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President Obama Visits Hiroshima; TSA Wants $28 Million in Additional Funding; Clinton E-mail Flap Forces Her Off-Message; Trump and Rubio Make Peace After Bitter Primary Fight. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired May 27, 2016 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:03] CAMEROTA: That officer is wonderful and so is his grandmother. She is wonderful as well.
Have a nice weekend, everyone. It's time now for "NEWSROOM" with Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello.
Hi, Pamela.
CABRERA: We salute you.
CAMEROTA: We do.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Hi, there. And hope you guys have a great weekend.
CUOMO: Remember all those who did the ultimate sacrifice this Memorial Day. Take care, Pamela.
BROWN: Absolutely. Take care, guys. Have a great weekend.
NEWSROOM starts now.
Well, good morning to you. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for being here with us on this Friday morning.
The president makes history. Obama, now the first ever sitting American president to visit Hiroshima. Laying a wreath near where the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb. A move that helped end World War II.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 71 years ago, on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: This was that earth shattering moment, the one that led to the deaths of more than 140,000 lives seven decades ago. President Obama stopped short of apologizing for President Truman's decision to drop the bomb, but used the stage to call for a world without nuclear weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We stand here in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell. Mere words cannot give voice to such suffering. But we have a shared responsibility to look directly into the eye of history and ask what we must do differently to curb such suffering again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And after his speech, an emotional embrace, hugging this 79- year-old Hiroshima survivor.
CNN's Michelle Kosinski is in Hiroshima, with more on what Obama had to say and who the survivor is -- Michelle.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Pamela. Right, yes, that was one of the emotional moments here. That was 79-year-old Shigeaki Mori, a Japanese man who had worked for 40 years to try to get official recognition for 12 American prisoners of war who died in that blast here at Hiroshima. So, you know, for a long time, the Japanese government wouldn't recognize that they held those prisoners, but he finally got that done.
And CNN's Will Ripley interviewed him before today. And he said that, you know, he felt it was important for all of those lives to be honored, even those who were considered at that time to be enemies. But there are -- there was a lot of emotion out here, just as President Obama said that words can't describe the level of suffering that this place now will always represent.
It's hard to describe the depth of emotion. Many people said that when they heard the president's words, they cried. And the Japanese people have been waiting for this for a long time. I think many didn't expect an apology for a long time, the Japanese government privately said that they didn't want an apology. I mean, there is a lot that comes with that, and you know, where is their end of the apology as well? They thought it could also generate anti-American sentiment here. And, you know, these two countries are really trying to forge that relationship even deeper on this trip.
This also comes at a time when America and other nations are grappling with how to intervene in conflicts. Is it more moral to intervene or not? I mean, that's something that Americans were very familiar with. That's an ongoing debate. And in this case, President Obama wasn't speaking to Americans. He wasn't speaking to Japanese. This was a much different speech than we usually hear. He was speaking to humanity. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Technological progress without an equivalent progress in human institutions can doom us. We may not be able to eliminate man's capacity to do evil, so nations and the alliances that we've formed, must possess the means to defend ourselves. But among those nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear. And pursue a world without them. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: President Obama said that really de-nuclearization was not going far enough. That's a dream that he didn't think would be realized in his lifetime, that he says it's time for humanity to re- think the mindset of war itself and to embrace what he called the radical notion that we're all part of one human family -- Pamela.
BROWN: Michelle Kosinski, thank you so much for that.
And the president's visit, a dramatic one, and it's not the first time he's weighted into challenging historical situations. Two months ago, you'll recall he called for the U.S. embargo against Cuba to be lifted, embracing the change during a historic trip to Havana.
[09:05:07] With me now is CNN political analyst and editor-in-chief at the "Daily Beast," John Avlon.
Good morning to you, John.
JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Pamela.
BROWN: Let's talk about this trip in particular. What is the significance in your view of President Obama being the first sitting president to visit Hiroshima?
AVLON: This is an historic moment, a book end to an era. And it was not an apology for President Truman's decision. And -- but what it was, was a very searching speech against a larger backup of history. And the president I think, as a matter of his legacy, if you draw a line between the trip to Cuba and this event, he is trying to position himself as a president who can heal some of history's deepest divisions. Pivoting forward in the 21st century, rather than being stuck in the Second World War and Cold War debates that have defined our domestic politics for so long.
