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Fort McMurray Fire Grows Larger; Donald Trump's Short List for Running Mates; 12-Hour Firefight in Iraq Led to Death of U.S. Navy SEAL. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 05, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00] PETER FORTNA, ESCAPED WILDFIRES BY HELICOPER: So nobody really knows for certain. I mean we're hopeful, but then again, the pictures I've seen, I'm pretty sure my neighborhood is one of the one that's gone now. But, you know, it's just tough. Thankfully everybody is safe, that's the thing.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: What does that feel like? I can't imagine -- I know it is entirely helpless, you know, watching, looking for my home on the news amid sort of these walls of smoke and fire.

FORTNA: Well, to be honest, I'm less worried about the home and I was more worried about the people and the community. And really, a lot of our minds are going towards what happen now?

You know, how do we rebuild? And, you know, how this can be rebuilt? The community -- it's not nearly as easy to bring those back as we have learned in other areas where there's been massive destruction. So I just hope we're able to build the community again.

BALDWIN: Before you rebuild, though, to your point, you're absolutely right. The people are the priority. Have you been texting with your neighbors? Did most -- did everyone heed the warning?

FORTNA: Yes, as far as I know. Everybody close to me in Fort McMurray has been able to get out of Fort McMurray. I worked for a lot of indigenous or Native American communities in Fort McMurray and, you know, they're pretty heart broken, but they've been able to escape all (ph).

So a lot of -- I have friends who -- from those communities who are also volunteer firefighters. So they're still out fighting the fire and I can't give enough props out to them, you know. Its one thing that I was able to leave, but they're still there trying to do everything they can to save as much of the community as they can.

BALDWIN: Incredibly dangerous for those firefighters. You're right. We should keep those fire teams' front and center in our minds.

Peter Fortna, I have tell you, Alberta, Canada one of the prettiest places I have been in this world. Just thinking of you, thinking of your communities, stay safe. We'll keep in touch and just thank you so much. We're thinking about you. FORTNA: Definitely thanks for the time and, yeah. If anybody does have any -- would like to contribute to Canadian, Red Cross is taking donations. So I encourage everybody to donate there if they're able.

BALDWIN: I am sure we are lining up all those organizations. Just go to cnn.com/impact. Peter, thank you very much.

We're going to move away from Canada for this moment and back to the political trail. The campaign trail with his sights set on November, Donald Trump and his team are eyeing potential running mates? So, what are the chances he will choose a former Republican rival? Who's on the short list? We have that for you next.

Also later, it was a day long firefight between U.S. special ops and ISIS militants. We will show you chilling new video from the ground, from the assault that killed this U.S. Navy SEAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:20] BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

As the Republican Party presumptive nominee, Donald Trump's general election campaign has really begun. A senior Trump adviser just shared three options on a short list for potential running mates, but almost as soon as their names were floated all three contenders essentially said, you know, "Thanks, but no thanks."

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, "Not interested." South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, "My plate is full." Ohio Senator Rob Portman, "Not interested." Even Florida Governor Rick Scott who endorsed Mr. Trump in March told CNN, "If offered, I'd pass."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SCOTT, (R) FLORIDA GOVERNOR: I'm going to pass. I will do everything I can to make sure he wins both in our states and if he wants any help nationwide, I'll do anything I can to make sure he wins, but I'm stay in this job and finish this job and have a good partner in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This can perhaps be problematic for Donald Trump who himself admits for a well rounded ticket he needs an experienced politician

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would want somebody that would help me from a legislative standpoint, getting things passed through Senate, through Congress.

And to me, that's why I think probably in terms of vice president I'm going to go the political route. I don't need the business route. I've got that covered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was somebody who's been a governor or senator?

TRUMP: Somebody that -- well, somebody maybe that's been even a senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, Ted Frank, an attorney who helped vet one of the Republican Party's more controversial VP pick, Sarah Palin.

Ted, nice to have you on?

TED FRANK, VETTED SARAH PALIN FOR 2008 MCCAIN CAMPAIGN: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: So, I don't want to entirely rehash what happened in '08 with McCain and Palin, but you're the perfect person to talk to because talk to me about, you know, if you're -- whether you're a Donald Trump or let's say ultimately it's a Hillary Clinton, how do you choose? How do you determine whether you go with a safe pick or the big risk, big reward pick?

FRANK: Well, there are two aspects. There's the vetting aspect where you're just doing the opposition research and figuring out what sort of negative things will be said about your vice presidential candidate if you select him or her.

And then there's the selection aspect. What does the candidate add to the ticket? Will they be a good president if God forbid something happens to you? Do they compensate for your weaknesses or reinforce the message you're trying to send us in the Clinton/Gore ticket in '92.

BALDWIN: What is the biggest lessoned that you would say you and the McCain team learned that you would pass along to either of these nominees?

