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Trump Picks Two Key Staffers; Trump Vows To First Expel Criminal Immigrants; Iraqi Forces Liberate Ancient Village; Text Messages Warn Aleppo Residents To Flee; India Struggles With Rupee Shakeup; Assange To be Questioned Over Rape Accusations; Powerful Earthquake Hit New Zealand. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 14, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:00] CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's presidency is taking shape. The president-elect chooses two key members of his new staff.

Iraqi forces have recaptured an ancient village and its ruins that had been targeted for destruction by ISIS.

Plus, parts of New Zealand are bracing for more aftershocks after a deadly earthquake hits.

VANIER: Hello. Thank you very much for joining us. I'm Cyril Vanier. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

We're starting to get a clearer picture of how the Trump White House will look when he takes office next year.

On one side, is the Republican Party establishment represented by Reince Priebus, here on the right, he is chair of the Republican National Committee. And on Sunday, Trump picked him to be White House Chief of Staff, a person who's sometimes described as the second most powerful in Washington.

Then there's Steve Bannon on the left, who's a political outlier outlier associated with the far right. He headed Donald Trump's campaign, and he, too, is going to play a key role in the White House since the president-elect has appointed him chief strategist and senior counselor.

So, how is that going to play out? A Washington insider versus the man who wanted to bring down the republican establishment, both in the same White House.

Well, here's CNN's Chris Frates.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Donald Trump has named Reince Priebus as his Chief of Staff, and Steve Bannon as his Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor.

Now, by naming Priebus as Chief of Staff, Trump put the head of the Republican National Committee in one of the most powerful positions in Washington.

But Priebus's insider cred is balanced out by Bannon's anti- establishment world view.

In a statement, Trump said this of the duo, "Bannon and Priebus will continue the effective leadership team they formed during the campaign, working as equal partners to transform the federal government, making it much more efficient, effective and productive."

Now, Priebus is known inside the beltway and he's got good working relationships with the republicans who are running congress. These are people like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan who's been a longtime friend of Priebus, both from the home state of Wisconsin.

Now, Priebus's knowledge of Washington could be key in helping Trump pass his agenda through congress.

Bannon, who is Trump's campaign CEO, also ran "Breitbart News," which has been accused of catering to racist, sexist and anti-Semitic audiences. And Bannon's also been very critical of the GOP establishment.

Now, both men will advise the next president. Chris Frates, CNN, Washington.

VANIER: It's pretty clear Steve Bannon is a controversial figure in the Republican Party.

Jake Tapper reports now on the concerns over Trump's pick for chief strategist.

(BEGIN VIEOTAPE)

ANA NAVARO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Do you have a match somewhat so that I could set my hair on fire?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN THE LEAD ANCHOR: Steve Bannon came to the Trump campaign from "Breitbart News," a bomb-throwing site favored by the so-called "Alt-right." A mixture of conservatives and populists, white supremacists and anti-Semites. A news outlet that gave Trump favorable coverage.

Bannon's appointment to the Trump campaign immediately raised flags at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

RICHARD COHEN, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER PRESISENT: I don't think people realize just how far outside of the mainstream, some of the ideas are that the Breitbart Web site under Mr. Bannon has promoted. It's been racist, it's been homophobic, it's been anti-immigrant.

TAPPER: Many establishment republicans found themselves agreeing with Hillary Clinton when she took on Bannon and Breitbart in August.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here are a few headlines they've published. And I'm not making this up. "Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy."

"Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?" "Gabby Giffords, the gun control movement's human shield."

TAPPER: Another problem in terms of day-to-day governing is that Bannon and Breitbart have a long record of taking on establishment republicans whom Bannon felt betrayed the conservative cause.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER BREITBART NEWS CHAIRMAN: We don't really believe there is a functional conservative party in this country. We certainly don't think the Republican Party is that.

TAPPER: One prime target, House Speaker Paul Ryan whom Bannon once complained was "rubbing his social-justice Catholicism in my nose every second." Weeks after Paul Ryan had been named Speaker of the House, according to a leaked email published by "The Hill," Bannon said he had plans for the republican, "Long game is him gone by spring."

BANNON: What we need to do is bitch-slap the Republican Party and get those guys, you know, heeding to. And if we have to, we'll take it over.

