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Flooding Devastates Counties in West Virginia; Economic Fallout of Brexit Assessed; Effect of Brexit on U.S. Presidential Campaign Examined; Bernie Sanders Says He Will Vote for Hillary Clinton for President; Interview with Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson; CNN Hero Helps Children with Disabilities. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired June 25, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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


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[10:00:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the worst I've ever seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy. In my 26 years, I've never seen it this bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People lost their houses. People lost their life. It's bad. That's terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And unfortunately we do anticipate that this death toll could go higher.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were running. They were jumping in their cars and just going to watch everything go up in flames. The whole thing was just surreal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we see the consequences already.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Britain's stunning decision to break away from Europe creating chaos and panic around the world. Stocks hammered with the biggest drop in nearly five years.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People want to take their country back. I really believe that. And I think it's happening in the United States.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One thing that will not change is the special relationship that exists between our two nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to Saturday, and thank you for sharing your time with us. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. CNN Newsroom begins right now. And we're starting with breaking news of historic flooding in West Virginia. The waters have started to recede but we are getting our first look at all the damage that's left behind.

PAUL: Not only that but the death toll has gone up this morning. At least 26 are dead now. And among the victims, two young boys in Jackson County just north of Charleston. Look at these pictures we're getting in now. Overnight crews were able to finish a temporary road that finally allowed 500 people to get out of a shopping center. They'd been stranded there since Thursday.

BLACKWELL: Brynn Gingras is live this morning to Clendenin, one of the harder hit communities Brynn, good morning.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. You mentioned, we're getting our first look at the devastation. Well, so are residents of Clendenin. The sheriff's department just opened the exit to this town, so people are moving about now. And this is what they're seeing when they return to their homes. A thick mud covers much of the homes, much of the streets in this area.

And talk about the water damage. This is a water mark left on a restaurant. This is about over six feet high. This is what flooded people's homes, in some cases took homes off of their foundation. It's just complete devastation in this town. We mentioned 26 deaths right now. Three of them were discovered overnight, people who drowned inside their homes. The sheriff's deputies found those bodies. And unfortunately the sheriff's department tells us that number could go up as the day goes on.

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GINGRAS: Homes swept away, bridges unhinged, and streets completely submerged. It's a scene of desolation in West Virginia in what's been called a 1,000-year event.

GOV. EARL RAY TOMBLIN, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: I can tell you from watching the footage the damage is widespread and devastating.

GINGRAS: The heavy flooding has lifted rivers and creeks clear out of their banks, leaving thousands stranded and without power, gas or water. Some houses launched from their foundations by the gushing water exploded into plains.

C.W. SIGMAN, KANAWHA COUNTY COMMISSION: There's a lot of just utter devastation in some areas. The homes are gone. In a lot of areas the homes are covered in water, and once the water went down, it's covered in mud.

GINGRAS: And 44 counties and counting have declared a state of emergency with 200 National Guard members deployed to help with rescue and response efforts.

TOMBLIN: Unfortunately with weather emergencies, all too often in the past several years so we were prepared to act quickly.

GINGRAS: Summersville Lake located in the town of Richwood rose 38 inches in just 24 hours. And as the water levels reached their highest in half a century, officials were forced to open all three dam valves, something they haven't done in nearly 15 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the worst I've ever seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my 26 years, I've never seen it this bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen stuff floating down the river. We had a flood in 2003 and it's nothing like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And we've seen the National Guard out here today, electric companies, water companies, everyone trying to restore this area. And it's not just homes that were destroyed. I want to show you this car. This gentleman is actually here now. This is his daughter's car destroyed. His car is parked two away from here, also destroyed. He said he actually parked the cars here thinking they'd be safe because his house is in the hills and he couldn't actually drive their car to the house, and they're gone. That's the state of what's going on when people discover sort of their homes and livelihood when they return to this home this morning, guys.

BLACKWELL: It's being called a 1000-year storm by forecasters. Brynn Gingras for us there in Clendenin, West Virginia, thanks so much.

PAUL: And the thing is there are still people who are stranded and they still don't have a way to get home. My next guest is one of them. Jim Allder, he is joining us on the phone from Caldwell, West Virginia.

[10:05:02] Jim, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. I understand the culvert you use to get home is gone, it's washed away. Do you have any indication as to when or how you might finally be able to get there?

