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Interview with Representative Daniel Webster; Hispanic Woman On the Stage with Donald Trump. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 09, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

AURIELLE MARIE, CO-FOUNDER, IT'S BIGGER THAN YOU: What we did hear was that she is very interested in demilitarizing police, and she is interested in making -- in limiting the deadly contact that marginalized communities are having with police officers, and making sure that policing is used as a tool for safety, and not as a -- an over -- an overused facet of aggression and -- I'm sorry -- aggression and sort of a sense of not being held for safety in America. And what we did hear from her was that we can depend on her to be an advocate for changing policing laws so that we are being upheld and protected.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Let me jump in and ask you this. You know, in four days these five Democratic candidates will all be on the stage. This is the first Democratic debate. It will be live on CNN in Las Vegas. And my question to you is, of the five candidates which, Aurielle, do you think, you know, identifies most with the goals of the movement such as yours?

MARIE: I will say that I speak for myself and I speak as black woman who has lived experiences that are acutely black in America. And black folks are not monolith. But I believe that all candidates need to earn our respect and they need to earn our vote. And I am still looking for a candidate that is going to be explicitly supportive of -- of legislation and policies that are going to be rehabilitating the relationship blacks have with police.

BALDWIN: So you haven't chosen one yet.

MARIE: No. No one has earned it.

BALDWIN: Final question. I just think it's important to mark the date tomorrow. Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the million-man march in Washington. And then, you know, two decades ago, the focus was on black men. Taking responsibility for their families, for their communities. And I am wondering how you say -- how you see this national "Black Lives Matter" movement in the wake of what happened 20 years ago.

MARIE: I am interested in us centering black women, black queer women and black trans women with our conversation of police violence and violence at the hands of the state in the community. I feel like that there is something less to be desired within the conversation of the million man march of how we're specifically upholding those facets of the black community. And I am interested and excited about how those conversations can continue to develop. I think that that the million man march will be a wonderful and symbolic occasion within the black community. I think it's a great stopping point in this journey towards liberation and freedom for black folks in America. I don't think it's the final call. I don't think it's the last answer. I still think that we have a long way to go.

BALDWIN: Aurielle Marie. Thank you so much. Co-founder of "it's bigger than you." Thank you.

And as I just mentioned, let me just remind all of you again, you can watch the first presidential Democratic debate this Tuesday. Coverage starts at 8:30 p.m. I will be there live starting Monday for special coverage from Vegas. Do not miss it!

Coming up next, though, the Republican Party in chaos as they are working and searching for the next speaker of the house. One of the members of Congress in the running, Daniel Webster. He will join me live to explain why he is the man for the job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:25] BALDWIN: Let's now talk about the battle for a job not a lot of people apparently seem to want. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the job that is really two heartbeats away from the presidency. John Boehner says he does not want the job anymore. Kevin McCarthy announced he would run for it, and then shocked Washington by suddenly dropping out. His action catapulting the house into a deeper sense of chaos.

A lot of names being tossed around at this point. Many argue that Paul Ryan may be the only Republican who could pass muster with both the most conservative members and the moderates within the party.

Daniel Webster is a house Republican from Florida. He is one of the names frequently circulated as a possible speaker as well.

So Congressman Webster, thank you so much for joining me today.

REP. DANIEL WEBSTER (R), FLORIDA: Hey, great to be on.

BALDWIN: So really, I mean, when you watch and when you read everything the last 24 hours, there is a lot of ooh'ing and ah'ing among, you know, members of your party over Paul Ryan but not you. What's your reaction to that?

WEBSTER: Well, I am not running as a personality. I am not running against any one person. I am running because I want to see the House of Representatives transformed from a power-based system where just a few people at the top of a pyramid of power make all the decisions, which is the norm for most legislative bodies, and move it to a more principled-based, member-driven Congress where, from the bottom up, we push down the pyramid of power, spread out the base so every member has an opportunity to be successful.

There are a lot of rank-and-file members who just don't get their bills heard, don't get to participate. Sometimes the rules themselves cut out their amendments and so forth. And they're here to represent a group of people. And I believe they should be included and they should be entered into the process. And we can do that. I did that in Florida. And it was very, very successful there when I was speaker of the house. And I know we could do it here also.

BALDWIN: So obviously you want the job, sir. Thus far, and I understand Paul Ryan is going home to the family to talk this over over the weekend. I know John Boehner has asked him personally to do it. Mitt Romney, we heard just last couple of hours, you know, has picked up the phone and said, "listen, you need to do this for the team." That's a direct quote. But thus far, if he doesn't want to do it, should it disqualify him?

