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Trump Ignites Firestorm with War Hero Comments About John McCain; Chattanooga Investigators Find Gunman's Writings; U.N. Votes to Endorse Iran Nuclear Deal, Lift Sanctions. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired July 20, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:00:01] CUOMO: What?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's like a dinosaur, you know. You know, you don't want -- I think they would take good care of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a nice thing for him to do. That the kids get to see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool to watch it and look at it than eat it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: That's right.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I'm sure, it would be a little tough.

CUOMO: Listen to that man. Santa Claus.

CAMEROTA: That's great.

CUOMO: You would have eaten it. Be honest.

CAMEROTA: I would have. Thanks so much.

CUOMO: 95 years old. Carol Costello wouldn't eat it.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: No.

CAMEROTA: Time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol.

COSTELLO: No, no, no. I would set it free.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Yes. Yes, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much. You guys have a great Monday.

CAMEROTA: You too.

COSTELLO: NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM. Donald Trump's new target. John McCain.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's not a war hero.

FRANK LUNTZ, MODERATOR: He's a war hero.

TRUMP: He's a war hero --

LUNTZ: Five and a half years as a POW.

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured.

COSTELLO: No apologies. No backing down. But has Donald Trump gone too far?

Also, Bill Cosby describes under oath how he seduced women. The drugs, the hush money, the promise of fame. Cosby claiming he's a pretty decent reader of people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's true vindication. It validates everyone that involved in this.

COSTELLO: I'll ask one of his accusers what she thinks.

Plus, inside the mind of a killer. The parents of the Chattanooga shooter speak out saying their son was depressed and medicated. What it means for the investigation as five military families grieve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With everything going on he wanted to help out. And being in the Marine Corps is where he thought he could do the most good.

COSTELLO: Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Donald Trump is not backing down. And for the very first time Senator John McCain is speaking up. Respond to those controversial comments made by the billionaire candidate over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's not a war hero. He's a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured. OK. I hate to tell you.

LUNTZ: He's a war hero.

TRUMP: He's a war hero --

LUNTZ: Five and a half years as a POW.

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured. OK. I hate to tell you that. He's a war hero because he was captured. OK. You can have -- and I believe perhaps he's a war hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War after being shot down by enemy forces. He was also tortured during that time.

Here is how McCain responded earlier today when asked whether he believes Trump owes him an apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: No, I don't think so. But I think he may owe an apology to the families and -- of those who have sacrificed in conflict and those who have undergone the prison experience in serving our country.

When Mr. Trump said that he prefers to be with people who were not captured, the great honor in my life was to serve in the company of heroes. I'm not an hero but those who were my senior ranking officers, people like Colonel Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor, and those who inspired us to do things that we otherwise wouldn't have been capable of doing. Those are the people that I think he owes an apology to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash is here.

And, Dana, Donald Trump actually let it rip on the "Today" show when he was challenged about all of this. Listen to what he said when asked whether he would make his comments to Senator McCain's face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT LAUER, HOST, "TODAY" SHOW: Would you say that to John McCain?

TRUMP: No, as any of you (INAUDIBLE), Matt, see, that's what you don't do.

LAUER: No, no, I said -- I'm saying one exchange.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Excuse me, Matt, because you're the media and you do the same thing. The next sentence was he is a war hero. I said that but they never want to play it. And you don't want to play it.

LAUER: Well, why would you say the first thing? TRUMP: But you started it off -- excuse me.

LAUER: Why would you say --

TRUMP: Hey, Matt. Savannah started it off by saying I said that he wasn't a war hero. I didn't say that. And if you would have let it run just another three seconds, you would have said that I said very clearly he is a war hero. I have absolutely no problem with that. What I do have problems with is that he called 15,000 people that showed up for me to speak in Phoenix, he called them crazies because they want to stop illegal immigration. They were insulted.

LAUER: Let me --

TRUMP: And they were great Americans.

LAUER: Let me say for the record. Let me say for the record, we did run the other part of your comments, Mr. Trump. We did run the part where you said he is a war hero. So please don't say that we didn't because we did.

TRUMP: Well, then why did Savannah start off by saying I said that he was not a war hero. I never said that. I said he was a war hero, Matt. So you misrepresent just like everybody else. I do have a problem with what he's doing on the border. He's terrible. And I do have a problem with the fact -- with the illegal immigration is a disaster. And he's doing a horrible job with the vets.

