explain what he's talking about. >> well, he has used this as a rallying cry to suggest that he has been targeted in a two-tiered system of justice, where people are going political adversaries. now, this is quite quizzical for many people, because he has spoken about this issue and often talked about retribution, potentially. and remember pam bondi, his attorney general pick, has said there will be no enemies list for the department of justice, so we're left to understand that he has alluded to his comments about the decisions of now his predecessor, joe biden, and his decision to give a preemptive pardon, will he see that under the same category of weaponization or otherwise? this is going to be a looming question as to how the orders will be carried out. and we heard from kash patel earlier today, his pick to be the fbi director, what will his plans be and will it be in line with what pam bondi has said she will effectuate. >> laura coates, thank you very much. john king, thanks to you as well. stay with cnn. much more of our

special coverage of president trump's inauguration with erin burnett in washington. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ good evening. i'm erin burnett live from washington. out front tonight, the breaking news, the trump presidency is in full force. president trump just wrapping up that rally in washington where he signed nine executive orders, promising to pardon those who attacked the capitol on january 6th. the president now on his way to the white house where he promises to sign even more executive actions. they said there will be many more tonight. just moments ago, he signed orders, including revoking nearly 08 of biden's executive orders and actions. they may count that as 80. as well as freezing all federal hiring, requiring federal workers return to the

office five days a week in addition to orders trump is expected to sign later tonight. those include the formal declaration of a national emergency at the southern border and ending birthright citizenship, that of course is a right in the constitution that if you are born in the united states you are a citizen. terminating diversity programs and declaring the federal government will recognize two genders, male and female. and as i mentioned, trump is expected to also pardon members of the mob that attacked the capitol on january 6th, 2021, when he returns to the white house tonight. that has been something that has been at the core of all of his talk today. and there is so much to get to tonight. jeff zeleny is at the rally just spoke. kaitlan collins is live outside the white house and evan perez is in washington. elle reeve is outside washington prison where january th defendants are waiting to be release affidavit being pardoned by trump. all with us through the hour. jeff zeleny, let me start with you, just coming from that arena, as i just came from where

you are. you watched the signing of those executive orders. walk us through exactly what trump just did. >> reporter: well, , erin, it was a bit of campaign theater meets political promises. you saw at the very end there where president trump threw out the black sharpies that he used to sign the executive orders. this was part of a promise that he's been talking about it virtually every campaign rally that i can think of since he started his return to power. promising what he would do on day one. and of course he went after the 78 biden executive actions. that is no surprise. president biden did basically the same thing his first day in office, reversed a lot of the executive actions that the previous president did. but then, of course, he went on through several others. withdrawing from the paris climate accords. requiring federal workers to come back to the office. and then some that, of course, we will have to get a bit more detail on these in terms

of instructing federal agencies to try and control prices and talking about hiring freezes. the hiring freeze is something significant because, of course, he wants to pick up where he largely left off and that is to restructure and reshape the federal work force. he believes that they have largely been against him. that's one of the things he wants to do. but i think, erin, most notably he talked about it here, about pardoning january 6th defendants. he's talked about immigration all day long. but it was not something that he signed as an executive order. so clearly, like the first trump administration, we often have to spend a little bit more time looking into the fine print, looking into the details of what these executive orders mean. but there is no doubt he chose this arena. you were just here. it's been, you know, a raucous afternoon and early evening for that reason. but this is governing and we have to take a closer look at what all of these actually mean going

forward, erin. >> that's right. what is rhetoric what is reality, but huge change no matter where that line is drawn. jeff zeleny, thank you very much. let's go to kaitlan collins at the white house. i know trump is about to sign more orders going back to the white house before he goes to those balls for the night. where does he go from here? >> reporter: kwae, this will be his first time at the white house since being sworn in earlier, erin. i've been up inside the west wing earlier today. they already rearranged everything. the photos on the wall are of trump and his familyfamily his team already. they do that pretty quickly. they even changed the portraits inside the oval office. he had andrew jackson up when he was here in the white house four years ago. they've since put andrew jackson's portrait back up inside the oval office. that is where your going to see president trump not far from here after his motorcade which is make its way over from capital one to the white house, i believe we'll see it come down the driveway behind me, not usually where the president pulls in. he's usually on the south lawn but typically on the day of the inauguration, the presidents pull in on the north

