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Turkey Shoots Down Aircraft Near Syrian Border; Biden Nearing Decision on White House Bid; Who's Winning the 2016 Money Race? Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 16, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Money was never an issue for Jeb Bush. The question is what is his message?

[07:00:07] JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's an amount that's -- will be competitive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's like, almost not breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the thing. With addiction, you can really hide it, and a lot of people, the closest to you, have no idea it's really going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is bedroom where Lamar Odom has been staying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He spent $75,000. What he wanted is two girls, 24 hours a day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

This is CNN breaking news.

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. Brook Baldwin is here with me. Thanks for being here, my friend. Alisyn and Mick are off.

We do have breaking news out of the Middle East. We're just getting word the Turkish military says it has shot down an unidentified aircraft in Turkish air space near the Syrian border.

BALDWIN: This comes at a time where Russia's escalation in Syria has added vast uncertainty to an already volatile situation. There were already concerns about planes from too many countries flying in this dangerous zone.

So let's get right to our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, live in Istanbul this morning for us with the breaking details.

Nick, what do you know? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Minimal

information so far from the Turkish military. But that statement said today an aircraft of unidentified nationality was shot down in Turkish air space after it did not respond to three warnings. The Turkish military in doing that acted within their rules of engagement.

Now there are media reports suggesting that that the Turkish use of the word "aircraft," in fact, suggests this may have been a drone. A lot is happening in that air space right now. Russian surveillance craft very prevalent in that area. We know that the Russians have been talking to their American counterparts, trying to deconflict their air space.

The Israelis, too, in fact, a Russian official here in Turkey just yesterday, trying to be sure that similar things don't happen along the Turkish border, where Russian jets are flying after an incident ten days ago when the Russians tried to put down the bad weather, when they strayed into the Turkey reasonably far.

This, though, will massively escalate this situation. It may have been an unmanned aircraft. That will certainly take away the possibility here that lives could be lost. But you know, Syria, such a mess for four years.

Now we are talking about NATO and Russian aircraft, potentially vying or even conflicting in that troubled air space. Very dangerous indeed -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Nick, thank you for the context and the facts. And you're asking the right questions. Let us know what you find out. We'll come back to you. Appreciate it. Nick Paton Walsh.

We have other big news this morning. Joe Biden is said to be near to a decision on his presidential run. His family reportedly completely on board.

Meanwhile, the vice president said to be calling several top Democratic strategists to see if they'd like a job. We have comprehensive coverage for the race to the White House.

We begin this morning start with senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny in London. An e-mail set off a big spark last night. Jeff, what's it about?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It did. Good morning, Chris.

An e-mail from the vice president's former chief of staff, long-time adviser Ted Kaufman, essentially to all people who used to work for Joe Biden, saying, "Get ready. He will need your help if he decides to run."

For the first time outlined what his message would be, of course, being a fighter for the middle class, for those economic values. So what's happening right now, this campaign in waiting is just waiting to see a signal from the vice president if he decides to send it in the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you made your decision yet?

BIDEN: I can't hear you.

ZELENY (voice-over): As Vice President Joe Biden continues to evade the big question, this morning it appears he's closer to answering that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there still an opening for you in the race, sir?

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll tell you what, good to see you all.

ZELENY: Sources telling CNN that Biden's family supports a presidential run. The vice president personally making calls this week to Democratic strategists from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The conversation how, not whether, he'll launch a campaign.

STEVEN SCHALE, DRAFT BIDEN STRATEGIST: With the stature he would bring to the race, the minute he got in the race the entire narrative would change; and we'd start talking about the first debate in Iowa in November.

ZELENY: New this morning, a look inside Biden's possible 2016 run. A close adviser to Biden, former Delaware Senator Ted Kaufman, sent an e-mail obtained by CNN to his former staffers, asking for their help if the vice president decides to run.

In it, Kaufman says, "It will be a campaign from the heart. A campaign consistent with his values, our values and the values of the American people." Kaufman went on to say, "If he runs, he'll run because of his burning conviction that we need to fundamentally change the balance of our economy. And the political structure to restore the ability of the middle class to get ahead."

