to fund terror throughout the region and throughout the world. we had no threat. when i left office, iran was not able to sell oil. nobody was buying oil because i said, don't buy it. if you buy it, you're not doing any business with the united states. and hamas was not being funded. hezbollah was not being funded. nobody was being funded. there would never have been an october 7th. two weeks ago, i once again designated the houthis as a terrorist organization, trying to destroy world shipping lanes. and that's not going to happen. and over the weekend, i ordered airstrikes against senior i.s.i.s. leaders hiding in the caves of somalia and took them out. here in america. we've begun the process of deporting foreign terrorists, jihadists and hamas sympathizers from our soil, just as we have people

that are extremely evil and we're sending them out of our country. they came from jails, they came from mental institutions and insane asylums, and they were dumped into our country. they're gang members, and we're getting them out at numbers that nobody can actually believe. and every single country is taking those people back. they said they would never take them back, and they're all taking them back, and they're taking them back very gladly. and i recently signed an executive order combating the vile wave of anti-semitism that we've seen in the aftermath of the october 7th attacks. together, america and israel will renew the optimism that shines so brightly. just four years ago was really a bright, beautiful light. we will restore calm and stability to the region and expand prosperity, opportunity and hope to our nations and for all people of the middle east, including the arab and muslim nations. very important. we want the arab and muslim nations to have peace and

have tranquility and have great lives. i'd like to now invite prime minister netanyahu to say a few words, and we'll take some questions afterwards. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. president. i'm honored that you invited me to be the first foreign leader to visit the white house in your second term. this is a testament to your friendship and support for the jewish state and the jewish people. i've said this before. i'll say it again. you are the greatest friend israel has ever had in the white house. and that's why the people of israel have such enormous respect for you in your first term, you recognized jerusalem as israel's capital. you moved the american embassy there. you

recognize israel's sovereignty over the golan heights. you withdrew from the disastrous iran nuclear deal. i remember we spoke about it. you said this is the worst deal i've ever seen. i'm elected. i'm walking out of it. that's exactly what you did. and i think it it speaks loudly for just common sense. just looking at things and seeing them as they are. and of course, you also brokered the groundbreaking abraham accords, in which israel made peace with four arab states. we did this in four months. nothing happened for a quarter of a century. but in four months we were able working together under your leadership to have four historic peace accords. and now, now, in the first days of your second term, you picked up right where you left off your leadership helped bring our hostages home, among them american citizens. you freed up munitions that have

been withheld from israel. they had been withheld from israel in the midst of a seven front war for our existence. and you just freed it. you ended unjust sanctions against law abiding israeli citizens. you boldly confronted the scourge of anti-semitism. you stop funding, as you just said, international organizations like unwra that support and fund terrorists. and today you renewed the maximum pressure campaign against iran. ladies and gentlemen, all this in just two weeks. can we imagine where we'll be in four years? i can i know you can, mr. president, for our part, we in israel have been pretty busy too, since the horrendous october 7th attack. we've been fighting our common enemies and

changing the face of the middle east on that infamous day. hamas monsters savagely, savagely murdered 1200 innocent people, including more than 40 americans. they beheaded men, they raped women, they burned babies alive, and they took 251 people hostage to the dungeons of gaza. and after this worst attack on jews since the holocaust, iran and its henchmen in the middle east were absolutely ecstatic. haniyeh praised the massacre. sinwar said that israel was finished. nasrallah boasted that israel was. here's what he said. his feeble as a spider's web. well, mr. president, haniyeh is gone sinwar is gone. nasrallah is

gone. we've devastated hamas. we decimated hezbollah. we destroyed assad's remaining armaments, and we crippled iran's air defenses. and in doing this, we've defeated some of america's worst enemies. we took out terrorists who were wanted for decades for shedding rivers of american blood, including the blood of 241 marines murdered in beirut. we accomplished all this with the indomitable spirit of our people and the boundless courage of our soldiers. the bible says that the people of israel shall rise like lions. and boy, did we rise today. the roar of the lion of judah is heard loudly throughout the middle east. israel has never been stronger, and the iran terror axis has never been

weaker. but as we discussed, mr. president, to secure our future and bring peace to our region, we have to finish the job in gaza. israel has three goals destroy hamas's military and governing capabilities, secure the release of all of our hostages, and ensure that gaza never again poses a threat to israel. i believe, mr. president, that your willingness to puncture conventional thinking, thinking that has failed time and time and time again, your willingness to think outside the box with fresh ideas will help us achieve all these goals. and i've seen you do this many times. you cut to the chase. you see things others refuse to see. you say things others refuse to say. and after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and they say, you

know, he's right. and this is the kind of thinking that enabled us to bring the abraham accords. this is the kind of thinking that will reshape the middle east and bring peace. we also we also see eye to eye on iran. that's the same iran that tried to kill us both. they tried to kill you, mr. president. they tried through their proxies to kill me. we are both committed to rolling back iran's aggression in the region and ensuring that iran never develops a nuclear weapon mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, israel will end the war by winning the war. israel's victory will be america's victory. we will not only win the war working together, we will win the peace. with your leadership, mr. president, and

