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Trump Stumping in Primary States; Trumps VP?; Armaggedon Fire May Double in Size; Trump Rips Clinton on Coal, West Virginia Votes Tuesday; Hugs, Tears As U.S.-Mexico Borders Opens for a Day; Candidates Hope Latino VP Will Win Hispanic Vote. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 07, 2016 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you are in the "CNN Newsroom" on this Saturday. I am Pamela Brown, filling in for Poppy Harlow.
Well, the man who stands all alone at the top of the Republican candidate heap, making part victory lap in part some speech today in Washington, two weeks ahead of the state's primary.
Donald Trump walking out to his very enthusiastic supporters at the Spokane Convention Center a few minutes ago. And that's where we find our CNN's Jim Acosta. He is also there with Jeremy Diamond. He's at Donald Trump's next stop on the Canadian border, Linden, Washington.
Jim, to you first, what is Donald Trump's message to this Washington state crowd now that he is the only remaining Republican candidate?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I tell you right now, he is right in the middle of going off on Jeb Bush and Lindsay Graham. This is a subject that came up subject yesterday when both of those two former rivals of Donald Trump put out statements saying they are not going to support the presumptive GOP nominee, they are not going to vote for him.
Right now Donald Trump, in the last several seconds went off on Jeb Bush saying once again that he is low energy, that he has no talent, in Donald Trump's words. He pointed and this is something that I pointed out yesterday, Pam. He pointed out that both Jeb Bush and Lindsay Graham signed that GOP loyalty pledge.
Remember the GOP loyalty pledge, this is what every candidate had to sign and it was a very big deal when it first came out. Because the question is will Donald Trump sign the loyalty pledge. This is something that he likes to talk about now out on the campaign trail given the fact that Trump movement is growing. He has pretty key figures in the Republican party who are basically joining that movement. He is talking about that right now.
Earlier in the rally he was going after Hillary Clinton. He did last night. And in no uncertain terms, very harsh language directed at Hillary Clinton talking about how she, his words, is an enabler of her husband's infidelities, his indiscretions and at the beginning of this event here in Spokane, Washington, he again went after the former secretary of state talking about how he was able to wrapped up the nomination essentially before she did. Here is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This wasn't supposed to happen today. After we won I figured we'll maybe I'll stay home and take it a little bit easy. Who would have thought this? Trump wins before Clinton. You know why? She can't put the deal away. We can. We know how to close the deal. She can't put it away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, Pam, that is pretty mild compared to what we heard last night. In addition to going after Hillary Clinton, he ran after Elizabeth Warren, calling her goofy at one point and a fraud. It is just an indication as to how this general election campaign is going to be just as tough, just as nasty as we saw during the GOP primary process.
BROWN: Trump clearly not changing his tune.
Jeremy, I want to go to you now because we are seeing Trump simultaneously to stump at these primary states and turn to the general election. How does he balance that at this stage?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, it is interesting. He has been really pivoting to the general election. Not stylistically so much but he's kind of remain the same but in this state, Donald Trump has several thousands supporters already gathered here. But the message that he is starting to deliver is one that's really targeted at Hillary Clinton. He is really focusing in on her.
I think last night what we see and today at the rally that Jim is at is a preview of the general election fight that we're going to see between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. It's going to be a very nasty election if Donald Trump's tone this morning and last night is any indication.
Certainly, Donald Trump said that he would start acting presidential once he locked up the nomination but we are not really seeing any shift in tone. Instead what we are seeing is a little bit different take in terms of the way that he is goes after Republicans.
He is still going after harshly Lindsay Graham and Jeb Bush but when it comes to Paul Ryan, for example, he has been a little bit more mild mannered, kind of waiting to see if Paul Ryan is waiting to come around to his campaign. That's I think what we're going to see going forward as we finally enter this phase of the general election.
16:05:09
BROWN: All right. Jeremy Diamond, Jim Acosta, thanks so much.
Let's return to Spokane and Donald Trump speaking live.
