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Stephen Colbert's Late Night Debut; Ending Poverty; Russia Denies Sending Military to Syria; NFL Commissioner Speaks Out; President Obama in the Alaskan Wilderness. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 08, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": I am. I hope they'll find out pretty quickly that the guy they saw for 10 years was my sense of humor the whole time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COLBERT: It is, I guess, flattering that people thought I was an actual pundit or a newsman eventually over the years. But it's really nice to not have to pretend it anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: So starting tonight, we'll see who the real Colbert is. There's already a few fans who have lined up who want to make sure they're guaranteed a seat inside tonight.

And just to give you a sense of the booking battle that's going on, Carol, we know that Jimmy Fallon, the host of "The Tonight Show," also here in New York, also wants these political guests. He has Donald Trump later this week. And I've heard from several sources that actually Colbert's show wanted Hillary Clinton for tonight's show. She declined because she's going on Fallon instead. NBC confirming she'll be on Fallon's show next week, September 16th. So you'll see this booking battle now underway between Colbert and Fallon.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, and they want the political types. So interesting. Brian Stelter, many thanks to you. I appreciate it.

Of course, Jeb Bush isn't the only political heavyweight appearing alongside Stephen Colbert this week. You heard Brian say it, Joe Biden will stop by on Thursday. Bernie Sanders is there next Thursday.

Here to talk about this and more, Bill Carter, who is a CNN contributor and author of "The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy," and Jay Thomas is a Sirius XM radio host and Emmy winning actor.

Welcome to both of you. Thanks for being here.

JAY THOMAS, SIRIUS XM RADIO HOST: Thanks.

BILL CARTER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks for being -- having me on.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. So, Bill, I'm going to start with you.

THOMAS: Bill Carter?

CARTER: Yes, how you doing?

COSTELLO: Uh-oh. Do you have an uneasy relationship with Jay?

CARTER: No. Actually Jay was in a -- the movie of "The Late Shift" that I wrote and --

COSTELLO: Oh, awesome.

CARTER: So -- yes.

COSTELLO: So it's a good thing.

THOMAS: Yes. And also I did "Monday Night Mayhem" also, which is about Monday night football.

CARTER: "Monday Night Mayhem." Yes. Yes, that was another I wrote. Yes.

THOMAS: I'm a huge fan of Bill Carter's. Thank you. Yes.

CARTER: Oh, that's great.

COSTELLO: I love when there's a lot of love going around. It's fantastic.

So, Bill, I thought Colbert wasn't going to be --

THOMAS: Write another book and a movie, Bill.

COSTELLO: Yes, exactly.

CARTER: Yes, I got it.

COSTELLO: I thought Colbert was going to drop the political stuff and just be a comedian.

CARTER: Well, he's going to be a comedian, but I think he knows this is a field he can play in well and I think he sees an opportunity. Jon Stewart has left "The Daily Show." There's not going to be as much focus, I think, on that and I think he sees -- also a way to distinguish himself from the two Jimmys. I think they don't do it as much. They don't do it with the same kind of serious approach. Not a serious approach. I think he's going to be funny, but he's going to have substance. I mean he's having the U.N. general-secretary as a guest. You know, I mean he -- he's trying to mix it up and stand out as being somewhat different, rather than just having movie stars.

COSTELLO: Well, you're right, you're right. And, Jay, Stephen Colbert does have a bite because, you know, when it was announced that Jeb Bush was going to be on the show, Jeb Bush was using his Colbert appearance to raise money for his campaign. And, yes, Stephen Colbert did bite back. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLBERT: Governor Bush is to pumped for the first show that he sent this e-mail to supporters. "Today we're formally launching our Stephen Colbert Late Show contest where we'll fly one lucky winner to New York."

To enter, all you have to do is donate $3 to Jeb's campaign. And if you can't afford $3, you're probably not voting for Jeb Bush. I think the contest is a great idea. But here's the thing, no one from Jeb's campaign asked me if this was OK with me to raise money off my first show. Where's my cut of that sweet three bucks, governor? Huh?

