Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

A Wary Congress Says OK to ISIS Fight; Grimes, McConnell on the Attack In Kentucky; Adrian Peterson's Former Coach Speaks Out; Historic Scotland Referendum Under Way

Aired September 18, 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": It is a predicate for war. We should note the President had the congressional picnic, he thanked the house for the vote. He said it was a rare moment when Washington was coming together. And there you have it, maybe they should do it more often in Washington. Have people get together and have a conversation. It's nice the President had the event.

One of the reason some of the Democrats were nervous is because of the controversy stirred up this week by General Dempsey. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. In my view he was just simple being honest. He was asked questions about, what if you need a Plan B, or Plan C, meaning the Free Syrian Army isn't up to the fight. If the Iraqi army isn't up to the fight and your goal is to destroy ISIS, will American troops eventually perhaps have to be used?

General Dempsey said if it came to that, he would make that recommendation to the president and the White House scrambled. The president himself in Tampa, Florida yesterday standing in front of troops that no, I will not commit you to a ground war in Iraq and here is Secretary of State John Kerry back before his old friends in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: The president will not put American ground troops in Iraq and the president made it clear again food in in a state he made at CentCom, that America can make a decisive -- I'm quoting the president, we can make a decisive difference, but I want to be clear, the troops deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: They're arguing with themselves except they shouldn't be. Is there anything wrong with what General Dempsey said? He said if the president's goal is to destroy ISIS and if the first plan doesn't work, then what?

MARGARET TALEV, "BLOOMBERG NEWS": Militarily, there is nothing at all wrong with what General Dempsey said. But politically, it's a kind of bomb to drop right before the elections because it's true. I don't think President Obama wants to send combat troops back to Iraq or anywhere near Syria. But like what if he has to? PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: It undercuts the original premise of Obama's candidacy, which was to bring the troops home. He's so against anything that even has a whiff of that.

TALEV: But he sent already like 1,000 advisers to Iraq.

HAMBY: That's where the rub is the advisers, they are not on a combat mission until they are.

KING: The rub also is what's the message to ISIS? In the sense that if you're ISIS and you're convinced the United States will never send ground troops, all you have to do is deal with the Free Syrian Army, all you have to do is, you know, spook the Iraqis or keep doing things that --

HAMBY: That's why the Republicans don't want to say they want troops on the ground. But like Marco Rubio, who we just saw are not ruling it out because strategically, they see it's boneheaded.

TALEV: Listen to what Obama said, what he is saying is, I will not commit these people who I'm sending right now to combat.

KING: He's trying to draw the line, but look, if nothing else, he could be leaving it for the next president because this is going to on for some time. I will note that Joe Biden in Iowa last night, the vice president, echoing General Dempsey.

He said it was a big if. He said if he concluded it was need, he would request it from the president. His conclusion is it is not needed now. We'll determine that based on how the effort goes.

The vice president often accused of being on message. I think again he's -- telling the truth. I think --

TALEV: And also not running for president right now.

KING: May not be the best political thing to say, but they're telling the truth.

Let's get to one of the best races in the country. In Kentucky, you have Mitch McConnell, he is the Republican leader. He wants to be the majority leader if Republicans have a good year.

But he's in a rock them, sack them race, a very close race with Alison Grimes. Earlier in the week, gun control and President Obama were the issue in first, a Grimes ad then McConnell's counter response here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES (D), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: Mitch McConnell wants you to think I'm Barack Obama. I'm not Barack Obama. I disagree with him on guns, coal and the EPA.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: Alison Grimes thinks shooting a gun will convince you she's not like Barack Obama.

GRIMES: I'm not Barack Obama.

MCCONNELL: But Grimes twice supported Obama's platform for Obamacare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, if that wasn't fun enough, and this race is good. They're having a good time fighting it out on television. Grimes just this morning airing a new ad, remember, senior citizens, the most reliable voters in a mid-term election year. Here, she is hitting Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, with the help of her grandmother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last ten years, he couldn't speak or work. And they -- could barely afford the medicines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our life became something else. No more vacations. No retirement. Just existing.

