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At Least 31 Killed as Wildfires Ravage California; Recount Underway in Florida Senate, Governor Races; French President Rebukes Trump's Nationalism at WWI Ceremony. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 12, 2018 - 07:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Nelson is a sore loser. He just won't give up.

[07:00:05] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Procedures are in place to stop fraud. They are not following procedures.

ANDREW GILLUM (D), FLORIDA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: If you wonder why the president and the sitting governor are fighting like you know what to stop a vote count, that ought to tell you something.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. We're following two breaking stories.

First, the wildfires burning across California. At least 31 people have now died, 29 of them in the Camp Fire in Northern California, which is now the most destructive and deadliest in state history. Look at these pictures. The fire all but leveled the entire town of Paradise. More than 200 people, they're still missing.

Two other people died in Southern California where a second fire is threatening thousands of homes. The weather forecast no comfort to the crews on the fire line. Strong winds and dry conditions in store for the whole week.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Also breaking this morning, post- election chaos in Florida. You are about to look at a live picture from Broward County, one of 67 Florida counties facing a Thursday 3 p.m. deadline to complete their recount in three state-wide races. As for that deadline, the Palm Beach County election supervisor already says it will be impossible for them to meet it.

Two of the races, the Florida governor's race and the race for Senate are among the most closely watched in the country. The current Florida governor, Rick Scott, who is leading the Senate race, has filed three election-related lawsuits. Scott alleges, without giving any evidence, that his opponent, Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson, is trying to somehow commit fraud in order to win the election.

Nelson firing back. He said that Scott's goal is to make sure that every legal vote is not counted. So we have all of it counted for you. But first, we want to go to

CNN's Scott McLean. He's live in Ventura County, California, with the latest on the fires.

What's the situation at this hour, Scott?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn, some good news in that evacuation order. Some of them for Southern California have started to lift, but there are other people who will be out of their homes for quite some time.

Case in point, there is an active fire burning right now in the Malibu canyon. Firefighters working to contain that.

We're in different part of Malibu where fire actually burned all the way down to the Pacific Ocean about a mile from where we are. And you can see what's left of some of these homes. It seems like Mother Nature randomly chose homes to completely destroy, like this one. It's hard to even tell what's what. There's actually a pool in the backyard, believe it or not.

But beyond that, you can really tell there's a chimney, and then over to the left here, you can see there's a burned-out van.

Because this area is still under mandatory evacuation orders, it's been hard to find any residents to talk to. We managed to find one this weekend who had been returning to his home for the very first time on Saturday. And he said he felt sick. He literally felt nauseous. He looked through what was left of his home and said the only thing that he could find that was recognizable at all was a teapot that he had made in high school.

Believe it or not, yesterday was a good day for firefighters. The footprint of the fire barely changed. It's still 85,000 acres, about 15 percent containment thus far. But the worry is about the winds. So wind warning is, in fact, until Tuesday. And the concern is that, while some of these flames could start to flare up, some of those smoldering areas could start to flare up and cause more problems.

All of this, though, really pales to comparison to what's happening in Northern California with the Camp Fire there. Entire neighborhoods have been absolutely leveled.

Here there are some houses that are intact beside ones that have been burned down. There, Mother Nature took absolutely everything with her. There are more than 6,000 homes that have been destroyed, 29 people dead. And what's even more concerning, 200 people still unaccounted for.

The president, he has approved an emergency declaration for the state of California. He also tweeted over the weekend, saying that it was gross mismanagement of forests that were to blame for some of California's wildfire problems. He actually threatened to withhold federal funds.

The governor, he shot back saying, "Look, forestry management is part of it but a much bigger part of it is -- is climate change."

That tweet also caught the attention of a couple of firefighters' associations. One of those organizations called it demeaning -- John, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Scott. Thank you very much for the update.

Now, joining us on the phone from Chico, California, where the Camp Fire is burning more than 100,000 acres, is California fire chief of information, Scott McLean. No relation to our reporter, Scott McLean.

Mr. McLean, thank you so much. I know it's a busy morning for you.

It looks like an apocalypse. I mean, the aftermath pictures -- I mean, well, first of all, just the fire pictures of what our reporter, Scott, just showed us, it looks like the apocalypse. What's the plan for today?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CAL FIRE CHIEF OF INFORMATION (via phone): Well, the plan for today is, due to the winds, predicted winds, of course, to make sure nothing gets across those containment lines. We need to make sure we continue to reinforce those lines and make sure we take care of the interior of the fire area so again, that nothing will be able to spread.

