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Trump Calls on Nation to Heal Divisions; New Report says Trump is Choosing not to Take Daily Intelligence Briefings; Jill Stein Says she Has the Money to Launch a Recount in Three Key States. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired November 24, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: She was sitting with me at dinner the other night and saying Brooke, why is it that you all jus cover the bad, the bad that's happening in Chicago? And I said, Diane, I'm sending my friend Ryan to you.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we try. And this is one of those things that when you watch that piece there is good part about it. You see all the kids happening and getting a chance to eat. Today, when you talk to that young man and people panicking, and hear the fact that he said, absolutely when he talks about it, it feels like a piece of yourself dying every time one of your friends dies. You understand this is a different story.

I mean, this city will more than likely face 700 homicides this year. I mean, this is a problem. At the same time you have someone like Diane who is putting the gloves on herself and getting out there fighting. And people in the community are trying to fight with her but they need help. I mean, police officers were there as well interacting with the kids in a great space.

This was awesome to be able to have this on your show. And the fact she wanted to meet you and she felt like you were helping to support her as well. So it goes both ways. But, you know, people here, this is life or death. And so you have to keep pushing and hopefully get that story out there.

BALDWIN: Thank you for shining the spotlight and for telling the full story and talking to those young people, including Diane.

Ryan Young, thank you. Happy thanksgiving to you.

YOUNG: Thank you. Happy thanksgiving.

BALDWIN: All right. We continue on. You are watching CNN here on this holiday Thursday. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Happy thanksgiving.

As far as what's on top today. Donald Trump, he is calling on the nation to heal divisions on this holiday. But as the president-elect looks to move forward, a million dollar effort is under way to take a hard look back. The money to fund a recount of votes in three battleground states is there now because of the possibility of hacking with some of these machines. However. there is no evidence of tampering. We have those details shortly as far as where it stands. First, though, to Trump's thanksgiving. The president-elect issued a personal message of hope in a video posted by his transition team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's my prayer that on this Thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve. In declaring this national holiday, President Lincoln called upon Americans to speak with one voice and one heart. That's just what we have to do. We have just finished a long and bruising political campaign, emotions are raw and tensions just don't heal overnight. It doesn't go quickly, unfortunately, but we have before us the chance now to make history together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Jason Carroll. He is in Palm Beach there at the what he could call the winter White House, Mar-a-Lago where the president and his family is spending thanksgiving.

Jason, we know that the Trump transition team, you know, they don't expect any new cabinet announcements today but we are hearing from senior adviser Kellyanne Conway talking today about one person in the running for secretary of state Mitt Romney. Tell me what she said.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you know, Mitt Romney is in the lead, one of the leaders there along with New York City -- former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in line to be secretary of state. But Romney facing a lot of criticism from a number of Trump supporters who feel as though he was too critical for too long during the campaign saying things like a Trump presidency would translate into trickle-down racism. That's one of the things. One of the criticisms. That Romney lobbied at Trump during the campaign.

Kellyanne Conway weighing in on some of this controversy when tweeted this morning, saying the following receiving a deluge of social media and private communication regarding Romney. Some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as secretary of state. She then followed up trying to explain in some ways what it mean to be loyal when you're secretary of state, meaning being loyal to a president when you're secretary of state.

You know, these two met, Romney and Trump, along with Pence, met last weekend, Romney saying it far-reaching communication. Pence saying of meeting saying it was warm. That it was substantive. Romney for his part said to be mulling over the idea of being secretary of state. Speaking to his advisers, his family members, not expected to her neigh on this front, Brooke, until sometime later next week.

BALDWIN: What about, just quickly, there was a tweet from the president-elect today. What was that about?

CARROLL: I'm sorry, Brooke, I didn't hear your question there.

