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Mixed Messaging Now On North Korea And President Donald Trump's Apparent Undermining His Secretary Of State Rex Tillerson; Medical Crisis Unfolding In Puerto Rico; President Donald Trump Will Visit Puerto Rico In Two Days; Trump Plans To Visit Hurricane Ravaged Island On Tuesday; NFL Back In Political Spotlight For Second Week Of Protest; O.J. Simpson Released From Nevada Prison After Nine Years; Playboy And Presidential Politics. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 01, 2017 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00] RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- he wants to interact with Kim Jong-un and North Korea. In fact, he sent out another tweet right before he made it to the golf tournament where he said quote "being nice to rocket man hasn't worked in 25 years, why would it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed and Obama failed. I won't fail."

But listen to how Rex Tillerson talked about the relationship with North Korea during a visit to China on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary, the back and forth tweets with Kim Jong-un, how is that at all helpful to the situation?

REX TILLERSON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are going to continue to pursue our diplomatic efforts in (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And Tillerson also has described the rhetoric between North Korea and the United States as overheated. He continues to emphasize that talking to North Korea or at least looking for some sort of diplomatic solution with the other countries in the region like China is the best option and that military option should be the last option. That seems to be what many of Trump's closest advisers are telling him. The President, though, wants to keep that military option front and center -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right. Ryan Nobles, thank you so much.

I want to bring in now CNN pentagon reporter Ryan Browne in Washington.

So Ryan, the state department offered its own take on things saying it is up to North Korea whether the standoff is solved by diplomacy or force. And in the last 24 hours Trump, Tillerson and the state department have all been weighing in. So what is the consensus here? Because it seems thus far a lot of the messages are conflicting. RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. I think

this all started with secretary Tillerson kind of raised this idea that there are channels of communication with Pyongyang, with the North Korean regime and state department kind of saying that those channels will not be open forever. President Trump weighing in saying direct talks with North Korea not the way to solve this. And in the end, I think the defense department, you know, they have been preparing military options for the President. That is their job. That is what the military does.

They have also stressed the diplomatic angle should be the priority. Secretary of defense Mattis saying there is always diplomatic options. Now that does not just includes talks with North Korea. That also includes sanctions, working with the U.N., working with China who has so much economic leverage over North Korea. So right now that is as far as a lot of military and security people, that is where they want to see this go. But again, military options very much being readied and being prepared. And as the saying goes for U.S. forces stationed in South Korea, they are ready to fight tonight if need be. President Trump very much making reference to the state of military readiness for the U.S. forces -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ryan Browne. Thank you so much.

All right, let's discuss this. The mixed messaging now on North Korea and President's apparent undermining his secretary of state Rex Tillerson.

Joining me right now to talk about this Gordon Chang, He is the author of "Nuclear Showdown, North Korea takes on the world" and also a columnist for "the Daily Beast." Also with me lieutenant general Mark Hertling who is a CNN military analyst. Served at that title in there.

All right. So Gordon, let me begin with you. So what do you think of this mixed messaging? The President calling out the secretary of state in saying, you know, don't even bother with diplomacy.

GORDON CHANG, COLUMNIST, THE DAILY BEAST: Well, you know, some people are saying this is good cop, bad cop regime. I don't think so because this is an administration that has had message discipline problems in the past. You know, Rex Tillerson is saying things which I think he has to say.

He was in Beijing. The Chinese were oppressing him to talk to North Korea. And so it was diplomatic for him to say that. Now, what Trump is actually has said is correct. Now is not the time for diplomacy. I think it is later on. But it was not smart of Trump to say that at this particular time because you do want Chinese cooperation and Beijing very wants to see these talks start.

So at the end of the day, I think the administration needs to speak with one voice whether that is the secretary of state, the secretary of defense or the President. But there needs to be one single voice on this. WHITFIELD: But general, isn't that usually the rule, one single

voice, one, you know, message whether it be from you are secretary of state, you are defense secretary or the White House? I mean, what would be the explanation or strategy if this is indeed strategy to advocate this kind of confusion?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. It is great question, Fred. What I would say is first of all I will start off by saying you should always go by the premise that real leaders always attempt to diffuse crisis situations, not broaden them or expand upon that. So when we are talking about elements of national power, diplomacy always comes first. From a soldier's perspective, we want those diplomats in there doing the best they can to tamp down the situation.

