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Inside an Aleppo Hospital; Trump V.P. Watch. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 14, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Of course, he understands everyone has the same question today. The big question we now know -- have is, has he been informed? What sort of discussions is he having? Again, he's been inside the governor's mansion now for about four hours -- Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: OK. So that's what's happening in Indianapolis, Sunlen. Thank you so much.

Jim Acosta, who's been globe-trotting for us, is with me now.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: And you are -- all right, so you have Mike Pence. And it seems like -- and we're couching all this -- all signs point go. Call hasn't been made, but also the rumor mill, Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich. If they're not selected, might they have other positions? What are you hearing?

ACOSTA: Yes, a couple of things. First, I just want to point out, no call has been made, no decision has been made.

BALDWIN: Right.

ACOSTA: And also I just talked to a senior Trump campaign official in just the last five minutes who said, be cautious.

BALDWIN: Be cautious.

ACOSTA: Urging caution.

BALDWIN: What is that supposed to mean?

ACOSTA: Well, the horse is out of the barn a little bit, to engage in some Indiana parlance.

And it seems like everybody is saying, yes, Mike Pence is the guy. I was talking to a senior Trump campaign official earlier this morning who was saying that Donald Trump is leaning in that direction. But if past is prologue, Brooke, there have been times when we thought it was brand A and it ended up being brand B.

BALDWIN: Right. ACOSTA: I just want to get that out of the way to say that. But

you're right. If it is not Newt Gingrich or Chris Christie, these two gentlemen are very much in line for positions inside a Trump administration should he be elected. There's been talk about Chris Christie being attorney general for Donald Trump.

There's talk about Newt Gingrich being a chief of staff for Donald Trump. Both of these guys have been pretty loyal. I will say there have been times when Newt Gingrich has sort of strayed off-script, off the Donald Trump script, whereas Chris Christie has almost been with Donald Trump in lockstep every step of the way since he endorsed Donald Trump.

Remember, he is the first ex-rival to endorse Donald Trump. All along since that occurred, my internal gut feeling was, OK, it is going to end up being Chris Christie because he's been this loyal confidant. I talk to people inside the campaign and they say Donald Trump and Chris Christie talk almost every day.

When there was all this chatter yesterday, well, they talked on the phone about the vice presidential slot, I had other sources in the campaign saying they talk all the time, so it is not that surprising. But I think in the end if he goes with Christie, if he goes with Gingrich, that's the ultimate double-down. They're so much like Donald Trump in so many ways.

But if he goes with Mike Pence, it is a move to calm things down, calm things down in Washington, calm things down in Cleveland, show Republicans that there is somebody on this ticket. You may not like Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, but there is somebody at the other half of the ticket that you can do business with.

BALDWIN: Twenty hours can be an eternity when it comes to the big announcement tomorrow morning in Manhattan.

ACOSTA: I know. That's right.

BALDWIN: A lot can happen between now and then. I'm glad -- thank you for the caution, Jim Acosta.

ACOSTA: You bet.

Minutes ago, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich actually finished up his Facebook Live chat on the race for V.P., singing the praises of Mike Pence, despite the fact that Gingrich himself, as Jim just pointed out, is also vying for the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Mike Pence brings the qualities of having governed very successfully in Indiana, having cut spending, having cut taxes.

I think tomorrow I'm going to spend some time after the Trump announcement, I think, whether I'm the person he announces or we have Mike Pence being announced, I'm going to do a Facebook Live. And I promise you, if I am the nominee, I will be a nominee with Facebook Live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right. So, that said, let me bring in our CNN chief political correspondent, Dana Bash. A.B. Stoddard is with us, associate editor and columnist for RealClearPolitics. Tim Swarens, opinion editor for "The Indianapolis Star," all with us.

Welcome to all of you.

Dana Bash, just off the top, again, no official call has been made, correct, between team Trump and Governor Pence.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As far as we know, the answer is no, no call to team -- from Donald Trump to Mike Pence saying, will you be my nominee? The answer being presumably, yes, I will.

And also my understanding is no call to other contenders saying you're not going to be the pick. So -- and that is important. And I think Jim Acosta was dead-on in putting caution out there, because as we talked about in the last hour, Brooke, Mike Pence is the right pick for Donald Trump, according to many people who are close to him, many people who are in Cleveland who are gathering and looking to actually win the White House in November and would be excited about a ticket because they are looking for maybe a tried and true conservative.

That is why we have seen this -- Gloria Borger last hour called it an intervention.

