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House Lawmakers Speak as Government Shuts Down; Dems and GOP Play Blame Games as Government Shuts Down; Presidential Insults Target Adversaries and Allies; Trump Tells Aides He Will Be Blamed for Shutdown; Thousands March in Solidarity with the Women's March in Washington to Protest Trump's First Year in Office. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired January 20, 2018 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:06] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield live in Washington, D.C. As the president marks one year today (ph) in office, the U.S. government is shutdown.
Right now, House Republicans and Democrats are meeting separately behind closed doors. The Senate will also get back to work today.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is asking the president to meet with him along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. No word from the White House whether that will happen.
All of this in the midst of so much finger-pointing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), N.Y., MINORITY LEADER: President Trump, if you are listening, it's almost as if you were rooting for a shutdown.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KY., MAJORITY LEADER: Perhaps across the aisle, some of Democratic colleagues are feeling proud of themselves -- their very own government shutdown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The president also blaming Democrats, tweeting this: "This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice president -- present. #DemocratShutdown."
All right, all of this as activists across the nation are participating in the Women's March, marking the anniversary of that historic turnout that we saw one year ago.
Let's begin our special live coverage with these crucial meetings on Capitol Hill.
CNN's Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is there live for us.
So, first are you hearing --
MANU RAJU, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. WHITFIELD: -- anything about what these House lawmakers are discussing right now?
RAJU: Well, they're just getting into those closed-door meetings in the House - Republicans that caught the conference -- and the House Democrats are also having a separate meeting at the same time.
There's really not a whole lot that these lawmakers can do to brake their stalemate. This is expected to be a -- sort of a pep rally of sorts, each side saying that they believe that their position is correct, and that the other one is to blame for the shutdown.
The real decision that's going to be made here are going to -- between the four leaders of Congress -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, as well as Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, and the Minority Leader as well, along with the White House. So that is where the resolution's going to come from here.
The question is ultimately, what length time frame they can agree on to keep the government open. Democrats last night rejected a Republican effort to extend that time -- the government funding -- for three weeks, shortening the House bill, which is up to a four-week extension.
Now, there's going to be a procedural vote in the Senate today on that three-week extension. That is still expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Democrats want to make that much shorter; maybe a week or so, in order to force negotiations on other issues -- namely, what to do about those people who are in the DACA program, those Dreamers -- get them the legal status that they're -- Democrats have been pushing for.
But there's no resolution on that issue as well --
WHITFIELD: All right, yes.
RAJU: -- just shows that, ultimately, this decision's --
WHITFIELD: Right, yes.
RAJU: -- going to have to be made between the leaders in the White House, uncertain whether there's going to be a meeting at the White House to discuss any of this as well, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Manu Raju, keep us posted. Thanks so much.
So the White House, blaming the Democrats for the political chaos on Capitol Hill. President Trump sending out several tweets this morning lashing out at Democrats including this tweet, saying, "This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown."
Vice President Mike Pence traveling to the Middle East, and he made a stop over in Ireland. While meeting with U.S. troops, Pence also pointed the finger at Democrats. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democrats in the Senate, with a few exceptions on either side, chose to put politics ahead of our national defense, put politics ahead of meeting the obligations of our national government. And that's just unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: CNN White House Correspondent Abby Phillip is live for us at the White House.
So, Abby, any indication the president plans on getting involved in negotiations at this point?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Fredricka.
I'm going to echo Manu Raju who just said, it's unclear. And that's exactly what a White House official told me just this morning, that it's just not clear what is going to happen today, if there are going to be meetings.
It is possible, however, at the same time, it seems there's a lot of pessimism coming from this building about the prospects that this can be resolved today.
The president has been tweeting, as you mentioned, this morning, going and blaming Democrats, as he has been for several days, and saying that, the solution to this problem is actually more Republicans in 2018.
He also said the Democrats could've come to the table and struck a deal.
He wrote in one of those tweets this morning, "Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military, our Safety
[10:05:00]
at our dangerous Southern Border, and they could've easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead. #WeNeedMoreRepublicansIn18 in order to power through this mess!"
The -- a senior White House official just told me moments ago that they do not believe that this -- the votes that might occur today on the Hill will get enough Democratic support, and that the battle lines could very well be entrenched on this through Sunday. That is a very bleak outlook for this government shutdown that falls on the one-year anniversary of President Trump's inauguration.
He had planned to spend this day in Florida celebrating that milestone at his resort at Mar-a-Lago, but instead, he will be spending it here, perhaps having meetings, perhaps trying to resolve this issue.
Meanwhile, that gala is expected to go on, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Abby Phillip, thank you so much.
All right, let's get the Democratic perspective on this government shutdown now.
Joining me right now is Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat from Texas.
Congresswoman, thanks so much, good to see you.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS, BUDGET COMMITTEE: Yes, thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, so let me give you a chance to respond --
JACKSON LEE: Yes, OK (ph).
