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Donald Trump Fails to Challenge Claim Obama is Muslim; Hillary Clinton Campaigns in New Hampshire; Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl on Trial; Jeb Bush Embraces Brother on Campaign Trail. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired September 18, 2015 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:01] CAMEROTA: This is what I love. Atta girl.
PEREIRA: You must feel fantastic. Girl power on Friday. Let's continue the girl power and pass it off to "NEWSROOM" and Carol Costello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Exactly. Because you know if my alma mater, Kent State University, a female field goal kicker kicked an extra point. First time in history. Yay.
PEREIRA: That's what I'm talking about.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Have a great weekend. NEWSROOM starts now.
Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
Donald Trump faces a new wave of outrage and this time it's over what he did not say. You're about to hear a hate-filled rant from a supporter and Trump who seemingly never at a loss for words does not push back. Here's part of the exchange from that rally in New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED TRUMP SUPPORTER: Problem in this country. It is called Muslims. We know our current president is one.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED TRUMP SUPPORTER: You know he's not even an American.
TRUMP: We need this question --
UNIDENTIFIED TRUMP SUPPORTER: Birth certificate, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johnson, a CNN Washington correspondent. He joins us now with more on that.
Good morning, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Curious situation here. Donald Trump said, "We need this question,"
when a member of the audience started wading into long resolved issues about President Obama's religion and nationality and talking about getting rid of Muslims. The billionaire presidential candidate failed to challenge and now Democrats are attacking him for it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: A lot of people are saying that bad things are happening --
JOHNS (voice-over): A new controversy for Donald Trump this morning just a day after CNN's GOP debate.
UNIDENTIFIED TRUMP SUPPORTER: Problem in this country. It's called Muslims. We know our current president is one.
TRUMP: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED TRUMP SUPPORTER: You know he's not even an American.
TRUMP: We need this question --
UNIDENTIFIED TRUMP SUPPORTER: Birth certificate, man.
JOHNS: The Republican frontrunner back in the headlines after this vague and evasive response to this anti-Muslim supporter at a town hall in New Hampshire.
UNIDENTIFIED TRUMP SUPPORTER: But anyway, we have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That's my question. When can we get rid of them?
TRUMP: We're going to be looking at a lot of different things and you know, a lot of people are saying that.
JOHNS: Trump taking heat for not correcting the man the way Senator John McCain did while running for president in 2008.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's not -- he's not he's a -- he's an Arab. He is not --
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No?
MCCAIN: No ma'am, no ma'am.
JOHNS: This morning on the "Today" show Chris Christie saying he would have taken the route McCain took.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have somebody at one of my town hall meetings said something like that, I would correct them. And say no, the president is a Christian and he was born in this country. I mean, those two things are self-evident.
JOHNS: Trump's camp claiming the billionaire did not hear the question about Obama being a Muslim saying, quote, "The media want to make this an issue about Obama but it's about him waging a war on Christianity."
Still Democrats quick to pounce. Hillary Clinton at a substance abuse forum in New Hampshire earlier in the day, tweeted, "Not denouncing false statements about the president and hateful rhetoric about Muslims is disturbing and wrong. Cut it out."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: And the chair of the Democratic National Committee called Trump's comment at the rally horrendous but unsurprising. What makes this more controversial is the history. In 2011, Donald Trump publicly challenged President Obama's citizenship and asked for him to release his birth certificate which he later did, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Who could forget that? Joe Johns, thanks so much.
It is tough to be a Muslim in post-9/11 America. Still with the rise of ISIS and the threat of homegrown terrorists, some say it's understandable. Others say it's just an excuse for racism. They point to polls like this new CNN-ORC poll. It shows nearly one-third of Americans still think our Christian president is Muslim.
There was a prayer vigil last night for Ahmed Mohamed. He's the Texas boy who was handcuffed and arrested for making a clock for his teacher. Here it is. Here's that vigil. As you can guess from his name, of course, Ahmed Mohamed is Muslim. His father who emigrated from Sudan says anti-Islam paranoia fueled the panic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If really this is a bomb as they say, why they don't evacuate the building? What happened to my son is something it doesn't look like America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Ahmed's story is resonating around the world as it did on the debate stage in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sure, I don't think a 14-year-old should ever get arrested for bringing a clock to school. So if you ask me, am I glad he wasn't -- he was released. I'm glad the police are careful. I'm glad they are worried about security and safety issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Jindal echoed what the Irvine mayor said after police arrested Ahmed Mohamed for making that clock. The mayor, shown here, said she did not fault the school or police in that they followed all procedures. [09:05:04] So let's talk about this. Patti Solis Doyle is a former
campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential bid and Mindy Finn is a Republican political strategist and president of Empowered Women.
