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Legendary Coach Lou Holtz Supports Trump; Navy SEAL Killed in Iraq; Prince Death Investigation; Interview with Rep. Barbara Lee; Glowing Gown Buzz. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired May 04, 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] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Reince Priebus told the GOP, it's time to fall in line, tweeting, "Donald Trump will be the presumptive GOP nominee. We all need to unite and focus on defeating Hillary Clinton."

Legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz is already on board, endorsing Trump ahead of the Indiana primary. It's Trump's business sense, he says, that will make him a great president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU HOLTZ, FORMER NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL COACH: I'm Lou Holtz and I wholeheartedly endorse Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. The main reason I'm endorsing him, I've played his golf course, I've stayed in his hotel. He does nothing but go first class in everything. He wants this country to be first class as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I'm joined now by the great Lou Holtz.

Welcome, sir.

LOU HOLTZ, FORMER NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL COACH: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for being with me.

In listening to that little video endorsement that you did for Donald Trump, is that all a candidate needs to be president to produce great stuff?

HOLTZ: No, but I think, let's look at a couple of things. I think, number one, when you look at this country, we have less people working we have in the last 40 years. We have more people on food stamps than we had. More people on welfare. And yet the budget has gone up unbelievable. Our debt is over $20 trillion now. I think he's a businessman. Now, I can never say anything against our president, because he is my president, but he talked about hope and change. He was a community organizer. Why does that make him more qualified than a very successful businessman that's employed thousands of people? I mean --

COSTELLO: Well, he was a senator. HOLTZ: Well, he was a senator for one year. And I'm not disputing

that. And I'm not saying anything negative about it. But we all take and say what Donald Trump can do this, do that. he has been successful. The people have voted for him. And on immigration, you know, I -- both -- all four of my parents immigrated to this country and two of them I lived with during World War II, when my dad was fighting for this country. And they spoke Ukrainian some. I asked them to teach me Ukrainian. They said, no, you live in the Ukraine, you live in the United States. So I say is come here and be us. This is a great country.

COSTELLO: Did -- are you --

HOLTZ: And when you see all the demonstrations -- well, Carol, why can't somebody run for president without everybody having violence, tearing up cars and things along this line. That's not the country I know.

COSTELLO: So you fully support Donald Trump's idea of building a wall?

HOLTZ: I -- not necessarily a wall, but I do think we have to do something about immigration. I -- and I say, hey, come here. All my grandparents come here. But, you know, when you talk about 13 million people coming in, that's not immigration, that's sort of like an invasion. I'm not about a wall or anything else. But what holds a country together are borders. You have to be able to protect your border. Everybody in the world does. You -- and I'm a Catholic. And you go to the Vatican, I want to tell you, it's hard to become a citizen of the Vatican, hard to live there and there's walls all around it.

COSTELLO: So -- so, you know, Pope Francis doesn't speak glowingly of Donald Trump. Does that bother you?

HOLTZ: Well, I think this, when did they ask the pope about abortion? Why didn't they ask him about abortion? Why did they just ask about immigration? Let's be fair along the line.

COSTELLO: What do you mean by that? I'm not sure I understand.

HOLTZ: Well, I mean, so many people are pro-abortion. I don't believe the pope is pro-abortion, but they -- he is against immigration -- or against building a wall, things like that. All I'm saying is, let's be fair along the lines. Let's not prejudge people. Here's a successful businessman who has the votes of the people.

COSTELLO: Let me ask you this. Reince Priebus, the RNC chair, says it's time for the Republican Party to unite. Is that important that all Republicans unite behind Donald Trump?

HOLTZ: I think what's important is for the citizens of this country to go out and vote for the person that they think is the best qualified to lead this country. That's all I ask. And just go vote. But look at this issues, study the thing, and make an intelligent decision. That's up to the people here.

COSTELLO: Are you tired -- are you tired of the labels Republican and Democratic?

HOLTZ: Yes, I think so, to a certain extent. What -- what was a Democratic years ago is different now. I -- I was a Democratic. I grew up as a Democratic. All my family were Democrats. But then the values seemed to be a little bit different.

But I just say this. This is a country of a lot of different people. Let everybody vote. And then when it's over, let's count the vote and see who they have selected. And whoever they have, let's get behind and support the president.

COSTELLO: One -- one --

HOLTZ: I said at the beginning, I will not say a negative word --

COSTELLO: One last -- one last question for you.

HOLTZ: Excuse me, wait one minute. I was taught not to interrupt somebody when you ask them a question. I said at the beginning of this interview, I support our president. He's our president. And I always will.

COSTELLO: OK. The question I wanted to ask you was about some of the language that Donald Trump uses. You know, the names he's called women. And some of the things that he accused Ted Cruz's father of that he took right out of "The National Enquirer." Should Donald Trump be doing those things?

