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At This Hour

S.C. Takes Down Confederate Flag; Lindsey Graham Talks Confederate Flag, Iran, Trump, More; Ticker Tape Parade for Womens World Cup Soccer Team. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 10, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:19] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Berman.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kate Bolduan.

It is a party in lower Manhattan. Team USA, the World Cup champions, thousands expected to turn out to join in this massive celebration that's really just getting under way. New York City honoring them in a very New York way with a ticker-tape parade.

BERMAN: This, of course, comes less than a week after the thrilling 5-2 win over Japan where the team smashed records for scoring and smashed records for TV ratings. The first women's sports team to get their own parade down Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes. You can see the live pictures right there. It's just getting started right now. We're watching from the ground. We're watching from the air. We might have some satellite imagery. Carli Lloyd wearing a go pro camera for us. I'm kidding. I wish.

BOLDUAN: That would be awesome.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: We'll bring you the highlights all hour so stick with us.

BOLDUAN: Going to be great to see.

BERMAN: We have another major story we're following. Want to show you some live pictures of the state house grounds in South Carolina. You see that flagpole right there. This morning for the first time in several generations, the Confederate flag is not flying. One hour ago, it was lowered, presumably for the last time. It was a historic moment to be sure. Many argue an overdo moment. Watch and listen to how it happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: You can hear the crowds gathered at the state capitol grounds reacting, and that continued all throughout. We'll continue to look at the process of taking that flag down. And we remember this comes just three weeks after the shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The state's governor signed the bill into law to remove the flag by using nine pens, one for each family of the victims killed in that church massacre.

Let's bring in Alina Machado, who is in Columbia, South Carolina, where the flag once flew, and also Nick Valencia, who is now at the military museum where the flag will now live.

Alina, first to you.

We just played that moment again. You were in the crowd when the flag came down.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was one of those moments that you could feel the energy. I got to say, it was incredible. Just to see the flag go down and then see the immediate reaction. People were cheering, they were emotional, but what I did not see, at least where I was, were tears. What I saw more were smiles. People were joyous. They say this is a time, this is a moment that they have been waiting for, for a very long time.

BERMAN: Chanting USA, USA, USA, as that flag came down. Then you heard people yelling, Na, na, na, hey, hey, hey, good-bye. It was remarkable to see.

How long did the crowd stay around?

MACHADO: So this flag actually has been here since 1961. So it's been here for a very long time, for decades. In 2000 it was moved from the state capitol dome to the location where it was today and today it was finally brought down. I spoke to some legislators who have been here for a very long time who say they have been fighting this for decades. This is something that they never thought, they never imagined they would actually see happen in their lifetime and today it finally happened -- John?

BOLDUAN: And now the flag moves to its new home, a military museum, and that is where our Nick Valencia is.

Nick, as we have just learned, the flag has arrived, but what are you seeing there?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. The flag has arrived here, Kate.

We were told that by the director, who joins us from the South Carolina Confederate RELIC ROOM and Military Museum, Allen Robertson.

Thank you so much for taking the time with CNN.

ALLEN ROBERTSON, DIRECTOR, SOUTH CAROLINA CONFEDERATE RELIC ROOM AND MILITARY MUSEUM: Sure.

VALENCIA: The flag arrived a few moments ago. What happens next? ROBERTSON: We have it in a secure location and it's under alarm and

key and we will keep it stored until a concurrent resolution that was passed by the South Carolina general assembly gave us six months to come up with a plan to exhibit the flag.

VALENCIA: We have seen people coming here from across the state. I spoke to somebody who was hoping to see the flag. It's not going to be an immediate thing, is it?

ROBERTSON: No, it's not. We have to -- we are an accredited museum so how we interpret and exhibit are very important to us. We could do it two ways as the last flag that came off the state house, but we think we should probably do something to memorialize the 21,000 South Carolinians that died in the American Civil War.

[11:05:09] VALENCIA: This has been a very divisive issue, a passionate issue. A lot of people feel strongly about it on both sides.

