Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Preview of State of the Union Speech; First Lady Welcomes Inspirational War Hero; Russian Spy Ship In Cuba

Aired January 20, 2015 - 16:30   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much.

When President Obama steps up to the podium tonight, he'll be facing his first Republican majority in both houses of Congress ever. But a new poll brings some good news for the president right before his State of the Union speech, and that is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to "THE LEAD." Live from the U.S. Capitol, more now on our politics lead. President Obama's sixth State of the Union address will take place right here in just a few hours. It is a night of seemingly choreographed standing ovations, and of course, eye rolls that would put even the most angst-filled teenager to shame, but in the midst of all this pomp and political posturing, it is important to keep in mind just how much this president and our nation have at stake. I'm joined now by CNN's senior political commentator and former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, along with Bill Kristol, editor of the "Weekly Standard." Bill, let me start with you. President Obama's approval ratings are up, he's at 50 percent. That's an "ABC News/ Washington" post poll, that's a nine percentage point climb in just since December. Why?

BILL KRISTOL, EDITOR "THE WEEKLY STANDARD": One, the economy has improved some. And, two the Republicans ...

TAPPER: Which you give President Obama credit for.

KRISTOL: Of course not.

(LAUGHTER)

KRISTOL: And I give that four years of the Republican House, keeping the lead on federal spending, I give credit for that to them. Who knows, but - it was eventually to come back, and it's coming back to the Republicans who have really done nothing. You know, they went into defense before the first play of the game. It's like David - they decided - watching the Green Bay Packers Sunday, I thought, that's the Republican Party. Now they did pretty well, and then they decided - let's just do nothing and hope that the president doesn't sort of accepts the notion that he - the president doesn't go on offense. And I give the president credit. He decided you know what, I lost an election, but I'm going on offense. And the Republicans haven't really done much in response. TAPPER: That's not the first time the president would be compared to

the Seattle Seahawks.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: What do you make of it? Why the nine-point climb, which helps him as he sells his plan to the Congress and the American people?

JAY CARNEY, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think there are two things. One, first and foremost, the economy. It is finally beginning to be felt. The recovery is by average Americans. In tangible ways. A compounding - and that's compounded by the serious drop in oil prices, which is like money in the pockets for millions of Americans across the country. Then you have the fact that right after the midterm shellacking, he was bold and decisive in using his executive authority not on issues that Americans are paying a great deal of attention to.

TAPPER: Or even agree with him on. They disagree with him on the executive action on immigration.

CARNEY: Exactly. But they do I think as we discussed in the past action, leadership, staking out ground, doing it in a way that demonstrates the presidency still has relevancy here in Washington, even though the other party controls Congress, I think that helped - has helped lift his numbers as well.

TAPPER: The president is going to be talking a lot about what the White House is calling middle class economics, trying to close the wage gap, trying to give tax cuts and tax credits to the middle class. Are those the issues, or is it more how they're going to be paid for by raising taxes, Bill? I mean do Republicans oppose a new tax credit for child care or a new tax credit for -- where is the opposition?

KRISTOL: Well, it's not clear what Republicans' tax view is, is it? Now, I'm not saying they couldn't have had a comprehensive tax reform proposal out in this first or second week of the Congress. And that was like the president has a timing advantage. And Republicans will have a chance to catch up. But I think what the president's success over the last few weeks really shows is the importance of having a serious, aggressive forward looking agenda. And what is the Republican agenda for middle class America? I mean I'm a Republican, I'm a conservative. I have my ideas. A lot of - we publish them a lot in the "Weekly Standard." But if I ask - if you ask me what is the Republican Congress' actual legislative agenda which is better than the president's proposal to help the middle class, I'd be a little bit befuddled.

