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Hala Gorani Tonight
Sources: Infighting Among Trump Transition Team; Transition Team Has Some 4,000 Jobs To Fill; Trump Reacts To Violent Protests; Reid: Trump Has "Emboldened The Forces Of Hate"; "Love Trumps Hate" Protest Underway In New York; Donald Trump And The Media; Trump Meets With Transition Team In New York; Some Americans Fear Trump Presidency; Campaign Leaves Its Mark On The English Language; Are Some Items On Trump Agenda Unconstitutional?; Marking One Year Since Deadly Attacks In Paris; Iconic Poet, Singer Leonard Cohen Dies At 82. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 11, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We're live at CNN London. Happy Friday, everyone. It's the end of the
week, and this is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Donald Trump is huddling with top aides today working to finalize a list of people who will have powerful roles in determining the future director of
the United States. The president-elect is meeting with his transition team at Trump Tower today.
We've just learned that Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, is now leading that transition team. They are discussing top positions in Trump's
administration. We are basically 70 days away, and the first big decision could be chief of staff.
We're hearing there's a tug of war over Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee and Steve Bannon, a right wing media
executive. Trump favors Bannon on the right while many of his advisers are steering him toward the more establishment pick, Priebus.
We're also hearing that there's infighting over the transition team over the stack of resumes under consideration. It seems that some Republicans
who denounced Trump during his campaign are now joining the rush for high- profile jobs.
Former U.S. Congressman Jack Kingston has been in some of those transition meetings. He's a senior adviser to Trump's campaign. We spoke a lot, Jack
Kingston, during the campaign. Your candidate won, so I have to congratulate you for that.
And we understand you've been in some of these meetings where this transition to a Trump presidency are being discussed. What can you tell us
about them?
JACK KINGSTON, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: Hala, first of all, let me say thank you very much for having me on your show during the campaign. I think it
was a great forum and I just appreciate the opportunity to talk about Mr. Trump.
I am not directly related into the mix of the transition at the moment. As you know, there's been a change now. Mike Pence is going to take over it.
Mike is a guy who knows Washington. He knows what it takes to get legislation passed. He knows the key players.
He knows the weaknesses and the strengths of the committees and the agencies. So I think that's going to be a very, very big step. As you
know, any campaign as you sort through the resumes, you get a lot of very talented people who contributed along the way.
And then as you pointed out, you did have these people who somehow they emerge even though they never lifted a finger for the last six months.
Somehow they just have the magical touch that they can prosper no matter who the winner of these campaigns are.
GORANI: But I have to ask you, Jack Kingston, why is there a shake-up already? It just doesn't appear as though this transition team had been
established before. I mean, could it be because, perhaps even the Trump campaign were surprised by the results?
KINGSTON: No, I think really it was Chris Christie's team was in place, but there was the question about some of his people and the situation with
the bridge. And I think that Donald Trump is trying to send a good signal, he doesn't want that to be a distraction. He wants to get the job done.
Chris Christie is very, very talented, loyal player, and contributor to the Trump campaign.
But Mike Pence is a guy who can just take it and run with it because he knows state government and federal government. He knows Washington, D.C.
and so he is a guy who can make this happen and make it happen quickly.
GORANI: So there were some concerns with Bridgegate, the scandal that involved some of his staffers that in fact got into legal trouble over it.
But let me ask you a little bit about some of the potential cabinet members that are being reported by CNN that are under consideration.
Obviously big Donald Trump supporters during the campaign. Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Chris Christie, who may not be leading the transition team
but potentially could be part of an administration, Reince Priebus.
[15:05:12]The big promise during the campaign, Jack Kingston, was draining the swamp of Washington. These guys, apart from Steve Bannon, are all
establishment politicians that have been in the game for decades. How is this draining any swamp?
KINGSTON: Well, you know, they are establishment politicians in the fact that they've been there a long time, but they're also people who have shook
and rocked the establishment over the years. Rudy Giuliani being one most recently.
But Newt Gingrich with the contract with America. He went totally against the grain of the establishment. But I want to say, you know, these were
the people closest to the campaign.
I think what you'll see in the next coming weeks are people like Mary Fallon, the governor of Oklahoma. She played an important role. Pam
Bondy, the attorney general of Florida or Susan Wiles, who ran the campaign in Florida. Marsha Blackburn, a very effective congresswoman from
Tennessee.
Names like that are going to start bubbling up. I'm not saying that they are or are not but names like that. You're going to find that Donald Trump
is going to surround himself by a diverse group of people and he's going to be very inclusive and I --
GORANI: Will you be one of them?
KINGSTON: I don't know if I'll be in the mix --
GORANI: Have you been asked?
