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American Troops Killed in Afghanistan; Interview With Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum; Friend of San Bernardino Shooter in Court. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 21, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel great, for the first time in a long time. Whenever I would go to stores, I noticed that I would go into an anxiety attack. K9s For Warriors has helped me with that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're a nationwide organization now. I never dreamt that would happen. But to see my own son now, who is helping other veterans, it's just amazing to watch.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, it's the top of the hour. And we have some breaking news.

You're looking at pictures. This is out of SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. OK? These people have been stuck for more than an hour sort of in the middle part of this needle ride. The rescue bucket has just gotten to them. I'm not sure exactly how many people are on this thing, but you can see there are dozens. And they have been staring in the window looking at these rescuers trying to get them.

They have been trapped in this ride in SeaWorld Orlando for more than an hour. It's called the Sky Tower, OK, 400 feet high. But they are halfway up. Emergency crews working there to try to get them now. They have put a small bucket up there. That bucket won't be able to get to all of those people, but maybe they're going up. Maybe it's people who go up to try to repair. Maybe it's stuck and they have to get to it inside of this, the cabin of the capsule. I'm not exactly sure.

But, again, they are stuck here. And SeaWorld releasing a statement. I'm going to put it up for you. It says: "We are working closely with Orange County Fire Rescue to remove all guests from the ride. We're in constant communication with the guests and team members on the ride and all passengers are safe. The safety of our guests and team members is SeaWorld's top priority."

Of course it is. And now you see those guys exiting that bucket, and it's pretty tight there, but, yes, they are at the center at the top of that cylinder. And so I doubt that this bucket, considering the size of it, maybe it will, but I doubt it, will be used to remove people, because it's so tiny. I think these guys are probably on a repair mission to try to fix it. But we will see. One never knows. But, again, they are stuck. Probably not the way they wanted to spend

their Christmas holiday vacation, as they are going to SeaWorld to enjoy the holidays with their kids. And now they are stuck. But I think, Jonathan Gilliam, who is a former FBI agent, this is probably going to work out well for them because they are going to get lots of free stuff.

Still, you don't want to be in this position.

JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER U.S. NAVY SEAL: No, you don't.

LEMON: There's an exit plan on behalf of the park. There has to be.

GILLIAM: Right. When I was in the FBI, one of the things I did was I worked in crisis management. I got to work around the fire department and the ESU here in New York from the NYPD.

And these first-responders have a plan. That's why you see this particular basket. And I'm sure that they have done their research. They know exactly how. If they do in fact have to rescue these people, they always have a plan that takes the fluidity out of it so they can think their way through this.

This may be, as you said earlier, individuals that are going to be working on this to try to get it, maybe a breaking system or something that has malfunctioned and stopped this. But it looks like people are in good spirits. I would think the main thing is there if you have anybody in there that's claustrophobic or afraid of heights, that's going to be a difficult issue if -- and you could have medical issues as well.

LEMON: Yes. Not a good P.R. move, though. We will watch it. We will watch it. Good luck to those folks. Good luck to the rescuers/repair people. We will keep an eye on this for you.

Turning now to major political developments. This is first on CNN, Lindsey Graham ending his run for presidential, leaving Republicans now with just one dozen, just only a dozen main candidates to choose from in the race for the White House. Since announcing his campaign in June, the senator from South Carolina and has not been able to break through in the polls, hovering around 1 percent, declared he's dropping out in an exclusive interview one on one with our very own Kate Bolduan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why are you getting out of the race?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, because I have hit a wall here. My campaign has come to a point where I need to think about getting out and helping somebody else.

Here's what I predict. Again, I think the nominee of our party is going to adopt my plan when it comes time to articulate how to destroy ISIL.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so let's discuss now with Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

So, you were just on the undercard stage with him, with Lindsey Graham in that debate, hosted this part. So, I have to get your reaction. Do you have a rescue plan for Orlando, SeaWorld, before we get to this news? What's your platform on that?

(LAUGHTER)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think you hit the nail on the head.

The biggest thing they can do is reward them greatly for having to spend as much time up there.

LEMON: Yes.

SANTORUM: Obviously, if they get out of there pretty soon, it's not going to be a big deal.

LEMON: Yes.

SANTORUM: The real question is if they are there for a long period of time. That can get a little dicey for folks, medical conditions, just human needs.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: So you do have a platform on rescuing people from SeaWorld?

