Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Protests Against Donald Trump's Election Erupt Around the Country; .Donald Trump Blames the Media for Protesters; Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 11, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, EARLY START SHOW HOST: All right. To breaking news overnight. Demonstrations against Donald Trump. One declared a riot. Oregon police helped the audience.

ALISON KOSIK, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: Also breaking this morning, Donald Trump back on Twitter, reacting for the first time about the protest against his election.

Good morning and welcome to Early Start. I'm Alison Kosik.

BERMAN: Nice to see you this morning. I'm John Berman. It is Friday, November 11th. It is Veteran's Day. It is 3 a.m. in the east. We do want to welcome to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.

The breaking news this morning, protests across the country against the election of Donald Trump. These are live pictures from Los Angeles where you can see police are still on the streets there, as well as the demonstrators.

We also have live pictures from Portland, Oregon. This was really the site of some of the most tense moments overnight. Police declared these demonstrations actually a riot in Portland after demonstrators threw projectiles at officers and smashed car and store front windows.

And also on the Portland Twitter feed, the Portland Police Twitter feed, they warned that rioting is a class c felony. That was really the scene not as bad as Portland. Not the damage that we saw in Portland but we did see thousands and thousands of people on the streets, once again, all across the country.

And for the first time Donald Trump has responded directly to this. He did it in a tweet and he blamed the media. He wrote "Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters incited by the media are protesting. Very unfair."

KOSIK: However, most of the protests across the country overnight were peaceful.

CNN's Ana Cabrera Walked alongside thousands of demonstrators at one anti-Trump protest in Denver.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Alison, hundreds of protesters, if not thousands gathering in Denver, protesting against the election of Donald Trump. But they say this is a march or a protest necessarily to hate Trump.

In fact, it's a protest to reject hate, to reject bigotry, to reject racism, discrimination and oppression.

I want to talk with one of the protestors here, this is Liza. Liza, you came out here with your young daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.

CABRERA: What's the message you want to send?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my young daughter to understand first and foremost that love is the most important thing and that we don't discriminate people based on their color, based on where they come from, or based on who they love.

And she's a woman and that's really, really important to me, as well. And I want her to know that even at three that she has a voice and she has a voice in our democracy and that no matter what the Electoral College says we still have a voice and say what in what goes on.

CABRERA: Thank you so much, Liza for talking to us.

We are hearing a lot of similar sentiments. There are people here of all races, of all ages, of all walks of life and they say they want this to be a symbol of unity, a rejection of division. John and Alison?

KOSIK: All right. Ana Cabrera. Thanks.

And new information this morning on planning for the Trump transition, which officially gets underway today. A source tells CNN that the president-elect is going to be sitting down in New York for his first meeting with the transition planning team.

He will be briefed on where things stand so far. And we are told one top priority is filling about 800 administration jobs, and those require a security clearance. So got to start naming those right away to get that clearance underway.

BERMAN: Yes, you know, traditionally the first job to be filled is White House chief of staff. And a new name has surfaced that is stirring some controversy. Trump is said to be strongly considering Steve Bannon. Sources tell CNN the idea of Bannon running the White House is not sitting well with some advisers. A lot of people don't think he is the best fit for the position.

The executive chairman of Breitbart News, that's Bannon there joined the Trump campaign in August. A lot of people think that you need some kind of Washington experience or connection with people in Washington to be chief of staff. Bannon does not have that. Although, you know, Donald Trump always said he was going to change the culture in Washington, in that sense Bannon maybe the perfect guy for it. KOSIK: And which is why Reince Priebus' name is being floated as

well. He is another emerging front runner for chief of staff. And of course he is the RNC chairman right now. And he became a trusted confidante for Trump during the down days of the campaign

Here's what the chairman told CNN's Jake Tapper about possibly filling this position.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: This really is not an issue. I mean, it really does -- honestly, it just isn't. I mean, right now -- basically most of us have had two hours of sleep in four days.

[03:05:01] I think people are taking a breath, getting some of the details figured out. There's just these transition issue now have been working for months and months and months and so, slowly but surely. I think those details will come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Meantime, the insiders tell CNN that Priebus and Trump have already discussed the chief of staff job.

BERMAN: Isn't it slowly but surely here, they got 71 days to make this happen. This stuff is happening right now and people are jockeying for these positions right now.

So, President-elect Trump and his new administration they say they plan to hit the ground running after meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Mitch McConnell. Trump was asked to list his top three priorities the day he gets to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES-ELECT PRESIDENT: We have a lot of priorities, a lot of really great priorities. People will be very, very, happy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are the top three?

TRUMP: We have a lot. We're going to look very strongly at immigration, and we're going to look at the border. Very important. We're going to look very strongly at health care. And we're looking at jobs, big league jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Now President-elect Trump and President Obama is shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. No one would have believed this would have happened a week ago. Take a look at the photo op for the ages.

