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The Lead with Jake Tapper

New Clinton Ad Shows Young Kids Watching Trump; Black GOP Senator Recounts Racial Profiling Experience; The 9/11 Families Call For Release Of Classified Report; Children Dying From Lack Of Medicine, Supplies; Congress On Vacation Without Passing Zika Funding Bill. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired July 14, 2016 - 16:30   ET

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

MITCH STEWART, OBAMA 2012 BATTLEGROUND STATE DIRECTOR: And I think that's smart.

[16:30:02] And in fact, I think that ad was perfect. Not only because of the messages that it plays out, the images that it has, but it's so well-done that we're talking about it on CNN. It's all over my Twitter feed. It's all over my Facebook feed.

And in this new media environment, you have to have creative content that is sticky. That attracts eyeballs.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: That pops.

STEWART: And this does. And you can't just rely on paid TV to get your message out there.

TAPPER: Katrina, your response to that TV ad?

KATRINA PIERSON, DONALD TRUMP NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: Well, look, Hillary has no choice. I mean, she has to go negative against Mr. Trump. I mean, you look at the polling out today, it's quite obvious that everyone that has counted Mr. Trump out early on in a general election have been proven wrong. He is actually polling very well against her.

And she has to go negative, because really as she talks about her policies and tries to contrast when she's being honest about them, her policies are actually the policies that have failed in the past. It is always more money, more government interventions, and that is failed miserably. She has no choice but to go negative.

And I'll say this, Mr. Trump hasn't run a single ad yet and he is still winning in swing states now and that tells you everything you need to know.

STEWART: The one thing I find remarkable about this, is we're saying that this is a negative ad. And what is it? It's children watching his remarks. There's no spin on the ball here. This is replaying things he has said, and we all think it's a negative ad.

CUPP: It is asking, are we nominating, are we electing a president that your children and your family would be proud of? Which is actually what a lot of people think of when they go to the ballot box. If he were smart he would say look, these are troubled times. Politics isn't kids stuff.

Running the country and turning the country around is not for kids. If you're worried about what they think, close their eyes.

TAPPER: Katrina?

PIERSON: And you're right, S.E. No, S.E. is absolutely right. That's exactly why when he does talk out into the crowd, he says they complain about my tone, they complain about x, y, or z. But you know what? We don't have time for tone.

CUPP: It's a smart line.

PIERSON: We're in a crisis. We're in a crisis right now. We don't have time for political correctness. We don't have time to sugarcoat the problems we're facing. And that's what Mr. Trump says over and over again, because he's absolutely right.

Hillary Clinton can pull things out of context and create negative ads all day long. It doesn't change the fact that she is a well-known liar when it comes to policies and people dying under her watch. She just got caught lying to Congress recently. You cannot hide that by creating more negative ads against your opponent.

STEWART: I think the reaction that people are experiencing is that we should be embarrassed by the Trump candidacy and the reason why that is coming out is we're watching young children listen to the things that he's saying, and we know it's not American, it's not leadership, it's not who we are as a country.

And that's why I think every feels that this is a negative ad. It is his words. There is no spin on it.

TAPPER: It is an uncomfortable ad, though, I have to say, because you do think, oh, boy, I don't know if any of these three-year-olds or four-year-olds should be listening to this.

STEWART: Right, I agree, I agree.

CUPP: Look, it is very smart --

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: One second.

CUPP: It is very smart of Trump to talk about tone and contrast like, you know, people getting beheaded and they're talking about my tone. That's smart.

What's not smart is the policy proposals that follow. That's what can also be -- what I also think is embarrassing for a lot of Americans who care about the country. And the lessons that we're going electing someone that looks at things with nostalgia at things like Operation Wetback. That is embarrassing. PIERSON: This is not a child's game, first of all. This is serious issues and you have to talk about very serious issues in a way that gets attention. And that's what Mr. Trump has been able to do. It's why he broke the record in primary turnout because people hear him and they understand him because he understands them.

So, having said that with regard to the policies, you may not like the policies, but we should really be embarrassed that we as Americans have sacrificed ourselves at the expense of others, mainly so politicians can continue to obtain wealth and power at our own expense. Look at unemployment, look at illegal immigration in this country. We have to get serious about this and there are just no time for games.

TAPPER: Mitch?

STEWART: You're talking about somebody who is reportedly worth $10 billion and has filed bankruptcy multiple times. If there is a politician in this race who has gotten --

TAPPER: He has not filed bankruptcy at all.

STEWART: OK, the companies that he owns have filed for bankruptcy multiple times. Your comments are directed at Donald Trump, not at any other politician in this race.

TAPPER: All right. Thank you so much. Katrina, Mitch, S.E., good stuff. Appreciate it.

