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Donald Trump Defends Controversial Exchange with Supporter; Joe Biden May Soon Announce Presidential Candidacy; Phoenix Police Arrest Suspect in Highway Shootings; Pope Francis Visits Cuba; House Passes Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood; New Study Discovers Disease in Vast Majority of Donated Brains of Former NFL Players. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired September 19, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:12] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we are hearing from Donald Trump as he was taking heat for something that he didn't say. Does he need to defend the president's religion? Trump says, uh-huh.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Vice President Joe Biden getting closer to a run for the White House. A report suggests the focus is now on when, not if he will make that announcement.

PAUL: And new developments from Phoenix. Police arrest a man in connection with a series of highway shootings that terrorize drivers for month. The suspect's father, he doesn't believe it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoever said he is the I-10 shooter is a -- moron. Have a good night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And good morning to you. I'm Christi Paul. We're so grateful to have you with us.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. CNN Newsroom begins right now.

Donald Trump is defending how he handled one of his supporters claiming that President Obama is a Muslim. Trump is tweeting up a storm right now about the controversy. We followed his Twitter account before. He says this, "Am I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him? I don't think so." He follows up with "This is the first time in my life that I have caused controversy by not saying something." And "If someone made a nasty or controversial statement about me to the president, do you really think he would come to my rescue? No chance!"

Let's talk about it. I am joined now by Jeffrey Lord, CNN political commentator and conservative radio talk show host Ben Ferguson. Your reaction to Trump's response in one second, but first we want to remind people of what sparked this controversy. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- in this country, it's called we have Muslims. We know our current president is one. You know he is not even an American. Birth certificate, man. But anyway, we have training camp growing where they want to kill us. That's my question. When can we get rid of them?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to look at a lot of different things. And, you know, a lot of people are saying that and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there. We are going to be looking at that and plenty of other things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right, so that was on Thursday. First, Ben, I want to come to you with the response to what Trump tweeted. I am looking at his twitter account right now. Do you believe he is morally obligated to defend the president in this case?

BEN FERGUSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: If it is at your event, you are in charge, you are asking questions, you are talk directly to the audience, you have an obligation as a leader. You are running for the biggest leadership position in the world, the president of the United States of America, this should not be that hard for you to intellectually understand you have an obligation to correct people when they cross a line at your event that you are in charge of. For him to imply that, as he said moments ago, he's like, every time someone says something against the president, I can't correct them all the time. Why are they putting it on me? I would agree with him in that scenario. You can't be everywhere at every moment of every day correcting people. People say horrible things about Donald Trump every day. Does that mean that Hillary Clinton has to go out there and defend every time someone attacks him? No. But it is at her event and someone says something that's factually incorrect, it would be her obligation to say, look, I don't like Donald Trump's policies. We are running against each other. However, he is an American and he is not what you just said he is, if you know it is not true. So this is leadership, and he showed lack of leadership in the situation. I honestly think it was a bad political move for him.

BLACKWELL: Jeffrey, what about that, responding in the way that we saw John McCain respond in 2008 when there was a similar claim made by a supporter?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Victor, that John McCain response, when you listen to it very carefully, the woman in question who is asking him the question starts to say that Mr. Obama is a -- her word was "Arab." I assume she means Muslim. But at that point, McCain takes the microphone away and says, "No, no, no. He is really very decent." What does that mean, that Arabs and Muslims are not decent?

FERGUSON: He knew where she was going with it. Come on, Jeffrey. Let's be intellectually honest.

LORD: Let's be honest and let's hold President Obama himself to the same standard. When he was a presidential candidate and presented with all this business with Jeremiah Wright, his minister, and President Obama, like myself, is a member of the United Church of Christ, the members run the church. He did not go to his church and say I want him fired. He didn't act.

FERGUSON: Jeffrey, that's exactly why I criticized him for it. You and I are on the same boat with that one. I thought the way that candidate Obama handled Jeremiah Wright was the wrong way to deal with it.

[10:05:06] BLACKWELL: Let's focus on the issue of the day. We spent months talking about Obama and Jeremiah Wright. But let me get back to Jeffrey, because I wanted to get the answer to that question, why not in that moment, why not did Trump or should he have in that moment said the president is Christian and he was born here in America?

LORD: Look, I've heard the exchange many times. He answered the guy's question. We are holding Donald Trump to a standard to which we will not hold Barack Obama.

