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New Day
CNN Heroes Donation; Trump Denies Mocking Reporter; Interview with James Earl Jones; Korean Girl Becomes Overnight Star with Adele Cover. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired November 27, 2015 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: First Lady Michelle Obama welcoming the official White House Christmas tree later this morning. It is an 18.5 foot Fraser fir that was grown in Pennsylvania.
For more on the five things, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com.
John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The five things you need to know for your newsroom.
About a week away from the night that CNN recognizes this year's top 10 CNN hero in a televised tribute seen around the world. All of these remarkable individuals are making and difference. And did you know you can also help them? Here's CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Anderson Cooper. Hopefully by now you've had a chance to check out the 10 remarkable people we're honoring at this year's "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." Each of them is proof that one person really can make a difference. And again this year we're making it easy for you to support their great work. Just go to cnnheroes.com on your laptop, tablet or smart phone and click the "donate" button to support any of our 2015 top 10 CNN heroes.
You'll see this page where you can make a contribution for Amazon payments to one or more of this year's honorees. It's fast, secure and 100 percent of your donation will go directly to your CNN heroes' designated non-profit. You'll also receive an e-mail confirming your donation, which is tax deductible in the United States.
CNN is proud to celebrate all these everyday people changing the world, and through December 31st to offer you this simple way to make a contribution to their cause. Again, from your laptop, your tablet or your phone, just go to cnnheroes.com. Your donation in any amount will then hem help others.
Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All of our top 10 heroes will be honored at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." It is hosted by Anderson next Sunday night, December 6th.
PEREIRA: An unforgettable evening.
All right, Donald Trump claiming that he did not make fun of a reporter with a disability. In fact, he's demanding now an apology from "The New York Times." What is this controversy going to mean for his White House bid? We'll have a discussion you won't want to miss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:36:22] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right after, a couple of good paragraphs, and - and it's talking about northern New Jersey draws the probers (ph) eye (ph), written by a nice reporter. Now, the poor guy, you've got to see this guy. Oh, I don't know what I said. Ah, I don't remember. He's going, I don't remember. Oh, maybe that's what I said. This is 14 years ago. He's still - they didn't do a retraction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: That's Donald Trump talking about "New York Times" reporter who wrote an article way back in 2001 saying there investigations about Muslims celebrating at the Twin Towers fell. Kovaleski now says nothing ever came of those investigations and it wasn't thousands and thousands, as Trump claims. But the question now is, was Trump mocking Kovaleski's disability? He has a condition that limits the movement of his arm. Trump says no way, he didn't know about the reporter's disability and now he is demanding an apology from "The New York Times."
Here to respond, CNN political commentator, former White House political director Jeffrey Lord. He is a Trump supporter. And CNN political commentator and host of "The Ben Ferguson Show," Ben Ferguson joins us.
Jeffrey, let me read you a tweet that just came over the transom here from John Podhoretz -
PEREIRA: (INAUDIBLE).
BERMAN: Who's a - who's a - you know, who writes some commentaries - some commentary also for "The New York Post." He says, "if Donald Trump were a real man, he'd own up to having made fun of Kovaleski. Instead, he's a liar and a coward."
Jeffrey.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, John Podhoretz is no fan of Donald Trump. Let me - John, the thing that really bothers me here is the faux outrage from "The New York Times." This morning I spent some time and went back and looked. In 2008 the Obama campaign ran a commercial mocking John McCain's disability, mocking the fact that he couldn't write e-mails and use a computer when it was well documented by "The Boston Globe" that he couldn't do it because of his disability, and yet they mocked him anyway in a television commercial. There wasn't a peep of outrage from "The New York Times" about this.
Which goes exactly to the point that they are free to make fun of people with disabilities, they are free to go after African-Americans and Latinos and women if they're conservatives.
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Jeffrey -
LORD: But if you are a liberal, God forbid. And what happened here -
FERGUSON: Jeffrey -
LORD: Is that they are pretending to faux outrage over a story that they now say that "The Washington Post" says couldn't be corroborated. Well, then why did they print it if they couldn't be corroborated? I mean this is just phony from start to finish. And it's typical, I might add, and this goes to political correctness and why so many Americans are so fed up with it.
BERMAN: Ben, why don't you jump in -
PEREIRA: Yes.
BERMAN: And then we'll - then we'll get involved here.
FERGUSON: Yes. I mean, Jeffrey, I hope Donald Trump sends you a really nice Christmas present because for you to be able to come on here and somehow claim that this is "The New York Times" fault. You can't - let's just say for a moment that you can't control anybody but the candidate you're supporting, Donald Trump. Donald Trump, as a presidential candidate, was absolutely making fun of someone with a disability. And when you do that and you get busted doing it -
LORD: So was Barack Obama.
