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Long Lines Expected at TSA; John Kasich Not Endorsing Trump, Not Running as Third Party; Media Bias for and Against Trump. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 17, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:01] RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION & GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: We are not even at the peak travel season yet, and for months flyers have been dealing with those long security lines and missed flights because of it. We do know TSA immediately increased overtime for its officers just last week and they are speeding up the hiring process for 768 officers to get them on the job by June 15th. But the union representing TSA officers say that won't be enough. They say they need 6,000 new hires.

They're also deploying some bomb sniffing dogs as a way to cut down the wait times. But things will not get better overnight. But the goal is to start getting passengers through the checkpoints faster, at least by June.

In the meantime, back to those horses. Some airports like San Diego International, they have hired entertainment to de-stress passengers while they wait, including stilt walkers, jugglers, clowns. I guess think figure if you're going to be waiting in line for an hour or more, you may as well be entertained, and it looks pretty entertaining to me. Alisyn and Chris.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. Interesting strategy.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Alisyn thought that the tiny horses and clowns line was like snuck in there by me to mess up one of her reads.

CAMEROTA: So I omitted it.

CUOMO: It turned out to be news!

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: That's true. I thought you were being clever.

CUOMO: Let that be a lesson to you.

CAMEROTA: It was real. Wow.

CUOMO: Rene, thank you very much. Told you it was real.

CAMEROTA: I can't believe it.

CUOMO: What says news more than tiny horse and clowns. That's in every story.

Up next, one-on-one with John Kasich, who shows up on a tiny horse. No, he doesn't. Could he run with Trump? Might he run against him as a third-party candidate? The Ohio governor tells it to you straight. What he says you have to know about Trump and this race, when he faces off with that man right there, Anderson Cooper. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:51] CUOMO: Former presidential candidate Ohio governor John Kasich breaking his silence in a CNN exclusive. This is his first interview since suspending his 2016 campaign, and the governor tells our AC, Anderson Cooper, he's not yet ready to endorse Donald Trump. He also says he won't serve as VP. And you can pretty much forget about him entering the race as a third-party candidate.

And guess what? I didn't even give away a headline. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: There's a story in "The Washington Post" this weekend, has got a lot of pick up that a number of Republicans, conservatives, Mitt Romney among them, has been looking at the possibility of a third party candidate or an independent candidate, or conservative candidate. Your name is mentioned.

Has Mitt Romney reached out to you? Have you --

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I don't want -- I don't want to get into who. I've had a phone call with somebody that wanted me to run, consider running as third party candidate.

COOPER: Are you considering that?

KASICH: No, I'm not going to do that.

COOPER: Why?

KASICH: Well, I think that I gave it my best where I am. And I just think running third party doesn't feel right. I think it's not constructive.

You know, one of the things that's interesting is it's really hard to be thoughtful when you deal with the media, because many of them think that everything is sort of a political ploy or a political play. It's been a little bit of a disappointment for me. In fact, I've talked to somebody in the media to say, you know, you have a responsibility.

You know, it's really been interesting. You can have depth to something, and people think -- well, that's just politics.

No. When I talk about two paths, you know, the path of rebuilding the country or pushing people down into the ditch, that's not some political ploy that somebody calculated for me. That's my -- that's my insides, that's my soul.

And so, a third party candidacy would be viewed as kind of a silly thing. I don't think it's appropriate. I just don't think it would be the right thing to do.

COOPER: In terms of what happens now, would you -- I mean, I'm guess the obvious question is will you endorse Donald Trump?

KASICH: I don't know. Unless -- I told you about these two paths. You know, If I feel, you know, I read some stuff recently. While I'm not glued to this, I've read some other stuff that to me is too negative. I don't like when he is attacking, putting people down, or, you know, learn to take it a little bit. You know, the idea -- you know, at least initially of maybe Paul Ryan shouldn't be at the convention. I mean, come on, man, you won. You know, be magnanimous in victory.

So, Anderson, what I'm saying is I'm for uniting and I have to see him move to uniting. If he doesn't, I'm undecided here at this point. So, we'll see what happens.

COOPER: So, just for the record, you're undecided about whether or not you would endorse Donald Trump for president?

