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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Lays Out Agenda for First 100 Days in New Video; Trump Team: President-elect Not Breaking Any Laws; Trump Denounces Racism from Alt-Right Movement; Arrest Made in Execution-Style Killing of Police Detective. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired November 21, 2016 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:08] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next. The breaking news, President-elect Trump at this hour laying out his promises for Day One. You will hear him.
Plus, Trump's controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon speaking out and saying, "I'm not a racist."
And Trump meeting with America's first self-made Black billionaire. He's a Democrat. How did that conversation go? He's my guest tonight. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening, I'm Erin Burnett, OUTFRONT. Tonight, the breaking news, Trump releasing a new video, his first policy statement since his trip to the White House after the election. Trump breaking his silence, talking straight to camera in a somber tone laying out his priorities for Day One.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: My agenda will be based on a simple core principle, putting America first. Whether it's producing steel, building cars, or curing disease, I want the next generation of production and innovation to happen right here on our great homeland, America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump promised action on trade and immigration. His video to the American people bypassing the press as he kept up a furious round of interviews for cabinet contenders. The parade of visitors resembling the opening episodes of a new season of "The Apprentice," including introductions of the candidates with decisions on the winners imminent.
To date, Trump's nominations have been White males over a certain age. But Trump met with three women today including Iraq war vet and Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. In his video, Trump defended his transition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Our transition team is working very smoothly, efficiently, and effectively. Truly great and talented men and women. Patriots, indeed, are being brought in and many will soon be a part of our government, helping us to make America great again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Tonight, we are hearing Trump is close to a major announcement of Defense Secretary, his choice believed to be the retired Marine Corps General James Mattis, Trump calling him the real deal, extraordinary. Jim Acosta begins our coverage tonight OUTFRONT at Trump Tower.
And, Jim, what are the key takeaways from this new video? Again, very unorthodox, not in an interview, not anything normal, coming out on social media to the people.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. But vintage Donald Trump, I think that's one of the takeaways, Erin. But, you know, one of the things that we should point out in that video that Donald Trump expects in his first 100 days as one of his first executive actions is to officially pull out of the Trans-Pacific trade deal. That was the trade deal with a number of Asian and Pacific Rim countries that President Obama had basically failed to bring to the finish line during his presidency. That act, alone, could actually elevate China's presence in Asia and actually, China's President, earlier today, was saying that now they're going to take the leadership on trade in that region because the TPP is dead.
What was also notable, Erin, was what was missing in that video. No mention of a wall, no mention of repealing Obamacare. That's an indication that now the President-elect understands those two pieces of business might be a little bit tougher to deliver.
BURNETT: Yes, yes, yes, talking about visa policy but not a wall.
ACOSTA: Right.
BURNETT: And there was a lot of activity from where you are today from the transition team, Jim.
ACOSTA: That's right. It has been feeling like an episode of "The Apprentice" for the last several days here at Trump Tower and over in New Jersey where Donald Trump was meeting with a number of cabinet prospects. There were no declarations of you're hired or you're fired, but CNN has learned that Wilbur Ross, the American investor, is, at this point, the top candidate for becoming the next Secretary of Commerce. But, Erin, this is obviously not fully baked yet, and we are hearing rumblings that we could see his economic team rolled out tomorrow.
But no word yet whether or not Donald Trump will hold a press conference. He hasn't done that yet since winning the election. He goes on vacation down to Mar-a-Lago tomorrow without holding a press conference. That means we'll be into next week before the President- elect starts taking questions from reporters. That's another big indication that they know there are lots of questions out there for this new President. Erin.
BURNETT: There are a lot of questions. And right now, as you say, doing it his own way via this video. Thank you, Jim. Jessica Schneider is OUTFRONT now.
And, Jessica, the other big announcement we are waiting for from team Trump, of course, is Secretary of State. It appears the two top contenders are now the loyalist Giuliani versus, what is safe to say, Trump's extremely bitter rival, Mitt Romney.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, Erin, this essentially comes down to fierce loyalist versus that critic maybe now making nice. Mitt Romney is under active consideration for Secretary of State, but now it appears there may be some hurdles to clear. Sources are telling CNN that Donald Trump and Mitt Romney may need to work out through differences before any nomination for Secretary of State could be forthcoming.
[19:05:06] Of course, Mitt Romney, a fierce opponent and critic of Donald Trump, memorably back in March, going on that 20-minute tirade against Trump, calling him a phony and a fraud. But, of course, this weekend over in Bedminster, Donald Trump and Mitt Romney meeting for more than an hour. It's a meeting that both sides said was productive and cordial and substantive.
But then, of course, there's Rudy Giuliani. His name continues to linger. In fact, his was one of the first names that was mentioned as Secretary of State. The former mayor of New York has been a fierce loyalist, a staunch advocate, has stood by Donald Trump's side throughout this election. But, of course, in the past week or so, some of his business dealings have come under question that have maybe diminished his prominence in that running for Secretary of State.
