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Don Lemon Tonight

Trump Tries Out Spanish Accent At Hispanic Heritage Event; New Forecast For Storm; Chief Of Staff Struggling To Manage White House Chaos; Banning Bum Stocks. Aired 11-Midnight ET

Aired October 06, 2017 - 23:00   ET

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

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

[23:00:00] MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Exactly. Absolutely. It is not fair to say it just happens to Donald Trump, it happens to everybody. I don't think this is the biggest deal in the world. There are many things Donald Trump did that were egregious in Puerto Rico from throwing paper towels to blaming them on the budget for not having the right number of resources there. That is the most important thing and my heart goes out to the folk in Puerto Rico. But this is another example of him appearing to not care, of him appearing to be insensitive and appearing anything other than serious. I think we are just making fun of Donald Trump and his terrible accent. But it is something to consider.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: As the person on this panel that grew up in Puerto Rico, let me tell you why this is --

LAMONT HILL: See, that is a good one.

CARDONA: This is a President who just came back from a trip where he not only insulted the people of Puerto Rico by throwing towels at them like they were street dogs looking for scraps, he made fun of their budget and said --

Hang on, Ben, I did not interrupt you. So have some manners. He came back from the island of 3.5 million American citizens who were suffering. He went through the richest neighborhoods, never visited a children's hospital who was about to run out of fuel, he never visited the supermarkets whose shelves were beginning to be empty, he did none of that. So when he comes back and he has a supposed celebration of Hispanic heritage, I maybe could give him the benefit of the doubt if he didn't come back from the debacle of the trip. And if he didn't start his Presidential campaign by telling everybody that Mexican immigrants were racist and criminals. And if he hadn't.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He didn't say all of them were and you know that.

CARDONA: And he insulted an American Judge --

DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT NEWS SHOW HOST: Some of them are good people.

CARDONA: Because he was of Mexican descent. So this President has a history of insulting Latinos. Recently, a history of insulting Puerto Ricans. That is why this is not a joke and it ain't funny.

LEMON: How do you say it again?

CARDONA: Puerto Rico.

LEMON: All right.

FERGUSON: Should you be doing that right now while people are suffering in Puerto Rico? Isn't that a double standard?

CARDONA: I'm saying that is the way you say it. I'm not making fun of it.

LEMON: We're not having fun at the expense of people. And we're not the President of the United States.

FERGUSON: You just said people are dying, people are hurting but then you say it like that on TV. That is hypocrisy. You just made my point for me.

LEMON: Oh, Ben, you're stretching it. Come on.

FERGUSON: You guys are. You just did it and had fun on national TV while people were suffering. You just did.

LEMON: We didn't throw paper towels at them with the flick of a wrist.

FERGUSON: You're taking it way too seriously.

LEMON: It is also Puerto Ricans who did it.

LEMON: None of us who are not Puerto Rican. Do not speak Spanish as well.

CARDONA: And I'm making fun of the President for being un- presidential.

LEMON: It is videotaped for everyone, Ben.

CARDONA: I see us, Don.

FERGUSON: I watched it clearly.

LEMON: All right. Get in to it. Thank you, all. Appreciate it.

CARDONA: Thanks Don.

LEMON: This is CNN. I'm Don Lemon. A little past 11:00 on the east coast. And we are live with breaking news and big stories for you tonight. New Orleans under hurricane warning this weekend. We have a brand new forecast for you and will give it to you in just moments. Plus, another member of the Trump administration could be on thin ice tonight. Our chief of staff, John Kelly, are his days numbered? Let's get right to Ivan Cabrera in the CNN Weather Center with a brand new forecast for tropical storm make. So Ivan another storm threatening the U.S. You just got the update from the national weather service. What is the latest?

IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, good to see you, Don. We're adding a third hurricane at six weeks. The latest from tropical storm Nate is getting stronger. It did not impact as much as we thought with the Yucatan peninsula. That is allowed it to maintain its strength. And we're up to 70 miles an hour. If you add 5, you have a hurricane. By the 2:00 a.m. advisory, we could have hurricane Nate. Here are the latest warnings. New Orleans, as you mentioned, continues in a hurricane warning. That means hurricane conditions are going to be likely in the next 12 to 24 hours. By the way, that extends along the gulf coast to include Biloxi, mobile all the way over to Pensacola. And then we have a tropical storm warning.

And the watches for the tropical storm extend up to Atlanta. I'm not concerned about that. I think we'll have gusty winds and rain there, but the big story will be, of course, along the gulf coast. There is the storm moving to the north and west. I have two concerns about this. The fact that it is moving so quickly, and folks may be getting caught off guard with this. We haven't covered it as much because this is not going to be an Irma or a Harvey. Nevertheless, it is going to be a hurricane.

[23:05:00] And this is a change here. 85-mile-an-hour winds. By this time tomorrow, this thing is going to be making landfall here. So we have very little time. If you are in the hurricane warning and have been asked to evacuate, you need to do that and need to prepare for this in the next 24 hours. Then it heads off to the north and east. We have storm surge and strong winds and potential for strong winds as well as Nate continues to strengthen and heads-up to the north.

LEMON: Ivan Cabrera, thank you so much. We appreciate that. We'll keep a close watch on it.

Now we want to turn to questions about the chief of staff John Kelly's standing in the west wing. Kelly was brought in to control the chaos at the White House, but less than three months into the job, he is running into the same reality that his predecessor Reince Priebus faced. There's no controlling Donald Trump. As one source told CNN, Kelly is like the janitor, he is just the latest guy brought in to clean up. Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott has been working her sources on this story and she joins us now. What have you learned about this, Elise, between Trump and Kelly?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, you heard the President was furious Wednesday morning as the situation with Secretary of State rex Tillerson after the NBC news story broke. And chief of staff John Kelly was really forced to kind of navigate between Trump and Tillerson who at this point are fed up with each other. We have all read about that frustration. And, in fact, sources familiar with the discussions between Kelly and the President tell CNN's Gloria Borger, Dana Bash and myself that Kelly kind of suggested to the President in a nuance of way of this enfolding, if Tillerson were to leave, if anything were to happen to him, Kelly's own ability to do his job properly could be at risk.

And Don, this is generating more than a few whispers here in Washington about how long Kelly is going to last. Because, you know, he also has been facing the same problems that his predecessor did, Reince Priebus, in terms of not being able to control the President. The White House initially declined to comment on the story, but after we published called our story false and did not say specifically what they took issue with.

LEMON: You have been covering Washington for a long time, what do you think this episode says about his standing in the west wing?

LABOTT: Well, you have to remember when Kelly was brought into the White House to take over for Reince Priebus, you know, headlines blared that Kelly was going to impose the military-style order on the chaotic Trump administration. Now, he did impose some order. He closed the President's open door oval office policy. He called for Trump's long-time friends. And it is not outside sources we talked to. Kelly is running into the same reality.

There's no controlling or messaging Donald Trump. Think of all the things that have happened since Kelly took over. You talked about the fire and fury against North Korea, he said that both sides were to blame in Charlottesville over the violence. He stoked that NFL controversy. And then you heard, you know, about Puerto Rico and things like that. So Kelly is a man that is known for tremendous integrity, but one source told us, for John Kelly now, every day ends in why? Why am I here? And others are saying, look, this is a tough job and you're not going to change this President.

LEMON: Elise Labott, appreciate your reporting, thank you. Have a great weekend. Now I want to bring in CNN Global Affairs Analyst David Rohde, National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem and political commentator David Swerdlick. That is a good question. Why she said he keeps asking himself, why am I here? Why is he there?

DAVID ROHDE, GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, CNN: I think it is service. He thinks he can stabilize the situation and has been trying to, but again, this is Donald Trump. I mean, all Presidents have a huge influence in their White House. There's all the talk about aids and who is whispering and controlling the President. They call the shots. Barack Obama called the shots. This is Donald Trump. He is not going to change.

