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Victim's Father Speaks Out; Trump Widens Lead in New Poll; Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 27, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:04] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know, this was a mentally ill person. Guns don't kill, people do.

CORNEL WEST, PROFESSOR, UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: We know that. I mean, it's true there's not a push button solution to this. We're in a spiritual crisis. It's a moral crisis. What kind of people are we? The only way you get out of it is through love exemplified and enacted. The only way you get out of it is through justice. Justice is what love looks like in public. When you have a love deficit, you have a justice deficit.

And the question becomes, how do you make things accountable? I'm very much in favor of tight gun control. But we've got to keep in mind, California has roughly the same number of people as Canada. Californians kill each other more with knives and Canadians kill each other with anything. Different culture. Very different culture.

How do we hit it head on? Brother Martin Luther King, Jr. told us. That militaristic mind, the disposition solves the conflict by means of violence is something we're going to have to come to terms with or we could bring down the curtain on Americans, now thank God, Brother Bernie Sanders, as you know, my big brother.

COSTELLO: Well, just --

WEST: He's trying to talk about integrity, honesty, decency.

COSTELLO: Right. Right.

WEST: He's trying to talk about jobs and the minimum wages.

COSTELLO: And I know you've been doing something -- you said you believe in strict gun control, but Bernie Sanders, he supported a ban on assault weapons but thought it was OK to take guns on Amtrak trains. So, you know, he lives in a state where, you know, they like their guns.

WEST: But Vermont -- and not only that, but Brother Bernie --

COSTELLO: So he has a big (INAUDIBLE) on that.

WEST: You know, he just can't have them take --

COSTELLO: He was against the Brady Bill. WEST: We can have integrity and have disagreement on issues in this

regard. You see, but of course he's still got the same attitude in terms of trying to make sure we have a culture of integrity so that people wouldn't have to revert to guns. They can deal with their rage through family, community, be it church, mosques, synagogues, some civic associations, that allows us not to have to kill one another.

COSTELLO: Dr. Cornel West, thanks for being with me. I appreciate it.

WEST: Thank you so very much. Appreciate it, Sister Carol.

COSTELLO: I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I won't belabor this because I don't need to. It was so emotionally moving. We want to show you the entire interview with Andy Parker. That would be Alison Parker's father who was struggling with the fact that his daughter was killed on live television. So here's Andy Parker's interview in its entirety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[09:35:15] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Mr. Parker, thank you for joining us. I know this is an incredibly difficult time for your family. I also know that it's important for you to share who your daughter was in her life, not just in her death. How are you this morning?

ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF KILLED JOURNALIST: Well, you know, I could be better. Yesterday I really didn't think I would be making the news round circuit and just had no -- had no intention of doing so. And then as I reflected during the day I realized that, you know, Alison was a journalist. She does what you guys did -- did you what you guys did. And she would want me to do this. So that's why I'm here. But I've gone through, you know, the usual emotions of being numb and then, you know, uncontrolled grief and sobbing all day long. And then, you know, anger. But, you know, my soul has been crushed.

CUOMO: In one of your statements yesterday, you said something that I hope you're feeling as well as saying, which is the measure of solace you get from knowing that while your daughter had such a young life at 24 years of age, she touched so many people and she made so much of the time that she had. Is that helping?

PARKER: It is. The outpouring from the community and, you know, I think the nation at large -- obviously this is a big story nationally, and you know, it -- that has been a comfort. But she was. She was such a special person. She -- you know, she loved everybody that -- you know, she was loved by everyone and, you know, it was -- and she touched a lot of lives. And obviously it shows in the tributes that have come her way.

And you know, I got to tell you I've not watched any television. I -- you know, I didn't see any of the recounts. I didn't want to. But I -- you know, after the fact I'm hearing just, you know, how much -- you know, how much she has been loved. And, you know, I certainly -- it doesn't surprise me.

CUOMO: Part of how you want your daughter to be remembered is that you want something to come out of this situation. You were very strong last night when you were talking about how you think we need to be better after a situation like this. What do you want now?

PARKER: Well, her life was cut short. She had so much potential. And, you know, it's senseless that her life and Adam's life were taken by a crazy person with a gun. And you know, I -- if I have to be the John Walsh of gun control and -- look, I'm for the Second Amendment, but there has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense -- have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns. It can't be that hard.

And yet politicians from the local level to the state level to the national level, they sidestep the issue. They kick the can down the road. This can't happen anymore. Because Alison was one of you guys. This has got to hit home for journalists. And if journalists -- you know, journalists are targets, and we're not talking about, you know, someone going to Syria and being in the crosshairs of ISIL. We're talking about two kids that were -- two young people that were doing a benign story about a marina opening, or a celebration, and someone -- and a crazy person with a gun shoots them.

And I know that the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now. They're going to say, oh gee, well, if they were carrying, this never would have happened. I've got news for you. If Alison or Adam had been carrying an AK-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn't have made any difference. They couldn't have seen this thing coming. So I don't want to hear that argument from the NRA and you know that's going to happen. And I'm going to take it on.

