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The Long History of Trump Aides Dismissing His Ideas & Orders; Body Cam Video Shows Man Shot in Back by Police; Widower Invites Public to Wife's Funeral; "Woodstock at 50" Airs Tomorrow at 9:00 P.M. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 16, 2019 - 14:30   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[14:30:00] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the things that President Trump would probably have to do if he were to acquire Greenland is finally acknowledge that climate change is real because Greenland, with its giant ice sheet, is certainly on the frontline of the battle against climate change.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Greenland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Fred, thank you.

As President Trump has expressed interest in purchasing Greenland, some of his staffers and advisers have dismissed or ignored the idea in the past. Resistance to the president's orders and whims has been a common theme during his presidential term.

To Cillizza we go.

How many examples do you have for us today?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER & CNN EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Man, we could fill the whole hour with them, Brooke, but I only have four or five minutes. Let's say that Donald Trump thinks and says lots of things publicly and privately. One of the challenges if you work for him, is to figure out if he's serious about this, did he see it on television? Is this something that's going to continue on? Is it just a passing fancy?

Let's go through a few we know about. Number one, that's Don McGahn you see on screen. We know him from the Mueller report. Donald Trump asked Don McGahn to get rid of Bob Mueller. McGahn refused. Then when the news broke that he had told McGahn to fire Mueller and McGahn had refused, Trump said, McGahn needs to send a letter saying that as well. McGahn refused.

Number two, Jeff Sessions, much beleaguered attorney general of the United States. Donald Trump, on multiple occasions, according to the Mueller report asked McGahn to un-recuse himself vis-a-vis the Mueller investigation. Remember, Donald Trump says the whole reason the Mueller investigation happened is because Jeff Sessions recused himself. Repeatedly asked him to un-recuse himself through intermediaries. And Sessions obviously refused. He was fired the day after the 2018 election.

Let's go to the next one, Gary Cohn. Gary Cohn, senior economic adviser to Trump. We know from Bob Woodward's book that Gary Cohn was taking papers that Donald Trump signed regarding trade agreements off Donald Trump's desk, so he could not sign them. Cohn believed Trump would be doing damage not just to the U.S. economy, but to his presidency and the country as well.

The last example, Jim Mattis. We know he had a disagreement with Donald Trump regarding withdrawing troops from Syria. Jim Mattis resigned. And in a scalding letter the next day, he made clear he could not serve a president whose foreign policy in this regard he did not believe in.

Those are four examples that are high profile and prominent.

Remember, this is a president who probably sends 25 tweets a day on average, thinks 500 things. And if you're one of his aids, you have to figure out, is he serious about buying Greenland. Does he know Denmark currently owns Greenland? Does he know it's not currently for sale? You have to sift through that, trying to figure out what's real and what's a passing fancy.

BALDWIN: Yes. We'll talk about that in the next hour.

Chris Cillizza, thank you very much.

CILLIZZA: Thanks, Brooke.

In a couple hours, El Paso will honor the life of Margie Reckard. The tributes, including all these flowers, are flowing in from around the world, all thanks to her widower's heartbreaking request. We will talk to him coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:59] BALDWIN: Nearly two weeks after the El Paso Walmart shooting, tonight, Antonio Basco pushed a cart full of roses and water and a wooden cross to a memorial honoring his wife and the 21 others who were killed.

And tonight, hundreds of people are expected to attend Margie Reckard's funeral. The 63-year-old was killed while shopping for groceries.

Her husband invited the public to attend because Margie was the only family he had. In response, the funeral home says they have received 420 flower arrangements from all over the world.

And CNN's Gary Tuchman sat down and spoke with Antonio Basco, who says Margie made him the happiest man in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tony Basco loved only one person in the world, and now she's gone.

(on camera): And she loved you a lot.

ANTONIO BASCO, WIFE DIED IN EL PASO MASS SHOOTING: I don't even know what she seen in me sometimes. We had wonderful years, the best years of my whole life.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Tony has no other family. His wife, Margie, had just a few family members but none in the El Paso area. Attendance at her funeral was expected to be minimal, until the Internet took over.

Tweets from journalists and media outlets sent out messages of support for Tony. Then, there was this Facebook post from the funeral home, reading, "Mr. Antonio Basco he was married 22 years to his wife, Margie Reckard. He had no other family. He welcomes anyone to attend his wife's services."

People from all over the United States have contacted the funeral home as well as Tony to say they plan to attend Margie's funeral.

(on camera): There are going to be hundreds of people here probably from all around the country. How does that make you feel?

BASCO: I love it. It's nice to see people really caring about people.

There's going to be a lot of people now. I told you it was important.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): They had been married for 22 years. Tony says his life had been very difficult prior to meeting her.