So now, some other considerations that's being talked about for Rudy Giuliani include director of National Intelligence as well as Homeland Security secretary. So the question being, if Mitt Romney does, in fact, emerge as the nominee for Secretary of State, could he be, Erin, the ultimate player in that team of rivals?
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much.
And now, Carl Higbie, a former Navy SEAL, former spokesperson for a pro-Trump super PAC. Keith Boykin was a White House aide to President Bill Clinton. Jackie Kucinich is the Washington bureau chief of "The Daily Beast." Alex Berenson is a best-selling author and former reporter for "The New York Times." And David Gergen, who was adviser to four presidents including Reagan and Clinton.
Jackie, let me start with you. Trump releasing a video outlining his agenda for Day One. I saw him today. He is doing this his own way. He's not trying to go through the media, do press conferences, things like that. He is doing it very differently, not even doing a rally. Straight to the camera talking about his priorities.
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, it reminded me a little bit of what he used to do when he used to sit at his desk and just talk about things before he was even thinking of running. But, yes, this is a medium that Donald Trump is very comfortable with.
And that's what he seems to be going with at the beginning of this whole process, things that make him comfortable. He's at Trump Tower. He's out in Bedminster. He's keeping everything very close to vest, and we don't know the results until he decides to tell us.
So, hopefully, this isn't an indication of how the rest of the Trump administration is going to be. Hopefully, a little more open, a lot more open, but we'll have to wait and see. Because, as you said, there really is nothing to base any of this on.
BURNETT: And, David Gergen, this is the thing here. When you look at Donald Trump right now, he is doing things differently in such a way that he was able to evade his press pool when he went out to dinner. We know he loves the stage. He loves the spotlight, but he has largely been out of view since the election, not taking questions, and now putting out this all-important Day One announcement on social media straight to camera.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he's unpredictable, that's for sure. In some ways that, you know, make -- he's consistently unpredictable, let's put it that way.
BURNETT: Yes.
GERGEN: Just what strikes me, Erin, in all of this, is that he's very much -- and the way this has unfolded, he's very much remained in the spotlight, in control. You haven't seen any announcements so far which are the traditional kind, and that is the President-elect comes out, shoulder to shoulder, with the nominee for the State Department or the Defense Department or the Justice Department.
You know, it's people coming to bless, kiss the ring of Donald Trump, they leave, he does the T.V. stuff, and the spotlight remains on him. It's clear that whoever is in his cabinet has got to expect they're going to be playing a somewhat junior role. They're going to be out of the spotlight. He is running the show.
BURNETT: Which has to be a very big question for someone, Alex, like a Mitt Romney or a General Mattis --
GERGEN: Yes.
BURNETT: -- who, you know, want to do things their way.
ALEX BERENSON, FORMER REPORTER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: You know, I see it actually as exactly the opposite. I think there's a real chance here that this becomes sort of King Trump, that he appoints people -- and I think if he appoints Romney, you'll really see this -- and he kind of lets them do their thing.
BURNETT: Really?
BERENSON: And, you know, he hangs out at Mar-a-Lago, and, you know, he tweets about "Hamilton" when he likes. And he sort of appoints these people who are qualified and lets them run the show. You know, if you look at his history, he's not a very hands-on manager. And in general, he's been happier licensing his name than actually being involved in operations.
So I don't see this as -- you know, if you're Romney or, you know, you're Mattis, you're going to have to kiss the ring but then you're going to get to run your department, I think.
BURNETT: Which would be, obviously, different than many people expect how this would go, Carl. I mean, this, today, at least three women -- including Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, as I mentioned, Keith -- met with Donald Trump today. And she said in part, when she came out, that a lot of people say, you know what, you should have refused this meeting. You should not be meeting with Donald Trump. She says, no, I owe it to the American people to come together with him. Is she right about that?
KEITH BOYKIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Let Tulsi Gabbard make her own decisions about that. I don't know if I would have met with him or not, but I do think that there's a danger in normalizing what Donald Trump is doing. I don't necessarily agree with the idea that his nomination suggests people who are qualified. And I think the idea that he's picking people who are close to him or loyal to him, are people who represent viewpoints that are anathema to what America is all about, it should raise some questions for us.
[19:10:13] And the other thing is when we talk about this Secretary of State appointment?
BURNETT: Yes.
BOYKIN: Mitt Romney and Donald Trump working together does not sound like a formula for stability for America. It sounds like a recipe for disaster.
BERENSON: Right.
BOYKIN: And Mitt Romney would have to go and defend whatever Donald Trump says for four years.
BURNETT: So let me ask you that, Carl. Can Donald Trump trust Mitt Romney? All right.
CARL HIGBIE, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, GREAT AMERICA PAC: Yes.
BURNETT: So let's say that Alex is right and Mitt Romney gets to do his own thing, but it has to be Donald Trump's policy. Can Mitt Romney be trusted to go ahead with Donald Trump's policy when he ardently disagrees?
HIGBIE: And I think that's part of what the conversations they were having in there. And I think that, you know, look, throughout this campaign, loyalty to Trump breeds trust. Now, trust meets qualifications, and then you get an appointment. Now, if your qualifications are far superior to your loyalty during the campaign, then guess what, you still may get the job --
BURNETT: Over someone who's been loyal?