Matt, I see the vets. They come to me. These are powerful, wonderful people and they're crying. They don't know what to do. They're lost because of what we're doing. Frankly, illegal immigrants get treated better than many of our vets. It's a disgrace what's happening to this company.

LAUER: One little portion --

[09:05:13] TRUMP: And John McCain has done nothing about it but talk.

LAUER: The one portion where you said at the end of one comment, I like people who weren't captured. OK. Let me just highlight that moment for a second.

If you're elected president, you'll be commander-in-chief of this country. And they've got about 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. About 3500 serving in Iraq. They face danger on a daily basis, Donald. And they face capture on a daily basis.

TRUMP: I agree.

LAUER: Do you think you have sent the wrong message to those people that if they're captured somehow Donald Trump, the commander-in-chief, is not in favor of them?

TRUMP: I don't think so. I think this -- I do also respect greatly people that aren't captured. Nobody talks about them. We talk about John McCain and I think it's great and he is a very brave man and all of that but we don't talk about the people that weren't captured. And that's what I was trying to refer to. And I think I did.

And by the way, if you see the news conference right afterwards, a few minutes afterwards, everything was perfect. I never even thought this would be an issue. My opponents have brought it up. These are guys that have zero in the polls. And by the way, you said that I said -- I'm doing well. I'm not saying I'm doing well. The polls are saying I'm doing well, Matt. When you introduced me, it was said that I said I'm doing well. I didn't say that. The polls have me leading.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right, Dana. I'm handing you a lot. Your reaction?

(LAUGHTER)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it is vintage Donald Trump. And this is what has enraged the Republican Party, for the most part, when you're talking about the establishment. Certainly as he was mentioning enraged his opponents who did not see this coming. And is what a lot of that is what has made him so popular among a certain sector of the base, enough to propel him, as he said, to the top of many polls.

I think that there's no question that saying what he said about John McCain whether he said he was a war hero in one breath and then, you know, as you heard saying, you know, that he likes people who are not captured in the next breath, it used to be that you just didn't go there.

I'm not so sure that that is the case now that this is the end of the road for Donald Trump. Primarily because the backdrop of this, Carol, is their fight over illegal immigration. And there certainly is a pretty significant part of the Republican electorate in the presidential primary process who never liked John McCain, who of course was the Republican nominee in 2008, and a big part of that is because of his support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

So I think that many of those might see past the -- what many people call these disgraceful comments about McCain's war record, and say, you know, good going, Donald Trump. Keep standing up to the Republican establishment.

COSTELLO: All right. Keep telling it like it is, in other words.

Dana Bash, many thanks to you. I appreciate it.

Trump made no secret in that "Today" show interview he's not a fan of a lot of journalists. However, there is one reporter he singled out for praise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Sharyl Attkisson did a major expose yesterday in the newspapers. She's highly respected. She said that Trump is being mistreated in this. Four times he said that McCain is a war hero. I have no problem with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: In fact, Trump mentioned Attkisson, a former CBS reporter, not once but twice during that interview on the "Today" show. Sharyl Attkisson joins me now by phone.

Welcome, Sharyl. Nice to talk with you.

SHARYL ATTKISSON, FORMER CBS REPORTER: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Did you hear that interview and how Trump brought up your name? And if you did, your reaction to it?

ATTKISSON: Well, I heard it just now and I saw the transcript I think your folks sent me. But I'm not surprised. He's reaching for something that is characterizing a little bit differently what he said. What I reported was the "Washington Post" in a lead sentence added a word to his quote which changed it slightly. You could argue with how much it changed, you can argue with what he said. But the media shouldn't be in the business of adding a word to change a quote without explaining what they're doing even if it's what they think he meant.

And what they said was, that Trump said McCain was not a war hero because he was captured, when in fact you heard Trump said McCain is a war hero because he was captured. And I think there's just a slight difference in how it was covered. It should have been more accurate. That would not have been allowed when I worked at CBS. It wouldn't have gotten past our lawyers. And it wouldn't have gotten past my professors at the University of Florida if I had written something like that.

COSTELLO: He seems to qualify it every time, though. This is a direct quote. "He's a war hero because he was captured. OK?" That's what Donald Trump said. "I believe perhaps he's a war hero." And I just like to play that exact clip for our viewers so they can make up their own minds. So listen to it with me, Sharyl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:10:07] TRUMP: He's not a war hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.

TRUMP: He's a war hero --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Five and a half years as a POW.

