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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Bowe Bergdahl: Deserter?; Mississippi's Nasty Primary Fight; Reuters: 74 Deaths May Be Tied To GM Defect; Unfriendly Skies

Aired June 03, 2014 - 16:30   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Ben, look, obviously I think we all agree with the principle, leave no man behind. That -- and you can argue about the permutations of the deal. It's been pointed out that the Israelis once traded 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.

That said, do you think that the White House knew that there was going to be such blowback, not just from Republicans inclined to criticize a deal like one for five, but from Bergdahl's fellow soldiers? None of this was secret. People were holding their tongue publicly generally until he was safe. But Michael Hastings wrote about this in "Rolling Stone" in 2012.

BEN CHANG, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNTY SPOKESMAN: Jake, I think that the focus of my conversations with the White House and others is that the focus was on freeing a captive American, frankly.

And we have seen from the statements by General Dempsey and the secretary of the Army that there are concerns that we looked into. When he returns, there will be a full investigation. There are legitimate questions, and so there should be a legitimate investigative process that comes.

But I think really that was the focus of the White House, was this is the -- I think as Dempsey put it, the last, best opportunity we have to free a captive American. And they were focused on taking advantage of that opportunity.

BILL KRISTOL, WEEKLY STANDARD: But, Ben, you worked at the NSC. Can I take your...

(CROSSTALK)

CHANG: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

KRISTOL: Do you believe that Susan -- there had been a huge Army investigation. They view what had happened on that base. Do you believe that Susan Rice was not briefed on it or she -- is it conceivable that the national security adviser of the president wasn't aware...

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Your issue is the honor and distinction, that she said he served with honor and distinction?

(CROSSTALK)

KRISTOL: Taken on the battlefield.

TAPPER: Taken on the battlefield. Theoretically, you could Afghanistan is a battlefield, I suppose, but...

CHANG: I think frankly the focus was on, here is a soldier that put on the U.S. uniform and was serving in Afghanistan and was captured and was held captive and needed to be freed. I really think that was the focus.

I don't think the focus was on, how do we message this the right way? I think the focus was on, how do we make sure that he's back?

KRISTOL: Really? Wait? Are you kidding? The president brings the parents to the Rose Garden, sends his national security adviser out to TV shows the next day. You don't think the focus was on messaging it?

CHANG: I think the message was on showing that to soldiers serving in theaters across -- around the world that no soldier will be left behind.

I honestly think that is...

(CROSSTALK)

KRISTOL: OK. Fair enough. But then it had a disastrous effect, because if you talk to soldiers, they are demoralized and dispirited by this.

CHANG: And I do think that that's why you see our military leadership saying there are legitimate questions that deserve a legitimate investigative process. We're not going to try him here on TV on the airwaves and so on. So, there's a lot that is in the air right now, but that's why the focus is on a process.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: And, look, there's a lot of irresponsible stuff out there, also.

But when you hear people like Evan Buetow, who seems like a very credible, meaningful guy, you saw he didn't even want to touch President Obama and the politics of this at all. He just was there to tell the story.

I have talked to a lot of these guys, a lot of soldiers who served either served with him in his squad or in his company, and they are mad. They're legitimately mad at this hero's welcome. And I just wonder, was the administration, do you think, just completely ignorant of the fact that there was this anger towards Bergdahl that had been building up within -- forget the politics of it all. Forget the criticism by Republicans about the trade, OK?

I'm just talking about the anger of the soldiers. Do you think they had any idea?

CHANG: I think really that focus was on -- I think there was an awareness, to be sure, but they wanted to focus on the importance of freeing this America.

And I hate to say this. But imagine the other scenario. If he had died in captivity, it would have been absolutely horrendous. And so I think that the focus was on the ability and the opportunity to free this American.

TAPPER: Bill, I want to ask you and then we have to cut, is -- there is this -- Chuck Hagel, an honorable guy who served with distinction in Vietnam, says there was a deadline. They were worried about him dying and that's why it was so quick. Do you not believe that?

KRISTOL: Well, I'm looking -- I think there are reasons not to believe what this administration says and I'm looking forward to seeing more evidence of that.

