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Pope Francis Arrives in United States From Cuba. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 22, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:00] JEFFREY ROBINSON, AUTHOR, STANDING NEXT TO HISTORY: That Pope mobile would not be open, which says to me there are other forces at work here. Of course, the Vatican wants him accessible. The arch diocese of Washington in Philadelphia and New York want him accessible. But I fear that the secret service is not totally in- charge because they are no longer a treasury. They didn't have to ask anybody's permission to do anything when they are part of the treasury. Now part of homeland security, there may be too many cooks in the kitchen.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Do you want to respond to that at all?

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that, look, I think the secret service is a very effective agency. They have had some problems in the last couple years, disciplinary problems, also some protection problems because some of the agents have been drunk at times. At the same time, they do their job well and they have a plan here. The New York City police department is involved in this, the D.C. police department, the military, counterintelligence, we have the best security in the world here. I don't think there's any question about that. But there's always risks. And it's a part of this story, but let's not overestimate it either and sort of sit here and speculate about inviting danger.

BALDWIN: No. No one is talking about inviting danger. I want to sit here five days from now and say everything went absolutely smoothly. And what just an incredible, incredible visit to be witnessing here whether you live in any of these cities or not.

Gentlemen, thank you so much. Standby.

We are getting some new information as we're anticipating the arrival of Pope Francis there at Andrews in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The stairs are set. The red carpet is rolled up, ready to be unfurled any minute now here as the plane lands from Cuba. New information on the plane. We'll share that with you when our special live coverage here on CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:06] BALDWIN: Coming in, live pictures here in Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. We are now hearing officially from White House pool that President Obama has now arrived ahead of Pope Francis. We know that the president will be greeting him. They are on the tarmac along with the first lady, vice president Joe Biden there as well. But we do have some new information as it pertains to the papal plane.

Let's go to our aviation correspondent Rene Marsh with a little bit of news as far as - so this plane, according to a Web site tracking all these flights, it's been circling for a bit.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Right, Brooke. So we saw it in real time doing about two loops. At one point it made a U-turn and did that for quite some time. And so, the question was what was happening. And it turns out, it looks like the reason for that was simply because it was just plainly speaking ahead of schedule. It was looking like it was going to land a good 45 minutes too early, so they were killing a bit of time out in the air above I think it was in the Carolinas or some portion of Virginia and making those loops. But now we know that this aircraft, Al-Italia commercial airliner is making its approach there at Andrews Air Force Base as we speak.

BALDWIN: And we know our own Rosa Flores, who was personally blessed by the Pope ahead of arriving on Cuba. She is on the plane. We'll hear from her and get a little color from this - from the travels from Cuba now to Washington.

Tell me more about - so once he lands in Washington and we know then, he is on to New York and then on to Philadelphia. How will he be traveling from city to city?

MARSH: Well, he's traveling commercial once again. We do know - yes, he is flying commercial just like you and I would fly on a commercial flight. We have some details. We know it's an American airlines flight. That's a Boeing 777. That's the specific aircraft he will be flying once he's within the United States. Of course, he's arriving on Al-Italia flight, but when he leaves D.C. and travels to New York as well as to Philadelphia and then back to Rome, he will be flying on an American airlines Boeing 777. We know they just today an airline official telling me that they placed that papal seal right on the side of the aircraft. That's about the only modification that will be made to this aircraft.

We also know that the FAA approved for this aircraft to have the official call sign Shepard One. So when air traffic control is speaking to the American airlines captain who will be flying the Pope, they will refer to this aircraft as Shepard One. That is the official name.

So again, American airlines, they are the ones that's going to be -- they are the carrier, I should say, that will be taking the Pope from point to point within the United States -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Renee, thank you very much. We have Jim Sciutto. He is our CNN chief national security correspondent there at Andrews.

So we now know, Jim, the president is there. He drove, right, the president took about 35 minutes for him to get there to Andrews. And now, we're just minutes away from the Pope's arrival.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The president's motorcade arrived just a few minutes ago. We see the Pope's own motorcade that they cued up for him staging over here. Everyone poised. You have the red carpet poised here to be rolled out. You have the honor guard lined - under guard lined up over here ready to welcome. You have the crowd welcome. They were just saying prayers as well. The high school band the lost song they played was "Happy." And I think that that captures the mood here. Certainly among the young people as well as the elderly. You have some former government officials here as well, part of the crowd of several hundred people.

