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Trump Recognizes Venezuelan Opposition Leaders As Nation's President; Trump Meets With Conservative Leaders On Immigration Proposal; Baltimore Humane Society Helps Federal Workers With Pets. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 24, 2019 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] IAN BREMMER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, TIME: -- right I mean, yes, there are the security around that would that protects them but nothing compared to the Venezuelan Military. And I certainly don't believe that we're about to, you know, send the troops in to defend them.

So, the question will be if there is a stand-off -- the question will be are they -- does the Venezuelan Government, Maduro say you have to leave or else. If we pull them out, we probably also have to take some escalatory measures against Venezuela.

So, for example, freezing their downstream assets in the United States, CITGO which would be a pretty significant move maybe cutting off the oil that they send here a lot, less oil than they used to because the economy has collapsed.

But let's recognize the situation for the people in Venezuela here is worse than far less. We have almost two million refugees that left that country in the last year, about 3.5 million since Maduro actually took power.

The most depressing statistic that I have heard, I think in the last 12 months that the average Venezuelan in 2018 lost something like 17 pounds of weight because they can't get food because they spending all.

So, I mean, this economy is collapsing under the authoritarian rule of Maduro. If we stand by and do nothing, there will be a lot more refugees. This is becoming a crisis for other countries in the region that are housing all of these people. So, it's not as if we can ignore it and it goes away. All right, it's getting worse.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's really interesting when you look at the list of countries when you put this up of countries that have now recognized Guaido as the legitimate president of that country.

BREMMER: Right.

BERMAN: The two names that pop out are the United States and Canada which, obviously, yes, it's a traditional ally. But, President Trump and President Trudeau haven't seen eye to eye on a lot of things here. Why is the United States part of a international coalition of sorts here where in other areas the U.S. is pulling back? BREMMER: Well, look, I mean in the case of the United States it's made easier by the fact that Maduro, you know, a chavista leader is a raving leftist, right. And so Trump and those that support him have a much easier time going after him. Marco Rubio, for example, like you know, has been calling for this kind of measure for a long time.

In the case of Canada it's a human rights issue. That's not going to do with left to right. It's these people are suffering, we need to stand up for them. I mean, you wouldn't see the Americans and the Canadians on the same page in terms of how they talk about Putin, or how they talk about Ukraine, how they talk about China.

But, I will say one thing, the Russians and the Chinese are on the same page on Venezuela, it's the wrong page. They're the ones that have been welcoming Maduro. They could care less but the people are suffering on the ground and they continue to provide him a lifeline in terms of credit and investment which means that he has a better shot sticking around. And the real fight here is about the military in Venezuela.

If they feel like, they're going to go down with the Maduro ship, you'll start to see them peel off. And say, no, we're not going to follow orders when you tell us to harshly repressed the people they're demonstrating. We're not going to go and support your regime. There was and just a few days ago a National Guard revolt that was put down and it didn't have anyone seen here but that's the kind of thing we haven't seen before. And this message from the Americans, the Canadians, the Colombians, the Brazilians, the pretty strong message that the military in Venezuela that Maduro really shouldn't be your guy.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And let's talk about Juan Guaido, the opposition leader. Things don't know was end well for the opposition in Venezuela and so what do we know about him?

BREMMER: We know that he was picked as a rotating president for the assembly and the opposition is very fragmented in Venezuela. The fact that they have gone behind one person for now is useful. But, I mean, if Maduro is gone I would not in any way presume that the leader of the opposition, the person that actually gets to take power.

BERMAN: It could be a way for Lopez who is in prison now. Who knows?

BREMMER: Or example the former mayor, yes.

BERMAN: Your job is to assess risk. Do you think there is a risk in the next few days or how high is the risk of this becoming some kind of an armed conflict or some situation where the United States would have to step in?

BREMMER: I think it is inconceivable that the Americans would have to step in.

BERMAN: OK.