LEMON: David, what is your reaction to the west wing turmoil with Kelly?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, so I think David is right, but at least the component of this, I assume for General Kelly has to be that he is been a long-time government servant. He wants, he has a sense of patriotism. The problem is that you get to a point where there's a fine line between staying with it because of your sense of duty and enabling what I have to assume he sees as conduct unbecoming on the part of his boss. I mean, you had today, in your last segment, to me that was making fun of people from Puerto Rico. I don't know any other way to say that, by the President of the United States, you have serious people in the White House. General Kelly's a four-star general. Rex Tillerson is a former CEO with Exxon, 40 years, and there's a mismatch because President Trump is not one of these button-down, buckle-down guys. He is sort of an improviser and a habitual line-stepper and it's a mismatch between employees and employer.

LEMON: Juliette a source close to the president tells CNN says Kelly is like the janitor, the latest guy brought in to clean up. We're talking about a four-star marine general who lost his son in combat. This has to be galling to anyone who has served in the military or supports what they do.

[23:10:11] JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, they always remember your exit. They always remember the last job. But unfortunately for John Kelly who chose to be chief of staff for reasons that had to do with duty and service, this will be how he remembers. And the real housewives of the west wing is entertaining, you know, it is not as entertaining as the TV shows. It is much more consequential. Because we are not talking about policy. We're not talking about real threats. And the rest of the world is talking about us, right? It's talking about the chaos in the situation room about all the infighting.

We believed when John Kelly came in that he was going to be another one of the adults in the room. And I think we just have to accept there's no one else in the room. There's no one else. It is only and always about Trump. So this idea that there is going to be this civilizing force is just a fallacy. And at some stage, John Kelly is going to have to weigh the reality against, you know, against, I think, the remains of a reputation that he, that was well-deserved before he got to be chief of staff.

LEMON: So CNN's reporting that Kelly step in to calm the President after news broke that Secretary Tillerson called the President a moron, which reportedly made the President furious, but isn't that the chief of staff's job, David?

ROHDE: This David.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Sorry. My bad.

ROHDE: No, that is fine. It is. And he did his job. He saved this relationship. I mean, you look at the tensions, that was an extraordinary statement when Tillerson said that this weekend. He succeeded. How long it lasts? I don't know. This is having an impact policy-wise. This Iran decision that he is going to decertify Iran. He is kicking it down the road for congress to solve it. The tax proposal, no details and no leadership from the White House. He dumps it on congress. And this is how the White House is functioning. And it's also the short-term political points. There's no policies coming out of it. This turmoil, and I think all that time and energy, maybe there would be --

LEMON: Why is that?

ROHDE: I, you know, well, vast promises during the campaign that he is keeping. LEMON: Why is that David, come on?

ROHDE: Well, some argue that the President doesn't have a detailed understanding of foreign policy or domestic policy. This was the issue with the health care debate. Senators met with him and said he did not understand how the health care system worked, just to be frank.

LEMON: Yeah, Juliette?

KAYYEM: No, I just think he is just not curious. I mean, I think that is safe to say, almost a year into his presidency, that he is just not curious. I mean, if you asked me the details of health care, I'm going to be honest with you, I may not know them, I'm not President of the United States and I'm not trying to sell my bill. If you asked me the contours of the inner workings of the Iran deal, you know, I could figure it out pretty quickly. It's the lack of curiosity. So in that vacuum steps politics and personality. Not policy. And David's exactly right, we're just -- it's like, it's all sort of -- it's gossip. It's like I have teenagers. It's like that kind of drama.

LEMON: It's fire and fury and the calm before the storm. Go ahead, David.

SWERDLICK: Sure, quick point Don. In addition to everything that David and Juliet said, you can imagine a scenario, maybe, if General Kelly has been the chief of staff from day one, he could have maybe implemented his military very button-down style of chief of staff management from the beginning back in January. But to come in now with the tools that he has in his tool kit and reverse course on the first six, seven months of what was, in a lot of ways, a chaotic White House, I think it's just posing a huge challenge, because, you know, things are already sort of set in motion about the way the President and the way his staff and the people in his orbit operate.

