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Clinton Calls Shooting "Racist Terrorism"; Confederate Flag Ripple Effect; Report: Manchin, Toomey May Revive Gun Legislation; Spotlight On South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley; ISIS Leaves Behind Makeshift Bombs And Booby Traps. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 24, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: On the other side, the businesses have gotten involved. Corporations like eBay, Amazon, Target and Sears not only expressed their feelings about this, but they announced that they, themselves will no longer sell the Confederate flag merchandise.

[07:30:07] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Prison worker, Joyce Mitchell now admitting that she hid hacksaw blades in frozen meat to help two convicts escape from prison. That's according to a source who says Mitchell had another guard pass that meat to Richard Matt.

She'll apparently had a pattern of using baked goods to get other guards to do favors for the convicts before their prison break. In the meantime, we are told one of the escapees apparently left boots behind in a cabin where the DNA was found and could be running barefoot.

CUOMO: We have some video to show you right now. This is a California biker colliding head on with a fire truck. This is not easy to see. Amazingly, the biker survives.

Here's the back story, the 24-year-old Jessie Lopez racing with another biker, stupid, back in April comes to a blind curve, crashes into the fire truck.

Of course, he had the Go Pro going like everybody else does so everything was caught. He had to be airlifted to a trauma center with two compound fractures in his left leg and a severely broken arm. He said he wanted to share the video now in order to warn other bikers of the dangers of reckless riding.

PEREIRA: The Angeles National Forest, north of Los Angeles, beautiful area, often there are forest fires up there so the fire crews are up there patrolling, taking a look out.

Guys like to go up there, anybody with a fast car or motorcycle go up there to test the limits. He says he's only been riding seven months. He's going to slow things down.

CUOMO: The capabilities of the machines these days often way exceed the capabilities of the people on them.

PEREIRA: All right, let's go to a guy that we know as a speed demon. Is he? I don't know. John King, "Inside Politics" -- CUOMO: He's just built for speed.

PEREIRA: You are built for speed.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": You know, you are describing that as if you put the roof down once or twice while you're out there working in L.A.

PEREIRA: My gear does not have a soft top. That's my answer.

CUOMO: Can you imagine Michaela's hair with a soft top down?

PEREIRA: Baby.

KING: I'll wait for that video of that drive any day. All right, a lot to talk about "Inside Politics" to continue the conversation you guys have been having this morning.

With me to share their reporting and their insights, CNN's Nia Malika Henderson and "The Washington Post" Robert Costa. The fallout from Charleston has cut across politics through the business community and it's causing some interesting and some dramatic reactions.

Let's start with Hillary Clinton. She was in Missouri yesterday, near Ferguson, which of course has been part of this debate about guns and races. Listen to Hillary Clinton talking about the events in Charleston and her strong very language.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How do we make sense of such an evil act, an act of racist terrorism, perpetrated in a house of God? How do we turn grief, anger and despair into purpose and action?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Racist terrorism, strong words. Both strong words put together by Hillary Clinton. She wants to have a conversation about race. She wants to have a conversation about guns. And if you watch what's happening, it's starting. We don't know where it's going to go.

But as we've just discussed in the show, South Carolina is talking about it now. They are going to have a legislative action to probably take that flag down and move it off the state house grounds.

Mississippi is having this conversation. The governor of Virginia says take it off the plates. EBay, Walmart, Amazon, Sears saying we are not going to sell products with the confederate flag.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader saying his state capitol in Frankfurt maybe we should take the Jefferson Davis. He was the president of the confederacy. Maybe that statue should be taken out of our capitol. He was born there, but he says there's no historic reason to have it there. Where are we going? NIA MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: We don't know yet. I mean, we have gone I think further than I thought we would. It was down in South Carolina. Grew up in South Carolina, I was down there this weekend. I don't think the protesters thought it would go this far this quickly. You have some strange bedfellows here, right?