Welcome to both of you. Thank you for being here.
MINDY FINN, REPUBLICAN POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Absolutely. Good morning.
PATTI SOLIS DOYLE, 2008 HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Good morning. Mindy, Mindy, I get the fear in America. I do. But politicians have a responsibility to strike a balance between national security and that fear. Don't they?
FINN: They do. Trump should have called that gentleman out. But, you know, this is Trump being Trump. It's another day. It's another Trump controversy. He -- and part of his campaign really is playing into that fear. And we saw that happen yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if today he comes out and he walks it back a little bit and calls out that gentleman.
COSTELLO: Really? You think he really will do that, Patty?
DOYLE: You know, what I found really interesting about that exchange is if you look at the footage carefully when that man is asking that question you could see the people behind Trump sitting down shaking their head saying no, that's not true. I mean, In this case the audience was better equipped to shut that man down than Donald Trump was. It was a no-brainer. To handle that question with the indisputable fact that Barack Obama is a citizen and Barack Obama is a Christian.
COSTELLO: You know, I just found Trump's camp responded to this controversy, Mindy, and I just want to read their response. It says, "Mr. Trump was asked about training camps. Mr. Trump answered the question and said if there are any we will fix it. He said I will look into it. The question was specifically about training camps. The media wants to make this issue about Obama. The bigger issue is that Obama is waging a war against Christians in this country. They need support and their religious liberty is at stake," he added.
Is that what it really was about, Mindy?
FINN: Well, as you mentioned, the gentleman in the audience and Trump are really playing to a very real fear that Americans feel with the threat of ISIS. With cyber security. They are feeling very -- there is a lot of anxiety and they are feeling very unstable. What's unfortunate is that every second that we spend talking about Trump's controversial statements and the fact that he runs a controversy are moments that were not spent digging into the serious issues that actually were discussed on the debate stage quite well by many of the candidates like Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio and others on Wednesday night. COSTELLO: And Patti, Chris Christie came out this morning on one of
the morning shows and you heard him in Joe John's package and he said Donald Trump should have handled this much differently. But we haven't heard from the other Republican candidates as of yet. Why is that?
DOYLE: Well look, you know, I think the tendency for anyone who is new to running for office is to give them the benefit of the doubt. You know he's never done this before. He's new to the whole town hall format. But it is very difficult to give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt with his past inflammatory rhetoric. You know, he's called Mexicans rapists. He's called women pigs.
And so I think -- like I said it's very difficult to know where Donald Trump really stands on these issues. And I think the fact that the other Republican candidates haven't come out and denounced this statement and the way Donald Trump handled it is really at their own peril.
COSTELLO: Exactly. And I bring that up because I don't think -- I mean maybe Scott Walker will come out and say something. But he also said just last month that he didn't know whether Obama was a Christian. So I guess my final question to you, Mindy, is why are some Republicans still playing this game?
FINN: Look, this is a presidential race. The rhetoric has really been turned up to epic proportions if you ask me. I mean, you even had Hillary Clinton a few weeks ago calling Republicans terrorists for their views on women. I personally don't like that rhetoric. But this is kind of where we are right now.
COSTELLO: All right.
(CROSSTALK)
DOYLE: That's unfortunate.
COSTELLO: That is unfortunate. Mindy Finn, Patti Solis Doyle, thanks so much for being with me this morning. I appreciate it.
On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton is continuing her tour of the northeast. The Democratic frontrunner holding multiple events in New Hampshire and Maine today.
New Hampshire has become a battleground for Clinton as self-described Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders has now taken the lead there. Clinton addressed the Sanders surge in an interview with CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've said for a long time polls are going to go up, they're going to go down. I'm very confident and very comfortable about our strategy. I feel that our campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire, all the early states, and now we're moving onto the states that come after are really coming together well. I'm excited by the level and intensity of the support that I have.
