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North Korea Conducts Powerful Nuclear Test; Clinton Ratchets Up Attacks on Trump at News Conference; Boxing Champ Manny Pacquiao Talks Philippines President. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 09, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:10] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause, in Los Angeles.

We are following breaking news out of North Korea. Pyongyang says it has standardized a nuclear warhead to be mounted on ballistic rockets. It tested the warhead on Friday morning. South Korea says it was a 10-ton explosion, double the tests last January. The atomic bomb that wiped out Hiroshima in Japan in World War II was 15 kilotons.

Let's go to Paula Hancocks in Seoul, South Korea.

Paula, it seems there has been outrage and condemnation from so many countries after this fifth nuclear test carried out by the North Koreans.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. As expected, we are seeing condemnation first and foremost here in South Korea. The South Korean president saying it violates the Security Council resolutions. She says it's a severe provocation, the second one this year. Talking about treacherous provocation, saying that they are maintaining readiness for anything North Korea might do. They want to go back to the Security Council and ask for more sanctions.

We have heard condemnation, as well, from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying it is totally unacceptable. The defense minister saying this poses a serious threat to Japan and its allies in the region.

Now, we do know that the South Korean president and the U.S. president, Barack Obama, spoke a little earlier today. They had a 15- minute phone call over the phone, whilst President Obama was on Air Force One heading back to the U.S. Of course, he has just left Asia. He was in Laos. That's where President Park is, as well. We understand she's cut her trip short and is heading back shortly here to South Korea to try and come up with some kind of response -- John?

VAUSE: And, Paula, if we look at the signs of this blast and the technical capabilities that the North Koreans now say they have, how does that change the equation right now on the Korean peninsula? HANCOCKS: Well, that's the interesting part. I've spoken to a couple

of experts here in Seoul, one specific nuclear expert. And she says this shows it was a very successful test for the North Koreans. 10 kilotons was the magnitude of the explosion, twice what it was on January of this year when they carried out their fourth nuclear test. They said that's a significant improvement in vary short amount of time and that they are able, now, to be able to -- with this explosion, this magnitude of explosion to have a smaller and lighter nuclear weapon. And, of course, that's crucial because North Korea is saying that they have miniaturized this nuclear warhead. They are saying that this is what they tested today, this warhead was tested, and that they are ready to put it on any ballistic missile that they own. Of course, that will strike fear into the hearts of many around the world and certainly here in the region where it's clear that they are already able to strike these areas. So that is a crucial factor, just how big this explosion was. And, of course, there will be many experts in the days to come trying to figure out just how dangerous this development is.

VAUSE: And given that, every time we go through one of these incidents with North Korea, be it a nook here test or a ballistic missile rocket launch or a test firing, there's outrage, condemnation, a trip to the Security Council that may or may not be sanctioned. We've done this dance four or five times just with a nuclear test alone and nothing seems to really change. Is anybody in that region taking a different approach this time, thinking that, well, maybe if you keep doing the same thing and getting the same result, something is not working?

HANCOCKS: Not publicly they're not. Certainly, privately, they might be trying to see other ways of trying to restrict this nuclear missile program. But the fact is, back in march, the United Nations Security Council resolution passed the sanctions that were described as ground breaking, unprecedented. Beijing had signed on to them. Or the countries that had signed on said these will actually have an impact. They will start to pinch the coffers of North Korea and will have an impact on North Korea's missile program. Clearly, it hasn't, at least, not in the short term. And it just shows, once again, that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has no intention of heeding the condemnation and sanctions. Kim Jong-Un has made it clear that he will continue regardless. In the latest statement the media has released, he has said it is necessary because of U.S. hostile forces. So he is saying that he has to go ahead with this program because it is their defense, it is North Korea's defense against Washington.

[02:05:22] VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul once again with the latest.

Melissa Hanham joins us live. She's a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. She joins us from Monterey, California.

Melissa, thank you for being with us at this late hour.

In the past, talking to North Korea, has it worked, ignoring North Korea? Hates worked? What would work with North Korea? MELISSA HANHAM, SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, JAMES MARTIN CENTER FOR

NONPROLIFERATION STUDIES: If I had the answer to that question, I would be quite a rich woman. I'm afraid neither those tactics have taken a lot, have helped the situation very much. And there are very few options remaining on the table. I hope that, you know, we can improve relationships with North Korea, but I don't see many opportunities these days.

