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Unfavorability in Iowa: Trump 35%, Carson 6%; Clinton Plunging in the Polls; Biden: 'I'd Be Lying if I Said I Knew I Was There'; U.S. to Accept at Least 10,000 Syrian Refugees; Dozens of Refugees on Rafts Spill Into Greece; Former Congressman Opens Up about Drug Conviction. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 11, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ben Carson leads Trump on that point by nearly 20 points. Take a look: 79 percent for Carson compared to just -- to 60 percent for Trump. That number for Trump is still high. But his unfavorable numbers are also much, much higher than Carson's there at 35 percent.

[07:00:17] So this is the state of play as we head into CNNs Republican debate on Wednesday.

Now take a look at the top tier candidates who will be appearing on the primetime debate stage. Where they'll be on that stage is based on their poll standings. You have, in order, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich and Chris Christie.

Trump gets center stage because he's the frontrunner. And Fiorina is the new addition here. She surged in the polls after her impressive performance in that first second-tier debate on FOX last month.

And as for the second-tier debate, the so-called happy hour debate on CNN, that's going to be George Pataki, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal and Lindsey Graham. Perry is going to holding down center stage there.

And we've been talking about the insults that Donald Trump has been hurling at several of his rivals. Take a listen to what Jeb Bush had to say about that in an interview with Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't see how, over the long haul, that you can insult your way to the nomination or the presidency. Certainly not the presidency and not the nomination, either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: We'll see about that. I mean, you have Bush essentially saying to Trump, "The president is the commander in chief, not the insulter in chief." I still have a feeling that this is not the end of the insults we're going to hear from the leader of the GOP pack -- Chris. CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's working. Now the question is, does it continue to? Athena, thank you very much.

Now, there's no question that there's no better way to measure these men and women than watching them face off under questioning. So now that the stage is set, literally, mark your calendars and make sure to watch the CNN Republican debate, this Wednesday, September 16. The first round is called happy hour round. That's at 6 p.m. Eastern. You've got a bunch of governors in there, so it's going to be formidable. And then at 8, the main event, when 11 candidates take to their podiums -- Mick.

PEREIRA: All right. Hillary Clinton's poll numbers, meanwhile, continue to free fall. In the latest CNN/ORC poll, her lead over Bernie Sanders has slipped to ten points. And her advantage over the top Republican candidates has seemingly vanished. Meanwhile, her potential Democratic rival Joe Biden casting some doubt on his own readiness to run.

Let's bring in senior White -- Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. Sorry about tripping up on that.

Jeff, good morning to you once again.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Michaela.

You're right: our new poll shows even more challenges for Hillary Clinton. Let's take a look at these numbers. Thirty-seven percent of Democrats now say she's their choice for president. That's down from 47 percent just one month ago in August.

Now, Bernie Sanders is ten points behind at 27 percent, and support for Joe Biden has climbed to 20 percent.

Why is this all happening? Look at this. The enthusiasm numbers. This is perhaps the most striking number of all. Forty-three percent of Democrats in our new poll say they're enthusiastic about her candidacy. Not bad, but it's down from 60 percent when she jumped in, in April. This puts her right in line with Joe Biden, 37 percent, and Bernie Sanders.

Now, while these numbers are hardly what Clinton expected heading into the fall, here's a bit of a reality check. There just aren't that many options. A wide majority of Democrats still believe she will win the nomination. Sixty-five percent say they do. Now, that's down 78 percent in July. But she's still head and shoulders above Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders when Democrats think ahead to they believe who will actually win this race.

But guys, we got another window into Vice President Biden's thinking last night as he appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: Look, I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, No. 1, they know exactly why they would want to be president; and two, they can look at the folks out there and, "I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy and my passion to do this."

And -- and I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Now of course, he's expressing doubt about his emotional ability to run as he and his family still grieve the loss of his son, Beau. It's very raw and real for him as he explained a little bit more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I went out to Denver, and I landed at a military base. And I met a whole group of military families. All of us -- and it was going great. And guy in the back yells, "Major Beau Biden, Bronze Star, sir, served with him in Iraq." And all of a sudden, I lost it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So there is Joe Biden in his most authentic way, speaking at all. It's one of the things that people like so much about him.

