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Reaction Rolls in Following Trump Interview; Obama Welcomes Chicago Cubs to White House; Trump Meets with Martin Luther King III; CNN Documentary on Ivanka Trump Tonight. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired January 16, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:33:18] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, President-elect Trump is meeting with the son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After the meetings, the president-elect tends to come down to the lobby, speak briefly with the news media. We'll bring that to you if it happens live. Stand by.

In the meantime, astonished and agitated. That says some European allies. China says it will have no choice but to take off the gloves, and Russia says some statements do not correspond to reality. Responses to President-elect Donald Trump's latest interview with the German publication "Bild" and "The Times of London." The reaction is rolling in.

Let's discuss that and more with our senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, who is joining us in Hong Kong; our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, who is in Moscow; and here in Washington, our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto.

Ivan, under the One China policy, Taiwan is part of China. That's recognized, has been for decades, by the United States. But in his interview Trump suggested once again that the One China policy in his words is negotiable. How is China officially firing back.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's bristling. The China foreign ministry saying this agreement basically, this understanding is the bedrock of the bilateral relationship between the world's two largest economies, the foreign ministry spokeswoman today warning that if Donald Trump continues down this path, he would just be shooting himself in the foot.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media has been quite a bit harsher in some of its rhetoric. You've got "The Global Times" in an editorial writing, "We were simply angry initially, but now we can't help but laugh at this leader in waiting. Maybe American voters promoted him too quickly. His amateur remarks and over-confident manner are equally shocking."

Basically, criticizing and challenging whether or not Donald Trump is fit to hold the office of the president.

What's very interesting is just a couple of days before he will have his inauguration, you've got the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, who is traveling to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where he will be speaking and presumably presenting China as a force of stability at a time when international relations seem turbulent -- Wolf?

[13:35:43] BLITZER: Interesting.

Matthew, in that interview, Trump gave his clearest indication yet that he's ready to ease sanctions on Russia. Listen to what Trump said, actually, about the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Who do you trust more if it you talk to them, Angela Merkel or Vladimir Putin?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I start off trusting both, but let's see how long that lasts. It may not last long at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Interesting, Matthew. A lot of people are stunned that he is comparing these two leaders in the same sentence. How is the kremlin reacting to this part of the interview? Also, the comments about lifting sanctions in exchange for Russia cutting its nuclear arms.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, Wolf, this is all music to the Kremlin's ears, of course, particularly on the issue of sanctions. Any talk from the future president of the United States about those sanctions being alleviated is something the Kremlin really wants to hear. The comments that Donald Trump made about NATO being obsolete, well, they welcome that. That's a longstanding Russian position. The Kremlin this morning telling us that we think it's obsolete as well. This is an organization the Kremlin said that is focused on confrontation. And so, you know, to hear Donald Trump voicing what the Kremlin position, frankly, has been for so long, is something that is quite unusual for the Kremlin. And I think there's a certain degree of sort of shock about what's taking place, that publicly the Kremlin is saying, look, we're going to wait to see exactly what happens once Donald Trump becomes the president because they're very aware that he faces headwinds in his own party and in the Congress in general, and, of course, amongst his own allies around the world when it comes to implementing any of these policies or these sentiments.

But, you know, I think that behind the scenes, they're quietly confident that things are going to get better in the relationship.

BLITZER: Interesting.

Now, you know, Jim, Trump didn't stop in this interview with the "Bild" German publication, "The Times of London." He didn't stop at China and Russia. He also went on to say this about NATO. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Among eastern Europeans there's a lot of fear of the -- of Putin and his Russia.

TRUMP: Sure. And I said a long time ago that NATO had problems. Number one, it was obsolete, because it was, you know, designed many, many years ago. Number two, the countries aren't paying what they're supposed to pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Jim, what kind of message is the president-elect sending to the European NATO allies?

SCIUTTO: Listen, it's inexplicable, right? You have the president -- you talk about China. I don't want to say an adversary, but it's not an ally relationship. And it's one thing to divine how he means to adjust the relationship with what is competitive relationship with China. NATO is an alliance. The U.S. has been in it in decades with its closest allies in the world.

The comment about Angela Merkel, that he may or may not trust Angela Merkel, is understandably causing Germans to get very nervous because Germany is one of America's closest allies. You know, it's the comments about American allies that it's truly -- I don't want to say head-scratch, but head-exploding reactions for diplomats in Europe, but even here in the U.S. and, again, Republicans.

