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Three American Heroes Prevent Terror Attack on a Train in France; Military Jet Crashed During Air Show Killing Seven; North and South Korea Talk Today; Iran Putting Military Might on Full Display; Imprisoned American Journalist Jason Rezaian Awaits verdict; Joe Biden Seriously Considering 2016 Race? Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 22, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:22] POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. 3:00 eastern, noon pacific.

We begin with breaking news on the terror attack in France. It was thwarted by these three American heroes onboard a high speed train bound for Paris. A source telling CNN that the gunman, they took down may have ties to the most brutal terrorists on earth, ISIS. And may have traveled to join the group. You are looking at pictures of the shooter, who stormed the train shirtless, a rifle slung over his shoulder, intent on committing a massacre. But three Americans, along with a Brit had other ideas. This dramatic video showing the moments after the chaotic takedown.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

HARLOW: You see one of the Americans on the ground in jeans. The shirtless man in white pants is the gunman, hog-tied, and a short time ago, they held a press conference, speaking about their injured friend who not only helped subdue the gunman, but also saved a man's life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY SADLER, TACKLED TRAIN GUNMAN: I'm really proud of my friend that he just reacted so quickly and so bravely. He was really the first one over there. Even after being injured himself, he went to go help the other man who was bleeding also. Without his help, he would have died. That man was bleeding from his neck profusely. He just went over there and save the guy as he was bleeding himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spencer ran a good ten meters to get to the guy. And we didn't know that his gun wasn't working or anything like that. Spencer just ran anyway. And if anybody would have gotten shot, it would have been Spencer for sure. And we're very lucky that nobody got killed, especially Spencer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: We can also now tell you that President Obama just called them and personally a short time ago thanking them for their heroism. Nick Robertson, our CNN senior international correspondent is live for

us in France. With me here in New York is Paul Cruickshank, CNN terrorism analyst.

Let me begin with you Paul. You have some new reporting on the suspected gunman, what the motivation may have been and where he may have been headed.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, according to a senior European counterterrorism official, they believe that he traveled in May of this year to Turkey in order to try and join up with ISIS in Syria. Not clear whether he actually managed to get into Syria. But they also suspect that he established a link with a group of French ISIS fighters inside Turkey, who previously had been suspected of orchestrating a terrorist plot in Paris of an Algerian student in Paris who actually traveled to Turkey earlier this year and connected with his group of French ISIS fighters in Turkey. And they encouraged him to come back instead of going to Syria to launch an attack in France.

Now, he was arrested. The plans were thwarted. One of the things they were discussing with these French is fighters in Turkey was to launch an attack on a passenger train.

HARLOW: On a passenger train, and look what we saw play out yesterday.

Nick Robertson, to you. You know, obviously, a lot of focus goes on what could have driven an attack like this, but most importantly, the heroes. The heroes who stopped potentially a massacre. I know you have some details about that call from the president.

NICK ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. We know the president called the men to congratulate them. But what we're seeing here on the ground in France is also an outpouring of tribute and support for these three young Americans. When two of them, Anthony Saddler and Alek Skarlatos, who are two of those involve in the train and bringing that attacker down where they drove out of the police station here a little while ago.

What we saw in the street side and what we heard, there were literally cheers from the street side as they came out, as they were driven out of the police station on their way to Paris from the grassroots here in France. Everyone recognizes what they did, the fact that they potentially saves so many lives as gunman onboard with Kalashnikov, with nine magazines, potentially full of ammunition. That's several hundred bullets. Many people on that train, 500 approximately of people on that train. The devastation could be terrible. These young men are being recognized in front on the streets and from the president here in this country as heroes and that's not something you see in this country very often, Poppy.

HARLOW: And Nick, what stood out to you most from that press conference that they held just a few hours ago?

ROBERTSON: You know, there really wasn't a concern for themselves. There was an immediate thought that here was a violent act about to be perpetrated. They had an opportunity, a split second to make a decision. We heard that from the British man, Chris Norman, who spoke just a couple of hours ago here as well, praising these three young Americans for saying he too saw this opportunity that the gunman could be overpowered, if not, you just sit there and you could die. And it was essentially a moment where all of them seemed to say to themselves, to each other, we're going to do it. We're going to take them down. And that's what they did.