KINGSTON: My phone has not rung, but I really have enjoyed being part of the campaign. So if they want me to stay on, I'd certainly be very
interested in doing that. But, you know, I just want to say that this is a different type campaign family. Speaking of family, his own family are
going to be very close.
They haven't been very active in the campaign. He's trusted has advisers in business and in politics. So they'll have some roles, but the people
that I met along the way with the Trump organization, they are just very transparent. They are wide open, hard workers.
Kellyanne Conway set a very, very good tone. Steve Bannon for all the criticism they got when he came on board, he was one of the guys who moved
the campaign somewhat to the middle of the road and reached out to --
GORANI: But Mr. Kingston, nobody is arguing that they weren't effective campaigners. Clearly they won the election against all the expectations.
It's just some of the rhetoric that's come on websites that Steve Bannon is the chairman of, for instance, that have really worried some people.
And I've got to ask you about the two tweets that Donald Trump wrote, I think at an interval of six plus three so basically nine hours apart.
After these protests hit big cities like Portland, D.C. and New York, he wrote this tweet.
Let's take a look at what the president-elect said, "Had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters incited by
the media are protesting. Very unfair."
Now I have to say this idea that we in the media are inciting professional protesters, should that not concern Americans that the president-elect is
saying this. I've heard allegations like this, but never from an American president, though.
KINGSTON: Well, I think sometimes there is -- and it's not unique to politics, but sometimes when people are raising cane about something and
they feel like this is the way to get a platform from the media, then the media, it does sort of feed itself.
I don't know that it's necessarily the case at all. But I will say that his second tweet is him being a president. If you look at his speech at
4:00 a.m. Wednesday morning --
GORANI: We have to wait nine hours to get that, quote, "presidential tweet." And also, I have to ask you, Jack Kingston, as a journalist, we
have for the last year and a half, this hatred against our profession has been stirred up by protesters, supporters of Donald Trump and by Donald
Trump himself. Is that not something that now he's the president-elect worry some Americans? That the leader of the free world is still --
KINGSTON: Let me say this. I've been in a profession myself that has a lot of hatred stirred up against it with a 14 percent approval rating.
Maybe we're in the boat together and need to address it together.
But you know, I believe that the tone he has set, Hillary Clinton has been part of it and Barack Obama has been part of it in the last two or three
days has been excellent.
I think that they are saying the campaign is over. Let's move on and I think it's going to be a good thing. I think the second tweet is far more
reflective of --
GORANI: I want to show that one because we actually put the first one up in a graphic on the screen. "Love the fact the small groups of protesters
last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud." Does that sound like perhaps somebody that his campaign,
perhaps even Kellyanne Conway said you have to send another message here. You can't end on that.
KINGSTON: You know, Hala, part of that is the transition from private sector to public sector where you have to be far more guarded on what you
say. One of my tweets that I haven't put out is that I hope that along the way today, Veterans Day in America, that some of the protesters talk to a
veteran and ask him or her where they spent their 21st birthday.
[15:10:09]And I think that would open ourselves up to some very productive dialogue.
GORANI: All right, Jack Kingston, always appreciate it. Thanks very much. Joining us there just a couple of days after this campaign win for Donald
Trump, who is now President-elect Donald Trump? Thank you very much for your time this evening.
Not everyone is getting on board with the president-elect. The departing leader of Senate Democrats says Trump's election has, quote, "Emboldened
the forces of hate and bigotry."
Aides say Harry Reid is appalled by what he considers the rush to normalize Trump. We're joined now by CNN political commentator, Peter Beinart.
Thanks for being with us, Peter.
So you've had a couple of days to digest this. This very surprising, very few predicted it. What conclusion have you drawn as we close out the week?
PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The first thing that's worth noting is that notion that Donald Trump is hostile to the establishment and
going to bring in a new era of integrity, your former guest, Jack Kingston, is a registered lobbyist.
He's the embodiment of the Washington corruption of former members of Congress going into lobbying that Donald Trump supposedly is going to take
-- is going to challenge. The Trump administration is going to be the most lobbyist dominated, infested administration probably we've ever seen in the
United States.
So the idea that this is some -- there's also already talk of getting rid of some of the financial regulations imposed after the financial crisis.
The idea that this is some kind of threat to the establishment.
This is going to be the most -- the government that is most responsive to the very powerful, those very powerful interests that Donald Trump was
supposedly elected to fight against.
GORANI: Donald Trump says I know good people. I'm going to surround myself with the best people. I'm a businessman. I've been successful as a
businessman. You can trust me to surround myself with people who will be the most qualified to deliver the results I've been promising you. So in a
way, perhaps his supporters will say, fine, he knows what he's doing.
