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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

The Trump Inaugural Balls. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired January 20, 2017 - 21:00   ET

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

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- I did. Tomorrow morning he'll attend the national prayer breakfast, which is the big post inaugural event here in D.C. and then, we're told, to look for more executive actions.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: We're also here with Derek Blasberg from CNN STYLE and Katie Andersen brower, CNN contributor and author of "First Women".

You know, we saw already Donald Trump has changed the Oval Office to suit his style more. They're also able to change. Some of the state rooms, they don't get changed. But their personal quarters, the private quarters, that is something over time they're likely to change.

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, AUTHOR, "FIRST WOMEN": They can do a lot on the second and third floor of the White House. I mean it's a 132 room mansion, six floors, with two mezzanine levels. It's much bigger than it looks.

COOPER: It really does not look that big, I mean, if anybody has visited Washington.

BROWER: Yeah. It looks like a three levels really and has two basement levels for the staff (inaudible) like. I mean they actually gather the butlers.

But, you know, the idea that the Trumps can come in and just bling out the White House, they can do a lot on the second floor in their bedrooms and sitting rooms, but in the blue room, the state, you know, the state floor that the public sees, they can't do much with that, the East Room for instance where we see press conferences, not much can be changed in there. And the Lincoln bedroom, not much changed either. They have to work with the White House curators. So it's a process, and -- I mean it's a slow-moving process, too.

DEREK BLASBERG, CNN STYLE HOST: But I think it's sort of interesting to note that Donald Trump hasn't really updated his own house --

BROWER: That's true.

BLASBERG: -- in three or four decades. So you can't really imagine he would, you know --

BROWER: Yeah.

BLASBERG: -- go really wild in the White House.

BROWER: Right, right.

BLASBERG: There seems to be a sense of complacency. And Melania, too. I don't think she's changed much since -- sort of Obama days.

BROWER: Yeah.

COOPER: Michael Flatley is performing. Let's watch.

MICHAEL FLATLEY, DANCER: I am proud to introduce the greatest team of dancers in the world, the cast of "Lord of the Dance".

They've come with me all the way from Ireland tonight to celebrate the election of America's new president, Donald Trump. May God bless him and guide him. I hope you enjoy the show.

[21:05:00]

(MUSIC)

[21:10:16] COOPER: Hugely successful dancers from "Lord of the Dance", Michael Flatley's production, which is seen around the world. Incredibly talented.

We're going to take a quick break. Told Donald Trump will be here any minute. We'll bring that to you live when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Sam Moore singing his 1967 hit "Soul Man" with Pelican 212. Here they are.

(MUSIC)

[21:18:56] COOPER: That was the legendary Sam Moore from the group Sam and Dave. That was his 1967 hit that got a Grammy in '67 "Soul Man". They also had "Hold On, I'm Comin'", "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", backed up by some of the kids from Pelican 212, who we heard from earlier. Incredibly talented kids.

It -- we're really seeing a huge variety of talent. It makes me feel exhausted and completely without talent. Here's the U.S. Military Band from the Navy. Let's listen in.

(MUSIC)

[21:22:07] COOPER: And we are anticipating Donald Trump's arrival any moment. I'm not sure if he is already in the hall. We are told he -- a while ago, that he was on his way. He will make an appearance first at the Liberty Ball, which is right above from where we are. We'll obviously bring that to you live.

It is certainly what so many of the thousands of people who are here at the Freedom Ball and at the Liberty Ball are waiting for. They really want to see Melania Trump. They want to see the 45th president of the United States dancing the first dance with the first lady. Another historic moment of what has been an extraordinary day.

And John King, I mean, the amount of energy that those two must have, because I'm exhausted and I've only been on air since 8:30 and doing really nothing other than just talking on air. They've actually been, you know, walking and interacting with people. It's been a very long day.

KING: It started right early in the morning when they left Blair House and 8:00 hour, 9:00 hour to go to St. John's, the president's church for the service this morning. Then to the White House, then to the Capitol. All of this activity, plus just all of the pressure and tension and energy at the moment --

COOPER: Yeah.

