Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240702

Minister, for the new package in military aid you recently announced, and it is for ukraine. Look, australia and the United States also share in may view the commitment to uphold International Rules of the road. Including freedom of navigation. Just this past week, prc vessels acted dangerously and unlawfully as our philippine friends conducted a routine supply mission within their own Economic Zone in the South China Sea. I want to be clear, i want to be very clear. The United States defense commitment to the philippines is iron clad. Any attack on the filipino aircraft vessels will invoke our mutual Defense Treaty with the philippines. Mr. Prime minister, today we renewed our commitment to defend the values that are part of this alliance. We continue to stand as one to focus on all the region. I want to thank you for being here. Thank you for your partnership and your leadership in this critical moment. I would like to turn it over to you. Were going to continue to monitor this joint News Conference between the australian Prime Minister and the president of the United States. The Prime Minister is about to make remarks. Well monitor that. And then two questions from australian journalists. Well have that for you as well. As we were listening to the president of the United States, the House Of Representatives made it official. There is a new speaker of the House Of Representatives, representative mike johnson of louisiana. 51 years old. He will become the next speaker of the house. The republicans finally, after all these weeks, managed to get their act together and do this. None of the republicans were opposed a republican nominee for speaker. None voted against mike johnson this time. He will become the next speaker of the house. The 56th speaker of the house of representes history. And since you and i have been covering washington, congress in particular, the criteria for becoming speaker was multiple issues. And one was experience. Another was raising money for your colleagues so they felt that they could give Something Back in return. Namely a vote for speaker. And the ability to lead. To be a proven leader. And mike johnson has none of those things. He has none of those quauflitie. None of of those characteristics. In this particular environment, that was the biggest plus for him. That was it. That he doesnt have a lot of personal baggage. In this environment, the connections that leaders have made have only made enemies out of a lot of the people in their own. That speaks volumes about where the House Republican conference is and frankly, where the Republican Party is right now that is still led by the former president donald trump. Very significant historic moment indeed. I want to bring in jake tapper joining us from tel aviv. Youve been watching Congress Like all of us for a long time. The republicans, i keen saying they finally got their act together. This is truly an historic moment. I have known mike johnson, Speaker Johnson for about 18 years. I covered a story in louisiana in 2005. There was a parrish that kept bringing christian priests into their parrish to do school prayer, even though courts kept telling them not to do so. The aclu kept challenging them to stop. And he was, mike johnson at the time worked for a conservative group called the Alliance Defense fund, i believe it was called. And at the time, i remember being impressed at how smooth an operator he was. How he was able to present very conservative viewpoints, very religious conservative viewpoints in a very mildmannered and smooth way. And i remember thinking, this is going to be a congress someday. I did not, i will confess, i did not think he would be speaker of the house within 20 years of that moment. But its not entirely a sprays that he has risen so quickly. He has an ability to seem a lot more main stream than i think his ideology actually is. So it is not entirely a surprise that he has been able to rise so quickly. And i think the American People will see, he seems very mild mannered. He is very smart, very charming. His ideology is very far to the right. Hes very conservative. He is a true believer. And it will be very interesting to see if thats a liability for him. Given that i think the center of his party is not as conservative as him. The center of the country is much more close to the center. I dont know that it will be a liability for him at all. It will be interesting to see. It certainly will be. And i assume in the coming days and weeks, all of us will learn a will the more about mike johnson, the next speaker of the House Of Representatives. Youre in tel aviv right now. I assume you heard what President Biden had to say about the israelhamas war ongoing right now. The president was very supportive of israels right and font to protect itself. He was very critical of Israeli Settler in the west bank attacking palestinians in the west bank and he was very strong in reaffirming his commitment to what is call a twostate solution. Israel alongside the new state of palestine. I wonder how the palestinians in The Middle East where you are will react to what we just heard from the president. It was very interesting. He seem to be attempting to strike a balance. First of all, i dont know that his views that hamas does not represent the views of palestinians is completely agreed upon. Michael orrin, the former israeli ambassador to the United States, youve had him on your show. Im had him on my show. His view is that hamas is actually representative of what palestinians generally believe and in fact, he argued that the reason the Palestinian Authority on the west bank has denied the people of the west bank an election in years and years is because if they were to have free and Fair Elections in the west bank, hamas would win in a rout. That is his argument. Beyond that. I think the larger point is that the Terrorist Tactics of hamas should not be blamed on the 2. 