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Tim Kaine Criticizes Donald Trump for Racist Rhetoric; Opioid Addiction Epidemic Hits Midwest; Two Nuns Murdered in Mississippi; Donald Trump's Immigration Policy Debated; Mattresses for Dogs Profiled; CNN Hero Provides Free Medical Care in Kenya. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 27, 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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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has supporters like David Duke, connected with the Ku Klux Klan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want white supremacists to vote for you.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I don't at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ku Klux Klan values, David Duke values, Donald Trump values are not American values.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoever committed this brutal act, I pray for that person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rodney Earl Sanders charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of two nuns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They lived their lives to try to make the world better for the people who have nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least 10 water rescues occurred overnight in Kansas City. Flash flood emergency was issued for the metro region.
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CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And I want to wish you a good morning. Thank you for sharing your time with us. We always appreciate it. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. CNN Newsroom begins right now.
PAUL: I want to share with you new pictures right now. This hour Hillary Clinton arriving moments ago in fact at the FBI offices in White Plains, New York. She's receiving her first set of classified intelligence briefings as the Democratic candidate for president. Now, Trump received his first briefings 10 days ago.
In the meantime, Republicans are firing back. The head of the Republican National Committee, is charging that the Clinton campaign has quote, "sunk to new lows" after Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine linked Donald Trump to the values of a white supremacist group.
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TIM KAINE, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is their candidate because Donald Trump is pushing their values. Ku Klux Klan values, David Duke values, Donald Trump values are not American values.
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PAUL: Kaine holding a rally this hour, we'll monitor his speech obviously and report any developments from there. But CNN national correspondent Dianne Gallagher joining us now. Any indication how this tone on race is resonating?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sort of depends on who you ask right now both candidates are playing in it at the moment, Christi. You know, Tim Kaine, obviously embracing the persona that many running mates do, amplifying sort of the tactic that the Clinton campaign has been embracing since earlier this week when Hillary Clinton gave that speech saying that Donald Trump's campaign is built on prejudice.
Of course the RNC, as you've said, attacked immediately saying this was not OK. Sean Spicer, the spokesman, saying that Democrats who don't denounce Kaine's comments are complicit. And the Trump campaign denying that it has racist ties, denying anything with the KKK and the Clinton is doing this to distract from within their own campaign. Of course, the Trump campaign has engaged in this as well, Donald Trump outright called Hillary Clinton a bigot earlier this week, not backing down from it, prompting quite a bit of outcry there, even from some unexpected places.
This morning, Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who is actually hosting a motorcycle rally Donald Trump is going to speak at later this afternoon, she told "The Washington Post" that both Clinton and Trump need to tone it down, saying, quote, that both of them, "I'd say, I need to take -- they need to take this into a civil discourse. I don't like it when campaigns go that direction. I'd say to both of them back down."
Of course, you may remember that Donald Trump lost the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz. Polls show him right now running pretty close with Hillary Clinton, maybe a few points ahead, most of that within the margin of error, Christi.
PAUL: Dianne Gallagher, we appreciate it, thank you.
BLACKWELL: Controversy swirling around Donald Trump's new campaign CEO. An old domestic violence charge against Steve Bannon has surfaced. It was 1996 and according to a police report it details an alleged fight between Bannon and his then wife who said he abused her physically. Chris Frates has details for us. CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Christi.
Donald Trump's advisors always seem to invite a little controversy. This time it's Trump's new campaign chief who is in the headlines.
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FRATES: Trump's new campaign chief Steve Bannon is already drawing Democratic fire.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The latest shakeup was designed to, quote, "Let Trump be Trump." So to do that he hired Stephen Bannon, the head of a right wing website called Breitbart.com as the campaign's CEO.
FRATES: But now the conservative news chief is drawing headlines of his own. Bannon was charged with battery and domestic violence stemming from a 1996 incident involving his then wife. According to documents obtained by CNN, an argument over money allegedly got physical after Bannon's then wife told them she wanted a divorce.
[10:05:12] The responding police officer wrote, "She appeared as if she was very upset and had been crying. I saw that her eyes were red and watery. She first said oh, thank you, you are here." The police reports went on to say that Bannon pulled her by her wrist, pulling her down, and leaving red marks where he grabbed. The report said she fought back, got away from Bannon, and dialed 911.
