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History in Havana: President Obama Sets Foot on Cuban Soil. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 20, 2016 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:35] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: It is 6:00 p.m. Eastern and history has just been made tonight. I'm Poppy Harlow and all eyes are on Cuba right now.

Remember this day. This is a defining day in American history, March 20th, 2016, the day the president of the United States walked off Air Force One and walked on to Cuban soil.

The last time a sitting U.S. president stepped foot in Cuba 1928 when Calvin Coolidge sailed there on a battleship from Florida. President Obama and the first family today walking off Air Force One as they landed in Havana tonight. Remember, just 15 months ago, the president announced decades long freeze between Cuba and the United States was ending.

Well, this writes the new chapter of American history, more than 50 years since the Cuban revolution and those sanctions that are in many ways stop time in its tracks and define the way of life there in Cuba.

The president's agenda is part business, part diplomacy and part outreach. He will also meet with dissidents, people who oppose the Castro regime, and this visit sets the tone for the two countries new future together.

My colleague, my friend, Chris Cuomo, live in a rainy but what a night in Havana.

Chris, when you are talking to the people there, what are they saying about what this -- what this means for them?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: There's anxiety, there's a mix, and that's not unusual on complicated situation. And that's what this is. Cuba has a lot of history. A lot of star dust on it for periods of the revolution.

But at the end of the day, the revolution -- it is an oppressive regime. At the end of the day, Cuba remains a third world country. People here, it's not just they don't have freedom of travel to the United States, they don't have running water on a regular basis. There's no complete power grid here. The internet is more of a myth than it is a reality.

When you have these Wi-Fi hot spots they set up, people rush to them like they were looking for oxygen. Even when they get the Internet, there' a fear can they read and say what they want?

The streets, yes, there's a ton of rain going on right now. Mucha yubia, as they say here in Cuba. But there's another reason the streets maybe empty. There's no motivation for the revolution, the revolutionary government, to reward President Obama for coming to Cuba. There is no indication that people were encouraged to come out as they were when Pope Francis was here.

And we were here for that. We feel the difference. You see the difference in the lack of propaganda posters that were here when the pope was.

So, it's all very real. Let's get perspective from somebody who's covered this for a long time on different levels. Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Also with us is Ed Lavandera. He's out is on the rainy streets of old Havana.

And I've got to tell you, it is a beautiful moment to witness history, always when it's a supposedly in a right direction. But these two guys, though, Ed Lavandera and Jim Acosta, who have Cuban roots, it just makes it even more significant.

So, Ed, you are on the streets. You're all alone. It's not just your about popularity, it's about something else. Set the mood for us.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're not that alone, Chris.

But just moments ago, the presidential motorcade came by here. You see this family right up here that we have been talking to them throughout the day, they'd actually let us on the roof a while ago and we were told by security agents to get off the roof and come down here.

But just a short while ago, the president's motorcade just drove by 20 feet here and really got a close up glimpse of what exactly Cubans live like, what they have to deal with and this is the -- these are the -- a lot of people love to come and see the old architecture of the city. But this is the reality. Many people who live in very staggering and very depressing conditions.

So, the president seen up close on this motorcade, and all of these people here, small group, there aren't many people who've been standing on the streets. Incredibly excited as the motorcade came by. Overwhelmed -- the gentleman that you just saw, he just told me a little while ago, it was very emotional to see and experience what that scene was like. Obviously, the beast limo, it was something that many people have been very anxious to see.

But all these people cheering loudly as the presidential motorcade came by. The moment didn't last very long, but you know that these people -- for these people, it is a moment that they will remember for quite sometime.

[18;05:07] Now, the presidential motorcade and the first family beginning the tour of old Havana.

But, you know, an incredible moment to see this motorcade making its way down this famous boulevard here in Havana -- Chris.