FERGUSON: You should be - and Barack Obama is not the standard that we should be going by.
LORD: So was Barack Obama.
BERMAN: Jeffrey, let Ben talk.
FERGUSON: Jeffrey, be - let me be clear. You shouldn't have a standard of the lowest level when you're trying to defend a candidate like Donald Trump. Donald Trump should be man enough to come out and say, I was mocking someone I didn't like. He has a disability. I'm sorry for mocking him. It was a wrong call. This is the arrogance and narcissism that gets Donald Trump in trouble with many conservatives that sit there and go, when are you going to draw the line and actually apologize? This goes back to when Donald Trump said, I don't even say I'm sorry or ask for forgiveness from God himself when I pray, when he was asked by a reporter. And if you're having to come on here and defend Donald Trump by using Barack Obama, that's the lowest level standard in the GOP that - that exists out there. It's embarrassing.
LORD: Double standard, Ben.
[08:40:01] PEREIRA: So, Jeffrey, to that point -
LORD: It's a -
PEREIRA: Jeffrey -
LORD: Yes.
PEREIRA: Oh, we just lost Ben for a second. We'll get him back.
BERMAN: Jeffrey controlling the signal here. He just shut Ben out completely.
LORD: Uh-oh, I'm in trouble now.
PEREIRA: Jeffrey, to his point, not talking about past, talking about the candidate now and the comment that he made, can you defend that? Is there any way you can defend his mocking of someone with a disability?
LORD: Look - look, I - well, first of all he says he didn't do it. I mean so there - there you go. I mean I'll let him speak for himself.
PEREIRA: We saw it on tape. We know people say that he has known this reporter for years.
LORD: Right. Right. But it - but it - right, well, he says that's not what was intended. I mean, so, you know, I can't - as it were, Trump, him, he speaks for himself. And he did.
FERGUSON: Jeffrey, but you know he was making fun of him.
PEREIRA: Ben, let him finish.
Go ahead, Jeffrey.
LORD: You know, all I'm saying to you is, if this is the standard, then let it be the standard. But this is part of the double standard. This is the problem.
BERMAN: No. Jeffrey -
LORD: This is one of the reasons why he's doing so well because he doesn't put up with this kind of thing.
BERMAN: Jeffrey - put up with having to apologize for what some say is making fun of a person with a disability? Just -
LORD: Put up - put up with the double standards from the -
BERMAN: But I'm not - but without -
LORD: From the media and from -
BERMAN: But without -
LORD: And from liberals and establishment Republicans. He won't put up with it.
BERMAN: But without blaming, Jeffrey, hang on, without blaming "The New York Times" for what Donald Trump, without blaming Barack Obama for what Donald Trump said -
LORD: I'm not blaming Barack Obama - I'm blaming Barack Obama for what he said.
BERMAN: But is what Donald Trump said, is it defense (ph) -
FERGUSON: Barack Obama has nothing to do with this.
LORD: Even - even (INAUDIBLE) it is just terrible (ph). What?
BERMAN: He did - yes. I mean, but this is not about Barack Obama.
FERGUSON: Jeffrey -
BERMAN: This is not about "The New York Times." This is about what Donald Trump did on the stump, Jeffrey.
LORD: Yes, it is.
BERMAN: And it -
LORD: No, no, no.
FERGUSON: This is - let me say this. Can I -
BERMAN: Go ahead, Ben.
FERGUSON: Can I jump back in here?
BERMAN: Please.
FERGUSON: Here - this is what's brilliant about Donald Trump's campaign. There is nothing that he will say or can say that his supporters will not defend him, even if it looks like lunacy. When you are a presidential candidate, you should have some class, OK? You should not make fun of someone with a disability. And Donald Trump is leading in the polls and he'll come out and say this.
LORD: Barack Obama did that.
FERGUSON: But let me make - let me finish. Let me finish.
BERMAN: Jeffrey, without saying Barack Obama, there's a two minute ban on saying Barack Obama from now on.
FERGUSON: It - yes, there - it has nothing to do with it. But this is the point. When you are Donald Trump and you are at the poll where you are, have you peaked? And if you don't come out and show some humility, when you make fun of someone with a disability, you can say you're not making fun of someone with a disability. It was blatantly obvious that Donald Trump was making fun of someone with a disability. You apologize when you do that. It's called being classy. And if you want to be the leader of the free world, you're supposed to be at a higher level than other people. You're supposed to be the higher level of class and respect and dignity and fighting for the underdog.
LORD: Unless you're Barack Obama and you do it and you don't apologize and nobody cares.
PEREIRA: He (INAUDIBLE).