FRANK: Well, don't pick somebody at the last minute I think is a lessoned that the campaign knew at the time. But anybody you pick needs to help your ticket either by being a good candidate on the merits all by themselves or by compensating for the weaknesses that you might have on the ticket.

[14:40:12] BALDWIN: We just ran through a couple of names floated by the Trump campaign and all of whom who essentially said, "Thanks, but no thanks."

Ted, do you think it's possible that a no in May could become a yes in July?

FRANK: No. I think the people are saying no now really do mean no and you need the cooperation of somebody in order to be considered because you need to go through some very personal investigation that can't happen without the cooperation of the potential candidate. So if somebody saying no, they probably do mean no.

BALDWIN: OK. In the entire vetting process, when you say lesson learned, don't do it at the last minute. What are the most important questions in the vetting process?

FRANK: Well, the vetting, again, is just doing opposition research. Learning what it's ...

BALDWIN: Making sure there's skeleton in the closet.

FRANK: Well, you can have skeletons in the closet. You just have to know what they are and have to make a conscious decision that "Yes, I want this person even though they have an unwed teenage pregnancy in the family," or something like that.

And that McCain knew the positives and the negatives with Palin and made the choice because he felt that he -- that she added excitements to the ticket that he needed going up against Obama and ...

BALDWIN: Is there something wrong with that, though?

FRANK: I don't think there is anything wrong with that and I think it worked for him. I think he took a very good bounce in the polls and it was the Lehman Brothers collapse that did in his campaign, not Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin drew McCain ahead immediately after the convention.

BALDWIN: On the note of excitement, and as I mentioned a second ago about, you know, big risk, big reward. I want you to throw out some potential names. Let's start with Donald Trump. Who could be the running mate? Who would be the excitement, big risk, big reward?

FRANK: Oh, if you want to go really exciting, you go for somebody like Oprah Winfrey which he has mentioned before. I've mentioned that jokingly that Oprah Winfrey would add more to the ticket than Snooky (ph). But, with Oprah ...

BALDWIN: That's great.

FRANK: But, he has mentioned Oprah and she's a self-made billionaire. And she would cure a lot of the concerns, a lot of independent ...

BALDWIN: OK, let's assume Oprah says, no, just crazy thought there.

FRANK: Sure. That's probably what would happen.

BALDWIN: He wants someone, perhaps already in Congress, you know, somebody with political chops. Who would that person be?

FRANK: That would probably be somebody like Newt Gingrich or Jeff Sessions. They don't add anything to the weakness of the ticket other than experience. But, they have been supportive of Trump and could step in and certainly would serve the role of political ally.

But, your vice president doesn't need to be the one negotiating any deals. You can have Newt Gingrich helping you negotiate with Congress whether or not he's your vice president.

BALDWIN: Quickly, Hillary Clinton, who could be on her ticket. FRANK: I'm thinking at somebody like Tim Kaine or Cory Booker. Another name that's been mentioned is HUD Secretary Castro. But, I think in terms of skeletons in the closet, she is better off with somebody like a Tim Kaine.

BALDWIN: Oprah Winfrey and you did that with a straight face. Ted Frank, thank you. Thank you so much.

FRANK: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: You got it.

Just a reminder, House Speaker Paul Ryan, he will join Jake Tapper "The Lead" this afternoon for a big interview. That's at 4:00 Eastern here on CNN.

Coming up next, new video shows the U.S. Special Forces firefight with ISIS militants, claimed the life of an American hero, a Navy SEAL. We'll talk to a former SEAL who seen the video and will walk us through what he sees is going on and also just about the terror group's capabilities. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:26] BALDWIN: We are learning more about that fierce firefight overseas. It was a 12-hour firefight in Iraq that led to the death of an American Hero, a U.S. Navy SEAL. And now "The Guardian" newspaper has exclusively obtained cell phone video of the battle between some of these American soldiers and ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey, we are 44 now (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Soldiers and clearly some SEALs. 31-year-old Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV who decorate a combat veteran and star athlete was killed while helping rescue U.S. military advisers in that attack.

Let me bring in former Navy SEAL who has been deployed to Iraq, Brandon Webb, nice to have you on.

You worked with special ops and train service members like Charles Keating. He's also the author of "Among Heroes" and he's the founder of the veteran run news sites, SOFREP.com. Nice to have you back on.

BRANDON WEBB, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: You know, we're just talking about Eric (ph), your buddy, your SEAL buddy Eric yesterday about this and just out of the gate you have a message just for the SEAL community and just condolences officer ... WEBB: Yeah. I mean, I just really, you know, my condolences go out to the family of Keating and I think -- especially the SEAL community. We have over 20,000 U.S. Special Operations Forces and the SEAL community represents such a tiny amount, about 2,000 active duty and the SEALs since 9/11 just carried a heavy burden and taken some pretty heavy losses. So it's a tough day for the community for sure.

