Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Of The United States Firing Off Three-Pointed Tweets Trashing One Of The Highest-Ranking Republican Senators, Bob Corker Of Tennessee; Authorities Found A New Clue In A Mysterious Note The Gunman Left Behind In His Hotel Room; Senior Iranian Military Leader Warned Today That Any New Sanctions By The U.S. Would Be Considered A Breach Of The Nuclear Deal; President Trump On Iran; North Korea And Rex Tillerson; Vice President Pence Leaves An NFL Game; A Police Body Cam Shows Shooting Of A Man; A U.S. School With A Lot Of Chinese Students. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 08, 2017 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, again, everyone and welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for being with us this Sunday.

All right. It's a new war of words in Washington, and this one is Republican versus Republican. This morning the President of the United States firing off three-pointed tweets trashing one of the highest-ranking Republican senators, Bob Corker of Tennessee.

President Trump firing off the first volley this morning saying Senator Bob Corker begged me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said no. And he dropped out, said he could not win without my endorsement. He also wanted to be secretary of state. I said, no thanks. He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran deal, hence I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn't have the guts to run.

Corker firing back this way via twitter, it's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is following all this and more. He joins us live now from the White House.

So Ryan, the President's string of tweets aimed at Senator Corker, obviously, a history of contention between the two as of recent.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And Fred, what's interesting about this relationship between Bob Corker and Donald Trump is that the animosity is really only gotten to be a problem here in this last week. And, it was right around the time that Senator Corker announced that he was not going to seek re-election in 2018. And then he was asked about the White House and the President's administration at the capital on Wednesday and this is what Corker had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: I think secretary Tillerson, secretary Mattis and chief of staff Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos. And I support them very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And Bob Corker is not someone that's prone to hyperbole. He is usually pretty measured in his comments. So when he suggested that secretary Tillerson and James Mattis are the only ones keeping the country from chaos and by extension then implicating the fact that if the President was left to his own devices there would be trouble, that was obviously something that the White House did not take kindly to when the President himself who as anyone who has followed his career at all, even as a business person, knows that he is willing to fight back. And that's exactly what he did today by suggesting that Bob Corker came to him and begged for his endorsement.

Now, Bob Corker's office flatly rejecting that assessments of their conversations. And in fact, in a statement put out today by the chief of staff to Bob Corker, Todd Womack. Womack saying quote "the President called Senator Corker on Monday afternoon and asked him to reconsider his decision not to seek re-election and reaffirmed that he would have endorsed him as he has said many times."

So, obviously this is a Corker and his staff calling the President a liar. And when we have a clear disagreement here as to what's going on between these two groups, it's a wonder if they will be able to work with each other going forward.

And Fred, the President needs pretty much every Republican vote if he wants to get to any of his big plans like healthcare reform and tax reform done over the course of his term in office.

WHITFIELD: And then Ryan, Sunday football game. You know, happening in many cities across the country, NFL. And the vice President went to Indianapolis for a Colts game. And then also had a statement about his observations there along with this picture and his protests. Explain.

NOBLES: Yes. And the way that this has played out is receiving quite a bit of criticism from some Democrats and from some nonpartisan observers. Essentially the vice President going there to honor Peyton Manning, the former Colts quarterback. Took a picture or showed a picture from a previous visit to Lucas oil stadium in Indianapolis before going in. They seemed all excited to go to this game and then shortly after the national anthem they left the game. And then the vice President sent out a series of tweets saying that he was offended by the fact that members of the 49ers who the Colts were playing were kneeling during the national anthem.

And then shortly after Pence's bold stand, the President then came out with this tweet saying quote "I asked VP pence to leave the stadium if any players kneeled disrespecting our country. I'm proud of him and second lady Karen." And the question being asked by a lot of people today was, this

planned ahead of time? Did the vice President had to go into this knowing -- seeing that there has been protests like this at pretty much every NFL game since the start of the season and they grew exponentially after the President criticized those kneeling that there could potentially be some form of protest like this. He decided to go to the game any way and had those tweets ready to go as soon as he left the stadium.

