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South Carolina Governor to Sign Rebel Flag Removal Bill; RNC Tells Donald Trump to Tone It Down; President Obama Downplaying Expectation on Iran Deal?; Market Surges in Early Trading. Aired 10- 10:30a ET
Aired July 09, 2015 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00] JOHN WALSH, HOST, "THE HUNT": It's the toughest job you'll ever have in your life, it's the most rewarding. I cannot fathom how anyone can kill a child, especially your own children.
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Right.
WALSH: This guy probably molested his own daughters. They went to the police. He then got them to recant. He terrorized them by saying I will kill your mother if you don't recant. He arranged marriages for them in Egypt. He had dual citizenship. I think he may have fled to Egypt but before I really hang my spurs up, and I'm loving doing "THE HUNT," we caught -- we solved five cases last year, it's fantastic. A wonderful, wonderful way to catch bad guys, teaming up with CNN.
Before I hang up my spurs, I want to see this dirt bag brought back. And if he is in Egypt, and we will show his face in Egypt, Egypt needs lots of help from the United States. The Arab spring didn't work. If the Egyptian police captured this guy and extradite them to the United States, that would be a good thing for Egypt to do. They don't want our garbage. They don't want a child killer.
CABRERA: We hope that our viewers can help solve that crime.
WALSH: Yes. Yes.
CABRERA: So watch this season's episode of "THE HUNT." Again, premieres this Sunday night at 9:00 right here on CNN, and also want to mention that today I know you're doing a Facebook chat, John Walsh, at noon Eastern.
WALSH: Yes.
CABRERA: So make sure you log on. There'll be a link on CNN.com for that as well. Thank you, John Walsh. Thank you so much for coming on and for making a difference in the world.
WALSH: Well, thank you for having me. I'm loving being on CNN.
CABRERA: We appreciate it.
The next hour of NEWSROOM starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNY HORNE (R), SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: If we amend this bill, we are telling the people of Charleston we don't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: An impassioned plea by State Representative Jenny Horne just moments before a historic vote in South Carolina. House members approving the removal of the Confederate flag from the state House grounds. The bill now in the hands of the governor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would bomb the hell out of those oil fields. I wouldn't send many troops because you won't need them by the time I got finished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: The Donald's comments getting him in trouble with the GOP. The party telling Trump to tone it down in his comments on Mexican immigrants. But it's not really doing any good.
And the markets are rebounding. Right now up more than 200 points this morning. 24 hours after a technical glitch stalled trading and sent the Dow on a downward spiral yesterday.
We go live to the market floor just ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Good morning. It's great to have you with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in for Carol Costello. Thanks for being here.
And we begin in South Carolina. The Confederate flag will no longer fly above the state's House grounds. Governor Nikki Haley is expected to sign the bill into law at any moment that would take down the symbol as early as tomorrow. A remarkable move when you consider all that's happened in the past three weeks since nine people were killed at an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. Lawmakers are overcome with emotion this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HORNE: It took a tragedy to bring this body to this decision. We have met tragedy with triumph and defeat with purpose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Undeniably the most emotional and impassioned plea last night came from that woman you just saw who just joined us also a few minutes ago. Republican Representative Jenny Horne, and CNN's Nick Valencia is in Columbia this morning following the latest developments -- Nick.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A monumental day here in South Carolina, Ana, after an exhaustive debate, 13 hours with the final vote coming in the state House just after 1:00 a.m. Lawmakers voting to permanently remove the Confederate flag from state grounds, a flag that you can see behind me that has been on the state grounds since 1961. About 15 years ago another contentious debate brought that flag in front -- really in the front of the public's eye right by the Confederate Memorial -- a memorial for the Confederate soldiers. That flag after tomorrow we understand will no longer be there. It is a forever thing here. Something that is a huge victory for those who have wanted to see this flag taken down.
Governor Nikki Haley is expected to sign the bill sometime this afternoon, we're told by sources. The governor's office has not made an official announcement just yet, but the time that we're hearing for guidance is around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. The governor has five days to sign this bill, but a part of the Senate proposal, Ana, is that this flag will come down within 24 hours of her signing this legislation -- Ana.
CABRERA: All right, Nick Valencia, doing a great job out there in Columbia, South Carolina. Thank you so much.
During her impassioned speech, Jenny Horne started naming her friends who are directly offended by the flag. One of those named friends was Democratic Representative John King who you will see in this picture. You see he was also emotional last night, and he's joining me live to discuss that moment.
[10:05:10] Sir, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. Let's go back to that moment when Jenny Horne called your name during her speech. What was going through your mind?
