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Remembering the Life and Legacy of Nancy Reagan; Interview with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver; North Korea Threatens Preemptive Nuclear Strike; Peyton Manning Announces Retirement. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 07, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:02] STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was something that was viewed as special and rare that many Americans, no matter their political affiliation, admired about the two. In fact their son Ron Reagan was on the "Today" show talking about their relationship. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON REAGAN, SON OF RONALD AND NANCY REAGAN: She loved her husband more than anything in the world, and I think that you can make the case that the Ronald Reagan that we all came to know as president would not have existed without Nancy Reagan. Once they had bonded together, they really were inseparable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And when you take a look at what the position of being the first lady has become in this country, many point to Nancy Reagan as an influential person who changed the way things were done. She had the ear of her husband, as you would expect a spouse would, but she also made sure that the White House and everyone who was there really supported her husband. And she said anyone who wasn't there, they were out of that realm, they were taken away from that place.

But when you look at her influence, even the Democratic president that we have now, President Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama putting out a statement saying that nothing prepares you for living in the White House, and that's what Nancy Reagan had once said. But they said they benefitted from her warm and generous advice.

Obviously many Republicans coming out and also saying what she meant to this country as an icon, and many people remembering her as they prepare to lay her rest here at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Stephanie Elam, reporting live for us this morning.

The current presidential candidates taking time to reflect on Nancy Reagan's legacy. Donald Trump tweeting, quote, "Nancy Reagan was an amazing woman. She will be missed." And this from Senator Ted Cruz, quote, "Nancy Reagan will be remembered for her deep passion for this nation and love for her husband, Ronald."

The Democrats also a pausing for a moment of silence during last night's debate in Flint.

With me now to talk about Nancy Reagan, James Rosebush. He's the former chief of staff for Nancy Reagan. He was also responsible for the coordination and implementation of her Just Say No anti-drug campaign. He's also the author of a new book, "True Reagan."

I'm also joined by presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.

Welcome to both of you.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here.

James, you visited with Mrs. Reagan late last year. Tell me what that was like.

JAMES ROSEBUSH, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT, PRESIDENT REAGAN: It was very sentimental. It was on December 7th. We had a little Christmas celebration. She had a little tree set up in the library next to an octagonal table which she had in the family quarters at the White House. And she patted that table as we were talking and she said, you know, Jim, this is where the president received the doctor's diagnosis in 1994 from Mayo Clinic. And she patted the table and I said, well, how did the president respond to that? And she said just the way Ronnie always did.

And I said what was that, and she said with optimism. And I thought, if he could view something as grave as that diagnosis with optimism, and he always said that America's best days were always ahead, he was the eternal optimist, I took that to heart myself. And I thought I should be looking at the world in its grave situations with optimism. The same kind of Ronald Reagan optimism that we all need.

COSTELLO: And, James, we always heard stories that Nancy Reagan was so lonely after President Reagan passed away. What was her life like?

ROSEBUSH: Well, you know, when you have a compact as strong as theirs, and you're with your partner for 10 years and yet you're not really able to communicate with them, I think that's -- and so many have gone through that. I think that's a terrifying experience to be in and so many of her personal friends had gone on, we talked about that the several times that I was with her this past year.

And in fact, on December 7th when she saw me to the front door after our visit, we were just -- she was holding onto my hand, and she said when are you coming back? When are you coming back? And I said, well, I don't know. I'll come back as soon as I can. And then she said, I don't know whether I'll be here or not.

It was a very touching moment, and, of course, I said, well, of course you're going to be here. And I'm going to see you in tennis shoes running around your swimming pool. But, of course, that isn't exactly what happened. So that was a very sentimental journey over the many years that we spent together traveling the world and reminiscing about it. So I feel very privileged and honored to have had that last visit with her.

COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness. That gave me goose bumps.

Douglas, of course, we know Nancy Reagan loved her husband dearly, but she was more than a wife to him, wasn't she?

(CROSSTALK)

ROSEBUSH: Well, she was --

BRINKLEY: She was everything.

ROSEBUSH: Sorry. You coming to me?

[10:35:03] COSTELLO: No, go ahead, Douglas.

BRINKLEY: OK. Yes. I was just going to say she was everything to Ronald Reagan, and people have been talking about the Reagan diaries, and there's just -- I just wanted to quickly read, here's right when they're in the White House in 1981 on June 16th, here's Ronald Reagan writing it's lonely. Nancy is in New York for the royal ballet. I don't like it here in the White House by myself. And then just a month later, Nancy Reagan goes to leave for London for the royal wedding, and Ronald Reagan writes, "Saw mommy off for London in the royal wedding. I worry when she's out of sight for just six minutes. How am I going to hold up for six days? The lights just don't seem as warm and bright without her."

