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Veterans Groups to Trump: Keep Your Money; Rubio Warns Supports Not to Get Sidetracked by Trump, Focus on Beating Democrats; Joe Biden Calls Republican Race a Gift from God; Aretha Franklin Helps Flint Residents. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired January 28, 2016 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[14:30:00] JASON REZAIAN, REPORT, THE WASHINGTON POST & FORMER PRISONER IN IRAN: For much of the 18 months I was imprisoned, my interrogators told me "The Washington Post" did not exist, that no one knew of my plight, and that the United States government would not lift a finger for my release. Today, I'm here in this room with the very people who helped prove the Iranians wrong in so many ways.
Each day since my release, I learned more about the efforts to gain our freedom, which began the moment Yagi (ph) and I were taken from our home, and continue on in support of our reintroduction into the world. There's so many people to thank.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Jason Rezaian, welcome home.
Coming up next, several veteran groups ripping Donald Trump for holding this event tonight. One group calling him a loser. How is this for veterans here? Is this offensive? We'll talk live with an Army veteran, Jack Murphy, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:13] BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Donald Trump is not going to this FOX debate. Instead, he's doing this counterprogramming thing, hosting a fund-raising event to benefit wounded veterans at the very same time this event is going on. And now veterans are sort of caught in the middle of this story. Two Republican candidates issued quick challenges in the fallout over this debate controversy. Super PACs supporting Trump's closest rival in Iowa, Ted Cruz, they're offering to pony up $1.5 million to veterans organizations if Trump shows up to debate Ted Cruz one on one. Then Carly Fiorina upped the ante saying she would donate $1.5 million to veteran groups to join that Cruz/Trump event and she would give $2 million to debate Trump tonight. So there's that.
At least one veterans group has a strong message for Trump: Keep your money. Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, IAVA, Paul Rieckhoff, he tweeted, "Vets don't need stunts," and that he would decline any contributions from tonight's Trump event.
How do we find out about this? Let's go straight to the veterans.
I want to welcome back U.S. Army Special Operations veteran, Jack Murphy, former Green Beret, editor of .com.
Nice to see you.
I reached out to you because I was just curious, talking to a couple different veterans, there's sort of across the spectrum about how they feel tonight. How do you feel about what Trump's doing?
JACK MURPHY, EDITOR. COM & U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS VETERAN & FORMER GREEN BERET: I think what Trump is attempting to do right now is use veterans as a sort of strategy in his veterans campaign. The military and veterans in general are one of the few institutions respected around the country so it makes sense for Trump to try to hijack that cause --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: You feel like he's hijacking it?
MURPHY: Yes, he's try to say I'm great because of my association with veterans. It's very much strategy that he uses.
BALDWIN: What do you want him to do tonight? You don't like what he's doing. But he is with veterans. We are talking about veterans, which is a good thing.
MURPHY: Sure, sure. I mean, if he raises some money and it goes to a good cause, that's great. However, I really can't blame that director, Paul --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Paul Rieckhoff.
MURPHY: Yeah. I really can't blame him for saying we don't want to be associated with the publicity stunt. He wants to keep his organization focused on the vets and not on this political three-ring circus.
BALDWIN: Exactly what he's saying. He's saying just donate to us directly.
MURPHY: Sure.
BALDWIN: Don't make it a thing.
MURPHY: Yeah. Exactly.
BALDWIN: On the flip side, David Gergen, who is on CNN all the time, he is a CNN senior political analyst, and he is also a veteran, and he said this last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST & VETERAN: I don't think he would have dodged the debate if Megyn Kelly was the only issue. When FOX issued an extraordinary snarky and insulting statement about Trump, he said, "I'm out of here." Bye-bye. He stood up to the media. That rarely happens in America. I think it drives home the point that Trump is running as a guy who's not going to be owned by anybody and he's willing to stand up to people and walk away. I also thought frankly he was smart to schedule this thing on the veterans. He's been arguing for a long time with all these high ratings that the people are sponsoring ratings, take some of their extra advertising revenue and give it to veterans, now he's doing it himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I don't know how many twists and turns you followed about this whole thing, with FOX talking about the ayatollah and Putin and if you're were president -- all the Twitter followers. It was a snarky statement. Trump's like, all right, I'm not coming. Can you understand where he's coming from a little bit?
MURPHY: I can understand where he's coming from in the sense I think it speaks to a larger trend in the media. When I was a young man, when I was a kid, it was just CNN. It was sort of center, center left. And then FOX came in to compete for those conservative viewers. What's happened over time is Americans have pooled into two different camps, into far right and far left. And Trump is an expression of that. He speaks to the far right. He's been able to run an anti- media campaign, which is something we're able to do now that we're firmly into the mobile Internet era.
BALDWIN: He's saying potentially, I don't need you, FOX, I'm going to create my own event. We're still waiting for details. We're talking to Senator Santorum, who apparently is going tonight as well, in addition to Governor Huckabee. They won't be at the primetime debate but they will be at this Trump event. I think it will be interesting to see what happens.
MURPHY: I think that's a trend you'll see in the next presidential campaigns more and more, is sort of an ostracization of the old media.
