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Hala Gorani Tonight
Obama Reassures Allies At Trump Assembles Cabinet; Trump: Transition Process "Going So Smoothly"; Russia Distances Itself From Aleppo Bombardment; ISIS Leaves Ancient City Of Nimrud In Ruins; Trump's Win Shines Spotlight On Populist Movement; Questions Over Son-In-Law's Role On Team Trump; Trump Breaks Protocol By Avoiding Media; "Fantastic Beasts" Premieres In London. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 16, 2016 - 15:00 ET
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[15:00:13] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Hala Gorani. We are live at CNN London. Thanks for being with us on this Wednesday. This is THE
WORLD RIGHT NOW.
U.S. President Barack Obama is on the second stop of his world tour trying to smooth the way forward for Donald Trump while his successor is making
decisions back home that'll shape U.S. policy for years to come.
We're following important developments on both sides of the Atlantic this evening. First, Mr. Obama's outreach to concerned allies. He is now in
Berlin for talks there with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, other European leaders as well.
Earlier today, Mr. Obama toured the acropolis in Greece and he stressed the importance of democracy, which was born of course in Greece. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You may have noticed, the next American president and I could not be more different. We
are -- we have very different points of view, but American democracy is bigger than any one person.
And that's why we have -- that's why we have a tradition of the outgoing president welcoming the new in one as I did last week. And why in the
coming weeks my administration will do everything we can to support the smoothest transition possible because that's how democracy has to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Barack Obama there first of all talking about Donald Trump answering questions from reporters as well. Donald Trump says he has
talked with many foreign leaders as he builds a new government. He says his transition process is going smoothly despite numerous reports to the
contrary.
Sources describe bickering and back stabbing among those transition team as they discuss key cabinet posts. Trump's son, Eric, says more positions
could be announced today. We'll bring that to you live of course as soon as this news emerges. And there he is, Eric Trump in New York earlier.
All right. Let's get back to the business at hand. Atika Shubert is covering Mr. Obama's final foreign trip as president. Stephen Collinson is
following the Trump transition.
First of all, Atika Shubert, let's talk a little bit about Angela Merkel. Now she reacted to the Donald Trump victory on November 8th. Let's talk a
little bit about how -- what she is telling her country men and women about what they should expect with regards to Germany's relationship with the
United States and a Trump presidency?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Chancellor Merkel is the foreign leader that President Obama worked most
closely with. And she really shares with him his views on globalization, on the trade policy, on the need for America's involvement in NATO.
They are in sync, in many ways, Merkel is the anti-Trump, if you will. I just want to read you a little bit of what her immediate statement was when
she congratulated Donald Trump on his -- on winning the election.
She said "America and Germany are linked by values of democracy, freedom, respect for the right, and dignity of man irrespective of origin, race,
religion, sex, or political attitude on the basis of those values, I offer close cooperation."
That's a very carefully worded statement. Saying, yes, I want to be pragmatic and work with the new President-elect Donald Trump, but at the
same time, it has to be on this basis. And that's the message she has put out to the people here in Germany.
[15:05:00]GORANI: And Stephen Collinson, in the United States, of course, Donald Trump is working on his transition. We expect perhaps some cabinet
picks to be announced as early as today. Important ones like secretary of state and attorney general perhaps.
Let's talk a little bit about these reports that this has all been chaotic, essentially the Trump campaign wasn't expecting to win. Kellyanne Conway,
his campaign manager, had this to say about those reports. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: Well, form of federal government overnight and these are very serious issues with, very issue appointments
and considerations from his perspective. He's been presented with any number of choices within each of the agencies and departments and he's
making these tough decisions. If anything, he has obviously more choices than one to fill in each position. So we have an embarrassment of riches
when it comes to many of those decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So is Conway putting a positive spin on this or has this been a little chaotic, Stephen?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think definitely from the outside it looks chaotic. You know, Donald Trump, some of the members
of his campaign team have said like you said there, that it didn't actually expect to be forming a government after the election.
Many of them thought that Hillary Clinton would win the election. And Donald Trump himself didn't want to go into details of a transition perhaps
to avoid jinxing the election. Now it's a very complicated process setting up a government for any political candidate, who wins the presidential
election.
Donald Trump has no political experience whatsoever. No experience running a government nor do the people around him. There's no big sort of gray
beard Republican Party figure running this as we saw in previous transitions.
So I think he gets a little bit of slack because of that, but it looks like it's the way that Donald Trump runs his operation. He hires people, he
fires people. He says things that sometimes he contradicts.
I think this is the way Donald Trump reacts. He sets up sort of rival power platforms in his own orbit. I think you are seeing this play out
now. I think we'll see it play out when he takes the White House.
GORANI: All right, Atika, I want to ask you a little bit of wider ranging question about European leaders, Angela Merkel and beyond. How are they
preparing for this Trump presidency, which must have been come as a surprise to most, if not all of them?