Well, two can play at this contest, sir. So, tonight, today, or whenever you're watching this, I am launching my own "Jeb Bush on the Stephen Colbert Late Show" raffle. The lucky winner will also be invited to the premier of "The Late Show." Plus, they will get to submit one non-obscene question that I will ask Governor Bush on their behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, I wanted it so much to be obscene, didn't you, Jay?

THOMAS: Didn't that just seem like the Colbert that was on the TV show? I mean I think he'll be the same guy, certainly more -- certainly urbane. Letterman was considered aloof, who I was with for over 20 years. I think they're not so worried about beating Jimmy Fallon or the other 12 guys that do late night TV, like Republican candidates. I think that it will be an urbane, newsy, fun show. They'll make a ton of money. I don't think he'll win the ratings. He'll be good maybe for a few days. And then Fallon looks like he's just trying to crush him this first week. I mean they're supposed to be big pals. Fallon has, you know, just a line-up that's crazy. And it's -- and it's all aimed at crushing any excitement over Stephen Colbert. I think he'll be fun. Bill, you and I will watch him on YouTube. We'll be the two oldest people watching -- watching him on YouTube the next morning.

CARTER: That could be.

THOMAS: Yes.

CARTER: That's a possibility.

THOMAS: Yes, we will.

COSTELLO: Well, the wired thing is, is that all of these --

THOMAS: It is.

COSTELLO: All of these late night comedians are vying for political types. Shouldn't they be vying for the most popular actor or actress out there?

CARTER: How much -- how much air time are the political people getting these days. They're getting tons of --

COSTELLO: It's crazy.

CARTER: They're eating up all the air time. So they are the people worth talking to. Plus, they're being made fun of every night on these shows. I mean Trump is a joke on -- on everybody's monolog and I think you're going to see him playing with that and you'll see Jeb Bush playing -- Jeb Bush will come on, probably try to show a lot of energy, that he's not low energy. He's going to try to --

[09:35:10] COSTELLO: That he deserved that exclamation point after his name.

CARTER: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes, he's going to try to earn his exclamation point. Good point.

THOMAS: I -- I think --

COSTELLO: But will people get tired of it, though, Jay, because people always tell me, oh, why are you covering politics already? But everybody is, even comedians.

THOMAS: I think that -- I think Colbert is going to be kind of an awake Charlie Rose, who looks like he's about to fall asleep all the time. And -- and I think he'll be a funny, interesting guy. He'll know the issues. He'll have fun. Sadly, nobody cares that Jeb Bush is on TV tonight. Absolutely no one. It's all about Donald Trump. I mean even Hillary Clinton, what are you going to do, have her play some e-mail, you know, parlor game when she goes on Fallon? So I think that he'll take it easy. I don't think he's worried about anything other than he's going to stay where he's comfortable. Why would you change? He's successful. He sounded just like Stephen Colbert to me a few moments ago, even though he's not that other guy, but he seems like that other guy to me. I mean this is kind of schizophrenic, isn't it?

COSTELLO: It really is. But I'm going to be watching so that I can figure it out.

Jay Thomas, Bill Carter, thanks so much to both of you for being with me.

CARTER: Sure.

THOMAS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it.

THOMAS: Bill, I'll call you later. I have an idea.

CARTER: All right. I'll find another job for you.

COSTELLO: Oh, geez.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Pope Francis wants the United States to do more to help the poor. Coming up next, I sit down with Sister Donna Markham to talk about the 45 million people in need in our own country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:00] COSTELLO: First on CNN, today Catholic Charities is announcing a new initiative to end poverty in the United States. That initiative inspired by Pope Francis's upcoming visit to the United States. The initiative is called End 45. It's meant to raise awareness of the 45 million Americans living in poverty within our own borders, in our own country. It will start online with a hashtag. You see me beside Sister Donna. This initiative will hopefully combat a problem many Americans don't want to acknowledge. As you can see, I sat down with Sister Donna Markham, the first woman to lead Catholic Charities USA in its 105 year history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SISTER DONNA MARKHAM, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA: End 45 really came about as a result of our anticipation of the visit of Pope Francis to this country. When we learned that the pope was coming, we thought this is a perfect moment for us, as a national organization, to call attention to the 45 million people that are living in poverty in this country.

