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Mexico Warns Citizens in U.S. To Take Precautions; Protesters Block DeVos From Entering a School; Melania Trump Did Not Accompany the Japanese First Lady Today. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired February 10, 2017 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] KEVIN DE LEON, (D) CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR: We don't know if in fact they are holding individuals who are in fact hardened criminals or in fact that they are innocent mothers and fathers, hardworking residents who respect this country, you have U.S. born children in the United States.

BALDWIN: You just heard the sound from the husband about this mother, two children, she was living in Arizona, she had been arrested for having false papers. She had been doing checks. She hadn't been deported in years and years, and this most recent round she was. Is that story resonating through these communities, especially in places like Southern California and how nervous are people here?

DE LEON: Very much so. There is a lot of panic. There's a lot of fear in the immigrant communities throughout the State of California today. They don't know simply if they are going to be dropped off at school and when they are waiting at the curb side for their mother, if in fact there are mother or father is even going to show up. So, there is a lot of panic, a lot of anxiety.

I saw a lot of children crying last night because of the detention, and we'll see if there's going to be national deportation of their parents. But there is a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety, and I do direct the responsibility at the White House with Donald J. Trump, I understand that the federal government has the sole exclusive jurisdiction in enforcing immigration laws. No one's going to argue with that. But if you're going to target hard-working mothers and fathers, people who cook in our restaurants, people who take care of our children. I don't think that's American. Those are the values of America and the are surely not the values of California.

BALDWIN: Senator De Leon, Thank you so much for your opinion.

DE Leon: Thank you so much, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Still to come. This.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD CHANTING: Do your job! Do your job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Do your job. That was the shout here. Raw emotions at a pair of Republican town halls last evening, but is this anger just the beginning?

[15:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Today marks week three since President Trump took office and after a number of controversial executive orders, protests and now massive legal challenge, we are seeing scenes reminiscent of the tea party movement of the Obama era, you have these town halls, in Utah and Tennessee, angry constituents, confronting in one case Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz in Utah and congresswoman Dianne Black in Tennessee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD CHANTING: Do your job! Do your job!

JASON CHAFFETZ, CONGRESSPERSON, UTAH: Hold on, I'm trying to answer the question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we are effectively punishing our sickest people.

CHAFFETZ: Easy, easy. Please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to have coverage in order to make sure I don't die and you want to take away this coverage and have nothing to replace it with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe in science? Because I do.

CHAFFETZ: So, President Trump nominated -- by far Donald Trump was the better choice. By far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I speak with two people from that clip and congresswoman Black sent this statement. Quote "while there were strong feelings at this forum, there was no mistaking the clear message Tennesseans sent last November at the ballot box. When they sent congressman Black and President Trump to Washington to repeal Obamacare and put patients back in control of their healthcare choices. As a registered nurse congresswoman black ran for office on a platform of providing relief from this disastrous law and she is intent on keeping that pledge." Let's talk this over with CNN political commentator Steve Israel who is a former Democratic congressman from New York. Also with me, Jenny Beth Martin is the president of the Tea Party Patriots. So, great to have both of you all on. Congressman first to you, do you see this wave? Is this the beginning of the progressive version of the tea party movement?

STEVE ISRAEL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think so. This is the energy that we're seeing now is the energy that we saw on the right with the tea party in 2009. Brooke, I've got to tell you, looking at those videos I feel that pain. I remember in 2009, my congressional office was flooded with thousands of phone calls from people wanting to know when was my next town hall, where it would be and when I would be there, I remember showing up at Suffolk Community College on Long Island to a town hall that normally would have 30 or 40 people, there were 2,000. I remember listening to the chants and screaming and at the end of the day, that's democracy, I took it, I understood it, I respected the right of people to be angry with my position and I think the tea party needs to respect the rights of the other side to have the same feelings and expressions.

BALDWIN: You helped lead this movement successfully might I add I wanted to talk to you specifically just what is the phrase, imitation is the sincerest

form of flattery, how do you see it played out last night? How do you think it went?

JENNY BETH MARTIN, CO-FOUNDER, TEA PARTY PATRIOTS: Well, I think obviously, there are people who very passionate expressing their first amendment rights. I became a very strong advocate for the first amendment.

