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Wildfires Rage on in Canada; CNN Money Now; Independent Voters Speak Out. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 09, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Firefighters may be turning a corner today as they battle the raging wildfire in Alberta. Fire crews getting much needed help from cooler, more humid conditions.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is live at an evacuation center in Edmonton.

Paul, how's it looking?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, you're right, it is a lot cooler today. That humidity up. That's just what these firefighters needed. They're actually battling 34 blazes in all across Alberta. You've got 1,500 firefighters are on the line and so far about 400,000 acres have burned. They also had 1,600 structures destroyed, most of them in Fort McMurray. That's the oil sands center here in Alberta.

Where is the fire going now? It's headed east towards Saskatchewan. That's actually very good news because there are no population centers in that area. It's burning in forests. It's very difficult to corral. The firefighters are mostly focused on trying to bring Fort McMurray back up to speed amidst devastation inside that city.

And also those firefighters have been working round the clock. They need relief. They're going to get it later this week. Firefighters are going to come in from Quebec, as well as New Brunswick. There's already more firefighters on the ground here from Ontario.

And then in behind me you've got this evacuation center at the expo in Edmonton. A couple thousand people spending the night here. Many others coming in here to get those needed supplies. But it may be a long time before they're allowed to return to Fort McMurray.

Now back to you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's hope they get home at some point. Paul Vercammen, thanks so much.

It is time for "CNN Money Now." Chief business correspondent, star of "Early Start," Christine Romans in the Money Center.

Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Co-star. Co-star. Hi, John.

Uber and Lyft slamming the brakes on their operations in Austin, Texas. Residents voted to require the companies to use fingerprinting and other background checks when they hire new drivers. Uber and Lyft argue fingerprinting relies on old databases. It makes it difficult to hire enough drivers quickly. Advocates say fingerprinting is more effective at screening out potential criminals.

[08:35:05] All right, for those of your driving yourself, gas prices are rising. The national average hit $2.21 overnight. That's up 50 cents a gallon since the low point in February. Some perspective, though. It's still 40 cents cheaper than a year ago.

But a lot of you - Alisyn, a lot of people have been grumbling about those gas prices rising over the past three months. Looks like a lot of people think we're going to stay right around $2.20 for the rest of the summer.

CAMEROTA: Not bad. I mean still a good perspective you gave us.

ROMANS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: It's better than what we had seen.

Thanks so much, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: All right, Donald Trump striking a defiant tone in his interview with Chris this morning on NEW DAY. So we'll bring you more of that interview and get reaction, next.

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BERMAN: Donald Trump sounding defiant and defensive right here on NEW DAY this morning. The presumptive Republican nominee defended his attacks on Hillary Clinton and her husband and took the media to task for misrepresenting his positions and he took issue with one Chris Cuomo. Imagine the temerity, the sheer audacity of a journalist beginning an interview with a question. Watch.

[08:40:07] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We need to talk policy. We need to talk the state of play within your own party. But you have commanded a different headline that needs to be addressed. You are attacking Hillary Clinton for the sexual past and indiscretions of her husband, calling her an enabler. We have a panel of independent voters. They are smart as heck and most of them don't like it. They see it as a distraction, they see it as hypocritical coming from you and, mostly, they see it as potential proof that you may have no real ideas to offer as president. What is your thinking on this line of attack?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Well, this is a nice way to start off the interview. First of all, you should congratulate me for having won the race. I thought, you know, at least there would be a small congratulations. But I'm not surprised with CNN because that's the way they treat Trump. It's the - you know, they call it the Clinton network, and I believe that. So, you know, let's - let's start off right there.

CUOMO: Wait, hold on, hold on. Mr. Trump, I did congratulate you the last time we spoke. I said congratulations on winning the big race. What are you going to do going forward?

TRUMP: All I've done - all I've done is bring up - oh, yes, thank - thank you very much. So warm and so well felt.

CUOMO: But you made it - no, no, no, no. Hold on. Hold on. Let's get this off on the right foot. I'm trying to address what you're putting out as the headline.

TRUMP: Oh, you're starting off with a - with a question. We haven't spoken. Last week, toward the end, I was the - essentially the nominee of the party. And you start off this question, which is not surprising because I understand CNN perhaps a lot better than you do.

CUOMO: Mr. Trump, I'm asking you - I'm asking - OK, OK, let's - let's - you know what, you're right, sometimes it's good to restart. Here's the restart.

You are going to be your party's nominee by all accounts. You are going to carry the standard for this party. You have said that once you get into the general, people will see what you have to offer. The first thing that you've come out with, hot and heavy out of the box, are these attacks on Hillary Clinton.

TRUMP: That wasn't the first thing I've come out with. My first thing I came out with, if you watched, was trade. We're making horrible trade deals. We're losing our jobs. We're losing our manufacturing. It's trade.

The next thing I came out with is rebuilding our military, because our military is absolutely being decimated. We're not spending the proper money. We're not buying the proper equipment. We're not taking care of our soldiers. We're not taking care of our vets, by the way. We're not taking care of our military at the time when we just about, in the history of our country, need it the most. So I talk about that.

I talk about the border. I talk about the fact that we have to stop the drugs from pouring into our country. Those are the things I talk about in a very long speech in Washington, actually in Nebraska, which was unbelieve - every one of them had tens of thousands of people. I mean they were massively attended, which, of course, you don't mention, nor does CNN ever show the crowds. It's very interesting because CNN, you know, I could be making a speech for hour, they'll never show the extent of the crowd.

CUOMO: Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Trump, I would suggest that CNN shows your events more than they show any other candidates.

TRUMP: Like in - like in West Virginia. Like - like in West Virginia, where we had a record crowd, where Hillary Clinton said she wants to put the coal miners out of business, the miners. She said I want the miners and the companies to go out of business.

CUOMO: We covered that extensively. We covered it extensively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, that was quite an interview.

BERMAN: What made you decide to go with the controversial move of asking him a question?

CUOMO: Look. No, he felt that it was an attacking question out of the box. When I enjoy about this is, I'm getting crushed by his people, right?

CAMEROTA: You do seem to be relishing this. Is this (INAUDIBLE)?

CUOMO: But I then - then I will defend what he does during the interview because I'm OK - it's not about me, it's about him. It is the difference that you show to this man as the candidate and presumptive nominee to test him. I'm not going to - you know, I'm - I'm - good for him that he won. Good for you, Mr. Trump.

BERMAN: You always - you always treat him with respect. What was interesting there is that he did not want to talk about what he was talking about this weekend. And it was stark from the beginning. It made me think that either his family got to him, his campaign staff got to him. He wanted to be off Hillary Clinton and her husband, mostly, and on to other issues.

CUOMO: Two things. One, he's smart to do that. He tried it out. He sees what works. He sees what doesn't. Let me move to something else. I have other irons in the fire. That's good.

Second, he plays to advantage every time he's on the phone. He knows he plays to advantage. Every time I have to stop him to get in a question, which would be easy to do like this -

CAMEROTA: Of course. Right.

CUOMO: Makes it sound like I'm being rude.

CAMEROTA: Like you're interrupting.

CUOMO: He's very savvy and it works to his advantage. Let's see how it moves going forward.

CAMEROTA: And did you feel that your questions were answered? I mean, this is the thing on the phone is that -

CUOMO: Sometimes. But, look, he's not unique in that way. You know, I mean there are many a politician who sits in front of you, and that's the thing, how far do you push it?

CAMEROTA: Yes. Of course.

CUOMO: How much do you do it? But it will be interesting to see how he develop going forward.

CAMEROTA: OK.

BERMAN: I feel like you've never congratulated me and I've never went after you like that. (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: I feel that that's unfair. Every time you win that fixed quiz show, I say, I see that they're still making you the pigeon.

CAMEROTA: Up next, what do independent voters think about Donald Trump's positions that they just heard and his attacks on Hillary Clinton? We'll ask them, next.

CUOMO: The quiz show is fixed. Everybody knows this.

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[08:48:48] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): Watch how well I do with women when it counts, when the election comes. Watch how well. Because women want to see strong security, they want to see strong military, they want to see borders where people just can't come crossing - walking across a border like it's swiss cheese.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, that was Donald Trump saying that foreign policy will be a deciding factor among female voters. We're talking to a panel of independent voters this morning. What issues are important to them? Let's ask them now.