CUOMO: Well, Ed, as you know too well from your reporting and your family experience, this was a moment that was never supposed to happen. So much a part of the formation of the revolution was framing the United States as a great oppressor. No president has been here since the revolution started and here's President Obama now. There's no question that it's history. The question is, what does it mean?

And for that, let's bring in Jim Acosta.

We're waiting right now on President Obama. And he addressed the embassy staff. He's now moving to the next location to do a walkabout, a walk around tour -- not the best weather for it.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, no.

CUOMO: But to go to Old Havana. It's more of what it symbolizes than reality. What are we expecting?

ACOSTA: That's right. We know that President Obama and first family are in the Plaza de Armas. They are armed with umbrellas as they take in Old Havana.

This is doing basically one thing. It is to show the first family basically traveling in Cuba and to say to the rest of the United States it's OK to come. And part of that is because, you know, the White House is bringing along with them CEOs from places like Marriott, Starwood Hotels.

CUOMO: They signed a big deal here.

ACOSTA: They signed a big deal.

CUOMO: To run a Cuban hotel.

ACOSTA: They want to make it irreversible for the next president. So, when the next president comes in, they have all of these big corporations who are invested here and they can't put the toothpaste back in the tube essentially.

CUOMO: But it's tricky, right, because even with the Starwood deal, our understanding of it is, they don't own that ground.

ACOSTA: No.

CUOMO: They don't own that building. They own the management rights and the money is going to go to the government. And that's the big X factor, right?

ACOSTA: That's how you go into business.

CUOMO: If you put money in Cuba, does it get to the people on the streets who are standing on those streets who need so much?

ACOSTA: That's right. CUOMO: Right now, live pictures, Jim. This is the walk about we're talking about. And again, as Jim Acosta was pointing out, this is symbolic, this is showing presence. All day long, we saw Cuban people wearing Obama pins. But these streets aren't that full and that's relevant, as well.

ACOSTA: I think maybe, you know, it's raining on his parade a little bit arriving here in Cuba. But, you know, you are going to see Cubans embracing -- I think this president over the coming days, everybody we have talked to since we have been on the ground in Cuba is just very positive about the trip.

They are happy to see President Obama here. They see him as a different kind, not the imperialist United States that they have been told to hate all of these years.

And pretty soon here, Chris, the president is going to go to the cathedral here in Havana and tip his hat to Pope Francis who helped negotiate this whole opening of relations with Cuba and the United States in secret.

People forget that Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, was traveling in secret to the Vatican, to Canada, to help broker this thing. That's how sensitive all of this is.

CUOMO: Now, an interesting detail on that. As we look at a live picture in Havana, Cuba. Again, this is history, what becomes of it, we don't know. But this is an absolute.

No U.S. president has been on Cuban soil since the revolution began. That period has ended.

Now, what you were talking about, Jim Acosta, as we're watching this walking tour here, Ben Rhodes, obviously, the president's adviser trying to make this happen with the Vatican. Who was he meeting with on the Cuban side, Raul Castro's son who runs the equivalent of the CIA here, who has tons of theories about how bad and nefarious the United States government is.

This is part of the tension that's working here, but one of the immutable facts as well. The Vatican played a role, hand delivered letters from the pontiff to the cardinal here, who the president is going to be meeting with. That certainly gave cover to both gentlemen and opportunity to both gentlemen.

The question is, what was in those letters? That we don't know.

ACOSTA: That we don't know, and I think what the White House looked for when they were dealing with Pope Francis and all of this was some political cover. It's easy to push through a new policy on the American people when you have the good housekeeping seal of approval.

Remember when Pope Francis came to the White House, he was talking about climate change and immigration? Well, he also feels very strongly about the United States and Cuba getting over this disagreement they have had the last 50 years and start a new chapter. Is it going to be easy? No. Is it going to all happen overnight? Definitely not.

But to see the president of the United States and first lady and the daughters, Malia and Sasha --

CUOMO: Under the statue of Jose Marti.

