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Erin Burnett Outfront
Carrie Fisher, Star Wars' Princess Leia, Dead At 60; Trump Doubles Down, Blasts Obama For Saying He'd Win 3rd Term; Massive Fights Break Out At Malls Across the U.S.; Girls Held Captive By Terrorists Return Home. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired December 27, 2016 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:02] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for watching. "Erin Burnett OutFront" with Kate Bolduan starts right now.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: "OutFront" next breaking news, actress Carrie Fisher, best known as Princess Leia is dead at the age of 60. Larry King is with me tonight as we honor a legend.
Plus, mall mayhem massive brawls breaking out at malls across America. Are they coordinated? And the CNN exclusive, 21 girls kidnapped from their school held captive more than two years. Tonight, we follow their emotional journey home. Let's go "OutFront."
Good evening everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan in for Erin Burnett. "OutFront" tonight breaking news, "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher has died. Four days ago, Fisher suffering a cardiac event on a flight from London to the L.A.
Fisher had been in London filming the third season of the cable comedy series, "Catastrophe." And according to TMZ, Fisher was in intensive care -- in the intensive care unit all weekend.
Earlier today her daughter, Billie Lourd issued a statement through her publicist saying this. "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother, Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning."
Fisher "Star Wars" co-star Harrison Ford issued this statement. "Carrie was one-of-a-kind, brilliant, original, funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life bravely. We will all miss her."
And "Star Wars" creator George Lucas also remembered Fisher writing this. "In Star Wars she was our great and powerful princess, feisty, wise and full of hope in a role that was more difficult than most people might think"
Paul Vercammen is "OutFront" for us in Los Angeles tonight. Paul, you've been talking to fans there. How are they reacting tonight?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, they are sad and they are somber, but they are also smiling when they remember Carrie Fisher. And one aspiring actress saying she was so happy that she was a strong woman off screen and a strong woman on screen. Think about this, it was Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia who stood up to the ultimate sexist big, Jabba the Hutt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARRIE FISHER, ACTRESS: I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash.
VERCAMMEN: Carrie Fisher, best known as Princess Leia in "Star Wars" has died. Fisher had a heart attack, Friday, during the final 15 minutes of a flight from London to Los Angeles.
According to TMZ, Fisher was on a ventilator the entire time she was hospitalized, never regaining consciousness. She seen here in an audition tape with soon to be co-star, Harrison Ford.
FISHER: When R2 has been safely delivered to my forces.
VERCAMMEN: Critics pointed to the strong chemistry between Fisher and Ford and with good reason. Fisher recently revealed that she and Ford were off-screen lovers.
ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": 40 years, is that right?
FISHER: 40 years I thought I'd wait.
DEGENERES: OK. So you revealed that you were having an affair with Harrison Ford.
FISHER: I was.
DEGENERES: You -- well, you say it.
FISHER: Yes, I did.
DEGENERES: All right. So, how did that stay a secret for 40 years?
FISHER: I was good at that, wasn't I?
VERCAMMEN: Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, father, singer Eddie Fisher.
FISHER: I was primarily brought up my by mother, but I saw my father.
VERCAMMEN: Fisher looks (ph) fun at the absurdities of showbiz life in all manner of self medication, including taking pills to control her emotions.
FISHER: Any mood stabilizer is a weight gainer. So, whether you feel better but then you're fat, so what you gain is a loss. It's just that -- it's not a good situation.
VERCAMMEN: Fisher spoke about being bipolar and often turn pain into humor (ph) also writing "Wishful Drinking" and "Shockaholic." Fisher was briefly married to singer Paul Simon in the 1980s. Years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Billie Catherine from her relationship with Agent Bryan Lourd. She debuted in a claim film "Shampoo." FISHER: I like to like my mother.
VERCAMMEN: In between the "Star Wars" movies, Fisher landed a number of many roles in "Soapdish."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we found our waiter.
VERCAMMEN: And as Meg Ryan's wisecracking friend in "When Harry Met Sally."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone is staring at you in personal growth.
VERCAMMEN: But nothing would, could or perhaps should loom larger on screen than Fisher in "Star Wars."
FISHER: They transported you. It was extraordinary entertainment film making.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Do you like the princess?
FISHER: I have her over sometimes. She's a little bitchy, you know.
KING: Yeah.
VERCAMMEN: Carrie Fisher was 60.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: And Fisher and Billie Lourd (ph) were together in the "Empire Strikes Back" and Billie Lourd is perhaps capturing mood of so many people here on Hollywood Boulevard as the sun starts to set here said the force is dark today. Kate?
BOLDUAN: Paul thanks very much for bringing that.
