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Democrats Hold Mock Hearing Ahead Of Tomorrow's Real Event; FBI Investigating Pensacola Attack As An Act Of Terrorism; North Korea Says It Held Very Important Test At Launch Site; Kerry Touts Biden's Experience, Likens Him To Tom Brady; Is Impeachment Probe Changing Minds In Pivotal Counties?; "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" Airs Tonight At 8:00 P.M. EST; "Saturday Night Live" Bars Trump From The Cool Kids' Table At NATO. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired December 08, 2019 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.
Confidence, that is the sentiment from Democrats today as they prepare to lay out their impeachment cases against President Donald J. Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): We have a very lock solid case. I think the case we have, if presented to a jury, would be a guilty verdict in about three minutes flat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Tomorrow, a critical impeachment hearing begins. Democrats tell us it will run just like a trial with each side giving an opening statement before starting rounds of questioning. All weekend, Democrats have been huddled in the Capitol holding a mock hearing and going over possible articles of impeachment, which they need to decide on quickly because, according to sources, articles could be voted on by the end of the week.
CNN Congressional Reporter Lauren Fox is live for us on Capitol Hill.
Lauren, walk us through the mock hearings and what we can expect tomorrow.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, a lot of preparation taking place over the weekend, two days essentially of behind closed doors opportunities for members to basically get a sense of what questions they want to be asking. Tomorrow could be their last opportunity in a public forum to actually have this debate about impeachment.
Essentially, they were giving the White House an opportunity to respond, but the fact that the White House on Friday told lawmakers that they were not going to participate in the House Judiciary's impeachment proceedings closed the door on that opportunity. So this week, we could see articles of impeachment presented, of course, a big debate within the Democratic caucus about whether or not to include an article that would include anything about the Mueller investigation.
Here is what the chairman, Jerry Nadler, had to say about that earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADLER: He sought foreign interference in our elections several times, both for 2016 and 2020, that he sought to cover it up all the time, and that he continually violated his oath of office.
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: I have to say, as you are talking about this, you keep bringing up the 2016 election and Russia. It certainly sounds to me like you want that to be included going forward.
NADLER: I wouldn't draw any conclusions. It is part of the pattern, which is why I bring it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: And, of course, I was talking to some members of the Judiciary Committee who are Democrats and they said no decisions have been made yet about articles of impeachment, but, of course, things could be moving very rapidly with a vote by the end of the week to advance those articles to the floor of the House of Representatives. Ana?
CABRERA: Lauren Fox reporting for us on Capitol Hill, thank you, Lauren.
I want to bring in former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi and former prosecutor and CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan.
Paul, Nadler talked about a pattern. Does that indicate to you that he is leaning toward including the Mueller findings and the articles of impeachment?
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's a very interesting selection of wording by Nadler when he says, it may show a pattern, that is what happened in the Mueller report, obstruction of justice. He may be saying they're not actually going to charge the president with obstruction of justice arising from the Mueller report but they will use it as a piece of evidence to show that he has a pattern of acting improperly to obstruct investigations. And that shows that in this case, the Ukraine case, he clearly was obstructing congressional investigations. So interesting selection of words.
CABRERA: Yes. It seems like it's the million dollar question right now, to charge or not to charge to include as an article of impeachment Mueller's report or not.
Gene, Congressman Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intel Committee, says the strongest case is to keep the articles narrow. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I can tell you, as a former prosecutor, it's always been my strategy in a charging decision -- and the impeachment of the House is essentially a charging decision -- to charge those that there is is strongest and most overwhelming evidence and not to try to charge everything even though you could charge other things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Is it best to charge what may be a slam dunk versus all that is possible?
GENE ROSSI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: When I was a prosecutor, I had about 110 trials. And where I was unsuccessful, Ana, is when I got greedy and I put in charges that I probably could have proven, but I didn't focus enough on the ones that were slam dunks, what I used to call LeBron James layups. If you focus on the slam dunks, the Ukraine, the abuse of power in terms of subpoenas and not cooperating with Congress and stay away from the Mueller report.