FERGUSON: Barack Obama's not running for president. Barack Obama is not running for president. Donald Trump should be at a higher level.
LORD: He is running (ph). Ben, he is the president.
PEREIRA: Let me - OK, time out. Time out. Time out. We need to take a breath. Let me ask you -
LORD: Yes, ma'am.
PEREIRA: I'm going to ask you - I'm going to ask you, Ben, this. This all, this noise, this conversation, this tone that Donald Trump has effectively set for 2016. We know politics are ugly. Is this a new standard? Is this what we can expect going forward, Ben?
FERGUSON: Only from Donald Trump. You're not going to see this from any of the other Republican candidates because they know when you make a mistake, sometimes you have to apologize for it. Donald Trump is the only one down here in the mud at this level. And as a conservative, when someone says something like this, we should all say, that is inappropriate. And every other candidate agrees with me. The only people that don't are Donald Trump's people and the people that love him.
BERMAN: Jeffrey, I know you want to jump in, but we have to let you go because you have to get out to the stores to get some of the great deals. Jeffrey Lord -
LORD: Oh, (INAUDIBLE), thanks for saving me from that (ph).
BERMAN: Ben Ferguson, gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
PEREIRA: Well, we worked off that turkey, didn't we?
BERMAN: Shop on. Yes.
PEREIRA: I think we worked it off, that last bloc.
Something incredibly special ahead. James Earl Jones. He's at it again, starring in the Broadway revival of the 1976 play "The Gin Game." What lured him to this part? I sat down with the living legend. You'll hear our conversation coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:47:20] ANNOUNCER: You're watching NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michael Pereira. PEREIRA: There it is. He says my name. That voice instantly recognizable as that of TV, film, and stage icon, the one and only Mr. James Earl Jones. Few actors can boast about a career that have spanned over six decades and yet Jones shows no sign of letting up. He's currently co-starring alongside Cicely Tyson in the Broadway revival of D.L. Coburn's 1976 Pulitzer Prize-winning play "The Gin Game."
Two-time Tony Award-winner James Earl Jones is in front of me now. Mr. Jones, this is such a pinch me moment for me. What a pleasure to meet you. How are you?
JAMES EARL JONES, TONY WARD-WINNING ACTOR, "THE GIN GAME": Okay.
PEREIRA: You're okay.
JONES: Just got up.
PEREIRA: You just got up. You look good to me.
JONES: Ready to work.
PEREIRA: Ready to work. So I want to talk to you about seeing this play. It's terrific. The 1976 play, "The Gin Game," the revival, I saw a matinee of it. It was amazing to me to see two legendary actors alongside one another reunited after 49 years. Tell me what that experience was like for you.
JONES: We started off off-Broadway together in a Jean Genet play called "The Blacks." In that play every actor of color that you've seen in the past 50 years came from that production. We all cycled through it, we do it for awhile and then take a rest and let somebody else do it. But - I mean, Mya Angelou, Abby Lincoln, Cicely, Roscoe Lee Browne, all the actors that you have heard of.
PEREIRA: Well it's interesting, when I saw the matinee it was largely an African-American crowd and it was a very raucous almost like a call in response in a black church it reminded me of. Is that a distraction? Or is that more of a place of comfort for you?
JONES: No, it's not comfortable. My character is not trying to be funny. She wins, and wins and wins, and they love it. Back woman power -- whatever it -- but they get set off by that. They like to see someone having victory for a change. You know?
PEREIRA: I know you have said before in the past that you are a cable news junky. Is that true? Do you still spend a lot of time watching the news?
JONES: I get home, I turn on TV. There are a couple cables that I watch, including CNN.
PEREIRA: I know you do. I know you do. Well obviously you are quite well aware of all of the things going on in our country and in our nation, specifically with race relations. I'm curious, given the fact that you started your career and were in the public eye during another pivotal time in our world, the civil rights movement.
[08:50:09] JONES: I mentioned the Jean Genet play, "The Blacks." It became important only because it was riding along the side, Martin Luther King's civil rights movement.
PEREIRA: When you look at that time and you look at today, have we made progress, in your view?
JONES: Oh yes, we have. But there is so far to go that progress is minuscule. It's important progress. But we are so far to go before we are one step below the angels, you know. It's -- just to keep encouraging us to keep moving, you know?
PEREIRA: I want to talk to you also about, obviously, your relationship with our network, CNN. To many people I know that you to this day are the voice of CNN. What was that like for you over the years?
JONES: Well you see I had just done some work on television. And I think they wanted a voice of authority, meaning Darth Vader, and so I came out and gave them the voice of authority. I'd like to lighten it up a little bit, you know, but --
PEREIRA: You would have liked to do it a different way?