BREMMER: I think that absent Mattis as Secretary of Defense it is certainly more plausible that we could get ourselves into a military conflict with Venezuela that could escalate in ways that we don't like.

But, let's be clear. If you asked right now over the next three months, who do you expect still be running Venezuela? It's Maduro. Because, no I think the way this play out unless we make big mistakes is that the pressure increases and over time you start to see more of the military peel off.

But, you know, a lot of people that have left Venezuela, those are some of the people that could have been opposition against Maduro. They're also people that are sending remittances back to their Venezuelan relatives and friends that otherwise are starving. And, you know, perversely, that gives the regime a longer period of time because it's not absolute as bad as it could have been.

[08:35:05] CAMEROTA: You know, that President Trump a year ago, year and a half ago had talked about military intervention.

BREMMER: The military intervention. Yes, but he said that there were plans and then he was contradicted by people in the Defense Department that said that there was no such planning. It's not as if Trump is in the weeds politically on this issue.

Again, I think yesterday's move by the U.S. was the right move. But, I would be stunned if there was an active military plan that was being considered at this point for the U.S. and Venezuela.

BERMAN: Ian Bremmer, great to have you on set to help us understand.

BREMMER: Always appreciated.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

BERMAN: We have more news just ahead.

CAMEROTA: First a remarkable true story about triplets separated at birth. Here is a look at "Three Identical Strangers".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I tell people my story, they don't believe it. But it's true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've always thought what would it be like if you turned the corner one day and you saw yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first time the boys met, the three together, it was a miracle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was nothing that could keep us apart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when things kind of got funky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something was just not right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to know the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was always a question mark.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The parents have never been told.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to conceal what they did from the people they did it to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is just so much that we don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How could you not tell us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Three Identical Strangers" Sunday at 9:00 eastern on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:40] BERMAN: So a new miniseries on TNT, "I Am the Night" tells the gripping story of a girl investigating her past. But, she soon discovers that the family that gave her away may have a possible connection to the infamous unsolved Black Dahlia Murder.

Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All my life people looked at me -- teachers, strangers. I found out I was adopted. That's why I left. I guess I just want to know where I come from. Who I am.

Are you the one that wrote that article for the Los Angeles Examiner?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got some more information about that trial that you might be interested in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. Joining us now is Patty Jenkins. She is the executive producer of the miniseries and directed two episodes. In my house she's also known as the Director of "One Woman".

CAMEROTA: Ours as well.

BERMAN: Thank you very much for being here.

PATTY JENKINS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "I AM THE NIGHT": Thank you.

BERMAN: I have to say, you know, I watch a lot of basketball on TNT. So, I have seen the ads, the previews for, it looks so compelling and gripping. JENKINS: Oh, good.

BERMAN: And this all came from someone who is a friend of yours. A conversation that you had with a friend, who's Fauna Hodel?

JENKINS: Yes, she became a friend. It initially started with her someone saying you have to hear this woman's story. And I'm sure you all experienced that everybody in the entertainment industry has people pitching them things all the time.

So, whatever reason I sat down with her and you're kind of like, oh, this is cool. Let's hear about your story. But, what she told me just blew my mind. And it's an unbelievable story. It's very dark. There's all kind of different, bizarre chapters to it.

But, I couldn't stop thinking about it. And so I tried to make a limited series some years ago didn't happen and then all these years later I finally gotten the chance.

CAMEROTA: Well give us a little taste. What was the most gripping about it to you? I mean "The Black Dahlia" connection as we said.

JENKINS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And so what was, I mean, because you hear stories all the time. What was it about this one?

JENKINS: Yes. So here's a young black woman who grows up in Reno, Nevada and thinks that she's just like everyone else. And everybody keeps asking why she has these blue eyes.

She keep saying, "I don't -- one day my skin will darken, so I hear". What she ends up discovering about herself when she starts to dig into it and finds her birth certificate is that everything that she believes about herself is incorrect. She was actually given to someone in a gas station bathroom. And it's the craziest story in the world and what she discovered about herself is like one chapter after another leads down this incredibly bizarre road.

