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Poll: Trump Is Top Choice For Nearly 60 Percent Of GOP Voters; DeSantis Absent As Biden Surveys Storm Damage In Florida; Judge: Trump's Georgia Trial Will Be Livestreamed, Televised; Hawaii Grappling With Economic Fallout From Deadly Wildfires; UNC Student Paper Shows Text Sent During Campus Shooting. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 02, 2023 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:48]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Good evening.

Four indictments in and roughly four months until Republicans first nominating contest, Donald Trump continues to dominate his rivals in the GOP primary. A new "Wall Street Journal" poll finds Trump's support among Republican voters growing to a whopping 59 percent. The former president expanding his lead over his next closest competitor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to a commanding 46 points.

Joining us now to talk about this, "Vanity Fair" special correspondent, Molly Jong-Fast and CNN political commentator Ana Navarro.

Guys, great to see you. Thanks so much for doing this.

Ana, let me start with you at this point. Is it all but inevitable that Trump will be the Republican nominee next year?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's certainly looking that way. You know, and I think it shouldn't be surprising. Part of me wants to be surprised, but I'm not surprised that he has this hold on the Republican Party and that the indictments that his legal problems, that all of the things happening around him mean nothing, because the loyalists have complete an absolute allegiance to this man.

But also, listen, it's two things right? One is the allegiance that the Republican base has for Donald Trump, and two is that there seems to be no good alternative, no viable alternative.

Ron DeSantis was supposed to be the great non-Trump hope, and he has been a dud. He is a terrible candidate, he is terrible on the stump. He has got the likeability of broccoli, and I apologize to those who like broccoli. He is not the alternative. He's not what -- he turned out to be a paper tiger who looked a lot better on paper than he actually does on the stump.

ACOSTA: Well, we're going to talk about DeSantis in a second, but Molly, the poll also found that if the presidential contests were held today between Trump and President Biden, the two would be tied at 46 percent. The poll shows 77 percent of Americans across the political spectrum also think the president is too old to serve a second term, even though he's just a few years older than Donald Trump.

What do you think about all of that? That is a very tight race, and four indictments in, it doesn't seem to be making any kind of a dent?

MOLLY JONG-FAST, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, "VANITY FAIR": Well, I would say that Donald Trump's base is very hardened, and they are very bought in. It was his base to lose and DeSantis, Trump without the charisma, was not able to capture it.

I don't know about this general election polling, I still think we're like 400-plus days away from the election, and I think that it's very early days to start worrying about that, especially if you look at every poll since Donald Trump, even with the poll with Donald Trump winning has been not accurate.

I mean, we have been in a period of really bad polling, so maybe this is accurate, but I certainly wouldn't take it as the gospel and we're more than a year away.

ACOSTA: Yes. That's true. There's a lot of time. And Anna, as you just mentioned, the survey found Republican support for DeSantis has basically collapsed. He's barely ahead of the rest of the field and this comes after the governor's campaign has suspended his voter outreach in the early primary state of Nevada, other Super Tuesday states.

Is there anything he can do to turn this around at this point? Or have the voters kind of taken -- on the Republican side -- taken a sense of him and said, nope, I'd rather if -- I'd rather stick with Trump.

NAVARRO: Listen there are some very good medical centers in Florida, but I don't think any of them offer a personality transplant and that's what does man needs in order to cut through. Also, I think he based his entire campaign on one thing, being anti-woke, and frankly, that's boring, it is stupid and it is not something that can be sold to the American people.

People want to know how they're going to pay their bills. People want to know how they're going to get a job. People want to know how they're going to feed their family. So all of this anti-wokeness and banning of this and banning of that and wars with drag queens and wars with Mickey Mouse and wars with history.

You know, this is a man who just showed up at an event to offer condolences for the African-Americans that were killed at the Dollar Store in Jacksonville and got booed and he deserves the boos.