(CROSSTALK)

SANTORUM: Absolutely.

LEMON: Just a levity here.

(CROSSTALK)

SANTORUM: You have to be prepared for everything.

LEMON: I know, just a levity there.

Because I know that you hold Lindsey Graham in great respect. So what do you think happened? How do you feel about this?

SANTORUM: Yes. Lindsey Graham was a friend when I was in the Senate.

He's a warrior in the sense. He really cares deeply about the national security of our country. And that's the reason he ran. I think the fact that Paris and San Bernardino happened thrust the issues of national security to the front of everybody's campaign, not just his, and in a sense accomplished what Lindsey Graham was concerned about, which is people taking this issue seriously and making sure that we had a strong candidate in the fall that is going to stand up to the policies of this administration.

I think Paris and San Bernardino have forced that issue. And, in a sense, Lindsey can go off and go back to the Senate and be supportive of hopefully that next president who is going to take on ISIS and Iran and the other countries that are threatening us.

LEMON: That really was his thing. As a military man, he's very concerned about the military and national security.

I know you're not going to like this question. But as you sit there -- and you know where I'm going -- as you sit there and you listen to Lindsey Graham and you look at how you're standing in the polls, because you have actually rated lower than him in the polls, is there something you want to announce right here on this show to Don Lemon on CNN?

SANTORUM: Well, thank you for the opportunity, Don. I really appreciate that.

But, yes, the announcement will be that it's a long way to Iowa. And we were sitting pretty much this place four years ago about six, seven weeks out. And we had some candidates on the rise at that point, some falling. It was Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. Herman was falling and Newt was rising. And I think we're seeing a similar pattern now with some candidates falling back into the pack and a couple other candidates rising.

And there's plenty of time for a late surge in Iowa. And we did it last time.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Senator, he said he's hit a wall. He said, look, I have hit a wall. And I think he's being very pragmatic about it. And he has regrets and all of that.

But do you think there are other candidates, including yourself, who are looking at this going, maybe it's time?

SANTORUM: No, look, I'm convicted that this race is an important race for the country and that I'm the candidate that can keep America safe, that has the experience and knowledge and someone who can bring this country together, which, if you look at the rest of the pack, there's some that can and there's a lot that can't.

LEMON: OK.

SANTORUM: And so I think we have something very unique to offer. And I'm very confident the people of Iowa will figure that out come January -- well, end of January, February 1.

LEMON: All right. All right. Fair enough.

Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton's press secretary tweeted a response to Graham getting out of the race, says: "With Graham out, there's no one left in GOP field who clearly supports comprehensive immigration reform plan that has a path to citizenship."

What is your response to that?

SANTORUM: Well, you have people who have supported that in the past. You have several candidates who have supported path to citizenship, path to legalization.

And I think what you have seen is that the American public has said -- and certainly Republican primary voters have said -- this is not a viable option for Republicans, that we have to be the party that stands up for American workers.

And when you have over 12 million workers in this country who are competing against Americans, wages are down, opportunities for those who don't have college degrees is really plummeting in America, and we're bringing in over a million legal immigrants, as well as having over 12 million illegal immigrants who are almost all wage earners competing against American workers.

And I think American workers have said enough. We deserve an opportunity to live the American dream and our immigration policies are hurting that opportunity.

LEMON: So it doesn't back the GOP or the candidates into a corner on immigration because there's really -- there's not much nuance, much difference in everybody else's plan, and that do you think it limits the voters' choices?

SANTORUM: Well, I would say there's no -- on the Democratic side, there's no difference between any of the candidates on almost any issue. At least the Republican side, you have some differences.

And, as I mentioned before, there are a couple of Republican candidates who share my point of view that we should not be legalizing people who are here in this country, number one, and, number two, that there are very few -- I don't know if there is anything else -- maybe Donald Trump believes that we should actually be limiting some of the immigration that we have, particularly lower-wage workers, in a time when Americans -- every -- even the Democrats talk about this all the time, how the opportunities for those at the bottom end of the economic scale to be able to rise in America is making -- is harder and harder than ever.

And yet those same people who complain about that want to bring in a million-plus people a year almost all of whom are going to compete against those very workers that are having trouble. And so that's the real concern I have, is that the rhetoric on the Democratic side doesn't match the reality of what American workers are going through.

