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Election Attacks Ramp Up; Alberta, Canada, Wildfires; ISIS Fight; Cruz Elbows His Wat Out. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired May 05, 2016 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:33:48] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
The general election may be a little over six months away, but for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, it is not too early to start launching attack ads, you know, on each other. Trump jabbing Clinton on everything from her e-mail controversy to her tenure as secretary of state. In the meantime, Team Clinton has released this new ad using the words of Trump and his fellow Republicans against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am a unifier. We're going to be a unified party.
ON SCREEN TEXT: A unified party?
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is a con artist.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A phony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is the no nothing candidate.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald is a bully.
ROMNEY: This is an individual who mocked a disabled reporter.
TRUMP: Ah, I don't remember.
ROMNEY: Who attributed a reporter's questions to her menstrual cycle.
TRUMP: Blood coming out of her -- where ever.
RUBIO: The must vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency.
ON SCREEN TEXT: "Trump defends the size of his hands and 'something else' at Republican debate." "New York Daily News," 3/4/16.
CARLY FIORINA (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The man who seems to only feel big when he's trying to make other people look small.
TRUMP: Don't worry about it, little Marco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
CRUZ: The man is utterly amoral.
JEB BUSH (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a sign of deep insecurity and weakness.
ROMNEY: The bullying, the greed, the showing off.
TRUMP: I'm really rich.
ROMNEY: The misogyny, the absurd third grade theatrics.
CRUZ: Count to ten, Donald, count to ten.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAORLINA: He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.
[09:35:02] CRUZ: A narcissist at a level I don't think this country's ever seen.
BUSH: He would not be the commander in chief we need to keep our country safe.
GRAHAM: This guy is so unfit to be commander in chief.
ROMNEY: His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe.
TRUMP: I bring people together.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Well, he's right about that.
TRUMP: Everybody loves me.
BUSH: He's got -- he needs -- he needs therapy.
ON SCREEN TEXT: (INAUDIBLE).
Hillaryclinton.com/briefing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Effective? Well, let's talk about that. John Geer is a distinguished professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. He's also the author of "In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns."
Welcome, sir.
JOHN GEER, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. I appreciate it. Some political types say Trump versus Clinton could be one of the
nastiest White House races ever. You say democracy requires negativity. Please explain.
GEER: I do. Well, this campaign is a perfect example. I mean we have two candidates. There's, on both sides, people have serious doubts about. And we need to have that negativity. Donald Trump has said some amazing things that have gotten very -- you know, people upset. Hillary Clinton has a responsibility to let people know about those because if you just listen to what Donald says about himself, it's all wonderful. He's going to make America great again. Well, how's he going to do that and what kind of statements has he made? And Hillary Clinton is going to raise these issues from now until Election Day.
COSTELLO: The way she's raised them so far, for example, that ad where she or her surrogating don't have to say a thing, she's just using the words of other Republicans, is that a good tactic to use?
GEER: I think it's a great tactic. In fact, it actually has historical precedence. In 1964, Lyndon Johnson aired a very similar ad against Barry Goldwater using statements by Republicans against the then senator. It was called, "Confessions of a Republican." This is a good tactic because these are statement people made. It's not anything that's being made up. And that the important part of negative ads is that this stuff tends to have some factual basis. And in this case it's direct quotes, and it makes it very powerful.
COSTELLO: On the other hand, it seems like, you know, Republicans often took aim at Trump, and then he took them out. And he's now the presumptive nominee, right? So how do you fight that?
GEER: Yes. Well -- well, first of all, nobody should under estimate Donald Trump. I mean he is, obviously, a very powerful source. He has a knack for politics. He's been able to be very successful in an environment that nobody thought he would be. So I don't think Hillary Clinton or her team or anybody should under estimate him. But he does have high negatives. And the one thing that Hillary Clinton does not want to let happen is those high negatives start to ease. And so she's got to continue to push.
COSTELLO: Well, she has high negatives too, though, right? She has high negatives too.
So when he calls her things like "crooked Hillary," because Donald Trump's nicknames tend to stick, right, like "little Marco," "lyin' Ted," "crooked Hillary."
