Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

New York Times Obtains Trump's 1995 Tax Documents; Russia Warns U.S. Against Attacks on Syrian Forces; Caribbean Braces for Major Storm; Hungarians Vote on EU Migrant Quotas; Dining Business Booming After Brexit?; Pope Francis Celebrates Sunday Mass in Azerbaijan; Trump Well Known for Bitter Public Feuds; Colombians Voting on Peace Deal with FARC; Georgian Politicians Throw Glass During Debate. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 02, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:14] ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, Trump's tax records. "The New York Times" newly released documents gives a glimpse into the billionaire's finances.

Plus, a warning from the U.S. -- to the U.S., rather, from Russia, attack the Syrian army, face the consequences.

And in the path of a hurricane. Haiti braces for impact as Hurricane Matthew heads its way.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Zain Asher and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Welcome, everybody. Since the start of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has refused to release his tax returns, leading to a lot of speculation as to why. And was it just because of a routine audit, as Trump has been saying all along, or was he, indeed, hiding something?

On Saturday we got a fresh glimpse into Donald Trump's finances, and that's because "The New York Times" obtained Trump's state tax records from all the way back to 1995 when they were mailed to a reporter.

The documents show Trump declaring a loss of nearly a billion dollars. In fact, specifically $916 million. And that kind of huge loss could easily have allowed Trump to avoid paying federal income taxes for many, many years, but I want to make it clear that CNN cannot actually independently confirm the authenticity of these documents.

The Trump campaign has released a statement in response to the report. They say, Mr. Trump is a highly skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required. The statement went on to say that Trump had paid hundreds of millions in all manner of taxes, as well as charitable contributions.

And of course, the Clinton campaign is seizing on this "New York Times" report, of course, calling it a bombshell. The Trump camp says the report just proves the newspaper is an extension of Hillary Clinton's campaign. Our politics reporter Eugene Scott joins me live now from New York.

So, Eugene, we've got five weeks to go until the election. How big of a bombshell is this really, do you think?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: I think it's a big deal to Hillary Clinton supporters who really believe that people of Trump's stature financially should be paying more taxes because they would fund programs and services that most American citizens depend upon, but many people in Trump's -- many of the people in Trump's base of support have significant issues with the federal government and the IRS and have lots of questions about the fairness of the tax code as is, and so they back him and support his desire to get around the system as much as possible.

ASHER: You know, when you talk to Donald Trump supporters and you say, why do you support this man, the response we hear over and over again is that, you know, he's a great business person, I'm sure he can run the economy, that kind of thing, but when you look at this document that the "New York Times" released, we're talking about a $1 billion loss. I mean, fair enough it happened 20 years ago, but surely that argument of Trump being such a stand-up business guy is a little bit weaker now.

SCOTT: Yes, there have been quite a few pieces, even at CNNMoney.com, questioning how successful Donald Trump is as a businessman, and we had someone on CNN NEWSROOM yesterday who is the CEO of a Fortune 100 company discussing why many supporters have not gotten behind Donald Trump because there are questions still remain and it's not just clear that he is actually who he says he is professionally.

ASHER: So if you were someone who works for Donald Trump's campaign and, you know, you wake up and you see this report from "The New York Times," what do you do to protect your candidate? How do you shield your candidate from the fallout?

SCOTT: Well, I think one of the things we saw that the campaign actually did do was they initially attacked "The New York Times" and the legitimacy of the reporting, which is a common approach from people in the Trump campaign and which would do well with his base, which has been really suspicious of the mainstream media.

ASHER: Do we know how "The New York Times" got this document?

SCOTT: What we saw was that it appeared that there was a letter being e-mailed to "The New York Times," it's not clear from who. The return address said Trump Tower, but the likelihood of it actually coming from the campaign is questionable.

ASHER: So bottom line, you know, people who are Trump supporters are basically diehard Trump supporters, and something like this might not affect it -- affect his popularity, but if you're a Clinton supporter, then this is a big deal is what you're saying overall?

SCOTT: Whether or not you want to see the tax returns really depends who you are going with. People who are on the Trump train are not going to get off based off something like this.