BALDWIN: Jack Murphy, we're in unprecedented times, my friend.
MURPHY: I'm sorry.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Jack, thank you very much for your candor.
MURPHY: Thanks for having me.
[14:39:50] BALDWIN: Yeah.
Coming up, Vice President Joe Biden calls this Republican race a gift from God. Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz will join me next to respond and tell me why he thinks Marco Rubio will be the winner. Not tonight, but will be the winner of the presidency. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: So much attention has been focused on Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz in the lead-up to the all-important Iowa caucuses four days from now. The Republican presidential candidates are really at the top of the polls here, so close when you look at the numbers. Behind them, distant third, you have Florida Senator Marco Rubio. He is on the trail in Iowa trying to remind his supporters to keep the big picture in mind, defeating the Democrats come November. And Rubio warned them not to get sidetracked by the fact Trump is boycotting tonight's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 90 percent of their coverage is on this whole thing, oh, Donald Trump's not going to show up. Ted Cruz is challenging him to a one-on-one, mano-o-mano debate. Interesting side show, greatest show on earth.
This is not a show. This is serious. We cannot lose this election. We have to turn this country around now. We cannot wait another four years.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:45:21] BALDWIN: Joining me now here in New York is Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz. He's the chair with the House Oversight Committee. He is supporting Rubio for president of the United States.
Congressman, so great to see you.
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ, (R), UTAH: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
CHAFFETZ: Yeah.
BALDWIN: Listening to Marco Rubio saying, this is serious, this is not a show. When you see that and you hear that, to me, that says, my goodness, he's been on the trail, for what, six months, and he's still frustrated. He's frustrated over this guy Trump.
CHAFFETZ: There's a lot of oxygen sucked out of the room on what is legitimately a sideshow about whether or not he's going to be in the debate, not be at the debate --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Even before then.
CHAFFETZ: We, as Republicans, we better darn well start talking about issues, about policies, and why conservatives in the White House would be better for the country. That's the heart and soul of why Rubio is running. He's very conservative. But he's got to be talking about the issues. And these other little things are distracting.
BALDWIN: How does he do that tonight, sans Trump on the stage? How does he sell that to the American people?
CHAFFETZ: Look, Trump not in the room, A, most people get more time. And when you get in and start talking about foreign policy, about how to grow the economy, all those types of things, Marco shines. He is our best foot forward as Republicans. If we want to win in November, we better darn well have Marco Rubio at the top of the ticket.
BALDWIN: Hoping to outshine Marco Rubio is Senator Ted Cruz, who will finally get that center podium spot. I talked to a lot of people. There's a lot of negativity swirling around him. The fact there's not a single Republican Senator who works with him on the Hill who is saying we like this guy to me speaks volumes. Why is that? Why is not a single Senator publicly endorsing him?
CHAFFETZ: He'll have to answer that. There's a reason why a lot of us of the younger generation support Marco Rubio, myself, Trey Gowdy, and a host of others. We're behind Marco Rubio because I happen to have met and spent time with every single candidate on both sides of the aisle, some more than others, and Marco Rubio is just that person who we gravitate to as that leader.
BALDWIN: Why not Cruz? Give me something. I mean, I see this look in your eye.
CHAFFETZ: I don't want to say anything negative about him. I can tell you the positives are so great for Marco Rubio. He's just an engaging personality we trust. And Marco has actually passed some substantive legislation. When he went after those risk corridors and got that legislation passed in his first term that shows success in bringing both sides of the aisle together that other candidates haven't been able to do.
BALDWIN: So success in Washington, but when you hear -- hear House Speaker Paul Ryan say, you look at all these guys and gals and it's like a circular firing squad, that's not a good thing.
CHAFFETZ: I don't think you've seen Rubio taking direct shots. He's been --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Do agree with Speaker Ryan?
CHAFFETZ: Well, yeah. When we're beating up on each other, we're not beating up on the policy differences between ourselves and Clinton and Sanders.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Rubio's taking direct shots? Really?
CHAFFETZ: He's had $20 million laid down and he's still in the top three. That's pretty remarkable, and I think shows the staying power. That's not going to be let up after the nominee comes. You have to be able to take a lot of Clinton fire and a lot of Democratic money coming after you. I think they're mostly scared about having Marco Rubio at the top of the ticket than they would be Senator Cruz or any of the others.
BALDWIN: Did you hear what Vice President Joe Biden said?
CHAFFETZ: No, I didn't.
BALDWIN: Let me share with you. He said -- actually, we have the sound. Here you go.
CHAFFETZ: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We may be given a gift from the Lord in the presidential race here.
(LAUGHTER)
I don't know who to root for, Cruz or Bush or -- what's that guy's name?
(LAUGHTER)
He's having a fund-raiser for veterans tonight, I'm told.
But all kidding aside, folks, you know, it's been a tough last couple cycles. But we should get up, man. There's a real shot here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Cruz or what's his name.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: He's the vice president.
CHAFFETZ: I would agree with the vice president. The last couple of cycles have been tough because we are not fans of what President Obama has been doing, and with him as the vice president. He just said the last couple cycles have been tough, I would agree with him.