BALDWIN: There was a tweet from the president-elect today what is that about? CARROLL: Well, there was a tweet from the president-elect regarding

what he is doing in terms of working. This was supposed to be a down day for president-elect Donald Trump. But what he did was, he says that he is working hard trying to keep jobs in America. You remember that during the campaign he made it very clear that if companies like carrier air conditioning were to take their jobs overseas to Mexico, he would impose a 35 percent import tax on products coming back into the United States. So he tweeted out today saying I'm working hard even on thanksgiving trying to get carrier air conditioning company to stay in the U.S., Indiana, making progress, will know soon.

Carrier, Brooke, for its part, also weighing in on this saying Carrier has had discussions with the incoming administration and we forward to working together. Nothing to announce at this time but it is very clear on a couple of fronts here that Donald Trump, as he has in the past, likes to make deals, seems like he is trying to make a deal right now - Brooke.

[15:05:46] BALDWIN: Jason, thank you. And thanks to your crew for working double duty on this holiday. It is appreciated down there in Florida.

CARROLL: You bet.

BALDWIN: Meantime, this new report says Trump is choosing not to take daily intelligence briefings. He has taken two so far since being elected that have been prepared for him. According to this piece in the "Washington Post" today, an intelligence team has been ready to brief Trump every single day since the election but he has only met with them twice. We do know that vice president-elect Mike Pence has been receiving his briefings just about every day.

So Bob Baer is the voice we wanted to hear from today, CNN intelligence and security analyst and former CIA operative.

Happy thanksgiving, Bob Baer. First things first. You know, before we get into, is this alarming or not, what sort of intelligence would he be receiving in this PDB -- presidential daily brief?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Brooke, these things are absolutely crucial for a president. You had the briefers come out. There could be additional briefers, not only do they bring him up to speed on today's intelligence but they also put in the context which for somebody like Trump is extremely important, he has no foreign policy experience. All these issues across the world from China to Syria to Russia are extremely complicated. And the briefers that we come in would now the subject very well. I mean, if he is not catching up now, he should do it very soon because he is going to be president in a month. This is very serious.

BALDWIN: One of the sources in the piece said something to the effect of he does have a lot of catching up to do. That said, you know, he wouldn't be the first president who hadn't taken the briefing daily. You know, his hand hasn't been on that bible yet. At what point do alarm bells ring for you, Bob Baer, if he hasn't said yes to these daily briefings? BAER: A lot of alarm bells and he doesn't have a deep bench strength.

His national security team. You know, he has appointed Flynn as national security advisor, but we don't have a secretary of state yet. There's not advisers around him which could fill in for him, at least guide him. And, you know, he is behind schedule on this and there's a lot of crises out there which could blow up at any time and let's hope this changes.

BALDWIN: Beyond, you know, recognizing what he knows and what he doesn't and where he needs to do his homework, I'm curious too, how crucial are these briefings in terms of fostering this sort of relationship with the Intel community?

BAER: Exactly, Brooke. He has to have confidence in the Intel community. He has to be able to pick people he trusts. He has to get to know them. He will have a lot of questions. And when he sends those questions out he is going to expect a team to answer him. This is very, very important. National Security Council is not enough. State department has one view, the central intelligence agency another and, of course, the Pentagon. And he is going to have very quickly and like we've just said, he is, you know, he is late.

BALDWIN: Bob, thank you. Bob Baer, beautiful telluride. We'll loop back to this point here in just a second. But I also want to point out former Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein says she now has the money necessary to launch a recount in three key rust belt states. This challenge comes as pressure really building among liberals to challenge the election results. Many have asked why is she bothering to do this because she couldn't possibly win? This is what Jill Stein told CNN today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JILL STEIN, FORMER GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Why would anyone not want to count the votes and to be sure that they are counted accurately? What we know is that there were lots of hacks taking place around this election, tacks into voter databases, into party databases, into individual email accounts. And what we also know unfortunately is that the equipment that we use, much of it is not just open to hacks it basically invites hacks and now he is tampering, human error, et cetera. Some of the voting machines in use in Wisconsin, for example, have actually been prohibited in the state of California because they have basically been proven to be wide open to tampering.

