Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump's Slurs Could Impact Immigration, Government Shutdown Talks; MLK Nephew: Trump "Racially Ignorant And Racially Uninformed"; Trump To WSJ: I Have Very Good Relationship With Kim Jong-Un; Trump: No DACA Deal Without Support for Border Wall; Trump Puts Himself on Display in Immigration Meeting; Trump Calling Friends to Gauge Reaction to Racist Comments; World Leaders Slam Trump's Racist Comments; "Trophy" Premieres Sunday at 9 ET. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired January 13, 2018 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00]

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: -- we'll have much more ahead on the NEWSROOM. It all starts right now.

Hello. Thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Growing anger and backlash around the world against President Trump. World leaders and organizations are slamming his comments as racist, shameful, and outrageous. Many African nations are demanding an apology after the president reportedly made vulgar and derogatory comments about immigrants.

Many world leaders are also calling in U.S. diplomats to explain the remarks by the president who has issued only a vague denial. So far, no apology from Trump, but he did send out a tweet this morning saying, quote, "America first," from his Florida resort where he's spending the weekend.

Meanwhile, his vulgar remarks may also be impacting the already fragile immigration talks and negotiations to try to avert a government shutdown.

So, let's begin on all of this in Washington with CNN White House correspondent, Abby Phillip. She joins us now with more on the fallout from the president's remarks and what he's tweeting about now -- Abby.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin. Well, it's another day of outrage over these comments that are frankly not safe for children. The president's comments implying in a meeting with bipartisan Congressmen and lawmakers that he does not want immigrants from countries like Africa, El Salvador, Haiti, places that are currently -- where we currently receive immigrants on a temporary basis.

The president calling some of those countries a vulgar slur. Now, there's been some disputes about exactly what happened in that meeting. As I mentioned, there were some Republicans in there and a Democrat.

There are at least two Republicans who are kind of giving the president a little bit of back-up here. Tom Cotton and David Purdue both have said that they don't recall exactly what the president said, they don't recall him using that language.

But they do recall him, in their words, standing up for Americans in this immigration fight. But then there was also Dick Durbin, a Democrat, who said he specifically remembers the president using racist phrases and comments in relation to those countries.

And then Lindsey Graham has put out a statement saying that while he doesn't specifically name what the president said, he said that he replied to Trump in that conversation during the meeting and pushed back on Trump's comments.

Now, the White House -- the president is waking up in Florida this morning and he's already been tweeting about the status of these immigration negotiations and he's blaming Democrats perhaps because he believes Democrats leaked information about this meeting to the media.

He wrote, "I don't believe Democrats really want to see a deal on DACA. They are all talk and no action. This is the time, but day by day they're blowing the one great opportunity they have, too bad."

It's not clear where we go from here and whether these talks can restart. A source tells me this week that they don't believe that this controversy is going to be the end for the potential for a bipartisan deal but clearly the president is pessimistic.

One other thing, Martin, the president's been calling his friends over the last couple of days to find out a little bit about how they think this is all playing, but he's been conveying to them that he thinks it's going pretty well for him. He likes the reception that some of this is getting, according to that source.

SAVIDGE: While all of this is being talked about, the clock is ticking down. Abby Phillip, thank you very much.

So, let me bring in my panel now. Tharon Johnson is the former south regional director for Obama's 2012 campaign and Amy Kremer is the co- chair for Women Vote Trump. Thanks to both of you joining me here this morning.

I want to play something, here's how Martin Luther King Jr.'s nephew who was at the White House last week and met with the president responded to the question of whether or not he felt that the president was a racist. Then we'll talk about it after we listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC NEWTON FARRIS JR., MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S NEPHEW: I don't think that President Trump is a racist in the traditional sense as we know in this country. I think President Trump is racially ignorant or racially uninformed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Tharon, would you agree with that kind of explanation?

THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OBAMA 2012: I know Isaac personally. I mean, he's been a representative for the King family for a long time and is a good man, but I think he's just way off base here. I mean, there's no way that you can go on national television and not say that the comments that this president made were not only racist but awful.

Let's just say maybe President Trump meant something different and didn't use the words that Senator Durbin confirmed that he said. The problem is that the American people cannot believe him because this president has a long history of making racist, bigoted comments about people even before he decided to run for president and even when he was a business owner in New York City.

So, this is dividing our country. This is on the heels of him doing something great for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we celebrate him but also to be 50 years since he was assassinated.

