hunt next.

>> it is monday, december 23rd and right now on cnn this morning has anyone ever heard of the panama canal? >> huh? because we're being ripped off at the panama canal back on stage in his first rally style speech since the election, donald trump issues a new threat to take back the panama canal. >> plus weighing commutations before his time in office comes to a close, president biden is expected to commute dozens of federal death sentences, and this. >> there none here. >> oh. excuse me. >> yes? i'm trying to find a tom homan door. me too. me too. do you have any more in the back it's the most hectic time of the year. >> how? americans are trying to put a bow on their gifts list. and the final days and final shopping blitz before christmas day.

5 a.m. here on the east coast. here is a live look at a very frigid, frigid new york city on this monday before christmas. good morning everyone. i'm rahel solomon in today for kasie hunt. great to have you with us. donald trump back on stage in his first rally like speech since the campaign trail. the president elect addressed a group of conservative activists in phoenix, and he offered a preview of how some u.s. foreign policy might change when he's back in office. >> you got to treat us fairly, and they haven't treated us fairly. if the principles, both moral and legal of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the panama canal be returned to the united states of america. >> panama's president, meantime issuing a strong rebuke of trump's comments como. >> president. >> as president, i want to express that every square meter of the panama canal and its

adjacent areas belong to panama and will continue to belong to panama. the sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable, he said the canal will continue to be in panamanian hands as the patrimony of our nation, and guaranteeing its use for the peaceful and uninterrupted transit of ships of all nations. >> but that didn't stop trump, who then posted this on social media. quote. welcome to the united states canal. here to discuss this and more is political reporter for notice reese gorman. reese, great to have you. >> thanks for having me on. >> so what's your reaction to this? i mean, this focus on the panama canal sort of comes out of left field. it's unclear why the focus now on panama canal. what's your reaction? >> yeah, i mean, this is kind of the way that trump kind of just does what he does. he kind of hyper focuses on certain issues. i mean, just last week he was talking about canada, how canada is going to be the 51st state. how justin trudeau is governor of canada instead of prime minister. he kind of just bounces around. i mean, i think he's also talked about

buying greenland again this next upcoming president, his next upcoming term, like he talked about in the first term. he kind of hyper fixates on these issues. and i mean, the reality of this actually playing out is very slim. as you saw the president of panama there say that they're not going to turn it over to american hands. is it going to stay in panamanian hands? and that's likely how it's going to remain. and there's really no avenue that that i know of that trump has of just taking control of the panama canal. >> but but what does this suggest, do you think about what we might continue to see over the next four years from trump on the foreign policy front? i mean, as you mentioned, there's there's there's the rift now with canada and tariffs on panama. now, i mean, what does this say about what the next four years looks like when it comes to foreign policy? >> well, i think it definitely says that there's going to be a lot of kind of these issues that are taken on a whim. i mean, this whole conversation started with him just sending out a truth social post on the panama canal, something that we really didn't hear him talk about on the campaign trail. it's kind of a shock of being like, what is he talking about? where did this come from? and i think we're going to see a lot of that on foreign policy. i think you're going to see some late night truth social post

that kind of dictate the news cycle for the next coming days on foreign policy. and that kind of comes out of left field, comes out of nowhere. and that's kind of what i believe you're probably going to see over the next few years, like you saw in his first four years of his administration. >> but but is there a chance, especially when you're thinking about tariffs, when you're thinking about these negotiations that he's having, that some of this tough talk could actually be effective. you saw justin trudeau go to mar-a-lago. i mean what about that? >> i think it is 100% effective. i mean, i think that there is some that foreign leaders i mean, as trump said, he wants to be america, to be feared again. he wants people to beat their adversaries and allies to both fear and respect america and not mess with it. and i think you saw trudeau, i mean, as you did. i mean, you saw trudeau kind of travel and then visit with president trump, president-elect trump, rather after he made those tariffs threats. you saw he trump had a conversation with the president of mexico after he made those tariff threats. and so these are ways that, i mean, trump does have a unique ability to give foreign leaders to kind of just kind of go to