ACOSTA: Under a statue of Jose Marti no less, walking the streets of Cuba -- I mean, this is unbelievable. And as you were talking about Ed's Cuban heritage -- my dad is Cuban -- I never thought I would see this day happen. I certainly didn't think it would happen so quickly.

This is happening so quickly, I think it is understandable why my Twitter is blowing up with some Cuban Americans back in Miami who are very hostile to what the president is doing right now.

CUOMO: Sure. It's a money grab by American corporations. There is no real assurance of change by the regime of oppression that so many are against, certainly those back in the United States and here as well, though silenced, and many examples as we saw with dissidents today, protesters today arrested right before the president arrived.

But yet, this is the first step. What are we going to see? We're going to see a meeting.

[18:10:01] We're going to see the heads of state meet. We're going to see a big baseball game. We're going to see the Rolling Stones.

So, all of these are cultural impacts. We'll see what is to come. But right now, you're looking again t history. You're seeing the president's daughters there. What a day for them. The first lady and the man himself, President Obama going through the old plaza here. Live pictures from Havana, Cuba. The first steps toward a historic journey.

Yes?

ACOSTA: Let me tell you this: traveling with the president all the time, you know, you never really see -- I mean, it's rare when you see the whole family traveling together on an official trip. This shows how important this is inside of the Obama family, inside of the Obama -- can you imagine the president, the first lady, the daughters sitting around the dinner table talking about, OK, where are we going next, dad? What are we going to do on this trip.

They are here for two nights. That's longer than he typically stays when he goes to Asia or the Middle East or to Europe. That's how interested and excited this family is about coming to Cuba.

CUOMO: And those words also apply to President Obama's interest in his legacy. He said he didn't want the last year to be a nonevent. He took it into his hands. These are executive orders are doing this, not legislation. That's an unknown in terms of history of relations with Cuba and the United States.

We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, it may be rainy here, but this is hopefully a ray of sunshine metaphorically for the people of Cuba. We'll take you through why in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: For five decades, it was a place almost frozen in time, cut off from much of the world with no diplomatic relations with the United States. But tonight, President Obama made history, stepping foot in Cuba -- the first American empty to do that in nearly 90 years. He is in Cuba right now with the first family. This is an historic visit.

And our Bill Weir traveled to Cuba, spent 15 days shooting what is a beautiful debut of "THE WONDER LIST".

[18:15:03] Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WEIR, THE WONDER LIST: It looks like a trendy boutique you might see in Soho or Melrose District of Los Angeles. And then right across the street, you have people raising chickens on their balcony.

How is life in Havana these days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really hard, man.

WEIR: It's hard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Some people think change. I hope so.

WEIR: You hope so. You don't think so?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe change for business, for government.

WEIR: Uh-huh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for the people, I don't know. More young people is better.

WEIR: Young people in government, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) revolution.

WEIR: New ideas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, new idea, we need that. Maybe a few years, good.

WEIR: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, man.

WEIR (voice-over): I came here expecting to find that sentiment everywhere, but to my surprise, so many seemed proud of the Cuban system, warts and all.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: Bill Weir is with me now. So, tell me more about that.

WEIR: So, here's a joke someone told me. I say, you know what, the three greatest successes of the revolution are?

HARLOW: What?

WEIR: Science, arts and sports and you know what the three greatest failures are, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Now, telling a joke like that may have got me locked up a generation ago, but it speaks of this dichotomy between people who really have nothing by our standards. They are rich compared to a lot of Latin American. But just as an example, the Cuban government, they want to eliminate homelessness. So, you are guaranteed shelter as a Cuban citizen.

Well, people's house are falling down and so dangerous. There are 140,000 people waiting to get in to shelters. They are building shelters instead of fixing the houses where people are living in. So, it's this bizarro shadow economy where people are just trying to survive day by day.

HARLOW: So, we know the president landed with a lot of big name CEOs, hotel companies, et cetera, Airbnb CEO coming in here. Are they excited about the money that is coming, not just the tourists but these big American businesses or are they wary of it?