our partnership. i believe that we will forge a brilliant future for our region and bring our great alliance to even greater heights. thank you. >> thank you very much, david. very nice. >> thank you. >> and jd vance, everybody. jd, please, vice president, stand up. he's been doing a good job. he's been working very hard on all things. but this in particular we'll take some questions, please. uh, yes, ma'am. go ahead. please go ahead. yeah. go ahead. >> mr. president. um. >> can a. >> normalization deal with saudi arabia. be achieved. >> without the acknowledgment of a palestinian state? >> that question. >> for you to mr. prime minister and. >> mr. president. >> given what you've. >> said. about gaza, did the u.s. >> send troops to. >> help secure the. >> security vacuum. >> so saudi arabia is going to be very helpful. and they have been very helpful. they want peace in the middle east. it's very simple. uh, we know their

leader and their leaders very well. they're wonderful people and they want peace in the middle east. as far as gaza is concerned. we'll do what is necessary. if it's necessary, we'll do that. we're going to take over that piece and we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs. and it'll be something that the entire middle east can be very proud of. but everybody feels that continuing the same process that's gone on forever over and over again. and then it starts, and then the killing starts and all of the other problems start, and you end up in the same place. and we don't want to see that happen. so by the united states, with its stability and strength, owning it, especially the strength that we're developing and developed over the last fairly short period of time, i would say really since the election, uh, i think we'll be a great keeper of something that is very, very strong, very powerful and very, very good for the area, not just for israel, for the entire middle east.

it's very important. and we'll again have thousands of jobs and there'll be jobs for everyone, not for a specific group of people, but for everybody. okay. please. >> i think peace between israel and saudi arabia is not only feasible, i think it's going to happen. i think if we had another half a year in your first term, it would have already happened. >> many, many more. i agree, many more nations. >> uh, i think you can't prejudge and pre guess how we'll achieve it, but i'm committed to achieving it. and i know the president is committed to achieving it. and i think the saudi leadership is interested to achieve it. so we'll give it a good shot and i think we'll succeed. >> yeah. please go ahead. >> did you hear from prime minister netanyahu of the meeting? gurantees. >> cease fire would go. excuse me. >> excuse.

>> and prime minister netanyahu was. why are you refusing to set up a national commission to investigate the failure of the process? >> well, i can't tell you whether or not the cease fire will hold. we've done, i think, a very masterful job. and we weren't helped very much by the biden administration. i can tell you that. but we've gotten quite a few hostages out. we're going to get more out. but we're dealing with very complex people, and we are going to see whether or not it holds. we certainly want to have more come out. they've come out, uh, damaged in many ways, damaged, very damaged people. but they're going to get better and they're going to be strong and they're going to have a good life. and we hope to get as many as possible out whether or not it holds, i don't know. we hope it holds. we hope it holds. >> i think that that the appropriate time, which i think will enable us to really investigate what happened, what were the causes of the failures

by an independent commission that will be accepted by the majority of the people? we don't want it accepted by one half of the people and not the other. i think we should have it, and we should find out exactly what happened. i'm insisting on it and believe me, it will surprise a lot of people when it happens. >> president. >> kelly. >> kelly. >> you are. >> outlining something that is really quite striking. tonight you are talking about. thank you, mr. president. mr. prime minister, you are talking tonight about the united states taking over a sovereign territory. what authority would allow you to do that? are you talking about a permanent occupation? there? redevelopment. and mr. prime minister, do you see this idea as a way to expand the boundaries of israel and to have a longer peace, even though the israeli people know how important that land is to you

and your citizens, just as the space is inherited by the palestinians as well. >> i do see a long term ownership position, and i see it bringing great stability to that part of the middle east and maybe the entire middle east. and everybody i've spoken to. this was not a decision made lightly. everybody i've spoken to loves the idea of the united states owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent in a really magnificent area that nobody would know. nobody can look because all they see is death and destruction and rubble and and demolished buildings falling all over. it's just a terrible, terrible sight. i've studied it. i've studied this very closely over a lot of months, and i've seen it from every different angle. and it's a very, very dangerous place to be. and it's only going to get worse. and i think this is an idea that's gotten tremendous. and i'm talking about from the

highest level of leadership, gotten tremendous praise. and if the united states can help to bring stability and peace in the middle east, we'll do that. bibi. >> i mentioned again. tonight our three goals, and the third goal is to make sure that gaza never poses a threat to israel again. president trump is taking it to a much higher level. he sees a different. he sees a different future for that piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so much, so many attacks against us, so many, so many trials and so many tribulations. he has a different idea, and i think it's worth paying attention to this. we're talking about it. he's exploring it with his people, with his staff. i think it's something that could change history and it's worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.

