Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

NYC Mayor Visits Trump; Trump's Son-in-Law at Center of Infighting; Ted Cruz Visits Trump Tower; Dems Tap Schumer. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired November 16, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:15] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go. Top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

We begin with the president-elect pushing back. Donald Trump insisting his transition is under control, while a source says that reports that Trump's son-in-law is at the heart of the infighting are overblown.

Trump took to Twitter and wrote this. "Very organized process taking place as I decide on cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are."

And it is possible we all may know who some of those choices could be as early as today. What is clear is that the first eight days of Trump as president-elect have already seen a shakeup. You have New Jersey Governor Chris Christie replaced as head of that Trump transition team. Also Christie allies, they've been forced out, as some are calling Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner the instigator.

Listen, it's no secret that Kushner has a sticky history with Governor Christie because, if you go way back to 2004, Christie prosecuted Kushner's father for tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal campaign contribution.

And there is much more coming out of Trump Tower here, transition central. The city's mayor here in New York, Democrat Bill de Blasio, he just swung by for a visit with President-elect Trump.

Never a dull moment around these parts. Let's go straight to CNN's Sunlen Serfaty with that part of the story.

You have two New Yorkers, couldn't be farther apart at the moment politically. Tell me about that meeting.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Brooke. And that meeting actually lasted for well over an hour and very clear that Mayor Bill de Blasio brought with him today here to Trump Tower a whole laundry list of items that he wanted to discuss with President-elect Donald Trump. He said everything from fears that his residents have over deportation, stop and frisk, regulation of Wall Street. As you said, these men have - do not see eye to eye, put very simply, over many policy issues. But one moment that really caught our ear, when Bill de Blasio came

and talked to the press after that meeting, was that he said to Donald Trump in that meeting, according to him, that he addressed the tone and the rhetoric of his campaign, hoping that this is something that would not carry over into the White House. Here's Bill de Blasio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: And I also raised concerns about some of the messages and some of the rhetoric that for so many people have been hurtful. And I let him know that so many New Yorkers were fearful and that more had to be done to show that this country can heal, that people be respected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And, again, these two men really don't get along very well. Bill de Blasio notably blasted Donald Trump during the campaign and Donald Trump, Brooke, only a year ago, was calling Bill de Blasio a maniac and the worst mayor that New York has ever seen. That said, Trump transition officials called today's meeting between them very productive.

BALDWIN: All right, so there's that piece of it. Also, though, on, you know, naming specific names of these cabinet positions, do we have a sense of when we'll start hearing some of that?

SERFATY: Yes, the sense right now, at least for this moment, is that for the immediate future it's very likely we will see first some key White House staff appointments being made. Some announcement of that coming potentially soon today, maybe even potentially tomorrow and then some top big cabinet positions announced. But that said, you know, anything real could happen, I think, that transition officials have really played up that they are making progress today and yesterday they said that as well and that Donald Trump is the decider on these issues. So we'll see when he really hones in on making these final decisions.

Notable that Newt Gingrich, who was down in the Trump transition office in Washington, D.C., today, he talked about the timeline. And he said that he thinks the biggest offices, and his quote said, will be announced in the near future, but he notably added, Brooke, certainly shortly after Thanksgiving after the latest. So I guess it's your definition of the near future.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Sunlen, thank you, in front of Trump Tower for us.

I've got a full panel to take a deep dive into all of these threads coming out this afternoon. I have CNN political commentator Alice Stewart, who used to serve as communications director for Ted Cruz, who I believe has also popped by Trump Tower. We'll talk about that. Also, CNN political analyst Carl Bernstein, author of the book, "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton," and CNN political commentator Errol Lewis is here. He is a political anchor for Spectrum News and knows a lot about what's going on here in New York.

So great to have all of you on.

And, Errol, let me just go to you first because Gloria Borger's been reporting that all of this, you know, Chris Christie, Jared Kushner, bad blood, the instigator of all the Christie folks out, that is overblown. Is that what you're hearing?