3 million right now well look at some of the footage on the hill. We see that Speaker Johnson, newly elected Speaker Johnson is being welcomed on the floor of the house. He is relatively new to congress. Lets break in right now. Well listen to President Biden. Mr. President , i want to ask about the conflict, the war in The Middle East. 24 u. S. Troops have been injured during ten drone or Rocket Attacks on bases in iraq and three in syria over the past week. Youve told iran to, quote, be careful as your administration tries to prevent the israelihamas war from expanding into a larger middle east conflict. Should americans be worried that the war already is escalating . And after you answer that question, one more followup, plays. One or two more. Look. Weve had troops in the region since 9 11 to go after isis and prevent reemergence in both anyway, in the region. Having nothing to do with israel at all. My warning to the ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond. And he should be prepared. Nothing to do with israel. I want to discuss your conversations with Prime Minister netanyahu who obviously, youve known for decades. And you had a very emotional trip there last week to israel. Have you sought assurances from him that he will hold off on a Ground Invasion into gaza until the safe release of the hostages can be assured . And of course, those include ten unaccounted for americans. No. What i have indicated to him is that if thats possible to get these folks out safely, thats what they should do. It is their decision. I did not demand it. I said if it is , should be done. Are the hostages in jeopardy . Do you want to make a speech . Obviously theyre in jeopardy. The question is whether or not there is any way of getting them out. If we can get them out, we should get them out. Prime minister, will again to washington. President biden canceled his may trip to australia because of Debt Ceiling Talks in congress to avoid a first ever default here in the u. S. More recently congressional action has stalled as House Republicans tried to pick a speaker. It does appear since we now hear that the house has elected a congressman, mike johnson from louisiana, to that role. Are you worried the grid lock In Washington will hold up the transfer of nuclearpowered subs to australias part of the agreement and are you concerned that the dysfunction makes the u. S. Less reliable partner . The United States is a very reliable partner. And i regard the relationship that i have with the president as second to none. Of the relationships i have around the world or indeed domestically for that matter. It is a relationship of trust. And i think this visit symbolizes that. This is the ninth visit that ive had with President Biden. I got to meet President Biden when he was vice President Biden some years ago. Im very confident with the discussions ive had with democrats and republicans that there is very broad support for the aukus arrangements and there will be support for the legislation going forward. And i think that would be a very good thing. It is in the interests of australia but also in the interests of the United States. And everyone that i have spoken to, similarly in the United Kingdom across the political spectrum, are all supporting of the aukus arrangements. We in australia, one question each. Good try. Channel 10 australia. President biden, just saying aukus. Aukus is in many ways your creation. Australias largest ever defense deal. And the Prime Minister has gone all in. Can you give a personal guarantee that you can get all the necessary legislation through congress . And lock flag this deal essentially, futureproofing it before the end of the president ial term . Do you know anyone in Elective Office that can give a personal guarantee . We would like to you try. Im going to try and i believe it will get done. Last being we requested 3. 4 billion in supplemental funds to boost Submarine Production and maintenance to meet u. S. Needs and also support aukus. Australia is making a significant investment in the United States and its ability to produce submarines is part of deal. More importantly, its important that Congress Move quickly. The fact is im confident we can get this done. You remember when we put the deal together. The response of democrats and republicans. The response in the free world that this is a very good thing. So the question is not if but when. And they have a new speaker. I hope thats true. We have to get moving. We have to get moving. So im confident that well get the money for aukus. Its overwhelmingly in our interest. I was asked by xi jinping. Are we going to surround china. No. Unilaterally to change the rules of the road in terms of what constitutes International Air space and water space. So thats what this is all about. About making sure we have a close and in addition to the fact that we put together the quad which is a very important piece as well. Its about maintaining stability in the taiwan strait, the indian ocean. That whole