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Assessing Terror Threats; Sanders in Dispute with DNC; Clinton & Sanders Face Off Tonight in N.H.; Bush, Trump Exchange Blows on Campaign Trail. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired December 19, 2015 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:21] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Seven o'clock Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Thank you so much for joining me.

Will there be fireworks tonight in an hour's time between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at the Democratic debate? The DNC has restored Sanders's access to the voter rolls, but only after a testy 48 hours. Sanders' campaign was accused of improperly access Clinton's voter data due to a software glitch that gave them access to that information.

The Democratic National Committee immediately shut out Sanders from all voter data, including their own when the DNC found out about it last night. Sanders threatened a federal lawsuit. It didn't come to that. Their access was restored.

CNN's Athena Jones is live for us in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the debate will get under way in one hour. It is also where Sanders has a slight edge over Clinton.

If I didn't confuse people enough, can you walk us through why this voter data is so critical the Sanders campaign apparently tapped?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the voting data is critical because while all the campaigns have the same access to the overall voter list that the Democratic National Committee has in terms of names, addresses, that sort of thing, each of these individual campaigns are spending a lot of time on the ground in these early states or on the phone, for instance, making contact with these voters to determine whether they are likely to go support their candidates.

So, the Clinton campaign, for instance, will rank these voters by someone who is very likely to come out and caucus for her in Iowa on that cold night, February 1st, or someone who is less likely, more persuadable.

So, this is the kind of information that, of course, one campaign would not want another campaign to have. And this is the kind of information that the Sanders staffers searched for on the database, Poppy.

HARLOW: This goes to the bigger issue, though, Athena, of accusations by some that the DNC is backing supporting Hillary Clinton and others. A lot of back and forth on that front. JONES: Absolutely. And this episode has highlighted that. You know,

the Sanders campaign was very upset this is the step the DNC took, even if it was temporary. They said it was costing them not having access to the voter database, upwards of $600,000 in donations a day.

They got all Sanders backers to sign on to various petitions, three separate petitions, more than half a million people, really firing up their base with this argument that that they have been making all along, which is that the Democratic National Committee is putting their fingers on the scales in favor of Secretary Clinton.

This is one reason they say, the Sanders campaign, feels or believes it is one reason you're having debates on a Saturday night. This is the third on a Saturday night. This happens to be up against a big football game. There is a lot of suspicion among Sanders supporters and others who believe they have organized all of this in a way to benefit Clinton's campaign.

HARLOW: I was just going to say, they say not at all the case, does Hillary's camp.

Thank you very much, Athena Jones, live for us in Manchester, New Hampshire.

You can catch all the post-debate coverage, CNN special report tonight on the Democratic with our very own Wolf Blitzer. That begins at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, 7:30 p.m. Pacific.

Tonight's Democratic debate is the third of six planned for the primary season. The DNC had already been accused, as Athena just said, stacking the deck in Hillary Clinton's favor by only having six debates and for scheduling them when -- well, people are not as likely to be watching television. They say that is not the case, and then there's this dust up over accessing Clinton's proprietary files.

I want you to listen to how presidential candidate Ted Cruz describes tonight's debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They keep scheduling the debates 2:00 a.m. on a Saturday on Alaska PBS. It's almost like they don't actually want anyone to see their candidates for president, which you can understand why. But there is good news. They have announced the venue for the next Democratic debate.

[19:05:03] They're holding it at Leavenworth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: David Brock joins me now. He is the founder of Correct the Record. That is a strategic research and rapid response team backing Hillary Clinton.

Thank you for being with me.

DAVID BROCK, CORRECT THE RECORD: Thanks for having me on.

HARLOW: What do you make of what Ted Cruz said and what some folks are throwing at the DNC, saying they've got a preference, if you will, for your candidate?

BROCK: Oh, I think that -- there's no evidence for that, Poppy. Look, there are debates happening. The secretary said she'd be happy to do more debates. The schedule is not a decision of the Clinton campaign. It's a decision of the DNC.

