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Pomp and Circumstance for Trump Inauguration; Last Inaugural Ball Wrapped Up; Does Trump Have Diverse Cabinet? Aired 2-3a ET
Aired January 21, 2017 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Poppy Harlow live in our nation's capital with special live coverage as we enter hour 14 of Donald Trump's presidency. The last inaugural ball wrapped up a short time ago. The president and the first lady picking the Sinatra classic "My Way," for their first dance.
Vice President Mike Pence, second lady Karen Pence and the rest of the Trump family also joined them on stage throughout the night.
It wasn't all pomp and circumstance today. President Trump getting straight to work, signing an executive order aimed at fulfilling one of the biggest campaign promises, rolling back ObamaCare.
The president also learning today only two cabinet picks so far, General James Mattis one of them, have been confirmed.
As the fight looms over the rest of his cabinet, it is just past 2:00 am here in Washington. We are coverage it all live for you from the nation's capital and we begin right now.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear --
From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.
The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. So to all Americans, in every city, near and far, hear these words. You will never be ignored again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together, we will make America great again.
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HARLOW (voice-over): It has been a historic night indeed. Even after all the parades and balls, there will not be any sleeping in for the Trumps. In just eight short hours, the president and the vice president and their families will attend a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.
At the same time, tens of thousands of protesters will gather at Capitol Hill for the march, the Women's March on Washington, with sister marches planned across the country.
Let's talk about all of it with my panel, not sure I have enough panelists with me tonight. Well, we could throw our own ball.
Where's the champagne, guys?
Joining me now, CNN political analyst and reporter for the "Washington Examiner," Salena Zito; CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott; CNN White House correspondent Sara Murray; CNN senior political analyst, Mark Preston; Paris Dennard, a member of the National Diversity Coalition for Donald Trump; Alice Stewart, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, and "The New York Times" contributor Wajahat Ali and also Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we go.
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HARLOW: -- at 2:00 in the morning live on CNN.
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HARLOW: Thank you all for being here. Really, I mean that. Thank you for being here, not at a party.
Mark Preston, let's listen to what he said that struck us so much because this is an inaugural address that will go down in history.
Many will remember the word "carnage." Listen.
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TRUMP: And the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential, this American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
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HARLOW: As our Jake Tapper said, immediately reacting to this, one of the most radical inaugural addresses of all time.
Did it paint an accurate picture of America?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Let me just first say that his speech was a collision of nationalism and populism. It came together in a very strange way.
It does not paint an accurate picture of America. But there is truth in some things did he say.
Our inner cities are -- there are a lot of problems with it. There's no doubt about that. The way that he delivers it, though, is not something you're going to see people from the inner city embrace. He didn't have an uplifting speech that people would look to and say that was soaring.
What was interesting, though, it wasn't an ideological speech. He went after Democrats, he went after Republicans. He went after our allies. He went after our enemies.
HARLOW: Repudiated them all.
PRESTON: He repudiated them all and said this is a new world order under my presidency, whether it's here at home or abroad.
HARLOW: Sara Murray, he also went to the Oval Office before these inaugural balls and signed an executive order, focused squarely on making ObamaCare as weak as possible --
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HARLOW: -- as much as they can do before the repeal process.
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. I don't think we should be surprised to see that this was one of his top priorities. They've been laying the groundwork for this on Capitol Hill. Donald Trump has been talking about it.
The challenge, of course, is that people now have these benefits under the president's health care law. They have the accessibility to insurance. It has become more popular. People realize they're going to lose something. That is the hardest thing to do in American politics, is to take back a benefit you have given to someone and survive it politically.
So to see how Donald Trump and Republicans move forward with this and what they replace it with is going to be key and pivotal to Donald Trump's legacy as a president.
HARLOW: Eugene Scott, we heard him talk about -- you know, I don't know if he used the word diversity but he addressed it by saying to effect no matter what color our skin is, we all bleed the same blood. The same thing is not reflected in his cabinet, which we'll get to later in the show.
Did you see any signs of unity in this address?
That is what we were promised from the Trump team leading up to this.
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I actually did. Many people were hoping they would see that. As you know, there was quite a bit of attention given this week to the fact that more than 50 Democratic lawmakers boycotted this inauguration. I don't think we've seen something like that in recent years, if ever.
