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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump's First White House Hires; Bannon Blasted As Trump Chief Strategist; Trump On Hate Crimes: "Stop It"; What Will Trump's Kids Be Doing For Him?; Carl Icahn On Trump's Policies; Trump Speaks With Chinese President Xi Jinping; New Zealand Earthquake, 2 Reported Deaths. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 14, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:02] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Trump put the head of the Republican National Committee in one of the most powerful positions in Washington. But Priebus' insider cred is balanced out Bannon's anti-establishment worldview.

In a statement about the duo, Trump said this. "Bannon and Priebus will continue the effective leadership team they formed during the campaign, working as equal partners to transform the federal government, making it much more efficient, effective, and productive."

Now, Priebus is known inside the Beltway and has good working relationships with Republicans on Capitol Hill. People like Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is the Senate majority leader, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who's been a longtime friend of Priebus. And those relationships and Priebus' knowledge of exactly how Washington works could be key in helping Trump pass his legislative agenda through Congress.

Now, Bannon, who's the Trump campaign CEO, also ran "Breitbart News" and that news site has been accused of catering to racists, sexists, and anti-Semitic audiences. And Bannon's also been critical of the GOP establishment. Now both men will advise the next president, President-elect Donald Trump -- Victor, Christine, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris, thank you so much.

Now, hate watchdog groups are slamming Donald Trump's choice of "Breitbart" boss, Steve Bannon, as chief strategist and senior adviser. The Anti-Defamation League released a statement saying this. "It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premiere website of the alt-right, a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists, is slated to be a senior staff member in the people's house."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The Southern Poverty Law Center scolding the president-elect for the hire in a tweet. "Trump should rescind this hire. In his victory speech, Trump said he intended to be president for all Americans. Bannon should go." BLACKWELL: And this from retiring Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, escalating his attacks on the incoming president with this new statement. "President-elect Trump's choice of Steve Bannon as his top aide signals that White Supremacists will be represented at the highest levels in Trump's White House."

ROMANS: All right, the sear of racist harassment following Trump's election appears to have become a reality in some communities. One of several incidents reported across the country happened at an Episcopal church in a heavily Latino neighborhood. This is just outside Washington.

Graffiti reading "Trump nation, whites only" was discovered Sunday morning on a wall and on a sign advertising Spanish language services. Washington's Episcopal bishop, Mariann Budde, calling on Donald Trump to speak out against the vandalism.

BLACKWELL: Well, Trump talked about it, albeit briefly on Sunday, in his first sit-down interview on television since winning the election, on CBS's "60 MINUTES". Trump was pressed to address acts of violence, and harassment, and vandalism that his supporters had reportedly committed in his name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I would say don't do it, that's terrible -- because I'm going to bring this country together.

LESLEY STAHL, CBS CORRESPONDENT, "60 MINUTES": They're harassing Latinos, Muslims.

TRUMP: I am so saddened to hear that and I say stop it, if it helps. I will say this, and I'll say it right to the camera, stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right, let's break down the latest on the Trump transition and what we're learning about Trump's policies with "CNN POLITICS" reporter, Eugene Scott. Good Monday morning to you.

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, good morning.

ROMANS: Welcome back. We love it when you get up early for us. So last night on "60 MINUTES" President-elect Trump sat down and talked to Lesley Stahl, and on immigration, two of the signature policies, a deportation force and building a physical wall along the entire border. We heard that over and over again for the last 15 months. This is what he said last night about his immigration policies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAHL: Are you really going to build a wall?

TRUMP: Yes.

STAHL: They're talking about a fence in the Republican Congress. TRUMP: True.

STAHL: Would you accept the fence?

TRUMP: For certain areas, I would.

STAHL: What about the pledge to deport millions and millions of undocumented immigrants?

TRUMP: What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records -- gang members, drug dealers. We have a lot of these people -- probably two million -- it could even be three million. We are getting them out of our country or we're going to incarcerate. But, we're getting them out of our country. They're here illegally.

After the border is secured and after everything gets normalized, we're going to make a determination on the people that you're talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Ironically, some of that sounds like current policy. They're already -- I mean, President Obama has been criticized for having --

SCOTT: Right.