So I think what we've heard is the selflessness which they acted. They didn't think about themselves. They thought about taking this gunman down. And now, in this country, and the United States, too, people really feel that they're heroes, Poppy.

[15:05:47] HARLOW: Just extraordinary. I know the White House just releasing a statement as well?

ROBERTSON: That's right. We do have details of that statement. President Obama had a phone conversation with the French president. But also having a conversation with the three men as well. And that conversation on a phone call early on. What we know the president told the three men, the president called airman first class Spencer Stone, army National Guard special Alexander Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler to commend or congratulate for their courage and their quick action to board the Paris-bound train last night.

This is what president Obama said to them. The president expressed his gratitude to these three individuals for their heroic actions, forestalling an even greater tragedy. The president wished airman Stone a full and speedy recovery and expressed how proud all Americans were of their extraordinary behavior. And of course, airman first class Stone released this afternoon from surgery, in hospital. His thumb, we're told, almost severed by the box cutter. The attacker was wielding surgeons at a specialist hand surgery unit not far from here worked on him and he was able to leave hospital later this afternoon.

HARLOW: Thank goodness he's all right. You always wonder, what would you do in that moment? And they showed their true colors. Extraordinary.

Thank you very much, Nick. Appreciate the reporting there for us.

And Paul, back to you. The bigger picture here, as you've been reporting, the growing concern that ISIS operatives are using Turkey as this base to potentially turn around European extremists and say no, do not travel to Syria, go home, carry out an attack there. In the wake of Charlie Hebdo, now this, what do you make of it?

CRUICKSHANK: It's very concerning indeed, because there have been thousands of Europeans who have been attempting to get through Turkey to Syria and Iraq, up to 6,000 have traveled. And if ISIS is starting to try and redirect them when they arrive in Turkey to come back to launch attacks in Europe, that's very worrying indeed.

A little analogous with what was happening in the years after 9/11, when all their recruits, they wanted to go and fight the Americans and Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda in the tribal areas of Pakistan, sort of intercepting them and redirecting them to launch plots in Europe like the London bombings, or here in New York like the (INAUDIBLE) in 2009.

And it's known that ISIS does have a significant presence throughout Turkey. They have safe houses in places like Istanbul. They have a significant presence on the other side of the Turkish border in southern Turkey. Recruiters bringing in operatives. If they're starting to encourage these Europeans to come back to Europe, we're going to have a real big problem indeed. And also the potential they could also encourage Americans, you know, arriving in Turkey to join the cause to go and attack the United States.

HARLOW: And not just saying here is what you have to attack and when, but giving them sort of the leeway, attack when you will, what you see fit, et cetera, which appears to be what we saw with Charlie Hebdo.

CRUICKSHANK: Well, that's right. And we've seen some evidence in some previous cases of them meeting in Turkey and then communicating over the Internet, suggesting targets. And when in fact they talked about this potential attack on a train in this plot in April, that was an example of this. So this back and forth over the Internet. They're using encrypted communications so that the operatives in Turkey or Syria or Iraq can communicate with westerners that they may have met or they may not have met.

HARLOW: Paul Cruickshank, thank you very much. Great reporting on this throughout. We appreciate it.

And we do want to really focus on the extraordinary Americans, what they did on that train yesterday. A civilian, an air force member, and a member of the National Guard jumping into action along with a British passenger, subduing that gunman. They are being hailed as heroes today and rightly so.

CNN's Polo Sandoval reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Spencer Stone, injured onboard this French train after he and two fellow Americans stopped a would-be terrorist armed with guns in a box cutter. Stone, a U.S. airman is credited with leading the charge along with Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler.

[15:10:09] SADLER: I'm really proud of my friend that he just reacted so quickly and so bravely. He was really the first one over there, even after being injured himself, he went to go help the other man who was bleeding.

SANDOVAL: The three childhood friends were traveling together aboard the high speed train when they sprang into action. Stone bloodied, yet determined to stop a massacre from happening. The young man had help from British passenger Chris Norman. He used his necktie to hog- tie the gunman.

