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Ships with Hundreds of Immigrants Sink in Mediterranean; ISIS Releases Videos of Executions in Libya; Hillary Clinton Visits New Hampshire; CNN Poll: Nearly 7 in 10 Democrats Support Clinton. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 20, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

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[08:00:22] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Migrants were trapped inside the sinking ship because smugglers locked the doors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As many as 950 people were on board.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now another boat has gone down off the Greek coast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least six U.S. citizens arrested in an ISIS inspired plot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The online recruiting is part of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chilling new video shows ISIS purportedly beheading Ethiopian Christians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a multilayered message from ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hillary Clinton surging in the polls as Republican rivals take aim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Hillary Clinton travels there's going to need to be two planes, one for her and her entourage and one for her baggage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're dragging him --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 27-year-old Baltimore man died Sunday one week after being taken into custody by police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want the truth. The people in Baltimore want the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to a new day.

It's Monday, April 20, 8:00 in the east. Michaela is off today. John is joining us.

And we have some significant news to tell you about, not one but two shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. The first could be the worst migrant disaster ever. It started off the coast of Libya moving toward Italy. Hundreds of people are missing. Many of them are believed dead, trapped on the boat. And then reports that are just coming in of another boat going down off the Greek coast, at least three dead there, and, again, dozens missing.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And these people boarded boats looking in part to escape ISIS' reign of terror as new video appears to show the execution of two groups of Ethiopian Christians. A masked man threatening Christians must convert to Islam or pay with their lives. We have all of the angles of these stories covered the way only CNN can. So let's begin with senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman. He is live for us in Italy. What's the latest, Ben?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, yes, sort of mounting disasters here. Of course, there was the case of this ship that may have as many as 950 people on board that sent out distress signals on Saturday evening. At this point we understand that the rescue mission for that ship is beginning to wind down, Italian and Maltese naval vessels are still searching for survivors. But we're expecting in this port, 28 survivors to arrive sometime this afternoon.

In addition to that, another ship went down off the coast of Rhodes, that Greek island, three dead there. As you mentioned, several dozen missing from that. And we've just heard from the International Organization for Migration that already today they have received distress signals from three ships off the Libyan coast. So there certainly seems this problem is getting worse almost by the hour.

In addition to that we know that the Italian prosecutor's office is launching an investigation into human trafficking. They've arrested 24 individuals including men from Ethiopia and Eritrea for involvement in this deadly traffic. According to the Italian prosecutor's office these individuals were making as much as $80,000 per shipment of migrants to the Italian coast. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Ben, thank you very much. We're going to be staying on this situation. Again, the details, especially coming off that Greek ship, still very new.

Now, the Pope was moved to remark on what happened off the coast of Italy there, saying that these migrants, they're just like the rest of us yearning for a good life. But this is about something more, something darker. Many of these people were fleeing the terror of ISIS. There's a new video showing a slaughter of Christians, 30 Ethiopians killed just because of their faith. Let's go to senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He has that story live in London. Nic? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Chris,

ISIS is doing in Libya what we've seen it do in Iraq and what we've seen it do in Syria. And what they are doing is profiting in their own way out of the chaos, the lack of government inside Libya at the moment. What they have done with this video is try to send multiple message messages, not just that Christians that don't convert to Islam will be killed, but that they're spreading their influence across Libya.

How have they done that with this video? They've done it this way. They executed by beheading 15 of those Ethiopian Christians on the Mediterranean coast right in the north of Libya.

[08:05:00] The other 15 they executed by shooting at an entirely different location hundreds of miles away close to the southern border. They're trying to portray themselves as spread all across Libya. But what they're also doing here is using the same media group that ISIS uses in Iraq and Syria to put together this video to create the impression here they're not just spreading across Libya, but that they are spreading across the Middle East. So it's a multiple message, convert to Islam or die. We're spreading. That's ISIS' message here. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: So troubling. Nic, thank you for all of that background.

Let's tackle of this with Fareed Zakaria. He's the author of "In Defense of a Liberal Education" and the host of CNN's FAREED ZAKARIA GPS." Fareed, great to see you. This is heartbreaking this morning. There are these two unfolding stories. As we speak at this hour there are rescue attempts in the Mediterranean, possibly futile rescue attempts, trying to find, there are estimates that at least 700 people went down in this capsized boat trying to get from Libya to Italy, but maybe as many as 950. And then now, breaking news, there's another boat of migrants from Greece -- trying to get somewhere either to get to Greece or from Greece.