People who are really liberal on the one hand and in the business community, which has, I think in a couple instances with same-sex marriage ordinances in some of these states and religious liberty laws they have come out and been against Republicans.

So this is sort of the race conversation that everybody thought we should be having that Obama should start, but in many ways, it's been started by these other events. Clinton gave a race speech this Saturday. She gave part two of a race speech yesterday.

It very much had echoes I thought of Lyndon B. Johnson's speech at Howard in 1963. She's also done something interesting. She called on white Americans to do some soul searching themselves. We always talk about this racial conversation that everyone is supposed to have.

She said, well, white Americans need to do some soul searching and have conversations amongst themselves.

KING: And from the right, Robert, you do have a lot of voices saying there is an over action. That you are having PC run amok when you can't -- if you want to buy a confederate flag, you can't online and buy it.

Erick Erickson, a conservative activist that he's at redstate.com. He also has a radio show. He wrote this in an e-mail to his radio show listeners this morning.

"The American left has running through it the same totalitarian streak that ran through the Communists. They are kissing-cousins the Nazis, and the Islamic State. The left, always in search of a utopia, decides to force utopia on the world."

[07:35:09] Making the point in his case that the left is now trying to erase history. They want to move all those flags and monuments. That seems, to me, to be going too far. We don't know where the debate is going.

I think it's wrong if you erase history. You don't learn the lessons of history if you try to erase history. But is it not legitimate especially on the public grounds, taxpayers pay to maintain the ground of the South Carolina state capitol, for example. That seems to be a fair debate.

ROBERT COSTA, "THE WASHINGTON POST": You are seeing a lot of bipartisan support whether it's state capitols or whether it's on store shelves to remove the confederate battle flag, to get the banner off. The conservative reaction has been interesting to watch because they are frustrated with the way they think the media is handling this. The way they are being almost put into a corner to change what they think is a symbol of history so they are with Charleston. They are standing with Charleston, with the tragedy. But they feel like whether it's Caitlin Jenner or the confederate flag, they are being pressured to do things they don't want to do.

But the country is changing and that's what they are really grappling with. The country wants to see the confederate flag moved. That's why there is such a rapid sea change.

KING: And in this case, as you note, business interest usually align with Republicans. A conservative governor of South Carolina, A Republican, Mitch McConnell, a Republican, you know, the base doesn't always like Mitch McConnell.

But you have a lot of Republican leaders involved in this conversation as well. Part of it now could be let's see what happens. We've all voiced skepticism in recent days that Congress would muster the votes to actually pass any significant new gun controls.

But remember back in 2013, Pat Toomey, the conservative Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin, a conservative Democratic senator, the former governor of West Virginia, they tried gun legislation in 2013.

They fell a couple votes short and it collapsed. Senator Toomey saying, let's try it again. What do we think of the prospects there? Is Charleston, Newtown wasn't, other places were not. Is Charleston now potentially the galvanizing moment that we could actually pass new background checks? Part of that conversation was also a new legislation to deal with the mental health aspects of gun control.

HENDERSON: Well, you've heard people talk about that particularly Lindsey Graham. If they could carve out something pretty narrow. I think four Republicans voted for the last bill that failed. Perhaps this is a galvanizing issue that puts us at the forefront. It's doubtful. I think everybody thought that was Newton. We'll have to see.

COSTA: It's going to be difficult because you need in this Congress, Republican control to have the political capital to push something through. Will Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell really take this up as a cause? Doubtful, especially as we approach a presidential election? There is wariness getting into this kind of debate, but you see Toomey, Manchin, they are at least seeking where are the votes? Are the votes there? We'll have to see them.

KING: All of the Republican senators running for president voted no, Manchin, Toomey. Let's see if one of them decides let's change the debate here. Let me try to get ahead here. Let me try to change things and steps out.