ROMANS: - a deportation force --

SCOTT: Sure.

ROMANS: -- for kicking people out of the country. We already have areas of the -- of the -- of the border with Mexico that is a fence. Is Donald Trump walking back some of those promises that were so popular among his supporters?

SCOTT: Well, we certainly didn't see him say that he's going to build the biggest wall with the most beautiful door, which is what he regularly said when he was on the campaign. But I think what he is realizing is that a significant percentage of Republicans do not support deporting and do not support building the wall. And so, now that he has their support -- now that they helped elect him, I think he has to realize that he's serving multiple demographics and he has to find a way to compromise. And that's what Reince Priebus is going to help him do.

[05:35:05] ROMANS: Well, you sound like -- that sounds like a Washington politician. You get to Washington and to get stuff done you have to horse trade.

SCOTT: Well, he's been a politician since he announced his campaign, even though many people say he's not a politician. You can't run for a president and not be a politician --

ROMANS: Right.

SCOTT: -- and we're going to see more of this.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the Supreme Court because for some people who weren't passionate about Donald Trump as their nominee, that was what they leaned on to say that we are going to support Donald Trump for the presidency. I want everyone to listen to what he said about two important issues and his nominees to the Court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAHL: Will you appoint -- are you looking to appoint a justice who wants to overturn Roe v. Wade?

TRUMP: So look, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to appoint -- I'm pro-life. The judges will be pro-life. If it ever were overturned it would go back to the states, so -- it would go back to the states --

STAHL: And then, some women won't be able to get an abortion?

TRUMP: No, it will go back to the states.

STAHL: By state?

TRUMP: They'll perhaps have to go to another -- they'll have to go to another state.

STAHL: Do you support marriage equality?

TRUMP: I -- it's irrelevant because it was already settled, it's law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean, it's done.

STAHL: So even if you appoint a judge that --

TRUMP: It's done. You have -- these cases have gone to the Supreme Court, they've been settled and I'm fine with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, as it relates to abortion rights he is having this discussion about if he sends a justice who could tip it into -- to overturn Roe v. Wade, but when it comes to marriage equality, settled, done.

SCOTT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: It shows what the priority, socially, will be for this White House.

SCOTT: Yes, that's very interesting because Roe v. Wade is settled and done, according to the Supreme Court. But many of his supporters were hoping that he would appoint a judge who would be pro-life and interested in reversing it. And we see that if you do reverse it you definitely have to send it back to the states first. But it's not going to be the slam dunk that so many people think it will be. The reality is people have various views on these issues, even within the group of people -- ROMANS: Right.

SCOTT: -- who support it -- Donald Trump -- and he has to listen to more of them and see what they want. It's not as simple as saying this is what I want, this is what's going to happen. That's not what being president is like.

ROMANS: Let's talk about the transition team. His kids are on there, his son-in-law is on there. They will also be taking care of his business so that's sort of an interesting overlap there. It raises questions, potentially, about conflict of interest. He's made a couple of appointments -- Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon. What's your takeaway?

SCOTT: Well, it's not that surprising that they're on the transition team because they've been key advisers during the campaign. But it is against federal law for them to have staff positions in his administration. You can't hire them. But the reality is you don't have to have a job within the White House, officially, to be a strong adviser.

And we should expect them to continue being strong advisers, especially his daughter, Ivanka, on issues related to women and working mothers. And his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in terms of policy and strategy in business dealings.

ROMANS: All right. Eugene Scott, nice to see you this Monday morning.

SCOTT: Thank you, guys.

ROMANS: Thanks for being here.

BLACKWELL: All right, this afternoon President Obama -- he will hold his first news conference since Donald Trump was elected to secede him. This comes just before the president embarks on his final foreign trip in office. He's looking to reassure anxious allies about the stability of U.S. foreign policy despite Donald Trump's stated intent to undo some of the top Obama initiatives. The president will travel to Greece, Germany, and Peru.