ROBERTSON: Absolutely. Absolutely.

VALENCIA: You were at the ceremony. Your impressions?

ROBERTSON: I was very conscious of that. What we hope to do is to end any division, to bring it back together, and we want to do what's right for the flag and for the state and for all citizens of South Carolina.

VALENCIA: Allen Robertson, with the South Carolina Confederate RELIC ROOM and Military Museum.

ROBERTSON: It's a long name.

VALENCIA: It is a long name. Thank you so much for joining us.

ROBERTSON: My pleasure.

VALENCIA: Lots of emotion surrounding this. The flag has come down for the first time off state grounds since 1961. We're live here in its new home -- John, Kate?

BOLDUAN: Nick, thank you very much.

Alina Machado also in South Carolina for us.

Thank you all very much.

Let's discuss this. Let's talk about today, the meaning of today, just beyond the flag, the symbolism of it with Republican Senator from South Carolina, also presidential candidate, Lindsey Graham.

Senator, you spoke very emotionally. John and I both remember it when you were on this show and how this moment in your state's history before this day had changed you. When you see the flag coming down, when you saw that moment and you heard the crowds, what did it feel like for you? What does this day mean? SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:

Well, it was a relief because if we hadn't taken the flag down, we could not move forward as a state after the shootings in Charleston. Quite frankly, this was a necessary act of reconciliation. We could have gone down two paths after Charleston. We could have become more divisive or we could have come together and we chose to come together. Congratulations to the governor at the state House. You're allowing us to move forward as a state.

BERMAN: You know, we saw people cheering, chanting USA, USA. We saw people singing.

GRAHAM: Yeah. Yeah.

BERMAN: There was jubilation. Senator, you're a young man, but that flag has been flying there for 54 years, since 1961.

GRAHAM: Yeah.

BERMAN: That's an awfully long time. And this was a moment of history for the people of your state and your history is tied up with that. So, you know, would you have been cheering like they were you standing there? Were you cheering in New Hampshire where you are now I believe?

GRAHAM: Well, I looked at it as a moment of progress for my state, and the truth of the matter is before the shooting, the compromise that led to the flag flying above the Confederate war memorial and building an African-American monument on state grounds had stood the test of time for 15 years. It was a bipartisan compromise. But the truth of the matter is after the shooting, the flag became a symbol of the shooter, and taking it down became an act of reconciliation honoring the families of the victims. I could not go to that church and say I hear your request to take the flag down, I could not honor it. So I'm sorry that it took the death of nine people in a church, but that's what happened, and to say otherwise would not be accurate. This shooting in Charleston and the way the families embraced the shooter made all of us in South Carolina look inward and we came up with a solution that's going to work, take the flag down and move forward.

BOLDUAN: That also makes me want to ask you about what happened just yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives. Your colleagues in the House, Republican leaders, on the same day that the governor signed this bill into law in your state to remove the flag, your colleagues in the House had to remove a bill, yanked a bill from the floor that dealt with allowing Confederate flags to fly in national cemeteries. It pitted conservatives against many Democrats especially. With that in mind, what do you say to your colleagues in the House? What do you say to Republicans?

GRAHAM: Well, what I say to the country as a whole, this was good for South Carolina. We made the right decision. It was an act of reconciliation that we needed to embrace. We couldn't have moved forward without it. As to the country as a whole, as we look back to the Civil War and to our early founding, what are we going to learn from this? Every country that goes through a Civil War either reconciles, moves forward together, or you stay separated. We moved forward together. I have been an Air Force officer for 33 years. The only flag that means anything to me is the United States flag. How far do you go? Do you change the name of the capitol of our country? Was named for a slave owner. I think George Washington was a great American. He owned slaves. But when you look at what he did for the nation as a whole, I think he deserves this honor. We have to face our past and we have to do it in a way to move together and not rewrite the past, because like every nation, we're not perfect by any means.