>> yeah. please go ahead. go ahead. >> question for you. can you hear me? yeah. um, so before, um, rebuilding gaza again, obviously, we'll take all the hostages. and one of them is an american soldier who is alive. how will you be assured that you will take out all the hostages and then we will. we're working. >> very hard to get all the hostages. the word is all. and we are working very hard. so far, it's been moving along fairly rapidly, pretty much on schedule. it's. i'd love to have them all out at one time, but we're taking them out. and tomorrow more are being released. and over the days more. and then we'll go into a phase two. but we'd like to get all of the hostages, and if we don't, it will just make us somewhat more violent. i will tell you that because they would have broken their word, mr. witkoff and his entire group have been working 24 hours

around the clock, and they want them out. and promises have been made to them, and we'll see whether or not those promises will be kept. but we want all the hostages. that's right. >> how much time you think it will take? doug ford. >> mr. president, do you support israeli sovereignty in judea and samaria, areas which many believe is the biblical homeland of the jewish people? >> well, we're discussing that with many of your representatives. your represented very well. and people do like the idea, but we haven't taken a position on it yet. but we will be we'll be making an announcement probably on that very specific topic over the next four weeks. go ahead please. please. >> thank you. >> so much, mr. president. >> you just said. you just said that you think all, uh, all the palestinians should be relocated to other countries. does that

mean that you do not support the two state solution? >> it doesn't mean anything about a two state or a one state or any other state. it means that we want to have we want to give people a chance at life. they have never had a chance at life because the gaza strip has been a hellhole for people living there. it's been horrible. now hamas has made it so bad, so bad, so dangerous, so unfair to people. and by doing what i'm recommending that we do, it's a very strong recommendation. but it is a strong recommendation. by doing that, we think we're going to bring perhaps great peace to long beyond this area. and i have to stress, this is not for israel. this is for everybody in the middle east, arabs, muslims, this is for everybody. this would be where they can partake in terms of jobs and living and all of the other benefits. and i think it's very important. it just doesn't work the other way. you know, you can't keep trying. they just has been going along for so many decades. you

can't even count. you just can't keep doing. you have to learn from history. you can't keep doing the same mistake over and over again. gaza is a hellhole right now. it was before the bombing started, frankly. and we're going to give people a chance to live in a beautiful community that's safe and secure. and, uh, i think you're going to see tremendous a tremendous outflowing of support. i can tell you, i spoke to other leaders of countries in the middle east, and they love the idea. they say it would really bring stability. and what we need is stability. yes, sir. please go ahead. >> thank you. >> um, at. >> least committed to imposing. >> sanctions on the icc, despite the move being stalled in the senate. and please, a question for the prime minister as well. the president has been very clear about his desire to achieve a deal with saudi arabia. how do you settle this? if israel is required to renew the war against hamas in the

future? >> go ahead, bibi. >> i think everybody understands that just as the president fought and defeated al qaeda and i.s.i.s., that we can't leave hamas there because hamas will continue the battle to destroy israel. they'll do, you know, when this temporary cease fire, one of their leaders comes out. you know what he says we're going to do october 7th again, except we'll do it bigger. so obviously you can't talk about peace. uh, neither with hamas or in the middle east. if this, you know, toxic, murderous organization is left standing any more than you could make peace in europe after world war ii, if the nazi regime was left standing and the nazi army was left standing. you want a different future. you got to knock out the people who want to destroy you and destroy peace. that's what we're going to do. i think that will also bring

usher in, actually the peace with saudi arabia and with others. and i think there will be others, too. >> yes, ma'am. >> go ahead from afghanistan. >> my name is afghan woman. as our expectation from you, do you have any plan to change afghanistan's situation? are you able to recognize taliban? because i'm an afghan journalist. afghan suffered. woman. any comment about afghanistan? what's your future plan for the afghan people, especially afghans? >> i have a little hard time understanding you. where are you from? no, actually, it's a beautiful voice and a beautiful accent. the only the only problem is i can't understand a word you're saying, but. but i just say this. good luck. live in peace. go ahead. please. that's okay. yeah. please prime minister. >> you said. >> earlier today. >> that it. >> was tough for you. >> to implement.

>> these sanctions on. >> iran, but you did. indicate that. you were willing. >> to. >> negotiate with them. what would that look like? and are you in conversations with them? and the same for the prime minister? >> i hated doing it. i want iran to be peaceful and successful. i hated doing it. i did it once before, and we brought them down to a level where they were unable to give any money. they had to survive themselves and they had no money. they were essentially broke and they had no money for, as i said, hezbollah, they had no money for hamas. they had no money for any form of terror. the 28, uh, if you call it the 28 sites of terror, they had no money for any of it. they had to do their own and focus on their own well-being. and i hated to do it then. and i hate it. i hate to do it just as much now. and i say this and i say this to iran, who's listening very intently. i would love to be able to make a great deal, a deal where you can get on with your lives and

