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New Day Sunday
Bush Ad Ridicules Trump's Fitness To Lead; Clinton Jabs At Trump And GOP On Voting Rights; One Killed, Four Wounded In Zombicon Shooting. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired October 18, 2015 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is nobody bigger or better at the military than I am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Jeb Bush throws a political punch at Donald Trump, but does he land it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm a really smart guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Attacking Trump in a 2-minute video mocking Trump's ability to lead the U.S. military.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And Joe Biden on the stage in New York City -- his response to that.
BLACKWELL: And breaking this morning, thousands flee from Zombicon in Fort Myers, Florida. Shots are fired. One person is killed. Others are injured. NEW DAY starts now.
PAUL: It is so good to have you with us on this Sunday morning. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. We will get to that breaking story in Florida in just a moment.
PAUL: But you know, we have to start with the 2016 presidential race for the White House because it's getting a little bit dicey now. Jeb Bush has thrown a hard hitting jab with Donald Trump.
The former Florida governor has this new ad calling into question Trump's grasp of military expertise and mocking the billionaire's fitness to be commander-in-chief. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you talk to for military advice right now?
TRUMP: I watch the shows. I see a lot of great -- you know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has said publicly that he watches cable news and that is one of the ways that he bones up on our national security.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump says he, quote, always felt I was in the military, despite never serving in the military and draft deferments during Vietnam.
TRUMP: There is nobody bigger or better at the military than I am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump said Senator John McCain is not a war hero.
TRUMP: He is not a war hero. I like people who weren't captured.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump doesn't like to be question on the issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump is weak on policy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you are running for the presidency of the United States of America, the most important title is commander-in- chief. They should have a working knowledge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no excuse for him not to be prepared for these questions. Donald Trump was not able to do that so that should be concerning to voters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is causing a race toward the bottom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is delusional. Mr. Trump did not have a firm grasp of what was really going on.
TRUMP: I will be so good at the military your head will spin. Let me tell you, I am a really smart guy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right, Bush sent out that ad along with this tweet. Donald Trump's absurd comments again raise questions on whether he possesses the judgment to be president.
The latest jab in this rivalry comes after Trump suggested Bush's brother, former President George W. Bush shared in the blame potentially for the 9/11 attacks.
Now the Trump campaign has not yet responded to this latest attack, but watch Twitter. That's all I'm saying this morning.
Joining us to discuss is "The Daily Beast" columnist, Patricia Murphy. Good to have you back on this strong ad. PATRICIA MURPHY, COLUMNIST, "THE DAILY BEAST": The reason that is a strong ad is because Jeb Bush himself is not perceived by Republican voters to be especially strong on the military, so were there other attacks coming from another campaign?
I think it might be stronger, but when you look at polling, it shows three times as many Republicans trust Trump with the military than do Jeb Bush. I think from that standpoint it's not that strong. It's also a little bit too long.
And for Donald Trump, what you heard on that video is very different from what I hear on the campaign trail. People do trust him. I've talked to a number of veterans who trust him very much with the military.
So I think it's good for Jeb Bush to be getting into it with Donald Trump. I think this ad in particular is not that great. Even Jeb Bush didn't serve in the military himself, so I think it's not leaning there.
BLACKWELL: So why go after military? Why not some of the other questions people have about Donald Trump, his conservative bonafides, pro-life views, the economy, why go after the military?
MURPHY: Well, that's a great question. I think he is trying to follow up -- I think was a gaffe by Donald Trump when he questioned whether or not George Bush might have been responsible for 9/11 because he was the president on 9/11.
That felt like a serious mistake. This ad I don't think pushes it in the right direction. Go after Donald Trump. Ask who is side are you on? Are you blaming George Bush or the terrorists?
I think that is an area he could have gotten into, but the question whether or not can he be commander-in-chief, I mean, the Republican polling is very strong that people trust Donald Trump significantly more than Jeb Bush.
[06:05:01] BLACKWELL: Let's listen to something Hillary Clinton said last night.
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HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want you to remember, when you vote, when anyone votes, your vote matters as much as anybody else's. Now we may be up against super PACs and billionaires, but when the election comes around, Donald Trump and the Koch brothers, for all their money, they only get one vote each, just like everybody else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So she says, quote, "They may be up against super PACs and billionaires. She has some well-funded super PACs and the Clintons have a considerable amount of wealth. Is this a great argument for Hillary Clinton to be making? MURPHY: It's the great argument for her to make. She may not be the perfect messenger for this argument, but she was in Alabama speaking to most African-American audience yesterday talking about voting rights.
That is hugely important to the black community and the black community right now, is really what is separating her from her opponents right now. That is how she is so far ahead of Bernie Sanders.