[05:05:05] That's not what we're seeing so far. The people who do want to know more about his business dealings, his past philanthropic efforts and the taxes that he's paid -- he has paid probably do want to see more and those people who likely support Hillary Clinton.

ASHER: Yes, so if Trump supporters haven't changed their mind now, then I'm almost certain that nothing will change their mind.

Eugene Scott, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

SCOTT: Thank you.

ASHER: All right. I want to turn now to the battle for Aleppo. Russia is issuing a serious warning to the United States. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that there will be terrible consequences across the Middle East if the U.S. attacks Syrian regime forces because it could create a power vacuum that would be filled by terrorists as tensions over Syria escalate between Russia and the U.S., roughly 10,000 Syrian-led troops are gathering near Aleppo to take on rebel forces inside the city.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has covered Syria extensively. He joins us live now from Istanbul, Turkey.

Nic, when you look at what is happening in Aleppo and the escalation, especially in times of tensions between the U.S. and Russia, is there a viable path towards peace at this point?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Russia and the United States are perhaps experiencing right now the worst dip in their relations over Syria. They did work out a couple of weeks ago in Geneva between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov -- Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, that there would be a cessation of hostilities. That absolutely fell apart. That's fallen apart in acrimony. Finger-pointing the attack by Syrian or Russian aircraft it appears on an aid convoy that was supposed to go in, part of the deal to shore up the conditions for an extended cease- fire, a humanitarian aid into the beleaguered part of Aleppo.

But where we're at right now, on Saturday Russian news services report that John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov did have a phone conversation. They talked about jointly normalizing the situation inside Aleppo. The language sounds good, the reality behind it is great. Differences are still there. Russians also reporting that lower-level Foreign Ministry officials from both U.S. and Russia continued the phone conversation, but what the Russians are saying is that the United States has failed to convince moderate rebels it backs inside Aleppo to disassociate themselves from Al-Nusra, the Al-Nusra being the former, if you will, rebranded al Qaeda affiliate.

What the Russian deputy foreign minister said yesterday was an even bigger threat, if you will, an escalation, it certainly sounds like, but if the United States tries to intervene militarily, perhaps target, for example, these Syrian forces outside Aleppo, that that would have consequences beyond Syria, deteriorate relationship between the United States and Russia further. And also saying that if the United States was to try to, you know, have a decapitation attack, if you will, take out President Bashar al-Assad, this would create the conditions on the ground in Syria that would be exploited by the terrorists.

Russia has tried to define this as either the government forces or terrorist forces, and it continues in all its narrative to say that the United States right now is failing under its obligations to separate moderate rebels from terrorists. That's Russia's narrative. It's far more complex, but that's the narrative they stick to.

ASHER: And while tensions keep on rising, Nic, between the U.S. and Russia, we have to be mindful of the humanitarian consequences of all this because we just got word that M-10, which is the largest surgical hospital in the area, has been bombed yet again. Just explain how does something like this continue to happen, and do people on the ground there believe that the Russians are responsible?

ROBERTSON: People in the rebel-held area and the World Health Organization says there's about 270,000 people in eastern Aleppo. They do feel that the Russians are absolutely backing the Syrian government. They feel abandoned by the international community. They feel that the United States and its allies have not done enough to stand up for their interests.

You know, on the government side of Aleppo, there's perhaps about a million and a half people living in the city, as well. They are also there in the past couple of days observation groups on the ground say that 13 civilians died in the past couple of days on the government side because the rebel shelling -- on the rebel side we hear from the World Health Organization 338 people killed, 100 of them children.

[05:10:04] Overnight, reports not just of that attack on the M-10 hospital, but the hospital known as M-3, an important kidney dialysis hospital, has also been targeted. This is what rebels are saying. Syria, backed by Russia, is targeting places people congregate. It seems an effort to undermine not only confidence, their hold out in the siege, but actually their ability to live through them would stand there -- Zain.

ASHER: And Nic, in all your experience, I mean, what can the U.S. at this point do to put more pressure on the Russians so there is a path towards peace?

ROBERTSON: The reality seems to be you're in the twilight months of this current U.S. administration. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was picked up on a microphone at a meeting with opposition groups inside Syria saying that he had tried to do more to bring the United States to bear against Assad's forces, particularly during the chemical attacks. So you are in the twilight time of the U.S. administration, it's very unlikely that anything can be realistically achieved.