TRUMP: ... have to use it when general - I will tell you what. It is the single cheapest investment we can make is our strong military. When General Odriano, a nice guy, about a year ago, he was leaving and he as being interviewed. By the way, I don't want my generals on television being interviewed. I don't want it. I don't want it.
Let them be generals. You think General George Patton was interviewed? Yes, we are going to strike the enemy from the front. Two and a half days later we are going to strike them back here. On May 29th we are going to drop some bombs. In the meantime the enemy turns out to be 10 times tougher than we thought because they know our plan.
We have to be unpredictable, folks. We have to be unpredictable. It is so sad. I can just imagine guys like General George Patton, General McArthur, you know, these great generals we have had over the years. They are spinning in their graves, you know. A little while ago President Obama announced that he is sending 50 men to Iraq. He is sending 200 men. He does a news conference. We are sending 50 men to Iraq/Syria. Now, guess what?
First of all, the number is so small, it's like only 50. But these are really elite people. Here is the problem. When you do that they have a target on their back, right? They have a target on their back. Those people are being hunted right now. So keep your mouth shut. Send them if you want to send them, but just keep your mouth shut. Don't talk. Don't talk.
Politicians, they are all talk, no action. I guarantee you, Bobby Knight would not be talking about it. Coach Leach would not be talking about it. They get the job done, folks. They get the job done. So here's what we do. We are going to change things so rapidly. We have big, big - we have a ways to go. You have Hillary, who has taken $90 million. Think of this, she has taken - and I would imagine things would be OK with Paul Ryan. We'll see, I'm meeting him on Thursday, we are going to see what happens.
If he wants to meet, we're going to see what happens. He wants to mee,t I will meet. The important thing is you folks. OK. He will understand that. He does understand that. I would bet that if he had that decision to do again he would have done it the simple way, I would endorse Trump. Do you agree with that?
Well, it's only one of my volunteers saying that but that's OK. My volunteer is a smart cookie, right. But we are going to do things that are going to be incredible in this country. Hillary, though, took $90 million. She has got money from all these special interests, all over the place and she is going to win because the system is so rigged. Even thoush Bernie wins, wins, got no super delegates.
You know, the Republican system is rigged but I did it by overwhelming odds. Like, you know, I won by so much. It's like the prizefighters when they knock somebody out. I won by so much that there was nothing they could do, the bosses could not do anything. We won big, big league. The last eight states have been incredible.
Indiana, wow! That was going to be the firewall, Indiana. They were going to beat me and back coach in Indiana but it did not quite work out that way. We won Indiana in a landslide. We won with women. I love. We won with women. We won with men. The men I don't care. Landslide. We won with evangelicals, we won with young, we won with old, we won with highly educated, we won with the military, we won with the vets. We won with everybody. This was going to be the firewall.
BROWN: You hear Donald Trump speaking in Spokane, Washington about his landslide win in Indiana that ultimately made him the presumpive Republican nominee. Straight ahead right here in the "Newsroom" now his nomination appears to be imminent the search for Trump's running mate is on. So who does the Clinton camp fear the most on Trump's shortlist. We'll discuss.
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16:12:52
BROWN: Donald Trump hasn't chosen his own running mate yet but he knows who he wants potential opponent Hillary Clinton to choose as her vice presidential nominee apparently. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I just learned that crooked Hillary, along with her friend. You know she has this goofy friend named Elizabeth Warren. She is on a twitter rant. She is a goofus. You ever see her? This woman, she is a basket case. So Goofy Elizabeth Warren. I think that Hillary should run with goofy Elizabeth Warren. I would love to beat them. I would love to beat them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So Wwarren responded by calling the goofy nickname "weak." Warren this week unleashed a twitter read criticizing Trump. Here is one of her tweets right here saying "there is more enthusiasm for Donald Trump among the leaders of the KKK than leaders of the political party he now controls."
