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Trump Tax Plan Unveiled Today; President Obama to Deliver Seventh Address to U.N. General Assembly; World Leaders to Address Change and Conflict. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired September 28, 2015 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[09:30:43] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our special coverage. There you see on the left part of the screen, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general. He's addressing the U.N. General Assembly, kicking off this 70th anniversary right now. Delegates are arriving. World leaders -- almost 200 world leaders are now here in New York, including President Obama. He'll be delivering his address, a major foreign policy, national security address right at the top of the hour. We'll have extensive, live coverage. That's coming up.
Let's also get to the race for the White House. There are developments, important developments, here in the United States. The Republican presidential front runner, Donald Trump, he's unveiling his new tax plan today. A tax plan he says would set a zero rate for low income Americans. We're going to get all the information, 90 minutes or so from now, at a news conference that Trump will told here in New York City. Last night, Trump revealed some details during an interview with "60 Minutes."
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There will be a large segment of our country that will have a zero rate, a zero rate, and that's something I haven't told anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're talking about --
TRUMP: We're talking about people in the low income brackets that are supposed to be paying taxes. Many of them don't anyway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're talking about making part of the population exemption from income tax?
TRUMP: That is correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're talking about cutting corporate income taxes?
TRUMP: That is correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: All this as a new NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll reveals Trump's rival, Dr. Ben Carson, is closing in on his lead. Take a look at these new numbers. The two candidates now neck and neck with Trump at 21 percent, Carson right behind.
Let's bring in our political reporter, Sara Murray. She's watching what's going on.
It's getting close up there between Carson and Trump, Sara.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, good morning, Wolf. We'll get to that poll in one second. I just want to dig a little bit deeper into Donald Trump's tax plan first. "The Wall Street Journal" got an early look at that, so we can give you kind of their view so far on what's in it. It does have that zero percent tax rate for couples who are earning less than $50,000 a year. It also puts the top tax rate for individuals at 25 percent. Right now that top tax rate stands at around 40 percent. So that's potentially a big cut, not just for middle class families, but also for high earners. And we're also looking at a 15 percent corporate tax rate, so it would be a cut there, too. Now, the big question Donald Trump will have to answer today is how you pay for all of that stuff, so we'll be looking for a lot more of those details at the 11:00 a.m. press conference.
Now, all of this is happening, as you said, as Donald Trump is facing some of his Republican rivals actually gaining on him. That WSJ/NBC News poll does show Donald Trump in the lead at 21 percent, but he and Ben Carson are basically in a dead heat at this point. Carson is there with 20 percent. And even people like Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina, you can see there, are gaining. Both of them are at 11 percent. Just a couple months ago, Fiorina was at hash marks in this poll, so that's a particularly big jump for her.
Now, Michael Cohen, who is a special counsel to Donald Trump, was on "New Day" earlier this morning and he had this to say about Ben Carson gaining on Donald Trump.
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MICHAEL COHEN, SPECIAL COUNSEL TO DONALD TRUMP: Ben Carson, from what I understand, is a lovely guy. Just think about it this way, if Ben Carson showed up to a Fortune 500 company with the resume that he has, hmm, let's see, a neurosurgeon, great, would you let him run that company, that multibillion dollar Fortune 500 company? The answer is probably no. So how would you let him run an $18 trillion company? Where's the -- I mean he's a brilliant man, yes, he's a neurosurgeon, all the respect in the world for what he does, but it doesn't make him qualified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: You can see Cohen there making the argument that Ben Carson might be a great doctor but maybe not ready to be commander in chief. We'll see if his campaign responds to that later today.
Wolf. BLITZER: We'll have coverage of that coming up at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. Sara, thank you very much.
A quick note for our viewers. Please make sure to tune in later tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN's Erin Burnett will have a special sit down, one-on-one, with Donald Trump. Once again, that's later tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Still to come this hour, my one-on-one interview with Egypt's president. He's here at the United Nations, as well. Does he believe the United States, that President Obama is doing enough to fight ISIS?
[09:34:55] Stand by. We'll be right back.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back. I'm here with Wolf Blitzer, Christiane Amanpour, outside the U.N. headquarters.
And we're waiting for President Obama to take the podium, perhaps in about 20 minutes from now. This is always an incredibly important moment. It's almost like back to school where the president and other world leaders lay out their agendas for the next year and beyond, on issues such as climate, on the surge of poverty, on war. And especially today, everybody is keen to hear what President Putin is going to say. The first time the Russian leader will have addressed the U.N. in 10 years. And it appears that he has the upper hand when it's coming to what to do next about that terrible war in Syria.