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured. OK. I hate to tell you that. He's a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. OK. You can have -- and I believe perhaps he's a war hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: See? In my mind, he kept qualifying it there. And that's where the confusion sets in.

ATTKISSON: Well, I have addressed that. You're right. He's qualifying it. I addressed the "Washington Post" coverage where they added a word to his quote, which is not appropriate, at least in the journalism, you know, corners where I worked and where I came up. So I quibble at the fact that they added a word to his quote, which changed the meaning if only slightly, depends on what your opinion is. I'm not taking issue with the rest of how they reported his phraseology.

COSTELLO: Well, I'm just curious, in listening to it and by your own reporting, did Donald Trump call McCain a war hero during the -- in the forum in which he was over the weekend?

ATTKISSON: I would say, in my view, which really doesn't matter very much, that he initially started out saying McCain was not a war hero, and within seconds morphed into sort of a position which I've seen him do before. He says one thing and then he kind of corrects it or changed it a little bit. Within a few seconds he came to the position that perhaps he is. And yet still he doesn't like McCain for some things he said about Trump's supporters.

But the reason it's so important to be precise with a quote when you're quoting somebody and saying what they said, and it's important not to add a word is because the very thing we're discussing. There's room for interpretation. That the people may see different things in there. The media, in my view, anyway shouldn't be in the business of adding a word in a quote that was not said that way.

COSTELLO: What word are you talking about? What specifically are you talking about as far as the "Washington Post" article about Donald Trump's comments?

ATTKISSON: So the lead sentence in the "Washington Post" said that Trump said McCain was not a war hero because he was captured. When Trump actually said McCain was a war hero because he was captured. Again, those two things -- I think it could be argued first of all it's not accurate to add the word "not." But it could be argued that slightly different meaning. So if the "Post" wanted to rephrase what Trump said because they think that's what Trump meant, they should have explained that. You can't just rephrase, in my view, what someone says without explaining why are we framing it, and then say that's what they said.

COSTELLO: Although he did insert the word "not" at one point during his exchange with Mr. Luntz, who was the moderator in this forum. But Luntz kept interrupting him so he didn't go on, so we don't know what exactly he meant. But the specific sentence that you're talking, Trump said, and I quote, "He's a war hero because he was captured. OK? I believe perhaps he's a war hero." Which kind of leaves it up in the air but I'm sure --

(CROSSTALK)

ATTKISSON: Right. And the "Post" said that McCain said -- that Trump said McCain was not a war hero because he was captured. So, again, you know, these are words that are maybe not important to everybody. To me as a journalist it's important to quote somebody without adding a word in a sentence that they didn't say even if that's what you think they meant or even if you don't like them.

I mean, to me, anyway, it's really important for the news media to cover even people they don't like and issues that they disagree on with the same kind of precision and accuracy that they would afford an issue that they do agree with or candidates that they like.

COSTELLO: I totally understand. You're saying it is very important to be accurate because it all comes down to an attack on the media which shouldn't matter at all.

Sharyl Attkisson, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

We should point out that Donald Trump received not one but five deferments that kept him from serving in Vietnam. That's according to the Smoking Gun which obtained selective service records for Trump back in 2011. One of those deferments was a medical release that stemmed from some sort of bone spur problem in his foot.

Now there's something decidedly distasteful about playing politics with veterans. So let's deal in facts right now. Senator John McCain is no doubt a hero, but the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gives him a D, as in dog, a D, when it comes to voting on bills to help veterans. Trump, by his own account, in "USA Today" he wrote an op-ed there this morning. By his own account Trump donated a million dollars to build a war memorial to veterans. And he rode in a parade back in 1995 that in his words, quote, "was one of the biggest parades in the history of New York City." And that's the extend of what Donald Trump has done for our veterans.

With me now, CNN military analyst Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling.

Good morning, General.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. So you actively served for 37 years. You earned a Purple Heart.

[09:15:00] You actually went to war. What do you make of this controversy?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I'm concerned about it, truthfully Carol, because we're not really getting at the issues. We can talk about back and forth and diagramming sentences and what was and was not said.

But what I'm concerned about is our next commander in chief, we all, in the military view, an individual who has to have leadership qualities. I've already discussed on CNN the intellectual capabilities of Mr. Trump when he talked about bombing all of Iraq and some of the things he said. Now I'm very concerned about the other elements of leadership, which are character and presence. I think the commentary yesterday, in typical Mr. Trump's style,

although I'm try to be apolitical in this, was somewhat derisive toward those who have served. And that's what concerns me the most. He can throw all the parades he wants. He has a lot of money. He can do that. But I think the difference is do you understand what people do in an all-volunteer force and how they contribute to the security of the nation?