WHITFIELD: -- to the president and Republican leaders who are blaming the Democrats, saying this is intentional, it's a Schumer shutdown.
JACKSON LEE: Democrats are Americans. We care and love the American people. We don't want a shutdown.
The words of the president were very clear -- he wanted a big fat shutdown. And this --
WHITFIELD: You mean back in 2013?
JACKSON LEE: -- and as he spoke --
WHITFIELD: OK.
JACKSON LEE: -- but just this recently, the president indicated, "Why not a big fat shutdown?"
This is chaos. And I think it's important to know that the president unfortunately has a refrain of blaming the Democrats over and over again, but he has no truth to his statements.
Leader Schumer went over to the White House, and I think it's important for the American people to understand that we have a whole framework to try and improve their lives.
And what he wanted to emphasize was something called raising the caps, which is very confusing. But what it means is, it gives the American people the funding for the needs that they have -- from education, to the environment, to the Children's Health Insurance Program -- making it permanent, federally qualified health clinics, and protecting and providing for, not only the enlisted men and women, but also, their families.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: Some of those soldiers' families are on food stamps.
So Schumer was going there to not only look at immigration issues, including border security, where he offered the wall, which I'm sure shocked many Democrats, but he was serious about negotiation.
And, as the president said about President Obama, as you remember during the 2013, it's all about the president. So, Mr. Trump, it is not the Democrats; this is a Trump shutdown. And I'll finish on this point.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: We saw almost two weeks ago, a love fest.
The love fest was members of Congress sitting, talking about immigration and Dreamers who, by the way, as everyone knows, are more American -- they've served in the United States military, they're doctors, they're lawyers, they're teachers. And the charge to those members was to go back and get a bill, and I'll sign it.
Just last week, they came with that bill, and the president offered epithets and vulgarities. He blew up which -- what could have been bipartisan. This is a Trump shutdown.
WHITFIELD: So what happens? I mean, what is it that Democrats want? If Schumer's proposing, "Let's meet with the president along with House and Senate leadership. The president is known to be, or has a reputation to be, the great closer, the great negotiator."
What will be that issue that Dems and Republicans can potentially come together on? There can -- they can acquiesce on something, give, take something so that, they can leave that White House and say, "We have struck a deal"?
JACKSON LEE: They're in meetings right now which I'll be attending, where members will have their chance to voice their concerns and their thoughts about a resolution to this, but the framework is this.
The four leaders have been discussing this since the beginning of Trump's administration.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: He has not been engaged. His OMB director has a different perspective about government, Mulvaney. He wants a skinny, narrow government that does not reach all of the people.
But the leaders have been discussing -- what the Democrats want is, one, to ensure that the domestic spending and the defense spending are equal.
WHITFIELD: So might today be that opportunity for the president to become more engaged?
JACKSON LEE: Absolutely, and --
WHITFIELD: But what will it mean if he doesn't?
JACKSON LEE: -- well, let me say this. I am hoping for the American people's sake, for the Hurricane Harvey victims, and Irma victims, and Maria victims. Because right now with the shutdown, we don't know if FEMA is still functioning.
And, in addition, we don't even have Hurricane Harvey funding moving forward. And we've been fighting for this day after day -- which is why I will stay here until the ninth hour, or to the very end, so that, my constituents in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and Florida can be
[10:10:00]
attended to.
But the idea is, we will stay here to get a fix. And there was an offer of a shorter --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: -- CR. Maybe that will raise the interests of leadership if they have a promise --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: -- to look at making sure that the spending for schools, and children's health insurance, and --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: -- federally qualified health clinics and seniors are in there.
WHITFIELD: Do you --
JACKSON LEE: This is about the American people.
WHITFIELD: If immigration, Dreamers, DACA is really the linchpin here --
JACKSON LEE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- if the Democrats, when they meet with the president -- if they are to meet with the president, and say, "OK, we will delay that action," will the two sides come closer together on some sort of spending bill?
JACKSON LEE: I think, first of all, Dreamers, as I said, are Americans. They've been here longer than they've been in their own country. When I spoke to them last night, I spoke about children's health insurance, federally qualified clinics, and other things that America needs.
I think what would have to happen -- because we have been pushed around about Dreamers for so long. And so, many of them are in jeopardy. Some of them have been facing devastating thoughts about taking their life -- we know that. WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: I would say that, the resolution could come if the leadership felt that there was a true commitment -- that Dreamers were going to be protected and dealt with over this period of time.
But it would only be on the sincerity of the Republicans and the White House. We have not had that kind of commitment.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: We have not been able to trust the White House. You can't trust the ones that says a bill of love on one day, and offers vulgarities, and rejects the bipartisan response to Dreamers, and as well, the continued negotiation about spending caps --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JACKSON LEE: -- being raised to make sure domestic spending -- the needs of our soldiers' families, children, seniors -- are taken care of -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.
