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Democrat Defeats Trump Ally in Deep-Red Louisiana; New Poll: Pete Buttigieg Surges to First Place in Iowa; Source: President Trump's Medical Exam Was Unscheduled. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 17, 2019 - 07:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Just edging into the 7:00 here. And President Trump is waking up realizing he didn't get the big win that he was looking for in Louisiana.

[07:00:03]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards won a second term, beating out Eddie Rispone, a Republican businessman who was backed by President Trump.

CNN's Diane Gallagher is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

What's been the reaction there? I know that in the presidential election, this is a reliably red state. But the number is split when it comes to the governor's office?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are, Victor. And I think that's important context here. The way that this is being looked at on a national level might not be the same as people here in Louisiana see these results.

Look, President Trump did come to try to push a Republican, Eddie Rispone, over the finish line. He was here twice and just the 10 days leading up to the election. And the president did say that this would be viewed as a loss for him if Rispone didn't win. Well, he didn't win.

But when I talked to voters here at the polls, a lot of them told me, hey, look, I'm a Trump voter but I'm voting for the Democrat John Bel Edwards. And they cited various reasons, being his stance on abortion, his stance on guns or just the fact that they thought he did a really good job. They told me they still plan to vote for Trump in 2020 but you cannot ignore the fact that the president put himself on the line and it didn't turn out. This is two states in one month that that happened.

John Bel Edwards during his victory speech eluded to the president's presence here.

(BGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: Our shared love for Louisiana is always more important than the partisan differences that sometimes divide us. And as for the president, God bless his heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: It's also very important to take a look at turnout in Louisiana. This was a runoff election because Louisiana does these jungle primaries where it doesn't matter your party, you all run against each other, so this was the runoff. The turnout was extremely high for what that would be especially in the cities and parishes that have high African-Americans population. So, it could be the fact that the president's visit may have had the opposite effect of what he intended because we are looking at these areas, these parishes that turned out a much higher degree than they did just back in October.

So, it's sort of looking at the aspect of these Republicans who may have broken away and it looks like that because there was another statewide race here and the secretary of state who was a Republican won with 100,000 more votes than Eddie Rispone received. So, there is the breakaway, but there's also the Democratic turnout, Victor and Christi, something that Republicans nationwide probably are concerned about if their strategy was simply to run on the coattails of President Trump.

BLACKWELL: Absolutely. Diane Gallagher, thank you so much.

PAUL: And speaking of votes, let's talk about the 2020 race because there is a new poll showing Mayor Pete Buttigieg is surging in Iowa.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Jeff Zeleny has the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: There is a new Democratic front-runner in the 2020 race in Iowa and his name is Pete Buttigieg. For the first time, the South Bend, Indiana, mayor holds a clear lead among voters who said they are likely to participate in the Iowa caucuses. He climbs to 25 percent in a new CNN/Des Moines Register Iowa poll.

Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are all locked in three-way race for second place. Amy Klobuchar, the only other candidate to break out of the lower tier with 6 percent.

But take a look at how they race has changed since only September. Buttigieg rising 16 points while Warren and Biden have slipped. Sanders and Klobuchar have also narrowly increased. But the race remains fluid with 30 percent saying they have made up their minds, but still, 62 percent of likely Iowa caucusgoers say they could still choose another candidate. That, of course, gives a sense of hope to more than a dozen other Democrats still in the race here.

Now, this is why second choice is so important. Elizabeth Warren is the second choice of 20 percent of likely caucusgoers followed by Buttigieg at 14 percent, with Sanders and Biden each at 13 percent. But electability is a critical question for Democrats. That remains

the core bit of Biden's strength, of the four top candidates tested, a majority, 52 percent say Biden could beat Trump, the rest do not reach the majority point.

So, this is where the race is standing right now. There is a sense of pragmatism, however, hanging over Iowa voters as well. 63 percent say they prefer a candidate with a strong chance to beat Trump compared to 32 percent who support someone who shares all of their views. So, that's where the race is now, some 80 days before the voting in 2020 begins.

Now the question for Pete Buttigieg is, how does he handle the pressure of being a front-runner?

