Return to Transcripts main page

Quest Means Business

Trump Denies Transitions Problems; Merkel and Obama Defend Globalization; Twitter Suspends "Alt-Right" Accounts; Huffington: Trump Election is a Wake-Up Call; Baidu Launches Driverless Car

Aired November 16, 2016 - 00: 16   ET

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

[16:00:00] PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Winning streak is over, maybe the Trump rally is take a little breather. We'll see. It's Wednesday,

November 16th. Tonight, smooth transition or towering inferno. Donald Trump denies there's any infighting as he prepares to take power.

Angela Merkel and Barack Obama say globalization is not dead yet. I'll speak to the former head of the WTO. Twitter takes a hard line on the hard

right. I'm Paula Newton, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Tonight, Donald Trump insists his transition planning is on track as leaks though from Trump Tower tell a very different story. Now Donald Trump used

Twitter, again, to shoot down reports of infighting. He's tweeted, "Very organized process taking place as I decide on cabinet and many other

positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are." Now Trump's communications director Jason Miller spoke with CNN earlier today.

He said any report that is being mismanaged is just whining from sore losers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MILLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM: I think some of this house intrigue really where I think this comes from usually is

folks who either aren't up for jobs, who might be maybe a little bit bitter, or some people who are just maybe bitter that the election didn't

go their way last week. I think what that lot of this is. Again, it's certain folks who maybe are on the outside looking in who want to go in and

try to cause chaos and their bit to try to make some negative headlines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now on Donald Trump's show, you remember the one, "The Apprentice", it would take an entire season to hire one person. Let's call

this process the advisors with 4,000 people to hire. It's no surprise there's been a little drama. The board room in this case, the cabinet

room, and it's filling up. Needs to be filled up.

Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner has a starring role. He emerged as one of the most trusted advisors during the campaign. But he was at

odds with another key figure, Chris Christie. The acrimony is intensely personal. Chris Christie prosecuted Kushner's father, threw him in jail,

and he was sentenced to stayed there for two years. Last week Christie was demoted from his position as head of the transition team. Mike Pence took

over that seat at the table. Kushner has reportedly tried to purge Christie's allies from the team. One of the casualties, former Congressman

Mike Rogers. He was removed on Monday. Trump's children meantime play supporting roles just as that did in "The Apprentice". Sources tells CNN

the campaign asked about the possibility of them getting security clearance. Campaign spokesperson Jason Miller said no official request has

been made.

David Gergen served as advisor to presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. I'm going to tell you he is the insider to end all insiders.

David, when you look at this process, what do you think? Is this how the game is played or are there some moments here that are really giving you

pause?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, all transitions are bumping President-elect's only have a very short time. Early American

history after you were elected you had four months to prepare. We constitutionally cut that in half basically. And which means there's a lot

to do. Especially in finding those top hundred out of the 4,000 appointments. So, they're all bumpy. I must say, this is bumpier than any

I have seen. We don't know everything that's happening. Mr. Trump himself has been basically holed up in Trump Tower for the most of the last few

days. Went out once to dinner, but as far as we know, that's the only time he's been out.

And we don't have any cabinet appointments yet. Much more importantly, Paula, are these reports that are coming out. The "New York Times" lead

paragraph, lead story today, two column story, Trump campaign -- Trump transition in disarray. CNN has reported that source told them with regard

to, you know, appointments and who's going to be appointed. There's a knife fight going on inside.

We've also had reports that various foreign leaders, some of gotten through, but it's a little chaotic. People don't know what number to call

in the Trump Tower. All of that has, I think, not played to Mr. Trump's favor. He's fighting back, pushing back. He think the press is still out

to get him and there's a lot of animosity towards the press. Nonetheless, I think what overall has left the country wondering what is going on and

most importantly, what is this going to say about the quality and the mentality of those who come out on the process. We don't know that yet, we

don't have clear signals. We have conflicting signals on those questions.

[16:05:05] NEWTON: Yes, not to mention that anyone who gets a position needs to still be vetted. You still have to go through all that. I mean,

David, what do you think it says ultimately about the administration to come? Because we have heard of rocky transitions before. And then

sometimes with success or mixed success, I mean look, the government gets along and they still go on to really fulfill their policy. The promises

you have. Do you think this is a bad sign?

GERGEN: Well, I do think that transitions that have been rocky. The rockiest ones have tended to lead to for a stumbling start coming out of

the gate. They're really well-managed transitions and the two best in recent history have been John F. Kennedy, got off to a smooth start with

the country and Ronald Reagan. Who had a very -- I happened to be part of that transition and I can tell you that it was a very buttoned up, well-

organized by James Baker who wound up of course, ultimately being Treasury Secretary and then Secretary of State for the United States. That was

extremely well-organized. People hit the ground running.

