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Relatives of Prior Shooting Victims Share Grief; Polls Has Trump Leading Republicans But Biden Beats Trump; Hillary Clinton Compares Republicans to Terrorists; U.S. Drone Strike May Have Killed Prominent ISIS Recruiter. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 27, 2015 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Erica, you were the first to reach out to Rich after the murder of his son. So I want to talk about the relationship, you know, and the work you've done both to contribute to the organization, every town for gun safety, creating a network for victims of gun violence.

First to you, Erica, when you saw the news yesterday about Alison and Adam, what does that do for you? Do you immediately go back to your mom?

ERICA LAFFERTY, DAUGHTER OF SANDY HOOK SHOOTING VICTIM DAWN HOCHSPRUNG: Absolutely. I mean, particularly in this case, I have a niece named Alison and a nephew named Adam. That just drove it home for me. And like Alison and Adam, they went to work to do a job that they loved and they never came home and that's exactly what my mom.

BALDWIN: And, Richard, to you, and especially with this organization, this senior outreach associate. So you have this tough task of reaching out to families, perhaps like the father of Alison or the father of Adam. And before I ask you this question, let me play this. This is Alison Parker's father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF ALISON PARKER: If I have to be the John Walsh of gun control and, you know, 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. I know that the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now. They are 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Here was a father, you're a father. This has to feel hauntingly similar for you. What would you share, from father to father, to a man who says his soul was crushed?

RICH MARTINEZ, FATHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL MARTINEZ: Well, you asked Erica what it was like for her yesterday, and for me, what it was like yesterday, was you remember. You remember getting the phone call. You remember the realization that your child is dead. You relive it in a way.

And I don't think until you've actually been through the experience that you really understand what it's like. Everybody knows that it's bad to lose a child. But until you've lost a child in this way, you don't really get it. And I heard -- I heard Mr. Parker talking last night on a FOX interview and I was struck by what he was saying. And I agree with everything that he said in the last clip. And it just sounds so familiar to me. It's just one -- one more. And, you know, at the time that my son was killed I said what we should say to ourselves is not one more. It's the United States of America in the 21st century. We can do better than this.

BALDWIN: And, in your opinion, have we?

MARTINEZ: I've been traveling around the country in the past year working to support good legislation. We've made progress during this past year. We've defeated bad bills and have gotten good bills passed. I believe the vast majority in this country support the Second Amendment and reasonable restrictions on gun purchases and commonsense measures to have and own a gun consistent with Second Amendment rights.

BALDWIN: And, Erica, to you, I know we've heard some of the candidates in the wake of what happened yesterday in Roanoke weighing in with their own thoughts. But also just for you, I suppose, on a personal level, to back this up half a step, when we talk about outreach and how Rich says you really can't know what this is like unless you feel it and you're in one of those shoes, you reached out to Rich after he lost his son. What was that conversation like and how do you help others?

LAFFERTY: My first conversation with Rich was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. To see a dad, whose son was brutally murdered buying a sandwich in a deli, be so outspoken and so passionate and so dedicated so soon after, I just knew I had to get in touch with him. I had a little bit of difficulty trying to track him down but I did manage to get in touch with his brother and it was a few short days later that Rich did call me and we are, unfortunately, part of a club that nobody wants to be a part of and there's nothing like talking to someone who can really understand what you're going through and I'm glad I was able to be there for him and I'm so glad and so proud to be fighting this fight with him.

[14:35:33] BALDWIN: Erica, when we were talking on the phone earlier this morning, you were telling me just -- again, because this is something that most of America doesn't -- we don't go through. And you were saying, even down to the detail, when you reach out to someone, perhaps Mr. Parker in this case, you support people down to helping them select what to dress Alison in as she is buried.

LAFFERTY: Yeah. I've had conversations with family members that have been so raw, like what do I bury my family member in and how do I get married without my parent being there? Unfortunately, I've been in both of those situations. And not that I want to, but I can absolutely speak to those experiences because I've been there. I've had to walk people through it and I will do it again and again and again to help as many people as I possibly can and that's what this survivor network at any town is about, survivors helping survivors and coming together to fight this fight and prevent the 88 Americans that are killed every single day by guns and the hundreds of others that are injured.

