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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Protests Over Donald Trump Becoming President; President Obama Will Meet with Donald Trump Today; Who Will Fill Donald Trump's Cabinet; Stock Markets Recover After Trump Win. Aired 3:30-4a ET
Aired November 10, 2016 - 03:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:31:22] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, coast to coast protests over the election of Donald Trump. Evidence that healing America's divide will take some work and some time.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Step one happens in just a few hours. What a meeting this will be. President Obama with the man who will replace him, Donald Trump inside the Oval Office.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I am Christine Romans. It is 32 minutes past the hour. We welcome all of our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.
Breaking news this morning, unprecedented protests after an unprecedented election. Marches against a Donald Trump presidency across the country from Philadelphia to Dallas, on to Seattle.
At least two dozen cities. Some still underway right now. Some demonstrators chanting "Donald Trump has got to go." In just the last couple of hours, protesters in Los Angeles brought traffic to a dead standstill on a major freeway, the 101.
Thousands more filled the streets in Oakland, California, where they lit fires to block major thoroughfares. Officials say that three police officers were injured in the protest. No word on their condition. And one woman suffered serious injuries when a protester walked into freeway traffic.
In New York, police say as many as 5,000 people demonstrated in front of Trump Tower in midtown expressing fear for the fate of women and minorities under a Trump presidency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump will reenact harsher stop and frisk laws that will wind up putting so many people back into prison. Also deep fear at the sexism that will be bubbling up through the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a woman and as a Latina I feel very upset and oppressed. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, that's New York. Thousands also massed in front of Chicago's Trump Tower blocking traffic as they marched down Lake Shore Drive.
A quieter demonstration in front of the White House overnight and candle light vigil there where participants chanted and sang protests song as thousands of people watched it on Facebook live.
BERMAN: At this moment at Trump Tower the work is underway to launch the Trump presidency. Just 72 days until the inauguration. He needs to fill more than 4,000 executive branch jobs. More than 1100 of them will require Senate confirmation.
This morning, we are going to see a picture that many Americans never imagined. Most democrats never dreamed and President Obama frankly might not even have ever considered. The current president will welcome the next president, President-elect Donald Trump to the Oval Office.
For the latest on the transition, I want to bring CNN's Sunlen Serfaty in Washington. Sunlen, this is going to be quite a meeting.
[03:35:02] SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sure will be, John. And this is the first time that the two have actually had a full- fledged meeting. So, certainly significant for that.
What we all of course know their sordid relationship from now President-elect Donald Trump's role in the 'birther' movement to President Obama's real fiery rhetoric against Donald Trump while on the campaign trail.
A White House official openly admits that this meeting is not going to be an easy one for President Obama today. But that said, they do say that he is determined to make sure that there is a successful transfer of power here. And this is something that we have heard from President Obama himself yesterday in the Rose Garden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm looking forward to doing everything that I can to make sure that the next president is successful in that. I've said before, I think of this job as being a relay runner. You take the baton. You run your best race.
And hopefully, by the time you hand it off you are a little further ahead. You've made a little progress and I can say that we've done that and I want to make sure that handoff is well-executed because ultimately, we are all on the same team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: And Melania Trump today will also be meeting privately in the White House residence with First Lady Michelle Obama. And while Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence are here in D.C. they have a slew of other important meetings, Pence will be meeting with Vice President Joe Biden.
They'll also both be sitting down with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. You know, obviously the agenda today, John and Christine, very important but I think the symbolism of so much around these meetings, the symbolism and the moment for them equally as important as a transition in earnest starts today.
BERMAN: You know, this is personal between these two men, but the presidency as, you know, Mr. Obama noted yesterday, is bigger than the both of them. So, they will both work on this transition together.
Sunlen Serfaty in Washington. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: Oh, to be a fly on the wall. All right. Some of Donald Trump's earliest appointments will have to be to top White House and cabinet jobs. Campaign sources tell CNN that the jobs are likely to go to loyal Trump supporters who, quote, "took a lot of crap for backing him."
Some of the most frequently mentioned names include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, being looked at for chief of staff, for secretary of state, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is also being considered for chief of staff, attorney general or secretary of state or Homeland Security or CIA director.
