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Jane Goodall Makes Impact on Chimpanzee Populations; A Look Inside War-Torn Aleppo During Syrian Ceasefire; Ford Slams Trump After Comments on Moving Plant to Mexico; African-American Thoughts on Barack Obama. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 15, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:33:39] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Jane Goodall is one of the world's top experts on chimpanzees. She's been making an impact as an animal activist for more than 50 years and her latest mission focuses on the human habitat, and both species of primates are Benefitting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Jane Goodall, a plane ride over Tanzania led to a troubling realization.

JANE GOODALL, ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: When I flew over the national park where I began studying chimps in 1960, I was shocked?

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: She discovered the chimpanzee population was rapidly shrinking and the human population wasn't faring well, either.

GOODALL: There were clearly more people living on that land than the land could support. Unless we could do something to help the people live better lives we couldn't even try to save the chimpanzees.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Goodall reached out to local villagers.

GOODALL: We asked them, what did they feel that we could do to help them. One was to grow more food. Two was to have better health. And three was to have better education for their children.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Jane Goodall Institute started proving microcredit loans to villagers to help them grow food and raise livestock.

GOODALL: We've seen the complete cycle of regeneration, villagers' lives improving, education going up, affecting the start of a downward trend in family size.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Over-farmed fields have recovered. Barren lands that once divided chimps have grown back, reconnecting the population.

GOODALL: Animals on the brink of extinction can be given another chance when people care and are determined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Coming up next, CNN takes you live to Aleppo where the Syrian ceasefire is holding for now. We will take you inside this devastated Syrian city, which has become the epicenter of the refugee crisis. We'll show you what life is like for the people who remain. Do not miss this.

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[14:36:00] BALDWIN: To this ongoing crisis in Syria. CNN is live in the war-torn city of Aleppo today where a fragile cease-fire appears to be holding, even as one of the ceasefire's main goals seems yet to be met. Desperately needed humanitarian aid is not getting to thousands of hungry starving people within the city. Also you have Moscow and Washington pointing fingers of blame at each other for violating the ceasefire.

So let's to Aleppo, to our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, who's live for us.

9:35 your time in Syria. Fred, tell me about what you're seeing, those who remain, what you're hearing and about the cease-fire.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a horrible situation here on the ground, Brooke, we drove into the city earlier today and even driving in here you can see the fierce battle scars this city had to endure. We went through the southwestern entrance to the city which is where some of the heaviest fighting was taking place right before the cease-fire went into effect and every building in the area that we went through was absolutely destroyed. We later went into a neighborhood, which used to be on the front line, and buildings are badly damaged or destroyed. And there are still people living in the ruins, many saying they simply don't have these people, even the smallest things are special.

Many of them have been dealing with the shelling over the past couple years. And some kids we spoke to say this is the first time they're able to go out. And they were happy to even collect firewood so that their parents could cook them something warm to eat.

You're right, Brooke. The big issue right now is getting aid to the eastern part of the city, the rebel-held part of the city. The U.S. and Russia trying to broker an agreement to make sure U.N. aid trucks can go through. Doesn't appear as though it's there yet, but it appears a road leading into the city is being readied to service those needs and get those trucks. And that's the Costello Road. We saw some preparations that seem to be under way.

It's a waiting game to see when the aid will get through. Then also, Brooke, will the ceasefire even hold? You were already saying the Russian and U.S. already pointing the fingers of blame at each other.

BALDWIN: Have to get those roads open to get the aid to the people.

Fred Pleitgen, live in Aleppo. Fred, thank you so much.

Up next, a CNN exclusive, Donald Trump slamming Ford Motor Company today for moving part of its business to Mexico. Ford striking back hard. The company's CEO joins us live to respond, next.

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[14:42:46] BALDWIN: Ford Motor Company has a strong message for Donald Trump after Donald Trump has slammed the automaker for its plan over the course of the next two to three years to shift all North American small-car production from the U.S. to Mexico. Ford plans to build a $1.6 billion factory just across the border.

Here is what Donald Trump said about that decision.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): I think they maybe announced it today because they think I'm going to win and stop them. I have a way of stopping them very, very easily and the politicians have that way, too but I don't know if they know about it and, number two, basically, when they make their car and they think they'll get away with this and they fire all their employees in the United States, they move to Mexico, when that car comes back across the border into our country, that now comes in free, we're going to charge them a 35 percent tax. And you know what will happen? They'll never leave.

