Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Anticipation Builds for Pope Francis's First U.S. Visit; Carson: 'Absolutely I Stand by the Comments' on Muslims; Walker's Campaign Falls Short on Cash; NYC Taking Unprecedented Security Precautions for Pope's Visit. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 22, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There's this debate over abortion; gay marriage has just become the law of the land. In those areas, that opinion diverges enormously between the pope and the president. But here's how the White House sees it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:00:06] JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It doesn't mean they agree on every issue. They surely don't. But their focus in the context of this meeting will not be about politics, not about specific policies but rather about the kinds of values that both men have dedicated their lives to championing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: At the same time we've heard from a number of Republicans lately, saying that they don't want the pope to be so political, calling some of his comments lately inappropriate, some saying they don't want to be lectured by a religious leader on climate change. That's why at least one lawmaker is going to boycott his historic speech before both houses of Congress on Thursday -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Meanwhile, thousands and thousands and thousands of the faithful will flock to see him wherever he goes. All right, Michelle, thank you so much.

We turn to politics now. Dr. Ben Carson standing behind his comments saying a Muslim shouldn't be president. In a new interview, Dr. Carson says he is open to Muslims who swear to put the Constitution before their religion, but they must renounce Sharia Law.

CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny live in Washington. Essentially doubling down, isn't he?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: He is, Michaela. Good morning.

Ben Carson is not backing down. He is saying a Muslim shouldn't be elected president, comments that have drawn sharp criticism from many of his Republican rivals, who say they're simply misguided and wrongly impugn the Islam faith.

But overnight, he tried to soften his hard line against Muslims, but only a bit. In an interview with Sean Hannity on FOX News, Carson issued a caveat and said he was referring only to radical Muslims or anyone unwilling to put the Constitution above their religion.

But he did stop short of apologizing for his remarks, where he effectively suggested all Muslims follow Sharia Law. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If someone has a Muslim background, and they're willing to reject those tenets and to accept the way of life that we have and clearly will swear to place our Constitution above their religion; then of course, they will be considered infidels and heretics, but at least I would then be quite willing to support them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: But those words are unlikely to clear up any of this criticism that Carson is painting the Muslim faith with a broad brush here.

Now we talked over and over about the Constitution, but he did not mention Article VI, which clearly says no religious test can be used for someone seeking public office.

Now several of his Republican rivals have said Carson is wrong to suggest a Muslim should not be president. Even Mitt Romney weighing in. Of course, the 2012 Republican nominee, who's a Mormon. He tweeted, "Of course there's no religious test for the presidency."

Jeb Bush is also weighing in, saying Carson's comments have no place in this campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think that religion should be a criteria for being president, you know, that there should be some kind of exclusion based on one's faith or the lack of faith, frankly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So Ben Carson will be campaigning later this morning in Ohio. And you can be sure this controversy will follow him there.

Muslim groups have called him -- on him to step aside. He's rejected those calls, of course. But this episode is defining his candidacy right now. And it's one more thing, Alisyn, Republican leaders sure wish they weren't talking about in this presidential campaign.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. OK, Jeff, thanks so much.

So this morning, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker trying to persuade trailing candidates to follow his lead and drop out of the race. This as two GOP candidates hit late-night television.

CNN's Athena Jones is live in Washington with the very latest for us.

Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: good morning, Alisyn.

Walker is the second candidate to drop out in less than two weeks. He's also the second one to do so while taking a swipe at the frontrunner, Donald Trump.

Walker had been seen as a real contender just a few months ago. And now he says he's pulling out of the race for the good of the party.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R-WI), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will suspend my campaign immediately.

JONES (voice-over): With two down, the jam-packed GOP presidential race just got a little less crowded. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker now the second prominent governor to drop out. The reason, money, according to a source close to the campaign. The candidate's super PAC raised a whopping $20 million in the first half of 2015. But the source says the money dried up after his poor debate performances.

BUSH: Scott is still going to serve and continue to do great work in Wisconsin.

JONES: Walker's message to the remaining 15: clear the field so the top contenders can beat polling juggernaut Donald Trump.

WALKER: I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same, so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current frontrunner.

JONES: GOP candidates still in the running say not just yet.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't have any intentions, just in case you wanted to know, that I'm going to announce that I'm getting out.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. Not going to happen.

JONES: As Trump's current closest competitor, Carly Fiorina, gets a warm welcome from Monday's late-night audience on NBC's "The Tonight Show."