The transition term himself New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is said to be under consideration for chief of staff or attorney general.
BERMAN: All right. Two of Donald Trump's most outspoken critics they are offering up sort of an olive branch, democrats Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. They both campaigned hard for Hillary Clinton at the end and they attacked Donald Trump throughout the campaign.
In a letter to The Boston Globe, Senator Warren writes, "President- elect Trump promise to rebuild our economy for working people. And I offer to put aside our differences and work with him on that task."
"When he takes the oath of office as the leader of our democracy and the leader of all Americans it is my sincere hope that he will fulfill that role with respect and concern for every single person in the country no matter who they are, where they come from, what they believe or whom they love."
Now Bernie Sanders writes, "To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I, and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti- environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him."
It's so interesting, Donald Trump in some ways is a blank slate and he has something to offer to both wings of the party. He can go in there and work to repeal ObamaCare right away.
And that will be something that conservatives and republicans love. He can also go in and work against a lot of trade deals. And that is something that many democrats, more than republicans will love immediately.
ROMANS: Right. They may have some overlap there. They will not have any overlap on climate issues.
BERMAN: No, no.
ROMANS: So, you know, there is -- it is just so interesting how there -- how that will fall. Vice President Joe Biden in his first public comments following the Trump victory is seeking to reassure Jewish leaders about the U.S. commitment to Israel in a Trump administration. Biden spoke to the World Jewish Congress on Wednesday night, he vowed American support will not waiver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I stand here to tell you that I have no doubt, none whatsoever, that in the Trump administration there will be no diminution of support as a consequence of this transition.
In this new administration we're inclined to induce the commitment in which it is not Congress would never let it happen. The American people would never let it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Biden said he has responded to concerns from friends in the Jewish community who were anxious about the change in power following one of the most divisive campaigns in U.S. history.
BERMAN: You know, it's interesting, I think there was a fear, some in the Jewish committee had nothing to do with Israel. I think inside Israel there is no doubt about Donald Trump's commitment there and Benjamin Netanyahu has a long standing relationship with Donald Trump. So, that's interesting that Joe Biden chose that form.
[03:40:04] Donald Trump's coat tails not long enough to include New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte. The New Hampshire Senator conceded Wednesday night to her democratic challenger Governor Maggie Hassan.
This gives the democrats the second flip the second seat formerly held by republicans. But the republicans easily kept majority in both the House and Senate. Interesting, I mean, the Ayotte's split she lost.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: Joe Heck in Nevada split from Donald Trump.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: He lost. You know, since some of the people who want -- Mark Kirk in Illinois split from Donald Trump, he lost too. They may have paid the price. Splitting from Trump for the republicans contrary to what a lot of people said that may have been the more politically risk...
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: I think Mark Kirk's issue in Illinois had more to do with things he said about his opponents and her ethnicity than his split from Donald Trump.
BERMAN: His was bigger and greater than the issues for Kelly Ayotte and Joe Heck.
ROMANS: All right. While North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has declared victory in the race for governor. State election officials are saying, hey, not so fast. Officially that race remains too close to call.
Cooper is some 5,000 votes ahead of incumbent republican pat McCrory, with a 100 percent of the precincts reporting the race could now hinge on tens of thousands of outstanding absentee military and provisional ballots.
CNN is not making a projection yet in North Carolina in the gubernatorial race.
BERMAN: That state Donald Trump won and the republican there was re- elected as well.
All right, talk about a transition. The campaign plane used by Hillary Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine you can see it right here being stripped down the decals, the Clinton/Kaine decals being pulled off the aircraft. This happened at the airport in Richmond, Virginia where the senator lives. We are told after Senator Kaine reach to Richmond, the Secret Service drove him to his home and then left.
ROMANS: Oh, the moment after losing an election there must be no other letdown like that.
One of the first things Donald Trump plans to do as president, repeal and replace ObamaCare. Both actions will take a huge effort from Trump in Congress. Trump says on day one he will ask Congress to repeal ObamaCare. Now that won't happen overnight.
The House has voted more than 60 times to repeal, defund or replace some parts of ObamaCare. None have passed. But there may be more motivation following the election, and that sharp rise in premium for some in relief.
