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Heightened Security Over Holiday Weekend; Navy Yard False Alarm Triggers Quick Response; Miss USA Pageant Finds New Home; Bernie Sanders Surges in Iowa Poll. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 03, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Federal authorities warning of possible terror threats tied to the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

[05:58:40] PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: We're concerned because there's a group of sympathizers in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're activated in their own minds to go do something. That is so much more difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reported shots fired inside Washington's Naval Yard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no evidence of a shooter.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: This was the normal reaction that they had trained and prepared for.

GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I hate to critique, but it looked like a bunch of kids running toward a soccer ball in a 5-year-old game.

(AUDIO GAP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Richard Matt wrote a letter to his...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It's Friday. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's July 3, 6 a.m. in the East. Chris Cuomo is off. John Berman joins us today.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: Good to have you with us.

So up first, law enforcement on high alert this morning amid concerns of terror attacks over the holiday weekend. The Department of Homeland Security and FBI alerting authorities across the country to be extra vigilant.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Terror concerns are much higher this year, as terrorists have taken to social media, urging supporters to carry out attacks.

We saw one sign of the security jitters in yesterday's scare at the Washington Navy Yard. Hundreds of first responders racing to that scene. We begin our coverage with CNN's Boris Sanchez. He's live at New York's Penn Station, set to be very busy this weekend, I'm sure, Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

Millions of Americans set to travel this holiday weekend. So law enforcement is paying extra attention at places like New York's Penn Station to make sure everyone has a safe and secure Fourth of July.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: They're reaching out on social media, telling people it's a holiday; we ought to kill people.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Police and FBI on heightened alert as nearly 42 million people will travel this holiday weekend, according to AAA, the most in eight years. This, amid social media chatter by ISIS supporters and calls by the terror group to strike in the west.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: I don't think they are capable of a large-scale attack. But certainly, an attack which could kill, maim or wound hundreds of people.

SANCHEZ: Police departments in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and Atlanta tightening up security measures.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAM BRATTON, NYPD: We're constantly seeking to be creative, to be proactive. The name of the game is to prevent it.

SANCHEZ: At the Washington Mall, they're preparing for all possibilities.

New York City taking the greatest security measures in years. The city swept for explosives, even out at sea, where hundreds of boaters will be watching the fireworks. Snipers will be strategically placed. Spotters will be inside the crowds, and 100 mobile cameras will capture the activities on land and in the air.

JAMES WATERS, NYPD CHIEF OF COUNTERTERRORISM: There's no credible event to this event or to New York City in particular. But our operating premise is that we are the target in New York City, all the time.

SANCHEZ: On Thursday, within minutes of the first reported shots fired inside Washington's Naval Yard, the entire complex was locked down as hundreds of police, SWAT teams and federal investigators swarmed the scene, blocking streets as helicopters hovered overhead. The threat a false alarm, but it reveals that law enforcement is at the ready this holiday weekend.

SCOTT MILLER, NYPD: Bring your family, have a great time. You're going to be at the most well-secured event in the city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And already this weekend, officers in Fayetteville, North Carolina, arresting a man walking through a mall with an AR-15, a Kevlar vest and ammunition. Clearly, this is going to be a very busy weekend for law enforcement, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It sure is, Boris. Thanks so much for that.

So as you just saw, one side of those security jitters was that massive response we witnessed at yesterday's Washington Navy Yard incident. And reports of the shooting there turned out to be a false alarm. But what happened? CNN's national correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty, is live in Washington with more.

Good morning, Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Well, that response was huge and quick, showing just how on edge authorities really are, treating every little concern very seriously, going into this holiday weekend.

It all started yesterday morning at the Navy Yard, where a woman inside called 911. She thought she heard to be a gunshot. Within minutes, the building was on lockdown, the streets were shut down. Hundreds of police responded.