BEINART: I guess the question is, does Donald Trump even know enough about public policy to judge whether an adviser would be effective or not? This
is a guy who twice during the campaign did not know what the nuclear triad meant.
He did not know we have nuclear missiles on air, land and sea. He seemed to not know what Brexit was about a week beforehand, right. But what
capacity does he even have to judge whether advisers are competent or not? He's not competent.
GORANI: I get that, Peter, but we said that all along the campaign. Whenever experts, distinguished journalists and commentators, such as
yourself, would sort of analyze the Trump phenomenon, all these ideas and notions the Trump campaign, Trump himself didn't know what he was talking
about, couldn't -- said outrageous things about NATO or Vladimir Putin.
None of that has mattered in a way. What is it that all of these experts and commentators and intellectuals missed so much over 18 months, and how
do you explain it?
BEINART: First of all, it's worth just reminding your viewers internationally that Donald Trump lost the popular vote. Hillary Clinton
got more votes than Donald Trump. There is no question that Donald Trump tapped into a tremendous amount of resentment, about the cultural and
demographic changes that are taking place in the United States from people who have been suffering --
GORANI: But 29 percent of Latinos voted for him.
BEINART: That's actually incorrect. That's not right.
GORANI: What is the correct number?
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BEINART: It's from Latino decisions who do the most sophisticated polling suggested 17 percent.
GORANI: I'm just quoting what I saw in "The New York Times" that 27 percent of all Latinos who voted, voted for Trump.
BEINART: Exit polling among Latinos is very difficult because you have language barriers. So I think the truest number is 17 percent. We've seen
a history. People said that George W. Bush in 2004 got over 40 percent of the Latino vote. It was significantly lower than that. I think the number
is just wrong.
GORANI: OK, but it's not, for instance, the African-American vote. I mean, that's kind of also fair to say. It's a much bigger percentage than
what might have been expected.
BEINART: Right, right, but Latinos have a different political history. They aren't as deeply wedded to the Democratic Party. They are very
diverse. After all, population coming from many different countries. Cuban-Americans, for instance, were traditionally Republicans because of
their views about anti-communism but 17 percent --
GORANI: This is a candidate who insulted their community at every turn is what I'm saying so it's not just a conservative candidate. It is Donald
Trump. But anyway, I just want to get away from this particular point to say to you that, you know, you do have, of course, African-Americans, but
women for instance voted in their majority for Donald Trump. And again, I'm quoting the same set of statistics.
BEINART: Yes.
[15:15:05]GORANI: But all of this came as a surprise to the experts. So at some point, how do we try to figure out what the experts and what the
pollsters and the journalists and the observers got wrong and why?
BEINART: No, there's -- look, it's certainly true that what people miss, including myself, was that Hillary Clinton was having more trouble getting
out the Democratic base than I think people realize.
The early voting numbers looked good for Democrats, and there was a passion for Donald Trump among older white Americans, especially in rural areas
that I think some journalists, and I think myself as well, admitted.
But I think it's important to remember, there's a lot of academic work on this. That people respond differently to women who are seeking power, not
just men, but women as well. There is a different standard.
The fact that Hillary Clinton was considered more dishonest than Donald Trump when by objective measures she was vastly more honest, if you look at
"Politifact," for instance. I think it speaks to the deep double standard that we have in judging women in seeking positions of power.
GORANI: All right, Peter Beinart, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for joining us on CNN. We appreciate it.
Now we were talking about the protests. For three days running, protesters have taken to the streets of big American cities. They are unhappy with
the Donald Trump victory. Take a look at some of the latest video.
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GORANI: This started out as a peaceful march that turned violent to Portland, Oregon, overnight. Portland police say anarchists threw objects
at officers, vandalized businesses and damaged cars. More than two dozen people were arrested.
Our Brynn Gingras joins me now from Washington Square Park in New York where a "Love Trumps Hate" protest is underway. Tell us what's happening
around you, Brynn.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, we've actually moved now from Washington Square Park. You're right. There was a rally that was
happening that was called "Love Trumps Hate" and the purpose of that rally was really to bring everyone together to -- it doesn't matter what your
political affiliation was.
But just to talk to each other and feel included to sort of go against the, you know, words that the president-elect has had about certain people in
this country. But that quickly turned. Now this has turned into a protest.
We're at the tail end of it. It's weaving through the streets of Manhattan and it's an anti-Trump protest. People fed up, frustrated with the
president-elect's words throughout his campaign, and now scared about what this future means for this country.
