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Hurricane Joaquin Intensifies, Takes Aim at U.S.; U.S. Officials: Russia's Intentions in Syria Unclear; Trump: Russia Doesn't Respect the U.S. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 01, 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: Will the storm make landfall here in the U.S.? Will it go out to sea? It's tough to know. It's very tough to know right now. Chad -- we've got Chad Myers -- it's so tough, Chad, I can't even say it. I also see Victor out there. So what's the latest?

[07:00:14] CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the answer to your question: will it hit the U.S., will it go out to sea? The answer is yes. It will do one of those two.

Yesterday, I think direct impact on the U.S. was a higher likelihood than today. A lot of the computers saying probably hanging in the water longer.

But what it will do, we know this is going to hang in the Bahamas for the next 48 hours, with winds of 140 miles per hour. This is a devastating hurricane for parts of the Bahamas and even the northern parts of the Turks and Caicos.

After that, it gets grabbed by a jet stream and starts to shear apart, so the winds go down to 110. That's still significant. That's still significant in the way Sandy was when it was down to the south.

But still right now, the computer models are shifting, farther and farther from the east, away from land even as we speak, the new models coming in right now.

Yesterday, all the models were turning left and right into North Carolina. And it was a sure thing that the models said, "Yes, it has to happen."

Today, they're changing their mind and talking a little bit more, getting a little bit more on the side of the European model that we talked about yesterday that was going to stay in the Atlantic.

One way or the other, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and on up will get between 5 and 10 inches of rain. Even without a direct landfall. If we get a landfall, we get 15 inches of rain and winds of 80. I mean, you think the trees are falling down at that point. So we don't need that at all. But without even a direct landfall, there will be significant flooding through the Carolinas, through Virginia and all the way up the East Coast -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Chad, thank you very much. As it continues, we'll check back in with you. You'll let us know what we need to know.

Much of the East Coast is already soaking wet ahead of this hurricane. Virginia's governor declaring a state of emergency, trying to get more resources to prepare with what's to come and what they already have.

Victor Blackwell is live in Virginia Beach, dealing with the situation right now. It's already a problem, yes?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly a problem. And the winds are pretty strong here. Now, let's be clear: these are not the winds from Joaquin, but a storm that's been here for a couple of days now.

Flood watches for most of Virginia, parts of the Carolinas. Power outages reported in parts -- across parts of the state.

Let's take you up north to Massachusetts, where the same story there. A woman had to be rescued from her car as roads were flooded there, as well.

Rainfall records set in Boston and Worcester, as well. Portland, Maine, as well, where a daycare center was destroyed. And people had to abandon their vehicles. The water got waist deep and then just had to wade through it to get to safety.

But it's important to say here that, whether or not this storm strengthens or weakens as it comes up the coast, if it gets close, now the discussion about categories, one, two or three, refers only to the wind.

This area is already waterlogged all along the mid-Atlantic and the East Coast. So even if a tropical storm comes here in parts, they are in for a world of trouble. And Governor McAuliffe here in Virginia is telling people to prepare. They're packing sandbags not only here in Virginia, but in other states on the mid-Atlantic, trying to prepare for whatever comes. Even if Joaquin heads west, they still have a rough time ahead on their hands.

Back to you.

PEREIRA: They certainly do, Victor. And we'll be along with you for the ride. Thanks very much. We'll be watching.

Meanwhile, tensions are escalating between the U.S. and Russia. Officials in Moscow claim their airstrikes in Syria are targeting ISIS positions, but the White House is questioning that claim. And that has President Obama and his Middle East strategy coming under fire.

Let's bring in CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, the U.S. and Russia plan to begin talks, perhaps as soon as later today, better coordinating their military plans for Syria after both countries launched airstrikes in the war-torn country in the last 24 hours.

Secretary of State John Kerry said that so-called deconfliction conference, a bit of Washington speak there, is aimed at avoiding any accidents between the U.S. and Russian warplanes. Russia claimed it's hitting ISIS targets in Syria, but the Obama administration suspects, as you said, Moscow is really aiming for Syrian rebels fighting against the Kremlin-backed Bashar al-Assad.