Neither the Trump campaign nor a Bannon spokesman returned requests for comment. Bannon joins the line of some in Trump's inner circle who draw controversy. Former campaign chairman Paul Manafort's lobbying ties to Ukraine and Russia and former campaign manager Cory Lewandowski rough treatment of a female Breitbart reporter drew unwanted scrutiny. And defending Trump from a decades old rape accusation that Ivana Trump later walked about, Trump attorney Michael Cohen argued, quote, "Of course, understand, that by the very definition you can't rape your spouse." Trump friend and unofficial adviser Roger Ailes left FOX News, the channel he founded, follow allegations of sexual harassment.
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FRATES: I asked Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, if this incident will affect Bannon's future with the campaign. She gave me a pretty definitive one were answer, no. And that was it. In an interview Conway was asked if Trump knew about the domestic violence case against Bannon. She said, quote, "I don't know what he was aware of with respect to a 20-year-old claim where the charges were dropped." So it doesn't sound like Bannon is going anywhere anytime soon. Victor, Christi, back to you, my friends.
BLACKWELL: Chris, thanks so much. You can watch Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence live on CNN tomorrow morning. He's set to join "STATE OF THE UNION" at 9:00 a.m. eastern.
PAUL: I want to give you a taste of what some of the folks in Kansas City, Missouri, are dealing with this morning. Look at this water. Flash flooding there in the city, the National Weather Service calling this an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. They're issuing an unprecedented flashflood emergency there. Anyone who tried to drive through this, look at this, they just watched their cars sink in the high waters. And that's what the rescuers had to deal with as they were going through these cars with flash lights trying to look in and make sure nobody was stranded. They've been working around the clock to try to rescue people.
BLACKWELL: I'm sure you've heard about this brutal crime out of Mississippi. These nuns who were killed, authorities say they captured the man who killed those nuns in their home.
PAUL: Also, an outbreak of heroin overdoses sickening and killing people in several states. We're going to look at the crisis that's unfolding in America's Midwest and talk to the U.S. surgeon general about the opioid epidemic. That's next.
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[10:11:17] PAUL: Investigators in several states are dealing with an alarming outbreak of heroin overdoses that seem to be sweeping the Midwest.
BLACKWELL: In just the past few days dozens of people in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia have overdosed and several have died. And according to Cincinnati.com more than 100 people have reportedly overdosed there in just the past week. And police are afraid a batch of heroin laced with elephant tranquillizer could still be on the streets. Our Rachel Crane takes a look at the growing problem.
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LORI ERION, APRIL'S MOTHER: Terrified. It terrifies me.
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A recent spike in heroin overdoses, nearly 100 in the last week alone, have Lori Erion fearing for her daughter's life.
APRIL ERION, HEROIN ADDICT: I would love to get high. I would. I'm a drug addict. That's what I do best.
CRANE: April is 22 years old and she's been using heroin for the last six years. In those years she says she's lost about a dozen friends.
APRIL ERION: I had one of my friends die yesterday morning. She left four kids behind.
CRANE: Officials suspect a batch of heroin laced with elephant tranquillizers is to blame for the latest string of overdoses. But April says that's not enough to scare away regular users.
APRIL ERION: When you are addict today heroin, when you're using, you don't care about dying. You're just chasing the next high. And for a lot of people, hearing that there is a supped up strain of dope on the streets, that's actually appealing. Yes, definitely, absolutely, because you stop getting high. That's why they call it chasing it, because you stop getting high. You're staying well, you're staying that sick. So when you hear that somebody has overdosed or you hear about these crazy new drugs, you know, you're thinking, like, well, all right. It's about time. I'm trying to get high. That's all you've been trying to do.
CRANE: That means that with this new strain of heroin that's cut with elephant tranquillizer?
APRIL ERION: I am very sure that there are heroin addicts who are actively looking for it and thinking the people that are dying are doing it wrong. They're doing too much. They're not -- you know what I mean? They're thinking they're going to find a way to get really high and not die. Or if they die, they don't really care. But they're definitely looking for it. I would be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son is on drugs, and I think he's overdosing. I think he's overdosed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he awake?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he's awake but barely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's he O.D.-ing on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heroin. I guess it's --
CRANE: This firehouse in Cincinnati responded to nearly two dozen overdoses in a single day last week, more than 10 times their daily average. And they don't know when the calls will stop coming in. But April's mom is worried about a different type of call.