BALDWIN: The intervention.

BASH: I thought that was genius. I thought that was genius among the Donald Trump's closest family, his son-in-law in particular, his daughter Ivanka, his two sons, that they all flew to Indianapolis yesterday morning at 6:00 in the morning, made it there, arranged a breakfast with Mike Pence and his family, made sure that Jeff Sessions, the senator from Alabama, who has also been an adviser, was the first senator to endorse Donald Trump, but also kind of a kindred spirit to Mike Pence, make sure that he was there with Donald Trump to advise him, even flew to California with Donald Trump last night for Trump's fund-raisers out there.

[15:05:25]

All of that has been happening about kind of trying to steer the ship toward the Pence direction. The question is whether or not Donald Trump is there in his gut. And Trump has said so many times, maybe up until the last 24 hours, that he is somebody who goes with his gut. And Chris Christie in particular has been so incredibly close to him, loyal to him, has been an adviser to him, maybe not on paper and politically the right pick necessarily when you're looking for a traditional running mate. But Donald Trump is not traditional, and he knows that.

BALDWIN: Yes. Dana, thank you. And then, Tim, I am looking at you thinking you are a guy in Indiana.

I was watching a video of you on "The Indy Star" talking about the intervention or sort of the ticktock of the Trump family and meeting then Governor Pence and all of that. I want you to just tell me, as you know Indiana politics, is there anything about the governor? I remember sort of an infamous interview with George Stephanopoulos when the governor was maybe not the most elegant or eloquent response when he was trying to defend the state's religious freedom law.

And I'm wondering how he would do on a debate stage. Is there anything about him that should give Donald Trump pause?

TIM SWARENS, OPINION EDITOR, "THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR": So he did have this disastrous interview with George Stephanopoulos after the religious freedom law was passed last year.

Mike Pence has a lot of history appearing before the media. His role in Congress was to represent the Republican Caucus on the networks, and he was on network TV quite often. But that Stephanopoulos interview, he was not well-prepared, he did not handle the questions, hard questions in a good way. He had deer-in-the-headlight looks throughout that interview.

So that could give Donald Trump some pause. Indications here in the Pence camp and among others who are Republican insiders in the state is that all indications are Mike Pence will be the pick tomorrow, but we're talking about Donald Trump, so caution is always in order.

BALDWIN: OK. That said, Barry Bennett is also with us, former Trump adviser.

Barry, knowing Trump, knowing who he needs to appeal to come November 8, who do you think he should go with?

BARRY BENNETT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Well, I think Mike Pence checks a lot of boxes. But so, too, does Newt. They're just different boxes.

I love the fact that Mike Pence brings a lot of conservatives, especially Christian conservatives, home. I love his Midwest roots. I love his middle-class history. He's done a great job as mayor -- or governor of Indiana, and he was great on the Hill. So, I think -- my guess, I would choose Mike Pence.

BALDWIN: A.B., you know the Hill. He served six terms, Mike Pence, in the U.S. House. Rose to number three as far as House leadership, Boehner, Cantor and then Mike Pence, rising as the Tea Party Caucus was in existence.

He does check that box that we have heard from Donald Trump as far as like Washington, Capitol Hill experience.

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, "THE HILL": He has the executive experience as governor in an important state and he has obviously the legislative experience. And, look, he wasn't a big rebel, but he was certainly an opinionated

member of the House Republican Conference, full of ideas and ready to fight back and push back, which I think that Trump would like if he were to be his liaison to the Hill as vice president.

But talking about -- listening to the other guests and talking about the different contenders for this job, what Donald Trump really needs when he makes a decision this momentous, he says he goes with his gut. There's nothing about Mike Pence that is his gut. So I'm going to be shocked if he picks him, although I agree with Barry that it is probably the right pick.

It's probably the best, safest, most productive pick. But I'm not going to be surprised if he just veers off into someone we haven't even spoken about, because I think he likes the element of surprise and I just don't know if he's going to pick someone that, unlike Gingrich and Christie, doesn't really have the same kind of aggressive, combative persona that he so much enjoys.

BALDWIN: Dana, would you agree with what A.B. just said and also to your point before about he hasn't always been this loyal soldier to Donald Trump, as the other two have been for years and years and years? Might we all come 11:00 tomorrow morning go, whoa, didn't see that coming?

[15:10:04]

BASH: It is entirely possible, I think this point not probable, but possible, which is why we are being cautious until that phone call happens, because Mike Pence hasn't been a loyal soldier, maybe even just the opposite.

