Return to Transcripts main page
New Day
U.S. Withdraws from TPP; Confirmation Hearings Today; Texans on Border Wall; Academy Award Nominees. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired January 24, 2017 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Standing up and saying, yea. You got Paul Ryan, who, of course, once again hedged on his feelings about it but pro-TPP, Brady pro-TPP, McCain the same. What's he doing to his party?
DAVID DRUCKER, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": Well, he's moving them in a protectionist direction. You know, Alisyn, I thought it was so interesting how Keith Ellison wouldn't give Donald Trump credit for pulling the U.S. out of TPP and it wouldn't happen without him doing it. If another Republican had been elected, I think they would have renegotiated this but moved ahead with it.
But clearly the Republican Party is moving in Donald Trump's protectionist direction. And I think that ultimately the American people are going to judge this on how it impacts their pocketbook, but also whether or not America loses the peace dividend that it has gained, which has been good for everybody because we've been the influential player economically and militarily through a lot of these agreements. And by pulling us out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as much disagreement as there has been on both sides of the aisle about it, it was putting us in a position to be the dominant player in Asia where China is rising and now it gives China an opportunity to fill the vacuum. We've already seen a lot of our allies tilting toward China in this regard. And we're going to have to see how this plays out in the -- over the next decade or so. It could, in effect, make China more powerful, which is exactly what Trump has said he doesn't want to do.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I mean the law of unintended consequences is at full play. And we'll just see, you know, what happens with all of this shake-up.
But let's talk about what's going to happen this week in terms of the hearings for cabinet picks. So there's Tom Price. That one has run into a couple of hiccups, obviously, over some of his trading at the same time as pushing for legislation. Betsy DeVos for education. A lot of Democrats said that they felt that she was sort of woefully unequipped for it, but now we know that there will not be a second round of questioning for her. The Republicans have shut that down. What do you see that lies ahead, David?
DRUCKER: Well, keep in mind the Republicans are going to leave Washington and head to Philadelphia for their previously scheduled retreat. So that cuts off half the week and the ability to hold more hearings and get some of these votes held. So that's going to push that into next week, but that's, you know, not really a problematic issue.
Most of the nominees that are left to be heard and voted on are pretty main stream Republican conservatives, which in a sense puts them at odds with Trump on some issues. I mean whatever people think of Tom Price, and there are some ethical issues there which could trip him up, he's a mainstream Republican thinker on health care. DeVos, a mainstream Republican thinker on education and a desire to create more school choice for parents, and so on down the line.
So I think there was a lack of proper vetting and the Trump transition moved a little slow on that. Ultimately they're going to get their picks because as we've discussed here many times, Democrats don't have the votes to derail them.
CUOMO: All right.
CAMEROTA: There you go. That's "The Bottom Line."
CUOMO: Had enough "Bottom Line"? It's good enough for me.
CAMEROTA: Never enough "Bottom Line."
David Drucker, thank you very much.
DRUCKER: Thanks, guys.
CAMEROTA: All right, one of President Trump's core promises, of course, was to build a wall at the border with Mexico. But some Texans say that will not work. Why would they say that? We talk to them, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:37:03] CAMEROTA: Time now for the "Five Things to Know for Your New Day."
Number one, President Trump repeating his false claim that voter fraud cost him the popular vote. That was in a meet with top congressional leaders.
CUOMO: Phone calls between President Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Flynn and a Russian ambassador under scrutiny. U.S. investigators looking at not only why the calls were made last month, but also what was said.
CAMEROTA: More confirmation hearings begin in about an hour. President Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is up for a full vote next week. Meanwhile, Mike Pompeo was sworn in as CIA director after being confirmed.
CUOMO: Oh, did you see this? Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton said to be OK after this fainting spell during the "State of the State Address" Monday night. Aides rushed to the podium. He collapsed. EMTs came. But they did wind up sending him home shortly after. We hope he has a full recovery and that he gets checked out.