Kaufman also writing in the e-mail, Biden believes we must win this election or, in the hands of the Republicans, everything that he and the president have worked for and care about is at stake.

Friends of Biden who have spoken to him say he's not afraid to lose, even in the wake of a strong debate performance this week by Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

[07:05:04] BIDEN: How are you? Nice to see you.

ZELENY:: The vice president has asked several Democratic strategists in early states to work for him if he decides to run. Fundraisers and supporters are also waiting in the wings to join his campaign if he moves forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: Now, Biden, of course, has run for president twice before and lost. He's flirted with the idea several more times.

But Chris, this is a different moment, I'm told. Senior Democrats who have spoken to him say he's so serious about this, he's taking his concrete steps to do it. And if he would decide in the next coming days, boy would this shake up the Democratic race.

CUOMO: Absolutely. And, you know, as we both know, with Joe Biden you have somebody who's about the man and the message and whether he feels it. And kind of all the details will be left until after he makes the decision. Yet, there are some practicalities.

Jeff, I'll check back with you in just a little bit.

The big practicality, of course, is money. And the 2016 candidates are reporting their third quarter fund-raising numbers on Thursday. So we get to see how well are they doing? How well are they resonating in the money race?

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans has the state of play.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Chris.

Let's look at the totals now with the third quarter, year to date, 142 million for the 15 Republicans out there and the six Democrats bringing in about 122 million. This is a count, unlimited, unlimited super PAC money. This is what the candidates have raised. This is what they'll use to pay their rents, to pay their people who are working in their offices around the country and to charter those planes. So this is the money that they need to get their operations going every month. And look at this: in the GOP field, Ben Carson, the winner in the third quarter, almost $21 million here. And you can see how his performance from the second quarter has really gained momentum.

Jeb Bush, this is a number, 13 million, is a number that's helping out here. This is a number that his supporters are pleased about. He only has $10 million in the bank. He's spending a lot of money on a very aggressive ground game, an expansive ground game. He needs that money. He comes in here at No. 2.

Really being prudent with their money, you've got Ted Cruz here. He's coming in at $12 million. A little bit more than you've got in the second quarter. His ground game is a little bit smaller, but they really want to have some staying power there.

Look at this. Even Donald Trump, he is not soliciting donations, but he still came in at 3.9 million. I want to show you the Democrats here. Because there's a great deal of money in the Democratic race. And I think this -- these numbers also show you what you've been seeing on the Republican side. This is a story about disrupters and outsiders really changing the money game here.

Look at Bernie Sanders. His momentum from the second quarter to the third quarter, $26.2 million. Something interesting, Chris and Brooke, about the Bernie Sanders numbers, as well. He has 650,000 individual donors. Hillary Clinton has about 400,000. So you can see he's got a grassroots appeal that is still bringing in a whole lot of money.

And again, this is not super PAC money. This is the money they are using to pay the bills every day, every month. These are the numbers we watch so carefully, guys.

BALDWIN: Let's stay on politics. And I want to talk about this 2016 race. Christine Romans, thank you very much.

The move to keep, also, American troops within Afghanistan here, General Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander, and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate.

General Clark, good morning.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Good morning.

BALDWIN: Let's get right to it, the news that we're hearing within potentially the next three days Vice President Joe Biden will make the decisions as to whether or not he'll throw his hat in the race for 2016. Do you think he should?

CLARK: Well, I think he's got to do what's in his heart. And that's the way it is. Politics is when you get into it, and I know from my run, it can be the most compelling -- it just pulls you forward. And once you've been in it, it's so hard to let it go.

But I did the late entry. Now my entry was in September in 2003, but I can tell you what you face. You face a lot of the super delegates who have already committed. A lot of the money is committed. A lot of the staff is committed. And so it is an uphill battle. And I think even for the vice president, I think he knows that very well.