[18:05:12]

So you know, I keep thinking if he had focused on selling the Florida economic story, if he had focused on his ability to lead after hurricanes or when it comes to emergency preparedness, it would have been one thing. But instead, he went all out on this woke thing. And this woke thing is a joke. It's ridiculous. It's done nothing to help him.

ACOSTA: And Molly, you know, speaking of DeSantis, you know, Biden is in Florida today, surveying the damage left by Hurricane Idalia. DeSantis kept his distance and Biden talked about it and kind of brushed it off and sort of gave DeSantis a pass here a little bit. Let's listen to what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I'm not disappointed. He may have had other reasons, because, but he did help us plan this. He sat with FEMA and decided where we should go where there would be the least disruption.

And I'm very pleased, the guy who -- we don't agree very much at all, the distinguished former governor and senior senator, he came talked about to me and to you all about how incredible -- what an incredible job the federal government was doing and I found that reassuring.

And so I think -- I think we can pull all of this together. I really do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Molly, what did you think? I mean, the president did note that Rick Scott was with him earlier today and Rick Scott did praise the president's response, the administration's response to the hurricane. What do you make of DeSantis not being there?

JONG-FAST: Once again, we have Biden being way too generous. We saw this with his comments on Mitch McConnell yesterday, too. I mean, this Republican Party has been nothing but awful to him and he has been nothing but generous back.

I thought that it made DeSantis look really petty that he refused to meet with the guy who is, you know, you may not have voted for him, but he is the president and he is an intricate part of the federal government and Florida needs federal government money.

And so I think that it's just really another case of DeSantis, putting his personal politics above the benefit of the people of Florida who he is supposed to govern, and what I think is really interesting is just a few days ago, DeSantis refused money that was Florida money -- it was money from the federal government, part of the Inflation Reduction Act that was supposed to go to Florida, and he refused it because he didn't want it because it was stuff for, you know, electric cars and that kind of environmentally friendly -- more friendly stuff.

And so I think it's a really -- it is really clear that this guy puts his politics above the needs of the people of his state.

ACOSTA: Ana, would it have been that bad for Ron DeSantis to have -- yes, go ahead. NAVARRO: As a Floridian, I have to tell you that I am very disturbed

by that. Listen a couple of years ago when the Surfside collapse -- building collapse happened, Biden came down, DeSantis was there.

I think that when it comes to emergencies like these, when it comes to disasters like these, Floridians, Americans like to see their governments working together. They like to see seamless cooperation. It was very good, I live in Miami and felt very good to watching the mayor of Miami-Dade sitting with -- who doesn't agree with DeSantis sitting with Biden, and all of them working on solutions and offering comfort and offering help and aid to the people affected.

It makes DeSantis look small. Joe Biden did exactly the right thing. He needed to be gracious because the emphasis and the attention needs to be on the people who need help right now here in Florida and not make it a political fight. So, I think Joe Biden did the right thing.

ACOSTA: Yes, Molly, I'm old enough to remember when Chris Christie met with President Obama after Superstorm Sandy, and you know, a lot of folks really praised Chris Christie for doing that. It was right before the 2012 presidential election.

But there was a segment of the Republican Party, hard right of the Republican Party. They were really angry, they were furious with Chris Christie for doing that. Was that kind of the political lesson learned in the conservative base of the Republican Party that you can't be presidential with the president? You can't be statesman-like with the president after a disaster like this because you might pay some measure of a political price?

JONG-FAST: Well, we see that what DeSantis has done since he has been running for president is that he has tried to use his governorship as a sort of testing-out point for all of you know, the don't say gay, and the book stuff, and the teacher stuff and the Stop Woke Act. I mean, these are all sort of mini auditions for MAGA.

[18:10:03]

And I think, it is really not fair because the job of these federal employees and these state employees, the job of government is to govern their people and to be there when they need them, and so, it really is just this sort of -- you know, it's this far right contingent that really hates the government, and they are the people who want to shut it down, and they are going to try in September and it's really too bad.

