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Mike Huckabee Announces Run for Presidency; ISIS Claims Responsibility for Texas Shooting. Aired 7:30-8:00a ET

Aired May 05, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Check that out. It took two years to make that dress.

SIDNER: Oh, my gosh. How long did it take to eat it? Because it was turned into an omelet or a pizza online. Beyonce also turning heads leaving little to the imagination. With her sheer Givenchy gown.

PEREIRA: Hello. Well.

SIDNER: With her sheer Givenchy gown.

PEREIRA: Nothing from the Cuomo sector. If you notice they --

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNER: He's strangely quiet right now.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Letting the pictures tell the story.

SIDNER: All this was held to raise money for the museum's costume institute.

PEREIRA: Usually he likes a nice close-up of his face but he's like, "No, really. Run that video again."

CUOMO: There are much better pictures in my face apparently that what you're just showing right now.

SIDNER: You were studying them intently.

CUOMO: Listen, I think fashion choice is a very very important, and it says a lot about somebody.

SIDNER: Yes. Sure.

PEREIRA: Fashion choices and twitter snark, any room for those in D.C.? Well, let's ask John King Inside Politics. How are you doing today? What'd you think of the dress?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to move on to Inside Politics. Thank you very much. I'm going to protect myself, Michaela. I'm going to play it safe this morning because we have so much to talk about. Let's get straight Inside Politics. With me this morning are Jackie Kucinich of The Daily Beast, Olivier Knox of Yahoo.

Mike Huckabee gets into the race today in Arkansas. That will make six officially declared Republican Candidates. One thing he likes to say is that I beat the Clinton machine when I was governor of Arkansas. Technically not true, the Clintons were gone. But it's part of his thing to say, "I can go against Hillary Clinton." Let's start there because there's a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll out and I guess the conversation is this a half full or a half empty glass? It does seem to show some dents in her political armor since she's gotten into the race.

Look at this number here, somewhat are very negative feelings about Hillary Clinton among all voters. In March, 36 percent. So they had somewhat or very negative feelings. In April, it's at 42 percent. Not surprising in the sense that she's back in the politics. She's going to take some dents. I guess the question is this the beginning of a slide or just the inevitable one-time hit?

JACKIE KUCINICH, THE DAILY BEAST: I think it depends if one of these Republican candidates can catch fire. Right now, you are seeing voters, the ones who are paying attention, watching this and not really loving Hillary Clinton maybe as much as, you know, they might have. With Huckabee, I think he's skipping a step when he's talking about Hillary Clinton. He's got a couple of Republican challengers on the Right that are going to give him some fits because they haven't really been out there. He's sort of someone they know already. And they - and has some - has some issues that they're going to attack.

KING: And Hillary Clinton today will be stoking one of the big divides in the Republican Party. She's going to be in Nevada, she's out there to raise some money but she's also going to have a round table in which she says, Olivier, there should be a clear path to citizenship. A clear path to citizenship. Not legal status, she says citizenship for the 11 million estimated undocumented workers in the United States of America. That is a huge divide in the Republican Party. Jeb Bush tends to agree with her although he says legal status now. Some other guys are murky on that. She knows what she's doing here. She's deliberately picking an issue that benefits her and stokes their fight.

OLIVIER KNOX, YAHOO! NEWS: It's a no-brainer in Democratic politics certainly. That's the consensus - that's where the party consensus is. And I think you're right, I think she's having a - also a having a little bit of fun. This could force some of these challengers on - on - on the right to have to clarify their positions or revert to their earlier positions, which is another problem for people like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. I think it's a pretty canny play, but for it Democratic politics it's a no-brainer. This is where the policy consensus is among Democrats.

KING: A no-brainer, the policy consensus. (Dared) also was one of the reasons she benefits if you look at national polling still. She gets most of the Obama coalition when you'll match her up against the leading Republican candidates. And against them right now, despite this little hit in her negatives, a rise in her negatives, she still runs look at the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, she still runs ahead of the leading republic candidates.

Rand Paul comes closest. She only beat him by three points. We were talking about this before we came on the air, independents are swinging Rand Paul's way. In this match up, she beats Jeb Bush at the moment by six, she beats Marco Rubio at the moment by six, Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor, by ten. And again, you can do the half full, half empty.

She consistently runs ahead of the Republicans by a decent margin and that three points is a little bit of a warning sign. But to me what's important is that she keeps most of the Obama coalition, African-Americans, Latinos and younger voters. Most of it, not perfect. And she does a little better, sometimes among working class people. (Few of the) Republicans can also say, OK, but, you know, she's out there all by herself and we're just getting started.

