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Democratic Party's Future; Life After Ceasefire in Syria; Trump Touts Economy and Jobs; Model Kidnapped for Dark Web Auction; Aired 9:30-10:00a ET

Aired August 07, 2017 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL (D), CHICAGO: Poppy, though here's my -- and I spoke to the House Democrats. Here's my basic point. America has always been built on this fundamental core belief that tomorrow can be better than today and that your children's lives will be better than today. That's why President Clinton ran on, you know, don't stop thinking about tomorrow. President Obama ran about hope. It was an optimistic view of the future and your children's lives, for all the sacrifices you make, will be better than yours. This is the first generation where that's been turned on its head. People don't have that view of their children. It's not complicated. And every --

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: I get that, but are they telling you -- is the party telling this story the right way, mayor?

EMANUEL: Well --

HARLOW: Is your party doing it right?

EMANUEL: No, every -- yes, I think when you get to the core message. There is nothing in America that we have to fear out in the world if we take care of our own business. And we invest in the education, training of our workforce, invest in our basic fundamental research and then invest in our transportation and infrastructure. If we take care of our own business --

HARLOW: But it didn't work in 2016, right? This message didn't work.

EMANUEL: No, we never told -- we have to tell that -- Poppy, we have to tell that story and tell people how we, as a party, have not just a set of policies, but a vision where kids' lives tomorrow can be better than their parents. That's why the Chicago Star Scholarship about getting a b-average and making community college free. And if you keep your b average, you get 40 percent off the tuition at all our 17 universities in the city. It give parents a sense, a, they don't have to take a second mortgage, a second job or go into the poorhouse to give their kids a shot at the American dream.

HARLOW: So here's -- so here's --

EMANUEL: That's core to believing that tomorrow can be better than today.

HARLOW: Look, I think everyone is glad to see that happening in Chicago and kids thriving as a result of it. I know you -- you too have --

EMANUEL: Now in Rhode Island. Now in -- now in New York. And now in Tennessee.

HARLOW: But --

EMANUEL: And now in Oregon.

HARLOW: So let's talk about the national --

EMANUEL: That's the vision that we're all having.

HARLOW: Let's talk about -- and this is irregardless of party, right? You want kids to succeed.

But, quickly, before I go here, let me get you, though, on the leadership, because you had, you know, your fellow Democrat, Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, come out. He was asked on CBS, do you want this Democratic leadership, do you want Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer on the bumper stickers going into 2018? And he said, no way. And then he said, start winning with leadership that the American people can trust, not these old, tired Democratic partisan leadership. A new generation of leaders who are going to put the country first. Ouch! Tough words, but is he right?

EMANUEL: Yes. I would -- look, as a -- now you're asking me as a former DCCC chair, not the former chief of staff, so let me be really clear. What I want is candidates to reflect the districts they're running from, not what we as a national party think, but what the people they have to represent. Which is why in '06 and 2008 we won a collective 54 seats because we recruited candidates who reflect the districts and ran on a message and a story from minimum wage and other policies that again reinvested in America and the American people who built this country.

To me, the core message and the core recruitment has to be about people that reflect their district, not the national party. And if you build people that do that in the targeted districts that are winnable, doesn't mean -- look, if you go back, Democrats in the House level, OK, look, we're at the lowest level since 2007 at the Congress, the lowest level at the state house since 25 (ph). It is at a very low point, obviously. So you need candidates not from the city, rural areas are more Republican, that are in persuadable (ph) suburban districts. So on education, on the environment, on quality of life issues, that's core that Democrats can build a winning coalition in metropolitan suburban areas if we focus on a candidates and the story that works for the voters that are living their lives in those districts.

That's where the majority is for us. And we have to be focused like a laser on where that majority is winnable.

