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New Day
New Polls Numbers On The President's Economic Performance; NBC Drops Donald Trump; Inside Politics With John King; Preview Of "Married To A Murderer" Special. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired June 30, 2015 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Chance for you to take pride in poll numbers. The poll numbers about how the President is doing on the economy, let's put them up for the audience, you know them already I'm sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: What do you say about why the approval rating has popped for the President at about 50 percent of how he's handling the economy?
CECILIA MUNOZ, FORMER DIRECTOR OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: Well the President isn't terribly focused on poll numbers, what he's focused on is really supporting and sustaining the middle class and creating letters of opportunity for people who are trying to get to the middle class which is what today's announcement is about with respect to finally updating the overtime rule in a way that's going to raise wages for about 5 million workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
This is just about making sure that we update a policy that's been in place for many, many years, many decades. It used to be that the majority of salaried workers could count on overtime the same way that hourly workers can get overtime but that has eroded to now less than 8 percent of the salary workforce actually gets overtime pay. The announcement today is an update of the salary threshold that's going to benefit about 5 million workers and make sure that they get, as you say, a fair days pay for an honest day's work.
CUOMO: All right, well if you don't want to own the good news then you must defend the bad news which Ms. MuNoz, you are doing what the private sector says you should not. Don't mess with wages let business decide what the right pay scale is because otherwise you're going to force jobs out of the market, you're going to force them to squeeze labor and you're going to wind up losing jobs not helping people who have jobs.
MUNOZ: Well even the National Retail Federation says that this policy isn't going to have a downward effect on jobs. What it is going to do is raise workers, for 5 million workers and make sure if you're working 40 hours a week, if you're asked to work longer than that you'll get paid for that extra work or you will get paid your salary but you can expect a 40 hour weeks so that you can see your kids. At the end of the day this is good for the workforce, it's good for the economy. Back in the 70s more than 60 percent of the salaried workforce was covered by overtime. We're going back to a point at which salaried workers can expect those kind of protections. Ultimately that's good for the economy. If the business community wants to argue that the salary thresholds should be set as it is now at a level which is below the poverty rate for a family of four I just think it's really hard to argue that that's good for the country, good for workers, or good for the economy.
CUOMO: Well they'll push back on the theory of but the economics bear what they bear and the reason that this $455 limit for what's perceived as a manager level was set was for a reason, right? It wasn't done just by the private sector it got pushed through Government, and they're going to say if you mess with wages and force us to pay more, just like they do with the minimum wage; if you force us to pay more, you're going to force us to pay less people 'cause we can't do both. We have to worry about our bottom line, that's what capitalisms about. What do you say?
MUNOZ: We're talking about a rate, a level which was set decades ago and which hasn't been meaningfully updated for roughly about 40 years. So we're just updating the numbers so that our policy is what it used to be which is that the majority of salaried workers can count on being paid fairly for - if they're expected to work longer than 40 hours. Or they can be expected to work a 40 hour week at their salary and then be able to see their kids. At the end of the day that's good for the economy, it's good for the workforce, it's good for the nation.
CUOMO: Why did it change?
MUNOZ: The President asked the Department of Labor to update - to look at and update the overtime rule a year ago. The Department has been consulting extensively with the business community, with working people in order to inform the judgment that they're announcing today. And it's changing because too many workers are being expected to work long, long hours at salaries as low as $24,000 a year. In some cases you could be a salaried worker, somebody who your company says is a manager, and you're actually earning less than the minimum wage because they're working you 50/60/70 hours a week. We're updating the policy so that again a fair days work gets a fair days pay.
CUOMO: Let me ask you something. In the news this morning Trump is getting beaten up by NBC, they're pushing him out because of what he said about Latinos and he was targeting a group that you've been fighting for for a very long time; new immigrants to this country who are doing lower pay scale jobs, do you think that this will be a galvanizing campaign for the Latino community, do you think we're going to hear from them more than in the past?
MUNOZ: I think at the end of the day all Americans are going to be focused on the debate that's happening around the country because it affects everybody in this country. At the end of the day this Administration is going to stay focused on what's best for the economy, what's best for working people, what's best for the middle class, and people fighting to get there. Hispanic Americans are part of that, all Americans should be part of that debate.
CUOMO: I commend your ability to stay on message Ms. Munoz, I know that's why you were here this morning, it is my job to expand the conversation but thank you for being tested on why this is a good idea that's coming out of the President with respect to wages. Thanks for being on New Day.
MUNOZ: Thanks for having me.
CUOMO: All right, Mick?
