Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Trump's Twitter War over "Hamilton"; Election Night Aerial Photographs; Many Living in East Aleppo Want to Leave But Can't. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired November 21, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00] HARRY HOUCK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALST: -- they had their hands in a pocket, I would not get them closer until you see their hands. As a police officer sitting in a vehicle, it's hard enough to get to your gun to return fire if someone attempts to assassinate you.

BRIANNE KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: It's horrible what happened. We hope to learn more about --

(CROSSTALK)

HOUCK: Our hearts go out to the family.

BROWN: Absolutely. Our hearts do go out to those families.

Polo, Harry, thank you very much. Do appreciate it.

Up next, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, Trump taking on Broadway, hitting the cast of "Hamilton" after their message to his vice president. Is this feud playing right into Trump's hands?

Plus, bombings have been so bad in Aleppo, the worst the city has seen, one man is calling it a holocaust. You'll hear from someone there after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:01] BROWN: The president-elect is demanding the cast of the Broadway musical "Hamilton" apologize to Mike Pence. He was booed during a weekend performance, and during a curtain call after the show, an actor confronted Pence from the stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON VICTOR DIXON, ACTOR: We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet --

(CHEERING)

DIXON: -- our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So that right there prompted this fiery tweet from Trump over the weekend, "The cast and producers of "Hamilton," which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior."

Pence said he wasn't offended. The cast says there's nothing to apologize for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIXON: The conversation is not harassment. I was really appreciative that I was there and listened to what we had to say. And I know some people have said, you know, a one-sided conversation or a lecture is not conversation. But it was the beginnings of a conversation I hope that we can continue to have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So with me now to discuss, GOP consultant, Barry Bennett, a Trump supporter. He was the campaign manager for Dr. Ben Carson. Also, Rich Benjamin, author of "Searching for Whitopia."

Thank you for coming on. We appreciate it.

Rich, first, was the cast out of line for doing this?

RICH BENJAMIN, AUTHOR: Pardon me? Say that again.

BROWN: Was the cast out of line for doing this?

BENJAMIN: Absolutely not. The theater is a place where challenged. They had something to say in addition to the artistic expression and they're concerned. They didn't want to be bullied. They gave this viewpoint. By the way, it wasn't just the cast who had something to say, it was the audience members who booed Mike Pence also.

BROWN: Barry, react to this because we saw from that tweet, Donald Trump wasn't happy about it.

BARRY BENNETT, GOP CONSULTANT & FORMER BEN CARSON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I think it was entirely inappropriate and rude, frankly. If only people of like political philosophies are allowed to your show, put this on the marquee and everyone will know. Someone comes in and pays good money for a ticket to your art, you should show them your art. If you're not comfortable, again, put that on the marquee. If they're there as a patron of the arts, give them the show and hold your political jargon till later.

BROWN: Rich, in a sense -- (CROSSTAKL)

BROWN: Go ahead, Rich.

BENJAMION: No, they did not unwelcome him to the show. In fact, they --

(CROSSTALK)

BENNETT: They booed him. They booed him.

BENJAMIN: That's the audience. That's the audience. The cast member who had a comment for him welcomed him to the show and then made some extra comments. There's no reason a theater should put that on the marquee.

BENNETT: They should. If you're not welcome, they should put it on the marquee.

BROWN: Let me ask you this, Rich, because the argument could be made the cast was, in a sense, playing into Trump's hands here, sort of firing up his base. What do you think about that argument?

Can you hear me, rich? I think you're having some problems with the ear piece.

BENJAMKIN: Yeah. We're having an audio problem.

BROWN: Can you hear me now?

If not, I'll go ahead to get Barry's thoughts on this argument as you work out the audio.

Barry, this argument that in a sense, this is sort of the culture wars playing out and the cast was sort of playing into Trump's hands and firing up the base.