Now, this prompted a boost in security at the Capitol; also at the White House. Pennsylvania Avenue shut down. White House tours canceled. Three hours went by as police painstakingly went building through -- floor by floor in that building, room by room in the Navy Yard. It did all turn out to be nothing. But the D.C. police chief says that this routine showed just how prepared the city is going into the holiday weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CATHY LANIER, WASHINGTON, D.C.: We're aware of what's, you know, the discussion and chatter is around the Fourth of July events and all those threats. And we take those into account. We change our tactics up for different events, but we never lower our posture. We always maintain a very high posture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And this comes at a time where there is an increased security at the White House, not related to this terror threat. But this week, the Secret Service installed those large, steel spikes at the top of the White House fence, John, to prevent those fence jumpers.

BERMAN: All right, Sunlen. Thanks so much.

A new report this morning raises new questions about whether prison officials could have been tipped off about the escape plans of those two cold-blooded killers four weeks ago.

"The Buffalo News" is reporting that Richard Matt sent a letter to his daughter just before the breakout, saying he would see her on the outside. This comes as we're learning more about what led police to end up shooting and killing Richard Matt.

CNN's Jean Casarez live outside the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, with more.

Good morning, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And that letter was received by his daughter, according to "The Buffalo News," on June 9, after the escape. But it was written and sent before the escape.

Now, it's a law enforcement source that went to "The Buffalo News." And when his daughter got this letter, she then went to authorities.

We want to show everybody exactly some important quotes from that letter. One is, quote, "I always promised you I would see you on the outside. I'm a man of my word."

Now we do understand, according to the newspaper, that she had security during the time that her father was loose.

And they also talk about that Joyce Mitchell actually communicated with her while her father was in Clinton, telling her how he was and his health issues. And CNN was told by the district attorney, Andrew Wylie, that there was at least one phone call by Joyce Mitchell on the cell phone of the daughter, during the time that they were loose. So that is new information.

[06:05:20] We also are learning information from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol about what happened when their tactical unit surrounded Richard Matt one week ago this afternoon.

Now, as you remember, they flew in on a helicopter after it was alerted that there were shots fired in the area. They were doing a ground search. They found Richard Matt. He was laying down. And there was a .20 gauge shotgun by his side. And we now know that, when they told him to surrender, he then pointed the gun at them. And that is why they shot him three times.

Back to you.

PEREIRA: All right, Jean, thank you for that.

The Miss USA pageant has found a new home. The Reelz channel coming to the rescue of Donald Trump's pageant after NBC and Univision dropped the telecast, following those comments that Trump made about Mexican immigrants.

Will the move stop the bleeding, though, for Donald Trump? Joe Johns is in Washington with all of the latest for us.

Hey, John [SIC]. JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela.

Donald Trump is taking a public relations beating, but he's still doing well in the polls. Meanwhile, he's found another home for the Miss USA program, yes. The Reelz channel. He's got a date for the program, later this month; a location. That's Baton Rouge.

On the other hand, the pageant must scramble to replace hosts and performers. Former Dallas Cowboys runningback Emmitt Smith dropped out as a judge. Flo Rida dropped out as entertainment. The Trump organization says there will be a show. The question is what kind of show?

One thing for sure: the Trump organization is not worried about losing money. A spokesman, Michael Cohen, told me, quote, "Donald Trump is an enormously wealthy person with a net worth in excess of $9 billion. His goal is to make America great again. And if that means compromising several small business ventures, he has shown he is prepared to do that."

Meanwhile, new problems for Trump. The actress and activist, America Ferrera, thanked him for the comments about Latinos: "Remarks like yours will serve brilliantly to energize Latino voters and increase turnout on election day against you and any other candidate who runs on a platform of hateful rhetoric," end quote.

The Trump organization had no comment on that. Back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Joe Johns, thanks so much.

Breaking overnight, at least four people dead, dozens hurt after a strong earthquake rocked China's Xinjiang region. The magnitude 6.4 quake demolished some buildings and knocked out communications in the area. At least one airport was also shut down. The earthquake was followed by a series of aftershocks.

PEREIRA: A top ISIS battlefield commander has been taken out by a drone strike in Syria. The Pentagon says Tariq al-Harzi was in charge of the terror group's foreign fighter operations in both Iraq and Syria. Pentagon officials say al-Harzi was also a person of interest in the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stephens.

