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Trump Vows Additional Major Sanctions After Latest North Korea Missile Test; Interview with Representative Tim Ryan; Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired November 29, 2017 - 10:30   ET

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


[10:32:27] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. New this morning, President Trump promising major new sanctions after the North Koreans tested a missile that could reach anywhere in the United States.

CNN's Will Ripley following all the developments for us live from Seoul this morning.

Good morning, Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, John. More sanctions. That seems to be the message from President Trump in a new tweet just within the last hour or so. The president saying, quote, "Just spoke to President Xi Jinping of China concerning the provocative actions of North Korea. Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. The situation will be handled."

So when the president said at the White House that they would handle North Korea, it seems as if the strategy, the approach at least for now is to continue to try to sanction and put pressure on North Korea, something that North Korean officials have told me repeatedly will only motivate them to work harder to develop weapons of mass destruction, like the missile that they tested during the overnight hours here in South Korea.

A very frightening development for the region because this missile traveled 2800 miles up into outer space, 10 times the altitude of the International Space Station before coming back down, less than 130 miles from mainland Japan. North Korea saying this missile proves that a nuclear warhead can survive reentry and that this missile can technically reach anywhere in the mainland United States, including New York and Washington.

But the big question moving forward, has North Korean proven enough or will they need to take it one step further, as they have threatened repeatedly, including in an interview with CNN back in Pyongyang just in the last month, when a senior diplomat told me that North Korea will not rest until they conduct an above-ground nuclear test, the kind of which the world hasn't seen in nearly four decades.

They say that test is the kind of message they need to send to the United States and President Trump to prove that they have this, in their words, effective nuclear deterrent, before they would even consider diplomacy with the United States. And keep in mind, North Korea says they will never give up their

nuclear weapons, even though the United States has long insisted that denuclearization is the ultimate goal and really the only goal for the Korean peninsula. North Korea defiantly acting against that and this missile launch proving that once again -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Will Ripley for us in Seoul. Will, thanks so much.

Joining me now, CNN military analyst, retired general, James "Spider" Marks.

General, thanks so much for being with us. For so long, U.S. strategy, not just with President Trump but before, keep North Korea from getting a nuclear weapon. They apparently have them. Keep North Korea from getting missiles that can strike the mainland United States. They apparently have them.

So how does that change U.S. strategy toward North Korea?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, well, you've got two of the three, John. The third is the weaponization of those missiles, which we have to assume, since the North Koreans were able to advance their missile technology and our intelligence community didn't miss that but we miscalculated in terms of the accelerated pace.

[10:35:13] The ability to conduct nuclear tests, they've done six. I would anticipate a seventh before the Olympics in February of 2018.

BERMAN: Sure.

MARKS: And then the third is the weaponization. I would assume that they're going to be able to miniaturize the nukes and weaponize their missiles, coming up pretty quickly. So the United States really has limited the number of options that it has available to, quote, "handle it." Now I'm not sure what the president means when he says we will handle it. Diplomatic and economic sanction, diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions clearly have a long tail. It takes six, seven, eight, nine months, maybe a year, before you really start to see the results of a punishing economic sanctions. Militarily is the only way that you're going to handle it in the near-term to eliminate the North having a nuclear capability, if that's the desired instinct.

BERMAN: But that doesn't seem anymore likely today.

MARKS: No.

BERMAN: You know, than it did yesterday, General, nor does the idea that sanctions will keep North Korea from reaching third step, weaponizing an ICBM. Sanctions haven't kept them from getting nuclear weapons or developing these missiles.

MARKS: Yes, it's clear to say that no nation and no protocol has taken place over the past seven decades that have modified in any way North Korean behavior. Just like haters going to hate, Kim's going to Kim. Irrespective of what the international community does to try to isolate -- further isolate and punish the North Korean regime, they've developed the missiles and the nukes.

We are where we are today and we have to accept that. And I think it's aspirational to say, we shouldn't have a nuclear part of the peninsula. But it's not realistic in the near-term.

BERMAN: So then is this now a policy of containment? That's not a word that any administration really likes to use in any case, certainly not with the North Koreans, but is that a reality and what would that look like?

