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The Lead with Jake Tapper

No GOP Hopeful Would Beat Clinton In New Poll; Bernie Sanders Wrote About Rape Fantasies In 1970s; Drunk Pilot Crashes Into Shed Before Takeoff; Tinder, Social Media Blamed For Spike In STDs. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired May 28, 2015 - 16:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- his DNA was found on a pizza crust in the home where the murders took place.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Almost like a crime novel with an elaborate, complex plot and we're only being given pieces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Still a lot to learn. Police continue to investigate the people who were with Darin Wint when he was arrested last week including his brother, his cousin, and two women who allegedly purchased money orders with the murder money.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All five of them let go, though?

BROWN: Let go after less than 24 hours, but that doesn't mean they're off the hook.

TAPPER: All right, Pamela Brown, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

In our Politics Lead today, some Republicans are suggesting that Senator Rand Paul should run as a Democrat. But a new poll shows there's a reason that some of his critics should be concerned. Does he, Rand Paul, have the best shot at beating Hillary Clinton? The race for 2016 is next.

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[16:35:01]

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Our Politics Lead today, the race for 2016, and soon it will be easier to tell you, which Republicans are not running for president. Two more GOP hopefuls have entered the ever growing field.

Despite having official and unofficial candidates to choose from the latest polling found none of them as of now would defeat Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton.

Of course, that's just if the election to be held today. Is it all good news for the former secretary of state? Well, not quite.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (voice-over): Call it the Clinton conundrum. Not trusted by a majority of the majority people, but favored to be their president. In a brand new Quinnipiac poll, more than half says Clinton is not honest nor trustworthy.

But she still manages to beat out any other candidate for overall support. That includes each of the Republicans currently in a five-way tie for first place, with 10 percent of GOP voters' support.

GEORGE PATAKI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm a candidate for the Republican nomination.

TAPPER: Former New York Governor George Pataki came to first of the nation primary state, New Hampshire today, standing before a rather wrinkled flag and vowed to iron out Washington's problems.

PATAKI: Let's let every Washington politician know, from now on you're going to live under the same rules and laws that we do.

TAPPER: Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum declared his presidential candidacy Wednesday.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am running for president of the United States.

TAPPER: Santorum came in second for the GOP nomination in 2012, but as of now is barely registering in the national poll seemingly sweeping only immediate family and friends.

SANTORUM: I divide food for my family and I wasn't in front of your TV often over the last three years.

TAPPER: Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is nearly omnipresent from filibusters and TV appearances to signing copies of his new book in Iowa today. Paul is taking a lot of hits. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lashes out at him Wednesday.

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Not nice to disagree, you're probably in the wrong race.

TAPPER: Later today in Las Vegas, Florida Senator Marco Rubio visits one of his more interesting endorsers. One of the stars of the reality show, "Pawn Stars," on the History Channel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a starting point.

TAPPER: History in the making. I suppose. Just 530 days to go before the finish line for 2016>

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TAPPER: And joining me to talk about the race for 2016 is Republican strategist and CNN poll commentator, S.E. Cupp along with Democratic strategist, Steve McMahon. Guys, thanks so much for being here, really appreciate it.

Steve, I want to talk to you about this Clinton conundrum. The idea that a majority of voters pick her to be president, but also the majority finds her not honest, not trustworthy.

Look at this number right here. This is the top number -- honest and trustworthy, most people, yes, 39 percent, no 53 percent. Independents, yes 31 percent, no 61 percent, 61 percent of independent voters saying they do not find Clinton honest or trustworthy. She is going to have to turn that around I think, right?

STEVE MCMAHON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Right and she will. I mean, one of the things that you're seeing in some of this polling right now is the country is already pretty polarized. Republicans are overwhelmingly represented even the Republican independents.

But there is no question that the coverage of the e-mail situation and some of the Clinton Foundation news that's been focused on lately is probably reflected in some of these numbers.

But I expect that when you have a race against a Republican, most people find the policies of that candidate fairly objectionable. It's going to look a lot different.

TAPPER: S.E., I want to ask you the same poll shows that in head-to- head matchups, there are two candidates that come within striking distance of Hillary Clinton. Obviously it's early yet, but they are Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, each one four points behind. Do you think there's something they -- is it because they're both younger, fresher, newer? Is that reason?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Fresh, yes. I think so. And we've been hearing a lot from Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, which I think, you know, usually that is reflective in polls. I expect those numbers to shift over the next few weeks. I expect someone like Mike Huckabee's numbers to go down.

Rick Santorum's to go up as he gets more vocal. So, but that sounds about right. I think Marco Rubio is absolutely a rising star and candidate to watch. Rand Paul is having a tough time now and I expect his numbers to drop as well. They're the new upstarts, the fresh upstarts.

Those are the people that Republicans are certainly watching to see what they say on all of these issues going forward.

MCMAHON: They are occupying the space that governor walker was occupying a couple months ago when he was the fresh, new upstart and the scrutiny will start to come and attention comes and seeing articles about Marco Rubio that aren't at flattering as the articles from six or eight months ago.

