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New Day

What's Ahead for 2016; Global Outlook for the New Year; Clemson & Alabama Advance to National Title Game. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 01, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Happy New Year, or Happy New Year.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: Happy New Year.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Happy New Year. Yeah, it's a little early.

CUOMO: It's a new year, it's a new day, so we have a special edition of NEW DAY for you. Chris Cuomo, Alysyn Camerota, Michaela Pereira, we're all here for you this morning. We're going to look into the crystal ball. How will all of the big stories of the past year play out into the new year, this year? Will Donald Trump Stay on top of the Republican field? Is he going to be the GOOP nominee? Is he going to start his own party called the Trump Party?

CAMEROTA: And we have a lot of very serious issues that we'll be dealing with. How will world leaders respond to the growing threats from ISIS? Plus, terror fears reigniting the battle over gun control here at home. So will Congress and the President act on that divisive issue?

PEREIRA: And of course, on a personal level, you're probably swearing this is the year I'm going to stick to my diet. You know, lose a few pounds here and there. What about your financial health? We want to talk about that. The resolution we all should be considering. That and so much more ahead. First though, let's check your headlines at the news desk.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: (inaudible) and (Gail) are having too much fun. Good morning, everyone, and Happy New Year. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Let's take a look at the top stories. Revelers around the world celebrate the New Year overnight. The biggest party in America, Times Square.

A million people squeezing in to watch the ball drop under the watchful eye of more than 6,000 N.Y.P.D. officers. Security was reinforced after New York, Washington, and Los Angeles became the target of a terrorist threat originating overseas. And terror concerns are also driving tight security in Paris in the wake of the November attacks. It didn't stop many thousands from jamming the boulevard to celebrate, however. And new developments this morning, service resuming at two major railway stations in Munich, Germany, that were evacuated on New Year's Eve because of the threat of an ISIS attack. Following this story for us from London, Senior International

Correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen, with the latest. Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good morning, Fredricka, and these threats were apparently relayed to the German intelligence services from the U.S., as well as from French intelligence services also, speaking of an imminent attack on New Year's Eve exactly at midnight.

That led to the German authorities locking down those two railway stations, evacuating those two railway stations. They say the data that they received from these alleged assailants was very specific, including names and other personal data. They're still trying to find whether or not these names are real, whether these people actually exist. So certainly all of that work is still going on. The talk was about five to seven people who wanted to conduct suicide attacks in the Munich area. They say it was possibly Syrian and Iraqi nationals who wanted to do this. Now, however, just a couple of minutes ago, those two railway stations reopened and the Germans have given the all clear.

WHITFIELD: All right, Fred, thank you so much, and Happy New Year.

(HEADLINES)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's a look at your New Year's morning headlines. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Alisyn and Chris, back to you.

CAMEROTA: The political season about to pick up speed, the Iowa caucuses just one month away. It will be the first time that we have real results from real voters.

CUOMO: We can't just mindlessly speculate anymore?

CAMEROTA: That is over. And we actually have a real political panel here now to give us an insight. CNN political commentator and former Communications Director for Senator Ted Cruz, Amanda Carpenter; CNN political commentator; and former Reagan White House Political Director, Jeffrey Lord, he's a Trump supporter; and CNN political commentator and Jeb Bush supporter, Ana Navarro. Hey, guys, good to see you.

ALL: Happy New Year.

CAMEROTA: Happy New Year to you too. Great to have you with us today. OK, Ana, let me start with you. Look into your crystal ball. What's about to happen now?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, Lord, Alisyn, my crystal ball was so, so -- was so, so hard to read in 2015, and I'm not sure I'm going to do a better job of it in 2016. But you're right, we are in a sprint. Chris, I'm glad -- I, I, I'm very happy to tell you we do have about two more weeks of mindless speculation left. You know, you do know that Iowa voters, New Hampshire voters, these folks just take their time. They like to look under the hood, and a lot of them -- half of them -- don't make up their minds until that last week. But certainly we are in the sprint, and I think you're going to see a lot of candidates spending a lot of time, some of them focused on Iowa, some of them more focused in New Hampshire.

CUOMO: Too reasonable. Let's bite off some stuff and chew on it, OK? Jeffrey Lord, here's the proposition. You tell me why it's true and/or false in the new year. Trump cannot hold on in Iowa. The evangelical base too big. They don't like the negativity. They go Cruz. True or false, and why?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure, possible. Sure, possible. Absolutely.

NAVARRO: I call that a hedge, Jeffrey. Come one, it's 2016. Take a risk.

