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New Day

Two Teen Boaters Go Missing; Republican Field of Presidential Candidates Examined; President Obama Visits Ethiopia; Mitchell Allegedly Provided Escape Tools; Surviving 20 Hours Lost at Sea. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 28, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:02] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Alina Machado is live in Jupiter, Florida with the very latest for us on the search efforts. Alina?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, the Coast Guard says the search for the missing teens is challenging but they are vowing to continue. The families of the children saying they are holding out hope they will be found alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACHADO: This morning, rescue teams are beginning day five of their searching if missing teenage boaters Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen. On Sunday, crews located the boy's capsized boat off the coast of Florida, Austin and Perry, nowhere in sight. Only a single, orange life vest floating alongside the 19-foot vessel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody is on board. We're trying to find any other gear.

CAPT. MARK FEDOR, CHIEF OF RESPONSE, COAST GUARD SEVENTH DISTRICT: It is positive news in that it helped validate the search efforts that we were looking in the right area. Obviously disappointed that the boys were not clinging to that boat.

MACHADO: Now with the gulf stream in mind, they are searching north of where the boat was located, about 77 miles off the coast of St. Augustine.

FEDOR: So it's been an all-hands-on-deck type effort.

MACHADO: The operation aggressive, the U.S. Coast Guard executed at least 36 different searches with the help from the Navy. Crews have scoured more than 37,000 square miles. That's more than the size of Indiana.

CARLY BLACK, MOTHER OF MISSING TEEN BOATER: These boys have been out there doing this forever. It's not new to them. They -- they prepare for these situations.

MACHADO: The boys' moms say their sons are licensed as experienced boaters. PAMELA COHEN, MOTHER OF MISSING TEEN BOATER: I think a lot of people

think about but the boys were only 14 years old, what were they doing out on a boat? We live in a boating community and this is part of the lifestyle here.

MACHADO: The Coast Guard says right now the good conditions could work in their favor, saying a person could survive in these warm waters for four to five days.

COHEN: The boys are raised on the water, they are raised on boats. So it really is second nature to them. They are going to be OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACHADO: The Perry and Austin rescue fund has been established to pay for some private searches. So far they have raised more than $44,000. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alina, thanks so much.

According to the latest CNN/ORC poll, Americans approve of President Obama's job performance for the second month in a row. But when it comes to issues like the economy and the nuclear deal with Iran, a different story. Let's get the latest from CNN's Athena Jones live at the White House. Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Yes, those job approval numbers, that is the one bit of good news for the president here, his approval numbers holding steady at 49 percent.

But there's also a lot of bad news in these numbers. Let's take a look at the economy. Just 41 percent of those polls say economic conditions in this country are good. Nearly six in 10 say they are poor. And that is a big change from April, when 52 percent said economic conditions today are good.

Of course it's a long way out from the general election, but we know from the polling that the economy is the top issue on voters' minds, Republicans and Democrats. So if the numbers continue this way it could give Republicans running for president in 2016 an opening to argue why send another Democrat to the White House.

Also more bad news when it comes to feelings about the nuclear deal reached with Iran. This is a deal the president has been trying to sell in press conferences and interviews, even an appearance on "The Daily Show." So far it looks like the sales pitch is falling short as 52 percent say Congress should reject the deal with Iran. And that breaks down largely along party lines with Republicans more likely to oppose the deal. Congress of course is in the middle of the 60-day review period after which it will go to approve or disapprove. And those Republican critics we have heard a lot from already in Congress will probably take heart in these numbers. Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Athena, thanks so much for all of that background. Let's talk more about the numbers and so much more with chief strategist and communications director for the Republican National Committee, Sean Spicer. Good morning, Sean.

SEAN SPICER, CHIEF STRATEGIST, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, let's talk about the hot off the presses CNN/ORC polls. The first one is President Obama's approval rating. He is now at 49 percent, his disapproval is at 47 percent. Let's look at this in historical context because it is always interesting to see where other presidents were at this point in their terms. So, as we said, President Obama is at 49 percent. At this point, President Bush, George W., was at 36 percent. Bill Clinton at this point was at 61 percent. Ronald Reagan exactly matched where Barack Obama is now at 49 percent. Do you agree with the Democrats that 49 percent for Barack Obama means this is good news for Hillary Clinton?