After all the dashing, after all the name calling that we heard during the campaign, Trump emerged from Thursday's 90-minute White House meeting with high praise for the president. He even called him a good man.

Hours later, Trump tweeted this, "A fantastic day in D.C. Met with President Obama for the first time. Really good meeting. Great chemistry. Melania liked Mrs. O. a lot."

Listen to the two men addressing the media minutes after their closed- door session.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: Most of all, I want to emphasize to you, Mr. President-elect, that we now are going want to do everything we can to help you succeed because if you succeed then the country succeeds.

TRUMP: I very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future, including counsel. He explained some of the difficulties, some of the high flying assets and some of the -- some of really great things that have been achieved.

So, Mr. President, it was a great honor being with you and I look forward to being with you many, many more times in the future. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: You know, they met privately. No one else in the room. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in that room.

BERMAN: Yes. It went on for 90 minutes. Donald Trump thought it was going to be 10 minutes, I think it was longer than 10 minutes, but they did talked for a long time. And you can see President Obama who said he valued the way that George W. Bush turned over the office to him. You can see President Obama working very hard to make this is a smooth transition and a publicly smooth transition.

KOSIK: Paying it forward. OK. The first lady and her successor sitting down for tea just a few doors down from their husbands. Michelle Obama also took Melania Trump on a tour of the White House residence. Right there you are seeing them having tea.

The president's press secretary says the two mothers primarily discussed the challenges of raising children in the White House.

BERMAN: All right. The fight for control of the Democratic Party. It has started. This, in the wake of Hillary Clinton's surprising loss. The former Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean has announced he wants the chairmanship for the DNC once again.

Dean led the party from 2005 to 2009 after his insurgent but ultimately unsuccessful run for the White House in 2004. He was known for having a 50-state strategy for the Democratic Party. And some people suggest maybe that's what they need. They should have been focusing on blue states and democratic strongholds but to focus everywhere. There were other people say Dean is actually part of the past not the

future we shall see. Bernie Sanders touting Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison for the top job of the Democratic Party.

Ellison is one of only two Muslims in the House, he is the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. His office so far has refused to comment but he has said he will announce his intentions on Monday.

KOSIK: OK. What Bernie Sanders is not interested in discussing at this point is whether he would have beaten Trump if he won the democrat's nomination instead of Hillary Clinton.

Sanders told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he was as surprised by her loss as anyone but he refused cheerfully to be drawn into any Monday morning quarterbacking on the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, VERMONT STATE SENATOR: What good does it do now? The election is over. You know, Hillary -- I did my best to see that Hillary Clinton gets elected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There are people in the Sanders' camp though, who are saying, I told you so.

KOSIK: Right.

BERMAN: And pointing fingers and saying that, you know, people were not listening to them during the process when they said that white working-class voters were not having their needs and fears addressed during the primaries. But Bernie Sanders markedly did not say that yesterday.

All right. The first photo of Hillary Clinton has surfaced since her concession speech. This was posted on Facebook by Margot Gerster of White Plains, New York.

[03:10:06] Gerster was hiking with her 13-month daughter and her dog on Thursday when she run on to Bill and Hillary Clinton ...

(CROSSTALK)

KOSIK: What are the chances.

BERMAN: ... when she walk in the woods. It's unbelievable, right? Gerster tell CNN that Mrs. Clinton appeared to be at peace and couldn't appear to be more kind and gracious. We're also told that it was Bill that, you know, actually took this picture.

KOSIK: All right. Time for an Early Start on your money. It is day two of the so-called Trump bound. Wall Street continuing to give President-elect Donald Trump a warm welcome.

The Dow is jumping 218 points, up 1.1 percent. That is an all-time high for the Dow. The upbeat mood is due in part to Trump's victory speech and Trump's raising hope that he'll help the economy and scrap some more extreme campaign positions.

Plus, the GOP retains control of Congress which many think will help get things done. But not all sectors are rallying on the Trump win. Tech companies taking a hit. The candidate is criticized sector on the campaign trail. Facebook, Apple, and Amazon all closing lower on the day.

More gains possible today, though, the Dow Futures are slightly higher. More room to run here. European marks are mixed and shares in Asia closed mostly higher.

BERMAN: All right. Steve Bannon of Breitbart, or RNC chair Reince Priebus. Will one of these men be the chief of staff, one of the most important jobs of the country? We'll dig deeper next.

Plus, I want to show you some live pictures of Los Angeles right now. We are keeping an eye on protests like this. Moments of tension like this across the country as thousands of people take to the streets to protest the results of the election.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Live pictures right now from Portland, Oregon. There were demonstrations across the country overnight that are still going on right now in some places, including Portland. Now I say demonstrations, this you are looking at in Portland was actually declared a riot by the Portland Police Department. That's because of some of the violent acts that were committed there.

Some cars were damaged and also things thrown at police. So the technical term they used for it was a riot. Though, you know, it may be a term that to some people means more than we've actually seen pictures of right there.