But I want to go to what Paul said. He brought up an excellent point. Federal rule of evidence 404(b) is prior bad acts that aren't charged but they are presented to a jury to show motive, plan, intent. So they may include those but not charge them. The punch line is this, keep it simple, stupid, the KISS principle.
[18:05:03]
CABRERA: Yes, I remember that from elementary school, I think it was.
Paul, Chairman Nadler seemed very confident. He said that a jury would convict in less than three minutes. Should he be so confident? Do you agree with him?
CALLAN: Well, I don't know how many cases Nadler has tried. I don't think he's tried very many. And I think whether that statement is true, it would depend upon whether the jury was being selected in a red state or a blue state, because, essentially, at the end, whether there's a conviction will largely be political.
And we know that the current composition of the jury, in this case, the United States Senate, leans Republican. So I'm not so sure there will be a swift conviction. I think he might be looking at a hung jury or an acquittal in the end unless he comes up with something more compelling to bring Republicans into his camp.
CABRERA: I think it's important to remind our viewers that an impeachable offense isn't necessarily a criminal offense. And, Gene, we have learned that the Democrats are planning to conduct tomorrow's hearings, quote, like a trial. Will that help or hurt them?
ROSSI: Well, I think it will help them and here's why. I read the Judiciary Committee's report and it's basically a treatise on the meaning of the power of impeachment. And the public has to understand this, the power of impeachment and what it means in the Constitution is much broader than the legal standard of what bribery, extortion and honest services fraud can be. It's much, much broader.
And I got to do a shout-out. I teach at George Mason University. George Mason, who's the father of the bill of rights, his name is all over this majority report of the House Judiciary Committee, because he wanted a broad power to impeach. So when they do their thing this week, however they do it, they should focus on the broad power but also focus on this is textbook bribery, if not, extortion and that should be considered too.
CABRERA: As this unfolds, Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, just returned from a trip to Ukraine. And here is GOP Congressman Mark Meadows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARK MEADOWS (R-NC): I don't know that any role -- I don't know of any role that Rudy Giuliani is playing on behalf of the president of the United States. I think he's over there as a citizen. I think part of that is probably trying to clear his name.
BASH: But he's the president's personal attorney.
MEADOWS: He is the president's personal attorney but I don't know that he's over there at the president's direction. In fact, I would suggest that he's not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Paul, why do you think as the president continues to embrace and really encourage what Giuliani is continuing to do in Ukraine? You have Republicans trying to distance themselves from it.
CALLAN: Yes. It's surprising because it started to look like the president would try to distance himself from Giuliani saying that he didn't give Giuliani orders to go over to Ukraine and do the things that Giuliani has done. But he's embracing Giuliani.
I think, in some respects, it's like when you defend or prosecute a criminal case, a good lawyer always goes to the scene of the crime. Well, Giuliani is going to Ukraine, which is the scene of the crime that this impeachment is all about.
I don't remember Nixon's personal attorneys though, James St. Clair and Herb Kalmbach hanging out with the Watergate burglars when the Nixon impeachment ceremonies. They stayed to the court system in Washington at the time. So this is really unprecedented activity by a personal attorney to the president.
CABRERA: Gene, as we know, the president and his legal counsel are not participating in tomorrow's hearing because they don't want to legitimize this process. Do you think that's a smart play?
ROSSI: I think that is a stupid play, because what they're doing is they're thumbing their nose at the Constitution, they're thumbing their nose at the separation of powers and they're thumbing their nose at the judicial process. It really saddens me as someone who worked for the Department of Justice for 30 years, but I cannot resist making some comment about Rudy Giuliani. There is one major similarity between Rudy Giuliani and Austin Powers. They are both entertaining and funny. But, sadly, only one person takes him seriously, Donald Trump, and that is sad in itself.
CABRERA: Paul, real, quick, do you agree with Gene? As a former defense attorney, do you think the president and his team is making a smart move by not even showing up for these impeachment hearings?