you'll do wonderfully. you'll do wonderfully incredible people, industrious, beautiful, just an unbelievable group of people in iran. and i know them well. i have many friends from iran and many friends that are americans from iran, and they're very proud of iran. but i hated to do it. just so you understand, and i hope we're going to be able to do something so that it doesn't end up in a very catastrophic situation. i don't want to see that happen. i want to see i really want to see peace. and i hope that we're able to do that. they cannot have a nuclear weapon. it's very simple. i'm not putting restrictions. i'm not they can not have one thing. they cannot have a nuclear weapon. and if i think that they will have a nuclear weapon, despite what i just said, that i think that's going to be very unfortunate for them. if, on the other hand, they can convince us that they won't, and i hope they can, it's very easy to do. it's actually very easy to do. i think they're going to have an

unbelievable future. yeah. please, sir. go ahead. >> thank you, mr. president. you just. >> laid out your plan for gaza. >> yes. can you. >> laid out a plan for ukraine and also. >> for ukraine? >> for ukraine? yes. you consider yourself a strong leader. you blamed your predecessor for letting russia to take over ukraine. will you demand from putin to get out of ukraine from sovereign territory of ukraine? >> so we're dealing right now in the subject. i don't want to spend a lot of time because we're here for another reason, but we are having very good talks, very constructive talks on ukraine, and we are talking to the russians, we're talking to the ukrainian leadership. it would have never happened. that would have never happened. it should have never happened. i get reports every week. the number of soldiers, mostly soldiers. now, the cities have been largely demolished. you talk about a very sad sight to see. we talk gaza. well, many of

these cities look as bad as gaza and worse. what's happened to them? and i want to see that end, and i want to see it end for one simple reason the life of young people being absolutely obliterated on both sides. you probably have 700,000 ukrainian soldiers dead, 800,000, maybe more russian soldiers dead. it's very flat land. and the only thing that's going to stop a bullet is a human body. in this case, usually soldiers. and the numbers are staggering. when you hear the real numbers in ukraine, what what the numbers are. and this doesn't include the cities that have been demolished. and all of the people that were killed. so i want to see it stopped. we're having very good talks and i think we're going to get it. i think something will be hopefully dramatically it will it will rise above everything you have to. you can't let this continue. you can't. this is an absolute slaughter that's taking place on the beautiful farmlands

of ukraine. and we have to stop it. we can't let this continue. it's it's a human. it's a human. it is. it is a human tragedy. and we're going to try very hard to stop it. yeah. please go ahead, sir. go ahead. >> thank you very. >> much. >> mr. president. what's your view about palestinian leader. abbas role in all the regional. changes you want to do? and my question for the prime minister, what's your view on president trump wanting to reach a deal with iran and also a much more active military stance towards. >> go ahead, baby, go ahead. >> i think the president just said something that i think is the pivot of everything that we're talking about, he said. iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and we fully agree with that. if this goal can be achieved by a maximum pressure campaign, so be it. but i think the most important thing is to

focus on the goal, which the president just did. and i fully agree with him. >> well, i said it and he said it very well. it's it's it's a it's a campaign of pressure to see if we can get something done. uh, he doesn't want to do what some people think will automatically happen because they're very difficult people to deal with, as you know. but if we could solve this problem without warfare, without all of the things that you've been witnessing over the last number of years, it would be i think it would be a tremendous thing. uh, go ahead, please. >> sir. >> do you have any plans to visit israel soon. >> to visit where? >> israel. >> oh, well, i love, i love israel. i will visit there and i'll visit gaza and i'll visit saudi arabia, and i'll visit other places all over the middle east. middle east is an incredible place, so vibrant, so, so, uh, it's just one of

the really beautiful places and with great people. and i think a lot of bad leadership has taken place in the middle east that's allowed this to happen. it's just terrible. and that includes on the american side, by the way, we should have never gone in there a long time ago. spent trillions of dollars and created so much death. so it includes americans. but. yeah, i'll be visiting a lot of different places in the middle east. i've been invited everywhere, but i will be visiting some. yeah, okay. let's go. caitlyn go ahead. >> caitlyn thank you so much. president trump. caitlyn go ahead on on what you. >> were. >> saying there. >> say it. go ahead please. >> just to follow up on what you were saying. >> about the. >> gazans leaving gaza, going to other countries. >> one, where exactly are you suggesting that they should go? and two, are you saying they should return after it's rebuilt? and if not, who do you envision living there? >> i envision a world, people living there, the world's people. i think you'll make that

into an international. unbelievable place. i think the potential and the gaza strip is unbelievable. and i think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there. and they'll and they'll live there. palestinians also palestinians will live there. many people will live there. but they've tried the other and they've tried it for decades and decades and decades. it's not going to work. it didn't work. it will never work. and, uh, you have to learn from history. history has, you know, you just can't let it keep repeating itself. we have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. and i don't want to be cute. i don't want to be a wise guy. but the riviera of the middle east, this could be something that could be so bad. >> go. in the meantime, mr. president. >> but more importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they're living in hell.