CHRIS NORMAN, WITNESS: We've seen enough of these kinds of attacks to understand that they will kill everybody once they get started. I said to myself, OK, maybe I have a chance if I get up, and I helped as well.

SANDOVAL: Praise now pouring in from all over the world, but no one prouder than the friends' parents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is well a bit of his character and (INAUDIBLE). He's a quick thinker. A quick decision maker.

EMANUEL SKARLATOS, FATHER OF ALEK SKARLATOS: Deep down inside, I felt really, really proud. And I told him that. But I didn't tell him as much as I should have. God, I am so proud of both of them, so much. The fact that they saved all those lives. And had that instinct and the guts to just do what they did.

SANDOVAL: The three friends left for Europe as tourists and will return to the U.S. as heroes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And feel free to add international to that title of heroes.

Meanwhile, we are learning more about really other players in this truly remarkable story of heroism here, Poppy. We're told that it was initially a French passenger who first encountered this gunman, according to the French interior minister. He attempted to overpower this gunman. When that didn't work, that's when that suspect then ran into the next train coach. That's where those three American heroes were waiting and really just more than willing to spring up to action.

Of course, the praise continues on Monday, Poppy. We're told that not only will this Frenchman but also these American heroes meet with French president Francois Hollande, and then you can just imagine the hero's welcome that waits for them here in the United States.

HARLOW: Absolutely, absolutely. Paulo Sandoval, thank you.

SANDOVAL: You bet.

HARLOW: Also wanted to tell you about this. New details coming into us and another story involving Americans abroad. We now know that three American contractors were killed. They are among the 12 people killed and 66 wounded in an explosion in Afghanistan's capital today. The American contractors were working with the NATO-led support mission in Kabul. The attack on their convoy came from an IED that was on a vehicle. The U.S. embassy in Kabul issued a statement strongly condemning that attack.

A horrifying accident in the UK, an air show crash leaves seven dead and spectators in shock. We are live with an update, next.

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[15:16:10] HARLOW: The tragic event in England where a military jet crashed during an air show killing seven people. Witnesses say the plane was performing a loop when it dove directly into the ground. The jet fell on to a major road, hitting cars.

Our Ian Lee is on his way to the crash site. He joins me now on the phone.

Do we know, Ian, what may have caused this?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): You know, that's the real big question now, Poppy, is what happened, how it took place. As you said, this plane, it was the first maneuver of this plane during the air show. It was going up doing a loop. And when it came down, you can see the plane trying to pull up and that is when it hit that highway, killing seven people, 14 injured, one we are hearing is in very critical condition. No one at the air show, though, was injured in this crash.

Authorities are asking people, you know, in this age of social media and smart phones, if anyone has any pictures or videos, to hold on to them. That they might be useful in this investigation as it takes place. But right now, authorities trying to piece together what exactly happened to this hunter aircraft. It's an older aircraft from the 1950s. And what would cause it to be unable to pull up and what ended in this tragedy -- Poppy.

HARLOW: And you would assume that those flying an aircraft in an air show would be incredibly experienced, right?

LEE: Yes, that's correct. Someone who knows this aircraft should know the aircraft, and then be able to pilot it at air shows. You know, bring the best of the best, flying all sorts of aircraft, and so, there's going to be a lot of questions about what transpired. There's a lot of environmental factors that could have taken place. A lot of questions really right now. And that's what authorities are going to try to answer. And they're going to be scouring social media as well. You know, looking at the pictures. They've been posted online.

HARLOW: Right.

LEE: Just from all various angles, just to get those answers.

HARLOW: Tragedy.

Ian Lee, thank you very much. Let us know more when you do arrive on scene.

Coming up next, new talks between north and South Korea. All eyes tonight on the demilitarized zone, the DMZ. We will have a live report from Seoul next.

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[15:22:27] HARLOW: All right. New video into us here at CNN of U.S. airman first class Spencer Stone today leaving the hospital in France after receiving treatment from those knife wounds that he got when he was saving people on that train after that attempted massacre in France. Thanked for foiling that attempt. A true hero leaving the hospital

there. He is doing all right.

