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Wolf

Rep. Steve Israel Responds to Trump National Security Speech; 2nd Air Strike, Gas Attack on Aleppo, Syria; Apple Release iPhone 7. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 07, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

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[13:34:20] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: In a major speech on national security, Donald Trump slamming Hillary Clinton as reckless and trigger happy and saying her policies have unleashed death and destruction.

Want to bring in Democratic Congressman Steve Israel, from New York, to respond to Trump's speech.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

You support Hillary Clinton, obviously, very strongly. Your reaction to what we just heard from Donald Trump on national security?

REP STEVE ISRAEL, (D), NEW YORK: He is right about one thing and that Hillary's policies did create death and destruction for Osama Bin Laden. That's the first thing. Secondly, Wolf, we are in such a bizarre environment where Donald Trump can read off a teleprompter, and by reading off a teleprompter, he doesn't sound so crazy. It is when he speaks from his gut it gets dangerous. Today, he said we need to improve our missile defense systems. Yesterday, he said he would trust China to handle North Korea's nuclear missile systems. Today, he talked about the need to improve our cyber defenses. Last month, he invited Russia to conduct cyber espionage against the American people. When it comes to his gut, something a president needs, he doesn't have the temperament to lead. The contrast on national security could not be more vivid.

[13:35:32] BLITZER: You agree that the so-called sequester, automatic budget cuts for defense spending, specifically for defense, should be eliminated?

ISRAEL: I think sequester should be eliminated across the board. Donald Trump is speaking the Democratic talking points. We have been saying we should eliminate the sequester, not only talking about it, but trying to do it. Here is the problem with Donald Trump's approach. He says we should eliminate just for defense spending.

Right now, the House Republicans are saying they don't have the money to give the CDC to deal with Zika under sequester. If you are going to eliminate sequester on the defense side, what about eliminating it on the defense of public health and do it across the board. Donald Trump falls dangerously short. BLITZER: In his speech, he attacked Hillary Clinton's overuse of

a private e-mail server during her four years as secretary of state. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton has taught us really how vulnerable we are in cyber hacking.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: That's probably the only thing that we have learned from Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He is proposing stronger classification rules, stronger enforcement of laws surrounding the handling of classified material. Do you agree with him that's need?

ISRAEL: How could you possibly support stronger classification and cybersecurity when, a month ago, he publicly asked the Russians to commit cyber espionage against the American people --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: He said he was being sarcastic.

ISRAEL: We know that's what is in his gut. No question, we have a major vulnerability. Everybody agrees on that. We have very good cyber offensive capability. We need to do more. But I am not going to take lectures about classifications, about cybersecurity from somebody who jokes about having the Russians come in and hack our system. That doesn't hold water. It just shows he doesn't have the temperament to really defend us.

BLITZER: Tomorrow, your Republican colleagues in House are set to hold a new hearing involving Hillary Clinton's e-mail use. Do you think there is some new vulnerability based on the latest information that has just come out? This story never seems to go away as far as she is concerned.

ISRAEL: It never seems to go away because House Republicans never seem to stop doing these hearings. We have just come off a seven-week recess. We've been here for less than 24 hours. Tomorrow, they're going to have yet another hearing, another day, another hearing into Hillary Clinton's e-mails.

Meanwhile, you have increased threat from Zika. They will not pass funding from Zika this week. You have the federal government is going to shut down at the end of this month. We do not have a budget. We have national security emergencies. Republicans have done nothing.

I understand that they have a political agenda to try and reduce the intensity of Hillary's support with these constant hearings. But they also have responsibility to govern. There, they are doing nothing.

BLITZER: If, in fact, she and her associates did destroy some of those e-mails after they received a formal subpoena to make all that information available, isn't that a problem?

ISRAEL: Wolf, she has taken responsibility for the e-mails. She has apologized for it. She has said she should have done it differently. The Republicans just don't seem to take yes for an answer. They want to continue to do the hearings, because it deflects the issues important to the American people.

We need to deal with Zika and pass a budget and do the other things. Instead, we are going to do this hearing. By the way, we're also going to try to impeach the IRS commissioner and sanction Democrats that had a sit-in against gun violence. These things don't matter to the American people. They want us to protect their security, protect them from Zika, moving the economy forward.

Another hearing into Hillary Clinton's e-mails is not going to advance the national security or our national economy.

BLITZER: You agree that the members of Congress, 435 in the House of Representatives, they are capable of doing more than one thing at a time?

ISRAEL: That's right. All Republicans are doing are hearings into Hillary Clinton's e-mails. Yes, we are capable of doing more than one thing at a time. You don't need to be spending all of your time on one thing. That's what they seem to be focused on.

BLITZER: Congressman Steve Israel, of New York, thanks very much for joining us.

[13:40:02] ISRAEL: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, devastating scenes out of Syria. Families, including small children, rushed to the hospital gasping for air. What we are learning about a new suspected gas attack. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: For the second time for the second day, air strikes have hit Aleppo, Syria.

