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State Dept.: 4 Americans Died in Bombings; Sanders: Superdelegates May Eye Switch from Clinton; Truman's Surprise Upset Against Dewey; Interview with Howard Schultz. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 27, 2016 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:31] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, 6:00 p.m. Eastern, 3:00 p.m. Pacific. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Thank you for joining us.

We just learned last hour from the U.S. State Department that four Americans were killed in the terror attacks Tuesday in Belgium. Only two, a couple from Tennessee, have been identified. We're now learning there were two more who were murdered.

Also today, a peace march that had been planned in Brussels was cancelled over fears of security. A group of right wing protesters briefly took over the memorial site before riot police pushed them out. Tuesday's blast killed 28 people. President Obama called to offer his condolences to the family of the Tennessee couple, Justin and Stephanie Shults, who were killed in the airport during those bombings.

Our Cristina Alesci has more on some of the victims who have been identified thus far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Justin and Stephanie Shults' families are really from the shock of learning that they were the two Americans killed in the Brussels attack. The two Tennessee natives weren't even traveling. They were at the airport dropping off Stephanie's mother, Carolyn Moore, for a flight to the U.S.

Moore, who is injured in the blasts, confirmed her daughter's death to CNN, saying, quote, "They are in heaven."

The Shultses are among a handful of victims with known ties to the U.S.

EMILY EISENMAN: Today has been the worst day of my life.

ALESCI: Emily Eisenman's boyfriend and Belgium native Bart Migom was on the way to Georgia to visit her. The former ambassador to the U.S., Andre Adam, was also at the airport. He died in the blast according to an official. The Pinczowski family also got the to horrific news, Dutch siblings Alexandra and Sascha were checking in for a flight on their way to New York where they lived. In a statement, the family said, "We're grateful to have closure on

this tragic situation and are thankful for the thoughts and prayers from all."

In total, the terrorist attacks in Brussels killed 28 people and wounded 300.

Cristina Alesci, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Cristina, thank you very much. We know that at least nine people were picked up for questioning today in a police raid around Belgium.

Let's get the latest from CNN intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer.

Just looking over what your security and intelligence sources are telling you, look, they rounded up 13 just the other day, nine now, the questioning goes on and on. We see how big this cell is.

What are they telling you about their biggest concerns, Bob, about what comes next?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Poppy, the big problem, of course, and this is what nobody knows, is this is a Paris related cell rolled up in Belgium. And the question is, what other cells are out there?

I think what's surprising everybody is the fact that these people had alias, documentation, access to weapons and just gallons and gallons of TATP that's been, you know, rolled up in all of this. I mean, these people were prepared to go to war, and I think the Belgians are doing a good job at this point hitting one safe house after another, gathering intelligence moving on to the next. They are finally taking this seriously and getting their act together, but that doesn't mean they have gotten ahold of other ISIS cells or group that are connected.

HARLOW: When you take this out of politics or outside of the debate over the lack of intelligence sharing, et cetera, and you focus just on the security community, the intelligence community, do you get want the sense, Bob, that there is sort of a resignation that we are entering what is a new normal, that these attacks will happen every few months, perhaps not the scale of 9/11, but still very significant, very deadly?

BAER: I think it's the new normal. I mean, you know, civilization is not going to be overrun. The barbarians aren't at the gate, but we're just going to be seeing a lot more of these, if for no other reason that these explosives are so easy to make and you've got so many committed people and you also have the chaos in the Middle East. I mean, it seems like it's the other way around the world, the explosion in Pakistan, but it does affect radicals in Europe. HARLOW: But what about on the ground in Syria, for example? I mean,

the fact that the Assad regime has said today that they took back Palmyra, very sort of at least visually significant, right, even if it's not as strategically significant.

[18:05:00] And then the fact that on Friday, you had Ash Carter come out and announced that U.S. Special Ops had taken out the finance minister of ISIS, this guy largely called by many the number two who would take over for al Baghdadi. I mean, it seems like there's been a lot of ground gained in Syria, and then this weakness in terms of the attacks in Europe.

