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Trump Stumps in S.C. with Poll Numbers Soaring; Interview with Alison Parker's Dance Partner; Closing Arguments in New Hampshire Prep School Rape Trial; New Poll Good Incentive for a Joe Biden Run. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 27, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00] DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: If you drill down on issues with Donald Trump, look what the voters said in South Carolina to Sara Murray. There were no specifics on issues. And that's really the soft underbelly of Donald Trump's campaign. With a sustained attack from Republican candidates, you will start to see Donald Trump fall. It just takes a sustained attack and not name calling.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You will start to see him fall? Because Jeb Bush has been trying that, and ever since he's been trying, Jeb has gone down and Trump has gone up.

HEYE: Sure. But if one candidate says something and Donald Trump criticizes a reporter, what do we talk about all day? We talk about Trump and the particular reporter whether they're at FOX, whether they're at Univision. God knows if he goes after Kate, I'll go after Donald Trump personally.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right!

HEYE: But we need to focus on issues. That's why Donald Trump is doing well. That's what's missing from the larger conversation we have. That's why Donald Trump is doing well. He's having the conversation with voters that he wants to have.

BOLDUAN: He is doing well. Interestingly enough -- I'll leave everyone with this point -- He might not even get on the ballot in South Carolina because the South Carolina Republican Party is now making it a requirement that any candidate who wants to be on the ballot in the primary has to promise to not run as a third-party candidate. You have to love South Carolina politics.

BERMAN: Doug Heye, thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you, Doug.

HEYE: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: And a reminder to everyone. In a few minutes, Donald Trump will be speaking to voters in the great state of South Carolina. We're going to bring those remarks to you live right here on CNN.

BERMAN: And what about the Democratic side? Joe Biden speaking words out loud that have a lot of people wondering, maybe he's not going to run. You wonder, does he have the emotional fuel for a race. And is his heart and soul in it? He says they're pretty banged up right now.

Also, Alison Parker, she was supposed to be in a dance competition in a few weeks. She was supposed to have a rehearsal yesterday afternoon. Her tango partner didn't know she had been killed. He joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:25] BOLDUAN: Alison Parker and Adam Ward, they were called the "A" team by their co-workers.

Adam was 27 years old and engaged to one of the station's morning show producers. You can see obviously that moment right there in that photo. Friends and colleagues call him funny, driven, and someone always ready to talk about his Virginia Tech Hokies. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN SEIBERT, WARD FAMILY FRIEND: Adam was a goal setter, and whether it was playing for the Salem High School football team or going to Virginia Tech or pursuing his career in sports broadcasting, he had the goals and he achieved them with relentless work effort and a whole lot of just effusive joy and what's especially tragic is not only was he robbed of his life, this world was robbed of the future goals that he would have achieved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Now, Alison Parker, she had just turned 24. A co-worker told me last night she was the type of person you heard before you saw because her energy burst into the room before she did. And we've heard about her love of reporting, but this morning her boyfriend talked about another of her loves, dancing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS HURST, WDBJ ANCHOR & BOYFRIEND OF ALISON PARKER: She was a brilliant dancer. She was a brilliant dancer, and we have a charity dancing competition here she was going to be a part of and she was going to do the tango because her instructor said, Alison, you're so sexy, you need to do the tango with me. And she loved it. But I couldn't see it until the night of the performance. And it's supposed to be later on this fall, and he will do it by himself in her honor. So I won't get to see that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Alison's dance partner, the friend she was supposed to dance with at the contest this fall, is Pedro Szalay. He joins us now.

Pedro, thank you so much for being with us. We're so sorry for your loss.

I wonder if you can just tell us, first off, your impressions of Alison. What was she like to dance with?

PEDRO SZALAY, DANCE PARTNER TO ALISON PARKER: Alison, she was like, you know, a very spiky girl. Every time line up in the studio when she comes to rehearsal after working all morning and she comes with a big smile like everybody knows her on the TV. That's the way she was in real life, too.

BOLDUAN: Her joy of life is something that we have heard over and over again and also her love of dance and all of the other things in her life.

(CROSSTALK)

SZALAY: We matched together to dance together was the love we had for dance because that's the beautiful way to express ourselves. That's the reason I'll be performing the piece in honor of her because she will say it to me in front of me, the show must go on.

BOLDUAN: You were scheduled to have rehearsal yesterday when all of this happened.

