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Fourth Day of Anti-Trump Protests; Trump Eyes Campaign Surrogates for Cabinet; Turkey's Take on Trump; One Year Since Paris Terror Attacks; "SNL" Chooses Drama over Comedy on Election. Aired 3- 3:30a ET
Aired November 13, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) timetable (INAUDIBLE) staff?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's imminent. (INAUDIBLE).
CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Who will be the next White House chief of staff?
The president-elect is weighing his options.
And as you heard, a decision could be imminent.
And a year since the utter horror of the Paris terror attacks. France remembers its victims today. You're watching live pictures from Saint-Denis, where Paris' main football stadium came under attack. A plaque was just unveiled, the beginning of commemorations in Paris.
Hello. Thanks for joining us. I'm Cyril Vanier. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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VANIER: Donald Trump's spokeswoman says a decision on the White House chief of staff is imminent. The two likely choices are advisor Steve Bannon and Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus.
The chief of staff is an enormously powerful position. It controls who sees the president.
Meanwhile, anti-Trump demonstrators have been out in force for the fourth straight day. Thousands filled the streets of Portland, Oregon, on Saturday along with a large presence of riot police.
Portland has seen dozens of arrests in the past three nights, including 19 on Saturday night. Meanwhile, in New York, demonstrators once again converged on Donald
Trump's residence. Thousands of people marched down Fifth Avenue just hours ago, chanting anti-Trump slogans. Our Brynn Gingras was there.
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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of people shut down Fifth Avenue in New York City with a clear message for President-elect Donald Trump. They marched from Union Square up Fifth Avenue about two miles right to Trump Tower here behind me.
Standing together, all saying they are against what the president- elect campaigned on. Several issues but most of them in all to defy the hate they say he fostered throughout that campaign. Listen to what some people said was the reason they individually came out here.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is enormous. It's big. And I don't know what we can actually do to change things but we just have to keep coming out and making sure that his hatred and his fear and the anger that he is stirring up or using to get elected doesn't manifest itself in our country.
GINGRAS: What do you think the collective message is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are getting together to support each other as a community because this is a huge loss. This election has set us back and has definitely shown the world that we are not as advanced as we claim we are.
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GINGRAS: This protest lasted several hours and for the most part was pretty peaceful. NYPD officers actually walked alongside them that two-mile stretch.
We know from the Secret Service authorities who were inside Trump Tower at one point because the protests were so large, visitors, tourists, who usually are able to get into Trump Tower were not allowed. And people were not allowed to leave just for their safety purposes.
At this point we don't know the exact number of arrests from this particular protest but we know they were pretty peaceful and minimal arrest. Back to you.
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VANIER: Back to the White House politics and the business of conducting a transition. We may soon know who Donald Trump will choose to fill a key staff position, possibly the most important one in his administration.
Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, hinted Saturday that an announcement will come any time now. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) timetable (INAUDIBLE) chief of staff?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It's imminent. No, but it's imminent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw Reince earlier.
Would he be the one, do you think?
CONWAY: I think Chairman Priebus has expressed interest in the position. There are several people being considered. (INAUDIBLE) decision also (INAUDIBLE).
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VANIER: Well, the president-elect has an entirely new cabinet to fill and he may be rewarding loyalty above all as he names his team. Our Jim Sciutto looks at who's under consideration.
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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trump adviser and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani now helping to lead Trump's transition team.
RUDY GIULIANI (R), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: Donald has been my friend for 28 years. All of my work on behalf of him has been out of great loyalty and friendship to him. I can see already how he's going to be a great president and I'm glad I could play a small role.
SCIUTTO: Before the election, dozens of GOP national security officials and experts declared in two separate letters that they would never work for a Trump administration. But sources tell CNN that many of those so-called Never Trumpers are coming back, even offering mea culpas.
Still, Trump's innermost national security circle will be led by advisers who gave him --
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SCIUTTO: -- early and unwavering support.
GIULIANI: The next President of the United States, Donald Trump.
SCIUTTO: Giuliani possible for secretary of state, chief of staff and telling CNN on Thursday attorney general.
GIULIANI: I certainly have the energy and there's probably nobody that knows the Justice Department better than me.
SCIUTTO: Senator Jeff Sessions.
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALA.: Donald, welcome to my hometown, Mobile, Alabama.
SCIUTTO: A transition team leader and one of the first GOP senators to back Trump is also likely to land a plum job, including possibly secretary of Defense.