That was one of the many tweets she sent in quick reaction to Donald Trump. Let's talk it over with democratic strategist Maria Cardona whose firm has worked with the Clinton super pac and she's also a Clinton supporter and a democratic super delegate. Also, joining me a Donald Trump supporter, Jeffrey Lord, former political director of the Reagan White House. Great to have you both on. This is sure to be an interesting discussion with you both.
So Jeffrey, I'm going to start with you here, because we saw what Trump said and what he tweeted, do you agree with him? Is Elizabeth Warren, the Trump favourite for a Clinton running mate?
JEFFREY LORD, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: You are asking me?
BROWN: Yes, Jeffrey. Do you?
LORD: Yes, I mean, I am sure he would love to have them on there. Personally, my suggestion would be Maria. I think she would be a great asset. (LAUGHTER)
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thanks, Jeffrey. I wasn't born in this country so I can't.
LORD: Yes, I am sure he would love to see Elizabeth Warren on there. I am sure he would pick somebody, you know, in unpredictable fashion
that we haven't thought about or sort of writing off for his own running mate.
BROWN: As far as we know Elizabeth Warren has not come out and endorse Maria, correct me if I'm wrong, but there are a list of names (INAUDIBLE) around, a few from the Atlantic short list of possible Trump running mates. Let's look at that list and talk about it. That includes former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin who was John McCain's running mate back in 2008 and Ohio governor John Kasich.
16:15:12
So of those names, Maria, who is the one person that you are most afraid of seeing as Trump's runningmate?
CARDONA: I think that the country is afraid enough of the possibility that Donald Trump is going to be president that we don't even think or have to go to who the VP pick will be. But I assure you, America, that will never happen. You know in terms of VP in all seriousness, think that for Democrats, the one thing that we would, I guess do a double take on is that if he ever chose anybody - if he ever chose a Republican who was sensible, who had foreign policy creds, who had broad appeal among the electorate and the demographics that the GOP actually needs to get more of in order to have even a slight possibility of getting to the White House.
But it seems that every one that fits that bill has run in the complete opposite direction of Donald Trump either saying that they would never support him, that they're not even going to go to the convention - that they're not going to back him and not vote for him or they have said no thank you to the possibility of being on the VP short list.
At this point, Pam, there is nobody that the democrats fear in terms of a VP pick for Donald Trump. We are excited about this matchup between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I am not saying it's going to be easy. I am not saying we should take anything for granted. We need to take him very seriously, we see 16 GOP candidates who did not take him seriously and look where they are.
BROWN: Right.
CARDONA: We will take him very seriously and we will focus on the issues that most Americans care about. I am quite confident that come January 2017 I will be inviting Jeffrey Lord to come Hillary Clinton's inaugural ball.
BROWN: One thing we have learned though, as you point out, Maria, never underestimate Donald Trump. But Jeffrey, do you agree with Maria what she said that essentially any of these people who would stoke fear in the democratic party, these people are running the other direction and Trump would not be able to pull them in?
LORD: No. I don't. I have to say, in my historical memory, the only person who has ever helped a presidential candidate was Lyndon Johnson who in 1960 who helped J.F.K. carry Texas, which was doubtful for J.F.K.. Other than that, for both parties, vice presidential picks have not seen to make a difference. There have been as seen in the day, in the media, positive ones like Ed Muskey who lost with Hubert Humphrey and (INAUDIBLE) and Dan Quayle and they did not hurt either Richard Nixon or George H.W. Bush.
I am not really sure that a VP pick in itself is going to help. It is possible. I mean Governor Christie, for example, could carry New Jersey. But I am not sure Donald Trump wouldn't do that anyway. One last thing here with Elizabeth Warren and the KKK, I believe Elizabeth Warren was a supporter of Occupy Wall Street, so was David Duke of the Ku Klux Klan and I do not recall her denounciation of that.
BROWN: Maria.