BAER: Oh, I think what you're -- you're absolutely right, Poppy. A year ago, we talked about this movement collapsing. And it is. It's lost Ramadi, Tikrit, Palmyra, Mosul will probably fall.

But the problem is that paradoxically, as the Islamic State loses ground, it tends to lash out where it can, whether it's soft targets. It can't beat the Syrian army, which is really the Iranian army at this point. And it's -- the government in Baghdad is on a serious offensive against them. So, that's the problem for Europe is the place is so vulnerable that their adherence will strike back there.

HARLOW: You have said that there will now be a big turn against Arabs in Europe because of this, but that will make things worse. Why?

BAER: Well, it makes things worse because you look at the attacks in Belgium and it's a very small number of people compared to the number of Muslims that lived there. Most of these people are fairly secular, law abiding, working hard, and the rest of it. You look at the demonstrations in Brussels and you're seeing the rise of the right wing.

France, Germany, or this country, people are scared. Everybody that I know is scared. They don't know if it is coming here and they tend to charge all Muslims with thunderstorm, which makes it worse because then you'll alienate more of them and it's a cycle that's hard to stuff.

HARLOW: Bob Baer, on the intelligence aspect of it all -- thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And coming up this Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, our Chris Cuomo returns to Paris for the CNN special report, "Terror in Paris". That is 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only right here on CNN.

Ahead, a deadly Taliban attack in Lahore, Pakistan, targeting Christians on Easter as families gather to celebrate, really targeting women and children. What we know at this hour. At least 67 have died. More than 300 are injured, many of them women and children. A group associated with the Taliban told CNN it was responsible for the blasts. The United States has condemned the attacks as cowardly.

Coming up, three big wins for Bernie Sanders out West this weekend. He says he has momentum, but can he change up the delegate math? That is the central question. We will speak with Symone Sanders, his national press secretary, next.

Also, long before Donald Trump sparked talks of a brokered convention, there was Thomas Dewey. Remember 1948? Maybe you weren't alive, but come on, the history books. A look back at the back room deals to stop a Republican front runner, lessons that seemingly still apply decades later.

Also, my exclusive one on one with the CEO of Starbucks. The chief executive speaking his mind on the state of Washington right now. Why he says voters are embracing fools gold, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:11:42] HARLOW: Senator Bernie Sanders went three for three in yesterday's Western state primaries. He says he has momentum on his side after blowout victories in those three states against Hillary Clinton -- Washington state, Hawaii, and Alaska.

Let's have the pledge delegate stands right now, Clinton, 1,251. Sanders, 1,012. So, he has narrowed the gap, but Clinton still enjoys quite a lead. It's even bigger if you count the superdelegates.

This morning, Sanders told our Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION", he can change up the math.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot of superdelegates have pledged for Secretary Clinton, but I think when they begin to look at the reality, and that is that we in poll after poll, are beating Donald Trump by much larger margins, then Secretary Clinton, in your own CNN last poll, we were 20 points ahead of him. In the last national poll, we actually beat Secretary Clinton by a point. We started 50 points behind.

I think the momentum is with us. A lot of the superdelegates may rethink their position with Secretary Clinton, a lot have not yet declared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Joining me now, Symone Sanders, national press secretary for the Sanders campaign.

Symone, thank you for being with me.

And let's just look at the numbers. When it comes to getting to that magic 2,382, do you feel like your candidate, you know, who has been trying and really focused on running this populist campaign, is now being forced to, by the process, frankly, to lobby party insiders to try to sway as many of those superdelegates as he can to his side?

SYMONE SANDERS, NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY FOR THE SANDERS CAMPAIGN: Well, thanks for having me today, Poppy. Happy Easter.

And no. What I really think this is -- this is a case of Senator Sanders effectively going out there like we did yesterday, and winning the endorsement of the American people. And when you do that consistently over and over again, there had been 32 nominating contests in this Democratic process right now, and of those 32, Senator Sanders has won 14 of those nomination contests. We've come really close in others.