So what we are saying is, you know, not that, you know, the hacking or fraud has necessarily taken place. I don't think we have evidence of that. But I think it's only natural and it's good for Americans to be reassured that our votes are counted. Especially after such a divisive and bitter election where 80 percent of Americans according to a "New York Times" poll basically said they were disgusted with this election. They didn't like the candidates that we were limited to. They were screaming for open debates and other choices.

It was a very bitter election where so many people were voting against their worst fear rather than for the candidate they wanted. You know, to my mind, there are problems with our system that have basically produced two candidates that were the most distrusted and disliked in our history. But what I think all Americans can agree on and what I consider worthy of working for right now is creating a voting system that we can trust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:11:03] BALDWIN: Let's begin there with CNN political commentator Ross Douthat. He is also a columnist for the "New York Times" and CNN politics reporter Eugene Scott.

Thank you both for swinging by. Happy thanksgiving. And thanks for making the time in between servings and seconds.

First of all, Eugene, let me ask you. You heard the interview with Jill Stein. I mean, why do this? Why is this worth the money and the time?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: It's not very clear yet why it is exactly. There has been no proof that hacking has actually happened and it's creating some doubt and some mistrust among some voters right now who have questions about everything that happened regarding the popular vote and the Electoral College as is. This is introducing a new element. But I think it's really important for voters to realize that even if something was discovered it's not quite clear how that would change the Electoral College results or any turn out that led to Donald Trump being president-elect.

BALDWIN: All right, Ross, let me move on and let's talk about some of these potential picks for Trump's cabinet. We know that Mitt Romney has said he is seriously considering taking the secretary of state job should Trump actually offer it. But then you add the fact that, you know, the Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway tweeted today that she's receiving a deluge of social media and private communications re Romney, some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as secretary of state. I mean, we know that, you know, that Trump insiders a Rudy Giuliani say he really, really wants the job. Gingrich, Huckabee, they have raised their voices. But why do you think she's vocalizing this concern?

ROSS DOUTHAT, OP-ED COLUMNIST, NEW YORK TIMES: Because Trump's organization is still ridiculous even now that he has been elected president of the United States. I mean, this is a ridiculous way to behave. You are vetting and considering someone if the office of secretary of state and one of your chief campaign strategists is out there -- I mean, the tweets were sort of ambiguous. They seem to be undermining Romney but, of course, they are tweets so you could read them in multiple different ways. But, you know, the signal of those tweets send out to Romney or anyone else not part of Trump's inner circle is why do you want to get into some sort of, you know, part clown, part circular firing squad? It's just a very -- I can't stress how very, very strange it is in the midst of this process with the decisions not being made with someone in Conway's decision to take to social media like that.

BALDWIN: I was wondering the same thing what sort of message it would be sending to Governor Romney, Eugene. Because maybe this is their way of saying hey, we hear you all those hardline Trump supporters online who are furious with a potential Romney pick. Do you think that's what this is about? And saying yes to the base, we hear you. We still may choose him but we hear you.

SCOTT: I think it's a message primarily from Trump's team. It's saying that, hey, Mr. Romney if Trump may have gotten over what you said about us and maybe unwilling to hold grudges but not everyone in this camp is.

Governor Romney said some very difficult things, he was one of the harshest critics of not only Trump but people getting behind Trump. And so, I think it is very possible that there are people on the team who want him to know that if he were to come in it wouldn't be the smoothest transition. There's some reconciliation that l need to be happening and hopefully perhaps according to them, some are apologizing on his part.

BALDWIN: Ross, what about what I was talking to Bob Baer regarding a "Washington Post" piece and how Trump has only said to two accepting two of these presidential daily briefings since being elected. You were in the room this week for this incredibly news making and bizarre on-the-record meeting with Trump over at the "Times." What was your sense? Did he seem eager to want to learn more about this job he is now taking on?