And Fred, we should also point out that the vice President has been busy traveling the country on taxpayer dime. He was in Las Vegas yesterday, flew to Indianapolis last night to go to this game and now is flying back to California in a series of fundraisers and a few official events. So, you know, the vice President's office has yet to say whether or not this was planned ahead of time. But President himself saying he told vice President Pence before the game if someone kneels, you should leave. That's exactly what happened.

[16:05:18] WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Nobles in the White House. Thank you so much.

All right. Let's talk about all of this now. Joining us now CNN political commentator Symone Sanders and Ben Ferguson. Good to see both of you.

OK, well, you know, just reading, you know, the text of these back and forth tweets, it's almost laughable. It's almost embarrassing, but it's happening in real time. And then just moments ago, Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House intel committee tweeted after all the scandals involving unnecessarily expensive travel by cabinet secretaries, how much taxpayer money was wasted on this stunt, meaning the vice President going to the Indianapolis game and then sending out a tweet and making a statement about those who were kneeling.

So, Ben, where are you on what now appear to be the priorities of messaging today?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think it's a cheap shot. And it's one --

WHITFIELD: Which?

FERGUSON: One of the cheap shots in politics. The tweet that you just have on the screen there of attacking the vice President. I have never attacked vice President -- let me at least finish.

SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm sorry. The cheap shot was Adam Schiff? No, don't. Hold on. Don't go --

FERGUSON: Calm down. Relax. I know it is --.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: You should never tell me to calm down. I want to be very clear about how we should talk to each other. Don't ever tell me to calm down. FERGUSON: Let me get back to my point. Now, I have never criticized

the vice President when they traveled because the fact of the matter is the vice President has to have secret services, second in command for the White House. It's very clear that they are always going to travel a lot. Joe Biden did it. You know, first ladies even travel a lot. And I have criticized first ladies when they don't fly with their husbands because they decide to fly to Chicago for two hours earlier and then the President shows up two hours later the same exact city or leaving a day or two early to go to Hawaii which Michelle Obama did.

WHITFIELD: So I guess the issue is and what the (INAUDIBLE) is to from even Adam Schiff that was a stunt, this was a planned stunt, a statement coming from the White House?

FERGUSON: I don't think it's a stunt.

WHITFIELD: And then to divert from yesterday, you know, very serious solemn moment in Las Vegas on the way to California. But, you know, this diversion to Indianapolis just too bring up again, you know, White House --

FERGUSON: Yes. Going back to where you are a leader -- VP going back to where you were a leader once and then going to a game and making it clear that you are not going to allow the -- I guess you could say the country, the flag, to be disrespected, you're not going to sit there and support a league or team that does this. That's not a stunt. That's being a good American.

SANDERS: Fred, if I may.

WHITFIELD: OK. The White House already made its position but now it was actually going to the game --

FERGUSON: Right to honor --

WHITFIELD: And then reiterating the statement. I guess that's the issue that some are making here.

FERGUSON: I don't think there's anything wrong with reiterating a statement that is you are not going to support a league that disrespects, allows their employees to disrespect the United States of America.

SANDERS: So Fred, I just want to be really clear --.

WHITFIELD: OK, Symone.

SANDERS: So Fred, I think the cheap shot today was the President of the United States using his very expensive twitter real estate to take cheap shots at Senator Corker. He clearly doesn't understand what needs to happen in order to get his agenda through because he is attacking a sitting United States senator in his own party.

But in terms of the NFL, for the 1,000th time this week, the players are not protesting anything. I think we should all be talking about --

FERGUSON: They're not?

WHITFIELD: In terms of the flag or the national anthem because that's what the vice President --

SANDERS: Ben, this is no different than folks wearing pink during breast cancer awareness -- during October to highlight the issue of breast cancer. Players are taking a knee to bring awareness to injustice in America, police brutality, racism and white supremacy. But folks like the President, like the vice President and like Mr. Ferguson are using this to turn it into something they should not. We should not allow them to hijack the conversation, to hijack and co-op the movement.

