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Erin Burnett Outfront
When Joe Biden was 29, He Used His Rival's Age Against Him; Trump Announces Secret Deal with Mexico That Mexico Denies; Baseball Legend David Ortiz on Way to Boston After Being Shot. Aired on 7-8p ET
Aired June 10, 2019 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: ... outpouring of well wishes by fans and friends of Ortiz including a get well tweet from the former Barack Obama. And we certainly hope he gets well quickly. Thanks for watching. Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next breaking news. A helicopter crashes into a midtown Manhattan skyscraper. Why did the pilot venture into restricted airspace and why did he take an unusual path to get there? Plus, the man who took down Richard Nixon telling Congress about the striking parallels he sees between Trump and Nixon and Trump hitting back tonight. And baseball legend, David Ortiz, medevacked this evening to Boston after he was shot in the back in the Dominican Republic. Who shot him and why? Let's go out front.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. Out front tonight, a terrifying crash in the skies of New York City. A helicopter crash, a helicopter landing on a Manhattan skyscraper. The pilot veering in rain and low clouds into restricted airspace, then slamming into a 54 story office building.
This video taken earlier today appears to be the helicopter, the crash as you can see, you can barely see it moving there through the dense and low fog. The New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio that says that's what that footage is of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Battalion 9 to Manhattan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Battalion 9.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have what appears to be a helicopter that crashed into the roof. The helicopter is on fire. Crews are gaining access now. We're getting lines in place. Search is underway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, the crash happening in restricted airspace, restricted because it is just blocks from Trump Tower. At this hour, we still do not know why the helicopter was in restricted airspace in terrible weather. But here is what we do know, the helicopter took off from the east side of the island of Manhattan and then flew south. The pilot flew to the bottom of the island around Battery Park and
then turn north heading up the west side of the island. And then something bizarre, he veered towards midtown Manhattan, towards the skyscrapers, the restricted airspace, thanks to Trump Tower. And then he crashed landed onto the roof of a building on 51st Street 11 minutes after takeoff breaking out in fire just blocks away from Times Square and Trump Tower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATHAN HUTTON, WITNESS: It felt like a hard shove like someone is standing next to you and they just shove you really, really hard. We could smell smoke. It was coming down the staircase and when you get downstairs, it's like everything is somewhat calm when you're on the staircase.
You get in the lobby and you have people screaming at you, "Get outside. Get outside." Now, it's scary. You don't know what's going on, just go. Just go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Meantime, coming towards the flames, 145 firefighters and mass units. For so many New Yorkers, today the fears of 9/11 flooded back immediately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): If you're a New Yorker, you have a level of PTSD from 9/11. And I remember that morning all too well. So soon as you hear an aircraft to the building. I think my mind goes where every New Yorkers mind goes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Brynn Gingras is out front. And Brynn, there are so many unanswered questions about the pilot, who he was and what he was doing there.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're learning a little bit more about the pilot, Erin. We know his name was Tim McCormick. He was the only person onboard, according to officials, this helicopter. We got a statement from the company that he was most recently flying for, American Continental Properties.
They say they mourn the loss of their employee. He had been working at that company for five years. We're also learning a little bit more. According to our affiliate he was like the 20-year experience pilot. That's according to our affiliate here in New York WABC and they also talked about an incident that he had back in October 2014, where he actually encountered a bird strike while he was doing a tour in a helicopter with six other female passengers onboard.
He was able to land that helicopter safely and no one was hurt. So it gives you an idea of how experienced he was. So that just really actually starts a lot more questions. I think it's important to point out what investigators face to the moment that they got to the top of the building here behind me, 50 storeys high.
We're told by investigators that the debris field was all on fire, that fuel was being leaked, they had to put out all of those fires. So you can imagine the wreckage that was there that they had to begin their investigation with. We know they were looking for the tail number to then report back exactly who owns this helicopter and then that, of course, then brings the question of why did he end up in the middle of midtown.
We know from a source as you pointed out the tick-tock 1905 [00:00:08], the time he took off, 11 minutes later he landed here. What we also know from a source is that he signaled that he was waiting for better weather in order to take off, but for some reason decided to go anyway even though it's really been poor weather conditions throughout this entire time, this entire evening here in New York City.
