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South Carolina Officer Killed; Pence Warns China; GOP Benefits from Kavanaugh Controversy; Yankees Crush A's. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired October 04, 2018 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps we'll get some more information about exactly what is it in.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, we will.
BERMAN: OK.
Growing tensions between the United States and a foreign adversary, and it's not Russia. Why Vice President Mike Pence is about to accuse China of undermining the administration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMEROTA: This morning a small community in South Carolina is waking up in a state of shock following a mass shooting that has left one police officer dead and six others injured.
CNN's Nick Valencia is live in Florence, South Carolina, with the latest.
What happened, Nick?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Alisyn, good morning.
Six officers are recovering from their injuries this morning and the family of another grieving the loss of their loved one. Terrence Carraway was identified as the officer who was fatally shot in yesterday's incident. A 30 year veteran of the police force. In fact, he just received his 30-year service pin.
[06:35:01] Terrence Carraway was part of a group of officers that showed up at this well-to-do suburb here, this subdivision in Florence, South Carolina, to carry out an unspecified search warrant, and that's when they were confronted by gunfire. And, according to the sheriff here in this country, that suspect inside the home had a clear line of sight of those responding officers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF KENNEY BOONE, FLORENCE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: These officers went there unknowing the firepower this -- the suspect had. And, again, they thought it was a random search warrant. The latest suspect was positioned -- his view of fire was several hundred yards. So he had an advantage. And the officers couldn't get to the ones that was down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: Police eventually had to use an armored car to retrieve the wounded and to take the suspect into custody. That same suspect, who was said to be barricaded inside the home with children inside, in fact police say a 20-year-old inside the home was injured but didn't give any other details. As far as that suspect, I should mention, he is in custody -- or they are in custody but have yet to be identified.
John.
BERMAN: All right, Nick Valencia for us.
Nick, thanks very much.
The vice president, Mike Pence, is about to deliver a blistering message to China. He's giving a speech today that will slam Beijing for its reckless harassment, is what he says, of the U.S. military in the South China Sea. He warns China that the United States will not be intimidated. He says the United States will not stand down.
Our Will Ripley is live in Hong Kong with this notable shift in the level of rhetoric.
Will.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because now, John, what we're seeing from the Trump administration is criticism of China in the areas of the military, trade, and domestic politics. Clearly the Trump administration trying to reset its relationship with China, threatening to further exacerbate tensions in a region that is already tense after the close call over the weekend when the USS Decatur came within 45 yards of a Chinese destroyer.
Vice President Pence, in the coming hours, expected to call that reckless harassment by the Chinese, who were trying to push the U.S. out of waters that they claim as their territory, claims that the U.S. rejects. Of course we're talking about the South China Sea and those disputed Spratly Islands.
The vice president saying that America will not be intimidated, but then taking step -- taking things even further. He's expected to talk about allegations of election meddling that were first made by President Trump at the United Nations.
The vice president expected to say, quote, what the Russians are doing pales in comparison to what China is doing across the country. He will lay out why the Trump administration feels that China is trying to meddle in red states, trying to turn conservative voters against the president through the targeting of tariffs in response to the U.S. tariffs on Chinese good, an additional $200 billion just last week.
Of course, China took out an ad in "The Des Moines Register." The Trump administration very unhappy about that. You know, what was at one point touted as a close friendship between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping clearly souring as the U.S. takes a very sharp turn in rhetoric and potentially even more against China with plans possibly in the works for a global show of force in the South China Sea with more of these freedom of navigation patrols, the kind of which ignited that clash over the weekend.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Oh, this is deadly serious stuff, Will. Thank you very much for giving us an update from the region.
So, up next, is there something called a Brett bounce? Are Republicans seeing more voter enthusiasm thanks to the Kavanaugh controversy? Harry Enten knows. There's something about Harry, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:42:31] BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) Axios reported that Republicans are singing about what they see as an October surprise. They report that Republican insiders say they see a significant bounce in their polling for their candidates due to the confirmation fight over Brett Kavanaugh. I have to say, I just heard the same thing from a Democratic strategist, who does say they are seeing a bounce.
CAMEROTA: A Republican bounce or Democrats --
BERMAN: A Republican bounce?
CAMEROTA: Oh, yes, sorry.
BERMAN: Democrats say they are seeing a Republican bounce.
So, joining us now, Harry Enten, CNN's senior politics writer and analyst for there's something about Harry.
Harry, you scour these numbers. A Republican bounce, is it there?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICS WRITER AND ANALYST: Yes, I think it is there. In fact, maybe we're talking to the same Democratic strategists because I'm hearing the exact same thing. We're not just seeing it in the private polls. It does seem in some of the public polls as well that Republicans do, in fact, seem to be seeing some sort of bounce.