So I always thought this would be a competitive election. I'm looking forward to it. This is an important job. This is the most important job not only in our country but in the world. And people have to fight hard. They have to make their case and they have to earn the votes of the American voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:10:11] COSTELLO: As for what Clinton thought about the recent Republican debate, here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I didn't get to see all of their debate. But I saw enough of it to know that this is just the usual back and forth political attacks, the kinds of things you say when you are on a debate stage and you really don't have much else to say.
This is just the silly season. I am looking forward to eventually debating on that stage. Whoever they finally nominate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining me now from New Hampshire CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, Hillary Clinton is weighing in on the Planned Parenthood controversy. This is something that her team is excited about doing. It really is an opportunity here. Because we're in the midst of a three-day swing in New Hampshire, Carol and this is where her main opponent, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, is ahead in four polls, one of them showing by 23 points when it comes to new voters and independents.
So team Clinton feels that this is an opportunity for her to reach out to the female voters, to the new voters, the millennials, the first timers. The moderates and independents. All those who she desperately needs in this state to talk about the Planned Parenthood controversy. The fact that she has a starkly different view than all of the GOP candidates who are calling for defunding the organization as well as what we're seeing playing out in Congress here. Some Republicans threatening to shut down the government over this.
So she talked with my colleague Wolff Blitzer yesterday about this and she made her position very clear as she will again do so today. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I think we ought to be very clear that Planned Parenthood has served to provide healthcare, necessary healthcare for millions of women, and I think it deserves not only our support but the continuing funding from the federal government so that these women and girls who are seeking the kinds of services that are provided will be able to achieve that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Carol, this is really an easy one for her campaign. And one that they certainly hope to capitalize off of. Right now we're waiting for her. In a couple of hours she's going to arrive here at Durham University of New Hampshire. Going to be talking to students here and what she's vying to do is get to those millennial, get some enthusiasm among the young voters that we have seen in some of those crowds among Sanders' campaign and his rallies to talk about things that matter to them.
And one of the things that is very big in a progressive camp of the Democratic Party is education. Tuition-free education. So she's going to be highlighting her plan $350 billion over 10 years to make a four-year university and colleges -- public colleges run by the states, operated by the states tuition free. And that is what she's going to be focusing on. Of course hoping that those new voters, some of those moderates, independents will get out here and get on board with her campaign -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Suzann Malveaux reporting live in New Hampshire this morning. Thank you.
Be sure to mark your calendar. In just three weeks, CNN and Facebook will host the first Democratic candidates' debate on Thursday, October 13th. That will happen in Las Vegas.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, today a defense team for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl who was captured by the Taliban makes his case at a preliminary military hearing. Why they say Bergdahl left his base and his fellow soldiers behind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:17:37] COSTELLO: Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was suffering from a severe mental defect when he disappeared off base in Afghanistan and was captured by the Taliban. That is the argument from Bergdahl's his legal team. Next hour a military hearing to determine whether Bergdahl will face court martial is expected to resume. The big question, whether Bergdahl will testify.
Bergdahl as you know was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He faces a possible life sentences. His release sparked controversy but who can forget these dramatic pictures in east Afghanistan. U.S. Special Forces -- U.S. Special Operations Forces in a dangerous mission facing off with 18 armed Taliban terrorists. You see them there. Bergdahl looking thin and out of it walked into American hands and eventually back to the United States.
Let's bring in CNN's Martin Savidge. He's at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio where that hearing is about to get under way.
Good morning, Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, the issue of the possible psychological problems of Bowe Bergdahl were brought up several times by the defense team yesterday. And essentially what they were doing is asking former commanders of Bergdahl in the army if they were aware that Bergdahl had actually been washed out of the U.S. Coast Guard due to psychological problems. Were they aware of that? Had the Army let them know? And in fact the commanders, two of them, said no, they hadn't been made aware of that.
Another issue that they defense is really harping on is they want to see the release of the 371-page statement of Bowe Bergdahl gave to the army shortly after they were freed from captivity. So far the Army has refused to do that. Much to the frustration of lawyers. Here is what they're saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EUGENE FIDELL, ATTORNEY FOR BOWE BERGDAHL: I mean, what is wrong with this picture? Why can't that come out? Why can't the Army release that document? Then we wouldn't have to be having this sort of shadow boxing about what Sergeant Bergdahl said and what he didn't say and everybody, you know, sort of guessing. They could get it from the horse's mouth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Which sets up today's possible intrigue, Carol, because the defense says they are going to call four witnesses and some are wondering if Bowe Bergdahl might be one of them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting. So what exactly are the charges against Bergdahl? Explain them for us.