[07:05:07] CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's only in this country that you can go from being a secretary to the chief executive of the largest technology company in the world and run for president of the United States. It's only possible here.

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON": Wow. FIORINA: And I want to make sure that every...

JONES: Fiorina taking a jab at Trump's willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

FIORINA: The two of them have a lot in common, actually. But we'll just leave it at that.

JONES: Texas Senator Ted Cruz receiving a less-than-friendly reception on CBS's "The Late Show"...

COLBERT: I'm asking what you want.

JONES: ... after dodging a question about whether he personally supports gay marriage.

CRUZ: I believe in democracy. I believe in democracy, and I don't think we should...

COLBERT: Guys, guys, however you feel, he's my guest. So please don't boo him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Interesting way that Colbert handled that just now. More on Walker. A former campaign aide took to Twitter to blast his campaign for a series of mistakes. She said the governor was a flip-flopper and a panderer who didn't understand the priorities of the GOP base -- Alisyn, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Thank you very much.

Let us discuss. CNN political commentator and Republican consultant Margaret Hoover and CNN political analyst and editor in chief of "The Daily Beast," John Avlon. I feel like the FedEx guys in the commercial. But I get through the titles every time.

Let's start with something maybe one step off the news, but we just saw it in Athena's piece. Ted Cruz, with Mr. Colbert. I believe Colbert is carving out something that's very much needed in political dialogue now. Let's play that little sound bite again if we may. If we may. If we may.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: And it says if it doesn't mention it, it's a question for the states. That's in the Bill of Rights. Everything that is not mentioned is left to the states. If you want to change the marriage laws...

COLBERT: I'm asking what you want.

CRUZ: I believe in democracy. I believe in democracy and I don't think we should...

COLBERT: No, no, no. Guys, guys, however you feel, he's my guest. So please don't boo him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Stephen Colbert. Right now, everything is about as ugly as you can be, as negative as you can be; let's go after him. Whether it's faith or fiction or fact, whatever it is. I like that he's doing that. Jon Stewart used to not do that enough with his audience, in my opinion.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I mean...

CUOMO: Isn't that something that's needed right now? Cruz is making a constructive argument about what the Tenth Amendment is. He's forgetting about the equal protections of the 14th Amendment. But that's his right to argue it.

AVLON: Yes, and I think, you know, Charleston, South Carolina's own Stephen Colbert is, when he's not in that persona we've see him in 10 years, is a very gracious guy. He's a man of demonstrated faith. He is definitely on the left. But he's -- in creating that space and insisting on civility, it definitely stands out from the tone and tenor of most.

CAMEROTA: OK. So while we're at it, let's watch a little bit more late night.

AVLON: Sure.

CAMEROTA: I'm sure we were all asleep. Carly Fiorina also went on Jimmy Fallon last night, and she compared Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin. Let's watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALLON: Donald Trump has recently said that he wants to -- that Vladimir Putin is saying he wants to meet with Trump when he comes here. And that he wants to sit down and have a conversation with him. You've met Putin.

FIORINA: I have. Well, the two of them have a lot in common, actually. We'll just leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That's a good line.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Punching back.

CUOMO: Both men who kill lions for fun.

HOOVER: And ride around bare breasted.

AVLON: Bare breasted is even more awkward, I think, in that context.

HOOVER: Look, Carly is having fun. It's actually nice to kind of see her having fun. And so she feels... CUOMO: Having fun to expand or to deflect? She's got real questions coming at her again like she did against Barbara Boxer, about her time at H.P...

AVLON: Sure.

CUOMO: ... how good a CEO she was, what kind of secretary was she really, what are her real beginnings? Sonnenfeld isn't just some outlier critic. There's a whole stream that's coming out.

HOOVER: She's going to get there. She's going to get there but not on late-night TV. That's not the place for it.

AVLON: That was a chance and opportunity for her to appear human and not so deeply rehearsed and disciplined, which she is. That was a good line of deflection. Her sort of dining out on the one meeting with Putin may have problems downstream with it. But -- but I think there is absolutely credible scrutiny of a CEO of H.P., how she did.

CAMEROTA: OK. Let's talk about the big news yesterday. Scott Walker dropping out of the race. Margaret, you were surprised?

HOOVER: This is -- the fundamental headline here is that, one, money matters; and, two, not all money is created equal.