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: So, this is what Mayor Pete Buttigieg had to say about these new Iowa polls. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:00]

REPORTER: We just released a poll one minute ago that shows in Iowa, with the "Des Moines Register", you, in Iowa, are in the lead at 25 percent.

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How about that?

REPORTER: What is your reaction?

BUTTIGIEG: That is extremely encouraging. You know, obviously. We have felt a lot of momentum on the ground especially with the work that we have been doing, not just in terms of my visits to the state, but over a hundred organizers there building relationships and getting our message out. And even now, we know that we are not as well known as some of my competitors.

So, it's very encouraging and, at the same time, there is a long way to go and there are a lot of states in this process, so I recognize the work that we have got to do both to consolidate our gains and to make sure I'm earning every vote as we head into the caucuses in the primaries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for "McClatchy" is with us now.

Francesca, good to see you.

: Good morning.

PAUL: Good morning to you.

Wondering if there is any indication what you think, say, Vice President Biden, Warren, Sanders might be thinking this morning when they wake up to this news?

FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MCCLATCHY: Well, if you're Joe Biden, it does -- it has to be something that your campaign is seriously concerned about. Pete Buttigieg has positioned himself to be the person that takes over that middle area as Joe Biden's polling begins to fall. And Amy Klobuchar is trying to do the same thing. In this new poll, she has jumped up to 6 percent but that's not nearly the same as Pete Buttigieg being the front-runner and being a frontrunner in Iowa by ten points, nine points ahead of Elizabeth Warren.

So all these campaigns have to take a serious look at this including Kamala Harris, by the way, who is spending a lot of time, investing a lot of resources in Iowa and it is simply not paying off for her.

PAUL: How significant is the Iowa poll, though, to 2020 as a whole, leading to other states and what might happen in the general election?

CHAMBERS: Well, one reason that Iowa, though, itself, the caucus there is very important is because early voting in the Super Tuesday states starts at the same time the voters will be heading to the polls in Iowa. So someone who does very well in Iowa this year could potentially have that -- affect their momentum in the other bigger states like California which has a large number of delegates. It also has momentum, will have an effect on New Hampshire which comes after it.

Now, the question for Pete Buttigieg is how he does, which is the third election this time around and whether it stunts his victory in South Carolina or Nevada.

PAUL: Francesca, there were some other interesting numbers here, too, in terms of people's second choices. We had Senator Warren at 20 percent, and Buttigieg 14 percent, Sanders and Biden tied at 13 percent for people's second choices here. The thing that's interesting is a huge chunk of Iowans say, you know what? I haven't solidly hit the ground to one particular candidate here. There is a lot of wiggle room.

What do the second choices say to you about who has the potential to surge?

CHAMBERS: Well, there is still an opportunity. We are only in November and they won't go to the polls in Iowa until February. And Pete Buttigieg has shown in the last month how much a month can change in the race and also there will be another Democratic debate coming up this next week, and they will have an opportunity there to attempt to break out which is what he did.

But one thing that Pete Buttigieg did that is largely credited for this is that he had that on-the-record bus tour he went over the state and reporters could ask them anything they wanted and it go on a lot of media coverage.

And so, other candidates are going to have to start thinking about how to grab the air time back.

PAUL: So, I want to ask you about the governorship in Louisiana that we were just talking to Diane Gallagher about. She talked to some of Trump's supporters who said they voted for Edwards because he -- he was moderate, they are still going to vote for president Trump, even though they voted for a Democrat for governor. What does that say as well about 2020? I mean, does it tell you when it comes to Louisiana it was a localized race even though President Trump spent to much time there trying to prop up the Republican candidates?

CHAMBERS: Well, it says that President Trump's message while it may gin up his supporters is not translating to victory in some of these other states. He likes to take credit for the wins in North Carolina did you that is a fraught argument, because when it came to Louisiana, when it came to Kentucky, he just couldn't carry it over the line for those candidates.

And a message he pushed the other night was that the left, they are radical liberals, they are socialists and John Bel Edwards is just like them and it wasn't successful here and it may not be a successful argument in some of these states where the candidates are moderate Democrats and voters of those states just aren't buying that they are part of a radical left agenda.