CAMEROTA: OK, here's some good news. Former President George H.W. Bush now out of the Houston hospital's ICU as he continues to recover from pneumonia. His wife, former First Lady Barbara Bush, was released from the same hospital after battling bronchitis.
CUOMO: And that's why they are the greatest generation and he is particularly strong. That man just beats whatever comes his way.
CAMEROTA: They are tough. He jumps out of a plane on his big birthday.
CUOMO: Yes. Yes. And Mrs. Bush, too. God bless both of them and a healthy recovery.
CAMEROTA: For more on the "Five Things to Know," you can go to newdaycnn.com for the latest.
CUOMO: Some President Trump supporters in Texas say that a wall along the border between Mexico and the U.S. won't work. What holes do they see in his plan?
CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in El Paso, Texas.
Boy, oh, boy, have you been doing some work on this issue, my brother. What have you learned?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're kicking off a week-long series examining a lot of these border issues. And what you hear repeatedly here in El Paso, Texas, and other border communities is that many of these issues are being debated without really consulting the people that are going to be the most affected by it, the people who live here on the border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This journey across the U.S./Mexico border begins in south Texas, where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico and on a rugged ride in an all-terrain vehicle with Robert Cameron. He runs an ATV border tour business in the small town of Progresso.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Do you think people have that impression of the border --
ROBERT CAMERON, TEXAS BORDER TOURS: Oh --
LAVANDERA: That it's this scary, dangerous place?
CAMERON: Scary, dangerous place, absolutely. It's not as bad as it -- people make it seem to be.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Cameron was born in Mexico, is now a U.S. citizen, was a longtime Democrat until Donald Trump came along and made him a Republican. Living and working on the border reveals a blurry reality. Cameron fully supports the idea of Trump's border wall, but every day he sees the holes in that plan. LAVANDERA (on camera): This is part of the border wall that already
exists, right?
CAMERON: Exactly. Exactly. This was put back in 2006 by George Bush. It's been -- it's been around for a while.
[08:40:02] LAVANDERA (voice-over): A few months ago, while riding along the Rio Grande, he recorded this video of what appeared to be smugglers with packs. It's the kind of story countless people along the border can share. But this is an area where a border fence is already in place, yet drugs and human smuggling keep coming.
CAMERON: It hasn't stopped them. No, absolutely not. So you got this wall all the way around to the eye can see all the way over there, but then --
LAVANDERA (on camera): Right, it keeps going.
CAMERON: It keeps going. But then it's like -- that -- that they start here. I don't know. I'm sure there's a reason, wouldn't you think? They ran out of money?
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This is the landscape in the Big Bend area of Texas. And that is the challenge. How in the world do you build a wall in this kind of terrain?
Marcos Paredes lives in Turlingua (ph), a far-flung outpost in the Big Bend region of west Texas. He's a former Big Bend park ranger and now takes visitors on aerial tours of some of the most beautiful landscapes you'll ever see.
MARCOS PAREDES, RIO AVIATION SCENIC FLIGHTS: So I want to know where in all of that do you put a wall?
LAVANDERA (on camera): You think if Donald Trump flew with you, he'd still want to build that wall?
PAREDES: I want you to tell Donald Trump that we already have a wall. Thank you very much. And I don't think he can build a bigger one.
LAVANDERA: This is some of the most rugged terrain you'll find along the southern border. Hard to imagine that anyone would ever try to cross illegally through here. It's just Simply too treacherous.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Big Bend region stretches roughly 250 miles along the Rio Grande, a place far past the middle of nowhere. On a canoe trip down the Rio Grande, it's so quiet out here, you can hear the wind flutter past the coasting birds.
Every night, 88-year-old Pamela Taylor, out of compassion, leaves bottled water outside her home for migrants moving north and the border patrol agents chasing them. She's lived in this house in Brownsville, Texas, a stone's throw from the border, since 1946. When the border fence was built nearly 10 years ago north of the river, she found herself on the south side between the wall and Mexico.
LAVANDERA (on camera): You're a little bit of no man's land here, right?