Scott Walker had not enough hard dollars and a lot of super PAC dollars. And what happens is, he peaked before he had an apparatus in place to catch the hard dollars that candidates need in order to go the distance. Hard dollars mean you're capped at your contributions, everything is transparent. Of course, it's transparent with super PAC dollars, too.

But frankly, we are hearing rumbles that perhaps staff in Iowa hadn't been paid for the last two weeks. He had a speech that he had to cancel in California.

CUOMO: Too top-heavy, too many people.

HOOVER: To fly everybody out there.

CAMEROTA: Even though he had a lot of super PAC money, that can't go to those expenses.

HOOVER: You cannot. It is very clear. You cannot coordinate, if you're the super PAC, with the candidate in any strategy of the campaign. So you can't pay for flights out to give speeches for campaign dollars. You can run ads. And that's -- the most expensive part of a presidential campaign is running television ads. And that's what super PAC dollars ought to go for. That's sort of -- that's how most campaigns...

[07:10:17] CUOMO: But isn't that a lesson of Walker, that he didn't get the hard dollars, as Margaret appropriately points out, because he wasn't campaigning well. He started out with a presumptive advantage, and it faded. HOOVER: But his peak -- what happened, Chris, is his peak was early.

It was February, March, April, and he hadn't announced for president until June or July.

CUOMO: Yes, it's because it was the idea of him. But the reality, I think, didn't hold up to it.

HOOVER: He had no apparatus to capture the enthusiasm early when it hit.

AVLON: And -- and this cuts to the problem. Look, you want to find the truth in politics? Follow the money. Margaret's right.

But the key here is that -- why this is so stunning is that the RNC and crew, who are mostly Wisconsinites, who knew Reince -- Reince knew him well, the RNC chair, that this was -- this was somebody who had been spun for years as the GOP savior. Midwest, purple-state governor, took on the unions. The hype around this was so big that people didn't take the time to look under the hood at what kind of candidate he actually was.

And when he was on that stage, when he refused to take a stand on whether President Obama was Christian, other kind of panders and flip- flops, that enthusiasm waned, and that fall is about as precipitous as you've seen in American politics.

CAMEROTA: So is Trump winnowing out the bad candidates or candidates that would have risen, had Trump not been sort of sucking all of the oxygen out of the room?

HOOVER: I frankly don't think that Scott Walker needed to bow out quite yet. I mean, look, while his hard money was drying up, you can coast on super PAC dollars a little bit.

CUOMO: So why did he do it?

HOOVER: By the way, I think it was a very adult decision. I mean, I think he had calculated that probably, over the long haul, he wasn't going to be able to generate the kind of hard dollars he needed in order to limp into Iowa. And by the way, he had said he was all in for Iowa.

CUOMO: But why now, with Trump coming under fire...

AVLON: This is a grown-up decision to speak of in politics.

CUOMO: Trump slipping in the polls, Carson you know, somewhat blowing himself up with any independent or moderate voters that exist? Why now when things are looking better for him, not worse?

HOOVER: That's why you could have asked the same question of John McCain in 2007. Was John McCain, because he dropped in the polls and ran out of money, going to just quit? No way. John McCain stayed in.

I thought Scott Walker was a fighter who beat the unions and was going to take his union experience to ISIS. I mean, I thought Scott Walker was the guy who was going to fight for it. But -- but I guess not.

AVLON: Apparently not.

HOOVER: You write your own fate in these elections.

CAMEROTA: OK, very quickly. Ben Carson, since he made his comments about he would never support a Muslim for a president, his fundraising has gone up, he's gotten more dollars and his Facebook followers, his social media, people it's not just like; it's gone viral. It's like he's gotten more support, more likes, more followers. It's working.

HOOVER: It's codifying his support among the people who already like him. Ben Carson has codified the Christian conservative evangelical vote in the three pillars of the conservative universe. And those people aren't so sure that they want a Muslim president, and they think they might have one right now.

AVLON: Which is completely insane.

HOOVER: Which is false. And which is why it's fantastic of Mitt Romney. I mean, this is what we needed, the adults in the Republican Party to say, "That's un-American, and if you're a Republican, that's unacceptable." That's a great role for Mitt Romney to play.

AVLON: But -- but the conservatives have been playing this game for a while, where they say something outrageous and untrue. There is justified blowback. Then they fundraise off it by playing the victim card. And that's what's happened here. It was the Michele Bachmann play. Now it's the Ben Carson play. Frankly, he's better than that. But if we still want to have this damn debate in this country. I mean, the Founding Fathers, if you really want to show fidelity, there's a reason they didn't have a religious standard in our Constitution. It's not oversight. You can't say you're being more faithful to the Constitution by insisting on a religious standard. It's less so.

