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Thousands Protest President-elect Trump; Trump to Meet with President Obama Today. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired November 10, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ho! Donald Trump must go!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, ho! Donald Trump must go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ho! Donald Trump must go!

[05:58:43] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division and unify our great country.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We must accept this result and then look to the future.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not my president! Not my president!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not my president! Not my president!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not my president! Not my president!

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This needs to be a time of redemption, not a time of recrimination.

TRUMP: I promise you that I will not let you down.

(CROWD CHANTING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We who believe in freedom will not rest.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not Democrats first; we're not Republicans first; we are Americans first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, November 10, 6 a.m. in the east, and we do begin with breaking news. Protests have been on the street across the country, mostly on Clinton turf because of Donald Trump's victory. People are blocking freeways, some even setting fires in the middle of the street, others chanting, "Not my president."

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The country bitterly divided over the outcome. This as Donald Trump heads to Washington this morning to meet with President Obama to begin the transition of power.

We have it all covered for you. So let's begin with Deborah Feyerick. She is live outside of Trump Tower in New York. How's it looking, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now it's very, very quiet, Alisyn. But last night, the speed at which these crowds seemed to grow. The word of this protest spreading on social media, taking place all across the country.

Here in New York, it started down at Union Square. Protesters marched against traffic up Fifth Avenue for more than two miles, chanting, "Donald Trump is not my president. Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go." They were here, they said, protesting what they call Trump's bigoted and racist agenda. But in the crowd there was a deep, deep sense not only of disappointment, but disbelief.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not my president! Not my president!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not my president! Not my president!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not my president! Not my president!

FEYERICK (voice-over): Protests breaking out in at least 25 cities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ho! Donald Trump must go!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, ho! Donald Trump must go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ho! Donald Trump must go!

FEYERICK: Hundreds of demonstrators stopping traffic in Los Angeles on the busy 101 Freeway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Donald Trump! (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Donald Trump!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Donald Trump! (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Donald Trump!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Donald Trump! (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Donald Trump!

FEYERICK: While thousands more protested on the streets of L.A., burning Trump's head in effigy. Police arresting dozens of protestors across the country.

In Chicago, thousands marching down an eight-lane highway to the site of Donald Trump's hotel. The disappointment of some voters turning to anger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary had more votes. More human beings voted for Hillary. This isn't fair. This country needs you to stand up and walk into the Supreme Court and say one vote equals one vote. FEYERICK: In New York, at least 5,000 people, including pop star Lady

Gaga, protesting outside Trump Tower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw this incredibly qualified woman to be president being superseded by a man who has no qualifications at all for the office.

FEYERICK: Thousands more targeting Trump's newest hotel in Washington, D.C., just blocks from the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No Trump, no KKK. No racist USA!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No Trump, no KKK. No racist USA!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No Trump, no KKK. No racist USA!

FEYERICK: The march turning to peaceful demonstrations and vigils. Most of these protests erupting in major cities where Hillary Clinton won. Like Portland, Oregon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No Trump, no KKK. No racist USA!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No Trump, no KKK. No racist USA!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No Trump, no KKK. No racist USA!

FEYERICK: And Denver, Colorado.

(CROWD CHANTING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And the faces in the crowd were very, very diverse. The words you heard a lot of were "bigoted," "sexism," "racism." All these people here protesting because they really believe that the country is not going to move in the direction they want, and they wanted to make sure that their voices were out there, that their voices were heard. And that's why you saw so many people, many of them Hillary Clinton supporters, taking to the streets to protest the outcome of the election -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Thank you very much, Deb.

In just hours President Obama meets with Donald Trump, the man who spent years trying to convince people Obama was not born here and attacking him at every turn. Well, now, Trump is president-elect and goes to Washington to begin the transition of power.

CNN's Athena Jones is live at the White House with more. What a photo-op this will be. Awkward.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Good morning, Chris. To be the proverbial fly on the wall in that room. It's fair to say, this is a meeting the president never wanted to have, never thought he would have. He spent months saying that Donald Trump would never be president. Well, Donald Trump is now going to be president, and so the focus shifts to the peaceful handover of power.