But you can still see there are tense moments on the streets of Portland. And you can see that there's a lot of deep feelings about this election that are going to last for a long time around the country.

This is happening as the Trump team, the president for President-elect Trump is putting a transition in motion right now. He holds his first official meeting with that team today here in New York.

Let's talk about some of the rumors, about names being floated and also some of the things that Donald Trump has said over the last few hours.

Joining us is CNN commentator Paris Dennard, he has been supportive of Donald Trump throughout the election process. Who knows what Paris Dennard will have in the near future. We're also joined by CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, a columnist for the Washington Post, I do not expect him that any job than that in the near future.

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Probably not. BERMAN: Here also with us is CNN politics..

(CROSSTALK)

KOSIK: What is this, a job application here?

BERMAN: ... reporter Eugene Scott is with us now. We'll get to the pictures of some of the protests in a little bit. But Josh, first to you. Because I think the news that Steve Bannon is being seriously considered as chief of staff will be something that is disturbing to many on the left, surprising to many republicans. And even to many Donald Trump supporters. What does this man represent? And what would it mean if he were to be picked as chief of staff?

ROGIN: Yes. Well, I think this is one of many instances inside the Trump transition team where there's a battle raging. And my sources inside the transition team confirm this between those who want to see Trump appoint administration that's more moderate, more mainstream, more establishment.

And those who want to have an a, have an enemies list, b, use that enemies list, and c, put all of the people who really, you know, came in at the end of the campaign in these key positions.

What a Steve Bannon chief of staff position would mean is a total commitment of Trump to the latter more extreme, more campaign style that he had during the end of the campaign. It's really a signal that he's going to be combative, that he's going to be divisive. That he's going to keep these sorts of themes of racial, you know, economic and political persecution alive.

It's really would be a sign that the divisiveness in this country is going to get much, much worse before it gets any better.

KOSIK: Paris, wouldn't it be better choice to pick Reince Priebus?

PARIS DENNARD, FORMER WHITE HOUSE BLACK OUTREACH DIRECTOR: Listen, at the end of the day, President-elect Trump is going to be the one who selects the best people to serve in his administration, especially in positions like chief of staff.

Mr. Trump, don't forget is a businessman, has been a businessman, a CEO for many years. And so he knows a little thing about H.R. and putting key people in the right positions. And so, whether it's Bannon, whether it's Priebus or whether it's somebody else we don't know it's going to be somebody who is loyal to Mr. Trump's that will protect Mr. Trump's -- President-elect Trump's interest and can advance that interest.

But also the role of chief of staff is somebody that has to be very organized.

ROGIN: Yes.

DENNARD: Someone who can keep the things -- keep the things moving. Ans so, Bannon is someone who has that experience. It's about judgment. Chairman Priebus at the RNC has that experience.

But at the end of the day, Mr. Trump, we cannot forget the fact that the president-elect has this type of expertise being a business leader and putting key people in these types of positions.

BERMAN: Paris, I want to get back to this point, back to this point, whether in this segment or in the future because there's a lot to talk about in that position. But I want to show people what is happening right now in streets of Portland.

This is breaking news, happening right now. This appears to be -- I don't know if it's tear gas, it could be smoke, but some kind of device now being used by police to disperse the crowds. We think there on Portland.

These demonstrations have been going across the country in Portland specifically. Again, police are saying they are more than demonstrations they are riots because of the damage to property and also the danger posed to law enforcement. Things have been thrown at them.

I suppose let's keep these pictures up while we bring up the subject of Donald Trump's response to the protests overnight. And Eugene Scott, let me just read you the tweet again from Donald Trump. He said, "Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters incited by media are protesting, very unfair."

[03:20:00] Look, I wouldn't expect Donald Trump to be happy with these protests.

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Right.

BERMAN: But I think that on either side, that Hillary Clinton one we would have seen demonstrations and they would have been understandable. You're seeing these demonstrations are understandable.

I don't think there is any evidence that they are caused by professional protesters given the fact that they sprouted up across the country and I don't see any evidence that they are incited by the media. I feel like the media in the last two days has actually been overwhelmingly laudatory how everyone is calling for a peaceful transition. But what's your opinion on this?

SCOTT: Well, my opinion is, you know, the right thing to do when trying to handle conflict and tension is to be able to explain your opponent's position and views in a way that they would recognize.

And if speak with these protestors they will tell you that they aren't out here because of the media. They will tell you that they are out here protesting policies and ideas that Donald Trump put forward.

Just like Donald Trump supporters would have been protesting policies that Hillary Clinton's people put forward. And the reality is when Donald Trump supporters have gone on to say that they would have protested the outcome, Mr. Trump, president-elect Trump did not rebuke them. This is a very partisan response to what is happening from many segments of the American population.

KOSIK: And Donald Trump has now feel battle here in a divided nation trying to unite everybody. But you are hearing people who are protesting, people who voted -- who didn't vote for Donald Trump saying he's not my president. So he is starting from a tough spot.

