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CNN This Morning
Roger Carstens is Interviewed about the Released Americans; El Paso Overwhelmed by Migrant Wave; Jesse Billauer Champion for Change; Senate Relaxes Dress Code. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired September 19, 2023 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this morning, you've seen the pictures, five Americans are back on U.S. soil after spending years in prison in Iran. They were freed yesterday as part of a deal that included unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds and releasing five Iranians in U.S. custody. President Biden celebrated the release, saying in a statement yesterday, quote, "five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home." Republicans, however, have been very critical of the move. Former President Trump said it set a terrible precedent. He added, "once you pay, you always pay, and many more hostages will be taken."
Then Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Unfortunately, the deal that secured their release may very well be the latest example of President Biden rewarding and incentivizing Tehran's bad behavior. Over the past two and a half years, the administration's weakness and desperation have emboldened - emboldened a massive state sponsor of terror and would be nuclear armed aggressor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: Now, our next guest will look familiar if you were watching the video of the plane touching down in the U.S. You can see him coming out of the plane first. He helped facilitate the return of the U.S. citizens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER CARSTENS, U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS: On behalf of the president of the United States and the secretary of state, it's an honor to be the first to welcome you back to the United States of America and to freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: That was U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, who joins us now. Sir, I appreciate your time. I imagine it has been a fairly exhausting several days and could probably say several months as well. I'll get to the -- kind of the criticism in a second, but I want to start with, you were on the plane. You were with these five Americans. You were also with the wife of one, the mother of another. Talk about that flight.
ROGER CARSTENS, U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS: Well, Phil, it was amazing. It -- very emotional. I can say I probably haven't cried this much since I was a little kid. It was a chance to watch five different people interact, seven people in total interact in a way that was very amazing. I mean this is the first time that they've had a chance to talk without being surveilled by the Iranian government in years. So, to watch them kind of relax, lighten up, share laughs. And I had a chance to talk with each one individually and I was really struck by their strength, their resilience, their hopefulness and their love for their country. They were grateful that they were heading home. They were grateful to see their family members. And they were grateful that the American people came together to bring them home.
MATTINGLY: I know the administration has spoken often about the resources that are available when these individuals return home. What's your sense of just how they're doing? I can't imagine the experience that they're feeling right now.
CARSTENS: No, I think they're doing great. To what - to watch them reconnect with their families was just an amazing event. Families were hugging, crying, people at some point hadn't seen each other in eight years. I had a chance to hug and talk to a few of them myself. But also to watch the families interact. It was very nice to watch the Sharghi family interact with the Tahbaz family. The Tahbaz family interact with the Namazi family. These people have become quite close over the last few years. And it was good to watch that energy and that love and that happiness and joy of watching this reconnection.
But, furthermore, I think they're doing well. They're off right now in the - in the - in the care of the Department of Defense at Fort Belvoir, going through post-isolation support activities where they'll have a chance to not only get checked medically, but also to keep reuniting with their families in the coming days.
[08:35:11]
MATTINGLY: This administration, with you running point, I think has had - there's been a shift in terms of the willingness to try and get detained Americans home, or at least the willingness to be able to front foot on these issues. That brings with it criticism. I'm sure you've seen it or heard it. Not just here, but I think over the course of the last several years.
I played for you what Senator Minority Leader McConnell said. But I think what was more interesting to me is that Congressman McCaul, who said that money is fungible, right? If this $6 billion can be monitored every step of the way by the Treasury Department and the regime put in place, it just frees up $6 billion that doesn't need to be used on humanitarian aid.
What's your response to that?
CARSTENS: Well, I would say that, first off, this is a good deal. We essentially took Iranian money from a restricted account in South Korea and put it in a much more restricted account in banks in Qatar where it's going to be monitored by the Department of Treasury and it's only going to be used to buy humanitarian items, like food, medicine, Covid vaccines, baby formula, things like that. Essentially what we've done is we've taken one bank account, put it into a more restricted one, and told them that we're going to monitor, in a very restricted manner, what they use it only.
So, to my mind, it's a good deal because by doing those actions we returned seven Americans. And that's a good news story.
MATTINGLY: You are always working on multiple things at once. We just saw this morning that Evan Gershkovich, "The Wall Street Journal" reporter, his pretrial detention was upheld at his appeal. Our colleague, Matthew Chance, was there in the court.