And, look, Hillary has had strong performances in the debates. I don't think her campaign or supporters would want to hide her.

HARLOW: I want to read something from Frank Rooney in the "New York Times" this week. He writes, "Clinton is more than adequately steeled. The real danger for her is that she has become all armor. And the real vulnerability is she is seen as entrenched political royalty and too distanced from those everyday Americans talks so much about at the start of her campaign."

What do you say to that?

BROCK: Well, I think for some critics of Hillary, she can never win. And the reality is just in the last 10 days, she is out there talking about issues and she's connecting. And she is in touch. She is talking about investing in manufacturing jobs in the country, holding large corporations accountable for their corporate inversions, immigration reform. Those are the issues people really care about and --

HARLOW: What about people in touch -- what about that criticism, being in touch with the average American?

BROCK: I think she -- first of all, she grew up as an average American. Her whole life has been committed to the progressive values and ideals that would keep American families safe and secure. That's what she is talking about.

The concern with what's in touch right now is on a lot of people's minds are the threats globally and domestically on terrorism. She clearly is the only one in either field, frankly Republican or Democrat, who people have the confidence in to be commander in chief.

HARLOW: Let's talk about terrorism. Obviously, it is a big issue. The key issue there for Democratic primary voters is the economy. But quickly thereafter is terrorism.

When you look at her record as secretary of state, she was secretary of state during the time that ISIS was rising, as al Baghdadi came into power within the terror organization. What do you say to voters who tie her to the Obama administration and a failure to contain ISIS?

BROCK: Well, first of all, I would say if you look at the history of it, and the secretary has written about this in her book, she did at critical junctures internally in the administration, urge stronger support for the rebels in Syria. That didn't carry the day with the president.

Secondly, she is out there now saying in very specific terms what she would do. And again, she would go further than President Obama on the no-fly zone in Syria.

So, I think nobody is questioning on the Republicans or Democrats that Hillary is strong on this issue. Her national security numbers, her terrorism numbers are quite high.

HARLOW: There is no question her numbers are quite high just nationally against Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley. New Hampshire, she's within two points of Bernie Sanders, who is leading her there.

She may seem like the inevitable Democratic nominee. But she's far from inevitable president. If you look at this CNN/ORC polling this month, it shows when she is matched up against top Republican contenders, the margins are three points or less. She is 49-46 with Trump, 50-47 over Cruz. And she actually is one point lower than Marco Rubio in a head-to-head matchup.

When the Republican base unites, David, are those numbers worrisome to you?

BROCK: Well, first of all, it's not clear the Republican base is going to unite. We saw last week a very divided party, disoriented party, a party that devolved in their debate into nothing but name- calling. It is not clear they are coming together.

And secondly, no, the polls, she's ahead. Look, when there's a real contrast, when the Republicans do have a nominee, you will be able to ask in a way that has real meaning. She will run a very strong race. She is the most formidable Democrat we have to put up against any Republican.

So, look, the reality is we have a divided country. Nothing is being taken for granted here and nobody is overconfident about anything.

HARLOW: So, you are saying these numbers, you don't give much credence to these numbers, a hypothetical matchup?

[19:10:02] BROCK: No, no, I do give credence to them. I'm just saying that I think we'll get a more meaningful number when the Republicans get their act together and decide on their nominee.

HARLOW: All right. David Brock, T minus 50 minutes for the beginning of the debate. I'll let you get in there. Thank you for being with me.

BROCK: Thanks very much. Appreciate it.

HARLOW: Donald Trump is in another fight with a Republican rival. The rhetoric heating up today with Jeb Bush, back and forth, back and forth all day. We'll tell you what they said. We'll talk about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARLOW: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have largely played nice this season so far. The Republicans, though, not so much. Today, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush back and forth, back and forth, their feud elevate to go a whole new level today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just one other thing. I have to get this off my chest. Donald Trump is a jerk.