JOHN KING (D), SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: I was taken aback when I heard Jenny, Representative Horne, mentioned my name because she understood the passion that we had as not only African-American people in South Carolina but as her friends who cared about bringing down the flag and bringing peace to South Carolina, but not only to South Carolina but to our country and what it meant for us here in South Carolina.
CABRERA: I spoke with Jenny Horne about a half an hour ago. If she was listening right now to this interview, what would you tell her?
KING: I'm proud of Jenny. I'm so proud of her. Had it not been for Jenny and what she did last night, I don't know if we would be sitting here today talking about how the flag would be taken down by tomorrow. I'm understanding that our governor will sign the -- this bill into law around 4:00 today which means that 4:00 tomorrow they will start removing what you see now as the Confederate flag there on the state House grounds.
And it's a proud moment. Not only for South Carolinians, but for all Americans because now we are beginning to do what's right for people of all races here in this country.
CABRERA: It strikes me that you thought that maybe her speech was pivotal in getting this bill passed. It did end up passing with more than two-thirds majority, but it was a bit of a fight with some 68 amendments that were proposed. Does this now set the stage to say, you know, we're united more than divided and perhaps could influence others on a national level?
KING: Well, I think Representative Horne showed that people can cross aisles to do what's right for not only just one segment of the community but for all people, and I'm just so proud of my colleague. I'm lost for words because this day is major for us here in South Carolina. I have been elected for over 15 years, and this is one of the most proudest moments that I can say of my elected career, and so I am extremely excited about what South Carolina has done.
I spoke only last night being ashamed of being a South Carolinian because of the 68 amendments. This morning I wake up saying that I'm proud to be a South Carolinian.
CABRERA: I have to tell you, covering this story this morning has given me goose bumps a few times, especially when you said it is one of your proudest moments of your entire service in South Carolina.
Thank you so much, State Representative John King for joining us this morning, and do keep us posted as the future unfolds.
KING: Thank you so very much.
CABRERA: Defiant, unapologetic, and in it to win it, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump doubling down on controversial comments about Mexico and illegal immigration in this one-on-one interview with our Anderson Cooper. And among the many issues discussed, how Trump would deal with illegal border crossings. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Number one, I wouldn't even think about anything until I built a wall impenetrable. There would be nobody coming into this country illegally. That's number one. Number two, I would get the ones that are criminals, drug dealers, and the people that are forced in by Mexico, and you know exactly what I'm talking about, because Mexico is smarter and sharper and more cunning and, frankly, have much better negotiators than we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: All right. Let's discuss all of this with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
You must be going on a couple cups of coffee by now after no sleep last night, but what an interview. Were you surprised by how defiant he still is?
COOPER: Not really. I mean, this is Donald Trump. I mean, it's classic Donald Trump. I think the interesting thing about obviously talking to him is that, you know, he -- you can present him with all the facts and figures and studies you want, regardless, he very closely sticks to his message. He sort of pivots very quickly, and on this issue he really wants to -- he clearly wants to keep the attention on this issue. He feels this is an issue he has made great strides with. This is an issue he feels very strongly about, and he feels he has set the debate for the entire GOP right now.
CABRERA: But at the same time it's no secret that the Republicans need Hispanics to vote for them if they are to win a general election.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: President Obama got 71 percent of the Hispanic vote the last election. He claims, Donald Trump is claiming he can get the Latino vote. He doesn't really make it clear how. He says by bringing jobs to America he will get people to vote for him.
[10:10:09] You know, obviously there has been a huge outrage among many quarters in the United States, particularly among Latino populations. Even among other GOP contenders. So, you know, and now we understand the head of the RNC in a call to Donald Trump asking him to kind of tone things down. We'll see if he actually does this. But he clearly feels -- and look, among voters in New Hampshire and elsewhere, he is number two in the polls right now and is doing very well. He's very happy with where he is.
CABRERA: I know you also mentioned to him this "Washington Post" report about illegal immigrants working for him on this hotel in Washington, D.C. Let's play a clip of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Isn't it hypocritical for you saying that illegal immigration is killing this country to be employing illegal immigrants?
TRUMP: Well, I read the story, and by the way, that story does not name any names. I'd love them if they could give us the names, but they said they spoke to one or two but they don't name him.
COOPER: What they say is several of the men who hail mostly from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala have earned U.S. citizenship or legal status through immigration programs targeting Central Americans fleeing civil wars or natural disasters. Others quietly acknowledge that they remain in the country illegally. They don't give numbers.
TRUMP: They have to give us the names because we have, you know, many --
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: They're not going to give you names.