[12:05:07] But to make that comment in the White House and to be as nonpresidential as he was, it's just deplorable. And I think he should apologize not only to the people who he was talking about but also for the American people at a time when we're trying to make sure that we unite this country and have a good working relationship with our world allies.

SAVIDGE: Amy, let me bring you into the conversation. The problem I have with what the president said is not the word, the vulgarity, but the question, it was a question, why do we want these people here. At least the way it was intimated in the remarks we heard afterwards is that he was essentially saying we don't. How do you reflect on all of this?

AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: So, I think that what he was talking about was the countries, not the people. These countries, they have corrupt governments. I mean, that's why people want to get out of there.

I mean, Lindsey Graham himself said in 2013 in a Senate hearing, he called Mexico a hell hole. He said all these people want to come here from these hell holes. Why was it OK for Lindsey Graham to say that?

And then President Obama says that Libya is an s-show and you didn't get this backlash. Libya is in Africa. The point the president was making was that these countries have corrupt governments.

They have bad conditions going on, and what he was saying is not about the people, but that we want a merit-based immigration system, to get rid of the diversity visa lottery and do a merit-based immigration system.

SAVIDGE: Why didn't he say that? Because the way that it came out and with all due respect to Lindsey Graham or others that you're talking about, they're not the president. KREMER: I know they're not.

SAVIDGE: He's the president of the United States and it sounds like you're trying to translate what he really said.

KREMER: No, I'm not trying to say it's OK that he said that. That's not what I'm trying to say. I'm saying that it's been referenced before that way. The president, I wish he had not used that language. I wish he had not used that language, but what is happening here is, first of all, Dick Durbin, why didn't he confront the president there? Why did he go run to the media and bring it out in the public? They don't want this.

SAVIDGE: Do you believe the president is trying to derail or that Democrats are trying to derail DACA?

KREMER: I do think they're trying to derail it and I'll tell you exactly why. Because I think that first of all, they don't want the president to win, and second of all, they know that the president is not going to round these people up and ship them out. They know that.

They know that he's not going to do that, and if they can keep pushing this back and then they don't have to give the wall because that's what they're going to have to give in exchange for getting DACA --

SAVIDGE: Part of the wall. They're not going to build it with all the money that they get.

KREMER: I mean, then you get to November and again the president's failed because he hasn't done the wall like he said.

SAVIDGE: Let me get Tharon. Go ahead.

JOHNSON: Here's the really big problem. Amy and I have been talking about this for over a year now. The problem with this country is when people like Amy have to come on national television and defend this president's behavior, and so for her to finally admit and say what he said was wrong, he shouldn't have used those words.

Therein lies the problem because a lot of people in this country who voted for Donald Trump refuses to really actually say what this man is and that is that he is a person who displays racial behavior.

SAVIDGE: Let me just say, to Amy's point that this is a distraction from the work that needs to be done. DACA needs to be achieved in some way if not only for the benefit of these young people who were brought here by their parents illegally. We need to figure out how to deal with this and we're distracted.

JOHNSON: We have talked about this. Amy and I have debated. I am a big supporter of DACA. I think these DREAMers should not be penalized because of these very tough decisions that their parents made to come to this country for prosperity. What we've seen from Donald Trump, every time he tries to act presidential, every time he actually tries to govern, he goes and he says something like this vulgar comment or he tweets something that totally distracts the American people from being able to instill confidence in our Congress to work in a bipartisan way to move forward these agendas. So, let's not blame this on the Democrats.

SAVIDGE: Let me give Amy the last word real quick. This seems to roll off Donald Trump. We heard the word Teflon. Does it roll off the Republican Party?

KREMER: I mean, I would think so. I think that the Republicans that voted for Donald Trump just want to see these things happen. Now the economy is booming, they got tax reform passed, they want to see the wall built. They want them to go back to health care. That's what the Republicans care about that voted for Donald Trump.

They didn't vote for him because he was politically correct and said the right things and was this great orator. They voted for him because he promised to do these things.

[12:10:04] And if there's one thing that Donald Trump has done, he's followed through on the promises he made, and people are happy with that. Yes, he's not perfect. He's not a racist though.

I mean, he may say things -- you laugh, but he may say things -- everybody is so quick to throw out that racist term. What he said, maybe he should have said it a different way.