And you know, I think Hillary Clinton has a tremendous base of support. There's a reason why the Republican Party has for years tried to focus on and attack and tear down Hillary Clinton. Because they know she will pull strength from Republican women and Republican moderates across the board.

She's pragmatic. She's progressive. She knows how to get things done. So I think the vice president has got to do what he believes in his heart is the right thing to do. He's going to have a really tough fight.

BALDWIN: Let me jump back to a word you said a second ago, late. You said you jumped in late in September. Checking my calendar, it's October, and he has yet to declare again, you know, perhaps in the next couple of days.

How much of this moving forward, obviously, we all know, he's the vice president of our country. We know who Joe Biden is. It's not a name recognition issue for him.

But how much of this will be about fundraising, will be about money?

CLARK: Right. And there's only so much you can do so fast. And people in politics, what I found, was so many people said to me when I got into the race, they said, "Oh, if you'd only declared, you know, three months ago, four months ago, I would have supported you, but now I've pledged to support Howard Dean or John Kerry or John Edwards. I really like you, but it's too late."

[07:10:21] Maybe that's because I wasn't vice president. Maybe Joe Biden's pull will be so powerful that people will go back on long-term relationships and professed commitments. But that hasn't been my experience in politics.

My experience has been that when people -- most people when they say, "I'm going to support you, they know full well that they will still be courted by other candidates," and they know that their voice of support, their pledge, means a lot. Because it means they're trustworthy.

And ultimately, it's -- they're going to see it's better to have stuck with the candidate you said you were going to support than switch for the long term. And I think that's what is going to confront the vice president.

BALDWIN: OK. If I may, let's switch to Afghanistan. Big news out of the White House yesterday. The president saying he will keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan, 9,800 and then ultimately down at 5,500 January of '17. Do you respect the president's decision there?

CLARK: Well, I think he made the right decision in the sense that there was no point in pulling the rest of those troops out and ending up with a combat ineffective force.

But unless there's some reconciliation in Afghanistan and unless there's a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on between Pakistan and India, led by the United States, to turn off the support for the Taliban, we're not going to see any real progress. We're going to maybe prevent a deterioration, may help a government, that's asked for us to stay, stay in power, but we have to understand that Afghanistan is a strategic battleground between Pakistan and India.

Pakistan wants control of Afghanistan so it has strategic depth; and it has over decades created, funded and supported and directed the Taliban. That is still going on. It's a very -- it's a very open but covert operation. It's very hard for us as Americans.

BALDWIN: With Pakistan -- with Pakistan as a de facto ally to the Taliban, what's the strategy there?

CLARK: Well, that is the question. I mean, that's what Richard Holbrooke was working on years ago before he died. And it's very hard to get to the right people in Pakistan who will admit it and when they admit it, it's their core vital interest, and they're not going to give up on it easily.

So we've sort of reached a modus vivendi with the Pakistanis. We'll support the government if it proves viable and it proves to be aligned the right way. Then we hope the Pakistanis will give up on some of their -- turn down their support of the Taliban; and maybe there can be a coalition that emerges.

And unfortunately, the struggle is written in blood and destroyed villages and hopeless lives in that battleground. That's the frustration of the U.S. policy.

BALDWIN: And we heard the president talk about the Afghan forces, saying that they're stronger; but they, you know, utterly collapsed recently in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. How -- how effective are they? How -- how is Afghanistan? Are they doing enough?

CLARK: Well, first of all, I have to say I'm not on the ground. So you know, if I went over there and looked at companies and battalions and talked to officers, I'd probably have a much clearer impression. They're doing better. We've put a lot of effort into it. We've got some great training methodologies; and we've put billions of dollars into this force and strengthening.

However, it's still a force that's opposed by others, who are using terrorism and other means to gain entry into the civilian populace. And it's always going to be in jeopardy until -- you can't win an insurgency when there's a sanctuary for the insurgents across the border. That was true in Vietnam, and it remains true today. It's been true in every insurgency.