Russia seems to be exploiting that with the Syrian government forces who appear intent to take territory on the ground before they get into realistic peace negotiations. So bottom line is, very little can be done at this stage and that perhaps is why we're seeing very little being done -- Zain.

ASHER: All right. Nic Robertson live for us there, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

Hurricane Matthew continues its path across the Caribbean, and the region is bracing for one of its strongest storms in years.

This is video from the Dominican Republic on Friday. The country issued a tropical storm warning for its southern coast. Matthew is expected to hit Jamaica and Haiti on Monday, and Jamaica's prime minister is urging his country to get ready.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW HOLNES, JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER: What we know is that we will be impacted by the storm. Jamaica will be within the 90 percent effective band of the storm. What we have control over is our ability to prepare and we hold firmly to the view that our preparation can reduce loss of life and damage to property and treasure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Jamaica is under a hurricane warning and residents there have rushed to stores to stock up on supplies, including food and lots and lots of water. Part of the U.S., the Bahamas, and Cuba could also be impacted by Hurricane Matthew. Cuban President Raul Castro made a surprise visit to Santiago de Cuba on Saturday to inspect its hurricane preparations. According to state media, the area is under hurricane watch and officials have warned residents to get ready for the upcoming storm.

Let's get the latest on the storm's track. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins me.

It's so interesting how the path of the storm sort of changes because yesterday you and I were talking about Jamaica being the path and now the talk is, it's sort of moving towards Haiti.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's interesting that you pick that up because the slow forward progress of the storm has created such an easy shift in this track, this exact path where miles and kilometers count. The fact that it's only moving at roughly five miles per hour means that it could easily shift or kind of wobble as they do when they are this intense and that's exactly what we've seen.

Now I want to explain something to you, Zain, and to our viewers, because we're just now getting the latest information from the National Hurricane Center. They have issued their 5:00 a.m. update. This is the latest watches and warnings that you need to know about. Jamaica hurricane warning, western Haiti or all of Haiti, I should say, now under a hurricane warning. Eastern Cuba also under a hurricane warning, and look at this, newly issued, the Turks and Caicos under a hurricane watch all in advance of Hurricane Matthew.

So here's the latest. 150 miles per hour. It sustains its category 4 equivalent as it churns about the Caribbean Sea. Higher wind gusts, as well, and it has a northerly component to its direction, but it's still moving at northwesterly speed at about five miles per hour. So where is it going?

Let me do my best to try and break this down for you. There's a narrow path between Jamaica and Haiti. That's about 330 miles worth of water, so not much water separates those two bodies of land, so miles count. This is what I was talking about. But we start to notice now that we have more of an easterly shift in that forecast path and I'm showing you this because the National Hurricane Center actually has this cone of uncertainty outside actually excluding Jamaica, whereas 24 hours ago it was well in its path.

Haiti, however, looks to see the full brunt of the storm. Not to say that Jamaica will not feel the effects from Hurricane Matthew, it's just that we don't expect a direct hit. They will get their auto rain vents, still feel tropical storm force winds, if not hurricane force, and then from there it moves into the Turks and Caicos and the Bahama islands and you start to see the northwesterly track from there.

[05:15:15] That's where computer models start to diverge, but it's important to monitor this from the coast of Florida, right through the New England coastline because where the system will go will dictate so much for the U.S. mainland across the East Coast, but the most immediate concern going forward is Haiti, Jamaica, as well as eastern Cuba. Strong winds and heavy torrential rains that lead to flooding, as well -- Zain.

ASHER: Yes, so Jamaica can't quite breathe a sigh of relief just yet?

VAN DAM: No, not at all, but they can be assured that a direct hit is not likely.

ASHER: Right. OK, Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for breaking that down for our viewers.

VAN DAM: Thanks, Zain.

ASHER: Appreciate that.

Time for a quick break here on CNN NEWSROOM. When we come back, a European Union's plan to resettle refugees is going up for a vote in Hungary. We'll have more on the government's campaign against the plan. That's next on CNN NEWSROOM.