And I think if we had a Republican candidate who didn't align with Wall Street, aligned with Main Street, aligned with American workers on the issue of immigration, actually, that could be a very powerful nominee against Hillary Clinton.

[15:10:03]

LEMON: I got some things I want to get to, so if you can comment on them briefly, I would appreciate it.

SANTORUM: Sure.

LEMON: I want to ask you about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

You heard Hillary Clinton in the debate saying recruiting tool, they're showing videos. Now, there's no evidence of that, Donald Trump asking her to apologize. Do you think she should respond to apologize?

SANTORUM: Look, I don't Donald Trump apologizes for anything he says, and I suspect Hillary Clinton is not going to be apologizing to Donald Trump.

So, that's just the banter. The reality is that the recruiting tool is the weakness that the United States has portrayed in allowing them to maintain this territorial integrity and to expand. And the rhetoric coming out of the White House isn't going to stop ISIS. What's going to stop ISIS is boots on the ground and taking back their land.

LEMON: All right, Rick Santorum, we have to end it there because there's -- we have got this breaking news. Thank you. I appreciate you joining us. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

SANTORUM: Thank you, Don. Same to you, Don.

LEMON: We have -- this is some breaking news. It's out of Afghanistan today.

And we now know that a suicide bomber on a motorbike has killed six American troops. It happened near Bagram airfield. And it appears it was a targeted attack on the joint Afghan-NATO patrol near the U.S.- run military base.

Our Pentagon correspondent, of course, is Barbara Starr. She joins us now with more.

How did this attack happen and who is taking responsibility, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Don.

We don't have an official claim of responsibility that's been confirmed. Obviously, the Taliban are suspect number one in this, six American troops killed during this holiday season, two additional American troops wounded. The third wounded was a contractor.

This happened, it was a motorcycle suicide bomb. The motorcycle approached the troops, detonated the bomb, six killed, three wounded. They were apparently attending some sort of meeting outside after going on this patrol outside of the Bagram Air Base.

This is so difficult, of course, for families and all families at this holiday season. Afghanistan not a very calm place at the end of 2015. We have seen violence break out in the north, violence in Kabul, the capital, this attack, and in Southern Afghanistan in Helmand Province, the traditional stronghold of the Taliban, a number of attacks down there, U.S. advisers being sent down there in the last several weeks to try and help out there, very, very tough going -- Don.

LEMON: Barbara Starr, thank you very much.

Up next, he's the only person to be arrested in the aftermath of a terror attack in San Bernardino. Today, the friend of the shooter who bought the rifles used in the attack is appearing in court, why prosecutors say Enrique Marquez is a serious flight risk.

Also, disaster on the Vegas Strip. What we just learned about the driver who police say veered her car onto a crowded sidewalk, striking dozens of pedestrians just feet from the casinos. Police say it was no accident.

And we continue to monitor the breaking news out of Orlando, Florida, where people are still trapped on a SeaWorld ride, well over an hour now. We will continue to monitor this for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:34]

LEMON: And all is right with the world. There's that stuck ride, no longer stuck. Hercules. Hercules. They have been rescued.

So you see the Sky Tower, the folks are coming down. They were up there for more than an hour. And then at last check -- when we last checked in on this, we saw the rescue capsule go up with a couple men in it. And as -- you can see those guys are still on top of that. See them?

As I said, it's probably the people who were repairing it and not rescue people, because the bucket was too small. So they have gotten this thing loose. The folks are on their way down. They're going to be able to enjoy their vacation. Hopefully, after this, it won't get stuck anymore. On with the Christmas break, all those folks who went to Orlando, Florida, to SeaWorld.

And, as you can see, it's almost to the bottom now. They will be off that ride and probably get some -- lots of presents and gifts and incentives to come back to SeaWorld or at least enjoy it more. All right. We hope -- hopefully, everything is OK. If something doesn't -- if something happens, we will get back to it.

Let's turn now to Las Vegas. This is a tragedy, where police say the woman suspected of deliberately and repeatedly plowing her car into a crowd of pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip is going to now face a murder charge. She's been identified Lakeisha Holloway, 24 years old, a homeless woman from Oregon.