PAMELA TAYLOR: My son-in-law say we live in a gated community. I mean, you have to laugh about it, you know.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Taylor voted for Trump and wants to see illegal immigration controlled. She once found an undocumented migrant hiding from border patrol agents in her living room. But she warns the rest of the country that a wall won't work.
TAYLOR: That wall is not going to stop them. If it's 20 feet high, they're going to get a 21-foot ladder, right?
LAVANDERA (on camera): Donald Trump wants to build this bigger, more powerful wall.
TAYLOR: I would like for Mr. Trump to -- I will even feed him if he will come down here and talk to the people.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Until then, life on the border will keep passing by Pamela Taylor's front porch, and it might even stop for a quick drink.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: You know, what you hear repeatedly as well is -- and you talk to enough people along these border communities, there's a much more nuanced view of these issues of border security and immigration. You know, look, here in Mexico, the border wall just stretching here in this more urban area. Those lights you see behind me is Juarez, Mexico. So the line between the United States and Mexico, much closer. These are intertwined communities. And many people here feel that that is kind of lost on the rest of the country here as these issues are being so hotly debated, Alisyn.
CUOMO: Thank you for taking the time to go down there and put in the work to show the rest of us what the reality is. That woman was a Trump voter, too, wasn't she?
LAVANDERA: She was. She was. Absolutely fascinating. She's become kind of a little bit of a celebrity there in Brownsville because she's one of those people who literally, the wall is north of her, the Rio Grande is south of her, and she's kind of snuck in that no man's land as we referred to.
CAMEROTA: Ed, thank you for showing us how much more complicated that reality is.
All right, on a much lighter note, moments ago "La La Land" danced away with the most Oscar nods this year. It actually tied an all-time record. So we will break down all of the nominees, the surprises, the snubs, all of that next for you.
CUOMO: I like the snubs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [08:48:02] CAMEROTA: Hollywood waking up to some big news this morning. The nominations for the 89th Academy Awards were just announced. So let's discuss it with our guests. We have Nischelle Turner --
CUOMO: Oh.
CAMEROTA: "Entertainment Tonight" host.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I knew Chris was going to say something.
CAMEROTA: And CNN contributor. We are excited when you're on.
CUOMO: Ah.
CAMEROTA: And we're excited when Christopher J. Farley is on.
CUOMO: Yes.
CUOMO: Senior editorial director of "The Wall Street Journal."
Chris is just going to make oohing and ahing (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: Well, I think the awards deserve it, right?
TURNER: Exactly.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
CHRISTOPHER J. FARLEY, SENIOR EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": This time around you can forget about that #oscarssowhite.
TURNER: A good year.
CAMEROTA: Right. That's the headline.
FARLEY: Because it's very diverse. I mean you see Denzel Washington's "Fences" getting a number of honors, including best picture. You see "Moonlight" also up there for best picture and "Hidden Figures." That was a bit of a surprise to some people. But anyone who's seen the film, it's not surprising. It's an excellent film. It's made a lot of money. So you're going to see a lot of diversity among the nominees this year.
CAMEROTA: OK, so here you go. Nischelle, we're putting up best picture right there.
TURNER: Yes.
CAMEROTA: And you can forget the #oscarssowhite. Anything else jump out at you?
TURNER: Well, yes, just a couple things. First of all, yes, you can forget that hash tag, but also don't think this is a make-up year for the years past because these movies and these actors that were nominated are so deserving. Everyone really gave some great performances.
A couple of things in the best picture race that jumped out at me. No "Jackie." "Jackie" did not get nominated but, of course, Natalie Portman did get nominated for that. And we'll talk about that in a minute.
Also Martin Scocese's film "Silence" was left out. I mean there was some talk about that. It's a brilliant film. It's a very good film, but it's almost three hours long, so sometimes that can turn actor -- Oscar voters off because it's really an undertaking to watch that film.
