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New Day

Polls: Senate Races Tighter Than Ever; Son Says Jeb Bush "Likely" 2016 Candidate; Five-Year-Old Being Monitored In NYC; American Veteran Fighting ISIS In Syria

Aired October 27, 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": Let's play this out. Let's say Pat Roberts holds on in Kansas. Again, there's an independent candidate there. But I'm just going to give the Republicans their own. This is a very tight race. I'm heading to Kentucky tomorrow to get an eye on this one. Let's say Mitch McConnell, though, holds on in Kentucky then where are we in 49, 47, one, two, three, four left.

Jonathan Martin, I want you at this point, you have to say the odds are with the Republicans because if they win half of the races, it looks like they get the majority but so many so close.

JONATHAN MARTIN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": That's right, John. I think this is why so many Democrats are concerned because they have no margin for error at all. If you include the three states that you mentioned that are widely seated as GOP pickups, which are West Virginia, South Dakota, John, and I'm missing one more.

I think it's going to be hard for Democrats to hold on because of the fact that places like Iowa, which for a long time Democrats not to come back are looking tougher. Colorado still very close, looking for Democrats, then you go to the south, places like Arkansas and Louisiana seem really tough with Obama in the White House.

KING: They do, Margaret. Now I played this out while Jonathan was talking. I gave Democrats all the blue states, the states they control now, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, a lot of Republicans say that will not happen. I did it to make a point.

If Republicans sweep them all, by the way, they could get as high as 55. If all the races break late and go the Republicans way, Republicans can get as high as 55.

But Margaret, look at this scenario, I can get you 49 to 49, two states with runoff. Louisiana, most people expect Mary Landrieu and Bill Casidy to be in the December run off there. She is the Democratic incumbent.

And Georgia, David Purdue versus Michelle Nunn, a lot of people think that you need 50 percent plus 1 in these states. A lot of people think this Louisiana is December. Georgia would be January. What if we had this scenario, 49 and 49 with two runoffs after Election Day to decide who controls the Senate? MARGARET TALEV, "BLOOMBERG NEWS": Isn't that amazing? It made Georgia a fascinating to watch. In the near term just because of what it would mean the sort of cliffhanger going down to the wire if January, how you would mobilize anything to boat a runoff then.

KING: I think the interesting part then, if you get those two runoffs with the control of the Senate at stake is, does the president then become a factor? He's been a pariah for vulnerable Democrats throughout the campaign.

Those two states African-American turnout would be key in the runoffs. We'll see if he plays. This week he is playing. He is out on the road. He is not playing anywhere that matters in control of the Senate. He is going to Wisconsin.

That is a big governor's race. That matters. He is going to Michigan, that Senate race the Democrats are winning. He is going up into New England. Why, Jonathan, still a pariah in the Democratic Party when it comes to the big Senate races.

MARTIN: Because a lot of these strategists were running Democratic campaigns for the Senate and have determined, John, that there is more risk. They have President Obama come out there and at this late stage in the campaign, they don't want to give their opponents the opportunity to make the race about President Obama. By the way, I forgot, Montana.

KING: Yes. And the president's leadership is at issue. We started this year thinking it would be about Obamacare. We thought it would be more about economy. We end on Ebola. The president, the White House is in a battle with states, saying don't go further than the federal government.

You had New York, New Jersey, Illinois, spoke up as well saying with a tougher quarantine policy. New York is down to back a little bit. Listen to Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor, a potential 2016 presidential candidate saying, no, I don't think the federal government is being tough enough. I'm not going to back down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: As we saw with what happened with some of the healthcare workers in Texas with the CDC shifting protocols, we had people who were infected from that type of contact. We just can't have that in the New York/New Jersey area.

And that's why Governor Cuomo and I agree on this and now you see that they agree in Chicago as well. I think this is a policy that will become a national policy sooner rather than later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You have a feud over a subject that's anxiety ridden as Ebola in terms of the politics of it. How does the White House come out on top here? TALEV: Well, no, they absolutely don't. And for Chris Christie, this is like a give me because one of his biggest problem among Republicans is he's too friendly with President Obama. He gave him a bro hug.

And especially if Jeb Bush decided that he is going to get into it. Chris Christie is in a lot of trouble. So at least this is some way to distinguish himself. What are you saying? I'm sorry for this nurse, I got to protect people.

MARTIN: I think, John, the Democrats have not concocted a more unwelcome scenario. The final weeks of the election will be played out with a viral disease coming to American shores from Africa. It's the last thing they need.

KING: You mentioned Jeb Bush. George P. Bush spoke to ABC's John Cog. George P. Bush is on the ballot in Texas. His dad is Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor. There is a big question about whether mom, Barbara Bush is on board, whether his wife is on board. Listen to George P. here seemed to give a green light.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is your dad going to run for president?

GEORGE P. BUSH, JEB BUSH'S SON: I think he is still assessing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it more than 50 percent or less than 50 percent?

BUSH: I think it is more than likely that he is giving this serious thought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That he will run?

