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Trump Visits Ohio and Texas; Interview With Dayton, Ohio, Mayor Nan Whaley; Biden Says Trump Fanning Flames of White Supremacy. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 07, 2019 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It unites America, whether their ancestors were native to these shores, or they were brought here forcibly and enslaved, or they're immigrants of generations back, like my family from Ireland, or those coming today looking to build a better life for their families.

[15:00:07]

The American creed that we're all created equal was written long ago, but the genius of every generation of Americans has opened it wider and wider and wider, to include those who have been excluded in the previous generation.

That's why it's never gathered any dust in our history books. It's still alive today, more than 200 years after its inception.

But I honest to God don't believe Donald Trump sees it that way. On January 20, 2017, in his inaugural address, Donald Trump painted a dark, bleak picture of our country in crisis when he declared -- and I quote -- "This American carnage stops right here. It stops right now."

But, as a sitting president, Trump's anger, hate, and divisiveness, pitting Americans against one another, preying on our divisions, and doing nothing, nothing about the endemic and the epidemic of guns, is fueling a literal carnage in America.

We now have more mass shootings in the year 2019 since January than we have days that passed since January 1, 2019. As of Monday, according to the data from the Gun Violence Archives, there have been 255 mass shootings in the first 217 days of this year.

We can't let this go on. We can't and I will not let this man be reelected president of the United States of America.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: We can't.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Folks, folks, this incompetence, his immorality, his carnage stops with us right here, right now, starting in the Midwest. Limited to four years, I believe -- and I really do believe this --

that history will look back on this president as an aberrant moment in American history.

But if Donald Trump is reelected, I believe he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation. If we give Donald Trump four more years, this will not be the country envisioned by Washington and Adams and Jefferson.

If we give Donald Trump four more years, this will not be the nation bound together by Lincoln. If we give Donald Trump four more years, this will not be the nation lifted up by Roosevelt or inspired by Kennedy. It will not be the nation that Barack Obama proved toward -- bends toward justice.

The danger...

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: The danger that Donald Trump and the alt-right pose to this nation isn't hypothetical or exaggerated. It's real.

The core values of this nation, our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that makes America, America is at stake. Folks, everyone knows who Donald Trump is, even the people who support him. We have to show who we are.

We choose hope over fear. We choose science over fiction. We choose unity over division. And, yes, we choose truth over lies.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: If we stand together, if we stand together, we will win the battle for the soul of this nation.

We are the United States of America. There is not a single thing beyond our capacity, if we stand together and get up and remember who we are. This is the United States of America, period.

Thank you, and may God protect our troops.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

[15:05:10]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Well, you have been listening to former Vice President Joe Biden with an absolutely blistering attack against the president of the United States.

The Democratic presidential candidate says President Trump is fanning the flames of white supremacy.

So, with me now, Kevin Powell, a writer, a civil rights activist.

And, Kevin, you have been listening right along with us. What did you think of his message? KEVIN POWELL, ACTIVIST & JOURNALIST: I think it was probably one of

the most powerful speeches that Joe Biden, the vice president, has ever given. And I think it was absolutely necessary.

BALDWIN: Wow.

POWELL: And it's what the American people are asking for.

Let's tell the truth about where we are. Enough of this hatred, enough of this division, enough of this violence, enough of the gun violence, as I say on the blog that I just wrote for your Web site, CNN.com.

BALDWIN: I just read it.

Your opening line is, "I don't want to be shot."

And you talk through, you know, the culture and technology, but you also point to President Trump. And one of the biggest applause lines from Joe Biden was President Trump has more in common with George Wallace than George Washington.

But, as he pointed out, and so did you, Kevin, this violence, these mass shootings didn't start with President Trump.

POWELL: No, they did not.

I mean, 20 years ago, we were talking about Columbine. This has been going on. And I just think that it's a collision of many things. People talk about mental health, accessibility of guns, weapons that should be in war that are easily gotten by people in our country.

We can talk about the mass media culture, pop culture, a range of things. But I think, at the core of it, what I think Vice President Biden was just talking about, what do we believe in as American people? Do we value human life? Do we value American lives?

BALDWIN: The soul of America.

POWELL: That's what it is.

