Obama Surprises Press Sec'y at Final Briefing; Moving Vans Spotted Outside White House
BALDWIN: A lot of farewells happening this week in Washington as the nation prepares to say good-bye to the Obamas. Today the President surprised his press secretary at his final briefing.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are a couple things I learned about him right away, number one, he's just got that all-American matinee good looking thing going. That is helpful, let's face it. Face made for television. Then the guy's name is Josh Ernest which if someone is speaking on your behalf is pretty good name to have. And I have now known this guy for ten years almost, and I've watched him grow and I've watched him advance, and I've watched him marry and I've watched him be a father, and I've watched him manage younger people coming up behind him. And he's never disappointed. He is not only a great press secretary, but more importantly, he is a really, really good man. Josh, congratulations.</s>BALDWIN: Meantime, moving trucks, look at them. Having spotted outside the White House ready to usher the Obamas into their new Washington home. Vans are already outside. Swanky D.C. neighborhood unloading eight years of Presidential memories. We also hear the Obamas plan a palm springs vacation. Let's talk to CNN contributor, grace and power of American's modern first ladies, Kate. All right. They're getting out of dodge and heading to someplace warmer. What have other first couples done in those first couple of days at office?</s>KATE ANDERSON BROWER, AUTHOR, "FIRST WOMEN": They do often leave town. You know, each post presidency has been different. You look at the Carters, they went straight back to plains and embarked on the most successful post presidency in modern history. The Nixons went back to California after Watergate. A very different story. So, each President carves out the space for himself. I think it's interesting looking at President Obama because I've talked to a former Obama staffer who said, look, if Democrats are thinking that Obama is going to lead the charge against Trump, they will be disappointed. That he is someone who is very measured, very careful in his wording and he doesn't necessarily want to take up the mantle of being the Democrats' voice, anti-Trump voice, he's more interested in getting Democrats elected and doing things like that than coming out and being a voice against Trump.</s>BALDWIN: You know, CNN has this new film about what it's actually like inside the final days of the Obama white house and here's just a clip. This is from the perspective of the White House staff.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies, if you guys are done, please help me take stuff out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. I appreciate that.</s>ANGELA REID, WHITE HOUSE STAFFER: The staff, they are not political. We are part of a long-standing institution. So, a lot of them have had experiences working for upwards of seven administrations.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Bush's father, 1991. And Bill Clinton, eight years, then Bush, Jr., and now is President Obama, eight.</s>REID: What I think about most when I walk around the house is who has been here, who has done what in this particular space because, you know, there is something that I am able to walk here now and 100 years ago, a President or first lady, they had other guests or some of my ancestors. It gives me a sense of awe, the fact that slaves built this house, and I now work in this house as a leader, something out of my wildest dreams.</s>BALDWIN: So, a lot 6 these staffers, they work from administration to administration. Do you know anything about the Obama staffers, are they sticking around?</s>BROWER: They are. And kudos to you guys for getting Angela Reid because she never does interviews so that's amazing. Yes, they stay on from one administration to the next. I've talked to people now and they have a feeling of we're going to wait and see. I talked to a current butler there who said, I'm willing to wait and see how Trump treats us. I think they are concerned that Donald Trump might bring in some of his own staff because he has cooks that he really likes. He's got butlers. Different from the Obamas, who came in with no staffing. So, but they really are non-partisan and they will stick around. You know, some of them are looking forward to the Clintons coming back simply because they had worked for them before so they knew what to expect from a Clinton presidency.</s>BALDWIN: I love seeing these behind the scenes clips, this film totally fascinates me. It's called "The End." so, we'll take you inside these last couple of days in the Obama White House. Kate Brower, thank you so much. That airs tomorrow 9:00 p.m. President will announce which bible he will be using when he takes oath of office this Friday. Hear the personal story behind it. One more note here. President-elect Donald Trump is revealing a special detail about this upcoming inauguration. He will be sworn in Friday using President Lincoln 's inaugural bible, but he will also use a second personal bible given to him by his mother. The Trump transition team tells us that he received the bible when he graduated from Sunday school back in 1955. Lincoln 's bible was also used by President Obama at both of his inaugurations, just a little bit to look forward to for him this Friday. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in New York. I will see you from Washington for the rest of the week. We'll send it there now to my colleague, Jake Tapper.