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Turning Points: Extraordinary Boy Keeps Beating the Odds; Trump Defends Use of Term Describing Clinton Loss; Palin Gets Revenge in "30 Rock" Spoof; Big Social Media Moments of 2015. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired December 23, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Doctors kept her on life support for 16 weeks until Emanuel (ph) was born two months early.

NANI (ph): They tell me, be prepared to bury him in 24 hours.

GUPTA: He weighed less than three pounds. His lungs were underdeveloped, his kidneys shut down. Emanuel had surgeries on his heart and his eyes before he was three weeks old. Two days after giving birth, his mother died, leaving him in the care of his grandmother, Nani (ph).

NANI: I was told that he would have chronic lung disease all his life. He wouldn't be able to walk. He wouldn't be able to talk. So I dismissed anything negative and I worked with Emanuel around the clock. I literally have poured myself in him.

GUPTA: At age eight, he can only say 10 words. Now 11 years old, he can express himself and tries to prevent the type of violence that killed his mom. With Nani's help, he wrote a comic book starring himself as a super hero who fights bullies.

EMANUEL: My voice is being heard.

GUPTA: The free comic book is going to be turned into an anti-bullying public service announcement.

NANI: Life happens, but you can turn it around for the good.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: That is a great story. You can always turn it around. Beautiful message. Beautiful message.

You know who doesn't have to turn it around?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump.

CUOMO: Donald Trump, leading in the polls. Yes, criticism of profane comments. He says he's not apologizing. You know why? Because he believes it and it helps him. What is behind what Mr. Trump says and why it works, even among women? Next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:33] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: Everything that's been involved in Hillary has been losses. You take a look. Even her race to Obama, she was going to beat Obama. I don't know who'd be worse. I don't know. How does it get worse? But she was going to beat - she was favored to win and she got schlonged. She lost. I mean she lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Today, Donald Trump defending those remarks about Hillary Clinton that many call vulgar. So how is Trump fairing in the latest polls with women? Joining us to discuss is CNN political commentator Amanda Carpenter, she's also a former communications director for Ted Cruz, and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona.

Ladies, thanks so much for being here.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Amanda, let me start with you. You're a conservative woman. You know many conservative women. How are they processing Donald Trump's often coarse language?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, there's one respect in that Trump has sort of become immune from criticism because he's always saying controversial things. But this one, man, this one is a hard one. I mean it's uncomfortable for me to even use this word. I would certainly not accept this kind of language from anyone in the workplace. I don't think any other woman should, even if it's coming from the Oval Office.

This is a bridge too far. And I really think it's a bad idea considering the fact that Republicans are very likely to face the first female, you know, Democratic presidential nominee who wants to stake her entire election on becoming the first female president. He is just handing her loads of ammunition to use against not only him but Republicans up and down the ticket. And so I really wish he would consider becoming more precise and respectful with his language, particularly when it comes to women.

CUOMO: Well, it's hard to see it in the polls, though, guys. I mean he seems to be doing well certainly within the GOP with women. If we want to put up some of our recent polling here. You know, strong favorable ratings. In some places, competitive with other candidates. In others, better than other candidates.

It's interesting, you know, this word that he's saying is commonly used in politics. Probably isn't, but doesn't really matter. What about the idea of the bathroom break and how it was disgusting and why he took the time to mention that? Is that something that might matter more to women or no, Maria?

CARDONA: I think that it goes in the bucket of the kinds of completely disrespectful and frankly misogynistic comments that he has made about women. And it might very well be that he holds favorable ratings among GOP women, but that's certainly not the case among the general electorate, which in case he hasn't figured this out, he's going to face an electorate that is majority women, that is increasingly more multicultural women. And I can guarantee you that among Latino women, African-American women, newly immigrant naturalized citizen women who are flocking to register as Democrats, he is going to face another woman, as Amanda Carpenter said. and what's going to happen to him is the same thing that he said happened to Hillary in 2008.

CUOMO: Ohh.

CAMEROTA: Ouch.

CUOMO: Turnabout, fair play.

CAMEROTA: Even though all of us are reluctant to utter the word, except Chris. So - but, Amanda, that - OK, so he has 69 percent, as we just saw in our poll, of favorability with GOP women. But look what happens, to Maria's point, of all women. Favorability drops down to 34 percent, unfavorable, 61 percent. And his closest competitors have better numbers. Cruz, Carson and Rubio. So that will be a problem in the general.