I got a call from Governor McAuliffe yesterday and I told him exactly what my plan was. If I have to be a crusader on this, I'm not going to rest until I see something that happen. And he said, Andy, he said, you go for it. I'm right there with you. We've got to have our legislators and our congressmen step up to plate and stop being cowards about this.

[09:40:10] CUOMO: But, Andy, you know what you're going to hear. And obviously you're very emotional right now and that's motivating you. And you have to put emotion where you can right now to help you in this situation and we wish you well with that. But we just had Donald Trump on. He's leading in the polls. And he says these are tough issues and I'm for the Second Amendment and I don't think that you should take away more guns. That doesn't seem to be the answer. And mental illness is tough and we should do more.

And those things sound great to people, we hear them from politicians all the time. And yet nothing changes because the two sides are very rooted. The law is what it is and change is hard. What do you say to those issues?

PARKER: Of course. And I'm not -- you know, I'm not saying let's take away guns. I'm just saying let's make it harder for people with mental issues or people that, you know, like this guy that killed Alison and Adam, you know, to make it difficult for them to purchase guns. There's got to be a mechanism that gets put in place for that. And I don't think that's unreasonable to do, but steps of -- you know, how many Newtowns are we going to have? How many Sandy Hooks? How many people -- how many Alisons are going to -- you know, is this going to happen to before we stop it? And it is -- and I'm challenging you, the media, because, again, this is one of your own.

And I know how the business works. It's a great story for a couple of days and then it goes to the back burner and nothing happens. But I can promise you and I can promise the American people I'm not going to rest until I see something get done here.

CUOMO: You're being motivated obviously by the loss of your daughter. You know there's been a great outpouring of support for her and the eyes of the country are on this story. What do you want them to know about your daughter?

PARKER: That she was -- she was kind and she was sweet and she touched everybody. And that -- you know, I'm standing here now, and I -- you know, I've got to see her in action and, you know, doing stories like this with the camera set up.

She loved us and we loved her. And I talked to her every single day. Every single day I talked to her. And right now -- she would be texting me right now saying, Dad, what did you think of my story? You know, what did you think of it? And I'm not -- I'm never going to hear that again.

She was -- she was so loved by all. And -- you know, my heart is broken. But I want to try and do something that will change that and make her life -- will do something meaningful for her life so this doesn't happen to someone else again. But she was a special young lady and I think people across the country and certainly around here realize that.

CUOMO: Often maybe the best thing that comes out of a situation like this, Andy, is that people get a respect for the victims who were involved and what was lost when somebody decides to take out their anger the way that this madman did. And your daughter, in her own way, is becoming the best example of how precious life is. And you got to see it even in her boyfriend, Chris, who you know so well, the love he had for your daughter and the love she had for him. That is one way that your daughter will live on in the hearts of the people who loved her.

PARKER: It is. And, you know, we can at least take solace in the fact that she lived -- you know, she was only 24. She just turned 24 last week. And she had -- she packed in a great life in 24 years. She did a lot of things. And she was -- most of all she was happy with what she was doing. She loved what she was doing. She loved her family. She loved Chris very much.

And at least we know -- and from what I know from the law enforcement officials, she didn't suffer. And, you know, she led a happy life. But I just -- I just wish I could touch her soul right now because -- I'm sorry. I --

CUOMO: No, Andy, don't say you're sorry.

PARKER: It's tough for me right now.

CUOMO: Listen, I know this is difficult for you. I know that you -- I know it is. And I know that you feel that you have to come out and address this because you want people to remember her the right way and you want to say what you think is important in this. But please take care of yourself and take care of your family.

[09:45:02] And you know that people will stay on this story for the right reasons, not just because Alison was a journalist, but because it matters. And I'm sorry for you to have to share your pain like this, but I know it's important to you. And I appreciate it, sir. And our hearts and our prayers go to you and your family.

PARKER: Please do. Thank you. She would have wanted this. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:01] COSTELLO: We're watching Wall Street very closely after yesterday's huge surge. Will the market continue to make up for a six straight days of losses?

OK. Well, just minutes -- well, just minutes now to the trading day. Let's check the big board. And you can see the Dow is up more than -- a little over 200 points. Of course, as you know, the Dow closed a whopping 619 points up yesterday. That's the biggest one-day gain since 2008, but still not enough to make up for the 1900-point drop we saw in less than a week. We'll keep you posted.

On to politics now. A new Quinnipiac poll shows Donald Trump continuing his dominance. 28 percent throwing their support to Trump. That's a double-digit lead over his closest rival Ben Carson who has just 12 percent. Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio tying for third place with 7 percent. Scott Walker coming in at 6 percent while John Kasich and Carly Fiorina are tied for fifth place at 5 percent.

But when Quinnipiac asked voters about the first word that pops into their heads when they think of the Donald, the responses were not as favorable. This word cloud tells the story. Topping the list arrogant, followed by blowhard, idiot, businessman and clown. There's also a few that we had to blur out to make this image TV-friendly. You can just imagine what those descriptors might be.

Here to talk about this, Mindy Finn, Republican political consultant, and Ben Ferguson, a conservative radio talk show host.