But still, again, a lot of questions certainly now that we know who he is, investigators know who he is, they're going to learn a lot more answers. And NTSB, FAA, NYPD all trying to get those questions answered, Erin.
[19:05:40] BURNETT: All right. Brynn, thank you very much. Out front now the man who witnessed the crash, Lance Koonce. He joins me now on the phone. And Lance, I appreciate your time tonight. I want to show our viewers some of the video you took as you saw all of these happened. Tell us what happened.
LANCE KOONCE, WITNESS TO HELICOPTER ACCIDENT: Well, it happened pretty fast. I heard a sound of what I thought was a helicopter much louder and lower than normal and then it stops pretty quickly. So I got up and I looked out my window and upwards and I saw fire on the roof of a building about a block south of us which was 767 7th Avenue.
BURNETT: So as you see that and were looking at the smoke sort of billowing out amidst all of the fog, and the clouds and the rain, that was the weather today, what did you think? You heard that low flying aircraft helicopter and then you heard that bang and the smoke, what did you think at that moment?
KOONCE: I sort of thought it was one of two things, either there was a fire on the roof and there was a police or fire helicopter over the building trying to get a look at it or that the helicopter or whatever the aircraft was had caused the fire. And when I looked up, the first thing I saw was flame and so eventually I sort of came to the conclusion that it was probably a helicopter or a small plane hitting the roof as opposed to a fire that someone was looking at.
BURNETT: And you know when, obviously, you hear about a plane in a building as a New Yorker, we heard Governor Cuomo talking about how so many New Yorkers felt today because of 9/11. So when they hear a plane, an aircraft in a building all of a sudden they have these flashbacks, that immediate fear. Did any of that go through your mind, Lance, when you first heard that helicopter and saw what was happening? KOONCE: Of course and that's the reason I stood up quickly and went
to look. I was here on 9/11 and was actually in Central Park and saw the first plane come over heading south. I didn't know at the time what that was, but I think you are conditioned a bit to listen for those sort of out of place noises, so that's definitely why I looked up.
And your first thought is for the safety of the people in the building or on the ground and so that was sort of what I was looking to see.
BURNETT: Right. Yes, it just, obviously, go back to that day and the terror and horror of wondering what was happening to people. Well, Lance, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
KOONCE: Of course, thank you.
BURNETT: And I want to now to Miles O'Brien, Aviation Analyst. So Miles from what we know here, you heard Brynn going through it, 34 Street Heliport which is on one side of Manhattan, going down the way you should, because you're not allowed to go over the middle in part because of the Trump Tower restricted zone. Going down, coming up and then suddenly veering in totally in restricted airspace and then this crash landing. What do you make of it?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, if you go by that video which evidently is the helicopter that crash by virtue of that --
BURNETT: Yes, we'll put that up. This is the video in the fog.
O'BRIEN: If you could put that up for a second.
BURNETT: Yes, there it is, OK.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
BURNETT: Yes.
O'BRIEN: So the first few seconds are crucial, Erin, because you see the helicopter coming out of the clouds, almost straight down toward the ground. Now, what that would tell you is the pilot might have accidentally flown into instrument meteorological conditions inside the clouds, became disoriented, pointed the nose downward to try to break out and what appears to happen then is he levels off, gains control of the craft, potentially near miss crisis averted. But then what doesn't make sense is you see it slowly rise back into the clouds and then over Manhattan.
So you have to ask yourself, was there a control issue with the aircraft, that'll be a key focus for investigators. And the other possibility here is was this pilot incapacitated in some way? Was he having a coronary, for example, that made it difficult for him to gain control. These are the things. So you're looking at the pilot, the machine and the environment. We know the environment was not good for flying very much on the edge.
[19:09:59] BURNETT: Right. I mean as you can see, you can barely see it, but as you point out you do see it come down, you see it sort of steady. A question though here on this issue of restricted airspace which this was, right, you're not allowed to land helicopters on the roofs of buildings in New York City, as the Mayor said. And that's for a lot of reasons, including a history of a deadly crash. You've got Trump Tower nearby. Yet it does not appear and I know this happened very quickly, but it doesn't appear that authorities knew that there was a helicopter in restricted airspace. Is that concerning?