lawn where i am standing right now. it's once trump gets inside that oval office you'll see him sign a lot of the executive actions that he has been talking about for the better part of a year now. ten of the executive actions will focus on immigration, one of his biggest priorities and biggest campaign promises, frankly, since entering the white house. we'll see what exactly that looks like. we have a pretty good idea. some of the moves echo what he did his first term in office. but the other one that he was very clearly so eager to talk about during those remarks just now at the capital one arena in front of actual hostages, i should note, january 6th rioters refers to as the j6 hostages. before on the campaign trail, we really only heard trump talk about this or go into detail when he was asked by reporters what he planned to do, did he plan to pardon everyone or just on a case by case basis. he is very clearly eager to pardon the january 6th criminal -- convicted i should note -- individuals here

because he was talking about it at length in front of all his supporters there. the question is what this looks like and what the scope of this is and whether or not those convicted the most serious crimes here, like seditious conspiracy or assault on a law enforcement officer, whether or not they are included in that. but it is very clear that trump is angling to do this and quite eager to do this on his first day in office. and also, very clearly, still fuming over the biden's -- over the pardons that president biden signed on his way out of the door this morning when he had just a few hours left in the oval office. not the ones necessarily for his family, but trump was saying that his team was urging him not to talk about the pardons that biden signed for liz cheney and the other members of the january 6th congressional committee in his speech. he said twice now that people were urging him not to talk about january 6th in his speech today. but, of course, he is going to be coming into the oval office, signing those pardons for the january 6th

convicted individuals as president biden started this morning signing the pardons for the january 6th investigative committee. >> yeah. i mean, certainly the center of the day in terms of what he has spent his time on. kaitlan, thank you very much. ashley, look, he'll be doing more tonight. so we will see what the meat on the bones is of who gets what on those january 6th pardons versus commuting sentences. but, undoing 80 or 78 of president biden's policies in literally one fell swoop of the pen. that's exactly what happened. >> yeah. that's politics. that's how it works, right? your team wins. you get the power of the pen and you make these kinds of decisions. but you know, i not heard any talk of him signing any price gouging or lowering prices. the president -- the new president, said that he had a mandate two issues he won on, one was the border and the other was the price of groceries. so i find it very interesting that his priorities are not that. that he's giving red meat to

his base but not doing what -- he's not fulfilling the commitments and promises he made to lower prices. and i think that creates an opportunity for democrats, i continually say this, democrats have to call his bluff on advancing this populist agenda. it was jd vance who said he ÷÷failed to do that in his first term. now he had another at-bat. this creates an opportunity for democrats to really paint donald trump as someone who really cares mostly about himself first pardons, january 6th. folks that went to the capitol and tried to burn it down at his÷÷behest. >> as you're speaking here, ashley, the president is coming up here on the north lawn of the white house, entering for the first time as president, right? coming in. he's going to be changing, getting ready to go to the balls. kaitlan is obviously standing there. i know kaitlan, can you see them from where you are coming in? >> reporter: yeah. the first police car, erin, just made its way into the north lawn of the white house. you're seeing the entire motorcade come in. and i just want to say, this is unusual. i covered the white house for

a long time. typically presidents come in through the south lawn. more privacy and security. but on the day of the inauguration, there's the beast pulling into the white house. two of the presidential limos ÷÷pulling in and there is president trump riding in that one right there. we can see his outline as he makes his way. this is his first time being back at the white house since january, 2021. a lot of his staff, i should note, has been here for a few hours, erin, including the chief of staff, suzzie wiles. elon musk was going inside the west wing at one point earlier. but this is the first time that president trump himself has returned to the white house since he was here obviously briefly earlier for that meeting with president biden, the coffee and tea that they had. but this is the first time he's been back since it's his white house and he has been sworn in again. >> and watching him get out of that car, the beast, and walk in, you will get, kristen, he ÷÷will get the salute.

he is back. >> he is back. >> he is back. >> and that is you see that here. this is the visual manifestation of it, but that has been the tone and the feeling. i spent the day in the capital arena. that is the way that his supporters feel. they are back. he is back. now literally. >> in his speech, one of the lines that really stuck out to me is he said i return to the presidency confident and optimistic. it does feel different than eight years ago when it sort of felt like washington was befuddled by what is this going to look like? frankly even trump may not have known what levers of power do i have and how do i pull them to get what i want. he comes back in now knowing exactly how to get what he wants. and he's using those sharpies on the first day to try to do it. >> he is going in. he will greet staff. he will see his staff. he will have that homecoming. >> yeah. >> which interestingly was -- it was former president biden this morning who reached out and said, welcome home. >> yeah. look, this is the process. i'm happy to see it. the american people had

an opportunity between two candidates. and i notice something that ashley said about this potential opportunity for democrats to paint the president as being selfish. well, they had an opportunity to make that argument to the american people and they failed. the american people made a decision, including many democrats, including many groups that typically vote for democrats, hispanics, black men in certain states like pennsylvania, north carolina and texas. and they resoundingly rejected the argument coming from the democratic party. now, my advice to my democratic friends here would be to have a little humility, understand why you lost. understand why the american people overwhelmingly rejected the message coming from former president biden, then vice president harris once she become the nominee. i have yet to see that from any single democrat thus far. all i have seen is the constant contrasting of why they think trump would be terrible and harris would have been better or why trump is only about his own self perseverance and self preservation and self interest.