So it's very smart for her to go into the black community and talk about voting rights. There is a huge amount of hypocrisy, though. To your point what you are saying, it's not all up to the super PAC.
She's got one of the biggest super PACs around. She is raising more money than almost anybody. If you look at all of her background with the Clinton Foundation with how she is spending her time since secretary of state.
Spending a lot of time with a lot of billionaires in the Hamptons doing a lot of fundraising from a lot of rich people so I think there is significant territory there for Bernie Sanders if they want to attack her on that.
BLACKWELL: OK, you mentioned Joe Biden. I'm going to bring him up.
MURPHY: Let's do!
BLACKWELL: You mentioned inroads into the black and Latino communities and that is an area that Joe Biden is, let's say, well- versed and many connection in his Senate over the years. He was at New York last night receiving an award, I think here.
The vice president spoke about faith and religious freedoms. After his speech was done, the crowd wanted to talk about the White House. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For so many of us, faith sees us through times of trouble. It is our faith that urges us to rise each and every morning no matter how bleak things look. To put one foot in front of the other, as my son, Beau, used to say, just keep moving forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The crowd there is shouting run, Joe, run. No significant response from him. Just continuing off the narrative we were discussing a moment ago, what is his space in this race? What can he carve out that Hillary Clinton doesn't have and Bernie Sanders doesn't have?
MURPHY: I think he could be the plan B for Democrats, to be honest with you. If something goes downhill rapidly for Hillary Clinton there is enormous anxiety that Bernie Sanders isn't the man that could take them across the finish line.
As long as that anxiety exists, high level donors will be ready to support Joe Biden. I think a lot of voters particularly middle class, white working class voters will be able to support him.
Also the black community is very strong behind Joe Biden. If you go into South Carolina, there is a question of whether Bernie Sanders could get any traction in South Carolina with a Democratic electorate, very little question that Joe Biden could do pretty well --
BLACKWELL: But is that strong enough of an argument in case of emergency at the last that Joe Biden is ready to be president?
MURPHY: What that's a good point, but it is reality. She is the frontrunner. She has been running almost since she left the office of secretary of state. He has had, obviously, a significant personal crisis that has put this whole question on hold for him.
Look, though, for a week from Thursday is the first filing deadline in Georgia, so if he has not made a decision by a week from Thursday, I think we all must have our answer right there.
But there is a constituency for Joe Biden and once you get into a head-to-head matchup with Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden then I think you have a real race on your hands and delegates will matter in Georgia. He can't miss any of these filing deadlines. So I think we'll have a decision very soon.
BLACKWELL: Yes, he's got to make a decision in the next couple of days. Patricia Murphy, always good to have you.
MURPHY: Thank you. Great to see you.
BLACKWELL: All right, make sure to stay and watch "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper. Big show, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney as well, all starts later this morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
PAUL: Breaking this morning, a fatal shooting at a Zombicon gathering in Florida. Details are still unfolding this morning. We have a live report for you.
Plus a monster typhoon in the Philippines, thousands have had to evacuate, major flooding there, homes are destroyed and the thing is the worst is far from over at this point.
And a lot of people calling it a comeback, comedian, Tracy Morgan returns to "Saturday Night Live" for the first time since he was in a severe car accident.
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[06:10:09] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are wondering, can he speak, does he have 100 percent mental capacity? But the truth is I never did! I might actually be a few points higher now. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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PAUL: Look at that. Do you see them there at the bottom of your screen, If we can drop the wording there. Thank you so much. You can see people -- OK, we are trying to do this here, people running.
This is out of Florida as police, right now, still are looking for whomever just started shooting at a Zombi-themed festival. It was chaos overnight. This is in downtown Fort Myers you are looking here.
One person was killed. The witness who took this video says she was on her hotel balcony. She heard shots and the people just started screaming and running. They were scattering everywhere.
Jason Carroll is following this for us this morning. Jason, do we have any indication as to what kind of suspect? Any sort of profile of who police are looking for this morning?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let me start first with the details of exactly what happened here. This started at about 11:44 last night. That's when police first got the call and got details about the shooting that took place at Zombicon in downtown Fort Myers, Florida.
You see some of the ground video there shortly after the shooting took place. This is an event that attracted some 20,000 people in downtown Fort Myers.
[06:15:05] We are told people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, the event is so popular when those shots rang out last night. The event has its own security, but police were there as well and they were able to respond almost immediately.
This is an event that is all about pictures so there were a number of people there as you can imagine, who had cell phones, who were ready to look at people, and shoot people with different costumes, and take a look at people with different costumes.
One woman as you said was standing on her balcony when this all took place and she started rolling shortly after the shots rang out. I want to show you that video again and hopefully, this time without the banner there on the bottom.