(APPLAUSE)

You can't -- you can't -- you cannot insult your way to the presidency. You can't disparage women, Hispanics, disabled people. Who is he kidding?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had one person come at with me his pollster. It was so sad to watch him. So sad. Bush. No, it's just so sad. Close to incompetent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Sean Spicer is the RNC communications director. He joins me now. Thank you for being here.

SEAN SPICER, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: You bet. Good evening, Poppy.

HARLOW: Good evening.

Well, you've been following it I'm sure all day as we have the back and forth, back and forth. Who is this name-calling good for?

SPICER: Well, you know, I think one of the things you have heard from the RNC is we bring in Reagan's 11th commandment. We'd rather have our candidates on their vision for America --

HARLOW: But that's out the window. That's been out the window for a long time in this campaign.

SPICER: Well, but you know what, I was going to say, what we would rather have is the candidates focused on their vision and focus attacks on Hillary Clinton who is going to be coronated tonight.

We understand that primaries are -- you know, politics is a contact sport. This is part of the primaries. But you're asking me the question, you know, do I like it?

[19:15:01] No. I think we should be focused on what our vision is for America and focusing on attacks on why we are better for the Democrats.

HARLOW: Let's talk about who may be the nominee. If you look at the numbers, Donald Trump leading across the board, after Jeb Bush's harsh criticism of Trump today in the back and forth, we know that Jeb Bush's team has acknowledged this week, they are doing due diligence to see if they can pull out a pledge that Bush signed to support whoever the Republican nominee is.

Do you think if the nominee is Trump, Sean, that Jeb Bush will support him?

SPICER: Yes. I think all the candidates on stage under night realize only a united Republican party can beat Hillary Clinton. So, whether Donald Trump, or Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ben Carson, whoever we nominate, only a united Republican front will beat Hillary Clinton, plain and simple. So, I think we all have to understand that. Primaries are about going back and forth on each other. I get that. But we need to be united when we come out and focus on winning the White House back in November of 2016.

HARLOW: There was a fascinating nugget in the FOX News poll that came out yesterday. It struck me. And what it showed is that two-thirds of Republicans now say they see Trump as a serious candidate. It is actually 61 percent, not 65 percent. And that's a reversal from June when 64 percent saw Donald Trump as a side show. That is an astonishing about-face.

What's your take?

SPICER: Well, I think that Mr. Trump will acknowledge himself that initially people didn't think he was going to run, he wasn't going to file the appropriate forms, et cetera, et cetera. I think he has demonstrated that he is a serious candidate. We've got 13 unbelievably qualified candidates in the stage the other night on CNN. And I think there's a lot to choose from.

But I think all of them are serious. All of them would make a far better president than Hillary Clinton would. And I think all of them offer a better vision and better solutions to the problems our country faces, especially from what we're going to see tonight which is just, you know, absolutely going through the motions and the coronation of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic nomination.

HARLOW: Why do you say that? We haven't seen the debate begin yet?

SPICER: Well, first of all, all of them are on Saturday nights. They have had a very limited number. We at the RNC brought five 5-hour energy to keep them up, because it is going to be a snooze fest. This is all about keeping people energized tonight because the reality is that no one is paying attention. There's football games on. There's a replay of "The Wizard of Oz". This is literally going through the motions of DNC.

HARLOW: Sean, that means no one is watching me and you.

SPICER: Well, that's a shame. I'm sure my family is, but that's about it.

You guys get great ratings. And I hope they are watching us. But again, the debate is not on CNN. That's the point is that there are probably more people watching you and I talk than the debate tonight. That's good for me and you, but not good for Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley. HARLOW: All right. You know what they're going to watch tonight, my

colleague Wolf Blitzer, 10:30 p.m. That's our post-debate coverage. I know you'll be watching, Sean. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time.

SPICER: I will. Thanks, Poppy. Bye-bye.