GEER: Right.
COSTELLO: So is that effective?
GEER: Well, it -- it could be. I mean, actually, there's ways -- right now I'm in the midst of a project with a colleague of mine at UCLA. We're actually trying to test these ads and to see how they affect the public opinion. It looks like some of the attacks against Donald Trump, when he makes statements about women, does carry a bit of a wallop, and that will be an interesting pattern because you can imagine Hillary Clinton continuing to push on that. But I would expect, by the end of this campaign, both candidates negatives could be up because both sides are going to be using negative ads a lot because there's doubts about both candidates. It's only fair.
COSTELLO: Something else that she said in an interview with Anderson Cooper, Hillary Clinton I'm talking about, that may or may not be effective, because, you know, Donald Trump is going to attack Bill Clinton's infidelities, right? His -- he's going to attack the Clinton marriage. Anderson Cooper asked Hillary Clinton about that yesterday. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, CNN'S "AC 360": He's made references to your you're your marriage, to -- to your husband.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes.
COOPER: Are you prepared?
CLINTON: Well, he's not the first one, Anderson. I just can't -- I can't say this often enough. If he wants to go back to the playbook of the 1990s, if he wants to follow in the footsteps of those who have tried to knock me down and take me out of the political arena, I'm more than happy to have him do that.
COOPER: You're ready for that?
CLINTON: Oh, please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK, so should she just laugh these things off and treat them as if they're ridiculous, or should she take them head on?
GEER: Well, I think she should do both. I mean the bottom line is, is that Hillary Clinton has been on the political scene nationally for 25 years. She has faced all kinds of attacks. There is no candidate out there who's better equipped to deal with the kinds of claims and charges that Donald Trump is going to make. And she's got to find ways to go on head on and attack those, question them. But also realize that she's got to really continue to push her themes against him and not necessarily try to get in a tit for tat for him, but keep reminding voters about the kinds of statements that he's -- he's made over the years.
COSTELLO: OK, let -- I just want to center on that -- that tit for tat, because that intrigues me, because she could turn it around and she could talk about Donald Trump's three marriages and his only problems with fidelity, right?
[09:40:04] GEER: Right.
COSTELLO: So, should she do that? And at what point should she do that? GEER: You know, I don't think she needs to do that. I think that there's enough other statements out there that you don't need to throw that in there. Let -- you know, maybe some third party does that or something else, but I wouldn't do that if I were her. You know, the one thing she's got going for her is that she is presidential in the sense that she has the experience for the office. People may not like her policies, they may not like her for other reasons, but nobody can question about her ability to be -- to do the job. And, therefore, I think she should try to stay above that kind of stuff, but don't ever let him offer the map because this is going to be a tough campaign and she's got to continue to push back at every step of the way.
COSTELLO: All right, John Geer, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.
GEER: Oh, no problem (ph).
COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM -- you're welcome.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the pictures, they're just unbelievable. Tens of thousands flee a massive wildfire in Canada, including this driver. You'll see the outcome, next.
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[09:45:08] COSTELLO: A massive wildfire is raging in Canada, and it's already swallowed up an entire town. New dash cam video taking us right into the frantic evacuation as one man watches a whole neighborhood go up in flames. Sparks flying across the windshield. So far, 1,600 homes have been destroyed. More than 90,000 people forced to flee. And officials now declaring a state of emergency across Alberta as fire crews battle harsh weather conditions.
Meteorologist Chad Myers is with me now to tell us more.
Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
This is up in the Borial Forest area of northern Canada, about 50 degrees north. Fort McMurray right there into Alberta. Thinks about Canada. You go British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and then Newfoundland and Atlanta-Canada (ph). This is just to the east of the Atlantic -- the Canadian Rockies here. So almost the size of two Manhattans on fire right now. A lot of the town either smoke damaged or burn damaged. It got to 91 degrees.
