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Trump Attacks Megyn Kelly On Twitter; British Train Hero Speaks Out; Slain Gun Instructor's Family Breaks Their Silence. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 25, 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] JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": OK, it's an issue and it may be an issue in California, but for Jeb Bush to be stuck in the quick sand. I am convinced anchor baby could become the self- support of 2016. Once Mitt Romney went there in the campaign four years ago, it was over with Latino voters.

ASHLEY PARKER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Right, I mean, it certainly was and here's the thing, Jeb Bush is a self-described policy wonk and a self-described nerd ball and so he wants to be talking about the policy and Trump has clearly gotten Jeb Bush and all the other Republicans off their game, and of course, this was some sort of make this about language and rhetoric.

And when you're trying to substitute one group -- with another group, he is now offended, you're simply not winning regardless if you have very good policy that a lot of immigration activists agree with as Jeb does.

KING: I think Mr. Trump is under the governor's skin, fair to say?

ROBERT COSTA, "THE WASHINGTON POST": He is. I spoke to Trump yesterday. He just continues to slam Bush. And he loves it. I said are you going to stop it ever? He said, probably not and on immigration especially this has put the Republican Party in a tough position. The base loves what Trump is saying on immigration. Whether it plays in a general election, who knows?

KING: Right, but the calendar has been changed, those southern states are going to be a lot more important this time.

COSTA: Even if you don't get a big bounce out of those early February caucuses and primaries, March 1st, nine states, south.

KING: You mentioned he says he may not stop going after Governor Bush, someone needs to help me understand why he thinks it's in his benefit, to his benefit to keep going after Megyn Kelly.

Megyn Kelly was on vacation. Donald Trump tweeting out last night at Megyn Kelly, "Must have had a terrible vacation. She is really off her game. Was afraid to confront Dr. Cornel West. No clue on immigration." That was about the "Kelly File" last night.

Later he tweets, "I like the "Kelly File" much better without Megyn Kelly. Maybe she could take another 11-day unscheduled vacation" so two sort of gratuitous shots at her there.

What I think is a bigger problem. He then again re-tweeted a tweet where somebody called her a bimbo. He did that right after the Fox debate when he had the confrontation with her and he does it again last night. No rules apply to Donald Trump, but I cannot see how that is in his interest.

PARKET: I was very stunned to see those tweets as well. Donald Trump is in a weird way a post Fox News candidate, a post everything candidate. The rules of traditional politics do not apply. You cannot go to war with Fox News. You try to get booked on all of their shows, right? And he's doing the exact opposite and crowd loves him for it.

COSTA: I was at a focus group last night of Trump supporters in Virginia and the one thing -- these were all Trump supporters, the one thing that really turned them off, Trump's comments about women. He should be paying attention to the voters. It's not acceptable if you're a presidential candidate.

KING: Interesting point. We'll see how this plays out. Betsy Klein sent out a note saying she was talking to a Trump supporter who said, as a parent, it makes me cringe, some of the stuff he puts out on Twitter. Ashley, Robert, thanks for coming in.

Alisyn, it's a very interesting. We'll see how the Jeb-Trump thing I think is going to be. We have that CNN debate coming up in just a few weeks. I think the Jeb-Trump thing is going to be the biggest head- butt.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The thing to watch. All right, we look forward to that debate, September 16th. John, thanks so much.

Next, we speak exclusively with Christopher Norman. He is the man who helped those three Americans bring down a terror suspect in France. He tells us his incredible story on board that train. He is next.

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[07:37:30]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Christopher Norman is one of four men awarded France's highest honor for bravery for his heroic role in stopping a potential massacre aboard that high speed train bound for Paris.

You're looking at him right now as he fights to smile in the sun in France. Mr. Norman, thank you so much for joining us. It is a pleasure and an honor.

CHRISTOPHER NORMAN, HERO WHO STOPPED FRENCH TRAIN ATTACK: Good morning, Chris.

CUOMO: What was it like to face President Hollande and get this honor? NORMAN: Well, frankly, I would never have believed it, that it was going to happen to me. It is a great honor to actually meet him. And when I actually met him, I found him quite a personable guy. We had an interesting discussion and I enjoyed it.

CUOMO: What was the discussion about?

NORMAN: It was about the role that citizens should play in fighting terrorism. What my position is and I think what we discussed is that the police and the law enforcement agencies can do what they can, but we can't have absolutely everything done by them for us.

I think as citizens we need to really move forward and we need to take some of the responsibility for it. Whether it's simply by being more vigilant or preparing yourself for action if ever you do find yourself in those situations.

We do need to think about how to do it. Now, you know, I'm not an expert in the area, but I think we need to try and work out how to harness the power of the citizens.

CUOMO: What was it like to meet the three Americans? Obviously it's a big deal for us back here in the U.S. to see what they did on the train, what kind of bond do you have with those young men now?

NORMAN: I think we've got a pretty strong bond. You know, I really spent more time with Alex and Anthony. We had a good couple of discussions. While they were making their statements to the police, there were no English speaking people there.