So, is this something new that we're seeing with these migrant boats? What's happening?

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": The migrant problem has existed for a long time. Look, you have -- whenever you have borders between very poor countries, and very rich countries, there's always this transfer. Think of Mexico and the United States, where when you think of Libya and Spain, or Morocco and Italy you have something very similar. A country, you know, that is at, I don't know, $5,000 per capita, and then Italy or Spain, which are much, much richer.

The new twist here, though, is that the state has collapsed in so many of these countries. Libya no longer has -- you know, what happened was when we got rid of Gadhafi, the dictator for so many years, people thought, oh, good we're rid of a dictator. But it wasn't just that you're rid of the dictator. It turned out there was no state underneath it. It may be that there was no country underneath it at all, because Libya has descended into a siege of warring tribes. And in the midst of that, ISIS with its utter barbarism is being able to take some advantage. It's not clear how much territory it rules, and people are fleeing. So I think it's the migrant story on steroids because of the collapse of the state.

CAMEROTA: And how much of what we're seeing, the exodus from Libya, is connected to the ISIS persecution, religious persecution of mainly Christians?

ZAKARIA: I think that like often happens with is, this is more -- more bluster than reality, by which I mean it's not clear that ISIS controls vast swaths of territory in Libya. It's not clear that this is happening, you know, en masse. But they want to portray it that way. And of course, if you portray it that way and people get scared and they start fleeing, it becomes true. This is one of ISIS' key strategies is forget events on the ground. Think about events on air. They are always able to portray on air a much more brutal, horrifying, and effective reality than they might actually have on the ground.

CAMEROTA: People are calling the scope of this crisis unprecedented. Is this unprecedented in terms of the exodus?

ZAKARIA: I have never seen anything quite like this. And I think that because of the fact that this is, you know there are lots of countries that are facing these kinds of challenges, the collapse of the state, I think we may be in for -- in for this for a long time.

Look, you know, most people in Libya, wherever, in Syria, they're just ordinary people. They're trying to get away. We already have out of Syria the largest humanitarian crisis, you know, since the Second World War. This is now turning into, in Libya it's turning into something that is in danger of spiraling out of control.

CAMEROTA: The Pope talked about this very thing that you're touching on yesterday. Let me read to you what he said. He said "They are men and women like us, our brothers seeking a better life, starving, persecuted, wounded, exploited, victims of war. They were looking for a better life. They were looking for happiness." You can hear the Pope's compassion here, but practically speaking Italy can't absorb all of these people, can they?

ZAKARIA: Oh, yes, Europe could actually absorb many, many more migrants than it takes in. You know, we take in many more immigrants than Europe does. Europe's biggest problem is they have a shortfall of young workers. And so from an economic point of view, they could do it.

From a cultural point of view, they find it very difficult to assimilate people. And this one of Europe's key challenges -- economically they need young migrants. Culturally, unlike in America where we have a tradition of assimilating immigrants very well, they don't. And so, it really is a huge challenge. And I wonder whether the Pope was sort of hinting at that, hinting that perhaps people should be more compassionate in Europe and take these people in.

CAMEROTA: That's interesting. EE leaders are having an emergency meeting about this. What you do think will come out of this? Will they change their policy? If you're saying that they can actually accommodate more people and they need more people, that seems like a solution right there.

[08:10:11] ZAKARIA: But look at the last few elections in Europe. In every European country the parties that have won have tended to be populist right-wing parties that are actually arguing for even less immigration than the low levels the Europeans take in.

This is, you know, this is not about economics. The economics might be as I suggest. This is about culture. It's very hard in European societies that are defined by a kind of blood and soil nationalism for them to take in. You know, you come to the United States, it doesn't matter where you come from. You can become an American very quickly just as long as you believe in the American creed. You can't become French if you're from Algeria. There's just this -- or Morocco or Tunisia. It's very hard. There's always a barrier.

CAMEROTA: Because are people confusing in Europe the victims of these war-torn countries with the ideology of some of these war-torn countries? Are they afraid that if they let migrants in that some of the ideology will take root here that they're trying to stamp out?