Plus, Brexit begins 100 days after the controversial vote. Britain takes its first step on the road to ending its EU membership. That's all coming up next. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Right now Hungarians are voting in a controversial referendum. They have to decide whether to accept or reject the European Union's migrant process. There's a high probability the plan will be rejected, though.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin explains. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the subject of a slick government-backed media campaign, and the message is clear.

This ad talks of the perils of Europe's migrant crisis. How many of them are masked terrorists, it asks, urging people to reject the EU's refugee resettlement plan, the subject of Sunday's referendum.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has made it no secret how he wants things to go.

VIKTOR ORBAN, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER (Through Translator): We lose our European values and identity the way frogs are cooked in slowly heating water. Quite simply, slowly there will be more and more Muslims and we will no longer recognize Europe.

MCLAUGHLIN: In Budapest Orban's campaign is seemingly everywhere. Posters warn of the dangers of accepting migrants. Leaflets label various European capitals no-go zones due to high levels of immigrants.

With this kind of media offensive it's perhaps hardly surprising that a majority no vote is widely expected, although some opposition groups are calling for a boycott.

[05:20:08] (On camera): Under the EU agreement reached last fall Hungary would only have to accept 1,294 migrants. That said, the outcome to this referendum is not legally binding and does nothing to reverse existing EU legislation. So why is Orban bothering to have a referendum at all?

JOHN DALHUISEN, EUROPE DIRECTOR, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: This is a piece of international PR. This is international marketing. He's selling himself as the ideologue of a radically different immigration policy to how he's characterized Merkel is saying let them come and he's saying the solution to a refugee crisis, to the migration issues in Europe is let no one come.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Last year tens of thousands of migrants crossed the Hungarian-Serbian border to get to Germany. There was footage of a Hungarian camerawoman tripping migrants. And clashes at the border.

In response the government erected a razor-wire fence, began to recruit thousands of so-called border hunters. It's even arrested and tried migrants on terrorism charges.

ORBAN (Through Translator): What we have seen so far from the people's migration have only been warm-up rounds. The real battle is yet to come.

DALHUISEN: This is what he wants people to believe and this is what he sees as being a primary generator of his remaining in power and populist parties across Europe likewise taking over the reins of power.

MCLAUGHLIN: With populism on the rise and European values challenged, the question is, where does that leave the European Union?

Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Joining us now by phone from Budapest is reporter Tamas Borbely from our affiliate HirTV.

So, Tamas, thank you so much for being with us. So even if there is a no vote, even if the results is no, what does that actually change in the long term because Hungary is still technically going to be bound by EU rules?

TAMAS BORBELY, HIRTV REPORTER: Hi, Zain. Yes, well, the prime minister, Mr. Viktor Orban, said earlier in the morning when he casted his vote that no matter if the referendum will be invalid or valid, so it doesn't matter if enough people will show up, which is 51 percent, to be valid or not. If the no votes win, it will have public little impact on Hungary, which means that the parliament will decide who the Hungarians wants to lift it because, as he said, if the no's get the majority but the votes are -- that the voting is not valid, then it still will have to have an impact on the future.

ASHER: When you listen to some of the comments, Tamas, from the prime minister, from Viktor Orban, and the sort of tone of the campaign and the propaganda, does it strike some people as somewhat xenophobic?

BORBELY: I wouldn't say so. I would most likely say that he and the government would like to urge the people to go voting and they use basically any resources to make more and more people show up at the referendum vote, which they need eventually because up to 9:00 in the morning, which was about two and a half hours ago, only 7.25 percent of the Hungarians have showed up nationally, which is way below the average turnout of the referendum in the past 20 years.

And if you look at the capital, if you look in Budapest, it's not even 5 percent who showed up, up to 9:00 in the morning, so what they want to do eventually is to urge people to go and vote and I think that nothing is too expensive to make people vote.

ASHER: Wait, so you're saying there, you know, their main goal is to increase turnout and to get people to vote, but when you look -- and we just played Erin McLaughlin's package, her story just there, when you look at some of the comments the prime minister made, it was somewhat alarming. For example, he said, you know, we are losing our European values the way frogs are cooked in slowly heating water. Slowly there will be more Muslims and we will no longer recognize Europe. And some people are saying on the ground there that if there is an influx of migrants that could lead to more terrorist attacks, as well. Isn't that somewhat concerning?