So I was also doing the translation of what they actually experienced as well. And I think we got a very good bond together. When we were actually in the action, we actually worked as a team. It was really very quick team work.

When I met Spencer afterwards -- I didn't meet Spencer after the event because he went straight to hospital. It was great to meet him actually at the ceremony.

[07:40:11] CUOMO: And the 51-year-old, the teacher who has dual citizenship, he got shot. Were you able to talk with him at all or check on him?

NORMAN: No. I wasn't able to. What I did do is I was very, very concerned for him because, as you know, he was losing a lot of blood as we came in. I'm very pleased to hear from the French authorities that he's going to pull through.

Really I think he should also be really thankful and also the first French guy who actually tackled the guy when he first came out of the toilet. He wasn't in the carriage when we actually brought him down, but he was the first guy that actually tackled him. I think a lot of people participated in making this happen.

CUOMO: How do you explain this man's resilience against these attacks? Somebody tackles him then he takes a pistol and shoots him, gets his rifle back. And the four of you take him down. How strong was he or was it about the number of weapons he had? What made it take so much action?

NORMAN: I don't know, to be honest, but one thing I did notice is that he was very, very sweaty and it was very difficult to get hold of him. Apart from that, you know, I think everybody was a bit shocked. And we didn't really know what we should be doing.

I think Alex probably had the clearest vision of what needed to be done. Spencer was the guy who took the biggest risks, but as a team we managed to get him together.

CUOMO: You have a great line that I want you to explain because it is hard for the rest of us to understand what it takes to get involved in something like that. The instinct is to hide, the instinct is to run. You said either you sit down and die or you stand up and die. What is that line mean to you and how did you act on it?

NORMAN: Well, when it first happened, I sat down and tried to hide. But I've run through this kind of scenario quite a few times in my head before this. I was discussing it with one of my friends a couple of weeks before.

He said you never know how you're going to react. I thought about it for quite some time and my position was that I'm not going to be the guy that just dies sitting down, trying to hide somewhere. You really need to be prepared for action.

And although, in the first instance I was readily -- how can I put it? I was really scared. In fact, I remained scared throughout most of the intervention. I decided that if you're going to die, at least try and do something about it and try to make a contribution to bringing him down, if that's what it turns out to be.

Also, I think there's a second very practical thing. In that particular situation, you're in a train traveling at 300 kilometers per hour. There's virtually no way out of it. The guy's sitting there I don't know how many magazines of bullets.

He's going to get you anyway. So get up there and try and stop it. It's probably a much better chance for you than just sitting there waiting to be hit.

CUOMO: Easy to say, tough to do. What was it inside you that let you do something that saved your life and so many others?

NORMAN: Well, I think first of all I was trying to work out how to act because I was about 15 meters away from him. What I had for my first reaction was to wait until he gets close enough so that I could least try to surprise him.

But then I heard Alex say to Spence, go get him, Spence. It's all a bit confused in my head now. That's what I think he said. I thought, OK, great, there are other guys involved as well. Let's go in as a team. CUOMO: So many lives saved because of the actions of you few men. I hope that means something to you today and go on forward. And I appreciate you being an example for the rest of us. Thank you, sir.

NORMAN: Thank you.

CUOMO: I hope to see you again. Take care -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: That's wonderful. Just so great to hear from him and see how well he's doing and how many lives were saved, Chris. Thanks.

Here's an interesting and controversial topic. Should children be allowed to train on automatic weapons? This is a question that was highly debated after the death of Charles Vacca.

He was killed as you may remember by a 9-year-old girl that he was helping on a gun range. Now his children are taking on gun safety and we will speak with them live about what we can all learn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We're the children of Charlie Vacca and it's time for a change. We think it's crazy that kids can legally shoot fully automatic weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: The adults haven't been able to keep people safe. So it's time for us to speak up because we have a voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Those are the children of Charles Vacca. That was a firearms instructor who was killed one year ago today by a 9-year-old girl he was teaching to shoot an Uzi at a gun range. Now his children are turning their pain into action.

With us this morning are Christopher and Elizabeth Vacca as well as the Vacca family attorney, Mark Lamber and James Goodnow. Welcome to all of you. It's nice to talk to you.

I have to tell you we cover a lot of tragedies here on cable news, but the story of what happened to your dad really affected us and really stuck with us because it seemed like a tragedy all around.

It's like a tragedy for everybody involved. Ellie, how have you processed what happened to your dad over this past year?

ELIZABETH VACCA, FATHER ACCIDENTALLY KILLED BY CHILD AT GUN RANGE: It's kind of hard to explain. When it first happened, it's kind of the initial shock. I just didn't want it to set in. But after a while you kind of have to realize that it did happen and it's not going to go away. So you kind of have to find a way to move on.

[07:50:08] CAMEROTA: Chris, one of the things that was so shocking to some of us was that a 9-year-old girl was allowed to handle an Uzi, a sub machine gun. We had never heard of that. But it is common place around the country. Is that something that you dad talked about? Did you know that kids were able to shoot machine guns where he worked?