I know you guys, for both Evan and Paul Whelan, have put what you believe to be a significant deal on the table, or a substantive deal on the table, and up to this point there had not been a response from Russia. Has there been any change in their posture?
CARSTENS: There's been no change in their posture, but that doesn't mean that we're not working on a few things on the side. We've stayed in close touch with the families. We've stayed in close touch with the Russians, frankly. And we're going to find a way to work this out.
I would - I would say that I'm cautiously optimistic that we're going to find a release mechanism in the coming months. But, as you know, from watching the Iran deal and some of the other ones that we've had a chance to do in the Biden/Harris administration, these things are hard, they're hard fought, they take time and it really takes a whole community of people. And that means not just the federal government, but members in Congress and their staffs, non-profits, members of the media, members of the business community. Everyone pulling together to bring these people home. And we're going to find a way to do that with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.
MATTINGLY: Yes, it's a position where you're never doing enough until you actually get it done.
CARSTENS: Yes.
MATTINGLY: And then you're criticized for getting it done.
I know this is the moment that you worked towards and I appreciate your time this morning. Roger Carstens, thank you.
CARSTENS: Hey, it's great to be with you. Thank you.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. Thank you, Phil. Authorities in El Paso say the city is on the cusp of a third wave of migrants arriving. Shelters are beginning to overflow. We are live on the ground there.
MATTINGLY: And this incredible story. A surfer who suffered a life- changing spinal cord injury redefines the sport. Coy Wire is here to tell us why Jesse Billauer is his "Champion for Change."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:41:35]
HARLOW: Welcome back.
Police in Birmingham, Alabama, have released new body camera video of a high school band director getting tased after a football game. The authorities say it all started when officers asked both schools' band directors to stop performing so students and attendees would clear the stadium and not linger. The home team band stopped. The band director, Johnny Mims, quote, instructed his band to keep performing. That's what police say. And officers attempted to take him into custody. Then this fight broke out. One officer claims that Mims hit a second officer, which he denies. He was then tased three times. This is very graphic. We want to warn you before we play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER 2: Put your hands behind your back.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Officer 2 attempts to drive stun director but it was ineffective.
Officer 2 deployed taser to gain control.
Second taser cycle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Well, after all of this, Mims was charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest. For his part, his attorney calls the incident an alarming abuse of power and they plan to sue.
MATTINGLY: Well, also this morning, El Paso, Texas, grappling with an overwhelming migrant surge as a local non-profit warns the city is now on the, quote, "cusp of a third wave of arrivals." This as local shelters have been overcapacity for at least three weeks, and the border is seeing on average 1,200 encounters a day.
CNN's Ed Lavandera live for us in El Paso, Texas, with more.
Ed, I think the big question, if this is the third wave, are we nearing a breaking point to some degree at the border?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the warning that many non-government organizations and homeless shelters and migrant advocates are warning about. You know, across the U.S. southern borders, encounters are up to about 7,000 per day. Those are numbers that we have not really seen since the end of Title 42 back in May. And here in El paso, as you mentioned, about 1,200 encounters a day. And we're back to seeing - and this is - we should be clear - as we've been here over the course of the last year, we're not seeing scenes like we saw of people here on the street, but there are a number of people, once again, sleeping on the streets outside of shelters that are full here in El Paso. They're releasing about 1,000 people onto the streets per day. Many of those are - can finding shelter in -- shelters like this building here, but many of them, Phil, are at capacity so far. So that is the concern.
Now, exactly why this is happening, you know, it could be for a multitude of reasons. There's disinformation, human smuggling disinformation that convinces a lot of people to move in large groups at one time. But, you know, since the end of Title 42, the numbers of migrants arriving here at U.S. southern border had dropped dramatically. So this rise in migrants arriving now at the border is, obviously, a great deal of concern. The question is, is this just a temporary surge or something that is going to get much worse and intensify in the days and weeks ahead?
Phil.
HARLOW: Yes, it is a critical question at that.
Ed Lavandera, great reporting. Thank you.
HARLOW: So now to my favorite part of the show all week. All this week our series "Champions for Change" brings you stories about everyday people who are making big changes and lifting up humanity.
MATTINGLY: Like Coy Wire's champion. In the world of surfing, Jesse Billauer, he is a legend. He helped popularized a new style of surfing, earning a place in the Surfing Walk of Fame last month.
