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New Day
Donald Trump Signs RNC Loyalty Pledge; Deputy Clerks in Kentucky County to Issue Marriage Licenses; Home Video May Show Illinois Cop Killers; Interview with Rick Santorum. Aired 8-8:30a ET
Aired September 04, 2015 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:03] JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: But for now, the billionaire businessman says he's on board. The pledge is not legally enforceable, but at the very least, it gives the Republican establishment a little emotional insurance that he won't launch a third party run if he loses the nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have signed the pledge.
JOHNS (voice-over): Trump promising not to run as a third party candidate and in the process gaining a political benefit for himself.
TRUMP: I will be totally pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party.
JOHNS: The move means Trump would have the backing of all the GOP candidates if he wins the Republican nomination in 2016.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not a guy who is a conservative.
JOHNS: It could also combat one angle of attack from Jeb Bush about Trump being a phony conservative, like in this ad depicting Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as, quote, "two sides of the same coin."
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Under Democratic presidents, people do better.
TRUMP: The economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.
JOHNS: Jeb coming out swinging in New Hampshire Thursday.
BUSH: When he attacks me personally or disparages my family, damn right I want to fight back.
JOHNS: And on Twitter, pointing out he's voted Republican since 1972.
But, a potential Achilles heel for Trump could be exposed during the next GOP debate if asked about foreign policy, as it was during this radio interview Thursday.
HUGH HEWITT, RADIO SHOW HOST: I'm looking for the next commander in chief to know who Hassan Nasrallah is, and Zawahiri, and al-Julani and al-Baghdadi.
Do you know the players without a scorecard yet, Donald Trump?
TRUMP (via phone): No, you know, I'll tell you honestly, I think by the time we get to office, they'll all be changed. They'll be all gone.
JOHNS: Trump slamming debate moderator Hugh Hewitt for asking, quote, "gotcha questions" after flubbing his answers.
HEWITT: So the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas does not matter to you yet, but it will?
TRUMP: It will when it's appropriate. I will know more about it than you know. And believe me, it won't take me long.
(on camera): Did you vote for Trump? Did you vote for Trump?
JOHNS: Still, Trump continues to dominate the GOP pack, but he's not the only one with rising support. A new national poll shows that, in a head-to-head with the other GOP candidates, second place retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson is the only one to best the Donald.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: But again, the spectacle over the pledge is a big win for Donald Trump. Though, one of the things that's made him attractive to voters is he was seen as running against establishment politics. Tea partiers who are supporting him, already expressing concern he has now given up some important political leverage -- Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Joe Johns, thanks so much for all of that.
Let's turn now to Sean Spicer. He's the chief strategist and communications director for the Republican National Committee.
Good morning, Sean.
SEAN SPICER, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Good morning, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: So, that was a fun spectacle to watch yesterday as the various candidates signed the RNC pledge. Why was that necessary since it's utterly unenforceable?
SPICER: Well, I think it's important because it allows the party to be unified going forward because all the top 17 candidates have committed that our number one goal is to support the eventual nominee and win back the White House in November of 2016. It kind of took the proverbial elephant out of the room if you will and allows us to focus on the prize. So, it was a great day for the party. In fact, it's been a great week by the party when you look at the efforts by CNN to amend their criteria and ensure a great debate coming up on September 16th.
CAMEROTA: Yes. SPICER: What happened yesterday, this has been a tremendous week for our party going forward.
CAMEROTA: So, yesterday was also an interesting day. So, there was this 15-minute meeting between Donald Trump and your boss, Reince Priebus. What did these two say to each other in that meeting?
SPICER: It was a very cordial meeting where two sides talked about the importance of party unity. The importance of winning in November and the shared strategy that we have of being united as a party, getting behind the eventual nominee whether it's Mr. Trump or another candidate and winning back the White House and setting an agenda that goes forward and put this is country back on track.
CAMEROTA: Here's what Donald Trump's take on that meeting was. He talked about just this morning on television. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, I'm not going to break it at all. I don't intend to break it. I won't break it. I spoke with Jean (ph) yesterday. We had a great talk. It's very -- you know, that road going independent is a very, very, long and tough road. I want to be the Republican nominee and I want to go onto win and this is the best way to do that .
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: First of all, who's genius?
SPICER: I wish it was me, I don't think it is, though.
CAMEROTA: Yes, exactly. I want to be called genius by Donald Trump by television. I think he means --
SPICER: To be called genius by anybody, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Exactly. So, in other words, you trust Donald Trump? Even though as Joe Johns just said, the Tea Party is upset. They think he's just closed an avenue.