BALDWIN: Rich, how do you get out of bed in the morning?

MARTINEZ: Well, before I leave, I get up. And before I leave my apartment, I wear these bands and I put these bands on when I leave my apartment and these bands have been given to me by survivors, family member who is have lost loved ones to gun violence from all over the country. I have bands here from Aurora, Sandy Hook, Tucson, Virginia Tech and a number of incidents that you've never heard of or don't remember. And I wear them every day and, you know, to me, after my son was killed, everything that I thought was important wasn't important to me any longer. What's important to me now is trying to work to make sure that no other parent or family in this country has to go through what my family has gone through. It's terrible.

And we can do better than this. I hear from politicians from time to time in answer to this, it's complicated. That's not political leadership. That's an excuse, you know? People used to come to Steve Jobs all the time and say, we can't do this, we can't do that. Steve Jobs was a leader. He said, go back and figure it out and he helped figure it out. So I refuse to accept that kids like mine and Adam and Alison have to die in a way that occurs every single day.

This is the United States of America, the 21st century. We're Americans. We can figure this out and do a lot better. We owe it to our kids and families. The situation we've got in this country with gun violence is unacceptable. It's just -- you know, 20 kids -- 20 little kids died in the Sandy Hook shooting, six adults, including Erica's mom. We, as a country, didn't do anything. That's disgraceful, you know? And I said the NRA and craven, irresponsible politicians, but it's the rest of us, you, which, including me. We didn't do enough to support those parents when they tried to get legislation through Congress. We need to do more. Every day in this country, 88 Americans are shot and killed. It's ridiculous. We need to do better.

BALDWIN: Erica, final question to you. For everyone watching right now, hanging on both of your every word, what one thing today can people do?

[14:39:49] LAFFERTY: Whatever it takes to get gun legislation passed in America. They can join me on September 9th in Washington, D.C., with other advocates and other survivors of gun violence to demand action from Congress. They have ignored us for too long. They have ignored our stories for too long. We are going to demand that they do something about this and I welcome everyone to join me, anyone who has been personally touched by gun violence or someone they love has been touched by gun violence can text 877877. Just text the word "survivor" to that number and someone from our survivor network will reach out to you and let you know how to get involved in the fight to end gun violence in this country.

BALDWIN: To both of you, my sincerest condolences. But I know you say condolences are not enough. I know you say you want action.

Erica Lafferty and Rich Martinez, I'm sorry for your losses. I'm sick of covering these stories.

I don't want any more bracelets on your arm, Rich.

Thank you both so much.

LAFFERTY: Thank you.

MARTINEZ: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:38] BALDWIN: A new national poll reaffirms the front-runner for one party and reveals the possibility of a news one for the other. A Quinnipiac poll has Donald Trump on top for Republicans with 28 percent of those surveyed, an even bigger lead than we saw last month. Here's the bombshell. Vice President Joe Biden, who still has to decide if in fact he wants to run for president, beats Trump by a wider margin that Hillary Clinton would. The poll finds with 48 percent against 41 percent for Trump.

Let me bring in A.B. Stoddard, associate editor at "The Hill; and Carlos Watson, editor-in-chief at OZY.com.

Wonderful having you both on. Welcome, welcome.

And A.B., let me begin with you.

You see Trump with 28 percent. This is the largest poll that he's had yet and then Ben Carson. When you do the math, and we'll call it rough math, Trump, Carson, even farther down the line with Carly Fiorina, that is roughly half of the electorate wanting people as president who have zero political experience.

Have you noticed this? What is the message there?

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, THE HILL: This is a honeymoon for outsiders and we don't know if it's going to last but it certainly could and it's really upending the traditional conventional wisdom about how these contests go. And until we see a few more debates and we see a few people leave the race and we see people take a harder look and a more focused look in December before the votes begin February 1, we don't know if this is going to last. But it's the strong reaction to Trump, no matter what he says, and the polling about his appeal really speaks to why people like Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson are popular because people don't trust anyone who has been elected to public office, whether it's back in the state or Washington, D.C.

