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New Day
Mystery Surrounds Death of North Korean Official; Trump Steps Up Attacks on Bill Clinton; Pentagon: Airstrikes Take Out 10 ISIS Leaders in Syria. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired December 30, 2015 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:58] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Another top North Korean official killed under mysterious circumstances. Officials say he died in a car crash but there's, of course, no way of confirming those details with the secretive regime.
CNN's Alexandra Field live in Seoul, South Korea, with for us.
What do we know, Alexandra?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Christine.
We know that Kim Yang Gon was high profile, high ranking, he was the face of North Korea's policies towards South Korea, involved in high-level discussions. We're told that he died in a car accident, but there are no details beyond that.
This is raising questions for people in this region who watched North Korea closely. They are quick to point out that he is not the first high-ranking official, not by a long shot, to die in an unexplained car accident. In fact, his predecessor in his role died in the same way.
They are also suspicious because they cite some numbers put out there by the South Korean government earlier this year. The South Korean government says that since Kim Jong-un came to power in 2011, 70 high-level officials have been executed, 15 of them in 2015 alone.
Now, is there any indication at all that Kim Yang Gon had fallen out of favor with the regime, there would be any reason to target him?
Well, nothing that's coming from North Korea. In fact, their state news agency is saying the opposite, they're toeing a party line that this is man who was one of the closest confident, a very trustworthy adviser of Kim Jong-un. In fact, there's a state funeral and Kim Jong-un is expected to attend it -- Michaela.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alexandra. Mysterious to be sure. Thanks for that. We'll check in with you again.
Back here at home, Donald Trump ratcheting up his attacks on Bill and Hillary Clinton. Does Trump think his own personal indiscretions are fair game in the campaign? Well, you'll hear what he says, next.
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[06:36:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump throwing stones and a lot of other stuff. He says candidates' personal lives, they're fair game. He's been targeting Bill and Hillary Clinton for days now. And overnight Trump acknowledged even his own colorful personal life is up for scrutiny.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are your own personal discretion fair game in this campaign?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, they would be, frankly, Hillary brought up the whole thing with sexism and all I did is reverse it on her because she's got a major problem. It happens to be right in her house.
So, if she wants to do that, we're going to go right into the president, the ex-president. We'll see how it all comes out. And I feel very confident that it will come out very well for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Here this morning to discuss this feud, CNN political analyst and political correspondent for "The New York Times", Maggie Haberman, and CNN political commentator and political anchor of Time Warner Cable News, Errol Louis.
Very interesting to see this developed over the last few days. This is clearly Trump's new thing. He's going to go after this for as many days as he can, as long as we keep talking about it, I suspect, talking about the sexual indiscretions of his friend Bill Clinton who came to his wedding a few years ago.
Why? What's going on here?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: A couple of things, number one, there's no better way to rally the Republicans than talk about the Clintons. And especially to talk about Bill Clinton, number one.
Number two, it fits with Donald Trump's brand of "I'm doing things differently". The president's life has largely been an issue people have been afraid to approach. Republicans have been afraid it would splash back on them.
Bill Clinton remains a very popular figure, not just with Democrats but nationally. He really had a career rehab after the 2008 campaign. You saw he was a coveted person to campaign with for President Obama in his reelection and for a lot of members of Congress.
So, there's been a concern, Trump gets to say, again, I'm rewriting the playbook by going after him in this way. It's sort of cost-free because he's in the primary. It helps Hillary Clinton in her own primary, too. So, there's a benefit to both. You're going to see (INAUDIBLE) talk about it very much but there is a benefit to her.
PEREIRA: Well, it's interesting. You mentioned that friend, the "F" word, the friend word. I mean, these guys were all chummy in New York circles, Errol. I mean, it's interesting to see how this, not even that long ago, they were taking pictures together, they were seen at events together, enjoying each other's company.
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, with both Trump and the Clintons, if you're looking for consistency, that ship sailed a long time ago, right? They haven't just hung out together, but there's footage of them saying nice things about each other.
So, you know, unlike most candidates operating at this level, they can simply dismiss that. I mean, they won't reference it, they won't blush, they won't say I changed my mine. They'd just kind of move on.
And Donald Trump, you know, is going to throw everything he can at the Clintons for as long as it works.
BERMAN: I mean, there's an element of Kabuki Theater here, right? It's just this dance and we know how it's going to end. I mean, he's talking about the Clinton. Everyone knows about the Clintons and what Bill Clinton did. It doesn't happen it doesn't help both of them as you said.
