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Iran Frees 10 Detained U.S. Navy Sailors; Obama Delivers Final State of the Union Address. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired January 13, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: These are very tight waters in these portions of the Persian Gulf.

[07:00:06] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get all the attention.

I believe in change, because I believe in you.

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one else comes close to the record that I have.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a very long record.

I have a broader agenda.

When I was secretary of state, I couldn't talk about domestic policy. You do not meddle in domestic policy when you are secretary of state.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAMEROTA: And good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. Chris is in Washington for us. Michaela and I are here in New York.

We do begin with breaking news. We want to update you on those Iranian -- American sailors. They are free now this morning from Iranian detention after wandering into Iranian waters.

Iranian officials accusing the U.S. of trespassing. They're demanding an apology and issuing a warning to Congress. All of this just days before that landmark nuclear deal is set to start.

So let's get right to CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, with all of the breaking details. What have you learned, Barbara?

STARR: Good morning, Alisyn.

The U.S. Navy releasing a deep breath this morning as ten of their sailors now back in U.S. hands in the Persian Gulf. It happened about two hours ago. They were released by Iran, Iranians escorting them out into international waters on their two small boats.

They were picked up by a Navy cruiser in those international waters, now being transferred back ashore.

These sailors at this hour, getting medical tests, being talked to. They will get full debriefs about what happened to them.

The investigation now is going to look at how it is that they got into Iranian waters. Was, in fact, it the case that one of their small boats became disabled? That while it lost communication, perhaps navigation propulsion. We don't know. That now being investigated.

The U.S. Navy wanting to know exactly what happened to them and what happened to them during those hours they were held by Iran. How were they treated? Were they interrogated? Who talked to them? All of those details now being looked at.

But make no mistake: this is a big sigh of relief for the Obama administration, that Iranian nuclear agreement going into effect in the coming days. They wanted to keep all of that on track and get these folks back -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely, Barbara. Thanks so much for all that.

Let's bring in now CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

Christiane, great to have you here. As you heard Barbara say, big sigh of relief. Everyone is happy the sailors are heading back home. Did this have the potential to end badly?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, any kind of weird military misunderstanding can have that potential. But I think the big story is how quickly the sailors were released, several hours after they apparently, by all sides' accounts, strayed into Iranian waters, were taken in and then, because of direct diplomacy between Secretary of State John Kerry, between his counterpart, the Iranian foreign

minister, Mohamed Javad Zarif, things were calmed down, things were explained and these sailors released.

It is incredible how different this is to the story of 2007 and 2004, when British sailors were captured in Iranian waters for one reason or another. They were taken in; they were paraded. They were blindfolded, held in isolation. They were severely interrogated. They were forced into forced confessions.

And so this is a completely different story, which shows how these situations are changing now under the new Iran nuclear deal with the United States and world powers. So I think that is the story of this event.

CAMEROTA: So I want you to build on that, Christiane. Is this a direct result of the negotiations that happened during the Iran nuclear deal? Can we give credit for this new day of diplomacy to the work they did on that?

AMANPOUR: Well, look, I remember reporting on the 2007 and 2004 incidents.

2007 was when the reprehensible and antagonistic President Ahmadinejad was in power in Iran. These people, the British sailors, were held for 13 days, as I described, in bad and harsh circumstances.

Since President Obama and Secretary Kerry and the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, and all of those people have gathered together to start a new kind of relationship -- yes, about one issue, a very important issue, and that is the nuclear issue -- it has had a calming effect on many other issues, as well.

And there is direct contact between the highest levels in the United States and the highest levels in Iran. That is a change. And that is what diplomacy is all about.

So again, I think that this is the story of this incident, that whatever reason or why ever, and the investigation will tell, according to Barbara and others, why they strayed into those waters, but even the Iranian, you know, military Revolutionary Guard, even the highest officials on Iranian press television didn't go, you know, blustering and bombastic. They said let's investigate, let's see what happened. And sure enough, they were released.

