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New Day
Most Oppose Obama Lawsuit; A Kinder, Gentler GOP?; Mother Anxious To Lay Son To Rest; Was FAA Ban On Tel Aviv Flights Political?
Aired July 25, 2014 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": A plurality, 45 percent, do think the president has gone too far, using executive powers to overstep what they believe his authority as president is or should be, 45 percent say he's gone too far, about 30 percent he's gotten about right, but look at that number, 22 percent say he's not gone far enough so Republicans could say, look, a plurality agree with us.
They could make that case if they wanted to, but here's some important numbers. Should the president be impeached? Sarah Palin and some others have said let's have impeachment proceedings, no. Two-thirds of the American people, 65 percent, say flatly no. That dog won't hunt, to borrow a line from Bill Clinton.
Should they sue the president, still no, a clear majority, not two- thirds but 57 percent say no. Peter, will House Republicans read those numbers and say maybe we should talk about something else?
PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Not impeachment, but they will move ahead with suing the president, sure. This goes back to January. Ted Cruz has been saying for many, many months that the president has been violating the law. He's called him lawless with his executive orders to, you know, raise minimum wage for federal workers or protect LGBT rights or deal with undocumented workers.
There's no indication that they will back away from this and these poll numbers I don't think -- because they do have to worry -- they are talking to Republicans right now, not the general public.
KING: That's the point I wanted to make. This is the national poll numbers, 57 percent, you would say, whoa, a big chunk of the American people saying don't file the lawsuit. However, if you go online and look at our map and go to cnnpolitics.com and look at the map of House districts. House districts and those safe House districts Republicans are speaking to the choir when they say go after the president.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I think the prop is in some of the Senate states, these are states in the southeast, states with a lot of African-American voters. If you flash back to 1998 when there was similar talk of Bill Clinton, this whole anti-impeachment rhetoric and sort of campaign that Democrats ran against Republicans really worked for them, and, you know, the Democrats I've talked to they feel like this could be not only a fundraising boon for them, but a particular African-American votes for them.
HAMBY: I want to hear what the Republican nominees have to say in North Carolina.
KING: That's an excellent point. It could be used by Democrats to drive up turnout, which they have done successfully in past. I'm going to use a couple of terms that Republicans don't because they don't quote George W. Bush. You might say compassionate conservative. They never quote George H.W. Bush. You might say we need a kinder and gentler America.
But if you listen to Republicans these days, Rand Paul will speak to the Urban League today to talk about working in inner cities on education and other problems. I want you to listen here, Paul Ryan laying out an anti-poverty agenda yesterday. Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman. Remember, he was Mitt Romney's vice presidential nominee. He says take most of the money the federal government spends on anti-poverty programs, give it to the states, let governors and mayors deal with the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPRESENTATIVE PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: We want a healthy economy and a big part of that is having a safety net that is strong. Both for those who cannot help themselves and for those who need just a helping hand to get up and going in life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That's talking about block grants on poverty. Let's continue the conversation. Chris Christie out in Aspen last night talking about Republicans need to realize, yes, you can be tough on crime but for people who commit drug offenses especially if they are young or first offense and especially if it's clearly addiction and could get treatment and be rehabilitated, Chris Christie says think again about locking them up and throwing away the key.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm pro-life, and if you're pro- life you have to be pro-life when they get out of the womb also. We're a party that believes that every life is precious and no -- no one should be deprived of a second chance, well, then we need to get on that issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: On the sentencing part, there does seem to be -- you have Rand Paul making the same case, Chris Christie, Eric Holder, the attorney general. You don't say Rand Paul, Chris Christie and Eric Holder in the same sentence that often. There seems to be an emerging consensus on that issue. Can we have a serious conversation about anti-poverty programs?
HENDERSON: It looks like there is something they were in the middle of. You have Paul Ryan, of course, layout this plan that was very different from the plans that he laid out before, pretty much a deficit neutral, and in this language and talking about the safety net, very different from some of the things that we've heard before where, you know, where Democrats were able to sort of caricature a Republican as not caring about the poor.
HAMBY: I thought this was a pretty thoughtful plan for Paul Ryan to come out with, and to your point it is revenue neutral. Democrats though, if there has been criticism, seems to be built around the fact that the messenger might not be credible. This is a guy who wanted to sort of cut Medicare and Medicaid and other parts of the social safety net.
But Paul Ryan has been careful to stress that this isn't about cutting these programs. It's about restructuring them and sort of, you know, thinking about case workers and person-to-person contact when you talk about poverty.
KING: In divided government you have to cut deals so maybe a little bit of conversation, a little bit of consensus. I'm skeptical. Nothing gets done this time right now but we'll see. Nia-Malika Henderson, thanks for coming in. Peter Hamby as well.