and those people will now be able to live in peace. we'll make sure that it's done world class. it will be wonderful for the people, palestinians, palestinians, mostly we're talking about. and i have a feeling that despite them saying no, i have a feeling that the king in jordan and that the general president, but that the general in egypt will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done. and people can live in harmony and in peace. thank you all very much. thank you. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> you've been listening to president trump, along with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. um, trump obviously going through many things in that press conference. but i think it's most important to emphasize what he said about the gaza strip. pretty stunning what he said. and let me just give you a few quotes here. he said the united states will take over the gaza strip. we'll own it. we'll own it. his quote, he said, i do see a long term

ownership position. he also said, everybody i know loves the idea of the united states owning that land. even prime minister netanyahu referred to it as president trump is taking it to another level. um, our team coverage begins here, right now. jeff zeleny live outside the white house. jeff. look, trump says a lot of things. he doesn't necessarily always follow through on what he says. in this case, though, this is a pretty incredibly this is a significant thing, right? this is it's not as if he misspoke or he said it once. he said it again and again and again. the united states will take over the gaza strip, we'll own it. >> aaron. >> it's extraordinary to hear. >> a sitting american president. >> say such words. >> never mind. >> the history here that. >> really flies. >> in the face. >> of so much. >> of what he said. >> but let's just. >> focus on the. >> president himself for one moment. he also. >> said did not back. >> away from the. >> idea of.

>> sending. >> u.s. troops. >> to the region. donald trump rose. >> in his. >> political prominence. >> because of his. opposition to america's longest. wars in the middle. >> east. >> of course, iraq. >> and afghanistan. >> and there we heard. president trump saying. >> you know, not ruling. >> out the. >> idea of. >> sending a u.s. >> troops to the region. >> so that, of. >> course. >> is. >> one issue. but the whole idea of. >> the u.s. >> owning that and he was asked. >> there. >> under what authority would that happen? answering, everyone loves. the idea. >> and of course, our. >> own kaitlan. collins asking the. >> question there. >> what happens when it's. >> rebuilt and. >> envisioning this. >> as. >> a riviera? so we also can't help. >> but wonder here. >> as we've watched the president. >> speak all day long at. >> several events. >> really. >> for a couple hours. >> in length, making the sort of the story here about his ideas. meanwhile, across washington, across the country and indeed the world, the government is being reshaped by elon musk by others. so it's unclear if this

is something that certainly is a provocative that gets headlines, which we should pay attention to it, of course, but also shining a light on this as opposed to what is actually happening in real time. the protests we can hear outside the white house here, of course, for the the israeli prime minister, but also people protesting what he's doing to this government. erin. >> yeah, absolutely. and we're going to go to israel in just a second. obviously, the the moment of this is so crucial. kaitlan collins was inside that room. and caitlin, you know, in that room, obviously, the cacophony of reporters all yelling out nonetheless, the news stunning. and the president did not directly answer the crucial question you asked about where the palestinians who consider the gaza strip home would go. >> yeah, erin, it was a remarkable moment here in that press conference, typically, just to give you a sense, when a world leader is here, they do a press conference. it's known as a two and two, where two reporters from one side asks a question and two reporters from

the american press. press ask a question. this turned into a more freewheeling press conference, really building off of what trump came out and said in his opening statement that built off of what he had been saying all day long, even before the israeli prime minister arrived here at the white house, which was talking about palestinians leaving gaza while it is being rebuilt, he has now suggested twice that egypt and jordan could take them. both of those countries have outright rejected any notion of that happening. and i should note the king of jordan will be visiting here next week, as the president was just referencing to me there when he was answering my question and looking at this in terms of what this looks like going forward and how the united states would take ownership of the u.s. gaza he left open the idea that american forces could be involved in that. but the real crux of that question is where the palestinians are supposed to go. there are over a million people living in that enclave. and while the president is talking about what it looks like now and how destroyed it has been since this war started 16 months ago, that is the

question here, because obviously this is an area that is rife with tension and incredibly sensitive, and what that could look like is a massive question here of what could happen next. and so the president there unable to say where he thinks the palestinians should go after this, where they would go while gaza is being rebuilt, he said that they could potentially return to gaza after that happened. that was the first time that he had suggested that all day long, and obviously is a key question. it is their homeland. it is where the palestinians live right now. and so the question, not just of who is in charge of the gaza strip after it would be rebuilt, but clearly you heard the president there essentially viewing this through a real estate lens, saying it could be the riviera of the middle east. as he was articulating what this could look like in terms of of who lives there and who is in control of it. that has created a ton of questions. what does this mean for the future of the ceasefire tonight? aaron, i think that hangs in the balance because there was already a question when the prime minister

was arriving here of how that second phase would be carried out and what exactly that would look like. now, the question is whether or not hamas still abides by this ceasefire, as they are hearing the american president say that the u.s. is going to take over the land in which hamas lives now. and, of course, many of these palestinian civilians who have been fleeing this war and already displaced from their homes. and now the u.s. president is suggesting that they could permanently relocate from gaza. a major question is to where we'll see what the king of jordan has to say about that when he's here at the white house next week. that obviously is a country that has already taken in a lot of refugees, major questions left unanswered here in a very explosive press conference. aaron. >> all right. caitlin, thank you very much. of course, caitlin was in that room. jim sciutto and is with me from washington. of course. you spent so much time on the ground in israel. jeremy diamond is there in tel aviv tonight. jeremy, can i just ask you, you hear the president of the united states say we're going to take over that piece of land. the u.s. will take over

