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Reelz Channel Will Air Miss USA; George Takei Taking Heat For Comments He Made About Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; South Florida Robbery Suspect Got Big Surprise In Court; Team USA To Face Japan Again In Women's World Cup Finals. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 03, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:48] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Donald Trump, after Donald Trump made those derogatory comments regarding Mexicans at the campaign kickoff business partners have been severing ties with him. The latest to consider cutting him off, the city of New York, Trump holds contracts operates several city landmarks, both NBC Universal and Univision, as you well know, announced earlier they will not air broadcast either of Trump's pageants, the Miss Universe and the Miss USA events. And by the way, Miss USA, that is just ten days away. Laser known cable company, Reelz, has stepped in to air this. And Kate Bolduan who is joining me now, who is hosting, who is in for Erin Burnett.

Actually talked to the CEO last night. And so, what did he tell you?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I wasn't really interested in seeing his reaction. He is obviously, it is NBC and Univision, it was not a relationship they could maintain, why would this cable channel picking it up right off the bat, Stan Hubbard, the CEO of the company, he says that he absolutely thinks what Donald Trump said is ridiculous. But he is very clear saying that it's a TV move. This is not political. He's separating the two. Will it work? We'll see. Listen to (INAUDIBLE).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: We now know -- of course, you've heard that Univision and NBC, they call his comments derogatory. Macy's called them disparaging, saying that they are inconsistent with the store's values. Why this is something that you want to be associated with?

STAN HUBBARD, CEO, REELZ CABLE NETWORK: Look, I tell you what, I agree with everything that NBC, Univision and Macy's are saying. I think the comments are ridiculous. We couldn't disagree with them more. And we look at this event, this pageant, that has the young women who have competed for this for years, they worked hard, they have got themselves a baton rouge was rolled out this red carpet and this is their day in the sun and we are going to give it to them. This has been on television for 53 years. This will be the 54th year of the Miss USA pageant and none of those contestants, none of those people in Baton Rouge, none of those little girls at home who aspired to this and want to watch it, none of the people at home for decades had anything to do with this.

We knew going in we may have no advertisers. We have 11 days to celebrate with a holiday weekend in between. That make it is almost impossible. But we do think having a chance to bring this pageant and support those contestants and support that community is a worthwhile endeavor and it is not a political move. It's a television move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:21] BALDWIN: Hang on a second. So he said they may not have any advertisers?

BOLDUAN: Yes. He acknowledges that advertisers may not want to sign onto this. He is seeing other companies drop down the front. He said that they paid a very small licensing fee. It's rumored to be about $100,000, which is, on relative terms, seems to be a steal. And he says that all the agreement they made with the pageant organization, has nothing to do with the Trump organization and he says they are just licensing to put it on and there's going to be a bigger bill that he says they are not putting but the draws, it's a little bit obvious, it's a TV move, he says. They want to draw viewers to Reelz channel and last year I think Miss USA pageant drew in about five-and-a-half million viewers. That would be a big boost to any cable channel.

BALDWIN: Yes, I know. It is massive, lot sand lots of eyeballs in the screen. I think once people figure we are on the cable, though, Reelz exists.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE)

BALDWIN: And then, of course, it's the who is going to host, stay tune. Kate Bolduan, watch it tonight, filling in once again for Erin Burnett, yes, 7:00 eastern here on CNN. Thank you very much.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And he's been adored by generations of Trekkies but today, veteran actor George Takei is getting slammed on social media for inflammatory he made about Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. This remarks coming in the wake of Thomas's descent on the rent Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality. Takei is gay. Justice Thomas, one of the four dissenters in that decision. And in a preview with CNN, Phoenix affiliate KSAZ, Takei said this about the soul African-American on the nation's highest court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE TAKEI, ACTOR: He is a clown sitting on the Supreme Court. He gets me that angry. He doesn't belong there. And for him to say slaves had dignity, I mean, doesn't he know that slaves were in chains, that they were whipped on the back? This man does not belong in the Supreme Court. He is an embarrassment. He is a disgrace to America. I'll say it on camera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Those comments nearly broke the Internet. People have called Takei racist, they have called him a bigot, others including my next guest here, CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill. He offered this quote "It is one thing to critique Thomas' position. I do all the time, but to suggest that he's a blackface clown and unqualified is wrong."

So here with me now Morehouse College professor Mark Lamont Hill.

I mean, and I think people are surprised, Marc Lamont Hill, that you are, you know, taking - that you are defending this conservative justice.

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I don't know if I'm defending Clarence Thomas as much as I'm critiquing George Takei. You know, this isn't about Clarence Thomas' position. I think Clarence Thomas is generally wrong. I think the particular of the sitting opinions that he's offered the last week have been absurd, whether it's housing or gay marriage, et cetera.

BALDWIN: But --

HILL: But, he's still black. And I think one of the things that we often do is we try to diminish people's blackness when they don't agree with us, whether it's the black conservative that we call Uncle Tom or whether it is someone like this we disagree and we say is a blackface clown. I don't think that's OK. And it's particularly problematic when someone who is not black does it. Again, I would be glad people should call me all the times either. But I think that kind of language of blackface clown and unqualified is dangerous. I disagree with Clarence Thomas. That doesn't mean that he's unqualified. That doesn't mean that he is somehow not black. Blackness is not we can take off and put on.

