Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Maintaining He Has Been Misunderstood; FOX News Anchor Megyn Kelly Speaks Out; Washington Deploying Six F-16 Fighter Jets to Turkish Base Near Syrian Border; Uproar after Rookie Police Officer Shoots Unarmed College Football Player; Congressional Delegation Visiting Israel to Talk Iran Nuclear Deal; 64-year-old Woman Tortured, Raped, and Murdered in California. 3-4p ET

Aired August 09, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, thanks for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

To Donald Trump now, saying he has no apologies to make, telling CNN's Jake Tapper that his comments are just being misunderstood and questions to him during the debate were unfair. Trump has been facing heat since he made disparaging remarks about FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly after she questioned him during the Republican primary debate.

Republican front runners, like Jeb Bush, were quick to criticize the comments, saying that it was -- it is no way to win an election and that Trump should apologize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's amazing, because three days ago he was talking so negatively about women's health issues. And I thought it was disgraceful, frankly. And I think that will go down to haunt him and maybe be the same as Romney's 47 percent, which possibly cost him the election.

Jeb was very negative on women's health. And when you're negative on women's health, you can forget about it. And I'm the exact opposite. I cherish women. I want to help women. I'm going to do things for women that no other candidate will be able to do. And it's very important to me.

So, you know, it's sort of interesting. He then went back and apologize the following day and said he misspoke. He really did misspeak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN Sunlen Serfaty is in Washington also following this.

So Trump maintaining that he has been misunderstood. Is this just another controversy that he will be able to be like Teflon, you know, or might this have an impact?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it could. As you said, he's been noted that he's the Teflon candidate because he has, Fred, survived a series of these sort of controversies in the past. But certainly the fallout and criticism over this specific comment has been fierce.

And today in those interviews, we did see Trump really take pains to try to deflect attention away from those comments and really pivot to other controversial comments that Jeb Bush made, as you saw there, him taking on Jeb Bush for his own controversial comments on women's health care.

But more than anything, in his interviews today we saw him not apologizing and not backing down and really saying that he thought nothing that he said was inappropriate. Here's more of what he told Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She was very angry. And when I was speaking about it on a CNN show, by the way, which was interesting, but I was speaking about her, I said blood was pouring from her eyes or out of her eyes, which is a very common statement. And by the way, I said the same thing about Chris Wallace.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, you did.

TRUMP: Nobody said anything. But I said the exact same thing about Chris Wallace.

TAPPER: But then you said blood coming out of her wherever.

TRUMP: No. I said and blood was pouring from -- wherever, because I wanted to finish the sentence. Because I wanted to get off of the whole thing and get back to the subject of jobs or whatever we were talking about right after that. So I didn't even say anything, I didn't even finish the thought. I was going to say nose and/or ears because that's a very common statement. Blood pouring out of somebody's nose. It's a statement showing anger. She had great anger when she was questioning me, especially since I mentioned something. The Rosie O'Donnell statement, which everybody said by far was the loudest applause of the entire day of all of the speakers and I think you would agree. And she became very angry and all I was doing is referring to that anger. I said nothing wrong whatsoever.

And by the way, Jake, let me just tell you this. Only a deviant would say that what I said was what they were referring to, because nobody can make that statement. You almost have to be sick to sort of put that together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now, all this comes as there is some broader internal turmoil within the Trump campaign for the second time in two weeks. Another shake-up, cutting ties with a top political advisor of Trump's, Roger Stone. Now, there's some dispute whether he was fired or resigned first. But either way, Stone coming out and saying that he left in part because of behavior like this, Fred, that he says is a distraction from the issues.

WHITFIELD: All right. And other Republican contenders, what more are they saying about his comments?

SERFATY: Well, we have heard from many of the contenders who quickly came out blasting Trump's comments, but most notably this really gives an opening for Carly Fiorina as the only woman among the Republican candidates to come out and speak about her own experiences. So we heard her say that there were times when she was in the corporate world where she had to really undergo these same sort of insinuations from men. Here's more of what she told Jake Tapper today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think presidential campaigns test character under pressure and over time, and so it's a moderator's job to ask tough questions. All of those moderators asked tough questions of everyone. And so there's no excuse for personally attacking one of the moderators for asking a set of questions he didn't like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And she later went on to say that she believes that Trump's comments were completely inappropriate and offensive.