>> i can respond? the one thing we don't have an appreciation for is donald trump ran for four years against joe biden. right? kamala harris had 100 days. donald trump ran for four years. i was just talking to my friend paulo here. how do you beat someone who is such an incredible showman, who has a pension for lying? lying for four years to the american people. i would take your argument if he played fair and was honest with american people but the reality is he spent time not just today years lying act his record and lying about joe biden's record. >> equal opportunity to make your case to the american people. you did. >> in the arena today during his speech, the things that got the most rousing response, two genders. you expect that. because that had been a part of dei, esg, all of the ak row names as kellyanne conway spoke about. but then it was the gulf of america, we're taking it back. the panama canal and mars, american flag on mars. >> right. >> i say those things because none of those things came up during the campaign. they all came up after

the campaign and still has a carte ÷÷blanche and incredible -- i understand that's his base. but they didn't care that wasn't what they voted for. they care that that's what he's about now. >> yes. but those folks are -- we welcome them. we hope they had a good time. they're not analytically interesting to me baz they're totally for trump. that's fine. people totally for the democrats are not analytically interesting. he got elected. he didn't get elected because people want to buy greenland. people want to buy groceries. he best be about the business of cutting the price of groceries, gas and rent. not all this other stuff. ashley is right. my party, donkey, we shouldn't be the donkey. democrats should be the large mouth bass. we is chase every shiny object. >> i could understand i'm done being a donkey. >> a donkey is smart. >> i didn't go there. >> here is my point. he has a mandate to cut the

cost of groceries, gas and rent. he promised to cut the cost of energy in half. okay. i spent some time today in the real world. a lot of time. you probably done this a lot. but the st. louis fed has the best economic data. it's really accessible. and so i spent a lot of time on the st. louis fed website just looking. gas is 2. 95 a gallon now. he has to cut that in half. he promised us. right? eggs are 4.14 a carton. he said -- these are his words. he promised pretty dramatic price reductions at the grocery store. pretty dramatic price reductions. just a few days ago he said that. he's got to cut those costs. i hope he does. i'm skeptical because i don't think he gives a rip snort about the blue collar guys who voted about them. he only cares about the billionaires he surrounded himself today. >> they were there with the family. you saw mark zuckerberg, tim cook, elon musk, jeff bezos all with with the family, the trump family. >>

right. >> at the inauguration itself but the theme that has gone through the entire day there for were january 6th and these pardons. when do you think we'll find out÷÷what the details are? >> on the january 6th pardons? >> well, i think the difficulty with it is that it has to be specific -- well, it doesn't have to be. but, one would hope that it ÷÷would be specific to each individual case. and it could be that he has to sign the orders for a whole bunch of different individuals. when we break down the january 6th cases, how he might apply his pardon power, i am looking to see whether he does it in sort of different categories. so there are individuals who were prosecuted for non- violent offenses. trespassing, things like that. most of those people have already been through their legal process. they may have already served whatever sentence or consequences that they had under the justice system and so then that would be one category

of people and one whole list of names. then there's individuals who were involved in violence. and so i have a question as to whether or not he really will pardon or commute sentences of individuals involved in violence, particularly given the number of law enforcement personnel who were injured and then several who later died. and then there's the seditious conspiracy cases, as kaitlan to earlier, which is very, very serious charge, jury guilty finding, long sentences. and so i think those -- he can't just do one order. i don't expect that he would do one order for all those cases. >> all right. all stay with me. thank you very much. all going to stay with us through this hour. as president trump is expected to make those pardons. those distinctions that carry is talking about are crucial. we have new details on that from evan perez and what he's hearing. we're also live outside the jail where many defendants are held and anxiously awaiting

word. elle reeve is there. trump's crackdown on immigration. senior leaders and justice department immigration office has been removed as trump is expected to imminently declare a formal national emergency at the southern border. alex padilla of california responds. trump about to sign more executive orders in the white house tonight before going to those balls. what are those? ♪ ♪

z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, arissa's hair salon wants to expand their space, and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help. with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™. breaking news. president trump is just announcing those sweeping pardons for january 6 th defendants. >> tonight i'm going to be

signing on the j6 hostages pardons to get them out. and as soon as i leave, i'm going to the oval office and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people. >> trump making good on a campaign promise that his supporters are expecting him to deliver on and pretty much right away. he did telegraph the move during his inauguration in the same room where the violence unfolded just four years ago. let's just start with the breaking news here of what we know is about to happen. evan perez out front in washington. evan, the bottom line here is that this means a whole bunch of people could be literally getting out of -- get out of jail card pretty much right now. >> reporter: right, exactly, erin. what we know is this, we're hearing from the lawyers who represent these folks who are still in prison and what they're saying is that they're being -- their clients are being processed. the possibility is they could be released as soon as tonight. and so how does that happen?