ACOSTA: Ana, could I -- I know you're down in Florida, can I ask a non-political question? I just wanted to ask you, what's the reaction that you're getting down there on the passing of Jimmy Buffett? It's not quite five o'clock anymore here on the East Coast, it is six o'clock, but it's five o'clock somewhere. You know, he meant so much to the people of Florida. What are your thoughts?

NAVARRO: Yes. Two people that -- you know, the two people that passed today, Bill Richardson and Jimmy Buffett, it's been a kick in the gut, but here in Florida, it just so happens, Jim, that I was boating earlier today and sailed past a Margaritaville cruise.

His presence is all over Florida, and he really put the lifestyle that he was lifestyle on the map. He did a lot for the environment here. He was one of the first people to take up the cause of saving the Florida manatees.

So he was just a huge presence here. We all liked him. Latins liked him. I remember meeting him with Gloria and Emilio Estefan. They were friends. It was just -- you know, he was a good one and we are going to miss him.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. Well, Molly and Ana, we're going to play out a little "Margaritaville" as we end this segment.

Thanks, ladies, so much. Really appreciate it.

NAVARRO: Thank you very much, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, good to talk to you.

NAVARRO: Go have a margarita.

ACOSTA: I'm going to, I plan on it on very soon.

NAVARRO: With a shaker of salt.

ACOSTA: Yes. You as well.

As Ana was just mentioning, tonight, the nation also remembers longtime public servant, Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor, congressman, and UN ambassador passed away in asleep, Friday in Massachusetts. He was 75 years old.

Richardson had a resurgent career as of late, helping free Americans held hostage and detained overseas. They include basketball star Brittney Griner, and just recently, he was working on the release of US Army soldier, Travis King, who was taken into custody after running across the border with North Korea.

Richardson spoke to CNN about that just last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER UN AMBASSADOR: I don't want to get into too many details, but the fact that the family has reached out to us, you know, the prime contact is the US military, the UN Command. They're communicating with the North Koreans, but I think it's important that we find ways to support the family and bring Travis King home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And joining me now is CNN State Department reporter, Jennifer Hansler and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona who knew Bill Richardson.

Well, Jennifer, let me start with you first. We're hearing from President Biden commenting on Bill Richardson's passing. What is the president saying?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Jim, we just heard from the president in the past maybe half an hour remembering Bill Richardson's life, both in government and outside of government, and I want to read just a little bit of the statement that the president released.

He said: "Bill Richardson wore many weighty titles in his life -- Congressman, governor, ambassador secretary -- he seized every chance to serve and met every new challenge with joy, determined to do the most good for his country, his beloved New Mexico, and Americans around the world. Few have served our nation in as many capacities or as with as much relentlessness, creativity, and good cheer. He will be deeply missed."

Now, earlier today, he also called Richardson his friend and he is remembering, you know, all the work he did to help for those hostages that you just said.

ACOSTA: I was just going to say, I mean, that's the big hole that is left by Bill Richardson's passing, because I mean, who do we turn to now? I mean, I know we have the State Department, we have people in the administration, people all over the world who work on this kind of stuff, but Bill Richardson was really just sort of known for this.

HANSLER: And it is expected, this center will still continue on with that work on the work that they're doing for Travis King's family, for example, a number of other families that are working with him, but it is a huge loss.

ASMAN: Yes, it is such important work, and Maria, you called Bill Richardson, a mentor and a friend. You remember him well.

What will you remember most about him? What stands out?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, when I came to DC as a young girl, I didn't know anybody. I didn't have any kind of structure of support as one of the few Latinas in politics, and Bill Richardson was just there.

I was working for then chair of the Democratic Party, another dear friend and mentor, Ron Brown and Ron and Bill Richardson were good friends. Bill Richardson was part of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus back then. He was one of the few Latino congressmen, and so I started working with him to focus on what the Democratic Party needed to do better to reach out to Latino voters who back then were just starting to be a burgeoning important part of the Democratic family.

