[Blitzer:] Back-to-back breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. We just learned that a trip by President Trump is now being called off because of fear of protest. Let's get the latest from our CNN White House reporter Jeremy Diamond. He's on the North Lawn of the White House. What are you learning, Jeremy?
[Jeremy Diamond, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Hi, Wolf. Yes, an administration official just told me moments ago that President Trump was scheduled to go to Milwaukee to visit a Harley- Davidson factory on Thursday. That trip has now been canceled after Harley-Davidson decided that had it wasn't comfortable hosting the president amid a flurry of protests that have been planned for the president's what was supposed to be the president's visit to Milwaukee on Thursday. The company apparently told Trump administration officials that it wasn't necessarily what the president was planning to do there, where he was potentially going to sign some executive orders on American manufacturing, but it was really the presence of protests, protests planned because of the president's immigration ban. So, we're seeing the continued effect here snowballing as the president looks to continue to implement his agenda. He's hitting roadblocks once again, in part because of this controversial immigration executive order, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. Good reporting. Jeremy Diamond over at the White House. You know, Dana, it's pretty extraordinary. Not even two weeks into this presidency and already a trip like this, which normally would have been a routine trip for a new U.S. president to go to Wisconsin, meet with Harley-Davidson workers, executives, all of a sudden fear of protests resulting in Harley-Davidson telling the White House "Not a good time to show up."
[Bash:] Right. And you're talking about what was supposed to be the core of the Trump message and the Trump presidency, which is jobs and jobs in places that he says presidents before and Democrats before have forgotten. Harley-Davidson, an American company in the state of Wisconsin, which President Trump won, first time a Republican won there in three decades since 1984, and was going to go talk about manufacturing. And American manufacturing. The fact that the company said, "You know what? It's just not going to be a good scene for you. Don't come," is the first real-world example of how this whole disaster of the travel situation has stepped on what was supposed to be his core message, which is jobs, jobs, jobs, getting America working again, and you know, that's it. That is really the reason why people in Wisconsin, in Michigan voted for Donald Trump.
[Blitzer:] Yes, Ron, you want to weigh in?
[Brownstein:] Yes. Well, I say I think it goes even deeper than the executive order, although that's certainly the flashpoint right now. I mean, I tweeted the other day asking, is it would it be possible for Donald Trump, President Trump to go to any major city without experiencing major protests? I mean, the core divide that we saw in this election was geographic. Hillary Clinton won 88 of the 100 largest counties in America. He dominated in smaller midsize cities and rural areas. But the actions of the presidency in the two weeks have deepened the divides, I think, that we saw in the election. You know, in Gallup poling the other day, he reached 50 percent, a majority of Americans saying they disapproved of him after eight days in office. For President Obama, he didn't reach that dubious milestone until about 600 days. For George W. Bush it was about 1,200 days. Ronald Reagan, I believe, around 700 days. So what we're seeing is kind of an intense polarization that is reflected in this decision, but also, I think will have a real impact on Democrats on Capitol Hill. Not so much on President Trump or Republicans, but Democrats in many ways are will be scrambling. I think are scrambling to keep up with their own coalition, which has shown a visceral reaction against many of the initiatives that the president is pursuing.
[Blitzer:] And Ron, let me just repeat the news for viewers just tuning in. This according to our Jeremy Diamond, our White House reporter, an administration official tells him the president will not head to Milwaukee for a visit at a Harley-Davidson factory on Thursday which had been scheduled. The company deciding it wasn't comfortable hosting the president amid plans of protests in Milwaukee. This according to an administration official. We've covered new presidents for a while, you and me. Have you ever seen anything this early in an administration unfolding like this...
[Brownstein:] No.
[Blitzer:] ... protests and controversy one would call it even chaos as a result of that travel ban executive order?
[Brownstein:] No. Look, there's never been anything like this. First of all, there's never anything like the protests the day after the inaugural where essentially 1 in every 100 Americans protested in the streets. And then to have a repeat performance the next weekend at airports, which are not an easy place to get to, around this issue. And, you know, tens of thousands of people again in the streets. And then again, this underlying reality in public opinion. There are a lot of people who are very enthused about the change that Donald Trump is pursuing, and we continue to see that in stories when people go into the heart of Trump country. But there is no question that he has stirred a deeper backlash at the outset than any president, I think, in modern times reflected in both the magnitude of these protests, which capture the intensity, and the underlying reality that in a Gallup poll he is already at 50 a majority disapproval, eight, nine days into his presidency when it usually takes years for most presidents. Bill Clinton was the previous shortest ever, at about 160 days. Donald Trump got there in eight.
[Bash:] I just want to add that I think Ron certainly makes a very good point about the fact that the cities tend to be where the anti-Trump voters were. But Milwaukee has been historically...
[Brownstein:] Yes.
[Bash:] ... a Republican sort of oasis when it comes to cities in Wisconsin. I mean, it is where Scott Walker is from, the suburbs around there, and, you know. And also it's not just that's true politically, but also a company like Harley-Davidson, it's not I'm not saying it's partisan, but I have been to Harley-Davidson, you know, factories and so forth in Wisconsin with Republican after Republican. They are used to hosting Republican politicians. So, the fact that they even thought this is not a good thing, I think is quite telling.
[Blitzer:] And it is extraordinary, this early in a new administration, to see something like this unfold. And as you point out, especially on a gut issue which he campaigned on: manufacturing here in the United States.
[Bash:] Manufacturing in the United States, and as something as symbolically American and as American as it gets, which is Harley- Davidson, right?
[Blitzer:] Very quickly, Laura, on the two finalists, if you will, on the Supreme Court nominee, we're going to hear about that 8 p.m. Eastern later tonight. They're both conservatives, but are there major differences? You've studied them studied them.
[Coats:] Well, one of the major differences between the two is one is far more prolific on the area of abortion and pro-life issues.
[Blitzer:] Which one?
[Coats:] That's Gorsuch. And he, in fact, has written a book on kind of the sanctity of life. And the real issue with those two distinctions is the fact that, you know, we have in the past had with Justice Souter somebody who wasn't as well-written on the areas of abortion and intended in fact, became one of the biggest disappointments for conservatives and changed and actually voted in favor of upholding Roe v. Wade. So that lack of information about his views on whether or not he would indeed seek a reversal on Roe v. Wade is a very critical issue for someone like Donald Trump.
[Blitzer:] Do you see differences between them, Joan? I do. Judge Gorsuch is much more in the mold of Justice Scalia. He's got a very clear conservative approach to the law that he's written a lot about. He's much more of an intellectual thinker. He's much more consistent in what he's done. Judge Hardiman, I think it's a little bit more of a mixed bag on terms of case-by-case approach. But as we've said all day, he will bring something different to the court if President Trump were to name him, just because he comes much more from a blue-collar world than the sterling sort of privileged world of Judge Gorsuch. And we will have coverage, of course, 8:00 p.m. Eastern later tonight, when the President is in the White House, in the east room, formally making this announcement. I want to show our viewers some live pictures coming in from Minneapolis, Minnesota. There you see some live pictures. People protesting the travel ban imposed by the President. This is not Milwaukee, this is Minneapolis. Other protests elsewhere around the country as well. We'll continue to watch all of this. Up next, the President's top political strategist, Steve Bannon. He's already a lightning rod for critics of the Trump administration. Is he the most powerful person in the White House?