HIGBIE: Potentially, if your qualifications outweigh that. Now, Mitt Romney, look, he made the Olympics profitable. No one else has ever done that. I mean, this is guy who actually has -- you know, all right, say what you will and I had my big disagreements when he came out against Trump in the campaign, but he's a qualified guy for the job. Not my first choice, but qualified.
BURNETT: A guy that Donald Trump called a stone cold loser.
KUCINICH: And who is the opposite position on him on Russia. I mean --
BOYKIN: Not a bad thing to have a problem with.
HIGBIE: Right.
KUCINICH: Well -- oh, no, but what I'm saying is that's not usually what you seek for your Secretary of State. It's usually someone who's a little bit more in line with where you are. And, you know, I would say that maybe you're right, maybe he will let them run it. But I think he will make -- if he doesn't like what you're doing, he will make that known. We've already seen that with Donald Trump --
BURNETT: And it could be publicly humiliating.
KUCINICH: Exactly. Exactly.
BOYKIN: Yes. That's exactly right.
(CROSSTALK)
BERENSON: Right. You're right.
KUCINICH: Yes, he would not be shy.
GERGEN: Yes.
BURNETT: Right, yes.
HIGBIE: Yes. Yes, I'd agree.
BURNETT: All right. All staying with me. Next, Trump businesses spread over at least 25 countries around the world. So how can he not benefit financially from his new job?
Plus, Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, speaking out tonight saying he is not a racist. I'll ask my next guest, BET founder, Bob Johnson, whether he believes him.
And breaking news, an arrest in the execution-style shooting of a San Antonio police officer at this hour as three other officers are shot around this country in just a few hours.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:15:31] BURNETT: Breaking news tonight. Donald Trump's team insisting the President-elect is not breaking any laws as questions grow over his foreign business ties. CNN learning Trump has 150 companies that span the globe. That's 150 companies in about, what, 25 or more countries that can benefit his family's bottom line. Drew Griffin is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: It started with what was billed as a courtesy call, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slipping in a back elevator at Trump Tower to meet the President- elect. Trump's daughter, Ivanka, in attendance, but neither reporters nor their cameras were at the meeting which reportedly included a gift of Trump of a golf club like this one, a gold Honma Beres driver worth nearly $4,000. Then came the two businessmen from India who currently own Trump-branded properties south of Mumbai.
According to the Trump administration, it was just another social call, and --
KELLYANNE CONWAY, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: I'm very confident he's not breaking any laws.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): But the meeting is raising questions. While it's not illegal for a sitting president to run a business, it's a question of optics and ethics. A CNN analysis shows Trump has business dealings in at least 25 countries including Saudi Arabia, China, Azerbaijan. A month ago, there was worry that the Trump bran was being destroyed by his run from office.
But since November 8th, things have changed, and presidential ethics experts are saying the only possible solution to end all of Trump's conflicts of interest are for Trump to sell it all, put the money in a blind trust, and end the Trump Empire.
RICHARD PAINTER, PROFESSOR OF CORPORATE LAW, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Well, of course, a blind trust can work but you have to sell the assets. You can't just put the assets in a blind trust and pretend you don't own them.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Here's why that's probably not going to happen. A large part of Trump's business is Donald Trump. Trump's partners across the globe are buying the right to license that brand. It brings them more rent money for office space, condos, and hotel rooms. The brand also comes with the Trump Organization expertise in design, marketing, operations, almost like a franchise. Business partners buy in because it sells. And the Trumps stay involved to make sure the brand doesn't get tarnished.
Daniel Lebensohn, a south Florida developer, took over a failing Trump property and fought to keep the Trump brand because he wanted to make sure he had access to Ivanka and Eric Trump in almost every part of the deal.
DANIEL LEBENSOHN, TRUMP PARTNER: We wanted the association, they want the continuity of brand, and that works on both ends. It's profitable for everybody.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): In a Fox News debate earlier this year, Donald Trump said, instead of selling off the brand, his solution is to pass the brand to the people he has groomed to take it over. All named Trump, not exactly a blind trust.
TRUMP: I have Ivanka and Eric and Don sitting there. Run the company, kids. Have a good time. I'm going to do it for America, OK?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Erin, back in January, before a single primary was held, Donald Trump's attorney told me the organization was already, at that time, working on some sort of contingency plan for the business should Trump win. Well, that attorney wouldn't get into the details then, he's not answering my calls today. I think we're just going to have to wait and see what kind of business the Trump Organization will be during the presidency and more importantly, Erin, who is going to run it. Erin.
COSTELLO: All right. Drew, thank you very much.
It is, of course, the all-important question. Let me bring back my panel. And, Carl, let me start with you. Trump, as we saw, meeting with two businessmen from India.
HIGBIE: Right.
COSTELLO: They currently own Trump-branded properties over there and, you know, Trump's -- look at this. Here they are with his trademark thumbs up. Look, it makes a lot of people uncomfortable.