BERMAN: More than 35 million people are expected to hit the road this holiday weekend, so how fun is that? Despite rising gas prices over the past several months, drivers are in for a break at the pump. The national average for a gallon of regular gas is at $2.77. That's down from $3.67 a year ago. Wow, what a difference. Prices are the lowest over the Fourth of July holiday weekend in five years.

CAMEROTA: All right. Back to our top story. On the heels of several terror attacks overseas, U.S. intelligence agencies warning of possible attacks here at home during the July 4th holiday.

So let's bring in Tom Fuentes. He's our CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director. And Philip Mudd, CNN counterterrorism analyst and former CIA counterterrorism official. Gentlemen, great to have you here.

So, this sounds like more than just a general warning, Phil, because the FBI and Department of Homeland Security say -- are warning of potential attacks against law enforcement and the military. Do you think that they do have something specific?

MUDD: Sounds like a general wording to me here. Look, we've got something I would call uncertainty bias. For years there, we understood the al Qaeda target. We sort of had a 15-round heavyweight battle with them, and we got some level of understanding about how they operated.

This new ISIS phenomenon, sort of crowdsourcing terrorism, where you put out tweets, you've got tens of thousands of followers, has people in my old job, in law enforcement, at the FBI, also at the CIA concerned. Because you don't have intelligence tools that can target people in Washington, Chicago, New York who are just out getting radicalized.

CAMEROTA: So you don't think there's anything specific that we have to worry about, even though they're specifically warning the military and law enforcement?

MUDD: Well, the ISIS attacks of the past few years have targeted military and law enforcement, because these are viewed as more legitimate targets than just standard civilians, who are seen as soft targets.

CAMEROTA: Tom, what are your sources telling you about this weekend?

[06:10:05] FUENTES: Same thing as Phil, that this is being a little bit overhyped. That the warnings that they're getting are the constant, you know, statements being made by ISIS to go kill, go attack, drive people, you know, run them over with your car, stab them with a knife, cut their heads off, shoot them. And that's just a constant drumbeat that's coming out of ISIS media. And that there are people all over the world that listen to that and, on an almost daily basis, somewhere in the world, go attack. And we just saw that last week in three continents.

So, you know, that's the concern, is that there's somebody sitting at home somewhere in the United States listening to that, watching that on the Internet, that will get fired up and go out and do something. But there's -- this is not an increase in that kind of chatter from ISIS.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

FUENTES: And certainly, they can't read people's minds. So if there is some individual or one or two people out there that are thinking of doing something over the weekend, it's going to be hard for them to know that, if they're not communicating in general or putting up postings on social media that they can intercept.

CAMEROTA: Well, look, I'm comforted to hear that you both think this has been overhyped. However, I mean, the top -- our top terrorism officials are the people who are doing the hyping. Let me read it to you. Martin Dempsey, chair of the joint chiefs, he's issued a warning. Defense Secretary Ash carter issued a warning. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has talked about this. Mike Morell, the former director of the CIA, said this about the threats. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MORELL, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE CIA: I wouldn't be surprised if we're sitting here a week from today talking about an attack over the weekend in the United States. That's how serious this is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Phil, that's how serious this is, he says.

MUDD: Look, there's a difference between a threat to July 4th and general concern about people like me about where we are in the world today. If you look around at the counterterrorism problem, after 9/11, we saw al Qaeda shift to places like Pakistan, to places like Saudi Arabia. Now we see activity in North Africa, obviously, Syria, Iraq.

CAMEROTA: That's not what Mike Morell's talking about. He said I wouldn't be surprised if we're sitting here...

(CROSSTALK)

MUDD: He needs to take a chill pill. Look, I've been at this longer than he has. I've watched threats for years. I've sat around the threat table. The people in America need to go out and have a cold beer and realize, there is a general threat that exists because there's ISIS followers everywhere. That is different than saying we've got people we have identify who want to take down an airliner, which is what we've seen in the past and what I viewed as a greater threat than what we face today.

CAMEROTA: Tom, does everyone need a cold beer and a chill pill?

FUENTES: Yes.

CAMEROTA: As Phil just said.

FUENTES: I agree with Phil on that. You know, the fact is, we could be. We could be talking about this by noon today, that there's been an attack and somebody's died, because these people are out there that are planning it. The FBI has ISIS cases in every state of the United States.

