Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Deadly Tornadoes Rip Through Gulf Coast, 3 Killed and Dozens Injured; Wreckage of Plane Crash Found in Nepal, 21 Believed Dead; Is Donald Trump Unstoppable?; Trump Wins Latino Vote In Nevada; Kalamazoo Suspect Captured on Video At Gun Store; GOP Slams Obama Gitmo Plan; Former NSA & CIA Chief: Apple Is Right. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 24, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:31:30] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: Deadly tornadoes ripping through the gulf coast overnight. At least three people have been killed after more than a dozen twisters carved a path of destruction across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. Our meteorologist, Chad Myers, joins us now with more on the outlook for today and how severe it could be -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Michaela, we knew it would light up down here across the south yesterday and it will light up across the Carolinas, maybe even into the northeast later on. But tornadoes in the south after dark can be deadly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.

MYERS: Overnight, three people killed and dozens injured across the gulf coast. Severe storms and tornadoes ripping through swaths of the deep south and Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just knew that, you know -- that it was a tornado. I was crying and I was so scared. I mean, the house would not stop shaking the whole entire time. I mean, it was just -- it was terrible.

MYERS: In some parts of Louisiana entire communities reduced to rubble. One-hundred and sixty motor homes blown apart after a storm ravaged an R.V. park in New Orleans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The noise of the tornado was so loud that you couldn't hear much of the trees when they were snapping.

MYERS: And in neighboring Prairieville, gym-goers dodging debris and running to take cover when the storm struck. The roof of this Gold's Gym peeling up as glass walls came crashing down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the weather gets so bad the roof of your gym and the wall just blows off.

MYERS: In Florida, apartment complexes demolished. Damaging winds tossing cars like toys. Texas not spared from the storm's wrath. Hail the size of golf balls pummeling homes. Thousands without power, hundreds of reports of broken windows and damaged rooftops.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MYERS: Our Jennifer Gray is on the ground in Pensacola. She'll have a live report coming up just a little bit later. But the storms continue on up the Carolinas. Snow for Chicago, Detroit, into St. Louis. Some of that snow could be very deep, but it's the severe weather we're still worried about for today for Raleigh, for Charlotte -- all the way down even towards Savannah and Charleston. That's where the weather will be the most severe today.

And even some thunderstorms rolling through the northeast today. I think it's more of a nuisance than tornadoes, but certainly some of those storms, Michaela, even for you, could get very dangerous because lightning kills more people than you think.

PEREIRA: We stand in awe of the fury of Mother Nature, Chad. We really do. All right, we'll be checking back in with you coming up.

Also breaking overnight, 21 people are believed dead after their plane went down in a mountainous region of northern Nepal. Officials say the Tara Air plane lost contact about eight minutes into a regional flight. It was only supposed to last about 20 minutes. Recovery crews have found some bodies. They are searching for more victims. The cause of that crash right now is unclear.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: All right, back to politics here. Donald Trump is on a roll with three straight wins heading into Super Tuesday. What are his rivals planning now? Our political insiders will be here with the scoop when NEW DAY continues.

[06:35:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:41]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We won the evangelicals. We won with young. We won with old. We won with highly educated. We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Donald Trump proclaiming victory with virtually all demographic groups in the Nevada caucuses. More educated people, less educated, white and Hispanics, very conservative, and people who describe themselves as moderate, giving Trump a sizable delegate lead. Look at this. Eighty to his closest competitor, Ted Cruz, at 16.

What do his rivals and the Republican establishment plan to do now? Here with us is CNN political commentator and Republican consultant Margaret Hoover. And conservative columnist and Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany. Ladies, thanks so much for being here. Margaret --

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: On a scale of one to 10, Margaret, how much are you freaking out this morning?

HOOVER: Look, this is not a comfortable moment for people who aren't Trump supporters and who believe that Republicans ought to win the Republican nomination. I think when you look at people who traditionally have a specific view of the Republican Party, I think half are in denial and half are panicking.

You look at the Cruz camp -- you talk to the Cruz camp, you talk to the Rubio camp -- they're all focused on each other right now. We've got this debate coming up and, frankly, all they can think about is how to take out the other guy and win his votes. The best chance they have is uniting together and that will never happen.

CAMEROTA: But the reason that they're focused on each other -- and I just want to stick with you for a second more, Margaret -- is because they think that if everybody can coalesce around one of them, then they'll have a fighting chance with the numbers against Donald Trump. Why isn't that logical?

HOOVER: It's logical, it's not realistic. I mean, have you talked to Ted Cruz? Have you talked to Marco Rubio? I mean, there's enmity between these guys, almost worse than with Donald Trump who's trouncing both of them. So it just isn't realistic. I mean, the best chance they have is to join forces to beat Donald Trump --

[06:40:32] CAMEROTA: But what does that look like?

HOOVER: -- but there's no -- it doesn't, frankly. It's just not realistic. I mean, you talk to people in either camp. They despise each other so much it's like they don't even realize the iceberg is right there.