JIM ALLDER, CALDWELL, WEST VIRGINIA RESIDENT: At this point we have no idea. The expense to replace the culvert is considerably out of our budget at this time. And without that there's no way to our house. We don't live in a flood plain so we don't carry flood insurance, and our homeowner's insurance will not cover it. There is no other access to the property whatsoever. The only thing that we could do is cross the creek further upstream where it narrows and then cut a path through a rough mountainside.

PAUL: Do you have neighbors or anybody who you have been able to contact to find out the status of your home or your neighborhood?

ALLDER: My brother-in-law has check on the hours. He was able to cross further upstream. He made his way to the house and he was able to check on our animals. We have four dogs, three cats, and a rabbit stranded at our house. He was able to check on them. There is no power, there's no water. The options are very limited right now.

PAUL: How long have you been out of your house?

ALLDER: Since Thursday evening. PAUL: So help us understand what it's like where you are there in

Caldwell right now, because I know you're along the Greenbrier River and another creek, is that right?

ALLDER: Yes, the Greenbrier River and Howard's Creek. Howard's Creek is the same creek that did much of the damage through White Sulfur Springs and Greenbrier Resort, and it flows right by the main access tunnel that goes under the railroad to get to our main road. It destroyed the bridge heading to that tunnel, flooded the tunnel, and there's multiple sections of the road on the way to our house that are just gone. There is a back way to get there, but it's not in good shape either.

PAUL: Well, Jim, we appreciate you giving us a sense of what it's like there. We hope that you get home soon. We hope all of those animals you talked about are OK. And thank you, again, for just helping us understand what it's like there. We're wishing you the very best of luck to you and your family.

ALLDER: Thank you so much.

PAUL: Thank you, Jim.

BLACKWELL: All of our prayers with the people there in West Virginia.

Turning overseas now, the United Kingdom divided over the fallout from their vote to leave the European Union. Clarissa Ward joins us now from London. And Clarissa, we understand this might quite possibly will be just the first separation over the next few months.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The dominos just keep on falling, Victor.

Voters in Scotland and in Northern Ireland went against the majority here and actually voted to remain in the EU. Now that the U.K. has chosen to leave, Scottish and Irish leaders say they could hold their own, exit votes, which could split the U.K., and the contagion could spread even further to the larger EU where other countries could take a clue from the Brexit blueprint. The countries in red on this map could become the next ones to vote themselves out.

Now, this morning the leaders of core European Union countries like France and Germany met to plan their next steps. The key decision, how to respond to the referendum and how to handle the divorce proceeding with the U.K. Take a listen. This is Germany's foreign minister speaking earlier this morning.

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FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (via translator): London also has a responsibility that is wider than just Great Britain. This is why we jointly say that this process needs to start as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WARD: Well, that was Germany's foreign minister, but just to give you an idea of the confusion around this process, we also heard from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She says there should be no hurry to trigger the EU exit process. Clearly, Victor and Christi, there is a lot of confusion and a lot of uncertainty ahead.

BLACKWELL: Clarissa Ward for us there in London. Clarissa, we'll check back with you in a moment, thanks so much.

PAUL: A lot of people are wondering if the Brexit fallout is going to hit the American ballot box. We're talking to one columnist next about why she says she fears British theory could play out this November here in the U.S.

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BLACKWELL: We have some breaking news coming to us from Somalia. A massive explosion and gunfire is being heard in the center of the capital of Mogadishu. Now, we're hearing that a car laden with explosives went off at the gate of a hotel there. That's according to police. Now, the blast was followed by heavy gunfire as armed gunmen stormed that hotel. We understand that fighting is still going on. Of course we're working to get more details about what's happening right now. Again, this is in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Christi?

PAUL: Well, one "Washington Post" opinion writer has a lot to say about the U.K. vote. Catherine Rampell says some British voters are regretting their decision this morning, and she fears that American voters will follow their lead this November. Here's what she wrote, quote, "I'd like to think Americans will watch and learn from Britain about what happens when you cast a vote not because it's actually in your or anyone's economic interest but rather based solely on an urge to say F- you But will we?" That's her quote.

We want to bring in the women who wrote that column, Catherine Rampell. Catherine, thank you for being with us.

CATHERINE RAMPELL, "WASHINGTON POST" OPINION WRITER: Good to be here.

PAUL: Sure. How confident are you base on what you wrote that Americans will vote based on their knowledge and not their anger?