BLACKWELL: The question was, when can we get rid of them, speaking of Muslims? That was the question from what I remember. But we just played it. I mean, we can play it again, but I think the question was when can we get rid of them.

LORD: Right, right. OK, what he's talking about, clearly, I mean, let me ask the question. Was he talking about ISIS? Was he talking about training camps in this country of which the FBI investigates all these places? There is a place in upstate New York that I am personally familiar with because of my family location. Was he talking about that? Honestly, Victor, I have no idea. And I don't think Donald Trump did either. And that was the question.

FERGUSON: Jeffrey, here's the thing, though. When I criticized Barack Obama for not distancing himself more from Jeremiah Wright, I am being consistent with the same thing here with Donald Trump. Donald Trump also has campaigned live when he said he didn't hear the question. You heard the question. You understand it. I heard the question. I understood it.

LORD: The question --

FERGUSON: Let me finish, let me finish, let me finish. He understood the question. Donald Trump is really good on his feet. He could have easily laughed and said to the guy, early on, trust me, I understand what you are talking about. I wanted his birth certificate to come out. We got him to put it out there. Let's put that to bed. He is an American. There are multiple ways that Donald Trump could have responded to this. And then Donald, in his response, could have clarified that point to say, look, as for radical Islamic extremists, we are going to deal with them, whether they be in this country or abroad. We're going to look into all of that to make sure that if there are extremists, and I believe that's probably what this man is asking about, the extremists, he could have said we are going to get rid of them. BLACKWELL: Let me jump in here. We have sound that just came from

Democratic candidate for the presidency, former Maryland governor, Martin O'Malley. Let's listen to that and we'll talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN O'MALLEY, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think any of us who are in the public arena, especially for the most important office of the presidency of the United States, have an obligation to correct errors and hateful things when people say them. It certainly was a different reaction than Donald Trump gave than somebody like John McCain would give when a person wrongly maligns people of the Muslim faith or try to mischaracterize the president's faith. So I will leave that to Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So Jeffrey, here's the question. We have waited for more than a day for a response from Donald Trump. He has responded now in four tweets but has still not spoken to the center of the man's question, his criticisms of Muslims. Why not now that you have had time, you have heard the entire question, respond?

LORD: Look. I don't think he is obligated.

BLACKWELL: Maybe not obligated but he wants to be president.

LORD: I have heard the exchange. It is a very clear the guy had a question about training camps, of which he was unspecific. So Trump responded to that. That's really all there is. If Governor O'Malley really feels this way, then he should be asking why Jeremiah Wright wasn't fired by Barack Obama. Why didn't he use his authority as a member of his church, the church I share with him, to do. It wasn't done. It wasn't done.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: We've got to wrap it up there. We've got to wrap it. Jeffrey, Ben, unfortunately, we have nine minutes on that topic. We have other things happening this morning. Thank you both. We'll continue the conversation.

LORD: OK.

PAUL: So let's talk about Hillary Clinton, because at any time she is set to speak in New Hampshire. And here's the question, will she address the big news, that being that according to "The Wall Street Journal" Vice President Joe Biden is closer than ever to running against her. Aides for Biden are saying it is just a matter of when he is going to make the announcement.

This of course comes on the heels of a letter from 50 top Democratic fundraisers urging Biden to enter the race. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joining us with the latest. She's there in New Hampshire. So Suzanne, the thing is this letter could translate to big money for Biden, which is one of the biggest obstacles when you are getting into the race so late. What is the talk there about the vice president possibly inching closer to a bid?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. That's an excellent point that you bring up, which is the fact that that could generate some real support, real dollar signs, what Vice President Biden is going to need.

And you mentioned something. I want to talk about it. That is the elephant in the room and who is not in this room, this very important convention here in New Hampshire, and that is Joe Biden.

[10:10:05] But there is a Draft Biden group that has a table set up. They are even handing out these stickers saying "I'm riding with Biden." It certainly seems like there is growing momentum and a movement here to get him into this race.

If you take a look, "Wall Street Journal" quoting political advisers who are talking not only about raising money, they're talking about hiring staff as well as crafting a message about jumping into this race, and it is not even necessarily about if but when. They are looking at specific timing. Does he do it in just three weeks, because you know there is the CNN Democratic debate. He would have a national audience to go up against some of his major foes.