SPICER: Look there's two important things. Number one, Donald Trump is a successful businessman. He got that way by making sure that his word was his bond. So, you take him as his word.
[08:05:00] But the other 16 candidates are in the same boat. Each one of them, whether it's Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, has put their name out there and said that they will pledge to support the eventual nominee. And they're only as good as their word. Every single one of them has a strong word that we can take to the bank.
So, I trust every single one of them that we can move forward and put this issue beside us. That's all enough this game. If you can't say you mean it, then it's worth nothing.
And as far as concerns go, look, the only way we win, the only way we stop Hillary Clinton or any other Democrat is being unified as a party. Because no third party, no independent is going win. And if someone does seek that avenue, they undermine the Republican Party and basically under mine our ability to take on Hillary Clinton or whatever other Democrat they put forward when she falters.
CAMEROTA: Sean, I want to ask you about this radio interview that Donald Trump did with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who asked him a lot about various terror leaders names, foreign policy. Do you think it's important for Republican candidates at this point in the race to know the difference between say, Zawahiri and al-Baghdadi?
SPICER: Look, I think there's a lot of things that every candidate has to know from foreign policy to the economy. I think a lot of these folk who have to get up to speed, whether they were governors or neurosurgeon or a successful businessman, sometimes there's a lot to digest, whether it's knowing every one of the countries leaders or different sects within a particular country.
I think that there's no question. I think that it's challenging to understand everything that's happening both, you know, domestically, economically, foreign-policy.
CAMEROTA: It's OK to not know it right now?
SPICER: No one knows everything, right? I mean, that's ridiculous. There's nobody, whether it's the current president or the United States or anybody who hopes to succeed him will know every single leader, will know every piece of domestic policy.
CAMEROTA: Oh, sure, but I mean, these were the leading leader. I mean, al-Baghdadi, that's almost a household name at this point in terms of ISIS and everything we've been reporting over the summer. So, are you comfortable that Donald Trump or any of the Republican candidates don't know that level of foreign policy at this point?
SPICER: I'm comfortable in saying anyone of the top 17 candidates that eventually seeks to be commander in chief will be well-prepared to lead our country forward.
CAMEROTE: OK. Let's look at this very interesting matchup, head to head match up between Donald Trump and Ben Carson. This is in the latest Monmouth University poll just out. Ben Carson gets 55 percent against Donald Trump's 36 percent. This is after the summer spotlight has been almost solely on Donald Trump. And Ben Carson has not been the beneficiary of the media attention.
How do you explain this?
SPICER: We're really early in a race. If you look at last cycle I think we had eight different candidates at one point or another led. Look, we've got great candidates. I can't be more excited.
When you look at the diversity and the caliber of the top 17 candidates, our party has historical had the best crop of candidates of any party in history. And I'm very proud of it. I think you're going to see a lot of folks go up and down between now and next year. That's awesome. That's fantastic for our party.
If you look at the number of people, the record number of people, 30 million that watched the two debates last month on FOX, and I think we'll get great numbers on CNN coming up. That's phenomenal for our party. More people are tuning in, seeing the direction that our candidates and our party want to take this country. That can't be anything but great.
CAMEROTA: We are looking forward to September 16th. I know you are as well. Sean Spicer, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.
SPICER: Thank you, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Have a great weekend.
SPICER: You too.
CAMEROTA: All right. Ahead, we will talk about all of this Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. Stick around for that -- John.
BERMAN: All right, Alisyn.
Democrats two major story lines unfolding this morning. Hillary Clinton's team facing new questions over her private e-mail server. And Vice President Joe Biden making his most candid comments to date about a presidential run, saying a decision will depend on his family.
CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins us live to explain. He is traveling with Secretary Clinton in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Buenos dias, Jeff.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John.
Hillary Clinton is coming to Puerto Rico later today to campaign. But I can tell you, she will not be leaving those controversies behind, particularly because one of her top advisers Jake Sullivan will be on Capitol Hill testifying. This is the second day in a row that one of her top aides is talking about the classified emails, the e-mails that were used on the private server. They're asking, were they classified or were they not?
Of course, this is all hanging over her campaign as the other Democrat, potentially Joe Biden is deciding whether he's going to jump in. A lot of his advisers are saying that he's close to a decision. But we heard a window into his thinking last night during a speech in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The factor is, can I do it? Can my family undertake what is an arduous commitment that we'd be proud to undertake under ordinary circumstances? [08:10:00] But the honest to God answer is, I just don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So that sound like Vice President Biden might be leaning against a run. But then a short time later in that speech, he said, but I can do it, I can do it, if I decide that it's right for my family.
