Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Administration Rule Could Drastically Limit Legal Immigration; Legendary Singer John Legend Surprises Dayton Shooting Victims & Family; WAPO: Trump Lashes Out at Aides Over Being Called a "Racist"; Opponent Bianca Andreescu Comforts Emotional Serena Williams after Injury; Dow Down More Than 400 Points over Trade War Fears. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 12, 2019 - 14:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:30:00] KEN CUCCINELLI, DIRECTOR, CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVICES: No impact on refugees or asylees. And it clarifies the exemption for trafficking victims and victims of domestic violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA SANTANA, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Now, those people wouldn't be affected. But there are still a lot of people that would be. A study by the Kaiser Foundation last year found that about 94 percent of noncitizens who come into the United States with nonlegal permanent residence status would have at least one factor that would work against them in that case.

A lot of things that are not taken into account is that noncitizens, immigrants, are less likely than American citizens to be on programs, on social programs like Medicaid or receive food stamps.

And also, it's led the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to halt some investment. A lot of economists consider investing in new immigrants, something that helps the economy later on, because the children of those immigrants become citizens and taxpayers.

I can tell you my own case. My parents came from the Dominican Republican when I was 4 years old. I came with them. They used social programs. They didn't have an education. They could barely speak English. And --

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: This would have affected you?

SANTANA: Oh, of course. My parents would have never qualified to come into the country if this were the case then.

BALDWIN: Thank you for sharing your story and shining a light on all the others.'

Maria Santana, appreciate you.

SANTANA: Thank you.

BALDWIN: The Oregon District in Dayton, Ohio, where that shooting unfolded, just got a very special visit from a hometown hero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

JOHN LEGEND, SINGER: Thank you, Dayton. I love you. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: How beautiful is that voice? Singer John Legend surprised victims' families and survivors and local business employees with a pop-up concert at Blind Bob's bar. It's right across from where that shooting unfolded two weekends ago.

Taylor Curtis works at Heart Mercantile, a gift shop in that part of Dayton. And she was there. And she is with me now.

Taylor, thank you so much for joining me.

I say hometown hero. I know John Legend is from Springfield, about 30 minutes from you guys in Dayton. You got to meet him when he came into your store. What was that like?

TAYLOR CURTIS, DAYTON RESIDENT: John came in with our mayor. She showed him around the store, showed him around several stores down here. When he came in, she was telling him about the hardships that we have been through here in Dayton in the past months, like the tornado, the KKK rally, and now this tragedy.

She was showing him the shirts that we've made for each situation to raise money for victims in each situation. And then we gave him a gift. We gave him one of our Dayton Strong shirts that we have online. And then we gave him one of his shirts. I won't say what it says. It was a very special moment.

BALDWIN: And John, on a first-name basis, as you should be, did you have a moment, did you get to speak with him? And also just tell me about that goose-bumps performance at Blind Bob's.

CURTIS: Yes, he was very genuine, very nice. He bought a shirt from us for his daughter. He seemed to be very sympathetic about what happened here.

The performance was very intimate. A lot of crying, as expected. It was kind of the light at the end of a really hard week here in Dayton.

BALDWIN: Who was in the audience, Taylor?

CURTIS: A lot of employees from down here. But, most importantly, families of victims and people that were here that night. So it was very emotional.

BALDWIN: What a special moment for you and for Dayton. And what an incredible human for him to take his time and honor you all in such a way.

Taylor Curtis, thank you very much for sharing it with us.

CURTIS: OK. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

[14:34:34] It has been a regular question on the campaign trail, asking Democrats whether they think President Trump is racist. And now we have learned the answer may be bothering the president more than you think. Our new reporting on that, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: "Real estate titan, successful TV host, and according to "Forbes" magazine, a billionaire" -- some of the labels President Trump is all too eager to boast about and embrace.

But there's one label that has followed this president for decades, even before he made his improbable march to the White House, and now many in the 2020 Democratic presidential field are seizing on that label as proof that Trump needs to be voted out next fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BET O'ROURKE, (D), FORMER CONGRESSMAN & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the most racist president we've had since perhaps Andrew Johnson.

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): This is a guy who is worse than a racist. He's actually using racist tropes and racial language for political gain.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): He's made racist remarks and he's been racially hateful to people. That's what matters.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So is he racist?

