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Donald Trump Leading GOP Rivals in New Polls; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Fires Police Commissioner; Interview with Jesus Garcia; Is U.S. Winning War Against ISIS?. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 02, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, December 2nd, 8:00 in the east. Donald Trump is going to like waking up today because the polls are showing what he wants to see. He is up and by a bigger margin than ever. A new national poll shows a commanding double digit lead. But the field behind him is changing.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Senator Marco Rubio now in second place with fellow Floridian Jeb Bush barely registering at five percent. Over on the Democratic side, frontrunner Hillary Clinton is far ahead of her competition. Let's break all this down with CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny. He's in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, with more. What do you see in the numbers, Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Donald Trump says he has the most loyal supporters and he may be right. This new Quinnipiac poll released just this morning shows that he has 27 percent of support among Republican voters, as you said.

But let's take a look deeper into these numbers here. With Marco Rubio at 17 percent, he's just ahead of Ted Cruz and of course Ben Carson right at 16 percent. But the race to watch coming up in the next two months here is between Cruz and Rubio as they both battle to be the alternative to Donald Trump. Donald Trump was here in New Hampshire last night. He barely mentioned any of his Republican rivals but he spent a bit of time talking about his strength against Hillary Clinton. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Very importantly, I'm killing -- we are just destroying Hillary. We're beating Hillary badly. We're beating her badly.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: But as it turns out this new Quinnipiac poll shows that is not actually true. Clinton is at 47 percent in this hypothetical matchup with Donald Trump. He is at 41 percent. Speaking of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, they also share another similarity, that nearly six in 10 voters say they are not honest and trustworthy. Look at these numbers. Hillary Clinton, 60 percent of voters say she is not honest and trustworthy, and 59 percent say the same thing of Donald Trump.

Now, of course this all is happening as this race is coming to a new phase of the campaign. Two months from this morning. We will know the winner of the Iowa caucuses. That of course will kick off this 2016 race to the White House. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Jeff, thanks for all of that. Mark your calendars out there. The CNN Republican debate is less than two weeks away now. Wolf Blitzer will moderate. This is the last GOP debate of the year, it will happen on Tuesday, December 15th, 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The dominos are beginning to fall in Chicago. The police department has been fired as anger builds over how that department handled the police shooting death of a teenager. The Justice Department is now considering a civil rights investigation after a request from the state's attorney general. Ryan Young is live in Chicago this morning with more. Ryan?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. Absolutely outrage from some people who talk about this. We even saw protesters go to city hall and try to push their way into the mayor's office, some saying one down, two to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: Days of protest in Chicago leading to one official calling for a federal investigation into the Chicago police department. Illinois' attorney general sending a request to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. This as the Chicago board is set to begin a nationwide search for a new superintendent.

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, (D) CHICAGO: He has become an issue rather than dealing with the issue, and a distraction.

YOUNG: The firing of Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy continued fallout over the city's handling of the brutal shooting of Laquan McDonald by Officer Jason Van Dyke, video of the teen who died in a hail of 16 bullets igniting days of outrage and growing distrust.

EMANUEL: Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership.

YOUNG: Reacting to the pressure Tuesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a new task force to review how the city trains its officers. But many now wonder if the mayor and Cook County prosecutor's jobs could be in jeopardy. Accusations swirling that the city tried to keep the shooting under wraps during re-election season, shelling out a $5 million settlement to the McDonald family before a lawsuit was even filed.

EMANUEL: I think I'm doing my job and I try to do it every day and do it in a professional way. YOUNG: A second dash-cam video shows McDonald running across a

Burger King parking lot moments before the shooting, also fueling suspicions of a cover-up, allegations that Chicago police deleted footage from that Burger King surveillance camera that may have captured moments leading up to the shooting.

MICHAEL ROBBINS, ATTORNEY FOR MCDONALD FAMILY: There was about I think 83 minutes of video missing.

YOUNG: The prosecutor insisting that the tape was not tampered with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: So let's talk about that video just a little bit. Everyone has been centered and focused on that Burger King. We actually went to the burger king, talked to the manager off camera and did a survey of our own walking around the building. None of the cameras actually pointed in the direction of the shooting of Laquan McDonald.

[08:05:02] So, yes, maybe they would have captured something if someone ran around. But all indicators from everybody we talked to, including the state's attorney, is the FBI did an analysis of that video and says that no one deleted that 86 minutes that's now missing from that file. Chris?