KASICH: Yes, I am. Right. I'm undecided.

COOPER: Are you undecided about whether you'd actually vote for him?

KASICH: You know, at the end of the day, endorsing is going to mean a lot. And frankly my wife and my daughters have watched this, and if I were to turn around today and endorse him, they would be like, "Why, Dad?" And that matters to me.

We'll see what he does. He has a chance to move to the positive side and unify this country.

COOPER: Is it a question of tone or policies?

KASICH: I think it's both, I think it's both. And, you know, have some consistent policy and be positive.

COOPER: Obviously, your name has also been talked about as vice presidential candidate, vice presidential pick. Is that something you would consider? During the campaign, you said, absolutely not.

KASICH: No, I have not changed my mind on that. Look, I said all along, I have the second best job in America.

COOPER: So, if Donald Trump called you and said, "Look, you've got to do this, you've got to do this for the country."

KASICH: No, I'm not inclined to do that, I'm not, no. And I'm really actually excited about getting back here with my team for the state of Ohio. And I gave it my best.

COOPER: Because Trump said he wants somebody with, you know, experience on the Hill.

KASICH: Well, look, here's the situation. You know, we've had two different messages. His message was, you know, the elites are bad, and everybody is giving you the shaft, and kind of gotten people angry.

[06:40:07] But my message is: let's stand against the wind. Don't cave in to the negative. Let's figure out how as people we can rebuild our country.

Those are two very inconsistent messages. So, it would be very hard for me unless he were to change all his views and become a uniter for me to get in the middle of this thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: I mean, look, in some ways John Kasich was going to be the logical person to have a third-party run, because he stuck it out the longest. He always said he would stay and present an alternative for voters But he is quite clear, and unequivocal, that that doesn't interest him now.

CUOMO: Right. I mean, anybody who had asked about it earlier, it wasn't practical.

CAMEROTA: Sure.

CUOMO: Would know he would never do that. He really is a very authentic person and in an inauthentic game. And I think that he highlights something for all of us here. We're living through a time that you and I have never seen, certainly in our professional lives.

CAMEROTA: True.

CUOMO: To think that a presumptive nominee has big shots in their own party saying not only am I not sure if I endorse this person -- right? He's the presumptive nominee -- but I don't know if I'm going to vote for him yet, and referencing their families. This is uncharted territory in politics in this day and age. That's what makes it interesting to watch.

CAMEROTA: yes. Many things make it interesting including this. Donald Trump says the media is on a witch-hunt against him and he called our control room yesterday to make sure we saw that. Is he right? We'll debate it.

CUOMO: He said, "Hello. Witchhunter?"

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:11] CAMEROTA: Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies found guilty of beating a mentally ill inmate and falsifying reports to cover it up.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CAMEROTA (voice-over): Officers Bryan Brunsting and Jason Branum convicted of conspiracy to violate the inmate's civil rights in the 2010 assault. Jurors took 90 minutes to reach their verdict. Each officer now faces 40 years in prison.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO: Police near Chicago say Sinead O'Connor has been found and she is safe and sound.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): The singer had been missing for over a day. She was reported missing Sunday when she didn't return from a bike ride. Police will not say where or how they found her. O'Connor's talked openly in the past about her struggle with mental illness.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CAMEROTA (on camera): Well, the National Park Service warns us all the time to leave wild animals alone. Not just because they could hurt us, but because we can cause them harm. Now two tourists who had good intentions ended up costing an animal its life.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CAMEROTA (voice-over): Two Yellowstone tourists put a baby bison in the back of their SUV and they brought it to a ranger station because they thought the animal looked cold. But causing so -- doing so, I should say, caused the mother and the whole herd to reject the calf, forcing rangers to have to euthanize the bison when it kept wandering dangerously close to cars and people. The tourists were fined $110 and they could also face more charges.

Oh, that's just terrible.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): It happens, and it's coming to be the season so pay attention, pay attention. Pay attention to this as well. Some intense weather hitting New England and you have to see it to believe it. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): Record snow in New England. That would be ice that that man is slipping on. Fierce winds in New Hampshire. He is fighting gusts that went up to 100 miles an hour.