HARLOW: All right. Well, the Sanders campaign, they say the DNC capitulated after their campaign threatened to sue in federal court to regain access to their own voter data. The DNC sees it very differently, accusing the Sanders camp of rummaging around into Clinton's files. We will talk to a Sanders supporter about it all, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:56] HARLOW: The last thing Democrats wanted before tonight's debate was a fight over a database, of all things. Earlier, CNN spoke with the chairwoman of the DNC about the controversy that has been brewing the last 48 hours. Debbie Wasserman Schultz did not hold back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL), DNC CHAIR: And unfortunately, when the Sanders campaign after this window opened through a glitch from our vendor, the staff took advantage of it in a sense, went into the unlocked door of the house and rummaged around, took things that didn't belong to them, and then actually accused the home owner of violating the terms of an agreement when they had unauthorized access to the house and took things that didn't belong to them. It was pretty outrageous, but like I said, I'm glad we were able to reach an agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Nina Turner is with me. She's a former Ohio state senator. She previously backed Hillary Clinton before, now supporting Senator Bernie Sanders.

Thank you for joining me.

NINA TURNER, SANDERS SUPPORTER: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: The DNC chair, you heard right there, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, not mincing words about this incident, calling it outrageous, equating it to a home robbery.

Sanders's integrity has been a cornerstone of his campaign. Are you worried about fallout from this?

TURNER: Well, the only fallout I'm worried about is what is going to affect the DNC. What is outrageous is how the DNC tried to suffocate the Sanders's campaign. Everybody knows Senator Sanders is a man of integrity and authenticity. And it really makes no sense that the DNC would attack him in that way. And I agree with David Axelrod when he said that there is no knowledge

at the hierarchy, that means Senator Sanders or the campaign manager knew anything about this, and the DNC has actually put their thumbs and tipped the scale. That is what is outrageous.

I want to take it a step further. Really the DNC attacked Democratic voters. Think about the voter file itself that you would deny the Sanders campaign access to its own voter files. Voters, that you are denying voters the opportunity to interact with Senator Sanders. That is what is outrageous.

HARLOW: All right. Let's talk about a new poll out of Monmouth University. It found this week that 59 percent of Bernie Sanders supporters would be OK with it if Hillary Clinton beat Sanders and won the nomination. How do you turn those folks into die-hards?

TURNER: Well, we're working. It's what we do right now, it's touching people, door by door, really going to the grassroots.

I will tell you, Poppy, here in New Hampshire I have had an opportunity to talk to some people who went outdoor knocking today. They are excited about telling Senator Sanders's story. He is standing up for the working poor. His case in college, how he wants to eradicate institutional racism. People are excited.

So, you know what, there is no magic wand to any of this. It is hard, grassroots, door knocking, phone calling, people to people, telling the history about why they support Senator Sanders. He is just getting started.

[19:25:00] HARLOW: So, let's talk about that, what we will see in half an hour on the debate stage.

How do you hammer home to voters that your candidate is the one that is going to be most focused on income inequality, most focused on the economy, et cetera, because what those numbers that I just quoted show is that perhaps the voters aren't seeing enough of a difference between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders?

TURNER: I mean, part of it, Poppy, he is a senator from Vermont. We can't forget that. He has served the citizens of that state honorably. And now, he is on the national stage as running for president of the United States of America. He did not have advantage of a national profile before now.

So he is going to get his message out and do just what he did in the second debate, which is drive home that he is the candidate. If you care about the working poor, if you care about income in equality, if you care about universal college education, if you care about building on President Obama's health care record and making sure everyone has universal health care, that is the message.

So, again, there's not going to be any magic wand to this. It is person by person, turning the tide, and I can assure you from being in Baltimore, Iowa, and now New Hampshire, the tide is indeed turning, Poppy. HARLOW: Let's talk about foreign policy and terror, because people

across America, people around the world right now are scared. And Hillary Clinton, whether you support her or not, does have a long track record on foreign policy with her time as secretary of state. She has something there that Senator Bernie Sanders does not have.

What is he going to do tonight, Nina, and stay on that stage to convince people he is a formidable force against ISIS more than she would be as commander in chief?