[15:40:00] So, I understand that passion and anger and it does seem similar to what we saw in 2009 with town halls and then congress kind of hid and didn't let us know as much about there they were going to be with their town hall meetings. I hope that both Democrats and Republicans continue to have the town hall meetings. There's a difference though I think in some of what we are seeing from the left right now and time will tell whether it's the tea party movement or occupy Wall Street.

BALDWIN: Like what?

MARTIN: The attacks on the property at Berkeley, blocking Secretary DeVos from entering a school and protesting outside of a school during the daytime where presumably children are. These are differences we respect the system, and we don't break the law, so it depends on whether that -- which way are they going to go? Are they going to go the way of occupy Wall Street or the way of the tea party?

BALDWIN: That's a great question, congressman, how do you respond to that?

ISRAEL: I have to say with all due respect, I remember hearing there were tea party protests in front of their children's schools, I don't legitimize that and defend that. That was wrong then and those tactics would be wrong now. As Jenny just said, democracy works both ways and we have a right to be heard. I remember a memo saying when you go to a town hall meeting in 2009, 2010, scream loud, be disruptive and make them understand that if not a majority than a significant majority of the audience doesn't support the agenda, that's the way it appears to be working now.

BALDWIN: Will it go toward more occupy, or tea party and be successful? What's the magic sauce if you will for this momentum for progressives? Last question.

ISRAEL: First of all, I wouldn't equivocate the tea party with occupy Wall Street.

BALDWIN: No, it's totally different. ISRAEL: You're seeing a response to the misguided policies of the

Trump administration. The people in those meetings may not be unified, but concerned with many of the executive orders coming from the Trump administration.

BALDWIN: Thank you very much both very much.

Moments ago, President Trump and the first lady left for the winter White House down in Palm Beach along with you see the pictures here the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife. As for Ms. Abe, this visit was actually nothing like her previous trips to the United States. We will tell you who was visibly absent from the Japanese first lady's tour of Washington.

[15:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We saw those live pictures moments ago, President Trump, his wife Melania, and prime minister of japan, all heading down to the president's winter house in Mar-a-Lago. In the intimate setting of air force one today there was somebody noticeably missing, Melania Trump. The first lady did not join the Japanese first lady as she toured. She was not there. So, Kate Bennett is with me in Washington. First question, this is such a break in tradition, right? The role of the first lady is to host, to entertain in Washington. Where was Melania Trump?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS: That was the big question mark, this is traditionally the first lady does when a dignitary comes from a foreign nation, typically it false to the first lady, they go to a museum, a school, things sort of a tradition, today Mrs. Trump who is staying in New York, until Barron finishes the school year, in all fairness did not join Mrs. Abe this morning which made it awkward to do the events alone, only because in the past we have seen Mrs. Abe with Michelle Obama, we have even seen Mrs. Abe with also first lady Bush, they toured Mt. Vernon together. So, it was a little unusual not to have the first lady or a stand in or an Ivanka Trump join Mrs. Abe this morning on her two events here in Washington.

BALDWIN: You mentioned Ivanka Trump and we've seen her. She accompanied her father to Dover Air Force Base to of course welcome the body of Navy SEAL who was coming in last week, so we have seen her in primaries roles. Did it surprise you that Ivanka Trump didn't step in today?

BENNETT: I think a number of people, myself included thinking if Mrs. Trump is not going to be able to make it in time, there would have been a surrogate to join Mrs. Abe, or perhaps someone from the state department or maybe even Mrs. Pence just somebody there to represent the administration sort of in terms of hosting a spouse of a foreign leader, because that's the tradition. If we were to go there, if the Trumps or Pences would go to japan, likely there would be some sort of escort from the administration to help along. So, it was a bit of a surprise and Ivanka was at the press conference at the White House with the prime minister of japan, so there was so question about couldn't somebody maybe have gone, but again we asked the White House. [15:50:00] And they looked forward to Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Abe spending time in Palm Beach and on their flight together tomorrow. But today there was a bit of an absence.

BALDWIN: They'll be down in Palm Beach together. What's the one thing we're going to be watching for?

BENNETT: I think we want to see this official first lady duty Mrs. Trump tomorrow. Tomorrow will she host Mrs. Abe? Will they tour around? Will she step in where tomorrow she didn't quite today?

BALDWIN: Kate Bennett, thank you. If Melissa McCarthy can play Sean Spicer, can Rosie O'Donnell play Steve Bannon? Her new tease as Saturday Night Live plots its next viral moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Saturday Night Live's resident Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin returns to studio 8h tomorrow night. This time as guest host for a record-breaking 17th time. He will no doubt have even more time to delve into his must-see TV characterization of the nation's 45th commander in chief.