SHUBERT: It was clearly a surprise. And I think a lot of what President Obama would be doing is finding ways to sort of huddle with them and figure
out how to maintain the transatlantic relationship that has been the core of really -- of the -- of Europe and the E.U. since the end of World War II
and the cold war.
And this means taking another look at NATO. Donald Trump wants the U.S. to take a back seat. How does Germany step up then into that role? What
about other countries?
And then there's the trade agreements, the Transpacific Partnership that Merkel and Obama works for years on and Donald Trump says he now wants to
tear up and throw it out. And then that's not even bringing into the question the unity of the E.U. Britain now threatened to exit the E.U.
What happens with the rise of these nationalists populist movements across Europe especially when you've got elections here in Germany, in France next
year, and in the Netherlands, all of which are dealing with the resurgent and growing nationalist movement.
GORANI: Certainly, there are some populist right wing politicians hoping that they can get a little bit of the piece of the action that Donald Trump
was able to secure in the U.S. Thanks very much to Stephen Collinson, Atika Shubert. Atika in Berlin and Stephen in Washington.
Let's get more now on this transition. We're joined by Doug Heye, a CNN political commentator and a Republican strategist, and Larry Sabato is the
director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
First of all, Doug Heye, I want to ask you about this transition team, Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor, essentially purged, not just him,
but those close to him as well. Just removed completely from the transition team.
What is going on there? Because the reports that it's chaotic seem to, you know, when you look at those types of sort of like hirings and firings seem
to be confirmed by those movements.
DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I certainly there's been a little chaos in the past week or so. Maybe a lot of chaos because as you
referenced in the last segment, the Trump campaign didn't expect they'd be doing a Trump transition right now.
But we're still only eight days into this, Hala. And I would say, going back eight years ago, a lot of talk was about how Barack Obama was building
a team of rivals and what a great thing that was.
And the Trump comparison now is to game of thrones and some kind of a bat fight. I would say let's calm down a little bit. If we're having this
conversation in eight weeks, it's a very different scenario than if we're having it today.
GORANI: Larry Sabato, do you agree?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Well, basically, we don't know how it's going to turn out and we don't how long
the chaos is going to last. It's unusual to have this degree of disagreement within the president-elect's team so soon after the election
and to have so many of it become public. So, that's not a good sign, but, you know, if you want to be optimistic about future. Now's the time to be
optimistic.
[11:10:09]GORANI: But, Larry, I've got to ask you a little bit. Not about Donald Trump's tweets, but sort of how many of them are directed directly
at journalists and the press specifically the "New York Times." Is it unusual for a president-elect to attack media organizations like this just
a few days after a victory like the one we saw November 8th?
SABATO: Extremely unusual. And it's not unusual during a campaign. Frequent candidates make clear their displeasure with this news
organization or that news organization. But to continue the fight after the election during the honeymoon glow, which is this is supposed to be a
part of is frankly foolish. And again apparently no one in the Trump Organization and even in the Trump family can manage to rest that iPhone
away from Donald Trump.
GORANI: I've got ask you, Doug, about the Republican Party as a whole. We know those who have allied themselves and aligned themselves with Donald
Trump, the Rudy Giulianis, the Chris Christies, Newt Gingrichs, et cetera. But overall the establishment of the Republican Party, I mean, how does
this party now evolve without splitting in half with the Trump wing and the more established wing?
HEYE: Well, I think the fact that we so far are unified. Obviously, we're only a week into this, but that bodes somewhat well at least in the short
term for us. I look at the press conference that Paul Ryan had yesterday where he talked with enthusiasm about the legislative agenda that they were
going to push forward.
That obviously came from months and months of his work on the campaign trail where he wasn't just campaigning for Republican candidates, whether
he's with Donald Trump or not. He was promoting a positive legislative agenda. That's what the House and the Senate are going to do.
That's where that relationship's going to be extremely important and why Mike Pence is somebody I think everybody should watch. One other thing I'd
say is Paul Ryan has been very close, not just for the past six years, as Reince Priebus has been Republican National Committee chair, but back in
Wisconsin. That relationship is going to be one of the most important in Washington over the next few years.
GORANI: How do you think Larry Sabato this will shape Donald Trump's presidency? The fact that well he said he was going to drain the swamp,
but a big number of the people he surrounded himself with are establishment Republicans after all.
SABATO: Listen, he could not possibly fill the thousands of jobs that he has to fill, many of them before January 20th, without going to people who
have some experience. I regard that as a good sign.
And as far as draining the swamp, you know, I'm older, I've heard that from a long series of presidents stretching all the way back to Richard Nixon.
They're all going to drain the swamp, and in the end, they inhabit the swamp because that's what Washington is.
It is built on a swamp and you have to work with all of the pieces in order to make anything work, even if nominally you have a Republican majority in
both houses.