[07:10:02]

PAUL: All righty. Francesca Chambers, a pleasure to have you with us. Thank you.

CHAMBERS: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: So, the White House says the president is as healthy as can be. This is after even a last-minute trip to the hospital for a head-start on his 2020 annual exam?

PAUL: And the NFL gave teams a chance to work out Colin Kaepernick. Why the former QB's plans, though, changed at the last minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Thirteen minutes after the hour now.

The White House is brushing off questions about unannounced visit by President Trump to a military hospital yesterday. A source tells CNN that the president's medical exam was unscheduled, but the White House denies the president has any health issues.

PAUL: Kristen Holmes is following the story from the White House.

What are you hearing there, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi and Victor. Well, this is certainly an unusual set of events. President Trump,

yesterday, going to Walter Reed, which is where he receives his annual physical and he was there for about two hours. Now, according to the White House, he was having some quick tests and labs that were all part of a routine annual physical. But there are some very unusual circumstances surrounding this trip.

Now, remember, we have two other annual physicals while he has been in office to go off of and they were very routine. They followed the exact same pattern which were they were announced ahead of time. They were noted on his daily schedule and on top of that, he took Marine One to Walter Reed.

Yesterday was a completely different kind of trip.

[07:15:01]

First of all, not only was it not announced but we heard from sources who say it wasn't on his schedule as of Friday. So, last minute trip and he took the motorcade which, of course, means less exposure to reporters, less exposure to cameras there.

Now, President Trump late last night tweeting in defense of himself, and this is what he had to say. Also began phase one of my yearly physical. Everything very good, great. Will complete next year.

So I want to note something here. His last annual physical was in February. So this would be incredibly early for him to have this physical. Now, but Stephanie Grisham, the press secretary, defended this timeline. Listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We've got a really busy year ahead, as you can imagine. And so, the president decided to go to Walter Reed and kind of get a head-start with some routine checkups as part of his annual exam. That's all it was. It was very routine. We had a down day today. So, he made the decision to head there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there's no truth to the rumors that it was something else? Because the rumors are flying.

GRISHAM: Oh, the rumors are always flying. Absolutely not. He is healthy as can be. I put a statement out about that.

He's got more energy than anybody in the White House. That man works from 6:00 a.m. until, you know, very, very late at night. He is doing just fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, you obviously heard the press secretary there, routine, routine, routine. I think she said that word at least twice in that interview and that is what they are going to continue to say here. And there have always been questions when it comes to the release of President Trump's medical records, when it comes to these annual physicals, what exact information they are going to give out.

But Stephanie Grisham said they are not giving out anything after this physical. They're going to wait until the entire physical is done, which as President Trump said, will be next year.

PAUL: All righty. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: New details in just released transcripts from the impeachment inquiry could mean some trouble for Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the E.U., excuse me.

The former official with the National Security Council said that Ambassador Sondland had been given a mandate from the president to go make deals. The witness also said that the ambassador was a problem and operated irregularly. Plus, we learned that the transcript of the July phone call with President Trump and Ukrainian leader, President Zelensky, ended up on a highly classified server potentially by mistake.

Let's bring in CNN legal analyst and former special assistant to Robert Mueller, Michael Zeldin.

Michael, good morning to you.

MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: OK. Tim Morrison, who is the White House national security official we were discussing, testified that he was told that the records of the call were placed on this higher security code word classified server by mistake. Give us the credibility of that for us.

ZELDIN: Well, you know, it seemed to me at the time that there was concern about what the contents of the call contained and that they were concerned about it leaking out. And that it seems that Eisenberg, the lawyer that was alerted to this, tried to make sure that it was protected and so what the transcript says is that his, you know, instruction that it be protected was interpreted to mean move it to another secure, more secure server.

So I'm not sure, Victor, we make much of this thing. The more important when everyone heard that call, they were all alarmed by its contents. Not so much where it was -- where it ended up but what was the content of the call that is more alarming.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Morrison goes on to say he says that Ambassador Sondland also told him that he was discussing the matters involving Ukraine with the president. Does that cause any more trouble for the president now that we have this weekend that the president was in or that the Democrats proposed at the end of last week? Like does this move anything significantly?