area. And i think it will increase the prospects for longterm piece rather than anything else. Okay. Pbs. Miss lopez. If i may, i have a Breaking News Question and then an israel one. First, after 22 days, House Republicans just elected mike johnson of louisiana as the speaker of the house. Johnson advocated Conspiracy Theories about Voting Machines and a rigged election in 2020. He encouraged his colleagues to join a lawsuit to invalidate the results of four states. So if you win reelection in 2024, are you worried that a Speaker Johnson would again attempt to overturn the election . No. Just like i was not worried that the last guy would be able to overturn the election. About 60 lawsuits and all the way to the Supreme Court and every time they lost. I understand the constitution. If i may very quickly, in the 18 days since hamas killed 1,400 israelis, the hamascontrolled Gaza Ministry said Israeli Forces have killed over 6,000 palestinians including 2,700 children. Youve previously asked netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties. Do these numbers say to you that hes ignoring the message . I have no notion if palestinians are telling the truth about how many have been killed. Im sure innocents have been killed and it is the price of waging war. I think we should be incredibly careful. Not we. Israelis should be incredibly careful to ensure theyre going after the folks that are propagating this war against israel. And its against their interests when that doesnt happen. I have no confidence in the number that the palestinians are using. Thank you. Prime minister, youre traveling to china early next month. President biden has said china should expect extreme competition from the United States. Do you support extreme competition with china and what does that look like for you . Well, we have strategic competition in our region. Thats a fact that we are living with. The relationship with china is one where the principle that i bring to it is to cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, but engage in our national interests. It is in australias interests, as well as china. I believe in the global interests for us to have a relationship where there is dialogue. Hence, i welcome the fact that i have been invited to china. Ill be at the same time as we will commemorate since the first visit by the australian minister to china. In a short period of time now. Sight that is a positive thing. The senior representatives have had meetings with their chinese counterparts in recent times. Dialogue is always a good thing. Through dialogue comes understanding. And it comes a diffusion of tension. We want a peaceful and secure region. But we want one as well that is based upon the rule of law and where national sovereignty, including issues such as the right of passage in the china sea, the taiwan straits, is respected. That is their position. We cooperate very much with the United States on those matters and others. I look forward to a constructive dialogue when i visit shanghai and beijing. Extreme competition was not conflict. Read the whole paragraph. It talked about, we are going to compete with china on every way, according to International Rules. Exe economically, politically and other ways but im not looking for conflict. President biden has mentioned to meet the chinese president and premier. You have raised concerns about the Chinese Communist governments aggressive coercion and intimidation tactics, Maritime Claims in the South China Sea as weve seen with the situation with the philippines. State sponsored cyber attacks. Last week we heard from the spy chiefs talking about theft of Intellectual Property on an industrial scale. And obviously, human rights abuses. What do you make of chinas reengagement with australia . Can australia trust beijing . And can australia do business with china . Trust but verify is the phrase. And look. China is having their own internal and external difficulties right now. Chinas Economic Growth is stagnant compared to what it was. China has engaged in activities that russia and many other activities as others have engaged in in terms of intimidation and dealing with other countries. The fact is that i have met with xi jinping more than any other world leader has. Ive had over 68 hours of private meetings. He and i with simultaneous interpreters starting back when i was vice president. Wasnt appropriate for a president of the United States to be meeting with the vice president. So i traveled 17,000 miles. And i have subsequently, in addition to that 68 hours, ive also had another, they tell me i keep meticulous contact. Another 12 to 15 hours of discussions just he and i. And i think that he is realizing that there are, for example, his initiative. Were going to compete on that. Were doing it a different way. The belt only Road Initiative has ended up dead in the nasa f, dead. It is for the very nations hes trying to deal with. For example, the g20. We were able to act on a proposal i had to build a railroad all the way from riyadh all the way through The Middle East, a east, saudi arabia, israel, the pipeline across the mediterranean up into europe. Youre the reliable, in terms of when you say youll deliver something i hope, not just me. I hope the United States is a reliable partner when we act. Wasnt just the United States who agreed on that. Even to this day, when my discussions with the saudis, the crown prince. He wants to see a Reconciliation Take place. Its overwhelming in his