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Donald Trump's Potential Conflicts of Interest; Retailers Get a Jump-Start on Black Friday; Thanksgiving Day Stuffed with NFL Action; Thanksgiving in the War Zone; Interview with Under Secretary of the Army, Patrick Murphy. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired November 24, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:33:07] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Conflict of interest concerns continue to plague the Trump's incoming administration. New questions over a conversation between the president-elect, the president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri. Did construction of a new Trump Tower in Buenos Aires come up? And what role will Trump's children have? All great questions.

Let's get back into it with Maggie Haberman and David Swerdlick. They're back with us here this morning.

So, David, let me begin with you on what we're learning. We know last week when Prime Minister Abe from Japan came over, we know Ivanka sat in on that meeting. Now, we have new details that there was a phone call with the president of Argentina perhaps relating to a property in Buenos Aires, Ivanka was on that call, and there was meeting with some Indian business associates in which Eric and Ivanka and the president- elect were involved.

What more do we know about that?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So, take the call with Argentina's president. I think the Trump camp could possibly argue that the Trump Organization already has a real estate deal going on in Argentina, that there is nothing that President-elect Trump can do a about that. I think they could also argue that if he is having Ivanka Trump take over his businesses while he hangs back and becomes president of the United States, maybe that's something they can't do anything about.

But when you put those two together and the Trump Organization has a deal going on in Argentina, President Trump is on the phone with the president of Argentina and he puts his daughter Ivanka Trump who is integral in running his business on the phone and then people really can raise the issue of conflict of interest.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know, Maggie, there's so many potential conflicts of interests here. It all becomes sort of a mind boggling blur for voters. What will investigative journalists focus on? MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, when he was at our

newsroom earlier this week, Donald Trump, you know, he was very blunt. He said, literally, the president of the United States cannot have a conflict of interest.

CAMEROTA: Legally, there's no grounds for a conflict of interest.

BALDWIN: The law is on my side.

HABERMAN: He is not wrong and he clearly had studied this.

But a lot of it is about appearances, number one. Number two, as you say, there is a huge maze of LLCs and business incorporations, there's so many it will take a long time for people to start sifting through this.

The risk for President-elect Trump is that there is a daily focus in several different newspapers across the country of, yet, here's another phone call. Here's yet another intermingling of my children and my presidency. And whether it becomes a blur that is not heard by voters, I think a lot of that is going to depend, "A" on the severity and how well things are going in the country.

People tend not to care as much as well as things are going okay for them.

CAMEROTA: But what about Congress? Does Congress care? Now that Republicans run House and Senate, is there anyone in Congress who would launch an investigation into some of these entanglements?

HABERMAN: You're already seeing Democrats making noise about it. So, I think we're going to have to wait and see. But as you say, Republicans hold both Houses. It's going to have to be pretty severe an example, I think, to motivate anything.

But what is amazing to me, I think, with Donald Trump and all these phone calls, a lot of it is -- this is going to sound like I'm making an excuse, I'm not at all, just having covered him for a very long time. He literally has no, this is how he talks. He gets on the phone with you and he will immediately start launching into what he knows and the familiar and his immediate lens of view, and he clearly is not thinking about shifting that lens.

He has not yet grasped, I think, the way people are going to potentially view this overlap. And that it is the very thing that he accused the Clintons of during the campaign.

SWERDLICK: Alisyn, can I jump in and say one thing?

CAMEROTA: Yes?

SWERDLICK: Maggie is absolutely right and President Trump is right, that the law is on his side in this case, but just because he isn't breaking the law does not mean that his role as commander in chief does not bump up against. BALDWIN: What about forming a blind trust, right, which would be

apropos, the issue is. He has said on the campaign trail that it would then go to his children. His children would run the business and his children are on the business, but his children are also on the transition team, I realize because of anti-nepotism laws.

CAMEROTA: Which makes it not a blind trust.

SWERDLICK: That's not blind.

BALDWIN: So, what's the role of the adult children in all of this?

SWERDLICK: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the anti-nepotism laws that are in place do prevent them from taking roles in the administration. I think most people, voters understood what was going to happen as it was explained to them by President-elect Trump when he was campaigning. That he was going to step back. His children would run the business.

It's the mixing of this that I think is the problem. Not that his children have to be, there has to be this firewall at all times between him and his children.

