Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Donald Trump's Positions, Electoral Chances Analyzed; U.S. Army Wants To Decrease Total Number of Soldiers. Aired 10:30-11:00a ET.

Aired July 09, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00] ALISON KOSIK,CNN CORRESPONDENT: So it wasn't an issue where the computers just shut off. It was his decision to say let's shut off the machines, Ana.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: And the timing of course, was just so coincidental then because of the united problems they were having with their computers, "The Wall Street Journal" having issues around the same time. Good to see everything bouncing back there on the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison Kosik, our thanks to you. And still to come, GOP leadership wants Donald Trump to tone it down, but he is sticking to his comments on immigration. Could that hurt the Republicans as a whole in 2016?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: We have this just in. The headache isn't over yet for United Airlines. The airlines still having lingering issue with some of its computer system after yesterday's outage. An internal memo obtained by CNN says the company is scrambling to get all the systems back to full working order and that employees may encounter some problems today.

[10:35:00] Right now the airline plans to operate as many flights as possible but 20 flights have already been canceled in an effort to, quote, help with the recovery process. We'll keep an eye on that.

It's no secret, real estate mogul and presidential hopeful Donald Trump has his eye on the prize. If elected president, Trump says his immigration policy would be tough. His strategy against ISIS, even tougher. But what if he doesn't win the nomination?

CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Trump about that on his Wednesday interview with us, and the question whether he would consider a vice presidential spot.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Would you accept a vice presidential position -

DONANLD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDITATE: No.

COOPER: If it didn't work out for president? I mean, you're doing great right now. TRUMP: I, I think but it's not that I wouldn't. It's a

phenomenal position. I - you know, I think it's a very powerful position. It's not for me. I love what I'm doing. I'd rather be doing this. I have buildings all over the world. I'm not doing this to be president. I'm doing this to make America great again.

CABRERA: As for whether he would consider running as an independent maybe or a third party candidate, Trump says the best way to beat Hillary Clinton, who he believes will be the democratic nominee is to run as a Republican.

So let's bring in CNN Political Analyst and Editor-in-chief for The Daily Beast John Avlon and we're also joined by CNN Political Commentator Ross Douthat, he is a columnist for "The New York Times."

Thanks so - thanks guys for joining us. I want to start with you John, agree with Trump or not on these issues, he is soaking up a lot of attention from the other GOP candidates. So what do you think about his strategy?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I, I, I think he's soaking up attention because the media keeps feeding it. I mean, let's, let's be real here. I mean, what you have here is a reality show car crash candidacy where the one candidate says the most irresponsible things and, therefore, gets a lot of attention and anyone who is trying to responsibly run for president can't compete with a carnival barker like Donald Trump is.

So, so, we end up feeding this beast. Let's be totally honest about that. And, and while - you know, some of these arguments end up elevating basically immigration, this is far more about bluster and a guy who is marketing himself to the head of the pack because he's shameless than anyone who is seriously running for president.

CABRERA: Ross, how do you think the other candidates are going to handle Trump on the debate stage because right now he is going to be one of those 10 candidates if the polls stay the same.

ROSS DOUTHAT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, I think that for some of the candidates, particularly Jeb Bush, the Trump phenomenon is probably the best thing that could possibly happen in the sense that if you're running as sort of the establishment candidate, you're seen as the moderate candidate, you're seen as a safe consensus choice, you want to have Donald Trump soaking up energy as the populist rabble rouser.

If, if I'm Jeb Bush I would much rather have Trump on that stage and sort of taking attention away from a Ted Cruz, even a Ben Carson, frankly. I, I, I think if you're, if you're Jeb you would rather run against Trump than Carson. You'd rather run against Trump than Cruz and so on.

I think the, the big challenge is for candidates in the more sort of conservative populace niche, Cruz in particular I would say, to figure out how do you deal with the fact that Trump has claimed your space. And I agree with John, he's claimed it as a carnival barker basically but he is sitting there needing to be dealt with.

CABRERA: He's definitely making some big waves in his own party. I want to ask you both about the RNC phone call we learned about last night. A source telling CNN that RNC Chairman, Reince Priebus told Trump to tone it down when it comes to his immigration remarks.

A short time ago, Trump fired back again retweeting or tweeting this, totally false reporting on my call with Reince Priebus. He called me 10 minutes, said I hit a nerve, doing well, end. So, John, do you think Trump is going to tone it down?

AVLON: No. That's not his M.O. and he's, he's living in a Trump centric universe in which there is no way - that could mean - that would defeat his whole process. Of course it's going to give Reince Priebus and the responsible Republicans heartburn because he's torpedoing any chance of them making real inroads into the Latino vote the longer he stays on the stage, but you know, to, to Ross' earlier point, you know, this really also becomes a gut check for the Republican party.

When you have a conservative populace who gravitate to a guy like Donald Trump and these appeals, that's also a problem in the party. And while Jeb may benefit from saying, look, I'm not dangerously crazy like that guy, that's also not necessarily a positive winning message. So, so it really creates a crisis of conscience for the Republican party on how to deal with Trump and his basis support.