[18:15:00]

And Bill Richardson was always focused on making sure that Democrats spoke authentically to Latinos, to not just talk about immigration, to talk about the economy, to talk about education, to talk about what it was that the Democratic Party was going to do for them to help them live a better life. And that has been the fundamental lesson that I have always taken in the work that I have done with a Democratic Party.

And I think we also need as Democrats and as a party, we need to remember that Bill Richardson, because of that key lesson, he was pivotal in helping the Democrats to focus on the southwest states, which, as you remember, were solidly Republican red states.

ACOSTA: Yes, yes.

CARDONA: To completely switch them and making them a fundamental part of the way that Democrats become president today -- Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado. We couldn't have done any of that without the guidance of somebody like Bill Richardson.

ACOSTA: And just very quickly to that point, Maria, we were showing this picture earlier on in the program, he ran for president.

CARDONA: Yes.

ACOSTA: And we have some great pictures of him next to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and so on.

CARDONA: That's right.

ACOSTA: He was a trailblazer in that regard, as well.

CARDONA: He absolutely was, and that is another thing, right? He was the first Democrat Latino to run for president. He also was the very first one to start a tradition, which now is something that we all take for granted, that happens every year.

As you know, during the State of the Union, there is also now someone from the opposite party, whether it's Democrat or Republican, that gives the response in Espanol.

Bill Richardson was the very first one to do that back in 2004. He gave the response in Espanol to George W. Bush's State of the Union. And so again, he will be remembered as someone who was foundational in making sure that Democrats did the right thing with the Latino community, making us grow our segment of the Latino community.

And I was just texting him five days ago, Jim.

ACOSTA: Wow.

CARDONA: Giving him congratulations on everything he was doing in the international arena, and he was frankly, helping me as he always did on a couple of projects that I was working on.

So a heartfelt, heartfelt thank you to Bill Richardson for everything he has done. It's a sad day.

ACOSTA: And Jennifer, I mean, it's hard to imagine how Brittney Griner gets released for being held hostage without a Bill Richardson there. What was his secret? Why was he so good at this?

HANSLER: Well, I think it stems back to his work in the US government. He was able to build all of these relationships around the world. And what his longtime friend and the vice president of his center said is he would never hesitate to talk with anyone, no matter who they were, if they were an enemy of the United States, if they were friends of the United States, if he thought it would bring an American home.

So families around the world who had been benefiting from his services are remembering him tonight and he will be missed in that hostage community.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right, Jennifer Hansler and Maria Cardona, thank you very much for those memories. We appreciate it.

CARDONA: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Coming up, Georgia's Republican governor is standing firm saying his state will not be a place for political theater as Trump's elections subversion case ramps up, why he feels the need to make that clear, next.

And later, the cover of a college newspaper goes viral. Have you seen this? We're going to talk about it. It depicts terrified texts between students and their loved ones during an active shooting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The managing editor of that paper joins me ahead.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:22:32]

ACOSTA: History will be televised at least when it comes to former President Donald Trump's criminal trial out of Fulton County. The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case says the proceedings in his courtroom will be livestreamed and can be televised. Trump and several of his co-defendants have already pleaded not guilty in the sprawling racketeering case.

And joining us now is former Georgia attorney general, Sam Olens; and a political reporter for Georgia Public Broadcasting, Stephen Fowler. He's also the host of "The Battleground Ballot Box" podcast.

Sam, let me start with you.

What do you make of this decision by the judge to allow cameras in the courtroom? Is that all that unusual in Georgia?

SAM OLENS, FORMER GEORGIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Jim, that's expected. Rule 22 specifically encourages that cameras will be available. There was no surprise here at all.