VAUSE: When you look at the situation in North Korea with the, you know, relatively new leader there, Kim Jong-Un, it does seem that there is a one-track bet the North Koreans are on right now and they would not be deterred. They want nuclear weapons. They want to be a nuclear power. What is the end game for them?

HANHAM: Well, I think they want international respect. For years, we have mocked their nuclear and missile capabilities. And 2016 seems to be about really demonstrating what they have and what they can do. So every time we sort of pooh-pooh their short range missiles or say that their ICBMs are untested or they don't have re-entry vehicles, they sort of roll out those images for us in a propaganda gesture to indicate we have these capabilities, we do need to be taken seriously.

VAUSE: So when the North Koreans say they've standardized a nuclear warhead, they can load it on a ballistic missile, at this point, we would be wise to take them at their word?

HANHAM: Well, we always have to take what they say with a grain of salt, but they have been providing us with quite a bit of video and photo propaganda. And the team here at middle bury analyzes this video and photographs very carefully. And if you look at the nose cones on the missiles, right from the scud all the way up to the KNO8, they're capable of fitting a possible warhead. And we don't know if that giant silver orb that Kim Jong-Un was photographed standing behind a few months ago is real or not. All we have is the photograph. By measuring that object, we can say that it would, indeed, fit in those nose cones. But you can see I'm already making several sort of logical leaps. So I'm saying if that silver warhead is, indeed, a warhead, which we can't tell it is, it would fit into those nose cones. Some of the missiles are tested and tried. Some of those missiles remain untested. Some of those missiles have had high lofted trajectories. But a lot of questions remain.

VAUSE: If we're looking at North Korea now as a nuclear power capable of putting a nuclear warhead on to a ballistic missile, in your opinion, has that been an accelerated tech logical ramp or highway they've been over the last 12 months or two years or so? They seem to have gone leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.

HANHAM: Yeah. I think they've really focused on their missile and their nuclear capabilities. Definitely, their tests happening more frequently. The missile testing is happening more frequently and we're seeing a greater variety of different kinds of tests. We're seeing solid fuel motors as well as liquid fuel engines. We're seeing space launches, as well as missiles that are launched from trucks, which we call transporter re-collector launchers. All those taken together as a whole picture seems like they're trying to demonstrate to us that they can, indeed, build a warhead that will fit on a delivery can device and they can deliver that warhead anywhere from a scud range up to the ICBM range if they start testing the Wasson 13.

VAUSE: One last question, they tested this device while Air Force One was in the air in the region. Is that a message to the United States?

[02:09:51] HANHAM: Well, I think they're very upset. We definitely see an uptick in the KCNA state media propaganda. Just a few days ago, they tested a series of scud missiles that could hit 1,000 kilometer range. And that was when Obama was at the G20. So I think it's potential that, you know, this is a great time for them to do some messaging.

But I think underlying all of this is the scientific need. They are gathering data through each test and each test helps them improve their device. I don't know if the device they're testing, I can't tell from the size of the data, whether it is miniaturized or not. The scary thing to me would be the only way for them to prove it to us would be to put that warhead on a missile, a live nuclear warhead on a missile and test it. That's something that countries lion like China have done in the past. But there's really no safe way to test it that way. There's no way for South Korea, Japan or the United States to know that that's a test and not the beginning of a war.

VAUSE: Let's take them at their word and not get to that point.

Melissa, thank you. Appreciate you being with us.

HANHAM: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Donald Trump gaining ground on Hillary Clinton, according to a new round of polls in some battleground states. Surveys show Donald Trump leading in Ohio, 41 percent to Clinton's 37 percent, to North Carolina where Clinton has a four-point lead, and Trump and Clinton are tied in Florida, 43 percent apiece.

Meanwhile, Trump launched a lengthy defense Thursday of his claim that he was against the Iraq war. First, listen to what he told radio host, Howard Stern, in 2002, before the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST (voice-over): Are you for invading Iraq?

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): Yeah, I guess so. You know, I wish it was -- I wish the first time it was done correctly.

