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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
President Trump Forcing Mattis Out Early, Acting Sec. Shanahan Takes Over January One; Congress And President Trump Remain At An Impasse On Government Shutdown; Indonesia Tsunami Kills Nearly 300. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired December 24, 2018 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:31:03] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The outgoing Defense secretary forced to depart two months early. You can't quit -- you're fired. The president frustrated by the critical resignation letter from Jim Mattis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICK MULVANEY, ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF: And it's very possible that this shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Day three of the Christmas government shutdown, the sides remain very far apart on the president's demand to fund a border wall.
ROMANS: The Treasury secretary trying to reassure investors after the worst week for stocks in a decade, but did he raise confidence?
JOHNS: And did the president cross a line, venting to his acting attorney general about revelations that implicate him in the Michael Cohen case?
Welcome back to EARLY START. I am Joe Johns.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Nice to have you here.
JOHNS: Glad to be here.
ROMANS: Merry Christmas -- Merry Christmas Eve.
JOHNS: Absolutely, the same to you.
ROMANS: It is 31 minutes past the hour.
Let's begin with the Defense Sec. James Mattis forced out of that job January first, two months earlier than planned when he announced his resignation Thursday. He said his views were not aligned with Trump's. The departure triggered by the president's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney defended President Trump's decision to pull out of Syria, saying it's aimed at pleasing his supporters. In the next breath, Mulvaney admits supporters don't understand the consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WALLACE, ANCHOR, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": He went against the recommendations of Mattis, McGurk, Dunford (the chairman of the Joint Chiefs) -- apparently, Pompeo and Bolton. Who is he listening to?
MULVANEY: Here's -- the president listens to a bunch of different people, OK, including the people who--
WALLACE: That's his national security team.
MULVANEY -- including the people who live here and ordinary Americans -- the people he promised when he ran for office that he was going to lead.
We recognize the fact that this is unpopular within the Beltway, and we recognize the fact it's unpopular within the Defense Department. It's very popular with ordinary American people.
WALLACE: Do they really know what the stakes are of pulling U.S. troops out and leaving the Syrian Defense Force to the Turkish slaughter and what the impact is going to be in Iran? I mean, really, we're going to make this a plebiscite?
MULVANEY: Ordinary Americans have no idea about those things. They elect a president so that he does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: There is every indication that one thing the president did not immediately realize, it was that Mattis was resigning in protest. Once it became clear, aides say the president remarked that Mattis was only being painted as the smartest guy in the world because he was leaving the Trump administration.
Now sources tell us senior military officials are worried about the uncertainty this upheaval is causing. With Mattis on the way out, who's in charge for now?
Here is Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Deputy Sec. of Defense Patrick Shanahan, number two at the Pentagon, has been named by the president to become acting secretary of Defense. There was a feeling inside the White House, officially, that they needed to get a new person in -- that they didn't want Mattis in a lame duck position.
But, administration officials will tell you that behind the scenes the president was not happy with the extensive news coverage of Mattis' departure -- of his resignation letter saying basically that he was resigning in protest over the president's decision to withdraw troops from Syria.
So, Shanahan now has the leading role here at the Pentagon. He has been involved mainly in things like acquisition reform and innovation. Now, with no foreign policy experience, he will take on a national security role on the international stage, dealing with America's military allies and America's military adversaries.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Barbara. Thank you for that.
President Trump's decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria leading to another resignation. Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy for the global coalition against ISIS -- he has decided to step down.
Now, the president's decision has now been turned into a formal military directive. Pentagon officials confirming the executive order for Syria has been signed by outgoing Defense Sec. James Mattis.
[05:35:06] JOHNS: And, CNN has also learned that days before the president decided to withdraw, he made a crucial phone call to Turkish President Erdogan. A source say President Trump said, "It's all yours. We're done."
A senior White House official said Erdogan gave Trump his word Turkey would finish off ISIS, but no mention of U.S. alliance with the Syrian Kurds which Turkey considers a terror group.
ROMANS: All right. Joining us here, Princeton University historian and professor Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst. Good morning.
JOHNS: Good morning.
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR, "THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW": Good morning.
ROMANS: Let's talk about the chaotic week last week, Julian --
ZELIZER: Yes.
ROMANS: -- because I just -- I don't think we should be anesthetized or normalized to what kind of a week it was.
The Defense secretary is gone, at odds with the president over the pullout of Syria. There is a government shutdown with actually, right now, no pathway forward, it looks like here. Stock market declines.
A Fed chief under fire. The president, we're told, asking his aides, "Can I fire Jerome Powell?" -- which he can't. And we're told now the president realizes he can't fire him.