[11:10:00] BERMAN: Speaker Boehner is putting together a committee to discuss how to deal with Confederate symbols in Washington on federal land. And, again, do you stand by that move to discuss it? Do you believe there needs to be changes going forward?

(CROSSTALK)

GRAHAM: Sure.

BERMAN: Looking forward right now, you think there needs to be new consideration about these symbols in places like cemeteries in national parks.

GRAHAM: Let's evaluate what we're going to do going forward, what's the right thing to do? Do you close all the cemeteries? Do you dig the Confederate dead up? I mean, what do you do then?

(CROSSTALK)

GRAHAM: What do you --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: That's going much farther I think than anyone is discussing right here. The specific discussion right now in Congress was about flags flying at cemeteries, I believe Confederate memorials. Do you think they should be allowed to fly?

GRAHAM: Let's have that discussion. I don't know if a cemetery where we're honoring the dead is different than having the flag out in front of the state capitol. If it is the same, let's remove the flag. If it's different, let's explain to each other why. At what point in time do we look at all the monuments and memorials in American history, Civil War included, and before, and how do we reconcile with each other, how do we take the symbols that are divisive. Is a cemetery different than a war memorial outside the state capitol? I am willing to talk to anybody about this. I want to be a better American. I want us to be a stronger America because we're all in this now. ISIL wants to kill us all. The Iranians don't like any of us. What does it take to be a better America? That's what I'm looking for.

BERMAN: Senator, stick around. You brought up the Iranians, we have much more we want to discuss with you, include this.

Another deadline crossed as discussions over nuclear talks with Iran are extended. New details coming up.

BOLDUAN: And no apologies. Not even close. Donald Trump says he can win more of the Latino vote than pretty much anybody else and he also isn't ruling out an Independent bid for president. More of his interview with CNN ahead.

BERMAN: And then our heroes are here. There they are. The World Cup champions getting their just due, the ticker-tape parade. It will begin falling shortly. We will watch the World Cup champions in the Canyon of Heroes.

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BERMAN: This just in. Negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal, they will extend now through Monday. Secretary of State John Kerry says everyone is working hard. We are pushing, he says, to come to an agreement.

BOLDUAN: But Kerry has also said that their patience is not unlimited.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever. We also recognize that we shouldn't get up and leave simply because the clock strikes midnight.

BOLDUAN: Let's bring back in Senator Lindsey Graham.

Senator, this is an issue you have spoken out quite a bit about and an issue I want to hear your opinion on as things kind of are now past the clock striking midnight that extra innings, if you will. You have said that you do not believe President Obama can ever strike a satisfactory, acceptable deal with Iran on this nuclear issue, but what about Secretary Kerry? Do you not have faith in him?

[11:15:00] GRAHAM: No, I don't. I don't have faith in anybody in the Obama administration to deal with radical Islam effectively. ISIL is running wild. When it comes to the Iranian nuclear program, this administration started with the goal of dismantling the program. They're about to sign a deal that will guarantee that Iran will become a nuclear power after the passage of ten years, maybe 15. They're going to lock in place a robust enrichment program. They're going to give the largest state sponsor of terrorism billions of dollars to put in their war machine. I think what we're guaranteeing, even if Iran complies with the deal, they will be a nuclear nation and you will create a nuclear arms race if you go down the road they charted because they went from dismantling to locking in place. This is a disaster in the making.

BERMAN: Senator, this is a big part of our presidential campaign. You are a candidate right now. You're in New Hampshire campaigning today. You're doing better in some places than others, but in the latest national poll, the latest CNN national poll, you're at 1 percent. A guy named Donald Trump is at 12 percent. He has an event this weekend in Arizona where he had to -- he claims he has to change the venue because so many people want to come hear him talk in Arizona this weekend. He has to go to a bigger place. What is driving this fascination with him?