[09:35:06] HOLTZ: I'm not here to judge Donald Trump. But I want to tell you, Carol, one thing that entices him to a lot of these voters is he doesn't worry about political correctness. I mean the one thing that's really hurting this country greatly is political correctness. I grew up much smaller, slower than everybody else and much stupider. Everybody made fun of me. Everybody ridiculed me. People picked fights on me, picked on me. But you know what, that's part of life. You learn how to handle it and you move on. And everything's about political correctness. You can't do anything today without political correctness and he doesn't worry about it and that entices him to a lot of people.

COSTELLO: So -- so it's OK to lie about -- it's OK to put forth a falsehood about another candidate?

HOLTZ: Listen, there's never a right time to do the wrong thing. There's never a wrong time to do the right thing. It's amazing how many people do not tell the truth and people are afraid to use that word. If somebody doesn't tell the truth, they should be held accountable for it. Absolutely. Whether it be Donald Trump or whether it be anybody in Washington as well.

COSTELLO: Lou Holtz, thank you so much for being with me. I appreciate it.

HOLTZ: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the stunning new information about the ISIS attack that killed a Navy SEAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:22] COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello.

New details about the Navy SEAL killed by ISIS forces in Iraq. He's 31-year-old Charles Keating IV. He's from Arizona. And he's the grandson of well-known savings and loan financier Charles Keating, Jr. This is what happened on the day he died. One hundred ISIS fighters broke through defense lines at the Peshmerga base north of Mosul. They used bulldozers and suicide car bombs to do it. A gun battle followed, and that's when Keating was killed. Keating was visiting the base to advise Kurdish forces. U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter issuing a warning as he paid tribute this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: These risks will continue, and we greatly regret his loss. But allowing ISIL safe haven would carry greater risk for us all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now to talk about this is U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Good morning.

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA), APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, Ash Carter went on to say the fight is far from over. He said that the United States and its allies will defeat ISIS. Do you believe him?

LEE: Well, first let me just say that my thoughts and prayers go out to the Keating family with this tragic loss. And this is an example of why I have been calling for Congress to do our job. We're missing in action. And it's very important that the American public understand the cost and the consequences of this war. Rightfully so, the president has not sent combat troops into the region. However, we see as a result of this tragedy, what can happen. And so I think the American public needs to demand that their members of Congress call for a debate to talk about and understand really what this new war footing means, and what it entails in terms of a long-term commitment to what it appears to be now a perpetual war.

COSTELLO: So, congresswoman, is it likely that any debate will occur since, you know, it's an election year, President Obama is in his last term? Can this go forward? Can such a debate happen?

LEE: We're here to do our job and it should happen. I mean the president put forward an authorization over a year ago. This past January, the speaker and the leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, they got -- they talked about it, but nothing has happened yet. And whether we're in an election year or not, we have our constitutional responsibilities to the people of our country. And that means we have to exercise our job and do our work, and bring forth an authorization.

We have to stop politicizing issues of war and peace. We see what is happening. Most military experts have said that there's no military solution. We have to come up with a strategy, one that's led by the region, and we have to make sure that the public buys into this. Our young men and women who are doing everything they asked us to do. Our troops, they're doing what we sent them to do. And, you know, we have a duty and responsibility to protect them, to let them know that the Congress supports these efforts. And so it's up to the speaker and the Senate majority leader to bring forth a resolution, an authorization, then we can debate it.

COSTELLO: Well --

LEE: The public will then know what is taking place, and then we'll have a, you know, a real standing in terms of making sure that we do what we need to do.

COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this, the president just said 250 more advisors, you know, which is in essence boots on the ground, right, in the region. Do you think that the president should have done that or would you prefer to see him not send any U.S. troops or advisors to that war zone until there's a debate in Congress?

LEE: I'm very worried about mission creep. Of course, additional forces were sent into Iraq several months ago. Now we have another 250, quote, "advisors," which we see, unfortunately, we're putting our advisors in harm's way. And so what the president is doing in terms of his responsibilities of commander in chief, he is exercising without congressional oversight and without congressional authority.

The Congress has a really important and serious role in this. The president and the administration, they're using an authorization back -- it was passed I think back in 2001, 2002, one that I voted against in the 2002 Iraq resolution. The president, in terms of the use of force, needs that authorization, needs that from Congress. We need to debate it. Some members may support it. Some member may not support it. But the public deserves that and we need to insist that the speaker and the Senate majority leader bring forth a resolution.

[09:45:19] This is a country now that's in war. It's -- we've been on war footing for many, many years now, at least since 2001. It's a serious, serious moment for us.

COSTELLO: Right.

LEE: We have very serious national security threats. Why in the world is Congress missing in action? We're the people's house. The people deserve us to represent them properly and appropriately.

