Kelly Says Trump "Uninformed" on Border Wall; Trump and the Porn Star; CNN is First News Outlet to Inspect Houthi Missile
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.</s>JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Ahead this hour, reality bites. The White House admits Mexico won't directly pay for a border wall and says the president's position is evolving on other key campaign promises.</s>SESAY (voice-over): North and South Korea will march under the same flag in next month's Olympics. Is it pure symbolism or a sign of real progress?</s>VAUSE (voice-over): And few supplies, little hope but no shortage of desperation. The migrants who ignore all the warnings and try to cross the French Alps despite the danger.</s>SESAY (voice-over): Hello and thank you for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay.</s>VAUSE (voice-over): And I'm John Vause. This is NEWSROOM L.A.</s>SESAY: Well, as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised to cut immigration and build a border wall that Mexico would pay for. Now just days away from his first year in office, his chief of staff says Mr. Trump's attitude is evolving.</s>VAUSE: Trump clearly told lawmakers some of candidate Trump's positions on the border wall were not informed. He also addressed the president's stance on DACA, the program that protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children by their parents.</s>JOHN F. KELLY, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: He's very definitely changed his attitude toward the DACA issue and even the wall. He has evolved in the way he's looked at things. Campaign to governing are two different things. And this president has been very, very flexible in terms of what is within the realm of the possible.</s>VAUSE: Joining us now, David Siders, senior reporter for Politico; Ethan Bearman, a California talk radio host and Lanhee Chen, research fellow at the Hoover Institute and former public policy director for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Not every campaign promise is kept but not every campaign promise was like this one.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words. It will be a great wall. Mexico's going to pay for the wall. Mexico is going to pay for the wall. Mexico will pay for the wall. And Mexico's going to pay for the wall and they understand that. Mexico is going to pay for the wall. Believe me. 100 percent. And who's going to pay for the wall? And who's going to pay for the wall? Who?</s>VAUSE: Yes, no, not now. David, this is a big one to walk away from, acknowledging that the government won't directly pay for the wall. They're going to have to find other ways to do this. And on top of that, I'm trying to work out, is it a good idea to have the chief of staff break this news? You know, presidents announce good news; cabinet secretaries announce bad. But how is this going to go over with the Trump base?</s>DAVID SIDERS, POLITICO: Well, the chief of staff is breaking what I think most people knew all along, which is that Mexico was not. But this will not go over well with the Republican base. So you're already seeing Trump surrogates outside the White House coalescing and saying, well, maybe in negotiations over NAFTA, that's how Mexico pays for the wall, which just isn't the case in any normal understanding of what it means for somebody to pay for the wall. So it's a danger, I think, for the base. But we'll see. I mean, they haven't had a president with this kind of rhetoric on immigration ever. So I'm not sure that it diminishes him entirely in their view.</s>VAUSE: OK, so, Ethan, on David's point, everyone kind of realized that it was never going to happen. But there's this hardcore base that really thought that Mexico would pay for this.</s>ETHAN BEARMAN, TALK SHOW RADIO HOST: No question that it was going to be this gigantic, big, beautiful wall, because they're ignorant to the Big Bend region of Texas, for example. If you've ever been there, there's no way to build a wall there. It's ridiculous. Secondly, that base doesn't care about reality, truth, facts. They don't matter. They still believe that Mexico will pay for the wall and they're going to spin it exactly as David just said. Well, it's going to be through NAFTA but they're going to pay for the wall.</s>VAUSE: Right, OK, so --</s>VAUSE: -- this is all part of the evolution, of the changing positions of Donald Trump on certain issues. This is what the Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell told reporters on Wednesday.</s>SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: I'm looking for something that President Trump supports. And he's not yet indicated what measure he's willing to sign. As soon as we figure out what is he for, then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels.</s>VAUSE: So, Lanhee, that was Mitch McConnell talking about Donald Trump's position or lack of position, when it comes to immigration. Do the evolving views of the president mean that there should be hope that there can be</s>VAUSE: -- or does it just add to the confusion of where all this is heading?