Now, the White House is under fire from critics in both parties, who say the president's struggles in taking on ISIS, have all but rolled out the welcome mat for Vladimir Putin in Syria. Here's what John McCain and White House press secretary Josh Earnest had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)(

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: This is the inevitable consequence of hollow words, red lines crossed, tarnished moral influence, leading from behind, and a total lack of American leadership.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Russia will not succeed in imposing a military solution on Syria any more than the United States was successful in imposing a military solution on Iraq a decade ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And just as harsh, Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the Russians are just pouring gasoline on the fire in Syria. And the fear is, Alisyn, that the Russian airstrikes could prompt more Syrian rebels to join up with ISIS and make the terror group even stronger. For now, the White House is not telling the Russians to stop what they're doing.

[07:05:15] Alisyn, that means the president has essentially no choice but to see how Putin's gamble plays out.

CAMEROTA: Gosh, this is such a tense moment. Jim, thanks for that.

ACOSTA: You bet.

CAMEROTA: On the campaign trail, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump clashing with rival Jeb Bush over how to handle refugees fleeing Syria's civil war. Trump says if he's president, they will be sent back.

In his interview with CNN's Don Lemon, Trump also addressing those Russian strikes in Syria. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Big international news, is Russia striking Syria for the first time now, giving the U.S. about an hour's notice.

TRUMP: Sure. Well, they don't respect the U.S. They don't respect.

LEMON: What do you make of this ratcheting up?

TRUMP: Well, No. 1, they don't respect our president, and they really don't respect us anymore. And that's why they're doing this. At the same time, if they want to hit ISIS, that's OK with me. I'm

not going to be saying we have to do it all. You know, we're like the policemen of the world.

I'm a very strong person when it comes to the military. You and I have had this conversation before. I think it will be my big sleeper. You know, as a sleeper subject for me. I think one of my strengths will be the military. I'm very, very strong on the military. I believe so strongly we're going to build a tremendous military. Nobody is going to mess with us.

But at the same time, we have to be respected and, frankly, we're not being respected. Nevertheless, I love the fact that ISIS is being hit by Russia.

LEMON: But -- but according to U.S. officials, the areas that are being hit are not ISIS strongholds, and in areas that are propping up Assad?

TRUMP: I'm -- right, and I'm hearing that. And I hear they're hitting both. But I'm hearing that. And then you say to yourself, Assad, bad guy, killed hundreds of thousands of people. But you wonder what's going to happen with the other people that we don't even know who they are?

We always give weapons; we give billions of dollars in weapons, and they turn against us. We have no control. So we don't know the other people that we're supposed to be backing. We don't even know who we're backing.

Russia and Iran. And of course, we have made Iran strong by giving them $150 billion in one of the dumbest deals I've ever seen. So you have Russia and Iran are backing Assad. At the same time, my primary thing is getting rid of ISIS, because ISIS really does stand for evil.

LEMON: How would you handle Putin, though? Because you saw the icy relationship that Putin and Obama...

TRUMP: There's no respect. It's a question of respect. It's like deals, I do deals. That's what I do. I do really good at deals.

The other side has to respect you. Putin doesn't respect our president. He probably doesn't respect our country very much, because he's gone through so many years of Obama. But he doesn't respect our president. It's a real problem.

LEMON: There are -- listen, you have -- you've got Syria. You've got Russia and the U.S. but flying in the same place.

TRUMP: Right.

LEMON: One bad move, and that -- as you say, huge; that's a huge problem. Don't we need some rules?

TRUMP: A couple of bad moves. Maybe not one -- a couple of bad moves, you have World War III over Syria, right? I don't think so. All right? I don't think so.

Look, if Russia wants to go in there, it would have been nice if we went in as a unified front, to be honest with you. But if Russia wants to go in there and knock the hell out of ISIS -- and maybe with this migration, this big migration, now they're talking about bringing 200,000 people into the United States.

And I will tell you, if I win, I'm going to say it right now. I'll say it to you. Those 200,000 people, they have to know this -- and the world will hear it -- are going back. We're not going to accept 200,000 people that may be ISIS.

You know, when you look at the migration, there are so many men. And there's so many men that look strong to me. I'm pretty good at analyzing things. You is a where are the women. They look strong, and they're young. No. 1, why aren't they fighting for their country?