TAPPER: And yet, Jay, for those people watching the news, it does feel like there's also this background noise that the world is on fire. You have Yemen collapsing. You have all these terrorist dragnets in Europe, you have ISIS continuing, according to many accounts, to gain ground in Iraq and Syria. That's probably not going to be a major emphasis of his speech tonight, though. CARNEY: It probably won't be. He'll focus largely on the economy,

which is principally the American people's focus. What the sort of ongoing unrest around the world creates is a problem for the president if and when, as we saw last year at various times, that unrest began to seem beyond the control of the United States. And, of course, when the U.S. can't directly effect a positive change on a world event, the responsibility of that is usually laid at the president's doorstep. If that happens again this year, I think it will take a toll on his numbers. But if not, if the unrest is managed in a way that doesn't distract from people's attentions on the economy, I think the economy becomes a huge benefit for the president and for Democrats and it becomes harder for Republicans who have opposed Obama for these many years now principally on his economic policy to say, well, the recovery has happened. Economy is growing. Jobs are being created. We've finally seen some movement on middle class income. The ground to fight here on economic policy becomes a lot smaller.

TAPPER: All right. Jay Carney, Bill Kristol, thank you so much. Good stuff.

Coming up, two years ago, he met President Obama and he didn't even recognize who he was. But tonight he'll be a special guest of the first lady at the State of the Union. This former soldier who nearly lost his life in Afghanistan has a story so inspirational it is impossible not to be touched by it. You will not want to miss it. I talk to him, next.

Plus, the pope surprises everyone once again, this time sharing his views on sex. What did the pope say? Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to "THE LEAD." I'm Jake Tapper. We continue with our politics lead now. Later tonight President Obama will depart the White House, make his way down Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill and there he will deliver his sixth State of the Union address. And it could be some must-see TV as the president lays down his agenda for the first time since Democrats lost both houses of Congress. CNN's national political reporter Peter Hamby is here with me now. Peter, first things first. Where are you going to be watching the speech tonight?

PETER HAMBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to be watching the State of the Union tonight, Jake, from the Hamby cast lair with CNN bureau. We're doing a special webcast on CNN.com called Hamby Cast. We are kicking off the second season of political show.

TAPPER: There it is. Right there. Look at this.

HAMBY: There it is. Chambray, little chest hair.

TAPPER: Yeah. Your shirt, man.

(LAUGHTER)

HAMBY: We're going to be ... (LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: What are you going to be doing?

HAMBY: We are going to be sort of thinking about Mr. Science Theater but for the State of the Union.

TAPPER: Political?

HAMBY: It's myself, some smart political strategists, we are going to be sitting in a room eating some barbecue watching the speech and talking about it as it's happening. We're going to have special callers and special guests. It's going to be fun. Little different.

TAPPER: My advice for you is napkins.

HAMBY: Thanks.

TAPPER: You know as much as I do that tonight isn't just about the speech, but in the pageantry and who the guests are, both of the president and the first lady, but also who members of Congress bring?

HAMBY: Yes, both parties bring guests sort of reflective of their agenda items for the year. The president and the first lady, there will be a police chief from Los Angeles who's worked on race issues, touching on Ferguson a little bit, the head of CVS.

They stopped selling cigarettes this year. The big headline guest though, in both parties, are reflective of Cuban policy and both sides' positions on that. The president is welcoming Alan Gross.

TAPPER: Alan Gross who was released from prison after five years in Cuba.

HAMBY: And John Boehner has two anti-Castro dissidents sitting with him tonight as do Marco Rubio from Florida. That's going to be front and center. Those are the two headline guest Cuban policy.

TAPPER: Right. Because Alan Gross supports President Obama's Cuban policy, opening up, extending relations --

HAMBY: Right.

TAPPER: And obviously there are a lot of people in the Cuban-American community although decreasing numbers, but there are a lot of people who disagree. They want to be tough on the Castro brothers.

HAMBY: Exactly. Marco Rubio put out a statement about his guest saying the president is warming relations with this regime that is actively keeping political dissidents in prison. That's what he's going for tonight.

TAPPER: All right, Peter Hamby, we'll be watching the "Hamby Cast." Thank you so much.