We've heard the president and his staff talk about how they appreciated the smooth and professional transition handled by the George W. Bush team back in 2008 and 2009. The president spoke about that, again, in the Rose Garden yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I have instructed my team to follow the example that President Bush's team set eight years ago and work as hard as we can to make sure that this is a successful transition for the president-elect. Because we are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country. The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: One of the hallmarks of our democracy. Now, there's going to be a lot for the two to discuss. We can tell you that White House press secretary Josh Harnett says that it's not clear what effect Trump's election will have on President Obama's top policy priorities, but we know that Trump ran on promises to undo much of the Obama legacy. And so we can expect him to get to work right away on repealing and replacing Obama care, on reversing some of the president's executive actions on immigration, on regulations of power plants.

Trump has also said that he wants to withdraw from agreements like the Iran nuclear deal, the Transpacific Partnership trade deal, TPP, and the Paris Climate Accord. And we've got to tell you, we've already got some indications from Congress that TPP is likely dead.

So a lot to discuss, a lot that could change under Trump. And after that meeting with the president, Trump and Vice-President-Elect Pence head over to meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Athena. Thanks so much for all of that.

Donald Trump now has to begin filling thousands of jobs before he takes office in 71 days. It's one of Washington's favorite parlor games: Who will get the top posts in Trump's cabinet?

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is live in Washington with a look at some of the possibilities. Give us some names, Sunlen.

[06:05:05] SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of possibilities there, Alisyn. And President-elect Trump and his team have really been hunkered down and huddled up behind closed doors, going over the list of all these potential names for the top jobs. And many of these names, they just won't surprise you, because many of them are who we've seen near Donald Trump during the campaign. And they could go on to now fill out his cabinet and become his new inner circle in the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SERFATY (voice-over): On day two as president-elect, Donald Trump now looking to turn his promises into policy. Beginning with his call for unity.

TRUMP: Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division.

SERFATY (voice-over): Words echoed by President Obama and Hillary Clinton, both pledging a peaceful transition of power.

OBAMA: We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country.

CLINTON: We must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.

SERFATY: Trump now in the throes of building his administration.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We have to get ready to form a government.

SERFATY: Potentially rewarding some of his top supporters, RNC chairman Reince Priebus one prospective option for Trump's chief of staff.

REINCE PRIEBUS, DNC CHAIR: I haven't thought about it. And right now I'm chairman of the party. I'm excited about that job.

SERFATY: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has led his transition team, also being eyed for top posts. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani under consideration for attorney general or secretary of homeland security, while Newt Gingrich is being floated as the prospective secretary of state.

Other possible cabinet picks: Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions for defense secretary, billionaire businessman Carl Icahn for treasury secretary, and retired Army General Michael Flynn for national security adviser.

When Trump takes office in January, he'll have extraordinary power to push through his agenda with Republican majorities in both Houses of Congress.

RYAN: He heard those voices that were out there that other people weren't hearing. And he just earned a mandate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: And certainly new attention is being paid to all the things that candidate Trump has said would make up his first 100 days in office. He's made some broad, sweeping proposals. Some things like cleaning up Washington, protecting the American workers and restoring the rule of law, but he's also as a candidate made some very, very specific promises like repealing Obamacare, renegotiating many of the trade deal and perhaps, Chris and Alisyn, the biggest promise of all, so synonymous with his campaign, is to build that wall along the Mexican border.

CUOMO: We're doing a little bit of Trump's work for him there, saying clean up Washington instead of drain the swamp. And I keep making that distinction, because it's going to be a very different message he can give to the people who are actually in power than he gave on the campaign trail.

Sunlen, thank you very much.

All right. Let's discuss the big meeting and the protest with our panel: "Daily Beast" Washington bureau chief Jackie Kucinich; political editor of TheRoot.com and professor of political science at Morgan State University, Jason Johnson; and "Washington Post" reporter Abby Phillip.

This is going to be some test, Professor, of President Obama's ability to swallow the personal in favor of patriotism. He's known for this, but Donald Trump is the face of the resistance. He wasn't born here; Obama is not one of us. The otherism. Now, as president-elect, how does he regard him?