"OutFront" with me now, Larry King, host of "Larry King Now" on Ora T.V. and of course the former host of "Larry King Live" on CNN on the phone. Larry, can you hear me?
KING: I hear you fine, Kate.
BOLDUAN: It's great to have you here. You've known Carrie Fisher for decades. You've interviewed her several times. How you will remember her, Larry?
[19:05:03] KING: Oh, she was so many things. She was bravely honest, devoted herself to helping other people, hysterically funny. I had some occasions with Carrie, in addition to interviewing her.
One time we had -- Carrie Stevenson who still works at CNN, my wife and I threw a big birthday for her at Spago's here in Beverly Hills and we had about 8 or 10 people who at worked at CNN and we gave this birthday party for Carrie Stevenson and Spago's made the cake, "Happy Birthday Carrie."
Well, Carrie Fisher was having dinner at Spago at the same time. They get a little mixed up. They present the birthday cake to Carrie Fisher who is dining with a friend. Carrie doesn't want to make them feel bad, so she blows out the candle and shares care with the friend and they box the cake and they're taking it home and then somebody tells her she comes over to our table. It was a riot.
And then we had a roast of Jane Fonda in -- I think about 2008 or 2009 in Atlanta honoring Jane's Foundation, which helped to prevent pregnancy in teenagers and Rosie O'Donnell was there, Ted was there, Ted Turner and Jane and on the dais, I was on the dais, Carrie Fisher was on the dais, Debbie Reynolds was on the dais and Carrie was the funniest of them all.
She was just all along with material (ph). She was hysterical. She was a delightful, wonderful person, extraordinary talent. She -- not only appeared in Harry, "When Harry Met Sally," but she helped worked the script. She was a script doctor, so you didn't see her name on a lot of films that she helped make.
BOLDUAN: Right.
KING: She was a tremendous talent. It's a great loss.
BOLDUAN: So, I want to play for our viewers, Larry, a little bit more of the interview we heard just a moment ago that you had with her back in '87, when you talked to her about "Star Wars," you talked to her about that iconic role of Princess Leia. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You did like the script right away, though?
FISHER: It was tremendous.
KING: Why? I mean --
FISHER: It was very visual. All that stuff you saw on the screen was described beautifully. It was extremely descriptive and you really could visualize a lot if it. I just couldn't imagine. I'd never seen anything like that before.
KING: Do you like the princess?
FISHER: I have her over sometimes. She's a little bitchy, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: I love her quick wit. That was how she was at all moments it seemed. I mean, that role though, Larry, it defined her career, of course. Do you get the sense if she was OK with that?
KING: I think she was. It was what it was. In other words, it did make her -- it made her famous, world famous. She appeared in the -- another "Star Wars" movie. She's coming out in another one next year. Her scenes were all filmed.
She had a successful career in many areas in films, in writing books, the daughter of two famous people. I knew Eddie pretty well, too. But when Ellie (ph) is seeing on the (inaudible) of the princess, of course, and I think she was very proud of it. She loved the film, but the sad part was the bipolar. And that's -- that also what it was.
She tried to help a lot of other people. That was a sad part of her, but she brought forward a great deal of attention to it. She was extraordinarily honest. There was no cutoff, you know.
If you asked her a question, she answered it like that she was honest in the book about Harrison Ford. That's the way Carrie will be remembered. She'll -- I don't know anyone who didn't really, really like her and admire her talent.
BOLDUAN: One of the more impressive qualities that you just touched on was how open she was about living with bipolar disorder and also her struggles with addiction, with depression. You talked to her about that as well. Here's a little bit from your interview with her in 1990. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: I didn't like illegal drugs. I like legal drugs. So I like medicine, because I like the philosophy of it. You are going to feel better when you take two or eight of these. And I always wanted to feel better.
And one of the side effects of Percodan is euphoria and I thought that was a side effect that I could easily live with. It doesn't matter that the rest of that that follow that are palpitations, heart attack and death. I couldn't get over euphoria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And you perfectly say that she was unbelievably honest and candid even -- but even talking about something so serious. She never seemed to take herself so seriously.
KING: And when think about it, she pointed out there that legal drugs bring a lot of -- they help a lot of people. They help people in pain. They also make you addictive. But as she said they also bring you euphoria. And what's wrong with euphoria? So, that is its attraction.
[19:10:02] People don't take something that want to make them sad, so that's one of the great problems with prescription drug is. It's to those who take it initially, it's a blessing. First, to relieve pain then for euphoria, which (inaudible) it was the opposite of depression. And then, of course, you become addicted.
And she was very open on -- there wasn't anything she wasn't honest about, a marriage to Paul Simon, her feelings towards her mother, her feelings towards her father. She was Carrie Fisher. She was what she was and she'll be sorely missed. She was a dazzling Hollywood person.