ZAKARIA: Certainly anti-Muslim feelings and sentiments are on the rise in Europe. But it's a broader problem than that. Europe has never been able to assimilate that well. It's just, you know, it's partly what we admire about Europe, these old countries with this deep sense of culture and place. Well, you know, that's all great, but what about the new guy, the new guy who comes in who says, you know, I don't have any of that. I haven't lived in the same little French village for 3,000 years. My family comes from Algeria. It's just -- it's much harder for that person to make his way or her way. And that's at the heart of Europe's problem. But it doesn't stop people from desperately trying to come there because they are in search of a better life. As the Pope said, these are just ordinary people.

CAMEROTA: So what is the solution?

ZAKARIA: The solution is to let more people in. There is really no other way to do it. You're not going to be able to stop people from -- you know, the human urge to go and find a better life, to make a better living for your family, is so -- is so powerful. Think of how many walls we put up between Mexico and the United States. Think of the sea between these countries and Europe, and people still manage to do it.

CAMEROTA: You're right. Think of the risks that they're taking right now to try to make a better life.

ZAKARIA: So that they can go there and work as a dishwashers and maids and cleaning ladies.

CAMEROTA: Fareed, always great to see you. Thanks so much. Let's get over to John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Alisyn. It is now New Hampshire's turn for Hillary Clinton. The Democratic frontrunner weathering blistering attacks from Republicans who attended a weekend summit in New Hampshire. New polling shows that those attacks haven't really made a dent in their standing. CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny is in Keene, I believe, the site of Hillary Clinton's first event today. Hey, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You're right. Hillary Clinton is the first or second choice of some 83 percent of Democrats. But her advisers tell me this morning that they are basically ignoring these polls and they're going to campaign one voter at a time. That's starting here in Keene, New Hampshire, at this decades old business here behind me.

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HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I am so delighted to be here.

ZELENY: A week after finally jumping in, Hillary Clinton is dominating the presidential race. She's the first choice of nearly seven in 10 Democrats.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) FLORIDA: Hillary Clinton is going to raise $2.5l billion?

ZELENY: For Republicans our new poll shows a wide-open race.

JEB BUSH, (R) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Thank you all very much.

ZELENY: Former Florida governor Jeb Bush sits on top, but far from comfortably. A quarter of all Republicans say Bush has the best chance to win. But Florida's Senator Marco Rubio is closing in.

CLINTON: Hi, how are you all?

ZELENY: As Clinton heads to New Hampshire for week two of her reintroduction tour, 58 percent of Democrats say they're enthusiastic about her candidacy, up from 41 percent last June.

CARLY FIORINA, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She lacks the candor and transparency that are so necessary to leadership.

ZELENY: But that momentum hasn't stopped Republicans who spent the weekend here trying to break out of the pack by piling on Clinton.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because I could have sworn I saw Hillary's Scooby Doo van outside.

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SEN. RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: When Hillary Clinton travels, there's going to need to be two planes, one for her entourage and one for her baggage.

ZELENY: But Clinton also knows how early polls can sour, which is why she is coming to New Hampshire where one of her most vivid moments of her first presidential campaign played out.

CLINTON: I see what's happening. We have to reverse it.

ZELENY: It was a rare sign of raw emotion.

CLINTON: This really kind woman said to me, well, how are you doing?

ZELENY: The woman who asked that question was Marianne Pernold. We went back to Cafe Espresso in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to ask what she thinks of Clinton now.

MARIANNE PERNOLD, PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT: I think she's a lot friendlier looking. She's smiling more.

ZELENY: She ultimately picked Barack Obama back then, a decision she doesn't regret. But now she says she's ready for Hillary.

PERNOLD: She's not as stressed out looking. I don't think she has anything to prove anymore because she knows she did a great job. I truly wish her luck.

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ZELENY: Well, she may have at least one more thing to prove and that's to win this Democratic nomination. And it is so early. These early polls are just a glimpse into how she's starting here.

But she is starting to campaign voter by voter. She's going to have small meetings across New Hampshire over the next couple days. But this is just the beginning phase of her rollout. She is not going to release bigger policy proposals, and answer all those questions until the end of May when she finally gives her big official rollout -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Jeff, no question the numbers matter. And we have this new CNN poll that will give us the state of the race.

But let's deal with the issues that will matter first. A big part of the presidential race will be dealing with the terror threat at home. And we have more proof of how real it is. Six men arrested in Minnesota and California in an ISIS-inspired plot. We're told the men were nabbed Sunday in an undercover FBI sting.