The people who sit in the first lady's box at the State Of The Union are often referred to in D.C. as Lenny Skutnik's. Let me explain. Skutnik who is active heroism after a plane crash earned him a seat next to Nancy Reagan during the 1982 State Of The Union.

He was the first man to have this honor and be shouted out by the president. Skutniks are the folks who sit with the first lady for various reasons. Maybe their lives deserve special recognition or honor. That brings us to our next story about a truly extraordinary person.

We were blown away by the spirit of retired Army Staff Sergeant Jason Gibson when we met him last night. In just a few hours, you'll see him in the first lady's box. His path to that honored seat, well, it's a difficult one, but it's also a very remarkable one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (voice-over): In battle, Staff Sergeant Jason Gibson was courageous, a decorated soldier serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in the worst of times. An army combat engineer from Ohio, Gibson's job was to clear the road of any improvised explosive devices or IEDs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One guy had the metal detector, and if anything got a hit, we would check it out.

TAPPER (on camera): Not just dangerous but very selfless job.

SSG JASON GIBSON, ARMY VETERAN: We wanted to make sure the rest of the troops moving through were safe, you know. Wanted to make sure it was us first I guess.

TAPPER (voice-over): Gibson enlisted in 2005, hoping for a long career in the military following in the footsteps of his two grandfathers.

GIBSON: As a kid, I've always had an interest in the jets and the tanks.

TAPPER: But all of that changed on a spring day in 2012 during Gibson's third tour while on patrol near Kandahar in Afghanistan.

GIBSON: When I took a knee, I knelt down on top of it.

TAPPER: It was an IED, and it detonated.

GIBSON: All I saw was red. I don't remember anything until they got me onto the helicopter.

TAPPER: Gibson's injuries were so severe he was kept in a medically induced coma for two weeks. The army flew his wife and parents to Germany so they could say good-bye.

GIBSON: It's a miracle that I'm alive.

TAPPER: Gibson lost both legs in the blast. He underwent 21 surgeries, and while he was recovering at Walter Reed, the staff sergeant got a visit from the commander-in-chief. GIBSON: Still loopy from the drugs, but I was just glaring at him. He's talking to my wife and my mom. It didn't register, like, what's going on?

TAPPER: Years later, Gibson wrote the president a letter thanking him for the visit and telling him how far he's come since that Walter Reed visit.

GIBSON: That was my worst time. I wanted, if you do remember, this is everything I've done to I guess better myself.

TAPPER: His recovery has been nothing short of astounding.

(on camera): I have the list here. It's more than anyone I know. Since your injury, you've surfed, skied, kayaked, raced in four marathons on the hand cycle, you got your pilot's license. You and your wife have had a baby and now you're penthoused with the president.

GIBSON: I guess.

TAPPER (voice-over): The White House then invited Gibson to come and be a guest of the first lady's at the State Of The Union address. Gibson's spirit seems truly unbreakable.

GIBSON: Very exciting.

TAPPER: In December, Gibson, his wife and brand-new baby daughter moved into a custom-built home for severely wounded veterans provided by the nonprofit, Homes For Our Troops.

GIBSON: Finally able to do laundry. I don't know if it's a good thing. Now I got to do more work.

TAPPER (on camera): You have one of the most amazing spirits of anybody I've met.

GIBSON: I just want everyone to know there's life after traumatic events. There's always a way to move on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Our thanks to Staff Sergeant Jason Gibson for honoring us with that visit. Wolf Blitzer is here with a preview of "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf, the president's senior adviser, Dan Pfeiffer, is your guest today.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": We'll preview what's going on in the State Of The Union address, get his analysis, his thoughts in advance. We'll also talk to him about what's going on right now.

As you know, a lot of us are deeply concerned about all of these Americans in Yemen right now where the diplomats at the U.S. Embassy still remains open, the military personnel, a lot of Marines and other U.S. military personnel are in Yemen right now. A lot of other civilians. Will it be necessary to do in Yemen what the U.S. has already done in Libya, simply abandon the place, evacuate the embassy, get everyone out ASAP? This is a really tense situation under way right now.