SZALAY: Yes.

BOLDUAN: How did you find out, Pedro?

SZALAY: I find out because I was teaching a class, and my pianist told me about the news, and she had no idea I know Alison. And I say, "What did you say to me? Yes, she was my partner." So that's really -- and I finished my class and I went to my car. And the drive home and stopped for a second because really hit me there very big time. But, you know, the love and the caring from people and it's incredible, but the love I have for the Parker family and for Chris, it's more than -- you know, it's big time.

BERMAN: I understand you had just dyed her dancing shoes for the competition to get ready.

How do you want Alison to be remembered? How do you want to remember Alison?

SZALAY: Alison always will be remembered like a spiky little girl and beautiful smile and honest and very simple person who wants to achieve a lot of dreams and very humbled. She was very humble. She helped a lot of people, and dancing with her, we help a lot from each other. You know, after she's coming from work and me teaching all day and we laughed and we shared beautiful moments together and she always talk about Chris, the love of her life and the life they're going to have together. I say you can do it, make it happen, and, you know, that's how I want to remember about her, the way she wants to do her life, you know, to achieve everything.

[11:40:00] BOLDUAN: Pedro, Chris actually said this morning that this dance that you were going to be performing with her in the fall was one of many moments that have now been stolen from him and from all of you to have with her. How -- I'm sure the performance is probably the furthest thing from your mind at this very moment, but how do you want to honor her? How do you plan to honor her when this performance comes up in the fall?

SZALAY: Keep sharing the beautiful love of dance with everybody, what I'm doing as a teacher, as a mentor, as a coach, as artistic director here in the valley and in the world, because that's the way we want to express ourself. And I think that's what she would love for everybody to do, dance and enjoy and smile, and to share the love with the dance with everybody.

BERMAN: To celebrate her in dance, I think that is a lovely, lovely tribute. And Pedro, your words about your friend, also simply lovely.

Pedro Szalay, thank you so much for being with us.

SZALAY: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: In other news, a new poll giving Joe Biden a new reason perhaps to run for president, but is it in his heart? What he told insiders that now has people thinking, well, maybe not.

BOLDUAN: And also next for us, the dramatic testimony from the teenager accused of raping a younger stay tuned at their prep school. Why he says he lied and whether at this point that helps or hurts his case. Much more on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:09] BERMAN: Happening now, closing arguments under way at a rape trial involving students of a prestigious New Hampshire prep school. Now 19-year-old Owen Labrie is accused of raping an underage classmate. This is part of a tradition there that apparently is called the Senior Salute, or an alleged tradition, where senior boys compete to have sex with as many younger students as possible.

BOLDUAN: Now, Labrie, he's pleading not guilty. He said on the stand he did not have sex with this girl because, in his words, it didn't feel like the right move.

Here is a little more from his key testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OWEN LABRIE, ON TRIAL FOR RAPE: You know, my face was next to hers and she said something like, I don't know -- like Owen -- sort of something you would say to someone while you're kissing them, that sort of thing. And, you know, she was a little more of the same. We paused for a second, she'd smile or giggle, and it would continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Let's bring in CNN correspondent, Jean Casarez, with more on this.

Jean, you've been watching this closely. Closing arguments under way but the key moment cement to be Labrie's testimony on the stand. How much impact do you believe it's having?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, that was the defense's only witness. He took the stand, this young man that had been admitted to Harvard and obviously his life is on the line. With the direct testimony with his own attorney, very strong. Really step by step and his testimony of what happened when the two of them really corroborates with the forensic evidence because there is not DNA to show that there was sexual intercourse there and that forensics is not the ultimate but it's important. On cross-examination, the prosecutor just tried to dirty him up, that there had been e-mails all year of this list of girls they wanted. Of course, he said, you know, it was kissing that we wanted. It was not the ultimate the entire time. And she is on that list in capital letters. So the mindset that he had an intent to do it. But the statute says that there has to be sexual intercourse. And it's a he said/she said because she said on the stand, I said no three times and he didn't stop.

BERMAN: And now we have these closing arguments. So the two cases boil down now at the end to what?

CASAREZ: A life is on the line, first of all. There are nine counts at this point. One being as simplistic, I can say, as a computer, soliciting someone over a computer for the Senior Salute. They're amounting that to be a crime. Endangering the life of a minor. Those possibly could be convicted.

