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Trump Administration Will Miss Today's Court-Ordered Deadline on Reuniting Families; Rescued Soccer Team & Coach Hospitalized; A Look at Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Career. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired July 10, 2018 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Today, really turning into a day of disappoint for so many of the youngest children separated from their families at the southern border. These toddlers were supposed to be reunited with their loved ones today. Looks like it is not happening. So many of those children are sitting in limbo. CNN cameras spotted some of those migrant children and their older siblings being transferred from holding facilities and loaded into vans today. These are the lucky few who are expected to be with their moms and their dads. Now the administration estimates just 38 kids will be returned to
their parents today. That's fewer than half of the 100 youngest children waiting to be reunited. Here is what the president said about today's missing deadline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a solution, tell people not to come to our country illegally. That's the solution. Don't come to our country illegally. Come like other people do, come legally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Let's discuss all of this. Joining me now, Juan Sanchez, the founder and CEO of Southwest Key, a company that runs several facilities housing these children. Juan, thank you so much and welcome.
JUAN SANCHEZ, CEO, SOUTHWEST KEY: Good to be here.
BALDWIN: Did the administration totally drop the ball on this?
SANCHEZ: Well, I would not say that. As far as we are concerned and the one thing that we enjoy doing and what we are set up to do is to unify children with their families. Today, we feel that this is a wonderful day for our staff. Our staff came in three hours early where the kids are supposed to be ready and they pack their backpacks and got them ready to go. Someone picking them up or taking them to where they're supposed to be taken so they can be reunited with their families. That's a good piece of it to be on the front line and unify these kids with some of their parents. It is the DOJ expecting at least 38 kids to be reunified today, that's less than half. This administration did not track back weeks or months ago which kids belong to whom when they separated them. That's not the case with us. I can tell you that the children that we
have here, we were able to reunite them with their families. And that's one of the things that we do very well.
BALDWIN: I know you have been doing this kind of work for a while. What's the difference of taking care of kids separated from their parents, say, large numbers versus unaccompanied minors.
SANCHEZ: Well, the difference is when the kids are young and very, young like some of these kids were, you just have to give them a lot of attention and focus and hugs and things that parents would normally give their children. In our facility, you are to be able to provide these kids as much affection and warmth and hugs as you possibly can. That's what we have done ever since the kids got there. That's different than kids who come on their own and have been on the road for months and finally gave her and we serve them. The kids that were separated require more attention and some of them are younger and we have more staff that we are working with them. Now today is just a very happy day for us. This is what Southwest Key does and does it very well. This is a happy day for us.
BALDWIN: It is wonderful that that -- that's absolutely optimistic news that so many kids are able to get unified and you are able to track the parents. But bigger pictures, with some of these deadlines, it seems like the gold post could continue to move and move. And I am wondering what that does to those kids. You are with the kids.
SANCHEZ: Yes, I hope our goal post will keep moving and moving. There was an extension on the court order until this Friday. We are ready to do it today. There was a deadline, we were able to get our kids ready and prepare and prepare and ready to go. And what we saw is our staff was very happy to see this happening. And, I am very happy and we are very happy because we have got some criticisms, but which is what we do and we do it very well. We'll take these children and prepare them for their families and now it is taking place with all of our kids.
BALDWIN: Juan Sanchez, thank you so much. Here is hoping more scenes like those happier scenes keep on playing out and soon.
SANCHEZ: Thank you Brooke.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Thank you. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.
[14:35:00] BALDWIN: Coming up here, after being trapped in a cave and an extraordinary rescue mission, the twelve boys and their soccer coach are all out. Details on this rescue, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: What a miracle, or divine of intervention. There's only one word to describe how people are feeling of what happened in Thailand. Thankful. All twelve members of the boys' soccer team and their coach are safe and sound and out of that cave. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Look at this crowd lining up cheering the arrival of the ambulance carrying the last group of boys. This photo, look at this posted by the Thai Navy SEALs after they climbed out of that cave for the very last time.
