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Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) Discusses Slavery Reparations Bill; White House Considering Releasing Undocumented Migrants In Sanctuary Cities; Girl Struck By Car In Front Yard Lives To Tell About It. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired April 15, 2019 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00] SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- 1970s, where redlining and mortgage discrimination was going on.
Just let's study the issue. What's -- that's what I'm proposing. Let's bring people together to study the issue.
I'm not going to tell you what it looks like. I don't think it looks like writing a check and handing it to someone, but we all are invested in equality in this country and making sure that we don't have economic scales that are tipped out of balance.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think this is the moment that it does pass because it's been around as a known --
BOOKER: I don't think it's going to pass. Let's be realistic, it's just not going to pass in this Congress. But I do think it's important that we are discussing this issue more, like we all are now.
HARLOW: Yes.
BOOKER: The ideal in this country should get back to --
HARLOW: Look --
BOOKER: -- justice for all, economic opportunity for all. A country where we all can come together and don't have presidents who divide us.
At the end of the day, I pray this election doesn't boil down to one person and one office. It should be about all of us. It should not be about beating Republicans but uniting Americans for the cause of justice and opportunity.
HARLOW: We have two students joining us next hour from Georgetown who are trying to do this at Georgetown University, so we'll continue the conversation.
Senator, it's very nice to have you.
BOOKER: Thanks for having me. Thank you.
HARLOW: Come back on NEW DAY soon, OK? BOOKER: I look forward to it. Thank you.
HARLOW: All right, thank you so much.
We just asked the senator about President Trump's controversial tweet about Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Should the president take that down? We'll ask a top official on his 2020 campaign, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:35:11] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says the Trump administration is still considering that plan to release undocumented migrants into sanctuary cities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is an option on the table. I mean, we've talked about a number of different things over the last two years that we'd love to see happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Joining us now is Marc Lotter. He's the director of strategic communications for President Trump's reelection campaign. Good morning, Marc.
MARC LOTTER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Good morning, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Just explain to us how this works, beyond it being sort of a provocative headline. Once the migrants get to San Francisco or get to New York or fill in the blank, then what happens to them?
LOTTER: Well, then they wait. Because of our failed asylum laws and our outdated immigration laws, many times they wait for years for a summons to appear before a judge to actually hear their asylum claim. And we know for a fact that about nine out of 10 of these people are denied their asylum claims.
But because of the way our laws are written we are forced to house them here in our country and give them work permits while they wait for these bogus claims to be adjudicated.
CAMEROTA: And where are they housed in these sanctuary cities while they wait?
LOTTER: Well, it's not necessarily -- I think it varies from city to city. And what have to do is basically release them into the country and then they're on their own to go find shelter, jobs, and what have you.
CAMEROTA: I guess what I'm saying is how does releasing 100,000 migrants a month into sanctuary cities -- how does that fit into the president's master plan about immigration? LOTTER: Well, ultimately, the master plan is for Congress to finally step up and do something to adjust these outdated asylum laws to deal with the immigration crisis that the president's been talking about for many, many years now. And up until recently, Democrats denied there was even a crisis.
So in the meantime, we have no choice. We are under court order and federal law to have to release these people into the country as opposed to shipping them back and letting them file for their asylum where they -- where they live or where they come from. We have to release them.
And since these cities have said we are welcoming -- we'll bend over backwards to make you welcome in our communities, it seems like a logical move to send them there.
CAMEROTA: I mean, it sounds like what you're saying is that the president is out of ideas -- that he's washed his hands of this.
LOTTER: Well, the president is hamstrung by the fact that Congress won't update the laws. We have asylum laws that do not fit the times. We have immigration laws that do not fit the times.
And so, in the meantime, we are facing a crisis at the border. Our border communities, our border facilities are overwhelmed. And as opposed to working with this president to do something, Congress just want to continue to wash their hands of it.
CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, one thing that the president could do -- and I think that he began this process or he tried to with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi -- is to work on comprehensive immigration reform. And so, obviously, there are things that Democrats want and there are things that Republicans want, and so he could go that route.
LOTTER: Well, and so far, we have not seen any indication that Congress wants to do that. The president's been calling for a comprehensive immigration reform since the time he took office and has had many offers on the table, but Congress didn't seem interested in doing it.