As we get back to Alisyn and Chris and Michaela, assuming Alisyn didn't take care of Chris in New York. You know, 583.com did a poll on "Star Wars" characters then "The Washington Post" projected those numbers onto race for president essentially saying, "The Washington Post" that Darth Vader, if he ran, would be a pretty strong candidate. That's a little bit of late night funnies. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": Base on these results I'm now officially endorsing Darth Vader for president of the United States. Folks, let's face it. The electorate is becoming more and more diverse, and there's no question he is a strong black candidate. And he's got a plan to put Americans back to work with a massive infrastructure program.
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": He's even released a few campaign slogans, take a look at this. First, we have Cheney 2.0. Next there's the only candidate who can actually scare Putin. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: That's good stuff.
KING: Not so bad, right?
CAMEROTA: But, I mean, you know, Princess Leia might give him a run for his money.
KING: But Darth Vader wears Deet.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: He doesn't need it. I think America prefers sweet strength and Princess Leia has the whole intrigue with her brother going there.
CAMEROTA: Skeletons in their closets.
CUOMO: The weird tension that was always going on with Luke. Politics is an ugly game. It all comes back -- Mich.
CAMEROTA: Make strange bed fellows.
CUOMO: That mosquito bite will become an issue, you know, in 2017 whenever you decide to run.
CAMEROTA: All right, thanks, John.
CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, hundreds of families waiting to bury their loved ones after the MH-17 attack. We're going to speak again with a mother who lost her son. That's coming up.
CAMEROTA: And the Air Algerie plane that went down in Africa has been found in Mali. This is the third airline disaster in a week. So we will speak with an aviation expert to see if there are new safety issues happening above 30,000 feet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. We want to bring in Silene Frederiksz who lost her 23-year-old son, Brice on MH-17 and his girlfriend, Daisy. Of course, we had some technical issues before. We think that we have resolved them. Silene, if you can hear me, tell us what you're doing at the airport.
SILENE FREDRIKSZ, SON AND HIS GIRLFRIEND DIED IN MH17 CRASH: We're watching the ceremony together with the other families and see the planes coming in and seeing the coffins coming out. It's very emotional, but also beautiful that they are finally home.
CAMEROTA: So you have been watching the coffins, the 40 coffins that first arrived and now we're expecting more coffins. How long will you wait at the airport?
FREDRIKSZ: A few hours, maybe four, five hours. We're at the airport. We'll be here from the beginning until the end.
CAMEROTA: Of course, you will stay until the end until you find your son, Brice's remains and you're sure that he has left the crash site.
FREDRIKSZ: Yes.
CAMEROTA: And has gotten to you. I know that you've been very outspoken about demanding things of President Putin. What are you asking of him?
FREDRIKSZ: Yes. That he will do his utmost best to bring all those bodies back, that a lot of children out there, we don't know if they are here already, but he's a father, and he has to listen to his father heart, he has to. He has to show the world that he's a human being as well, as we all are. I know he has a father heart. I know he must have. He has to think how he might feel if his child was lying there and all the personal belongings.
CAMEROTA: Yes, and we hope that he can hear you. What you're saying makes perfect sense, appealing to his heart. We watched the national day of mourning in the Netherlands with the 40 caskets and that processional. It was so poignant and so beautiful yet emotional. Where were you when that happened? And what were your thoughts that day?
FREDRIKSZ: At the airport, I saw everything on television later on in the evening. It was very warm. It gave a warm feeling that everybody is so I don't know the word in English, comforting, it's comforting. It gives a lot of support to see it.
CAMEROTA: We know that you are basically waiting vigil there at the airport waiting for the remains of your 23-year-old son, Brice and his girlfriend, Daisy. They were headed off on a vacation. We know all about how they were so excited to go to Bali, and they were going to be greeted with this rose-petalled covered hotel room. Tell us what you can today about Brice and Daisy.
FREDRIKSZ: Sorry, what do you mean? I didn't hear the question.
CAMEROTA: Tell us, we'd love to hear more about your son, Brice and Daisy. What can you tell us?
FREDRIKSZ: OK. Yes. They were crazy and funny and beautiful people really. And they had a future in front of them starting with this holiday. They wanted to have a house of themselves. Daisy was going to school. She wanted to be a teacher. Brice was starting a new job after the holidays, and they loved to go to Bali.
They wanted to go diving there. Brice has been four times in Indonesia before because my husband was born there, and he loved the country, and he was so happy that he went to Bali again and see a lot of friends again there who are waiting for him. They are crying in Indonesia as well.
CAMEROTA: Yes, of course, of course. We -- just from seeing the pictures, they were a beautiful couple. They looked young and happy.
FREDRIKSZ: Yes.
CAMEROTA: And we understand why all of his friends --
FREDRIKSZ: They were.
CAMEROTA: -- are crying today. So once you're convinced that his body is back where it belongs, what will be next for you?
FREDRIKSZ: I don't know. I live day by day. First important thing is that everything has to come back. Everybody has to come back and then when they are here on -- on the Dutch grounds, I feel safe. I feel safe. After all the horror, horrible things I've seen that happened there in the Ukraine fields. It's a big, big nightmare for us, but now when everybody is here, I feel safe.
