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Dave Chappell's Message to President-Elect Trump; Concerns Rise Over Trump's New Right-Hand Man; France Far-Right Leader Praises Trump's Win; Trump Faces Potential Conflicts of Interest; Aired 10:30- 11a ET

Aired November 14, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:17] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Leave it to comedian Dave Chapelle to put this wild election into perspective. And while he did take some shots at the president-elect on "Saturday Night Live" he also took the time to share a personal story of his last trip to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE CHAPPELLE, COMEDIAN: And at the end of the night everyone went into the West Wing of the White House and there was a huge party and everybody in there was black except for Bradley Cooper for some reason.

(LAUGHTER)

CHAPPELLE: And on the walls were pictures of all the presidents of the past. Now, I'm not sure if this is true but to my knowledge the first black person that was officially invited to the White House was Frederick Douglas. They stopped him at the gates. Abraham Lincoln had to walk out himself and escort Frederick Douglas into the White House. And it didn't happen again as far as I know until Roosevelt was president. When Roosevelt was president, he had a black guy over and got so much flak from the media that he literally said I will never have a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) in this house again.

I thought about that and I looked at that room and I saw all those black faces and Bradley, and I saw --

(LAUGHTER)

CHAPPELLE: And I saw how happy everybody was. These people who had been historically disenfranchised and it made me feel hopeful and it made me feel proud to be an American and it made me very happy about the prospects of our country.

So in that spirit, I'm wishing Donald Trump luck and I'm going to give him a chance, and we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one, too.

Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. Joining me now to talk about this is Dean Obedallah, the "Daily Beast" contributor, and the host of the "Dean Obedallah Show" on Sirius XM Radio, and Jason Johnson, politics editor at TheRoot.come and professor at Morgan State University.

Welcome to both of you. I found Dave Chappelle's monologue really interesting. I also found that most people left off that last line, Dean. Right? Donald Trump has to give us a chance, too.

DEAN OBEDALLAH, CONTRIBUTOR, THE DAILY BEAST: Absolutely. This was not like some headline that Dave Chappelle says Trump give us a chance, let's give Trump a chance. He said we demand, we demand that you give disenfranchised communities a chance.

I love Chappelle's jokes in there. He's showing Donald Trump we'll make America laugh again, which is the other side of a Trump presidency. And I think that you're going to see Donald Trump be great for comedians and my fellow progressives who are freaking out, comedy is cathartic. Let's laugh at it. Let's have some fun. It's empowering.

Dave Chappelle is right. Donald Trump wants to reach out, wants an open mind from us, he's got to reach out to us. Come out to our communities, meet with our leaders, apologize for the hate he spewed. Get rid of Steve Bannon. Number one, get rid of Steve Bannon. And then we can work on things together.

COSTELLO: Well, one thing about comedy being cathartic, because, Jason, as I watched "Saturday Night Live" I didn't laugh very much.

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICS EDITOR, THEROOT.COM: No. Yes. Look, I'm one of those modern sort of millennial gen X-er people. I don't watch "Saturday Night Live" as much as I used to when it was actually cool in high school. But I will say this. There is nothing to laugh about when the president-elect has picked a white supremacist with ties to terrorist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan to be his senior adviser.

I'm not laughing. In fact, people are afraid and concerned. And I think the fact Dave Chappelle said look, we're going to give him a chance, he gives us a chance, and then 24 hours later, Donald Trump is attacking the press and putting Steve Bannon in that position, this is not something to laugh about. People need to be concerned. And people need to push back against this kind of presidency. If we laugh at it and we normalize it, there's a problem.

COSTELLO: Here's the strange -- some strange things to me, right? Minorities did vote for Donald Trump, 29 percent of Hispanics voted for Donald Trump, 8 percent of African-Americans voted for Donald Trump. Those are larger percentages than voted for Mitt Romney. The protesters on the streets are very largely white. So help me understand that, Dean.

OBEDALLAH: I think because younger people who are in the streets, we see they are mostly white, are upset by the political system, They're very upset about Donald Trump. Maybe they voted third party. Maybe now they wish they didn't vote third party, voted for Hillary, that's up to them.

But, Jason, I just want to say, comedy is cathartic for us. It takes away some of the power and the fear that Donald Trump is wielding. I'm not saying you don't take it seriously. We do. I'm Muslim. We have a lot to lose. This is very personal. God forbid, there's a terrorist attack on U.S. soil by a Muslim.

JOHNSON: Right.

OBEDALLAH: We have no idea what Donald Trump will do to us. Internment camps could happen. I hope they have free WiFi.

JOHNSON: Yes.

OBEDALLAH: That's the only thing I'm looking at as an upside. But let's be honest, we have to work together. We have to work together.

[10:35:03] Communities of color, progressives who believe in this. We are not defeated by this election. We cannot surrender. We're going to continue to fight, we'll prevail, but it will take a lot of work. But laughter is healthy. It helps us.

COSTELLO: Laugher -- and I think that protests are healthy, right? I'm just not so sure exactly what the protesters' end goal is.