FERGUSON: Symone, the players hijacked this last week when they went out in bigger numbers two weeks ago not protesting police brutality, not protesting black -- standing by black lives matter. They were protesting Donald Trump. So if you're mad at anyone for hijacking it, be mad at the players who took the bait of the President and then protested him in the biggest numbers we've ever seen. If you don't like this --

SANDERS: No, this is not -- you are incorrect here.

WHITFIELD: I think the players have said it was a statement collectively being made about the right to protest on the field.

FERGUSON: Against Donald Trump. No, it was against Donald Trump calling them out.

SANDERS: I think so, again, and I have this conversation -- no, you hold on. I have this conversation with ben about a Friday ago when we were on CNN and we can have it again.

[16:10:03] FERGUSON: Yes.

SANDERS: Be clear. The NFL has differentiated between policies and rules. They have a policy on what players have to do during the national anthem. They do not have a rule. A policy is encouraged. NFL has no policy, has no rule saying that players have to stand during the national anthem.

WHITFIELD: Unlike say the NBA does.

SANDERS: Unlike the NBA because the NBA and the WNBA, they do have that rule.

FERGUSON: I understand that.

SANDERS: So the players are well within their rights to do what they can.

FERGUSON: Again --. Fredricka --

(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: Hold on. This debate or discussion is being stirred up again. The White House made, you know, already made it very clear where it is on it. NFL player have already made it very clear. Why is today the day to revisit this?

FERGUSON: Because as long as the NFL is playing --

SANDERS: No.

FERGUSON: And as long as the NFL is consistently coming out there, disrespecting this country, I expect the President of the United States of America to not attend an event where people are disrespecting the United States of America, those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat. You are the vice President of the United States of America. You stand -- hold on. Let me finish. You stand up and are one of those that are in charge of helping the military. You have a duty, an obligation to the President of the United States of America to leave a situation where people were basically giving the middle finger to the men and women who fought and protect this country.

SANDERS: That is false and you should be ashamed.

FERGUSON: It's not false. It's my opinion.

WHITFIELD: Nobody has done that.

SANDERS: There are veterans and folks who are saying these players have a right.

FERGUSON: You don't come out for the American flag, that's exactly what you're doing.

SANDERS: Ben, white people do not get to tell black folks --

FERGUSON: Not everything is about race, Symone.

SANDERS: Maybe not for you, it's not.

WHITFIELD: OK. So how about this. On the issue of messaging -- and on the issue of messaging -- on the issue of messaging coming from the White House, it is in the driver's seat today on the messaging whether be on the NFL or whether now be this verbal spat between, you know, Corker and the President. Is this a priority for today? I mean, when you have got the backdrop of this ongoing investigation of what happened one week ago in Las Vegas, still 80 percent of Puerto Rico without power, you know, you have got the assessment of damage from hurricane Nate and then there is this back and forth between the President and Corker about loyalty, about campaigning and endorsing. I mean, this doesn't sound like Ben and Symone, this should be the priority of the White House on a day like today or a weekend like today.

SANDERS: It shouldn't be, Fred -- -- look, it shouldn't.

WHITFIELD: The activity this week. SANDERS: Look, as a communications professional, as I am, this is

totally off message. The President and the White House, they have the ability to literally drive the conversation on this, but today they chose -- they made decisive decisions to speak about Senator Corker, to engage in antics around the NFL and the football game and not keep the main thing the main thing.

One could argue this is a result of the White House not having any legislative wins thus far and really kind of drowning in their own stuff. And so they think the White House, Donald Trump, and clearly some of his aides think this NFL issue is a winning issue for them, so that's why they bring it up. They like --

FERGUSON: It certainly is.