LEMON: You think he could have stopped crowd gate from the first day or second day, whatever it was?

SWERDLICK: No. I'm saying, maybe. Maybe there would have been a lane for him to come in and say on day one, I don't want people to put random news clippings in front of the President. I don't want people to meet with the President unless I know about it first. And that could have maybe minimized the number of episodes. He probably wouldn't have stopped the President from tweeting some sort of random things, tweeting things that might have gotten him completely off message, and in some cases, completely inaccurate, but maybe impose a little bit of discipline, at least among the staff. But by the time he got there, things were already sort of set in motion.

LEMON: Great conversation. Thank you, all. Appreciate it. Have a great weekend.

When we come back, the man who plays President Trump on "SNL" may be having second thoughts. Why Alec Baldwin worries he may have made the President too funny. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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[23:18:35] LEMON: In the wake of the massacre in Las Vegas, President Trump said he is open to a propose ban on bump stocks the shooter used to make his weapons much more deadly. But is that enough? I want to bring in now two men who knows a lot about what Americans really think. Here to discuss, Talk Radio Host John Frederick and Sirius XM Joe Madison. Joe is going to join us in progress in a moment. John, good to see you, how are you?

JOHN FREDERICKS, HOST, SYNDICATED TALK RADIO: I'm great, Don, how are you? You look great tonight.

LEMON: Thank you very much. It's been a terrible, terrible week. And I want to start by playing this clip by Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of this tragic mass murder in Las Vegas. Here it is.

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JIMMY KIMMEL, JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW: I hate talking about stuff like this. I just want to, you know, laugh about things every night. But that -- it seems to be coming increasingly different lately. It seems someone opened a window to hell. And who I'm talking about tonight is not gun control, but it's about common sense. Common sense says no good will ever come from allowing a person to have weapons that can take down 527 Americans at a concert.

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LEMON: Are they frustrated by the political response to this?

FREDERICKS: Well, Don, the horrific events in Las Vegas shook the nation. And for those people that were gunned down, ran away, had to get out of there, also so many men and women that were able to aid so many of their brethren. Many of the men as you know, Don, you were in last Vegas all week, stripped down to their underwear to create tourniquets.

[23:20:19] LEMON: I know listen John it is awful. Just for the sake of time, we have short time together, what do they think of the political response to this?

FREDERICKS: Well, you can't legislate evil. And so my callers are very upset because before the bodies are even warm, I'm sorry, before the bodies are cold, they are already politicizing the horrific event for ideological gain and narrative in elections. And gun control, which is ridiculous. We have no information on this guy. We don't know what the motive is, we don't know if he was radicalized, if he was mentally ill, the facts aren't even in and we're already forming legislation in congress. I mean, this effect less congress, they can't pass a bill, they can't pass a budget, they lie to the constituents, but then we have a horrible event like this, a tragedy, and they're trying to pass gun legislation, they don't even know what it is, half the people in congress don't understand what the --

LEMON: John, we're going to talk about the bump stocks. But I want to get Joe in here. Joe, the one common denominator that all the folks have, whether it is terrorism or somebody unstable, the one common denominator is what?

JOE MADISON, SIRIUS XM: Well, the common denominator is death and horror and terrorism and guns. Look, let me just absolutely totally disagree with something that John said. First off, I'm in Washington, and let me tell you something, any time there's a tragedy or an issue, you have members who run to the floor to the well to introduce legislation. So it is absolutely false to say to the American people that members of congress have to wait until after a period of time. The investigation is over. That is not what this is about. What it was about was hoping that this would die down, that there would be some other issue that would distract people's attention and that they could move on. Now, Remember what did happen. They were able to table the silencer issue that a lot of people didn't even know was on the table for consideration in a vote. The reason you're getting this kind of response is because this transcends politics, race, gender, everything. And the American people have spoken. And they have forced congress to do what they should have done a long time ago.