BERMAN: And you know, there is touch of irony, I promise you a lot of people on the streets right now don't feel a particular tie to the media after this election.

Josh, we are going to -- we are going to come back to this in a little bit. We're going to get to some other news. But I just want to say we are keeping our eye on what's happening on the streets Portland as the situation develops. We'll be right back.

[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines.

It will be a busy few days for World Cup qualifying matches. We have a Group A marque match with the top teams of France and Sweden squaring off.

The original date of this picture has to be moved since the match was due to be played on the anniversary of the Paris terrorist attacks. The two sides are top on seven points in the group, and on Friday, the most expensive player Paul Pogba will be in action for France after netting the match winner in their last qualifier against Holland.

Rivalries will be taken to a whole new level when United States host Mexico in their World Cup qualifier. The match will be held days after the presidential election adding another layer of injury to this rivalry.

USA Captain Michael Bradley tweeted before the match "I hope every person that comes to the stadium comes ready to enjoy what we all want to be a beautiful game and hope that it is a special night in every way."

And President Obama had a house full at the White House on Thursday. LeBron James and the Cavaliers were congratulated by the president. The NBA stars claimed their first title in team history back in June. At the end same time ending a 52 year championship throughout for the city of Cleveland.

And that's a look at your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

[03:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: And welcome back. You are looking at live pictures from Portland, Oregon, it's a little after midnight and these are demonstrations that you're seeing anti-Trump protests which Portland police are calling riots at this point.

Right now, it is looking much calmer than what we saw just earlier. BERMAN: Just a few minutes ago, literally, just a few minutes ago, we

saw some kind of smoke device or dispersal device, whether it's tear gas or something -- I'm not sure it was tear gas based on what you are seeing right now. It seems unlikely that that's the case. But there is something used to try to disperse the crowds.

Clearly these are tense moments on the streets of Portland. Demonstrations across the country, specifically in Portland, Oregon, police there have called them riots because of some damage to property and also threats to police.

KOSIK: All right let's bring back in our panel to talk about this more. We've got CNN commentator Paris Dennard, a Donald Trump supporter, CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, he's a columnist for the Washington Post, and here with us is CNN politics reporter Eugene Scott, an extraordinary of everything.

Let's -- let me first go to you, Paris. Because you know, these are angry voters, these are angry Americans about the outcome of this election. Donald Trump has a tall hill to climb in trying to unite this country.

DENNARD: Well, he does. And I think that he set the right tone with his victory speech on Tuesday evening, early Wednesday morning. I think that his message yesterday after meeting with President Obama set the right tone. He was very respectful. He was presidential because he is a president-elect, and I think that he is forward thinking, forward moving.

President Obama is forward thinking and forward moving and I think Secretary Clinton set the right tone in her speech after she conceded the election.

So, I think the American people have to unite and understand and accept the fact that President-elect Trump is going to be the President of the United States. And we have to find ways, if you don't agree with his policies or his -- things that he proposed to find things that you do agree with and work together to make this country great again.

That's the only way we can heal, that's the only way we can come together. And I hope that democrats, like Secretary Clinton, will, and Bernie Sanders, which a lot of these people that are protesting identify with him even more will come out and say this is inappropriate, this is not right, let's unite, let's come together and work toward common goals where we can find them.

Common goals like the economy, common goals like jobs, common goals like criminal justice reform, education. I think there are things that we can find common ground on and that's the important thing as we move forward with a country.

BERMAN: And again, as you were talking, Paris, we saw things thrown at police officers there. We saw, you know, the trash barrel being turned over right there. And, Josh, I want to get your take on this. But I just want Paris, a

quick response, you know, Donald Trump has said very conciliatory things over the last, you know, 37, or you know, 40 hours or so. So too has President Obama, so too has Hillary Clinton.

Everyone is saying and doing the right things. No question about that. You know, throwing things at cops right now, that's never the right thing. But protesting, there's nothing wrong with protests, are there? You are not suggesting that people don't have a right to try to make their voice heard, you're not saying that, are you?

DENNARD: No, I'm not saying people don't have a right to protest. I am saying that you have a right to vote. And so I would have hoped that all -- if you did -- if any of these protesters did not vote, I don't think that they have a right -- I don't think they should be out there protesting if you did not vote.

President Obama always said don't boo, vote.

BERMAN: Right.

DENANRD: But you do have a right to protest, but it always should be peaceful, it always should be respectful and it should always not include violence, especially at our law enforcement. That's inappropriate on either side.

BERMAN: OK. Josh, you want to jump in on this conversation and give us your thoughts?

ROGIN: Yes, thank you. First of all, I second your point here that protesting, peaceful protesting is not only your right, it's patriotic and it goes back to the foundations of our nation.