Experts say Trump could also tinker with the implementation of ObamaCare and that could affect health care coverage because it's so interwoven at this point. So, what would -- what would Trump replace ObamaCare with?
He would let insurance across state lines which he says will increase competition and lower prices. He would make insurance premiums tax deductible and allow safe prescription drugs to be imported.
But when you look at what he says he is going to do in the first 100 days this is right up there. Right up there with a renegotiating of giant from NAFTA, and ObamaCare, those are the two like big things he says all day.
BERMAN: And this will make it popular with republicans in Congress.
All right. The world is reacting to Donald Trump's victory. Russian President Vladimir Putin he was one of the first to offer up congratulations. So, where do U.S./Russia relations go from here? We'll discuss.
[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: All right. All night long, all morning long we have seen protests across the country. People upset about the results of this election.
That's the backdrop to what happens today at the White House when the next president of the United States meets in the Oval Office with the current president. That happens every four years. What's never happened...
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Yes, they have no history. These two have no history together.
BERMAN: They have never met. They have history, though, to say the least in terms of the personal strife between the two, Donald Trump questioned whether Barack Obama was born in this country. President Obama questioned everything else you can possibly imagine about Donald Trump.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: I mean, some would say it is the roast of Donald Trump that the 2011 White House Correspondent's dinner when the president and others lit in to Donald Trump. That was the spark of his interest to run for president.
BERMAN: So let's talk about the future of this transition, let's talk about the future of the Trump presidency and what happens in post- presidency.
Joining us again is Ellis Henican, political analyst and bestselling author, Eugene Scott, CNN politics reporter, and CNN political commentator Symone, former press secretary for the Bernie Sanders campaign.
So, when it comes to the transition itself, everyone is saying and doing the right things. I mean, America does this well. And we should all pat ourselves on the back for this. This is something that's unique in the world and is wonderful.
Let's listen to what he president said about this transition yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: It is no secret that the president-elect and I have some
pretty significant differences, but remember, eight years ago, President Bush and I had some pretty significant differences. And one thing you realize quickly in this job is that the presidency and the vice presidency is bigger than any of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Yes, thank you, but -- all right, the but here is the Democratic Party, Symone has been gutted for lack of a better word. There's not a lot of young leadership, there's not a lot of up and coming national leaders and the democrats are going to have a need to be the party of opposition going forward.
So, who stands up for the democrats? And that's why I want to bring President Obama. You know, he is done on January 20th. And he was going to, you know, retire and send his kids to school, go make a lot of money and, you know, fade away from the spotlight. Do you think he needs to play a bigger role now to stand up for democrats across the country?
SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think President Obama did plan to stand up. President Obama's project along with former Attorney General Eric Holder was going to be to take up the mantle of redistricting and to really take lawsuits to a lot of these counties and legislatures across -- I mean, a lot of these counties across the country where they have unfairly drawn the line and try to win back some of these districts and these lines for democrats.
So, I think now he is definitely going to take a larger approach. But what you also have to remember about President Obama is he had his own model OFA, so, Obama for America, which was not centered inside of the Democratic Party.
[03:50:02] So, the party right now has to do real rebuilding. Obama has his own outside coalition, had his own organization. He didn't necessarily -- he didn't invest in building the party. We have to rebuild the party. We don't have a real bench. We have to win mayoral races in 2017, legislative races.
We need to win -- we need to win back some of these House seats in 2018, some governor's races and that's where we have to look at the ineffectuality of our party and who our leaders.
I saw a lot of things yesterday that said whose party is it, Obama's Warren, Bernie Sanders, or Clintons, none of them. Obama maybe because he is still the president of the United States, he is our president, he the leader of our party.
But it's not necessarily Bernie Sanders party or Warren's party either, and it's not Hillary Clintons. Look, the political revolution was about everybody coming together.
ROMANS: Right.
SANDERS: White people cannot lead the political revolution. The coalition that leads has to be reflective of America.
ROMANS: You can argue that, you know, Barack Obama was the upset of his party. You know, the Democratic Party didn't create him. He wasn't part of a deep bench for them. He came out of nowhere, too.
