ICE Agent’s Cellphone Captures Fatal Confrontation In Minneapolis

25:25We're standing by to see if President Trump takes any questions when he leaves the White House for Mar-a-Lago. We're going to talk about some of his biggest headlines of this week with Maggie Haberman of The New York Times. She's going to join us in studio next.

26:04Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at MintMobile.com. Authorities in Portland, Oregon are talking about the Border Patrol shooting last night. Let's listen in. A demonstration that evening, and then the demonstrations last night, and the public order events that are happening today and throughout the weekend. I have high expectations that we will continue to be able to express our dissent in a way that demonstrates our commitment to showing how we want to be governed. And that means doing so in a way that is calm or is peaceful or is nonviolent, whatever the terminology that you choose to use, but an expectation that these public order events can be held and participated in by all and that they are a place of safety for all, including our public officials and our first responders.

26:56Last night, we had a couple of events that occurred, one that was across the street here at City Hall, several hundred participants, and then we also had several hundred down at the facility in South Waterfront. We, along with our partners from the Oregon State Police, were present down at South Waterfront last night. We did see an increased amount of energy and intensity, which we anticipated, given the events of yesterday and on the heels of Minneapolis, and appropriately so. I understand Portlanders' concern. I understand Portlanders' fear and frustration. I believe there is legitimacy to that, and we anticipated that there would be an increased amount of energy.

27:37Historically, this past year, in our public order events, through dialogue officers, through announcements, and through cooperation, we've been able to achieve results and minimize arrests and minimize conflict. Last night, there were some who chose not to follow the direction of the officers, and we were required to make a couple of arrests, six actual arrests for disorderly conduct. We had a couple of officers that were slightly injured. There was one force event not involving munitions, just a force event that will be thoroughly investigated and reviewed through our after-action process. But overall, considering the heightened amount of energy and concern last night, I'm still very grateful for the overall bet and the participation.

28:25And in looking forward to the weekend where we can continue to demonstrate our ability to express those First Amendment rights. We will continue. All right. We're going to continue to monitor this news conference out of Portland, Oregon. And note, we're going to talk to the Portland police chief in our next hour. But now on to our politics lead. Two key defeats for President Trump on Capitol Hill. 17 House Republicans voted with Democrats to restore those health insurance subsidies for Obamacare. And five Republican senators joined with Democrats to limit President Trump's war powers when it comes to Venezuela.

28:59Let's discuss this with somebody who knows President Trump better than almost any journalist out there. Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for The New York Times and a CNN political analyst. Thanks so much for being here, Maggie. So, taken together, these two defeats just this week, not to mention, of course, the Epstein Files vote, what does it say about his control of his party right now? Look, I think that on most things, President Trump is still tightly in control of his party, but you do have these House members who are facing a real problem on the Obamacare subsidies. They are the ones who are going to be on the ballot this coming year.

29:31President Trump didn't seem bothered. They know that their constituents are actually going to face a problem in terms of premiums going up. So I just think it's simple math and economics and bread and butter issues. In terms of the war power vote, look, putting aside the precision of the military operation to get Nicolas Maduro, which clearly was very effective, the White House has not clearly articulated either what its plan is or what is going to happen or exactly. You know, there have been it's clear for Trump it's about oil, but there have been several different rationales along the year for why they did this.

30:04and none of them were about regime change or at least, you know, getting Maduro out the way he is. Yeah, well, we were told that it was a law enforcement operation, right? But four of the six people in that indictment remain in power in Venezuela. The president is focusing on oil, as you note. He said the U.S. is now getting along extremely well with Venezuela, which is still the Maduro regime, just minus Maduro and wife. What does he mean when he says the U.S. is running Venezuela, when they're obviously not really. And do you sense that there really is any sort of plan for elections or replacing the regime or for security for these oil companies if they choose to go back in?

30:44I don't think that they have figured out exactly how this is going to work yet. There certainly is not a plan yet for elections, I think for a variety of reasons. Going back to the one we said about the oil, they have clearly decided that they think they can work with and possibly control the vice president who's in charge right now. But that's not a long-term solution. And I think Marco Rubio made clear that's not a long-term solution. But what the alternative is, I think, is unclear. What they don't want is Venezuela devolving into chaos. I do know that is not what they are looking for. But depending on what route they choose, that could happen regardless.

31:21We've heard Trump float military action against other countries since the Venezuela operation. Here's something that President Trump told your colleagues at The New York Times during that interview Wednesday. Take a listen. Do you see any checks on your power on the world stage? Is there anything that could stop you if you wanted to? Yeah, there's one thing. My own morality, my own mind. It's the only thing that can stop. Not international law. And that's very good. I don't need international law. I'm not looking to hurt people. It's quite a view of the president's view of his powers. Yeah, I mean, and I think we're seeing it on display over and over, which is that essentially you've seen this administration say that courts that try to stop him are illegitimate authorities or usurping his power.

32:08He is saying he doesn't essentially saying I don't require international law because I know what's right and wrong and what I want to do is what's going to guide me. And that can get into a very it's we are clearly seeing him flex and he has emboldened in a way I don't think we've ever seen before. but where that leads remains to be seen. Threats to Colombia and Cuba are one thing. Threats to take Greenland from Denmark, which is a NATO ally, are another. You may have, I know you're busy working on your book, but you may have, you may know that I did an interview with Stephen Miller earlier this week, in which he really talked about his view, which I think is the president's view, of just, Bernie Sanders called it imperialism, just the U.S.

32:48control of this hemisphere. And what he said drew some rebukes from European leaders. Do you think that they're really going to try to take Greenland? I think they're going to try to continue talking about this. I think take meaning as in military force, I would be quite surprised. But again, also, we have a base in Greenland. We have troops there already. And we have the potential for unlimited bases in Greenland. Correct. And there are ways to negotiate this. What is bothering European officials is that this is coming in the form of a threat and coming in the form of this is what I want and I'm going to grab it.