HIGBIE: Right. And you have, you know, what they've always said, the government has always said, you have to avoid the illusion, not avoid conflict of interest, the illusion of. Now, he needs to say -- and I'll say this, you know, obviously, I'm a super Trump guy here. But he needs to decide blind trust, kids -- are his kids part of the administration? Are they part of the business? He needs to make a definitive line on that really soon because either way, if he puts in a blind trust and his name is still on it, he's still going to want to promote it. He's still going to want to make sure that it's profitable. If his kids are in charge, obviously, he wants his family to succeed.
Look, you're never going to separate Trump entirely from this, but can draw a very thick line right through the middle of it and he has to do it soon.
BURNETT: And, Alex, because here's the thing, he's going to benefit. The brand will benefit. I mean, there are some places it won't benefit, right?
BERENSON: You know there are some --
(LAUGHTER)
BERENSON: Right.
BURNETT: West side of Manhattan, people don't like Trump. They rip his name down. OK, fine. But around the world, you're going to have countries where they're going to say, you know what, let's give them this deal.
BERENSON: Yes.
BURNETT: Let's do that. Because they think it gets them in with him.
[19:20:00] BERENSON: I mean, what we -- you got to recognize, this is going to be a presidency like no other presidency. OK? And whether Donald Trump explicitly says it or not, he is thinking like -- and he probably will come out and say this at some point -- the people who elected me knew I was a billionaire businessman, knew I had properties around the world --
BURNETT: And they don't care if I profit off this job?
BERENSON: -- and they don't care. That's right, as long as America gets better. That's what he's going to say, and it may even be true. You know, and this is not -- this will be a blond trust, OK? Not a blind trust with Ivanka running it. The idea that she won't ask him for advice or he won't know what's going on if it's her or if it's one of the other kids, it's ridiculous. Of course, they will.
KUCINICH: But what shouldn't happen is what happened with the Trump International Hotel this week, where you had foreign diplomats invited, saying we encourage you to have your delegations here.
BOYKIN: Right, right.
BERENSON: I totally agree.
KUCINICH: Things like that, that's kind of active solicitation, I guess, if, in fact, it was. I mean, it does --
BERENSON: I just don't -- I think we're going to have to put up with this stuff.
KUCINICH: Do we?
BOYKIN: We don't have to put up with this. There are laws against this, and they are in danger of violating the laws. I think the Trump administration needs to do three things. First, they have to release his tax returns regardless of --
BURNETT: OK, not going to happen.
HIGBIE: It's not going to happen.
BOYKIN: Yes, I'm just --
HIGBIE: We have trailed that (ph).
BOYKIN: I'm just saying if you want to have any -- BURNETT: I'm sorry, Keith. That was a big pile-on --
BOYKIN: I don't -- I'm just --
BURNETT: -- but it's not going to happen. Go ahead.
BOYKIN: I'm just saying it needs to happen. The idea that we think it's not going to happen and we think it's acceptable or accountable is ridiculous. But it's --
BURNETT: No, I don't think it's acceptable at all.
BOYKIN: No --
BURNETT: I just don't think it's going to happen. OK. Let's get to the point and we'll get David in.
BOYKIN: Regardless, he's got to release his tax returns.
GERGEN: Hold on, hold on.
BOYKIN: He's got to release his tax returns, first. He's got to divest his holdings from all international companies where he's receiving money from foreign government --
HIGBIE: Also not going to happen.
BOYKIN: -- because the Enrollment Clause of the constitution requires he does that, or get an exception from the United States Congress. And third, he's got to have a blind trust that is separate from his family members. If we don't hold him accountable for that, then we are allowing the most corrupt potential administration in history to take office.
BURNETT: But you are right, the only way to have a conflict of interest is for him to sell the company and put it in a blind trust.
BERENSON: Right.
BURNETT: The chances of that happening, at this point, are close to zero.
GERGEN: Yes.
BURNETT: Go ahead, David Gergen.
GERGEN: The chances are close to zero, but he should stop laughing at ethics laws and then the rest of us as Americans. It's absolutely clear. Just as his conservative friends are saying, "The Wall Street Journal" has editorialized he ought to liquidate his total interest. And then once he's liquidated it, put everything, put all the assets into a blind trust.
BURNETT: Right.
HIGBIE: So he's going to listen to the same 500 people -- GERGEN: Peter Schweitzer, you know, wrote Clinton cash. You know, he's a very tough book on the Clintons. He's urging him to do it. But the danger here is, once again, we're being ask to normalize something that is abnormal and is improper.
And, you know, I can't believe that 24 hours after this alt-right conference ended in Washington, D.C., you know, and Breitbart -- and Bannon said Breitbart is the main platform for the alt-right. And what do we do? We have a conference in Washington, D.C., that is overtly racist, overtly anti-Semitic and basically is White supremacy. And we're all sort of saying, well, that's just Donald Trump, that's just Bannon. You know, that's acceptable --
KUCINICH: No.
BERENSON: No.
HIGBIE: No.
KUCINICH: We wrote about that at "The Daily Beast." Absolutely not.
HIGBIE: There, I agree with you.