There is nobody in the world today, Fred, that believes that if North Korea attacks the United States or one of our allies, we will not retaliate with overwhelming force. That's a given. We have been planning that for the last 60 plus years on the peninsula. So the messaging in this particular case is important.

Now, was President Trump's tweet deliberate? If yes, it gets to your question, it was very uncoordinated. You saw Mr. Tillerson's face when he asked that a minute ago. He was taken off. And in fact, the President undercut his own secretary of state in this. If it wasn't deliberate, if it was a movement towards risky approach through this, it was really not very smart. Because you can take risks in business. And when you have a risk in business it becomes a gamble, and you lose money or you go belly up. But when you are talking about taking risks that could turn into a gamble with nuclear weapons, you are talking about a lot of people dying and being killed. That's not a good look on the international stage.

So all of those things are factors in this. And I think that this was not a deliberate move but it certainly wasn't any well-formed strategy of good cop, bad cop. I just think that is ridiculous for anyone to say that.

[16:06:02] WHITFIELD: And then Gordon, how does North Korea take this? How does it -- does it use that kind of mixed messaging as a provocation?

CHANG: Well, I think North Korea right now is extremely confused. There was that report about four or five days ago about how the North Koreans are reaching out to people in Washington who are known to have links to the Trump administration. Because I don't think they really understand what is going on.

Even though the North Koreans probably have a pretty good handle about the way the United States works, I think this particular time they do not know where Trump is going. You know, sometimes it is an advantage. But in a case like this, you know, you don't have coherence. And so, the North Koreans are probably thinking about ways to take advantage of that and the Chinese are probably, as well.

You know, there needs to be a concerned campaigning of pressure. The Trump administration has been good about that especially with its executive order and with some of the presidential directive from March that was reported in the "Washington Post." These are very important things. And what the President needs is for the world to talk about cutting off money to the North Koreans, not about the problems in Washington between Tillerson and Mattis on one side and Trump on the other. That is a conversation which is extremely disadvantageous for us.

WHITFIELD: And then general, are there any circumstances in which diplomacy is not advocated fully?

HERTLING: I don't think so, Fred. I think you always start with diplomacy. And you know, I was in a combat zone one time and during desert storm when it was going about its process when we were ready to launch the attack. And we -- all the soldiers on the ground were hoping for diplomacy to work.

You always want to give that the first choice. Military options are always behind diplomacy. In this case, too, you have to consider really the dignity of the leaders involved. When you are talking about the oriental culture especially a 31-year-old leader in North Korea who doesn't have anyone to look upon, he is very immature, very egotistical and probably is not reacting real well to all of these insults on a world stage. There is a better way to get at this than just continued insults across the board using tweet as the vehicle.

WHITFIELD: All right. Applicable on both sides, your description there, general.

HERTLING: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much. Message loud and clear I think to everybody.

All right, Gordon Chang and lieutenant general Hertling, thanks so much. Sorry for the mess-up on the intro. Appreciate it.

All right. Still ahead, a medical crisis unfolding in Puerto Rico with people going days without access to reliable medical care. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is there live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:12:53] WHITFIELD: A humanitarian and medical crisis is gripping Puerto Rico as the island struggles to get back on its feet. Many people unable to get help they need and limited fuel is making it impossible for many to get to the hospitals that are up and running. And once they get there they are finding limited power and even medication in some circumstances. Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been on the ground helping patients in desperate need of medical attention and finding lifesaving medications and transporting them to the hospitals. And then of course, reporting on it. That was primary objective.

Sanjay is with us now from (INAUDIBLE). But then you found the circumstances were such that you had to use your medical instincts and jump into action and help out. Overall what have you been seeing and experiencing?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think it is human instincts in many ways, Fred. I mean, you were talking about seeing these supplies on the island, identifying the people who can benefit from them and trying to connect those two things. It is really a point A to point B issue in many ways. You know, I liken it in some ways to, you know, if you create this

treatment in medicine but you don't actually give it to the people who can benefit from it how valuable is that treatment really? That is sort of the metaphor here. I think many of those important resources have gotten to the island and incredible work to get them here. But for some reason the people who really need them have not been identified as quickly as they should.

And this is the preventable death stage of things, Fred. This is where -- these are not people who died or maybe were not even injured during the hurricane. These are people who have chronic illness who simply cannot get the care that they need.

