Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Shock and Sadness After Journalists Killed on Air; Trumps Lead Grows in Poll. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 27, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: While on the run, posting those videos online, going on a Twitter rant, saying, quote, "Alison made racist comments, and Adam went to H.R. on me after working with me one time."

[07:00:11] By the afternoon the murderer had shot and killed himself. But before confirmation of his death, WDBJ's general manager sharing his anguish on air.

JEFF MARKS, WDBJ GENERAL MANAGER: I'm going to step out of my role as a former journalist and say, I'm not really sure whether I want him to live or die. If he dies, then he took the coward's way out.

CUOMO: The shooter would fax rambling suicide notes, 23 pages long, to ABC News. He complained that years of bullying at former workplaces, including WDBJ, drove him to violence.

He also wrote, quote, "What sent me over the top was the Charleston church shooting. And my hollow-point bullets have the victims' initials on them."

A picture of the murderer's anger emerging in the video captured just last month, showing him in a bout of road rage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you're still a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Are you finished?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been finished. You followed me here.

CUOMO: What's going through your mind when you get into the parking lot and you see him get out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, just a lot of things. I parked in a way that I wouldn't get blocked in and I got out of my vehicle quickly so I wouldn't be in a cage with somebody that's aggressively following me. And I was pretty much making a beeline to the store to population, really, to sort of have some other people around, because he was obviously, you know, not in the right mind.

CUOMO: In an interview with FOX News, Alison's father says this is a problem he's now dedicating his life to solving.

ANDY PARKER, ALISON'S FATHER: We've got to do something about crazy people getting guns. This is something that is Alison's legacy that I want to make happen. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: And that's part of what makes it a difficult balance in these stories. You want to forget who created this violence. You want to not focus on their motivations. And yet, you want to see if there's some window into why that can help stop it from happening the next time.

And here we do have this emerging picture of this killer who went on a rampage. He sent his explanation directly to ABC News. CNN has obtained a copy of this extensive suicide note. Let's go to CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter. He sees what's in it for all of us -- Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Chris, ABC says that it's handed over this document to investigators. The authorities are looking into it and pursuing it. They have read over it, and we can share some of the details with you.

We know about him, his past employment, including time as a teen model, as a male escort, and of course, as a television news reporter in multiple different markets. Not very long in any market.

In his personal life, he describes being a gay black man and says he was harassed and discriminated. He talks about an anger-laced grievance, bullying, suffering injustices over time. And then praises other killers: the Columbine killers and the Virginia Tech killer.

This is a quote from the -- from the suicide note: "What sent me over the top was the church shooting, and my hollow-point bullets have the victims' initials on them. It should be noted that the church shooting took place on June 17, and that I put down a deposit for firearms on June 19." This suggests a two-month window from that time up until the time of the shooting yesterday.

We know that he was planning this throughout. So he had the Twitter account, renting a car, et cetera.

This is the scariest point of all from the suicide note. This is the one that is most disturbing, perhaps. It says, "My anger has been building steadily. I've been a human powder keg for a while, just waiting to go boom at any moment."

Chris, all across the country -- I know you're seeing it there -- local TV newsrooms shaken up by this, and yet going back on the air this morning, doing their jobs every day, there in Roanoke and all across the country.

CUOMO: It's true, Brian. Everybody has a job to do, but now, for this news family, it's about much more than the job. You have friends, family, an entire community, remembering the young lives that were cut short in this hail of senseless violence and bullets.

So for that part of the story, let's go to CNN's Victor Blackwell. He is live in Moneta. That's where the shooting happened -- Victor. VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Chris, friends and loved

ones remembering these two, but also the viewers. I mean, this was the morning team. And you and I know, maybe more than any other show, the local morning news becomes part of the daily routine. People become familiar with the morning team. And now the viewers and, frankly, we are learning more about these two, who some at WDBJ called the A-team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF ALISON PARKER: Everybody that she touched loved her. And she loved everybody back.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): This morning family members and a community are left reeling, grieving the loss of a newly-engaged cameraman and an aspiring anchor with so much life left to live.