Also a week later, October 22nd, that is when Hillary Clinton is going to be testifying before a congressional hearing, a committee on the Benghazi attack. Those e-mails will very, very likely come up and have to be addressed. How does she perform before that committee? That may also determine the timing of this.

And then finally, when you talk about it, November, early November is when their deadlines they have to face to jump into these early contests, early races here in New Hampshire and Iowa and other places. So they are going to have to move and move quickly.

But Christi, I want to tell you something that is happening here in New Hampshire. Take a look at the numbers here. This is one of the latest polls. We are talking about Bernie Sanders at 43 percent, Hillary Clinton, 36 percent. So he is above her seven percentage points. But Joe Biden who hasn't even declared, 13 percent now. And we are seeing that across the board and when you look at the state and these national polls. And that could mean bad news for Hillary Clinton, good news for him. They could split the vote. But a lot of people are looking for someone who generates enthusiasm. Bernie Sanders, so far, is that guy. A lot of people are thinking the alternative to Bernie Sanders would be Joe Biden.

PAUL: OK, Suzanne, I hope you can hear me because obviously there's a lot of enthusiasm going on there right now. But we know that Hillary Clinton is going to be taking that stage within the hour to speak. What are we expecting to hear from her?

MALVEAUX: Sure. Hillary Clinton is going to take the stage within the hours. She is going to be talking about economic equality. She is going to be talking about raising the minimum wage here in New Hampshire. The heroin addiction is a big problem. She has been talking about that for the last couple of days. Expect that to happen. She will be talking about reproductive rights, her support for Planned Parenthood. She's been talking about that, very important to attract female voters, moderates, new voters, the millennials. She feels that she can make some ground when it comes to that particular issue.

But I do want to address what is happening behind us here because this is the DNC chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She has been before this group for the last 10 minutes or so, alternately getting support and cheers but also boos and a lot of pushback because a lot of people in this room also want more debate. Only six debates for the Democrats, four before the Iowa caucuses. And so folks in this room for various campaigns, the O'Malley campaign, the Sanders campaign, and delegates who say we want a bigger and bigger and brighter opportunity to have these debates play out so that everybody gets a fair chance and a fair shake.

PAUL: And what are they chanting real quickly, Suzanne? Can you tell?

MALVEAUX: What's that? "We want more debates,"

PAUL: All right.

MALVEAUX: There are 1,000 delegates here.

PAUL: Obviously. All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: They seem to be chanting that right over the chairwoman there.

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about this. Nearly a dozen shootings along a busy stretch of an Arizona highway. Now police have made an arrest. But the family of the man in custody does not believe their son is the shooter.

Plus new arrests this morning in the prison break of El Chapo in Mexico more than two months after the escape. Are investigators closer to finding him?

PAUL: Also, in just a few hours, Pope Francis will arrive in Cuba. He has already helped broker peace between the U.S. and Cuba. So what defines success for this trip?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:17:25] PAUL: Updating some breaking news we have been following this morning, look at that man. That is the suspect who police say terrorized motorists on a Phoenix highway for weeks. Yes, he's not in custody. A SWAT team stormed a Wal-Mart arresting Leslie Allen Merritt Junior. Police say he is linked to at least four of the shootings on interstate 10 randomly targeting passing vehicles. Arizona's Governor Doug Ducey was quick to tweet, "We got him." This was of course after the arrest, although terrified Arizonans will finally be able to breathe a little easier, some may feel, officials say, listen, there may be other suspects out there.

Let's bring in CNN's Nick Valencia. What are you hearing this morning about this arrest, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi. Lee Allen Merritt Junior is expected to be arraigned sometime in the 11:00 a.m. eastern hour. And although formal charges have yet to be filed, we expect him to be charged with, among other things, aggravated assault.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: After more than two weeks of terror, police make an arrest in a string of highway shootings.

COL. FRANK MILSTEAD, DIRECTOR, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: The weapon and the man who we believe that was responsible for what started this spree in Arizona is in custody.

VALENCIA: Though authorities have declined to name the suspect, two government officials told CNN the detained man's name is Leslie Allen Merritt junior. CNN affiliates say this is Merritt arriving at an Arizona state police office. He was arrested Friday night in a suburban Glendale in connection with all least four of the 11 shootings. Most of those occurred along busy Interstate 10.