CALLAN: Well, I think that they don't lose a lot by not showing up for this part of what's going on, because we know, from Nancy Pelosi's press conference, that articles of impeachment are going to be voted against him. The real defense I think you'll see is in the United States Senate. They'll show up for those proceedings. But it's --
[18:10:00]
CABRERA: And why would they want to do that instead of this?
CALLAN: Well, this is similar to a grand jury. And when the prosecutor wants to get an indictment before a grand jury, the prosecutor always gets the indictment. They have the votes in the House already to impeach and the White House knows that. Very situation in the Senate though, which will be jury in the case. You'll see an aggressive defense offered by Trump at that time.
CABRERA: There's still so much to come in this impeachment process. Thank you very much, Paul Callan, Gene Rossi, great to have both of you with us.
New details tonight about the deadly attack on a naval base in Pensacola as investigators piece together a motive. We're there live next.
Plus, John Kerry compares Joe Biden to Tom Brady. So will that help Biden in the Granite State or bring up more questions about his age.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: The FBI is still not 100 percent sure what drove a Saudi military officer to open fire on a U.S. Navy base on Friday killing three American servicemen and wounding several others.
These are the three men who died, the oldest just 23 years old. Their killer, a lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force, was shot dead by police officers.
Today in Pensacola, a very somber moment when police escorted the bodies of those three sailors to a waiting plane. They are being transferred to the military's mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware this evening.
So as to why this happened, why this Saudi officer started shooting his classmates on base in Florida, the FBI says they have no concrete answers yet but are treating this incident as an act of terrorism.
[18:15:11]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL ROJAS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: I can tell you that we are looking very hard at uncovering his motive. And I would ask for patience so we can get this right.
The Saudi government has pledged to fully cooperate with our investigation. I thank the kingdom for their pledge.
Work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism, this allows us to take advantage of investigative techniques.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: CNN's Brynn Gingras is just outside Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Brynn, earlier reports were backed up by the defense secretary that someone possibly close to the shooter made a video of the attack as it was unfolding. You have new information about that report. Bring it to us.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The FBI spokesperson quickly clarified and then we got more details as well from a source close to the investigation. And, really, what the defense secretary said was that video was taken at the time or he suspected that. The FBI says that this video was shot by a bystander after the attack unfolded and as emergency responders were coming to the scene.
And the source tells us that that bystander was a Saudi national. But it's unclear if he was a friend. We're told that he really had no part -- this person had no part of this attack and really didn't have any nefarious sort of ill intent when taking that video.
So the video is certainly something that investigators are looking into, not just that one that the defense secretary was talking about but also surveillance video from the base. Certainly, that is part of all the evidence that they are considering at this point.
But you hit it right there with the motive. That is the big question still. Investigators really are not talking about it at this point or at least not giving us answers too. And that is why it is not deemed right now an act of terrorism but they are investigating as if it were.
And we're told really they're doing that by talking to people. They're talking to those Saudi nationals who we were reporting were detained. We're told those Saudi nationals are being kept on the base. They can't leave. They are helping answer some questions.
We're learning from sources that they actually gave some indications to investigators about this gunman's demeanor after a return home from Saudi Arabia, basically saying that he was changed. He was becoming more observant. He wasn't drinking when he was before. And so now, investigators are trying to figure out what sort of happened possibly after he returned home that triggered such a change.
So these are the questions that are still being asked, a timeline that is still trying to be figured out to really put this whole picture together of what possibly caused all of this.
CABRERA: OK. Brynn Gingras, thank you for continuing to bring us those updates.
North Korea claims it carried out a, quote, very important test just days after the regime warned of a Christmas gift for the United States. So what about that special relation President Trump talks about so much? We have details just ahead.
But first, Christine Romans is here with this week's Before the Bell. Christine?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana.
Trade headlines are likely to dominate the action on Wall Street. In exactly one week, the next round of tariffs are scheduled to take effect. They would apply to about $155 billion worth of Chinese made goods, including laptops and cell phones, toys and office supplies. Investors are hoping a narrow trade deal with China can be reached to avoid those new tariffs.