GRAHAM: Well, I think he said something that has brought people who are frustrated about the immigration system to life, but he also said it in a way that's going to kill my party. You'll never convince me that we've gone from 44 percent of the Hispanic vote now do you to 27 percent if it were not for the rhetoric around the immigration debate. This is a moment for the party. When Donald Trump says, who has done many good things, he sponsors charities for wounded warriors, he's given a lot of money away to good causes, but as a presidential candidate he said the following, that most illegal immigrants are rapists and drug dealers and there may be some among them that are good, that's reinforcing a narrative within the Republican party and the Hispanic community that is going to destroy our ability to win a presidential election, and the party needs to be clear about how we handle this.

BOLDUAN: And, Senator, why then is he beating you in the polls if he is doing something --

(LAUGHTER)

-- that is killing the Republican Party?

GRAHAM: I will blame myself for doing poorly, but here is the fact of the matter. When you use a national poll in July in 2015, you're testing name I.D. If I had had a show on CNN or FOX or NBC, I would be doing better. Brad Pitt would probably be in this debate. Most FOX News anchors would be in this debate because people know their name. Large states have an advantage over small states. All I can say is the process of national polls undercuts the early primary process. And what he said has to be addressed in an effective way or it's going to hurt all of us.

BERMAN: Senator, you said Donald Trump is killing your party. Just yesterday he --

GRAHAM: His statements.

BERMAN: -- he refused to rule out running as a third-party candidate. Would you prefer that he get out of the Republican Party and run as a third-party candidate?

GRAHAM: I would prefer that Donald Trump bring his economic genius and his talents to the table in a more constructive way. He helped me in my primary. He is sponsoring a golf tournament for the no greater sacrifice charity that gives money to families of fallen and wounded soldiers. He does many good things, but the way he engaged the illegal immigration debate I think is hurting the overall party, quite frankly, and I think he should do better because I think he's a better man than that.

BOLDUAN: Senator Lindsey Graham.

Senator, we know your name, we'll tell you that much. (LAUGHTER)

We thank you very much for coming on this show. We hope you come back soon.

BERMAN: We'd take you over Brad Pitt any day of the week.

GRAHAM: I think Brad Pitt would kill me. I think he would kill me.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: And you would do better --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Maybe in economic policy but not looks, Senator.

Thanks, Senator.

(LAUGHTER)

GRAHAM: OK. Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, 21 million Americans, that's the stunning number that people -- of people impacted in a hack attack. So is your personal information safe? It's amazing how big that number has gotten.

BERMAN: And the celebrations are on. The latest live pictures from the ticker-tape parade. An aerial shot of a parade. No, there are the women right now. Our World Cup champions. Fantastic. We will bring you more from this parade coming up.

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[11:23:24] BOLDUAN: Right now, look at the live pictures of World Cup champs. They're making their way along Manhattan's legendary Canyon of Heroes. New York is honoring them with a giant ticker-tape parade for their huge victory last week over Japan.

BERMAN: And it is so well deserved for these 23 athletes who really set the entire world on fire.

We will talk about this as long as we humanly can. Joining us right now inside the crowd, CNN's Poppy Harlow. We're joined in studio by soccer writer, Greg Lawless, the editor-in-chief of MLSsoccer.com. We're also joined by one of the greatest soccer players in the history of the United States of America, two-time World Cup champion and FIFA player of the century, Michelle Akers.

Thank you all for being with us.

We're going to go first to Poppy, who is in the crowd right now amidst the celebrations -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bolduan, Berman, I think you're a little jealous of my assignment today. I definitely have the best one of the day. I'm here with soccer players, Donna, Jess, Jamie, and Tara. You made it to the New York state cup, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

HARLOW: They are beyond thrilled to be here. It is historic and good timing on your show's part because we have the parade coming up right here. This is historic. The fact that finally, finally a women's sports team is being honored here in this Canyon of Heroes as it is called.

What does this mean for you to see the team win and to see them honored like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It means a lot because now the women's soccer is getting more recognized more than the men's.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: As it should.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

VALENCIA: As it should. What about for you? What does today mean?

[11:25:14] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really excited. And we are face timing each other all day, all week. We were really excited for today.