TRUMP: No, no, no. They have to give us the names. And I have to say this, we believe so strongly -- I hired a very big contractor, one of the most prestigious, one of the best in the world to build the building. It's their responsibility to make sure. They have done --
COOPER: Doesn't the buck stop with you, though?
TRUMP: Yes, it does.
COOPER: You're paying their salaries. TRUMP: Absolutely. We have gone out of our way to make sure that
everybody in that building is legal. And we do have some that were -- that became legal. And wait a minute. We have some -- many, I think, that became frankly me, you, everybody, I mean, ultimately we were all sort of in the group of immigrant, right? But we have done that to the absolutely letter of the law. They haven't shown us anything. I wish they would give us some names. We would get them out immediately.
COOPER: You must have a guy on the job site --
TRUMP: We have more than one guy.
COOPER: Right.
TRUMP: And we check it probably more carefully than any job that was ever built.
Anderson, you have either 11 -- anywhere from 11 million to 34 million illegal immigrants in this country. They're all over the place. Nobody knows even where they come from.
COOPER: Can you guarantee that you don't have illegal or undocumented workers working for you in hotel projects or various projects?
TRUMP: I can't guarantee it. How can -- how can anyone? We have 34 million in the country. I used to hear 11. Now I hear 34 million. I can't guarantee anything. But I can say this. We work very hard to make sure that everybody is legal as opposed to illegal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: So there's sort of a hypocrisy here, right?
COOPER: I mean, clearly his critics are going to say that. Look, Donald Trump is saying we check, we do all we can to check. He says the buck stops with him but he also says well, look, he hire a contractor who -- it's their responsibility to check for this sort of thing. He seems to kind of want to have it both ways.
I think what will be interesting to see is, A, are any other cases brought up of illegal immigrants working on any Trump projects. He says he can't guarantee that there are. But they do everything they can to try to prevent that. And will the other GOP candidates try to use this against Donald Trump. We saw this happen against Mitt Romney in an incident where he allegedly had some illegal immigrants working for him on his yard at home that were hired by another contractor. Will Trump be held to that standard? We'll have to see where the other GOP candidate side with this.
CABRERA: And you said, he's driving the conversation right now.
COOPER: Without a doubt.
CABRERA: Without a doubt. I mean, he's making other candidates talk about things they don't want to talk about. COOPER: That is clearly the case.
CABRERA: He's more effective than us, the media.
COOPER: And I think -- and I think that's going to be interesting. Once he's on a debate stage with those candidates, how do they handle him? Do they attack him? Do they try to ignore him? I think that's what's going to be particularly fascinating.
CABRERA: Absolutely. And I do want to just read this tweet again to those who are just joining us because he's still talking this morning. He fired off a tweet after we discussed the whole RNC conversation with Trump last night and it says here, you can see, "Totally false reporting on my call with Reince Priebus. He called me, 10 minutes, and -- said I hit a nerve. Doing well, end."
So he still believes or at least is posturing that he still has the support of the GOP party as a whole.
COOPER: Right. Well, I mean, he's certainly got -- you know, he's come under fire from some of his GOP challengers, Ted Cruz has supported some of the things he has said about immigration. He believes Ben Carson supports him somewhat as well. But we've had some very firm statements from Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and others. So, again, I'm fascinated to wait for these debates.
CABRERA: Well, I'm very curious to see the rest of your interview, too.
COOPER: Yes.
CABRERA: Which I know is going to air tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" which begins right here at 8:00 on CNN.
Thanks again, Anderson, for coming in this morning and getting up early for us.
COOPER: Thanks. Pleasure.
CABRERA: We appreciate it.
Still to come, the deadline for the Iran nuclear deal extended again. Why even the president doesn't think this is a good sign.
[10:15:08]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: As crunch time approaches for a deal with Iran on its nuclear program, President Obama is dramatically now downplaying the expectations. As the talks continue, the president now says the chances of a deal are less than 50-50.
Let's get the latest from CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott in Washington.
Elise, this is some new language. All along we've been hearing more optimistic tone from the president.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Well, Ana, I think, you know, we always talk about high stakes diplomacy, but I think in this case, this really is high stakes diplomacy. You know, the U.S. was very optimistic about a deal and really pushing, but then I think what's happened is the Iranians thought that the U.S. would, you know, make more concessions and be more vulnerable to giving things to the Iranians closer to the deadline.
[10:20:19] Now that the administration has passed the deadline, I think they've shown the Iranians that they're ready to stick and make sure that they get a good deal and they're not going to buckle under pressure. That said, they're about 95 percent there, I've been told, but those 5 percent of those issues, those really thorny issues, are the hardest.