So I would just say this. If the president could come and really speak to the American people, maybe, and say, "I'm ready to negotiate" --
WHITFIELD: All right.
JACKSON LEE: -- as we thought he was going to do with Leader Schumer yesterday, then maybe there will be a door open. Because we would like --
WHITFIELD: Maybe it's today.
JACKSON LEE: -- to walk through that door. We really would.
WHITFIELD: All right, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Thank you --
JACKSON LEE: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: -- so much, appreciate it.
Stay with me, we've got a lot to talk about with my panel coming up. They'll be weighing in on Trump's first year in office, and why the president, a self-declared great negotiator, could not strike a deal before this government shutdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:16:28] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.
New images just in now. We know that Kevin McCarthy along with other members of the House and Senate are back on the Hill today trying to go back to business, trying to work together to come up with some sort of compromise. After the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer visited the White House yesterday for lunch in the president's private dining room, it looked like there might be a deal. After all, the president has said over and over again the thing that he is best at is making deals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to make great deals.
I am going to make great deals for our country.
I've built an extraordinary business on relationships and deals that benefit all parties involved, always.
I make deals. I negotiate.
Everybody wants me to negotiate. That's what I'm known as, as a negotiator.
I'm so anxious to negotiate. Nobody can out-negotiate these deals. I will make a great deal, and lots of great deals for the American people.
We don't make great deals anymore, but we will once I become president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, but Schumer left the White House empty-handed after meeting with the president yesterday, and right now, House Democrats and Republicans are meeting separately. And in about two hours, senators from both parties are expected to get together and go back to the drawing board.
Let's bring in my political panel now to talk it all over.
CNN Political Analyst April Ryan, CNN Political Commentators Andre Bauer and Maria Cardona, and CNN Military and Diplomatic Analyst John Kirby.
All right, good to see all of you at the table.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.
WHITFIELD: So, April, you first.
The White House says the Dems, Schumer in particular, are to blame. And -- but during, you know, the shutdown in 2013, it was the president -- or, it was -- it was the president-hopeful Donald Trump who said, it --
(CROSSTALK)
APRIL RYAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO NETWORKS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Just the president.
WHITFIELD: -- squarely comes to the president's doorstep as to whether a shutdown happens --
RYAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- or not.
So what's different here?
RYAN: Those words are haunting him this morning on a critical day -- his anniversary. At 12:01 --
WHITFIELD: Yes. (LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RYAN: -- it -- January 20th, 2017, he was named president of the United States. So the onus is on him.
Schumer and the president met yesterday, had lunch, and then, it took John Kelly, Gen. John Kelly, to say, "It's too liberal."
WHITFIELD: Yes.
RYAN: So why not come back and say, these are the points that I want to talk about, these are the points I have problems with, and keep the negotiation going? It seems like it's us versus them, where, if he is the great unifier, the great negotiator, it would be perceived as, "I'm working with you. Let's fix this."
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY (RET.), FORMER PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Right.
RYAN: This is not a time at his one-year anniversary, the State of the Union just days down the --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RYAN: -- road, I mean, what are you going to say? The state of our union is great when you had a government shutdown --
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, yes.
RYAN: -- on your anniversary? This does not bode well for this president who has only had one legislative win.
He does not exude the presence of a negotiator at this moment one-year to the day that he's here.
WHITFIELD: And the prelude to this, Andre, was, you know, the president meeting -- having this bipartisan meeting not long ago, saying, "Work on it, bring me something, and I will sign it --
ANDRE BAUER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes (ph).
WHITFIELD: -- and I will take the heat." But that's not what has transpired here. What happened, what changed?
BAUER: Well, in the infamous words of Kenny Rogers, "You gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em."
(LAUGHTER)
BAUER: And evidently --
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: You need a good hand, though. (LAUGHTER)
BAUER: -- and evidently, he felt that --
WHITFIELD: Hmm.
BAUER: -- he didn't get what he felt was a necessity to compromise on the deal. I don't know what the particulars are. I tried to read a little while ago, but I couldn't find where the -- where the lag was between the two.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BAUER: But I don't like the fact, number one, that we're tying the two together.
[10:20:00]
I know that's how government works, but it's not right. And I don't like the fact that --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: What do you mean? Tying what together?
BAUER: -- putting the DACA bill --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BAUER: -- with funding the government. But -- and I'm not just calling out one side or the other.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BAUER: I don't like this governmenting funding process, where we continue to push it forward. Whether it's the Republicans or Democrats, both are at fault, quite frankly.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BAUER: This way to govern, this way to budget one of the largest economies in the world is not --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BAUER: -- the way we should be doing it --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: But in this moment --
BAUER: -- and it prolongs --
WHITFIELD: -- that the president has to show and exert leadership by, perhaps, saying yes to a meeting with the House and Senate leaders today, and saying, "OK, let's come together, and let's work it out" -- because, ultimately, it is a reflection on the presidency (ph), the White House, is it not?
