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New Day

Interview with Sen. Claire McCaskill; Sexting Scandal Shocks Colorado Town; New Biography on George H.W. Bush Released Tomorrow; Ben Carson on the Offense. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 09, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, a prominent senator has gone so far as to call Clinton's competition "unelectable". Who's that? Not me. Senator Claire McCaskill.

Now, just important for this morning's conversation, she's an alumna of the University of Missouri. She's obviously the senator, the senior senator, in that state, so we want to talk about that as well.

Senator, thank you for being here this morning.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Let's talk about Missouri. Obviously it's at little bit of a flash point.

[07:30:00] Do you believe that you and other electeds need to do more to fix what's going on in that campus?

MCCASKILL: Well, certainly I want to say how proud I am of the young people on that campus that have decided that they are going to make a stand. And I'm proud of our football team, frankly. If you remember, this is the same football team that -- where Michael Sam came from, one of the first athletes to go through the NFL draft as --

CUOMO: Openly gay.

MCCASKILL: -- openly gay. So I'm -- I believe that good things are going to come from this because of the passion and commitment of these young people. And obviously we need to be part of it, too. The challenge for the university right now obviously is to, at the board of curators meeting this morning, make a decision about the leadership of the university going forward.

CUOMO: Now obviously that's indirectly talking about who the president is. My question is this -- my curiosity -- if the football team is doing the right thing, if these kids are doing the right thing, that means that wrong things have happened on campus. I don't hear enough of that being said by people in power. Even I thought you and Governor Nixon, your statements were supportive but general.

If these kids are doing the right thing, that means the wrong thing has been going on in the campus. Where's the accountability for that?

MCCASKILL: I think, frankly, what has happened is there has been not enough prioritization on this issue on campus. There has been progress since I was on that campus. I think that, frankly, candidly, I don't think the student body would have elected a black student body president back when I was on campus. And they have at the University of Missouri in Columbia. So there are good things that have occurred, but I don't think these young people believe, and I think they're probably right, that this leadership has not prioritized some of the issues that African-American students face on campus in terms of being marginalized in various ways.

CUOMO: Do you have a different understanding of this piece of video of the president, President Wolfe, saying to the kids, when they ask what about systematic discrimination, he says it exists because you think you're not getting the opportunities to succeed. One of the kids yells after him, afterwards, "Are you saying we're responsible for it?"

If you said something like that, Senator, you'd have a very long day in that chair. How do you explain those comments?

MCCASKILL: Well, I think it was -- I don't know if he misspoke. I think he was probably doing this off the cuff and obviously didn't do it well. I don't believe that this president is in the dark at this point about how bad things are. I think he realizes that huge mistakes have been made and changes need to be made.

CUOMO: Because he's not in front of it. That's for sure.

MCCASKILL: No, that's for sure. And that obviously was a ham-handed way to address these young people. Obviously it's not their fault; it's not their perception. There is systemic racism and it's important that we look at from top to bottom, on university campuses, in the criminal justice system, in the workplace. And I believe that the university is going to turn the page today and we're going to see some changes that I hope allow us to go forward and fix this issue, at least do a much better job than we have done.

CUOMO: We will be on the story; we will be in contact with the office. Thank you for discussing that. It matters.

Let's talk a little politics.

MCCASKILL: Sure.

CUOMO: You say you're with Hillary, all in. Bernie Sanders, nice guy, unelectable. He would say that's crazy talk. Hillary is unelectable. She's got the high built-in negatives. She's hiding from those negatives. She won't even come on NEW DAY. Why back her and not Bernie Sanders?

MCCASKILL: Well, first of all, I think I've said an awful lot of good things about Bernie Sanders and the conversation he's having with America. I think it's really important. And he's my friend and I admire him for what he's doing.

CUOMO: Is it the socialist thing, Senator? Can you not get past? MCCASKILL: But I really -- I'm from Missouri. And, you know, he is

not identified as a Democrat. He does identify as a socialist. I think that's very hard --

CUOMO: Says Democratic Socialist.

MCCASKILL: But he says socialist.

CUOMO: Every time.