GORANI: And Doug, what do you make of the fact that really breaking with protocol, Donald Trump not only his tweets against the "New York Times" and
by the way, against journalists in general on the first night of those protest against him, but you know goes to a restaurant, doesn't really
inform the press pool that is, you know, traditionally would follow president-elect. What do you make of that and what that says about how
Donald Trump is going to -- about his future relationship with the media?
HEYE: Yes, in the short term I don't think they bode well unfortunately. I've talked to a lot of reporters who are very concerned about this. I
understand that concern to a lot of people certainly Republicans who are skeptical of media.
They ask what's the big deal if the president going out to dinner, president-elect going out to dinner at a fancy nightclub in New York? But
obviously the press pool serves a purpose.
And regardless of President-elect Trump's tweets with his battles that go back decades with the "New York Times," they need to repair relationships
as best possible. That's one of the really uncertain areas that we are going to see over -- probably over the next weeks if not months.
GORANI: All right, thanks to both of you. Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia, Doug Heye, a Republican strategist joining us this hour on THE
WORLD RIGHT NOW. We really appreciate it.
And there is a lot more to come this evening. A hospital director pleads for mercy as barrel bombs pound his facility in Eastern Aleppo. Here are
some images of that. The Syrian regime that is sharpening its attacks. We'll have the latest. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:16:50]
GORANI: Once again, the Syrian regime is escalating its attacks on Eastern Aleppo. Wednesday's strikes hit two hospitals and a blood bank. A three-
week pause in hostilities only seems to have emboldened the regime.
Here is some video of the aftermath of one of the strikes in Aleppo. The White Helmets put the death toll at 27. Dozens more injured. The director
of the Children's Hospital in Aleppo described Wednesday as a terrible day saying his staff is huddled in the basement trying to protect patients from
the relentless bombing.
Will Ripley is tracking developments from neighboring Turkey and he joins me now live from Istanbul. Talk to us a little bit about the targets in
Eastern Aleppo today.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that the Aleppo, East Aleppo Children's Hospital was hit, another main hospital, in addition
to that central blood bank. The hospitals that have been targeted in Syria just in the last two days, Hala, service every month combines some 27,000
patients and they deliver 650 babies.
And these are medical facilities that have been targeted with barrel bombs causing significant damage, two ambulances were destroyed, one medic
driving an ambulance was killed. A car used by the blood bank was also destroyed. They delivered 1,500 bags of blood to ten different medical
facilities last month.
You have these civilian targets and then of course the video emerging also of these young school children, clutching their backpacks sobbing, walking
through the rubble, presumably they were in class trying to have some semblance of a normal day when explosions started raining down all around
them.
We do know that out of the almost 30 people who died, there were some children. There was one really heart breaking photo. I don't know if we
have it, Hala, but it was a young boy sitting next to his sister who was covered in a red blanket.
She was killed and his father was holding his younger brother, who was covered in bandages, sobbing, and hoping that this young infant could
survive the wounds.
I wish I could say that these images are surprising, but we have seen this repeatedly with the Syrian regime targeting these civilian targets in East
Aleppo.
And it was just last month during that very intense period of bombing where in a single week 96 children, 96, that's five elementary school classrooms
full of children were killed in just one week.
GORANI: All right. Will Ripley, thank you for that depressing report there from Aleppo. Once again, more bloodshed and more civilians killed,
including children.
Now let's talk about Russia. We know Vladimir Putin had a phone call with President-elect Donald Trump. And Russia is now distancing itself from the
latest bombardments in Aleppo.
The deputy foreign minister said the Russian Air Force did not carry out strikes on Aleppo according to Russia's Tass News Agency. Nick Paton Walsh
joins me now with more. How will the election of Donald Trump change anything with regards to how Vladimir Putin now approaches Russia?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We just don't know frankly at this point. He hasn't laid now the policy apart from he'd
get rid of ISIS and the general in charge know less about it than him. This is a very serious moment because it could potentially go one of two
ways.
As you've heard constantly, the idea that Donald Trump could see a (inaudible) with Vladimir Putin (inaudible) for a mano-a-mano relationship.
But at the same time, the Republican reaction against Russian aggression or Russian policy is an equally aggressive reaction and Mike Pence is vice
president-elect has called Vladimir Putin small and bullying.
[15:20:08]John McCain came out very clearly and said a reset with Russia again would be a betrayal frankly of the United States. We could go one of
two ways and you might see this move by Moscow cynical as it is to allow bombing in Aleppo to begin whether it's involved or not to be a test of
Donald Trump to see what exactly is he going to do?
What's his rhetoric going to be in response? He can't do anything because his hands aren't on the buttons in the White House. He's given Moscow this
window perhaps to experiment.
GORANI: Is it not more likely that because Hillary Clinton during the campaign was quite clear that she favored a no fly zone. In other words
she would present more of an opposition to Russia's plans in Syria than Donald Trump ever would. That perhaps Vladimir Putin would feel emboldened
to go ahead, and they're not bombing Aleppo, but they're bombing targets in Idlib and Homs.