And Donald Trump -- Donald Trump to you, guys, he is somebody that wasn't created by the Republican Party either. So now you have another outsider.
ELLIS HENICAN, POLITICAL ANALYST & BEST-SELLING AUTHOR: Right.
ROMANS: How is he going to, against I guess replacing or repealing ObamaCare that's going to do very well with republicans in the House. How is he going to bring maybe skeptical republicans on board with a President Trump?
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, I think it really depends on who he puts in his administration, who he brings on board will depend on who he gets, who can reach the people that weren't on board with him originally.
That would be a bit tricky. We saw that Omarosa very recently has directed of African-American outreach there that he keeps an enemies list. That they will have a long memory. So, whether or not they will be able to...
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: You got 4,000 positions to fill.
SCOTT: Yes.
ROMANS: (Inaudible) he got might be a little shorter.
SCOTT: Yes. And I think -- I think the plan was to freeze quite a few of them. So, the reality is are they going to be able to get people to be in this administration who are going to be able to reach beyond his base if he truly wants to be the president for all of America.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: For the money -- you know, for the money positions, the treasury secretary and the chief economic adviser and all that kinds of economic advisers, you know, you wonder so many of the people who are advising him are billionaires and business people in their own rite, are they going to want to leave their jobs and their empires, you know, for what some cases is the drudgery of democracy in Washington.
HENICAN: And don't forget in many of those he needs some Senate approval, right? And one is the Republican Party said, but you're absolutely right, the Democratic Party in huge question. What's the future, who are the leaders, where's the next generation.
But you know, many of those same questions are being asked inside the Republican Party right now, right. Is it a free trade party, right? Where does it stand on social issues, what about immigration?
I mean, are we going to come around and actually achieve some things. The infrastructure but the same -- don't forget, Donald Trump was not a creature of the people who now are in control of the House and Senate. And boy, I don't know how that going to fill...
(CROSSTALK)
SCOTT: I don't know..
ROMANS: So, these people can pull him or they push and pull him. You know, you wonder how that's going to end.
HENICAN: Yes. And it's interesting, you know, John, your skepticism is right. Because in the last 24 hours there does seem to be a coming together and we have a new leader, but boy, those policies have been in those people's hearts for a long time.
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: You know what the number one -- you know what the number one policy is in their heart? ObamaCare.
HENICAN: Victory.
BERMAN: Well, that maybe number one. Victory number one. Just below victory is ObamaCare. And that will go away as we know it.
HENICAN: That's we know is right. At least the name will go away.
BERMAN: And also the Supreme Court justice and they are going to get one right away. So, I think the republican will be sad. I'm so sorry to cut you off, Symone Sanders, go.
SANDERS: No, you're fine. I just want to note that we saw Mitch McConnell come out and in Donald Trump's 100-day plan which he did laid out for us in Gettysburg a little bit while ago.
His first thing was term limits on Congress, he talks about ObamaCare, he talks about TPP. He talked about a lot of -- he talked about an infrastructure plan.
And we saw McConnell come out and say, you know what, term limits we have those, they are called elections. McConnell also came out and said I don't think infrastructure is going to be on our agenda and he declined to talk about immigration.
He did say that ObamaCare was at the top of the list. But I think we are going to see some struggles within the Republican Party in terms of what is their agenda.
BERMAN: All right, guys. Stick around. A lot to discuss. We shall see. One of the first world leaders to congratulate Donald Trump was Vladimir Putin. So, it's no secret that a lot of people here thought that Russia definitely preferred Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton. U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Kremlin actively interfered in
the election and that raises a lot of questions. Where does this relationship go between the countries?
CNN's Matthew Chance live from Moscow this morning. Matthew, I imagine the view from there is pretty interesting today.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. I mean, you know, there's been of course a lot of criticism of Donald Trump throughout the campaign but here in Russia that's never been the case. He's always been the preferred candidate of the Kremlin and the under state-controlled media here.
And as you can expect, you know, the welcome that Donald Trump has got as becoming the President-elect has been -- has been really kind of breathtaking. I mean, the front page of one of the most prominent newspapers here in Russia said in English, "In Trump we trust." That was the headline on the front page of one of the business daily's here.
