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Republican Speaker John Boehner resigns; Pope Francis is in New York City. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 25, 2015 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: And you've always considered Rubio the major threat to a Democratic president in this election, maybe the most serious Republican candidate? Is that right?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely. And you remember even a year ago, Wolf, we were talking. I said the one guy I'm afraid of is Marco Rubio. I have said it over and over and over again. He's the toughest person to us to beat because he's the opposite of our front-runner in every way. He is younger, he represents a different perspective, he is a person of color, all those great strengths. And they are starting to show themselves.

I think Trump sees that. Trump - look, you put Trump next to Rubio, Rubio looks pretty good. I hope somehow that somebody can stop Rubio. I'm not worried about Trump. I'm worried about Rubio.

BLITZER: Doug, do you think Trump's tactic of attacking his opponents will eventually backfire on him?

DOUG HEYE, FORMER DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, MAJORITY LEADER ERIC CANTOR: Absolutely. What an (INAUDIBLE) quote from Donald Trump. If you believe in something, you have to be true to yourself. The only truism that we have seen from Donald Trump in this campaign is he is insulting everybody, whether it is name calling with Lindsey Graham or his cell phone number, going after Carly Fiorina's face, the latest comment about Marco Rubio.

The reason for that is he doesn't have real answers and real solutions on issues. We certainly saw that in the CNN debate recently where we saw that he didn't have answers on key issues of foreign policy. He didn't have answers on domestic policies. He didn't have answers on anything. And what we see is not only does the emperor not have any clothes, but he doesn't have any answers on specific policies. And ultimately, that's going to be his down fall.

BLITZER: I want you to listen, A.B., to this Jeb Bush comment made during a town hall in South Carolina. He was responding to a question about how the Republican Party could win African-American votes. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our message is one of hope and aspiration. It isn't one of division and get in line. We'll take care of you with free stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I will be reading that also because the audio was not great. Our message is one of hope and aspiration, it isn't one of division and get in line. We'll take care of you with free stuff. What do you make of that?

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, THE HILL: Well, Jeb is usually a little more articulate than that. I think when he talks about the right to rise and the importance of opportunity and a good education that anyone in this country given those two things can rise, he sounds great. I think this is going to be a campaign commercial the Democrats are going to make where he says that Jeb Bush thinks African-American voters just want free stuff and I think that is going to hurt him.

BLITZER: Do you think it's going to hurt him, Van?

JONES: Absolutely. You know, that is exactly the opposite of the whole kind of compassion and conservative outreach strategy that he was trying to put out for himself. It shows his interview, which, of course, a lot of Republicans do have, which is that, you know, African-Americans are somehow welfare addicts. I think it is very, very bad for him.

But frankly, I think today is a bad day for the Republican Party. Even the values summit that you saw everybody at, that organization has a terrible reputation for anti-gay, anti-lesbian rhetoric. I mean, you have a Republican Party today insulting black people, going to forums that insult lesbians and gays. And you can't even keep a hard core right winger Boehner in office because he's too liberal. This Republican Party I think is beginning to develop a series of problems which will hurt them in 2016.

BLITZER: A.B. Stoddard, very quickly - excuse me, Doug Heye, quickly, wrap this up.

HEYE: Well, I think it's a bad day for the Republican Party because we have lost somebody so committed to conservative solutions for this had country in John Boehner. But note how he handled this tough moment for him with class and with grace. And you know, we are going to miss him in the house. But he's been a great fighter for the American people. And God bless him for it.

BLITZER: Dough Heye, Van Jones, A.B. Stoddard, guys, thanks all very much.

In just three weeks, CNN and Facebook will host the first Democratic presidential candidates' debate. Tuesday, October 13th, in Las Vegas.

Up next, it was an image that grabbed a lot of people's attention. A little girl plucked out of the crowds and kissed by the Pope. That moment reminiscence of a similar scene nearly 40 years ago when Pope John Paul II visited the United States. How the Pope changed a little girl's life. That's coming up. And very soon Pope Francis will depart for his visits up to east

Harlem and Central Park where the crowds right now, take a look at this. Those crowds are building.

This is CNN's special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:43] BLITZER: Of the thousands who have seen or waved at the Pope, a few lucky ones have been able to captured extra moments like this had 17-year-old girl from Westchester, New York, who received a kiss on the fore head. That bless of encountered brings to mind another one from merely 40 years ago. It became a legendary papal moment and it happened in Madison Square Garden where Francis will lead mass hours from now.