SPICER: Unfortunately, I don't. I think because of the other part of the poll you talked about, whether it's the economy or foreign policy, at the end of the day, if people believe Hillary Clinton is going to be a third term Barack Obama and the economy is not doing well or at least people don't think it's doing well and people are very concerned about what's happening with our foreign policy, I don't really know how you can run as the third term when people don't like the policy of the current administration.

[08:05:14] CAMEROTA: This just in, and I'm not kidding, Sean, we're just hearing that President Obama, just moments ago, because he's on a trip to I believe Ethiopia today, he was just asked about these numbers. And he said he believes if he were to run again, he could win. What is your response?

SPICER: Well, we have a constitution that's not going to allow that to happen.

CAMEROTA: Bud do you think that he is popular enough now that the numbers of 49 percent of approval, that it means that a third Obama term would be OK with the American people?

SPICER: No, I don't, because at the end of the day, look, whether it is the economy or the foreign policy, neither one of those will hold water. I think the Obama campaign last cycle was phenomenal. They did a great job on the ground. They did a great job with digital. Fortunately we have been able to catch up. And I think when it comes down to, when you look at last cycle, Mitt Romney won the exit polls on all of the key policy questions. I think we fell short on the ground on data. And we've now leapfrogged the Democrats on that and we are well prepared coming into 2016.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the first debate, the first Republican debate that's going to be happening a week from now. And as we understand it, there's going to be some number crunching. So the most recent five polls are all going to be crunched together and the top 10 GOP candidates are going to be chosen to appear on that debate stage. Are you getting pressure from the lower tier candidates who say that's not a fair set up?

SPICER: I wouldn't say pressure, but anybody who is in 15th or 16th place wants to be in first of second. So of course there's going to be grumbling at the bottom.

But, again, I will go back to statements that I made earlier, which is I think both FOX and CNN have not included the top 10, which is a historical high in terms of the number of people that have ever been on a debate stage. But both FOX and CNN have gone the extra step and said we will have a second debate for those who are not in the top ten but the top 16. And I think that's important.

So historically, those may have gotten no voice because they weren't polling high enough to get on the stage. I think what you have seen this cycle is in the first two debates an opportunity for anybody in the top 16 to really get on a debate stage, have their voice heard. And I actually really applaud both networks for going the extra step.

CAMEROTA: Sean, tell us what's happening behind the scenes. Are some of GOP candidates telling you they think Donald Trump is sucking some of the oxygen out of the room for them?

SPICER: No, they are not going to say that to me or to anyone here. I think each one is trying to run their own campaign. The reality of any campaign is look at the players on the board, you figure out a strategy and you figure out how to get your candidate to move further up. So I think they are probably having those conversations inside, but not just with Donald Trump, but with other candidates. They're trying to say, if so and so were to drop out or if I could surge ahead of this particular candidate, then I can move up. So I think it's a much more holistic, strategic decision that is happening within each campaign.

CAMEROTA: Sean, what do you think about the rhetoric? We had two pundits, more than two actually on this morning on NEW DAY, who say that this rhetoric is more inflammatory this season than they have ever heard before.

SPICER: I don't think that they studied well in high school, because if you look back in the 1800s, there were some pretty divisive rhetoric that was spewed back then. That being said, look, I think as far as Republicans go, and I'm going to echo the sentiments of my boss, Reince Priebus, who has talked about invoking Reagan's 11th commandment. I think when it comes to Republican on Republican, we've got to remember that the focus has got to be November of next year, winning the White House and keeping Hillary Clinton out.

That being said, name calling amongst each other is not productive. While it may have a short term benefit, I think all of the candidates need to focus on talking about themselves. Yes, in a primary you are going to distinguish your policies, your experience from the other folks. That's fine. That's part of the process. But the name calling I think has to go away.

CAMEROTA: Donald Trump was on television last night and he was talking about a third party run and basically saying that he would only consider it if the Republican establishment, you in the RNC, don't play nicely with him. Let me play for you what he had so about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm treated fairly and I get a good, fair, shot at this and I'm not being sabotaged with nonsense and a lot of phony ads and they throw a lot of money into it, and they'll do ads that are false and this and that, if I get a good shot, a fair shot, I would have no interest in doing that whatsoever. All I want to do is be treated fairly. And I will say, over the last week or so, Reince and the whole group, they have treated us very fairly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Sean, what do you think about him saying if you play nice with him, he won't have a third party run?

