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Donald Trump Heads to New Hampshire; Polls Show Marco Rubio Doing Best Against Hillary Clinton; Pope Francis Gives Dire Warning on Climate; Tiger Killed After Killing Man in City; New Military Theme park Opens in Russia. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired June 17, 2015 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[13:30:00] DONALD TRUMP, CEO, TRUMP GROUP & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.
I would repeal and replace the big lie, Obamacare.
Nobody would be tougher on ISIS than Donald Trump.
I will stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I will have Mexico pay for that wall --
(SHOUTING)
TRUMP: -- mark my words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN host: Let's bring in our senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns. He's joining us live in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Donald Trump will deliver another speech later this afternoon.
Joe, what kind of voter is Trump hoping to attract in a state that takes its first in the nation primary very seriously?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's for sure. The campaign thinks that they'll be able to attract conservatives who were angry. They think they'll be able to attract people who are blue- collar and who are very worried about the American trade policies, Wolf. They do think they have a chance, at least, at attracting those voters in this country who simply don't care that much about politics, don't understand it but think there needs to be change. Whether that's going to happen is anybody's guess but we'll see Donald Trump here tonight in New Hampshire -- Wolf?
BLITZER: He made a point yesterday, as you know, of playing up his wealth. Listen to this, Joe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We have politicians controlled by all the wrong people, including special interests. And I'm running for president as a businessman that doesn't need money. I don't need campaign contributions. I don't need money to fly in. I fly in very nicely.
(LAUGHTER)
You'd all be impressed, actually.
(LAUGHTER)
Even I'm impressed. I would have never thought this was going to happen.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: So in this age of super PACs, billionaires out there, he himself is a billionaire, is he planning on self-financing his entire campaign? Modest? Maybe not so modest?
JOHNS: Well, he did make a plain statement at New York City at Trump Tower that he does not plan to use donors. That seems like a statement that, yes, he's going to self-finance is whatever campaign he has here. He also pointed out just how much money he says he has, $8.7 billion of net worth. Now, "Forbes" magazine, of course, has already questioned that. They say his net worth is closer to $4.1 billion. Either way, he's a billionaire and would be able to self- finance for quite a while no matter what the case is -- Wolf?
BLITZER: Even $4.1 billion. That's a nice piece of change, you have to admit. There's a lot of buzz that maybe he's not 100 percent committed to running for president as a Republican, that maybe he could switch and run as a third party independent candidate along the lines of Ross Perot 20 years ago. What are you hearing?
JOHNS: Well, as you know all the way back in 2000 he was on the ballot in some states for the reform party, eventually got out of that. He flirted with it again around 2011, talked about running as a third-party candidate. Right now the campaign says, of course, he is running as a Republican, but we all know this is one volatile billionaire and he does whatever he wants to do. Our advice on Donald Trump and covering him has always been "never say never" -- Wolf?
BLITZER: We all remember Ross Perot. He wound up doing well. He stumbled in the end but, at one point, he looked very, very impressive. We'll see what happens this time around.
Joe, thank you.
Programming note for our viewers. Donald Trump will be Jake Tapper's guest later this week Sunday on "State of the Union," 9:00 a.m. eastern.
New poll numbers show the Florida Senator Marco Rubio running best among Republicans in a hypothetical matchup against Hillary Clinton. The Quinnipiac University poll looks at three crucial states, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. In his home state, Rubio gets 44 percent support compared to Hillary Clinton's 47 percent support. He has 42 percent to Clinton's 45 percent in Ohio, 44 percent to Clinton's 43 percent in Pennsylvania.
Let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash; and our senior political reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson.
Dana, what do you make of the numbers?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When you're looking at Florida, it's bad news for Jeb Bush. It's Marco Rubio, his protege, who comes the closest to Hillary Clinton, to be fair it's only a two-point difference and it's within the margin of error in this poll. But Bush does score off the charts on the issue that he's been pushing since Monday, his leadership ability. 62 percent, which is much higher than anybody else. The bad news for him and something that surprises me, I don't know about you, Nia, all the voters say the number one characteristic they care most about is honesty and trustworthiness. More than leadership, more than they care about issues that I care about. And on that Hillary Clinton is doing poorly.
[13:35:13] BLITZER: We have numbers of that, Nia. In Florida, 51 percent say Hillary Clinton is not honest and trustworthy. In Ohio, another key battleground state 53 percent and in Pennsylvania 54 percent don't view her as honest and trustworthy. You look at those numbers and you have to worry if you're a supporter of Hillary Clinton.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Red flags there. The irony here is even if you look at that Florida poll, she's got high numbers for folks thinking that she's not trustworthy but she's still in the lead. So there's an irony there. I talked to folks in the Clinton campaign. They say one of the reasons you see the numbers the way they are is that the campaign hasn't started in earnest yet. They'd be much more worried if it was 2016, the summer of 2016 rather than the summer of 2015. If you look at those numbers you also see people on that question saying they don't know yet in terms of trustworthiness. So once this campaign gets going and there's real sort of research going on against Rubio, against Bush, against some of these other folks then you'll see evening.