BOYKIN: Yes, but if --
HIGBIE: That, he's got to disassociate himself from.
BOYKIN: But if Hillary Clinton had done half of the things that Donald Trump has done in the past week, the entire establishment and the media would be eviscerating her. Why are we letting Donald Trump get away with this? He is in danger of violating the constitution and the laws of our country.
BURNETT: So, Alex, are you saying you think it's OK, or you're just saying it's going to happen?
BERENSON: I don't -- I am saying it's going to happen and --
BURNETT: Congress isn't going to hold him accountable?
BERENSON: That's right.
KUCINICH: But we have to.
BERENSON: He's not going to get impeached over any of this. And I think it's wise to remember. He doesn't run a defense company, OK? He doesn't run an oil company. He licenses his name --
BURNETT: But he's going to benefit every day from this.
BERENSON: -- to fancy hotels.
BURNETT: And that license value is going to rise in certain parts of the world.
BERENSON: I agree. But if you thought that wasn't going to happen when you voted for him, you're crazy. Like, people knew what they were they were getting.
BOYKIN: Yes, but he promised.
GERGEN: No, he did not.
BOYKIN: He said he was going to have the cleanest, most ethical administration. He was going to have all these ethics rules he was going to follow. He was going to drain the swamp.
BERENSON: Right, wouldn't release his tax --
BOYKIN: He was going to --
BERENSON: We were not supposed to take him seriously, basically. Did you take him seriously?
BOYKIN: Of course, I didn't. But apparently, somebody did because he got elected.
BERENSON: No, people voted for him --
BOYKIN: And now, we have to hold him accountable for what he said he was going to do.
HIGBIE: He hasn't even taken office yet.
BURNETT: Final thought, Carl.
HIGBIE: Once he takes office, he needs to actually separate these and he really needs to start doing it soon. But the fact is Hillary Clinton did far worse than this while she was in office. He hasn't done anything wrong yet.
BOYKIN: That is patently false.
HIGBIE: Oh, that's rich. That is -- yes.
BOYKIN: And now we have a President-elect --
KUCINICH: Here's the thing. He is now President.
BOYKIN: -- who is not even going to be --
KUCINICH: He is now going to be President. And he needs to be accountable.
HIGBIE: Yes.
BURNETT: Why are we talking about Hillary Clinton anymore? She lost.
HIGBIE: Yes. Yes.
KUCINICH: Fine.
BOYKIN: Well, he brought it up, so.
BURNETT: Thanks --
BOYKIN: Well, no --
BURNETT: Thanks to all. I will say there is only one way to do it, if there's not going to be a conflict of interest, and that is sell the company and put the proceeds in a blind trust.
BOYKIN: Right.
BURNETT: There is only way. OUTFRONT next, Trump's new team so far, all White men. But he did meet with America's first African-American billionaire. What did Trump say? And I'll ask my guest, the BET founder, Bob Johnson.
[19:24:31] Plus, breaking news. An arrest in the execution-style killing of a police officer in Texas. We're going to go to the ground.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news. President-elect Donald Trump is denouncing racism from the alt-right. The White nationalist movement cheered Trump at a conference this weekend using anti-Semitic language and even giving the Nazi salute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD B. SPENCER, WHITE NATIONALIST: Hail Trump. Hail our people. Hail victory.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The Trump transition team just responding to that alt-right conference saying, quote, "President-elect Trump has continued to denounce racism of any kind, and he was elected because he will be a leader for every American. To think otherwise is a complete misrepresentation of the movement that united Americans from all backgrounds."
This comes as Steve Bannon, Trump's controversial chief strategist, is fighting back against accusations that he supports White nationalists and anti-Semites. Brian Todd is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He says darkness is good. He says Dick Cheney, Darth Vader, Satan, that's power.
Steve Bannon, the rumpled 62-year-old who once headed Breitbart News, now has the ear of the President-elect, and many worry he will push the platform of the so-called alt-right.
KURT BARDELLA, FORMER MEDIA CONSULTANT FOR BREITBART NEWS: We have, in our history, have never had someone like Steve, with the platform that he has had at Breitbart, come in to, basically, be the co-chief of staff, you know, running the White House and running the agenda of the President.
TODD (voice-over): Civil rights groups like the Anti-Defamation League say the alt-right movement is just code for White supremacists and anti-Semites.
[19:30:01] The Southern Poverty Law Center says Bannon has to go. Bannon pushes back telling "The Wall Street Journal," quote, "Breitbart is the most pro-Israel site in the United States of America. We're in a leader in the reporting of young Jewish students being harassed on American campuses."
On the acquisition that he has at least loosely addressed white nationalism, Bannon told the "Hollywood Reporter," quote, "I'm not a white nationalist. I'm a nationalist. I'm an economic nationalist."
A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR & COLUMNIST, REALCLEARPOLITICS: What Bannon says is he is anti-globalist, anti-elite, anti-establishment and he's an economic populist because he believes that the system has hurt and hindered the little guy. Has nothing to do with race, religion or anything else.
TODD: Bannon jumped on the Trump train early on. Telling Trump last year he was a big admirer.
