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CNN Visits Hometown of Executed Shia Cleric; Obama: I Don't Want to Take Your Guns Away; Interview with Taya Kyle. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 08, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:09] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: As tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia ratchet up, we are getting an exclusive look at the hometown of the prominent cleric that was executed by the Saudis. That execution is at the epicenter of current Shia anger.

CNN's Nic Robertson and his team made that dangerous journey. They're the first foreigners and journalists there.

Nic joins us now from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

What terrific access you were able to get, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Michaela. At first, the government didn't want to take us there. They said, look, this place was too dangerous. It's a tiny town of about 25,000 people, Awamia, on the east of the country. It's a Shia community. There are plenty of other Shia communities in that area.

But this is the one where all the trouble has been, the government told us. They wouldn't let us go, said it wasn't safe. They only agreed to let us in if we went inside in the police's big armored personnel carriers. They said it was too unsafe to get out on the streets to talk to people.

We drove through there. The thing that strikes you first, there's big mechanical diggers at both ends of the town that the townspeople have tried to use to dig up the road, to make a trench, to cut themselves off the front the rest of the country. Burned tires at the side of the road.

The police officers in charge of this trip were surprised when we came out that we weren't shot at. Plenty of online video where they have been shot at. They told us every time they go in, they get shot at. Officers there have been killed, they told us.

When we spoke later on in the day with the executed cleric's brother, he told me that he wasn't surprised that we weren't shot at because everyone in the town knew that CNN was coming because we had been in touch with him earlier in the day. He told us, he and the rest of the community get really angry when they see the police coming in in these heavy armored personnel carriers, that the problem here he said his brother wasn't creating violence, as the government says.

But he says the real problem here is not that Iran is backing these people in the town but the Shia community feel hard done by the government here. It's very clear to us that there's absolute tension that exists. Not long after we left, huge explosions in the town and a lot of gunfire -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Nic. Please stay safe there. We'll check back in with you.

All right. Back here at home, there were several dramatic moments at CNN's town hall on gun violence last night. The widow of fallen American sniper Chris Kyle confronting President Obama on his executive actions.

We'll speak with Taya Kyle about her takeaways, next.

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[06:38:15] CAMEROTA: President Obama making his case for a series of executive actions aimed at preventing gun violence. The president slamming conspiracy theories that he says people believe that he's trying to take everyone's guns away. Did he change any minds last night?

Joining us now is CNN political commentator and host of "The Ben Ferguson Show", Ben Ferguson, and CNN political commentator and professor at Morehouse College, Marc Lamont Hill.

Gentlemen, great to see you.

So, Marc, let me start with you.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to see you.

CAMEROTA: Was -- did the president make a different persuasive argument than we heard before and did he change any minds?

HILL: I think that those whose minds who wanted to be changed will be changed and those who didn't will be in the same place. You know, this gun battle really oftentimes isn't about facts. It's about emotion as much as anything else.

I think what the president did well last night was respond on the emotional level to concerns about, you know, him wanting to confiscate everyone's guns, to the conspiracy theorists. He spoke with reasonable compassion to those who said, hey, wait a minute, I've been through a tragedy. Hey, I've had bad things happen, I don't want my access to a gun taken away because I don't want to repeat those tragedies.

The president said, I feel your pain but these proposed measures won't stop that. He spoke with truth. He spoke with facts. He spoke with emotion.

I think those who want to be convinced will be convinced.

CAMEROTA: Ben, you're one of the people who thinks the president is trying to curtail access to guns.

FERGUSON: Sure.

CAMEROTA: What did you think of last night?

FERGUSON: Look, if he would have had this town hall and conversation at the beginning of his presidency, it would have been more effective. But last night, he tried to rewrite history and say he's not trying to take away people's guns or right to get guns, yet every speech before last night, every time there was some sort of mass shooting and/or tragedy, he was constantly advocating for taking away semiautomatic weapons.

[06:40:01] And that's why there's a trust issue. A lot of this goes back to even the trust issue people have with him, hey, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your plan, you can keep your plan with Obamacare. That didn't happen for millions of Americans.

And so, when he says, chill out, you conspiracy theorists, I'm not trying to take your gun -- yet every speech that he'd been given over the last six and a half years, and even when he was running for the Senate. I looked back in the '90s, and he was advocating for taking away semiautomatic weapons.