Here's CNN's Jean Casarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The little girl in red, in 1979, she captured the heart of the country and Pope John Paul II during his visit to New York City's Madison Square Garden for the youth rally. And from that moment on, the life of the 6-year-old Geralyn Smith was changed forever.

It was a difficult time for the family. The children's father, a member of the elite division of the NYPD that guarded the likes of heads of state and New York's cardinal, had suddenly died the previous year.

NORA SMITH, MOTHER: It was the night before I got a call from the member of the police department that they secured four tickets.

[14:40:00] CASAREZ: That day Geralyn just happened to wear red and white, the colors of Poland, the Pope's native country. Geralyn's sister, 16 at that time, remembers the energy when they got to Madison Square Garden.

NOREEN CUMMINGS, SISTER: Electrifying, inspirational. Everything about it, they had to try and calm, you know, the crowd down so he could even speak. That's how people were chanting. John Paul, John Paul, John Paul.

CASAREZ: The family had had seats close to the front. All of a sudden a man came up to Geralyn's mother.

SMITH: He asked if she'd go down to the railing with him. And I was about to say I'm sorry when she had his hand. And she went off.

CASAREZ: Now the little girl was very close to Pope John Paul who was entering the garden in his pope mobile.

GERALYN SMITH, MET POPE JOHN PAUL II: I did see him wave. I had no idea it was towards me. The guard that asked me to come down and stand with him was lifting me over the railing. He lifted me on top of the Pope mobile and had ahold of my lower legs and was kind of rocking to the music with him. There was a light around him. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. His smile was amazing and his eyes were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

CASAREZ: Geralyn was taken back to her family as the mass began.

N. SMITH: She was lie mesmerized. And then when the rally was over, a number of people came over. They just wanted to touch her.

CASAREZ: Geralyn's interaction with the Pope strengthened the family whose faith had been shaken after their father's death.

G. SMITH: I think we all believed he was there that day and then in some way he was always going to be with us. This moment kind of solidified that for us. And it helped us to bond as a family even without him. And for me personally, this gave me some confidence back that I'm not sure I would have had if not for this moment.

CASAREZ: Geralyn received a rosary from the Vatican after that day as well as letters from people around the world. Seventeen years later in 1995, Pope John Paul II came back to New York City. The little girl in red now all grown up saw him again.

G. SMITH: I guess I learn to appreciate it, you know more. It really did affect my life.

CASAREZ: And in the decades that followed, people continue to remember the little girl in red.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Jean has an update for us. She's with us right now. Great update to this story, Jean.

CASAREZ: Geralyn and her mother have been invited to the mass today at Madison Square Garden and they will be there. And I asked her if another little girl or boy becomes that person that's lifted on the Pope mobile, what's your advice? And she said you're blessed forever and your life is changed forever.

She found out after that that Pope John Paul II kept a picture of she and him on his desk at the Vatican in Rome. And she didn't realize that it meant so much to the Pope, but these things mean something to them also.

BLITZER: Such a beautiful, beautiful story. We'll look forward to see what happens tonight. Thank you for sharing it to all of us.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BLITZER: Jean Casarez, thank you.

Much more on the breaking news we're following. The stunning announcement up on Capitol Hill. The house speaker John Boehner abruptly resigning from Congress. You are going to hear his reasons. I'll speak with one of President Obama's former advisers who dealt with him directly.

And we're getting word the crowds right now are so big in central park. Thousands are still waiting to get in to see the Pope. We are going to take you there.

Stay with us. You're watching CNN special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:06] BLITZER: Let's get back for the shocking announcement out of Washington, D.C. The speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, will step down at the end of October.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Just yesterday we witnessed the awesome sight of Pope Francis addressing the greatest legislative body in the world. And I hope that we will all heed his call to live by the golden rule.

And then last night I started thinking about this and this morning I woke up. And I said my prayers, as I always do, and I decided, you know, today I'm going to do this. As simple as that. That's the code I've always lived by. If you do the right thing for the right reasons, the right thing will happen.

As the Pope and I were getting ready to exit the building, we found ourselves alone. And the Pope grabbed my left arm and said some very kind words to me about my commitment to kids and education. And he puts his arm around me and pulls me to him and says, please pray for me. Well, who am I to pray for the Pope, but I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's bring in David Axelrod, our CNN senior political commentator and former senior adviser to President Obama.

David, you worked very closely with the speaker when you were in the White House. You must have been stunned by this news.

