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President Obama and Putin Meeting Face to Face After Two Years; Donald Trump Losing His Lead?; Pope Francis Back in Rome After U.S. and Cuban Visit; Pope Francis Tackles Clergy Sex Abuse; Chinese President Defends Human Rights Record at UNGA; Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired September 28, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:15] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama and Putin meeting face-to-face for the first time in two years. At odds with how to win the war on ISIS. We're live.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump losing his lead for president. A brand new poll reveals a potentially troubling trend for the Republican frontrunner.
KOSIK: Good morning. And welcome to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik. Happy Monday.
ROMANS: Happy Monday to you. I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you. You'll be with me all week this week.
It is Monday, September 28th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.
Let's get started, folks. Happening today, President Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the first day of this year's United Nations General Assembly in New York. Now sure to be high on the agenda of course the surprise announcement that Russia, Iraq, Iran and Syria have reached a deal to share intelligence aimed at defeating ISIS. That news comes amid U.S. concerns about Russia's recent military buildup in Syria and Kremlin efforts to expand its influence in Iraq.
For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Matthew Chance live from Moscow. Good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. It's hard to see, isn't it, that Vladimir Putin hasn't seized the diplomatic initiative when it comes to resolving the Syrian crisis, always getting the international community to talk about it. Of course Moscow has a strong interest in backing up its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad. It's got economic interests in Syria. It's got a military base there on the seas, on the Mediterranean port.
But Vladimir Putin is casting this effort. It's bolstering its forces in Syria as a drive against international terrorism and is calling on the international community to join with it. Take a listen to what Vladimir Putin had to say on CBS's "60 Minutes" over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Through Translator): We support the government of Syria and it's my deep belief any actions to the contrary in order to destroy the legitimate government will create a situation which you can witness now in the other countries of the region or in other regions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Right. Well, Vladimir Putin there saying we're going to back the governments of Syria. It's the only defense essentially against the Islamic State and the other rebel groups.
But the suspicion is, Christine, is that what this is really all about is Vladimir Putin and Russia trying to boost or bolster its international clout. It sees Syria as is main stronghold in the Middle East.
ROMANS: What about the potential that this is a hedge, if you will, Matthew, that they are worried about the Assad regime holding on to power?
CHANCE: Well, I think there are genuine worries in Russia about whether or not Assad holds on to power. Remember, Russia has real concerns in Syria, mentioned his economic and military interests. He also has a real concern when it comes to the spread of radical Islam. It's fighting its own insurgency in southern Russia. Central Asia is a big problem for Russian security as well. And so they genuinely do see the prevention of the spread of Islamic State as being a real national security priority for them. The way in which they're choosing to do it backing the Assad government, that's what's really most controversial.
ROMANS: All right. Matthew Chance for us in Moscow this morning. Thank you, Matthew.
KOSIK: Donald Trump thinks having Russia take the lead in getting rid of ISIS in Syria isn't such a bad idea. The Republican frontrunner saying on "60 Minutes" last night that it might also work to American advantage to let ISIS and the Assad regime fight it out, and then as Trump out it, we pick up the remnants. Trump said fighting ISIS in Iraq was a different problem that might require U.S. combat troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at Syria, Russia wants to get rid of ISIS. We want to get rid of ISIS. Maybe let Russia do it. Let them get rid of ISIS. What the hell do we care?
SCOTT PELLEY, CBS NEWS: OK, that's Syria. What do you in Iraq with ISIS?
TRUMP: Look, with ISIS in Iraq, you got to knock them out.
PELLEY: How do you do that?
TRUMP: You got to knock them out. You got to fight them. You got to fight them.
PELLEY: On the ground?
TRUMP: Send in -- if you need, you're going to have to do that, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Donald Trump also discussing his tax plan on "60 Minutes." Trump's set to unveil details on that plan this morning at an 11:00 a.m. news conference. All this as a new poll shows Trump losing some of his lead over Ben Carson. The two candidates now neck and neck.
CNN's Athena Jones has more on that from Washington.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Alison. Today is a day that Donald Trump says he'll unveil his new tax plan. He says it will call for middle class tax cuts and tax hikes for hedge fund managers. Trump says the plan will be, quote, "long on policy and very specific".