WALSH: That's a major problem unfortunately in (inaudible) there because while he's quite pro-Russia, his rhetoric Donald Trump, he's very anti-Iran
and they're both on Syria's side. Russian are always on the same table necessarily, but in this instance, he can't suddenly pick one side that's
different in the previous eight years of U.S. foreign policy and expect things to be solved overnight.
It's terrifying though to hear what's happening with the civilians about 200,000. This isn't some big game of risk for them. This is of course for
the world trying to work out who Donald Trump really is, who's been behind this sort of bluster of campaign.
But serious points at some moment where he has to decide whether or not he will be against from many are calling Russian war crimes or Syrian regime
war crimes in Eastern Aleppo or in fact say that might be the fastest, most ugly brutal indeed solution to trying to get some sort of calm in that
country.
GORANI: And who has the upper hand now in Aleppo? It seems as though the regime's bombardment as relentless as it is has turned half of that city
into a pile of rubble, uninhabitable for anyone who would even consider returning.
WALSH: We should have seen his ghastly sign wave of one size supremacy versus the others lost over the past years. Now, yes, there's been this
besieging which has occurred, but it seems to be pretty tight now. The rebels do occasionally push back and there are Jihadist in their ranks too.
But it does look like the regime is moving now to try and begin what they're called the preliminary operations. Zero hours as well. Phrasing
this like the final move to retake half of the biggest city in Syria.
That will be an enormous victory for them and it may set the boundaries of what the Syrian regime will call the state is willing to look after. But
we're still in the opening hours.
GORANI: Last question regarding ISIS, Donald Trump has been quite clear that his main objective in Syria and Iraq is targeting ISI. He even
enthusiastically said it wouldn't take him that long to get a team of experts to advise him on the way to do that.
We know that Russia would potentially cooperate on targeting ISIS. How will that change things? The fact that it seems as though Donald Trump
would be more enthusiastic and cooperating on that front.
WALSH: Looking at how things are going, it could be sort of 60 percent done of the time frankly he has the inauguration platform.
GORANI: The fight against ISIS?
WALSH: To some degree. I mean, Mosul will be lengthy and slow, but the plans are already there. The forces are there. He's not going to unpick
the plan that's already in place. Even though he may think he's got a better one, but we haven't heard it.
Raqqa could take longer. It could be messy. It could involve the Russian potentially as well, but they're going to have to de-conflict their forces
and not bomb at the same time. They have problems with the Kurds as well.
There may become a moment as well where when ISIS begin to lose Mosul, which is beginning to happen now. That they start to unravel quicker than
potentially we thought. So he may come to power frankly with a lot of this taken care of.
GORANI: And it won't be the end to any of the problems in that part of the world sadly. Thanks very much, our senior international correspondent,
Nick Paton Walsh there for that analysis on the latest moves by Russia and the Syrian regime.
In Iraq, paramilitary forces say they've recaptured an air base outside the city of Talafar (ph). The base is meant to serve as a staging area for
Iraqi forces in the battle to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS that we were discussing there with Nick.
But there are still pockets of resistance there. More than just pockets in Mosul obviously. The city is still under ISIS control and it has attacked
the neighborhood in the eastern part of the city that was declared liberated a week ago.
Attacks in areas cleared by Iraqi forces are frequent. Sunday, the Iraqi flag was raised over the ancient city of Nimrud, two years after ISIS
overran it. CNN Phil Black shows us the devastation that they left behind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nimrud in ruins. We are getting our first glimpse at the ancient Iraqi city, now levelled by
ISIS. Located just south of Mosul, the 3,000-year-old city was once the Syrian capital. An empire that stretched across the Middle East.
Nimrud was one of the richest archaeological sites in the ridge. Home to relics like the famous statues of (inaudible) with human faces, which stood
at the entrance to the palace of the Syrian king, now this little left.
ISIS overran Nimrud back in 2014 and later released this video of the city's destruction. What they didn't blow up with explosives, they
literally tore apart by hand.
[15:25:01]Dismantling Nimrud's ancient artifacts with sledge hammers and power tools destroying symbols the extremist group considers adulterous.
UNESCO has condemned the city's destruction even calling a war crime. On Sunday, Iraqi forces recaptured Nimrud. Their tanks and armored vehicles
rolling into the city as part of the continuing offensive on Mosul.
Iraqi officials are now surveying the damage. The before and after comparison is striking, ancient murals and statues lie shattered. What was
a palace is now reduced to rubble.
COL. SADIQ MHANNA, IRAQI ARMY COMMANDER (through translator): We were able to liberate the historic site in record times, but Daesh militants have
destroyed all the relics that were here. Only a small part remains.
BLACK: The ancient city caught in ISIS's catastrophic way of cultural vandalism. Phil Black, CNN, Irbil, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still ahead, Trump's new chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is a leader of the Alt-Right Movement, but what is the Alt-Right? We'll explain
next.
