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Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro Discusses Trump Leaving Global Postal Union, Driving Up Shipping Rates; Biden, Sanders, Warren Faceoff Tonight for 1st Time; Sanders 2020 Campaign Co-Chair Nina Turner Discusses Tonight's Debate, Sander's Past Position on Guns; Trump Visits Baltimore after He Trashed "Rodent-Infested" City. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 12, 2019 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00]

PETER NAVARRO, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF TRADE & MANUFACTURING POLICY: The only thing that Americans are going to see -- like what's going to happen after Geneva is one of two things. Either we stay in the GPU and they let us self-declare our rates or we're out and we self- declare out rates.

For the American people, that means we'll save hundreds of millions of dollars for the U.S. Postal Service. And it'll mean thousands of more jobs for Americans. And it'll mean a lower trade deficit because we won't be subsidizing foreign product coming in.

So this is something I think -- I know there's a lot of partisan dickering, this, that and the other thing, a lot of division in this country. This is something that 98 percent of this country should be totally behind. And the president has taken really strong leadership on it.

We're doing it in what I like to call Trump time, which is as soon as possible. This thing goes back, Brianna, to President Ronald Reagan, who complained about. Nobody ever did anything about it.

As soon as the president found out about it, he says, get it fixed and that's what we're doing.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, Peter Navarro, thank you so much, from the White House.

NAVARRO: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: We appreciate you being on.

NAVARRO: Thank you.

KEILAR: And we have new details on the strategies of candidates tonight as Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders faceoff together on stage for the first time.

Plus, Israel denying a report that it planted spying devices near the White House. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:36:08]

KEILAR: It is debate night in Houston for 10 of the Democratic presidential hopefuls as they prepare to take the stage. And here is what we're watching. For the first time, the frontrunner, former Vice President Joe Biden, will be flanked by the two progressive candidates who are neck and neck, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

With those three already dominating the headlines, the other seven candidates will be vying for their breakout moment. Right now, all of them are polling in the single digits.

We'll see the first-time matchup between Biden and Warren. So what does that mean for Bernie Sanders and how does he plan to break in there?

Let's talk to Nina Turner. She's the co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign.

Thank you for being with us, Nina.

NINA TURNER, CO-CHAIR, BERNIE SANDERS 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: What does the Senator need to do tonight?

TURNER: Bring in the same kind of thunder he brought into debate two, which I'm sure people are going to see that.

Brianna, you know the Senator as well as most people in this country. And he's just really pretty much is a straight shooter. And he's going to share his heart, his vision.

He's been the most consistent. He has the courage and the commitment to really transform this country. So people will continue to see that kind of fire and the sense of urgency the Senator has been bringing well before 2016 but certainly on the national stage as running for president, which started in 2016.

KEILAR: We heard his argument against Joe Biden. Democratic voters think Joe Biden can beat Trump. And Sanders says, you know, check the polls, they think I can beat him, too. And Sanders says he has more energy than Biden, more energy behind him.

But Biden does have this bigger margin when it comes to electability. How does the Senator handle that?

TURNER: He's polling well in Texas. As we know, a poll just came out that shows that the Senator is polling above all of his Democratic competition in a red state like the great state of Texas where people wouldn't believe someone like Senator Sanders could win there. The people are saying this vision for American, one that puts us first and not wealthy millionaire and billionaire, multi-billionaire donors first. They want that in the state of Texas. They want that in New

Hampshire. They want that in Iowa.

But, Brianna, you hit the nail on the head in the sense that this race for Senator Sanders is not just about becoming the next president of the United States of America. It is about bringing a movement with him.

In that regard, he is light years ahead of any of his competition on the stage, because the Senator knows that in order to have Medicare- for-All, college for all, the Green New Deal, you name it, it is going to take the force and the will of the American people.

We've almost hit the one-million donor mark and we're well beyond two million donations. Those matter just as much as any poll, that kind of synergy and energy.

And, Brianna, as you know, when people start putting their small- dollar donations behind you, that means that they really believe in you and that they're going to vote for you. So the Senator does have that movement and that excitement that we are going to need in the general election. We saw what happened in 2016. We need a movement of people behind the candidate.

KEILAR: Yesterday, the Trump administration announced they would ready a ban on flavored E-cigarettes amid this outbreak that we've seen of vaping-related deaths.

The Senator tweeted in response, "Now do A.R.-15s."

He has come under criticism in the past for his record when it comes to gun issues. He obviously represents Vermont. Some of his standings - his positions in the past have been more in line with what you might expect from someone who has represented Vermont for so long, instead of where we're seeing the contingent of Democratic primary voters, where they are. How does he sort of square that? How does he make sense of that? Here he is calling for the A.R.-15s and weighing into gun issues when he's had his own issues?