WHITFIELD: And doctors who have been volunteering, we saw that in your pieces earlier in the week, who were -- hospitals may be up and running, they didn't necessarily have the medicines. And it is difficult for people who are volunteering in some cases to get to the distribution points. Has any of that been worked out?

[16:15:02] GUPTA: It's a hodgepodge in a way. It is being worked out. I think not as coordinated as people would like. So therefore, not as reliable. I mean, lack of coordination I guess to some degree is not that surprising. I mean, it's really a bad storm to make things really difficult in terms of communication, in terms of transport.

But what happens in a hospital, let's say you are told you get six hours-worth of power. That's good to have the hospital functioning. But if you can't anticipate how long you can stay open can you really take patients? Can you really administer care? And remember, hospitals are totally dependent on power. All buildings but in a hospital you can't give a dose of insulin. You can't put in a (INAUDIBLE). You can't get an electronic medical record without power.

So yes, it is up and functioning but it is not reliable. It is not consistent. And I think that is very frustrating as you might imagine for the patients and also for the health care folks who are trying to deliver care.

WHITFIELD: And then, of course, there is transporting the patients. We saw you all using your news van, you know, your crew van in order to transport a patient. And what about that and of care? How are some people who need it desperately able to get to a medical facility or vice versa? Doctors get to the patient?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it was interesting, Fred, we saw some of the hospitals further out from San Juan. I expected them to be really full, long lines, you know, like I had seen in the falls in Haiti and seen even after Katrina. There were hardly any lines in which was a bit confusing. They

weren't very crowded. And what I realized was that most people still were in the communities and were in their homes. They still hadn't fully been able to get out of those areas. So they were in shelters. So there is a lot of people out there still who have gone without.

And to your question, I think for them it's really been how to get in. The outreach doctors have had to leave the hospital. The structure of the hospital has changed. It has become the tentacle that has led up in a community in trying to give people care the way they are. And it has been a lot of five organizations, Project Hope, Direct Relief doing incredible work actually trying to get on with these communities. But again, it is still a hodgepodge. That was literally, I don't know if you saw the video, Fred, but I was asking the mayor, I saw the mayor. I said I was at a shelter. They need these medications. Here is what I need. I show the lists. She helped secure the medications and we were able to get some of the medications to people who need them. That is just by hook or crook, right. There is not the coordination that you would expect right now and come to rely on right now.

WHITFIELD: Well, you are doing an extraordinary job down there as are so many crews and so many volunteers and so many resources that are pouring in and people working together to help where the need is so great.

Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much.

All right. Just two days before the President's planned visit to a ravaged Puerto Rico, President Trump touts a job well done by FEMA and the military. This as a spat between San Juan's mayor and the President escalates. We will talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:22:36] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. In just two days President Trump plans to head to Puerto Rico for first-hand look at hurricane devastation and recovery efforts there. Meanwhile, he is taking to his favorite past time tweeting and bragging on a job well done saying in part people are now starting to recognize the amazing work that has been done by FEMA and our great military all buildings now inspected for safety. Thank you to the governor of Puerto Rico and to all of those who are working so closely with our first responders. Fantastic job.

Well, this comes on the heels of President Trump spewing more than 20 tweets yesterday on the dire situation in Puerto Rico from blasting mayor of San Juan to bragging about the federal response.

CNN's Sara Murray is in San Juan.

So Sara, what are you hearing about how the President's messages are being received there?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, look, so far we don't know much about what the President actually is going to do when he gets here. But when you tell people about his visit, about what they want to hear from him, one thing is very few, residents want the President to know that they need the federal government to do a lot more than what they have been doing so far.

So even if he does come here to San Juan, even if he does see power coming back and cell phone service returning and a few restaurants and bars open, you don't have to travel far outside the city limits to see people whose entire lives have been devastated, who have lost their homes, who no longer have roofs and who spent weeks without power and are still grappling with the fact that they are cut off from the world without cell phone service, without any internet, without any ability to tell the federal government they still need a lot of help. So I think the residents here are hoping that the President will lead with that message in mind.

WHITFIELD: And this morning lawmakers, some have been weighing in on the criticism that Trump launched via twitter directed at the San Juan mayor. What more are they saying?

