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Pope to Address Americans from White House; Clinton's New Prescription Drug Plan; Who Said That: Trump or Colbert? Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired September 23, 2015 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:33:50] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: What a scene this morning. The south lawn of the White House, the setting for history. Not just because it is Pope Francis first trip, but what this man may bring as a message.
We're looking at the podium, the choir has been rehearsing. About 15,000 expected to be in attendance. I just saw my niece. She's much closer to the activity than I am. And everyone here is excited whether or not they are religious or not. This is just a moment here in the American experience that we're going to have.
So here's what we know. In about an hour, the Pope is going to speak. He's going to speak in English. That's very unusual. So it will give us unusual access to where his heart and his head are. And then after that, there's going to be a 45-minute private meeting with the Pope and POTUS.
What are they going to talk about? Well, here's what we think they're going to talk about. You're going to have global warming on the table. You're going to have relations with Cuba on the table. And then you're going to have this kind of atmosphere of inclusiveness that's needed, whether that means refugees or religious rites here in the country.
Let's get some more context for the moment and the message with Melissa Rogers. She's the executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Melissa, understatement, you're excited this morning?
MELISSA ROGERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF FAITH-BASED AND NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS: Very excited. We are so glad that this day has finally come, that we've been planning for for so long. And it's just a wonderful moment for us to be able to welcome Pope Francis and to look forward to the conversation and the speeches that will happen today.
[07:35:13] CUOMO: Let's deal with the practicality. You have the ruler of China in the country right now. But when you have the Pope and you have the POTUS, you have a security situation that you really have to lock down. How different are today's preparations?
ROGERS: Well, of course, we wanted to be very careful about that. And I'm not the expert in security.
CUOMO: Right. But I know you've all been briefed.
ROGERS: But we've all wanted to be very careful and mindful of that while also respecting the Pope's interest in being engaged with people.
CUOMO: So what do you do in terms of when this man comes? He's representing the Catholic Church. He is not a politician. Though every Pope strays into the political. This one is that and then some. How do you deal with someone who is not a political equal but may be giving a political message?
ROGERS: Well, as you mentioned, this is very different than your normal state visit. The Pope transcends politics. And his message is, you know, his message that comes from his faith.
And, as you said, sometimes that intersects with public issues. He's been very eloquent about so many issues, many of them that you mentioned and more. And we just welcome his leadership and his voice.
CUOMO: Now, everyone is talking about how the G.O.P. is going to feel, how the Democrats are going to feel. But within the Catholic Church, because this is really your belly wick in terms of how you deal with faith-based organizations. They have their own division going on. And what have you heard in terms of what different parts of his own church want out of the situation?
ROGERS: Well, you know, I've just heard from across the church, just enthusiasm for the Pope coming. Wanting to lift up various of his messages. When he put out his encyclical on climate change this summer, there was tremendous enthusiasm across the church. So I think it's been a really uniting moment.
CUOMO: And what do you see in terms of unity and disunity among the different Christian faiths? Because, you know, we have such an emerging populations in the U.S. right now. If you go by denomination, Catholic still number one. But if you go by identification, you have evangelical protestants who are now the biggest population in the country.
And how much are they embracing of this pope and how much of them are pushing back?
ROGERS: We have a number of evangelicals here today, leaders of various evangelical groups. And they have been incredibly excited about this visit. I haven't heard anybody who say that they're not excited about this visit, whether they are evangelical, whether they are Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, every -- non-religious. Everybody is excited and wants to welcome the Pope.
CUOMO: And that's interesting, because, you know, we're dealing with a moment where people of just about any faith will be on the same page with the big issues. Is it safe to say. I know you can't give anything away, Melissa, although you know it's my job to try and get you to, that climate change is going to be big for this Pope, in terms of what he says.
That religious inclusiveness, you know, that can mean a lot of different things, is going to be big and that immigration is going to be big?
ROGERS: Well, you know, I can't speak for what the Holy Father will say but those issues have been ones that he's spoken to very powerfully and so, you know, it wouldn't be surprising to hear him speak to those issues again during his visit to the United States.
CUOMO: How do you prepare the president of the United States to deal with the Pope if the Pope is saying things that he doesn't like? When they get together in that meeting and he's like, I have to tell you, this Planned Parenthood thing, here's what I don't like about it.
How do you brief differently for this person than you would for others?
ROGERS: Well, as you recall, the president visited with the Pope last year at the Vatican.
CUOMO: Yes.
ROGERS: So they've already had a very productive discussion. And they're kind of continuing that discussion today. And we know that there's not a complete agreement or going to be areas of difference, but there are areas of respectful difference and so we try to listen to, you know, one another. And the president is great about that, in listening to different points of view and being responsive to concerns and trying to find common ground wherever possible.
In addition to trying to find ways to work together where there's already agreement.
Can you tell us what the president is going to give the Pope?