his will and just talk to him. and that's something that he has because he is not afraid to do x, y, z. and these foreign leaders know that. >> reese, i want to play for you something else that trump said at that same event. take a listen it will be the official policy of the united states government that there are only two genders, male and female doesn't sound too complicated, does it? so, the question is, i mean, it's not just sweeping statements on foreign policy, but also sweeping statements on social issues. what do you make of this? >> yeah. and this is something that he really touched on on the campaign. the campaign. i mean, they ran ads saying that kamala harris is for them. trump is for us. i mean, this was an issue that they focused on. they focused on the transgender issue quite a bit during the campaign. and they believe that this significantly helped them, especially the transgender females, biological

males playing in women's sports was interested that they think it really helped them among kind of these voting groups, that they didn't win in the first term, because i think the message resonated. and so this is something that he focused on a lot during the campaign that it just is carrying over. now that he's about to take over the administration. and this is something that you'll likely still get to do to see for sure. focus on these transgender issues. >> mhm. rice gorman, great to have you. thank you. >> thanks for having me on. >> all right. straight ahead on cnn this morning. authorities digging for possible motives as questions mount in germany over what could have been done to prevent that deadly christmas market attack. plus, donald trump trying to set the record straight over elon musk's rocketing political influence within the gop. and president biden expected to commute death sentences for inmates on federal death row. one of his final acts as commander in chief. >> i have encouraged the president to seriously consider commuting the sentences to life in prison without hope of parole for these truly heinous

criminals. >> there are some real questions about the fairness and the process of the death penalty in the united states. >> andy, take a seat. anderson, look at this. you're wet. disheveled. there's debris hitting you. we need to be ready for new year's eve. maybe you are ready. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn. >> when i was younger, my calling was to play football, but as i grew older, i realized life isn't about how many people you can knock down, it's about how many people you can lift up that ram. our calling is to build game changing trucks, so when you find your calling, nothing can stop you from answering it right now. >> during the ram wrap up the year sales event, get $6,500 total cash allowance on the purchase of select 2025 ram 1500 trucks. see your local ram dealer today. >> sometimes you just need a moment self-care has never been

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>> that individual has been been named as taleb al abdulmohsen, a 50 year old man, a doctor, a psychiatrist who was originally from saudi arabia, saudi arabia. he is anti-islam. he describes himself as an islamophobe and has often posted on social media. you know, very aggressive messages against islam. he called himself the most aggressive critic of islam in history. he's been warning repeatedly on social media that germany is trying to islamize europe, posting conspiracy theories and things like that. you can see the marketplace behind me has still been sealed off with these police cordons everywhere. as forensic teams scour through the debris of that attack, picking up any evidence they can. of course, while cleaning the streets, to be frank of the blood that has been left on the pavement as a result of so many casualties. meanwhile, that suspect has made his first appearance in a german court, with the judge there placing him in pretrial

detention. as this intensive investigation continues. matthew chance, cnn, magdeburg in eastern germany. >> saint peter's basilica keeping security concerns top of mind as it prepares to kick off the 2025 jubilee year and an influx of christmas visitors over the next few days. cnn's vatican correspondent christopher lam takes us to rome for a rare peek inside the world's largest church. >> i'm here at saint peter's basilica, the home of the popes, the site of the tomb of saint peter and one of the catholic church's holiest sites. a huge amount of work has been going on to prepare for an influx of millions of visitors expected to be in rome during the jubilee year. now we've been granted special access to go inside the basilica and show you what's been going on. >> hello. hello, christopher. welcome to rome. >> well, thank you very much. >> to the vatican. in this case

so. wow. yes. it's wonderful. the biggest church in the world. now we are near the holy door. >> the opening of this holy door by the pope on christmas eve will mark the beginning of the jubilee. a time of celebration and pilgrimage that usually occurs every 25 years. with its cement seal removed and keys retrieved, the door is now ready to be opened for 2025, which will allow pilgrims to pass through and receive forgiveness for their sins. known as an indulgence after this moment, the pilgrim encounters the mother of god, the masterpiece of michelangelo. the pieta, which was attacked in 1972, has had its protective glass upgraded for the jubilee. >> and this is the work of the pilgrim. >> okay. the pilgrims pass. yes. wow!

