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Coordinated bombings tearing through two Syrian government strong holding killing at least 78 people; Senator Lindsey Graham, made the announcement out of a private fundraiser in Florida over the weekend; Veterans have been protesting today outside of Trump Tower. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 23, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:06] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: In Syria, coordinated bombings tearing through two Syrian government strong holding killing at least 78 people, ISIS claiming responsibility for the seven blasts at both residential areas and a bust station there. The wave of bombings happening on the heels of a top U.S. commander secret trip to Syria. And CNN got exclusive access with our own Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. The only TV journalist invited along. Barbara joining us live from Amman, Jordan.

Barbara Starr, this is stunning. Can you tell me about your visit?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to tell you, Brooke, when the general Joe Votel decided several weeks ago he was going to go to Syria, there was a very private conversation. He asked CNN and two other news organization to join him, General Votel. A long-time special operations soldier himself, wanted to lay his own eyeballs on the efforts there and see how things were progressing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): These are the first images ever shown publicly from a U. S. special operations training camp in northern Syria. From here and other secret nearby locations, the U.S. military is racing time to train enough local Syrian forces so they can push south towards Raqqah, ISIS' declared capital.

CNN was the only television network with General Joseph Votel on a secret day long trip to Syria. Votel overseas the war against ISIS.

GEN. JOSEPH VOTEL, U.S. CENTCOM COMMANDER: My principle purpose was to meet with some of the Syrian democratic force leadership and multiple locations and also to meet with our adviser.

STARR: General Votel has come to northern Syria under extraordinary security conditions, in fact, we have been asked not to reveal a number of details on how we all got here. But Votel considers this part of the war a top priority. He is here to meet with the advisers helping of these local troops that you see work to defeat ISIS.

Votel went to multiple locations we have been asked not to disclose, meeting with key leaders in the Syrian democratic forces. An umbrella organization overseeing many of these young Arab fighters the U.S. is training. A spokesman through the air forces being trained here is critical of U.S. efforts. He says his group urgently needs more ammunition and weapons. Beyond the few ammunition supplies he says the U.S. has delivered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We have been given a number of old rifles.

STARR: Due to security concerns, we are not allowed to show details of the base. Our cameras are restricted. Security is so higher here, the U.S. advisers want their faces shielded but they do want to talk about the training.

You're a military adviser here. What do you guys do here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here training the Syrian democratic forces. Now, when I say training, generally, that's consisting of basic level weapons training, shooting AK-47s and shooting large machine guns.

STARR: The four-star general taking an extraordinary step to see it all firsthand.

VOTEL: I have responsibility for this mission. I have responsibility for the people that we put here so it's imperative for me to come and see what they're dealing with, to share the risk they're absorbing on a day-to-day basis.

STARR: Even as the Arab fighters here patrol the surrounding fields, and stand watch getting ready for whatever their future holds.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Votel very pragmatic, very practically minded about the responsibilities here. He is understanding what is being accomplished. He feels that eventually will work but cautioning it's going to take some time. The groups up in northern Syria. They are not the U.S. army. They fight their own way. They are very small organization. He says all of that has to be respected - Brooke.

BALDWIN: Barbara Starr, thank you so much with the unique reporting from inside Syria. For more of Barbara's reporting, go to CNN.com.

And just a programming note for all of you, Fareed Zakaria special tonight, it is called "Why they hate us." It airs 9:00 eastern and pacific here on CNN.

Coming up next, a top Senate Republican visits Donald Trump on Trump's home turf here in New York but Senator Bob Corker is at the moment down playing any potential vice presidential talk. We will dig in to who might make the ticket with Trump or Hillary Clinton when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:21] BALDWIN: All kinds of speculation still. Listen. It is just May when we talk about potential vice presidents either for Donald Trump or for Hillary Clinton. But I can tell you that there was a significant meeting that happened in Trump tower today. Senator Bob Corker, he chairs the senate's foreign relations committee. He was in New York just a bit ago, met with the presumptive Republican nominee at Trump tower. He says they discussed foreign policy, they discussed domestic issues. But Senator Corker, of course, when asked, you know, he down played any sort of speculation that Trump would be considering him on the ticket. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I have no reason whatsoever to believe that I'm being considered for a position like that. You know? I'll say that until I'm blue in my face. It is just, again, this was a meeting between two people who didn't know each other except over phone calls. Getting to know each other and that's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:40:12] BALDWIN: Let me bring in CNN's chief political analyst Gloria Borger.

And Gloria, I don't know it you caught but I had, you know, three-time senator and New Hampshire -- former New Hampshire governor Judd Gregg on the show last hour who has been sort of, I don't know about Mr. Trump, you know, really likes Paul Ryan, what Paul Ryan has said thus far. And he said if Bob Corker is on the ticket he is in.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, Bob Corker is a very popular guy. He is -- he is not too far to the right of the party. Not too far to the left. He has got a 63 percent rating by the American conservative union. That's 63 out of 100. He is somebody who has worked across the aisle. He is the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. So he is a guy who knows how to work with people in Congress which, after all, it is one of the qualifications that Donald Trump spoken about.