[08:45:03]
But his work off the board may have won him the most fans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSE BILLAUER, FOUNDER, LIFE ROLLS ON FOUNDATION: The feeling that I get when I'm on the water, that's when I feel the most free.
When I was a kid, I fell in love with surfing. But by the time I was a teenager, I was on the right path to becoming a professional surfer and "Surfer Magazine" named me as like one of the top 100 surfers in the country. People, they don't understand how lucky they are until something like that's taken away.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Take us back to that day, March, 1996.
BILLAUER: And the day was beautiful. The waves were really good. And I took off on a wave and pulled inside the barrel. And when I came out, the wave hit me in my back. And I didn't have too much time to put my hands up. It was shallower than I thought, and I hit my head on the bottom. My whole body just went limp and numb. And I knew I couldn't move.
After that I woke up in the hospital in this rotating bed. When the doctor told me that I broke the sixth vertebrae in my neck, and that I was paralyzed, I was devastated. I mean, like, I'm 17 years old. I'm in high school. I'm about to be a professional surfer and now I'm paralyzed. All I wanted to do was just be a kid and be with my friends. And it was a difficult time because I didn't know what my life was going to look like.
WIRE: Growing up for me, sports were my life, just like Jesse Billauer. My dream was to make it to the NFL. I made it. But in my sixth season, I had a really scary moment. I hit this guy and his head came down and slammed right on top of mine and I got this burning sensation down my neck.
There was this tingling sensation like pins and needles down my right arm. And I didn't really have any strength in it. So, I needed surgery. They put a plate and four screws keeping my fifth and sixth vertebrae together.
Fortunately for me I was able to come back. But not everyone who gets a spinal cord injury can make it out on the other side the same as they were before.
What happened to Jesse, it probably would have completely ruined most of us. But Jesse found out a way to shine.
BILLAUER: And so it took a few years to really get back into the water to surf because nobody was really doing this before me. I started doing it more often and figuring it out.
WIRE: Jesse Billauer is a trail blazer. He's one of the pioneers of adaptive surfing. The International Surfing Association created the World Para Surfing Championships in 2015. Jesse's won it three times. The thing is, Jesse not only got himself back up, he's now helping people around the world. He started his foundation, Life Rolls On.
BILLAUER: We take people with various disabilities, surfing, skateboarding and now fishing. We offer these things free to the public.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For us, having her not in pain all the time and happy, as you can see, it gets us through all the hard times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never thought I could surf. And when I met you, it made a big difference in my life.
BILLAUER: It's amazing, though, to give back and to see the smiles on their faces and the parents' faces. I mean, to me, that's priceless. At the end of the day, when the lights and the cameras and the people are all back at their house, to be paralyzed, lose that independence, that freedom, that's the real stuff that people need to, like, see. Surfing and all that's easy. Being paralyzed is hard.
I don't think our circumstances truly define us because to me, because I'm in a wheelchair, I shouldn't be able to surf. But I look at it like, I just do it in a different way.
Figure out the strength inside you and then you can help other people.
I'm Jesse Billauer, and I'm a surfer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Jesse Billauer is a "Champion for Change." And he still surfs hard. He recently won the U.S. Open of Adaptive Surfing and he inspires everyone who hears the message. He even inspired me so much that I caught my first wave on a surfboard, his friends who help him, Skyler, Brendan, Jesse, Matt, they helped me. You all rock.
Jesse has great, great tribe around him, including his sweet mom, Cecile, his dad, George, who has the best dad jokes. And, remember, all of Jesse's Life Rolls On events are changing lives and they're free to the public but it takes partners to make that happen. You can be part of the power. You can check it out at LifeRollsOn.org.
MATTINGLY: I appreciate Coy's ability to show that he's athletic, because none of us had any idea.
HARLOW: But, Coy, I was just going to say, like, of course you got up and looked perfect.
MATTINGLY: Yes. It's so annoying.
WIRE: Oh, no.
HARLOW: Your first time on a surfboard.
MATTINGLY: The worst.
WIRE: No, no, trust me, we should have shown the blooper reel because that took a lot of effort. That is not easy to make it look easy.
So, Jesse, I know you're watching at 5:50 in the morning on the West Coast. I love you. Thank you. Keep inspiring, keep uplifting the world, my man.
HARLOW: Yes.
MATTINGLY: Coy, we appreciate you, man.
[08:50:00]
Poppy is right, these are the best parts of this week.
HARLOW: It's true.