O'BRIEN: Well, there's a radar track, so they certainly were following it. They were probably trying to figure out who it was, trying to raise that person on the radio. There just wasn't enough time. And yes that could cause some concern. The bottom line is that VFR visual flight rules corridor over the Hudson River does not require pilots to check in.
In order for air traffic control to manage that piece of airspace, it would take a huge amount of effort time, additional controllers. As it stands for now, it's a self-policing, self-reporting environment. And anytime you get out of that particular narrow corridor, you're supposed to check in with LaGuardia tower. Obviously, that didn't happen.
BURNETT: All right. Miles, thank you very much as we wait for answers here on this. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: You're welcome.
BURNETT: And next, the man who took down Richard Nixon with a powerful message for congressional testimony today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN DEAN, FORMER NIXON WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: The Mueller report is to President Trump what the so-called 'Watergate road map' was to President Richard Nixon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Plus, long before he was running for President, Joe Biden ran against a much older opponent for Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, FORMER UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT: I am an anachronism. I'm a 29-year-old oddball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Are the tables turned now? And President Trump declaring victory with a new agreement with Mexico. So what did he really get out of it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:15:41] BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump versus John Dean. Trump slamming the man who brought down Nixon as John Dean testified today on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John Dean has been a loser for many years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Dean, meanwhile, was taking questions about Watergate and its lessons from Congress, what incensed Trump perhaps comments like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: I would say the Trump administration is in fast competition with what happened to the Nixon administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And tonight, Trump is saying one big difference between him and Nixon on impeachment is this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I guess, President Nixon never got there. He left. I don't leave, there's a big difference, I don't leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: John Dean's testimony today was full of fireworks and Manu Raju is out front.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): With their party divided over impeachment proceedings, Democrats today begin the challenge of spotlighting what's in the Mueller report without the key witnesses who have first-hand knowledge. Their first witness, former Nixon White House Counsel, John Dean, who played a key role in bringing down President Richard Nixon 46 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The last time I appeared before your committee was July 11, 1974 during the impeachment inquiry of Richard Nixon. Clearly, I am not here today as a fact witness. In many ways, the Mueller report is to President Trump what the so-called Watergate road map, stated a little differently, Special Counsel Mueller has provided this committee with a road map.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU(voice-over): Dean detailing what he sees as clearly parallels between Nixon and Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Comparing Nixon
to just future administration, would you say there was a future administration that committed more crimes than the Nixon administration as far as obstruction?
DEAN: I would say the Trump administration is in fast competition with what happened to the Nixon administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU(voice-over): The former U.S. Attorney testifying that Trump would have been prosecuted if he were not protected by Justice Department guidelines saying a sitting president cannot be indicted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOYCE WHITE VANCE, U.S. ATTORNEY: The facts contained in that report would be sufficient to prove all of the elements necessary to charge multiple counts of obstruction of justice. I would have confidence that the evidence would be sufficient to obtain a guilty verdict and to win on appeal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU(voice-over): Republicans assailed the witness' credibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): You are not the fall guy in the Watergate scandal. The FBI referred to you as the master manipulator of the cover-up.
DEAN: Incorrectly.
BIGGS: The U.S. attorney said you were at the center of the criminality.
DEAN: Mr. Biggs, if I might, I did my best to tell the truth when I was asked. I did my best internally to break up the Watergate cover- up when I realized we were on the wrong side of the law.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Well, wait a second, wait a second, Mr. Dean has made a cottage industry out of accusing presidents of acting like Richard Nixon.
DEAN: Mr. Gaetz, I appreciate you were not born at the time this all happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU(voice-over): The hearings come amid a tense Democratic debate over whether to formally begin impeachment proceedings which now is supported by the Chairman of the Committee, Jerry Nadler, and a number of members on his panel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): The president repeatedly tried to
interfere in the ongoing criminal investigation. He tried to fire the Special Counsel. He wanted to lie about the special counsel and say that he had conflicts of interest. The clock is ticking.
RAJU: What problem is there if you guys continue your current course of action?
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Well, the problem is we may not be able to get the witnesses we want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now, the Democrats and the Justice Department did reach an agreement today to review documents related to the Mueller probe including the FBI notes. The full committee and staff can begin to review at least some of those documents.