So we've talked to a number of people who really went to that original rally for its exact purpose and some people disappointed that it turned
into an anti-Trump now walk, protest, because they said that's really not the purpose.
The purpose is for everyone to come together, and they want to stop the protests. Other people have a different opinion. Other people saying the
protest is important. Everybody's voices need to be heard, especially right now.
We're continuing to follow them. Unclear again, this wasn't supposed to be a walk through the streets so it's unclear where this is going to be
headed. Possibly Midtown Manhattan at Trump Tower where other protests in New York City have gone to.
But right now we're just sort of following them and seeing where this leads -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, so what is the objective here? I mean, even among those who held, Brynn, anti-Trump protests, given that Donald Trump has won
this election, many people are unhappy with it as we were discussing with Peter Beinart, a majority of the popular vote went for Hillary Clinton.
What is the objective?
GINGRAS: Well, you know, there's a lot of different objectives. Some people, this is really just a cathartic thing for them. You know, still
upset by the fact that Donald Trump won this election. So the feeling of being around others and just speaking out about how they feel about the
future of this country, it just feels better for them.
Others, it's really they have a mission and that's to go against what Donald Trump has been speaking, whether it be about women's rights, whether
it be about anti-Muslim, or whether it be about Black Lives Matter movement.
There's a lot of different messages that are sort of echoing now throughout the streets of Manhattan as this one group seems to have a clear purpose
and that is frustration that he is the president-elect.
GORANI: All right, Brynn Gingras, thanks very much. We will continue to keep our eye on those demonstrations in New York and other big cities in
America. A lot more to come this evening.
One of the leaders of the Brexit campaign has some kind words for, guess who, President-elect Trump. But not so much for, guess who, President
Obama. Hear what Nigel Farage had to say in a few minutes.
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[15:21:52]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Terrible. Horrible. Unbelievable. Illegitimate. Disgusting. Scum. I'm not running against Crooked Hillary. I'm running against the
crooked media. That's what I'm running against.
I think the political press is among the most dishonest people I've ever met.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you've set a new bar today for contentious with the press corps, kind of calling us losers to our faces and all of that --
TRUMP: No, not all of you. Just many of you. Not you, David.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this what it's going to be like covering you if you're president?
TRUMP: Yes, it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Yes, it is. This is what it's going to be like covering Donald Trump. Remember, all of that on the campaign trail. Donald Trump and his
supporters often attack the press for being dishonest, crooked, editing things to make something seem like it's not.
He antagonized reporters and blacklisted media outlets over critical coverage. "The Washington Post" was banned from covering his campaign for
weeks on end. Things don't seem to have improved much since Election Day. Political journalists are expressing alarm over a major breach in protocol
by Trump's team.
Dylan Byers joins me now from Los Angeles with more. Before we get to that tweet where Donald Trump again accused us in the media of inciting violent
protest, which I think would be a first for a president-elect to make that kind of accusation, talk to us about the breach in protocol that has some
journalists angry.
DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT FOR MEDIA AND POLITICS: Sure, well, after winning the presidency of the United States, Donald Trump became
President-elect Donald Trump. And what that has historically meant is that you have a pool that covers your transition team. It covers your every
move.
And whereas Donald Trump was able to get away with sort of leaving the press in the dark throughout his presidential campaign, it is almost
unheard of for a president-elect to leave the press behind.
Nevertheless, Donald Trump went to Washington. He went to the White House. He did not -- his transition team did not work with the press in any way,
shape or form to allow them access to that meeting with President Obama.
The only reason they were given access to that meeting was because of the White House and because of President Obama's staff. And it's a total
breach in protocol.
If you look at the last 16 months of Donald Trump's campaign and all of that anti-media rhetoric that you just played and then you see what he's
doing on day one or day two as president-elect, it does not bode well for the four to eight years ahead.
GORANI: And his campaign, though, promised that this was a one-off, that from now on they'll play by the rules, that they --
BYERS: They promised there would be -- they promised that there will be a traditional press pool and that they, you know, they are just taking the
time to put it together and they appreciate the patience of the press corps.
Now I think this question about, you know, the press pool and will there be daily press briefings, all of that is important. But we have to look at
the bigger picture here.
The bigger picture is about how Trump treats the press regardless of whether or not he satisfies the baseline requirement of letting them have
access to him. He has been so vitriolic toward the press.
[15:25:06]He has encouraged his supporters to sort of attack the press and threaten the press. As you saw, there's no indication it will be any
different during his tenure in the White House.
GORANI: I wonder what some people on Twitter do other than attack journalists on this social media platform. We've gotten so much abuse
online and in organized fashion, the most vile attacks, personal attacks, just speaking for myself, against me, against our profession, against our
network. It's an absolutely organized campaign of the most aggressive verbal attacks against us. And one has to wonder where that comes from.
