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Cruz Dismisses Trump Jabs on Citizenship; Guns in America. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 07, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:29:41] DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. And there was a moment the first day of this bus tour a few days ago where a voter here in Iowa asked Ted Cruz about the difference between his immigration plan or plan for illegal immigrants and Donald Trump's. And Cruz's answer was effectively what you said. That Donald Trump wants to deport everybody as Cruz does, but that unlike Trump Cruz won't let them back in because Trump has said eventually if the undocumented immigrants are not criminals and can pass a series of tests, they could eventually be allowed back in. Cruz told this voter he wouldn't do that.

So there's no question as we get closer and closer to caucus day here, especially where illegal immigration seems to be kind of a hot issue, that all of these candidates are kind of trying to one-up each other on being as conservative as possible, you know.

But we'll see what that does when we get to the general election for the Republican Party because, Carol, we've talked about this many times before.

After the 2012 election, the Republican National Committee tried so hard to kind of right what they thought was a wronged ship because they did so poorly with Hispanic voters in this country and they thought it was because of the policies and prescriptions and rhetoric during that presidential campaign.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Dana Bash, reporting live from Iowa -- thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump taking aim at Ted Cruz over his Canadian birth and his immigration stance. Will either attack resonate, though?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:34:49] COSTELLO: With just weeks until the first votes are cast in Iowa, Donald Trump is stepping up his attacks on Ted Cruz and Cruz's eligibility to become president. Cruz was born in Canada but his mother is a U.S. citizen which makes Cruz an American. Still Trump says that could be quote, "a big problem".

And in a sitdown interview with Wolf Blitzer Trump touched on that and how Cruz is trying to appear tougher on immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ted was in favor of

amnesty. Him and Marco Rubio have been fighting about who is weaker. Now all of a sudden -- and I was watching Ted the other day and it was very interesting. He said we must build a wall. Ok.

And my wife said, darling, he just said, build a wall. That's the first person that said, build a wall. I've been saying it for five years. But he said, we will build a wall.

So now he's taking my idea for the wall. I'm glad he's taking it. I think it's the right thing to do. The problem is I'll build a wall. It will be the right wall.

These people are politicians. They don't know how to build a wall. They don't know how to build anything. But I'll build the wall and I'll have Mexico pay for the wall.

But all of a sudden, they're trying to come over into my territory. No, we will get people out and the people that come back will come back legally. They will come back legally. We'll have a country again. We're going to have strong borders.

Border patrol people are fantastic. I got to know them very well. But we're going to have a wall. Now I heard just the other day, Ted said -- he never said about wall before. All of a sudden he's talking about a wall. And I don't blame him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Trump's immigration plan has come under fire, though, especially his idea to ban Muslims from coming into the United States. The British parliament is so incensed over Trump's Muslim ban it will actually debate banning Trump from entering their country because of hate speech. Trump is now threatening to pull his golf courses out of Scotland.

With that, let's talk. John Avlon is editor-in-chief of the "Daily Beast" and a CNN political analyst; Tara Setmayer is a former Republican congressional communications director on Capitol Hill. She is also a CNN political commentator.

So, John, it isn't every day that Britain debates banning a presidential candidate in the United States during an election.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, it's not. But then Donald Trump isn't your typical presidential candidate. I mean, look, the demagoguery with which he's based his campaign is a real problem. And when blokes like Britain in a government run by David Cameron, our strongest ally, are debating banning Donald Trump, obviously it's symbolic but it speaks to how deeply divisive his campaign is even across the Atlantic. And that should be a reality check for Republicans.

COSTELLO: Will it be Tara?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think Trump supporters don't care. It's just another one, stick it to the system. The people who support Donald Trump, they -- conventional wisdom, conventional politics, conventional anything is something that they don't care about.

So, whether that actually makes a difference to Trump supporters, it's not going to. And really Donald Trump's support has reached a certain ceiling. He hasn't gained that many more supporters inside the Republican Party, per se. And how that will play out, if God forbid, he's the nominee, how that would play out in the general election then he may have more of an effect because Independents and people like that will look at this and go, wait a minute, we can't have someone represent the United States that they can't even get into our number one ally country, Britain.

But that, I think John is right. It's just another example of where -- what a Donald Trump potential candidacy as our GOP nominee would look like. This just brings in another one of those controversial issues that distracts from trying to fix the real problems that are going on in this country and internationally.

