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Controversy Surrounding Senator Trent Lott Appears to be Growing
Aired December 16, 2002 - 14:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: To see what kind of fallout there is at the White House from this Gore bombshell, John King there on the White House lawn.
Hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. All of this of course reminding us of the protracted, hotly contested election of two years ago. As you noted, it was just two years ago last week that Al Gore finally conceded the 2000 presidential election, more than a month after the voting when the Supreme Court declared George W. Bush the winner. One might think that because of those circumstances, President Bush would have something to say about all this. But his Press Secretary Ari Fleischer calling it an internal Democratic matter. He said the president, if he has any personal reflections on Al Gore or about Al Gore's decision, he has not shared them with anyone just yet.
Ari Fleischer, though, taking the opportunity, as Jeanne Meserve, just noted, the Democrats now trying to figure out who will emerge as the leader of this pack, Ari Fleischer taking an opportunity to make clear one avenue of potential Republican attack down the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: This is an internal matter for the Democratic Party. And somebody will emerge from the Democratic field who will ultimately seek to raise taxes on the American people, but that's a decision that the Democrats will make as they select a nominee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Behind the scenes some degree of surprise here. Many thought because Al Gore carried the popular vote, because he has said in recent during his media interviews, that he feels he was robbed of the presidency. Many thought he would not be able to resist the prospect of trying to run again. Now the White House says it will sit back, watch the Democratic primary field fight it out over the next year or so. No early prognostications from the White House as to who they believe the likely candidate will be -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, John, let's turn the corner and talk about Trent Lott. Republicans speaking out, White House isn't.
KING: No, the White House is trying to be mute and stay out of this controversy, and we are told early this morning, there was a directive. The White House chief of staff says the president is unhappy to pick up the newspapers, watch television over the weekend and see some White House aides anonymously speculating on the future of Senator Trent Lott. Some even speculating he might not be able to survive and hold his grip on power.
We are told from high levels at the White House this morning, the directive was issued, stay out of this story, stick to the president's position, that what Senator Lott said was offensive, that it was wrong, but he apologized, and the president does not believe he should be forced to resign. The White House not doing anything to defend Senator Lott, not doing anything to shut down calls for a new leadership call in the Congress. The White House hoping this controversy goes away quickly, but they also are telling senior aides here, stay out of it, the president does not want to be involved in this controversy.
PHILLIPS: All right, John King from the White House, thank you.
Well, it's been more than a week, and the controversy surrounding Senator Trent Lott appears to be growing, while his leadership is being questioned.
Jon Karl joins us with more Capitol Hill with the latest from there, Jonathan.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The latest is significant here, Kyra. The Republicans will come together, the 51 Republicans in the Senate, on January 6th, at 2:00 here in Washington, to hold a conference to decide the fate of Trent Lott as majority leader. This is a step that Trent Lott himself had resisted. This is a step that Trent Lott's closest allies said was unnecessary, because Lott had already been elected as leader of the Republicans back in November to a two-year term. Now they will decide whether or not this controversy means that can no longer effectively lead the Republican Party.
One who had pushed for this was Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. We spoke to him earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: Fifty-one Republican United States senators need to sit down as soon as possible and deal with this, up front, open, straight up, and we need a vote. We either renew our commitment to Senator Lott, and that means we say or we don't say that we have confidence in his leadership, or we elect a new leader. And I think then, and only then, within the family of those 51 senators, are we going to be able to deal with this and get it behind pups.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: As for Trent Lott, he's down in Mobile, Alabama tonight for an interview with Black Entertainment Television. This BET interview will be his latest effort to apologize for his remarks that he made at Strom Thurmond's birthday party, and talk about his views on race relations and try to reassure the general public and especially his Republican colleagues that he is somebody that can put this controversy behind him. That interview will air tonight on BET -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jon Karl from Capitol Hill. Thank you.
Senator Lott spent his Sunday seeking the support of folks in his Mississippi hometown, but calls for his resignation are growing louder.
CNN's Gary Tuchman joins us live from Mobile, Alabama, where Lott will be interviewed by BET.
Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.
And Trent Lott, a Mississippian who is the nation's top Senate Republican, is coming here to the state of Alabama for what could be a very pivotal moment of his political career. He's coming here to this television station, WKRG TV, in Mobile, Alabama, in southwestern Alabama, to tape the interview. We expect him to arrive within about an hour. They will tape the interview at about 4:00 Eastern Time. And as Jon Karl just said, the interview will then air four hours later at 8:00 Eastern Time.
But you can be sure the nation, but particularly Senate Republicans, will be watching this interview very carefully. The last time we saw Trent Lott in public was yesterday when he went to church, the first Baptist Church of Pascagoula, in his home town. He was greeted there very enthusiastically by about 450 people inside. The pastor spoke during the one-hour service yesterday morning, saying to the congregants, that we are very proud of Trent Lott, we love him, and we forgive him for what he said.
So that was a very enthusiastic greeting for Trent Lott. Will it be as enthusiastic among members of the general public and the Senate Republicans after this interview? We can only wait and see.
But right now, the momentum is not on Trent Lott's side.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Gary Tuchman, Mobile, Alabama, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Growing>
Aired December 16, 2002 - 14:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: To see what kind of fallout there is at the White House from this Gore bombshell, John King there on the White House lawn.
Hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. All of this of course reminding us of the protracted, hotly contested election of two years ago. As you noted, it was just two years ago last week that Al Gore finally conceded the 2000 presidential election, more than a month after the voting when the Supreme Court declared George W. Bush the winner. One might think that because of those circumstances, President Bush would have something to say about all this. But his Press Secretary Ari Fleischer calling it an internal Democratic matter. He said the president, if he has any personal reflections on Al Gore or about Al Gore's decision, he has not shared them with anyone just yet.
Ari Fleischer, though, taking the opportunity, as Jeanne Meserve, just noted, the Democrats now trying to figure out who will emerge as the leader of this pack, Ari Fleischer taking an opportunity to make clear one avenue of potential Republican attack down the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: This is an internal matter for the Democratic Party. And somebody will emerge from the Democratic field who will ultimately seek to raise taxes on the American people, but that's a decision that the Democrats will make as they select a nominee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Behind the scenes some degree of surprise here. Many thought because Al Gore carried the popular vote, because he has said in recent during his media interviews, that he feels he was robbed of the presidency. Many thought he would not be able to resist the prospect of trying to run again. Now the White House says it will sit back, watch the Democratic primary field fight it out over the next year or so. No early prognostications from the White House as to who they believe the likely candidate will be -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, John, let's turn the corner and talk about Trent Lott. Republicans speaking out, White House isn't.
KING: No, the White House is trying to be mute and stay out of this controversy, and we are told early this morning, there was a directive. The White House chief of staff says the president is unhappy to pick up the newspapers, watch television over the weekend and see some White House aides anonymously speculating on the future of Senator Trent Lott. Some even speculating he might not be able to survive and hold his grip on power.
We are told from high levels at the White House this morning, the directive was issued, stay out of this story, stick to the president's position, that what Senator Lott said was offensive, that it was wrong, but he apologized, and the president does not believe he should be forced to resign. The White House not doing anything to defend Senator Lott, not doing anything to shut down calls for a new leadership call in the Congress. The White House hoping this controversy goes away quickly, but they also are telling senior aides here, stay out of it, the president does not want to be involved in this controversy.
PHILLIPS: All right, John King from the White House, thank you.
Well, it's been more than a week, and the controversy surrounding Senator Trent Lott appears to be growing, while his leadership is being questioned.
Jon Karl joins us with more Capitol Hill with the latest from there, Jonathan.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The latest is significant here, Kyra. The Republicans will come together, the 51 Republicans in the Senate, on January 6th, at 2:00 here in Washington, to hold a conference to decide the fate of Trent Lott as majority leader. This is a step that Trent Lott himself had resisted. This is a step that Trent Lott's closest allies said was unnecessary, because Lott had already been elected as leader of the Republicans back in November to a two-year term. Now they will decide whether or not this controversy means that can no longer effectively lead the Republican Party.
One who had pushed for this was Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. We spoke to him earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: Fifty-one Republican United States senators need to sit down as soon as possible and deal with this, up front, open, straight up, and we need a vote. We either renew our commitment to Senator Lott, and that means we say or we don't say that we have confidence in his leadership, or we elect a new leader. And I think then, and only then, within the family of those 51 senators, are we going to be able to deal with this and get it behind pups.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: As for Trent Lott, he's down in Mobile, Alabama tonight for an interview with Black Entertainment Television. This BET interview will be his latest effort to apologize for his remarks that he made at Strom Thurmond's birthday party, and talk about his views on race relations and try to reassure the general public and especially his Republican colleagues that he is somebody that can put this controversy behind him. That interview will air tonight on BET -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jon Karl from Capitol Hill. Thank you.
Senator Lott spent his Sunday seeking the support of folks in his Mississippi hometown, but calls for his resignation are growing louder.
CNN's Gary Tuchman joins us live from Mobile, Alabama, where Lott will be interviewed by BET.
Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.
And Trent Lott, a Mississippian who is the nation's top Senate Republican, is coming here to the state of Alabama for what could be a very pivotal moment of his political career. He's coming here to this television station, WKRG TV, in Mobile, Alabama, in southwestern Alabama, to tape the interview. We expect him to arrive within about an hour. They will tape the interview at about 4:00 Eastern Time. And as Jon Karl just said, the interview will then air four hours later at 8:00 Eastern Time.
But you can be sure the nation, but particularly Senate Republicans, will be watching this interview very carefully. The last time we saw Trent Lott in public was yesterday when he went to church, the first Baptist Church of Pascagoula, in his home town. He was greeted there very enthusiastically by about 450 people inside. The pastor spoke during the one-hour service yesterday morning, saying to the congregants, that we are very proud of Trent Lott, we love him, and we forgive him for what he said.
So that was a very enthusiastic greeting for Trent Lott. Will it be as enthusiastic among members of the general public and the Senate Republicans after this interview? We can only wait and see.
But right now, the momentum is not on Trent Lott's side.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Gary Tuchman, Mobile, Alabama, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Growing>