There was some concern that maybe Donald Trump, who many said ran one of the most divisive campaigns in election history, would not focus on bringing people onto the Trump train who weren't on before. I think what he was able to communicate to many people was that this is the American train and that people beyond politics need to be on the same page.
HARLOW: After the president, as Mark just said, repudiated politicians of all stripes, he then went inside and sort of yukked it up with Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat. Let's look at this. There's this moment when Nancy Pelosi he's hanging out with her. She's handing him pens, to sign all of this.
What do you think, Salena, the fight looks like ahead when he's signing some of his cabinet positions, et cetera, but later he's signed the executive order on ObamaCare?
What does the fight look like ahead?
If those confirmation hearings were any indicator, Democrats are digging in.
SALENA ZITO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're digging in but they also see some places where they can work with him, especially on infrastructure, I mean I have --
HARLOW: Which he mentioned; he did mention ObamaCare or the wall in the inaugural address. He mentioned this infrastructure plan.
ZITO: An I think it's important what Mark said about just, you know, just pulling people together and the one thing I want to like get across is there were Democrats back in Pennsylvania, who were texting me and calling me and saying, that was a powerful speech. They were saying we are afraid for 2020.
HARLOW: Because it wasn't, Paris, a shining city on the hill. It wasn't a Reaganesque speech in that way. But I assume you saw optimism.
What were those points for you.
PARIS DENNARD, NATIONAL DIVERSITY COALITION FOR DONALD TRUMP: I would disagree with you. I would encourage everyone to go back and read the speech because we are used to - - for eight years of having someone who is very eloquent, Barack Obama, our former president, speak in a way that really inspired a lot of people.
President Trump speaks in a different manner. When you go back and read the speech for yourself, you will find, I felt, a very aspirational speech. I find the speech to be very unifying and very encouraging.
He talked about fragile communities, not just Detroit but Appalachia. This is when you talk about bringing people together and being America, being an American team, like you said, not the Trump train but the American train. Let's get this thing together and move it forward for the American people.
HARLOW: I consider pitting the American people against their own politicians against Washington.
DENNARD: He said you were left behind --
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HARLOW: -- and it's factual what he said. They have gotten rich. This area of Washington, D.C., has indeed gotten quite rich as much of America has lost -- the bottom has fallen out of the middle class.
Alice, obviously, many of us were watching Hillary Clinton as she looked on a day that clearly she dreaded. And that she actually said -- do you remember when she said during the campaign, just imagine January 20th, 2017, when Donald Trump is taking the oath of office?
And indeed he did. But he did mention her, not at his inaugural address but at the Capitol luncheon. Let's take a listen to that.
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TRUMP: Because I was very honored, very, very honored, when I heard that President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton was coming today. And I think it's appropriate to say -- and I'd like you to stand up. I'd like you to stand up.
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ALICE STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's a strong woman. And to come and to respond in that way, what a lot -- what a great deal of class and dignity she showed. This was a --
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STEWART: -- tough, tough campaign. And regardless of how a campaign is run, smoothly -- which they rarely are -- or difficult like this, it stinks to lose. It stinks really bad. And she took it on the chin really hard.
For her to come out and be so graceful, I think that says a lot about her. And even further than that, when she gave her concession speech, I think she gave a great message, that people need to give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's give him the opportunity --
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HARLOW: -- Obama said, as well, when he --
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HARLOW: Sara, you have such a unique position because you followed him. You did not get many nights' sleep at home this year. I hope, my friend, you do next year.
Did you see at all a different Donald Trump, recognizing the enormity of the moment the oath of office, that he is now the sitting 45th president of this country?
MURRAY: I think we were all sort of looking for this moment. He's such an irreverent guy in general. I was talking to one of his friends at the church with him yesterday morning now, who said when Donald Trump was leaving, he was openly emotional. He was teary eyed, he was hugging members of his cabinet.
This is someone who's been friends with Donald Trump a lot longer than we've all known him, saying this is hitting him. I think as we were watching him on the dais get ready to give his speech, I saw him more nervous than we've seen him before.
He was sitting there, he was wringing his hands. He was rocking back and forth. You could tell that, yes, you're right; in many ways, his speech didn't necessarily sound so different from what we've heard from him on the campaign trail. But his mannerisms were different, at least in part this moment was setting in.
I don't think we'll wake up in four hours and see a brand new Donald Trump. But I think there were some revelations about the magnitude of the job.