(on camera): I opposed going in. And I did oppose it. Despite the media saying, oh, yes, no. I opposed going in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Hillary Clinton held her first news conference in 278 days. That was on Thursday. Here is Joe Johns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Hillary Clinton is ratcheting up the attacks on Donald Trump.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everything is a game. It's like he's living in his own celebrity reality TV program.

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: You know what, Donald? This is real reality. This is real people.

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: This is real decisions that have to be made for our country.

JOHNS: But she's also clarifying a pledge she made at Wednesday night's national security forum.

CLINTON: They are not going to get ground troops. We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again and we're not putting ground troops into Syria. We're going to defeat ISIS without committing American ground troops.

JOHNS: Clinton today facing questions about whether she's limiting her options when it comes to combating the terrorist group.

CLINTON: I've said that before. I've said it on numerous occasions. I believe it. I think putting a big contingent of American ground troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria would not be in the best interests of the fight against ISIS and other terrorist groups. I support the air campaign. I support Special Forces. I support enablers. I support surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance.

JOHNS: Clinton also standing by her comments in an interview with Israeli television on Wednesday that ISIS is rooting for Trump to become president citing a former counterterrorism official.

CLINTON: He quoted ISIS spokespeople rooting for Donald Trump's victory because Trump has made Islam and Muslims part of his campaign.

JOHNS: President Obama offering his own rebuke of the GOP nominee during an overseas trip to Laos.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think the guy is qualified to be president of the United States. And every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed.

JOHNS: The president urging Americans not to excuse Trump's rhetoric.

OBAMA: Behavior that in normal times we would consider completely unacceptable and outrageous becomes normalized and people start thinking that we should be grading on a curve.

JOHNS: And Clinton blasting RNC Chairman Reince Priebus for his controversial tweet criticizing Clinton for not smiling during Wednesday night's forum.

CLINTON: I don't take anything serious that comes from the RNC. We were talking about serious issues like night.

JOHNS: Clinton reiterating her regret for using a private e-mail server while secretary of state and insisting she's committed to protecting classified information.

CLINTON: There were no headers. There was no statement "top secret, secret or confidential." I communicated about classified material on a wholly separate system.

I did exactly what I should have done. And I take it very seriously, always have, always will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:15:27] VAUSE: And our thanks to Joe Johns for that report.

Three women have been arrested near Paris, accused of planning an imminent and violent attack. The interior minister says they are connected to gas cylinders found earlier in week inside a car. Six cylinders were in the car in Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris. Five canisters were full, but no detonator or firing devices were found.

On the same day, French President Francois Hollande says Islam can coexist with French secularism. Mr. Hollande says France needs to embrace the religion to rid it of extremists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translation): Nothing in secularism as opposed to the practice of Islam in France as long as -- and that is the vital point -- as it complies with the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: France has been under a state of emergency for almost a year after a series of ISIS terror attacks.

Next here on CNN, a major U.S. bank embroiled in scandal. What regulators say Wells Fargo did to its customers. Details in a moment.

Also ahead, we'll talk with world boxing champ, Manny Pacquiao, about his friend, the controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

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(SPORTS REPORT)

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[02:20:34] VAUSE: The latest on our breaking news from North Korea. Pyongyang has confirmed it tested a nuclear warhead. It's the country's fifth nuclear test, the most powerful one so far, 10 kilotons, according to the North Koreans. North Korean state run television says the warhead has been standardized to be mounted on ballistics rockets. The reaction from neighboring South Korea was swift. The president there says the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, is fanatically reckless.

American banking giant, Wells Fargo, says it has fired over five thousand employees because of a massive fraud scandal. U.S. regulators say Well Fargo employees opened more than two million accounts without their customers' knowledge. The fake banking and credit card accounts helped staff boost sales so they could receive bonuses. Wells Fargo agreed to pay $185 million in fines. That's the highest ever imposed by the U.S. Consumer Protection Bureau. Wells Fargo says it will refund the fees, which customers paid for the unauthorized accounts.

The controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is on his first official visit to Indonesia. The fight against terrorism and drug trafficking at the top of the agenda.

Mr. Duterte was criticized for using the profanity, which we're about to play, when referring to the U.S. President. After that, Barack Obama canceled a meeting with before Mr. Duterte. Mr. Obama now says he spoke briefly with Mr. Duterte on Wednesday and that he doesn't take Duterte's words personally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT (through translation): President of a sovereign state. (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining us now for more on the political situation in the Philippines is Manny Pacquiao, a former member of the Philippines House of Representatives. He's also a freshman Senator.

