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Donald Trump Attacks Ben Carson; Peshmerga Forces Declare Victory over Militants in Sinjar. 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 13, 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] BUCK SEXTON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Doctor Ben Carson who is a brilliant retired neurosurgeon is going to be the most adept on foreign policy of all the issues he talks about, no, we do not. So, it's not surprising. That would probably be untrue. But what Doctor Carson, nonetheless, is somebody who I think people are inspired by for a variety of reasons. His depth on foreign policy knowledge is not one of them, but I think that's something he can get up to speed on. And really, when he speaks to, and the reason the base liked him so much, the conservative base likes him so much is his honesty, his character, the integrity that he shows, his life story, overcoming obstacles. And by the way, I think people are impressed by someone who has had tremendous success in something other than professional success, other than just promoting themselves and raising money. That's part of this as well.

So he will be forgiven by those who like him. And those who have even an open mind, those who are looking to trash doctor Carson will way, yes, China is at war in Syria. Good job. It's not really what he meant. And he has walked it back.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: OK. We have clarified. Staying in foreign policy. Let's talk Trump. Let's talk about what that was last night in Iowa. What are you rolling your eyes?

SEXTON: Yes.

BALDWIN: Hold on. So we are talking Trump. We are going to play some sound. This is part of what Trump was saying with regard to, you know, bombing ISIS. And on the back end of this, you are going to hear from President Obama responding to not just people like, you know, Trump, but also Ben Carson. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would bomb the (bleep) out of them.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: I would just bomb those suckers. And that's right, I would blow up the pipes, I would blow up every single inch and there would be nothing left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: What do you think when you hear Ben Carson say this it would be easy. We can take ISIL out just by bombing their oil fields and arms by general to hold there.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes. What I think is he doesn't know much about them. And look, George, I think it's fair to say that over the last several years, I have had access to all the best military minds in the country and all the best foreign policy minds in the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. So I don't know, part of when Donald Trump was talking about the generals and what he knows, I know nothing about that. I do know that, you know, what he's talking about bombing the oil fields, there was an article from "The New York Times," Michael Gordon's piece this morning to his point, U.S. steps up attacks on ISIS controlled oil fields in Syria. So you know, that was something that perhaps people laughed off months ago. And there you have it. Your response to that.

SEXTON: Well, certainly, cutting off the flow of funds to the Islamic state is something that is part of the various options you can take to try to actually degrade and destroy the group, which is a stated admission from the White House and all the way down. Of course, you have to weigh the benefits of this and the drawbacks. The drawback of bombing oil facilities and bombing other critical infrastructure in what is now the Islamic state territory is we are hoping that the Kurds, that the government in Baghdad and others will be able to take back this territory and then they will have to rebuild this and then they make it more difficult. There's also, of course, the civilian casualties.

Now, while Donald Trump is speaking like an '80s action hero who is running for president appeals well to the base and is entertaining for what it is worth, it's not really predictably serious policy to say we're going to bomb the blank out of somebody when you recognize there's much more complexity than just we are just going to keep on bombing and bombing. What level of civilian casualties will you take, what sort of infrastructure are you willing to destroy because we have a lot of accumulative knowledge. We have many troops who served in Iraq. We have fantastic minds who looked at the problem after dealing with the problem for a number of years. And counterinsurgency is a very difficult task. If you bomb people too much and destroy too much, you then have to rebuild it and hold it. And that becomes something you have to take into account than just saying you just going to bob people.

BALDWIN: Can I just clarify? If I'm hearing you correctly in the last, you know, 120 seconds, you have defended Carson and gone on attacking Trump. That's what I'm hearing with you, tough.

SEXTON: Defending Carson's character. Not on the point of China. He want that back. He said he was wrong. I already said. That's the case. But Trump yesterday even for Trump this was off the tracks. This was something different. I think we saw in the last 24 hours. And the way he's going after Ben Carson I think is quite honestly beneath even the Donald.

BALDWIN: Buck Sexton, great to see you, my friend. Thank you so much.

SEXTON: Great to see you.

BALDWIN: Still ahead here, Donald Trump, yes, we have been talking rails on, you know, anything and everything from Ben Carson suggesting voters in Iowa and around the country are stupid for believing what is in the doctor's book, for supporting him. We have more on that.

Also more on the breaking news, the U.S. confident jihadi John is dead. We will take you to the front lines in the war against ISIS. Nick Paton Walsh embedded with forces as they declared a major victory in Sinjar in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:12] BALDWIN: The black ISIS flag is no longer flying over a crucial part of Iraq. Talking about Sinjar, western Iraq there, western northern Iraq, a highway that passes through the city had linked is held Mosul with the holdings some Syria. And today, Peshmerga forces Kurds here declaring victory over the militants after their year-long rule of terror. Operation in current resolve and included pounding airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition and U.S. troops were in the field calling in airstrikes from key positions there near Sinjar.