[08:10:02] SPICER: Well, it's not just him. I think we are going to play nicely with every candidate. We are treat all of them equally and all of them fairly. That's our job. And I know a lot of people want us to tip the scale one way or another. We don't carve a candidate in or carve a candidate out. I think that's what's beautiful about our party, in particular, we believe in the free market not just in the marketplace but also within our candidates. They all run, they make their cases to the voters, and to the victor go the spoils.

CAMEROTA: But we have heard, let me push back for a second because we have heard that Reince Priebus did make a phone call or at least had a conversation with Donald Trump telling him to just back it down a little bit.

SPICER: Well, look, Reince has conversations with every candidate. Not all of them become public, and for the most part we try to keep all of those conversations. But that's not unique. We talk to the campaigns and the candidates, to all these people. In some cases, we talk about what the party is doing, what we believe is the best interest of the party, how we have to look towards the general election and some of the things that may be helpful, whether it's in the data or the ground game, or, yes, the messaging and the tone. So we do talk to all of them. I think that particular conversation leaked out and that was unfortunate. But at the end of the day, do we counsel all of our candidates and talk to tell about what we are doing as a part to be prepared for the eventual nominee and win? Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the message of another GOP candidate, and that is Governor Mike Huckabee. He was just on another morning show asked he was about his, some say, inflammatory comments about the Iran deal and how dangerous he considers that deal. He did not back down. In fact he further expounded on it. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As president of the United States, would you use the words march the Israeli's to the door of the oven?

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I would, and let me tell you why, because I have been to Auschwitz three times. I have stood at that very place. I have been to Israel dozens of times. My first trip there was 42 years ago. The one thing I am absolutely assured of is that for 6,000 years Jews have been hunted down. The last time they did not take seriously threats against the Jewish people just before World War II, this ended up in the murder of 6 million Jews.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Sean, are you comfortable with that holocaust language being used?

SPICER: Well, I think again as we go back to this idea of being treated fairly as you asked a minute ago, our job is not to sit here and call balls and strikes and talk about you shouldn't talk about this policy in a particular way. Governor Huckabee made his comments. He articulated why he made them just with the clip you made. And they should speak for themselves. It's not my job or the RNC's job to get in the middle and say you shouldn't talk about this this way or this that way. We'll have particular conversations about what is in the best interest of the party privately, but we are not going to sit here and condemn someone for how they talk about a particular policy.

CAMEROTA: But do you feel the rhetoric is ratcheted up because people have been using fairly inflammatory language already that now to outdo each other candidates keep upping the ante?

SPICER: No. I think, again, it doesn't take more than a simple Internet search to realize that we have had this kind of discourse in this country in terms of the rhetoric and the name calling. Sometimes the name calling is inappropriate. Again, we believe that it is helpful to focus on talking positively about what our policies are and contrasting ourselves with Hillary Clinton, and why she is untrustworthy. But at the end of the day, I'm not going to sit here and call balls and strikes on any of these individuals.

CAMEROTA: Sean, it's already been an interesting race and it's only going to get more so. We look forward to next week's debate. And thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

SPICER: I do, too.

CAMEROTA: Great. We'll see you then.

SPICER: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank you so much. Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: Alisyn, you were just referring to the president's trip to Ethiopia, ending that historic trip there by making political headlines back home. CNN's White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski is in Ethiopia traveling along with the president. Hi, Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela. Right, this is his last speech on his Africa trip, the first time a U.S. president has addressed the African Union, speaking to the entire continent. And clearly he wanted to make this one memorable.

He started out on a personal note, saying he's the son of an African and that shaped who he is and how he sees the world. He lauded Africa's progress, but he wanted to call out, seemingly, everything he saw also that he feels needs to change. Striking out, first of all, repeatedly mentioning dignity, hammering that point home, human rights for everybody, and including the phrase, "no matter who you love," yet another reference to the highly controversial subject of homosexuality here. At times nearly shouting, fired up.

He slammed human rights abuses, oppression of women, what he called the cancer of corruption and African leaders who don't want to leave their offices ever, getting huge reactions from the crowd.

[08:15:03] Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love my work. But, under our Constitution, I cannot run again. I can't run again.

(APPLAUSE)

I actually think I'm a pretty good president. I think if I ran, I could win. But I can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: He also called out the jailing of journalists, which has happened right here in Ethiopia. On terrorism, he said let's call these groups what they are. They are not Islamic, they are murderers.

We were watching it with a group of Africans who really couldn't believe how bluntly he was addressing some of these very touchy subjects. They were stunned, they were cheering. They were saying we can't believe he is going there on some of these topics. But he clearly wanted to and he did.