HABERMAN: There needs to be greater care that has been taken, I think that's the basic issue. And you can understand in one or two or even three instances that they're still figuring their way around it, but there's a lot of these now and I think the question is what this looks like for the remaining weeks of the transition.

CAMEROTA: Guys, thank you very much for being here. Have a great Thanksgiving.

HABERMAN: You, too.

CAMEROTA: What's your take on all of this? You can tweet us @NewDay, or you can post your comment on Facebook.com/NewDay.

BALDWIN: Shoppers looking to cash in on deals ahead of Black Friday. But before you grab your wallet, find out who is open for business today. That's next.

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[06:42:05] CAMEROTA: Some of the biggest retailers are bucking tradition today. They are adding shades of gray to Black Friday.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Nice. Very well done.

CAMEROTA: I just read it.

The start of the holiday shopping season is today and they will open their doors actually a few hours from now.

Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is in the money center with more on who will be open for business today, Christine. ROMANS: I would call it shades of green, right? Money right out of

your pocket.

Look, every year there are shoppers who just can't wait until tomorrow, Black Friday, to hunt for deals, and there are retailers happy to take your money before you even have Thanksgiving dishes done. You can skip the pie and go straight to the retail therapy at JCPenney beginning at 3:00 p.m. today, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Macy's open 5:00, Walmart, Target, Sears, Kohl's, Dick's Sporting Goods start welcoming customers at 6:00 p.m. today, Thanksgiving.

But not all stores believe in this philosophy. They think Thanksgiving is for Thanksgiving. Office Depot, RadioShack were both open last year. They will be closed for the holiday this year. Staples remains dark for the second year in a row. Costco, REI, Barnes & Noble, Bed, Bath & Beyond, those are some of the major retailers that will stay closed on Thanksgiving.

While the U.S. market is closed for Thanksgiving, stocks have been red hot you guys since the Trump victory. I want to show you this -- his win gave the markets a boost. Now, you're up more than 9 percent this year and the Dow at an all-time high. That's helping your 401k. The Dow has added 700 points since he won.

The housing market also hot. Existing home sales up 2 percent in October and a strengthening labor market, one of the reasons for that bump in home sales, 1.8 million new jobs created this year. That averaged to 180,000 a month.

And, finally, overall economic growth has finally been picking up and came in at 2.9 percent last year.

So, Brooke, that Obama campaign that Trump campaigned against is actually a tailwind for him heading into his own presidency.

BALDWIN: Waiting in the air. Christine Romans, thank you so much.

ROMANS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Besides the turkey and all the sides, there will be healthy serving of NFL action today. Groovy games on tap, all with playoff implications.

Andy Scholes is the go-to guy with this morning's "Bleacher Report".

What's up, Andy? Happy Thanksgiving.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Happy Thanksgiving to you, as well, Brooke.

I don't know about you, Brooke, but, you know, usually after I stuff myself with food, I relax and watch football and during the Lions game I nod off because they're not usually very go. So, I take a nap.

But hey, not this year. Lions first place in the NFC North, at 6-4. Their game with the Vikings today is huge today. It could go a long way in deciding who wins the division.

Now, that game between the Lions and Vikings get started today 12:30 Eastern. It's followed by another good one the 9-1 Dallas Cowboys are going to host the Washington Redskins. Can Dak Prescott and the Cowboys get their tenth straight win? We'll have to win and see.

And then we got the night cap, Colts hosting the Steelers. Now, this would have been an awesome quarterback matchup to watch, but unfortunately, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, he is going to be out for tonight's game with a concussion. Hey, still three great games on tap.

All right. The NBA has got today off, but many teams in action last night including the Cavs. And Kevin Love was working up an appetite in this one.

[06:45:03] He came out absolutely on fire scoring a record 34 points in the first quarter. Love making eight threes in that opening period. However, somehow he only finished with 40 points in the game. The Cavs would win big, 137-125 over the blazers.

Guys, back to football, you know, this is actually the first time since 1993 that none of the teams playing on Thanksgiving have a losing record. So, a lot at stake later today as we watch football.

CAMEROTA: Good to know. I'll think as, I mean, my food coma.

BALDWIN: I know. I actually thought you were going to say after you nod off you went for seconds. I'm all with the seconds myself.

SCHOLES: I do seconds, thirds, you know, throughout the day.

BALDWIN: Andy, thank you.