ZELDIN: So we have another witness who was saying that the president was personally involved in asking for some sort of quid pro quo or some sort of public statement as a condition to get the White House meeting and/or the security assistance. If Sondland is to be believed or all of those people who heard Sondland are to believe believed and Sondland, himself, when he testifies on Wednesday, confirms all this, then you've got direct evidence linking the president through Sondland and others to what, you know, some call the bribery extortion shakedown scheme.

So, Sondland becomes, in some sense, like the John Dean of this investigation.

[07:20:03]

If he is forthright, consistent with what the people said he said, then it's not going to be a good day for the president.

BLACKWELL: There's also the question the credibility of testimony, initially saying he doesn't recall being in any conversations with the White House about investigating the Bidens and then there was the correction and then the revelation of that phone call on July 26th that we heard from David Holmes in which Holmes said he overheard Sondland conversing with the president and see where that comes this week.

Let me move to Mark Sandy. He's the career employee at the office of budget and management, or Management and Budget, I should say, OMB. The profile of someone sign off on the documents related take the military aid to Ukraine, he said that a political employee, a political appointee was brought in to sign some of the documents. White House OMB spokesperson said the idea that administration officials would not be involved in budget execution is absolutely ludicrous.

What do we learn from the addition of this political appointee to this process?

ZELDIN: So, if you believe the allegations that this was some conspiracy to get Ukraine to do personal political investigations for the benefit of the president and that in order to accomplish that, they, one, had to move the ambassador out of Ukraine so that she was not a road block. And then, two, they had to sort of decrease the value of the career people in OMB to put a political person in there to do the bidding of the president. So, you have potentially this consistency between the removable of the ambassador, a career person who was not about to do their bidding, the removal from the front line of the OMB people to a political person could do the bidding, and, you know, it creates that appearance.

Now, whether it's fact or appearance remains to be seen but that is the appearance it's creating.

BLACKWELL: All right. We'll wait to get the fuller testimony of Mark Sandy.

Michael Zeldin, thanks for being with us this morning.

ZELDIN: My pleasure, Victor. Thank you.

PAUL: Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick abruptly cancelled an NFL workout and decided he was going to hold his own. We're going to talk about what it means for Kaepernick's future. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:26:18]

PAUL: Twenty-six minutes past the hour right now.

And former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick called an audible Saturday and abruptly moved his workout from the Falcons practice field to a local high school. His representatives say they wanted to ensure full transparency here, that was their reasoning, after the NFL blocked access to the media and wanted Kaepernick to sign a liability waiver.

BLACKWELL: So, at least six teams watched him compete this cleat, rather, this 40-minute workout. Kaepernick had this to say to reporters afterward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN KAEPERNNICK, FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK: I've been ready for three years, I've been denied for three years. We all know why I came out here so that today in front of everybody, we have nothing to hide. So, we're going for the 32 owners, the 32 teams, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running, stop running from the truth, stop running from the people.

Around here, we are ready to play. We are ready to go anywhere. My agent Jeff Nalley is ready to talk to any team and interview with any team at any time. I've been ready. I'm staying ready. And I'll continue to be ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, let's bring in Carron Phillips, senior columnist for "The Shadow League".

Carron, welcome back.

So, I feel like the conversation we had about Jay-Z and his partnership with the NFL is that wait and bizarre interaction with the NFL. Did you believe before what happened yesterday that this was an authentic interest from the NFL and that Kaepernick had a real shot at getting signed by a team?

CARRON PHILLIPS, SENOR COLUMNIST, THE SHADOW LEAGUE: No, because nothing about this makes sense.

BLACKWELL: OK.

PHILLIPS: We got the news earlier this week this was happening and this has never happened before with the owners and scouts and teams come in and be on hand and felt weird. The thing that caught my attention was the first in the release was no media, no fans. So, I was like, OK, if the media can't come and guys like me, we can't see for ourselves what he looks like so I'm supposed to take the word of the league? (CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: It was just like, OK, so unless this footage leaks or tape leaks and we saw what he did yesterday when at the did his own thing, then we get to see how he looks and have our own judgment. Before, all of that would be shut down. So, you want me to take the word of the league after three years in this entire situation and none of that set well with me.