MCCASKILL: Every time. So I think the problem is, in a state like mine, it's very hard to get past that for a lot of voters. And, you know, the idea that America is founded on the basis of that anybody can make it. Now obviously we've got work to do with the middle class and income inequality, and Bernie is highlighting those issues very well. And I think Hillary Clinton is a better candidate because of it. I think her challenge by Bernie Sanders has made her a stronger candidate, a more aggressive candidate. I think she's working very hard to earn it. And ultimately I believe she will earn the nomination and be elected president.

CUOMO: What do you do with that big built-in negative? How does she broaden the tent? As we wll know, we got a third of them. They're going to love her. She's the Democrat. You got a third of them, they're going to hate her. She's the Democrat. Then you've got that third in the middle. With that high built-in negative, everything swarming around with these ancillary issues to actual policy, how does she broaden the tent?

MCCASKILL: I think she broadens the tent by the contrast between her policies and the Republican policies. One is about the everyday man, about the family that is struggling to figure out if they can send their child to college or whether they can afford to retire.

[07:35:05] The other policies are about going backward to, oh, if we just give tax cuts to the top 1 percent, we'll all have unicorns and rainbows.

There will be a contrast in policies. Once the Republicans figure out who their nominee is, the contrast will become clear and that's when I think she'll win over those middle voters, those independent voters, because I do not think they want to go back to the trickle down failed economic policies that frankly have never worked when they have been embraced by Republicans in the White House.

CUOMO: We know the voters choose when they trust. And that's going to be her obstacle. That's why we want to interview her on the show and see how she does going forward.

Senator McCaskill, we'll stay on the Missouri story. Thank you for being with us this morning.

MCCASKILL: Thank you very much.

CUOMO: Appreciate it.

Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris, Colorado high school students implicated in a sexting scandal with explicit pictures being exchanged like trading cards. How did this go undetected? We are live with all the details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: We have breaking news for you -- two Americans shot and killed by a Jordanian police officer this morning at a police training facility outside Jordan's capital of Amman. A South African contractor was also killed.

[07:40:02] Now according to Jordan's official news agency, this is what happened. Two other Americans were wounded as well. The shooter was killed. Details are sketchy. We're going to have information as we get it. Stick with CNN for that.

CAMEROTA: OK, back here at home in politics, Dr. Ben Carson doubling down on his attacks on journalism. He's slamming the media, claiming that he's being unfairly scrutinized more than any other candidate. And it's apparently paying off for him -- millions of dollars in donations pouring into the Carson camp in just the past week. Donald Trump stirring the pot. He calls Carson's stories about a violent childhood, quote, "disturbing."

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A Texas state judge is recovering this morning after she was shot outside her home. Police say judge Julie Kaserik was shot and wounded in the driveway of her home in Austin Friday night. A manhunt is currently underway for the suspect. Local media's reporting that it could have been a planned ambush. A garbage can was left in front of her security gate, forcing her to get out of her car and move it when she was shot.

CUOMO: A sexting scandal is rocking a small community in Colorado. Investigators are working to identify teenagers in hundreds of nude photos. The lewd photos were distributed through something known as a ghost app, or a vault app.

Let's bring in CNN's Ana Cabrera for more on this disturbing story. This is a story we're starting to hear all too often. What's going on this time?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an issue that is focused around the country right now, different law enforcement agencies, different school districts. I can tell you a little more than 1,000 students attend Canon City High School. It's the only high school in this small Colorado town. And authorities say that there are possibly hundreds of students here at this school who have been involved in this sexting situation, including but not limited to many of the high school football players. In fact, because of this investigation, the high school football team here had to withdraw -- they had to forfeit their final game of the season over the weekend as police are now investigating.

And authorities say they have at least three cell phones that have been turned over. They're conducting a forensic analysis of those phones that they say include pictures of students 8th through 12th grade. They believe there are hundreds of pictures showing nude body parts as well as students in their undergarments.

Now they say these students were sharing and saving the pictures using a number of different apps, including Snapchat and Photo Vault. If you're not familiar with Photo Vault that disguises itself on the surfaces as a calculator or a media player on your phone. But once a user enters a password, then they have access to a whole world of hidden pictures.