By the way, I would also add that he's quite wealthy in his own right. And had something to do with real estate. He was in the construction business a while back. So he and Trump may have that in common. Yes.

BALDWIN: We continue to wonder what could happen there. From Republicans to Democrats, over the weekend at a movie junket, here you have Woody Harrellson and Mark Ruffalo, who has been on TV event. He is a Sanders' surrogate. You know, they stopped talking Hollywood for a minute and they started talking politics. Here they were.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUFFALO, ACTOR/SANDERS' SUPPORTER: You want party unity? Hillary, pick Bernie.

WOODY HARELLSON, ACTOR: That would be a hell of a ticket.

RUFFALO: That would be a hell of a ticket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You heard it here. RUFFALO: You heard it here. Party unity, pick Bernie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: First of all, I just love that they are at a junket and totally start talking politics. Secondly, would pigs fly, Gloria Borger, before secretary Clinton would choose Bernie Sanders?

BORGER: Yes. I don't think that's going to happen. Remember, everyone was talking about Barack Obama to pick Hillary Clinton, too. Do you remember that?

BALDWIN: Sure.

BORGER: I don't think Bernie Sanders wants to be a number two to Hillary Clinton, first of all. Secondly, if you want to attract independents, I think Bernie Sanders on the ticket is not the way to do it. And I think that while Bernie Sanders does test well against Donald Trump in his own right, he would be in the number two slot. And so he has had a lot of pronounced differences with Hillary Clinton. And I don't think Bernie Sanders is the kind of candidate who would suddenly say, never mind. You know?

He spent a lifetime fighting for a lot of issues. And I think the way he has more impact, quite frankly, right now is on the platform of the Democratic Party. He has now gotten five seats on that platform committee. We have just learned. And that's important for him. But I really don't see, you know, those people who had fought for the nomination, like he has tooth and nail, not giving in, continuing to California saying oh, by the way, I would be happy to be number two and I don't see her doing it. I just don't.

BALDWIN: You took the words out of my mouth. I don't know if he would be. But I'm so glad you reported this on the platform. That could be really part of the leverage on why he is fighting a good fight.

Gloria Borger, thank you so much as always.

BORGER: Sure, sure.

STARR: Next, he has called Donald Trump every name in the book. And now, Senator Lindsey Graham quietly urging Republican donors to get behind the Republican front-runner. We'll talk live with someone who is part of a closed door meeting who has some scoop.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:39] STARR: How about this today? One of Donald Trump's fiercest critics now calling on Republicans to sup fort presumptive nominee? This is happening behind closed doors. I'm talking about Senator Lindsey Graham, made the announcement out of a private fundraiser in Florida over the weekend. Senator Graham reportedly told those in attendance it was time to unite between -- behind, rather, Trump's campaign. Pretty remarkable considering what the South Carolina senator has said about Trump in the past. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Donald Trump was sitting right here instead of me, what would you tell him right now?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Just shut the hell up. He is shallow. He is ill-prepared to be commander in-chief. He is (INAUDIBLE), xenophobic, religious bigot. He thinks Putin's a good guy. He said the worst things possible about immigrants and women and he is a complete idiot. You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He is changing his tune. Senator Graham spokesperson confirmed the senator was indeed at this Florida fund-raiser on Saturday. Would not confirm Senator Graham's specific remarks on Trump.

So for that, we turn to someone that organized the event, who was in the room. Teresa Dailey, a prominent Florida Republican fund-raiser.

Teresa, nice to have you on and give me the scoop. What did Senator Graham say about Mr. Trump?

TERESA DAILEY, REPUBLICAN FUNDRAISER: Hi, Brooke. You know, it was really encouraging. You know, I think a lot of us in Palm Beach have just seen Donald from a personal standpoint for so long. And we know his heart, we know how terrible he is, what a great man he is on a personal level. And I think a lot of fear has come into the establishment over the past couple of months and just afraid to have somebody out of the box come into the fold. But obviously, he's doing exactly what he promised to do. He said he would unite the party and he is doing that. Senator Graham I guess is a good Donald doing that now.

BALDWIN: What did he say, exactly?

DAILEY: Well, you know, his position hasn't changed. But, you know, as he said many times, he has had several conversations with Donald. They have been very good. He is asking the right questions. Senator Graham is very pleased and impressed with the list of Supreme Court justices that Donald has chosen and, you know, it's to be seen. He is unifying the party by reaching out to people who have called him names and hurt him over the past several months, shows not only that he holds a lot of law, but he also holds a lot of grace. And this man has a heart that is just gold and wants to do the right thing for this country no matter what anybody has said about him. And I think the establishment is seeing that and our leaders are seeing that. And one of the things that Senator Graham made very clear was that we cannot have Hillary Clinton as our next president. It cannot happen.