Joining me now is senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh near this part of Iraq.

And Nick, tell me, I mean, so black ISIS flag gone. Resistance what, gone as well?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Resistance that start it seemed relatively heavy, but the Peshmerga came in. We saw and actually joined ourselves in overwhelming numbers. Hundreds of them on foot moving at about 10:00, 11:00 this morning. They initially encountered, I say, a lot of heavy machine gunfire. But then ISIS did appear to melt away relatively quickly. But they left in their wake a staggering number of booby traps, tunnels in fact, even dug under the roads, some people told us connected to barrels of explosives that they have in fact, they have gone underground and even some disguised as Peshmerga.

At one point to a round flew over the head of the group of Peshmerga, we were traveling with, that caused thunderstorm to fire back. And in fact, two of their number were apparently injured. They think by ISIS sniper. So quite clearly, the war. It's obvious now the Peshmerga have dominant control of that. They haven't flushed all of ISIS of out from inside it. And Brooke, that is frankly because it is wreckage, it is rubble. Barely a building not half destroyed or severely damaged by the airstrikes, the suicide bombing, the car bombs afflicts by ISIS hands, its fight with the coalition.

So little really to live in left there. There are a lot to rebuild or perhaps you demolish start from scratch. But the fundamental point of all of this is that it appears if the Peshmerga get their numbers together, and seven-and-a-half thousand marks, this time to use with this, the coalition will back them up with consistent airstrikes and willing to work with each other then they push the ISIS down. The question we don't have the answer to is did ISIS give up or simply unable to fill enough forces to hold on to that town. That's what we don't know. They have left very little lift in the wake for those yasidis who fled the reign to go back to -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh right there in Sinjar, thank you so much. Keep up the excellent reporting, please sir.

Next, back to politics. Donald Trump's 95-minute tirade against Ben Carson going so far as to reenact one of the violent acts Carson says committed as a child. We'll talk to Michael Smerconish himself and get his take. Unique as always.

Plus two women killed in the Charleston church massacre spoke with us here. What they are doing now to preach forgiveness around the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:49] BALDWIN: Donald Trump is unconventional, he is unapologetic and last night in Iowa he was unplugged like we have never seen him. For 95 minutes the front runner unleashed a series of attacks. He attacked the president, he attacked ISIS, Hillary Clinton, but most of all it was his competitors. He called Senator Marco Rubio a baby. He said Ohio Governor John Kasich was bugging, but he focused much hid tirade on Ben Carson and what Carson wrote in had his auto biography. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Carson is an enigma. Had he wrote a book and in the book he said terrible things about himself. He said that he is pathological and that he has got basically pathological disease. He took a knife and he went after a friend and he lunged that knife into the stomach of his friends, but low and behold, it hit the belt. It hit the belt. And the knife broke.

I have a belt. Somebody hits me with a knife it moves this way. It moves that way. He hit the belt. Anybody have a knife and want to try it on me?

How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now is CNN political commentator Michael Smerconish, host of "SMERCONISH" here Saturday morning.

I have been talking to so many people about this, but I have been waiting to hear from you.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH: Thank you for that.

BALDWIN: What as that? How you see that? SMERCONISH: Mutually assured destruction. Remember the whole concept

of mad in the cold war, it doesn't help him and it doesn't help Doctor Carson either. I think it helps take both of them down. And by that I mean the issues that he is raising, I think they are worthy issues for discussion. I mean, they are fantastical. Some of those stories, they eyebrow-raising. The story about the belt buckle and the story about Popeye's and the story about what happened when Doctor Carson was pranked at Yale as an undergraduate. But this is not the way you raise them.

BALDWIN: But Michael, we have been talking about Donald Trump how many months now, five?

SMERCONISH: A hundred?

BALDWIN: However many months, you know, I have talked to analysts and pundits and you saying, you know, this comment, this time, this is going to hurt him. And you know what? It never does.

SMERCONISH: It certainly hasn't and let me just tell you I am a loser. I will beat him to the bunch. You're right that when he said what he said about John McCain, I thought this was the beginning of the end. But Brooke, I'm telling you there's no way that this could win over the people necessary to be victorious in a general election. It cannot happen. If he is at 25 percent, he is at 25 percent of what? 25 percent of the electorate. He's somewhere in the five to seven percent range of the overall populous. That doesn't get you home. It may help you run a competitive race in Iowa, but you cannot be elected president saying those sort of things.