BART GRAVES, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: He was arrested at that Wal-Mart with a woman and a five- year-old child. They were not taken into custody. And he was.

VALENCIA: A Phoenix city councilman told CNN the break in the case came after the suspect pawned a 9 millimeter handgun. Police say their lab results showed it was the same gun used in at least four of the highway shootings.

MILSTEAD: The subject is in custody because the weapon that he owned is forensically linked to these crimes.

VALENCIA: The suspect is only connected to the first four shootings. Police are unclear whether there are more suspects.

MILSTEAD: Are there others out there? Are there copycats? That is possible. We will continue to investigate.

VALENCIA: As of September 10th, there have been no other shootings reported. Friday night's arrest, police accused the suspect of starting the spree on August 29th. Late last night, affiliate KNXV tried to get the reaction from Merritt's father.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like to tell me about him or saying anything on his behalf?

LESLIE MERRITT SR. FATHER OF SUSPECT: Yes. I'll say plenty on his behalf. Whoever said he is the I-10 shooter is a -- moron. Have a good night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:20:04] VALENCIA: Merritt's father did eventually give a long sit- down interview where the local newspaper there where he emphasized that he believes his son is innocent, though police officers at that press conference last night, they did stress that Merritt he is only linked to only four of the 11 that happened over the course of the last three weeks. They said there is a possibility there could be copycats still out there. Christi?

PAUL: Nick Valencia, we appreciate it. Thank you.

VALENCIA: Thanks.

PAUL: We're waiting for Hillary Clinton to take the stage in New Hampshire. We are wondering if she will address the top political news of the day, Trump's defense of not answering a comment from a supporter, and Vice President Joe Biden may be running for the nomination. "Wall Street Journal" reporting it is not if but when that announcement will be made that he's getting in.

Plus, the historic trip to Cuba made by the Pope, then his visit to the U.S. We are hours from his arrival in Havana. We are going to go there and get a preview of what you can expect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00] BLACKWELL: This week's CNN hero is using the power of hip- hop music to help young African-American males to turn their pain into therapy.

PAUL: Meet Tomas Alvarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really grew up in a lot of different places. When you have a lot of things that aren't stable, it kind of gets you in a really bad situation. I really felt alone and it turned into me doing the wrong things.

TOMAS ALVAREZ, CNN HERO: As a former school social worker I witnessed how challenging it was to engage African-American male and Latino male students in talk therapy. I knew that if I wanted to really engage this group, I would have to do something different.

You are going to have three statements, two that are true about yourself and one that is a lie.

Beats, Rhymes, and Life is one of the country's first hip-hop therapy programs where young people turn their pain into music. Our program creates opportunities for you to reflect and tell the story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can make a difference. And I'm always looking forward to that new day. ALVAREZ: It's important for young people to create something that

they can be proud of. And the studio makes that possible. A lot of people come from the hip-hop, but they stay for the healing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was skeptical at first. But it doesn't feel like a therapy session.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I give you my life because it is all that I've got.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I'm rapping, I let it all go.

ALVAREZ: Hip-hop is everywhere. So are the mental health disparities impacting young men of color. What people need to realize is that when our young people have a voice, they can learn to help and heal themselves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: If you want to learn more about Tomas Alvarez and the power of hip hop therapy, go to CNNHeroes.com.

PAUL: We are waiting for Hillary Clinton to take the stage in New Hampshire. There is the question today, will she address the top political news of the day. Trump is defending himself. Vice President Joe Biden seems to be closer than ever to running against her. According to the "Wall Street Journal," it's just a matter of time before Vice President Biden announces, and there is a pretty passionate crowd there this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:31:56] BLACKWELL: Donald Trump not backing down this morning, on Twitter defending his reaction or lack thereof to a supporters comment that President Obama was not born in America and is Muslim. He tweeted, "Am I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him?" I don't think so." And he also added in another tweet that President Obama would not have defended him if the roles were reversed. We'll have more on this in just a couple of minutes.

Also, at any minute, here at this microphone Hillary Clinton is set to speak in New Hampshire. The question is will she address the big news that so many Democrats in that room are discussing, that according to "Wall Street Journal" Vice President Joe Biden is closer than ever to running against her. Aides for Biden said it is a matter of when, not if, he will make that announcement. Of course that's also according to the "Wall Street Journal." This comes on the heels of a letter from nearly 50 top Democratic fundraisers urging Biden to enter the race.