BORBELY: I think most people are concerned about these kind of comments and I think that these comments are not so fortunate, let's say that, but I would not state that it would be xenophobic or anti- Muslim. The thing is that he needs to and the government would need to go up to the wall, to the very end of the room, to -- in its comments to make people get in the voting polls and try to cast their vote, which, and I believe, and I've seen around the surrounding countries of Hungary, when I saw that most of the prime ministers are -- migrant quotas are campaigning with harsh comments like that.

[05:25:24] If you give me one second, against the prime minister when he voted today in early in the morning, he said that he's proud that Hungary is the first country in the EU to hold a referendum on this topic and he hopes that most of the countries will do the same, and that was the rumor a couple of days ago, which were confirmed by one of the senior MPs of the Hungarian parliament that said Mr. Orban said that he will resign if the yes votes will win, and today in the morning, Mr. Orban said, yes, if the yes votes are winning, then he's going to resign.

ASHER: OK, so you're saying it's not xenophobic overall, but some people watching this may indeed disagree with you. But, Tamas Borbely, thank you so much for being with us. I have to leave it there. Appreciate you joining us, though. Thank you.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has just said that she will trigger formal talks before the end of next March for the UK to leave the European Union. That is known as Article 50 and it starts a two-year process.

It has been 100 days since Britain voted for the Brexit, and Mrs. May already announced she'll introduce a bill next year to repeal the act that actually brought Britain into the EU. She says parliament will decide which EU laws to keep and which ones to abandon.

And of course, there is still some uncertainty about the exact terms of Britain leaving the EU but none of that uncertainty, interestingly enough, is hurting London's cafe culture. It is booming.

Nina dos Santos went to a Michelin Star restaurant where success is very much on the menu.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN MONEY EUROPE EDITOR (voice-over): For these diners across London's west end, Brexit hasn't brought the sour aftertaste some were expecting. Having been cautious with their cash up until the summer vote they're now feeling profligate once more and for restaurants in the capital business post-Brexit is booming.

DAVID MOORE, FOUNDING DIRECTOR, PIED A TERRE: We found that up until the Brexit our slowest six weeks in the past two years. It was absolutely dead. And then bingo, back like nothing had happened. The uncertainty deterred people. The unknown of what was going to happen. But now that we've actually got Brexit and we're talking about what does that mean, it's not deterring anybody. Everybody's back on their expense accounts and business is back to usual.

DOS SANTOS: Restaurants seem to be feeling reassured as well. With 50 percent more of them opening across London this August versus last year.

MOORE: Since Brexit I've actually sold a business that I was offered quite a lot of money for and I thought let's take that. And we have plans to open a new concept, which will be coming to the west end in the next three to five months.

DOS SANTOS: And it's not just the diners who are putting their money where their mouth is.

KALLUM PICKERING, SENIOR UK ECONOMIST, BERENBERG: It's been better than most people expected I think it's fair to say. The economy has slowed down, there's no doubt about that, but we've certainly not entered a recession.

DOS SANTOS: With Brexit negotiations not even started there's no sugar-coating some of the risks the sector faces further down the line.

PICKERING: But once the implications of Brexit, mainly supply side issues. If we reduce migration, slow population growth leads to weaker growth, less trade, less investment from abroad.

DOS SANTOS: In the nearer term the rising cost of produce from abroad could also see patrons swallowing steeper prices. But for the moment consumers and companies are finding that they can have their cake and eat it, too.

Nina dos Santos, CNN Money, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: The Pope celebrated mass in Azerbaijan a short time ago. Why this particular visit is slightly unusual one -- slightly an unusual one for the Pope, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:32:30] ASHER: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Zain Asher. Let's get you caught up on your headlines at this hour.

As fighting is intensifying in Aleppo, Russia is warning the U.S. against attacking the Syrian Army. The Russian Foreign Ministry says such an attack would have terrible consequence across the Middle East and could create a power vacuum that will be filled by terrorists.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talked about possible steps to normalize the situation in Aleppo in a phone call on Saturday.

