Transcripts For CNNW Anderson Cooper 360 20180315 : vimarsan

CNNW Anderson Cooper 360 March 15, 2018

Making some changes. He said out loud he is about ready to have the cabinet that he wants. Never mind that were 14, almost 15 months into this administration. But the reality here is we are expecting some changes either tomorrow or by friday, potentially of his cabinet. The people we hear the most talked about, david shulkin, the Veterans Affairs secretary, of course under fire for mismanagement, a variety of other things. Also the National Security adviser, h. R. Mcmaster, said to be, you know, not a matter of if but when hell be leaving. And that sound behind me here is the president returning from st. Louis. So he is back here at the white house. Well see if he talks this evening, but he definitely seems to have some more staff shakeup on his mind. You said some of these changes may happen even this week . Reporter it certainly seems like that. There is a sense of edge and anxiety here, and there is a sense that the president wants to get on with it. He wants to move forward with this and get his team in place. Now, we also hear conversations about white house chief of staff john kelly. How long will he be in place . Of course weve heard these rumblings for months and months, but the firing of secretary of state Rex Tillerson this week is a reminder that if the president s in a firing mood, Something Else could happen all at once here or, anderson, it could not. It is entirely controlled by his decision. Most people here at the white house do not know when or if he will make these announcements. Hes likely to do so on twitter. Jeff zeleny, thanks very much. Joining us two people who have seen shakeups up close, axelrod and gergen. So, david gergen, looking at whos been fired, whos survived, what conclusions do you draw about what the president values in his staff and where this administration is headed, or can you . I think he values two things, anderson, increasingly. One is that he wants to be his own man. He wants to do solo. He thinks a lot of people around him have been like training wheels. He doesnt need it anymore. Also i think hes looking for surrogates to go out on television. I think hes trying to assembly a team of surrogates. He replaced tillerson with somebody he thought could make a much more forceful argument for him. Gary cohn was not often on television, but larry kudlow has been on television for 30 years and he can go out and defend. And i think with h. R. Mcmaster, the president had john bolton to speak for an hour, and it looked reading the tea leaves that he might be coming in to replace mcmaster. Of course hes very effective, articulate on television. I think the president s trying to bolster his p. R. Team among other things heading toward 2018 elections. David axelrod, what message do you think the turnover sends not only to the remaining staff but anyone else that might be coming into this administration . Well, obviously this is you know, you said before there were seismic changes. When you have a volcanic president , youre going to have seismic changes. That doesnt create a very good working environment. But, you know, i think whats happening, it was always odd, you know, gary cohn, he really didnt match the campaign that the president ran. Tillerson was suggested to him by the Foreign Policy establishment that he derided as a candidate, and you always have the sense that they were there to mind the president. And he now is throwing that off and saying, i dont want that. I dont need people to tell me what to do. I dont want people to tell me what to do. And hes bringing in people who reflect his point of view and who will not challenge him. And that is concerning in a president who doesnt read, who gets a lot of his information from fox friends, and who operates off of instinct. You know, we saw it with korea. We saw it with the tariffs. Im just going to do these things. Well, if theres no one there to stop him, that can have some pretty catastrophic consequences. David gergen, though, if, you know, doing things the way he wants to do them got him this far, why shouldnt he continue doing that if he feels hes sort of learned the ropes at the white house at this point . Well, theyve gotten them this far but theyve got him down to 35 approval ratings. You know, hes got one big legislative accomplishment on taxes, but hes failed at most other things. So i wouldnt think that the last 14 months is a good guide that he rely on his instincts. His instincts for campaigning as we know are first class although i dont like them, but his instincts for governing are terrible. Usually a president somewhere much later in the first term does start looking for a Second String, maybe after the reelection. Usually that Second String is weaker than the first string. And the way this president has said goodbye to people, the shabby way he treated secretary tillerson, never before have we seen a cabinet officer dismissed in such a it was just pointless and really rude the way he was treated. Its really hard after that to find extremely talented people who are willing to come in, put their reputations on the line, work their tails off for this guy, and then be treated as shabbily as Rex Tillerson. That is true, david, but never before have we seen a secretary of state call the president a moron before. Theres all kinds of new ground were charting here. I mean, look, i dont think he treated tillerson the right way. Thats not the way you dismiss a cabinet member. But on the other hand, i think its more concerning that you have people working for you who think that about you. And it should be concerning to the country that they thought that about him. So in some ways hes going to get the cabinet that he wants, as he says. In other ways, hes not going to have people there who offer the depth of experience that perhaps he needs. You know, david gergen, it was interesting during the campaign, i remember the president saying he wanted to have different viewpoints. He liked to have people arguing and for him to make up his own mind. Do