interests. Its in saudis interests. The idea that you would have the nations of The Middle East cooperating, economically and politically. It changes significantly. I think that it is something that is in everyones interests, including longterm, in chinas interests. Have you had a chance to speak tow Benjamin Netanyahu . I know there have been efforts made. Obviously the president was in israel last week. Are you still endeavoring to speak to the israeli Prime Minister . I am. I have spoken with the israeli Prime Minister on a number of occasions. We understand that obviously, mr. Netanyahu has pressures on, which at the top of the list is not were going to break away from the white house for a few moments. I want to go to the historic moment of the House Of Representatives. Hakeem jeffries is about to introduce the next speaker of the house mike johnson who has just been elected. From the great state of louisiana, and the 56th speaker of the United States House Of Representatives, the honorable mike johnson. Thank you. Thank you all. First, a few words of gratitude. I want to thank leader jeffries. I do look forward to working with you on behalf of the American People. I know we see things from different Points Of View but i know in your heart you want to do whats right so well find Common Ground there. All right . I want to express my great thanks for our speaker emeritus, Kevin Mccarthy. Kevin has dedicated over two decades of his life to selfless public service. 16 of those years in this house. And you would be hardpressed to find anybody who loves this institution more or has contributed more to it. He is the reason were in this majority today. His impact can never be overstated. I want to thank him for his leadership, his friendship and the selfless sacrifice that you and judy have made for so many years. You helped build it. I want to thank the dedication of this beleaguered house. They accept praise so stoically. But miss susan cole, our House Reading clerk yes, yes. Listen, all the clerks and all the staff. You know, theyre terribly overworked. This has been a grueling process. They have served an integral role in keeping our republic and we thank them for that service. I know we all do. I want to thank my dedicated wife of almost 25 years, kelly. Shes not here. We couldnt get a flight in time. This happened sort of suddenly. But were going to celebrate soon. She spent the last couple weeks in her knees in prayer to the lord and shes a little worn out. We all are. I want to thank you our children. All of our children sacrifice. All of them do and we know that. Theres not a lot of perks to being a member of congresss kid, right . So i want to thank all your families for what theyve had to endure and the last few weeks. Weve been here a while. I want to thank my faithful mother, jeanie johnson, who bore me at the age of 17. And my brothers chris and josh and my sister laura and all their families and extended family. And louisiana family, its a big deal. I want to thank all the Extraordinary People of the great state of louisiana. We have never had a speaker of the house hail from our state and so theyve been lifting us up. I thank the people of louisiana for the opportunity to serve you in congress and i am humbled by your continued support. We will make you proud. To my colleagues. I want to thank you for the trust that youve instilled in me to lead us in this historic and unprecedented moment that were in. The challenge before us is great but the time for action is now. And i will not let you down. I want to say to the American People on behalf of all of us here, we hear you. We know the challenges youre facing. We know that theres a lot going on in our country. Domestically and abroad and we are ready to get to work again to solve those problems. And we will. Our mission here is to serve you well. To restore the peoples faith in this house, in this great and essential institution. My dad, my dad was a firefighter. He was an Assistant Chief in the Fire Department if my home town in shreveport, louisiana. On september 17, 1984, when i was 12 years old, he was critically burned and permanently disabled in the line of duty. All i ever wanted to be when i grew up was the chief of the Fire Department in shreveport. But after the explosion on that fateful day, he nearly died and it was a long road back. It changed all of our life trajectories. Im the oldest of four kids. My dad, he lived the rest of his life for decades more. I lost my dad to cancer three days before i got elected to congress. Three days. And he wanted to be there at my Election Night so badly. Im the First College graduate in my family. This was a big deal to him. So several weeks after that, it was early 2017, it was my freshman term. And it fell to me to be in the roster to serve as speaker pro tem. I thought that was a big deal until i found out thats what you do for freshmen late at night. And i want to, if my memory serves, miss jackson lee was winding down one of her long eloquent speeches. And not that i was not enhar enraptured by her speech. I looked up and i saw the face of moses staring down. I felt in that moment the weight of this place. The history that is revered here and the future that we are called to forge. And i really was just almost overwhelmed with emotion. It occurred to me in that moment. It had been several weeks and i had not had the opportunity to grieve my dads passing. And i had the sense that somehow he knew. And i had tears come to my