ANDY PARKER: She was extremely happy. And she loved this guy with all of her heart. And that's -- that's the toughest thing for me.

BLACKWELL: Colleagues say 27-year-old Adam Ward and 23-year-old Alison Parker from Virginia affiliate WDBJ were unfailingly positive, relentlessly hard working, and never shied away from a story.

[07:05:04] ALISON PARKER, JOURNALIST: Adam, come out from -- in front of the camera.

BLACKWELL: Both Parker and Ward began as interns at the station, eventually becoming a team as staff reporter and photographer for the morning show.

ALISON PARKER: I am a Virginia girl.

SETH KOVAR, FORMER COLLEAGUE/CNN EMPLOYEE: She had aspirations of being an anchor, and I have no doubt she would have accomplished that goal.

BLACKWELL: The 24-year-old was a rising star, appearing on CNN last November.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much, Alison Parker from WDBJ there in Roanoke.

AUBREY URBANOWICZ, FORMER CO-WORKER: She had an explosive personality. She always smiled. She was full of ideas.

BLACKWELL: Parker had been dating WDBJ's evening anchor, Chris Hurst, and had just moved in with him. "She was the most radiant woman I ever met," he posted on social media. "And for some reason, she loved me back."

ADAM WARD, PHOTOJOURNALIST: In Salem, Adam Ward, News 7 Sports.

BLACKWELL: Ward was engaged to the morning show's producer, Melissa Ott, who was supposed to be celebrating her last day at the station Thursday. Instead, she watched in horror in the control room as her future husband was gunned down.

Later on that same day, her wedding dress was delivered, a symbol of love and commitment to Ward for a lifetime, shattered by this senseless act of violence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Chris, you spoke with the general manager of WDBJ this morning, and he called them some of the kindest and nicest people. And we're seeing that that resonated with viewers here.

Lucas posted on the station's Facebook page overnight: "I moved to Roanoke back in January, and I feel like you all were part of my family."

So we're seeing that this is not just happening here in Roanoke, but it's resonating around the world as people are hearing more about these two.

CUOMO: And certainly that's a measure of solace for people who are going through loss. Victor, thank you for that.

Very often the best hope that comes out of a situation like this is to understand who was lost and what was lost and the value of that life. And this morning, we got a gift in the form of an interview by Chris Hurst. He, of course, the boyfriend of Alison Parker, an anchor here at WDBJ. They'd been dating nearly nine months, deeply in love. And he spoke so eloquently and profoundly about their relationship and really let us learn what Alison was all about. Listen to some of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: I know last night had to be very tough. How are you doing? How is the family?

CHRIS HURST, BOYFRIEND OF ALISON PARKER: Her family remains strong. I am trying to find the strength that she always said that I had inside of me. It doesn't feel like I have it right now. But she told me all the time that she loved me to the ends of the earth and that she felt safe with me. And I just -- I am so saddened that there was nothing, Chris, that could have been done to keep her safe yesterday. I truly believe that.

CUOMO: What are you taking solace in right now? You know you had a special love in your life. You know you had time with her. I know you're clutching what now is a part of your heart, the memories you have.

HURST: I know. And it's -- it's something that was supposed to be for us, but now that she was taken from this world, I think it's for everyone, some of the pictures that we had together. We made it for our six-month anniversary. She made it for me and wrote love notes to me, saying that for the next six months it was my turn to fill in all of the pictures in here. And it's just -- it's a love story that I think is something that I was privileged and honored to have had for only nine months. It was not a long relationship, but we were betrothed. We wanted to get married.

She was celebrating her birthday with me and a special friend and her parents on the Nantahala River in North Carolina, her favorite place on earth. And there is a place on the river where we were whitewater rafting where she said, that's where she wanted to get married to me.

The manner in which he took Alison and Adam's life should not be the focus of this story. The focus of this story should be two amazing lives that were extinguished yesterday for no good reason.

And I now join so many thousands of other Americans who cannot explain why their loved ones were taken from them. And when you ask me how I'm doing, I can't explain why either. I have no idea how I'm doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Of course, for Chris and the other family members and loved ones, this is just the first day of dealing with their loss.