Just for a moment, talk to us about what's happening inside that White House.
ZELIZER: Yes, this is the definition of dysfunction. This is a president who is not actually in command of his own White House and certainly, is not running Washington in an effective way.
When the government is shut down, that's already a measure that something's wrong. And then add all the different stories you just mentioned -- most importantly, extreme instability in the Executive Branch, in his cabinet, in his inner circle -- with a president who is not an expert in politics or policy, that is worrisome for anyone.
JOHNS: So you've got Mattis, you've got Syria, you've got the shutdown which includes Homeland Security.
ZELIZER: Yes.
JOHNS: These three could really affect national security.
A question in my mind is how do you do a trade-off to have a big fight over the wall, which is really a fence, and throw all these other things into chaos, if you will, in exchange for the fight over the fence?
ZELIZER: Well, I think Democrats think the two are related. That if they don't stand firm -- if they concede to a demand which no one thinks is necessary, other than a small circle of President Trump --
JOHNS: The president does.
ZELIZER: No, but he does.
But in some ways, they don't want to empower him. The critique of the Republican Congress was they continued to empower him. They continued to make those concessions. Well, we'll give him this so he can continue.
And so, Democrats want to stop this and this is point one in an effort to check the president.
ROMANS: Let's talk about what the cabinet looks like here now because you've got an acting Defense secretary named Patrick Shanahan. Mick Mulvaney is acting chief of staff. I'm going to say acting a whole bunch of times because that's what's going on here. And then, deputy secretaries, as well. There's several vacancies -- excuse me -- vacancies there.
Who's running things?
ZELIZER: He is. He's running things, meaning President Trump. And what he has shed are the group of advisers who had a bit more expertise in this White House on the different policy issues.
ROMANS: And these are the people who were explaining to him through talking points, play-by-play, what was important. The nuances --
ZELIZER: Yes. ROMANS: -- the -- you know, what happens. Three steps ahead if you make a certain move.
ZELIZER: They also served as voices within the executive branch and to the media and to Congress of an alternative view to what the president was saying. That was important -- or to foreign leaders. And now, you've removed them.
So really, the president has centralized power within himself and we don't know how --
JOHNS: Right.
ZELIZER: -- this is going to unfold. But his very particular positions are now going to be much more pronounced. There's no restraint.
JOHNS: Which also brings up that question of whether this is all about the president's supporters.
ZELIZER: Yes.
JOHNS: And, OK, so populist governing, but national security issues are much more sensitive than the things that sort of go on within the borders of the United States.
ZELIZER: Right, and populist governing doesn't always work because everyone doesn't know exactly what the details are of key policies. And it's not populist governing in that his base, quote-unquote, represents a small portion of a population. The majority and the populous doesn't actually support what he's doing right now.
So it's a kind of very risky strategy for the GOP that is banking everything on this president.
ROMANS: You'll hear from some people in the base -- like, what do we need government workers for?
JOHNS: Yes, right.
ROMANS: Or the government is too big, Washington -- blah, blah, blah. We don't like -- you know, we don't like government workers.
But, you know, there are plenty of people who are -- for example, the JFK Presidential Museum. You know, somebody making $40,000-$50,000 a year --
ZELIZER: Right.
ROMANS: -- working at the snack bar. That's somebody this is really going to matter to.
So what turns the tide here between the Democrats and the Republicans? What's the thing that could, I guess, unloosen this?
ZELIZER: Time. The longer this goes on, the more people feel the actual effects of a government shutdown. That's what happened in '95 and '96 when all of a sudden the National Zoo is closed or you can't get a visa to travel, you can't get your passport renewed.
[05:40:07] All of these effects of what government really means start to kick in.
ROMANS: Getting your tax return refund.
ZELIZER: Getting your --
ROMANS: Think about it.
ZELIZER: No, no.
ROMANS: A year after tax -- historic tax reform, you can't file your taxes early because the IRS is shut down.
ZELIZER: And that's when people get angry. And then, that is when Republicans might start to react.
JOHNS: Right.
ZELIZER: But it's about time. There is a window. We've seen this in the other shutdowns where we've now normalized this kind of dysfunction in politics.
JOHNS: So I've got to ask you the Christine question and that, obviously, is about --
ZELIZER: Yes.
JOHNS: -- instability in the markets. And, Mnuchin essentially running out there and talking to banks and then putting out a statement talking about liquidity.
Just how dangerous is that? And our question of the morning is is that just a rookie mistake or something more?
ZELIZER: I don't know. It sounds like something more. And the last thing you need is -- in an unstable period, for the president's staff to actually trigger more instability by generating fear and be creating fear.