BUSH: That he will run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Look, he's a young guy, George P., relatively new, he is not saying things like that loose lipped, is he? He's got to mean it?

MARTIN: No, he does mean it. He knows that Jeb Bush would like to run for president. My colleague has a great story in the "Times" about the fact that George W. Bush apparently is the family cheerleader pushing Jeb on here. But it does seem like with the exception of Barbara Bush, most of the family, John, is very much on board, especially the two Georges.

KING: Jeb Bush? Yes?

TALEV: I mean.

KING: That's good. I like that.

TALEV: I think it's entirely possible. As you continue to look at the Republican field, if you are Jeb Bush and you are looking at it, you are thinking you know what, why not?

KING: As we get back to New York, it makes very interesting debates on education issues, on immigration issues, if you get Jeb Bush into that race versus the other guys, we know who are running, fascinating debates. That Republican race would be a lot of fun.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: It does sound like that. It seems like he's leaning in that direction. John, thanks, so much. Great to see you.

All right, New York's first Ebola patient fighting for his life this morning. How is Dr. Craig Spencer coming along? We will speak with the CEO of the hospital that is treating him.

When it comes to Ebola, is it better to be overly cautious? The nurse under mandatory quarantine in New Jersey says, no, it is not as does the White House. Will it change the minds of state officials? NEW DAY returns in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now adjusting the state's 21-day quarantine for doctors and nurses returning from West Africa. The governor now says they can quarantine at home as long as they are symptom free.

This comes as Dr. Craig Spencer continues to fight for his life in a Manhattan hospital. So how is he proceeding? Is the fear about Ebola good reason for these quarantines?

I want to bring in a man we could ask all these questions to, Dr. Ram Raju. He is the president and CEO of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees Bellevue hospital where Dr. Craig Spencer is being treated.

Good morning to you. First of all, I want to ask you right off the bat, we are getting word that WABC and "The Daily News" are reporting that there is a 5-year-old child being treated at Bellevue, apparently returning with his family from West Africa presenting with a 103 fever, can you tell us if that child is at the hospital and what is being done?

DR. RAM RAJU, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NYC HEALTH AND HOSPITALS CORPORATION: First of all, thank you very much for having me on the show. We are at the present time evaluating the 5-year-old kid with a travel history and fever at Bellevue Hospital Pediatric Emergency Department.

And he is undergoing evaluation together with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene of New York City. We will be probably making some decisions in the next few hours.

PEREIRA: Observations or being tested?

RAJU: We don't know yet. Evaluations are still going on.

PEREIRA: How long will that last?

RAJU: A couple hours.

PEREIRA: Can we turn to Dr. Spencer? We know he received treatment from Nancy Writebol, the Ebola survivor, a transfusion of plasma, can you update on his condition?

RAJU: He continues to be in a serious condition but stable. He is going through the phase of the disease, which is completely anticipated. We continue to closely monitor him and treat him at our special isolation unit at Bellevue Hospital.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I got a question. Can I just go back to the kid for one second? Because when you say evaluating, why would you take his blood right away and test to see if he has the virus? Is that a part of the evaluation?

RAJU: A part of the evaluation is that history of the travel and the contact. Is there any contact they had with any patient with Ebola in West Africa when the kid was there? The question is you are the household contacts doing and also evaluating the kid for symptoms of Ebola. So they will make a decision with the Department of Mental Health.

CUOMO: Why not test him right away?

RAJU: Because taking a blood out of a 5-year-old kid with a very, very low risk and there is no travel history and no exposures then it is not good.

PEREIRA: But there is a travel history.

RAJU: There is a travel history, but there is no contact history yet.

PEREIRA: So they haven't been able to establish where the child was specifically?

RAJU: Yes.

CAMEROTA: So, Doctor, how confident are you that all your health workers at your hospital are being protected and not being exposed? We saw what happened in Dallas. They were conversation they were not exposed. Lo and behold two came down with Ebola.

I don't know if you saw "60 Minutes" last night, but some of the nurses from that Dallas hospital were on. They had a such a heart rendering story about how they knew that they might be at risk, but they wanted to do their jobs and do it well. Let me play for you what one of the nurses described when she first saw the patient, Thomas Duncan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDIA ROSE, NURSE, TREATED THOMAS ERIC DUNCAN: I put on my protective wear. I went in and introduced myself to him and let him know I would be the nurse helping him tonight. I was very frightened. I was. But I just dried my tears, rolled down my sleeves so to speak and went on about my night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: She has such a compelling story. She says she was very frightened. Do you think that your health care workers in your field feel the same way?

RAJU: We all learned a lot from Dallas, right. We have strong, really trained it over two-and-a-half months to putting this on and protecting our nurses and doctors and health care providers who are taking care of Ebola patients. We are preparing it for a while.

We have tested our system. We have a buddy system right now in place. When the nurse comes out of the room, he or she does not take the gear off, somebody is there. Now you remove the clothes, it is all done in a very, very structured way of taking it off.

