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New Day
Trump's Message Resonates; Deadly Attacks in Syria; Six Killed, Two Injured in Kalamazoo Massacre. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired February 22, 2016 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:32:33] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's big victory in South Carolina further cementing his Republican frontrunner status. Our next guest says this may be the most amazing story in the history of American politics. Matt Schlapp is George W. Bush's former political director and chairman of the American Conservative Union.
Matt, great to see you. Why do you think this is the most amazing story?
MATT SCHLAPP, FMR. GEORGE W. BUSH POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, because I've been stumped by it the whole time. I think most people have. I mean who would have predicted that somebody who has never run for elected office, hasn't really spent any time working inside government, has taken the Republican primary process by storm, is leading the race and by some people's estimations could be sweeping next Tuesday.
CAMEROTA: And, Matt, it's not only that, it's that Donald Trump is able to say things, controversial things, take positions and make statements that would have ended other people's campaigns.
SCHLAPP: Right.
CAMEROTA: So let's just take a look at some of the history here and which messages are resonating the most. On the day that he announced you'll remember he made a comment about Mexicans. Let's remember that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
We're going to do the wall. And by the way, who's going to pay for the wall? Mexico is going to pay for the wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: OK, Matt, people thought when he announced, well, that's going to be the end of it. He's obviously just too outrageous. No, let's look at exit polls of how this resonated. Let's start with South Carolina. Among people, voters, who thought illegal immigrants should be deported, Donald Trump gets the largest share, 47 percent, Cruz, 24, Rubio, 15. Now let's look at how that played in New Hampshire among those voters who think illegal immigrants should be deported. Trump gets 51 percent. His closest competitor is 19 percent. Matt, I mean, it's resonating.
SCHLAPP: Yes, that's right. I mean here's everything about messaging. He keeps it very simple. He repeats it. He gets criticized for not going deeper and going into more policy detail, but he gets away with it and he's allowed to keep repeating his major themes. I thought that announcement at Trump Tower was a low point. But he's become much better as a candidate and his message is getting across.
CAMEROTA: OK, here's another controversial comment he made. It was about Muslims. He suggested that all Muslims should be temporarily banned. Let me play this for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:35:15] CAMEROTA: OK, Matt, that was another moment that the punditries thought -
SCHLAPP: Right.
CAMEROTA: Well, he's cooked. I mean he can't - you can't say things like that in political life. Oh, no, look at the exit polls that show here for people who believe that there should be a temporary ban on Muslims, 74 percent - 74 percent, sorry, of the South Carolinians GOP voters agreed with him that there should be a ban. And, Matt, you will also see, New Hampshire, similar, 65 percent agreed with Donald Trump.
SCHLAPP: Right. The key here is, the first thing is, you notice he read his statement. He does that very infrequently. He read a statement on this. Why? Because a lot of people are assuming this is a shot at Muslims. This was actually a shot at Obama and Washington, D.C., congressional Republicans because, remember, they were - they - the president was saying he would allow these Syrian migrants into the country without the proper background checks. And that was the real issue. What he's saying is, is that we can't let jihadists into the country. So it was a clear attack, not just on Obama, but on the Republican leadership. That is a key part of Trump's presidential strategy.
CAMEROTA: Matt, another incredible thing. Donald Trump has made personal attacks or even just attacks against institutions and people that the GOP thought again would sink him and thought were untouchable. I mean we're talking about John McCain's war record. We're talking about George W. Bush going into war. We're talking about the pope. Listen to some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There weren't none. And they knew there were none.
The pope said something to the effect that maybe Donald Trump isn't Christian, OK. And he's questioning my faith. For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful.
We are led by very, very stupid people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: OK, Matt, let's see how that resonated. In South Carolina, you look at the exit poll, candidates, they asked voters, do you want a candidate who tells it like it is, meaning the candor, the sort of unvarnished nature. People believe Trump is that candidate. And 78 percent over, look at Cruz, 8 percent, Kasich, four, Carson, four, and they like that.
SCHLAPP: Yes, exactly. So, you know, you have these moments where the pope comes and spends time with President Obama and they're so polite and cordial but you know the disagreements are just like night and day. And you know that when people say my distinguished colleagues in Congress, they don't really mean it. And so Trump says in front of the camera what the rest of us say when the camera is turned off. And that is authentic and really likeable. And what the - what the voters are saying is, look, this system is broken in Washington. Our politics is broken. Let somebody - let's send somebody up there who will change the whole dynamic. So the more he plays into these things that we thought would hurt him, actually the more it's helped him.