KING: -- becoming president of the United States, becoming first lady of the United States. But he proved during the campaign, you know, we talked earlier, Donald Trump is the oldest man to be inaugurated president of the United States. Age much less of an issue now, people are living longer than it were on Reagan had that distinction. But he proved during --

(CROSSTALK)

KING: And he proved during the campaign that he can go.

COOPER: No doubt about that. Yeah. He ran circles around a lot of other candidates who were opposing him.

Derek, we're obviously waiting to see what Melania Trump, what she is going to wear. She really cut an extraordinary, striking figure out at the inauguration today, wearing Ralph Lauren. I don't know if it's robin egg's blue or baby blue. I don't know.

BLASBERG: There's been some debate. It's been powder, powder blue.

COOPER: Has this been hotly debated in the world of fashion?

BLASBERG: All over --

COOPER: Really?

BLASBERG: -- are tired.

COOPER: OK, good.

BLASBERG: Famely with this guy.

COOPER: Oh, yeah, with John King.

BLASBERG: He said robin --

COOPER: I know. He's a big robin's egg blue fan. I had to convinced him to not to wear the robin's egg blue tux tonight.

KING: Maybe not with the ruffles.

COOPER: Yeah. Maybe not with the ruffles.

BLASBERG: So we're waiting to see what Melania and Ivanka are going to wear but I do know that tonight Ivanka will be wearing Carolina Herrera. I just got that thumbs up on may phone.

COOPER: OK. And we're told Donald Trump is actually -- the president -- the 45th president of the United States is actually backstage at the Liberty Ball and will be appearing momentarily. Obviously, that is something, as we've said, a lot of people have been waiting, not only at the Liberty ball but also just one floor below here at the Freedom Ball. That is where they will come afterward and then they will end the evening at the Service Member's Ball, which unlike these balls which are open to the public for some $50 fee per tickets, that is invitation only for service members for first responders, wounded warriors and those who have served the country, our country. So incredibly bravely and heroically.

[21:25:07] But certainly, I mean, this is -- you can't underestimate how kind of watched this first dance is going to be. It certainly was for the Obamas, it certainly is going to be for Donald Trump.

BROWER: And it can be a very romantic moment, you know, for the president and the first lady. We have that vision of the Reagans dancing to their first dance.

And I think that Carolina Herrera's point is really interesting because there is a lot of pressure to pick an American designer. You know, Oscar de la Renta or -- I mean, she's definitely dressed other first ladies. And even though this isn't the first lady, this is the president's daughter. And I think it really -- it shows again that they are really putting a lot of thought into what they're wearing and they're going back to the people who dressed Hillary and Nancy, and paying, you know, homage to the women who came before them, I think.

KING: And a presidential daughter who will have an unprecedented role in her father's White House. So if you think about this, well the two young girls, Obama girls, the Bush twins before that, college age when they were in the White House. Chelsea Clinton before that. Donald Trump's daughter, who is a businesswoman in her own right, is going to be such an influential figure from a policy perspective. They're already making calls to Capitol Hill about she wants to change child care policies.

She will be a fascinating figure because of her style and also because of the separation from her brand. There's some controversy attached to this, as well. We don't need to dwell on that but there will be constantly questions for the Trumps about --

COOPER: And we should point out, obviously, her husband, Jared Kushner, is a senior adviser, a former role in the White House.

KING: We saw him in the picture today when the President was signing his first executive orders. Reince Priebus, the chief of staff was handing the paperwork and taking the paperwork from the President, but just to the President's right, stand to Jared Kushner again, his son- in-law to the president who is one of without a doubt the power center. You have a chief of staff, you have Steve Bannon, you have chief strategist to the campaign, you have Jared Kushner who Donald Trump has said he wants to take a role in trying to negotiate Mideast peace.

This is his son-in-law. He's been in the, you know, real estate business in New York City, never been in politics like Donald Trump and we'll see what happens. Again, we'll see how the words and the talk of a campaign turns into action as they govern. And don't -- every president says things during the campaign to get left behind, every presidents finds this person is better in that role and this role. But to see such a high profile policy president from key members of his family, putting his daughter and son-in-law, is one of the new twists of this new administration.