[15:05:02] WHITFIELD: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

And now, for the first time we're actually hearing from FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly since Thursday's debate in a pre-taped interview airing this morning, she said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I'm a big girl, I can take it. As I say, I think I understand why people get upset because the stakes are very high here. You know, we're talking about the oval office. And they -- they really like the candidate they like and they don't want to see the candidate take any hits. You know, that -- that is the way you feel and get to feel if you are just a voter as opposed to the journalist.

We're not allowed to feel like that. We're not allowed to take those considerations into mind when we craft these debate questions. We have to hit them as hard as we can at this stage so the voters can figure out who's our guy, right? Like the Republicans are trying to figure out who's our guy or gal, in the case of Carly Fiorina if she gets it. And then others are looking at it, you know, beyond this stage saying, OK, I really like this guy, but can he win? Because I mean, I like this one candidate a lot but I want to find the one who can win, who can beat Hillary Clinton. So in this context given what we were doing, our job was to help them and I think the way you do that is by exposing their weaknesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Alright, Megyn Kelly went on to say that she felt her question was fair. She understands that there is likely to be some consternation and she's OK with that. She says, adding that Trump will get over it and quote "will be fine and so will America" end quote.

All right, let's talk more about the Trump campaign. Larry Sabato is the director for the center of politics at the University of Virginia. Good to see you. And M.J. Lee is a CNN political reporter. Good to see you as well.

So M.J., let's begin with you. We haven't seen any major polls since the Republican debate, but Trump has been holding a sizeable lead for quite a while now. You heard him this morning on CNN and he went to all the networks. He says there are polls that he is recalling that puts him, you know, at the top in New Hampshire, in Iowa, in South Carolina. Is there a feeling that he can maintain this lead even after this weekend and all this firestorm that has erupted?

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Fredricka, that's the million dollar question, right? For the last couple of weeks whenever Trump has made inflammatory comments, whether it be about Mexican immigrants coming into the country, whether it be about John McCain and his service in the Vietnam war, I think every time there is a little bit of speculation and some hope too within Republican Party leaders that that would be the moment where Trump would start falling in the polls.

And as you know, we have actually seen the opposite over the last couple of weeks. Trump has been leading the national polls. His numbers have actually ticked up. And I think the question after the first debate last week and then the comments that Trump has made about Megyn Kelly following the debate, the question is, is this going to finally be the moment that starts Trump's fall in the polls.

The two things to keep in mind, I think, about these comments about Megyn Kelly, the FOX News debate moderator, one is that she is a very popular and is very much liked by the Republican voting base. Conservative media commentators and pundits. The second thing is that she is obviously a woman. I think Jeb Bush made a really good comment when he said over the weekend, look, do we really want to isolate 53 percent of the Republican Party's voting base.

WHITFIELD: And so, Larry, you know, this point forward then, regardless of what the polls might say about Donald Trump, how might this be a prelude to the next, you know, debate? Do you see his style changing, evolving at all? Him being more careful with his language, or more of the same?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER OF POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, that's an easy one. I think we'll get more of the same. He might have moved up, Fred --

WHITFIELD: Why do you think that?

SABATO: I'm saying he might have moved up in last Thursday's debate if he had taken a presidential stance. If he had projected leadership in a way that one could imagine in the oval office, yes, his polls probably haven't dropped very much.

But remember, he's at about a fifth of the Republican electorate on average, in the polling average, so it's around a fifth, maybe a little higher than that. You know, I keep going back to the last billionaire who ran for president and he had an intense following too and his name was Ross Perot in 1992 and what was his percentage? Nineteen percent, about a fifth. Now, that was a general election. This is a Republican nominating process.

But I honestly think that if he hasn't peaked, he's made it very difficult for himself to be a serious contender for the Republican nomination.