33:21I don't know that it would be feasible for the U.S. to buy Greenland, although that was a discussion last year. But again, we will see. We're almost one year into this second presidential term of President Trump. What stands out to you looking back on this first year of term two? So I think that he has actually had accomplishments that he promised on the campaign trail. He did close the border. whether people like it or not, that is what he said he was going to do. He did crack down on universities in terms of their policies related to DEI. Corporate America clearly welcomed that. But I don't think that the immigration enforcement has happened the way he thought, or the way he said it was going to on the campaign.

34:04It's been, you know, people being taken off the street by people in masks. Iran, a lot of people believe is a huge accomplishment, but prices are still not what he says, keeps telling people they are. Tariffs, I think, is an open question. And there is a lot less trust in what this government says, and that is its own issue. All right, Maggie Haverman, thank you so much. Thanks for coming to see us. We always love having you. A live look this hour at the Capitol, St. Paul, Minnesota. This vigil in the wake of this week's deadly ice shooting just a few miles away in Minneapolis. Will we see more of this as we have in other cities this week?

34:38We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.

34:44See a nation's enduring love for baseball when Shohei Otani and Japan's biggest Major League stars return home to play in front of their fans for the first time. Homecoming, the Tokyo Series, now streaming on the CNN app. In our politics lead, one of the weakest years of annual job growth since 2003. According to the final jobs report of 2025 out today, the economy added just 50 ,000 new jobs in December. And if you were scrolling through the president's social media feed last night, you would have seen the preview of that data. Let's bring in the panel. So not only has hiring slowed, Americans don't feel all that great about being able to find a job.

35:27According to the latest survey by the New York Fed, quote, the perceived probability of finding a job hit a record low of 43.1 percent in December. Matt, what is your reaction to the numbers 11 months out from the midterms, which is obviously largely almost always about how voters feel about the economy? This is certainly, I think, something that Republicans, we've known this for months now, I think. And certainly this data coming in, it doesn't come as a huge surprise. I was buoyed at least by the fact that the 30-year mortgage is downed below 6 % the first time since 2022. But this is something that certainly the White House Republicans know they have to fix and have to talk better about and make sure that people, as we go into the election year, people have to feel better about this stuff.

36:08I think as we get some rate lowerings as we get into the spring of this year, things might loosen up a little bit. You saw Besant talking about this a little bit in Minneapolis. They have to sell it to Vance and Besant did a good job this week. They have to keep doing it. Karen, the president didn't directly share today's report numbers, I should note, but he shared this chart, including the December data. There are rules that prohibit officials from sharing jobs data until after the official release. Why would that normally be a big deal but not isn't today? Well, gee, because normally part of what you care about in government is something called transparency, making sure there's accuracy.

36:43That's not something that Donald Trump is particularly concerned with. But here's one of the most important things in the numbers. So January to May, on average, we were it was about one hundred and two thousand jobs were being created. Then we had Trump's Liberation Day, June to December. The tariffs, the introduction of the tariffs. Tariffs. June to December, about 10 ,000 jobs on average. So you can't tell me that. And I think most Americans are there plenty of charts out there on social media. The tariffs have harmed the economy. The tariff, despite what the markets are doing, that's not the economy that people live in day to day.

37:18That does not control the cost that people are experiencing. So the bigger problem, everything I agree, Matt, with so many of the things you said. However, the problem Republicans have is that the one person with the biggest microphone is not on that message. Instead, he spent today trying to convince oil executives to spend billions of dollars in Venezuela and committing American troops potentially to that. So people aren't seeing this president put that kind of energy into their lives. And that, for Democrats, makes a very compelling argument going into the midterms. This man does not care about you.

37:54He is not making our streets safer. He is not making your lives better. So on Tuesday, President Trump predicted an epic midterm victory with House Republicans keeping the House, which obviously would be an anomaly if that were to happen. He sounded a little less optimistic last night on Fox. Take a listen. If you go back a long way, the sitting president, whether it's Democrat or Republican, always loses the midterm, even if they've done well. almost always there's something down deep psychologically with the voters that they want maybe a check or something i don't know what it is exactly not a very optimistic note no wasn't uh i'm just trying to get a factual though i should give a long way back meaning don't look at what happened with joe biden when we actually You guys lost the House.

38:47You guys lost the House. You lost the House. We did pretty well in the midterm. Anyway, look, I'm just trying to get through the year, because right now, we have a likely, come March, when all the special elections are done, we will have a one-seat majority with the terrible death of Doug LaMalfa. So that brings its own special chaos to Mike Johnson, who I don't envy, who's done a really good job so far. The history is absolutely true. I was there in 2018 when this happened. And one of the things that was so pertinent when Trump was campaigning in 2024, not just for himself, but for down-ballot candidates, because he knew going through the last four years, what is at stake when the House flips?

39:21He and others did not want impeachment on day one of a new presidency. So I think that is something that's also that specter of that is in his mind as well. But again, that's about him. That's not about the American people. That's also not saying, hey, guys, you're going to have you may have to campaign against me or not have me come into your districts in order to win. I know I am very unpopular. Instead, he said, hey, they're going to impeach me on day one. I mean, he made it all about himself. He's not wrong. But that's a priority. We've been through several of these. That stops everything in Washington.

39:52It has to. Constitutional. Well, it's not like much is getting done now. I will say this, though, too. Susan Collins got an in-kind contribution in Blue State, Maine, by Trump coming out against her a little bit last night, or two days ago. That's one thing, actually, counterintuitively, that might help her a little bit. There is this new video today showing a different perspective, the ICE officer's perspective on that deadly shooting in Minneapolis. I want you to take a listen to what Speaker Johnson had to say about it today.

40:21Here we go. I think people have made their observations known about the video. There's multiple angles of the video. Everybody's commented on that in the media and on social media and even elected officials. But we all understand there has to be a full investigation. That's the appropriate thing. That will happen. So, frankly, that's refreshing to hear somebody just saying, like, everybody has their opinions. There's going to be an investigation. I am interested in your guys' view, your take on it. What do you see in that video? So here's what concerns me, Jake. I worked in New York City government during, actually, the Giuliani administration during 9-11.