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Well we'll pick up where you left off there Chris, more on NBC dropping Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: What it does mean for 2016, we'll explore that with John King, he's in the house today for (IP).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:35:00] (BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: Welcome back. What a treat, an Inside Politics --
PEREIRA: This is good stuff here.
CUOMO: -- On New Day, John King is in the - is he this morning.
PEREIRA: He is he's here in town.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I've been captured.
PEREIRA: You have, you can't run from us.
CUOMO: No, no this is good for us and we need you to day because we have numbers to process. Let's take up this big President's poll here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Let's start with just the approval numbers and how they've shifted and what we make of them, here they are for the audience. What do you see my friend?
KING: Well his approval rating is up and in part it's because he's been winning lately. You've seen him in the Rose Garden, you know the Supreme Court upholds Obamacare. You've seen him in the Rose Garden celebrating the same sex marriage ruling. He got a big victory on capital (on) trade --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: But the truth is despite his short term winning which is why he's been out in public and having a good week or two, most of this is that people are feeling better about the economy. If people feel better about the economy, they feel better about their President. And his numbers on the economy are as high as they have been since 2009. That's since when he started the presidency. People are starting to think OK, it's not great, but it's turning around the economy's getting a little momentum and he's getting credit for it.
PEREIRA: And that compares with Clinton and Bush how? How is he doing in this part of his term comparatively? I mean it's about where the others were wasn't it?
KING: Yes, Clinton ended his term in pretty good standing.
PEREIRA: Yes.
KING: He's around Clinton numbers. Bush was down. Bush never really recovered from Katrina and when the Iraq war went completely south.
CUOMO: And we had the looming recession coming on --
KING: Right.
CUOMO: -- towards the end of his term also --
KING: Right.
CUOMO: -- things were getting worse and worse.
KING: But that's the great question in the sense that here's a President who you know he just made his party mad on trade, his party is happy about Obamacare, his party is happy about same sex marriage. So the question is now he's back at 50 percent which is sort of the golden rule of politics if you can get above 50 percent you're - you know you can do some business. He's got some political capital but what does he do with it? And I think that's the fascinating moment. If you look at you know his numbers overall on race relations are a little better from a couple of months ago, but if you look back in time they're actually down, they're down among blacks, they're down among African Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: If you look at the numbers here the overall number, 55 percent you say that's pretty good but if you look at the numbers you know 84 percent of African Americans approve his handling, that's down from 94 percent in 2010. You know (inaudible) Martin, Ferguson, Charleston, bad news. The bad news on racially.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: So the President when you think about it - you know he's not - he goes with the flow of the news cycle. What can he do with this? He's got a Republican Congress, he's in his final 18 months, history could be --
(CROSSTALK) CUOMO: He could be working the numbers a little bit, we just had Cecilia MuNoz on him, yes she is a policy person, she was here to talk about the new wage proposal but I was trying to get her to --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: No I'm trying to get her to comment on the poll, trying to get a comment on the - you know is that part of the task is that you've got to work a message when you have momentum otherwise what does it get you?
KING: That is a great question. Now if you had Josh Earnest or the political team on as opposed to a -- .
CUOMO: True, true, she's not in -- .
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Michael, she's trying to advance this has improved, big deal for them. But she's also less political and look the Trump thing - the Trump things interesting. Just on my train ride up here yesterday I was talking to somebody who does some business with Donald Trump, way down here, not Univision, not NBC, does some business and he's coming up for a meeting with the Trump organization to protest this.
PEREIRA: Well, the other thing that I keep thinking about is this 54 million voting block. You know 54 million Latinos in America, somebody's got to be paying attention to this now and this is the time to do it.
KING: Look, we have to treat him as a - we have to respect him a Presidential candidate a) because he's running and my rule is you're running, you get into the arena, you file the paperwork, you're doing the events, we've got to watch you and see how the voters respond. B) if you look at his numbers he's come up in the polls. He's in second place nationally, he's in second place in New Hampshire.
If you talk to serious Republicans, talk to people on the Bush campaign, people on the Rubio campaign, even people on the Cruz campaign, they view this guy as a hand grenade. You know they've got to get on the debate stage with him and what is the number one problem facing the Republican party? Non-white voters.
PEREIRA: Absolutely.
KING: And it's - you know - and so they've had a historic you know deficit with African Americans. They used to do a lot better. George W. Bush got 40 percent of the Latino vote. And now you've got Bush saying - I mean Trump saying well some of them are good people but they're rapists and their murderers and the Republican establishment is furious about this.
PEREIRA: But because their furious about it couldn't as you were talking about using momentum, couldn't they have used that as an opportunity to sort of pounce and say this is where we differ and this is where the Republican Party needs to go. I mean we could have heard that from Rubio, Bush, or Cruz.
