Transcript of Elon Musk joined Trump on call with Zelensky

Sources are telling CNN about Donald Trump's congratulatory post-election phone conversation with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky. It was joined by the tech tycoon, as we noted, Elon Musk. Our Brian Todd has more on that for us. Brian, what does the billionaire's presence on this important phone conversation tell us about Trump's approach to foreign policy in his second term?

Wolf, it tells us that Donald Trump will be about as unpredictable with foreign leaders this time as he was in his first term, and that's put Vladimir Zelensky and his country on edge.

More than two months before he even steps back into the oval office, Donald Trump has already thrown a controversial wrinkle into his foreign policy. Having billionaire Elon Musk join a call between the President-elect and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the day after the election. That's according to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke to CNN.

It's an extraordinary breach of what we might consider to be any normal protocol. I really find it to be an indicator also of who it is that Donald Trump is listening to as he prepares potentially to abandon this partner of the United States, Ukraine.

The Ukrainians have been concerned that Trump, when he becomes President, will dramatically cut back America's aid to Ukraine, or maybe cut it off altogether.

It would be really very, very difficult. And that's a nightmare scenario for a Zelensky.

Musk, as the head of SpaceX, has a security clearance that gives him access to some classified information. He has allowed Ukrainian forces to use his crucial Starlink satellite communications network on the battlefield.

And so he has enormous power over Ukraine.

Musk posted a proposal to end the war in 2022. He wrote, Crimea, formerly part of Russia. Ukraine remains neutral. Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is the will of the people. It was welcomed by the Kremlin, while the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany said, F off. Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022, according to the Wall Street Journal, a report denied by the Kremlin. Trump has campaigned on ending the war in 24 hours without much specificity, but his running mate described a deal where Russia keeps the parts of Ukraine that it has already taken.

What it probably looks like is something like the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine. That becomes like a demilitarized zone.

In other words, the Ukrainians would have to give up, probably Donbas, that Eastern region, and Crimea. This would not be to the advantage of Ukraine at all.

Trump has also blamed Zelensky for Russia's invasion.

He should never have let that war start. That war is a loser.

Then there's the personal friction, going back to when, as President, Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate Hunter Biden during a call about USAID to Ukraine. Democrats alleged a quid pro quo, and Trump was impeached but acquitted. And more recent tensions, such as Zelenskyy telling CNN this.

I can't understand how Donald Trump can be on the side of Putin.

This all comes at a very precarious moment for Ukraine. In the Eastern region of Donbas, Russian forces have been making gains, and Vladimir Putin plans to capture the entire region. And as many as 11,000 North Korean troops are now bolstering Russian forces, resulting in deadly clashes, according to Zelensky. Wolf?

Brian Todd reporting. Brian, thanks for that report. For it. And Scott, should Elon Musk be on major calls like this one with President Zelensky, especially after the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin since 2022?

Yeah, I don't know how to answer that, to be honest with you, Wolf, because I'm not sure of the nature of the call. I assume it was a congratulatory call. And look, Donald Trump is the President-elect, and he can really have anybody around and on the phone that he wants. So I don't know how to answer it other than to say Trump's won the election, and he's going to construct his administration and his advisory team however he sees fit. So if that happens to include Elon Musk, well, it's going to include Elon Musk. I'm sure that other national security officials and other diplomatic officials will be included as time goes on as they get past the series of time when it's more than just congratulatory, when they're actually discussing a real policy between the United States and Ukraine.

Well, we don't know what they discussed on that phone conversation. They could have been discussing some real policy, but we haven't been told, at least not yet. Maria, Elon Musk isn't expected by most observers to have an official government position under Trump. How much is there going to be, though, a shadow government in this second Trump administration?

I think that's one of the biggest concerns, Wolf, because even if Elon Musk doesn't have an official role, I think being like a amorphous senior advisor type of thing is probably more concerning because he's not going to have to be vetted by anyone doesn't have to be Senate confirmed, but he's going to be in Donald Trump's ear. I think Scott's right. Donald Trump can have whoever he wants on his calls. But I think it's concerning when you have somebody like Elon Musk who has so much sway because of what he offers Ukraine, for example. Starlink is something that we know that he put up there, and the fact that he's been having these secret conversations with Vladimir Putin for the last two years, and that we know it's no secret secret that Trump and many current Republicans do not want to give more money to Ukraine for the war. So what were they talking about? You could imagine that they were talking about a scenario where they were putting the screws on Zelenskyy or putting forward a possible scenario that they would talk about after he takes office, where he's saying, Look, you're going to need to give up some percentage of your country or else.

And the fact that we can all imagine that that's a possibility is really concerning. I hope that's not the case. I hope that Donald Trump actually focuses on not just uniting the country, but uniting the free world. So far, he does not give confidence that that's what his goals are, but let's give him a chance.

You know, Scott, we're also learning that senior Pentagon officials are discussing how to respond if, if Trump issues controversial orders like deploying active duty troops for domestic law enforcement purposes. How concerning is that to you?

Well, I am a little concerned, honestly, if the federal bureaucracy, whether it's in the Pentagon or any other agency, is already having discussions about how to counterman the commander-in-chief. I mean, let's remember how this works. He got elected President. He's the commander-in-chief. He gives the orders. They follow them. And so I don't like the idea, candidly, Wolf, of non-elected government people at any level having meetings with each other about how to thwart the duly elected President of the United States. I'm really hoping that when Donald Trump names his nominee for the Pentagon, and then they take office, and you have your National Security Council in place, that we have a much better working relationship between the White House and the Pentagon than what I'm reading tonight, which is one part of the federal government already having some kinds of meetings about what it would look like to thwart the President. That's not a good way to start this administration.

Let me follow up with you because Trump, as President, will be the Commander-in-Chief. But what the Pentagon officials are considering right now and discussing among themselves, what if he gives the Pentagon, the US military, illegal orders to do certain things? What do they do then?

My advice to them would be, instead of talking to each other, talk to the President and talk to his senior staff, because look what's happened. They're having these meetings. Now it's out in the open. What is Donald Trump supposed to think now? You've already got the government, the bureaucracy, plotting against you or thinking the worst of Look, to me, the best thing that could happen here is for them to talk to each other, meaning the Pentagon people and the President and his team. That's what really ought to happen. I hope these secret meetings that now somehow find their way into the press, that really needs to stop. We need more communication between the incoming government and the people who are already in the building.

Yeah, I remember Trump during these final weeks of the campaign was talking about potentially activating the US military or the National Guard to deal with the enemies within, as he was calling it out there. That's one of the reasons of concern for these Pentagon officials, to be sure. Everyone, thank you very, very much for that important analysis.