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Trump Draws Hard Line; Omar Tweet Controversy; Stock Market Drops; Travel Ban Keeps Mother from Dying Child. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired December 18, 2018 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:32:02] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Friday at midnight parts of the government shut down. The president wants $5 billion to fund his border wall. Democrats say that's a nonstarter.
So, what happens next?
Joining us now is Representative- elect from Minnesota's Fifth District, Democrat Ilhan Omar. Last month she made history when she became one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
Representative-elect, congratulations. Thanks so much for being with us.
REP-ELECT ILHAN OMAR (D), MINNESOTA: Well, thank you so much for having me.
BERMAN: So you're going to show up for your first official day as a member of Congress and it's very likely that part of the government will be shut down. How does that feel?
OMAR: It's terrifying. But I'm hopeful that we will be able to negotiate and avoid this shutdown. I think the president will come to his senses and the Republicans will understand that part of our job is to make sure that we have government functioning and that they will make sure that, especially on this holiday season, where people are relying on their paychecks and opportunities to celebrate with their families, that they will not go through with the government shutdown.
BERMAN: But you don't think Democrats should give anything here? You don't think they should provide any funding beyond the $1.3 billion for border security currently being discussed by the congressional leaders?
OMAR: I mean I -- you know, it is -- it is one thing for the people to negotiate to make sure that who we are, you know, giving resources to something that works. Right now none of us think that conceding and giving money to build a border wall that is not going to keep us safe and will not contribute anything to the American society is the way to go.
BERMAN: So you -- your first gig may be trying to reopen the government after your inauguration. But HR-1, the first House bill that you want to focus on has to do with voting reform and government reform overall. Why is that so important to you?
OMAR: It is really important. It is a bold declaration that the Democrats are making where they're telling the American people, we hear you. We understand what it means for us to restore hope within our democracy. This bill is going to do three things. It's going to make it easier for people to be able to vote. It's going to make sure that we get money out of politics. And it's also going to make sure that we get politicians working for the American people.
BERMAN: It's also, and I don't want to rain on your parade --
OMAR: Yes.
BERMAN: Likely going nowhere. It's likely not going to pass the Senate or be signed by the president.
OMAR: I think that would be really an unfortunate analysis to make because I think when it comes to reforming our democracy, that should not be a partisan issue. That should be a bipartisan issue. And the president should be on board with that. We're talking about things like doing an automatic registration for folks, restoring the vote right now in Florida when it was put to the people, they made sure that they restored the voting rights for ex-felons. We are talking about things like making sure that K-street isn't running the business of the people in Congress. And I think that is not a partisan issue. That should be a very bipartisan issue. We're talking about uplifting and restarting our democracy.
[08:35:12] BERMAN: You're one of a handful of Democrats who, during your campaign, during the election season, said you would vote to impeach President Trump. How hard will you push on that? Is that something you will call for as soon as January?
OMAR: I mean if this report comes out and we keep having the breaking headlines every single day, I'm pretty sure that it's going to call for itself. We know that this president, this administration every day has gone a little bit closer to being impeached. And I think these investigations are going to be very revealing in the next coming months, and we won't be having these conversations on whether to do it. But it's going to be when and how.
BERMAN: Well, Nancy Pelosi, who will be the speaker, and others have said, look, we need to actually focus on governing here and let the investigations take care of themselves.
OMAR: Yes. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. It is -- it's important for us to recognize, yes, the American people want us to legislate. They want us to insist on furthering a set of values. But they also want us to resist and make sure that we exercise our oversight powers and hold this administration accountable.
BERMAN: You've been very vocal about the president's travel ban. Right now that ban is keeping a mother from visiting her two-year-old child, a child, Abdullah Hassan (ph), who is, we believe, terminally ill. She's not able to visit her son. Alisyn's going to actually speak to the father in just a few minutes. Is there any action that you would like to see Congress to take to try to get this mother to her son?
OMAR: I mean it's really heart-breaking. You know, it's the unintended consequences of a ban like this, I think. You know there -- we put something in place so horrendous that now it is separating a child who's dying from saying completely good-bye to his mom. We are working to try to see what is within our powers to try to make sure that that -- that there is an opportunity for this mother to have a final good- bye with her child.
BERMAN: I want to ask you one last question. Maybe a light-hearted question. After the meeting last week in the Oval Office where Mike Pence, everyone was tweeting the memes of Mike Pence being stoic or silent or his eyes shut. You sent out a tweet with a picture of Mike Pence and the caption was, Jesus take the wheel. Do we have that? There's been some criticism of your tweet suggesting you're making fun of the faith of Mike Pence.