RAMPELL: Sadly, I am rather pessimistic. If you look at the kinds of reasons why Americans cite their attraction to Donald Trump so far, it's mostly about the fact that he gives voice to their anger, to their feelings of being left behind by globalization, by other forces within the economy, by economic stagnation. It's not necessarily his policy positions per see that are attracting voters to his message. It's more the fact that he's sort of a way of saying, you know, damn you, establishment, we hate you, elitists, you have left us in a terrible position and we want to shake things up.

PAUL: Just to be transparent, am I to assume you are a Hillary Clinton supporter? [10:15:02] RAMPELL: I would say I prefer her policies to Donald

Trump's. I would not call myself necessarily a Hillary surrogate, but her policy positions more closely align with mine.

PAUL: I got it.

OK, I also want to get something else you wrote in your column. You said at least some Brits who voted to leave are already expressing regrets now that they realize what their ballots have brought. I do want to point out there's an online petition we've learned this morning for a second EU referendum that has reached more than a million signatures. We know that it's not going to make a difference necessarily, it's not going to change anything, but what do you think they're regretting specifically?

RAMPELL: I think they're regretting the consequences of their vote. If you look at what happened to the pound yesterday, if you look at what happened to global financial markets, to panic around the world as a result of this decision, of course they're having buyer's remorse.

PAUL: Didn't they all know that was coming?

RAMPELL: One would think. Certainly lots of economists and other experts warned that this would have dire consequences. But yet the leader of the leave campaign said, well, down with the experts. Actually one of the leaders of the campaign basically said of course there are no experts who agree with me, but who cares? I think this country has had enough of experts. So yes, there were a lot of people forecasting these consequences, but in a very perverse way because of this anti-establishment, anti-elitist, anti-intellectual attitude that has taken root around the world, people just brushed those forecasts aside and said I don't care. Because they're against it, I'm for it.

PAUL: The U.S., when you look at the big picture here, and everybody is wondering how does this affect us here in the United States, but the U.S. obviously just lost a key spot at the table when it comes to Europe and the EU because one of our closest allies, obviously now the U.K., lost its spot. How concerned are you for the long-term consequences for the U.S. because of what's happened in the U.K.?

RAMPELL: Well, President Obama and other leaders, including Hillary Clinton, as well Donald Trump, have basically said this should not affect our relationship with the U.K. Whether it affects our relationship with the EU, I'm not entirely sure. I think you'll see more splintering throughout the EU, or at least more populist fervor calling for splintering throughout the EU in the months ahead. So potentially that could create turmoil both internally and with countries' relationships with the United States.

PAUL: So real quickly, maybe in one or two sentences, what would you like to say to the U.S. election as we head into our election in November?

RAMPELL: Elections have consequences. It may feel gratifying to vote for the protest candidate, but think about what they actually stand for. Think about what experts, economists and otherwise, political historians say about the policies that the two candidates are putting forward, and think about the consequences of those policies, which you will have to live with.

PAUL: Catherine Rampell, thank you so much for taking the time.

RAMPELL: Thank you.

PAUL: We appreciate it, thanks. Victor?

BLACKWELL: President Obama speaking out on gun control after the Orlando massacre. CNN's Chris Frates. Chris, what's the president's message?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor. The president was taking some veiled swipes at Donald Trump and slamming Republicans on gun control. We'll tell you all about it after the break.

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[10:22:04] BLACKWELL: President Obama returns to Washington today after getting out on the campaign trail last night in Seattle nearly two weeks after the Orlando nightclub massacre. He used the opportunity to talk about gun control and the debate in Congress and the aftermath of the Orlando shootings.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Think about what just happened in Orlando a few days ago. We can protect more of our kids, our people from the horrors of gun violence. Just a couple of weeks after the worst mass shooting in modern history, the Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked any new gun safety reforms.

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BLACKWELL: CNN investigations correspondent Chris Frates joins us from Washington with more. And Chris, the Democrats who held that sit-in, the no bill no break movement is on break essentially. Where are we on the fight on gun control?

FRATES: Well, you're exactly right here, Victor. There was a lot of sound and even some fury this week as lawmakers debated tightening the nation's gun law. But when it was all over, the status quo, it stood up, it brushed itself off, and it walked away unchanged.

Here's what happened. The Senate debated measures to prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns and to tighten up background checks. All five of those proposals, including a bipartisan compromise failed.

