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Trump Criticized for Embracing Putin; Bracing for Selling on Wall Street. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 12, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:33:56] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him. I've already said he is really very much of a leader. I mean you can say, oh, isn't that a terrible thing he called the man. I mean the man has very strong control over a country. Now it's a very different system and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly in that system he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump continues to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a better leader than President Obama. But what does Vladimir Putin think of Donald Trump? Vladimir Pozner is a Russian generalist and TV personality. He knows Vladimir Putin and he joins us now live.

Mr. Pozner, thanks so much for being here. What does Vladimir Putin think of Donald Trump?

VLADIMIR POZNER, RUSSIAN JOURNALIST/TV PERSONALITY: Well, what did - what did Vladimir Putin say about - about Trump? He said only once, and he said - he used the word, the Russian word (speaking in Russian), which, in Russian, if it's about the sunshine or about the day, it means a very bright day or a bright sun. When applied to a human being, it means colorful. That's basically it. And it's the only thing he's said about Trump. So he's not said a good word or a bad word, he's just given him that kind of characteristic. You know, flamboyant, basically that's what he said.

[08:35:10] CAMEROTA: Huh. So Donald Trump is misinterpreting, in other words, that Vladimir Putin has complimented him and calling him strong, which is what Donald Trump is basing his compliments on?

POZNER: you know, you know, not only Donald Trump, there's been a lot in the U.S. press about Putin tactically supporting Donald Trump. There's no proof of that whatsoever. I mean he's just really said only one word and that's it. And I think Putin's very careful about not saying anything about either of the candidates, simply understanding that that would be very counterproductive. So I think there's a lot of misunderstanding here. Maybe it's deliberate. But the fact of the matter is, that he has not said any positive thing about Trump or Hillary Clinton.

CAMEROTA: But what of the other things that is leading to his feeling that Vladimir Putin wants Donald Trump to win is that our intelligence officials in the U.S. believe that Russia was behind the hacking into the DNC computers and thereby trying to sway the election towards Donald Trump? What's your response to that?

POZNER: Well, according to the information I have, the Russians are really good hackers. As a matter of fact, they're the best in the world. Again, according to the information I have. How that can affect the election - : CAMEROTA: From the Russian government.

POZNER: No, no, I'm saying, you know, the Russians are very good at this. There are a lot of Russians working in Silicon Valley who are very well known for having that - been masters of that kind of thing. It's - it's not the Russian government, it's the - they're concrete people who know how to do it. Now, whether the Russian government has used some of these people to hack into very secret information is quite possible. I think that there's generally a lot of hacking going on, on both sides. Everyone's trying to hack everyone else.

What I find doubtful is an attempt on the part of the Russian government to influence the elections in the United States. I don't see how they can possibly do that. Now, if, indeed they have this information concerning the e-mails that have disappeared, and then in October suddenly they appear, and they come from the Russian side, then one might say, yes, indeed. Then you would have a reason to say that the Russians, the Russian government, is trying to influence the elections and probably that would influence the elections. But if that doesn't happen, then again it's just - it's just campaign rhetoric. That's all it is.

CAMEROTA: But you know Vladimir Putin. Do you think that he wants Donald Trump to win the election?

POZNER: Pardon me?

CAMEROTA: You know Vladimir Putin. So give us some insight. Do you think he's pulling for Donald Trump on some level?

POZNER: Um, you know, I don't know him that well. I - you know, I've met him. I - I had a one-on-one with him for about an hour. I've met him a few times after that. I can't say I know him in any intimate way.

I don't think so. I think Putin is very - he doesn't trust any of the western leaders. I think he feels that the west has it in for him, and has it in for Russia. I think his view is that you can't really make any serious deals. It's very difficult to do that. Time and again he feels he has been misled by the west. The enlargement of NATO is just one example of that.

So I think that his feeling is, it really doesn't matter who becomes president of the United States insofar as Russia is concerned. Russia is going to be consistently under pressure from the U.S. Mr. Putin's going to be under pressure. And I don't think he really thinks there's much of a difference in that sense between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

CAMEROTA: Vladimir Pozner, we appreciate you sharing your experience and your reporting with us. Great to get your insight. Thank you.