LORI ERION: You know, we hear an ambulance, and we always wonder if it's someone we know or for our child. And that's something that we live with every day. You know, we go to bed at night wondering if we're going to get that phone call.
CRANE: April and her mom know better than anyone how difficult the struggle with opioid addiction is.
APRIL ERION: I'll do any drug you put in front of me. So it's definitely a struggle. It's really hard.
LORI ERION: It's difficult because we can't, like, love them out of it. You know, so we love them so much and it we can really do for them.
[10:15:01] CRANE: April says getting sober is a daily struggle. But in her eyes, not using heroin is progress, even if other drugs are taking its place.
APRIL ERION: I wouldn't say I'm using. But I've used twice since I've been out, and I've been out for a month.
CRANE: How has heroin changed your life? APRIL ERION: I'm 22. I just did 11 months incarcerated. I'm back on
probation with more time on the shelf. When in reality, I mean, I probably should have been applying for med school this summer. That is what I wanted to do. That's where I should have been.
CRANE: Rachel Crane, CNN, Cincinnati.
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PAUL: So let's talk to U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to discuss all of this. Dr. Murthy, thank you so much for being with us.
DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Of course, glad to be with you today.
PAUL: I know you wrote a letter to more than two million doctors this week asking them to join the movement, #turnthetide on opioid epidemic. I'm wondering if this was a response to what you're seeing in Ohio and what your reaction was when you first heard about it.
MURTHY: Frist, let me just say, Christi, the recent wave of overdose deaths that we've seen are absolutely heart breaking. And what they underscore is the fact that the opioid epidemic in America is one of the most urgent public health threats that we're facing, and that's why it's so important for us to do everything we can to address it.
I've seen this problem as a doctor, practicing medicine in Boston, having cared for many patients dealing with opioid addiction. But I've also seen it as a surgeon general as I've travelled across the country and met with families who tell me they got started in many cases on their road to addiction with a simple prescription for pain medications after an injury.
I sent a letter to 2.3 million healthcare practitioners across America urging them to join the national movement we are building to turn the time on the opioid crisis by sharpening their prescribing practices, connecting people who are dealing with substance use disorders with treatment, and helping change how our country sees addiction.
PAUL: So you're asking for help from the doctors, obviously, the people who are there in the front lines. What about the government, what about the problem with the prescription drug epidemic?
MURTHY: All of us have a role to play in addressing this epidemic because we got here on a path that was paved with good intentions. Twenty years ago doctors and nurses and other health care practitioners were urged to treat pain more aggressively. But they weren't given much tools or training in how to do so safely.
That coincided with an aggressive marketing campaign from pharmaceutical companies to get doctors to prescribe these pain medicines more. And it also coincided with an approach that we had to addiction which was more about incarceration than about getting people access to treatment. And now we're in a situation where we have to reverse that. And that's why in the letter I have sent we're urging doctors to
change their prescribing practices. The good news is that the Department of Health and Human Services and the federal government in partnership with states have taken some key steps to address this, including funding more treatment programs, expanding the use of technology like prescription monitoring programs that can help doctors make safer decisions about prescribing for their patients.
PAUL: There's an article about a task in Seattle. As you talk about what to do, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this. There's a taskforce in Seattle endorsing a strategy where they establish safe zones where addicts are permitted to take drugs without fear of arrest. They provide clean needles and syringes, they don't supply the drugs. But they're able to take drugs under the supervision of trained authorities. Is that a plausible solution in your opinion?
MURTHY: When we look at solutions, my opinion is that we have to look at what science tells us works. And what science tells us works is actually medication assisted treatment, which is the combination of using methadone with counseling and with social services support. That is a strategy that has worked and has been studied and one we need to support.
Right now we have over two million people who need treatment for opioid use disorders but only about a million who can get treatment. We have to close that gap. And that's why President Obama has requested $1.1 billion extra to address the opioid epidemic. A large portion of those funds would go towards treatment. That's why I'm hopeful when Congress comes back that they will help provide funds because families all across the country desperately need access to more treatment.
PAUL: You know, I don't know if you caught on this in that story right before this, but April said something that caught my ear. She said "I'm a drug addict, it's what I do best." And I thought, somebody told her that. I don't know if she believes that. But you do make the point of having to reshape the conversation and reframe how we deal with some addicts. How do we do that on a psychological level? Because that's as much the problem, is it not?