CAMEROTA: All right, Matt Schlapp, thanks for walking us through all of this. Great to see you.
SCHLAPP: Great o see you, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Chris.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, some really hard news coming out of Syria. ISIS striking as other nations scramble to hammer out a truce. Is there any hope that a cease fire is possible? We're live in the Middle East, next.
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[08:42:16] CUOMO: A reminder of why this election matters so much is the news coming out of Syria this morning. Secretary of State John Kerry says a cease fire could begin in a matter of days. Now, this could not come soon enough. ISIS is claiming responsibility for one of the deadliest attacks there in five years of civil war. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut. He has more details.
Nick.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A devastating death toll, Chris, over the weekend of 184 in Homs and Damascus, struck by ISIS. In one of those attacks, three blasts outside the Sayyida Zeinab shrine killed 120 people. Activists saying that is, they believe, the most deadly attack of the whole conflict. And that is, obviously, could not be more in congressed to the idea of a cessation of hostilities. That's the phrase John Kerry wants to use. He doesn't want to go as far as the legal term of a cease fire. He thinks they've got provisional agreements, the possibility of that happening in the days ahead after speaking to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
But here's the problem, the next stage they say for moving this forward is to get Barack Obama on the phone with Vladimir Putin. Not two men who traditionally get along. Remember how redolent of the Cold War that whole idea is and Washington talking to Moscow to try and sort out other problems elsewhere in the world.
The big problem here, Chris, there's no Syrians in that phone call between the White House and the Kremlin. They're still experiencing unbelievable violence on the ground. They are still at war there. A very multi-sided, complicated, violent situation there and around Aleppo, particularly the northern city, we've seen violence continuing today. Hopes for peace really ebbing.
Michaela.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Nick, thank you.
Here we go with the five things to know on your Monday.
The Republican candidates sump in Nevada ahead of tomorrow's caucuses. Donald Trump savoring that big victory in South Carolina, his sights set on an even bigger prize, Super Tuesday. So next stop, South Carolina for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Clinton will try to make it two in a row in Saturday's primary. First they'll take part in a CNN town hall tomorrow night.
The suspect accused of killing six people in a shooting spree in Michigan facing formal charges today. A source close to the investigation now says that man picked up fares as an Uber driver between killings.
As we just told you, a provisional cease fire could take effect in Syria this week. The death toll from a weekend of ISIS violence now stands at 184. Some of the deadliest violence we've seen there in the civil war.
A finish for the ages at the Daytona 500. Watch that. Yes, Denny Hamlin making a big move in the final lap, holding off Martin Truex Jr. by 0.01 second. The closest finish in the race's history. My goodness.
[08:45:00] For more on the five things to know you can always check out newdaycnn.com.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: All right, it's time for CNN Money now. Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is in our money center with a look at how the presidential candidates are spending their cash ahead of Super Tuesday.
Hi, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Alisyn.
Who is the best finance GOP candidate heading into Super Tuesday? New campaign finance numbers show Ted Cruz with $13.6 million cash on hand. Marco Rubio and Ben Carson are next, then Donald Trump. But remember, his $1.5 million in the bank is misleading. He is financing his own campaign. He's got a vast fortune. He frequently gives himself loans. Essentially Cruz and Trump head into Super Tuesday with the financial advantage.
Hillary Clinton nearly doubling Bernie Sanders with her cash on hand. $32.9 million, that's more than all of the GOP candidates combined, by the way. But it was an expensive January for Sanders. He spent nearly $35 million racing through Iowa and New Hampshire. Hillary Clinton ran through nearly $20 million.
Chris, they have got to spend wisely over the next ten days, don't they?
CUOMO: Big numbers, though. Big numbers. Christine, thank you very much.
So, pressing question. What was behind the killing spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan? Six dead, more injured. The man allegedly responsible talking. We are now talking with police, next.
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[08:50:22] PEREIRA: Obviously, there are so many questions this morning surrounding the shooting massacre in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A father of two, no criminal history accused of killing six people, critically injuring two others.
Joining us right now is chief of Kalamazoo's public safety, Jeff Hadly. He has the latest on the investigation. We should point out, public safety is basically the police and fire department under one roof. You are the chief of it all. Thanks for making time on this busy, busy day for you.
Give us an idea of what the latest is at this hour, what you know right now.