BYERS: Well, that's absolutely right. Look, at the end of the day, Trump can say, well, I'm not responsible for all of my supporters. He can say
that he's disavowed certain hate groups, white supremacists, things of that nature.
At the end of the day, he's not just the leader of a party anymore. He's the leader of the country. The onus is on him to set the tone and tenor of
our conversation. The onus is on him to encourage those followers and those supporters that they should not engage in hate speech.
That they should not engage in attacks. If he continues to attack the press the way he did throughout his campaign, it's indisputable he's
encouraging that kind of behavior.
GORANI: Will he keep @realdonaldtrump on Twitter when he's president, or is that not allowed or do we not know?
BYERS: No, he absolutely can keep @realdonaldtrump. I think as president of the United States, he may be able to give himself just Donald Trump.
We'll wait and see. But this question about how he uses Twitter and his Twitter activity, the first tweet he had last night where he criticized the
media is a very bad omen.
Fortunately, there are people around him trying to correct him and tell him he needs to be more civil than that. But whether they can exert that
control over him in the weeks and months ahead remains to be seen.
GORANI: Dylan Byers, thanks very much as always in L.A.
During the campaign, Donald Trump said soon they'll be calling me Mr. Brexit. One Brexit-style election win later and the president-elect is
getting kind words from one of the leaders of that referendum in this country, Nigel Farage. But Farage's words for President Barack Obama, not
so kind.
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NIGEL FARAGE, INTERIM UKIP LEADER (via telephone): That Obama creature said -- I mean, loathsome individual who couldn't stand our country said
we'd be in the back of the queue, didn't he? But what was interesting was that's Trump said we'd be at the front of the queue.
However imperfect Donald Trump may be and, my goodness me, he is, his mother was Scottish. He loves our country. What we stand for and our
culture.
And this is a big opportunity for all British business because we can now do, once we've left that awful E.U. thing, we can now do our first trade
deal with the United States of America. Isn't that great?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hasn't always been complimentary of the president-to-be after Trump implied areas of London
were dangerous due to radicalization. Johnson says the only reason I wouldn't visit some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald
Trump. He seems to have changed his tune.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: You know, I think it's time that we were overwhelmingly positive about the possibilities here and I may
respectfully say to some of my beloved European friends and colleagues that I think it's time we snapped out of the general doom and gloom about the
result of this election and the collective drama that seems to be going on in some places.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Boris Johnson there and reaction from the U.K. They had their own -- they had Brexit and now the U.S. has perhaps a similar phenomenon.
Still to come, Donald Trump's administration is taking shape as we speak. We'll have the latest on the transition meetings under way and get
perspective on a Trump presidency from CNN's Michael Smerconish.
Also ahead, President-elect Trump has made no secret of his big plans for the U.S. Supreme Court. We'll explain why the power to appoint justices is
such a coveted prize in American politics. We'll be right back.
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HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is meeting with top advisers today to discuss who will fill key roles in
his administration. There's already been a shake-up in the transition team. Trump's Vice President Mike Pence is now taking charge of the
process replacing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Iraqi sources say a top ISIS commander has been killed in Mosul and ISIS is confirming it. Also there are new reports of is atrocities as the fighting
rages on. The Iraqi military and the United Nations continue their efforts there.
People around the world paused for two minutes today to pay tribute to soldiers killed in war. Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: London's iconic Big Ben tolled as a moment of silence was held. In New York, a parade paid tribute to veterans. President Barack Obama
attended ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and called on the country to pause and reflect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Veterans Day often follows a hard-fought political campaign. An exercise in the free
speech and self-government that you fought for. It often lays bare disagreements across our nation. But the American instinct has never been
to find isolation in opposite corners. It is to find strength in our common creed, to forge unity from our great diversity, to sustain that
strength and unity even when it is hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Barack Obama there. Business leaders who supported Hillary Clinton are expressing their concerns about Donald Trump's plans to shake
up the White House. Among them, Sir Richard Branson.