40:59So I know something about crisis comms in the city government. What is going on is disgusting. We should stop. Trump, they released the video through right-wing media, and then J.D. Vance tweets it out. That is not how you create a culture or an environment of transparency to ease the tensions. They're trying to inflame rather than ease tensions, rather than to make people feel more comfortable while it's going on. And this is not about public safety. We can play media critic all we want. I'm playing comedy critic. All we're doing right now is what my takeaway was two things. She wasn't panicked, and she was not dropping her kids off.

41:36I think what that video showed me was much more into the driver's state of mind and the person she was with state of mind. All right, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. And our sports lead, the WNBA and its players are still without a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of tonight's deadline, putting the start of the 2026 WNBA season in jeopardy. Meanwhile, some top WNBA players are already committing to a whole new global women's basketball league called Project B. CNN's Bryn Jyngrass, a college basketball player herself, lays out what Project B is and its ties to a Saudi-based company.

42:11Guys, I am so excited to announce that I'll be joining Project B. Drew Hort here. Alyssa Thomas here. I cannot wait to compete with and against some of the best basketball players in the world on an international stage. Project B, it's a new global basketball league that could be a game changer for the sport and its players. This is a big moment for women's basketball. It's just growing. It's growing as fast, if not faster than almost every tech industry right now. That's Grady Burnett, a titan in the tech industry. He, along with Skype founder Jeff Prentice, are plugging elite players to sign on, promising them equity in the league, a platform to build their brand, and salaries reportedly in the millions.

42:55You were the first one to sign on to Project B. What was it that drew you to this new league? We have an amazing league on the western side of the world, but I've played globally and there's a lot of great basketball being played everywhere. So being able to be a partner and something have a say in that way is huge. Players like Seattle Storm All-Star Nneka Agumake are committing at a time when the 2026 WNBA season is still uncertain. The league has struggled to come to a compromise with players on a contract. Revenue sharing and salary increases are top sticking points. Is it fair to call it a disruptor to the WNBA?

43:34This is something where we're adding to the ecosystem. There's 3 billion basketball fans in the world. It's important to be able to play high-level games with incredible world-class athletes in the cities around the world where these fans are living, breathing. Project B will have the hallmarks of a Formula One circuit. 66 players compete in many tournaments in seven cities across three continents, during the WNBA's offseason. So you can really dig into the country, celebrate the fans, and put the player at the center. It's partly backed by well-known athletes like Sloan Stevens, Novak Djokovic, and Steve Young.

44:11But the league has also taken on some early controversy. It hired sporting entertainment company Sela, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's public investment fund. Of course it's understandable that some WNBA players want to make more money. But to do it in any way in partnership with the Saudis, it's truly unthinkable because their brand, everything about these players, is activism. Why partner with a Saudi-based company when obviously the optics of that say something? So they have a company that has done the Olympics. They did the America's Cup. They've done a bunch of high-level boxing events globally.

44:50And so they just knew a lot and were sort of a hungry young organization that really had thoughts and could help us in a bunch of areas. But as seen most notoriously with Live Golf, Saudi involvement with U.S. sports can be problematic, partly because of the country's human rights record. The difference here is that the WNBA has always been about social activism and men's golf has never been about social activism. And so this is why this matters. Unlike Liv, Project B says it's not receiving any Saudi funds to operate. The money goes to them, not to us. So far, Project B's roster includes both WNBA and international players, veterans and up-and-comers, some with social media followings in the millions.

45:38And while the biggest name in women's basketball, Caitlin Clark, isn't committing to the league, she celebrated what it could mean for the sport. People are really believing and putting their money where their mouth is, and that hasn't always been the case for women's basketball. Hopefully it could serve as a blueprint for how, you know, we seek value. I really would like to live in a world where we can migrate away, you know, from asking women, do you want this or that, or why not both and? Bringing Grass, CNN, New York. This is CNN Breaking News. Welcome to The Lead, I'm Jake Tapper. More unease tonight across the Twin Cities in Minnesota after the deadly shooting of a woman in her car by an ICE agent in South Minneapolis.

46:20You're looking right now at live at the scene where that shooting happened just a few miles away. Another vigil right now at the capital of Minnesota in St. Paul. Those gatherings coming as we're now seeing different footage. This from the cell phone of the ICE agent who fired the shots that killed Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old U.S. citizen. We're about to play the video. I do want to warn you, it is disturbing, but the video gives an up-close perspective of the ICE officer's view of the pivotal moments before he shot Ms. Good. Here is that video. That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at you.

46:58Show your face. I'm not mad at you. It's okay. We don't change our plates every morning, just so you know. It'll be the same plate when you come talk to us later. That's fine. U.S. citizen, former fucking president, the same request you want to come out of. You want to come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy. Get out of the car. Get out of the car. Get out of the car. Get out of the car. Oh! Fucking bitch. Let's bring in CNN's Omar Jimenez, who's been on the ground in Minneapolis monitoring the activity at the site of the shooting. Omar? Well, where that video ended and where the car ended up after Rene Good was shot is just behind me and it has been a growing memorial over the course of the past few days.

47:45You know, it was initially this entire block was really closed off to vehicular traffic. It had been the center of a lot of protests and, of course, people bringing flowers and candles and things of that nature. Today is the first day we've seen a little bit of vehicular traffic open up, but what's been interesting is throughout the day, it's been pretty quiet here. People have come through, solemnly laid flowers. There have been points where there have been chants and things of that nature, but less of a protest environment and more of a reflection one. I should also note, today's the first time we've seen the Minneapolis Police Department here in significant numbers at this site, but there haven't really been any conflicts with those that have come here.

48:23A lot of those conflicts have happened outside the federal building in Whipple, where we've seen some of those confrontations between federal agents and some of the protesters that were there in their faces. You know, we talked about this is where the vehicle ended up crashed after Renee Goode was shot. We got a lot of reflections, a lot of feelings over that video in particular. But we're getting a sense now a little bit from what the family is feeling. We got this statement that was shared with Minnesota Public Radio by Becca Good, the wife of Renee Good. And I just want to read part of it where it says, On Wednesday, January 7th, which is the day of the shooting, we stopped to support our neighbors.