STEVE BANNON, TRUMP ADVISOR: I said, look, people are leaning forward in these audiences when he was talking. Of course, we were mocked and ridiculed.
TODD: Now, it's Bannon who's mocking and ridiculing the mainstream media, who he blames for failing to recognize the frustration of Americans left behind in the global economy. Quote, "It's just a circle of people talking themselves who have no f-ing idea what's going on. If 'The New York Times' didn't exist, CNN and MSNBC would be a test pattern."
Kurt Bardella, who quit Breitbart, feeling it'd become a mouthpiece for Trump, is critical of Bannon. He sees that "darkness is good" remark as chilling.
KURT BARDELLA, FORMER MEDIA CONSULTANT FOR BREITBART: I think that's very much how Steve views the world. The worst emotions among us can be weaponized and used to advance an agenda. And I think a lot of what you saw in the Trump campaign and what you'll see going forward is tapping into anger and fear and hate to try to move their agenda forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: The Trump transition team did not respond to our numerous requests for response to that particular criticism and Steve Bannon did not comment for this story -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Brian Todd, thank you very much. And OUTFRONT now, one of the people who met with the President-elect
Trump as he decides key administration positions. Bob Johnson, the founder of BET. And you can see Johnson shaking hands here with the president-elect before their meeting at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
And, Bob, thank you much for taking the time. Good to talk to you again.
And I want to start with the breaking news if I could here. You know, Trump denouncing racism from the alt-right. You heard his statement, "President-elect Trump has continued to denounce racism of any kind. To think otherwise is a complete misrepresentation."
Is this enough? Do you believe him?
BOB JOHNSON, BET FOUNDER, MET WITH PRES-ELECT TRUMP ON SUNDAY: Well, Erin, I'm glad to be here with you. I had a very positive, and I believe, frank and candid discussion with President-elect Trump on issues that I believe are important to African-Americans and obviously any charges of racism are important to African-Americans.
I came away from that meeting understanding that President Trump is committed to reaching out to African-Americans in a way that I expressed to him when I said, you know, President-elect Trump, don't say to black Americans what do you have to lose? Say to black Americans, what do you have to gain by a Trump presidency?
And in the course of my conversation with him, we talked about a number of issues if implemented by President Trump and his administration will demonstrate that African-Americans have something to gain by establishing a common ground with the -- with President- elect Trump and his administration.
BURNETT: You know, I think it's fascinating to have this conversation with you. You know, we just saw a moment ago, I'll just replay it quickly, what happened at this conference which I want to make it clear, the Trump administration, Trump campaign, has just come out and very clearly said that they denounce this, but here is the group that was out, you know, championing them, supporting them this weekend.
Let me just play, again, this Nazi salute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hail Trump. Hail our people. Hail victory.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Does it disturb you? How do you get your arms around the fact that you got people like that supporting him, but you had what you described as a positive, frank and candid meeting, and you think he's reaching out to black America? JOHNSON: You know, as an African-American who's been in business and
had to come up and grow up from someone who was the first to go to college, to create successful businesses and create wealth for myself and a number of other African-Americans, I know that there are people like that in America, it's been that way ever since slavery existed in this country and they're not going to go away tomorrow or the next day.
And so, as a black American, I put those people in a certain corner and I put the president and the people who work for him in another corner and that means to me, they got to show me what they're going to deliver to make those kinds of silly, you know, Nazi behavior irrelevant to black America.
[19:35:09] And the proof is in the pudding. If you want to demonstrate to African-Americans that you totally reject that kind of behavior, which I believe Donald Trump and his administration does, then the next question is, OK, we understand that, show me how you're going to help African-Americans gain economic growth in this country, jobs, access to capital, and all the things that make you successful in this country. And so, you know, that information doesn't bait me to put on the back of Donald Trump.
BURNETT: And when you had your meeting with him, was it just you and Donald Trump? Was his son-in-law also there, Jared Kushner? Who was else in the room as you had your conversation, Bob?
JOHNSON: Yes, I don't want to throw names around, Erin, but I will tell you it was the -- it was a group of people who he most respects and brought those people to the table because I think he wanted to have a candid conversation with me, to talk about how he can better reach out to the African-American community, particularly on business matters.
I approach this thing with the focus on business solutions and social problems. I'm not a politician. I'm not a community leader. I'm more involved in business. Donald's in business. I think that's the reason we had a very positive, I believe, and productive conversation.
BURNETT: And before we go, you are a Democrat, of course, Bob, you supported Hillary Clinton. You're talking very positively now about Donald Trump. Was there any talk about you working with Donald Trump in his administration?
JOHNSON: No. I -- well, I told him that I had no interest in working in a government, but let me say that you're absolutely right, I'm a tremendous fan of Hillary Clinton and president Clinton, known her them for over 30 years.
But I'm also a believer that as African-Americas, we should not have what one congressman who started the Black Caucus said, no permanent friends, no permanent enemies and no permanent -- we only should have permanent interests. And if black Americans can turn the Republican Party into a friend, they should do it. If they can keep the Democratic Party as a friend, they should do it. Our interests should focus on our self-interests and not be locked in
one party or ignored by the other party. And as President Obama and Hillary Clinton said, if we can find common ground with President- elect Trump, we ought to do it in the best interest of African- Americans, best interest of the country.