And Rand Paul is going through it today, right now, in realtime. His Republican opponents are beating him senseless on some comments that he made recently about the hawks --

TAPPER: Blaming Republican hawks.

[16:35:05] CUPP: Yes, but this is the point. All Republican contenders and would-be contenders are out answering questions, making news and you see it reflected in the polls. Hillary Clinton is not really doing that so her numbers stick.

MCMAHON: She's winning, though. There is an argument we've made that the strategy the Clinton campaign is executing right now is working because there's not a Republican who's ahead of her in any poll that's been published at any time in the last year.

TAPPER: She can just refuse to have any serious long interview or press conference until November --

MCMAHON: No, no. She won't. She'll answer questions. Look, she believes and her campaign believes that this campaign should be about the voters and not the reporters who are covering it and she'll answer the questions, but she's not there to answer reporter's question, she is there to talk to voters.

One of the things that people criticized her for the last time was she cut herself off from not just the press but voters. They're not making that mistake again.

TAPPER: Well, I don't think anyone is criticizing her for talking to voters, but it would be nice to have her --

MCMAHON: Well, but before, though, Jake. It was a lot of speeches, a lot of big events behind a podium. She's now right in there.

CUPP: I don't blame Hillary for this strategy. She is being rewarded for it. I blame members of the media for peddling puff pieces while she refuses to talk to them.

TAPPER: I want to move on to some interesting news from today. "Mother Jones" magazine did a profile of Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, Democrat, challenging Hillary Clinton. And there was this essay he wrote when he had was 30 years old in 1971.

It's an old essay but he writes a man goes home and masturbates his typical fantasy. A woman on her knees, a woman tied up, a woman abused, a woman enjoys intercourse with her man as she fantasizes about being raped by three men simultaneously.

It goes on to talk about gender roles. It is very strange and obviously there is a lot to object to in this, Steve?

MCMAHON: There is. I'm not going to defend it. I'll leave that to the Sanders campaign.

TAPPER: We have yet to get a response back, by the way.

MCMAHON: I'm sure they'll say it was a long time ago.

TAPPER: It was.

MCMAHON: He was 30.

TAPPER: At 30 years old.

MCMAHON: And I'm sure they'll say that he was providing analysis and not his own views, but there is no question that this is going to be a challenge for them, although, I will say it's going to be more relevant when he's more relevant. Right now he's not very relevant and probably this won't be either.

TAPPER: Let's talk -- do you want to talk about that?

CUPP: It's just so uncomfortable. It's a very uncomfortable moment and if George Bush's college grades were relevant, if Rand Paul's fraternity high jinx were relevant, Bobby Jindal's graduate thesis was there are relevant, I think that there are some relevant questions to ask Bernie Sanders about.

TAPPER: Which is why we're asking right now and why we put them to --

MCMAHON: I'm not saying irrelevant, I'm just saying right now as a candidate, he's largely irrelevant, which means he's not going to get the same level of attention as George Bush as the nominee when people are questioning his college transcripts or other things.

TAPPER: I do want to ask you about Chris Christie today, the governor of New Jersey, not doing that great in polls right now, but still I think a relevant force, and he today basically said that the common core educational standards, federal educational standards, that he had supported, he now opposes. Obviously something that will endear him to Republican base voters, coincidence?

CUPP: Right. No. What's amazing about this, made me think about your interview with him where you asked him about some of -- his bad poll numbers and where he was, how this was an uphill battle, and you know, what struck me is he seemed almost unfazed, right.

He seemed very confident. I don't pay attention to the polls, maybe because we had this in mind. He would come out with this announcement, really sort of blow the field wide open. A jab to Jeb Bush, who supports common core, and maybe create a whole new ball game, maybe had this in mind all along.

TAPPER: Interesting. S.E. Cupp, Steve McMahon, thank you both so much. Appreciate it. Great to see both of you.

Coming up, flying while intoxicated. A father with his young son onboard crashes his plane after getting behind the controls of the plane drunk. What the air traffic controller said to him right before he crashed.

Plus, casual sex, as easy as swiping your finger on your phone, the kids say. Now officials are warning, does dating hookup apps could be to blame, at least partially, for a health scare in several states.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [16:48:15]

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. In other national news, flying under the influence, a drunk pilot crashed his twin engine plane into an airport shed in Melbourne, Florida, with his young son as a passenger.

Let's bring in CNN's aviation correspondent, Rene Marsh. Rene, this guy and his son are very, very lucky to be alive.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, we just got the police report, and in it, it says that this man was slurring his speech. He was sweating. He even appeared disoriented.

They even found open bottles of alcohol in the pilot's plane after he crashed at Melbourne International Airport, a very busy airport with both general aviation and commercial flights.

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UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: 32-where you going, sir? OK, how you doing that, sir?

MARSH (voice-over): Air traffic control audio captures a frustrated controller dealing with a defiant and officials say intoxicated pilot on the taxiway at Melbourne International Airport in Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Hold your position. I didn't tell you to move.