Another big story we are following, the Pope's historic trip to the U.S. and Cuba. He will land in Havana later this afternoon. He's expected to give a speech alongside Cuban President Raul Castro. Tuesday is when he heads to Washington, the first of three cities that he will visit during his first-ever trip to the United States. I want to give you a live picture here from Havana where people are

setting up and getting ready for the Pope's visit. Again, this is such a historic visit for them. And they want to hear a lot of things from this Pope. They want to hear about not only the relations between U.S. at Cuba but about freedom of religion and about a lot of questions they have, actually, wondering whether the Pope will meet with victims of sex abuse there within the church.

So let's go to Patrick Oppmann. He is live for us in Havana. And I am wondering what you have heard from the people there so far about this imminent visit now, Patrick?

PATRICK OPPMANN: There is a lot of excitement. As you can hear in Revolution Square, they are getting ready. They are testing out the sound system. They want everything finely tuned for what will be a major event, probably the biggest of this year, hundreds of thousands pouring in from around the country to join the Pope.

I want to talk a little bit more about what's going to happen today. You will have President Raul Castro greeting the Pope at the airport a little after 4:00 eastern when the Pope touches down for his first visit every in Cuba. And then the Pope will really come, and it's been a very long journey. We expect him to rest in essentially what is the Vatican's embassy in Havana.

The next morning, tomorrow morning, he will come to Revolution Square and hold a mass, and really it's just a succession of events until Tuesday when he makes history once again by becomes the first Pope to fly from Cuba to the United States and to pick up the rest of his trip in the U.S. then.

PAUL: We know that the Pope's trip is not without controversy. We understand the Vatican is reportedly upset with the White House guest list for his visit. Do you know anything about that?

[10:35:08] OPPMANN: I'm sorry, I don't. We have not heard anything about that here in Cuba.

PAUL: OK, Patrick Oppmann, we appreciate it so much. Thank you for being with us.

Let's talk to somebody else here in the United States who is watching this trip very closely. It is Ricardo Herrero. He is the director of Cuba Now and the son of Cuban immigrants. Ricardo, thank you so much for being with us. Since you're here in the U.S., your heritage, obviously, in Cuba, what do you want to hear most from the Pope, first and foremost?

RICARDO HERRERO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR #CUBANOW: What I want to hear from the Pope first and foremost is a message of reconciliation, of reunification, of how we can work together as both Americans and Cubans but also the Cuban-American community and our counterparts on the island so we are building a better future for the Cuban people.

His visit could not have come at a better time. The Pope helped broker the restoring of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, but at the same time it happens at a time where there are profound changes taking place in Cuban society and also in its relationship with the diaspora. You have more Cuban-Americans now traveling to Cuba and reconnecting with their families and with their communities than you have had in the previous 50 years. More Cuban- Americans are seeing the value of engagement with Cuba and how it does more to help empower the Cuban people than 50 years of sanctions.

And so by him showing up and delivering this message that we are all in it together and we should work together towards building a better future, it just reinforces a lot of these processes that are already taking place.

PAUL: We know that he is going to be alongside President Raul Castro. We also know that he is planning, its' not officially on his itinerary, but he is planning to meet with Fidel Castro as well. Do you think this Pope has significant influence over the leadership there or at least some sort of ability to get through to them and have any substantial change actually materialize?

HERRERO: I mean, I think we have already seen some of that. He did, as I mentioned earlier, help broker this restoring of relations between the United States and Cuba. We also saw that when President Raul Castro met with Pope Francis earlier this year, he, himself, said that if the Pope keeps it up, Raul might start going to church and praying again.

At the same time, you have to remember Raul and his brother, Fidel, come from a Catholic family. They went to a Jesuit school. The Pope is Jesuit. And we believe that because of that, the fact that he is not only a Spanish-speaking Pope but he's also a Jesuit Pope, that his message is going to resonate within the leadership more so than a typical statesman visiting the island.

PAUL: Back here in the U.S., there is a Gallup poll that finds declining popularity for Pope Francis here in America. What do you say to that? Does that surprise you? What do you say to his influence possibly here?