CAMEROTA: Tell us the resources that you have committed to this, the amount of firefighters, the manpower? Obviously, we all see the Herculean effort that's under way, but what does it mean in terms of numbers?

MCLEAN, CAL FIRE: Well, as of last night, late last night, there was about -- actually more than 4,500 individuals assigned to this incident; 571 fire engines are on this fire, as well.

Overall between the three fires, the Hill, the Woolsey and the Camp Fire, we're looking at over 8,000 fire fighters assigned, over 1,035 fire engines. Keep in mind, also, that we've been receiving resources from seven other states within the nation as well as the National Guard.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. I really had no idea that those were the numbers. Eight thousand firefighters still battling out there every day.

There's also 200 -- I mean, at our last count, correct me if I'm wrong, people who are unaccounted for, missing. What does that mean?

MCLEAN, CAL FIRE: Actually, it's about half of that. As of yesterday. That means these individuals could be in a motel or a friend's house or in the shelters. The sheriff's department is pursuing those individuals to see who, what, where and when, to hopefully find some of these individuals, if not all of them, would be great; to make sure that everybody is accounted for.

CAMEROTA: Mr. McLean, are you getting federal help? What do you need in order to fight these fires? MCLEAN, CAL FIRE: Well, as you can tell, I mean, by the numbers,

we're getting a lot of resources, and we're getting them quick.

Aircraft is not a problem. It's just the weather that hampers that effort once in a while whether it be visibility or wind. Folks the ground, as I said, those are numbers that, unfortunately, we're starting to see more and more and more of this year, with all the fires that we've had. We saw 14,000 individuals from 17 different states last year. It seems to be becoming common, which is unfortunate, the Woolsey fire has just over 3,200 individuals.

CAMEROTA: Because you're the PIO for the Department of Forestry, I do want to ask you about the president's tweet over the weekend. He said there's no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forestry management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year with so many lives lost, all because of grows management of the forests. Remedy now or no more federal payments. What do you make of that?

MCLEAN, CAL FIRE: Well, frankly, we have a job to do. He's not specific enough as to be able to respond to that. And we're moving on. We've got a lot of work to do, and we're going to get it done.

CAMEROTA: Scot McLean, you're the PIO from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Obviously, we are all thinking of you and all of those firefighters out there today. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to NEW DAY.

MCLEAN, CAL FIRE: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: For ways you can help those affected by the California wildfires, you can go to CNN.com/Impact.

BERMAN: The other major story developing this morning: They are counting votes in Florida. This is Broward County just a short time ago, where they've been working overnight and around the clock. Sixty-seven other counties, the ballots are being recounted, as well, as the races for Senate, governor and one other race are too close to call.

The recount must be done by Thursday afternoon, and already one county says it will not meet the deadline.

CAMEROTA: Joining us now, we have former Democratic South Carolina House member, Bakari Sellers; former special assistant to President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings and host of CNN's "SMERCONISH," Michael Smerconish.

Michael, obviously, it's been said before. Here we are again all waiting for a recount in Florida. How do you see this playing out?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: So in Broward County, as you've been reporting, 25,000 fewer votes recorded for the U.S. Senate race than the ag commissioner or the gubernatorial election. And that raises legitimate questions. Where are those votes, if they exist, or was it a poorly-conceived ballot. Remember, Alisyn, in 2000, Pat Buchanan in a particular precinct that

got a lot of attention, a very Jewish precinct, folks who had come from New York and relocated to Florida, got 47 votes in a location where Al Gore earned 150. A butterfly ballot was confusing.

And I think this presents the real issue. Human factors. Stuff happens on election day.

[07:10:05] Think about it. We create this apparatus twice a year, largely comprised of volunteers and people who are earning just a stipend. And they have this massive responsibility with very dated equipment. It's very easy, from the outside looking in, to throw a flag and say, "Well, it must be fraud," but mostly, it's human factors.

BERMAN: That's right. And the recount is happening, because it's mandated by Florida law. This is happening, because the law says it has to.