CABRERA: All right. I think one of the reasons he's getting so much attention is because he's not like the other candidates. He sort of tells it like he sees it or how he feels. And Ross, isn't that maybe some of his appeal to the supporters that he has, that, he, he speaks frankly. He's not really being your typical politician?

DOUTHAT: Sure. I mean, I, I think it's important not to take too much of what Trump says at face value and sort of to look for what he really believes. I mean, this is a guy whose positions 10 or 15 years ago were pretty liberal on most issues.

[10:40:00] So I don't think what you're hearing from him on an issue like immigration is you know, the words of a man who deeply believes every single thing he's saying. It's a man who is literally trying to strike a nerve and will say whatever seems to make sense to strike it. With that being said though...

CABRERA: Do you think he's still playing politics?

DOUTHAT: Of course he's playing politics, he's just playing a different kind of political game than the other candidates.

AVLON: Yes.

DOUTHAT: But I think you're right though that what people respond to in Trump is the fact that, you know, look, his message is basically things aren't working in America, and he says it you know, he says, we don't win wars anymore. We can't control our border and so on. And that's a message that people understandably respond to. I

mean, we just went through yesterday obviously everyone saying all the you know, outages at the stock exchange and everywhere else are just accidents and so on and maybe they are, but there's a sense in the United States right now, I think a fairly reasonable sense, that our institutions aren't working that well, and when you get a guy like Trump who isn't implicated in our politics, he's implicated in other things, coming out and basically just saying that flat out, it's not surprising that people are attracted to him.

CABRERA: All right. Ross Douthat and John Avlon, thanks to both of you. Sorry, I know, John, you have more to say. There's certainly more to discuss. We have to leave it there to now. So, we'll come back to you another day. All right. Talk to you soon, thanks.

The Army announcing its plan to reduce its ranks. A defense official says this Army is going to cut 40,000 soldiers over the next two years and an additional 17,000 civilians are going to lose their jobs. Let's bring in CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning.

Barbara, do we know exactly where the cuts are going to come from?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good Morning, Ana. The Army expected to make that announcement in the coming hours, where are these cuts coming from? What Army bases? What communities across the country will be affected? They're at 490,000 troops right now. They're going to come down to about 450,000.

Most of it we're told is going to be through what you call attrition. Essentially as people leave the Army, these positions will basically be filtered out of the force structure, but, look, that doesn't make it any easier for the families that are going to be impacted. The communities, the local businesses where there will be less military personnel, less customers for those local businesses outside base gate.

So, so there is an impact. Why is the army doing this? This has been on the books actually for some time. There's a couple of things going on here. There have been those so-called, mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration by congress. You're not going to see likely huge controversy from some parts of Capitol Hill. Congress knows they bear some responsibility for all of this.

Deeper than that, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the years of heavy combat certainly over and winding down. You just don't need, the Pentagon will tell you, the number of forces we've had since the big surge years after the 9/11 attacks.

But, again, you know, it doesn't make it any easier for the families, and there are some fundamental questions out there, how low, how small should the U.S. Army be in the face of the threats from ISIS and other threats?

CABRERA: Right. STARR: Just how many troops do you really need? Ana?

DOUTHAT: All right. Barbara Starr, thanks so much for that update. We do appreciate it, and we know you'll stay on top of it as the announcement is made official and we learn more about what it means for our own security. We want to remind you, just sent to CNN South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley now announcing she is going to sign the bill to remove the confederate flag at the South Carolina Capitol happening at 4:00 this afternoon.

We'll bring it to you live here on CNN. Still to come this hour, riots following the death of Freddie Gray and a crime surge costing Baltimore's police commissioner his job. But was Anthony Batts a scapegoat for the city's bigger problems?

[10:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOUTHAT: There's a new top cop in Baltimore this morning. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has fired police commissioner Anthony Batts. She said, he had become a destruction and Baltimore needs a change now. Back faced widespread criticism for his response to the riots that erupted after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody.

Now, Baltimore is also dealing with a huge spike in homicides right now. In fact, they reached a 25-year high in May. Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis shown here during a news conference with the mayor yesterday is now taking over as interim police commissioner.

Let's bring in CNN's National Correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux. She's in Baltimore for us this morning. I know, Suzanne, you talked to the attorney for Freddie Gray's family. What are they saying in reaction to this?

SUZZANE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, now that Commissioner Batts is out. There's a lot of focus on the mayor. What can she do to bring the community and the police together? She has come under fire as well as you know, for the handling of the riots here in Baltimore in April. So I have talked to a lot of people. We know that the fraternal order of police have put out a statement and said they have said, look, they are willing now, they see it as a hopeful sign to work with the community here, that they want to bring about healing.

I spoke with a couple activists, (Melissa Reeds), she lost her godson, her 26-year-old godson in the shootings, the murders that happened over the summer. She said, she believes it's a hopeful sign. And I also talked to Billy Murphy. And as you said, he's the attorney representing the family of Freddie Gray. He has been critical of the mayor in the past, but he believes that this is a good move forward for the family, and he also has some advice for the mayor.