TURNER: Well, I wouldn't say Senator Sanders has no experience. I mean, he has been in the Senate -- he's in the Senate now. He was in the Congress. So, he has been dealing with these issues as a federal elected official.

HARLOW: Absolutely, I didn't say he has no experience. I'm just talking about her track record as secretary of state. But you're absolutely right.

TURNER: And I totally understand that. The senator is going to say what he has been saying. That ISIS must be destroyed. And that there is going to be -- we need to have a coalition of nations, including the Muslim nations have to take the lead in this.

But we are going to build a can coalition with NAFTA and these other nations and destroy is. It cannot be business as usual. United States can't be a unilateral force unto itself. This takes also judgment, and let us not forget Senator Sanders voted against the Iraqi war. He know it right then, and he has the right temperament and leadership for this moment.

But it is going to be him continuing to be authentically who he is. Make no mistake about it, he is ready to defend this country from all threats, both foreign and domestic.

HARLOW: Is there something -- and you're the second Sanders supporter I have had on who brought up the Iraq war votes. So, I think we will hear from him on stage that tonight.

Is there something strategically different that he would do different to combat ISIS from what President Obama has done, from what Hillary Clinton is supporting in terms of no fly zones above Syria. What strategically, tactically would he do differently as commander in chief?

TURNER: Strategically, it is building coalitions that have not been built. The senator talks about Saudi Arabia and other nations in the Middle East, coalitions with Russia, other nations that we have not really had the opportunity to really sit down with and build a strong coalition.

To fight ISIS, Poppy, make no mistake about it -- it is not about the United States alone. It is going to take that coalition of nations to do it. And Senator Sanders does have the vision and temperament for that. Bottom line, he can do it. He will do it. HARLOW: Nina Turner, thank you very much. Half an hour until the

debate, I will let you get inside for it. I appreciate you joining me.

TURNER: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: After the debate, why visiting a Disney theme park over the holidays might feel a little bit more, at least when you're entering like a trip to the airport. New security rules at the house of mouse, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:00] POPPY HARLOW, NEWSROOM HOST: Visitors to Disney's theme park this holiday season will notice intensified security. Metal detectors when you enter the park, new rules about who can wear costumes, no more toy guns at all on the premises. Earlier this week the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin saying it was especially concerned that terrorist-inspired individuals and homegrown violent extremists might be encouraged or inspired to target public events or places.

Stuff more about this, CNN intelligence and security analyst, former CIA officer Bob Baer with me. I think Bob when you think of Disney you think of sort of this serene place, something where it's a last place you would imagine anything like it's happening at the same time. It's a huge public space. Is this the new normal restrictions like this even at Disneyland?

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Yeah. Well, Poppy I almost grew up there as a kid and went to Disneyland, it was a magical place and it's -- there wasn't -- they have never security. There were no police, there were no guards.

HARLOW: Right.

BAER: You just -- If you had your ticket you got in. But we have to look at the attacks in Paris. Those suicide bombers almost got in, had they gotten in that stadium, the soccer stadium in Saint-Denis, they would've killed a lot of people and including -- and I -- they wouldn't have done near the French president, but they could have gotten close and it would have been a total, complete slaughter.

And I think Disneyland is looking at this too. These suicide vests, if you know what you're doing and it doesn't take much are easy to make and they could be made locally.

HARLOW: Yeah.

BAER: You know, from stuff from a drugstore.

HARLOW: So Bob, Disney said about the new measures. Let me read part of what they say, "We continually review our comprehensive approach to security and are implementing additional security measures as appropriate." What could be next in terms of Disneyland? But just these big venues in general, I mean what -- frankly, walking into the subway here in New York City.

BAER: Getting first responders to a place like Disney and quickly even hiring arm security they wouldn't be in sight. But, you know, somebody pulls out a weapon, start shooting, they would be able on a scene right away as opposed to depending on the local police. I think any big corporation now, any big building, anybody with a no name like CNN has to up their security. There is just no question about it because as the President said, we're going to be living with this threat for a long time.

HARLOW: Yeah.