So Scott, help me understand, then, why there are accusations being thrown and lawsuits being filed here when it's the law that says this recount needs to be happening?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't know of any Republicans that don't want every legal ballot to be counted, but there are real concerns with the Broward election supervisor, Ms. Snipes. I mean, she's mixed lawful and unlawful ballots. She's counted ballots after deadlines. There's been a lack of transparency. They have found bags of ballots. The courts have had to step in.

I mean, there's repeated incompetence here. And it's not fraud, but you would see how people would be concerned about how incompetence could muck up this election. I mean, I wouldn't let this lady organize a two-car funeral, let alone count all these ballots in such a close election.

So I think what Republicans want is a fair, competent process, and they're worried they're not getting it.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, Bakari, Brenda Snipes does have a checkered past with things gone wrong under her watch in previous elections, but wasn't it Governor Scott who could have gotten rid of her, could have fired her?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think that's where the argument falls flat. Governor Scott had the purview to remove this young lady, and he chose not to.

Look, there is no fraud. There is investigations of criminality that Governor Scott ordered. Even his poll watchers and supervisors found there to be no criminality. So let's take that off the table, and let's stop trying to delegitimize an election.

What Andrew Gillum is specifically saying is that we simply want every vote counted. We're not doing anything extra. This is the actual election. So let's make sure that every vote is counted.

At the end of the day Democrats may not win these races, but we're not going to let democracy just pass us by because Donald Trump and Rick Scott and Lindsey Graham and all of these other right-wing individuals are chanting that there's fraud. There's not fraud down there. We're just trying to make sure every vote is counted.

BERMAN: In fact, I think this is what makes it even more notable, the fact that the margin is such that it would be very unlikely for this election to be turned over, so the fact that it's so big, Michael, seems to me that it's that much more unseemly that people are yelling and screaming about fraud. Why not just help -- help, offer to help if they need it down there to get this recount done by Thursday?

SMERCONISH: So to my initial point, there would need to be 25,000 votes out there that weren't counted, as opposed to a poorly-declined ballot. And John, you know what I'm referring to.

BERMAN: Sure.

SMERCONISH: That Senate race was sort of buried in the lower left, underneath the instructions, and it's very easy to see how people could have missed it, thinking it was part of the instruction.

If those votes existed, then we'd have something to talk about. But my hunch is it comes back to the human factors.

May I make this observation? We're not having this issue in Oregon. We're not having this issue in Washington. And we're not having this issue in Colorado.

I think it's time the nation wake up and go to a mail-in ballot system where people don't have to stand in line for hours. I mean, this stuff is third world-ish. It's beneath all of us, and I want every vote counted legitimately. That should be the goal.

BERMAN: Right.

CAMEROTA: Bakari, I want to hopscotch to you because of what happened over the weekend where Democrats sort of laid out some of their agenda. And what Jerry Nadler, who will be sitting on, possibly, the leader of some committees, says is that, you know, investigations are at the top of their priority list. Investigations into President Trump and his finances and his taxes and the hush money payments, possibly, to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. And are you worried as a Democrat that they will overreach, they will misplay their hand? And is this what you think the majority of voters want?

SELLERS: Am I worried? Yes, I'm always worried. I'm a Democrat. I mean, we're proverbial bedwetters. But, yes, I'm afraid of overreach.

But even more importantly, I think that that's only a part of the platform. Yes, there has to be oversight. For far too long, Donald Trump has just -- he's gone with no checks. And so finally, we have some checks and balances there. But also, I mean, we have to begin to work with Republicans on things

like infrastructure, on things like prescription drug pricing. We have to set forth an agenda for the American people that's not just anti-Trump. If we're just anti-Trump, then Donald Trump will be president again in 2020. But if we go out, and we focus on a vision for poor people in this country and brown people in this country, and we set forth an agenda, I'm pretty sure that Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn and Steny Hoyer are already thinking about these things. But we just cannot be anti-Trump.

[07:15:11] BERMAN: You know, we ask so many questions about Democratic overreach. What about Republican overreach, specifically from the White House?

And Scott, it's interesting, because Matt Whitaker seems to fall into that category for some people. You're even beginning to hear it from some people connected to the White House and some people in the Republican Party: "Gosh, this guy is presenting more problems than we realized. He, of course, is now the acting attorney general. His statements in the past, apparently, not known to the White House as much as they should have been.