WHITFIELD: OK. And now let's shift gears and talk about the Democrats. Among them, you know, Bernie Sanders, his campaign stop in Seattle was interrupted by a Black Lives Matter protest and people even said let's take a moment in silence for Michael Brown, one year later. And this is what Bernie Sanders said as he was leaving the campaign stop where he was silenced for a moment. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:10:18] SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Among other things I wanted to talk about the issue of black lives, the fact that the American people are tired of seeing unarmed African-Americans shot and killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So this is what, the second time we know of that he has been -- his moment was silenced by this movement. Is there a clear understanding, Larry, as to why Bernie Sanders is being particularly targeted? Is this the national movement, because there's some reports that perhaps this was strictly the Seattle, you know, representation of black lives matter and not representative of the national movement. What's your understanding about why he is being targeted?

SABATO: Well, I doubt that it's a widespread movement. That is the idea of targeting Bernie Sanders. And it's always a bad day for democracy when a candidate is silenced and not allowed to say what he wants to say about the subject.

But, you know, essentially I think in the progressive movement there's some resentment toward people like Bernie Sanders because they don't always focus on racial issues as opposed to his preference for economic issues, for economic equality, you know. Again, frankly, I think it's a little bit absurd and most people's sympathies would be with Sanders. He deserves to be heard, he's a serious presidential candidate.

WHITFIELD: And M.J., what are you hearing on the campaign trail as to why this has happened, at least twice that we know of, with Bernie Sanders?

LEE: Well, I would point out that it certainly isn't Bernie Sanders who's the only presidential candidate who is being asked to address these issues who is sort of facing the heat. Another democratic candidate, Martin O'Malley, has been asked this question multiple times on the trail, so has Hillary Clinton.

Look, I think the black lives movement and folks who are angry about the way that the country has addressed and talked about the issue of police brutality, especially when it is directed towards racial minorities. I think they're really trying to seize on the presidential campaign and use it as a microphone to talk about the issues that they feel like have not been adequately addressed.

So is this Bernie Sanders specifically being targeted? I don't actually think so. I think that the movement is incredibly ripe and there is a lot of momentum right now behind the movement and they are trying to use the candidates and put them on the spot to give air time to the issues that they really want covered as we head into the 2016 campaign in earnest.

WHITFIELD: All right, M.J. Lee, thank you so much. Larry Sabato, appreciate it. Good to see both of you.

And this breaking news we're now following. A very sad news in the world of football and entertainment. NFL hall of famer Frank Gifford has died. Gifford was a former New York Giants star who had a long career as a sportscaster and the husband of "Today" show anchor Kathie Lee Gifford.

Earlier his family released this statement saying, quote, "it is with the deepest sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and friend, Frank Gifford. Frank died suddenly this beautiful Sunday morning of natural causes at his Connecticut home. We rejoice in the extraordinary life he was privileged to live and we feel grateful and blessed to have been loved by such an amazing human being. We ask that our privacy be respected at this difficult time and we thank you for your prayers."

Frank Gifford was 84 years old. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:059] WHITFIELD: All right, Washington is deploying six f-16 fighter jets to a Turkish base near the Syrian border. U.S. mission to NATO confirmed the move in a tweet earlier today. It's all part of an effort to help the coalition in its fight against ISIS and it follows Turkey's decision to allow the U.S. to use the strategically important air base after months of reluctance.

For more now on this, we're joined by CNN military analyst, retired colonel Rick Francona via Skype from Fort Oxford, Oregon.

All right, good to see you. All right. So I wonder, colonel, what does this tell you about the timeline of the potential use of f-16s?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, these aircraft came fully loaded. I looked at the footage in Eu-com, European command, has been very public about this deployment. It's all over the Internet. There's video of them arriving in Turkey. They came fully loaded. They came from Italy. It's a three-hour flight. Six aircraft, it's not going to change the dynamic yet but I'm hoping this is the initial deployment.

So the timeline is good. It's been two weeks since the Turks have allowed us to use that air base. I think it's about time we got some aircraft in there. But we need to bring much more air power in there.

WHITFIELD: And in fact you said that in a recent blog. You said this is a welcome development and that if Turkey wants to be a NATO ally, they need to start acting like a NATO ally.

FRANCONA: I did say that, yes. And it looks like the Turks are. And we're all very reticent about watching the Turks now, because Turkey has agreed to be part of the coalition air campaign against ISIS and they did mount some strikes against ISIS. But the bulk of Turkish air operations have been directed toward the Kurdish workers or the PKK which we recognize as a terrorist group.