SCHOLES: All right.

CAMEROTA: Up next, American service members on Thanksgiving taking the fight to ISIS half a world away. So, we will take you there to meet them.

BALDWIN: We will just ahead.

But, first, a Thanksgiving message from one of our brave service members overseas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. CLARK PALICKA, U.S. AIR FORCE: Captain Clark Palicka from New York City and I guess the most I miss about home is being home with family and friends and, you know, kind of having that big meal and that big feast. I'd like to say hi to all my family and friends back in the United States, back in New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:50:26] CAMEROTA: While many of us will celebrate Thanksgiving with our families, our brave servicemen and women will spend it in a war zone risking their lives.

CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen embedded with the air refueling forces. He has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): This Thanksgiving, Americans are in harm's way fighting ISIS on the ground and in the air.

We're on board a KC-10 extender refueling jet flying over Iraq and Syria. Captain Clark Palicka commanding the massive airborne gas station.

CAPT. CLARK PALICKA, U.S. AIR FORCE: Dynamic airspace, challenging environment. But it's very rewarding.

PLEITGEN: The first batch of planes, two F-15 Eagle Strike aircraft, getting them hooked up to the tanker at around 400 miles per hour, a challenge for the crews of both planes, boom operator Uriel Escamilla says.

STAFF SGT. URIEL ESCAMILLA, U.S. AIR FORCE: It is two moving aircraft, but they are moving around the same speed. So, at the end, it just -- the rate of closure the aircraft has toward you when they stop and when you're able to actually give them that contact.

PLEITGEN: The KC-10 refuels planes from all members of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, including C-130 Hercules transporters and the mighty A-10 Warthog with its massive cannon and many bombs clearly visible through our window.

(on camera): Without the help of these tankers, the planes that are flying missions against ISIS could only stay in the area of operations for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. But thanks to the tanker airplane, they can get fuel in the sky and stay in the area to fight ISIS for up to seven hours.

(voice-over): So, instead of turkey and football, for the KC-10 crews, it's eight to ten-hour missions hovering over the key battlefield. The pain of being away from their loved ones mitigated by the contribution they're making to the war against terror.

1ST LT. TYLER JOHNSON, U.S. AIR FORCE: I love flying, so I wouldn't rather be doing anything else. It is hard being away from family, but I love this job and I enjoy supporting our country.

STAFF SGT. JOHN LOERA, U.S. AIR FORCE: I'm honored to be here. You know, being away from family, they understand that we work. I'm home. But right now, it's my time to be out here and just happened to be serving.

PLEITGEN: Around Mosul, we see billowing smoke of oil fires ISIS has started to try and distract coalition planes. But thanks to the tanker jet, U.S.-led aircraft can stay airborne as long as it takes to find their targets and take them out.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN with the U.S. Air Force over Iraq and Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, under secretary of the army, Patrick Murphy, an Iraq War veteran. He is with troops there today in Kuwait.

Under Secretary Murphy, it's an honor and a privilege to be talking to you. I know the men and women around you can't hear me, but please turn around to them and say thank you for me and for all us and Happy Thanksgiving.

PATRICK MURPHY, UNDER SECRETARY OF THE ARMY: All right, CNN just gave you all a shout out, you're the best-looking soldiers in the world. They're going to take that compliment. They are just -- listen, these men and women are away from their families this Thanksgiving, but they love their country and they're doing everything they can to make sure their families at home in America are safe.

BALDWIN: Tell me about your day. I know it's almost 3:00 in the afternoon where you are. So, am I correct in saying you've already had your turkey? Tell me what the day has been like so far.

MURPHY: Yes, I had two servings of turkey and I am not in a food coma yet. I have a lot of caffeine. But, listen, we train even on Thanksgiving. We did a 5k run. We did turkey trot and another work day for these soldiers.

Except, we make sure we buy lots of turkey and pumpkin pie, et cetera. What is great these soldiers are doing what they love, and that's serving our country. They're hoping they are making all the families and especially their families back at home proud of their efforts, because we're asking these soldiers, less than 1 percent of America, deployed during the longest wars in American history in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Now, I'm talking to you from Kuwait, but just north of here is where our soldiers and Iraqi armies are taking the fight to ISIS and Mosul. And we have a lot to be proud of the gains that they're making.