>> in front of us. the battle. the of the bernini. this altar is the center of the eucharistic celebration. but also it's very important because there is the tomb of saint peter. >> can we see that now? >> yes. >> access to the tomb of saint peter, the church's first pope, is usually only possible with special permission. but as part of jubilee plans to boost engagement, it and the holy door will be viewable via webcam. live streams. >> this is the devotion of every pilgrim saint peter's has also launched a new magazine and even partnered with microsoft to create an a.i. >> generated digital twin of the basilica that allows pilgrims who can't be there in person and others to explore every detail which could be useful as the work to maintain saint peter's is ongoing. a special structure has been set up to restore its ceiling using techniques from the renaissance

period. >> now we are in front of the monument of bernini inside there is the oldest chair of saint peter, the dove symbolizes the holy spirit in the church. the holy spirit leads the church. >> yes. it's not just a museum church. it's a living church. >> no, no. yes, yes. >> a living church that's now ready to welcome pilgrims from around the world in person and remotely for the jubilee. christopher lamb, cnn, rome. >> all right, coming up. three teenagers helped police in new york identify a suspect after a woman riding the subway was burned alive in what police are calling a brutal murder. plus, donald trump shutting down claims that billionaire ally elon musk is the shadow president

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automaker. the japanese car companies announcing mitsubishi would also integrate its business. the resulting alliance could have a market cap north of $50 billion. well, if you are dreaming of a white christmas, a few flurries may be coming your way in parts of the country. let's get to meteorologist derek van dam tracking it all for us. so derek, who might see some snow and selfishly, when are we going to get some relief from this cold in the northeast and brutal. >> everybody wants to know they blame the weatherman when it's not in their favor. >> right. i think this morning, if you're in, let's say, michigan or wisconsin, you're getting these festive flakes and they're falling just in time for the christmas season. so maybe we get that coating of fresh snow. it will be cold enough to maintain that snow on the ground. so we'll get a white christmas. places like milwaukee, grand rapids, michigan, that type of thing. it's all because of this clipper system. it's also bringing the potential of some light freezing drizzle to central wisconsin today. you can see it on the latest radar. we zoom in a little bit closer. not a significant storm system by any stretch of the means, but i want you to see what's

going to happen as we advance this into the future. the winter weather alerts are extended all the way to our nation's capital. so tomorrow, if you're in and around washington, d.c., could get a brief period of freezing rain on christmas eve. so if you're heading to friends, family, grandma, grandpa's house, that could certainly impact your travel plans. but in terms of the festive flakes, you got to look towards northern new england, into michigan and central wisconsin to the south. of course, a little bit too warm for this to fall in the frozen variety over the western parts of the u.s., another storm system will bring mountain snow and valley rainfall. you can see how active this forecast radar as we head into christmas eve and christmas day. santa and his reindeer will have a very difficult time landing in this heavy rainfall. 2 to 4in of rain, central to northern california through the oregon and washington coast, but a smooth landing for santa with several inches of snowfall in the higher elevations. so in terms of the airports, no travel delays today along the east coast. chicago with that

weak clipper system moving through, could bring some delays through the course of the day today. and as we look at the weather forecast for tomorrow at the airports, again, with that system moving through d.c., that's the travel tricky spot for your christmas eve. real festive flakes. what do you think about that? >> i like that festive flakes. we got to think about something that makes a a more positive spin on the cold in the northeast, because all the words that come to mind, derek, are not tv friendly. i got to say festive. i got to say not festive. yes, derek van dam, thank you. all right. and a holiday reminder. the boys are back for the biggest party of the year. join anderson cooper and andy cohen for new year's eve. live coverage starts at eight right here on cnn. and still ahead on cnn this morning. a change of heart as a senator, joe biden called for a tough death penalty. but as he ends his political career, he's looking at commuting dozens of federal death row inmates. plus, donald trump responds to jabs from democrats