MARKS: Yes, it is. In fact, John, the policy of containment, if you'll recall, started because the United States -- I won't go through the history, but, you know, over 50 plus years ago, failed to include the Korean peninsula in our containment of the Soviet threat. Therefore we ended up with a war on the peninsula. It has, over the course of the last six decades, included the peninsula. So containment is the policy. Let's just hold what we have right now.

I think that part of the containment policy is North Korea is a nuclear state, it's got the missiles, it's got the nukes, we have to assume they're going to be able to weaponize it. We have to now accept that and then continue to work with allies and friends in the region to control that as best we can.

Kim knows that if he uses his nukes or if he comes after the alliance conventionally, he's done, his regime is finished. So he's in a precarious situation. He's got this nuclear capability. What does he do with it?

BERMAN: All right, General James "Spider" Marks, always great to have you with us. Thanks, Spider.

MARKS: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: All right. A Democratic member of Congress just walked out, apparently, of a House Democratic meeting because she says they were not taking the issue of sexual harassment seriously enough. We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:42:36] BERMAN: All right, our colleague Dave Wheeler at "The New York Times" just reported that Representative Kathleen Rice left a House Democratic meeting early, saying, "Harassment wasn't being addressed seriously. I don't have time for meetings that aren't real."

Joining me now to talk about this, Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio.

Congressman, you were also in that meeting. Your House colleague says that sexual harassment was not being dealt with seriously. Is that the case?

REP. TIM RYAN (D), APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Well, there was a conversation towards the end of the caucus meeting on sexual harassment generally, but I think I share her frustration -- Congresswoman Rice's frustration that this is not happening quick enough. We are not addressing this issue fast enough. Some resolution that we're going to pass today is not going to adequately address this issue.

We need to make sure that we're setting the example here in the United States Congress, and that means we need the resources and the training and the transparency, partnering with what our colleague, Jackie Speier, is doing, from California, to open up this process, to reform this process. I certainly do share her frustration. We need to get moving on this and set the example for the rest of the country.

BERMAN: Does that mean that John Conyers needs to step down from Congress?

RYAN: Well, he still gets his due process. And I want that to be expedited as well. We need to get through this immediately. There's no reason why we can't wrap this thing up this week and make a decision one way or the other. And he deserves due process. I believe the women that have come out and once that is analyzed by the Ethics Committee, if those are found to be true, he definitely should resign.

BERMAN: Yes, I mean, look, if you're saying right now you believe the women that have come out, if you believe them, then it doesn't seem to be a hard decision, does it?

RYAN: Well, I also believe in due process. And I think it's important. Many times we hear about crimes and different things that happen. And you know, we're not run by a mob mentality. Everyone has due process. And -- but I want it expedited and I want it done this week.

BERMAN: OK.

RYAN: I mean, there's no reason why we can't look at this this week and have a decision made.

BERMAN: Has Democratic leadership handled this the right way? And I ask you that in the wake of the interview that Nancy Pelosi did, the House minority leader did over the weekend where she referred to John Conyers as an icon. She noted the anonymity of the accusers. You know, has she been sending the right message here from the beginning?

RYAN: Well, I certainly think she was inartful in her conversation with Chuck Todd, immediately sending out a statement kind of clearing that up, and then having a meeting with one of the accusers against Congressman Conyers. And I think those signal that she is taking this seriously.

[10:45:14] I just want this expedited. And we're not in charge of the House. We're not in charge of the Senate. We're not in charge of the White House.

BERMAN: No. RYAN: So it's up to the Republicans to expedite this, to push this,

and to make something happen this week.

BERMAN: Well, when it comes to John Conyers, though, if the Democrats as a caucus all stood up and said John Conyers should go, you have some power there.

I want to read you the headline -- one of the headlines in "The New York Times" today. And by the way, Dave Wheeler works at "The Washington Post." I was -- I misspoke earlier. It says, "Conyers' scandal highlights divisions, generational and gender."

I want to focus on the generational issue right here. You of course ran for a minority leader against Nancy Pelosi. Do you see a generational division now in your caucus?

RYAN: I don't necessarily think so because you have people from John Conyers' generation and Al Franken's generation and Harvey Weinstein's generation and Matt Lauer's generation and all of these other people who are appalled by the kind of behavior that we're hearing about. So I think across the board, people are frustrated that is still happening in our society today, but our role here in the United States Congress is to set the standard.