BOLDUAN: Larry, we appreciate you always. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your thought. KING: My pleasure. Thank you, Kate.
BOLDUAN: All right, thank you.
I want to bring in now, Nischelle Turner, she's a host of "Entertainment Tonight" and also Jim Moret, Chief Correspondent for "Inside Edition." Guys, it's great to see you unfortunately talking about this.
Nischelle, Carrie Fisher, she did an interview with Rolling Stone, it was just last month when she was asked if she feared death. And here is her response. She said, "No. I fear dying. Anything associated -- anything with pain associated with it, I don't like it. I've been there for a couple of people when they were dying, I didn't -- it didn't look like fun. But if I was going to do it, I'd want someone like me around. And I will be there." It seems classic Carrie Fisher.
NISCHELLE TURNER, HOST, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: Absolutely.
BOLDUAN: I mean she was a role model to so many female actors. We're hearing about it more and more today. How is Hollywood responding to her passing?
TURNER: Well, if you think about it, if you think about the conversations that had been had in Hollywood right now about gender equality, wage gap, all of those things, you know, female empowerment, having strong characters that are women on screen, Carrie Fisher for my generation and a lot of us was that figure growing up.
Princess Leia was that figure because, yes, she was a woman and pretty and feminine, but she was a feminists. She was a bad ass (ph). She was strong. She was powerful. She took over "Star Wars." She took over that movie. It was supposed to be Han Solo and Luke Skywalker's movie, but we remember Princess Leia so much more in my case.
So, yeah, she was a role model for a lot of women these days and we've heard a lot of people in Hollywood speaking out about it saying, "You know, you will be missed. The force, you know, has been with you and it is dark today." But you've also heard people talked about -- saying "thank you" a lot.
"Just thank you for being the role model that you are. Thank you for being the strong woman. Thank you for speaking out about things that a lot of people in Hollywood considered taboo and making it OK to be flawed and OK to be a little different." So she did a lot of these those things for people and especially women in Hollywood.
(CROSSTALK)
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, INSIDE EDITION: And let me just follow up on what Nischelle was saying that just talking about her being tough in "Star Wars." And, you know, you think about that one scene where she's in this bikini being held captive by Jabba the Hutt and she said to George Lucas, "You got to be kidding, I'm going to be in a bikini?" But, she got to kill Jabba the Hutt. So, she was vulnerable, but she was also tough and, you know, I think about what Larry King was talking about with her. I spent a day with her once at her house. We spent the day shooting a special for CNN and we were in different rooms of her house and there was nothing that was off limits.
She would talk -- she said something that was fascinating to me. She said she felt like a person with her nose up against the window at a bakery, but she was the bread. That meant everybody was looking at her, her whole life as the child of two Hollywood stars.
BOLDUAN: Jim, we actually have that clip. Let's play that clip for our viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are that little child being posed with your famous parents and you feel that somehow people are seeing into your private life, you've allowed much greater access.
FISHER: But, you know, it is another way of controlling it, because if somebody else can assume all sorts of things about you by seeing you in all of these environment, I used to -- I knew that my family was observed and at some point I split off and watched, too, because I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I used to say I feel like I've got my nose pressed up against the window at a bakery, only I'm the bread.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: There you go. Exactly as you put it, Jim.
MORET: Yeah, there you go. That's what I remember. But, you know, I wanted to hug her. You just -- you couldn't help but fall in love with her, because she was perplexing. She was fascinating. She was tough. She was outlandish and she was very special and very talented.
BOLDUAN: Guys, it's great to have this conversation with you. I think the "New York Times," I love how they put it today kind of to you point earlier Nischelle. Then they wrote, "She was a damsel who could very much deal with her own distress."
TURNER: I love that.
BOLDUAN: I just love that moment.
TURNER: And, you know, Kate, real quick to focus on (ph), I'm sure we have to go, real quickly. She said in her book, her 2008 book when she had a conversation with George Lucas, she walked onset in that white dress and he said to her, "Well, you can't wear a bra with that dress as Princess Leia." And she said, "What are you talking about can't wear bra?"
[19:15:03] And he said, "Well, people in space don't wear underwear because you're in space." So she said she would have -- she joked. She would have liked it to be part of her obituary that said, "Princess Leia didn't wear a bra because people in space didn't wear underwear."
BOLDUAN: And there you go, classic Carrie Fisher. It's great to see you guys. Thank you.
MORTER: Absolutely.
BOLDUAN: "OutFront" for us next, Donald Trump not letting it go. It seems twitting about President Obama's insertion that he could have won a third term running against Trump. What Trump is saying tonight?
