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New Day

Donald Trump Criticizes Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina; Japan Experiences Heavy Rains; Refugee Crisis Continues in Serbia and Hungary; Interview with George Pataki. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 10, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:00:00] DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm leading with all of the evangelicals. Ben Carson, you look at his faith and I think you're not going to find so much. Carly Fiorina has had a terrible past.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: A new CNN/ORC poll shows Trump widening his lead over the entire field.

CARLY FIORINA, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Maybe, just maybe I'm getting under his skin a little bit because I am climbing in the polls.

BEN CARSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Humility and the fear of the lord, I don't get that impression with him.

TRUMP: We need a strong immigration plan. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't understand it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Texas prosecutors are weighing criminal charges against two high school football players. The players also allege racial slurs against them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: All right, good morning. It is Thursday, September 10th, 8:00 in the East. Donald Trump pulling no punches, clearly aware which Republicans could pose a threat to him in the polls. Speaking to us moments ago Mr. Trump basically went after Ben Carson for going after him and said he's going to talk about my faith, I'll talk about him as a doctor, I'll talk about him as a politician, and I question his faith.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Trump's latest comments come as a new CNN/ORC poll this morning shows Trump widening his field over the GOP field. He has the backing of 32 percent of GOP voters. This is the biggest number in any national poll to date. So let's get all the latest from CNN's Athena Jones in Washington. Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. This is a really big deal. I mean, political analysts have been saying all summer that Trump was going to fade. And so far it hasn't happened. His lead is growing. Let's put up those numbers again. I think we can compare them to our poll last month. And it shows he's gained eight points since August in that poll. Carson in second place is up 10 points. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush has lost four points. So this Trump fade that we're supposed to see coming clearly isn't coming yet.

Another interesting finding in our poll, I believe we can put it up on the screen, Trump's support among women has been growing. And when asked -- women Republican voters were asked who you think is likely to win the GOP nomination, 37 percent said Trump was likely to win. Bush comes in second there. Carson comes in at nine percent.

And one thing to add to that, Trump has gained 13 points. When you ask Republican women voters who they support, Trump is on the rise there. But in that interview you guys just had with him, he responded to the second place finisher Ben Carson's comments just yesterday questioning whether Trump shows humility and fear of God, really questioning him on his religion. Trump said, who is Carson to question my faith? Take a listen to what else he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He was quoting on humility, and it looked like he had just memorized it about two minutes before he made the quote. So go back and look at his views on abortion and see what he says. You talk about abortion, I mean, go back and look at he views on abortion. Now all of a sudden he gets on very low key. I mean, frankly he makes Bush look like the energizer bunny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so there you have it. Trump has been focusing really on Jeb Bush and now he's turning his fire to Ben Carson. It's getting heated on several sides now. Chris?

CUOMO: In fairness to Mr. Trump, Ben Carson did talk about his faith. And talking about people's faith is not something you usually hear in politics. Athena thank you very much.

There's no question that Trump has the momentum on his side. Who could be if he gets the ticket, who could be his opponent is Hillary Clinton who does not have the momentum. Looking at a new poll on that side, Quinnipiac has very good news for Senator Bernie Sanders. He's pulling to a statistical dead heat with Hillary Clinton in Iowa, not New Hampshire, Iowa, after already taking a big lead in New Hampshire. So what does this mean about the state of play on the Democrat side? CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny has more on that. What do you see, my friend?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR Washington CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Chris. I mean, the Democratic side, it's hard to compete with the drama on the Republican side in that great interview you just had. But I can tell you the summer of Sanders looks like it has some staying power. For the first time a new poll out this morning finds that Senator Bernie Sanders is closing the gap in Iowa with Hillary Clinton. He's actually running about even with her.

Let's take a look at these numbers. A new Quinnipiac poll shows that Sanders is now at 41 percent with Clinton at only 40 percent. That's effectively a tie when you consider the margin of error. But it's a considerable change from only two months ago when Clinton was leading by 19 points. Now this marks the second state in a row where Sanders is over taking Clinton. A poll in New Hampshire this week shows that Sanders is leading her by nine points, 41-32.

But if you dig a little bit deep into these numbers you get a sense of why this is happening. On honesty and trustworthiness, Vice President Joe Biden is at 91 percent, Senator Sanders is at 86 percent, and Clinton is significantly lower at 64 percent.

[08:05:05] Another reason, a large gender gap, Sanders up 21 points among men, Clinton among women up by 14 points. But favorability, take a look at this, always a key measure, Clinton is at 76 percent, down nine points since July, but still has a pretty strong favorability among Democrats, coming in just under Sanders and Biden.

