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Trump Picks Two Women for Top Administration Posts; Jill Stein Raises Millions for Election Recount; Millions to Line NYC Streets for Thanksgiving Parade; U.S. Navy: Personal Data of 130,000 Sailors Hacked. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 24, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Brooke Baldwin joins me for a very festive...

(SOUND EFFECT: TURKEY GOBBLING)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: There it goes! There it goes!

[07:00:04] CAMEROTA: I don't know about that. How did that get loose in the studio?

BALDWIN: How did you do that?

CAMEROTA: A lot of surprises today, and you are looking at live aerials.

BALDWIN: I spy balloons.

CAMEROTA: Look at this. This is the Thanksgiving Day parade prep, of course, here in New York City. The balloons are up and ready to go. So, we'll have live reports from the parade route along with your holiday forecast throughout the program.

BALDWIN: Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown. That's my favorite one. My favorite one. So we have that for you this morning. Boris is along the parade route.

But we do want to begin with President-elect Donald Trump diversifying his administration, selecting the first two women for top jobs. And as we wait for word on other key nominations, Trump is releasing a video holiday message, calling for national healing on this Thanksgiving.

Let's go to Jason Carroll, who's live at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with more.

Jason, good morning, happy Thanksgiving. Look at that gorgeous sky behind you.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is beautiful. What a gorgeous day here in Palm Beach.

You know, I know a lot of people are waiting for more announcements, but no announcements, Brooke, expected today. This is going to be a down day for the president-elect and his family.

Meanwhile, the president-elect is saying it's time for the country to put the election behind us. He says it's time for the country to come together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): President-elect Donald Trump diversifying his administration, picking two women to fill key positions, tapping former critic Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R-SC), U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N. APPOINTEE: I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That's not who we want as president.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: She's very, very weak on illegal immigration. You can't have that.

CARROLL: Trump now touting the South Carolina governor as a proven dealmaker with a proven track record of bringing people together. Haley has accepted the position, she says, out of a sense of duty.

Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, is the first woman and first person of color to be elected as governor in South Carolina. But some are questioning if she has enough foreign policy experience for her new diplomatic post at the U.N.

TRUMP: Thank you, everyone. Thank you for being here.

CARROLL: Trump also naming a top billionaire GOP donor, Betsy Devos, as secretary of education. The president-elect calling the school choice activist "a brilliant and passionate education advocate." Even though she also heavily criticized him throughout his candidacy, raising money for other Republicans on the ballot.

And Devos previously served on the board of an education group led by Jeb Bush that supports Common Core standards.

TRUMP: We are going to provide school choice, and put an end to Common Core, bring our education local.

CARROLL: Devos setting the record straight on Common Core in a statement saying, "I am not a supporter. Period."

Trump also announcing on Twitter that he is seriously considering dr. Ben Carson as head of Housing and Urban Development.

CARSON: There were a lot of things that were put on the table, and I'm thinking about them.

CARROLL: All as Trump channels the spirit of Thanksgiving, releasing this holiday message on YouTube after what he calls a long and bruising campaign.

TRUMP: It's my prayer that, on this Thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And, again, Alisyn, no cabinet announcements expected today. Dr. Ben Carson did tweet that an announcement on his end should be forthcoming. Again, quote, "forthcoming"; don't know what forthcoming actually means.

There's been some question in terms of when we might hear something about the position of secretary of state, Mitt Romney being the frontrunner there. He is said to be mulling things over with his advisors. Not expected to hear something on that front, Alisyn, until after the holiday weekend.

CAMEROTA: OK. Hopefully, you will have a quiet holiday down there. Jason, thank you very much for all of that reporting.

Let's discuss it with CNN political commentator and host of CNN's "SMERCONISH," Michael Smerconish. Happy Thanksgiving.

BALDWIN: Good morning.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And to you, as well. How are you?

CAMEROTA: Doing well. Let's get your thoughts on the latest announce -- cabinet picks. So we have Nikki Haley for U.S. ambassador to U.N., and we have Betsy Devos, education secretary. Your thoughts?