The boys and the coach are in isolation at the hospital. Officials said they'll be reunited with family members soon.
On the recovery process, the starting point, these boys and the coach have been through so much emotionally and physically. The coach was the weakest of all because he shared his food with his young players to keep them strong.
With us now our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
First, it was like hooray, thank goodness they all got out. They're in the hospital. How are doctors and staff assessing physical and emotional, et cetera?
[14:40:40] DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The assessment has been going on all along. The doctors and nurses have this timetable to work with. They knew June 23rd was when the boys went missing and, July 2nd, eight days later is when they were first found alive, and six days after that is when these rescues started. You have an idea how long they were in the cave and what their hydration status is like and nutritional status. Oxygen saturation were dropping in the cage and they know all this. That's what they are addressing immediately. When you hydrate somebody after a situation like this, you got to go slowly. You can't just bring someone's hydration status back up. Food may be soft food for a while and not solid food. Letting them acclimate and all of that. As mentioned, in this state of isolation now, and it is interesting now --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: They're in quarantine now. The kids separated from their parents. Why?
GUPTA: Exactly. It is interesting, Brooke. Part of it there are certain pathogens and fungus they may have been exposed to within the cave.
BALDWIN: Cave disease.
GUPTA: It's called cave disease. People who goes through caves, they know about this. You can get a respiratory infection. That's not contagious. That would not put the healthcare workers nor the family members at risk. Their bodies and the coach's body likely change, in part, from being in the cave for so long. No natural light and their circadian rhythms are thrown off. It can have an impact on your immunity. It surprises a lot of people. They can't fight disease like they could before. It is really the parents and the family members that are a risk to the boys as to oppose to vice versa.
BALDWIN: Got it. Lastly, we have all been reading so much about the details that's
coming out. I read this 25-year-old coach's Buddhist meditation that calmed these boys in that cave for all those days.
GUPTA: I was amazed by that. I think, how these boys do in the long- term will be so dependent on what happened and the coach and from others during the two-and-a-half-week period. Was this an adventure, not to minimize it, or was it an ominous thing of impending death around the corner? They were given anxiety medicine before they were rescued. All of those things will come into play a little bit in terms of the long-term psychological impact. You know, Brooke, this is the heroic period and a lot of people are talking about it in a couple of weeks that's not the case anymore, and when all the attention is gone and all the psychological is still there, it will be hard for them for a time.
BALDWIN: Can't imagine for them.
Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much.
GUPTA: You've got it, Brooke. Thank you.
BALDWIN: Coming up, did President Trump choose his Supreme Court nominee to foil the Russia investigation? That's what Democrats are claiming, as Judge Kavanaugh's past views on executive power may soon play a role in the president.
But first, let's take a moment to put a spotlight on one of the darkest issues facing America. According to the National Institute of Health, suicide rates often climb in the months after high-profile deaths like Anthony Bourdain or Kate Spade. There are ways to get help and others who are struggling. Here is this week's "Impact Your World."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I live another day. There's someone who's supposed to be alive right now and they're not.
ANNA AKANA, ACTOR & DIRECTOR: I'm Anna Akana. I'm an actor and director and contact creator on YouTube.
I lost my little sister to suicide when I was 17. When I first started talking about it. I was very afraid how it was going to be received. But at the same time, I knew that my main demographic was young girls and no one ever talked to me about mental illness. I am a huge advocate for crisis text lines. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death. The texting aspect is much more familiar and comfortable. I believe they have the capability to really connect with kids who want that help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You text us when you are in pain and we are there for you so we can help you.
You text 741741, you can reach us inside Facebook Messenger and Kicks. We are handling about 100,000 conversations a month. We expect for it to double by the end of this year.