Unless Pakistan stops its support, what we're doing with the military is we're holding the door open; but we can't finish the job. It's not a military job, not even a military training job. It's a job that's got to be done by the diplomats, and particularly, it's got to be a change of heart of the Pakistanis, who say, look, this -- we don't need to be doing this. And -- but they still feel they are doing it and need to be doing it. And so the conflict continues.

BALDWIN: General Wesley Clark, as always, thank you so much.

CLARK: Thank you very much. Nice to be with you.

BALDWIN: And a quick programming note for you. Make sure you watch Jake Tapper on "THE LEAD" today. He will be talking to Hillary Clinton. Exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER," 4 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

CUOMO: And more proof that the threat is not just abroad but also here at home. ISIS is apparently trying to hack America's power grid. This comes from law enforcement officials. So far they say the terror group has not been successful, because they are reportedly using outdating hacking tools. But the FBI says there are concerns ISIS will buy better stuff on the black market and eventually be able to do it.

[07:15:12] BALDWIN: Nevada gaming regulators ordering daily fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings to shut down, saying they cannot operate in a state without a gambling license. Officials concluded those sites offer clients gambling services, not just games of skill. FanDuel and DraftKings issuing statements strongly disagreeing with that decision and promising to explore, quote, "all options."

CUOMO: One of those "duh" moments, going on there right now.

All right. So for the third time since 2010, there will be no cost of living increase, those COLA adjustments, for Social Security recipients next year.

More than 70 million Americans are going to be impacted by this. Social Security benefits must go up to counter a rise in inflation by law. So the calculus becomes, if inflation levels, which are historically low, stay where they are, there's no adjustment. Now, this is worse for several million people who are also on Medicare, since premiums are set to rise in 2016.

BALDWIN: Ben Carson, he is running second in the Republican race for president. But he is winning the fundraising game among Republicans. We've been talking money all morning, and it's important. But does it help much? Does it matter when you look at Donald Trump, financing his own run? We'll talk to a top adviser to Dr. Carson next here on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Dr. Ben Carson is doing better and better in the polls and what can come along with poll success, which is money. He and Donald Trump are linking up on the one thing that nobody really saw coming, which is their ideas about what must happen in the next debate for them to be there. Could they boycott?

[07:20:17] Let's get some perspective. Armstrong Williams, he's Ben Carson's business manager and close friend, as well as a big member of the media himself in certain moments.

Mr. Armstrong, let's try and clear up some things and give some context to some things. This idea that Dr. Carson is going to suspend his campaign to go on a book tour, is there any truth to that?

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, BEN CARSON'S BUSINESS MANAGER: No. He hasn't suspended his campaign. If you know anything about a book tour, when you're a second-tier candidate, you really can't tell the difference. He still talks to the pollers, still doing fundraisers and still talking to his policy people. And when they're doing interviews, the questions they're asking are really not about the book. It's about his policies; it's about the campaign.

CUOMO: Where is it coming from?

WILLIAMS: It happens. It happens. I think the campaign released a statement, an ABC reporter misconstrued it as suspending the campaign. To sort of keep the separation between the FEC and the campaign, to keep those walls pretty separate. And I think it was just a misinterpretation.

CUOMO: The money -- he's leading in raising money this quarter -- could be a simple reflection of his standing in the polls. You know, he's doing very well. He should do well. The team Trump says, well, he's leading in fundraising, because we're not raising money. If we were raising money, he wouldn't be first. Your response?

WILLIAMS: I find it interesting that Mr. Trump always likes to compare situations to himself, whether he's in the top of the polls or whatever. We are not into comparing. Dr. Carson is only competing against himself. We cannot compare ourselves to any other candidates. He's like a Sea Biscuit.

Dr. Carson, this is something new to him. The fact that Dr. Carson, within a couple of weeks, Chris, will have 700,000 donors, let me emphasize, 700,000.

CUOMO: They're talking about Bernie Sanders having such grassroots -- with 650,000.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

CUOMO: You're taking Dr. Carson has even more than that.