And Trump called Clinton "Crooked Hillary" for cozying up to "Wall Street" and keeping the press in the dark. Does he now doing the same thing? And this, fights breaking out malls across America, who's behind these brawls?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: And breaking news, President-elect Donald Trump doubling down against President Obama. Trump tweeting this late today, "President Obama campaigned hard and personally in the very important swing states and lost. The voters wanted to make America great again." The tweet, his latest response to this statement coming from President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could've mobilized the majority of the American people to rally behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Jeff Zeleny is "OutFront" in Palm Beach, Florida following the president-elect tonight. So, Jeff, President Obama saying that he believes he could have beaten Trump clearly did not sit well with the president-elect it seems.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It did not at all, Kate. And, really, this is the continuation of the escalation between the 44th president and the soon to be 45th president, a war of words unlike we've ever seen at least in this medium before.
And it really has shown just how far they've come since those -- that first meeting at the White House in the days after the election, obviously the emotions on both sides and their supporters running high.
But, Kate, history will never know the answer to who would have won that contest between Trump and Obama, but you get the sense that both men would like to know the answer.
BOLDUAN: That's why this is so strange that it continues to play out because it's a mythical match up. President Obama, he visited Pearl Harbor today with Prime Minister of Japan and in his remarks late this afternoon, some are saying a veiled swipe if you will at his successor. What are you hearing in it? ZELENY: Kate, such a moment of history there with President Obama 75 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor with the Prime Minister of Japan. And President Obama used it as a moment, a teachable moment if you will to talk about how refuting (ph) and worrying countries can actually come together.
[19:20:09] Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: It is here that we remember that even when hatred burns hottest, even when the tug of tribalism is that it's most primal, we must resist the urge to turn inward. We must resist the urge to demonize those who are different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Now, the president clearly not mentioning Donald Trump by name, of course, Kate, but in the waning days of 2016 and certainly in the waning days of his presidency, clearly making the point here offering a lesson going forward for Americans, if they are listening to him to not turn inward as he said today in Hawaii. Kate?
BOLDUAN: Fascinating, great to see you. Jeff, thank you.
"OutFront" with me now, CNN Political Analyst and Deputy Culture Editor of the "New York Times" Patrick Healy, host to the "Ben Ferguson Show," the man, Ben Ferguson himself and former White House Senior Director under President Obama, Nayyera Haq. Guys, it's great to have you here.
So, first up Patrick Healy, when you go to this tweet coming from Donald Trump late today, is he wrong because if you look -- just look at the travel schedule during the campaign. President Obama did campaign hard and it was really personal for him, for Hillary Clinton in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, list them off and Donald Trump won all of those states.
PATRICK HEALY, DEPUTY CULTURE EDITOR, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Right. President Obama made a very clear through his political lieutenants to Hillary Clinton that he wanted to campaign hard for her and, especially, against Donald Trump.
He thought that he could bring out a message to rally his basis, his coalition for Hillary Clinton that he was very well-positioned to take it to Donald Trump to sort of call him out, you know, as inexperienced, as a con man, as someone who wasn't capable of being commander-in-chief. And I think President Obama still hasn't kind of let the go of this.
He has to have, but he likes to get under people's skin not with necessarily frontal attacks, but just sort of like nudge them psychologically and that is partly what he's doing here. You're saying, "Oh, I could have won a third term," because we know that will never be able to be proved, but he knows that anything that makes Donald Trump sound like a loser, possibly, just drives him crazy. BOLDUAN: Yeah. It's plausible deniability that he's actually trying to needle him. But, Ben, beyond this point if Donald Trump is right or wrong with this tweet which he actually is kind of right, that -- this one interview that President Obama does with David Axelrod, I mean, it clearly got under Trump skin. But he's going to have a lot of critiques coming his way over the next four years. How is he going to handle it if this bothers him so much?
BEN FERGUSON, RADIO HOST, "THE BEN FERGUSON SHOW": Well, I think this is appropriate time for him to respond and to set the record straight on this when you have the sitting president basically saying, "I would have taken out back and whooped up on you if I was up against you head to head." So I don't have a problem with this.
And let's be also honest, if Donald Trump would done an interview today one of the first questions any reporter would have asked him would have been, "Hey, President-elect, did you hear what Barack Obama said about you today?" And we would have accepted that question coming from reporter. Instead, we cut out the middle man and Trump says, "Yeah, no. You lost and you would have lost if you're up against me."
Hillary Clinton was an extension of Barack Obama. He made that very clear on the campaign trail as well, "That if you want to keep my policies going," he even said that in stump speeches. "Hillary Clinton is who you need to go out and vote for." And the American people rejected that message.
So for him to come out and claim now that he would have won the election, he was out there campaigning, so as Michelle Obama saying, "You want us and what we did to keep going, vote for Hillary." And people said, "No."