No. 2, what's going on? Why are we accepting all of these thousands? Now I've heard a number today, 200,000. That's almost like, are they bringing -- are these people is? We have no idea who they are. We have no idea where they come from.

And I'm just telling you right now, they may come in through the weakness of Obama, they're going out if I become president. They will not stay here. They're going back to Syria, whether it's safe zones or whatever. But they're going back to Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: All right. So let's talk about all of these issues with David Axelrod. He's our CNN senior political commentator and former senior adviser to President Obama.

David, great to see you. Let's start with...

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to see you.

CAMEROTA: Let's start with Russia and what's happening in Syria.

Russia launched airstrikes against targets that we now know had nothing to do with ISIS or ISIL, as you often refer to it. In fact, it was about the -- they hit opposition sites, those fighters who were opposed to President Assad. Doesn't that tell us everything we need to know about Russia's motivation here?

[07:10:00] AXELROD: Well, it certainly is reviewing. They've been as transparent on their motives in Syria as they were in Ukraine. And clearly, they are not targeting ISIS, based on the information that we know. They've made a complex situation even more complex, as Jim mentioned in his report.

The fear is that they're going to further drive people into the arms of ISIS. And what appears to be the case is they're there simply to shore up Assad. And if they have to wipe out the moderate forces in that region, they'll do that in the process. And so, it's a -- it's a challenging situation. And a dangerous situation. CUOMO: Is McCain right in his analysis of how we got to this point?

AXELROD: Look, I think the Syrian problem has been a thorn in the side of the administration from the beginning. And there's a big debate about the steps that have been taken along the way, including the decision not to go forward when the red line was drawn.

But the question is always, what would you have done? What would you do? You know, Donald Trump, in his stream of consciousness analysis, hit on something that has been the problem from the beginning, which is. You don't know if you take out what's there, what comes next, which is part of the problem that we saw in Iraq.

And so it's been a very treacherous path from the beginning. And I have no doubt that this latest development is going to foment another political debate, but the question for anybody who criticizes is what is your alternative?

CAMEROTA: But I mean, what is the responses, the U.S. response likely to be to all of this?

AXELROD: Well, I suspect, and I don't know -- and I'm not here as a spokesperson for the president, for whom I haven't worked for six years or five years, but -- in the government. And they'll answer for the government.

But I suspect that we're going to continue doing what we're doing, which is airstrikes aimed at ISIS. And the danger here is how you deal with the fact that there are Russian planes in the air, as well.

So, all these calculations have to be made with real, real precision. Or you can end up with a much wider conflict, as Trump actually suggested.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Let's look at the race. The debate is going to come. It's on CNN, which means all eyes should be on it; first one, most critical, got to watch it. Joe Biden won't be in it. Do you think he's going to get into the race? Or this a nod to the obvious?

AXELROD: I don't -- I don't think, if I were Biden -- even if I were going to get in the race, I would be in that debate on October 13, because it takes a lot of work to prepare for a debate. He hasn't -- he hasn't been a candidate. He hasn't been in the mix. He isn't up to game speed at this moment. So I would advise him not to be in the debate anyway.

I do think that, with each passing day, it becomes more difficult for him to get in the race, just because time has passed. Money is committed. Troops are committed. And it becomes a much more complex challenge for him to really compete head to head, in this -- in this contest.

So, you know, I think Joe Biden is a very honest guy. I think he was really -- he's been leveling with us from the beginning, which is he'd like to do it, but he doesn't know if he has the emotional reserves to it, if his family has the emotional reserves to do it, given what they've faced over the past many months and the loss they've suffered. I think that's really what's going on. And I think that the -- he'll either in relatively soon, or time will take care of that question; and it will decide itself.

CAMEROTA: And Jeff Zeleny has reported on our air this morning that Biden has pushed back his decision date to the end of October.

Let's talk about that money being committed, as you just raised. There are new numbers out, and it shows how much candidates have raised in the third quarter. Let's look at Hillary Clinton's totals, compared to Bernie Sanders.

So she brought in, in the third quarter, $28 million. He brought in $25 million. What's interesting, of course, is comparing them to the second quarter, her numbers having gone down, his having shot up. What do you see, David?