TRUMP (on camera): But to think that Ford is moving its small-car division is a disgrace. It's a disgraceful. It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico. Now cars are made in Mexico and you can't drink the water in Flint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was Trump today. How is Ford responding to that? Let's find out and go directly to the CEO for that.

Poppy Harlow is joining me.

Poppy Harlow, the floor is yours.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Brooke, thank you so much.

Joining me now, Mark Fields, the chief executive of Ford Motor Company, joining us for an exclusive interview in Michigan.

Mark, thank you for being with us today.

MARK FIELDS, CEO, FORD MOTOR COMPANY: Oh, hi, Poppy.

HARLOW: Let's talk about this. Donald Trump said, and I quote, that Ford will, quote, "fire all of its employees in the United States," as you move that small car production to Mexico in the next two to three years. Is he right? FIELDS: Well, Poppy, it's really unfortunate when politics get in the

way of the facts. And the facts are Ford's investment in the U.S. and commitment to American jobs has never been stronger. We have created more than 28,000 jobs in the U.S. in the last five years. We've invested more than $12 billion. We produce more vehicles here in the U.S. than any other automaker by far. And we employ more hourly workers, here in our plants, more than any automaker by far. So we are very committed here and those are the facts.

[14:45:21] HARLOW: So it is not true that Ford will be, quote, "firing all of its employees in the United States?" Will Ford cut any U.S. jobs as a result of this move? One? Any single one?

FIELDS: Absolutely not. Zero. And what we announced is that we'll be moving our focus out of Michigan so that we can compete more financially in that particular segment. But at the same time -- and that's an agreement we have with the UAW. And what we'll be doing is we'll be replacing those products with two very exciting new products, so not one job will be lost. And most of our investment is here in the U.S. And that's the way it will continue to be.

HARLOW: So Mr. Trump is wrong, is that correct, Mark?

FIELDS: That is correct.

HARLOW: OK. Here's the concern, because when you are opening this $1.6 billion plant in Mexico, you will be creating new jobs in Mexico, about 2,800 new jobs. The question is, why are you creating them in Mexico and not in the United States?

FIELDS: Well, first off, we create jobs in many of the places we do business. As I said earlier, we've created 28,000 jobs in the U.S. And we'll be retaining or creating another 8,500 over the next three or four years. And we're a global company and we produce in many different places. And this is around growing our company globally of which, by the way, all the profitability for those global operations come back to the U.S. where we then can decide where do we invest that going forward? As I mentioned, a majority of that investment is done here in the United States.

HARLOW: Let's talk about that. You've said that before, Mark. You said, we're a global company. You make and sell your cars all over the world. But Ford has a significance to the history of the United States in manufacturing in this country. Think back to the Model T.

FIELDS: Yeah.

HARLOW: In this day and age, in 2016, should people think about Ford as a U.S. company? Is Ford still a U.S. company? And do you see a responsibility to keep a certain amount of jobs in the United States or is this about global competiveness in 2016?

FIELDS: It's about both. It's about global competitiveness in the day and age we are because, as a company, we have to be competitive because that way we earn a good return, we can reinvest in our business, and keep growing jobs. At the same point, we feel strongly that it's important for us to be strong in our home market. And we have a strong market share here. As I mentioned, we employ more hourly workers than any over automaker. The majority of our investments for R&D are done in the U.S. Yes, it's extremely important for us to be strong in our home market, and we are.

HARLOW: Donald Trump also said today, reiterating something he's said before, that if you do this and, it he's president, he will slap a 35 percent tariff on cars made in Mexico, imported into the United States. To be clear, he would have to have Congress's backing to do that. And the last time a big tariff was instituted in the United States back during the Great Depression, all the economists agree it made the Great Depression worse.

Put that aside. Is there anything Donald Trump could do if president that would convince Ford not to move this production to Mexico?

FIELDS: Listen, overall, we're a global company. We invest globally. Whatever administration is in power, we -- is elected, we have a history as a company of working with every administration with the goal of having economic development in mind, not only for our home market like the U.S., but wherever we do business. So we'll work with whoever is in the White House.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: But to make it clear for the American people, is there anything the next president could do that would make you say, all right, fine, those jobs -- we won't make this investment in Mexico, we won't build those cars there?