BAUER: It's a reflection on everybody that serves the United States Congress and the president, and they do need to come together. And quite possibly, I saw Mick Mulvaney had said the president was going to stay in town, and that that's probably why he is staying in town, and hopefully, cooler heads will prevail, but these two items should not be tied together.
We need to have a discussion on budgetary issues, and not continuing a resolution to push it a few weeks, a few months. We need to have a real budget, and it needs to be ironed out between all parties that are in that Congress.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BAUER: And first, and foremost, as leaders, they should immediately say, "We're not going to take our paychecks."
As a lieutenant governor of a state, when our state had budget cutbacks, I took a paycheck before I asked any one of my employees. I went several months --
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: You didn't take that?
BAUER: -- without take -- I didn't take the pay at all --
WHITFIELD: The government did not pay anything.
BAUER: -- for several months --
RYAN: Right.
BAUER: -- when I was --
WHITFIELD: He's taking it out.
RYAN: Yes.
BAUER: -- the number two guy of the state, because I thought it looked bad to ask other government employees not to take a pay --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
CARDONA: Five Senate Democrats yesterday actually put that on the floor; it was rejected. So, you know, that -- that's, I think, the mentality of where -- WHITFIELD: Yes.
CARDONA: -- Republicans are, and especially this president.
And you said you don't know where the lag is, Andre? I will tell you where the lag is.
After the president talked to the bipartisan folks that were in his office, along with cameras, when he said, as you said, Fredricka --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
CARDONA: -- "Bring me a bipartisan deal; I will sign it. I will sign whatever you bring me," is actually what he said, "And --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Yes. And I'll take the heat?
CARDONA: -- "I will take the heat." Exactly.
Here's the lag that happened --
RYAN: (LAUGHTER)
CARDONA: -- his anti-immigrant base; inside the White House, Stephen Miller, John Kelly; outside of the White House, people like Ann Coulter and Steven King.
And he realized -- and when he -- when he was told, "You can't do this. Oh my goodness --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
CARDONA: -- your base will go crazy" -- that is when he pulled back.
That is not the essence of a negotiator. That is not the essence --
WHITFIELD: Or the flip side --
CARDONA: -- of a leader.
WHITFIELD: -- did Democrats overplay their hand? When the president said that, "Give me anything. I will sign it, I will take the heat" --
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Well I --
WHITFIELD: -- was that the green light for --
CARDONA: -- to -- well no, well no --
WHITFIELD: -- Democrats to say, I'm going to --
CARDONA: -- because --
WHITFIELD: -- go with immigration, and I'm not going to --
CARDONA: -- it wasn't --
WHITFIELD: -- you know, wiggle.
CARDONA: -- but here's the thing. If it was just Democrats, maybe. But you have Lindsey Graham, you have Jeff Flake --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
CARDONA: -- who were also told --
(CROSSTALK)
BAUER: But those aren't that hard Republicans anyway.
CARDONA: -- by this administration -- those -- Oh, OK. (LAUGHTER)
RYAN: It's not even about that hard of Republicans. They (ph) --
CARDONA: But they're -- they are Republicans, and they are --
BAUER: The -- and they --
CARDONA: -- trying to fix this, Andre.
RYAN: The reason why they're having --
BAUER: -- side with the other side a lot.
RYAN: The reason why they're --
CARDONA: I mean, that -- that's ridiculous. (LAUGHTER)
BAUER: (LAUGHTER)
RYAN: The reason why we're having this very discussion right now about what was said when, who did what, who was against this, who was for that -- because the president is indecisive.
CARDONA: Yes.
RYAN: His indecision created this issue. He said, "Wouldn't it --
(CROSSTALK)
BAUER: No, this issue was here way before the president --
RYAN: No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no --
BAUER: -- ever came about.
RYAN: -- hold on. But let's talk about the love bill. Let's go back to the love bill last week. CARDONA: Yes, yes.
RYAN: -- how we started -- yes, OK. (LAUGHTER)
CARDONA: The bill of -- yes.
RYAN: The bill of love.
CARDONA: (LAUGHTER)
RYAN: "Bring me everything, and I'll --
CARDONA: Yes.
RYAN: -- take the heat." We saw the transparency.
I mean, he did something -- we -- there's a veil at the White House. We were able to move the veil over and peak in to see the negotiations. It looked like it was going well.
Then, all of a sudden --
BAUER: So --
RYAN: -- something -- there was a shift; his mind changed on everything.
It was not about the original piece that he -- that he -- they were talking about, a possible pathway to citizenship; it was on the merit.
And then, you had this issue of -- and I'm not even going to go into the "s-hole" thing.