So will it impact, will it have an impact? Was it because of the nuclear deal? It's because of the new atmosphere, I believe, and that nuclear deal is about to be implemented.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

AMANPOUR: When the nuclear agency has given Iran a clean bill of health. And this week Iran removed the heart of its Iraq heavy water reactor, which as you know, might have been used for a second pathway to a nuclear device. So things are moving in that direction.

CAMEROTA: And also, Christiane, is it also, quickly, in part because of the timing? Because it is days away from the nuclear deal set to go into effect and the sanctions being lifted that would infuse lots and lots of money, billions of dollars into Iran? Does the U.S. lose some of its clout once this deal at the end of this week is, you know, for all intents and purposes done or under way?

AMANPOUR: Well, I don't think the incident -- I mean, we may find out that it was related to this - to this timing, but I very much doubt it. The incident of the straying into the waters could have happened at any time. The U.S. patrols those areas frequently, as do other nations' navies there. You've seen it's a very, very narrow straight, and there have been these incidents in the past.

So I don't think the incident is related to the timing of the lifting of sanctions and the implementation of this deal. But I think the result of it is because of all of that. The way it was dealt with quickly, efficiently, professionally, politically, is a fallout from these -- from these negotiations. And yes, of course, everybody is worried. What will Iran do now that

it is brought further into the community of nations? Many, as you know, U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf are pretty scared about it all.

But right now, you know, between the United States and Iran on these issues, there seems to be, you know, a much less heightened belligerence and one that seems to be working, at least in these particular issues that we're seeing that crop up from time to time now.

CAMEROTA: There you go. Christiane Amanpour, always great to get your context for us. Thank you for that.

Meanwhile, let's go back to Chris, who is in Washington, D.C., for all of the context on the State of the Union.

Hey, Chris.

CUOMO: Hey, how you doing, Alisyn?

All right. So this situation with the sailors, you can say, "Whew! Good, it has a happy ending." Yes, they're released; they're in there. But you've got to look at it a little more closely than that.

It wasn't mentioned in the State of the Union last night for a reason. And yet, within the political zeitgeist, this was really being used a lot of different ways; and it kind of reflects on what the overall message and tone was in that room last night and around the country.

The president used his time to talk about where he wants the country to go moving forward. But this Iran situation shows us very much where we are right now.

CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins us from Washington with highlights of the big speech and the impact, Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Chris, you know ahead of time the White House was talking about, well, expect a lot of passion from the president in this, some using the word "nontraditional."

But I'm not sure that this was very much different from what we heard before. The president did focus on optimism, looking forward to the changing economy, innovation, national security and politics. That's what really stood out, especially some pointed barbs he had for certain unnamed Republican presidential candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.

KOSINSKI (voice-over): Entering the Capitol for his final State of the Union address, President Obama was met with such energy it took a good five minutes to get started.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's bring this to order. For this final one, I'm going to try to make it a little shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa. I've been there.

KOSINSKI: He acknowledged the difficulties he's faced.

OBAMA: We won't agree on health care anytime soon. But -- a little applause back there.

KOSINSKI: But wasted no time in repeatedly, sharply digging Republican candidates for their criticism.

OBAMA: Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction. Well, so is all the rhetoric you hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker. And our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb civilians. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn't pass muster on the world stage.

And we need to reject any politics, any politics, that targets people because of race or religion.

KOSINSKI: A sentiment that interestingly was echoed in the Republican rebuttal by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation.

[07:10;08] KOSINSKI: Donald Trump tweeted that the president's speech was "boring, slow, lethargic."

Senator Ted Cruz didn't attend it but said this.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will apologize to nobody for my commitment to kill the terrorists.

KOSINSKI: One of President Obama's goals here was optimism, which lately, the White House uses to try to build a contrast with how they see the Republican field.

OBAMA: Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn't deny Sputnik was up there. We didn't argue about the science or shrink our research and development budget. We built a space program almost overnight; and 12 years later, we were walking on the moon.

That spirit of discovery is in our DNA. Let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all.

KOSINSKI: That statement brought both sides of the aisle to its feet. And, in a room filled with guests as diverse as a Syrian refugee, nuns suing the administration over Obamacare, American Muslims and Kim Davis, the president conceding that the politics remains a barrier.