It is a difficult line to walk because you don't want to apologize for Harry Truman's decision, which arguably saved more lives than it cost. But to try to pivot that forward on the basis of common humanity, while cautioning against the impact of nuclear weapons that can still have on our world, it is an important role, and interesting to see a president in that fourth quarter of his presidency, try to not lower his sights, but rather raise them. That's not something we've seen very often, either.
BROWN: And in your view, how do you think he's done navigating that delicate line?
AVLON: I think, you know, there will be folks who dub this President Obama's apology tour because they're stuck in a partisan frame of mind. But if you watch -- if you listen to the speech, if you watch the speech, this was something searching, and indeed, it can be easy to forget that even hard and cold warriors like Ronald Reagan spoke longingly of a world without nuclear weapons.
President Obama has a very different style. And I think it's important to appreciate that he is the first president born in the 1960s, arguably the first gen-ex president. And so he's less invested personally in some of these old debates and divisions because he grew up in Hawaii. I think he has a more pacific and global perspective in some ways. And some of his critics would attack him for that. But it provides an ability for him I think to be less enthralled and captive to some of those older debates, in which itself allows a vision that discuss where we can go in the 21st century, and by healing some of these old divides, which have been difficult, rooted in real history and real differences but increasingly useless to fixate on as we focus on the 21st century.
BROWN: And it's clear, with this being his last year in office, legacy is very important to him. What do you think he will best be known for, John?
AVLON: Writ large. That's a tough and great question. You know, there is always the sense that presidents in the fourth quarter of their presidency wander the halls at night looking at the portraits of their predecessors and wondering how they stack up. And I do think that this president, they'll be the memory of health care certainly. That very tough fight, but achieving something the president since Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman had discussed and fought for unsuccessfully.
I think there will be fights with the Republicans and from the Tea Party revolution of 2010 to the nomination of Donald Trump today. And I think there will be actions on the foreign front, whether it's, I think the drawdown from Iraq, which is clearly created difficulties the way it was done, but also the reaching out in the fourth quarter to Cuba, to visiting Cuba, to this moment. I think a vision of reconciliation, and a vision of someone who has always conceived himself as a bridge builder, trying to do it beyond domestic politics on the international sphere.
BROWN: All right, John Avlon, thank you so much for sharing your perspective. We do appreciate it.
AVLON: Thank you, Pamela.
BROWN: Have a great weekend.
And speaking of weekend, it is a major travel weekend and it is kicking off already. This was a scene, take a look, earlier this morning at Chicago's O'Hare Airport where security lines were packed. Memorial Day weekend, adding millions of people to the already crowded lines. And now the TSA is announcing another move to try to help. It's asking Congress for another $28 million. Here is how Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said the money will help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We have just in the last several weeks converted a lot of part-time to full-time. We are authorized by Congress to pay additional overtime to TSOs to deal with the increased travel volume. I just yesterday sent to Congress a request for what we refer to as a reprogramming so we can convert 2700 TSOs from part-time to full-time, which will enable us to screen people a lot faster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: CNN's Rachel Crane is live at New York's LaGuardia Airport and Rosa Flores is at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
[09:10:02] Let's start with you, Rosa. Actually, Rachel, I'm going to start with you at LaGuardia. The lines are also moving well, is that right?
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: LaGuardia Airport, Pamela. As you can see behind me, the lines not that bad. Not nearly the scene that we saw early this morning at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Now we've been speaking to passengers all morning long, many of whom have gotten here hours ahead of schedule despite the fact that the lines here at LaGuardia are moving quite smoothly. Other passengers, though, getting just in the nick of time.
Now the Port Authority expects that over a million people will be traveling through New York's major airport this weekend. Now we spoke to an official from the Port Authority this morning, saying that the TSA has heard the frustrations of passengers and airport officials. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the TSA has received a message loud and clear. That changes are in order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CRANE: Now the TSA has assigned 72 additional officers to the three major airports here in the New York area to help with the congestion this holiday weekend. They've also assigned an additional 25 officers to New York's JFK and New Jersey's Newark Airport to help with the traffic. So if you're headed to the airport, though, heed the TSA's warning and get there with two hours ahead of time in order to make your flight -- Pamela.
BROWN: All right, let's check out Chicago's O'Hare Airport with our Rosa Flores. How is it going over there, Rosa?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, good morning. I want to give you the experience of walking into O'Hare Airport at this hour because earlier today it was daunting. Whenever people walk through these doors, the lines were long. The wait was probably at about 30 minutes.