COSTELLO: Forty-five million.

MARKHAM: So, there are 45 million people.

COSTELLO: In the United States?

MARKHAM: Yes. Which is shocking to us, I think, because we don't -- we don't tend to think that we have that substantial a problem with people who are poor. And we do. And many of those are children.

COSTELLO: When some in this country talk about the poor, and you say 45 million, and they'll say, oh, come on, they're taking advantage of the system, some of them and they have TVs, what more do they want? That's how some people talk about the poor in this nation.

MARKHAM: It's tragic. It's very tragic to me when I hear that. Or just get yourself out of this. Go get a job. Well, sometimes people don't have the resources to do that. They haven't had the education to do that. They haven't had the opportunities to do that. And so for us to just even use the term "the poor" dehumanizes them.

COSTELLO: So when the pope criticizes capitalism, what is he really doing?

MARKHAM: I think he's again -- he's again raising our awareness of what happens in our world when the rich continue to get richer and we have this growing gap between those that are very wealthy and those who are living at the bottom. And how do we -- and he's raising our awareness to say, how do we start to work with that? It's -- it's a complex issue for sure.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: And we all have to work together to find answers. You can learn more about the End 45 initiative by visiting Catholic Charities website at catholiccharities.org.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, is Syria's brutal civil war about to get even worse. The warning from Secretary of State John Kerry, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:05] COSTELLO: Russia is dismissing allegations that it's sending military equipment and troops to Syria. That's after Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia could escalate Syria's already-bloody civil war. CNN's chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto is following the latest developments from Washington.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the Pentagon is watching this very closely and in these satellite photos they see signs of what could be a preparation for a large scale deployment by Russia in the hundreds, all taking place in the home province of Bashar al Assad, of course the leader of Syria and Russia's longtime ally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): New Russian military personnel and equipment on the ground inside Syria. U.S. military officials tell CNN potentially volatile addition to a bloody civil war already three years old. Secretary of State John Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to warn such actions, quote, "could further escalate the conflict", an allegation the Kremlin dismissed as premature.

What's unclear is who the Russians intend to fight.

SCIUTTO (on camera): Is it to shore up the Assad regime? Is it to fight ISIS or do we know?

PETER COOK, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: You know full well that the Russians have had a long relationship with the government in Syria. And, again, it's up to the Russians to explain exactly what they're doing.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Satellite images show Russia has installed modular units capable of housing hundreds of military personnel, a defense official tells CNN. And this image broadcast on Syrian state television, identified by analysts as a modern Russian made vehicle not previously seen in Syria and painted in Russian army camouflage.

COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: What the Russians might or might not be doing at the moment, that is of concern to Secretary Kerry, and who would replace Assad? Who would replace any of the other groups that are fighting for power?

[09:50:00] SCIUTTO: Syria is Russia's key ally in the Middle East. Moscow also has a strategic naval base at Tartis (ph) in Syria. If the fragile regime of Bashar al Assad falls, so too may Russian influence in the region. Russia and the United States have been talking about finding a

political solution to the crisis, administration officials until recently expressing hope that Moscow was open to a future without Assad. The administration officials now making clear there is only one kind of military help the U.S. would welcome.

MARK TONER, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESMAN: There's a 37-some-odd country coalition that's taking the fight to ISIL. We would welcome Russia to be more involved in that effort.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (on camera): One sign of how seriously the U.S. is taking this, Greek officials saying that the U.S. has asked Greece to deny Russia overflight of their territories, in effect to say Russian planes cannot fly over Greece on the way to Syria, blocking the air lift of Russian military personnel, supplies. The U.S. watching this very closely. They want Russia's help against ISIS but not in propping up the Assad regime. Carol?

COSTELLO: Jim Sciutto reporting this morning.