LEMON: I want to talk, we've been talking about the bump stock thing, and I think there's, most people can agree that you should not be able to take a semiautomatic weapon and turn it into an automatic weapon. Which was supposed to be illegal just because you buy this particular device, which is what he did. But I want to turn to something, also, because it's about the President and this does involve politics. This is from Alec Baldwin. He plays Trump on "Saturday night live." he interviewed Bernie Sanders for his podcast and I want you to listen to what he said.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In terms of Trump, I think we're kind of making him a little too cuddly, a little too sunny and we're taking people's mind off something really more serious?

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what we have to focus on, on Trump is what he is doing. You know, we, every day he says something that is absurd. But you know, this is a guy who told the American people that he was going to provide good health care for everybody, remember that? He supported throw 32 million people off of health insurance. You know, this is a guy who has made all kinds of promises to - working people and he has turned his back completely on them.

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LEMON: So Joe, you first, then I'll bring John in, does satirizing him, making people laugh, taking him away from the real changes Trump is making that too many people, that many people oppose, also, remember Jimmy Fallon, when he rubbed his hands through the hair, I mean, he got a lot of flak for that. And I believe his ratings went down. What do you think?

MADISON: Well, there's satirists and comedians that do this for a living. As long as serious journalists deal with the issue, then I think we can handle, you know, the satire part of it. Now, I take a different approach, quite honestly.

[23:25:00] I'm tired of every day waking up, and I think most people wake up saying, what next? What is now? And they get frustrated. And as I mentioned to someone before I came on is that, what happens when people are frustrated, they either do one of two things. They turn off, because they are terribly frustrated and don't know what to do. Or they get motivated and they are active. And what we're finding is that there are a lot of people, and I agree on both sides who are now very active, I had a gentleman call in from Dallas, Texas, in one week he registered 500 people in one week. So this is what's going on. I don't have a problem with satire.

LEMON: Okay. John, sorry, I've got to go. I have other news to get to. My apologies, we'll get you back on and have a longer conversation.

When I come back, the Hollywood man who paid off women who accuse him of sexual assault. Feminist Lawyer Lisa Bloome is representing him now , but her mother Gloria Allred is taking issue with that, Gloria joins me next.

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LEMON: Accusations of sexual harassment against the powerful movie producer Harvey Weinstein is rocking Hollywood. "The New York Times" reporting the allegation span three decades and include at least eight legal settlements with women. Weinstein saying he plans to take a leave of absence as co-chairman of the Weinstein company. Joining me now is Attorney Gloria Allred whose daughter Attorney Lisa Bloom is on Harvey Weinstein's legal team. Thank you so much for coming in. I want to read the statement. You said, had I been asked by the Weinstein, Mr. Weinstein to represent him, I would have declined because I do not represent individuals accused of sexual harassment. Explain that to me.

GLORIA ALLRED, ALLRED, MAROKO AND GOLDBERG: That is true. I've been a lawyer for 42 years, we are the leading women's law firm in the United States. We don't represent persons accused of sexually harassing victims. But that is not a statement of criticism of my daughter. That is just a statement of whom my law firm is. She has a separate law firm. I don't second-guess her choices or criticize her choices and she doesn't second-guess my choices of clients, nor does she criticize them. So that is how I feel. And I think the real issue is, men who sexually harass women on the job. And that is really, really significant.

LEMON: I want to talk about that. Let's finish this particular conversation and then I want to talk to you about that. But Lisa is on, I know Lisa like I know you. She represents women who have been abused, sexual assaulted, so on and so forth. Why do you think she chose to represent Harvey?

ALLRED: I don't know because I never asked her. But she has a general practice. And she makes her decisions about who her clients are going to be and who she accepts. She is an outstanding attorney. And all I can say is Harvey Weinstein is very fortunate to have her as his lawyer and adviser.