ROMANS: Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, but he doesn't agree with every one of Trump's policies. In an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow, Icahn says Trump's plans to repeal Wall Street regulations may not be the right answer. He does support Trump's proposals to deregulate other areas of business. Icahn thinks the Federal Reserve had no choice but to keep interest rates low. You know, Donald Trump has criticized the Federal Reserve as political. Carl Icahn does not agree.

And when asked about Trump's temperament, Icahn said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL ICAHN, BUSINESS MAGNATE: The issue is this country must take a different -- a different approach. The country must go in and be a friend to business. After eight years we have been anything but that and now, this is the hope -- that you have to do it. And if you don't do it, we will definitely lose our (INAUDIBLE) and we're going to lose it fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Icahn will not join the Trump administration. He says he's never worked for anyone else in his life and he's not going to start now, but he hopes Washington and Trump will listen to his advice.

BLACKWELL: Yes, Donald Trump has suggested several times on the campaign trail that he would bring in Carl Icahn to be part of the team. Carl says no, I've got a job, I don't work for anyone else.

ROMANS: Carl Icahn does not seem to be a fan of big bureaucracies.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROMANS: I don't think he'd want to be on the -- in the Treasury Department.

BLACKWELL: All right, so let's talk about the Seahawks and the Patriots. Did you see this? A Sunday night rematch of one of the most thrilling Super Bowls ever and the teams did not disappoint. Hines Ward with the details in the Bleacher Report -- that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:43:55] BLACKWELL: All right, the Dallas Cowboys now winners of eight games in a row, taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday.

ROMANS: And, speaking of the Steelers, joining us now one of the greatest of all time, Hines Ward, here with the Bleacher Report this morning. Good morning.

HINES WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys. I mean, this one really hurts me but, hands down, this was the game of the week and possibly of the year, so far. And you have to be impressed with rookie -- Cowboy's rookie quarterback Dak Prescott. He went toe-to- toe with Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Here you find him stepping up and finds Dez Bryant for the 50-year touchdown. You see Bryant pointing to the sky afterwards, in honor of his dad who passed away on Saturday. But under a minute left in the game in the fourth quarter, Big Ben fakes the spike and throws it to Antonio Brown toward to end zone for a touchdown.But, Dallas wasn't done. Rookie Ezekiel Elliott -- he takes the handoff with 15 seconds left and runs untouched for the game winner. Seven lead changes in this game. Cowboys would go on to win 35 to 30.

Now, Seahawks visiting the Patriots last night in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, two years ago. Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin hooking up three times. Four touchdowns including this one, late, to put Seattle up seven. Now, the Patriots, they still had a chance at the end. Rob Gronkowski goes incomplete and no penalty on the play. I thought it was a pass interference. Now, you know, for the Seahawks, they get a little redemption in Foxborough, 31-24.

[05:45:20] Now, Saturday was a crazy day in college football. Three of the top four teams in the playoff rankings, they lost. Clemson, Michigan, Washington -- they all go down. Number one Alabama is the only undefeated team in the rankings. Now, the playoff ranking poll comes out Tuesday night. It's anybody's guess who will be in the top four?

And it was a sold-out crowd at the iconic Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Demi Lovato was in the house. You had Nick Jonas, you had Giants' star Odell Beckham, Jr. They all came to see the crafty and charismatic featherweight champion, Conor McGregor, who was looking to make history. He knocked down the bigger Eddie Alvarez three times before knocking him out in the second round, taking his lightweight title, making Conor the first UFC fighter to ever hold two belts in two different weight classes at the same time.

Hey, I'll -- I know I love to watch UFC and I could tell you, Conor McGregor is a bad man. You don't want to mess with this guy.

ROMANS: All right, Hines, thanks so much. Nice to see you this morning.

BLACKWELL: All right.

WARD: No problem.

BLACKWELL: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Chris Cuomo is joining us now.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": We're still going to be talking about UFC 205. Let me tell you something. It was the best fight card I have seen since I was, you know, under 10 years of age. It was the glamour and the majesty of fighting at Madison Square Garden. That was like what the deal was in the seventies.

ROMANS: Yes.

CUOMO: You know, all the tape we see.

ROMANS: Yes.