[14:05:06] ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I suspect that that is overblown because they had a number of policy differences. And, frankly, look, there were reports - we had reporters that were sort of sniffing around the transition headquarters weeks before Election Day. It was a pretty slow and sleepy place. Really nobody in the campaign knew the kind of roll that they were going to have to play or how suddenly they were going to be plunged into high gear.

BALDWIN: Yes.

LOUIS: And so there are a number of different reasons and a number of very ambitious, competitive people who I think, once the stakes really sort of went up, decided, you know what, maybe Chris Christie and his crew are not the people to have this plum position.

Let's also keep in mind that when the heat was really on after that embarrassing videotape came out from the bus and so forth, Chris Christie was not among the defenders who was going to go in and try and defend what a lot of people considered a very tough thing and almost indefensible. So I think that kind of worked against him as well.

BALDWIN: And on Election Day, someone who doesn't shy away from cameras sort of slinking away and voting in the cover of darkness early, early in the morning.

But, Gloria Borger, I understand you've just been seated and popped a microphone on. It's your reporting. You tell me what you're learning.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I - look, there are conflicting views about how involved Jared Kushner is in all of this. I believe that this - this is not some mid-level policy decision about getting rid of Christie appointees. Maybe Jared Kushner didn't do it by himself. There are questions about Chris Christie's loyalty, et cetera.

But what I - what I've been told, and so I'm getting some pushback on that from inside the - the transition, outside the transition in Christie world, I think there's a very different feeling about - about this. But the truth of the matter is, the bottom line is here that this was a campaign who paid absolutely no attention to transition before it occurred. I was told that they didn't believe they were going to win so they didn't pay attention to it. And then suddenly they felt - and this is a quote - no one put a check into this whole thing.

And so now you have a situation where they're drinking out of the end of a fire hose here and they are trying to do an awful lot at one time. And what strikes me is the insular quality to all of this. Whether it's getting rid of the Christie people, because there are questions about his loyalty, or the political class in Washington, who wants - some of whom may now want to join the administration who are being told no, or even the donor class, I was told, lots of donors who weren't up front with money for Donald Trump now want to have some input onto who should be in what cabinet position and they're being told no thank you.

BALDWIN: So you're hearing all of this. We heard from Kellyanne Conway quickly in Trump Tower this morning and she said, it's all cool. Listen, we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of choice. Here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, you don't form a federal government overnight and these are very serious issues, very serious appointments, very serious considerations.

From his perspective, he's been presented with any number of choices within each of the agencies and departments and he's making those tough decisions. I mean, if anything, he has obviously more choices than one to fill in each position. So we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to many of those different positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Perhaps among the riches include - there was the bromance, I'm talking about Senator Ted Cruz, right, and President-elect Trump, Alice, and then it was the - we - well, we know what happened. We don't have to rehash, you know, Cruz called Trump a sniveling coward for one. And now he popped through Trump Tower and could be considered for x position. What are you hearing?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, there are a couple things that have been just, you know, talked about and rumored to have part of the conversation. Of course Supreme Court and attorney general. Look, I think Ted Cruz would be phenomenal at either of those positions. His commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law and his background with regard to being solicitor general in Texas, he would be a tremendous choice.

But his purpose for going in to meet with Donald yesterday was to go and talk about, here are some of the policy issues that I'm trying to help get through the Senate. Here are some things you might want to put on your radar. Here are some things to keep an eye out for. I've got your back. I'm going to help get these through the Senate. And that was the - the main purpose. But, you know, certainly, you know, everything's on the table and I think he would be a tremendous choice if he were to use his resources elsewhere. But right now he is committed to serving as senator in Texas.

BALDWIN: I want you to just weigh in on all of what you've heard so far.

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Let's keep our eyes on the forest and not the trees.

BALDWIN: OK.

BERNSTEIN: But Gloria's point about insularity is very important because Donald Trump's view of the world is and has been insular and it comes from Trump Tower. He's a real New Yorker. And often he doesn't look beyond where he's from and that far out.