[01:04:49] TAPPER: Bannon guided Trump to take his campaign and American politics into places that establishment republicans found uncomfortable. He was a major force behind Trump's decision to appear this fall with women who had accused bill Clinton of sexual assault. Regardless of, Trump's own vulnerabilities on that issue and that "Access Hollywood" tape that had come out just days before.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Grab them by the pussy.

TAPPER: For Trump, a candidate who dispensed with many of the political, not to mention general societal niceties.

TRUMP: And you can tell them to go -- themselves.

TAPPER: Bannon was a good fit. In 2007, Bannon's ex-wife accused him of making anti-Semitic remarks, trying to keep his daughters from attending a school with a sizable Jewish population.

"He said he doesn't like Jews and that he doesn't like that they raise their kids to be whiney brats," his wife said in the court documents.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Steve Bannon has denied those charges. I know he enjoys a very strong relationship with his ex-wife.

COHEN: Bannon created a home for white supremacy, white nationalism online. And the danger now, of course, is that he's going to provide a home for it in the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: CNN Political Commentator Ryan Lizza joins us for more on the transition and Donald Trump's first big choices.

Ryan, Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee will indeed be the next White House Chief of Staff. So, in the end, it looks like the President-elect Donald Trump went with the safe choice. Is that right?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: For that position, I think so, yes.

Look, a couple of good things about Priebus in terms of Donald Trump passing an agenda. He's very close to the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan. They're both from Wisconsin. That's a really important relationship.

And so, if Donald Trump's first year is going to be about moving legislation through Congress, that's a good sign.

I will say, though, you know, Trump doesn't have any experience governing, and even though Reince Priebus has been the head of the RNC, he doesn't really have this kind of experience.

He comes from state politics when he was the head of the RNC, but he's never actually worked in the legislature or in the White House.

And so, we haven't yet seen from Trump people with any governing experience. And that's a little bit concerning for someone who has never done this before.

VANIER: So you're disputing this notion that he's chosen a safe pair of hands to guide him through the dos and don'ts of Washington?

LIZZA: I think so. I mean, we'll talk about - then we'll talk about Bannon in a second, but Priebus, in comparison to this other guy Steve Bannon, who's been talk - who is now the Chief Strategist, I think is seen as more establishment figure, someone who knows Washington better.

So, we're perhaps exaggerating his level of experience. But it's not, for instance, like Barack Obama when he chose Rahm Emmanuel, someone who had come from the hill to be his Chief of Staff and had that governing experience.

So far we haven't seen any picks with governing experience.

VANIER: Just before we get back to Steve Bannon, one more about Reince Priebus, can you still take on the establishment as Trump has promised to do when your right-hand man is an establishment figure?

LIZZA: Well, what does this mean to take on the establishment? I know it's - I mean, to me -

VANIER: I mean, that's his campaign promise, drain the swamp.

LIZZA: Exactly. Drain the swamp, right.

I mean, I've probably lived here too long, but I've lived in Washington almost 20 years. And, the truth is the swamp never gets drained. Just the creatures change. So, you know, he's the - he's not -- he is the establishment now. The

day you take that office, the day you win, you're now the establishment. And I think that's why he's got Steve Bannon as his Chief Strategist to try and keep some of that outsider mentality front and center in the White House.

VANIER: As I - as I read it, there are really two different possible reads on the nomination of Reince Priebus. Either you think that the republican establishment is gaining a foothold in the Trump White House, or you see this the other way around.

The president-elect affirming his control over the republican establishment to try and make it his own. So, what's your read?

LIZZA: That's a great way to put it. And the truth is, look, Trump had this very small staff. He comes from the business world.

He -- if you want to staff the government as a republican, you are inevitably going to draw on the republican establishment and the people who are just sort of the permanent government in waiting on the republican side.

And, look, it happened in the campaign. Reince Priebus helped Donald Trump win. He was a very important adviser. So it's not like Priebus is all of a sudden, you know, being thrust into this role.

But I tend to think it's a little bit more of the establishment bending to Trump right now. We'll see if that dynamic changes if the center of gravity moves back towards the Paul Ryans and the establishment republicans over time.

But right now, this is much more Trump is the center of gravity. He's the sort of sun that these other people are revolving around.

VANIER: What about the possible relationship between Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus? I know, they've worked together on the campaign, but they're very, I mean, different, potentially antagonistic figures. Do you think Trump might be playing one against the other?