Wall Street is also watching the Fed, which meets midweek. The central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. Remember, it has already cut rates three times this year. Fed officials are looking at a mixed economic picture lately. Hiring remains strong, 266,000 jobs were added in November. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5 percent. But manufacturing remains in recession. It contracted for the fourth straight month in November.
In New York, I'm Christine Romans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
CABRERA: North Korea being deliberately cryptic in its description of what it is calling a significant test at a satellite launch facility. Based on the data so far, analysts say the most likely scenario is a missile engine test, perhaps the kind of missile engine that could power an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the mainland United States.
For weeks, North Korea has been warning the United States will be receiving a Christmas gift of its own selection amidst all nuclear denuclearization talks.
In reaction to the Saturday's test, the president tweeted, Kim Jong-un is too smart and has too much to lose everything actually if he acts in a hostile way. He does not want to void his special relationship with the president of the United States or interfere with the U.S. presidential election in November.
Gordon Chang is the author of Nuclear Showdown, North Korea Takes on the World, and joins us now.
Gordon, North Korea has been signaling to the U.S. for weeks that something bad will happen if there's not more progress made on the nuclear deal by year's end. How should the U.S. respond?
GORDON CHANG, COLUMNIST, THE DAILY BEAST: I think the U.S. should say to the North Koreans, well, if you're cancelling the denuclearization talks, that's fine. We'll go back to strict sanctions enforcement.
For more than a year-and-a-half, we have not been robust in the way we've been enforcing U.S. and U.N. roles so we can go after not only the North Koreans but the Chinese, the Russians and South Koreans and make life miserable for Kim Jong-un.
CABRERA: North Korea called this a very important test. We know they have warned the U.S. about an unwelcomed Christmas gift. Do you believe this is paving the way for them to launch a satellite or intercontinental ballistic missile before the end of the year?
[18:25:00]
CHANG: I don't think it's going to be before the end of the year, Ana, but I think it could be very well in January or February. The North Koreans need to do one thing to prove to the world that they've actually got a usable weapon, and that's a detonation of a thermonuclear device in the atmosphere. Every nation with a nuclear weapon has done that. North Koreans have not. They promised to do that in September 2017. So that could very well be on the menu for the early part of next year.
CABRERA: We've seen some dramatic images recently of Kim Jong-un riding a white stallion galloping up a revered mountain top. Aside from this being propaganda, obviously, does that signal something to you?
CHANG: Well, they've now done that twice in the last month-and-a- half. And it just means that I think that Kim Jong-un is trying to sort of develop support among senior regime elements and with the North Korean people. Kim leaders do this periodically, so I don't know or certainly we don't know what's going on, but this is something that we've seen in the past.
CABRERA: When President Trump attended the NATO Summit last week, he resurrected an old nickname that he has used for Kim Jong-un in the past. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: North Korea continued its nuclear program despite --
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, we'll see. I have confidence in him. I like him. He likes me. We have a good relationship. We'll see. We'll see what happens.
He likes sending rockets up, doesn't he? That's why I call him rocket man.
REPORTER: Is that helpful, do you think?
TRUMP: We have a very good relationship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: The North Koreans didn't take too kindly to that. They called President Trump a dotard. So name calling doesn't work but neither did flattery and flashy photo ops and two summits, apparently. I mean, what is it going to take to keep North Korea in check?
CHANG: I think what it will take, Ana, is basically a cutoff of money to Kim.
Up until the middle of May last year, we had we cut off maybe 50 percent of North Korea's international flow of funds. What we need to do is go after another 40 or 45 percent. If we do that, then Kim is faced with a choice, give up his weapons or give up power.
And so no American president has put a Kim leader in that position. We haven't had the political will. The question is whether President Trump has the resolution, the willing to spend the political capital to do that.
CABRERA: Why would he have to give up power if those sanctions, he chooses not to, I guess, comply?
CHANG: Well, it would be if the North Koreans didn't give up their weapons, we would just cut off all the money and we would go after the Chinese banks and basically make it impossible for Kim to rule. Kim needs money, not only for detonating nukes and launching missiles but also for gift politics, which is the giving of luxury items to senior regime members. That's how he buys loyalty. And if he can't do that, he's in trouble.
