THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR 'THIS WEEK' on January 22, 2017 and it will be updated.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC HOST: Spicer then left the briefing room without taking any questions. But this morning we do have Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway. She’s here this morning, coming to us from the White House. Thank you for joining us --
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: -- Kellyanne. So why did the president choose to give that speech at the CIA yesterday? And why did he choose to have Sean Spicer make that kind of a statement?
CONWAY: I thought President Trump’s speech at the CIA was remarkable, and he really lent the air (ph) to help with the swearing in of his CIA director, Mike Pompeo, who unfortunately has not been confirmed by the Senate yet, George. But the president decided to keep that on his schedule to go and build goodwill really on Day One of his presidency with the CIA. He had --
STEPHANOPOULOS: But why did he chose (sic) to not tell the truth about press reporting on his feud with the intelligence community? That reporting was based on the president’s own statements.
CONWAY: The president went to the intelligence community yesterday to establish good relationships with them, and we had over 1,000 requests to attend? We could -- we can only accommodate a few hundred. He will be back; he got a standing ovation. And it’s really time for him to put in his own security intelligence community. We really would prefer the intelligence community that’s going out the door to be much more respectful toward the president and his vision in moving forward. We’re not really thrilled with the leaks that have come out over the last several weeks or months. And we think in the interest of keeping us all safe, George, that the intelligence community that we saw on their feet yesterday, welcoming President Trump for his rousing speech, is the one that we look forward to --
STEPHANOPOULOS: You mentioned --
CONWAY: -- working with.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You mentioned the outgoing officials, and as a matter of fact, former CIA Director Brennan did put out a statement yesterday. Here’s the statement from his aide, Nick Shapiro. "Former CIA Director Brennan is deeply saddened and angered at Trump’s despicable display of self-aggrandizement in front of CIA’s memorial wall of agency heroes." Brennan says that Trump should be ashamed of himself.
Your response?
CONWAY: I thought that just was an unremarkable, spectacularly disappointing statement from the outgoing CIA director. George, does that statement and the very vituperative language included therein, does that improve relationships with the intelligence community? We have an outgoing CIA director sound like a partisan political hack about the president of the United States? I think everybody needs to take a step back and a very deep breath, George, and think about the -- what the words are.
You had President Trump in his inaugural address calling for unity, patriotism, giving America back to its people, its government back to its people, and we have the outgoing CIA director making a statement like that, using that type of vocabulary? How in the world does improve relationships with our intelligence community? It was deeply disappointing and --
STEPHANOPOULOS: While we’re still on --
CONWAY: -- unnecessary.
STEPHANOPOULOS: While we’re still on the intelligence community, you know, several intelligence agencies and the FBI are now investigating possible contacts between Trump associates and the Russians during the campaign. Will President Trump pledge to allow those investigations to go forward without any interference from anyone in the White House?
CONWAY: Well, our executive branch does not believe in interfering in with the -- what the legislative branch chooses to do. We believe in federalism.
I would say that...
STEPHANOPOULOS: But these are -- these are in the -- in the government. These are the agencies of the government, of your administration, who are now investigating.
CONWAY: Well, the same thing. We're not going to comment on that. If they feel that they need to do that.
But I will say that these media reports struck us as brand new information. We have no idea what's going on.
I was the campaign manager contemporaneous with some of those events and I assure you that I wasn't talking to Moscow, I was talking to people in Macomb County, Michigan, which is how the president became the president.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're confident nothing will come of this investigation, but you're saying the White House will not interfere with it in any way.
Let's talk a little bit more about what happened yesterday in the White House Briefing Room and Sean Spicer's briefing.
Was that the president's idea?
CONWAY: Well, the president supports his press secretary and his press operation, obviously. And I think that our press secretary, Sean Spicer, was making the point that accountability has to go both ways.
You know, George, just the day before, in the Oval Office, while the president was signing executive orders, we allowed the press right in. I was there. And sure enough, a press pooler gave a false report, that the bust of Martin Luther King, Jr.. had been removed from the Oval Office.
That is just false and it is dangerous and destructive on day one for the press to be reporting false information like that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: That was nowhere...
CONWAY: The bust has...