That might change the situation. It wasn't said by the president. It wasn't said by Susan Rice on Sunday. Look, over 2,000 Americans have died in Afghanistan. I don't think he should have died. He could have come back as our -- we took all the POWs back at the end of obviously Vietnam, Korea, all these wars, including people who had deserted and people who had behaved dishonorably.

I'm -- we're happy to have him here. I'm not happy to have traded five terrorists for him. I'm not happy to have -- for this to have been treated as, I think, frankly, kind of a P.R. opportunity for the White House.

TAPPER: Bill Kristol, Ben Chang, thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it and the civil conversation.

Coming up next, it's one of those races that has something for everyone. There is money, there's mudslinging, even a few arrests. So, will the establishment Republican eke out a win against his scrappy Tea Party opponent?

Plus, from singing to screaming to storming the cockpit, airlines say they have had enough of unruly passengers and what they are doing on the drink carts and they are demanding action.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

The politics lead now. So much for Southern gentility. Mississippi's primary fight between Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel has had everything, the Republican establishment battling the Tea Party, millions in outside money, even four arrests for illegally taking photos of Cochran's bedridden wife.

It's the undisputed front-runner in political muck and mire and Mississippi mud. But now that all the mud has been slung, which ways will Mississippians, Mississippians, Mississippians -- that's not that easy to say -- vote?

Joining me now from Jackson, Mississippi, CNN chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

Dana, I thought Mississippi was supposed to be the hospitality state.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, they have been very hospitable to us, I have to say, but you know what? We are not politicians and we're not people who are in one of the biggest contests here.

And the reason it's gotten so nasty is because the stakes are so high. And now, about three-and-a-half-hours before polls close, it's still unclear how it's going to end.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Chris McDaniel taking his young son to vote in his Republican primary challenge against 36-year Senate incumbent Thad Cochran. This image speaks volume about the stark contrast in this year's last big battle for the heart and soul of the GOP.

CHRIS MCDANIEL (R), MISSISSIPPI SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: How is social media trending right now? We good?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looks good.

MCDANIEL: Good.

BASH: A 42-year-old scrappy conservative who has the backing of the Tea Party trying to defeat a courtly 76-year-old old-school establishment Republican.

Cochran calls his seniority a plus. If the GOP takes the Senate, he would chair the Appropriations Committee, in charge of directing federal dollars.

SEN. THAD COCHRAN (R), MISSISSIPPI: With a Republican majority, we will make sure Mississippi has a voice to bring more economic opportunity and growth to our state.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BASH: McDaniel calls Cochran a big-spending Republican.

MCDANIEL: He's had his time and I think the people of this state recognize it's time for new blood and new energy and new leadership in Washington.

BASH: This GOP primary race is just about the nastiest in the counter.

A conservative blogger was arrested for breaking into this nursing home to photograph Cochran's ailing wife, suffering from dementia.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the worst. BASH: Cochran's campaign points finger at McDaniel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For posting video of Senator Thad Cochran's wife in a nursing home? Had enough?

BASH: Cochran's supporters argue the blogger took his wife's picture to feed questions about Cochran's relationship with longtime aide Kay Webber, which Cochran aides say is professional.

It has put McDaniel on the offensive.

MCDANIEL: Our campaign had absolutely no connection with that whatsoever.

BASH: But the mud is slinging from both sides. Henry Barbour runs a super PAC to help Cochran.

(on camera): You sent it to Mississippi voters?

HENRY BARBOUR, COCHRAN SUPPORTER: We did.

BASH (voice-over): The sent voters this card. Open it and hear controversial clips of McDaniel nearly 10 years ago, when he was a radio host. 9 MCDANIEL: Mamacita works. I have no idea what it means, actually, but I've said it a few times, just for, you know, fun. And I think it basically means, hey, hot mama.

BARBOUR: He's making a derogatory term about mamacita and saying, hey, hot mama. It's embarrassing. And Mississippi wants -- we want someone that we can be proud of.

BASH (on camera): This is pretty dirty politics.

BARBOUR: Look, it's public statements that he made. I think it's fair game.

