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Trump: "I Can Fix Inner City Violence"; Syria's Youth Among Dead in Barrel Bomb Attacks; Civil Rights Activist, Sit-in Hero Backs Donald Trump; Spike in Heroin Overdoses Hitting U.S. Midwest; Trump Called Out Carrier for Moving A.C. Business to Mexico; Kareem Abdul- Jabbar Talks New Book, Politics, Race Relations in America. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 27, 2016 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:48] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: It is 5:00 Eastern Time. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Sciutto in for Poppy Harlow.

We just heard from Donald Trump. And he is not shying away from his controversial tweet about the fatal shooting of NBA Super Star Dwayne Wade's cousin. He put the death of 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge front and center when he spoke at an Iowa rally just moments ago. Trump says, he can fix inner city violence and that's one big reason why African-Americans and Hispanics should vote him.

The Chicago Bulls Guard's Dwayne Wade's first cousin Nykea Aldridge was pushing her baby's stroller down a Chicago Street Friday when several man started shooting at each other. Aldridge caught in the crossfire. Police say, she was not the intended target. Early this morning, Trump tweeted, quote, "Dwayne Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just as what I have been saying, African-Americans will vote for Trump."

He later deleted that initial tweet, reposted it because he misspelled Wade's first name the first time around twitter erupted. And five hours later, softer tweet you might say came. Quote, "My condolences to Dwayne Wade and his family on the loss of Nykea Aldridge. They are in my thoughts and prayers."

I want to bring in Sunlen Serfaty. She is in Des Moines, Iowa, she was there where Donald Trump was just speaking behind her a few moments ago. So, Sunlen, in those prepared remarks, and he seemed to be following the prompter there, he tried to get back to this message about safer communities.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Jim. And it definitely should be noted that he was reading off prepared remarks delivered off a teleprompter today. But to me, it did seem that Donald Trump tried a little bit to course correct from that initial tweet highlighting this case, this tragedy of Dwayne Wade's cousin, the tweet that originally was met with so much criticism and scrutiny, some saying that he was inserting himself into this sort of tragedy, and of course the sensitivities around that. But today it did seemed like he did try to go out of his way to

express condolences while bringing up the case, that's an example of something that he has been trying to talk more off about on the campaign trail, trying to court African-American communities. Although it should be noted that he was delivering that message today in front of a largely white crowd again. But here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: More than 6,000 African- Americans are the victims of murder -- of murder -- every single year. Just yesterday, the cousin of NBA Star Dwayne Wade, a great guy -- Dwayne Wade -- was the victim of a tragic shooting in Chicago. She was the mother of four. And was killed while pushing her infant child in a stroller just walking down street. Shot. It breaks all of our hearts to see it. It's horrible. It's horrible. And it's only getting worse. This shouldn't happen in our country. This shouldn't happen in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: So, you can see there Donald Trump just a few minutes ago inserting this tragedy into a clump of his stump speech that he has really been delivering in the last few days, trying to court African- American votes. Now, I should say that he also met some criticism from Hillary Clinton's vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine today who said, really the only thing that we should be talking about in terms of this tragedy is just expressions of sympathy for the family of Dwayne Wade's cousin and nothing else is appropriate -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Sunlen Serfaty. Thanks very much. We should note Donald Trump did not acknowledge that he misspelled Dwayne Wade's first name, he deleted that original tweet and the re-post it with the correct spelling and then it was more than five hours later when Trump tweeted condolences to the family but no apology, no admission that he may have stumbled.

I want to go to our political panel now. We again have political reporter Tom LoBianco, Donald Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany. And Hillary Clinton supporter A. Scott Bolden. He is former chairman of the Washington, DC Democratic Party.

Kayleigh, if I could begin with you. One line from that speech stuck out, which is tied to his broader message about immigration, about crime in communities. He says the country is in a death spiral and he is going pull it out. What's the evidence that the U.S. is in a death spiral?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, I think when you look to Chicago, there have been more than 2500 deaths in Chicago this year alone. That's by the way more than the entirety of U.S. soldiers who died in the war in Afghanistan. It's horrific that people are dying on our own streets. Murder rates have gone up in nearly a dozen cities. There is a "New York Times" article about that that came out just a few months ago. So, I think there is a lot of evidence that violence and chaos around societies, whether be the Orlando shooting, where a 49 people died, Nykea Aldridge, a mother dying on the street, or two nuns in Mississippi who died at the hands of a horrific, horrific death.