COSTELLO: All right, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, thanks so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, unsettling new details about Prince's final hours, including a desperate plan to save the singer that sadly came too late. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:19] COSTELLO: Disturbing new details about the final hours of Prince. "The Minneapolis Star Tribune" reporting that the musician had been set for an emergency meeting with an addiction specialist who flew overnight from San Francisco to meet with him, only to discover the singer dead in an elevator with prescription pain killers on his body. Stephanie Elam is live outside of Prince's home in Minnesota with more.

Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, this is according to "The Minneapolis Star Tribune." And what they're reporting is that representatives from Prince's camp reached out to this doctor in California who's known for helping people break their addiction to drugs and alcohol. That they reached out to him on the evening of Thursday, April 20th. The doctor said he was not able to clear his schedule for the 21st, but he sent his son instead on the red eye to get here to Paisley Park.

When the doctor got here, he was with, according to this report, two people from Prince's camp. They could not find the icon. They went through. They found him. Now, this was about 9:30 in the morning that they were looking for him. And as we know, Prince was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m. on April 21st. And according to this report, it was the son who was the one who called 911 to report the fact that they needed to get emergency assistance here at Paisley Park.

It's worth noting, too, that we've reached out to the doctor involved in this, and also to the attorney here in Minneapolis that is working with the doctor to get comment. We haven't heard back yet. But a representative from Prince's camp is saying at this point that they have no comment, Carol.

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

Checking some other top stories for you at 51 minutes past. President Obama heads to Flint, Michigan, soon for a first-hand look at the city's water contamination crisis. Once there, the president will meet with Governor Rick Snyder. Snyder, who drank a glass of filtered Flint water last month, called on President Obama to do the same when he arrives but the White House says a public water consumption photo op is not planned.

Detroit schools reopen today after a massive sick-out over teacher pay forced a two-day shutdown. Teachers now being assured they will be paid for the full school year. Many say this latest dispute highlights school-wide problems, including overcrowded and poor classroom conditions.

New reports today that Takata will announce new recalls. The Japanese- based airbag manufacturer is now expected to recall an additional 35 to 40 million U.S. airbag inflators. The Takata recall was already the largest auto safety recall in U.S. history. Takata airbags have linked to numerous deaths and injuries.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, take a look at this. Yes, the gown lights up and social media bows down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:57:17] COSTELLO: Starry-eyed girls dream of their Cinderella moment, sweeping into a crowded ball and lightening up the room. And you can, too, if you have the right high-tech gown and lots of batteries. CNN's Jeanne Moos is here to illuminate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Met Gala is an orgy of fashion, involving all the usual suspects, but this is what had fashionista's worldwide swooning, a dress straight out of Cinderella.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why, it's like a dream.

MOOS: A dream worn by actress Claire Danes. Beautiful in daylight, it blossoms in darkness. Claire told "E News" --

CLAIRE DANES, ACTRESS: It's just a work of art. My three year old son was pretty stoked.

MOOS: Fiber optics were woven into silk organza. There are 30 little battery packs in pouches. This isn't a UFO, unidentified fashion object. For designer Zac Posen, it's an IOYFFO (ph).

ZAC POSEN, GOWN DESIGNER: Illuminating, you know, romantic but yet futuristic floating object.

MOOS: At the fancy sit-down dinner --

DANES: I won't be doing tequila shots in this. Let's just say that.

MOOS: They made accommodations so Claire could sit, not on her dress, but with it around her.

MOOS (on camera): They took a regular chair and what did they do?

POSEN: They had a regular chair and they sawed off the back of it.

MOOS (voice-over): But Zac Posen's wasn't the only dress lighting up the Met.

KAROLINA KURKOVA, MODEL: I'm all lit up. Oh, wow, Why did the top suddenly get so bright? Oh, the top really is bright.

MOOS: Model Karolina Kurkova was wearing a dress that responded to tweets. The design house Marchesa collaborated with IBM Watson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Primarily what you started to see was the color pallet shift to match kind of the emotional tone of the tweets at the time. KURKOVA: You know, speaking of all the tweets and everything people

are thinking, all their emotions like joy and excitement and thrill- ness, it's all going to show up in this dress (ph).

MOOS: Karolina couldn't sit down. She had to be transported by Mercedes van. How did flamboyant dressers like Lady Gaga respond to Zac Posen's illuminated gown?

POSEN: Went gaga for the dress!

MOOS: You can buy one like this custom made. The designer wouldn't discuss price. But it would make an amazing wedding dress if you want to get married at night.

POSEN: She was the light of the party!

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Oh, they don't look very comfortable, but they're sure beautiful.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

[09:59:54] Indiana, 2016, the death knell for the Ted Cruz campaign and a new beginning for Donald Trump. Today he wears the party's banner "presumptive nominee." Trump now stands fewer than 200 delegates away from officially clinching the nomination. He steamrolled in the Hoosier state, winning 53 percent of the vote, more than Ted Cruz and John Kasich combined.