This is coming as a new NBC-"Wall Street Journal" poll shows that Trump is still leading the GOP pack but barely. Ben Carson is right up there with him. They're just one percentage point apart, which is well within the poll's margin of error.
This poll is proof that debates matter. Look at Carly Fiorina, another outsider candidate. She's tied with Florida Senator Marco Rubio at 11 percent, in third place. You'll remember both of them were seen as standouts in the CNN debate in Simi Valley and they're being rewarded for their performance in the polls. They both made big gains, especially Fiorina.
[04:05:10] Now the rest of the GOP field including the establishment favorite, Jeb Bush, is languishing in single digits. Meanwhile, Ben Carson is still facing questions about his comments on Muslims' fitness to serve as president. Take a listen to part of his exchange with Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "STATE OF THE UNION": You are a member of a church that there's a lot of misinformation about, the Seventh Day Adventist Church. You're an African-American. You know what it's like for people to make false assumptions about you. And you seem to be doing the same thing with Muslims.
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In which way am I making a false assumption about them?
TAPPER: You're assuming that Muslim-Americans put their religion ahead of the country.
CARSON: I'm assuming that if you accept all the tenets of Islam that you would have a very difficult time abiding under the Constitution of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This interview is over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: So even though that interview was cut short by Carson's campaign, the discussion continues. We'll see if it hurts them with Republican voters. So far it hasn't -- Christine, Alison.
ROMANS: So interesting. All right, Athena Jones, thank you for that.
Here's what we know about Trump's tax plan. He revealed in the "60 Minutes" interview that aired yesterday his plan would mean zero taxes for some Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There will be a large segment of our country that will have a zero rate. A zero rate. And that's something I haven't told anybody.
PELLEY: You're talking about --
TRUMP: We're talking about people in the low income brackets that are supposed to be paying taxes. Many of them don't anyway.
PELLEY: You're talking about making part of the population exempt from income tax.
TRUMP: That is correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Trump says his plan would either increase or maintain current tax revenue. How? Well, by raising taxes on some of the richest Americans. Hedge fund managers have been a Trump target recently. He wants to eliminate the carried interest loophole that allows them to be taxed at lower rates. Jeb Bush wants to do that as well.
Trump also plans to cut corporate taxes. He says that will keep corporations from moving overseas. Trump will also estimate it would bring back $2.5 trillion to the United States that Americans are stashing abroad to avoid taxes.
KOSIK: On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's lead over Bernie Sanders is also fast disappearing. With Joe Biden in the race, Clinton leads Sanders by just seven points, 42 percent to 35 percent. Meantime, Clinton says that constant stream of questions about her use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state are a trip down memory lane. She compares the e-mail issue to the controversies that dogged the Clintons in the White House in the '90s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is like a drip, drip, drip. And that's why I said there's only so much that I can control. But what I have tried to do in explaining this is to provide more transparency and more information than anybody that I'm aware of who's ever served in the government and I'm happy to do that because I want these questions to be answered. I can't predict to you what the Republicans will come up with, what kind of, you know, charges or claims they might make. I have no control over that. I can only do the best I can to try to respond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Clinton called Republican suggestions she used a private e- mail server to avoid Freedom of Information requests or congressional subpoenas, totally ridiculous.
ROMANS: House Speaker John Boehner blasting the right-wing Republicans in Congress as false prophets who press for doomed strategies like government shutdowns that they know they cannot win. Boehner, speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation" two days after his shocking surprise announcement that he is stepping down at the end of October, he lashed out at conservative groups and lawmakers who, quote, "whip people into a frenzy," promising things they know are never going to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: A theme in the Bible says be aware of false prophets. And there are people out there, you know, spreading noise about how much can get done. I mean, this whole idea we're going to shut down the government to get rid of Obamacare in 2013, this plan never had a chance. But over the course of the August recess in 2013 and the course of September, you know, a lot of my Republican colleagues who knew it was a fool's errand, really they were getting all this pressure from home to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Boehner vowed to avoid the next possible shutdown, passing a funding bill before a Wednesday deadline that does not meet conservatives' demands to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. So in the very near term, the risk of a government shutdown now pushed to December now. But still lots of work to do in Congress.