[01:10:00] LIZZA: Absolutely. You know, Lincoln talked about a team of rivals. This is a team of rivals.

Bannon is a very controversial person in American politics. He turned a -- what was just a sort of average - you know, normal right wing Web site into a right-wing Web site that brought into American politics and mainstreamed in American politics what we call the "Alt-right" but which used to just be called white nationalists.

And he really changed the Web site that he ran into a place where racism and white nationalism had a sort of mainstream currency that just did not exist. So, he's extremely controversial here in the States. The fact he was brought in to run Donald Trump's campaign was very controversial.

And we frankly have -- in modern politics, have never seen someone with his views and background in a senior position at the White House. So, I think a lot of us who cover politics are really trying to - you

know, struggling to wrap our heads around the fact this person has gone from the fringes of American politics right into the oval office.

VANIER: Ryan Lizza, a lot of insights there. Thank you for sharing them with us. Thanks a lot.

Donald Trump is sending out some mixed signals on some of his key campaign promises. During an interview with "60 MINUTES" on CBS, Trump was asked if he still plans to deport millions of immigrants, and if he would settle for a fence instead of a wall on the Southern U.S. border. Here's his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: For certain areas, I would, but certain areas, a wall is more appropriate. I'm very good at this. It's called construction --

LESLEY STAHL, CBS HOST: So, part wall, part fence?

TRUMP: So, the sense will be -- yes. It could be - it could be some fencing.

STAHL: What about the pledge to deport millions and millions of undocumented immigrants?

TRUMP: What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and -- have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, we a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could even be 3 million.

We're getting them out of our country or we're going to incarcerate. But we're getting them out of our country. They're here illegally.

After the border is secured, and after everything gets normalized, we're going to make a determination on the people that you're talking about who are terrific people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: And the U.S. House Speaker, Republican, Paul Ryan is also to try to calm people down, saying there are no plans for mass deportations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Is there anything that you, as Speaker of the House, one of the leaders of the nation, want to say to them?

PAUL RYAN, REPUBLICAN HOUSE SPEAKER OF WISCONSIN: Sure. First of all, I hated that people feel this way. And second of all, they should not.

I think people should rest assured. America is a pluralistic, inclusive country. It is, it has been and will continue to be. So, I really think that people should put their minds at ease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Iraqi forces notched another victory as they try to retake the key city of Mosul from ISIS. Details ahead.

Plus, India is experiencing incredibly long lines at its banks. In a country where cash is king, the equivalent of more than $200 billion was made instantly worthless.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: In their fight against ISIS, Iraqi forces have recaptured an ancient village in Northern Iraq and its nearby ruins.

Nimrud is 20 miles or 30 kilometers southeast of Mosul which Iraqi troops are trying to retake from the terror group.

As this video shows, ISIS militants made a point of destroying much of these historic ruins when they swept through the area last year.

Meanwhile, witnesses tell CNN, ISIS is fortifying its positions in Eastern Mosul, digging new trenches and building barriers on major roads. CNN's Phil Black reports on the civilians fleeing the city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monas Saadala and his family are being searched for weapons on Mosul's eastern outskirts, just a short distance from where Iraqi forces are battling ISIS. They've decided to flee the city.

Monas says they left because mortars started falling close to them.

They're among the people now following this road every day away from the violence and terror of an urban war zone. But they don't know where it's taking them.

Asnar Muhammad, says she hid in a home with her family and during nearby explosions for eight days until one of them destroyed half the building, so she ran.

"I was running among bullets," she says, "walking and crying. Running and crying."

They are escaping war and ISIS as well after living under the group's ideas of morality for more than two years.

11-year-old Dawud witnessed justice according to ISIS.

He says, "They slaughtered three men and called us to come and watch. One of them, the poor guy wasn't beheaded properly, so another man came with a knife and finished the job."

This is the start of the screening process. The women and the children, they're being taken away first onto a truck that's just arrived. Their husbands, brothers, fathers, they have to wait. They will be taken somewhere else. Their names checked against the

database just to ensure they are not one of the ISIS members that may be trying to flee the city with all the other refugees.

The moments that follow are chaotic and heartbreaking especially for the children. There's little dignity in this, but they'll be safe. The rest are ordered to sit quietly in rows. Somehow Dawud has been left behind with the men. His hands can't hide his anxiety.