HARLOW: It's a very interesting -- but who needs sleep?
This president doesn't sleep. So we're not going to (INAUDIBLE).
Wajahat, we know President Obama left a note for President Trump in the Oval Office. I think we have video of that. I think we can show our viewers.
What do you hope it says?
ALI: "Tweet less, act more presidential and maybe you can take 140 characters to maybe criticize Putin for once, because you've gone after Mexicans and John Lewis and union leaders and women and 'SNL'. So maybe it would be nice if you could put aside your ego and your really cozy relationship with Putin and consider yourself with American security first and maybe cry some tears as you apologize to the minorities and 51 percent of the population of women, whom you have offended for the last year and a half."
HARLOW: I feel like Maria Cardona will give us a little more of a real read on what it might say.
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ALI: -- tweet less, act more.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I actually think that it will be very inspirational to him. Hopefully aspirational because we have seen President Obama act that way since the election.
And President Trump now has said he has actually given Obama a lot of credit for being very magnanimous. It was a nasty campaign between the two of them. But President Obama has risen above it all, put politics aside, to make sure this transfer of power was peaceful.
I hope he takes this opportunity to really unify the country. I didn't see that in the speech today. He also had no references to history. That's fine. That's who he is. But the one historical thing he had in common with all the other presidents before him, is that he put his hand on Lincoln's Bible.
And just like Lincoln, he is inheriting a very divided country. We're not in a civil war but we are a very divided country. I hope he understands though, like Lincoln did, that a house divided against itself cannot stand because he has a huge challenge in front of him and he is not Abraham Lincoln.
HARLOW: Thank you all. Stay with me. We've got to get a quick break in here.
Coming up, President Trump takes over with hundreds of government jobs not filled.
What happens on Monday morning when the government reopens?
What will it mean for the new president and frankly running the country?
Also from Melania's off-the-shoulder number to Ivanka's bedazzled gown, the Inauguration Day fashion that had everyone talking and tweeting.
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HARLOW: Welcome back to our special live coverage tonight from the nation's Capitol. Some of the most talked about moments at today's inaugural festivities had nothing to do with politics but fashion. Let's just -- we talked about politics all the time on this network. We'll take four minutes and talk about fashion.
First lady Melania Trump stunning the crowd in this white, off-the- shoulder gown by Herve Pierre; the president's daughter, Ivanka, also wowing in Carolina Herrera, a bedazzled one with a beautiful princess skirt.
Let's talk about all of the fashion of the night with CNNStyle host Derek Blasberg.
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HARLOW: Your name needs to be a brand like Derek Blasberg. You look stunning.
DEREK BLASBERG, CNNSTYLE CORRESPONDENT: Maybe one day. HARLOW: In Dolce and Gabbana.
BLASBERG: I'll take it.
HARLOW: Let's begin with the gowns.
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BLASBERG: If I was a brand, would I dress the first family?
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HARLOW: I think you would be very PC.
BLASBERG: I think I would, too. But more so than any other election or inauguration, who would design dresses for the first family was the hot topic issue. There's been a lot of websites keeping track of who said yes and who said no. Some designers have said no, including Mark Jacobs and Tom Ford. But who said yes, we saw today.
HARLOW: We saw Ralph Lauren said yes with her very Jackie O look and her white gown tonight, which was stunning, Herve Pierre, the fashion director at Carolina Herrera. But this is huge for him.
BLASBERG: Interesting thing about both of those looks was that Ralph Lauren was a bipartisan designer today. He not only designed Melania trump's inauguration dress, he made Hillary Clinton's cream suit.
But the dress tonight that Melania wore it was also a collaboration with her. She obviously has a history in fashion. She's a former model. So I think she probably likes to have a little bit of fun with this. And I think, at the risk of sounding pro-Trumpian, I thought she looked fabulous.
HARLOW: What do you think that she will do for designers, like Michelle Obama did for a lot of American designers, including Jason Wu and other lesser known designers, that, once she wore them, they really rose in popularity?
Will Melania do the same?
BLASBERG: Well, Herve Pierre is going to have a very big day tomorrow. No one was really talking about him before --
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BLASBERG: -- 8:00 or 9:00 pm today. And I can imagine his inbox has exploded. That's something Michelle Obama did. Her relationship with Jason Wu was really unique. He made her first and second inauguration dress. This afternoon she left on that helicopter wearing Jason Wu.