But all in all, it's a great list. I mean my favorite movie of the year is on the list, "Lion." I think that is head and shoulders above all the rest of the movies, but I do not think that it will win best picture. It's going to be a race between "Moonlight," "Manchester," and "La La Land" it looks like. Actually, guys, two really interesting -- only three big studio films nominate for best picture this year, and that is "Arrival," "Fences," and "Hidden Figures." The rest of them, little bitty Indie films.
[08:50:01] CUOMO: "La La Land" tied a record 14 nominations. One of them comes in the best actress category. Let's put up who they are. Natalie Portman, as you said, Emma Stone for "La La Land," Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins," Isabella Huppert for "Elle," and Ruth Negga for "Loving." What do you think -- what do you see there?
FARLEY: Well, here's one thing that jumps out at me, someone who's not there who's up for best supporting actress, Viola Davis --
CUOMO: Oh, strong.
FARLEY: Anyone who saw "Fences" knows that's really a leading actress role.
TURNER: And she's not supporting, yes.
FARLEY: It's ridiculous she's not up for supporting actress.
CUOMO: Strong.
FARLEY: And some other snubs I think we need to talk about too, of course, is Scorsese's snub. The fact that "Silence" got pretty much silenced. But the other films too, Denzel Washington, he's not up there for best director, even though he directed "Fences." And Amy Adams in "Arrival." Anyone who saw "Arrival," it's up for best picture, knows that's all about Amy Adams, all about her acting, it's all about her close-ups and she didn't get a best supporting -- a best actress nomination? Very strange.
CAMEROTA: Nichelle, let's look best --
TURNER: I agree, Amy Adams is a big snub in that category. A very big snub. I think Ruth Negga jumped back in for "Loving" and took away Amy Adams nomination this morning. And also Meryl Streep nominate for "Florence Foster Jenkins," not her best work. CUOMO: I thought she was overrated?
TURNER: Not -- oh, there, I knew you were going to say that. But, actually, to be perfectly honest --
CUOMO: What a joke.
TURNER: This film was not her best work. I -- in my opinion. I mean I thought she was better in something like "Ricky and the Flash." It's kind of like the iron -- "The Iron Lady," excuse me, "The Iron Lady." She was really good. The familiar wasn't great, but she was good in it. So I think it's one of those years for Meryl.
CUOMO: She's always good. Best actor.
CAMEROTA: OK, let's pull up best actor. And just give us your headline that you see there, Christopher.
FARLEY Well, Casey Affleck, I think, has to be considered the front- runner.
CUOMO: Wrong.
FARLEY: You see "Manchester by the Sea." Again, it's powered by his performance. It's something stronger than him than we're seeing before. I think people will want to see him go up on the stage and hear what he has to say. So I think that he really is -- is up there.
Denzel Washington, "Fences," though, based on an August Wilson play, another strong performance. Obviously a labor of love. He's bringing all of August Wilson's plays to the screen. So people will want to perhaps, you know, award him because of the strong work and the cultural value of what he's doing there.
And then you can't discount Ryan Gosling. I mean "La La Land" is the darling of this year's Oscars. People love Ryan Gosling. People may think this is his year. Let's give him something. But there's a little bit of a backlash going on. If you saw that "Saturday Night Live" skit about "La La Land" and how much people love it, it kind of made fun of the fact that people are so possessive of this film and maybe the corner might be turned before we get to the Oscars. We'll see.
CAMEROTA: All right, very quickly, let's do best --
TURNER: To be perfectly honest, though, Andrew Garfield gave the best performance of the here in "Hacksaw Ridge." It's a great film and he was phenomenal. He could have been nominated for "Silence" as well. That young man -- and I say young man like I'm an old lady -- but that man is a great actor. And I would like to see him win, although I do not think he'll win the Oscar for this, but he gave the best performance of the year.
FARLEY: But "Hacksaw Ridge" has its back story that we have to talk about. The fact that it's directed by Mel Gibson.
TURNER: It's a true story, yes. FARLEY: A guy whose persona non grata in some places in Hollywood of
course because of comments he made years ago that were anti-Semitic and racist and people were upset about that. Will he be welcomed back into Hollywood's arms? We'll have to see. Will people --
TURNER: Well, he was. He was nominated.
