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New Day

: Singer-Songwriter Leonard Cohen Dies at 82; What Do Rust Belt Voters Want From Trump?; Melania Trump Prepares to Become Next First Lady. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 11, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: He was a figure of pop music and beyond, and a career spanning more than four decades. Cohen remained wildly popular into his eighties. He was still touring earlier this year and he had just released a new album last month. The cause of his death is not known. Leonard Cohen was 82.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: That's just one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

CUOMO: It is, and he is that rare mix of passion and purpose, right? He was a very great songwriter and performer, but where it was coming from and why he was doing it made him a genius.

CAMEROTA: Right. And, I mean, every different version of that, from Jeff Buckley's which is so haunting, to this one, it's just great to hear it.

Anyway, Donald Trump is -- as you know, he rode a wave of support from Rust Belt voters straight to the White House, winning three key Midwestern states that have voted Democrat in every presidential election since the 1980's. So what do those voters now want from their president-elect on day one?

[05:31:05] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:35:05] CAMEROTA: Voters in the Rust Belt paved Donald Trump's path to the White House. He took Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, three states that had not voted for a Republican since the 1980's. He also flipped Ohio, which voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012.

So what do the voters in the Rust Belt, today, want Mr. Trump to focus on? CNN's Martin Savidge went to Youngstown, Ohio to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE RADIO CALLER: These illegal moochers from Mexico come in. We've got to get rid of -- we've got to get rid of all the illegal aliens.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If President-elect Donald Trump's looking to organize his to-do list once he's in the White House he might want to give a listen to the callers at station 570 WKBN in Youngstown. UNIDENTIFIED MALE RADIO CALLER: We need to get people back to work.

Jobs, jobs, job.

SAVIDGE: This used to be prime Democrat turf but as the manufacturing jobs disappeared and businesses closed many here, like their factories, turned a rusty red, crossing over to Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE RADIO CALLER: I'd like to see him address the health care problem.

SAVIDGE: Caller after caller added on to what they want their president to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE RADIO CALLER: Social Security -- we haven't gotten a raise in seven years.

SAVIDGE: Most want the new administration to focus on immigration --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE RADIO CALLER: Send Mexico an estimated bill for the wall.

SAVIDGE: -- get rid of Obamacare, bring back jobs. And, if possible --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE RADIO CALLER: Rip up that Iran nuclear deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE RADIO CALLER: Go after and indict Hillary Clinton.

SAVIDGE: At the Royal Oaks, Youngstown's oldest watering hole, I talked across the bar with more celebrating Trump backers.

JIM NOVICKY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I expected this. I was very -- I was very confident, actually, in the election.

SAVIDGE: Jim Novicky's been a Democrat all his life, until now.

What do you want to see Donald Trump do first?

NOVICKY: I would -- first thingI would like to see him do is pick a great cabinet. He's got a big job there.

SAVIDGE: Dave Vogel says the same thing. Trump needs to surround himself with the right people.

DAVE VOGEL, REPUBLICAN, VOTED FOR CLINTON: I want to see the cabinet. I think he will be a CEO and kind of sit there and let the cabinet do all the work. That's what I think. And then, I want to see who they're going to pick for the Supreme Court.

SAVIDGE: Filling the Supreme Court is also near the top of many wish lists, but it isn't long before we're back to the wall.

NOVICKY: One of the first priorities, I would say, is secure our borders. I want this to be a country again.

SAVIDGE: Is that build the wall? NOVICKY: Build a wall, yes, but that is -- that's -- to me, that's a rhetorical term. Building a wall doesn't mean brick and mortar, OK?

SAVIDGE: You hear that a lot. The wall Trump has spoken so much about to many Trump voters is not really a wall at all.

The wall. Where is that? Build it, don't build it? It's a real wall, it's not a real wall?

AL SALATA, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Yeah, I don't know whether an actual physical wall is the thing to do. I think there's probably other ways that he can curb some of it that's coming in.

SAVIDGE: Which brings us back to another 'favorite things', Obamacare.

NOVICKY: I would get rid of it and start all over. You have to come up with something. You have to take care of people who can't take care of themselves. Everybody knows that.

SAVIDGE: But you can't talk to Trump voters without talking about something else -- all those protesters.