Does he present an unnecessary risk for the president, Scott?

JENNINGS: Well, first of all, I would say regarding the vetting of high appointees, Google is your friend; and it is a good idea to Google everybody before you hire them. We've learned this lesson time and again with the Trump folks.

No. 2, for a job like this, it would be best if they would put in a permanent replacement as quickly as possible. I've talked to some high-ranking Republicans from Washington over the weekend, and what they think the president ought to do is get to a permanent nominee sooner rather than later. I mean, if this guy holds the job for a couple of weeks, a few weeks, it's not a huge problem. But if this were to drag on well beyond months, that would be a problem, I think, for a lot of Republicans, because this is one of the most important cabinet officers; and it does need to be confirmed by the Senate with the advice and consent of the Senate.

So I think in the short term it's OK, but this cannot drag out. And they really need to -- you know, they need to protect Whitaker in that he took this job. There's obviously issues that Democrats have flagged. And to watch him get sort of put through the wringer, you know, for a few months next year wouldn't serve him well, and it wouldn't serve the president well either.

CAMEROTA: That's an interesting perspective, because Michael, so many political watchers think that Whitaker was chosen by design, because he does not think, necessarily, that the Mueller investigation is valid or that it's, at least, overly broad. And that's why he was chosen, and that's why he will stay through his 210-day -- you know, whatever that is, how long a interim can stay.

SMERCONISH: The sort of issues that are being raised about him, Alisyn, like the one you've just referred to, his view of the Mueller probe; or to me, as an attorney, something that's of great concern is him apparently not believing in Marbury versus Madison. These are precisely the type of issues that would be raised in a confirmation process when someone would require Senate confirmation for permanent posting in this position.

So we're being robbed of that. And he's being robbed of the opportunity to explain himself. You know, best would be that the president put him up, and let's let him go through the process.

But one thought I have is all of this will be trumped soon by Mueller. I have to believe that this is about to come to a conclusion, and finally, we're going to see what he has.

BERMAN; Do you think it's in the president's head this weekend, Michael?

SMERCONISH: Do I think it's in the president's head this weekend?

BERMAN: Yes. Do you think it was?

SMERCONISH: Absolutely. I mean, John, I mean, Mueller -- Mueller was awfully quiet through, you know, adhering to that -- that guideline within the Justice Department of not doing anything close in time to an election, but -- but what really is there left, as far as we know, for him to do other than question the president? I'm not convinced that ever happens. And I'm not convinced that Mueller really needs to question the president through interrogatories or face-to-face questioning. I think he's going to wrap it up soon.

BERMAN: Gentlemen.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much. Great perspectives.

SELLERS: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. President Trump, he took to the world stage this weekend. And you know what? Looked like a pretty lonely stage for the president. He was singled out for particular scorn by the French president, if you listen carefully -- not even that carefully -- to what Emanuel Macron said. We'll discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:23:05] EMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism by saying, "Our interests first. Who cares about the others?" we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential: its moral values.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. You know who has said he is a nationalist last month? U.S. President Donald Trump. You know who was sitting here with the French leader when he said that? The U.S. president.

Joining me now, CNN global affairs analyst and staff writer at "The New Yorker," Susan Glasser; and national security correspondent for "The New York Times" David Sanger. He is also the author of "The Perfect Weapon," which is on book shelves now. And David is also the author of some breaking news in "The New York Times" on North Korea, which we'll get to in just a moment.

But I do want to start with what happened in France over the weekend, Susan, because that was remarkable what Emanuel Macron said with Donald Trump sitting there.

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, that's right. The optics of it were very dramatic. Remember, at the beginning of the Trump administration, when his two top national security and economic advisers said that "America first" is not "America alone." Well, both the advisers are now fired who wrote that. And Trump looked increasingly like America alone, I think, on the world stage.

You had this dramatic vision of Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emanuel Macron, holding hands, clutching each other as they showed that Germany and France, 100 years after the end of World War I, are united. And increasingly, it appears that they're united in opposition to the country that's been their main ally and partner.

I think, you know, Trump looked so much more comfortable on the campaign trail and in the rallies that he spent his time at recently. He seemed really at a loss. He seemed not only isolated but obviously unhappy. I think the word "grumpy" was used in one report this morning. It's really a stark, I think, suggestion of just how much the last couple years have changed America's standing in the world.