SCIUTTO: Historically though, the crime though they have ticked up in the last year, historically they are fraction if you look at major cities where they were some 20, 25 years ago. It's just the death spiral comment. Is that meant to scare voters?

MCENANY: Well, I think it's meant to acknowledge the reality they face. I mean, Orlando 49 people died. San Bernardino, 14. You look across overseas, there were four terrorist attacks in France in the span of a week. You know, there is violence and chaos both coming in the forms of criminals and also in the form of terrorists. People are scared, which is why they have received Donald Trump's acknowledgment of the reality they face as a positive thing.

[17:05:23] SCIUTTO: Scott, your response there.

A. SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, WASHINGTON DC DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, it's interesting because violence knows no color. And knows no community. It comes to all communities, especially those who are poor and disenfranchised. That being said, the Republicans are the ones who are against gun control and getting more guns off the street. And I'd like to see Republicans if they are really concerned about these poor neighborhoods, I'd like to see them work with Democrats and get reasonable gun control passed and walk away from the NRA.

Because, again, this is America's problem. It's not a Democratic or a Republican problem. Your last guest tried to blame the mayor for the shootings and Chicago, the high rate of shootings. But the reality is that Illinois has a Republican governor, and there is a Republican controlled Senate. They are much responsible as all of us are for what's going on in Chicago. We need to shut the gangs down, quite frankly. They are 70 percent of all these shootings based on reports I have read that this is all gang related.

We need to shut it down, we need to work with Republicans on getting guns off the street and put together a premise and a program to get this done. Job training, jobs, entrepreneurship, time, money, and resources. We can fix it but we are not going to fix it with Donald Trump, who is a poor messenger, but more importantly has these pronouncements but doesn't have a game plan behind it. And he is talking to the people who are white voters as opposed to going to the black community and talking to them about his game plan.

Well, I want to get to that point, too. First, I want to go to Tom LoBianco. Because another thing Donald Trump said, which is a frequent charge in his rallies is that the media lies, the media got it wrong. And he said that the media got it wrong in portraying his moves on immigration this week. You cover this story very closely. Is there substance to that, to say that the media got it wrong in terms of his back and forth on deportation?

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, one of the reasons that we are so insistent as reporters, as journalists on details on policy is that we want to know. So that, you know, if he is running in the primary -- and he says we are going to deport all the illegal immigrants then we have him on record saying that. And if he says he is going to model it off of Dwight Eisenhower's operation wed back 60 years ago, then we have him on the record saying that. So that when he comes out now and says, OK, on the first day in office, I'm going to focus on criminals who are illegal immigrants. That appears to be a change. You know, again, it's not --

BOLDEN: That's a flip-flop.

LOBIANCO: It's not entirely clear where he is on this. You know, the one thing that's so interesting is that he has been so definitive on building the wall. That's one thing that hasn't changed. But, you know, and this is why politicians leave room, this is why they are vague on certain things. I mean, it leaves -- if he is in trouble politically, then it leaves a lot of space for him to start softening, to start coming back to the middle. I mean, this is, we all do this. We have been doing this for years. We watch them. I remember covering Governor Pence, and you know, we used to ask him for his agenda when he would start the legislative session out in Indiana. And he wouldn't give it to us. You know, I mean, every politician does this.

SCIUTTO: Leaves some wiggle room. Kayleigh, just briefly, how do you respond to that, because remember, the softening word was Donald Trump's own word earlier in the week before he went back to the original position.

MCENANY: Yes, and he also mentioned that he is listening to voters and he wants to hear what they have to say, because after all our president should reflect the opinion of voters. But I think what he is doing with immigration is establishing priorities. In any given subject you can't get it all on day one, you can't in fact really get all of your agenda done ever. So what he is doing is priority one, building the wall, Mexico is paying for it.

Priority two, criminal illegal aliens have to go. Which is not what we have seen from this president who's released 20,000 criminal illegals just last year. Number three, you know, he is going to make sure that that American workers are getting jobs and not, you know, illegal immigrants who sneaks into the country. Number four, he's going to make sure every illegal immigrant goes away before they come back and get citizenship. So, he is establishing priorities here and that's what we're seeing.

