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South Carolina Legislature To Vote On Flag's Future; Debate Over Illegal Immigration; Five-Time Deportee Confesses To Fatal Shooting; Republican Choice For 2016 Nominee; Trump Rivals Come Out Swinging; Trump Doesn't Need Help To Get Publicity; Race For White House; Clinton's First National Interview; Greece Votes No on Austerity; Pope Francis in Ecuador. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired July 06, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:20] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN GUEST HOST: I'm Brianna Keilar in for Wolf Blitzer.

We begin with the debate over a Confederate flag in South Carolina. Pressure to remove the flag from the grounds has grown since the shooting in a Charleston church that killed nine people, including a state senator. The legislature started debating a bill this morning that would move to flag to a museum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINCENT SHAHEEN (D), STATE SENATOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: These wounds we've been dealing with for 200 years plus, we've been pulling the Band-Aid off slowly, and it hasn't been good for us.

DARRELL JACKSON (D), STATE SENATOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: When I see a Confederate soldier, I don't get goose bumps and feel all warm and fuzzy on it. I respect the fact that you do. All I'm saying is you can't force all of us to have the passion that some of you have about certain things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Our Nick Valencia is live in Columbia, South Carolina. Tell us, Nick, where we stand on the vote right now.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, I just spoke to State Senator Marlon Kimpson who said that the special session that the Senate was undertaking to debate this bill to permanently remove the Confederate flag from state grounds. They adjourned for caucus meetings where he says, quote, "They'll try to get a handle on the vote count for both Republicans and Democrats and to get a consensus on amendments. We know that it will take a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of the state's general assembly in order for this bill to be passed. That amounts to 31 Senate votes and 75 votes in the House.

Last week, the "Post and Courier" issued a survey that suggested there are enough votes among law makers for this bill to be passed. But in our conversations with some lawmakers today, that may not be the case. There's concern there may not be the votes there. So, this could very well turn out to be a dramatic week -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And what, Nick, about this push for this to be up for a statewide vote? Where does that stand?

VALENCIA: Senator Lee Bright introduced that, and we're told that he may introduce an amendment. Again, back to Senator Marlon Kimpson. He called it, quote, "a distraction," and said that the votes simply are not there for that to go forward -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Nick Valencia for us in Columbia. Thank you.

Some say it's a symbol of hate. Others say this is just a symbol of their heritage. But whatever side of the debate you're on, one thing is for sure, it's divisive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAHEEN: It is not about the history. It is not about heritage. It is not about hate. It's about how to heal wounds that stretch back many, many years. And, most importantly, it is about the present and the future.

LARRY MARTIN (R), STATE SENATOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: It is part of our history. It needs to be respected in whatever way or honored in whatever way folks choose to do. But as far as this state on this statehouse grounds, it isn't part of our future. It's part of our past, and I think we need to leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining me now, we have Lonnie Randolph, Jr., the President of the South Carolina NAACP. Lonnie, the NAACP has been boycotting South Carolina since 2000. What happens if the legislature votes to move the flag? What happens if it doesn't?

LONNIE RANDOLPH, JR., PRESIDENT, NAACP, SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, if it doesn't, then, of course, the sanctions will continue in South Carolina. And I am hopeful, somewhat optimistic, that this body will -- in 2015, will decide to do something right for the state, not what's in the best interest of the legislators. But think about the 4.7 million people that live in this state, 1.7 million of them are African-American. And it's just the right thing to do.

I am mind -- it's mind-boggling that -- at this point in the history of this country, that we would still -- we would still be fighting the war. This is unreal. One hundred and fifty years after the war ended which lets you know that tragic and traumatic things don't just end abruptly as forgiving does, as people are supposed to forgive immediately after something happens. It shows you how much this issue has stayed with South Carolina. Our schools suffer because of the Confederate mindset because we educate them in a similar way that the confederacy did. And they did not believe black children deserve to be educated.

[13:05:00] So, we have a number of issues that still today, in 2015, are Confederate in nature when it comes to the laws that are passed in this state. The attack on voting rights for citizens and things of that nature. That's a Confederate attitude because the confederacy didn't believe --

KEILAR: Well, and so, Lonnie, let me ask you. Then, thinking of this flag, is it enough, you think, to confine the flag to a museum? Do you think that it needs to be banned outright?

RANDOLPH: Well, I don't want to damage what some of my friends in the general assembly -- personally, I don't see any place where it should fly.

But I do believe this is one point where I will believe in a compromise. I think that we can come up with a place in a museum, an acceptable place in the museum for it to be, but not a state property where it has strength and power by being part of the government. And South Carolina knows that it is wrong.