WEIR: I think they are more wary now for this because when you think about -- some people say, well, they will go the way of China. Like a one-party capitalism. But they don't have a billion people to work in factories. They have 11 million people who are really good fishermen and farmers, and a lot of them don't want to be bartenders or hotel maids, because that's the only thing they have to offer.

But even if Marriott got the green light today or McDonald's, the Cuban government will demand 51 percent ownership of that business.

HARLOW: And try to convince shareholders that is good bet.

WEIR: That that's a good idea, when they can't even keep the water on in Havana, because the plumbing is so leaky. You know what I mean?

So, it -- the change is going to happen. It's probably take longer than we are used to. When you think of a place opening up, boom, it will turn in to south beach.

HARLOW: Not South Beach yet.

WEIR: It's going to be years in the making as they try to figure out a balance between capitalism and communism.

HARLOW: Little tease for tonight. Biggest surprise tonight?

WEIR: Just the condition of the place. The warmth of the people. So much love for their cold war enemy, which ends today. VC day, victory in Cuba, I guess, you can say.

HARLOW: Yes, March 20th, 2016. What a day. Bill Weir, thank you so much.

All of you, you will not want to miss the premiere of "THE WONDER LIST." Deep into Havana is where it takes you into Havana and the Cuban country's side tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:23:45] HARLOW: We are watching an extraordinary journey. There you see the president and the first family touring old Havana. Moments ago, despite the rain, out there speaking with his daughters about what is quite a moment in history.

There you see him inside the cathedral of Havana with Cardinal Ortega. They are looking at something U.S. president has not looked at in 88 years. Looks like a portrait of President Lincoln right there.

Tomorrow, the president is set to meet with Cuba's President Raul Castro who will the first U.S. sitting president to do that, to be on the Cuban soil in 88 years.

Much more from Havana in just a moment. I do want to turn back to politics at home though, because this political season has been rough and tumble to say the least. You can relive another brutal campaign tonight here on CNN, Bush versus Dukakis. It is a brand new episode of "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE." Here's a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First question comes in --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here it is. It's a layup, right?

[18:25:00] It's so easy for Dukakis to react with genuine emotion, anger and righteous indignation. The ideas that somebody would murder his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know what it's like. That is where the answer had to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't, Bernard. And I think you know that I would oppose the death penalty during all of my life. I don't see any evidence that it is a deterrent. I think there are better and more effective ways to deal with crime. We have done so in my own state and it's one of the reasons why --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I thought, dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Let's talk more about it. Presidential historian Tim Naftali and Julian Zelizer with me.

Tim, that is a moment, an example of a moment that can tank a presidential campaign, it did that. Part of what did that for Dukakis. You say that the '88 race is about looking and appearing presidential. What was his other key mistake?

TIM NAFTALI, FORMER DIRECTOR, NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: Well, when he rode around in a tank.

HARLOW: With that helmet.

NAFTALI: With that helmet.

The thing is -- what I didn't know was that some young staffers in the campaign, the Dukakis campaign said, don't this. You are not going to look good.

One of them actually went on the tanks, saw the helmet on and realized, I look really awful in this helmet because I have a very prominent nose. Governor Dukakis is going to look just as bad.

HARLOW: Yes, there's the shot no one can forget.

Julian, let's contrast then and now. That was a brutal campaign. Now is a brutal campaign. Race came in to play then. Race is coming in to play now. What's changed?

JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN & PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, let me say, some of it's the same. You know, the architect of bush's campaign is someone named Lee Atwater, who understood that politics is theater, who also is willing to play to some of the worst elements of the electorate, including on race.

And I think some of the origins of what we are seeing today actually can be found in the 1988 campaign. But the filters are gone. This the kind of world Lee Atwater would have loved, with Twitter and online, and little editorial control, the kind of stuff we saw in 1988 can now be done without any kind of controls.