[14:45:05] We need more crisis counselors. America, you are needed and your empathy skills are need. As long as you have a laptop and a good Wi-Fi connection, this is a great way to volunteer and have an immediate impact on someone's life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:49:58] BALDWIN: As Judge Brett Kavanaugh continues to shake hands with Senators who will or won't confirm his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, some Republicans say they are disappointed at how the Democrats already dismissed him before even meeting him. If confirmed, he'll be the 108th white male justice in U.S. history. There's only been four other women and three minorities. Kavanaugh is the sixth Catholic on the current beach. Trump's last pick, Neil Gorsuch, happens to be the same. Fun fact, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh went to the same elite high school, Georgetown Prep. They were two years apart in school.
And Judge Kavanaugh met his wife while working at the White House under President George H.W. Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRETT KAVANAUGH, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Our first date was on September 10, 2001. The next morning, I was a few steps behind her as the Secret Service shouted at all of to sprint out the front gates of the White House because there was an inbound plane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So let's start there. CNN legal analyst, Joan Biskupic, is with us. She's also a Supreme Court biographer..
Joan, it is fascinating how many landmark moments Judge Kavanaugh have been a part of for Republicans in the last 30 years.
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It is so truth, Brooke. Much of it comes from his years of George W. Bush. He was in the 1990s with ken star on the independent counsel team that investigated Bill Clinton and ended up laying out 11 counts of wrong doing towards impeachment and as we all remember from the '90s, the House of Representatives impeached Bill Clinton but those of formative years for Kavanaugh with ken star. Then we move towards 2000s when he represented Elian Gonzalez, the six-year-old Cuban refugee in his custody fight and his effort to keep him in the U.S. And it was an unsuccessful fight. What you and I remember so well, in 2000s, the Florida recount episode that determines for sure that George W. Bush would end up in the White House and boy did that 10 years served Brett Kavanaugh. Once he became an associate White House counsel to President Bush and his staff secretary, he's at the scene of so many episodes that you mentioned, including 9/11, and administrations response to terrorism.
He also then in 2006, wins a prestigious appointment to the D.C. courts of appeals.
BALDWIN: That's a little bit of his time line. In terms of big cases or decisions and a lot of talk about what could happen with health care if he's confirmed.
BISKUPIC: Right.
BALDWIN: What could happen with Roe v. Wade. You noted this. He was speaking there in the East Room and all of his mentions of the different women in his life. Here is a look back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAVANAUGH: My mom was a trailblazer. When I was 10-year-old, she went to law school and became a prosecutor. She overcame barriers and became a trail judge. The president introduced me tonight as
Judge Kavanaugh, but to me that title will always belong to my mom. I have two spirited daughters, Margaret and Liza. Margaret loves
sports and she loves to read. Liza loves sports and she loves to talk.
(LAUGHTER)
I have tried to create bonds with my daughter like my dad created with me. Ashley was a source of strength for President Bush and for everyone in
this building. Through bad days and so many better days since then, she's been a great wife and an inspiring mom. I thank god every day for my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now I was talking to a former Kavanaugh clerk who, you know, said, listen, did not read anything into this, these are important people in his life.
But I am curious. Do you think he did that in purpose or laying any sort of ground works there?
BISKUPIC: Two things, Brooke. I think it is worth exploring it at a time of when Roe v. Wade, which gives women the right to abortion nationwide, and the "Me Too" movement is in the air. There are two things -- true facts and the optics. He has two daughters, it is not like he excluded any sons. He has two daughters. It's perfectly fair and interesting to highlight them and to highlight his mother who became a judge. I think that was an important piece of information. And the other thing, Brooke, that you may have noticed is that he referred to the fact that he had so many female law clerks.
[14:55:14] BALDWIN: Yes.
BISKUPIC: That was another piece of information along the lines that you're asking about here. So all those things are true. They were all valid to bring up at this moment. But they also send a signal that he wants to be heard in that vein.
BALDWIN: Joan Biskupic, thank you so much.
BISKUPIC: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Just ahead, an elderly man was beaten with a brick and told, "Go back to Mexico." You will hear from his family, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:08] BALDWIN: You are watching CNN on the Tuesday afternoon. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me.