I think in this case, Paula, you have to give them some slack. This is, you know, Donald Trump himself has never had to spend a day in public

service, but a lot of the people around him have never been in the positions where they had to organize like this. It's not totally

surprising, but I do think what's been disturbing to many is that -- in an atmosphere which many, many Americans are fearful, the reaction of this is

-- the election itself has been unprecedented. But with so many people in this country feeling insecure, feeling threatened, feeling marginalized.

Whether you're a woman or Muslin or African-American or gay, a lot of different groups have been offended and felt insulted and they feel now

maybe that Trump administration is going to be hostile to them in one way or another, anti-Semitic and all the rest.

And the two early appointments. The only two we have. We had one that was very establishment-type Republican who is going to be now Chief of Staff

for the president, but the other is this man, Steve Bannon who comes out of Breitbart, this alternative right website. That is that has said a lot of

signals that have been extremely disturbing to the public. But give it a little bit more time, let's see how the team rounds out. But I can tell

you right now, there's extreme nervousness about what the administration is going to come to represent. Starting with climate, but a lot of other

issues. Climate accords, you know, whether he's going to pull out of Paris. Whether he's going to pull out of the Iranian deal, all the rest.

NEWTON: And that's the problem. As this transition continues, and as it seems a bit more stalled and mired in acrimony, you've got the issues

literally piling up on the President-elect's desk. David, I don't have a lot of time, but quickly, what would be your advice to Trump who has said

explicitly that look, I like competition in the people below me. I like to kind of mix it up. I feel like I get the best out of my people. Would you

tell him to abandon that? That's not the way to runt U.S. government?

GERGEN: I do think he has a history of that and I think he ought to avoid it now. I think he needs to smooth this out. Very importantly, Paula. I

think he really has to address these deep insecurities and fear that people have. I think he has to really make it very, very clear, major speech,

saying he is going to respect the rights of all Americans. He will not diminish or threaten those rights. This is going to be an administration

for every American. And of every color, of every background, of every sexual preference. I cannot emphasize enough how much fear there is on

people who were not -- the Trump voters are obviously very pleased, but there are an awful lot of people who are fearful.

NEWTON: And it continues, we'll continue to follow it with you. David Gergen there, appreciate it.

Now as Trump prepares to put his stamp on the White House. At one place in New York, his legacy is already being dismantled. Residents of three

apartment buildings in what was called, Trump Place, petitioned to have the name taken down. That work began today. CNNMoney's Cristina Alesci has

been following this story. Trump doesn't own those properties which is the only reason why they could take the name off the building. Right?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Just to put this into context who don't understand what that neighborhood is. To say that it's a

blue area is really an understatement. The Upper Westside is really the nexus is of liberal values in New York, in New York City, really. So, the

fact that his name is coming down off of those buildings is not too much of a shocker, but we have been trying to understand, what impact his

presidential run and now the election has on his brand. And that is a very difficult question to answer, because all of the evidence as we see today,

is pretty anecdotal. And to your point, even if we have that anecdotal evidence, like this name coming off the building. It doesn't mean that his

bottom line will be directly impacted, right. The condos next door to these buildings will still have his name and he and his company does manage

those condominiums according to our reporting.

[16:10:05] NEWTON: And as you said, it's a broader issue right now. A lot of people trying to factoring in, is this good for his brand or bad for his

brand? He's on the record saying who cares about the brand.

ALESCI: Well, OK. Well the pushback there is if you don't care about the brand, why don't you sell all of your companies? Why doesn't your daughter

sell her company and just focus on the biggest task at hand and so that everybody isn't distracted by these questions about how much is your brand

worth? Is there a conflict of interest? So, the pushback there is, yes, being president is the more important task. Why don't you just focus on

that.

NEWTON: I'm intrigued by the fact that the clock is ticking. So, as we were just talking to David Gergen. Donald Trump trying to put together his

team. Doesn't have a heck of a lot of time to do that. And yet the clock is also ticking on his businesses and how he's going to handle those

conflicts of interest. He's got to figure this out before January 20th.

ALESCI: Right, and the plan that he put forward, the proposals, the very limited details that we have that kind of give us a picture into what he's

thinking, is he's going to hand these businesses over to his children. Well, that really doesn't solve the conflict of interest problem according

to ethics experts I spoke to on both sides of the aisle. Both Democrats and Republicans who were lawyers for former presidents say look, this plan

doesn't pass muster. From a legal standpoint, he could probably keep control of those assets and he won't run afoul of any statutory laws. I

should say, he won't run afoul of any laws, but there is a section in the constitution that says that the president or any federal official can't

accept money from foreign governments. And that is the area where he can actually have a, little bit of risk.

NEWTON: And that piece of the law is so interesting. We'll continue to explore. Remember, no conflict of interest for him. Unlike his whole

cabinet, but we've got this foreign issue we're dealing with. Cristina Alesci continues to follow this story for us. Thank you so much.