HARLOW: This is the famous Willie Thornton ad. And we can roll some of that. I mean, Tim, you believe, you point to the Bush campaign, who ultimately won in all of this using racial fear to win the race and doing it successfully.

NAFTALI: Bush 41 was a very good president, but this was a very ugly campaign. The Willie Horton ad was designed to do exactly what you think it's designed to do, which is to play on people's fears and to play on racist fears.

There was also a dirty trick and it's not clear who is responsible for it, but there was a rumor that was sent out that Michael Dukakis had had some treatment for depression and the Ronald Reagan commented on it.

HARLOW: On his mental stability.

NAFTALI: He said, I don't like to attack invalids.

HARLOW: Right.

NAFTALI: It was -- so, there was a dirty side to the campaign and it played on our worst -- some of the worst feelings in this country. As I said, the question has always been, what did George Herbert Walker Bush know about the campaign that was done in his behalf?

HARLOW: Exactly.

When you look at the moment in the campaign where Dan Rather has an interview with George Bush. There is some sort of -whether it is a misunderstanding or what about what he is going in to the interview to talk about, he unleashes on Rather.

ZELIZER: Well, you know, part of it is Bush always felt he wasn't a great presidential candidate. He wasn't treated well. They had discussed the wimp factor when talking about George H.W. Bush in 1987. He was not a tough. He was not the Ronald Reagan.

So, he was ready to go after Rather, to go after the press and to demonstrate, as he will in the convention, with his no new taxes pledge, that he could be as resolute as the person he was working for.

HARLOW: And they said that his camp thought he did a phenomenal job, they thought that was the highlight of his campaign.

ZELIZER: Well, you know, in the end, it worked. They were able to eviscerate from that interview forward.

Dukakis, who was not the initial weakest candidate, who was actually far ahead of George H.W. Bush when the campaign starts, 17 points. But by the end, he's a decimated campaigner.

NAFTALI: Politics were personal then. That's how they -- that's how the Bush campaign eviscerated Dukakis. They made him look unpresidential, and it succeeded.

HARLOW: Succeeded.

Dukakis is in the episode tonight. It is a must watch. It's fascinating.

Tim, thank you. Julian, thank you.

And for all of you, don't miss the brand new episode of "THE RACEE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE", Dukakis versus Bush tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only right here on CNN.

And take a look at this.

You are looking at live pictures of the man who defeated George Bush back in 1992, Bill Clinton, campaigning for his wife Hillary Clinton in Tucson, Arizona. Let's listen.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: And Iowa has the lowest electric rates in the United States of America because they rely on homegrown energy and all the jobs it creates and all the incomes from those farmers it makes.

So Hillary wants to bring manufacturing back to this country and I want to say a little bit about that because I don't know if you read the story about Carrier moving those jobs out of Indiana, going to Mexico. That's -- they should not be able to get a tax deduction for the cost of that relocation. They should have to give back all of the state and local tax credits they got for the next five years.

And here's why. If they were losing money, it would be one thing. They admitted that this plant is part of a highly profitable air conditioning business in the United States. And they admitted --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The president of the United States is in Cuba. The last time those words were true nearly 90 years ago. Today truly historic in a fast evolving new relationship between Cuba and the United States. President Obama and the first family stepping on to Cuban soil just a few hours ago. They are in the country until late on Tuesday and between then and now the president will hold meeting with Cuba's leaders. Also he will meet with the people who opposed the Castro regime.

This is not your run-of-the-mill state visit, of course. Nothing like it for President Obama. It is the first day of the new renewed partnership that has laid the ground work -- that he laid the ground work for more than year ago.

My friend Chris Cuomo live in Havana tonight where the rain is coming down. History has been made. People there on the ground split about what this means for them -- Chris.

[18:35:05] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, literally this was something that was never supposed to happen, Poppy.

HARLOW: Right.

