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Sanders and Clinton Vie for Votes; Syria Claims Gains; Russia Hits Syrian School; Eliot Spitzer Investigated for Allegedly Choking a Woman; Kanye West Says He is $53 Million in Debt. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired February 15, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCARTIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who are hardest hurt, hardest hit economically.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not everything -- not everything is about an economic theory, right? If we broke up the big banks tomorrow, and I will if they deserve it, if they pose a systemic risk I will, would that end racism?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: With me now our CNN political commentators Charles Blow and Marc Lamont Hill.

Good morning to both of you.

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Hi.

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, Charles, who's right, Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton?

BLOW: Well, I don't think you can break it down into just kind of a binary of who's right or who's wrong on this. I think that both are appealing to the African-American community on issues that the African-American community care about and therefore the African- American community in the end wins with either one of these candidates.

What I think that black voters are trying to access out, which is, which one offers the more kind of practical, realistic approach. Which one will -- whose promises are more likely to be delivered upon when -- if they ever make it to office. And I think that is the -- the trip wire for the black vote in this particular cycle.

COSTELLO: Well, Marc, we know what Hillary Clinton says, right? She says Bernie Sanders is pie in the sky. His ideas are good, but she's the pragmatic one, she's the one that can get things through Congress, as divided as it is. Who do black voters believe right now?

HILL: well, again, I'm always uncomfortable speaking for all black voters, but what I will say is that the polls are saying that Hillary is still getting a level of support that Bernie is not. But that can absolutely shift. I'm always uncomfortable when politicians say things like, you know, let's be pragmatic because it also means that we're scaling down our political vision, we're truncating our radical imagine here. Why can't we imagine a world where we're not just prisoner to the pragmatic? It doesn't mean that we do pie in the sky. It doesn't mean that we don't think about things, you know, in the -- in the moment in terms of political demands and such, but we can dream bigger than this and I think that's what Bernie Sanders is suggesting. The question for Bernie, though, and this is what -- what black voters and black church going members are going to ask is, where have you been on these issues, Bernie? We've -- we've heard the economic plan for 30 or 40 years. Where have -- where is the race talk? And that's a question that they're both going to have to wrestle with.

COSTELLO: Well, it's interesting, both candidates are fighting so hard for the African-American vote, Charles, but who are in the same church? Do -- and I know I'm generalizing here, but do African- Americans think that both candidates are -- I'm sure they're sincere in what they say --

BLOW: Right.

COSTELLO: But as far as getting things done after they're elected to office, I think many African-Americans say, I don't know, what have you done for me lately because we support you during these election campaigns and then nothing happens.

BLOW: Well, I think that -- that is a longer historical truth for black people in general in America, which is that there's a lot of disappointment -- political disappointment, that people come around every four years and say things and then they don't deliver. That said, I -- you know, I -- I was in Iowa. I interviewed like 30 -- just focused on the black community there. I interviewed about 30 people, was in a lot of black spaces just overhearing their conversations. Although the black vote is tilted to Hillary, it seemed very soft to me. I couldn't -- I couldn't find the enthusiasm and I think that is a problem for her. And that -- that offers an opportunity for Bernie if he can figure out how to capitalize on it, which he has not so far.

One thing he has done is enlist a lot of younger, cooler, hipper advocates, which I think does help. I think that the youth part of his movement builds into itself a social media kind of armor (INAUDIBLE) and that helps him. Hillary -- one thing that people get completely wrong about what the people who support Hillary Clinton, according to the people who've I've interviewed, is that they say that they don't know enough yet. No. The ones who are supporting her are the ones who are most knowledgeable. Those are the ones who are -- they were -- in my -- in my interviews, they were older, they were college professors, they were people who were already in office. You can call those establishment people if you'd like, but they were the most knowledgeable voters who were the ones who were supporting her, not the least knowledgeable ones.

COSTELLO: Well, and that's interesting you say that, because, Marc, I was talking to a professor at the University of South Carolina who said that young African-Americans like Bernie Sanders for the same reasons young white American -- or voters do, because they have -- they have college debt that they want to get rid of, they want jobs when they get out of college. So, Bernie Sanders is sort of focusing on those issues rather than civil rights issues when it comes to young African-American voters.

HILL: Well, I think it's both and either/or. I think you're absolutely right, they absolutely have economic concerns that they feel Bernie Sanders addresses more directly. But they -- and they -- but they also have civil rights concerns. I mean people don't -- and human rights concerns. People don't want to get killed by the police. People don't want rights taken away. People don't want to re-litigate the battles of '54 and '55. And some people believe that Bernie Sanders has a better plan for that. I'm not advocating for Bernie or Hillary, I'm simply saying that that's what these young voters are saying. So that's another piece of this.