Take a look right now. You can see the blue tape of the TSA security lines because the lines are so short. Why, you might ask. Well, TSA here in Chicago did implement a few changes. They added 58 TSA agents, five canines, which the TSA says that will allow them to screen an extra 5,000 passengers. So that's why you're seeing -- and if you take a look behind me, you can see not only the blue tape, but there really isn't a lot of activity at this hour. Earlier today, however, there was a lot of activity. People were in
line for at least a half an hour, but of course, the TSA is always recommending that people arrive at least two hours before. But there are a lot of ideas out there for the TSA to see how they can improve the experience.
Here is what Secretary Jeh Johnson has to say. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: Several senators have called on the airlines to suspend the check baggage fees. I have asked the airlines to consider it. But there are a number of things the airlines can do and are doing to assist in moving passengers through airports faster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: And as we take another live look here at O'Hare Airport, the lines, smooth sailing at this hour. Earlier today, though, Pamela, the lines were very long. I've got to say, Pamela, we have not seen any #ohate on social media which we saw a few weeks ago, when those hundreds of people lost their flights and had to sleep on cots at this terminal. So that's good news for this holiday weekend.
BROWN: That's actually -- yes, you would think if there's ever going to be a time for that hashtag, it would be a holiday weekend. So that's good that that's not happening at this point.
Rosa Flores, thank you so much for that.
And still ahead on this Friday, Democrats feeling burned by Sanders, as the senator appears to strike a deal to debate Donald Trump. Members of his own party are angry at the maneuver. Just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:17:47] BROWN: Well, before Bernie Sanders can face Donald Trump in their proposed debate, he must first deal with the rising anger within his own party. Some Democrats say Sanders should be trying to unify the party, not steal the spotlight from the more likely nominee Hillary Clinton. "Politico" quotes Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia calling the Sanders maneuver B.S. but he used a more full version of the word.
Meanwhile, Clinton is forces to go off message even as the all- important primaries draw closer. Clinton turning her attention from Bernie Sanders and go on the defensive over that scathing government review of her private e-mails.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I thought it was allowed. I knew past secretaries of state use personal e-mail. Secretary Kerry did for a period of time until the rules were clarified. They were not a model of clarity, and it seems like there is still more work to do on that. So yes, I believed it was allowed. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joins us with more. Good morning to you, Sunlen.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Pamela.
Hillary Clinton is trying to focus all her attention on Donald Trump but she is right now really facing these strong headwinds in her quest to close out this Democratic primary, even having to dismiss that idea of a Donald Trump-Bernie Sanders debate that could potentially go on without her. Clinton saying that that doesn't sound serious at all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY (voice-over): Overnight, Bernie Sanders stoking talk of a debate between him and Donald Trump.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You made it possible for us to have a very interesting debate.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": That's right.
SANDERS: About two guys who look at the world very, very differently.
SERFATY: And blasting his primary opponent Hillary Clinton for declining to debate before California's June 7th primary.
SANDERS: It's kind of insulting to the people of the largest state in the United States of America not to come forward and talk about the issues, serious issues that impact this state and impact the country.
SERFATY: But Trump appears to be taking the bait, as long as they can raise millions for charity.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I'd love to debate Bernie. He's a dream.
SERFATY: Clinton now scrambling to drum up support before the delegate-rich primary and Sanders refuses to concede the nomination. The latest poll in California shows Clinton and Sanders locked in a dead heat just days before the final contests.
[09:20:05] SANDERS: If we can win big here in California, and in the other five states that are up on June 7th, we're going to go marching in to the Democratic convention with enormous momentum, and I believe we're going to go marching out with the Democratic nomination.
SERFATY: Contending with trust issues over her personal e-mail use as secretary of state, Clinton going on an uncharacteristic media blitz, defending herself against a scathing inspector general report was called her out for setting up and using a private e-mail server.
CLINTON: This report makes clear that personal e-mail use was the practice under other secretaries of state and the rules were not clarified until after I had left. But as I said many times it was still a mistake. If I could go back I'd do it differently.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY: And Clinton has really tried recently to reach out and extend an olive branch to Bernie Sanders supporters going out of her way at a rally last night in San Francisco to praise Bernie Sanders and say he should be proud of the campaign that he has run. But also in the same breath also calling on California voters to step up and send a very clear message when they head in to vote on June 7th, Pam.