SANDERS: I don't like the fact that the President is tweeting, but as long as the President is tweeting about Senator Corker or anyone else, we are not talking about the fact that the Trump administration rescinded the mandate on birth control on Friday putting millions of women at risk. We are not talking about what is not happening in the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. We have allowed him to hijack the conversation.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Ben, what does it say about productivity of this White House today?

FERGUSON: Look, the fact is this President is going to do things different than what most people would expect him to do, which a perfect example is the back and forth of Bob Corker. Bob Corker is not help this President very much on any issue. Bob Corker is on serious trouble in the state of Tennessee where I do a radio show.

The majority of people that I have talked to have been very upset with him. They think he is a Republican and name only. That he has been more anti-Trump than he has been about helping. He promised he was going to repeal and replace Obamacare, hasn't (INAUDIBLE). He has been involved in some of the most disastrous foreign policy deals that people had a lot of problems with and he was probably going to do r go down to somebody that was going to run against him.

WHITFIELD: And so, this is destructive for public consumption?

FERGUSON: Well, let me say this. The majority of Republicans that voted for Bob Corker in Tennessee are not happy with Bob Corker. That's just a fact. If he thought he could win re-election, I think he would have won for re-election. There were a lot of conservatives that were going to run against him. He was not going to get a free pass this time. And he was in significant trouble because he has been a fraud compared to what he said to the voters he was going to do. The President to call him out --

WHITFIELD: Well, is the President now alienating himself or potentially further alienating himself within the GOP leadership if he is going to, you know, say these disparaging things about Bob Corker. He needs members on the hill to get perhaps tax reform done.

[16:15:11] FERGUSON: Again, when --

SANDERS: He needs Bob Corker's vote.

FERGUSON: When Donald Trump is played nice on Capitol Hill, starting when he met with a lot of the leadership right after he was elected and started right after he was inaugurated in January, they not helped him out at all in the Senate. That's just a fact. They put - they have been fake about it. They have said, oh, we are going to whip votes for you. Mitch McConnell, Bob Corker, we are going to work with you on these issues. They have not helped out this President at all. So when you call them out now, I don't think there's any more damage done than when they were lying to his face saying we're going to help you with your agenda.

SANDERS: I think that is very disingenuous.

FERGUSON: I'm a Republican. You're a Democrat. I know what I'm talking about the Republican leadership, Symone. I'm a Republican. You are a democrat. You have no idea about the Republican leadership.

SANDERS: As I was saying, Fred, I think it's really important to understand that Bob Corker and many of these other senators that bid in the President seem to like attacking now days, they are still sitting United States senators.

FERGUSON: And they could be gone soon.

SANDERS: The President needs to get his agenda through. The White House thinks it's OK not to have any legislative wins and potentially get more members, new members, that's maybe -.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Symone Sanders, Ben Ferguson, alright, thanks so much.

All right. Coming up next, details of the note the Las Vegas gunman left behind. What his handwritten calculations tell investigators about his massacre plot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:48] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. One week to the day of the Las Vegas massacre, survivors will be able to get back their belongings they lost while fleeing the gunshots. Officials are also offering any emotional counselling they might need. Investigators are still searching for a motive in this shooting, but they may have found a new clue in a mysterious note the gunman left behind in his hotel room. A source tells CNN the note contains a written numbers for targeting the crowd.

CNN's Stephanie Elam joins me now live from Las Vegas.

So Stephanie, how much closer does this assist investigators in figuring out his motive? STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't really help on that

end, Fredricka. What we understand is that these numbers were the distance and trajectory that the calculation from the 32nd floor window where the shooter was to shoot down into that crowd in the concert venue. That's what they believe these numbers were. No other words, just the final numbers of the calculations were found on that note pad. And obviously been chasing down thousands of leads they said and they still do not know why this man would have done this.

So, they are asking the public if you know anything to speak up. If you had any interaction with this man to let them know about it, even if you thought it was something that was just trivial, they are saying let the police decide if it's trivial or not and reach out to them so they can help piece together a time line of what may have led the 64- year-old to do what he did.

