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New Day

Russia's Footprint in Syria Seems to be Growing; Donald Trump's Economic Proposals; Legal Showdown Over Transgender Rights. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 10, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:38] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning CNN has an exclusive inside look at civil war raging in Syria. Now, Russia, remember, announced in March it would withdraw its troops from the war-torn country, but there are new concerns this morning after what our team discovered on the ground there.

CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is live in Damascus.

Fred, what do you see?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

Yes, we were with the Russians in the north of Syria a little earlier, and they basically said that yes, they did take some jets out of Syria. However, what we discovered is that they do have a lot of new forces on the ground there, including some heavy armor as well. Let's have a look.

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PLEITGEN (voice-over): This is the Russian intervention the world has come to know, but Russia's footprint in Syria seems to be far bigger than just combat jets.

There are thousands of troops stationed at its main air base, disciplined and highly motivated.

We caught up with this first lieutenant during his boxing practice.

"I'm glad to serve my country here," he says, "and I'm not afraid. What is there to be afraid of in Syria?"

The West has criticized Russia saying its air strikes target mostly moderate anti-Assad rebels. The Russians claiming they bomb only ISIS and other terror groups. But while Moscow says its withdrawn most forces from Syria, on an embed we saw, what appear to be several bases in western and central Syria with a variety of attack helicopters.

Also, a brand new base in Palmyra for its demining crews, with dozens of fighting vehicles and even anti-aircraft missile stitches. On top of its own assets, the military spokesman says his forces closely cooperate with Bashar al Assad's troops.

"We receive a great deal of information from the Syrian general staff," he says. "They are on the ground and close to the rebels. As for the military technical cooperation, of course, we help them as well."

None of this seems to indicate a full Russian withdrawal from Syria anytime soon, and for many in the government-held part of Damascus, that's just fine.

Violence still rages in most of the country. Reconciliation seems nowhere in sight and neither is an end to Russia's involvement in the conflict.

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[06:35:08] PLEITGEN: So, as you can see, a lot of Russian equipment on the ground here -- a lot of sophisticated Russian equipment on the ground.

And one of the things that really stood out to us was the ease with which the Russians move through Syria here. There seems to be very little permissions that they need to get from the Syrians. That they fly whoever they want, they can drive wherever they want. They seem to have all the leeway that they need to operate a lot of equipment here in this country, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We could not have seen this, Fred, without your reporting. Thank you for bringing that to us.

All right. Up next, back here at home, Donald Trump's economy. Critics and supporters alike trying to sort through his position on taxes and the national debt. We'll crunch his numbers when NEW DAY continues.

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BERMAN: Donald Trump facing new questions this morning after a series of confusing and some might say alarming statements on a range of economic issues, including the national debt. So, what is he proposing exactly and what are the implications?

Christine Romans joins us now to sort through it all, chief business correspondent, star of "EARLY START."

[06:40:04] Romans, this is what Donald Trump said the other day about how he would address the national debt that really set people off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would borrow knowing if the economy crashed you could make a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Why did this concern economists and analysts so much?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That and the bond market and pretty much a lot of people who invest in the United States, because the United States doesn't make a deal on its debt. It's just not something that the U.S. has ever done and that's why the world investing in the United States, a big, strong dynamic safe economy.

Here's what this is all about. This is about how the United States spends re money than it in, it finances and has since the days of Alexander Hamilton, is has financed that difference. The U.S. sells its debt to countries like China and Japan, right? They get these IOUs, super safe, the gold standard. Even people, you and I probably in your 401(k) have super safe --

BERMAN: Makes you sound so safe when you say it like that.

ROMANS: It is. Right. It is.

But negotiating the terms of an IOU is just not something that anyone would ever, not something that gets thrown out there. And for a Republican presidential candidate to say that was pretty alarming.

Here's one of the reasons why, because when you have countries that renegotiate their obligations with investors, you're a Greece, you are Argentina, you're a country that is in distress. For Donald Trump to be talking about the almighty American economy in distress was something that got people unnerved.

And you look, it's a global issue. All of these countries own U.S. debt. A lot of foreign governments, sovereign wealth funds, foreign investors own U.S. debt. This has been basically the basis of the U.S. economy for some time.