But I also want to go back to your earlier point, John, which I thought was a great one, which is that Donald Trump's reaction to this, namely that this was a professional protesters incited by the media is not true. OK. It's pretty clear that that's not the case, OK?

So, looking that reaction, you can only draw one of two conclusions, either, you know, he is lying and he's trying to sort of play the victim and demonize the protesters, or let's say he believes it then he doesn't understand what's going on the streets. OK.

[03:30:08] And there's a lot of tension. And it doesn't have to get violent but it could get violent. That's what we are all trying to avoid. That's what President Obama is trying to avoid. So the media would try to avoid if we had.

So what Donald Trump is doing is he is not responding to that or even acknowledging that that exists. And that's problematic. Only 48 hours after he said he wants to be a president for all Americans, this is his first test and he is failing the test.

These are Americans, Donald Trump. And if you want to be president for these people you have to first acknowledge their right to have these feelings and to have these grievances. KOSIK: OK. For those who are just joining us it is 3.30 in the

morning Eastern Time. This is Early Start. And we got some have breaking news as you can see on the screen there.

A new protest against Donald Trump's election, rattling the nation in more than a dozen cities from Philadelphia to Phoenix. These once again are shots from Portland. These protests are happening a second night in a row.

Here in Portland, though, police declaring the protests a riot after demonstrators threw projectiles at officers, smashing car and store front windows. The Portland Police Twitter feed warned that rioting is a class c felony.

And I want to ask you, Eugene, you know, these are images that presumably are being broadcast around the world. How are -- how are...

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: We are. And I think -- I think we are being watched around the world right now.

KOSIK: So how is this being perceived? Is this undermining the presidency of President-elect Trump?

SCOTT: We are being watched. Yesterday morning when we were on we got a response from a viewer in Europe and the reality is people even internationally are very concerned about what is going to happen in this next administration.

To Paris' point, I think a lot of people do want to give Mr. Trump a fair chance and to see what he can do. He had this great speech following his victory saying that he wanted to be the leader for all Americans, but when you suggest that people are acting irrationally, who very -- who very much have strong opinions about the policy proposals you put forward, it does suggest what Josh mentioned that you really don't understand a significant percentage of the American voters who voted against you.

KOSIK: Yes. Paris, is that the tweet that Donald Trump tweeted about these protests, is that presidential? I mean, should he at least have maybe said, in part of that tweet, we're a divided nation and I want to bring everybody together, I'm a president for everybody. You know, could that line have maybe softened it a bit?

DENNARD: I mean, you have only 140 characters but I think it's important for the viewers to understand and remember that a lot of the things that are being said about the tweet are inaccurate. He did not talk about these protest who did not have a right to protest. He did not invalidate any of the protesters there.

What he said was he felt they were professional protesters incited by the media and he called that unfair, meaning that the media was doing that, not talking about the protesters.

But I think at the end of the day what President-elect Trump is saying is I don't think he wants to believe that these are Americans that are out there doing that, that these are democrats out there doing that, because he believes in the greatness of the American people. Hoping that we can rise above this.

Because to your point earlier, the world is watching. America is known for having a peaceful transfer of power. Where we get, we vote, we have free elections, you can vote freely, you can vote early, you can often and then you move forward with the governance of the country.

And so, it's hard for people to accept the fact that Americans are out there, democrats are out there and this is the response. The response should not be violence toward police officers or destruction of property. That should never be the response.

BERMAN: Yes. So, violence, violence you know, should never be the response. You talk about, you know, our system was created by America and another thing great is the freedom of speech and the freedom to protest.

DENNARD: Right.

BERMAN: And what you are seeing necessarily in the streets Portland, or we're seeing in the streets of Portland right now, these are live pictures of what's happening in Portland right now, this is not what we have seen across the country.

(CROSSTALK)

KOSIK: It's not the most...

BERMAN: There were thousand thousands of demonstrators across the country, you know, 95 percent of them -- no, 99 percent of them walking peacefully and marching peacefully wanting their voices to be heard.

What's happening in Portland tonight to be clear, the police there have called this a riot because of damage to property and also threats posed to police officers, thrown projectiles and the like.

And again, just so people can come up to speed, I read you the tweet that Donald Trump put out overnight in response to what these protests. All right "Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters incited by the media are protesting, very unfair."

And again, just to be clear as we look around the country there isn't really any evidence that these are professional protesters. This does appeared to be sincere feelings of concern from protesters just as we heard very sincere feelings of concern on Tuesday in this election from people supporting Donald Trump.

There is a sense, Eugene Scott from both sides right now that their voices are not being heard.

[03:34:57] SCOTT: Absolutely. And we also don't have proof that these are democrats as Paris suggested. We just have proof that these are people who do not support what just happened. The reality is there are people who voted for Donald Trump, who voted for Donald Trump in part because they felt like he represented them.

He had ideas that they thought needed to be brought to the table and they wanted their voices heard. The reality is there are lots of people in this country coming from different vantage points who feel unheard. And this is a time that we wonder if the president will listen and he told us he will and time will tell.