GRIMES: This is why we have to strengthen Medicare. Senator McConnell has voted over and over again to raise seniors' Medicare costs. I'll never do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So the obvious is that she's trying to get the elderly voters, which are the most reliable by playing Medicare. She was on this issue earlier in the campaign. My question is, did they switch so fast because -- they're at point they were tracking every night in the campaign.

They are polling every night in the campaign. You try a new ad, put a couple of hundred thousand dollars behind it. If you pull it back so quick or change the mix so quick, you're doing it based on what you see in the polling.

TALEV: There's a limited amount of time. They don't think she can get him at the course that they've been going possibly. But also I think she's trying to get back on the offensive instead of the defensive.

When you're doing ads saying I'm not Barack Obama, you're being defined by Barack Obama. When you're going after McConnell and trying to depress his elderly base or increase your own, you're trying to play a different game. There is not much time.

HAMBY: Medicare has come up repeatedly in this race and McConnell has also hit Grimes on supporting Obamacare and using that sort of Republican line that that cuts from Medicare, which is probably misleading but -- it's a mid-term election. And to your point, they need to get older voters, especially in place like Kentucky.

KING: That's the one seat where Democrats think they can pick off a Republican. They've got a couple other targets out there. But that's one where they get the most resources going. It's the most fun. We often say that Peter Hamby has the best job at CNN because he comes in every now and then to talk to me in the mornings, but otherwise he's out there getting to see America. We'll give awe little tease before we go of what we call the Hamby-cast. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMBY: Two hundred reporters here, all crammed up to a fence to get a shot of Hillary and Bill grilling steaks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Go to CNN politics, on our interweb as we say, you see the candidate there and you can see more of the Hamby cast, Peter's weekly take on things out there in the country. And I think he's a bit skeptical about the media in this one. You can get your judgment of what Peter thinks about us.

HAMBY: Maybe. A little skeptical of how Hillary Clinton is going to deal with that media. She's going to face media packs that big wherever she goes. And there's all these calls for her to be authentic and get outside the bubble and that's the challenge for her.

KING: Go to cnnpolitics.com and check that out. And Margaret, are you working on the Margaret-cast?

TALEV: I'm working on that, yes.

KING: Mr. Cuomo, back to you, six and a half weeks until Election Day, my friend.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Hamby is like a double agent. A little bit of having the cake, eating it, too. He's got his own theme music, I don't know how I feel about it, JK.

KING: Wherever Hamby goes, there's food. It's the common denominator, food.

CUOMO: But he's not eating it, he's all ripped up. Something is going on there with that Hamby. I'll have to start watching these podcasts a little bit more carefully. All right, thank you very much, guys. We'll see you tomorrow.

Adrian Peterson is on the Vikings' exempt list now. What does that mean? It means he's banned from the Minnesota Viking team activities. Now Nike has become the latest sponsor to walk away from the football star. So who is he?

Is he really just these charges against him right now? We have an exclusive interview with Adrian Peterson's former coach and close friend. Decide for yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again to you. Welcome back to NEW DAY. Adrian Peterson, the star running back of the Minnesota Vikings is in the middle of a firestorm right now, accused of abusing two of his children.

He's been banned from all team activities and he's been placed on an exempt list. It comes as Nike joins Peterson's other sponsors in walking away, if only temporarily, from the football star while the investigation continues.

Steve Eudey, Adrian Peterson's former coach and a very close friend. Peterson joins us exclusively this morning from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Good morning, Mr. Eudey.

STEVE EUDEY, FORMER COACH OF ADRIAN PETERSON: Good morning, Michaela. How are you doing?

PEREIRA: I'm doing very well and I'm really appreciative of you giving us a chance to understand the man that you know. You've known him an awfully long time. I understand you first met him when he was 7 years old, is that true?

EUDEY: Yes, ma'am.

PEREIRA: Tell me a little bit about the man you know.

EUDEY: He came -- OK. I met him when he was 7 years old. He came out to the athletic complex in Palestine, Texas where I was a coach and a board member of the Anderson County Football League and we've been good friends ever since.