Let's get to Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, it started with just one player. Now, more and more NFL athletes are protesting the national anthem, or at least protesting during the national anthem. We're going to speak with a former Seattle Seahawk and Green Beret who's been advising Colin Kaepernick. We also have James Blake here, tennis star, to discuss the issues, next.

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[08:43:30] CAMEROTA: Time now for the five things to know for your new day.

Number one, Hillary Clinton canceling a two-day West Coast trip to recover at home. Clinton's doctor says she is being treated for pneumonia. This is since Friday. And that was before this video shows her stumbling into a van as she left the 9/11 memorial service early.

Donald Trump reacting to Clinton's health incident, saying he hopes she gets well and gets back on the trail. This as his campaign slams Clinton with a new - a new ad about her basket of deplorables comments.

Syrian rebel groups say they have reservations as the hours tick closer to the brokered cease-fire set to take hold at sundown. At least 100 people were killed in air strikes in and around Aleppo since the agreement was announced.

A growing number of NFL players staging silent protests during the national anthem. They are following the lead of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who says it's all about standing up against racial injustice.

Miss Arkansas, Savvy Shields, has been crowned Miss America. The 21- year-old who studies at the University of Arkansas beat out the competition's 51 other contestants to claim that title.

For more on the five things to know, you can go to newdaycnn.com for all of the latest.

Chris.

CUOMO: It is time for CNN Money "Now." Chief business correspondent Christine Romans in the Money Center.

Sounds like it could be another rough day on the street. Why?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, a really quiet summer and now global markets are under pressure. U.S. futures indicate more selling, Chris. On Friday, all three major averages tanked more than 2 percent. Here's why. Investors are nervous central banks will stop pumping billions of dollars into the global economy as a Fed rate hike by the end of the year looms.

[08:45:11] A big story here in Tesla. Tesla will update its autopilot software in the next two weeks. The driver assistance technology is blamed for a fatal accident back in May. Now this upgrade uses radar, not just a camera, to identify objects. The electric carmaker says that would have prevented May's fatal crash.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Thanks so much, Christine.

Well, Colin Kaepernick's protest of the national anthem is spreading across the NFL and beyond. So what do those who have served think about this? What do police? We talked to former NFL player and Green Beret Nate Boyer about his message for Kaepernick. That's next.

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CUOMO: 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's silent protest during the national anthem is sparking more debate and more players to get into the mix. Some showing solidarity. Some showing resistance. During the first week of the NFL's regular season, some players kneeled, like Kaepernick. Others raised their fists. Some teams locked arms, or at least one, the Seattle Seahawks did, showing solidarity. A player from the New England Patriots held the American flag.

[08:50:15] We're joined now by former Green Beret and Seattle Seahawk Nate Boyer, who stood by Colin Kaepernick earlier this month, and we have former professional tennis player and CNN U.S. Open Tennis analyst James Blake. And, of course, you had your own experience with police use of excessive force.

CAMEROTA: That (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: It was judged to be that almost exactly a year ago.

JAMES BLAKE, FORMER PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: Yes.

CUOMO: So, Nate, let's start with where we've evolved on this. You support Colin Kaepernick's right to do this. What are you seeing this evolve into in the league and how do you feel about it?

NATE BOYER, FMR. GREEN BERET, FMR. SEATTLE SEAHAWK: Well, you know, I mean, just like you said, I support his right more than anything. That is a right that I fought for and many Americans did. And it's what makes America great. That's what our country's all about, the freedoms to do exactly what he's doing, whether you agree with it or not.

I thought personally what Seattle did was incredibly powerful, showing that united stand where everybody on the team, including coaches, you know, were side by side, interlocking arms saying, look, we're together on this thing. We know that there are injustices that exist and we would like to see things improve and get better in our country and we want to be a part of that change. So - but at the same time, we are standing and recognizing the people that fought for this country, the people that serve currently, including both military and, you know, police, fire, all the service members.

CAMEROTA: James, some people thought that the Seahawks didn't go far enough. That they could have done more with their voice or their protest. Look, I mean, you can't win. Everybody has complaints on either side. You sort of have to take a stand. But given what you went through a year ago where you were misidentified, thrown to the ground, where are you on these protests?

BLAKE: Well, I agree with Nate that, first of all, thank you, Nate, for your service. I never mentioned it before this, so, thank you.