MURRAY: Well, that is right. There are plenty of politicians who aren't exactly pleased that the President has decided to engage in political it for tat at a time that humanitarian crisis is still unfolding in Puerto Rico. Here is what Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Speaking from his fancy golf club, playing golf with his billionaire friends, attacking the mayor of San Juan who is struggling to bring electricity to the island, food to the island, gas to the island. It is unspeakable. I don't know what world Trump is living in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:25:04] MURRAY: And Fred, if you are talking about the optics of the situation, Bernie Sanders is correct in that President Trump has spent the day at his golf course in New Jersey watching a golf tournament at the same time when he has been launching tweets saying the government is doing a great job and, of course, criticizing the mayor of San Juan who is dealing with the crisis still unfolding here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Murray, thanks so much in San Juan.

So let's talk about all of this with my panel. Republican strategist Richard Galen and political analyst Ellis Henican.

All right. Good to see you. So Richard --

RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Rich, please.

WHITFIELD: Pardon?

GALEN: Rich.

WHITFIELD: OK, Rich. Will the folks in San Juan or Puerto Rico see the same President Trump that was seen in Houston?

GALEN: I don't know where he can go. He has to stay in San Juan, I would assume, if only for the secret service will require that so they can protect him. But you know, if you looked at the background where Sara was reporting from just now, that could have been Patterson, New Jersey. So I mean, it is very difficult.

One of the problems is that we only get to see what the camera lens shows us. I'm not saying that we are being short changed or anything. But Dr. Gupta was describing is crucial.

But I was in Baton Rouge for Katrina for about a week. And one of the things that we found was that one you get bitten from a FEMA standpoint or from the government standpoint once you get behind that curve, it is almost impossible to catch up with it.

But the mayor is a very effective spokeswoman for her cause and her cause is the people of San Juan. And I give her great credit for standing up to Trump. But let me just finish with this and I will shut up. One of the problems that Trump has is that he is like the speakers in spinal tap they go up to 11 and they are always at 11 whether he is talking about the head of North Korea or trying to beat up on the NFL or trying to take out the mayor of San Juan. He has one level and it is 11.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know, Ellis, do you think that once the President is in Puerto Rico and surely he would be taking, you know, beyond San Juan where, you know, the infrastructure for the most part at least based on some of those, you know, live shots looks like it is intact, but when you, you know, go further out and really see how hard hit people are enduring those conditions, you know, might the President see, you know, that it is, you know, counter intuitive? You know, his words from the comfort, you know, comfort of his home is very different from what he will envision there? And that might, you know, kind of change the message?

ELLIS HENICAN, POLITICAL COLUMNIST: Fred, what we have gotten so far has been abysmal. I mean, tonally it is wrong. Factually it is wrong. This is not fake news. I mean, these people have really been battered very hard. They are suffering. The vast majority of the island is without electricity. Half the people don't have fresh water. I mean, this is really, really bad stuff. Yes, it is difficult to rescue an island, but these premature declarations of victory almost always come back to bite you. President Bush learned that, Rich, in Katrina. And I think eventually, maybe President Trump will learn that in Puerto Rico.

GALEN: As an example, Ellis, the comfort, speaking of comfort, as I understand it is supposed to be on five day deployment schedule. That they can be sailing within five days of being ordered to deploy. I thought, sure, the comfort, the hospital.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And you know, the President doesn't usually simplify, you know, what it is to compete. But Rich, is the moment in which he might do that to show more

compassion particularly not just to the people (INAUDIBLE), but particularly to the mayor might this be a moment in which he may apologize as some lawmakers, you know, have been asking him to do.

GALEN: It would be first if he did that. I think the best that anybody can report. I mean, if I were General Kelly what I would be hoping for is to keep his hands off his cell phone, I mean, to stop. But he is never going to retreat. He is never going to apologize. He is never going to admit anything other than this is the most fantastic wonderful brilliant whatever.

WHITFIELD: General Ed Markey particularly tweeting, you know, first thing Trump should do on Tuesday when he visits Puerto Rico for the first time since hurricane Maria devastated the island is apologize, Ellis.

HENICAN: Good luck on that.

You know the word most telling here is ingrates, right. His politically motivated ingrates. The notion that somehow or another the American citizens 3.5 million who live in Puerto Rico somehow ought to be begging us or ought to be more verbally appreciative or quit being so darn impatient, it bespeaks a view of the citizens, the American citizens in Puerto Rico, I wouldn't use that phrase again, that somehow or another, you know, they don't deserve what the folks in Texas got or the folks in my home state of Louisiana got after Katrina or the Floridians. It is just that - it just a horrible world view. I think that Rich is right. He is unlikely to correct it but, boy, it sure would be nice.