ACOSTA: And Stephen, I mean, you know, Trump is a former reality TV star. He is known to treat his campaigns and court cases like a spectacle. Do you think that might be what he has in store for this trial? Turn it into a spectacle?

STEPHEN FOWLER, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR GEORGIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING: Well, absolutely, Jim.

I mean, just take a look at what we've had so far in this case, the indictments that saw the street in front of the courthouse blocked off for a week in advance with rows of national and international cameras and the arrest where Trump surrendered to the Fulton County Jail, similar situation.

So having access to the courtroom, having a YouTube stream and media streams, and for other people in Trump's orbit to be able to package and repackage that, it's going to be the trial of the century if not beyond.

ACOSTA: Sam, what's your sense of it? Is this a good idea, do you think?

OLENS: Transparency is always a good thing. So, I think the judge was a hundred percent correct. The issue that the judge is going to be dealing with in the short term is simply how many of the 19 are tried this year? Several, of course, have requested a speedy trial, and whether or not the judge puts them in groups, such as Coffee County, the legislative hearings, the fake electors, I think it's very unlikely that we're going to see all 19 at one time, and that is really going to be the interplay in the next couple of weeks.

ACOSTA: And Sam does it give one side an advantage over the other if the case was televised?

OLENS: No, I mean, you know, candidly, in most state courts, you have the ability to do it televised. It is the federal courts that are behind the times and still do not want the cameras in the courtroom.

[18:25:05]

ACOSTA: And Stephen, you wrote an op-ed in "The New York Times" talking about the conflicting future of Republican politics in the state of Georgia. Do you think that this case has the potential to shift the politics of that state?

FOWLER: Well, I think Georgia's Republican Party is really emblematic of where the party writ large is right now. You have this indictment, you have four indictments, in fact, you have Trump facing charges that he tried to overturn Georgia's duly sworn elected results. You have the governor of Georgia and the secretary of State of Georgia, beating back primary challengers pushed by Trump, and then at the same time, polling that's come out shows that Trump is the far and away favorite to win Georgia's Republican presidential primary.

So I think this case is really emblematic of that battle playing out.

You have Republicans like Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger that are capital C, conservatives, very rule of law, very good for conservative policy in the state. But because they do not subscribe to everything that Donald Trump has said, they have been ostracized by some key parts of the primary electorate, and with Georgia's purple politics, it is just enough where now you have two Democratic US senators, and could see Joe Biden win the state again, because of those indictments. ACOSTA: And Sam, let me ask you this. As you know, the Republican

governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp says he will not call for a special session to investigate Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney. He is kind of standing against some in his party, perhaps you can say many in his party in the state and taking that stand.

What is your sense of all this? Is this just theater what you're hearing from some state House Republicans that they want to go after Fani Willis? Or could it be a real thing if Brian Kemp were to let them have at it?

OLENS: Well, you need 60 percent of the legislators to have a special session. So that's DOA, it is dead on arrival, it was never going to happen.

So you had political theater by some, and you had the governor as he has done the last several years, who respectfully said we're going to follow the rule of law, we're going to follow the Constitution and we're going to let the court system handle this case and we will abide by those decisions.

ACOSTA: And, Sam, your thoughts on whether Mark Meadows could have this case kicked a federal court?

OLENS: I continue to think it's unlikely. Judge Jones is a super judge, Northern District of Georgia, very much respected by all parties. So we'll look forward this week to his decision.

But if I were to place bets, my bet is that Mr. Meadows will not be successful.

ACOSTA: Not Stephen, that would be a huge development in this case.

FOWLER: Absolutely, I mean, because you have 19 different defendants who have several different buckets of charges and this argument for federal removal as Mark Meadows and several others, including potentially Donald Trump, saying that a state court can't prosecute them, and then, it would pave the way for arguments that the federal supremacy clause would mean that they couldn't be charged in federal court either.

And so it's one of many avenues being explored by the defendants to try to shut down this trial, shut down the charges, and to end this prosecution.