Keep in mind, Wolf, you and I were listening to confirmation hearings last week of all of Donald Trump's senior national security appointees who disagree with him on this issue. Mattis talking about how essential NATO is. What's happening here? He has an enormous disconnect. It's not even a disconnect, but a diametrically opposed position with his appointees and every Republican in Congress. It's inexplicable. It's hard to figure out what message he is trying to send.

BLITZER: You know, and Jim, listen to what the Secretary of State John Kerry, how he weighed in on the president-elect's most recent comments. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I thought, frankly, it was inappropriate for a president-elect of the United States to be stepping into the politics of other countries in a quite direct manner. He will have to speak to that. As of Friday, you know, he is responsible for that relationship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:40:17] BLITZER: The comments from the president-elect, Jim, are causing a lot -- as you point out, a lot of concern so far with only a few days until the inauguration. Even Kerry now is weighing in. Go ahead. SCIUTTO: No question. You know, inappropriate. I'm pretty sure it

took John Kerry some forbearance to not use a stronger term because, in private, I am certain he has stronger feelings, not about the man, Donald Trump, but about these positions here. Because John Kerry, secretary of state, knows the weight that American allies, NATO allies, particularly the eastern European allies, carry or invest in both the words and the actions of the biggest military power in the world, the U.S. It's really just hard to divine here. And I know that Sean Spicer, Donald Trump's spokesman, and others, have said these are just words. But I'll tell you, these words, they have enormous impact on those areas of the world where there's great nervousness right now.

BLITZER: And, Ivan, you're there in Hong Kong for us watching this U.S./China relationship emerge based on what -- actually, I want all of you guys to stand by because we're getting some breaking news.

Take a look at this. We're getting some live pictures coming in from Trump Tower in New York City. Momentarily. We expect the President- elect Donald Trump to emerge from the elevator there, walk over to reporters, walk over to the microphone. And he has been meeting with the son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Martin Luther King III. They've been meeting. They're going to walk over to the microphones and make a statement, we're told, about their meeting on this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr national celebration, this national day commemorating the civil rights leader here in the United States. They'll walk over. They'll make a statement. We'll have live coverage of that coming up.

Let's stand by for a moment. It looks like -- we were told they would be walking out momentarily. We'll wait a minute. We'll take a quick break and be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All right, they are now in the lobby, Martin Luther King III and the president-elect. Let's see if they make some statements.

(CROSSTAK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How did it go, sir?

(CROSSTAKL)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can we talk about the inauguration?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you attacking John Lewis?

BLITZER: The president-elect did not make a statement. There's Martin Luther King III. Let's see if he walks over and makes a statement to the news media. There are a lot of reporters that are there in the lobby at Trump tower. Looks like he is beginning to walk out.

Gloria Borger is with us as we're watching this. Gloria, it's an important day in the United States today. And we know this follows the criticism levels against the president-elect by Congressman John Lewis, who was a civil rights icon, who worked together with Martin Luther King Jr in the civil rights movement here in the United States. And on this day, the president-elect met with the son of Martin Luther King Jr.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it was a meeting that they clearly wanted to have, given the day that it is. Donald Trump was supposed to be here at the African-American Museum. Did not come to Washington for that. I do think, given the controversy, Wolf, that we've had between John Lewis and Donald Trump, I think what they're trying to do is lower the temperature a little bit.

BLITZER: I'm surprised, though, that the president-elect didn't make a statement when he was there together with Martin Luther King III.

We'll continue to watch what's going on.

Quickly, I want to go over to the White House right now. The president of the United States, President Obama, welcoming in the Chicago Cubs, the World Series champions. I want to listen in.

(LAUGHTER)

[13:45:02] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The truth is there was a reason, not just that people felt good about the Cubs winning. There was something about this particular Cubs team winning that people felt good about. For example, David Ross and I have something in common. We've both been on a year-long retirement party.

(LAUGHTER)

But --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: -- unlike grandpa, my team has not yet brought me a scooter with a motorized golf caddy -

(LAUGHTER)

--, but there are four days left. Maybe I'll get that.