Back to you, guys.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Michelle, thanks so much. Yes, Constitution is in the way of that third term.

Joyce Mitchell, the former prison worker in upstate New York accused of helping convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape, is expected in court today. Her attorney is said to be pushing for a plea deal.

CNN's Jason Carroll is here with more on today's hearing -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And will she get the plea deal? Well, she is expected to wave her right to have charges presented the grand jury. She's also in the past been cooperating with investigators, providing them with a wealth of information. So, a plea deal could really be in the works here. She will be in court later on this morning. In terms of the charges

that she's facing, facing a number of charges including first degree promoting prison contraband and fourth degree criminal facilitation.

In terms of what she could be looking at in the future: eight years behind bars. But once again, her attorney is hoping, in some way, they can get a plea deal because of her cooperating in the past.

Just to recap a little bit, John, in terms of what she was involved with, she was the so-called get away driver but then in the last minute got cold feet, decided to back out. She did provide both Richard Matt and David Sweat with tools to help him cut through the walls. Some of those tools, those hacksaw blades you remember stuffed and smuggled into the frozen meat that was smuggled into the prison. Cell phone use to contact members of Richard Matt's family.

Also, her relationship with David Sweat is under investigation. Sweat telling investigators though, John, he did not have a sexual relationship in any way, shape or form with Joyce Mitchell, also telling investigators about the murder plot, that she was the one who was involved with that so-called murder plot to murder her husband, who was also a guard at the prison.

She denies that. Her attorney denies that. She is not facing any of those charges in relation to those allegations today -- John.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take it here. Jason, thanks so much.

Sorry about that, John, didn't mean to step on you.

NATO envoys are holding an emergency meeting on Turkey's border crisis and its two-pronged terror offensive. The organization secretary general says NATO allies stand in solidarity with Turkey. Turkey is behind a series of ISIS targeted air strikes in Syria, amid increased violence at its border. Turkey is trying to establish an ISIS-free safe zone with assistance from the U.S.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Yes, I'm reading sports, because it's a history making move in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals hiring the league's first female coach. Jen Welter will coach Cardinal linebackers during training camp and the preseason, whatever those are.

She has 14 seasons -- I'm just kidding -- seasons of women's pro- football under her belt. Welter was the first woman to play a non- kicking position for a men's team, lining up as running back in the indoor football league.

PEREIRA: Perhaps the new NFL, think about it, they hired their first full time female referee back in April. This is another big, historic moment.

BERMAN: Look, we saw in basketball, the Spurs hired Becky Hammon. She won the NBA summer league.

CAMEROTA: I knew that.

BERMAN: So, look, as you well know, you have been talking about it nonstop. It can be done.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Pitching these sports to us.

All right. Back to the other top story, the desperate search for the two missing teens. Those 14-year-old boaters, it expands, but with each passing hour, hope begins to dim. What are their chances for surviving at sea? Well, we are going to speak to a family that did just that, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:23:03] CAPT. MARK FEDOR, U.S. COAST GUARD: When people are floating in the water, all you see is their upper torso and their head. We are searching over hundreds and thousands of square miles in the ocean. So, while conditions are good, it's a challenging environment we are working in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That was Coast Guard Captain Mark Fedor talking last hour about the search for those two missing teens off the coast of Florida. As searchers race against the clock, they are at four days those young boys are at sea, lost at sea. We want to talk to some folks who know firsthand the harrowing experience of waiting to be rescued out in open water.

Just a few short weeks ago, Keith Judy, his son Reece Judy and Reece's friend Justin Stancil stranded off the coast of Charleston for 20 hours before they were rescued. The three men join us now.

My goodness, I can't believe I'm talking to three miracles right in front of me.

Good morning.

KEITH JUDY, RESCUED AT SEA: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Good morning.

PEREIRA: You all look just fine. I can't believe you went through this ordeal a few short days ago, a couple weeks ago.

Keith, you were going out on a fun fishing trip. When did you realize something was going wrong?

K. JUDY: About an hour and a half after to drive offshore, one of the engines started giving me problems.

PEREIRA: So, the first engine goes, the second engine goes and apparently battery died. That's when things got more dire for you, right?

K. JUDY: Yes, the one engine shut down and wouldn't crank back up. The second engine, we ran on it for a while fishing, giving the other engine time to cool down or something. After probably an hour, hour and a half of trying to crank the engine back up, it would crank, all the batteries started dying. The other engine that was running died. So, we ended up losing all engines, all power.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: So, that's when the boat started taking on water, right?

