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American Morning
Battle for California: Schwarzenegger Denies Praising Adolph Hitler
Aired October 03, 2003 - 07:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Arnold Schwarzenegger denying charges that he's an anti-Semite, and that when he was younger he admired Adolph Hitler. In reports by ABC and "The New York Times," a filmmaker quoting the actor as praising the Nasi (ph) -- Nazi leader, rather, more than 25 years ago.
George Butler, director of "Pumping Iron," is quoting Schwarzenegger saying -- quote: "I admired Hitler because he came from being a little man with almost no formal education up to power. I admire him for being such a good public speaker and for what he did with it" -- end quote.
The fallout the next day. In L.A. this morning, here's Bob Franken.
Bob -- good morning there.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
In response to these various controversies, Schwarzenegger is saying that he's really questioning the timing of these stories right before the election. At one point, he said there are a lot of powerful enemies out there, and they are, of course, striking out and trying to now derail the campaign.
Nevertheless, on this last weekend on his triumphal march through the state which was planned, that march has had to stop any number of times for the answers to very serious questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I don't remember any of those comments, because I always despised everything that Hitler stood for. I hated the regime -- I hate the regime that the Third Reich and all of this, the whole Nazi philosophy, have always fought against it. And I just know that I have been participating with the Simon Wiesenthal Center for the last 20 years, and have raised millions of dollars in order to fight prejudice and to fight all of this.
So, I think that we have to continue fighting that, so this never ever happens again. So, I despise everything that the Nazis stood for or Hitler stood for.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FRANKEN: And, by the way, I would point out that as Schwarzenegger was making that response to CNN, he was accompanied by his wife, Maria Shriver -- Bill.
HEMMER: Bob, what about the allegations of women now? How was that response? We heard him speak at least twice directly about it yesterday.
FRANKEN: Well, of course, that all came out because of a "Los Angeles Times" story yesterday, which detailed the accusations from six women who said over a period of decades Schwarzenegger had made unwelcome sexual advances, had been groping them.
Earlier in the day, after his aides had denied the story, Schwarzenegger issued a qualified apology, and he spoke about the matter again last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes, that I have behaved badly sometimes. Yes, it is true that I was on rowdy movie sets and I have done things that were not right, which I thought then was playful. But now, I recognize that I have offended people. And to those people that I have offended, I want to say to them I am deeply sorry about that, and I apologize, because this is not what I'm trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: We speak a lot of times, Bill, about an October surprise in an election and how sometimes it can turn things around. We have no idea whether this is going to have a big influence.
I can tell you that a women's group that has been opposed to Arnold Schwarzenegger since the beginning -- Code Pink is the name of the group -- is now saying Schwarzenegger should drop out of race -- Bill.
HEMMER: We'll hear from the director of that program in a moment. Bob, thanks -- live in L.A.
A new TV ad attacking Schwarzenegger is focusing on the recent allegations of sexual misconduct as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: If you're a woman or your mother is a woman, or your wife or your daughter or your sister, or there's a woman at work, you cannot vote for this man, because Arnold Schwarzenegger has a serious problem with women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Women across California are being asked to join a protest today against the actor-turned-politician. Jodie Evans, co- founder of Code Pink, a grassroots organization, 25,000 members strong across the country, now our guest live in L.A. Good morning to you, Jodie. Thanks for your time.
JODIE EVANS, CO-FOUNDER, CODE PINK: Good morning.
HEMMER: Listen to Maria Shriver defending her husband last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA SHRIVER, SCHWARZENEGGER'S WIFE: As I say to my children, it always takes great courage to stand before anybody and apologize. And I think that's what Arnold did today. And I think he handled it, and I think his statement speaks for itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Jodie, is it enough? The apology has been to the public now several times.
EVANS: It's been to the public, but it has not been to the women. And he doesn't know the difference between playful antics and sexual battery.
HEMMER: Four days to go right now. Your organization is trying to get women out today. What's been the response?
EVANS: We will have in 12 cities across the state thousands of women and men, who are very upset by his behavior, in the streets, asking him to pull out of the race. That he doesn't have the dignity or self-respect to be the governor of the fifth-largest economy in the world and a state that has deep problems right now and needs intelligence and some serious thought.
HEMMER: Jodie, you have said in the past that you knew these allegations were out there. Why does this surprise you today?
EVANS: It doesn't surprise me today. We asked him to resign and to say he was sorry over a month ago.
HEMMER: You talked about playful. Can that be misconstrued?