CUOMO: Ryan, thank you very much.

Let's get more perspective from Chicago. We have Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia. He ran for mayor against Rahm Emanuel in a runoff that surprised many earlier this year. It's good to see you, Chuy. Thank you for joining us.

JESUS "CHUY" GARCIA, RAN FOR CHICAGO MAYOR AGAINST RAHM EMANUEL IN 2015: Good morning.

CUOMO: Rahm Emanuel says he had to get rid of the superintendent because he had to get rid of the problem instead of fixing the problem. Would you apply the same criticism to the mayor?

GARCIA: The mayor has been involved in an effort to conceal information regarding this incident, this tragedy, this miscarriage of justice. It was obvious that the video would have had profound impact had it been released when it occurred. And the mayor has taken great steps to ensure that it's concealed.

CUOMO: Heavy allegations, Mr. Garcia. How do you prove that?

GARCIA: Yes. Well, for one, we've known that the video has existed, that the state's attorney had access to video. She could have brought charges. The release of the video has caused great indignation from all quarters across the city of Chicago. The mayor and the cooperation council moved quickly to settle a potential claim by the family before a lawsuit was even brought about. That's pretty rare. Yes, the city should try to protect its liability but the fact that it took place with great speed is another indication. CUOMO: Hold on a second. The mayor's office I would think would push

back and say, one, I don't control release of the video. The police do, the prosecutor does. I don't. And two, that we settled the case. Why isn't that an indication that we cared about the situation and wanted to make the family whole?

GARCIA: Well, it's pretty clear had the video been released when the incident occurred after the police reviewed it, after the state's attorney reviewed it, it would have happened prior to the runoff election in Chicago. It was the first runoff election ever. The video would have had a significant impact on the election.

Two, the state's attorney had access to the video, could have proceeded in filing charges immediately after reviewing it, especially knowing that there were several police officers who witnessed the incident. They have to cooperate with the state's attorney when interviewed. There was plenty of evidence to move with the charges that were only brought about when a judge in Chicago said the video is going to be released. The public has a right to see it. Only then did she proceed to file charges.

This is clear evidence that there was a miscarriage of justice, that nothing changed from the night of the murder of Laquan McDonald. And that's why, two days ago, I and six members of the city council, members of the Latino caucus, called for her resignation. We think this has been a miscarriage of justice. It is obvious that this occurred. And to us it's misconduct becoming of the highest criminal justice official in Cook County.

CUOMO: Why not push for a law that every time a police officer shoots a citizen, it is reviewed by an independent prosecutor so the transparency is built into the system and there is no question of things being done as normal which raises suspicions among some?

GARCIA: There are a variety of reform proposals on the table, because of the tumultuous impact that this video is having on Chicago. It's rocked the mayor's office. The county prosecutor is under great pressure. There's an election coming up. Both the mayor and the local prosecutor had reason for wanting to conceal this information from the public that now has been revealed. I believe that a law like that would be useful. It will be necessary to restore the type of trust that the public now doesn't see in the police department, in the mayor's office, and even with respect to the state's attorney's office in Cook County.

[08:10:00] This crisis has to produce a set of structural reforms and changes that can instill a sense of trust and confidence in law enforcement in Cook County. This is an unprecedented situation that we're in. There will have to be significant reforms that demonstrate that there is openness, that there is accountability and that misconduct in the police department in Chicago and its culture will change and will no longer be tolerated.

CUOMO: That's certainly the right thing to say. And we're hearing it from a lot of people in and around the Illinois situation, Chicago specifically. But is it unprecedented? You've had something like 300 shoot in a compressed timeframe. You paid out $500 million. There's a culture of gang violence in and around Chicago. People thought, mistakenly, getting rid of Cabrini Green would have gotten rid of it. Isn't this an obvious and intractable problem that you've had their for many, many years, arguably generations, that all of you have failed to deal with?

GARCIA: The root of much of the violence in Chicago and the fact that we're the most violent city in America, that the shootings over the past five years amount to almost 11,000 in terms of gun violence, those are all rooted in poverty and racism and structural inequality. That has to change.

What this video has done, it has allowed the public to understand what kind of misconduct, what type of excessive force can be used by the police department, and the type of cover-up that, and collusion that is possible and probably has been going on for a long time in Chicago. That's what we must change. That's the beginning of moving forward and bringing the city together.