I'm told tonight the House Judiciary Republican and Democratic staff have begun to look at through those documents, but there's still a question about whether they were fully comply with that subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee and that's one reason why, Erin, tomorrow the full house will vote to authorize this committee, the House Judiciary Committee to go to court if necessary to force the administration to comply with their demands, Erin.
[19:20:05] BURNETT: Manu, thank you very much. And I want to go now to Democratic Congressman and presidential candidate, Eric Swalwell. You saw him there in that piece. He sits on the House Judiciary Committee, so he was there and asking questions as you just saw John Dean.
So Congressman, this hearing today clearly antagonized the President right calling John Dean a loser, Congressman Matt Gaetz called John Dean a prop. What was your goal with having him there?
SWALWELL: Good evening, Erin. The goal was to lay out for the American people a perspective of how the President's conduct relates in history to other presidents' conducts. It's often said that history doesn't repeat itself but rhymes. And today we heard conduct about a sitting U.S. president that sounded and rhymed a lot with what we saw during the Nixon administration.
So this is not the last hearing we're going to have on the President's obstruction, but we're just laying the foundations of the American people, understand why we take the next steps that we do.
BURNETT: So as he's laying out what he saw as parallels in making that case, many of your Republican colleagues and you just heard a couple of them there, were attacking Mr. Dean, questioning his motives. Do you think they succeeded at all in damaging his credibility or his point of view?
SWALWELL: John Dean was the chief lawyer for the same committee that did this hearing today before he was the chief lawyer for President Nixon. But the larger picture here is I would love to see the Republicans as allies in getting the relevant witnesses here as to this current president's conduct. The Attorney General who has failed to show up, Hope Hicks, Don McGahn, witnesses who had a front row to this president's obstruction and we've seen nothing but empty chairs from these witnesses.
So if the Republicans were interested in what the committee hearings look like, they would link arms with us and say, "Bring these witnesses in, let's test them."
BURNETT: So you've been ready to impeach the Attorney General Barr and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin but not President Trump yet. Now, today John Dean told you I quote what we just heard, "The Trump administration is in fast competition with what happened in the Nixon administration." Did John Dean say anything to you, Congressman Swalwell to make you change your mind and move towards starting impeachment proceedings now for the President?
SWALWELL: Well, Erin, I still believe we should hold the front door obstructers immediately accountable, that's Mnuchin and Barr. Impeach them now. They both have broken the law. I'm not taking off the table impeaching the president. I just want to make sure that we do this with all of the evidence and they have buried the evidence, those two individuals. A lot of the evidence that we would need.
So I think we're going to end up there, but first I want to show the American people we exhausted every remedy before we got to that point.
BURNETT: All right. Congressman Swalwell, I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.
SWALWELL: My pleasure. Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, Joe Biden says his age is a plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: With ages come wisdom, an experience that can make things a lot better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But in this first Senate race, Biden knocked his opponent as old and out of touch. Is he getting a taste of his own medicine? And Trump claims victory in his fight with Mexico, threatening China now with more tariffs. Are his threats working or was all this a charade?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:27:07] BURNETT: Tonight, the fight for 2020, Joe Biden and President Trump both in Iowa tomorrow at the same time. The two have traded barbs over everything from foreign policy to age.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I am a young vibrant man. I look at Joe, I don't know about him.
BIDEN: If he looks young and vibrant compared to me, I should probably go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. This is not the first time though that Biden has used the issue of age against his opponent. Jessica Dean is out front.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA DEAN: They say age is just a number.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I am an anachronism. I'm a 29-year-old oddball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN(voice-over): But for Joe Biden, age defined the beginning of his political career. During his first Senate campaign, Biden made his youthfulness central to his message. Print ads drew sharp contrast between the then 29-year-old and his opponent Cale Boggs, a 63-year-old two-term incumbent.
