Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Republican Party Division; President Obama Targets Cancer Cure; Controversy Over Detained Sailors; Nikki Haley Remarks to Press. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired January 13, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:03]

MICHAEL DEREMER, SON KILLED BY ALLEGED DRUNK DRIVER: And he was willing to even go to the point of what actually happened.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: To hear about him, to hear about his caring and compassion and gratitude, we should all strive to be a bit more like your son.

Julie and Michael, thank you both for sharing. I am so sorry. And I am so grateful for your son's service also to this country. Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BALDWIN: You are watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin here, the top of the hour, back with our breaking news, this tense situation unfolding between the United States and Iran.

I am about to play you some new video that has just come in to here us at CNN now showing this U.S. sailor apologizing for straying into Iran's fiercely monitored territorial waters after he and nine other Americans were captured at gunpoint by Iran.

Of course, there are a lot of questions, including about whether he was coerced into this apology, saying it out of fear. Here it was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a mistake that was our fault. And we apologize for our mistake. It was misunderstanding. We did not mean to go into Iranian territorial water.

The Iranian behavior was fantastic while we were here. We thank you very much for your hospitality and your assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: These Americans had been traveling from Kuwait to Bahrain when one of their two Naval boats ran into some kind of trouble and they ended up in Iranian waters.

The mistake cost them. And they were held overnight. Iran claiming they were only freed after the U.S. apologized. The U.S. calls that a lie, tweeting that reports of an apology, an official apology, had zero validity.

Joining me now, Fareed Zakaria, host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS."

Good to see you, sir.

We will get into the sensitivity of these waters in just a moment. But I was talk to go a retired commander just last hour from the U.S. Navy saying the sailor never should have apologized, just the way that looks to the world. Your thoughts on that?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, look, this has become something political now because it's Iran and the United States. And it's part of, frankly, a political season.

The truth of the matter is, I think as General Mark Hertling pointed out earlier on CNN, the United States government does not believe it has the authority to cross into the territorial waters of other countries, especially without authorization.

So, when that happens, and if it happens accidentally, as it did in this case, it seems perfectly normal for an American soldier or sailor or whoever it is to say, look, our bad. It was a mistake. And we apologize for it.

Now, that sort of apology, small A. That is to say, it's not an official government-to-government apology. It is not recognizing some kind of malicious intention. It's just saying, our bad, we crossed a few lines further than we should have.

BALDWIN: Is our bad good enough? We have U.S. Secretary John Kerry is saying, no, no, no, no apology.

ZAKARIA: Well, as I say, was it wrong for the sailor to have done that? It doesn't strike me as wrong. My sense is, these things happen often and they are often resolved by that kind of thing.

The real story here, Brooke, is that unlike in 2007, when the similar situation happened with the British boat, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in that case kept them 15 days or 13 days. If you remember, Ahmadinejad was president at the time. He paraded them around. He gave them free clothes back as a sign of his great, you know, generosity.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Well, this comes in the wake of the Iran nuke deal, for example.

ZAKARIA: Well, the big difference here is that the Iranians and the Americans actually have good relations, not great relations. They're adversaries in many ways. But the foreign minister of Iran and Secretary of State Kerry spoke to each other five times in half-a-day to resolve this.

So, it shows that, by having some engagement, by having somebody on the phone you can talk to, you can get these issues resolved. These things happen in life. The question is, is it going to look like 2007, when the sailors are stuck there for 13 days, they are charged with something, or does it get resolved quickly and relatively seamlessly?

BALDWIN: This is much different from 2007, clearly, but how does this look for the Obama administration? You look at the images of these 10 sailors sort of on their knees, which I'm told is protocol, on the knees, search for weapons, before they are brought in and detained for just a short period of time.

How -- the president didn't mention this last night in his speech, nor did, to be fair, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and her Republican response. But how will this look for Obama?

ZAKARIA: Well, the image looks, as you say, as one more episode in a kind of cold war that the United States and Iran have had for decades.

And the truth of the matter is, the United States and Iran remain strategic rivals. So, in that circumstance, if a U.S. boat crosses into Iranian waters -- and there is no dispute on the U.S. side that that is what happened. The United States entered Iranian waters without permission.

[15:05:05]

Of course, you can imagine the Iranians doing what they feel like they have to do. I think the more important issue here is, can you resolve this

BALDWIN: OK.

ZAKARIA: People are going to -- these things are going to happen. Do they flare up and out of control, or are we able to tamp them down?