COOPER: And while tonight is certainly a celebration and a remarkable celebration for the country, for the 45th president, for the peaceful transfer of power. For Donald Trump, I mean, whether day one he counts as Monday, for the president, every day is a full workday.

KING: Every day. And he -- again, he promised -- he did really run as a Republican. He's a Republican president in an all-Republican Washington now. But even in his speech today, he railed against all establishment politicians, Democrats and Republicans. He promises to move quickly to keep his promise to the little guy. And again, you have a billionaire president who says he's here for the little guy.

So very important, we'll see how the nuts and bolt also work out. The very important action number one is on Obamacare. Now we're waiting to see, what is his first move on immigration? What is his first move on jobs program, some sort of a stimulus plan? And we are told, we have some today, the rest of the day will be spent celebrating. But we're also told expect more tomorrow as the President gets back to work.

COOPER: You know, while I was watching his inaugural address today, I'm thinking, there couldn't be any politician on that stage, Republican or Democrat, who could have felt comfortable in a Donald Trump administration. I mean he was blasting Washington as a whole, Republican and Democrat.

KING: And yet, I think the complexities of this presidency, and a lot of people watching, or maybe a lot of Democrats decide to had movie night and they're not watching. But the complexity of this president, I think, are a long list of questions. Because in that speech, he trashed the people he was standing with right there. I can't -- he said that, you know, they had enriched themselves, they put themselves ahead of the little guy. And he did not make a distinction between Democrats and Republicans. He ran against Washington with establishment politicians in that outside message to the country and to his supports then I'm going to keep my promise. But then he went inside. And when he was signing the papers inside, he was yakking it up, and he was joking and bantering, the art of the deal Donald Trump, there's negotiation --

COOPER: Not just bantering with Republicans but with Chuck Schumer and Democrats.

KING: So, he's going the have to play that outside game. Remember he lost the popular votes. He's going to have to play the outside game. To keep his base is absolutely critical. Because if stars to lose that support, we already know the Democrats will line up, looking for vulnerabilities and looking for an opening.

[21:29:59] But he played the outside game directly to the people who made him president of the United States. But then we are also showing the part of Donald Trump that, I think, is absolutely critical, if he is to get anything big done. The Republicans control the House and the Senate, but by narrow majorities. He's going to have to do business. He's going to have to perfect the art of the legislative deal. He's done the real estate deal, now we're going to see if he can take that skill set and adapt it to governing.

COOPER: We're told the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, will be appearing within about a minute or so at the Liberty Ball, which is just above us. We're told he will make some comments, obviously, and also I think so many people around the country are looking forward to seeing him dancing with the first lady, the first dance of his administration to Frank Sinatra's "My Way". Frank Sinatra actually performed at Ronald Reagan's inauguration, singing, if my memory serves me correct, to Nancy Reagan specifically at the inauguration.

KING: I believe that's right. I missed that one.

COOPER: I watched it on satellite. But, you know, I remember that. And obviously, they -- the Reagans had a very close relationship with Frank Sinatra. Nancy Reagan, I think, friends with Frank Sinatra so with President Reagan.

BROWER: I think your point is really interesting about Ivanka. Americans were conditioned to have the first lady be the wife of the president. But in the 19th century, you know, life expectancies were shorter and daughters did fill that role, and nieces filled that role and sisters. So, I mean Harriet Lane was President Buchanan's niece, and she's the first woman who has ever referred to as the first lady.

COOPER: We should point out though Ivanka Trump pushed back on that suggestion that she would be kind of filling any kind of first lady role in an interview. I think it was said on 20/20 on ABC. She pushed back saying essentially it sort of offensive or it just inappropriate --

BROWER: Inappropriate, yes. Yeah, yeah.

COOPER: She didn't say the word offensive, inappropriate that Melania Trump is going to clearly going to be fulfilling that role. The question is certainly have been raised because Melania Trump is going to be staying in New York because her son Baron was 10 years old and still enrolled with the school. But the White House is saying that she will be there for important events and the like.

KING: And remember during the campaign, she gave one speech in suburban Philadelphia, which he said, and she was ridiculed for this, because she said as first she want to deal with cyber bullying and she it was important for children. And some people, you know, critics said, well, what about your husband, you know, you've got to start at home. And she felt a little burned by that experience. She didn't feel that she had been protected properly by the campaign staff.