And then, all of a sudden, he says, whoa, I'm not trying to take away your guns. You need to come down. You guys are crazy. The NRA is crazy. The conspiracy theorists are nuts.

The average American heard you for the last decade and a half, Mr. President. You wanted to take away guns. I think you still want to do it and we don't trust you on the issue. And to act as if I'm nuts or the NRA is nuts, or anyone that's a gun advocate is nuts for thinking you want to take away guns is just not reality compared to what you said, every time you said I want to take away semiautomatic weapons.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Marc, it's interesting.

Ben is focused on the message and it's interesting to hear the president's message because it has shifted a little bit. Had he come out right at the beginning like Donald Trump has in this presidential race and said, I love the Second Amendment, the Second Amendment is wonderful, I'll never touch the Second Amendment.

That is a different message. He might have done the exact same thing but it's a different message. Did you hear that last night?

HILL: I think what the president has said from the beginning is I respect guns, I respect gun culture, I respect Americans' right to bear arms, I respect the Second Amendment.

However, there need to be reasonable restrictions on that. I think that's what he's always said. And, yes, I think in the perfect world the president would want an assault weapons ban. I don't think that's at odds with what he's doing right now.

He's not contradicting himself. He's saying, hey, wait a minute, you know, we can't agree on all of these things. We can agree on many things. In fact, last night, the president in some ways was saying, look, I can -- there's an open debate about whether or not having a gun in your house will stop somebody from breaking in and hurting you.

However, we won't have to get caught up in that debate. Instead, we can come up with common sense, reasonable provisions that don't play to the extremes.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

HILL: And that's what he's saying. So, yes, the president may want an assault weapons ban. What he's saying is, we don't have to do that. We can just close the gun show loophole and that's not taking your guns.

And there's a big difference, finally, between the conspiracy theorists who think the government is out to confiscate all guns and saying, hey, we might want to stop people from having assault weapons. There is a difference.

CAMEROTA: Ben, how about that moment? Hold on, how about that moment last night that President Obama started with, with saying, every one of you in this room, even the gun owners, you all had to pass a background check. Why don't you want the same for other people?

Wasn't that -- that sort of zeroed in on what he's trying to do with these executive actions. Make it an even playing field. Everybody has to pass a background check.

FERGUSON: And I think that the main core issue is this, is it really just going to stop at the background check? And the thing is, there are -- 99 percent of guns that are purchased by law-abiding citizens are purchased with a background check. He even talked about that last night.

And so, the question is this, are we wasting time putting more regulations on law-abiding citizens instead of dealing with the reality which is there is a black market and there are people who don't go through background check on purpose because they're felons.

Look, I'm a victim of a gun crime. The individual who pulled a gun on me had already been in jail and been a convicted felon three times. I can promise you, he's not going to a gun show to buy gun and he's not going to try to buy one with a background check.

If the president said, look, we're going to go after people and have mandatory minimums on those that break the law, I'm in favor of that. If you lie on one of these background checks, you should go to jail for several years. I'm in favor of that, but that's not what he said.

CAMEROTA: Ben Ferguson, Marc Lamont Hill, thanks so much. The debate continues this morning. We appreciate it.

Coming up on NEW DAY, the widow of slain American sniper Chris Kyle squaring of with President Obama on these executive actions last night. We will speak with Taya Kyle, next.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn. A big question for you and I -- could the $700 million Powerball jackpot hit $1 billion by tomorrow night? What are the chances you'll actually win? We'll break it down for you next. There are some good statistics. Some might depress you, though.

CAMEROTA: No, no, we're winning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:24] PEREIRA: Well, stocks in China rebounding overnight after regulators suspended the circuit breaker system that halted trading twice this week. The Shanghai composite index rising 2 percent after shedding more than 7 percent of its value on Thursday. That has U.S. stock futures higher at this hour with all eyes on the Labor Department's December jobs report, which will be released at 8:30 Eastern this morning. We'll bring that to you.

CAMEROTA: Two Iraqi refugees with links to ISIS expected to head to court today. They were arrested on terrorism-related charges in California and Texas. Authorities say a 23-year-old in Sacramento traveled to Syria to fight and then lied to homeland security officials about it while a 24-year-old in Houston is charged with trying to provide material support to the terrorists. At this point, no indication the men planned any attacks here in the U.S.