48:58We had whistles. They had guns. Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children. The youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Rene believed, that there are people building a better world for him, that the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way. So, obviously, a lot of politics and debate over inch by inch of this video, but clearly there does seem to be a sense of reflection coming from the good family at the very least. I can say that, I mean, I can't be more clear that there was a lot of anger, obviously, after that video came out.

49:37And we have seen large protests throughout the city. Even right now, you showed some of it a little bit earlier. At the state capitol, over in St. Paul, you've got a lot of people that are there gathered in support of Rene Good, but also in protest of federal immigration presence, which we know the federal government has stepped up. And we expect more federal agents to be here in the coming days, which is what we've reported to this point. So, Jake, I think the dynamic to monitor here moving forward is, yes, people are upset. We don't know what the next steps of any federal investigation will look like.

50:13State investigators say they're going to be gathering evidence and they've made calls to gather and preserve evidence. But it's not clear that they can actually move forward with anything significant, as the FBI would be the one leading it. And we don't have any indication that that collaboration is happening at this point. So right now, it's really just a steady stream of people coming to pay their respects to Renee Good here. All right, Omar Jimenez in Minneapolis, thanks so much. Let's bring in CNN's John Miller and Kerry Cordero. John, the new video released today of the ICE officer's perspective from his phone, it doesn't seem to be changing a lot of minds.

50:50It is raising more questions. From a law enforcement perspective, did the ICE officer react in accordance with proper traditional training? Well, from a law enforcement perspective, there's going to be three parts of that question. Was he tactically proficient? proficient? Was he within his agency's policy? And then finally, in some ways the most important one, were his actions legal? From the tactically proficient standpoint, he circles around the car. Tensions seem to be very low at that point until his partner says, get out of the car and grabs the door handle. At that point, when you look at the multiple videos, you can see as the car backs up and starts to move forward.

51:35The shooting agent takes his gun out and this video is the only video that gives us a window, if not visually, at least through the sound at that critical moment where it sounds like the vehicle makes contact or impacts the officer. We don't see it because by then his his iPhone camera is down in one hand and his gun is up in the other. But we hear the noise and we hear a groan and then he fires. And then the question is, could the tactics have been better? Could they have de-escalated? Could he have not been positioned in front of the car? What was the reason for him taking his gun out at the time that he did instead of moving further back?

52:18Those are all questions that the agency will have to address. And then the question of the thought, the shots, Jake, are going to be three questions. He's going to have to account for each one of those shots. What was the first shot for? And as the vehicle is passing him by, the second and third shot, where he appears to be shooting into the window of the car as it's going away from him, meaning the threat is now leaving, what were those shots for? A lot of questions still to answer. And Carrie, from a legal perspective, does this video support the case that this ICE agent acted in self-defense?

52:52I don't think that it does. When we're looking at the particular, you know, the video that's out right now, I think it shows a little bit more of the context. It shows that he moved in front of the vehicle. So he placed himself in front of her vehicle. And they're based on this particular video. It doesn't look like that she was doing anything that was threatening. But I think we're, you know, we're able to look at these videos. Citizens are able to look at these videos and draw their conclusions from these specific things. But it just underscores why it's so important in this kind of circumstance that there be an actual, credible investigation because these videos are not the only evidence.

53:33There are interviews that need to be conducted by all of the many witnesses that were around. There is, there should be, from my perspective, potential body cam evidence from the officers if they were wearing them. DHS policy, as of a few years ago, required that DHS officers in these types of circumstances when they're doing their job should have body cam. So I have a question as to whether or not there's body cam evidence that's relevant here. There would be the actual forensic evidence that pertains to the actual firing of the weapons. There's probably other video from potential other angles that exist or potential other witnesses.

54:10So there's a whole range of additional evidence that would support an actual expert investigator's report on this case. And John, since President Trump took office, CNN's been reporting on how ICE arrest tactics have seemed to be getting more aggressive, from shattered car windows to tackling targets. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tells CNN, quote, ICE and Customs and Border Patrol are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations, to prioritize the safety of the public and themselves. Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use on forced training, unquote.

54:52But these officers are now also expected to hit this increased quota of 3 ,000 arrests a day, cumulatively, and the public narrative the government is pushing is that they're going after the worst of the worst. John, where's the disconnect happening here between the training and what's going on in the field? Well, there's two kinds of ICE agent right now. Agents like the one involved in this case, this agent has been an agent for more than a decade, very experienced firearms instructor on the tactical team. He's an agent with a lot of depth, which raises questions about how could he be in this situation.

55:27But ICE recently cut the training time from six months to six weeks. ICE training at the Federal Law Enforcement Academy now is 47 days. To go on a regular big city police department, that training could be six months, nine months. That's not much training, 47 days. If you are going to have those people out on these dynamic arrest teams doing these high risk arrests or stops and you're using some of the least experienced people in the street, but also with the least training, there's a recipe for disaster there. They've had 13 shootings, including five involving people trying to get out of car stops, as we saw in this, and three involving people who were either impeding or monitoring or filming them.

56:15So there's been more gunplay in this effort than most people have heard about out before this incident. And Kerry, U.S. District Judge Sarah Ellis wrote an opinion in November looking at the federal government's treatment of protesters and press in Illinois. And some people are pointing today to that analysis of times that, in her view, the agents were using excessive force. She wrote, quote, agents have used excessive force in response to protesters and journalists' exercise of their First Amendment rights without justification, often without warning, even at those who had begun to comply with agents' orders.

56:50What did you make of that opinion? Well, here's the thing that I think requires being underscored, is that exercise of First Amendment activities is something that's supposed to be protected by the police. When law enforcement, or in some cases National Guard, when they are out in the public in the context of a protest activity, their job is actually to protect the rights of the protesters to effectuate their and implement their First Amendment rights. So to the extent that heavy-handed tactics are being used against protesters, That's actually against law enforcement, a normal way of conducting that.