BERMAN: And what analysts are saying when you renegotiate your debt, when you go to your creditors say I want to renegotiate, that's tantamount to default. And Donald Trump putting fuel on the fire by saying, no, no, no, listen to this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This is the United States government. First of all, you nerve verify to default because you print the money, I hate to tell you, OK? So, there's never a default.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, here's the thing on this, technically, he's right. I mean, the U.S. can print more money and probably would before it went into default, but --

ROMANS: But if you print more money, you have more dollars. What happens when you have more dollars? When you print money and have more dollars, the dollars you have already out there are worth less. So, you have inflation. Sometimes hyperinflation. The things we buy go up.

Interest rates then go up. It's harder to borrow money or more expensive to borough money. By the way, then the United States is paying more for the money its borrowing as well and it can really hurt the stock market and economy overall.

So, there are all kind of negative connotations. The Federal Reserve will print this with the help of -- but the president of the United States, a President Trump, couldn't just make that decision anyway. He's not saying he would, but that would be the Fed. He could appoint the Fed chief, but the Fed is separate from the executive branch.

BERMAN: Look, there's no question, Donald Trump has had a long business career where he's had downs, he's a lot of ups and made a lot of money, and a lot of people basically are asking, is this the difference between success in business, leading in business and leading a nation?

ROMANS: So, the allure of the Donald dealmaker, a negotiator, a businessman who can take hotels and who can take casinos and he can borrow money and maybe, that's how he makes his money. Renegotiates his deals with his investors in the end and makes more money.

The United States government doesn't work that way. It just doesn't. And so, you have a lot of folks asking, does Donald Trump, is he musing about what he thinks about the American economy? Does he not understand, or are these real policies?

There's a lot of confusion about deciphering what exactly he means. He's been clarifying his clarifications. Yesterday, he told the "Wall Street Journal," no, U.S. debt is sacred. I think he got the message from the markets and from, you know, the world economic community that said, what is he talking about?

BERMAN: These are important questions, ones he has to answer in the coming days and weeks, the next 16 months to the general election.

Christine Romans, thanks so much.

Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Another important question we're dealing with this morning, my friend, is dealing with the Justice Department and North Carolina, now suing each other over a controversial new transgender bathroom law. Where is this fight headed? Could it go all the way to the Supreme Court? We'll discuss the issues for you, next.

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CAMEROTA: More confusing twists in the power struggle in Brazil. The acting house speak here had threatened to block tomorrow's impeachment vote of the president just backed off that threat, putting the process back on track. President Dilma Rousseff is accused of breaking Brazil's budget rules by borrowing money from the state's banks to fill budget gaps. CUOMO: Convicted drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman is now a big step

closer to trial in the U.S. A Mexican judge ruling Monday, Chapo can be extradited to face trafficking charges. Now, his legal team already appealed. This is a long process under Mexican law. So, unless Chapo asks to go, this is going to take a while.

El Chapo, as you know, the world's most wanted drug kingpin until his capture in 2014. He escaped from Mexico's toughest prison twice and most recently captured in July.

BERMAN: Ferguson's new police vowing to bring diversity to the Missouri city's police roster. Delrish Moss is Ferguson's first African-American police chief. He is expected to rebuild the entire department. The move comes after racially charged protests broke out in 2014 after a white officer killed Michael Brown. Moss is replacing Tom Jackson, who resigned last year after a federal report uncovered racial bias in the city's criminal justice system.

CAMEROTA: OK, good news for Chris. Bad news for me. In today's "New Day, New You", another reason to hit the gym.

It turns out exercise does not only help you shed pounds. It may also be good for your mental health.

According to a just released study by the University of California at Davis Medical Center, researchers found exercise replenishes the level of two key neurotransmitters, depleted, which you depleted and killed, the patients with depression and anxiety.

[06:50:01] They say exercise is one of the most demanding tasks to ask of the brain, which uses tons of fuel when the body is pushed.

CUOMO: It just means that you're that much mentally stronger that you can -- you're overriding the message to work out.

CAMEROTA: I guess it does. I guess it does. All right. I guess I'll try the gym.

CUOMO: Berman is like, I have it both. I'm very smart and I work out.

All right. So, North Carolina and the Justice Department filing dueling lawsuits. We're going to take a closer look at what is this all about legally and practically? Coming up.