HERRERO: It seems his influence here is great. He has now released an encyclical on climate change and inequality, two topics that are very politically charged in the United States. So it doesn't surprise that now his message is falling within the larger political debate on these issues and thus creating perhaps greater resistance to the Pope among certain sectors than normal.

But that goes to show just how impactful he is. He is talking about issues that are very timely and very pressing and that we should be discussing, and that makes certain people very uncomfortable. And I hope he continues to do that.

PAUL: Ricardo Herrero, we appreciate it so much. Thanks for being with us.

HERRERO: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: A lot of political news happening right now, including Donald Trump defending himself after not correcting a supporter who called President Obama a Muslim who was not born in America. And Republicans in the House pushed through a bill to block funding for Planned Parenthood. Can this appease conservatives and prevent a government shutdown?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump now defending how he handled one of his supporters claiming President Obama is Muslim. Trump is tweeting up a storm about this controversy. Here is one of the tweets, "Am I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him? I don't think so." He follows up with this, "This is the first time in my life that I have caused controversy by not saying something."

Several candidates, which include Senator Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Senator Rand Paul, they're scheduled to speak at an event in Michigan. No doubt they will have to address these tweets today. Either they offer a response or a comment or someone asks, there will be questions about it.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joins us now from Mackinac Island, Michigan. And the reaction is coming in quickly.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, Victor, first and foremost from the Democratic candidates. We have heard first from Democratic candidate Martin O'Malley, governor of Maryland, who responded to these series of tweets that Donald Trump sent out this morning, really breaking his silence and defending himself and the way he handled that moment in New Hampshire. Here is what martin O'Malley said just moments ago in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'MALLEY: I think any of us in the public arena, especially for the most important office of the presidency of the United States, have an obligation to correct errors and hateful things when people say them. I mean, it certainly was a different reaction that Donald Trump than somebody like John McCain gave when a person wrongly maligns people of the Muslim faith or tries to mischaracterize the president's faith. So I'll leave that to Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Back here in Michigan the Republican conference is a three day gathering, sort of a cattle call of sorts for many of the Republican candidates.

[10:45:04] This certainly has been the elephant in the room, addressing these comments of Donald Trump and how he handled it in New Hampshire. But we did hear from one of the candidates already, Jeb Bush, who addressed this conference last night. He alluded to the controversy over this, deviating from his stump speech. Here is what Jeb Bush said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEB BUSH, (R) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Barack Obama is a talented man. And, by the way, he is an American. He is a Christian. His problem isn't the fact that he was born here or what his faith is. His problem is he is a progressive liberal that tears down anybody that disagrees with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now, here at this conference we will hear from many of the Republican candidates. Senator Ted Cruz, who just arrived on the island, he is visiting a school and he will come here to speak. But interestingly enough, yesterday he really deflected any sort or part of this controversy. He said he is not going to condemn Donald Trump. He set it on the media for stirring up this controversy. Later today we will also hear from John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, and Senator Rand Paul, all of whom we have not heard their take, Victor. So it will be very interesting to see how they handle it in front of these party activists. Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Sunlen, we look for those responses. Thank you so much.

And a reminder that we are waiting for Hillary Clinton to take the podium in New Hampshire. We will bring it to you as soon as it begins.

PAUL: Republicans drive a bill through the House that would block funding for Planned Parenthood. Could the move need to another government shutdown?

Also researchers made a surprising, disturbing find about brain injuries in NFL players. We are going to talk to a former player who is worried about what this discovery means for him. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Republicans in the House pushed through a bill that would end funding for Planned Parenthood. The vote was split right down party lines.

[10:50:00] BLACKWELL: Yes, but Manu Raju reports the GOP leaders now have to figure out a way to appease conservatives while avoiding a politically risky government shutdown.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: The House passed a bill Friday aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood. Of course, that is the women's rights organization that provides abortion services and also receives about $500 million worth of annual funding. And Conservatives for years have been trying to get rid of funding for this organization.

Now, in light of controversial and edited videos showing Planned Parenthood official discussing the sale of aborted fetal parts, this has caused conservatives and Republicans to push even harder this time around to defund this organization. Now, the problem is that the Democrats and President Obama will never

sign a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. So the Republican leaders on Friday tried to separate out the Planned Parenthood fight from a measure that must be passed at the end of the month to keep the government open.