FIELDS: As I said, we invest most of our money in the U.S. from an R&D and now a manufacturing standpoint in North America. But clearly, looking at the tax code, simplifying that, regulatory certainty, is always very beneficial, and also, a level playing field when it comes to trade agreements, and those we think will continue to be very important as we look to do our part to drive economic development here in the U.S.

HARLOW: So if Trump were president, and able to get a 35 percent tariff, would you still build the car there if the rest of the tax landscape looked the same?

[14:50:05] FIELDS: Well, listen, Poppy, there's lots of hypothetical. We have to run our business on what we now today and, as I said, we're running our business and our plan to invest in the U.S. and globally, and we'll see what happens.

HARLOW: Let me ask you this, Mark. You have been -- up until today, right now, you have not come out and publicly responded to the slams that Donald Trump has made on Ford, on our company. You made the decision today to do so. Why? Why respond now?

FIELDS: Well, we have laid out the facts over the last year of things that have been said on the campaign trail. Our role is to just lay out the facts. Facts are stubborn things sometimes, but they're facts, and we'll continue to lay them out in a season of a lot of political activity.

HARLOW: But why you? Why are you speaking out as the CEO of Ford? You, in the past, haven't directly chosen to respond to Mr. Trump. I know you've written him a letter before laying out the facts, but is this personal to you at this point, Mark?

FIELDS: Well, overall, we just want to set the facts straight. And we have talked about that in the past, we will continue, Poppy, to lay out the facts. And the facts are, our commitment to investment and jobs in America has never been stronger.

HARLOW: Final question for you. I literally just got off a plane two hours ago from Ohio. I spent the last few days in Ohio, all over the state yesterday, all day in southern Ohio, along the Rustbelt, where a lot of those auto jobs have disappeared, where the manufacturing base has been depleted. And a number of those workers, even life-long Democrats, told me they are voting for Donald Trump. And they told me they believe he can bring the manufacturing jobs back to the United States, even though I laid out the issues in doing that to them and said it's unlikely these jobs will come back with technology and the progress we've made there with globalization, with these trade agreements. The thing is, Mark, they believe Donald Trump will, as they told me, "try." They feel like he's the only one who will try. What do you say to those workers?

FIELDS: Well, what I say to those workers is, when it comes to Ford, our commitment to investing and creating jobs in the U.S. has never been bigger, even in Ohio. We have a number of plants we've invested in over last five years creating some great jobs. And we will continue to do that no matter who is in the White House.

BALDWIN: Mark Fields, Ford CEO, thank you very much.

Stay with us. We'll talk more with Mark. You'll see that on CNNmoney.com.

Brooke, I throw it back to you.

BALDWIN: All right, Poppy, Mark, thank you so much.

Coming up next, back to the barbershop with my candid conversation with some Atlanta voters. Fiery responses. Today's focus, how do they think President Obama has done these last eight years? Do not miss this.

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[14:54:42] BALDWIN: The barbershop known for candor and politics and perspective and, in 2016, it's a fun place to be. I went to the Graffiti Swag Shop in Atlanta to hear all sides. They talked Trump, Clinton. And today, you'll hear about their thoughts on President Barack Obama.

You're going to hear more of our conversation with a couple of folks, six people, including Michael Render, known as Killer Mike, a rapper and activist, and the Swag Shop's owner; Taj Anwar Baoil, a firefighter and urban farmer; Shelley Winters, a Harlem native, voting for Donald Trump; Jamida Orange, whose father marched many miles with Dr. Martin Luther King; Kalonji Changa, a grass-roots activists and local leader who isn't voting at all on the national level; and Christine White, an attorney who is all in for Hillary Clinton.

Here is the last piece of our conversation.

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BALDWIN: President Obama, they did an interview with "Essence" magazine, and, thing about it, there are kids in this country who all they know is a black president.

MIKE "KILLER MIKE" RENDER, RAPPER & ACTIVIST & OWNER, GRAFFITI SWAG BARBER SHOP: My 9-year-old daughter.

BALDWIN: You're 9-year-old daughter. That's normal for her?

RENDER: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: What do you think having a black president in office as long as we have, how will that affect black families in this country moving forward?