KUCINICH: Well, yes, and the Republicans you hear this every year but I think particularly this year they're going to make a play for those Hispanic voters. And Hispanic voters have a lot of - particularly the ones who care about immigration, have a lot to be skeptical of. They've been promised comprehensive immigration reform forever and it just hasn't - there's no how are we going to do this. It's, OK, I want to do this. So there's - I think there's going to be a lot of questions as to how, how this time. How are you going to get this through congress?

KNOX: You know, (giants) it's we're not - it's not after Labor Day of 2016, a lot of voters haven't tuned us in. I would love to see what the name recognition is nationwide on someone like Rand Paul, someone like Scott Walker. The Republican campaign's going to start taking up more and more media attention. The attacks on Hillary Clinton are probably going to be sustained throughout the next couple of years.

KING: You think? It's a little early.

KNOX: I'm going to - I'm going to predict right here and right now the Republicans don't stop attacking Hillary Clinton.

KUCINICH: That is amazing.

[00:07:35] KING: A bold statement. One of the things they're attacking her about is the Clinton foundation and the big speaking fees her husband, the former president takes. And then the big foreign donations including some that didn't seem to fit with the rules she agreed to when she became Secretary of State. I want you to listen to Bill Clinton yesterday. He's talking to Cynthia McFadden of NBC News, he's on a trip to Africa for the Clinton foundation and he's asked here about his speaking fees including remember one of the big controversial ones is a $500,000 speaking fee from a Moscow bank at the very time that bank was part of a deal to get a uranium deal for the Russian government.

CYNTHIA MCFADDEN, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Will you continue to give speeches?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Oh, yes. I got to pay our bills. I also give a lot over to the foundation every year.

KING: This one here we give Bill Clinton a lot of credit for his political skills. I got to pay our bills? The Arkansas governor didn't make a lot of money. As president he had a pretty good salary. I understand they weren't rich when they left the White House, but I got to pay our bills?

KUCINICH: Remember when Bill was going to take a backseat to all of these whether and wasn't really giving interviews? Wasn't that just a couple weeks ago? Any time the Clintons are talking about their personal wealth, it's going to be a problem right now especially when you're saying things like we have to pay the bills. I don't think that's among the top things they're worrying about. I don't think that's going to make a --

(CROSSTALK)

KING: He's not known for being so tone deaf although I covered him for a long time and every now and again when he gets tired he says some numbingly stunning things.

KNOX: Well, you know, tired but also this is also something very personal to them. They've been on the defensive for a really long time. You're seeing the flashes of temper that typically get Bill Clinton in trouble.

KING: So, the question is this - this - this conversation affect her political standing? Another big thing out there for her is to select committee on Benghazi. The Republicans had a committee last year, they have a new committee on Benghazi, there's been a fight back and forth about whether she would - they wanted to interview her in private and then wanted to have public testimony. They also want to talk to her about her e-mail server, not just about Benghazi.

Her attorney, David Kendall, responded to the committee yesterday and said she's willing to testify once in public. She wants to do this in public. And they want to do it in a couple weeks later this month. If you talk to Republicans privately, the last time she testified a long time ago she did have that one sound bite, what difference at this point does it make, that Republicans think was damaging to her. But privately Republicans also say she handed them their hats. And so the question is, is this a big deal for her? Is this I need to get past this and put this behind me?

KUCINICH: I think it's both. I really do. And the Republicans have every incentive to not make this a circus. Because if this is a circus, if they look like they are attacking her, it's just going to help her.

KNOX: We also know this is a committee that's going to wait to file its final report until really the height of the election season. The chairman of the committee yesterday, Trey Gowdy, said he would not be rushed into calling her. Because remember one of the things they want to do is get - they do actually want to get past this. They want to get her in front of that committee in public as quickly as possible and be able to say I have testified, not I'm going to testify. KING: The question for me is there are some very legitimate

questions, four Americans died at Benghazi. Now, the Clinton campaign says we've answered these questions. (John Pedas Steven) saying yesterday in a (post on Medium), "We're going to start a new posting called the briefing to respond to these, you know, unnecessary" and what they view as partisan attacks. I would make the case - let's see how this one goes. This is a committee with congressional authority, legitimate oversight over a tragedy. To your point, let's see how it goes. Maybe they'll handle themselves and ask the right questions, maybe it will so partisan, maybe the Clinton campaign should dial it back until it happens? You expect this to become a partisan? You're laughing again. Here we go. Do you expect this to become a, you know, partisan spectacle? Or do Republicans get, you know, OK, ask legitimate questions, be tough but don't go over the line?