CAMEROTA: Kayleigh, let's look at some of the demographic groups and the numbers of who Donald Trump won with last night. OK, no surprise -- angry voters. He got 94 percent of those. Then also, no surprise, people who don't like the establishment. He got 61 percent of people who describe themselves as looking for someone outside of the establishment.

But, here is the -- I don't know if those numbers are right. But, in any event, here is this part that surprises the establishment. He won with Hispanics and Latino voters, OK? He got 45 percent of Latino voters. Marco Rubio, who is Latino, got 28 percent. Ted Cruz, who is Latino, got 18 percent. What is it, Kayleigh, that has allowed Latino voters to trend towards Trump?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: Yes, Alisyn, that's huge. You know, conventional wisdom was Trump could never win Latinos and then last he did commandingly, beating the two candidates under him who were Latino candidates. I think what it is, though, is people have perpetuated this myth that Latinos will never vote for Trump because Trump wants to secure the border, Trump wants to build a wall.

But, contrary to what those people say, many Latinos like that idea. They like the idea of legal immigration, and obeying the laws, and coming here the right way. Moreover, I would argue Latinos just don't vote on immigration, you know. It's easy to try to paint them as this swath of voters that just votes based on the border, but it's not true. Many Latinos are hurting. They don't have a job. They've seen their job go overseas. They're worried about terrorism. They're just like every other constituency in America that's frustrated with the federal government.

HOOVER: The one thing -- let's not overemphasize that. There were -- historic turnout last night. Sixty-six thousand plus voters ended up voting in the caucuses. Fifteen-hundred of them were Hispanic, OK? So less than like 3 percent, 4 percent. This is not a bellwether for Latinos are going to vote nationally. His numbers --

CAMEROTA: Why not, Margaret?

HOOVER: His favorability numbers in Hispanics nationally, you guys -- look, when you're looking at the GOP caucus population and you're looking at the Hispanics across the board -- across the country -- that are going to vote in a general election, his favorability numbers are above 60 percent, sometimes close to 70 percent, unfavorable with Hispanics. There is no way you can extrapolate 1,500 voters in Nevada for the Hispanic population in the United States in a general election.

MCENANY: You're right that's it a small sample size, but we were told not only could Trump never win Hispanics, which last night proved, in fact, he can win Hispanics. We were told Hispanics would show up in large droves to vote against him. I believe they dubbed this the Trump effect. That's not panning out. And also, this --

HOOVER: Not in a GOP primary, Kayleigh. We're talking general election, hon. This is just not something you can count on coming into a general election.

MCENANY: That's not true. The general election -- it shows him doing exceedingly well among all minorities. In fact, in the head-to-head matchup with Hillary Clinton, it shows him winning the black vote to the tune of 25 percent. That was a September poll. It shows him doing very well in a general election among Hispanics and among African-Americans.

CAMEROTA: OK. Kayleigh, Margaret, I can see this is a conversation we'll be having for many weeks to come. Thank you, ladies. Thanks so much for being here.

HOOVER: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Michaela?

PEREIRA: Other story we're watching. The Uber driver suspected in the Kalamazoo shooting spree. He was captured on surveillance video in a gun store before that deadly rampage. What was he doing there? We have live report next.

[06:44:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:49:04]

PEREIRA: There are new details emerging this morning about the Kalamazoo shooting suspect's whereabouts before he allegedly carried out that rampage. Surveillance video capturing the suspect in a gun store hours before the shooting. Our Nick Valencia's live in Michigan with more for us this morning -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Michaela. I spoke to that gun owner, who tells me that the suspect didn't buy a weapon or ammunition, but instead, bought a conceal and carry jacket. He said the suspect was in good spirits, smiling. Even gave his manager a one-arm hug. It was just a few hours later that the same man was spotted circling an apartment complex, eventually unloading at least 16 rounds on his first victim, Tiana Carruthers. I spoke to the neighbor of Carruthers who called her a hero and said that the gunman appeared to be aiming for children when Carruthers stepped in front of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMMY GEORGE, WITNESS: I don't know if it was her mother instinct. She just knew something was wrong and told them to run.

VALENCIA: So she was a hero in all of this?

GEORGE: Yes.

VALENCIA: It could have been the kids that were shot.

GEORGE: It could have been the kids, and I really think that if any kids were out there she would have done it for anyone's kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Police tell me that the suspect changed cars after the first shooting. He would eventually go on to allegedly kill six people, injuring eight people in all. And no history of mental health. We're checking into this. No history of medications according to the police chief. He believes that this man may have just one day snapped, but what led him to snapping, that's the outstanding question -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, thanks so much for that, Nick. Well, Republicans slamming President Obama's plan for closing Guantanamo which includes moving some detainees to U.S. soil. We'll talk to the former head of the NSA and CIA next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:01] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: General Michael Hayden is going to join us now. But first, we want to show you what's going on in Nevada. We have about 96 percent of the votes have been counted there. Tabulations still ongoing, but the outcome is clear at the top. Once again, Donald Trump proving why he is number one. It's not about giving him his due.

