Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Chaos Erupts at Nevada Democratic Convention; Romney Seeks Candidate to Run 3rd Party Against Trump; "NY Times" Article on Women Doesn't Seem to Affect Trump; Waco Biker Shootout Survivors Share Stories; Prince's Bodyguard Says No Way Prince Addicted to Pain Killers. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 16, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:30:-5] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: My goodness. Welcome to politics in America 2016. This, as the Democratic convention in Nevada. Chairs flew. Tempers flared. This was the scene at the Paris, Las Vegas Casino. It turned unruly, unpredictable and divisive. This is friction between Bernie Sanders supporters and Hillary Clinton supporters. The casino eventually had to shut down because of security concerns. This whole thing happened as a result of this handful of unpledged delegates, and both sides claimed the rules were rigged. In the end, Secretary Clinton maintained the lead in Nevada where she nearly won the state's caucus and she picked up 20 pledged delegates. Senator Sanders with 15, and of eight super delegates, free to vote for whomever they want, most say they'll vote for Hillary Clinton.

Let's go straight to Jeff Zeleny, our senior Washington correspondent.

What the heck was that really about?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Brooke, this is a fight of Democrats. Never mind the fight of Democrats and Donald Trump supporters. This is a family feud unlike, you know, nothing we have seen this year.

What it's about is it really is this raw emotion among Sanders supporters that, "A," they know the end is near and that Hillary Clinton is winning. But state by state by state, in county and state conventions, Democrats have to elect delegates, people to represent these candidates at the convention this summer, and it really creates all this turmoil. We've seen it somewhat like this, but we've never seen it this rowdy. But the Sanders supporters trying to get more delegates.

And, Brooke, you will remember in February, she won Nevada. So fair and square, she should have gotten more delegates on Saturday but a lot of Sanders supporters are new to the process, they are Independents, not necessarily Democrats, and they are trying to get as many delegates at possible here. But no question, the Clinton supporters should have had more delegates because she won the sit.

BALDWIN: No one's saying that this scene is a microcosm of Philadelphia. What is the DNC sort of saying ahead of the convention there this July?

ZELENY: I don't think we'll see anything like this in Philadelphia necessarily. There's a fight over the platform, over the specific rules. And I expect that there will be a call for first ballot for Bernie Sanders. This was eight years ago in Denver. This is not that unusual. Eight years ago, in Denver, when Obama was nominated, a first ballot called for Hillary Clinton, and that will happen again. But I think this is a rawer feeling here because Sanders attracted supporters new to politics and they really love him and like him, and they cannot quite swallow the fact that she appears to be on the way to becoming the nominee.

BALDWIN: Talk about frustration.

ZELENY: The question is, will they be able to reconcile?

BALDWIN: Right. Exactly. Exactly.

Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. We'll talk again.

ZELENY: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Meantime, on the other side, would Mitt Romney risk another presidential run as a third-party candidate just so he could try to stop Donald Trump? The chairman of the Republican Party calls it a political suicide mission. Governor Romney's former spokesman joins me next.

Who could forget this? This collision course that ended there in Waco, Texas. Tomorrow marks one year since that scene. Survivors are now speaking out to CNN, telling us firsthand what that melee was really like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:09] BALDWIN: Mitt Romney, trying to figure out the best play for a successful third-party bid against his own party. The former presidential nominee is making it clear he is a Never Trumper, but he is not entering the race himself. No, no. He's courting other Republicans to run on a third-party ticket. The top-two picks, freshman Senator of Nebraska, Ben Sasse, and one of Trump's biggest critics, and, reportedly, Ohio Governor John Kasich, who dropped out just a couple of weeks ago, and both flat-out said, no.

Let's discuss this with the former spokesman for Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, Mr. Ryan Williams.

Ryan, welcome back.

Let me just ask the obvious. Perhaps he's hung up presidential aspirations he had but why not Mitt Romney? RYAN WILLIAMS, FORMER SPOKESMAN, MITT ROMNEY 2012 PRESIDENTIAL

CAMPAIGN: I haven't talked to him. I think he's made it clear he won't run as a third-party candidate and made the views clear on the field and the state of the race. But he's not running and I don't expect that to change based on what he said.

BALDWIN: Then why keep floating all these names? I mean, Ben Sasse, seen all over the country trying to get folks not to vote for Trump, but they're saying no.

WILLIAMS: I don't know how accurate the media reports are on the activity but I think what Chairman Reince Priebus said is accurate, that a third-party candidacy at this point is a suicide mission. But --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: We have the sound. Let me stop you there.

Roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: It's a suicide mission, because you're not only changing and throwing out eight years of the White House but potentially generations on the Supreme Court. Look, we could have up to three justices change over in the next eight years. And this is a suicide mission. It is not right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you agree with him, Reince?

WILLIAMS: I do agree with him. I think at this point the choice is Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. It's up for everybody to evaluate the field and vote the way they want to vote. People had the say about Donald Trump, whether you liked him or didn't like him during the primary. But the fact is he is now the Republican nominee for president and has a chance to reach out across the party and try to build the support he needs to perhaps capture the White House. And I think a third-party candidacy simply helps Hillary Clinton at Trump's expense.

[14:40:22] BALDWIN: Let me move just a bit because, listen, in the bloodstream today, this "New York Times" piece quoting a number of different women on Donald Trump. You know, he's irked by it. The woman in the lead story in the piece is refuting it, saying she's flattered by the comments of Mr. Trump in 1990. You know the deal. From your former boss, as you well know, Mr. Romney made the binder full of women comment and it, ultimately, hurt him. And it seems to me, thus far, that, you know, reporting from "The Times," it is not sticking to Donald Trump. And I'm curious from a strategic -- what's the difference here, Ryan?

WILLIAMS: I think these are two different races. Certainly, two very different candidates. Trump seems to have has greater news of the news cycle and stories like this, while there's a story for a day, they're washed out by the next interesting thing to cover surrounding his campaign.

BALDWIN: But, hang on. We talked about women and Trump for a while. This is not a new blip in the cable news cycle and this is something I think we'll see in the next couple of months.

WILLIAMS: Well, I think that that's baked in the cake at this point with a lot of voters. They've known Donald Trump for 30 years and formed opinions on him. But individual stories seem to -- they seem to move on and other things are picked up. The meeting with Speaker Ryan was a big story. This network covered Donald Trump's plane on the runway like it was a big news story. And Trump, whatever you think about him, he can move the news cycle quickly. And in 2012, stories like this lingered longer for our campaign.

BALDWIN: Yes. We showed live pictures because he was leaving Washington. But indeed, I think it's germane to the process to talk a lot about the highest-elected Republican, you know, meeting down with the man who would like to be president, and still no endorsement.

Ryan Williams, we'll talk again. Thank you very much.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Speaking of third-party candidates would John Kasich consider running as an Independent? Hear what he just sold Anderson Cooper. You will hear his remarks coming up.

Also a year later, survivors of the Waco, Texas, biker gang shootout are sharing their stories with us here at CNN. And Ed Lavandera will join us live to talk about what he's found coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:01] BALDWIN: Huge story we covered here. Remember when two rival gangs that met in a collision course in Waco, Texas? Tomorrow marks one year since this chaotic sense broke out. There's the video showing the sides exchanging gun fire. Nine bikers were killed, making it one of the deadliest shootouts in the nation between these outlaw biker gangs. Fast forward to now, and survivors telling CNN what it was really like. And not just that, they opened up to Ed Lavandera about the bad blood between these two organizations.

And Ed is here with me in New York to talk about.

This was many, many months of you and everyone working on even getting them to talk to you. Who did you get? What are they telling you?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we really wanted to focus on, because a lot of people asked me, how did the fight start, what -- so we wanted to get as close to the beginning of that fight as possible. We will have two exclusive interviews with rival biker members there at the beginning of the fight and the national president of the Bandidos who is also facing a federal investigation and he's already been federally indicted. He's out of jail on bond.

But you talked to the most hardened biker in any club around the country and they'll say what happened in Waco last year is one of the most insane, wildest chapters in outlaw biker history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over) Cossacks, Bandidos, angry, dangerous and bitter enemies. Months of rage and violence led to this moment, an all-out battle in the parking lot of a favorite biker hangout.

Hundreds of bullets had been fired as armed police officers are nearby watching. Dozens are down, wounded or dead. And the bloody clash shows no signs of stopping.

JAKE CAMZAL, BANDIDOS BIKER: It would be a pause in the gunshots and then you'd hear a few more go off.

LAVANDERA: Seconds into the showdown, surveillance shows this biker running from the Twin Peaks patio covered in blood.

JOHN WILSON, COSSACKS BIKER: It was pretty horrific. There were guys hit, fallen. I realized I needed to get away from where I was.

LAVANDERA: Biker John Wilson did get away. You can see him here inside Twin Peaks ducking for cover.

But this man, seen in the red bandana, was not as lucky. He hits biker in the throat with what looks like a chain. They wrestle to the ground. He's struck several times in the head. He's stomped on at least once, and looks to be shot by a third biker. He seems lifeless as the men he was fighting walk away.