A lot of anticipation, no question. A lot of preparation went into this. And this just a small taste of the kind of crowds that the Pope is going to be greeted with here. Some few hundred here. But keep in mind, as we get into the next few days, the mass he will be giving, the address before Congress as he travels through central park, we're talking about hundreds of thousands in those venues. This just a small sample of the welcome he's going to receive as he comes to the U.S. for the first time, as you noted many times, Brooke, in his life.

[15:40:15] BALDWIN: The Pope extraordinarily well read, well briefed. Would he recognize a tune by Pharrell there? We go, Jim Sciutto. That's the question. Standby for me.

Special coverage of the Pope's historic trip here to the United States continues right after this quick break. Minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:04] JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to our viewers around the U.S. and throughout the globe. Welcome to "the LEAD." I'm Jake Tapper.

The national lead right now, in any minute a plane carrying one of the most influential leaders in the world will touch down at Joint Base Andrews right outside Washington, D.C. and the pontiff is Holiness, Pope Francis will take his first ever steps on U.S. soil.

While in Washington, D.C., the emissary of God here on earth for Catholics will deliver a message to a joint meeting of Congress. But as the world waits anxiously for the Pope's message, many others have long been focusing on keeping the pontiff safe here in the United States.

The Pope's trip has been deemed a national security special event by the department of homeland security. We are going to be covering all angles o of this historic visit. He's only the fourth Pope to ever visit the United States.

Our team of reporters is with his holiness every step of the way on this journey. On the papal plane, at the White House, on Capitol Hill and all over Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia.

But let's start at Andrews Air Base and CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto.

Jim, we're expecting his holiness to touch down at any moment. Who is there waiting with you right now with you? SCIUTTO: That's right, Jake. In fact, we have just been told to

expect him to touch down in ten minutes time. I'll tell you who is waiting here. We have just seen the honor guard line up behind me here around the red carpet, which has yet to be rolled out. To my left we have the Pope's own motorcade staged ready to take him to downtown D.C. We have a crowd of several hundred people here, most of them young people, kids from mostly local catholic schools. We have a high school band that's been practicing everything from "Happy" to some religious songs. They have been praying as well. And then behind the scenes, Jake, as you referenced the security, a cast of thousands, literally, for is what an unprecedented security operation. One of the biggest security operations in the country's history. They are calling this a national security special event.

Affording this Pope the security that they might afford the president himself. And of course, the president himself is here. He arrived a number of minutes ago. And in something we have never seen before, the president and vice president both here together to welcome a world leader, to welcome the Pope. Presidents have welcomed the Pope before. George W. Bush was here for Pope Benedict but never before a president and vice president together.

TAPPER: Jim, I'm just going to interrupt for one second because we're looking at a live picture of the plane, which is the FAA has called Shepard One. That's the name of it. It's quite an exciting moment, Jim, as you were just discussing.

SCIUTTO: No question, we can say it.

TAPPER: What are some of the gifts people there have brought?

SCIUTTO: Well, I tell you one. I was tweeted a message from an Argentinean here, an Argentinean-American who brought him a cup of his favorite (INAUDIBLE) tea. It's a South American tea. You might have tried it before that he's been seen drinking in public whether she will get a chance to present it to him. That's a question and that's a challenge as well for secret service because people like to bring him gifts. And sometimes they throw the gifts at him. Obviously, a challenge if you're a secret service agent. You see someone throwing something at the Pope. But that's one of the many challenges because this is his style. He wants to connect. He's said that don't do these trips, in his words, unless you can have a human connection, a human communication. And that's the challenge for security services. They want to keep him safe, but they also want to allow him to do what he's known to do, what he is identified by doing. And that's connect with real people, connect with them closely. It's going to be a challenge not just here at Andrews Air Force base, but all the stops he makes during his trip here, Jake. And I can see the plane coming probably a couple hundred feet off the ground now. As it approaches, this Al-Italia jet and you hear the crowd go quiet here as they look and direct their iPhones to capture pictures of this as he touches down.