WHITFIELD: Stephanie Elam in Las Vegas, thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, the gulf coast cleaning up this afternoon after a battering by hurricane Nate. The concerns forecasters have now as this storm continues to dump rain across the southeast next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:56] WHITFIELD: A senior Iranian military leader warned today that any new sanctions by the U.S. would be considered a breach of the nuclear deal and warned quote "Iran will use the opportunity provided by the Trump administration's stupid behavior towards the nuclear deal to make a leap in its conventional defense missile and regional programs."

President Trump has said he is going to decertify the nuclear agreement with Iran, leaving up to Congress to decide about any new sanctions on Iran.

I want to bring in now Aaron David Miller. He is a CNN global affairs analyst and a former state department and White House adviser and Gail Tzemach Lemmon. She is a CNN national security analyst and contributing editor at Atlantic media defense one. Good to see both of you.

All right Gail, you first. A clear reaction there to the decision to decertify the agreement this week. Should Congress, you know, take this into consideration once it gets, you know, back to business this week?

GAIL TZEMACH LEMMON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I mean, Congress is in no mood to deal with this. So you know, it's prepared to, but it's true, you know, President Trump when he was candidate Trump promised unpredictable in foreign policy. And I think he is delivering on this. We have never seen foreign policy by cliff hanger in the way that we are now. And I think Congress is trying to figure out what is the way forward. You know, the administration clearly doesn't want to fully kill the deal, but it does want to put it on life support and to send a warning to the Iranian regime. WHITFIELD: And interesting language, Aaron, you know, we are talking

about the use of the word stupid from an Iranian military leader as opposed to maybe, you know, in the past countries would use the word maybe counterproductive when, you know, kind of diplomatic language but instead calling this a stupid move by the Trump administration. You know, what's also the potential threat, you know, if indeed this is decertified? Is it Israel which would feel most threatened by that kind of action?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I mean, look, the reality is I think the President has allowed his own persona and his own politics to triumph over the reality that the Iran deal, however flawed, and I was no cheerleader for this for sure. And I think Mick Jagger was right, on this one the Americans got what they needed but the Iranians got what they wanted.

But the reality is this accord however flawed is functional. And I think it is possible that this process of decertify or not certified could easily start trigger a cycle of dysfunction that would jeopardize the functionality of the accord.

The other problem is that the administration apparently is going to lay out a comprehensive strategy, political, military, economic about how to confront Iranian expansionism and trouble making in the region. So, at the same time, while you have a North Korean file that is very much open and urgent, you run the risk of opening up another file that was now closed.

Without a plan b, functional plan b, I just do not see in the President's national security team to the man agrees why abandon planning?

[16:30:07] WHITFIELD: So Gail, on North Korea and whether there's a plan a, plan b, plan c, you know, what does the President mean when he says, you know, it leads us to only one thing? I mean, is there a real strategy that he's speaking of?

GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, it depends on who you talk to inside the administration. There are definitely high level conversations going on. But is there one conversation about one strategy when it comes to North Korea?

WHITFIELD: That only one thing will work.

LEMMON: Right, exactly. And also, I mean, we've also spent the last several days trying to figure out what calm before the storm meant if anything and whether it corrected to Iran? Is it connected to North Korea? And clearly they're talking about military force, but talking to U.S. military officials, they are not in any great hurry to engage North Korea on the military front.

I mean, obviously this is an option they can pursue that the United States can pursue, but you know, military folks in many ways are the biggest cheerleader for diplomacy and you know, threat backs diplomacy as the starter when it comes to North Korea. And there is a whole new set of sanctions that just went into effect

on North Korea that really are having a pinch in terms of guest workers, foreign workers being sent home and China getting tougher on North Korea. So, you know, the folks in uniform would tell you they would love to see some of those have a longer life to take effect.