Now, the thing to do is admit that you -- admit that you are wrong and let's fix this long, sick problem that this state has had since 1788.

KEILAR: Lonnie Randolph, Jr., --

RANDOLPH: Remember, we are the first --

KEILAR: -- sorry, go on. Let me have you finish your thought.

RANDOLPH: I was saying -- I was about to say, remember now, there aren't too many things that South Carolina is first in. We were the first to secede from the union in 1820, eighth to come back in and the first, the first, to declare war against America. I don't want that to be something that South Carolina carries forever. We need to do better than that. We need to show if we are truly the country that we say we are, then we should live it and act it.

KEILAR: Lonnie, thank you so much for joining us. Lonnie Randolph, Jr. with the South Carolina NAACP.

There is another big debate under way in this country, that's the debate over illegal immigration. And here is the headline, an undocumented Mexican immigrant confessed to a reporter that he shot and killed a 31-year-old woman on a busy San Francisco pier. We come to find out the suspect had been deported from the U.S. not once, not twice, but five times. And as Dan Simon tells us, there is anger that this repeat felon was recently released from jail and back onto the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you shoot Kate Steinle, the lady who was down on pier 14?

SANFRISCO SANCHES: Yes.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Confessing to homicide, 45-year-old Francisco Sanchez is behind bars in California this morning, but he shouldn't be in the United States at all. Sanchez is an undocumented immigrant and repeat felon. The victim is 31-year-old Kate Steinle, killed with a single gunshot to the chest at a popular San Francisco pier last Wednesday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can feel she was fighting, gasping for every breath.

SIMON: Kate's father, who was with her at the time, says no words were exchanged between Sanchez and his daughter. Officials say this was a random act of violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a little solace that I was with her but I also have the overwhelming grief for the moment she was shot.

SIMON: Sanchez has been deported five times to Mexico. In a jailhouse interview with CNN affiliate, KGO, he says the lure of a paycheck kept him returning.

SANCHEZ: I'm looking for a job in a restaurant or roofing, landscaping or construction.

SIMON: The shooting quickly seized on by Donald Trump, the GOP presidential hopeful who made his inflammatory remarks about Mexican immigrants said, the tragic shooting is, quote, "yet another example of why we must secure our border immediately." Sanchez was held on an outstanding drug charge back in March. But that charge was dropped and San Francisco officials said they had no legal basis to hold him. Under the city's so-called sanctuary law, they didn't transfer him back to immigration officials, either, because there was no warrant or judicial order for his removal. So, on April 15, Sanchez was released.

SANCHEZ: I'm sorry for everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Including Kate Steinle's family?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Donald Trump's comments on immigration may be incendiary. It doesn't seem to be hurting his support. In a CNN-ORC poll conducted at the end of June, Trump was number two, just behind Jeb Bush. But his GOP rivals are speaking out. They're saying that Trump doesn't represent the views of the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what he said was wrong. I don't think that it was inappropriate and I don't think it has any place in the campaign.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Trump is wrong on this. He's not a stupid guy, so I don't assume he's -- like, he thinks that every Mexican crossing the border is a rapist. I mean, so, he's doing this to inflame and incite and to get -- to draw attention. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party. I was offended by his remarks. To paint with that broad a brush that Donald Trump did is -- I mean, he's going to have to defend those remarks.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Honestly, Donald Trump needs no help from Mike Huckabee to get publicity. He's doing a really good job of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:10:00] KEILAR: Well, let's discuss this now. I'm joined by Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny and Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger.

So, Trump actually made his remarks June 16th when he declared. And I remember listening to them and thinking, huh, that seems like that would be a problem. It percolated. It was this slow burn. And now, you have all of these Republicans who are really trying to not just distance themselves but slam him. Are they doing enough?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, they're starting to. I mean, at first, they decided he was like the sort of crazy uncle in the attic that they didn't have to pay a lot of attention to.

KEILAR: Ignore him a little bit like we don't have to deal with it?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hopefully it'll go away.

BORGER: It'll go away. And then, suddenly, he sucked all the oxygen out of the room. He was getting all the publicity. He knew exactly what he was doing. And they decided, wait a minute, we have to start using him as a foil, which I think is a good idea, and say, we are not like Donald Trump to differentiate themselves because if any of them want to be a general election candidate, they better do that.

KEILAR: What if they had just, from the get go, used him as a foil, instead of, at first, sort of distancing and ignoring. But instead, no matter how serious a candidate they thought or did not think he was, if they just hit him on it to make their point.