But I do believe that they fought for the freedom of speech, for everyone to protest in their own way and to peacefully protest, which I think is what's great about Colin's protest is that he did it peacefully. And I know some feel like it's disrespectful, but that's up to them and that's up to them to have their opinion and to voice that opinion. Whether you agree or disagree, you can have the conversation which I think Colin Kaepernick did start is this conversation.

CAMEROTA: So you think this is really - that it's working for you to - who was a victim of police excessive force, you think that what he is doing is getting all of this started in the country?

BLAKE: I do believe it's a great first step. I also applaud Colin for putting his money where his mouth is and donating $1 million to a community, and donating his jersey sales profit to this because I don't think this was something that was motivated by dollars and cents. I think it was, he saw something that he disagreed with in the country, saw treatment of individuals like himself and others and they didn't have a voice.

Same as when I had my incident happen. I know there were a lot of people that don't have a voice, don't have the voice that I have to get to the press, so I think he wants to speak for them. And he's - he's accomplished that. He's got us speaking about it still today, weeks after he did this first. And he has a lot of NFL players on his side.

CUOMO: Nate, what does it mean to you that jersey sales for Colin Kaepernick shot up after this, and what do you think about the ratio of how much we're talking about how he is acting versus what he's acting about?

BOYER: Yes, I think there is definitely such a focus on the gesture itself more than the mission behind it. And I totally agree with you, James, and thank you for your service on the tennis court. I appreciate watching you.

But, seriously, no, and the jersey sales, and I think it's amazing what he's doing that he's stepping up and he's putting his money where his mouth is, just like you said. And I - I just hope that every other player that's doing that, that's taking a stand, is all about the action behind it. You know, what are you going to do now? You're putting yourself in that sort of spotlight, and people are going to expect to see action.

And the fact that - when I sat down with Colin, you know, I had a couple hours, just me and him talking. And we talked about the fact that there are a lot of good police officers that do it the right way every day. And these are the type of people that want to move forward too and progress and improve on all these issues, especially the way that a lot of these communities are, you know, interacting with the police. There are certain cities that are doing it the right way.

I was fortunate to talk to the chief of police of Dallas yesterday, David Brown, and I mean that guy - if anybody has a right to kind of weigh in on the issue, considering his background, is him. And he wants to be a part of this, too. He would love to sit down, you know, with a group of whether it's athletes or - and police officers, people from the communities, and just sort of have a roundtable discussion. And, I mean, I would love to be a part of that, too. Obviously James, you'd -- you'd - you're invited if you want to come.

BLAKE: Yes, I would love to be a part of that.

BOYER: But, anyway, I mean -

CAMEROTA: There you go.

BOYER: Yes. I think that's - that's the key.

CAMEROTA: I mean we're bringing people together and having this conversation.

BOYER: That's the key. It's just discussions.

[08:55:03] CAMEROTA: That's always the, you know, silver lining of any of this stuff that hits the news.

Speaking of tennis, since Nate brought it up, you were at the U.S. Open last night. How'd that go?

BLAKE: It went great for Stan Wawrinka. He played unbelievable. I think he's one of the few people in the world that can really hit Novak Djokovic off the court and he was able to do that. I think it gives him a clearer sense of what he needs to do. He needs to play absolutely huge tennis, go for his shots, be aggressive and he did that. Novak faltered a little physically. He had a - he didn't have many matches coming into this - into this final and his feet really paid the price. He had some blood blisters and they were pretty gnarly. I saw him in the locker room afterwards and I don't envy his - how his feet are feeling today.

CAMEROTA: Nate, James - oh, wow. I didn't know we were going to have these foot b-roll. OK, I needed a warning for the viewers for that.

Gentlemen, thank you very much. Great to have this conversation with both of you.

"Good Stuff," that's next. Stick around.

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CUOMO: "Good Stuff." An unexpected hero comes to the rescue of a six- year-old girl who took a nasty fall in a rocky trail in Nevada. Broke her arm. It was former UFC champ Miesha Tate. She saw Kai's (ph) mom struggling to carry a little girl, offered to take Kai down safely the two mile descent. Kai's mom grateful for Miesha's help. Miesha said the rescue was one of the most rewarding days of her athletic career.

[09:00:10] CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, that's a great story.

All right, time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.