AXELROD: Well, I think this was a stunning number, and I think what we now need to see is what their cash on hand is. I suspect Bernie Sanders will have almost as much money in the bank as she does, when the accounting is disclosed. And that's big, because it means that he can compete head to head, not just in Iowa and New Hampshire. But he can compete in the subsequent states, including March 1, when you have a Super Tuesday where many states are being contested. And you'll need resources to compete.

The other thing is the quality of these, or the nature of these contributions. Hillary Clinton has raised it largely with large contributions. She's had many events over the summer to try and get to that number. Maxed-out contributors, $2,700 contributors.

[07:15:09] Bernie Sanders is doing his almost entirely with small contributions. He's had a million donations and hundreds of thousands of contributors, who are likely to contribute again in the future.

So the history of this suggests that his numbers will increase over time, not decrease. And he's going to have the resources to compete for a good long time in this race.

CAMEROTA: All right. Let's talk about something that the man who is likely to be the next speaker of the house, Kevin McCarthy, said on Tuesday night on FOX News that many believe is revealing about the true nature of the Benghazi investigation. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), CALIFORNIA: Everybody thought that Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee. A select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened, had we not...

SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS'S "HANNITY": I give you credit for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. David, you heard him. He says everybody thought she was unbeatable. Then he put together a Benghazi committee.

AXELROD: Well, I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that there was some political motivation for that committee. I don't think, if she were not running for president of the United States, there would have been this level of ferocity on the part of the House in pursuing this Benghazi story.

But what is kind of shocking is that the guy who's going to be speaker of the House would acknowledge that. And I'm sure there are members of his own caucus who are scratching their heads the next morning when they woke up and read that story, because there are certain things you just shouldn't say.

And it speaks to the fact that Kevin McCarthy is a guy who's made a meteoric rise in the House, largely by building relationships with his colleagues. He's a good schmoozer. He's good with the internal politics of the House.

But now, he's going to be the face of the Republican Party in many ways. And discretion is part of what is called for there. And this is going to be a cause for concern. I don't think it's going to stop him from becoming speaker. But it may be an impediment in being an effective speaker. And, you know, for all -- he gave John Boehner a "B" minus, but I don't think John Boehner would have made that mistake.

CUOMO: Well, look, we know this. There's a lot of pushback on him from Republicans on -- not all the way to the right, but the other two-thirds are saying this statement was out of line; he should step off. And so we'll see how they organize around him, or whomever they pick going forward.

Mr. Axelrod, if I may indulge, will you please stick around? We have more to talk about...

AXELROD: yes.

CUOMO: ... with Jeb Bush later on in the show. So we'll come back to you, OK?

AXELROD: Thank you.

PEREIRA: All right. To breaking news overnight, the Afghan government says its forces have retaken control in the city of Kunduz from the Taliban, but they are still fighting pockets of insurgents hiding out in residual areas. U.S. forces are providing support. Those airstrikes near Kunduz Airport, those airstrikes happening as a Taliban spokesman claimed via Twitter that Afghan forces have been pushed back again.

CUOMO: A South Carolina police officer shot and killed inside a shopping mall. The officer was Gregory Alia. He was responding to a call about a suspicious man in a mall parking lot. He and another officer chased the suspect, this man, 34-year-old Jarvis Hall. They chased him into the mall. During the struggle with Hall, Officer Alia was shot and killed. The 7-year police veteran was just 32 years old, survived by a wife and newborn son.

CAMEROTA: It's just terrible.

All right. Well, the already tense relationship between the U.S. and Russia further being put to the test with Russian airstrikes now in Syria. We will discuss all of this with the secretary of the Air Force next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:22:13] MCCAIN: The president said for years, for years, that Assad must go. But he has done nothing that has brought us any closer to achieving that outcome. My friends, it's not that we have done nothing, but what it is, we have not done anything that would reverse the trend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That was Senator John McCain, urging the Obama administration to take action against Syrian President Bashar al- Assad. This, as Russia launches airstrikes in Syria without U.S. coordination.

So let's bring in the secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Deborah Lee James.

Madam Secretary, great to have you here in the studio with us.

