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Obama Says U.S. Has Advantage over Islamic Extremism; FAA Investigating 2 Close Calls; Poll: Obama's Job Approval Rating Rises; Poll: 59 Percent Approve of Presidential Run for Mitt Romney

Aired January 19, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the U.S. military preparing to evacuate the American embassy in Yemen on short notice. A battle has been raging between the Yemen's powerful Shiite Houthi movement and its army near the presidential palace. Officials announced a short time ago that a cease-fire deal has been reached but our correspondent in the capitol says the attacks have not stopped and he is still hearing gunfire. The big concern for the U.S. besides security of the people inside the embassy this morning is that al Qaeda could take advantage of the chaos in that country. There are signs that it already has.

The Al Qaeda affiliate there claiming responsibility for the attack on "Charlie Hebdo" in Paris, and there's a sense that that group inside Yemen could be gaining recruits by the day. New arrests reveal a widening web of suspected terror cells across Europe in Belgium, five more people are now charged with participating in a terrorist organization. Several arrests also in Greece, among them an Algerian man wanted in connection with a jihadist cell that Belgium police raided last week. Belgium now seeking his extradition. And in France, two others are in custody, arrested while trying to cross into Italy.

While that's going on, the French are looking for two people whose DNA was found on a gun magazine in a car belonging to Amedy Coulibaly. That's a picture of him right there. He, of course, is the man who killed four people at the kosher grocery store in Paris. They're following up leads right now, forensic evidence that could lead to two people who may have been helping him.

Now, President Obama is convinced the U.S. has an advantage over Europe in dealing with the threat of radicalized Muslim extremists. Let's listen to why he says that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE: Our Muslim populations, they feel themselves to be Americans. And there's this incredible process of immigration and assimilation that's part of our tradition that is probably our greatest strength. Now it doesn't mean we're not subject to the kinds of tragedies that we saw at the Boston Marathon. But that, I think, has been helpful. There are parts of Europe in which that's not the case and that's probably the greatest danger that Europe faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Want to bring in journalist, Anushay Hossain, the editor-in- chief of "Anushay's Point" and an expert on global women's issues.

Anushay, thank you so much for being with us.

Do you agree with the president? Is it a different situation for Muslims in America? Better assimilated than in Europe?

ANUSHAY HOSSAIN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ANUSHAY'SPOINT.COM: I actually completely agree with the president. America in comparison to Europe is a much younger nation. Not to say Europe is a nation. People are immigrating to America and America prides itself on being a nation of immigrants. We've been able -- Muslims in American definitely have been able to assimilate better. But we also have higher rates of education in America, higher income bracket rates. A large number of Muslims are in the six-figure income bracket. There is a 40 percent unemployment rate amongst European Muslims so, that right there, gives radicals and extremists a large pool to recruit from.

BERMAN: When the president made that statement last Friday, he was standing with David Cameron, who disagreed with the president -- and there have been analysts that pointed out that the 7/7 attackers in England, from 2005, that they were largely assimilated. The president himself put an example up saying the Tsarnaev brothers in Boston, of course, that happened in the United States. So is he perhaps making light of the situation?

HOSSAIN: I wouldn't say that. Of course, Cameron is going to disagree. He's dealing in a different environment. He's dealing in the European grounds. So of course, it's different for him.

But that being said, I think that people are immigrating to America so it makes a really big difference because we pride ourselves on being a melting pot versus I feel like European Muslims still have to choose. It's especially difficult for the French. Such a big part of French identity is being secular, right? When you have Muslims coming in, the Algerians, which make up a large part of their Muslim population, they have to choose. Are you North African? Are you French? Are you Muslim? They don't really have the sense of belonging that Americans do. We can't make a blanket statement but I definitely understand why Cameron would disagree with the president. I don't think he's making light of the situation but the fact of the matter is the environment for Muslims in America is very different.

