former biden white house communications director kate bedingfield and kate anderson brower. it's great to have you all here. kate bedingfield just on that news there that president biden is going to leave a letter for him. i assume you don't think that's surprising, given biden is a traditionalist. but i mean, what do you even write in a letter like that? >> well, i would imagine he'll probably write about the what he believes is the president, the incoming president's responsibility to uphold the constitution, to to not do things that undermine our democracy. i would imagine, knowing joe biden, that it will probably appeal to a bigger sense of patriotism. and also, i would imagine we'll talk a little bit about what the the power that the president has to, um, to set the course for the country on how we think about our politics. i could see him making even an appeal, which may may sound silly, but i could see him even making an appeal to civility. but i think he will probably use what has been a very, um, weighty and heavy experience for him over these last four years to lay

i'm kate bedingfield. trump's second inauguration indeed, going to be a much different reception than 2017. >> yeah, it will be interesting to see what kind of tone he strikes in his speech on on monday. obviously, the first everybody remembers american carnage and this kind of very dark vision of where the country is. and we heard a lot of that from him on the campaign trail. but now he he takes the reins. and so it will be interesting to see if he uses this as a moment to try to appeal to people who maybe didn't vote for him. i'm not sure i've ever seen donald trump really do that, but it might be smart of him to do it. so let's see. that's one thing i'm going to be looking for, but i think there is also this question. he's in this unique space where he is he is an incumbent president in many ways, but he also doesn't. he's trying to present himself as as change, as a new direction. can he thread that line, or is he going to feel like somebody who was once railing against the tech elites and is now invit

todd i'm going to put kate bedingfield on the spot on biden in a second. so i just would like to kind of i understand that there's some ties to these. these things are going to end up being tied together. but i really am interested in your assessment. i mean, you work with candidates, you know, across the ballot, right up and down republicans. is there going to be a price, a political price to pay for the sweeping nature of what trump did, pardoning violent offenders, as well as the leaders of some of these groups that were convicted of seditious conspiracy? >> i think the 14 commutations and maybe a couple dozen others are going to be controversial. and i think that you may see republican elected officials. you will see a lot of republican officials come out against those. cnn's own reporting says that the majority of these people were peaceful. they were they were just wandering around the capitol, sucked up in the mob. most of them have already served their jail time. and this this is really a formality for those people. but i do think there will be abo

alex thompson, cnn political analyst, national political reporter at axios kate bedingfield. cnn political commentator, former biden white house communications director. and brad todd, cnn political commentator and republican strategist. welcome to all of you. thank you so much for being here. um, alex thompson, at what point is it elon musk, who seems to be acting as though he is if not, you know, president of the united states and at least secretary of state or something. i mean, at what point does this get to be too much for donald trump? >> i don't think i don't think they can really separate themselves at this point. i mean, he wrote a $200 million check to to elect donald trump. he has billions and billions of dollars of government contracts. he also has billions and billions of dollars of businesses all over the world. and as was noted, he has a social media company where he can basically at a press of a button at 2:51 a.m., um, basically just caused an international incident. so they are going to be intertwined these next four years. there's no way of getting out of i

kate bedingfield, he others have noted that people who may run instead of johnson have 30 to 40 people who don't like them in the house of representatives. yes, but i think to molly's point, this is this is the beginning of something. it's not the end. >> right. well, yeah. and it's, you know, in some ways this should be the easiest vote. and it's absolutely not. and this portends a very challenging, you know, few years for this congress. i mean look mike's right. i think trump's support i think the dynamic here is very different than it was in 2023 for the republicans who are leading, who are going to be, you know, drafting behind he's racing terminology, i mean, drafting behind donald trump. and he's been very clear that he wants to see johnson made speaker. so, you know, i think the dynamic is very different than it was in 2023. but the fact that it is such it's such a challenge for them to even get their ducks in a row on getting their their speaker appointed. it does not portend well when you're getting to more complicated and challenging legislation as they move forward in the se