And when you consistently do that, the superdelegates have to take notice. So, I think we have garnered additional support from folks. I think we have -- I think 34 superdelegates have made their support of Senator Sanders public. And we know that there are more out there, and we're going to continue to --

HARLOW: How many? Let's talk numbers, right? Because you need -- and we saw some of them switch sides in 2008 from Clinton to then- Senator Obama, but you need a lot. What are we talking about here?

SANDERS: We do need a lot. We do need a lot.

But, Poppy, I also want to remind folks that superdelegates are really only 15 percent of the vote. So, they're important but they're not -- it's not 50 percent, it's not 34 percent. Superdelegates are really only 15 percent of the vote.

And so, what we're focused on doing right now is going out there and winning states, winning votes in states. Garnering support in places like Wisconsin, where we have spent a substantial amount of time and we hope to do really well next week. Going out and garnering support in places like Boston or Maryland. We won the endorsement of Unite Here Local 7, which is a very large local, about 3,000 members, if you will, and the members are overwhelmingly African-Americans, Latino and Hispanic.

So, when we go out there and do that, we think we'll see the superdelegates come our way. So, Poppy, there is a path to the nomination for our campaign and we're going to continue to stay along that path.

HARLOW: And if those superdelegates are the margin of victory, right, if we get down the wire here, would your camp contest?

[18:15:06] SANDERS: Well, Poppy, I think -- we're not thinking we're going to get to that point. What we believe is that when we go out and we take our message, of talking on this rigged economy that's held in place by system of corrupt campaign finance, when we go out and we talking about standing up for hardworking American people, raising minimum wage, combating climate change, really reforming the criminal justice system, that we think that is a message that resonates with folks. That they'll get behind.

So, we don't think we're going to have to -- we're going to focus on winning the votes and the endorsement of the American people, and hopefully, the superdelegates will come along.

HARLOW: Is that a -- can I get a quick yes or no? Would you if we got to that point?

SANDERS: Well, you know what, Poppy? I don't want to speculate on getting to that point. I don't think we have to go there.

HARLOW: All right. You join me if we get to that point. We'll talk about it.

I do want to switch gears and talk about something very, very serious, and that is the state of the world and the state of terror in this world. That is a frightening reality that we're living in. And when you look at the recent polling numbers, of Bloomberg poll that just came out that showed a big number, 65 percent of those polled think that Hillary Clinton would be the best commander in chief to combat Islamic terrorism, 21 percent going to Bernie Sanders.

When you consider the attacks in Brussels, you consider what just happened in Lahore, Pakistan, today, are we going to hear from Sanders, say, a big foreign policy speech, really coming out and saying, here's what I would do X, Y, and Z, differently than Clinton when it comes to handling ISIS, trying to flip those numbers around?

SANDERS: Well, you know, Poppy, Senator Sanders gave a foreign policy speech. He gave it last week in Utah actually --

HARLOW: But the numbers are what they are. So, do you think we'll hear more?

SANDERS: And the numbers are. You know, I think we can't negate the fact and we can't ignore the fact that Secretary Clinton was in fact the secretary of state. And so, she did have the job, folks have seen her in that role and talking about foreign policy.

So, we're going to continue -- the senator is going to continue to talk about foreign policy, talk about the need to combat ISIS. He speaks about it on the campaign trail regularly. Again, he then did give a speech in Salt Lake City that no one really covered, by the way, but he hit on very substantive issues. He talked about Syria, he talked about the Israel-Palestine relationship. He talked about Tehran and Iran.

So, he hit on very, very important points that I hope folks will visit our website, BernieSanders.com, and check out the readout from that. We live in very troubled times right now, but I think what's great in this and especially on the Democratic side is that we're willing to have a substantive conversation on how to address those issues. And Senator Sanders has noted --

HARLOW: Symone --

SANDERS: Yes? We need to take on ISIS. So, we're going to continue to talk about it and we'll continue to have the conversation.