BASH: The problem for her is that unlike these other candidates is she's a known quantity. They know her and don't trust her. Of course it is June of 2015, not June of 2016. We can't rule that out. But it does show I think why in places like New Hampshire, let's talk about the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders who has been your guest many times, is doing quite well considering the fact that he came out of nowhere and he was not a big national figure the last poll showed him doing 31 percent which is pretty remarkable.
BLITZER: He's doing very, very well. He's from Vermont, the neighboring state. A lot of people think he's got a base there, at least, and he's resonating there and I think he's resonated with huge crowds in Iowa, as well. I think Hillary Clinton may have to worry about that Bernie Sanders effect.
Jeb Bush, you just travelled with him in Europe, he was on Jimmy Fallon last night, on the "Tonight Show." I want to show how he was involved in slow jamming the news a little bit.
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH, (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL PRESIDENT: We face an important election in 2016. Whoever we choose will be tasked with changing the course of our country and whipping America into shape.
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, TONIGHT SHOW: You hear that, America? Jeb Bush said he wants to whip you "Fifty Shades of Gray" style.
(LAUGHTER)
BUSH: Jimmy, I think I speak for all Americans when I say "eww."
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jimmy just got Bush-whacked!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: I feel like saying "oh, yeah."
(LAUGHTER)
He's good though. He was pretty good, right?
HENDERSON: This is good. Obama has done this before. I think we've seen this long tradition of folks trying to engage with pop culture. Richard Nixon going on "Laugh In" and saying "sock it to me." I think he played the piano on Jack Parr's show. But we've seen from Bush this idea he's a little stiff so this helps him out a bit. He seems a little cool here.
BASH: There were some cringe-worthy moments. But Jimmy Fallon made very clear that he wanted them to do that because he has a young audience. This is the kind of thing he does. He gets people to do things that are weighed outside their comfort zone.
But, Wolf, you've had not some slow jamming experiences --
(LAUGHTER)
-- but you've got some -- you want to do a bit?
HENDERSON: You've got some moves, so I hear.
BASH: He slow jams the news --
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: I've been on the BET Soul Train Awards. Can you teach me how to Dougie?
HENDERSON: I can't Dougie.
BLITZER: I'll teach you how to Dougie.
HENDERSON: You teach me.
BLITZER: All right.
(LAUGHTER)
I want to slow jam the news with Jimmy Fallon.
Guys, thanks very much.
I'll speak with another Republican presidential candidate later today in "The Situation Room." Senator Lindsey Graham will be my guest. We'll talk live 5:00 p.m. eastern. Join us then.
Still to come, he has a science background, and a religious background. Now the pope has a dire message to deliver to the world.
And the middle of the city is not a place you would expect a tiger to attack. Now that tiger and man are both dead. We'll explain what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:42:58] BLITZER: From the first days of his papacy, the pope has preached about the importance of the environment. In one speech, he issued this warning -- and I'm quoting -- "Safeguard creation because if we destroy creation, creation will destroy us." Now Pope Francis is expected to call for action to halt climate change when he sets out the Catholic Church's position on global warming. His views will be revealed in an encyclical, or public letter, to be released on Thursday. He gave a preview at his weekly audience earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS (through translation): Our home is being ruined and damaged and it's affecting all of us, especially the poor. So mine is an appeal to responsibility on the basis of the task that god has entrusted to men in creation to cultivate to guard what God has placed to man."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: As Delia Gallagher explains, the pope's statement hasn't been published yet, but it's already attracting lots of criticism out there. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE), or "Praised be on the care of our common home," Pope Francis's encyclical on the moral aspects of climate change and protecting the environment. Church leaders say this is the first time the release of a papal encyclical has been so anticipated. A Brazilian climate change group even created an epic theatrical trailer for the pope's words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: If we destroy creation, creation will destroy us.
It's time to take out the trash.
ANNOUNCER: A pontiff fighting for god's creation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: But what is an encyclical? It's the most authoritative teaching document a pope can issue and signifies a high-priority issue for the pope. It's usually written for catholic clergy and lay people, although Pope Francis has said his encyclical is addressed to everyone, religious or not.
Encyclicals aren't infallible but they're not just the pope's opinion, either. And Catholics are called to take them seriously.
[13:45:23:]UNIDENTIFIED POPE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GALLAGHER: Catholics are called to take them seriously. Pope Francis is not the first pope to express concern about the environment. Pope Paul VI back in 1971 talked about the exploitation and degradation of nature by man. John Paul II and Pope Benedict have also added their voices to the topic. But Francis is the first pope ever to dedicate an entire encyclical to ecological concerns.
BUSH: I don't get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or from my pope.