[15:55:00] Alec Baldwin's wife is a correspondent for Extra and she went behind the scenes of Saturday Night Live to interview her husband about what it's been like playing President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILANA BALDWIN, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, "EXTRA": Do you enjoy it?

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR/TRUMP IMPERSONATOR: I think I enjoy being a part of it, you know, playing him is not a lot of fun because there is a kind of -- he's tense, he's angry, he's pissed off and that's not always fun to play. I mean, my god, I keep coming back to the same thing which is that he won. I think he would have kind of settled down and relaxed, hey, man, everybody chill and let's all focus and leadership is so much that the president sets the tone.

HILANA BALDWIN: So, Sean Spicer told AJ that you're mean.

ALEC BALDWIN: What's he supposed to say? All those guys work for Trump, the office of the president and they're going to say what they need to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now Charissa Thompson, host with extra. It's nice to finally hear from Alec Baldwin. He hasn't said anything publicly. We tune in and see how he pulls this off. What else did he share with his wife?

CHARISSA THOMPSON, CO-HOST, "EXTRA": Yes, we sent in our secret weapon, the woman who knows him best. She's great and does a bunch of stuff for us and she was kind enough to do that. You know what, he said basically a lot of the same stuff that you just heard right there, that it's not fun playing him, that he's tense and he's angry. But he said that, you know, people want to laugh right now and they are upset and the other thing he said is that it's weird about the stuff that they're doing. They're just repeating back what he's saying. So, doing this is kind of strange, but it's even more strange that it's real life and I think, you know, that's why it's resonating with a bunch of people as you mentioned.

He's making his record setting 17th appearance as host. It doesn't look like there is any end in sight for Trump. Him and his camp -- the president is not happy with it, that's been very well documented. But people like it so we'll see how long it lasts. Then of course there are those rumors Rosie O'Donnell may be making a guest appearance as Steve Bannon. She changed her Twitter profile, it's photo shopped. We will see. No confirmation on that. It is interesting and it is entertaining and that's what it's supposed to do.

BALDWIN: Yes. Let me go back, though, to your point about how, yes, the president has tweeted many times, he is none too pleased with Alec Baldwin's portrayal of him. What does Alec Baldwin think about that?

THOMPSON: He's just happy to keep doing it. He says when it's not fun, he won't continue to do it. But I think -- and you heard him say to his wife there, you know, look, they're not supposed to like him and he's OK with that. If he had a problem with it then he wouldn't continue to be playing the part.

BALDWIN: Clarissa Thompson, thank you. We'll watch "Extra" tonight. And of course, Saturday night to watch Alec Baldwin. Also, tonight here on CNN, The Messy Truth with Van Jones. During this town hall comedian and HBO host Bill Maher joins Van and talks about President Trump's first three weeks in office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN JONES, CNN HOST: Is it worse than you thought, is it better than you thought? Where are we?

BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": It's somehow exactly what we thought and yet ten times worse. Because it wasn't like we weren't sick of him by the time he got elected. It has president been going on for a year and a half. And Donald Trump does not wear well, you know. I mean, you cannot keep up with the number of crazy things he says -- just today, OK, well, we're taping this, right, the day before yesterday, I meant.

You know, it's all about him throwing a fit because his daughter/wife had -- Can we say daughter/wife, reverend? No, on that one. Christ, he was OK with, but this one he threw the yellow flag. His daughter/wife Ivanka had her jewelry taken out of department stores. So, like, when he's supposed to be getting the intelligence briefing he's tweeting about this. I mean, there's more than I can almost handle on a weekly basis of the crazy stuff, the stuff that's just made-up. The murder rate is the highest in 47 years and the press doesn't cover terrorism. This just happened since my last show. I mean, this would be enough for an entire administration. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That is just a snippet. Please tune in tonight 9:00 eastern and pacific. It's this town hall, the messy truth with van jones here on CNN. Just a quick note, we had Van on this show and before I let him go, I asked him about this really special CNN digital project that's underway. You can check this out on CNN.com. Basically, we're asking a number of people what happened if you had a specific story when you first realized you're black, and Van actually shared a story that he had never shared before. So, go to CNN.com to find that --