I'll also mention you are also an A Division would champion boxer and you're a national hero to, what, about 100 million Filipinos.

Thank you for coming in. Appreciate you being here.

MANNY PACQUIAO, MEMBER, PHILIPPINES SENATE & FORMER MEMBER, PHILIPPINES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES & WORLD BOXING CHAMPION: Thank you.

VAUSE: You have a very close relationship with President Duterte, would you say?

PACQUIAO: Yeah. VAUSE: Would you say you're friends?

PACQUIAO: Yeah, my friend before he became president.

VAUSE: OK. As friends, would you advise him that maybe it's not appropriate to use the kind of language that he's used in recent times, not just when he's talking about President Obama, but, you know, also talking about the pope, for instance, and the U.S. ambassador?

PACQUIAO: Yeah, yeah.

(CROSSTALK)

PACQUIAO: I'm sure he -- he realized to say something about that because he apologized after that. So I'm sure he realized what he said and --

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Do you think there will be a change maybe in how President Duterte speaks from this point on? Will he change his tone, perhaps?

PACQUIAO: Maybe he change his tone when he apologize. The good thing for him is he knows how to apologize. And we support him 100 percent for his advocacy against illegal drugs.

VAUSE: I want to ask you about that. The reason there was this diplomatic spat between the United States and the Philippines was because President Obama did say there were concerns about the number of extra judicial killings in the Philippines, people being killed without trial over drugs. There's more than 2,000 drug dealers, suspected drug dealers --

(CROSSTALK)

PACQUIAO: The problem is when he announced the massive campaign against illegal drugs, the president is -- this is reality in the Philippines, unfair to the president, because not all the killings happening is charged to him.

VAUSE: Well, about half are police and half are vigilantes.

PACQUIAO: Yeah. Yeah. And charge them. But what I believe, what's happening in the Philippines is there are drug lords, drug posers that are killing each other because they don't want to, you know, to -- somebody will, you know --

VAUSE: So you're saying this is such gang related that you can't put all the blame on to President Duterte?

PACQUIAO: Yeah.

VAUSE: Would you say he's encouraged with his language? He said he wanted 100,000 killed --

(CROSSTALK)

[02:25:13] PACQUIAO: I mean, when he announced strongly about the campaign of the illegal drugs, these illegal drugs, you know, the drug lords, especially like generals involved in drug -- in drugs, there are people, they're killing their people in the politics. They're killing their people because they want to be brought up in their names into the media.

VAUSE: So they're doing it for notoriety, I guess, fame?

PACQUIAO: Yes.

VAUSE: President Duterte has been described by some as a dictator in waiting. He's a strong man. Where do you stand on that?

PACQUIAO: I know him personally. Duterte, he's not like other leaders -- he just want he's fighting for -- because his mother is a former activist. You know, fighting for the right of the poor people. And that's what his heart is. You know, he's fighting for the poor people.

VAUSE: OK. Now, you personally, you said you were going to retire six months ago. You were back in the ring. But I want to ask about maybe long-term here because when the Philippines hold their next round of presidential elections, you'll be old enough under electoral law to run for president.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: You're very popular. You got a great turnout for your Senate campaign. Do you think you would be a good about the? Would you like to run for president of the Philippines?

PACQUIAO: I don't know. It is -- what I believe to become a president is not by the will of person, but it's the will of God. Because like Duterte, who knows he will become a president. It's God's will if you will become a president, then you will become a president.

VAUSE: Could you see yourself in that role?

PACQUIAO: I don't know. I don't know about that. My focus right now is my job as a Senator.

VAUSE: Yeah. And a boxer.

PACQUIAO: As a boxer. And so that's very interesting.

VAUSE: OK. It's very interesting.

Thanks for coming in and good luck. Good luck with the fight, too.

PACQUIAO: Thank you. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Next on NEWSROOM L.A., more on our breaking news, North Korea's powerful nuclear tests. The country says it has tested a warhead which could be mounted on a ballistic rocket.

And later this hour, Vladimir Putin is not running for U.S. president, but he is getting a lot of attention.

You're watching NEWSROOM L.A.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:13] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

Here are the headlines right now.