SHELLEY WINTERS, HARLEM NATIVE & TRUMP SUPPORTER: It should have affected them positively, as I said, in 2008, when I voted for Barack Obama.

BALDWIN: You went rogue from Republican voting?

WINTERS: No, I went to the change. I wanted the change. He told me I'm going to D.C., I'm going to change. That's why I like Trump. He's a complete outsider. Going to change. What's surprising to me is when President Barack Obama became president I started seeing the worst television shows, depictions of my women that ever came about, when he became president.

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTINE WHITE, ATTORNEY: That's the most irrational argument I have ever heard in my life.

WINTERS: Really.

WHITE: That's completely irrational based on nothing.

WINTERS: What our kids saw was the most beautiful couple, the most powerful couple in the world being black, but their images were destructive on a constant basis for eight years. Before that, I had Cosby, I had Martin, I had "Different World," I had black colleges, that's what I had in the media. Now I have trash.

(APPLAUSE)

(CROSSTALK)

WINTERS: Don't you ever tell me that --

(CROSSTALK)

RENDER: Come on now.

BALDWIN: Christine, go ahead. What do you think the impact eight years? Was it Diddy who said "shortchanged?" He gave love to the president but he said black folks are shortchanged?

WHITE: I don't think that that has weight as it compares to the things that have occurred, to the $1.2 million give on the black farmers or that black farmers had to fight for and this Obama legislation oversaw, the health care act, which impacted African- American communities in extreme ways, there are so many, the expansion of money to HBCUs (ph). As a former prosecutor, I never thought I would see the day when the crack cocaine sentencing would be bridged?

JAMIDA ORANGE, ACTIVIST: I love Barack. I love Barack and Michelle to death. The reason I'm going to give him a B-plus/A-minus is because I'm angry. He didn't do nothing for me as a black woman with the Supreme Court.

WINTERS: I agree. I agree.

ORANGE: Had he been Hillary, had he been Donald, we would have ripped them to shreds.

WINTERS: Absolutely.

ORANGE: And we didn't.

RENDER: Why you say that?

ORANGE: And we didn't.

(CROSSTALK)

ORANGE: He got a pass.

RENDER: The reason I would travel between C-plus and b-minus is this. As a black person, my life has not dramatically changed. I'm a regular, just above middle-class black dad, and I've seen every other group of people that gave their loyalty to him get something big. Now I don't think it's his fault. I don't think he meant to do it. But through serendipity or whatever, through the last seven years of his presidency, we are the only group that's fallen deep into poverty. So I'm saying to our president, I love you, you are the greatest symbol of a black man I have to offer to my children in the political realm. I don't think you should be on that picture with Martin and Malcolm.

KALONJI CHANGA, ACTIVIST: You have a president whose middle name is Hussein and still Hussein has killed more folks with drone attacks than both Bushes. You understand what I'm saying? We're dealing with a situation where you talk -- when you say Black Lives Matter, the first thing they jump up is say, "all lives matter," yet I just gave you those statistics, so we know that's not true. We talk about black-on-black crime then we look at World War II and World War I, where more white folks killed more white folks than others in any history of the world. So how are we going to trust another lying politician?

TAJ ANWAR BAOIL, ACTIVIST: With everything happening, black people from getting more woke.

ORANGE: I agree.

BAOIL: So as they're learning what's going on, they're getting pissed off. At the beginning, we were like black president, black first lady, oh, god, this is so great.

(CROSSTALK)

BAOIL: Look, his hair is nappy. Michelle is so voluptuous. We were so in love with image that we were not making our president responsibility.

BALDWIN: If you feel woke now, how do you take that and apply it to 2016?

WINTERS: I'm going for Trump because I'm woke. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The empire is my enemy and the enemy of my people. The empire is totally, totally, totally against this man.

WHITE: I don't believe we can say, oh, well, the system is corrupt and Trump is corrupt, too, so I'll go for the corrupt Trump, as opposed to the corrupt system. Trump has proven himself to be corrupt as well. What I believe is there is a certain amount of influence that we will have over Hillary Clinton if she is elected. I think we need to use that influence but we cannot be naive.

ORANGE: This generation, we have to come together. They have to come together with a platform. Whether you're for Hillary or Trump, when we present them with --