BENNETT: I think America saw this as a rude gesture, an opportunistic gesture. It's not a conversation, as the actor described it, when you have a microphone and you're the only one with a microphone. It was inappropriate. It's fine for them to hold signs out on the streets. It's fun for them to refuse to perform for him, that's their right, but invite someone k to their theater and then do that, it's inappropriate and rude.

BROWN: I think we have the audio issue figured out with Rich.

What's your take and your response, Rich?

BENJAMIN: Thank you. We had a bit of audio. It's fixed.

The bottom line is we have a relevant show that's about where we are as a country, about where we have been as a country. We have a thoughtful cast member who delivered a message to a public servant and he got booed by the audience themselves.

By the way, he's not only been booed in New York, he's been booed in Indiana as well.

And so, for the president-elect to respond in the way he did, that was the inappropriate part. We have a precedent where the President-elect Trump said he would defund the arts that he disagreed with. He said that in 1999. For him to step in and to weigh in on this and to make this quasi-attempt to intimidate the cast, that's what's inappropriate.

A lot of people are applauding the cast of "Hamilton," fans of the show, nonfans of the show, for taking this brave stance at this time.

BROWN: Barry, I do have to ask you about the reaction of this, just taking a step back looking big picture, is this a glimpse into how President Trump will handle things?

[14:40:19] BENNETT: Well, I think it's more of a glimpse of the way culture is reacting. We've seen the CEO of Grubhub and the CEO of another company, Netflix, come out and say some pretty partisan things and that people that have different views weren't welcome to their product or be their employees, that's really unusual. And I think that's a further indication of a division America has along the political lines, which is pointless.

Meaning, if you're "Hamilton" and you have this amazing show, it's doing so well, why would you cash in any of that goodwill for, you know, a biased attack on a vice president-elect, not a public servant yet, or, you know, say you're going to fire employees who might have voted for Trump. I mean, this is crazy. We've got to get back to working together. And I mean, unfortunately, the "Hamilton" episode threw us back into the campaign again.

BROWN: Gentlemen, hold on for one second because I want to get to some sound that's just in from Kellyanne Conway. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, DOANLD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: A lot of common ground. I think they both -- Hi, Phil. They both understood the country very well. Tulsi Gabbard went against her party quite boldly early on. And I think that you're hearing people like Representative Tim Ryan, of Ohio, also raising concerns. Bernie Sanders today was quoted as saying that he thinks they should stop with politics. He can call and we'll tell him how to do that and win. So, I think there's a recognition there's a big country out there with lots of voters that feel disaffected from their party, the Democrats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Barry, I have to ask you what your reaction is to the fact that Donald Trump has been meeting with Democrats like Tulsi Gabbard, who was a Bernie Sanders supporter during the campaign, as well as Michelle Rhee. When you look at last month, he said he wouldn't have any Democrats in his cabinet. What's your reaction?

BENNETT: I think it's great. The fact he met with Mitt Romney, who was probably his biggest critic on either side of the aisle, and the congresswoman, that's great. You should be looking to as many voices as you can, and that's what he's doing. Conversation, those are private one-on-one conversations. Not standing on the stage with a microphone and forcing everyone to endure it.

BROWN: Rich, your take?

BENJAMIN: We'll see about his appointments. I'm not a fan of Mr. Romney, of course, but I think it would be better than having an avowed white nationalist such as Steve Bannon --

(CROSSTALK)

BENNETT: Please, take that back. Please, take that back.

BENJAMIN: No, I will not take it back.

(CROSSTALK)

BENNETT: He's not an avowed --

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: And he's not a white nationalist. He's an economic nationalist.

Go ahead, Rich.

BENJAMIN: Those appointments are, perhaps, a step in a better direction, but I'm not sure what they have to do with the controversy over "Hamilton."

BROWN: Barry, respond?