So we could make him face that position of keep your weapons or keep power, but you're not going to have both.
CABRERA: Gordon Chang, very interesting, thank you for your insights.
CHANG: Thanks, Ana.
CABRERA: After calling out the lack of diversity in the 2020 Democratic field, Cory Booker sees a surge in fundraising, but will that mean a surge in the polls? We'll discuss.
[18:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: John Kerry likens Joe Biden to Tom Brady. Flattering comparison in New Hampshire as the No Malarkey bus tour travels through that important early-voting state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Joe Biden's a little bit like the New England Patriots, I think. Fun to watch --
(APPLAUSE)
KERRY: Fun to watch the promise and potential of young quarterbacks, but come February, I like having an experienced quarterback like Tom Brady calling those plays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Joining us now with more, Democratic Strategist, Tara Dowdell and Political Strategist, Shermichael Singleton.
OK, Tara. Is Joe Biden the Tom Brady of the Democrats' 2020 field?
TARA DOWDELL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I know his campaign sure hopes he is.
(LAUGHTER)
DOWDELL: That's their goal, I'm sure, but I do think that this was a good weekend for him mostly because he's back in the news cycle.
John Kerry -- a lot of people say, oh, endorsements don't mean anything, it's not a big deal, but it gets you earned media. And so, earned media is what we're doing right now. So for any candidate in any campaign, that's what they want because it's attention that they're not having to spend money on.
And so, I think that for his campaign, to the extent that they can continue to get this because they are having trouble fund-raising, to the extent they can continue to stay in the news cycle and the focus is on things -- accomplishments, bringing in endorsements, all of those things, that's good for any campaign.
CABRERA: Let me bring it back to you, Shermichael. Tom Brady is one of the most beloved people in New England, right? And probably New Hampshire.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Yes, he is.
CABRERA: Is that a smart analogy?
SINGLETON: I mean, I guess. Look, I'm more of a Saints and a Cowboys fan, but that's neither here nor there.
CABRERA: And I'm a Broncos fan.
SINGLETON: There you go, Ana.
CABRERA: So you know what that means about how I feel about Tom Brady. (LAUGHTER)
SINGLETON: But, look, I think it's a -- it's a good comparison, right? Tom Brady won three Super Bowls out of the four. This is Joe Biden's third time running for president. Maybe Kerry was sort of alluding that perhaps third time is a charm here. I think that's what the Vice President is probably hoping for.
Look, I think, so far, we look at the polls in Iowa, he'll probably top the top three, I would believe. In New Hampshire, he arguably could get the one or two spot.
And, of course, once you get to South Carolina and beyond, Ana, that's where things sort of change drastically for the Vice President not only because of his support with African-Americans, but something we haven't spoken about a lot as well is his high approvals with Hispanics. That will become critical in states like California, Nevada, and beyond.
CABRERA: I'm glad you bring that up because we went from the most diverse field ever to the top candidates being all White. In fact, with Kamala Harris now out of the race, only White candidates have qualified for this next debate.
SINGLETON: Right.
CABRERA: And there's not much time left to qualify. Tara, what is going on?
DOWDELL: Well, I think that's going to be -- it's a challenge for the Democratic Party. The base of the Democratic Party is extremely diverse. We know that.
[18:35:05]
And one -- and the winning coalition for President Obama -- people forget this, his winning coalition was, you know, record support from the Black community. It was three out of four Asian-Americans. It was three out of four Hispanic-Americans. And then it was about four out of 10 White Americans.
CABRERA: So why aren't the --
DOWDELL: But that's the coalition.
CABRERA: -- minority candidates resonating more?
DOWDELL: I think what we're seeing is I think you're seeing a number of factors at play.
I think part of it is that people are familiar with Joe Biden. He was there. He was by the President's side -- President Obama, that is, to be clear. He was by his side. People felt that he served him ably, didn't try to outshine him, so that built -- that built up a lot of good favor. I think, also, people are talking about his age as a negative thing.