[09:35:04] The other thing -- and I agree with everything Charles said, is that the part of why is because younger voters don't know Hillary or Bernie and they're making an assessment based on platforms, not based on who they think is the power broker. Older establishment voters have a relationship to the Clintons. They know Hillary. And they may not like Hillary, they may not love Hillary, but they think that she has the best chance of getting stuff done. All of this plays into the mix. But I think we can never ignore the fact that the Clintons have had a very interesting relationship to black people. They often pander -- they go into church. You know, sometimes they even clap on beat. But what they don't often do is establish policy that speaks to those needs, crime bill, welfare reform, three strikes, put -- prison litigation reform act. This stuff undermines any kind of credibility they have, no matter how much they play the saxophone or speak in a southern drawl. That's something that voters are very wary of and younger voters in particular.

COSTELLO: All right, I have to leave it there. Marc Lamont Hill, Charles Blow, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, CNN on the front lines. An exclusive look at the battle against ISIS in Syria, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:04] COSTELLO: A dire warning from the director of the CIA on the ability of ISIS to carry out attacks using chemical weapons. In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," John Brennan said jihadists are committed to obtaining weapons of mass destruction and using them against the west. And he expects an attack inside the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, CIA DIRECTOR: I'm expecting them to try to put in place the operatives, the material or whatever else that they need to do or to insight people to carry out these attacks clearly. So I believe that their attempts are inevitable. I don't think their successes necessarily are.

SCOTT PELLEY, CBS "60 MINUTES": Can you explain to the folks watching this interview why these people want to kill us? How does attacking the United States further their interests?

BRENNAN: I think they're trying to provoke a clash between the west and the Muslim world or the world that they are in as a way to gain more adherence because what they are claiming is that the United States is trying to take over their countries, which is the furthest thing from the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Brennan confirmed ISIS has the ability to make small amounts of both chlorine and mustard gas and has used them in battle several times.

The front line of the battle against ISIS is in Syria. And that country's president says his army is making gains with the help of Russian jets. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has an exclusive look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We went to the eastern Syrian desert, on the fringe of Raqqa province, and got exclusive access to Bashar al Assad's front line with ISIS. Now, I was able to speak to the local commanding general there and he says that in the past weeks and the past months his forces have been making gains against ISIS and he says the reason for that is quite simple, Russian air power. And he says it's not just because the Russians are conducting air strikes, but also because the Russian air force is giving the Syrian military aerial intelligence which allowed them to more accurately pin point strike the ISIS forces, but also they can see ISIS coming in case the militants try to launch an attack.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the violence here in this country continues to escalate. Syrian government forces have made gains in Aleppo province in the north of the country and also Kurdish forces have attacked rebels near the Turkish border. That's something that, of course, caused a lot of anger in Ankara and for the very first time Turkey has shelled Kurdish positions close to its border. All of this as world powers cling to a peace plan that was put into place in Munich and one that's supposed to see a cessation of hostilities here in this country in the next couple of days. But at this point, if anything, it appears as though the violence here in Syria continues to escalate.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And there is collateral damage from those Russian strikes. According to the prime minister of Turkey, two hospitals and a school have been hit by Russian missiles, killing more than a dozen civilians. CNN's Arwa Damon live in Istanbul this morning.

Hi, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. And we spoke to an emergency worker in one of those areas that was hit by, at least according to the Turkish prime minister, these Russian ballistic missiles, and that is the town of Azad (ph), very close to Syria and Turkey's border. And there he said that there was a strike on a women and children's hospital, another strike, as well. Unclear if this was also a ballistic missile or some sort of artillery, but another strike that also hit a school that was housing people that had been fleeing from the violence elsewhere. That's in Aleppo province.

Separately, in Idlib province, you have Doctors Without Borders saying that one of its facilities was hit in what they are describing as being a deliberate strike. And they say that the fact that this hospital was hit in this particular area means that 40,000 people are unable and will be unable to get much-needed medical assistance. In that particular strike alone, at least nine people were killed and eight more of Doctors Without Borders staff is missing.

Now this is, obviously, as we have been reporting, becoming an increasingly more complicated battle zone with Turkey. Over the weekend, shelling various Kurdish positions inside Syria because Turkey views the Kurdish fighting force in Syria as being one in the same with the Kurdish separatists that Turkey is battling within its own borders. And, of course, you can just imagine how difficult this makes the situation, not just for a country like Turkey, but also the United States, that on the one hand considers Turkey to be an ally. Turkey is a NATO member. And y et America, on the other hand, is providing support to Kurdish rebels inside Syria, the very same rebels that Turkey is now shelling and warning not to try to make any more land grabs in all the chaos, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Arwa Damon reporting live from inside Turkey this morning.

[09:45:02] Still to come in the NEWSROOM, former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer back in the spotlight and under investigation. What New York detectives are looking into now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer is back in the news but for all the wrong reasons. New York detectives are investigating a 25 year old woman's claim that Spitzer choked her in a Manhattan hotel room on Saturday. A spokeswoman for Spitzer says there is no truth to the woman's accusation.

Jean Casarez is following this story for us this morning

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So this case is still developing right now.

[09:50:00] But we do know the NYPD is investigating. It was Saturday, it was a 25-year-old woman, and she is alleging that at the Plaza Hotel, in the very plush Plaza here in New York City, in a hotel room that Eliot Spitzer actually choked her.