So, it does not really advance the question of is he going to or is he not? But all this is hanging over the Democratic presidential side of this contest. We're still told he will make his decision by the end of September.
Hillary Clinton, of course, has a big head start on him. One of the reasons she's here in Puerto Rico, she's coming later this afternoon, vowing to work hard for every vote. And, of course, the votes in Puerto Rico do not count in a general election. But in a primary election they do. That's why she's campaigning here. And Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, is here today as well -- John.
CAMEROTA: I'll take it here. Thanks so much, Jeff. Looks great to be in Puerto Rico. Thank you.
We do have some breaking news to tell you about. Because the clerk's office in Rowan County, Kentucky, has opened just minutes ago. Same sex couples plans to be there today, to get their marriage licenses now that the county clerk who defied that court order to issue to them is in jail this morning. Kim Davis argues that same-sex marriage violates her police chiefs.
So, let's get right to CNN's Alexandra Field. She joins us from Morehead, Kentucky, with the details.
Are the licenses being issued, Alexandra?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Alisyn.
Look, this clerk did everything in her power to stand in the way of issuing these licenses. That is why she is waking up in jail this morning. But I just spoke to William Smith and James Yates. They are a couple. They've been together for years. They have to this county clerk's office. This is their sixth time coming here, to try and get a marriage license.
We spoke to them right before they walk through, they're hopeful, they are incredibly optimistic this is the day they will get that license. Soon we'll see them come out of this court house and we'll know whether, in fact, the deputy clerks that told the judge they will issue licenses will, in fact, issue licenses.
To set the scene for you a little bit here, a lot of Kim Davis's supporters came out to the county clerk's office this morning. They are supporting her for deciding to hold out, deciding not to issue marriage licenses despite a court's order. She is now being held in contempt of court. You've also got marriage
equality advocates outside of this county clerk's office, believing that this is the day they've been waiting for, with a judge now holding Davis in contempt of court. He asked five of her deputies to agree to issue these licenses. Five of them did. The sixth deputy is Kim Davis's son. He is the loan holdout among the deputies.
So, we should soon be seeing this couple emerging with their marriage license. I'm actually getting word right now that the couple was, in fact, given their license. They were very filled with emotion this morning when they came here, some tears in their eyes. They were saying that it was important to them.
They are from this county. They wanted to obtain this marriage license documents in their home county. It is their sixth try to obtain this. It is personal for them, deeply personal for them. And we are being told they've been victorious in what should have been a simple task, given the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this summer allowing same-sex marriage throughout the country -- Alisyn, John.
BERMAN: That is a key piece of information right there and breaking news, the news that same-sex marriage licenses are being issued, are being handed out in the Rowan County clerk's office right now. It will be interesting to see how that affects the case of Kim Davis, who is in jail right now for contempt of court. She, of course, said she would not approve of licenses being issued from that office at all. That is a very interesting development. We'll touch on that again.
Meanwhile, a major development this morning in the hunt for three suspected cop killers in Illinois. Authorities now have home surveillance video that may show the alleged murderers.
CNN's Rosa Flores live in Fox Lake, Illinois, with the very latest.
Good morning, Rosa.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
If this video delivers what investigators are hoping for, very soon, we could see the faces of these suspected cop killers.
Now, here's what we know from authorities. This video was obtained from a homeowner. Investigators saying that it's part of a home video surveillance camera system.
Now, here is the key: investigators saying that it is consistent with the fact that there are three suspects in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF GEORGE FILENKO, COMMANDER, LAKE COUNTY MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE: We don't believe in coincidences. However, we still don't know and can't verify exactly whether this video is relevant to the case. But at this point, it's probably one of the most significant ones we've recovered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Now, the other significant break in this case -- the gun, the officer's weapon was recovers from the scene. Now, investigators are very tight-lipped about other details. But a CNN source tells us that gun was actually fired.
Now, as for Lieutenant Gliniewicz, we know that his funeral is arranged now for Monday. He's a father of four, a husband.
[08:15:00] And he dedicated more than 30 years of his life to the Fox Lake Police Department -- Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Let's hope police get a break in that case today. Thanks so much, Rosa.
Well, this morning, four U.S. troops injured in an explosion in the Sinai Peninsula. The soldiers are part of a multinational peacekeeping force supporting a treaty between Egypt and Israel. U.S. officials becoming more worried about security in that region. Israel calling on Egypt to get tougher with Jihadi groups in the area.