[07:05:09] But look, Biden supporters know the clock is ticking for him to make a decision. His advisers are still putting together a plan. He's having meetings in case he decides to run. But Alisyn, when you hear the words directly from his mouth, it's hard to imagine whether he would still be able to jump in. We'll find out in early October.

CAMEROTA: That is really poignant stuff, Jeff. Thanks so much for playing it.

All right. Let's talk about the GOP side. Because yesterday, Dr. Ben Carson and his opponent, Donald Trump, spent much of the day sort of trading barbs. So let's bring in Dr. Ben Carson's business manager and close friend, Armstrong Williams, to talk about this.

Good morning, Armstrong.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, DR. BEN CARSON'S BUSINESS MANAGER: Good morning. How are you?

CAMEROTA: I'm well. Yesterday Donald Trump and Ben Carson seemed to question each other's faith, among other things. Let me play for you, and the viewers, the thing that Dr. Carson said that seemed to set off Donald Trump to begin with. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I realize where my success has come from. And I don't, in any way, deny my faith in God. And I think that probably is a big differentiation.

You know, one of my favorite Bible verses, Proverbs 22:4. It says, "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor in life." And that's a very big part of who I am. Humility and the fear of the Lord. I don't get that impression with him. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't get that impression.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Armstrong, I mean he seemed to be suggesting that Donald Trump is not a beacon of humility.

WILLIAMS: Well, the good news is, that did happen to take place. Dr. Carson in no way intended to malign or question Mr. Trump's faith. And he did apologize for it and lessons learned. You know, sometimes you say things, and you don't always know how it's going to be interpreted. But...

CAMEROTA: So meaning that Dr. Carson does now think it was a mistake to question Donald Trump's humility and faith?

WILLIAMS: Mistake is not the right term. It's just that you should never question someone's faith. There always are better ways to say things, and he just realized it did not come out the right way.

CAMEROTA: OK. Well, that set off Donald Trump. And he then questioned Dr. Carson's faith. And he did that -- Chris questioned him yesterday here on NEW DAY. And he also planted the seed of doubt about even Dr. Carson's medical record.

So listen to what Donald Trump said on NEW DAY yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP (via phone): I don't think he's a great religious figure. And I saw him yesterday quoting something. He was quoting on humility, and it looked like he had just memorized it about two minutes before he made the quote.

Go back and look at his views on abortion. Now all of a sudden, he gets on, very low key. I mean, frankly, he looks like -- he makes Bush look like the Energizer bunny.

He was a doctor, perhaps you know, an OK doctor, by the way. You could check that out, too. We're not talking about a great -- he was an OK doctor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. There's a lot to dissect there. Let's start with the medical credentials. "He was an OK doctor. You can check that out, too." What does he mean by that?

WILLIAMS: You know, it's interesting. And Alisyn, we see where people or politicians get together. They have dinner; they meet each other. And then you realize, particularly from what Mr. Trump suggested yesterday, that people really don't really know each other.

And I think what Mr. Trump revealed to us yesterday, that it's true. He really doesn't know who Dr. Carson is. He doesn't know about his world-renowned separating of conjoined twins and his incredible, extraordinary record as a pediatric neurosurgeon.

And so you know, we're not going to criticize Mr. Trump for what he's saying, because he may actually believe that. And what it tells us, he really doesn't know Dr. Ben Carson. And if he did know Dr. Ben Carson, certainly those things he expressed yesterday, he wouldn't have said.

CAMEROTA: What about the seed of doubt that he appears to be planting about Dr. Carson's views on abortion? Where he says, "Go back and look at his views on abortion," as though there's some sort of smoking gun there that we would find.

WILLIAMS: No, no. No, Alisyn, no smoking gun. Dr. Carson has made it clear that he was once a supporter of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. He was a big Democrat. And there was a time in his life where he was not certain where he was on those issues. And he had an epiphany, and he began to evolve, and he heard speeches of Ronald Reagan. And then he began to realize that what he believed in the past is no longer what he believes.

[07:10:03] And like any of us, you and I included, that was in the '90s. We're not the same person today who we were in the '90s. And so I think that's fair criticism by Mr. Trump about Dr. Carson's evolution on abortion.

CAMEROTA: So in other words, there was a time that Dr. Carson supported -- that he was pro-choice and he supported abortion rights?