And so at this point, the way it got into the hands of law enforcement was that, at some point on Saturday, the police were called about an emotionally disturbed woman at -- in a particular room at the Plaza Hotel. The police arrived there. They saw with the alleged victim self-inflected marks on her wrist, as in cuttings on her wrist. She was taken to the hospital. Once she was at the hospital, she told authorities that it was Eliot Spitzer. They had gotten in an verbal argument, that he had begun to choke her. And then, according to a law enforcement source that has been briefed on the investigation to CNN, Eliot Spitzer actually showed up at the hospital but obscured his identity with a skull cap.

So at this point, and we do have the release from the NYPD. We want to show you they have released an official statement on this. They are taking it seriously. "Manhattan detectives are currently investigating allegations of an assault which occurred yesterday," which was Saturday, "at a midtown hotel. The victim has indicated that the subject is Eliot Spitzer. Through an ongoing investigation, we are attempting to further establish the identification of the subject and the nature of the incident."

And we do know that she said that Eliot Spitzer is her boyfriend. She is now back on her way home to Russia. And of course Eliot Spitzer was the Governor of New York. He resigned in 2008 and later went on to host a political talk show right here at CNN.

COSTELLO: So she lives in Russia or lives here? But she's his girlfriend?

CASAREZ: It's a developing story. Those are the facts at this point. Her home is in Russia.

COSTELLO: So she may have been living here.

CASAREZ: So maybe her family is there.

COSTELLO: OK, well, I'm sure you'll continue to dig on this story.

CASAREZ: And police have not interviewed Eliot Spitzer at this point.

COSTELLO: At this point, but of course they plan to at some point?

CASAREZ: One would think. There are two sides to every story.

COSTELLO: Jean Casarez, thanks so much.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Checking some other top stories for you at 52 minutes past.

Police in London are searching for the culprit who pointed a laser at a passenger jet last night, forcing it to return to Heathrow Airport. The Virgin Atlantic flight with 252 passengers and 15 crew on board had just taken off for New York City when the cockpit was hit by a laser. Here's the cockpit's conversation with air traffic controllers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PILOT: We're going to have a pan and go back to Heathrow. We have a medical issue with one of the pilots.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Two Five Bravo say that all again.

PILOT: Pan, pan, pan, Virgin Two Five Bravo pan. We have a medical issue with one of the pilots after a laser incident after takeoff and we're going to return to heathrow.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Left turn direct to Strumble is approved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The United Kingdom has logged more than 400 incidents of lasers being pointed at airliners in just the past year.

In San Francisco, at least two people walking on the golden gate bridge were bounded by five inch darts from a blow dart gun. The darts are being analyzed to see if they were treated with any sort of chemicals. A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol says he's never heard of a blow dart attack until now.

A California bride is delaying her honeymoon to help search crews look for her father. Her father hasn't been seen since Saturday, right after the wedding. And according to CNN affiliate KLBR, family members said he was feeling sad, possibly homesick, after coming to the United States from India. Witnesses last saw him going for a walk toward a nearby bridge.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Grammys aren't until tonight, but Kanye West is already stealing the spotlight. Is he really in debt?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Kanye West is hoping for Grammy gold tonight and he may need it more than you think. Kanye West says he is, get this, $53 million in debt. And to help he wants Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, to invest in his ideas.

What is this about? Is he trying to steal the spotlight again from Taylor Swift? As you probably know, she's the favorite to win Album Of The Year for her album, "1989".

CNN's Frank Pollatta joins us now with is he really that much in debt?

FRANK POLLATTA, CNNMONEY MEDIA REPORTER: Aren't we all kind of in that much debt, Carol? I am.

COSTELLO: Oh yeah, you know.

POLLATTA: I guess the fashion world is really, really hard to make money in. But $53 million, it's kind of hard to figure out and unpack Kanye's stream of consciousness on Twitter, especially on live television. So I'm not exactly sure if he is that much in debt, but if he says it, I believe in Kanye.

COSTELLO: He's married to Kim Kardashian. They must have a pre-nup.

POLLATTA: He's one of the biggest stars on the planet. But like you said, he's not only that much in debt, he's asking Mark Zuckerberg for help. He asked Mark Zuckerberg to invest $1 billion in Kanye West ideas. That's what he asked for. He also called himself this generation's Disney and even asked Larry Page for help as well. So maybe he is maybe that much in debt.

COSTELLO: Well, what is Kanye West ideas that Mark Zuckerberg would say, wow! Got to do it?

POLLATTA: What isn't a Kanye West idea is a better question. It could be anything.

(LAUGHTER)

POLLATTA: I mean, it could be anything.

COSTELLO: Like what? Like what? OK, his fashion line, Mark Zuckerberg probably -- I don't know, he -- Mark Zuckerberg doesn't seem to be the sort of guy who would be interested in fashion, quite frankly.

POLLATTA: What about a t-shirt that streams music? Maybe that's a Kanye West idea. Think about it, Carol, it's a billion dollar idea.

COSTELLO: OK I'm going to think about it for about 10 seconds. One -- no, I can't even think about it for that long.

Frank, thanks for stopping by. It was fun.

[10:00:02] POLLATTA: Any time.

COSTELLO: The next CNN -- the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

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