Now, over on the House side, Republicans refused to bring up any gun control measure for a vote. That infuriated House Democrats who staged a 25 hours sit-in on the House floor to protest. And Congressman John Lewis, who many people know organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters during the civil rights movement, well, he led the sit-in in the House.

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REP. JOHN LEWIS, (R) GEORGIA: Do we have raw courage to make at least a down payment on ending gun violence in America? We can no longer wait, we can no longer be patient. So today we come to the well of the House to dramatize the need for action, not next month, not next year, but now, today!

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FRATES: And president Obama weighed in on Twitter, saying, "Thank you, John Lewis, for leading on gun violence where we need it most." But Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, he accused Democrats of creating chaos and threatening democracy with what he called a political stunt.

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REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WI) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: One of the things that makes our country strong is our institutions. No matter how bad things get in this country, we have a basic structure that ensures a functioning democracy. We can disagree on policy, but we do so within the bounds of order and respect for the system. Otherwise it all falls apart.

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[10:25:02] FRATES: Now, in the middle of the night, Republicans adjourned for a break that will last until July 5th. Democrats vowed to renew their fight when Congress returns and to do it at home as well during this recess. Victor, Christi, back to you guys.

BLACKWELL: All right, we're watching. Chris Frates, thanks so much.

PAUL: Is the British vote a gift for the GOP? One person says yes. We're going to talk about that and whether some believe Secretary Clinton truly understands some voters' frustrations. That's next.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the worst I've ever seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy. In 26 years, I've never seen it this bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People lost their houses. People lost their lives. It's bad. It's terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, we do anticipate that this death toll could go higher.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were running, they were jumping in their cars and just going to watch everything go up in flames. The whole thing was just surreal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: It's 29 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

We want to get you an update on the breaking news we've been following all morning now. Historic flooding killing at least 26 people in West Virginia. Among the victims, two young boys who were swept away by raging waters. That was in Jackson County. Rescues are still under way right now.

PAUL: Overnight crews finished a temporary road that allowed 500 people to get out of a shopping center. They'd been stranded there since Thursday.

Meanwhile, the other news we're following obviously this morning are the aftershocks spreading around the world since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. One of the key issues moving forward is who will lead the U.K. as it tackles the process of divorcing the EU. EU leaders saying this morning they want to get Britain's exit underway as soon as possible and expedite it.

[10:30:01] Now U.K. could be dealing with their own breakup as Scotland's leadership threatens to stay with the EU and divide the United Kingdom.

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NICOLA STURGEON, SCOTTISH FOREIGN MINISTER: We will seek to enter into immediate discussions with the EU institutions and with other EU member states to explore all possible options to protect Scotland's place in the EU. In doing so, we are determined to draw on as much support and advice from across Scotland as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Back in the United States a new op-ed calls the U.K. vote a gift to the GOP, saying that now is the time for the U.S., and this is a quote, "make sure Britons know that America will not be punishing them for their vote." It goes on to say that this is a moment for the GOP to stress the Brexit's upside for Britain and America, and in the long run, Europe.

Let's talk now about the Brexit vote and what that means about 2016 campaign to discuss. We're joined by conservative columnist and Donald Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany and CNN political commentator and Hillary Clinton supporter Maria Cardona. Good morning to both of you.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: Good morning. BLACKWELL: So I want to start with Donald Trump's tweet, the latest comment from him about Brexit. And he said this this morning. "So funny, crooked Hillary called Brexit so incorrectly, and now she says that she is the one to deal with the U.K., all talk, no action."

And Kayleigh, I want to start with you, is there some direct, and there's been a lot of talk about this from both sides, both perspectives, some correlation between what we saw in the Brexit vote and the 2016 vote?

MCENANY: There's no doubt about it. Look, what we saw happen in England was a complete rejection of the political elite. For a very long time Brussels had been telling the U.K. how to act, what to do, ruining their economy, and for once the voters stood up and said we are rejecting the political elite. And that is exactly what has happened in this country where you see Bernie Sanders empowered, Donald Trump empowered, because there is an effort to dethrone the elite of which Hilly Clinton has been a part for the last three decades. She says she's for the middle class but she voted again the middle class tax cuts two times when she was in the Senate. There is a complete hypocrisy here. And she took a quarter million from a Wall Street speech. There is a rejection of the political elite and I think we're going to see it play out in November.

BLACKWELL: Maria, let me come to you. Does the Clinton campaign wake up today and say that's not the way we expected it to go? Or do they say now we need to make some changes either rhetorically or strategically based on what we're seeing on this Brexit vote?