It is interesting, though, because he did open the door to the idea of looking at his own personal life. Like what has happened with Trump over the years? It's colorful to say the least.
Could there be things in his past that would hurt him?
HABERMAN: I think that for those of us in New York, most of his past is pretty well known. The tabloid headlines for years and years, his first marriage to Ivanka, his second marriage to Marla Maples, his second marriage to Melania Trump.
I think that the image that people have of Trump right now is actually of a family man. He's been traveling around a lot with his family, not just with his wife and their young son, but his oldest children, Ivanka and his two other adult sons.
So, I think he has been working actually to paint that image. I think the question is how much knowledge people actually care about hearing about Trump and whether it affects your opinion. We've seen so far with his supporters, especially but not just his supporters, some undecideds, too, they learn information about him, it doesn't change their opinion, they like what they are seeing.
So, I don't know that he's susceptible to this. I don't know, by the way, that the general public is susceptible to it on the Clintons. I don't know how many low information voters there are in that issue either.
[06:40:01] PEREIRA: What Trump supporters seem to like, and we'd had several of them here with us on our air, is that they like that he isn't a typical Washington, D.C. representative. They feel that he's more akin to them. He speaks off the cuff.
Do you think all of this would just sort of play into this larger than life persona that he has with his base?
LOUIS: I think it plays into the persona. I'm not sure I would call it larger than life. I think in some ways, it's sort of small and petty, to say not that he cares about the substantive issue about sexism, but that if they say this about me, then I'll retaliate with that -- purely tactical, back and forth, purely a strategy to win an election.
That's not the greatest way to talk about this. I think that actually gives us a much shorter half life. That people start to dare more about flooding in the Midwest or the rise of ISIS and other important issues.
BERMAN: We have time for something else interesting that just started happening on the campaign trail, the Jeb Bush super PAC Right to Rise now putting serious money in an anti-Rubio commercial.
Let's take a quick look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: Days after the Paris attacks, senators came together for a top secret briefing on the terrorist threat. Marco Rubio was missing, fund-raising in California instead. Two weeks later, terror struck again in San Bernardino --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The ad right now, you know, you heard this before, Jeb Bush tried to go after Marco Rubio on this subject in a debate. It didn't work. But now, they're doing it with money.
You know, Bush isn't the only one. Chris Christie on the campaign trail saying, dude, Marco, where are you?
HABERMAN: They're sort of imperfect messengers on this. Jeb for the reason you talked about, he had trouble doing this on stage and Jeb Bush has been a large supporter of Marco Rubio over the years. Chris Christie has his own issues with missed workdays as basically any New Jersey reporter will tell you, he has essentially been living in New Hampshire for most of the last year. So, neither one of them gets a clean kill here.
But that's a television ad. It's a lot different than doing it either on a debate stage or even in an interview. It's going to reach a lot more homes.
The Rubio people pushed back and essentially said the ad is false. But it's interesting to see this turn because it's something that the Jeb supporters and super PAC have been afraid of for a long time. There was a moment earlier this year where it looked like Marco Rubio was surging. You saw a lot of donors saying we don't want to see him get damaged.
Essentially, the Jeb people have given him time to take off, he hasn't for whatever reason and they're moving in.
PEREIRA: All right. Errol, last but not least, we have to mention George Pataki dropping out of the race. And now, there are 11.
LOUIS: Well, this is true. George Pataki never real caught fire. There was an interesting moment early on. Right around the time that Donald Trump announced, they were pretty much at the same 3 percent in the polls.
BERMAN: That's an amazing thing. It's an amazing thing to think Pataki and Trump were both at 3 percent.
LOUIS: So, you had two New Yorkers, one took off, in double digits, and to his way to a really impressive kind of showdown in Iowa. The other just never caught fire, which is a shame, because as a governor, a three-term governor of New York, he did some extraordinary things. In the passage of time, the flash bang of this particular campaign, he never really got a chance I think to explain it to people.
BERMAN: People are leaving here. This campaign is coming into greater focus.
HABERMAN: Absolutely. But I mean, I think to Errol's point, the issue is George Pataki. And, frankly, with the candidates that left so far, is either time has passed them by, or they are the wrong people for this moment. It is a very angry outsider moment, especially within the Republican Party.
PEREIRA: The moment does matter.