57:31But the one thing I want to mention also, Jake, is I think people are looking for accountability in this particular case. And I think that one reason that we question whether there's going to be any accountability is because the institutions within the Department of Homeland Security and within the Justice Department have been gutted. One of the most important components for holding this type of incident properly investigated and vetted and potential accountability is the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Those are the lawyers that would work with the FBI to conduct an investigation to determine whether or not under the color of law, this woman's civil rights were violated in this particular event.

58:15In other words, that it was not a lawful exercise of that law enforcement officer's authority. All right, Kerry Cordero, John Miller, thanks to both of you. We're turning next to the world lead, a Republican lawmaker with questions about President Trump's plans for Venezuela. He's going to join us next. And this just in the New York Times is reporting that the Washington National Opera is leaving the Kennedy Center, or perhaps more accurately, they're leaving the Trump Kennedy Center. This may be the biggest rebuke of President Trump's takeover and renaming of the center. This and more. Stay with us.

58:51Topping our world leaders, it's been nearly one week since the U.S. launched the remarkable attack on Venezuela's capital of Caracas and extracted its leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. Today, a team of U.S. diplomatic and security personnel from the U.S. State Department arrived in Venezuela for the first time since Maduro's ouster. Venezuela is announcing the start of an exploratory diplomatic process with the U.S. Here's President Trump earlier today after meeting with oil executives at the White House. We're getting along extremely well with the people of Venezuela, both the people and the people that are running Venezuela.

59:30Republican Congressman Derek Van Orden from Wisconsin joins us now. He's a retired Navy SEAL and serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Thanks for joining us, Congressman. So you told my colleague Brianna Keeler that you would like to know more about the timeline and the metrics for the Venezuela operation. Given that, how are you going to vote on this War Powers Resolution, which would, according to the nearly identical resolution voted on back in December, quote, ensure that Congress is notified of military deployments that could involve the exercise of congressional war powers. I'm going to vote no.

1:00:03A very strenuous no. I think that that vote in the U.S. Senate was not very well thought out. To limit the Article 2 Section 2 authorities of the President of the United States to conduct military operations as the commander in chief, is no way to run a railroad. And when we do this, or when the Senate did this, the House is not gonna do this. We are limiting the ability for him to exercise his constitutionally enumerated powers. And that is not good from the perspective of our enemies. The enemies need to know, and adversaries need to know, that every single thing is on the table in a very timely manner.

1:00:39Well, let me ask you, because President Trump was just asked by the New York Times this week, what constrains his power as commander-in-chief? And he said the only thing that constrains it is his own morality. Is that your view of what constrains any president's powers as commander in chief? Are you comfortable with that as a precedent for the next Democratic president as well? this is what i'm comfortable with the president of the united states democrat or republican to have the freedom of movement to conduct limited raids or very very limited operations and if we are going to get into any type of sustained ground combat operations then congress must approve it so i do not uh agree with and i would not support putting uniform members of the military service in Venezuela to conduct ground combat.

1:01:37Now, if we open our embassy, get the embassy going again, who protects embassies? United States Marines. So there'd be uniform members of the United States military protecting United States military, or excuse me, governmental property. If they need to escort our State Department folks around, that's not sustained ground combat. But there is an interplay between Title I, excuse me, yeah, sorry, Title I and Title two authorities, Congress and the executive branch. And so the Congress, if we're going to have to allocate funds, which is one of the primary functions of Congress itself, the Article one authority, then we have to be consulted by the Article two authority, which is the executive branch.

1:02:18Let's turn to health care because you were one of a handful of Republicans, 17 to be precise, who voted to extend Obamacare subsidies, joining with Democrats. You told Armanu Raju a lot of constituents depend on these programs. You also said the vote was still very difficult for you. I know you're not a fan of Obamacare in general, but tell us more about why it was difficult. Well, because Obamacare is a broken system. Insurance companies' profit margin has increased between 1 ,000 and 1 ,300 percent since the enactment of the Unaffordable Care Act. And I don't think our health care has improved 1 ,300%.

1:03:00So the system itself is broken, and we need to make sure that we fix the system. Now, last month in December, we passed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, which would lower health care premiums for Americans, just like it says in the bill. It would also get visibility on PBMs, the pharmacy benefit managers. It would allow small businesses to get together collectively so they can bargain for better insurance rates. That's the beginning of a real fix. And then when we start looking at the vertical integration of health care insurance companies with physicians, with PBMs, with the pharmacies and the pharmaceutical companies, that's when we're really going to start making ways to make sure that everyday Americans have health care that they can afford.

1:03:43This is what I want. This is the end state. We need to have readily available, high quality, actual affordable health care for all Americans. and cutting off these subsidies that were voted for, 100 % Democrat votes. Let's not forget that. That was a cliff. What we need is a glide path to get to the place where Americans don't have to wring their hands if they get sick. So to me, it was a bridge too far. We would have had about 60 ,000 Wisconsinites lose their health care insurance, including thousands of my constituents. So I didn't vote with Democrats. I voted for the residents of the third congressional state of third congressional district of Wisconsin and the state of Wisconsin.

1:04:26That's my job. My title is representatives. And when I was a Navy SEAL, Jake, I did things all lawful, mind you. But I did a lot of stuff that I was really uncomfortable with. But I knew it had to be done because otherwise the mission would fail. Well, in this case, the mission is making sure that our Wisconsinites and the rest of Americans who truly need health care have it. Republican Congressman Derek Van Orden from the great Badger state of Wisconsin. Thank you, sir. It's good to see you. That is correct. Yes, good to see you, too. May God bless you and your viewers. Thank you. My next guest wrote a book that inspired the hits Hulu series, Dope Sick, that divided into the book dived into America's opioid crisis.

1:05:06Now that author is running for Congress and joining us here next on The Lead.