CAMEROTA: Well, then why -- why are you telling us, then, to just everybody -- cooler heads should prevail? Sounds like you're saying at any minute, something could happen. But I guess you're saying it wouldn't be on the scale of...

FUENTES: Let me put it this way. Something could happen today, tomorrow, next week, next month, the month after that. So we can stay in a state of heightened alert and wait, and who knows? But, the problem is that, you know, what we consider a major attack is

really if one person takes a butcher knife out of his kitchen, goes out and stabs somebody and cuts their head off, that's a major ISIS attack and an intelligence failure and all of that. That's the fear that we have and that's the fear they're talking about, is because ISIS keeps putting out these messages and people keep following those messages and doing something, that's the concern.

What Phil and I have talked about is that we're not, you know, expecting to see anything along the lines of a 9/11 again, because that takes international command and control, communication, financing, training, a selection of the people. There's so many people involved in something like that that were involved in 9/11 that pretty much the intelligence and law enforcement authorities and our partners feel that we're not going to -- we're not going to see that again at that level.

But, the one person that or two or three that decide to go do something and just use locally available equipment like a butcher knife, or a hunting knife that they've ordered online, or firearm that they already have, or a car that they already have, that's the concern, that those kind of attacks could happen.

CAMEROTA: Tom Fuentes, Phil, Mudd, I don't know whether to feel better or worse. I always enjoy talking to you.

MUDD: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Have a great holiday weekend.

MUDD: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. We're going to look at another aspect of the Fourth of July. Political fireworks for the Fourth. Two presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, both getting traction and making the crowded race very interesting. Why are they getting so much ground? We'll discuss that with our political analysts, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:46] BERMAN: All right. That music means someone almost definitely just entered the presidential race. The number of candidates just keeps on climbing. Five Democrats including the newly announced Jim Webb and 14 Republicans now officially in the race. Scott Walker setting a date to actually announce.

Right now, as it stands, there are two candidates that you, perhaps, might think are a bit unlikely, surging in the polls. There he is, Bernie Sanders, the Vermont socialist who caucuses with the Democrats, doing well in the Democratic primary. He got 10,000 people at an event in Wisconsin.

And on the Republican side, oh, so near the top, Margaret Hoover of the Republican polling, Donald Trump. That is despite or perhaps -- who knows? -- because of some of his comments about immigrants.

Joining us now to talk about this, CNN political commentator, Republican consultant Margaret Hoover, and CNN political analyst and editor in chief of "The Daily Beast," John Avlon.

Let me ask first quickly about Bernie Sanders to you, because we have two data points, new data points on how well he is doing. And he is doing pretty well in Iowa, the first caucus state. A new poll shows him trailing Hillary Clinton by just 19 points. Hillary Clinton is at 52 percent. Bernie Sanders is at 33 percent in the latest Iowa poll. That is a big change from May, when he was some 45 points down in that race. So he has made up some ground there.

We've also just learned he's got $15 million in the bank, which you know what? That's not bad.

[06:20:10] MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, not only is it not bad. This thing, equated to Hillary Clinton's money in the bank, which is her $45 million that she raised this quarter, apples to apples, given the overhead that both campaign has [SIC], that 15 million is actually equivalent to 30 million of Hillary Clinton, because...

(CROSSTALK)

HOOVER: ... Hillary Clinton has such...

CAMEROTA: In Hillary dollars.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hillary dollars. We need a conversion.

HOOVER: He has such a low overhead. There is an authentic, progressive, populist surge that is happening. And it's, by the way, not just happening -- I mean, he's had to switch venues in multiple states to get bigger and bigger. And I mean, people on the left are really thirsty for somebody who's actually going to speak their language and that they don't have to go for the canned: here's your candidate, Hillary Clinton.

AVLON: I think -- I think there's a genuine progressive populist movement that sees him as a champion and truth teller. And the only people as excited about it as that are the people on the right, who see it as an opportunity to flank Hillary Clinton.

HOOVER: This is real. I mean, this is not grass talk.

BERMAN: But look, if caucus day comes in Iowa, and Hillary Clinton win by 19 points, to win in Iowa by 19 points is, frankly, an awful lot.