i'm kate bedingfield.'s talk a little bit about the geography of the old executive office building, which sits right next to the white house. there's a street that you do have to walk across. but what does it tell you? as someone who's worked, you know, inside in the west wing, about the proximity here? >> yeah. well, physical proximity to the president is a sign of your influence. and so for somebody who would traditionally, were it not elon musk in this kind of outside role, would traditionally probably not have space on the white house complex for him to have space on the white house complex is obviously an indicator of the faith that trump is putting in him. you know, it is when you're in the executive office building, you walk across westexec. it's, you know, depending on where you are in the eeob, it's, you know, it can be as short as 20 steps down, 80 steps down toward the oval office, or you can be up in a very, very small office on the fifth floor of the eeob. and maybe it will take elon a little

kate bedingfield, are they going to let him onto the tarmac? >> well, it's their prerogative.n, he's not going to be able to get close to trump if they don't allow it. so we'll see. but i think the loss of or the potential loss of these kinds of bipartisan moments, especially in the wake of, of natural disasters, is so is is actually such a profound loss for our country. i mean, the idea that even the response to something that has devastated the lives of, of people all over southern california is about partisan politics is just it's so demoralizing. i think it does so much to undermine people's faith in government. i think the idea that institutions have no longer people don't trust institutions is in part driven by exactly this kind of thing. a democratic governor and a republican president should be able to greet each other on the tarmac when the president is coming out to survey damage and talk about what the federal government can do to help. i just i it's a small thing, but it's actually not a small thing. >> i'm going to put on my maga hat for a second. and the argument

political sources to start us off tonight are former biden white house communications director, kate bedingfieldmatthews. i just -- it was what happened four years ago today that led you to leave the trump white house. i wonder when you see what happened today and just are thinking back on that day four years ago how you're reflecting on all of this. >> yeah. it's so crazy today watching the events it felt like a normal day, normal proceedings. and trump was afforded the respect that he did not give to president biden when he came into office. and it was good that it was a normal day. that's a good thing for america. but then i think back to four years ago. if you would have told me that when i resigned that evening that four years later trump would be awarded the presidency and be back into office and have this major political comeback, i don't think i would have believed you because i would be looking at what all those republican lawmakers were saying that evening. they were done with trump. you can look through the archives of the posts that speaker mike johnson put out, elise stefanik, kevin

kate bedingfield, scott jennings, appreciate both of you very, very much.nd we'll be right back with more news have i got news for you is back for a new season, whether you like it or not. >> are those the only two choices? yes. >> you like it or you don't? >> i'm on the fence. >> this is going to be a long season. >> have i got news for you returns february 15th. >> on you on guard tonight. >> oh, no. they just got simplisafe. it protects the whole home inside and out. >> stop. this is simplisafe. whoa! >> that was impressive. >> there's no safe. like, simply safe. >> we are encountering nosferatu. >> nosferatu is the best horror movie of the year, and one of the best horror films ever made. nosferatu. we are now playing only in theaters. special engagements in dolby and imax. >> you're getting ready to dive into crypto for the first time, but you're a little worried about the fine print and feeling intimidated about how to start. we get that investing in crypto is no small decision, which is why, as a crypto focused asset manager, we'll do more to keep yo

. >> kate bedingfield, there's another part of our brand new cnn poll that i want to get your reaction to, and i'll put it up on the screen. it's 56% of americans say they expect good economic conditions a year from now. that's much more optimism than americans expressed in a poll from 2023, where just 38% felt that way. is this a positive sentiment from americans coming in right now? what do you think? >> i think this has the potential to cut both ways for trump. on the one hand, coming in, yes, of course you want people to feel like they have confidence in your leadership. he may have a great opportunity here to put in place an agenda that feels like it's capitalizing on what people want to see him do. but when expectations are high, it's also easy to fall short of them. and i think you've actually heard trump kind of allude to this concern in some of the interviews that he's given recently. he said, i think when he sat down with nbc, he said, well, there's really not that much a president can do to bring down prices. so i think he's certainly acutely aware that once he's actually in