KIRBY: Right.
It's Norway versus --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
RYAN: -- it's white countries versus black countries.
WHITFIELD: Right.
RYAN: So there's a lot going on.
WHITFIELD: So that potentially was the real turning point.
RYAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. So now, you've got hundreds of thousands of government workers, you know, who are not going to receive a paycheck until the government starts functioning again.
KIRBY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Military, largely, is still functioning. But what does this do overall to national security? National security was part of this spending plan.
KIRBY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: But, John, when the government shuts down --
KIRBY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- the military's still functioning, but there are vulnerabilities now for this country. How do you see it?
KIRBY: Absolutely. I think it's important for Americans to understand, the troops are still going to be out there.
Operations against ISIS, still going to go; operations in the East China Sea, South China Sea -- all that still happens.
WHITFIELD: OK (ph).
KIRBY: But over time, military readiness will be degraded by a shutdown if it goes longer.
For instance, if it goes past February 1st, the troops won't get paid.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: They've already been paid for the month, the 5th. But on the 1 t --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: -- they wouldn't get contracts -- new contracts for maintenance or for training evolutions can't be let.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: Many civilian employees at the Defense Department will be furloughed. And these people are important to keeping the gears --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: -- of the department running, and keep things going, not to mention the negative effect this is going to have on morale inside the Defense Department.
I mean, the -- to be told you're not essential, and to not come into work.
[10:25:00]
And these are people who --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: That's the last thing you want to hear is you're a nonessential worker.
KIRBY: -- and are -- the civilian employees at the Defense Department are critical --
WHITFIELD: That's true.
KIRBY: -- to getting at the -- to keeping it operating on a day-to- day basis.
WHITFIELD: Yes. So now, this happening while the vice president is overseas. You've got Rex Tillerson about to go to Davos --
KIRBY: Well, yes.
WHITFIELD: -- potentially, the president of the United States --
KIRBY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- going to Davos.
So what's the message being sent to the world, that --
CARDONA: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- while we have, you know, this country's leaders abroad, the government is shutdown back at home?
KIRBY: I think it shows that not only is our foreign policy a bit chaotic, and it has been over the last year, but now, domestic policy is just as chaotic.
And it just reinforces, in my view --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: -- what many foreign leaders are telling us -- that, they can't rely on the United States --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: -- as a dependable partner in the international sphere, and this just reinforces that.
CARDONA: Can we just ponder that? Foreign leaders are telling us they can no longer depend on the United States of America to --
KIRBY: Correct.
CARDONA: -- global leadership.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
CARDONA: And we even saw a poll where we are --
KIRBY: Yes.
CARDONA: -- down at 30 percent. Who is beating it?
(CROSSTALK)
BAUER: And some of these coming out of the --
CARDONA: Germany and China.
BAUER: -- and some of these cry babies --
CARDONA: Thank you, President Trump.
BAUER: -- are because we're finally making them pay their fair share.
RYAN: No, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute --
BAUER: They're having to rise up --
CARDONA: Come on.
RYAN: -- wait a minute. Hold on.
BAUER -- and yes --
CARDONA: Come on.
BAUER: -- yes, come on.
CARDONA: Yes. Really?
BAUER: They're now having to pay what they agreed --
CARDONA: The rest of the world.
BAUER: -- to pay, yes.
CARDONA: OK.
RYAN: You're talking about the U.N.
CARDONA: Is that it?
RYAN: We're not talking about that (ph).
CARDONA: Oh, is that it, or is it to destroy them?
RYAN: This is not about the U.N.
CARDONA: That has nothing to do with this.
RYAN: Let me -- let me go back. Well (ph), let's --
BAUER: Well, they're going to want to --
CARDONA: That has nothing to do with this.
BAUER: -- make them pay -- agree to their part of the bargain. RYAN: You're talking about U.N. stuff.
KIRBY: You're (ph) --
RYAN: I'm talking about the world.
CARDONA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes (ph).
RYAN: When you talk about -- last week was so important. It's beyond race.
When you look at the continent of Africa, OK? And you talk about, "I want the white country versus the black country," first of all, when you look at Africa --
BAUER: Yes.
RYAN: -- Africa is mineral rich.
CARDONA: Yes.
RYAN: It's resource rich. We depend on them as well for oil, as well as other countries.
Then, on top of that --
BAUER: Yes (ph).
RYAN: -- every country is not a democratic country, a democratic- ruled country, and you do have some --
BAUER: Yes (ph).
RYAN: -- places, there's some spots that are terrorist hotbeds, and we have to be engaged with the African Union to work with us. Now you have the Africa Union against us. If you are pushing countries away that we are partners of, it causes confusion if something happens.
And I had someone that -- who came crying to me, saying, "Oh, do we need to take everybody in?" and crying and crying. I said, I'm going to give you a --
CARDONA: Yes.