There is a presumption now with him. What will change that? Could it be Super Tuesday? Yes, however the path in that direction not clear. Look at how they're bundled up in second. Again, the notion of coalescingaround Cruz or Rubio to combat Trump becoming more difficult to see. As the rest of the tabulations are done and we get a sense of the exits, we will bring it to you.

But let's bring in General Michael Hayden right now. Why? Because he's got such a great mind on so much of what's relevant right now. The former director of the CIA and the NSA. Also the author of a book that is a must-read, "Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror." It is great to have you with us, general, as always.

MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER NSA DIRECTOR: Sure, Chris.

CUOMO: Let me get your quick take on the election and this notion that the balance of power within the GOP race right now is Trump versus the notion of a coalescing establishment around, let's say, Marco Rubio? Do you see that, and if so, how would that happen at this point?

HAYDEN: Well, Chris, right now this is not in my central lane here but if you want me to characterize it, it looks like an awful lot of the Republican electorate are so frustrated, so angry, what they're really interested in is a primal scream. And they are certainly getting that primal scream. I understand that, but I'm really focused and concerned about what follows because you can't govern with a primal scream. So let's see what happens.

CUOMO: All right. And now, let's look at some of the issues that are surrounding this which is certainly in your wheelhouse. One of the things that Donald Trump roars and the crowd roars back is waterboarding. Of course I'll waterboard, and a lot worse. I'm going to pack GITMO filled with really bad guys. We're going to keep it open and go heavy and harder.

[06:55:32] What do you make of the practicality of those notions and whether or not those types of maneuvers would be in America's interest?

HAYDEN: Well, with one of them, Chris, I actually agree, and that's actually really considering we are a nation at war with the current president -- which the current president says we are -- to follow the logical conclusion, which means we can capture any combatants under the laws of armed conflict which we haven't done now for about seven years.

The other part of the statement, though, really is off-putting, Chris. When candidate Trump talks about waterboarding he says they deserve it. We didn't do this to anyone because they deserved it. We aren't a punishment organ of the United States government. We're an intelligence service. When we did these things, and they were quite controversial -- when we did them, our only purpose was forward- looking. We did it to gain information.

And, Chris, there's another important aspect to this, too. A lot of CIA officers feel as if they were betrayed because they did things in good faith, approved by the attorney general, authorized by the president, and then really had to reap the whirlwind of that after the next off-year and presidential elections. So, I've actually said if a future president wants to waterboard somebody, he better bring his own bucket because I don't think CIA officers are going to do it.

CUOMO: You know, it's a clever line, but the point is clear. All right, another big issue that we're seeing play out now and it's moving its way into the election as well. Should Apple give the government what it wants from its device this time in the case of San Bernardino? How do you see it?

HAYDEN: Chris, this is precisely the kind of issue that permeates the book that you suggested earlier on in this spot. It's an infinite gray area. This is not the forces of light in the forces of darkness. We're trying to balance two things, both of which are virtues -- our privacy and our safety. And in this case I think Apple is correct with their broad position, which is they should not be directed to put backdoors into their encryption system.

America is safer, more secure with unbreakable end-to-end encryption, even though I recognize from time to time that punishes American law enforcement and even American intelligence. But, Chris, I'm not sure what the FBI is asking for now, which is access to this phone, is what it was I said I agree with Apple about. I don't believe that this leads to that, and if it does the burden of proof is on Tim Cook and Apple to show if they did this, which I think is acceptable, that it doesn't inevitably follow that we give that, which I strongly believe is unacceptable.

CUOMO: General, not to one-up you on knowledge of your own book, but I cite page 43, and on it you say -- I summed up the question of a decade later pretty well. In the context of NSA's mission, where do we draw the line between the government's need for counterterrorism information about people in the United States and the privacy interests of people located in the United States? Now, you worded that question very carefully and with good reason. That's the question. The real problem is how do you answer it and must you answer it on a case-by-case basis?

HAYDEN: Actually, Chris, you do. That's the argument I'm trying to make in the book -- infinitely gray, and well-meaning and wise people faced with the totality of circumstances in which they find themselves have to make those calls. Chris, go back to the founding document. Go back to the fourth amendment. We are not protected against all search and seizure. We are protected against unreasonable search and seizure, and reasonableness is a function of this total circumstances in which we find ourselves. CUOMO: And, general, let me just throw one more line from the book out there in terms of why people would want to read it right now. Page 65 -- this is a part of a speech the general gave to the entire NSA two days after 911. "It's not just our safety but our character as a free people that is at stake here." General Michael Hayden, those words as appropriate today as ever. Good luck with the book, sir, and thank you for the perspective on NEW DAY.

HAYDEN: Thanks, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, there's a lot of news this morning. They're still counting the votes out of Nevada but there is a clear picture. The man on top is named Trump. Will anything stop it? That question is getting harder to answer unless you're a fan of Trump. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Now we're going to get greedy for the United States. We're going to grab, and grab, and grab.

TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nobody has ever won the nomination without winning one of the first three primaries.