BAER: And, you know, the obvious targets have to be protected.

HARLOW: I think that's an important point to make in that end of the year press conference yesterday.

[19:35:00] President Obama did say and acknowledged, look the lone wolf threat is still a grave threat talking of how different this terror organization is ISIS to fight than Al-Qaeda, your experience in the field, your experience as a CIA operative. Intelligence wise here Bob, screening social media, et cetera, all these things that are being debated right now, what needs to change the most as we head into 2016?

BAER: I think the plan for Syria is very important getting a cease fire, I think getting a cease fire in Yemen is very important because these people, we look at them as irrational but they think they have grievances, that they are victims and as long as they have this feeling and blame the United States we're going to be a target.

But look at the San Bernardino attack, you know, the more I hear about this, the more these people were off the radar and there's no way the FBI could have caught them. They just -- They'd never showed their names. I mean, they are, you know, private messaging is you need a warrant to get into that, you know, and how many warrants would you need?

HARLOW: Yeah. And with the encrypted data there's just -- is a no way for the government to detect it right now.

Bob Baer, thank you very much for being with me. Have a nice holiday.

BAER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Up next, this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A calligraphy assignment to copy this is what caused an entire school district to cancel classes.

HARLOW: What officials and parents are saying about the homework assignment that caused a school to be shut down, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: In Northern Virginia this week, a school homework assignment triggered a major controversy. It caused administrators to shut down every public school in the county. It started when a teacher handed down an assignment, a homework assignment on Islam. Some parents thought it's an attempt to convert their children.

[19:39:58] CNN's Jason Carroll reports.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy the local sheriff tells me that the volume of hate mail that the district received led him and the school superintendent to cancel classes for the day and changed the way that course is taught in the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a routine homework assignment for ninth graders attending their world geography class at Riverheads High School in Staunton, Virginia. A calligraphy assignment to copy this is what caused an entire school district to cancel classes.

CHUCK LAYMAN, PARENT: Most people just don't really understand what exactly was put into that worksheet that the kids were sent home with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to the school the assignment said, "Here is the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith written in the Arabic. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy." But instead of a lesson on calligraphy the school district learned a lesson about the complexity surrounding Islam.

Americans, uneasy now with anything having to do with their religion in the wake of the recent terror attacks overseas and at home.

KIMBERLY HERNDON, MOTHER: I will not have my children sit under a woman who indoctrinates them with the Islam religion when I am a Christian and I'm going to stand behind Christ.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why couldn't we just learn the right "Hello", "Goodbye", you know, normal words not that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The local sheriff's department says the Augusta School District received hate mail from people accusing the teacher of trying to convert children to Islam. And so the district canceled classes Friday for the entire county, all of its 10,000 students. They say there was no specific threat but school officials did say to, "tone and content" are some of the communications was concerning.

The superintendent released a statement which reads, "As we have emphasized, no lesson was designed to promote a religious viewpoint or change any student's religious belief. Although students will continue to learn about world religions as required by the state board of education and the Commonwealth's standards of learning, a different non-religious sample of Arabic calligraphy will be used in the future."

A number of students took to Facebook to defend the lesson and the teacher. One post reads, "I personally was not offended by this. I like the assignment" calling his instructor, "an amazing teacher." The teacher who had lifted the calligraphy lesson from a standard workbook on world religion and according to the sheriff had assigned it before without any threat or backlash.

Muslim leaders now say, "The cultural climate has shifted to an unsettling place."

COREY SAYLOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RLEATIONS: It shows us the level of anti-Islam hysteria in United States. We want our children to understand the world in which they will live and unfortunately we find that some parents are just terrified of even a simple calligraphy assignment.

CARROLL: Poppy, we should also tell you that we did attempt to reach out to the teacher in question, she did not respond to our calls. I can tell you that her daughter did post a statement on Facebook thanking all of those people who are out there in the community supporting her. Poppy?

