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President Trump Misses His Old Life; U.S. Economy Grows at Slower Pace Than Expected; Anti-Trump Voters on the First 100 Days; Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 28, 2017 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:32:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. New this morning, he works hard for the money, harder than he thought. That's right, Donald Trump says that being president he thought it would be easier. So we played this sound for you once already, but you have to hear it again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love my previous life. I love my previous life. I had so many things going. You know, I actually -- this is more work than my previous life. I thought it would be easier. I thought it was more of a -- I'm a details oriented person. I think you would say that, but I do miss my old life. This -- I like to work, so that's not a problem, but this is actually more work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. Joining us to talk about this, Patti Solis Doyle, CNN political commentator, former manager for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and Andre Bauer, the former lieutenant governor of South Carolina.

Andre, you know, "I miss my old life." He talks about missing driving a car here. He sounds forlorn. It is harder work than he thought. Does Donald Trump enjoy being president? Does he want this job?

ANDRE BAUER, FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, I think he does. This is a change. I actually hadn't owned Myrtle Beach speed racing, come on down, and we'll put him on the racetrack if he wants to have a little fun in a car. But it's a different lifestyle for him. Here is a business guy that had never served in any political office whatsoever. And I think when you hadn't done that, when you hadn't been in that firing line, no matter what you've been under, it's a different lifestyle.

I can tell you it comes with a different set of responsibilities. He's got the most responsibility of anybody in the world right now. And so I'm sure it's been a dramatic lifestyle change, but he's adapted well.

BERMAN: If there is one job I think that people could suspect or predict might be hard it's president of the United States. And it's something that he campaigned for, you know, for over 18 months, so to be surprised now, the way he sounded, is pretty interesting.

On the other hand, Patti Solis Doyle, look, every president who comes into office is daunted, is awed by the size of the task. You know, President Obama, our Jeff Zeleny points out, after his first 100 days said, look, you know, we have more problems. Most presidents have a few problems, I have so many. That is different than I thought it would be. So totally, is President Trump that far off than the other presidents before him?

PATTI SOLIS DOYLE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, being president is hard. Hello. Yes, of course it is. The Donald Trump campaign pretty much ignorant about global affairs, about the way Washington works, about, you know, creating and legislating public policy, and as a result he made the sweeping campaign promises, right? Like I'm going to label China a currency manipulator, I'm going to get rid of NAFTA, I'm going to create -- build a wall and have Mexico pay for it, and most notably I am going to repeal and replace Obamacare.

And with a very steep learning curve, he is now -- he's facing the realities of, guess what, you know, I need China on North Korea. Guess what, if I get rid of NAFTA, I get rid of 14 million American jobs. Guess what? Mexico is never going to pay for the wall. Guess what? Health care is complicated.

[09:35:02] And probably the biggest guess what for this president is, yes, being president is hard. So, you know, all I can say is, duh?

BERMAN: All right. That's expert analysis right there.

Andre, I want you to respond to duh if you will and also to the notion that, look, you know, I don't think -- I think he may get used to the job but the job doesn't get any easier. You get things like international crises, things happen. It will never become an easy job.

BAUER: Well, if you look at immigration, energy independence, defense, all of these were things he talked about during the campaign, all of us think he's already started to make changes on. You can get -- you know, depending on which side you want to support, he's had some great steps along the way, these first 99 days, and they're going to continue to get better as he finds his stride and understands how the legislative process works here in Washington, and he's not just fighting, you know, the other party, he's fighting within his own party because there are so many different factions. So many people who supported somebody else.

You've got real conservatives, then you got people that run under the banner of conservatives that really aren't that conservatives. And so he's got a lot of different moving parts so he's got to make work but whether you look at Keystone Pipeline, the drop in illegal immigration. 70 percent says, NPR just out, if you look at where the economy has moved, where the consumer confidence is, you're seeing a good movement in the right direction in so many fronts.

BERMAN: I want to ask one last question to you, Patti. On a poll number just out this morning from CNN, that caught me a little bit off guard, it has to do with the issue of Russia and whether or not there was improper contact between the Trump campaign and Russia. And if there was, would it be a crisis or a major problem. If you look at the breakdown, 86 percent of Democrats say it would be a problem if there were improper contacts.

But just 35 percent of Republicans say if there were improper contacts it would be a crisis or a major problem here. So it does look like this has been turned into a partisan issue, Patti. And if Democrats care about this, do they have to convince Republicans that it matters?