KNOX: Well, I don't expect it to be a partisan spectacle, but the way the audience is going to- is going to see it, it's going to break along partisan lines, this is a big war shock test in politics. I think the republicans have a very big incentive to make this a workman like, here are some serious questions, here are the things that have already been addressed, we're not going to worry about those things. They need a big incentive to do that. But we'll see if they're running the committee, panels results that way.

KUCINICH: If this is about slogan airing, this is not going to - it's not going to play well for them.

KING: We'll see that in just a couple weeks. Jackie, Olivier, thanks for coming in. Alisyn, the campaign at full swing, six Republicans, Secretary Clinton on the trail, about to testify to congress. It is, as Olivier notes, not anywhere near Labor Day 2016 but seems pretty busy doesn't it?

PEREIRA: It does, Michaela by the way. When we get --

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Oh, I'm sorry, Michaela.

PEREIRA: It's all right. It's all right. It's all right. No, but I know you've been stretching and working out and practicing your cardios, so you're fit and ready to go for this.

KING: I'm ready to go.

PEREIRA: Pace yourself, my friend. All right. Thanks, John. ISIS is now claiming responsibility for Sunday's attempted ambush in Texas and warning of more to come. Was the prophet Muhammad art exhibit in Texas free speech or provocation? We'll discuss that next.

[00:07:40] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Lemon. This is CNN.

PAMELA GELLER, MUHAMMAD CARTOON CONTEST ORGANIZER: No one is saying that there aren't peaceful Muslims. But there are - there is a problem in Islam as illustrated last night. And anyone that addresses it gets attacked in this same way. Whereas you should be directing your barbs at the enforcers of the sharia and those that seek to destroy and crush freedom of speech the way they did in Paris and in Copenhagen.

CAMEROTA: So, listen --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: All right. That's Pam Geller. She's setting up she have this event in Texas that wind up coming under attack. And now we have news this morning that ISIS is claiming responsibility for what happened in Garland, Texas. So let's bring in Dr. Qanta Ahmed. She is the author of In the Land of Invisible Women, and with this news this plays on the fear that ISIS is going to launch attacks here at home and even if they don't plan them they're going to inspire them. So what is the meaning of this?

[00:07:45] QANTA AHMED, MUSLIM BRITISH PHYSICIAN: I think that the events at (Garland)gathering recently do expose a real dichotomy in our conversation. We are very privileged as Americans because we enjoy free speech in a way that really doesn't exist in other places and is defended very vigorously. I've lived in places where free speech doesn't exist including Saudi Arabia.

But the concept of any action on speech that's deemed blasphemous as for instance in Charlie Hebdo in Paris or in Copenhagen, is a fictional crime. It is not an Islamic crime. It is a crime that is prosecuted by Islamists. Those activists that attempted to have a massacre in Texas and were foiled by a brave policemen are operating on a fictional basis.

CUOMO: But that plays into the phobia, right? The reason it's such a big headline that ISIS is claiming is because now to the American mind they're saying, "See, this is what happens," you know, "every time you do something Muslims don't like, they'll attack you. They answer in violence." And then claiming responsibility feeds the phobia. So what is the counterattack?

AHMED: Well, I think your use of phobia is a good one. And perhaps we - the phobia breeds an irrational fear. I think there is a rational fear for authorities in the United States that we do have a problem with domestic radicalization. I've testified to Capitol Hill about domestic radicalization. There is an issue with radicalization in U.S. prisons.

So, to me that is a rational fear. Where I have real distress in the event that Geller hosted is that I don't believe her intentions are to advance understanding or expand discourse. While she says she recognizes there are peaceful Muslims, she also labels us all with some pretty heinous language. In her own words savages --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: She tries to separate that there are savages and then there are Muslims. She says she keeps them separate. AHMED: But she doesn't.

CUOMO: It does seem to the uninitiated that Islam gets a protection of its own faith that other faiths don't get. If you want to create an effigy of Jesus, go ahead, you're going to be able to do it. People won't like it, but that's how it is. But there's an understanding that, no, no one's allowed to do any picture of Muhammad. The media won't do it, nobody will do it, and it inspires a kind of double standard feeling that makes people may be upset.

AHMED: So, that may be a sentiment. In the United States that's not a reality. We can have contests for these kinds of cartoons as much as somebody can print a copy of Mein Kampf and promote it. That is what the U.S. is about. If you actually look at --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: -- people trying to come and shoot you and kill you if you do.

AHMED: If you - if you actually look at Islamic history there have been Islamic satirists for centuries operating between the 8th and 13th century who ridiculed Islam and aspects of Islam in far greater terms than anything we've seen here. And one of her assertions is that Muslims have no sense of humor. She just needs to look at some 8th to 13th century history. That's well reported.