And to me this really isn't all that surprising given, yes, Brett Kavanaugh is not very popular, but he is more popular than the president of the United States. So if these midterms are about how people feel about Brett Kavanaugh, it actually shrinks the Democratic margin.
CAMEROTA: But, very quickly, is Brett Kavanaugh energizing both sides? Are Democrats also energized because of the Kavanaugh controversy or just Republicans?
ENTEN: I think there are both energized. In fact, I'm not seeing any difference between the gap between registered voters and likely voters, which is where you might see enthusiasm. But what we are see are Republican voters who are already going to turn out the vote coming back home to the Republican base.
BERMAN: Democrats were already energized and what this might be doing is adding energy to the Republicans and particularly those voters who might not have been showing up.
Let's talk about some of the new polls in some of the Senate races we've seen. And there may be a correlation here. There may not.
The Fox News -- which is polling, by the way, we should note, that we often look at, we think it's reliable -- they came out with some new numbers. Look, at this, North Dakota.
ENTEN: This is, to me, the biggest number of the week. We saw an earlier poll in North Dakota that showed something similar. If Democrats want to take back the United States Senate, they need to hold North Dakota. And the two polls that have come out this week show that Heidi Heitkamp, the Democratic incumbent, is trailing by double digits. That is very, very, very bad news for Democrats.
CAMEROTA: OK, Missouri, or as you say, the show me state.
ENTEN: The show me state, or Missouri as Peter Jennings used to say.
Tied race here. You know, the polling here has been a little bit all over the map, but generally has shown Claire McCaskill with a small lead. So a tie isn't exactly great for her.
But this is a decent poll for Democrats. I think the big number here is that Claire McCaskill, the incumbent, is up only 43 percent, which is not a great number, you would think, given how widely known she is in that state she'd be a little bit higher.
[06:45:00] CAMEROTA: So what's gone wrong there for her?
ENTEN: Look, it's a red state. Donald Trump won it by about 20 percentage points. Claire McCaskill has not been that popular over the last few years, and as Hawley gets -- her opponent, Josh Hawley, gets better known, it may be that he's able to overcome her lead in the final days.
BERMAN: She's never been way ahead. It's always been very, very close there.
Tennessee is a very interesting state also. It's a state Democrats hope to be able to flip. But, again, in this new poll that came out overnight, you're seeing the Republican, Marsha Blackburn, with a five-point edge. Again, perhaps an issue of Republicans going home.
ENTEN: Yes, I mean, again, this is a state Donald Trump won by 26 percentage points. So if voters are vote -- going to vote about how they feel about the president. This is a good state for Republicans, for that to occur in.
I will point out that the last poll also had Marsha Blackburn ahead. The last Fox News poll had her ahead by three. This isn't a wide gap from there. It's in the same. It's within the margin of error. And indeed the thing that should be pointed out in both Tennessee and the Missouri poll, both of those leads are within the margin of error. So, you know, those races could turn out differently.
CAMEROTA: Just to remind people, here's the balance of power in the Senate, 51 Republicans, 49 democrats.
How do you see it right now? What do you think is going to happen in the Senate?
ENTEN: Yes, I mean, look, Democrats need a net gain of two seats in order to take control of the United States Senate. If the election were held today, I would say the best estimate is that it would stay the same. Neither side would gain a seat because she -- Democrats might lose in North Dakota, but they might also pick up a seat in Arizona.
BERMAN: All of your best thinking is in the House of Representatives, which, in some ways, is easier confusing (ph) math than the Senate is. What are you seeing there? And I should note, Harry's got a great site up. You should go look at it at CNN.
ENTEN: We will have it up. We will have it up.
CAMEROTA: Oh, good (INAUDIBLE).
BERMAN: You know, the election's in 35 days. I don't want to tell you, you have to hurry up, but you may want to think about it.
ENTEN: We will -- we will get there for you.
BERMAN: What are you seeing in the House?
ENTEN: We are seeing that Democrats are more likely than not going to take control. If we took the say 5,000-foot view, what we would generally expect is that Democrats need 218 seats to gain a majority, they'd probably end up somewhere in the mid-220s. So a gain of about 30 to 35 seats from where they are right now.
But, again, keep in mind that small shifts in the national environment affect the House considerably more than they do in the Senate. So if, let's say, the Democrats right now have a seven or eight percentage point lead on the national generic ballot and let's say that shrinks down to six or five percentage points, then the House would truly be in toss-up.
CAMEROTA: Harry does his best thinking in the House of Representatives. Where do you do you --
BERMAN: I -- in the shower.
CAMEROTA: I knew you were going to say that.
BERMAN: I do.