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welcome back. >> 530 exactly here on the east coast. and here's a live look at the christmas tree display outside of philadelphia's city hall, my hometown there. good morning everyone. i'm rahel solomon in today for kasie hunt. great to have you with us. new this morning with just under a month left in his presidency, president biden issuing another round of commutations, this time for inmates on federal death row. this morning, the president announced that he is commuting the sentences for 37 inmates condemned to die. instead, they will face life without the possibility of parole, and the move is a step towards fulfilling a previous campaign promise by the president, reiterated by his press secretary two months into office president biden has made clear, as he did on the campaign trail, that he has grave concerns about whether capital punishment as currently implemented is consistent with the values that are fundamental to our sense of justice and fairness. now, the commutations come as incoming president elect donald trump had called

to restart federal executions and pursue more death penalty cases at the federal level. >> and i'm hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an american citizen or a law enforcement officer. we are an institute and a powerful death penalty. we will put this on. we have to bring in the death penalty if we want to stop the infestation of drugs coming into our country. >> joining us now to talk about all of this is cheyenne daniels, race and politics reporter for the hill. cheyenne, welcome. great to have you. good morning. so this move by president biden would follow a campaign promise that he made in 2020, but it's also very different from what he said as a u.s. senator when he had a very different perspective. take a listen. >> i'm a death penalty supporter. i'm the guy that wrote this bill. presumptuous thing to say, but i wrote this bill my own little hands. and i

add it into the bill. more than 50 death penalties. i support the death penalty. this president supports the death penalty. >> and obviously we're talking about 30 decades in office here. but what do we make cheyenne of this dramatic shift in that time? >> i think this is indicative of where the democratic party has gone in that time, since joe biden was a senator. when you have progressives in your party who are sitting there saying part of the reason you won the presidency in 2020 was because black americans came out and supported you, because you promised criminal justice reform, knowing that these americans are those who are disproportionately impacted by not just arrests, but harsher sentences. and yes, being a given the death penalty, you know, they're kind of saying to him, you have a responsibility. you have an obligation to those americans

who supported you. so i think this is on par. and he's doing what he has to do to make sure that he fulfills the promises to those who supported him and got him where he is today. >> and what about the critics? i want to play for you something. mitch mcconnell said last week when he came out pretty forcefully against the commutations. take a listen to what he said on the senate floor. >> it would mean that society's most forceful condemnation of white supremacy and anti-semitism must give way to legal mumbo jumbo. >> the irony of claims of systemic racism causing the president to dylann roof is ludicrous. ludicrous to the point of tragedy now, it's important to note that we learned this morning what mcconnell was speaking about. >> there is dylann roof. dylann roof will not be included in this commutation. president biden left in place his sentence for obviously, the charleston church shooting, but

also mass shootings and hate crimes like the boston marathon bomber. the tree of life synagogue shooter. will that decision to exclude those shooters, those criminals, will that move? for critics like senator mcconnell? >> i think at this point, frankly, with so much of the division that we see in the politics, there is no way that the republicans will take a look at what joe biden has just done and say in any way that this was something good. but i do think that it's important, right? so in some ways, biden is saying there are some unforgivable acts that we have seen individuals do that cannot be forgiven. at the same time that he's saying, you know, for these other 37 individuals who were on death row and most of them were convicted for things related to drug trafficking, murders and things of that nature. you know, he's trying to put forward this image of perhaps there is rehabilitation. he came out strongly against the death penalty while he was on the campaign trail. but again, republicans will find a way to make this somehow to be no