But I think people need to remember with older voters, you're talking about someone their same age, right? Someone they can relate to, someone from their generation.
I think enough hasn't been -- focus has been on that point, is that with the older Black voters, older Hispanic voters, older Asian- American voters, older --
CABRERA: The more reliable voters often times as well.
DOWDELL: Yes, exactly, and older White voters, for that matter, who are Democrats. I think there's a comfort level because they feel like that -- this person has the experience, and then that's their generation. They can relate to Joe Biden in many ways.
CABRERA: Shermichael, Cory Booker and Julian Castro have both pointed to the first primary contests being held in states with low minority counts.
SINGLETON: Sure.
CABRERA: Just five percent of the population in Iowa is Hispanic, according to Pew, for example. Is that the reason they aren't gaining traction?
SINGLETON: I mean, I don't think so. President Obama, he's African- American, he did very well in Iowa, New Hampshire, beyond. I think African-Americans have sort of made it clear that, you know, it's not necessarily about race this time around. It's not necessarily about gender, arguably, this time around.
And I don't -- I want to be careful here. I don't say that those things are negative things. I just think, for a vast majority of African-Americans, I guess, I'm trying to say here, Ana, are more concerned about defeating Donald Trump.
And I don't think a lot of them are willing to take the chances of supporting someone who they may actually like, but they may believe don't have the ability to sort of create the type of coalition necessary to beat Trump in 2020.
And I think they look at someone like maybe Joe Biden, who is considered to be a moderate pragmatist, as someone who cannot only bring in older African-Americans, but he can also bring in some of the -- bridge the gap with some of those whiter Midwestern voters.
And if Biden is smart, then he would choose a younger, more diverse running mate who could also sort of energize the more progressive base. And so, you bring in your older, reliable constituents, but you also bring in your active, younger progressives. And I think that is what most African-Americans would arguably see as a winning ticket.
CABRERA: Another dynamic that seems to be taking hold is Buttigieg under attack. Listen to Elizabeth Warren's complaint.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Mayor should be releasing who's on his finance committee, who are the bundlers who are raising big money for him, who he's given titles to and made promises to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think Mayor Pete's fundraisers are fundamentally corrupt?
WARREN: I think that Mayor Pete should open up the doors so that anyone can come in and report on what's being said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: And here's part of an ad from a super PAC supporting Booker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a Rhodes scholar, a successful mayor, a uniter -- no, not that guy. It's Cory Booker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: So, Tara, with Biden still at the top of the polls, why is Buttigieg suddenly the target?
DOWDELL: Well, I think that Buttigieg is surging, so I think, for obvious reasons, the candidates are going after him. I do think though, to the -- to go back to just the earlier point on the race issue -- and I think this does come into play with Buttigieg -- I do think that it hurts the candidates.
I think that there is -- you know, I think that there are some troubles still and challenges that remain around race and gender. I think -- people, I think, are projecting that if you're a Black woman candidate or if you're a woman candidate, that you can't win, that this will be -- it will be too hard to beat Trump. So I do think that's in voters' minds.
And I think it's problematic but I do think it's there. Cory Booker's ad speaks to this so effectively. There has been so much talk about Pete Buttigieg being the Rhodes scholar, all these accomplishments.
The whole field is accomplished. And Cory Booker is a Rhodes scholar. He is enormously accomplished. And so are so many of the other candidates, but there has been so much focus on the accomplishments of Pete Buttigieg. And I think --
CABRERA: Or his age, right.
DOWDELL: Yes, and his age, but I think you're starting to see the other candidates push back on it. Why is so much media attention on Pete Buttigieg's accolades and accomplishments and not on that of Julian Castro, who is also very well educated, very well accomplished --
CABRERA: Right.
DOWDELL: -- and ran a much bigger city? So I think now you're starting to see the other candidates say, hey, wait a second, we want to make sure that everyone is being viewed through an equal lens. And everyone is seeing -- is -- who is accomplished is getting the same amount of attention and respect for those accomplishments.
