Return to Transcripts main page

Don Lemon Tonight

Manafort Lied After Pleading Guilty, Mueller's Team Says; President Trump Makes Final Push For Controversial Mississippi Candidate; CNN Special Report: The State of Hate, Has Anti-Semitism Returned with a Vengeance?; New Study Shows Right-Wing Extremism is on the Rise in the U.S.; Melania Trump Unveils White House Christmas Decorations. Aired 11-12a ET

Aired November 26, 2018 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. We've got big news in the Mueller investigation to report to you tonight. Prosecutors in the Special Counsel's office, well, they say former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has breached his plea agreement by lying repeatedly to Mueller and to the FBI.

Manafort already faces a significant prison sentence after his August conviction in a Virginia federal court on eight counts of financial crimes. After that conviction in an attempt to avoid another trial and more jail time he agreed to plead guilty in a separate D.C. Court, promising to cooperate with the ongoing Russia investigation.

In his plea Manafort agreed to cooperate fully and truthfully with the Special Counsel's investigation. That meant participating in interviews, producing any relevant documents he had, and agreeing to delay sentencing. No details yet about Manafort's alleged lies. His attorneys say their client is living up to his end of the agreement, providing valuable information to Mueller's investigation.

So what does all this mean? Let's bring in now Matthew Rosenberg, Juliette Kayyem, and Jack Quinn. Good evening. Good to see all of you. Jack, how significant is this new development?

JACK QUINN, FORMER CLINTON WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Look, it's doubtless significant. This is a very rare thing to have happen, for somebody to have made a plea bargain, a cooperation deal, and then back out of it at the 11th hour. It's very unusual. I mean, obviously Manafort threw away a lot. He threw away the possibility of having his sentence reduced.

He had some degree of certainty in what was going to happen. Mueller you know, arguably loses something. He loses Manafort as a witness. Although it's important to keep in mind that Manafort has provided an awful lot of information already to Mueller and Manafort has made himself close to worthless as a witness because of the lying that he engaged in all along.

So, you know, I'm not sure that we know quite yet. To me when I read the moving papers today from the Special Counsel's office, I thought I detected an attitude of some real anger on their part with how Manafort has behaved, but here's the other important thing. I mean, the Special Counsel's office knew he lied.

So clearly they have other information, other sources to know that when he speaks untruthfully to them they can call him on it immediately. And I think the attitude of that document that they filed today was we're done with this guy, we're not only done with him, we don't need him.

So it remains to be seen, of course, who loses the most. And most importantly, it remains to be seen how critical Paul Manafort was to the Special Counsel. Was he the missing link between Russia, Assange, Corsi, Stone, and the Trump campaign?

LEMON: OK.

QUINN: That will unfold in time.

LEMON: OK, so, Juliette, it just, you know, occurred to me. I was talking to Rick and the guys before. The timing in all of this, after Trump has answered the questions. Now all of a sudden you have this, where they're saying you lied. Do they get the questions and say Ok, Paul, you lied. Do they get the questions and say OK, Paul, you lied. Those questions help out?

What do you make -- is there anything to be made of the timing here? Could -- I don't know, -- I guess could Mueller be -- you know, could Mueller have the Trump card here? Instead of people thinking, well, this is bad for the Mueller investigation, bad for the prosecution.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes. I don't necessarily think it is bad for the prosecution. And I think Mueller has always taken the long view of this. So his timing after Trump has submitted the answers to the questions is relevant. Just two quick pieces on this on Jack's point. The first is of course, the national security implications.

One reason or one way that Mueller knows that Manafort has lied is that he has information that he cannot disclose in court, but that show that Manafort lied. What kind of information would that be? Let's say an Italian you know, intelligence agency or the Israeli intelligence agency or the Australian intelligence agency.

[23:05:00] We -- Mueller may have information that he cannot disclose in court that prove that Manafort is lying and he knows it now and he is not going to let Manafort get away with it. So, there may be information out there from foreign intelligence sources that are implicated in what Mueller did.