He tells us, "He's thinking about the camp, living in a tent under rain in the mud.

This is a life-changing day. Their first without ISIS for a long time. There's relief, some nervous smiles, but war, uncertainty and loss ensure there is no feeling of celebration.

Phil Black, CNN, near Mosul, Northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:25:06] VANIER: In neighboring Syria, now, text messages were sent out to people in Eastern Aleppo, early Sunday warning them to flee the city.

The message has urged people to leave within 24 hours before a strategically planned assault was launched. They also ordered rebels in the city to put down their weapons and renounce their leadership.

One of Sweden's top prosecutors will be on hand as Julian Assange is interviewed about rape accusations that are pending against him in Sweden.

The interview of the WikiLeaks founder will take place in the coming hours in Ecuador's embassy in London where he's been holed up since 2012 trying to avoid extradition to Sweden.

As Sweden says, two of its prosecutors as well as a police officer will attend. However, the person conducting the interview will be an Ecuadorian prosecutor. Officials may also take a DNA sample. That is, if Julian Assange consents to it.

Now, let's remind you why Assange is living in that embassy in the first place. It dates back to November 2010, when the criminal court in Stockholm issued an arrest warrant for Assange based on allegations of sexual assault from two WikiLeaks volunteers. The following month, Assange turned himself in to police in London.

He denied any wrongdoing, he claimed that the charges were politically motivated. Assange was then placed under house arrest.

In May 2012, the British Supreme Court denied his appeal against extradition to Sweden. Assange fear that if Sweden would extradite him to the U.S. where he

could face the death penalty for publishing government secrets on WikiLeaks. And that's when Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, that

was in June of 2012. He was later granted asylum and he's been there ever since.

VANIER: At least two people are dead after a series of earthquakes that struck New Zealand's South Island. The first quake, a magnitude 7.8 hit about 90 kilometers from Christchurch, the country's third biggest city.

Aftershocks were even felt in Wellington, New Zealand's capital on the North Island. Tsunami waves briefly hit the coast. Fortunately, that's no longer a threat.

Prime Minister John Key spoke about the quake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KEY, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: All 16 of the regions around the country have activated the civil defense requirements and been monitoring their own local situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

In terms of fiercely dealing with the quake itself, the best advice we have is probably what you know. There was a 7.5-meter on the Richter scale, 15 meters deep, but it also, we think, about 100 kilometers out to sea. And that's the issue that caused the potential tsunami was that it wasn't on land solely, it went out to sea.

VANIER: So, if you're wondering what we can expect from the aftershocks and what the dangers are right now and in the coming days, well, fortunately, we can put that question to our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri who joins us now.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL WEATHER CENTER METEOROLIGIST: Hey Cyril, yes, you know (INAUDIBLE) such a significant quake when you think about the broad scheme of things.

Globally speaking, we have about 2 million earthquakes on our planet that are felt every single year and only 15 of them -- 15 of them get to a magnitude of 7.8.

And you look at this particular quake, 30-plus aftershocks that have now all been displaced to the north, and this is precisely what you're hearing in that previous sound bite of the way this quake ruptured the earth here, where the energy all displaced to its north, almost a zipper effect where you have all of it displacing off to the north.

So, places like Christchurch, although some felt the shaking intensity, certainly not as much as you would see it well to the north around Wellington where more reports of shaking being felt with the number of aftershocks that we have seen across this region.

So, we know some 50,000 people felt the severe shaking. That is actually more than what we had across portions of Italy when it comes to severe shaking, and then work your way into the millions as you work just north of the epicenter with the aftershocks that we've seen.

But here we go, with a 7.8, you would typically see a 6.8 magnitude aftershock, at least one of those. We've yet to have one of that magnitude. But, we've had over four now that are between 6.0 and 6.5.

You would typically see at least 10 of them exceeding 5.8 in the hundreds and thousands when you work your way down the scale as well. And again, the intensity of those aftershocks will begin to drop over the next several days. But the sheer number of them should not drop over the next several weeks.

You notice a high number of aftershocks, but they'll just be brought down to, say, a four or a three magnitude. Maybe even a two magnitude over the next several weeks, as you work your way into this coming weekend.

But, we do have a storm system we're watching very carefully. Of course, we know a lot of recovery efforts in place here.

