks to our panel. Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope you get some time with your family and friends. Thanks for being here, guys. Still to come., New York seeing its first White Christmas in more than a decade. City kids in Central Park taking full advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 10 out of 10?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 11. 11 out of 10.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This hill is like for more medium starters. The other Hill is like, more advanced if they fly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:00]

DEAN: You're looking at the first Christmas Midnight Mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral since it reopened following the fire that torched much of the Paris landmark. Around the world leaders are offering up their holiday wishes during his address at the Vatican Pope Francis called for the war the end of the war in Ukraine.

On X, President Biden wrote, for the last time as your president, it's my honor to wish all of America a very merry Christmas. My hope for our nation today and always is that we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency. May God bless you all.

And President-Elect Trump sharing this photo on his social media site Truth Social of him and the soon to be First Lady again, Melania Trump. Many across the country are actually having a white Christmas in New York City, sweaters we're seeing hitting the slopes yesterday, after a Christmas Eve storm blanket in the city, some snow still on the ground.

There for you know, enough for a snowball fight. Little sledding. Out West the mountain region saw a lot more. Millions are preparing to get another hit with winter weather. Chad Myers is in CNN Weather Center tracking it all for us. Chad, great to see you. What are you tracking there on this Christmas Day?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know a lot of melting snow across parts of the Northeast, and I know that's probably sad for the snow band that we're built, but it's sad because we're going to re ice that temperatures are going to get down below 32 after dark.

So, if the road looks wet and you're driving around at seven o'clock at night, it's not wet. That is likely ice on the roadways. So be careful there. Not melting any snow in Minnesota, not melting any snow in Wisconsin, it is still cold enough out there. There could be some severe weather tomorrow across Arkansas and parts of Louisiana.