570 WKBN RADIO HOST: You haven't even given the guy a chance yet.

SAVIDGE: Most I talked to don't believe the demonstrations are spontaneous anger, but organized.

NOVICKY: This is the government they want. They want chaos, they want anarchy, and they're going to give it to us. This is just the beginning.

SAVIDGE: Martin Savidge, CNN, Youngstown, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Response?

CAMEROTA: Well, I have a lot of thoughts about this. I mean, I think that the whole thing that we've been saying lately is that his voters took him seriously but not literally, and we journalists take words literally. We think words matters so we took the wall literally. And they're much more, sort of, amorphous on whether or not it really has to be done, as long as you secure the border.

CUOMO: He may have benefitted from low expectations from government and politicians, in general. That as long as he was saying the right things, talking about change in a way they hadn't heard before, and that he represented something different was very compelling to people.

CAMEROTA: Definitely.

CUOMO: And, you know, they do have to remember, though, Trump and many others called for protests after an election they didn't like in 2012, but how you protest matters. Riots are not protests, they're crimes, and the police and those who are exposing themselves to pain and damage in Portland are on the side of the right there.

All right, so Donald Trump's done something else with his new tweet. He's coming at us, again. This is a new chance for Donald Trump as president-elect but he is back to what he does best, blaming the media. So, what does this mean for the relationship going forward? Will Donald Trump, as president, be against the media, next.

[05:39:50] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:44:10] CAMEROTA: So, in the past 24 hours there are already some troubling signs of what President Trump's relationship with the press would look like once he's in the White House. On Twitter, Mr. Trump blamed the media for the anti-Trump protests that have cropped up around the country. He also broke with long tradition. He ditched the press pool traveling with him before and after his meeting with President Obama at the White House.

Joining us to discuss all of this is CNN host of "RELIABLE SOURCES", Brian Stelter. Brian, great to see you. So these are troubling signs. There's a press pool that travels with the president at all times. Why do they do that? Why is that necessary?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, HOST, CNN "RELIABLE SOURCES": Because we work for the audience. We're for the public at home, as Jackie Kucinich was saying earlier this hour. It is important to know where the president and where the president-elect are at all times because any news can happen at any time.

CAMEROTA: And not just news, I mean, safety, right? You want to know if the president is alive. You want to know if he's functioning and breathing. This is for transparency.

[05:45:00] STELTER: It is. It gives us an assessment of what the president is doing at all times. It gives us a better sense of what our leader is doing on behalf of us, the citizens.

CUOMO: What do you think of Trump tweeting at all, let alone tweeting what he did?

STELTER: I've been trying to keep an open mind toward what the president-elect's treatment of the press will be. We know what he campaigned on. He had a vicious anti-media crusade but that's the past, this is the present. I'm trying to keep an open mind.

However, he has to also keep an open mind about the press and about the press corps and, yesterday, these were two major mistakes. You know, first to not have a press pool and then to suggest that the media is inciting these protests without any evidence. Those are two serious miscalculations whether he knows it yet or not.

He needs people around him who can help him manage this. Who can ensure a press poll exists. Who can ensure access for journalists, and maybe who take his Twitter account away.

CAMEROTA: But if they don't like the press and he doesn't like the press, then why doesn't he just stop the press pool? Why does he need to have a press pool around him? I mean -- in other words, was yesterday a mistake and a miscalculation or was it a harbinger?

STELTER: I think it may have well been both. Again, I've been trying to -- trying to be optimistic about this. But no matter what happens in the next four years there's a cloud that hovers over the Trump presidency's relationship with the media. Why, because during his campaign he revoked some news outlet's press credentials from his rallies. During the campaign he had that blacklist. During the campaign he insulted individual journalists by name, like Megyn Kelly and Katy Tur and some of our CNN colleagues.

So whether he actually does it or not in the next four years, there's going to be that possible chilling effect and that's why, in this moment, journalists actually have to stand up, I think, more strongly. We have to be humble about our role with the audience since we know many viewers, especially Trump supporters, don't necessarily trust us.

We've got to show more strength with regards to defending our role because this is, ultimately -- this is about basic democratic values. You can hate journalists but still want journalists to be there to capture what President Trump is doing.