WHITFIELD: And then Aaron, you know, you got North Korea, you got Iran, all of this while publicly there is this fraying relationship between the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and the president. Tillerson saying, you know, he wants to approach this from a diplomatic standpoint.

The president, you know, last week saying don't waste your time. So you've got friends within the State Department. You're familiar with what it is to work, you know, within the State Department. Is it your feeling that the ground work is being laid for a departure of the Secretary of State?

MILLER: I hope not, I mean he worked for half a dozen Secretaries of States, I have to tell you, Fredricka. This is unprecedented, unbelievable and incredibly unseemly. To have this relationship aired publicly and the tensions frankly undermines the Secretary of State.

Let's be clear, if Rex Tillerson is fired and was forced to leave, the reality in Trumpland, I suspect is that the same environment is going to pertain for his successor unless the president makes unmistakably clear that his or her Secretary of State is the sole repository of authority on foreign policy, the sole voice that speaks for the president, then there's no way that Secretary of State is going to be effective. You might as well hang a closed for the season sign on the State Department.

WHITFIELD: Isn't the White House already saying, you know -- the White House already sending the message that that is not going to be the case?

MILLER: Effectively that's absolutely the case. You make Jared Kushner the envoy for the Arab/Israeli issue, you essentially allow the investor at the U.N. to speak on any issue presumably without clearance from the Department of State on Iran, on Syria, on North Korea, you let 1,000 flowers bloom.

The problem is, the rationality, the predictability, the coherence of foreign policy is basically undermined. Frankly, Tillerson should not, in my judgment, should not resign. If the president doesn't like him, let him fire him but the reality is Tillerson is no quitter and however imperfect a candidate he may be, I'm not sure his replacement frankly is going to be any more effective.

WHITFIELD: Gayle, quit or fire if it came to that?

LEMMON: Stay tuned -- stay tuned, right. I mean, this is foreign policy by cliff hanger. I mean, we really haven't ever seen anything like this. This administration entered Washington really promising an unconventional approach to foreign policy and it has not disappointed. And I do think that there are competing power centers inside the administration and to some extent there's a sense that maybe the white house hasn't necessarily discouraged that.

And when you think about the extraordinary moment you have when the Secretary of State is giving a press conference, not on ISIS, not on Syria, not on North Korea, not o Iran, but really about on his desire to stay in the role in which he's currently occupying, as America's chief diplomat.

WHITFIELD: And language he may or may not have used.

LEMMON: Correct, correct. I mean now, you know, all of this stuff is really unprecedented. And you know, if you go back to the U.N. speech, right, you had domestic red meat politics meets U.N. blue in New York City a few weeks back at the U.N. General Assembly, and so I think we can't look for this to be a conventional kind of foreign policy or approach to it because that is not what this president is prepared to deliver.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it right there. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Aaron David Miller, good to see both of you. Thank you.

MILLER: Pleasure.

WHITFIELD: We've got so much more straight ahead in the "Newsroom" but first, this week's CNN Hero is a powerhouse athlete, a single mother and an amputee who gained the power to lift others up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONA PATEL, CNN HERO: Once we lose a part of our body, there are just so many questions. Will I ever be able to work again? How will I take care of my children?

[04:35:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's strange how to learn how to walk. It's a new world.

PATEL: Part of my job is to remind people that we are so much more than just a body part. We can either lay down and let our circumstance overtake us or we can stand up and take charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: To learn more, go to CNNheroes.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, today, Vice President Pence made an early exit from the Indiana Colts game, an exit we now know was planned by the president of the United States. President Trump tweeting, I asked Vice President Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and Second Lady Karen.

[04:40:00] This comes on the heels of a month of controversy over the protests of the national anthem or at least the latest month of it.

I want to bring in CNN contributor Donte Stallworth. He spent ten seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver. Donte, good to see you. DONTE STALLWORTH, CNN CONTRIIBUTOR: You too Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, how do you suppose the vice president's walkout is being interpreted when NFL teams continue to show solidarity to the right to protest on game day?