"We've got a new crime problem in this country, we need some new thinking," one Biden ad read using the tagline, "He understands what's happening today."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Biden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN(voice-over): Now, nearly five decades later, the 76-year-old Biden's age is once again a factor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It's a legitimate question to ask about my age. The same question was asked to me was I old enough when I got elected age 29 before I was old enough to serve. It's a question whether or not hopefully I can demonstrate not only with ages come wisdom, an experience that can make things a lot better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
BIDEN: But look, that's for you all to decide not for me to decide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: This is hardly the first time age has been an issue in a presidential race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RONALD REAGAN, FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I will not make age
an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN(voice-over): But there's a certain amount of irony at play in this 2020 race as Joe Biden's opponents turned the tables, using a message similar to his in 1972 to make their own case for leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-IN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we're not going to win by playing it safe or promising a return to normal. We are where we are because normal broke and we Democrats can no more promise to return to the '90s than Republicans can deliver on a promise to return us to the '50s.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does Joe Biden represent the future?
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I don't think so. I think it's time for a new generation of leadership.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't want to be the America of 10 years back, of 20 years back or 30 years back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:29:28] DEAN(voice-over): A new CNN Des Moines Register poll of likely in-person Democratic Iowa caucus-goers showed just 1 percent called being over age 70 an advantage against President Trump, but that same poll showed 52 percent believe a candidate with years of experience in Washington would have an advantage in facing President Trump.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[19:30:10] DEAN: That poll also shows Biden as the top choice of likely participants in the Iowa caucuses, coming in at 24 percent. But his advantage there in Iowa is smaller than the one we've seen in recent national polling. The former vice president returns to Iowa tomorrow for two days worth of events there -- Erin.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right. Thank you very much, Jessica.
And now, Ed Rendell, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Pennsylvania, and our political commentator and Democratic strategist, Keith Boykin.
Thanks to both.
So, Governor, let me start with you. Look, you know, Joe Biden says, look, it's a fair question. It's a strategy he's used. Obviously, he was on the other end of the spectrum, right, when he was 29 years old. Is he getting a taste of his own medicine now? ED RENDELL (D), FORMER GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA, FORMER DNC CHAIR:
Well, first of all when Democrats look at this, they're not looking at a Republican opponent who's 50 years old and trim and in good shape. Joe Biden may be technically a couple years older than Donald Trump, but he's in far, far better shape, far better to withstand rigor. So, that's number one.
Number two, Democratic voters have spoken already. Joe Biden wouldn't have been at 40 percent in national polls if Democrats were concerned about his age. What Democrats remember is a few short years ago, he was the most impactful vice president we've had in my lifetime. And, Erin, I'm old. So I don't think it's a factor at all.
BURNETT: All right. So, Keith, look, Biden is well aware questions about his age -- he didn't try to say oh, it's wrong of people to ask, I'm offended. He said, no, it's fair. I think it brings wisdom. Here he is.
(BEGN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hopefully, I can demonstrate not only with age comes wisdom and experience that can make things a lot better.
I think I am better prepared to take that office. Look, I think it's fair for people to ask about my age. And all I say is watch me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, can he turn experience to his favor?
KEITH BOYKIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he can, but I don't know how he does it. I mean, I don't really know what Joe Biden is offering in this race that makes him stand out other than the fact that he was Barack Obama's vice president and that makes him electable to some people. And he's popular in that he has name recognition.
But he's not really offering any brand new ideas for 2020. I don't feel that he represents the demographic changes going on in the Democratic Party. The party is becoming increasingly more younger and increasingly more people of color.
And here, we have a 70-year-old white man who might be the nominee of the party after we've had a black man and a woman as two previous nominees. It almost looks like we're going backwards in some respect. So, I think if he wants to stand out he's got to have some ideas for 2020. You can't just rest in the laurels of the fact that he was associated with a popular black president.
BURNETT: So, Governor, let me ask about that poll, right, to that point, right? Fifty-two percent of people says experience matters. And yet when you ask them and this is an Iowa poll, so important for the Iowa caucuses, which, obviously, historically, they're tough for Joe Biden. One percent of Democratic caucusgoers say a candidate over 70 would be an advantage over Trump.
Does this worry you in a race where clearly Democrats care about one thing more than anything else and that is beating President Trump?
RENDELL: No, not at all. First of all, let me say to your prior commentator, it's one of the things strong with the Democratic Party. We say we had a woman president. We had a black president. Now, we're going to have a white president.
No, we're going to have the best person qualified and experienced to be president. We play identity politics far too much in the Democratic Party, and it gets us in big trouble. We're looking for the best person.
