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President Trump Airs Grievances On Christmas Day; Kevin Spacey Posts Bizarre Video As He Faces Indecent Assault And Battery Charges; Chicago Women's March Canceled Amid Anti-Semitism Controversy; Biggest Entertainment Headlines Of 2018. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 26, 2018 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:32:18] ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump getting political again on a holiday call with troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As soon as I said I want to build the wall they were all against it.

Take Comey. Everybody hated Comey. They thought he did a horrible job. The Democrats hated him. And once I fired him, everybody said oh, why did you fire him, why did you fire him?

It's a disgrace what's happening in our country. But other than that, I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Other than that, Merry Christmas.

All of this, of course, coming as the president's Defense Sec. James Mattis is being forced out next week after he resigned in protest of Mr. Trump's sudden announcement U.S. troops would be leaving Syria.

A senior administration official telling CNN's Jim Sciutto national security decision-making has, quote, "basically, stopped working." Also noting, decisions are, quote, "made on a whim on phone calls."

Joining us now, Bob Woodward, who is the author of the best-selling book, "Fear" on the Trump presidency. Always good to have you with us.

I'm just curious, Bob, given everything we've seen over the last couple of days and heard from the president, have you heard any more from these insiders who you spoke with for the book?

BOB WOODWARD, AUTHOR, FEAR: TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE", ASSOCIATE EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, first of all, I think we're at a moment where grave damage is being done to the economy and to national security. And I was looking at some old files going back to the Clinton

administration when Bill Clinton was president, starting out -- and he was very worried about what the Federal Reserve was going to do in terms of interest rates increases like President Trump is now. And what Clinton and his Treasury secretary Lloyd Bentsen did, they made a deal -- quite an amazing deal.

I have a tape interviewing Lloyd Bentsen when he was Treasury secretary and he explicitly said they made a deal that the Fed would not raise interest rates if Clinton cut the deficit, and it actually worked.

So I think there's an opening here where you could perhaps extinguish or at least diminish the tension between Trump and the -- and the Fed -- the new Fed chairman, Jay Powell. And, Trump may think he can break the Fed. I don't think he can.

HILL: I'm not sure the best way to make that deal either is to continually bash the Fed on Twitter. It's so interesting --

WOODWARD: Yes.

[07:35:00] HILL: -- to see how that would work out moving forward.

And as we're hearing, too, from our own reporting that the president may not be very happy with Sec. Mnuchin at this point despite his efforts to try to smooth things over, as we saw. That only helped to spook the markets on Monday.

When we look at what's playing out now in the White House -- whether we could end up seeing a deal in that arena or not -- it's hard not to think about who's left, right?

So, with Sec. Mattis leaving and with every other vacancy we've seen, the people now in acting positions, and with our reporting from Jim Sciutto about decisions just being made on a whim, what are you hearing from people about what is actually happening inside the West Wing?

WOODWARD: Well, we -- it's a governing crisis.

You have the exit of Mattis, which is a tragedy for the country, a tragedy for President Trump. Mattis was able to thread the needle and try to make his points and, quite frankly, educate President Trump on some of these issues. And so, the departure of him is something that is, I think, going down in the history books.

But what -- I'm sorry to go back to this idea of a deal --

HILL: Yes.

WOODWARD: -- but this is the only way you get out of the mess we're in. And in a traditional deal, it's one for you, one for me. People are going to have to give up some of the things that they hold dear.

Now, President Trump is obsessed with the wall -- wants $5 billion. The Democrats say they're not going to give it to him. Unfortunately, Trump probably is not going to give on that. The amount of money, $5 billion, is not much.

And I'm sorry to go back 25 years ago when Greenspan, who was the Fed chairman, and Lloyd Bentsen, the Treasury secretary made this deal, it was we're going to cut the deficit $140 billion. And that was enough to cause the Federal Reserve to reach this gentlemen's agreement.

HILL: Yes.

WOODWARD: So if we're just going to have the situation that we're in right now, Trump is not inclined to give, the Democrats are not inclined to give, there's a government shutdown. Somebody has to be brave and say let's sit down and talk.

I see "The Wall Street Journal," this morning, is asking the question have there been, traditionally, meetings between presidents and chairmen of --

HILL: Yes.