WEBSTER: Well, I think the point is here -- like I said, I am not looking at the different personalities involved or people who are being asked to do it or not. All I can say is I know what we're doing as a Congress is broken. So does the American people. Our numbers are usually 11, 12 or 13 percent approval. I had the same problem in Florida when I became the speaker there. And we turned our numbers right-side up because we took up the most important issues first. We didn't wait for the deadlines and the government shutting down or some programs ending. We did it up front so that we didn't have to worry about that.

And the second is we allowed the members to actually participate. The committees produced bills and we passed the member bills because we wanted to see as much legislation as we could get through, if it's good legislation and it worked. And so our numbers flipped right-side up. And it was 56-24, 56 percent favorable. I don't know any legislative body in the country that's had those kinds of numbers.

[15:40:30] BALDWIN: I understand, Congressman, that you don't really want to get into the personalities, but it's an important part of the story and could affect your future. I know Jason Chaffetz said today, that if Paul Ryan were to jump in, that he won't run against him. Would you be willing -- if Paul Ryan comes back - again, I just have to put you on the spot, if he comes back on Monday and says, I'm in, do you bow out?

WEBSTER: No. And the reason is because I want to show the -- show the Congress that this is the way we should be running our congress. And I think most people, even those that were running initially, are now moving towards the wording that says we need to have a member, bottom-up process. We need to change the rules, all these things that are now being talked about as reforms. It's something I started off with to say we've got to transform the house. And so until there is actually a commitment to do that, I'm going to stay in the race.

BALDWIN: But what about, you know, you make the point about the top bit of congress, the bulk of the folks maybe passing the most laws. On the flipside you also have this, you know, very small percentage, the so-called freedom caucus, you know. Those, if you ask some members of Congress that are making it tough really creating a schism within the party. Is it fair that, you know, what, 10 percent or so of Congress is causing so much turmoil?

WEBSTER: Well, I think the point is here, there are people, not just them but others who are shut out of the system. They're shut out. They can't get their bills or ideas passed. Like I said the rules that are written will take up the pieces of legislation, limit amendments or even sometimes close out amendments altogether. And I think most people that come here at least want to be heard. They want to have an opportunity to offer their amendment. It doesn't mean it passes but they want to at least offer it. And they want to have a bill that they can bring up and talk about and discuss. It may pass. It may fail, but at least they had the opportunity to give all they had for their constituents, the 700,000 or so that elected them.

BALDWIN: Congressman Webster, I hear the halls of Capitol Hill are getting quieter on this Friday afternoon. Know a lot of folks are already out, you know, spending time with their families over the weekend. Maybe those potential speakers mulling it over with family members. What does your weekend look like?

WEBSTER: Well, my weekend looks like pretty much anybody else's weekend except for the fact I am going to be on the phone because I think I've got to contact people. I want to sell the message that I just gave to you. I want to let them know that the Congress and this legislative body here can be different. And it can be one that's successful and it can be one that the public actually likes as opposed to the low numbers that we have right now as far as polling.

BALDWIN: Who do you need to talk to? Who do you have to talk to who is on that list? Can you give me a name?

WEBSTER: Not really. I start at the a and go down to the z, just working my way through in a methodical way of calling people, whether I know they're probably against me or maybe they're for me. I don't know. But I'm going to just call them and give them my message and move on to the next. I really haven't asked anybody to commit to me. What I've done is commit to them that I'll serve them in several ways and I list those out. And then I tell them about a principle-based, member-driven Congress as opposed to a power based Congress.

BALDWIN: One final question, Congressman and I'm going to let you go head on to your weekend. Is there any kind of deadline? Do you know when the next potential vote could be?

WEBSTER: I heard a few weeks.

BALDWIN: A few weeks.

WEBSTER: Yes.

BALDWIN: All right.

WEBSTER: I think it will be before the end of the month that we'll have a new speaker.

BALDWIN: All right. A lot of time for a lot of phone calls, I suppose.

Congressman Webster, thank you so much. Best of luck to you sir. Appreciate it.

WEBSTER: Great to be on. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

Coming up next, the very excited, very enthusiastic woman here who was on stage yesterday with Donald Trump in Las Vegas. Was she a plant? Does she 100 percent love Donald Trump? We'll speak with her live coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is this a setup? Did I ever meet you before?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm his fan and I vote for Mr. Trump. We vote for Mr. Trump. Yes! Mr. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:26] BALDWIN: Listen, it's pretty tough to upstage Donald Trump, especially when you're at one of Donald Trump's rallies but one of his supporters managed to do precisely that at a Trump event in Las Vegas. She is Myriam Witcher. She caught Trump's eye because she was holding Trump's cover photo of "People" magazine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Where are you from?

MYRIAM WITCHER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I'm from Colombia.

TRUMP: Colombia. And is this the setup? Did I ever meet you before? Huh?