eyes and i was standing here. Im wiping them away and it suddenly occurs to me, the late night cspan viewers will think something is very wrong with the young congressman from louisiana. Wasnt her speech. I just knew that my dad, my father would be proud of me. And i felt that he was. I think all of our parents are proud of what were called to do here. All the American People at one time had great pride in this institution. But right now, that is in jeopardy. And we have a challenge before us right now to rebuild and restore that trust. This is a beautiful country. Its the beauty of america that allows a firefighters kid like me to come here and serve in this Sacred Chamber where great men and women have served before all of us and strived together to build and preserve what lincoln did refer to as the last best hope of man on earth. We stand at a very dangerous time. Im stating the objection. The world is in turmoil. But a Strong America is good for the entire world. We are the beacon of freedom and we must preserve this grand observance in selfgovernance. Were only 247 years into this grand experiment and we dont know how long it will last. We do know the founders told us to take good care of it. I want to tell all my colleagues here what i told the republicans in that room last night. I dont believe there are any coincidences. I believe the bible is very clear. That god is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you. All of us. And i believe that god has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific time. This is my belief. That i believe each one of us has a huge responsibility today to use the gifts that god has given us to serve the Extraordinary People of this Great American country and they deserve it. To ensure that our republican remains standing as the great beacon of light and hope and freedom in a world that desperately needs it. It was in 1962, 1962, our National Motto In God We Trust was adorned above this rostrum. If you look at the guide they give constituents and visitors, if you turn to page 14, it tell you the history of this. It says very simply, these words were placed above us. This motto was placed here as a rebuke of the cold war era philosophy of the soviet union. That philosophy was marxism and communism which begins with the premise that there is no god. This is a critical distinction that is also articulated in our nations birth certificate. We know the language well. The famous second paragraph that we used to have children memorize in school and they dont do that so often anymore but they should. Gk chesterton was the famous British Philosophy and statesman. He said america is the only nation in the world founded upon a creed. He said it is listed. We hold these truths to be selfevident. That all men are created equal. Not born erik balance. Created equal. And theyre endowed by the same inalienable rights. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. That is the creed that has made us the great nation that we are. And were in a time of extraordinary crisis right now. And the world needs us to be strong. They need us to remember our cr creed. Turmoil has rocked The Middle East and europe. Tensions continue to build in the indopacific. The country demands strong leadership of this body and we must not waver. The first bill that ill bring to this floor in just a little while will be in support of our dear friend israel. And were overdue in getting that done. Were going to show not only israel but the entire world that the barbarism of hamas that we have all seen play out on our Television Screens is wretched and wrong and were going to stand for the good in that conflict. We have a catastrophe at our southern border. The senate and the white house can no longer ignore the problem. From texas to new york, wave after wave of Illegal Migrants are stressing our communities to their breaking points. We know our streets are bein flooded with fentanyl and all of our communities, children, and even adults are dying from it. The status quo is unacceptable. Inaction is unacceptable. We must come together and address the broken border. We have to do it. The Skyrocketing Cost Of Living is unsustainable and americans should not have to worry about how theyll feed their family every week. Because they cant afford their groceries anymore. Everybody in this room should think about this. Here are the stats. Prices have increased over 17 in the last two years. Credit card Interest Rates are at the highest level in nearly three decades and Mortgage Rates are at a peak we havent seen since 2001. We have to bring relief to the American People by reigning in federal spending and bringing down inflation. The greatest threat to our National Security is our nations debt. While weve been sitting in this room thats right. The debt has crossed almost 33. 