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Migrants at the Border Seek Asylum Despite Policy Confusion; Mother of Slain Teen Antwon Rose Speaks Out; Farmers Fear Potential Trade War Will Hurt Their Bottom Line; Trump Tests His Political Pull in South Carolina Runoff; Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired June 25, 2018 - 10:30   ET

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


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[10:32:34] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of migrants lined up at the U.S./Mexico border for weeks waiting to cross over, seeking asylum, despite all of this confusion over family separation.

Our Leyla Santiago is in Tijuana, Mexico with more.

And Leyla, behind you are these people that have been waiting for weeks on end. What are they telling you?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. These are all families that are now on this sort of unofficial list, that they themselves have created, they themselves are managing to get in line to seek asylum in the United States of America at this port of entry, the legal way to do so. And, you know, when I talk to some of them, some of them tell me, look, our plans never changed. We've been in line for weeks now hoping to just get a chance to speak to a U.S. immigration official, but sometimes when you talk to the mothers, especially the mothers that are traveling with small children -- I talked to one woman, she is a mother, a Honduran mother, traveling with her 7-year-old boy, and she said when she saw the images, when she heard the audio of the cries of children being separated, she said she got out of line.

She said, I can't do this, and didn't know what to do because for her, going back to Honduras, she says would mean death. So there was a sort of uncertainty that she is dealing with. Since President Trump signed that executive order, she said she's back in line, back in line waiting to seek asylum, in the United States of America. She said she left Honduras because of deadly threats to not only her, but also her child.

And she's a bit confused of the back and forth and what is happening in terms of immigration policy in the United States, but plans to at least try to seek asylum.

HARLOW: You know, I think oftentimes we feel very detached from what is happening on the ground there and what you're seeing firsthand. I mean, you spent some time in a shelter, right, Leyla, for minors, talking to them about how bad the situation is in their home country, the threats that they face, the reason that they flee, oftentimes their parents putting them on a bus and saying, go. SANTIAGO: Right, that was one conversation that just stuck with me.

I spoke to a 16-year-old girl and she said the gangs had been following her for quite some time, finally they got to her and they said, you have two options. 16 years old, keep that in mine. They said you have two options. Either sell drugs or become a prostitute. She went home, told her parents, the next day they put her on a bus to try to get her to her aunt in North Carolina. She said that her mom was crying when she left, and her mom crying, hugged her and told her, I'm so sorry to have to do this to you, but this is for your own safety.

[10:35:07] That young child, that 16-year-old -- think about that, 16- year-old -- is in this line hoping to seek asylum in the United States.

HARLOW: Leyla Santiago, I'm glad you're there live for us in Tijuana this morning. Thank you very, very much.

Ahead for us, the mother of an unarmed teen shot and killed by police in East Pittsburgh, Antwon Rose, you see his picture right there, being laid to rest today, and his mother speaking out saying her son was murdered in cold blood.

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HARLOW: In just minutes, the family and friends of Antwon Rose will say their final good-byes, his funeral service set to begin at the top of the hour. An East Pittsburgh police officer shot the 17-year-old last week as he ran from a car that was pulled over. He was unarmed. His death sparked days of protests that are ongoing and his casket just arrived at the funeral service in Swissvale, Pennsylvania.

[10:40:07] That is where our Athena Jones is. And Athena, for first time we're hearing from his mother.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Poppy, that's right. Michelle Kenney, Antwon Rose's mother, spoke with ABC's "Good Morning America" about the loss of her son. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE KENNEY, ANTWON ROSE'S MOTHER: That was my baby. He murdered my son in cold blood. If he has a son, I pray his heart never has to hurt the way mine does.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The ones that say Antwon shouldn't have been in the car, to that, you say --

KENNEY: My son is dead. For all those people that say that, their son must be at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So an emotional interview with the parents of Antwon Rose. Protests have been on hold for the last couple of days, so that the family and the friends of Rose and the community can pay their respects, celebrate the life of Antwon Rose. Yesterday, some -- hundreds of people lined up to view his body, to pay their respects and we expect a large showing here at the funeral.

I want to read to you part of what -- the family's lawyer, Lee Merit, said in a tweet. He said, "Antwon's light was snuffed out by police brutality and that today we mourn, tomorrow we fight." And so as I mentioned, while the protests have been on hold for the last couple of days, they're expected to pick back up after the funeral tomorrow.