So whatever we need to do, we need to make sure that we support the party and he never said -- I just want to be clear, he never said get behind Donald Trump exactly. What he did say is that we need to get behind the party and support the party and do what we need to do to raise the funds necessary to make sure that Donald J. Trump is our next president of the United States.

[15:50:48] BALDWIN: So since you Teresa, just quickly, you know, we are in the pennies, nickels and dimes here and that a lot of them, right, being raised to support this presumed nominee. "The New York Times" interviewed 50 high-profile donors and it's been a bit of a mix of reaction. You know, a lot of them made news by saying, you know what? I'm not quite ready to throw my money towards Mr. Trump. I want to sit on the sidelines. I'm curious, what do you think they are waiting for to support Mr. Trump?

DAILEY: I think what they are waiting for is, number one, a green light from Donald Trump and the RNC, the joint fundraising committee that they have set up. Number two, I think they are waiting for leaders like Senator Graham, Senator Corker, who is from the state that I actually do reside in half the time of the year, Tennessee. He is wonderful and has an open ear to hear what Donald Trump has to say. I think they are saying, hey, we've got to unify and come together. We cannot continue to divide. You know, the bible says, that a house divided will not stand. And we have seen that over and over again. And if we as the Republican Party continue to divide, it's not going to happen. We're going to fall. And Donald is determined and has the ability and the motivation and the character and the heart to make sure that we as Americans come together and we are first, America first. And I think that's how they are waiting for. Look. They are ready. They are ready. Donors are ready. And as soon as we give them the green light, we will raise the money that we need to do to make sure that the job is done.

BALDWIN: I imagine another name on the list, Paul Ryan. A lot of people listening for him as well.

Teresa, thank you so much, Republican fundraiser, Trump supporter, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

DAILEY: You're so welcome. Thank you.

STARR: BALDWIN: Thank you.

Coming up next, veterans have been protesting today outside of Trump tower after news broke that Donald Trump did not raise quite as much as he advertised. That is big charity event for the troops. We will talk to one of the protest organizers about what they want from Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:58] BALDWIN: Some veterans are taking on Donald Trump rallying outside of Trump tower today. They want among number of things, him to apologize from failing to raise the $6 million he claimed he did for veterans. "The Washington Post," they are reporting that the campaign only raised just about half of that amount. Trump's campaign admitting they only took in $4.5 million dollars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER MCCOY, MARINE CORPS VETERAN: Well, this is part of a continuing pattern, Trump acting like fraud. He makes these broad claims about how he supports veterans and the things that he will stand for. And he is showing that he's fundamentally unreliable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, specialist Perry O'Brien, A U.S. soldier who co-organized this morning's protest. He served as a medic in Afghanistan and is a Bernie Sanders supporter.

Perry, nice to meet you. Welcome.

SPEC. PERRY O'BRIEN, CO-ORGANIZER, VETERANS AGAINST TRUMP PROTEST: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: You know, did this along with your friend there who we just saw. Is this more than the money that they say, more than just the money that they say they raised for veterans?

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. This missing money or money that never existed is really just part of a longer -- very long running and deeply disturbing pattern of Donald Trump using -- really exploiting political props to further his own agenda.

BALDWIN: Can we, though, give the Trump folks the benefit of the doubt? Listen. They said they had big dollar donors who committed to x. They pulled out. Whether it's 3.1 or 4.5 million, whoever you are listening to, that's still a hunk of change for the veteran community.

O'BRIEN: Sure. Absolutely. And if there were anything in Donald Trump's history that suggested that he was in any way emotionally invested in supporting veterans and their family members other than when he declared to run for president and to try to become commander in-chief, I think veterans would extend that benefit of the doubt. Given the nature of the spectacle, it raises a lot of questions.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you more on you on this --the vets versus hate movement. As I mentioned, you are an Afghanistan. You are with women, you were with Muslims. What is that bigger picture? What is this all about for you?

O'BRIEN: I think, you know, for many veterans that I know, the moment of outrage with Donald Trump was usually something that he said I served as a medic with Muslim interpreters who I worked very closely with too, risk their lives to support our mission. I worked through a lot of women who, you know, unlike Donald Trump, actually donned the uniform and served their country as far as we can tell. You know, Donald Trump really - only seems to interested in serving Donald Trump. For a lot of us we believe that as commander in chief Trump would be dangerous, he would be reckless, he put American lives at risk and we can't afford to have a reckless bigot representing the most powerful military on earth.

BALDWIN: A lot of veterans would disagree with you. I have talked to a number of them who would. But I appreciate your perspective, especially as a Bernie Sanders supporter. I want to hear from all different voiced of all perspectives and supporters. Perry, thank you much. Perry O'Brien, co-organizers of this protest

today.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me. We're going to send it to Washington.

"The LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.