We talked to one student who says back when she was in eighth grade, about three years ago or so, she was asked to send lewd photos by a couple of boys. She didn't, but she says she knows that this is something becoming more and more common here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENDRA STUBBLEFIELD, STUDENT AT CANON CITY HIGH SCHOOL: It's just become something that, like, everybody was doing so nobody really saw something really bad about it. Like I personally just knew morally that it was wrong but I didn't really know legally to the extent of how wrong it was because nobody ever really told us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: She says this has been a huge learning experience for all the students here. They don't want it to define them or the school. A wakeup call for the principal, for the staff at the school as well.

The district attorney will ultimately decide whether any criminal charges will be filed here. Felony charges are possible, even possibly requiring some students to register as sex offenders, although so far, guys, nobody is rushing to prosecute this. Investigation is continuing.

CAMEROTA: Ana, just incredible. I mean, a wakeup call for everyone, the idea that it could be -- live on forever.

Ana, thanks so much for that story.

Meanwhile, Bush 41 revealing some family secrets. This is all part of a new biography and it's set to hit bookshelves tomorrow. CNN talks with the author to get a sneak peek at what is inside those pages when NEW DAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:48:04] CAMEROTA: President George H.W. Bush's biography continues to make headlines before it's even released tomorrow. "Destiny, and the Power of American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush". It's written by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham and makes startling revelations about the president's health while in office.

Our special correspondent Jamie Gangel joins us with more this morning. Tell us what's inside the pages, Jamie. JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: This new book reveals so

much about his thoughts, his frustrations, his struggles. There is some very surprising news about his health. For the first time, this is a heart incident that was never made public until now. And revelations about whether he really wanted to run for reelection. But we start by listening to these extraordinary diaries. George Bush in his own words.

(BEGIN BEGINTAPE)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, THEN-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a terribly serious problem. It's perhaps the most serious problem that I have faced as president because the downside is so enormous.

GANGEL (voice-over): Immensely private man, this is a glimpse behind the veil of the real George Herbert Walker Bush, dictating his feelings about the lead up to the Persian Gulf War.

BUSH: If indeed the Iraqis went in and got a hold of Saudi Arabia and our objective then was to free Saudi Arabia, we'd really be involved in something that would have the magnitude of world war.

GANGEL: In the end, Desert Storm was one of the highlights of his presidency, but historian Jon Meacham reveals for the first time that, after the war, bush suffered from a post-war letdown. And that his diagnosis with Graves' Disease, a thyroid condition, was much more debilitating than was previously known.

(on camera): There's a second heart incident that you reveal, that the public never knew about it.

JON MEACHAM, AUTHOR, "DESTINY AND POWER": That's right, it was late July 1992.

[07:50:02] His doctors had just shifted the thyroid medicine trying to get him a little more energy. Remember in 1992, how he seemed to be out of it, out of touch. Part of that was the thyroid. Part of it was the fact that he was not firing on as many pistons as he had.

GANGEL: They hadn't balanced the medication properly.

MEACHAM: Right, which is very hard thing to do. And in the third week of July 1992, he has another episode of fibrillation, it passes very briefly, it did not affect his fitness for office. But it unquestionably affected his mindset and zeal with which he jumped into a campaign.

GANGEL: People said about his reelection over and over again, it doesn't look like he has his heart in it. Is it the health problem?

MEACHAM: His heart was in the race, his thyroid wasn't. I think.

GANGEL: Do you think there was a serious connection between the Graves' Disease, the thyroid, the lethargy, and how he was able to campaign?

MEACHAM: Medically, I don't know how you'd come to any other conclusion.

GANGEL (voice-over): Another insight? Meacham says the diaries provide a unique view into the frustrations and doubts that Bush wrestled with, including whether or not he really wanted to run for reelection.

MEACHAM: He did say I'm just not sure I want to run again. He says this in the hospital the first time.

GANGEL (on camera): You think he ever seriously considered not running? Or do you think these are his musings as he's struggling with the health problems?