ZELENY: Well, in hindsight, I think it would have given someone a leadership moment in this very, very large Republican field. But the reality is why they're talking about it now is because we're asking them about it. And some, you know, Republican officials who are sort of the wise people in the party are, like, this isn't good. Frankly, all of the candidates are sort of being drug into this. No one has really been out front. Marco Rubio has still only issued a short printed statement about this, has not talked about it yet on camera. My guess is he will when he's in Iowa campaigning this week. But the reality is no one has exactly taken the lead on this. They're a lilt afraid of Donald Trump, I think. And also, like, they just don't want to get in the mud with him but that's now exactly where they are.

BORGER: Well, and, you know, Chris Christie, in particular, and we have all been joking about how watching Christie take on Trump would be Pay-Per-View T.V., right? But Chris Christie is very aware that he doesn't want to get into this kind of sit down and shut up contest with Donald Trump because it won't help him --

(CROSSTALK)

ZELENY: He could be the big loser in this, you know? And to borrow a phrase from Donald Trump.

BORGER: Right.

KEILAR: Yes. So -- OK. So, you have the comments that have hurt his brand. But then, you look at the polls and Donald Trump's doing pretty well. So, you have the network, the first debate next week -- oh, sorry, next month. In the network airing, it says 10 candidates. We're going to limit it. Well, it looks like, then, Donald Trump is on the stage. How does that work and how does that work for the Republican brand and for the RNC?

ZELENY: Well, like, what Gloria said, it would be a Pay-Per-View. I mean, this will be a Pay-Per-View moment if you you're into this kind of thing.

But, look, I think that we'll see what the polls say now. Polls are always a lagging indicator. They're a snapshot in time at the moment they're taken. So, then, we get them a couple days later. We'll see if he remains as high as he has been. I'm not quite so sure about that.

But in a field --

BORGER: These are national polls.

ZELENY: In a -- right. In a field so large, he's almost sure to be on the debate, just the math of it all. So, we'll be watching this debate in Cleveland.

BORGER: Well, and, you know, the irony is that Trump might be on that stage and Christie might not be on that stage.

KEILAR: Amazing. That would be an amazing sight.

Gloria, Jeff, stick around. We'll talk more right ahead.

And coming up, it's been a bloody week end in Chicago. At least seven people killed, another 40 injured. All of that in a span of just two days. So, what's behind the violence? We'll be discussing that a little bit later.

Plus, breaking news on the race for the White House. Hillary Clinton is finally, finally taking questions from the national media. This is the first time since she announced that she's running for president of the United States. We'll have all of the details on that next.

[13:13:38]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:43] KEILAR: Breaking news in the race for the White House. Hillary Clinton has been keeping things small as she campaigns for president. Small events in Iowa and New Hampshire, mostly. She's meeting voters, she's delivering her message and she's kept away from national interviews until now. She'll be sitting down with me tomorrow for her first national TV interview.

Back with me now, our CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger and CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Way to go, Brianna.

KEILAR: Thank you very much.

So this comes as Hillary Clinton is facing a bit of a - I don't want to say a total challenge. She's still well ahead in the polls. But Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been rising in the polls. He's been getting big crowds. Is this why she's starting to branch out now into interviews, do you think?

BORGER: I - you know, I think that they've always had a plan, right, and they were keeping it small and then they were doing a few local media and now I think the feeling probably is that it would be useful to them. For example, she'll probably want to take on Donald Trump, I would think, in her interview with you. She might want to talk about the differences between the way she will campaign and the Republicans will campaign and start setting up that and maybe, maybe talk about Bernie Sanders a little bit, I would think. So I think it's kind of a good time for them.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean I think she, you know, given her preference, she probably would have, you know, have preferred to go all the way until, you know, those Iowa caucuses in February without answering questions or talk to voters.

BORGER: Right.

KEILAR: Yes.

BORGER: That's right. (INAUDIBLE).

ZELENY: But the reality is, she said she didn't want a coronation and she's not getting one. That's exactly what's happening on the ground in Iowa and New Hampshire, elsewhere, with Bernie Sanders. She know that she, at least, has to sort of come out of that bubble wrap a little bit and start meeting voters and taking the questions from reporters. And that will allow her to focus on her policy, her ideas. She's going to begin rolling out a series of policy speeches beginning next week, actually. So she is turning into a slightly different phase of her campaign, that she wants to talk about why she's running for president.

KEILAR: And - and we'll start to see more than what she is all about.

I want to look at something that her communications director, Jen Palmieri, one of her top aides, told the "Atlantic." "By not doing national interview until now, we're sacrificing the coverage. We're paying a price for it."

But to be clear, this was part of a strategy because by not doing this, she was at least in the near term gaining something, right?

[13:20:04] BORGER: Yes, but you tend to look like you're not relatable, like people can't go near you.

KEILAR: You're keeping people at arm's distance.