PEREIRA: What is your reaction to the suspension of this young man you know?

EUDEY: Well, I'm not very happy, Michaela, to be honest with you. I think he's getting a little injustice here. Well, not trying to overshadow the injuries to the child or the seriousness of child abuse, I'm just here to tell American public, Adrian Peterson is not a child abuser.

He's very kind. He has a history of being kind and gentle to children. Being friendly towards everybody. Always -- very respectful, was taught to be respectful. And I just never seen him where he was angry or violent or anything like that off of the field.

PEREIRA: We're glad to get your perspective, but you can see how it doesn't align with what he stands accused. And the pictures that we've seen of the injuries to that child. As you mention. The injuries show that the skin was broken, there were raised welts.

I understand that he says and in fact I want to read you a statement that Adrian said, he said, I have to live with the fact that when I discipline my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen. He says he was raised this way. Is this how you know he was raised?

EUDEY: Michaela, he was raised in a very strict environment, very loving, caring environment. But one where you were taught right from wrong and Adrian knows right from wrong. And I believe in his statement, that's ha he's saying, he understands the injuries to the child was not his intent. And that was wrong and he has apologized for that.

PEREIRA: Do you think it got away from him in that moment? Help us understand that.

EUDEY: Michaela, I've talked to I don't know, 50-plus people, fathers in the last week and they all agree that occasionally, discipline gets away from you and you don't, you don't mean, your intention is not harm or abuse.

You are disciplining your child the way that you know how and you're disciplining that child out of love. But sometimes stuff like that occurs. I've spoken with both of my sons in the last week. And they both reminded me of times that maybe I went a little overboard. So --

PEREIRA: Maybe therein lies the problem about using physical, you know, that's what people that are against corporal punishment will say. Therein lies the problem of using physical smack, a spanking, a whipping, a switch, as a form of discipline, right?

EUDEY: OK. Michaela, I agree 100 percent with you, and I believe in Adrian's statement. He has said he has since gone to counseling and been shown alternate alternatives. But my question is, is this a question about corporal punishment and how to discipline a child?

And that's why we're suspended from the NFL? I mean, surely you can understand there's a little bit of difference in punishment to a child, or discipline to a child, and beating somebody up or shooting somebody at a nightclub or those sort of things.

So I just don't, my personal opinion and what I'm having a hard time getting my head around is I just don't understand how all this is put together. And I don't understand how Adrian's track record of kindness to people in general, I've never known the kid to be in a fight.

So -- to all of a sudden have him put together with some people that have done some other stuff, I just don't understand it, to be honest with you.

PEREIRA: And you're talking about the fact that he has -- he has been sort of grouped in with these other troubled NFL players who are stand accused of domestic violence. You really take umbrage with that. You don't like the fact, you see that his case is a different case than ray rice and hardy and these other players that are accused of domestic violence.

EUDEY: Michaela, I don't know Ray, I don't know Greg. And I'm sure their cases are need to be looked at on an individual basis, also. What I'm saying is Adrian was disciplining his child, in my opinion, that's a difference than physically whipping a woman or a child or a man or elderly person. Going overboard on discipline is not the same thing as hitting somebody with your fist and knocking them down.

PEREIRA: Tell me more about -- I want to go back to --

EUDEY: I'm a simple American, but that's pretty plain. PEREIRA: I want you to go back to the young man you know, to the player you knew as a child, you knew him as a young man, you knew his father very well. How is he dealing with all of this now? I know you haven't had a chance to speak with him. You spoke to his manager last night. Do we know how he's doing?

EUDEY: Adrian's going to be fine. Adrian is struggling with this. The worst thing that you could do to Adrian is take away his ability to play. Adrian loves to play. I can sit here and tell stories, until noon, of him playing, sneaking onto the field where there was little league, high school.

People having to hide his helmet. Adrian loves to play. He's a big kid at heart and so to take that away from him, is -- is tragic. It's -- it's going to be tough. But he, Adrian will be OK.