Now one of the front runners to be Trump's Treasury Secretary says the team is still working on economic policies. Steve Mnuchin was finance chairman

for the Trump campaign and sources say when he joined it, he made it clear he wanted to leave the treasury in a Trump administration. Although

Mnuchin worked at Goldman Sachs for 17 years. His most recent job was yes, as a Hollywood producer. Earlier, he was tight lipped about his future

role.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN MNUCHIN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN NATIONAL FINANCE CHAIRMAN: Right now, we're just still in the planning stage as you can see. You want to be in a

position where in the first 100 days, we can execute the economic plan.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know when the press conference is going to be?

MNUCHIN: Not commenting on any of that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Staff being named?

MNUCHIN: Again, I'm really focused on the policies right now and getting things down. Thank you, everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Mr. Mnuchin, there speaking from the location where we find Donald Trump who is not in Washington. No. Sara Murray is in Washington and

joins us with the latest developments about what's going on there. I mean, Sarah, we just spoke with David Gergen, and we spoke with Cristina Alesci.

We've been talking about not just the confusion within the transition, but also just a confusion with what Trump is going to do with his businesses.

From what you're hearing from inside this campaign, is this it hyperbole. Are we making too much out of this? Or are you hearing in fact that the

turmoil continues?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well look, I think that part of these are two separate questions. Yes, there's been turmoil in the transition

team. And Joe Biden himself came out today and said nobody is ready as soon as they are elected to take the White House. And I think that's

certainly true, but normally, you have nominee or a President-elect who is at least been somewhat engaged in their transition or feel like they know

and trust the people who are running it. And that really wasn't the case when it came to Donald Trump. You put Chris Christie in charge of it. At

the time when their relationship was better. It has soured. And they really didn't know who all these people were who were leading the various

agencies and preparing the plan for the so-called landing teams to who go into these agencies, get a feel for it and begin to say here's what we want

to do on day one.

I think part of what you're seeing is Jared Kushner, Chris Christie, vendetta playing out because Chris Christie put Jared Kushner's father in

jail. But I think the other part what have you're seeing is Trump's core team saying wait, who are these people planning our government? We don't

want these people doing it. We to want the ones who are hand pick people in these different roles.

NEWTON: Right, and there was already that concern they were going to see the never Trump people in there and also a lobbyist. Sara, in terms of --

we just heard from Mr. Mnuchin, and is he a lock for Treasury. And what else are you hearing because Eric Trump, Donald's son had come out this

morning saying that we should expect to hear more through the end of the day.

[16:15:00] MURRAY: One thing I will say about Donald Trump, is nothing is ever a lock until he's the one was out there saying it or putting it out

there in a press release. And that's certainly true of some of these cabinet positions. Sources definitely said that for a while maybe we

should appear to be the front runner in this.

Another interesting name that's come up is Jamie Diamond of JPMorgan Chase. That could be potentially a big get for Donald Trump if he were to get

someone like Jamie Diamond willing to serve as Treasury Secretary. Unclear if he'll be able to pull that off. I think it's too soon at this point to

really say anyone is a lock on these key positions. We see that there are front runners. But the other reality, the difference between being a

candidate and being a President-elect is that all of the sudden, you have more people who are interested in serving in your administration than you

did a week ago. So, I think the Trump folks are sort of trying to figure out how far that extends. Can they maybe woo people into this transition

and into the administration that weren't even interested in talking to them a week or so ago?

NEWTON: Like you said, it's only been a week. He has at least another week to get some of those big positions named. Our Sara Murray continues

to follow this story. Appreciate it.

Now to Wall Street, the Trump rally, as I was saying earlier. OK, it's over for now. The Dow finished down 55 points and it's the first time in

the past seven sessions. Yes, that that Dow has closed in the red. We are out of record territory. The dollar though rose to its strongest level

since 2003. Paul La Monica is up at the New York Stock Exchange. Let's talk about the dollar for minute. It kind of stunned me when I saw that

come through. We've been listening to CEOs say forever that strong U.S. dollar is not necessarily a good thing for their earnings and obviously for

their exports.

PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: It's true. I think it could be a problem for multi-nationals that ship a lot of goods to Europe, Asia,

South America, all over the world, but the reality is, you have the combination of Trump winning and the expectation that bond rates are going

to go higher because of the stimulus that he plans to do and pay for it with debt. And at the same time, you have the Fed probably now having the

go ahead to raise interest rates next month and maybe throughout 2017. Because the global stock market hasn't reacted with the way that many

people predicted it would with a Trump victory. Everyone was predicting doom and gloom, correction bear market and it's been the exact opposite.