matter what he's leaving office, they will still say that this was not a good move. >> cheyenne daniels, great to have you. thank you. >> thank you. >> all right, now turning to this. democrats have a new nickname for elon musk he's president, and trump is now vice president. >> i think that's clear. >> all of a sudden we have an outside influence who believes i think he is president and that's president musk, president musk, the senate democrats, the senate republicans, the house democrats, the house republicans, everybody agreed. >> and then it was blown up by elon musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government so those comments seem to be part of a strategy that cnn's stephen collinson writes about. >> quote, democrats are trying to tweak trump's vanity, mockingly suggesting that even after winning a second term, he is still not as powerful as the south africa born tech mogul whom he put in charge of slashing the size of the government. once the president elect takes office. and it

seems maybe it's working because trump making it clear that despite their friendship, musk is not the one calling the shots. >> in all the different hoaxes. and the new one is president trump has ceded the presidency to elon musk. no, no, that's not happening. he's not going to be president. that i can tell you. and i'm safe. you know why he can't be? he wasn't born in this country joining me now is national political reporter for the associated press, michelle price. >> michelle, great to have you today. >> thanks for having me. >> so is this an effective messaging strategy for democrats to to poke fun at musk calling him president musk or the like? i mean, trump's point is it pays to have smart people around him. i mean, what are your thoughts i mean, there's there's two main

benefits for democrats here. >> and it's so far it seems like this, this new tactic is working at least on one of one of those fronts. and it's needling president elect donald trump kind of targeting his vanity. he doesn't like to be outshined by anybody. and we saw elon musk at times last week over the funding debate seem to be out in front of him. i mean, he posted more than 150 times on x about the funding bill. you know, you saw that as this narrative started to come out from democrats about elon seeming to run the messaging here and being the one calling the shots. we saw some of his posts kind of change his tone and make it very clear. he said the the credit here goes to president elect donald trump. it goes to republicans in congress. he he also seems to be cognizant of this line here and the risks of a alienating, perhaps or straining his relationship with president donald trump. you know, you saw donald trump has made some remarks about elon, is hanging out at mar-a-lago and he can't seem to get rid of him. so that's something that we'll see democrats continue to push

on. but there also is a benefit for them to highlight the role that the world's richest man is playing in the republican politics right now, especially as democrats are trying to work on regaining their connection with working class voters. after the results of the november election. >> michelle, i want to play for you something else. trump spoke about tapping robert f kennedy jr. for hhs secretary. take a listen to what he said. >> when you look at like autism from 25 years ago and you look at it now, something's going on. and i nominated robert f kennedy jr.. think of this. 25 years ago, autism 1 in 10,000 children. today it's 1 in 36 children. is something wrong? i think so okay. >> we're actually having some technical issues with michelle. but now i hear that they have been worked out. michelle, good to have you. i'm not sure if you were able to hear that, but

since we were having it, looks like we lost her again. okay, we'll try to get her reconnected. but in any event, michelle, we appreciate your time. that's michelle price there. thank you. all right. and still to come on cnn this morning, the dallas cowboys eliminated from playoff contention. the teams keeping their playoff dreams alive. that and more in the cnn sports update coming up. plus still have some last minute shopping to do. while you are not alone. we will let you in on where to find the best deals during this countdown to christmas. >> passion fruit spread. fruit spray sure. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn. >> some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. >> okay, let's get going. >> can everybody see that? >> like, you know, to check your desktop first before sharing your screen?

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insulated trunk organizer free. >> plus, aarp, the magazine. >> whether you are waving a wand in the wizarding world or stringing lights around the tree in a more traditional manner, the holidays are all about the comforts of tradition. cnn's anna stewart takes us behind the scenes of an annual christmas classic as she tours the grounds of hogwarts at the warner brothers studio in london. now decked with enchanting holiday decor happy christmas, harry. >> happy christmas ron. >> it's that time of year when we all rewatch family favorite movies, but this time i'm taking it a step further. could there be a more magical place to spend the christmas holidays and hogwarts are this is the great hall all