[09:20:02] SAVIDGE: Yes. There is two charges essentially. The first one is desertion. That's straightforward. The second one, though, is a little more obscure. It is described as misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, a unit or a place. And the prosecution hammered that home all day long yesterday in the first day of the hearing with their witnesses. And essentially those witnesses were saying that as a result of Bergdahl going off of post that triggered a massive search and rescue effort in 2009.
And as a result thousands of soldiers were placed in harm's way, over a thousand square miles had to be searched, and a number of bases were left insecure because all of their soldiers were out there looking for Bowe Bergdahl. And that charge, by the way, is the most serious by the way. If he were found guilty it is possible he could face life in prison for that -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Martin Savidge, reporting live from Fort Sam Houston this morning.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, he used to be considered campaign kryptonite but is Jeb Bush now banking on George W. for a boost?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [09:25:17] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Your brother and your brother's administration gave us Barack Obama because it was such a disaster, those last three months, that Abraham Lincoln couldn't have been elected.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what? As it relates to my brother there is one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe. I don't know if you remember --
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Hear those cheers? Those cheers a far cry from how many Americans felt about President Georgia W. Bush when he left office. Even in 2008 presidential candidates did not mention -- did not dare mention George W.'s name. Nothing illustrates that better than this scathing bit on "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you think of John McCain, think of me, George W. Bush. Think of this face. When you're in the voting booth, before you vote. This face. Right here.
A vote for John McCain is a vote for George W. Bush.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh my. Jeb Bush has been working hard, though, to change that perception of his brother. And he's found a new way to do that. So take a look at this tweet. It says, "When it comes to my brother there is one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe."
So that line in the debate worked so he tweeted it out the next day. The question is will it ultimately work? Political columnist Roger Simon is here to discuss that.
Good morning. And thank you so much for being with me.
ROGER SIMON, COLUMNIST, POLITICO: Good morning, Carol. Thanks very much for having me.
COSTELLO: I appreciate it. So is that a good strategy?
SIMON: I don't think so. You know I think he kept us safe may be the worst slogan since "mission accomplished." Not to be over technical, you know, but 9/11 did happen on George W. Bush's watch. Nearly 3,000 Americans died. To tweet out a picture of George W. Bush standing on rubble and saying he kept us safe, you know, I hate to say it but the people beneath that rubble would disagree with that statement. The 9/11 Commission found fault with the Bush administration for ignoring warnings, just as they found fault with the Clinton administration.
But Jeb simply does not want to be the third term of George W. Bush. Nobody wants the third term of George W. Bush. George W. Bush doesn't want the third term of George W. Bush. So reminding us of him just as that funny clip you showed is not what Jeb wants. It is not what Jeb needs. There is a reason George W. Bush was quietly disinvited to the last Republican convention. Republicans didn't want to talk about his eight years. They really don't want to talk about it now.
COSTELLO: But I will say this -- I will say this, Roger.
SIMON: Yes.
COSTELLO: Since he left office George W.'s approval ratings have been steadily increasing. So people do have a more positive opinion of him than they did in the past. Take a look at that, 52 percent approve of George W. Bush right at the moment. That's a big contrast to 2009 when only 33 percent did.
SIMON: They almost always go up. You look back at a president out of office with a certain amount of affection. You tend to remember the good images and not the bad ones. You know, if Jeb wants to go to dynasty route he should remind people of his father, George H.W. Bush. You know, nobody really remembers quite what happened during that administration, but they remember that they liked George H.W. You know, he's the guy who jumps out of airplanes and wears --
COSTELLO: But he's the guy that said, read my lips, no new taxes.
SIMON: You know what, his approval ratings are higher than George W.'s. He's viewed with affection. It almost always happens. Believe me Barack Obama's approval ratings will go up after he leaves office. The question for Jeb is, is this really the route he wants to go? Is this what he wants to emphasize?
I think it's not. I think he wants to emphasize he's his own person. He'll have his own administration and he's not really tied to the past.
COSTELLO: All right. Roger Simon from Politico, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.
SIMON: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're welcome. If you missed the debate we will re-air the CNN Republican debate tonight. That will come your way at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