WHITFIELD: Because, Rich, didn't do that, you know, when it came down to Houston. And you know, very different localities, very different circumstances, but people nonetheless, who were suffering who need help.

GALEN: Yes, to be fair, I mean this is the third major -- major with capital in storm in like 15 or 18 days.

They learn things, I mean from Houston where the mayor of Houston got some flack for not having a place for the people that were being flooded to move to, they took that to heart in Florida and they set up like 2,000 shelters.

So they learned from Florida. And we had plenty of time, plenty being a couple of days of knowing where this -- Maria was going. And they could have done things like repositioned. It is an island but you can have things ready to go.

It's not that far off the Florida Coast or the Louisiana Coast for that matter. And we could have had a lot of things in there including truck drivers and people to clear the -- clear the roads and all the things you need.

But as General (Inaudible) saying for three days, this is why you need people who are strategists, not just tacticians. You have to have people that say, OK, this is like -- let's pretend this is going to be like launching D Day. You got -- you got to have people building the tanks five years before D Day or it is not going to be tanked.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it right there. Gentlemen, Rich Galen and Ellis Henican, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

HENICAN: Appreciate it.

GALEN: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, another round of protests across the NFL today even after the president implored players to stand for the National Anthem. What fans have to say about the Demonstrations?

But first, amid the coverage of devastating storms that have ravaged part of the U.S. and Caribbean we have also learned of inspiring stories about every day people pitching in to help. This week's CNN Hero found a unique way to do just that. Meet Stan Hays.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN HAYS, CNN HERO: After a disaster, there are two basic needs that a person has. The first one is shelter and the other one is nourishment. And so, barbecue besides, being a nourishing meal is comfort food.

Being able to give somebody a hot barbecue meal in one of their worst times, we not only are giving something nutritious but we are giving them maybe a little bit of normalcy for just a short period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: To see operation barbecue relief in action go to cnnheroes.com.

[04:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD BOOING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: More boos than cheers at the Baltimore Ravens game today when the team took a knee before the National Anthem. Well, during this second weekend of controversial NFL protests just moments ago, a moment of unity from the San Francisco 49ers when the entire team joined together for the National Anthem.

The back row standing and front row kneeling as the Anthem played. CNN Contributor and former NFL wide receiver Donte Stallworth, joining us right now. Donte, good to see you. We also saw the Carolina Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton celebrating a touchdown and then showing the fist in the air right there. What do you suppose is going on here? What is the message from many

of the NFL players on this day? Is it a message about social justice? Is it a message towards the president who is saying players should all be standing for the anthem? And should not be injecting themselves in messages?

DONTE STALLWORTH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it is a couple of different things. I think it's actually both of those things.

The players from the very beginning have stressed or tried to stress the point that what they are doing is about the social issues that they have worked so hard to try to make progress on and help move the needle forward by meeting with state attorney generals, by going to the Hill to meet with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

Guys have been moving the needle, but also, too, they want the president to understand that they are American citizens, obviously, and they are only exercising their first amendment rights.

So one of the things that I talked to a couple of players this week before today, before the game started and a lot of them told me that they were actually looking at this as a respectful gesture.

When you have people that are kneeling and some guys standing they all understand what it is for. So I think the biggest thing is that they want to show unity and solidarity amongst each other and that is why you saw a lot of players kneeling before the Anthem and still got booed.

So now the players are looking at this through the lens of what else is there that we can do if the uproar was about kneeling during the National Anthem and now they are kneeling before the National Anthem and the response, and reaction is still the same.

So players are a little confused but I think they are going to keep working on issues that they have been -- that they been working at for a very longtime.

WHITFIELD: So your former team, the Baltimore Ravens. You know, we can hear audibly there appear to be a mix of booing and cheering. When you see that and you hear that, what is your gut telling you?

[04:40:00] What are you feeling as a former Raven?

STALLWORTH: It's a little sad. I think again the biggest -- the biggest issue with people that are in opposition to this is that the players were not standing during the National Anthem.

So now that they are kneeling before the National Anthem and trying to show solidarity amongst each other even though a lot of players that -- again, that are not kneeling, a lot of those players are openly listening to what the players -- what their teammates are saying.