WILLIAMS: Absolutely and he admits that. Yes.

CAMEROTA: So now, Dr. Carson took the high road, and he was asked last night on FOX if he wanted to respond to some of these. He basically said, "I don't want to get into the mud pit. That's not my nature." So is it OK to back down from Donald Trump, or should he engage and fight back?

WILLIAMS: Alisyn, quite to the contrary. He did not back down. You don't want to pour fuel on his fire.

Listen, Americans want us to be civil. They want us to be respectful. They want us to represent the best of who they are. They want us to be presidential. And Dr. Carson understands this.

And if he is going to say something, especially when you're not dealing with the issue that Americans really care about, why even get into that territory to upset the Donald?

Listen, what Dr. Carson wants to do is, next week, when you guys will host this debate, and stand on center stage, as the second person on that stage. You know, a few weeks ago, during the FOX debate, he was No. 5. CAMEROTA: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Dr. Carson has shown Mr. Trump -- and it may make him a little uneasy -- that he's coming. Like a storm. He's coming.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you know what? On -- Armstrong, on that note, we'll end it on that note.

But I do want to pull up these numbers, just to prove your point. These are hot off the presses at 7 a.m., just released by Quinnipiac. In terms of Dr. Carson's favorability, he is at 79 percent now among voters there. And Donald Trump is at 60 percent. So we will leave it there. Armstrong Williams, thanks so much. Have a great weekend.

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: We'll talk more politics ahead. We'll break down all of the new CNN/ORC poll numbers about the Democrats.

Also, be sure to watch the CNN Republican debate. It's this Wednesday, September 16. The first happy hour round is at 6 p.m. Eastern. And then at 8 p.m., the main event where these 11 candidates will take the stage.

CUOMO: You may have to borrow from Armstrong. The storm is coming, and it's coming September 16.

So in other news this morning, the U.S. will increase the number of Syrian refugees it will take over the next year to at least 10,000. Now, that sounds like a big number, especially set against the negativity coming out of some in the GOP presidential field about immigrants in this country.

But will that number even make a dent, given the hundreds of thousands running for their lives in many cases?

CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta joins us from the White House with the latest. What's the message?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Chris, bowing to global pressure to do more in the Syrian refugee crisis, the White House is signaling a big surge of newcomers from the war-torn country that will be allowed into the U.S.

The Obama administration now says the country, as you said, will accept at least 10,000 additional Syrian refugees over the next fiscal year. And sources tell CNN the administration is looking at boosting the overall number of refugees allowed into the U.S. from around the world to 100,000 over the coming years. That could potentially mean even more Syrians.

And that is a significant increase over the number of Syrian refugees. Less than 2,000 being allowed into the U.S.

And Republicans on Capitol Hill, we should put out, including Peter King, they're arguing that this influx of Syrians poses a security risk. But White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday that is not the case. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Refugees go through the most robust security process of anybody who's contemplating travel to the United States. Refugees have to be screened by the National Counterterrorism Center, by the FBI Terrorist Screening Center. They go through databases that are maintained by DHS, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, as for the other foreign policy flash point for this administration, the Iran nuclear deal, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican effort to halt the nuclear agreement.

GOP leaders are vowing to keep trying, but they are running out of time. If the deal is not rejected by next Thursday, it goes into full effect. Michaela, the president is calling this a victory for diplomacy. We'll have to wait in the coming years that's exactly the case, Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Jim. Thank you so much.

We should point out, though, that CNN was there, meanwhile, as dozens of those refugees made the treacherous journey from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos on huge rafts. As they arrived, cheers erupted, some even kissing the ground. This leg of the journey not only dangerous but incredibly expensive for them.

CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson saw it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here's what's so crazy about the economics of this wave of human migration.

If you have the right passport, it only costs you $36 to buy a seat on a ferry from the coast of Turkey, about an hour away to the Greek island of Lesbos. But smugglers are charging Syrian refugees $1,300 per person to get on board an overloaded inflatable raft to make that same journey.

And this morning, on Lesbos, we saw at least four of these rafts land on a stretch of Greek beach with dozens of people spilling off, relieved and cheering, onto the beach.

Now, these Syrian refugees, they really know what they're doing. They've got waterproof pouches that hold their smartphones and their documents. They know where to go to get tickets for a Greek ferry that will take them to the Greek capital.