The second thing is, and this is the brilliant move that we're not talking about today. The documents submitted today says at a later moment we are going to detail point by point how we know that Manafort is lying.

Now, if you are Manafort, you're kind of worried, but if you are anyone else who may be implicated, you're very worried, because Mueller has just guaranteed that he is going to get some of this information out in the public, whether his investigation is closed, whether the new acting Attorney General does something.

So this was -- you know, in the end I think this was just a somewhat brilliant move on Mueller's point to ensure that there's going to be a public document.

LEMON: Smart. Very smart.

KAYYEM: Smart man.

LEMON: Matthew listen -- yes. Smart. Wicked smart. So, listen, why would Manafort lie with so much at stake for him? I mean, is it possible he is lying to protect the President or, I don't know, some other Trump associates?

MATTHEW ROSENBURG, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": It's certainly possible. I don't want to speculate. A lot of people theorizing out there, well, maybe he is hoping for a pardon.

LEMON: Right.

ROSENBURG: Maybe he is been promised something. We don't know. I think Juliette's point about the sentencing document that we're going to get in the near future in which they're going to lay out point by point why they believe Manafort lied will be a very good read. I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure many of the viewers are. I know everybody on the panel's looking forward to it.

I mean, look. He is giving up a tremendous amount. You know, he is now facing the prospect of spending his entire life in prison. One would presume he is got a good reason to lie. He believes he is got something there. Or he is just in general a liar. I don't know, but --

LEMON: There could be more than one answer.

ROSENBURG: There could be more than one answer. I mean, it's genuinely strange to cut a deal and then lie. I mean, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I don't think it's a common thing prosecutors normally see. And you guys might know better than I do, but it seems incredibly odd to me.

LEMON: Yes. Do you want to take that up, Jack? Because you're --

QUINN: It's rare. I mean, as I said at the outset, this is a very rare thing. This does not happen every day.

LEMON: So then why, then? I mean, because, - Matthew won't talk about a pardon. He says he doesn't want to speculate --

QUINN: I will.

LEMON: I know. Well, hello. That is where I'm going. What do you think? QUINN: That is the most plausible rationale for doing what he did,

that he -- in fact, I would -- I would say that he has some pretty strong calculation. Let me put it that way. That he, you know, very well may get a pardon. I don't want to say he is been promised one.

That would be going too far, but the only thing that make sense to me, for him to sort of give up all the potential benefits that he was facing in this plea deal, had he you know, had he behaved, had he fully cooperated, you know, he could have driven this sentence down even further had he been on good behavior. He didn't. He threw all of that out the window after all of this work with the Mueller operation.

LEMON: But not enough for him. I mean, he is going to sit in jail regardless of how much he --

QUINN: I understand, he is going to do some time, but at his age, you know, there's a big difference between, you know, five years or 10 years.

LEMON: And 70.

QUINN: And life. You know?

KAYYEM: Yes.

LEMON: Yes. OK. Juliette, what did you want to say?

KAYYEM: No, just on the pardon issue, I mean, even if he assumes that there is going to be a pardon, it is quite a calculation on his part. We always assume -- we all have kids. Why do kids lie? Because the truth is worse. So what's the truth for Manafort? Either implicates the Trump family or it implicates a foreign government.

And we keep sort of forgetting how much Manafort is tied to Russia. So, you know, we think always protecting the Trump family. He may be protecting actually a foreign country because the man has no allegiances. We know that now.

LEMON: When you spoke earlier about foreign intelligences, you know, I hadn't even thought about that because we keep thinking it's the American intelligence agencies, it's --

KAYYEM: No. Think about --

LEMON: It's what Mueller has. You know, it's the FBI, but this is, you're right --

KAYYEM: Think about Papadopoulos. I mean, Papadopoulos was a foreign intelligence agent. Think about the Seychelles meeting. That wasn't us.

LEMON: Listen, I've got to run.