decked out for a festive feast. laura. >> nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. you're going to give me the grand tour? i am indeed. welcome to the warner bros. studio tour. london. the making of harry potter. i'm laura sinclair lasalle, and i'm head of show experience. you are the person who's going to tell me everything about this place. and i should tell you, i'm probably cnn's biggest harry potter fan or nerd, depending on how you view these things. amazing. well, you've come to the right place. it feels like we have walked into a harry potter movie. minus one enchanted ceiling and two tables, which allows more room for visitors in the movies. >> professor flitwick made light work of baubles. >> it's a lot more work for the muggles working here. those aren't real peeves. no. sadly not. no, none of the food is real. not real. not this time. no with stomachs rumbling. time to

move on. now, you may remember this scene. hagrid lugging a christmas tree across the hogwarts courtyard. so this is very reminiscent of that moment. and this would have been the original costume as worn by martin bayfield. so this is what was worn by the body double. absolutely. yeah. any of the long shots that you see were usually worn by him? time for a little retail therapy. and it's been snowing. we use shredded paper. this is shredded paper or shredded plastic. yes. and then on top we sprinkle some glitter to give it that kind of real life snow effect from ollivanders to flourish and blotts diagon alley has everything the witch or wizard needs. okay, if you could go into any of these shops for real, which one would you go into? oh i'm torn. probably i'd want to hang out with the twins, so i would want to go to the wizard wheezes. yeah. okay. go pick up a few jokes. maybe the quidditch shop for me. yeah. once i've got my wand

and clearly it would be a firebolt the firebolt, the fastest broomstick in the world. although, sadly, no holiday sales here. and to end the tour, a breathtaking view of hogwarts in the snow. anna stewart, cnn, watford all right. >> time now for sports. the cowboys hold off the buccaneers under the sunday night lights in tampa bay's >> this quarter or this game, baker mayfield, it's touchdown pass to ryan miller cutting the dallas

lead to just two than three minutes to play. >> tampa bay got the ball back with a chance to win this game. mayfield trying to avoid the sack. flipping the ball to rashad white who turned up field, but dallas forced a fumble. so the recovery sealed the 2624 win and cost the bucs control of their playoff fate. >> we lost. we fell back in the pack. we got to eat it. can't spend too much time on it. we had our chances. we had our chances just like everybody else. but it's a long season. we got two more games to go. we got to take care of us and then let everything else take care of itself. >> the falcons, now soaring into first place in the division after the one two punch of beating the giants and seeing the bucs lose rookie quarterback michael penix jr., making his first start for atlanta, he was more than poised, throwing for 202 yards and an interception that was actually a bobbled pass in the 34 to 7 rout. atlanta and tampa bay tied with eight and seven records, but the falcons hold the head to head tiebreaker after sweeping the season series, the eagles taking on

the commanders in a key divisional battle. philadelphia, losing their star quarterback jalen hurts, to a concussion early on in this game, but washington quarterback jayden daniels ended up being the real story here. his team was down by 14 going into the fourth quarter, but they would battle all the way back to give themselves a chance to win in the final seconds. daniels throwing his fifth touchdown pass of the game, finding jamison crowder in the end zone for the score, so the commanders win 3633, snapping the eagles ten game winning streak as washington improves to ten and five on the season, their most wins since 2012 and a memorable moment between father and son during sunday's final round of the pnc championship. look at this. this is charlie woods, the son of legendary golfer tiger woods, teeing off with a seven iron on the par three fourth and ended up hitting his very first hole in one. and his dad, tiger, who was his teammate at the event, embracing him. that might be the first of many aces for that 15 year old. he resembles his dad in almost every way on the course for the woods family did lose to the langers in a playoff, but

charlie said it was the most fun he's ever had during a round of golf. and tiger called that moment right there between the father and son. the thrill of a lifetime. very cool to see that. and a big congratulations to penn state head coach katie schumacher, callie and her women's volleyball team on winning the national title. the nittany lions didn't need to look far for motivation. schumacher was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer back in september. she has continued to coach through chemo i'm inspired by the young kids that are sick, you know, i told you i did my i'm doing treatment at upenn and every time i walk into the hospital, i walk right past the children's hospital. >> and so, you know, i'm sure if i can be an inspiration to someone, then i take that. but, you know, i feel good and i'm lucky to have the people around me. and i think that's why we're successful. >> it's a great story, rahel. and with sunday's win over louisville, she also became the first female coach to win an ncaa volleyball championship.