And that I think tells you for minutes that constantly she was even gone for minutes or let alone a week, he was in doldrums and lost without her.

COSTELLO: Well, I know that after he was shot, you know, from his hospital bed when he came -- you know, when he came to, the first thing he wanted to see was Nancy Reagan's face. And that's the first person he thought about. And I found that touching too, Douglas.

BRINKLEY: It is. And he also writes in the diary about God, that he woke up and saw the ceiling, Ronald Reagan, and realized I am alive. And Nancy Reagan had fallen right after he was shot and broke her ribs but she didn't want him to know that she was in pain also because she so much had to make sure that he was cured, and so much of the drama, inside drama, of the Reagan years is Nancy Reagan caretaking for him, making sure he's OK, worried that she was going to lose him, giving him spiritual guidance.

And their marriage got even closer, if that's even possible, during their White House years. And I think it's remarkable, the job she did after the White House of taking care of him after that Mayo Clinic diagnosis he just had. And her love was unbounded. And now they're going to be buried next to each other in Simi Valley as it should be.

COSTELLO: And hopefully they'll see one another again.

James, I just want to ask you. How would Nancy Reagan want to be remembered? ROSEBUSH: You know, she was more interested in the president's legacy

than she was in her own. But I would say that she certainly wants to be remembered as -- she is remembered as a Doug said, caretaker for the president in his later years and support and great support during his years as a leader both in Sacramento and in Washington.

However, I have to point out that Nancy Reagan was a strong, intelligent, and independent woman on her own right. And the hard work that -- she always said American taxpayers got a good deal out of Nancy Reagan because she worked tirelessly on behalf of the causes that she was committed to, especially the issue of global drug abuse, and she worked very hard to help immunize young people against the ravages of drug abuse.

She went everywhere she could. She was the first first lady to have a bilateral meeting with the Pope on a serious issue like this, much like her president had engaged the Pope to help rid the world of Soviet era communism. So she appealed to the Pope. She held -- for the first time in history, global meeting for a summit for first ladies from all around the world, 100 of them, to focus on this issue together.

So there were a number of firsts that Nancy Reagan pioneered for a first lady, and I think those are the things that she wants to be remembered for as well.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. James Rosebush, Douglas Brinkley, thanks to both of you.

A picture of Nancy Reagan there.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Flint's water crisis takes political center stage. The city's mayor joins me, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:19] COSTELLO: We are awaiting a press conference in Flint, Michigan, where a class action lawsuit will soon be announced. You see the podium set up there. Seven families are looking to hold a group of city and state officials responsible for the poisoning of Flint's water supply. Flint was also the epicenter of a fierce political faceoff last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: What is more important than the health and the well-being of the people particularly children? It is raining lead in Flint. And the state is derelict in not coming forward with the money that is required.

SANDERS: You are paying three times more for poisoned water than I'm paying in Burlington, Vermont, for clean water. People are not paying a water bill for poisoned water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now is Flint's mayor, Karen Weaver.

Welcome, Mayor Waver.

MAYOR KAREN WEAVER (D), FLINT, MICHIGAN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you for joining me. Both Clinton and Sanders called for the Michigan governor's resignation. Is it really that simple when there are layers of failed government responsibility?

WEAVER: Well, you know what? It's more than that. And we know. We're waiting to see what's going on with this. You know, I've been watching the e-mails like everybody else. And if we find out that he is responsible, then so be it. Right now I need the governor to give us some money here in the city of Flint. That's what I'm trying to do because we started removing lead lines Friday, and we need to continue with this process.

So we want everybody from the governor on down and on up to be held accountable for wrongdoing. Whoever they find in this investigation needs to be responsible. But I have been trying to focus on making sure we get the money we need to move this lead line removal forward.

[10:45:05] COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about the money because I know Hillary Clinton said last night, quote, "The state is not coming forward with the money." But is there anyone else holding up funds needed to remove the lead?

WEAVER: I'm sorry. You said is there anybody else --

COSTELLO: Holding up the money.

WEAVER: Well, that's where it's being held up right now. And we need that money. You know, I know Senators Stabenow and Gary Peters have put some things forward and we're waiting on the vote for that. But right now we're looking to the state to give us some money. You know, we thought we were getting $500,000 to get this started, and they kept that, and they hired their own people.

And so what we decided to do, what I decided to do was say, OK, if you're going to do the hiring and not give us the money, I'm going to give you my list of homes to get started with because we had already prioritized homes that needed to get started with the lead line removal.

COSTELLO: So why isn't the state of Michigan giving you money to fix the problem there? I mean, there are some that say, you know, they should dip into the rainy day fund and help you fix it.