SAVIDGE: It certainly came out in a way that could make him appear to be a racist. But to your point about what his supporters say as far as they like the economy the way it's going, I was up in Ohio and you're exactly right. That's what they were telling me. Amy, Tharon, thank you both. Good to have you both in the studio. Thank you very much for joining me.

Well, it is hard to imagine that President Trump and Kim Jong-un could be friends, especially when the president calls the North Korean leader "Rocket Man." Now he's claiming that his relationship with the dictator is very good. Really?

Plus, President Trump's showman's skills on full display this week. Can he stop sabotaging his own message?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:13]

SAVIDGE: Welcome back. High level meetings between North and South Korea have tamped down tensions and yielded things like this. North Korean state media this morning hailing dialogue as a path to reunification.

But there's little evidence that tensions between the North and Washington are easing off. North Korea says its missiles are pointed at the United States. The Pentagon says it is still debating a so- called punch in the nose strike that could quickly spiral into a very messy and deadly intractable war.

Which makes it hard to explain this statement from the president this week to "The Wall Street Journal." Quote, "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un," Trump said in that interview Thursday with "The Wall Street Journal."

I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised. Asked if he had spoken with Mr. Kim, the president said "I don't want to comment on it. I'm not saying I have or haven't. I just don't want to comment."

Joining me now, former New Mexico governor and ambassador to the United Nations, Bill Richardson. Governor, thank you very much for being with us.

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Thank you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: You've got a deep knowledge, I know, of North Korea. We've talked on several occasions on that. How rare would it be for the president to have talked already to Kim Jong-un seemingly without anybody knowing?

RICHARDSON: No, it can't happen. I think there's just too much intelligence activity, too many leaks from the White House. The president would tweet. But I think his comment -- I'm going to give him a little credit -- where he says he's ready to talk to him is good.

Now what he has to do is be silent, get on the sidelines, don't tweet, leave it alone. Let his people initiate some kind of diplomatic talks, the national security adviser, the secretary of state.

In other words, Kim Jong-un has made a move and the guy may -- this may not be popular, but he may be a rational actor in dealing with the crises in the region. He's reached out to South Korea, which I think is a good move and has eased tensions, helps the Olympic participation.

He is also, I think, feeling the bite of sanctions from China. It could be that he's frustrated dealing with the United States, but it also could be that these negotiations with South Korea could lead to a dialogue with the United States and we need that.

SAVIDGE: Could also just be a charm policy on his part. In other words, they've been doing a lot of things that the U.S. doesn't like with their nuclear program and now he looks open for a dialogue. It may not necessarily be that -- what can I say -- that he's being truthful.

RICHARDSON: That's true, Martin. He could be just trying to drive a wedge United States and South Korea. But at the same time, this is his first real diplomatic move engaging South Korea, talking maybe about a family reunification, human rights issues, the Olympics.

I think this is good because this eases the tension in a region where there are 25 million South Koreans living in real danger and panic if there's a nuclear attack. We have troops in South Korea, in Japan. So, the easing of tension is good. And maybe he's also doing this because China just announced that 50 percent of their trade in January with North Korea dropped, 50 percent. There's a bite because there's some oil sanctions that are really hurting North Korea.

So, it could be that he's realized that he's reached the point in his nuclear capability when he can start negotiating. Now, the president needs to stay silent, to try to negotiate, to find a way of freeze for a freeze, talks with North Korea in exchange for them not shooting any missiles. Maybe we don't have any overflights with the U.S. and South Korea over North Korea.

SAVIDGE: Real quick because we're going to run out of time. Should it be these two leaders either on the telephone or in person sitting down, or is it they each send their representatives? It seems like we're talking about personalities here and how they could work with one another, one being an authoritarian leader and one being the president of the United States.

RICHARDSON: Well, Martin, I would do -- let their secretaries or national security advisers meet first, maybe in a third country, and look for a country to have this -- just negotiate the talk. I think that would be a major step.

SAVIDGE: No preconditions?

[12:20:05] RICHARDSON: No preconditions. I mean, look, it doesn't make sense. I don't believe this policy the U.S. has had that you're rewarding bad behavior by meeting somebody, have a dialogue. Find ways to seek common ground. It could be that this North Korean is ready to negotiate. He's showed that he made a move with South Korea. Let's take advantage of it.

SAVIDGE: Or it could also indicate as you sort of alluded to there, he is where he wants to be with his nuclear program and now it's time to move on to other things. In other words, you're going to have to accept the fact that it's a nuclear north Korea.

