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President Trump's News Conference; EPA Nominee Confirmed. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired February 17, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar in for Wolf Blitzer today.

We begin with breaking news this hour. We are now just moments away from President Donald Trump speaking live in South Carolina. And as soon as this event begins, we are going to bring you his remarks live.

President Trump actually just arrived in North Charleston about an hour ago and this is where he's meeting leaders and also workers at the Boeing aircraft company. And he'll be watching the debut rollout of Boeing's new wide body aircraft called the 787-10 Dreamliner.

We have CNN's Jason Carroll in North Charleston right now. And so, Jason, most of South Carolina, of course, went red in November. But where you are, Charleston County, did not. What has the president's reception been like so far there?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in this room, the reception has been very favorable. These are thousands of Boeing employees who have come to hear the president speak.

Outside, a short while ago, there were a number of protesters who were outside voicing their opposition to the president being here. But most of those here, inside the room, many of those who I've spoken to say they support the president.

And here's what's interesting about that, Brianna. Even those who I spoke to who support the president say -- one said he likes it best when the president, quote, "stays in his lane." And what he was referring to was jobs and economics here. And that's why so many are looking forward to him talking about the 787-10 made here in the United States.

And those supporters who are here in this room who are Boeing employees, after watching that press conference yesterday, they said that they did like it when they saw the president go after the media.

But what they like even more is when he encourages companies like Boeing, like Ford, like Harley-Davidson, whatever the case may be, encouraging their products to be made here in the United States.

Remember, it wasn't just that long ago when the president was at odds with Boeing, when he balked at that $4 billion price tag to have two Air Force Ones built here in the United States. He said that was too much. He tweeted out, he said, cancel order.

It was shortly thereafter that the CEO of the company, Dennis Muilenburg, later came out and said, look, maybe there is a way we can give taxpayers a break on that.

Dennis Muilenburg one of those greeting the president here in South Carolina today. Also, South Carolina's new governor who took over for Nikki Haley also greeting the president as well.

When I reached out to the governor officer's office, Governor Henry McMaster, he said he was very much looking forward to the president being here. That's what the office -- his office is saying.

A number of dignitaries here to meet the president. He should be speaking in just a few moments from now -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Jason Carroll. We'll keep an eye on that. We're going to bring those remarks live to our viewers once they start.

And all of this is coming as President Trump is searching for a new national security adviser to replace Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, after his latest choice turned him down. We are talking about Vice Admiral Bob Harward. He says that he rejected Mr. Trump's offer because he wouldn't be able to make the necessary commitments.

But then, a friend of Harward's offered a less nuanced reason. The friend telling CNN Harward said the White House was too chaotic and called the job offer a, quote, "expletive sandwich." I'm sure you can use your imagination and know what he really said there. We can't say that on T.V.

And Trump says that four people are now being considered. One of them is retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg. Another possibility is former CIA director and retired General David Petraeus.

And I want to talk about this and more with Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran. And he serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, thank you so much for bringing, kind of, these two areas of expertise to this conversation. Because the idea that you have a military man, like Harward, where service is so obviously important, serving the country, serving the president, that he turned down President Trump on this job offer. What does that say to you as some people are saying maybe this is part of the vote of no confidence in a way?

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R), ILLINOIS, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Well, it's really hard to tell. You know, you have the words from the friend and then you have the words from Harward, himself, who said, look, it's a time and family commitment issue. So, we don't really know why.

I think there's no doubt that after the departure of Flynn and everything that led up to that, the NSC is in a little bit of chaos. And so, I think it's incumbent on the administration now and the president to get somebody that can step in there. Find out where, you know, A, where leaks are coming from, where dysfunction is happening. But also, get the NSC together because this is a very important function for the president of the United States.

So, hopefully, we'll see some positive changes here pretty soon.

KEILAR: When you hear someone say it's a time and family issue, I mean, if I can make sort of an analogy, it's that being asked out on a date and saying, I can't, I'm washing my hair, right?

[13:05:02] KINZINGER: Yes.

KEILAR: I mean, this is sort of --

KINZINGER: I've been told that.

KEILAR: -- double speak for --

KINZINGER: I've been told that.

KEILAR: I would be surprised by that but that's very funny.