If I have to wait for months, it will be OK. As long as I know they are here, it will be treated respectfully, and I have full confidence in the expertise here. I have to say -- I want to thank the Dutch government for what they did and the Australian government. I am so grateful what happened the last days, really.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
FREDRIKSZ: I can't say it enough.
CAMEROTA: That is -- that is beautiful of you to be able to thank them at this time, and we pray that today you get that measure of comfort and that the bodies are returned. We're praying for you and we're thinking of you, and thank you for sharing your son and his girlfriend with us.
FREDRIKSZ: OK. Thank you very much.
CAMEROTA: Thank you.
Next up on NEW DAY, there have been three deadly plane crashes in one week. Is this all some sort of tragic coincidence or is air travel more dangerous now than ever? We'll talk with the former head of the FAA about what's going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. No surprise the FAA ban on flights in and out of Tel Aviv has become a political football. The latest, Senator Ted Cruz suggesting the White House may have ordered the ban to put pressure on Israel. Regardless Hamas rockets are still falling dangerously close to that airport.
Let's bring in Marion Blakey, the president and CEO of Aerospace Industries Association. She is a former FAA chief and NTSB chair. It's very good to have you, Ms. Blakey. Let's take this head on, shall we?
Senator Cruz playing football himself when it comes to the politics of the situation. Do you believe there was any reason to believe the U.S. was playing politics with the ban?
MARION C. BLAKEY, FORMER FAA ADMINISTRATOR: I know the FAA well. The FAA is not a political or partisan agency. They are there to protect the safety of U.S. citizens. So I can't speak to Senator Cruz and what he may have said. But I do know the fact that FAA really does keep its eye on what is important, due diligence when it comes to the safety of the flying public. That's it.
CUOMO: Isn't it true that even if Ben Gurion Airport is the best security airport in the world, there are rockets that Hamas has admitted aiming at it right now. Isn't that a legitimate basis for considering whether or not you should fly there?
BLAKEY: Certianly, Ben Gurion is a highly secure airport itself, but the air space is what is at issue here. And when you do have a contested air space, rockets going through it, one lands within a mile of the airport, anyone would say that is something that you have to take very seriously as a threat.
Look at it carefully and I think the FAA did the right thing in halting action for a while and assessing whether or not it looks like flights could get in and out safely. They worked with intel agencies. They worked with the state of Israel and the security authorities there and I think they will continue to monitor it pretty closely.
CUOMO: You have a caution for politicians like Ted Cruz playing politics with something like this, God forbid something does happen on a flight in that area?
BLAKEY: You know, you would see anyone who had been making statements like that run for the high weeds if in fact something happened. You know, it's very funny that the FAA has to call in as they see it and through the years, you will find people who criticize. They are used to that. The key thing is to uphold safety and I think the White House also called it correctly when they said we don't interfere with a safety agency. That is the way it has been year after year, administration in, administration out.
CUOMO: Hopefully, we don't have to see how Cruz reacts to something happening bad in that area. Hopefully, it stays the way it has so far. Let me ask you about the other hot situation that's going on right now, MH-17. If we don't get investigators in there soon to take control, get the evidence, refine the understanding of where remains are, are we starting to lose an opportunity of making a strong case about what actually happened?
BLAKEY: Well, it sounds like the crash site has been tampered with, manipulated, pieces and things are missing at this point. So it's going to be very hard to do the kind of forensic job that is usually done at a crash site. However, it appears that there is not much doubt about what actually happened.
So in that case unlike some crashes where you are trying to figure out whether it was a mechanical failure or that was a fault of human error on the pilot, et cetera. That is not the issue here. They know what happened and at this stage of the game.
It will be important to recover the bodies and enough evidence so it is very clear the kind of hit the plane took. But I don't think you are going to find that they can reconstruct things in any way the way you usually can at a crash site.
CUOMO: Is there a reasonable suspicion that there seems to be more bad things happening to airplanes these days? MH-17 irrespective, I mean, that was an intentional act by all reasonable observation. Are we paying more attention to it or do you think more planes are going down?
BLAKEY: You know, it is interesting because I think we all perceive that all of a sudden things happen almost in clumps. You know, several happened close to each other. When you look back at it, MH370, we don't know what happened, but to call it an accident is probably something that doesn't make sense at this point based on the evidence we have. Again, an intentional downing when it comes to MH- 17.
Bad weather when it comes to the Taiwanese flight, but when you look at safety overall, 2013 was the safest year in aviation history literally. We doubled the number of passengers over the last two decades and yet flying has become increasingly safe. So it is not something that I think we can generalize about and certainly there is no reason at this point to say we have suddenly run into some safety issues with flying. It's not true.
CUOMO: Marion Blakey, thank you very much. Certainly, you know what you're talking about. We appreciate the perspective on NEW DAY.
BLAKELY: Glad to be here.
CUOMO: Have a good weekend -- Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: All right, Chris, ahead on NEW DAY, a doctor being hailed as a hero at a shooting in Pennsylvania at the hospital. How he shot back. We will tell you that incredible story.
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