[10:20:00] MURTHY: You bring up a very good point. While we have to expand access to treatment and sharpen prescribing practices, we also have to change how our country thinks about addiction. This is a tough thing to do. For many years, people thought about addiction as a moral failing, as a character flaw. It turns out that that's absolutely wrong. Addiction is a chronic disease and one that we have to treat with the same urgency and compassion and skill that we would heart disease or diabetes.
That unfortunate stigma around addiction prevents a lot of people from coming forward and asking from help. It prevents communities from accepting treatment centers in their neighborhoods. The only way we're going to change our perception of addictions is if all of us, moms and dads, teachers, and doctors and policy makers, change how we talk about addiction. If we come forward and share our stories more, help people see recovery is in fact possible as I've seen as I travelled across the country. And we'll enable more people to come forward and get help they need.
PAUL: All right, Dr. Vivek Murthy, we appreciate you being with us, so much.
MURTHY: Really glad to be with you, thank you so much.
PAUL: Absolutely. And for more information on the surgeon general's call to end the opioid crisis, go to turnthetiderx.org.
BLACKWELL: Tragic news out of Chicago. The cousin of NBA superstar Dwayne Wade was shot and killed. Her name was Nykea Aldridge. She was pushing a stroller, her baby inside, near a school where she was registering her children. Police say he was just walking down the street, just caught in crossfire. Dwayne Wade and his mother have spoken out against gun violence in Chicago before.
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PASTOR JOLINDA WADE, NYKEA ALDRIDGE'S AUNT: I just sat on a panel yesterday, the undefeated, talking about the violence that's going on within our city, Chicago, never knowing that the next day we would be the ones that would be actually living and experiencing it.
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BLACKWELL: The woman leaning on her shoulder there was Nykea's mother, Dwayne Wade's aunt. Aldridge was the mother of four children herself. The baby in the stroller was not hurt.
Investigators, let's turn to Mississippi now, describing this heinous crime, the deaths, the murders of these two nuns. We now have details on the person that they have arrested who they say is responsible.
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BLACKWELL: An arrest in what Mississippi authorities describe as a heinous crime, two nuns stabbed to death in their home.
PAUL: Our Polo Sandoval is following the story. I'm sure a lot of people are wondering if they're giving any reason as to why they honed in on this one particular individual as a suspect.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a great question. We just posed it a little while ago to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigators. At this point they are relatively tight lipped about the details about the arrest of the suspect, Rodney Earl Sanders, saying they had interviewed him at length yesterday and then finally developed enough information to file charges late yesterday.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Margaret and I have worked together for many years. We just see patients and do what needs to be done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is one of the poorest counties in all of Mississippi. It rivals the bottom place in all sorts of statistics. SANDOVAL: Margaret Held and Paula Merrill, Catholic nuns and nurse
practitioners, were found stabbed to death in their rural Mississippi home on Thursday. Police say there was evidence of a break-in. A car that belonged to one of the victims was found on an abandoned road less than a mile from their home. This morning, 46-year-old Rodney Earl Sanders is under arrest facing two counts of capital murder. Police say he was identified early in the investigation as a person of interest. After what they call an exhaustive interview, he was charged. Authorities have not revealed a motive in the killings or discussed any possible relationship between Sanders and the nuns. But they do say, quote, "This heinous crime has been solved."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's sad that people come to this whatever motivates them. I mean, you know, my aunt and Sister Margaret, they lives to try to make the world better for the people who have nothing.
SANDOVAL: Those in the community who knew the two nuns describe them as outgoing and compassionate, always willing to lend a helping hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody was the same in their eyes. You know, all you had to do was go to them, ask them for help and they helped you any way they can. That's why, you know, it really pained the community.
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SANDOVAL: The community said Sister Merrill and Held actually helped them, are now coming to turns with the loss. In fact we are told they're expected to have a memorial mass come Monday. These are two Catholic sisters, Victor and Christi, who did incredible work for a community that badly needed it, one of the poorest in the country. As for a motive, that's one of the big questions here. Police are still holding tight on actually considering this a robbery. They're still going over the evidence, still going over the statement of this individual, Mr. Sanders.
PAUL: All right, Polo, thank you. Appreciate it. Polo Sandoval for us there.
When Donald Trump announced months ago that all illegal immigrants must go, the man who calls himself America's toughest sheriff stood by his side in Arizona. Trump, a lot of people are saying, has muddied his reaction this week. We're going to get Sheriff Joe's reaction to that when we join him live next. Stay close.