HARLOW: Look, you're the one who led the effort for Dems to retake Congress in 2006. You know what this is like. They're wrapping me in the control room. Yes or no answer, is this leadership, Pelosi/Schumer, the leadership to do that? EMANUEL: Poppy, I really like you, I don't think that's a good

question, so therefore it's not -- people --

HARLOW: You did that to Dana Bash too. You did that to Dana Bash as well. I know you don't --

EMANUEL: I'm going to do it to you too. When I -- when I don't -- when I don't think the question is relevant --

HARLOW: I know you don't like the question, but yes or no?

EMANUEL: Well, look, yes, it's a fine leadership, but what I want is the candidate that's going to be the leader of their district. And that's what I'm looking for. That's how you recruit candidates that win a majority. Because I don't think it's really a question that's relevant.

HARLOW: All right.

EMANUEL: It's a question that's relevant in the Washington corridor, it's not a question relevant in the suburban districts across the country.

HARLOW: We are dying on time, so I guess I'm going to let your -- you know, have to let that answer stay for what it is.

EMANUEL: Can I take my helmet and jersey off?

HARLOW: Yes, go ahead.

EMANUEL: All right.

HARLOW: Mayor Rahm Emanuel, thank you.

HARLOW: All right, breaking news out of Missouri this morning. A manhunt is underway for a suspect who killed a police officer. Officer Gary Michael was shot overnight when he made a traffic stop in Clinton, Missouri. Police say the suspect got out of his car, fired at the officer before running away. Officers think the suspect is still in the area, believed to be armed and dangerous.

[09:35:03] Officer Michael, 37 years old, was a member of the police department for less than a year. We will certainly keep you posted on this.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Now to a CNN exclusive.

One of the most violent battlefields in Syria, just outside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, now experiencing a bit of calm. A cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Russia is holding, but Israelis fear the truce might allow its arch enemies, Iran and Hezbollah, supporters of the Assad regime, to move in. [09:40:00] Here's Frederik Pleitgen's exclusive report from inside of

Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It was one of the most violent battlefields in Syria. Syrian army video shows fighting between government forces and rebels in Quneitra, right on Israel's doorstep. But now there's a cease-fire, tanks are parked, soldiers relaxed.

The fighting has significantly decreased since the cease-fire, this officer tells me. You totally notice that. We don't hear shelling anymore, but sometimes groups like the Nusra Front break the truce. Nusra is not part of the agreement. If they start shooting, we have to retaliate.

This is the front line, right in the heart of town. While both the U.S. and Russia brokered this truce, the Syrian government troops feel it's Russia that has the upper hand.

Russia has helped a lot, he says. They laid the groundwork for the cease-fire. They have the most power.

Quneitra is one of three areas in Syria where the U.S. and Russia negotiated truces between government and opposition forces.

PLEITGEN (on camera): The people here say, of course, they appreciate the calm since the cease-fire has been put in place, but they also say it's had almost an immediate impact on life here, with more people venturing out and many businesses opening their doors once again.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): A lull on the battlefield means more commotion at the barbershop, where Hadi al Assad (ph) works, and many soldiers and townspeople now come to get a trim.

We want this to be solved for good, he says. We just want our lives to be the way they were before.

Farming is also ramping up against. Nasir al Sayyed (ph) spends hours in the blazing sun threshing wheat. While he commends both Russia and America for brokering the truce, he's grateful only to Moscow.

If America would have wanted to solve this, they could have done it a long time ago, he says. Russia is working hard. They are strong allies.

From posts on the Golan Heights, Israel is observing things with growing unease. The Israelis fear the cease-fire could allow its arch enemies, Iran and Hezbollah, spotter supporters of the Assad government, to move forces into this area.

But at the moment, the people in this town aren't worried about bigger Middle Eastern security concerns. They're just enjoying the calm while it lasts.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Quneitra, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much for that reporting.

Ahead, the president cheering the latest economic numbers. The stock market is soaring. Unemployment is down. But not all the numbers are good news. Christine Romans here next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:46:57] HARLOW: Day 200 in the Trump administration and employment is up, unemployment is down, the stock market is soaring. Not all the numbers, though, are good news. How does this stack up and where do we have to go?