Other cities have done it where they've embraced things like openness, accountability and community policing. The city of Los Angeles, which had a reputation for being one of the most corrupt, one of the most brutal departments in the city, transformed itself. Consequently shootings went down. There's greater trust in the police department and in the community residents. L.A. like Chicago have many things in common. This is the way forward. But this crisis was provoked because it was revealed by the video and by journalists that ask questions and a court saying this type of sham will no longer be tolerated, should no longer be tolerated.

CUOMO: And also what seems so obvious on the video itself. Jesus Garcia, thank you very much for joining us. We will stay on this story.

GARCIA: Thank you.

CUOMO: Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, another one of our top stories, the Obama administration stepping up the fight against ISIS. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announcing the deployment of a special operations force with the goal of conducting raids against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon with more. Tell us about your reporting, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alisyn. The secretary called it before Congress an expeditionary targeting force. The bottom line, the battlefield reality, this will be a hunter-killer force based in Iraq, conducting raids around Iraq and even going into Syria. Listen to how the defense secretary described what these troops will do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHTON CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: These special operators will, over time, be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture ISIL leaders. This force will also be in a position to conduct unilateral operations in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: A hunter-killer force of essentially about 200 troops, a small number of them very elite special operations forces, the kind we've seen before, Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, backed up by helicopter forces that will get them to their targets, get them out of there if they run into trouble. Still, the secretary running into a lot of criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill. They asked him if the U.S. is winning against ISIS. He said, the U.S. will win. Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right, Barbara, thank you.

Meanwhile, right now a debate underway in the British parliament about whether the U.K. should launch air strikes against ISIS in Syria. The British prime minister warned members of parliament ISIS is a threat to their nation's security. If the military action gets approval British officials say strikes will begin within days. That debate is slated to last roughly 10 hours before a vote tonight.

In the meantime German lawmakers also debating whether to increase their military role in Syria.

CAMEROTA: Another spectacular explosion rocking Turkey, this time near Istanbul. Five people were injured when a bomb went off at an intersection near a subway station. You can see a riot police bus passing by moments before that blast. Investigators now looking into whether that was the target. Suicide bombers killed more than 100 people outside an Ankara train station in October.

PEREIRA: All right, millennials, move over. The upcoming generation getting a new name courtesy of MTV. Ready for this Alisyn? The network calling today's teens "The Founders". The term will apply to teenagers born after December 2000.

MTV's president told "TIME" magazine that "The Founders" are going to be the ones to rebuild a society that millennials have disrupted. Researchers say that today's teens are digital pros, they're more pragmatic, they're more independent and they are the most diverse generation in history, which is really fascinating to think, because the name "Founders" makes you think of our forefathers, not necessarily the new generation.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: No, it's very retro.

PEREIRA: Yes. What are your thoughts?

CAMEROTA: What are your thoughts, Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I don't really care what you call them.

PEREIRA: We were kind of stall, because somebody might have --

CUOMO: I like the slow talk where you stretch out each word. God forbid you say he'll be back in a second. I don't care what you call them. It's really about all they do. I also feel like the generations all get blamed for the same thing.

CAMEROTA: Yes, speaking of gen-X.

PEREIRA: Are we all gen X? We are.

CAMEROTA: I think so. That's right.

All right. Meanwhile, we've been reporting as you know on the U.S. Special Ops forces headed to Iraq. Can these troops make a difference in the war against ISIS? We will ask General Wesley Clark, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The U.S. ramping up its troop presence on the ground in Iraq. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says a special ops unit will conduct raids in Iraq and Syria to gather intelligence, free hostages and capture ISIS leaders.

[08:20:07] Joining us now is former NATO supreme allied commander, General Wesley Clark.

General, thanks so much for being here in studio. Great to see you.

So, we're going to send these additional 200 some special ops forces. How will that change the fight against ISIS?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, I think it will give us more information, it gives a little more capacity to reach in and if there's a horrific situation shaping up and we learn about it, we have more capacity to take action. But it's not going to fundamentally change the outcome on the ground.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, what would fundamentally change the outcome on the ground?

CLARK: I think we're looking at this through the wrong end of the telescope. This is a political problem about the future of the Middle East. It's being fought out on the ground by zealots, some representing Iran, some representing Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Not directly. But they're Sunni versus Shia zealots. They're reinforced outside by Iran and Russia.