HARLOW: I'm getting the wrap, running out of time. We know we'll have you back. I appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much.

SANDERS: Thank you.

HARLOW: Coming up next, CNN goes inside anti-terror facility. Look,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three, two, one --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire in the hole.

(EXPLOSION)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The sobers statistics, how easy it is to make these homemade, deadly explosives. How law enforcement in this country is training to fight back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:50] HARLOW: This week in Brussels, we saw firsthand the death and destruction that terrorists can inflict with those homemade bombs. It is frightening that they can make these explosives so easily. And here in the United States, top level police and security professionals are preparing for a day, frankly, they hope never comes, a day when terrorists try to bomb targets here.

Our Nick Valencia takes us inside how they are training to combat it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire in the hole!

(EXPLOSION)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in rural Alabama, elite members of law enforcement agencies from around the world prepare for the worst-case scenario. It's state-of-the-art training against global terrorism.

JORIS KERCKHOFF, BRUSSELS FEDERAL POLICE: It's all about saving lives.

VALENCIA: For Joris Kerckhoff, this all hits close to him. He's a Brussels police officer and K9 handler ironically sent to the U.S. for training while his city was hit. Had he been in Belgium, he says, he would have likely been guarding the subway during the attacks.

KERCKHOFF: I the knowledge that we have here, we can share that with the rest of the world who also wants to make it a better world, I think that's one step in the good direction.

RYAN MORRIS, FOUNDER, TRIPWIRE OPERATIONS GROUP: This is what we know that we're they're using all over the world.

VALENCIA: Ryan Morris founded the training company Tripwire in 2005. He says the lessons he teaches are critical in the fight against ISIS and beyond.

MORRIS: Personally, the conventional explosive side, like det cords, and dynamite, and C4, and things of that nature, that doesn't bother me. The things that bother me are the things you can make in your house, you can make in a garage, you can make it anywhere.

VALENCIA: And we found out firsthand what he meant.

MORRIS: So, go ahead. Grab some (INAUDIBLE)

VALENCIA (on camera): How much?

(voice-over): Morris shows us how in a matter of minutes anyone can make this kind of explosive.

(on camera): I'm holding two very volatile bombs in my hands. This one has three components to it, this one has two components to it.

MORRIS: We're going to put it on the ground so you can see what that does.

VALENCIA: Three, two, one.

MORRIS: Fire in the hole!

(EXPLOSION)

VALENCIA: What I found just absolutely terrifying about this entire experience is just how simple and easy it is to make an explosive using ordinary household products, products capable of inflicting massive casualties.

(voice-over): It's this explosives training courses that are crucial to stopping those who want to inflict chaos. For Morris and the team around him, their success is a matter of life and death.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Nick Valencia joins me now.

Nick, it's a fascinating report. You got a lot of backlash online for this, right?

VALENCIA: Yes, I did. And I want to make one thing clear, we, my producer (INAUDIBLE), did not give away details of a recipe to make a bomb.

HARLOW: Right.

VALENCIA: What we did show you is how easy it was to make one. We deliberately left out some key steps to making an explosive. But even I, that didn't know anything about bomb making going into this assignment, I was able to make three bombs in a matter of 45 minutes.

It is sobering. It is frightening. And it should be scary for those watching at home for you to realize just how easy it is for anyone to make an explosive. That's why these counterterrorism officials who I spoke to say it is so important for the public to be watchful, and mindful, and to help law enforcement agencies stop terrorists who want to inflict especially here in the United States -- Poppy.

[18:25:06] HARLOW: No question. And to think they were able to wheel those just right into the departure lounge there at the Brussels airport.

Nick Valencia, eye-opening. Thank you very much for that.

VALENCIA: You got it.

HARLOW: Coming up next, if it is so easy to build a bomb like Nick just showed us, how then can authorities protect these soft targets? Keep them safe?