</s>LANHEE CHEN, THE HOOVER INSTITUTE: Well, I think that the president actually, because he has demonstrated a willingness to be flexible, let's say, on some of these things, suggests that there's a greater possibility or probability that there will actually be some kind of deal that can get struck on this. The challenge for Republicans, particularly the House and the Senate leadership, is that if the goalposts keep on moving, it's going to be very difficult for them to determine how much support they'll actually get from the Republican base, the Republican members of Congress. So Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan need to have a sense of where the president's going just for anything else to know how many votes they need, who they need to have in favor of a particular resolution. So, yes, in one sense it does open the floodgates for a potential deal. On the other hand, it makes the job of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell that much more difficult.</s>VAUSE: Ethan, do you see this as a way toward a compromise deal or is it just adding to what's out there and no one knows where it's going?</s>BEARMAN: It's adding to what's out there. What makes this worse, when you listen to Mitch McConnell, e sounds like a Democrat. He could have been Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer right there because the president -- we don't know what he's going to do. Is he going to tweet out, oh, the Republicans are --</s>BEARMAN: -- it's terrible; this style of negotiation maybe worked for him in the real estate world. It's sure not working out for him very well in the political world. And I actually oddly feel badly for Mitch McConnell right now.</s>VAUSE: That's a first. OK. We are learning more about John Kelly, the chief of staff. Here's part of our reporting on Kelly. "He's a fierce advocate for hardline policies that drastically limit the number of people entering the U.S. and he'll remain so, even as the government barrels toward a potential shutdown over the issue. "'Kelly is a hard ass,' said one Republican lawmaker, who requested anonymity to discuss Kelly's approach to immigration. 'Some people might think he's softer; he's a hard ass also and a straight, straight shooter. He doesn't sugar coat things.'" David, it also seems Kelly is now playing a much bigger role in this administration, way beyond this guy who brought some discipline to this disorderly White House.</s>SIDERS: I think we've seen -- iterations of this over and over with Trump. There was going to be this person or this person or this person controlling Trump. And I do think you heard from lawmakers this week frustration with what they viewed as staff interference with the White House. But the fact that we're talking about this right now, Donald Trump watches television and this is likely to infuriate him if he feels he's being undercut, especially in public, like we heard from General Kelly.</s>VAUSE: Here's how Kelly describes his relationship with the president.</s>KELLY: He and I talk constantly -- weekends, early mornings, late at night. We talk constantly. He bounces ideas off of me. I'm very proud of the fact that he respects my opinion. But, again, he's the President of the United States. He's got his own way of doing business. But, again, I see a man who is -- can change his mind when the facts and the and the data and the staff work and the conversation brings him to a different conclusion.</s>VAUSE: Lanhee, is this an outsized role for a chief of staff? Or is this pretty much business as usual?</s>CHEN: Well, I think a lot of Republicans, probably a lot of Democrats, too, are probably breathing a sigh of relief that General Kelly is the chief of staff. I think different administrations have had different models of what the chief of staff is like. For some administrations, the chief of staff has been more of an administrator in chief, running the White House staff, thinking about the operation of the White House staff. In others, the chief of staff has been more like the consigliere to the president. So it doesn't surprise me that General Kelly is playing multiple roles. It doesn't surprise me that he's in fact the one who's helping to steer the ship here. And I think actually we should all have some degree of comfort that this is going on.</s>VAUSE: OK, well, if there is no deal on immigration, the Democrats may not support a budget measure to keep the government funded past Friday, which is when the money runs out. If it gets to that point, the White House is pretty clear it knows who will get the blame.</s>SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president certainly doesn't want a shutdown. If one happens, I think you only have one place to look and that's to the Democrats.</s>VAUSE: David, history would indicate that Sarah Sanders is completely wrong about that, that it is the party in power; when you control the lower house, when you control the Senate, when you control the White House, as the Republicans do, they're the ones who are in charge. They're the ones to get blamed.