QUINN: We are being played by some Russians. LEMON: Yes. But I want to get Matthew in. Matthew, quickly here, we

keep forgetting about the A.G., the acting A.G. Whitaker, because he is an important player in all of this.

ROSENBURG: I mean, look, you know, I think it's hard to say what his exact role is here. Because Juliette pointed out earlier, you know we are going to get a bunch of details and the subsidy document that is to be coming in the near future.

[23:10:08] And you know, I think at that point we'll also have a better idea of what Manafort's angling for here. We'll know what he is lied about. If he is lying to protect his business dealings in Russia or his partners there, then yes, Juliette might be right.

He might be lying to protect a foreign government or protect himself from you know, repercussion from a foreign government. If it's lying about things that went under in the campaign, it looks like yes, he is lying to protect the President. I mean, we'll have a much better idea when --

LEMON: I've got to run, you guys. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. President Trump holding not one, but two campaign rallies tonight for Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's Senate runoff. She is made comments about attending a public hanging and suppressing the votes of liberal students. Not to mention being photographed holding a rifle and wearing a confederate cap. And there's more, but will any of it matter to Mississippi's voters?

[23:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The 2018 midterms are not over yet. President Trump just finished off two rallies in Mississippi tonight for Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Even though it's a state he won by 18 points.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're all here tonight to support an amazing leader and a tremendous champion for this great state. She is respected by all. Some long-term Senators, they've been down there. They've told me, this is a woman that gets it, she is smart, she is tough, and she loves you. Cindy Hyde-Smith. We have to get her in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: She is respected by all. She gets it. OK. So the question is why are we talking about a state that hasn't elected a Democrat since 1982? Because the Republican candidate said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he invited me to a public hanging I'd be on the front row.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Respected by all. She gets it. Hyde-Smith said any attempt

to paint that comment as negative is ridiculous. Keep in mind Mississippi had the highest number of lynching in the nation between 1882 and 1968. That is according to the NAACP. Also worth noting that Hyde-Smith is also running against an African-American former Congressman Mike Espy, but that public hanging comment was not an isolate incident for Cindy Hyde-Smith. I want you to check out this photo that she posted on Facebook in 2014.

There she is posing with a confederate hat and rifle. And the caption reads, "Mississippi history at its best." She also supported at least two efforts to elevate Mississippi's confederate history. CNN's Kay Pyle (ph) file found she once co-sponsored a resolution that appeared to glorify the confederate cause.

And according to the "Washington Post" she backed a resolution in 2001 to rename a Mississippi highway after the President of the confederacy. What year is this? The Jackson Free Press also reports that Hyde-Smith attend a so-called segregation academy that was set up so that white parents could avoid having to send their children to schools with black kids. Hyde-Smith's daughter also attended a similar private school. There's more. Here's Hyde-Smith appearing to joke about voter suppression. The audio here, it's hard to hear. So we added subtitles for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CINDY HYDE-SMITH, (R), MISSISSIPPI: (inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Companies who put money behind Hyde-Smith's campaign distancing themselves now. Check out this list. Walmart, Major League Baseball, AT&T, Pfizer. Just some of the businesses requesting refunds for their contributions to her campaign. And I should note that CNN is part of AT&T's Warner media. Why are people donating to her anyway? That is a good question.

The race got even more charged today when nooses were discovered on the state capitol grounds. Signs reading "Tuesday November 27th thousands of Mississippians will vote for a Senator. We need someone that will respect lynched victims. And we are hanging nooses to remind people that times have not changed."

True. Times have not changed. Mississippi has a dark history of racism. I wish I could say that I'm surprised that this is still an issue in 2018, but as someone who grew up in the south, still has a strong connection there, family there, not surprised at all. Not surprised by any of this.

The question is what do Mississippi voters think? Do they care that their Senator joked about a public hanging? Do they care that she seems to glorify the confederacy? Well, we're going to find out tomorrow.

So right now I am joined by Scott Jennings, Nina Turner and Max Boot. He is the author of "The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right."