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR COMMENTATOR: I was stunned. You know, there have been rumors circulating that the right wing of his caucus would make a move on him, but there was no signal that anything was eminent in terms of his own decision to stay on.

But you know, Wolf, this exposes a fault line within the Republican Party between governing conservatives and the no government conservatives. And what Charlie Dent, a more moderate Republican, called today, the rejectionist group within the caucus that doesn't want any compromise. And this was increasingly difficult for John Boehner and clearly he had had enough.

[14:50:20] BLITZER: Peter King, the moderate Republican from New York told our Dana Bash that quote "crazies pushed Boehner out." You think that's - you agree with him? AXELROD: Well, clearly, I think that that is largely what happened.

Every time the speaker who talked today about the need to find common ground tried to work with people across the aisle, tried to work with the White House, he ran into a raging minority within the house caucus.

You know, they always say that being speaker of the House is like herding cats except these cats have long fangs. And they were biting. And they were often biting him. And you know, there's a limit to what you can tolerate. But it does have implications for the future because you actually have to run a government. You need to find common ground.

But the president and speaker spoke today of the need to find compromise, to find common ground. These folks don't actually believe it and it's going to make it more difficult to get things done or potentially more difficult to get things done in the coming months and years.

BLITZER: David, listen to Republican senator, the Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz. He's suggesting that Boehner stepping down to cut a deal with minority leader Nancy Pelosi. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The early reports are discouraging if it is correct that the speaker before he resigns has cut a deal with Nancy Pelosi to fund the Obama administration for the rest of his tenure. To fund Obamacare, amnesty, Planned Parenthood, this Iran deal and then presumably to land a (INAUDIBLE) job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That's where the lobbyists in Washington hang out. What's your response to that, David?

AXELROD: Well, clearly I said before there's a fault line in the Republican Party. Ted Cruz is on the other side of that fault line. He's running for president. He's making a strong appeal to the hard right and party and social conservatives. The Planned Parenthood funding fight is essential to that. So I'm not surprised that he has picked up on this as an opportunity to burnish his themes. He's really a tribune for that group of the party. The question is whether the other group, the governing conservatives, have the strength to push back and control that caucus and ultimately control the nominating process.

BLITZER: Let me read to you a tweet from the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid. By ousting a good man like speaker John Boehner, someone who understood the art of compromise, the party of Eisenhower and Reagan is no more. You agree with Reid?

AXELROD: Well, I hope that's not the case for the sake of the country. And I think if I'm John Boehner, I probably would feel a little bit amused by all of these tributes. The great thing about retiring is that everybody loves you when you're leaving. I don't think all of Harry's tweets have been as kind to Boehner over the years. And there's been some real differences.

But I do believe John Boehner grew up in an era when you went into government to govern. And you might have disagreements and you try and find compromises, but the goal was to move things forward. Now you have a group of people in his caucus whose goal is to shut things down. And it's very difficult if you come from that background, from the governing conservative background to function. And Boehner today obviously he said his prayers and came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to do it.

I watched him yesterday, Wolf, is sitting behind the Pope in that very, very powerful message that the Pope delivered before Congress. And you can almost see him trying to square his responsibilities with the really, really difficult task of trying to try and bring his caucus along. And I think that must have had something to do with his contemplation that led to this decision today.

BLITZER: Yes. And Boehner did say he was going to announce his resignation on November 17th, his birthday, effective at the end of the year. But accelerated it to do it today. I guess he was inspired at least in part by what he heard from the Pope yesterday. The timing of this decision.

David, thank you very, very much.

Up next, I'll speak live with a reporter who spoke with the speaker last night. Wait until you hear what he told them.

Plus this, we're getting word the crowds right now are so big inside central park here in New York City. Thousands and thousands of people still waiting to get in to see the Pope. They will be frustrated. We're going to go there live.

You're watching CNN's special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:59:15] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar. And this is CNN's special live coverage of two major stories unfolding in America.

The first, the speaker of the House of Representatives stunning the nation by announcing he will resign next month.

The man who apparently inspired the decision Pope Francis is leaving an historic mark not only on Capitol Hill, but also here in New York.

And from world leaders at the United Nations to 9/11 first responders, the 78-year-old pontiff is reaching out to all of them. And many others in between.

And in less than an hour, he will visit the children at Our Lady Queen of Angels school in Harlem. He began today speaking to the United Nations general assembly. He then visited the ground zero memorial where he joint an incredible event, a religious solidarity, an interfaith prayer service. The Pope then walked to the museum that is dedicated to September 11th.

Here now are some highlights of the Holy Father's days so far.