Return to Transcripts main page
New Day
The State Of Hate In America; FBI Tipline Getting Upgrade After Parkland Massacre; CNN Reality Check: The Truth About Scientists Behind Climate Change Report; Uber CEO Reveals Plans To Fix Company's Image. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired November 27, 2018 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:31:32] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN is taking a closer look at the state of hate in America this week. Specifically, what is fueling the alarming rise of crimes against Jews and other minorities in this country and around the world?
In our first installment, CNN's Sara Sidner spoke with people who have endured vicious anti-Semitic attacks, including a survivor of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RABBI JEFFREY MYERS, TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE; PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA: I'm not just concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism, I'm concerned about the rise of hate in our country.
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A quiet Saturday morning of prayer and reflection at Rabbi Jeffrey Myers synagogue in Pittsburgh --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Contact -- shots fired, shots fired.
SIDNER: -- savagely interrupted by gunfire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got an automatic weapon. He's firing out in front of the synagogue.
SIDNER: Anti-Semitism had blasted its way back into America's consciousness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have at least got four down in the atrium DOA at this time.
SIDNER: Barry Werber was praying inside the Tree of Life synagogue when bullets started flying. He hid in a closet as a gunman mowed down 11 of his fellow worshippers.
SIDNER (on camera): What is like being a survivor?
BARRY WERBER, SURVIVED TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE MASSACRE: Sometimes I just feel dead inside -- no feeling at all -- and I hate that feeling, but it's there. SIDNER: How many of your friends have you had to bury?
WERBER: Too many to count.
SIDNER (voice-over): It was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history, the personification of a rising state of hate in this country.
The Anti-Defamation League says anti-Semitism in America was already exploding, from neo-Nazi marches to more subtle propaganda. In 2017, the ADL logged nearly 2,000 anti-Semitic incidents, a 57 percent spike in just one year.
JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: That's the single- largest surge we've ever seen since we started tracking this data.
SIDNER: The FBI, which only counts hate crimes reported by police, saw an astonishing 37 percent rise in anti-Semitic crimes.
Police in Pittsburgh say the gunman's anti-Semitic fervor was spelled out on social media -- one site, in particular, that attracts racists and neo-Nazis because of its loose policies on free speech. Experts say those sites have become echo chambers that are getting louder and helping motivate real-life attacks.
PROTESTERS: Gas the (bleep). Race war now!
SIDNER: The anger and misguided ideology of neo-Nazis, which has been permeating the dark corners of the Internet, now materializing on street corners and being scrawled across the American landscape. Swastikas on a temple in Indiana, on a school in Colorado, on a school
bus in Florida, on political signs in California, and on streets signs in Nevada. Words of hate on a temple in California.
SIDNER (on camera): What was spelled out here?
RABBI YISROEL CINER, BETH JACOB CONGREGATION-IRVINE, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA: Expletive, f-you, Jews, expletive again in red spray paint.
SIDNER (voice-over): And, anti-Semitism expressed through bullet holes shot through a temple in Indiana. Cars were set ablaze at a Jewish cultural center in Tennessee. And across the country, posters are popping up on college campuses meant to instill Nazi ideals in young minds.
Even the dead are targets.
At 92 years old, Millard Braunstein knows the pain of loss --
MILLARD BRAUNSTEIN, MOTHER'S GRAVE DESECRATED: This was the love of my life.
SIDNER: -- but he's never personally experienced anti-Semitism until this year when 175 tombstones at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia were desecrated. [07:35:06] BRAUNSTEIN: My mother's stone was knocked over and it was really very upsetting. I said how could this happen in America today?
SIDNER: For the victims of anti-Semitism, the question is why has it returned with such a vengeance?
GREENBLATT: Anti-Semitism is nothing new. What is new is number one, the public conversation -- the charged atmosphere. The incredibly polarized phenomenon in our society today.
SIDNER: Experts say Charlottesville, Virginia, last year, was a turning point -- the moment the growing rise in racism and anti- Semitism went public. Hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and Klansmen took to the streets protesting the decision to remove a Confederate statue.
It was one of several protests last year, but this was different. It began with a torch-lit march on Friday night.
PROTESTERS: Jews will not replace us!
SIDNER: That turned into a violent confrontation the next morning between white nationalists and counterprotesters. In the end, police say a man with neo-Nazi ideals killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Those who monitor neo-Nazis say the aftermath may have encouraged the movement --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.
SIDNER: -- especially because the president's lack of a complete condemnation of what happened was cheered by white nationalists.
BRAUNSTEIN: Show me a good neo-Nazi and show me a good Ku Klux Klansman. I mean, it just isn't there.
WERBER: Instead of saying well, there's wrong on both sides, how are we wrong? What were we doing wrong, except praying? That can't be wrong.