She still holds considerable advantages, Secretary Clinton does, but this poll is a fresh reminder of her challenges in Iowa. Just a couple of minutes ago a top Democrat e-mailed me and said this poll surely gives Joe Biden more reason to jump in if he decides to do that. And, Alisyn, we'll find out that decision, I'm told, still in early October.

CAMEROTA: OK, good to know, Jeff. Thank you so much for all that.

Let's bring in now a new face on NEW DAY but an old face to many of us, and that is political analyst Bob Beckel. Hey, Bob, great to see you.

BOB BECKEL, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Alisyn, how are you?

CAMEROTA: I'm well. It's great to see you on my mega-screen here at CNN.

BECKEL: It is. It's great to see Trump too. So rare to see him around.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: I'm sensing sarcasm, Bob. What did you think of the interview that he just did with Chris?

BECKEL: Well, I thought Chris did a good job. But, look, has he said anything? That's the most amazing thing about Trump is he attacks and then he changes it. You know what he did with McCain. Remember he said McCain wasn't a hero, and then all of a sudden he had a revision on that. He did the same thing with Megyn Kelly.

This is a guy that reinvents a story, and because he dominates so much of the oxygen in the political room, nobody else can move. Has anybody heard anything from Jim Gilmore, or, you know, anybody down the line? Unless you attack Trump, which is dangerous, you can't get any air. And so Trump has been able to do this by being bombastic, and quite good and quite successful at doing that. But --

CAMEROTA: It's interesting that you say that unless you attack Trump, you don't get any attention. That's exactly what Ben Carson did. I don't know if it was an attack, but he did suggest, he questioned Donald Trump's faith. He suggested it was sort of newfound faith. Well, just this morning Donald Trump went after Ben Carson for that. So listen to this, Bob Beckel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Ben Carson, you look at his faith and I think you're not going to find so much. And you look at his views on abortion, which were horrendous. And that's I think why I'm leading with all of the evangelicals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: There you go, Bob. He's leading with evangelicals.

BECKEL: He's leading with everybody. When he says he's leading with African-Americans and Hispanics, and he wants to build a 12-foot wall around Mexico, I'm going to be the first guy to invest in 13-foot ladders. This guy has got a lot of ideas, but he can't tell you exactly what he's going to do.

I think the most amazing thing he said was he's going to get the Americans released from Iran before he was inaugurated president. How are you going to do that? Are you going to invade? So he has not been pressed very hard. And I think that is not his fault. It's the fault of everybody who is against him.

Every time somebody comes out and attacks him he comes right back. He took on Jeb Bush when Jeb Bush was in second place. Now Carson is in second place. And I guarantee you the next person in second place is going to get the Donald Trump treatment too. But they guy is the Barnum and Bailey of this century. He knows how to market himself. He knows how to get the Trump name out. And he is a guy that overpowers people. And he is not challenged. And that's one of the problem. On the debate stage you don't have much room.

CAMEROTA: Bob, you're dismissing him as a showman, Barnum and Bailey. But new polls do suggest that a majority of GOP voters do believe he will be their nominee. Do you believe he can be the nominee?

BECKEL: That to me is the most stunning part of this, that actually a majority of people in the GOP believe this guy could get the nomination is both a testament to him -- but I'm not taking anything away from Donald Trump. He's come a long way in a short period of time. But the fact that Republicans actually believe this guy is going to get the nomination, he's going to have to get down and start answering some of these questions. The closer you get to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries, the questions are going to get tougher. And he's going to have to answer. And the press is not going to be able to let him get away with it. So far he's used you guys as a foil. He's great.

CAMEROTA: But hold on, Bob. Chris holds his feet to the fire. Chris pressed him on every single thing. You know, Donald Trump has a way of saying I'll figure it out or trust me on this. But it's not for lack of pressing.

BECKEL: No, no. I mean, Chris pressed, but did he get an answer from Trump that made any substantive sense at all? No. That's one of the things he does, he deflects. He's a deflector. He's got a great advantage. He's an offensive candidate. Hillary Clinton is a defensive candidate. She's been on the defense from going back to Whitewater.

[08:10:00] If you think about it, she's constantly got herself in trouble over one thing or another or another. And that's playing defense. And in presidential politics that's a tough place to be. Trump doesn't know the word "defense." He just knows how to go on offense, and he does it very well.