SMERCONISH: So I think on someone else's watch, had someone else been elected president and then put forth these nominations, there'd be more conversation than we will probably hear relative to their backgrounds.

And what I mean by that is I think he's inoculated, insofar as "draining the swamp" was his priority, and he made it crystal clear that he wanted to bring outsiders to Washington, D.C., or in this case, to the U.N. in the case of Nikki Haley.

So, yes, I'm sure Democrats will make some issue of these appointments. But in the end, I think they're secure.

BALDWIN: Do you give him some credit, though, Michael, the fact that, you know, it's not that Governor Haley was ever a never-Trumper, but it took her a long time to finally get there. And, you know, we could -- so many quotes from Governor Romney, the speech in Utah, you know, and how he was so highly critical of Mr. Trump. Do you give them credit for opening their arms to those voices?

[07:05:14] SMERCONISH: I do. I not only give credit to President- elect Trump for being willing to listen to those voices, but I give credit to a Nikki Haley or to a Betsy Devos at being willing to serve with President Trump, because they were critical of him.

Brooke, initially when Mitt Romney's name was put forth and that meeting took place at Bedminster, I wondered, like many others, is this just window dressing? BALDWIN: You weren't buying it.

SMERCONISH: Is this just him trying to -- right. Is he looking appeasing but not really appeasing.

No one was more loyal to Donald Trump than Rudy Giuliani. And so, if the president-elect is now contemplating going with one of his harshest critics -- I remember that particular speech that Romney delivered -- at the expense of Rudy, who apparently has said, "This is the one job that I really do want," that would be quite significant.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Let's talk about that, about which voice in -- next to Donald Trump is going to win in terms of the Rudy/Romney debate. Because now Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee have come out. I mean, they were both supporters of Mr. Trump when he was running. They've come out and talked about how critical they are both of Mitt Romney. So, it would really be bucking a lot of voices to pick Mitt Romney at this point.

SMERCONISH: Alisyn, there's the Donald Trump who sought and received the Republican nomination, very hard line, very draw-a-line-in-the- sand-ish. Meaning not retreating on anything.

And then there's the Donald Trump who showed up at the "New York Times" just two days ago for that on-the-record conversation where he reconsidered torture, waterboarding; where he seemed to strike a different tone relative to climate change; where he spoke favorably, at least respectfully of President Obama; and said that he really doesn't have any interest in locking her up. That's a much more conciliatory, appeasing Donald Trump. It's the Donald Trump who, on election night who said it's time to bind the wound.

BALDWIN: So, what about, though, yes, and we're looking at perhaps a moving to center, but on these intelligence briefings. I don't know if you saw "The Washington Post" piece, but you know...

SMERCONISH: I did, yes.

BALDWIN: ... the fact that Donald Trump has elected to take two of these intel briefings when you look at previous presidents, like when President Obama was elected president or even George W. Bush. You know, they took them daily. Apparently, it's Mike Pence who's doing this daily. And one of the sources cited in this piece says Trump has a lot of catching up to do. At this point, though, is it alarming for you or not yet?

SMERCONISH: Not yet alarming, but I wish he were taking the briefings on a day-to-day basis. Because look, I think it's a very fair criticism to say, as the consummate outsider, the first that we've elected without military service or government experience -- and I realize that was an asset on the campaign trail. But OK, Mr. President-elect, now you're going to do the job. You need to be brought up to speed.

So I expect that's going to change. If it doesn't, I think it will be voiced criticism of it. SMERCONISH: So Michael, you know, there's all these Clinton --

Hillary Clinton supporters that are hoping for some miracle, some change before inauguration day that would stop the inevitable from happening. And one of the things that Jill Stein who, herself, ran for president is looking at is whether or not there was some technical glitch in terms of voting machines or even hacking in these battleground states.

BALDWIN: She wants a recount.

CAMEROTA: So if it were determined that something went awry with these machines before inauguration day, then what?

SMERCONISH: So, the issue here is that she appears, in some electronic voting areas, to have run behind how well she did elsewhere on paper ballots.