(on camera): What would you like people to know about Margie?

[14:40:02] BASCO: She was a caring, loving, the most beautifulist person.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Every day now he goes to the memorial site next to the Walmart, taking exquisite care of Margie's memorial, making sure the flowers and the wind chimes, which she always loved so much, looked the best they can.

(on camera): Where did you meet her?

BASCO: Omaha, Nebraska, in a bar.

FOREMAN: And you were single, she was single?

BASCO: Never been --

FOREMAN: Was it love at first sight?

BASCO: Oh, man, you can't imagine.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Tony is still waking up each morning in disbelief that she is gone. BASCO: I sit at the table looking at the front door just waiting for

her to walk in. I've even tried to call her on the phone.

FOREMAN (on camera): You have?

BASCO: I've tried to.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): At the memorial site, Tony tells Margie that, some day, he will meet her in Heaven.

BASCO: What have you been up to? What do you do up there? I want you to tell me something.

TUCHMAN: Tony is now beginning a new life alone. But for at least one day, at Margie's funeral, he won't be.

BASCO: She made me the happiest man in the world and the luckiest. There's nobody luckier than me in this whole world.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, El Paso, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: That's so sweet.

Gary, thank you for sharing. I bet there will be hundreds of people there tonight.

Meantime, the family of the man shot in the back by police is calling for an independent investigation. The body cam video is raising questions about the death of 19-year-old De'Von Bailey, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:46:29] BALDWIN: One family is now calling for an independent investigation after body cam video has come out showing the fatal police shooting of a 10-year-old man in Colorado Springs.

The video show police shooting De'Von Bailey several times as he ran from them. CNN has learned the two officers involved in a shooting are back on duty. More on that in a moment.

First, let me warn you as we play this, the video we're about to show you is very difficult to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: We have a report of two people with similar descriptions, possibly having a gun, all right? Don't reach for your waist. We're going to check and make sure you don't have a weapon. All right?

Hands up, hands up, hands up.

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Get your hands up. Get your hands up. Get your hands up.

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The two officers involved in the fatal shooting have returned to duty after three days of paid administrative leave.

CNN's Scott McLean is in Denver.

Scott, what are Baileys grieving parents saying?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke. First, they'll have to worry about their 19-year-old son's funeral.

But as you said, they want an independent investigation because they don't think they'll get a fair shake from the county sheriff's office, which did the investigating, or the district attorney's office, which has to determine whether or not this shooting was justified.

Initially, the sheriff's office put out a statement that made this seem cut and dried. The suspect reached for a gun and was shot by police. Simple, right?

A local newspaper tracked down surveillance tape that showed De'Von Bailey running away from police and then falling down to the ground. That complicated things a lot.

This new body cam footage, when police released it, the Colorado Springs police, they went to great lengths to explain that, as you heard there, the officer shouted "hands up" three times before pulling the trigger. De'Von Bailey's hands were not up. They weren't even off to the side as expected when running. They were down by his waistband there. And police think that he was reaching for a gun.

The attorney for the family says he was trying to keep his shorts up. The family says there was no reason to shoot. Watch?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG BAILEY, FATHER OF DE'VON BAILEY: How is it justifiable to shoot a man in his back, that is causing no threat. What is the protocol? Shooting someone is not a protocol?

DELSHIA SEARCY (ph), MOTHER OF DE'VON BAILEY: I would say, how could you. How could you just shoot him like an animal in the street? How would you? How day take my son away from me. You didn't even give him an opportunity. You deprived him of justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: It is important to point out that police were responding to a report of an armed robbery.

The autopsy report shows that Bailey was shot three times in the back, one time in the arm. Was the shooting justified? In 1985, the Supreme Court rules that

police cannot shoot a suspect to stop them from fleeing. But they can use deadly force if there's an imminent threat to themselves or someone in the area.

That is what this will come down to, Brooke, was there an imminent threat or not. That is for the D.A.'s office. They'll make that determination over the next three to four months, they said.

In the meantime, those two officers involved, they are back on patrol.

[14:50:00] BALDWIN: Keep a close eye on the investigation. It was nice to hear from De'Von's parents.

Scott, thank you very much. Scott McLean.

Also, disturbing new video today showing the horrifying moments when a truck plows into a crowd of people protesting outside of a detention facility.

Plus, new details on that fiery crash that Dale Earnhardt Jr walked away from alive. Look at that smoke.

And, New York police looking for a man after several rice cookers were found in the city, sparking a massive scare this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: CNN is celebrating Woodstock's 50th anniversary this weekend. "WOODSTOCK AT 50" explores the epic 1969 concert touted as three days of peace and music, featuring bands like the Who, Jimi Hendrix and Santana.