(LAUGHTER)

The last time the Cubs won the world series, Teddy Roosevelt was president. Thomas Edison was still alive. The first Cubs radio broadcast wouldn't be for two days. We've been through world wars, Cold War, the Depression, a space race, all manner of social and technological change. During that time, those decades were also marked by Kill Phil Cavaretta and Ernie Banks, Billy Williams is here today.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: -- Ryan Sandberg, Maddox, Brace (ph) -

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Those decades were punctuated by Harry Caray's exuberance, "Hey, hey" and "holy cow" --

(LAUGHTER)

-- and capped off by, "Go, Cubs, go.

The first thing that made this championship so special for so many is that the Cubs know what it's like to be loyal and to persevere and to hope and then suffer and then keep on hoping. It's a generational thing. That's what you've heard Michelle describing. People all across the city remember the first time a parent took them to Wrigley or memories of climbing in their dad's lap to watch games on WGN. And that's part of the reason why Michelle invited -- made sure that Jose Cardonell was here because, that was her favorite player, and she was describing -

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: I'm going to quickly break away from the White House and the president with the Chicago Cubs.

Martin Luther King III, the son of the late Martin Luther King Jr, has just wrapped up a meeting with the president-elect. He is now in the lobby. He is speaking with reporters. Let's listen in.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know if Lewis still has the scars from the march on Selma? Were you offended by the president-elect's tweet describing Lewis is all talk and no action?

MARTIN LUTHER KING, III, SON OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: First of all, I think that in the heat of emotion a lot of things get said on both sides. I think that, at some point, I am, as John Lewis and many others are, a bridge builder. The goal is to bring America together and Americans. We are a great nation, but we must become a greater nation. What my father represented, my mother represented through her life, what I hope that I'm trying to do is always bring people together.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: As you know -- many African-Americans are very concerned about a Trump presidency. A woman came in here last week and told me he is going to have black people up against the wall, both literally and figuratively. Did he allay your concerns that he will be a president for all people, black and white?

KING: Well, certainly, he said that, that he is going to represent Americans. He said that over and over again. I think that we will evaluate that. I think the nation supports -- I believe that's his intent. But I think also we have to consistently engage with pressure, public pressure. It doesn't happen automatically. My father and his team understood that, did that. And I think that Americans are prepared to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sir, if I may follow-up. Isn't there something that just cuts to your core when you hear the president- elect refer to John Lewis as all talk and no action? I mean, nothing could be further from the truth, isn't that right? John Lewis is not all talk and no action.

KING: No, absolutely, I would say John Lewis has demonstrated that he is action. As I said, things get said on both sides in the heat of emotion. At some point, this nation, we've got to move forward. We can't stay on -- people are literally probably dying. We need to talk about how do we feed people, how do we clothe people, how do we create the best education system. That's what we need to focus on.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: On this day, what would your father's message be to President-elect Trump? What do you think your father's message would be to President-elect Trump?

[13:49:54] KING: This is the final answer because I'm going to reiterate what I just said. I think my father would be concerned about the fact there are 50 or 60 million people living in poverty and, somehow, we've got to create climate for all votes to be lifted. In America, with a $20 trillion economy, it's insanity that we have poor people in this nation. That's unacceptable. And when we work together, we know we can roll up our sleeves, there is nothing that we, as Americans, can't do.

Thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Martin Luther King III speaking out about this latest controversy surrounding representative John Lewis, the civil rights leader, the civil rights icon, who said the other day that the president-elect was not a legitimate president because the Russians had interfered in the U.S. election, causing a reaction from the president-elect on Twitter.

Gloria, as I said earlier, I was surprised that the president-elect was not talking together with Martin Luther King III at this opportunity over at Trump tower. They had an important meeting especially on this special day here in the United States, Martin Luther King Jr day.

BORGER: I think he clearly wanted to avoid questions about his tweet, about John Lewis. And I think what he wanted his guest to do was to lower the temperature for him which is exactly what Martin Luther King III was trying to do. He did say John Lewis was action, not just talk. But he did talk about how both sides need to kinds of cool it a little bit as you head into a new administration. And so, in many ways, maybe it was better coming from him than it was -- it would be coming from Donald Trump himself. BLITZER: That's a good point, Dana.

Dana is here. David Chalian is with us as well.

Dana, your reaction?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think, as usual, Gloria is dead right, that you know, it doesn't - look, it would have been a nice photo op for Donald Trump to stand next to MLK III. He understands imagery. And perhaps for him to just stand there, it might look forced and fake and for him to walk away and let the guy with the famous name do it for him and the man that we are celebrating today, it makes a huge difference.