BERMAN: You bring up an interesting point. I just got back from France. You get a sense that Muslims feel they have to choose between Islam and France. The two don't walk hand in hand. Is that different in the United States? You do not have to make that choice to live and to operate as a Muslim in America here.

HOSSAIN: We're categorized a lot by out ethnicity, but you're never really called -- I guess Muslims are referred to as Muslim-Americans, but you're not referred to as Buddhist-Americans. For the French, I mean, that's what France is built upon is secularism. I think that makes them incredibly uncomfortable with Muslims because, for us, it's a big part of our culture and our identity. If you tell us that we're not French because of one aspect of our identity, it really gives you a sense of displacement, and that's why the French have had such a big issue with banning the burqa, not wanting to see the burqa in their public spaces because it puts religion in a big context for them that they are uncomfortable with.

BERMAN: There's a discussion on another front that's been going on for the last 10 days or so, the issue of what do moderate Muslims, what responsibility do they have now to speak out against terror? Where do you come down on that?

HOSSAIN: We do have a big responsibility to feel it. I also have big issue with this statement because I feel like we are being asked to speak on behalf of extremists and apologize for their actions. And in many ways, I feel like we're their greatest hostages. We kind of have to pay the racial ramifications of their actions. We're the ones that have to go through increased security. We're the ones who have to deal with Islamophobia. The backlash falls on the moderates. People forget that we're just as much of a victim of Islamic extremism. We shouldn't really even call it Islamic extremism. They are fundamentalist actions, as much as anyone else, and we can't all be lumped together. There's 1.7 million Muslims in the world. I can claim to be speaking for everybody, for all Muslims. I can only speak from my perspective. But I will say one thing that there might be this big difference between European and American Muslims but everything is not rosy in America. The one thing that really unites Muslims across the board is Islamophobia. We're all victims of that.

BERMAN: Anushay, you speak for yourself, and we're glad you do. Promise you'll come back to the show. Really appreciate it. Loved having you with us.

HOSSAIN: Thank you so much, John. Thank you.

BERMAN: Some other headlines we're following right now, for the first time, Boko Haram insurgents have crossed the Nigerian border, attacking a village in Cameroon. They killed three, and kidnapped 80, including many children. Now, a regional governor is telling CNN that 24 of those abducted have apparently been freed by the Cameroon military. This latest attack comes as thousands of troops from neighboring Chad are beginning to arrive in Cameroon to help in the regional battle against Boko Haram.

An extraordinary tale of survival. Fog and icy roads triggered a huge pile-up in Oregon on Saturday. Look at this. We'll show the picture. That's a Chevy pickup truck crushed and sandwiched between two semis. That's the driver pinned in between. Amazingly, he walked away with just a few scratches. He spoke to "New Day" just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KALEB WHITBY, DRIVER PINNED BY TRACKER TRAILERS: When things like that happen and what I have come to realize is that it is miracle and that I need to take that into my life and remember it and now I need to kind of figure out who I need to be in this life and what things I need to accomplish, because how many people don't get a chance, a second chance at escaping a situation like that.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know --

WHITBY: I guess it's time for me to figure that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This man says he was trapped for about half an hour. He has a pregnant wife and a 2-year-old child. Wow. Five people in Pennsylvania and Connecticut died yesterday because of the icy conditions. Clearly, this man very, very lucky.

So a scandal involving the New England Patriots. A potential scandal. Did the Patriots deflate the balls in the AFC championship game? The NFL confirms they are investigating whether the Patriots did that, took some of the air out of the balls used in the game. Some people call it Deflategate. What would that do? If you take air out in bad conditions -- and conditions were awful -- it makes them a little easier to grip. What I don't understand is how that would benefit one team more than another? I'm not sure it would make up for the drugging the colts suffered at the hands of the Patriots. If the NFL does determine that the Patriots acted improperly, there will be fines and the Patriots could lose some draft picks.