Now, think about this. This is almost the Arctic Circle, not quite, but you get the idea. And it was 91 degrees over the weekend. And it's still going to be warm for the next couple of days. We aren't going to get any relief when it comes to rainfall. A big ridge in the atmosphere way up to the north, back on the -- it's warmer in Fort McMurray than it is in Atlanta right now. That heat dos slightly diminish down into the 70s for highs. You know, somewhere around 20 degrees Celsius for up there. But the wind is the problem. Wind today going down tomorrow. Firefighters have had very little time to get on the ground because the winds have been so shifty. They've been using air assets, but that's about it, Carol.
COSTELLO: Wow, Chad Myers, thanks so much.
Free agent quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel, he's expected to appear in court in the next hour after turning himself in on charges of domestic violence. Those charges stemming from a January altercation with his ex-girlfriend. Manziel was released Wednesday after posting $1,500 bond.
The Justice Department has threatened to pull federal aid from North Carolina over the state's controversial transgender bathroom law. Officials say the law, which bans individuals from using public bathrooms that don't correspond to their biological sex violates civil rights. The state has until Monday to respond.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the ISIS fight that killed an American soldier captured on cell phone. Why the Peshmerga are praising American soldiers.
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[09:52:05] COSTELLO: New video shows the intense firefight that killed an American Navy SEAL. Officer Charles Keating IV was killed in that attack. That video caught on cell phone and obtained by "The Guardian." It shows a Peshmerga team under a nonstop barrage of bullets. The service member later telling the publication that if it hadn't been for the Americans, more people would have died.
Barbara Starr is following the story. She tells us more now.
Good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
This is a very rare look for Americans at what it takes, the courage and valor of being in a firefight. There were a number of Navy SEALs on the ground there when they came under attack, and they radioed troops in contact, that they were under enemy fire. A reaction force came in of other Navy SEALs, Charles Keating part of that reaction force. You see the intense battle there. They virtually have nowhere to hide. They're crouched behind some vehicles. The Navy SEALs there to try and rescue the Americans who were pinned down. All of this a fight between ISIS fighters and Peshmerga Kurdish fighters. The original SEALs there as American advisers.
Keating killed in this battle. It's an extraordinary look at the rising risk that U.S. troops are facing. Technically, according to the Pentagon, not in combat, but on this day, in this place, combat certainly came to them.
Carol.
COSTELLO: Barbara, just a question about the video that we saw. I know we only have a small portion, but can you tell me what was -- were they out in the open essentially when this firefight took place? STARR: By all accounts they were in the relative open. What happened
was that ISIS broke through the Peshmerga front lines at that time and drove very quickly with tractors, bulldozers, suicide car bombs about two miles down this road, breaking through the lines, coming to the place where the SEALs were advising the Peshmerga fighters. They were supposed to be in safe ground at a base further back, but ISIS broke through and got there. We don't know at the exact moment whether the SEALs were out in the open, but the firefight broke out by surprise and very quickly, Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, because it looks like their -- the only protection they really have are those vehicles and they just look like standard vehicles, right?
STARR: Exactly. Exactly. There are not, you know, the typical armored vehicles, heavy armored equipment that we had seen typically as Americans in all the years of original conflict in Iraq. This is very much a special operations force that goes very quietly, very quickly where they need to go. It is a very high-risk business.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.
STARR: Sure.
COSTELLO: I'll be right back.
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[09:59:08] COSTELLO: Donald Trump knocks Ted Cruz out of the presidential race, but it was how Cruz elbowed his way out that has the Internet lighting up. Here's more from Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When fans of Ted Cruz say "cruz'n for a bruisin'", they do not mean bruising Cruz's wife. But when Ted announced he was suspending his campaign, his wife Heidi was the one he poked and then elbowed in the head, inspiring headlines like, "love means not accidentally elbowing your wife in the face."
The video went viral as a guilty pleasure, slo-mooed and made into countless gifts with sound effects added, even a wrestling announcer's voice. Tweeted one critic, "why would Ted Cruz notice he accidentally bashed his wife's head in? He didn't notice when another woman fell off the damn stage." That would be his short-lived running mate Carly Fiorina.
CARLY FIORINA (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ted Cruz.