HARLOW: Athena Jones for us, thank you very much. Again, the funeral beginning in just a few minutes.

Federal prosecutors will not be meeting with Stormy Daniels today. Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti says prosecutors in the Southern District of New York canceled the interview last minute because of all the media attention that it was gaining. It was expected to focus on Daniels' potential grand jury appearance about that $130,000 payment she received from Michael Cohen's company in 2016.

The question being was that hush money, did it violate any Federal Election Commission rules? No word from federal prosecutors about why the interview was canceled or if it was going to be rescheduled.

They are some of President Trump's staunchest supporters. But is their bottom line takes a beating from some of these moves in this trade war. Farmers in Iowa say they can only take so much.

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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is there a point when Iowan farmers abandon Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there is a point.

WATT: There is a point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.

WATT: And where is that point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gosh, I wish I knew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[10:46:56] HARLOW: Breaking news, Harley-Davidson, an iconic American company, saying this morning that they will move some of their production to Europe. Why? They're trying to avoid European union tariffs on U.S. goods. The EU announced those tariffs in response to the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe. Harley-Davidson calls this the only sustainable option, says they could lose as much as $100 million a year if this trade war keeps heating up.

It's notable that Harley-Davidson makes most of its motorcycles in the United States, in states that were very important to Trump's win of the White House. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. Just across the state lines, from Harley's home state of Wisconsin, farmers in Iowa say they're also feeling the hit from the recent trade moves.

Here is Nick Watt.

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WATT (voice-over): Dark clouds over an Iowan's soybean field, there just might be a metaphor in that.

BRIAN SAMPSON, SOYBEAN FARMER: I'm worried some. I'm concerned.

WATT: What about Iowan hog farmers.

AL MULFEKUHLE, HOG FARMER: It's anxious times. Yes, no doubt about it.

WATT: Because in April, China slapped an extra 25 percent tariff on imports of American pork.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pigs you're fairly talking $200 million to $300 million impact already.

WATT: That's just Iowa. Now China threatens something similar on soybeans.

The two largest economies on earth locked in a trade war largely over intellectual property in the tech industry.

SAMPSON: We get punished, we as agriculture, so to speak, that was a good one.

WATT: Iowa gets hit hard, one of the country's top soybean producers and the top pork producer.

(On camera): Did you vote for President Trump?

SAMPSON: Yes, I did.

WATT: You voted for President Trump?

MULFEKUHLE: Yes, I did.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have to come to Iowa.

WATT (voice-over): But his tariff-laden trade policies might now hit his base hard. Chinese motives are veiled, but Mexico now blatantly targeting tariffs at states like Iowa that voted Trump, slapping 10 percent on pork.

Iowan Congressman Roy Blunt now among the most vulnerable incumbent Republicans in the midterms.

MULFEKUHLE: We'll get more vocal as it gets more painful. But we're going to try to be patriotic. WATT: So is there a point when Iowan farmers abandon Trump?

SAMPSON: Yes, there is a point.

WATT (on camera): There is a point?

SAMPSON: Yes. Yes.

WATT: And where is that point?

SAMPSON: Gosh, I wish I knew. I wish I knew. We might be there.

WATT (voice-over): The president has pledged to help farmers. The details remain unclear.

MULFEKUHLE: A lot of the stuff he's done is good. Right now if the trade negotiations go on, ask me in six months because it is painful right now.

WATT: Right now, Al Mulfekuhle stands to lose over half a million dollars this year alone.

Nick Watt, CNN, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Nick, thank you. Hard to miss that pig fighting video in there. Fascinating piece. We appreciate it.

President Trump will head to South Carolina tonight ahead of the state's primary tomorrow. He's trying to save one of the earliest backers of his presidential campaign, Governor Harry McMaster, the first state wide elected official to endorse Trump in 2016, in danger of losing his Republican nomination.

[10:50:08] It's just the latest test of the president's pull on Republican primaries. Katon Dawson is with us, former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and a Republican consultant.

Nice to have you. Thanks for being here.

KATON DAWSON, FORMER CHAIRMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Glad to be with you, Poppy.

HARLOW: You note how notable it is that this is the first time that a president and vice president have come in, come into the state right before the general election. I mean, what is at stake here for the party and for the president outside of just South Carolina?