SOLIS DOYLE: Look, I find that number pretty surprising myself. You know, look, here's what we know. We know that Russia interfered with the -- with our U.S. elections through the hacking of the e-mails, through the creating fake news. What we don't know and what three investigations are currently trying to figure out is whether or not Trump and-or his campaign actually colluded with Russia to make these things happen, to interfere with our election.

And if there is evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia, that's treason, my friend, and in any way, shape or form, that is a major crisis for any president. We don't know yet, but we'll find out certainly in the next, you know, several months.

BERMAN: Patti Solis Doyle, Andre Bauer, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much. Happy 99th day of the administration.

BAUER: Thanks, John.

SOLIS DOYLE: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. High drama at the United Nations. In just a few minutes we will hear from the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on North Korea. This after the president warned of the possibility of a major, major conflict. His words. So did U.S. policy change overnight?

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[09:42:12] BERMAN: All right. New this morning. A fresh look at the state of the U.S. economy. The first number -- first quarter numbers are in and it fell short of expectations. 0.7 percent growth, that is the weakest quarterly growth in three years.

I am joined by CNN's chief business correspondent, star of "EARLY START," Christine Romans. 0.7 percent not good.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's not good. And it underscores a narrative that actually President Trump won on, that the recovery since the recession has been sub-par. The economy should be doing better. The president has promised 3 percent to 4 percent growth. He's even promised more than that a few times out there on the campaign trail. But this puts it into perspective. 0.7 percent growth is a slowdown, a deceleration really in the American economy and the economic growth.

Look at the third quarter. You had better growth there longer term. I mean, you haven't seen sustained 4 percent growth in decades, right? You've got to go back to the Clinton years. So the president can spin this two ways. He could say this underscores the need for tax cuts. This underscores the need for tax reform. This is why you need to implement my policies, Congress, otherwise you're going to have this lackluster economic growth.

I will say that on jobs, the president is very quick to own the jobs of the first 100 days. I don't think he's going to be quick to own this.

BERMAN: Exactly. I'll take the jobs. I won't take the GDP. One is because of me, the other is not. That is hard, you know, circle to square right there.

Again, he did campaign on creating jobs.

ROMANS: He did.

BERMAN: Do we have a sense of how many jobs have been created?

ROMANS: He's done all right here, when you look at the 317,000 jobs created. He swept into office on the promise of creating these and keeping these jobs. 25 million jobs over the next 10 years. On job creation, he's actually doing pretty well compared to the past few presidents. Much better than Obama. But remember Obama took office during that recession when we were just hemorrhaging jobs.

Now in fact Trump's numbers are the best since Clinton who went on to create almost 23 million jobs during the '90s economic boom. If he wants to reach the 25 million he's promised, the president, he's a little behind. He needs to create about 208,000 per month. The numbers just aren't there yet.

And despite the rhetoric, John, from the White House, American companies are still shipping jobs overseas. We did this analysis at CNN Money of Labor Department data. It shows more than 4,000 jobs have left the country in Trump's first 100 days. Another 2,000 set to leave in coming weeks. And it's interesting, it's not Mexico and China. The data showing up that more jobs are headed to India, John, than any other country, which, you know, in economics, economists always say that you're fighting the crisis that happened 10 years ago. And so now we're talking about tariffs, we're talking about renegotiating NAFTA. But really India is where most of these jobs are going for the first part of this year.

BERMAN: Very interesting. We should note as you noted many times the jobs that Donald Trump created were created during his administration. He takes credit for that. But unlikely he'll take credit for the meager, weak, you know, tepid economic growth. So it's a --

ROMANS: I think the president can really legitimately take credit for a change in the way companies do their PR. They are very quick to say, hey, we are investing in the United States and we are going to grow jobs in the United States and we are going to build factories. Now that's the first line of every press release.

[09:45:02] BERMAN: Christine Romans, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.

All right. Minutes from now the United Nations Security Council holds a special meeting on North Korea. The Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will speak there. Overnight he signaled that the United States might be willing to negotiate with North Korea directly. If he meant it, that is a huge policy shift. We're watching this very close. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, frustrated, fearful and fed up. Blue state voters who did not vote for President Trump are weighing in on his first 100 days.

CNN's Kyung Lah has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across California's fields --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm nervous.

LAH: And its cities --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hundred days of "I can't believe this is happening."

LAH: To the East Coast states of Maryland. And Massachusetts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, staying out of World War III seems to be the number one priority.

LAH: The blue states where Donald Trump overwhelmingly lost, 100 days into his presidency, fear that they're losing their country, but promising a fight.