CUOMO: It was like that. The big stars were there in part because, Christine, they did something clever. When they bought the UFC -- the WUME group -- you know, Ari Emanuel's group --

ROMANS: Yes, yes.

CUOMO: -- they sold slices to big celebrities so they had that big draw there that night. And Conor McGregor in the fight game is the new Ali. Not in terms of his majesty and his world political view. That came later. The brashness in the face of his opponent. He put his hands behind his back during this fight with Eddie Alvarez and a lot of people thought he'd have his hands full with it.

ROMANS: Cuomo has inspired me. BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROMANS: I'm really inspired.

BLACKWELL: I'm feeling it this morning.

CUOMO: That guy dismantled a champion in a way I haven't seen in a long time. And then when he won he's like cursing into the microphone, where's my belt, where's my second belt? And when the leader of the UFC, Dana White, comes to give him the belt, he doesn't even look at him. He just snatches the belt from him, puts it over his shoulder, and he goes, do you know what this win does for me? It allows me to apologize. And then he pauses and goes, to no one. It was amazing. All right. So, that was UFC 205.

We're also going to be talking about the election here because we're seeing things in the president-elect that demand analysis. His positions seem to change, certainly from what he promised during the campaign. And when I say seem, I mean they are. Some are staying as extreme, although he was promised to shift off of them in the immediate aftermath. Some may be a little bit lighter. So we're going to take you through that.

And then, there is the reflection of what this presidential administration will be. It will be who is around the president. And he just put Steve Bannon, the "Breitbart" guy, in a position of power that demands scrutiny. This man is not another political operative. He is certainly not a journalist. So, we're going to talk about him -- what these advisers say. Why there's so much opposition from organizations, not like the Democrats, but the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ADL. We have Trump's communications director on this morning to make the case.

Now, there's also this revelation in CNN's book on the unprecedented 2016 election. Coming up on the show we're going to talk about whether or not it's true that Donald Trump was thinking about getting out of the race. What do you guys think of that? You believe it?

ROMANS: Wow. No, I think he wanted this thing from day one and he was single-minded, but I'm going to listen to your interview to find out if I'm right or not.

BLACKWELL: He said early on that Melania Trump said if you get in, you'll win -- you will win. And he went with that inclination and stayed in it, and did it. Looking forward to that interview. Thanks, Chris.

ROMANS: All right, Chris, and thanks for the primer on UFC fighting. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROMANS: The stock market has been in a rally since Donald Trump was elected. The bond market is giving us clues, too, as to what the Trump economy will look like. Hint, your mortgage rates are heading higher. We've got CNN Money Stream, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:53:45] BLACKWELL: President-elect Donald Trump has a first conversation with Chinese president Xi Jinping after months of tough talk about the China and U.S. trade relationship. The phone call proved to be the latest forum for Trump to separate his campaign rhetoric from the likely policies of his administration.

CNN's Matt Rivers is live in Beijing with more on what was said and what's left to be said when they meet face-to-face.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is plenty that is left to be said once they meet face-to-face because as we have been learning today this call really just an introductory call. More of a diplomatic nicety, if you will, similar to what President-elect Donald Trump has been doing with leaders from across the globe. So you're hearing from both sides, talking about how the U.S. and China are pledging to work together.

State media here in China reporting that President Xi Jinping told Donald Trump it is proved that you cooperate is the only correct choice between China and the United States. And on the other side, you have Donald Trump saying that he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward. So harmony at the moment which, as you mention, that is a stark contrast from what we've heard from Donald Trump on the campaign trail over the last 18 months or so.

[05:55:00] It was back in May that he accused China of raping the U.S. economically, calling it the greatest theft in the history of the world. China was a consistent target for the Trump campaign, certainly a reason or maybe a rallying cry for a lot of those middle- class voters that voted Trump into the Oval Office.

How that will affect this diplomatic relationship moving forward, we're not really sure yet, but these two countries need other. They have a trade relationship worth hundreds of billions of dollars. So whether the conversations are a little awkward or not, we're not sure, but these two countries have to deal with each other moving forward, diplomatically.

BLACKWELL: Indeed. Matt Rivers for us there in Beijing. Matt, thank you.