Here's what I'm not convinced of. I'm not convinced that that's a reflection of the electronic versus paper ballot, as opposed to the cultural factors of who voted in that particular polling place.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SMERCONISH: But of this I'm pretty confident. And that is that the model here is one set by two disparate individuals, Richard Nixon and Al Gore, both of whom lost incredibly close elections, but for the good of the nation, said it's just not worth it to fight it.

I have to believe that the Clintons, very sophisticated, would only want to get involved in a recount if they really believed the facts were on their side and that it would alter the outcome in a convincing way. And I don't think we're anywhere close to that.

BALDWIN: Let me just loop back quickly. Still marinating on this Governor Romney potential pic as secretary of state, because as it's Thanksgiving, we know that he is considering it over the holiday weekend.

Do you think it would be a step forward for this country, even though they have been like this, especially when they talked about Russia in the past, they being Trump and Romney, would you be in favor of Mitt Romney saying yes?

SMERCONISH: I'm for growing the tent. I'm for inclusion. I think that this campaign was so divisive, so exclusionary that, if Governor Romney would play a role for Donald Trump, it would send a great message about his willingness to entertain, points of view, even those who were his harshest critics. So yes, I like it.

CAMEROTA: OK. Michael, thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

SMERCONISH: We just doomed him.

CAMEROTA: I know. I was thinking that. SMERCONISH: We just doomed him by saying that.

CAMEROTA: I know. I mean, you and I -- Michael, you've been so honest about your lack of a good track record during this election; and you're in good company with, you know, 95 percent of people who got it wrong. So, it's possible you did just doom Mitt Romney. But happy Thanksgiving.

SMERCONISH: We'll see. We'll see. We'll see.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Happy Turkey day, Michael Smerconish.

SMERCONISH: Let's look at these live aerials over the 90th Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. What do you see there, Brooke?

BALDWIN: You know, I'm not totally up on my balloons, Alisyn. Listen, I'm a Charlie Brown gal.

CAMEROTA: I enjoy Charlie Brown.

BALDWIN: And Garfield. I don't have kids. I don't know what these balloons are. I'm not hip with it.

CAMEROTA: You are very fluent for someone without children in the Garfield ball game.

BALDWIN: Boris.

CAMEROTA: Boris, save us. You're live in the middle of the action. Go ahead.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This crowd is so pumped, Alisyn and Brooke. They are thrilled, waiting for the spectacle that is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

I want to show you on our right and take you behind the scenes. This is the West Virginia marching band. They are getting ready to get lit and bring music to the three million people that are going to be lining the streets of New York this morning.

As we get closer, to give you another angle of the balloons we were just looking at. There's the big blockhead himself, Charlie Brown. And all-new balloon for this year's parade.

Two other new balloons we're excited to see, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," and DreamWorks movie "Trolls" is also going to have another balloon. As well as Felix the Cat. He was actually the first balloon ever at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade back in 1927.

You can hear the music going off. That's those folks over there rehearsing. It's the Muppets. They're getting ready for the start of the parade. We've got people dressed as Christmas trees, people dressed as Power Rangers. A thousand clowns, unsettling and eerie. A thousand clowns lining the streets.

Fortunately, we also have 3,000 uniformed New York Police Department officers out here, keeping a watchful eye over the crowd and make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

You ladies excited?

(CHEERING)

SANCHEZ: Where are you guys from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alameda.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alameda, California.

SANCHEZ: California. All the way from California, dressed in bright green to celebrate the holiday.

Again, a lot of excitement in the air. A watchful eye, making sure that everything goes well. I'll send it back to you guys.

BALDWIN: I like those Christmas trees.

CAMEROTA: I love them.

BALDWIN: I mean, a thousand clowns, I don't know. But Christmas trees I'm cool with.

CAMEROTA: Hoping they're not the creepy clown variety.

BALDWIN: We'll see. We'll see.

The question, though, is we were talking with the balloons, it depends on how the weather is and the wind as far as how high these balloons will be able to fly. So Chad Myers, I bet, knows about balloons.

What do we need to know?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They are going to be flying high today. Winds will be five miles per hour. We really have a great day for a parade.