well, we do know this, we know that the white house has not officially made any announcements about who is getting pardoned, who is getting commutations. we know at least some of the people who were prosecuted under these january 6th cases are getting commutations and some are getting pardons. who gets what, we are still not clear on. but clearly the staff at the bureau of prisons are being told to prepare to release some of these people. so there is some paperwork, perhaps it's already been sent. again, we don't know exactly what has been done, but the president has said, just now as you saw on that clip, he's saying that when he gets to the oval office, he is going to sign pardons. again i remind people of the 1,600 people that have been prosecuted, being prosecuted under this, 1,200 have already been convicted and 700 have completed their sentences. so, presumably that would be people would be probably more subject to pardons, right? and what donald trump is asking for, or what he wants to do is

to show on day one some impact of what -- of his election. and so, we anticipate that a lot of people, including some of the big names you have seen in those videos the violent videos, people who got really lengthy sentences, they could be receiving at the very least a commutation which would allow hematoget out of prison perhaps as soon as tonight or in the next day or so. erin? >> incredible as soon as tonight, evan. i'm curious, though, what your understanding is, your reporting is on why the lack of clarity? it's something he wanted to do right away. >> reporter: yeah. >> but yet we don't know who is in what category. we don't know literally if there's jail cells opening places for the 500 people still serving, even the non- violent offenders term. why is that? >> look, i think that reflects a little bit of the uncertainty that the president himself has injected in this process. look, people behind the scenes, some of his advisers talked to me and paula and others as

part of our reporting in the last few weeks and were really pushing for the president to have a process whereby they could review some of the cases and the people that you're talking about, some of the people who committed violence against police officers that perhaps they would be treated differently. the president, though, has resisted this all along. he has pushed for more of a broad approach whereby he wants people out of prison as soon as he takes office. and so that's really what you're seeing play out. there's been a bit of an opaqueness and a bit of unsure about exactly how -- what path he's going to take because again part of this is a little bit of trump production, right? he wants a little bit of a show. and we're all watching to see exactly how he does it. >> right. this is the show he wanted. evan, thank you very much. all eyes on the prison. there is a prison in washington where january 6th defendants are waiting to be released. many of them being held there. elle reeve, if you watch this show, you know she has

been doing extensive reporting on the defendants and their supporters and spent a lot of time with their families. what are you hearing tonight? you're right outside that prison. >> reporter: so, they were so emotional, they were almost in tears. i spoke to a lot of people here who just -- i mean, it was like some kind of holiday. one father, he had kids who is prison, in this jail for a year. and he spoke with a lot of emotion. take a look. >> your kids, are they charged with felonies. >> yeah, they're charged with everything in the book. they wanted to destroy our family. they don't do bank robbers like they've done our family. they don't do rapist like they've done our family. >> we personally would like a full pardon on everybody. and we believe the justification of that is this was a big entrapment operation. we're viewing this day as in american history equivalent as the release of the iranian

hostages. we really that momentous for what is occurring today. >> we're hopeful. we're happy. today is our day. >> reporter: so, just a few minutes ago i was on a bus that a group the j6 vet's association chartered to bring jan 6ers to a hotel undisclosed location. other jan 6ers are going to a rent a house they call the eagle's next here on capitol hill. there's a lot of money available to the people. there's a lot of financing to help people get their feet back on the ground and get their lives back together. >> all right, elle, thank you very much. elle has done such incredible reporting and to be there to actually watch those moments. i mean, it is pretty incredible the moment this country is in watching this happen today and it might happen tonight. out front now is jackson reffet. guy is currently in prison serving 6. 5 year sentence for rioting at the capitol on

january 6th. convicted and serving his sentence. jackson, i appreciate your time. so here we are. and trump is announcing pardons for january 6th defendants. this could include your father, who is serving a six- year sentence. 6. 5 year sentence as we speak. what's your reaction? >> well, i'm honestly flagger gasted that we've got on the this point. i mean, i'm terrified. i don't know what i'm going to do. i've taken as many precautions as i could. recently i picked up a gun. i've moved. and i've gotten myself away from what i thought would be a dangerous situation in staying where i thought my dad could find me. or other people, you know. people that are going to feel so validated by these actions, by this pardon. i'm just so filled with paranoia about what could happen. i've been waiting all day from