JAMES JOHNSON, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY: Look, I think Obama is, at his core, a patriot. He loves this country. I think he means it when he says, "Look, we're all hoping for the best here. We really need this to go well."

I know a lot of my Democratic friends are angry and they want to see them fail. No. I think President Obama has a vested interest in this country and will want to see Trump do well, even despite all the personal, despicable things that Trump might have said about them.

CAMEROTA: Jackie, there's so much bad blood. I mean, of course, Jason's probably right. President Obama hopes for the best for the country, but what are the optics today? Do you see at the front door or wherever the equivalent is at the White House, Mrs. Obama and President Obama, you know, extending their arms and welcoming in Trump; or is it all sort of more shrouded, behind the scenes?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think they're going to hug or anything, but, yes, I think -- think this is the -- they -- President Obama knows that this is the peaceful transfer of power. This is the long tradition. It's an important -- it's the important tradition.

So I think out in the open, yes, it's going to look a little weird, because they don't really like each other. But I think they're going to do their best to, you know, make a good presentation. Behind the scenes, it will be awkward. But I don't think they're going to start raging and pointing at each other or anything.

CUOMO: Abby, how is Washington processing this kind of collective fiction that we're all participating in right now? That Donald Trump may not be who he told us he was every day of this campaign. You've got to give him a shot. He won. That's the mandate. But the man versus the mandate, how is it being processed down there? [06:10:18] ABBY PHILLIP, REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, I mean,

for a lot of people in this town, this is the very first time they are contemplating this scenario. A couple months ago, talking to folks about the transition, I talked to some people in D.C., who said absolutely no one here is planning for a Donald Trump presidency except for perhaps Chris Christie.

And so now we're going to see what that looks like. And I think, for the most part, people are not sure what to believe, because remember, in the primary, Donald Trump would say one thing one day and then another thing the next. So, there is no sort of statement of record for Trump on a lot of things that he has said he's going to do.

And the main questions will be when he -- when he has an opportunity. What will he say about his real priorities in government? And what will those, what will those be that other Republicans can also sign up for? Because I don't know that many Republicans are really that supportive of many of the policy priorities that Donald Trump has expressed in the campaign.

CAMEROTA: Jason, one last note about this meeting today, because I know that you think that what goes on behind the scenes might be different than the public facade.

JOHNSON: Right?

CAMEROTA: But what you know about President Obama. Do you think that he will take this opportunity for one moment to sort of express his displeasure and what he lived through with all the birtherism stuff that came out of Donald Trump.

JOHNSON: I think President Obama is perfectly capable of finger wagging, and I think, like I said before, I think it's going to be in the context of you can do it to me, but I'm telling you, you have a wide, diverse country if you take this same attitude, it's not going to work at all.

I'll also say this. In addition to the meeting between President Obama and President-elect Trump, I just wonder what Melania and Michelle is going to be like. Like that, too, strikes me as a very interesting conversation. Because Melania didn't have an active role in this campaign, but she's going to have to have an active role as first lady. It will be interesting if she is more receptive to advice than her husband.

CUOMO: Well, and we know that Melania is a fan of Michelle Obama.

JOHNSON: Of her writing.

CAMEROTA: Her oratory.

CUOMO: You know, and that was one of the problems with the campaign, that they just didn't handle well, that wasn't about Melania wanting to copy a speech. That was about them setting her up to fail.

So how is he going to populate this government? This is one of our favorite parlor games, and now a couple of interesting things that come up. Kellyanne Conway, obviously the woman in charge there, she speaks as a political operative. You probably don't see her going on the governmental side. Haven't heard -- haven't heard any women's names, and you got a piece of "The Daily Beast" today about a layer of immediate resistance to staffing that they have to deal with. What is it?

KUCINICH: It's national security in the intelligence community. Kim Dozier and Shane Harris of "The Daily Beast" wrote this piece; and they have national security and intelligence officials, saying that -- saying that they're not going to work for Donald Trump.

Not only that, during the primary and during the general election, you had a lot of these people that are the foremost experts in their field signing public letters, saying that he's unfit. He shouldn't be president. And I'm not going to work for him.