WARREN: I don't have to look at his heart. That's not the point. He behaves. Look at what he's done. It's racist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:40:19] BALDWIN: And the "Washington Post" reports that being called a racist is something that angers the president more than anything else, despite being the main proponent of the Birtherism lie against President Obama, despite tweeting that four American Democratic congresswomen of color should go back to their countries, despite using words like "invasion" to describe and dehumanize undocumented immigrations. Language the El Paso shooting suspect also used.

Trump has recently said, he's, quote, "The least racist person anywhere in the world," end quote, and pushed back on these claims from Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For them to throw out the race word again, racist, racist, racist, that's all they use to anybody. They called Nancy Pelosi a racist. She's not a racist. They call anybody a racist when they run out of cards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Toluse Olorunnipa is a White House reporter for the "Washington Post" and a CNN political analyst.

Toluse, welcome to you, sir.

Let me just quote what you've written: "The president views the characterization largely through the lens of politics, said one close advisor, explaining that Trump feels that charges of racism are just another attempt to discredit him."

So, Toluse, is this more about Trump's political career than about morals?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This is definitely all about politics. This is a story documented by my colleagues, Ashley Parker and Phil Rucker.

They talked to a number of people close to the president and they found out the president does not like this label, in part, because he realizes he needs to not only win over the white working-class voters that he won in 2016 but he needs to do better most likely with minority voters if he's going to win.

You have to remember that he lost the popular vote and was he narrowly was able to win in a few key states to beat Hillary Clinton. And now the Democrats are more unified, more realistic about the idea that he could a second term.

Some of the people who stayed home, including minority voters, the president knows they may come out to vote. He knows the racist label is likely to stick and it could lead to higher voter turnout among African-Americans and Hispanics and that could be a negative to his reelection bid.

I think that's part of the reason he's trying to push back on this while also trying to get some of his supporters riled up against the idea that anyone that calls him a racist is calling his supporters racist. So he's making this very much a political strategy.

I don't think that he's morally impacted by this or personally impacted by this. It seems just from hearing from people close to him that he's looking at this through the lens of 2020 politics.

BALDWIN: As she was pushing back against this a couple of days ago, by invoking Nancy Pelosi, as he stood there and invoked the House speaker and the fight that she had with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or what AOC claims was marginalizing freshmen women of color. Do you think that Trump is successful at neutralizing these attacks aimed at him?

OLORUNNIPA: When speaking directly to his base, which includes a lot of voters who do think the Democrats go too far in making identity politics central to their political strategy. He does get some benefits from voters who believe that Democrats are using the race card too often.

By rejecting any charges of racism and saying it's all about politics and not acknowledging his own actions, anything from Birtherism to the Central Park Five case in the '90s, to the type of language used to describe minorities since he's become president, by sort of discarding that and saying it's all about politics, he does make it much more difficult for him to make inroads with minority voters.

We see his poll numbers very low with black voters and Hispanic voters. The fact he's not taking any of these charges seriously, other than saying it's all about politics, it makes it harder for him to speak to some of those communities and reach out beyond his base. That's going to be a challenge if he's going to win again in 2020.

Reaching out beyond is base is something his campaign is trying to do but, so far, the rhetoric has made it difficult for them to reach out to some of the minority communities the president is talking about.

BALDWIN: I so appreciate your insight, Toluse Olorunnipa. Thank you very much for coming on. We'll see you next time, I'm sure.

Just ahead, once the president's attack dog, Anthony Scaramucci says he no longer supports the president's reelection. We'll tell you why.

[14:44:35] And a tearful moment on the tennis court. Serena Williams breaks down after an injury forces her to leave the game. But instead of celebrating a victory, her competitor came over to comfort her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Really wanted to highlight this touching moment, this women- helping-women home from the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Serena Williams had to forfeit the match just four games into the opening set, tearing up on the court. Her opponent, 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu, walked over to console her idol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIANCA ANDREESCU, CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: Don't even get me started. I watched you your whole career. You're a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) beast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Bianca became the first Canadian to win on home soil in 50 years. She's here with me now with a huge small.

ANDREESCU: Hello.

BALDWIN: Hello.

First of all, congratulations to you.