CAMEROTA: Bob, I want to ask you one more thing about Carly Fiorina. Donald Trump is quoted in "Rolling Stone" is out now, he's on the cover, and he talked about Carly Fiorina. He said "Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that the face of our next president?" When Chris asked her about that, he claimed he was talking about her persona and her record as a businesswoman. Is it OK with voters that he talks about women's looks like that?

BECKEL: First of all, he changed his story. I mean, he said he looking at her persona. That's not what he was talking about. It was obvious he was staying she was too ugly to be president, whatever that means. But he gets away with it again. I don't take anything away from the interviews. Chris did a good interview with him. But, again, this guy knows how to slip and slide and get around and then recreate a story. But this is the summer. And he's going to have to get into some serious campaigning and some serious questions. And then I think it's going to be a little bit more difficult for him.

CAMEROTA: Bob Beckel, great to see you on "new day."

BECKEL: You too.

CAMEROTA: Thank you. All the candidates will be everywhere on CNN today. Bernie Sanders will be with Wolf Blitzer at 1:00. Jeb Bush speaks to Jake Tapper on "THE LEAD" at 4:00 p.m. Stay tuned for all of that. Also be sure to watch the big Republican debate right here on CNN. It is Wednesday night, September 16th, 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. eastern. And tonight you can tune into "AC 360" and find out which candidates will be on the main debate stage. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news at this hour. Desperate rescue attempts are underway during an unprecedented downpour in Japan, look at your screen, causing violent flooding, forcing 100,000 people to evacuate. Will Ripley is in Tokyo for us with the very latest on things there. Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Almost two feet of rain since Monday even, that's what we're seeing in parts of Japan and that's why you have this tremendous flooding situation unfolding right now along the Kitagawa River north of Tokyo. The people living in this area have had to deal with heavy rains ongoing for the better part of the month. But when this typhoon moved through, dumping so much water in such a short amount of time, it really took a lot of residents there by surprise. And in fact they say it rose so quickly some didn't even have time to get out of their homes. They had to go upstairs to their balconies or to their rooftops. Drivers were stranded in their cars. There were even people that we saw clinging onto to light polls waiting for Japanese military helicopters to come to their rescue.

And it's still unclear right now how many other people may be trapped inside buildings waiting to be rescued, perhaps people like senior citizens who couldn't move quickly, or perhaps were not able to call for help. So that effort to save those folks continues even as it is now nighttime here, of course complicating a situation when in a water emergency time is of the essence.

Also in nearby Fukushima prefecture, another situation we're watching very closely, contaminated water did leak out of the power plant for some three hours during this heavy rain event. The power provider says it has contained the leak and radiation levels for now. But it just goes to show the impact of this heavy rainfall with more rain in the forecast for Japan. Back to you.

PEREIRA: All right, Will saying there is more rain coming. That's why we're covering that situation. So you stay connected to the need.

There is another situation in the world that you very much must be paying attention to because the need is so great, Europe and the crisis there of migrants and refugees. Hungary planning to send soldiers to back police at the Serbian border. Let's get to CNN's senior international Republican Arwa Damon at the Serbian-Hungarian border with the very latest. This was the concern, Arwa, when you were running through that cornfield with these people.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And if the situation could be made any worse, it actually just has been because of the weather conditions. I mean, just take a look at the scene here. People keep on coming. Some of them have managed to get their hands on ponchos that are being handed out, but most of them at the mercy of the elements, including the children.

These are people who have just arrived, just walked along the train tracks from Serbia into Hungary. This effort that you see right here, and they are being given food at this tent, this is all voluntary. This is not an organized effort by any sort of big international NGO. UNHRC was supposed to be building a shelter at this location. That still has not happened.

And what this really underscores here is not just the misery of the conditions that these people are having to survive in, because, remember, there are thousands on this route right now as we speak having to find shelter under the trees out in the open.

[08:15:07] They can't really go into hotels along this route. But this really underscores just how critical it is at this stage not just for Europe to try to figure out how it's going to be distributing the responsibility as to who gets how many refugees. But also at these key transit areas, there has to be an effort taking place right now, Alisyn, to provide shelter and at least ease a little bit of the difficulty of these conditions.

CAMEROTA: Arwa, just -- thank you for showing us just how stark the situation is there. We will check back with you.

"Domestic terrorism", that's what the public safety in Arizona is calling a series of shootings on a business Phoenix highway.

CNN's Sara Sidner is live in Phoenix with the latest developments.

What's going on there, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, someone is taking aim at drivers here on Interstate 10. We're standing just above the Interstate. This is a main artery. It's not as though people can avoid this particular roadway.