STEPHANOPOULOS: (INAUDIBLE)...
CONWAY: -- the bust of Churchill had been returned and the bust of Martin Luther King, Jr.. was also there. That press pooler has apologized...
STEPHANOPOULOS: And...
CONWAY: -- but the damage was done.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, the point there is -- I think you're right, he probably shouldn't have reported it if he wasn't positive. But when he was called on it, when he found out the truth, he did apologize.
I met -- I do want to get to this issue of accountability, though, because you all make that point often, but you had instances yesterday where both the president and Sean Spicer talked about the reporting on the crowd side and repeated things that just aren't true.
CONWAY: George, the crowd size is actually not a very animating topic to me for a very simple reason. He had hundreds of thousands of people here, there's no question. I mean I was on the platform where the president was. We saw crowds as far as the eye can see.
But presidents are not judged by their likeability ratings among contemporaries or the crowd sizes at their inauguration...
STEPHANOPOULOS: (INAUDIBLE).
CONWAY: -- they're judged by their competence...
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: -- we agree with that. Let me just talk -- let me just step in there, because I completely agree with that. We spent 11 hours on the air on Friday during the inauguration, barely talked about the crowd size, if we brought it up at all. We spent time talking to people in the crowds.
The question is, why does the president choose to talk about that at the CIA?
Why does he send his press secretary out to talk about it in his first White House briefing and say things that aren't true?
CONWAY: And, George, I would just say about crowd size, first of all, there was rain -- the downpour that was reported and I think it deterred many people from coming.
But there were hundreds of thousands of people here. And more importantly, 31 million people watched this inaugural, I am sure including watched ABC's coverage of it, according to Nielsen. That is far above the 20.5 million that watched President Obama's second inauguration.
And many other people were watching inaugural festivities on other screens, on their phones, online.
So we're very confident that the crowd size is in the historic election of Donald Trump, but it was historic based on the projections that were given and certainly based on the fact that we, for the first time, have a non-politician in the White House.
I just -- I think the crowd size argument is not so important as what he's going to do this week as president of the United States.
STEPHANOPOULOS: All right -- again, I completely agree. That's why I'm asking why he chose to make his first speech about it...
CONWAY: But, look, at the same time...
STEPHANOPOULOS: -- and the first press briefing about it.
CONWAY: -- at the same time, George -- well, at the same time, George, that did dominate media coverage by many yesterday and the day before -- a day after the inauguration. And there's -- there are plenty of people -- you saw the march yesterday -- plenty of people who are trying to delegitimize this president.
And honestly, it doesn't matter, because he's a man of action. And watch what happens just in this first week.
Presidents are judged by their accomplishments. But I would tell you, the great deal of interest that has attended Donald Trump now through his candidacy and now his presidency continued in terms of 31 million people watching this inauguration on TV. That is far and above what President Obama had in his second inauguration.
But, you know, I just think
CONWAY: -- turned to 31 million people watching this inauguration on TV. That is far and above what President Obama had in his second inauguration.
But, you know, I -- I just think, look, I want good relationships with the press. I’m here in part for that reason . And -- but it does -- it has to be a two-way street. And when I say Twitter feeds, when I see words that people are using to describe this president, it is incredibly disrespectful to the office.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Broad --
CONWAY: Just watch what he does. He’s going to end this week at the GOP House and Senate retreat. He’ll meet with his first foreign leader here at the White House, Theresa May from -- the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The two of them came in, similarly, through Brexit and through this movement here in the United States. People want the government to go back to the people.
His speech called for unity; it was uplifting and it called about patriotism and giving people -- power back to the people, and I think folks should look at that respectfully and try to give us some coverage --
STEPHANOPOULOS: We are going to watch --
CONWAY: -- accordingly.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We are going to watch what the president does, we’re going to watch the president says. What I’m talking about is when you -- when the president speaks to the CIA and says things that are not true, when his press secretary goes to the podium, repeats things that are not true, is that OK with the president? And isn’t it -- isn’t it our responsibility in the press to call -- to hold them to account? To hold the press secretary to account for saying factual things from the White House podium?
CONWAY: George, are you referring to the crowd size again when you say things that aren’t factual?