You're going to have to have something bipartisan because you've got to get those 60 votes in the Senate. And now, with a Democrat- controlled House, you're going to have to get something that can go through there as well.
But ultimately, it falls on Congress to get this done.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: The president can't do this without Capitol Hill.
CAMEROTA: And so, has he spoken to majority leader Mitch McConnell about bringing some votes to the floor?
LOTTER: Well, I'm not about -- I'm not sure about any specific conversations between the White House and the Senate leadership, but I know the president has been very focused on this issue for a very long time and Congress, so far, has just punted on it.
CAMEROTA: And so, his feel -- so, the point of the president -- just so I'm clear. The point the president has gotten to now is that however many migrants show up at the border, the answer is to bus them to sanctuary cities and then hope for the best?
LOTTER: Well, we don't have much of a choice to do otherwise because our facilities at the border are overwhelmed. In many cases, the communities along the border are overwhelmed with the migrants that are coming here.
The president wants to get this stopped. That's why he's pushing pressure on Mexico to stop these caravans from coming across. That's why he's talking about securing the border to keep people from coming over here and then removing the incentives that have them not only violate our laws but also violate Mexico's laws just in order to get here.
But until we do that, we've got to deal with the situation at hand. It's been called a crisis not only by this administration but former President Obama's secretary of Homeland Security also now says it is a crisis. And until Congress comes back and actually does something on it, all we can do is deal with the aftermath.
[07:40:00] CAMEROTA: I want to move on to the issue with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and President Trump's tweet that Nancy Pelosi and the congresswoman, herself, say has upped the amount of death threats that the congresswoman is getting.
They've seen a spike in the threats against her and so the Capitol Police, et cetera, are having to expend extra resources to protect her.
Does the president know that he's putting her in danger?
LOTTER: Well, I don't think it's the president who is putting her in danger. I think it's her ill-thought-out words that she used to describe the greatest terror attack on the history of United States soil -- that which killed nearly 3,000 Americans. The fact that those are her words. That's what's putting -- making the threats.
But make no mistake. No congressperson, no American should be threatened and no one is inciting violence. I think what they're doing is showing outrage toward words that should have been better thought out.
CAMEROTA: Well, yes. I mean, if she's saying that it's since the president's tweet that what the -- Nancy Pelosi and the congresswoman -- and obviously, the records could show this -- that the amount of death threats and the calls coming in have spiked since the president's tweet.
And so, let's just give them the benefit of the doubt and say that that's true. Is the president considering taking down that tweet?
LOTTER: Well, I'm not aware of the president planning to take down that tweet.
But I think it's also important that the American people realize that these are the words that are being spoken by leaders of the Democrat party. In many cases, you've got Democratic leaders and leading presidential candidates coming out and defending those words.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: And so many people are offended by that --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: -- because -- I mean, this was an attack that killed nearly 3,000 people --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: -- and to describe it as somebody who did something is just disrespectful.
CAMEROTA: Oh, sure. And you've heard people say that they thought that it was anything from inartful to offensive to hurtful.
But I'm just talking about in terms of the threats themselves. Since you're saying that nobody should have their lives threatened regardless of what words they choose, should the president take down that tweet?
LOTTER: I'm not going to tell the president what he should or should not do with his -- with his Twitter account. But I can tell you that I think it's absolutely appropriate when you have an elected official -- someone who is standing as a member of Congress saying things, that you -- that you call out those things when they are inappropriate or offensive.
We've seen the Democratic Party struggle with Rep. Omar before on her -- on her anti-Semitic tropes and now with these comments. It's something the Democrats have failed to hold her accountable for.
CAMEROTA: Well --
LOTTER: And while no one should -- no member of Congress should be threatened --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: -- and no one is inciting that or encouraging it, but it is the appropriate action for elected officials to stand up, call out those comments --
CAMEROTA: Sure. I mean --
LOTTER: -- and asked that they be taken down.
CAMEROTA: Understood. And you do hear various pundits and various Democrats saying that. But in terms of you saying that nobody should incite violence, let's say the president didn't mean to incite violence -- and we'll obviously give him that benefit of the doubt -- but his tweet is doing so.
Would you like to see him take that down?