I have to say, I'm not surprised. There were segregation academies when I went to school down south. Still there.

My school was segregated -- was desegregated not long before I went. Then they started another school. When that one was desegregated, they started a private academy. And then once we -- after a football game I went to one of the schools that was segregated. My friends and I.

[23:20:00] They said -- soon as we pulled up, "don't get out of that car, nigger. Get back in." That is the south. Still that way. Don't sleep on it.

I don't know why people are surprised by this. I don't know why companies -- me, are still donating to someone who has an open history like that. All questions that need to be answered. So, Scott, you just heard me lay it all out. Cindy Hyde-Smith has made multiple offensive comments, has a history of glorifying the confederacy. Is this the kind of person that you want representing your party? Do Mississippians want her representing their state, a state that is trying to come into the modern times?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think Hyde-Smith is going to win. I think she said some things that were not great and she didn't handle the apologies well. It strikes me that based on the general election results and based on the fact that I've not seen any evidence or public polling that tells me this race has tightened that it's more likely than not that a Republican is going to win this election, because it's a nationalized election and the people of Mississippi like Donald Trump's agenda.

They're more likely to send a Senator to Washington to support his agenda. So my presumption is this race is going to be less about what Hyde-Smith has not done well on the campaign trail and more about whether they're just going to continue to support the Republican agenda and the Trump agenda in Washington.

LEMON: Are you surprised, though, Scott, in all honesty that you'd have a President of the United States and a president openly supporting someone who has made those comments without any good explanation except for the obvious as to why she made them?

JENNINGS: No. I mean, he is a Republican President. He wants a Republican Senator. It would be a huge embarrassment for his Party to lose this seat. And he loves the campaign. So I'm not at all surprised he is in --

(CROSSTALK) TURNER: Scott --

MAX BOOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Scott, can I just jump in?

LEMON: One at a time.

BOOT: We've had these kinds of discussions before where you offer this kinds of values-neutral horse race analysis --

JENNINGS: Hey, Max, listen, brother, I don't answer to you OK? And you jump all over me. I don't answer to you Max Boot. You left the Republican Party. I don't answer to you.

BOOT: Can I please make my comment, Scott? Is this your show or can I make a comment?

JENNINGS: You interrupted me. I'm going to interrupt you back. Jerk.

BOOT: Go ahead, Scott. Go ahead, Max. Sorry. Go ahead. And there's no need to call names here. Come on, Scott. You don't have to call him jerk.

BOOT: We discussed the kind of appalling --

JENNINGS: He does this to me. Don, we get on these shows and Max interrupts me and I -- is this your show?

LEMON: Let him make his point.

BOOT: No, Scott. OK. You're trying to filibuster because you're embarrassed by what I'm going to say, which is that you engage --

JENNINGS: No, I'm embarrassed to be here with you, Max.

BOOT: You are not letting me finish --

JENNINGS: Your sanctimonious bull crap. That is what I'm embarrassed about.

BOOT: OK. I'm embarrassed by your filibuster and I'm embarrassed by the fact that you will not call out this blatant racism on the part of Cindy Hyde-Smith and Donald Trump. You offer this kind of values- neutral horse race analysis and you refuse to condemn the bigotry of the Republican Party, the Party of Lincoln. This is a disgrace to what the Republican Party has stood for so much of its history.

LEMON: Scott, I've got to say -- Scott, I've got to say Scott does condemn bigotry and he does criticize the President at times on this show, but go on.

BOOT: But he is not doing it now, Don. He is not doing it now. He is offering an analysis of why these appeals to prejudice will be successful politically.

LEMON: OK. Nina, go on.

NINA TURNER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This win at any cost is the problem in America right now. When somebody in your Party, in your -- if they're wrong, they're just flat out wrong. And this Senator is wrong all day long, 24/7, 365. The woman did not even -- excuse me.