Joe Biden was not only vice president to a popular Democratic president, he was a great vice president. He gave him important advice. He did great things like run the stimulus program flawlessly.
So I think identity politics is the thing that's been hurting Democrats. I think Joe Biden is viewed not only as the strongest contender to beat Trump but he's viewed as the strongest person to be president.
BOYKIN: I disagree strongly, Governor. I mean, the two -- the person who in the history of this country got the most history for president of the United States was a black guy named Barack Obama. And the second person was a woman named Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump comes in third who's a white guy.
I don't know what makes us think that a white guy is suddenly more electable than a person of color or a younger person or just the idea of having diversity in the party is a good thing. It's not a bad thing. We've had plenty of old white guys run for president.
I'm not against old white guys. I've voted for them in the past. But it's also important to have something more than just being an old white guy. That's not enough to make you an electable candidate.
BURNETT: Governor?
RENDELL: Right, but we've had an African-American president, white female president. Are you saying there's not going to be more white guys nominated for president on the Democratic side? That's ridiculous.
[19:35:00] BOYKIN: I'm not saying that.
RENDELL: It's not who you are. It's what you are. It's how qualified you are. It's your experience.
It's not the color of your skin. It's not your gender. And if we keep playing gender and identity politics, we are in trouble.
BOYKIN: I understand what you're saying, but I'm saying you've got to offer something more than just being the next old white guy in line.
RENDELL: He was a great vice president.
(CROSSTALK) BOYKIN: He ran for president twice before, once in 1988 and once in 2008. He lost both times. He lost to Michael Dukakis and he lost to Hillary Clinton. What makes you think he's going to beat Donald Trump?
RENDELL: Because that was before he was vice president and the polls clearly demonstrate --
BOYKIN: So that means he's winning off his legacy from being vice president.
(CROSSTALK)
RENDELL: Let me finish. And the polls clearly demonstrate he's the Democrat most likely to beat Donald Trump.
BOYKIN: Yes, they do right now, but I think those polls could change in the future. So, I mean, I'm not opposed to Joe Biden. I just don't like the idea he gets a pass on things other candidates are being held a different standard just because he has associations with Barack Obama.
BURNETT: All right. I will leave it there. Thank you both very much.
And next, the president takes a victory lap.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have an agreement on something that they will announce very soon. It's all done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But did Mexico offer anything new in turn?
And baseball legend David Ortiz being medevaced back tonight. Who shot him in the Dominican Republic and why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:40:07] BURNETT: New tonight, President Trump claiming there's another deal with Mexico that will be announced soon or he's going to bring back the threat of tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have an agreement on something that they will announce very soon. It's all done. And they have to get approval and they will get approval. If they don't get approval, we'll have to think in terms of tariffs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But the president did not provide any specifics or details about what that agreement is. It doesn't it's going to results in more tariffs. Mexico, meantime, is denying any additional deal.
But on top of this, a former administration official familiar with the talks with Mexico said the deal was agreed to months ago, as in Trump's threat over the past week didn't help at all because it was already done. The officials tell CNN, quote, everything had been previously agreed to. The Mexicans just said they will do it faster. That is not some win POTUS just got last week.
OUTFRONT now, former assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama, Juliette Kayyem, and president of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd.
Brandon, you're with me, so let me start with you.
Obviously, that former official saying, look, we'd done all this months ago and that person seems to be a part of that and saying what I see out of it is what we'd done months ago. This is not some win, this person says for President Trump.
What's your response?
BRANDON JUDD, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: That's completely not true. In fact, all you have to do is listen what Secretary McAleenan, Acting Secretary McAleenan said. This is a new deal. There is no deal in place to send 6,000 troops to the Mexican- Guatemalan border. That is brand spanking new.
BURNETT: The Mexican guard -- Mexico sending troops down there. Yes.
JUDD: The expansion of the migrant protection program across the entire southwest border, that is brand spanking new.
Yes, we did have migrant protection protocols in place in San Diego and El Paso, but those are the only two places we had them. So, this person, this unnamed source that is saying this, I don't put a whole lot of stock in unnamed sources because it's very easy to say anything you want depending upon where you stand.