[13:40:10]

TURNER: As well he should, Brianna. Look, Senator Sanders has a D- minus rating with the NRA. They are no friend of his. He's no friend of theirs. And that's how he wants it.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: His opponents say --

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: -- the president of the United States.

KEILAR: His opponents will say --

(CROSSTALK) TURNER: That's fine. They can say that.

Look, we're willing to compare with seats any day of the week because you can roll many tapes and you see Senator Sanders standing up on the right side of all the issues. So he has this D-minus.

But your question, more pointedly, is about President Donald Trump, who in the face of the gun -- the crisis that we have in this country on gun violence, hasn't lifted a finger. It doesn't matter who died, how they died, what weapons are used. This president would rather make book with the NRA than to stand up for the American people and say enough is enough, while he's in that seat right now.

So what this country needs is a bold leader like Senator Bernie Sanders, who is not going to kowtow to the money interests of the NRA and other gun interests, who don't care even if our babies get gunned down and shot. They're not going to make a move to dismantle this gun violence that we have in this country.

So the debate, very good, Mr. President, but let's talk about health care in this country. Let's talk about high-quality jobs in this country. And for god's sakes, let's have a conversation about the guns violence in this country and stand up to the NRA.

Look, the Second Amendment is not absolute. And the founding fathers could have never dreamed that the damage of the types of weapons that on these streets right now could do. And in my very own home state of Dayton, Ohio, to have people gunned down like that, El Paso, gunned down.

All over this country, people are being gunned down. Sandy Hook -- and I know he wasn't the president then -- but, hell, Sandy Hook didn't even move this country.

So we need a president that's not going to equivocate on gun violence. So let's have a conversation about the records.

KEILAR: Nina Turner, thank you.

TURNER: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: I'm feeling so much passion from you. We appreciate you coming on to talk about this issue and we'll see what happens tonight.

TURNER: Thank you.

KEILAR: The president trashed the city, calling it rodent infested and disgusting. Tonight, he's going to Baltimore for the first time since he made those remarks.

Plus, moments from now, we could learn the cause of that deadly boat fire in California that killed dozens of people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:18] KEILAR: In the U.K., the Brexit drama is getting bigger with accusations the prime minister lied to the queen. This stems from a ruling by a Scottish court. They say it was illegal for Boris Johnson to suspend parliament.

Now, if you remember, Johnson had to ask the queen for her permission to do so, and it has left many asking one question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you lie to the queen when you advised her to prorogue, to suspend parliament?

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Absolutely not. Indeed, as I say, the high court in England plainly agrees with us, but the Supreme Court will have to decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The U.K. Supreme Court will take up that case next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denying claims that Israel planted spy devices near the White House?

Plus, we are learning new details as to what caused that deadly fire on a California dive boat as the last victim is located.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:53:10]

KEILAR: In just a few hours, President Trump will depart for Baltimore, the same city he blasted as disgusting and rodent infested weeks ago. The purpose of the visit is to deliver remarks at a retreat hosted by House Republicans.

If you remember, the president's comments drew national outrage and a stinging rebuke by many of the city's residents.

But not my next guest. Pastor Donte Hickman, of Baltimore, says the president is right in his assessment and made a plea for help this summer in the form of an op-ed, writing, in part, "Baltimore needs help, Mr. Trump. In this critical time, we need your influence beyond your insults."

Pastor Donte Hickman joining us to talk about this.

Important to point out, Pastor, you don't disagree with the president but you do take issue with his inaction. What does Baltimore need from President Trump?

DONTE HICKMAN, BISHOP, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH, BALTIMORE: Baltimore needs legislation. It needs funding. It needs emergency resources now to begin to redress the long-neglected communities of disinvestment in our city. KEILAR: The president's attacks, when he said these things about

Baltimore, were really directed at Congressman Elijah Cummings. Do you think that your leadership in Congress representing Baltimore is doing what they can do, or is this just an issue that needs to be addressed more broadly not just for Baltimore but other cities as well?

HICKMAN: I believe that one person alone can't do it. I think that Congress and the presidential administration have to act together.

It's an embarrassment to America, one of the richest -- the richest country in the world that our urban centers have suffered and endured lack of housing and food subsidy and joblessness for so long.

[13:55:09]

And I believe that now is the time that the president drawing so much attention to Baltimore, something can really get done. And I believe he's signaling that that can occur. And we want to continue to maximize this --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: You believe -- you believe what he said can help get more done?

HICKMAN: I believe that what he can do, can get more done. He has shined a lot of attention and now it's time to address it. I have been meeting with staffers and there's a lot of conversation how to get this done.

Our community, our city is ready. We have prepared plans. What we need is the kind of funding that can get it done. And I believe this administration can demonstrate that and Baltimore can be a model for cities all across America.

KEILAR: Past Donte Hickman, thank you so much.

And ahead, a stunning report that the horse that won the 2018 Triple Crown failed a drug test and should have been disqualified.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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