BERMAN: This programming note: a special "AC360" on opioid addiction, a very important subject. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins Anderson Cooper for "Prescription Addiction: Made in America". That is tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, here on CNN.

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CUOMO: All right. A situation that seemed to start as just one state making one decision now really is a flashpoint in terms of where our law and culture are going. [06:55:00] North Carolina and the State Department really starting to

get after it about this transgender bathroom law. So, let's figure out what the real issues are here and what could happen with CNN legal analyst, Mr. Paul Callan.

Very good to have you with us, as always, Counsel.

Tee it up for us. What is this really about in the eyes of the law?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's a very interesting situation, and I think, you know, a certain momentum has been set off by the gay rights movement and legalization of gay marriage in the United States. And now, we've moved on to this group, transgendered people, who suffered terrible discrimination and now they're seeking a remedy under existing laws and it's all come to head in North Carolina.

CUOMO: Now, we had heard this would happen. When the gay marriage decision came out. People said, oh, it's over. Now LGBT is equal. Equal protection under the law. No, that was only with marriage.

So, now, it was about how many different examples of this would come up and now, here where we are.

CALLAN: And I think also, it's kind of hard to get into detailed discussions about this, but a lot of people mixed up a concept of somebody being gay and being transgendered. They're actually very, very different things. Of course, a transgender person is someone who anatomically may be a male or a female but feels that they are, in fact, the opposite sex.

CUOMO: They identify with a different gender.

CALLAN: That's very different from someone who is gay, who may be attracted to the opposite sex but it quite happy with their own anatomical sex.

Anyway, so this has now come to a head in North Carolina, where the federal government has said, if you don't allow transgendered people to have equal access to rest room facilities among other facilities, we're going to cut off federal funding.

CUOMO: And the state says they do have equal access. Go to a bathroom whenever they want. It's just for their designated gender?

CALLAN: Exactly. And a governor has gone into court, federal court, saying that he wants a federal judge to rule that the state has the right to follow what has been existing law up until now, which has said it's perfectly okay to have a rest room for women and a rest room for men, and to restrict who is a man and who is a woman on the basis of their anatomy. That's traditionally how we define male and female in the United States.

CUOMO: So, where does this head?

CALLAN: Well, my own view is that they're going to lose in North Carolina. That is the governor is going to lose and I think the federal Department of Justice is going to win, and I say that because there was a case in Virginia called the Grim Case, which was handed down by the 4th Circuit Federal Court.

Now, that's a court just below the U.S. Supreme Court, and it covers North Carolina. It involved I think a 14-year-old student in a Virginia high school, and this was a girl who perceived herself to be a male and wanted to use the boys' room. And the federal court in that case indicated very, very strongly that gender identity was protected under Title 7 and Title 9, which are civil rights laws, and sent a very strong signal to North Carolina that transgendered rights will have to be honored.

So I think that's the court, that's the big court in that area. They're sent to the lower courts and I think North Carolina's going to lose.

CUOMO: Do you need to have legislative change here to make it stick? The governor has said, well, what about Title 7 and Title 9, extension of the '64 Civil Rights Act and education amendment in 1972, do you have to amend those to include this definition under sex?

CALLAN: Well, that's an interesting question, because when those statutes were passed, they included a specific provision that said, it's OK to have a separate rest room for women and separate men, segregated on the basis of sex.

But I don't think you have to amend that law, because we're not changing the definition of sex. What has happened is that society now views transgendered individuals as actually female, regardless of their anatomy. So, you don't have to put in the word "transgender." Your sex is female, if you are, in fact, a true transgendered person.

CUOMO: Is it fair to say a huge obstacle facing the state in this, what's the problem with doing it the way that the government, in this case, is asking you to do? The bathroom predator theory does not seem to have any merit to it? So, you think this is coming down to a judge's rendering.

CALLAN: Yes. I think, of course, the unspoken thing is female fear that a predator's getting into a rest room. There's no statistical support for that. I can't think of a single case in American history where a transgendered individual attacked somebody else in the rest room.

CUOMO: They're saying it will create a window of opportunity, but at this point, speculative.

Paul Callan, thank you very much. Appreciate it, as always.

This is a big issue in the news. We'll be telling you about it this morning. There are some big changes to the election as well. So, let's get right to it.