Do we believe in the value of life? Because, if you look at it, I mean, women, Jewish people, Muslim people, the LGBT community, black people, immigrants, so many people have been the victims of some form of gun violence.

We're talking about synagogues and churches. I should not go to church on Sunday in New York City, where I live, and wonder if someone is going to start shooting in the middle of a sermon. There is something fundamentally wrong with that.

BALDWIN: So what do we do about it?

POWELL: Well, action.

I love the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, Mayor Whaley. And you have been talking to her all week. I have been watching it. She is like, where is the action?

And I really believe that, you know, if politicians are not willing to put forth the effort to change these laws once and for all, you know, the American people have got to do what we did back in the '50s and '60s during the era of George Wallace. We have got to take to the streets and we've got to say, enough of this, because we know in the 19 -- during the civil rights movement, it was the people's movement, the action that led to the legislation that Lyndon Johnson pushed forth.

And that's what we need now. We need a national law that bans certain kinds of weapons. We need real laws to prevent people from getting guns so easily. And we really need, you know -- as Gloria Steinem said, if women have to wait a certain amount of time to get an abortion, then why should we be able to get a gun so easily?

I feel the same exact way. Why should we be able to just get guns and then be able to go do what we do to people? It's unacceptable.

And this is not who we are as a country. We know this. It's not who we should be.

BALDWIN: We are better than this. We are better than this.

POWELL: Absolutely. Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Kevin Powell, thank you.

And I just want to encourage everyone to write your piece -- or read your piece, CNN.com/Opinion.

And, John Berman, as I toss it back over to you in El Paso, I should point out that, as the former vice president was speaking there in Iowa, I am staring now at a tweet, because we know that the president in between, you know, these two tragic events, being here on the ground in Dayton, he is now en route to you in El Paso.

He is slamming, slamming Joe Biden.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Indeed he is, Brooke. We were just looking at that ourselves here.

The temperature is rising literally here in El Paso, and also metaphorically. The demonstrations are beginning behind me. They're also beginning about five miles away, close to where the president is or will be.

I am joined now by Boris Sanchez, a CNN White House correspondent who is following the president. And also with me is Fernanda Perez -- or Nicole Fernanda Perez, I should say. She's an El Paso native who just wrote an opinion piece for CNN.com called "The Spirit of El Paso Is Invincible."

And, Boris, let me start with you with the news. And Brooke just referred to it there. This speech from Joe Biden was blistering. It is part of a new heightened level of rhetoric and willingness in the Democratic field to take the president on really directly on all of these issues.

How is the White House responding?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you just saw the president's tweet there.

The president simply isn't affected by this sort of speech. And we saw that back in 2016, when Hillary Clinton gave that speech about racism and the president courting racists. Steve Bannon at the time essentially downplayed that speech. It sort of brushed off his back.

And I expect that we will see much of the same here with the president. He believes that Democrats are basically looking for points, they're looking for attack points against him, and that there he's not going to be shaken and his base isn't going to be shaken because of their statements.

[15:10:06]

BERMAN: All right, Fernanda, for now, and let's put politics over here and talk about the personal, because you are from El Paso.

Your life has been spent here. And I want to know what it's like to be at the center of this political feud, and you're hearing it and you have heard the president, and you have heard the back and forth, while also dealing with the personal pain. I know you lost someone connected to your family, Elsa Mendoza, who was a schoolteacher in Juarez who was shopping in the Walmart.

You have been consoling members of your family who lost someone dear to them. So what is all of this like?

NICOLE FERNANDA PEREZ, EL PASO NATIVE: You know, El Paso started being at the center of the political speeches a while back.

And from there, El Paso began to be scapegoated as something to use to further an opinion or a point that was being made in some certain speech. And we're seeing the consequences of that now.

And it's really hard to deal with the idea of somebody coming to this city that was part of that scapegoating, that really did some of that to bring a wall to our city, to militarize the border more. And it just becomes really hard to deal with the pain of that person being here, as well as with the pain of losing 22 members of our community.

BERMAN: And your family.

And you were saying you were going over the border Juarez to help your family. Tell me about that.

PEREZ: Yes.

So we go over the border every Sunday. It's what we do. Half of our family...

(CROSSTALK) BERMAN: It's right there. Mexico is right there.

PEREZ: It's quite literally right there.