CAMEROTA: That's Mount Washington. That's the windiest place in North America.

CUOMO: Must you ruin everything?

CAMEROTA: This is not Main Street, okay? We act like he's on main street trying to get to a Starbucks.

CUOMO: CNN's Chad Myers. CAMEROTA: No.

CUOMO: Chad, will you, please.

CAMEROTA: This is Mount Washington, Chad.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): Please enforce some discipline on the set and reinforce the concerns of the weather.

CHAD MEYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Those were weather service people up there at Mount Washington.

CUOMO: Did the bison thing teach you nothing?

MEYERS: Hey, I grew up in Nebraska. I mean, you know, and Ted Turner and I have all kinds of bison. No, I wish.

CUOMO: You dropped something.

MEYERS: (inaudible) And that was not Anderson Cooper, by the way, even though it kind of looked like his shape.

Look at this weather. I mean, we had snow in New England yesterday, snow in Maine all the way through parts of northern Vermont and New Hampshire and it continues today up there. But down to the south, the bigger concern is that there will be rain all the way across the south and more storms and a wet Preakness. I know, that's my concern. A muddy Preakness possible with inches of rainfall before that race finally happens on Saturday. Here's the rainfall for today.

T.S. lines were long yesterday, they may be long again today, and then you get to your plane and it's delayed anyway. So make sure you have that app on your phone or call ahead, see what's going on there.

Looks like an avocado, I know. That's the severe weather there across parts of Texas like we had yesterday. Seven tornadoes reported yesterday. Probably about five again today.

Back to you guys.

CUOMO: Avocado, a good fat but a bad indicator for weather.

CAMEROTA (on camera): Chad, thank you very much.

MEYERS: We're on a roll.

CAMEROTA: We are on a roll.

Trump versus the media, is the media unfairly attacking or unfairly supporting Donald Trump? Both sides, we have a debate ahead. You can watch and weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:52:40] CUOMO: All right. "The New York Times" piece about Donald Trump and how he is with women started off one way, but now it's become a referendum about "The New York Times" and the media itself. There's no question that Trump has a big role in controlling his own message. In fact, he just called our control room yesterday to make sure that producers were aware of what was going on with this "New York Times" story.

So the question is, is the media going after Trump intentionally and more than it should, or is it supporting Trump more than it should? Let's discuss. Men who know the media. Brian Stelter, CNN senior media correspondent, host of RELIABLE SOURCES, and Bill Carter, a CNN contributor and author. You both know "The New York Times" very well. Let's get at this a little socratically.

The proposition would be this, Mr. Carter. Your alma mater, "The New York Times," has it out for Trump. It just took a big swing at him, trying to hit him and missed. Twisting the words of this poor woman who used to date Trump who had to come on and defend herself.

BILL CARTER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, did they twist the words? No one's question the words, they're saying...

CAMEROTA: Twisted her intent.

CARTER: They're saying - they - she says they -- her intent was somehow spun. Didn't change the - the whole entirety of the story. You can say was it maybe overplayed or overstated. I don't think it's now undermined to the point where it's not a valid story. I don't buy that. Maybe overplayed, too long, but a lot of truth that that story. A lot of quotes not in dispute and stories not in dispute.

CAMEROTA: But - but let me challenge...

(CROSSTALK)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: He's saying it's false. It's not a false story.

CARTER: It's not a false story.

STELTER: But maybe overplayed, maybe it was too long, but there's a lot of truth to that story, a lot of quotes that are not in dispute.

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: A lot of stories that are not in dispute.

CAMEROTA: Yes, but - but hold on a second. She's not disputing her quotes. She said that, okay, it -- the whole piece starts with her asking -- him asking her to put on a bikini. She didn't know him. So, that's a forward, sometimes off-putting request from a man.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: That's - but - but...

STELTER: I don't know about you, Bill. I wouldn't do that.

CAMEROTA: That's not how she saw it, Bill. That's not how she saw it. That's how "The New York Times" spun it. She was flattered and they didn't mention that. Isn't that media bias?