Now, it will rain, probably, around 1 p.m., but the parade will be over by then. The rain way now down to about Baltimore, almost Philadelphia. There is more rain and snow in the forecast for other parts of the country, but for the most part, I think the Snoopy will be up in the air.

Let's take a look at Snoopy, the forecast. Hour by hour where he's going to go, flying high. Fifty-three will be the afternoon high temperature. We'll have temperatures in the 40s, though, during the parade. Maybe up to around 42. It stays cloudy because of where the warm front is.

But there goes Snoopy. Even with the warm front, he goes all the way up there, and he continues all the way through the day. And eventually, you know, I mean, the big finale is Santa Claus. So got to wait for that.

Rain showers get to New York City about 1 p.m. They move away about 4, 5 p.m. tonight. A good day, a really decent day for traveling today. There's some lake-effect snow, but, Brooke, we are in good shape for travel today.

BALDWIN: Of course. The grand finale Santa Claus and the Turkey.

CAMEROTA: I like that Chad ducked when Snoopy...

BALDWIN: When Snoopy ran away.

CAMEROTA: That was a nice touch, Chad.

BALDWIN: Getting fancy -- fancy on this show, this NEW DAY show. Chad, thank you.

Coming up next, stunning and really terrifying video that shows us what happens when e-cigarettes -- whoa -- goes horribly wrong.

CAMEROTA: But, first, we have a Thanksgiving message from one of our service members overseas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Staff Sergeant John Molara (ph). I miss being home definitely for the holidays. But I'd like to saying to my wife Danielle, and I love her very much, and I'll be home soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:18:53] CAMEROTA: Well, thousands of former and current U.S. sailors are getting the troubling news this morning that their identities have been breached. Hackers infiltrating Navy records gaining access to names and Social Security numbers.

CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto has more.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

We're learning of a potentially damaging security breach affecting the U.S. Navy. This began with just one laptop, a single laptop that belonged to a contractor for the Navy.

But because that laptop was compromised, someone was able to access the names and Social Security numbers of more than 130,000 sailors. Those sailors now being notified.

The Navy saying it's taking this very seriously. They don't know who did it. To this point, that information has not been shared more widely, but they're obviously, investigating this potential for real damage here.

Alisyn and Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: Jim Sciutto, thank you. I'll take it.

An update now to a story we first told you about yesterday. A Wayne State University Police officer has died after being shot in the head Tuesday night. Twenty-nine-year-old Collin Rose had been on the job for five years, was engaged to be married next year.

[07:20:00] Authorities say Rose called for backup when he saw a man approach a neighborhood prone to car thefts. He was on a bike. The suspected shooter is in custody, but police have yet to find and recover his weapon.

CAMEROTA: Well, Hampshire College in Massachusetts facing a wave of backlash after removing all American flags from the campus. The college president says the school initially lowered the flags to half- staff after hate-based violence escalated around the country following the presidential election. The president of the college says removing the flags was meant to create, quote, "meaningful discussion."

BALDWIN: All right. Cue the crazy video of the morning here. This is a surveillance video. This is a liquor store in New York's Grand Central Station. Oh, my goodness.

So all of what's happening here. You have 31-year-old Otis Gooding. He's working the cash register. We'll loop it back, don't you worry. When an e-cigarette in his pants pocket explodes. Sparks were flying.

Gooding tried unsuccessfully to pull the device out of his pocket. His attorney says he required surgery overnight for third-degree burns to his leg, thigh and hand.

See, I hear my mother. This is what she would -- she was like, "Brooke, this is why I told you never, ever to smoke, because this could happen."

CAMEROTA: Because your pants could explode.

BALDWIN: Because your pants could explode, and you'll wind up in the hospital.

CAMEROTA: That is terrifying. I mean, and he's wearing them. Like, what can you do when you're suddenly fireworks?

BALDWIN: Kaboom.

CAMEROTA: Scary stuff. And your mom was right, a word of warning.

All right. Late-night comics are cooking up plenty of fresh zingers on Thanksgiving eve. Here are your late-night laughs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON": After previously calling it a hoax, yesterday, Donald Trump acknowledged that global warming might be real. Trump was like...