LORD: Are you asking me could Ted Cruz win this in Iowa? Yes, the question is what can he do beyond that? And the one thing that I would add is Ronald Reagan of course lost Iowa and became President. Rick Santorum and Governor Huckabee both won Iowa, and never became President. So winning Iowa, in and of itself, doesn't do anything. I really do think this is going to be a long march here, a long march. New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, and on beyond that. So whoever wins, even if Donald Trump wins Iowa, that's not going to solve anything or settle anything.

CAMEROTA: Amanda, Amanda, winning Iowa doesn't mean anything?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's always good to win Iowa, but here's the thing. Iowa doesn't crown a king, but it knocks out a lot of princes. I think we're going to see a lot of GOP candidates -- remember how big this field is -- are going to get knocked out. And then we're going to have another big shake up when all of that polling gets redistributed. Think about it. The guys in the under card debate may only have one or two percent in the polls, but one or two percent can mean a lot for the top tier candidates. So, after Iowa, we're going to see a big shake up and we may start again. It's always good to win, but winning Iowa is not everything.

CUOMO: I can't trust the other two with this next one, Amanda, so I'll stay with you. After what we saw with Trump and Jeb at the most recent Republican debate where Trump -- I know you're sick of it, but I'm saying it again --

CAMEROTA: Oh, I love it. I could never sick of this metaphor.

CUOMO: Trump looks at Jeb and says who's talking, me or you, Jeb? Me or you? And then she gives a little of that action, which is what Jeb Bush did. And I say this is a new Jeb Bush. He has decided to be the anti-Trump, and it is going to give him a boost. Yes or no, Amanda?

CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean it's always good to see Jeb assert himself on the national stage. I think a lot of people were clamming for that, waiting to see some real personality come out. And I think the more -- the less guarded Jeb Bush is, the better it is for him. That said, I still think it's a very bad idea for try -- for Jeb Bush to define his candidacy via Trump. He needs to be his own man, quit looking back on his Florida, trying to run on that, look forward at the current fights that have happened with the Obama administration, and get in the middle of that.

CAMEROTA: Ana, you're close, of course, to Jeb Bush. Was that the moment in the last CNN debate where he found his sea legs? Does he feel that he found his voice that night?

NAVARRO: You know, I'm seeing a different Jeb Bush in the last several weeks. I think that really since what seems like ancient history, but since the very bad debate in Boulder, I think he figured out that theatrics is part of the job description, and he's now doing it. I also see him doing much more focus on New Hampshire, which I think is smart. You know, as we've discussed, Iowa means something. It doesn't mean everything. The only time Iowa means something huge is when it's an upset, like in 2008, when Barack Obama upset then Hillary Clinton. If we see that kind of thing, either on the Democrat or Republican side, it'd be huge. On Jeb, I think you're going to see him, you know, keep grinding away. A lot of retail politics, spending a lot of time in the early states, New Hampshire and South Carolina. And I think you're going to see him try to do this the old-fashioned way, one voter at a time.

CAMEROTA: Amanda, do you want to jump in?

CARPENTER: Yeah, well, one thing about that, the interesting part of the new Jeb dynamic is that a rising Jeb, a rising Chris Christie, makes life a lot harder for Marco Rubio. In many ways they're competing for the same type of voter. And the more they clash, the more, you know, those three continue to be competitive with each other, makes it easier for a Cruz or a Trump to take the bigger lane.

NAVARRO: Well, actually, I think they're two young bucks that have been locking horns, and I think we're going to continue seeing Cruz and Rubio, who are so evenly matched, who are both rookie Senators, who are, you know, both lawyers, very different styles -- one goes poetic, the other one goes legalese on us -- and I think you're going to see the two of them clash a lot. Which I'm not sure doesn't open up a space for another candidate. Maybe (Jeffries), maybe somebody else. CUOMO: All right, Jeffrey, what about this one? The chance that

Donald Trump picks a female running mate before the convention?

LORD: Before the convention?

CUOMO: Yes.

LORD: Possible, Yeah. Sure, I can see it. Possible.

CUOMO: It's possible that Alisyn knocks me unconscious in the next 15 seconds.

CAMEROTA: Probable.

LORD: I (inaudible) that once. You know, so I, I think, sure, absolutely, absolutely. I mean the -- if Donald Trump wins this nomination or it becomes certain ahead of time that he's going to do it, Yeah. Yes, that's possible. He could pick Carly Fiorina, he could pick Ted Cruz.

NAVARRO: Oh, come on, Jeffrey. He can't stand Carly Fiorina. He has said over and over again that five minutes of hearing her voice is, you know --

LORD: Yeah, but (inaudible).

CAMEROTA: But Carly's (inaudible) the debate.

LORD: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. JFK couldn't stand Lydon Johnson either, but he made him Vice President. The question...

NAVARRO: Yeah, well, Donald Trump is no JFK.