OBAMA: It's one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. KOSINSKI: Calling on individual Americans to set aside cynicism and

vote.

OBAMA: Because I believe in you, the American people. And that's why I stand here as confident as I have ever been that the state of our union is strong. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSINSKI: This morning, the White House is in the mode of, "OK, that's over. Let's get back to work." There are lots of travel planned to take some of those messages from last night on the road to the American people -- Chris.

CUOMO: Well, that was the key for the president last night, right, Michelle? He said that "I'm talking to you at home, not to people in this room." Thank you for the reporting.

Let's bring in someone who knows all and knows it all so well. David Axelrod, CNN senior political commentator, former Obama senior adviser.

Axe, always good to have you.

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be here.

CUOMO: You say that the place to begin is with the end of the speech.

AXELROD: Yes.

CUOMO: That resonated most for you. How, other than the juxtaposition of saying that the state of the union is strong, very strong, at the end, as opposed to the beginning?

AXELROD: Because I know that what the president says what he feels. It's what I feel. It's what everyone who was at the beginning of this journey feels, which is the one great and important task that he was unable to complete, or has been unable to complete, is to change the tone of politics in this town to create a more civil politics, a more respectful politics that's necessary to make a democracy work.

We've always had big contentious fights, but ultimately we've respected each other as Americans. And lately, we've been impeaching each other if we have different points of view. And he feels strongly, and he's right, that we have to found a way past that if we're going to deal with the challenges that we face.

After all, this speech was about how do we deal with the big challenges facing our country? That's one of the big challenges.

CUOMO: He owned a little bit of it last night. He said maybe a Lincoln, maybe a Roosevelt -- certainly elevated company...

AXELROD: Yes.

CUOMO: ... may have done better. The Republicans say, "Forget about Lincoln and Roosevelt. You made this happen. You're the reason we're divided."

AXELROD: Yes.

CUOMO: They believe that.

AXELROD: You know, I try not to strike harshly partisan notes in this role, because that's not the role I'm playing here. But I must say, I was here at the beginning, and others were here watching. You may have been one of them. I think a strategic decision was made. Mitch McConnell has spoken to it on several occasions. And that was we weren't going to give this guy anything, because we crushed them in that election. They were down on their backs, the Republicans, in this Congress. They had lost many, many seats, and we were in the middle of this crisis. And I think their feeling was, "Let him grapple with these tough, unpopular decisions that he's going to have to make. It will improve our chances of winning."

And the more there wasn't cooperation, the more he was driven to a point where he believed that, "Well, if I'm going to get stuff done, I've got to work only with Democrats."

But could more have been done? I have no doubt more have -- more could be done.

CUOMO: They also wound up winning, though, right? They wound up two sets of midterms as they moved up, which was somewhat of a reflection of people respecting the opposition.

AXELROD: Well, you know what? I will tell you this, Chris. When -- in 2008, after the election, we had a briefing on the state of the economy that was so chilling, and nobody ever expected to be sitting in a room when we were running that campaign and hear someone say we could have a second Great Depression.

And I left that briefing, and I said to the president, then president- elect, "You know, we're going to get crushed in the midterm election. Just be prepared for that." Because you can't govern through a crisis like that and not take huge losses.

And we were holding a bunch of seats that we honestly shouldn't have been holding, that we had done so well in the previous two elections that we had seats in Republican-leading districts that were going to be hard to hold.

CUOMO: Right. When you look at the tone -- and, again, this journey ending for the president where it began, in terms of how do you deal with what he called the rancor in there.

Praise during the State of the Union by the out party for the president is perfidy, right? But even within that context, to see Speaker Ryan, who -- you know, you know him; I know him. He's a different guy. He doesn't -- he's not afraid of his team, but he played Boehner times ten last night in terms of not even standing up.

AXELROD: At least Boehner cried every once in a while. CUOMO: Yes, but usually, we didn't know why. But with Speaker Ryan,

you usually know why he's doing what he's doing. What did you see last night?

AXELROD: I think we know why he's doing what he's doing. I think Paul Ryan is walking a very fine line with his caucus. He is trying to stay true to the conservative spirit of the Republican Party, while still trying to find areas where he can work with the president. And that makes him suspect with some of the members of that caucus.