BERMAN: Chris Pine, who was in Wonder Woman, also people know from Star Trek.

JENKINS: Yes.

BERMAN: You told him about the story just in passing.

JENKINS: Yes.

BERMAN: But he decided he had to be a part of it.

JENKINS: Yes. He at first he was saying, are you crazy? You have to try to do that again. And at the same time Fauna had other people wanting to do her story so I was trying to help with her with whatever contract she might do and saying I'm too busy to do it, but someone should do it. And then it just came together that my husband is a great writer and said, wait a minute there's a -- let me fiddle around with this and what he wrote was astounding. And so Chris and I said, now we really want to do it and so we tried to fit it in between movies.

CAMEROTA: Wow, (INAUDIBLE) movies like say "Wonder Woman".

JENKINS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And so that the next one is coming out next year.

JENKINS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And so have you been surprised by how much that took the country and world by storm?

JENKINS: Yes. Yes, I really was here hoping for I -- you know, you're always doing a little bit of a Trojan horse where you're like, I'm aiming to make it the greatest thing and have it transcend in certain ways. But, of course it will just be a superhero movie and it would, you know, it will do what it does for it to become a bit of a thing and, you know, and be something that touched people and moved people is incredible.

BERMAN: So, back again to the series on TNT which we're going to start seeing very soon. What do you want people to take out of the miniseries?

JENKINS: You know, I think we've all told stories for so many years because they are so interesting to see what people are capable of. But what -- and this is a true one. So it's riveting in that way.

[08:45:01] But this character who was at the center of it Fauna Hodel and her fortitude and positivity throughout the course of the series of discoveries is really resonant right now with identity. I think, so many people are talking about what are these defining things mean to us about are you this or that? Am I a woman director, or a director, whatever? And I think she was such a wonderful and successful positive light.

So, I think that just the story -- I hope it comes off as incredible as it was when I heard it. And I hope everybody enjoys it and enjoys that part of it.

CAMEROTA: Patty Jenkins, great to talk to you.

JENKINS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Congratulations on all the success.

JENKINS: Thank you. So happy to be here.

BERMAN: Great to meet you.

JENKINS: You too.

CAMEROTA: All right. So it's called, "I Am the Night" and it premieres this Monday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT. Don't miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The President held a closed door meeting with conservative leaders to talk about the government shutdown and immigration. Joining me now is someone who was there, Ken Cuccinelli, he is the President of the Senate Conservatives Fund.

[08:50:05] Ken thank you so much for being with us and bearing with some technical difficulties. Look, this meeting that you had with the President happened before he made the concession to Nancy Pelosi that he would not deliver the State of the Union on Tuesday in the House Chamber. Did you see that coming?

KEN CUCCINELLI, CNN LEGAL AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, no. But I don't really consider it a concession. She has the right to block his access to the Chamber.

It was just in a day when we were meeting with the President about the shutdown it seemed an incredibly petty act for her to take when the State of the Union is, of course, founded as a constitutional requirement and has such a long tradition and all it is communication. Nothing legal is accomplished.

BERMAN: Right.

CUCCINELLI: So, it seemed very petty on a day when I think you probably just lost me --

BERMAN: No, I still I have you.

CUCCINELLI: I can't hear you. But you might be able to hear me.

BERMAN: If you're still hearing me --

CUCCINELLI: On a day when the shutdown reached a new record in length.

BERMAN: OK.

CUCCINELLI: And of course the conservatives, we were happy to hear the President standing tall in support of border wall funding which we have been denied year in, year out despite bipartisan put forward.

BERMAN: My question, if you can hear me --

CUCCINELLI: Very happy leaving that meeting. Sorry to see Nancy Pelosi's pettiness. And I hope we get this resolved soon especially as someone who lives in Northern Virginia. And many of my neighbors are wondering when they're going to get back to work.