HARLOW: Jason, thank you very much for that. What happened in Virginia raised this an important question. How to come back growing fears and misconceptions about Islam? Asra Nomani is with me, she's a contributor to the Daily Beast, she's author of this book, "Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam," thank you so much for coming on.

ASRA NOMANI, CONTRIBUTOR, DAILY BEAST: Oh, thank you Poppy.

HARLOW: When you see a story like Jason Carroll just reported, what do you think?

NOMANI: Well, Poppy I'm a mother in Virginia and I have to say that I wouldn't have wanted this assignment in my son's school. You know, two years ago -- yeah, two years ago I was -- went to my son's elementary school at that time and I was an observer at a children evangelical club called "The Good News Club" and the principal called the police because they didn't want to have me observing this club and said that I was a disturbance.

So I believe in a strict separation of church and state in this country and that's our basic tenet.

For us as Muslims, the Shihada is this proclamation of faith that a man usually will whisper into a child's ear the moment that child is born. It's what we're supposed to declare as we are dying, as our last statement.

For me, to see this incursion of faith into the classroom is a problematic issue. And why is it happening so with this backlash? I don't think it as anti-Muslim hysteria that we just heard about. I think what's happened is that we've had a failure of leadership by organizations like the Council on American-Islamic relations and sadly the White House also in talking about the "I" word and that "I" word is about Islam and the issue of extremism.

People are not afraid of Muslims as a whole. They are afraid of this extremism and so as we go into this debate tonight, what I hope to hear as a Muslim is a conversation about the ideology of extremism in our faith it's called Islam-ism which is a desire to have political Islam in the world.

[19:45:10] Put a head scarf on women and girls. Impose ideas that are anti-gay, anti-atheist, anti-apostasy as they call it. These are the ideas that we have to really struggle with and talk about honestly so that Americans could feel comfortable with the faith also.

HARLOW: So you are a proud Muslim woman, a journalist.

NOMANI: Yeah.

HARLOW: You have broken many barriers in journalism and as you said you're a mother in Virginia who agrees with some of those other mothers in the piece who wouldn't have wanted this in their school.

You've also written extensively about this and especially being a Muslim woman and you've said that Islamic feminism is the antidote to Islamic extremism. Talk to me about the role you believe, Asra that women, female Muslims can play to address some of the stereo types and fears.

NOMANI: Well, I think that Islamic feminism is absolute the antidote to the Islamic state and Islamic extremism. The canary in a coal mine for all of these ideologies that want to ultimately express violence to people of other faiths or people who don't think like them is the issue of women.

I can tell you that I can walk into a mosque anywhere in this country and if I go into the main hall, I will know immediately what ideology of Islam is practiced at that mosque. In my own mosque in Morgantown, West Virginia they wouldn't let me in through the front door. When I went into the front door and into the main hall, it was the people who are practicing this ideology called Thallasseism (ph) escorted to the world through this government of Saudi Arabia and cutter (ph) and those are the people who most protested what we were doing.

So, with the issue of women's rights, it is the litmus test very much for how a person practices Islam. Do you believe that a woman deserve equal inheritance as her brother? Do you believe that a woman is equal in witness to her -- to a man? These are critical issues that are the real red line on how you interpret Islam and so when we define how it is that we interpret Islam, we really establish what the problem is and whether we can actually move forward with the progressive interpretation of the faith.

HARLOW: Such an important discussion. I'm so glad you could join me Asra. Thank you very much.

NOMANI: Thank you.

Coming up next, switching gears. Will Smith starring in a huge new movie. A movie that could change the way that millions of people view the game of football. A Rachel Nichols one on one with Will Smith next. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ACNHOR: Now that you know what you know, you said educating parents, would you let Trey play football now? If he came to you now and said, "Hey, dad I want to play high school football." What would you say?

WILL SMMITH, ACTOR: I think I would say, "Son, listen, I love you and, you know, if it were up to me, you could play but your mother said, no."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:21] HARLOW: One of the biggest names in Hollywood, Will Smith, takes on the dangers of head trauma in football with his new film, "Concussion". This movie tells the true story of the immigrant doctor who discovered the link between those repeated hits to the head in football and a condition known as CTE. Will smith is a major Philadelphia Eagles fan. He says making the movie changed his view of the game. He went one on one with Rachel Nichols.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Your son Trey played Football. I know you're an Eagles fan.