And so I don't think he wanted to show any outward signs of approval of anything the president said. When you can't stand up and applaud for curing cancer, I mean, that's hard core.

CUOMO: Nikki Haley last night, though, she distinguished herself...

AXELROD: She did.

CUOMO: ... by going after her own a little bit.

AXELROD: Yes.

CUOMO: And you had mentioned Trump early on. I was happy to hear less about him so you could talk more about the ideas involved. And she seemed to be speaking directly to -- let's call that part of the party, Trump's part of the party.

AXELROD: Look, I think a central core of what was discussed last night was, how do we deal with change? Change is frightening. Change is difficult. But it also is an opportunity. And you can either -- you can either surf the fear and anxiety or you can seize the moment and move together and try and deal with the challenges of our time. And that's where the president was urging us to go. And he was very condemnatory of the politics of fear that Trump represents.

What was surprising was that Nikki Haley picked up on that theme. And you know, she was chosen for that role by Ryan, McConnell. They specifically chose someone from outside of Washington, someone who was prepared to condemn Washington for some of the politics that have gone on here and to condemn Donald Trump. So she really was firing a shot in the civil war that's going on in the Republican Party right now, and they enabled her to do it.

CUOMO: They did see a lot of Republicans on social media last night. Given the occasion, given the reminder of what it is to be president, the respect that it demands, and the respect that is required that a lot of them were saying is he -- which one of the top guys could be in that position where President Obama was last night? Interesting part of the analysis to see it going forward.

AXELROD: You can't, by the way, put Trump on the podium when you're giving the State of the Union speech. Right? Can't put your name on the podium there.

CUOMO: Not yet. We'll see. Axelrod, as always, nice to see you.

Thank you, David.

Now, we have a lot of big guests. We had David Axelrod, but you're going to hear from Hillary Clinton. You're going to hear from Jeb Bush. You're going to have South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. She's the one who gave the response to the State of the Union for the GOP. Where was her head? Where was her heart?

We also have House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. What can the Democrats do in this remainder of the president's term?

Alisyn, back to you in New York.

CAMEROTA: OK. Lots of interesting stuff coming up, Chris. Thanks so much.

So what does Hillary Clinton think of Vice President Biden seeming to show more love for Bernie Sanders? More of my interview with Hillary Clinton, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Now to more of my interview with Hillary Clinton. In our last hour I asked her about the challenge that Bernie Sanders poses in Iowa and New Hampshire. How does she feel, though, about Vice President Biden appearing to call Bernie Sanders more authentic than her? Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Vice President Joe Biden offered his thoughts to CNN on why he thinks Bernie Sanders is resonating. He said that he thinks it's about Senator Sanders' positions on income inequality. And the vice president said, quote, "It's relatively new for Hillary to talk about that. That's been Bernie's. No one questions Bernie's authenticity on those issues."

What's your reaction?

CLINTON: The vice president, who I deeply respect and regard as a friend, went on to say, as I recall, that, you know, Hillary Clinton has a lot of very good economic policies that are thoughtful and on and on.

Look, I have been working towards closing the gaps between people, poor people and well-off people primarily, all my adult life. I went to work for the Children's Defense Fund. I helped to reform the education system in Arkansas. I was a legal services lawyer defending poor people. I went to work to try to make sure that we got health care in the beginning of husband's administration because of so many people who were left out and uninsured.

I have been on this issue in many different ways. How do we education more equal? How do we make health care more equal? Of course that's tied to income equality.

But there's also a broader range of issues that I have a long record addressing. And when I was in the Senate, I took on corporate executive pay. A lot of the abuses that I thought were there. I took on these derivatives and credit default swaps that contributed to the collapse of the economy and the Great Recession. I stood up to Wall Street; I called them out. So I have a very long record.

I have a broader agenda. It's not the only thing I talk about. Because I think you have to view equality of opportunity and how we deliver that in the 21st Century from many different perspectives, and that's what I try to do.

CAMEROTA: Since you have been devoting much of your career to talking about this, why do you think the vice president would say it's more in Bernie's wheel House, and it's about his authenticity?