After two days of threats and counter threats, north and South Korea began talking to one another today. That is progress. Both sides still meeting at the historic truce village inside the demilitarized zone between the two countries after quite an escalation over the past few weeks.

CNN's Kyung Lah is live there for us.

How are things looking, and does it look like the likelihood of war between the two nations is waning now?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fact that they're still talking, Poppy, is very important. We are reaching a near ten-hour mark since the negotiations began. It is 4:30 -- it is nearly 4:30 in the morning here on the Korean peninsula. So it's important to note how long these meetings have been going on. And it's also important to note who is inside that meeting.

Both countries sent their top security advisers. Someone from Kim Jong-Un's inner security, inner circle. Someone from South Korea, who is the top security adviser on the South Korean side. This type of senior security meeting has not happened between the two Koreas since 2007. So this is a very significant step.

So how did we get here? While North Korea was threatening all-out war against South Korea, at the same time, they sent some private messages to the president requesting this meeting. South Korea agreed. And then these meetings took place. So this is where we are. The public posture of both countries, though, Poppy, has not changed.

HARLOW: Right. And there was all of that debate. North Korea, you know, just up in arms over South Korea, blaring those messages across the border there into Pyongyang. What about Kim Jong-Un, when you have such an unpredictable leader in Kim Jung-Un, and some have said they believe his regime is unraveling, that he doesn't know thousand handle a crisis. You know, we're not past the worry zone yet, right?

LAH: Absolutely not. I mean, we still have both countries that high military posture. This part that I'm standing is, which is just south of the DMZ, this area is evacuated. There is a town a couple hours away from here where people are still in underground bunkers. They don't think it is safe enough to come up.

So that hasn't changed. The conditions on the ground have not changed. And we are still dealing with a regime that is at least publicly schizophrenic because they say they're waging all-out war, but then privately sending these messages to South Korea that they want to talk.

[15:25:24] HARLOW: All right, let's hope the talks progress into something concrete.

Kyung, thank you very much. Reporting for us right near the DMZ there.

Iran is putting its military might on full display, unveiling a new and upgraded ballistic missile. This reveal coming just hours after reports that Israel had plans to attack military targets inside of Iran. The plot allegedly detailed on leaked audio recordings.

CNN's Oren Lieberman has been following the story and has more from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This report from Israel's channel two has generated quite a bit of buzz here, because it gives insight into some of the highest levels of government and the security establishment here. Especially since in those years, that 2010 to 2012 range, there really was a feeling here that Israel could unilaterally strike Iran and Iran's nuclear facilities.

The report is a series of recordings with Ahud Barack, with his biographers. Barack was the defense minister at the time, and certainly would have had access to the highest levels of government.

And what these recordings show is that Israel very seriously contemplated and planned on striking Iran, but for different reasons called off those plans. In 2010, it was because the IDF chief of staff, the military chief of staff, said the military didn't have the operational capability to carry out a strike. One year later in 2011, the plans were called off because two high level ministers pulled their support when they learned of the potential risks and losses.

Fast forward one year to 2012. The plans that year were called off because of a joint Israel-U.S. military exercise that made coordinating a unilateral strike difficult. Now, according to the channel 2 report, Barack tried to prevent the broadcast of the recordings, but they were approved by the censor.

How does all this figure into present day? Well, Israel's leaders have said all options are on the table when it comes to Iran, referring to a military strike. But analysts say that is far less likely now that there is a diplomatic deal for Iran's nuclear program in place.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Oren, thank you for that.

Coming up next, we return to our top story of American heroism. Those three American heroes preventing a terror attack on a train in France. Much more on them.

Also later in the program, a new sign that Joe Biden may be seriously considering a jump into the presidential race. What meeting did he have today? We'll tell you next.

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[15:30:59] HARLOW: All right, new information about the terrorist suspect that was stopped by three American heroes in France. A senior European official telling CNN that investigators believe the suspected gunman likely had links to a group of French ISIS fighters in Turkey. The source says this is the same group that is accused of trying to get an Algerian student to launch attacks against churches in Paris in April of this year.