ROGERS: I cannot.
CUOMO: Oh, come on.
ROGERS: It would not be a surprise if I did that.
CUOMO: I won't tell him.
Melissa Rogers, thank you. Appreciate it.
ROGERS: It's so nice to be with you.
CUOMO: Thank you. Appreciate the insight.
All right, so let's go back to you guys in New York. This is going to be a big, big moment here, Mick. So many people are here. But, remember, the audience for this Pope is way beyond who's here today. Literally, the world will be listening and he'll be speaking in English.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: I cannot wait for that and I cannot wait to see what the gift is. We'll have to Tweet you some of our thoughts.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, nice try, Chris.
(CROSSTALK)
PEREIRA: I know, good job.
CAMEROTA: Nice try.
PEREIRA: All right, to a story now that's dominating your social media feed. The CEO of a drug company agreeing to reduce the price of a pill after facing allegations of price gouging and getting all sorts of backlash.
Hillary Clinton now rolling out a plan that targets companies preying on patients.
We're going to take a look at that, ahead.
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[07:41:40] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's time for "CNN Money" now, your money. I'm Christine Romans.
Here's a terrifying stat for you this morning. 30 million Americans tapped into their retirement savings for an emergency this year. That's according to a brand new study from "Bankrate," yanking out those funds early can cost you steep withdrawal penalties. Bad idea. Even more alarming, 21 million americans are not saving for retirement at all.
There is a silver lining, though, in these numbers. Millennials were the least likely to dip into those funds and the most likely to say their financial situation has improved over the last year. More NEW DAY after this.
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[07:35:13] PEREIRA: The CEO of a drug company who had vastly inflated the price of a pill that treats infections in HIV and cancer patient has now agreed to lower the price of that pill. This is Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton lays out her plan, targeting drug companies that nickel and dime people for their own profit.
I want to bring in Rana Foroohar. She's CNN global economic analyst and "Time" magazine's assistant managing editor.
Interesting to see all of this happening. It dominated our social media feeds. People outraged. Outraged.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Yes.
PEREIRA: That's backlash this CEO received after jacking up the price from $13.50 a pill to $750.
FOROOHAR: Yes.
PEREIRA: He says he took the actions based on public outrage. Although do you think that the outrage coupled with Hillary Clinton's plan and the attention she's shining on this issue likely are what forced him into the corner?
[07:45:00] FOROOHAR: I think so. I think this is a great issue for her to take on. We've all dealt with high prices in the health care system. You know, if you look at what pushes Americans into poverty, a third of that is a health care emergency.
Drug prices are something all of us struggle with. And this country is unique because in other places like France, the U.K., Canada, governments actually negotiate on behalf of the population with pharmaceutical companies. We pay about 50 percent more across the board for all kinds of drugs than others do.
That's due in part to the lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry. Michaela, already this year, $124 million has been pumped into Washington on the part of Big Pharma. It's usually double that. It's probably going to be more by the year's end.
PEREIRA: Well, think about it. 90 percent of all seniors use some sort of prescription drug, half of all Americans do. It's a $239.2 billion industry. Let's look at the plan to see what Hillary Clinton has come up with. This is just in part, "require drug makers to re- invest taxpayer dollars into research, which is a really important point. I want to dig deeper on that. There's a $250 monthly cap. It will also enable Medicare to negotiate prices and also allow consumers to shop abroad.
You think this plan is going to help American families?
FOROOHAR: I do. I think the research point is very important. Because when you talk about prices being so high, pharmaceutical companies will often justify that by saying, hey, we have to do research. This is expensive. We've got to come up with innovations. But if you look at what's actually going on in Big Pharma right now, money is not going into research. You know, big firms --
PEREIRA: It's going into marketing.
(CROSSTALK)
FOROOHAR: It is going into marketing.
(CROSSTALK)
PEREIRA: They are spending more in marketing than they are in R&D.
FOROOHAR: Absolutely. And it's also being handed back to shareholders. You know, on the part of share buyback, dividend payments, that's something else Hillary has been taking on, too. Companies have become very financialize. They're not acting like research firms. They're acting like big portfolio companies.
PEREIRA: What about this idea that people will be able to shop for prescription drugs in other countries? Do you think that's going to help? We've seen that happen with people getting their drugs from Canada, for example, over the years.
FOROOHAR: I think that that can help in a limited way, but really what I think we need is a complete overhaul, frankly, of how research gets done in this country.
PEREIRA: Yes.
FOROOHAR: The other thing that we forget is a lot of very early stage research is done by the federal government. Funds have been cut for that over the years. The NIH has much less than they used to. Pharmaceutical companies are not putting that research in. The number of venture capitalist in this area has been going down. So if we want the kind of innovations that lead to breakthrough drugs, we're going to have to invest.
PEREIRA: You have to invest. And the money has to go to the right places.
FOROOHAR: That's right.