LT. GEN. MIKE FLYNN (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Donald J. Trump to be the next President of the United States.
SCIUTTO: Retired General Michael Flynn offered Trump vociferous support and Hillary Clinton vociferous criticism throughout the campaign, including tweeting just one week before the election, quote, "You decide. NYPD blows whistle on new Hillary e-mails, money laundering, sex crimes with children, et cetera. Must read," allegations that remain unsubstantiated.
He is a possibility for senior posts, including national security adviser. His new national security postings will send the world revealing signals about his new foreign policy. Earlier this year, Trump said that he wasn't looking for people with the usual backgrounds.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I also look and have to look for talented experts with approaches and practical ideas, rather than surrounding myself with those who have perfect resumes.
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VANIER: Joining us from New York is Peter Beinart, CNN political commentator, a contributor to "The Atlantic."
Peter, we're in the dark right now as to who will stop the Trump White House and administration. Of course, we've got some leads. But they could all end up being wrong. Trump famously likes to be unpredictable and we've been wrong in the past.
So what kind of person does Trump need to have by his side, do you think?
PETER BEINART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The kind of person he needs to have by his side is probably the kind of person he won't have by his side. I think that Donald Trump probably will find (INAUDIBLE) his loyalty above most other things (INAUDIBLE) early indications in terms of names of people that you're seeing, the people you want by his side are people who could stand up to him and challenge his judgment when it's dangerous, people who know how to run the government. But I think many of those people are staying away.
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VANIER: You don't think he has anybody like that in his team, who's willing to stand up to him?
BEINART: No. I think it's -- I don't think -- I think Donald Trump is a bully and I think he likes to dominate people and I think it's quite unlikely that he is going to allow others to seriously challenge his judgment. I think this is going to be a continuation of the campaign.
VANIER: I know you were rooting for the other side. Another question regarding the transition, given that Donald Trump has never served in government and isn't familiar with the inner workings of Washington, can he still afford not to appoint an insider?
BEINART: Well, I think what may happen is that, since Donald Trump doesn't know, not only the workings of government but has very, very poor, minimal grasp of public policy -- remember, this is a guy who, for instance, didn't know what Brexit was days before the vote, didn't know what the Nuclear Triad was, the fact that we have nuclear missiles on air, land and sea, I think what may happen is that he will give kind of broad directives. And not that others will stand up to him but others will have tremendous latitude in implementing those directives because unless they get a very complicated question like how do you replace ObamaCare?
It's an extremely complicated question. There's nothing that suggests that Donald Trump has the knowledge base or, frankly, even the aptitude to really learn that.
So the details will probably --
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VANIER: Well, people who have worked with him in the past in his real estate and property building endeavors say that he's a quick study, he's a fast learner, even though he's not interested in the details. He does wrap his head around things quickly.
BEINART: Well, I mean, yes, he also went bankrupt multiple times and started with a big loan from his father. He would have been even richer today if he had just put the money that he inherited from his father in the S&P 500.
But it's also worth noting that real estate is not the same as government. In most professions, it actually is quite important to know something about the institution that you're going to work in and that profession.
People stay in Washington, in federal politics, are very different. So I think we'll see -- we saw the system with George W. Bush, who although more educated than Trump, didn't have much of a policy grasp. But there were people around him who did tended to have a lot of influence.
And I think between Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, who run the House and the Senate and Mike Pence as vice president and whole cadre of lobbyists that are already starting to swarm around him, I would expect those will be the people who really (INAUDIBLE) legislation.
VANIER: All right. Peter Beinart, joining us from New York, thank you very much.
BEINART: Thank you.
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VANIER: As far as foreign policy is concerned, Donald Trump's intentions are not immediately clear and that has some world leaders unsettled or even downright fearful. But here's one who thinks that a departure from the diplomacy of Barack Obama will be a welcome change.
CNN's Will Ripley show shows us the reaction to the U.S. president- elect in Turkey.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First the coup, then the purge. Four months after soldiers tried and failed to take over the Turkish government a staggering roundup. Tens of thousands of soldiers, professors, lawmakers, even journalists, many accused of ties to one man.
Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkey wants the U.S. to extradite Gulen accusing him of master minding the coup. He says there's no proof. So far the U.S. has allowed Gulen to remain in Pennsylvania, his home for more than 15 years.
TRUMP: You have no choice.
RIPLEY: That could change under President-elect Donald Trump. One of his top military advisers, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, wrote an op-ed last week, comparing Gulen to Osama bin Laden, calling for his extradition.