you think thats actually the case based on the changes . He said that about larry kudlow coming in just in the last short while, that they disagreed over tariffs for example. And then he said, because i like to have diverse viewpoints. That is not the case broadly speaking. Hes now looking for people who are much more consistent with his viewpoint. You know, particularly in the case of the state department with pompeo coming in. Hes much more than nationalist. Tillerson was much more of a globalist. Tillerson represented the alternative point of view. Kelly represents an alternative point of view. Mattis represents an alternative point of view. And the people who represent an alternative point of view are arguing with the president are now gradually heading toward the exits for the most part. Appreciate the discussion. Thank you. I want to bring in our panel, kirsten powers, james schultz, tara setmayer, and steve cortez. Does it make sense to you, kirsten, that there may be this many changes of staff and cabinet level . There is always turnover, particularly after the first year, but this is obviously this is a lot more than i think is i dont want to say normal, but common. This is not normally what you would see, and i think that it is chaotic and disruptive. At the same time, the president should have the people around him that he wants, and i think that you know, ive said before that i think with Rex Tillerson, i probably would have fired him long before donald trump did. I didnt see that to be a particularly rash thing for him to do. He wasnt that popular at the state department. You know, trump didnt particularly like him. He was reportedly disrespectful to trump. These are all sort of fireable offenses. He may have even given him an opportunity to resign. He certainly was sending him the message. He could have resigned. I think some of the other turnovers are, you know, a little more unusual. Having hope hicks, who is his closest aide, that would be like huma abedin just walking out on Hillary Clinton. You know, i mean thats a very unusual thing. So i think there is just a sense of chaos, and he said thats the way he likes it. Jim, do you think its a good idea if the president feels more emboldened to do things his way and not be reined in and i think Maggie Haberman has been arguing earlier on he may have felt he did not know the job and now he does. Is it a wise thing to jettison people and do it your way . Just because mike pompeo philosophically agrees with the president doesnt mean hes not going to challenge him. Mike pompeo is a very intelligent human being, harvard law grad, knows his space and is going to sail to confirmation at the cia. And i thought what was interesting, such a decisive decision to let tillerson go had someone in the queue ready to go, had someone to replace pompeo at the cia, that looks like somebody who is ready to make decisions. If im one of those cabinet issues that had the talking to over ethical issues as reported in the news, im worried this week. I mean the tillerson thing has been you said it was a decision and there was someone to replace him. Obviously you would want somebody to replace him immediately. It does seem like that was dragged out, debated, the Jeff Sessions thing hes been publicly derided. Theres been story about mcmaster now for quite some time. Hes never going to change. Perhaps he is changing, but shes shrinking in the job. Usually people get in there, particularly people who come from outside of washington, after some time, they do tend to inhabit the office. They gain more gravitas. There is this growth in the job. I think this guy is like as gergen said, he wants the training wheels off, and were seeing hes on steroids now. Its really extraordinary. Its not about this staffer or that. I agree with you guys you said hes shrinking but hes also on steroids. Im not an expert on steroids, as i think you can tell. But hes becoming morally smaller. Maybe hes becoming more cut. I dont know. Theres pushback on that and ill give you an example. Hes going to be donald trump every day [ overlapping voices ] on the idea shes shrinking or that he wants conformity with a real world example, one that matters a lot to me, which is immigration. Theres tremendous debate within the administration on immigration, particularly daca. And a lot of people, a lot of hardliners within the trump movement, want no daca. They dont want a daca compromise. It was viciously debated behind closed doors within the white house. I was privileged to be part of that, someone who wants daca preserved. Many people opposed that view within the administration. The president came down, i think, very sensibly saying we want a grand compromise. We want secure borders and we do want to show magna nimity and compassion towards daca. I think its unfair to cast him as rigid and demanding submission from his staff and immigration is exhibit a on why he but on immigration, he did have that bipartisan meeting where he seemed to agree with the democrats and then switch to the republicans and then back to and on gun control as well, hes talking about raising the age to 21, you know, very publicly a number of times. And then meets with the nra and now hes like, oh, well, its up to states. Because President Trump doesnt have core convictions. Weve said this before. Its been a criticism of mine about him from the very beginning. As a conservative i was very concerned about when the tough times come and you need to where do you draw from to make these tough policy decisions . And for donald trump, its more about his brand and what looks good and how it plays on fox news and to his base as opposed to what is a good policy prescription for whatever the issue is at hand. And the fact that he vacillates so often between one thing to the next and no one really knows is probably why reports are coming out that senior staffers in the white house are calling this the most toxic Work Environment they have ever encountered. That is a quote from a story in axios right now. That is not a good reflection of the boss. We also have to remember a