And so, what you have is a stew pot of conflict about the shape of the future Middle East.

CAMEROTA: It sounds so wildly complicated when you and others put it that way, and yet there is hope, you say, that we should follow the model of what happened in Bosnia in the 1990s. Remind us how that worked.

CLARK: So, the United States after two years of futile diplomacy, President Clinton took the lead, he put together a seven-point plan. It had consequences for either side. It had some shape about the future of Bosnia. We said there would be elections. We said the refugees would return. We said there would be consequences for the sides if they didn't accept it. And Richard Holbrooke went around with a team, did the negotiations,

shuttled diplomacy step by step. When we got the outline done on what the future could look like, then we worked the details. And then after we had the cease-fire and agreement on the politics, we put the NATO troops in. It was successful.

Now, two cases are going to be alike. In this case, what we have to do is we have to bring all the parties who can fight against ISIS together first and then fight against ISIS. And that means we have to reach some accommodation between Iran's views, Turkey's views, Saudi Arabia's views and then pull those fighters together with resources against ISIS and get ISIS off the map.

CAMEROTA: President Obama has said that ISIS is contained. Not in terms of ideology but in terms of territory. Then just today, this morning, we heard that ISIS is taking root in Libya. Is ISIS contained in terms of territory?

CLARK: I think it's a mistake to have an adjective on it like this, and say, is it or is it not contained? The truth is, ISIS is a threat. ISIS has tentacles everywhere. It hasn't gained more ground in Iraq. It's still fighting and struggling in Syria, but it is reaching out. It's consolidating its grip on parts of Libya.

When you look at its reach into France and what it's recently done, we don't want to be using words like is it or is it not contained? ISIS is a threat, but it's a threat with multiple dimensions. It's not only in the Middle East. Europe has to be able to control its own borders.

You know, one of the saddest things is the picture of these is terrorists running back and forth between Syria across borders and doing it with impunity.

But the adherence of Islam, the Muslims themselves have to take back their own faith from the ISIS claims of it, because at its heart, ISIS is about an idea. It's the idea that's drawing young people from around the world, misinformed young people who think they can give meaning to their lives by killing other people, by taking up weapons, by fighting for some abstract idea.

You know, young people have been doing this for as long as there's been mankind. There's always been these ideas. But in this case, we have to ask the Muslim communities themselves to lead the fight, straighten out their own fate.

CAMEROTA: Do they reject the extremism from ISIS. What more can they do?

CLARK: Well, we don't know. That's really up to them to decide. The Saudis, the various other people in the Middle East, Muslim communities around the world -- I mean, when people are preaching hate, is that really consistent with faith? And yet there are people preaching hate and recruiting people for hate.

So, there's an idea behind ISIS that has to be fought. There's a funding and recruits that have to be blocked. And then there's the ISIS control on the ground that has to be eliminated. So, it's a very complicated situation.

CAMEROTA: It is complicated. Secretary Ash Carter said we will win. In this House hearing he wasn't willing to say we are winning.

[08:25:01] He said we will win. What does that mean?

CLARK: Well, I think -- we're not really seeing what's going on in Vienna. But I think there is a diplomatic effort there to try to bring the opposing sides without ISIS together, because I think the strategy, everyone understands you can't just put 100,000 troops into the region, steam roll through the city of Raqqa. I mean, ISIS is not a conventional army. It has weapons. You can seize those weapons but ISIS will fade into the civilian population and we won't do very well.

CAMEROTA: That's why ground troops wouldn't work there in Raqqa.

CLARK: Without the support of the local people, without a government to go in place afterwards and so forth. So, that's why we've got to work it from the other end of the telescope. Its politics first, then bringing the forces to bear to take out ISIS.

CAMEROTA: General Wesley Clark, great to talk to you. Thanks so much for being here.

Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Here's a question. What does the entire nation's budget have to do with Syrian refugees? Well, the answer could be everything if some Republicans get their way. We can't be headed for another shutdown, can we? We're going to ask a top GOP senator, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: So the Republican-led House may tie a bill that would make it nearly impossible for Syrian refugees to come here. That has government shutdown written all over it. Meanwhile, top Republicans also say they need to weigh in on any climate deal President Obama strikes with other nations.

One of the leading voices in that fight is Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso.

Senator, thank you for joining us.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: Thank you, Chris.