KOSIK: It's always hanging over, isn't it?
ROMANS: It sure is.
KOSIK: Pope Francis confronting sexual abuse in the church. His message to the victims next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:12:50] KOSIK: Pope Francis now back in Rome following his historic trip first to Cuba then three U.S. cities in six days. The Pope departing Philadelphia last night following a huge outdoor mass. Hundreds of thousands filing into the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to see the people's Pope one final time on American soil.
CNN's Rosa Flores traveled on the pontiff's jet back to Rome where she joins us now on the phone.
I would say, Rosa, that the Pope is either exhausted or still running on adrenaline.
(LAUGHTER)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Probably both, Alison. You know, it's been a pretty restless night for all of us. About 70 journalists just landing with Pope Francis in Rome. He worked all night long. Hear this. As soon as we took off, Pope Francis came to the back of the plane, answered about 11 questions.
Now I can't quite tell you what all was discussed, only because there is an embargo on that information because of just the technicalities as to how information is disseminated. Most of us don't have Internet, some folks need to get to a filing center. And so with that said, there is an embargo on what was actually discussed. That embargo lifted at 6:00 a.m. just in time for "NEW DAY." So I will be live from our Rome bureau or CNN Rome bureau with all of the information coming out of that press conference.
What I can tell you, it's about an eight-hour flight. No one on this plane has slept. Hopefully Pope Francis did get some sleep, Alison. As you were saying he is probably exhausted from all of the events that he attended both in Cuba and the United States. But overall, we landed safely. We are here in Rome. And I can tell you that now I'm on a bus. Then I'll go get my bag so I can head to the CNN bureau and continue reporting on Pope Francis' trip to the U.S. and to Cuba.
KOSIK: Well, you certainly -- you certainly sound excited and that is perfectly understandable. What sense are you getting from them about how successful this trip was?
[04:15:10] FLORES: About the success of the trip? Well, I think the Vatican is very, very pleased. At least that's what Pope Francis mentioned and Fr. Lombardi as well, who is his spokesperson. And one of the first things that Pope Francis mentioned when he came to the back of the plane is he thanked all of the journalists for all of our hard work. He said, I know it's a lot of work and I know you guys are exhausted. And here we are the final stretch, the home front, to come back to Rome. So I feel like they're very, very pleased. And of course now Pope Francis probably needs a little siesta, a little rest after this nine-day tour through Cuba and the United States.
KOSIK: What a whirlwind trip not just for the Pope, the Vatican, but for the journalists as well. You sound like you are still riding on that adrenaline. And we of course will be watching "NEW DAY" to hear what the Pope said on that flight.
Rosa Flores, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Before celebrating his final mass in Philadelphia Sunday, Pope Francis met with victims of clergy sex abuse and then addressed the issue with bishops from around the world. The Pope promised that abusers within the church will be held accountable for their actions.
CNN's Delia Gallagher has that part of the story.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Alison, it was a private meeting that lasted just over 30 minutes. The Vatican says that Pope Francis told survivors of clerical sex abuse that he was profoundly sorry for the crimes that had been committed against them and for the times that they had tried to speak out but were not believed.
The Holy Father hears you, the Pope said, and believes you. And deeply regrets that some bishops failed in their responsibility to protect children. The Pope also told the survivors that bishops and clergy would be held accountable. This is an important point for survivor groups, that that bishops who may have known about some of these cases be brought to justice by the Vatican.
The Pope, immediately following this meeting, went and met with his bishops and had some strong words about clergy sex abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (Through Translator): God weeps for the sexual abuse of children. These cannot be maintained in secret and I commit to a careful oversight to ensure that youth are protected and that all responsible will be held accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: This is the second time that Pope Francis has met with survivors of clerical sex abuse since his election in 2013 -- Christine, Alison.
KOSIK: All right, Delia. Thanks for that.
Federal safety investigators say the Seattle duck boat involved in a fatal crash on a bridge last week failed to get an axle repair that was recommended in 2013. Officials say it's not clear if the vehicle's owner, Ride the Ducks, was aware of that warning. A fifth student from a charter bus that collided with the duck boat died Sunday. More than a dozen other people injured in the accident are still hospitalized.