Now, that said sources are telling us there were no direct threats to the public. At this point, authorities are not releasing that much detail on the men's plan. We are expected to learn more in a press conference later today and CNN will cover that.

CAMEROTA: Investigators say the highway fire that has charred more than 1,000 acres in the drought-stricken California was caused by an unattended cooking fire. More than 650 firefighters are on the front lines. According to the latest advisory it's just 35 percent contained. No one has been arrested and no property damage or injuries have yet been reported.

BERMAN: The man who shot President Reagan is moving closer to a life of complete freedom. At a hearing Wednesday, officials from Saint Elizabeth's hospital in Washington are expected to recommend expanding John Hinckley's freedom. He's already spending a lot of time living with his 89-year-old mother in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Prosecutors oppose freeing Hinckley, claiming he has a recent history of deceptive behavior. He gets 17 days a month now already living essentially unsupervised with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia. And this would allow him almost complete free rein.

CUOMO: People have a lot of opinions about this situation. Let us know, you know how to get us.

CAMEROTA: Yes, please do.

All right we are getting a fresh look this morning at which presidential favorites are picking up momentum and which are not. Which Republicans fare best in the likely match-up with Hillary Clinton. We'll tell you.

CUOMO: And there is a twist in that story in Tulsa about police use of force. The lawyer for deputy Bates who says he mistook his gun for a taser and killed a man claims to have proof the deputy was fully trained. Reports say he was not, and that he was even using a gun he wasn't supposed to be. So there's a lot of back and forth. We're going to have the lawyer on to test the case. You decide.

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[08:21:16] CUOMO: Poll clock. We're about to reach a very important moment. Put up the clock. It shows when the presidential election comes.

Now everyone knows, even John Berman, that exactly at 567 days, 15 hours, 38 minutes, and 35 seconds is when you should have your first poll to understand the state of play in the presidential election. This goes back to the times of Lincoln.

And we have the CNN/ORC poll and we have a huge headline. And you know what it is? That if you're a Democrat, stay out of Hillary's way because she is whooping even the vice president by 58 points right now. And it's just a bunch of anonymous also-rans. And there's some significant names in there. O'Malley, Webb that people thought may make a showing.

So, what does this poll mean for the state of play in the election moving forward? And which Republicans have made a name for themselves early on?

Paul Begala, Democratic strategist, CNN political commentator, senior adviser for Priorities USA Action, and Kevin Madden CNN political commentator and Republican strategist.

Kevin, we're coming to you in just a second.

Begala, I'll give you a little breath on this one. You got the big head line out of there on the Democrat side. But I would ask, are you that happy that your candidate has to run against herself from jump? Would you not like a little sparring partner in there for her to kind of test her wiles?

PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know me well, Mr. Cuomo. I love Hillary. My super PAC I advise supports her.

And yet you're right you do want a test. You want a challenge. The Hillary/Barack death match in 2007-2008 produced a smarter, tougher Barack Obama. What am I going to do? You want me to run against her?

CUOMO: Yes, I do.

BEGALA: What I do see is this the rollout worked. There were a few elite columnists who pooh-poohed it. But Hillary was already very well known and well loved and she moved up. As Jeff Zeleny reported a moment ago she moved up seven or eight points in the enthusiasm Democrats have for her.

Now, I will say this is as good as it gets, though. They should, whatever the cyber version of clippings are, they should clip these, paste them in a scrapbook and give them to her grand baby Charlotte when she grows up. She'll never be in a stronger position than she is today.

BERMAN: Yes, it's a much different view Kevin on your side. We look at the polls and there is some new information. Jeb Bush still ahead of the group, but there's really two packs right now.

This is now the lead pack, with Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio's name is news today. This is the first time we've seen him run with the big dogs. He has doubled his numbers since he announced last week.

What do you make of the numbers on your side?

KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: That was one thing I noticed, too. There seemed to be a little bit of a Rubio boomlet in the numbers. I think Rubio does have an opportunity heretofore a lot of those voters that are worried about seeming to genuflect towards the Bush dynasty, Rubio does represent a candidate who can make the case that he has a general election viability while at the same time offering a bit of an alternative to many folks who don't want to go with the Bush name again.

The other thing that's going to work to the advantage of the top tier is that some of the folks on the right are where the race is actually the most crowded -- Cruz, Huckabee, Santorum, Perry if he decides to get in. A lot of them are going to be competing for the anti-establishment vote and I think it may give one of these candidates an opportunity to really post up against that part of the party and make a case to Republican primary voters.