Perhaps we'll see something with Herve Pierre, Melania will have a similar relationship.
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HARLOW: She also wore J. Crew a lot and brands that -- not cheap, still expensive but not couture so that more people could afford.
Do you think we'll see something similar with Melania?
Like when Sharon Stone wore that Gap turtleneck to the Oscars.
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BLASBERG: Exactly. I'm not sure if Melania's --
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HARLOW: -- Melania wore Old Navy?
BLASBERG: -- so approachable.
The Internet would be very impressed if Melania Trump showed up in Old Navy. I don't expect that tomorrow. I don't know how good Old Navy looks in that Trump Tower. But I'd be happy to see it.
HARLOW: A lot of people -- Twitter also lit up over Kellyanne Conway and her coat. This was a $3,600 Gucci coat.
Why did people keep talking about it?
BLASBERG: I think because, for one, she's such a colorful character. It was easy to poke fun at. And I think she looked like a bit of a drum majorette or maybe a revolutionary war hero. It was a very bold choice. But I think -- I think this isn't the end of what -- I don't think this is the end of that Gucci coat.
HARLOW: All right. Thank you, my friend.
BLASBERG: Thanks for having me.
HARLOW: You get to go to sleep now.
BLASBERG: Finally. Geez Louise.
HARLOW: We appreciate it, Derek, thank you so much.
BLASBERG: Thanks for having me.
HARLOW: As we led to break, a look back at a lot. We're staying up late into the night. A look back at some of the most memorable moments from tonight's inaugural balls.
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HARLOW: Welcome back. We're live in the nation's Capitol the morning after President Trump's inauguration day. The Senate confirmed his first two cabinet members so far on Friday, James Mattis was sworn in as Defense secretary, John Kelly was sworn in as secretary of Homeland Security, both retired generals. President Trump celebrated their confirmations at the Armed Services ball.
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TRUMP: I just want to tell you that General Mattis was just approved by the Senate.
First one.
General Kelly was just approved by the Senate.
And isn't it something, two generals are the first ones, with all the people and all the politicians, the generals get approved first.
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HARLOW: Trump's presidency begins without a full national security team. Republicans had wanted to see CIA director nominee Michael Pompeo confirmed today. He won't be voted on until Monday. Three Democrats were objecting to that, stating no CIA director in history was ever confirmed on Inauguration Day. So he will have to wait until Monday.
My panel is back with me.
I don't need to rename all of you because you were with me just moments ago.
Sara Murray, let me begin with you, OK, so he has two. President Trump has two picks confirmed so far. President George w. Bush and President Obama had seven. Not that wide a gap.
Is this much ado about nothing?
MURRAY: Well, I do think they will be confirmed ultimately. I can understand the frustration from Donald Trump and a little bit of confusion on his part, I think because I think he expected a number of these people would be confirmed pretty easily and it was explained to him that you have enough Republican votes that this won't be a problem.
Look, this is what happens. This is what happens for every president. This is what happens for every cabinet. This is an opportunity for senators to express their displeasure about any number of things, whether it is the person, whether it is a policy position Donald Trump has taken.
I don't think we should be surprised to see Democrats sort of flex the levers of power that they still have at their disposal, however limited they may be.
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HARLOW: -- Marco Rubio said he hasn't made up his mind yet on Tillerson. We'll see what happens.
The diversity -- I should say the lack of diversity, Eugene, on this -- in these cabinet picks is stunning. I mean, our panel is more diverse than -- seriously, than the cabinet representative of the American people.
You've got 13 white men of 16 positions. You've got three women, you've got two -- one African American and you have no Latinos.
SCOTT: Right. This is the first actually group of cabinets we -- that have been absent of a Latino nominee in 30 years. And this is alarming in part because Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in the United States right now.
Sean Spicer has gone on and said that, if we pay attention, they will see more diversity as we move forward. But it's alarming not at the top level to many Americans that there are --
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HARLOW: -- we won't at the top level unless these nominees radically change --
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SCOTT: And there won't be.
And I think people really would like to see an administration that's more reflective of where America is right now.
HARLOW: So, Paris Dennard, to you, as someone who's been a vocal Trump supporter throughout and as an African American yourself, the way that Sean Spicer defended this is he said that the media is taking a, quote, "very narrow way to look at it," which I mean we're just reporting the facts and the numbers.