PEREIRA: The governor of Maine under fire. He's accused of racial fear mongering. Republican Paul LePage in discussing his state's heroin epidemic claimed out of state drug dealers are to blame.

Listen to what he told reporters earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PAUL LEPAGE (R), MAINE: These aren't people who take drugs. These are guys named D-Money, Smoothy, Shifty. These types of guys that come from Connecticut, New York. They come up here, they sell their heroin, then they go back home. Incidentally, half the time, they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Governor LePage now claims his comment were not about race. The head of the Bangor chapter of NAACP, though, calls his remarks sad and foolish.

CAMEROTA: All right. Here's a little optimistic news. Please? Finally, the Powerball jackpot soaring to a record $700 million.

PEREIRA: That's a first, isn't it?

CAMEROTA: It is the first. It's a record high. It will be happening Saturday night. Now, recent rule changes mean even higher amounts are possible by Saturday. But here's something that's almost impossible, Michaela --

PEREIRA: OK, Debby Downer.

CAMEROTA: -- winning it.

Here's a list of things that are more likely to happen to you by our resident joy kill Christine Romans -- getting struck by lightning, drowning, getting struck by lightning while drowning.

PEREIRA: Wow. That's more likely to happen than us winning?

CAMEROTA: Yes -- well, not us, normal people. We have a much higher chance of winning because we bought the tickets.

But also check out this one, having quadruplets naturally.

PEREIRA: OK.

CAMEROTA: Becoming the president of the United States. That seems easier.

Getting hit by an asteroid.

PEREIRA: While being the president of the United States.

CAMEROTA: And listen to this. This is a fascinating one.

Becoming a billionaire on your own.

PEREIRA: Wait, wait, wait, what?

CAMEROTA: You could become a billionaire on your own more easily than winning the Powerball.

PEREIRA: All the ideas will make me a hundredaire or thousandaire at the most.

CAMEROTA: Isn't that fantastic?

PEREIRA: That's incredible.

CAMEROTA: I find that optimistic somehow.

PEREIRA: We're still doing a pool.

CAMEROTA: OK.

PEREIRA: All right. President Obama making his pitch for tougher gun control at CNN's town hall last evening. The widow of fallen American sniper Chris Kyle confronting the president on his executive actions. Ahead, we're going to speak with Taya Kyle.

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[06:52:39] PEREIRA: Good to have you back with us.

The widow of slain American sniper Chris Kyle taking on President Obama at last night's CNN's town hall on gun violence. Taya Kyle, challenging the president on his executive actions on gun control, pointing out the violent crime has actually decreased during his time in office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYA KYLE, WIDOW OF U.S. NAVY SEAL CHRIS KYLE: We are at the lowest murder rate in our country, all-time low of murders. We're at an all-time high of gun ownership, right?

I'm not necessarily saying the two are correlated, but what I'm saying is that we're at an all-time low for murder rate. That's a big deal.

And yet, I think most of us in this country feel like it could happen at any moment, it could happen at any of us at any time, at a moment's notice. When you talk about the NRA and after a mass shooting, gun sales go up, I would argue it's not necessarily I think someone is going to come take my gun from me, but I want the hope and the hope that I have the right to protect myself. That I don't end up to be one of these families, that I have the freedom to carry whatever weapon I feel I need.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You will be able to purchase a firearm. Some criminals will get their hands on firearms, even if there's a background check. Somebody may lie on a form. Somebody will intend to commit a crime but they don't have a record that shows up on the background check system.

But in the same way that we don't eliminate all traffic accidents, but over the course of 20 years, traffic accidents get lower, there's still tragedies. There's still drunk drivers, still people who don't wear their seat belts, but over time, that violence was reduced and so families are spared. That's the same thing we can do with gun ownership.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: And joining us now is the widow of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, and the author of "American Wife: A Memoir of Love, War, Faith and Renewal", Taya Kyle.

Taya, great to see you here on NEW DAY.

KYLE: Well, great to be here. Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: Sure.

What did you think about how President Obama responded to you last night and what was your takeaway from the town hall?