RICHARDSON: Well, I think we need to curb their nuclear program, their missile program. We need to freeze their development of these weapons, but the only way you're going to do that is with negotiation.

You're not going to do it with a preemptive military strike or sanctions, although sanctions seems to be working. I give credit to the Chinese and the Trump administration for tightening them.

But it could be that North Korea is now ready to negotiate and to see if we can find ways to reduce tensions in the peninsula. We got too much at stake. I think diplomacy is the best route, Martin.

SAVIDGE: I would agree. I think we all agree. Bill Richardson, Governor, thank you for joining us.

RICHARDSON: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: President Trump says that Democrats are blowing their chances to do a DACA deal, so how do you make a deal when this is the response from the president? I'll talk to Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee about it all coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:26:08]

SAVIDGE: The backlash against the president continues. World leaders are condemning his comments. Some are calling them racist and shameful, and just this morning the president of Ghana tweeted out, "We will not accept such insults, even from a leader of a friendly country, no matter how powerful."

I want to bring in now Congressman Dan Kildee, he's a Democrat from Michigan and a member of the House Financial Services Committee. Good morning to you, sir.

REPRESENTATIVE DAN KILDEE (D), MICHIGAN: Good morning. Thanks for having me on.

SAVIDGE: Let me start with this, the president's comments. The Republican leadership in Congress has not forcefully -- and I underline forcefully come out and condemned the president's remarks. The president gave a rather vague reaction. Why do you think there has been such a tepid reaction to all of this from Republicans?

KILDEE: Well, it's hard to understand. My suspicion is that Republicans think as long as President Trump will sign the bills that they send to him, they're not going to offend him, they're not going to call him out when he says even these most outrageous things.

It's a sad commentary. I don't know that for a fact, but it is a little frustrating to me when I hear many of these same Republicans say the same things that I say publicly, but they say them in private and then when it comes to an opportunity to really call the president out on these horrible statements, they're sitting on their hands and they're quiet. That's pretty disappointing.

WHITFIELD: And would you support any attempt to try to censure the president over his statements?

KILDEE: Yes. I have to actually look at the censure language that some members are putting together, but this is one of those moments where the president has crossed a line that presidents ought not ever cross. He has insulted whole populations. He has diminished the standing of the United States.

There are consequences for the things that the president says, and I think it's important that Congress speak. I don't know whether or not the Republican leadership would allow a censure resolution to move forward.

I think we kind of suspect that they won't. It's important that we not just sort of sit idly by. In this weekend where we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, I'm reminded of one of the things that he said in so many ways. It's the sin of silence in good people when they see things like this happen that really is the most egregious sin when it comes to protecting the rights and the dignity of people of citizens and others. I think the president and Republicans are failing pretty miserably on that score.

SAVIDGE: So, many of these things, these comments and actions on the part of the president, they don't stick with him. Those who support him just continue to support him, but I'm wondering, for the Republican Party as a whole and of course, with midterm elections coming up, is this going to haunt them?

KILDEE: Well, I think it will. I applaud those few Republicans that are willing to stand up and separate themselves from him, but the truth of the matter is Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. He's the head of the party.

That is a brand that Republicans across the country up and down the ticket are going to have to live with unless individually they have a moment of courage and they're willing to separate themselves from him.

For those who don't, they have to accept the fact Donald Trump is their leader. The things he says and does represents them unless they reject those things. Many of them don't seem to have the courage to do that

SAVIDGE: I want to move on to DACA because of course that seems to be sort of getting lost in all of this conversation about what the president said. The president continues to insist that there could be no deal in DACA without support from Democrats on a border wall or at least funding for such. Is there any room for compromise you see?

KILDEE: I think there's room for compromise, but we can't be in a position where something that's illogical, the construction of a wall that many Republicans don't even think would make us more secure, should be traded for policy that Democrats and Republicans already support.

[12:30:09] And let's remember, this is not a Republican issue versus a Democratic issue. Republicans support a DACA fix as well. And so I think when the American public hears this, that there are Democrats and Republicans who agree on DACA, who believe we ought to do something about it but we're not willing to put it on the floor and vote yes or no unless this campaign promise that the president made is somehow paid for with $18 billion of American money, that's kind of cynical.