The Senator did not even apologize. And to continue to make excuses for her makes no sense. Mississippi is going to have a day of reckoning tomorrow. And unfortunately, Scott is probably right. They probably are going to re-elect her for the reasons that he just named.

And you have these high-level Republicans who continue to support her. Not one of them have called her out. So my message to America is that we cannot be so tied up to who your party is when people are wrong and they're upholding bigotry and just flat out racism? We've got to call people out. She should not be re-elected tomorrow, but shamefully, she just might be re-elected tomorrow. Welcome to Mississippi, USA.

LEMON: Well, you know, I know that Scott, you're offering analysis and strategy, but my original question was more of a personal. Do you think it's this kind of person -- you're not a voter in Mississippi so maybe your answer is that is not for me to decide, but listen, I want to hear? Here's what President Trump said tonight about Mike Espy, the black man running against Hyde Pierce. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Cindy's far left opponent, he is far left, oh, he is out there -- how does he fit in with Mississippi? Just -- I can go over this, but how does he fit in?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:25:03] LEMON: How does he fit in with Mississippi? What is he talking about? I don't know.

TURNER: Oh, my god, Don. I would rather for him to be far left than for a racist. That really is what this is coming down to. We can't sugar-coat this kind of stuff. And the Republican Party should be ashamed of itself. And if they were, Don, they would disavow this woman and just say you know what, let the Democrat win. We just can't even have this. And you want to talk about the fact they only get 8 percent of the African-American vote. This is one of the reasons why.

And everybody, whether they're -- because this is not just the black people's burden. So I don't want to hear no smack from Democrats about how the black community have to come out and save this state in the same way we saved Alabama from an alleged pedophile. White America needs to stand up and call this out, and this should not be about political affiliation. This is about moral affiliation. This woman should not serve.

LEMON: I've got a lot of show to get to, but listen, in his piece today Max basically said that the GOP is now the party of neo- confederates. Does he have a point, Scott? Is your party now the Party of neo-confederates?

JENNINGS: No, I strongly disagree with that. I'm proud to be in the Party of Abraham Lincoln.

BOOT: Oh, please. This is not the Party of Abraham Lincoln.

JENNINGS: Say things that are -- I told you -- you know what, Max? Why don't you just go ahead, brother? Because obviously what you have to say is much more important than what I have to say. Why don't you just go ahead, man? Just go ahead. BOOT: Why don't you condemn Cindy Hyde-Smith, Scott? Then we'll

talk. Condemn Cindy Hyde-Smith and condemn Donald Trump for his racist tactics. I'd like to hear you do that.

LEMON: OK.

JENNINGS: No, please. Go on.

LEMON: Thank you all. I appreciate it.

BOOT: You're not doing it, Scott.

LEMON: Thank you. The anti-defamation league says anti-Semitic hate crimes have spiked 57 percent since last year. We've got a CNN special report that investigates what's behind this shocking rise of hate crimes. It's right after this.

[23:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So as you can see, it's a heated subject about race. I want everybody to sit down and watch this segment as well. It's disturbing, but it's true. Hate crimes are on the rise in America. The FBI reports that they've increased in both 2016 and 2017.

Well, tonight, CNN begins a special -- a series of special reports investigating the state of hate. Sara Sidner looks at the jump in anti-Semitic hate crimes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFFREY MYERS, RABBI, TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE: I'm not just concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism. I'm concerned about the rise of hate in our country.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A quiet Saturday morning of prayer and reflection at Rabbi Jeffrey Myers' synagogue in Pittsburgh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired!

SIDNER (voice over): Savagely interrupted by gunfire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): He's got an automatic weapon. He's firing at the front of the synagogue.

SIDNER (voice over): Anti-Semitism had blasted its way back into America's consciousness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): We have four down in the atrium, DOA this time.

SIDNER (voice over): Barry Werber was praying inside the Tree of Life Synagogue when bullets started flying. He hid in a closet as a gunman mowed down 11 of his fellow worshipers.

(on camera): What is it like being a survivor?