also with us, kate bedingfield, who is biden's former white house communications director until 2023. david axelrod is with us also. he was a senior adviser to president obama. so, susan, first of all, what was your main takeaway from your interview with president biden? >> well, he wants to make the case that these recent controversies over his his health, over his pardon of his son should not be the defining all that defines his legacy. so he wanted to make the case that his legacy is broader and more consequential than that. he's also it's also clear he's not quite ready to leave the oval office. you know, i did the last print interview with george w bush. he was ready to leave the oval office. joe biden wishes he had four more years. >> well, bush got eight years to just. that's one big thing. what do you make of this climate, this claim that he he would have won if he had stayed the nominee? >> you know, that's not the conventional political wisdom that he could have won. the conventional wisdom is that he was in a place where he was not likely to win if he stayed in the race aft

kate bedingfield, how do you see all this? >> yeah, well. >> i think. >> the. >> assessment that hegseth. >> is probably likely. >> to be. >> confirmed, given the outcome of the vote. >> today. >> is pretty high. i think he had a lot of strikes against him. >> coming into his. confirmation hearing, which, you. >> know, he. >> managed to navigate without kind of reraising some of the issues that had been of concern as he was coming in. but i think. >> what ultimately is. >> most likely to happen here, i. >> think. >> unless we. see a drastic shift in the next. >> you know, 24 hours, he's likely to get confirmed and then the republicans are going to own what. >> he does as secretary of defense. >> he's somebody who obviously has these really troubling. >> personal issues, character issues that have. >> been raised. >> throughout this process. >> but he's also. >> somebody who has had issues. >> running much, much, much smaller organizations than the department. >> of defense. >> so if. >> republicans are lining up behind. >> don

kate bedingfield, cnn political commentator, former biden white house communications director, and brad todd, who's a cnn political commentator and also a republican strategist. welcome to all of you. elliot, were you surprised by this decision? >> yes and no. no. in that it is the right decision legally. now we can set the politics aside, and i'll talk about the legal right. yes. only insofar as nothing has been predictable when it comes to legal matters with respect to donald trump and where the courts are going to go on. so there is an element of surprise to it. legally, it's quite straightforward. in order for donald trump not even, say, donald trump, the defendant, to be able to have his rights as a defendant, to move on with his appeal to make the arguments he's talking about the sort of challenges that the underlying lawsuit, he's got to be sentenced. that's a basic fact in american law. the supreme court, a let's say bipartisan or at least cross ideological segment of the supreme court, said, let's let this play out in the future sentence. this defendant, if he has other argumen

kate bedingfield, former biden white house communications director, and sarah matthews, the former deputy press secretary for president trump when he was in the white house the last time. sarah, this is not a position that is only held by by some republicans in the house. we're seeing senate republicans like tommy tuberville from from my home state also expressing support for this. you worked in the white house when trump was in office last time. and disasters like this hit. what is your view of this demand that is percolating? >> i think although you're going to see some republicans who agree with this sentiment, we've also seen some come out of the senate who have pushed back on this, particularly from states who understand the importance of disaster relief. and it being nonpartisan. rick scott from florida has already said he doesn't agree with this. senator tillis from north carolina, as you mentioned, they face flooding there this year or last year. they he pushed back on that. they understand that this needs to stay nonpartisan. it's a slippery slope, sets a really dangerous precede

isaac navarro, cnn politics senior reporter kate bedingfield. rather. sorry, i know you. no problem. i, the prompter, just tripped me up. commentator and former communications director for the biden white house and brad todd, cnn political commentator and republican strategist. great to have you all. we have so much to get to this morning. but i want to start with the purge of the doj. the doj prosecutors. you know, alex, you think about the fact that during trump's first term, he fired his fbi director for the russia investigation, and he was upset at his attorney general, jeff sessions, who had been the first member of congress to endorse him, all because sessions recused himself in that investigation. and so those were sort of lamp posts for what he could do with the department under a second term. and a lot of this was so well telegraphed. >> absolutely. i mean, as you showed that he ran on doing this, and i think it's a sign that he honestly wanted to fire jeff sessions the first time, and now he is really just taking control in a way in the guardrails are off now. d