You -- is that how you read this, that this is just there's really some other reason like what his friend would have said?

KINZINGER: I don't want to confirm that that's the case because, obviously, I just don't know. That was -- truthfully, that was a little bit of my suspicion.

So, you look at, again, with the departure of Flynn, the questions that happened there. I think even Flynn's discussion, itself, with the Russians was improper but not necessarily illegal. But it was everything that followed after that, the cover up and everything else and the questions that were -- we have and we're finding out answers to.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if the general said, hey, look, I'm in a position right now. I may not be the best person to step into a bit of a chaotic situation and handle this. Or it literally could be he's got family stuff and he's just, like, it's not my time.

KEILAR: OK. But what about this idea that -- part of it is you have a number of Flynn acolytes who are still in the White House. He came in. And it's not as if Flynn came in by himself. He brought in apparatus around him. Do you think that that needs to be cleaned out? Does -- do you need to clean house in order to really get someone to come in as the new national security adviser?

KINZINGER: I don't think you necessarily need to. I don't know all the people in that apparatus. And so, I think, you know, Flynn may have put very good people around him and I think you have to evaluate that on a case by case bases.

You know, what we've seen, frankly, from a foreign policy action out of this administration, as a Republican, I've been happy with, in terms of pushing back against Iran and everything else.

The question is within that inner structure, there seems to have been a little have been chaos related to Flynn. And so, it's time to take a big breath. Find the best person to lead that. And the general just said, hey, that's not me. For whatever reason, he said, hey, that's not me. And we're on to the next one.

KEILAR: Who are you interested in when you hear these names being floated? Is there a certain person that you think would make a good national security adviser?

KINZINGER: I think all the names I've heard -- the general you mentioned, I don't know extremely well. All the names I've heard, though, from what I understand about them, are good. David Petraeus, obviously, he had his issues in the past. But there's nobody that understands military matters and matters of military and state combined, frankly, like he does.

Military can't act in a vacuum. The Department of State can't act without the military backing it. And so, somebody that understands both those functions, with the intelligence experience he has, I think would be very good.

But that's a question up to, you know, whether the president wants him or anybody else. There are a lot of good names out there and I sure hope he -- and expect that he'll pick somebody good.

KEILAR: Law enforcement officials are telling CNN that Flynn changed his original story to FBI agents after first saying he didn't talk about the sanctions. You have -- you've said the cover up is worse than the crime. I think you mean, sort of, quote, "crime."

Do you mean actual crime? Do you think that there is perhaps a criminal thing that has happened here?

KINZINGER: Well, it's hard for me to evaluate. So, there's the issue of Logan Act and there's the issue of, you know, should Flynn have talked to the Russian ambassador when an administration, who was president at the time, President Obama, was figuring out sanctions? I think it was highly improper and maybe a violation of the Logan Act.

What came after, though, lying to the FBI, lying to -- potentially, you know, from what we hear, being dishonest with Vice President Pence. That part of the cover-up seemed to be the issue that really took him down.

I think if he had came out early and said, I did. Look, the ambassador brought it up. I brought it up. People may be upset. I would have been upset about that but I wouldn't have called for a resignation.

KEILAR: OK. But what do you think, when you're looking -- and you're someone who, sort of, I think, is -- you take a balanced look often at your party. And we're seeing this -- well, this has to do, obviously, with Hillary Clinton's server. You've heard, for instance, Jason Chaffetz announcing he wants criminal charges brought against a former Clinton aide who set up her former private e-mail server.

We haven't heard anything about -- when we're looking at what happened here at Flynn, which you have said, previously, was arguably or questionably a crime.

KINZINGER: Right.

KEILAR: Are Republicans using a double standard here?

KINZINGER: Well, I hope not. And so, my hope is -- see, I'm an American before I'm a Republican. I'm a Republican because I happen to believe the things the Republican Party believes. But I'm a Republican -- or an American first. So, in my view, I think all this stuff needs to be looked at in totality.

You have some people calling for special commissions, 911-type commissions. I wouldn't go that far. That makes it a partisan issue. I think, in the intel committees, these folks can look at all the information in secure settings. Do it in a bipartisan way. And we get to the bottom of Flynn and everything else. The American people want it and deserve it, and I think it's the right thing for our country.

