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Trump Says Did Not Kill Soleimani to Start War with Iran; Trump Says Soleimani Should Have Been Killed Long Ago; 2020 Candidates Speak on Targeted Killing of Iran's Top General; U.S. Sending Thousands More Troops to Mideast; U.S. Cities on Alert After Iran's General Killed; Pelosi Attacks McConnell in Response to His Impeachment Remarks. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 03, 2020 - 15:30   ET

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

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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: -- for decades, and he was blamed by the Pentagon for so many attacks in recent months that led to the deaths of Americans and our allies. And as citizens hit the streets protesting the action and chanting "death to America," Iran is vowing to retaliate for what it's calling America's

greatest strategic mistake.

But elsewhere in the region President Trump is receiving praise for the decision he made from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Just as Israel has the right of self-defense, the United States has exactly the same right. Qasem Soleimani is responsible for the death of American citizens and many other innocent people. He was planning more such attacks. President Trump deserves all the credit for acting swiftly, forcefully, decisively. Israel stands with the United States in its just struggle for peace, security and self-defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And as you well know, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been a fervent supporter of President Trump's maximum pressure policy towards Iran.

My next guest says the death of Soleimani has been met with a, quote, combination of elation, relief and fear throughout the Middle East. She is Kim Ghattas, she's a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and she's also the author of the upcoming book "Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran And The 40-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion and Collective Memory in The Middle East."

So Kim, thank you so much for joining me. And first just to your point, walk me through the reactions you outline. Elation, relief and fear. How do you mean?

KIM GHATTAS, NON-RESIDENT SCHOLAR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Well, elation, because Qasem Soleimani was not only responsible for the deaths of many Americans but also for many of the wars and assassinations and oppression that the Middle East has witnessed over the last few decades. He was really the architect of Iran's expansionist policies and that carried a heavy toll for people of the Middle East.

If you think of the war in Syria, that's been going on for more than eight years, since 2011, he was the one strategizing to help Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President, survive the uprising against him. He ran proxy militias in Lebanon, in Syria and also in Iraq.

And in Iraq over the last few weeks and months, we've seen the protests there faced with a terrible crackdown, a very violent crackdown that Qasem Soleimani helped organize and orchestrate. And the protests in Iraq were against the corruption and the mismanagement by Iraqi politicians but also the protests were against Iran's increased strangle hold over the country.

People felt very much that Qasem Soleimani was in charge of their lives in places like Iraq and that he was the reason why their lives were unraveling in Iraq and also as I mentioned in Syria. So that's the elation part.

We've seen people handing out sweets in Syria, we've seen people marching through the streets of Baghdad celebrating the death of this man but, of course, there is fear, because he was so central to Iran's policies in the region. Such a key player, such a keen strategist, whatever you thought of him, he was a very smart, cunning strategist and there is a sense of fear as to what happens next in his absence.

Is it really possible that the he died? What happens now? Is it going to be war? Is there going to be retaliation? Will there be only limited retaliation by Iran? People simply don't know what to expect, but they do know that whatever happens, the consequences will be most strongly felt by people in this region.

BALDWIN: To your point about people didn't it'd be possible that he could die. I mean just for Americans were waking up today and have never heard Qasem Soleimani's name before, I think it's noteworthy, just your perspective. That this is a man who some people hated so much but they never believed it was possible he could die. Kind of like Saddam Hussein and people wondered is he really gone? I mean this is that sort of level. Correct?

GHATTAS: It is absolutely at that level. I woke up this morning, I checked the news and I thought, Qasem Soleimani? Wait. Which one? Could there be more than one? Because how could it be that Qasem Soleimani could die in a U.S.-targeted strike?

It was really incredible news this morning as it spread across the region, as people woke up to this news trying to really take stock of what it meant and what was going to happen next. And, yes, the comparison with Saddam Hussein is an interesting one, of course, because Saddam Hussein was a Sunni, Qasem Soleimani is a Shia and they both played the sectarian card very often. But after Saddam Hussein fell, you know -- or rather when he was in

power people felt there was never going to be an end to this man's hold on power.

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And yet one day it was shown that he was also fallible. And today we've seen that Qasem Soleimani thought to be invincible, all-powerful was in the end also mortal.

BALDWIN: Kim Ghattas in Beirut, Kim, thank you.

Moments ago President Trump speaking for the first time about his order to kill Iran's top general in that drone strike saying he does not want war with Iran.