BOLDUAN: Yeah. Donald Trump can say whatever he wants on Twitter, of course, but, again, we would asked him if we would have had an interview with him, but he's not doing press conferences yet, again, Ben Ferguson must be pointed out. Nayyera, get in on this.
NAYYERA HAQ, FORMER STATE DEPT. SPOKESWOMAN UNDER CLINTON & KERRY: Well, I mean, listen, any president who's won two terms whether Democrat or Republican would probably say the same thing that, "Yeah, of course, I could win a third term." I mean, this is -- if anybody can appreciate a healthy ego it should be Donald Trump.
The challenge is that that ego hasn't stop being in campaign mode and that ego is continued unto being a president-elect and (inaudible) and that's a big difference. Having such a thin skin in the campaign, it's carried over on Twitter is -- the danger in that is that any foreign leader now knows and anybody who's looking to go up against the U.S. knows that all you have to do is make a random comment about --
FERGUSON: Hold on, let's be clear.
HAQ: -- and that will get under his skin. I mean, here is the challenge, here's the big difference -- BOLDUAN: Hold on. Hold on, Ben. Let's her finish.
HAQ: I mean, it is an off hand comment out of a bigger context of what the president was saying even today which is that this is really what we need as a time of healing and a time of moving forward and not focusing on divisiveness. I mean, at the end of the day --
FERGUSON: Yeah. But, Obama --
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: OK, go Ben.
FERGUSON: First of all, let's not act like its thin skin when you have the highest level of trash talking you can possibly have in politics a sitting president and a president-elect, so it's not thin skin for those two individuals to go after one another.
(CROSSTALK)
[19:25:11] BOLDUAN: Patrick makes a fascinating point that it's -- whenever anyone kind of -- I wouldn't say calls him a loser, but kind of questions his winnability if you will, I mean, we have example upon example of when --
FERGUSON: Right. But, when you win an election --
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: Two of you are talking to me and I only have one brain, hold on. Go Patrick.
HEALY: Just make this one point about -- by Donald Trump to put it in context, too, and Donald Trump has said many times that if you hit him he's going to hit you back 10 times as hard.
BOLDUAN: Right.
HEALY: And I will say, again, let's put this tweet in context. What Donald Trump tweeted about Obama actually wasn't that vicious. So one could argue that he is -- let say sort of modulating his tone a little bit.
I mean, he always used to say, "I'm going to hit back 10 times as hard so they never forget how tough I can be." And with this kind of a tweet at least, you know, he was basically saying, "Whoa, you know, President Obama tried to campaign hard, but I won."
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: Hold on. There are two things. I don't think what Donald Trump really says in the tweet is wrong. I'm just fascinated by the fact that, Ben, no one is questioning the result of the election at all. So who is Trump's audience?
FERGUSON: I disagree. Look at how many people have come out there. Almost every Democrat says, "Well, he didn't win the popular vote."
BOLDUAN: They're not questioning the outcome --
(CROSSTALK)
HAQ: That is a fact.
FERGUSON: Hold on. But, Kate, they're undermining it. They're undermining. They're trying to act as if somehow he's not (inaudible). Look at all the stars that came out and did a video begging those in the Electoral College to not vote for Donald Trump and --
(CROSSTALK)
HAQ: -- to really be presidential?
FERGUSON: That's unprecedented.
HAQ: He could ignore it and move on and focus on governing the country --
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: You're never going to ignore Obama talking trash.
HAQ: It's a never ending campaign. I mean, listen, we've lost --
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: It's a double standard when you don't hold Obama to the same standard.
HAQ: -- let's lost this election and move forward and actually focus to be healing the country --
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: I'm going to reach through the television screen and get you.
HEALY: And the part of the problem and why Democrats keep bringing up the popular vote as you know is that some of the people around President-elect Trump keep saying that he has a mandate, keep sort of insisting that American people voted his program in office, his policies that he won, you know, some kind of a mandate to govern. And what you have here, he clearly won the Electoral College. He clearly is president-elect. He's going to be president of the United States.
BOLDUAN: Right.
HEALY: But the question, does he have an actual sort of mandate to do the things that he wants to do when he lost the popular vote?
FERGUSON: I would say this -- BOLDUAN: Hold on. I'm cutting this off. We're going to see once and for all if I can actually cut it off with Ben Ferguson. Great with you guys. Let's fight this in the break.
Coming up, who knows it's going to be so feisty tonight. Coming up for us, Donald Trump during the campaign rally against Hillary Clinton for ducking the press and for her "Wall Street" connections, but is he now doing the same thing?