And, as you say, the timing is crucial, because the Iran deal is in the process of -- in its last days of going through one important hurdle. The International Atomic Energy Agency is at some point going to verify that Iran has abided by its side of the bargain, the first part of its bargain. And then sanctions relief will begin.

So I don't suspect that this will go quietly in the United States. All I'm saying is, the interesting thing here is that it didn't turn into a bigger episode. The sailors were released quickly. And both sides are saying thank you for cooperating.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Fareed Zakaria, thank you as always. Thank you.

I just mentioned a moment ago South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. She gave the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union last night. She actually just spoke moments ago in South Carolina. Here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I was given an opportunity by Speaker Ryan and Senator McConnell to be able to say what I think. And that was a neat opportunity to be able to go ahead and talk about not just where we have been, but where we are and where we're going.

And so we talked about a lot of things. Donald Trump was not the only person I talked about. I know people want to say that's what it was. He was one of the people I was talking about. But when you talk about the angriest voices or you talk about the loud voices, it was also the situation that we had with Walter Scott, when you look at the fact that here was a black man that was shot by a white police officer five times in the back, we didn't have the yelling and the riots.

What we did do was two months to the day of that shooting, Republicans and Democrats, blacks and whites came together and passed the first body camera bill in the country. The point is, when you get loud, when you get angry, the work stops. Things stop moving.

And so trying to make sure we lower the volume, listen to what people are saying, because if you listen to what they're trying to get, you realize a lot of times there is a place to get there. It doesn't mean you have to change your philosophical beliefs. Be it matters.

And then also being responsible with your words. This is a time where we come from a president who has been very divisive across our country. We need to make sure that we stop that. We have got to pull it back together.

And one of those things is understanding that I have passed one of the strongest illegal immigration bills in the country. We strongly believe in that. We have said we don't want Syrian refugees because there is no way to vet. But I do believe in legal immigration.

My parents came here. They paid the price. They paid their time. They have been productive citizens. No one that is here legally and lives here should ever feel unwelcome in their own country. And so that's more what I'm talking about is to make sure that people aren't feeling unwelcomed, make sure we're not getting into a negative conversation and make sure we're keeping that tent open.

QUESTION: So, what is it that Donald Trump is saying that makes him one of these angriest voices?

HALEY: The one that got me, I think, was when he started saying ban all Muslims.

What I will tell you is, the Syrian refugees, I said when the FBI director called and told me that he had no way of knowing what their past was, we said, well, we don't want them. We can't afford to take that risk.

But when you have got immigrants that are coming here legally, we have never in the history of this country passed any laws or done anything based on race or religion. Let's not start that now. We have gone too far than to go back into a race and religion issue. I have been through those fights. That's not worth it We want to move America forward. Having said that, there are some things that other presidential candidates have said too. And when I see something wrong, I say it.

QUESTION: Is Ted Cruz one of those angriest voices?

HALEY: I haven't heard Ted say anything in terms of the religion. If he did, I would say something about that.

But I have disagreements with other presidential candidates. Jeb Bush passed Common Core. And Marco Rubio believes in amnesty, which I don't. There's lots of things. But I will say tone matters, message matters, and responsibility matters.

And so I think, as we go forward, I think we need to be responsible in our message if we truly want to get anything done.

QUESTION: Governor, you seemed to have really ticked off the Trump wing of the party, some of the more conservative commentators, including Ann Coulter. They have said things about you, including that you should be deported. What's your response to that?

HALEY: I mean, those are the angry voices, right? And that's the thing, is, look, I can appreciate that they're angry. I said what I believe. I stand by what I believe.

I think that this country is better when we work together and acknowledge the fact that the fabric of America is based on legal immigrants of all professions, of all races, of all religions.

[15:10:10]

It is what makes us the greatest, freest country in the world. I'm going to stand by that. My speech last night was not to win over anyone. I understood that when I hit Republicans and Democrats, I was going to upset people. But they gave me the opportunity to say what I think, and that's what I did.

QUESTION: Speaking of your speech, how much of it was -- how much input did the RNC or the establishment Republicans have in it? Was it entirely your speech, or was it some -- done with some help from those...

HALEY: It was my speech. They let me write it.

And to their credit, they didn't try and keep me quiet. They didn't -- and that's what I greatly appreciate was, one, I wouldn't have wanted to do it if I couldn't write it myself. But they allowed me the opportunity to speak to the country.

And I didn't want to lose that opportunity. I didn't want to lose the opportunity, in light of everything South Carolina had gone through in 2015, and the way the people of South Carolina came together on issues of the Walter Scott, on Mother Emanuel, on the flood. In every one of those situations, people lowered their voices and they saw how they could come together. If we can do that in South Carolina, we can do it across this country.