a call from the doj to just figure it out and know what to do next because right now i don't other than just sit around and -- you know, talk about it. >> i mean, your scared. right? you're scared about what could happen from your father, specifically or someone else? >> yeah. i don't know what other people -- i don't know what my father is thinking. i talked to my father before, but -- i thought it had gotten better. and it really hadn't. my dad is still involved with these militias. he still talks with, you know, a martyr status. he has no change. he is more galvanized than ever that i've seen, my mom, too. my sisters are waiting outside the jail cell right now. and you know, i feel for them. and i know -- i know who they

are. and i love them, but i can't feel safe. and i'm sure hundreds of other families, thousands of other people that have been affected by these people and their actions and what could happen when they're released, i mean, who knows. i mean, you know, my dad once called me a traitor. and you know, he said traitors get shot. so, that's, you know, all i can think about recently. just -- yeah. >> i'm sorry, jackson. you mentioned your sisters. and i know you're one of three. and your sisters are there. and you mentioned your mom, too. and your mom and sisters are fully on board with your father. and you talk about -- it really sounds like january 6th broke your family apart. is there any way -- >> yeah. >> go ahead. >> destroyed us. seriously. i mean, my father's actions, coming from the trump presidency and what he thought

what he was doing was right destroyed it. and i made -- you know, a very, very disgusting decision to inform authorities about what he was doing. and i still feel horrible about it everyday. and you know, my sisters are out there right now. and they're rooting for him. i know i come with a point of love towards that. i want to be there for them, but i can't. it just isn't safe for people like me that are -- that have done the same things i have done to do what i thought to do to protect my family. and you know, it's hard. >> but you still love your father? >> of course. i love him. i love him. i just cannot feel safe around him. cannot feel safe around people he know. i cannot feel safe around the people my mother knows. you know, my mom -- used my name to sit in front of a crowded room of these far right trump supporters. when ever she brings up my

name and what i've done, the crowd will just roar in just anger about what the hell did that kid do. and, watching -- being away from all this and just spectating what they're doing is just terrifying. and i can't do anything but just spectate and i don't know. >> well, jackson, i appreciate your talking. it matters because people can hear it and i know it comes not without risk and it comes at cost for you. thank you. >> thank you. good luck. president trump is about to enter the oval office to sign more executive orders and perhaps more information on those pardons. we're going to bring you that live. plus some of the wealthiest and biggest names in corporate america, in technology specifically were there front and center at trump's inauguration mixed in with his family members. so, what does this -- what message does this send?

breaking news. you're looking at live pictures of the white house where president trump is expected to sign more executive orders any minute in the oval office. just moments ago, marco rubio became trump's first cabinet secretary to get confirmed by the senate. secretary of state rubio, bipartisan and unanimous vote 99-0. good way to start. not going to continue that way. it comes amid an extraordinary development trump removing senior leaders at the justice department who oversee the nation's immigration court system. alex padilla of california. i appreciate your time. it's good to see you in person here. marco rubio 99-0.

good to see something like that in washington. widely respected colleague of yours and he will be secretary of state, bipartisan. >> absolutely. >> then you have this doj move, basically career doj officials who served there four decades. that means in administrations, democrat, republican. what is this that we're learning? senior leaders at the justice department who oversee the nation's immigration court system? >> the power grabby the new president trump and his administration. they're going to try to bend the agencies and the department of justice for that matter to their will. he comes in with an aggressive agenda. hasn't signed executive orders that we're expecting, but from what we heard some that are legally dubious, some that are outright unconstitutional. >> birthright citizenship. >> exactly. it's written into the constitution, literally the 14th amendment. he cannot unilaterally change that, but that's a conversation and the chaos he wants to create.

and we're going to -- >> he'll sign the executive order and then it's challenged in the court process. birthright citizenship, u.s. troops going to the southern border, remain in mexico, deportations, using the alien enemies act of 1798, cartels terrorist organizations. some of these things a lot of people could get behind. cartels are terrorist organizations. are there things you could get behind? >> here is the deal. i agree. we need to modernize our immigration system as a whole. democrats agree we need a secure, orderly and humane southern border. to end asylum, it's contrary to federal law but also contrary to international obligations we have as a country. i think if you ask the general public, ask democrats, we agree. we should make sure we prioritize the detention, deportation of violent criminals. but that's not what trump is talking about. the largest deportation