BERMAN: Sacramento police searching for a gunman who opened fire at Sacramento City College, killing one person and badly wounding another, and grazing a third person. All three of them were students at the college. The gunman fled on foot. Police say they belief the attack was an isolated incident, not a campus shooting spree.
CAMEROTA: Well, the four stars of TruTV's hidden camera comedy show "Impractical Jokers", celebrating their 100th episode by putting their own lives on the line, literally. The long time best friends known by fans as Q, Sal, Murr and Joe took on their most challenging stunt yet, a high wire walk five stories -- oh boy -- above New York City, on live television. I don't know if their form is the best, John. I don't know if lapping your arms is what you're supposed to do.
BERMAN: I do think the superhero outfit does help them.
CAMEROTA: Yes, clear that does help.
BERMAN: Oh wow, look at that.
CAMEROTA: That was impractical joker Brian Quinn went the furthest, as you just saw on the tight rope. He claimed victory for his charity and the ultimate bragging rights.
BERMAN: And he did not have to wear the super hero outfit.
CAMEROTA: Yes, that's a win. There's two wins.
BERMAN: Double win for him.
CAMEROTA: Exactly.
BERMAN: All right. Donald Trump pledging loyalty to the Republican Party, promising he will not run as a third party candidate. How does the rest of the field feel about that? That is one of the things we put to Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[08:20:28] TRUMP: The best way for the Republicans to win is if I win the nomination and go directly against whoever they happen to put up. And for that reason, I have signed the pledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Donald Trump finally pledging to support the Republican nominee, whoever it is. And he promises not to run as a third party candidate. That may be just one reason that Trump is surging in the latest national poll, 30 percent of likely Republican voters now back him.
Joining us now to weigh in on this race, presidential candidate, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum.
Good morning, Senator. Thank you so much for joining us.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning. Great to be on the show again. Thank you.
BERMAN: Now, Senator, I know you care deeply about the Iran nuclear deal and are opposed to it. Looks like it will get through. It will be implemented.
Yesterday, on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, Mr. Hewitt asked Donald Trump about one element of this deal that bothers a lot of people, the Iranian general, the head of the Quds Force, General Soleimani. Let's listen to this clip.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HUGH HEWITT: Are you familiar with General Soleimani?
TRUMP: Yes, but go ahead, give me a little me. Go ahead, tell me.
TRUMP: He runs the Quds Forces.
HEWITT: Do you expect his behavior --
TRUMP: I think the Kurds have been horribly mistreated by us.
HEWITT: No, not the Kurds. The Quds Forces, the Iranian revolutionary guard's Quds Forces, the bad guys.
TRUMP: Right.
HEWITT: Do you expect his behavior to change as a result.
TRUMP: Oh, I thought you said Kurds, Kurds.
HEWITT: No. TRUMP: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said Kurds.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now, Senator, a lot of people said that Donald Trump sounded confused. He went onto admit he doesn't know the names of the various leaders of the terrorist groups in the Middle East right now.
Is this stuff that a presidential candidate needs to know right now?
SANTORUM: You know, one of the things I've talked about as an important part of my campaign is having someone with experience in this area. I mean, I authored the Iran sanctions bill 12 years ago to put constraints on their nuclear program and have been fighting against the Iranian, what I call them the death cult for the past dozen years plus.
I think when you're looking at a dangerous world that the next president is going to be walking into, I'd always say the commander- in-chief is not an entry level position. And I think when you're looking at a presidential candidate, you want to look at someone when that person walks is into the Oval Office, that the enemy know who they are.
Just like Ronald Reagan did back in 1980, and you saw a whole change of atmosphere between how the Iranians treated Jimmy Carter and how they treated Ronald Reagan. And, by the way, the same with the Soviet Union and others at a time.
So, experience does matter. I understand people's desire to have a new fresh face. But, you know, a combination of someone who's an outsider and someone who understands the real problems that confront this country and have experience in dealing with them is what I bring to the table.
BERMAN: You say the enemies know who they are. And that candidate presumably has to know who the enemies are as well. So, if you are unfamiliar with them and he seemed to have no remorse over that fact, is that disqualifying, in your mind?
SANTORUM: Well, you know, what qualifies you to become the nominee is you get the most votes. That's sort -- you're seeing this summer that a lot of people are being looked at very seriously. And, you know, my job as a candidate is to go out there and articulate a vision and present the facts that we believe we're the best candidate to take on these challenges of a very, very dangerous world.
We've seen with Barack Obama. A lot of people like Barack Obama. But even those who do I think are now looking at, you know, maybe having some experience in national security would have been helpful or having some idea of the nature of the threats that confront us would have been better for the United States than what we have with this president.