CHRIS VACCA, FATHER ACCIDENTALLY KILLED BY CHILD AT GUN RANGE: It's not that I didn't know, but it's more like I never even thought about it like none of us had.

CAMEROTA: He was a firearms instructor. Had he taught you about gun safety? Had he let you both handle guns?

ELIZABETH VACCA: Well, when we were younger he did go over like safety procedures with us like instructions, how to be safe with guns, but he never let us fire them because we were like too young.

CAMEROTA: It was so heartbreaking for you guys. We thought of you guys losing your dad and we thought of the 9-year-old and what her life would be like and what her future looked like. Have you ever made contact with that 9-year-old or met her or spoken to her?

CHRIS VACCA: Actually, we tried to. We put out a video of us. We wrote a letter to her and we didn't mail it. We couldn't, but we put out a video of us reading the letter.

CAMEROTA: What did you say in the letter?

CHRIS VACCA: It was more like saying that we forgive her for what happened because we didn't blame her. We never have.

CAMEROTA: That's so generous. I mean, I know that you said in the letter that you know that her heart was broken also and that you all were grieving together. That's a really generous position that you all took. But you've never been able to speak to her?

ELIZABETH VACCA: Not yet, but hopefully we will. Because I think it's really important in the moving on and healing process that we get to meet her and see what kind of person she is. It's a lot easier to not like someone when you don't know them.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. So what have you learned over this past year about children handling guns at gun ranges and how common place it is, Ellie?

ELIZABETH VACCA: Well, when I was younger, I was never allowed to handle guns, but I have realized that it's a lot more common than you think. Small children even smaller than Christopher are allowed to handle automatic weapons like military personnel are trained for weeks to handle. And kids are allowed to use them after a couple minutes of instruction.

CAMEROTA: Such as an Uzi, a machine gun that ended up killing your dad. So what are you here today to announce? What are you both trying to do?

ELIZABETH VACCA: We're putting out an online petition that we want people to go online and sign if they agree with us that small children should not be allowed to shoot automatic weapons. CAMEROTA: And Chris, what do you think the chances are? I mean, from what you've learned over the past year, people are pretty attached to be able to go shoot at gun ranges.

CHRIS VACCA: Well, the hope is that we can get enough people to sign it to be able to change the law.

CAMEROTA: James, what's the likelihood? Other states have tried to pass laws and particularly after what happened to their dad, there was a lot of outcry about how kids should not be able to handle firearms. But that never went anywhere.

JAMES GOODNOW, ATTORNEY FOR VACCA CHILDREN: It didn't. In 2008 there was a young boy who lost his own life while shooting an Uzi in Massachusetts. His home state of Connecticut passed a law banning children from using machine guns.

But you're right there have been a handful of states that have tried. None have been successful so far, but we believe that if you look at what happened to these kids, if you look at what most of America says, 90 percent of America after this incident said that kids shouldn't be firing machine guns. We think that with this effort, we have a chance to change the laws and save lives.

CAMEROTA: Mark, you know how powerful the NRA is and you know that there are a lot of people who say that kids do need to go to gun ranges, kids do need to learn firearms -- how to handle them safely and that there are all sorts of kids who are responsible enough to shoot weapons.

MARK LAMBER, ATTORNEY FOR VACCA CHILDREN: We're drawing a line. This is not about firearms. This is about machine guns. We think it's a matter of common sense that 8 and 9-year-olds shouldn't be firing automatic weapons or Uzis.

CAMEROTA: The law is just about machine guns?

LAMBER: Correct.

CAMEROTA: How are you guys doing on the anniversary? And how are your brother and sister doing?

ELIZABETH VACCA: It's kind of hard not being home. I believe it's going to be hard for everyone especially on the year, the date, the reminder that you're never going to see your dad again. It's kind of hard to think about.

CAMEROTA: I'm sure it is. And what do you want everyone to know at home who's watching about what you're trying to do now?

CHRIS VACCA: It's for a good cause.

CAMEROTA: Because you think people will be able to stay safer?

CHRIS VACCA: Yes. [07:55:04] CAMEROTA: Well, we have the web site up that we will show. I will also tweet it out. It is really nice to meet you. You guys are just special kid and to be able to turn your pain into trying to prevent other families from going through it is really powerful. Thanks so much for being with us.

ELIZABETH VACCA: Thanks for having us.

CAMEROTA: Sure. We want to check back in with you as you go through this project. Thanks so much. Let's go over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, sometimes kids make the most sense.

We're about 90 minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. What's going to happen? The futures are so high but investors are still dizzy from the Dow's free fall and bounce back Monday? Some of the steepest numbers we've ever seen. What to expect and why, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All eyes on the stock market this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investors are in panic mode.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's still more to fall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will Joe Biden run for the White House?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He really does want to be president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama weighing in, giving Joe Biden the green light.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will be a panic move for the Democrats. Hillary's numbers are bad.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Excuse me. I'll use the word anchor baby.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's more related to Asian people taking advantage of birthright citizenship.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The other candidates are just trump without the pizazz or the hair.