K. JUDY: Started taking on water.

[08:25:00] No power, so the village pump couldn't pump anything. We tried to call the coast guard, signal people, everything.

PEREIRA: Nobody answered?

K. JUDY: It wouldn't -- nope, got nothing. The batteries were --

PEREIRA: Did you have any flares --

K. JUDY: We did, the boat went to tilt. And as we were going, I was trying to get out from under my seat. It was too late. It actually went under the seat.

PEREIRA: Oh, my goodness. At some point, you realize that you have to jump into the ocean as your boat is sinking. I can imagine the first thing you thought, you and your friend, Kenny were there. Kenny couldn't join us today.

You are looking at your son, you're looking at your son's best friend and realize you are looking out for not only for your own life and your buddy's life, but your son and his friend. What is going through your mind?

K. JUDY: Scared to death.

PEREIRA: I bet you were.

K. JUDY: I knew I had to protect them if I could. I was going to do anything I could to. But it was -- I knew it was going to be a job keeping everybody safe and trying to get back home.

PEREIRA: Well, Reece, you probably are realizing, this isn't the way the fishing trip is supposed to go. Did your dad look scared? When did you start getting worried and scared yourself?

REECE JUDY, RESCUED AT SEA: I started getting worried and scared at night. And my dad, he -- I didn't really see fear in his eyes.

PEREIRA: You didn't?

R. JUDY: No, ma'am.

PEREIRA: That's impressive, Keith. I don't know how you were able to hold it together.

So, Justin, you are with your friend. You are not with your family. You are away with your friend's family when this happens, what's going through your mind, honey?

JUSTIN STANCIL, RESCUED AT SEA: I'm scared.

PEREIRA: What was Keith telling you to do?

STANCIL: Just calm down.

PEREIRA: Were you able to do that?

STANCIL: Everything will be OK.

PEREIRA: Did you believe him?

STANCIL: Yes, ma'am.

PEREIRA: You believed him that it was going to be OK? Let me just add a little added drama to this. Keith, is it true, you had some finned visitors come around where you were?

K. JUDY: Yes, ma'am. We actually had two different occasions with some type of fish. The first occasion was at night. Some kind of -- something in the water completely surrounded us and gave off the green light.

PEREIRA: Green light?

K. JUDY: Yes, it was a green light. I looked it up online. It gave off a green light and glowed around us. The other time was at daylight before the Coast Guard found us, sharks started bumping us and actually hitting our skin and cutting our skin. So, we fought off sharks for a little time.

PEREIRA: You held on to a cooler that you had a presence of mine to bring in the water, and that's what you held on to. I understand you had a rope you tied around the four of you. Was there food in that or water or anything in that cooler?

K. JUDY: There was ice and water stuff. There was no food. It was actually two coolers we tried to throw out as the boat was tilting over. The other cooler got sucked back up under the boat, I guess. It had the food in it. It was just sandwich stuff.

The cooler we had had water and ice, you know, minimal stuff.

PEREIRA: Right, right.

K. JUDY: But it was mainly used --

PEREIRA: As a flotation device.

K. JUDY: -- to help you float. PEREIRA: OK. So, you get through the night. You are more and more

fatigued, you are trying to keep them calm. Finally, you see help coming. Explain that feeling when you saw the Coast Guard coming towards you.

K. JUDY: That's when I really saw hope and felt we were going to be OK. Then about two or three hours go by and I realize they can't see us.

PEREIRA: Oh, no.

How did you get their attention?

K. JUDY: So, I started getting scared? Couldn't get the plane or helicopter's attention. Like you say, you know, we are small, so small.

But one of the coast guard rescue boats started coming kind of in our direction. When he got close enough to where I thought he could possibly see us, I asked my son to give me his orange life jacket. I stood on top of the cooler, waving as hard as I could --

PEREIRA: Wow.

K. JUDY: -- and got his attention.

PEREIRA: Well, thank God they did and got you back to safety. I'm sure you guys were dehydrated and fatigued. You probably kissed the ground when you saw it.

Reece, what was the first thing you wanted to do when you touched dry land? What was the first thing you wanted to do when you got home?

R. JUDY: To see my mom and brother.

PEREIRA: Yes, I bet your mom doesn't want you out of her sight. And, you, too, Reece.

My goodness. Keith, well done, to you and Kenny, for having the presence of mine to survive and ordeal and to help these two young men who will never forget this, the ordeal to survive.