(HEADLINES)

VAUSE: Following breaking news out of North Korea. The country says it has had tested a nuclear warhead that can be mounted on a ballistic rocket. Pyongyang conducted the tests Friday morning. South Korea says the North set off a 10-kiloton explosion, double the yield from January's tests. This is North Korea's fifth nuclear test. World leaders say it violates the U.N. Security Council's resolutions and also poses serious threat.

The director general for the International Atomic Energy Agency has released a statement. It reads, in part, "This is a clear violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions and in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community. It is a deeply troubling and regrettable account. I strongly urge the DPRK to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA."

Japan has deployed a number of jets to try and test for radiation and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says there will be consequences for North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translation): I ordered three points, to collect the information with a sense of urgency, to provide accurate northbound to the public, and to coordinate closely with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and related countries. If North Korea, indeed, conducted a nuclear test, it is absolutely unacceptable and we must launch a strong protest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: To find out what the reaction has been in Beijing, for that, Steven Jiang is standing by live.

Steven, what are the Chinese officials say?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU SENIOR PRODUCER: The Chinese foreign ministry just issued a statement urging North Korea to abide by its international commitments and to stop any action that would further worsen the situation. And says the only way to achieve that is through dialogues and talks in the framework of the six party talks.

What is more interesting is a commentary pushed earlier. That article did point out that the latest test was in violation of U.N. Resolutions, but also it puts the whole thing in the contest of the South Korean government's decision to deploy a missile defense system saying that has seriously harmed the region's balance and triggered the escalation of tensions in the region. So it lists the latest test as well as more recent missile tests as examples are trying to drive home the point China has been making that the deployment would trigger an arms race here in the region.

So it seems interesting that the Chinese government here is trying to address several audiences, not only to Pyongyang, but to Seoul and Washington, as well. Because anytime they tests happen, it has a direct impact on the residents of the border region. Earlier today, state media reported residents living in the area felt strong and obvious tremors at the time of the nuclear test. Environmental protect has launched an emergency respond. So far, no abnormal readings have been noted -- John?

[02:35:54] VAUSE: Steven, we should note, that the South Koreans deployed that Thad missile defense system, which they got from the United States, I think it was because of the ballistic missile launches by the North Koreans, so this just goes on and on and on. But given that editorial, nothing happened in China without the Communist government controlling it, putting it out there, is that an indication when this gets to the Security Council, the Chinese may perhaps put the blame on the South Koreans?

JIANG: Well, John, the Chinese government in move recent years and months having grudgingly going along with tougher U.N. sanctions against North Korea because Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, after he took power three years ago also felt a lot of frustration and anger with the North Koreans repeated defiance against international rules and sanctions. But because of that deployment, things are getting more complex because the Chinese are going to play a game of striking some sort of balance. So we have seen some falling out between them recently. Xi Jinping received a delegate from Pyongyang back in June. But now with the latest nuclear tests that may be thrown off the table, as well. So from the Beijing perspective, this is a situation that it does not want to see -- John?

VAUSE: It's a long time since the relationship has been described as being like lips and teeth, isn't, Steven?

Thank you very much, Steven Jiang, live there in Beijing.

We'll take a short break. When we come back, Donald Trump raising concerns over his rekindled bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. What Republicans in Congress are saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:41:02] VAUSE: Donald Trump is going to bat for Russian President Vladimir Putin again. He tells the Russian-funded TV network, "R.T.," that Mr. Putin is probably not meddling in the U.S. election.

Hillary Clinton is blasting Trump for his praise of Putin. She did that on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Bizarrely, once again, he praised Russia's strong man, Vladimir Putin, even taking the astonishing step of suggesting that he prefers the Russian president to our American president. Now, that is not just unpatriotic and insulting to the people of our country as well as to our commander-in- chief. It is scary. Because it suggests he will let Putin do whatever Putin wants to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: republican vice presidential candidate, Mike Pence, is doing what running mates do, protecting the top of the ticket, especially about those comments about Mr. Putin.

He spoke exclusively with CNN's chief political correspondent, Dana Bash.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Last night, Donald Trump said that Vladimir Putin has been a leader, quote, "been a leader far more than our president has been a leader." Do you share that view?