When you have players that are trying to show a sign of unity and solidarity and it is still coming through being seen as disrespectful, I think it's -- again, it's sad. We have been talking about these issues for so long.

And I think when you have the amount of people that are continuing to protest it just shows the president and the people around the country that the players are going to fight and stick up for what they believe in, stick up for what their moral conscious is telling them to do.

WHITFIELD: You know there had been some polling as a result of last week about whether people, you know, side with the president, that people should stand for the Anthem and there was also polling that shows real disparity in how people see this, see these protests and based on racial lines.

Earlier today, I spoke with Olympian -- 1968 Olympian John Carlos, part of the iconic moment he, along with Tommie Smith fist in the air there and that was a protest that was about racial harmony, social injustices. It ran the gamut.

And when I spoke with him earlier today, he said that he believes part of the disparity as you know, blacks are reacting to the personal experiences of social injustices and whites are -- do not share those same experiences.

And so they see this display differently. Is that why you believe there is such a disparity along racial lines about what it means to kneel, to protest during a National Anthem?

STALLWORTH: Yes, I think so. I think that has a lot to do with it. I believe exactly what Mr. Carlos has said. And you can see some of the reaction through social media, through some of the social media posts that the people in opposition are posting.

A lot of them don't realize that what it is the players are doing. They are looking at it that the players are being disrespectful.

They are not understanding or wanting to even acknowledge that the issues that the players are kneeling for and are protesting for are ramped in this country and have been this way for a very long time.

And so the players are fighting for reform on all of these issues and they're looking to push that message through. And it's not so much that they want to or even look or to be perceived as being disrespectful.

They have said on numerous occasions that it is not about the military but it's all about trying to bring awareness to the issues and then again, from not just bring awareness but to follow through with action. And that's what they have been doing. That is what players have continued to do up to this day.

WHITFIELD: Donte Stallworth, good to see you. Thank you so much.

STALLWORTH: You, too, Fredricka. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, after nine years behind bars O.J. Simpson is now a free man. So what is next for the former football legend following his prison release? That's next. [04:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: After serving nine years for a Las Vegas kidnapping and armed robbery, an upbeat O.J. Simpson walked out of a Nevada prison shortly after midnight.

A spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Correction telling O.J., quoting now, don't come back, his response, quote, I don't intend to, the anchor of HLN's Primetime Justice Ashleigh Banfield joining us now. Ashleigh, it's been too long, good to see you.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, HLN'S PRIMETIME JUSTICE ASHLEIGH BANFIELD: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Tell me more about those -- you know, after that six seconds or so of O.J. Walking out, then what?

BANFIELD: Yes, that's all we got, by the way. It was highly orchestrated. The entire public was promised by actual officials that this wouldn't happen today. It would happen tomorrow, and it didn't. So that is all they did.

They sort of rolled some cell phone videos, six or seven seconds long and then said that's all you get. So all we can say for sure, Fred, is this, O.J. said before he left he wanted some steak and some sea food and probably to get an iPhone.

Apart from that, the rest of his conjecture and a lot of his friends are telling us what he is planning to do. He can't leave the State of Nevada right now. That's for sure.

Because there is a whole lot of paperwork and it could take 45 days plus for him to file that if he wants to leave and actually serve parole in Florida. Well, that's just a whole big can of worms as well. But for now at least in Vegas we are told that he is likely be staying with a friend until he gets his paperwork dotted and crossed.

WHITFIELD: Because no family in Nevada at least he had a daughter living in Florida, correct, who wanted him to stay with her. But Florida the attorney general has said -- has said what she has said about no entry into Florida as yet.

BANFIELD: Well, that is bit of a weird one, Fred. I'm not going to lie. Look, a she's the A.G. and I sort of fell like Pam Bondi should know better because we have interstate compacts. All 50 states really play well when in the sandbox when it comes to this stuff and we don't cherry pick typically.

And the way the law is actually worried -- I won't worry with the statutes that effectively, I'll paraphrase, it said, if you do the right paperwork.

[04:50:00] And you do your -- you know, you give us the right requisition forms, it to say to accompli and he'll come down. Now this is sort of close to an election as I understand it. So she may be just sort of appeasing to those in Florida who feel the same way she does about O.J. Simpson.