But he also said the number one thing is that Americans is should focus on, is he hiring the best and the brightest.
[02:30:00] Is he hiring people that are committed to enacting real change?
When you say that, is he hiring the best and brightest, does it also send a message that perhaps there aren't minorities that are among the best and the brightest?
DENNARD: No, I mean, listen, when you are in HR and doing things like this, you get the people that are presented to you and you hope they are the best and brightest within the pool that you're given.
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HARLOW: Actually, companies work towards diversity for many reasons, not just because it's what's right but because they can get sued if they don't. DENNARD: I think we need to be careful how we define diversity. If you're talking about diversity in the terms of just racial diversity, do you want to have a Hispanic on there?
Or do you want to have people on there that understand the issues that are important to the Hispanic community and other fragile communities and other African American communities and things of that nature?
There are 4,000 other jobs up here.
HARLOW: Can you do that?
Can you -- I can't walk in your shoes.
Right?
I didn't grow up African American. You can't walk in a Latino's shoes. You didn't grow up Latino.
So at what point do we need to be more representative of the whole of the country?
DENNARD: I believe Donald J. Trump is not African American. He's not a woman. He's not Hispanic but is he representing all of us. You even, Poppy, can have empathy and understanding and have a passion for the black community.
HARLOW: Absolutely.
DENNARD: And I believe that his cabinet will do that, especially at HUD and other departments, especially USDA.
HARLOW: But empathy is different than a true understanding of what it's like to walk in someone's shoes.
DENNARD: But a black person, because I'm black, here's the false narrative.
Because I'm black does not mean that I know exactly what it means for every black person in every community.
HARLOW: Absolutely, different socioeconomic levels. Exactly -- Maria.
CARDONA: Yes. Let me jump in. As the Latina on the panel, given there are zeros Latinas on this cabinet, for the first time since 1988, it is very egregious.
When they say the reason is because they've actually hired the best and brightest, it is an insult to all of these communities of color who do have best and bright people if they are looked for.
If Donald Trump actually took the time to surround himself with people of color, with people who actually represent this country, then he might actually know some people who are very bright and who are the best in their field and who do represent the interests, not just of the Hispanic community, not just of the African American community but of America in general.
When you have a country that is moving in the direction where it's going to be a majority minority country in less than 20 years, I think the fact that there is a lack of this kind of diversity on his cabinet is not just egregious and insulting, it is bad for America because diversity is one of those things, you not only get sued if you don't have it in a company but it's good for the bottom line.
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HARLOW: And every study has borne that out, the companies perform better the more diverse --
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HARLOW: But, Alice Stewart, to you, for some looking at this and they saw what was largely a white crowd today at the inauguration, some say have we taken a step back.
You say?
STEWART: I saw a good mix of people out there. I was right out there in the thick of things. I saw a good mix, all ages. I saw kids on their dads' shoulders. I saw teens climbing up in trees so they could catch a glimpse of Donald Trump.
It was a well rounded mix of people. They were very inspired to hear what Donald Trump had to say, not the least of which was him saying that the people are the rulers of this country.
But to his point on this issue, Donald Trump stressed the need to bring about unity. He said, regardless of the color of your skin, we all bleed red American patriotic blood. And that is the message he said to those people and the millions of people around the world watching is we all have red patriotic blood.
HARLOW: Can we have that without a more diverse and representative cabinet?
Would you have liked to see -- I know you're a big supporter of his. You've also at times been critical of him.
Would you like to see a more diverse pick.
STEWART: I think, as Sean Spicer has said, we haven't seen the full range of what they're doing yet and I think --
HARLOW: But we have seen the topics. And those are the front facing public picks.
STEWART: Sure. He also stressed there are many people not necessarily at the top cabinet level positions but many people in the administration that are very diverse and do have a cross view of the society. I think that's important, too.
Would we like to see more? Absolutely.
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STEWART: At the same time, I think we'll give them the benefit --
HARLOW: I've got to get to break. We're going to be back -- I will make one note and that is Kellyanne Conway, right, Sara, the first woman ever to lead a Republican, you know, candidate that has gotten this far and won, by the way. So she certainly made history in her own right.