But now we have something different here. And what's most important are the names that we see that are in play. We know that Bannon is going to be one of the chief people in this administration. That tells us a lot. Slash and burn. Character assassination. He's not there to be a substantive guy in terms of a particular bill. He is there for a big agenda that is the alt-right agenda. That's what he's there for.

[14:10:20] Giuliani, we know he is going to be part of this package. Listen to what Giuliani said in this campaign. It was savage. That, too, is a reflection of Donald Trump.

Jared Kushner is the member of the family who is the most worldly. He's a big real estate guy. And he also know an awful lot about media. He's run "The Observer" newspaper, which is an important publication here in town. He knows what he's doing. And he, too, knows what Donald Trump wants. We are watching the evolution of people being put in place who are enmeshed with Donald Trump's thinking. Let's not kid ourselves.

And Mike Pence also. He is an insider a bit in Washington. He also is beyond the fringe in Washington.

BALDWIN: Let me - let me - forgive me for jumping in. Speaking of Washington, I'm being told we need to cut away. Let's go straight to Capitol Hill. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, speaking right now.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Wrap this lame duck session up as soon as possible. And we intend to have a very busy year next year beginning January 3rd.

There are some conferences in progress. We hope to be able to finish Worda (ph) and energy. I'm particularly interested, as is Senator Alexander and others, I think the president and vice president as well, in the 21st Century Cures Bill, which has very broad bipartisan support. We hope to wrap that up. And we're in ongoing discussions, obviously, about how to fund the government and for how long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since the Eisenhower administration, there have been 14 occasions in which the same political party had majorities of both houses -

BALDWIN: All right, let's go back to our panel and the conversation we were having before about this transition team and Carl was making points.

I think on the insularity, let me piggyback off of that. You know, we were reporting initially, which is no longer the case, that the Trump transition team was looking into the possibility that they wanted, you know, these high level security clearances for the children. That was all connected to a Christie person. The Christie person is gone. So that's moot.

But what is - what is the case, and I just want to be precise on the reporting, is that Jared Kushner could likely end up with a top national security clearance as a key advisor to his father-in-law, a position that he is expected to take. The source says it is likely but has not happened yet.

Go ahead.

STEWART: One thing on that. It's called a companion level access security clearance. He and General Flynn have been - the request has been put in for both of them to have that same access. But at the same time, there's a process that has to go into place as to whether or not it's granted and whether or not the level of security clearance they have. But given the - clearly the high role that Jared will have in the administration, it makes - it certainly makes sense. But this is a process. It's been done before. And I think it's not out of the question for it to be done in this case.

BERNSTEIN: One thing on this security clearance for the other children as well.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: Those stories weren't wrong. What we are seeing here is classic Donald Trump. We saw it in the campaign. He tries an idea out or those closest to him try an idea out. If there's enough pushback and if it's ridiculous enough or outlandish enough or there's enough opposition, he says, OK, I'll do it a different way. That's what we saw with the children's security clearances. Yes, it bubbled up, but it didn't bubble up just from the bottom and far, far away.

BALDWIN: OK. OK. OK. Fair point.

Let me ask you, Errol, on -

LOUIS: Me? Yes.

BALDWIN: Because - yes, yes, we agree. Good. I think it's also just perspective because people are making a big deal. It's been eight days since he was elected. We don't have a single cabinet pick. But let's go back in time to then senator - or I guess then President-elect Obama. And we have a graphic. I threw it up on the screen so we can see.

In 2008, when he was elected, and you can see this timeline, we'll have it up in a moment, you'll see the timeline of when people were chosen. So you see the first selection was 20 days with Tim Geithner at Treasury. And that, we'll remember, was in the throes of the economic downturn. So, perspective, Errol Louis.