And these two people were young, but they were special. They had a lot of promise. And they were certainly taken too soon.

Someone who knew them and understands the situation is Robert Denton. He's the head of the communications department at Virginia Tech. Knew them, worked with both Alison Parker and Adam Ward, and he knows what it's like to see this type of senseless violence.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

These two, they called them the A-Team. They were young, but they were more than just precocious. They had a passion, it seems, to have struck all of those who were witness to it. What did you see?

[07:10:08] ROBERT DENTON, HEAD OF THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT, VIRGINIA TECH: I saw an incredible team. They actually really enjoyed working with each other. They were a real team. Almost a brother/sister kind of relationship.

Adam, I'll tell you what, he was always so positive and worked really hard. He would pull cable for a mile and not complain, do whatever it takes. Sometimes, I'd be standing there getting ready and he'd say, "Dr. Bob, your tie needs to be straightened right there. Dr. Bob, you have a weird hair coming out over here."

He was so positive and passionate. He loved sports, loved to talk about politics and anything Hokie.

CUOMO: Hokie, Virginia Tech.

DENTON: Virginia Tech. And Alison, always so perky. At 4 in the morning. I don't understand how anyone does that. Positive. Very professional. She was ambitious. She wanted to really prepare and be ready. If she was doing a political story, sometimes she would call me and say, "Now, I want to make sure I understand this and get it right."

They were so positive, both of them. And they were so happy doing what they were doing.

CUOMO: We hope the families are hearing and taking in what seems to be the truth. And that is that 24, 27 is just too soon. It's the first chapter in the life for so many. But they did more with their lives than most did. And you believe that they impacted a lot of lives and they wound up living their passion.

DENTON: Absolutely. Every day, in every way. They enjoyed the surroundings and people. They were magnets, when they would go to different events and then covering it and being so positive. And as someone who's been in higher education for over 30 years, be able to see two young people, at the beginning of their career, really excited about doing what they loved to do. It invigorated me, going back as it relates to the classroom, and it just absolutely breaks my heart. It saddens me greatly.

CUOMO: One of the reasons we want people to know who was lost is because maybe it's the best medicine in a situation like this in terms of reminding people about the humanity involved and maybe moving an unsettled soul to not want to take this kind of path like what we saw with this madman.

You've lived it. And when you think about what you lived through at Virginia Tech, to see it again, does this make you feel that this is no hope that this is just a cycle that we can't break?

DENTON: I hope not to get there, and it's difficult not to. Having gone through the Virginia Tech experience, this may be similarity in terms of geography but it sensitizes you to the senseless violence and loss across all of these different instances. And it just breaks your heart to see this. And wonder if there is a pathology in America now to what's going on. But it is such senseless, and it's so sad. And it impacts mothers and fathers; brothers and sisters; friends; your co-workers. It's not just about you and the impact that you may have in terms of a community and those loved ones.

CUOMO: April was eight years, Virginia Tech. I was there. I covered it. I remember the question being, why couldn't we have known more about this killer's background? He'd been adjudicated mentally ill. Why does that system work that way? Why isn't there more attention to mental health? And everybody said this will be the turning point. And then yet, here we are today with the same questions. Where does it leave us?

DENTON: Somewhat bewildered. I think there have been improvements, certainly, to come with Virginia as relates to mental health. Guns is a controversial issue, and I don't want to really get into policy, because that's not my specialty or normal (UNINTELLIGIBLE) person.

But I think awareness as a society, we need to continue looking at the mental health aspect of it; also the legal and process aspect of it; and have to have that national discussion, without question.

CUOMO: And now honor the memory of these people by trying to do better.

DENTON: Absolutely. Two incredibly, just delightful people.

CUOMO: I wish I had known them from something other than their deaths, but thank you for helping us understand them better, Mr. Denton.

DENTON: It's my pleasure. Appreciate it.

CUOMO: Back to you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Well, Chris, I mean, he's so right. Obviously, we do those stories, even though they're so painful, so that there can be more awareness, so that there can be more of a national dialogue.