BALDWIN: It doesn't mean that this kind of language should ever be used, period, the clown of blackface.

Takei did offer this up on a wake of all of this, right? That he said this on Facebook. Quote "blackface is a lesser known theatrical term for a white actor who blackens his face to play black buffoon and traditional theater lingo, and in my view and intent that is not racist. It is instead part of a racist history in this country." I hear you chuckle. Let me go on. He mentioned, though, he says he's experienced discrimination firsthand. His family lost everything in World War II. They were inside a Japanese internment camp.

So just that, as far as context and background from where he is coming from. Here's what I thought was interesting. You posted on twitter that this would be an entirely different discussion if this were Ted Nugent saying this about President Obama.

HILL: Exactly. If Ted Nugent said, so yes.

BALDWIN: Why? Because it would be a conservative and a Democrat or because it would be white and black? HILL: I think both. I think white and black obviously make it is a

very unique argument, you know, entire black racism and coming from white people something we have already kind of programmed in our mind, and we have a script for that and we have a script for Republicans being racist towards Democrats. What we don't have a script for all the time is what happens when Harry Reid does it. You know as we saw in the book "Game Changer." What we don't have is something George Takei doesn't. And what he tries to do is playing inside (INAUDIBLE) and saying hey, I've been through a lot, too. I'm Asian, I'm gay --

BALDWIN: He's sharing his family's history.

[15:40:02] HILL: Which is true. But that doesn't give you a right to say and do these things. I saw the same thing here when I was protesting the shootings in the Eric Garner killing. White allies who were saying things that I found very troublesome. They were liberal, somebody called this radical, but it's still racist. You can't do it. And I think part of being an ally is learning how to use a certain language and how to respond to people and not assume because you are down with the people that you are the people.

BALDWIN: How is it OK to ever to say this?

HILL: I don't think it is. I don't think it is. All he had to say is I disagree with Clarence Thomas. He is wrong and he is making bad choice there in the best of interest of him. Even black people, I couldn't even deal with that. When you start saying black -- but when he says blackface -- I'm not racist. I'm appealing to a traditional of blackface, it's one of the first most publicly racist projects we've seen in American theater and culture. It's racist at the core. And to take that on is not OK.

BALDWIN: I took a semester of African-American theater in college. Yes, I think most of us are aware.

HILL: Everybody (INAUDIBLE)

BALDWIN: Marc Lamont Hill, thank you very much.

HILL: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Next, it's the rematch, the U.S. women soccer team has been waiting four long years for it. This weekend, U.S. takes on Japan in the World Cup final. We will talk to, guess who, Brandy Chastain who is legendary penalty kick gave the U.S. the title back in 1999. Her thoughts and advice ahead of this weekend's match.

Also, before you light those fireworks this weekend, do not miss this year's important safety reminder brought to you by the consumer product safety commission. Marc Lamont Hill, don't make me laugh. We'll be right back.

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[15:30:00] BALDWIN: This is something you never see. South Florida robbery suspect got huge surprise when he appeared in court. At his bond hearing, he came face-to-face with his old middle school classmate who happened to be the judge and you just have to see what happened next.

CNN Miami affiliate (INAUDIBLE) shows us this tearful reunion.

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JUDGE MANDY GLAZER, MIAMI-DADE CIRCUIT COURT: Hi, Mr. Booth. You're back. This time you're charged with a burglary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER (voice-over): From the classroom to the courtroom.

GLAZER: Mr. Booth, I have a question for you.

ARTHUR BOOTH, DEFENDANT: Yes, ma'am.

GLAZER: Did you go to nautilus for middle school?

BOOTH: My goodness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: 49-year-old Arthur Booth now a suspected burglar reunited with his middle school classmate, Judge Mindy Glazer. Now, decades later, the two have been brought together in a court of law. Booth breaking down in tears during the unexpected reunion.

BOOTH: My goodness.

GLAZER: I'm sorry to see you here. I always wondered what happened to you. So this was the nicest kid from middle school.

BOOTH: My goodness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: On June 29th, Booth was seen leaving the scene of a burglary at northwest north river drive and 36th street in Hay Aliya (ph). Police say Booth failed to pull over as they tried to conduct a traffic stop. The police report says, quote, "Mr. Booth drove his vehicle onto the median and drove onto the oncoming traffic lanes. Mr. Booth then bailed from his vehicle," end quote. In bond court, Judge Glazer says Booth's alleged behavior was not the childhood classmate she remembers.

GLAZER: He was the best kid in middle school. I used to play football with him and all of the kids and look what has happened. I am so sorry.

BOOTH: My goodness.

GLAZER: Mr. Booth, I hope you're able to change your ways. Good luck to you.

BOOTH: My goodness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: And as booth continues to cry, Judge Glazer deliver as message she hopes will help turn his life around. GLAZER: What's sad as how old we've become.