CUOMO: Since the revolution happened. Part of its formation was the United States is the imperialist oppressor that's why need to have a revolution, to stand in contrast and competition and contradiction. And now here we are. That a move by an American president is seen as a step towards healing and fixing the situation that sorely needs it under a repressive regime where people are without basic necessities but more importantly basic freedoms.

Now we're looking at live picture. And again I'll keep saying the word historic and you know what? I don't care because it is on so many different levels. This is the Havana Cathedral. It's one of the oldest ones in this hemisphere, OK. And inside at one time Christopher Columbus' bones were said to be kept there before they were moved.

Slightly to the left of your picture, that part of the plaza there, that's where Hemingway, the bar where Hemingway used to drink his mojitos here and write about Cuba and all the fanciful notions that he had. And now President Obama is there walking into this cathedral with his family.

So history on many levels but of course the relevancy, Poppy, winds up being what will this mean going forward? This is a repressive regime. So what will change? Is this just about making money for different American companies or is it about making for new freedoms for Cuban people?

Ed Lavandera is a journalist at CNN of course but also a man of Cuban descent himself. He's out on the streets.

Now, Ed, this isn't like when we came here for the Pope. The word had been out for weeks that he was coming. People forget how hard it is to get information here. The word wasn't spread the same way about President Obama coming. People weren't kind of brought in. We know that there have been some efforts to slow people down from coming in to the city and yet you found people for whom this moment means so much.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question, Chris. And you know, I think what you see behind me speaks volumes. This is the famed Malecon, on the northern edge of the city of Havana, normally a place that even perhaps despite rain people would gather and if it wasn't raining there's be thousands of people gathered along this.

But instead, what we see this afternoon and just a short while ago, the presidential motorcade drove down here and hardly anyone was standing on the streets. We were the small group of people that were cheering loudly as the motorcade came by. But you're reminded of just the scene and the place where you're at, along every block security agents kind of keeping an eye on everything.

In fact, we were just under the portico here. And as the motorcade was coming by, the crowd started to get even more excited and kind of lean toward the street to get a better glimpse of the motorcade. And security guards came by and started pushing everybody back. It was a very small group of people. In fact one guy had this sign that said "Viva Obama and Viva Fidel." HE told me he put "Viva Fidel" just to be safe. And sure enough, one of the security guards came by and took it away from him -- Chris.

CUOMO: You can see which name he wrote second, Ed. Part of the reality here about wanting to be free but also wanting to be safe. I'll check back with you in just a little bit.

We are waiting for the next step in this historic journey of President Obama here on Cuban soil, the first time an American president has been on Cuban soil since the revolution began.

Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:09] CUOMO: All right. We've been watching history take place here with President Obama, the first U.S. president on Cuban soil since the revolution began. You're looking at a very special place here and certainly for Catholics around the world. That is the Havana Cathedral. At one time, Christopher Columbus' bones were kept in there.

You're looking to the left of your screen, that is the corner where the bar, the famous bar where Ernest Hemingway sat, drank mojitos, and wrote, according to Patrick Oppmann of CNN fame, that is another piece of history and now the biggest piece of all to have the American president on Cuban soil. The implications are deep and yet unknown.

I'm joined by Patrick Oppmann and CNN's Jim Acosta. There is culture, there are economic issues, and there's a lot of politics at play. What are we seeing right now that should be a positive for the Cuban people?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Well, here is with the leader of the Catholic Church for Cuba, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, played such a crucial role. He was the official from the Catholic Church who went to the White House with a letter from Pope Francis, hand delivered it to President Obama. They wanted to have him -- pass it off in Havana because it is easier to do that, and he said no, the Pope tells me to deliver it to President Obama. That's what he did, he delivered another letter to President Castro pushing both of these men to make peace. And that's what happened. They did -- you know, when the Pope tells you to do something, you do it.