KING: The problem for them is - for them to come out and Bush has done this, the others have been much more cautious. For them to come out - number one of course they could challenge him and they should challenge him on the they're rapists, you know they're murderers -- .
PEREIRA: All that (inaudible) --
KING: -- but the issue is then if they're out there saying give a path to legal status or a path to Citizenship then they're angering their own base and so you have some - there's some caution. But this will be without a doubt, this will be one of the major flash points. The first debate that's on Fox, the CNN debate right after that, August and September. Without a doubt when we get into that and most people think that's why Trump's in the race, most people think he's not going to last very long and -- CUOMO: -- And that's why you don't want to give --
(CROSSTALK)
KING: -- . He just wants to be in the --
CUOMO: -- to the Trump fire.
PEREIRA: That's a good point.
CUOMO: Is that if you address him now he becomes more relevant, now you've got to deal with him, now he's going to outtalk you, now he's going to push you off message. You know he's a problem on a stage.
KING: He's a problem but he could be an opportunity. Does Jeb Bush turn and say I'm a two term Governor of Florida, I know my party disagrees with me but I think look we can't kick all these people out it's not going to work, we don't have the money to do it even if we wanted to, so let's deal with reality. Can you do that? The guys getting in the race today, Chris Christie who is also - also you know a guy with a strong personality who thinks number fourteen, your right.
Chris Christie, John Kasich's going to come next month, another two term Governor.
CUOMO: He's someone to watch.
KING: But this a - this is a, even if you're a Democrat and even if you think you know I Hilary Clinton, or I want Bernie Sanders, or I just want a Democrat. If you look at the Republican field this is a very credible field. You've got a, you know former long-time Governor of Texas. Two term Governor of Ohio, two term Governor of New Jersey, two term Governor of Florida, two term Governor of Wisconsin's going to get in after that. A bunch of freshman Senators who have very interesting personalities; Cruz, Rubio and Paul --
PEREIRA: But it's crowded. How do you - how do you make room for yourself? How do you find oxygen in that kind of group? KING: That's up to them. That presents a huge challenge to the candidates to find a way to breakthrough. And so is it a showman moment or is it a policy moment? That's a challenge on them which is what makes it fascinating.
CUOMO: And you know what they have on their side?
PEREIRA: What's that?
CUOMO: Time. Time is what creates opportunity.
PEREIRA: (Inaudible).
CUOMO: Segue to the clock. How much time do we have? 496 days and that's why --
PEREIRA: What day do you get excited on?
KING: 11th, 10th, 9th.
CUOMO: So much can still happen.
PEREIRA: You're going - he's going to watch the clock count down.
KING: Seven, I'm going to count the seconds down now.
PEREIRA: I love it.
KING: Things happen all the time --
PEREIRA: They do.
KING: -- that wind up changing the stakes.
PEREIRA: They do.
KING: You know you have to watch - the thing is with a crowded field like this and the Democrat race is getting interesting too, don't discount them, you have to watch every day. Because when it's so crowded and look at the volatility we've had the last several years in our politics, you sort of never know when the trap door's going open.
[07:45:15] PEREIRA: See that's why it's so great to have him here with us in person John's been really a treat --
CUOMO: He's the best there is.
PEREIRA: Really delightful.
KING: What can I get you for breakfast?
PEREIRA: Oh excellent, eggs I think all around.
CUOMO: Excellent.
PEREIRA: Excellent. All right so we're watching this story he is serving time in prison for killing his third wife after his fourth wife went missing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: Drew Peterson is about to stand trial again for allegedly ordering a hit on who you ask? Well a sneak peak of a CNN special report you do not want to miss. That's ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: You may remember the story of a former police officer, Drew Peterson. He was found guilty in 2012 of murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio after his fourth wife, Stacey went missing in 2007. He is currently serving 38 years in an Illinois prison and is about to stand trial again. This time accused of hiring a hit man to kill the Prosecutor who put him in jail.
Tonight a CNN special report looks at the case. Here's a preview for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: October 28, 2007 the day Candice Aikin's niece, Stacy Peterson vanished without a trace.
CANDICE AIKIN: I thought that she had been murdered most likely by Drew.
CASAREZ: Aikin was not alone. All eyes were on Stacy's husband, Illinois Police Officer, Drew Peterson, a man who's third wife Kathleen Savio had been found dead in the bathtub about three years earlier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I walk into everywhere I go and there's this little hum that goes through the establishment, there's Drew Peterson, there's Drew Peterson, there's Drew Peterson.