DOUTHAT: I mean, he came to us in a sort of deliberately conciliatory sort of self-consciously open-minded fashion. You know, he is a salesman so going into a newspaper whose editorial board is, you know, largely liberal and so on, you expect him to take a sort of, you know, a friendly I'm here to listen. Let's get along kind of tact. Whether that leads to, you know, actual policy shifts I think is a totally open question.

I didn't get the sense listening to him that he was sort of digging into the minutiae of public policy whether on foreign policy issues or domestic issues. He talked, you know, in generalities on just about every issue in sort of similar ways to the way he talked during the campaign. He brought up a few specific things like torture and waterboarding where he said some conversations have shifted his perspective. But I still got the sense that he was looking at the issues from 30,000 feet, not grappling with daily briefings on anything at the moment.

[15:15:58] BALDWIN: Following up with you from that meeting did you get the sense that, you know, did you get the sense he was overwhelmed by becoming the president of the United States or that any of it was overwhelming?

DOUTHAT: He did present that attitude, no. And I didn't, you know, he didn't start sweating or anything in the midst of the conversation or scream I can't take it. And then say (INAUDIBLE) the record, you know. There wasn't anything like that. He seemed -- he projected the same kind of confidence and swagger that he projected on the campaign trail overall.

BALDWIN: OK. I guess what I was wondering about was humility.

Ross, Eugene --.

DOUTHAT: Humility? Not a ton.

BALDWIN: OK. Thank you guys.

DOUTHAT: But he's friendly.

BALDWIN: Yes. I know. I heard. I was talking to Maggie this morning. We had Michael on yesterday, that he sat there as long as he did, the failing "New York Times" where he broke a lof news. Fascinating, fascinating.

Yes. Thank you both. Happy thanksgiving.

Ahead, Trump tower some of the world's biggest celebrities have called it home from Bruce Willis to Michael Jackson. So now that Donald Trump has been elected, what's it like living there? Has the value gone up? Has the value gone down? And why don't the doors have numbers on them? We will take you inside.

Also, really disturbing story out of West Virginia. This white man is accused of murdering a black teenager after an argument outside a dollar store. Police say the suspect is showing absolutely no remorse calling the victim a piece of trash. He is talking from his jail cell. We have those details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:21:23] BALDWIN: Welcome back. You are watching CNN on this Thanksgiving Thursday.

Let's talk about this really troubling story out of West Virginia, this shooting. It is raising all kinds of questions as far as whether race played a factor in this deadly encounter. The suspect in this case is this man, 62-year-old William Pulliam. He is sitting in jail right now charged with first degree murder. He has confessed to shooting this young man, 15-year-old James Means. Now, Pulliam says race had absolutely nothing to do with it. That he feared for his life after an argument. The mother of this slain teenager says she is going to let investigators figure this one out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son is in a safer place now and we all love him. We know justice is going to succeed in this matter. We are just not going to put it in our hands. We are going to let the law put in their hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I have Ryan Young back with me to talk about the story, just gut-wrenching for this family, especially on a holiday. But this suspect that he is talking and saying what he is in his jail cell, tell me about that. YOUNG: It's absolutely unbelievable when you think about the details

of this. First of all, how does a 15-year-old and a 60-year-old man get into some sort of dispute that turns violent which ends up turning deadly? Those are the questions that everyone is trying to answer right now.