[09:39:57] BLITZER: I think terrorism continues, Christiane. The president of Egypt is also here at the United Nations. He says extremism is his country's biggest threat right now. He says ISIS is surging and for this Egyptian leader, President el Sisi, now is the time, he says, for Egypt, indeed for the entire Middle East region, to try to come together. He spoke candidly with me about the United States' involvement and the move he says that could devastate the entire Middle East region. Listen to this.
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BLITZER: Do you believe the United States is doing enough to fight ISIS right now?
PRESIDENT ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI, EGYPT (through translator): In the war against terror, things are really complicated and very tough. If we're talking about (INAUDIBLE) forces, no one army will be able to stand against the U.S. military might. But we're talking here about terrorists. We're talking about fragmented terrorist members that are already mingling among the civilians. This presents a different nature of that counterterrorism effort that needs enormous flow of information and it needs very quick response.
BLITZER: I'm confused about what Egypt's position is as far as Syria is concerned. What do you hope happens in Syria? El-SISI: What I hope for Syria is that the statehood does not fall
completely into the hands of terrorists and extremists. I don't hope that the Syrian army collapses and then its weapons and ammunitions will be at the free play of the extremists. I don't want to see the country dismantling.
BLITZER: Do you want President Bashar al Assad to remain in power?
EL-SISI: My answer to such question, as a matter of fact, has to relate to the proposition that I have been offering. The idea is that I have my eye on the real danger. Bashar and the Syrian opposition, this is something that can be handled. It can be managed. But what cannot be handled and can really get out of hand will become very detrimental and devastating to the country is that whole country falls into the hands of these terrorist groups because this will have its direct detrimental impact on the security and stability of the whole region.
BLITZER: What is Egypt's position on the Iran nuclear deal?
EL-SISI: This is a very important question. I am with any action that would ease the tension and drive away the specter of war from this region. This region has enough problems now and for the coming years. The most important thing about the deal is that it should not have a negative impact on the Arab national security and Egypt is an integral part of this security.
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BLITZER: He was very diplomatic, Christiane, speaking about the Iran nuclear deal. He says let's hope it works, but I suspect he's not all that enthusiastic given Egypt's tense relationship with Iran right now.
AMANPOUR: Indeed. And, of course, repeating though the mantra, because on this issue of Syria, he's on Iran's side and on Russia's side and on perhaps everybody else's side. So the mantra has shifted from Assad must go, remember the president of the United States said that several years ago, to, OK, he's going to have to stay because. So this is a very important shift in dynamic.
And, you know, of course, the United States has problems with President Sisi, as well. Not exactly a Democrat. But I spoke to the deputy -- former deputy CIA director and he said, look, the west is going back to a purely security relationship with countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, because they so badly miscalculated what would happen after the Arab Spring. The vacuum was filled by al Qaeda and ISIS.
BLITZER: And he made it clear, and we're not just hearing this from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt, he said if the Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad were to go, then the Syrian military would collapse. All that military hardware could wind up in the hands of terrorists. And he specifically said that not only would endanger further Syria, but Jordan, Lebanon and he said even Israel potentially could be in danger. AMANPOUR: I think, though, even Israel knows that Assad was the
principle cause of all of this. And he has been the one to give the space to ISIS. And so many hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have fled Syria have fled Assad. That is what is the crux of the issue. But now, of course, because ISIS has got involved, they need to fight ISIS. But again, ISIS, according to most national security people who you talk to in the United States and elsewhere, will not be defeated without a ground force. Will not.
[09:45:03] BLITZER: We'll have more of the interview with President el Sisi coming up later today here on CNN account at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. I know you have more of your interview with President Rouhani coming up on your program.
AMANPOUR: We'll talk about that.
BLITZER: As well, lots of exclusives here on CNN.
Coming up, subtle no more, President Obama set to take the stage in a few moments here at the United Nations General Assembly on this, the seventh time around for President Obama. He promises to be very blunt. We see him arriving at the U.N.
Stay with us for our special coverage.
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[09:50:02] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is now my seventh year of addressing the General Assembly. I tend to be more blunt. Along with the gray hair, I'm becoming more likely to speak my mind. So, indulge me when I say that we will never achieve our goals if we do not squarely confront several insidious threats to the dignity and well-being of people around the world.
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AMANPOUR: So, get ready for some tough talk from President Obama at the United Nations.
BLITZER: The speech getting ready in only about 15 minutes or so from now. The President of the United States delivering a major, major foreign policy speech.