KEILAR: I want to read you a tweet from an outspoken Russian lawmaker. And he writes, Trump hopes to make a deal with Russia. Mattis thinks in vein that he can put pressure from a position of strength. Tillerson is playing a second Kerry. Three lines from one administration.

What do you -- what do you make of this. And if there really are these three lines, which is the one that prevails or is this a collaborative effort you hope?

[13:10:08] KINZINGER: Look, I think it's -- I think this is actually a collaborative effort with the administration.

Now, where the confusion comes is, you know, like in the president's press conference when he says things about Russia and all that. And that's confusing to me, too. But the administration, frankly, has had a very solid message of, it's one thing to engage Russians and have conversations. We're not against that.

But we also can't look past the fact that they occupy Crimea, indiscriminately bomb innocence in Syria, killed, you know, 500,000 in backing the regime that's done that.

And so, I think, you know, with Nikki Haley at the U.N. saying sanctions will remain in place, with General Mattis stressing the importance of NATO, the message coming out of the administration, except for these press conferences, is actually very good.

KEILAR: Those press conferences are key, though, as you know. Of course, Congressman, perhaps the most important word is the one -- or not perhaps -- the most important word is the one coming from the president himself.

KINZINGER: Absolutely.

KEILAR: Congressman Adam Kinzinger, thank you so much for your time. And I want to tell you what you're looking at on your screen is the beginning of this event in South Carolina where Donald Trump is going to speak.

This is going to be the first time that we will hear from him, since retired vice admirable -- Admiral Bob Harward turned down the role of national security adviser. We're going to bring you those remarks live as soon as he begins speaking. It should be pretty soon here.

And while we wait, I am joined now by Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California. She is a member of the Armed Services and also the Intelligence Committee. Very helpful as we discuss these issues of pertinence today. What is your reaction, Congresswoman, to Harward turning down the role of national security adviser?

REP. JACKIE SPEIER (D), CALIFORNIA: I think Harward has turned it down for a number of reasons and I think part of it's probably financial, part of it's probably a belief that he was not going to be able to fill the slots with people that he deemed appropriate and would somewhat be frustrated in the position.

KEILAR: You think -- oh, so you think part of it may have been financial, that when he's sort of talking about personal issues that there really is a there there?

SPEIER: Oh, I'm sure there is. I mean, it's one thing to come forward and be there for your country, again, if you feel that you can really make a contribution. But as long as Steve Bannon has a seat at the table and he's a political operative, as long as the national security adviser can't choose those who are going to surround him and provide him advice, that becomes a serious problem.

Right now, there are about 50 vacancies in the national security council staff. And I'm truly worried about what's going to happen as there is an effort to exploit the fact that our foreign policy is in chaos. And what countries are going to do that want to diminish us or weaken us because there has just been a wholesale change in state and we know that there are many vacancies in the national security council and we don't have ahead of it right now.

KEILAR: Donald Trump is saying that there's four people now being considered, one is retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg. And then, another possibility, that I imagine some Democrats might be happier about, is former CIA director and retired General David Petraeus.

As you assess those candidates what are your thoughts?

SPEIER: Well, I will tell you, I think that General Petraeus is a great mind. I don't think you reward a criminal. And while he pled to a misdemeanor, what he did was share classified information with his mistress who was writing a biography about him. And I just don't think that that is appropriate to place him in that position.

And so, I would urge the president and those around him to -- there's lots of talented people out there. He should get someone who has credentials, has the ability to provide the kind of advice the president desperately needs in assessing these various situations around the world. And I don't believe that it's general Petraeus.

KEILAR: Some people believe that, in this particular case, that maybe should not disqualify him. You obviously think very differently. And do you think that that would scuttle any potential appointment from other members of Congress, too, from what you're hearing?

SPEIER: Well, because the national security adviser is not confirmed by the Senate, the president can select whomever he chooses for that post.

KEILAR: Oh, well, sure. But do you think the public -- what would the outrage factor been like? Obviously, Flynn, very likely, would not have been confirmed had Congress had a say in this. And Petraeus as well. That would be Donald Trump's choice. But would there be such an outrage level, from what you're hearing, from members of Congress that this would basically be a political impossibility?

SPEIER: I believe that there would be great outrage among many members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. But that doesn't seem to prevent the president from acting as he has on many occasions over many issues.