When we agree, we should act. When we disagree, we should negotiate. We agree on DACA. Probably 300 members of the House would vote for it, so let's have a vote. We could do it Tuesday.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: You are obviously optimistic. You think this will pass in some way, shape or form. Because there are a lot of people in this country right now who are afraid they're going to be deported. KILDEE: Yes, and there -- I met with a group of DACA recipients from Michigan just last week and heard their stories. They're petrified. And it's not true that they're secure until March.

There are DACA recipients that are losing their status now. There are DACA recipients that are college students that don't know if they can enroll or, you know, participate in college next September because they might be deported.

You know -- and to your point that we should be able to get it done. That's the point, we should be able to. The American people support doing this. Lots of Republicans support it.

Why do we have to make everything into a highly partisan issue when we have bipartisan support? You know, people are tired of this. They want to get things done so that we can move onto other questions.

Where we agree, we should act. Where we disagree, we should negotiate. But one is not an excuse to not do the other.

SAVIDGE: We hope that the deal does in some way get done agreement and compromises reached.

Congressman Dan Kildee, thank you very much. And we should point out here that CNN did reach out to dozens of Republican lawmakers to talk on camera about the president's comments. They declined our invitation.

The showman president on full display at the White House this week, and it's giving the world a unique insight into the way he governs. We'll talk about all of that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:34] SAVIDGE: Welcome back, or as the president might say, welcome to the studio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Welcome back to the studio. Nice to have you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: That casual aside was how he opened a cabinet meeting this week. It got laughs, but it also reveals of how the president thinks of governing. He's also a master of stage craft from having the Republican leaders stand behind him in a carefully stage photo-op at Camp David to changing a conversation with a single tweet.

Joining me now is CNN senior media correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources", Brian Stelter and CNN White House Correspondent Abby Phillip. Good to see you both.

Brian, I'll start with you. Trump seems to see himself in the -- as a kind of producer in chief. And really is focus this week on showing himself as firmly in control, especially after there were those questions raised about his fitness to govern.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: You might call this the stable genius tour. This was a show of stability to let the cameras in for almost an hour, and I think a lot of journalists, a lot of commentators, maybe a lot of ordinary viewers want to just poke him right now.

I thought it was a nice thing to see that all of us might to see more transparency in government and actually see how it works behind the scenes. For now, this seemed to be a one off though, you know, to allow in cameras for the negotiations. Normally, the cameras come in for a minute, then they leave and the real work gets done.

I can't say that this on-camera moment, this on-camera hour actually changed the negotiations in a meaningful way, but it was good to see and maybe most interestingly, it gave us some insight into how the president thinks about the job. When he said the next day, welcome back to the studio, when he let cameras back in for a second day in a row, he was absolutely thinking as the producer in chief.

It definitely harkens back to the "Apprentice" days, and in some ways, Marty, it's kind of a culmination of the progression of 50 years of television as an influence in America, you know. The average American watches five hours of T.V. a day and that sort of includes President Trump.

We know he live tweets Fox News and live tweets other shows. So he's very much in a feedback loop where he does something like that, a cabinet room meeting, then he watches the coverage on T.V., then he brings the cameras back and talks about what he saw on T.V.

It is a strange but in some ways kind of logical feedback loop that we see.

SAVIDGE: You know, it also begs the question that had the cameras been in there the day in which he had said to have said what he said, whether he would have said it. But that's another point.

STELTER: Interesting. Right.

SAVIDGE: Abby, the president is still trying to wrangle with the fallout from his offensive and vulgar comments about Africa and Haitian immigrants. But the president also seemed to view the reaction through a prism kind of like a T.V. executive. What's your reporting say about how he's trying to gauge how people feel about what he said?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president has been doing what he often does which is working the phones day and night, calling friends and outside advisers, people who -- some of whom might very well work in the television business to find out how is this playing. This is one of the ways that he really governs by his gut, at least according to how his aides describe it.

And some of the feedback he's been getting has actually been that this has not been the best moment for his presidency, but the president himself, his gut tells him that the feedback has been essentially positive. He has been tweeting subsequently about how he views this as standing up for Americans in this immigration fight.

[12:40:03] And, you know, I just want to note about this week is that, it's a perfect encapsulation of the ups and downs for this administration with this president, a president who sometimes performs really perfectly on the national stage.

He opened up that meeting, he's kind of maneuvering and doing things that shows that he's engaged. But then the very next day, he has a moment that throws everything out of the window. And I think that's why it's so difficult for his aides to really get a handle on the public perception of this president and what he -- how he governs and how he operates.