I don't see it happening, but it will be interesting to watch as well as one of those Republican says, you know what, let's maybe tinker with the bill, address some concerns. But let's see if they'll move that forward. We'll keep an eye on that. A brand new poll yesterday out in the state of New Hampshire, we have seen this. When you announce your candidacy and you get a lot of media attention, you move up in the polls. This one might surprise people, though.

The Suffolk University poll, Donald Trump is now in second place at 11 percent. Scott Walker at 8, Marco Rubio at 7 and Ben Carson at 6 percent, everyone else is below that in single digits. Donald Trump was in Maryland last night. He made note of this poll. You would think he would be happy. He went from single digits to double digits, but the Donald says it's not enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did get that great poll today. I can't believe Bush is in first place. Some people are thrilled. I'm not thrilled. How could Bush be in first place? He can't negotiate his way out of a paper bag?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTA: I said back in February, he's running. He's hired a lot of people in early states. He has a populous message. He may be a little awkward, a little uncolorful, but he's connecting.

HENDERSON: He's in second place. He's not happy about it, but it's saying something.

KING: In a crowded field, he's having an impact. I suspected some points are going to flame out a little bit, but if he's getting 8 or 6 or 11 percent, whether he's probably not going to win with that number, but that impacts the race. Those votes comes somebody else.

HENDERSON: Knocking somebody else off.

KING: And the race is about to get more crowded. Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana is going to get in today, a tough pass for him. I mean, where does he find room with Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum? Jindal is going to have to find a way back. It is going to be very tough.

KING: Chris Christie saying he is probably going to get in within the next month. We are waiting on officially John Kasich and Scott Walker. Scott Walker is definitely a go. John Kasich is likely to go, but that should round out the field. That would be 15 or 16.

COSTA: Christi versus Trump, can you imagine them on a debate stage going at it?

HENDERSON: That will be great. Is the stage big enough for those two folks?

KING: I would love that. Alisyn, as we get back to you, it's a fascinating race. We'll see Governor Jindal today. We'll have as many as 15 or 16. Wow.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I echo that sentiment as wow. Donald Trump certainly always keeps it interesting.

KING: I see that.

[07:40:08] CAMEROTA: So thanks, John. Great to see you. See you tomorrow.

All right, meanwhile, the response from South Carolina governor to the church massacre and her position on removing the confederate flag is boosting her visibility on the national stage. So what will her role be in 2016?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The confederate flag controversy thrusting South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley into the national spotlight. Her strong stance on removing the flag is ramping up speculation about her political future. CNN's Ana Cabrera is here with more on who is Nikki Haley. So Ana, tell us about her.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is the first nonwhite, non-male governor for the state of South Carolina. So that alone has been defining for her. But really, this controversy over the flag, her response to the shooting is what's caused a lot of people to get excited about her potential for the future as a major political player especially within the Republican Party and even for 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOVERNOR NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds.

[07:45:08] CABRERA (voice-over): Words that echoed across the country still grappling with its racist past.

HALEY: That flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our great state.

CABRERA: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's call for the confederate battle flag on capitol grounds to come down, catapulting her on the national political stage. The announcement came just days after an emotional speech after 21-year-old, Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, who embraced the confederate flag killed nine black worshippers at a Charleston church.

HALEY: We woke up today -- and the heart and soul of South Carolina was broken.

CABRERA: Within minutes Republican presidential hopefuls began voicing their support as the GOP tries to broaden its appeal to minority voters. When Haley who is Indian-American, wrote a Tea Party way to the state house in 2010, she was relatively unknown.

HALEY: Your next governor, Nikki Haley.

CABRERA: And after winning a run off in the primaries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our new governor, Nikki Haley.

CABRERA: She became South Carolina's first nonwhite and first female governor.

HALEY: I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants who reminded my brothers, my sister and me, every single day how blessed we were to live in this country.

CABRERA: Delivering a high profile speech at the RNC, easily winning re-election two years later.

HALEY: So I have to say it, it's a great night in South Carolina.