CUOMO: And she has to do something that's emotionally difficult but as you always say intellectually honest, which is you have to separate those who have perverted the faith and now say that if you paint a picture of Mohammed I'll kill you, from true followers of Islam, real Muslims.

AHMED: Yes. She would defend her right to have freedom of speech. But also she's not the only guilty party. We are in a climate where our own administration does not want to engage in this conversation. So when you say that there is an irrational fear, we've had a national denial of a problem called Islamism which affects us internationally and definitely attempts to constrict freedom of speech through U.N. resolutions. We also have had a president who's unwilling to name Islamism for what it is.

So we lack official discourse, the public discourse is struggling, and so what's happening is polarization is increasing. We have this gift of free speech in order to share complicated ideas, but in events like Geller's I don't believe it's used to the best possible opportunity.

CUOMO: At the end of the day when people are angry, they're afraid, subtlety is not always easy to give purchase. But Dr. Qanta Ahmed, thank you for expanding our understanding as always.

AHMED: My pleasure, Chris.

CUOMO: This is an ongoing discussion we've been having. What do you think? Tweet us using the #newdaycnn or tell us what you think on facebook.com/newday. Mic.

PEREIRA: Great conversation there, Chris. All right. The wait for a royal baby name is over. What did Prince William and Kate Middleton name their little girl? What's the response been? Well, we'll tell you.

[00:07:50] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Well, Britain's baby princess now has a name ending a world of speculation and wagering. William and Kate hit all their royal marks, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. What a beautiful name. CNN's (Cedie Moss) says more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What says, "Hooray, it's a girl," better than artillery, guns and landmarks lit up in pink celebrated the baby formerly known as Princess What's-her-name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone together now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's perfect. That makes me cry. Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Made whoopi) adopt an English accent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her name is charlotte Elizabeth Diana Winslet Johnson - OK, I just threw the Johnson in there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will and Kate honored three royals with one baby's name. Charlotte is the feminine of Charles, as in Prince Charles, Elizabeth is Queen Elizabeth, and Diana is Princess Diana. And for Charlotte, that's what Chelsea Clinton and her husband named their first baby, but this is probably the most famous Charlotte these days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charlotte.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you are the sexiest woman I ever met.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Harry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not to be confused with this Harry. Charlotte's older brother even managed to wave to the press as he came to meet his little sister. His mom looked so good that a Russian paper quoted women questioning Kate's pregnancy, theorizing she must have had a (assure yet). Here is one of Charlotte's first portraits made by an artist out of 1,000 onesies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you know who really blew it? The corgis. About a month and a half ago, a British betting company staged a corgi race to predict the royal baby's name. Oh, they were half all right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alexander the winner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charlotte wasn't even in the running. We just find out her name and already people are trying to guess what a nick name will be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wonder if they will call her Charlie?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it's good in enough for (everyone), it's good enough for the House of Windsor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, the world belongs to Charlie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (King Mo) CNN. New York.

CAMEROTA: What a precious baby. Can we talk about that for a second?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Healthy baby. God bless, good luck to them.

PEREIRA: Great name.

CUOMO: Ten hours after giving birth, she was on her way home. (Impresibo).

PEREIRA: I know really.

[00:07:55] CAMEROTA: Impressive on so many levels. Thanks so much to (Jenie) for that. Well, back to one of our top stories. ISIS claiming responsibility for the shooting at that free speech event in Texas. We'll find out why experts say they are skeptical.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ISIS claiming responsibility for Sunday's attempted ambush is Garland, Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people of the ISIS network likely knew about the attack before it happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of two gunmen has been on the FBI's radar for years.

GELLER: My event was about freedom of speech, period.

OBAMA: Too many communities don't have a relationship of trust with the police.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This cop-watch thing, I'm going to take it to the top. And we're not going to stop.

MOSBY: My job is to seek justice, fairly and equally to everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you don't admit that there's a problem, then there's nothing to fix.

BEN CARSON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm Ben Carson, and I'm a candidate for president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am running for president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm running.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any kind of (disclosure) is the target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to New Day and we do begin with Breaking News. ISIS is claiming responsibility for Sunday's attempted ambush at a prophet Mohammed art exhibit in Texas. The terror group, using its radio channel to announce the death of their brothers.

[00:08:00] CAMEROTA: So, the question for investigators, how involved was ISIS in the plotting of this attack? CNN's cover begins with Senior International Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, who's live in Beirut. Nick, what do we know?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, at this stage there is very little in the --