The United Nations says there are up to 50 of these boats landing on that small Greek island every day.

Back to you. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Boy, Ivan, everything about it just so dangerous.

Other headline for you this morning. A gunman who led police on a marathon car chase after carjacking a sedan, he was killed overnight in Los Angeles. The chase ended at a crowded restaurant where the assailant fired his weapon, seized at least four hostages. Witnesses say the gunman was asking for water and medication just before members of the SWAT team infiltrated the location and shot him dead on the spot.

CAMEROTA: One Marine is dead, 18 others hurt after an accident at Camp Pendleton in southern California. A Marine spokeswoman says this happened in a vehicle rollover. But the details are still somewhat sketchy at this point. Officials are investigating what caused this accident.

PEREIRA: Donald Trump soaring to his largest lead in the latest polls, while Hillary Clinton slumps to new lows. Perfect fodder for the late-night talk show hosts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHAN COLBERT": A new CNN poll shows Trump in first place with 32 percent, more than his two closest rivals combined. He's now towering so high in the polls, he's turned his own bar graph into luxury condos.

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, CBS'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON": Yesterday, Hillary Clinton vowed to take military action if Iran moves towards creating nuclear weapons. Or if she loses to Bernie Sanders.

Fire off the drones! You're getting too close, Bernie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Getting too close, Bernie. Funny.

CAMEROTA: The luxury condos never gets old.

PEREIRA: No, it doesn't.

CAMEROTA: He used that the night before, too.

PEREIRA: I know.

CAMEROTA: It was funny then.

PEREIRA: It's still funny.

CUOMO: We're also seeing two very different ways of making jokes about the same subject matter. They're very different guys. Very interesting to watch.

All right. So they're joking, these guys, but there are actually real insults flying among Republican candidates and across presidential party lines. We're going to break down a new poll, hot off the presses, with former congressman, Trey Radel. You remember him. He's got his own story to tell. This is his first interview since resigning to deal with his drug addiction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:21:14] CUOMO: Former Florida Congressman Trey Radel is in the midst of a comeback that trumps politics. It's about his life. You'll remember, Radel his House seat resigned last year following a drug conviction. He's 18 months sober now. That's the most important thing to say about Trey Radel this morning. It's his first time on TV talking about his addiction. He's also pushing for something that is very important: criminal justice reform. And you should read about it. Go on the CNN website. There's an op-ed there.

Trey Radel joins us now.

It is great to see you. Looking well.

TREY RADEL, FORMER FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN: Thanks so much.

CUOMO: What matters more than all the other stuff we have to talk about, how are you?

RADEL: I'm great. You know, it's been a rough couple years. Yes. But what has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined is time to spend with my family, my 3-year-old son in particular, and take some time to just kind of grieve. I've been blessed with many opportunities in life that -- but to be here now and doing this is great.

CUOMO: Eighteen months sober. All you have is today. What are some of the lessons you've learned that you want people to know?

RADEL: You just said it. Today, live every day in the moment. And that is one of the most important things for me.

You know, I -- I've been through a lot. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But one of the biggest things that I've learned through all of this is living in the moment.

And again, I've been blessed with a lot of things, personally, my family, professionally. I've done incredible things. I've been a TV news reporter and an anchor. I've reported on hurricanes. I've been that idiot, standing in the hurricanes in Florida. I've been an anchor. I've been elected to Congress. It's been life in the fast lane at some points.

But now, one of the biggest things that I've learned through all of this is just taking some time to step back and live day by day.

CUOMO: Now I know that you often want to speak about how, "Hey, I let people down. I made mistakes." You wound up getting prosecuted for this. But now that you've learned about addiction, don't you also see that some of these things you can't apologize for, because they go beyond your own ability to control them? Have you learned about that?

RADEL: Yes. I don't want to portray myself as any sort of a victim. I made a choice. And the best thing for me, to move on, was take responsibility for that choice.

One thing I'd share with you is that I'd do different is I would have resigned immediately. The only answer I have for why I didn't was I'm a grown man, and I'm happy to admit I was just scared. I didn't know what to do. But I took responsibility and moved on. And that's the best thing you can do.