But we should -- we'll have to watch as this plays out. As Kate was saying earlier, you know, people now think of Michelle Obama and they think the garden in the White House.

But for the first year, she was feeling her way. She made some missteps during the campaign, said some things during the campaign that critics turned on her. And so, I think, part of this, and again when you say things, Democrats out there are going to say, "There they go getting in the tank." I think anybody knew he's the president. He will be judge, he's already being judged. In terms of a first lady who's never been in this kind of a spotlight before, yes, she was a model, yes, she's a successful businesswoman, people should have a little patience and little grace and see how she evolves because she has made clear to her credit, priority one is her 10-year-old son, Baron in school in New York.

COOPER: And as we await for the appearance of the first couple, their first appearance at one of these inaugural balls tonight any minute now, she has not hired -- I mean the first lady has her own staff. How large a staff is it, what is their role?

BROWER: Upwards of 20 people. I mean, press secretary, social secretary, chief of staff. And they're looking at interviewing social secretaries now. I've been told among them is a man, which would be interesting. And we the obamas named a man to the position, the first man to ever be social secretary. And if the Trumps did it, it would be the first time a Republican administration named a man to the position.

A social secretary essentially runs state dinners, runs all of the public events at the White House, and has traditionally been a job for women's. That would be really interesting to see. I do think that Melania -- people should have some sympathy since she didn't want this life, you know.

COOPER: I'm told the first couple is about to appear. Let's go to the Liberty Ball and watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to the stage for the arrival of the president and first lady.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is our honor to present to you the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump and the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump.

[21:35:51] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That is what I call great talent. Thank you very much. Great talent. Thank you. Well, we did it. We began this journey and they said we, we, and me, we didn't have a chance, but we knew we were going to win. And we won. And today, we had a great day. People that weren't so nice to me were saying that we did a really good job today. They hated to do it, but they did it. And I respect that. I respect that. But I have to say, the crowd was unbelievable today.

You know, I looked at the rain, which just never came. You know, we finished the speech, went inside, it poured. Then we came outside, the helicopter scene was an incredible scene, an incredible scene. So beautiful. Like from a movie set, so beautiful. And then, and then amazingly, it rained, and then we went out -- it's like God was looking down on us. I will tell you.

I want to thank all of our supporters. My number one supporter, Melania, what she puts up with. Thank you, honey.

Now we really did something that's so special, and this evening is so special, and this whole day, and yesterday so incredible. So many people made such a difference. Vice President Mike Pence, no more elect. He was incredible. And all of the -- you're going to see things happening over the next few weeks, oh, you're going to be so happy. You're going to be. Because, you know, they are very elegant people tonight. But they're also very political people, right?

We want to see great things happen for our country. We want to make America great again. And we will. And we will. So now it's a tremendous honor to have the first dance with Melania. And we're going to be joined by our Vice President. We're going to be joined by some very wonderful, wonderful children, as we go along, they happen to be my children and Mike's children.

And I just want to, again, I want to thank everybody. We always felt we were going to do it. It's a movement like they've never seen anywhere at any time, anywhere in the world. This was a movement. And now the work begins. Now the work begins. There's no games, right? No games. We're not playing games. The work begins.

I want to thank everybody. We love you. We're going to be working for you. And we are going to be producing results. Thank you, everybody. Have a great night. Thank you. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now the President and first lady of the United States will take their first dance. Ladies and gentlemen, the first couple, Donald and Melania Trump.

[21:40:00]

(MUSIC)

[21:45:23] COOPER: The 45th president of the United States, the new first lady, and the new first family. Our first look at them all on a stage together with the vice president and his family dancing to Frank Sinatra's "My Way".

Derek Blasberg from CNN Style, I cannot think of a more appropriate song for this 45th president, Donald Trump, who became the 45th president by doing it his way. There were buzz words all along the way. They said you can't do that, you can't do this. There were pundits who, you know, many who said, look, it doesn't work this way. It's not going to work out. He did it the way he wanted to do it in his inaugural address today. What do you make up of the fashion, you know, who they were wearing? I'm sure a lot of people would like to know.