LORD: There's one, there's one other thing here. I really do think this is going to be the year of the outsider again. And I mean the election year itself. So whether it's Donald Trump, or Ted Cruz, or whomever, I think the outside is winning. I think that's why Donald Trump picks on Jeb Bush all the time. Not because he thinks Jeb Bush is a threat, but because Jeb Bush is the very symbol of the establishment. And whether it's Jeb Bush, or John Kasich, or some of these others, I think that's a real weakness, and I think that somebody on the outside is going to win this nomination.

CAMEROTA: I think we're going to leave it there.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Jeffrey.

LORD: Happy New Year.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, guys. Thank you, Amanda, Ana, (inaudible) you guys.

NAVARRO: Feliz Ano Nuevo.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

PEREIRA: The evolving threat from ISIS growing deadlier, downing a passenger plane over in Egypt, carrying out simultaneous attacks in Paris, inspiring the first deadly attack here at home. How will world leaders unite to combat ISIS? We're going to discuss that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:10] CUOMO: Now in 2015, the number of refugees fleeing war torn countries like Syria reached the level of international crisis. Thousands died making dangerous journeys to escape turmoil at home. Millions more have nowhere to go.

Will there be a solution? What is going to happen in Syria? What's going to happen with Daesh? What will this New Year bring?

Let's talk with Bobby Ghosh, CNN global affairs analyst and managing editor of "Quartz". Happy New Year to you.

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: And to you, sir.

CUOMO: Wish you all the best always.

Let's take a look into the ball. We have an unreasonable expectation of speed when it comes to dealing with terror, when it comes to dealing with Daesh or ISIL or ISIS, whatever you want to call it. How do you see progress this year?

GHOSH: You will have to call me skeptical. I think it is good thing that all the different negotiations are taking place and all the different foreign players are trying to push Assad and the rebels into some kind of negotiated settlement, but I'm not very optimistic that that's going to go very far.

The problem is that all the other outside players, whether it's Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and so on, none of these countries seem to agree on the basics. Who are the bad guys? Different people have different ideas of who the good guys are. Who are the good guys, therefore? Can Assad stay? Can there be a solution with or without -- with Assad, some people say yes, some people say never.

So, because these other groups cannot aware at a common idea of what progress looks like, any negotiations towards I don't think will go very far. It's a good thing they're talking. Always better to talk than to shot, but the problem is, that unless you have the real framework conversations are not going to go anywhere.

CUOMO: Do you see a massive deployment of U.S. troops on the ground?

GHOSH: I don't see that happening unless a major event in the United States. I think public opinion in the United States will remain strongly opposed to putting boots on the ground. And no American president, especially not a lame duck one let's not forget, is going to be able to persuade the American people that we need to put American boots on the ground.

So, absent and let's hope that never happens -- absent a major event against an American target I don't see American soldiers going --

CUOMO: Is 2016 the year Islam takes on the scourge of Islamist extremist in its own faith? The battle for the soul of Islam, do you think we'll see the Muslim community coming on the state level and on the popular level against the enemy?

GHOSH: I would argue that is already going on. It will continue to take place. There are conversations taking place among Islamic scholars about how to deal with this. I was in Iran earlier this month, and there are a number of conversations taking place there.

The Islamic community is already grappling with this. I don't think they need a major event or a major calendar event to take place for them to accelerate. I think that's talking place -- CUOMO: But you don't have a massive army. Let's say Saudi Arabia you

could go either way. But turkey you don't have them saying this is our fight. Yes, U.S. you can help us. Give us some money, give us some planning and intel, but this is us, nobody is going to tell us what being Muslim is. We'll take it to them.

We don't see that, and many call it, that's what should be happening.

GHOSH: Yes, I don't think that is a realistic expectation because the enemy is not a traditional nation state. Even though ISIS controls territory, it is not as if a Muslim country is say we are going to go there and fight those people.

These guys are everywhere. Turkey is dealing -- you mentioned Turkey, they are dealing with extremism within their own country. ISIS is already, you know, there's been landfall in Turkey. There's been killings within Turkey. This is a struggle within not a struggle without so much.

[08:20:02] And that struggle is already taking place.

I would pay less attention to political leaders in the world and more attention to civil groups, sort of political activist, religious figures. And if you focus your attention there you will see there is a lot of struggle already going on about how to deal with extremism in our midst.

Politicians have got different agendas to deal with. And sometimes they are contradictory to what we'd like them to be doing. But in ordinary civil society, there is a lot taking place that is room for optimism.

CUOMO: So, we have a lot of time before we're going to see real change on the ground. It will be about how we spin it.

All right. Any chance of a new look from Bobby Ghosh in 2016? Not that this wasn't isn't killer. But is there any chance you are going to growth out the hair again? I know you had a big hair or something like that?