BURNNETT: So, Juliette, what's your response? Because Secretary of State Pompeo says, you know, when people say this was agreed two months ago, and, you know, it wasn't signed but it was agreed to, they're dead wrong. Here's how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Seeing some reporting that says these countless hours were nothing, that they amounted to a waste of time, I was part of those conversations in Houston in December when the original migrant protocols were put in place. The scale, the effort, the commitment here is very different from what we were able to achieve back in December.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do you believe him, Juliette? JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Look, words like
scale and enforcement, you know, those are just words. And so we have to determine over time what the metrics are and what the enforcement mechanism is. So, for example, when the Mexicans say they're going to send 5,000to 6,000 troops south to protect their border --
BURNETT: Yes.
KAYYEM: -- that is question what are the troops actually going to be doing? So we don't know at this stage because everything is wrapped in a mystery that Trump says is coming later.
All we do know is that the Mexicans at least of this weekend claim there is actually nothing that new on the table. They concede a lot of great talking points to the White House because Donald Trump was trapped. He had promised a tariff. Everyone if not Democrats, Republicans too knew that could never be the case.
And so, what this was was a dance to get Trump out of his difficulties. Look, this is an enforcement issue at this stage, and the numbers are going to prove whether the Mexicans had in them and whether they had the capacity to change a dynamic that is so complicated that a single, you know, silver bullet is not going to solve.
JUDD: But that doesn't make any sense to say that the Mexican government acquiesced to give President Trump a win. We're talking about two completely different parties. You're talking about a liberal problem, in President Obrador's, and you're talking about a conservative party.
So, why would a liberal party give President Trump a win? That doesn't make any sense.
The fact of the matter is this deal that was just struck, there were have been many presidents in the past that would have liked to get this deal but couldn't get this deal. President Trump through the threat of tariffs did, in fact, get this deal, which is good for us in securing the border. Why wouldn't we want to get the border secure?
BURNETT: Juliette?
KAYYEM: Mr. Judd and I are on the same page of that in terms of securing the border. The question here is, is did that tariff threat amount to anything new? And of course the Mexicans are claiming maybe there was a speed up process, but, you know, don't criticize me for doubting enforcement with this administration. Whether it is the sending of our own troops to the wall or to the border that we now learn are painting walls, right, or any other promises they make.
BURNETT: They are literally painting the wall.
[19:45:00] KAYYEM: Not shame on me in terms of I have questions about the enforcement mechanism. Everyone knew including the CBP that the tariffs would not go into effect because they would have too much of a detrimental impact. Now to say the threat of it was successful is like sort of --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: There is something on this that the tariffs would have been bad for us and bad for them and nobody wanted them including the president. I think we all know that. So, in a sense, it's kind of amazing if Mexico would have believed him, maybe he would put a little bit on that 5 percent, and hope something would happen. No way anyone thought he was going to 25 percent, Brendan.
But to this point about Republicans, Mike Gallagher, Republican congressman, was against the tariff, former DEA, and knows a lot about the border, as you know. And here's his reason for thinking Mexico couldn't do very much. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-WI): I think it would also strain credulity to believe that Mexico is suddenly going to wake up and think, wow, you know what, we actually should start doing something about illegal immigration, when, in fact, Mexico doesn't have the resources right now to counter the gangs and cartels that run that state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, he's making the point, you can go ahead and you can put all the people down in Mexico, and say, here's your numbers, here's your national guard troops, here's your things on the Guatemala border, but they won't be able to do it. Does he have a point?
JUDD: No, he doesn't. In fact, all you have to do is look history. In 2004, on a small stretch of border, 63 miles of border in southeast Arizona, which was the epicenter for illegal immigration at that time, there was a lot of pressure put on the Mexican government. They in fact did deploy troops and it was almost like a light switch. We went from 365 apprehensions down to 80 per day, 365 to 80 per day. It was almost like a light switch.
So we've seen when the Mexican government does in fact get involved, illegal immigration goes down. That's why this is absolutely a win for President Trump.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
And next, the moment baseball legend David Ortiz was shot in the back in the Dominican Republic. Why was he targeted? And will he be OK? He's on his way right now to Boston, in a hospital there.