[03:55:08] You know, there's been such a bitter relationship between the United States and Russia over the past couple of years particularly over the annexation of Crimea by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, the hacking allegations in the United States, that you mentioned the war in Syria.
Both Countries are on sort of opposite sides in that conflict. There is a real sense now at least here in Russia that a line could potentially be drawn under that. And this could be a pivotal moment. That this could be a moment in which Russia and the United States get on the same page on a whole host of issues that have been thorns in the side of that relationship for the past several years.
That's the expectation. That's what Vladimir Putin, the Russian President has expressed but obviously it's going to be complicated and it's going to be difficult.
BERMAN: And at first meeting between whether it be President-elect Donald Trump or President Donald Trump and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin that will be fascinating to see. Matthew Chance in Moscow, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. Let's got check on CNN money stream. The Dow just 46 points away from a record high. Futures suggest more gains at the open. Big rally on Wednesday as investors watch Trump's victory speech and then Clinton's concession speech and the way they spoke, their words erased deep losses in futures as those election results came in.
I mean, it was really a shock drop in the markets when Donald Trump was very clearly going to win. Stock market in Europe and Asia are higher now as well. The big winner in the stock rally the Trump stock market rally, banks and companies that build stuff.
Morgan Stanley up 7 percent. Bank of America rising almost 6 percent. J.P. Morgan Chase at more than 4 percent. Investors cheering Trump's promise to dial back Dodd-Frank regulations, but he also said he would break up the banks and he would revive Glass-Steagall which would have the opposite effect.
So, some confusion there. Some other big winners include a U.S. steel. That stock surging 17 percent. Balkan materials 10 percent, that company supplies stone and concrete. Shares of Caterpillar rising.
This play was based purely on infrastructure. Some -- Trump said he would double the $275 million Hillary Clinton proposed to spend on improvements. This is a bipartisan issue that many think they can get done next year.
Two other sectors that pops, defense stocks, pharmaceutical companies on hopes of more military spending and less regulation from the Trump administration next year.
Bu it wasn't all gains yesterday, one group of stocks crushed hospital stocks plummeting amid fears Trump will scale back or even repeal ObamaCare. That law has provided a steady stream of new customers. A hospital operator HCA down 10 percent. Community Health 21 -- that is a huge move in one day. Losing a quarter or a fifth of your value. Almost unbelievable there.
You can check all this out, check out the money stream app, if you will. Its business news personalized. Get the latest on business leaders, the stock market and tech all in one feed, download it now on the app store or Google Play.
A lot of people yesterday were sort of joking about that big rally in capital -- like Donald Trump is going to build a wall. He's going to have American made equipment to do it. That's why the stocks are up, but it's really an infrastructure play.
BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Breaking news. A show of anger. Protests from coast to coast over the election of Donald Trump.
BERMAN: A show of peace. Peaceful transition of power. President- elect Trump set to meet with President Obama in the Oval Office. Then Trump goes to see this man, House Speaker Paul Ryan to talk about the republican agenda.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, November 10th, it is 4 a.m. on the north and the east. We welcome all of our viewers here in the U.A. and all of you around the world.
Breaking overnight. Protests against a Donald Trump presidency, protest across the country from Philadelphia to San Diego, Des Moines, at least two dozen cities with many demonstrators chanting "Not our president, not today."
And in the just couple of hours protestors in Los Angeles brought traffic to a standstill on a major freeway, the 101. Earlier last night, they set fire to a giant Trump pinata.
In New York, police say as many as 5,000 people demonstrated in front of Trump Tower in midtown expressing fear for the fate of women and minorities under a Trump presidency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump will reenact harsher stop and frisk laws that will wind up putting so many people back into prison. Also, deep fear at the sexism that will be bubbling up through the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a woman, and as a Latina, I feel very upset and oppressed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Thousands also massed in front of Chicago's Trump Tower blocking traffic as they marched down Lake Shore Drive. A more muted demonstration in front of the White House overnight and a candle light vigil where participants chanted and sang protests songs as thousands of people watched on Facebook live.
[04:00:00] BERMAN: All right. At this moment in Trump Tower just across Central park from here, the work is underway to launch the Trump presidency just 72 days until the inauguration.