WOODWARD: -- the Federal Reserve? And the answer is yes.

Clinton met with Greenspan all the time and they worked things out. Everybody got part of what they wanted, but not all.

HILL: It will be interesting to see if, perhaps, history could serve as a lesson for this administration whether we can see that meeting or whether there could be a gentlemen's agreement. A lot of questions up in the air, especially when you have those heels being dug in so deeply.

I just want to go back, though, to ask you about -- as you laid out so well in your -- in your book and so much of what we saw -- I mean, even from the beginning. Gary Cohn snatching papers off of the president's desk, in his words, in the interest of national security.

Who has reached out to you? Who have you reached out to -- you're still hearing from people inside this White House -- inside this administration?

WOODWARD: Well, it's a governing crisis and your reporting shows that. If they're sitting around making decisions on the president's whim, which is exactly what I show in the book time and time again -- and Gary Cohn, who was the chief economic adviser in the White House to Trump, former president of Goldman Sachs, and Gen. Mattis had an alliance.

Let's keep really bad things from happening.

HILL: Yes.

WOODWARD: They are both gone now --

HILL: It's --

WOODWARD: -- and so, we better face the reality.

This is a -- this is a dangerous time. This is not just another government shutdown or another example of this impasse. It is something people better think about --

HILL: It's something new.

WOODWARD: Well, it is something --

HILL: It is uncharted territory in many ways, which makes me wonder about an op-ed in "The New York Times" back in September -- anonymous -- in which this person wrote that they're working diligently to frustrate parts of the president's agenda and his worst inclinations.

[07:40:02] "The New York Times" opinion columnist, Bret Stephens, responding on Friday, saying, hey look, if this is what you're trying to do, it's not working.

Do you believe a) anonymous is still working in this White House, and b) if so, any sense of who it may be and whether they have some influence?

WOODWARD: I don't know the answer to that question.

But you -- I'm sorry to back to Mattis, but Mattis --

HILL: Yes.

WOODWARD: -- is, in many ways, the key to this.

He was the one who took Trump to the Pentagon in 2017 and sat him down and said look, the basis of the United States' strength in the world are these trade agreements, the security agreements like NATO, and the top secret intelligence partnerships. Trump's response was it's all B.S.

Well, it's not. You can't -- if you have to live in the house -- and we all are living in the house of Trump, in many ways -- you can't burn it down. Yes, Trump's going to change some things -- fine. But he needs to absorb that lesson and everything we're seeing now is he is not.

HILL: Yes.

WOODWARD: And, Mattis is gone, Gary Cohn is gone. The new regime, I don't think quite has that clout, frankly.

And who is going to be the Defense secretary?

HILL: That is a --

WOODWARD: Critical decision.

HILL: That is a major question. And --

WOODWARD: Major question. HILL: -- will that person be able to get through to the president, also very important. We know --

WOODWARD: And now the -- if I may, the president has nominated Bill Barr to be attorney general.

HILL: Attorney general.

WOODWARD: Barr was attorney general for Bush, Sr. You talk to people -- and I did work on this at the time. You might disagree with our -- a number of the legal analyses he made but he was a strong attorney general. He has kind of a spine which he demonstrated many times when he was there.

So you've to kind of open the government, do something about the wall, do something about the relationship between the president and the Federal Reserve chairman.

HILL: Yes.

WOODWARD: You need to get a new attorney general confirmed. And then, get a new secretary of Defense confirmed.

So there are these five issues --

HILL: There are --

WOODWARD: -- right at the table --

HILL: Major issues to take care of as we head into this new year in this new Congress.

WOODWARD: And, you know, we're going to --

HILL: Bob, I'm sorry to cut you off but we are out of time.

WOODWARD: No.

HILL: But always appreciate your insight --

WOODWARD: Thank you.

HILL: -- and to have you with us this morning. Thank you.

WOODWARD: Thank you.

JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Kevin Spacey facing criminal charges over an alleged sexual assault on the same day that he posted a bizarre new video. Is it performance art, fan fiction or a cry for help? You be the judge. We'll bring it to you, next.