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And that matters. It matters to have these people at the top not because it makes us feel better to see diverse faces but because it also sends a message to people you're trying to fill in in the lower spots. If you see someone who looks like you --
[02:35:00]
MURRAY: -- at the top, you can get there eventually.
HARLOW: All right, guys. Stay with me. We're going to get a quick break. You're back with me on the other side.
Still to come, details of a major march on Washington that could draw a quarter of a million people. As we go to break, the parade moment that had President Trump jamming out.
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HARLOW: As Donald Trump took the oath of office in the nation's Capitol, protests began flaring up across the country.
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HARLOW: Police in Washington used flashbangs to disperse demonstrators there just a few blocks from the inaugural parade. Two police officers suffered minor injuries after they were hit with rocks.
The windows of several businesses were smashed. A limo was actually set on fire. Nearly 100 people were arrested during these scattered protests. Six people were arrested in Chicago in clashes with police at these anti-Trump demonstrations.
The protests will continue on Saturday. That is when hundreds of thousands of men and women are expected to march on Washington and across the country. Every single red dot you see on the map, a protest is planned for that city.
Some are traveling from as far away as California to come here to Washington to bring their message.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The popular vote doesn't count, then we have to show up in person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we're not sitting behind our computers. We're actually physically there, willing to sacrifice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to make them listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not OK with the choices or -- and the rhetoric they've been saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Later today, those marches are expected to go global. People will march in these demonstrations in cities all around the world including in North and South America, in Europe and Africa, Asia and Australia.
My panel is back with me to discuss.
Let me begin with you. Mark Preston, look, hundreds of thousands are expected here tomorrow. You know, we'll see how many are going to actually show up.
What do you make of this big picture?
Give us some historical context here.
PRESTON: What we saw in Washington yesterday during the inauguration wasn't supporters of Hillary Clinton or supporters of Democratic policies. They were anarchists. They were there to cause havoc. They were there to go against the police.
They weren't there for a political reason other than they believe in anarchy, which is very unfortunate. What we're going to see tomorrow though is democracy. The fact is, assuming that all goes well in these marches across the country and here in the U.S., that's fine. That's the way this country was founded.
I do want to point out though that, as we saw Donald Trump take the oath of office today, we had troops in West Africa that had gone into Gambia to force out a president who refused to leave office. He had lost the election.
And you had West African troops from countries surrounding it, backed by the United Nations, to remove him. Now this gentleman has decided to step down.
But it just goes to show you, when we talk about peaceful transfer of power, we throw it out there so casually. We don't have that here.
OK?
Democrats don't agree with Republicans. Republicans don't agree with Democrats. But at the end of the day, this is our country. This is our democracy. And we should cherish that.
HARLOW: Such an important point and perspective happening on the same day as this president is inaugurated.
Wajahat, to you, these protests follow almost 60 Democratic lawmakers, who boycotted the inauguration, a number we haven't seen in a very, very long time. Congresswoman John Lewis saying he was boycotting because he doesn't think Trump is a legitimate president.
You know, this isn't exactly extending an olive branch.
WAJAHAT ALI, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": No, it is not. But some people say he is illegitimate based on maybe Russia's intelligence, excuse me, Russia's interference with this election. We have a Senate Intelligence investigation that's happening. We have the Department of Justice opening up their investigation right now.
So we have to see exactly what that intelligence shows, how much Russia influenced this election, if it did, and how much, if there was messaging, between the teams here and Russia.
HARLOW: To what end?
What do you hope to see from the protests tomorrow?
ALI: Well, I love the protests tomorrow. Let's give props to Teresa Shook (ph), who is a retiree attorney from Hawaii, who did a Facebook post, said I'm going to march because she thinks that this is not my president.
She goes to sleep, wakes up, thousands of comments. This is a grassroots, organic, proactive, multicultural coalition of the willing, descending upon the nation's Capitol. There's going to be nasty women, bad hombres, there's going to be some taco trucks. There's actually going to be some real diversity.
I knew some people said there was diversity today. I saw a brunette white person, I saw a blonde white person. I saw short white people. I saw tall white people and you. And I saw him.
But tomorrow is going to be, there's going to be 51 percent of the population that says this president is illegitimate to us not based on Russian interference but because he does not represent our rights.
HARLOW: Paris.
ALI: No reproductive rights, women's equality. I mean, this is what they are going to go for tomorrow.
HARLOW: Paris, should the president come out and address the protesters?
And if so, what should he say?