WILLIAM MURPHY, GRAY FAMILY ATTORNEY: This problem has to be solved immediately before there are any more Freddie Gray's. It has to be solved immediately so that the harassment of Black citizens stops once and for all. [10:50:00] It has to result in a legitimate police force that's a

partner with the Black community instead of what we've had for the past 300 years. I think the feds have to come in now and take over this department. Nothing short of that will solve the problem. It's so dysfunctional, so at war with itself, so racist in its continuing attitude towards Blacks.

MALVEAUX: So Ana, you can hear the skepticism from Billy Murphy as well as other people in the community who believe that in some ways this was a Band-Aid fix, but at least it is a beginning. They have to remind our audience as well there is a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Baltimore police department, whether or not they engaged in a pattern of practice of violating civil rights and abusing citizens, that is something that is still out in the open and being investigated.

And in all fairness we should let you know that the Commissioner Batts himself put out a statement. He told the Baltimore Sun earlier, saying that, I have been honored to serve the citizens and residents of Baltimore. I've been proud to be a police officer for this city, but a lot of people recognizing today that it is time for new leadership and it's got to go beyond the police department.

Ana?

CABRERA: Suzanne Malveaux in Baltimore for us. Thanks so much. I want to bring in former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, joining us right now. Thank you so much.

BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NYC POLICE COMMISSIONER: Thank you.

CABRERA: First, I want to get your reaction to this move by the mayor removing Commissioner Batts in Baltimore. Is that the right move?

KERIK: Honestly it may be the right move in that he didn't do his job when he should have in protecting the citizens of the City of Baltimore, but, you know, you have to look at this and think there's some hypocrisy here. He didn't do what he didn't do because she told him not to do it.

If you'll recall, she ordered him, the police department, to back off and give the protesters room to destroy. That was her words. He followed her orders, which was a mistake, and now he's being terminated, fired, because he followed those orders. And then you have...

CABRERA: He is the police commissioner and when it comes to law enforcement public safety, he's supposed to be the expert.

KERIK: Well, he's supposed to be the expert. You know, he should have protected the citizens of the city. He didn't do that. What he did is followed her orders. There were millions upon millions of dollars of damage, looting, lawlessness, and that was at the order of the mayor so you have to question you know, her authority at the time, what she is doing today, the fact that she's now placed a deputy commissioner in charge, he is a part of that administration. He was still a part of the command staff. So putting him in charge today is probably not the answer.

CABRERA: And what I'm hearing you say then is that leadership is still going to be an issue within this department in the rank and file. I know that this also came, of course, right after there was this report released about the response to the rights, and it was pretty scathing. It said the officers did not have the proper equipment, the training, or the leadership, and on top of this report this also follows a month in which homicides were way up.

The deadliest month since 1972. 42 homicides in May. I mean, what does the city need to do to get back on track?

KERIK: And here's, and here is the problem. Leadership starts, leadership starts at the top. Starts with the mayor. The mayor should have seen this problem coming. The mayor should have given the cops the resources they needed to do the job. She should have supported them. Any mayor in a city like Baltimore, just like New York City, you got to give the cops the benefit of the doubt when they're doing their job. This mayor did not.

She threw them under the bus immediately after that Freddie Gray incident, and when you look at this, you have to question her ability to govern the city of Baltimore.

CABRERA: So what is the solution?

KERIK: First of all, I think you've got to revamp the upper echelon of the police department. Putting in the number two guy in command right now is probably not the answer. As he was a part of the problem in the beginning.

The mayor also has to - in the city leaders, they have to look at the mayor. The mayor has to be called to account for what she directed them to do. These were her orders. She said it on an international news, international news when she put out that order for them to back off.

CABRRA: To have restraint.

KERIK: Right. And you can't give thugs and protesters the ability to riot, to burn down a city, to cause millions if not billions of dollars' worth of damage. That was by her order.

CABRERA: We'll have to wait and see what happens next in this ongoing situation. Bernard Kerik, thank you so much for being with us and offering your expertise.

KERIK: Thank you.

CABRERA: We'll be right back.

[10:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: A quick check of top Stories. The Southwest flight forced to abandon takeoff overnight after an engine reportedly caught fire. This is video posted on Twitter showing the star park from under the plane's wings there. As Southwest folks person says, no one was hurt. The 143 passengers were moved to another flight. Scary moments though.

The Washington Redskins will not be allowed to trademark their name or logo. A federal judge ruling that the logo may be disparaging to native Americans. The Redskins are adamant the name is not racist and the team president says he will appeal the decision.

Well, Tom Selleck in some hot water. Listen to this, a water district in the drought-stricken Ventura, California, area is suing the actor claiming he stole truckloads of water from a public hydrant for his 60-acre ranch. The district says a truck was spotted filling up on the hydrant on four separate days in March.

The Ventura county sheriff's department said it investigated and it was unable to determine if anything illegal happened. That's going to do it for us today. Thanks so much for being here. I'm Ana Cabrera, At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan, starts now.