BASH (voice-over): McDaniel calls it desperate politics. As for the Tea Party, they have spent millions here. There's a lot riding on a McDaniel win after a string of primary losses this election year.

(on camera): They have really poured their heart and soul into making you the guy who they can hang their hat on, to say that we are not losing this election year. It's a lot of pressure.

MCDANIEL: It's all in God's hands. There's no pressure. God has a plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, one thing that may be in Cochran's favor is that this is an open primary.

And, Jake, what that means is that Republicans are not the only ones who can vote. Democrats can, too. And there is some hope in the Cochran camp for some significant crossover.

And, in fact, we talked to one voter today, Gary Gussock (ph), who is a lifelong Democrat, hasn't voted Republican in his whole life, went to the polls today to vote for Thad Cochran because he said he doesn't want Chris McDaniel to be his senator -- Jake.

TAPPER: Fascinating.

Dana Bash in Jackson, Mississippi, thank you so much.

Coming up, shocking new claims that the delay in recalling millions of General Motors' vehicles led to five times as many deaths as the car company has admitted. How is GM responding?

Plus, some hurricanes just get no respect, at least if they are named after a lady. The new study that says female hurricanes kill twice as many at male-named hurricanes, and the reason has nothing to do with the intensity of the storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. Now it's time for the "Money Lead." It's one more stomach-turning headline for General Motors. Reuters is now reporting that as many as 74 people may have died because of problems potentially linked to defective ignition switches in older GM cars.

In a statement, GM is attempting to swath that down and they are sticking to their original death toll of 13, as if that's a more palatable number of lives to be lost. This company now admits they knew about it for years without admitting it publicly.

Of course, this is about more than just numbers. This is about people like Amy Rutumaker (ph), 15 years old killed along with her friend, 18-year-old Natasha Weigel when the Chevy Cobalt they were in hit a tree in 2006.

Amy's mother tells CNN, quote, "It's like finding out she was murdered all these years later, because her death was totally preventable." But despite these deaths and the recalls and the weeks of negative press, somehow it all barely made a dent in GM's latest sales numbers.

Let's bring in CNN's Poppy Harlow. Poppy, this is incredible to me. Despite calling back an astounding 15.8 million cars this year, GM just announced their best month of sales in the better part of a decade. Explain this to me. Who is buying GM cars right now?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people. Their best sales since 2008 I think it was a surprising headline. It sounds crazy. You have all of these negative headlines and you, what, sell more new cars? The proof is that more people are going to the showrooms, more of that traffic means more people are buying these new cars.

Also you've got to remember, thousands of people with these recalled cars are getting loaner cars and then they are deciding to buy those loaners. What we're also seeing is that General Motors is offering a pretty steep discount to all of the people whose car was recalled because of the ignition switch defect.

They are not actively advertising that, but that is helping. Look at the numbers. GM sales up 13 percent in May from a year ago. One analyst said there have been so many recalls, consumers have become somewhat immune to it. Keep in mind, it's not just gm. It's across the board Toyota and Chrysler sales up 17 percent from a year ago.

TAPPER: But GM has now recalled more cars than it has sold in the past five years. So does the company really consider this a win?

HARLOW: It's one thing to have really strong sales numbers, no doubt. But General Motors, you have to remember is in the midst of a criminal probe by the Department of Justice into whether this company knowingly covered up the ignition switch defect and any day now, any day we could get that internal report from GM into what went wrong with the company, why didn't they tell anyone about this deadly defect for more than a decade?

I think it could be a real game changer, no question. Meantime, about that Reuters report that you brought up at the beginning, GM is pushing hardback against that. The report saying that at least 74 people could have died because of this ignition switch defect. Here is what GM is telling us, quote, "The total number of deaths associated with the ignition switch recall condition still stands at 13."

Here's what happened. Reuters went through a national database of crashes. They looked for deadly accidents where airbags didn't deploy. GM says there are a host of reasons why air bags can't deploy. It's not just defective ignition switches and I want to point out, they say it's not clear how many accidents involved faulty ignition switches, Jake. So we do expect to possibly get an updated number from General Motors, but right now they are standing at 13.