LOUIS: Yes, and it's a valuable perspective and keep in mind there was some questions, there was some controversy about some of them. There was certainly a lot of reporting about whether or not Hillary Clinton would take a position and what position it would be and so forth. So even if you're not sort of suddenly thrust into this responsibility the way the Trump team now is, even if you sort of were planning in advance, because we know from hindsight that their transition efforts for the Obama administration were in place well before election day.

BALDWIN: Yes.

LOUIS: And so it was about as smooth as it could get. So if smooth is 20 days, then, yes, it's probably a little early to start declaring that everything is in ruins just because we're at day, what, eight now?

[14:15:07] BALDWIN: Day eight.

STEWART: And also important to keep in mind, personnel is policy and personnel management right now helps policy management down the road. So each and every one of these decisions are critical to what they're going to do down the road. And I think giving them a little more time and a little more breathing room to make these important decisions is critical.

BALDWIN: Hang on. Carl, let me - let me -

BERNSTEIN: History (ph) is not disorder.

BALDWIN: Let me let Gloria jump in.

BERNSTEIN: Go ahead, Gloria.

BALDWIN: Gloria, I know you're far away in Washington, but I want to hear from you. Go ahead.

BORGER: You know - Brooke, in talking to people inside the transition, one thing is clear to me, and that is that loyalty to Donald Trump trumps everything else. And they are - after eight years of a Democratic administration, there's a kind of a government in waiting here in Washington among Republicans. And a lot of those people are people who did not endorse Donald Trump. In fact, who publicly said they didn't like him but have offered to kind of help out if they needed it. And the Trump people are saying, no. And we don't want to know how x, y, and z works from your point of view because we're going to do things differently.

So there is - it's sort of surprising to me in a way that their - the line has been drawn so quickly and so distinctly early on and that what we have coming into Washington is kind of a hurricane here with people not understanding what's going to occur or not - you know, not knowing what to expect.

BALDWIN: The unknowns.

BORGER: And I think that that's the most fascinating thing here because usually this is a more orderly process and it isn't because there aren't usual suspects that this administration will tap. They're going to look to different people. BALDWIN: Final thought, Carl.

BERNSTEIN: The story here - the story here is not disorder, the story, in fact, is what Gloria and we're talking about here. It is those who know, understand, and mesh with Donald Trump's thinking. That's what we're seeing. The purge - and there was a purge, there's no question about that - that's what's important about it.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: Is the purge was those who don't have his ear, don't mesh with his thinking, including everything he said in this campaign. What we see of those who are picked and the big names we see, they fit perfectly with what Donald Trump said in the campaign and what we're seeing is the beginning of a Trump presidency.

BALDWIN: OK. Carl and Alice and Errol and Gloria, thank you all so, so much, as this is all coming together. Who knows, at any moment, we could know some names for some of these picks for these key positions for the Trump administration.

Coming up, a new leader for Senate Democrats. Chuck Schumer tapped to be the leading voice of opposition against the president-elect. What Senator Schumer revealed today about his plans for the Trump era.

Also, Trump won the election but he's losing his name off of three prominent buildings in Manhattan. We'll talk to the man who led the effort to scrub Trump's name from his apartment building.

Also ahead, a major announcement today involving a deadly police shooting in Minnesota. The officer involved now facing charges. We'll take you there live.

You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:22:08] BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

In a movement to show unity within the Democratic Party ranks, in a stark contrast to a growing Republican divide, Senator Chuck Schumer has been elected as the new Senate Democratic leader. And for the next four years, he will be front and center for his party's battles with a President Trump. But, could the pair of New Yorkers find common ground in Washington?

Let's go to our senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, who is live from Capitol Hill.