And from Alt-Right to post-fact. I discuss the unique aspect of the era of President-elect Trump with veteran journalist, Carl Bernstein. Stay with
us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Barack Obama is now in Berlin, the second stop on his final foreign tour as U.S. president. Earlier he toured the Acropolis in Greece
paying tribute to the country as the birthplace of democracy.
Mr. Obama said he has differences with his successor, Donald Trump, we all knew that, of course, but he says democracy is bigger than any one person.
Speaking of Donald Trump, he has denying reports of infighting among his transition team. Sources say a power struggle is under way between rival
camps and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner is reportedly at the center of it.
We're still waiting to hear who will serve in key posts including whoever it is, someone we'll see often on CNN International and that is the
secretary of state. We don't have the name yet though.
The Syrian regime is escalating its attacks on Eastern Aleppo. Syria's White Helmets say intense air strikes killed at least 27 people today. You
see the individuals walking in the middle of that pile of rubble.
Children, dozens were injured, the strikes resumed after the government sent a mass text message to residents, warning them to leave or risk death.
Donald Trump has appointed Steve Bannon as his chief strategist. It's a name that we weren't used to saying almost every day on CNN before Donald
Trump was elected on November 8th.
The man who will have the ear of the president is also considered a leader of the so-called "Alt-Right." So what is the "Alt-Right Movement?"
[15:30:00] Tom Foreman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For some of the people who are most concerned about Donald Trump's election, it really comes down to one term,
"Alt-Right."
GAVIN MCINNES, HOST, "GAVIN MCINNES SHOW": We just won the lottery. We just stole America back.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Loud, assertive, often shocking and never apologetic. The "Alt-Right Movement" has been hugely energized by the
election of Donald Trump.
ALEX JONES, RADIO HOST: It's now time for the return of men.
FOREMAN: Alt-Right stands for alternative right and it refers to people who think traditional political conservatives are too timid, too tame, too
accepting of the status quo. Unwilling to engage on comfortable topics like what they call racism against white people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That happens all the time to white people in black neighborhoods. They don't get uncomfortable, they get screamed out, what
the (inaudible) are you doing in this neighborhood? Get out of here.
RICHARD SPENCER, NATIONAL POLICY INSTITUTE: The fact is there's a demographic struggle going on. And it's real and I think we should be real
about it.
FOREMAN: That's Richard Spencer who coined the term "Alt-Right."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fate worse than death.
FOREMAN: His website features a slick video urging white people to defend America against multi-culturalism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a country for everyone and not a country for no one. It's a country in which we ourselves have become strangers.
FOREMAN: The Breitbart website, which has been tied to the "Alt-Right Movement" suggests Alt-Right adherence are mostly white, mostly male,
middle American radicals, who are unapologetically embracing a new identity politics that prioritizes the interest of their own demographic.
So when other Americans protest the election results, the "Alt-Right" sees more of what they've seen all along, an ocean of enemies of white men and
the movement never hesitates to attack its foes whether African-American, Latino, feminist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's radical feminism of refugee for fat, ugly women, who can't attract high value men. The stereotype generally holds
true because they look like swamp donkeys.
FOREMAN: Only a tiny slice of Trump voters would likely call themselves "Alt-Right," but many share the desire to disrupt Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love that voting him in is really sticking it to the establishment.
FOREMAN: And for the Alt-Right, that matters more than the man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about a movement. It's not about a demagogue. It's not about Donald Trump. It's about reinvigorating the American dream.
It's about ultimately saving western civilization.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: All of this is very disturbing to some folks and the rest of the political spectrum. That's the catch, the more they are upset, the more
the Alt-Right celebrates. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
GORANI: Joining me now is Carl Bernstein, a veteran journalist and CNN contributor, thanks for being with us. Now let's first talk about this
tweet storm from Donald Trump out of the 23 tweets he sent since he was elected on November 8th. Eight have been direct attacks on press,
specifically the "New York Times." Is this something that concerns you?
CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It doesn't surprise me. I don't think Trump is going to quit tweeting. The "New York Times," he is determined to
hurt its credibility. The "Times" has been very rough on him in its coverage and by that I don't mean biased coverage, but I mean it's
reportorial, straight news coverage, which has revealed many unsettling things about Donald Trump, his business activities, the way he operates.
It's done some very, very fascinating reporting. So I think he would like it see the "Times" discredited to whatever degree he can do it, and I don't
expect to see him stop it. You've got to remember, during the campaign, he talked about draconian measures that would undermine existing protections
for the press in terms of libel, privacy violations.
He wants to see the press constrained. We've seen no evidence since to the contrary of that since the campaign. He also is somebody who is masterful
at using the press. He's president-elect partly because of his skill in using the press. So this is all part of a greater fabric. So, yes, pay
heed.