Two warships already off the coast of Yemen, they're getting ready to do what they would do if necessary. So far, they haven't called for the evacuation. We'll take a close look.

Jason Chaffetz, by the way, the Republican congressman, he is going to be joining us as well. He knows a lot about what's going on in the Homeland Security and the intelligence world. So we'll get his perspective looking ahead to the State of the Union later today at the top of the hour right in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

TAPPER: All right, Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much. When we come back, it's not just a Russian ship. It's a Russian spy ship. It's off the coast of Cuba right now. What is it doing there? We'll go live to Havana, Cuba, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. CNN employees did not expect to see this sitting outside our bureau in Cuba today. That is a Russian spy ship now docked in Havana's harbor. The timing here is quite interesting.

Tomorrow, the highest level U.S. delegation will also be in Cuba. Let's go to CNN's Karl Penhaul live in Havana. Karl, have you seen any activity on or around the Russian spy ship today?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we certainly have. I mean, that is the Victor Leonof, and it was part of the Soviet Union's northern fleet. It pulled into Havana port around 9:00, 10:00 a.m. this morning, just sailed in plain sight.

Parked up there, which is normally the area reserved for cruise ships coming into shore. A few minutes after it docked, Russian sailors then started to come off board.

We haven't kept track of them, but presumably they're spread around all parts of old Havana enjoying the Cuban rum and possibly consorting with some of the Cuban women here as well. Now, as far as what it's doing, of course, we don't exactly know.

It is of course bristling with antenna, all sorts of eavesdropping devices. Its job is gathering intelligence, communications. We do know from employees at dockside it is due to be berthed there until at least the 23rd, the day that Roberta Jacobson is due to be here until talking to the Cubans about normalization of relations.

We have been talking amongst the press what we think exactly it's doing here. My favorite is it could provide an internet signal, given the internet is so spotty down here. The Russians will be keen to know what the Americans and Cubans will talk about after so many decades of frosty relations -- Jake. TAPPER: Karl, tell us about the ship spotted in Cuba early last year.

PENHAUL: Yes, the same vessel pulled into Havana back in February, and during the course of the year while Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Cuban government have signed an intelligence sharing agreement, they are long-standing allies.

This vessel was also spotted sailing up and down the United States eastern seaboard in international waters. And at that time, there were media questions about that. The United States said it wasn't too worried about what the Russian ship was doing in international waters -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Karl Penhaul live for us in Havana, Cuba. Karl, thank you so much.

Pope Francis is once again proving he is not your average pontiff, this time he is turning heads about birth control and sex. This was on his trip back to the Vatican after a trip to the Philippines.

The 77-year-old took a reporter's question and said parents should not procreate endlessly instead they should trust in God that it will work out. I'm paraphrasing here, but he said something like, responsible Catholics do not have to be like rabbits, and he called it irresponsible parenthood.

Some people took offense to the pontiff's comments, among them, German rabbit breeders. Maybe he should have stuck to the birds and bees metaphor? Just a thought.

In other world news, the famous film director, Roman Polanski could finally end up behind bars for a decades-old child sex abuse case. Today, a Polish prosecutor asked the court to consider extraditing Polanski back to the U.S.

Polanski is now 81 years old. He lives in Poland. In 1977, he pleaded guilty to having had sex with a 13-year-old girl in California. Before he could be sentenced, however, Polanski skipped town and ended up in Europe.

You might remember in 2009, the U.S. tried to get him back in California, but legal red tape got in the way. Polanski has an Oscar for the movie "The Pianist." Despite his lingering prison time, he still plans to direct a new movie in Poland this spring.

That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Be sure to tune in to the president's State of the Union address this evening. CNN's special coverage begins at 7:00. I now turn you over to Wolf Blitzer. He is in "THE SITUATION ROOM."