The public is getting a look at one of the U.S. Republican presidential candidates' tax returns. The "New York Times" obtained portions of documents filed from 1995. They showed Donald Trump declaring a loss of $916 million which could have helped him avoid paying taxes -- paying taxes for many years. CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of those documents for now. And Haiti and Jamaica are bracing for Hurricane Matthew. Shoppers are

stocking up on any supplies they can find. The powerful category 4 storm is expected to hit those countries on Monday. The Dominican Republic has also issued a tropical storm warning for its southern coast.

And the Pope has just finished celebrating mass Sunday in Azerbaijan. It is the last leg of a three-day visit to the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia. He was in Georgia on Saturday and it's back to Rome later Sunday.

Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher has been following the Pope's travels. She joins us live now from Azerbaijan.

So, Delia, just explain to our audience, because Azerbaijan is a predominantly Muslim country. It only has a few hundred Catholics. So why did the Pope choose this country to visit?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, you know, Zain, probably precisely for that reason. It's such a tiny Catholic community. I mean, there is one Catholic Church in the entire country and that's the first place he went when he got off the plane, it's where he said mass. There are only seven priests, there are five nuns, they're Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity. And there's about 500 Catholics and most of those are not from Azerbaijan. They would be diplomats or people working for the oil companies here. That's a big part of their economy, obviously, in Azerbaijan. There's also a small community of Filipino workers.

So the first priority, let's say, for the Pope whenever he travels is to visit with the Catholics of the country. Now normally those can number into the millions.

[05:35:02] But here we've got a small group of about 500 so it was the first thing that he wanted to do. But of course in the broader sort of political spectrum he's making this visit to these former Soviet republics. He began in Armenia in June, and then Friday and Saturday was in Georgia and now finishing up in Azerbaijan, as part of his interests in reaching out to those areas that are also involved in conflicts, in disputes.

The Pope, we know, is a Pope of peace, so he comes with a message of peace and Azerbaijan is dealing with a border dispute with its neighboring Armenia, so the Pope is going now after lunch to speak to the government leaders here, and that will certainly be one of his main objectives, but one of the highlights here, as you mentioned, it is a predominantly Muslim country, so he will be visiting a mosque and the mosque here in Baku, in the capital city, is unique because it is one of the few mosques in the world where both Sunni and Shia Muslims pray together, and the leader of the community here, the Muslim leader, the Sheikh Pashazade, is the only Muslim cleric who is recognized by both branches of Islam.

So that's going to be one of the things we're looking at this evening because there will be speeches both by the sheikh and by Pope Francis -- Zain. ASHER: And Delia, before the Pope was in Azerbaijan, he was actually

in Georgia and that was an interesting choice, as well, for the Pope to visit because there was a lot of tension between orthodox Christians in Georgia and the Catholic Church, and we're hearing that there were protests, as well. Just explain to us, I mean, how bad were these protests, are they still ongoing, even though the Pope has left. Just explain that situation there to us.

GALLAGHER: Yes, it was kind of unusual because you don't normally see protests when you travel with Pope Francis, but I have to say it was a handful of fairly hardlined Orthodox protesters who are reflecting a dispute which frankly goes back a millennium, and that is the original split between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, and they are suspicious of the Pope and the Vatican coming into their country, what they think maybe trying to convert the Orthodox to Catholicism.

Those are animosities that go back a long way and are still kind of deeply entrenched and what the Vatican tries to do with the various Orthodox churches, there are Orthodox churches, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, et cetera, is you know, make these churches, make these trips, come and have dialogue and that's what the Pope spoke about yesterday. They are not coming to try to convert anybody, but they do want to have dialogue because they are both Christian churches. So that is what they call ecumenical outreach on the part of the Vatican. It's very important for them -- Zain.

ASHER: All right, Delia Gallagher, live for us there on the phone. Thank you so much. Appreciate that.

All right, Donald Trump is trying to win over Bernie Sanders' young supporters and he's using a speech by Hillary Clinton to do it. A conservative Web site posted a clip of Clinton's speech back in February. It says it was obtained from a Clinton campaign staffer's hacked e-mail. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some are new to politics completely. They're children of the great recession. And they are living in their parents' basement. They feel that they got their education and the jobs are available to them are not at all what they envisioned for themselves. And they don't see much of a future.