So I think that might have been the price for us to use that air base. And I think it's a price we're willing to pay. Because access to that air base really allows us to change the situation in northern Syria, assuming we're going to bring in enough air power to do it.

WHITFIELD: And you see this as a potential turning point now?

FRANCONA: Well, I do as long as we exploit it. Right now the pilots are operating under a pretty cumbersome rules of engagement. Almost everything they do has to be relayed back to the headquarters in Iraq and the Iraqis have to agree to everything we're doing, even over Syria. So I think we take that out of the equation and we mount this as a U.S.-Turkish operation in northern Syria. It can be run much faster. We have manned aircraft that can carry a lot of weaponry, they're very close. So we can get aircraft using tankers to take off with a full bomb load, fill up your tanks off the ground, you can loiter over northern Syria for a long time. You can bring a lot of weapons to bear, but six aircraft aren't going to change that dynamic.

WHITFIELD: All right, lieutenant colonel Rick Francona, thank you so much from Fort Oxford, Oregon. (INAUDIBLE).

FRANCONA: You did, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Alright, still ahead, uproar after a rookie police officer shoots and kills an unarmed college football player. The incident captured on surveillance video. The FBI now joining in the investigation. Details on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:50] WHITFIELD: All right. No answers and fresh outrage after the killing of an unarmed college football player by a rookie police officer in Texas. New edited video from a security company allegedly showing 19-year-old Christian Taylor moments before the shooting damaging vehicles inside a car dealership. The family wants more facts. Authorities are calling for calm and the FBI is joining the investigation.

Here now is CNN's Nick Valencia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got shots fired.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Friday morning just after 1:00 a.m. in Arlington, Texas, 19-year-old Christian Taylor spotted on security cameras as he drives his car up to the gate of a car dealership. The sophomore football player at Angelo State University appears to act erratically, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

In the eight-minute edited tape released by the dealership, Taylor tries to put his fist through a car window. When that doesn't work, he jumps on the hood of the car, breaks through the windshield.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He broke into possibly a gray colored Mustang.

VALENCIA: Eventually Taylor heads back to the gate using his car to force his way into the lot, only to smash through the business's front entrance with his car. Taylor's father speculates his son was not himself the night he was killed.

[15:25:10] ADRIAN TAYLOR, FATHER: That could have been too much drinking or it could have been wrong place at the wrong time. Could have got something that you don't know what you're getting. Could have been a problem with your girlfriend, I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're inside the building. The car crashed through.

VALENCIA: During the encounter, police describe a struggle. Taylor is tased by one arresting officer, a second draws his gun and fires.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Notify internal affairs, please.

VALENCIA: 49-year-old Brad Miller, a rookie cop, was still under supervised field training when he fired the fatal shots. He's now on routine administrative leave.

Late Saturday, a news conference, Arlington's police chief Will Johnson stopped short of defending his officer's actions.

CHIEF WILL JOHNSON, ARLINGTON, TEXAS POLICE: I can guarantee you that we will have a thorough investigation. If this was not justified or authorized under the law, there will be consequences.

VALENCIA: Taylor's father admits his son broke the law, but for him, the crime should not have been a life-or-death decision.

TAYLOR: Shoot an unarmed man, and you're trained to take down -- you're trained to take down men with your hands. You have your tasers, you have your clubs, whatever it is. Unarmed 19-year-old, you shoot to kill? VALENCIA: The Arlington police chief said that his officers were not

wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting. They're not required to do that, so there's no additional footage of the shooting. They have called in the FBI to participate in the investigation -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Nick Valencia.

Alright, coming up, several members of U.S. Congress sitting down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to talk about the Iran nuclear deal. CNN's Michelle Kosinski is live for us at Martha's Vineyard where President Obama is vacationing.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Right, President Obama may be on vacation, but issues over that nuclear deal aren't going anywhere. We'll have all the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:14] WHITFIELD: Hello again and welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, dozens of members of U.S. Congress visiting Israel as President Obama makes a hard sell on his Iranian nuclear deal. Twenty-two Democrats met today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 Republicans are expected to arrive tomorrow.