6 trillion. And the time that it will take me to deliver this speech it will go up another 20 million in debt. Its unsustainable. We have to get the country back on track. We know this wont be an easy task and tough decisions will have to be made. The consequences, if we dont act now, are unbearable. We have a duty to the American People to explain this to them so they understand it well, and we are going to establish a Bipartisan Debt Commission to begin working on this crisis immediately. Immediately. We know that we live in a time of bitter partisanship. It was noted and its been on display. When our people are losing their faith in government. When theyre losing sight of the principles that made us the greatest nation in the history of the world. I think we have to be mindful of that. Were going to fight. Were going to fight vigorously over our Core Principles. Because theyre at odds in this modern era. We have to sacrifice because thats what is necessary but we will defend our Core Principles to the end. In his Farewell Address thank you. In his favorite address, President Reagan explained the secret of his rapport with people. And i like to paraphrase his explanation. They said they call me the great communicator. I really wasnt that. He said i was just communicating great things. And that the same great things that have guided our nation since its founding. What are they . The seven principle of american conservatism. Let me say i think it is quintessentially the Core Principles of our nation. I boil them down to individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity. Those are the foundations that made us the extraordinary nation that we are. And you and i today are the stewards of those principles. The things that have made us the freest, most powerful, most successful nation in the history of the world. The thing that have made us truly exceptional. And in this time of great crisis, it is our duty to Work Together as previous generations of great leaders have to solve great problems. The job of the speaker of the house is to serve the whole body and i will. Ive made a commitment to my colleagues here that this Speakers Office is going to be known for decentralizing the power here. My office will be known for members being more involved in our processes, in all the major decisions made here for predictable processes and regular order. We owe that to the people. I want to make this commitment to you to my colleagues here and the other side of the aisle as well. My office will be known for trust and transparency and accountability. For good stewardship of the peoples treasure. For the honesty and integrity on all of us here in the peoples house. Our system of government is not a perfect system. Its got a lot of challenges. But it is still the best one in the world. And we have an opportunity to preserve it. The last thing ill say is a message to the rest of the world. They have been watching this drama play out for a few weeks. Weve learned a lot of lessons. Through adversity, it makes you stronger. Yeah. And we want our allies around the world to know that this body of lawmakers is reporting again to our duty stations. Let the Enemies Of Freedom Around The World hear us loud and clear. The peoples house is back in business. Thank you. Thank you. We will do our duty here. We will serve you well. Well make you proud of this institution again. Well fight every day to make sure thats true. I genuinely believe in my heart that the best days of america are still ahead of us. God bless you and god bless the United States of america. Thank you. Thank you. Im now ready to take the oath of office. And i ask the dean of the House Of Representatives, the honorable Harold Rogers of kentucky to please administer the oath of office. Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your election. Thank you, sir. When our Founding Fathers chose a bold, new, and Innovative New selfrule government, it was met by Deep Skepticism by the worlds monarchs. They said selfrule . Its only a dream. Our founders said, theyre right. Its the american dream. Amen. Now, its our dream. Were in charge. The speakership of the United States House Of Representatives is the crucial outpost for the wellbeing of the peoples government. The keeper, if you will, of the dream. Sir, if you wish to assume this awesome responsibility, please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any Mental Reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god . I do. So help me god. Congratulations, mr. Speaker. Would you all like to get right into governing . For what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition . Mr. Speaker that has a nice ring to it, by the way. Mr. Speaker, a privileged resolution to notify the senate of the election of mike johnson as speaker of the House Of Representatives and ask for its immediate consideration. The clerk will report the resolution. House resolution 810 resolve that a message be sent to the senate to inform that body that mike johnson, a representative from the state of louisiana, has been elected speaker of the House Of Representatives. Without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to consider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, to notify President Biden of the election of mike johnson as speaker of the house. And i have the privileged resolution to ask for its immediate consideration. The clerk will report the resolution. House resolution 811. Resolved that the clerk be instructed to inform the president of the United States that the House Of Representatives has elected mike johnson so its now official. There is a new speaker of the House Of Representatives mike johnson of louisiana. He was not only elected but he has now been sworn in. Hes no longer speaker designate. Hes the speaker of the House Of Representatives. This is an historic moment indeed. No doubt about that, wolf. You heard in his remarks, he said that theyve learned something through these last few weeks of turmoil. He was trying to tell the world that the United States, this body, the House Of Representatives, has learned something. And that now they are back in