TAPPER: Only the fourth ever visit to the United States by a Pope. We do recall, of course, when Pope Benedict was met at the same base, Joint Base Andrews, in I believe it was 2008 by then President George W. Bush. President Obama will be there today with his family along with the vice president, vice president Biden, the first catholic to be vice president in history. So I'm sure he was in particular excited to come. We know that President Obama will be there with his wife, the first lady as well as their daughters, Shasha and Malia. And his mother-in-law, Mary Ann Robinson. Vice president Biden will be there with his wife and two of their granddaughters as well as a host of dignitaries and officials with the Catholic Church.

Looks like a crown that is very excited, Jim Sciutto.

SCIUTTO: No question. They've been praying. They've been singing songs. There was a moment earlier that we noticed. They had put out banners along the fence in front of them, saying things like Jesus loves you with pictures of the Pope. But we noticed that those banners were taken down. We're told the reason is, this is a government event. It is an official government event. So to have public religious demonstration, even with a visit to the Pope, welcomed by the president, that public demonstration, apparently too much. They took those signs down. But it hasn't kept the people from singing, the kids singings. You can hear them chanting now as well.

[15:50:31] TAPPER: You are listening to them chanting right now. What are they chanting, Jim?

SCIUTTO: I have to tell you, it was drowned out a bit. Earlier they were saying "hey, hey, Pope Francis is on the way." Jake, we are seeing now and you are going to see this in your frame soon, a string of religious leaders in their purple sashes and black robes coming out among the party greeting --

TAPPER: All right, Jim Sciutto.

SCIUTTO: -- at front of the line the archbishop.

TAPPER: Jim Sciutto, standby. I want to bring Father Thomas Rosica. He is the English language media attache for the Vatican.

Father, thank you so much for joining me. You know this Pope very, very well as he steps foot on American soil for the first time, only the fourth Pope to do this. What do you think is going through his mind?

FATHER THOMAS ROSICA, HOLY SEA PRESS OFFICE: I think there's great excitement. He's never been to the United States. So today is the first, many, many firsts. This grandiose reception that is being offered to him, all of America's represented here, large media corps, these kids screaming in the background. But what you see here is reflective of what's going on across the country, across the world, because a man of peace is in our midst today. A man of hope. Somebody who is loved not only by the Catholic Church but by people of goodwill around the worm. And it is a great privilege to be here. This is really a moment of history that we're watching. And the American government putting on this royal welcome, both the president and vice president, members of the government representatives of the bishops conference and of course Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington who is host of this part of the visit. TAPPER: Some of the officials there you just mentioned, Cardinal

Donald Wuerl of the Washington archdiocese. There is also Archbishop Joseph Kurtz who is president of the United States conference of Catholic Bishop, Cardinal Daniel Donardo, vice president of the same group, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the archbishop emeritus of the Washington archdiocese and archbishop Timothy Brolio of the military archdioceses.

ROSICA: They are all here. And they are here to welcome the great pastor from Rome, their brother, the Pope, Vicar of Christ, the bishop of Rome, as he likes to call himself.

TAPPER: Father, as I don't need to tell you, the Pope's arriving today in a country where many say they no longer have faith, some say that if lapsed Catholics or former Catholics were their own religious sect, they'd be the second largest sect in the U.S. behind only Catholics who are observant. How does this Pope intend to use this visit to shepherd worshippers back into the flock, back into the church?

ROSICA: The Pope has one mission in this visit. It is to announce to us the gospel of joy. He wrote that wonderful apostolic excitation evangelicadium (ph). And he is her to talk about the joy of being Christian and the joy of being human and that message transcends all races, all generations, that transcends all people. Why have so many people responded to the man? Extraordinary goodness.

This morning I heard from many people, great authenticity. A revolution of normalcy. And the fact that he's entering the United States from Cuba is highly significant.

The past few days in Cuba, have been a huge dose and a jolt of hope for people who have lived very dark moments. And he raised those points with them. He brought them joy. He told the young people two nights ago, you have to dream. And if you don't dream, life becomes very difficult.

And it's very, very significant that a man who helped to broker a new relationship with Cuba is here today and coming from Cuba to bring some of the joy (INAUDIBLE) from Cuba here to the United States. Many, many people are looking forward to his visit. People that are Christian, people with no religion at all, I think it's very simple. Goodness and humanity recognize goodness and humanity. And that's what we're welcoming today in our midst.