COSTELLO: Ok. So you sound like Senator Ted Cruz at the moment talking about how Donald Trump is questioning his eligibility. You should become president because he was born in Canada but his mother was a U.S. citizen so Ted Cruz is American but what if someone challenges that in court -- John.

You know, the weird thing is that Senator John McCain, who was no fan of either Senator Cruz or Donald Trump, came out in support of Donald Trump. Listen.

Ok, we don't have that. But let me paraphrase. Senator John McCain said, "You know what. I was born on a military base in Panama but that makes me a U.S. citizen. But Ted Cruz, I don't know. He was born in Canada. Don't know about that."

Why would Senator McCain be standing up for Donald Trump?

SETMAYER: I know why. That's an easy -- because John McCain called him a whacko bird. He can't stand Senator Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz -- he doesn't have many friends on Capitol Hill.

But go ahead, John. I think it was to you.

AVLON: Look, I mean, you know, the reality is, the people who know Ted Cruz best, his senate colleagues do not like him. And whacko bird sentiment aside, it's unusual for John McCain to stoop and to play sort of, you know, birther politics.

Generally when folks have raised crazy things around John McCain he's done a good job of denouncing them but it does speak to how disliked Cruz is. And I think the larger dynamic is that both Cruz and Trump have an overlapping base in the Republican Party.

[10:40:01] And if you add their totals together right now, this is a majority of the Republican Party. That's got a lot of folks panicked and it accounts for some of the odd politics between these two.

COSTELLO: Ok. So, the other strange thing that happened this morning, Tara, and it's because of Senator John McCain's comments. Donald Trump sent out a tweet that said, "It was a very wise move that Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship 18 months ago." Senator McCain is certainly no friend of Ted. So why would Donald Trump send out that kind of tweet?

SETMAYER: Look, this is all because Ted Cruz is nipping at Donald Trump's heels and he's beating him in Iowa in many polls. So, you know, Mr. Trump, who talks about losers, he doesn't take second place too kindly. So this is just a distraction to throw something out there to get people talking about questionable eligibility for Ted Cruz.

Look, this has been settled law already on both sides. Solicitor generals have come out and said this is not even an issue for Ted Cruz. He's eligible.

But the fact that we're talking about this instead of more policy differences is exactly what Donald Trump wants. He knows how to control the message and this is the way to do it.

You know, why aren't we talking about what's happening in Afghanistan? Afghanistan is falling apart. Asking Donald Trump what he would do about that?

Why aren't we talking about what's going on with Saudi Arabia and Iran and what Donald Trump would do about that? We're not because he can't go toe to toe on policy with any of the other candidates; maybe Carson but not Rubio, not Cruz, not Christie. That's not his game. His game is this and we're feeding into it.

COSTELLO: Ok. With that said, I'll end it there. Tara Setmayer, John Avlon -- thanks to both of you.

We are going to talk about North Korea right now though because North Korea, as you know, is trying to prove to the world it did, indeed, successfully detonate a hydrogen bomb.

Will Ripley is the only American reporter in North Korea. He's in Pyongyang. Will -- what have you learned?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, I had just had a meeting with some North Korean officials and got some pretty interesting insight into this purported h-bomb test. Of course, many international experts are disputing the claim by the North Korean regime that they detonated a hydrogen bomb.

But what the officials told me is that they're going to take me tomorrow to speak with some scientists close to the project who will tell me exactly why North Korea says they can prove that this was, indeed, an h-bomb that was detonated in a mountain in the northern part of the peninsula.

They say it was detonated deeper into the mountain using new technology that prevents radiation from spilling into the atmosphere in great quantities. That may explain why China, South Korea, and Japan are all saying that they have not detected any significant change in radiation levels.

But there is something that could escalate the situation here, Carol, and that is about 12 hours from now, South Korea has said that they will turn back on those propaganda loud speakers at the border between North and South Korea, known as the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ.

You might remember over the summer, those loud speakers were turned on after two South Korean soldiers were injured in land mine blasts. And that propaganda infuriates the North Korean regime. Here image, message is everything and so to turn on the loud speaker on what happens to be the 33rd birthday of North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un, well, the North in the past has said that would a declaration of war.