SCIUTTO: Tom, Scott and Kayleigh, we're going to have to leave it there. We're going to have some, little time later in the hour, ahead this hour. They are the children war, innocent lives thrust into a war they had no part in creating. Is their tragedy going unnoticed by the world? We are going to discuss that.

Plus, he took part in one of the most famous sit-ins of the civil rights movement and now says that he is proud to say he will be voting for Donald Trump this November. Clarence Henderson is going to join me live.

And then later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:10:10] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll do any drug you put in front of me. So, it's definitely a struggle. It's really hard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's difficult because we can't like love them out of it. You know? So we love them so much, and it doesn't -- there is nothing that we can really do for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: A very candid conversation with an Ohio mother and daughter struggling with the misery of addiction on a daily basis. A story you really don't want to miss. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:14:02] SCIUTTO: The images are gut-wrenching to say the least, wounded, sometimes dead children rushed through the streets of Aleppo, Syria as barrel bombs fall from the sky. This one picture showing a tiny boy covered in dirt and blood briefly captured our attention. But for the most part the horror captured in these sometimes graphic pictures of children caught in war is ignored and quickly forgotten. Parents tell heroine stories, one Aleppo father writes in a letter to CNN.com.

"My daughter who is five-years old was born in this war and does not know anything about normal life. She is used to seeing the streets in ruins, full of debris, houses without walls or ceilings, and trees broken or burned. She has never once asked to go to a park or a playground or the theater because all of that ended in Aleppo before she was born."

CNN political and analyst and Washington Post analyst columnist Josh Rogin joins me now. So, Josh, you know, there have been moments throughout this war dragging into almost half a decade now where a pick will pop up, it will capture our attention for a bit. There was that boy who drowned, you remember the refugee who washed up on a beach in Greece. And now you have this little boy here. Why doesn't that effect last?

JOSH ROGIN, WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST: Well, Jim, I think two things are going on here. One is that Syria has become such a chaotic, dangerous, and crazy place that it becomes a very hard story for the international media to cover. Many journalists take huge risks and sometimes even give their lives to cover this story. But there is just not enough coverage to keep this in the minds of the viewers.

The other thing is that people becomes desensitized to images like this. Over the five years of the war people have just come to expect that Syria and the spillover of the Syrian conflict will produce horrors like this. But we should never become desensitized. We should always remember that this story is only one of thousands that is going on every single day. SCIUTTO: Well, here's the thing. We are in the states. We are in

the midst of a presidential election. I can't tell you the last time the word Syria came up in anyone's speech.

ROGIN: That's right.

SCIUTTO: On either side. I mean, it's just not part of the conversation here.

ROGIN: That's right. I mean, there is -- neither candidate has shown a lot of courage in talking about what tough choices there really are in Syria. There is no good choices. But whoever becomes president next is going to have to do something proactive to really change America's policy regarding this crisis. Donald Trump thinks that's just more bombing of the terrorist groups.

SCIUTTO: Right.

ROGIN: Hillary Clinton has advocated for a no-fly zone but that's kind of unpopular so she doesn't really want to get to into the specifics of the costs that would mean for the United States and especially for the U.S. military. So, for different reasons both campaigns are avoiding this. But once they become president, that won't be possible.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Not possible. And looking further afield, lots of folks say that for Obama's legacy, as foreign policy legacy that this is an enormous black mark.

ROGIN: I think that's unavoidable, and I think that's why you see Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva this weekend meeting with the Russians, meeting with Russian's Prime Minister Lavrov trying to come to a deal to extend, to restore the ceasefire that's basically gone away in Syria. The problem with that is twofold. One, the Russians have been part of the regime's siege of Aleppo and the bombing of civilians, which is a war crime. And it's not clear that they want to make a deal.

The second part is that the Russians haven't shown that they are able to stop the regime from committing these kinds of atrocities that we are seeing on our screens. But the Obama administration knows that they have to try. And that's what John Kerry is doing right now.

SCIUTTO: Russia has been accused of causing its own civilian deaths with its bombing campaign.

ROGIN: True.

SCIUTTO: Josh Rogin, thanks very much. You have to think we all at least have a responsibility to witness what's going on in Syria.

ROGIN: Absolutely.