MEACHAM: I think it was therapeutic. I think that he talked himself to that ledge and then talked himself back, because the way the diary entries work is he'll say I'm just going to go in the press room, surprise them all, it'll be action all the way at the convention to see who gets it, and I'm going back -- we're going back to A&M. We're going back to Texas.

But often in the same entry he'll say but the work isn't finished. I'm better than the rest of these guys who want this job. And so I've just got to stick to it.

GANGEL: What I hear you saying is something that someone once said to me about, you would never want to play poker with him.

MEACHAM: Oh lord no. No, no, no. If there is a WASP Machiavelli, it's George Herbert Walker Bush. You don't get to be President of the United States by just being sweet. Let's be very clear here. He did things, he could be ruthless, he did it charmingly and so often I think your pocket would be picked and he would be halfway down the road before you realized it.

But this was a tough man, determined always to prove he was tough. so the Bush code was always look ahead. Always drive ahead. He told me that. Sitting in his living room in Houston, he said my goal has always been to be number one, to be the captain of the team, that big left fist punching the air.

These were the two parts of Bush that came together to create this incredibly complicated man, the competitor and the man devoted to serving others. What links is it is that he knew he had to compete brilliantly to win the power to shape the lives of others. And that's the definition of a great political life. And George H. W. Bush led that life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANGEL: Alisyn, I loved that, a WASP Machiavelli.

CAMEROTA: I liked that too.

GANGEL: You know, I often say about President Bush, as I said there, that you wouldn't want to play cards with him because he had a great poker face. He really was meant to be director of the CIA. But it's important because he could keep a secret, which is one of the reasons this book is so extraordinary. For the first time, we're really hearing his inner true thoughts.

And I've spoken to people who worked in his cabinet, worked very closely with him, who were there during these historic events, and this is the first time they really are understanding how he felt about these things. And to hear it in his lifetime. You know, sometimes, these things come out afterwards, but to know about it right now in real time is extraordinary.

CAMEROTA: And of course, it's fascinating to hear them happening during a presidential campaign that involves his son. It's just all so interesting to revisit this and see how he was thinking.

Jamie Gangel, great to see you. Thanks so much for being on.

GANGEL: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Well, coming up, Ben Carson's crusade against journalism. What do the other candidates think about it? We will talk to Chris Christie about that live, and about how he feels about being demoted to the undercard debate now. Chris Christie will be here, straight ahead.

[07:54:55]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Ben Carson is coming after the media.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The burden of proof is not going to be on me.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has pathological disease. That's a serious statement. As I understand it, you can't really cure it.

CARSON: There's no question I'm getting special scrutiny because, you know, there are a lot of people who are very threatened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you a politician?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Check the record and find if there is anybody in the United States Senate who has anything like the political history that I have. We are in this race to win.

COL. MICHAEL EDMONSON, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: Jeremy Mordris, he didn't deserve to die like that.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A 6-year-old boy shot and killed by two marshals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was just an innocent little boy. EDMONSON: It was the most disturbing thing I've seen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, November 9th, 8:00 in the East.

So Ben Carson is turning what he calls unfair scrutiny from the news media into a new fundraising strategy. It seems the more the Repbulican candidate slams us, the more money rolls in, $3.5 million just last week alone he says. Carson ramping up the attacks, insisting that he's being unfairly subjected to more media scrutiny than any other candidate.

CAMEROTA: And leave it to Donald Trump to fan the flames. Trump's predicting the scrutiny could doom Carson's candidacy. This is fresh off a highly rated gig on "Saturday Night Live". Trump calls Carson's stories about his violent childhood, quote, "disturbing".

Let's bring in CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, live from Washington. A lot happened over the weekend, back and forth, Suzanne. Tell us the latest.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot did happen, Alisyan. Good morning. It's pretty clear that all these candidates, the Gop candidates, they want to get some things out before tomorrow's Republican debate in Milwaukee.

[08:00:00] So for Dr. Carson, it was about going from defense the offense regarding the stories about his past. For Rubio, we saw, it was providing more information about his finances.