(DOING DONALD TRUMP IMITATION) ... "I just had a hard time believing something could get hotter as it got older. And I just didn't know."

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS's "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Yesterday he told staffers at "The New York Times" that his son-in- law, Jared Kushner, could help broker peace in the Middle East. And after that, maybe he could broker peace between America and the other half of America.

SETH MYERS, NBC'S "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MYERS": On Tuesday the same man who might run our Department of Energy deejayed for Vanilla Ice.

(MUSIC: VANILLA ICE'S "ICE ICE BABY")

MYERS: Rick Perry looks like he should be secretary of energy drinks.

FALLON: but the big news today is that Donald Trump has appointed South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to be ambassador to the United Nations. Yes. Her main job will be learning how to say "sorry" in over a dozen languages.

COLBERT: And with all of Trump's businesses, there are bound to be conflicts of interest. For instance, last week, about 100 foreign diplomats from Brazil to Turkey gathered at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., to sip Trump-branded champagne, dine on sliders and hear a sales pitch about the U.S. President-elect's newest hotel.

Well, of course, Trump Hotels serves sliders. I mean, those mini burgers make tiny hands look huge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: How about Rick -- how about hip-hop Rick Perry?

BALDWIN: Thank you. I was about to say that.

CAMEROTA: That was a headline.

BALDWIN: Deejaying for Vanilla Ice?

CAMEROTA: And dancing.

BALDWIN: Ice, ice baby.

CAMEROTA: That was amazing.

All right. Meanwhile, Donald Trump spending Thanksgiving at his Mar- a-Lago estate in Florida. What does it take to secure Trump's winter White House? That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:21] CAMEROTA: President-elect Donald Trump spending the Thanksgiving holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, and that means serious security challenges for the Secret Service. We get more now from CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protecting President- elect Donald Trump is a challenge unlike any other, from Trump Tower in New York to his private club in Florida.

(on camera): So, we're approaching Mar-a-Lago right here. (voice-over): It's a 20-acre waterfront estate in Palm Beach,

secluded from the public, but he also shares it with as many as 500 members who are willing to pay $100,000 to join.

Rennie RODRIGUEZ, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AND ATF AGENT: Basically, it's a compound. And we have to treat it as such.

LAVANDERA: Former Secret Service and ATF special agent Rennie Rodriguez says in many ways, it's ready made for presidential security.

(on camera): Behind this natural barrier here, which I assume there's a fence.

There is a wall back there.

RODRIGUEZ: A wall. A tall wall.

It's more than -- than 13 feet, I believe, which is great for deterring anyone trying to come on the premises.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Behind the wall Trump keeps a residence that could become the winter White House.

TRUMP: I love Florida. This is my second home.

LAVANDERA: Where presidents spend their vacations is a window into their personalities. George W. Bush liked to spend the hottest month of the year on his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a wonderful spot to come up in here and just kind of think about the budget. I mean...

LAVANDERA: George Bush Sr. famously enjoyed the peaceful serenity of Kennebunkport, Maine.

Mar-a-Lago stretches across a barrier island, cut down the middle by a two-lane road nestled between a stunning stream of multi-million- dollar homes. The best view comes from across the bay.

Rodriguez says Secret Service teams are assessing threats that could come by land, sea and air. And standing outside the club, it doesn't take long to see the skies above will be a major concern.

RODRIGUEZ: I mean, that plane is, what, maybe a couple thousand feet over us.

LAVANDERA: The Palm Beach International Airport is just a few miles west of Mar-a-Lago.

RODRIGUEZ: You can see the -- the path for commercial aircraft.

LAVANDERA: For years, Trump has waged a legal battle to keep commercial and private planes from flying over this estate. And now that he's president-elect, he might have just gotten his way. When he's on the property, Rodriguez says, the air space over Mar-a-Lago will be closed.

RODRIGUEZ: This would be a type of aircraft that an individual would use to drive his plane into -- on the property.

LAVANDERA: And in the waters around Mar-a-Lago the U.S. Coast Guard is setting up security zones. Some parts completely off-limits; other areas that require permission before entering.