CUOMO: Now, Jim Acosta, you told us earlier the first step was obviously for President Obama to address the embassy staff here. We now have footage of that. Let's take a look at what President Obama had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It has been 90 years since a U.S. president stepped foot in Cuba. It is wonderful to be here. Back in 1928, President Coolidge came on a battle ship. It took him three days to get here. It only took me three hours.

(LAUGHTER)

For the first time ever Air Force One has landed in Cuba and this is our very first stop. So this is a historic visit. And it's an historic opportunity to engage directly with the Cuban people and to forge new agreements and commercial deals, to build new ties between our two peoples and for me to lay out my vision for a future that's brighter than our past.

Michelle and I want to start with all of you because nothing symbolizes better the new relationship between the United States and the Cuban people. For the first time in more than half a century, as Jeff just noticed, the American flag flies over a reopened U.S. embassy. And having a U.S. embassy here means that we're able to more effectively advance our interest and our values and understand the Cuban people and their concerns.

I want to thank the outstanding leadership team that's here, especially our outstanding ambassador, Jeff DeLaurentis, and his wonderful wife Jennifer. Give them a big round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:45:01] CUOMO: All right. So that was the first stop. One step of many here, Jim Acosta. And this is one of the easiest parts of the trip for President Obama. There's a lot of plus and minus coming at him about doing this.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And the diplomatic history there. I mean, it is worth mentioning as President Obama was speaking there to the diplomatic staff here. You know opening an embassy was no easy task. And I will tell you from talking to White House officials, the de facto ambassador here, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, he was essentially put in this role because they knew there was no way they were going to get a new ambassador through the Congress.

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz in the United States Senate, not going to happen, so, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the ambassador here is essentially there because they felt he had the chops to pull this off.

And the other thing we should mention, and Patrick knows this all too well, you know, the embassy when it was just a special interest section, they used to have a message board mounted on that intersection that would play these anti-Castro messages. So how did the Cubans responded? They threw up all these flags, these black flags that obscured the message.

This is what was going on, back and forth, between the U.S. and Cuba all these years with the establishing of the U.S. embassy here all of that comes down. None of those games anymore and we'll see if they can keep this going. That's the tone that's been so far. You heard from the president there.

CUOMO: And you've got to put a big question mark at the end of it right now because who knows what change will mean. Will it change the oppressiveness of this regime? Will it change what happened with the politics of the United States? None of this is permanent right now. This was done by executive order and President Obama, not the legislature, which would need to do it. Congress would have to remove the embargo. We'll see what happens with that.

Let's take a quick break. When we come back, this is just beginning. The people are just starting to realize here in Cuba that President Obama is here. What will it mean in the days ahead. Stay with us.

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[18:50:33] CUOMO: Here's something you don't see every day. In fact it is something that generations of Cubans thought they would never see. That's Air Force One, a shot from inside the plane as it's making its final approach to land in Havana, Cuba. This is the first time an American president has set foot on this soil since the revolution. Remember the impact and importance. A U.S. president symbolized the fuel of the revolution, the evil imperialist force that was the great oppressor of the Cuban people. The motivation to fight against the types of leadership, in quotes, that was supposedly coming from the United States and now President Obama arrives on a very different day.

So that's footage we've been waiting for. The perspective from within Air Force One and now we are all down here in the driving rain understanding the impact on the ground and among the Cuban people.

Jim Acosta, even before the president left from the United States, he was hit with a lot of the reasons why not to do this, from Cuban exiles, from politicians who say you do not reward autocrats that oppress their own. And yet he's here now.

ACOSTA: That's right. Just about the entire Cuban American delegation up on Capitol Hill, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, over in the House Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and even Democrats like Bob Menendez are all saying no, no, Mr. President, this is a terrible mistake.