AVLON: Historically, a lot. But again, this is the pain of high expectations. I would not be shocked if Bernie Sanders can pull off one of the early states, particularly Iowa or New Hampshire. But again, the center of gravity that Hillary occupies in the party right now is unprecedented. It's a long way till the votes start getting cast, but you know, Bernie has got a lot of energy. But we'll see if it translates to actual support down the line towards the nomination.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk Donald Trump.

AVLON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Because this morning, there are a bunch of Hispanic activism groups, political leaders, who are coming out and saying that they demand a more full-throated response to Donald Trump's comments about Mexicans than what the fellow GOP contenders have given yet.

The only person who has really come out and demanded that Trump explain him is George Pataki. George Pataki is the person who has said, "Join me" -- he sent out a letter to his fellow GOP-ers, saying, "Join me. Stand-up now. Denounce Trump's comments today."

Margaret, why aren't we hearing more from Jeb Bush, from Ted Cruz?

HOOVER: I mean, I think we know where Jeb Bush is on this. He's married to a Mexican woman?

CAMEROTA: So why doesn't he say and stand up for it?

HOOVER: My view on it, my guess, if I were in Jeb's head, is "Why dignify this jerk's comments with a response? This guy is not a serious candidate. If I -- if I refute his comments, suddenly, I'm elevating him even more." That's -- if I were in Jeb's head, that's what I think.

CAMEROTA: So that's what...

HOOVER: My view is, as you guys know, Trump is going to flame out. Trump is here for a skinny minute. Nobody likes him more than media, to tell the story, and the left to continue the caricature of Republicans being morons.

AVLON: I wish that were true. But unfortunately, he's ranking in the polls. And it shows the power of being strong and wrong. It's the ultimate hangover from the Tea Party with regard to just people enjoying a populist who says he's a truth teller, but is really acting like a demagogue. And demagogues traditionally do the "us against them." And there's no more "us against them" than railing against Mexicans. That's the reason he's a pinata right now in Mexico.

CAMEROTA: Why aren't people speaking out against him more?

AVLON: I think there is a fear of both dignifying him and possibly running into a confrontation. Because there are still some people in the Republican Party -- and I think Jeb Bush is not one of them -- who say, "I may want some of those votes one day" in a partisan...

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: How long -- how long can you be quiet, though? We're sitting here now in the first week of July. What if it's the first week of August and we're still talking Donald Trump? Like you know what? We might be, at the rate we're going, because he's not going to slow down with this stuff. And the Republican debate will be a week away. Can these candidates cede this much real estate on the calendar to Donald Trump?

HOOVER: I think that it is short-lived. I think it's 120 days before he has to give his financial disclosures. I mean, Jeb Bush has already sort of tongue-in-cheek said, "Well, he's worth $9 billion. I'm sure he can buy his way out of this hole."

I mean, it's not like they're saying positive things about Jeb -- Trump at all.

But, look, people should stand up and say something, by the way. I agree with George Pataki. By the way, he's got nothing to lose. He's got less than 1 percent of the polls. But he's right. More Republicans should denounce him. And it's -- you know...

AVLON: That shouldn't be the only guarantor of courage, is nothing left to lose in the Republican Party.

HOOVER: But Jeb is not trying to win that far right vote either, because they know he's [SIC] not going to vote for him anyway.

AVLON: But despite the enormously crowded field we have right now, right, I mean, the equivalent of two baseball teams being fielded by people who want to be president. You know, there are people who are really serious and could be fascinating folks like Jim Webb getting in on the race. And they deserve as much attention as just some blowhard.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about him. Because he did just get into the race. What does he bring to the table?

AVLON: Look, he is a fascinating character. He's a decorated war veteran. He's written ten books. He is...

BERMAN: He's a great writer.

AVLON: He is a great writer. He is, you know, announcing the day before a holiday weekend, does not speak of a highly well-oiled machine of a campaign, let's be real about that.

CAMEROTA: So why did he do that?

AVLON: Well, I think this is somebody who is going to try to put all his chips on authenticity. And now, there is a chance that could resonate in a time when that is the opposite of what most candidates do. But this is a truly fascinating character who could be an interesting X-factor in the race.