The USGS now saying the estimates on economic aspect of this particular quake could be significant on the order of billions of U.S. dollars of damage potential left behind.

And we watch carefully just north of Christchurch, notice the showers are limited across this region with this next storm system. That is wonderful news considering what has occurred across this area that at least, one element with an incoming storm system seems to keep the majority of the rainfall out of the areas hardest hit.

But when you take a look at this forecast, Cyril, you're seeing the temperatures drop significantly over the next couple of days. And that, of course, in itself, is a concern when you're bringing the temps down to very cold temperatures.

If there are people that are potentially trapped across this region or is still a very hard to get to provide any sort of assistance, these temperatures are not going to help out the next couple of days.

VANIER: All right. Thank you very much, Pedram Javaheri from CNN's International Weather Center. Thanks a lot.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

VANIER: Donald Trump had a lot to say about China in his presidential campaign. Well, now, China's President is hoping to meet the next U.S. president very soon. We're live in Beijing just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Cyril Vanier.

Here are the headlines this hour. France is extending its state of emergency, which began after the Paris terror attacks one year ago. The Prime Minister says the extension will help protect the country's democracy. This with the Presidential Election coming up in just a few months.

People throughout Paris lit candles and held memorials on Sunday to remember the 130 people killed in last year's attacks.

VANIER: Iraqi troops have liberated the ancient village of Nimrud and its nearby ruins. ISIS militants destroyed much of the historic ruins last year. As you that, on the file pictures, Nimrud is just south of Mosul which Iraqi forces are trying to retake from ISIS.

And U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says Reince Priebus will be his White House Chief of Staff.

Priebus heads the Republican National Committee and stood by Trump even when many other prominent republicans publicly disavowed the candidate during the campaign.

Steve Bannon for his part who was CEO of Trump's campaign has been appointed Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor.

[01:30:00] CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: Priebus heads the National Republican Committee and stood by Trump even when many prominent Republicans disavowed the candidate. Steve Bannon who was CEO of Trump's campaign has been appointed chief strategist and senior counselor.

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Trump on his victory in a phone call a short time ago.

Our Matt Rivers joins us live from Beijing with more on that.

Matt, do we know more about what was said?

MATT RIVERS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR (voice-over): We're hearing from both sides about this phone call that took place Sunday night, eastern standard time. From the president-elect side, a statement from him saying that President-elect Trump stated he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward in that conversation with President Xi. From the Chinese side, we're hearing from state media reporting that President Xi said it proved that to cooperate is the only correct choice. It's just an initial phone call between these two leaders. But it is clear there's a lot at stake in this relationship as President-elect Trump is set to take the Oval Office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS (voice-over): On the streets of Beijing, grappling with the idea of President Trump.

"We're surprised at the result," says Sherry Wong.

"I think the election is so bizarre," says this man. "Western democracy is, too. It's chaotic."

"He's afraid of China's economic growth. Trump will be tough," says Luis Kwaun (ph).

Consider all that is at stake. Over $650 billion annually if you're talking about trade. These economies are remarkably dependent on one another, though candidate-Trump argued one side was clearly winning.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing. It's the greatest theft in the history of the world.

RIVERS: To counter, Trump has said he'd be in favor of installing a significant tariff on Chinese imports.

He has been more clear about his preference for China's role in curbing North Korea's nuclear program.

TRUMP: China should solve that problem for us. China should go into North Korea. China is totally powerful as it relates to North Korea.

RIVERS: China's government never gives official opinions on U.S. elections or their outcomes. But Communist Party-controlled newspapers do. On the economy, the Beijing news wrote, "Now that Trump is president, it's worth noting what kind of effect the panic will bring."

On the South China Sea, a thinly veiled suggestion from the "Global Times." "He may not think it's worth sending warships to the south China sea to help other countries."

(on camera): The general theme of these state newspapers is that the election of Donald Trump and the craziness of the campaign season is just proof that Western democracy is volatile and dangerous. Put another way, Chinese Communism is the better way to govern.

(MUSIC)

(voice-over): A new president and a new era of Chinese/U.S. relations marked with tense uncertainty about what that might look like. I'd like to follow up on that, what that might look like.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Matt, I'd like to follow up on that, what that might look like because we saw, of course, the war of words. Especially those harsh words spoken by Donald Trump during the campaign. What does Beijing think could actually change now that he's been elected looking forward?