CAMEROTA: John, Margaret, thank you so much. Great debate. Great to see you guys.

Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: We have some breaking news. Israeli defense officials say -- pardon me -- a Palestinian teenager was shot and wounded after she allegedly tried to stab Israeli soldiers at a military checkpoint in Hebron. According to Israeli officials, she was part of a protest at the site. However, Palestinian witnesses say the girl was crossing a checkpoint when the shooting occurred, and she was not seen attacking Israeli troops.

CAMEROTA: The U.S. is shifting its focus less on Iraq and more on Syria in the war against is. And that's because Kurdish forces are making solid gains against ISIS in Syria. "The Washington Post" reports the White House now considering a plan to arm a wider array of rebel groups there. But Russia is complicating matters, sending in two dozen more fighting jets to back the Assad regime. Russian drones now flying surveillance missions over Syria. CUOMO: Prosecutors presenting a chilling account of Baby Doe's final

hours. The remains of 2-year-old Bella Bond found in a plastic bag last week in Boston Harbor, her mother's boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, facing murder charges. At his arraignment Monday, prosecutors claimed he was convinced that the child was possessed. The mother and boyfriend pleaded not guilty to charges connected to her death.

CAMEROTA: All right. While Washington, D.C., is the first U.S. stop for Pope Francis, with New York City on deck, next, the Big Apple is ready to roll out the papal red carpet. So we will speak with New York Mayor Bill De Blasio about this historic visit and the unprecedented security measures to protect the pope. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:18:55] CAMEROTA: Pope Francis arrives in Washington this afternoon for his first highly anticipated trip to the U.S. The pontiff will then come here to New York City on Thursday. The city's police department carrying out its biggest security effort to protect the pope.

So what is in store? New York's mayor Bill De Blasio joins us now.

Great to have you in studio, Mr. Mayor.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK CITY: Great to be here, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: How on earth do you prepare for a visit of this magnitude?

DE BLASIO: Well, they call it New York's finest for a reason. The NYPD is up to it, because we've had world leaders in for decades and decades. But the difference this time, we have the largest number of world leaders in one place over the course of the U.N. week we've ever had: 170 world leaders and His Holiness. And that combination has never happened before.

We're working on the Secret Service, the FBI. And I have to say, the partnerships have been extraordinary, but NYPD is providing the manpower to make sure everyone is kept safe.

CAMEROTA: So what's this going to look like? I mean, how -- what is security of this level going to look like in the city?

DE BLASIO: Well, you know, security of this nature, you see a lot of it, and then there's things you don't see. That's -- that's something we have to make sure we have both of.

But what it means is that we're going to be protecting those global leaders, each and every one, in the right measure and, of course, for His Holiness, a very elaborate security apparatus.

[07:20:08] But remember: this is a pope who likes to be close to the people. And God bless him for that. That's who he is, and that's part of why he's beloved all over the world. So we'll provide the security, but we're also going to recognize that he calls the shots. As I like to say, he answers to a higher authority. CAMEROTA: So but if he wants to get out and mingle...

DE BLASIO: Yes.

CAMEROTA: ... with the crowd as we've seen happen, then what? I mean, let me just show you what happened in Cuba this week when people wanted to sort of rush up and touch him and mingle with him. Watch this. I mean, here he is.

DE BLASIO: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And you see a guy run up. That guy who's talking to him. He's a foot away from him.

DE BLASIO: Right.

CAMEROTA: The pope blesses him. But his security wasn't delighted that this guy ran up to the Popemobile and could almost touch the pope. What are we going to do about this?

DE BLASIO: Well, I think it's fair to say security here is different than any other place in the world. In New York City, we take very seriously, very soberly, the fact that we have experienced terrorism, and we're the No. 1 terror target in the world.

So we have a very strong anti-terror apparatus within the NYPD. We work, again, very closely with the FBI and the Secret Service. So I think we're going to have extensive, careful security.

But we have to recognize that, if His Holiness wants to stop and greet people, that's our job to protect him, no matter what he does. And he will make that choice. So it's a balance that we're striking.

But we feel very confident. We have the personnel. We have the equipment. We have the training. The pieces are in place.

CAMEROTA: It will be fascinating to watch the pope here.

DE BLASIO: It will be.