SIDNER: Barry Werber likens that kind of thinking to Hitlerism. He's well aware of the torture that regime meted out on a family member.
WERBER: He was used by the German scientists for experiments. They had literally cut the muscles out of his arms to see if they would regrow, and he had to live with that. Thank God I never had to go through that.
SIDNER: Jews have a saying about the Holocaust -- never again. After what he's been through, Werber is terrified it really could happen again.
SIDNER (on camera): Now, when it comes to what happened in Pittsburgh, Donald Trump did fully condemn what happened there and anti-Semitism. And for some Jews, though, it was too little, too late.
Others we spoke with, including a rabbi here in California, said he doesn't at all blame Donald Trump for the rise in anti-Semitism. In fact, he feels Donald Trump supports the Jewish people because he's such a strong supporter of Israel.
But one thing that everyone we spoke to agreed upon and that is that the heightened political rhetoric in this country is dividing us -- John, Alisyn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks to Sara Sidner for that and the work that she has done on this subject, which has been remarkable -- well over a year now for her.
And I'm just so struck by what the synagogue survivor said, which is what were we doing wrong -- praying.
CAMEROTA: Horrible.
I mean, Rabbi Myers, as you know, has talked all about the political rhetoric and how it does have an effect. Obviously, a corrosive effort on people's hearts and it does lead to horrible actions.
And this is just a moment that cries out for leadership in terms of talking all the time about our bond and our similarities instead of what divides us.
BERMAN: We've focused on this subject all week.
The FBI taking action after the Parkland massacre. What the Bureau is going to do now to better handle tips.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:43:14] BERMAN: The FBI is overhauling its public tipline system. This comes after the February massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The Bureau mishandled two tips they received about the confessed gunman well before the attack.
Our Jessica Schneider live in Washington with more.
I remember getting the news that the FBI had been warned about this killer. Finally now, taking action, Jessica.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. The FBI has been working on this revamped tipline ever since that mass shooting happened eight months ago and ever since they revealed that they had missed this crucial tip.
So, the FBI now saying that it will be adding more staff to this nationwide tipline -- 62 in all. That will include 12 new supervisory special agent positions, 50 new staff positions. All of these new positions to analyze the calls as they come in. There will also be a two-tier intake system to make sure that the calls are separated and that the important calls get that urgent attention. In addition, all the staff will get enhanced training. They'll know what to be on the lookout for.
And, interestingly here, the FBI is adding new technology. They're going to great create a digital transcript of the calls that will then be used to identify key threat words. They'll analyze those, as well.
So this is a huge overhaul for this nationwide tipline, all after the FBI admitted that it failed to act on a tip one month before the mass shooting. The FBI explained that a woman had called in to say she thought the gunman was going to explode, in her words. She said she also feared the gunman getting into the school and then shooting the place up.
So, the FBI disclosed this and they said the FBI staffer -- she got that tip. She discussed the tip with her supervisor and they both decided that there was no imminent threat and this case was closed within two hours. But, of course, just one month later, that's when the mass shooting happened -- 17 people killed.
[07:45:05] So, John and Alisyn, this new system is really designed to make sure that a similar oversight like this at this tipline doesn't happen again -- guys.
CAMEROTA: Yes. I mean, Jessica, it is heartening now that the FBI is going to these lengths and that they're going to try to be proactive instead of reactive, which is what this requires.
SCHNEIDER: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: Thank you very much, Jessica.
All right.
So, President Trump does not believe climate change is happening. First, the Trump administration tried to bury the government's climate change report by releasing it the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Now, some are going after the scientists who wrote the report in a particularly fact-free way.
CNN senior political analyst John Avlon has our reality check. Hi, John.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Ali.
So look, despite the Trump administration's best efforts, it seems that people noticed the government report released on Black Friday telling them that climate change is likely to make this year's wildfires and flooding the new normal.
And when you've got 97 percent of climate scientists agreeing that warming trends we're seeing are manmade and getting worse, it's almost interesting to hear all the partisan pushback against what really shouldn't be a partisan issue at all. But when you can't contest the message, some folks go after the messenger. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), FORMER SENATOR, PENNSYLVANIA: Look, if there was no climate change, we'd have a lot of scientists looking for work. The reality is that a lot of these scientists are driven by the money that they receive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Which sounds suspiciously like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DELAY, (R), FORMER HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: The report is nothing more than a rehash of age-old 10- to 20-year assumptions made by scientists that get paid to further the politics of global warming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Now, that talking point you're hearing in both clips is a classic bit of distraction and deflection designed to muddy the waters just enough to confuse the clear consensus.
In fact, one of the scientists who worked on the climate change report, Katharine Hayhoe, confirms that she and her colleagues were paid quote "zero dollars" for their work and could easily make ten times their salaries by working for something like big oil.