DENNARD: No, he shouldn't address the protesters because he has other things to do. Like he's already started, he's governing this country. But I believe if they really understood the message and heart of this president, he's our president, I believe that they would understand he's not anti-women. He's all for women. If you --
[02:45:00]
DENNARD: -- listen to him on the campaign trail, you heard things that Republicans haven't really said before. He said, I'm going to be strong on women's health. He said I'm going to do things to support Planned Parenthood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wants to defund Planned Parenthood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- that women should be punished for having abortions.
So he's given a lot of different -- and I'm not going to get into a big debate over women here. But the point is that clearly the men and women marching hearer want to hear something different from the president than they've heard.
So, Alice, why not -- if you were Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, would you say, do something radical? Go out there and talk to them.
STEWART: Who knows. They may do that. But here's the things with this -- this is a pro-abortion protest is what's happening. These people are pro-abortion, getting together. No pro-life leaders or organizers were invited to this.
I do work for Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest conservative women's group in the country. They weren't invited to come. It's a pro-life group.
So right now we have polls show five in 10 women don't support abortion. So the key is when you have this largest segment of the women's population not included, this is not a woman's group protest tomorrow. This is a segment of the population that just can't accept the fact that Donald Trump is the president.
HARLOW: Salena, final thought to you. When you look at the polling numbers, the president-elect has, you know, the president has about 40 percent approval and a new CNN/ORC poll shows his favorability rating is only 44 percent.
Do you expect that to tick higher?
SALENA ZITO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I do. I think Hillary Clinton would probably have had equal numbers.
HARLOW: You do?
ZITO: I do because this was a very divided race. We're pretty much right down the middle. I think that both of them -- and it was a grueling campaign. And you know, I think it will uptick because we kept -- he kept the campaign going on from Election Day until the inauguration. There was still -- he still talked about it, he still litigated it. And, you know, so I think that's what kept it at that level.
HARLOW: Guys, thank you very much.
To my panel, I appreciate it. You can all go party now. It's only 2:46 in the morning.
Coming up, we're going to take you around the world from Moscow to Hong Kong and beyond. How the world is reacting to the inauguration of Donald Trump. As we go to break, a time lapse. Look at this video, a time-lapse video of the crowds that turned out today on the National Mall, despite the rain.
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[02:50:00]
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HARLOW: President Donald Trump said today his new decree is that he wants (INAUDIBLE) heard around the world that every decision he will make on trade and foreign affairs will be to benefit the United States, as he puts it, America first.
We have our CNN correspondents all over the world tonight, watching reaction to that message and the man behind it.
Jill Dougherty is live for us in Moscow; our Alexandra Field is live in Seoul, South Korea; our Oren Liebermann is live in Jerusalem and senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is live in Hong Kong.
Thank you all for being here.
Jill, let me begin with you. As you well know, Donald Trump has promised that the United States will have a better relationship with Russia going forward. And a Russian official just took a parting shot at President Obama.
What did they say?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that was Marie Zahadava (ph). She's a spokesperson for the foreign ministry. She said a lot of things can happen in the world but one thing won't happen. And that is President Obama won't say anything about Russia anymore.
So the last final slap against President Obama as the new president comes in. And Russia, of course, has been very complimentary about President Trump. And I think the tone is really that he wants to make America great.
And that might just rub off on Russia in the sense that both countries now can go to fix the world.
I mean, here's a response from Alexei Pushkov (ph), who is a member of parliament. And a lot of his opinions, especially on Twitter, express kind of the official view. He said, "He's a bright politician of a new type. But they will try to obstruct him and good luck, Mr. Trump."
He said also that the meeting with President Putin, which they want and hope will happen very soon, will be the most important event in world politics and a defining moment in history.
There are some things that President Trump is saying that I think would be very good for president Putin in the sense of his policy that he would agree with about NATO. You know, he didn't use the word NATO but he said we've subsidized the armies of other countries for far too long and we don't seek to impose our views on anyone. That also is something that Vladimir Putin will be glad to hear -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Jill Dougherty, live for us in Moscow, thank you very much.
Now to Alexandra field.
Alex, you're in Seoul, South Korea, not that far from the border with North Korea.