NEWTON: Now Paul, there's been as much acrimony in the market direction here as there has been in the Trump transition team. No one can quite

figure it out. We come up hundreds of points. And yet is this rally lasting? Will a Trump administration be good for the market? It seems we

have so much discord, not really a path forward for the market at this point.

LA MONICA: Exactly. I think right now there are still more questions than answers. Will the Trump administration be friendly to the market? I don't

know, Paula, we don't know who's in the Trump administration yet. Obviously, there will be many choices made in the coming days and weeks.

Will they get the approval they need from the Senate? They think odds are, most of them probably will, but there are still a lot of people scratching

their head wondering what is going to be the Trump economic policy besides building more bridges and fixing highways and cutting taxes? You have to

do more than that.

NEWTON: Yes. And in fact, we might see the markets a little bit more tentative over the next few days until we get a lock on the positions.

Paul La Monica, appreciate it.

LA MONICA: Thank you.

QUEST: Now president Obama is visiting Germany where he and chancellor Angela Merkel are making the case for globalization.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:27] NEWTON: Barack Obama and Angela Merkel put on a united front in defense of globalization on Wednesday. Now Obama has arrived in Germany

for a second leg of his final foreign tour. Populist politician in Europe meantime have been emboldened by Trump's victory. In a joint editorial in

a German newspaper, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Merkel wrote, "There will not be a return to a world before globalization. We are committed to broadening and

deepening our cooperation with our businesses and our citizens, indeed the whole of the world community."

Our Atika Shubert, is in Berlin tonight. Atika, you know, the apprehension that Europeans feel, I swear, you can feel it all the way across the pond.

It is resonating in this country as well. What about it? No drama Obama, do you think he's going to be able to smooth things over.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think he's here to reassure many of those in Europe, particularly European leaders

that he's doing his best to ease that transition with President-elect Donald Trump. But the fact remains that many here find Donald Trump to be

very unpredictable. They don't know what he'll do next. They'll do know if he'll be a different president than he was a candidate.

You're right that editorial came out in defense of a globalization. The full editorial will actually come out on Friday and it's something that

president Obama touched on during his speech in Athens. That yes, there are inequalities that have become as a result of globalization and there

needs to be a way to address those who feel left behind by globalization and feel that they've lost opportunities. At the same time, it cannot be

undone. However, that is exactly what President-elect Donald Trump has promised to do. Specifically, with things like the Transpacific

Partnership, that trade agreement, Donald Trump says he wants to tear it up and throw it out which is something that Merkel and Obama have worked on

for years. So, there's a lot for Chancellor Merkel and for President Obama to discuss. They're at a private dinner this evening and they will have

another one on one meeting tomorrow before meeting with other EU leaders on Friday, Paula.

NEWTON: Do you get the sense though of a realism taking over? No matter how much Obama says or does right now. The truth is what you pointed to in

the beginning of your answer. Look, no one can know what he's going to do. Is there a sense that European nations are really shoring up their defenses

for an unpredictable administration here in Washington?

SHUBERT: Absolutely. We've already seen that simply by the congratulations messages that were sent from Europe to Donald Trump.

Angela Merkel here said yes, I offered to work with you, but on the basis of democracy, freedom, and the rights of those with different religions,

different ethnicities, different political beliefs. So, it was a very carefully worded statement that was both saying, you know, these must be

respected, but also saying, I also have to work with you and find some sort of common ground. But how they deal with the President-elect Donald Trump,

what his policies will be are a complete mystery and president Obama's visit here is one way of really trying to huddle and figure out what to do

next.

NEWTON: Yes, and they will looking to him for advice on that. Our Atika Shubert continues to follow that visit from Berlin. Appreciate it.

Now one of the many questions about the incoming U.S. president is which Donald Trump America will get. As we were just speaking with Atika about

that. Now the former director general of the World Trade Organization, says when it comes to trade there are the two Trumps as he sees it. He

says, hard Trump is the candidate who talked tough on international trade. Well, in his words, soft Trump will temper some of his statements and his

policies. Pascal Lamy, says, come January 20th, he expects to see soft Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PASCAL LAMY, FORMER DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: What is -- if I'm not right, not hard Trump, what is soft Trump? Probably a more

aggressive use of Humpty Dumping against China but also others. What we call in our jargon trade defense. And a new way of assessing whether a

country is or not a currency manipulator. And I expect the Trump administration to qualify China and maybe a few others as currency

manipulators. And probably a renegotiation of NAFTA.

[16:25:00] Again, with Canada and Mexico, which anyhow is not a stupid thing to do because NAFTA is 25 years old. And when you have a 25 years

old car, there are a few things that you need to be relooked at. So, that's my guess. I'm not sure, but again, tough protectionism, which is

what the campaign rhetoric would harm U.S. economy.