LOTTER: I'm not going to -- I'm not going to get ahead of what the president may or may not do. But we have seen many people rightly express their outrage. You've had the cover of the "New York Post" the other day --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: -- before that tweet came out.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: Many people are expressing that outrage.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
LOTTER: And while I would no longer -- I wouldn't hold the "New York Post" accountable for how a headline might be viewed, I'm not going to hold the president's Twitter account to that either.
Ultimately, what Congresswoman Omar needs to do is retract those statements and call the Islamic radical terrorists who did these -- this terrible deed out for what they did.
CAMEROTA: Marc Lotter, we appreciate your perspective. Thank you very much for being on NEW DAY.
LOTTER: Good to see you, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: You, too -- Poppy.
HARLOW: All right, really important questions, Ali.
All right. So this video -- watch it because it makes your jaw just drop. A 9-year-old girl playing in her front yard hit by this car. She survived, she's out of the hospital, and she'll join us, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:47:36] HARLOW: All right, welcome back to NEW DAY.
The hit and run suspect that struck a 9-year-old girl will be in court today. You will likely remember this video. We want to warn you it is graphic. Here it is.
LaDerihanna Holmes was playing outside her Georgia home when suddenly, a car veers off the road and hits her. The good news is she survived. She is finally out of the hospital.
She joins me now with her mother, Charlette. What a miracle to see you both. LaDerihanna, you look just like a princess with your big bow and your big smile.
LADERIHANNA HOLMES, HIT AND RUN CRASH VICTIM: Thank you.
HARLOW: And we all just want to know how are you doing, sweetheart?
HOLMES: I'm doing good. I feel better that I'm out of the hospital.
HARLOW: Yes?
What -- for you mom, Charlette, what is this like for you? I mean, obviously, seeing the video, instantly I thought of my two young children. And it's a miracle that your little girl survived and is doing so well.
CHARLETTE BOLTON, MOTHER OF LADERIHANNA HOLMES: Yes, it was very hard for me to watch it. I could only watch it one time. It was very heart-wrenching and I'm surprised that my baby was able to walk -- make it out of there alive.
HARLOW: LaDerihanna, tell me about your brother. You have a 12-year- old brother, right, and I think I heard you call him your hero.
HOLMES: Yes. He did do CPR on me --
HARLOW: Yes.
HOLMES: -- but there also was another young man named Pierre (ph) that also helped me.
HARLOW: What do you have to say to them this morning?
HOLMES: I just want to say thank you. I want to thank Demarion (ph) because he helped me.
HARLOW: Yes. What does it feel like, LaDerihanna, to have survived something like this and to have your amazing family around you, the amazing doctors and nurses in the hospital that helped you get through this?
HOLMES: It feels amazing. I try not to think about it as much as I can.
HARLOW: Yes, wow.
HOLMES: It's hard to look at.
HARLOW: Charlette, obviously, we are celebrating that she survived, but talk to me about what the road to full recovery is like. You know, what your family has gone through and what you guys still have ahead.
BOLTON: Well, first of all, our house was badly damaged. We are in the process of getting everything fixed with that.
[07:50:03] Her appointments to psychological evaluations, therapy, rehabilitation. She's going to have about three appointments every week for months on end.
The time frame is really unknown right now. It just depends on how she heals. I'm concerned with her 100 percent healing because I want her to get back to what she loves to do.
And I'm also worried about how I'm going to get her back and forth to these appointments because about two days ago my car stopped working. But my oldest son is about to be taking off from school for a little while so that I can make sure that my baby gets to all of her appointments --
HARLOW: Yes.
HOLMES: -- because she needs the therapy and the rehab.
HARLOW: There is hearing today for the suspect -- the person driving that car. His attorney says that he was being robbed in his car at the moment that this happened.
I understand you're attending the hearing. What can you tell us?
HOLMES: Yes, ma'am, I intend on being there at 9:00.
The suspect is a liar. He claims that some strange man jumped in his vehicle. But when you're driving a 2017 newer model vehicle, as soon as you crank up the cars the doors automatically lock, so it's impossible for someone to just jump inside of your car and carjack you.
So I plan on justice being served. I plan on being there to speak against him getting bond. And if he does get bond, I hope it's very high that he can't afford to get out. He does not deserve to be on the street.
HARLOW: LaDerihanna, finally, to you, sweetheart.