SMERCONISH: That was Donald Trump last night.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Here is Ben Carson reacting today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:50:00] BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now that he is completed his gratuitous attack why don't we press on and deal with the real issues. You know, the reason that I'm in this race is because there are some real profound issues that affect the trajectory of our country right now. That's what the people of America are concerned about. Not so much politics as usual. Politics of personal destruction, that's what people are sick and tired of. And I'm hopeful that at some point we reach a level of maturity that we can actually deal with the issues that are facing us right now and stop getting into the mud and doing things that really don't matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. Before I come to you here's what strikes me about this. I feel like I saw the most fired up Ben Carson when he was talking to Alysin Camerota last week. You know, he get to fired up about the media. He is angry about the media. Donald Trump, you know, essentially compared him, we heard him pathological, like a child molester, no cure. And that's the response from Doctor Carson on that today.

SMERCONISH: That to tweet out earlier in the day that he will pray for Donald trump. This plays very well to Ben Carson's core constituency which are evangelicals. Because, Brooke, remember how those stories each end. Those stories of Ben Carson, they end with a religious a epiphany. This is how he found his path to the Lord. And so, there's a great sense of forgiveness among his evangelical followers who say, well, we're not going to question the story because of how it ends.

BALDWIN: Incredible piece in "the Washington Post." I'm sure you read about the anxiety, you know, the talking about this whole draft Romney idea. Now, listen, Mitt Romney's not going to run for president. We have sources talking to Romney, people saying no. But the calls are coming in, which tells you what?

SMERCONISH: I don't believe it. First of all --

BALDWIN: What don't you believe?

SMERCONISH: OK. I believe 50 percent of "the Washington Post" story. I believe the 50 percent that says the GOP establishment is in a panic. That I believe over the prospect of Trump or Carson being the nominee. I do not believe there's any kind of move afoot to draft Mitt Romney other than those who work for Romney in the last cycle and feel left out and they want to play.

BALDWIN: What if Trump and Carson were not in this race? Who would we be talking about?

SMERCONISH: If Trump and Carson -- great question. Yes. Well, I'll tell you what it would look like. It will look the way it will look in a couple of months.

BALDWIN: OK. We'll see if you're right this time.

SMERCONISH: You cut the tape. I said a couple of months, right?

BALDWIN: Michael, thank you so much. Make sure you tune in. Make sure you watch "SMERCONISH" here tomorrow morning on CNN. We will be right back. Couple of months?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:02] BALDWIN: Time is running out to vote for your CNN hero of the year. One of our top ten finalist a single mom who lost her close friend to breast cancer. That inspired her to start this nonprofit. It provides meals and cleaning services and financial assistance to other mothers fighting the disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY FARLEY-BERENS, TOP 10 CNN HERO: Cancer sucks. And there's not a lot of happy that goes with that. But life does still go on. And everybody has the right to be happy and have a good time and just put their cares aside even for just a few hours. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Judy is just one of our top ten CNN heroes for 2015. Please vote for one of them. You can see all the finalist stories and vote once a day every day through Sunday, CNNheroes.com.

And before I let you go, we have been covering a lot of terror, a lot of tragedy, schoolyard politics today, so this is what I wanted to leave you with, with a story of hope and forgiveness. And amazing women. Nine church members murdered inside the historic Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina. Glamour magazine honoring this week family members who lost loved ones. And we spoke with two of the honorees about what they have done in the months following the attacks to foster healing and unity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALANA SIMMONS, GRANDFATHER KILLED IN CHARLESTON SHOOTING: My grandfather, Daniel Simmons Senior, was very strong. He was strong physically. And he was strong mentally. And I'm just so proud of the way that he lived and the way that he died. He was a servant of his community and a leader.

BETHANE MIDDLETON-BROWN, SISTER KILLED IN CHARLESTON SHOOTING: I too am proud of where she was and what she was doing when she left. I think she was a borrowed angel. They all were.

SIMMONS: Although they died at the hands of hate, they lived in love and they preached love. And that's what we wanted their legacy to be. Forgiveness isn't for the shooter or for that person, forgiveness is for yourself. There's no way that any of us could go out and preach love and harbor hate at the same time. And so when you forgive somebody for whatever it is that they've done to you or to your family or your friends, it's not for them. It's so that you regain the power of your own heart and of your own mind.

MIDDLETON-BROWN: We need to move forward. And I know personally I can't move forward knowing that I'm giving my power or the power from my family members that were lost, and I say family members because I think they're all family. I don't want to give that power away to anyone. I knew what they stood for. And I wanted to be known that they're still here in their spirits. And we will carry out the love that they were showing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Thank you, ladies, so much.

By the way, started the campaign hate won't win, the president and first lady have joined in. If you want to learn more go to hatewon'twinmovement.com.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. "The LEAD" starts now.