So -- there -- and he shouldn't be in office to begin with. So they immediately are going to have trouble staffing up some of the most important agencies when it comes to national security and keeping America safe. Right at the get-go. And perhaps that means they're going to have less experienced people that are filling those positions. But it's going to be interesting to see how they square that. And Donald -- you know, they are calling people, and they're just saying, "No, we're not going to work for you."

CAMEROTA: Abby, one note about the protests. They are -- they are pockets of protest. These are not nationwide protests. These are places where...

CUOMO: In Clinton territory.

CAMEROTA: These are in Clinton territory. These are places where...

CUOMO: Also known as big cities.

CAMEROTA: ... where Hillary Clinton won and, look, everybody wants peace, people to express themselves peacefully. But, clearly, it's going to take people a while to process what happened on Tuesday. What do you think of what we're seeing in these pockets?

ABBY PHILLIP, REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I think it's letting some of the steam out of the pressure cooker, and I think that it's necessary for people to express themselves and express how they feel about the election. That's actually, also, part of the democratic process, in addition to going to the ballot box. It's the ability to protest peacefully.

So I think all of that is to be expected. I think that the Trump campaign is watching it closely. They're aware that this is a dynamic that is going to exist, and to some extent if they're smart -- and I think we actually saw Donald Trump doing a little bit of this on Tuesday. They recognize that he cannot continue to antagonize the country as president. That is not -- that is not his mandate as the leader of the free world. And, so, I wouldn't be surprised to see more steps taken from inside

Trump world, contrary to the sort of ethos of his entire campaign to really do more to ease people's worries and concerns, because those worries are very real in this country. The exit polling shows, you know, over 50 percent of the country, including a lot of Trump supporters, are scared or anxious about what his presidency would bring.

CAMEROTA: OK, panel, thank you very much. As the sun rises over the capital there, the symbolism of a new day. Thank you very much.

CUOMO: And also, you know, it's a lesson for these people out on the streets now. That democracy is to guarantee a fair result, not necessarily a favorable one. You may not like it. That's part of the process.

CAMEROTA: Of course. Fifty percent won't, or half.

CUOMO: All right. So coming up on NEW DAY, guess who we have? Two of the president-elect's main advisors, Michael Cohen in the 7 p.m. hour and Rudy Giuliani in our 8 p.m. hour. No two better people to ask about what comes next.

CAMEROTA: President-elect Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to do a lot on day one, let alone in his first 100 days in office. What can he actually get done? How will he govern? We'll look at that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: So, here's what we know. Donald J. Trump will be the 45th president of the United States. And in just 71 days, he's going to be inaugurated. So then what? What are going to be the priorities? Can he get those done? Let's discuss.

Jackie Kucinich, Abby Phillip, along with CNN senior political reporter, Manu Raju. Jackie, the fundamental question is this mystery of the Jekyll and the Hyde. What will he put forward? Will it be the harsh things, whether it's the wall as a policy, or if any of the other manifestations of intolerance? Or do you think he starts to try to check the boxes and work on approval rating?

KUCINICH: You know, it's hard -- So right now he has. The Republicans are saying they have a mandate. So, in theory, do you try to start with the tough stuff first, because you have that momentum. That said, the wall is sort of kind of a nonstarter right now in the Congress. And some of his more controversial proposals aren't really going to go anywhere. So it's going to be really interesting to see how -- how he does this.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, Manu, let's talk about the things that the legislative measures that Donald Trump has said that he wants to enact in his first 100 days. Let's put these up: deliver the biggest tax cut since Ronald Reagan. Tariffs to stop companies from going overseas, infrastructure investment, end Common Core, promote school choice. Repeal and replace Obama re. Childcare tax deductions and childcare services. We remember that speech that he gave. Build the wall. Create a task force on violent crime. Rebuild the military. eliminate the defense sequester. What can he accomplish, Manu?

MANU RAJU, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a very difficult list to accomplish. He's going to have to settle on one or two things, because Congress cannot walk and chew gum at the same time.

But repealing Obamacare is certainly doable, and this is why. Because Congress has proven that the Republicans can pass a repeal of Obamacare through the budget process that avoids a filibuster in the United States Senate. That means they can pass it with a simple majority of 51 votes; and Republicans will have 52 seats in the Senate.