BALDWIN: A gift from God.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: To you point, it's --
(CROSSTALK)
CHAFFETZ: Give the vice president a microphone and there will be material there, so, yeah.
[14:40:50] BALDWIN: Congressman Chaffetz. OK, final question --
(LAUGHTER)
"New York Times," this is what he writes, why isn't Marco Rubio winning? Quote, "He's well liked by Republican voters. He polls very well against Hillary Clinton. Nothing scandalous has emerged to derail him. Yet here we are just days from Iowa and prominent Republicans are frustrated and confused, resigning themselves to Trump versus Cruz or attempting complicated bank shots to take one or both of them out, instead of doing what many expected, simply rallying to Rubio."
Why haven't more Republicans come together, coalesced behind one, not- Trump candidate?
CHAFFETZ: We have a lot of good qualified candidates. There's a lot of people who don't --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Isn't that part of the problem?
CHAFFETZ: I also think it's an opportunity because we have a very diverse ticket, from Carly Fiorina to Dr. Carson to -- you keep going down the list, we have a very diversified ticket above and beyond what normally people say, oh, Republicans, there's just all this certain type. We have two people, a Cruz and a Rubio, that have their names on the ballot. You would have never expected that two, three years ago. They're still getting familiar with these people.
I'm convinced in my heart when people get to know Marco Rubio, hear him, see him, understand him, listen to him in the debate, that's why he has this growing momentum and support, and why I think he's the best foot forward come November. I really believe it.
BALDWIN: Congressman Jason Chaffetz, thank you very much.
CHAFFETZ: Thank you. Thank you.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, new developments in Flint, Michigan, and the effort to fix this ongoing crisis of lead-tainted water. My next guest is stepping up to help people who need it the most. She is the queen of soul, Detroit native, Aretha Franklin, live on CNN, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:42] BALDWIN: The money is starting to arrive for the people of Flint, Michigan. The State Senate today unanimously approved $28 million to go towards resolving the city's toxic water crisis. The money will go towards infrastructure, nutrition, medical support. It will also help folks pay utility bills. In Washington, D.C., representatives from Michigan are also trying to cull more federal dollars for pipe improvements and health needs.
Someone else lending a helping hand, the queen of soul, Miss Aretha Franklin. She is donating hotel rooms and meals to dozens of Flint families affected by the water contamination. And she joins me on the phone from Detroit.
Miss Aretha, it is an honor and a pleasure. Thank you for calling in.
Let me begin with you were born and raised in Detroit. This is personal for you. Tell me what you'll be doing.
ARETHA FRANKLIN, SINGER (voice-over): I was not born in Detroit, but I'm been here so long, I might as well have been.
BALDWIN: Might as well have been. Tell me what you're doing for the good people of Flint, Michigan.
FRANKLIN: Well, my contribution to this disaster in Flint is 50 hotel rooms nightly for as long as possible. Hopefully, it will help out.
BALDWIN: How long have you been following this disaster? Because it has been raging on far longer I think than much of the public realizes. I'm wondering, at what point did you say enough is enough?
FRANKLIN: Well, just really came out on TV, probably about the same time you became aware of it is when I became aware of it, when we began seeing these bottles of Brown and green and yellow water and corrosion in the pipes and this sort of thing. What's going on there now?
BALDWIN: I was --
(CROSSTALK)
FRANKLIN: About the same time as everyone else.
BALDWIN: In the last couple of months. The site of the prescreening, your father's church in Detroit, New Bethel Baptist. You come from a family with a rich history in civil rights, community involvement. How does that legacy influence the work you do today?
FRANKLIN: Well, yes, of course, my dad was a board member with SCLC and Dr. King, and I am just concerned where the community is concerned in Detroit. This is where I live. This is where I was brought up. Flint is so close to Detroit, it might as well be Detroit. So I can appreciate artists like Cher and -- who donated $30,000. And Eminem and Puffy brought in crates of water and so on. And I've put out a call to Smoky and Stevie and Barry Gordy. I understand Barry's in London be but I have put in calls to them and Duke here of the Four Tops to see what they will donate to Flint.
BALDWIN: You know, Miss Aretha, people have called this environmental racism. Now, the governor, he says that's absolutely not the case. What do you think?
FRANKLIN: I think that we should just wait until all of the facts come out. And we have heard and know what all of the facts are. We know what the facts are on one side of the fence and that's the people's side, you know, that have been drinking and bathing in and what have you, cooking, in this water, in this leaded water. So we're waiting for the facts to come out on the other side.
BALDWIN: And of the people, just final question, I think, so much about the kids, you know, these young --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: -- little girls and boys.
FRANKLIN: The most terrible thing about it, because it's more serious for the children than anyone else, although it effects adults as well. It's just more serious and treacherous where the children are concerned.
BALDWIN: And they still do not have water --
(CROSSTALK)
FRANKLIN: And that will go on for generations.
BALDWIN: That's the frightening thing. That is the frightening thing.
Aretha Franklin, thank you so much for your time. I really, really appreciate it.
FRANKLIN: Thank you. Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