And he's right. I mean, we do need to talk about mental health and violence. And you know, we so often talk about what -- why weren't there red flags? What could we all have done? Obviously, if anyone is watching us, and they're feeling angry or like a ticking time bomb, like this gunman did, they need to reach out to people, as well. So many people are feeling depressed or angry. And it's their responsibility to reach out and send up their hand and alert someone, too.

CUOMO: I think the -- you're posing the right questions and the right concerns. It's a test of a society with how they deal with these types of problems that aren't simple, that don't have a simple answer. And the reality that we haven't found better ways to deal with what keeps popping up says everything.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

[07:15:00] CUOMO: And the reminder is, you know, on one level what you -- what you just said, is that hopefully people remember what is lost in these situations and maybe there will be a step closer to creating one.

CAMEROTA: Chris, we will get back to you and all of the great interviews that you're doing. We'll have much more of our continuing coverage on the tragic shooting deaths in Virginia.

But we also have other news to tell you about, including an interesting new national poll to show Donald Trump in familiar territory. He's out in front in the Republican presidential race at his highest watermark yet. We'll explain that, and we will speak live with Donald Trump. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. We'll go back to Roanoke, Virginia, for more on the murders of two journalists. But we do have other news to tell you about.

Donald Trump widening his lead in the latest Quinnipiac poll, while on the Democratic side, new concerns for frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Let's bring in former political director for George W. Bush and chairman of the American Conservative Union, Matt Schlapp, and former spokesperson for Spanish language media under President George W. Bush, Mercedes Viana Schlapp. Great to see both of you this morning. Thanks for being here.

Let's just put up this new Quinnipiac poll, just hot off the presses, and it shows Donald Trump at this highest numbers yet. He's at 28 percent here, Matt, and in fact, Ben Carson, who is second, has flipped positions with Jeb Bush, who is now third.

So it looks like, despite any controversial comments that Donald Trump makes, despite a feud with FOX News or Univision, he presses shows Donald Trump at the highest numbers yet. He's at 28 percent here, Matt, and Ben Carson is second and flipped positions with Jeb Bush who is now third.

[07:20:06] So it looks like, despite any controversial comments that Donald Trump makes, despite a feud with FOX News or Univision, he -- his numbers keep growing. How do you explain it, Matt?

MATT SCHLAPP, CHAIRMAN, AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION: Throw away the rule book. Everything we've learned in politics about running for president is being recast.

The American people have a different way that they absorb news and learn about these candidates. And the change in which we watch television, and everything else, where things are unscripted and spontaneous, has come to the presidential race. And for Donald Trump, it is just, like, a perfect moment for him.

CAMEROTA: Mercedes, this next poll is going to make you want to throw out the rule book again, because this is "Who would you never support?" It asks Republicans, "Who would you never support as the GOP nominee?" And they say, No. 1, Donald Trump. So I mean, explain the fickleness here.

MERCEDES VIANA SCHLAPP, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR SPANISH LANGUAGE MEDIA FOR GEORGE W. BUSH: It shows we have a party divided. Quite frankly, you have those that they call the establishment, more moderate Republicans. With obviously having to do amongst several moderate type candidates.

And then you have the more conservative Republicans, which again, we have 16 candidates running. So with such a broad field, you know, it's like if they're in the grocery store and they don't know which cereal to pick.

So it does make it for a very complicated situation for the GOP primary.

CAMEROTA: Mercedes, I do want to stick with you for a second, because I want to show you this exchange that happened between Jorge Ramos, of course, the anchor for Univision, and one of Donald Trump's supporters.

And I want to ask you about it, because you know Jorge Ramos.

VIANA SCHLAPP: Right.

CAMEROTA: And this moment is getting a lot of attention today. This happened during the time that Jorge Ramos was tossed out of the press conference by Donald Trump, and he was sort of cooling his heels outside of the press conference before he was let back in. But he got into this testy exchange. So watch this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were very rude. It's not about you.

JORGE RAMOS, UNIVISION ANCHOR: It's not about us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of my country. Get out. This is not about you.