SMITH: Oh, my gosh, yes.

NICHOLS: When you were first considering this part in this movie, what was the inner conflict about that?

SMITH: You know, I was a football dad and I grew up in Philly and loved football. I did not want to be the guy who said to the world that, "Oh guys, there might be a hidden danger that we're not seeing". But after I met Doctor Omalu and he told me his story and I sort of understood the science of it, as a parent I started to feel impelled to tell the story. Because I didn't know, while my son was playing, I didn't know and I knew that if I didn't know, other parents didn't know. So, it became important to me to be a part of the delivery of the information.

NICHOLS: And you weren't just a football dad, you were a football dad.

SMITH: Oh, yeah.

NICHOLS: You were shooting a movie in China, is this right?

SMITH: Yeah.

NICHOLS: And you would fly back to L.A. every week to see him play?

SMITH: For 10 straight weeks, we were shooting the "Karate Kid" with my younger son, Jaden, we're shooting "Karate Kid" in Beijing and football season started for my oldest son in Los Angeles, so I commuted for 10 weeks for the entire football season. NICHOLS: Well that's what's so complicated about this and people watching this movie and their feelings because, well football isn't just about football, right? It depend how people connect with their kids, and connect with their dads and what their traditions are in Thanksgiving and people are reluctant to see that challenged.

SMITH: Yeah. And I think that, I had to accept in the process, and why this was very helpful for just my development as a human being that is not black and white. It's not -- There's not easy answers, it's both things at the same time, it absolutely is one of the most beautiful, poetic, and powerful sports you'll ever see. It's the strongest and most powerful human beings on earth but at the same time, there is a hidden potential long-term brain issue with a game that is hidden in plain sight. So, there's -- It's both things, it's not one or the other.

NICHOLS: Now the million dollar question is, now that you know what you know, you said educating parents, would you let Trey play football now.? If he came to you and say, 'Hey dad, I want to play high school football', what would you say?

SMITH: I think, I would say, "Son, listen, I love you and you know if it were up to me, you could play, but your mother said no".

NICHOLS: That is very good strategy. I love it. The NFL in this movie is not exactly looking good, they're portrayed as willfully obscuring the truth about something that is causing physical long-term harm to their players. Do you think that's an accurate portrayal?

SMITH: That's something that we debated very heavily during this film. And I like to chalk things up to a lack of knowledge, and a lack of clarity about what's real and what's true.

[19:50:04] NICHOLS: How do you think the people in the NFL office feel about you these days?

SMITH: You know, I probably won't be getting my free Super Bowl tickets this year.

NICHOLS: Don't worry, I don't think Roger Goodell sent me a Christmas card this year either. We're in good company.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Fascinating interview by Rachel Nichols. Go to CNN.com to see a lot more of that.

Up next, the number tonight, it comes to us from a galaxy far, far away. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Tonight's number, 11 million, that is how much in dollars, $11 million, it cost to make the original "Star Wars" movie that was back in 1977, an investment in a space offer that has paid off in a major, major way. It has inspired seven movies with the latest, "The Force Awakens"

released this week, two more in the pipeline, also a television series, video games and theme parks, all of it adding up to billions of dollars in profits, and a love from lifelong devoted passionate fans that you just can't put a price tag on. The new movie "The Force Awakens" expected to smash box office records, all of it, starting with a movie made for a relative bargain price of $11 million.

Next on CNN, what does ISIS want? "Blindsided: How ISIS Shook the World" Fareed Zakaria's special report is right after this.

Later, you can catch the post debate covers CNN's Democratic Debate Special at 10:30 p.m. Eastern right here with our very own Wolf Blitzer.

[19:55:04] I'm Poppy Harlow, thank you so much for being with me. Have a great night.