Christiane, let's talk a little bit, set the stage for the president.
AMANPOUR: Let's do. And we're joined by CNN's White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski and of course by our national security correspondent Jim Sciutto. What's at stake for the president? He said several major things have to be addressed. What for him is the big one today?
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Syria. Definitely. I mean, that's the core of other issues in the region as well. I mean, he wants to use this as sort of an anniversary moment to talk about modern leadership. That's what we've been told by the White House. To say modern leadership, what does that mean right now? And in his view it is all about diplomacy. So he's going to hammer that on Iran, on Syria, on the fight against ISIS even, since those are connected. But he wants to say it's about democracy, it's about nations working together, not about aggression when you confront these threats.
But he wants to talk about confrontation as well. And he wants other countries to be making real commitments and positive commitments. But, of course, Russia's new role in this has really changed the plan and changed the game. And that's kind of the wild card here, what Russia's new role is going to do to the president's view of the plan.
AMANPOUR: And, obviously, the Putin speech, which everybody is eager to hear. It's almost even more exciting than President Obama's speech, because he's expected to lay down the vision for Syria. And how will the U.S. deal with that? Because when it comes to diplomacy, people are saying that actually Putin has yet again outflanked the United States.
KOSINSKI: Right, and I think what's interesting is the White House has been saying, you know, we want to sit down with Putin now and get some clarity. Find out what exactly what Putin's intent is, not only in Syria now with what he's planning, but in Ukraine. Because that's something that hasn't been talked about face to face either.
But Putin in his last interview last night said there is no mystery here. Here's what I want to do. Other nations, including Russia, are going to back up Assad because that's the legitimate government and that's the way you fight ISIS.
So that is in direct odds with President Obama's view of how to get at this problem. What's interesting is, they have the same goal, to defeat ISIS, but they see the cause and how you get at that so differently that there's a lot of room for big problems here. As the White House described it, this is a dangerous game Russia could be playing.
BLITZER: As important as the president's speech will be, President Putin's speech, President Rouhani of Iran, his speech will be -- all these world leaders are here. What happens on the sidelines, as they say, these private one-on-one exchanges could be critical.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You have so many --
BLITZER: By the way, President Rouhani arriving here at the United Nations just moments ago.
SCIUTTO: You have so many key crises facing the world to be confronted here, because they have to be confronted. Certainly Syria, but you also have Ukraine. The president with his message of diplomacy, as he said there, he's going to bluntly push for that. And he can talk about his successes on Iran and Cuba, but there are issues, Ukraine and Syria, where diplomacy frankly hasn't worked through years. You'l have a new effort with Russia involved, but while they have shared interests in Syria, they also have interests in conflict in Syria as well.
So he's going to have to present a vision, they're all going to have to present a vision to get over those differences, to see how diplomacy can work in the places where, frankly, after years of trying, it hasn't worked. Ukraine, the war, getting no better. Crimea, no one is even talking about Crimea anymore. And Syria, the bloodshed continues. So they're going to have to present a vision that's practical and credible.
BLITZER: We're going to check in with Richard Roth, our longtime U.N. correspondent, momentarily.
Let's take a quick break as we await the President of the United States here at the United Nations getting ready to deliver a major address. Much more of our special coverage right after this.
[09:54:27]
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BLITZER: Good morning and welcome to our special coverage from here in New York at the United Nations. I'm Wolf Blitzer.
AMANPOUR: And I'm Christiane Amanpour, and we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. The President of the U.S. is expected to speak shortly. And at any moment he'll stand before the U.N. General Assembly and deliver a speech that he says will be more blunt than others he's delivered on this world stage in the past.
BLITZER: He'll be followed by many of the most powerful and controversial leaders in the world. Each will push their own agenda but all will address change and conflict that's unfolding dramatically around the world right now.
We have our White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski, our national correspondent Jim Sciutto, and our U.N. Richard Roth. Richard, the president of Brazil opening up this 70th Anniversary General Assembly event right now as we speak. Brazil, I take it, always goes first. Is that right?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Over 60 years ago, what happened is they didn't know who should speak first when they decided to have these speeches, and Brazil volunteered. And there you go. And then the U.S., as the host country, follows second. President Obama, we're still waiting for his arrival here. I think they usually time this out so that he doesn't stand and wait backstage.
This is the U.N.'s 70th Anniversary. It is amazing to see this cavalcade of international diplomats and leaders walk in, in the last hour and a half.
[10:00:02] I don't want to get too cozy about it, considering the amount of death and destruction going on in the world. Sort of like the Diplomatic Oscars.