operation in our country's history will carry a lot of innocent people, a lot of people who are critical to the economy, to our communities and to our national security. >> i don't want to be backwards looking about it, but do you have a frustration at the democratic party that says, look, if you had deported and made a big effort to deport violent criminals before, if the situations like lincoln riley's tragic death were taken differently by the democratic party, then maybe you wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation now? >> part messaging but i don't think democrats ever said, no, no, let's not deport violent criminals. we have always been for that. but there's that element of the conversation, there's people coming to the united states seeking asylum. that needs to be addressed. but, the people who have been here for years if not decades, like dreamers, like essential workers that make our country tick, that's a whole different population and they deserve better than the chaos that is coming back to their families and to their communities under

president trump. >> senator padilla, i very much appreciate your time and thoughts are with you with what you're going through in your states with those fires that continuing to rage. >> thank you. we're going to help rebuild. >> a lot of need for fema. thank you, senator padilla. i appreciate it. president trump earlier today promised to usher in a golden age for america. quickly portraying a declining country that's failing its citizens. a failure that trump says he'll reverse. as we gather today our government confronts a crisis of trust. for many years a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair. we now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad.

it fails to protect our magnificent law- abiding american citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals from this moment on, america's decline is over. >> out front now, the republican senator mike rounds of south dakota. senator, it's a pleasure to see you and people can see the magic switch that we just did senator padilla and yourself. anybody look at the shot, that's what sound bites are for. so i know you praised president trump's energy policy and talked about a lot more drilling. >> drill baby drill is the way he put it today. >> that's where he put it today. feeling the strategic petroleum reserve but said parts of his speech you would have written differently. like what? >> what i said is i would have done it differently than he did but he wanted to focus on energy and about fulfilling the promises that he's been making on the campaign trail. and i agree with him in that

respect. i wanted to see the same thing in terms of sending a message about a safe southern border. i wanted to see a message about the deportations he said would and he has to honor that. >> we're looking at the oel office while you and are speaking. trump is at the desk. and these are the executive orders it looks like. now many of these are the ones we anticipated earlier. we did not have all of those yet. but birthright citizenship, crisis at the southern border, the whole list of executive orders. let's listen to him. >> for a pardon. full pardon. >> full pardon and commutation. >> full pardon. >> we have about six kmom commutations in there where we're doing further research. nice to see you again. >> you too. >> so this is a big one. anything you want to explain about this? we hope they get -- we hope

they come out tonight frankly. they're expecting it. approximately 1,500 people. six commutations. >> any cases you did not deem for pardon? >> we're looking at different things. but the commutations would be the ones that we'll take a look and maybe it will stay that way or it will go to full pardon. >> the order does require the bureau of prisons to act immediately on reseptember of the receipt. >> why don't we get that done so they can get it going right now. is that okay? >> yes, absolutely. this is a proclamation guaranteeing the state's protection against invasion based on the current crisis at the southern border. invokes various executive powers relating to the on going invasion of the southern border.

>> president, confident that those are not going to be blocked by the courts? >> i don't think they will. i don't think they can be. they're very straight up. why don't you take that and go over here. can you get him over here, not on the side angle. do you mind? just go right over here with your friends. okay. >> sir, this is an executive order realigning the united states refugee admission program to better align with american principles and american interests. >> okay. >> thank you, sir. this next executive order is about protecting america from foreign terrorists around other national security and public safety

threats. again, cry isis at the border. but it goes beyond that. implicates other executive powers as well. >> president trump, cartels are now going two seen as foreign terror organizations. would you think about ordering u.s. special forces into mexico to take them out? >> could happen. stranger things have happened. >> mr. president -- >> say it? >> how will you make sure that ma dur ra will accept venezuela sfl. >> we'll looking at venezuela very strongly. it's a country i know very well. for a lot of reasons. and it's -- it was a great country 20 years ago. now it's a mess, right? >> sir, can we expect i.c.e. raids starting tomorrow in major cities? >> what does that mean? >> can we expect i.c.e. raids in major cities? >> i don't want to say when,

but it's going to happen. has to happen. or we're not going to have a country left. >> this is actually an executive order designating the cartels and other organizations to be foreign terrorist organizations. >> that's a big one. >> yes, sir. >> people wanted to do this for years. so they are now designated as terrorist organizations, foreign and mexico probably doesn't want that. but we have to do what's right. they're killing our people. they're killing 250, 300,000 american people a year. not 100. like has been reported for 15 years. it's probably 300,000. >> this is an executive -- >> mexico doesn't want that, how are you going to deal with this? >> i don't know. you'll have to ask them. >> sir, this is an executive order entitled protecting the american people with invasion.