And this, these fights and reports of shots fired at more than a dozen malls across the country. Was it more than a coincidence?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:31:11] BOLDUAN: Tonight, a source tells CNN that Steve Mnuchin, Trump's pick for treasury secretary, has submitted his tax returns to the Senate Finance Committee. Mnuchin is one of many Trump nominees who spent years at Goldman Sachs. The same bank Trump repeatedly slammed Clinton for cozying up to during the election, as one of many examples also of Trump doing what he slammed Clinton for doing.
Jessica Schneider is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was Donald Trump's repeated rallying cry throughout the election season.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: With Hillary, we say crooked Hillary. She is as crooked as they come.
SCHNEIDER: Trump on the trail slamming Hillary Clinton, calling her everything from crooked to corrupt.
TRUMP: She should be in prison, let me tell you.
SCHNEIDER: But as Donald Trump's presidency takes shape, some of his sharper barbs are being described as hypocritical.
TRUMP: Can you imagine another four years of the Clintons? Seriously? Can you imagine? Seriously.
It's time to move on folks. We've got to do it right. It's time to move on. And she's totally controlled by Wall Street and all the people that gave her these millions of the dollars.
SCHNEIDER: But Trump's White House is welcoming Wall Street. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, a former banker, is nominated for commerce secretary. Treasury secretary pick Steve Mnuchin made millions amid the housing meltdown. He was also a long time partner at Goldman Sachs.
TRUMP: I know the guys at Goldman Sachs. They have total, total control over him. Just like they have total control over Hillary Clinton. They have total. But they have no control -- they have no control over Donald Trump. SCHNEIDER: Trump taking swipes at Goldman bankers with her ties to
Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton then, now tapping Goldman alumni for various positions. Goldman Sachs' second in command, Gary Cohen, for director of the National Economic Council. Anthony Scaramucci, who had two stints at Goldman Sachs is also reportedly under consideration for a position. And Steve Bannon, Trump's senior counsel and chief strategist started his career at Goldman Sachs.
AD NARRATOR: Hillary cut deals for donors.
SCHNEIDER: This ad attacked Clinton in October. But Donald Trump is now doling out plum positions for his own donors.
LINDA MCMAHON, WWE CO-FOUNDER: Hi, how are you?
SCHNEIDER: WWE co-founder Linda McMahon shelled out $7.5 million to a super PAC backing Trump. She'll be the next head of the small business administration if confirmed.
TRUMP: It is now abundantly clear that the Clintons set up a business to profit from public office. They sold access and specific actions by and really for I guess the making of large amounts of money.
SCHNEIDER: There is concern Trump too might profit from the presidency. He's working to disentangle himself from his worldwide business empire. If his two sons take over as expected, there could still be overlap. His children have already joined Trump for a number of meetings during the transition, with leaders from countries where the family has financial interests. Trump's team promising a news conference to address his business dealing in the coming weeks after postponing it in mid-December.
Trump slammed Clinton for avoiding the media.
TRUMP: She doesn't do news conferences, because she can't, because for a number of reasons. But number one, she's so does honest. She doesn't want the people peppering her with questions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: That expected news conference in January will be the first time the press will get to press Donald Trump since July 27th -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Jessica Schneider, great to see you. Thank you.
OUTFRONT now, Alice Stewart, Republican strategist and former communications director for Ted Cruz, and Karine Jean-Pierre, national spokesperson for MoveOn.org.
Great to see both of you.
So, Alice, you just heard Jessica lay it out really well. I mean, Trump is doing the same things he slammed Clinton for doing. Is Trump a hypocrite?
ALICE STEWART, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, there is a completely different standard when we're talking about running for office and actually being president of the United States.
[19:35:02] But he -- in terms of Hillary Clinton, they kept the Clinton Foundation up and running throughout her time as secretary of state.
What Donald Trump is doing, first and foremost, he didn't build his empire, he didn't build these foundations overnight. And it's impossible to dissolve them overnight. And I think people need to give him the benefit of the doubt that he's going to continue to do as he's been doing and sever ties.
He has dissolved, as he said the Donald Trump Foundation. He's continuing to do so with other entity he's involved with. And in terms of his business deals, he says he will sever ties with them before he is sworn in.
I think we have to give him the time to enable him to do this. It is something that is certainly a long and laborious legal issue to deal with, but I truly believe he's going to do that.
BOLDUAN: I mean, the difference between campaigning and governing is a real thing, Karine. I mean, President Obama, he campaigned on closing Guantanamo Bay, signing that order on his second day of office in 2009. You know what's still open today? Guantanamo Bay.
I mean, isn't it much harder to govern than it is to campaign?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, MOVEON.ORG: Well, when it comes to Trump, Kate. It is -- everything that we're seeing that was just laid out is just the textbook definition of hypocrisy. He ran a campaign on what he perceived to be corruption. But what we're seeing right now with the way that he's putting together his presidency could very well be the most corrupt and troubling presidency to date, especially as it comes to the conflict of interest with his business.