BLASBERG: So everyone is on bated breath to see what Melania and Ivanka are going to wear. (Inaudible) not that Ivanka is wearing Herrera. We're still waiting for Melania. But I think they actually looked fantastic. There's a big sort of breath with this sort of event and that sort of glamorous female (inaudible) coronation and inauguration. But it was a little bit subdued. It was a little bit -- it was more conservative. There wasn't too much -- I believe, so to speak, they both looked very elegant.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: It does -- I mean much of what she wears is sort of subdued. It's sort of refined and there's less -- there's not a lot of frills. I mean today, the Ralph Lauren outfit she was wearing, which very simple harkening back to Jacqueline Kennedy.

BLASBERG: I think it's proper (inaudible) Ivanka who are also this morning --

(CROSSTALK)

BLASBERG: -- Carolina Herrera this evening. And that they're really trying to drive home this idea of American designers. You know, I think there's a lot -- there was a lot of hesitation and there was a lot of worry that one of them are going to choose to wear a European designer because especially it's getting to the inauguration. A lot of European based designers understand what the big controversy was about dressing Melania and Ivanka. Giorgio Armani recently said he would dress Melania.

So I think there's a sense of relief from the New York fashion community that we're not celebrating sort of an outsider, a non- American designer. And I'll be curious to see who actually made Melania's dress.

COOPER: Oscar de la Rente has been worn by other first ladies also in the past. I think Caroline Herrera as well, I'm sure.

BLASBERG: Oscar de le Rente wore -- he dressed Gloria Bush in 2000 -- sorry, yeah, Gloria Bush in 2005 and Hillary Clinton in 1997. Help me out, Kate. I'm on the spot. I felt like --

BROWER: Well, I was thinking --

COOPER: (Inaudible) point out that he passed away last year.

BLASBERG: He passed away in 2014.

COOPER: Was it 2014? Wow.

BLASBERG: And curiously on Ivanka's blog, I recently looked up, she made a tribute because of this Savannah College of Art and Design that it's a sort of a tribute to him and they --

COOPER: He was a lovely man. I mean such a gracious guy, incredible gentleman. Born in the Dominican Republic but an American through and through.

BLASBERG: And speaking of bipartisan, he was one of the few designers that can -- just like Ralph today, kind of dress first ladies on both the Republican and Democratic side of the aisle.

BROWER: We saw Obama didn't wear his clothes for seven years, and he got in some trouble for that. He kind of didn't want to be the (inaudible) designers like Jason Wu.

I think it's really interesting to see this kind of modern look that Melania is carrying it off in the way that only a former supermodel really could. And I think Ivanka look beautiful too. I mean this is their moment to shine. I think that, you know, you can't stress how important it is to wear an American designer, like you were saying. Jackie Kennedy when she would wear these (inaudible) suits, she's got into a lot of trouble for going to Europe and spending so much money. She would even have labels sewn into the suits of American designers. So it was seen like she's wearing American clothes.

COOPER: Well, the idea of dancing in public is one of my greatest fears, so I give them huge props for doing that, pulling that off. And I thought it was so lovely to have all the kids coming out and join them. You really get a sense of the family, the history that is now part of this administration.

Let's go back to Erin, who is standing by. Erin?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Anderson. Well, obviously we're sitting here talking about the fashion here, the dresses with Kate Betts and Dana Bash.

Obviously, Melania looks gorgeous in anything she wears as we were saying. Anyone can wear white, especially that kind of slit dress and with the, you know, the sticking out part in the front. I mean, you know, she's absolutely stunning woman. She's a model. It looks absolutely amazing on her but we don't yet know the designer.

[21:50:05] KATE BETTS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: We don't know the designer but we know it's an American probably because they've been wearing American designers all day and kind of paying tribute to the American fashion business. But it's a beautiful dress. And of course white symbolizes, you know, new beginnings and a kind of fresh start. And of course Michelle Obama also wore white on her first inaugural.

BURNETT: Right, right.

BETTS: So it feels very much like a wedding or a prom. It's, you know, it's very -- it's so modern and elegant. (CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: Very modern. Very.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And all clean lines. I love doing this. I never get to do this, with my girlfriends on the couch watching a red carpet.