NEWTON: Absolutely intrigued that the repercussion of what you call soft Trump that you actually see happening and you don't believe will lead to

full scale convulsions with the global trading relationships.

LAMY: That's, again, that's my expert view. I wouldn't say forecast. Again, because the consequences high dose of protectionism in today's world

are much bigger than they were even in the 1930s.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Extraordinary statement there, we'll get back to Mr. Lamy in a moment. And here's why, Washington's relations with Europe are clearly in

transition. Right now, the top table looks much like this. But not for much longer. Of course, President Obama will give way to Donald Trump in

January. France also will pick a new leadership in April. The former economy administration has now announced he'll run as an independent.

Emmanuel Macron says he rejects the current political system outright. National Front leader, Marine Le Pen will also be running. She is already

doing really well in the polls. Now, Mr. Lamy, in the meantime, told me that that rise of populism world wise is now something that he is taking

very seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAMY: Populism is growing in Europe. Brexit, in Poland, in Italy, in Germany with the AfD, in France, as it has grown in the U.S. with the

election of Donald Trump. So, we have in a part of the world which is a part of the developed world. I mean, proportion of the one billion people

on the seven we have on this planet. There is a proportion of that that is not happy with globalization. And who is pushing for more protectionism.

More isolationism, more nationalism and that's a regular popular discourse. We've had that in history. Remember what happened in the 1930s. So, we

have that.

NEWTON: That's not a very -- the 1930s example, I'm sorry, does not make me feel at ease here. That is not an example that our viewers perhaps will

take of anything optimistic of that's what we're comparing this to.

LAMY: But I'm not saying I'm optimistic on populisms. I'm trying to fight populism. I'm just saying this is serious. It's a serious issue. And

part of populism is about again scape getting to the foreigners. The election of Donald Trump probably gives more credibility to populism

romance, who pretend they are on the verge of power. So, Trump does help these people gaining credibility. And what Trump will do or not do is the

next stop before the highway. But this is, and I agree with that, this is extremely serious.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Twitter is taking another crack at stopping abusive behavior. It's suspending the accounts of people associated with the alt-right

movement. Ahead, what this means for those groups and for Twitter itself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:00] QUEST: Hello I'm Paula Newton, coming up in the next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Ariana Huffington says Donald Trump's election is

an wake-up call for elites.

And will take you on a ride in a driverless car. We had to do it. Built by a Chinese search engine. First, these are the top stories we're

following here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Donald Trump is 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 center of it. We're still waiting to hear who will serve in key posts including Secretary of State.

The Syrian regime is escalating its attacks on eastern Aleppo and the surrounding countryside. Syria's white helmets say intense air strikes

killed at least 87 people today. Dozens more were injured. The strikes resumed after the government sent a mass text message to residents warning

them to leave or risk death.

According to a Pakistani official, a spike in violence has caused 8,000 people to flee their homes in the part of the disputed Kashmir region

controlled by Pakistan. The Prime Minister of Pakistani controlled Kashmir blames the evacuations on Indian shelling. Tension between India and

Pakistan has risen in recent months with reports of daily ceasefire violations in and around that region.

Singer song writer Bob Dylan will not attend next month's Nobel Prize ceremony. Dylan who is the first song writer to receive the esteemed award

cited previous commitments as the reason he can't attend.

Arianne a Huffington says the media gave Donald Trump a helping hand to win this election. Now the founding of the "Huffington Post" says all of his

free media exposure handed him an invisible primary, as she calls it, and turned him into a legitimate candidate. She spoke with CNN's Eleni Giokos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARIANNE A HUFFINGTON, FOUNDER, THE HUFFINGTON POST: This has been a bit of a wake-up call for elites everywhere. And about the danger of allowing the

growth of inequalities. And that you have seen around the world. There has to be a clear acknowledgment that globalization has not benefitted

people equally and that when people lose hope in the case of the states when people think that the American dream is no longer a reality for them,

they make decisions out of fear. And they are much more likely to vote for demagogues.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNNMONEY AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that we should be afraid of what the next four years are going to look like under a Donald

Trump presidency?

HUFFINGTON: I don't believe in ever being afraid. I don't think we should speculate anymore. He's going to be president. I think we should cover

what he does. And not replay the campaign and let's evaluate each of his decisions as it is made. When I was editor-in-chief of the "Huffington

Post" before I stepped down in August, and I had established a policy of not treating Donald Trump like a legitimate candidate.

[16:35:00] We have appended an editor's note at the end of every story on him that reminded our readers of his positions. Whether it was on banning

Muslins from the United States or deporting immigrants or not believing that the President Obama was born in the United States. Now that he's the

President-elect, I was delighted to see the day after the election that editor's note being taken down because we're in a different reality. Now

Donald Trump has to be judged on everything he does. Not on what he said during the campaign. And it is dangerous of everybody for him to be better

as a president than he was as a candidate.