[18:40:05]
CABRERA: Right. Tara and Shermichael, good to have both of you here. Thank you very much.
SINGLETON: Thanks so much, Ana.
CABRERA: So as the impeachment becomes a bigger 2020 issue, how are voters from one swing district reacting to the whole debate? We'll take you to Maine, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: Half of the counties in the state of Maine voted for Donald Trump in 2016, even though they supported Barack Obama in not one but two elections. CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro traveled to one of these pivot counties to find out how impeachment could affect the 2020 vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): 2008, who did you vote for?
GLENN HODGKINS, VOTER, PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE: Obama.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): 2012?
HODGKINS: Obama.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): 2016?
HODGKINS: Trump.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): And 2020?
HODGKINS: I am not sure.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): If you're having a conversation with a guy like Glenn Hodgkins, you just might be in a pivot county.
Penobscot County in Maine voted exactly like Glenn did over the past few elections. No one knows who will win next year.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): It's different than the hot dogs I have somewhere else.
[18:45:01]
SEAN SMITH, DIRECTOR OF SALES, W.A. BEAN & SONS: It's the snap. That's what gets you.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): W.A. Bean & Sons have been making their signature red snapper hot dog for around a century here. They don't agree on the best way to eat one.
SMITH: Yes, that's ready to go.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): It's a big one. It's a big chunk of beef.
SMITH: You're ready to rock and roll there.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): You can't settle this catsup on a hot dog controversy for me?
(LAUGHTER)
SMITH: First of all, personally, I prefer mustard and onions.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): And they don't agree on politics.
SMITH: Those that know me would say I'm very, very left-leaning.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): You're going to vote for the first time next year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): So where are you at right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't say that there is one specific side that I lean towards.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Three generations, three different views on the President.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): You voted for him?
DAVID BEAN, PRESIDENT, W.A. BEAN AND SONS: I did.
(LAUGHTER)
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): And do you -- how do you feel about him now?
BEAN: Well, I'm up in the air. I'm not saying that I would not vote for a Democrat for president because I would.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): But a shared sense that the roiling impeachment debate in Washington is political shenanigans.
DIANE BEAN, SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR, W.A. BEAN & SONS: I actually voted for a Democrat. I just wish that Washington would get back to doing what they're supposed to do. You know, why are they wasting all this time trying to impeach somebody? MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): That feeling makes it important for
political organizers here to keep their focus away from national headlines.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): What role does impeachment play in the way you do your job right now as Republican Party chair?
JOSHUA HIATT, REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE CHAIR, PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE: It actually does nothing. I mean, because it -- it's white noise to most of the people.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Democrats almost pivoted this county back to blue in 2018. Representative Jared Golden flipped the second congressional district but he came up short in Penobscot.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): Your party wants to remove this President very badly. It seems very clear.
BEV UHLENHAKE, DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR, PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE: Yes. Yes.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): Would you also want to hang on to these gains you've gotten in places like this district?
UHLENHAKE: Yes.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): Do you think it would be easier for you to do that if Democrats were spending less time trying to impeach the President right now?
UHLENHAKE: I would like us to be paying a whole lot of attention to things that matter -- jobs, health care, the school system, et cetera. Do I think he should probably be impeached? Probably, but we still need to run a country.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): It's a hard balance politically (ph), obviously.
UHLENHAKE: It is a very hard balance.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Penobscot County could swing either way. But there's one thing the Bean family says will never pivot here.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): So we can all unify --
D. BEAN: Yes.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): -- under the Bean red snapper?
(LAUGHTER)
SMITH: Please. Let's do it.
BEAN: There you go.
D. BEAN: Absolutely.
SMITH: Yes, we offer that --
BEAN: Absolutely.
D. BEAN: Right.
SMITH: -- we offer that to the American people.
(LAUGHTER)
MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, Bangor, Maine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: New developments tonight in the deadly shooting at a Florida naval base. The FBI now says it is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism. We'll take you live to Pensacola. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:51:12]
CABRERA: They don't wear capes, they don't have superpowers, but they are heroes. And tonight, everyday people who do extraordinary things will be recognized at CNN's annual all-star tribute where one person will be named the CNN Hero of the Year.
CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us again from the red carpet here in New York where things are just getting underway. Miguel, the ceremony kicks off now in about an hour. You just spoke to this evening's co- host, Kelly Ripa?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I did, indeed. Lucky me, right? Look, I have spoken to several of the heroes as well. And what's amazing in talking to these people is that none of them really consider themselves heroes. They consider themselves people who are doing the work that needs to be done in their community.
And they are -- they're glad for the attention, and they see it paying off in ways that they never even imagined it could. I mean, the -- in addition to each hero tonight winning $10,000, the Hero of the Year will get $100,000 to help with their -- with their work.
We spoke to Kelly Ripa, one of the hosts of tonight's show. She's only been doing it a few years, and she spoke about why it's so important and the first time she remembered watching "HEROES."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY RIPA, CO-HOST, CNN HEROES - AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE: In this day and age, we focus so much -- and "we," I mean everyone tends to focus on the negative and the negative. But really, when you think about it, because of people like our heroes here that CNN chooses to honor and so many other people that they incorporate into their lives, life is getting better and better.
And I think it's important to shine a spotlight on people that are really finding a void in their communities and doing something about it just through -- just through their own grit and their own will. And it's so inspiring that it inspires others.
And I was telling Anderson this -- I remember in 2007, I was sitting with my in-laws and my children on the sofa. We watched the very first "CNN HEROES" and we were crying and we were so moved.
And this is the one event every year that my kids will come to because they find it so moving and empowering and inspiring. And I think it really does have such a -- such a ripple effect in society. I think this is the most important event and honoring the most important people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, of all the exciting things that Kelly Ripa gets invited to and that her kids want to come to this one, that's pretty cool. Those are very cool kids. And she agreed very quickly, they are indeed cool kids.
So we're going to see ten heroes tonight. These are people who are chosen from thousands of submissions that were made to CNN. They were chosen by a special panel. And then the viewers, over the last month or so, have made their votes known, and they are the ones that will choose the Hero of the Year.
So we're looking forward to seeing who that is. But in speaking to some of these people and the projects that they're involved in, in their home communities not only in the U.S. but around the world, they are clearly doing amazing, amazing work for nothing more, in some cases, than just feeling good about it. And it certainly shows, Ana.
CABRERA: They are making a difference in countless ways. It's wonderful, wonderful to hear and honor them tonight.
Miguel Marquez, we will check back with you shortly before the program. Thank you.
Don't forget to join Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper live as they name the 2019 CNN Hero of the Year. "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" tonight at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN. We'll be right back.
[18:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: What happens when "Saturday Night Live" reimagines the NATO summit as a high school cafeteria where President Trump just wants a seat at the cool kids' table? Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL RUDD, ACTOR: Wave to him so he thinks that we like him. (LAUGHTER)
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: Those are my best friends. We run this place.
ALEX MOFFAT, ACTOR: Oh, that's nice. My name is Eggless but you can call me Egg, huh? Would you like to try some of my pickled octopus?
BALDWIN: Oh, my god, I'm at the loser table.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: So should I sit with you guys now because this seat is still not taken?
RUDD: No, actually, this is for someone else. Angela?
JIMMY FALLON, ACTOR: Yes.
(APPLAUSE)
RUDD: Angela.
FALLON: We saved you a seat, eh.
KATE MCKINNON, ACTRESS: Is this happening?
(LAUGHTER)
MCKINNON: Am I actually about to sit at the cool kids' table?
(LAUGHTER)
MCKINNON: OK, wow! Just relax, Angela. Should I bring my fluegelhorn?
(LAUGHTER)
MCKINNON: No, I must leave this behind. I must leave it all behind because I am cool now.
(LAUGHTER)
[19:00:00]
MCKINNON: And maybe one strudel. OK. Hello.
(LAUGHTER)
MCKINNON: What's up, my -- my dudes?