He says the voters who helped elect Trump will be hurt most when he gets rid of Obamacare. He warns people will suffer and die if the Affordable
Care Act is repealed. But the British businessman also says Trump should be given a chance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GROUP: Now, I think we all desperately want to have Donald Trump prove us wrong. We want him to go to the White
House, get a wonderful group of people around him. We want him to learn to delegate and to lead by example. And I think it's important for the next
few months that we give him that benefit of the doubt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Richard Branson there. Let's bring in CNN political commentator, Michael Smerconish, host of "SMERCONISH" here on CNN. First, we've had a
few days to digest the stunning results. You have a show. You also have a show on CNN on Saturdays. What -- can you explain the mood in America
right now after this Trump victory?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Dumbfounded. And Hala, I would say dumbfounded not only from those who were disappointed in the
outcome, meaning those who were supporters of Secretary Clinton. I mean, even for supporters of Donald Trump because truly there was uniformity
among the pundit class and the pollsters and the numbers crunchers. Nobody saw this coming. I am hard-pressed to identify for you anyone in the
public spectrum who said it's going to be Donald Trump.
GORANI: Yes. So what happened? What happened? We thought we learned our lessons by the way with Brexit. We thought that pollsters would look at
that methodology. Go back and try to adjust their technique and their approach to polling people so this wouldn't happen again. And, yet, here
we are. It happened again. What's going on?
SMERCONISH: You know, what's so funny, I was in the U.K. within the last 30 days, and some friends there said to me, are you sure you're not headed
for a Brexit in the United States election? I said no, no, there's too much data and the data seems as if it's so definitive and yet it did
happen.
And what clearly happened, ala Brexit, is that the pollsters just could not approximate the turnout of people who were passionate, in this case for
Donald Trump, or in that case, for Brexit.
So the numbers may have been accurate because they really weren't off by that much. It was forecast to be a close race. Somewhere with her in the
lead by about 4 percentage points in the popular vote and, by the way, she's going to win the popular vote.
But I think what they underestimated on a state-by-state basis, and as you well know, we elect our American presidents on a state-by-state basis of
the Electoral College. They underestimated that level of passion that was going to bring out voters for Donald Trump.
GORANI: Is there any possibility in the United States, the Electoral College system will be put into question? This is really the second time
since 2000 that a candidate wins the popular vote, loses the Electoral College vote, which means the majority of people who voted is being ignored
or denied here. Does that possibility exist?
SMERCONISH: I think the possibility does exist, but I don't think that this is the time for that to take place. I'll tell you this. I host a
radio program 15 hours a week. We've been discussing this very issue for the last couple of days and the argument breaks along party lines.
Those who are disappointed in the outcome of this election would like to ditch the Electoral College and the reverse is true. And the dust needs to
settle, and we then need to have that kind of a conversation.
I mean, look, the purpose in having the Electoral College was to keep the electorate at arm's length from the final decision so that if there were
some populist movement, cooler heads would be able to step in and right that wrong. I think that's a dated concept, but now is not the time to
bring about that change.
GORANI: You mentioned by the way, turnout. This is the lowest turnout since 1996. We have a graph, 55 percent turnout this election in 2016. In
1996, we're below 54 percent. Does that explain what happened with the Clinton campaign in part?
SMERCONISH: I think that it does because I think that that Clinton constituency is a constituency that relies on individuals who are not as
reliable a voter as the Republican constituency. People of color, some female, and many of the young.
That's a group that Obama, President Obama, was able to bring out in 2008 and in 2012 very effectively. Frankly, Hala, that's why you saw President
Obama so engaged in the campaign at the end because the Democrats were concerned that that constituency would not come out to vote. The Trump
folks were there with bells on, but not the Clinton voters.
GORANI: One of the things I heard about Barack Obama is he's great at getting the vote out for himself. Not necessarily for the candidates that
he supports. We're going to be able to hear your views and listen to your analysis, of course, on "SMERCONISH" on CNN at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. And
that for our international viewers is 2:00 p.m. here in London. Thanks for being with us.
SMERCONISH: Great honor for me to be on CNN International. Thank you.
GORANI: Thank you.
It is fair to say that some of the language used in the election campaign was not exactly the norm this time around. There have been unorthodox
campaign slogans, phrases and many, many insults. Here's a look at some of the hugest examples.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI (voice-over): Donald Trump's distinctive use of language during the election campaign --
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT ELECT: I would bomb the (inaudible) out of them.
GORANI: Has left many commonly used words and phrases forever changed.
TRUMP: That will be proven out bigly.
GORANI: His popular brand of insults are now unforgettable. The label lightweight for instance was hand out widely.
TRUMP: And this lightweight, you know, John Harwood, this lightweight. He came out, shake, so nervous. I watched lightweight Marco Rubio. He is
standing right here -- the attorney general of New York, who is a total lightweight.
[05:40:08]GORANI: One of Trump's other favorites, a simple bad.
TRUMP: We have some bad hombres here and we're going to get them out.
GORANI: Other insults Trump tailored for specific rivals.
TRUMP: He has failed in this campaign.