BERMAN: And Margaret, can I ask quickly about Scott Walker, who now has a date. July 13 is when he will officially enter the race he's already running, like so many other candidates who waited to enter until they were already running for some months.

What does he bring right now, and has his brand been tarnished a little bit over the last few weeks? I think six weeks ago, he was flying high. But now people are saying, "Well, hold on."

HOOVER: That's exactly right. His poll numbers were higher. He was flying high before he actually announced. If he's going to announce in two weeks, what he's lost is his peak fundraising days when he was leading the pack early, before he could capitalize on that high -- high percentage points.

So look, I think his brand is a little bit tarnished. I mean, there are people who are deeply disappointed by his response to this -- to the marriage decision.

BERMAN: He's calling for a constitutional amendment, giving the power back to the states.

HOOVER: And I count -- there are many of us who count ourselves -- and there are some people very happy by this. Social conservatives are very, very happy with him. So he is clearly making a play for Iowa. He's going narrow. He just wants to win Iowa. That's a strategy. It's not a general election strategy, but you know, good luck to him. We'll see how he's able to capitalize on it in two weeks when he announces.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about President Obama.

AVLON: Sure.

CAMEROTA: This is about to turn into a musical segment in one second.

AVLON: We need more of that in politics.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and we're going to show you that in a moment. But first, let's just talk about how this is -- the point has been made. He is not acting like a lame duck president. He arguably has just had his best month.

AVLON: Yes. No, it's great -- it's great to see sort of presidents throw off that lame duck imprimatur. Because it is just in a position, historically it's been the case. Not in all cases.

But this is a president who's been liberated by that not having to run again. And so you've seen kind of an authenticity, and a candidate having fun and being bold and, therefore, actually making some real progress.

HOOVER: He should enjoy it while it lasts. Because the Iran deal is about to unravel. I mean, there are a lot of things that are going to happen that aren't quite in his wheelhouse. So like, sure, enjoy your high moments, but it's not all high.

There are a lot of things that are going to happen in the back part of this presidency that he hopes would go toward his legacy and be wings in his presidential library but aren't going to pan out.

BERMAN: You said high moments. I assume you're speaking melodically here. So can we play the soundbite of the president singing? We have a new song, apparently, in the repertoire here. Davy Crocket. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (singing): Davy Crocket.

(speaking): I love that.

(singing): Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

I'm so in love with you.

Come on, baby...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The one that we clipped is actually the most recent one, where he's singing, "Davy Crocket, king of the wild frontier," and singing it well, no less.

AVLON: And people said this guy doesn't understand the American cultural experience. That's at the heart of the 1950s and '60s. Look, you know, so much for those critics.

He's got some pipes, man. And he's having fun singing. And as you know, especially rocking that Al Greene. You know, this is a president...

HOOVER: I love it. I think it's really fun. I remember when we put together this montage on George W. Bush at the end of his presidency singing -- oh, wait, we never did that.

AVLON: Because he's a terrible singer.

HOOVER: But I think the adulation at the end, I think, might be overstated.

AVLON: He can sing. And it's a pop culture moment, much like Bill Clinton on saxophone.

HOOVER: All right. I give you that.

CAMEROTA: Singing is not the talent of George W. Bush.

HOOVER: We do have his painting.

AVLON: How are those?

CAMEROTA: All right.

HOOVER: They're pretty good.

AVLON: Are those worthy of more...

HOOVER: They're pretty good. Did you see the one he did of the Dalai Lama?

AVLON: What would be the soundtrack to his paintings?

BERMAN: Hang on, guys. You're going to have to take this home with you.

CAMEROTA: Take this to the green room, people.

BERMAN: OK.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much, guys. John, Margaret, have a great weekend.

AVLON: You, too.

PEREIRA: I'm just trying to get a sense of Al Greene via George W. Bush. That would be an interesting -- I don't know.

CAMEROTA: Mash-up?

PEREIRA: A mash -- definitely a mash-up, Alisyn.

All right. Still ahead here: Did prison officials miss a chance to stop two convicted killers from escaping? Richard Matt reportedly told his daughter in a letter that he'd see her, quote, "on the outside." We're going to dig deeper.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)