DAWSON: Well, you're right, Poppy. It is unprecedented that the loyalty that Donald Trump has shown towards Governor Harry McMaster is unprecedented along with Mike Pence. Now always remember Mike Pence one day is going to run for president and there's going to be a South Carolina primary here and he'll be certainly welcomed again. So there are a lot of moving parts here when you're an early presidential state. And again, I would say endorsements don't always matter that much in a

South Carolina primary. Nikki Haley and Tim Scott endorsed Marco Rubio, two people both in the mid-80s in their polling. Nikki Haley, a very popular governor, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich beat him. But with that being said, when you land Air Force One in a state like South Carolina the day before a primary, a runoff primary, it tells every one of your supporters to go vote.

HARLOW: Right.

DAWSON: It is invaluable what will happen. Now the message that the president is going to deliver tonight, we're not sure what that is. That could be illegal immigration. It could be taxes. It could be a sundry of things that comes out.

HARLOW: Well --

DAWSON: I don't think any of that will hurt Governor McMaster. I think all of it will be to his benefit.

HARLOW: It's interesting because you have said look, the president's high approval rating in South Carolina is because of its -- his policy. It's not because of his personality. It's not because of the rhetoric. And you bring up immigration. I mean, if he talks about immigration again tonight, and as you know, it's been hard for many Republicans to stomach the separation of families at the border and some of his staunchest supporters have called him out on that. How do you think he plays that?

DAWSON: Well, Poppy, I remember the quality crowd we had running for president when Donald Trump won our primary here. And I saw the same thing that we have seen in other segments today on CNN. I've seen the attitude of the Republican base voter, Donald Trump is elected for a couple of things. He was elected because of illegal immigration and his stance against it and wanting to build a wall on the southern border.

He was elected to provide jobs and level the playing field. And then he was elected really to go turn all the tables over in Washington. So he'll deliver those messages tonight one more time. That's why his popularity is there. I don't see any danger in what he's going to do tonight.

HARLOW: Let me ask you about something the president just re-tweeted, this tweet from Republican Senator Marco Rubio. Quote, "Trump haters still haven't realized how much they help him with their condescension of those who either voted for him or don't share their hatred of him and how much they help him with their irrational hostility toward those who work for him."

You can imagine he's talking about Sarah Sanders potentially being kicked out of the restaurant over the weekend because she works for the president.

Do you think Marco Rubio is right, that ultimately that kind of opposition in that form to the president just helps him? DAWSON: I do think it. I mean, I heard it just yesterday and an

irrational sort of conversation was, you know, the fake news, they don't believe what is being said, and it does sort of make a pushback against the media or against the outlets that attack the president.

With that being said, CNN is a very popular station for Republicans in South Carolina. We run our ads, we put a lot of our news out there. So what I'll tell you is there is a sundry of ways when the president gets attacked, it does take a Republican base that put him in, it gets them even -- even more supportive of him, but what I will tell you about presidential elections, the one thing that is in common with President Obama and President Trump was.

HARLOW: Yes.

DAWSON: Neither base have we seen move yet, Poppy. We never saw President Obama's base move.

HARLOW: I know. I know.

DAWSON: For sure we thought we could beat him.

HARLOW: All right.

DAWSON: And then so we'll see what President Trump's base does tomorrow.

HARLOW: All right, again, big night for South Carolina, big night for the president there.

Katon, nice to have you. We'll be right back.

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[10:59:06] HARLOW: A milestone for women in Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, the kingdom lifted a decades old law banning women from driving. Just yesterday, over 120,000 women in Saudi Arabia applied for driver's licenses. You see some of them right there.

This is just the beginning, though. Their fight for more freedom continues. Activists are pushing to get rid of the Guardianship Law, which bans women from traveling or working without the consent of a male guardian.

Meantime Prince William will soon become the first British royal ever to make an official visit to the state of Israel and the Palestinian territories. He's on a five-day tour of the Middle East right now. He visited Jordan yesterday. You see him there. Next up, a test of diplomatic skill, he will meet with Israeli prime minister and the Israeli president tomorrow. After that, he will meet with the president of the Palestinian Authority the following day.

Thank you for being with me today. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. I'll see you tomorrow. "AT THIS HOUR" with Kate Bolduan begins right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan --