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Trump on the Attack, Surging in Polls; Feds: Mississippi Couple Plotted to Join ISIS. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 12, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Now, all of this has taken a toll on her campaign, particularly her trust and credibility with voters.

[07:00:11] For the first time, a new poll in New Hampshire has top Democratic rival Bernie Sanders leading Clinton by seven points. He's at 44 percent to Clinton's 37 percent in a survey of likely Democratic voters in New Hampshire. Now as this e-mail server is turned over, the question is whether this will put this controversy to rest or fuel even more skepticism and questions -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Yes, it remains to be seen. All right, Jeff. Thank you for that.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the front -- Republican frontrunner, getting a huge reception. And going on the attack against you GOP and Democratic rivals, now polling shows that Trump is holding his lead, despite the dust-up concerning moderator Megyn Kelly.

CNN political reporter Sara Murray live in Michigan with more for us this morning -- Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

If voters here in Michigan were concerned about that dust-up with Megyn Kelly, or thought it was going to hurt them, they certainly were not letting on last night. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next president of the United States, Donald Trump.

MURRAY (voice-over): A raucous crowd. Raring to see the GOP front- runner.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have a little fun tonight. We're going to talk about some terrible things, but we'll have fun anyway.

MURRAY: For Donald Trump, it was another day on top of the polls. Trump taking the lead in Iowa, drawing 17 percent support in a new Suffolk University poll, five points ahead of his nearest rival, Scott Walker. In New Hampshire, Trump once again ahead of the pack, leading Jeb Bush by five points in the latest "Boston Herald"/Franklin Pierce University poll.

TRUMP: So what would Jeb Bush do? He'd probably say that's not a good thing. And if he ever said it strongly, which he wouldn't because there's no energy there. No energy. We need energy! We need tone! You know, tone.

MURRAY: So far, Trump's latest controversy appearing to leave him unscathed. Here in Michigan, his recent feud with FOX News anchor, Megyn Kelly, a non-issue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a professional woman. I'm a physician. And I believe that Trump will be very fair with women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people should thicken up their skin a little bit.

MURRAY: But Trump is still offering reassurances that he can win over women.

TRUMP: I cherish women. And I will be great on women's health issues, believe me.

MURRAY: And telling CNN's Chris Cuomo he has the record to prove it.

TRUMP: I have many women executives. And I've always had. You know, when I was back in the construction days, the big construction days, I had women in charge of big development.

CUOMO: Do you pay them what you pay the men?

TRUMP: So I was very, very pro-woman many years ago.

CUOMO: Do you pay the women at the top of your organization the same way you pay your men?

TRUMP: Yes, I do, absolutely.

CUOMO: Because that's what it comes down to.

TRUMP: Yes, it is.

CUOMO: It's not that everybody is equal. It's that you're equal when you deserve it.

TRUMP: You do that -- like I pay -- in many cases, I pay the women more. I mean, I have women that get paid a lot of money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now last night, Donald Trump was still light on policy specifics, although his campaign says they're coming. And while it was certainly a warm welcome here in Michigan, maybe not as warm as Trump assumed. At one point, he said there were 1,000 people outside waiting to get in. When we took a look outside, we saw just two people waiting.

Back to you, Chris.

CUOMO: Sounds about the right equation there. Sara Murray, thank you very much, out in Michigan on the hustings.

Joining us now is former Republican New Jersey governor, president of the Whitman Strategy Group, Christine Todd Whitman.

Governor, so good to have you here.

CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, PRESIDENT, WHITMAN STRATEGY GROUP: Good to be here.

CUOMO: And, you know, we need the perspective of people who've been in the game, been in service at a very high level on what we are seeing before our eyes right now.

You are in New Jersey. You are very familiar with Donald Trump. Did you ever think you would see him in the position he's in right now?

WHITMAN: No, not in my wildest dreams. I didn't imagine. You know, with Donald Trump, you can imagine anything. I mean, he will do, say, almost anything. And it's hard for -- if you're thinking things through logically to say that's where he's going to come out. But that's what he does. And Ii think that's part of his attraction. You never know what's going to happen next, what he's going to say next. And it's a phenomena that people find, I think, distracting in a time when there are a lot of people that are struggling, that are unsure what the future holds. And he's someone who's going to articulate some of the concerns that you have. But I'm not sure that they think he's presidential material at the end of the day.

CUOMO: What happened in this dust-up, post-debate, many suspected it would hurt him with women. We have new poll numbers out this morning. Doesn't seem to show that. Favorable/unfavorable with women unchanged pretty much, statistically. Why?

WHITMAN: Well, I think part of that is, he does pay women well. And look at who you're polling. I mean, so few of the Republicans that are being polled are really actually paying attention. If you look at those polls, how many are actively watching it?

[07:05:05] Right now, it's still this -- the fame factor. It's the name. It's the unusualness of the way he approaches a campaign.

You know, what's interesting to me is, I think a lot of women will say, "OK, he says some bad things." But as you pointed out in your earlier interview, what's important is how does he treat them on the job?

But the other side of that is women don't like whiners. And I think as much, with the dust-up over Kelly was, he's whining. I mean, come on. You're running for president. You're going to get tough questions.

CUOMO: He says he is a fine wine indeed, that he whines and whines until he wins. Do you believe that he could make whining a virtue? He could.

Whitman: If anyone could, he could.

CUOMO: Or do you think ultimately, it would hurt him?

Something else that is worthy of inspection. Carly Fiorina didn't just do well in the debate; she seems to have caught fire with voters in a significant way. People look at them. You understand all this so well. But you know, you look at them, you say, "Well, you know, how much do the numbers really hurt?" These are big shifts for somebody, given the fact that it's hard to get any attention right now. We've had Ms. Fiorina on the show several times on NEW DAY.

But what do you see in her? What do you want to see?

WHITMAN: Well, again, as someone who, she broke out at that -- in that poll, because she was willing to take things on.

And one of the knocks against women is, are they tough enough? A lot of people think, well, women are just not going to have the guts to do the job. They're not going to be strong enough in that position. When she was as forceful as she was in that debate, I think it made a lot of people sit up and say, "Hey, you know, this is a real person here, a leader, someone who could be a leader." Now obviously, she's going to have to go through all the scrutiny that any candidate will, all the things that Hewlett-Packard went -- you know, where she stands on those issues. It's a long way to go. I mean, we're so early in this process.

CUOMO: Over a year. Over a year. Tell us how you negotiate being a woman in power and taking on women's issues. If you don't hold all of the right types of positions, is there a different level of scrutiny for a woman in this kind of situation?

WHITMAN: Well, frankly, I've always said to people, tell me what a women's issues is. Women care about the budget. They usually do -- they're married and have children, they often do the household accounts. They care about the cost of life. They care about education for their children.

All those issues are women's issues. You have social issues that impact -- the ones we were discussing today, like abortion, impact women far more personally than men, obviously. And so those issues where you can get the differences. But overall, women care about the same issues men do.

CUOMO: They are running as many or more households as men in America today. Strong point.

The -- one of the surprises of the interview yesterday with Mr. Trump was that he did take a big step forward on abortion but also Planned Parenthood. He said, "Yes, I'm in favor of the carve-outs, just like Ronald Reagan," to try and make exceptions.

But, on Planned Parenthood, "Yes, I would look at it before I defunded. If they are helping with healthcare for women, I would keep funding those. Not a popular GOP position right now. Your take?

WHITMAN: it's a strong position for him to take. Because again, if you look at it, even with those women who are -- you're talking about women, just people in general, who are very strongly pro-choice, when you talk to them about the exemptions -- rape, incest, life, health of the mother -- you can start to peel down that -- peel away that onion and find areas of common ground.

When you look at Planned Parenthood overall, the amount of money that is spent on women's health and the fact that, in many of the states, particularly in the center of the country, they're really the only organizations that provide the ability for women to be planned parents. It's not having an abortion; it's making sure you have -- you're healthy, that you can bring a healthy child to term, if you do get pregnant, that you have access to mammograms and to pap tests, all the things that women need to maintain their health.

And then also that you're able to make a decision when you want to have a child. And they will help you with birth control. Other people who will object to that. But on the other hand, you don't want to see these unwanted pregnancies where children get tossed aside. That's as bad as anything.

CUOMO: We had Marco Rubio on. He obviously presents the extreme position on -- or just a consistent position on life all the way to conception, protected at every turn. The followers of that position very vociferous. The question is, How does it play when you get out of the primaries into the general election?

Governor, what a pleasure to get your perspective.

WHITMAN: Oh, thank you. The one thing I would say about women on this whole issue that really gets me upset is why do women suddenly stop becoming individuals when they get pregnant? These people who are so focused on the fetus.

And believe me, I have six grandsons. I have two children. I love life. I am not anti-life. I'm just pro-a woman's right to make decisions over her own body.

But I also think, why did I suddenly just become a vessel for delivering a child when I was pregnant? And what happens to me means nothing at all? And that's part of the discussion we need to have.

[07:10:05] CUOMO: A lot of this winds up becoming a matter of faith and not fact.

WHITMAN: It does.

CUOMO: We don't have scientific consensus on what viability is. We have one standard in Roe. We have another one in other federal laws. It's complicated, and often that winds up getting it (ph).

Governor, again, thank you so much.

WHITMAN: Thank you. CUOMO: We look forward to having you back on NEW DAY.

WHITMAN: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Some more news for you here. Police in St. Louis County, Missouri, have released surveillance video that they say shows a teen pulling a gun from his waistband just before officers shot him. Police say he fired on them. The incident happening as protesters marked the anniversary of Michael Brown's death.

Ryan Young is live in Ferguson, which we understand saw calmer nights of protest -- Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A much calmer night, Michaela. Of course, this was a lot of conversations about this, because there are rumors throughout the community whether or not Tyrone Harris actually had a weapon.

Now, this video has been shown, and police are pointing to this video, saying that you can clearly see the teen with a gun in his hand. Now, there was a conversation where these people were actually protesting or something else happened. We know throughout the community, people have said there was some sort of sale going on, and all of a sudden something went wrong, and then guns were pulled and shots were fired.

We can also see from a Facebook post, that police say this is Tyrone Harris holding up two guns. They believe this all connects him to this stolen gun that he had in his hand when officers felt like they had to fire at him, as he shot at the plainclothes officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYRONE HARRIS SR., HARRIS'S FATHER: From what I heard, he was there with some friends, and the friends had confrontation. And they started shooting at the friends. And he just happened to just be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tyrone was right next to them. And he was shooting back at them. And he had a gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: And Ana, look, there's been a lot of conversation throughout the community just about the violence that happened on Sunday. A lot of protesters pushing back, saying this had nothing to do with their peaceful protest. They're saying now this video helps show some of that. Of course, there will be a lot of conversation about whether or not this is Tyrone Harris. Of course, some people still have that question.

CABRERA: Ryan, all right. Ryan Young in Ferguson, Missouri, for us this morning. Thank you.

Turning now to Mississippi, where a young newlywed couple is facing federal charges for allegedly plotting to join ISIS. CNN's justice correspondent, Pamela Brown, is joining us now with the very latest -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ana.

This is a young newlywed couple from Mississippi who allegedly used their honeymoon as a cover-up to go to Syria and join ISIS before being arrested at the airport Saturday.

They were allegedly flying from Mississippi through the Netherlands and then on to Turkey. The man is 22-year-old Muhammad Dakhlalla and his wife, 20-year-old Jaelyn Young.

They first got the attention of the FBI back in May after allegedly making statements in support of ISIS on social media, and from there, they began corresponding with undercover FBI agents.

Now, from the outside, this was a seemingly normal couple. Young is the daughter of a Vicksburg, Mississippi, police officer. She was studying chemistry at Mississippi State University, and she recently converted to Islam, law enforcement officials say.

Her husband right here graduated from Mississippi State with a psychology degree and is the son of a local imam.

Now, in the complaint, one online conversation with Young, she boasted about how the two could help ISIS, saying, quote, "I am skilled in math and chemistry and worked at an analytical lab here at my college campus. My partner is very good with computer science and media. We learn very fast and would love to help."

In July, she also allegedly said on social media she supported the shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that killed four Marines.

The two were denied bail when they appeared before a judge in Mississippi yesterday.

Back to you.

PEREIRA: Very concerning, Pamela. Thank you for bringing that to us.

Breaking overnight, a hard landing for a U.S. military chopper that was carrying 17 crew members. That chopper was landing on a military ship some 20 miles east of Okinawa at the time of the accident. Six of those on board are said to be injured. The extent, at this time, is still unclear. Japan's coast guard received a rescue request from the U.S. Marine Corps camp in Okinawa around 2 a.m. Eastern Time.

CUOMO: Abuse allegations surfacing at an upstate New York prison where those two murderers escaped. An organization representing prisoners telling CNN it has received more than 60 complaints. They're coming from inmates at that Clinton Correctional. They claim officers beat them, placed them in solitary and stripped them of privileges in order to get information about the escape.

State corrections officers union denied the claims, and these accusations are being investigated. CABRERA: All right. Have a look at this, a massive sinkhole,

partially swallowing up a car in Rhode Island. The driver was in the car when the road started to cave in. and fortunately, there was a local police attendant who happened to be nearby and pulled the driver out of the car just in time.

Now, this road buckled, following a water main break. And there's also been a lot of rain in this region. Close call there.

CUOMO: All right. So Donald Trump says he whines, all right. In fact, he's a fine whine. He whines until he wins.

[07:15:00] So how did Trump evolve from business mogul to GOP front- runner to most fabulous whiner? We're going to dive into his background. It will surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Well, the first post-debate polls are out. Yes, you're going to need coffee for this one. The numbers show that Donald Trump's performance didn't hurt his lead. Our next guest says that the secret to Mr. Trump's continued popularity was on full display during that debate: killer instinct that drives him to do everything possible to win.

Gwenda Blair is an adjunct faculty member at the Columbia School of Journalism. A recent article for Politico was called, "Why Trump Survives." She's also the author of "Donald Trump: Master Apprentice."

So you've done a fair amount of research into the man. Good morning. Thanks for joining us.

GWENDA BLAIR, AUTHOR, "DONALD TRUMP: MASTER APPRENTICE": Good morning. Glad to be here.

PEREIRA: I want to read an excerpt, if you will indulge me, from your book. You say throughout his childhood, his father urged his three songs to be tough -- childhood friends remember the older man's injunction to be 'killers,' and Donald was his best pupil."

It should not be a surprise, you say, that Donald Trump has sort of this winner-takes-all killer attitude.

BLAIR: Not at all. He raised -- was raised in a family that was very successful. His grandfather was an immigrant to the U.S., went to the Klondike mine to miners, set up restaurants. His father made a fortune with federal mortgage guarantees under the New Deal in the '40s and the '50s. Donald was on a trajectory to success before he ever got started.

And he figured out that the new frontier, as it were, in the '70s was going to be Manhattan. It was going to be high-end real estate, and it was going to be branding. He was very early on with celebrity branding, and the sort of juggernaut that he has really established with his name. And what a lucky name is that, to be named Trump. The juggernaut that

he established with that is what has made him a presidential contender now.

CUOMO: He is different than his father, though. Tell us how.

BLAIR: Well, his father was -- built in the outer boroughs of Manhattan -- sorry, New York City, and was actually a kind of a modest guy, although his father also got the value of promotion. He had...

(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)

PEREIRA: Unfortunately, I think we've lost Gwenda. Gwen, are you able to hear us?

OK, looks like we're having some transmission -- OK, she's back now. Go ahead, finish answering our question.

BLAIR: I was saying that Donald's father got the value of promotion, actually, early on. But he, himself, was a fairly modest guy. Donald jumped right off the phone and off the screen as soon as he got into business himself.

PEREIRA: You talk about, in your book, that this book that some people may be familiar with, "The Power of Positive Thinking," ended up being kind of pivotal in the young man that Donald Trump was and has played a part in who he is today.