PAUL: All righty. So we have his representative who issued a statement here, if we can get that up there and I'll read it to you, because they certainly are taking note of what's going on.

His representative said this: When the outset, Mr. Kaepernick requested a legitimate process, and from the outset, the NFL league office has not provide one, most recently, the NFL was demanded that as a precondition to the workout Mr. Kaepernick signed an unusual liability waiver that addresses employment related issues and rejected the standard liability waiver from physical injury proposed by Mr. Kaepernick's representatives.

So when you hear that, do you think there is any chance that there is anybody in the league who is saying let's give him a chance?

PHILLIPS: I hope so. Like I think that is what we should want. After three years of this, that is the only way that this could end.

PAUL: But why a specific waiver like that?

PHILLIPS: I don't know. And that's the thing like some legal analysts come in on that and I know a lot of lawyers but I don't know that much about the law. You know that is the thing about the suit he had against the league with that NDA, we still don't know how much money he got or this workout was a part of that or that it was an agreement, and it just, when that came out, we had so many questions, but we're not going to get any answers.

PAUL: So, you think in the NDA this could be a precondition in their agreement?

PHILLIPS: I've heard some of that chatter. Do I necessarily believe that? No.

PAUL: OK.

[07:30:03]

PHILLIPS: Because I think if that was part of the deal, they would have done this in a way that makes sense.

You would have done this on a Tuesday like these things are usually handled, instead of a Saturday when most of the scouts are either watching college football games or teams aren't traveling for the game, either on Sunday, Sunday night or Monday night.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: So, this is what I don't understand about this. I'm not the avid football fan but I follow it from a newsworthy social value position.

Who does this appease? Because it doesn't look like it made Kaepernick happy.

PHILLIPS: Correct.

It doesn't appease any of the Kaepernick fans who say that he should be back in the league, it doesn't appease any of the people who think that Kaepernick should never be back in the league because of his protests. Who wins here?

PHILLIPS: Nobody really wins but the NFL wins the most. There is a winner. Now they can say we tried. We had this workout. He didn't want to come. He did his own thing.

They can always be like when we did what we had to do if the owners or the teams want to sign him, they can but we have maxed out our control and our potential with this.

PAUL: Any indication anybody would sign him?

PHILLIPS: I don't believe so. I haven't believed so since 2017. But we will see.

BLACKWELL: All right. Carron Phillips, always good to have you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks for having me.

PAUL: I want to talk about the Supreme Court because they're debating whether to allow an end to the DACA program. The jobs of some 9,000 school teachers are on the line here. We're going to speak to two DACA recipients next who fear how this immigration fight is going to affect their students.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:17]

PAUL: Thirty-five minutes past the hour right now.

And the lives of 690,000 of teachers are in limbo this morning as the debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DACA plays out at the Supreme Court. Nine thousand of those recipients work in schools. And if the Trump administration is allowed to end the program, the National Education Association warns this, teachers and staff will abruptly disappear from classrooms to the distress of their students and to the measurable detriment of education outcomes.

Well, two of those teachers who are living through this are with us now. Karen Reyes, special education teacher in Austin, Texas, and Angelica Reyes, a world history and ethnic studies teacher in Los Angeles.

Ladies, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

Karen, I just want to start with you, first. I see that you're wearing a "home is here" t-shirt and that is a part of your platform.

Talk to me about the conversations you've had with your students and the fears have you for them if DACA is rejected?

KAREN REYES, SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER, AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT: Thank you.

First of all, I teach kids that are very young, 3 to 5 years old. So, a lot of the conversations I have are around where I'm going, you know? I was at the Supreme Court on Tuesday and it's really just talking to them that Ms. Reyes is going on a trip, you know, things like that.

The conversations I have with my colleagues and parents are a little different. I try to tell them I'm renewing my DACA, but there is a possibility that the next couple of years are going to be my last years teaching unless Congress acts and passes a legislation for pathway towards citizenship.

PAUL: So, I know that you've been in the U.S. since you were 2 years old. You were brought here by your mom. You received a masters degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. You mentioned you had gone to Supreme Court Tuesday for the opening arguments.