RIVERS: Well, there's a lot of speculation here. Chinese leaders famously never really comment openly about U.S. elections. What you're hearing from a lot of people who watch this relationship is that the Chinese government might actually see an opportunity here with President Trump. There's a thought that perhaps the president- elect will focus more on domestic issues and not be so forward looking as, let's say, Hillary Clinton would have, when she was one of the key proponents of the Obama administration's so-called pivot to Asia, which focused more U.S. Military resources on the region. There's a thought President-elect Trump won't do that kind of thing will focus more domestically, allowing China with a more easy route to follow up on its regional ambitions here.

So there probably is some optimism within the Chinese government, at least that's what we're hearing from most of the analysts we speak to.

VANIER: Optimism within the government. That's interesting given what Donald Trump had to say about China during the campaign.

Matt, thank you very much. Thanks, a lot.

Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's new chief of staff is a controversial figure for Republicans. CNN's Poppy Harlow spoke with CNN senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter, and former Trump advisor, Jack Kingston, about why there's concern over Trump's pick for strategist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT GANGEL CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: A lot of our viewers at home, this is frightening to them, and we should acknowledge that. This may feel like a national emergency. Why? Because Steve Bannon has been described as someone who has been described as a white supremacist, as someone who is an anti-Semite. He would completely reject that. But these are not random people on twitter saying this. These are people like Ana Navarro saying these sort of things. There was a 2007 case between Bannon and his ex-wife alleged in court documents that Bannon said he did not like Jews. He completely denied that. And there are friends of his who say they've known him for years and have never heard a racist word or action from his mouth.

All that said, Bannon is uniquely controversial. It was said, the racist, fascist, extreme right is represented footsteps from the Oval Office.

[01:35:36] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Kingston, why do you disagree with those comments about Steve Bannon?

JACK KINGSTON, FORMER ADVISOR, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: When someone quotes an ex-spouse, I think it's hardly worth responding to. Ex-spouses very rarely say complimentary things. I've worked with --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: If you were to put them aside, respond to --

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: Ana Navarro is calling him a white supremacist Neanderthal.

KINGSTON: Ana is a friend of mine but she is also somebody who didn't support Donald Trump. And I understand why people want to continue this campaign. But I can say this. As someone who has been involved with this campaign and worked somewhat with Steve Bannon, I found him to be an honorable guy, a hard-working guy. I understand why the left fears him and why they want to label him and continue to stir the pot.

HARLOW: Sir, this isn't the left. Brian just pointed out, Todd Weaver, a strategist for Kasich and Ana Navarro. Those are two conservatives.

KINGSTON: A strategist for Kasich is hardly an objective party. Kasich voted for John McCain. He's a never-Trumper. I know John Kasich. I like John Kasich. But he's a never Trumper. I can say this, as somebody who worked with Steve Bannon. I do not see any of these horrible charges that keep coming up. And, remember, this is what we heard in early August when he got on board. Oh, the campaign is going to turn into a racist outfit and a horrible organization. But the rhetoric, which the left loves to refer to, all happened pre- Steve Bannon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Since Donald Trump's victory, we've seen people taking to the streets, protesting across the country.

Nicholas Powers is one of them. He joins us from New York, an author and associate professor of English.

Nicholas, thanks for coming on the show.

It's been five days now since the election. Are you going to continue to protest?

NICHOLAS POWERS, TRUMP PROTESTER GANGEL ASSCOIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH: Yes. Every single day until Donald Trump is out of office. But that is a reactionary position. I think beyond Donald Trump being out of office, we have to continue to protest not just against Trump and against reactionary politics, but we also then have to create a vision of where we want the country to go and what we want our culture to look like. So right now, it's a time of reaction and organizing against a threat to people we know and love, undocumented workers --

(CROSSTALK)

VANIER: If I can just interrupt you. We both know the result of the election is not going to change.

POWERS: Oh, yeah.

VANIER: So given that fact, what do you hope you're going to achieve with the protests?

POWERS: On a practical level to actually rebuild a new party, either a new Democratic party or some other party that could actually challenge Donald Trump and the Republicans in 2018. So, that's going to be the first goal. Because people in power matter. So, that's one thing. But then on the cultural level, we want to show people around the world that those who voted for Donald Trump are not the only people in the United States. That these protests show the other side of the United States that is embracing of the world. VANIER: Would you have understood if Hillary Clinton had won and

protests were ongoing against Hillary Clinton right now? What would you be saying five days on? Wouldn't you be saying it's time to let it go? People have voted? People have spoken?