GORANI: All right. Well we're going to see how that develops. Certainly his election didn't change his tweeting patterns. Let's talk about the
rise of the Alt-Right. Of course, Stephen Bannon named chief strategist, one of its most powerful representatives soon in the White House. What are
we to make of this particular development and how it might impact American democracy as a whole?
[15:35:08]BERNSTEIN: Well, I don't want to -- look, Trump is what and who affects American democracy as a whole. Not Steve Bannon. What Trump --
GORANI: Yes, but he named him in a very powerful position, yes.
BERNSTEIN: He did and he's going to name Rudolph Giuliani to a very powerful position in all likelihood. We need to look at who the people are
who are closest to him and who are advising them and what they believe.
But remember, that the tone and the substance of this campaign was set by Donald Trump. There is nothing expressed by Steve Bannon that was not
expressed by Donald Trump in this campaign.
The fact that Bannon might be used the Breitbart website a little more overtly in terms of even anti-Semitic and racist -- look, this was a racist
campaign that Donald Trump ran. Let's not get away from that.
GORANI: Putting all this in historical context after all the presidents you've covered, of course, Nixon, others, Reagan, how do you -- how does
Donald Trump compare just in the first few days after his victory during the transition period with regards to his relationship with the media, with
the press, with the American people.
BERNSTEIN: I think Donald Trump first of all is the first person we've had come to the presidency since Eisenhower, who does not come from the
political class and even Eisenhower spent his whole life interacting with politicians as commander of the American forces in World War Ii.
Donald Trump has an insular view of the world from Trump Tower. He's a New York real estate guy. He's a carnival barker. He's a con man. He is a
different kind of guy. He also is very clever.
He also had something to say in this campaign that resonated with the people of this country, and particularly with those who have been ignored,
who working class people and incidentally with white, yes, but not just angry whites.
Some of what he said co-exists closely with what Bernie Sanders said about elites, about the fact that our system is not working in this country,
about the fact that our meritocracy has been undermined.
So he's not quite as overly simplistic as perhaps we are painting him and his appeal was not just a racist appeal, but was there racism? Was there
sexism? What there misogyny? Was there homophobia?
Yes, all of those things, but now we have to see wether they are going to manifest themselves in policy and in the presidency or whether they were
just the means of getting there.
GORANI: All right, Carl Bernstein, thanks very much, we appreciate it.
BERNSTEIN: Good to be with you.
GORANI: And the influential role of Donald Trump's son-in-law is raising questions and some concerns. Sources say Jared Kushner is already at the
center of the infighting within the Trump transition team as we've been reporting and his role could increase as Trump takes office. Brian Todd
has that story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jared Kushner, Trump's 35- year-old son-in-law, married for seven years to Trump's daughter, Ivanka, is considered shy and avoids the spotlight.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: And he's very good at politics.
TODD: But in the Trump White House, his power will likely be considerable.
LIZZIE WIDDICOMBE, WROTE PROFILE FOR KUSHNER FOR "THE NEW YORKER": I think it'll be similar to the role he played in the campaign, which is informal
and behind the scenes, and yet massively influential. I think he's seen as kind of a conduit to Donald Trump and a major decision-making player.
TODD: Kushner is a wealthy real estate developer and publisher who took over the successful real estate firm his father founded.
GABRIEL SHERMAN, NATIONAL AFFAIRS EDITOR, "NEW YORK MAGAZINE": Jared Kushner has ties to Wall Street investors, the Jewish community in New York
City, and also the media community.
TODD: He bought the "New York Observer" newspaper when he was 25 and once tried to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. He didn't have a formal title in the
Trump campaign, but campaign sources say he was among the candidate's most trusted advisors.
Once source telling CNN, Kushner was intimately involved in the decision to fire campaign manager, Cory Lewandowski, last summer. Said to be intensely
loyal, Jared Kushner once pushed back against his own newspaper, which accused Trump of being anti-Semitic.
Kushner, an orthodox Jew wrote that Trump, quote, "Embraced my family and our Judaism since I began dating my wife."
TRUMP: I have a son-in-law who's Jewish, Jared who is a great guy. My daughter is Jewish. I have grandchildren that are Jewish, OK, and I love
them. I love them.
TODD: Experts say Jared Kushner could avoid breaking a law against a president hiring a relative if he doesn't take a salary or a formal title,
but he could have another conflict.
[15:40:06]KENNETH GROSS, FORMER ELECTION COMMISSION ATTORNEY: They have to be careful that he doesn't become a conduit of information because he's
going to have information about what the administration is doing.
And if he talks to his wife about what the business is doing, there is a conflating of the business and official interest. And that's something I
think they're trying to keep separate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Will Jared Kushner be able to avoid talking to his wife about the administration's dealings, which might affect the family business? We did
not get an answer on that from the Trump transition team.
Jared Kushner did not comment for our story. A transition spokeswoman told us there've been no decision regarding Jared Kushner's future with the
administration.