Joining me right now from Martha's Vineyard where President Obama is on vacation. CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

So Michelle, let's talk about the Democrats who met with Netanyahu today. Are these Democrats likely to vote no or is this an issue of exploration?

KOSINSKI: Yes, it's more of that. In fact this trip was planned out ahead of time. According to APAC, the American Israel group that is staunchly opposed to the Iran deal, but they say this is not a trip to lobby these members. They do this every two years. These are mostly freshmen members of the House, as you mentioned both Democrats and Republicans. So it really remains to be seen what this does to sway opinion.

And there is very little information coming out. I mean, nobody is saying too much about it. We don't even really have a full list of everybody who's on the trip. But what they have said is going to happen is that they're going to meet with the leadership, including Democrats today meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu. They will also going to meet with the Palestinian president. They're going to visit cultural and historic sites, meet with military people, meet with the U.S. ambassador to Israel. And the goal, they said, is to learn about the challenges in the region and to reaffirm that strong bond between the U.S. and Israel.

Now, is the Iran nuclear deal not going to figure heavily into this pre-planned trip? Of course it is. And meeting with Netanyahu today, we expect him to have very, very vocally made his case, as he's been doing. So I think we just have to wait and see what comes out of this, whether this has swayed anyone's opinion or are the opinions going in there going to stay the same -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, we've heard from the president who says, you know, he believed that many opponents hadn't even read all of the material, hadn't even read the whole deal. Does he feel any differently now about some of the opponents?

KOSINSKI: He had a lot to say about opponents. I mean, during that speech at American University last week saying things like, well, if you're looking for a better deal with the Iranians, then you must be either ignorant of Iranian society or you're basically lying. I mean he didn't use the word "lying" but he said you're not being straight with the American people.

Other things he said was comparing Iranian hard-liners to those who were opposed idea logically to the deal. And he mentioned the Republican caucus specifically but many thought that that also would lump in Democrats who were simply questioning the deal itself. But here's how the president responded when he sat down recently with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I said is absolutely true factually. The truth of the matter is inside Iran, the people most opposed to the deal are the revolutionary guard, the Quds force, hard-liners who are implacably opposed to any cooperation with the international community and there's a reason for that, because they recognize that if in fact this deal gets done, that rather than them being in the driver's seat with respect to the Iranian economy, they are in a weaker position.

And the point I was simply making is that if you look at the facts, the merits of this deal, then you will conclude that not only does it cut off a pathway for Iran getting a nuclear weapon, but it also establishes the most effective verification and inspection regime that's ever been put in place.

It also ensures that we are able to monitor what they do with respect to stockpiles, plutonium, their underground facility, and that it does not ask us to relinquish any of the options that we might need to exercise if in fact Iran cheated or if at some point they decided to try to break up.

And so, the reason that Mitch McConnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who oppose this jumped out and opposed it before they even read it, before it was even posted, is reflective of an ideological commitment not to get a deal done. In that sense, they do have a lot in common with hard-liners who are much more satisfied with the status quo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:09] KOSINSKI: Wow, you heard him very carefully explain that. Now, you know, he's not really backing away from any of the pretty tough things he said about opponents in that speech he gave last week. In fact he's only reaffirming them and explaining them further, including the fact that he said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is just plain wrong about what he feels with the Iran deal -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then tomorrow a joint press conference involving the Republicans and Democrats. We'll see exactly, you know, how the president's sell is working.

Thanks so much, Michelle.

KOSINSKI: It looks like that's been cancelled now. It looks like now we won't have a press conference. We just got word there won't be a press conference tomorrow. We'll see if that changes. But it looks like it was just a scheduling issue, but I think everyone is curious to see what exactly comes out of this visit at such a critical time.

WHITFIELD: All right, excellent. Glad we know that.

All right. Thank you so much, Michelle Kosinski there in Martha's Vineyard. Appreciate it.

All right. So let's dig a little deeper into the Iran nuclear deal. We have Kareem Sadjadpour who is a senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment and also from Washington is Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the foundation for defense of democracy.

So Mark, you first. Good to see both of you gentlemen.