Take a listen to a senior adviser from the State Department, Marie Harf, in Vienna talking to CNN last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIE HARF, SENIOR ADVISER TO JOHN KERRY: When you get such a complicated technical agreement, every single piece has to come together at the end, and we always knew at the end of these talks these would be the toughest issues, that's sort of how these negotiations work, that the toughest issues often come down until the very end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LABOTT: And so they are at the very end now, those tough issues remain. The duration on a deal, how long the Iranians would have to succumb to some of these limitations. They're also talking about a U.N. Security Council resolution. They want a full lifting of the U.N. arms embargoes. So these are some of the toughest issues. The Iranians are holding out, but the president has also made clear he is not going to give in on some of these tough issues and he's willing to walk away but I think that they're continuing to make progress -- Ana.
CABRERA: Well, we know that there is sort of that pseudo-deadline tomorrow. A goal that they've set for themselves but we've also heard that they are saying it's not a hard deadline if they're still in the process of making progress they may continue their negotiations, but what happens if the U.S. and the rest of the countries, five other countries that are negotiating in this deal, what if we walk away?
LABOTT: Well, there are a couple of scenarios they're discussing. If they're not ready for a deal by tomorrow, they could keep talking for a few extra days or through the weekend. And they could decide to go home and regroup and meet in another couple of weeks and try and get a deal sometime this summer, or if they feel the Iranians are being totally intransigent and not budging, they could say to the Iranians, you know, call us when you're serious. Until then we're going to go home.
But I think in the meantime, the interim agreement that is going on right now, which places some limits on Iran's nuclear program and some sanctions relief would remain in effect. I don't think anybody is talking about an end of the process entirely, some kind of doomsday scenario because there's really no alternative to a deal. They have made so much progress. So if there's not a deal this week, I think they might take a little bit of pause, but I think those talks will continue ultimately -- Ana.
CABRERA: All right. Elise Labott in Washington for us. Our thanks to you.
Still to come, nearly 24 hours after a technical glitch halted trading at the Stock Exchange for hours, the Dow now re-bounding, up about 160 points this morning. We'll take you there live next.
Plus, big cuts from the Pentagon. Soldiers and civilian jobs on the chopping block. Where those cuts could come from.
And, of course, the Pope continuing his visit in South America. Huge crowds right now in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Pope Francis is celebrating mass in front of an estimated crowd of two million people there. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is in the middle of a three-nation tour of his home continent of South America focusing on the poor and the environment.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:27:53] CABRERA: We have some breaking news just into CNN regarding the South Carolina Confederate flag. As we mentioned early this morning, House lawmakers voted to remove the flag sending the bill to the governor's desk, and now we know Governor Nikki Haley will hold a bill signing ceremony of sorts. That's going to happen at 4:00 Eastern Time today.
This is the bill now labeled S-897 and the Confederate flag will fly no more on statehouse grounds.
Well, investors are breathing a little sigh of relief this morning. Major rebound on Wall Street. At one point we saw the Dow surge more than 200 points since the Opening Bell, nearly making up for all those losses yesterday.
Alison Kosik is live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, any ripple effect that you're feeling after all those glitches yesterday causing the shutdown for four and a half hours?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, at first let me address the elephant in the room, Ana. I want to tell you about the irony this morning. A fund with the ticker H-A-C-K, Hack, that rang the opening bell today. So that was a day after a massive glitch bright down the NYSE. This by the way the fund that invests in cyber security company. So while it wasn't a cyber security issue that was to blame, there were questions about that run around yesterday. The fact that H-A-C-K, Hack, rang the opening bell today. It's really become a running joke here on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Anyway, to answer your question, smooth start today to the opening bell. Smooth start to the trading day so far. Traders that I have talked to say they're cautiously optimistic that trading is going to go OK after that shutdown yesterday.
Now late yesterday the president of the New York Stock Exchange said that they found out what was wrong and that they fixed it. They put out a statement saying the problem was a configuration issue. Translation, the settings weren't correct before some new software was launched the previous night.
And we've actually learned, Ana, that it was the president of the New York Stock Exchange who made the decision to stop trading yesterday when some trades weren't going through. So it wasn't an issue where the computers just shut off. It was his decision to say let's shut off the machines -- Ana.
[10:30:02] CABRERA: And the timing of course was just so coincidental then because of the United problems they were having with their computers.
KOSIK: Yes.
CABRERA: "The Wall Street Journal" having issues around the same time. Good to see everything bouncing back there on the New York Stock Exchange.
(END)