the gaza strip. we'll own it. i see a long term ownership position for the united states of america. everybody i know loves the idea. prime minister netanyahu, hardliner on the issue, says trump's taking it to another level. how? what even would be the reaction within israel to hear the president of the united states saying, what he just said? >> well, first of all, i think, aaron, we need to be really clear about what we just heard from the president of the united states. he is suggesting the forcible permanent displacement of about 2 million people from a place that they call home. he is talking about relocating palestinians out of gaza forcibly. he is talking about potentially using u.s. troops to do so, which would involve putting u.s. troops in combat to rout the hamas militants, who surely would not leave willingly, and also to remove palestinian civilians who also will not leave their homes willingly. and so that obviously

has enormous, enormous implications for what the president is suggesting here. and we should note that, you know, as the president is talking about displacing palestinians from gaza, he is talking about it in the context of all that they have suffered over the last 15 months of war and decades of conflict. but rather than solving the conflict, the president is saying, let's take one party of the conflict out of this place that they call home and turn it into a real estate development that would attract, i think, he said, the people of the world who would be able to live there. he did say that that would include some palestinians, as well as also suggesting that that would also include israelis. so this is a quite radical idea from president trump, and certainly one that is going to be rejected out of hand by palestinians on the ground, and i suspect by many arab leaders in the region as well. >> i mean, jim, i mean, just to state the obvious, and i know many like us who have reported from israel on this issue, you

will talk to someone who will talk about how they still have the keys to their family's home in ashkelon, which is on obviously the israeli side, who are palestinians. so to imagine the people who live in gaza are just going to happily, merrily go live in some kind of a permanent refugee camp like syrians have been living in, in syria, is obviously absurd. but what president trump just said, there is the only reason to go back is if they have nowhere else to go. jim, of course, that's not the reason they want to go back. they want to go back because it's home. so then what does all this actually mean? does this all just become a whole lot of hot air or not? >> well, listen, apply that principle to any other war or conflict that involves two people fighting over a piece of land. did did george mitchell suggest moving the catholics out of ireland? right. i mean, when you were speaking about south africa, did you discuss moving all black south africans out of out of africa to solve the issue here? it's preposterous and it's illegal by any understanding of international law that you would forcibly move

people away from their homes. i mean, the agency here, right, is the agency of the palestinian people. are they going to be frogmarched out of their country by u.s. forces, as it's then rebuilt as a as a riviera by presumably u.s. property developers? that seems to be what the president it's not seems to be what the president is suggesting. it is what the president is suggesting in so many words. and i would just say that the thing is, with trump, he seems to be applying this principle, if you want to call it that, to other places as well. he wants greenland apply pressure to an ally, in this case a treaty ally. denmark, and take ownership. maybe send some money their way and make it part of the u.s. same with panama. violate a decades old treaty to take back the panama canal, where's the agency of the nations whose territory is sovereign? right? much like the palestinian people in gaza, it is. it seems to be a trump world

view here that requires moving people off their land. the other piece, i would say it requires two other countries giving up their land, right? jordan and egypt, to become new homes for the palestinian people. and by the way, their leaders have said they have no interest in doing that. >> and of course, there was also a question there about samaria, part of the west bank, that he put that on the table as well. i mean, jeremy, you know, in a normal world, we might be talking about some other things said here, except for what was said about gaza was so strident and and stark and in, in so many senses shocking. he also said u.s. funding to unwra is cut off, right? u.s. is the largest donor to unwra 30% last year. so, jeremy, that just happened. um, you know, all all of this and watching the look on prime minister netanyahu's face, i was struck, jeremy, by the fact that even he i don't want to use the word giddy, but in a sense, that's the right word. and then he came out and said it himself. trump's taking it to another level. he could never have dreamed of all these things being handed to him in any other setting than this one. and as he said, trump is the greatest friend he's ever had.

>> without a doubt. and, you know, as president trump was preparing to come into office, there was some anticipation among israeli officials who knew, of course, that trump had been friendly to israel in the past, had been a great ally to israel, had annexed the recognize israel's annexation of the golan heights, for example, moving the embassy to jerusalem moves that president trump referenced tonight. but there was still some uncertainty about where exactly he would stand on gaza, where exactly he would stand on, on some of these thornier issues like annexation of the west bank, whether or not he would play good cop, bad cop with netanyahu. and today netanyahu is really just getting a raft of ideas that his right wing allies and government have been promoting for years, being put on a silver platter here by president trump, the forcible displacement of palestinians from gaza, chief among them. and then also, as you mentioned, aaron, there was something there where he said in the next four weeks that he would be making some kind of announcement regarding the annexation of the west bank, whether or not that