GALLAGHER: A move which has worried conservatives. It will be seen as an endorsement of the liberal agenda on climate change and population control and be bad news for big business and oil.
(CROSSTALK)
GALLAGHER: As the first pope from the developing world, Pope Francis's emphasis is on the connection between destruction of the earth's resources and its impact on the poor.
The timing of the document's release is also significant, coming the same year as the United Nation's climate change conference in Paris this December.
(CHEERING)
GALLAGHER: With the pope's popularity, this encyclical will be a milestone that places the Roman Catholic Church at the forefront of one of the major scientific and moral issues of our times.
Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Just ahead, a tiger that escaped from a zoo and killed a man in the middle of a busy city has been killed, but there's a new fear. We'll explain what's going on.
And children and adults in Russia can now spend a fun day playing in a new theme park, but this one is filled with tanks and military weapons.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:50:35] BLITZER: A white tiger is dead after being shot by police. They are now conflicting reports about another possible sighting of a tiger in the capital of Tbilisi in the country of Georgia. Severe weekend flooding allowed animals to escape from the city zoo only to die in the natural disaster. Police shot the escaped white tiger after it attacked and killed a man in a warehouse earlier today.
CNN's Paula Newton is covering the story from London and joining us live.
Paula, this must be quite a task to track down and account for some 300 wild animals. What is the latest?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and the president has been the confusion on the ground, Wolf. Residents of Tbilisi, the capital in Georgia, have been told everything is fine. The dangerous animals have been located and then it turns out that's not true. The tiger has been in hiding in a warehouse. It's a predator. It went right for the person's neck. This 43-year-old man has died and another was wounded. They believe that perhaps there's another tiger that's unaccounted for. We have conflicting reports as to whether or not they've found the animal.
The bottom line is we've got marksman, police with rifles throughout the city there. Residents again indoors trying to understand how many animals there are and if they pose a danger to the public. It's been such a tremendous situation there. They're trying to get a handle on the flash floods. 20 people killed already. They want to put their city back together and get on with it. The pictures have been riveting but really disturbing at the same time. All of the animals on the loose. So many of them have died. Some of them have been shot on sight by police. Now this. A horrific headline that this man was killed by a tiger this morning. As I said, they're really still on edge until they get a handle on the situation.
BLITZER: The pictures really are amazing. It's a major city in Georgia. The zoo there, is it actually destroyed? Are they able to return the animal to a zoo or do they have to be taken elsewhere, those who survived? NEWTON: These zoo keepers, extremely dedicated. A lot of them trying
to save the animals. I was at this zoo several years ago. They're incredibly dedicated but did not expect the flash floods and I'm not sure they're prepared for the e eventualities. It's going to be a stuff call and a lot of people asking questions as to how prepared the zoo was for this kind of event. It's incredibly depressing now for everyone on the ground, especially when you see what's happened now to the 43-year-old man.
BLITZER: Paul, we'll stay on top of this story. What a story this is.
Thank you.
Just ahead, when you think of theme parks, roller coasters, other thrill rides come to mind. A new park in Moscow is geared to a crowd seeking an entirely different thrill. Stand by.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:56:39] BLITZER: You will not find roller coasters or teacup rides at a new theme park near Moscow. But you can climb inside a tank, touch a missile launcher as the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
Matthew Chance says this park is akin to a military Disneyland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you join me here at this vast military theme park, about an hour's drive in Moscow. It's brand new. It's called Patriot Park. And when it's finished, it's set to become a kind of Russian military Disneyland where children can clamber over heavy weaponry and play with grenade launchers instead of riding on normal attractions. You can see there are children and some adults all over this military hardware right behind me.
Now the park was opened earlier this weak by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, at a time of heightened nationalism and confrontation between Russia and the West, particularly other the conflict in Ukraine. President Putin used the opening to announce the addition of 40 new intercontinental ballistic missile to the Russian arsenal, a move that's been criticized by NATO as unjustified and dangerous. The Kremlin says it's just part of a wide reaching program to modernize the country's military.
The park won't be completed fully until 2017. At the moment you can see there is an arms fair under way here as well. And thousands of people have come to visit, many with their families. There are souvenir shops selling a new range of military clothing and, of course, Russia's -- some of Russia's most modern and lethal hardware. Apart from the tanks, there's a missile launcher over here, the kind to have believed to shot down the MH17, the Malaysian Airliners in eastern Ukraine. There's even a nuclear missile launcher. All of this is proving immensely popular amongst what is an extremely patriotic Russian public here at Patriot Park.
Matthew Chance, CNN, outside Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Matthew, thanks very much for that report.
That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. Eastern in " THE SITUATION ROOM." Among my guests, Lindsey Graham, the Republican presidential candidate. Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. 5:00 p.m. here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." For our international viewers, get ready, "AMANPOUR" is coming up
next.
For our viewers in North America, "NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin will start right now.