I was in that courtroom, and I mean, to the earlier point, it's very difficult to convey an eight-hour court hearing when there's no cameras, there's no recording, and just pages and pages of furious notes, but I would agree with Sam's assessment that the prosecution, the Fulton County District Attorney's office did a much better job showing why it should stay in their court instead of moving to federal court.

ACOSTA: All right, Sam Olens and Stephen Fowler, thank you gentlemen, very much for your time. We'll be watching.

Everybody is watching Georgia. Appreciate your insights. Thanks so much.

Still ahead.

OLENS: Thank you.'

ACOSTA: A message to tourists from Hawaii officials following the devastating wildfires. Please keep your trip, please keep coming to the Aloha State. Why they are still urging people to come, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:33:17]

ACOSTA: Help is on the way for Hawaii as the state faces economic fallout from the drop in tourism after the devastating wildfires in Maui. Yesterday, the Hawaii Tourism Authority approved more than $2 million to help rebuild the island's struggling tourism industry. The agency says West Maui accounts for 15 percent of Hawaii's total tourism revenue and is losing roughly $9 million per day as a result of the drop in travel following the fires.

Joining me now is the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Sherry Menor-McNamara.

Sherry, thanks so much for being here. Let me ask you, are you hopeful that this funding will help revive the state's economy?

SHERRY MENOR-MCNAMARA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAWAII: Well, it's definitely in the right direction. We just encourage visitors to come to Maui. I know initially they were discouraged, but right now it's just West Maui that we discourage visitors to go to, but the rest of Maui is open. And for Maui, it's critically important because Maui's economy accounts for 38 percent of visitor spending as well as the Maui jobs, 40 percent that relies on visitor spending. So you can imagine that the impact of not having visitors come to Hawaii is definitely having a rippling effect on Maui, as well as across the islands.

ACOSTA: Well, that's what I was going to ask you. Are you seeing some anecdotal, even some data that shows because of the fire - that devastating fire in Maui, that folks think, oh, maybe I shouldn't come to Hawaii and people are canceling trips, they're canceling flights, they're canceling hotel reservations. Is that what is taking place right now?

MENOR-MCNAMARA: It is taking place, unfortunately.

[18:35:02]

The message, again, we want to reiterate, please come to Maui, just not West Maui at this point. The governor has declared - declarations not - proclamations, rather, to not come to the West Maui area, but everywhere else is open. And the local economy depends on tourism.

Now, I've been going back and forth to Maui and it's very evident that there are not many visitors coming because the airplanes are filled, but they're filled with local people. You can see the fields full of rental cars. We've been talking with small and local businesses, and they're saying that they need to shut their doors temporarily until visitors come back, return and cut jobs.

In fact, just - up until now, about 8,000 unemployment claims have been filed. So, again, it's having a domino effect across Maui as well as our state's economy.

ACOSTA: Yes. And so I guess the question is - and, of course, our hearts go out to the people of Maui and people in Lahaina. It's just awful what's happened there. But if you were to take a trip to any of the islands, if you were to take a trip to Maui, you're not going to be affected or impacted in any way as a tourist, correct? I mean, if you go, it's still the beautiful Hawaiian Islands as always.

MENOR-MCNAMARA: Absolutely, and Maui has been a popular destination for so many - we've always had so many returning visitors because of the soul of the island just penetrates across the state.

And we just wanted to mahalo thank everyone around the world for showing their aloha spirit to us in the time of need to help those who have been impacted. I went to Lahaina and visited some of the businesses there, many of them have lost their livelihoods. They lost their businesses as well as their homes, but they have the spirit to rebuild.

And so in order to rebuild, though, we need to revive the local economy and have our visitors return. There's so many beautiful parts of Maui from Hana down to Wailea, Kahului, Wailuku and other parts. Just West Maui right now is temporarily closed until October - mid- October, just so we can ensure that those who have been impacted can be taken care of.