I think we all should be very understanding of that and we should try to do the best we can not to be, you know, a wet blanket on idealism. You want people to be idealistic. You want them to set big goals. But to take what we can achieve now and try to present them as bigger goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And you heard Hillary Clinton there basically referencing younger voters living in their parents' basements. Well, now Trump is actually accusing Hillary Clinton of ridiculing Sanders and his supporters. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton thinks Bernie Sanders supporters are hopeless and ignorant basement dwellers. Then, of course, she thinks people who vote for and follow us are deplorable and irredeemable. I don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Now the Clinton campaign is not denying the clip's authenticity, but it is disputing Trump's interpretation of what Hillary Clinton said. The Clinton campaign actually issued a statement noting -- let me read it for you here. As Hillary Clinton said in those remarks, she wants young people to be idealistic and set big goals. She is fighting for exactly what the millennial generation cares most about, a fairer, more equal, just world."

And Trump has spent much of his campaign in attack mode. He's never been afraid to go after anyone who he feels has insulted him.

[05:40:07] Our Sunlen Serfaty looks back at his history of feuds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's penchant for public feuds didn't start with his foray into politics. They have been part of his persona as long as he's been in the public eye.

One of his earliest squabbles was over 30 years ago with author Graydon Carter. A few Trump carries on to this day. Carter was the editor of "Spy" magazine in the '80s and referred to Trump as a, quote, "short-fingered Bulgarian." Trump had never let it go.

Listen to Carter this year on NPR.

GRAYDON CARTER, AMERICAN JOURNALIST: He'll send me pictures, tear sheets from magazines, and then -- with a gold Sharpie, he'll circle his fingers and in his handwriting say, "See, not so short." And I know it just gives him absolute fits.

SERFATY: Marco Rubio baited Trump with it during the debate, prompting this over-the-top response.

TRUMP: Look at those hands. Are they small hands? If they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee you.

SERFATY: And who could forget Rosie O'Donnell? That feud still going strong after a decade. It all started in 2006 when O'Donnell lambasted Trump as a hypocrite for almost taking the crown away from then Miss USA pageant winner Tara O'Connor after tabloids revealed her drinking and using drugs. Something that Trump finally publicly forgave her for but invoked O'Donnell's ire for the man known as a playboy.

ROSIE O'DONNELL, ACTRESS: There he is, hair looping going, everyone deserves a second chance.

SERFATY: Trump immediately doubled down.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting. I mean, both inside and out. You take a look at her, she's a slob. She talks like a -- like a truck driver.

SERFATY: And it's a feud that lingers today with Trump actually mentioning O'Donnell during the first debate.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS HOST: You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account --

TRUMP: Only Rosie O'Donnell.

SERFATY: For a campaign desperate to modulate their presidential contender, Trump's consistent feuds and his inability to let go of them has proven even more problematic. The thin-skinned business titan going after Fox debate moderator, Megyn Kelly, back in March after Kelly brought up past derogatory remarks he had made against women.

TRUMP: There was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her -- wherever.

SERFATY: In July, he continually clashed with the Khan family belittling the parents of Humayan Khan, a Muslim army captain killed in Iraq after they spoke out against him during the Democratic National Convention.

TRUMP: His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say.

SERFATY: And when it comes to those Twitter outbursts, his preferred way of needling his enemies, he had this to say to David Letterman.

TRUMP: The Twitter thing, the tweeting thing does get you in trouble. You say things and you think it's so cute and so smart and it comes back to haunt you.

SERFATY: Advice from the past that many are hoping he'll take now.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: We're going to have to squeeze in a quick break here on CNN NEWSROOM. When we come back, Columbians head to the polls in the coming hours to vote for a landmark referendum. They'll be saying yes or no to a peace deal with the country's rebels and now the FARC is making a dramatic offer to the victims of the conflict. We'll have details just ahead.

Plus, a volcano spews ash and smoke over western Mexico. The eruption is affecting local villages. That's also ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:47:01] ASHER: Reuters reports an explosion in Spain left at least 77 people injured in the southern town of Velez-Malaga on Saturday. Emergency services say said a gasoline exploded in a restaurant. The blast happened while a festival was under way. Most of the injuries were cuts and bruises.