BURNETT: All right. Well, it's very good to talk to you, Bob. I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.
JOHNSON: Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: Next, Mike Pence says the "Hamilton" cast didn't offend him. So, why can't Trump let it go?
And the breaking news: an arrest in an execution-style shooting of a San Antonio police officer, as three other officers are shot in four cities in this country in a day. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:00] BURNETT: Breaking news, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey breaking his silence over the rumors that he and Donald Trump are now at odds. Christie says, nothing could be further from the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), FORMER TRUMP TRANSITION HEAD: There's never been a crossword between us in terms of our feelings toward each other.
INTERVIEWER: So, all this stuff where he was disappointed in you because of bridge-gate, he was angry and all of it -- all of that, none of that ever --
CHRISTIE: All crap, yes.
INTERVIEWER: None of that ever happened?
CHRISTIE: Crap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It comes as President-,elect Trump finds himself at odds with "Saturday Night Live" and the Broadway show "Hamilton" hammering both in a series of tweets.
Brian Stelter is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRANDON DIXON, ACTOR IN "HAMILTON": Conversation is not harassment.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's "Hamilton" star Brandon Dixon, responding to Donald Trump's Twitter fight with the most acclaimed show on Broadway. Trump lashed out at the cast tweeting they harass, future VP Mike
Pence -- after Dixon delivered this message following Friday night's performance with Pence right there in the room.
DIXON: We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us.
STELTER: With the president-elect back in firm control of his Twitter account, he's not letting go of any perceived slight, calling the cast rude and writing, "The cast and producers of 'Hamilton', which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior."
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: They were very inappropriate.
STELTER: And Trump's ire is not just reserve for "Hamilton."
ALEC BALDWIN AS DONALD TRUMP: Google, what is ISIS?
STELTER: After "SNL" portrayed him as in over his head, Trump fired back on Twitter. "It is a totally one-sided biased show. Nothing funny at all. Equal time for us?"
Alec Baldwin who plays Trump responded, "Equal time? Election is over. There is no more equal time. Now, you try to be president and people respond. That's pretty much it".
Trump's former campaign manager says his fiery tweeting is a nonissue.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Why do you care? In other words, who's to say that he can't do that, make a comment, spend five minutes on a tweet? You're assigning malice, you're assigning wrongdoing to him where it doesn't exist and I think we all should have learned a lesson from the election that that doesn't fly with the voters.
STELTER: Some media watchers are worried that Trump's tendency to lash out could over time hurt free speech. Others say a thicker skin would just serve him well.
BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: He's going to be made fun of as he should be. Any president will be and should be. He's got such a thin skin he can't just shrug it off.
STELTER: Shrug it off is exactly what Mike Pence did after the stars of "Hamilton" spoke up.
MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: I wasn't offended by what was said. I'll leave to others whether it was the appropriate venue to say it.
STELTER: Whether Trump can take a cue from his V.P. and tone down his reactions remains to be seen.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STELTER: And now, this "Hamilton" debate really shows the Trump divide in action. His critics say he's being unpresidential by tweeting his complaints. But as voters, his fans, say they love that he's sticking up to his V.P. and sticking it to the elites.
[19:45:05] And so, the culture war rolls on -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Brian.
And OUTFRONT now, columnist for "The Daily Beast" Sally Kohn, and the host of "The Ben Ferguson Show", Ben Ferguson.
Sally, you're with me so let me start with you.
President-elect Trump says Mike Pence was harassed at the Broadway show, deserves an apology and should never happen in a place like theater. Is he in the right?
SALLY KOHN, THE DAILY BEAST: No, it just should just happen in Twitter and our elections and our White House. Look, two points to be made here. One, the deep irony, not only is Trump demanding an apology from anyone else, but that Mr. I Ran Against Political Correctness and Safe Spaces suddenly wants a safe space for his vice presidential, you know, running mate, like that's just sad.
The bigger thing here, though, this, I do believe, whether it was orchestrated or taken advantage of by Trump in order to distract from the Trump University settlement, news of his meetings with Indian business executives where he has comingled business interests, this just seems like a massive distraction orchestrated by Mr. Trump.
BURNETT: Ben?
BEN FERGUSON, THE BEN FERGUSON SHOW: Sally, the fact that you'd have to have mind control over the "Hamilton" group that decided to chastise the vice president, incoming vice president, in a classless way, showing no respect for the voters of this country, showing no respect for the office, and showing no respect for not only just a man who came to be entertained. This was not the right venue for this and to say that somehow this is a distraction from other issues is hysterical because they couldn't control the classlessness of the "Hamilton" cast in a way decided to say, hey, get your cell phones out and tape this, let it go viral. They obviously got punked at their own game.