RAMOS: I'm a U.S. citizen, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, whatever, no. Univision, no, it's not about you.

RAMOS: It's not about you. It's about the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Mercedes, he says to Jorge Ramos, "Get out of my country." And Jorge has to remind him, "I'm a U.S. citizen."

VIANA SCHLAPP: "I'm a U.S. citizen."

CAMEROTA: I mean, what do you -- do you see this as residue of what Donald Trump has been saying?

VIANA SCHLAPP: You know, emotions are high, especially when it comes to the immigration issue. And so I think, when we're looking at this debate and how everyone is approaching it, obviously, when Jorge Ramos jumped in in a press conference, which in a setting like that is not that common. You have reporters that are raising their hands. It's kind of like you're in a classroom. You raise your hand. It's your turn.

I mean, and then the mere fact that Jorge Ramos did get the time allocated afterwards and had that exchange with Donald Trump, you know, I think that this is why this issue of immigration reform, looking back, has not been resolved for decades.

And again, if we're at this point in our country where something has to get done, and so you're finding that it's an emotional battle back and forth between those that are very concerned with illegal immigration in this country an those, like Jorge Ramos, who believe that they're a voice for those millions of Latinos who are undocumented in this country.

CAMEROTA: Yes. It has been a winning issue thus far, Matt, for Donald Trump, as you can see his poll numbers keep going up. But again, when we get to the general election, doesn't he need to court Hispanic voters?

SCHLAPP: Absolutely. I mean, Republicans have done a very good job of not winning the popular vote recently in presidential elections. And we're going to have to expand our coalition and do better with non-white voters in order to achieve victory and achieve the White House.

So there's no question we're going to have to reach out to them, but we have to do it consistent with our beliefs. And I think, actually, the Democrats are going to be a little on the defensive here, because there is a huge problem with the fact that President Obama has let loose so many criminals who are undocumented who are here illegally. And we've got to really tackle that problem.

Until we tackle that problem, until we tackle the problem of overstaying visas and securing our border, we'll never get to the next step, which is really modernizing and revolutionizing how we handle immigration in America.

I'm the grandson of immigrants. Obviously, I'm someone who's married to someone who's a first-generation American. This is something that's really important for our country. We have to get this right, but we have to get through these really difficult steps first.

CAMEROTA: We will be talking about what the new poll numbers say about the Democratic field, as well, in one of our upcoming segments.

Matt Schlapp and Mercedes Schlapp, thanks so much for being here. Great to hear from you.

VIANA SCHLAPP: Thank you, Alisyn.

SCHLAPP: Thank you, Alisyn.

[07:24:34] CAMEROTA: Also in moments, we will speak to Donald Trump live. We'll get his reaction to what has happened in Roanoke, and we'll also, of course, talk campaign politics. Stick around for that. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: We welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. We are live in Roanoke, Virginia. We have a brand-new poll that shows the new familiar: Donald Trump holding onto the Republican lead. His closest opponent, double digits behind him.

On the phone is Donald Trump. Mr. Trump, can you hear us?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via phone): Good morning, Chris.

CUOMO: Thank you for joining us. A very heavy day down here in Roanoke. Have you seen this video? What was your reaction to what happened here?

TRUMP: Well, it's horrible. I've been watching you. Actually, I watched you last night. You're working hard. In fact, I was going to call and maybe cancel this call, because I see how horrible that is, that whole situation. And you know you want to get back to that, I would imagine. But really very sad. A very sad commentary on life, frankly.

CUOMO: I think it's maybe more important to have you today than ever. Because leadership isn't just about the trail, as you know. It's about moments like this. The consoler in chief is one of the jobs of the president. What would you say to the people down here about how to make sense of this and how to make it better?

TRUMP: Well, they're amazing people. I know the area. And the people are amazing. And the reaction of the colleagues and the station has been really incredible. And it's very inspiring to watch.

This was a very sick man. And it's just too bad that we can't figure these things out beforehand. I mean, everybody sees the signals, but nobody thinks a thing like this could happen. It's all over the place.