But again, go to the other parts of Maui, you'll see the aloha spirit that has been shining through for so many years.

ACOSTA: Yes, I've been to Maui, I've been to four of Hawaii's islands and it is just one of the most magical places on Earth. It's just one of my favorite places on Earth to go. So if you haven't gone and you're thinking about canceling your vacation, don't do it because Hawaii - you will never forget that trip if you take that trip to Hawaii.

Sherry Menor-McNamara, thank you very much for your time. Best of luck. We're always thinking of Hawaii and ...

MENOR-MCNAMARA: Thank you.

ACOSTA: ... continued recovery from what took place in Maui. Thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

MENOR-MCNAMARA: Thank you very much.

ACOSTA: All right. Still ahead, are you safe? I'm in class. Everyone is losing it. Those are some of the messages that were going back and forth between students as an active shooter shattered a college town this past week. Why the newspaper there chose to print this impactful cover. If you haven't seen it, there it is. We're going to talk about it a bit more in just a few moments. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:20]

ACOSTA: After deadly gun violence gripped the campus of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill this past week, the university student newspaper's gut wrenching response is drawing national attention. Before we show it, we want to give you a warning that it contains profanity, but it is important to show you this.

The Daily Tar Heel showed the jarring messages exchanged between students and loved ones on Monday as authorities search for the shooter who killed one of the school's professors. The front page visualized the now all too often tense, terrifying moments so many Americans have come to experience during an active shooter situation.

Joining us now to talk about this is The Daily Tar Heel's Print Managing Editor, Caitlyn Yaede.

Caitlyn, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it. We're very grateful to have you here and hats off to the entire staff there on the newspaper for what you've been able to pull off this past week. I can't imagine what this has been like for you and your fellow students at UNC. We saw some of the video that some students were putting out on social media, because we rarely see the desperation of what students go through during something like this.

We're looking at the video of the students jumping out of windows as police were searching for the campus shooter. What were you thinking when all of this was going on? What was going through your mind?

CAITLYN YAEDE, PRINT MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE DAILY TAR HEEL: Yes, absolutely. Thank you for having me.

I was very fortunate that I was not on campus. I was about a half mile away at our campus student newspaper offices when we got the text alerts from the university and sirens began going off. My first thought was just there's no way. I think myself and a lot of people who grew up and went to school at the same time I did are very, very familiar with the concept of a lockdown or no one being able to leave a school or some kind of security threat happening or at least preparing for one.

And so the fact that we had one on Monday and it was the real deal was just hard to believe, startling, scary. Yes, it was just unbelievable to have to witness that happen after preparing for it for so many years.

ACOSTA: Yes. And what you and your team at the newspaper captured is what was happening in those moments, like what we were showing a few moments ago when the students were hopping out of the window and so on. Young people these days, we all do it, texting back and forth with one

another. How did the idea come about that you take those texts, take those messages and put them on the front page?

YAEDE: Yes. So we regrouped on Monday after we got the all clear from campus officials. We came back to newspaper offices and we kind of decided as a team that we needed something on the front page that was more impactful than just a story about what happened that day or a photo could convey.

[18:45:04]

So we sat on it. We didn't have any good ideas and then my dear friend and our Editor in Chief, Emmy Martin, texted me Monday night with the idea of putting the text messages. We got to work the next morning. We solicited them from editors. We have an editor team of about 40 student journalists. We reached out to friends, family members, classmates, anyone who had something to share from that day, text messages, group messages, anything like that. And we spent Tuesday compiling them for the front page.

ACOSTA: And on Tuesday evening, you tweeted a photo of The Daily Tar Heel's front page and it would appear on campus newsstands the next day. It instantly went viral. Even President Biden was photographed reading it and said, no student, no parent, no American should have to send text like the one that you typed up.