We are also learning this, as one of the American heroes, U.S. airman first class Spencer Stone is released from the hospital in France. You video from there getting in to a car. He was treated for knife wounds after helping foil the attempted terrorist attack on that train bound for Paris. He also just received a phone call from President Obama.

Anthony Saddler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone were on vacation when a man emerged from a bathroom on that train with a rifle and a box cutter and several magazines of ammunition. They along with a British citizen subdued the gunman by hog-tying him, holding him down.

French president Francois Hollande will host a meeting with the heroes on Monday.

In an interview earlier today with CNN's Christie Paul, Anthony Sadler's father described what his father told him about the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SADLER, ANTHONY SADLER'S FATHER: He called me very earlier on either from the train site or from the police station, and the initial response was surprise and shock. And after that, disbelief and gratitude that our son was OK. That he wasn't killed or hurt there in this encounter.

CHRISTIE PAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In terms of the conversation that you had with him last night, is he doing OK? What did he tell you about the incident itself and how he's feeling now?

T. SADLER: It was still settling with him as far as the reality. What he shared was that it just didn't seem real. It was totally unexpected. It wasn't on any of their radar. They were just out touring Europe and having a great time together for the past week and a half.

The armed gunman came out of the bathroom to the rear of the car that he was in, him and his friends were in, and garnishing the automatic weapon, and as the one, I believe conductor engaged him, he was not able to subdue him, and that's when Spencer, his friend Spencer first went into action and charged the assailant and Alek and Anthony came behind him. And between the three of them, they were able to disarm him, get him to the ground. And with the help of a fourth man, get him tied up. And the assailant was yielding similar to a box cutter the whole time, and that made it a little more difficult for the three men to get control of him. And Spencer did wind up getting cut a few times by this man with the box knife, but thank God they were able to get control over him before he was able to seriously hurt anyone else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Absolutely. True heroes indeed.

Now to some developing political news in the race for the White House. We have learned that vice president Joe Biden unexpectedly traveled to Washington, D.C. this morning for a private political meeting at the Naval Observatory. The vice president was supposed to spend the weekend at his home in Delaware. Could this be a sign that he may really jump in to this race?

CNN's Athena Jones joins me live.

Who was he meeting with, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Poppy. Well, the vice president met with none other than Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. We're getting these details in from my colleague, Jeff Zeleny. We understand that the meeting was at the vice president's request, and we believe it is now over.

But this is interesting, because Warren, of course, has become something of a liberal icon. She has a lot of fans. Fans who were pushing for her to make a run for the presidency in 2016. Now, she's sitting out this race, but she hasn't endorsed any candidates. And so, we don't know specifically what they spoke about, but we do know that Biden has told his associates that he plans to decide whether to mount a third run for the presidency in about the next month. His advisers have said you've got to decide by October 1st, so this is the context of that meeting.

[15:35:19] HARLOW: And this Quinnipiac poll coming out this week that was just fascinating, talking about how Biden fared with voters, how he polled against Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP, by far in key swing states of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. He beat Trump in all of them.

JONES: This is really interesting. These are the numbers you've got to figure the Biden team is looking closely at, these and other numbers. But if we have that graphic, you can put it up on the screen, you see that Biden would beat Trump in Florida, in Ohio, and in Pennsylvania. Those numbers are how many points he would beat Trump by.

Clinton would beat Trump in Ohio and in Pennsylvania, but in Florida, she would lose to him by two points, at least according to these polls. We know the race is far away, but it still shows a clear advantage for the vice president. So that's got to be interesting to them.

We know vice president Biden feels he would do a good job as president. He's already run twice. And so, the question now is just does he mount that third run that's going to require, of course, organization, money, and he wants to win. He doesn't want to run to just make Hillary a better candidate. HARLOW: Yes. And he has taken a stab at it before. And some are

saying this is a reaction to Hillary Clinton's unfavorability ratings, which are now in according to CNN's latest poll at 53 percent. Or, is this mourn, you've got to think, Athena, that he wouldn't do this without the blessing of President Obama, right? If he decides to jump in.