STEPHANOPOULOS: What the president said yesterday to the CIA, he said that the press was falsely reporting about a feud. That was based on the president’s statements.
What Trump -- what Sean Spicer said yesterday from the White House podium, he cited wrong facts about metro ridership. He said this was far and away the most viewed inaugural ever. That is simply not true if you look at the Nielsen ratings from 2009 or 1981. If you look at the pictures of the crowd, that is factually not true.
And all we’re saying is --
CONWAY: But we’re talking about the same topic.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We did not bring this up.
CONWAY: We’re talking about the same topic in a week when this president is going to work on replacing Obamacare, which has helped millions of people lose their doctors, their plans, their insurance. He’s going to work on infrastructure, building the wall. He’s going to farm leaders. We’re still talking about crowd size.
And I just want to say, I’m a pollster by trade, so I’m into things that are actually quantifiable. And here’s what’s quant -- here are the numbers that matter. The numbers that matter are the 2,600 counties he won, the 31 of the 50 states. And by the way, the other numbers that matter that I didn’t hear from these women marching around Washington yesterday are the 16.1 million women in poverty, are the millions of people who don’t have healthcare after eight years of President Obama. Donald Trump’s been president for about eight hours; President Obama was here for eight years. So if you want to talk about numbers that matter, it’s quantifying all the losses -- the women who were slid into poverty, those who can’t find meaningful work, and their children who deserve a better life.
That’s why I am here at this White House. I want to talk about things that are quantifiable, not a bunch of metro riders and crowd sizes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Again, it was the president who brought up crowd size. One final question on this: does the president believe it’s important for his press secretary to be factual from the podium and to take questions from the podium?
CONWAY: Yes, he does. But I want to tell you something else -- it is completely irresponsible, if not worse, for members of the media to be calling our press secretary a liar and worse. On Twitter and Facebook and elsewhere. And in articles. That is not the way to start relationships with the press. I believe in a free and open press; people have to cover the presidency, respect the office and its current occupant. And we -- we need it to be a two-way street.
We have not been treated very well. This man is the President of the United States. If people would just go back, George, and listen to and watch his inaugural address, that goes for everybody -- calling for unification, being aspirational, talking about giving power back to the people.
Look, I know he’s coming to Washington, he’s seen (ph) in a way no one every has, and the institutions and the lethargy and the statism (ph) is many of the -- many of the establishment here is going to be shaken up. And I know people are -- are wondering what will happen there, but we need to have a two-way street here with the press. And I look forward to that, and I appreciate the platform on your network and others and look forward to an open and honest relationship.
But we can't have -- we can't invite a press pool into the first day of the Oval Office with the president of the United States signing executive orders and then a big lie told about the bust of Martin Luther King, Jr., days after our president, Donald Trump, met with Martin Luther King III in New York and had an incredibly powerful and constructive conversation with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s son, saying that he wants to support this president, that he believes he must unify and heal the nation.
And then you have a bunch of -- you have a bunch of people from the press writing these snarky articles that were also false.
It has to go both ways and it has to start right now.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It starts. And yesterday, the president started it with his speech. The president's press secretary started out with his statement in the Briefing Room, where he called the press reckless, wrong and shameful.
You're right, we've spent enough time on this right now.
I do want to get to a question on Obamacare.
You had the president's executive order signed on Monday. So -- and a lot of people are trying to figure out -- on Friday. A lot of people were trying to figure out what exactly does that mean?
We know that on its own, the Obama administration chose to stop enforcing the employer mandate.
Will President Trump stop enforcing the individual mandate?
CONWAY: Well, when President Obama -- what President Trump is doing is, he wants to get rid of that Obamacare penalty almost immediately, because that is something that is really strangling a lot of Americans, to have to pay a penalty for not buying government-run health care.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So he'll stop enforcing that mandate?
CONWAY: He may. But look, we want to make very clear to everyone that those who are relying upon coverage will not lose it. But, you know, many people have already lost their health care. Millions already lost their health care because they either have it and can't use it because of the explosive skyrocketing premiums, or they literally, George, lost their doctors or their insurance plans on -- or their access to health care through Obamacare.