CAMEROTA: Kevin, I want to stick with you for one second, because Paul Begala just said that they would welcome a test to Hillary's dominance. And that test may come in the form of this new book that's coming out may 5th, it's called "Clinton Cash" and it touts itself as 186-page investigation into the foreign donations made to the Clinton Foundation, even Ted Cruz made a crack about that topic this weekend.

[08:25:15] Listen to this.

MADDEN: All right.

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SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I could have sworn I saw Hillary's Scooby-Doo van outside. And then I realized it couldn't possibly be that, because I'm pretty sure y'all don't have any foreign nations paying speakers, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Kevin, all of the foreign donations that the Clinton Foundation has taken, will this be a problem?

MADDEN: It's absolutely going to be a problem. I think one of the big challenges for Hillary Clinton is, look the numbers show she has solidified a lot of Democrat support. But absent a very viable challenger, and a sparring partner inside a primary, the number one opponent she's going to be facing is the media, and a whole bunch of Republican opposition research -- a whole lot of history about the Clintons and their foundations and some of the problems that they may have with that.

So, every single day where she's not fighting some of the Republican candidates or fighting against another candidate one-on- one, she's going to be fighting against a lot of this.

CUOMO: Right.

MADDEN: And that does, it could pose a very challenging distraction for Hillary Clinton as she goes through the next year and a half.

CUOMO: Hillary bashing is certainly the unifying theme among the Republicans right now. But, Paul, let's look at the numbers of Hillary versus the entire field, and it kind of shows that saying Hillary stinks isn't enough. They're going to have to offer someone else. She's beating everyone.

They tout Rubio, but the -- he is like four guys within the margin of error in the roll right on his heels in terms of how they do against Hillary.

Do you think those match-ups are relevant this early on?

BEGALA: I do think it's too early, frankly. Our poll this morning shows Hillary beating Jeb Bush by 17 points. That's great if the election were held today. But if it were held today I'd be very surprised.

This is a very closely divided country. The election is going to be close. What I'm trying to do is make sure people know when it tightens up, and it will be a dead heat, let's not freak out. Let's not get our panties in a wad.

This is going to be a close race. It's a closely divided country. But the advice to Republicans is right to the point you just made.

I listened to part of that hate fest they had in New Hampshire. And each one, I get it, the Republican base hates Hillary. Fine. Each one trying to outdo the other in terms of Hillary hate and Hillary bashing doesn't actually get you anything.

What people want to hear is, what are you going to do for me, buddy?

And I switched over there and listened to the tape of Hillary when she was in Iowa, in Monticello, Iowa, and she was talking about education, she was talking about community colleges, she was talking to a young woman who had a little sister with special needs. That's what people want to hear. Maybe Hillary's doing well because she's talking about ideas people care about.

BERMAN: Well, she just got in so it's hard to know exactly if the message is registering or the excitement of the actual picture of the race that's registering.

One poll that is interesting, it's not the CNN/ORC poll, there's a new Mason Dixon poll out of Florida which she's a head-to-head match-up of Hillary Clinton versus either Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, or Marco Rubio, the current senator of Florida, and as well as she's doing nationally against any Republican on earth, she's losing to both of these people and I understand from past elections I've heard that Florida, Kevin, is a key race in the general election?

MADDEN: Florida, Ohio. Look, I think if you look at some of these other early some of these other really big battleground states, even folks like Rand Paul are running even with her in places like Colorado, or some of these other battleground states. I think that's -- that is -- that still remains a challenge for Hillary Clinton.

I think the national polls -- right now I think it's too early to really look at them as a pure horse race from a pure horse race perspective. But the national polls I think are more of a reflection of the certainty that many Democrats have and that Hillary Clinton is going to be their nominee and the uncertainty of Republicans and who our nominee is even going to be. So, I think I'll start paying attention to polls around probably around November, and the only polls I'll be carrying about then will be about ones in Iowa and New Hampshire.

CUOMO: Paul and Kevin, thank you very much. There's been a lot of energy trying to define themselves early. It's good to have a poll to see what's working and what isn't. We'll be talking to you again I suspect.

BEGALA: Thanks a lot.

MADDEN: Great to be with you.

BERMAN: All right. The Tulsa reserve deputy involved in a fatal shooting making his training records public. But do these papers contain other incriminating details? The attorney for Robert Bates joins us here on NEW DAY live.

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