And let me say this about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is not going to be orthodox, we all know that. But you know what? He can get it off his chest and say what he thinks and his supporters love him for doing this, without having a press conference. Because let's be honest, he was going to be asked about this by the media. So preemptively, he says, here are my thoughts on "Hamilton," the way they treated my vice president. And he might deal with it a different way, but I'm going to say what I exactly what I think, and people love him for it.
KOHN: First of all, the cast of "Hamilton" is classless? Mike Pence very well knew what he was getting into. By the way, in New York he could have -- he could have seen -- he could have seen "The Lion King" and gotten -
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: He said it was a good play.
FERGUSON: Come on.
BURNETT: Which reviews do show that it is, Ben. Even though Trump says it's not.
KOHN: The larger issue, to say the cast of "Hamilton" was not classy --
FERGUSON: Sally, when you go to a play, you don't expect they're going to turn political on you and the audience.
Let's be clear, when he goes there -- sally, sally, sally, let's be honest here. When you go to a play, whether you're Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, or Mike Pence or Donald Trump, you're not expecting for the entire cast to come out and say, hey, everybody in the audience, get your cell phones out and start tweeting this because it's about to get good and we're going after that guy in a political statement. That's absurd.
KOHN: So, that's classless, but when Donald Trump talks about, you know, women as fat pigs and grabbing them by the -- that's classless.
FERGUSON: That's not what we're talking about here, Sally.
KOHN: Let me take a point, that queasy feeling that we're all feeling it --
FERGUSON: No, not all of us are.
KOHN: The queasy feel is the tail of Donald Trump wagging the media. This is three days later. So, I don't care what you say, Ben. We're still talking about this. We're not talking about his questionable business --
BURNETT: We are. We actually have already done that this hour.
KOHN: I don't mean just we generally, but when you look at the Google searches of what actually was trending in searches and conversations across America, across the public, driven by media but other dynamics --
FERGUSON: Sally, if you don't like it --
KOHN: Ben, I'm saying he managed to get this conversation to trump conversations about his university, his debacle settlement. So, come on.
FERGUSON: Sally.
KOHN: He's playing us. We're playing into it.
FERGUSON: If you don't like it --
BURNETT: Final word. Sally started.
FERGUSON: If you don't like it, then maybe you should look at the cast of "Hamilton" and say, this was a bad mistake. This was a bad idea. And when people come to a play, show a little bit of class and respect for the office. If someone did this to Barack Obama or Joe Biden, I would condemn it because it's not the place to do it.
BURNETT: Just because one is classless does not mean someone else has the right to be classless.
KOHN: Pretty classy statement.
BURNETT: All right, thank you, both.
And OUTFRONT next, breaking news, a horrific school bus crash in Tennessee.
And Texas police making an arrest in the execution-style of a San Antonio police officer. We'll go to the ground after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:53:16] BURNETT: And we're following breaking news at this moment. A deadly bus crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Authorities saying tonight there are at least six children dead. It was a single-vehicle crash, horrible tragedy. That bus carrying as many as 35 children from kindergarten through fifth grade.
You can see that bus here. The roof partially crushed. The bus driver said to be cooperating with police. The blood bank reports the line of donors to help injured children stretches out past the door.
We're also following breaking news out of Texas, police have a man who shot and killed an officer in San Antonio. Fifty-year-old detective Benjamin Marconi was writing a ticket in his police car, just doing his job, he was then shot execution-style twice in the head. Marconi one of four officers shot in four different cities in this nation in the span of 24 hours.
Dan Simon is OUTFRONT. He is San Antonio tonight.
And, Dan, this had been a manhunt. Obviously just an absolutely horrific thing to imagine someone could do something like this. What do you know right now about the suspect who was arrested?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, as you can imagine, there is unbearable sadness here in San Antonio, but there is also relief that the suspect has been caught. He has been identified as 31-year- old Otis Tyrone McCain. Police tell us they quickly developed some surveillance and they actually executed a traffic stop inside the vehicle. There was McCain as well as an adult female as well as a child, a 2-year-old. Police say he was arrested without incident.
This is what police had to say just a short time ago. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF WILLIAM MCMANUS, SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT: There are many facets of the case which still need to be investigated. This investigation is by no means over.
[19:55:00] The motive for the capital murder is still unknown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: So while this active manhunt is over, we still don't know why the suspect targeted this police officer or if he actually did target this officer. Was there some kind of personal grievance? Or was there a grievance against the police department as a whole? That we don't know, Erin, but as the mayor said tonight, at least the city of San Antonio can breathe a little easier -- Erin.
BURNETT: I mean, in that sense, finding him obviously crucial. It's awful to imagine the pain his family is going through.
And, Dan, four shootings of officers in just 24 hours. Any sense as to why all of this in just one day?
SIMON: It's really a mystery, and it's really sort of unprecedented. We haven't seen this really in quite some time or even ever to have four officers shot around the country within 24 hours. What we can tell you is that at least authorities here in San Antonio don't think there's any relation between what happened here and what happened elsewhere in the country, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Dan Simon, thank you very much.
And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: And thanks so much to all of you for joining us. Don't forget, you can watch OUTFRONT any time, anywhere on CNN Go.
"AC360" begins right now.