couple of other things. Donald trump has never answered to anyone. Hes run a private company. Hes never had to answer to a board of directors. Hes only had to answer to himself. And weve seen when the disaster that was made of his companies in Atlantic City and other places, where that hasnt worked out so well. So unfortunately now, the best parts of him are not being seen right now, whatever those may be, other than branding himself and doing rallies. As a manager, this is not the way you can run the white house. Right now were looking at the secretary of Veterans Affairs potentially on the chopping block. Were already lost the secretary of state. Weve already lost the secretary of hhs. The secretary of hud is also in trouble. Weve lost the communications director. Four of them have gone. The National Security adviser is on the chopping block. I mean we can go down the list. This is not normal. This is not the way a white house should be run, and this is certainly not the way you would run a business. I would hope not. I would grant you that hyperpolitical types like all of us, people in the news business, fixate on palace intrigue, on the supposed chaos of the west wing. But if theres a disruptive west wings, most americans couldnt name one of the people that you just named. How is he governing . Their prosperity and their security. And their prosperity in particular is increasing and accelerating terrifically. Small Business Optimism is at a level unseen meanwhile there is optimism and growth and prosperity. Paul and then weve got to go. And yet hes at an alltime low for correct. Despite, thank god, no major wars and a strong economy. This is a guy, but the American People should have known what they were getting. Hes had three campaign managers, three political parties, three wives. Hes not a guy to run the river with. All right. The only much more to talk about tonight, including the very latest on the congressional race deep in the heart of Trump Country that could be on the verge of a big upset. Later, new developments in the Stormy Daniels story that we broke tonight. New documents suggesting a deeper link between the Trump Organization and efforts to keep Stormy Daniels quiet about her alleged affair. Theres a new place with Daily Laundry Service a place with a day spa a place where seniors get the care they need in the comfort of home. Home instead senior care. And back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. Then i found aleve pm. The only one to combine a safe sleep aid. Plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. Im back. Aleve pm for a better am. Say carl, we have a question about your brokerage fees. Fees . What did you have in mind . I dont know. 4. 95 per trade . Uhhh. And i was wondering if your brokerage offers some sort of guarantee . Guarantee . Where we can get our fees and commissions back if were not happy. So can you offer me what schwab is offering . Whats with all the questions . Ask your broker if theyre offering 4. 95 online equity trades and a satisfaction guarantee. If you dont like their answer, ask again at schwab. The fastest samsung ever demands tmobile, the Fastest Network ever. Because fast should be fast. Preorder the new Samsung Galaxy s9 for half off. Get ready for the wild life with one a day mens. A complete multivitamin with key nutrients, plus b vitamins for heart health. Your one a day is showing. Well, the race was about as tight as it could have been in a nationally watched congressional battle that was viewed as a referendum on President Trump. Tonight the Democrat Conor Lamb still holds to a slight read over the republican, rick saccone. Lamb has declared victory. Gary tuchman went searching for voters on the day after. Reporter were here at carnegie coffee. All of you voted for donald trump for president . Yes. How many of you did what donald trump wanted you to do when he spoke here over the weekend and vote for the republican candidate for congress . And how many of you switched and voted for the democrat . What made you decide not to vote for the republican candidate . Youre a lifelong republican, voted for donald trump. Why did you switch . I made the decision very early on in the campaign. I thought that conor lamb was the best candidate based on his priorities and his background, and i think we needed some new blood in congress. Steve, youre a registered democrat, but you switched and voted for donald trump for president. Yes. Because you wanted change . Yes. And donald trump said, okay. Vote for saccone if you continue to watch change. Did you not believe in that message . I stopped believing in donald trump six months ago. Why . I just dont trust anything he does. Im a vet, and im actually ashamed of im ashamed to be a vet. Im ashamed to be part of the country sometimes. Is that one of the reasons you didnt vote for this end ca, saccone . Right. I think its time for a change. Another change . Another change. You voted for saccone . Mmhmm. But youre saying you thought conor lamb was a better candidate . I think he ran a better campaign. I think the things that he campaigned on were really resonated with this area. Why didnt you vote for him . Because i would not be able to support the Democratic Party right now. I think hes going to vote democrat every time. He said, you know, he comes off as a conservative democrat. He comes off as a conservative, but hes going to vote democrat in my opinion. Great condition. Hes not going to be a very good congressman in our eyes because hes not going do what he said he was going to do. Hes going to vote with pelosi and schumer. If he doesnt, then theyre going to cut him off at the legs. Thats going to be the same thing on the republican side. If rick saccone doesnt follow the party line, its going to be the same thing. When are we going to stop this . This is the divisiveness. This is what the American Public is tired of. I want to see some fresh new ideas in government. Thats why we voted for trump. Yes. I totally agree. Thats exactly right. We all agree on that. G

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