1:05:18In our politics lead, the author, whose book inspired Hulu's hit show Dope Sick, a series about America's struggle with opioid abuse, is now running for Congress. Beth Macy, we've had her on the show, is running as a Democrat in Virginia's 6th congressional district, which we should note has not elected a Democrat since 1990. It's currently represented by four-term Republican Ben Klein. Beth Macy joins us now. Beth, thanks so much for joining us. You know we're a huge fan of your journalism, your writing. We usually see politicians who write books and then go on to become bestselling authors, politician first, then an author, not the other way around, author, then politician.

1:05:58What made you decide you wanted to run for office? Yeah, I sort of wrote myself into it. My last book is a memoir called Paper Girl, a memoir of home and family in a fractured America. And Geraldine Brooks said it's more than a memoir. It's a manifesto. So by the end of the book, I'm getting really worked up about, you know, the lack of democracy that I see coming on. And I sort of give a kind of manifesto about how we all have to get involved and we have to run better people for office and we have to fight back against all these doge and OBBB cuts. And I started participating in rallies outside Ben Klein's office.

1:06:38He won't he's one of those that won't hold town halls of any size or quantity. and people started asking me to run, I guess because of my name recognition and because of the fact I've been here for almost 40 years reporting about working people and people who have suffered from so many policies, you know, forced by Democrats and Republicans alike, like NAFTA, which took so many jobs away, and then the opioid crisis, which hit these rural areas the hardest. So here's the number one question I have for you. As someone who has studied and chronicled the origin and the evolution of the opioid epidemic in the United States, which is largely a self-inflicted wound by Americans against other Americans, what would you do to combat this crisis as a member of Congress?

1:07:33What has not already been done that needs to be done to end this crisis? And in a lot of cases, the opioid crisis has merged and become an opioid and fentanyl crisis. Right, right, right. Well, as I learned when I, my new book, I go back to my hometown, which is in rural Ohio, and I report on the changes in 40 years in a real, like as a microcosm of what happened to America. And the first thing we did was we took the ability for a poor kid with decent grades to go to college for free. I went to college for free. We were so poor. I grew up in a family of poverty and addiction. Now that same kid would only have 30 % of their college paid for.

1:08:12So I think we need to double PEL. The healthcare situation in this country is unconscionable. We are about to lose 350 ,000 Virginians are going to lose their Medicaid after the midterms, which is diabolical. And we know that Medicaid was the number one way that men in particular, those dying disproportionately of deaths of despair, were able to access evidence-based addiction treatment. So I think the end game should be Medicare for all, frankly, but we have to first restore those cuts. I just wrote a substack today about the subsidies expiring. And I'm talking to small business owners are being killed by that.

1:08:53We're talking about people who own shops, people who are small contractors. Their rates are quadrupling in some cases. And in a lot of cases, I interviewed a single mom yesterday who's just not going to have insurance at all. Beth Macy, thank you so much. We'll have you back. Really appreciate it. Thanks, Jake. Authorities in Portland, Oregon, just had a news conference on the shooting there involving a border patrol agent and two individuals. The police chief is going to join me next after an emotional moment and a statement he felt he needed to say.

1:09:32We have some breaking news, and our national lead authorities in Oregon have just wrapped up a news conference about Thursday's shooting in Portland that wounded a man and a woman. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman says that the driver of a vehicle tried to run over a Border Patrol agent, and the agent opened fire in self-defense in a social media post today. The Department of Homeland Security stated that both of the individuals who were shot are in the country illegally and associated with the violent international gang Tren de Aragua. Joining us now is Bob Day. He's the chief of the Portland Police Bureau.

1:10:06Chief Day, thanks for joining us. So you just confirmed that the people involved who were shot have some nexus with Tren de Aragua. Tell us more about that. Yeah, Jake, thanks for having me. So in July of last year, we had a reported shooting here in the city. The victim self-identified as a Venezuelan immigrant. That victim expressed to us information around Tren de Aragor TDA, which led to an investigation with some other regional agencies. And we were able to identify these two folks as being associated. That does not mean that they were responsible for the shooting. We do not have them as suspects, but there is an affiliation there, yes.

1:10:51I want to play a moment from your news conference just a few minutes ago. After you revealed the new information, you said you wanted to speak directly to the Latino community. Let's take a look. It saddens me that we even have to qualify these remarks because I understand, or at least have attempted to understand through your voices, your concern, your fear, your anger. Yeah, you seem a bit emotional there as you said that. Just on a human level, what is it like to be a police chief right now in this current political climate? Well, I'm immensely proud to be a Portland police officer and to represent the men and women of the police bureau and have a love and a passion for the city of Portland.

1:11:44In fact, I came out of retirement to do this and I wouldn't be here if I didn't care deeply. And I also have such utmost respect for our Latino community and leaders and all of our immigrant Portlanders. And so balancing the multiple competing views that are occurring both in our community locally and nationally weighs on me heavily as I try to meet the demands and expectations of all Portlanders and their value and worth and what it means to me in the area of public safety. President Trump has sure had a lot to say about Portland and how safe Portland is. He's described it, it sounds like a war zone the way he describes it.

1:12:24Yeah, that's disappointing. We have had our issues. I am not one to shy away from the challenges the city faces. This past year We saw a reduction in homicide by double digits. We've seen a reduction in our fatalities. We've seen a significant reduction in our shootings. Auto theft is down almost 30 percent. Our applications and hiring is growing. People are seeking the Portland Police Bureau as a place to work. The city is experiencing a time of renaissance under Mayor Wilson. And I'm really greatly encouraged and hopeful to build on that in 2026. Portland Police Chief Bob Day, thank you so much for your time today, sir.

1:13:05Appreciate it. Thanks, Jake. Take care and be safe. A stunner tonight from The New York Times reporting that the Washington National Opera is leaving the Kennedy Center, or more accurately, they're leaving the Trump Kennedy Center. We're going to talk about this one and more next.

1:13:26Back in our politics lead, we heard some unusually strong criticism from German President Frank Walter Steinmeier, who is saying that the Trump administration is destroying world order. And he's warning against, quote, turning into a den of robbers where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want, where regions or entire countries are treated as the property of a few great powers, unquote. Our panel is back with us. You should just know, I mean, Germany is a very close ally of the United States. Yeah, I don't really, whatever a Walter Steinmeier is, I don't really take much stock. The president.