BARRY WERBER, SYNAGOGUE MASSACRE SURVIVOR: Sometimes, I just feel dead inside. No feeling at all. I hate that feeling. But it's there.

SIDNER (on camera): How many of your friends have you had to bury?

WERBER: Too many to count.

SIDNER (voice over): It was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. The personification of a rising state of hate in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jews cannot replace us!

SIDNER (voice over): The Anti-Defamation League says anti-Semitism in America was already exploding, from Neo-Nazi marches to more subtle propaganda. In 2017, the ADL logged nearly 2,000 anti-Semitic incidents, a 57 percent spike in just one year.

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: That's the single largest surge we've ever seen since we started tracking this data.

SIDNER (voice over): The FBI which only counts hate crimes reported by police, saw an astonishing 37 percent rise in anti-Semitic crimes. Police in Pittsburgh say the gunman's anti-Semitic fervor was spelled out on social media, one site in particular that attracts racists and Neo-Nazis because of its loose policies on free speech. Experts say those sites have become echo chambers that are getting louder and helping motivate real-life attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gas the (bleep).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Race war now!

SIDNER (voice over): The anger and misguided ideology of Neo-Nazis which has been permeating the dark corners of the internet now materializing on street corners and being scrawled across the American landscape. Swastikas on a temple in Indiana, on a school in Colorado, on a school bus in Florida, on political signs in California and on street signs in Nevada, words of hate on a temple in California.

(on camera): What was spelled out here?

YISROEL CINER, RABBI, BETH JACOB CONGREGATION OF IRVINE: Expletive, F you, Jews, expletive again, in red spray paint.

SIDNER (voice over): And anti-Semitism expressed through bullet holes shot through a temple in Indiana. Cars were set ablaze at a Jewish cultural center in Tennessee. And across the country, posters are popping up on college campuses meant to instill Nazi ideals in young minds. Even the dead are targets. At 92 years old, Millard Braunstein knows the pain of loss.

MILLARD BRAUNSTEIN, MOTHER'S GRAVE DESECRATED: This was the love of my life. SIDNER (voice over): But he has never personally experienced anti- Semitism until this year, when 175 tombstones at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia were desecrated.

BRAUNSTEIN: My mother's stone was knocked over, and it was really very upsetting. I said, how could this happen in America today?

SIDNER (voice over): For the victims of anti-Semitism, the question is, why has it returned with such a vengeance?

GREENBLATT: Anti-Semitism is nothing new. What is new is number one, the public conversation, the charged atmosphere, the incredibly polarized phenomenon in our society today.

(GUNFIRE)

[23:35:04] SIDNER (voice over): Experts say Charlottesville, Virginia last year was a turning point. The moment the growing rise in racism and anti-Semitism went public. Hundreds of white nationalists, Neo-Nazis, and Klansmen took to the streets protesting the decision to remove a confederate statue.

It was one of several protests last year. But this was different. It began with a torch-lit march on Friday night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jews will not replace us!

SIDNER (voice over): That turned into a violent confrontation the next morning between white nationalists and counter-protesters.

(bleep)

SIDNER (voice over): In the end, police say a man with Neo-Nazi ideals killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Those who monitor Neo-Nazis say the aftermath may have encouraged the movement.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: But you also had people that were very fine people. On both sides.

SIDNER (voice over): Especially because the president's lack of a complete condemnation of what happened was cheered by white nationalists.

BRAUNSTEIN: Show me a good Neo-Nazi and show me a good Ku Klux Klan man. I mean, it just isn't there.

WERBER: Instead of saying, well, there's wrong on both sides. How are we wrong? What were we doing wrong? Except praying. That can't be wrong.

SIDNER (voice over): Barry Werber likens that kind of thinking to Hitlerism. He is well aware of the torture that regime meted out on a family member. WERBER: He was used by the German scientists for experiments. They had literally cut the muscles out of his arms to see if they would regrow. And he had to live with that. Thank god I never had to go through that.