Let's go to New Zealand now where at least two deaths have been reported following a powerful earthquake and aftershocks. First was the quake, a 7.8-magnitude that happened just after midnight. Then there was, hours later, a 6.2-magnitude aftershock that rattled New Zealand's south island. The country's prime minister surveying the damage from the air, described it as utter devastation. New Zealand lies on the Pacific Rim seismically active ring of fire.

ROMANS: All right, Monday morning. Let's get a check on CNN Money Stream to start your week. Dow futures pushing higher. The stock market building on its post-election bounce -- the Trump honeymoon. Stock markets in Europe are rising. Shares in Asia -- they closed mixed overnight. Investors are dumping gold. It's down eight percent over the past few days.

Now, the stock market rally has been impressive. You might recall that global investors were worried about a Donald Trump presidency and then, now, after a very calm and measured acceptance speech they like him. And then there's this move in the bond market. It is telling us a lot more about that Trump economy might look like. Higher inflation, faster growth, rising interest rates, more risks.

Look at his move in bonds. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury is now 2.23 percent. On the day of the election it was just 1.85 percent. What does this mean? Investors selling bonds, buying stocks. When bond prices fall, yields rise, so watch mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are tied to this yield. It signals mortgage rates will increase, as well.Going forward, let's watch the bond market. It might be the more reliable indicator about the path and policies of a Trump presidency.

Peter Thiel taking an official role working with Donald Trump. Trump says Thiel will be one of more than a dozen members of the presidential transition team. Thiel co-founded PayPal, he's a Facebook board member. He shocked many in the tech industry by supporting Trump during the campaign. He spoke at the Republican National Convention. He also donated more than $1 million to the Trump campaign in the final weeks of the election.

So how will he help Trump? The President-elect says, "The mission of our team will be clear. Put together the most highly qualified group of successful leaders who will be able to implement our change agenda in Washington."

Also on that transition team, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump, raising questions about conflict of interest with Trump's businesses. Trump has pledged to transfer control of his assets to his children while he is in the White House.

I'll tell you, though, what they're saying on Wall Street is they think that this is going to be -- he'll try to be a transactional president. That means tax reform, that means infrastructure, that means a tax cut. It means cutting regulation with GOP control of the House and the Senate. There's hope that stuff could get done. That's what the market likes.

All right, that's EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you this morning.

ROMANS: Nice to see you.

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump -- his first big move as president-elect already has some people upset. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), HOUSE SPEAKER: I trust Donald's judgment.

ROMANS: Fears pushback against one of Donald Trump's first White House hires.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: We will not accept racism, sexism, or xenophobia.

TRUMP: Don't be afraid. We are going to bring our country back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obamacare is failing.

TRUMP: It will be repealed and replaced.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: We don't want to disrupt the nation with what might look like a vindictive prosecution.

TRUMP: I don't want to hurt them. They're good people. She did some bad things.

PROTESTERS: Not my president, not my president.

DAVE CHAPPELLE, COMEDIAN, HOST, NBC "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": I'm going to give him a chance. We, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he gives us one, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

CUOMO: Dave Chappelle was really something on SNL.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: What a night.

CUOMO: What a comeback for him. We're going to talk about that as we say good morning to you. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Monday, November 14th, 6:00 in the East. Alisyn is off, Poppy Harlow is with us. Good to have you --

HARLOW: Good to be here.

CUOMO: -- as always, my friend. Up first, President-elect Donald Trump making his first official staff hires. His two top political advisers are now in place. You've got Reince Priebus. He's the head of the RNC who, you will remember, Trump used to attack during the primaries. And, Steve Bannon. This man is a promoter of the alt- right.

HARLOW: All right, we're going to talk about what all of that means to you. Meantime, Donald Trump sitting down for his first interview as president-elect with "60 MINUTES" discussing his administration's top priorities, appearing to -- not just appearing to, actually softening on some of the big promises he made on the campaign trail.

We have complete coverage. Let's start this morning with our Phil Mattingly in Washington. Good morning, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. We hear it repeatedly in the wake of Donald Trump's shocking election victory, personnel is policy.