But not only that, if you look at the promises that he made to his voters, he's also stepping on his own populist message, right? The piece talked about the cabinet secretaries. I mean, 40 percent of his -- of his picks thus far are his wealthiest donors. I mean, this is not about the working people. This is about the 1 percent of the 1 percent. And that's what he's showing and telling the folks who voted for him. And he really is just indeed going beyond what we've ever seen before.
BOLDUAN: Alice, do you think that he -- do you fear that he risks alienating his supporters if he does things that would be hypocritical, slamming Hillary Clinton for being cozy to Wall Street and then doing the same thing?
STEWART: If he did that, sure. He would absolutely alienate his base and they would have every right to be frustrated. But keep in mind he has not taken office yet.
And with regard to the Wall Street influence, it is important to note Hillary Clinton took money from Wall Street and was influenced by that in many of her policies. And it's important to note, Donald Trump did not make money from Wall Street and said repeatedly, he's not going to be bought and sold by Wall Street.
And while there are many of the people making up his cabinet have that experience, they are the perfect people to help in his policy of draining the swamp. They understand the impact of federal regulations and how it hurts businesses. And they plan to execute his policy in reducing regulations.
And in terms of draining the swamp, his priority throughout the campaign and his presidency is to do away with the corruption and influence of special interests and Wall Street and big banks, and these people will work for him to execute these policies. He doesn't work for them. They work for him. And they will execute the policies to do away with that corruption.
BOLDUAN: Kind of a little of the reality of all this, Karine, that maybe Alice will probably agree with this, that Trump changed his positions on more than one issue during the span of the campaign. He had three different positions on abortion within 72 hours at one point. And clearly did not turn voters off then. Why do you think they would care now?
JEAN-PIERRE: Because now he has to deliver. Now he's no longer a campaigner. He's now president-elect and soon to be president of the United States.
And just going backs to those pick, I mean, that tells it all. When you are picking Goldman Sachs alums to be part of your economic policy, when one -- when the person who is going to lead the Treasury Department made money off the 2008 economic crisis, also ran a firm that was called foreclosure machine, that should be concerning to his supporters that really believed him when he talked about bringing jobs and really ran like I said on that populist message.
So, you know, I think he's going to have a difficult time because they are going to expect him to deliver and when you are bringing on billionaires extremists and loyalists on to your cabinet, I'm not sure how you are going to achieve that.
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: The good news for Trump is he has time to make good on promise. The bad thing is there is also a whole lot of tape on him making promises on the campaign trail that a lot of people can hold him accountable for which we will be seeing.
Great to see you, guys. Thank you.
STEWART: Thanks, Kate.
BOLDUAN: OUTFRONT next. Post-Christmas shopping turned into post- Christmas brawls. More than a dozen scary fights breaking out at malls across the country. What sparked the ugly mess?
[19:40:02] And a CNN exclusive report, after years of in captivity, 21 young women kidnapped more than two years ago are now free. We follow them home. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Tonight, mayhem at the mall. Chaotic clashes and food court fights. And it wasn't at just one mall. More than a dozen malls across the United States, in virtually every corner of the country.
What caused all the chaos?
Jean Casarez is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At shopping malls around the country, day after Christmas crowds trying to find the best bargains of the year, turned shopping adventures into a mass exodus, fearing the worst.
STEVEN HELLER, ARIZONA MALL SHOPPER: About three ladies came running in our direction and screaming.
CASAREZ: The incidents all occurring within hours of each other. The facts seem to play out in the same way at every mall. Tweets show that as the events were unfolding, initial reports that at a majority of malls were shots fired. Reports of weapons were false but instilled that initial fear for holiday shoppers who were scared for their life and just trying to get to safety.
HELLER: I honestly assumed they are going to be followed with a guy and an automatic weapon ready to, you know, just mass casualty.
CASAREZ: This is cell phone video in Aurora, Illinois. People rushing down the escalators to find an exit, the same thing in Long Island in New York.
EDGAR BRAVO, NEW YORK MALL SHOPPER: I was with my son and wife.
[19:45:02] And my son fell down and they almost ran over him. It was pretty intense.
CASAREZ: While this is happening, fights break out in mall food courts in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
And in Aurora, Colorado, large numbers of people seem to already know what was going to happen.
CHRIS AMSLER, AURORA POLICE: One of our officers was attempting to make an arrest of two people that were fighting. The crowd began to circle our officers.
CASAREZ: Aurora, Colorado, investigators believe there was a social media nexus.
AMSLER: There was something going around on social media about a fight that was going take place here.