Hi, guys. Thanks so much for being here all morning. I know you listened very intently to Donald Trump's interview this morning with us.

Carrie, let me start with you. He's not doing well with female voters at the moment. He says he'll win them over. Do you think that if he presses on national security, as he says there, that that will do it?

CARRIE SACKETT, INDEPENDENT VOTER IN NEW YORK CITY: I think the most decisive factor in this election is going to be independent voters and the issues that we care about. The political process is broken. The rules of the game are broken.

CAMEROTA: So when Bernie Sanders says it's broken -

SACKETT: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And Donald Trump says the process is broken -

SACKETT: Yes.

CAMEROTA: That speaks to you?

SACKETT: Yes. CAMEROTA: And you think that that's going to be a real driving force

in how people vote?

SACKETT: I think people are seeing that as important as the issues that we all care about. We were all just talking in the green room. We might see issues differently. We all agree the process is broken. We need structural reforms that will open that up so all -

[08:50:05] CAMEROTA: Does that make you -

SACKETT: Americans participate so we can have a national conversation that includes everyone.

CAMEROTA: Does that make you want to vote for Donald Trump since he's been hitting that issue hard?

SACKETT: I'm waiting to see, of our presidential candidates, who's going to talk to the independents, who's going to speak to our issues on structural, political reform.

CUOMO: Let's do some hands. Who felt that the Trump interview was helpful this morning?

CHALAIRE MILLER, INDEPENDENT VOTER IN NEW YORK CITY: Well, I have a -

CUOMO: Any sense, positive, negative. Let you knew something about him that you didn't know before? Gave you a deeper understanding. Made you understand why he hates me right now? Any of that? All right, so, start, you have the microphone.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, Chalaire.

MILLER: Well, here's the deal. He has - you said, out the gate, you're coming after Hillary. And that's not true. Since his win, he has had a couple rallies and they're about 45 to an hour long and he talks about a lot of different things and yet you always say - or the media always says, you're not talking about a, you know, substance or policies. And he does.

CUOMO: But let's - let's stick - let's stick to me.

MILLER: But then you pick that part.

CUOMO: Let's stick to me. Absolutely, I did, because he spent more than a couple of lines on it. It was a big part of a big one of his groups. Maybe the biggest gathering. And it's so different than what he said he wanted to do once he got to the general, which was that, hey, I'm going to blow you away with ideas. I'm a unifier for my party. And then he goes after something like this and it's worth asking about, isn't it?

MILLER: If (ph) he had ideas. It's worth asking about, but that's what you started the interview with, so you can't then blame him for being the one that, you know, always in the press on these different things. You started the interview with that. And, look, he is not a slick talking, professional, always rehearsed

politician. He is - he is - he is very new to this. So that is what drew people to him because he's not those things that you want him to be or that you - he answers a question exactly like you want to. It always seems like the press is after gotcha questions with him, you know, and -

CUOMO: The gotcha question is, why are you calling her an enabler of her husband's infidelity? Is that a gotcha question?

MILLER: But - but again - but again you said you want substance. You want him to talk about more. He did in those rallies. You picked that part.

CAMEROTA: OK.

CUOMO: Right, but does -

CAMEROTA: Nick.

CUOMO: But doesn't that matter?

MILLER: It depends. If you're going to play it all day long -

CUOMO: Well, you said before, yes, it does, it matters to you and you like what he's saying.

MILLER: If you're going to play it all day long, you're programing us to make it matter.

CUOMO: No, but you said earlier, does it matter to you, you said yes.

MILLER: It does matter.

CUOMO: All right.

MILLER: But it matters in the way of, if she's going to play a woman card, then I'm going to bring up your stuff. That's - that's what it matters.

CAMEROTA: OK. Nick, what issues are most important to you? And did you hear him address those?

NICHOLAS ESPOSITO, UNDECIDED VOTER LEANING TOWARDS TRUMP: The most important issue that I'm facing right now is education reform. That is the biggest issue that I feel growing in this - in the United States right now.