And what we do know right now is that William Pulliam says he was walking to a dollar store. And on the way there he encountered three teens. And that at some point one of the teens came off the porch and they had some sort of verbal disagreement. He went to the dollar store. On the way back he decided to cross the street. That's what he told investigators to try to avoid the teenagers. And that's when he says that 50-year-old James Means walked across the street and met him. He said that young man had a gun. And when he feared for his life he pulled a gun of his own, fired two shots and then kept going. In fact, he went home and had dinner before he was arrested. But he is talking from his jail cell. And in fact, this is some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM PULLIAM, ARRESTED FOR KILLING BLACK TEENAGER: I don't like it. I mean, believe me. I didn't want to kill anybody. But they are not going to kill me. I felt my life was in danger. I'm sorry but I mean, I'm 62 years old. I'm not going to take a bunch of pucks beating me up. I don't care if they are white or black. Nobody is going to do me like that. It might not different if he is black. My god everybody I live around is black. I get along with all of them, ask them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Now, something that has further complicating this story, Brooke, something that's kind of astonishing, police say that this older man made a statement after being arrested. He said the way I look at it, that's another piece of trash off the street.

Now he is saying he did not say that to the police department. Of course, we have called the police department to ask them questions about whether or not this young man had a gun and could there have been a moment where he feared for his life and that's why the shots were fired? Of course, this is thanksgiving, we haven't heard back from the police department just yet. But they did charge this man with first degree murder.

We also know that he pled guilty to domestic violence charges back in 2013. And by federal law he should not have had a gun as he was walking home that ended up being involved in the shooting. Police have recovered the weapon as well, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Should never have happened.

Ryan Young, thank you.

Let's talk about legalities of this. Danny Cevallos is with me, our legal analyst and criminal defense attorney. First things first, to see someone who has admitted to killing you man

sitting in jail speaking as he was, I'm surprised by it.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I'm surprised by it but I'm really not surprise by it anymore at how often against the advice of attorneys.

[15:25:04] BALDWIN: And a lawyer would say sush.

CEVALLOS: Do not give a statement. Or give a statement knowing if you do it will be used against you later on. They will comb, and by that I mean, law enforcement will comb these statements for anything they can use against this gentleman. And you notice also they will probably use the oral verbal statement that he gave to officers either after the shooting or the scene of the shooting.

BALDWIN: Calling him a bit of trash. Part of the play.

CEVALLOS: Yes, which he disputes now. But because whether or not he disputes it someone is going to say that he said trash. And that's not going to look well for him. And then you have this jailhouse interview which, yes, he is trying to acquit himself. He is trying to explain what he did but nobody can tell the same story twice in a row.

And secondly, there -- some jury might take that as honest. Another juror might take it as not honest. It's just not a good idea, especially if he doesn't plan to testify.

BALDWIN: What are the factors in considering whether or not this is a hate crime?

CEVALLOS: When it comes to hate crimes, the important thing is to remember you need a predicate crime. We shouldn't put the cart before the horse. For him to be convicted of a hate crime in the sense of murder, he has to first be guilty of murder. And this undoubtedly will be a self-defense case. Now, there's the issue of him under prohibited person under federal law carrying a firearm.

BALDWIN: Because of the domestic violence issue.

CEVALLOS: That's correct, yes. While that -- that may affect him on the civil side with West Virginia's rather unusual stand your ground law. In terms of strict self-defense, there doesn't appear to be any disqualification even though he may have had an illegal -- he was an illegal person in possession of a firearm. So as long as he can articulate that he reasonably feared in immediate serious bodily harm or death, he may be able to avail himself of self-defense.

BALDWIN: Well, he says this young man had a gun. Now police, I imagine this is, you know, its thanksgiving, as Ryan pointed out, we are not hearing quickly back from police as to whether or not. I mean, one of the key questions is whether or not he really did had a gun on him.

CEVALLOS: And if he did, that will go a long way. That plus the multiple people that can -- and also the defendant being 62 versus maybe a group of younger gentlemen I the prime of their live. Those will all mitigate in his favor if he is going to mount an argument of self-defense. If you have gun, multiple young men and all sort of -- if he can articulate that threat and not just any threat, a threat of immediate bodily, serious bodily harm he has a chance at self-defense.

BALDWIN: OK. Danny, thank you. Thank you so much.

Coming up next, it has been a landmark on the New York skyline. But now Trump tower has become the epicenter of the political universe. We will take you inside and show you what it's like to live in Trump tower.