JONES: Well, this is very interesting, because you have -- I mean, even people who love Biden are split on whether he should make a run. People who he has been close to. People he's been working with. It would certainly put the president in something of an uncomfortable position. You have so many former White House staffers who have now gone over to the Clinton campaign.

A few weeks ago, a former adviser to the president, David Axelrod was asked, you know, should the vice president make a run? And he said no. I mean, there are people that are concerned that look, he has this illustrious history in Washington, more than four decades in politics. A lot of people love him and they want to see him go out on top. And there's fear that a run could end badly and kind of tarnish his image.

But again, I mean, he feels like he could do a good job. And these numbers that we see, those high unfavorability numbers, other numbers in our poll that showed that more than half of Democrats say he should make a run. I mean, these have got to be something that he's looking closely at. So, we are all dying to find out what he's going to say in a month or so, Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. And dying to be a fly on the wall in that meeting with Elizabeth Warren this afternoon.

Athena Jones, thank you very much.

How could this change the presidential race? We're going to talk to one of the original political master minds, Roger Stone, about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:42] HARLOW: We just told you that Joe Biden met today with Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren in Washington, D.C. We don't know what happened in that meeting. Everyone would pay a lot to be a fly on the wall and listen to that. But does it look more and more like vice president Biden will challenge Hillary Clinton and jump in this race for the White House?

Let's talk to someone who knows presidential politics very well, Roger Stone, a longtime Republican strategist, until recently a top adviser to Donald Trump in his campaign.

Thank you for being here.

ROGER STONE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Thank you for having me.

HARLOW: Well, we don't know why Joe Biden met with Elizabeth warren, but a lot of people were pushing her to run for president. Do you think it looks more likely he's going to jump in?

STONE: Well, my Democratic friends reflected in an increasing lack of ease with Hillary Clinton's candidacy. Her unfavorables are climbing. She's mired in this email scandal. She is on defense. She s explaining. And when you're explaining in politics, you're losing.

On the other hand, vice president Biden I think appeals to the same kind of establishment Democrats that Hillary Clinton does. And the weakness of Hillary Clinton appears to be to her left. This is why Bernie Sanders is doing so well. This I think explains why the vice president is meeting with Elizabeth Warren. Elizabeth Warren on paper at least is the ideal candidate to knock off both -- she would co-op Sanders and she could very easily beat Hillary Clinton.

HARLOW: So you're talking about a potential Biden-Warren ticket.

STONE: Well, before I decided what I would do if I were Joe Biden, I want to know what's on Elizabeth Warren's mind, because she is potentially a stronger candidate than the sitting vice president. Look, Joe Biden has been an effective vice president. But as a presidential candidate, he dropped out of the last caucuses after getting one percent.

HARLOW: So let's turn now to the GOP since you were in the Trump camp for a long time and you are still a big fan of his. He is going to get your vote.

STONE: I am a supporter.

HARLOW: So last night, 30,000 people show up in Alabama at the stadium. Even he was wowed by the crowd. But you weren't so wowed.

STONE: Well, "The New York Times" has a headline that says Trump fails to fill stadium. So instead of focusing on what is the biggest crowd that any Republican has had for any event yet in this cycle, there are some in the media focusing on the empty seats. Now, in defense of the Trump folks, there was evidently no venue in between the last one they grew and the place they had to move. And 30,000 people is nothing to sniff at. That's an enormous crowd. And you can see the energy in that crowd.

HARLOW: Let's talk about the tone. I want you to listen to some of the tone we've heard. Especially the last week or so on the campaign trail from Donald Trump, from Joe Biden. Let's roll it. .

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Jeb Bush is a low energy person. For him, to get things done is hard. He's very low energy.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I said is it's commonly referred to that. That's what I said. I didn't use it as my own language. What we ought to do is protect the 14th. You want to get to the policy for a second? I think that people born in this country ought to be American citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. You didn't hear the full sound bite, but it's been played over and over. He's talking about the term anchor baby and whether it should be used or not. Is this an unusually negative tone in the campaign for the GOP?

STONE: Well, something I think earn understands about Donald Trump I think was originally written by (INAUDIBLE) in the "Weekly Standard," which is if you hit Trump, you better expect to be hit back twice as hard.