But they are hopeful that he'll continue to offer counsel, oversee operations, and ensure their success as he did during the campaign. Brian
Todd, CNN, Washington.
GORANI: Well, Donald Trump's name has long been a common sight on New York City skyscrapers, luxury high-rises, but today his name was removed from
three of those high-rises in Manhattan. The buildings were all called Trump Place.
Residents started a petition before the election to take the names down. The company that owns and manages the buildings says a more, quote,
"Neutral building identity," quote/unquote, is appealing to residents at this stage.
From U.S. politics, let's take you to French politics. Another candidate has jumped into the race for presidency there. It's a big field. He's
former economy minister, Emanuel Marcon, who founded the political movement (inaudible) this year.
Well, he says his aim is to unite the French people and bring the country into the 21st Century. He was Francois Hollande's economy minister,
resigned and said see you later, I'm going to run for president.
Other contenders for next year's election include former President Nicolas Sarkozy, he wants to get back into the Elysee Palace, former Prime Minister
Alan Jupe (ph), and of course, far right leader, Marine Le Pen. The president, Francois Hollande, hasn't said whether he'll seek a second term.
He is struggling with very, very low approval ratings.
Check out our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoraniCNN for the best interviews and content. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Still ahead, Donald Trump skips the press pool for the second time in a week drawing a storm of criticism. I'll discuss this with our senior media
correspondent, Brian Stelter after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Donald Trump's family dinner at a Manhattan restaurant normally wouldn't be a reason for controversy, but Tuesday night, it was. That's
because what's called the press pool, a small group of journalists assigned to cover his movements were not told that he was going there.
A journalist dining at the restaurant spotted Trump and tweeted a picture. It provoked a backlash, the president of the White House Correspondents
Association said it is unacceptable for the next president of the United States to travel without a regular pool to record his movements and inform
the public about his whereabouts.
[15:45:06]Let's take a closer look at what a press pool normally does. Our senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter, joins me from New York. So
Brian, first of all, what is a pool exactly? Explain to our international viewers.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is normally a pretty mundane, boring job. There's a small group of journalists that
travel with the president basically at all times. Also with the president- elect usually.
They keep track of the president's whereabouts, who he or she is meeting with, where they're going, and for example, the reason why we know how many
rounds of golf President Obama plays is thanks to the press pool.
The reason how we knew how often President Bush went to his ranch in Texas was thanks to the press pool. So the pool keeps track of those mundane
kind of realities of presidential life, but it's also there in moments of crisis.
For example, in the morning of 9/11, the press pool was able to verify the president's whereabouts and keep the nation informed about what President
Bush was doing. So there is a sort of basic day-to-day job, and then a very vital job in moments of crisis.
GORANI: So is this because Donald Trump does not want the press following him around during this transition period or because he's not necessarily
aware of protocol when it comes to the pool?
STELTER: I think it could be a combination of both. You know, the Trump campaign, now the Trump administration have said they will institute a
pool. They are working on it. They say, however, they would have known this was coming when Trump was elected last week.
It would been obvious right away that this should be instituted. Today, we heard from 15 journalism advocacy groups as well as the White House
Correspondent Association. All emphasizing how important it is to have this basic level of access to the president-elect.
GORANI: And he's attacked the "New York Times" pretty relentlessly today. Of the 23 tweets that he's posted since his election on November 8th, eight
have been anti-press tweets with most of them directed at the "New York Times." How will that affect these mainstream media organizations ability
to cover Trump when he's president?
STELTER: Well, there's a real potential for a chilling effect. If Donald Trump is going to use Twitter every day to lash out at journalists and
journalism he doesn't like. That could over time hurt the sort of journalism people are getting. It could have a chilling effect.
But on the flip side, we've heard the "New York Times" today say we will not be deferred by these criticisms although Trump criticized, he didn't
identify any specific factual inaccuracies in any stories. Nor has he asked for a correction.
So he seems to be venting more than actually identifying falsehoods. And you know, I think partly this has to do with Trump's sources of
information. He's not a big internet guy. We know he does tweet.
He watches a lot of TV and reads the newspapers in print. So he gets the "New York Times" in the morning, he reads the paper. He seems to get angry
at things he reads in the paper and then responds on Twitter.
GORANI: Now we know during the campaign Donald Trump's campaign itself banned some journalists and media organizations from covering them. Does
the president and the administration have the power to do that at the White House?
STELTER: This would be a huge First Amendment fight. I talked to a First Amendment lawyer, (inaudible) Abrams, who said if there were to be an
attempt to ban reporters from the briefing room, he believes that would be open up the administration to a lawsuit. And it would be fought over in
the courts.
The short answer though is, yes, it is possible. Donald Trump would control who has access to the White House via the Secret Service. It would
be almost unprecedented to do so, but it would be possible. However, that's again where it comes back to norms. This would not be normal.