</s>SIDERS: I would say yes with one caveat. Republicans control Congress, obviously. But the reason that they will blame Democrats is on immigration. And it has been, for a long time, that I think immigration is a good talking point. It's a good issue for Republicans. I'm not sure that that's the case anymore, now that we're into this land of television cameras, watching people getting deported out of a Detroit airport. I'm not sure that it's good anymore for them, even in the short term, that they have been using it. I never thought it was a good move long-term. But this will be a real test of that --</s>SIDERS: -- because it will be Democrats saying, you have the majority. And it will be Republicans putting their political lives really on the immigration issue.</s>VAUSE: And Ethan, if in fact the Republicans do get blamed for the shutdown, which, if history is a judge, that's what usually happens, what will be the consequences for the administration and for Republicans in Congress?</s>BEARMAN: Well, I think this is important. It's going to cost a lot of money. We learned it from Ted Cruz's stunt, that it was $21 billion was the cost of shutting down the government, is what it actually cost the American people. I think that the Democrats can play that, we can demonstrate that this is going to cost a lot of money. And it's because the Republicans will be unwilling to compromise, to David's point, on issues like immigration. Compromise, find some middle ground. I've been asking for this for a long time. We have such acrimony, nobody wants to compromise. I think we saw some inkling of it and then Donald Trump tweeted and it ruined it again.</s>VAUSE: Let me give you some bipartisanship, some middle ground on the issue of Steve Bannon, the former White House strategist, the former Trump campaign manager, the former editor of Breitbart. Ladies, he's single. He infuriated both Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday by refusing to answer questions about Russia and the Trump campaign. Listen to Republican congressman Trey Gowdy.</s>REP. TREY GOWDY (R-S.C.), CHAIRMAN, OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: I am frustrated whenever people assert privileges that do not exist. And I am really frustrated when witnesses have all the time in the world to talk to the media on and off the record and they can help people write books but they can't talk to the representatives that are elected by their fellow citizens. I mean, picture that. He's happy to tell an author about treasonous, unpatriotic acts but he won't tell members of Congress when he's pressed on it.</s>VAUSE: So, Lanhee, explain this, why is Bannon playing hardball with Congress but he plans to cooperate with the special counsel investigating the Russia collusion?</s>CHEN: Well, quite frankly, because the special counsel can actually bring charges that could cost Bannon some time and maybe his freedom. So you know, obviously he sees that as a much more serious threat than the threat from Congress, which he sees more as political. And look, there's no one there anymore, to give Bannon even political cover, now that the president has turned on him, pretty much everyone in the Republican Party has turned on him as well. So Steve Bannon, as you alluded to, is the one figure that draws unanimity amongst Democrats and Republicans. And that's unanimity with an element of scorn.</s>VAUSE: And, Ethan, there was this admission from the White House that it instructed Bannon not to answer questions from the House Intelligence Committee, which many are saying that amounts to a gag order.</s>BEARMAN: Yes, and I'm not sure I fully agree with Trey Gowdy. He is exceptionally intelligent. He's a prosecutor before becoming a congressman. But executive privilege does apply, if they were asking questions about times when Bannon was working with the president. There is executive privilege. So I don't fully agree with him. It will be very interesting to see what happens, though, when Bannon goes and speaks with the Mueller team. And that is what really counts in all of this, is the criminal investigation with the Russia collusion and what Bannon might actually know about it.</s>VAUSE: And, David, how crucial or how key is Steve Bannon when he goes and talks to Robert Mueller? How much damage, I guess, could this guy do to the administration?</s>SIDERS: Well, I think the answer to that question is in watching him today and how frequently his lawyer is on the phone with the White House. And that, I think, suggests that at least people in the White House are very concerned about what he might say and I think that plays out there.</s>VAUSE: OK, finally, the president and his physical exam, does he or does he not have heart disease?</s>DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He does have heart disease, is that what you said?</s>DR. RONNY JACKSON, WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: He does not have heart disease, no.</s>GUPTA: You have a CT scan on the report that showed his calcium and his coronary heart --</s>JACKSON: He does. He did. He had a -- so I think -- so, technically, he has nonclinical atherosclerotic coronary -- coronary atherosclerosis. So that's been mentioned in previous physical exams. So I think overall his coronary calcium score is very reassuring and goes along with the rest of his cardiac workup.