GIOKOS: Do you think that the media is to blame in some way?

HUFFINGTON: Yes. I do. And there's no question that as the Shorenstein Center at Harvard, pointed out, the media gave Donald Trump what is known

as the invisible primary. You know, before any votes were cast. The study estimated that they gave Donald Trump $2 billion in free advertising.

There's a lot of very critical deep coverage of him later in the campaign. But by then, he had been established as a legitimate candidate. Despite

his views.

GIOKOS: And in the next four years will have a big role to play in the checks and balances they're going to have to do.

HUFFINGTON: Another thing that comes out of this election, it's time for the media to stop spending so much time on analyzing polls. I mean, when

are we going to get the message that polls are getting less and less accurate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Arianne a Huffington there.

Meantime, Twitter has suspended the accounts was several people associated with the alt-right movement in the United States. The company released a

statement saying it's rules prohibit targeted abuse and harassment. But didn't comment directly on the suspended accounts. One of the accounts

belongs to the founder of a website called WeSearcher. The site raises cash to explore various conspiracy theories. Campaigns include funding for

DNA tests on Black Lives Matter activists. An investigation into Hillary Clinton's medical history. CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter joins us

now. Look, you and I both saw personally there's a lot of nasty stuff on Twitter. This goes a step beyond. If we just give everyone a quick

primer, why the alt-right? We've been hearing a lot about that.

BRIAN STELTER, CNNMONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: The alt-right can be many things. Sometimes it can just mean trolling by male activists, but at

its core, it's really about white identity politics. A rejection of multiculturalism. A rejection of both mainstream conservativism and

liberalism. A new form of right wing politics. A very nasty form. Mostly on the internet, mostly on Twitter, Facebook and websites. And that's why

Twitter's action is so interesting.

NEWTON: And Twitter's action -- they've been criticized far while. Why do you think now? And how effective will these moves actually be?

STELTER: Well Twitter like Facebook struggling to deal with harassment on its platform. Harassment, and frankly hate. Because a lot of this kind of

content spills over into what we would call hateful speech. Really, what we're seeing are the social networking sites which did not have to think

about this stuff ten years ago, now having to wrestle with how to manage a virtual public square and manage some of the misogyny and racism that comes

along with the public square.

NEWTON: In terms of the affect that it's heard, it's so interesting, Brian, Richard Spicer who's from the alt-right, he's from the National

Policy Institute. He was one of the people who apparently -- his accounts were banned. He calls this corporate Stalinism. He say there's a great

purge that Twitter's instituted a great purge, but the bottom line is, he saying, hey, this is good for me. This has brought attention to me and my

cause.

STELTER: Given his views attention.

NEWTON: Exactly.

STELTER: He is a white supremacist, he would like blacks and Jews and Hispanics and other groups to be out of the United States. So, his views

are so fringed and for the most part, not that they get any oxygen at all, it is because of his Twitter account because of his Facebook account. He

might say in the short term this is good for him. But the other people you've seen banned from Twitter in the past. They have seen their

visibility drop quite a bit.

You know, twitter really is, you know, it's a network of influence. And it's where journalists are. Twitter can't have an impact by removing these

accounts. But in some cases, these accounts are not posting what we would called explicitly racist views. There posting hateful views or toying

right up into the edge of the line. Twitter this week put in new policies and new ways to report hateful speech. That's what we're seeing is a

direct reaction. Right after they implemented these new tools, we're seeing the accounts be removed.

NEWTON: When you look at the context here, Brian. I have to ask, when you look at social media, I mean, you've been passionate speaking for a couple

weeks now about fake news and its role in the campaign and elsewhere. Do you think this is a wakeup call for social media? Do you honestly think

it'll have an affect or is it just too pervasive this whole issue that look, this is freedom of speech, like it or hate it, this is free speech in

the United States?

[16:40:00] STELTER: This is clearly information warfare. Information warfare, that's the best term for this. Because we see these fake news

sites printing alternate reality of what's going on in the world. These alt-right websites are a part of that. Not all things they post are fake

or misleading, but some of it is. So, it creates this sense of an alternate reality. Some of which is described to by Trump supporters.

It's a complicated world out there on the web getting more and more complicated. Yes, these people have freedom of speech, they can post

whatever they want.

But sites like Facebook and Twitter can do a better job of helping other users know what is real and what is not. Know what the sources of

information are. Know what the backgrounds are. Right now, we're still very much in the wild, wild west of the worldwide web.

NEWTON: And you have given a good piece of advice, check once, twice, three times.

STELTER: Check four times. Because it is ugly out there.

NEWTON: It is definitely ugly. Brian Stelter, thanks so much. We really appreciate it.