CUOMO: He actually shares a very basic opinion with the protesters that I met here in New York City. They didn't like the media either. Both sides were blaming the media for not exposing the other side, so maybe he could unify with those protesting against him on that level.

And look, there's no question, a journalist will not yield to power. We're not in the business to be popular. It's something that people on television learn the hard way, very often. But that relationship can work for the president. Nobody has used the media the way President-elect Trump has and he -- again, open mind. Let's see how he goes over time.

STELTER: I was shocked, though, to see him using the media last night on Twitter. I was genuinely shocked to see him --

CAMEROTA: That he went back at the media and said --

STELTER: -- tweeting.

CAMEROTA: -- that the media was causing this.

STELTER: But he was critical of the media, critical of the protesters, and that he was tweeting at all.

CUOMO: Right.

STELTER: I suppose I thought the Twitter account would be taken away. That people around him -- professionals who know how this should work have not stepped in is surprising.

CAMEROTA: Well, they had, in the last two weeks of the campaign but maybe Kellyanne Conway had to take a nap yesterday. I mean --

STELTER: I mean, maybe it's a simple as that. And we should, you know, kind of be transparent with our audience. The media does not incite protests and these are not all professional protesters. I have no doubt there are some, what we call, professional protesters, meaning people who protest for a variety of left-wing causes. These are some of the same people who showed up in the Dakotas during the pipeline protest.

CUOMO: Right.

STELTER: Also, show up at a Trump event. That is true. There are people who are activists and are out there across the country.

CUOMO: And the presence of cameras --

STELTER: These are not all professional protesters.

CUOMO: And the presence of cameras --

STELTER: They're people who are emotional.

CUOMO: The presence of cameras can be an accelerant. I've seen it, I've witnessed it, I've been a part of it. But, again --

STELTER: If that's what he means by incitement.

CUOMO: Maybe -- maybe he'll clarify it. Speaking of clarifications, what do you see that's made clear in Megyn Kelly's new book? Why should I read it?

CAMEROTA: Well, hold on a second. I have an excerpt that I think is important and newsworthy, so let me read an excerpt from Megyn Kelly's book. It says, "The day before the first presidential debate, Mr. Trump was in a lather again," Ms. Kelly writes. "He called Fox executives, saying he'd heard that her first question 'was a very pointed question directed at him.' This disconcerted her because it was true."

In other words, someone was leaking the questions to Mr. Trump?

STELTER: The insinuation here is that Roger Ailes or someone else at FOX was speaking in a back channel way to Trump, giving him a heads-up about what was to come of the debate. This is highly disturbing. And she's not saying explicitly that she believes that the question was leaked.

CUOMO: Question --

CAMEROTA: What else can you -- well, how else could you interpret that?

STELTER: But she's certainly insinuating that, yes.

CUOMO: Question -- when all the talk came out about Donna Brazile and whether or not Hillary Clinton knew, did Megyn Kelly disclose this to our audience then?

STELTER: She did not and, furthermore, she prosecuted the case against CNN very aggressively -- against Donna Brazile. CUOMO: In her book -- in her book she was waiting to, you know, cash in, right, on this tasty tidbit, but she never said it during the actual coverage of the event of questions and whether or not they made it to Hillary Clinton. What do you make of that?

STELTER: That's 100 percent right and I think she's going to have to answer questions about that during her book tour next week. But I would go -- to the point about --

CUOMO: What did she, like, save it for the book?

STELTER: You know --

[05:50:00] CUOMO: Is that journalism?

STELTER: -- sometimes that's what writers do. But when you're a journalist it's more troubling when you save it for the book. I would say, though, with regards to Megyn Kelly, she tells a number of stories in this book about Donald Trump challenging her, being almost creepy toward her, seeming to try to have revenge against her. I think we need to pay attention to the tale she's telling about what her relationship with President-elect Trump was like because there are some warning signs for the White House press corps in her book.

CUOMO: Hmm.

CAMEROTA: Brian, thank you.

STELTER: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Great to talk to you.

CUOMO: Melania Trump is about to become the first foreign-born first lady in modern times. She's kept a relatively low profile as her husband, Donald Trump, hit the campaign trail, so is she ready to take on this very public role? Is that the way she'll be first lady?