BROWN: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you for that.
And Trump meanwhile is on a victory lap after winning enough delegates to become the Republican nominee. The official nomination comes at the party's convention, of course, and even one of his most bitter rivals is now ready to rally behind him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: My sense is I'm going to go to the convention.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: You are?
RUBIO: And I'll -- I don't know if I'll have a role on the convention, but I have a lot of people going there that were supporters.
TAPPER: But if Donald Trump asked to you speak on his behalf, would you do so?
RUBIO: Maybe I -- yes, I want to be helpful. I don't want to be harmful because I don't want Hillary Clinton to be president.
TAPPER: Are you planning on releasing your delegates?
RUBIO: Yes. In fact we basically, technically have already because Donald is going to have the majority number and the point will be irrelevant. So if we haven't done so already, we will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Trump urging Senator Rubio to change his mind and run for reelection, tweeting, "Poll data shows that Marco Rubio does by far the best in holding on to his Senate seat in Florida, important to keep the majority. Run, Marco."
Let's bring in CNN's Jason Carroll. He is here to break it all down for us.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
BROWN: So these Republicans continue to coalesce on Donald Trump.
CARROLL: Yes, run, Marco. That's so interesting because you remember during the campaign when Senator Rubio called him a con man over and over, but I guess that's all over.
BROWN: Yes.
CARROLL: Moving forward, Donald Trump glowing at this moment, basking in his victory, but also taking time to take shots at both the president and Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: We had a big day today. Today was the day where we hit the 1237. Right. 1237.
CARROLL (voice-over): Donald Trump officially clinching the Republican nomination and squashing the once fervent efforts from the GOP establishment to stop him.
TRUMP: Most of them said, and they said very strongly, he will never be the nominee. I could name them, but I don't want to embarrass them.
CARROLL: Trump boasting that he is one step closer to the White House than Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP: Here I am watching Hillary fight, and she can't close the deal. And that should be such an easy deal to close.
CARROLL: Trump continuing to hit Clinton hard on that inspector general's report, which criticized her for using her personal e-mail server to do government business when she was secretary of state.
TRUMP: She has bad judgment. This was all bad judgment, probably illegal. We'll have to find out what the FBI says about it. But certainly it was bad judgment.
CARROLL: Trump also taking aim at President Obama.
TRUMP: He is a president who has done a horrible job. Obama could never come up with a solution. Number one, he's incompetent.
CARROLL: After Obama voiced world leaders concerns about Trump during a G-7 Summit.
OBAMA: They're rattled by him. The proposals that he's made display either ignorance of world affairs or a cavalier attitude.
CARROLL: Hillary Clinton echoing those fears.
CLINTON: This man who is an unqualified loose cannon is within reach of the most important job in the world, so it should concern every American.
CARROLL: But a defiant Trump is embracing the criticism.
TRUMP: That's good if they're nervous. That's good. I'll have a better relationship with other countries than he has, except we'll do much better and they won't be taking advantage of us anymore. CARROLL: As Trump continues to be hammered for his controversial
remarks about Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.
TRUMP: Who, Pocahontas? Pocahontas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that offensive? Very offensive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should you use that term?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's very offensive.
TRUMP: She is offensive. You tell me. Oh, I'm sorry about that. Pocahontas? Is that what you said? I think she is as Native American as I am, OK. That I will tell you. But she is a woman that's been very effective other than she's got a big mouth.
CARROLL: Trump also hinting he is wide open to who his running mate will be after his campaign chairman said choosing a woman or a minority would be viewed as pandering.
[09:25:07] TRUMP: We're looking for absolute competence. I fully expect that we will have many women involved.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And looking ahead, Trump says he is going to try to focus on turning states that have been traditionally blue, turning them red. Places like Washington, New York and California. He has two stops today as you know, both of those in California, Fresno and San Diego.
BROWN: All right. Thanks so much for bringing that to us, Jason Carroll.
And still ahead on this Friday, so Democrats are lashing out at Sanders and one of Trump's top rivals is warming up to the GOP nominee? We break down the wild week in politics with our panel, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, good morning to you. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello on this Friday. Thanks so much for spending a part of your morning with us.
Marco Rubio is reversing course it seems, vowing to help Donald Trump win the White House despite calling him a con man and a fraud just a few months ago.