And so, there's a lot of concern on drivers. All along the freeway there are signs saying if you see anything, call this hotline because of the I-10 shooter.

What we do know from police, though, is that they're not sure if all of those cars that have been hit, ten cars in 11 days, either hit by projectiles or hit bullets. The Department of Public Safety is imploring people to help out and make these calls if they see anything suspicious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. FRANK MILSTEAD, DIRECTOR, ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Somebody is very aware of who this is and just out of humanistic instincts, I mean, you've got a call and come forward. There should be no benevolence for this person or apathy. This is a cold-blooded crime. This person's a coward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And so far, there has been one person injured, a 13- year-old hit by glass after her windshield in the car she was sitting in actually exploded. She got hit by a bit of glass, cut in the ear. There is great concern that this could not just lead to injury but someone being killed. Lots of folks out, looking and trying to figure who is responsible for this -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Frightening situation there. Thanks for bringing us up to date on it, Sara.

We turn now to something much lighter, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert duking it out for the best presidential punch line.

In case you were asleep, here's some of the biggest late night laugh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, COMEDIAN: Hillary Clinton's campaign is trying to put the whole e-mail scandal behind her. They said they want to start bringing humor and spontaneity to her campaign. Nothing says spontaneity like announcing you're about to be spontaneous.

In an interview yesterday, Brady said that Donald Trump occasionally calls him to give him motivational speech. In related news, I think we know the real reason Tom Brady destroyed his cell phone. Stop calling me!

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: One of the most important factors in a successful campaign is the online merchandise store where you can buy candidate themed mugs, t-shirts and trucker caps. Lots of great ideas for everyone you know named Rand. Who could resist this actual item available on Jeb Bush's Web site, a guacamole bowl called the Guaca Bowle.

Sure, it doesn't say Jeb on it, but would you put your name on a $75 bowl that normally sells for $9?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: That's great.

CUOMO: I don't get it. Why would you sell that on the Jeb site?

CAMEROTA: Because he's bilingual and likes guacamole? I don't know.

PEREIRA: That is a very interesting item to be found.

CUOMO: Pretty funny.

PEREIRA: I know, pretty good.

CUOMO: I think he won.

CAMEROTA: I think you know what you're getting for Christmas.

CUOMO: Don't get me that $8 one. At least pay up.

All right. So, a new CNN/ORC poll says that the GOP and independent voters want someone different -- Donald Trump at the top, Ben Carson behind him. Together, over 50 percent of respondents say that's who they want. But other Republican presidential hopefuls are struggling to get momentum.

So, we'd got to look at it that way. We're going to talk to George Pataki, former three-term New York governor, governor during 9/11. What's going on in this race?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:21] CUOMO: All right. Fresh baked out of the even new poll numbers. A CNN national poll shows Donald Trump, big lead, over 30 percent support among Republican and independent voters growing. Ben Carson in second. You take those two guys together and add in Carly Fiorina, you have well over 50 percent of the respondents saying they want somebody different than anybody else who's been there.

Now, look at the rest of the field. Big names, impressive pedigrees, governors of major states, Chris Christie.

But even much better than that because that's New Jersey, you have New York Governor George Pataki, three-term governor, presidential candidate, was governor during 9/11, joins us here on NEW DAY once again.

Good to have you, Gov.

When you look at the poll numbers, OK, how do you explain to yourself -- forget about Trump all by himself. Trump Carson, Fiorina low, but starting to come up, their dominance over the rest of the field, why?

GEORGE PATAKI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think right now, it's all theater. It's still the summer. It's late summer but it's still the summer.

You look at the top two. Neither one of them has held public office. They're engaged in a little feud right now, which is also good theater.

But I think come this fall, people are going to want government. They're going to someone want someone who can actually lead this country. And you look at this poll, there are two in double digits, only two out of this massive field, and that's Carson and Trump, the two nonpoliticians. I think that will change.

CUOMO: How do you get the momentum they have? How do you get the voters to say, all right. I'm going to -- I will stop looking at them?

PATAKI: Chris, I think by offering solutions. I'm an optimist. You know, people look at the future and throw up their hands and say, my God, we're in real trouble.

[08:25:02] I don't see that. I think it's a failure of leadership and with the right leadership that brings us together. We can solve everything from our lack of good job creation, to our security issues, to what we do with immigration. These are not insolvable problems. It's just the absence of leadership.

CUOMO: When you look at a situation where you have Carson now and Trump talking about each other's faith, when you see Trump saying things he said about woman, can you imagine yourself saying that about Carly Fiorina?