Our national security analyst Juliette Kayyem is back with me. Hear why she argues that it is a good thing, yes, a good thing that America is not 100 percent safe, next.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right. We just showed you before the break how someone with the right tools and the available materials can build a powerful bomb completely on their own. So, if it is that easy, how can depend against someone motivated enough to build one and use one to inflict harm?

Juliette Kayyem is back with me. She's national security analyst, plus a former assistant secretary of homeland security. She has a brand new book called "Security Mom".

And, Juliette, when you look at this, and all of those chemicals that Nick just sort of walked us through, is it realistic to even have a discussion around restricting access to some of these bomb-making chemicals, making them track by police officers. I mean, they track it at the pharmacy when you buy Sudafed, for example.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, that's exactly right. My answer to your question is, we shouldn't have an expectation that we track these stuff to minimize the risks, but there's no way we're going to stop every bad person who is intent on doing something as simple as what Nick just described, going to a soft target, and, you know, essentially killing people.

I don't mean that to be fatalistic. I mean, if we could just understand that we need to reduce the risk to the country. But there are benefits to having a country like ours that is vulnerable and that is essentially because we are an open and free society.

[18:30:06] HARLOW: I mean, you wrote about that in the "Washington Post," in your opinion piece. You wrote about sort of the benefits of America's vulnerability, saying, "Mostly we're vulnerable because we choose to be, because we've accepted at least implicitly that some risk is tolerable. A state that could stop every suicide bomber wouldn't be freer, let's face, a fun one."

Is that -- are you saying -- is that the tradeoff we've made at this point? KAYYEM: It is. I mean, look, I was involved with the Boston marathon

planning. People are always asking about after the attacks, like, how can we make a perfectly safe marathon, and I have to admit, as a homeland security expert, there is no such thing. Right? The only answer is have no marathon.

HARLOW: Right.

KAYYEM: And so what we have to do as citizens is imagine, you know, invest in lowering the risk, supporting first responders, but also accept that intrinsically if we want to go to a marathon or a Beyonce concert this summer or wherever, there is a level of risk. And I think if people recognize that they have chosen that, the fear and the panic hopefully will be minimized.

HARLOW: Yes. Absolutely. All right. Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much.

KAYYEM: Thanks.

HARLOW: Again, her new book, "Security Mom," coming out next month. Juliette, thank you.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

HARLOW: I want to take a moment to show you a very touching memorial. Some of what we're seeing take place in Brussels. Take a look at that Time Lapse video. People are gathering to honor the victims of this tragedy. Bringing flowers and singing "Stand By Me." You can see these images in a 360-degree panorama. Go to our Facebook page, Facebook.com/CNN. You'll see a lot more of it right there. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:27] HARLOW: It was an election that stumped the pundits and baffled the media. In tonight's episode of "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE," we take you back to 1948 when Harry Truman, trailing in the polls against Thomas Dewey, then pulls out an upset victory that no one predicted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No question the media was shocked, but I'm not sure -- obviously America couldn't have been too shocked, they voted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the morning comes, and Truman has won, the first thing he has to do is get back to Washington and he takes his train back And at St. Louis, someone comes on the train and hands Truman the newspaper. The "Chicago Tribune" printed the headline, "Dewey Defeats Truman."

KEVIN SPACEY, HOST: The American people have given Truman a landslide victory. 303 electoral votes to Dewey's 189.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: Joining me now, Tim Naftali, a presidential historian and author of this book, "George H.W. Bush: The American President Series."

Thank you for being with me. It's a fascinating episode. I got an early look and we saw the clip and the photo of Truman holding up that infamous -- now infamous issue of the "Chicago Tribune." What do you think the biggest lesson learned by the media was on that election night?

(LAUGHTER)

TIM NAFTALI, FORMER DIRECTOR, NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: Well, it's a lesson that we learn all the time, which is don't call races too soon. You know, when you look at the 1948 election.

HARLOW: Right.