MIKE PENCE, (R), INDIANA GOVERNOR & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a great analogy between the time that Ronald Reagan was willing to name what the greatest threat to the people of the United States, which was the Communist Soviet Union. He called it an evil empire. Just a few short weeks ago, in Youngstown, Ohio, Donald Trump, unlike Hillary Clinton, was able to name what is the greatest threat to the people in the United States today. Both men identified the signature threat of the time. They named it, they challenged it, and developed strategies to --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: But, Governor, Donald Trump said that Vladimir Putin has been a leader far more than the president of the United States. Do you share that view?

PENCE: Well, remember, Ronald Reagan spoke boldly on the --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: But I'm not talking about Donald Trump. If you can answer the question about the current -- --

(CROSSTALK)

PENCE: But it was Ronald Reagan also who met with Gorbachev and demonstrated that you can speak, as Teddy Roosevelt said, you can walk softly and carry a big stick. You can speak boldly and plainly, but you can have relationships with people on the world stage.

BASH: Do you personally think that Vladimir Putin is a stronger leader than the current president?

PENCE: I think it's inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country. And that's going to change the day that Donald Trump becomes the president of the United States of America.

Look, you've seen incidents in this --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Obviously -- I mean, I don't need to tell you because you were in Congress. Barack Obama has a true democracy here with the Congress that pushes back because there's checks and balances. Vladimir Putin doesn't have that.

PENCE: That's exactly right.

BASH: So --

PENCE: And Donald Trump said last night he doesn't particularly like the system.

BASH: While on foreign policy, I have to ask you, you mentioned last night that Mr. Trump said that the generals, quote, "have been reduced to rubble under President Obama and Hillary Clinton." Do you agree with that? And is that how a commander-in-chief should speak about the military brass?

PENCE: I think the American people are deeply troubled at the foreign policy and American policy of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that has caused the wider Middle East to spin out of control. We've seen civil war in Syria. We've seen civil war in Libya. We've seen entire areas of Iraq that --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: But, Governor, Mr. Trump is specifically talking about the generals. The generals have been reduced to rubble. It wasn't talking about --

PENCE: But, Dana, I actually think -- in all due respect, I think he was talking about the commander-in-chief reducing the influence of generals to rubble. I think the truth is that the leadership that we have had at the top, and you heard Donald Trump talk about that last night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, Republicans in Congress are not happy with Trump and his praise for Vladimir Putin.

Our senior political reporter, Manu Raju, has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:45:16] MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): The reviews for Donald Trump were, in a word, rough. Senate Foreign Relations chairman, Bob Corker, is a Trump supporter, but not so of Trump's praising of Putin.

SEN. BOB CORKER, (R), TENNESSEE: I think one has to be careful to let flattery influence how you feel about someone. We obviously have tremendous differences in our two countries national interests. There are things that we should be aligned with them on, like the fight against terrific, but, with you know, he's been fairly ruthless.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Trump is making the mistake for the ages of thinking that Putin is a good leader and a constructive force.

RAJU: House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans distancing themselves from Trump's remarks, but trying to avoid criticizing their party's nominee.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Vladimir is an aggressor and does not share interests. And that is an adversarial stance and he is acting like an adversary.

RAJU (on camera): The concern, though, of Donald Trump praising Vladimir Putin?

RYAN: I made my points about Putin clear right there. I'll leave it at that.

RAJU (voice-over): John McCain, in a tough re-election in Arizona, where he needs to win over Trump backers, declined to weigh in.

(on camera): What do you think about Trump praising Putin?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), ARIZONA: I don't have any comments to make. I've been busy with the defense authorization bill and that's been the focus of all my attention. And I did not observe what happened --

RAJU: But you've obviously been very critical of Putin.

MCCAIN: What's that?

RAJU: You've always been very critical of Putin.

MCCAIN: Of course, I have. He's a murderer and a thug.

RAJU: Ohio Senator Rob Portman, in a battle back home to save his seat, criticizing Putin and Obama.

SEN. ROB PORTMAN, (R), OHIO: I think we have to restore American leadership. RAJU: The fallout comes as Republicans debate Trump's temperament,

namely whether he can be trusted with the nuclear codes.

Some, like Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and Nevada Congressman Joe Heck, who is running for the Senate, are behind Trump.

(on camera): You're completely supporting him?

REP. JOE HECK, (R), NEVADA & NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: I am.