TAPPER: Poppy, you're going to have much more on the people that lost their lives in some of these cars tonight on a special. Tell us about that.

HARLOW: Yes, we are on Erin Burnett "OUTFRONT," the story of the Melton family, Brooke Melton, who died in a crash in her 2005 Chevy Cobalt. Her parents believed that they were deceived by General Motors. Listen to what her father told me.

TAPPER: It's not ready but it will be on at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Erin Burnett on "OUTFRONT." Poppy Harlow, looking forward to your report tonight. Thank you so much.

When we come back, imagine being locked in a confined space when someone looking for a fight. It turns out passengers lost it on flights 8,000 times last year alone. What is wrong with you people? The airline industry says they need help stopping it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Our Buried Lead, most everyone can find something they dislike about flying, from that crying toddler in seat or the elbow fight for the armrest. One of the 8,000 unruly passengers reported to airlines each year. Well, CNN aviation correspondent, Rene Marsh, is here with more on this. Are these frustrated flyers threats to the cockpit or just annoying?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, they could be a potential problem and it sounds like you've experienced this on a couple of flights you've been on.

TAPPER: I've never been that guy. I am quiet.

MARSH: So you've heard and we know that passengers behaving badly it's a significant problem and the industry is now saying enough is enough. They have now laid out steps they think are necessary to tackle the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (voice-over): Disruptive passengers in the air. In 2013, 8,000 cases of unruly flyers, according to an industry group. Some serenading, others shall we say overserved. But they are not just a nuisance. Pilots say they can pose a risk.

TODD LEHMACHER, FORMER COMMERCIAL PILOT AND FLIGHT ATTENDANT: A disruptive passenger, you want to keep them from becoming dangerous. You really want to nip it in the bud early on and the crew member -- the cockpit always has the alternative available to them to divert, if necessary, to the nearest, suitable airport.

MARSH: The International Air Transport Association meeting in Qatar now wants governments to play a bigger role in taming unruly passengers. The industry group supports a U.N. organization's call for increased airline training to prevent or manage disruptions. Concessionaires taking action like asking airport bars to watch for drunk passengers and government awareness campaign showing the consequences of unruly behavior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden we heard a woman scream way in the back.

MARSH: The scares range from passengers trying to open doors in flight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was going to do bad things to the plane so it was pretty scary.

MARSH: To attacks on crew members.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did not hit him. It was self-defense.

MARSH: To mental problems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead.

MARSH: And frustration with rules.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would not extinguish his cigarette and became belligerent.

MARSH: Todd Lehmacher saw several disruptive passengers each year he spent as a flight attendant and pilot.

LEHMACHER: A customer who was essentially delusional not try anything nefarious had tried to storm the cockpit.

MARSH: Shortly after 9/11, he had to try to stop a passenger who was trying to breakdown a cockpit door.

LEHMACHER: At some point, we did restrained her to her seat gently so she couldn't get up. She couldn't be, you know, harmful to herself or another customer.

MARSH: Crew members are trained how to deal with out of control passengers, but IOTA believes rules need to be standardized across airlines and governments.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: Well, it is worth noting, although the industry group is calling for these very specific steps to be taken to tackle the problem, there's no guarantee that the airlines will actually adopt it, but you would think they can take this thing pretty seriously. We know that just this weekend a flight going from Houston to New York had to divert to Memphis because a man apparently tried to charge the cockpit.

TAPPER: That's crazy. Thank you so much, Rene Marsh. Appreciate it.

Hell hath no fury like a lady hurricane storm. A new study that looked at more than 60 years' worth of hurricane has found that storms with female names are deadlier than those with male names. Not because they are more severe, but because people don't respect the female hurricanes as much and are less likely to prepare or evacuate.

The research suggest that naming a hurricane after a female could almost triple the death toll. The study only included hurricanes to hit the United States and it left out Hurricane Katrina, which killed at least 1,800 people but was considered such an anomaly it could skew the results. What is wrong with you people? You're going by the names?

Anyway, that's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I turn you over to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."