It was just really a very different feeling from going over to play a soccer game, to have dinner with the family. And this Sunday, we were going over because my aunt needed somebody to take care of her kids, so she could have some time alone to cry.

That was just a very eerie feeling for me, because it's not something I had done before. And it's never something that I thought I would have to do.

BERMAN: So she could have time alone to cry?

PEREZ: She didn't want to cry in front of her 4-year-old. I mean, I wouldn't want to do that either. So it's been hard.

But El Paso, like I said, it's a very strong community. It always has been. And it's terrible that we have to overcome an obstacle like this, but I know we will.

BERMAN: I have seen so many tears here in the last few hours, just this memorial, people who can't help it, people who felt drawn to come and look for themselves.

Boris, the president, I don't think, is coming here. I suspect that he will go visit first responders, perhaps some of the victims in the hospital.

There were protests in Dayton. We saw them. There will be protest here. Will he see any of that? Do you know?

SANCHEZ: No indication yet. We haven't gotten word from the White House specifically where he's going, but this has almost become routine.

He is likely to visit a hospital and meet with those doctors, first responders, likely some local leaders as well. We have heard from some of them who don't want him here. So if they actually meet with him, that'd be interesting to see.

Ultimately, I think the big question is what this president says about Latinos in general in the United States. We have yet to hear him say that this was a hate crime perpetrated against immigrants, Hispanic immigrants coming to this country, risking everything to become Americans, and being then targeted for it.

The president hasn't said that. And I think the bigger question is if anybody would actually believe that he's empathizing toward our community because of everything that he said before about Hispanic immigrants being invaders, about crime-infested breeding concepts, about not being surprised if George Soros is paying for migrant caravans.

That's the language of white supremacy. And I don't think this president has really addressed the issue, aside from what he said in front of a teleprompter.

BERMAN: Yes, I wouldn't expect him to say here. He didn't make any public statements in Dayton. We have no indication he will say anything publicly here either.

We will have to wait and see.

Boris Sanchez, thank you.

Fernanda Perez, can I just say, no one here has to cry alone? I think the world is behind you. And certainly we are. So thank you so much for being with us.

PEREZ: Thank you.

BERMAN: And thank you so much for what you have written. And people can take a look at that on CNN.com.

Our special coverage continues.

The president is in the air right now on his way to El Paso.

And Brooke speaks with the mayor of Dayton. She just gave a news conference. She just met with President Trump. We will find out what happened behind the scenes.

So, stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:19:14]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN's special live coverage. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in Dayton, Ohio, a city grieving for the nine people murdered in Sunday's shooting rampage right here in the Oregon District of Dayton.

And before President Trump headed to Texas, he spent his morning right here, where he spoke briefly about gun reform with the mayor of Dayton and Ohio's U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. The senator says he and the mayor urged the president to help get the background check bill that the House has already passed through the Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): I asked the president to promise to me and to the American people that he will sign that bill after he has spoken out in support of it with Senator McConnell.

He was -- only said that we will get things done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:20:03]

BALDWIN: And next to the senator, here she is, Nan Whaley, the mayor here in Dayton, who has really led this city, who hasn't slept.

(LAUGHTER)

NAN WHALEY, MAYOR OF DAYTON, OHIO: I have slept a little.

BALDWIN: You have been absolutely incredible.

WHALEY: Thank you.

BALDWIN: So thank you for taking the time with us.

You met with the president this morning. Tell me what you said.

WHALEY: Well, I got to have a couple of conversations with him about this issue.

Most of the time was spent grieving with the victims, and -- which really appreciated the visit from the president, as well as our first responders.

But, look, I said, just like what our community said on this vigil to Mike DeWine is that we have...

BALDWIN: Do something.

WHALEY: Yes, we are looking for some action. And so, hey, Mr. President, like, we need some action on some gun legislation here.

So...

BALDWIN: And you looked him in the eye and you said this?

WHALEY: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: And he said what to you?

WHALEY: He said, "We are going to do something."

So, I don't know what that is. You know, I talked to his chief of staff, Mulvaney, and said, listen, particularly on this red flag law that I think we have talked about before that Lindsey Graham and Blumenthal have, there is a great opportunity for us to really make a difference there.

BALDWIN: Which Governor DeWine has supported.