FARLEY: Well, he didn't win yet. We'll see whether that backlash affects whether people want to hand him an award. So that's one open question.
CAMEROTA: Great point. But he was nominated, so --
FARLEY: He was nominated.
CAMEROTA: So, OK, great.
TURNER: And, you know, I don't think he'll win --
CAMEROTA: Yes, quickly.
TURNER: But I do think that Hollywood has opened their arms back up to him and I think he made a really good film. Hard to watch because there's a lot of violence, but it's a true story and it's a really good movie.
CUOMO: He's made a lot of good films and he's a complicated guy.
Best supporting actress also has two African-Americans nominated in it. That's worth checking out online.
That's all we got time for right now.
CAMEROTA: Nischelle, Christopher, thank you very much for previewing all that for us.
TURNER: Sorry, guys. That category is a lock, Viola Davis will win.
CAMEROTA: We need more time, Nischelle.
CUOMO: Where's your crystal ball? "Good Stuff," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:57:36] CUOMO: "Good Stuff."
We all love going to the movies, right? We just celebrated the Oscars that are going on right now. But it's expensive, especially for families. So, one community in Iowa changed all that for students. Principal Amber Dietz really wanted her students to see the new movie "Hidden Figures." Why? Here's why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMBER DIETZ, TEACHER: Women and minorities aren't presented in a light that our kids get to see nearly enough. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: True and the movie changes that. So Mrs. Dietz asked the community for help on her FaceBook page and guess what they did?
CAMEROTA: what?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIETZ: By the time I went to bed last night, we had reached our goal of over $1,000.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: Now you know, an entire community helping kids reach their full potential.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Other lady engineers are in the movie and maybe someday I want to be an engineer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: See that.
CAMEROTA: Bingo.
CUOMO: That's how seeds are planted.
CAMEROTA: Bingo.
CUOMO: They raised so much money, they're going to get to send more than just the one grade.
CAMEROTA: That's so great. My kids just went to see it, and they loved it, this weekend.
All right, comedians having fun with President Trump and his team. Here are your late night laughs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": He wasn't lying. He gave alternative facts. It's like -- like if you told a police officer, I wasn't speeding, I was just accelerating excessively.
JIMMY FALLON, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": A threat (ph) alternative facts. That sounds like a course at Trump University. A major in alternative facts.
Actually, I have an example of one of Kellyanne Conway's alternative facts. This is a great looking coat. Ah, yes.
KIMMEL: Every week now we get a new phrase. Not since consciously uncoupled have I heard something as conveniently skewed as alternative facts.
I wish I'd known about alternative facts when I was in high school. I would have had straight As. I --
SETH MEYERS, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS: Hillary Clinton said yesterday that the images of the women's march were awe inspiring, adding, nice to see you all come out in full force, finally.
CONAN O'BRIEN, "CONAN": Well, friends say Hillary Clinton is thinking of writing another book. Now this book's tentative title is "Happy Now (EXPLETIVE DELETED)?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: I couldn't hear what it was. It was bleeped.
CAMEROTA: I think -- me either. I think the punch line is ruined a little bit when you bleep many words in it. But, all right, we'll have to imagine what that was.
CUOMO: You love the late night laughs.
CAMEROTA: I do love the late night laughs.
CUOMO: She loves to laugh.
CAMEROTA: I live for late night laughs. And, of course, for Carol Costello.
CUOMO: Well, who does not?
CAMEROTA: It is time now --
CUOMO: It goes without saying.
CAMEROTA: For "Newsroom" with Carol.
CUOMO: That infectious laugh, those glasses. I have three pairs.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That was such a weak segue, but I enjoy it. I know -- hey, new glasses. I like them too.
[09:00:05] You guys have a great day.
CUOMO: You look great.
CAMEROTA: You too.
COSTELLO: Thanks, man.
NEWSROOM starts now.