BERMAN: It's not 100 percent clear that you can hear me, Ken Cuccinelli, if you can in fact hear me, I will ask -- I will move on to another question here. I fear we are going to lose you. There we go. By that smile, you are hearing me.

CUCCINELLI: OK. Yes, I got you.

BERMAN: Was there a message you wanted to deliver to the President? Because of course Ann Coulter, who I don't believe was there has said that the President's proposal for a three-year reprieve for DREAMERS, she thinks that it's too much that's amnesty. Have you told the President that there is only so far he can go?

CUCCINELLI: Yes. One of the things I was encouraged by was the really the unbroken position of people from all sorts of different conservative organizations who said more or less the same thing. Look, Mr. President, and we have been let down on this issue by our own leadership before the President got to Washington more times than anyone can count in. For anybody who is not a conservative they should understand the hair trigger paranoia of conservatives on this issue. There's literally nothing we have been lied to more on by both sides of the aisle than the immigration issue.

So, there's a great sensitivity. And in that room, I and others all encouraged the President to hold his ground on the wall. There was mixed feelings about the temporary three-year reprieve that he announced on Saturday.

But, one thing that is very, very clear that I hear responses from ordinary Americans on is that only one side has shown any willingness to substantively compromise and that's the President which also makes Nancy Pelosi's pettiness yesterday about the State of the Union, look all the worse when she's also saying not one penny and for many things that her caucus and Chuck Schumer's caucus have voted for before. So, it really seems like they're just doing is to deny the President bill.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: If you can hear me just two points again.

CUCCINELLI: Yes, I can.

BERMAN: Number one exact question to you on DACA recipients and DREAMERS is would you support any deal that provides protections for them? Three years, beyond three years.

CUCCINELLI: Well what the President said on Saturday, Senate Conservative Fund, we can live with that. Do I like that part? Of course I don't.

BERMAN: OK.

CUCCINELLI: That's part of compromising governance.

BERMAN: And then -- that you say so --

CUCCINELLI: So, there are people in the conservative movement who can't though.

BERMAN: Right, but that much you would support. And as for what the Democrats have given or not given, but the Democrats say is we support 1.3 billion for border security, 1.6 for border security. There maybe a proposal on the table the next few hours for 4, 5 billion for border security.

Why wouldn't the President take that?

CUCCINELLI: Well, we've to see what he does and it also it depend on what else is involved with it. I mean, if it's a straight up, you know, we'll give you 4 billion instead of 5.7 billion depending on how far that gets us down the plan that the border patrol has laid out in terms of critical areas and critical needs great.

But, the other thing that a lot of us focused on in the room yesterday was that it can't just be this one-time occurrence. But this needs to be an ongoing process including the problems at the border that as you noted, the Democrats themselves have acknowledged they exists. They have admitted that. And at various points in time they have been willing to be supportive of addressing them.

So, those problems aren't going to go away. Nobody suggesting including the President yesterday that the border wall is some sort of silver bullet. There's a lot of problems that coincide at the border. We need to attack all them. But the barrier in certain high traffic area is an important piece of it.

[08:55:14] BERMAN: All right, Ken Cuccinelli, thank you for being with us bearing. It was not the easiest discussion --

CUCCINELLI: My pleasure.

BERMAN: -- with the technical challenges. And we do appreciate your time. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: I think he was faking not hearing you.

BERMAN: Do you think so?

CAMEROTA: For most of the part, yes. That's kind of what I do sometimes. What? Good Stuff, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: So time now for the good stuff. The Baltimore Humane Society is lending a hand to help furloughed federal workers. A local supermarket donated $10,000 to the shelters food bank to help those who cannot afford to feed their pets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want them to feel like, oh my gosh, I have to choose between buying pet food for my dog or giving it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That makes perfect sense. That is a really tough position that some people are in. So it was so nice that the Humane Society is doing that.

BERMAN: 800,000 federal workers miss a second paycheck this week. All right that is it for us, new developments in this shutdown battles. CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow begin now.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Very good Tuesday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Poppy Harlow.