All right. Right now, in Washington, D.C., the ninth annual Martin Luther King Jr Peace Walk and Parade. Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey and co-stars from recently released film "Selma" returned to the city. They joined hundreds in a walk across the iconic bridge, the site of attacks on civil rights marchers 50 years ago. Today will be marked with protests against racism and issue of police violence. There will be protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Protesters will again gather at the site where Michael Brown was killed and they will march to the Ferguson Police Department.

Scary moments for Delta passengers on an overseas flight. We'll show you what happened and why the FAA is now investigating. Stay with us.

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BERMAN: This morning, the FAA investigating two very close calls. First, a near disaster on the runway at New York's JFK Airport, and then a Delta flight from Atlanta to Japan was forced to dump fuel and return to the airport after smoke was detected coming from the landing gear.

Our Rene Marsh joins us live from Washington on both incidents, which both sound very frightening -- Rene?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Yeah, the first incident, two passenger jets, they were about a half mile away from disaster on the runway at JFK Airport. The pilot of a JetBlue flight was forced to stop short and abort takeoff when a Caribbean Airlines flight crossed the runway. Listen to air traffic controllers as they avert what could have been a deadly collision. (BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

TOWER: JetBlue 1295 clear for takeoff.

PILOT: Cleared for takeoff.

TOWER: 526, can you hold short of 22 right?

526 stop.

JetBlue 1295 abort takeoff.

Caribbean 526? Caribbean 526?

(END AUDIO FEED)

MARSH: Luckily this all ended without any injuries but the FAA is investigating. They want to know how this happened. Was this pilot error? Was it controller error? It's unclear at this time.

Meantime, take a look at this amateur video. A Delta Airlines flight with 308 people onboard took off for Atlanta bound for Tokyo. Just a few minutes into the flight, the pilot declares an emergency after a pilot from another plane noticed smoke coming from the landing gear. The aircraft flew for less than 20 minutes to burn off fuel. You are looking at video of it burning off fuel at this point. It did land safely -- John?

BERMAN: Wow. It's amazing to see that video right there. Interesting that they got that message quickly.

Rene, there's also something of a security concern at the airport in Atlanta, one of the busiest in the world. A federal employee was arrested with a gun in his carry-on?

MARSH: Right. This was an Atlanta based FAA inspector. He used security clearance to bypass TSA and access a secure area of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport before boarding a flight to New York's LaGuardia. The employee didn't have the same security in New York and that's where TSA discovered the .22 caliber handgun in his bag. The employee was arrested. However, Atlanta Hartsfield, by the way, the world's busiest airport, it has been under the microscope. Last month, a baggage handler was accused of using his security clearance to bypass TSA checkpoints to smuggle guns on multiple planes -- John?

BERMAN: Rene Marsh, thank you. Appreciate it.

The president right now no doubt making last changes to his State of the Union address as a surprising new poll shows a huge move in his popularity. Which direction? We'll tell you next.

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BERMAN: This morning a surprising new poll on the president's job approval ratings. Those now approving of the president? 50 percent. That is up 9 percent from a month ago. And the percentage of those disapproving, 44 percent. That's a 10 percent drop. That is a big move.

Let's talk about this. I'm joined by Tara Setmayer, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist; also jointed by Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic strategist and Democratic National Committeeman.

Start with you.

50 percent from the president. That is a far cry from these underwater ratings that we all saw during the midterm elections. Does this change things for the Republicans? They're no longer up against a wildly unpopular president.