OMAR: I was not. It is an expression of exasperation. And anyone who was in that room could sense that's what he was feeling. And I am -- I was channeling his thoughts in his head because that's what I would be thinking. And it's also, you know, one of my favorite songs from Carrie Underwood. And so that -- when I saw the picture, I couldn't think of any more perfect caption than to say, Jesus take the wheel, because I'm pretty sure at that moment that's what was needed.
BERMAN: Maybe we could send you and Mike Pence to a Carrie Underwood concert and have a moment of healing in this new Congress.
OMAR: I'm pretty sure we'll get an opportunity to enjoy that.
BERMAN: All right, Representative-elect Ilhan Omar, thanks so much for being with us. Congratulations. Now, for you, the work begins.
OMAR: Well, thank you so much.
BERMAN: Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: All right, John, right now stock futures are looking up. But this has been one of the worst Decembers for the Dow and S&P since the Great Depression. Our Christine Romans breaks it all down, next.
BERMAN: But first, the new CNN film "Love, Gilda," looks at the incredible life of the comedy legend, Gilda Radner. It airs New Year's Day at 9:00 p.m. on CNN. Here's a sneak peek.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILDA RADNER, COMEDIAN: Hi, I'm Gilda Radner, and -- OK, now.
People want to know what made you funny? From the time I was a kid, I loved to pretend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was the very first performer chosen for the cast of "Saturday Night Live."
RADNER: (INAUDIBLE). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just loved her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I basically stole all of my characters from Gilda.
RADNER: I can do almost anything if people are laughing.
RADNER: Boom, ba, ba, boom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gilda was just not quite herself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One morning she just said, I don't know what's wrong with me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The comedian gets the most unfunny thing in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She felt that she could be of help, and that's exactly what she did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How often do we get to know exactly how great we are?
RADNER: I always felt that my comedy was just to make things be all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Love, Gilda," New Year's Day, at 9:00 p.m.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:43:47] CAMEROTA: OK, we're less than an hour from the opening bell and investors are watching futures very closely after the stock market sank deeper into negative territory yesterday. So let's bring in chief business correspondent Christine Romans, who's been watching this with (INAUDIBLE).
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, guys.
You know, investors are really used to winning in the past ten years. Only two of the years had just small gains. It was double digit gains seven of the last nine years. And now we're facing a lower year, the first time since 2008. This is yesterday. The Dow down 507 points. That's 2 percent.
The Dow has lost almost 2,000 points this month alone. This month has been terrible. It's the worst quarter since 2008. This is the worst performance in December for the Dow and the S&P since 1931. Let me say that again, since the Great Depression.
December is usually a month that sees a rally. We call it the Santa Claus rally. And usually we see things moving higher in the month. Instead, no, you're seeing a big loss. The biggest loss in December since the Great Depression. The last ten years now, this is what it looks like. Last year we had a
22 percent gain for the S&P 500. That's -- we got used to that, investors did, and now they're going to face the lowest return in years really.
This is where we are right now. When you saw Asia wake up, they sold as well. Europe has sort of stabilized and we're going to see a bounce back here, 139 points, maybe 200 on the Dow Jones Industrial average, but that's hardly enough to even make a dent in the losses we have seen for the month.
[08:45:10] What's wrong? Interest rates are rising. There's a Fed meeting tomorrow. That will be critical, you guys. What will the Fed chief, Jerome Powell, say about the future path of interest rates? The president is not happy with the Fed raising interest rates. In fact, he just tweeted not too long ago, I hope the people over there at the Fed will read today's "Wall Street Journal" editorial. "The Wall Street Journal" said it's time for the Fed to pause. And he said, stop with the 50 bs, feel the market. Just don't go by meaningless numbers. Good luck.
I think the 50 bs he's saying, don't raise rates 50 basis points. But the president with a direct warning and request to the Fed chief. A request that virtually no one in the markets thinks the Fed will follow.
Guys.
BERMAN: Feel the market.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: Christine Romans, thanks very much. The market is --
ROMANS: Stop it with the bs, Berman.
BERMAN: The market has felt pretty lousy in the month of December so far.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: All right.
CAMEROTA: All right, her two-year-old son is dying in a California hospital, but she is not able to see him because of the travel ban. So today there could be a humanitarian visa granted, but we've not heard yet from the Trump administration. So we're going to talk to the dad of this very, very sick boy about how he's going to try to get his wife there in time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:50:22] CAMEROTA: President Trump's travel ban has become a life and death issue for one family. A two-year-old boy, Abdullah Hassan, is on life-support in California. He is in the final stages of a fatal brain condition. His mother is desperate to be with him, but cannot because of the Trump administration's travel ban. The mom is of Yemeni decent.