What are you hearing, Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, no question that Chuck Schumer has one of the longest relationships of any Washington leader in Congress or really across this town with Donald Trump. They've known each other for so long. So interesting that Senator Schumer now is really the last Democrat standing to Donald Trump. He was elected today by his party to take the reins forward, try and move Democrats forward here. But we asked him about Donald Trump and if he would plan to work together with him or not. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: I've spoken to him a couple of times and I've told him just what I've told you, when we can agree on issues, then we're going to work with him. We're not going to just, as some have done here in the past, said just because it's President Trump's idea or thought we're going to oppose it per se. Where we can work together, we will. But I've also said to the president-elect, on issues where we disagree, you can expect a strong and tough fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, Brooke, Senator Schumer has known Donald Trump so long, he knew him for a long time as a Democrat. So they are hoping that Donald Trump still has some of that in him. But Democrats here on Capitol Hill are very aware of the fact that Donald Trump, of course, was elected and now is a Republican. So there are a lot of disagreements here. And Democrats are in the wilderness here on Capitol Hill. They are now in the majority. They are deeply in the minority here. But Senator Schumer clearly sending the message today, he's open to working with him where he can.

BALDWIN: Well, we saw a familiar face over his shoulder at that gaggle, didn't we? We saw, you know, Senator Sanders, Senator Bernie Sanders. He's now officially added to their ranks. What does that - what does that signal?

ZELENY: He is indeed, Brooke. So Democrats have expanded the ranks of their leadership now. They have seven Democratic senators sort of taking on this movement. What it signals is that Bernie Sanders has newfound clout here on Capitol Hill. He's been a long time independent from Vermont. Never been in Democratic leadership. But that is a sign that they realize that - party leader Senator Schumer realizes they have to get some of those Sanders supporters, some of those economic, you know, concerns and message out there. So that's why Senator Sanders is doing something he's never done, been a part of Democratic leadership here, as well as Joe Manchin from West Virginia, probably the most conservative Democratic senator and probably the most liberal, Elizabeth Warren as well. So the Democratic span is pretty wide. We'll see what Senator Schumer does here when he tries to deal with the man who will be president here in just about two months' time.

[14:25:07] Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jeff Zeleny, thank you, on The Hill for us.

Coming up next here on CNN, Jared Kushner, we keep bandying his name around, as he's President-elect Trump's son-in-law, this is Ivanka's husband, could be part of the shakeup within this Trump transition team. What are his qualifications? What do we really know about him, this 30 something-year-old. That's ahead. Also, is there a rush of immigrants trying to make it into the United

States before Donald Trump takes office? We'll look into that.

You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, pulling away from commercial break, we want to take you to this moment here at the Naval Observatory. This is the home of outgoing Vice President Joe Biden, his wife Jill, and then the incoming vice president and his wife. Let's listen.

QUESTION: We can hear you, Mr. Vice President.

JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, if you can hear me, no, I'm not worried about it. Look, they ran on a platform they're going to try and move. I think there's a lot of things that will be done where we can preach some accommodation. And, look, it's a - it's a whole new world. And we're prepared to work. I told Mike, the vice president-elect, that I'm available to him 24/7. We've already talked about some matters related to foreign policy (INAUDIBLE). I've also said, although I've been a senator for 36 years, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee for a decade, and I have been on the national security apparatus for a long time, there's a lot when you get down here that you're unaware of, that you didn't realize existed. And so I plan on being available to Mike as senior staff for him as he - as he moves. He'll be smart to reject most of my ideas, but I think he'll listen to some of them.

Anyway, we're confident things are going to move.

QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: All right, so we'll stay on the picture here, but the vice president joking that the income vice president could reject some of his ideas, but he could consider him, you know, senior staff. It's interesting, though, that's the same sort of message we heard from President Obama to President-elect Trump in terms of potential counsel in these key weeks and months and who knows how much longer beyond this transition to the next administration there. But just a fun picture - I'm sorry, you've got to tell me again.

QUESTION: How did the meeting go?

BALDWIN: Oh, OK. Let's listen to the top.

BIDEN: The whole thing's (INAUDIBLE) Jill and I have.

QUESTION: Do you think the administration's going to be ready on day one?

BIDEN: No administration is ready on day one. We weren't ready on day one. I've never met one that's ever been ready on day - but I'm confident on day one everything will be in good hands and they'll be -

[14:30:13] BALDWIN: The outgoing vice president