GORANI: I was going to say, sorry to jump in, he could well choose not to take questions from some organizations or do it some other way. I mean,
that's not inconceivable.
GORANI: Right, we're talking about a huge number of unknowns. A huge number of questions about the President Trump relationship with the press
corps. Just today, we spoke with Hope Hicks, his press secretary, who says, yes, at some point, Trump will have a press conference.
We also have known that Hicks has said there'll be a press pool in the future. Right now there's a lot of questions and very few answers about
whether the norms that govern press, president relations are going to remain intact within a President Trump administration.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much. Our senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter, and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" joining us in New York.
Coming up, nearly 40 years after their iconic on-screen relationship. Carrie Fisher says there could have been a reason for Hans Solo and
Princess Leia's chemistry. The details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:51:01]
GORANI: The United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP 22 is well into its second week in Windswept, Morocco. In today's special series on
the country, Eleni Giokos look at one company's efforts to harness the Moroccan gales into renewable energy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN MONEY AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From a far a windmill looks almost effortless. Smoothly spinning on an endless loop,
but the process of building even a single piece of these machines is truly a massive undertaking.
German engineering giant, Siemens, knows full well what it takes and they've made a 100-million euro investment in one of wind energy's most
promising markets, Morocco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you are seeing here is a construction site for the first blade factory in the Middle East and Africa region.
GIOKOS: Here they'll have blades like these starting at 63 meters apiece for unsure wind turbines. The location alone was a major draw.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. So we are actually playing for export, a lot of our volume and we can reach a
lot of countries out of Tangier.
GIOKOS: Though the site is still a work in progress, Siemens is already training that native Moroccans and will run the facility on their own.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Full production will need about 650 people. The talent pool is great. We've been able to fill the whole leadership team with
Moroccan people that have great experience.
GIOKOS: At this temporary training facility, they're trying to simulate full reconcile production, but one small problem does stick out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great building. One issue we have is we had to make a 63 meter blade in here and the building is only 50 meters long.
We've had to adapt some of the processes to be able to do that.
So we've actually taken the blade and basically cut it into a couple different sections and it allows us to get the guys that are training near
Morocco familiar with the products that they will be using.
The handling of the products they are using because they will go to Denmark a lot of them for really hands on intense training in the real life
production world.
GIOKOS: Morocco has goals to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Siemens head of wind power in Morocco says
thinking like that makes the country a great partner for this kind of projects.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is important for the energy balance and for economic growth in Morocco. The strategies make Morocco less dependent on external
energy resources and the energy resources make a lot of sense economically.
GIOKOS: So Morocco has the potential to become a major contributor to the wind, energy industry, but they'll have to take it one blade at a time.
Eleni Giokos, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Fans have to wait for five years, but it's finally here. A new movie set in the universe of "Harry Potter." "Fantastic Beasts" is a
prequel written by J.K. Rowling. And while it doesn't feature the bespeckled wizard, there's still plenty of magic. The movie had its London
premier Tuesday night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MOVIE CLIP)
EDDIE REDMAYNE, ACTOR: I used to go and watch the product films for J.K. Rowling hug every year or two to dive back into that world and I hope it
has all of those elements but with a freshness that makes us think new things too.
J.K. ROWLING, SCREENWRITER: I knew all about that I put into my book. It caught my imagination a bit. I had a lot of ideas about him.
[15:55:04]So when Warner Brothers said they wanted too something with that little book, I got quite excited. But I know a lot so I'm going to write
the story down and that's how it happened.
(MOVIE CLIP)
REDMAYNE: What I think is amazing about she does in the script is she manages to combine like elements of thriller, sort of darkness to it, but
there's high comedy and heart. And I find it very emotional at end of the film. She somehow manages to weave these genres together in a very
beautiful and daft way.
DAVID YATES, DIRECTOR: So somehow, somewhere, there's a new generation of this. I saw fans of this generation previously around four or five years
ago. So I guess all the guys who were here last time, they'll be older. Maybe they have young families, maybe their reading the books to their
families and showing the movies to their families.
ROWLING: I would like to say to them that this is a story that I have loved telling and I've in my head far while and I really hope they love it
because I think we, the filmmakers and I, are very proud of it.
(MOVIE CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Now do you remember this memorable theme from "Star Wars."
(MOVIE CLIP)
GORANI: We thought we'd give you a break from serious news for a little bit with more entertainment updates. Now, you can't deny Hans Solo and
Princess Leia had some on-screen chemistry there. Well, According to Carrie Fisher, there was a reason for that, she told "People" magazine that
she and Harrison Ford actually had an affair on the set of the iconic franchise back in 1977.
She says quote, "It was so intense, it was Hans and Leia during the week and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend. CNN has reached out to Ford
for a comment. Not sure if we've heard back. Well, there's your little entertainment break everyone.
This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'll see you same time, same place tomorrow. Thanks for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS"
is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