CARDONA: What I would say is, you know, be careful of what Donald Trump and their supporters wish for. Because I do think that Elizabeth Warren would be a very powerful VP pick if not a surrogate and an incredibly important voice with a progressive left which, you know, the one criticism that we have now, though I don't think this is going to be a reality in the end is that those are the ones with Bernie Sanders now who prefer him obviously to Hillary Clinton.
But in the end what we are seeing with the attacks that Donald Trump has now embarked on to Elizabeth Warren calling her dufus, calling her goofy. You know, that not only affects the progressive left in helping it mobilize for Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump, it also continues to mobilize women. Without women, without progressives, without young people, without Hispanics, there is no incredible path for Donald Trump and the GOP to the White House.
BROWN: I have so many more questions for you two and I am so thrilled you're going to be coming back this hour on the show. Maria Cardona, Jeffrey Lord, thanks so much for that. Stay with us.
CARDONA: Thanks so much, Pam.
LORD: Thanks, Pam.
BROWN: Coming up right here in the "Newsroom," no end in sight, tens of thousands left homeless as Canadian firefighters continue to battle a massive inferno that authorities say will double in size. A live report is next.
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16:23:13
BROWN: Breaking news right here on CNN. In the case of the dangerous drug kingpin they call El Chapo. Remember, he's the leader of the huge cartel in Mexico blamed for drug trafficking and violent deaths throughout the Americas. Well, today it looks like the wheels are turning to bring him to the United States to stand trial.
We are told Joaquin Guzman, El Chapo, was moved early this morning from his maximum security prison to another prison very close to the U.S. border. U.S. officials have been preparing for months to receive Guzman. He's wanted in the U.S. on a long list of charges, drug trafficking, kidnapping and conspiracy to murder.
Turning now to a situation that's being called hell on earth. Massive wildfires have left more than 88,000 people homeless and it could get much worse. These fires burning now in area as big as Hong Kong are expected to double in size just today and the smoke is spreading across the United States all the way to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is what it looks like from the International Space Station. Take a look right there.
Dan Simon joins me now with more on this. So Dan, how are the weather conditions impacting the situation there?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Pamela. This is not ideal weather for battling a wildfire of this magnitude. You're talking about hot, windy and dry conditions. You can see the smoke cloud behind me. You can see some of the black smoke over there. We have seen a lot of these spot fires all day long.
That is a forested area. Fortunately, the fire is burning away from the community but this remains an unprecedented situation for the folks here in Canada. As you said, nearly 90,000 people under an evacuation order. If you're not a first responder, you can't even get into the town of Fort McMurray. You might be wondering where all of those people have gone.
09:25:00
Well, of course, some have gone to shelters, some are staying with friends and families and of course, some are at hotels. You can't even get a hotel room in the area. But in terms of this wildfire, it is going to go on for quite some time. The weather tomorrow does call for rain or there's at least a 30 percent chance of rain, slim chance. That would be welcome news for the folks here in Canada. But even if there is rain, this fire is going to rage on for several more weeks, we're told. Pamela.
BROWN: I mean, just incredible. 80,000 people being impacted by this. Do we know what caused this fire in the first place?
SIMON: That is a good question. There is a lot of curiosity behind that. We know, at least the operating theory is that it started in the middle of the forest somewhere perhaps by a lightning strike but that is something that investigators still need to determine for sure.
In the meantime, we are here along Highway 63. This has been a heavily traffic corridor here in the Fort McMurray area because people are still evacuating. A lot of people when the fire first broke out, they went north of the fire to camps. These are camps that are normally used to house people who worked in the oil industry. Well, they became temporary refugee camps but because they were running low on food and water, low on supplies, authorities thought it best to evacuate those people again.
So you're talking about a double evacuation. There were 25,000 people who were living in those camps for several days and now they become the process to get those people out. So far maybe about 15,000 have left but still a number of people there remain, of course. Pamela.
BROWN: Just horrible situation for them. Dan Simon, thanks so much for that.