We actually don't know. That's the situation that is so troublesome to most, and not having confidence in the secretary.
ROMANS: There are so many smart people in markets in the economy, last night, who were absolutely befuddled --
ZELIZER: Yes.
ROMANS: -- that he would say there is enough money -- there is enough liquidity for lending. No one thought there wasn't until you said that. Why would you say that?
ZELIZER: And that's risky for the president. Look, if he loses parts of the Republican base, meaning Wall Street and the business community, they can counteract some of that quote-unquote populist appeal. So those are the kinds of risks, politically, that can unfold beyond the actual economic --
ROMANS: The president -- the Treasury from Cabo San Lucas calling the --
JOHNS: Right.
ROMANS: -- fat cat bank CEOs.
JOHNS: Mexico.
ROMANS: I mean, I don't know. I mean --
ZELIZER: Right, the opposite of populist.
ROMANS: Yes. The government shutdown -- time to come home.
JOHNS: Right.
ROMANS: All right, thanks. Nice to see you, Julian Zelizer.
JOHNS: All right.
ZELIZER: Thank you.
JOHNS: CNN has learned that President Trump has vented to acting attorney general Matt Whitaker at least twice in the last few weeks about the explosive revelations in the Michael Cohen case. Sources say the president is frustrated prosecutors overseen by Whitaker filed charges that made Trump look bad.
Cohen pleaded guilty to crimes he said he committed at the president's direction.
None of our sources say the president ordered Whitaker to stop the Mueller probe or anything like that.
ROMANS: The conversations highlight how convinced the president is that the attorney general should serve as his personal protector. Important to note, this is not just Mr. Trump venting about looking bad. This is the President of the United States confronting the nation's top law enforcement officer about a case in which he has been implicated.
The president's actual lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, could not confirm the conversations with Whitaker but he said the president does view federal prosecutors in New York as out of control.
JOHNS: Nearly 300 people, including some beachside concertgoers, wiped away by a tsunami that hit Indonesia without warning. Overnight, the government ordered equipment to detect tsunamis earlier.
We're going to have a live report coming up, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:47:07] JOHNS: Authorities are warning more deadly tsunamis could strike the Indonesian coastline in the coming days. The volcano which triggered the weekend's devastating wave continues to erupt. At least 281 people dead and 1,000 injured -- 11,000 people displaced.
The tsunami struck without warning Saturday night. Caught on camera, a massive wave crashing down on a crowd at a pop concert. Here is the band's lead singer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIEFIAN FAJARSYAH, LEADER SINGER, SEVENTEEN BAND (through translator): I just wanted to say that our bass player, Bani, and our manager Oki Wijaya passed away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: CNN's Ivan Watson live in Hong Kong with the very latest. Ivan, what is the latest?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there Joe.
Well, that singer also went on to say that not only had two members of the band and the entourage been killed, but also three other band members were missing, as well as his wife whose birthday was on Sunday.
Now, the efforts underway are complicated by the fact that there are fears that there could be another tsunami because this one is believed to have been triggered by the volcanic eruption of Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatoa) -- this volcanic island where you have Indonesian authorities saying that there was a massive landslide -- a collapse of one of the slopes there that lost some 64 square hectares -- 158 acres of that slope plunging into the sea on Saturday believed to have caused the tsunami, which was exacerbated by a full moon and a high tide.
The Indonesian president is calling for more early warning systems for tsunamis, part of the problem being that the existing system is for waves that are -- that begin much further out a sea. So triggered by earthquakes, not volcanoes that are closer to land.
But also, much of that system, we're hearing, has not been operating since 2012 even though there was another deadly tsunami just last September after an earthquake in another part of Indonesia that killed at least 2,000 people.
So the fears are compounding the rescue efforts and the efforts to remove some of the debris from this deadly natural disaster on what's supposed to be a holiday weekend -- Joe.
JOHNS: Thanks so much for that. Ivan Watson from Hong Kong.
ROMANS: All right, watching global markets after that terrible week on Wall Street.
In Asia, markets mostly lower. On Wall Street -- London and Paris have opened down. Frankfurt is up a bit. On Wall Street, futures are higher.
Now, it was a rough week for stocks, the worst in a decade for the Dow. Here is the damage report.
The Dow fell 6.9 percent, the worst week since October 2008. The S&P 500 lost 7.1 percent, the worst week since August 2011. The Nasdaq, 8.4 percent, worst week since November 2008. The Nasdaq now officially in a bear market, folks.
[05:50:10] U.S. markets close today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. They will be closed tomorrow for the Christmas holiday.