POWERS: I do appreciate the question, but, no. If Clinton had gotten into the presidency, there are so many things to protest. Her stance on pipeline and climate change, even though she respects and thinks climate change is real, which is good, but she doesn't go far enough.

VANIER: You're saying you would have been in the street even if Hillary Clinton had won?

POWERS: Yeah, and for a very simple reason. There are larger needs that the people of the United States and the world have that supersede the policies that Hillary Clinton would have put out. We have larger needs than what she would have been able to answer and we would have to push her. The main difference and to say this quickly, is that she didn't have a campaign based on racism and sexism and xenophobia. And so, the certain bitter quality and the anger that you see on the streets today is directed towards the bigotry and the vile that Donald Trump exposed the campaign. That would have been absent in a Clinton victory.

VANIER: Nicholas powers, thank you for joining us.

[01:40:05] Something that speaks to what Nicholas was saying. Donald Trump is now telling his supporters to stop engaging in hate speech. In an interview with the CBS News show, "60 Minutes," the president- elect was asked about reports that some of his supporters have been using racial slurs and harassing minorities. Here's how he responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I am very surprised to hear that.

LESLEY STAHL, CO-HOST, 60 MINUTES: Telling Muslims --

TRUMP: I hate to hear that.

STAHL: But you do hear it.

TRUMP: I don't hear it.

STAHL: You're not seeing this?

TRUMP: I saw one or two instances.

STAHL: On social media?

TRUMP: I think it's a very small amount.

STAHL: Do you want to say anything to those people?

TRUMP: I would say don't do it, that's terrible. Because I'm going to bring this country together. STAHL: They're harassing Latinos, Muslims.

TRUMP: I am so saddened to hear that. And I say stop it. If it helps. I will say this, and I'll say it right to the cameras, stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Trump also criticized earlier this week the protests that have erupted. He said in a tweet the demonstrations are horrible, if they are happening, and the demonstrations are being, quote, "built up by the press."

Millions in India are holding cash that's worth absolutely nothing. But trading those valueless rupees for valueless currency. We'll go to New Delhi, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: I'd like you to imagine that in an instant, much of your money became worthless. That's what happened in India after the government suddenly scrapped two of the largest currency notes and issued new ones.

Ravi Agrawal is in New Delhi as people try to get money out of the bank.

Ravi, When we spoke to you earlier, there were some very, very long lines outside cash machines. What's it like now?

[01:45:05] RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DEHLI CHIEF: Cyril, the lines have gotten even longer. As far back as you can see behind me, curving along that way on to the main roads leading up to the ATM. I'm just going to walk a little bit to give you a sense of how the line is shaping up. And what's really portent is that the ATM isn't even open yet. They ran out of money, so now they're stocking the ATM once again with the new 500 and 2,000 rupee notes that were just issued a few days ago. Not only that, today is also a public religious holiday in India. This line, long as it is, could have been even longer. Now why are all of these people here? Why are they standing in line to get out some money?

Take a look at this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AGRAWAL (voice-over): Carma Gupta (ph) has run this business for 43 years. It's a typical Indian mom-and-pop store selling everything from milk to shampoo. Today, he says, sales are down by more than half.

(on camera): Can I pay for this with this 500 rupee note?

CARMA GUPTA, STORE OWNER: No, no,

AGRAWAL: What about --

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA: All closed at the moment.

AGRAWAL (voice-over): It all began Tuesday when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise announcement. 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, the two biggest rupee notes available would be discontinued and replaced with 500 and 2,000 notes. The reason? A crackdown on counterfeiters and tax evaders.

(on camera): At mom-and-pop stores like this one that sell a whole range of products, there are no credit card machines. Every single transaction is in cash, and that's not unusual across the country. In fact, experts say that 90 percent of all transactions in India are in pure cash.

(voice-over): So even if it's expensive jewelry, people pay in cash. And that's what the government wants to change. One reason is taxation. Only 3 percent of Indians actually pay income tax. That's in part because the tax barrier is high. But also, because it's difficult to keep track of so many off the books cash payments. The government's main target is rich tax evaders. People literally stockpiling hidden cash.