JOHNSON: Well, yes, Carol. I think the protesters are just saying look, we are going to be here and you can't just walk on over us if you are elected. But I also think this. We've got to wait to see what these final numbers are on minority voters. "The Washington Post" did a story earlier this week. They think that Trump's numbers with Latinos might be closer to 20 percent. I think if exit polls were wrong all year because people thought Hillary was going to win and Trump ends up winning we can't necessarily assume that these numbers are right.

But I'll tell you this. I'm all for laughing. I'm all for having a good time. But this president could pose an existential and physical threat to press members, to members of minority communities, and we have to remember that as we're laughing about him and thinking he's silly, he could also potentially be dangerous.

COSTELLO: But here's the thing, Dean. You know, of course I live in New York City obviously, and I hear the fear because many minorities live in New York City.

OBEDALLAH: Sure.

COSTELLO: When I go to Ohio, I don't hear the fear. They are overjoyed. They think finally, we have leveled the playing field because minorities were gaining far too much power. So how do you bring those two sides together?

OBEDALLAH: I think one thing at the top, we have -- I truly believe that not everyone who supported Donald Trump is a bigot or a racist. I do not subscribe to that. I do believe all the racists or bigots, Trump is the guy you went to. You didn't vote Jill Stein and the Green Party for recycling. But at the same time, there are people in need. Their lives aren't working out. I think be respectful and understanding, not call them names. And at the same time, I hope they understand for minority communities like Muslims, Latinos, African- Americans, LGBT, this is personal.

JOHNSON: Right.

OBEDALLAH: There is fear. There have been hate crimes -- a spike in hate crimes against our community. And sadly it seems some people -- Trump supporters coming on defending Steve Bannon. Hey, there's not two sides to anti-Semitism.

JOHNSON: Right.

OBEDALLAH: There are not two sides to anti-Muslim bigotry or demonizing Latinos. There's one side, the right side. It's wrong. And that's what we have to hear from the Trump supporters and their surrogates. Get Steve Bannon out of the administration of Donald Trump if you want to be president of all the people. If not, you've made your choice.

COSTELLO: OK. So I'm a hopeful type. I really am. I do believe in my country. I think that we will prevail. So leave us with something hopeful, Jason Johnson.

JOHNSON: Look, I like you, Carol. I'm an Ohio voter and I believe this. This is the most optimistic thing I can say. If Donald Trump says he is a law and order president then I assume that when he is president, he will crack down on racist hostility and harassment in the same way he will crack down on protesters. At least he'll be consistent.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Dean Obedallah, Jason Johnson, thanks to both of you.

OBEDALLAH: Thanks.

JOHNSON: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Coming up in the NEWSROOM, far right leaders across Europe are taking note of Trump's victory and some of them are saying it is ushering in a whole new world. Live to Paris next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:42:13] COSTELLO: Donald Trump rode a wave of populism all the way to the White House. Could France be next? Their presidential election is coming up in the spring. And a far right candidate named Marine Le Pen says Trump's victory shows that's possible.

CNN international correspondent Melissa Bell in Paris with more. Hi, Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Marine Le Pen is convinced that the victory of the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the victory of Donald Trump in the United States is a sign that her time has finally come here in France.

Now the National Front has changed a great deal over the last few decades since its founding by her father back in 1972. Gone over the course of the last few years since she's been in charge are the anti- Semitic and xenophobic rhetoric.

And yet, Carol, this is a party that is anti-immigration, that believes in social conservatism, that wants to leave the European Union, that believes the future of France should be in the hands of France's politicians. And many policies that are remarkably close to those of Donald Trump.

So yes, it is this idea that after Brexit and Donald Trump's victory, anything is possible here in France but also this sense that perhaps this populist surge could have its own showing here in France. And it's something that Marine Le Pen dates right back to 2005 when the French voted against all odds and all expectations against a European constitution. And that's what she was referring to when she spoke out on Sunday. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINE LE PEN, LEADER, FRENCH NATIONAL FRONT PARTY (Through Translator): Clearly, Donald Trump's victory is an additional stone in the building of a new world destined to replace the old one. Obviously we have to compare this victory with the rejection of the European constitution by the French people. Of course, with the Brexit vote but also with the emergence of movements devoted to the nation, patriotic movements in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Now Marine Le Pen has an awfully long way to go. What's tended to happen, Carol, is that she does benefit from tremendous popular support in the first round of voting. It happened again in last year's regional elections. It's expected to happen in the spring in the presidential election. In the second round, though, the traditional parties band together in order to keep her out of power.

She believes that this time the momentum is behind her, though, and she might just break that barrier and become France's president. She believes that although the odds are still long against her, after Brexit and after Donald Trump's victory anything is possible here in France as well -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Melissa Bell reporting live for us from Paris, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump's children are some of his closest advisers. Now he wants them taking over the family businesses.

[10:45:02] Why some are saying not so fast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Donald Trump's presidency is certainly unprecedented and so apparently are the potential conflicts of interest. The president- elect says his children are going to take over the family business. And now that his children are involved in his transition, too, how can he keep the two separate?

Paul S. Ryan joins us now, he's the vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause.

Welcome, sir.

PAUL S. RYAN, VP FOR POLICY AND LITIGATION, COMMON CAUSE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: First of all, just tell people why it's so important that presidents separate their political life and their business life.