COSTELLO: As our enemies watch this play out in the United States, what do you suppose go through their minds?

HERTLING: Yes, I'm concerned very much about that, truthfully, Carol. Because I spent, of my 37-year career, I've spent about 14 of those years overseas. I was in Europe, had just returned from Iraq, during the last election in 2008. And what concerns me is we can have these kinds of debates here in the United States and we can think it's funny and it makes great fodder for both the media and the comedians that are making fun of people. But folks overseas, the people in Europe when I was there for the last elections, were basically saying what the heck is going on in America? Is this really the leaders that you want to put forth to lead the free world? Because they all recognize that we are the leaders of the free world. And truthfully, they want someone who has a little bit of gravitas, who is serious, who has that character or presence and intellect to lead our country and to contribute to the rest of the free world.

And I would bet in various parts of the world right now they're very concerned about the polling numbers associated with some of the candidates.

COSTELLO: General Mark Hertling, thank you so much for your insight this morning. I appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, investigators piecing together details about the Chattanooga killer. Now his family and friends are talking about his troubled past. Boris Sanchez live in Chattanooga this morning.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Just a few moments ago, we got word that investigators have obtained writings by the shooter. What they reveal about his mental state coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:55] COSTELLO: We have new developments to report in last week's shooting rampage at those military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Just moments ago, we learned that investigators have recovered writings of the gunman, Muhammad Youssuf Abdulazeez. The source says they date back over a year and include anti-American sentiment.

In the meantime, the search for a motive includes talking to the extended family he visited in Jordan as recently as last year. Some friends say he returned to the United States very much changed and one clue could be in a text he sent to a friend before killing five U.S. service-members. Law enforcement officials tell CNN that it's a cryptically, quote, "whoever shows enmity to a friend of mine, then I have declared war against him."

CNN's Boris Sanchez has more from Chattanooga. Good morning.

SANCHEZ: Good morning, Carol. As you mentioned, just short while ago, CNN got word from investigators that they recovered some documents written by the shooter that show an anti-American sentiment. He was disgruntled about U.S. policy toward the Mideast and apparently, sources say ,some of the writings are consistent with someone who is suicidal. That lines up with what we're hearing the family is telling investigators about his mental state before the shooting. They say that Abdulazeez had been abusing drugs, smoking marijuana, using party drugs, as well as taking painkillers for a back injury.

They also told investigators that he had been to a psychiatrist for manic depressive bipolar disorder. The family said they sent him to that trip to Jordan in part to get away from some bad influences here in Chattanooga. They apparently believed that if they got him away from some of his friends, he may have made better decisions that way.

The investigation into his mental health continues as the vigil here grows in Chattanooga. We thought it might slow down after the weekend, but we are seeing more people here today. Just off to my left, there are several hundred gathered to show support for the families of those killed. We're hearing from another family of a victim today, Kip Wells, the father of Skip Wells, revealing that he served in the armed forces as well. And he says this whole incident is ironic considering his service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIP WELLS, FATHER OF MARINE KILLED IN ATTACK: It's kind of ironic given my family's history, that when I went to Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait, it just happened to be a Kuwait-born guy who took my son's life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: As you can imagine, a lot of pain on the part of the families of those affected by the shooting. And a mixture of pain and pride here at the vigil. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Boris Sanchez reporting live this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a new Cosby bombshell and the backlash is fierce. Admissions of sex, drugs, and the way he lured women in. One of his accusers joins me live next.

[09:24:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. The United Nations just voted to endorse that landmark nuclear deal with Iran and begin removing ten years of crippling sanctions on the country.

Joining me now with more, CNN senior United Nations correspondent Richard Roth, and CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta who's in Washington. I want to start with you, Richard. Tell us about what the United Nations did.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Security Council often divided on so many big issues 15-0 vote to start lifting economic sanctions on the nation of Iran. And it endorsed the nuclear deal worked out over those many weeks in Vienna.

The economic embargo, banking restrictions, those get lifted after 90 days. Five years to the lifting of arms embargo. Eight years for holistic missile technology. This big five powers think that Iran will now have to live up to the agreement.

[09:30:03] The U.S. feel it could already -- always put back sanctions if necessary under this agreement. Carol.