SAVIDGE: Brian, what's the -- if you're the P.R. person of the White House, what are you trying to do for next week?

STELTER: Just -- I don't mean to laugh but there really isn't such a thing as a strategy, you know, at least not a strategy that's effective. They set up an interview with the Wall Street Journal and then right after that, the story about the "hole" comment came out.

I think the Michael Wolff book, "Fire and Fury" and the revelation about what he said, the vulgarity in the Oval Office, it begs the question, what else is the president saying privately? How is he talking with his aides and with lawmakers?

What more don't we know about what he says privately and what he really feels. I think the book this month, the comments in the Oval Office this month, both get to that question of what's going on behind the scenes.

SAVIDGE: Real quick though Brian, isn't there sometimes the president needs to speak privately?

STELTER: Absolutely, that's true. However, I understand why those lawmakers left that meeting and leaked it at the same time, because they were troubled and they thought the country should know that the president has these racist feelings.

SAVIDGE: All right. Brian Stelter, Abby Philip, thank you.

STELTER: Thanks.

SAVIDGE: Strong reactions, as we know, to President Trump's vulgar comments from immigrants. This time, the people who once lived in those areas that President Trump is now criticizing.

We're live from Little Haiti, a neighborhood just outside of Miami, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:46:27] SAVIDGE: World leaders have been condemning President Trump for his vulgar remarks during a bipartisan meeting on immigration reform. He singled out, as you'll remember, Haitians in that meeting, saying, quote, why do we need more Haitians? Take them out.

But now Haitian-Americans are reacting. CNN's Kaylee Hartung is in the Little Haiti area of Miami for us. And Kaylee, what are you hearing?

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And Martin, (INAUDIBLE) emotions here in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, a community who remembers well a day in September of 2016 when Donald Trump, then a candidate for president, came to a community center just behind me here and said no matter who you vote for, I want to be your biggest champion.

A promise to the Haitian-American community that now rings hollow to many.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: I'm running to be president of all Americans. That's everybody. And whether you vote for me or you don't vote for me, I really want to be your greatest champion and I will be your champion whether you vote for me --

HARTUNG (voice-over): That was then candidate Donald Trump speaking in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood just months before the 2016 presidential election.

TRUMP: The Haitian people deserve better, and that's what I intend to give them. I will give them better.

HARTUNG (voice-over): But in the wake of reports that the president complained about immigrants coming from, quote, shithole countries, among other disparaging comments, residents here in the largest Haitian community in the U.S. agree, they deserve better.

FARAH LARRIEUX, HAITIAN TPS RECIPIENT: When I just read it, I felt so filled with outrage but also sad. I cried.

HARTUNG (voice-over): Farah Larrieux, a Haitian living in Miami under Temporary Protected Status or TPS gave candidate Trump the benefit of the doubt and took him at his word. But she said the president has now shown his true colors.

LARRIEUX: So this is how he treat us. We can see that. Now we're seeing the real face of Donald Trump and this is a face of hate, of racism.

HARTUNG (voice-over): Larrieux is one of the more than 20,000 Haitians living in South Florida now facing deportation after the Trump administration announced it would end the country's TPS status.

Trump reportedly made the demeaning comment during immigration policy negotiations on Thursday. He has denied saying anything derogatory about Haitians, saying in a tweet Friday morning that he claimed he had a, quote, wonderful relationship with them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're telling me that you have a great relationship with Haitian people? How is that possible?

HARTUNG (voice-over): Little Haiti came out en masse on Friday, an event originally intended to commemorate the 8th anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the island nation and killed as many as 300,000.

But with the president's slur still fresh, a solemn memorial at times resembled an anti-Trump rally.

MARIENE BASTIEN, HAITIAN WOMEN OF MIAMI: We are here to tell President Trump Haiti is not what he called it. Haiti is a proud nation.

CROWD: We shall overcome.

GEPSIE M. METELLUS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SANT LA HAITIAN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER: For the American president who said he would be Haiti's greatest champion by the way, to stand up and make such a comment at this time, it just leaves me reeling.

It leaves me angry. It leaves me offended. It leaves me hurt. And it leaves me wanting justice.

HARTUNG (voice-over): Justice perhaps to be delivered at the ballot box.

METELLUS: I'm going to make sure that we work to remember what he said in the midterm elections of this year, 2018, and clearly we will not have short memories in 2020.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[12:50:06] HARTUNG: About those midterm elections, national Democrats have their eye on flipping one, possibly two seats in the congressional districts of the Miami area currently held by Republicans. Martin?