BLITZER: Because what he could have done and decided he didn't want to do, merge with Martin Luther King III, go to the micro phones, make a nice statement on this day -- he tweeted lovely words with Martin Luther King Jr -- made that statement and then left, and then let Martin Luther King III answer reporters' questions. We see that often from leaders.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Donald Trump probably made the right calculation that that may have opened a whole can of worms as they are trying to move beyond this story today now that we are four days before the inauguration rather than all the shouted questions of all the implications with the battle with John Lewis have the validator in Martin Luther King III go out there, do his evaluation of Donald Trump at the moment. And as Gloria said, trying to diffuse -- Donald Trump going out there, just having questions shouted at him can allow the story to continue to bubble, rather than diffuse.

BLITZER: The story will continue to bubble.

CHALIAN: That's true.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: It's not going to be --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Gloria, you have a documentary airing on CNN tonight on the first daughter, Ivanka Trump. I want to play an excerpt, a little clip. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORGER (voice-over): While, Jared is taking a coveted spot inside the West Wing Ivanka has decided not to take an office there, at least not yet. Instead, she is working on a child care proposal behind the scenes and getting her family settled in the Tony Calarama neighborhood in Washington.

(on camera): How will she be most helpful, if you were to kind of take a - say this the way I think Ivanka would most help DonAld Trump? DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF DONALD TRUMMP: I think there is the Donald

Trump that I know, as a son, and so I think if she can sort of show some of the softer side of him and be able to bridge some of those gaps, I think it could go a long way towards his efficacy in getting things he wants done.

BORGER (voice-over): Though she is stepping away from the Trump organization and her own brand, Ivanka will likely face possible questions about her possible conflicts of interest, like marketing the dress she wore at the Republican convention.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, I think that idea of conflict of interest is going to hound her. I mean, if she meets with somebody who runs one of the Trump hotels after the same day she was in the White House, people are going to say it's a conflict. That's going to happen.

The key to the Trump enterprise is they don't think in terms, per se, of conflicts of interest. They think of legal and illegal. They think of winning and losing.

BORGER (voice-over): With her father winning the White House, Ivanka Trump is on target to become the most influential first daughter ever.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, SENIOR TRUMP ADVISOR: Ivanka Trump certainly is. You know, at 35, she's a successful business woman twice, in real estate development, in development in her own brand. I think she would be very powerful. Again, I don't sense from Ivanka it's about power. It's about impact.

(CHEERING)

[13:55:09] BORGER: And it's about the family, protecting and enhancing the newest brand, the Trump presidency.

ERIC TRUMP, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: You value family, especially in that world. And I think you know, for years, we had always heard real estate is one of the most coat-throat industries in the world. It's nothing compared to politics. It's nothing compared to politics. And then, I think when you go through that and you live through it, I think, quite frankly, you become a closer family than ever before. They are the closest people in your life. They are the people who will look out for you when others might have conflicting interests. And that's very, very special. And I think we all, in some certain way, and Ivanka will lend that in a very big way.

She has a great way of being able to talk to him. He trusts her. She has proven herself time and time again in business. And whatever she decides to do in Washington, there is a role for her then, I'm sure she will up to that. But that's really up to her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We are looking forward to the documentary later on tonight. He really trusts his adult children with these critical important decisions, and his social as well, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband.

BORGER: The thing I've learned about Donald Trump in covering him is that loyalty is so important to him. And who are the most loyal people in your life but your family? And these are his adult children, who have been his business partners. So, he knows how they make decisions. Because he has worked with them before. So, I think they are the first among equals in the White House.

That can be very complicating in a White House, Wolf, when you have top staffers -- and what if there is a disagreement between Jared Kushner or Ivanka Trump and some people at the top levels in the White House? You know, that's going to remain to be seen, how they work it out. I remember Nancy Reagan disagreeing with people on the White House staff and she seemed to win a lot of those arguments -- Wolf?

BLITZER: She certainly did. She had a very, very influential role.

BORGER: Right. Yes, she did.

BLITZER: As some of us, who covered that administration, can recall.

Good work. Thanks so much.

BORGER: Sure.

BLITZER: You can see Gloria's special report, "First Daughter, Ivanka Trump," that airs later on tonight, 9:00 p.m. eastern, right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:11] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN. Thank you so much for joining me --