We hear from the millions of people every day that have lost their health care. Their plans basically got drilled down to 28 hours a week, so they can't access the health care that employers are supposed to provide.
We want to help those millions of people. We have received, through our transition, over 225,000 comments and pleas from Americans. Many of those -- I've read many of those have to deal with health care.
So he's going to replace it with a plan that allows you to buy insurance across state lines, that is much more centered around the patient and access to health care.
But -- and I wish I had heard more on that from the women yesterday here in Washington.
I mean why aren't they talking about the millions of women who live in poverty, who don't have health care after eight years of President Obama?
STEPHANOPOULOS: What did the president think of that march?
CONWAY: I discussed it with him briefly. We certainly respect people's First Amendment rights. But I frankly didn't see the point. I mean you have a day after he's uplifting and unifying and you have folks here being on a diatribe where I think they could have requested a dialogue. Nobody called me and said, hey, could we have a dialogue?
And you have celebrities from the podium using profanity-laced insults. You have a very prominent singer who's worth hundreds of millions of dollars not going over to a woman's shelter here in DC to write a check, but instead saying that she thought of, quote, "Burning down the White House."
STEPHANOPOULOS: You're talking about Madonna?
CONWAY: Well, this is destructive. And I -- I read in an article or two that the Secret Service may be investigating that.
But George, we just had an election. And a lot of what I heard from this march yesterday in Washington, we heard all through the election. And that -- that whole messaging and their candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost, 29 to 30 million women voted for Donald Trump. Their voices are heard, as well. They should be respected.
I just thought they missed an opportunity to be about solutions and to really fight for those millions of women whose kids are trapped in failing schools, who don't have access to health care, who don't have access to an economic affordable life.
And those are the -- those are the people that we're here for, the forgotten men, the forgotten women and their children.
And I just thought it was such a contrast to have President Trump deliver an inaugural address that was so uplifting and aspirational and inclusive of America, if you open your heart to patriotism, there's no room for prejudice.
And then the very next day, you have these profanity-laced, threatening, vulgar comments coming from the podium. Look, the whole celebrity -- the whole celebrity thing didn’t work for Hillary Clinton. She tried that in her campaign and it failed, so.
And the other thing I would just mention, George, is guess who was conspicuous by their absence yesterday? President Obama, Secretary Clinton -- they were at the -- they were up on the platform applauding and embracing President Trump.
:STEPHANOPOULOS: Final question.
CONWAY: They weren’t here marching with women.
:STEPHANOPOULOS: Final question, you mentioned a couple of the hundreds of thousands of people who sent in petitions on healthcare, talking about healthcare. You also have more than 200,000 petition the White House calling on President Trump to release his full tax returns with all information needed to verify emoluments clause compliance.
Whenever 100,000 petition, that triggers the White House president. So what is the White House response?
CONWAY: The White House response is that he’s not going to release his tax returns. We litigated this all through the election. People didn’t care. They voted for him, and let me make this very clear: most Americans are -- are very focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump is in office, not what his look like. And you know full well that Trump -- President Trump and his family are complying with all the ethical rules, everything they need to do to step away from his businesses and be a full-time president.
But on this matter of tax returns, people keep -- they want to keep litigating what happened in the campaign. People want to know that they’re going to get tax relief, and he has promised that we just hope the Democratic Senate will support his tax relief package. Because the Democratic Senate in 2001 did for President Bush, George, they passed tax relief for all Americans by June of that year. We hope the same happens here.
President Trump has appointed 21 of the 21 Cabinet nominees and only two have been confirmed. It’s really time for Democrats to step up and stop talking about bipartisanship and be bipartisan when it comes to passing that tax reform so that American tax returns look better this year and confirming these nominees. We need a Treasury Secretary, we need a Commerce Secretary, we need a new government that works and we hope they’ll -- they’ll make the call very soon.
S: Thank you, Kellyanne. I know you have to go. Just for the record, I know that the Office of Government Ethics has -- has cleared Jared Kushner, saying he’s in full compliance. There are still questions of the overall conflict of interest rules with the White House right now and the president, but we do not have time for that today.
Kellyanne Conway, thanks very much.
CONWAY: Thank you, George.
from ABC News: Politics http://ift.tt/2kgGVfN
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