So what we have to watch very closely is could this situation really escalate in the coming hours later on around lunchtime here in Pyongyang if those loud speakers are, indeed, turned on -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. We look forward to your report tomorrow. Stay safe. Will Ripley, reporting live, the only reporter reporting live from inside North Korea.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:47:07] COSTELLO: Fresh off his address to the nation, President Obama sits down with CNN's Anderson Cooper tonight for a live town hall event on gun control. It's all part of the President's push to make gun safety a top priority during his final year in office.

CNN's Michelle Kosinski, live at the White House to tell us more. Good morning.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey Carol.

You know the President's executive action on guns don't go nearly as far as he would have liked. So now the goal is, as the White House puts it, to inspire more passion among people who feel the same way and then maybe they can put pressure on lawmakers. Maybe even make changes within their own communities.

And that is why the President agreed to do this town hall tonight. He said that the goal is to have good people on both sides of the issue in an open discussion. You said you don't have to be disagreeable while you're disagreeing but we don't have to talk past each other. But he feels it's necessary to have some urgency on this issue.

The White House has broad support for background checks. I mean 80 to 90 percent of Americans agree with them, but when you look at the issue more broadly, you look at some recent polls, 62 percent of Americans disapprove of how President Obama is handling gun policy. And just over half oppose stricter gun laws.

So, just more testament there to how complicated this debate always is. We'll see how it goes tonight. Interestingly, America's biggest voice for gun rights, the NRA, won't participate. They're calling it a PR spectacle, organized by the White House. But it wasn't organized by the White House. In fact, it was organized by CNN, which asked President Obama to participate -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Michelle Kosinski reporting live from the White House.

President Obama has been talking about gun control for years. In fact, in 2013 he took his message right to Hollywood, asking entertainment executives to tone down their use of gun violence in films. As you will see did not happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We better start over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our world is reduced to a single instinct. Survive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a Special Forces assassin that created a monster.

VIN DIESEL, ACTOR: This time it isn't just about being fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And, you know, one -- a lot of Republicans have come out and said why isn't a representative from Hollywood taking part in this town hall meeting tonight? Why isn't the President talking this year like he did in 2013? Why isn't he asking Hollywood to tone down the violence this time around?

[10:49:57] So I wanted to talk about that this morning. With me now is Bill Carter, who's a media analyst for CNN, and Chuck Nice, is a "Daily Share" contributor and a funny guy. He's really smart, too. Thank you both for being here.

CHUCK NICE, "DAILY SHARE": Appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Ok. So back in 2013, Bill, the President did ask Hollywood to tone down the violence. It didn't happen. Why do you think he's not asking more loudly this time around?

BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I don't think it's the same issue. I mean there's an issue about violence in movies but this isn't the issue he's talking about. He's talking about regulation of guns. That has nothing to do with, in my opinion, the violence in movies. There is a total distraction to make them part of this argument.

I think the conservatives against this want to use anything to say what's -- you know, it's mental health issue. Let's say it's Hollywood. They don't want address the issue that having proliferation of guns is what he's trying to --

COSTELLO: But don't you think part of the reason we have so many -- why so many people have guns in this country is because we love the gun culture in America? Isn't that a reason why?

NICE: Well, you know, we have a lot of guns because we do love guns. And, you know, after watching that montage, it's all I can do to not go get a gun and kill somebody right now. My God, I just want to do it so bad because Hollywood has affected me in such a way where, ooh, that was so exciting.

CARTER: I don't think that's serious Chuck.

NICE: It's a species argument, to be honest. Anybody knows that guns don't kill people. Tarantino films kill people. Let's be honest. It's ridiculous.

O'REILLY: Let me throw something else into the mix here. Last year Harvey Weinstein, right, big-time super mega producer, he vowed to turn away from films glorifying violence. He did. Of course, this year his new movie is out and it's titled, "the Hateful Eight, a Quentin Tarantino film.

CARTER: And there's a sudden violence ton of violence in that, by the way.

COSTELLO: A ton of violence. So why did he say that a couple years ago and this year's not really a thing.

It's not real because Harvey Weinstein is connected to the business. He (inaudible) a couple of years ago that he may have been contributing to the problem.

NICE: Maybe by turning away he means he's not going to watch his own films.

CARTER: He's going to turn away?