CAMEROTA: Meaning tuition is too expensive?

ESPOSITO: Not - not even that. Starting at the elementary and the high school levels. We live in such a standardized testing era that our students aren't growing up to be the best business leaders or the next CEO. And the reason that's not happening is because of Common Core and No Child Left Behind. We need to get rid of standardized testing. And when they get into college, a lot of these students are taking remedial classes and they're taking remedial classes because they're not learning the substance in high school.

CAMEROTA: OK. Ian, what are the issues that you would like to hear the candidates discuss?

IAN JACKSON, INDEPENDENT VOTER IN NEW YORK CITY: Well, I think - you know, I think income inequality is the main thing right now.

CUOMO: Which is why you've been attracted to listening to what Bernie Sanders has said, right? You said that earlier.

JACKSON: To Bernie. He's - he's the only person who has - who has a demonstrative record of, you know, a commitment to transforming the status quo.

CAMEROTA: And if Bernie does not make it to the finish line, then how do you feel about having to support Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?

JACKSON: Well, you know, we have a lot of time between now and November. A lot can happen in six months in this country during this era. I'd like to see what happens. I'd like to see what happens in terms of independent voters. I'd like to see what happens at both national conventions. You know, I'm hoping that we are not going to end up with the inevitable outcome that people have been claiming. I hope that both, you know, both parties will do something smart in terms of opening up the field and really responding to what the American people are saying about change.

CAMEROTA: Meaning like a third party - a third party candidate or another -

CUOMO: Who's open to that, a third party?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.

CAMEROTA: All of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all are.

CAMEROTA: All you independents are open to a third party candidate coming in?

CUOMO: Even at this point now, like if - at the convention or there's some - I don't - honestly, I don't know how possible it is, by the way. Getting on ballots in all 50 states is not easy. It takes a lot of organization and money and time, frankly. But would you be open, as independents, to more people entering this race at this point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more the merrier.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Show of hands. Really?

CAMEROTA: The more the merrier. Wow. SACHETT: And it goes back to the rules of the game. Independents don't get included in the presidential debates. You can't get on the ballot at this point. Independents have to get 30 times the signatures as Democrats and Republicans. Our game is rigged. That's why everyone was voting for Sanders and Trump. And we -

[08:55:02] CUOMO: Well, one reason.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: One reason.

SACHETT: As he was just saying, we need our parties to respond to the American people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We couldn't vote in the primary.

CAMEROTA: We hear your frustration. We hear your frustration.

Adam, how are you feeling? You lean towards Hillary. How are you feeling?

ADAM LOMBARDI, INDEPENDENT VOTER FROM NEW YORK: I - I - yes, I lean toward Hillary. But at this point in time, a third candidate, as much as we would like to see it, it's very unlikely. That's because on - on - to get on national debates you need 15 percent in polling. And that's going to be very hard for somebody with not enough name recognition. And, second of all, very - I would have to hop on the libertarian and constitution party lines in order to get to that ability. And right now those two parties don't have ballot access in each state.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

I want these two guys in. Damon, what issues are you listening for?

DAMON SHEETS, INDEPENDENT VOTER FROM NEW JERSEY: Well, right now, with the - the two candidates that are going forward, Trump and Hillary Clinton, of the two, you've got Trump who could isolate America. And that's not what we want. Like Bush did. So, for foreign policy reasons, I would go with Hillary. That's an - that's an important matter.

CAMEROTA: Bryan, we only have 15 seconds. What have you heard today and what issue is most important to you?

BRYAN SOLOMON-PUETAS, UNDECIDED VOTER: Well, for me, that - it does matter what ideological or social issues the candidates talk about because once they get elected, they have no real chance of enacting their agenda. There's such hyper partisanship in Congress and we need structural reforms like open primaries, non-partisan redistricting, things that allow change the way candidates get nominated and elected so they can change the way that they govern.

CAMEROTA: Panel, thanks so much for being with us all morning on NEW DAY. It's been great to get your perspectives. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for having us.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

NEWSROOM with Pamela Brown, in for Carol Costello, begins after a very short break. We'll see you tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:13] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Pamela Brown.