BLAIR: Well, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, a name that people might not be familiar with now, is a major figure in mid-20th Century America, wrote this bestseller book, "The Power of Positive Thinking," that really encouraged success. Said that's God's plan, to be successful. He had a kind of practical theology. And Donald's father was drawn to that. The family went to the Marble Collegiate Church, which was Norman Vincent Peale's church. And Donald drank that gospel in.

CUOMO: You know, it's interesting. I mean, you're obviously a student of Donald Trump. When you listen to him, after what Gwenda is telling you, you will pick up on so much self-help speak that comes out of him, whether it's -- people call it deflection, but really, it's his own type of affirmation about himself and what he says about why things will happen, because he thinks they will. And it's an interesting insight.

Gwenda, do we still have you? You there? Good. I mean, it's interesting. You say it, now people hear it.

BLAIR: Absolutely. He is self-confidence personified. Even someone who could make whining an asset.

PEREIRA: Why don't we play that little soundbite, actually? Because just to refresh people's memory from Chris's great interview with Donald, and we can hear about his take on whine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I am a whiner. And I'm a whiner, and I keep whining and whining until I win. And I'm going to win for the country, and I'm going to make our country great again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now the question is, whether or not he has a right to whine sometimes. Rand Paul talking about his kids, saying, "My kids work at Pizza Hut, or whatever. They do minimum-wage jobs. His kids never did."

Is that fair, first of all, to look at the kids at all, and second of all, to make that kind of analogy?

BLAIR: Donald, I'm not aware ever worked at Pizza Hut. He made commercials for Pizza Hut, again, brand extension. But he...

CUOMO: No, his kids.

BLAIR: ... did work in the summers for his dad.

CUOMO: No, his kids. Rand Paul talked about Donald's kids and saying that "My kids worked blue-collar jobs or whatever, you know, minimum- wage jobs, and his don't." Is that fair scrutiny?

BLAIR: Donald Trump's daughter worked on "Celebrity Apprentice," not quite the same. But he does have kids. He has a family. I think the idea is that you have kids and a family that support you and that you're involved with. That's what people like.

PEREIRA: Well, the big question is, can all of these personality traits and characteristics make him a world leader? That's what a lot of people are trying to measure right now.

Gwenda Blair, thanks so much for joining us today. It's been interesting to chat with you.

BLAIR: Thanks so much.

CUOMO: And now that she said it...

PEREIRA: You're going to watch it differently. Yes.

CUOMO: You will listen to Donald Trump and go, "Oh, I do hear these affirmations."

CABRERA: All right. Well, he is not the only person in the news this morning from the political realm. Hillary Clinton now handing over her private e-mail server as Bernie Sanders passes her in the latest New Hampshire poll. John King is going to take a deep dive into what this means for the campaign for the Democratic race in "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:28:52] CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. It is time for "Inside Politics" on NEW DAY with Mr. John King. Hashtag #feelthebern. And I don't mean my Jets season going up in smoke before it ever begins, but Bernie Sanders making a push.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: It's only the pre-season, my friend. You never know. Maybe this will be the Jets' year in some unorthodox...

CUOMO: You don't mean that.

KING: You never know. It's the year of the unorthodox. I rule nothing out this year.

Let's go "Inside Politics." With me this morning to share the reporting and their insights on a busy day, Molly Ball of "The Atlantic," Olivier Knox of Yahoo! News.

Let's start with six months later, Hillary Clinton decides to give the Justice Department her private e-mail server and a thumb drive with her e-mails on it. Remember the big news conference back in the United Nations almost six months ago. She said, "It will stay private." And now she's decided she has no choice. The FBI is investigating.

Now to be clear, she says none of the information that passed through that private server was classified at the time. The inspector general told Congress just yesterday some of it was top secret; later designated top secret. Where is this going? Is this just a "See, I did nothing wrong" or are we now in the land of the uncertain?

MOLLY BALL, "THE ATLANTIC": I think we're in the land of the uncertain. I mean, she's just been totally unable to put this story to rest. And I don't know how she or her people ever thought that they would be able to put it to rest without being totally forthcoming, especially given the preoccupation at today's session of the Republicans with this issue and the investigations.