NICE: He's a film maker. He's not going to get in the way of what a film maker wants to do.

CARTER: Right. He's not a filmmaker.

COSTELLO: He helps finance the films. Come on. He has power in Hollywood.

CARTER: He does have power in Hollywood, but he also is the producer. And I think -- look, you can't -- I don't think you can take this argument and say, oh, because people see these movies, this is why they get guns. This is the argument. There's way more violence in reality. There's been this year

something like 200 people killed by guns this year. 2016 already. So, there's violence on TV all the time, on the news. Should we take it off that? I don't think that makes sense either.

NICE: We need to focus on the real problem here. Rap music. Of course, I'm joking. Please don't write.

COSTELLO: I want to throw something else into the mix because you know I like my debate thing. We're talking about Quentin Tarantino right?

ROBERTO: Yes, ok. And he says his films are art. Whatever they prove they prove -- I can't watch them myself.

CARTER: Well, consider the source.

COSTELLO: According to "Vanity Fair": in eight films 560 people die on screen. And they die in creative, bloody, violent ways. If you're watching that and you become conditioned to seeing violence happen without consequence, without much emotion. Don't you think that conditions you in the real life maybe to do the same thing --

NICE: You think that makes you then go out and buy a gun?

COSTELLO: I don't know.

CARTER: Because I think -- my answer to that would be -- to me the most violent show on television is "Game of Thrones" -- right. "Game of Thrones", I don't think has inspired anyone to buy a broadsword to kill a dragon.

That's not what happens --

NICE: Speak for yourself.

COSTELLO: Ok so if ISIS puts out propaganda videos and they depict violence in that and that inspires people -- what's the difference between that and --

CARTER: Because that's reality ISIS is actually beheading people for real on screen to appeal to people who find that desirable, to lure them in.

So, the real problem with Hollywood is exactly what you said. When we are desensitized to violence by watching it over and over again depicted in these films what happens is we become desensitized to it in real life. We have a mass shooting, we have children dying, we have people being gunned down in the streets. We have our situation in Chicago, and guess what? It doesn't do anything to us.

So, if Hollywood is responsible for anything, it's responsible for making us numb to the reality that is the gun violence that's happening in America today.

CARTER: I don't think people are actually numb. When that incident happened with the school children, the whole country felt it, I believe. I don't think they then said I'm used to violence so I'm going to shrug it off.

NICE: I would have to disagree because it didn't change anything.

CARTER: It didn't change the gun issue because that has become a political football. And you can't move the ball --

NICE: Not one congressman, not one senator, not one state legislator lost their job because of inaction on gun control after sandy hook. Not one person was fired. Why? Because we're numb to it. That's where the numbness happens.

Our only political power as Americans is to go to the polls and kick people out of office. We didn't do that on this issue and this issue alone. Why? Because it goes way down on our list of priorities.

COSTELLO: You want the last word?

CARTER: I think the President showed that he is sensitive on this and maybe he does want to do -- it's very hard to get anything accomplished in Congress, as we know.

NICE: Oh yes, I agree with you there.

[10:55:09] COSTELLO: I think we all agree there. Bill Carter, Chuck Nice -- thanks for stopping by.

CARTER: Thank you.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking some top stories at 58 minutes past the hour.

Officials in Lansing, New York, say it was one of the most difficult mine rescues in recent memory, but this morning cheers could be heard as 17 trapped miners were finally freed.

Those workers got stuck in an elevator last night, some 900 feet below the earth in a salt mine. Before they were rescued, emergency workers made contact with the miners via radio and provided blankets so they could keep warm during the rescue operation.

The mine's manager speaking on the mood of the miners after their nearly ten-hour ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN WILCZYNSKI, MINE MANATER: Their spirits are tremendous. I'm just -- I don't know. I'm -- I'm inspired by them, to be quite honest with you. The first four that came out of the mine waited until the last two that came out of the mine. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Details about what led to the incident were not immediately available. An emergency response official says all of the miners are doing well this morning.

Hasbro is modifying "Star Wars" theme monopoly game to include a forgotten hero in the movies, Rey. That's the main character.

Originally the company had Luke Skywalker representing the light side of the force but after the #wheresrey surfaced the company decided to replace him with Rey in the next edition of Star Wars monopoly. Good news there.

[10:59:57] Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I sure do appreciate it.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan start now,