HASAN BASRI YALCIN, PROFESSOR, ISTANBUL COMMERCE UNIVERSITY: He must be captured, he must be arrested and he must be put into the court.
RIPLEY: Professor Hasan Basri Yalcin of Istanbul Commerce University says Gulen's extradition would infuriate the cleric's followers but greatly improve ties between Turkey and the U.S.
YALCIN: This is going to be a really good message for Turkey because it's going to show that the United States is ready to work with Turkey against any kind of terrorism.
RIPLEY: Yalcin, who's pro-government, says Turkey will also try to convince Trump to stop supporting Kurdish militias fighting ISIS in Syria because Turkey considers them terrorists.
But in this primarily Muslim nation many see Donald Trump as Islamophobic. In fact, Turkish President Erdogan even called for a name change here at Trump Towers Istanbul after the candidate proposed a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
Still, it seems Erdogan is willing to put it all aside. He was among the first world leaders to call and congratulate Trump. They did not talk about growing human rights concerns over Erdogan's ongoing post- coup purge of political opponents.
Trump has said the U.S. should focus on its own problems and not criticize other countries. On the streets of Turkey, like everywhere else, a sense of uncertainty surrounding the new leader of the free world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm afraid for Muslim people there.
RIPLEY (on camera): You're afraid for Muslims, why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I don't feel good. I'm afraid for my family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like his way when he speak but we will see what he will do in the world.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Right now nobody really knows what that world will look like -- Will Ripley, CNN, Istanbul.
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VANIER: A famous concert hall in Paris has reopened one year after it was targeted by terrorists. How the French capital is paying tribute to the attack victims -- just ahead.
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VANIER: That was the sound of the Bataclan concert hall coming back to life on Saturday night. Special performance by Sting marked the reopening of the venue in Central Paris one year after the terror attacks.
A year ago terrorists stormed the venue and opened fire on the crowd, killing dozens of people. That was part of a coordinated attack on the capital that left 130 dead within a matter of hours. A minute of silence was held before the concert to honor the victims.
And joining me now from Central Paris, our CNN's Melissa Bell at Place de la Republique, not far from the concert hall, and Jim Bittermann at the Bataclan itself.
Both of you lived through those moments and know France and Paris really well.
Melissa, I'd like to start with you, because you met survivors as well as families of some of the victims and you attended that concert yesterday. That was a special moment. Tell us what that was like.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was incredibly emotional, Cyril, because Sting captured its mood by speaking entirely in French. Opening that minute of silence with the words, "They will not be forgotten."
You have to understand that this great pit, which is the best part of the Bataclan, in which there is standing room only, this was the first time a crowd had gathered there since that awful night, when 89 people were mowed down over a 2.5 hour attack before police could make their way into the concert hall.
For those who had gathered, it was very emotional. Everyone really remembering all of those who died above that pit. The family members, the relatives, the survivors had been invited, many of those seats were empty, Cyril, a reminder that many people had simply not had the courage to return.
Among those who did, though, was one man, Josh Salin (ph), whose 28- year-old daughter, Lola (ph) was killed on that night. He explained to us afterwards that it had been important for him to come. It had been an easy decision to make.
He said it was important that life should reaffirm itself, should get the upper hand over the deaths that had become synonymous with the Bataclan ever since.
But then when the music had started, as he looked down into that pit where his daughter had been killed, it had been so much harder than he had expected.
VANIER: Jim Bittermann, you're outside the Bataclan right now. You've lived in France for decades. You know the country as well as anyone I can think of. I'd like to put to you a question that I often get as a French man.
How is the country doing today a year after the attacks?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: I think, Cyril, in fact it's unquestionably a lot of sadness. There was a poll, in fact, published this morning in the "Parisienne" newspaper, that showed the French are angry, they are sad and 60 percent said that the attacks here, back a year ago, had changed their look, their -- the way they viewed life entirely.
A very interesting sort of comment that life, while they've said -- 80 or 90 percent said that they wanted life to go on, their view of how life should be lived had been changed by these events a year ago.
Just a little while ago -- there's going to be six plaques unveiled this morning, just a little while ago President Hollande unveiled the first plaque at the Stade de France. He was actually in the Stade de France a year ago when there was a football match going on and the first bombs went off.
And he unveiled that plaque this morning. There's a real question here about exactly how these ceremonies should proceed. In fact, the minister for victims talked to us about it to us earlier, saying that the government had a very delicate line to tread here.