Well, a state that was already an uphill climb now looks even steeper for one presidential candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFED MALE: I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: Who will you vote for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: So you're voting for -
UNIDENTIFED MALE: Trump.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: Who are you supporting right now for president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Responses reflecting Hillary Clinton's impact problem in West Virginia's coal country. How a hole she dug two months ago is proving hard to get out of.
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[16:30:15] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to THE NEWSROOM.
It is a busy day for Donald Trump. You were looking live at two Trump rallies. On the left, he is speaking in Spokane, Washington. And on the right, Linden, Washington, where the crowds are already lining up to hear him speak hours from now, as we see there.
Meantime, voters of West Virginia head to the polls on Tuesday for the party primary, and as we know, coal is king there in West Virginia. And Donald Trump just fired a zinger at Hillary Clinton over her earlier comment to cut down on coal use.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In West Virginia, where I was going to go first, that was the first stop, we would have -- I think we would have gotten 95 percent of the vote. In fact, the miners endorsed Donald Trump. The miners endorsed me and gave me an award as opposed to Hillary she wants to have all miners essentially fired. I don't think she's going to do well in West Virginia in November.
And then she went to apologize. You know those apologies don't work because they know how you really feel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And here is what Hillary Clinton said during a CNN town hall a couple of months ago that got West Virginia's attention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to put a lot of coal miners and companies out of business, right, Tim?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So, that remark, as you may imagine, came back to haunt Clinton during a campaign stop in West Virginia this week. In fact, a former coal employee asked how her -- how he can support her after what she said and here's her response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I don't know how to explain it other than what I said was totally out of context from what I meant, because I have been talking about helping coal country for a very long time and I did put out a plan last summer. And it was a misstatement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: But many in West Virginia aren't buying it.
Let's talk about it with our political commentator Maria Cardona, Hillary Clinton supporter, with us now. Also with us, politics reporter Tom LoBianco, and Jeffrey Lord, former Reagan White House political director and a Trump supporter.
Great to have you three back on with us.
This time, Maria, I'm going to start with you, because as you heard Clinton said the comment she made about putting coal companies out of business was taken out of context. But does this play into her critics' argument that she can't be trusted? How does she counter that? And what did she mean when she said it?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the way that she counters it is doing exactly what she did when she apologized for it saying it was taken out of context. I do think it was taken out of context. I think what she was saying is that where this country is going in 30, 40, 50 years, you know, the coal industry is going to be out of business. And she wants to be there to help the coal industry either transition or help them focus on what they can do now to prepare for what's coming down the pipe without putting them all out of business.
And so, you know, she did misspeak when she said that. I think what she's going to do now is continue talking about the issues. It will be difficult for her as she has -- she knows that. She's realized that. The campaign knows that West Virginia is going to be difficult for her.
A Democrat hasn't won West Virginia since the 1990s. But what that says about her is that she is going to continue to fight and compete for every single vote, for every single state, nothing is off the table. And this is what she is going to do in terms of her message of trying to breakdown barriers and focus on economic prosperity for everybody, versus Donald Trump who wants to build walls.
BROWN: And, Jeffrey, you were in the Reagan White House. Reagan won by a landslide in 1980. At least partly because of Reagan Democrats. In fact, our CNN's MJ Lee, she's been talking to voters in the Rust Belt, many of whom just want someone who can improve their lives, never mind what party they're from. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM WILES, BAR OWNER: I don't think we've really had a strong president since Ronald Reagan. What I'm going to say about Ronald Reagan I feel the same way about Trump. Ronald Reagan was not a genius but he surrounded himself with great people.
DARLENE HOOD, RESIDENT: I have been voting the last few years. It doesn't really matter to me because nobody is going to help me no way.
SEAN CANDELA, BUSINESS OWNER: Trump and the Sanders, people don't feel like their voice has been heard. It is a crying out for let's get something done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: You know how important those voters are in general election.
Jeffrey, can Trump and his advisers forge a coalition of so-called Trump Democrats much like Reagan did, or do you think Hillary Clinton will keep these disaffected voters in her column come November?