SIDNER (voice over): Jews have a saying about the holocaust. Never again. After what he's been through, Werber is terrified it really could happen again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Now, the Jewish community like every community has a diversity of opinion and there are plenty of Jews including one of the rabbis we spoke to here in California who support Donald Trump. They don't blame him at all for the rise in anti-Semitism. Actually, they feel he supports Jewish people because he is a big supporter of Israel.

But one thing that everyone we spoke with said needs to change, and that is the heightened political rhetoric that is dividing this country. Don?

LEMON: Sara, thank you very much. A new analysis from The Washington Post finds that right-wing violence is the largest form of domestic terrorism today, and it's been on the rise for years. Wes Lowery is here to tell us what's behind the escalating violence.

[23:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A new Washington Post analysis of terror in the U.S. shows that right-wing extremists committed more attacks than any other category of domestic terrorists.

Let's bring in now Wes Lowery of The Washington Post. He is one of the authors of the report. Wes, thank you so much. Listen, this is a really important story. So, I'm glad you're here to talk about it.

Your research suggests that not only is far right-wing violence the main form of domestic terrorism today, it has been on the rise for many years. What's behind the surge?

WESLEY LOWERY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Certainly. And so what we did for this analysis is we looked, we used the global terrorism data base that's kept by the University of Maryland, and we analyzed all of the terror attacks that -- domestic terror attacks that have been recorded going back to the '70s, the '80s, the '90s, the 2000s.

And what we've seen is that starting about 2010, a massive rise in the number of right-wing attacks that many people think is linked to the Obama presidency. And now in the last two years since the election of Donald Trump, that rise has increased even exponentially, right?

You're thinking about during the Obama years things like the Charleston shooting where nine people were killed at Mother Emmanuel Church. And now under Donald Trump, you can think of even the week we had last month where you had the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and then the attempted shooting at the church in Louisville and then the bombings, bombs being sent to CNN and other places, right?

And so these types of attacks are on the rise. And what experts think, both law enforcement experts and terrorism experts, they think that the political rhetoric of our moment is unquestionably driving some of this uptick at the very least, right?

That these are folks who have always existed. Neo-Nazi groups have always existed. Anti-immigrant or anti-Muslim groups have always existed. But in this moment, we've got a political rhetoric being driven in large part by the president himself that is encouraging at the most and at the very least not discouraging this type of violent behavior.

LEMON: This is your piece from The Washington Post. You quote an FBI assistant director Frank Figliuzzi, who says that political leaders, and this is a quote, "from the White House down, used to serve as a check on conduct and speech that was abhorrent to most people. I see that eroding. The current political rhetoric is at least enabling and certainly not discouraging violence."

So the president's rhetoric, the fearmongering around migrants and Muslims, blaming both sides for the violence in Charlottesville, how big a factor is that in the surge in right-wing violence?

LOWERY: It's always hard to take rhetoric and attach it to a specific attack, for example, right? But what we know is that the types of attacks we are seeing fall in line with the types of people who have been villainized by this president and his administration as well as the type of people who were demonized by some of this rhetoric, right?

[23:45:06] So, for example, when you see refugees being called invaders, right? When there's this kind of political rhetoric about people breaking down the borders and coming to get you and to commit crimes, right?

And then you have someone who attacks a synagogue in part because he believes that these Jewish groups are helping settle refugees in the United States of America, you can see how there's perhaps a connection between those two things.

When a president who has talked about trying to ban Muslims from coming into the United States of America is in power and then you see a rise in mosque bombings or in the stated reason that some of these bombers have said both to law enforcement and later on in court in trial is that we wanted to scare them away and tell them -- show them they need to go back to their countries.

You see how when powerful people, be it the president, be it members of Congress, those of us who have the privilege of talking here on cable television, when we say things, when we use political rhetoric especially charged political rhetoric that demonizes specific groups of people, there are people out there who are listening and who take those things seriously, right?