NAFTALI: It's a reminder first of all that elections are often unpredictable. Two, don't sit on your lead. Thomas Dewey, the Republican nominee, was way ahead. The Democratic Party was split into three. You had the southern Democrats.

HARLOW: Yes .

NAFTALI: Supported Storm Thurman, you had the progressive Democrats supporting Henry Wallace, and you had Harry Truman, who was unpopular president.

HARLOW: Sure.

NAFTALI: Everybody thought he was finished, including Dewey. And Dewey sits on his lead. But don't do that. I mean, it's something perhaps Hillary Clinton and a few other people should take notice of right now.

And the second thing that's important is that what Truman decides to do is to connect with the public. And he takes this wonderful whistle-stop tour. And one of the real bonuses of this episode is that one of his speech writers, George Elsey.

HARLOW: Is alive.

NAFTALI: Was -- was alive and that was his last on-camera appearance.

HARLOW: Wow.

NAFTALI: He passed away only a few months after doing this. So one of our last human connections to the Truman administration and that campaign is in the film and in a very important part of the film. Sadly George Elsey left us.

HARLOW: It's amazing to hear from him. He really brings it to life.

NAFTALI: He was there.

HARLOW: Sitting next to Truman and writing all this.

When you look back at sort of the brokered, contested convention, 1948 actually marks the last sort of official one, and there was this stop Dewey movement and there is this stop Trump movement. Any parallels? Any lessons learned?

NAFTALI: Well, you know -- well, it didn't work against Dewey. And we will -- we will see. Here is what we all have to watch, which is the extent to which those who do not like Trump can coalesce in time to provide Trump supporters with an option. You see right now there are a lot of people who still want to support Trump. The GOP leadership is having a hard time figuring them out but they exist. If there is no alternative for them, they're going to keep voting for Trump. And if there are more of them voting for Trump than any other single candidate.

HARLOW: Right.

NAFTALI: Trump is going to keep collecting the delegates he needs and there won't be an open convention. It's going to be tough for him to do it. He can make it. Once he gets to Cleveland, then, oh my god, that is -- well, I'll put it this way. You couldn't write a better script because if he doesn't have the 1200 plus delegates that he needs by the time he gets to Cleveland, everyone gets to Cleveland, nobody knows.

HARLOW: What's going to happen.

NAFTALI: Nobody knows what's going to happen so you have to stay tuned.

HARLOW: We'll have to stay tuned and we're going to be on top of all of it, you know, live from the convention.

NAFTALI: No doubt.

HARLOW: Fascinating -- two quick things I thought were fascinating, the fact that FDR and Truman have met twice that day.

NAFTALI: Yes.

HARLOW: Before Truman takes over after his death and the fact that Truman didn't even know about the Manhattan Project. That is unbelievable. A lot more about it.

NAFTALI: Vice presidency has changed.

HARLOW: Certainly has. A lot more ahead tonight.

Tim Naftali, thank you so much. Nice to have you.

You can watch all the political drama unfold tonight. Brand new episode of "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE" 9:00 p.m. Eastern only right here.

Coming up next, my exclusive sit-down interview with the CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz. He tells me why he is fed up with American politics. He is calling on Washington to change in a major way.

[18:40:03] Also he takes us inside a rare account of his childhood. How growing up extremely poor in Brooklyn affects the decisions he makes every today as a billionaire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD SCHULTZ, STARBUCKS CEO: I'm living proof of the American dream. Born on the other side of the tracks and here I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: This week I sat down with the men at the helm of two of America's most iconic companies. Last hour you heard from the CEO of Ford and now you'll hear from the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz. He told me that Americans are embracing fool's gold in this election. He is fed up with American politics and he is calling on Washington to do better, to find unity to help Americans who need it most.

Schultz has become, perhaps, the most outspoken CEO in America in recent years. The left-leaning billionaire has never shied away from making his voice heard on controversial issues from guns to gay marriage to money and politics. And this week I sat down with him for an exclusive wide-ranging interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: We have a complete fracturing of leadership in this country and as a result of that, the country is being placed in a situation where, for me personally, I look at the current political primary situation and I think many people are embracing what I would loosely describe as fool's gold.