BALDWIN: You know, I want to ask you about Mosul in just a second, but looking at you and all the men and women reminds me, I was privileged and honored to spend a couple days on an aircraft carrier in the spring with the Navy, with a bunch of soldiers. I think what struck me, I'm not trying to get into a rivalry here, you know, Army/Navy --

(CROSSTALK)

[06:55:00] MURPHY: You hang out with the Navy, but it's okay.

BALDWIN: But that said, I think it was fascinating to me understanding the sense of purpose for serving this country and, also, how in touch with their families they were. What would the men and women around you want their families to know on this day?

MURPHY: Yes, it is. When I was here 13 years ago as a soldier, as a captain with the 82nd airborne division. They are able to Skype home, they do Facetime, to call home more frequently, not as often as they would like.

But they want their families to know that they're serving and they're serving and they're part of the 1 percent of America or frankly less than 1 percent that is willing to stand in the way of ISIS and them doing any harm, or any more harm to our families back at home. And giving the Iraqis a chance.

I mean, what people don't realize is that the Iraqi army with our help and our partnership has been able to liberate over 500,000 Iraqis and Syrian from the scourge of is, which is just a terrorist organization which is doing horrible things not just here in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan, but also, obviously, in our own America with San Bernardino and other instances.

BALDWIN: Right. Under Secretary Murphy, what about -- you mentioned Mosul a moment ago. Can I just ask you an update? How is that fight progressing?

MURPHY: You know, what you see in Mosul right now is the most, you know, which is Iraqi army led, what you're seeing is the largest combat operation since we took Baghdad in 2003. That was 13 years ago. So, you know, what you're seeing now is really a true partnership. You have the Iraqi army, you have Turkey, you have the Kurds.

You have really different players in the region stepping up and saying, listen, ISIS does not represent. ISIS is not welcome here any more. So, our partnership with the Iraqi army, they have taken up is in Ramadi and focus in Mosul. We're going to take them out. And after that, we're taking out their capital in Raqqa, in Syria. Because we can't let ISIS walk the face of this earth and do harm to other Americans and also our partners here in Iraq and in Syria.

BALDWIN: Final question, sir. We're separated by thousands of miles, but what do you want the rest of us to know about what you all are doing back here at home?

MURPHY: Well, you know, everyone has home. I know it's my daughter is 10 years old today, Maggie Murphy. And, you know, but we all are sacrificing. I'm only here for a week for the Thanksgiving to make sure that I'm saying thanks on behalf of our nation back at home.

But what I would like Americans to know, these folks are civic assets. They can be doing anything they want in this world. Our veterans are more likely to be employed and more likely to start a small business and for that small business to be successful than nonveterans. I mean, they're more likely to vote in elections no matter what their persuasion l because they love their country. They've taken an oath to support the Constitution and the values that we represent as Americans. This is the face of America right here overseas. And we have a lot to

be proud of. And, so, when you see soldiers back at home at the Red Lobster, Olive Garden, wherever, at the mall, say thank you and say, where did you serve, what are you doing? What's next for you?

You know, just have a conversation, because they're just like us. You know, when I joined at 19, I remember people asked me, Patrick, why would you join? You're in dean's list in college. I was the captain of the college hockey team. I said, I want to serve my country. My dad served and my grandfather served.

It becomes too much at times a family business. But we need the next generation of men and women to stand up and be part of the varsity team of the United States Army.

BALDWIN: I cannot thank you enough and the men and women around. This is one of the most important conversations we'll have all day. Thank you, all, so much. And happy Thanksgiving, once again.

MURPHY: Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Thank you very much.

We're following a lot of news. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: To succeed, we must enlist the effort of our entire nation.

UNIDENTIFEID MALE: Nikki Haley going from governor to U.N. ambassador.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a super politician.

TRUMP: Let us boldly face the new frontiers that lie ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone like Betsy DeVos, huge, significant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should be a little concerned that they don't have the experience needed for the job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are qualified. They are women. I'm thrilled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The record number of fliers take to the skies.

CAMEROTA: We're just hours away from the Thanksgiving Day parade kicking off.

BALDWIN: Police are stepping up security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a huge security operation. Are you guys excited?

(CHEERS)

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to a special holiday edition of your NEW DAY. Chris is off and Brooke Baldwin joins me for a very festive --

BALDWIN: There is goes!

CAMEROTA: How did that get loose in the studio?

BALDWIN: How did you do that?