And that was the point I wanted to make was -- but we all have to look in the mirror. We all have to realize we have some responsibility in this. And I think our actions have to be louder than our words.

QUESTION: So, you didn't have Paul Ryan as a ghost writer?

HALEY: No. What I had was, he called and gave me good luck. He told me to put a Halls in my mouth before I gave the speech. I had a couple other people give advice.

But his team was incredibly good to work with and I'm very grateful. They could have easily said we don't want you to do this. We don't want you to do that. But he said, if you want to write it, go ahead and write it. And so I was grateful for that.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Did you get any calls from anyone on the national stage that were surprising or anything?

HALEY: No.

I text with a few of the presidential candidates. And so I think I heard from Marco. I heard from Jeb. I heard from -- I'm missing one. Oh, Chris Christie. So, they all came in. I talked to Speaker Ryan this morning. I think I'm talking to Senator McConnell this afternoon.

It's just nice. Everybody was very supportive. They appreciated what I was doing. And I was thankful for the opportunity.

QUESTION: Did they say anything to you that surprised you or...

HALEY: No. They were all great.

QUESTION: There is talk of you for a potential V.P. position. What are you thoughts on that?

HALEY: I think that the media spent a lot of time on this. But the truth is, we have come off of a tough 2015 for South Carolina.

And I have got this education rollout. I have got the budget rollout on Friday. I have got state of the state next week. It's just something I think about. And I don't think anybody else should think about it because we have got to get a candidate first. And so I'm not spending a lot of time on it.

All right?

QUESTION: Donald Trump said you were a lot nicer to him when you were asking for contributions for your campaigns. What do you say to that?

HALEY: I consider Mr. Trump a friend. He was a supporter. He supported me in both campaigns.

But just because you disagree with someone doesn't mean you're not a friend. And that's the thing is, you shouldn't take these things personally. When I say it about my other friends that are running for president, they don't throw stones.

And so what I say to Mr. Trump is, don't take it personally. This is just something that we learned in South Carolina that I'm passing it along. Take it if you want and don't take it if you don't. But I think our country will be better if we take it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Don't take it personally. Politics.

Let's chat about this, because there is a lot to discuss there from what Governor Nikki Haley just said.

Let me bring in our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, who, by the way, is in Dorchester, South Carolina, with Senator Ted Cruz, and Jeff Zeleny, our senior Washington correspondent is -- I think you're in Florida. Yes, you are. You're in Pensacola, Florida, on the campaign trail with Donald Trump.

Wow. Dana, first to you. Listen, we know Governor Haley gave the response last night. She said she got the good luck from Speaker Ryan. She has been applauded by establishment Republicans and some Democrats as well.

But the far right wing of the party, I believe one of the reporters put it that the Trump wing not loving what she had to say. What do you make of her response to some of those questions right now?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What you just heard, Brooke, is exactly why the speaker in Washington, the Senate majority leader in Washington, Republicans who are pretty openly concerned about the direction of their own party, why they chose Nikki Haley to give the response last night.

You heard her say the speech was her own. She wrote it, that the only contact she had with the speaker was just kind of a good luck and some tips on her performance and how to do that well. But in terms of the content, which is what is causing a lot of uproar on the conservative side of the party, that, she insisted, was her own.

Now, they chose her for this response not long after she did make pretty tough comments about Donald Trump. And she just repeated them. We just heard them. And his temporary -- his call to temporarily ban Muslims from the United States.

[15:15:05]

But she also was a pick because of where she is governor, where I am right now, South Carolina, an incredibly important state, because she is a woman, because she is the daughter of immigrants. And the list goes on.

And the fact that she is standing by it is definitely getting her applause from Republicans who have been very concerned that the loudest people on the GOP side, Donald Trump number one, having been drowning out others. They're concerned that it's going to in the long-term shove aside people they need to bring into the party to keep it viable.

So that is why and I should just tell you when one of the reporters asked about Ann Coulter, what she had tweeted was Nikki Haley -- Donald Trump should deport Nikki Haley. And she wasn't the only one. Laura Ingraham and others were pretty harsh.

BALDWIN: Nikki Haley referenced the angry voices.

Jeff Zeleny, you are out on the Trump trail. You heard her, yes, she has received campaign donations from Mr. Trump. She calls him a friend. She also says, hey, don't take it personally. He has already responded on FOX to some of what she did last night. What might we see from him where you are in Florida on this?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, Donald Trump has made clear that he said that Nikki Haley is not off to a good start. Of course, he is suggesting that if he becomes the Republican nominee, that she will not be high on his short list for the vice presidential running mate here.