TAPPER: Father Rosica, stay with us.

I want to bring in CNN's Rosa Flores, who is on the papal plane. She took off from Cuba with the Pope shortly before 12:30. She has now just touched down, of course, along with his holiness.

Rosa, did the Pope have anything to say while he was on the plane flying from Cuba to the United States?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): Yes, in fact, he tells a brief press conference. He allowed journalists, including myself, to ask questions. And just to give you a couple of headlines. He said that he is not a lefty. He was asked if he was a liberal, communist or even catholic pope. And he said that he is not a lefty. He said that would be a mistake for people to think that. That he's never said anything outside of the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. And that even the doctrine on economic imperialism, he said, is still following social doctrine of the church.

Now about the embargo, Jake, he's saying he's actually he is not going to mention the embargo when he addresses this U.S. Congress. He just say that he might think about bilateral, multilateral agreements, a sign of progress (INAUDIBLE). So those are the big few headlines.

He also talked about dissidents and not meeting with them and about his brief meeting with Fidel. He said they spoke about the (INAUDIBLE) and the environment, that very much interested in the environment and that they didn't speak about the past. So again, it was a brief press conference. He took about six questions and then headed back to the front of the plane -- Jake.

[15:56:15] TAPPER: Yes. Obviously, since landing, they've added the Vatican flag and the flag of the United States to the front near the nose of the Pope's plane.

Rosa Flores, this is also been a personal journey for you. We have pictures of you, images of you being blessed by his holiness, if you're watching TV you can see the top left corner of your screen. What's your interaction with him been like?

FLORES: You know, I'm very humbled, Jake, quite frankly, to have this opportunity to be able to cover Pope Francis. And of course, it's no secret, I'm catholic. So when having the opportunity to speak with the Pope and get his -- it's amazing, remarkable feeling. There is no description to it. I think that all of our team could probably identify with that experience. Having that opportunity, once in a lifetime.

I was able to go up to the front of the plane, not where he was sitting, but I asked him a question. So I asked him about dissidents. And so I had another opportunity to be, you know, close to Pope Francis. And you know, while we answers, he looked at me in the eye the entire time, and it's just a very genuine interaction, I've got to tell you. He's just very genuine. You can tell when he answers the question. You could tell that he, you know, thinks about what he's going to say and speaks from heart.

TAPPER: And what did his holiness have to say to you about the dissidents in Cuba? I know there were a lot of people in the human rights community that had hoped that the Pope would be able to meet with him. I know the Cuban government wasn't exactly helping to facilitate that. But what did he have to say?

FLORES: No. I asked him about the reports that we heard, Jake, of more than 15 dissidents being arrested outside the (INAUDIBLE). And he said that he didn't know about this, that he didn't have any understanding or learning of that happening. I asked if he were to meet with dissidents, what he would tell them. I said what would you tell them, Holy Father, if you had the opportunity to meet with them? And he said that, you know, he actually told me that I picked a Nobel Prize for hypothetical question and laughed. And then went on to say that you know, that he loves meeting with everybody and that he always wishes everyone around the world well.

He didn't quite answer my question, Jake, and thought about it for a while, and said you know, I just wish everybody well. And I love encountering with everybody, everybody that you encounter with someone, deal with someone, you're enriched by your interaction with that person.

TAPPER: All right. Rosa Flores, stay with us.

Rosa Flores, our CNN correspondent who is on the papal plane. Let's go from inside the plane to outside the plane to our national security correspondent Jim Sciutto who is there on the tarmac.

Jim, tell us what you're seeing. What is the crowd doing? What is the reaction to the exciting moment?

SCIUTTO: Well, Jake, we've got a remarkable view. Right on just a few yards away from that staircase leading up to the plane. And I tell you, as the plane pulled up, I watched the crowd here lean up against the fences that are around the grandstands here. Every one of them pushing forward with a phone or a camera in their hands to capture this moment.

You're watching now as you can see that red carpet about to roll out. It was interesting, about an hour ago, we saw them roll out the red carpet. We thought, they rolled out the red carpet. That was just a practice run.