GORANI: Early in the campaign, he levelled a seemingly mild jibe at fellow Republican candidate, Jeb Bush.
TRUMP: He's very low energy. I'm not used to that kind of a person -- so low energy that every time you watch him, you fall asleep.
GORANI: But the label stuck.
TRUMP: I defined him. I gave him this term low energy. I said he's a low energy individual. We do not need in this country low energy.
GORANI: And Bush ended up dropping out early in the primary season. Trump's nickname for his main rival, Crooked Hillary, became part of common
language among his fans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crooked Hillary has been proven to be crooked once again.
GORANI: Some of Trump's insults, however, seemed to backfire.
TRUMP: The only thing she's got going is the woman's card.
GORANI: Clinton jumped to spin this one in her favor.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If fighting for women's health care is playing the woman's card, then deal me in.
GORANI: Her campaign even sending out actual woman cards to donors. And Trump's now infamous nasty woman comment.
TRUMP: Such a nasty woman.
GORANI: Ended up on t-shirts worn by the likes of Katy Perry, a big Clinton supporter. But there was one word that cut across the political
divide this election season. Both Trump and Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, sharing a strong New York accent and unique way of pronouncing the
word "huge."
TRUMP: You know you have a huge problem with waste water.
BERNIE SANDERS, FORMER 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Huge voter turnouts.
GORANI: A word that encapsulates both the characters and the magnitude of the 2016 election.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, it certainly does. Donald Trump made a lengthy list of campaign promises, including pledges to immediately begin removing criminal
illegal migrants, his words, suspending immigration from terror-prone regions. But how much of the Trump agenda can legally be achieved?
My next guest is Floyd Abrams, a constitutional and first amendment attorney and joins us now from New York. Thanks, Mr. Abrams, for being
with us.
First of all, let's ask about the Supreme Court. There's at least one appointment that Donald Trump will be able to make. He'll be able to
nominate at least one Supreme Court justice. How do you expect that his contribution to completing the Supreme Court, nine justices as we have one
vacancy, how will that change the court?
FLOYD ABRAMS, CONSTITUTIONAL AND FIRST AMENDMENT ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, they'll be able to decide cases because right now we have eight.
We've had a number of 4-4 opinions. Mr. Trump has given a list to the public of ten people and then he added 20 more from which he might choose.
So it's very hard to know who he'll choose.
But we can at least assume it will be someone who is generally viewed as conservative in his or her legal views, and would likely tend to agree more
with the conservative jurists on the court right now.
GORANI: And there potentially could be more vacancies. Two of the justices are over 80.
ABRAMS: Yes. Two of the justices are over 80. One is close to 80. I think the fact that Mr. Trump has been elected is likely to deter some of
the more liberal members who are old from leaving the bench. That is to say that we have lifetime tenure, meaning, literally, lifetime and it's up
to the jurist to decide when to leave. So when there's a president there who they would rather not have choose their successor, if anything, they
tend to stay longer.
GORANI: Now let's talk a little bit about the legal hurdles or implications of trying to implement some of his campaign promises. For
instance, banning all Muslims from entering the United States. I know that he's softened his position on that. But building a wall, repealing and
replace Obamacare. I'm going to start with the banning Muslims, one. Is that even doable?
ABRAMS: Well, it's problematic at the least in two respects. First, I think it's probably unconstitutional. We do have a First Amendment. It
does protect freedom of religion. And while there is broad power in the president to decide who can come in and out of the country, the idea of
making that decision solely on the basis of religion, in all likelihood would not withstand a judicial challenge.
[05:45:00]So, you know, on that ground alone, it's unlikely. He has, as you say, softened that, has come to talk about people from certain
countries where there is a good deal of terrorism and in situations in which we could not satisfy ourselves as to the safety of those people.
I mean, those sorts of approaches are possible. The problem is they are extraordinarily vague. How would you enforce them? You could make a list
of countries, but it's -- it's all going to be difficult. It's all going to be challenged in the courts.
GORANI: And what about Obamacare because the process was to appeal Obamacare, which is a low, which is the law of the land. Replace it with
something else.
ABRAMS: Well, they have the --
GORANI: Can a president do that?
ABRAMS: A president can't do it, but a president with a Congress from the same party can do it. It's not a legal impediment. It's a political and
legal and social and cultural one that you just can't leave 26 million people without insurance.
And you can't just out of the blue take steps which would deprive a large number, and I mean, millions of Americans of health care. So they have to
have a plan and they have to be ready to implement it.
And they have to be ready to defend it to the public. They have the votes to do it. What they, I think, are starting to realize is they can't do
anything really quickly in this area because they have to have a viable substitute.