[18:45:06] That divide and anger and anxiety is not going to produce what we need. What we do need is a vision of optimism, a vision of unity, of inclusion. This is not a time in America where we should be dividing. And I just -- I think it's a tragic situation.

HARLOW: Then what do we do? Because these are our elected representatives or those running for the highest office in the land. Are you saying we need a clean slate? How do we turn the corner?

SCHULTZ: I would say it this way, perhaps we are no longer living in a time where we can look up and see the leaders that perhaps we once had or we aspire to. And maybe this is a time in America where we need to look within ourselves and to each other and recognize that as citizens we have a voice, and as citizens we have an opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of people that we touch. The neighborhoods, the communities, the schools, and that is what we need to embrace. We're in need of an economic and moral transformation.

HARLOW: You spend so much time overseas, you spend a lot of time in China. You have the pulse of world leaders and citizens in nations across the globe. What are they saying to you, Howard, about exactly what you're talking about right now? SCHULTZ: I can tell you without exaggeration and with no exception,

almost every conversation that I have been in with Starbucks partners, government officials, and our customers, all of those conversations have been the kind of conversations that have posed the question, "What is going on in your country?"

HARLOW: Really?

SCHULTZ: People are flabbergasted, aghast at what they're reading and seeing. And I think they can't believe it. And I think the -- that is also being linked to something else and that is, there's tremendous anxiety and I think concern about where the country is headed and what the cause and the effect will be for the global community.

HARLOW: Starbucks has launched a major voting platform, but, Howard, the question I kept thinking is, if you're so disappointed with the political climate right now, and you know, all of the back and forth between the candidates, how did this play into this? Why push them to get out and vote?

SCHULTZ: I would say this is not only about the next four years. This is about the choices we make every day and in the future. I can make the case that congressional elections in the past have been critically important to the leadership required in the country. We need to remind young people in America, and in this case our own partners and then our customers, the great opportunity and the great benefits of our democracy and voting and participation.

HARLOW: Donald Trump has said free trade deals starting with NAFTA, going to TPP, have caused the middle class to disappear. He said, quote, "We've sold out the U.S. worker." He does not point to technological advancements at all in that. Is he right?

SCHULTZ: I'm not going to speak directly to Mr. Trump's view of the consequences of free trade fracturing the middle class. What I would speak to is the fact that America must be a country that exports its goods and services. And the only way we can do that effectively is to engage with other countries and create a win-win.

I'm not an economist. And I was not at the negotiating table of NAFTA, but I think the question of fracturing the middle class is just not accurate.

HARLOW: HP Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, who you know, recently said that the plan put out by Trump to put a 35 percent tariff on goods imported to this country from Mexico, from China, would sink the country into a recession. Is she right?

SCHULTZ: I think Meg Whitman, who is a very dear friend of mine, is a very smart lady.

HARLOW: You said recently that you, Howard, have been criticized as using Starbucks as a, quote-unquote, "political tool." Who said that and what do you say to them?

(LAUGHTER) SCHULTZ: Well, you know, I think any time you're going to jump in the arena you're going to have people who want to be in the stands criticizing you and pointing fingers.

I've been criticized by members of the media or other people. All I can say is that this is not about marketing. It's not about PR. This is no vanity play.

[18:50:03] This is about, I think, the role and responsibility of our company. We need to do everything we can to reject bigotry and hate and fear and embrace optimism.

HARLOW: You guys launched the Race Together campaign last year. You were writing it on cups. It got a ton of attention. It came with some criticism. You and I spoke extensively about it.

What did you learn from that campaign about coming out on an issue that can be very uncomfortable for a lot of Americans to talk about, but an issue frankly, Howard, that we're seeing boil over in this political season.