BURNETT: And then when all of the rest of the couples came out, as strange as it was in some ways, it did sort of look we were saying a bit like a wedding. All with gorgeous dresses. We do know Ivanka was wearing Carolina Herrara --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: But the other had similar looks. And I wonder if they coordinated that. I'm guessing they did a little bit.

BETTTS: I'm sure they did. I'm sure they did. This so much like a tableau. I was actually saying this yesterday. Oleg Cassini who designed Jackie's clothes, you know, always said that he dressed her like she was in a tableau. And of course he was a custom designer for Paramount so that made sense. He always imagined her on a stage or in a movie. And this is kind of what that likes too. You know, it's a set piece.

BURNETT: And obviously she's wearing the off the shoulder, rang her hair down, she wore it up earlier today, you know. It seems like a thought went into all aspects of this. I also think as someone, you know, you're not wearing sleeves, I am, there's different styles this year and two of the women I think were wearing sleeves.

BASH: Yeah.

BURNETT: Ivanka with that very sheer sleeve and one of the other woman as well.

BASH: Yeah. Listen. The Trump family, they are nothing if -- top of, you know, top of the style. I mean they are the creme de la creme when it comes to being fashion forward. It's who they are. It's their brand, right?

BURNETT: Yeah.

BASH: Their brand is to be as au courant as possible and they just prove it.

BETTS: And they're bringing in New York glamour to Washington much in the same way that Nancy Reagan brought Hollywood glamour to Washington. We were also saying, Dana --

BASH: We welcome that as a Washingtonian, come on down.

BETTS: And I know -- obviously we're talking about the dress. But Donald Trump himself, Dana and I were just mentioning, I think, walked out, that was a very slimming tuxedo on Donald Trump, not his usual style where he wears the bigger jackets.

BASH: No. Absolutely not. I don't remember -- have we ever seen him without the long tie, either the red or the blue tie? I mean I guess --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: -- casual and he wears the jacket and the tieless, but his jackets are always very large, very sort of Trumpian 1980s and this was different. I mean I guess in a tuxedo, you got to -- it's very difficult to do that. And this was more modern than we've seen. Sleeker.

Can we talk about the dancing?

BURNETT: The dancing? The swaying you mean? The swaying. The stepping. I told you didn't want to practice but he did a good sway. He didn't want to practice.

BASH: You were right. You had a very good source on that. Because if that was practiced -- you know, listen. We want to be respectful, it was beautiful, did a wonderful moment but, you know, as 70-year-old man, you would think that he had practice in his life. He probably danced before.

BEETS: Yeah. Taken up the dance floor.

BURNETT: You know, obviously we don't yet know the designer here but this big moment in front of her, right, there's been a lot of controversy. Some designers, Carolina Herrara among them has said, you know, I would be thrilled to dress her. Tommy Hilfiger had said that. There are designers of course who have said absolutely not. This has become a way we felt like. A lot of the people in the New York fashion community will probably be here tomorrow marching in the parade that is in opposition to Trump. Yet Melania Trump is here, someone who has the ability to move millions of dollars.

BASH: Yes.

BURNETT: Michelle Obama right would wear Jcrew and all the sudden (inaudible). Melania Trump has a similar ability.

BETTS: Yes.

BURNETT: She can wear absolutely anything. This is a big opportunity for her, right? I mean she could pick a designer no one had heard of and turn him into someone if she chose.

BASH: Which is what Michelle Obama did, right?

BETTS: Yes, Michelle Obama did that. But also wore clothing from Jcrew and target clothes that were very accessible to a broader audience. So that was something that also helped generate obviously a lot of business for those retailers.

BASH: But she picked Jason Wu out of obscurity -- BETTS: Oh, yeah.

BASH: -- back in 2009, right?

BETTS: Many, many designers out of obscurity. Also Isabel Toledo --

BASH: Jason Wu is the one who design her both --

BETTS: Yes, both of them.

BASH: Both of them.

BETTS: Yeah.

BURNETT: Could you ever see her doing that mix of high and low though? I mean it certainly doesn't seem to fit with what we have seen so far. She's always absolutely perfect looking but most of the clothes are incredibly expensive and often European.