RYAN: -- for instance. I said, if there is another 9/11, and intelligence officials are saying, it's not about if, but when.
If there is another 9/11 in this country, and we've told people --
WHITFIELD: Yes (ph).
RYAN: -- we don't want them, who's going to come to our aid?
(CROSSTALK) CARDONA: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Right, we need friends.
RYAN: Who's going to stand in? We need friends.
WHITFIELD: We'll --
CARDONA: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: -- leave it right there for now. April Ryan, Andre Bauer, Maria Cardona, John Kirby. Thanks to all of you, appreciate it.
CARDONA: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.
All right. From Mexico, to China, to Haiti, the president's insults knew no bounds his first year in office. Up next, Trump's global impact. More of what we're talking about here.
And women's marches unfolding across the country. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:32:19] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.
Around the globe, people are waking up to the news of a U.S. government shutdown. The headlines tell the tale. President Trump and the Senate failed to reach a deal. Republicans and Democrats trading blame as the world watches.
Trump's campaign and first year in office were marked by a barrage of insult at many nations, and, in just the last few weeks, the president's vulgar language taking aim at Haiti and Africa. It's all part of the president's pattern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATED: Major portions of the world are in conflict, and some, in fact, are going to hell. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.
We also face rival powers -- Russia and China -- that seek to challenge American influence, values and wealth.
Right now, the world is a mess, but I think by the time we finish, I think it's going to be a lot better place to live. And I can tell you that, speaking for myself, by the time I'm finished, it's going to be a lot better place to live in.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right, I'm back with my panel now, and CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson who is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
All right, good to see you all now.
Nic, you first. What was the most notable impact of President Trump's critical comments globally?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. If you look at the critical master of the United States, traditional strong allies, they lie in Europe. And President Trump has put a lot of distance between himself -- now, political distance -- it's almost become toxic for some of the European politicians.
A think tank -- a major think tank in the U.K. issued a policy paper on how -- or the U.S.-European relationship, and it said, European leaders really need to think beyond President Trump.
And right now, I'm here in Saudi Arabia. I've just come back from about a week across the border in Yemen, where there's a big civil war going on.
Both Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government are thrilled to have the United States as a strong ally. They love the fact that President Trump came here on his first visit, love the fact that he brought his family. Therefore, that sent a really strong message of understanding.
In this region, they like the fact that he's strong and outspoken against Iran. They have serious concerns about Iran.
But, you know, out on the streets here, you talk to people, and, yes, they like all those things about Trump -- the fact that he's supporting and fighting Al Qaeda and ISIS in this region along with the Saudis, along with the Yemenis. But they said, look at the way he handled the issue of Jerusalem, announcing it as the
[10:35:00]
capital of Israel.
In this region, that's a negative, and people here in Yemen are still waiting to see what the follow-on steps might be that President Trump could lay out that could bring about Palestinian-Israeli peace. So, you know, the leaderships here also have to listen to their people to a degree, and there's a good degree of unease over that issue.
Let's look to Vietnam and Japan, for example. In Vietnam this year when President Trump was at a summit there, the Japanese prime minister, who'd hosted him just two few days earlier, announced the forming of a scaled-down TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and -- a trade partnership that President Trump had decided to reject at the beginning of his presidency.
This was very much a slap in the face for President Trump in a very public way. The day before, President Trump had announced, you know, the United States, the "America First" vision of a trade policy which is fair, and balanced, and a good trade for everyone.
So the president has made some strong friends in this region and kept them. They like him better than they like President Obama. But in other --
WHITFIELD: Yes, yes.
ROBERTSON: -- areas around the world, he's pushed all their (ph) eyes away. And that's -- and that is uncomfortable when you want to make big decisions that affect the globe because you need big partners for that.
WHITFIELD: So, John, I want to draw on your State Department experience.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has bumped heads --
KIRBY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- you know, if you will, with the president on a number of matters, and then, you've seen Tillerson kind of try to explain it, et cetera.
But how has that relationship perhaps even changed the role of a secretary of state?
KIRBY: I think under this administration, the role of the secretary of state has been much diminished, and I think that's really bad for the United States and our credibility abroad.
I do believe that Secretary Tillerson and Secretary Mattis are working well together -- extraordinarily well together --
WHITFIELD: Hmm, OK (ph).
KIRBY: -- on trying to move forward basic sound principles -- for instance, a diplomatic pressure against North Korea, and they meet frequently, they talk frequently. They are, I think, of one mind on most foreign policy issues. Secretary Mattis really wanted to take a backseat, that diplomacy lead.
But they are both undercut repeatedly --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: -- by the president's rash and compulsive tweeting -- when he says don't bother negotiating, and don't waste your time.