CARDONA: I don't think they need to make any changes rhetorically or strategically. Look, the fact of the matter is what happened in Britain surprised almost everybody. And let's not lose sight of the fact that it was a very close vote.

But there's no question it did signal a rejection, I agree with Kayleigh on this, of where the leaders in Britain were taking the country. But that is what democracy is. And so certainly that's what we saw in Britain.

But I think that we go way overboard in trying to gather the same kinds of issues that we saw playing out in Britain, completely the same as the issues that are playing out here. They're not. There is certainly a populist anger going on, no question, and Donald Trump was able to channel that brilliantly to win the Republican nomination. But now what he faces is completely different general election electorate. And what Hillary Clinton is doing is focusing on the angst of middle class and working class families and focusing how we are stronger together versus Donald Trump who wants to divide us, degrade us, and defraud us if he becomes president of the United States.

BLACKWELL: Kayleigh, let me come to you with this, the op-ed in "The New York Times," from actor Aziz Ansari. He wrote this, and let's put it up on the screen. "Today with the presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and others like him spewing hate speech, prejudice is reaching new levels. It's visceral and scary and it affects how people live, work, and pray. It makes me afraid for my family." As we move toward the convention and trying to appeal to larger audience to win over some of the Bernie Sanders voters, to win over some of those disaffected Democrats, independents as well, is it time to tone down some of the language? What credence do you give to what we're seeing from Aziz Ansari in this op-ed.

MCENANY: I don't give that credence at all because there's been this effort to say that if you say you're proud to be an American or you're proud to be a Brit or you're proud of your country that somehow that's xenophobic or racist or all of these things. But I don't think that's the case.

BLACKWELL: But is that all Donald Trump is saying, that he's proud to be an American, from your perspective?

MCENANY: Make America great again, that's what it is about. That is exactly what it is about. And there's an effort to caricature him, to make him something he's not. But he's about lifting all boats, all races, all colors, all creeds. He wants everyone to be proud to be an American and make people proud of their country. That is what his campaign is about. There's been an effort to say it's not about that. It's about something else, but that's just not the case.

[10:35:04] BLACKWELL: Maria?

CARDONA: There's no effort to portray him as something he hasn't portrayed himself using his own words. He has called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. He wants to ban a whole religion and wants to profile Muslims that are in the United States. He has made incredibly offensive, sexist remarks. He has divided us with all of this corrosive rhetoric, offended veterans, offended people with disabilities. So no one is trying to portray him in any light that he has not portrayed himself using that kind of language. And that is absolutely going to be detrimental to him in this general electorate, who is not going to stand for those kinds of -- that kind of divisive strategy. It's just not going to work for him.

BLACKWELL: We've got to wrap it there. We've going to continue of course the conversation throughout the morning and afternoon. Maria Cardona, Kayleigh McEnany, thank you both.

CARDONA: Thank you, Victor.

MCENANY: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

PAUL: Bernie Sanders has said he will vote for Hillary Clinton, but what if you don't like either of those choices? One man says he doesn't mind playing spoiler in November. We're going to talk to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson next. Will Sanders supporters react? Will they actually skip the two-party system and will very vote libertarian? That's part of the discussion as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:40:04] BLACKWELL: It's 20 minutes to the top of the house now. Bernie Sanders says that he is working with Hillary Clinton and more importantly he will vote for her if she's the Democratic nominee. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right now to be very frank with you, we are talking to the Clinton campaign to try to determine whether or not they can come up with some very serious proposals which will help us transform America. Whether it will happen or not remains a good question. I don't know. We are working with them right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: If Sanders throws his support behind Hillary Clinton, will his supporters follow or perhaps look to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson? Governor Johnson joins us now from Pasadena, California. Governor, good morning.

GOV. GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Victor, good morning to you.

BLACKWELL: Be we get to Bernie Sanders supporters, I wanted to talk to you about the news of the day, this Brexit vote. Mr. Trump calls this a good thing, saying that it's Britons who are taking their country back. Former Secretary Clinton was supportive of the remain campaign. From the Libertarian perspective, from the party that believes in limited federal government, what's your view on the Brexit vote?

JOHNSON: Well, Britain made a decision. I happen to think it's a good decision. I think a lot of it has to do with entitlement, that they don't want to be a part of supporting those members of the EU that aren't as strong as they are. And when it comes to U.S. markets over the next few years, I think you're going to see money flow into the U.S. as a safe haven. So bond prices going up, securities in this country going up as the safe place to park money for several years because of the uncertainty surrounding this.