LEMON: I think it is only fair, I'm just going to read her statement, she says, I have told Harvey that times have changed. It is 2017 and he needs to evolve to a higher standard. I have found Harvey to be refreshingly candid and receptive to my message. He has acknowledged the mistakes he has made and going to therapy. He is an old dinosaur learning new ways. So would you consider representing anyone who alleges that they are victims of his actions?

ALLRED: Yes. I would have no problem representing a person who alleges that she is a victim of Harvey.

LEMON: So you would go against her in the courtroom?

ALLRED: I understand that Lisa is not retained to represent him in a legal case. She is there advise him. But not to represent him for the purposes of any settlement or any lawsuit.

LEMON: So let's talk about the important thing that you wanted to talk about. Because you said the important thing is --

ALLRED: The important thing is sexual harassment in the workplace. Whether it's the workplace in Hollywood, whether it's the workplace in business, in sports, in other areas of life. It's systematic, pervasive, it's severe and it harms victims. It harms women. And I have represented men sexually harassed as well, by other men, and once in the case where the man was harassed by a woman. But it harms the victims financially, socially, physically, emotionally, every way you can think. Because they are in a no-win situation. If they say yes to the sexual overture advance, then maybe the guy is going to get tired of them later and they lose their job. If they say no, he could go into ego shock and they suffer job repercussion. And it is wrong to place them in the no-win situation.

LEMON: Do you think more women will come forward? Because we both covered the Cosby and you represented the victims do. You think more women will come forward?

ALLRED: Yes, I do.

LEMON: Thank you, Gloria Allred. Always a pleasure to have you on to.

ALLRED: Thank you.

LEMON: When we come back, why this scandal of Harvey Weinstein could be a big problem for some top Democrats. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:38:] LEMON: Reports of decades of inappropriate sexual conduct towards women by Harvey Weinstein could cause trouble for some top Democrats. Here to discuss CNN Political commentator Amanda Carpenter and Symone Sanders and former Republican Congresswoman Nan Hayworth a member of the Independent Women's Forum Board of directors and CNN Political contributor Hilary Rosen.. Good evening to all of you. Amanda, Harvey Weinstein released a statement saying he is taking a leave of absence to conquer his demons and that he came of age in the 60's and 70's when all the rules about the workplace were different. That was the culture then. I have since learned it's not an excuse, in the office or out of it. What kind of defense is that.

AMANDA CARPENTER, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: A pretty bad one. I'm glad he is taking a leave of absence, but when I think about the past year, it is just amazing to me regardless of Party, regardless of whether it's in big Hollywood or New York media, wherever it may be, how much this culture of abusive women is accepted and tolerated until something like this happened. Harvey Weinstein is out there saying he needs help. What about the women that he preyed upon? He is out there saying that people should forgive him, because somehow he is going to throw his money at the NRA and buy off women's organizations to get forgiveness. This is how big powerful men operate. They think they can buy their way out of things. I'm hoping that Harvey Weinstein gets the same treatment that Bill O'Reilly did. And the behavior by a lawyer like Lisa Bloom baffles me. She claimed she slayed the dragons at Fox News by ousting them out of there. But somehow this guy can be rehabbed? I am confused because I thought this was about protecting women.

LEMON: You think it is hypocritical and you think it is because Harvey Weinstein is a big Democratic donor that it is different?

CARPENTER: Absolutely. I don't know exactly what Lisa Bloom's motivations are. She needs to speak to that. I'm glad you had her mom on because that is so confusing and invites questions for someone like her who holds herself out as an advocate for women to turn around and defend this guy is very puzzling.

[23:40:16] LEMON: Anne, what do you think? This went on for a long time. Do you think it is political here?

NAN HAYWORTH, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Well, you know what? Yeah, basically, I think there Weinstein participated very successfully or pursued very successfully from a pink washing, essentially. Here's a guy whose behavior was repugnant, completely inappropriate and completely abusive. And yet he marched with women in resistance march, I think, in Aspen, it was. He gave millions of dollars to, yes, candidates who present themselves. And I'm not doubting their sincerity, as advocates for women. I'm a contemporary of Mr. Weinstein's and in the '60s and '70s it was not acceptable to treat women like that in the workplace.