business. And i think the proof will be in the pudding on that. We have to wait to see what was learned. I remember Kevin Mccarthy said we went through this. Now weve learned how to govern together. And he was out of a job a few months later. So the challenge before mike johnson is enormous and it is happening at a time where were not just divided politically, in our corners, as a country like that. Where his own party in this body has shown an inability to actually assume the majority and move the country forward in some way. That will be his challenge to lead. He was very generous in his remarks, first of all, thanking jeffries, and then saying that mccarthy was the reason we are here in this majority today, Giving Mccarthy his due. And then it was a speech that was heavy on personal history. Not so much on politics. He did talk about support for an israel resolution and talked a little about the broken border, did not mention ukraine. But you know, for a first go, it was sort of what you would expect from a speaker who wants to play indicate everybody, at least in the beginning. All right. Amidst all of this, theres more Breaking News were following right now. A very, very different story. I want to go to following the Donald Trump Civil Fraud Trial in new york. Taking the stand a little while ago to answer questions about the gag order hes under. What is happening in the courtroom . Reporter yeah, wolf. This is taking the stand. Not as someone to testify but in response to that gag order that was issued by this judge earlier in this trial. Let me back up to explain. During one of the breaks, the former president went into the hall as he usually does to make some comments. What he said, he called the judge partisan and he said the person sitting next to him is very partisan. Now, keep in mind that gag order, when it was put in place by this judge said that trump could not speak ill about anyone on his staff. Well, everyone was brought back into the courtroom. There were a few side bars. And the judge asked trump who he was talking about. His lawyers responded and trump said, his lawyer said trump was talking about the judge and the person sitting next to him who was Michael Cohen who was testifying at the time. I need the back up a little to explain what it looks like in the courtroom. In this courtroom, the judge is in the middle. To his right is his court clerk. To his left is the person testifying. So the judge took it that trump was talking about his court clerk, which would have been a violation of this gag order. There was a break in the courtroom. And then once lunch had come back, the judge made trump take the stand and under oath, say who he was talking about. The former president took the stand and again said he was talking about the judge and Michael Cohen in his comments. Well, the moment trump left the stand, the judge said this. As a trier of fact, i find that the witness is not credible and he was referring to my law clerk. He fined the president 10,000. Now, again, the former president , 10,000. This is the second time that he has received a fine based off this gag order and violating it. Trumps attorneys at this point are fighting back essentially saying that he cant say he was lying. He just took the oath and they also were complaining about the fact that this law clerk is seated right next to the judge, calling it unusual when law clerks are sitting usually in front of a judge in the courtroom. So there is a big back and forth about this law clerk. Trumps attorneys saying theyre getting this tried by two judges because of the position where this law clerk is sitting. The judge said that he has reconsidered this fine and hes keeping with it. 10,000 fine against the former president for those comments that he made earlier today. So a lot of drama happening in regard to the gag order. This is in addition to the drama unfolding all day with Michael Cohen. The former personal attorney of donald trump on the stand. Thats what were hearing from the courtroom about a 10,000 fine against the president in regard to the gag order. Very interesting indeed. 10,000. Thats the fine. For trump, that is not a lot of money but still significant. Kaitlan collins is working her sources as well. What is your reaction . What should we interpret this development as being . Reporter this gag order has only been in place for 22 days. Now trump has been accused of violating it twice. He has now been fined twice. This fine, it is double the fine that happened the first time. The first fine was because trumps post initially about the judges clearing, the judge said he didnt believe trump was referring to Michael Cohen today. The judge believed that he was referring to that same clerk. That is something that trump had posted at the beginning of october claiming that this clerk was running this case. Implied that she was Chuck Schumers girlfriend. Obviously both baseless claims that trump had posted simply because there was a photo of this clerk in Senator Schumer posted online. So the judge put it in place then saying you can talk about me but do not talk about the court staff. And he is taking this very seriously, wolf. Youre right that 10,000 is not a lot of money for the former president. But he doesnt like to be fined any kind of money. He doesnt like to pay any kind of legal fees. So the notion of the fine in and of itself is not something that will sit well with him. He wont be completely dismissive of it. It does show how seriously the judge