GHOSH: That was a long time ago. I'm not going back to that. The world doesn't need to see that.

CUOMO: It is a successful look. Everybody loves you.

Bobby Ghosh, thank you very much. Always.

GHOSH: Thank you.

CUOMO: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Oh, he looks fantastic.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump rewriting the rule book for presidential campaigns. How will the presidential race effect congressional races this year? John King is here with his magic wall, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:25:17] PEREIRA: I'm going to keep saying it -- happy New Year. Welcome back to our special edition of NEW DAY, in a New Year. Kind of exciting.

CUOMO: Hmm.

PEREIRA: We have a lot to get to this half hour including how the 2016 presidential race could affect the balance of power in Congress.

CUOMO: We have the key political races to watch, but we also have a lot of news. So, let's get a check of the headlines at the news desk.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good morning again, everyone, and happy New Year. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And let's take a look at the top stories of the New Year rung in around the world with huge parties and celebrations. But all eyes on New York City when the ball drops there.

One million plus jamming Times Square to bring in 2016 amid some of the tightest security ever, 6,000 officers on duty following terror threats aimed at New York, Washington and Los Angeles. In Belgium, officials canceled festivities outright in the wake of an arrest connect today a suspected New Year terror plot.

And indicted comedian Bill Cosby thanking his friends and fans for their support on Twitter just a day after being arraigned on sexual assault charges. And a setback for Cosby's wife Camille, a judge ruling she must testify at an upcoming deposition in a defamation case brought by seven of her husband's accusers. Her lawyers say they will appeal that order.

And not much drama in the college football playoffs, Alabama and top- ranked Clemson blowing out the competition in the Cotton and Orange Bowls, setting up a heavyweight battle for the national title on January 11th.

Coy Wire live for us now from Fort Lauderdale.

Happy New Year to you, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Happy New Year, Fred.

Now, Clemson entered this match up as a nation's lone unbeaten and number one ranked team, yet were still the underdog to Big 12 champion Oklahoma. Clemson are seeking their first national title since 1981 but they had to find a way to stop the Sooners offense. And they did.

This game was close until Clemson exploded in the second half, outscoring Oklahoma 21-0. They were led by the dynamic duo on the ground who scored twice, and Sean Watson was the MVP with over 330 total yards and two touchdowns. Clemson stays perfect with a 37-17 victory. Now, the other semifinal featured the match up with a team who was the only to make it from last season playoffs, to make it back, Alabama. They were facing Michigan state, the big ten champs. And Crimson Tide's Cyrus Jones had the big play tonight, this 57 yard punt return here for a touchdown. And if you look at Jacob Coker, he played the game of his life, throwing two touchdowns and Bama's 38-0 smack down of the Spartans. In just ten days they play in Arizona. CNN will be there giving you coverage. And more big bowl games today, too, including the Rose Bowl between Iowa and Stanford, which by the way, Fred, is under heighten security.

WHITFIELD: All right. All exciting stuff. Thanks so much. Coy Wire in Fort Lauderdale.

All right. That is a look at your New Year's morning headlines. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Alisyn and Chris, back to you.

CAMEROTA: OK. At the stroke of midnight it officially became an election year. Congratulations.

CUOMO: Feels good.

CAMEROTA: All eyes on the presidential race, but there are plenty of key congressional races to watch as well. How will Donald Trump's rise affect the Republican reign in both houses of Congress?

Here to illustrate it all with a magic wall is CNN chief national correspondent John King.

Happy New Year, John.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to take a vacation. Can I have the year off?

CAMEROTA: No. This is going to be a busy year for you.

KING: OK.

CAMEROTA: Let's start right now. What do you predict the Trump effect will be, not obviously just on the presidential race this year but on all other congressional races?

KING: It will be an easier question to answer in March or April when we know more about the outcome of the presidential primaries. But there's no question heading into the New Year, Republicans are worried, and Democrats are happy, because you already hear Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail saying, all Republicans are anti-Muslim, all Republicans are anti- African-American, all Republicans are anti-immigrant and anti- Hispanic.

So, they're trying to paint the Republican Party with the Trump brush, if you will, and the Republican establishment is clearly worried about it. They're worried that some races that are probably leaning Republican now, this is a Senate map, we can go through them, they're worried some of the races leaning Republican could go Democratic if Trump stays in the headlines, if Trump is the nominee, they're even more worried.

But they do think it's a factor. How big of a factor? You know, ask me in March, April, May.

CUOMO: A little bit of what's going on, though, is in-house disorder, right? The GOP have made big gains since Obama has been the president of the United States. And maybe there's a feeling within the party that they didn't get what they were bargaining for in terms of, you know, this big movement of blue to red across that map.