[07:50:13] CASAREZ: Joe Hosey staked out Peterson's suburban home when news broke of Stacy's disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning Drew Peterson spoke to reporters through his front door.
JOE HOSEY: The first few days he was just peeking out his front door but then he was letting people come in to talk to him.
CASAREZ: Hosey was the first.
HOSEY: It was eerie. Like I had a view of the living room and I was watching the kids watching the TV and it was kind of strange.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stacy Ann Peterson --
CASAREZ: -- strange because they were watching the news coverage --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: : She was last heard from on Sunday morning --
CASAREZ: -- about their missing mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- the investigation remains --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: Let's bring in CNN's Jean Casarez, she's hosting tonight's special and she joins us now live. So Jean, tell us more. So many crazy twists and turns in this story in this case but now apparently Drew Peterson allegedly ordered a hit on the Prosecutor in this case?
CASAREZ: It's ironic and this case is far from over. His trial is this August and he is now charged with soliciting the murder of the Prosecutor, James Glasgow, legendary Prosecutor in Illinois that prosecuted him for murder of which he was convicted of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And at his sentencing several years ago Drew Peterson at sentencing said don't forget my face looking straight at this Prosecutor and now we have these charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: But there's much more to all of this. We went to Illinois just a few weeks ago and we spoke with, and talked with many people. But there's still a mystery what happened to Stacy Peterson? Where is she because she disappeared. And we speak to Stacy's family and talk about the grief that they continue to go through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: The answers that they still want every single day of their lives because they want to know is she dead? Is she alive? And where is she?
We also spoke with the Minister that counseled Stacy and Drew.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And he says something we've got it tonight on the special, it is a confession that Drew gave to him as they were driving alone in a car one day, Drew Peterson always so cocky and so arrogant but seemingly maybe telling the truth to the Minister. It's some amazing stuff Michaela.
PEREIRA: It really is and we want to urge people to tune in tonight at 9pm eastern for that Special Report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: Married to a Murderer, The Drew Peterson story, Jean Casarez, thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CUOMO: They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and apparently
this dog is nothing short of ugly. Don't take our word for it. CNN's Jeanne Moos introduces us to the pup.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is the bell of the big apple, it's the winner of the ugliest dog contest can still be called Bell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What? That is not the ugliest dog.
MOOS: Oh yes, she has the blue ribbon from the Sonoma Marin Fair. One of the judges referred to her as --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Half a dog.
MOOS: Named after the hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo. The 10 year old has a rare birth defect called short spine syndrome. But she's not in pain?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no she's very healthy, she runs, jumps, plays, no problems whatsoever.
MOOS: Owner, Virginia Sayre is a Florida vet who adopted Quasimodo from a shelter.
VIRGINIA SAYER: (inaudible) that's awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good dog, oh I love you.
MOOS: Quasimodo spent the day looking bored at TV appearances and placidly posing for photos on the street. She took the marble hotel lobby in stride, not to mention the adoring public acting like paparazzi even pedaling backwards into other pedestrians. These two stop to pet her on their way to City Hall to get married.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She could be my maid of honor.
MOOS: Her owners shrugged off critics who think there's something mean about all this.
VIRGINIA SAYER: Well you've got have a sense of humor to go to an ugly dog contest.
MOOS: Now she joins the immortals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me Winston Churchill.
SAYER: Winston Churchill (inaudible) you've got to make her sit.
MOOS: All Quasimodo was missing is the cigar. She's even scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel.
SAYER: He's going to do a makeover, I guess he's going to try and make an ugly dog into a beautiful dog.
MOOS: She'll be styled by none other than Carson Kressley who styled many a straight guy with similar issues. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very hairy.
MOOS: Look, he's looking at himself. Even the world's ugliest dog couldn't resist her own reflection on 57th street. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the ugliest dog of them all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quasi - Quasimodo.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: What is ugly? She's loveable.
CUOMO: Yes, I go back and forth about this whether it's a good thing or it's a bad thing.
PEREIRA: It's fun.
CUOMO: You know, it is fun but you know at the expense of that poor (inaudible).
PEREIRA: I know the dog doesn't seem to be at all bothered.
CUOMO: I guess that's the test right there.
PEREIRA: Yes.
CUOMO: All right, we're going to take a quick break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: We have new details in what made this brazen escape of these convicted killers on your screen possible. Where they planned to go, what the real role of the woman employee was, and now we take a turn inside the prison. Wait until you hear what the FBI thinks was going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:55:11] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to your New Day, it's Tuesday, June 30th 8:00 o'clock on the east, Alison is off today but you've got Mick and I and we have new information for you.