Joining us now is Abdullah's father, Ali Hassan.
Ali, we are so sorry that you and your family are going through this. What is Abdullah's condition at this hour this morning?
ALI HASSAN, FATHER OF TWO-YEAR-OLD ON LIFE SUPPORT: At this hour he is -- it's really bad. There's nothing changed. He's been like this for almost a month. And he's on life-support for over a month already and nothing change on him.
CAMEROTA: How long has it been since your wife saw him? When is the last time she saw her son?
HASSAN: The last time she saw him was before October 1st. That's when I was back in Egypt. That's when I flew him to California on October 1st.
CAMEROTA: You were able then to fly him to her because she's not able to come here. So you were able to fly him there. And then since then what has happened? Tell me about how -- what you've been trying to do to get your wife here to be with your son?
HASSAN: Ever since like when we arrived here on October 1st, I took him straight to the hospital in Oakland Children's Hospital and they started doing everything for him. And I also have letters from the doctors to see if I could bring my wife to be with him. And every time I e-mail the embassy in Cairo, they always reply back with me saying, your wife is still processing administrative. I'm begging them, telling them that my son, he's in the hospital. I need the mother to be next to her son. All they never have replayed back anything. They always -- all they say was, it's still processing. Your case is still processing. That's all I get from them.
CAMEROTA: And you just don't have time for the case to still be processing. I mean the -- time is of the essence. This is truly a life and death issue. And, of course, as you know, there is this humanitarian visa that is available in, you know, dire situations like yours. So have you been in touch with the State Department or White House?
HASSAN: My attorneys, they've been in touch with them. And right now my wife she's at the embassy. She got a call. At this moment, she haven't got nothing yet. And I'm just waiting because time's running out for my son to be honest. Life support is supposed to be on any kid two weeks to three weeks. The most is a month. And my son, he's been on it over a month.
CAMEROTA: But just so I understand, did your wife get a call this morning to go to the embassy? Is she at the embassy because something -- there's been some progress?
HASSAN: Yes, she did -- she got a call today morning her time to go to the embassy, yes.
CAMEROTA: And so that sounds promising. HASSAN: I hope so, but at this moment she hasn't got nothing yet from
them.
CAMEROTA: If today -- if today, right now, this morning, the State Department were able to grant that humanitarian visa, is there still time for your wife to get to California?
HASSAN: Yes, it will be time (INAUDIBLE) as soon as possible to see her son for the last time. All she wished just to see her son and that's it. Like we want to be together.
CAMEROTA: Of course you do. I mean I think that everybody can relate to this. If President Trump is watching, what do you want to say to him right now?
HASSAN: All families, they're supposed to be together. Right now, as my son's situation, he's facing death. And I'm going through losing my son. It's really hard for me and for my mother and for my family and my wife, too. It's just really hard.
CAMEROTA: You and your son are U.S. citizens, correct?
HASSAN: Yes, we are U.S. citizens, correct.
CAMEROTA: But you've had to be separated because your wife is Yemeni.
HASSAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: How has she been coping this past -- these past two months?
HASSAN: These past two months literally crying every day, crying. She's just going crazy.
CAMEROTA: Well, we are really praying that there will be some sort of movement today and that she can -- will be able to get on a plane and get to you as fast as possible. I mean you've already gone through such an ordeal caring for your son and having these be the final moments.
[08:55:02] Please, Ali, let us know what happens with her at the embassy. It's possible that we will see some progress this morning, and we're certainly praying for that.
HASSAN: I will. Thank you.
CAMEROTA: Thank you. Take care of yourself and your son.
All right, we will obviously keep our viewers posted if something is able to happen this morning.
BERMAN: That's the most basic desire, the smallest thing. We can only hope.
CAMEROTA: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: It is time now for "The Good Stuff."
A newlywed couple from Orlando making their special day special for others. Right after tying the knot, Brad and Jessica Bonds whisked away their entire wedding party to a holiday shopping spree for children in need.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA BONDS, BRIDE: it's something that has been a tradition for us. Like ever since we started dating. So we're really excited to share it with everyone we love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Each of their guests got a $10 Target gift card to buy Toys For Tots. And they ended up spending a lot more. Brad says there's nothing better they can do on their wedding day than share their blessing with others.
That is awesome.
I have to say, imagine walking into Target and seeing a whole bunch of people in tuxes and like bridal dresses.
[09:00:01] CAMEROTA: I love this couple. They are so wonderful. They are so much better than we are.
BERMAN: It's going to work out for them, I have a feeling.
CAMEROTA: It really is. That was fantastic.