BENNETT: Unfortunately, this is where we are --

(CROSSTALK)

BENJAMIN: -- Kellyanne Conway, I think that's a nice pivot and distraction saying somehow because Bernie Sanders supporters might be sort of wooed into falsely believing they'll be incorporated into Trump's cabinet when Trump is specifically shown and specifically indicated that because his supporters are who they are, he's going to veer to the right. Not plausible.

BROWN: I want to get your response, Barry, before we wrap up. Go ahead, Barry.

BENNETT: It is beyond irresponsible to call someone a white nationalist. That is -- I'm not even going to respond to it. It's sickening.

BROWN: OK. We'll leave it there.

Barry, Rich, thank you very much. We do appreciate it.

Thank you. (CROSSWTAK)

BROWN: Have a good rest of your Monday.

Election-night view high above the city of New York. We'll talk to the photographer who captured these breathtaking photos for CNN right after the break.

Plus, live at Trump Tower where are President-elect Trump is building his team. We'll have who he's been meeting with today after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:07] BROWN: The word "unprecedented" seems to get thrown around a lot this election cycle. Sometimes it's warranted. Other times not so much. In this case, it truly fits the bill. The place where CNN Republican presidential palace in Las Vegas. Remember this? Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, Vincent Laforet, captured these images. It's one key moment taken from seven angles. Laforet spent four days setting up still cameras on balconies around the hotel and casino. It rigged them each to snap the photo at exactly the same second. This is a moment in time only he could capture exclusively for CNN.

Vincent Laforet joins us now from Los Angeles.

Vincent, thank you for coming on.

First, give us the scoop. What are some of the behind-the-scenes moments you caught?

VINCENT LAFORET, DIRECTOR & PULITIZER-PRIZE WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER: Thanks, Pamela. It's been a surreal year, to say the least. Actually, a little anecdote, I flew with Donald Trump 10 years ago in his private helicopter when he was opening up the golf course where he's been holding all these meetings. Never would I have imagined ten years later, here we are with President-elect Trump.

BROWN: Absolutely. So, sort of take us behind the scenes, what this was like, and what some of the cool experiences you had over the lasts year.

LAFORET: I think, obviously, the first debate was incredibly beautiful, really well-lit and incredible stage for this event. It was our first glimpse of Trump literally in the center of the pack, acting presidential, if you will, kind of leading the entire event. There's always a lot of technical stuff behind the scenes, stress and pressure but you realize you're documenting history. I think the aerial stuff to me was what was very special about this.

[14:49:57] BROWN: Let's talk about because that's your specialty, capturing aerials of cities around the world at night. Election night you boarded a CNN helicopter which, by the way, was the only aircraft to prove to fly in restricted NYC air space that night. What did you want to capture over NYC as both candidates waited below for election results?

LAFORET: We had a pretty specific mandate to capture the south side of the Empire State Building where they were projecting the results, which is a pretty incredible event. in and of itself. We saw the results coming in live. The interesting thing is we were told by Secret Service we had to fly at a minimum of 70 knots. That's almost 100 miles an hour at all times. We couldn't hover. While you were seeing nice and steady images on the screen, inside it felt like a rodeo, because we were rotating at five degrees, forward, backwards, left and right to try to get in line for the live shot at all times for 7.1 hours.

BROWN: My gosh. That would make me sick the way you just described that. But at the same time, while all this is going on, you're capturing a moment in history. What was that like? What did that feel like?

LAFORET: Probably one of the most special things I've done in my career. I've done some pretty cool stuff. I got to go on the needle at the empire state building when I was a staff photographer at "New York Times." you felt like you were a unique seat of anyone else in the world to be the only helicopter flying over the city and witnessing we saw the results come in like everybody but we were so busy with the technical aspects of flying and capturing the video for CNN that it slowly dawned upon us that this was happening. 7.1 hours flew by. It was exhausting, physically. But when we landed, it was very surreal.