WEAVER: Exactly. And that's what we -- exactly. And we say the same thing. They should dip into the rainy day fund because it's raining cats and dogs in Flint right now, or as Hillary Clinton said, it's raining lead in Flint. And that's what we've been asking for as well. So we're on the same page with that.

COSTELLO: Do you think that the federal government should fork over some money as well? WEAVER: Well, you know what? Yes, I do. I think we need money from

the state and from the federal government. And the citizens in Flint had nothing to do with this decision to switch to the Flint River and not have it treated. But we're suffering the consequences. And at some point we need people to just step up and, you know, recognize that we're American citizens and we should not have to live like this.

Our kids and our families have been poisoned. And we need to be responsible for that. Flint does not deserve to have to wait for the money to come. We've been waiting for almost two years now.

COSTELLO: Well, here's the thing.

WEAVER: And it's two years too long.

COSTELLO: Here's the thing, Mayor. One Republican lawmaker at the federal level says that this is a manmade disaster in the state of Michigan and Michigan should take care of this, and federal dollars should not come your way because it's not like a hurricane hit or a natural disaster. What do you say back to that lawmaker?

WEAVER: You know what? I say those are semantics. We know this is a manmade disaster. But it doesn't matter. It's a disaster and our people are suffering as a result of it. We have kids that have been poisoned, we have kids that have suffered brain damage, we have seniors that have been poisoned by this, people with compromised immune systems. And actually the whole community that was drinking Flint water, and so, you know, to split hairs that way, I think is a tragedy. And we shouldn't have to deal with that.

COSTELLO: And how much money do you need to solve the problem in your city?

WEAVER: You know what? We've looked at this, and we've been asking for it for a billion dollars. Are we going to get a billion? I don't know. But we sure do need some of that rainy day money to get started with removing the lead lines. We know that. Just to get the fast start program started is $55 million, but those are the homes that we've identified as the priority.

We know we need an entire infrastructure change in the city of Flint. The infrastructure has been damaged. And so we're looking at a total rehaul for that. And then we need to start looking at the human cost of this as well.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Mayor Karen Weaver, thanks so much for being with me this morning.

WEAVER: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the United States and South Korea carrying out the largest ever joint military exercises. And North Korea is vowing to retaliate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:52:48] COSTELLO: North Korea says it's threatening to launch a preemptive nuclear strike. It's all in response to the U.S. and South Korea staging joint military exercises. Tensions are already running high on the Korean Peninsula after the North is hit with some of the toughest U.N. sanctions in years.

Jim Sciutto in Washington with more. Good morning, Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You hit on it right there. Two things are going on right now. The joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, their annual. The North Korea views this as a provocation. They believe that the U.S. and South Korea are training in effect to invade North Korea and carry out regime change. So every year there was always an angry response.

But in addition to that, you have these new U.N. sanctions which are particularly tough. They of course follow North Korea's nuclear test and its missile test, so the tensions with North Korea, although always high, they're particularly high now. The White House and others, they view these as provocative steps by North Korea and a big test here, too, is that China is growing increasingly alarmed as well.

The question is, what's going to change North Korea's behavior going forward? They hope that these sanctions will be a punishment and will change North Korea's own calculations about building its nuclear program, building its missile program, but really, they've tried these steps in the past, Carol. It hasn't worked. There's real concern. And it extends now from Washington all the way to Beijing.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Sciutto, reporting live from Washington. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Peyton Manning hanging up the helmet for good.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:58:31] COSTELLO: In a few hours we'll hear from Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning for the first time since he made his decision to retire.

Coy Wire is in Atlanta with more. Good morning, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Peyton ends his career as the all-time leader in pass yards, passing touchdowns and with one more than Brett Favre, most wins by any quarterback in NFL history. And the thing I love about him as a former player, through all of the success, he's maintained a sense of humility. He stayed hungry. And we don't see that often enough from athletes or celebrities for that matter.

He's an inspiring role model for kids in regards to having an incorrigible work ethic and being an example of how one should prepare for success. Now in the final months of his career, there were two allegations that created some questions about the type of legacy Peyton would leave. First, he was one of several athletes named in a Title 9 lawsuit against his alma natter, the University of Tennessee, and he was also listed in an Al-Jazeera documentary that alleged his wife received a supply of HGH back in 2011. Peyton was quick to deny ever having taken any of it and called the allegations garbage.

It's almost a sure thing, Carol, that we're going to see Peyton have to answer questions regarding those two allegations at his retirement press conference today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Interesting to see how he handles those. But nonetheless, Peyton is retiring today and he'll do so as the only quarterback in NFL history to lead two different franchises to Super Bowl titles.

COSTELLO: Surely amazing. Coy Wire, thanks so much.

WIRE: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: And thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BOLDUAN" starts now.