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I think he can. I'll tell you, the first time I begun to think about this, I was on CNN in the evening in the summer and they were covering a Donald Trump rally in a town called Birch Run, Michigan.
[16:35:00] And by chance, my CNN colleague Amanda Carpenter is from that area. And she pointed out that not only the hall was filled, but that area is a Democratic area filled with union workers. There they were, you know, live and in living color cheering Donald Trump. "The Washington Post" later followed up on this story. I do think that there is such a thing as Trump Democrats. This was Ronald Reagan's deliberate approach after Gerald Ford in 1976 election. He declared to "The New York Times" he was going to go after Democrats and independents and he did so. We now call them Reagan Democrats as a matter of form. I think there are a lot of Trump Democrats out there.
BROWN: And before we get too far away from West Virginia, Tom, and feel free to weigh in Jeffrey as well, I want to talk about what Trump said to West Virginia voters recently, basically telling them to save their vote, don't vote come Tuesday, save that vote for the general election. We just heard him today at that rally though tell the people in Washington and other states around there to vote in the primary.
What sort of the strategy going on here, Tom, in your view? And, by the way, you know, Donald Trump hasn't reached that 1,237 number.
TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Right. Well, yes, you have to get to 1,237 to win the nomination. So, I mean, that hasn't changed. We are not going to have a convention battle. But you still need to get there.
There's really two things, right? I mean, there is a functional thing where you need to get the delegates. But again, this is -- you know, it's air time. It's attention. It's his message getting out there.
The same thing he has been doing throughout the primary. There is almost no reason for him to stop.
You know, I was laughing when Clinton apologized to this coal miner. I was thinking how Trump would handle that. I'm not sure Trump would have apologized, of course, I'm also not sure Trump would have been in a roundtable like that.
(LAUGHTER)
CARDONA: He wouldn't have done that either.
LOBIANCO: But that is what he is up against. I mean, he needs to keep on playing the playbook that has worked out so well for him so far. You've got to keep running that.
BROWN: All right. Tom LoBianco, Maria Cardona, Jeffrey Lord, what an interesting election year this has been.
CARDONA: That it is.
BROWN: I think we can all agree on that, despite the differing opinions there. Thanks so much to the three of you.
By the way, tomorrow morning, don't miss John McCain and Sarah Palin on "STATE OF THE UNION". Once they were running mates, but will Trump pull them apart. Join Jake Tapper tomorrow morning at 9:00, right here on CNN.
And coming up in THE NEWSROOM, there's the immigration issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: How are you going to make them pay for the wall?
TRUMP: I will. And the wall just got ten feet taller, believe me. Just got ten feet taller.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And then there are immigrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: When was the last time that you saw your mom and your sister face to face?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About nine years ago. My heart just broke apart because I left in (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Heartbreaking story of families divided by the border. Their emotional reunions, next.
But first --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sports have always been a huge part of Sean Dever's life.
SEAN DEVER, CANCER SURVIVOR: I started playing soccer before kindergarten and started playing lacrosse in fourth grade, basketball in third grade.
GUPTA: In 2007, when he was 11 years old, a fall at lacrosse camp changed his life.
DEVER: My mom was very concerned that I was not walking normally. So, she took me to the doctor and they suggested an MRI.
GUPTA (on camera): The tests revealed that Sean had a type of bone cancer known as osteosarcoma. That means the tumor that was located in his lower femur, the distal part of his thigh bone right there.
DEVER: I had to grow up really fast.
GUPTA (voice-over): After three months of chemotherapy, surgeons removed the cancerous part of his leg, including the knee, an approach that gave him the best chance of getting back in the game.
DEVER: That summer was just me learning to walk again. All the physical therapy, all the pain and everything I went through was to get back on a lacrosse field. GUPTA: And he did.
JOHN WELLFORD, BLESSED TRINITY H.S. LACROSSE COACH: Every day was a gift, and he played like it and he was one of the best players I've ever had.