Now, the big question remaining in the last days before September 30th is how will John Boehner, the House speaker, and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, figure out how to keep the government open and keep funding for Planned Parenthood intact. They do not have a final plan yet in how they are going to do that.

And hovering over all of this is John Boehner's future as speaker. Conservatives are demanding that he take a much harder line on Planned Parenthood. And if he does not, they are going to try to oust him for the speakership. Back to you.

PAUL: Thanks so much, Manu. The Senate, by the way, is not expected to act on that legislation but it is scheduled to vote on a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

This one was surprising. It is a harsh reality for former NFL players. They could be living with the effects of a debilitating brain injury. Here's the problem. It can't be diagnosed until after death. We are going to talk to one Super Bowl winner who believes that he could be one of many players suffering from CTE.

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[10:55:54] PAUL: Researchers have found evidence of a brain disease linked to repeated head trauma and concussions. They found this in 87 of the 91 brains donated to science from former NFL players. That report comes from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Boston University and the disease is known as CTE. It can only be diagnosed posthumously, after death. CNN sports anchor Cory Wire has been talking about this with a former player who is obviously worried, Coy, about what it could mean to him.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Yes, thanks, Christi. Tom Crabtree is joining us now, Green Bay Packer tight end, spent six years in the league, won a Super Bowl title with the Packers. As Christi mentioned, Tom, 87 out of 91 ex-NFL players found to have the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy. You were quick to respond on Twitter. How do you feel now that you've had some time to digest that news?

TOM CRABTREE, FORMER TIGHT END, GREEN BAY PACKERS: You know, it's still pretty scary. We have been hearing a lot about the CTE studies lately and didn't really have a whole lot to go on as far as hard numbers. And when I saw those numbers, it was just really shocking. And it really made me take pause and kind of, you know, like I tweeted out yesterday, based on that study there is a pretty good chance myself and a lot of other players walking around doing fine today have CTE.

WIRE: I remember when I played, Tom, I got a concussion, and the strength coach got really mad at me when I told him I didn't yet feel well enough to get back on the field. I felt groggy. My head hurt. I passed the computer test, though. But he was mad I said I wasn't able to get back out there. Did you ever experience a concussion? And also how were you treated and how did you respond when you had one?

CRABTREE: You know, I think I was fortunate enough not to have many diagnosed. I had one in college that I missed some time for, and kind of the same response from coaches and teammates. And everybody kind of treats concussions the same way, or at least they have until these studies have come out. It's not looked at as a real injury, and you are kind of looked down on if you miss time with a concussion or if you complain about it.

WIRE: I spoke to Adrian Coxson, a former Green Bay Packer who was just recently forced out of a game with a grade three concussion, and he said he was appalled by the culture of concussions that still exists in the NFL. He said he saw a player get hit hard, got up with wobbly knees, and no one said a word to him. Did you ever experience anything like that in the game where maybe, as you mentioned, the concussions weren't treated that seriously?

CRABTREE: Yes. It happens all the time, practice, games. If you sit and watch games this weekend, whether it is college or NFL, you will see a guy make a big hit or take a hit himself and walk to the wrong huddle or stumble to the sidelines, and he will be in that game at some point later in the game. He will still get in there and play.

WIRE: Strong words from a guy who was just in the league last year. You just retired. Tom, how much education did you get about concussions from the league while you were playing?

CRABTREE: Not much, if anything at all. You know going into the league, you can get a concussion. That's a possibility. But what does that mean? No one really knows. No one told you. Now that we are finding it can lead to serious problems down the road in life and it is linked to an actual disease now, it's pretty alarming.

WIRE: Tom Crabtree, we wish you well in this next chapter of your life. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.

CRABTREE: Thank you for having me.

PAUL: Coy, thanks so much. Great conversation there.

And we want to thank you for watching as well. We hope you make good memories today.

BLACKWELL: Yes. There's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom. We turn it over to Jim Sciutto for the next hour of Newsroom in D.C. Hey, Jim.

PAUL: Good morning.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. We've got a lot of politics news today on the Democratic side, the vice president. You've got Donald Trump reacting in that tiny little matter of Pope Francis arriving in Cuba today. Just a small little story there.

[11:00:00] BLACKWELL: A few things going on.

SCIUTTO: Exactly. Well, good to have you on, and it's nice to be here. It's 11:00 on the east coast. I'm Jim Sciutto in today for Fredricka Whitfield.