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[07:46:55] AVLON: Actor Kevin Spacey faces arraignment next month on indecent assault and battery charges for allegedly assaulting an 18- year-old in July of 2016. Spacey posted a bizarre video on the same day this news broke titled, "Let Me Be Frank," playing off his former "HOUSE OF CARDS" character, Frank Underwood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: You wouldn't believe the worst without evidence, would you? You wouldn't rush to judgments without facts, would you? Did you?

If I didn't pay the price for the things we both know I did do, I'm certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn't do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: This is the embattled actor's first public comments in more than a year after a series of misconduct allegations.

HILL: The Women's March slated for Chicago next month canceled despite attracting hundreds of thousands to Grant Park the past two years. Organizers say the upcoming event was scrapped because of high costs and a volunteer shortage.

It also comes as the movement's national founders are facing increased scrutiny over allegations of anti-Semitism and their connections to Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan.

The march is still a go in Washington and in other cities across the globe. It is set for January 19th.

AVLON: Baseball player Brady Singer, who was drafted this year by the Kansas City Royals, just threw one right down the middle for Christmas. Fresh off receiving a $4 million signing bonus, the pitcher bought his parents a gift that could easily score him first bout entry into the gift-giving hall of fame.

He's posted the video of his mother reading the card on Twitter, thanking them for all they sacrificed helping him play baseball.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUELYN SINGER, KANSAS CITY ROYALS PITCHER BRADY SINGER'S MOTHER: The money you both spent on traveling, gear, hotel, food, and all those Gatorades I drank is much more than I could ever give you, but there is something I want to give to you.

I am paying off the loan from the bank. Also, I paid off all your debt, as well. What?

Now, instead of trying to save money every weekend to replace the savings account you drained on traveling to see me play baseball, you can spend it on yourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: Singer paid off all his parents' debts. His letter concludes, "Your giving hearts helped to shape my tiny dream into a reality."

HILL: That is my favorite story. It's just fantastic.

AVLON: Something in my eye.

HILL: A big year in entertainment. Ariana Grande getting personal, Kanye West getting political, and Prince Harry got hitched. A look back at the big moments of 2018 is next.

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[07:53:04] HILL: From the royal wedding to the Time's Up movement, and Kanye West's bizarre Oval Office meeting, CNN's Nischelle Turner takes a look back at some of this year's biggest entertainment headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSEANNE BARR, ACTRESS, "ROSEANNE": Jackie, would you like to take a knee?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN ENTERTAINMENT AND NEW DAY (voice-over): A T.V. star booted off her own show, getting crazy rich at the box office, and Kanye's White House bromance.

TURNER (on camera): Here's a look at the top entertainment newsmakers in 2018.

TURNER (voice-over): Number eight, Ariana Grande, "Thank You, Next." The lyrics say it all. Ariana Grande's newest single is a deeply personal look back at 2018, a year filled with young love, break-ups, and heartache. But, "Thank You, Next" capped off, she says, one of the best years of her career and the fans agree.

Ariana's fourth album, "Sweetener" skyrocketed to the number one spot on the Billboard charts. On Spotify, she broke the global record for the biggest opening week by a female artist, and her star-studded music video became the most-watched premiere on YouTube.

Number seven, pay inequality in Hollywood. Hollywood fights to close the gender pay gap.

At the Golden Globes, stars wore black to support the Time's Up movement and raise awareness on issues like pay inequality.

RACHEL BROSNAHAN, ACTRESS, "THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL": We are here standing in solidarity with women everywhere.

TURNER: This came on the heels of an announcement from E! News host Catt Sadler who says she left the network after learning her male co- host was making nearly double her salary.

Just days later, we learned Michelle Williams was paid $1,000 to reshoot scenes from "All the Money in the World," while co-star Mark Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million. Wahlberg pledged support for Williams, donating the entire sum of his payment to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.

[07:55:00] ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN "AC 360": Tonight, Bill Cosby, once nicknamed "America's Dad," is convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

TURNER: Number six, Cosby and Weinstein's woes. America's dad behind bars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Cosby, any comment, sir?

TURNER: Bill Cosby was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home, sentenced up to 10 years in prison, and will be classified as a sexually violent predator for life.

Cosby's case was the first celebrity sexual assault trial, conviction, and sentencing since the start of the #MeToo movement.

But another industry heavyweight, Harvey Weinstein, was arrested and charged with rape and sex abuse from incidents dating back to 2004. He faces dozens of additional accusations but denies all allegations of, quote, "non-consensual sex." Investigations are underway in the U.S. and abroad.