GUPTA: Today, Sean is captain of the lacrosse team at Young Harris College. He's been cancer-free for eight years and volunteers with the Childhood Cancer Charity to show others what is possible.
DEVER: It's worth pushing through things, the pain that you go through is temporary and the happiness will last a lot longer.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:43:19] BROWN: It has been nine years in the making, a reunion that lasts just three minutes. But for one divided family, every second counts. One day a year, Customs and Border Patrol officials open up the gates for something as simple as letting children give their parents a hug, some who they haven't seen in years.
This is only the third time in history it has been done. And CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AGENT FRANK ALVARADO, U.S. BORDER PATROL: Here is an example that you will see here of the patches made on the fence every night.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every night?
ALVARADO: Every night, we get at least one attempt. As we get west here, you're going to see more.
YURKEVICH: People are trying to cut their way through.
ALVARADO: Cut their way through, yes.
YURKEVICH: This is the U.S./Mexico border. Some call it a fence. Some call it a wall. But 46 miles along San Diego and Tijuana, this barrier divides the two countries.
But one day a year, for 20 minutes, this door opens for both sides.
ALVARADO: In 1986, there was 628,000 apprehensions in this area. It was very much like the Wild West.
YURKEVICH: Back then, there were no barriers here. In 1994, this fence was built. Four years later, an 18-foot tall barrier was put up.
ALVARADO: The fence is not the be all, end all of the immigration problem. That seems to be a political issue.
[16:45:00] But for us it allows us to do our job more effectively.
ENRIQUE MORONES, BORDER ANGELS: When the wall was built, nobody expected all these deaths. They thought people would stop coming in 1994, but they didn't. They started to cross in more dangerous areas. So, instead of one or two people dying a month, it was per day.
YURKEVICH: That is when Enrique founded Border Angels. His latest initiative at the border is Children's Day at Friendship Park.
MORONES: Friendship Park is the heart and soul of this immigration issue. We have universal human rights to be able to be with our family. You don't practice human rights by putting up a wall.
YURKEVICH: For the third time, Customs and Border Protection has agreed to open the door. This year, six families were selected to reunite with no barriers between them for three minutes each.
When was the last time that you saw your mom and your sister face to face?
GABI ESPARZA, MOTHER LIVES IN MEXICO: About nine years ago.
YURKEVICH: Gabi Esparza came to the U.S. undocumented when she was 8 years old. Today, she lives in California legally thanks to a temporary work permit under DACA. But her status doesn't allow her to leave the country. Her mother and sister only have Mexican citizenship and have been waiting to enter the U.S.
ESPARZA: When I last saw them, I was 16. Now I am a mom. I have my family. We are ready. As I was walking there, it felt like forever.
YURKEVICH: Did they look different to you?
ESPARZA: Just my mom. I kind of pictured her as I last knew her. Now I see her in a different way. It is not the same picture. But it is the same connection that we have. My heart just broke apart because I just left them again.
YURKEVICH: In the time that it took you to watch this story, that is the same amount of time, Gabi had to see her family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: That is so incredibly emotional there. Our thanks to Vanessa Yurkevich for that report.
In the meantime, we know immigration is on the mind of the presidential candidates as they weigh one of the most important decisions on the campaign, who will be their pick for vice president.
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TANZINA VEGA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are rumored to be Hillary's V.P. pick. Do you feel like a lot of that focus is mostly on demographics or on policy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Is ethnicity more important than experience and will Latinos care? We will discuss, up next.
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[16:51:31] BROWN: There is no sure fire resume for a vice president. But this year, one qualification may be more important than others and that's ethnicity, especially being a Latino. The Spanish vote could be decisive in this election, and both parties want those votes.
For Democrats, Julian Castro's name comes up over and over as a possible running mate. CNN's Tanzina Vega asked him about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VEGA: You are rumored to be Hillary's V.P. pick. Do you feel like a lot of that focus is mostly on demographics or on policy?