CAMEROTA: OK. Let's talk about a meeting that you had yesterday with James Blake. Of course, the former tennis pro who was tackled by the New York City Police when they thought that he was a suspect in an identity theft case. What came out of that meeting? What did you two talk about?

DE BLASIO: It was a very productive meeting, a very positive meeting. Look, I think he's talking about the idea that we have to bring police and community together and we have find ways to make sure that what happened to him doesn't happen to other people. Perfectly fair point.

The good news is, Commissioner Bratton and I have already been working on these very same initiatives. For example, starting last year we've been retraining the entire police force in how to work more closely with communities and reduce the use of force in any encounter with a resident. Now this is working already. For example, we have a civilian complaint review board. That review

board has gotten fewer complaints from civilians this year than at any time in the last 15 years, because we are bringing police and the community closer together.

CAMEROTA: But this officer was not yet trained? I mean, why did this happen if there's new training?

DE BLASIO: The training is cycling through all 36,000 members of the NYPD, the largest police force by far in the country. This particular unit had not yet been trained. I think about 20,000 have been trained. But everyone will be ultimately.

But let me tell you, this makes a world of difference. The help officers understand how to do their job effectively but use the least force in each situation. That's something that professional training allows for. Veteran officers who know how to show others the best way to do it. That's where we're moving.

CAMEROTA: James Blake wants this officer, who -- there's surveillance video of him tackling him to the ground. He wants him fired. Will this officer be fired?

DE BLASIO: There is an internal process. Every officer has due process rights. There's an internal investigation, and then there's an ultimate decision. That's something we obviously honor and respect for every officer. Anyone accused in our society. So...

CAMEROTA: Do you think he should be fired?

DE BLASIO: I think there has to be an internal investigation. There has to be a full process that makes that determination. And ultimately, Commissioner Bratton will decide. I have tremendous faith in Commissioner Bratton.

CAMEROTA: When you first saw that video of James Blake standing, minding his own business, and the officer coming up and taking him to the ground, what was your reaction?

DE BLASIO: You know, you look at it and you say that just wasn't the right way to do things.

Now, we all understand it was a complicated situation. But the goal, of course, is for every officer to do what they do with the least force necessary. That's what the retraining gets at.

And look, I believe that's also how we get safer. When police and community get closer, when there's mutual respect, when community members feel they should get close to the police and help them share information with them, have their back, it makes everyone safer. So that's the place we have to go. And we really believe this retraining is going to help us get there.

CAMEROTA: It seems like James Blake is willing to be a catalyst for change, and he's actually calling on things that he would like to see inasmuch, you know, clout as he has at the moment. So a couple of things: he wants all officers to have body cameras; and he wants there to be financial support to victims of excessive police force.

DE BLASIO: Well, let me say first of all, James Blake has handled an unfortunate situation, obviously, with not only a lot of dignity but with certain selflessness. He has not made it about him. He's talked about where we need to go as a society to a better place. I admire him for that.

Look, body cameras are something we've already started, as well. We've started on a pilot basis in a number of our precincts. It's something that, if it works well, and I think it will, we'll use more effectively.

By the way, body cameras are great for the relationship between the police and community, because they create accountability and transparency for everyone. A lot of times, they give us the facts we didn't have to vindicate either an officer or a community member in a certain situation. So I think you're going to see us move consistently in this direction.

[07:25:13] CAMEROTA: But more financial support to victims?

DE BLASIO: Look, Mr. Blake and others have raised a series of ideas. I'm not going to comment on them, because we certainly haven't looked at all those options.

But what we do know is there's lots of ways to bring police and community together. And certainly, we know that our officers are doing a great job. They've continued to bring crime down in New York City. But where we can always do better is bringing police and community closer, so that's where our focus is right now.

CAMEROTA: Bill de Blasio, great to have you here...

DE BLASIO: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: ... in studio with us. Thanks so much for coming in and telling us about all the preparations. It's going to be fascinating to watch. And of course, CNN will have comprehensive coverage of the pope's visit all this week. Tomorrow, NEW DAY will be live at the White House -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: We're looking forward to it all, Alisyn.

All right. Hillary Clinton regaining her footing in the latest CNN poll looking every bit the presumptive Democratic nominee. We're going to take a look at what is behind the Clinton rebound, ahead on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Pope Francis is preparing to cap off his historic trip to Cuba this morning with mass before visiting the U.S. for the first time. President Obama and the first lady will greet him as he touches down this afternoon.