BALDWIN: Carlos, your thoughts on that?

CARLOS WATSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, OZY.COM: I think Donald is so interesting and he's great entertainment. Maybe the most entertaining candidate since Ross Perot. I think people really enjoy a first-class entertainer. I often say the better way to think about Trump is not as a businessman running for office but he's almost like an actor.

Almost like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he ran here in California or Jesse Ventura when he was an entertainer of sorts as a wrestler in Minnesota. A lot of bad news for governor Jeb Bush who I think when you hear Trump keep saying he's a low-energy guy, it's like when they went after governor Bush's dad a couple of years ago and called him a wimp. I think there's a risk that that starts to stick and raise larger questions and you saw Governor Bush push back, showing a lot of energy trying to dispel that sense.

BALDWIN: You say the word "entertainer" describing Trump and it brings me back to something I read. Amy Walker essentially said, "Trump is the guy you'd have a summer fling with, the guy riding the motorcycle, and Jeb Bush is the one who your parents want you to marry." Marinate on that.

Let me stay with you. Ouch. That's not a great sound. Hillary Clinton went after several Republican candidates, specifically on women issues. Marco Rubio is against abortion, even in the case of rape. Jeb Bush wants to defund Planned Parenthood John Kasich banned rape crisis centers. And then she made this comparison. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Extreme views about women. We expect that from some of the terrorist groups. We expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world. But it's a little hard to take coming from Republicans who want to be the president of the United States yet they espouse out-of-date and out of touch policies. They are dead wrong for 21st century America. We're going forward. We're not going back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:50:00] BALDWIN: Well, after that, A.B., I know that Jeb Bush responded quickly. This is what he tweeted: "Hillary Clinton compares pro-life Americans to terrorists but defends despicable P.P. treatment of unborn? Her priorities are totally wrong."

Mentioning Republicans and terrorists groups in the same sentence, is that a good strategy?

STODDARD: Well, I think this is -- you know, people think that because Trump is popular that outrage works now and it really doesn't when you take it to this level. She obviously is desperate to change the topic and this changes the topic. But when it comes to the issue of women's health rights and then you want to verge into the topic of planned parenthood, it's going to be very tough when Congress returns and puts a huge bull's eye focus on the planned parenthood videos and the fight that Republicans will wage to defund it. So it's a tough line for her to walk but she's definitely trying to appeal to the base of the party and change the topic away from her e-mail server.

BALDWIN: A.B. Stoddard, thank you so much, associate editor at "The Hill."

Carlos Watson, editor-in-chief of OZY.com, thank you for hopping on with me.

Coming up next here on CNN, much more of our special coverage of the tragedy at Roanoke, Virginia. Members of the news station, WDBJ, will be holding a news conference. We'll bring it live to you when it happens.

You're watching CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:49] BALDWIN: A U.S. drone strike may have killed one of the ISIS' most prominent recruiters.

Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon with more on this.

I know that a U.S. official is telling CNN that they are highly confident he Junaid Hussein was killed. How will they know for sure?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I have to tell you, Brooke, I think they are pretty much there at this point, barring the unforeseen. This notorious British-born high-level operative killed in a drone strike by the U.S. earlier this week. Junaid Hussein is someone that the U.S. wanted to get very badly. He was the social media star of ISIS.

At one point, posted the names of U.S. servicemembers, personal information about them, including their addresses, causing the Pentagon to scramble to warn these people that ISIS had their information. He's said to have been involved with one of the shooters in Garland, Texas, back in May. Remember that attack at a cartoon contest where people were asked to draw the Prophet Muhammad. It's believed Junaid Hussein was messaging with one of the attackers, pushing them, inspiring them. That may have been, in fact, in hindsight, the first ISIS-inspired attack in the U.S. Now they think they've got him -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Barbara Starr, thank you so much.

Coming up next, we want to take you back to Virginia. We have pictures in Roanoke where we're watching and waiting to get an update on the tragedy that unfolded yesterday live on television. Two young journalists murdered. They will be holding a news conference any moment. We'll take there live. Stay right here.

This is CNN.

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