The state of California, the largest, bluest state in the union, leading the fiercest opposition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think he can be impeached soon enough.

LAH: At Millie's coffee shop in the heart of liberal L.A., I meet Alex Martini.

ALEX MARTINI, PHOTOGRAPHER: He frightens me, Trump frightens me.

LAH: For the first time in this millennial's life she's afraid the president will hurt her. She is on Obamacare.

MARTINI: With type 1 diabetes specifically, I cannot physically survive without insulin, and without health insurance, this device is almost $4,000. It is almost embarrassing to be an American.

LAH: I head 400 miles north to California's Central Valley. Trump's immigration policies sowing fear in the fields that feed America.

(On camera): How many people have their papers?

ERIC ROMAN, FARM WORKER: Nobody. Just me. They're scared to go out, scared to go to the store because they think immigration is sprawling around.

LAH (voice-over): Farmer Joe Del Bosque, the son of Mexican migrants, couldn't get enough workers this year, problems that escalated after the election.

JOE DEL BOSQUE, FARMER: When he talks about mass deportations, that makes me nervous. Putting a wall up on the border, that makes me nervous.

LAH (on camera): And that affects your bottom line?

DEL BOSQUE: It does, because we can grow the crops but then we can't pick them.

LAH (voice-over): 3,000 miles away lies Baltimore, Maryland, a majority black city where only 12 percent voted for Trump. On a stormy morning, I meet Melissa Bagley, Baltimore born and raised.

(On camera): Do you think the President has any insight into your life?

MELISSA BAGLEY, NON-TRUMP VOTER: Absolutely not, and I don't think that he cares to.

LAH (voice-over): Baltimore's challenges, unemployment, crime and budget short falls. Bagley has lived three all of them.

BAGLEY: The fact that young black boys are falling like flies and I've given birth to five of them, my city is screaming out for help. He spoke about being a president for all. I said wow. But he's failed. He's failed according to what he promised. He has failed at this point.

LAH: On the other side of Baltimore works Dr. Crystal Watkins- Johansson, neuropsychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University. An economic world away, but she too feels shut out.

CRYSTAL WATKINS JOHANSSON, JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY NEUROPSYCHIATRIST: From what I hear and what I see I don't think that I'm represented at the table.

LAH (on camera): You don't see yourself at the table? What happens to you in four years?

JOHANSSON: I think that's where the anxiety comes from, is because we don't know.

LAH (voice-over): Anxiety felt from urban Baltimore to idyllic Massachusetts. Every single congressional district in this state voted for Hillary Clinton, a liberal unity awakening activism. Greenfield, it's Sunday and Reverend Corey Sanderson is calling on his

progressive Christians to be the country's conscience.

REV. COREY SANDERSON, SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH: The truth is out there.

LAH (on camera): Do you see the church as a force of resistance?

SANDERSON: Yes, I do. I do. He may be underestimating the power in the people and in the - in the sense of resistance against what he's been doing.

LAH (voice-over): After the service, as church members share pastries and coffee, I meet Kendra Davis, age 21, a music student, whose personal crisis collided with Trump's election.

KENDRA DAVIS, NON-TRUMP VOTER: I actually had an abortion in January this year. I don't want that to be taken away from other women in the future throughout his presidency.

LAH: Just days after her abortion, she joined the Women's March in her town square to defend choice.

(On camera): Does he factor into some of this thinking?

DAVIS: He factored in definitely because I was scared that once he became president he would make abortions illegal. It was disappointing to me he was part of my decision.

GLORIA DIFULVIO, VALLEY ACTION GROUP: Some of us have been here since November.

LAH (voice-over): Gloria DiFulvio started this grassroots opposition group in Hadley.

[09:55:03] DIFULVIO: I don't know if it's because we have this moment where we almost had our first woman president, and so now we're kind of pissed off.

LAH: Angry but also realizing she'd become complacent, even on her most personal issue, gay marriage.

DIFULVIO: The Supreme Court decision came out and that was really special.

LAH (on camera): How are you today different than before November 8th?

DIFULVIO: I'm way more involved. I am not falling asleep again.

LAH (voice-over): A repeated refrain of determination across three blue states to derail a presidency.

Kyung Lah, CNN in California, Maryland and Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: All right, our thanks to Kyung for that.

We have some live pictures right now from over the United Nations we'd like to show you. You're looking at live pictures of inside this meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Any minute now the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, he chairs this very special meeting on North Korea and its nuclear program. This amid some startling developments overnight, a possible shift in U.S. policy calling for direct or at least open to the idea of direct negotiations.

We'll be right back.

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