[13:15:09] I mean, right now, we have a situation with Russia where they are testing us, they're buzzing us, our destroyers in foreign lands, they're coming very close to our borders in the United States, they're violating treaties by shooting off ballistic missiles and there hasn't been a peep, not one peep from the president or from his leadership slapping down Russia. And I think we're really in a very crisis situation and we don't have the leadership. The president spends his time talking about his Electoral College vote. It's truly a frightening situation.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I want to talk about something you tweeted yesterday. You said, "describing POTUS as unhinged at today's press conference is kind. This is scary #25thamendment." And the 25th Amendment details the procedure for replacing the president in the event of death, removal, resignation or incapacitation. Can you explain that in more than 140 characters for us? What you - what you want to see there?

SPEIER: Well, the 25th Amendment - the 25th Amendment is there to, you know, you provide a backstop if, in fact, the president becomes incapacitated. You may remember that -

KEILAR: Do you believe he's incapacitated?

SPEIER: Well, I think that we have got to be very careful. He needs to start acting presidential. He needs to start recognizing that as president you don't go around and shoot down the media as if it's, you know, some kind of a game you're playing. You don't take on people saying nasty things about them. You don't take foreign leaders and hang up the phone with them or besmirch them, as he has with some of the European leaders. I mean he has got to get a grip. And so the 25th Amendment is there if a president becomes incapacitated. Woodrow Wilson was incapacitated. His wife actually was the president in waiting for most of the end of his term. Certainly Eleanor Roosevelt played a role. I don't believe that Melania Trump is in a position to do that, but certainly -

KEILAR: But was this a quip or this was - you are very serious about this?

SPEIER: Well, I'm serious that - I'm serious about conveying to the president that he's got to get serious. That we have efforts underway around the globe attempting to exploit our dysfunction right now. He's got to act presidential. He's got to stop being a campaigner.

KEILAR: What else are Democrats doing right now to actively counter Donald Trump in a message when it comes to developing even talent among your ranks or among folks we don't even know, maybe obviously outside of Washington, D.C.? What's being done as Democrats are so vocally opposed to President Trump?

SPEIER: Frankly, we spent the last month trying to repel some of the dangerous actions he has undertaken by executive order. Certainly the Muslim ban stands out, but there are many others where he has basically passed by executive order opportunities for methane gas to be spewed into our atmosphere, that mining can continue in areas polluting our rivers. We're -

KEILAR: But I guess my point is, he's sort of - he's clearly trying to make your party and members of your party in Congress irrelevant and argue that you are ineffectual. And when you're talking about the travel ban, that was something that really it came down to the court system dealing with that. How do you - is there a way for - do Democrats have a clear way forward about how to not be, I guess - actually fit into those roles that Donald Trump is trying to push them into?

SPEIER: Well, I think what the American people are seeing is that when you have a president like Donald Trump and a Congress that is populated majority in both houses now by Republicans, that there are no checks and balances. And that's critical for our democracy to survive. So I think part of our message moving forward is, we need to retake the House so there's at least a check and balance on the president and the Senate.

KEILAR: All right, thank you, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, for being with us today.

SPEIER: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: We do appreciate it.

And coming up, President Trump is going to speak any moment at the Boeing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. That's what you're looking at now. This is the prelude to him speaking. And we're going to take that live as soon as it begins.

And also we have some breaking news from the Senate floor. Donald Trump's EPA pick, Scott Pruitt, has just been confirmed. We will have a live report on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:24:13] KEILAR: We have some breaking news. The Senate, just moments ago, voted to confirm Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. CNN's Manu Raju is live for us on Capitol Hill.

Democrats have been trying to block or delay today's vote, Manu, but this went ahead.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Yes, that's right. They failed to do just that. This nominee was confirmed by a 52-46 vote where there was a couple of Democrats who actually voted for Mr. Pruitt's nomination, that is Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, two Democrats from energy-producing states who are conservative Democrats up for re-election in 2018. But one more moderate Republican senator voting "no" there was Susan Collins of Maine. In addition, two senators missed the vote, John McCain of Arizona and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, which is why it was 98 senators that voted, 52-46.