WITCHER: I'm Hispanic and I vote for Mr. Trump. We vote for Mr. Trump! Yes! Mr. Trump! We love you!

TRUMP: Thank you.

[15:50:00] WITCHER: We love you! On the way to the White House!

TRUMP: I swear to you I think she's totally beautiful. I never met her before. I swear. This all started with "People" magazine. So here's the story. So I love this story. They couldn't have been nicer. Nice story, right? Couldn't be nicer. But I don't know what happened. They played with my nose. I don't want touching. I don't want touching. So I'm looking. Now you'll tell me, how's my nose, it's fine, right?

WITCHER: It's beautiful and perfect.

TRUMP: I have a wart on the end of my nose. Can you believe? And I said, look, I don't have - look, it's terrible. But that's OK. Because they meant it well. I think they wanted to make me look like Kerry Grant. Do we remember, Kerry Grant? And I've always wanted to look like Kerry Grant. But any way, you are beautiful. Will you make sure she doesn't fall? Come here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, Myriam there was good enough to join me just this past hour. And the enthusiasm you just saw with Donald Trump on the stage just the beginning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WITCHER: Oh, my God, he is coming. He's our man sent from heaven. He's a very, very beautiful human being. Beautiful heart. A lot of love and compassion. If you can read or hear about the charities he's doing, this is something touch my heart.

BALDWIN: Had you ever met Donald Trump before being on stage with him?

WITCHER: Only in my dreams. You are not going to believe what I'm going to tell you. I believe in law attraction. I believe in being positive person. And three nights before he came to Las Vegas I told my husband, I have a dream. You can't imagine I saw Mr. Trump in my dreams. And I saw him like I had opportunity to give a hug. And I had my Facebook page and I wrote so many times, Mr. Trump, I'm a Hispanic person, and I hope I have the opportunity to give a hug to you. He doesn't know me. My pictures -- I don't have pictures on Facebook about myself.

BALDWIN: So did someone from the Trump campaign, Myriam, did they see what you posted on Facebook? Did someone from the campaign reach out to you?

WITCHER: I guess from the campaign. I touch my feelings. I go by my heart and I -- like Mr. Trump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Myriam Witcher, thank you.

Just in to CNN, an aide to Mitt Romney has confirmed he and his former running mate Paul Ryan have indeed spoken on the phone. We're told Romney would be supportive if he ran for house speaker but would never presume to tell Ryan what to do. Romney's camp says Paul Ryan's passion to get America back on the path of growth is in his heart and soul.

Right now, the president of the United States is meeting behind closed doors with grieving families from the Umpqua Community College shooting from last week in Roseburg, Oregon. But he's not welcomed by open arms by everyone in this community. We'll take you live to Oregon at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:49] BALDWIN: Voting is now officially open for CNN's top ten CNN heroes of 2015. Each will receive a cash prize and top honor which earns them additional $100,000 for his or her cause. You get to help decide who that person will be. Here is Anderson Cooper to explain how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC 360: Now that we've announced the top ten CNN heroes of 2015, I want to show you how you can help decide who should be CNN hero of the year and receive $100,000 for their cause.

Go to CNNheroes.com where you'll find more information about all of them. Each one will be honored at CNN heroes an all-star tribute this December. But only one will be named hero of the year. That's where you come in with your votes.

Now, down here you'll see photos of the each top ten hero which link to a page where you can watch videos and learn more about their important work. When you're ready, simply click vote over here and a new page comes up. Now select the person who inspires you the most. I'm going to select somebody randomly. I'm going to pick Jim Withers over here, again just as an example. Any of the ten nominees would be worthy of being CNN hero of the year and that's entirely up to you.

Now, once you select your favorite hero, his or her photo will show up down here in a separate box under your selection. Then just enter your email address, type in the security code and click on the vote box to cast your vote right there. It's even easier to vote on Facebook. Just make your selection and click over here. You'll see this thank you page where you can share your choice on Facebook or twitter to encourage your friends to vote as well. And there's also a link where you can make a tax free donation to your favorite heroes cause.

Now, remember you can vote once a day every day through Sunday November 15th with your email address, through Facebook or by using the CNN app. We'll reveal the 2015 hero of the year during CNN heroes an all-star tribute, CNN tradition promises to inspire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And again, you can meet this year's top ten heroes vote once a day, cnnheroes.com. Don't miss the CNN Heroes all-star tribute airing December 6th.

And before I let you go, I just wanted to give a little shout out to my 4-day-old nephew because I have been away the last couple of days because I mean, listen, I'm a first-time auntie. I had to drop everything and say hello and welcome to the world little baby Bridger Baldwin. To Ryan and Ren, I love you guys, good job.

And that's it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me here on this Friday. Stay right here. "The LEAD" starts now.