Now as the U.S. prepares for the Trump administration, officials say the number of people trying to enter the country from Mexico is now on the

rise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Mexico says it will offer more help to its citizens living in the U.S. under a Trump presidency. Now it says it will open a 24-hour phone

line for Mexicans who need help with immigration issues. Some U.S. officials say a new wave of undocumented immigrants is arriving at the

Mexican border and that is where we find our Polo Sandoval. He's on the boarder in Mission, Texas. Polo, I know you have experience in reporting

on that border and you've done it for many years. Tell us what's going on now and how much the election is influencing that.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Paula, working as a reporter here for quite some time here. I can tell you, that the main driving force for

so many people that make their way to northern Mexico and then cross illegally over this river and into the United States. It's still poverty.

And also, extreme violence back in Central American countries, but as you mentioned, there seems to be this new driving force that has something to

do with now President-elect Donald Trump and it has already led to these new numbers to that go far beyond what we saw two years ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): It's the second South Texas border surge and there are hardly any empty seats on the unmarked buses that pull into the McAllen

Central Station. Thousands of undocumented Central American families fleeing crime and poverty are again saturating America's immigration

system. They turn themselves into authorities at the border, are processed. Then released wearing an ankle monitor and the promise of

returning to a court day.

SANDOVAL (on camera): What is it that brings you to the United States?

CARLOS CARDONA, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT (through translator): The level of crime in his country is what brings him and his son Juan Carlos here.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Before heading north, Carlos Cardona and his four- year-old son made a brief shot in a shelter that opened its doors during the immigration surge of 2014. It's run by Sister Norma Pimentel.

[16:45:00] SISTER NORMA PIMENTEL, HUMANITARIAN RESPITE CENTER: The violence instead of diminishing has escalated. And so, we have families

that fear for the their lives and especially their kids.

SANDOVAL (on camera): Volunteers have been walking these families from the bus station to the shelter and back for already two years now. But what's

new are the numbers that we are seeing lately. And if you hear from some of the officials here in south Texas, they will also tell you that there is

another reason why so many people are rushing to the U.S.

JIM DARLING, MCALLEN MAYOR: They all know about president Trump. They all know about a wall. When you talk to them, they know that.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Mayor Jim Darling suspects it's no longer just violence and poverty in Central America fueling the new in wave.

DARLING: If you talk about building a fence and we're not going to allow people in, I mean, then you better get over here now before January in the

swearing in ceremony.

SANDOVAL: Back in the shelter, these new arrivals are weighing in.

SANDOVAL (on camera): So, who comes here fearing that Donald Trump plan to build a massive border wall? Wow.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Among the crowds, we found 17-year-old girl Diriam Fuentes and her father, Nettie.

SANDOVAL (on camera): Now that you're here in the U.S., are you afraid of the idea of mass deportations?

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Fuentes tells me she fears being returned to her native Honduras. On the banks of the Rio Grande, more migrants emerge out

of the darkness and turn themselves into authorities. It's seemingly endless flow of families arriving night and day.

PIMENTEL: There's a big fear in that community about what's going to happen. But ultimately, what we have to respond is to the fact that

they're human beings.

SANDOVAL: Carlos Cardona and his son are starting the U.S. stretch of his journey like so many others who are now in their shoes. They face an

uncertain future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: We have asked federal law enforcement officials also even Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs that shelter, whether or not they expect this

massive influx to end soon. They said there is absolutely no telling at any point, Paula, but there is that -- also that other question. How is

the U.S. government handling all of this? We are told that they have opened additional immigrant processing centers here in south Texas to be

able to handle this influx.

There's also an additional 150 border patrol agents have been sent to the region since a bulk of the crossings. About half of them have been

happening on this stretch of the border. That way they would free up some of the local agents to continue to work the border and of course some of

those out of towners that would work at the immigration detention facilities. Paula, they learned a lot two years ago, when they saw these

massive numbers. Now they're putting it all to work.

NEWTON: And we could be looking at record numbers again by the end of 2016. This is a story that CNN and Polo will continue to follow. Polo

thanks so much.

Now it gives backseat driving a whole new meaning. This make miss stomach hurt. Matthew Rivers takes is for a ride in a driver driverless car.

That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:03] NEWTON: The electric vehicle market has a new player. This week at the L.A. auto show, Jaguar unveiled its first all-electric car. A

concept SUV. Now earlier I spoke with the Jaguar Land Rover CEO about that as well as the outlook for trade under a Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE EBERHARDT, CEO, JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA: From our perspective, it's really too soon to tell what the impact will be of the political

developments and what implications for autoregulation's or the auto markets will be around the world. As far as the U.S. is concerned, at the moment,

we still see fairly strong economy that has helped us really grow our business over the last couple of years very, very positively. As a matter

of fact, Jaguar this year has been the fastest growing brand in the U.S. luxury market. We're up almost 100 percent. So, you know, we'll just

watch and see what happens. And as a global manufacturer, I think we are positioned in a way that we should be able to address any opportunities and

challenges in the best possible way.