And it turns out that this idea that climate change scientists are just rolling the dough is so pervasive that it had to have its own Yale study debunking it.
Another talking point we heard from the administration is that the report was based only on the most extreme and unlikely scenarios. Not true.
Again, here's scientist Katharine Hayhoe.
Quote, "I wrote the climate change scenario chapters myself so I can confirm it considers ALL scenarios, from those where we go carbon negative before the end of the century to those where carbon emissions continue to rise. What the White House says is demonstrably false."
But hey, demonstrably false has rarely stopped President Trump's reality distortion field. And so yesterday, he kicked things off by saying he doesn't believe his own government's report, and then he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I want clean air, I want clean water -- very important.
(END VIDEO CLIP) AVLON: Clean air, clean water -- I'm sure this is sincere, but President Trump should call his office because his administration keeps proposing plans to roll back regulations designed to keep our air and water clean.
Everything from rolling back regulations on toxic air pollution to reducing auto emission standards, to disbanding the EPA's pollution science panel, to dismantling the Clean Power Plan, to expanding offshore drilling, to threatening the anti-pollution Waters of the United States rule, which he called, quote, "horrible, horrible."
Look, as Trump fans sometimes say, don't listen to what he says, look at what he does -- and that's good advice, at least when it comes to the environment.
And that's your reality check.
CAMEROTA: John, very helpful because sometimes when the President of the United States speaks in unequivocal terms, people believe him. And it takes more energy to do research and show what's really happening, and we really appreciate you doing that.
BERMAN: Also, the president says I don't believe it. What exactly doesn't he believe? That was a sweeping statement -- a 1,000-page report.
Tell us. Tell us exactly what you don't believe in that report and where the government -- your government went wrong.
AVLON: That would require facts.
BERMAN: Thanks so much, John.
CAMEROTA: Thank you.
Up next, CNN exclusively sits down with the head of Uber to talk about trust.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT, HOST, "THE HUMAN CODE": You guys have said trust us for a while and I think a lot of people don't have that trust.
DARA KHOSROWSHAHI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, UBER: I think it's fair to say trust, but verify.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Well, the new responsibility that he says Silicon Valley must take, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:51:52] CAMEROTA: The CEO of Uber is trying to move the company forward after a series of scandals. He sat down with CNN's Laurie Segall for an inclusive interview to talk about the company's future and a little bit of politics.
Laurie joins us now. Great to have you here. You're getting all sorts of exclusives.
BERMAN: She loves being awake in the morning -- you can tell.
SEGALL: I do.
CAMEROTA: She's great at this hour.
SEGALL: I do. I love being here with you guys.
And I love sitting down with a lot of these Silicon Valley executives and having the hard conversations because I think right now is a time where all of us are wondering about tech's impact.
And a fascinating moment for Uber. This is a company that has been through so many different scandals.
They brought in a new leader and he's an interesting guy. He's an Iranian immigrant and he says -- he said to me he knows quite a bit about reinvention given his personal story, and he said it's changing how he wants to do business at Uber.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEGALL: At one point, the FBI came to your door in Tarrytown -- this is when you'd move over --
KHOSROWSHAHI: Yes.
SEGALL: -- and said your family was going to be deported.
How does that shape you as a leader now, especially in this political environment?
KHOSROWSHAHI: My mom did a great job of protecting us from those issues. But for me, it has created a true thankfulness for what we have here in the U.S. because we were truly lucky to come to this country during a time when immigrants were welcomed. I understand what it's like to be different and I understand what a prize we have here as American citizens.
SEGALL: You said the American dream is the greatest brand on earth.
KHOSROWSHAHI: Yes.
SEGALL: Do you think that brand is being tarnished?
KHOSROWSHAHI: I think it is at this point. I think that we have always been seen within the international community of a -- of a country -- an immigrant nation that was welcoming, that created opportunity for success for anyone and everyone, regardless of background. And, you know, this is a personal opinion but I think the direction that we're going in, a little bit, is unfortunate.
SEGALL: Can you give me anything specific about how you, as a leader, have kind of changed in this new era?
KHOSROWSHAHI: You know, I have to tell you, it's an area that makes me uncomfortable. ACL taking his or her personal beliefs --
SEGALL: Yes.
KHOSROWSHAHI: -- and translating them into the actions of a company because in the end, I'm here to build this company. I'm here to serve our constituencies, our drivers, our riders, our customers, and ultimately, our investors. So why should I let me personal feelings get in the way or affect the direction of the company?
Many, many of our driver partners are immigrants that have come to this nation. It is part of the agenda of this company to provide an environment of success for them.
You know, this public-private kind of borders they're blurring --
SEGALL: Yes.
KHOSROWSHAHI: -- and I think it's a relatively uncomfortable time for CEOs and we've got to figure out how to change it. I'm figuring it out as we go.