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BLACKWELL: The presidential running mate, Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, are out on the road on campaign trail this hour.
PAUL: Moments ago Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence made a breakfast stop at a place called Millie's Diner in Richmond, Virginia. On the left hand side of your screen a live picture on you as we're waiting for rally to get underway in the battleground state of Florida where Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine will hold a rally for the second day in a row. We're going to monitor these events and bring you any developments as we see them.
Donald Trump says he's going to announce his immigration plan within the next two weeks. This of course comes after the Republican nominee spent this week sending mixed ideas on the specifics of his immigration plan. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County in Arizona is here with us. Sheriff Joe, good to see you this morning. Thank you for being here.
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: Good talking to you again, Christi.
PAUL: Thank you. We know that you're one of Trump's earliest supporters of his candidacy and this hardline immigration stance that he's publicly taken. What is your understanding of Trump's immigration plan?
ARPAIO: First of all, let me just say one thing, the campaign never calls me and asks me to say certain things. So what I say is what I feel. And I'm not being pressured by Donald Trump or anyone else. Let's get that right away on the table.
PAUL: OK.
ARPAIO: So I was with him for day one. I'm still with him. I believe his policies on immigration, illegal immigration, and it's very complicated. You know, I spent many, many years as a director in Mexico City -- I can go on and on. I know where the U.S. border is. I know the problems over there. He's addressing those problems. He wants that wall, which is good, because we're being flooded with drugs and heroin coming across our border, not just the illegal immigration problems. So it's a very complicated when you talk about the, what, 10, 12 million people that are in this country according to statistics and what to do with them.
PAUL: May I ask you, what is so complicated it? He's talked about a wall. He has talked about -- let's listen to what he said to Anderson Cooper on Thursday about the number of people that are coming across as you just mentioned. Let's listen together here.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The 11 million who have not committed a crime --
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, no, we're then going --
COOPER: -- a path to legalization, is that right?
TRUMP: You know it's a process. You can't take 11 at one time and say, boom, you're gone. We have to find where these people are. Nobody even knows if it's 11. There is no path to legalization unless they leave the country and come back.
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PAUL: All right, so he says there's no path to legalization unless you leave the country and come back. He says he wants to build a wall.
[10:35:02] What is so complicated about putting that in a concise policy? We know Senator Jeff Sessions, who is known as a border hawk, is helping him craft this. Are you surprised we haven't heard anything yet and that maybe we're getting little late in the game here?
ARPAIO: No. When I say complicated, we have to follow the law. He wants to follow the law. If you arrest people and they're here illegally, deport them. But we have 10,000 people in my jail system turn over to ICE for all different types of crimes, 39 percent come back to my jails that I run. And 24 times people come back so you know they are not being deported. That's the top priority. Get these people out of our country. Now, those that are here --
PAUL: Sheriff Joe, when you say that, what do you say to his argument that he wants them to leave and then they can come back legally? How realistically logistical is that?
ARPAIO: Well, why not? The federal government immigration homeland security is directed by the president. He can put the resources to that. When you come cross any people here illegally, send them back to Mexico, which his great, and let them come back legally. I think that's a good program. But you're not going to knock doors down. I'm sure he never said we're going to go knock doors down and drag everybody out. It's when you come in contact with these people.
PAUL: So if he came to you, let's say, and asked for your advice on tackling immigration, how would you advise him?
ARPAIO: Well, thanks for asking, because the secretary of state is the most important official dealing in international problems next to the president. How many times has Hillary and the president been to Mexico City to put pressure on the Mexican government to do something about the drugs --
PAUL: But how would you advise him, because you live in a state where this is a true problem?
ARPAIO: I would advise him by building that wall and getting tough with the Mexican government, and I'm not going to go back in history how we used to do it under Nixon, and take away their foreign aid. Hillary is saying the taxpayers are going to build a wall. Take away their foreign money until that wall is built. The wall is important. You're not going to solve the problem 100 percent, Christi, but the wall is important. I'm more concerned about the drug traffic that's coming over from Mexico destroying our young people. That's my big concern and the illegal immigration problem.
PAUL: All right, Sheriff Joe Arpaio there in Arizona, are you going to be with him when he comes out on Wednesday?
ARPAIO: I'm always with him.