[21:55:04] BETTS: Yes. I don't know if she could do it but it is a tradition of the White House to go -- of the first lady that goes all the way back to Dolley Madison, who kind of -- was the really the first first lady and she wore very grand European clothes, silk turbans, kind of outrageous things that mixed with much more accessible, approachable clothes.

BASH: Is that right?

BETTS: Yeah.

BASH: Dolley Madison?

BETTS: She was very famous for that. Yeah. And she was known as Queen Dolley. She was the beloved first lady who entertained a lot and was very close to the people and she's also the first lady who began the inaugural ball tradition.

BURNETT: And the other thing of course was when they all appeared on that stage.

BETTS: Yes.

BURNETT: How unusual that moment was, right? And they did bring the Pence family out as well. But it was, again, as I said earlier in the evening -- you know, as I was told, these events, parties, they are a family fair. He did not view this as Donald J. Trump only. These are very much is a family fair.

BASH: Right. And also if you think about the last, you know, few presidents that we've had, I guess going back to Reagan and then George H.W. Bush, they did have adult children who could come up and do this, but I don't remember them doing it, correct me if I'm wrong. With the Clintons, they had one young daughter, who's I think 12 or 13.

BETTS: Right. BASH: And, you know, same goes with the Obamas. They were young girls at the time. And so this is the first opportunity we've had in very long time to see a large family like the Trumps. But the fact that they chose to bring everybody out on the stage, Erin, it's like we've been talking about all night it is because that's who they are. They're a unit. And that is true here at the balls, it is true in the governing, it was true in the campaign. I mean the fact that Jared Kushner for example who was dancing up there with his father-in-law is also coming in with an official title as senior adviser to the president with an office in the West Wing and a staff tells you everything you need to know.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: And of course we're waiting for them to go. They're going to have another first dance at next ball and then they're going to be coming here to the Armed Services Ball.

Let's send it back over to where you are, Anderson.

COOPER: Erin, thanks very much. Yes, a few minutes from now we expect to see the first couple, first family coming out. (Inaudible) make some remarks to this crowd here at the Freedom Ball, one floor below of where we just was at the Liberty Ball at the same building. He will then make his way to the third official inaugural ball where Erin is to end out the evening.

There were also other parties going on in Washington, D.C. Less than, there have been in the past inaugurations, but that is the way it is. And certainly -- I mean there are thousands of people in this room alone. I imagine at the Liberty Ball as well.

KING: It's interesting. I'll stay out of my lane and I won't go anywhere to the fashion conversation.

But as the president and the first lady made their statement, which is interaction with the crowd. He loves them. And he learned to love them during the campaign and the rallies. His staff would tell you, the more and more he campaign, the more he loved the interactions, he loved the big rallies. And he's talked before about how "My Way" was the perfect song because people told him (inaudible) smaller for controlled events. You don't always have to do these big rallies because they were afraid the crowds sometimes incited in him into the rhetorical flourishes that got him into trouble.

But you just see it when he comes out to a crowd even when he was dancing. He was taking his hand off Melania to wave for the crowd. That is who he is. He -- like many politicians, he feeds off the energy in the room then you clearly you can see it. And as the crow is with him, he goes up.

COOPER: I should point out and I got some tweets about it. And I stand corrected. Of course, Frank Sinatra popularized "My Way" but actually Paul Anka who wrote the lyrics and melody. But Frank Sinatra popularized the song. But I want to give Paul Anka his due for writing the lyrics to the song which epitomizes Donald Trump in so many ways.

Derek, I mean, if you look at overall sort of the style of this first family, what we have seen so far, what do you make of it?

BLASBERG: The first thing that sort of comes to mind when I saw this was Donald Trump's pageant history came in handy. There's a real presentation here that was very polished. And paired up and coupled and beautiful dresses, evening wear.

One important thing, I think, specifically about Ivanka's wardrobe, was that this morning was Oscar de la Renta, who was born in Dominican Republic and tonight was Carolina Herrera who is Spanish and Venezuelan descend.

[22:00:00] So there's something to be said about the influence of Latino designers on this American ceremonies.