DEBORAH LEE JAMES, SECRETARY OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: So we've gotten word that Russia has launched these airstrikes in Syria and hit several targets, none of them ISIS, or ISIL, as you refer to them targets. They're all Syrian opposition targets. How will the U.S. military and, in particular, the Air Force respond to this?

JAMES: Well, the emergence of Russia in Syria is a very worrisome development, Alisyn, and it's one that we're tracking very closely. We have long said anyone who is willing to join in our coalition against ISIL would be very welcome to do so. But anyone who is simply there to prop up Bashar al-Assad, it is not a useful development.

As secretary of the Air Force, the No. 1 thing that concerns me at the moment is we need to have military-to-military coordination in view of this development so that we deconflict ourselves in the sky. The worst thing of all would be if there were be an accident between our forces and any other forces -- Russian forces in the sky.

CAMEROTA: That would be explosive. I mean, that would just be terrible. Will you begin coordinating with Russia? Will Russia coordinate with the U.S.?

JAMES: So our secretary of defense has directed that we begin such coordination. And so there will be military-to-military discussions very, very shortly in order to get this ironed out.

CAMEROTA: Do you think President Obama has articulated well enough the U.S. strategy for Syria?

JAMES: I think the president has done a good job of articulating the strategy. It's a very difficult situation. It's a very fluid situation in the Middle East.

But we are ultimately out there to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. We're doing the job of degrading right now. And of course, our U.S. Air Force, as part of this large coalition, is very much in the lead.

CAMEROTA: You are -- you are doing it. It's basically just the degrade and destroy strategy is just with airstrikes.

JAMES: Airstrikes are the leading edge, I'll say, but there also needs to be a political solution, ultimately. And there needs to be forces on the ground. Iraqi army, the Peshmerga, the free Syrians that need to also contribute increasingly to the destroy part of this mission.

CAMEROTA: I want to talk about the equipment that the U.S. Air Force is using. I had read that half of the combat air forces are not sufficiently ready for a high-end fight against an opponent. That's troubling. What does that mean?

JAMES: It is troubling. And a high-end fight means the type of fight where the enemy on the ground can shoot you down and where we may not be able to have control of the skies.

Now, obviously, those that we put forward in Iraq and Syria are the readiest of all U.S. forces. So I am absolutely confident in their degree of training and preparation for this.

But what we need to do is bring the rest of our forces fully up to that level. And that will cost a lot of money. It costs money, and it costs time to be able to put our forces through the appropriate training so that they can practice against these high-end threats.

CAMEROTA: Another topic. You recently submitted a recommendation to the secretary of defense to open up Air Force combat jobs to women. But you know girls can't fight?

JAMES: Well, Alisyn, let me tell you, I think our women in the Air Force are extremely capable, and with the proper training and cooperation, they can do anything, as far as I'm concerned.

CAMEROTA: But how did your recommendation go over, since so many people do hold that -- that opinion?

JAMES: Well, if I can back up for just a second, we only have six jobs in the Air Force that are closed at the moment for women. And what we've been working on in the last year and a half is putting in place gender-neutral and operationally-relevant standards. That is to say standards to do the job, saying if you're a man or a woman, the standards will be high, because it's a physically demanding job.

And they will be directly relevant to the job at hand. And I'm of the opinion, once we have those in place, we ought to look at opening those jobs for anyone who is capable and qualified and let them compete.

So I have made a recommendation to the secretary of defense. Now that we've studied this, we've put in place standards. I'll reserve that recommendation between me and the secretary for now. But he will be making the decision for the entirety of the military later on this year.

CAMEROTA: And, you know, what about women in ranger school? I mean, there were discussion that the standards would have to be softened or changed. What do you think of that?

JAMES: First of all, we have not softened standards whatsoever in the Air Force. I've read about this in the Army. Of course, that's not my portfolio. But I believe the leadership of the Army when they say that's flat-out not true. I believe those women earned those Ranger tabs. And I believe future women can do the same.

CAMEROTA: Secretary Deborah Lee James, so great to have you here in studio. Thanks so much.

JAMES: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's go to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Alisyn, the man who would be House speaker lashing out at Hillary Clinton as a candidate fires back. A closer look at the political feud with Benghazi at the center, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)