PAUL: All right, Sheriff Joe, we appreciate you being here. Thank you so much, sir. ARPAIO: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: OK, so what's the view from a Clinton supporter? We have with us CNN political commentator Maria Cardona who supports Hillary Clinton. We'll talk with her about what she just heard from Sheriff Joe Arpaio right after the break.
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[10:41:55] BLACKWELL: All right, welcome back. We just heard from Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County in Arizona. Let's bring in now CNN political commentator and Hillary Clinton supporter Maria Cardona. Maria, good morning to you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Let's start broadly. What you heard there from a staunch supporter of Donald Trump about his views on immigration, what do you think?
CARDONA: Well, I actually don't think much of Joe Arpaio. The man is a national disgrace. And that's not just me talking. Today "The Washington Post" had a scathing editorial about this man who has continually flouted the law, has been found in contempt of court repeatedly, and has now been referred for criminal prosecution to the Department of Justice because he refuses to stop racial profiling to keep his deputies from harassing Latinos, who are U.S. citizens, by the way, simply because of the color of their skin and how they look and sound. And this is a man who is advising a potential president on immigration law. I'm sorry, but it just does not ring true or credible or anything in terms of this man having anything to do with our nation's immigration laws.
BLACKWELL: He also specifically talked about the Nixon administration and wanting to go back to his work, he was working with G. Gordon Liddy during the Nixon administration and hoping to punish Mexico in ways other than specifically dealing with the immigration issue. Do you think -- Donald Trump has said they're going to pay for the wall, that there is any realistic element there that we'll see in this plan that comes out and what I expect -- or the Trump campaign says will be within two weeks?
CARDONA: No, absolutely not. Every time somebody like Sheriff Arpaio or Donald Trump talks about punishing Mexico or making Mexico pay for the big beautiful wall, you hear laughter coming out Los Pinos, Los Pinos being the equivalent of the White House in Mexico, because these are not people who are putting forward rational, thoughtful, realistic proposals to deal with what is a significant problem in our country. That's why you have the majority of Americans who support comprehensive immigration reform, who understand that our nation's immigration laws are broken but that we have to approach it in a way that is academic, that is factual, and that really focuses on solving the problem.
And we have had a solution in front of us for years. It's something that President Obama has pushed franked. Frankly, it's something that President George H. W. Bushed. And this is something that Hillary Clinton supports, and if we had had a sensible Republican Congress that would understand that this is the solution, we would have gotten comprehensive immigration reform today.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about something that the Democrat vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine said yesterday about Donald Trump that's getting lot of attention. Do we have it? We can play it and then we can talk on the other side.
[10:45:01] We don't have the sound. Let me read for you what he said. He was talking about Donald Trump. And this is what he said, "Yesterday Hillary Clinton gave a speech in Reno, Nevada, calling out Donald Trump on a lot of things on this equity idea, or equality idea, calling him out on the fact that he has supporters like David Duke connect would the Ku Klux Klan who are going around saying Donald Trump is their candidate because Donald Trump is pushing their values. Ku Klux Klan values, David Duke values, Donald Trump values are not American values." Did Tim Kaine go too far there in invoking the KKK, invoking David Duke when Donald Trump himself has said he does not want the votes of white supremacists?
CARDONA: Absolutely not. This is something that Donald Trump and his campaign have brought on themselves. When it takes you three tries to denounce David Duke after you have lied and said you don't even know who David Duke is, then you bring it upon yourself for people to believe that you are giving a wink and nod to the white supremacist movement.
That's not all. Donald Trump has repeatedly re-tweeted several influencers that are in the circle of the white supremacist and white nationalist movement on social media. His field directors are followers of white supremacists online. In his very first general election ad, he not only demonizes immigrants but he uses statistics and figures from the Center for Immigration Studies, which is run by a gentleman by the name of John Tanton who is known to have ties to the white supremacist movement.
So there is nothing that Tim Kaine said that was not true. And it was great that Hillary Clinton made the speech connecting Donald Trump to these racially divisive movements because it is something that the American people have to understand. And by the way, they already believe it. Two-thirds of Americans repeatedly in poll after poll believe that Donald Trump is racially -- is racist and is racially bigoted.
BLACKWELL: We saw those stats come out the Quinnipiac poll on Thursday, voters, 59 percent of them say that the way that Donald Trump speaks appeals to bigotry. We'll see if this bigotry line going from Republican, Democrats, and back and forth continues over the next couple of days. Maria Cardona, thanks so much.