Then, he's a United States senator sharing his story about being racially profiled. Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina telling his colleagues how he's been stopped seven times in a single year by police, including by an officer on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:39:14] TAPPER: Welcome back.

In our national lead today, a public memorial for one of the police officers murdered in Dallas, almost at the exact same time as a funeral for Philando Castile, the African-American in Minnesota who last week was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop. So much blood shed, too much.

But it is prompting candid and emotional conversations about these issues nationwide. Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina and an African-American, took the floor of the Senate to talk about the humiliation of being profiled by police, even by Capitol Hill police.

The dialogue, it is beginning. But, of course, the question, will it actually prompt any change?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[16:40:02] TAPPER (voice-over): In Dallas today, a final salute for Police Sergeant Michael Smith. He was one of five officers killed by a domestic terrorist targeting law enforcement one week ago today.

DAVID BROWN, DALLAS POLICE CHIEF: No more racial division in heaven. God has no respect of persons.

TAPPER: In Minnesota this morning, a horse drawn carriage delivered Philando Castile's casket to a private funeral, after he was shot by a police officer last Wednesday. The end of life, a reminder of our collective humanity, crushing losses for each family, regardless of whether their loved on wore a badge or not.

After a week of public outcry, a new CBS/"New York Times" poll shows more than 60 percent of Americans questioned say race relations are growing worse. Sixty-nine percent believe the issue is generally bad right now. These numbers are some of the worst on the topic since the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Just because you do not feel the pain, the anguish of another, does not mean it does not exist.

TAPPER: Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only African- American Republican in the Senate, shared his own experiences with racism.

SCOTT: In the course of one year, I have been stopped seven times by law enforcement officers. Tells his colleges he was questioned within the U.S. capital.

TAPPER: Telling his colleagues he was even questioned within the U.S. Capitol.

SCOTT: And the officer looked at me, with a little attitude, and said, "The pin I know, you I don't. Show me your I.D."

TAPPER: A new congressional task force on race relations plans to meet today for the first time in Washington. A dozen lawmakers charged with trying to find solutions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can solve this problem, we have to make sure that we don't late people sew fear into our hearts and minds.

TAPPER: But fear for so many is at the forefront, fear by police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were working threats coming on our own police officers.

TAPPER: And fear of police.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son is 14 years old --

TAPPER: A mother and witness to the Dallas attack growing emotional at a CNN town hall last night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you tell him he needs to be more respectful. You tell him he needs to be more compliant to your rules and your laws, because I've told him and obviously it doesn't matter because you tell me I'm not telling him enough. DWAYNE WADE, NBA PLAYER: Enough is enough.

TAPPER: Also last night, basketball stars Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James stood shoulder to shoulder with other influential athletes at the ESPY Awards, all demanding action.

LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: It's time to look at the mirror and ask ourselves, what are we doing to create change?

TAPPER: President Obama trying to tackle that question, meeting repeatedly this week with activists and police on all sides of this issue.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to, as a country, sit down and just grind it out. Solve these problems.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Tomorrow, I'll talk to Senator Tim Scott right here on THE LEAD about his experiences and maybe a little politics. Don't miss it.

The search for a suspected serial killer is under way. Police say a gunman is blasting his victims away in the middle of the night killing seven people over a span of months. And we just got a new sketch from police. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. Our World Lead now, CNN has learned that the long classified portion of a congressional investigation into the September 11th attacks could soon be made public. I'm talking about the must-discuss 28 pages which are said to contain potential evidence linking officials in Saudi Arabia to the 9/11 terrorists.

CNN's Jim Sciutto is here with the details. So Jim, President Obama and the director of National Intelligence, General Jim Clapper both have said the documents should be released. How soon might we see them?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Listen, as early as tomorrow we might be able to read it on a website from the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. I'm told that the redacted version, you know, the intelligence agencies, have been scrubbed it to some degree, although, I'm told to a minimal degree, is going to get to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees as soon as today.

And tomorrow once they get through their processes, it could be up on the website then. It's going to be pretty remarkable. This has been classified for 14 years.

TAPPER: It's incredible and how do the families of 9/11 victims feel about this?

SCIUTTO: They want it out. They say it should have been out for a long time. The context is, as you know, the hill is currently debating their right to sue the Saudi government for their alleged involvement.

You have a whole group of families represented, ready to go to court, in effect, and here you have documents that they say could support their case.

Listen, I have spoken to folks who have read these documents, classified until tomorrow. And they say that granted these are early leads, this is very early on investigation of 9/11, but it does show something about people tied to the Saudi government that had some ties to the 9/11 hijackers.

Whether they knew what they were going to do, these are still open questions, and to be fair the Saudi government has also been in support of this release for some time.

I just spoke to a Saudi government official who said to me, listen, we're happy to have them out there, it will show the American people there is nothing out there.