EVANS: No. Even in the "L.A. Times" article, the woman said that she said, if I was a man I would -- you know, I would respond in a more aggressive way. But he comes on with his power and control, and manipulate and humiliate, and that's very hard for women.
HEMMER: Jodie Evans, the co-founder of Code Pink, from L.A.
Also with us now, the chairman of California's Republican Party, Duf Sundheim, is live in Mountain View, California in the northern part of the state.
Sir, good morning to you. Thank you for your time.
DUF SUNDHEIM, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Good morning.
HEMMER: You know the response. How do you respond?
SUNDHEIM: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear her response.
HEMMER: OK. She was saying that this has been out there for a long time, and women need to wake up and pay attention.
SUNDHEIM: Well, I think she's half right. It has been out here for a long time. People are aware of it here in California. He apologized if he offended anybody. He dealt with the issue directly.
And you compare somebody who deals with issues directly, as Arnold did yesterday, versus Governor Davis, who has never measured up or addressed the issues that he's been charged with in terms of the tripling of the car tax, the high utility bills we pay, the fact that this state is for sale to special interests, and I think the contrast is very stark. And I think that's why this governor is going to be recalled in four days.
HEMMER: Back to the issue that's breaking overnight, this reference to Adolph Hitler from 1975, how do you defend that?
SUNDHEIM: Yes, 1975. I think what you do is you look at the man's conduct. Nobody has contributed more to the Simon Wiesenthal Center than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nobody has stood up more against anti-Semitism than this man.
So, to drag something out at four days before the election I think just as a -- and to run those type of ads as they're running now, just shows the type of puke politics that the Democrat state attorney general said we have come to know and expect from this administration.
HEMMER: What is...
SUNDHEIM: And that's why it's going to be rejected.
HEMMER: What is the suggestion there? Are you suggesting that Gray Davis is playing dirty politics? He's been accused of that in previous elections. Do you believe this is a smear right now? After all, Arnold said it yesterday that he apologized for past behavior.
SUNDHEIM: Absolutely. He apologized, and yet they're still running these ads. This is the way these guys campaign. This is the death rattle of a corrupt administration, and we're going to have to put up with this stuff, Bill, for four more days. But fortunately, it's only going to be four more days.
HEMMER: As Candy Crowley said a long four days this weekend earlier today in her report. Thank you, Duf Sundheim, there in Mountain View, California.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Adolph Hitler>
Aired October 3, 2003 - 07:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Arnold Schwarzenegger denying charges that he's an anti-Semite, and that when he was younger he admired Adolph Hitler. In reports by ABC and "The New York Times," a filmmaker quoting the actor as praising the Nasi (ph) -- Nazi leader, rather, more than 25 years ago.
George Butler, director of "Pumping Iron," is quoting Schwarzenegger saying -- quote: "I admired Hitler because he came from being a little man with almost no formal education up to power. I admire him for being such a good public speaker and for what he did with it" -- end quote.
The fallout the next day. In L.A. this morning, here's Bob Franken.
Bob -- good morning there.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
In response to these various controversies, Schwarzenegger is saying that he's really questioning the timing of these stories right before the election. At one point, he said there are a lot of powerful enemies out there, and they are, of course, striking out and trying to now derail the campaign.
Nevertheless, on this last weekend on his triumphal march through the state which was planned, that march has had to stop any number of times for the answers to very serious questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I don't remember any of those comments, because I always despised everything that Hitler stood for. I hated the regime -- I hate the regime that the Third Reich and all of this, the whole Nazi philosophy, have always fought against it. And I just know that I have been participating with the Simon Wiesenthal Center for the last 20 years, and have raised millions of dollars in order to fight prejudice and to fight all of this.
So, I think that we have to continue fighting that, so this never ever happens again. So, I despise everything that the Nazis stood for or Hitler stood for.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FRANKEN: And, by the way, I would point out that as Schwarzenegger was making that response to CNN, he was accompanied by his wife, Maria Shriver -- Bill.
HEMMER: Bob, what about the allegations of women now? How was that response? We heard him speak at least twice directly about it yesterday.
FRANKEN: Well, of course, that all came out because of a "Los Angeles Times" story yesterday, which detailed the accusations from six women who said over a period of decades Schwarzenegger had made unwelcome sexual advances, had been groping them.
Earlier in the day, after his aides had denied the story, Schwarzenegger issued a qualified apology, and he spoke about the matter again last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes, that I have behaved badly sometimes. Yes, it is true that I was on rowdy movie sets and I have done things that were not right, which I thought then was playful. But now, I recognize that I have offended people. And to those people that I have offended, I want to say to them I am deeply sorry about that, and I apologize, because this is not what I'm trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: We speak a lot of times, Bill, about an October surprise in an election and how sometimes it can turn things around. We have no idea whether this is going to have a big influence.