CABRERA: With her stance against the confederate flag, political analysts suggest Haley may soon be considered a potential VP choice for 2016.

HALEY: My hope is that by removing a symbol that divides us, we can move forward as a state in harmony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: So Ana, I want to ask you what might happen here today. You know, there's a legal loophole that would allow the governor to take down the confederate flag that flies over our shoulder temporarily without the approval of the general assembly. What do you think is going to happen?

CABRERA: Well, we don't really know for sure. We have been making lot of calls to the governor's office and many others inside the capitol. We do know that there's a section part of the constitution for the state that would allow her to remove the flag or to replace.

Perhaps she could use that to take down the flag. It doesn't sound like that is going to happen. We don't know for sure, just yet. I also think it's worst mentioning, while there's such a positive response in general, both parties commending her for her actions on the flag debate as well as her response to the tragedy itself.

There's also been a little bit of criticism we've heard from one Democratic lawmaker here who says Democrats have been calling for the flag's removal for years. Now, it seems the governor is getting most of the credit.

CAMEROTA: All right, Ana, thanks for all of that background. We'll check back with you. All right, let's get back to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, thanks, Alisyn. We are going to look at ISIS giving you an extraordinary look, ISIS driven out of a Syrian town. They have left their mark behind in the form of bombs and boobey traps. We are going to take you inside Syria in a CNN exclusive with a look at what Kurdish forces are facing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:29] CUOMO: We have a CNN exclusive for you. ISIS may have been forced out of a Syrian town of Tal Abyad, but Syria's potentially deadly danger remains, booby traps, homemade bombs are literally everywhere, even at a park where kids used to play. So we have CNN senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon with stunning evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was an ISIS bomb-making facility. Bags filled with a sticky white powder, low grade explosives, which as we are shown, is highly flammable. The YPG, the Kurdish fighting force in control of Tal Abyard is busy clearing it out.

Half the bed of a truck already filled with mortar rounds that they collected here. At the rear of a mosque named after al Qaeda founder, Osama Bin Laden.

Tal Abyad is a mind field of boobey traps. It's hard to see through the grate, but stacked along the wall makeshift bombs, detonation cord sneaking out.

This was a park where children used to play. The local YPG commander says something did not feel right. They put a warning on the gate. And a resident told them ISIS had booby trapped it.

(on camera): Do you see a cable coming out of it? OK. Don't touch the door.

(voice-over): ISIS no longer controls Tal Abyad, but their terror lurks in every corner and the town is still cloaked in fear, a certain unease emanates from the adults. Anger evident in their voices. Their answers short and sharp.

ISIS forced this man to purchase from them black clothing for his little girls. The three say they were sometimes scared. Now they are just enjoying being outside without head scarves and they want to go back to school.

We went for a month and they closed it, the girls tell us. They made it a base for the state, meaning for ISIS. That was two years ago. Now they say they are happy. In an environment like this, one can only hope it stays that way. Arwa Damon, CNN, Tal Abyad, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Now back here live in Columbia, South Carolina, there's a debate raging across the south over the confederate flag, a growing call to remove the historic southern symbol here at the state house after the massacre in Charleston.

[07:55:11] We will speak to a lawmaker whose district was deeply impacted by that massacre. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is going to be our civil discussions that help us through all of these various issue of division.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God helps out Carolina if we fail to achieve the goal of removing the flag.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: The suspect looks like the subject they are talking about on the news from that Charleston shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New video showing the arrest of Dylann Roof in North Carolina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More than 1,000 officers now converging on the tiny New York town of Owls Head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has admitted to sneaking hacksaw blades inside frozen hamburger meat into the prison.

MITCHELL: She said their plan was they want to kill you. I said, what?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, June 24th, 8:00 in the east.

[08:00:00] As you can see, Alisyn is out of the house in Columbia, South Carolina, the state's capital to see what's going on, because the South Carolina situation has become the epicenter for the anti- Confederate flag movement. And it is sweeping the south.