SAVIDGE: Kalee, so striking to hear the words of candidate Trump versus President Trump when it comes to the people of Haiti. Thank you very much for that report.

And now some sad news coming in from the sports world. Iconic sportscaster Keith Jackson has died at the age of 89. That according to a news release from ESPN. Jackson worked for ABC Sports for nearly 40 years, and was the voice behind some of the biggest college football games.

To many he was college football. Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney which owns ESPN issued the following statement, quote, for generations of fans, Keith Jackson was college football. When you heard his voice, you knew it was a big game. Keith was a true gentleman and memorable presence. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Turi Ann, and his family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:55:24] SAVIDGE: We're following new details of a story about a tragic death of an innocent man due to SWATting. Tyler Barris is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Police say the California man made a prank call to law enforcement in Kansas which led officers to fatally gun down an innocent man on his own doorstep.

It's called SWATting which is the act of making a prank call to police resulting in officers being called to an innocent person's home. Barris' next court appearance is January 25th.

Hunters taking aim at exotic animals is not new but a new CNN documentary "Trophy" is shining a spotlight on the big business of the game hunting. For the right price, hunters can set their sights on native African species without having to leave the U.S.

Ed Lavandera goes on the hunt in an exotic game park in Texas where Hunters hope that by killing individual animals, they can save an entire species.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For these ranch hands, opening the trailer gate is a bit like unwrapping a gift.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): It's always exciting to see the newest arrivals sprint away.

(on camera) So what was that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a paint ram.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): So he's off to find himself a girlfriend?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The rattling inside hints there's more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch it.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Two gemsbok antelope, native to Southern Africa but bred on exotic game ranches in Texas. They're the newest additions to the sprawling ox ranch in the Texas hill country.

JASON MOLITOR, OX RANCH CEO: We're just training animals around to keep the genetic diversity within all the different species.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Jason Molitor manages the herds of roughly 60 species spread across 16,000 acres of land on the Ox Ranch. At every turn, you come across not just native white tailed deer but a dizzying array of African species.

Hunters shell out big money for a guided excursion to hunt down prize trophies on this land, choosing from a menu of animals to hunt, paying anywhere from a few thousand dollars to as much as $35,000. And they say they're doing it not just for the thrill of the hunt but in the name of conservation.

MOLITOR: I know it sounds contradictory but hunters love animals.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Hunters pay to hunt the oldest males that are past breeding age. The number of animals killed is controlled. It essentially, they argue, sacrificing a few animals from a herd to grow the population of a species.

MOLITOR: Just because a guy comes in here and says I've got some money, I want to shoot this. I'm not going to shoot it if it's not something that benefits me and my management program to take that animal out.

PRASHANT KHETAN, BORN FREE USA: Today trophy hunting is a sport, and it is a horror show.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But for Prashant Khetan is with an animal advocacy group called Born Free. He says the idea that the money paid to kill one animal can help save the species is a myth.

KHETAN: There's no benefit to trophy hunting. It really just lines the pockets of an elite few, and it's a practice that's done by a very small percent of the population to put the trophies up in their house to show off that they've killed another animal.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But hunters like Corey Knowlton say that's unfair and that trophy hunter shell out millions every year because that money goes back into managing and growing the populations of endangered species. Nolton received death threats when he paid $350,000 to hunt a black rhino in Namibia. CNN followed him on that hunt in 2015.

Knowlton still feels confident the money he paid is protecting the endangered black rhinos from poachers. He says animals need to have a value to ensure their survival.

COREY KNOWLTON, HUNTER: We can't make an individual animal live forever but we can preserve a species for as long as we can. As long as humanly possible, as long as we have an environment through the sustainable use.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Trophy hunters like to say that they spend more money than anyone to help protect animals around the world but critics questioned whether countries that promote trophy hunts manage that money properly.

KHETAN: It benefits governments and I think it benefits the companies that put on these hunts but that's it. It doesn't benefit the people. It doesn't -- it certainly doesn't benefit the animals that they're killing.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Back on the Ox Ranch, Jason Molitor says for him the issue is simple.

MOLITOR: Everybody can sit in their high-rise apartment in the middle of the city and say you shouldn't hunt this animal, but what are they doing to save that animal?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But for the critics, trophy hunting remains a barbaric blood sport.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Uvalde County, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And the CNN film "Trophy" airs --