And then another fight breaks out. Look closely as the highlighted biker is shot in the leg during the skirmish. Cossack Richard Kirchner stumbles to the curb and collapses. When the area is secure, members of the Cossacks carry him away for help. Both bikers die at the scene.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: So these new video angles give you a sense of how chaotic the moment was. And after seeing it and studying it for the last few months, it's like every time you watch it, it's like something new pops up and you catch another altercation, another scuffle --

(CROSSTALK)

[14:50:35] BALDWIN: The weapons. You said the montage goes on for a while, seeing everything taken from the site, 170-plus people arrested. I look forward to finding out where this whole thing stands right now.

9:00 tonight?

LAVANDERA: 9:00 tonight. BALDWIN: Ed Lavandera, thank you so much.

LAVANDERA: Good to be with you.

BALDWIN: Look forward to see it at 9:00 tonight.

LAVANDERA: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Definitely, do not miss that.

Next, he was Prince's bodyguard up until the day he died. Why he says there is no way the music legend was addicted to drugs. That is next.

Plus, Donald Trump firing back at "The New York Times" after a front- page report detailing an unsettling history of his encounters with women. Now a woman quoted in the piece is speaking out, again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:] BALDWIN: A Colorado adventurer is redefining what it means to be blind, breaking down barriers in his own life and helping others do the same.

CNN chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, has his story in today's "Turning Points."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Erik Weihenmayer has scaled the seven summits and braved the Colorado River rapids in the dark. At 4 years old, he was diagnosed with a rare eye disease. By high school, Erik was completely blind.

ERIK WEIHENMAYER, BLIND ADVENTURER: I wanted to be with my friends and going on dates and I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to participate in life.

GUPTA: But he did, joining the wrestling team and becoming a rock climber. He set his sights on Everest.

WEIHENMAYER: Experts said you cannot stop if you fall. You can't think at high altitude. It wouldn't be a good place for a blind person.

GUPTA: Erik disagreed and in 2001 became the first blind person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.

WEIHENMAYER: On the top. I can't believe it.

GUPTA: Seeking out new adventures, Erik trained for six years to train for the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

WEIHENMAYER: Not just doing the things to prove that blind people can do this or that. That's shallow. I do it to live fully.

GUPTA: He helps others face challenges through his non-profit no barriers.

WEIHENMAYER: I think in our lives all of us in a way are climbing blind.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: A tentative date has been set for the public memorial that Prince's family is planning. Prince's sister says the tribute will happen sometime in August.

Meantime, Prince's fellow church members in Minnesota remembered his spiritual side in a memorial. People who attended said the service was a personal one focused on Prince's faith more than his music.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it was nice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brother Graham had mentioned they were on tour and they would be studying the Bible. And he looked at his watch and said, "I think I was supposed to go on."

BALDWIN: Someone else who attended the memorial, Prince's bodyguard. He talked to CNN's Sara Sidner about reports Prince may have been addicted to painkillers. She joins me live from Minnesota.

Sara, what did he tell you?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, he talked about being very close to Prince, saying that he is working for Prince since 2012, and that he went all over the world with him. And he was upset about the reports coming out saying that Prince was addicted to anything. He said he was the healthiest person he had ever met.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS "ROMEO" GATHER, BODY GUARD FOR PRINCE: I packed this man's bags, I've been on tour with him for months so if anybody had an addiction, it would be something you would see, that would be something that you would know, that would be something that would show, not only through his actions and stuff like that, but through moments when he thinks people's not looking, so, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: He said he'd never seen anything to indicate an addiction. However, he did say that sometimes if Prince was low on energy or feeling ill that there were doctors to come and give him what he said were B12 shots and try to boost his energy. But he was talking about how inside of the memorial how it was really about how hard Prince worked at the faith as well as his music. And he wanted to get that muse and out, from his perspective, he didn't see anything that linked him to addiction, to any kind of drugs -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: People still just mind boggled by this.

Just while I have you, when's the new legal information regarding possible DNA testing?

SIDNER: Yeah. So the court has ruled, after being asked by the special administrator overseeing Prince's estate and trying to get how much of the estate is there and divided between his heirs, they have basically said, look, if you come forward as a potential heir, you may be subject to DNA testing and you have to pay for that DNA testing. We know of two people other than siblings who have come forward since it was found out that there was no will that they can find, they've come forward saying, look, we are heirs. One of them has asked for DNA testing. The other has not. And the other is a small child. So the court is basically said, look, you will have to get tested and you will have to pay for it -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Sara Sidner at Prince's estate there. Thank you so much, Sara.