CASAREZ: As police across the country look to see if these cases are connected, one law enforcement expert says, if anything, these incidents showed how it is to create mass panic.
STEVEN ROGERS, FORMER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: They certainly what's what we call targets of opportunity, whoever is responsible for this. And we don't know if they're all tied in. That's being investigated. But they knew there would be crowds. They knew that they could create a lot of havoc.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CASAREZ: I just spoke with Aurora, Colorado police. They told me that they still cannot find that social media connection that they were tipped off on that took everyone to the mall. They said they had upwards of 500 people involved in the havoc last night, but they just can't find the connection. So they still don't know how it was communicated.
And I'm told by former law enforcement that, what is the motive here? If it was to create and instill fear and panic -- that was accomplished and that's a very serious thing that can last within people for a long, long time.
BOLDUAN: Yes, very scary. Just look at those videos.
Jean, thank you so much.
OUTFRONT next, 21 young women kidnapped more than two and a half years ago. Finally free. Our Isha Sesay follows their emotional journey home.
And Japan's Prime Minister Abe, the first Japanese prime minister to visit the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor. We'll take you there for that history-making moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:44] BOLDUAN: Tonight, an unbelievable homecoming. Twenty-one girls kidnapped by terrorists are finally returning home. It's been more than two years since they were taken from their school. Their captivity led to a global movement to bring them back. Even Michelle Obama made a personal plea.
CNN was there for the emotional reunion with their families. Isha Sesay is OUTFRONT with this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After almost two and a half years in Boko Haram captivity, at last, it's time to go home.
Having covered the Chibok girl's abduction from the very beginning, I'm going make the long journey from Abuja to Chibok with them.
(on camera): You are going home. How are you feeling? Somebody tell me. How -- what is the feeling in your heart right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy.
SESAY: You're happy?
(voice-over): For all the talk of excitement, some of these girls are also nervous.
(on camera): Don't be nervous. Don't be afraid. OK? You hold your faith. You hold on to your faith. OK? OK? The same faith that kept you all those months.
(voice-over): With the girls on the move, there are more smiles as they chat and giggle freely amongst themselves.
Once we land, the girls are welcoming by some of the Chibok community leaders, as well the governor of the Adamawa state.
The road to Chibok too dangerous to travel after dark. The girls spend the night at a local hotel. Outside a large security cordon is put in place. Inside, with their journey delayed, they gather in one room to do what they were unable to while in Boko Haram captivity.
I learned from Rebecca Malum (ph) and Gloria Dama (ph) they were singing local Christian hymns. While in captivity, their Christianity was not tolerated by the Boko Haram terrorists.
(on camera): What are you doing since you were in Abuja?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since we are in Abuja, we are grateful. We are grateful for them, because they are good for us. And when we are in Abuja, we are playing football. We have English class that we are learning how to speak English and writing very well.
SESAY: You guys look so different since I saw you in October. How are you feeling now from that time to now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel beautiful because, since we came --
SESAY: You can tell me. You can tell me, because you are beautiful.
(voice-over): The next morning, a military convoy escorts the girls to Chibok, a place that holds a promise of long-awaited family reunions and memories of a fateful night.
(on camera): So, the convoy has stopped in a town called Marabamobi (ph), which is about an hour away from Chibok. The movement through these parts such well-armed convoy is drawing attention from passersby.
(voice-over): As we enter Chibok town, locals wave excitedly welcoming their girls home.
The moment of reunion eventually arrives, the room almost vibrating with the sound of unbridled joy. For some waiting parents, heartbreak. These women have come looking for their daughters who are still being held by Boko Haram. They thought their children were among the group who were coming home for Christmas. (on camera): There has been such an outpouring of grief amid the joy,
the piercing screams of mothers realizing that indeed they are not to be reunited with their daughters on this day, which has turned what should have been an overwhelmingly happy moment into a bittersweet one.
[19:55:02] (voice-over): For Rebecca and her father, the nightmare is over and her father is overcome with feelings of gratitude.
Given all they have endured, the mental and physical abuse at the hands of their captor, the years of painful separation from loved ones, this reunion here in Chibok moves these fractured families and their community a step closer to wholeness.
Isha Sesay, CNN, Chibok, Nigeria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Wow. Just wow. Unbelievable.
OUTFRONT for us next, 75 years after Pearl Harbor. Japan's prime minister and President Obama share an historic moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, their historic meeting at Pearl Harbor. The two laid wreaths at the USS Arizona Memorial today. And later, Obama and Abe stood between the flags of two nations. Once bitter enemies, now, the closest of friends.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here in this quiet harbor we honor those we lost and we give thanks for all that our two nations have won, together, as friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Thanks so much for joining us tonight.
"AC360" starts now.