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I think everyone needs to calm down. Just last week, Reuters had a poll where he was 37 percent approval rating. Polls are snapshots in time. So right now what the president has going for him are a couple things. He has gas prices, which he had nothing to do with, but he gets the credit for it. Gas prices are under $2 in a lot of the country. He also has the fact that he's been running around the country giving out promising free stuff. We have free college tuition. We'll do tax cuts for the middle class. So all of these things are very populous, so people here this and say, oh, that's great. But when the president --

(CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: -- was absent in leadership during what happened with Paris and terrorism, they want the president to focus on terrorism, that's a different story.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Maybe we have a couple facts here, OK? For example, 55 months of progress after job growth. Largest since the late 1990s. The fact we're seeing a dramatic decline in our deficit. Largest since World War II. The fact that we're seeing an economy begin to turn around and people are starting to see the benefits of it, which makes -- for example, Mitt Romney said by, the end of his first term, in 2016, he'd bring unemployment down to 6 percent. It's now at 5.6 percent, midterm.

The point simply is this. This State of the Union gives him great momentum to talk about economic growth for the middle class. It's not good free college giveaways. It's about it's the best economic investment we can make in terms of building the middle class. For example, in California, if you increase community college degrees by 1 percent, you're creating 174,000 new jobs.

SETMAYER: And who will pay for that? California is underwater. Unbelievable deficits. But let's also talk about other facts. The reason why the unemployment is so low, because labor participation is at a low that we haven't' seen since Jimmy Carter. Let's talk about the fact that wages have been stagnant. The middle class is not better off.

ZIMMERMAN: And how are we going to raise those wages? (CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: Not by imposing more taxes and regulations on small businesses, who create the jobs --

ZIMMERMAN: Excuse me, Tara.

SETMAYER: -- not by burdening people more with a more complicated --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Can I jump in?

SETMAYER: More people are --

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

SETMAYER: More people are on welfare.

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: The reality is it's creating salaries by job training. You mentioned salaries by creating new skill opportunities. That's what's worked time and again.

SETMAYER: You create jobs by taking the boot off the neck of small businesses and with mandates and regulations and taxes --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Let me jump in, just to justify my salary here.

ZIMMERMAN: Yeah, sure.

BERMAN: Robert, if we believe these numbers -- and there are a lot of polls showing the president's numbers creeping up. I can see Democrats around the country saying a little bit too little, too late. Where were you, Mr. President, proposing these things people seemed to like three months ago when we needed this, Democrats did, heading in to a midterm election.

ZIMMERMAN: There is no question Democrats very frankly have themselves to blame. Many of them running away from the president and running away from the economic news. So they may blame the president. That's part of the territory. But I think midterm elections really are about how the local races were run. We're now moving into a new era and to the final two years and you're seeing the fact that the country is rallying around his economic agenda because it's working.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Tara, I want to change the subject here again while I still can.

SETMAYER: Sure.

BERMAN: Mitt Romney, you may have heard, says he might run for president again. And there are a lot of Republicans who publicly announced that's not such a great idea. But a new poll, 59 percent, say Mitt Romney should, which is more than Jeb Bush or Mike Huckabee. So does that justify his new interest in being a candidate again?

SETMAYER: That's probably why he has such an interest. I think he has name I.D. People have buyer's remorse. Republicans are looking and going, oh, my god, what happened, why didn't you win last time around. Look at the state of the country, contrary to what Robert thinks that the country is rallying around the president, no, they're not. The country sent a definitive message in the November elections that they have rejected this president's policy and everything else. But that's --

(CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: Republicans are, I think, at a point where you have so many people jumping in the race. Mitt Romney has the biggest name I.D. And I would hope that he reconsiders. We need fresh blood. I don't think Mitt Romney is the answer. And he's going to have a tough time --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: So you're signing your name up to that list of people who don't want to see him go?

SETMAYER: Yes, that's correct.

BERMAN: Robert Zimmerman, Tara Setmayer --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: thanks so much for being with us. I appreciate it. It gave me a break from talking so much.

(LAUGHTER)

SETMAYER: Happy to do it.

ZIMMERMAN: We try to do our best.

BERMAN: Come back again.

You don't want to miss our special State of the Union coverage here on CNN. Join us tomorrow night starting at 7:00 eastern right here on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining us.

"LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts right after this break.

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