CNN Money chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here, looking refreshed from a nice family vacation.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A week off.

HARLOW: It's good to have you here.

ROMANS: Hi.

HARLOW: All this -- most of the topline numbers look good.

ROMANS: They do. They really do. And I want to stack them up against other presidents because this president talks about the surging economy and the surging job market. Let's look at the -- at the stock market in particular. We've called it the Trump bump or the Trump rally. You can see the S&P 500, that's the broadest gauge of stock market health in the first 200 days under this president, on your far right, 9.4 percent.

You can go back to that first chart, you can see how it stacks up against the other presidents. Barack Obama was in the beginning of a horrible recession and financial crisis. So his first 200 days saw the cratering of the market and then a recovery.

You can see George W. Bush had a 10 percent decline. Bill Clinton had a 3 percent rise. George H.W. Bush, this was the tech boom, a 21 percent jump in stocks. And Ronald Reagan down almost 2 percent.

So let's put this Trump rally in context. This next chart shows you just the red is the Trump part of it. Well, it looks an awful lot like we've seen over the last few years. This is a big, long, strong bull market, almost quadrupled starting under the Obama administration and now continuing into this Trump administration.

There is no question, a pro-business feeling on Washington. Those on Wall Street are seeing great corporate profits and they feel like this president is going to be good for business and good for their bottom line.

In terms of jobs added, this is really important. The president talking about the million jobs he has created in the first six months of the year.

HARLOW: Right.

ROMANS: That's true. Let's compare that to the last six months of the Obama administration. Just slightly ahead. I would say they're basically on par here.

HARLOW: Yes, on par.

ROMANS: The six months of this big -- great jobs creation million (ph) just about exactly what we saw the last six months of last year.

HARLOW: Wages -- I know we've got to go. Wages still a sticking point.

ROMANS: Wages are still a sticking point. And one of the first things that the president has done is rolled back some worker protections for overtime rules. So you could have seen more of a bump in wages arguably if President Trump hadn't rolled back some of those rules.

HARLOW: That's interesting.

All right, Christine Romans, thank you.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

HARLOW: We appreciate it very much.

Coming up very shortly, we're going to take you inside the heart of America's opioid crisis. It's our special report, "Hooked: America's Addicts." The place where this epidemic is spiraling out of control. The morgue is overflowing. We saw this firsthand, the number of overdose deaths is rising at a shocking rate. And what became very clear to us, this impacts everyone, from a former high school cheerleader, to the sheriff's wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: How does a 15-year-old cheerleader from Ohio start doing heroin?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got started my freshman year and I was doing good. I was cheerleading. Well, I ended up like not going to school as much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:54:09] HARLOW: This morning, new details of a shocking kidnapping of a British model who was set to be sold as a sex slave on the dark web. Twenty-year-old Chloe Ayling told authorities she was kidnapped in Italy, drugged, stuffed into a suitcase by two men. She says they loaded her into the trunk of a car, took her to a remote village. Their plan, auction her off on the dark web.

Joining me now from Rome, CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau. It is an unbelievable story. Thank goodness she somehow escaped. What

are you learning?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, the investigators right now are really concentrating on the Polish person who's been arrested. He says that he made 15 million euro over the course of several years selling women just like this young model. And the investigators want to know if it's true, if he made it up or if he really is part of some sort of sex trafficking ring that is selling women like this and whether or not there are other women who might be targeted by men like him and put up for sale on the dark web of the Internet.

[09:55:16] Poppy.

HARLOW: It is stunning. Barbie, thank you for the update. We'll learn more as it comes in. We appreciate it.

Ahead for us, America's top diplomat says Russia's election meddling has seriously damaged the relationship. The question is, what happens now after that sanctions bill was signed against Russia? We're following the latest developments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:07] HARLOW: Top of the hour, 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow. John Berman has the day off.