The rebel group FARC is now promising to pay reparations to victims of its 52-year war with the Colombian government. The announcement comes as Colombians head Sunday to the vote on a historic peace deal with the FARC. They must answer yes or no to this question, do you support the final accord to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace? Just 13 percent of registered voters need to say yes for the measure to actually pass.

And as CNN's Rafael Romo reports, quite a few will actually probably be saying no.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It is very evident that not everybody in Colombia is in favor of the peace agreement. These people behind me come from different parts of Colombia, here to Cartagena, to say no to the peace agreement. Their main point is that they are not willing to forgive a terrorist group as they call the FARC that has killed people, that has committed any number of atrocities, including kidnappings and assassinations before they go to jail, before they're tried and before there's justice. They say that President Juan Manuel Santos is wrong and so is the international community.

I had an opportunity to talk to an attorney as part of this group and this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are convinced that this peace agreement is not going to bring peace. We're convinced that it's going to bring more war to Colombia because unjustice brings more war. The only thing we want is justice. That's all we are asking for, is justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: There has been protests like this one throughout the country, not only here in Cartagena, but in other cities, and these people say they are going to keep protesting until real justice -- what they call justice, with jail term and punishment is carried out.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Cartagena, Colombia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And we have some striking video I want to show you out of Mexico. Take a look here, these images as are of the Colima volcano on Saturday. It's located in western Mexico and it's one of the country's most active volcanoes, as you can see. It actually began spewing ash and thick black smoke on Friday, and, in fact, nearby villages had to be evacuated because of it. Officials say that hundreds of villages have been moved to shelter to keep them safe.

In the country of Georgia, two politicians lost their cool during a live debate, throwing glasses at each other. Look at that. We'll have much more on that story coming up in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:53:39] ASHER: A lot of the scientific polls that came out after the debate said that Hillary Clinton won the very first presidential debate on Monday, and those debates provided plenty of material for comedians. In fact, the American variety show "Saturday Night Live" debuted their new season by making fun of both candidates. It was the first time we saw actor Alec Baldwin impersonating Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: My microphone is broken. She broke it. With Obama. And she and Obama stole my microphone and took it to Kenya. They took my microphone to Kenya and they broke it and now it's broken. And you hear that? It's picking up somebody's sniffing here. I think it's her sniffs. She's been sniffing all night. Testing, testing. Gina. Gina. Huge gina.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary Clinton, what do you think about that?

KATE MCKINNON, ACTOR: I think I'm going to be president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: I would love to know what Donald Trump thinks of that.

Well, we have seen some nasty verbal attacks in the U.S. presidential race, but in the country of Georgia, politicians have taken their arguments to the next level.

Our Jeanne Moos has more from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even if they didn't mean it --

CLINTON: Donald, it's good to be with you.

MOOS: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump pretended to be friendly.

[05:55:02] TRUMP: Is that OK? Good, I want you to be very happy.

MOOS: But happy is not how you describe this debate in the country of Georgia. Where the female host stepped between two candidates, only to be caught in the crossfire.

Things are tense in Georgia, with elections scheduled for October 8th. Sort of makes the verbal skirmishes between Hillary and the Donald seem like love taps.

CLINTON: I have a feeling that by the end of this evening I'm going to be blamed for everything that's ever happened.

TRUMP: Why not?

CLINTON: Why not? Yes, why not?

MOOS: And why not throw water on a candidate who threw the first glass thought the other guy had called him a sellout to Russia. Less than a week earlier, a pen was hurled in another on-air fight after one Georgian politician called the other scum.

At least Hillary and the Donald just talked about fighting.

CLINTON: Well, at least I have a plan to fight ISIS.

TRUMP: No, no, you're telling the enemy everything you want to do.

CLINTON: No, we're not.

MOOS: And instead of throwing water -- the Donald --

CLINTON: When I was in the Senate --

MOOS: -- just kept drinking it.

CLINTON: There is no prohibition --

MOOS: Probably drank more --

CLINTON: I don't see --

MOOS: -- than these two spilled.

CLINTON: OK.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Oh, boy. Thank you so much for joining us, I'm Zain Asher. For our viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" is just ahead. And for everyone else "THE BEST OF QUEST" starts in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)