BLACKWELL: We're hearing that prediction from you as we watched the DOW lose 611 points on Friday. But again, that's just the short term. You're talking long term.

Let's turn now to the fight for voters in this race for 2016. You disagree with Bernie Sanders on several important issues to his supporters -- stricter gun control, expanding Obamacare, taxes, higher taxes for the rich especially, climate change. With those really important differences, how do you win over the Sanders supporters who may not be willing to get in line behind Secretary Clinton?

JOHNSON: Well, I think the things that I do -- and by the way, climate change, I think that it's for real. I think it's happening. We should reduce carbon mission, we should reduce methane gas, that's something that's very positive. That's something that's happening. Look, crony capitalism is alive and well in this world. Something the

government can do is provide a level playing field. People should be able to make choices in their own lives -- marriage equality, legalizing marijuana. With regard to our military interventions, let's stop dropping bombs -- dropping bombs, boots on the ground, flying drones killing thousands of innocent people I think has had the unintended consequence of making the world less safe, not more safe.

So there are a lot of similarities. And when it comes to economics, I think that free trade has really taken a hit, free markets have really taken a hit because they get lumped in with crony capitalism, which as governor of New Mexico I saw firsthand, legislation that gets passed to benefit those with money. I stood up to that as governor of New Mexico. I may have vetoed more legislation than all the other governors in the country combined, but a lot of that was crony capitalism, people with money buying favors.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about money because when I sat down with you on the weekend of the Libertarian Convention with you and your now running mate Bill Weld, I asked you about raising money for this campaign. Here's what Governor Weld said at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WELD, LIBERTARIAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have to have $20 million, $30 million in the kitty just for openers, to persuade the media that they want to pay attention. But I think that's not beyond reach. There's a number of major donors who are Libertarian in orientation, and I'm going to make it my business to go see them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So beyond persuading the media, it's going to cost a considerable amount of money to run a 50-state campaign. You at the end of May had $175,000 cash on hand, raised almost $700,000. Where is that money that Governor Weld spoke of? Why haven't you gotten some of that money into the campaign coffers?

JOHNSON: No, I think it's been pretty robust, Victor. And of course I'm relatively speaking, relative to the two major parties, it's amazing that we're at the level that we're at given the amount of money which we have received, which I think speaks volumes to what it is that we are talking about.

[10:45:09] But I think you will see this appear. There are a lot of people that are interested and it is a process and --

BLACKWELL: But there are only 19 weeks until the general election. If you're getting the $20 million or $30 million and right now you have 75,000, did Governor Weld overestimate his ability to be able to get those libertarian-minded supporters to donate to his campaign, to take you and the governor seriously?

JOHNSON: Well, you know, a lot of that money and I do not support the notion of non-transparency for these super PACs, but a lot of the money goes into super PACs that are nontransparent and you don't even realize how much money is being raised. So a lot of that is taking place, and that's something that I do not support. Like I said, I think there should be 100 percent transparency, but there's not.

BLACKWELL: So I just want to be clear. You say that the money -- and correct me if I'm wrong. The money that's coming in is going into super PACs that you don't support?

JOHNSON: Well, no. That money can be coming in in a really big way. We don't have any knowledge of it. We don't realize how much money is being raised other than there is a lot of interest and that people are in fact pledging this money, but we're not aware of who they are or where it's actually going. This is the nature of super PAC, which I don't agree with the setup of super PAC. But nonetheless, it is what it is.

BLACKWELL: Governor Weld, those were the words from him, and that's why I played it instead of summarizing it. He said he would go out and get the $20 million, $30 million. It's 19-and-a-half weeks until the general election and it's $175,000. So if it's Clinton versus Trump and those are the presumptive nominees of their respective parties headed towards November, a lot of people are there looking for options. We had Jill Stein on earlier this morning from the Green Party. You have got 15, 20 seconds here. Why choose you?

JOHNSON: The Johnson/Weld ticket, two Republican governors getting reelected in heavily blue states, what's that make-up? That make-up is being fiscally conservative. That make-up is being socially liberal, people being able to make their own choices in life. And by the way, you can be socially liberal or conservative, just don't force it on me. So it's choice. And it's free markets. It's trade. It's military nonintervention. It's not getting involved in other countries' affairs that have made the world less safe, not more safe.