And for anybody that thinks there might be, like, a good cop, bad cop thing going on, I just don't get that impression. April would know better than me, but I think it's just the president waking up and deciding to --
RYAN: Yes. KIRBY: -- put things out. And he's actually hurting, I think, in some regards, a very well-functioning national security team.
WHITFIELD: And so --
RYAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- April, you know -- you know, undercutting. That's a pretty powerful, you know, word we're talking about for the secretary of state.
At the same time, listening to Nic, while there have been some new relationships strengthened --
RYAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- with this president --
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: The old ones are, kind of.
WHITFIELD: -- so many old allies, those relationships are very fragile now?
RYAN: It's about so many different things. One piece is, when you have the president of the United States, who really depends on his man of peace.
I think about the eagle that's in the White House in (ph) the ceiling --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
RYAN: -- it's leaning to the olive branch, the peace, because we're not at a time of war. And that man of peace is -- you have your olive branch, and your -- and your arrows -- the arrows for defense, and your olive branch, because we always want to look towards peace. If we can't -- and the (ph) -- and the last resort is warfare.
And if you're undermining your man of peace who's talking to world leaders, they don't believe what -- he's saying, when the president goes out, tweets something negative about him, makes him look like a child almost -- it doesn't bode well. And the -- at a time --
WHITFIELD: But now (ph) --
RYAN: -- such as this, when we could possibly -- well, we are right now having diplomacy with North Korea -- but we've got other things going on. We've got Iran, you know, we've got issues of nuclear weapons, or possible nuclear weapons --
WHITFIELD: But the president takes credit, saying that bluster, or that strong, tough talk --
RYAN: From that tweet. WHITFIELD: -- is actually what's containing North Korea.
RYAN: But, for the moment, he won that battle -- for the moment.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
RYAN: But, you know, you -- who knows? I mean, you know, Kim Jong Un is not known to be --
WHITFIELD: Rational?
RYAN: -- rational. Yes, thank you --
WHITFIELD: (LAUGHTER)
RYAN: -- for that one, (LAUGHTER) because I was going to use something else.
WHITFIELD: (LAUGHTER)
RYAN: He's not known to be rational, and sometimes, this president can be very irrational in his words.
And what happens when both of them come together at a time when, they're not --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
RYAN: -- feeling peaceful --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
RYAN: -- what happens? Whose button is going to be bigger then?
KIRBY: I think almost despite the president's tweeting, the national security team has done a commendable job with North Korea.
I mean, think about the pressure that they have been able to apply even on China, and China's doing much more than they ever did before -- yes, they could do more. But there has been some success on the pressure initiative that they've been pursuing internationally. It is, again, undermined, I think, by the president's rash --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
KIRBY: -- behavior out there.
But think about what Nic said a little bit ago, because it really struck me -- that leaders in Europe are thinking beyond Trump.
RYAN: Yes.
KIRBY: For 70 years, Fred, the United States was the leader in establishing multilateral systems and organizations to keep the peace in Europe. And it would be inconceivable before a year ago, that a European leader would say, "Well, let's think beyond the United States. Let's not
[10:40:00]
even consult the United States, and not worry about the United States."
WHITFIELD: So they're thinking and hoping and saying, really, out loud that they're --
KIRBY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- that they --
KIRBY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- feel temporary.
KIRBY: Yes, and I think that's stunning, to me.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KIRBY: Just absolutely stunning. Yes (ph).
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much to both of you, appreciate it.
RYAN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right.
To mark Trump's first year in office, tens of thousands are pouring into the streets to protest his presidency now. We'll take you live to the women's marches that are unfolding from coast to coast right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:44:31] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.
The White House says President Trump is telling aides that the Democrats caused the shutdown, but that he will be blamed for it.
CNN White House Correspondent Abby Phillip is live for us at the White House.
So, Abby, what more can you tell us about that?
PHILLIP: Hi, Fredricka.
Well, CNN's Jim Acosta just reported moments ago that, even though the president has been making a very public show of blaming Democrats for this shutdown on social media and elsewhere, he has been telling aides privately that, even though they are responsible, he does
[10:45:00]
believe that he will be the one blamed for it ultimately.
Now, this actually jives with some of the president's own comments from in the past. In previous years, he had -- he had said that the president -- the party -- the president whose party is in control would be blamed for it. He said that about President Obama, and now, clearly, saying that about his own administration.
Today, we also know from some sources this morning that the White House does believe that when the House votes -- the Senate votes on a bill to keep the government funded for about three weeks, that Democrats will not support it, and they think that this shutdown could go on for longer than today.
A senior administration official telling me earlier this morning that the battle lines appear to be very much entrenched through this weekend -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Abby Phillip, thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it from the White House.
All right. Tens of thousands are marching through the streets to protest Trump's presidency. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:27] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. As you're looking at live pictures right now, a variety of things taking place from Washington, D.C., to Denver, and even Chicago and New York.