JULIAN CASTRO (D), HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY: Number one, I've said over and over, I don't believe that will happen. I will let the speculation belong to other folks. I've been proud to support Secretary Clinton, but I'm just going to just keep doing what I am doing and making sure that I am doing a good job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: On the Republican side, the name you will hear is Susana Martinez, second term governor of New Mexico and former prosecutor. A glittering resume in a swing state that has made her a top choice for V.P.
Tanzina Vega joins us me now for more on this.
Tanzina, do you really think Latinos, people like Julian Castro, will vote for their running mate is Hispanic, Hispanic like Julian Castro?
VEGA: I think we have to give Latinos a lot more credit than assuming they will just vote on demographic lines, right?
Julian Castro's story, his personal story is one that I think resonates with a lot of Latinos, especially with Mexican Americans. He has Texas roots. His grandmother was an immigrant from Mexico looking for a better life. His mother was a well known social activist in San Antonio. He himself was the mayor of San Antonio.
And in terms of policy, he has been pretty progressive recently on a lot of these issues. He's put forth new recommendations and guidelines for people with criminal records, they are looking for housing, usually had tough time in the past. And on top of that, he has made homelessness a top item in his agenda, and also been progressive when it comes to LBGT rights.
So, I think, you know, when you look broadly at the issue, there are lots of reasons for people to have an interests on Julian beyond specifically his demographics. But I do think that's an important point.
BROWN: Let's look at the tweet that has so many people talking. From Donald Trump Thursday saying, "Happy Cinco de Mayo. These taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!"
From your view talking to people, did he further alienate Hispanics with that tweet?
VEGA: This tweet fell very flat with the Latino community. This was something that at best was considered pandering and at worst was considered insulting to a lot of people in the Latino community. You know, the fact of the matter is, people have not forgotten for the most part a lot of the rhetoric that Donald Trump started his campaign with, which included calling Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers. And so, eating a taco bowl is not going to change that, unfortunately.
BROWN: And do you think, though, hypothetically, if Donald Trump does pick a Hispanic as a running mate, that could influence some of those Hispanics who right now wouldn't vote for him?
VEGA: No. The majority of Latinos in the United States are Democrats, first of all.
So, really, you know, we saw this with Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. Neither one of those candidates really were able to galvanize the Latino vote and they were, you know, candidates who are running for president of the United States. So, I don't think it really makes a difference as much for the Latino Republicans, which they do exist. I mean, there are Republicans that are Latino. But that's really not your core vote and core constituency.
[16:55:01] I don't think you are going to see a lot of Latino Republican candidates, whether it is a V.P. pick for Donald Trump or the two running for president who really use identity politics as a way to connect with the Latino vote.
BROWN: And you have a really interesting piece on CNN.com, and in it, you write about the lack of Latino leaders. Do Hispanics want or lead a national leader in your view?
VEGA: I think part of the challenge with getting a national leader, when we think of it, it is a monolith, it's one of the most diverse communities out there. We got people from all different parts of the world, you have Mexican-Americans. You have people who have been here for generations. You have Puerto Ricans. You have Dominicans.
I mean, the list is very long. You have people who speak Spanish as a first language, people who don't. So, sort of the idea that there is one figure that could embody that, all those layers of complexity and all those different types of people I think it is a real challenge. I think we are also in a moment right now where we're seeing this with the Black Lives Matter movement, for example.
You know, there isn't really a desire to have a figurehead like there were back in the '60s, when people had, you know, civil rights leader sort of leading the charge. I just think that that's really something that's palatable. I think what you are seeing now is a lot of development in terms of local politicians and people who are getting groomed like Castro for potentially bigger positions.
BROWN: Really interesting perspective and context there. Tanzina Vega thank you so much for that.
And you can see more of Tanzina's interview with Julian Castro at CNN.com. We appreciate it.
Well, this election cycle, nothing is certain. I think we can all agree with that, right? Well, coming up, we're going to look wild cards that could sway the election in November, as Trump and Clinton ramp up their attacks.
Stay with us.
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