BOOTH: My goodness.

GLAZER: Good luck to you, sir. I hope you are able to come out of this OK and just lead a lawful life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Can you imagine? So sad. Booth's bond was set at $43,000.

All right. Sunday, team USA will once again face japan in the women's world cup finals after an emotional loss to Japan back in 2011. Lot of Americans were hoping for this rematch. But some are calling Japan's advancement pure luck. Did you see this?

Let me take you back to Wednesday in the semifinal game against England. You have England Warren Basset accidently kicked the ball into her own team's goal. Listen, she was in tears. I would be, too. The victory automatically then went to Japan and I had the opportunity to talk about this dramatic week with 1999 world cup champion Brandi Chastain. She told me she, too, has made that same mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: When you're under that kind of pressure, is this one of those, you know, could have happened to anyone or will she be forever remembered for that mistake?

BRANDI CHASTAIN, 1999 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP CHAMPION: Well, I think -- I think that moment will be remembered because it's -- it happens so infrequently. And like I said, I scored a goal against us in the World Cup in 1999 in our game against Germany in the quarterfinal. So, you know, as I tweeted out to her, you know, I totally understand the feeling that you're having right now. Never is it in your intent to make that happen. But what I'll say is that every player on the field is imperfect, you know. She's human, you know. Her attempt to make a saving clearance was one inch away from being perfect. So, you know, that's how small of a margin for error you have when these big games are on the line.

BALDWIN: Well, I think you seem pretty empowered when you are playing. I mean, it was David Letterman who dubbed the team babe city. Let's talk about that in a moment, Brandi Chastain, when you, you know, here you were. You took your shirt off after the famous, you know, winning goal. So let me ask you this. The captain of the team, Abby Wambach told CNN that said she wants the media team to treat this team just like the men's team. Do you agree with that? Is there a way to maintain femininity in a sport while achieving really the same rights, respect as the guys?

[15:50:13] CHASTAIN: Well, I've said since the time I can remember about, you know, what we would like in soccer. I'm not talking men's or women's soccer. I'm talking soccer. I would love to be either criticized, analyzed, judged, whatever you said to call it, coached on a playing field that's just about soccer. It doesn't matter if I'm a male or female.

So I understand what Abby is saying completely. And you know, that sometimes women's soccer is recognized -- remember the celebration and people, yes, we loved watching that? It always comes back to good feelings. And so for me, in that moment, I feel strong about that celebration. And I don't think it detracts from what Abby is saying.

BALDWIN: OK. You mentioned good feeling. How about revenge? I mean, this is revenge that team USA wants, that they've been craving. You've been watching this tam so closely, you have been watching Japan, as you were talking about, some of their footwork, their cool, calm collected way they're playing. Are there qualities that Japan has that you U.S. really, you know, could take a lesson from or vice versa?

CHASTAIN: Well, I think both teams have qualities that the other or probably very envy and would like to have. But I want to go back to the revenge word because I honestly don't believe the word belongs in the conversation about a game like this?

BALDWIN: Why? We remember a couple years ago.

CHASTAIN: Different coaches, number one, different approach, different players. There are some that are the same, but I think what you're saying is the emotion that is elicited from that last world cup, yes, is very strong. And it's not just the players that were there, and it's kind of in the fabric of the U.S. national team, but it's more so about what they're doing right now than what happened four years ago, and if they allow their mind to drift back, they're going to miss something that needs to have attention now.

BALDWIN: Go USA.

CHASTAIN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Brandi Chastain, thank you.

Coming up next, an annual reminder about fireworks safety.

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[15:56:56] BALDWIN: CNN hero Sean Gobbet did three tours of duty for his country, and now he is helping other veterans walk off the war with the help of hiking trails around the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You take back a lot of things from war that you didn't think you were going to bring back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just angry at everyone. Didn't want to do anything with anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can be kind of hard. You just get kind of anxious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You top feeling, basically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All three of my deployments were intense. There was no time to cope. I decided to hike the Appalachian, because it had been a dream of mine growing up. I saw it as a personal challenge, but about two thirds of the way I realized I was processing all these experiences that I had put away, and I knew that there were other combat veterans that needed to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're seeing on the back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It provides vets ran with all the equipment they need to complete a hike. It is just like a deployment except instead of going to fight a war, your mission is to be a civilian again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just being in the woods out here, and there's nothing to do but think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's internal quiet, and some of the problems that you're dealing with get hammered away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just being around other military is worth more than words can say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many years you got in now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifteen years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our veterans also receive trail town support along the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see how much they care. It helps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We help veterans prepare for the next chapter of their life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're learning to take it as it comes and move on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looking for that sense of calm, every step I take I think I'm going in that direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Phenomenal. We would love to hear about your hero. Go to CNN.com.

All right. Before I go, drumroll, please. It is time for my favorite video of the year. Yes, people, it is important to stay safe tomorrow for the fireworks, but please do not burn yourself. Does that go without saying? But the way in which the United States government would like to warn you never fails, well -- you look for yourself.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

BALDWIN: That does it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Jim Sciutto is up next. "THE LEAD" starts now.