PEREIRA: That's the other thing.
If you look at the annual profits at some of the biggest drug companies, over $80 billion a year. If you let that sink in for a second, it's -- I mean, we know we're in a capitalist society, but that's troubling to so many people, especially when you list all the factors that you gave us a moment ago.
Is that just a result of bad actors like this character from the Turing Pharma Company that jacked up the price of his drug? Is it because of people like that, or is there money going on -- tell us how the money is shaking out here.
FOROOHAR: I think we have a systemic problem, frankly, in our overall health care system in America. You know, I have a little bit of a biased. I lived in Europe. I saw what national health care can be like when it's done well.
PEREIRA: Yes.
FOROOHAR: But, you know, yes, there are bad actors but across the board, it's not just one hedge fund guy jacking up a price. The entire pharmaceutical industry model doesn't work anymore in part, frankly, because the fact we've decoded a human genome, we have a lot more targets now. There are a lot more possibilities. The old funding model is going after one drug at one time. It just doesn't work anymore.
PEREIRA: Well, we'll see what happens when Hillary Clinton takes this on.
Rana, always a pleasure to have you here.
FOROOHAR: Thank you.
PEREIRA: Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: Well, Donald Trump stopping by the late shows. Stephen Colbert playing a little game of who said that. Stick around to see the highlights. It will brighten your morning or at least tickle your fancy.
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[07:52:35] CAMEROTA: So Donald Trump appearing on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert last night. And the candidate and the comedian, they played a game of "Who Said That?"
PEREIRA: Oh, this should be good.
CAMEROTA: It is really good.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE SHOW: I was looking back over some of the things you said over the years, and sometimes I couldn't figure whether I said them or you said them.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: OK.
COLBERT: OK? Ready, here's the first one.
We got Obama in there now and the Chinese testing him, bing, bing, bing. You get a woman in there, bing, boom, boom. The whole world goes after her. Me or you.
TRUMP: That's you.
COLBERT: That is me. That is actually me. OK.
(APPLAUSE)
I apologize for being perfect.
TRUMP: That would be you because I would never say a thing like that. Is that you?
COLBERT: That's very good.
(LAUGHTER)
I think apologizing is great a thing but you have to be wrong. I will absolutely apologize some time hopefully in the distant future if I'm ever wrong. TRUMP: That's me.
COLBERT: That is you.
(APPLAUSE)
You know you really well.
TRUMP: I know.
COLBERT: It's freezing and snowing in New York. We need global warming.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Well, I think it's you, but it is close to being me. I think so.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: My favorite thing is when he says you know you very well.
CAMEROTA: Donald Trump seemed to be really enjoying that. He was smiling. That seems like a fun exercise.
PEREIRA: Again, Stephen Colbert, so clever, so smart and so in the know. That really is such a great job.
CAMEROTA: I really thought the bing, bang, boom, was going to be Donald Trump.
PEREIRA: He didn't use his bing, bang, boom, in the right context.
CAMEROTA: Got it.
PEREIRA: Yes, we got to keep that straight.
CAMEROTA: All right, fantastic. OK, let's go out to Chris.
CUOMO: The bing, bang, boom, almost made me choke on the Clif Bar I'm choking down here.
CAMEROTA: Oh, no. No, no, don't do that.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: You almost got me. Almost got me. Maybe, there's a little divine intersection on my behalf because Pope Francis is close to me and in the house, White House, that is.
We're less than an hour away. What is the Pope going to say to the American people? Here's one thing. You'll be able to understand it. He's going to be speaking in English. So we have some insight into what his message may be, what it won't be and what he will want to discuss with POTUS alone.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[07:58:31] UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Holy Father Papa Francisco will speak directly to the American people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The world is waiting to see what Pope Francis says before Congress. Around 10:15, he will meet with the president. We're talking just the Pope and the president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All eyes zeroed in on Pope Francis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody wants to have a protect eagle down (ph) on their watch.
DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't care what a person's religious beliefs are.
TRUMP: I don't have to defend President Obama, he's not going to defend me.
GOV. JOHN KASICH, (R-OH) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going to go out to say, you know, outrageous things or make promises that I can't keep to win.
COLBERT: Is there anybody you would like to apologize to right now, yourself?
TRUMP: No.
COLBERT: No?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.
CUOMO: All right. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are watching NEW DAY.
Alisyn and Mick are in New York and we are coming to you live from the White House south lawn, right by the south portico, and you don't get many days like this.
History is about to be made between President Obama and Pope Francis. In less than hour, the Holy Father is going to speak to the American people in English. It's his first time on American soil, but this is about much more than that.
What will he speak about? There are so many big issues going on in American culture and political culture right now. Immigration, the environment, tolerance of religion and of differences in general. This is a Latin American pope, the first one, an immigrant himself. What will he say and how will it be receive. We have comprehensive team coverage of the man, the moment and his message.