CAMEROTA: Yes. OK. I'm in the car. ENTEN: I do it while walking or maybe when I see a cute little dogs on the street and I taunt the owner a little bit when I go and talk in a very odd voice to so-said dog. But I love dogs. What's not to love about a cute little shiatzu or a Lhasa Apso.
CAMEROTA: This is getting creepy.
BERMAN: Yes, creepy but smart.
CAMEROTA: Yes. Yes.
BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much for being with us.
ENTEN: Thank you.
BERMAN: There is something about Harry. I don't know what that is. It's a little weird. But there is --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
ENTEN: But there is something (INAUDIBLE).
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: There you go.
Thank you.
ENTEN: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: The FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh will be in the hands of senators less than two hours from now. So, ahead, we are talking with Kavanaugh's college roommate, why he says Brett Kavanaugh is lying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:52:29] BERMAN: All right, on the subject (INAUDIBLE), I really don't need to be dealing with right now. One of sport's greatest rivalries is set to write another chapter. The Yankees, they did win the American League wildcard game and now I've got to watch them play the Red Sox.
CAMEROTA: Oh, my.
BERMAN: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report."
I just have other things I need to deal with this morning, Andy.
CAMEROTA: Yes, you're busy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm sure you are very busy, John, but it doesn't get any better than Yankees/Red Sox. And they have not faced each other in the post season since 2004. And that was, of course, the year Boston came back from being down 0-3 in the ALCS and went on to win their first World Series in 86 years. And all the fans in New York last night, well, they were chanting, we want Boston all night long.
Bottom of the first, Aaron Judge got the offense going for the Bronx Bombers against the A's. That's home run gave them a 2-0 lead. Fast- forward to the eighth inning, and Carlos Stanton crushes that ball, 443 feet. The Yankees win 7-2, and then the party was on in the clubhouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Onward and upward. We're just getting started, boys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right, so for the first time ever, the Yankees and Red Sox will square off in the post season after each team won 100 games in the regular season. That series gets started tomorrow night in Boston. Today, the National League Division series gets going. The Rockies and Brewers get things started, followed by the Dodgers hosting the Braves.
And, John, we know you're the biggest Red Sox fan in the world. How you feeling about this latest chapter of the Yankees/Red Sox?
BERMAN: Stressed out.
CAMEROTA: Feverish.
BERMAN: Like incredibly stressed out. I mean I'd like to be the guy here saying we're going to sweep them 2004, remember that, but I don't -- I just don't want to deal with it. I'd rather face a team that won no games, zero games in the regular season.
SCHOLES: Good luck with that.
BERMAN: I would. I'm just being honest.
SCHOLES: All right, guys, have a good one.
CAMEROTA: All right, you, too, Andy.
BERMAN: I hate the Yankees. I really do. I hate them.
CAMEROTA: I'm getting that. Oh, I'm picking that up from you.
Who knew a presidential alert would prompt so many jokes. Here are your late night laughs for you.
BERMAN: Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON: At 2:18 p.m., as part of the new emergency alert system, President Trump texted the entire country at once. And Trump said, whoever responded first will officially become the next Supreme Court justice. That's -- that's how they're do it now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's fair.
FALLON: That's how they're doing it.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": What is that? Oh, we're getting another presidential alert? Oh, all right. Well, let's see. Oh, wait a minute, I think -- maybe -- all right. Maybe he thinks he's texting? I don't know. What? I get that this might be useful during an emergency, but do we really need this? I mean I already get terrifying presidential alerts on my phone. They're called the news. They come every day. Sometimes multiple times.
[06:55:09] STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": But here's the truly frightening thing about this system. Unlike Amber and weather alerts, the presidential alert cannot be turned off. But that's not true for all phones, OK? After some backlash, Apple has released a workaround. Open up your control settings and then go to control center, and you want to touch customize controls and then --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: That must have been satisfying for him to do.
BERMAN: Do you remember growing up and watching "Brady Bunch" reruns on like UHF and getting the test of the Emergency Broadcast System?
CAMEROTA: Of course. All the time. All the time.
But I thought that we already had a presidential alert called Twitter? I thought that that's what he was using. Why is there yet another technology?
BERMAN: It doesn't come with the accompanying sound.
CAMEROTA: No, that's true.
BERMAN: All right, major developments this morning. The FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh has arrived on Capitol Hill. Very shortly, senators will be able to see it. What is inside? What does it say about the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh? We have breaking developments in just moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: This is the seventh time the FBI has looked into Kavanaugh. The process can move forward.
[07:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've heard from folks who tried very hard to reach the FBI and were not interviewed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A team of FBI agents can do more in a week than most can do in a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew he was lying because he was my roommate.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Upstairs, downstairs, where was it? I don't know. But I had one beer. That's the only thing I remember.