deals with the unprecedented admission of illegal aliens across the southern border. >> okay. >> what do you see as the biggest national security threat to the u.s. , mr. president? what's going to be your priority on foreign policy? >> say? >> what's going to be your priority on foreign policy? what you see is the biggest national -- >> foreign policy is a big statement. my priority on foreign policy, it will keep -- it will be to keep america safe. very simple. big question, though. that's a very big question. >> what will be the first foreign leader that you plan to meet or who are you going to call tomorrow? >> i've already been meeting people. i've been meeting them. i've been talking to them. i met with prime minister trudeau, who i call governor trudeau. i met with numerous foreign leaders. go ahead. >> sir, this next

order relates to the definition of birthright citizenship under the 14th amendment of the united states. >> okay. that's a good one. birthright. that's a big one. >> what about that one in the courts? that one is likely to be challenged. >> could be. we think we have good grounds, but you could be right. you'll find out. it's ridiculous. we're the only country in the world that does this with birthright, as you know. and it's just absolutely ridiculous. but, you know, we'll see. we think we have very good grounds. people have wanted to do this for decades. >> sir, this is a proclamation declaring a national emergency at the southern border of the united states. >> that's a big one. a lot of big ones, huh? you know what that means, right? >> president trump, did president biden leave you a letter? >> he may have. don't they leave it in the

desk? i don't know. oh. >> what's in there? >> thank you, peter. it could have been years before we found this. wow. thank you. >> can you read? >> maybe we should all read it together. >> let's read it. >> maybe i'll read it first and then make that determination. >> sounds great. >> peter, thank you very much. i may not have seen this for months. >> happy to help with the passing of the torch. >> i left him one in the desk just like this. >> what are you talking about? >> unification of our country. you know, i didn't know that he gave a pardon to his family, because he did it during my speech. >> he didn't tell you -- >> no, he didn't tell me, no, no. he did it -- they released it during my speech. i mean, during my speech. so all i could do was say excuse me, i would like to come back and speak some more. so. no, i was surprised by that.

>> mr. president -- >> it's bad precedent obviously. >> where are your thinking on terrorists on mexico these actions you're signing on the border border? >> we're thinking 25% on mexico and canada because they're allowing mass numbers of people -- canada is very bad abuser also. mass numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in. >> when do you think you would enact this? >> i think february 1st. i think we'll do it february 1st. >>÷÷ 25% on both, sir? >> on each. >> large executive order to secure our southern border. >> sounds reasonable. >> president trump, we remember four years ago barack obama had told you the top threat of the country would be north korea. did joe biden tell you what he thinks the top threat to the country is right now? >> no, no. >> why not? >> i think we have a lot them. right now i think we have a

lot. i think north korea turned out to be good. i was very friendly with him. he liked me. i liked him. we got along very well. they thought that was a tremendous threat. now he is a nuclear power. we got along. i think he will be happy to see me coming back. he has capability. got a lot of shoreline. >> thank you, sir. >> south america to coordinate on immigration? >> about who? >> about immigration in general. >> this is an executive order, sorry, sir. >> i'm fine with legal immigration. i like it. we need people. and i'm absolutely fine with it. we want to have it. we need it because we're going to have a lot of companies coming in to avoid tariffs. you know, if you don't want tariffs, all you have to do is build your plant in the u.s. we'll have a lot of workers coming in. but we have to have legal immigration.

>> do you have a date in mind for when you want to put on the china tariffs you talked about? >> which one? >> 60%. >> no. you talking about which -- say it again? >> the china tariffs. >> china. well, as you know, i put on large tariffs on china. and they've really been forced to leave them. and if we didn't leave them, you wouldn't have one steel mill that's open in this country because they were dumping massive amounts of steel. we have taken in hundreds of billions of dollars from china because -- and they were unable to terminate the tariffs i put on china. because it was too much money. and the budgets didn't work and other reasons, too. no. i mean, we're going to have meetings and calls with president xi. i spoke to president xi last week, as you know. did you know that? very good phone call. long. >> nato has to pay more money. nato has to pay 5%.

we are -- we're in the ukraine war by $200 billion more than nato. it's ridiculous. because it affects them a lot more. we have an ocean in between. and we're -- we've spent $200 billion on ukraine than nato has spent. and they've got to equal us. >> thank you. >> sir -- >> did you talk to x- i about the ukraine war? >> yeah. >> because china and brazil together has a proposal to bring russia and ukraine to talk. >> that's good. that's fine. i'm ready. >> when are you going to talk with the brazilian president? >> how did brazil get involve sfld this is a new one. >> when are you going to talk to -- >> are you from brazil. >> i'm from brazil. >> that's why they're involved, i guess. >> when are you going to talk ÷÷with the brazilian president? how do you see our relationship with latin america and brazil? >> great. should be great. they need us much more than we need them. we don't need them. they need us. everybody needs us.