HARLOW: John, One of the women we talked to here, a 20-year-old, said it means so much she grew up and lives in a country that women athletes are honored the way they should be.

I will let you listen in for a minute as they come. New York City Police Department, the brass band ahead of these girls. It has been a long stretch. 16 years since 1999 when they had the big win. One of the players, Christi Rampon, winning the World Cup in 1999 and then again in 2015. A historic moment. We're all proud to be here -- John?

BERMAN: We're all proud to be watching.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

BERMAN: A wonderful, wonderful setting.

BOLDUAN: We will keep looking at these awesome live pictures of this parade going through lower Manhattan.

But as we watch this and we listen to the crowd and listen to the little girls voices talking with such excitement about it, Michelle, I want to bring you in. Obviously you were on two awesome teams. I'm going to use the word awesome as many times as I can in this segment because I don't get to very often. In the '91 and '99 teams. What does this mean for you as an amazing soccer player yourself and seeing this kind of recognition for such a great team? MICHELLE AKERS, WORLD CUP SOCCER CHAMPION: Crazy good. I was

thinking about it today. Well, as they're getting ready for the ticker-tape parade, I'm cleaning stalls in my barn, so that's what the gold medal does for me these days. But I'm thinking about, what does all this mean, because it's really like overwhelming to -- for me it's overwhelming to see them win and the response and now this parade. I mean, it's just one thing after another. Things are getting talked about. I'm celebrating this team. They have earned this. It's been a long haul and they have been working and working and finally did it. So proud of this team. I'm proud to be an American. My little boy, he's 10, his name is Cody. I keep thinking about, gosh, you know, he's watching this team because we were up there. We watched the final in Vancouver. He's known my career kind of. And he watched the team and he's never known a world without women being amazing athlete it's, having full stadiums, being on TV. So that fills me with gratitude. So I want to say thank you to the team for this. And then it's kind of weird because I feel like I'm part of the team. But then, you know, I'm in my barn by myself cleaning up stalls. So it's kind of all this mixed stuff but I can't stop smiling. I'm so proud. I'm just so proud. Very exciting.

BERMAN: We can't stop smiling either. And you are a part of the team. You're part of the heritage of that team. They would not be there on those floats if not for you and the work you did.

You're talking about your son. I have 8-year-old twin boys who pretend they're these women's World Cup players. They don't know there's never been a parade down the Canyon of Heroes was a women's team. It would never occur to them.

Michelle was saying, Greg, this means something. I think it means an awful lot. This means that to an extent sports fans in America and our culture in America has changed a lot. Not completely, but a lot.

GREG LAWLESS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, MLSSOCCER.COM: I think this is a huge moment. You know, not just for women's soccer but soccer in general because I don't know of a ticker-tape parade for soccer at all anywhere around. So I think about it, I have watched them growing up in Europe when teams would have a championship and they would get that ticker-tape parade, about you now we're seeing it for soccer here and it's amazing to see what this team did to bring this entire nation together not just for women's soccer but soccer all around.

And, Michelle, you are part of this team. You will always be part of this team. You're a part of our memory and our history of this game. Don't think you're not part of it.

AKERS: Oh, thank you. I do. I do. I know -- you know, my heart is there. My heart was on the field and having heart attacks throughout the World Cup, and now it's overflowing with joy. I know, but it's funny to me. I feel like, man, if I could just share a beer with them and then I might be good. You know what I mean?

BOLDUAN: That would be fun for all of us.

AKERS: It would be -- yeah. I do feel part of it but it's a funny separation that I'm just -- like I just kind of dawned on me this morning. But I'm just so -- this is amazing and you're right about celebrating soccer and it kind of -- it hurts me a little bit when people say, yeah, this is great for women's soccer because they deserve it and the men don't. Well, no, that's not right to me. I think it's great soccer. The men's victories are the womens' victories and vice versa. We all want the same thing. They all blend in together to reach this goal to be the best in the world.