We're live on the campaign trail to hear how the 2020 Democrats are responding to today's news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Under my leadership America's policy is unambiguous to terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American. We will find you. We will eliminate you. We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans and our allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was President Trump just moments ago talking about the killing of Iran's top general and the 2020 Democratic Presidential candidates are obviously weighing in today. Most agree that Qasem Soleimani was an enemy towards the U.S. for years but they express concerns about whether the Trump administration is ready for the potential fallout.

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The question is, do Donald Trump and his administration have a strategy for what comes next? Have they thought through and planned for a wide range of retaliatory and asymmetric actions that we'll almost certainly see from Iran in the near-term?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And so we still have a lot of questions that need to be answered with this use of military force.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But one thing I am uncertain of right now is this -- this must not be the beginning of another endless war.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you think about what this President did, it is not clear to me and I have a lot of questions and concerns about, did he think about the repercussions of what this is going to mean? Just like, did he think about the repercussions when he got out of the Iranian agreement?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Arlette Saenz is our CNN political reporter who has been following the Biden campaign, she's in Cedar Rapids and MJ Lee is our CNN political correspondent here with me in New York. But Arlette, I want to start with you. Tell me more about what the former Vice President has to say about this targeted kill?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Brooke, Joe Biden didn't hold anything back, he really issued a stinging critique of President Trump's approach when it comes to his Iran strategy. Not just criticizing him for this attack but also his decision to pull out of the nuclear deal.

And Biden was in Dubuque, Iowa earlier today, and he stood at the podium with the teleprompters, which haven't really been a feature at a lot of Joe Biden's events recently, and he warns that the U.S. could be going further into potential direct conflict with Iran, because of President Trump's policy.

And he actually also talked about how whether or not the Trump administration had a strategy. Had they thought everything through? And he actually went through a list of questions that he had for what next steps might look like. And it kind of actually gave you a little bit of an insight into how Joe Biden might have thought about this decision if he had to make it.

And that's something Biden has really touted over and over again on the campaign trail -- his foreign policy experience. He believes he is the candidate who is best equipped on day one to deal with international matters, international leaders and be commander in chief.

But there are some in the Democrat field that don't necessarily agree with that. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg have really been criticizing Biden over the past week particularly on his vote when it came to the Iraq War back in 2002. They believe he was on the wrong side of history on that.

But these candidates are certainly trying to draw the contrast not only with President Trump but we could see all in the days ahead trying to draw that contrast with each other when it comes to foreign policy -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: As always, thank you, Arlette, as all of these candidates are certainly responding to what's happened in Iraq, with this Iranian general.

MJ, just speaking of 2020, we've been getting all of these numbers in, fund-raising numbers from a bunch of these different candidates. Senators Warren, Booker, Klobuchar have released their fourth quarter totals. And I know you've been covering since the beginning last year, Elizabeth Warren, she raised $21 million, that's down a couple million since the last quarter. How are the feeling about that?

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, we now have the full fundraising figures from all of the top ten Democratic candidates. And as you mentioned, Brooke, Elizabeth Warren announcing today that she raised $21.2 million in the final quarter. Compare that to few of the other numbers that we got today as well. Amy Klobuchar saying that she raised $11.4 million. That is of course significantly better than the previous quarter for her.

Cory Booker saying he raised $6.6 million in the final quarter of 2019. For Elizabeth Warren that brings her total for year of 2019 to around $71 million from around 1 million people. As you said, this is a dip for her in fundraising from the previous quarter. A few million dollars short of what she raised in the third quarter and that dip in fundraising coincided with a dip in her political momentum that we saw after the summer.

And I think we saw the campaign setting those expectations in the past few weeks, right, they make clear, they said that they had raised a little bit over $17 million. They hoped to get the number to $20 million. If we do have time, she was asked about her fundraising yesterday in New Hampshire, here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't spend one single minute selling access to my time to millionaires and billionaires. I did this grass roots all across the country, and I'm proud of the grass roots army that we're building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Very important to keep in mind that the important figure we don't have from these campaigns is how much cash they have on hand that is going to determine so much of what they're able to do heading into Iowa.

BALDWIN: Which is when, MJ? One month away.

LEE: Yes.

BALDWIN: From today. MJ Lee --

LEE: Not that anyone is counting.

BALDWIN: -- thank you.