CHIEF JEFFREY HADLY, KALAMAZOO DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Well, what we know right now is that our detectives have worked extremely hard to get this case ready for arraignment, whether it be this morning or this afternoon. So the lion's share of their work has been compiling all the reports from the initial shootings, the victims, information, things of that nature, to provide a very comprehensive and thorough report for the Kalamazoo County prosecutor so he can get arraigned today.
From there we will start ferreting out the Uber dynamic, which has obviously been traveling around this situation for the last 24 hours. And all the other information, in terms of what his activities were in the hours and day preceding up to these events. PEREIRA: Yeah. Multi-pronged investigation because there were several
different shooting sites. You talk about the Uber dynamic. I think it is particularly unsettling whenever something like this happens, but it is so upsetting for people to learn this was an Uber driver. Any sort of delivery (ph) driver, a cab driver, that takes the public around. But I suppose in a way this could actually help you with your investigation because Uber essentially is a GPS that tracks the movement of their vehicles, does it not?
HADLY: Correct. And I think as soon as we are able to latch on to that information in terms of his whereabouts in between the first shooting and the second shooting and the second shooting and the third shooting, would certainly help us understand where he traveled to and maybe lead us to other sources of information.
PEREIRA: The other side of that though, of course, is the fallout about the idea that this guy was an Uber driver. They do some sort of background test -- check for these drivers, do they not?
HADLY: That would be my assumption. And in all fairness to Uber, this guy had no criminal history. He was -- for intent and purposes -- an average Joe. So whatever systems or checks they had in place, I would imagine he would have passed them. He was not aware to us in law enforcement. He was not a person of interest to us. He did not have any criminal history. So I would imagine that he would have passed any screening that they have -- or would have in place.
PEREIRA: No criminal history, not known to law enforcement there, but we are hearing, "The New York Times" is reporting that some neighbors said that he, quote, used guns in a troubling manner, often sounded paranoid, was known to occasionally shoot guns into the air. What does that say to you, as somebody who is investigating a suspect like this now?
HADLY: Well, it certainly gives us some insight into his behaviors and maybe his state of mind in the most recent months or days leading up to the shootings. So, you know, many times there are behaviors that people exhibit and they may be an isolated incident that kind of makes you stop and pause, but wouldn't necessarily believe -- lead anyone to believe that someone would go out and commit these type of acts.
Obviously this is very unusual for this to happen. These were very unprovoked, unprevented and unpreventable incidents that happen in our community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims' families and their friends in this community as a whole.
But we're -- There is a lot we don't know right now, obviously, and we are actively seeking out answers to some of these questions and a motive, which we still don't have. And I know that is probably the million dollar question on everyone's mind: why would this individual do this?
PEREIRA: Why would he do it? We all search for those answers. Obviously, the focus has to turn to victims as those victims are laid to rest. Those families are going to need the support. What are you saying to the residents there, sir? Because it -- you
know, when this kind of violence tears apart the fabric of a community like this, as you as one of its leaders, you need to sort of speak to the residents there who are shaken.
[08:54:46] HADLY: Yeah, absolutely. And I said it a couple of weeks ago in a different interview on a different topic, but anything can happen any place anytime. We generally go about our lives in a very tranquil way. But any community is vulnerable, large and small. We have to be vigilant and be aware. And -- But I think there is some solace in the regard that our law enforcement was able to put this guy into custody in a very quick fashion. He is no longer a threat to the community.
We just ask that folks work with their area law enforcement agencies, have partnerships with them, have the relationships, let us know when things don't seem quite right to you. We will try to provide balance to those observations and follow through when we feel those observations need to be followed through on.
PEREIRA: Chief Hadly, thank you so much for joining us today. We will be in touch with you as you further this investigation along.
Short break now. We've got your "Good Stuff" coming next.
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CUOMO: "Good Stuff," we need it. Too much bad stuff going on. All right. This one is no surprise for the Kroger store employers in Indianapolis because they know that Colin Coleman, who works there obviously, always goes beyond the expectations of his job. But here's the latest action that was so good it went viral.
Colin noticed a blind man walking into the store, took it upon himself to assist the man as he was shopping. So he's like no, I'll help you out. Let's just go. We'll go through everything you need. A bystander sees it, takes a picture. Picture goes viral and didn't go unnoticed.
So what does the store do? They give Colin a customer satisfaction award from the chain, usually given to an entire department. They made Colin the first person to ever receive this as an individual.