SCIUTTO: When we come back, I'll speak to one of the men in this photo. In 1960, he fought against Jim Crowe laws in the South. Today, he is a political activist, for Donald Trump. Why he believes Trump is the best choice for African-Americans. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:21:54] SCIUTTO: Welcome back. As the Hillary Clinton campaign accuses Donald Trump of racism and hate speech, the Trump campaign has been rolling out an outreach effort to black voters. Republicans has enlisted many black supporters to speak at rallies and events. Supporters like my next guest, he is best known for his mark on American history. Clarence Henderson participated in one of the famous lunch counter sit-ins of the 1960s. This was at a Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina. Fast forward to earlier this month where Henderson led a prayer at a Trump rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARENCE HENDERSON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND TRUMP SUPPORTER: We have to move in the same spirit as the Republican Party when they defended their rights of blacks in America, past the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment. We have to continue in the same spirit as we did when we sat down at that lunch counter and put Jim Crowe on trial and he was found guilty of trying to divide this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Clarence Henderson joins me now. Mr. Henderson, thanks very much for taking the time today.

HENDERSON: You are quite welcome.

SCIUTTO: So, let me begin by asking you, what do you see in Donald Trump? Why do you support him and think that that he is best for African-American communities?

HENDERSON: Well, politicians are a dime a dozen. Lead us priceless. Donald Trump is a businessman, and America is a business. And in order to run America, be a part of running America, you have to understand the economics of America and that we are free society. We don't need politicians running based on principles.

SCIUTTO: Okay. So he is clearly a different kind of politician. But what specifically have you heard from him that convinces you that he will make a difference for you and for your families, for your communities?

HENDERSON: Because he knows how to create jobs. One of the biggest problems in America right now, especially in the black communities are a lack of jobs. And he has proven before that he knows how to create jobs. And we are a country, the land of opportunity, not the lands of entitlement.

SCIUTTO: Now, I've spoken to some African-American leaders recently who, as they listen to his recent outreach to African-Americans, they feel that he is talking at them rather than with them. And I wonder if you felt that at all? HENDERSON: No, not at all. And I've been up close and personal with

Mr. Trump. And he is a very personable guy. A lot of times he comes off on TV different than he is in person. And I don't know how they can arrive, to the point of him thinking he is talking at them instead of to them when he hasn't had a lot of interaction and they have -- he has not interacted with them in a great way.

SCIUTTO: Well, let me ask you this then, if you look at the polls, it's really no contest. His support among African-Americans is in the low single digits. Why are you in such a small minority among African-Americans?

HENDERSON: Because I look at this country and there has been a great transmission of misinformation. Therefore you have far too many blacks that vote for the Democratic Party when it's been the Republican Party that helped blacks more than anybody else. You look at the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment. You also look at women's rights. The Republicans finally got that pushed through. So, he is running on the platform that I'm in favor of. And I understand that platform because I have been a Democrat before and I know this party has done the most for us as a race and the most of the country as well.

SCIUTTO: You know that his current CEO of his campaign comes from Breitbart.com, from a wing of the party known as the alt-right which has ties to folks who have propagated some racist things and racist information. Does that association bother you?

[17:26:06] HENDERSON: Not at all. And I mean, look at Hillary Clinton and she has been associated with the KKK and all of these various organizations. You know?

SCIUTTO: How has she been associated with the KKK?

HENDERSON: Because I have seen her kissing one of the former leaders of the KKK.

SCIUTTO: You are talking about her picture with Robert Byrd?

HENDERSON: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Okay.

HENDERSON: See, I come from a time known as Jim Crowe and I know what racism is and what racism isn't. And you can't legislate a person's heart. I am not looking to like Donald Trump. I'm looking at what he can do and I'm looking at history that he had with the Republican Party versus the Democratic Party. And for the last eight years, we have been put in dire straits because of the policies that have been put in place, such as ObamaCare and other things, when we need jobs opposed to the things that are happening right now.

SCIUTTO: Clarence Henderson, you are part of history in this country, going back to the sit-in movement. Thanks for what you've done. And thanks for taking the time today.

HENDERSON: You are quite welcome. You have a good day.

SCIUTTO: Take care.

HENDERSON: Next, it's an American medical crisis. A rash of overdoses and deaths in the Midwest. We'll look inside the epidemic and what's behind it right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:23] SCIUTTO: Doctors are calling it an epidemic, a sudden spike in heroin overdoses hitting the Midwest. In Ohio, there have been nearly 90 overdoses in just the last week. There have been 12 in Indiana. And in West Virginia last week, 28 people overdosed within one four-hour period.