JONES: Yeah -- Be a little silly, but no.
PEREIRA: They didn't want silly.
JONES: No, no.
PEREIRA: I've been told that. They don't want silly from me either. Don't feel bad.
JONES: Really? Okay.
PEREIRA: All right. So there is one last thing I have to ask you about. And I need you to be honest with me, James Earl Jones. You liked my name the best when you said it on NEW DAY, didn't you? You said Michaela Pereira with a certain (INAUDIBLE). Was I just reading into that?
JONES: Oh, no. I like Michaela Pereira.
PEREIRA: You like the way the sounds?
JONES: Yes --
PEREIRA: You made Alisyn and Chris a little jealous I think. It is such a delight to see you, sir.
JONES: Thank you.
PEREIRA: This has been a lifelong dream of mine.
JONES: Thank you, Michaela Pereira. PEREIRA: Thank you so much. He's done it again! What a delight. Thank
you so much.
You can catch James Earl Jones along with Cicely Tyson in "The Gin Game." It's on Broadway through January 10th.
BERMAN: Darth Vader is so much nicer in person.
Adele has some competition. That South Korean student's rendition of "Hello" has now gone viral. So what is next?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:56:26] Just Instagramed a little picture of J.B. and I. Hey, love Adele. Right? Love the new song "Hello." Well her hit is certainly dominating the charts. But it a version sung by a young South Korean student that is dominating the web. Her name is Lydia Lee. She is an overnight star. So what is next for this budding singer? Paula Hancocks takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(VIDEO OF LYDIA LEE SINGING "HELLO" BY ADELE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 14 million views in just three weeks. Meet Lydia Lee. The latest YouTube sensation.
An 18-year-old music student shell-shocked by her overnight success.
LYDIA LEE, SOUTH KOREAN MUSIC STUDENT: Lots of people like commented on the video. And it was insane. It was so surreal. Oh my gosh. I still can't believe it.
HANCOCKS: An appearance on U.S. chat show "Ellen" singing her cover of Adele's new song "Hello." Recording offers are flooding in. It's not to see or hear why.
A piano, a guitar, and an incredible voice. No post-production here.
LEE: I really just like to express myself through music because I think like sometimes music is more powerful than words. So, yeah.
HANCOCKS: Singing from the age of two, Lydia is by no means the first South Korean to make a musical impact on YouTube.
How could you ever forget Psy and "Gangnam Style?" Still the most watched YouTube video ever with almost 2.5 billion views.
Now Lydia has got a fair way to go to catch that number, but just in case you thought she was a one-hit wonder -
(VIDEO OF LYDIA LEE SINGING "FLY ME TO THE MOON" BY FRANK SINATRA)
HANCOCKS: Sinatra, Adele, no song is too big for this viral singer.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PEREIRA: To nail "Hello" by Adele is incredible, but the fact that she has that kind of range is terrific.
BERMAN: She has a future.
PEREIRA: She's really got a future.
BERMAN: All right, so you get your Adele video today -
PEREIRA: Yeah, yeah.
BERMAN: I get my thing today too.
PEREIRA: Oh is this like his and hers?
BERMAN: Yeah, it is.
PEREIRA: What do you got?
BERMAN: And his is Tom Brady in the best Thanksgiving video ever. Just watch this for a second and then I'll explain.
PEREIRA: OK.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
PEREIRA: That is not Tom Brady. How do you know that is Tom Brady?
BERMAN: So those are Tom Brady's kids and I think the guy in the turkey outfit is Tom Brady. And I think Gisele must have been filming it.
PEREIRA: You think? You think? Is this just in some perverse --
BERMAN: Could there be anyone more perfect than like Tom Brady dressing up as a turkey -
PEREIRA: That could be thousands of other people.
BERMAN: It's all - And he just threw five touchdown passes to boot - in that turkey outfit.
PEREIRA: You know what? I got to check it with my girl Carol Costello and ask her because she knows. That's not Tom Brady in that --
BERMAN: It's Tom Brady.
PEREIRA: Why would he be scaring children?
BERMAN: It's Tom Brady!
PEREIRA: Right? Thank you.
BERMAN: Matt Stafford has nothing on Tom Brady. He can put on a turkey outfit, Carol Costello -
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Excuse me - Exsqueeze (ph) me. Exsqueeze (ph) me, John Berman. Matthew Stafford looked like Tom Brady in that game against Philadelphia yesterday.
BERMAN: Good point.
COSTELLO: The Lions scored more than 40 points, baby!
BERMAN: That's a good point.
PEREIRA: And she told you.
BERMAN: Happy Thanksgiving Day after, Carol Costello.
COSTELLO: You, too - To you, too. "NEWSROOM" starts now.