Jeb Bush started this exchange. He's the one who questioned whether Trump had been a Democrat. Now the answer is obvious. Trump did leave the Republican Party briefly to protest the policies of George W. Bush. So, you know, this is your typical back and forth, but you mess with the frontrunner, you're going to get hit back.

[15:45:20] HARLOW: If the frontrunner is someone who does hit back hard and doesn't have any qualms about taking a very negative tone, is this going to be a more negative race?

STONE: No, I don't think so. I think it is part and parcel to American politics today. This isn't bean bag. This is a struggle for the presidency of the United States. And all these candidates are going to mix it up.

What's interesting to me is that everyone who has hit Trump, Rick Perry hits Trump, drops like a stone. Rand Paul hits Trump, drops like a stone. Now Jeb Bush has stepped up. Let's see what happens.

HARLOW: Yes. This week, just a blood bath on Wall Street, a horrible selloff. Market down more than 500 points yesterday. Every job, every president and candidate for president says jobs, jobs, jobs. I have what it takes to create jobs. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I tell you that. I'll bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places. I'll bring back our jobs and I'll bring back our money.

I'll take jobs back from China. I'll take jobs back from Japan and every other country that's killing us. I'll bring the jobs back, and you know, the Hispanics are going to get those jobs and they're going to love Trump and they already do.

There's no jobs. There's no anything. We are going to take this country. I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I will tell you that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So he has tied jobs a lot to immigration, and he said illegal immigrants are taking jobs. It depresses wages because they'll accept a lower wage. What he doesn't seem to be addressing is globalization, technology. The fact that as Tom Friedman says, the world is flat, and those things have changed jobs and wages.

STONE: No. Actually, what I think has changed jobs and wages is the government creates an atmosphere that is not conducive to business --

HARLOW: You can't say those things. You can't say globalization and technology haven't affected it.

STONE: They obviously have some effect. But in Donald Trump, the only guy who's actually created a job in the private sector.

HARLOW: Carly Fiorina, too.

STONE: OK, that's fair. But beyond those two, you have people who have had no effect on the job market. Trump is an entrepreneur. He's already created hundreds of thousands of jobs in his various companies. He has much greater credibility on this issue than any of the career politicians.

HARLOW: But what is his main argument for how he's going to create the jobs? Is it - I mean, you were in his inner circle until a few weeks ago. Is it that he would, as he said, deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants here?

STONE: If you go to his book, "time to get tough," he tells you, he recommends eight different changes in the tax code that would be more business and entrepreneur friendly. We have a regulatory and tax system that punishes expansion. Donald Trump would bring in the top CEOs across the country on a monthly basis and say, what can I do for you?

HARLOW: President Obama has done that. He has a CEO jobs council.

STONE: Well, it doesn't seem to be doing much good.

HARLOW: So what's he going to do? If Carly Fiorina rises in the polls --

STONE: She is rising.

HARLOW: She did well in the debate. She can stand up there and say yes, I also know how to create jobs. He's going to get hit for cutting a lot of jobs at HP. But if she's the only competitor on the jobs front, how does he beat her on that?

STONE: Trump-Fiorina would be a great ticket.

HARLOW: Did he say that to you?

STONE: No, I said that. That's my opinion. But the fact that the anti-politicians, Carson, Fiorina, Trump, are the only candidates moving up, with Trump moving up more than the others, tells you something about the state of the race.

HARLOW: Roger Stone, thank you. Good to have you on, as always. I appreciate it.

STONE: Good to be here.

HARLOW: Now, an American journalist sitting in an Iranian prison as we speak. At any moment, he could learn his fate. We will speak with Jason Rezaian's brother live, next.

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[15:53:19] HARLOW: Any day now, freedom or more jail time could be awaiting American journalist Jason Rezaian. For 13 agonizing months, "the Washington Post" Tehran bureau chief has sat in and Iranian jail cell accused of espionage. His wife, also a journalist, arrested with her husband. She is out on bail awaiting her own trial. She and Rezaian's mother have been allowed twice weekly contact with him. He is a dual U.S./Iranian citizen. He has his final court hearing on August 10th but when the judge will rule really is anyone's guess. His family keeps getting conflicting reports on when a verdict will be handed down. His brother Ali has been campaigning for his brother's release since his arrest and joins me now.