CNN's Randi Kaye has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (Voiceover)

MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD M. TRUMP: It will be my honor and privilege to serve this country. I will be an advocate for women and for children.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Melania Trump, just days before learning she would be the next first lady of the United States. At this speech in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, she spoke of her love for this country as a little girl growing up under communist rule in Slovenia.

M. TRUMP: We also knew about the incredible place called America. America was the word for freedom and opportunity. America meant if you could dream it, you could become it.

KAYE: Throughout the race Melania was somewhat of a reluctant campaigner, often staying home with the couple's young son, Barron. The Trumps, reportedly, have a cook, but no nanny. Early on in the campaign she was more often seen than heard. In fact, it wasn't until the Wisconsin primary in April that Melania officially stumped for her husband.

M. TRUMP: I'm very proud of him. He's hard worker, he's kind, he has a great heart. He's tough, he's smart.

KAYE: In March, during an interview with Anderson Cooper, Melania shared how she feels about being compared to Jackie Kennedy.

M. TRUMP: I see around that they compare me to Jackie Kennedy. It's an honor but, of course, we are in 21st century and I will be different. And she had the great style and she did a lot of good stuff, but this is different time now.

KAYE: As a Slovenian immigrant, Melania will be only the second foreign-born first lady and the first in modern times. President John Quincy Adams' wife, Louisa Adams, was also born outside the United States in London. She was the first lady nearly 200 years ago.

Melanija Knavs, as she was formerly known, became a naturalized citizen in 2006. At five foot, eleven, she was once a successful model, meeting Donald Trump at New York Fashion Week party back in 1998. She told "People" magazine she thought he had "sparkle" and later became his third wife. Melania once graced the covers of glamour magazines and sold her own line of jewelry on "QVC". She also appeared in this Aflac commercial.

As first lady, Melania, who is 46, plans to focus on women and children. She hopes to end cyberbullying and teach children to treat others with compassion.

M. TRUMP: We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other.

KAYE: From Fifth Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue, Melania Trump will soon be first lady. Randi Kaye, CNN, Orlando, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: One more note. Barron Trump will be -- will be the first boy raised in the White House since John, Jr.

CUOMO: Ah, very nice. Now, obviously, you know, he's much older. John John was then just a little child but, look --

CAMEROTA: But we don't see a lot of little boys, though, in the White House.

CUOMO: And we still don't know what we will see, you know. This is not a usual family. Are they going to move down to Washington, D.C., you know? He's very well set up here -- Barron, you know. He's got his own life. Whatever they want to do.

CAMEROTA: Well, you don't mean the president-elect Trump would stay in New York, you mean the Melania and Barron. CUOMO: I don't know. You don't have to be there. I don't know what they're going to choose. We'll have to wait and see.

CAMEROTA: That would be fascinating. Donald Trump's White House transition is starting to take shape after that historic meeting with President Obama, so what are the next steps for team Trump? Our panel discusses that next.

[05:54:15] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:58:25] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have been very encouraged by President-elect Trump.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: We were just going to get to know each other.

PROTESTERS: Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: This is a man of action. He is ready to get working. It's really, really exciting.

REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: He's a hard guy not to like.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got to demand that Mr. Trump keep the promises that he made.

PROTESTERS: Not my president, not my president.

OBAMA: It is important for all of us to now come together.

D. TRUMP: I very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your new day on this Veterans Day. It is Friday, November 11th, and we do honor all of our veterans today. It's 6:00 in the East.

Up first, post-election anger erupting again. A second night of anti- Trump protests in cities across the country. Things taking a violent turn in Portland where a peaceful demonstration turned into what police called a riot. Donald Trump responding to the protests on Twitter, calling them unfair and blaming the media.

CUOMO: And this is very simple. A protest is your right, a riot is a crime. President Obama and President-elect Trump in a nice display of unity, meeting at the White House, saying the right things, pledging to work together toward a smooth and peaceful transfer of power just 70 days from today.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Jason Carroll. He has the latest -- Jason.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Donald Trump calling protests against his victory unfair, tweeting overnight that they are "professional protesters incited by the media". This, as largely peaceful protesters across the country take to the streets for the second night in a row.