He also was very critical on her on immigration. He said she's been very weak on immigration so he wouldn't give her much of a look anyway. But, Brooke, I think what we are seeing here, as Dana just pointed out so clearly, we have a fight going on inside this Republican Party. Never mind the Democrats. Never mind the differences with President Obama we saw outlined last night

Never mind the fights with Hillary Clinton. There is a big split, fight going on inside this Republican Party. But one of the reasons you can see people lining up behind me some five hours before a Donald Trump rally is, his supporters like the fact that he is standing up to the establishment. They do include people like Nikki Haley in the establishment, even though she doesn't look much like a typical Republican.

This is why they selected her, of course. So, this is one of the fights that's going to be going on throughout this primary fight. If it reaches all the way Florida, which has a primary March 15, that is really going to really divide the party here.

So, interesting that this is a moment not just to pick a Republican and a Democrat. Republicans are having a bit of an identity crisis of their own here. And the winner of this nomination is going to go a long way toward deciding if the party is unified or in fact if it is not.

BALDWIN: She may not be on Donald Trump's short list. But she could be on others'. When she was asked if she has thought about being somebody's running mate, her response, not something I think about.

Hmm. Hmm.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Dana Bash and Jeff Zeleny, we will leave it there. Thank you both so much. Coming up next, President Obama surprising everyone, including the

vice president himself, by tapping Joe Biden to lead the charge to find a cure for cancer. It is what everyone wants to know, how close we are. A leading doctor joins me next.

Plus, news just in involving the missing Malaysia Air Flight 370. The first lawsuit by an American has just been filed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:35]

BALDWIN: News just into us here at CNN. The family of an American who was on board that Flight MH370 when it vanished over the Southern Indian Ocean is now suing Malaysia Airlines. The sons of Philip Wood want compensation for the pain and the suffering, as well as the loss of earnings by Wood if he were alive.

During the height of the mystery, Wood's partner, Sarah Bajc, told CNN that she had doubts about Malaysia Air's claims that the plane had crashed. And until someone actually found a piece of that airplane, she wasn't convinced he was dead.

President Obama saying the time is right for an ambitious moon shot to cure cancer. The president revealed his national push during last night's State of the Union address and tapped Vice President Joe Biden to lead the charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, tonight, I'm announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he's gone to the mat for all of us, on so many issues over the past 40 years, I'm putting Joe in charge of mission control.

For the loved ones we've all lost, for the family we can still save, let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: As well know, Vice President Biden's 46-year-old son, Beau, lost his battle with brain cancer last year.

And I love to bring in now Dr. Ronald DePinho, president of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

Doctor, great to see you.

DR. RONALD DEPINHO, M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I mean, just reading about, you know, your hospital, I know you all have done for years. You have had this cancer Moon Shot initiative. I know you all have been in touch with the vice president in the past.

But to hear the president talk about this moon shot of curing cancer in front of tens of millions of people, what were you thinking?

DEPINHO: Well, frankly, this is an amazing day for patients and a very bad day for cancer.

The president announcing and charging the nation to make a decisive assault on the cancer problem and placing Vice President Joe Biden in charge of this initiative, who has a deep passion and deep knowledge of science and technology, is an extraordinary opportunity to really bend the arc of this disease once and for all.

BALDWIN: Dr. DePinho, I have got to ask the question on everyone's minds, because everyone is touched by this or their family member, when? How realistic will it be when America is able to cure all forms of cancer?

[15:25:02]

DEPINHO: Well, it's going to be an ongoing process.

But we are truly in this golden age of cancer research, where we have an opportunity right now to harness existing knowledge and enabling technology to dramatically reduce mortality due to cancer. This is going to require significant efforts on cancer prevention, where we know a lot about the instigators of cancer and what we can do to prevent it in the first place, to mount a strong effort in the early detection of cancer through simple and inexpensive blood tests.

And that is also possible in the not-too-distant future. And extraordinary advances in treatment, where we are harnessing the power of the immune system, a whole new class of drugs that are producing extraordinary results for patients with advanced cancer. So we are at a real tipping point in our ability to really make cancer history. But it's going to be with us for a long time.

BALDWIN: We will take it.

Thank you for all your hard work to you and your team at M.D. Anderson.

Dr. Ronald DePinho, thank you.

DEPINHO: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, a new twist in the case of Steven Avery, the focus of the "Making a Murderer" true crime TV series, now being accused of abuse by his ex-fiancee, the stunning revelations from her exclusive interview with our sister network, HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)