Second of all, you're a woman after my own heart walking over to her. You tell me, why did you decide to go over and talk to Serena?

[14:50:04] ANDREESCU: Well, I think I wanted to show good sportsmanship. And I wanted to just make sure she's OK somewhat, maybe put a smile on her face. Luckily, I did.

And I think I knew what to say because I've been through what she's been through. Obviously, it's not the same thing. We all go through our things in different ways.

But, I mean, I've been off for so long with my shoulder injury and even with some back issues last year. And I remember having to pull out of tournaments, never pulling out of a final, though. So I knew that was one of the toughest decisions she's probably had to make.

So I remember just going out there and telling her that she's a beast and that she's going to bounce back as quickly as possible because she's truly a champion and an inspiration on and off the court.

BALDWIN: Now, amen to that, first of all. And so are you, by the way.

But it is also my understanding that you were -- were you two months old when Serena won her first major? Do you remember how old you were when you were first aware of her?

ANDREESCU: I was -- I think I was 9 years old. I mean, she's been doing really well throughout her whole career so she was always on TV. She was always making semis, finals, grand slams of every tournament that she played really. What she's accomplished is incredible. And I really strive to be like that. Who knows, maybe even better.

BALDWIN: And so did that make the moment even more surreal for you, walking over to her?

ANDREESCU: Yes, definitely. Especially with some of the things she told me and she said about me and in some of her press conferences.

BALDWIN: Well, let me read that in case everybody hasn't see. This is what she said about you. "I was really sad and she made me feel a lot better. She was really nice. She's a fabulous personality. She's only 19. She definitely doesn't seem like a 19-year-old, in her words, on the court, in her game on the court, her attitude and actions."

Your response to that, Bianca?

ANDREESCU: Oh, wow. Coming from her, it means a lot because I've watched her play her whole career. And just being able to share that moment with her was definitely a milestone. That's honestly all I can say.

BALDWIN: Some little girl may be watching you and may pay it forward to you one day. You just never know.

But a massive congratulations to you, Bianca Andreescu. A pleasure to get to talk to you. Good luck. ANDREESCU: Thank you so much. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

More on our breaking news this afternoon. A U.S. official tells CNN Russia likely tested a new missile that led to the explosion being called one of the worst nuclear accidents since Chernobyl.

Plus, presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, breaks down into tears after a mother in the audience over the weekend asked him a pretty poignant question. You will see what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:52] BALDWIN: Breaking, just on the economy now, the trade war fears just won't go away and the Dow down more than 400 points.

CNN politics and business correspondent, Cristina Alesci, is here me.

Give us some context on what is going on.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN POLITICS & BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is a new normal. We are going to see markets easily disrupted because of what is going on globally, right?

Most acutely right now, we have so much uncertainty globally, and Hong Kong especially, really a business hub, a center for global trade, there are protests there against the backdrop of President Trump continuing this trade war with China with no end in sight.

The CEOs I talked to tell me they can't plan. They don't know what's ahead. So they're pulling back on business investment. At the same time, investors are starting to wonder, where is the growth going to come from in we're locked in this trade war between the U.S. and China.

That is happening an impact, ripple effects throughout the world. It's not just the U.S. and China. It is having impact in Europe and throughout Asia.

BALDWIN: So how does one put a stop to it? Is it Trump himself?

ALESCI: Trump put a stop to it. Funny that you bring that up. I was speaking to a former administration official today, and I said is the damage permanent or can it be reversed at this point.

(CROSSTALK)

ALESCI: He said, look, we are in a position right at this juncture where the damage actually can be reversed.

And there's a lot of speculation that perhaps President Trump is waiting just until the election cycle gets really hot and then he announces this big --

BALDWIN: He swoops in. ALESCI: Exactly.

BALDWIN: Yes.

ALESCI: So there's a lot of speculation that that could be happening. But Wall Street is sending him a message, stop messing around, they're taking this seriously.

BALDWIN: Cristina Alesci, thank you very much.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BALDWIN: We continue on. Hour two. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being here.

We are following the breaking news in the investigation into the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, where nine people were murdered. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio just announced new charges against a friend of the gunman.

[15:00:06] CNN's Ryan Young is following these developments for us.

Ryan, what more can you tell us about who this is?