Number five, Kimye boards the Trump train. Kim and Kanye got head first into politics.

First up, Kim's plea for President Trump to commute the sentence of first-time, non-violent drug offender Alice Johnson. After a trip to the White House and some words of advocacy on Twitter, Trump commuted Johnson's sentence and she was freed from prison after serving 21 years.

Meanwhile, Kanye's bromance with the president flourished.

KANYE WEST, RAPPER: I love this guy right here.

TURNER: They've admired each other since 2014 but Yeezy sealed the deal during a bizarre visit with the president to discuss prison reform. The wild antics went on and on, leaving Trump speechless.

TRUMP: That was quite something.

TURNER: Number four, Aretha Franklin dies.

ARETHA FRANKLIN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Respect."

TURNER: Saying goodbye to a legend. Aretha Franklin died at her home in Detroit from pancreatic cancer in August. In the wake of her death, thousands of well-wishers lined the streets to honor her life and career.

And her famous fans were just as sorry to say goodbye -- from Stevie Wonder to Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande, and also Smokey Robinson. It was a tribute fit for a queen.

Aretha Franklin was 76 years old. BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR, "NEWSROOM": Breaking news in the world of entertainment. The top-rated television comedy of the year is now canceled.

TURNER: Number three, Roseanne's reboot drama. The show was booted off ABC in May after the show's star made racist comments about former White House aide Valerie Jarrett on Twitter.

And as they say in Hollywood, the show must go on. Just months later, the network announced the show would return without its namesake as "The Conners."

EMMA KENNEY, ACTRESS, ABC "THE CONNERS": Do we have to keep talking about death all the time? It just keeps reminding me of grandma.

TURNER: The spinoff, which chronicles life after the sudden death of Roseanne Conner, premiered to 10.5 million viewers. That's down 35 percent from the original reboot.

ANGELA BASSETT, ACTRESS, "BLACK PANTHER": My son, it is your time.

TURNER: Number two, box office diversity. Diversity ruled at the box office.

Marvel's "Black Panther" smashed records, bringing in over $1.3 billion worldwide. Starring a mostly-black cast and helmed by a black director, this superhero flick resonated with theatergoers everywhere.

CONSTANCE WU, ACTRESS, CRAZY RICH ASIANS: So your family is rich?

HENRY GOLDING, ACTOR, CRAZY RICH ASIANS: We're comfortable.

WU: That is exactly what a superrich person would say.

TURNER: And social media favorite "Crazy Rich Asians" exceeded industry expectations, making over $237 million globally. It's the first major studio film to feature a predominantly Asian cast since "The Joy Luck Club."

But, that's not all. Ticket sales show the rom-com became the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the U.S. in 10 years.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The countdown to the royal wedding is very nearly over, Don.

TURNER: And number one, a royal wedding. A storybook wedding for Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle. The royal couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle. The dress, the ring, the fashion, and the fascinators -- and, of course, the queen and the princess.

No royal wedding is complete without a star-studded guest list. George and Amal Clooney, Serena Williams, Oprah, and the Beckhams.

But the Duke and Duchess had even more happy news to share. A royal baby's on the way, due in 2019. TURNER (on camera): Well, the year did end clouded in controversy.

Kevin Hart stepped down as the host of the Oscars after homophobic tweets from his past surfaced online. So the question is, who's going to step in? Well, we will find out very soon.

Nischelle Turner for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AVLON: All right.

HILL: It's hard to believe some of that stuff was actually not that long ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago.

AVLON: It's dog ears now.

HILL: Yes.

AVLON: But, actually, kind of a fascinating year.

HILL: It is a lot to look at.

AVLON: After Roseanne.

HILL: And I know you're really excited that there's another royal baby on the way. Big, big fan of the royal family, this one, so that will be in the 2019 edition.

AVLON: Yes. I thought -- I thought we won that war -- you know. Oh well, best wishes to everybody.

And we are following a lot of news so let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Customs and Border Protection is saying an 8-year-old boy has died while in their custody.

VERONICA ESCOBAR (D), CONGRESSWOMAN-ELECT, TEXAS: These tragedies are happening because Congress and the administration have not adequately provided resources.