I am confident, with that, if we continue to follow this diligently every day, like all the time with every patient, I'm sure we will have much better results than what we had in Dallas.

PEREIRA: We are hearing reports some of the staff at Bellevue are getting pushed back in their own communities from some people who are saying, I know you work at Bellevue, I'm not going to serve you. I don't want to have you come into my store. Is this what you are hearing? How do you counteract is that? We've talked about the science and the perception?

RAJU: The mayor was very effective yesterday in the first conference. He actually compared the health care workers at Bellevue to the people who come back, return from a foreign military duty. So we need to treat them like this because this is the war in health care.

So we need to really treat them like that, like heroes. They are not discriminating against them. They are working Bellevue Hospital are taking care of the patients who are sick.

I think we need to say this is something you do not catch by standing next to you. It is absolutely important that all of us have a lot of things to do to make the public feel safe.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Ram Raju, thanks so much for being here. It's really comforting to hear from you and how well it's going so far.

RAJU: Thank you very much for the opportunity.

CAMEROTA: Please keep us informed about the 5-year-old.

RAJU: Sure, we will.

CAMEROTA: Thank you. An Army vet from Wisconsin is taking on ISIS. He quit his job, left his family behind to fight on the front lines. Now he wants you to do the same. We have his story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CUOMO: So you may say you're against ISIS. It's pretty easy, right? What are you going to do about it? An American Army veteran felt the same as you so he went and is fighting side by side with Kurdish forces in Syria to destroy ISIS.

He's outraged by the brutality of the Islamic extremists. So the 28- year-old Wisconsin man quit his job, left behind loved ones and volunteered on the front lines in the battle against terror.

Now he's recruiting other westerners to help in the fight as well. Ivan Watson is live in Iraq with that story -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, there's been so much attention on westerners who have joined ISIS, but the fact is the Syrian civil war has attracted westerners to some of the other factions fighting in several simultaneous civil wars that are tearing Syria apart.

So we traveled into Kurdish-controlled Northern Syria and we met this ex-U.S. Army soldier who explained to us why he decided to join the Kurds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice-over): Armed men are a common sight here in Kurdish- controlled Northern Syria. A country embroiled in a vicious civil war. But one of the gunmen in this truck is not like the others.

(on camera): How do people react to you when they see and realize you're from the U.S.?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They ask if I will come over for dinner and stay at their house.

WATSON (voice-over): Jordan Matson is a 28-year-old former U.S. Army soldier from Wisconsin. For the last month, he's also been a volunteer fighter in the Kurdish militia known here as the YPG.

JORDAN MATSON, AMERICAN VETERAN FIGHTING ISIS IN SYRIA: I got in contact with the YPG on Facebook. Soul searched and said is this what I want to do? Eventually you know, decided to do it.

WATSON: Soon after arriving here in Syria, he says he ended up in a battle against ISIS.

MATSON: The second day in I got hit by a mortar.

WATSON: While recovering from shrapnel wounds, Matson went to work online recruiting more foreigners to help the YPG fight against ISIS.

MATSON: I've had ex-military from Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Canada, United States, Australia.

WATSON: Now he lives in places like this former restaurant converted into a militia camp.

(on camera): What are the pictures? MATSON: All men who have died fighting against ISIS.

WATSON (voice-over): The YPG are very lightly armed guerillas.

(on camera): Is this a flak jacket?

MATSON: No. This is a vest to carry ammunition.

WATSON: Basically people are running into battle without even any armor?

MATSON: Yes.

WATSON: And wearing sneakers half the time?

MATSON: Yes. Combat Adidas.

WATSON (voice-over): U.S. law enforcement officials say it's illegal for an American to join a Syrian militia. He says being here fighting alongside the Kurds is a dream come true.

MATSON: All my life I wanted to be a soldier. I'm at peace being here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Matson says he's at peace in a war zone. He also says there are at least three other Americans there fighting alongside the Kurds in Northern Syria. I've covered a lot of conflicts around the world. If there's one common thing that I've seen, it's that they tend to act as magnets, attract adventurers, mercenaries, idealists and misfits. This is no exception -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: What a story, Ivan. Thanks so much for telling us his story. Great stuff.

Meanwhile, concerns over Ebola spiked again this morning. Word of 5- year-old monitored now being monitored in New York City. This has states quarantine implemented in some states coming under fire. One nurse in New Jersey calls her treatment inhumane. We'll tell you what she says she is enduring.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Quarantine fall out, fear driving policy, officials in several states under pressure to reassess policies for health care workers returning from West Africa. Now a nurse quarantined in New Jersey pull nothing punches about her prison like conditions. Are her rights being violated? Is this overreaction?

CAMEROTA: And talking tough, the White House stepping into the quarantine debate urging state not to go too far. They're concerned it may hurt efforts to send more medical staff to West African nations forcing New York to make a change.

PEREIRA: Another student has died now from injuries from Friday school shooting in Washington State. New details emerging about that chaotic scene inside as shots rang out. We're going to tell you of one teacher that put herself at risk trying to stop the carnage in the cafeteria.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.