SEGALL: I've always been such an optimist on technology and I'm looking at the last couple of years and thinking oh my God because this idea of are you making the world better, I think that people are genuinely questioning --
KHOSROWSHAHI: Yes.
SEGALL: -- if Silicon Valley is doing what they promised. You guys have said trust us for a while and I think a lot of people don't have that trust.
[07:55:00] KHOSROWSHAHI: I think it's fair to say trust, but verify. Our platform is a transportation platform. Facebook's platform is a digital connection platform, et cetera.
And I think they hypothesis in the past was -- well, we're building a platform and there are good people and bad people and we're not responsible for what they do on the platform because we don't want to be the censor. We don't want to tell you what to say.
But these platforms can create superpowers. If you communicate something in the old world, you can get at five people. These platforms allow you to communicate to a million. And that realization has created, I think, now the responsibility.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SEGALL: I think you're seeing that shift in mindset in Silicon Valley from we're not just the pipes, we are responsible for the content that goes on the platform, whether it's Uber, whether it's Facebook, and a hard realization over the last couple of years.
BERMAN: And, Uber's had a whole bunch of controversy swirling around at times and one of them has been accusations of sexism. What did he have to say about that?
SEGALL: Yes. I mean, there was a high-profile case of sexism against Uber and that's when they ended up pushing out the old CEO and bringing in Dara, and this caused a huge wave in Silicon Valley. Women collectively sighing and saying this is an issue and speaking out against it.
I asked him what we're not allowed to say about the women's movement and about sexism and he said people are really afraid to make mistakes. They've got to say stupid things.
You know, it was a bit controversial what he said, but I understand his mindset that people need to be able to make some of these mistakes -- have these awkward conversations and have open discourse about it because I've been to the Silicon Valley circles.
I've been to the dinner tables where there -- you have someone saying well, I'm scared to meet with a woman past a certain hour. It's just not worth my career. That's a real problem and people aren't talking about that.
That's something he wants to start talking about as CEO. He wants to start having the uncomfortable conversations, which I think we've got to start having in Silicon Valley.
CAMEROTA: You are certainly having all the best interviews and all of the exclusives. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
This interview is part of Laurie Segall's new series, "THE HUMAN CODE." She sits down with the most influential leaders in Silicon Valley who share their thoughts on where technology is headed and how it will change all of our lives.
BERMAN: Excellent stuff.
All right, the late-night comics -- they tackled President Trump's reaction to the migrant caravan, the denial of his own administration's climate report. Here are your "Late-Night Laughs."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": Today, Trump threatened to permanently shut down the entire U.S.- Mexico border. In response, migrants said relax man, we're just trying to get to Canada.
TREVOR NOAH, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL, "THE DAILY SHOW": There are some people who have said I may not agree with how these immigrants tried to come into the country but I still think that shooting them with tear gas is a little extreme. Well, if you watched "FOX NEWS," you'll see that one man's tear gas is another man's condiments.
RON COLBURN, PRESIDENT, BORDER PATROL FOUNDATION: To clarify, the type of deterrent being used is O.C. pepper spray. It's literally water, pepper, with a small amount of alcohol for evaporation purposes. It's natural. You could actually put it on your nachos and eat it.
NOAH: Yes, you could put it on your nachos and eat it.
The guy makes it sound like people crossing the border is just a scam for immigrants to get free spice. It's just like oh, man, this food's so bland. Let's try to cross the border, man.
FALLON: Hey, guys, listen to this. The federal government just released a 1,600-page report on climate change. Yes, leave it to America to release a report about saving the planet on 1,600 pieces of paper, single-sided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Well done.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
BERMAN: No, I have to say the joke about pepper spray, though, one of them is a late-night comic, one of them is on "FOX NEWS."
CAMEROTA: A pundit.
BERMAN: Where is the line?
CAMEROTA: Right. Impossible to know.
We're following a major development in the Mueller probe, and polls are open in Mississippi's special election. NEW DAY has it covered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that Mueller's office blew this agreement up suggests they must have a pretty good reason for thinking that he's lying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, we have a dispute about whether or not he did that. That's why we have courts and that's why that matter will proceed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But if he's lying, there is something very big he's trying to hide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are women and children out there. Using tear gas does not seem justified.
TRUMP: Why is a parent running up when they know that tear gas is forming? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This whole thing is going out of control unnecessarily.
TRUMP: I said this country's done a lot for General Motors. You better get back in there soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American worker's getting screwed by a company that got one of his huge tax cuts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They come to work every day and make General Motors a lot of money and this is the reward they get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
CAMEROTA: And, good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, November 27th, 8:00 in the east.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team accuses President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of breaching his plea agreement. Prosecutors say Manafort repeatedly lied to them after he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in their investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The special counsel's office claims that Manafort's lies relieve them of any promises they made to Manafort.