In fact, they didn't want to make this too big of a deal, they didn't want to have too many politicians. But they know that they had to invited them, nonetheless. And she said many of the victims may in fact not want to come back for this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some victims that I know have children to go to even abroad but not to be in Paris --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- during this day because it's too difficult to remember these terrible attacks.
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BITTERMANN: And she said in fact also that 20 victims are still in the hospital after those attacks a year ago and more than 600 are still being treated, either for physical or emotional injuries -- Cyril.
VANIER: Jim, for the past year, France has been in a state of emergency. The French president and the prime minister have both warned that more attacks would follow.
How vulnerable is the country at the moment?
BITTERMANN: Well, I think that the French feel very vulnerable. It splits along party lines actually. Left wing supporters of the president, in fact, feel more secure than the right wing, who says there's not enough being done.
It looks like that state of emergency is going to be extended, at least for a few more months, because we have elections, presidential elections, coming up. That means there are going to be a lot of people at public gatherings. It's the kind of thing that might be a target for an attack.
So there's still a great deal of nervousness about the potential for more attacks here -- Cyril.
VANIER: And, Melissa, France is just six months away from its next presidential election. Of course that's play into this.
As far as you can tell, how is this terror context affecting the country's politics?
BELL: A very concrete sense and picking up from what Jim just said, Cyril, that state of emergency is likely to be extended into the French presidential election. That's what many advance (ph) have been telling the press over the last couple of days and more broadly, we have seen this increasingly right-wing narrative as a result of all this.
You were talking a moment ago about the sadness that the French people have felt. That really turns to anger in public opinion after the Nice attacks of the 14th of July and reflecting that, the narrative that's been seized on by the Right in particular, the Right that is choosing its candidates this month, Cyril, for that presidential election in six months' time, has become increasingly right wing with questions of national identity, really looking to play a central part in what's likely to be a very divisive election.
VANIER: Melissa Bell, live from Place de la Republique; Jim Bittermann at the Bataclan concert hall, thank you very much, both of you following the commemorations today, one year after the Paris terror attacks that left 130 people dead. Thanks a lot.
The Colombian government has signed a revised peace deal with FARC rebels to end over 50 years of fighting. Colombians rejected the initial agreement in a referendum last months, critics saying that it was too lenient towards the rebels.
The new deal still allows the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to become a political party but it does require the group to give reparations to victims. It's unclear if Colombians will once again be consulted in a referendum.
Australia says it will transfer hundreds of refugees in controversial offshore detention centers to the U.S. Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull calls it a one-off deal that prioritizes women, children and families. He says it will not apply to refugees trying to reach the Australia in the future. CNN has reported in the past refugees arriving in Australia by boat have been transferred to centers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. In a scathing report last month, Amnesty International accused Australia of making Nauru an open air prison.
Time now for CNN International Weather Center's Derek Van Dam to join us on set.
Because there's a new study out, Derek, that shows coastal erosion is accelerating across parts of Britain.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is a worldwide concern as well considering that 40 percent of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast. We have stronger storms, increased sea level rise, warming planet. All of these things taken into consideration. It's a major concern.
Want to show you a couple graphics. We're going to take you to East Sussex County in southeastern Britain. You've heard of the chalk cliffs or maybe seen pictures of them in some of the movies. Now we've talked about the Dover, white cliffs of Dover just to the east of this.
They're made of white limestone but they get eroded very easily by heavy wave action and extremely heavy rain events as well. Think of how that affects coastal assets and livelihoods for the people who live within this region or anyone who is affected by coastal erosion.
Typically the chalk cliffs were eroding at 2 to 6 centimeters per year. The recent study now has seen this acceleration in coastal erosion has amped this up by 10 times. Talking about 22 to 32 centimeters per year of coastal erosion.
You factor that in over the next decade, perhaps a century or millennium, we're talking about significant impacts to this part of the world and worldwide, considering that so many people live close to the coast. No major storms in the forecast, at least for the midterm.
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VANIER: "Saturday Night Live" is famous for roasting political candidates. Its take on this year's campaign was no different.
So how was the first show after Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election going to go?
Well, "SNL" took a very different approach and paid respect to musician Leonard Cohen, who died this past week.
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VANIER: There you have it, a cover of "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. This one the take, of course, of "Saturday Night Live."
All right, thank you for watching. I'm Cyril Vanier. Next on CNN, Erin Burnett "OUTFRONT." But first, I'll be back with headlines. Stay with us.
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