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GOP Takes on Trump Amid Muslim Ban Controversy; GOP Rift Could Test Trump's Loyalty Pledge; San Bernardino Shooter Planned Previous Attack; Soon: Pentagon Chief to Testify on Capitol Hill; France Identified Third Concert Hall Bomber; Defense Begins Case in First Officer's Trial. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 09, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:03] CHRIS CUOMO: And they found the cars severely damaged but the original bike still missing.

ALISYN CAMEROTA: So great. Great to get that story. And time now for "NEWSROOM" with Pam Brown in for Carol Costello.

Hey, lady.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: What a great story. That is true holiday spirit right there. Right, guys?

CAMEROTA: Indeed.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: All right. Chris, hope you're feeling better, by the way.

CUOMO: Thank you, Pamela.

PEREIRA: Why, are you sick?

CUOMO: She cares. You don't care. Pamela cares.

BROWN: All right, guys. I'll take it from here. NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They knocked down the World Trade Center. They tried doing it twice. Other things have happened. They have a lot of -- there are people that have tremendously bad intentions. We have to be tough. We have to be smart and we have to be vigilant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Trump triggers a political earthquake with his call to ban Muslims from entering America. Are the GOP crack deepening?

And Trump claims he's the best candidate to take out ISIS saying the president isn't doing enough. In just 30 minutes we're going to hear from Defense Secretary Ash

Carter testifying on Capitol Hill. And next hour the FBI chief speaks. Should our ISIS strategy shift?

Let's talk live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, good morning. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello. Thanks for being here with me on this very busy Wednesday morning.

And we begin with the race for White House and what appears to be growing concern among Republicans about the man who is currently leading the pack. Donald Trump, of course. Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S. sparking a swift response from his fellow Republicans, some of whom denounced the comments as contrary to both the party's and America's values.

For his part, Trump is shrugging off the criticism, saying his 2016 rivals are just trying to pick up votes and that if the past is any predictor, they could soon share his views.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm the worst thing that's ever happened to ISIS. The people in my party fully understand that. They are running against me. For the most part they have no poll numbers. I'm leading by a lot. They get it. They're trying to get publicity for themselves.

You know when I came out against illegal immigration, everybody fought it. Same thing. Two weeks later, everybody was on my side. Including the members of my own party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right. Let's bring in CNN's Sara Murray. She joins me now.

A lot going on, Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There is a lot going on there, Pam. And look, Trump was certainly right about one of those things and it is that he is leading by a lot. Our new CNN-WMUR poll in New Hampshire shows he gets 32 percent support from Republican voters there. Far ahead from his nearest rival which would be Marco Rubio at 14 percent.

That gives you an idea of how difficult it is for the Republican Party to topple him and really bring anyone else. But we're now hearing more criticism from more leaders of the GOP who have waited until this point to weigh in on 2016. Now they are condemning Donald Trump's proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY (voice-over): Even in the face of fierce condemnation from his party elders.

PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: This is not conservatism.

MURRAY: GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump refusing to back down on his proposal banning Muslims from entering the U.S.

RYAN: What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for and more importantly, it is not what this country stands for.

MURRAY: The chairman of the Republican National Committee joining the chorus, telling the "Washington Examiner," "I don't agree. We need to aggressively take on radical Islamic terrorism but not at the expense of our American values."

One GOP lawmaker issuing a call from the House floor for the billionaire to drop out.