TAPPER: They are happy to have it out there and they are releasing it on a Friday in July, the same day that Donald Trump is announcing his vice president candidate and right before the Republican and Democratic conventions?

SCIUTTO: In Washington, do those events --

TAPPER: Coincidence.

SCIUTTO: It's obvious. I mean --

TAPPER: They're trying to bury it.

SCIUTTO: It's a perfect day to do it.

TAPPER: Yes. Interesting. Jim Sciutto, thanks so much.

Seven people dead including a 16-year-old boy, all killed by a possible serial killer. Police releasing a new sketch of the gunman, they are describing a serial street shooter. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:54:32]

TAPPER: Other World Lead today, Venezuela's economy has been collapsing for quite some time, but in recent weeks, the situation there has truly gotten horrific and dire with starvation and desperation gripping the South American country.

Severe food shortages there mean that people are waiting in long, long lines to buy bare necessities like bread or milk. Even more tragic, young lives are on the line with pediatric patients with terminal illnesses left untreated for days, weeks, and sometimes for months.

[16:55:05]CNN's Paula Newton shows us now how Venezuela's economy has taken a turn for the worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like any mother, Lucero Rodriguez is anxious to be with her son in intensive care. You can see it how her touch so comforts (inaudible), and yet this mother says it is agony knowing there is much more he needs that she can't give him.

LUCERO RODRIGUEZ, MOTHER OF CHILD IN INTENSIVE CARE (through translator): At this point, things are getting worse and worse. We can't get medical supplies for the baby. We can't even find the formula he needs to grow. Now we're making sacrifices. I have been in this hospital for 15 days and I've witnessed how children are dying every day.

NEWTON: Doctors tell us that is a real risk for Dylan. He has cystic fibrosis. It damages the lung and digestive system. Right now the medical team works hard to expunge dangerous mucus. But here in Venezuela, Dylan can't get the antibiotics or any of the other specialized medicine he needs to help him survive.

But Dylan is not alone. Dr. (inaudible) says standing by his side, 70 to 80 percent of the medicines children need in Venezuela haven't arrived at Caracas' pediatric hospital or anywhere else for months. Even cancer patients are left untreated.

(on camera): The sad truth is pediatric oncology has been completely shut down in this hospital. Chemo is being done here, but the doctors tell us that the medicines are still completely inadequate.

(voice-over): Six-year-old Gustavo has leukemia, but instead of intensive therapy, his is sporadic. His mother, Gabriella Motto worries about when he'll his next chemo treatment having already seen four children die without it.

I don't know whose fault it is, she explains, if it is the government or opposition, or xyz, I don't know. It's sad for us to suffer for whoever did this to our children.

(on camera): Do you have any doubt that children are dying because of these medicines?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, we have an intensive care unit. We have ten beds, we're using four. We don't have enough medical supplies. We don't enough nurses.

NEWTON: Dr. Urbina (ph) takes us to ICU and shows us the leaks, the mold, and the derelict conditions. Four years, still this wing hasn't been rebuilt. You can see why Dr. Urbina says most days he and his colleagues feel they are practicing war-time medicine, shattered wards, broken equipment, festering toilets.

DR. HUNIADES URBINA-MEDINA, DIRECTOR, VENEZUELAN PEDIATRIC SOCIETY: We have to deal with that because we love our children. We love our hospital. We love Venezuela, and even though you're looking at -- we have to work.

NEWTON (voice-over): Parents carry on too. This is an intimate moment as Lucero showers Dylan with all of the love she can, still burden by what is not in short supply here, despair. Paula Newton, CNN, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Our thanks to Paula Newton. Have you seen this man behind me? Authorities in Phoenix just release a new composite sketch of the man they suspect has killed seven innocent people. Police believed the so-called serial street shooter has blasted away seven victims in the middle of the night over the last four months.

The victims as young as 12 years old do not appear to know each other or have any connections among them. The only seemingly common thread, most of the shootings were concentrated in one low-income neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona, Maryville.

It will be a long summer if you were hoping for any kind of congressional action to combat the Zika virus. Congress has left Washington for a seven-week break without passing a bill to pay for the fight against the mosquito-borne and sexually transmitted virus.

After months of political bickering and finger pointing Senate Democrats today refuse to support the bill that would have provided $1.1 billion to combat the spread of Zika. The CDC says that there are over 1,000 Americans in the U.S. with travel associated cases of Zika including 320 pregnant women.

Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter @jaketapper or tweet the show @theleadcnn. That is it for THE LEAD today. I'm Jake Tapper. I now turn you over to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the finalists, sources indicate Donald Trump seems likely to choose Indiana Governor Mike Pence to be his running mate, but with Trump's showbiz flare for the dramatic, two other candidates seemed necessarily be completely ruled out and they are all playing cat and mouse with reporters as the clock ticks down to the big announcement.

Dress rehearsal, all eyes are on --