Mark, you first. We've seen, you know, a slow, but steady stream of Democrats now joining Republicans, one namely big name, talking about Chuck Schumer in opposition to the deal with Iran. Yet the president seems firmer than ever that he can get this deal done or that it will be done. Do you believe it's going to be, because of the president's efforts, or do you believe that those who are opposing it on Capitol Hill will be swayed by the president and agree on this deal?

MARK DUBOWITZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY: Well, Fredricka, I don't think too many people are actually swayed by the merits of the president's argument, but I think there is a political reality which is that it is pretty tough to get 67 senators who are willing to stand up to the president's veto. So this deal is going to move forward. There's very little that we can do or what Congress can do to stop it. But I think it's very important that there be a vote of non-confidence in this deal because I think that would lay the predicate for the next president to negotiate a better deal and also to keep international companies out of Iran. I think that's going to be absolutely essential. Once they go back in, it's going to be very difficult to get them back out.

WHITFIELD: And then Kareem, what's the message in your view that's being sent by Democrats and Republicans making their way to or in Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We heard from Michelle who said it was a plan, you know, that was in the making for a very long time, you know, but what's the message being sent by this happening? KAREEM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: I think

it's a conflicting time, Fredricka, for many members of Congress. On the one hand I think both Republicans and Democrats have always said that Israel's national security is sacrosanct. On the other hand I agree with Mark that we're likely going to see the success of -- we're going to see this deal with Iran pass Congress and Iran is a country that rejects Israel's existence.

So I think for the last many years the national security concerns of Israel have always trumped any dealings with Iran. And I think Obama as a second-term president has for the first time, I think, put his legacy on the line before kind of what's domestically expedient.

WHITFIELD: And then Mark, what would be, I guess, the world public view if it were the U.S. that would be the only nation that was part of this pact that would not endorse the plan?

DUBOWITZ: Fredricka, it's worth remembering that the United States Congress over the course of American history has turned down 200 international agreements, both bilateral and multi-lateral agreements. Where Congress has rejected the agreement and required a president to amend an agreement. This happened during the cold war with some of the most important cold war arms control agreements. Remember at a time when the Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear missiles aimed at American cities. So there's ample precedent to require a president to amend a deal. And there is some fundamental ways in which this deal could be (INAUDIBLE) example to eliminate the sunset clauses which allows Iran over time to faithfully comply with the deal and emerge with an industrial sized nuclear program with near zero nuclear breakout, an ICBM program in economy immunized against U.S. and international economic pressure.

So, this has happened many times before. I think the United States would be in a position where it has to rally the Europeans in particular and push forward with tough diplomacy and tough U.S. financial sanctions to get a better deal and amended deal, particularly on the issue of these sunset clauses.

WHITFIELD: And Kareem, how would you see it if there was the power to amendment even if it were rejected?

[15:40:03] SADJADPOUR: Well, I think that it's important at some point that these rifts that have been created are reconciled because it is -- this deal, as Mark mentioned, is going to have to sustain itself for the next 10 to 15 years. And I think it would be troubling if Republicans feel they have an incentive to sabotage things. So I think once the deal does pass congress, some have suggested an addendum to the deal which has bipartisan support and even presidential support to try to kind of shore up and strengthen some of the issues on the deal that people are most concerned about.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll have to leave it right there. Kareem Sadjadpour and Mark Dubowitz, thank you so much, gentlemen, appreciate it.

DUBOWITZ: Thanks so much. WHITFIELD: Much more of NEWSROOM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:43:10] WHITFIELD: All right, a battle is indeed brewing between Donald Trump, FOX News and the Republican Party. Trump accused FOX of asking vicious, unfair questions during Thursday's presidential debate which led to his controversial comments about FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly getting him into hot water with fellow Republicans and then there was this morning where Trump gave our Jake Tapper his side of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Every time you make these comments or you've made comments that a lot of pundits or Republican candidates say are going to end your campaign, whether it's comments about Mexico, sending in illegal immigrants, or your comments about John McCain's war record, every time you do that, pundits say, oh, he's gone, and then you go up in the polls.