We get our report tonight from CNN's Rachel Crane. She is in Cincinnati.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LORI ERION, MOTHER OF APRIL: I'm terrified. It terrifies me.

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A recent spike in heroin overdoses, nearly 100 in the last week alone, have Lori Erion fearing for her daughter's life.

APRIL ERION, FORMER HEROIN ADDICT: I would love to get high. I would. I am a drug addict. That's what I do best.

CRANE: April is 22 years old and she has been using heroin for the last six years. Those years, she says, she has lost about a dozen friends.

APRIL ERION: I just had one of my friends died I think yesterday morning. And 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.

(on camera): When you are addicted to heroin, when you are using, you don't care about dying. You are just chasing the next high. And for a lot of people, hearing that there is a souped-up strain of dope on the streets, that's actually appealing.

ERION: Yeah, definitely. Absolutely. Because you -- you stop getting high. That's why they call it chasing it. Because you can't stop getting high. You just -- you are staying well, you are staying not sick. So when you hear that somebody has overdosed or you hear about these crazy new drugs, you know, you are thinking, like, well, all right, it's about time. I'm trying to get high. I mean that's all you have been trying to do.

CRANE: That means that with this new strain of heroin that's cut with an elephant tranquillizer -- ERION: I'm sure there are heroin addicts who are actively looking for

it and thinking that the people that are dying are doing it wrong. They are doing too much. They are not -- you know what I mean? They are just thinking that they are going to find a way to get really high and not die. Or if they die, they don't really care. But they are definitely looking for it. I would be.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

CALLER: My son's on drugs. And I think he is overdosing. I think he has overdosed.

911 DISPATCHER: Is he awake?

CALLER: No, he is awake, but barely.

CALLER: He is not breathing.

911 DISPATCHER: OK, what he is O.D.'ing on?

CALLER: Heroin. Ahh. I think it's Fentanyl.

(END AUDIO FEED)

CRANE (voice-over): 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 that 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 are going to get that phone call.

CRANE: April and her mom know better than anyone how difficult the struggle with heroin 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 doesn't -- there is nothing that we can really do for them.

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.

LORI ERION: I'm definitely to the -- I wouldn't say I'm using, but I've used twice since I have been out, and I've been out for a month.

CRANE (on camera): How has heroin changed your life?

APRIL ERION: Well, 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. You know? That was what I wanted to do. That's where I should have been.

CRANE (voice-over): Rachel Crane, CNN, Cincinnati.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:34:42] SCIUTTO: A struggle so many families are going through right now.

Rachel Crane, thanks so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: In this week's "American Opportunity," we head to Indiana. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, made headlines when he called out the air-conditioning manufacturer, Carrier, for its plans to close its Indianapolis facility and ship those jobs to Mexico.

Cristina Alesci looks deeper into why the company is leaving, and where its workers fall on the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER REPRESENTATIVE: It became clear that the best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER EMPLOYEE: They are taking our livelihoods away. Just shock. Shock and awe. And confusion. Upset. I've been there 14 jeers.

CHRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): T.J. works for Carrier, which makes heating and cooling equipment. The company announced it was moving jobs to Mexico where minimum wage is about $4 a day.

CHUCK JONES, PRESIDENT, UNITED STEELWORKERS LOCAL, 1999: The trade bill that is directly influenced on this Carrier move is NAFTA, which was put in by President Bill Clinton.

ALESCI: Why do you think Carrier made the decision now?

JONES: The shareholders were having a hard time with the profits that they were getting.

ALESCI: This is all driven by what?

JONES: Corporate agreed and unfair trade.

ALESCI (voice-over): Let's take those one at a time. First, unfair trade. A rallying cry of Donald Trump's campaign.

[17:40:02] DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The single worst trade deal ever done. It's called NAFTA.

ALESCI: Business researcher, Carol Rogers, says it's not that simple.

(on camera): Can we change the free trade agreement?

CAROL ROGERS, BUSINESS RESEARCHER: I don't think so. That's cutting off your knows despite your face because we are going to be able to sell our stuff out the United States.

ALESCI: So Donald Trump is wrong?

ROGERS: I think so, yes.

ALESCI (voice-over): She's points to the numbers. Exports from Indiana have doubled in 20 years, even when adjusting for inflation. That's more than 10 percent of the state's economy. Plus, all the jobs the exports support. Indiana's biggest customers, Canada and Mexico.