What was it like for you to sit there and see and to hear these justices and these attorneys discuss an issue that is going to directly affect you?

KAREN REYES: Yes. So, on Tuesday, I was, you know, one of the few that were able to go inside the Supreme Court. I am one of the plaintiffs in the American Federation of Teachers case that went to Supreme Court.

It was surreal, you know? In my opinion, I think the inside of the courtroom was a lot smaller, you know, given the size of the building and the enormity of the cases going before them.

But it was surreal having nine justices hear about this program that has been beneficial for so many people, like myself. And it really brought home that they are listening to a lot of policy and intricacies about the law but forgetting a lot about the humanity and our lives. A lot of people depend on DACA.

PAUL: Angelica, I know you received your DACA status seven years ago, in 2012, and you wrote an article in the "L.A. Times" which you were talking about a student you're having a conversation with a student who told you that having a teacher with DACA status encouraged her actually to go on and get a higher education. That is a pretty specific commonality you have with some of these students.

What do you have with about, what do you say, what do they fear?

ANGELICA REYES, LOS ANGELES HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER: So, my students are concerned like when their parents are coming in a few minutes late after work, they are concerned that they have potentially been deported so they have all of these countermeasures, they will go online and check to see if their parents had been deep obtained and make sure their parents are well-informed and they, themselves, are well-informed so they are consistently thinking how will I pay for college and make sure I'm safe?

And so, it's been a lot of pressure for my students, a lot of anxiety, but it's awesome because I'm able to help them out and help them realize that even though we are putting in these very dehumanizing situations, that we can still contribute to our country and we can still contribute to our community and so I feel like that is something that our students are very much still looking forward to, they are looking forward to becoming doctors.

And so, that particular student, she wants to be a doctor and she was able to qualify for DACA and she is looking forward to serving our community, but now that it's at risk, her whole future is in limbo. So she has been preparing to serve our community and, all of a sudden, this dream could be yanked away from her, so she is absolutely devastated, as are many of my students who maybe aren't personally DACA recipients, but they have parents who are DACA recipients.

[07:40:07]

And they are scared and we are all anxious because, like, Karen said, the conversations aren't about like the real people that are impacted, it's about policy and they are forgetting we are your neighbors, we are literally your teachers. We have lived here for our whole lives and so it's incredibly difficult to try to legitimatize our humanity, right? And plead that we are worthy. And my students are amazing and I just wish everyone recognized that and they saw that.

PAUL: It is heartbreaking you feel you have to prove your worthiness as a human being.

I want to -- and it leads me into something you said, Karen, earlier. You said so much pressure to be a perfect immigrant. They basically want us to save babies from burning buildings and have 5.0 GPA and be doctors but I'm just trying to teach these great humans to be great Americans.

If you could sit down with President Trump, what would you say? What do you want him to really know?

KAREN REYES: Well, you know, it is all that pressure, you know, to be the perfect immigrant. But at the same time, I do think that is a harmful narrative, you know? You know, if you're not perfect, you're not worthy. This was -- a lot of these kids are hearing. I think that's very harmful.

You know, I am privileged that I am a teacher, so I am, you know, someone that people might consider worthy of staying in this country, but the reality is we are all human beings, you know? We all deserve dignity and respect because at the core of it, we just want to live our lives and, you know, contribute to society, you know, help our families out, even -- there's no bad work. All work should be respected, whether you're a teacher, a doctor, or you work as a mechanic or you work at a gas station, you know, we all just want to live here and live our dreams, you know, just live our lives in peace and not be afraid of deportation.

And that's exactly what people are feeling right now, even those that have DACA, you know? We have some sort of protection but that can be taken away any minute as we are seeing right now that DACA is at the Supreme Court and therapy going to decide whether the administration had the legal right to end it and, you know, what we need is protection, not only for ourselves, but for our parents, our community members, you know?

And I teach kids and a lot of them -- my students live in a mixed status families.

PAUL: Karen and Angelica, we so appreciate the two of you being here and helping us understand what is this like from your viewpoint. We wish you both the best of luck. Thank you.