I'm wondering if you think, though, that going after Megyn Kelly, who is beloved by conservatives, beloved by Republican voters, I wonder if that's the wrong target, that this might actually hurt you. What do you think?

TRUMP: Look, I have nothing against Megyn Kelly. I think her question was extremely unfair to me. Her whole questioning was unfair to me. And when you say beloved, I will say this. On social media, I'm the one that's beloved, OK? Because if you look at social media and what's happening, they are really coming out strongly in favor of Donald Trump, they agree.

And this whole thing with this political correctness in this country that is out of control. We have a country where you take a look at what's happening over the world. They're chopping off people's heads if you happen to be a Christian all over the Middle East. And there are plenty of other reasons too.

The border, I turned out to be so right on the border. It's so dangerous and so bad and then you see what happens to Kate in San Francisco, where people are crossing the border like it is water. And it's, you know, it's terrible what's going on. And all we're worried about is political correctness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:45:04] WHITFIELD: All right. So let's bring in our senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter.

All right, good to see you again, Brian. So here's the latest. Trump just tweeting this about Carly Fiorina. He says this. Quote "I just realized that if you listen to Carly Fiorina for more than ten minutes straight, you develop a massive headache. She has zero chance."

So he, you know, just keeps going on. He throws this red meat out there. It gets attention. He really has no incentive to change the way he is running his campaign, does he?

BRIAN STELTER CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's an interesting observation. I mean he is leading in the polls before the debate. Right now new polls are being conducted. We will soon find out if he's still leading in the polls after the debate. Maybe those polls will indicate that he does, to your point, have no incentive to change his rhetoric, to change his tone.

WHITFIELD: I mean he keeps reminding everybody that he's popular. He was on with Jake Tapper this morning. He went on all the networks and said I'm leading in the polls and rattled off all the states. Now, we don't know, you know, what the date of those polls were but he feels fairly confident that people like everything that he's delivering.

STELTER: And to his supporters, any time he has something inflammatory or outrageous or ridiculous, it may actually deepen their support because it may have him come across as even more honest, even more blunt, even more outspoken, willing to say what others are not willing to say.

To me, though, when he says he is winning and he says he won the debate, to me, he won the debate in terms of audience, right? He got people to pay attention to him. That might be winning in his mind. Whether that means, he can win the presidency is an entirely different question. We might just be judging him in the wrong way, you know. If we're looking at whether he's really trying to get elected, maybe that's the wrong way to judge him.

Maybe he is watching right now, Fredricka, because as we're talking, he's tweeting again. Once again attacking FOX News. You know, writing right now, I can't believe other networks treat me nicer than FOX News. I brought them the biggest ratings in history and I got zip. You know, love him or hate him, he does interact, he does engage and put himself out there in a way no other candidate does. That's one of the reasons why we all talk about him all the time.

WHITFIELD: And just last hour you and I were talking about, I mean, the deafening silence of the Trump name or anything Trump on FOX.

STELTER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Have you had any more time to think about why is that? Why is FOX staying away from that? Is there a worry about how that might be interpreted since it was their moderator, you know, Megyn Kelly, at the brunt of this? They don't want to sound like they're capitalizing off any more coverage of it? I mean, what is behind that? Or is it simply waiting until she takes to the air waves, again, after the taped, you know, segment we ran earlier, that she takes to the air waves in her own show and then is the first to speak about it.

STELTER: Yes. It is a feeling over at FOX, Megyn Kelly is one of the biggest stars at FOX News, one of the biggest stars now in all of television news these day. Her star has been rising for several years. And FOX wants to do nothing to hurt her image as a strong journalist, as someone who wants to be seen as independent. My view is that her show leans to the right. But she is a very independently minded interviewer. She'll ask tough questions of Republicans as well as Democrats. And to have Donald Trump and to have Trump supporters talking about her period, you know, maybe Trump was referring to that when he used the word "blood" repeatedly --

WHITFIELD: He said to think that would be --

STELTER: It's embarrassing and disgusting to have a candidate talking about an anchor that way.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And he says anyone filling in the blanks that way saying that's what he was referring, the menstrual cycle, you know, is deviant, is evil.