PEREIRA: And you do recognize that they, you know, they have to investigate, they have to let the investigation run its course and then we will see what happens. There is still, we don't know what this will all, what will all end up here. I want to say thank you, Steve, for giving us insight into the man you know, for defending your friend and for talking to us here on NEW DAY.

EUDEY: OK, thank you very much.

PEREIRA: You take care.

We know today is an historic day in the United Kingdom, voting is taking place now. The polls are open. The question is, will Scotland leave Britain and form its own country? What would the end result look like? We'll be watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. Voters are coming out by the millions today to decide whether Scotland should declare independence from the United Kingdom and if the yes vote succeeds, things could get a little messy.

Oil currency, the queen nonetheless, even the flag could be literally and figuratively up in the air. Who else needs to be taking this on other than John Berman?

CUOMO: AKA Braveheart.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR, "EARLY START": Exactly. Exactly. You can take our lives, but --

BOLDUAN: You cannot take our freedom.

BERMAN: Except, well maybe for 307 years or so. Look, this is so complicated, this is not some conscious uncoupling between Gwyneth Paltrow and that guy from "Coldplay." They were together for ten years.

These people have been together for 307 years and now they're thinking about a great breakup? Ugly. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (voice-over): If we learned one thing from "Braveheart", it's --

MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: That they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!

BERMAN: Because if they do take it, Mel Gibson might have added, we will probably vote to get it back in 307 years or so.

(BAGPIPES)

BERMAN: This may be a classic relationship struggle over who wears the kilt in this family, but if there is a breakup, it could be the messiest divorce ever.

What do you do with the flag? The blue part of the Union Jack is Saint Andrew's Cross -- that's Scotland's. What do you do with the pound? The UK says they keep that. The oil, well, that's in Scotland, so you know who wants that. The bombs?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have we shown you how to start a nuclear war yet?

BERMAN: They seemed important in "The Queen." You can bet the UK wants the arsenal that resides in Scotland.

And what do you do with Wales? Well, that stays in the UK, but maybe Scotland can visit Wednesday nights and every other weekend.

As confusing as the arguments over the stuff might be, the logic behind the arguments might be even more so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both sides of this argument have valid points, the freedom-loving heirs of the highland tradition, and those who enjoy crawling like worms beneath British boots.

BERMAN: Those freedom loving heirs of the highland tradition, as Groundskeeper Willie, calls them, say that while they absolutely, positively want their independence, they absolutely, positively want to keep the queen. Because nothing, I mean nothing says freedom like a monarchy.

And nothing says independence like the United States of America, which is why Hillary Clinton told the BBC --

HILLARY CLINTON, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: I would hate to have you lose Scotland --

BERMAN: What does the United States really know about splitting from the UK? That never works.

In closing, no matter what happens to the flag, the pound, the nukes or the oil, no matter what happens in the actual vote, Scotland will always be part of Great Britain. It will never be part of England; the Irish, part of neither. Northern Ireland will still be part of the United Kingdom, which may no longer be as united, but Elizabeth will be queen of all of it.

So keep calm and carry on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: She does not know what she's the monarch of anymore.

BERMAN: I feel bad for Wales because I still don't know what that is.

BOLDUAN: At least you know how to spell it.

BERMAN: I do, too. Kids as young as 16 can vote in this referendum. What 16-year-old do you know would say hey do you want to be independent? What 16 years old says no?

CUOMO: Ninety seven percent registration.

PEREIRA: It's 80 percent turnout.

CUOMO: So bottom line, they may lose the head off the elf riding the pig. Is that it?

BOLDUAN: I never understood, he's trying to make some kind of reference, none of it makes sense.

CUOMO: I like a nice kilt joke. Thank you very much.

BOLDUAN: There we go. Not complete until we make John Berman blush.

CUOMO: At his own jokes which is a beautiful thing.

All right, something else that almost you have to laugh at it is what's going on with the plan for ISIS, the House approves the president's plan to go after ISIS by arming Syrian rebels. Which ones? We don't know yet.

Dozens of members of his own party are throwing on the brakes. Will the president's plan get quashed in the Senate? We'll talk live to a key member of the president's national security team.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)