Free trade advocates argue that you want to be selling to billions of people around the world, not just the 320 million customers in the U.S.

JENNIFER RUMSEY, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER, CUMMINS: International business is actually an important part of American businesses being successful.

ALESCI: Jennifer Rumsey is an executive Cummins, a major manufacturer and employer in the state.

DARREN WILDMAN, CUMMINS PLANT MANAGER: Labor is only one element of any manufacturing cost. What is your quality, what is your efficiency rate? We can't compete with that hourly rate. No point suggesting that we could.

ALESCI: Bottom line, America has to be innovative. The country can't compete on wages alone. That means giving up certain jobs. The Benefit should be cheaper goods.

JONES: I haven't seen where it makes the goods cheaper. The companies are making more profit.

ALESCI: So is it the trade deals or corporate greed that's behind Carrier's moving jobs to Mexico?

The business unit that includes Carrier had an operating profit of must under $3 billion in 2015. And when "CNN Money" asked Carrier about the move, the company provided this statement: "We must continue to protect our business in a relentless competitive global marketplace."

And to soften the blow, the company plans to present a slew of retraining and education opportunities for the workers losing their jobs.

Chuck isn't convinced.

JONES: What they ain't telling you is some of the qualifications on some of the jobs they are creating is you have to be able to say, "Do you want French fries with that."

ALESCI: And that's what a lot of this comes down too, wages. How will working people in America make more money? And how does America ensure that everyone gets some Benefit out of globalization?

UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER EMPLOYEE: When we vote, when we go out and vote, we have to vote for our jobs.

JONES: People get caught up on issues, guns, God, and gays.

TRUMP: Believing in God, so important.

ALESCI: These guys are voting with their wallets.

UNIDENTIFIED CARRIER EMPLOYEE: He said I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. You didn't really tell me how. I mean, you say all this stuff about jobs. But I mean, this guy is an entertainer. He is a clown.

ALESCI: Cristina Alesci, "CNN Money," Indianapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Now this week's "CNN Hero," in a country struggling to fight terrorism, something a simple as medical care is almost non-existent. Meet someone who wants to change that. She founded Safari Doctors to reach people in remote areas of Kenya who desperately need help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UMRA OMAR (ph), CNN HERO: We have about six villages that have absolutely zero access to health care. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:47:31] SCIUTTO: During his legendary basketball career, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships, two finals MVP awards and two college titles. He has written a number of books since then. His latest is "Writings on the Wall, Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White."

And with charges of racism being thrown back and forth between the two major presidential candidates, this book comes at a key time. Poppy Harlow sat down with Kareem in New York to talk about the book,

this election season, and race relations in America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the book, "Writings on the Wall, Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White," you say there are quote too many continental divides, the racial divides, sex, socioeconomics, religion. Is there a moment when you think this country took a step back?

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, FORMER NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER & AUTHOR: I think what has happened is a lot of people are just dismayed by all the change so quickly. The legalization of gay marriage, we have an African-American president. Things of that nature have really rocked a lot of people's idea of what America should be like. A lot of the country now is getting a darker complexion than it had for most of its history. And people just see change as something that can be menacing and alarming, and there is a reaction against it.

HARLOW: Was there a moment?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I don't know if there was a moment. But I think we've gone through a period of change that really has -- I think it scared a number of people and they want things to go back. I think that's the nostalgia that motivates the people that are reacting to make America great again.

HARLOW: Who did you write this book for?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I wrote it for my fellow citizens, al of them. No one in particular, but all of them, in general.

HARLOW: At the Democratic National Convention, it seems like the Khan family had a profound impact on you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHIZR KHAN, FATHER OF FALLEN U.S. SOLDIER: I'm here to tell you about Captain Khan, who was one of 14 American Muslim soldiers who have died in combat serving the United States since 9/11.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:49:55] HARLOW: I'm wondering what your take is on what you think the conversation that ensued following the Khan family speaking and the back and what did that conversation mean for America? Was it helpful for America?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I think it was very helpful for America because America saw a family of Muslim immigrants, who absolutely are loyal to America to the point of losing their son in combat, defending his troops, the troops that were under his command. This is what Americans want to see from people who are immigrants and join our armies and fill the ranks of citizenship in our country. And that -- you can't find a more American family than the Khan family and they're from Pakistan. HARLOW: You can't find a more American family than the Khan family.