NEWTON: Given the auto industry is so important to the United States, obviously, is there any message you'd want to send to the Trump team or to

Congress in particular about when you look forward to any trade moves they might be making?

EBERHARDT: No, I think look, we are a fairly small manufacturer compared to the industry as a whole. And clearly free trade is part of our overall

positioning. So, you know, we would just ask to continue to work with us in the interest of our customers and the global markets.

NEWTON: In terms of your company's strategy, betting a lot on electric here. When you look at the price of oil, unclear as to whether or not

we'll see $50 again. Lower again today. Do you think that was the right bet? I mean some people are looking at companies like Ford and saying

look, all in on electric was not the way to go.

EBERHARDT: I think it's not a question of whether you go all in electric or into other power trains. I think from our perspective, we look at all

power trains as being part of the solution going forward. We have invested in clean diesels. We continue to sell diesels in the United States. As a

matter of fact, we see about 10, 15 percent take rate. We certainly will further advance internal combustion engine. We have heavily invested in

lightweight technologies. Our aluminum chassis are a big element of driving weight savings.

And then we do believe that battery electric vehicles both in plug-in hybrid as well as full battery electric form are part of the solution going

forward. I think as a globally operating manufacturer, we will have to offer power trains across the entire spectrum. It's not a question do you

go all electric or all internal combustion. It's really the right mixture. And ultimately, we do know that customers are looking for savings and fuel

economy. We do know that customers are concerned about emissions. And as a result, we need to form the portfolio that addresses these needs and

different power trains work better in different segments. It is going to be part of an entire strategy to offer the right power train for the right

application in the right market. And battery electric is part of that solution.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now from cars that don't need any gas, cars that just don't need a driver. Matt Rivers got behind the wheel of a driverless car in China.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what it looks like.

(on camera): Let's to go far ride.

RIVERS (voice-over): When you let a computer take the wheel.

(on camera): And the steering wheel turns itself. That is very bizarre.

RIVERS (voice-over): This is the latest from Chinese tech giant Baidu, a self-driving car. We zipped down the road at a healthy 50 kilometers an

hour steered straight by a series of camera sensors, and this spinning "ladar". Think radar but with lasers.

WESTLEY SHAO, SENIOR ENGINEER, BAIDU AUTONOMOUS DRIVING UNIT: Yes. It's continuously scanning. The result is shown in run time on this pad down on

the back.

RIVERS (on camera): What's it scanning for?

SHAO: It's looking for all the objects and everything that is 3d detectable.

RIVERS (voice-over): That's Wesley Shao, a senior project engineer. When he says 3d detective he means anything a human driver would see, like a

traffic light.

RIVERS (on camera): Reassuring when we see the red light and we come to a nice slow, safe stop.

RIVERS (voice-over): This was a highly-controlled course, no real surprises, no sudden slamming on the brakes, these cars aren't ready for

the public yet because in order for this to work, Baidu has to make these unquestionably safe. Progress has been made, but there is a long way to

go.

JING WANG, BAIDU AUTONOMOUS DRIVING UNIT: Our goal is to make it better than any human driver in the world.

RIVERS: This is Jing Wang. He runs the project.

[16:55:00] WANG: Within five years, we are going to make at least only one third as big.

RIVERS: Smaller, faster, and safer.

WANG: We are trying very hard to show the real capability that the automatic driving car is safer than a human driver.

RIVERS: Convincing consumers used to control is a tall order. Especially because driving in one of these is weird.

RIVERS (on camera): This whole experience is kind of odd. Because on the one hand it feels like any other driving experience you've ever had, but on

the other hand, right now, the car is doing a U-turn on its own. And that -- it's very difficult to describe. It's kind of bizarre and oddly normal

at the same time.

RIVERS (voice-over): But companies are betting big that people like me will get over the unease. By 2021 big players like Uber, BW and Ford say

they'll have their own self-driving cars on the road. Baidu want to begin mass producing that same year. One of the largest investments they've ever

made.

WANG: 10 years away. Most of the majority of the car produced that year will be automatic driving, fully automatic driving.

RIVERS: A glimpse into the future. Still lots of cars, but drivers, optional. Matt Rivers, CNN, Wuzhen, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Ten years, autonomous drivers. We'll see. Now if you want daily digest of the day's top business stories delivered to your inbox. Scribe

to the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS newsletter featuring Richard's Profitable Moment and all the top headlines from the rest of the CNNMoney team. Now

today, Richard has been collecting your thoughts about the world economy under president Trump. Keep sending in your thoughts and if you want to

subscribe, just go to CNNMoney.com/quest. I promise he looks at this stuff. And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton and I'll see

you right back here again tomorrow.

END

END