You have people who are gathering as part of the Women's March movement, who are galvanizing, and they're organizing in the number of thousands there hoping to potentially repeat record turnouts last year.
Meantime, on Capitol Hill, you've got Republicans and Democrats, Senate and House meeting today, trying to still work out something to perhaps potentially get the government back open.
And we're also hearing from the White House that the president, according to our source, says that while he is blaming the Democrats for this government shutdown, he believes he will be taking the blame.
Meantime, the Director of White House Legislative Affairs Marc Short had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The meeting --
(CROSSTALK)
MARC SHORT, DIRECTOR OF WHITE HOUSE LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: That's (ph) --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- we've seen ourselves (ph)? SHORT: -- we were there. Yes, I don't believe they were uninvited. I mean, the invitations came from Kevin McCarthy's office; he said that they were in no way uninvited. So, we were there, I'm telling you.
PHILLIP: The reality is that, to reopen the government, they are going to need to get support from some Senate Democrats. So when does the president really start to try to make a deal? And yesterday --
SHORT: Well --
PHILLIP: -- things completely fell apart --
SHORT: Yes. Well --
PHILIP: -- after he and Schumer met.
SHORT: OK. Well --
PHILLIP: So what's the president's response? Where are we here (ph)?
(CROSSTALK)
SHORT: Well, I question if Senate Democrats are really united in this. Keep in mind, there were five Senate Democrats who, last night, actually voted to keep the government open. We commend them for that decision, and we think there'll be more today, and hopefully, that they'll continue to see that it's not wise to hold our troops hostage. So we think --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the president just --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did the president call in members of his own party --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- will he reach out to --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- in the Senate who didn't vote for the CR?
SHORT: The president has spoken to plenty of members in our own party, and he's met with Senator Schumer. He's continued to be on the phone with them.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will he need to --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he talking to members in his own party who didn't vote for the CR in the Senate?
SHORT: The president's had conversations with those members, too, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senators have to -- SHORT: I'm going to have to run, guys. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want (ph) more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for your time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senators --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, Marc Short there, the director of White House legislative affairs, saying he's not so sure that there is real -- a unified effort on the part of Democrats and Republicans who are on Capitol Hill trying to work something out, and also, reminding people there, there were five Democrats who actually voted for the Senate plan that failed. And, of course, there were five Republicans also who voted against it.
All right, let's go back to the scene outside, where, across the country, from coast to coast, thousands -- hundreds of thousands of people are gathering for today's Women's March. You're looking at the nation's capital there, and our Suzanne Malveaux is there. They're just at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
So is there one, you know, objective that brings so many people out coast to coast here?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred.
(BEATING OF DRUMS)
MALVEAUX: Well, yes, there is an objective -- there are many objectives. But what many people are telling me here this morning is they really want to seize the momentum from last year. This is not going to be the kind of anticipated crowd that we saw from last year -- maybe 10,000 or so.
I was here at the march just one year ago, when it was so jam-packed, you could, you know, barely move. You had folks like Madonna and Scarlett Johansson, and really some star celebrity power. But it is very intentional and strategic that those folks are going to be in L.A. They're also going to be in Las Vegas.
They're moving the fight, they say, to those key battleground states -- of course, there's a lot of (ph) -- which is going to be very important for midterm elections. So that is really the focus of many of the women here. So they say what they're trying to do is simply remind this administration, remind this president, send a very clear message that they are fanning --
(CHEERS)
MALVEAUX: -- across the country to those local and state races that are critical at this time.
So, Fred, the kinds of people who are going to be speaking -- we just heard behind me the D.C. group that does Brazilian drumming, (LAUGHTER) and it's really kind of -- really excited the crowd here.
But what you're going to see later today is people like Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who was very instrumental in bringing forth the issue of sexual harassment. This comes in the context of the #MeToo movement. And people feeling like they have been besieged. They also feel empowered.
(CHEERS)
MALVEAUX: And the goal here is to remind people to come out to register to vote, and to get involved in the political process. That is what many people have told me this morning.
And it's very personal for folks. They are immigrants, they are healthcare workers, they are mothers and grandmothers. And they say that, even during this day of a government shutdown, it really underscores the fact that there is change
[10:55:00]
that needs to happen here -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, Suzanne Malveaux --
MALVEAUX: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- thank you so much from the nation's capital there on the steps -- just below the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We'll be dotting the map this afternoon. Thanks so much, Suzanne.
Our special coverage of the government shutdown and President Trump's first year in office continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:59:41] WHITFIELD: Well, welcome back. We got live pictures right now of marches taking place across the country being billed as the women's marches on this one-year anniversary of the Trump presidency.
Also today on this one-year marker, a U.S. government shutdown.
Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in the nation's capital.
After working until almost 2:00 am to try to avoid the scene of a U.S. government shutdown, senators are reconvening now in the next hour to negotiate how to end --