BEN FERGUSON, CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO HOST: Good morning.

MINDY FINN, REPUBLICAN POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. So Ben --

(LAUGHTER)

FERGUSON: I love that we're blurring out words on a candidate running for president.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I know. It's just unbelievable, right?

FERGUSON: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: So, Ben, what do you make of those descriptors?

FERGUSON: Well, two things here. Donald Trump, the narrative that it's him against the world has obviously solidified his base. It also could hurt him, though, in the long run, but I don't think he's worried about that. He is sucking up all the oxygen in the room. He is continuing to gain over other candidates, and I think the biggest point about this poll is Donald Trump has been able to literally dismantle one of the best grass root campaigns that we've seen with Jeb Bush.

And Jeb Bush has been able to raise a lot of money. The establishment very much behind him, and yet he's tied and keeps dropping in these polls, and Ben Carson is also telling. Ben Carson and Donald Trump may only have one thing in common -- they're both not politicians. They both haven't run for office. They have not held office. And there seems to be a big appetite for that in the GOP.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Mindy, I'm curious about something. Mitt Romney raised a lot of money, too, but he was just a bad candidate.

FERGUSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: Is it possible that Jeb Bush is just a bad candidate?

FINN: Well, I think it's too early to tell. I mean, look, Donald is beating the field by a wide margin so the story here is really Donald. It started out as kind of amusing and now it definitely has to be taken seriously.

I agree with what Carly Fiorina said yesterday, and that the Donald is a wake-up call. He's a wake-up call but not only Republican Party but the entire country needs to take seriously. And I think at this point, though, actually he's dangerous and, you know, anybody who is still kind of looking at it and thinking it will just ride it out and it's kind of amusing, it's time to take a closer look.

COSTELLO: So why do you say, Mindy, he's dangerous, his candidacy is dangerous?

FINN: He's a bully. I mean, Carol, I -- this morning I dropped off my 3-year-old for the first day of school and I thought about what are my hopes and dreams for him as he goes through his school life? What are the lessons that I want to teach him? You know, we all look to our kids and we want them to be a leaders. It's not be a bully, name call, think of women as bimbos and dogs.

You know, it's not -- I mean, I actually kind of look at the Donald a bit like an abusive boyfriend. There's an allure, kind of a need and a void, and people are attracted to him but ultimately he's a bully. And he's going to punch you in the eye.

COSTELLO: OK. So if you think --

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: I don't think he's an --

COSTELLO: Go ahead, Ben.

FERGUSON: I don't think he's an abusive boyfriend. I think he is the nontraditional candidate, and he's not going to take crap from anybody and I think that's why people are liking him because he is not going to focus group anything he says. He goes out on stage and I don't think he exactly knows what's he's going to say. He's real, he's raw, he's in your face.

Yes, some of the things he said are absolutely offensive to people, but I think his whole point is being PC has gotten us in the mess that we're in right now, so I'm not going to run the country the way that others have, and I'm going to make America great and I'm going to fight hard against other countries when they're fighting hard against us. He's talked about that with Russia and Putin, with ISIL and people say, you know what? I'd rather have a bully than somebody that's going to be politically correct all the time and get nowhere with it.

COSTELLO: Well, there is a caveat to that because also this Quinnipiac also shows, Mindy, that Trump topped what Quinnipiac calls the no way list. 26 percent saying they would not support him as a nominee.

FERGUSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: That's just below the 28 percent who rank him as their first choice. So it seems to me -- is it possible people are just enjoying the show for now because, I mean, we have, what, more than 500 days still to the election?

FINN: That does explain some of his support. A lot of it is what Ben said, is that they're attracted to his outsider image. You know, they see our current president as weak and kind of politicians in general as weak and too poll tested and politically correct, and Donald is the opposite of that. He's the answer to that.

What I suggest, though, is that that's an overreaction. I think many people looked at the first debate and they looked at the fact he doesn't have clear positions on policy. I mean, he actually entered the race and many of his previous positions are not conservative, they are actually quite liberal. He was a friend of Hillary Clinton.

FERGUSON: And a good friend. FINN: And, you know so -- and a good friend. And so, you know, what

I see now is really an overreaction and the fact that he continues to rise in the polls is why I say it's time to get beyond seeing him as amusing and seeing him -- seeing the trend is troubling.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there.

Mindy Finn, Ben Ferguson, thanks to both of you. I appreciate it.

So what is the first word that pops into your head when you hear Hillary Clinton? Her results in a now poll coming up in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking some of the top stories for you at 59 minutes past. A Louisiana police officer is dead after responding to a call about a stabbing. The suspect, Harrison Lee Riley, is accused of stabbing three women including his wife before fatally shooting the officer. One of the women also died. Police say Riley took off in his car, crashed into a convenience store, then barricaded himself inside. He was arrested after police forced him out with tear gas.

A judge has sentenced Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes to the maximum. 12 life sentences plus more than 3,000 years in prison. He is not eligible for parole. Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 70 others in the 2012 shooting.

[10:00:02] The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(END)