SCHULTZ: Sure. We tried to do something to elevate the national conversation. You can -- we can debate whether or not the execution was perfect or not. But what happened as a result of that is we started discussing this at great length with our people, and the community and we discovered something quite tragic. And that is almost six million young people in America, opportunity youth, are not in school and not working, ages 16 to 24, mostly black and mostly Latino.

We now have convened 50 like-minded companies, nonprofits and foundations. We've had significant job fairs in Chicago, Phoenix and L.A., Seattle in May. We've hired over 7,000 opportunity youth ourselves. The companies we partner with have hired over 25,000. So not everything maybe started off well but what it triggered was our engagement in this issue.

HARLOW: Let's talk about you as a young boy. You grew up poor, very poor in Brooklyn. Your success to now becoming the chief executive of Starbucks, a billionaire, is an anomaly. And yet over the past two years Starbucks has started these opportunity fairs. I was at the one in Chicago, basically huge job fairs to help underprivileged youth get a shot, just get that one foot on the ladder and hope that they can climb up.

How much is this personal for you? How much does this harken back to your childhood?

SCHULTZ: I think everything I've tried to do in my life, especially over last 10 years or so is directly linked to living in public housing and really, I think even today continuing to have the scars and vulnerability of what it meant to be that poor kid. So I have a high degree of sensibility because I kind of see myself in the eyes of so many of these young kids, who don't have much hope and don't have much opportunity. When I was a young boy, something happened that I rarely have talked

about. And that is my mother took me in 1960, we walked what seemed like miles to a rally. And when we got there, I could just hear the voice of a candidate that was making a campaign stop in the Brooklyn that I lived in. And that candidate was John F. Kennedy. And my mother's grip on my hand as he was speaking, got tighter and tighter. And I looked up and I could see the glow on my mother's face. Literally.

And we walked back and that glow remained. And I've asked myself many, many times, what was it, and what it was, was that it was perhaps the first time in her life that she felt that she heard somebody speak directly to her. That regardless of your station in life, you, too, have an opportunity. And here I am, a product of the voice of John F. Kennedy in 1960. I am living proof of the American dream, born on the other side of the tracks. And here I am.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: My thanks to Howard Schultz for joining us for that.

You can see a lot more of our interview, just go to CNNmoney.com.

And coming up next, we're going to tell you a little bit more about this, and this week, a new CNN original series, "THE EIGHTIES." Remember living through that one? Fun wardrobe time. "THE EIGHTIES" starts Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

Quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:03] HARLOW: All right. Finally tonight's number in honor of Easter. The number is $146. That is the amount of money the average Americans spent this year to celebrate Easter. The National Retail Federation says it is a record. It is the highest number since they started taking the survey 13 years ago. And when you add it all up, it comes out to a whopping $17.3 billion spent in this country on all those necessary peeps and candy and flowers and eggs. And all that stuff. 146 bucks.

Coming up, a big night on CNN, two major premieres first at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. It is the brand new episode of "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE" Truman versus Dewey. Then at 10:00 catch "THE WONDER LIST," Bill Weir takes us to Iceland. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WEIR, HOST: Oder has devoted his life to studying Iceland's ice.

(On camera): This is the biggest glacier in Europe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WEIR: Pronounce it for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blow -- the double L, you blow it into your teeth.

WEIR: OK.

(Voice-over): He says the edge of this glacier fell as snow just as the Vikings came ashore 800 years ago. And it will melt into Iceland's biggest lake in less than 50 years.

(On camera): And this is due to climate change?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And there are so many things that are happening along with this mass loss. That land is rising.

WEIR (voice-over): Yes, Iceland is rising. Michelle Parks is a volcanologist who measures how much and how fast. And she says less ice means more volcanic eruptions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Studies have actually predicted that within the next 150 to 200 years, most of the ice caps will have melted in Iceland. And that's really quite, quite scary to think about.

WHITFIELD: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Horrifying, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That is "THE WONDER LIST" airing tonight 10:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much for being with us tonight, have a great week.