CARPENTER: Well, I think other Republican candidates who are male do get it. They work with women all the time. You know, I've always had the feeling that Donald Trump thinks the highest aspiration for men is to be rich and women to be pretty. I just get that kind of vibe from him speaking. I don't think other people believe that's to be true. You know, Republican men I've worked with have working wives. Gosh, we had Paul Ryan, speaker of the House, talking about how he wants more work life balance to spend time for his kids. I think it's a generational thing with Republican men. The younger guys get it. They know how to treat women. And also, you know, talk tough at the same time. Donald Trump is not in that league by any means.

CUOMO: Well, you know what the defense is. Hold on a second. Yes, I'll going to take up for The Donald.

CAMEROTA: Well, go. Let's hear it.

CUOMO: HE says - first of all he says I cherish women.

CARPENTER: Oh, all right.

CUOMO: Look at the women in my life. Look at the daughters that I've built.

CARPENTER: Yes, I -

CUOMO: He did. He used the word cherished. I cherish women. He said it all the time.

CARPENTER: Yes.

[08:40:03] CUOMO: And that this is hyper PC (ph), you guys are being hyper PC. They're just words. CARPENTER: Yes.

CUOMO: The proof is in the pudding, Maria. He has women in many positions of high management within his company. Look at his daughter. Look how his wife feels about him. This is false.

CARDONA: All of those women are not representative of the general electorate that he is going to be facing in - if he does become the nominee. And I frankly think there's a huge chance that he will become the nominee given all of the numbers that we're seeing. And - and, look, I think Ivanka is fantastic. I think she's wonderful. The interview that she did. She is the best spokesperson that he can put out there to counter all of his own comments that he is making.

But the fact of the matter is, what is also cooked, Chris, is his image of him as somebody who does not respect women. And I agree with Amanda that there are many, many other leaders in the GOP that don't agree with him, but guess what, the problem is, is that none of those leaders are speaking out against these kinds of horrific comments that he's making against women, making it easier for us, frankly, the Democrats, to paint the GOP with a very broad brush that is anti- women, anti-Latino, anti-what this country is standing for, the new face of America, and that's going to make it a lot harder for him or anyone in the GOP to win a general election.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, Hillary Clinton could even make more hay with this, but this is what she said in response to him yesterday, which wasn't, you know, the most sort of energetic rebuttal, but listen to this.

CUOMO: Trump-esque, what you just said there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really deplore the tone of his campaign and the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Amanda, does that go far enough?

CARPENTER: Well, listen, I think she made the statement - I see where she's coming from, I think. As a woman, I don't want to repeat what he said. I don't want tape of me using that word on national TV to be circulated on YouTube and neither does Hillary Clinton. I mean it's so far over the line. We know this is not a word that is commonly used in politics, as Donald Trump pretends. And, you know, I think this is one that causes, you know, women to rethink what he's saying. I mean just imagine him saying this to Hillary Clinton in a debate. It's a nonstarter. This guy is not to be trusted with his language. It is important. It does matter. Words have meaning. And the fact that we're contemplating the meaning of this one today is really concerning.

CARDONA: And if I can - and just very quickly, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Quickly, Maria.

CARDONA: To - she doesn't really need to be more outraged than what she just said because, guess what, we're kind of leaning back and letting him do our own work for us. When you have a frontrunner who has become the frat boy and has made America his kegger, I think that says it all.

CAMEROTA: She doesn't need to dignify it. Gotcha. Amanda, Maria, thank you so much. Great to see you guys.

CARDONA: Thank you so much. Merry Christmas.

CAMEROTA: You, too.

CARPENTER: Thank.

CUOMO: Speaking of women in powerful mode, Tina Fey is back in the news because she has brought back her classic Sarah Palin impression on "SNL" over the weekend. Now, Palin turning the tables and she's not the only politician putting themselves in the comedic cross hairs. CNN's Sara Sidner explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For political candidates, being parodied on "Saturday Night Live" is almost a rite of passage.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look at this guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great, great, great, great, great. Isn't he fantastic?

SIDNER: But former Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin is turning the tables.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's a TV writer who left a small town for the big city.

SIDNER: Yep, that is Palin, spoofing her TV look alike Tina Fey. Instead of Liz Lemon (ph), Sarah is Lynn Mellon (ph). Instead of the hit show "30 Rock," this is Palin's version, "31 Rock."

SARAH PALIN, FORMER V.P. CANDIDATE: Nerds (ph).

SIDNER: Tackling all-important subjects like the missing snowflakes on Starbucks cups.

PALIN: No snowflakes, brrrr.

SIDNER: And bashing political correctness.

PALIN: The only PC I need is right here.

SIDNER: Clinton and Palin have been fodder for years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, COMEDIAN: I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy.