WILLIAMS: He has more. Almost 700,000. You're talking about people giving $50, $100 and $250. Imagine Dr. Carson, a former world- renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, all of a sudden running for president. We know a couple of gaffes that were committed here on your show with you. He came back.

And you can see the momentum. I mean, he's more disciplined in his message. There are a lot of people that he's resonating with. Many times which you're not covering. And people believe that Dr. Carson is honest. They believe he's trustworthy, and they believe he's talking about the kind of policies, whether it's education, whether it's the grid that he talks about often, whether it's talking about how you close the economic gap, whether it talks about how you overhaul entitlements that we're going to make it work for the poor so they don't become dependent. It's really resonating.

And let me tell you, when people give their hard-earned money, it tells you their belief in a particular candidate.

CUOMO: The smaller the amount, usually, the more it means in politics.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

CUOMO: I grew up learning that. Let me ask you something. One, we try to cover Dr. Carson very scrupulously. We would welcome him back on the show at any moment. He hasn't been on for a long time. But that's your decision to make. He's always welcome here on NEW DAY, you understand that?

WILLIAMS: He's been here with you twice.

CUOMO: I'm saying...

WILLIAMS: We appreciate the invitation. CUOMO: We miss him. We miss him.

WILLIAMS: It's under careful consideration.

CUOMO: Thank you very much, Armstrong. I'm sure it is.

Now, let's talk about that popularity in the polls. His recent statements about Muslims and Islam and what it means and what it could mean and could not mean, many thought that was going to hurt him.

However, his polls have gone up since then. How do you read that?

WILLIAMS: Listen, I think most people interpreted it and understood what Dr. Carson was trying to convey in his interview with Chris [SIC] Todd on "Meet the Press." And all Dr. Carson was saying is that, if you embrace Sharia law, it is in direct conflict with the constitution and, therefore, if someone of that faith embraced Sharia Law, he could not personally, of choice, vote for that person and advocate them for president of the United States.

CUOMO: Would it be the same thing if someone were a Christian and said, "By the way, my beliefs, I cannot enforce any law that allows abortion. It is against my Christianity. I cannot do that. But I want to run for president"? Would Dr. Carson feel about that person?

WILLIAMS: Dr. Carson doesn't care whether you're Christian, whether you're atheist, whether you're agnostic, Muslim, doesn't matter. If you cannot embrace the tenets of who we are, in terms of our Constitution, and if you cannot sacrifice your belief and your belief system that adhere to the Constitution, then he cannot advocate you as president of the United States.

CUOMO: We had Representative Keith Ellison on here, and he was talking about why he was backing Bernie Sanders. Now, make no mistake, he's a Democrat. He's a member of the progressive caucus. But I did ask him about Dr. Ben Carson and how he was interpreting what he was using. I want to let you hear what Keith Ellison said and you respond. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: Dr. Carson may be smart about separating conjoined twins, but it pretty much ends right there. And, you know, people want to come together. They don't want to be divided.

[07:25:09] Americans in general, they like their neighbors, and they don't really care what color or religion they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: What's your response?

WILLIAMS: Listen, much respect for Congressman Ellison and his service to this country, but look, Chris, sometimes leadership is unpopular. Sometimes when you state what you believe, there will be those that support you; and there will be those that say, "I cannot support him, because I cannot embrace his position." That's part of the price you pay when you're not a politician, when you're not waving your little finger in the wind to see which way it's going to blow.

Dr. Carson has to stand on his faith, his belief system, and what he thinks is right for this country. And obviously, it resonates with many people. But there's a price you pay. And along the way, you can lose support.

CUOMO: All right. Armstrong Williams, always appreciate the perspective. It's good to have you on the show.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

CUOMO: Please extend our invitation once again to Dr. Carson.

WILLIAMS: Under careful consideration.

CUOMO: I know.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

CUOMO: You're very careful -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Chris, thank you so much.

So Ben Carson's campaign is taking off, but Jeb Bush seems stuck in neutral, his fundraising slowing dramatically. Can he pick up some steam or is this the beginning of the end? A prominent Jeb Bush supporter weighs in, next.

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