CLINTON: I don't know, but I have a lot of regard for the vice president. And I think he clarified what he said and said he was talking about me when I was secretary of state.

Well, when I was secretary of state, I couldn't talk about domestic policy. There's an unwritten rule. You do not meddle in domestic policy when you are secretary of state or, for that matter, secretary of defense. So yes, for four years, despite a long career, both in and out of public service, where I have been relentless in talking about these issues, there were four years when I did not.

I talked about how we're going to get Iran to the negotiating table and try to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. How we're going to, you know, deal with the rise in China, what we're going to do about women's rights, something that goes to the heart of inequality. So I had a different agenda, because I had a different job.

CAMEROTA: So you didn't take Biden's comments as a slight?

[07:25:06] CLINTON: No, not at all.

CAMEROTA: OK. You are introducing your tax plan. One of the headlines is that you would impose a 4 percent surcharge on incomes over $5 million. And I believe that that would raise about $150 billion over ten years. Does that go far enough in addressing income inequality?

CLINTON: Well, we've got a variety of proposals. Not only the 4 percent surcharge, which I call the Fair Share Surcharge, the so- called Buffett Rule, which would have a minimum tax rate for people making more than a million dollars; limiting deductions to 28 percent with a charitable exception; going after a lot of the subsidies that, for example, still subsidize the oil and gas industry, about 6 billion a year while we have to move toward a clean, renewable energy future.

I have put forth plans: paid family leave, tuition, debt-free tuition for public colleges, tapping prescription drug costs and much more. And it would cost about $100 billion a year, all of which I pay for.

In contrast, Senator Sanders has some very big ideas, but he hasn't yet told anybody how he would pay for them. And he had promised that he would roll out his tax plans before the Iowa caucus on February 1. Well, if you wait too long, nobody will have a chance to see them or analyze them. And so, I am very clear about what I would do and how I would pay for it.

CAMEROTA: Another point of conflict between you and Senator Sanders is on gun policy.

CLINTON: Um-hmm.

CAMEROTA: We just watched this very emotional event that you were involved in where this mom who lost two children...

CLINTON: Right.

CAMEROTA: ... to gun violence got up and spoke. And it was really heartbreaking to hear her. It sounds like she lost her children to criminals.

CLINTON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: So how would you stop that?

CLINTON: This is a very big difference in this campaign, because as you saw, I received the Brady campaign endorsement, and both the women, Delphine Cherry introduced us to the stage, and the head of the Brady campaign had lost family members. It was really hard standing up there. Because I have held the hands of and listened to countless people who have lost family members to gun violence.

And I agree completely with the president about us having to take action now. We lose, on an average, 90 people a day. It has to stop, Alisyn.

I've been in this campaign advocating for comprehensive background checks, closing the gun show loophole, closing the online loophole, closing what's called the Charleston loophole. You know, there was a loophole -- my opponent voted for it, Senator Sanders, that at the end of three days, business days, you get that gun, whether they have finished the background check or not. The killer in Charleston who bought that gun, if there had just been a little more time, it would have been discovered he should not have been able to buy the gun, because he had a federal record.

We have saved a lot of lives. I can't put an exact number on it, but because of the Brady Bill, which Senator Sanders voted against five times, more than 2 million people -- the Brady campaign says 2.4 million purchasers -- have been stopped from buying guns.

So we're talking about violent criminals. We're talking about domestic abusers. We're talking about the dangerously mentally ill. We're even talking about terrorists, because the Republicans won't close the loophole so that people on the no-fly zone can buy guns.

I feel passionately about this, and the accumulation from Sandy Hook to the community college in Oregon, to the fact that we've had so many mass killings in the last few years, I think it certainly motivated the president. And I am so proud to support him. And I want to make this a voting issue in this campaign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: We will break down Hillary Clinton's comments ahead. And what about those allegations from his husband's past? Find out in our next hour.

PEREIRA: Well, Republican candidates are sounding off on the president's final State of the Union. What did Jeb Bush make of that? Well, he joins us live. And we'll ask him about that and his campaign, next.

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