HABERMAN: Absolutely.
PEREIRA: It's great to have you both here.
Errol, Maggie, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, guys. The must-see video of the day. Recognize this guy? Here he comes.
It's Mike Tyson on one of those hoverboard things. The fun ends abruptly for the former boxing champ. It's an epic knockout. You don't want to miss it. That's next.
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[06:47:19] PEREIRA: Historic flooding is leaving communities under water and forcing evacuations in Missouri this morning. Governor Nixon activating the national guard and declaring a state of emergency. The floods have claimed the lives of more than a dozen people.
The Mississippi River is expected to crest at its highest level in history. That is expected to happen tomorrow. More than 18 million people are currently under flood warnings in some 13 states. Another round of heavy rain will keep that threat alive for several days.
ROMANS: U.S. spies reportedly targeting Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting this, intercepted communications between Israel leaders and members of Congress gave the White House insight into Netanyahu's lobbying of lawmakers against the Iran nuclear deal.
Now, this "Wall Street Journal" report says despite President Obama's pledge to curb such surveillance, U.S. spying on allies has continued with an emphasis on the Israeli government. The White House declining to comment on this report.
BERMAN: Close call between a U.S. Navy warship and Iranian rockets, one rocket came within 1,500 yards of the USS Harry Truman in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. Iran's revolutionary guard conducting a live fire exercise in the area at the time. U.S. military officials called the incident unnecessarily provocative and unsafe.
PEREIRA: All right. What do Buster Douglas and a hoverboard have in common? They both took down Mike Tyson. The former heavyweight champ posting this video on Instagram, showing off his moves.
Then, wait for it. Here it comes. Boom. Boom goes Tyson. Boom goes Tyson. Ouch.
Safety officials say that hoverboard fails like this have sent dozens of people to the ER. We're told Tyson is OK but apparently he said I'm too old for this stuff.
ROMANS: Can't take them on an airplane.
BERMAN: Mike Tyson or hoverboard.
ROMANS: Mike Tyson is allowed to fly. Hoverboards are not.
PEREIRA: Are there hoverboards in your home?
ROMANS: No way.
BERMAN: No.
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: Yes, kids get thrown around without hoverboards.
PEREIRA: Goodness.
ROMANS: Forty-nine minutes past the hour.
Rogues gallery of ISIS leaders taken out by the U.S.-led airstrikes. The latest is the tenth killed this month alone. But how much damage has ISIS really suffered? We're going to take a look at that, next.
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[06:53:04] PEREIRA: Coalition forces have taken out a top ISIS operative, one that was linked to the Paris terror attack mastermind. That brings the total of ISIS leaders killed this month to ten.
The question this morning, is ISIS losing its edge with so many leaders now gone?
Joining us from Miami is our senior counterterrorism analyst Phil Mudd.
Good to see you. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family.
PHIL MUDD, CNN SENIOR COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Good morning. I did.
PEREIRA: So, let's talk about this. Ten ISIS leaders killed in the last month, the latest with a connection to the ring leader, the mastermind, if you will, of the Paris attacks.
Take the temperature of this for us. This is -- how big of a deal and a get is this?
MUDD: I would say it's a step in the right direction but we got a long ways to go. Let's look at the characteristics of any organization you have to face. A number of recruits they have. The amount of money they have.
In this case, the effectiveness of coalition operations or U.S. operations against their leadership. And the amount of territory they control.
If you look at Syria, clearly, we made progress against some of the leadership. But if you want to look at the amount of territory ISIS has compared to any other terror group in history, and the prospects that the Syrian government can re-control that territory soon, I think we'll be at this for a long time, because I don't see prospects for peace in Syria in 2016.
PEREIRA: And also, I mean, the other fact is, for every one you kill, there's probably a dozen waiting to take over.
MUDD: People say that. As a former practitioner, I would be cautious about making that judgment too quickly.
PEREIRA: OK.
MUDD: Couple of things. First, these operators are very difficult to replace. In this case, you're talking about the key guy, a 26-year-old had been born in Paris to Moroccan parents. He knows the territory in Paris. He was recruited a few years ago.
You can't build that kind of person overnight. So, the question is not whether you take the ten out, the question is whether you can maintain the pace of operations over the course of a couple years so that the people that are coming up are less and less experienced and can't conduct operations like we saw in Paris.
[06:55:02] PEREIRA: Good point, good point. The operative that was taken out we understand was actively planning some sort of attack against the West. Was this person targeted or was this good fortune?