TINA FEY, COMEDIAN: And I can see Russia from my house.

SIDNER: And the two are still favorite targets of the show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, COMEDIAN: Oh, God, that was a real fun election. I was paired up with that cute little John McCain fella. May he rest in peace, I'm guessing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, COMEDIAN: He's alive.

SIDNER: But Palin isn't the only one enjoying the last laugh.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: (INAUDIBLE). OK. Here's what do you.

SIDNER: Senator John McCain tweeting, "I think I like Sarah's impression of Tina better." Senator Ted Cruz is also getting in on political satire. Remember that time when he read Dr. Seuss to stall a vote on Obama's health care bill?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam, I am.

[08:45:02] SIDNER: Now he has an "SNL" style commercial about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Imagine the greatest Christmas stories told by the senator who once read "Green Eggs and Ham" from the Senate floor.

CRUZ: Twas the night before the shutdown and all through the house --

SIDNER: Looks like politicians are taking the old saying to heart. If you can't beat them...

FEY: Oh geez, looks like I went through time and space again.

SIDNER: ...join them.

PALIN: Nerds!

SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN, New York.

PALIN: "Star Wars" didn't actually change cinema.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Very clever.

CUOMO: It is, you just have to be good at it. That's the thing, right? Funny is funny. So you just got to make sure you do it well when you do it. It's always good to be part of a joke.

CAMEROTA: I guess so. But I mean I think that we give politicians a pass because we know that they're not at the same level as Tina Fey. So I think it's just sort of fun to see them pull back that curtain.

CUOMO: It's better than most of the stuff we wind up reporting on. Right?

CAMEROTA: Good point. So it is that time of the year again when we like to take a nostalgic look back. What was your most memorable -

CUOMO: Blue dress.

CAMEROTA: -- moment? We're going to break down the highlights of 2015.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Trends, we love them. Do you remember the dress with the color that everyone should see as blue?

CAMEROTA: White and gold.

CUOMO: Nobody says that.

CAMEROTA: White and gold.

CUOMO: In 2015, we had a ton of these ranging from significant to the bizarre. Also they were getting their power from social media.

[08:50:02] So what were the biggest trends of the year? Brian Stelter, CNN senior media correspondent, host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," joins us.

All right my friend, let's go through them. Numero cinco [SIC]. The dress.

BRIAN STELTLER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: The dress. We looked at Google, Twitter, Facebook trends for the year, this one is on all the lists. The dress made famous by Buzzfeed.

CAMEROTA: What color do you see?

STELTLER: I see blue and black because that is the factually accurate answer.

CAMEROTA: No! No!

STELTLER: But it sure looks white and gold right there, doesn't it?

CUOMO: No.

CAMEROTA: To you, too?

STELTLER: This is why this got 26 million pages in a few hours. Buzzfeed had to add extra servers to keep up with all of the action around this dress. This was a mockup -

CUOMO: Is wrong your favorite flavor?

CAMEROTA: Wait. You really see blue and black right there in that picture?

CUOMO: I certainly see blue. That's all that matters. It's about whether you see white or blue.

CAMEROTA: What? Crazy.

CUOMO: That's the factual answer. No. 4.

STELTLER: This is why it dominated the web. No. 4, a much more serious story, of course, (AUDIO DELETED) the decision of the Supreme Court was six months ago. Feels like it was a long time ago, but it was at the end of June. We saw on Facebook the ability to change your profile picture. Mark Zuckerberg changed his profile picture that way. That's become a new concept on Facebook that has taken off and, of course, we saw the White House light up the front of the building, as well. See 6.2 million tweets on that initial day of the victory. And of course "love wins," that was the message from supporters of the ruling. We also saw a lot of criticism of it, but "love wins" was the dominant message online that day.

CUOMO: This has also served as a major wedge that we're going to see play out in the election. All right. No. 3.

STELTLER: This is another the example of a story I think that you see it happen on a local level, might have never made national/international news before social media, but as a result this became internationally known. The student who brought the homemade clock to school, some people at school thought it might be a weapon, might be a bomb. Of course even President Obama came out and stood with Ahmed and the #IStandWithAhmed became a trend for many days. Again this became a big controversial story, it became politicized. It's the kind of thing we probably would never have heard of if it weren't for the ability of social media to make these stories light up.

CAMEROTA: Right. These hashtags end up going viral and having a life of their own.

STELTLER: And sometimes that's good and some of that's bad. You know, there are college students who have different things going on, who have controversies going on, things on local campuses that now become international news stories. That may be good or bad, but that's the world we now live in because of the web.