but her players have rallied around them and she's used them for motivation as well, thanking her staff and her support system around her. but a big congratulations to the nittany lions. >> yeah, truly inspirational there and she's getting great care at penn. caroline i know that you're always very exhaustive with these sports reports. i didn't think you were going to mention the eagles. i felt like that was one that you could have left out this morning. >> i said it, i said it, and i was like, oh man, rahel solomon today this is not going to go over well. >> i'm sorry. brutal, brutal sorry. >> merry christmas, happy holidays i apologize. >> oh my god, it's good to see you caroline. thank you. even with the eagles report included. all right. lowering energy costs was a promise that president elect trump made during his campaign. and as he prepares for a second term, some experts say that that idea is a little far fetched. cnn's bill weir has more. >> frac frac frac and drill. drill, drill. drill, baby. >> drill on the trail we're going to frac frac frac. donald trump made some big energy promises. >> when your energy bill within

12 months will be cut in half. and that's my pledge all over the country. >> what's the reality of that? as he gets ready to take office? >> you quote eminem. it's more snapped back to reality, but even republican experts say don't count on it. having worked for president, president george w bush and having looked scoured the white house for a magic wand that can quickly lower oil prices or electricity prices, the truth is, it doesn't exist. the reality is that consumers energy bills, producers, production volumes. they depend much more on the whims of the global marketplace than what any single president can do. >> and the u.s. is already producing more fossil fuel for that market than any nation in history. so drilling on more federal land, experts say, would not affect gas prices. >> private land and shale is really where the action is. federal land. you can tinker

with things on the margin. maybe get a couple additional 100,000 barrels a day. you're not going to double u.s. production or increase it by even 25%. >> good afternoon. >> and remember when the pandemic and opec caused oil prices to crash? it was good for consumers but horrible for u.s. oil companies. so trump asked russia and saudi arabia to stop drilling so prices would go up, making it so that our industry does well and the oil industry does better than it's doing right now. >> when is an american president call opec to cut production to raise oil prices? answer never accept the second quarter of 2020. let me be very clear from the industry's perspective. president trump can and will implement regulatory and policy changes that will vastly improve the outlook for energy investment. >> but in terms of lowering oil prices near electricity prices, that is very, very difficult

for any president to do. >> meanwhile, utility scale renewable energy is now cheaper than oil. china is switching to electric cars with such breathtaking speed and scale, it's disrupting energy futures, and around 90% of the projects waiting to get on the texas grid are solar plus batteries and batteries. >> if you look up a battery farm, you just money because you charge your batteries. when electricity is cheap, you sell it six hours later when electricity is expensive. i mean, it's just a money making machine. these developers are not birkenstock wearing hippies who get in their vw bus and drive off. these are texan energy developers who want to make money, and you make money with renewable energy. right now, it's the cheapest energy we have and can trump politics get in the way of that, or claw back that momentum in any way? i think it's a real open question. what is going to happen? everybody needs to understand that a transition to renewable energy will fatten

your wallet. you're going to walk out with a with a better economy, cleaner air, better national security. i mean, the benefits of this of the clean energy transition are enormous for almost everybody. not if you're a fossil fuel billionaire. they will not be better off in a clean energy. the fossil fuel billionaires will be worse off because of that, and because of the enormous political power they have. they have been able to essentially capture the political process, to have politicians force us to continue using dirty, expensive fossil fuels. >> bill weir, cnn, new york and still ahead on cnn this morning, trump's canal plan. >> the president elect setting his eyes on regaining control of the panama canal, drawing a rebuke from panama's president. plus, out the door, democrat turned independent joe manchin gives parting thoughts on their strong on the state of his former party as he exits congress. we'll get into it.

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