I can tell you that a women's group that has been opposed to Arnold Schwarzenegger since the beginning -- Code Pink is the name of the group -- is now saying Schwarzenegger should drop out of race -- Bill.
HEMMER: We'll hear from the director of that program in a moment. Bob, thanks -- live in L.A.
A new TV ad attacking Schwarzenegger is focusing on the recent allegations of sexual misconduct as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: If you're a woman or your mother is a woman, or your wife or your daughter or your sister, or there's a woman at work, you cannot vote for this man, because Arnold Schwarzenegger has a serious problem with women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Women across California are being asked to join a protest today against the actor-turned-politician. Jodie Evans, co- founder of Code Pink, a grassroots organization, 25,000 members strong across the country, now our guest live in L.A. Good morning to you, Jodie. Thanks for your time.
JODIE EVANS, CO-FOUNDER, CODE PINK: Good morning.
HEMMER: Listen to Maria Shriver defending her husband last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA SHRIVER, SCHWARZENEGGER'S WIFE: As I say to my children, it always takes great courage to stand before anybody and apologize. And I think that's what Arnold did today. And I think he handled it, and I think his statement speaks for itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Jodie, is it enough? The apology has been to the public now several times.
EVANS: It's been to the public, but it has not been to the women. And he doesn't know the difference between playful antics and sexual battery.
HEMMER: Four days to go right now. Your organization is trying to get women out today. What's been the response?
EVANS: We will have in 12 cities across the state thousands of women and men, who are very upset by his behavior, in the streets, asking him to pull out of the race. That he doesn't have the dignity or self-respect to be the governor of the fifth-largest economy in the world and a state that has deep problems right now and needs intelligence and some serious thought.
HEMMER: Jodie, you have said in the past that you knew these allegations were out there. Why does this surprise you today?
EVANS: It doesn't surprise me today. We asked him to resign and to say he was sorry over a month ago.
HEMMER: You talked about playful. Can that be misconstrued?
EVANS: No. Even in the "L.A. Times" article, the woman said that she said, if I was a man I would -- you know, I would respond in a more aggressive way. But he comes on with his power and control, and manipulate and humiliate, and that's very hard for women.
HEMMER: Jodie Evans, the co-founder of Code Pink, from L.A.
Also with us now, the chairman of California's Republican Party, Duf Sundheim, is live in Mountain View, California in the northern part of the state.
Sir, good morning to you. Thank you for your time.
DUF SUNDHEIM, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Good morning.
HEMMER: You know the response. How do you respond?
SUNDHEIM: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear her response.
HEMMER: OK. She was saying that this has been out there for a long time, and women need to wake up and pay attention.
SUNDHEIM: Well, I think she's half right. It has been out here for a long time. People are aware of it here in California. He apologized if he offended anybody. He dealt with the issue directly.
And you compare somebody who deals with issues directly, as Arnold did yesterday, versus Governor Davis, who has never measured up or addressed the issues that he's been charged with in terms of the tripling of the car tax, the high utility bills we pay, the fact that this state is for sale to special interests, and I think the contrast is very stark. And I think that's why this governor is going to be recalled in four days.
HEMMER: Back to the issue that's breaking overnight, this reference to Adolph Hitler from 1975, how do you defend that?
SUNDHEIM: Yes, 1975. I think what you do is you look at the man's conduct. Nobody has contributed more to the Simon Wiesenthal Center than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nobody has stood up more against anti-Semitism than this man.
So, to drag something out at four days before the election I think just as a -- and to run those type of ads as they're running now, just shows the type of puke politics that the Democrat state attorney general said we have come to know and expect from this administration.
HEMMER: What is...
SUNDHEIM: And that's why it's going to be rejected.
HEMMER: What is the suggestion there? Are you suggesting that Gray Davis is playing dirty politics? He's been accused of that in previous elections. Do you believe this is a smear right now? After all, Arnold said it yesterday that he apologized for past behavior.
SUNDHEIM: Absolutely. He apologized, and yet they're still running these ads. This is the way these guys campaign. This is the death rattle of a corrupt administration, and we're going to have to put up with this stuff, Bill, for four more days. But fortunately, it's only going to be four more days.
HEMMER: As Candy Crowley said a long four days this weekend earlier today in her report. Thank you, Duf Sundheim, there in Mountain View, California.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Adolph Hitler>