MARSH: This Cessna ran off the runway and through a ditch before hitting a satellite dish on airport grounds. The 57-year-old Christopher Hall was at the controls of the private plane and his 10- year-old son was onboard. The police report obtained by CNN says, the pilot's speech was slurred, police smelled alcohol, and hall's eyes appeared bloodshot.

LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: As a commercial pilot, I am randomly drug tested. As a general aviation pilot, they are not required to have any sort of random drug test before getting in their own airplanes.

MARSH: Police say Hall asked for clearance to enter the runway, but controllers denied the request. Despite that he taxied in that direction anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Twin Cessna, turn your engines off, sir. Kill your engine.

[16:50:09] MARSH: It was Hall's 10-year-old son who told officers he knew what had happened and the answer was in his father's computer bag. Police would find a half empty bottle of cognac and, an unopened bottle of wine.

And behind the pilot's seat a plastic bottle containing what smelled like liquor. Hall was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a vessel, and child abuse without great harm, a felony.

ABEND: This is the epitome of offenses when it comes to the privilege of flying an aircraft. This is a total irresponsible act to fly after consumption of alcohol and if indeed this alleged charge is true, notwithstanding the fact that he put his own son at risk, he put the general public at risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: He certainly did, but the father and son are both OK. Hall was released on $4,000 bond. We were unable to reach him for comment, but, Jake, the FAA has very clear rules about drinking and flying.

Obviously goes without saying if you're intoxicated, you should not be flying. Also if your blood alcohol level is 0.04 or higher, they say flying is a no, no. That's about half of what it is for driving so --

TAPPER: Glad that story is not worse than it was.

MARSH: Yes.

TAPPER: Rene Marsh, thank you so much.

Our Sports Lead now, he is hosting the 2018 World Cup so he clearly has a horse in the race. Today, the Russian President Vladimir Putin is coming out defense of FIFA's president and slamming the United States after the FBI conducted raids and charged more than a dozen world soccer officials and sports marketing executives.

With a list of mob tactics including money laundering, taking bribes totaling $150 million. The FIFA president somehow avoided any charges. A Swiss investigation is also looking into possible shenanigans related to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, which went to Russia and Qatar, respectively.

Putin accused the U.S. of trying to spread their jurisdiction to other states, this as he totally doesn't wage that are or impose his will on neighboring Eastern Ukraine.

And speaking of President Putin, another one of his chief opponents has somehow ended up almost dead. Doctors say the 33-year- old Vladimir Karamoza remains in grave condition in intensive care two days after he was admitted for pancreatitis and double pneumonia.

His father told the Russian news agency that doctors have not ruled out foul play, but there was, as of now, no evidence that his son had been poisoned. Karamoza was an ally of opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, who was shot and killed in February right outside the kremlin.

They take the guess work out of dating, apps like Tinder that literally show you who's available to hook up within a one-mile radius. Health officials are warning, watch out. You could get more than you asked for. That's next.

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[16:57:19]

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. The Money Lead, I'm told by the kids on my staff that it's pretty easy these days. All you need is a couple of selfies, petting a sedated tiger and a witty line about how you are willing to lie about how you met and voila, you are in the market for promiscuous sex.

Tinder, an app, with an estimated value somewhere around $1.5 billion has taken merely all of the work out of dating in 2015. Now some states are blaming Tinder and other sleazier apps like it for an increase in more than walks of shame.

CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us now. Elizabeth, a scary rise in sexually transmitted diseases, STDs and officials in many states are blaming these hookup apps?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Jake. There's no way to really to know that it's the hookup apps that are causing it, but certainly, if you look from the 1980s until now, huge increases in some places in sexually transmitted diseases and there is not really any reason other than social media that we would be seeing this kind of increase.

So let's take a look at what these numbers tell us. It tells us that at least in the state of Rhode Island. There are similar findings other places, syphilis up 79 percent from the 1980s until now, gonorrhea up 30 percent.

And newly identified HIV up 33 percent, and, again, you know, there may be other reasons for this, but experts are saying, look, with these apps you just swipe right and you're sleeping with someone you don't even know.

TAPPER: So I get it these apps make it easier for people to hook up. There's got to be some personal responsibility here. Apps are forcing anybody to do this?

COHEN: That's right. They are not forcing anyone to do it and you know what, Jake, people had promiscuous sex before these apps. It's really up to someone to decide, look I'm going to ask this person to get tested before I have sex with them.

I'm going to use a condom. I'm going to make sure that I'm sober enough to ask those two things. That's the person's responsibility not the app's responsibility.

TAPPER: So how are those health officials who are blaming these apps, how are they saying social media in general, is contributing to this increase in risky behavior?

COHEN: You know, they can't really prove it, Jake. They can't point to any specific thing necessarily. But they know that that's how a lot of people are dating these days and it's an interesting question. How can public health officials harness these apps for good?

Maybe they can use these apps in way to promote safe sex rather than promote promiscuity.

TAPPER: That's how these people are, quote/unquote, "dating." I'm doing air quotes for you, dating these days.

COHEN: Having sex. Let's call it what it is.

TAPPER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I turn you over to Wolf Blitzer. He is right next door to THE LEAD in the place we like to call "THE SITUATION ROOM." Thanks for watching.