BERMAN: There are some off-ramps here --

CASAREZ: Yeah. There sure are.

BERMAN: -- short of rape for the jury if they wanted to go that way.

CASAREZ: Most serious, aggravated sexual assault.

BOLDUAN: Also, it can't be forgotten, this was very emotional for this girl who was sitting in the courtroom when he was making this testimony.

CASAREZ: Isn't it something?

BOLDUAN: And at one point, it was described, she got up and ran out crying. The jury sees that.

CASAREZ: And she cried on the stand. That it was so emotional for her. I think an important bit of testimony or e-mail exchange is right after the encounter occurred where he calls her an angel, that she's a wonderful person. She responded immediately, "You're an angel, too. You're just a great guy." So that state of mind right after it happened, I think, is going to be important for the jury, too, to see was this consensual, was it not, and was it the ultimate act?

BOLDUAN: Very prestigious prep school and two lives hanging in the balance.

CASAREZ: And the defense started their closing today, saying the issue here is the school, because they're the parents for these children that are boarded there, and they allowed this to happen by just giving a wink and a nod to the Senior Salute.

BERMAN: Puts the school on trial at the end. Interesting.

BOLDUAN: Jean, thank you so much.

Coming up for us, is he in or is he out? Joe Biden talks about emotional fuel before Democrats eager to know whether he's joining the campaign trail or not. A new poll just out. It might just give him some more incentive to jump in. We'll talk about that.

BERMAN: And then just minutes away from Donald Trump speaking in Greenville, South Carolina, a state now where he leads in the poll. A new poll has him out nationally by more than ever. What will he say when he takes the stage? We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:53:04] BOLDUAN: Right now a large crowd is gathering in South Carolina, and they're getting ready to hear from the Republican front- runner, Donald Trump. We'll bring that event to you live when it happens.

But also, now turning to the Democrats in the race, or not yet in the race, where new poll numbers could mean a new incentive this morning for Vice President Joe Biden to do just that, get in the race. According to a new Quinnipiac poll he fared slightly better right now against the Republican candidates in a general election matchup than the Democratic front runner, Hillary Clinton. Biden and Clinton are both beating out candidates like Jeb Bush, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. But the difference is noteworthy.

BERMAN: The speculation about a Biden run. We're hearing from Biden himself. He told DNC officials he still isn't sure he has the emotional fuel to run.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): If I were to announce to run, I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul, and right now both are pretty well banged up. I've been giving this a lot of thought and dealing internally in the family about how we do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It's a see-saw. It sounds like maybe he's not into it. All these meetings he's having make it sound like he is.

Joining us with new details, CNN's White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski.

Michelle, we just heart that, the first we've heard in a while from Joe Biden on the subject. Today, he's meeting with the head of the AFL-CIO, which has tongues wagging. MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And while he was

giving that statement, he was on a call pushing for the Iran deal with members of the Democratic national committee. Also, not a bad thing if you're somebody who is going to be running for president. I thought that was incredibly honest, though. Listening to it, some are saying that doesn't sound all that positive. And if you're talking to the DNC, don't you want to be boosting yourself up if you're considering a run. I thought it just sounded honest. It sounded like he hadn't made a decision and he didn't want to try to lean it one way or the other.

But what those close to him are telling CNN is that, yeah, he's still thinking about it but is leaning towards a run and, sure, when you look at the numbers of the latest poll, the latest poll is fascinating because it gets to all those questions that we all have out there. Because we all know that he has plenty of support, decades of experience, he's beloved among many Democrats, but the question is ultimately going to be how is he going to measure up against Hillary Clinton? And she has huge numbers among Democrats. 45 percent support.

However, that support has dropped 10 percentage points in a month, and then you look at Biden who has 18 percent. However, you then have to remind yourself he's not even in the race yet. So that's going to affect how people respond to this. Then when you match him up with Republican contenders versus how Hillary Clinton stacks up, he's actually polling better versus those Republicans than she is. A lot of interesting numbers and favorability. Hillary Clinton now according to this poll has a negative favorability rating meaning more people view her unfavorably but Biden is positive. He has plenty of signs that tell him if he does this, he'll have a shot.

[11:56:26] BERMAN: Michelle Kosinski with the big mission. Thank you, Michelle.

BOLDUAN: And thank you so much for joining us AT THIS HOUR.

BERMAN: "LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts right after a quick break.

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