RYAN: Well, the problem is that government should not be financially benefiting the individual who is running government. So when you have personal financial interests and you are a public office holder, traditionally the requirement is that you put those financial interests, those holdings, in a blind trust so that the public can be confident that you are not doing anything to line your own pockets while you're in office.

COSTELLO: OK. So how exactly will voters know what Donald Trump's business ties are when he hasn't released his tax returns?

[10:50:00] RYAN: Well, we have seen a financial disclosure form actually twice filed by Donald Trump, President-elect Trump, while campaigning, so we know for example that he has -- he owns in whole or in part more than 500 businesses, he has more than $1.5 billion in assets. We know a fair bit about his finances. I'd love to see his tax returns, but we know some of the conflicts that will arise even without seeing those tax returns.

COSTELLO: What worries you most?

RYAN: The difficulty, the complexity for a President-elect Trump to actually separate himself from his personal finances and the initial signs which are that he doesn't intend to do so. He has -- he and his team's lawyer had referred to creating a blind trust but then went on to say that his children will be running it. Well, that's not a blind trust. There are two parts of a blind trust. One is that the beneficiary, in this case president-elect Trump, cannot know what the money is invested in and number two, the blind trust has to be run by someone who is independent of the president.

And that's not the case with his children. So we are 0 for 2 on the two key components of blind trust even though his team is already saying that's what he plans to do.

COSTELLO: Well, isn't it possible that his children will be able to sign some sort of agreement, agreeing never to tell their father about the business anyway? RYAN: Well, there are some things that President-elect Trump cannot

know. For example, right down the street from me right now in Washington, D.C. is the Trump International Hotel in the old post office pavilion. As a president, President Trump will be both the landlord and a tenant in that building. He will be both the taxpayer and the tax collector that development is slated to collect big-time federal tax credits. The lease on that property may be up for renegotiation.

President-elect Trump is going to be appointing the people in federal government who will be responsible for those renegotiations, those collection of taxes and he is simultaneously going to be on the other end serving to benefit financially and personally and his children doing so from how those business deals go.

COSTELLO: You know, a lot of people complained during the run-up to Trump's eventual presidency that he was sort of advertising his businesses while at the same time running for president then he was elected president. So do people really care?

RYAN: I think people are going to be -- are going to care. President-elect Trump as candidate Trump, he campaigned on the promise of draining the swamp of D.C. politics, cleaning up corruption. We need to see him follow through on those promises. The people who voted for President-elect Trump want to see him follow through on those promises. So we're going to be holding him to task for that.

COSTELLO: So I was just going to ask you that. Ultimately, who is responsible for holding his feet to the fire?

RYAN: All of us. I think it's the responsibility of all Americans. I am proud to be vice president of Common Cause. We are a membership organization with hundreds of thousands of supporters and we need all Americans mobilizing, whether or not you voted for Donald Trump, you need to make sure that he's running a clean government during his first four years in office.

COSTELLO: All right. Paul S. Ryan, thank you so much for joining me this morning.

RYAN: Thanks so much for having me.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Did you get a glimpse last night? The full moon is bigger and brighter than it's been in decades.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:57:28] COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 57 minutes past. Dozens of forest fires breaking out across the southeast from Tennessee to North Carolina with little or no rain, more than 5,000 firefighters have been called to help fight the flames. Hundreds of people have been evacuated. A number of the fires are being investigated as suspected arsons. The fires caused a haze to settle on areas as far away as Atlanta. Right now WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being questioned in the

presence of a Swedish prosecutor about allegations he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden. He's giving a statement at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He's been holed up there for six years to avoid extradition. Assange just denied any wrongdoing.

A rare eight carat blue diamond is up for auction at Sotheby's. It's considered rare because it's brilliant in color. The diamond is expected to sell for $25 million and will be offered November 16th in case you're interested.

And check this out. You're looking at the super moon. It's bigger and brighter than it's been in nearly 70 years. And there's a scientific reason for that. This happens when a full moon is at its closest point to the earth along its orbit. Remember that. You can catch it again tonight. Try not to miss it. We will not see a moon like this until 2034.

OK. I think it's time for some late-night laughs, right? "Saturday Night Live" embracing the tensions some people are feeling since Donald Trump has been elected. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is now the oldest person ever elected president and has never held a job in government. If you are 70 and you have no experience, you couldn't get hired at Target. A 70-year- old holding a new career is not how president is supposed to work. It's the plot of "The Intern."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I didn't want Trump to win but as a comedian, it is a little encouraging. Because people are always telling me, you know, you could lose your job for saying that. Now I'm like no, I can't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Thursday, Trump went to the White House and showed us how brave he is by meeting face-to-face with a man who founded ISIS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BOLDUAN" starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Kate Bolduan. John Berman is off today. President-elect Donald Trump laying out his vision for America and about those campaign promises. The wall, maybe more of a fence. Obamacare, throw it out but not all of it. Locking up Hillary Clinton? Maybe not so much.

In his first major sit-down since winning the election, Donald Trump sounding a bit different from Candidate Trump when speaking to "60 Minutes."