[ all speaking at once ] >> sounds like you will not proceed with china tariffs necessarily depending on how talks go with president xi. is that correct? >> what -- define that? >> well, you pledged from the campaign 10% tariff on china. >> because of fentanyl. >> right. >> that's only because of fentanyl. there are other things, too. and the panama canal. china controls the panama canal. what's that all about? they're not supposed to be -- when jimmy carter gave it, which terrible mistake. a terrible mistake. he didn't do it -- he didn't give it to china. he gave it to panama. and china controls the panama canal. >> and we're not going to allow that to happen. >> are they still on the table? >> we're -- no. we're not going to allow that to happen. >> thank you, sir. >> what can we expect of the countries in nato that spend the least amount of money, like spain, france, below the 5%? >> spain is very low.

and yet aren't they a bricks nation? >> what? >> they're a rics nation. you'll figure it out. but, if the brics nations want to do that, that's okay. but we're going to put at least 100% tariff on the business they do with the united states. you know what the brics is, right? you guys know you know what i'm saying, right? you know what i'm saying. >> sir, this is -- >> so it's not even a threat. in fact, since i made that statement, biden said, well, they have us over a barrel. i said, no, we have them over a barrel. and there's no way they're going to be able to do that. >> this is an executive order relating to -- >> as a brics nation, yes. they'll have 100% tariff. if they so much as even think about doing what they thought. which -- and therefore they'll give it up immediately. so will china give it up. >> sir, this is about

reforming the system of hiring in the federal government to ensure that merit is the lone star of hiring. >> as per the supreme court. >> yes, sir. >> this is a big deal. merit. our country is going to be based on merit again. can you believe it? >> mr. president, you said you would end the russia/ukraine war on the first day in office. where do things stand? >> this is another half a day. we want to get it done. >> this is an order creating the doge. >> that's a big one. >> is elon musk going to get a west wing office? >> no. he's getting an office for about 20 people that we're hiring to make sure that these get implemented. we have a problem in this country. sign an executive order, doesn't get done for six months. as an example, when we allow the j6 hostages to go out, it might

not be approved under the old days by -- two weeks, three weeks, six months. you know, they had a good ruling from the supreme court. and it's like nothing happened. that ruling was six months ago. you know that. and it was like they didn't have a ruling. they've been treated very unfair. the judges have been absolutely brutal. the prosecutors have been brutal. nobody has ever treated people in this country like that. >> mr. president, are you commuting the sentences of anyone who was assaulting a police officer on january 6th? >> we're looking at two police officers actually that -- washington police officer, who went after an illegal and things happened and they ended up putting them in jail. they got five-year jail sentences. you know the case. and we're looking at that in order to give them -- we got to give them a break. >> but the clemency in your action today -- >> well, that would be a

pardon. the one i'm talking about would be a pardon. >> so there would be punishment for the people who assaulted law enforcement officers that day? >> i will say this, they've been in jail for a long time already. i see murders in this country get two years, one year, maybe no time. so they've already been in jail for a long time. these people have been destroyed. what they've done to these people is outrageous. there's rarely been anything like it in history -- in the history of our country. and even people that were aggressive and in many cases i believe they happen to be outside agitators. but you know, what do i know, right? but i think they were. i think they were outside agitators. outside agitators involved. and obviously the fbi was involved. because wray admitted the fbi was involved. didn't he say 23 people indirectly or directly were involved. and it was 26. that's a lot of people.

we have to take -- these people have been treated so badly. it's never happened before. what happened in seattle where they took over a big portion of the city? what happened in portland when they burned down the city everyday? and people die. nothing happened to anybody. but they go after these people violently. i mean, they're still going after brand new people -- they found somebody else with a picture. there's never been anything like this. and you know, it's almost 100% -- think of this, almost 100% of the people are convicted. 100%. it's washington, d.c. people go to a trial and they say, oh, i have a wonderful lawyer. and i didn't do anything wrong. and they end up in shackles almost immediately. and jail. no. we're not going to let it happen.

[ inaudible ]. >> about what? >> greenland. >> greenland is a wonderful place. we need it for international security. and i'm sure that denmark will come along. i think -- it's costing them a lot of money to maintain it, to keep it. the people of greenland are not happy with denmark, as you know. i think they're happy with us. we had representatives -- my son and representatives went up there two weeks ago. and they like us. so we'll see what happens. but greenland is necessary. not for us, it's necessary for international security. you have russian boats all other the place. you have china boats all over the place. warships. and they can't maintain it. >> who? >> talk to president putin, sir? >> i'll be meeting with president putin. >> when? >> i don't know.