STALLWORTH: I think it just re-enforces the fact of what the players have been initially protesting for in the first place, but also underscores the need for this White House to really have a war on dissent. And this isn't just with NFL players. This has been with a number of people that they've obviously showed hostility towards women, they've showed hostility towards the LGBTQ community.

The NFL players have been showing a sign of lots of signs of solidarity throughout the process. And this didn't start, you know, this started last year with the San Francisco 49ers, with Colin Kaepernick as a member of that team. So, they knew well in advance that the players from the 49ers would be kneeling and so they did all this on the taxpayer dime.

And it's unfortunate that, you know, one of the whole slogans of the Trump administration and Trump himself was to drain the swamp, but yet you see a number of people in his cabinet, a number of his senior officials on his administration have been exploiting the U.S. taxpayer money by taking these private jets, by obviously Pence staging these publicity stunt with him and the president. They have done so many things unfortunately that goes against everything they campaigned on.

WHITFIELD: So the vice president said in his tweet that, you know, he saw the kneeling as a form of protesting the flag and the national anthem and, you know, military service and we know from players and player supporters that the kneeling or, you know, the linking arms has been about making a statement about social injustices across the country.

How do you see the vice president today and even the president's, you know, tweet that he asked the vice president to do this, how do you see this in any way impacting other protests to come on the field?

STALLWORTH: Well, the visual of it looks bad, right? You have the vice president of the United States and the vice president's wife and they go to this game with obviously a lot of security. They've had to coordinate with the local police department there. They've had to send in a staff advanced team for not only the vice president but his wife as well and her staff. And then they leave the stadium, and again, it was a planned effort.

So, I think that when the NFL players see this, they understand what they're up against, but I don't believe that they're going to back down. And this is not, again, I want to continue to reiterate and Malcolm Jenkins, the safety from Philadelphia Eagles has said this a number of times and even hear on CNN a number of times where it's not about the president. It's not about the vice president. And it's definitely not about the military or the flag.

It's about speaking out against social injustices that are happening and have been continuing to happen not just since this initially started last year, but this has been going on for decades. And until we can face that with a truthful eye and understand, you know, the beginnings of what happened and how racism has infected not just back during slavery times but even still today. Until we can face those uncomfortable truths, we'll have a hard time moving forward as a country. It's imperative that we do that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Donte Stallworth, we'll leave it right there. Thanks so much. Good to see you this Sunday.

STALLWORTH: Thanks Fredricka. You, too.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, questions after police released body cam footage showing what appears to be an officer shooting a man with his hands up. What we're learning about how this started and ended, next.

[04:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, new body cam video of a fatal police-involved shooting in North Carolina. And a caution for viewers, this video is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it down! Drop your gun! Drop your gun!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it down!

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It appears in the video that the man was shot as he had his hands up. The officer yelled for him to drop his gun. However, it's not clear from the video whether the man was indeed holding a gun. CNN Polo Sandoval has been following this investigation. So Polo, what do we know about the 911 call that brought police there in the first place?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, that's a key question that remains unanswered. So that's clearly making it more difficult for investigators who are looking into this case and also the family of this man who lost a loved one, who are trying to get answers of their own because the reality is, according to the information that I have here from authorities, is that they still have been unable to say exactly why Reuben Galindo had initially called authorities to his home in the first place in Charlotte, North Carolina.

As we play that, again, that fairly graphic and disturbing video for you, there is that warning but also the importance of seeing this so that you can at least see for yourself what took place, all of this happening on September 6th. Authorities say that Mr. Galindo made a phone call. I listened to those 911 dispatch records yesterday and I heard that exchange between both the dispatcher and this 29-year-old man. And in it you can hear -- [04:50:00] Galindo say that he does have a weapon, that he does have a

gun, but he does not have ammunition. You then hear the dispatcher repeatedly ask him to store that weapon in a safe place until police officers arrive there, which as we see here they do eventually make it there. Officers did make it there. They did see this gentleman in the front door -- in his front doorstep.