I know you're a cheerleader, right? You love cheering. Are you excited to get back to that?
HOLMES: Yes, I'm very excited.
HARLOW: Yes, I bet you are and I bet all of our friends are very excited to give you a big hug.
We're so glad you're OK. It's a miracle. Thank you for being with us -- both of you, this morning.
BOLTON: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thank you for having me.
HARLOW: And I would also just note their GoFundMe page if you'd like to help the family. It's gofundme.com/LaDerihanna-Holmes.
All right. Reversals, contradictions, outright lies. The president knows there's
video of all his public speeches, right? You might not think so after our reality check. John Avlon has that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:56:02] HARLOW: All right.
President Trump's flips and flops and reversals on a whole lot of stuff raises the obvious question, doesn't he know all this stuff -- all of those public comments are on video?
John Avlon back with his reality check. Good morning, my friend.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Poppy.
So, if you're following the facts, it's easy to get whiplash listening to President Trump and his staff contradict past positions. This weekend, we got two piping-hot new examples.
First, there was the clean-up-after news that the White House pressured the Department of Homeland Security to release migrants into sanctuary cities as a way of punishing the president's perceived enemies.
A Homeland Security spokesman said that it was, quote, "a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion." In other words, nothing to see here until the next day when President Trump confirmed it was very much still on the table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll bring them to sanctuary city areas and let that particular area take care of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Then, of course, is the open question of contacts between WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign. After the arrest of Julian Assange last week, Trump said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Now, according to "Politifact," though, Trump mentioned WikiLeaks at least 137 times in the last month of the campaign. Here's just a handful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: WikiLeaks -- I love WikiLeaks. This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable. It tells you the inner heart. You've got to read it.
It's been amazing what's coming out on WikiLeaks.
This WikiLeaks is fascinating.
This WikiLeaks, it's like a treasure trove.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: The montage fully could eat up the entire segment, but reality was no match for Sarah Sanders on the Sunday shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Clearly, the president was making a joke during the 2016 campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Look, unless candidate Trump was actually doing a stand-up routine, that explanation doesn't pass the laugh test.
But there are dozens of these examples -- these kinds of reversals on basic matters of policy and morality. For example, abortion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm pro-life.
I'm very pro-choice.
And I am very, very proud to say that I am pro-life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Now, personal evolution could account for that stark shift over time.
But what about David Duke, the former grand wizard of the KKK? Back in 2000, Trump clearly condemned him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, you've got David Duke just joined -- a bigot, a racist, a problem. I mean, this is not exactly the people you want in your party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Wise word. But here, of course, is Trump in 2016.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Honestly, I don't know David Duke. I don't believe I've ever met him. I'm pretty sure I didn't meet him. And I just don't know anything about him.
(END VIDEO CLIP) AVLON: Or how about LGBT rights? Last week, the Trump administration quietly enacted its ban on transmilitary service members. During the campaign, Trump said he'd be a champion of --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: -- our LGBTQ citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: He even tweeted, quote, "I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs."
Now, this kind of bait-and-switch applies to basic monetary policy as well. Back in 2011, Trump slammed the Obama-era Fed policy known as quantitative easing. But earlier this month, Trump called for a return to quantitative easing, the policy conservatives used to love to hate.
He's done the same kind of 180 on key staff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I like Mr. Bannon. He's a friend of mine. I like him, he's a good man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: But after Trump fired Bannon he acted like he barely knew the guy, stating, quote, "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind."
It's almost as if the president doesn't know we've got records of what he said or maybe it's that he doesn't care. But perhaps Trump's already told us everything we need to know about his relationship with the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And just remember what you're seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: And that's your reality check.
HARLOW: All right, always good. Don't go anywhere, John. Come here to the desk.
AVLON: I might see you shortly.
HARLOW: All right.
It is a comeback, folks, for the ages. Tiger Woods' epic win.
NEW DAY continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER, THE MASTERS: Here it is. The return to glory.
TIGER WOODS, 2019 MASTERS TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: This has meant so much to me and my family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Tiger to get back to the top is the greatest comeback in sports history.
WOODS: It's hard to comprehend right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The public has a right to know whether their president is working in the interest of the country.
SANDERS: I don't think Congress are smart enough.
END