KYLE: I think that it was a good idea to get everybody together to talk, to see if they could affect change, have a dialogue that wasn't so hateful, because I think we're polarized on this issue. But I also think it's not necessarily the open dialogue that we would like.

[06:55:00] And I think that both Anderson and CNN were hoping it could be something where one person asks a question, the president responds and we were able to get a remark back. And, unfortunately, people get long-winded, myself included, and it doesn't end up being that way.

The president had an opportunity to say what he felt in return. I think there's more to the story. What he might say common sense, when he might say, well, let's do something, let's try something. And it's a background check or something like that, I get it. I really do.

The problem is that we're not enforcing the laws that we have, the federal prosecution rate is at 40 percent. That means 60 percent of the people who already lying on background checks, who aren't abiding by the law are getting away with it. So, what's the point in adding another one?

I know that frustrates him and he said that last night, that people say, well, we can't enforce the laws we have, and that frustrates him because the budgets were cut for the ATF. I get that, too. It doesn't change the fact that we already can't enforce the laws. So, it seems almost like a placating thing to just add more laws.

CAMEROTA: Well, he is adding for more money, calling for more money in order to do more background checks. I thought he made an interesting point last night, I want to get your take on it, when he said every gun owner in this room, and you yourself Taya, included, had to pass a background check. So, why object to expanding the background checks for online sales or gun shows? Did that logic make sense to you?

KYLE: Well, that's -- I think that's the point overall, all of these things sound really good, you know? If when he talks about hey, it's common sense, I completely understand that. Common sense to one person might be something different to another. I know he was making sort of a joke about when Anderson said something about some people think this is leading to taking away all guns.

And I know -- it's a big conspiracy. It's easy to make that joke. I don't feel Anderson had the time to adequately respond in the way that he could say, no, no, no, that's not what I was talking about. It's not what he was talking about. I don't think anybody thinks one president will have the power to develop a big plot nor would they want to.

But I think the thing that Anderson was trying to present is that there's a part of our population who's afraid that these are just steps that take away more and more of our freedoms. I think we can all agree in our last 50 years our freedoms have been cut back substantially. It's just a matter of if you agree they should be taken back.

CAMEROTA: But you were able to get a gun. You're a gun owner. How are our freedoms -- there are more than 320 million guns in this country. How is the access to guns being cut back?

I know that that's something that gun rights supporters say. But, you know, there are as many guns in this country as there are people. So, how do you feel that access is being denied?

KYLE: You know, it's a fair point. We'd have to get into the minutia of it. But basically what we're talking about is that if it doesn't work in the first place, right, we can say that.

But let's just say that it worked all of the time. The background checks did, only healthy people had guns. That's fine. But I think the laws are more stringent. If you're going hunting you'd have to drive to the place to loan your gun to somebody else to do the hunt, things like that.

I understand what you're saying. I just think that the argument is more basic than that. And the argument is that, do the background checks work? Are they stopping people? Because the law-abiding citizens who are doing the background checks aren't the people who are going to murder people, and I feel like that's -- the core of issue isn't necessarily, why can't we do this? Sure, you can do that. But on the other side, somebody else might say it's common sense to arm every school, every hospital, every church, to have guns everywhere. And somebody else would say, well, that's extreme. That's not going to do anything.

I guess that's what I mean, is that both sides of the issue are so passionate about how they feel and what's common sense to one side of the issue is not common sense to the other. The bottom line is we're still in the most amazing place we've ever been in our country. You know, gun ownership is at an all-time high, which is great for people who want their guns, and murder rate is at an all-time low which is great for people who are afraid if you have more guns, there will be more murder, because it's not happening.

So, I think -- go ahead.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, Taya, you made that point last night. It was a generous point, given the tragedy in your life that you still say that the vast majority of Americans are good-hearted, wonderful people and you wanted the president to know that and trumpet that more. I think that came through loud and clear.

Taya Kyle, thanks so much for sharing your perspective with us this morning.

KYLE: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: We're following a lot of news this morning, so let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you have done to prevent these mass shootings?

KYLE: I have the right to protect myself.

OBAMA: Well --

KYLE: Celebrate that we're good people and 99.9 percent of us are never going to kill anyone.

OBAMA: I just want to emphasize, the goal here is just to make progress.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What he has proposed, he doesn't have the authority to do.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will get rid of gun-free zones.