Any rumblings from Kim Jong-un, the North Koreans, in terms of whether they're eager to test this new president?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everyone's been watching to see whether or not Kim Jong-un will some make noise, as you point out, Poppy. But right now what we're hearing immediately is actually reaction within South Korea because they got the message, America first. It's that message that was sent around the world, even to the U.S.' allies.
Here they're questioning what that means when it comes to the U.S.' security commitments overseas. You've got Yonhap (ph) news agency here, saying that Donald Trump's unconventional, unorthodox approach to long undisputed values have put the rest of the world on edge.
That was published shortly after the inaugural address but before the inauguration --
[02:55:00]
FIELD: -- South Korea's acting president sent a letter of congratulations to President Donald Trump, underscoring the importance of maintaining the very close alliance between the U.S. and South Korea, calling for a need to continue to strengthen and enhance this alliance and also underscoring the need to continue to work together to counter any North Korean nuclear threat.
The U.S., Japan and South Korea are all currently involved in joint naval exercises to prepare to counter any such threat -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Alexandra Field, live in Seoul, thank you so much. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, there has been no love lost between
Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama. And it has been very clear, his admiration for president-elect, now President Trump.
What are officials in Israel saying tonight about this new American leadership?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because it's the Sabbath, we haven't gotten the full array of responses just yet.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a tweet even before the inauguration, saying, "congrats to my friend Donald Trump. I look forward to making the alliance between Israel and the U.S. even stronger."
As you point out, this is something Netanyahu and the Israeli government have been looking forward to for quite a long time. That has been incredibly evident, especially over the last few weeks, with the U.N. Security Council resolution that carries (INAUDIBLE) the continuation of the deterioration of relations between Obama and Netanyahu.
It was Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danone, who said, "We look forward to hosting Trump in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, as soon as possible."
And that is something we've heard that echoed across Israel from the leadership.
The mayor of Jerusalem, Mir Barkat (ph), even started a Welcome Trump to the Presidency campaign just a couple of days ago.
The first words of that campaign were, "After eight difficult years under President Obama," very clear that the Israeli government, even if they're quiet on the Sabbath, is excited for what comes ahead.
HARLOW: Yes. We'll hear what they say in just a few hours from now. Thank you very much, Oren.
Ivan Watson, live for us in Hong Kong, and you've been watching the reaction around the world in a number of countries to the new president -- and also in Mexico, where he has promised to build that wall.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. What we've seen is basically a series of peaceful anti-Trump protests, Poppy, in cities and capitals around the world, with this kind of common theme criticizing the 45th American president here in the Asia Pacific region.
We saw protests of hundreds to thousands of people in at least a half- dozen cities in Australia and New Zealand. They are mutual defense treaty allies of the U.S., with messages like love Trump's hate.
There was a small pro-Trump protest in Sydney, Aussies supporting Trump. We also saw protests in European capitals: a candlelight vigil in the Belgian capital, for example. These seem to be related to the women's rights protests that will descend on Washington on Saturday, so-called sister marches.
In Mexico, some theater with demonstrators putting up a fake wall in front of the U.S. embassy there.
I have to say, in nearly 20 years I've been reporting overseas, Poppy, I've covered many American protests. I've never seen protests like this on an Inauguration Day inspired by this -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Wow. Some important perspective. Thank you very much.
All of you, Jill, Alexandra, Ivan and Oren, we appreciate it.
And thank you all for being with us. Before we go tonight, as President Trump took the reins of the government today, former President Obama said goodbye to the White House.
Perhaps no image better captured that moment than this one, the former president looking one last time at the White House from aboard Executive One as he began his trip and well-deserved vacation to Palm Springs.
The former president and first lady will be vacationing there before returning to their new home in Washington.
Former Vice President Joe Biden stuck to the ground for his trip home, hopping aboard the Amtrak, bound for his home in Delaware, as he has done so many times before.
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JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I made over -- they actually calculated this: 8,200 round trips, over 2,100,000 miles on Amtrak, 259 round miles round trip a day, not every day but it averages 117 days a year.
This is my family. This is why I wanted to go home the way I came, full circle. Just going home to Delaware, to the people I love.
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HARLOW (voice-over): And as we end this hour, let's show this iconic photo, it's a reminder of the true uniqueness of this country, the United States, a country with a strong foundation of honoring the peaceful transfer of power from one leader to the next, no matter how far apart their political views may be.
Thank you so much for joining us tonight. It has been a pleasure to be with you. For our international viewers, CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.