KAREN REYES: Thank you.

ANGELICA REYES: Thank you for having us.

BLACKWELL: An organization is providing life changing gift for fathers coming out of prison. And we will speak to one of those founders, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:47:04]

PAUL: There's -- there's misinformation about dads who get out of pretty much that they really do care about their kids even though some people say they don't. And there is an organization, "Fathers' Uplift," that he has founded that includes giving some of those dads financial, emotional, traumatic and addict-based help to try to get back to their families. So they are helping them get back on their feet.

And I spoke with that founder, Charles Daniels Jr. And he talks to us about what this human kindness that they are offering is really changing in these lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES DANIELS, JR., FOUNDER, FATHERS' UPLIFT: I believe that if fathers have someone to support them overcoming barriers, anything is possible, they can achieve their dreams and also accomplish their goals.

So, normally, what happens is that they are released back onto the streets. Normally, with a plastic bag with their belongings and with a check, the amount of money that they made while they were in jail which isn't that much. Oftentimes, they have to go to a cash checking place to cash that check and try to find resources so they can stay afloat while they're out.

When you have a criminal history, it's difficult for you to get a job. It's also difficult for you to get had you been housing, so you're stuck without the necessary support. So, we are all about identifying resources prior to your release, right?

So, the guys that we serve will know where they are going before they are released. They will know what court-appointed jobs, what criminal friendly jobs are available to them when they're released. They have tangible connections prior to their release. And not only not, they have transportation from jail to home.

We are already in contact with their families prior to their release, letting them know they are coming home and preparing them for their release.

PAUL: How have you seen people change when they are released because of the program that you offer?

DANIELS: That's typically when we enter their life, right, they have a low self-esteem, and low self-confidence and it's been a year or two years since they have seen their kids so they don't know how to navigate and the assumption they will not let me back in their life or the child's mother won't let me see the child, right? That's assumption. What we finding is that the child and the mother wants the father to be involved but they want to be able to trust them.

So, being able to communicate between those two gaps, those two parties just makes the situation easier. The father has support with picking up the phone and the mother who's raising the child has support with really giving him a chance and understanding what he not making the mistakes he made in the past. So, bringing the family together is a beautiful thing to watch and the father leaves with a sense of confidence with increased sense of confidence that is out of this world.

PAUL: Charles Daniels Jr. with "Fathers' Uplift", we appreciate you so much. Thank you for what you're doing.

DANIELS: Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure being here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Still to come, a military father surprises his son by coming home after nine months of deployment. You will want to see this.

[07:50:01]

Their reunion is ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: It can be pretty rough around home because, you know, I usually want to play outside and ride my bike with him. Having him gone, you know, it's a little tough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUMAYA KAZI, FASTER: I was obese, pre-diabetic. I also had high blood pressure. I felt like I needed to take control somehow.

I wanted to experiment with intermittent fasting. I'm going to give it a shot.

DR. JEFFREY MCDANIEL, OBESITY MEDICINE, PIEDMONT HEALTHCARE: Intermittent fasting means you purposely restrict your calories, which is different from starvation. Some will fast for eight or 16 hours. Alternate day fasting means that you alternate a day of extreme calorie restriction.

KAZI: I decided to jump into full day fasting. My first month, I lost close to 15 pounds. I kept a spreadsheet of my weigh-ins and what I was eating and how the fasting was affecting me.

I found that sparkling water is my life saver on a fast day. I drink a lot of tea and coffee. It typically break my fast with some kind of egg dish with avocados.

MCDANIEL: The food choice does matter. Restrict the carbohydrates and eat some protein and some moderate fat.

People who have serious diseases should consult their doctor before proceeding with the diet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You miss him a whole lot, right?

UNIDENTIFIED KID: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss you, too.

UNIDENTIFIED KID: Dad!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Oh, he's been gone for nine months in the navy. Welcome home to Jordan Holland's dad there. Jordan is 11 years old from Nashville, Tennessee, and that is the big surprise he got from his dad, Troy.

Thank you for your service, sir, and welcome home. We're glad you're back with your family.

And we hope that you, whether you're home or not right now, make good memories today.

BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS" is up after a quick break.