RAJU: Do you trust him having his finger on the nuclear button?

HECK: I do.

RAJU: Why do YOU say that?

HECK: Why wouldn't I?

RAJU (voice-over): Others won't answer the question.

(on camera): Do you trust him having his finger on the nuclear button?

UNIDENTIFIED CONGRESSMAN: I support the Republican nominees.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA: My race is about me.

RAJU: Are you comfortable with him having his finger on the nuclear button?

(voice-over): And Ted Cruz, who famous declined to endorse Trump at the GOP convention, avoiding talking about his former presidential rival.

(on camera): Do you have any concerns with Trump praising Putin last night?

Do you want to weigh in at all?

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A short break. When we come back, a half century of "Star Trek." In a moment, we'll hear from Captain Kirk himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: What is it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:52:05] VAUSE: It's been 50 years since one of the most ground breaking shows in tv history came into many living rooms for the first time. And it began like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHATNER (voice-over): Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship "Enterprise." Its five-year mission, to explore strange, new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: "Star Trek" ran for just three seasons during the late 60s, and explored more social issues than any TV show before it, issues like race, religion, drugs, sexuality. Today, "Star Trek" encompasses a number of spin-offs, cartoons and conventions.

William Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk, and he spoke to our Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: When you were making that series, was there any feeling amongst you all that you were doing something different, something that would become of iconic legend status?

SHATNER: No more than you and I saying that this interview is going to be so special that 50 years from now they're going to hold it up as an example of a great interview. Does that sound a little farfetched?

QUEST: I think it is in the realms of impossibility.

SHATNER: And that is what we thought, if somebody had suggested that 50 years from now we would be talking about "Star Trek." If that had been suggested back then, we would have considered them slightly addled.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Finally, when he was asked about Aleppo, U.S. Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, made a gaffe heard around the world. But how does that compare to other notorious gaffes by American politicians?

Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We dare you to try and look away, even if you've seen it 10 times already.

MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR: What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo? GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER NEW MEXICO

GOVERNOR: And what is Aleppo?

LAUER: You're kidding?

JOHNSON: No.

MOOS: The exchange instantly gave birth to #whatisAleppo.

Granted, 11 out of 14 people we asked on the street --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's Aleppo? I wouldn't know.

MOOS: -- couldn't identify the Syrian city at the epicenter of the refugee crisis.

(on camera): What is Aleppo?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. But I know the Libertarian candidate got it wrong and I don't know it, either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of those animals?

MOOS: It's not an animal.

(voice-over): Speaking of animals, someone tweeted, "Donald Trump probably wouldn't know the difference between Aleppo and Alpo."

(on camera): But when you're criticizing somebody for screwing up, you better be sure you don't screw up yourself.

(voice-over): A former U.S. ambassador to Iraq called Libertarian Johnson "Aleppo Johnson" and then proceeded to mischaracterize Aleppo.

UNIDENTIFIED FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR: The capitol of ISIS --

MOOS: Actually, the capitol of ISIS is Raqqa, not Aleppo.

"The New York Times" made the same mistake and printed a correction and then a correction to the correction.

Candidates hate what they consider to be "gotcha" questions.

So then-Governor Bush gave as good as he "gotcha."

[02:55:20] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you name the president of Chechnya?

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. Can you?

MOOS: But what happened to Johnson wasn't a "gotcha." It was more like what happened to Sarah Palin.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Do you agree with the doctrine?

SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR & FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In what respect?

MOOS: And when Herman Cain asked if he agreed with President Obama on Libya --

HERMAN CAIN, (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: OK. Libya.

MOOS: -- the silence was deafening.

CAIN: I've got all this stuff twirling around in my head.

MOOS: What wasn't twirling in Rick Perry's head was the third department he would eliminate.

RICK PERRY, (R), FORMER TEXAS GOVERNOR & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's the third one? Let's see.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Gary Johnson said he first thought Aleppo was an acronym. "I blanked. Trying to guess would be worse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could it be a disease?

MOOS: One tweet framed Johnson's gaffe as if it were "Jeopardy," "a three-word sentence meaning end of campaign."

Johnson, "What is Aleppo?" Trebek sighing, "That is correct, Gary."

Jeanne Moos, CNN.

JOHNSON: And what is Aleppo?

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

Stay with us. The news continues with Natalie Allen.

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