Thousands of additional U.S. troops are on their way to the Middle East right this very moment. We're waiting to see how Iran will respond to the killing of their top general. Americans are being advised to leave the region and law enforcement right here in the United States is on high alert. Our live coverage continues, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:50:00]

BALDWIN: The prospect of retaliation from Iran has put major U.S. cities on high alert. Law enforcement officials, city leaders in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C. all say that while there have been no credible threats against them, they are watching the events in the Middle East closely. New York City's Mayor says the city has entered a new reality as a number one terror target, essentially the message is this -- stay vigilant. If you see something, say something.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DERMOT SHEA, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY: You know what's normal on your block and your business if you're a night watchman, if you're somebody on your block. When that hair goes up on the back of your head that something feels out of the ordinary. You're right. And 888 New York City Safe, let a cop know.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D) NEW YORK CITY: Iran for years and years has gone too far. Let's be clear where the original sin is here. But my message is if they were ever to attempt directly or indirectly an attack on New York City, they would be bringing horrible, horrible results to their own people. Clearly an action against American soil would make that kind of war inevitable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Shimon Prokupecz is our CNN crime and justice reporter. And people who are watching today, right whether you're in a big city, smaller city, you're wondering should I be nervous?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, and you know it's a legitimate concern and certainly the police departments all across this country realize that there is this concern that something could happen here -- the FBI as well.

There's a lot of things that are going on that they are doing behind the scenes certainly the FBI and here in New York, the NYPD, their intelligence division working with the FBI, going and looking at people who they may have feel are on the cusp, kind of on the edge may want to do something that are consuming some of this, that are watching the news, that are reading about this --

BALDWIN: They're watching them really closely.

PROKUPECZ: And they're keeping an eye on these folks. And these are the type of folks that they go and they watch even closer now. Perhaps even go say hello to them, see how they're doing, sort of hoping they're not at the point or thereabout to do something. That is something certainly that always is concerning to them in moments like this.

And then you do see there's going to be more officers in certain areas. Areas that would be potentially target like Times Square, religious institutions, the subway has always been a big concern here in New York obviously.

So there's a lot that is going on and certainly the Mayor's office is saying this and Police Departments and the FBI, everyone really the minute this happened and word got out that there was this strike that could potentially cause some problems for us here domestically, the FBI went into gear. They went into work, the Police Department here in New York certainly went to work, and they're going to keep doing this. They're going to keep looking at chatter, at the streams, the threat streams that come in to try and preempt, make sure nothing happens here. Whether it is small or big. It's the small things sometimes that are more concerning to law enforcement certainly in a case like this.

BALDWIN: Sure. Keep us posted. People are wondering. Shimon, thank you very much.

PROKUPECZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: We also have some breaking news now on impeachment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is issuing a statement responding to the Senate Majority Leader. That happened moments ago. We have that for you so stand by for news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BALDWIN: Here is the breaking news on impeachment. Just hours after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell talked about the impending trial of President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has just issued this statement responding to him and Manu Raju has that. He's on Capitol Hill for us. And so what did Speaker Pelosi say?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A scathing statement, pushing back against Mitch McConnell who criticized the House's process earlier today. But Pelosi firing back showing that the impasse that the two sides are in right now.

She says, today Leader McConnell made clear that he will, quote, feebly comply with the President Trump's cover-up of his abuses of power and be an accomplice to that cover-up.

She goes on talk about his violation in her view of his oath of office and says -- the GOP Senate must immediately proceed in a manner worthy of the Constitution and in light of the gravity of the President's unprecedented abuses, no one is above the law, not even the President.

Now this new statement does not address when she might transmit those Articles of Impeachment over to the Senate which is what Mitch McConnell says, he needs to begin a trial for the President in the aftermath of him being impeached on two counts late last year.

Pelosi does not address that. She has said in the past that she needs to understand what the process is in the Senate before naming her own impeachment managers who would prosecute the case and who would deliver those Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. So Brooke, right now the two sides at a stalemate about how this could

proceed as the President's impeachment trial in limbo here but Nancy Pelosi making clear she's not going to cave to what the Senate Majority Leader is saying, turn of those articles, so we can begin the trial.

BALDWIN: And for everyone sort of tuning back in after two weeks away on holiday thinking they missed something on all of this impeachment business, to quote our friend, Phil Mattingly, they have missed nothing.

Everyone though is back Monday. We'll tune in for that. Manu Raju you get the gold star today with all of the news. Thank you very much. That's it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

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