PATAKI: Not at all. I can't imagine saying that about anyone.

And I think -- it really -- to me, Donald Trump is all about theater, it's about insulting people who disagree with you or who might be in your way politically. That is not leadership, that is presidential and he is not going to be the nominee of the Republican Party.

He will not be the nominee. It will be someone else. I hope it's me. I hope it's someone who has a solution-based approach that brings Americans together.

CUOMO: But what changes, Governor? I mean, when you look at it, every time it seems that he's done something that would be unforgivable, he gets not only forgiven, but rewarded.

PATAKI: It's still a reality show in people's minds. It's still far away.

The first primary, the first caucus is still five or six months away. After things calm down, the summer goes by, people start looking at, all right, who would actually lead this country, who do I trust to bring people together and solve problems? I'm hopeful they look at me, but I'm sure it's going to be Trump.

CUOMO: So, we talked to him about the issues, the Iran nuclear deal, he says it's the worst thing ever. They didn't read "The Art the Deal", otherwise they wouldn't have made this deal. That's what he says.

Everybody at the table was unsatisfied with the deal. That's often the nature of compromise. The more people who study it, even Colin Powell is coming out and saying this is better than the alternative, there is no better alternative right now.

How do you see it?

PATAKI: I totally disagree. I think this is not even a deal. It is so one sided.

What do we get? We get nothing except a commitment on papers that largely unverifiable that Iran will not build a nuclear weapon for maybe 10 years, maybe 15 years. They get $150 billion that we know will be used to engage in terrorist activities against our friends and against us.

When have we ever provided this massive economic relief to an economy of America. And if anyone thinks Iran is not our enemy doesn't follow the news.

CUOMO: Well, let's assume that everybody knows that Iran is doing things that are antithetical, if not inimical to the U.S. way of doing things.

But, you know all this --

PATAKI: That's the basic civilized ways.

CUOMO: No question about it. But the question is this, them getting a big stimulus. The $150 billion, as you know, is their money. They're getting it back. You're letting go of the sanctions -- Russia, China, India, big players that don't listen to the U.S. whenever we want them to are saying we want to do business with them. The European community did not have the resolve to continue the pressure.

Where is this confidence that we could have gotten a better deal?

PATAKI: We didn't need a different deal. We already had U.N. resolutions imposing global sanctions on Iran and they were working. We already had agreements saying that Iran could have no nuclear program at all. No ballistic missile program.

CUOMO: We had no way to check.

PATAKI: We are giving that away.

CUOMO: We had no way to check.

PATAKI: Yes, we did. They were obligated to let the IAEA investigate. They refused to do it. They broke their agreement.

Now, we're supposed to believe they're going to abide by the agreement. This makes no sense to me, Chris. I think this is a disaster for the Middle East. I think it really is a harbinger to a greater confrontation with the leading sponsor of state terror, Iran.

And I think we should do everything in power to stop it.

CUOMO: Culture question, if one of your clerks said, I'm not going to allow these gay marriages, and even though the Supreme Court said what it's going to say. And forget about the confusion between people not understanding the Supreme Court is the law of the land. What would you have done?

PATAKI: I would have fired her. No question about it. When you take an oath to go into public office that you're going to uphold the laws and enforce the laws. And it's not the laws you agree with, it's not the laws that you don't have an objection to. It is all the laws, and I think what has happened in Kentucky is simply wrong. I don't think she should have been put in jail.

But to stand up there and say I'm going to refuse to perform my duty because I disagree with the law, suppose it was a Muslim who didn't want to do it with gays? Would we see all this massive outpouring of someone saying Sharia law doesn't allow me to provide for a gay wedding or gay marriage certificate? You have to obey the law. You cannot have sanctuary cities. You cannot have a clerk who refused to follow the Supreme Court.

CUOMO: Governor George Pataki, you're always welcome here on NEW DAY, as the campaign continues to discuss what matters to the people.

PATAKI: Thank you, Chris. Good to be on.

CUOMO: Pleasure.

You can watch two more candidates on today. You had Donald Trump. You had Governor George Pataki. You'll have Senator Bernie Sanders feeling the Bern with Wolf Blitzer at 1:00. And Jeb, yes, I'm saying it again, Jeb "I'm better looking than my brother" Bush will be with Jake tapper on "THE LEAD" at 4:00 p.m.

And also, remember, the next big test is the next big Republican debate. It's right here on CNN, Wednesday, September 16, 6:00 and 8:00 Eastern.