ROMANS: New details emerging about Freddie Gray's arrest and transport in a Baltimore police van. The "Baltimore Sun" reporting at least one officer told investigators Gray asked for medical help, but didn't get it because they thought he might be faking his injuries.
Gray died from a spinal injury sustained in custody. The report also says some police statements provide differing accounts of exactly what happened. A judge ordered separate trials for six officers charged in Freddie Gray's death.
KOSIK: The Transportation Security Administration saying a record number of firearms turned up in recent airport searches. Agents found 67 guns found in passengers' carry-on luggage during one week in September alone. Officials say 56 of them were loaded and 26 had a round in the chamber. The new head of the TSA has said his top priority is closing security gaps at airport checkpoints.
ROMANS: Asians will outnumber Hispanics as the largest immigrant group in the United States within 50 years. That's one of several findings in a new study from Pew Research. It also found that immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries has slowed down over the last several years. And that right now 14 percent of the U.S. population was born in another country. Pew says there will be no majority group in the U.S. by the year 2065.
KOSIK: A rare and just beautiful sight in the skies across the world.
ROMANS: Yes.
KOSIK: Check out this Timelapse video of the so-called super blood moon. It was taken in Gilbert, Arizona. Now this phenomenon takes place when an eclipse and a full moon coincide. And when that happens, the moon appears slightly bigger and brighter than usual. It has kind of a reddish hue there. Something like this won't happen again until 2033. And I missed it. I can only see in pictures because I was asleep.
ROMANS: I know. It was some -- I did not see it.
KOSIK: Look at that.
ROMANS: The pictures are beautiful.
KOSIK: Spooky.
ROMANS: Very spooky.
All right. China's president set to speak before the United Nations. Plenty of controversial topics on that agenda, I can assure you. We're live next.
[04:20:01]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Major world leaders taking the stage at the U.N. General Assembly including President Obama and the Chinese president Xi Jinping. Xi's government facing criticism for human rights violations including a major crackdown on activists and human rights lawyers.
Want to go to CNN's Saima Mohsin live in Beijing for us. Good morning.
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, Xi Jinping is expected to talk largely about climate change. Of course that's his big success as it were in his trip to the United States. President Obama as well hailing that as a success with his cap and trade system and going green as far as energy is concerned in China. Of course China is the world's biggest polluter.
He is also expected to talk about a peace and China's expansion in the South China Sea. Hugely controversial, of course, with the United States. Issues that he's not likely to touch on of course are human rights and women's rights. So on the sidelines of the UNGA on Sunday, China jointly hosted a women's summit where President Xi laid out a four-point proposal. He said that women should be brought into the economic and societal prosperity, that we should advance their position as far as the economy and society is concerned.
And he said that there should be less prejudice and discrimination against women and women's rights should be protected. A little ironic given that the United States is running a Free the 20 campaign where about 20 women imprisoned around the world. On that list, three women from China.
[04:25:08] Hillary Clinton responding to that speech on Sunday saying President Xi is shameless. We haven't had a response from the Chinese camp yet. But those are the thorny issues that he is not likely to address that people want to see him address. In fact I met a woman who was a lawyer turned activist here in Beijing. She started being an activist during the Beijing Olympics when her and other people's homes were knocked down. She was imprisoned and detained for three months where she said she was tortured by police.
She actually has to use a wheelchair now, Christine. And so these issues are still prominent here in Beijing and not likely, though, to be addressed at the UNGA by President Xi himself -- Christine.
ROMANS: No. Not likely to be addressed. And so interesting, too, Saima, that, you know, President Xi has a big Facebook page with all kinds of video and all kind of photos of his trip to the United States, even with trying to get it viral in the U.S. but you won't see any of that in China because of the censorship there. Facebook not allowed. Censorship always a subtext of everything, too.
Saima Mohsin, thank you for that so much.
KOSIK: And a tense meeting between President Obama and Vladimir Putin. Face-to-face for the first time in years. Ready to take on new controversy. We are live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOSIK: President Obama set to meet with Russia President Vladimir Putin in just hours. Face-to-face for the first time in two years. From the war on ISIS to the conflict in Ukraine, a tense agenda ahead.
[04:30:11] ROMANS: Donald Trump losing his lead in the race for president --
(END)