BORGER: And - and - and you're keeping people - and so while the Republican Party is having this huge fight with Donald Trump in the middle of it and growing by leaps and bounds every day and fighting each other over issues that the public clearly disagrees with on issues like immigration, she can take this opportunity to kind of be the serious adult in the room and look that - and look that way to a reporter of some stature here and look that way and say, to the viewing public, I'm not like those folks.

ZELENY: And not insignificant that she's doing it in Iowa. Of course, she'll be campaigning in Iowa tomorrow. Still sort of doing this - organizing these like small events. She clearly wants to make the case that she is fighting for the Iowa caucuses. We all remember she got third place there in 2008. That's why she'll be there tomorrow. And - and you'll be asking her the questions about her campaign.

But it comes at a slightly, you know, different moment. The fund- raising crush is sort of over. She's raised $45 million in this first period. Now it's time to throw it back to the voters, and that means taking some questions.

KEILAR: And real quick, she - it's not just Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in this race on the Democratic side, although it might seem that way, right? We saw Martin O'Malley in Iowa.

ZELENY: He's out there campaigning. He had some, I'm told, some enthusiastic sort of onlookers over the weekend. He'll be in New Hampshire coming up this week as well. It far too early just to limit this to, you know, two people.

KEILAR: Two people, yes.

BORGER: But the - but the voters in Iowa in particular need to hear from Hillary Clinton and that's what they'll be hearing in her interview with you.

KEILAR: Yes, and they'll be looking for an alternative if they aren't won over by her. And to be won over, they definitely need to hear from her.

Gloria, Jeff, thanks so much to both of you. And you can see my exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on "The Situation Room" and at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on "AC 360."

A stunning vote in Greece that is sending shock waves around the world. Richard Quest is live in Athens with that.

Richard.

RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNN'S "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": After the break, I'll tell you all about the vote, the new finance minister and why Europe isn't necessarily going to play nice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:28] KEILAR: In Greece, voters gave a resounding no to an ongoing bailout from its European partners, raising the prospect that the country could face a worse economic disaster. And this has investors around the world concerned, including right here in the U.S.

There you see the Dow, if we can bring it up. It's down about 77 points at this point. But the Greek vote, it isn't so simple because the country's prime minister says that he's ready to go back to the negotiating table in the hopes of getting better terms on a new agreement. The country's finance minister, who'd been very vocal in his dislike for European creditors, resigned saying it could help pave the way for a new deal.

CNN's Richard Quest is in Athens.

And, Richard, this vote basically broke down 60-40 for the no side, right? This is such a resounding vote. Why did we see it go down this way?

RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNN'S "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": It went down this way because the people in Greece are angry, they are tired, they are in despair and they are looking for a way out of their economic problems. The size and magnitude, Brianna, of that victory last night was quite something extraordinary. None of us have foreseen it happening, certainly no one here in Greece. But now the finance minister has gone. There are new talks to be held. Greece has to come up with new proposals to take to Brussels, to the Europeans tomorrow.

But the reality - and this is where it gets unbelievably tricky -- the banks are still closed, there's still not enough money here and no one can see an easy way out because, Brianna, the last week of economic turmoil closed banks, closed stock markets, has made a bad situation much worse.

KEILAR: One French politician, Richard, called this, quote, "a human catastrophe." But on the other hand, there's no denying that this was a big show of support for the Greek prime minister. Is there any thought that he can parlay this into getting a better bailout deal?

QUEST: This's entirely his strategy. That is it in a nutshell. He said to the people of Greece, give me a no vote, that will show I can go to Brussels, I can go to our Eurozone partners and say no more austerity, give me debt relief, I have my people behind me. The only problem with that is that as Angela Merkel of Germany says, there are 18 other democracies who also have a say. So tonight we have Merkel going to Paris to visit President Hollande. They're talking at the moment. We have the euro group, we have the ECB, the European Central Bank, everybody is talking, talking, talking. But what they're really waiting for is what happens when Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, goes tomorrow, because he has to go with some proposals that they find even negotiable, otherwise it's game over.

KEILAR: Richard Quest for us in Athens, thank you so much.

In other news, this is a homecoming of sorts. Pope Francis back in his native South America and the reception, as you can imagine, is huge. On the pope's first full day in Ecuador, more than a million turned out to celebrate mass with him in the port city of Guayaquil. Theologians say that Francis is trying to breathe new life into the Catholic Church there. It's suffered a significant decline in numbers. And during his weeklong visit, the pope will also make stops in Bolivia and Paraguay.

[13:30:03] Rosa Flores is in Quito, Ecuador. Looks like a pretty amazing response there, Rosa. Tell us about it.