is taking this. I think there is a reason why. When trump posted this, it goes out to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. And the reason he got that fine the first time was because the statement was left up on his Campaign Website. It was deleted from his truth social account but left on his Campaign Website which they claimed was inadvertent. The judge still fined them 5,000 for it. Now trump is claiming this person is partisan. Again, he was a saying it to the reporters outside in the hallway, he was saying the person sitting next to the judge, his attorney claimed he was talking about Michael Cohen who was just a few feet away in the witness box. Tell judge was not buying that excuse. His concern is that someone is going to get killed. Thats the quote the judge used today. Trump is targeting lower level Court Staffers and going after them in this situation. And i think you have to look at this through the bigger picture. This is not just happening here in this courtroom in manhattan. Youre also seeing it play out in the courtroom In Washington where judge chutkan imposed that limited order because of what trump has been saying about special counsel jack smith, about the prosecutors working for the special counsels team, and of course, what he has been saying even about the court clerk. Tell judges clerk who is sitting in that courtroom today. What i think the biggest takeaway hear is not the fine in and of itself that it is 10,000. It is that the gag order has been in place less than a month. Trump has violated it twice. The concern the judge has is that this could have serious consequences on peoples lives who were involved in these matters. Important points indeed. I want to get some legal analysis from elie honeig. This happened very quickly. It the most important takeaway is that donald trump took the stand. He was asked questions about who were you referring to, the clerk, which would violate the gag order, or Michael Cohen which would not violate the gag order. Trump said i meant cohen and the judge didnt believe him. So there is a question as to whether donald trump can appeal this. The answer is technically yes, he can try to appeal. He has a very low likelihood of success. What this trial judge has done is make a credibility finding. Those times of findings are usually uniquely in the province of the trial judge. The trial judge will say i was the one in the courtroom. I was the one able to assess his demeanor, to watch him answer. In my judgment this judge has said i do not believe donald trump. Therefore fined against him. And therefore imposed an increased fine. So how unusual is all of this . Very unusual. First of all, to see a going order in the first place. We do see them sometimes. Usually it litigants are very mindful of violating gag orders. Donald trump has done it twice im sure its happened in u. S. History but never in recent his history. Where a person has violated a going order on what they can say outside of a courtroom two different time. Not just this judge but all the judges in the trump cases will have to grapple with this difficult question. How do i enforce this . Financial penalties are only so much of a deterrent when it come to donald trump. They do technically have the option of ordering him locked up. I think that is very unlikely given all the circumstances but it is a tough situation for prosecutors, for plaintiffs and judges alike. So what happens if trump violates it yet a third time . This judge has a few options at his disposal. One, he can and almost certainly will enforce an increased penalty and i would say he would do it by more than just 5,000 in light of the resources donald trump has. I think the judge needs to make these financial penalties hurt a bit more if theyre going to have any magnitude on donald trump. In a very extreme and very rare scenario, a judge has the ability to either impose bail restrictions. This is not a criminal case so we wont see that here. But you can technically lock someone up. The judge warned donald trump. He said if it come to it, i do have the power to imprison you if you continue to violate this gag order. But again, i think it is extraordinarily unlikely that will actually happen. But it is theirettally possible. Theoretically possible indeed. I wonder how you see all. This unfolding, paula. This will be one of the biggest challenges, the judges overseeing the cases, civil and criminal against former President Trump are going to face. Were seeing it play out right now in new york. This is also something that at least one federal judge In Washington, d. C. Is also contending with. Judge Tonya Chutkan overseeing the trial of donald trump related to subversion. She issued a gag order. It is on hold while it is being litigated. She, too, said she is concerned about threats made against Court Staffers, against prosecutors, against witnesses. She pointed out people who are just trying to do their job or comply with their legal responsibilities. That they should not face threats. And as ehe noted, former President Trump has shown apparent of attacking people in the legal system as well as this. It is interesting to he sue how the judges try to enforce this. Weve seen the 5,000 fine, 10,000 fine. Even imprisonment. He is a candidate for the presidency. He has a right to defend himself but theyre trying to put limitations on what he says about Court Personnel and it is really unclear how theyll enforce this as he continues to apparently violate it