And Jeanne on the symbol of friendship between Trump and Macron now reportedly dead. What?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:56] BURNETT: At this hour, former baseball star David Ortiz is being medevaced to Boston in a plane arranged by the Red Sox after he was shot in the back in a club in the Dominican Republic last night. Patrick Oppmann is OUTFRONT in Santo Domingo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This video reportedly showing the moment the former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, also known as Big Papi, was shot in a club in Santo Domingo, along with TV talk show host Jhoel Lopez. Just hours before, Lopez posted this picture with Ortiz on Instagram, saying, you know that we are from the streets with my David Ortiz.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic say the shooter was on a motorcycle and ambushed Ortiz, shooting him just once in the back. The 43-year-old was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent surgery and doctors had to remove part of his intestines, colon, and his gallbladder to stop internal bleeding, according to Ortiz's assistant.
Doctors at the hospital said they expected Ortiz to make a full recovery.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he asked for was to see his family, Gonzalez said during a press conference Monday at the Clinica Abel, the hospital where Ortiz has been treated.
Lee Ortiz, David's father, also spoke at the presser and thanked the medical team.
On behalf of the Ortiz family, David Ortiz's work team, I want to thank the press, but especially this medical team.
Ortiz's father says he had no idea why someone would have shot his son. Right now police say they have one person in custody for the shooting, who is captured and held down by a crowd of bystanders until police arrived.
The crowd can be heard repeatedly saying in Spanish, the suspect needed to talk and fess up. Another suspect got away on foot.
The baseball legend's assistant telling CNN it was not a robbery and that Ortiz does not know the suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here comes Big Papi.
OPPMANN: In 2004, Ortiz helped the Red Sox to their first World Series championship since 1918, ending the so-called curse of the bambino. In 2013, Ortiz cemented his place in the hearts of Bostonians with this reaction in the wake of the Boston bombings.
DAVID ORTIZ, BASEBALL LEGEND: This is (EXPLETIVE DELETED) city and nobody going to dictate our freedom.
OPPMANN: Ortiz is a near certainty to be a future hall of famer, but as the baseball community rallies around one of its brothers, the question remains, why Ortiz?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OPPMANN: And we are outside the Santo Domingo Hospital where David Ortiz was operated on until very early this morning, having parts of his intestine, gallbladder, and colon removed. Remarkably, doctors said that he is well enough to continue his journey on to Boston. He's flying there right now, where he will begin the next step of his long recovery -- Erin.
BURNETT: Patrick, thank you very much.
And next, is the friendship between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron literally dead? Jeanne Moos is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:58:09] BURNETT: Here's Jeanne.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's easy to get sappy over a sapling. Remember Presidents Trump and Macron shoveling dirt as they symbolically planted an oak tree from France on the White House lawn. Symbolizing these ties that bind us -- well, brace yourself, the friendship tree is dead, according to French media. It was planted for the photo-op, then disappeared.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You may notice something missing, gone --
MOOS: Just a yellow spot left on the lawn as the tree went into agricultural quarantine.
(on camera): Rest in peace, sweet sapling. You didn't even make it out of quarantine, died before your tender roots could even be replanted.
(voice-over): European oak tree dies after 14 months in U.S. detention camp, read one tweet. Dozens of others repeated the same thing. Everything Trump touches dies. This is called a metaphor.
A metaphor for the once blooming bromance between the two presidents.
TRUMP: I like him a lot.
MOOS: When they stared into each other's eyes and whispered. They held hands on the White House portico. Trump groomed macron.
TRUMP: We have to make him perfect.
MOOS: "The Daily Show" gave it the French cinematic treatment.
But by autumn, the bromance was described as broken, on the rocks over issues like the Iran deal, climate change, the European Union, the end of illusions was how one French paper put it, though the illusion was still on display at the D-Day celebration. Hands on shoulders, a hug, even a hand on the chest. Someone had joked about the tree planting, "The new Sopranos season is
the best."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that!
MOOS: As if they were mobsters moving a body. Now the tree is a corpse. Remember that old verse: Poems are made by fools like me, but only Trump, Macron, and Charlie Brown can kill a tree.
CHARLIE BROWN: I've killed it.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.
CHARLIE BROWN: Everything I touch gets ruined.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Thanks for joining us.
Anderson starts now.