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CARROLL: So you could see the people there running on the street and running for safety short after those shots rang out. When police got to First Street in downtown Fort Myers, one man had been shot. He died from his injuries.
Four others had been hurt. We are told that their injuries are described as nonlife-threatening at this point. The suspect or suspects are still at large. The violent crime detectives are out there. They are on the scene.
Christi, a little bit more about this event. It's in its eighth year now. This year's event, the theme we are told was '80s post-apocalyptic theme. Last year was a voodoo theme.
This whole idea of zombies has become very popular recently in these types of events with popular series such as "The Walking Dead." You've got a new movie coming out around Halloween called "The Scouts Guide" to "Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse."
So this is a very, very popular event, a number of people wanting to go out there. The event organizers released a statement and I want to read part of that to you.
The organizer from Zombicon released a statement saying that they are deeply saddened by the news of what happened within the foot print of our event. We take the safety of our patrons very seriously and take precautions in hiring security and police officers for our annual event.
Our prayers go out to the family members and individuals involved in the incident. Again, the suspect or suspects still at large. The motive for the shooting, at this point, Christi, unclear.
PAUL: No telling whether it was random or targeted. I understand, too, this is the second time this week that shots were fired in downtown Fort Myers. Shots apparently fired at a cigar shop on Tuesday according to some reports.
I would think that if you're walking around in costume, that has got to make the police -- the job even harder as you try to identify somebody. I know they are asking for people who might have had cell phone video or something to turn that into police, yes?
CARROLL: Again, a number of people there had cell phones out. The whole point of this event is to go out there and take pictures of some of the outrageous costumes. Some of those costumes including people walking around with fake guns, fake machetes.
So you can imagine how difficult it was for officers who are out there trying to figure out who is who and who is doing what, especially with a crowd that large.
PAUL: Jason Carroll, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: New this morning, police in California, Sacramento to be specific, are asking for help to identify the suspects who either stabbed or played some role in the stabbing of U.S. Airman Spencer Stone.
Stone was stabbed multiple times outside a bar in Sacramento earlier this month. Now Stone also suffered knife wounds after stopping a gunman on a Paris-pound train in August and he and other individuals were held as heroes for those actions.
PAUL: Mudslides in California, they just consume cars and trucks. Look at the mess they are leaving behind. This will take weeks to clean up.
BLACKWELL: Also ahead, a shark attacks another swimmer in Hawaii. How the victim was pulled to safety. You want to see this video.
And could you ever give half of your salary yearly to charity? Well, I spoke with a woman who is doing just that with her husband. It's a Facebook exclusive. Go to facebook.com/newday to watch her story and hear what her family donates to and why they do it.
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[06:23:01]
BLACKWELL: About 15,000 people in the Northern Philippines are leaving their homes and looking for shelter, as a typhoon continues to batter the island since making landfall early this morning. To make matters worse, this typhoon is expected to hover and stay there and dump rain. Some areas are forecast to receive more than 39 inches of rain by the end of Wednesday.
PAUL: It's going to take weeks to clean up this. The mudslides caused by flash floods in Southern California. These photos show it all, don't they, the obstacle that crews are dealing with right now. These mudslides caused a portion of Interstate 5 to close at one point and more than 200 vehicles were trapped.
BLACKWELL: Families and friends gather in Jacksonville, Florida for prayer service for the 33 crew members on board the missing American cargo ship, El Faro, held a moment of silence, and then they read the name of every crewmember to the crowd there.
PAUL: And the U.S. Navy is hoping to help bring some closure for those families as well. They are sending high-tech search equipment where they believe the ship sunk about 30 miles from the Bahamas. Now it's the same equipment the Navy used in the search for MH-370. The equipment will arrive midweek which give searchers about a week to find the ship's so-called black box before the battery runs out.
BLACKWELL: Tensions continuing to escalate in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians fighting over access to a site considered holy by both. We are going to Jerusalem for a live report and also analysis coming up.
PAUL: Plus on the heels of his car accident, Tracy Morgan, returns to "SNL" for an encore. We have some of the funniest moments, if you missed it.
BLACKWELL: CNN has announced the Top Ten Heroes of 2015. One of them is a pastor of a small town or in a small town rather in North Carolina who created a healthy community garden because the nearest grocery store was ten miles away.
[06:25:08] Meet Reverend Richard Joyner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REVEREND RICHARD JOYNER: Our mindset, we are a food desert, we are chronically ill and dying and we found out that growing food caused us to work together, so it gave us opportunity to create something that united us and that we could feel good about.
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BLACKWELL: Reverend Richard Joyner's garden produces 50,000 pound of fresh food a year! Go to CNNheroes.com to vote for your favorite.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who do you talk to for military right now?
TRUMP: I watch the shows. I really see a lot of great -- you know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has said publicly he watches cable news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Bottom of the hour now.