KOSIK: All right. I want to bring in Symone Sanders, she is former Bernie Sanders campaign press secretary and a Clinton supporter. Symone, thanks for joining us. Good morning.

SYMONE SANDERS, FORMER BERNIE SANDERS NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY: Good morning.

KOSIK: So, you are watching these live pictures along with us. You know, we have a right to protest, but you know, when you start destroying property, not the most productive way, many think, to express your views. What are your thoughts on what you are seeing?

SANDERS: So, yes. I want to underscore that protesting is a vital part of the American fabric. We achieved this country via protest. And it was not necessarily a peaceful protest. So, I always call for peaceful protests.

You have -- we all have to understand that there are people out in America, right now, tonight, or this morning, wherever they are that do not feel peaceful. They feel like their lives are in danger that feel threatened.

And we are in a new time really when you have Steve Bannon who has given a platform of the alt-right being floated as the chief of staff for the White House, for the people's house you are going to see unrest.

So what you are seeing in the streets right now, what we are seeing in the street is really a manifestation of the unrest and bubbling over where America is. And for Donald Trump to dismiss the -- pardon me, President-elect Trump to dismiss the protesters as professional protesters incited by the media just goes to demonstrate just how absolutely aloof he really is to where the people actually are.

BERMAN: It is interesting, Symone, you just corrected yourself mid- sentence to say President-elect Trump because it's true. Donald Trump is the President elect of the United States. And President Obama seemed to actually go out of his way during their meeting, during their photo op, Josh Rogin, to several times used those words, President-elect Trump.

He is conveying the clear message that we are in the midst right now of this peaceful transition of power, which in my mind is one of the greatest things that the United States of America does. We do it so very well and it should be an example to the entire world.

Kellyanne Conway yesterday, a lot of what happens right now is on Twitter. Kellyanne Conway who was the campaign manager for Donald Trump and was apparently she's been offered a job in the Trump administration has actually called on President Obama to say something about these protests. I wonder if I could get your reaction to that.

ROGIN: Yes, I think president Obama has a healthy respect for the office of the presidency and for the peaceful transition of power and he is doing his best, right, to sort of bite his tongue.

I mean, we heard Josh Earnest say that President Obama still thinks that Donald Trump is unqualified to be president, yet he doesn't see any upside in hitting that mantra now that Donald Trump will be president.

So that's one thing. As for Kellyanne Conway calling on President Obama to call off the protesters, I think it sort of shows you that this is not just Donald Trump tweeting in the middle of the night from his apartment in Trump Tower.

This is their strategy. This is what the Trump team and its surrogates are going to say about these protests. And these protests are going to go on. OK? This is the beginning, not the end. It's going to get worse before it gets better. That's my -- that's not my hope, that's just my my prediction.

And what the Trump, the whole Trump structure is going to say, is they're going to say, well, democrats you got to rein in your people, OK. So that's not going to help. OK? And we are going to have an intellectual argument about who is to blame, is it Donald Trump, you know, cause this by dragging us down into the gutter for a year. I think there's a good argument for that.

You know, but putting that to one side, what is he going to do now? Is he just going to be the campaigner Donald Trump or is he going to be President Donald Trump? Early indications are that it's the former and that's really the most troubling thing of all.

KOSIK: All right. We're going to take a quick break and then jump back and get Paris' reaction. We'll be right back.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If you live in the greater Atlanta metro region you know that there's been a thick layer of smoke blanketing the city for the past several days. I, myself I'm a runner tried to get outside today and also had difficulty of breathing as many of you.

You can see some forest fires that have flared up across parts of North Carolina in to Tennessee and you can also see the predominant winds coming from a northerly direction. This is all behind a cold front that settled in across the region. And that has allowed for very dry conditions to move across this area.

And also reducing our visibility with the smoke and haze settling in across this major metropolitan region making breathing sensitivity very dangerous for elderly people with asthma perhaps or also the extremely young individuals out there.

And here's a look at the rest of the country. We have active weather across the Pacific Northwest as a cold front moves in. Few showers near the border of Texas and in to Mexico. Otherwise, a weak cold front moves across the New England coastline not really impacting much of New York.

You will stay dry in to the early part of the weekend. Fifteen for your day time high. Ten degrees if you are located in Chicago. Atlanta 22. Denver 16, Los Angeles at 28. We stay dry in to San Francisco at 21 for your Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. You are looking at live pictures now from Portland, Oregon. There have been demonstrations. Thousands of people on the streets all night and into the morning across the country protesting the result of the election.

You are looking at Portland, Oregon, has gone beyond police say just peaceful protests. The police in Portland say these are actually riots because of damage to property and also things thrown at police.

I have to say, you know, we have our Twitter up here and I can see people's reaction to what they're seeing and what we are saying. There are a lot of strong feelings on -- I want to say on both sides but there are more than two sides here because we have Donald Trump supporters saying what they are seeing on the streets here is awful.