WHALEY: Governor DeWine supports a red flag law here in Ohio. If we got a federal one, we could use federal court for that as well. That would be great.

And then there's even an opportunity for Ohio and Texas to be pilots in that, so cities could go right to the federal courts on that.

So I mentioned that his chief of staff, and then really pushed on an assault weapon ban and...

BALDWIN: To his face?

WHALEY: To his face, of course, yes.

And, at the end, as he was leaving, Senator Brown was terrific, as he always is, and he was talking about how he wanted to give special awards to our officers for the great work they did.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: He being President Trump?

WHALEY: President Trump, yes.

BALDWIN: And Senator Brown said so it eloquently. The best thing you can do for them is to get these guns off the street so they don't have to face them, Mr. President. That's the best we can hope for.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: What did he say both in response to you to wanting to ban assault weapons and then to Senator Brown?

WHALEY: He said, well -- he kind of -- he was kind of intimating that President Obama didn't get the assault weapon passed. He said, well, why didn't Obama get this done?

And Senator Brown said, look, he didn't have the votes. And I said, but Governor DeWine voted for the assault weapon ban when he was a senator. And the governor was there and said, yes.

And I said, maybe you can get the votes, President -- Mr. President. You can do something that Obama couldn't do. How about you get the votes for the assault weapon ban?

BALDWIN: That's a way to appeal to him.

WHALEY: I'm trying, right.

BALDWIN: Do you feel like he was listening?

WHALEY: He heard us. I don't know if he listened. This is the only time I have met the man. I have no idea.

BALDWIN: So, as this -- after this was happening, let me just read for you the president's social media director, Dan Scavino.

I don't know if you're aware of this. He tweeted that you were -- I'm just reading, because -- tweeted that you were lying about how -- the conversations with the president and the visit here and that he was -- this is the Dan Scavino quote -- that he was -- that the president was treated like a rock star.

WHALEY: He was treated very well by the victims, for sure.

BALDWIN: And do you have a response to the lying part, that Dan Scavino says you were lying? WHALEY: I don't know.

I mean, look, Senator Brown was right there next to me the entire time. The senator was there. We both talked about these issues. I think that's pretty hard to say we're both lying.

BALDWIN: Senator Brown didn't want to actually meet with the president, but you asked him to.

WHALEY: Yes.

The senator is a great supporter of the city of Dayton and has been a great supporter of me personally, as a personal friend.

And, look, I know he feels as passionately about these issues as I do. And so I was really grateful that he came down.

BALDWIN: What do you -- I was talking to the guys over at Ned Peppers across the street yesterday, who were phenomenal and so kind and gracious, letting us have a camera in there, as they are not back open, but allowing people to come in and grieve.

And they talked about how they're a family and how this has been just really difficult for them, as the shooter was taken down at their front door.

They were just talking about this community. And I'm just curious, to you, in days and weeks, what does -- what will recovery look like, beyond I know the exhaustion of inaction? What else do you want to happen here?

WHALEY: Well, for the community, we're going to get on with the business of grieving. And there's a lot of work that we need to do.

The community's been amazing. They really come together so strongly. I'm very proud of the community. But, I mean, a lot of emotional trauma has happened here.

And so in addition to having a physical trauma, the emotional trauma is going to take a lot longer. And so that's the work that we have ahead of us.

BALDWIN: They have a tough and kind leader in you.

WHALEY: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Mayor, it's been a pleasure these last couple days just talking to you.

WHALEY: Thanks so much.

BALDWIN: Good luck.

WHALEY: Thank you. BALDWIN: Special coverage from here in Dayton, Ohio, and, of course,

El Paso, Texas, continues here on CNN.

We will talk to Texas Congressman Al Green, the Democrat fighting to bring impeachment charges against President Trump -- his take on whether the two parties can actually come together, to the mayor's point, to take action gun violence.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:40]

BERMAN: I'm John Berman in El Paso, Texas.

This is CNN's special live coverage.

Air Force One will touch down here this afternoon, maybe in a little bit over an hour. And President Trump will walk through this city that is reeling from the worst anti-Latino attack in U.S. history, an attack police say was inspired by a gunman's desire to stop what he called the Hispanic invasion of Texas.

I want to show you some live pictures not far from where I'm standing, about five miles down the road. Crowds have been growing as President Trump.