LEMON: Right. LOWERY: If the president of the United States says that there are invaders at the border, there are people out there listening who think, I've got to go do something to stop that.

LEMON: Wes Lowery, appreciate your reporting and we appreciate you coming on tonight. Thank you so much.

LOWERY: Anytime, Don.

LEMON: We'll be right back.

[23:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The White House is all decked out for the holidays. Today, First Lady Melania Trump tweeted a video showing some vibrant and colorful Christmas decorations. They're getting a lot of attention. This year's theme is American treasures. It features ruby red Christmas themes and some decorations that bear the first lady's slogan, be best. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Joining me now is Kate Andersen Brower, the author of "First Women." Hello to you. You book and your wardrobe tonight sort of matches the video that includes the blood red trees. I think it was 40 striking blood red trees that line the east room. What do you think is the significance of the red color?

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: A lot of people on Twitter are criticizing it, saying it's (INAUDIBLE). There are even photos comparing it to the "Handmaid's Tale" outfits. I think that it is better than last year's which was very white and very cold. I think it is in some ways strange to see kind of a promotional video.

It seems like you're watching her floating through the White House. I remember last year there were the ballerinas who came and performed the nutcracker around her. It's very theatrical in a way that a lot of other first ladies have not been when they are showing off --

LEMON: Let's talk that because the gloves, right, because it was red leather gloves, matching red leather gloves which is -- some people are wondering why she is wearing them inside, but is this just her showing off her personal style?

ANDERSEN BROWER: You don't normally see her hands free like that either. You see her with her coat over her shoulders all the time. I think it's her style. She's obviously very into fashion. This is something that they would have been planning, you know, over the summer.

This is something that she and the social secretary would have been thinking of for months. They bring in more than 200 volunteers. It's a huge event. Everything is thought through. But she keeps having these missteps and I think part of that is because of the charged environment that we're in right now.

LEMON: You know, it's a big deal. Every year, people look to the White House. The White House is typically beautiful and the first lady usually handles it. So every year, there's discussion about how the first lady is decorating the White House. That's just how it is. But this time, this first lady chose not to attend a traditional press preview, the White House holiday decorations today.

Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said that Mrs. Trump decided to let the decorations speak for themselves. So, you're saying this may be partly because of the chaos or just the environment that we're in?

ANDERSEN BROWER: I think she doesn't want shouted questions at her by reporters and that's happened with other White Houses where, you know, Nancy Reagan who started the tradition of doing these media avails of the White House Christmas decorations, was questioned about Don Regan and how she was trying to get rid of her husband's chief of staff at the time, Don Regan.

So she doesn't want to have a question about the Russia investigation or something shouted at her. It's embarrassing and I don't think she would know what to do with it, obviously. So I think it's a protective measure.

LEMON: Yes, especially since she featured her "be best" in the Christmas decorations. It was sort of to promote -- there it is, some of the balls right there. This is a wreath made from "be best" pencils and so on. So, you know, is she taking a lot of flack for this? I don't know if Mrs. Obama ever put carrots or anything under the Christmas tree. Maybe she did. I don't know.

[23:54:58] ANDERSEN BROWER: I mean, to be fair, Michelle Obama while she was a much more relatable first lady no question, did not take questions at these events either. And if you do do a media avail, what ever first lady has done in this case is talk about the work of the social secretary, the chefs, the florists, people bringing it together.

It's a moment to shine a light on the people working to make it happen. And a lot of people wonder about what "be best" really is. There hasn't been a lot of movement for it on it. Is this kind of amorphous campaign? She hasn't defined it very well, so it's a little odd.

LEMON: Well, it is the people's house. It belongs to the people. And if you have an opportunity to go and check it out during the holidays, I think that every American should do that. So thank you, Kate.

ANDERSEN BROWER: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: I appreciate your reporting. Happy holidays. I love the red.

ANDERSEN BROWER: Thanks. Thank you. Bye, Don.

LEMON: Thanks for watching. Our coverage continues.

[24:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)