We have people who are upset about the result of the election saying, you know, that it's wonderful. We have people saying it's the media's fault. It's not the media's fault. We have people saying all sorts of things.

You know, I encourage you to join in this discussion and tell us what you think about what you are seeing on Twitter. So, I think it's an important time for everyone to talk and figure out if we can understand what's happening in this country.

Whether it be the anger some of the anger we heard on Election Day or some of the anger we are seeing right now on the streets of Portland. So, as we talk about this, please join the conversation on Twitter with us.

KOSIK: Only that a whole slew of political commentators joining the discussion. We got Symone Sanders, she is former Bernie Sanders campaign press secretary and a Clinton supporter. Paris Dennard, a Donald Trump supporter, CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, a columnist for the Washington Post, and here with us on the set, CNN politics reporter, Eugene Scott.

Good morning to everybody. Paris, to you, you know, Donald Trump campaigned as the law and order candidate. This could be his opportunity to really show his might, being that person. What should he do?

DENNARD: I think Mr. Trump should and while he was the law and order candidate he was much more than that.

[03:45:00] President-elect Trump tapped into a frustration. A frustration that in my opinion that crosses color lines it crosses socioeconomic lines and regional lines. He tapped in to a frustration that the American people from all walks of life are facing.

They felt left out. They are in fragile communities and they felt that the system that the government had forgotten about them had fail them in many cases. When you look at the educational system, when you look at the violence in some of the inner cities, when you look at the joblessness and the job -- unemployment and wage stagnation.

And you look at the rise of terrorism both abroad and at home. And so, the frustration that republicans felt, that democrats felt, that African-Americans felt, that Latinos felt, it manifests itself somehow.

And a lot of times you see that acting out in protests. So we can say that they want to protesting President-elect Trump's election, or some of the things that President-elect Trump might have said during the campaign trail, but there's always an underlying issue. There always something called the root of the problem or the root of the issue.

And once we are able to get to that, then we can have a real serious conversation. And I think that's what Mr. -- that President-elect Trump was trying to do to the campaign. And I think that's why people responded to him in kind and I think that's how he is going to lead by making America great again, not just for republicans but for everyone, especially those protesters in Orlando -- I'm sorry, in Portland, Oregon and all across the country.

BERMAN: Guys, Symone, standby for one minute, guys. Everyone, standby. With us on the phone right now is Sergeant Pete Simpson, he is Public Information Officer for the Portland Police bureau. Sergeant Simpson, thanks so much for being with us. Give us a sense of what's going on the streets of Portland right now. Your police department has declared this a riot.

PETE SIMPSON, PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU PIO: Yes. It's -- we're still out in downtown Portland addressing a crowd of rioters who have been out for several hours tonight. Right now we made multiple arrests over the course of the evening. You know, things started at 5 p.m. and it was large and largely peaceful.

We estimate somewhere around 4,000 people marching. But over the course of the evening we started seeing and getting reports of people in the crowd attacking vehicles and then lots of vandalism to businesses and windows.

So fires being started. Once the protests got in to downtown Portland, it really shifted from a protest march to a riot. It just was a free for all of damage to businesses in the Pearl district.

We spoke with and saw some of our folks that we've built relationships with Black Lives Matter, it was one of many groups in this event and they made it very clear that they were not part of that and they were actually trying to get these anarchist groups to stop and they were not listening to them. And so, a good number of those folks left the march, and it's presented a lot of challenges for us tonight.

KOSIK: Sergeant Simpson, this is Alison Kosik, as well. Are you finding these anti-Trump protests happening in your city not only include people against the outcome or unhappy with the outcome of the election but people who are just blaming on and just causing destruction for the sake of it?

SIMPSON: Yes, we have -- there's a large combination of folks in the protest. You know, it's definitely started out as a protest about the election results, but as we see here, somewhat regularly there are a lot of groups that have lots of issues that come together.

And the anarchist black block segment has been here and well entrenched here and routinely will insert itself in to other events and use the large crowd as an anonymity while they go out and break windows and start fires and damage cars and things.

And so, we made several arrests, some folks we're familiar with, some folks we're not familiar and we're -- you know, as I am talking to you right now I can hear our less lethal munitions being deployed out on the streets.

BERMAN: Sorry, one more time, what's being deployed on the streets.

SIMPSON: Less lethal munitions, so things like sting ball, less lethal grenades, pepper ball, pepper spray, officers in the last couple of hours have taken rocks, bottles, other projectiles being thrown at them from the street, from parking garages. Pretty much anything that's not nailed down has been thrown at the police.

BERMAN: Do you have a sense of how many, as you now call them rioters are on the streets right now?

[03:49:57] SIMPSON: The last number I had heard was not too long ago was anywhere from 100 to 200 people. And they -- again, this is -- this is the leftover group from a much larger group which was largely peaceful earlier.