Still ahead in the NEWSROOM, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Deflategate and Tom Brady's suspension being overturned. Yes, the commissioner speaks out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:55:30] COSTELLO: First it was Tom Brady. Now NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is breaking his silence on ESPN for first time since the star quarterback's Deflategate suspension was overturned, and Mr. Goodell said some interesting stuff.

Coy Wire has been listening in. Tell us more, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Good afternoon, good morning still, Carol. People were waiting to hear from Goodell, and you could almost sense some relief in his voice that this process is now mostly over. It's going through the appeals process, but football is upon us and he can get back and the fans can get back to football.

The one most intriguing aspect of this interview that jumped out to most people was when the question was asked about the appeals process, and his involvement. He's always been the judge and jury since he made all the changes in the NFL. Would he be interested and open to lessening his role in disciplinary process? Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: We need to sit down and figure out how do we get to a better position on our discipline procedures, whether it's the personal conduct policy or whether it's the integrity of the game policy. Those things have to be determined by us in a collective bargaining agreement. They have been effectively done in the past and they should be going forward. I am very open to changing my role in that. It's become extremely

time consuming and I think I have to be focused on a variety of other issues, and that's what I've discussed with many of the other owners over the last couple years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, Carol, he went on to say that the person that came up with the disciplinary issues could be a panel. It could be a panel of people who would come up with the suspensions, come up with the fines, and then he would designate someone to be the arbitrator. That person would have to be someone with deep knowledge of the NFL's rules, someone who has deep knowledge of the game as well. He also said they would be resistant to third-party arbitration. They want to keep everything under the NFL's umbrella.

COSTELLO: Interesting, but I bet he's still not attending that first New England Patriots/Steelers game, right?

WIRE: Carol, that's right. He said he's going to be in Chicago to watch them play the Green Bay Packers. He said he wants to keep the distraction away from him and the Deflategate issue and let the focus be on the game.

COSTELLO: All right, Coy Wire, many thanks. I appreciate it.

WIRE: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: President Obama has tackled issues on Capitol Hill, survived criticis,m and fished for support, so how did America's leading man do in the Alaskan wilderness? President Obama recently had the adventure of a lifetime alongside Bear Grylls. NBC's "Today" show leaking this exclusive sneak peek of the pair's upcoming episode.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've seen some of the things Bear eats, and it's got to be something that doesn't still have its legs and eyes on it. You know, I want it not to be too recognizable.

All right, what do we got?

BEAR GRYLLS, TV HOST: Well, Alaska is a land of bear and salmon. We haven't got bear --

OBAMA: Oh, look at this. Look at this.

GRYLLS: Now, this is for real. I found this on the riverbank, OK? So don't freak out too much, but this is half eaten by a bear.

OBAMA: Now, why wouldn't the bear finish this sucker? It looks like a nice looking piece of fish.

GRYLLS: Yes, but if you notice what they've had is all the high fat content, the eggs, a bit of the skin. They'll often take the brain as well, and if there's a lot of fish in the river they'll leave the meat because they want the high density caloric value fat.

OBAMA: Interesting. So a bear has chewed on this sucker.

GRYLLS: Yes. But we're going to cook it up so it's going to be good.

OBAMA: All right.

GRYLLS: So I think the president looked a little surprised when I pulled out this sort of bloody carcass of half eaten salmon.

OBAMA: Oh, I hear a little sizzle there.

GRYLLS: Yes.

OBAMA: I think a piece of salmon, that will work just fine. It would have been nice if we had had a cracker to go with it.

GRYLLS: OK, should we try a little bit of this?

OBAMA: Let's try that. That's tasty.

GRYLLS: Well, that's proper Alaskan salmon for you.

OBAMA: Bear is a mediocre cook, but the fact we ate something recognizable was encouraging. Now, the fact that he told me that this was a leftover fish from a bear, I don't know if that was necessary. He could have just left that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You should have brought along the White House chef, President Obama. Why didn't someone tell you that?

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(MUSIC)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Mike Huckabee to the rescue. A presidential candidate visits Kim Davis in jail.

[10:00:02] His rally for religious liberty so big area schools are shut down.