GORANI: All right. Thank you, Floyd Abrams, for joining us. We really appreciate your expertise on CNN.
Don't forget for our viewers, you can check out our Facebook page for more of our interviews, Facebook.com/halagoraniCNN.
This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Still to come, remembering the deadly terrorist attacks that's turned the city of light into a city of mourning.
Can you believe it's almost been a year since the November attacks? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: This was the scene almost a year ago on the streets of Paris. The city was in mourning and just beginning the healing process after a
horrible terror attack. Still very tense, though. I can tell you that.
This weekend marks a year since terrorists hit Paris targeting innocent people as they enjoyed a rock concert, cafes and a football match.
Mourners filled the Plaza de Republic, to grieve, offer each other support and create makeshift memorials for the 130 people who were killed.
Commemorations are planned across the city on Sunday. That's the actual sad anniversary. Earlier, there was a moment of silence before a football
match between France and Sweden at the Stade de France, one of the targets of last year's attacks.
(VIDEO CLIP)
[15:50:12]Well, many survivors are still, a year later, trying to come to terms with what happened. Melissa Bell joins us live from Paris with more
-- Melissa.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, this is a weekend of remembering, of grieving, of great sadness, as you say, the actual commemorations will
take place on the 13th which will be Sunday. But this Friday night, this was the moment.
It was Friday night. We are just coming up to 10:00 p.m. local time. Those several locations were now the targets of those attacks. The Stade
de France you saw then and also the five or six bars and the Bataclan were at this time on Friday night a year ago under attack.
A year on, of course, France remains in a state of emergency. Twenty people who were wounded that night are still in hospital, Hala, and, of
course, those who saw those events who managed to walk out of places like the Bataclan alive are trying to come to terms with all they witnessed.
We met one survivor who has been dealing with his grief, with his shock, with the horror of what he saw through a graphic novel. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BELL (voice-over): It was the most violent attack on French soil in more than 170 years. One hundred thirty people were killed, 89 in the Bataclan
alone. Among them, 28-year-old Lola, whose father, (inaudible), has found some comfort in words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was not a way of putting Lola to life because I know she is dead and will not come back, but it was a way of thinking about the
fact that her life was maybe short, but it was a full life, full of happiness. I hope she didn't fear or see or maybe didn't see her death
coming. My book starts with the (inaudible) --
BELL: This was the Bataclan moments before the attack. The picture was taken by Dani Plough (ph). He was one of those lucky enough to walk out
alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hardest point it was when the image of security arrived. There were corpses and blood everywhere. There was no way but to
look at death and its ugly, bloody side. The only way to recover was to find into myself the inner strength and that's one of the reasons why I
wrote this book (inaudible).
BELL: Words, say the survivors, have helped them to speak the unspeakable, but mostly to share it with the only other people who really could only
understand, those who lived firsthand the terrible events of one year ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BELL: A couple of examples there, Hala, the survivors who managed to put their grief, their attempt to understand what went on into words, into
novels. Tomorrow night, Sting will reopen the Bataclan, and on Sunday, those memorials will take place to remember what happened a year ago here
in Paris.
GORANI: All right, Melissa Bell in Paris, thanks very much. We'll be right back on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:55:51]
GORANI: Some interesting news coming in. Donald Trump now says he would consider leaving parts of the Affordable Care Act in place. That's
Obamacare. This came during an interview with "The Wall Street Journal" today. Trump, as you remember, had repeatedly vowed to repeal the 2010 law
entirely. So it looks like perhaps room for some compromise.
Now to this to end the show today. He was known for his haunting poetry. The musical world is mourning Leonard Cohen who died age 82. CNN's John
Vause reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there's one song that Leonard Cohen will be remembered for its "Hallelujah." It became an anthem
of comfort in difficult times mixing love and lust with deep religious imagery. Singers everywhere covered it, Jeff Buckley to K.D. Lang.
There are three versions on the U.K. charts at one time. Leonard Cohen died after a musical career that spanned five decades. He was born to a
well-off Jewish family in what was then the highly Catholic city of Montreal, Canada, and religion (inaudible) his work.
He was a prolific poet who wrote novels and just released his 14th studio album, (inaudible). His music was often considered so dark, even suicidal,
he was called the master of erotic despair.
But his work also combined love and redemption and joy. He was not a natural singer. He developed a distinctive baritone, joking with his
audiences about his voice.
Along the way he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. But in recent interviews and in his
newest songs, he appeared to be hinting at his own mortality.
A post on his Facebook page said simply we've lost one of music's most revered and prolific visionaries. Leonard Cohen, dead at 82.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right, the Leonard Cohen. This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hala Gorani. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper is next on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