In terms of policy, things like the war on drugs, which I think is a failure, which I think is misguided at best and intentionally blind at worst, I'm happy to talk about that all day.

CUOMO: So when you look at what you say should be done with the criminal justice system, it does play into, you know, your own approach. You say, "I took responsibility."

But you look at a system where they may put too much responsibility on the actual addict. And our jails are filled with people who use drugs, not sell them. What do you think needs to be done?

RADEL: Sure. I think that we need to focus on rehabilitation, not incarceration.

CUOMO: People don't like it. They don't like it. They'll say you're soft.

RADEL: Sure.

CUOMO: You're soft on drugs. You're soft on crime. You made the choice -- just like you said, you took responsibility for it. They have to pay.

RADEL: These are nonviolent offenders that we're talking about. If you're a social conservative -- look, I'm so far right, sometimes I find myself left of President Obama.

I would say this to conservatives. Social conservatives, this is about families. This is about keeping families together. If you're a fiscal conservative, this is about keeping productive members of society in society. We need to focus on rehabilitation, not incarceration, because we're breaking up families; and we are throwing away $80 billion a year unless we get some sort of criminal justice reform.

CUOMO: People don't know that. What they know is we're going to make you pay when you break the law. No excuses.

RADEL: Doesn't that reflect today's society, though? I mean, this almost goes to Trump. It's not what you feel, it's how people feel. And when you hear talking points like that, it reminds me of a bunch of "South Park" characters saying, "Dark-a-doo (ph)" and just getting angry and fired up. This goes beyond talking points. [07:25:12] And when you talk about the real policy of the war on drugs

or criminal justice reform, we need to have, I think, personally, more Republicans going beyond these talking points of just getting fired up and "you need to pay for your crime."

And again, I can't stress enough, look at rehabilitation, not incarceration. It's about families.

CUOMO: People make the same constructive argument about what's going on in immigration. If you put up any of the polls that we've been doing here -- you know, we're getting fresh sets out every day...

RADEL: Sure.

CUOMO: ... your party, the GOP, wants to reward harshness when it comes to people who break the law, drugs: coming across the country illegally. "Now, save that sweet strength for another time, Trey. We want to punish people. We want to get the law straight here, get it enforced. That's who we are. That's American."

RADEL: Sure. Look, we're a country of laws, and we need to respect those. And Lord knows that I, as a lawmaker, broke the law. I take responsibility for that and move on.

In terms of border security, absolutely. We're not a country unless we have borders.

Now me, I again take sometimes a contrarian conservative view to some of these issues. When it comes to illegal immigrants in this country, I think it's a national security threat unless we do take them in and document them. So I'm saying that, maybe not a path to citizenship, but the people that have been here, that are hardworking members of our society, I believe that it's a fiscal issue and a national security issue to get them documented, bring them in out from the shadows, into society.

And again, that type of policy, it has a little depth to it. And I'm happy, again, to talk about it all day. But we need to move beyond just these talking points of just getting people fired up.

I get it. I get it politically. I've been there. I know how to get people, you know, riled up and fired up and all of that. But it's time that we, as a country, have some serious, serious conversations with some depth about our national security, about illegal immigration and about the war on drugs policy, criminal justice reform, not to mention foreign policy, which is for another day, maybe.

CUOMO: Well, I'd like to have you back another day.

RADEL: Thank you.

CUOMO: Trey Radel, you're looking great. I love the message. But see, that's a problem with guys like you. After you get out of politics, you start getting nuanced and reasonable. That's not the way you party guys usually play.

RADEL: I haven't changed anything. I've been consistent. And...

CUOMO: You know, you've got to put your lefty/righty hat back on. You can't be so reasonable.

RADEL: I would say that reasonable also, a word that has become a dirty, filthy word that should be is the word "compromise." Compromise doesn't mean compromising your principles or values. It means sharing them. And we can use a little bit more of that in Congress.

CUOMO: Trey Radel, thank you very much. Good luck to you going forward.

RADEL: Thank you.

CUOMO: Mick.

PEREIRA: You know what his problem is? He's making sense, Chris.

All right. Ahead here, will the NYPD release video of James Blake getting roughed up by police? Commissioner Bill Bratton has apologized now to the former tennis star. He says it had nothing to do with race, just mistaken identity. We're going to discuss this ahead, wait for it.

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