We want to warn you. The images you are about to see are very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CRYING)

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BLITZER: The heartbreaking cries of children as they are treated at a makeshift hospital. An activist from the Aleppo Media Center tells CNN at least seven people were killed, 40 injured following today's air strike. This comes on the heels of yesterday's suspected chemical attack in the same area. This footage, released by activists in Aleppo, shows people gasping for air in a hospital.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights accuses the Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad of using war planes to drop barrel bombs containing chlorine gas. More than 2,000 miles away, the Syrian opposition, in London, are laying out a plan for a political transition to try to end the five-year civil war.

For more, let's bring in our senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, joining us live from Istanbul.

Arwa, talk to us about the horror that's happening in Aleppo right now.

[13:45:43] ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, our viewers just got a brief glimpse of it in those two videos you were showing right there.

You had this initial gas attack of sorts that took place yesterday. When people in a place like rebel-held Aleppo succumb to this type of attack, they are not going into a fully functional hospital. They are going into makeshift clinics, most of which were underground. When they were above ground, they were bombed by the Syrian regime or the Russians, according to aid organizations. They are functioning underground. They don't have regular electricity. They are running on generators that are reliant on diesel fuel. That is in very short supply. These are areas under siege.

You saw in one of those clips that toddler crying desperately, his mother standing right next to him unable to comfort her child. When you live in rebel-held Aleppo or most rebel-held parts of Syria and you survive one attack, you don't get to breathe a sigh of relief. The next day, you are more likely than not going to succumb to another strike. This is the reality of Syrians in many parts of the country for more than five and a half years.

BLITZER: Arwa, how do they know it was a chlorine gas attack?

DAMON: A couple of reasons. First and foremost, activists and medical aid workers say it was because of the smell. But also, because of the symptoms. They've been through this before. This exact same neighborhood in Aleppo has been targeted by what activists and aid workers and other organizations say was chlorine gas. So they've been through this. There are other parts of Syria that have been through similar strikes as well. There are networks in place where they exchange information about the various different kinds of weapons they are being hit with so they can figure out how to better treat the symptoms. Wolf. This chemical weapons line was crossed back in August of 2013 with that strike that happened in the Damascus suburbs where upwards of 1,000 were killed. America's red line was crossed back then. And over the last three years, nothing in the country has changed.

BLITZER: Britain's foreign minister hosting talks in London today. We are also told that the U.S. and Russian foreign secretaries of state are getting ready to meet. Any hope at all for progress?

DAMON: Look, one always has to cling on to hope, because if that all flies out the window, then there really is nothing left. Here is the problem. Everything is talk at this standstill. Everything is rhetoric. All of those different entities you mentioned, they are backing different players within Syria. The population realizes it. They feel as if they are pawn (inaudible) this broader political game that is playing out regionally and globally. Is there hope? No, very little at this standstill.

BLITZER: Arwa Damon, reporting for us in Istanbul. She has seen so much of this horror and destruction.

Arwa, thank you so much for joining us.

Other news we are following, it appears an outburst by the president of the Philippines is now apparently somewhat forgiven. An official with the White House tells CNN that President Obama and the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte spoke briefly before the Asian dinner, which it consisted of pleasantries. Before the summit, Duterte blasted President Obama, calling him an SOB. The White House cancelled the planned meeting. Duterte now says he regrets his comment.

[13:49:33] Coming up, a different story, to upgrade or not to upgrade. Apple is set to unveil its next generation iPhone, but all the buzz is about what it may not have. We'll update you when we come back.

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BLITZER: All eyes on Apple headquarters right now as they unveil their latest devices. Among them, a new iPhone, the 7.

Our tech correspondent, Samuel Burke, is joining us now live from San Francisco.

Samuel, give us some more details on the latest feature Apple is offering its customers.

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Tim Cook did not start this event the way he usually does climbing on stage. Instead, he climbed in the car to do car pool karaoke with James Cordon. No surprise, or no coincidence, since Apple signed a deal to syndicate that on their beats service.

But they just started talking about the iPhone 7 and they accidentally tweeted out one thing so we have confirmation of one of the expectations. It looks like the phone is waterproof. Maybe in my next report I'll underwater using the phone and testing that out, Wolf. Also we expect a dual lens camera in the next couple of minutes on the bigger device. That way it can take pictures that are really what a wedding photographer might take, higher quality pictures with that dual lens. Also more memory. You go to take a picture and it runs out of memory and you can't save that cherished picture. Looks like the cheapest units will have 32 gigabytes of space. And getting rid of the headphone jack. That's what Apple is expected to do. Wolf, you're probably saying are they crazy? How are we going to listen to our music? Everybody is very upset about this online. So looks like they'll just be getting rid of that little port right there. Instead, you may plug in your headphones into the charging port. They might offer wireless ear buds, or maybe you fork out $2 for an adapter so you can use your old headphones on the new phone.

But a big shift here. And when Apple does something, a lot of times the entire industry moves along with it.

[13:55:21] BLITZER: Samuel, I got the Apple 6-plus. Is it going to be bigger? Smaller? What's the story?

BURKE: It's just coming up on the screen now for the first time. It looks like it is going to be about the same size. They're saying it could beat piano black. All those different names of colors really don't make that much difference for me. I think the big difference here really is going to be how we listen to things. That's really going to change everything for electronics.

BLITZER: Anxious to hear the specific details.

Samuel, thanks very much for doing that. Samuel Burke reporting.

That's it for me. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, NEWSROOM with Brooke Baldwin starts right after a quick break.

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