And a lot of folks that are out there now are the anarchist folks that -- you know, they are really out at every protest we have. It sort of doesn't matter what the issue is. And certainly there's a fair amount of people who are -- who were there for the show, if you will.

KOSIK: So do you feel this situation is escalating or do you find your officers are able to get control of this?

SIMPSON: Well, if it gets -- it is stable in the sense that it's been consistent now for, you know, an hour and a half, two hours of -- it's just a battle for control of the streets. You know, we're trying to keep people moving and arrest folks as we can.

Fortunately, this part of downtown Portland is really businesses and offices, there's not much residential. There's some hotels and, you know, our goal is to get people to leave the area and go home for the night. And we'll stay out here until we feel like it's safe to leave.

BERMAN: All right. Sergeant Pete Simpson, PIO for the Portland, Oregon Police Department, thanks so much for calling in and giving us a sense of what is happening on the ground right now. Because we've been seeing these pictures and you give us some context. So, Sergeant Simpson, thank you so much.

Let me recap of what the sergeant just said here because I think it's important. From the perspective of police, what you are seeing right now on the streets of Portland is several hundred, a few hundred, maybe 1 to 200, maybe more what he calls anarchists who are the remnants of what was a largely peaceful protest earlier in the evening people upset about the results of the election.

There are maybe 4,000 people at the beginning, These are the remnants of people that he calls fairly many of them regular protesters. People who join in, glam on to other things. And he called many of them anarchists.

Several arrests have been made. And as of right now on the streets, we were just told the police are using, you know, less lethal methods we're told, and that means, pepper spray, paint balls, smoke grenades, things to try to disperse this crowd. Because the 100 to 200 people who are left on the streets of Portland are breaking things and burning things and throwing things at police officers and they're trying to get the situation under control there.

KOSIK: But despite these pictures and they are pretty dramatic, the sergeant saying things are stable. He wants people to just go home at this point.

BERMAN: All right. What we are going to do now we are keeping an eye on the streets here as the situation is ongoing in Portland. There are also protests that we know that are ongoing in Los Angeles, as well overnight.

I don't believe anything the likes of which we are seeing right now in Portland. But again, this started out as demonstrations across the country. Thousands and thousands of people demonstrating against the results of the election on Tuesday.

Now what we are seeing is some pockets, small pockets of violence at least in Portland, Oregon. I think this is taped from before. I just don't you are looking at live pictures. We saw that happen a few minutes ago in Portland. We are keeping an eye on it. We'll be right back.

[03:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Breaking news. You are looking at live pictures from Portland, Oregon there. This is tape actually from a short time ago. A demonstration that Portland police are actually calling a riot.

It started out peaceful, people protesting the outcome of the election, but the sergeant -- the police sergeant of the Portland Police Department saying it turned into anarchists included in this group causing destruction to property.

BERMAN: Also breaking this morning, Donald Trump has responded to some of these demonstrations on Twitter. We will tell you what he says and who he blames for what's going on the streets right now.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Early Start, a very busy morning. I'm John Berman.

KOSIK: And good morning. I'm Alison Kosik. I's Friday, November the 11th. It is Veteran's Day. It's 4 a.m. in the east. And we welcome all of our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.

And again, our breaking news this morning, new protests against Donald Trump's election for the second night in a row. Here in Portland, Oregon, police officially declaring the protest a riot after demonstrators threw projectiles at officer and smashed cars and store front windows.

The Portland Police Twitter feed warning that rioting is a class c felony. Protests are taking place in more than a dozen cities from Philadelphia to Phoenix.

And we are getting our first look this morning at Donald Trump's reaction to the protests. That it comes in the form of, what else, but a tweet. And in his tweet he is blaming the protests on full-time agitators. He is also blaming the news media.

He tweeted last night. He tweeted this, "Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters incited by the media are protesting, very unfair."

BERMAN: All right. One of the protests, many of the protests around the country -- again, one of them in Oakland became pretty heated. Police there they are dealing with a crowd that was awfully upset.

CNN's Dan Simon was right in the middle of it.

SIMON: John and Alison, the temperature has risen on the streets of Oakland. We've seen the crowd become unruly. There's been vandalism, there is a group that actually blocked a freeway for a period of time and some are taunting police officers.

It was a much different situation earlier where we saw a peaceful protest. A group of citizens simply wanted to express their disgust over the election of Donald Trump and trying to figure out how to move forward.

Unfortunately, that anger has now turned into something resembling chaos and police there are trying to deal with it the best they can. John and Alison?

BERMAN: All right. Dan is wrapping scenes that cast in Oakland. There's some demonstrations still in Los Angeles right now. And also we've been looking at pictures from Portland, Oregon most of the morning. [04:00:01] A very tense moments on that streets as arrests have been

made and police have been dealing with several hundred agitators who's have been setting fires to things and throwing things.

Now to be clear, most of the protests overnight across the country were very, very peaceful.