BERMAN: There are those who say this Iran nuclear deal, it empowers the Quds Force. It empowers General Soleimani. SANTORUM: It does.
BERMAN: It does. So, having a knowledge of them in your mind, is that something that is essentially for being president?
SANTORUM: Well, I mean, the Quds Force has been a thorn in our side for a long, long time. As you know, I mean, they were training and equipping the enemies of the United States and Iraq and Afghanistan. They're obviously very active in Iraq right now, which I oppose. I mean, we have a president who's actually, you know, working with the Quds Force and encouraging them, called them a partner in peace and tried to help defeat ISIS, which I think is absolutely wrong.
The Iranians should be out of Iraq. They shouldn't be partnering with us. We shouldn't be dealing with thugs like Soleimani and other folks who have been our enemies, who have been killing Americans for a long time.
[08:25:00] And again, this is really important to differentiate between a vision of Hillary Clinton and calling Iran a partner in peace while they're out there chanting "Death to America" and celebrating they've taken on the United States and defeated it on the battlefield. That's the way they look at this agreement, that they've actually defeated the United States. I think it's important to know those differences.
BERMAN: Senator, I want to shift to some domestic breaking news. We've just learned that Rowan County, Kentucky, the county clerk's office has issued marriage licenses to at least one same-sex couple. More I believe will be issued today. Your reaction?
SANTORUM: There's lots of issues behind this. And the first one is, why are we putting someone in jail because they have --
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: Let's get to that in a second. Do you think it's a good development that this county clerk's office is issuing same-sex marriage licenses?
SANTORUM: Well, I would say this, we have -- we have a situation where the United States Supreme Court in my opinion acted unconstitutionally. And it's not just mine, it's also Justice Roberts' opinion. He said that the court acted without any constitutional support to do this.
BERMAN: That was the minority opinion but the Supreme Court decided 5-4 is now law that same-sex marriage is now legal. So that is the law as it stands.
SANTORUM: What I would say is that the obligation I believe of a president of a Congress when the court acts unconstitutionally and I believe they have acted unconstitutionally is to use the power that is inherent in the Constitution is called checks and balances.
When a president acts unconstitutional, the court can slap down the president. What happens if the Supreme Court acts unconstitutionally? Who has -- who gets the opportunity to challenge them?
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: Do you think it's a county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky?
SANTORUM: I would agree that what Kim Davis did in my opinion was heroic and she suffered the consequences from it. She was -- obviously, I think putting her in jail was ridiculous. It's an extreme position.
But you know what? That's sometimes what it takes for people who stand up and conduct civil disobedience because the law is unjust, to suffer the consequences of that. So, I commend her for standing up for her principles. I think it's really incumbent upon the Congress and the legislature of Kentucky to step up and particularly the Congress, to step up and check the court and the president to check the court when it goes beyond its legal authority.
BERMAN: All right. Let me take a turn to the polls right now. You have been to 99 counties in Iowa, for a second time. You've done the "full Grassley" now twice. That is impressive in Iowa. Sir, congratulations on that.
You won Iowa four years ago. The latest Monmouth University poll shows your standing in Iowa not nearly as high as it was the last time you ran for office right now. Donald Trump, Ben Carson tied at 23 percent. Rick Santorum, 2 percent.
Traditionally, the Republican Party, the runner up from the election, you know, usually gets the nomination. Why are you not benefitting from this tradition right now, Senator?
SANTORUM: Well, I'd say a couple things. The most recent poll right before, "The Des Moines Register" poll, asked the question how many of you are decided on who you're going to select? And the answer was 12 percent.
The second question -- one of the questions that Monmouth asked was who's on your list of potential candidates. And we were right at the top of being on people's list -- more people's list than just about anybody else.
So, we're not in a bad position right now. We're pretty much in the position we were four years ago, which is we're on everybody's list. People like they hear. And as you heard Sean Spicer say earlier, there's a lot of good candidates that people are looking at. And I think the longer they look, they'll come to the same conclusion they had four years ago, that the person who has the experience, has the vision to get this country back on track and as the ability to win this election and galvanized the support that's necessary is on CNN today.
BERMAN: Came out of nowhere four years ago. Senator Rick Santorum, appreciate you being with us. Thank you, sir.
SANTORUM: Thank you so much. BERMAN: And, of course, be sure to watch the CNN presidential debate,
Wednesday, September 16th, starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: Not only will I watch it, I will cover it, John.
Meanwhile, we're waiting the latest jobs report. What effect will this report have on jittery markets? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