But, Caitlyn, we've done this topic so many times on this program. Just last week at this time, we were covering a mass shooting down in Jacksonville. This keeps happening over and over again. And I have to think as parents are going back, sending their kids back to school, as students are going back to school, this is on the minds of a lot of students around the country.

And I guess, can you talk about it, can you explain what this has done, do you think, to your campus and to a whole generation of students? You guys have had to live through this, I guess from grade school, this lockdown mentality, this life of being worried about mass shootings at school.

YAEDE: Yes. I'd say on our campus, it's just created a lot of anxiety, uncertainty, fear. In the last week, we've seen each other come together and find comfort in coming together and being together and grieving the loss of the professor that we lost on campus.

But at least what I can say is I'm grateful for the reach of this paper. I'm grateful that so many people have been moved by it. I'm saddened that so many people have to be moved by it, that so many people have reached out and said that they've sent or received messages like that. That's just - it's incredibly disheartening to hear that, but I'm grateful that we were able to make something that had such an impact and such a reach. And I hope that our community continue to heal and come together.

ACOSTA: And just very quickly, I'm running out of time, how did you gather up all of these text messages? Where did they come from? YAEDE: Yes, these are from UNC students. We had our student staff

reach out to friends and family members. We pulled them from group chats. We pulled them from messages that students sent to parents. And we spent Tuesday morning asking people who are willing to send them in.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, Caitlyn Yaede, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. And we wish you all the best at UNC. Hope the healing process continues. Thanks for your time.

YAEDE: Thank you.

ACOSTA: We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:52:25]

ACOSTA: Rock and roll is a uniquely American art form. And in those early days, those icons had two common traits. They were straight and white.

Now the new CNN film, "Little Richard: I Am Everything," takes a closer look to reveal the black and queer origins of rock and roll and the man who brought it all to life, Little Richard.

CNN's Lisa Respers France explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER (voiceover): Before the Beatles or Elvis or the Rolling Stones there was the original king of rock and roll, Little Richard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON KING, SCHOLAR: His DNA, it is everywhere. It's like how do you refer to the air? How do you refer to the sky?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCE (voiceover): Born in Macon, Georgia, Richard Penniman began singing in his father's church choir. But the wider world beckoned and soon Little Richard was performing on a touring circuit around the South.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDARA HADLEY, ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST: We call it very often the Chitlin' Circuit, where you have various queer, black women traveling with gold-plated teeth, singing dirty blues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCE (voiceover): Richard thrived in the nonconformist environment and developed a gender-fluid state persona with quaffed hair, heavy makeup and eye catching costumes and dancing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD PENNIMAN, AMERICAN SINGER: I wanted to sound different meaning to the young kids. We were tired of all the slow music.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCE (voiceover): Richard's song soon hit the radio and he became a nationwide sensation. A major accomplishment for black gay performers in the conservative Jim Crow 1950s. Little Richard's songs and style became so popular, other artists from Pat Boone to Elvis started imitating him.

They covered his songs and tried to duplicate his sexual stage presence. Richard also mentored a number of early rock and rollers including James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL MCCARTNEY, MUSICIAN: Hamburg, that was a real-time we got to know Little Richard. We just sit there for hours like kind of disciples in the dressing room. Though my screaming numbers were to do with him.

MICK JAGGER, MUSICIAN: Everyone was beholding to him, for influence and to start playing rock and roll.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:55:00]

FRANCE (voiceover): Richard felt like he never got proper credit or compensation for his groundbreaking contributions to rock and roll.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENNIMAN: And the best new artist is me. I have never received nothing. You all never gave me no Grammy.

KING: It's endearing. It's funny. But as a black man watching that, I heard and seething anger that underwrites what he's saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCE (voiceover): But his legacy unquestionably lives on today in so many performers who embrace flamboyance, bend gender norms and express every aspect of themselves.

Lisa France, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: The all-new CNN film, "Little Richard: I Am Everything," premieres Monday night, Labor Day, at 9 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)