Thank you for being with me.

ALI REZAIAN, JASON REZAIAN'S BROTHER: Thanks for having me, Poppy.

HARLOW: I can't imagine what you and your family are going through right now. Thirteen months, 13 months that he's been sitting and waiting. How is he holding up?

REZAIAN: You know, it's tough for him. He's really isolated. He is by himself a lot of the time. He's a social guy and that's really taken us a toll. And then, you just don't know what happens from day to day. They don't tell him when he's going to go to court. They take him around with a blindfold on wherever he goes. And it's just really scary.

HARLOW: Your mother has said it's highly unlikely she thinks he will be acquitted. Is that how you feel?

REZAIAN: You know, I think that the Iranians have the opportunity now to do the right thing, to look at the evidence and say there's nothing there to support that, you know. At this point she's been there for several months and it's obviously very difficult for her. But I feel like the more people see it on the outside around the world, the more people hear about the story, the more likely it is they will do the right thing and he will be home soon.

HARLOW: You know, let me ask you about this, because on the side of this, right, you have the nuclear negotiations between the U.S. world powers and Iran. Do you believe that a final deal should be minted, if you will, should be made with your brother still being held there along with three other Americans?

[15:55:17] REZAIAN: You know, I don't think I should have to wake up tomorrow with my brother still in jail. So I think the answer to that is Jason should be out now. He shouldn't have to wait for a final deal. He should be out immediately because he's innocent. That being said, you know, anything can be done, any pressure that the government can put on them to get Jason out is the right thing to do.

HARLOW: But do you want to see a deal made even if he is still being held over there? Do you not want to see a deal made until he and the others are released?

REZAIAN: You know, ever case is different. I think right now what I want is Jason, his court to move along, we want to see what they will say and then we will go from there.

HARLOW: This week, President Obama sent a letter, an open letter to the New York congressman Jerrold Nadler, who is on the fence as to whether he would support the deal or not, reassuring him and frankly it is an open letter so reassuring all the lawmakers that on the fence that every option against Iran is on the table quote "including military means." Does that increase your confidence to hear that?

REZAIAN: You know, all I know is people have said with the deal, there's a possibility things would start moving along quicker. We haven't seen anything to that regard for Jason. His treatment hasn't been any better. And he hasn't gotten out now. So you know, I'm dubious about that.

HARLOW: What finally, before I let you go, what do you want the world to know about your brother outside of being an extraordinary journalist?

REZAIAN: You know, I think I want them to know Jason was -- is a good guy. He shouldn't be locked up. He's been there almost 400 days. And he has been locked up over there. It's just absolutely ridiculous that this continues. And if they go to #freeJason, they can find out more information about it.

HARLOW: All right, Ali, thank you very much for being with us to talk about this.

REZAIAN: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: All right, wishing you the best.

Coming up next, more on our top story, American heroes. Dramatic take-down of a terrorist on a train bound for Paris. CNN's exclusive video of what happened as he was taken down is straight ahead.

But first, the story of a CNN hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I do doesn't give a lot of people the warm fuzzies. A lot of people don't understand why I do what I do. Reality is any life is worth helping.

Today we are going to be doing relationships.

I run a pre and post-release program at San Quentin state prison where the men in our program learn to understand what they did, why they did it, where they need to go and how to stay the course. So we are going to start with healthy relationships.

It is a minimum of 24 months of hard work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People that want to change the way we've chosen to change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Supported people, yes?

They start to care about themselves. They start to care about the people they hurt. And then we move forward with life skills and setting them up to succeed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Driving away from San Quentin. That's amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they get out, we follow them with support and assistance in re-entering society.

We got to get you a California I.D.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a new man with new thoughts, new beliefs, new goals. This is my second chance. I want to be part of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hard work paid off, my friend.

If they come out in a successful society safer. If they stayed in touch with us, we have actually had nobody go back to prison. And I like to think that it will continue that way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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