And that's why I'm so adamant on us making sure through the Legislative Appropriations Committee that I sit on, that we have the proper training, and that it's face to face. That it's not some of this nonsensical, online training stuff.

BERMAN: Gotcha.

RYAN: That people aren't paying attention to.

BERMAN: Yes.

RYAN: We have the resources there. We have the staffing levels to do training for all of our staffers who work here and members who serve here.

BERMAN: Congressman, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer skipped the meeting with President Trump yesterday. And this was to discuss funding the government going forward. Do you think that was a good move?

RYAN: Well, when the president's tweeting out that no matter if you come to this meeting or not, we're not going to cave or give in on any of the issues across the board, not much of an invitation. So Trump -- President Trump, I think, is being very selfish here.

If you look at this tax bill that he wanted to discuss, his family is going to save $1 billion with this tax bill. He's being greedy. He's being selfish. He told people in places like Ohio he was going to look out for them and their interests. And here we have a bill that's going to raise taxes on middle class people and he and his family is going to get a $1 billion tax cut. That's infuriating. And then to tell the Democratic leaders, you

know, you can come this meeting, you're invited, but we're not going to listen to one thing you say. I think that's consistent with him going back on all of the campaign promises -- he is betraying the people that voted for him. That's what's happening right now. And so to invite people to a meeting where you're not going to be listened to, I think, is not necessarily the way we should be doing business down here.

BERMAN: All right. Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio, great to have you with us, sir.

RYAN: Thank you, sir.

BERMAN: All right, the end of an era in New York. Giants quarterback Eli Manning, benched and not happy about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:52:54] BERMAN: For the first time in 13 years, Eli Manning will not be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants.

Andy Scholes has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John. This "Bleacher Report" brought to you by the new 2018 Ford F-150. And Eli Manning, two-time Super Bowl MVP, started 210 straight games as quarterback, second only to Brett Favre's legendary streak. But he's being benched after a 2-9 start by the Giants. This is likely the end for Eli in a Giants uniform and he was definitely emotional when speaking about this news yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELI MANNING, GIANTS QUARTERBACK: I'll be a good teammate. You know, I don't like it, but that's part of football, you handle it and you do your job. It's hard, been hard, you know, a hard day to handle this, but, you know, hang in there and figure it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: A former Jets quarterback, Geno Smith, will start for the Giants on Sunday. Eli had started every game for the team since November 21st, 2004. In that time span, the Cleveland Browns have had 24 different starting quarterbacks and the world looked much different the last time someone other than Eli was under center for the Giants. Back then, Facebook had just launched, George W. Bush had just been re-elected president, and the final episode of "Friends" aired and was watched by 52 million people.

All right, College Football Playoff Committee releasing their last set of rankings before they set the playoff field this Sunday. Clemson on top for the first time this season. They're followed by Auburn, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Now things could totally get blown up in this weekend's conference

championship game. Clemson going to take on seventh-ranked Miami in the ACC championship game. Auburn playing sixth-ranked Georgia. And the NCC championship game in Wisconsin, they've gone eight-ranked Ohio State, and the big 10-champ game. And you've got Oklahoma taking on TCU in the big 12 championship game, which is back for the first time since 2010.

All right, in the NBA last time, LeBron James doing something for the first time in his 15-year career. LeBron thought he was fouled on that play and he let the ref know about it and he gets immediately ejected from the game. LeBron, though, having some fun with his ejection after the game on Instagram, putting this picture of his shoes up, saying, "Guess we'll call these the ejected game shoes."

[10:55:07] And John, the most impressive thing about LeBron getting ejected from that game to me was he had played in more than 1,000 games and had never been ejected before. Pretty incredible, because, you know, we're all in a bad mood sometimes and we'd just end up getting ejected, but not LeBron.

BERMAN: One of the smartest players out there. Let me say about Eli Manning also. A few athletes have cost me as much personal pain as Eli Manning, but no one should make fun of him for the way he responded to that. We should all care about our jobs as much as Eli Manning did. So my hat goes off to him.

SCHOLES: Very classy.

BERMAN: Andy Scholes --

SCHOLES: Yes. Absolutely.

BERMAN: My hat goes off to you, as well.

SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: Shockwaves, by the way, in network television. Matt Lauer fired after what NBC News says is inappropriate sexual behavior. More on this breaking news and what it means, next.