We are in the home stretch of what has been a strong holiday shopping season -- really, the strongest in years. Data from Adobe Analytics and the National Retail Federation show Americans are buying everything from T.V.s to toys, to clothes. According to the latest data from the Commerce Department, retail sales increased 4.2 percent last month.
Consumer confidence is high, wages are ticking up, shoppers are spending. But the big question is will it last, at least at this pace. Investors are nervous about the U.S.-China trade war and a slowdown in markets overseas.
We know they are spending big at the box office. The king of Atlantis won the weekend, beating out a transformer and a magical nanny.
"Aquaman," the latest D.C. superhero film, scored a $67.4 million 3- day weekend in North America.
"Mary Poppins" from Disney -- "Mary Poppins Returns" -- it really was wonderful. It took second place in the weekend box office -- a $22.2 million haul there.
And rounding out the top three, Paramount's "Bumblebee" with $21 million.
The big three films this weekend helped keep a strong box office moving along. Hollywood will end the year on a high note next weekend with box office up 7 1/2 percent over the last year. Spending money --
JOHNS: Right.
ROMANS: -- on movies.
JOHNS: I tell you what, though, you got me wondering when it's time to start bargain hunting on Wall Street.
ROMANS: Ah. You know, they're pricing in a recession next year but the economy is still strong. So if there's not recession next year, that means right now is the time to buy stocks, you know? Bargain hunting.
JOHNS: All right. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:56:02] ROMANS: A tragic end to a story we told you about last week. A Congolese boy who traveled to the United States to have a tumor removed from his face, he has died. The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, created by the former NBA player, said Matadi Sela Petit suffered a rare genetic reaction to anesthesia.
No specialists in the Congo could treat the tumor.
JOHNS: Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas rescued two fishermen Thursday after almost a month at sea. They were out of fuel, low on fresh water, and surviving off fish they managed to catch.
The cruise ship spotted them halfway between Grand Cayman and Jamaica. The ship was only there because it was rerouted due to bad weather.
The fishermen were given water, medical attention, and $300 to buy clothes and food.
ROMANS: Christmas is a good time to remember U.S. service members stationed around the world. A lucky few get to come home for the holidays. Grab the Kleenex. Here's Polo Sandoval.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A visit to Santa Claus --
SANTA CLAUS: So, what would you like for Christmas?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For my dad to come home.
SANTA CLAUS: Oh.
SANDOVAL: -- turned into a special delivery for these two Minnesota sisters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy!
SANDOVAL: Their father, a soldier stationed in Kuwait, surprised his daughters just in time for Christmas.
It's among the many emotional reunions caught on camera between military members and their families this holiday season.
A Wisconsin boy's older brother serving in the Army --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's your brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up, buddy?
SANDOVAL: -- surprised him at school with a big hug after five months apart. The soldier then marched down the hall to his other sister and brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It made me feel warm inside.
SANDOVAL: In this viral video, a little boy presented with a large Christmas gift.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think it is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I don't even have an idea yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think you're going to like it.
SANDOVAL: Inside the box, a loved one in military fatigues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
SANDOVAL: The person who posted this wrote, "My nephew got to unwrap the only Christmas gift he asked for a few days early."
A small army of family members kept this airman from even getting through the door in Sacramento.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the hey?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surprise.
SANDOVAL: And finally, at a Christmas choir concert in Indianapolis, an unexpected interruption.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miss Avery Hinton, you have a present under the tree.
SANDOVAL: It led to a mother serving in the Navy embracing her daughter just in time for Christmas.
AVERY HINTON, MOTHER HOME FOR CHRISTMAS: It's been a really long year and so many things have happened, and I just missed her so much. And it just makes this Christmas extra special for surprising me.
SANDOVAL: For some of these service members another deployment could be next. But for now, the current marching orders include being home for the holidays.
Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Oh, a reminder of their service and the service of their families who have to go without them for so long. Thank you, everyone.
Merry Christmas to all of you. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
JOHNS: And I'm Joe Johns. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: President Trump, if you want to open the government you must abandon the wall.
MULVANEY: It's very possible that this shutdown will go into the new Congress.
SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: This is a made-up fight so the president can look like he's fighting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president is really being petulant. He's going to be a tough act to follow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president deserves somebody that can advise him with his trust.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is looking for yes men in the job. This is, obviously, not normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, December 24th, 6:00 here in New York.
Alisyn and John are off on this Christmas Eve, so John Avlon and I are taking the reins.
JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR: Buckle up.
HILL: Buckle up because it is quite a Christmas Eve.
As we enter into day three of the partial government shutdown, negotiations between the White House and Senate Democrats appear stalled, with both sides digging in over funding for President Trump's border wall. The Trump administration now warning the shutdown could last into the new year.