CARDONA: Thank you, Victor, great to be with you.
BLACKWELL: Likewise. Live pictures here of Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence at a rally in Richmond, Virginia. And remember, Mr. Pence, will be live on state of the union tomorrow 9:00 a.m. eastern right here on CNN.
PAUL: It is a price hike fire storm. EpiPen maker Mylan taking steps to reduce the price now of their life saving allergy drug. The senator who says it's nice but it's not enough.
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VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: I'm looking for a mattress for a very particular customer, a little bit finicky, a little bit messy, a little bit temperamental at times. Do you have that might fit that type of customer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the customer have four legs?
YURKEVICH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we might have what you need.
YURKEVICH: Is this firm enough for you? Yes? How do you like the bed? Do you feel like you could get used to this? Why does a dog need a mattress?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's funny. Since the day we launched the Casper bed, the most popular social media posts of our customers are four- legged friends jumping on the bed and testing it out. We thought we would make one designed specifically for them. And so we actually studied what dogs needed to get a good night's sleep and what the perfect design would be for a dog mattress, and introducing the Casper dog mattress.
YURKEVICH: It's the perfect mattress for every dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Casper, the perfect mattress for everyone.
YURKEVICH: What if my dog is not that into it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We offer 100 night trial on the Casper dog mattress.
YURKEVICH: Even if it's been used and abused.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if it's been used and abused, absolutely.
YURKEVICH: This is like, a marketing ploy to get people to buy human mattresses?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. Look at the design and care that went into the mattresses. This took us a year of development. We went through tons of iterations and we're really proud of this product.
YURKEVICH: I'm not like, super-excited to go out and buy a mattress. It's not the top thing that's going to happen in my day. How have you been able to make mattresses cool again? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good question. I think we were so
different than anything out there that it really resonated with people. We heard that before we launched no one liked buying a mattress and we thought we could make it a fun experience.
YURKEVICH: You've included all humans, but you're missing, like a potential customer with the mattress for pets. I'm thinking about cats, obviously.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll see what the future holds.
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PAUL: It's gotten a lot of people riled up this week, spiking drug prices. EpiPen maker Mylan now saying it will offer discounts to some people to help reduce the cost of their life saving allergy drug. Right now a standard two-pack of EpiPens will set you back $600. That's up more than $500 since 2009.
CNN's Sherisse Pham live in Washington this morning with the latest. As I understand it these only last -- they're only good for a year, so this is an annual purchase you have to make.
SHERISSE PHAM, CNN REPORTER: That's right, it's an annual purchase, and Mylan is now doing damage control this week. They're offering an instant coupon of $300 for any patient whose have to pay full out of price pocket if they don't have good health insurance coverage and so on and so forth. They're also going to expand their financial assistance program so families of four that make about $97,000 or less can apply to receive that standard two-pack for free. But that has not stopped patients and consumer advocates for slamming the company for what they call price gouging. The CEO Heather Bresch is on the defense. She is saying don't blame me, blame the broken system. Here's what she told CNBC.
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HEATHER BRESCH, CEO, MYLAN: The reality is in the brand pharmaceutical market, this isn't a EpiPen issue, this isn't a Mylan issue. This is a healthcare issue. Pharmaceuticals, the irony is that the system incentivizes higher prices.
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[10:55:05] PHAM: Now, those comments came after multiple senators slammed the company and called for an investigation and hearings into the price hikes. One of the senators embroiled in the controversy is Bresch's own father, the West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin, who avoided reacting to Mylan's actions but did join the criticism of the rising drug prices. The most blistering reaction came from Senator Blumenthal who said in a statement "This step seems like a PR fix more than a real remedy, masking an exorbitant and callous price hike. This baby step should be followed by actual robust action." Christi?
PAUL: All right, Sherisse Pham, appreciate it, thank you. And thank you so much for sharing your time with us. We always
appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: News continues with Fredricka Whitfield after a quick break.
But first, we want you to meet this week's CNN hero, a 33-year-old woman who left a career in the U.S. to provide free medical care in Kenya.
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UMRA OMAR, CNN HERO: We have about six villages that have absolutely zero access to healthcare. When an individual is in a remote area and has an absolute emergency, it's considered a matter of destiny. I feel like there's no purpose if you don't challenge your comfort zone. And do something that's a little bit bigger than who you are.
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