ABDUL-JABBAR: You can't. They gave everything.

HARLOW: They did.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes.

HARLOW: Their son.

Back in 1964, you had a chance to participate in a news conference with Martin Luther King Jr.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes.

HARLOW: And a few weeks later, you find yourself in the middle of a race riot. How -- that was '64. Now, we're in 2016. How did those experiences shape how you look at race relations in this country right now? I mean, look at what this country's going through right now.

ABDUL-JABBAR: What we're going through right now is not the direction that we should be going in. Having had Dr. King touch my life really meant something to me, and what he stood for and still inspires me. So I think that we still have some work to do. That's what Dr. King wrote before he passed away, that America still has work to do to make this a just society and as envisioned by the founding fathers.

HARLOW: What does that work look like, right? Just for some context for our viewers, your father, your grandfather were police officers. And you tweeted this summer a few months ago, "Both the black and police communities live in fear because they cannot see each other's humanity."

ABDUL-JABBAR: Exactly. There has to be a conversation. There has to be some communication between police officers and the people that they are supposed to protect and serve.

HARLOW: But we keep hearing that. Every time there's a tragedy, we keep hearing they need to talk to one another. These communities need to have these conversations. What should they look like, what should be fundamental in them to progress?

ABDUL-JABBAR: Just the fundamental commitment to the rule of law and understanding of what that means for both sides. The police should not end up being seen as an occupying Army, and the community has to realize that the police have a very important job to do.

HARLOW: Have you thought about leading one of those conversations between communities and police?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I wouldn't be against it, if it were possible. I think it's a crucial issue.

HARLOW: And you have the perspective of having a father who was an officer.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Exactly.

HARLOW: Which is important perspective.

ABDUL-JABBAR: It is important. And you know, my dad was decorated, too. He had an incredible career. He retired as a lieutenant. I was so proud of him.

HARLOW: You converted to Islam as a young man.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes.

HARLOW: You've spoken about it, as your, quote, "moral anchor." I read you said you probably wouldn't, looking back, you wouldn't have made your conversion so public.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Right.

HARLOW: Why?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I made it public because I just -- everything that I had learned that motivated me to make my conversion, I wanted to speak out and explain to people what motivated me.

HARLOW: Why couldn't you do it that way this time?

ABDUL-JABBAR: I can do it in a more subtle way that didn't challenge people in the way that I did. I was full of that youthful defiance, probably.

HARLOW: You've described Muhammad Ali as a big brother.

ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes.

HARLOW: What did the world lose when we lost him this year?

ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I think the example that he has set will last forever, but he was a wonderful guy. He was funny. He saw himself as an actor and magician and poet. He was a very interesting guy, and an incredible athlete.

I met him at a party and he just was so charismatic and a nice guy, and there was a band at the party and I sat down behind the drums and was fooling around with it and he picked up a guitar. He couldn't play it, but he picked up a guitar and acted like he was playing it. And his photographer, Howard Bingham, took a picture of us and you can still see it, you know, and we were just goofing around.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:55:03] SCIUTTO: Great photograph. Great story.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta with this week's "Fit Nation." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Meet Miguel Medina. He's a professional obstacle course racer.

MIGUEL MEDIAN, PROFESSIONAL OBSTACLE COURSE RACER: You kind of get addicted to it. There's nothing like it.

GUPTA: It wasn't always easy for Medina to compete. As a teenager, he was diagnosed with congenital spinal stenosis, a debilitating back condition that required surgery.

MEDINA: The whole idea behind pain showing you a lesson, it's true. I knew at that point I needed to change almost everything about my life. I needed to be able to move, to run, to be free, you know.

GUPTA: Now Media is one of obstacles course racing's top athletes.

MEDINA: I'm training for the Montreal ultra beast. It's like an ultra marathon with obstacles on a ski slope.

GUPTA: For an elite competitor, like Medina, the race takes seven to nine hours to finish. 45 minutes into the race, he stumbled and sprained his ankle. But like he did years ago, when he clawed his way back from surgery, Medina pushed through the pain.

MEDINA: The only way I was not going to get that medal is if I couldn't finish. But I would have been on my hands and knees of I had to, to keep going. (SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:00:11] SCIUTTO: I'm Jim Sciutto, in Washington. I'll be back in one hour.

"SMERCONISH" starts right now.