[14:55:08] CNN's Bill Weir explores the legacy of Woodstock and the performers who made the iconic event so legendary. Here's a sneak preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN FOGERTY, BAND MEMBER, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL: Half a million kids, right? And not one umbrella.

(LAUGHTER)

FOGERTY: And nobody brought food.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is John Fogerty.

FOGERTY: This is Creedence.

WEIR (on camera): This is Creedence.

FOGERTY: My wife named this beautiful dog.

(SINGING) WEIR (voice-over): In the summer of 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival had three hit albums on the charts and were promised a primetime spot. But like everything else at Woodstock, the schedule went off the rails.

FOGERTY: By the time we hit the stage, was 2:30 in the morning.

(SINGING)

FOGERTY: People were asleep. I went up to the mic and said something like, we're playing our hearts out for you up here. We hope you're enjoying this.

(SINGING)

FOGERTY: Out of the darkness a lighter comes on. I see a lighter going like that. And him say, "Don't worry about it, John. We're with you." Right?

(LAUGHTER)

FOGERTY: Well, he was anyway. I played the whole rest of my big Woodstock concert for that guy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So good. So good.

With me now, Bill Weir, host of CNN's "WOODSTOCK at 50" special report.

Rocking the T-shirt, "Don't eat the brown acid."

WEIR: It's really good advice for any weekend.

BALDWIN: Solid.

WEIR: Especially this one.

BALDWIN: Super solid advice, man.

WEIR: Yes.

BALDWIN: First of all --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Tell me more about who you talked to.

WEIR: What's interesting about Fogerty is, he hated his set so much he refused to let them put it in the film.

BALDWIN: No kidding?

WEIR: Which ended up it was the only thing that made it money. Because the fences went down, the tickets were worthless. BALDWIN: Yes.

WEIR: It should have been a humanitarian disaster. They planned for 150,000, 450,000 show up. They were out of food by Saturday. Then come the storms. Yet, somehow human connection made that the one concert we give a golden anniversary to.

BALDWIN: Yes.

WEIR: That's what I wanted to explore. What was it? Was it the weed? Was it the attitude? Was it the time? Because it was just fiercely divided, so of a cold civil war in America at that time. I like to think, could we do that again. It's hard to imagine.

BALDWIN: I'm going to come back to that in a second. I think of Woodstock, peace, love, whatever else you might be doing at the time.

WEIR: Yes.

BALDWIN: But you read some of it turned into fights and greed for some of those bands on the stage?

WEIR: Yes, we really dig into Crosby, Stills and Nash with David Crosby. The guys that gave us some of the most angelic harmonies ever. That was their second-ever gig. And 45 years later, they played their last gig at a Christmas tree ceremony for the Obamas. The harmony was gone.

They spent decades fighting over egos, over money. I wonder if there was a microcosm of what happened to the spirit of Woodstock.

David Crosby said, no, you're thinking about it the wrong way. It was a burst of light. Because those guys were fighting long before and after Woodstock. And so is the country and so is humanity.

Those three days are something to shoot for. For whatever the reason, people took care of each other, and that's what we celebrate.

BALDWIN: We'll be celebrating this weekend in some form.

WEIR: Absolutely.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: And we're done.

Bill Weir, thank you very much.

WEIR: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Everyone tune into the CNN special report, "WOODSTOCK at 50," 9:00 tomorrow night, only here on CNN.

Thank you.

This weekend, also the finale of our CNN original series, "THE MOVIES." It dives into the golden age of cinema. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMERON CROWE, SCREENWRITER & ACTOR: I don't think we give Marilyn Monroe enough credit as a dramatic actress or a comedian. She could do it all. Billy Wilder knew it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Some Like It Hot" is Marilyn Monroe's most memorable film. She puts everything together for herself. You really start to see her as a person you care about emotionally.

MARILYN MONROE, FORMER ACTRESS: All the girls try. It's just I'm the one that gets caught. Story of my life. I always get the sucky end of the lollipop.

CROWE: When you're in the hands of a Billy Wilder, it's the right person saying the line in the right way. They hear the comedy of it. There's a music to a punch line.

JACK LEMMON, ACTOR; Hey, it may turn out to be a surprise party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a ridiculous movie in a lot of ways.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon play these two musicians in 1920s Chicago. They accidentally witnessed the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. They have to escape. They decide to join an all-girl band disguised as women.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jack Lemmon becomes Daphne.

And without really trying to, he attacks a millionaire who falls in love with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMMON: I'm engaged.

TONY CURTIS, ACTOR: Congratulations. Who's the lucky girl?

LEMMON: I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:00:00]