This is a test for the Obama doctrine. You know, President Obama has said throughout this administration, you know what, we've tried being adventurous, interventionist in other parts of the world and we're going to try a different way of doing things and that's engagement. And the question becomes, what does engagement get you in the end? Does it get any kind of real changes from the Cuban people and the Cuban government? If the president does not get those things, maybe it won't happen by the end of his administration. If we don't get those things in the next three to five years, then people will say, engagement, that was a nice idea but it didn't really work out.

CUOMO: And this again is not permanent. This is done by executive order, executive action. The embargo, though, is a congressional animal.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CUOMO: It would have to be fixed by legislation.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CUOMO: So chance of that happening right now, the approximate of the inside of a donut.

ACOSTA: That's right. But you know what, you talk to people up on Capitol Hill and talk to people inside the White House, they're saying never say never, you know --

CUOMO: It's the Cuban people saying today.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CUOMO: Because this wasn't supposed to happen either.

ACOSTA: You know, maybe not during the remainder of President Obama's time in office, but if Hillary Clinton becomes president or even if Donald Trump, remember Donald Trump has said he doesn't mind what's happening here in Cuba right now. He said he might make a better deal is what he says. But he's not against this new engagement with the Cubans.

And so the logical next step, if you talk to people like Jeff Blake, Republican senator who is traveling with the president, one of the Republicans on this trip. He says you know what, the next step is lifting the embargo. It's been there all these years. Why have this -- you know, this piecemeal approach, which is basically what the White House is doing right now. You can now travel to Cuba under 12 specified reasons for -- cultural reasons and so forth. We know there are Americans going to the beach and calling it a cultural trip.

And so the question becomes, do they at some point put ink to paper and take the embargo down? That's essentially the last step in this new chapter between the United States and Cuba. The question becomes, do the Cubans make it happen? If they're being -- you know, if they're being against just about every kind of opening when it comes to human rights and so forth, the members up on Capitol Hill are going to say, we're not going to lift this embargo. It's not going to happen.

CUOMO: We know what would be the last step today is perhaps a first step. Jim Acosta, it's great to witness history with you as always.

Poppy Harlow, back to you in New York. You have to be aware, though, as much as the fanfare is of this being a big moment, this being a change, the need here cannot being exaggerated.

HARLOW: Yes. Yes.

CUOMO: This isn't just about money and jobs, this is about basic freedoms, Poppy, basic freedoms.

HARLOW: And, Chris, you were there when the Pope visited last year and what a historic moment that was as well. Just walk me through quickly if you can, sort of how much the Pope played into this happening today.

CUOMO: That also can't be exaggerated. There's no question that the Pope wrote letters to both Raul Castro and President Obama and made sure that both were hand-delivered by the cardinal here who President Obama is visiting with right now.

What was in those letters? We don't know. But clearly it provided political cover for them and led us in large part to what we're seeing right now. What happens next, Poppy? We'll have to wait and see.

HARLOW: We will. Chris Cuomo, thank you so much. Live in Havana.

We're going to take a quick break and we'll take you back to Cuba after this. Stay with us.

[18:55:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: We are watching an historic moment. President Obama and the first family are touring Cuba. You see them getting off of Air Force One right there.

Relations between the neighboring nations are entering a new era after decades of estrangement. It is the first time a sitting U.S. president has visited the communist island in 88 years. President Obama will meet with Cuba's president, Raul Castro, tomorrow. And while this is a big step for both the United States and Cuba, Cuba still has a long way to go.

Consider these numbers. The average monthly salary for Cubans right now, $20. Just $20 a month. According to Brookings. And just 5 percent of Cubans have unfiltered access to the Internet. But no question, a new page has been turned tonight. What is ahead for the Cuban people is still to be seen.

We will have much more coverage of the president's visit this week on CNN. But first, some great premieres for you right here tonight. Do not miss a brand new episode of "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE," Bush versus Dukakis, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And then at 10:00 the premier of "THE WONDER LIST" with Bill Weir. He takes us deep inside Havana and the Cuban countryside.

Thank you so much for joining me tonight. Have a great week.

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