Law enforcement officials say that they don't believe Holloway was motivated by terrorism, but they won't rule out terror quite yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE LOMBARDO, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE: She had some disassociation with the father of her child and then events prior to the event, her being what we believe to be in Las Vegas approximately a week and homeless and residing within her vehicle.

We don't know the exact percipient event that caused her to snap and/or whether it was planned previously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And, again, one person killed in that mayhem. One person died there. The sheriff says 37 others were injured, some of them seriously. Many are in the hospital.

We're going to check in with CNN's Stephanie Elam now in Las Vegas.

So, Stephanie, what other charges could she potentially face?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, besides the one person that we know that did die, Don. There were several other people who were injured, and so therefore she could face charges related to that.

We know that there's still three people who are in critical condition with head wounds. When you look at that and the fact that her 3-year- old child was in the car, she's looking at a number of charges. In fact, take a listen to what they say they are planning to charge her with either today or tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN WOLFSON, CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We intend to file charges immediately. We are going to start off by filing one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon.

We will also be filing additional charges as the information flows to our office. The other charges we're considering are a multitude of counts of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, child abuse and neglect, which pertains to the toddler which was in the backseat of this vehicle, as well as the felony count of leaving the scene of an accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And as to that point about terrorism, Don, the reason they are saying that they can't rule it out, even though they think that this has nothing to do with terrorism, is because they have had a hard time tracking down her identity and learning more about her.

So, because they don't have a lot of information about her history, they can't rule it out at this point. But they are saying they do believe it's unlikely to be terrorism, Don.

[15:20:02]

LEMON: Lots to investigate here, that and also toxicology reports and all of that. Stephanie Elam on the story for us in Las Vegas, thank you, Stephanie.

Next, the man accused of buying the guns used in the San Bernardino attacks faces a judge to see if he can get out on bond -- all the latest from inside the courtroom. That's coming up.

And the Miss Universe mistake heard around the world. Steve Harvey crowns the wrong winner. Conspiracy theories abound, swirling everywhere, even Donald Trump weighing on what would he do to fix the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE HARVEY, COMEDIAN: I have to apologize. This is exactly what's on the card. I will take responsibility for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:24:15]

LEMON: Court today for the only person charged in the San Bernardino massacre that left 14 people dead. Enrique Marquez is his name, the killer's former neighbor finding out today if he will get bail. He's accused of buying the rifles used in the attack and plotting terror attacks with the killer, Syed Rizwan Farook, back in 2011 and 2012, attacks the pair backed out -- wait -- attacks the pair backed out of. OK.

Our very own Kyung Lah just stepped out of the courtroom.

Kyung, as I understand, you have some new information from the judge.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The hearing just happened, just wrapping up about five, 10 minutes ago.

And the judge denied bond, denied bond to Enrique Marquez, not saying the reason being that he's a flight risk. He didn't say he was concerned about Marquez trying to flee the area.

[15:25:03]

The reason he wanted to hold Marquez, what the judge said is that he felt that there was concerns about whether the community would be in danger if he was released. So Enrique Marquez is going to continue to be held in custody, in federal custody, until his trial begins.

And, Don, something we should mention is, he had a very unusual appearance when he walked out. He's been described to us throughout all of this, since the shooting happened, by friends and family members and people who know him, as being a little goofy, a little lighthearted. That is exactly the persona he wore in court.

He appeared a little dazed. He was shackled at the wrists and ankles. Despite that, he was smiling, looking up at the lights. He seemed completely coherent and aware of these very serious charges, conspiring to supply material support to terrorism. But he didn't seem particularly bothered that the proceedings were happening.

So, for now, the judge ordering he remain behind bars -- Don.

LEMON: Did he say anything, Kyung?

LAH: He didn't say anything. He did say yes and no. He appeared to speak quite fluidly and privately with his attorney, but he didn't speak directly to the judge.

He did not enter a plea. That will happen at a later date.

LEMON: Kyung Lah, thank you very much. Appreciate that.

And he could be the first first gentleman in the White House. Carly Fiorina's, Frank, husband sits down with CNN to talk about how he predicted her rise to the national stage and what he thinks about the attacks against her.

Plus, it's the oops, whoopsie, moment heard around the world, Steve Harvey crowning the wrong Miss Universe at last night's pageant. We're going to talk about the controversy, the conspiracy theories, and Donald Trump's reaction to the colossal, we will say mix-up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is the bottom of the hour now.