In the state where Donald Trump really thought he needed the endorsement -- he didn't turn out to need it at all. But in Indiana, he thought he needed it. He didn't get it. Mike Pence instead endorsed Ted Cruz.

Now, I will tell you, that is precisely the reason those pushing for Mike Pence say that he should be Donald Trump's running mate, in order to bring in Ted Cruz-like voters who are kind of more in line with Mike Pence's Christian conservative philosophy and politics and so forth.

So that is exactly the argument why -- that is being made to Trump about why you need to kind of broaden the tent and broaden out around -- beyond your comfort zone. Chris Christie is his comfort zone. The question is, does he pick his comfort zone or does he pick who politically people are telling him he should pick?

BALDWIN: What about just quickly, Barry, and then we will go. Normally, you think of a rollout, mega-rollout. Huge background. And this is in, what, a ballroom in the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan? Did you expect move from Donald Trump?

BENNETT: Well, my guess is we will see more, but I guess when you're stuck in Manhattan, you're kind of limited. But this won't be the famous San Diego Jack Kemp unveil, for sure.

BASH: Not a Trump property, surprisingly.

BALDWIN: Right. Right. He's got a couple hotels, but I hear that the balance room at the Hilton is pretty big.

Quickly, A.B., what's the big surprise next week that we will all be talking about in Cleveland?

STODDARD: You know, I don't think it will be negative. We have all been anticipating how this could blow up and become a disaster.

But I think the big surprise would be if it goes very well without incident, and that the V.P. is someone that unites the party and that the speakers are great and that Donald Trump is great and he doesn't tweet something bad at midnight. And I think that could be a great big surprise that would really scare Hillary Clinton.

BALDWIN: All right. Barry and Dana, A.B. and Tim, thank you all so much. We will be in Cleveland, of course, all next week. Who knows what a surprise could be.

Coming up, though, with all eyes on Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton is holding a tryout of her very own. The presumptive Democratic nominee expected to appear moments from now with Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, a name that's been floated as a potential running mate. We will monitor that event there in Annandale, Virginia.

And next, a city under siege. CNN takes a rare look inside Aleppo, Syria, where, despite years of civil war now, a surgeon from Chicago is trying to make an important difference.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:30]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We know that today Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, possibly on the agenda discussing an agreement to share intelligence for airstrikes inside of Syria against ISIS.

And it is inside of Syria where the human misery is, in a word, unimaginable.

Our senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir, spoke exclusively with a surgeon from Chicago who worked in a hospital in one Syrian city under siege. He spent two weeks witnessing the horrors forged by years of civil war and he wanted to share it with us.

I have to warn you, some of what you're about to see is very graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SAMER ATTAR, NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: The road smelled of rotten flesh, burnt metal. There were plumes of smoke from the ordnance that had fallen previously.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Castello Road, the main supply route into Aleppo, it road is known as the Road of Death.

ATTAR: And the driver was driving really fast, and at every moment, you thought you might get hit by a bomb or a missile or a bullet.

ELBAGIR: Dr. Samer Attar is an American surgeon. We met with him in the Turkish border town of Hatay after his return from a mission into Aleppo with the Syrian-American Medical Society. This is what Sam arrived to find. A pregnant woman had two children killed when a barrel bomb directly hit her house. A paralyzed child. He, too, passed away soon after this picture was taken.

ATTAR: July 1, the market was hit. Later on, we learned about 25 people were killed. But there were a lot more injured, and that's really when all hell broke loose.

ELBAGIR: Amid the chaos, Dr. Attar did the best he could to document what he was seeing. Children crammed three to a bed, little bodies wrapped in white shrouds awaiting burial and, everywhere, blood. Each day became a litany of the dead and the dying.

ATTAR: We had to stop doing CPR on a child that was severely injured in order to save someone else who was bleeding to death who we knew could be saved. And...

ELBAGIR (on camera): And the child couldn't.

ATTAR: The child could have if we had had the personnel and the resources. But when you have that many people who are injured, you have to make decisions on who you are going to save and who you have to leave behind.

[15:20:05]

ELBAGIR (voice-over): And even when you make the decision, there are no guarantees.

This 8-year-old arrived with his intestines spilling out of a gaping wound. After hours of painstaking surgery, he survived, only to succumb to shock days later.

And everywhere, Dr. Attar said, there is fear, the hospital itself a target of repeated bombardments. Since the start of the Syrian conflict, rights groups estimate hundreds of health care professionals have been killed in the volleys of Syrian and Russian bombardment. Many doctors working today believe they were intentionally targeted.