[14:50:03] BALDWIN: Keating was -- from what I've read inspired after 9/11. He wanted to join in and he wanted to fight for this country and died valiantly doing so.

As far as the firefight, we know ISIS managed to assemble about 125 fighters, 20 vehicles for the assault (ph). It was a Peshmerga checkpoint. You watched this video. With your SEAL eyes, what do you see?

WEBB: I mean, it's obviously that there is, you know, when I initially saw the video, it looked like an ambush or an assault. But you can tell just by the reaction of the press (ph) and the U.S. forces that just the come under fire which comes from, you know, years of being in combat and the training, but they look like they were dealing with it effectively.

And we call it getting off the "X" anytime you have a contact, but you've got to get off that initial contact point and initiate some type of forward maneuver or defensive posture to sit there and do nothing is definitely not the solution.

We have a saying in -- a good decision executed now is better than a perfect one, you know, one much later. So it definitely that the guys you could tell that just to come under fire and, you know, we've been at this since 2001.

BALDWIN: And the choppers overhead, hellos, you thought that could be medical.

WEBB: Yeah, definitely. You know, those were H-60 helicopters. Typically used in medevac situation. So, you know, the fact that those guys are coming in with very little, you know, weaponry. They're using in a door gunner on board that just, you know, it shows that we have a very experienced fighting force in the U.S. and our coalition partners.

You know, but what concerns me and especially, you know, given the current presidential election environment is that whatever -- whoever our next president is, you really need to develop a strategy to stamp out radical Islam at it's root core or we're going to be at this forever.

BALDWIN: I want to -- let's put (ph) it on that. You know I was in Persian Gulf a couple of weeks ago. I was talking to a number of these sailors out there who are, you know, we saw the ordinances in getting wheeled on to the F-18s, taking off and getting the coordinates to bomb ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq.

And they were saying to me, there was only so much they could to sort say on camera as they're active but, you know, they're paying very close attention, many thousands of miles away to what's happening right here. You tell me why this matters so much.

WEBB: Well, you know, we've been at war with radical Islam for, you know, over a decade and it's real clear to me that, you know, like I said, the U.S. special operations community is the finest fighting force that this planet has ever seen.

BALDWIN: They're adding 250 more over there.

WEBB: But it's a part of the solution, you know. But it's like a whack-a-mole. If we don't stamp out radical Islam at its root core, we will be in this continual war on terror indefinitely.

And so, you know, how do we stop a group like ISIS? This barbaric group when we've all seen the videos on Youtube. How do we stop a group like that from promoting itself and recruiting online to young, frustrated people throughout the world? Like, how do we stamp out that message and get rid of it once and far all? And that's a key part of the strategy.

BALDWIN: Listening for strategy from these nominees/candidates specific. It's Brandon Webb for now, thank you so much.

WEBB: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Mr. Webb, thank you for your service.

Next here, candid moment just caught on tape behind closed doors. Senator John McCain, what he says Donald Trump means for his own political future. We'll play that for you. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:39] BALDWIN: And a fatal accident derailed the career of a gifted violinist, but her passion for music gave her the strength to play on. Here's CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta with this week's "Turning Points."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Rachel Barton Pine knew what she wanted to be at 5 years old.

RACHEL BARTON PINE, VIOLINIST: So I started signing my kindergarten papers, Rachel violinist.

GUPTA: At 10, she soloed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. At 17, she became the first American to win gold in violin at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition. Her star was on the rise until a train ride in 1995 change everything.

PINE: As I was exiting, the door slammed shut on my straps on the bag I was carrying. The train started moving and I had to decide, "Well, do I let myself be dragged or do I try free myself which might flipped me under the wheels." GUPTA: Rachel did wriggle free, but the train severed her left leg and crushed her right foot. She endured more than 45 operations.

PINE: I'm just so grateful to be here and that they were able to pretty much put me back together.

GUPTA: Six months after the accident, she returned to the stage. The following year, she performed at the Democratic convention.

21 years after she was injured, Rachel has released her 30th CD, continues performing across the country and has added mom to her repertoire.

PINE: There's a myth that you have to undergo instance (ph) tragedy to become a better artist. What about all of the positives, the wonderful moments in our lives? Those moments enhance who I am as person and, therefore, who I am as an artist.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And we continue on. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

Just hours from now, we will have dueling rallies in the newly define race for president. First stop, you have Donald Trump. He will be in West Virginia this evening, 7:00 Eastern. And at the very same hour, Hillary Clinton will be speaking at a rally in California.

It will be Trump's first campaign event since he's become the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party and for weeks and weeks Mr. Trump has teased the supporters that he hasn't even started in on Hillary Clinton yet. Might that happen tonight? What might his tone be?

As for the former secretary of state, you saw the Democratic front- runner saying right here exclusively to Anderson Cooper that she is not running against Trump, she's running her own campaign and yet -- have you seen her new ad? It hits Trump and his party hard by using Republicans own words.