But I can pretty much guarantee, I don't know that you can put much of a monkey wrench into this kind of interstate compact rule. He's a standard inmate. P.S., Fred, he's still an inmate. I didn't realize that. He's out of the prison walls but still considered and inmate, and will be for five years.

WHITFIELD: Because he has probation and has to check in with a probation officer, that's how they did it?

BANFIELD: Yes, so it's parole in Nevada, but if he goes to Florida, it's probation. So there's -- I mean if you hear those two words, you can think of them interchangeably effectively between those two states for the same thing. And they're not pleasant either. It is not a pleasant situation for him.

WHITFIELD: So the then, Ashleigh, what about O.J. Simpson's attorney. Because we were all, you know, watching that hearing and hearing from the attorney who said that he was likely to get that paperwork going.

So that O.J. Simpson could eventually, you know, make it to Florida. Does this mean that the paperwork hasn't even started? That Miss Bondi would say that or she's saying it's been rejected?

BANFIELD: No, she's just sort of speaking out of hand I think about the whole situation. From what we understand, no paperwork's been filed at all and that attorney Malcolm LaVergne has say some pretty acerbic things.

He went on to call the Goldman's, you know, professional victims and say that they've been threatening him. It was really strident language I must say for an attorney to speak that way about, you know, the parents of a murder victim.

But effectively I think what this all comes down to so is that when O.J. tries to prosecute his life, he still has that massive judgment hanging over him. It was $33 million back then, it's ballooned to over $60 million now, by some accounts even $130 million.

And if he tries to make any money with the new iPhone that he said he wants to get and social media that we have even hinted at that he might come to a webcast or a blog near you, well, his probation officer in Florida or parole officer in Nevada has to know every penny that comes his way. Otherwise he's busting parole, Fred, and guess what happens if he does that? He goes back to Lovelock.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ashleigh Banfield, thank you so much for all that information. Good to see you. And we'll be right back.

[04:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This week, Hugh Hefner passed away at the age of 91, leaving behind quite the legacy of controversy, as well as first amendment activism and a long history with presidential politics, and that's this week's State of the Cartoonian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure, Hugh Hefner spent most of his life publishing a magazine filled with photographs of naked women.

HUGH HEFNER, FOUNDER, PLAYBOY: Women are sex objects.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But another part of his legacy is pushing politics on the pages of Playboy with some very significant interviews, from a jaw-dropping interview with prim and proper presidential candidate Jimmy Carter.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want the people of this country to know my character, my strengths and my weaknesses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In which the candidate in 1976 admitted to lusting over other women and committing adultery in his heart, another notable interview, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I was arrested for the second time, that was very sobering.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Opening up about his wild youth and time in jail. But of course the politician with the most extensive relationship with Playboy is obviously our current President Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That was on the cover of Playboy, and it was one of the few men of history of Playboy to be on the cover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Donald Trump bragged about having graced the cover in 1990. He appeared in a soft core Playboy skin flick and he spent plenty of time at the fabled Playboy Mansion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you ever dated a playmate?

TRUMP: I refuse to answer that question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: on the grounds it may be true.

TRUMP: It may be true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of this should be much of a surprise given their shared attitude towards women.

TRUMP: I'm so controversial. I love beautiful women. I love going out in beautiful women. And I love women in general. People say that's a horrible thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's just say he didn't read it for the articles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, perhaps you're looking for an escape. Join Anthony Bourdain for an all new episode of Parts Unknown. On tonight's episode, he dives deep into Singapore's political system, culture and of course the food.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN: It's a food show, right? Well, not really. It was like a concept in a lot of ways. If you look at the mix of people at the cities and religions all of this in relevant living in close quarters here, it's a wildly, extraordinary success story.

A place where everything works this well and the system so seemingly different than the one we are taught to venerate, that's generally confusing.

One of the things was also striking to me is how awesome the food is and how enthusiastic and how knowledgeable people are about food here. If you're looking for pound for pound, most food, best food, most diverse selection of food, maybe anywhere on the planet, you are most definitely talking about Singapore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, bring an appetite. Catch Anthony Bourdain in Singapore tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on CNN's Parts unknown. And thanks so much for being with me with this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, so much more straight ahead in Newsroom with Ana Cabrera.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN Newsroom, thank you for joining me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Right now, millions of Americans still living without electricity on the island of Puerto Rico, now 11 days since the destruction of hurricane Maria.