is a decision for the united states to support annexation of the west bank wasn't entirely clear, but clearly it was something that he discussed with the israeli prime minister and something that the israeli prime minister here in israel has talked about, has campaigned on and has pushed, has been pushed on by his right wing governing partners. >> and to that point, jeremy, i suppose if the u.s. president believes the u.s. can take ownership of gaza by some fiat or whatever, i suppose he imagines he he can declare that israel can take ownership of the west bank. i imagine, based on that principle. >> yeah. whatever principle that might be. um, yeah. all right. thank you both very much. obviously, an incredibly sobering time to be talking about all of this. and we do continue our breaking news coverage. we're going to take a brief break. but president trump, as we've been discussing, has claimed the united states will take over the gaza strip for a long period of time. and reaction around the world is now coming in to those comments. plus, trump and elon musk have been going all out to dismantle

parts of the u.s. government. musk is vowing that it is now or never. >> it's the news. >> welcome back. >> but it's also kind of not the news. >> joe kent dana bash do that. >> you know, there's. >> three lesbians on this panel. >> am i one of them? >> if you drink tap water and your balls still work, please clap. >> no, michael. >> we don't fact check it. we don't care, man. once all the information on this show so. >> terrible. >> have i got news for you returns february 15th on cnn and stream next day on max. >> ever feel like a spectator in your own life with chronic migraine? 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more? botox prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. in a survey, 91% of users wish they'd started sooner, so why wait? talk to your doctor. >> botox effects may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as

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>> one( 800) 269-9522. that's 1-800-269-9522. >> anderson cooper 360. tonight at eight on cnn. >> and more breaking news. elon musk right now involved in almost every agency and corner of the united states government. this is on the domestic front. and his influence on trump is being felt far and wide. because trump is now drafting an executive order to eliminate the department of education. hours after musk jumped on x, urging him to do just that. trump also confirming he's winding down usaid, which employs more than 10,000 people after musk called usaid a, quote, criminalization organization that should die. and we're just learning tonight

that the administration is now planning sweeping layoffs, targeting people who don't accept musk and trump's resignation packages. so i want to bring in now, katie drummond, global editorial director at wired. and teddy schleifer, reporter at the new york times. and really appreciate both of you. obviously, in the context now. and, you know, we talk about the news coming fast and furiously. you have what's happening overseas. and it's dramatic and it's significant. and katie, but the context here also is this domestic, you know, upending of the united states government that is in process as we speak. and you at wired, your team has been breaking news on the young men, at least in one case, a teenager that you've been reporting on that musk has brought with him to washington. and now you've learned some specifics, you know, sort of what one of them, i believe in this case, a 25 year old is doing in the treasury department. >> absolutely. it is. it is stunning. it is fast and furious. late last night, wired broke the story. we have identified a 25 year old engineer who previously worked for both spacex and. x

companies, with one thing in common they share an owner in elon musk who now has direct access to treasury department systems that are responsible for nearly all payments made by the u.s. government. so that includes federal tax returns, social security benefits, veterans pay payouts to federal contractors. i am talking about a sum of money in the trillions of dollars that this 25 year old individual, at the behest of, of elon musk and his team, can not only read code on these government payment systems, but can actually directly write code and disrupt sort of the actions that these systems are designed to undertake. >> so, so this one person, this one person, we don't know where the code again, who's going to get control of the code, where the code goes, anything. we just know that this person. >> we do know. >> has access to the full code. >> this one individual has administrative. >> access to administrative meaning. they can make changes. >> they can make changes to code that powers systems that distribute trillions of dollars to both agencies, to contractors, and to individuals.

i'm talking about your federal tax return. >> i mean, it is incredible just to stop for a moment and to consider this situation, in this case, a 25 year old, right, unelected unappointed, unconfirmed by congress, known, actually, it turns out trump says he's never met any of these individuals who work for musk. these young men, so not even known to the president. teddy, you have been doing reporting as well on these young men and the young lieutenants that musk has been hiring. and i know from your understanding, you've identified maybe up to about 40 of them. you've been reporting that they prioritize secrecy as they operate. so what else have you learned about them? >> yeah. >> i mean, this is a this is a bureaucracy all of its own. >> as elon musk wages his own war on the federal bureaucracy. >> you know, there's. >> a pretty. complicated org. >> chart within. >> the department of government. >> efficiency, which. >> you know. >> essentially runs all the way. >> up to. >> elon musk, though not technically. i mean, one thing

that i find shocking about the. >> whole doge. >> effort is they have this. administrator job. >> which has never. >> really been publicly said who it is. is it elon musk? is it steve davis, who's elon's top aide? but much of the work. >> that's being done. >> day to day is by. >> federal workers, by sorry, by elon. >> musk aides who have these black backpacks that they kind of carry around with them from agency to agency. lots of them have multiple jobs at once. you know, we reported on on, i think, wyatt as well about someone who works at hhs, also works at the gsa, also works at opm. um, these individuals are kind of the worker bees on elon's behalf. and oftentimes when you see the black backpacks, you know, a couple of days later, elon musk is going to be there himself. it's very interesting to me to see that musk, who has been in d.c. since the inauguration, is often visiting these places himself. you know, don't don't, you know, criticize him for not getting his hands dirty. he's been very involved in the details. >> katie, i want to ask you about that, but. but, teddy, you're saying he's actually. they're going in with these young, young people to.