BERMAN: Yes, it's interesting. And let me hold up the headline in "The New York Post." The Rupert Murdoch owned and published "New York Post." "French Dis," it says right there.

[07:25:05] And David, the president, I should note, is on Twitter this morning, defending what happened in France, saying he was standing up for the United States in trade and also, he doesn't want to have the United States pay an unfair share in defense.

But still, the president looked unusually lonely and unusually, critics have said meek in France over the weekend.

DAVID SANGER, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": He simply didn't know what to say. And, you know, I think the key to any event like this, a historic event like the 100th anniversary of the end of a great war is to make the case that we understood the lessons of what caused that war and are committed to never doing it again.

And that meant all shows of unity. And that's why, even if it's raining, even if it's difficult logistically, you make your way to the cemetery. It's why you show up when all of the other leaders are marching down in unity toward the Arc de Triomphe. And what happened here was only two leaders were not there at the

right moment, and it was Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

So I think not only was the president uncomfortable, but it was clear that he fundamentally didn't believe in the mission here, which is the core of what Macron is saying, which is that sometimes the higher form of patriotism is that you subjugate your own national interests to a greater global interest. And that fundamentally runs opposite to Donald Trump's world view. And we just saw it in stark relief this weekend.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting, because a lot has been made of the fact that he did not attend because of the rain, a ceremony at a cemetery. The helicopters could not fly, which to me, seems like a plausible excuse. Could he have driven? There is a debate there.

I think there's no debate that, had this been President Obama there is an entire cable network that would devote weeks of coverage to the fact that then-President Obama would have skipped an event and a ceremony there.

But be that as it may --

SANGER: And a Twitter feed that probably would have drove on it, as well.

BERMAN: And a Twitter feed. Well, the president would have commented on that, no doubt, as well.

The fact that Emanuel Macron felt liberated or emboldened to say what he said, Susan, with the president there, after all the affection they publicly -- physical affection they had showed previously, how do you assess that?

GLASSER: Yes. I mean, you know, he's not sucking up anymore, I think. He flew here, as you remember, this spring, dramatically, to have this state visit with Trump. It was all sort of love and hugs and state dinners, and yet, Trump rebuffed Macron in exactly the same way he rebuffed the much more standoffish German chancellor, Angela Merkel. He withdrew from the Iran deal despite their lobbying. He's continued to be very aggressive and publicly chiding them over their defense budgets and demanding trade concessions that they view as unilateral and unfounded. He's even accused them of being a national security risk to the United States in opposing steel and aluminum tariffs.

And so Macron, I think, came under enormous pressure politically at home, and as you know, his popularity has been dropping there. He's wild -- Trump is wildly unpopular in Europe, and I think that's a key factor that people should understand as they look at the emerging politics of this. There's only cheers for Macron in distancing himself from Trump.

BERMAN: All right. David Sanger, to your breaking news this morning, because I woke up to a headline in "The New York Times" that said the North Koreans have an active missile program at secret sites, essentially pulling one over on the United States. What are you reporting this morning?

SANGER: So here's what we're reporting. That the North Koreans have said to the president that they are dismantling a significant missile test site. And when you look at satellite photographs some dismantlement began a few months ago. It halted, but at least it was on the way. And they've done a few other things, including blowing up at least the entrances and maybe the interior of a nuclear test site.

So the president has repeatedly gone out and cited this as evidence of progress. And at his press conference last week, he said we have plenty of time, and this is going well.

Well, we know it's not going well. The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, had to cancel a session with the North Koreans in New York last week when the North Koreans didn't show. The North Koreans have threatened to start rebuilding.

But what we reveal in "The Times" today is that, thanks to good work done by the Center for Science and International Security in -- in Washington and their Beyond Parallel program, a survey of satellite photographs shows that there are 16 bases, all of them pretty well known to American intelligence for many, many years, where there have been continuous improvements even in recent times. And one new one that is designed pretty much to do just intercontinental ballistic missiles.

So it does seem like the North Koreans are handing the president the shutdown of some older facilities and building plenty of new ones. And you haven't heard a word about this from the administration.

BERMAN: David Sanger, a very interesting read this morning. I recommend everyone to go look at it as soon as they can.

Susan Glasser, our thanks to you, as well.