BLACKWELL: Former New Mexico Governor and Libertarian nominee for president Gary Johnson, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY again.

JOHNSON: Victor, thank you very much for having me on.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

PAUL: It sounds like it may be a battle for Bernie Sanders supporters and who they may turn to in this election. I want to bring political strategist Jonathan Tasini. He's the author of "The Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America." Jonathan, thank you so much.

JONATHAN TASINI, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Good to be here, Christi.

PAUL: Anything you just heard there from Governor Johnson that resonated with you?

TASINI: Not really. And I guess the answer to your question is, a big no and a tiny bit of warning that relates both to Gary Johnson and frankly, Donald Trump. Let me start with the big no. Bernie Sanders believes in very expanded government. And you had a graphic up there that talked about expanding Obamacare. Actually Bernie supports and our movement supports single payer health care, which would have a significant part of the government involved in that. We actually believe in higher taxes on the wealthy. So I think there's a fundamental difference between what Gary Johnson respectfully is suggesting and what Bernie Sanders has advocated for, what his movement is about.

But here is a little caveat. It's something that happened last night, yesterday, which I think should send a big warning to the Democratic being party. Our side on the drafting committee attempted to basically pass a one-sentence amendment to the platform which says it is the policy of the Democratic Party that the Transpacific Partnership, that's about free trade, must not get a vote in this Congress or in future sessions of Congress. And it was defeated by all of the Hillary Clinton supporters, representatives on the platform.

You may remember that Hillary Clinton flip-flopped on that issue and all of a sudden became, at least in the race, an opponent of the so- called free trade of the Transpacific Partnership. And Bernie Sanders has fought against these trade agreements for his whole political career.

Gary Johnson mentioned free trade. This is a great danger for the Democratic Party. And it's the one thing Donald Trump, the only thing that Donald Trump has been right about in his unhinged rhetoric, which is NAFTA has been a disaster. And if the Democrats go in to places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, industrial states, even in upstate New York in Rochester, Buffalo, where people have been devastated by these trade agreements, we are going to face a potential Trump surge in those area.

[10:50:04] PAUL: OK.

TASINI: And the Democratic Party must, and I'll just finish with this, must take a full stand at the full platform committee or we will fight this on the convention stand, a firm stand against TPP and so called free trade.

PAUL: You're going to fight on the convention floor for Bernie Sanders?

TASINI: No. On this platform fight on the issue of trade. This is critical.

PAUL: Right.

TASINI: All of us believe in trade, but we are against these corporate trade agreements. This is what has devastated working Americans.

By the way, it relates to the Brexit, to the thing that happened in Europe. People are revolting against these kinds of trade agreements that have hurt people.

PAUL: OK, I have literally make 20 seconds here, Jonathan. One person that may fall more in line with what you all believe is Dr. Jill Stein. We had her on earlier from the Green Party. If you look at what she believes and the platforms of Bernie Sanders, much more in line. We know it's most likely going to be Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump. Everybody is wondering where those Bernie Sanders supporters are going to go. Could you see yourself voting for the Green Party?

TASINI: Well, I think what Bernie has articulated and many of us agree, the greatest danger to this country is Donald Trump. But as I said leading up to this, we must come out of the convention with a progressive platform that opposes TPP or many people will in fact I believe abandon the Democratic Party. This isn't just about some false unity. It's about what we stand for.

PAUL: Jonathan Tasini, we appreciate you being here. Take good care, thank you.

TASINI: OK, see you soon, Christi.

PAUL: All right. And we'll be right back.

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[10:55:36] PAUL: This week's CNN hero is a remarkable young man from Columbia. Jeison Aristizabal grew up with a serious disability.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The obstacles he faced seem insurmountable. Today he's in law school and he's dedicated his life to helping other kids just like him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEISON ARISTIZABAL, CNN HERO (via translator): I have cerebral palsy. A doctor told my mom I would amount to nothing. What we've been able to accomplish through our work is to change that story. We have transformed the lives of thousands of children with disabilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: To see how Jason is changing lives, watch his full story at CNNheroes.com. And while you're there, nominate someone you think should be a CNN hero.

PAUL: We're always so grateful to spend some time with you in the morning. Make some great memories today.

BLACKWELL: There's much more coverage ahead on the fatal floods in West Virginia and the fallout over Britain's vote to leave the EU. That's coming up after a quick break.

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