And as you're able to see here, his hands are up, but it's very difficult to make out whether or not he did have a handgun or at least a weapon in his hand. Authorities say he did. And that's what prompted this response, this reaction from police to fire, shooting and killing this man.

So now there is a full investigation under way. These officers, as you enter procedure, they are on administrative leave as they try to find out a very key component in this all, Fred, will be the toxicology reports. They do have reason to believe that Mr. Galindo had either been drinking or under the influence possibly of some kind of drug, but authorities saying they cannot confirm that until those toxicology reports come back, and then they may have some of these answers.

WHITFIELD: All right, Polo Sandoval, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

[04:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right tonight, in her new season of "This is Life" Lisa Ling takes us to a school in the U.S. where a majority of the students are from China.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISAL LING, CNN HOST: When I was in high school, there were maybe five international students the whole time I was there, and none of them were from China. Today, there are more international students from China studying in the U.S. than from any other country in the world. And right now, we are in a high school where 70 percent of the students here are from China.

It's part of a trend in private and public schools across the country. China's economic boom made a lot of people wealthy, but it's also lifted over 300 million people out of poverty into the middle class. And now, many are using what little they've gained to pay to send their kids to America for school. That means, thousands of Chinese kids are here without their parents, far from family and home.

You all were what, 15 when you came to the U.S.?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE/FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Around 15.

LING: There's a perception that all Chinese kids who are studying in the U.S. come from lots of money. What do you have to say about that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not for me but if you look around our school, you find that's the case for a lot of kids in our school.

LING: I've never seen Maseratis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you can tell, right?

LING: Mercedes and Porsches in the parking lot of a high school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LING: What is that like to go to school with kids from China who have so much money?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chinese families, they really want to show off how I can start from zero and make that much money. They have a good heart. They just don't want to study.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Lisa Ling joining me now. So after talking with these kids, what's your impression of them and their dreams?

LING: Well, it's really interesting because Chinese people have been coming to the U.S. for over 150 years, but for the most part, most Chinese who came here were seeking a better life. They came and had to work in low-paying jobs for the most part. And in recent years, since China opened up to the world and since the tech boom, we're seeing the profile of those Chinese who are coming here to the U.S. change quite a bit.

There still are lots of Chinese who are coming and working in restaurant jobs and low-paying jobs, but there are some extremely wealthy Chinese who are coming whose parents made this money within the last ten years. And we spent time, for example, with a 23-year-old who has a Rolls-Royce, a Porsche Cayenne, a Bentley and a Ferrari.

And this is the case for quite a number of young kids. They're called second-generation Chinese and they are either themselves or their parents are buying up properties throughout Los Angeles and New York and different parts of the U.S. and much of the world for their kids to live in.

WHITFIELD: So then for these kids, is their goal while they're getting this education here in the U.S., is their goal to go back to China or is it to stay in the U.S. to, you know, further the benefits of their education?

LING: Well, the kids that I spoke to in that school, many of them are interested in going back to China because the China of today is a very different China than the China of 20 years ago. It is a country that is booming economically, but there is some instability there at the same time. And there are a lot of social tensions.

And so as an insurance policy, many Chinese parents are sending their kids to come and study and get an education and buying property here in the U.S. because they see the U.S. as being a much more stable part of the world. WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating stuff. Lisa Ling, always good to

see you. And make sure to check out "This Is Life with Lisa Ling" that is tonight 10:00 right here on CNN.

All right, thanks so much for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. So much more straight ahead in the "Newsroom" and it starts right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the "CNN Newsroom." Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. We begin with a truly stunning day in U.S. politics. Just a short time ago, Vice President Mike Pence reigniting the feud between the White House and the NFL, walking out of a game being played by his hometown, Indianapolis Colts, after players kneeled during the national anthem.

Pence tweeted this, I left today's Colts game

[05:00:00] because the president and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our flag or our national anthem.