1:14:04President, a lot of power. Not a Josh Moe. Yeah, no, but I will say this, you know, I think he's, I assume he's talking about Venezuela, for instance. One of the things that has not been talked about when it comes to Venezuela is, you know, the Germans are so emphatic that we need to be helping Ukraine. The Russian arms stockpile in Venezuela is the most outside of any active war zone. Venezuela got$9 billion, the most in the Western Hemisphere, of foreign weapons. Us being able to have at least some counterintelligence into that will help Ukraine, will help the Germans. And look, if they want to step up, if we stop paying for social services to really essentially bribe their population of immigration and step up with some national defense.

1:14:42Which it is a largely ceremonial position, the president. I don't want to overstate it. What's your reaction? What do you have to say? Well, it's not just Venezuela. I think what he is stating is a reaction and a sentiment that is shared by many, I think, leaders, especially in Europe. And this is not the first time we've heard of this kind of sentiment coming from our own allies, where they no longer, and there was even like a global poll that was done on this, they no longer can count on the United States to be the staunch ally that it has been up until now. And all of this is since Trump took office.

1:15:16Why? Because he has pulled us out of so many of global trade alliances and PACs and everything that kind of focuses on trying to make things better for the global community. Venezuela is certainly a part of it. How he's now talking about Greenland. He's talking about going after Colombia and Mexico. I mean, the way that he talks, the warmongering language coming out of this president, I think leads to these kinds of comments. We all remember in Trump's first term when he and Pope Francis would have words or Pope Francis would say something and President Trump would have words on Twitter. Pope Leo, the first American pope, is also expressing some concern.

1:15:57He, during his very first State of the World Address, said this. War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading. The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined. Now, look, he could be talking about any number of countries, including Russia and Ukraine. But, I mean, he might also be talking about Venezuela. He might be. I didn't know. Frankly, war was out of vogue. I guess I must have been asleep for the last 70 years. But look, certainly I love the Pope. He has his priorities.

1:16:39We have ours. We have obviously if we want to be strong in the world stage, as we were just talking about, we have to take a leadership role in some of this. And I think Venezuela takes a part of that. And obviously these are the same Europeans that want us to step up in Ukraine. So you can't have it both ways. Certainly you can't say that, you know, war is terrible and you can't show leadership in the world stage. but then, you know, beg for it when the time comes as well. But that's the Pope's job. He has to decry war. He has to do ours. That is the Pope's job. And what's interesting is to see how J.D.

1:17:08Vance, a Catholic, right, responds to those kinds of comments. But for Pope Leo to say something like that, Jake, as you know, he's a little bit less, not bombastic, but outspoken than Pope Francis was. And for him to say something like this, I think really hits home with a similar issue that what we were talking about, the German president, right? I think people on the global stage are lamenting that the United States, whereas we used to be very confident in our military power, that we didn't have to go out there and talk about it and threaten our allies and try to get cozy with strongmen. That's what Trump is doing, and I don't think it's doing the United States any favors reputationally across the world.

1:17:54I will just say it's a feature, not a bug. If Trump is getting criticized by the ceremonial German president and the pope, who we like, that's not something he sees as a disadvantage. And it's not going to incentivize him to stop. It's going to incentivize him to continue. And I think that's a problem. This news just coming in today, the Washington National Opera says that they're going to part ways with the Kennedy Center, or more accurately, we should probably say they're parting ways with the Trump Kennedy Center. A statement provided to The New York Times says the group decided to, quote, seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity.

1:18:28This does follow a wave of recent cancellations, including Bella Fleck after President Trump and his installed individuals, his allies on the board there, sought more control over the Performing Arts Center, even renaming it the Trump Kennedy Center. center. This is having a financial cost, what the president has done with the Kennedy Center. I'm curious. Again, we know we know in this story, it's broken in the last hour. I'm curious how, what the enforcement mechanisms are for this affiliation agreement. Is it one-sided or is there some type of lease or contract that they have to honor? And if that's the case, does this go into court one way or another?

1:19:05It's an unfortunate situation all the way around. I'm not sure if there's enforcement mechanisms on a contract, on an agreement. How does that happen? And we will know in the next days or weeks. I just think it's such a shame that a storied institution like the Kennedy Center is losing these kinds of performances, the culture, the art, the history. And I've heard of so many other artists that have just canceled outright. Because, again, this is not dissimilar to what we were talking about before. the way that Trump has insinuated himself into this institution, this storied institution, and is essentially making everyone think we're not welcome there, or we don't agree with the way that this guy is now kind of taking over the Kennedy Center, taking over politics, the way that he talks.

1:19:55It's, I think, very similar, whereas it's culture, it's our arts, and they don't want anything to do with the president of the United States. I do wonder, Matt, and we only have a minute left, like how much of this is stylistic. But with both of these stories, one, it's not so much the military operation in Venezuela, perhaps, as is it is the expression of, oh, now we're going to go to Colombia. Now we're going to go to Mexico. Now we're going to Cuba. Now we're going to seize Greenland. It's not so much the Trump people taking over the Kennedy Center as it was the renaming of it. It's possible that that's part of it.

1:20:28Look, I take your point, but I also would say we've been having these stylistic conversations for 10 years now. If people are suddenly dawning that Trump, you know, he has a different style than most politicians, then I don't, you must have been under a rock for the last 10 years, I guess. And again, I think when ceremonial presidents or having picking fights at the Kennedy Center, Harvard, that benefits him in his mind and certainly among his base more than anything else. That is not something he's going to stop because the Washington National Opera was offended. That's why his poll numbers are so high, right?

1:20:58All right. Opera probably. Thanks to both of you. There's a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding the latest film starring our next guest, Ethan Hawke. The actor joins the lead to dish on that and what has become a touching family affair.