LEMON: He gave a lot of money to Hillary Clinton. And to senate minority leader Chuck Schumer. Senator Elizabeth Warren along with the Democratic national committee. They are starting to give back their donations they received from Harvey Weinstein and away to charities. Are you worried this story may damage Democrats?

SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. And I think that is the wrong question to be asking. We should be concerned about the culture of abuse pulling the lid back, thinking about the women that have not come forward and applauding the women that did. I think Democrats are doing the right thing here. Folks are stepped up, like Kristen Gellibrand, everyone you listed on the screen. The Democrats are doing the right thing. But the conversation we should be having is how can we better talk about these things with young women, with our sons, our brothers, our sisters? How can we get rid of this culture that says this is ok until someone blows it up in the media?

LEMON: Hillary, let's see, he is a prolific Democratic donor in 2012. President Obama did a fund-raiser for his re-election bid at Weinstein's home in 2013. He hosted President Obama for fund raiser at the New York City apartment and during the 2016 campaign Weinstein had a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's campaign at his apartment. As someone who speaks out on women's issue and said there was misogyny in this election, should Hillary Clinton be speaking out about this?

HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: I'm sure Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are as grossed out as Harvey's behavior as anyone. I do think that people want to hear from people who have been leaders. And I think that is natural. I'm not really sure why more people aren't speaking out. There's -- it's no skin off anyone's back to call an abuser an abuser once the women who have suffered the most have done that and have stepped out on a limb to do it. So I actually hope that they will come out. I'm actually sure they are kind of surprised. While it apparently was a well-known fact in Hollywood world that Harvey Weinstein did this to women, I don't think it was well-known in the political world. I don't think people knew that. People saw him as very powerful, they saw him as strong, they saw him as a big fund-raiser, as a committed progressive, but people did not sort of participate, I think, in the political world of power.

LEMON: This is what Chris Cillizza writes. People say it is reportedly, I guess, an open secret somehow. But if everyone around him knew he acted like this around women, why didn't someone ever mention something to Obama or Clinton or Warren or any of the other politicians and organizations that Weinstein lavished money on? Do you think Chris Cillizza has a point there, Hillary?

ROSEN: It's a great question. I don't know if anybody did or didn't, so I can't speak to that. But I don't think you would have, you know, these folks embrace him the way they did if they knew. I just don't -- that is not who they are. Having said that, I think that what we have seen in politics across the board and I used to work in the music business, and it was pretty gross regularly. This wasn't that unusual. What is unusual is the outcry and the passion that has come across for the last couple of years for, on behalf of women for victims, victims speaking out for themselves and people rallying around them. That is what we have to do, too.

LEMON: I have to bring this up and let you respond to this. I have to point out, this weekend, this marks, I remember sitting here, one year since that "Access Hollywood" tape of President Trump was released. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[23:45:11] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, I'll show you where they have some nice furniture. I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her. She is now got the phony tits and everything. She totally change her look. I better use some Tic-Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You were wincing.

HAYWORTH: The President did, too. He did apologize for that as he should have. And he did.

LEMON: But he was still elected.

HAYWORTH: Let's bear in mind, Don, that Mr. Weinstein has admitted and had numerous women he is already paid settlements with. But wait, he is made settlements with whose advancement in their careers hinged upon their - we are saying to his sexual advances no woman who has work to the presence has ever made that.

(CROSSTALK)

ROSEN: We are not going to let Donald Trump off the hook here, I'm sorry. What did Donald Trump do when Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes were under the gun. Come on.

HAYWORTH: But Roger Ailes -- he was dismissed.

ROSEN: Do not say that Donald Trump is clean because he somehow acted more remorseful, which by the way, we all saw his subsequent attacks on women over the course of the time. And his defense of Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly. So please, like, if anything --

HAYWORTH: Roger Ailes --

ROSEN: Donald Trump energized women to say enough is enough.