>> not not not always the same time. i mean, sometimes, you know, at usaid, for instance, we haven't seen evidence that musk has been there himself. but but oftentimes, you know, he and steve davis, his top, top aide, are showing up and spending the day at gsa, at the education department, at maybe the veteran veterans affairs department. he's kind of taking a grand tour of washington. >> and just the power is continuing. trump has said he hasn't even met these young men. >> i mean, this is this is sort of unmitigated and unfettered access to federal agencies. there appear to be, you know, no checks and balances on what musk can and cannot do. there is obviously no congressional oversight of the maneuvers that he's making and sort of the sweeping changes that he is attempting to to create within the federal government. i mean, it is it is absolutely stunning. every, you know, federal employee that our reporters speak to are absolutely stunned. i mean, they are they are gobsmacked. they are terrified. and in this one instance of this, this 25 year old, you

know, individuals have been have been sort of surrounding this person, trying to sort of facilitate him just to make sure that he doesn't break anything. >> i it's really incredible. well, thanks very much to you, katie, and you, teddy, for sharing your reporting, both of you doing such incredible reporting that we're grateful for. and next, more breaking news. the fbi handing over the information of 5000 agents who had any any involvement at all with any january 6th investigation. so what's the reason for it? is it a purge? >> you'll be back. >> emus can't help people customize and save with liberty mutual. >> and doug. >> well, i'll be. >> only pay. >> for what you need. liberty, liberty. >> liberty. >> liberty. >> this one goes better with the walls. >> this is so much. >> easier than the home improvement. >> store. >> hey! >> yeah. >> some things are just better at home. >> with empire's. home floor

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family. saatva luxury mattresses made affordable. >> listen to chasing. >> life with me. doctor sanjay. gupta wherever. >> you. >> get your podcasts. >> breaking news. cnn learning the fbi has handed over information of 5000 employees to the justice department, to the senior members of the justice department. trump's appointees, multiple these agents and analysts were all in some way, shape or form were touched, touched a january 6th case. multiple lawsuits have now been filed to stop the doj from publicly naming these employees, which includes a suit supported by trump's former white house attorney, ty cobb, who joins me now. ty, let me just start, though, with where we are. the macro environment. mass layoffs now coming across the federal government. 5000 employees from the fbi handed over to senior

members of the doj. what do you fear is happening in the fbi right now? >> i think what's happening in the fbi. >> is quite a tragedy. >> and unfortunately, the citizens. who depend on the fbi for national security and. important protections. >> are being. >> mistreated and. >> cheated. >> uh, the the agents whose identities and personnel information is being aggregated. and certainly for no, no benign purpose. the only purpose that could be, um, imaginable is that they'll be released and and they'll be subject to and quite likely could suffer physical harm and other consequences. so i think it's really a tragedy, particularly when you see, um, trump making overtures tonight to iran and putin, but he's at war with our own national security apparatus, at justice, and the fbi. >> ty pam bondi was just confirmed as the attorney general as we speak. that literally just happened in the senate. so she's going to be

the one in charge here. what does that mean? >> well, i'm hopeful. i mean, she's got a long history in law enforcement. she did a good job as as the attorney general of florida. many people, you know, uh, praised her work there. and, um, i'm hopeful. obviously, she's a trump loyalist. she's not a trump like bove or blanche. um, and bove, of course, is the man driving these fbi terminations and, uh, and information gathering. but, you know, hopefully she can, uh, corral the people at, at justice that are having these misadventures and bring some order and restore the rule of law. >> and ty, i know you feel very strongly obviously, the strong language there that you just use. but can i ask you, though, elon musk, you know, he retweeted and because we were just talking about his importance, he replied to a tweet today that said, holy. the fbi just revealed that 5000 out of 13,000 agents were focused on january 6th. 39% of the entire bureau for this. and then musk retweeted that tweet saying,

this is an insane misallocation of resources, right? so that's the way that he's framing everything. 39%. what's your response to him? >> well, i'm so glad you asked me that question, because the number has nothing to do with the point they're trying to make. the reason there are 5000 agents that were involved in this case, some for an hour, some for half a day, some for one interview, very few of them as full time case agents is because trump invited people, along with the proud boys from throughout the country. so almost every, every fbi field office was involved in these investigations, looking into the backgrounds of people, many of whom were never charged, subpoenaing records, many, many of which, you know, turned out to be irrelevant. uh, a lot of agents touch this, and you take 5000 agents out of 13,000. you know, you're decimating our national security by attacking these people. >> yeah, people with with obviously long