Now, the question is, how do you replace it? That you will actually need 60 votes to replace an Obamacare if it's repealed. You need a healthcare law with 60 votes. That means he'd have bipartisan support in the Senate. That becomes much, much harder. So, it will be politically difficult for some to repeal Obamacare and not have a plan to replace it.

CUOMO: What happens? What happens if you repeal, Manu, and don't you have to replace if you repeal? What happens if you repeal and you don't replace?

RAJU: Well, then I guess you go back to the old system, and it leads to a lot of other problems. So, that's the one thing the Republicans are going to have to weigh exactly how to move forward with the repeal because, yes, they can pass a repeal. What do you do if you can't replace? And what happens to all the people who have healthcare coverage now because of the Affordable Care Act? So that is a very tricky thing. One of the many hurdles that the Trump administration will have to overcome as it tries to enact its agenda.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Abby, it's very interesting to hear what leading Democrats have said since Donald Trump's surprise to them victory. Basically, they've said we're all going to come together, and we believe in a strong America. We're going to do whatever we can to help President-elect Trump make this a strong America.

I mean, it is such a different tone and tenor than what the Republicans said, frankly, when Barack Obama was first elected. And are we to take Democrats at their word, or do we think that revenge will seep in somehow?

PHILLIP: Yes, I do think that Democrats are approaching this in a very different way, in part they saw what happened when Republicans back in 2009 -- early 2009 basically said, "We, our top priority is stopping Barack Obama's agenda," and that led to a sort of, this sort of eight-year arc of rancorous politics in this country.

So, they're approaching it a little bit differently. And in some cases it's because they have to. They're in the minority in the Senate and in the House. They recognize that they're -- they are going to have some defections within their ranks. And so, they need to come up with ways to work with Republicans on the

issues in which, maybe in some cases, they both collectively oppose Donald Trump's agenda. Like, for example, on the infamous wall. That both Republican leaders and Democratic leaders are not going to be eager to work with.

And, you know, for Trump, Trump wants to work on infrastructure. That's something the Democrats really want. That was a pillar of Hillary Clinton's campaign promises. So I think we can expect to see some areas where they can find common ground.

CUOMO: Jackie, Trump is going to want good approval ratings. That's what he's going to want, and he's going to be focused on that in a hyper fashion early on. Bernie Sanders gave you the way forward. "He said you want to work on the things that help Americans, I'll do it. You want me to engage in any of the xenophobia, and all the hate and bigotry that you put out there that got you elected, I'm not going to be there." So that's that Jekyll and Hyde choice that Trump has to make.

[06:25:08] KUCINICH: Well, and I have to say that, you know, initially, when President Obama came into office, there was a -- at least in front of the cameras, there was the welcoming. This is the new president. I wanted to correct that a little bit. It was behind closed doors that you saw Republicans getting together.

But I wonder if that's happening right now with Democrats. I just want to put that out there. Because they weren't -- they didn't, you know, run to the microphones and say, "Aha!"

CAMEROTA: Except that, for the very first time in January of 2009, when President Obama was making his first sort of pilgrimage over to Congress and he thought he was going to be having this conversation about how they could move forward together, they had already decided, "No, we're going to block you at every turn." And I think they may have said at the microphone, like, actually, none of us are going to support his jobs plan.

KUCINICH: But at the same time, President Obama during a press conference, he had a meeting with House Republicans. And the first thing he did was call out Paul Ryan, which sort of soured their relationship immediately.

So I do think there is a little bit of malpractice on both sides at that time. And so we hope that maybe you won't see that this time. And maybe I'm wishful thinking.

CAMEROTA: No, maybe they've learned from that. Maybe they've learned that, you know, as Abby was saying those eight years of gridlock, or whatever was seen as obstruction, that that's not what America wants.

CUOMO: Don't be what you reject.

CAMEROTA: There you go. Thank you very much.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump vowed, of course, to build the border wall and to make Mexico pay for it. So how will leaders work together on that? We have a live report from Mexico for you, next.

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