[13:25:05] And this came after a very contentious confirmation process. Democrats boycotted the confirmation vote in the committee in order to try to delay this vote from going forward. The Republicans came out and changed the rules of the committee so they could advance this to the floor of the Senate. And then last night the Senate - the Democrats held an overnight session to rail against Pruitt's record. They think he will be hostile towards environmental protection. They think he'll be hostile towards the EPA. And you've also seen some EPA employees getting on their phone and calling on senators to reject the nominee. This coming as the industry pushing very hard for his nominee and they were successful in getting him confirmed. But watch for a lot of contentious battles ahead, including next week when a lawsuit that was filed and actually will lead to the release of a number - thousands of e-mails that Mr. Pruitt had between him and the industry in Oklahoma. We'll see what they have to say when those e-mails come out next week, Brianna.

KEILAR: Manu, we just heard from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. You were at this Q&A. And I dare say you got one of the more interesting answers from him. Tell us about what you asked him.

RAJU: Yes, you know, Senator McConnell has actually been making some comments in recent days about some of Donald Trump's tweeting and about his comments themselves, taking the focus away from the Republican agenda on Capitol Hill. And I asked him if he's concerned about that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Yesterday's news conference a concern that the president is taking your party off message? SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Well, I've - I've been

pretty candid with him and with all of you that I'm not a great fan of daily tweets. What I am a fan of is what he's been actually doing. As I look at what we might have expected from a president Mitt Romney or a president Marco Rubio or a president Jeb Bush at the beginning of their tenures in office, I can't see much difference between what President Trump is doing and what they would have done. I like what he's doing. I've not been a fan of the extra discussion that he likes to engage in. But we're going to soldier on. We like his positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And, Brianna, that is certainly a sentiment that I'm hearing throughout Congress, including Jeff Flake, just telling me that that was a distraction, all these comments, that Donald Trump has been making over the last few days, Brianna.

KEILAR: And speaking of Donald Trump, here he is. And we are going to listen to him speak there at the Boeing plant in North Charleston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Well, good afternoon, Boeing team.

KEILAR: All right, so actually the CEO of Boeing is going to be introducing him. So we're going to chat over that for a little bit.

I want to bring in my panel to talk to them. This is following, obviously, that - what was supposed to be the announcement of a pick, right, yesterday, but it ended up being this very long press conference.

David Chalian, this is a chance for Donald Trump to talk about jobs, right?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. One of the core messages that got him elected, this notion of bringing back jobs. And we know recently that this plant also - I guess they voted against unionizing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CHALIAN: And so that works into his messaging as well. So this is chance one since that sort of rambling press conference to get back on board, followed by tomorrow with a campaign rally, followed ten days by now with a joint session of Congress. If Donald Trump feels that a reset is necessary, perhaps he doesn't, perhaps he thinks he rest things yesterday, but if he feels a reset is necessary, this is an opportunity to bring that.

KEILAR: Do you think, Nia, that after that press - I mean he thinks and he's saying thank you for the congratulations on the press conference, but do you think there are folks around Donald Trump who are saying, you know what, maybe today we need to be a little more focused on message and on what we want to accomplish. Is that who we may see here or -

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: You know, possibly there are people around him saying that, but I think Donald Trump very much knows what he wants to do. He likes being Donald Trump. I think the thing that was reset yesterday was sort of his soul in some ways. I think he was into it. I think he loved it. He said at one point he loves the give and take. He was a little bit demoralized in the beginning, but once he got into the back and forth with those reporters there, he was, I think, recharged and energized. I think we'll see more of that on Saturday, too.

And these folks here are going to love him in Charleston. This Boeing plant, which is a big, big plant, and a big - it's about 3,000 workers and these are going to be, I think, his supporters. So I think he'll get more of that recharging his vibe and soul.

JACKIE KUCINICH (ph): What I - what - what Nia said, I think this was a setup. That that was a little bit of an appetizer for what to expect on Saturday. He's comfortable in that campaign environment. And that could have been last year some time, that press conference, and the give and take. The only difference is, now it has consequences.

[13:30:02] KEILAR: But that appetizer - may I make that argument - it's almost like the appetizer was too big. Are we to full for the meal?

KUCINICH: Never.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, you know, I think the short term gain that he gets out of the adulation that he's going to get in Florida tomorrow of people