CARPENTER: Can we cut to the quick on this? No matter every time this scandal arises and presents itself, there will always be a number of people, women included, for self-interested reasons to parse this to the degree to find a shred to find why this guy should be accused. It doesn't matter if it is Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, there's always someone there to see through it.

LEMON: I have to run, but there's a women's advocacy group playing the lewd video of the President on a large screen on repeat at the national mall all day again and again and again because it's the one- year anniversary.

ROSEN: Never forget.

HAYWORTH: No woman ever advanced on his --

ROSEN: That is not true.

LEMON: Thank you all. Breaking news, tropical storm Nate is now a hurricane in the middle of the most devastating hurricane season any of us can remember. When we come back, I'm going to talk to Bill Weir who just returned from covering hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

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[23:56:58] LEMON: Vice President Mike Pence visiting Puerto Rico today to get a firsthand look at the devastation left by hurricane Maria more than two weeks ago and feeling the anger of Puerto Ricans at the federal government's response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENTIAL-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We understand the frustration. When you think of the sheer magnitude of the loss and impact on families, the loss of life, the most grievous, but so many homes impacted all across Puerto Rico. Our message here today is the same as President Trump's message earlier this week. We're here for the long haul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Joining me now is our CNN colleague Bill Weir host of the Wonder List with Bill Weir. The new season premiers tomorrow night. The death toll now at 36. When the Vice President visited today there's a young man that said I'm a little bit angry, Mr. Vice President. You just returned from there. Do you think the Vice President and the President understand the frustration there?

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The President's visit, he went to the one of the richest neighborhoods of San Juan and missed 95 percent of the most horrific humanitarian need I've seen since the tsunami or even Katrina domestically. One of the generals down there says they've got about 9,000 servicemen and women and they're hoping to get 13,000. At this point after the quake in Haiti in 2010 there's 22,000 troops on the ground in a foreign island. So the need is so immense. There's a million --

LEMON: What's going on in.

WEIR: They weren't ready for it. And being look, there was Irma and Harvey and it was a triple whammy and they had FEMA teams in Mexico City after the quake. Imagine if a million people in Iowa were drinking rainwater, the outcry would be incendiary, you know. So Puerto Ricans are taking what we give them. A lot of it is coming privately now. LEMON: Yeah. And they are Americans.

WEIR: They are Americans.

LEMON: You said Iowa --

WEIR: They fight our wars and make our medicine.

LEMON: You travel around a lot. I want to talk about the new season of wonder list, because tomorrow night you are going to take us to Pentagon -- you go to Chile. It's a stretch that includes both Chile and Argentina.

WEIR: Tail of south America.

LEMON: Let's watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEIR: This amazing place is home to the smallest deer on the planet, the little poohdoo. The most agile and intelligent big cat, puma and over a thousand different kinds of moss, countless ferns, big trees that were alive a thousand years before Christ walked the earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Look at that landscape. It's just beautiful. The love story that is behind all that. Explain.

WEIR: Yeah. So there's a guy by the name of Doug Tomkins who was a high school dropout, ski bomb. Loved climbing rocks. Formed a company called the north face because he couldn't find sleeping bags he liked. His best friend start a company called Pategonia. And they're fabulously wealthy. They're burnt out. Sold it out and started buying huge chunks of land. About 2 million acres, the size of Rhode island and Delaware and all the locals freaked out. I mean, imagine if a Chinese national or a Russian came and bought south Dakota.

[23:55:17] LEMON: Right.

WEIR: And took all the farms out and put wild animals back in. That is what they're trying to do. They're trying to create national parks the way we have here and create as much of the last wild places on earth. So if human beings, you know, end up for a huge disaster, we have little chunks of the planet left to rebuild from.

LEMON: It looks beautiful. So lush.

WEIR: It is amazing. Yeah.

LEMON: Good to see you.

WEIR: Good to see you, Don.

LEMON: I can't wait to watch this. Check Bill Weir the new season of the Wonder List with Bill Weir premiere tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN. And we will be right back.

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