CUOMO: Well you have social media, specifically Twitter, that winds up being the best/worst ratio. Right? I mean that's what you - you get through it, a kind of thunder dome. This Ahmed story, do you think that that wound up being a metaphor story about cultural feelings about Muslims in general? Do you think that was the breakdown? Because the facts didn't work in favor of going after the kid.

CAMEROTA: Why not?

CUOMO: Because it was a clock.

CAMEROTA: Oh, no. I know that. I thought you meant that the facts didn't work - that worked on the other side because it was a clock.

CUOMO: Right. If it had been a white kid who brought in a clock, would you have assumed it was bomb, the answer is no. Right? I mean -

CAMEROTA: This is why this took off.

CUOMO: Despite all the stats of Christian terrorists, nobody expects that, but when it's a brown kid who happens to be Muslim in the country right now, there is a growing phobia. So how big do you think this story winds up being beyond the clicks?

STELTLER: Right. I think that this is something that we'll now hear about this student years down the road. People will check in and see how he's doing. There was talk about him maybe leaving the country. So there will continue to be curiosity about what happens to him. But for the time being, a highly politicized story that all started in a local community.

CUOMO: Numero dos [SIC].

STELTLER: Now of course I think this is an important social trend for the country right now, this acceptance of transgender Americans. Really we're seeing it around the world. But particularly in the United States, Caitlyn Jenner's transition this year. First, with Diane Sawyer on ABC, then in this "Vanity Fair" cover, then on an E! reality show. It is something that I think really showed where the country is and how the country is changing. Of course she signed up for Twitter the day she was coming online with this cover, as well. So this was a carefully orchestrated PR rollout, it had to be because Bruce Jenner is one of the most famous people in the world. Now Caitlyn Jenner is continuing to speak out and help people understand just what it's like for a person who is going through this transition.

CAMEROTA: Yeah. That was just fascinating to watch every step of the way play out so publicly.

CUOMO: I loved it. Something new, also something familiar. Diane Sawyer's ability to shape culture. No. 1. Shocker.

STELTLER: You know, I had to put this as No. 1. You see this on all the Facebook and Twitter and Google rankings. This was the year of Donald Trump. We've all been watching the Donald Trump show.

CUOMO: Oh. I didn't knew he looked like that under that suit --

STELTLER: And these memes are what make this election different, right? 15, 20 years ago, you didn't see presidential candidates becoming memes, so to speak. This is a positive Donald Trump meme, a gladiator in the area. Here is a less positive one comparing his - head of hair to a corn husk there.

CUOMO: Corn silk. Not husk.

STELTLER: A lot more than I've got up there. These are examples of memes that even Trump has embraced in some cases. We see him using social media, using Twitter and Facebook to share these, to retweet these, especially when they're supportive of him. And that is something that I think will be in the history books. Regardless of what happens to Donald Trump next year, his use of these mediums has been masterful.

CAMEROTA: 2015. Fascinating. Brian, thank you so much for all of that.

[08:54:56] CUOMO: All right. So tease. Cop responds to shoplifting call, but it doesn't end the way you expect. This is a healthy dose of "Good Stuff" Christmas flavor next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right. Listen to this one, Alisyn with a y. Lieutenant Keith Wills heads to a shoplifting call in York, South Carolina, but makes an unusual decision.

CAMEROTA: Tell me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. KEITH WILLS, YORK POLICE OFFICER: I made a phone call to my wife and I told her and asked her to put one of our kits together and to check and see if we had some shoes and some jeans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Why? Christmas spirit protect and serve on display. Whatever. He found out the man he was coming to arrest only had jail issued flip-flops, stole shoes so he could walk to the next town to see his family. Officer said I got to help first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLS: He's like I don't understand. You're a police officer and you just arrested me for shoplifting and now you're helping me. I don't get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. This is a wonderful sorry story because he looked into the reason the person was doing a criminal act.

CUOMO: That's exactly right. Not all crimes are equal.

CAMEROTA: Of course.

CUOMO: And nobody understands that better than the men and women on the job.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. That's just wonderful. I love these stories of our law enforcement and police doing the right thing, which they do every day, every hour of the day and we highlight it so often on "The Good Stuff."

CUOMO: Do you really love them?

CAMEROTA: I love them.

CUOMO: Really? You're a little bit of a controversy person.

CAMEROTA: No, no. I love these stories. Love them. Bring us more.

CUOMO: What do you think?

CAMEROTA: How about tomorrow?

CUOMO: Alisyn with a y. Tomorrow we'll do it.

CAMEROTA: Time now for "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.