STELTER: Well, I'm deviant then, Fredricka, I guess. I mean, a lot of people read at that way immediately on Friday night as soon as it was said here on CNN, it was interpreted that way. Other candidates thought so too and so did Erick Erickson which is why he was disinvited from the RedState gathering yesterday.

You know, bottom line is that Trump can claim that's not what he meant. But I think FOX knows better. Folks at FOX that I've talked to privately are disgusted by it. They're hoping they can take the high road, not comment on it and hope Trump basically, you know, that he deflates himself without them weighing in.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Stelter, thanks so much. We'll leave it right there.

STELTER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: We'll have much more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[15:53:15] UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER (voice-over): If it weren't for Nick Silverio (ph) and his late wife, Gloria, Mya Lalette (ph) might not be here holding onto her dad.

NICK SILVERIO, FOUNDER, A SAFE HAVEN FOR NEWBORNS: My wife and I were married for 32 years and wanted to continue something in her memory and spirit. One night I was flipping through a magazine and my finger stopped on a page about this abandonment and I knew that that would be my mission in life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: When moms like Maya's are committed to giving up a child, Safe Havens 24/7 advice line let them know safe places to do so. The foundation also helps connect babies with adoptive families like (INAUDIBLE). But Silverio wants to support moms before they reach that point.

SILVERIO: I mean, that is what our goal is for them to keep the baby and to get them help in the community in which they live. We have helped 218 babies over the last 15 years. UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Opinions vary over Safe Haven laws which

can grant parents anonymity when leaving their baby in a designated safe location. But for some parents, it's the best option.

For Silverio, it is all about safe babies and stories like this one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember one of the nurses was like, she's the one in the yellow blanket just crying. And I remember I picked her up and she stopped crying. We got to hold our baby girl for the first time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In California, growing outrage after a 64-year-old woman was tortured, raped, and murdered. And one of the men accused of carrying out the vicious attack is an undocumented immigrant with a long criminal history.

CNN correspondent Sara Ganim joins us now with more on this very disturbing story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The murder of 64-year-old Marilyn Ferris was unspeakably brutal. Police say two men, 20-year- old Jose Via Gomez and 29-year-old Victor Arellano Martinez-Ramirez broke into her home while she was sleeping, beat her over the head with a hammer, sexually assaulted and then murdered her.

Even more devastating, the Santa Maria police chief says is that Martinez-Ramirez is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been arrested several times, but never deported. Frustrating Santa Maria police Chief Ralph Martin.

CHIEF RALPH MARTIN, SANTA MARIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Two weeks before this murder, Santa Maria police officers arrested him for possession of meth. And you know we have to do? We had to site him out. That's the problem with the system.

GANIM: Martinez-Ramirez's arrest record in the region goes back six years.

In 2009, he was arrested for driving without a license. But immigrations and customs enforcement or ICE didn't request a detainer which would keep someone who is in custody from being released by police.

In 2014, he was charged with felony assault and attempted sexual assault. But when the charge was dropped down to a misdemeanor battery, the sheriff's department determined it didn't meet a federal court standard for holding someone because ICE never provided a court order or a warrant.

And on July 17th of this year, another arrest for possession of a weapon and of meth. Martinez-Ramirez was sentenced to 30 days in jail which he was set to start serving in October. ICE again didn't request a detainer. Instead, Martinez-Ramirez was released just four days before the attack on Ferris.

MARTIN: I think this is a national issue. I think it starts in Washington D.C. with this administration that we see and their policies. I am not limits to say that from Washington D.C. to Sacramento, there's a blood trail into the bedroom of Marilyn Ferris.

GANIM: Both Via Gomez and Martinez-Ramirez are now being held on bond, charged with burglary, rape, and murder. Ferris' family released a statement thanking the community and said she was a quote "much-loved member of our family and she will be greatly missed."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: Now, Fred, we received a statement from ICE just a few hours ago. They said this. They said quote "given the seriousness of the allegations associated with this individual's arrest, U.S. immigration and customs enforcement is monitoring the case closely and has lodged a formal request with the custodial law enforcement agency seeking notification in advance of his release or transfer from local custody."

We should also note that we've reached out to Martinez-Ramirez's attorney and he has not yet responded -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Sara Ganim. Appreciate that.

Still much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)