1:21:16We write together for a quarter of a century. And the first show he writes with someone else is going to be the biggest hit he ever had. Am I bitter? Yes. In our pop culture lead, a famous songwriter walks into a bar. No, I'm not starting a joke. That's the premise for one of this year's buzziest films, Blue Moon. It follows American lyricist Lorenz Hart, played by Ethan Hawke, as Hart reflects on himself and just about everything else, while his former partner, Richard Rogers, celebrates the opening of his new musical, Oklahoma. Joining us now is the star of Blue Moon, Ethan Hawke. Ethan, it's a fantastic film, very performance-driven.

1:21:56Your character is, it's not a monologue, but there's a lot of dialogue. It feels like a play, and I mean that in a good way. Was it a daunting task for you because it is all in one room, in one setting, on one night? Yeah, I mean, what you're speaking of is the challenges of, was it daunting? Yeah, but when you started acting when you were 14, you kind of hunger for those weird challenges. I first read this script and it was just brilliant. I couldn't believe how wonderful this dialogue was. And I just wanted the film to exist. Learning the lines for it, I would just sit there up all night giggling.

1:22:33So, yeah, it was daunting, but it was the reason to do the movie. You've worked with the director, Richard Linklater, so many times over the years. Does having a guy like Richard Linklater there, having such a strong working relationship with the director, make it easier to become somebody so unlike you? It was, it's a really interesting question. Linkletter has spent years of his life editing my performances. He knows every trick in my toolbox. And he came up to me early in rehearsal and said, the job here is I don't want to see you for the next five weeks. I need you to disappear. And so every time that I'd be working and doing a speech or doing a scene and I would feel like it was going well, afterwards he would look at me and say, I saw you.

1:23:22It was basically a deductive process of how to get rid of all my normal, you know, the skill sets that I used to perform and try to come up with new ones. The way that Lorenz Hart bounces from character to character in this bar with jokes and stories commanding the room, it's so different from how he interacts with this woman, Elizabeth Whelan, played by Margaret Qualley. Can you talk a bit about how you approach the scenes with her? Well, one of the things that made this part so unbelievable is that it was the correlation of opposites. He, you know, if you see a very overweight person dance beautifully, that's the correlation of opposite.

1:24:04You can't take your eyes off of them. Marlon Brando is a perfect example. Deeply masculine, deeply feminine performer. And so there was this magic to him. And Larry Hart was the smallest, most diminutive person in the room and the biggest person in the room. He's a closeted homosexual and he's in love with a woman. He's vain and bitter and he's warm and hospitable. And so it was, to do these scenes with Margaret was the most magic element of the film because he is madly in love with her and he's probably gay. So this is a story about a writer. It talks extensively about writing. There's a, E.B.

1:24:43White is a character in the film. Did you work with the script writers at all to change any of the script, to fine-tune the lines, to bolster the performance? Well, people who know Linklater's work well know that he's an incredibly patient man. Rick gave me the script over 10 years ago, and we would do a reading of it about every other year. And we would all give notes. Robert Kaplow wrote the first script, and it was brilliant out of the gate. But Rick understood the level of difficulty here. or try to do a movie in real time in one place, and to make that cinematic was a huge task to make that interesting and dynamic for the audience.

1:25:23And so we would just work on it and polish it and polish it and polish it and polish it, until finally after about 10 years, Rick said, all right, we're ready, let's shoot this thing. Before you go, I have to ask you a question on behalf of my 18-year-old daughter, because your daughter is having a Dead Poets Society of her own right now. She just closed this worldwide phenomenon. She's one of the actors on Stranger Things. What is that like to see your daughter go through kind of what you went through with Dead Poets Society, just this universal acclaim and love? You know, the world is full of all this noise about what's difficult about aging.

1:26:04And they don't tell you these secret magic blessings that are coming your way. watching your kids develop into adults that you admire is like the greatest gift of my life right now. She called me, wished me luck right before this interview, you know? And, you know, we had a laugh about it. You know, there's some stuff online that there's some scenes and stranger things that are slightly reminiscent of a scene and reality bites. And we were daydreaming about whether that was deliberate or subconscious or, but she's absolutely wonderful. And her siblings are incredible as well. And we spent New Year's watching Maya on Stranger Things, just like the rest of America.

1:26:44And I couldn't imagine. It's the best New Year's of my life. Ethan, it's so great talking to you. Thank you so much. Congratulations on the movie Blue Moon. Keep up the great work. Thank you. It's available to rent, buy online right now. Fantastic film. Ethan Hawke, thanks. Coming up Sunday morning, a special two-hour State of the Union starting at 8 a.m. Eastern. We're going to have Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma. Then at 9 Eastern, we're going to have Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O 'Hara.

1:27:20We'll also have an exclusive interview with the governor of Illinois, Democrat J.B. Pritzker. That's all Sunday on CNN and on the CNN app. And until then, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, ThreadsX, Blue Sky, and on the TikTok at JigTapper. You can follow the show on X and on Instagram at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can watch the show on the CNN app. Erin Burnett out front starts now. I will see you Sunday morning.

1:27:53Your business is digital. Why isn't your mail? Meet Stable, a virtual address and mailbox that digitizes your physical mail, so you can read it, act on it, and manage everything from forwarding packages to depositing checks, all from Stable's secure online dashboard. Whether your team is remote or inundated with mail, Stable makes it easy for operations and admin teams to manage mail at scale. Try it at use stable.com slash pod to unlock 50 % off your first three months of a grow or scale plan. I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy. This week on the podcast Terms of Service, there's a growing category of products aimed specifically at addressing women's unique health needs.

1:28:32These tools and services are sometimes known as femtech, and they can provide big opportunities and benefits, but they can also come with some risks. To walk us through all of this, I spoke with Bethany Corbin. Bethany is an attorney and CEO of Fem Innovation, where she advises startups, clinicians and health care organizations. In my opinion, what it really does is gives us a collective language to talk about women's healthcare innovation and the tools that are out there so that we can take control of our healthcare experiences and know how to advocate for ourselves in a system that's probably not been designed to advocate for us.

1:29:07Listen to CNN's Terms of Service wherever you get your podcasts.