ATTAR: If you destroy a hospital, destroy a school, destroy a civilian infrastructure, you're sort of trying to take away hope from people. And you destroy a hospital, you're not just killing the doctors and the patients in that hospital. You're killing all the future patients that could be treated in that hospital.

ELBAGIR: But even here, there are moments of respite.

ATTAR: Right now, living my worst nightmare, surrounded by all these screaming kids who are trying to climb on top of me.

ELBAGIR (on camera): Did you have any sense of those days and nights how many patients you were seeing?

ATTAR: There were hundreds. And every day -- after July 1, every day kind of blurred together.

It was just -- in the emergency room, it was just one person after another, child after child, after patient after patient, and you never -- you're so busy, you never really know who makes it, who's alive, who's dead.

ELBAGIR: How did you feel when you crossed over? Because you were -- you were the last car out of Aleppo. How did that feel, looking back down the Castello Road and knowing that that's now closed?

ATTAR: You always leave a piece of yourself bend. You meet a remarkable group of people. You get to take care of a lot of people, but you always feel like you have abandoned them when you leave. So, I feel a bit broken and empty.

ELBAGIR: Would you go back?

ATTAR: I would go back.

ELBAGIR: In spite of everything?

ATTAR: The way I see it, if there are Syrian colleagues of mine who are doing it, and my life is not more important than theirs.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Nima Elbagir, CNN, Hatay.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:31]

BALDWIN: So, this is kind of cool.

Two of my colleagues, on the left, Shasta Darlington, on the right, Arwa Damon, blowing the kiss. I hear the applause, Curitiba, Brazil. How awesome is that? They get to run the Olympic Torch as it makes its way winding through Brazil en route to Rio de Janeiro, of course, the site of the Olympics this summer, next month.

Arwa Damon and Shasta Darlington, go, girls. There you go. Let's listen. Arwa Damon, normally see her in war zones. That's kind of a nice change of pace for her. Nice assignment there, Arwa and Shasta in Brazil with the Olympic Torch. All right, back here at home, as the Republican National Convention is

taking shape, we will now know who will be speaking ahead of Donald Trump in Cleveland. The presumed nominee has been promising an A-list lineup. A convention speaker role is highly coveted. It is a potential springboard for the party's rising stars.

It is also one of the first insights into what the Republicans want to say to nation. Among the top celebrity candidates, you have former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, UFC president Dana White, professional golfer Natalie Gulbis, and some political bigwigs, former Trump rival Ted Cruz, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell out of the Senate, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. We also know Marco Rubio is speaking via teleconference.

Joining me more to talk about all of this from Cleveland, our executive editor for CNN Politics, Mark Preston.

Hello, my friend.

As far as speakers are concerned, we also know four of Trump's adult children will be speaking. Anyone we should pay particular attention to?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, certainly, we want to hear from Ivanka, who really is a driving force behind her father's campaign. But also Melania Trump is going to speak, Donald Trump's wife.

Now, she's given some interviews in the past, Brooke, as we have known, but she's kind of been in the background a little bit. She hasn't been out there as publicly as one might expect. But she will be someone interesting to hear make her testimonial on behalf of her husband.

But I do think what's important, too, as we talk about these speakers that are coming together, is that we are seeing a Republican Party that many thought would be absolutely fractured at this point right before the convention. We're actually seeing this Republican Party come together, Brooke.

So, in many ways, Donald Trump is going to accept this nomination here in Cleveland. And I do think he is going to have the backing or a majority of the backing of Republicans across the country.

BALDWIN: Are you surprised Sarah Palin isn't on that list, Mark?

PRESTON: Well, I thought it was interesting what Donald Trump said, that she lives too far away to come to Cleveland to actually speak on his behalf.

(LAUGHTER)

PRESTON: She was one of the first supporters of Donald Trump and has been very vocal for him, so I don't think that it says anything about her support for Donald Trump, but it is a little puzzling that she decided not to come out here, at least in my estimation. BALDWIN: But, by the way, just because somebody's name may not be on

the sheet that was blasted out today, there could certainly be surprises next week, yes.

PRESTON: No doubt. This is a partial list of speakers.

These are four very long days. So, let's not forget that there are a lot of speakers that are going to be plugged in at different times, what have you. But I do think you are right. We are going to see some surprises.

Look, Donald Trump has not only proven to be a very adept presidential candidate, say what you will about him, if you like him --