I actually expected Trump to win. I do a lot of traveling and I saw a lot of the signs on people's front yards outside of the big cities, so I wasn't shocked. Yet, it was still pretty surreal when you got back on the ground.

BROWN: Absolutely. I can only imagine what that was like.

Vincent Laforet, thank you for coming on, sharing your perspective and beautiful photos as well. We appreciate it.

Check out CNN's book "Unprecedented," on sale December 6th. You can preorder your copy today at CNN.com/book.

Up next, residents of Aleppo are calling it a holocaust. Continued bombing of the Syrian city is worse than ever. Up next, we'll hear from people living through the destruction and devastation.

Plus, we're live at Trump Tower where potential members of Donald Trump's team are gathering today. We are monitoring for any announcements. Of course, we'll bring that to you live when it happens.

You're watching CNN. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:51] BROWN: A holocaust in Syria, that's how one resident of Aleppo describes bombings over the past week that have killed more than 300 people, including 27 just today. Rescuers call it the heaviest bombardment on the city since the war began five years ago.

And graphic video, which some viewers may find disturbing, shows White Helmet rescuers pulling a man from the rubble. CNN cannot independently confirm these images.

But one east Aleppo man spoke to our reporter, Will Ripley, as he took shelter from bombs. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(EXPLOSION)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The explosions are like clockwork in rebel-held east Aleppo --

(EXPLOSION)

RIPLEY: -- all day, every day.

ISHMIAL AL ABADULLAH (ph), EAST ALEPPO RESIDENT: They don't know how to wake up normally without the sound of bombing.

RIPLEY: Ishmial Al Abdullah (ph) takes cover in his basement. During our conversation, I count at least 17 blasts.

(EXPLOSION)

(on camera): And there is another one.

(voice-over): Each getting louder and closer.

(on camera): I am listening to these explosions here and it does not faze you. You are used to it.

AL ABADULLAH (ph): It is normal for us. We are not a human being anymore because of this.

(SIREN)

RIPLEY (voice-over): This is a normal day in east Aleppo. First responders racing from one site to the next -- digging desperately for survivors like this little girl. She's in shock but alive. This little boy did not make it.

(SHOUTING)

RIPLEY: In this strike, 15 were injured and three people died.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FORIEGN LANGUAGE)

"You broke my heart, Ahmed," this father says. "Ahmed, you were my soul."

Syrian activists say more than 1,000 people have died in the last two months, including more than 230 children.

A week of relentless bombing has knocked out more than half of east Aleppo's hospitals. All trauma centers are out of service.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREING LANGUAGE)

RIPLEY: "This is our country, our country," says this man, refusing to let destruction like this to force him move.

(on camera): Why did you stay?

AL ABADULLAH (ph): What do we stay? We stay because it's our city. We stay because they have no place to go.

RIPLEY: Al Abdullah says the more than a quarter million people who remain in east Aleppo don't trust the so called humanitarian corridors. He says snipers on both sides shoots and kill people who try to leave.

AL ABADULLAH (ph): We aren't going to leave. We are going to die.

RIPLEY: He lost three friends in three days. He says many feel tired, hopeless, abandoned by the world.

(on camera): That was close. That one.

AL ABADULLAH (ph): That one was close. I am going to go.

RIPLEY: OK. Be safe. Be safe.

(voice-over): Despite nearly five years of pleading for help, the relentless bombing of east Aleppo continues.

(EXPLOSION)

(on camera): Wow.

(voice-over): Will Ripley, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Just makes you feel helpless watching that.

Well, hello. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN.

We're watching all the developments from Trump Tower. As we speak, President-elect Trump has a flurry of meetings with prospects for his cabinet and White House. As he builds his team, Trump is showing he's willing to knock down barriers with some former foes. After visiting this weekend with arch critic, Mitt Romney, a contender for secretary of state, now word that Trump is considering a Democrat for another high-level spot, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a major in the Army National Guard. Moments ago, Gabbard revealed some details about her meeting with the future president.