MUDD: My judgment would be, I don't know this for a fact, that the person was targeted. That is when you look at the breadth of the operation in Paris, the number of people involved, there's one side of the coin which is that was a remarkably sophisticated operation, especially for a terror organization that just is emerging.
On the other hand, the amount of information you can acquire from that kind of operation after, e-mails, phones, et cetera, for an inexperienced organization like ISIS could lead to exposing vulnerabilities in their communications. Somebody made a mistake and my guess is this guy made a mistake that led to his identification and the killing in this operation, Michaela.
PEREIRA: So you don't expect peace in Syria obviously in 2016.
MUDD: No.
PEREIRA: Yet, with this amount of leadership being killed and targeted by these air strikes and operations, is it fair to say that ISIS is losing its edge?
MUDD: Not yet. The reasons are, first I mentioned geography. We focused on the military, paramilitary operations in Syria because they're interesting, they're good stories.
The biggest story in Syria is whether the diplomatic conversation that is spearheaded by Secretary Kerry will take hold. If there is no cease-fire in Syria, the prospect that you can take control of territory and squeeze out ISIS is minimum. Meanwhile, we've seen them operate in places like Libya, elsewhere in Africa, heading over to Afghanistan, Pakistan.
The longer that political instability lasts, not only do we see ISIS maintain itself in Syria, we see it slowly moving out into new areas. I think we got a long ways to go.
PEREIRA: Phil, I want to turn our attention, if you don't mind, to Ramadi, since we have you here.
MUDD: Yes.
PEREIRA: The Iraqi forces being able to capture that in what ha been a bit of an embarrassment to them previously. Give me your sense of that. Is this a bigger cut to ISIS? Is this a splinter? How do you feel about this taking back Ramadi?
MUDD: I'd say pretty significant step for two reasons. The first is we saw last year, the embarrassment in the ISIS advance beginning roughly in the summer of 2014. And we focused on capabilities of the Iraqi military. This is a question of will.
What this showed is the Iraqis have the will to bring the fight to the adversary. They certainly have the numbers and equipment.
If we think about what happened in Mosul, this will, to me, translate into success overtime in Mosul. The other piece, though, is -- let's be careful here. The real question over time is governance, sanitation, education, medicine, clean water.
Are people going to see the Shia-led government which they don't trust as a better alternative to ISIS? Before you say yes too quickly, I'd watch this show. I don't know that that's the answer.
PEREIRA: All right, Phil Mudd. We appreciate you joining us. Obviously, this is a busy week. The holidays going on.
MUDD: Thank you.
PEREIRA: But we appreciate you making time away from your family with us. And if we don't get a chance to see you, happy New Year.
MUDD: Great New Year's message for Miami, right?
PEREIRA: Yes, right. Look out, Miami, Philip Mudd is there. You won't be the same. Thanks for joining us, my friend. Happy New Year.
MUDD: All right.
PEREIRA: All right. We're following a lot of news. Let's get right to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vast majority of deaths we've had is people driving into water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're dealing with rising rivers all across the state of Missouri.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't realize had bad the flooding had gotten.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the Mississippi River, we are expecting an all-time record crest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The "affluenza" teen expected back in the U.S. in just hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonya will be arrested for hindering an apprehension and faces up to ten years in prison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As much as I want him to go to jail for the rest of his life, his life is going to be far from simple.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kid may not end up in jail for that long but the mother could be in serious trouble here.
TRUMP: Hillary brought up the whole thing with sexist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump defending his personal attacks on Bill Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The notion it would come back and hurt nearly 20 years later seems to me a little tone deaf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.
PEREIRA: I'd like say, that's one for three. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. Chris and Alisyn are obviously off today. John Berman and Christine Romans are here at the desk with me.
We begin with the historic flooding anticipated in the Midwest. More than 18 million people are in harm's way in 13 states. Parts of Missouri are currently under mandatory evacuations with Mississippi and other rivers projected to crest at record levels.
BERMAN: Missouri's governor activating the "National Guard", declaring a state emergency and a new round of heavy rain could make matters even worse.
We have this story covered from all angles. Let's begin with Alina Machado, live in Pacific, Missouri. This is one of the cities being evacuated this morning.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
Hundreds of residents have already left the town of Pacific, Missouri. If you look around, it's easy to see why.
The Merrimack River has been at flood stage since Sunday.