This week, the middle class is feeling the pain as well. We walked around a few banks in New Delhi. Long queues of men and women lined up to replace old money with new. For now, they can only exchange the equivalent of 4,000 rupees, just $60.

We stopped to chat. This man says his son is getting married tomorrow. He needs to get out more cash, but the surprise rules are ruing all of his plans.

This woman here says the move is an inconvenience, but she's happy that tax avoiders will now face a crackdown.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AGRAWAL: So when this broke last week, when Modi and his prime minister made the announcement Tuesday night, the dark humor around these parts was that while America was counting votes, India was counting notes. That's what happened over the last few days. This move has been call by the government, demonetization, which means they're trying to lessen the impact of cash in this economy. Try and ensure that people use their bank accounts, more open bank accounts, use credit card more. But the reality is that too many transactions here in India take place in cash, which is why all these people are lined up, and is why this move, noble while it may be, has been a big struggle for much of India's middle class - Cyril?

VANIER: Ravi Agrawal, thank you. We appreciate it. Monitoring there the lines outside the cash machines in New Delhi. Thanks, a lot.

Coming up, Donald Trump picks his right-hand man. But what do we know about Reince Priebus, his chief of staff? That's ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:52:55] U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is wasting no time get his White House team ready, making two key staff announcements on Sunday. Republican Party chairman, Reince Priebus, has been appointed chief of staff. Priebus stuck with the Trump campaign when many Republicans were distancing themselves from the president-elect. Trump has also named controversial "Breitbart" news chief, Steve Bannon, to be his chief strategist and senior counselor.

Becoming Trump's chief of staff was probably not on Reince Priebus' mind last April when he was trying to prevent open warfare between Trump and the Republican Party. Here's what's he told CNN at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: You are the man in the middle. You have Donald Trump doing his thing. And then you have the GOP establishment, whatever that is.

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIR, RNC GANGEL NEWLY APPOINTED CHIEF OF STAFF: That's a word that apparently, no one can quite define. But I understand it.

(CROSSTALK)

GANGEL: All those people over there who are not on the same side as Donald Trump. They're saying, well, it's all your fault. How did you let Trump -- why didn't you get rid of him?

PRIEBUS: Well, look, being in the middle, you have to accept the fact that there is a thousand opinions. I mean, so -- I'm so used to it that I don't even care. It doesn't bother me.

GANGEL: You aren't pulling out your hair?

PRIEBUS: No. I'm not. People assume, oh, you must be miserable. You have a horrible job. But I don't see it that way. I'm not pouring Bailey's in my cereal. I'm not sitting here trying to find the Johnny Walker. This is fun.

GANGEL (voice-over): In fact, the day we spent with him, he raised $1.2 million with just a few phone calls.

PRIEBUS: Let's talk about money.

GANGEL: Took a brief break for hoops.

PRIEBUS: All right. I'm going to take you guys down.

We have a shot off this wall.

There we go. Come on.

GANGEL: And showed off his prized possessions. (on camera): The gavel?

PRIEBUS: The gavel. This is when I actually won in 2011.

[01:55:12] GANGEL Ever tempted to use it?

PRIEBUS: I don't have to try that hard. This is the chair Clint Eastwood spoke to at the convention.

GANGEL: Really?

PRIEBUS: Yeah. So, when this all hand, you know, I, obviously, was perplexed when I was watching it.

GANGEL: You and everyone else.

PRIEBUS: Then when I leaned over, because I was down behind the stage most of the time. I leaned over the balcony to see the center teleprompter, and it was blank. I thought, oh, my gosh. There's nothing on that screen. He's just winging it. And then I remember going back. I left, went back behind the stage and told the chief of staff at the time. Get me the chair.

GANGEL (voice-over): He also keeps three items nearby are critical for getting through the day, the Greek Orthodox liturgy, the Republican Party platform --

PRIEBUS: This is my safe zone.

GANGEL: -- and this.

PRIEBUS: The brewers schedule on top because I will put on MLB TV and have that in the background if I need to not watch the news.

GANGEL: Other escapes? Time with his family.

PRIEBUS: Try to eat with cameras in your face.

GANGEL: And?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: And that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Cyril Vanier.

Rosemary Church will be back with another hour of news from around the world. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)