MATTINGLY: We also need to be sure, on that front, to tune in Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for the "Champions for Change" one-hour special. You can see all of them then.
HARLOW: Coming up, cowboy boots, basketballs shorts and bikinis?
MATTINGLY: Oh.
HARLOW: Oh. The new Senate dress code has some upset about the changes and others contemplating questionable wardrobe choices. Harry Enten looking dapper.
MATTINGLY: No. No, no. No, no, no, no.
HARLOW: No, no, no, don't. No, no, it's morning --
MATTINGLY: Dude, your tag is still on your suit, Harry.
HARLOW: Morning TV, Harry.
MATTINGLY: Can you -- your tag's on your suit.
HARLOW: Is here.
MATTINGLY: Oh, I love you, Harry.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The U.S. Senate just eliminated its dress code because you've got this guy from Pennsylvania who's got a lot of problems. He wears, like, sweatshirts and hoodies and shorts, and that's his thing.
We need to be lifting up our standards in this country, not dumbing down our standards in this country. And this is an example why.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Republican presidential nominee Ron DeSantis slamming the Senate leadership for relaxing its dress code for lawmakers. A rule -- why are you laughing?
MATTINGLY: It's - it was a very -- it was motivating (ph). I appreciate that.
HARLOW: Because I said you should read this because these are like your hallowed halls of Congress.
MATTINGLY: No, but you said relaxing, and then like -
HARLOW: I told Phil he couldn't wear a tie today because of the relaxed dress code, but he did.
[08:55:02]
It looks nice.
MATTINGLY: We should get to Harry.
HARLOW: A rule change that will allow Senator John Fetterman to wear his trademark hoodie and shorts on the Senate floor, if he so choses. And DeSantis isn't alone in this criticism. Senator Shelley Moore Capito called it "terrible." Chuck Grassley thinks it, quote, "stinks." Kevin McCarthy called it, quote, "embarrassing." Senator Susan Collins joked that she plans to -
MATTINGLY: This was funny.
HARLOW: This is really funny, to wear a bikini tomorrow.
Harry Enten is here with more, without a tie. Good morning.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Without a tie and I also plan on wearing a bikini tomorrow. Look, this -- this morning -
MATTINGLY: Oh.
ENTEN: This morning's number is, men who wear suits at work. It's just 3 percent now in 2023, down from 14 percent in 2015. So, the fact of the matter is, pretty much no one's wearing suits except maybe Phil and I at this particular point.
MATTINGLY: Yes.
ENTEN: And if we look at shorts. OK. OK for men to wear shorts at work. In 1955, just 16 percent of Americans said it was OK. There's a dapper fellow there. In 2023, at least some of the time, we get 58 percent. We see John Fetterman, of course, with his trademark shorts over here.
MATTINGLY: I'm glad you picked that picture. That was the natural picture I would have gone to as well.
ENTEN: Of course.
MATTINGLY: What about sneakers? Talk to me about footwear, Harry.
ENTEN: Yes, let's talk about what else is appropriate for men to wear at work, at least some of the time. Seventy-three percent of Americans say running -- wearing running sneakers is appropriately some of the time. We've got the former senator, now President Joe Biden branded ball cap 54 percent of the time.
How about a graphic t-shirt. Look, Arnold Schwarzenegger looks fantastic at that, 53 percent of the time.
We've become liberal in a lot of ways in our dress code. But there's one way we have not become liberal. How about appropriate for men to wear open-toed sandals at work at least some of the time? Just 44 percent of Americans say yes. The majority, 54 percent, say no. So, I will not be wearing open-toed sandals anytime here at work. I'm going to just continue to wear these shoes and you can wear your nice shoes as well.
MATTINGLY: That's why America is still great. Just to - suits, since you're one of the 3 percent, can you show me, real quick, is there a tag on your suit?
ENTEN: There is.
MATTINGLY: OK, I just wanted to make sure I saw that correctly.
ENTEN: There is still a tag here.
MATTINGLY: That's why you're a fashion icon.
Harry Enten, we appreciate you, my friend.
ENTEN: Thank you, sir.
MATTINGLY: Thank you.
HARLOW: That was amazing.
Now to more serious news. You're looking at live images of the United Nations. This is the General Assembly. It's happening here in New York. President Biden, today, addressing the world. We should note, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine just arrived. A lot you'll see ahead live right here on CNN. Stay with us through the day.
We will see you back here tomorrow.
"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" is next.
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[09:00:00]