</s>VAUSE: Ethan, it's not just Dr. Gupta who's raising this question about heart disease and it does raise the issue about that assessment. How can Trump be in excellent health if he's at risk of heart disease with high cholesterol and doesn't do any exercise?</s>BEARMAN: It's a very interesting exchange; I'm not a doctor, so I can't address it from that end. But I think it's very interesting that we still are ignoring the elephant in the room, which is the psychiatric evaluation, that I would like to see somebody -- I think this should become part of the process for presidents to have a basic psychological evaluation that is done, so we can understand if these people are psychopaths, sociopaths, connected with reality or not. Heart disease, look, a lot of men in that age group are at risk. So it's not as big a deal.</s>VAUSE: There's confirmation he had a heart. I guess --</s>VAUSE: -- about his mental situation. OK, Ethan and David and Lanhee --</s>VAUSE: -- thank you all for being with us. Appreciate it. OK, new details are emerging about an alleged affair between President Trump and an adult film star dating back to 2006. Details from CNN's Brian Todd.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More news outlets are now coming forward, acknowledging they had information about an alleged affair between Donald Trump and a porn actress, who goes by the name Stormy Daniels. New accounts that raise questions about President Trump's denial of the affair. CNN has learned that FOX News and ABC's "Good Morning, America" had information about the alleged affair in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election but didn't publish it. The "Daily Beast" and "Slate" say they had it, too, and didn't publish it. CNN was told about FOX's decision by four people familiar with the matter. And despite FOX's pro-Trump leanings, a top editor at the network told CNN, "In doing our due diligence, we were unable to verify all of the facts and publish a story."</s>OLIVER DANCY, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Despite the on-the-record confirmation from the porn actress's manager at the time and despite the reporter having seen documents about a settlement, it just did not meet their standard for publication.</s>TODD (voice-over): "Slate," the "Daily Beast" and sources at ABC News all say they communicated with Daniels shortly before the election about doing interviews but that Daniels suddenly stopped corresponding with them or backed out of interviews. On Friday, "The Wall Street Journal" reported in October 2016, Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels to keep her silent about the alleged affair. Cohen, the White House and Daniels have denied the affair happened. Daniels in a statement sent by Cohen denied getting hush money. Now new accounts are surfacing. Alana Evans, a porn actress who says she is a friend of Daniels, described to NBC's Megyn Kelly what she said Daniels told her about Daniels' alleged first encounter with Trump at a Lake Tahoe, Nevada, resort in 2006.</s>ALANA EVANS, ADULT FILM ACTOR: And she says, well, picture this, Donald Trump chasing me around the bedroom in his tighty whities -- isn't something that you ever forget.</s>TODD (voice-over): No one is saying the alleged affair wasn't consensual. And now the gossip magazine, "In Touch Weekly," is out with a personal first-hand account from Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, about the alleged affair. Daniels describes in some detail her alleged first sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and says, quote, "He told me once that I was someone to be reckoned with, beautiful and smart, just like his daughter." An editor at "In Touch" tells CNN, they had this information back in 2011. Why didn't they publish it then?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why wasn't it published before? I can't really speak to. In fact, I don't have the answer. But when I was made aware of it just a few days ago, I immediately realized that had to be the next cover at "In Touch."</s>TODD: "In Touch" magazine would not tell us whether they pay for interviews or not but the magazine's editor said they did not pay Stormy Daniels. Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, sent us a new statement, saying, quote, "This is not breaking news. This is old news that wasn't true then and isn't true now. An old and debunked story that Ms. Clifford denied in 2011, 2016 and 2018," end quote. Another attorney who represents Stormy Daniels did not return our calls -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.</s>SESAY: Quick break here, North and South Korea find common ground in talks about the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. How they'll stand together -- ahead.</s>VAUSE: Plus, migrants have already crossed the desert and the Mediterranean Sea and must now brave the bitter cold of the Alps, sometimes on foot and barefoot, rather, all in search of a better life in France.