CARTER: Well, it's certainly making a point that they want to make about his general demeanor and it's consistent with what they think all of their reporting showed. Now, you're right. The woman maybe should have been quoted by saying it didn't bother me. It still would be - it still would be a decent anecdote to say.

CAMEROTA: Sure, but why not include that? She said that there was another sentence where she...

CARTER: Maybe she didn't say that to them, I don't know.

CAMEROTA: ... where she...

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: What's "The New York Times" policy? I have an answer to this. If this happened to us in an interview, I would immediately put out the transcript. I'd say, you think I'm spinning this differently than actually how it happened? Here it is. Knock yourself out.

[06:55:00] Now, when I was at ABC News and here, you know, news organizations aren't always that crazy about that because there is editorial judgment, but should "The New York Times," Brian, put out the transcript?

STELTER: I think that would be a distraction. They would say that's a diversion from the point of the story which is intact, you know, But I do think "The Times" is on the defensive here and maybe hasn't adapted to this media environment.

CUOMO: If people think that your piece of - you guys are both great reporters, okay? If - if I feel like, Brian, you were out to get me in this piece and that's why you did it the way you did, and that's the perception of "The Times" right now, and it's feeding a larger narrative about the mainstream media, do they have a responsibility to defend themselves, and not because of the way you are, Bill, by saying there are 40 different interviews. No, put out the transcript if you didn't mischaracterize her.

CARTER: But she hasn't disputed the quotes. I don't think that would change the story.

CUOMO: No, but you need to see the context of the quotes because if it is where she was like, ha, ha, it was, you know, so Donald, that's why I loved him at the time, then you made a mistake by spinning it the way you did.

STELTER: We're also taking what Trump is saying at face value here. He's saying that "The New York Times" is failing and that the story is false and that it's a hit piece. Does he actually believe that, is a question that I would ask. He says these things all the time. He wants the story to be about "The New York Times" and not about him, and he is in some way succeeding by - by ...

CARTER: Because he's diverted - he's diverted the attention from this - what - the base of the story.

CUOMO: Don't twist - don't twist the quote.

STELTER: And by the way, it's a mystery that he's talking so much about this.

CUOMO: You don't think they twisted the quote?

CARTER: I don't think the quote was right (ph). Again, it's how did they present it.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But it's all context.

CARTER: They said she was debased. I think that was one of the things they said.

CUOMO: Right, right.

CARTER: So, and that wasn't in the quotes.

CUOMO: But context matters.

CARTER: I agree with that, I agree with that.

STELTER: Trump tweeted 14 times yesterday, 10 times were about "The New York Times."

CARTER: Right.

STELTER: Not about campaign strategy, not about message for the fall, but about "The New York Times. It is a mystery why he believes that this is a winning point for him. Maybe because he's reconciling (ph) with Megyn Kelly tonight he needs a new media target.

CAMEROTA: No, no, also his supporters do think...

STELTER: But this is a real mystery.

CAMEROTA: ... that there's media bias.

STELTER: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: And this is exhibit A, he thinks.

CARTER: Republicans have never lost a single vote attacking the media. That's never happened, right? So, attacking the media is a good strategy for him, but he's running for president, he has to be scrutinized. People want to know facts about him, so it's legitimate to go after these things that people are saying about him. If he's saying about an employee that she was fat and she shouldn't eat - that's part of an interesting narrative about him, it seems to me.

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: But I think it's true, "The Times" did not do itself any favors, for example, by leaving out some of the context. The story was probably overplayed. It was 4,000-plus words, big on the front page on Sunday morning, it probably didn't deserve...

CUOMO: It's the most read "New York Times" piece this year.

STELTER: That's partly because of Trump, by the way.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I would say it's mostly because of Trump...

STELTER: ... driving traffic to "The Times" website. And you have to wonder, why - why does he want to promote this story even more? It's not the kind of strategy a publicist would tell him, but as we've seen with his phone call to your control room yesterday, he is his own publicist.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about something controversial going on in the media, and that is that every time we have one of the Trump supporters or surrogates on, they say why aren't you looking into Hillary Clinton's past? She's an enabler. She -- she went after the women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct. Why aren't you looking into that? And I want to ask you, as a journalist, that appears to have been vetted. We - we sometimes think, well, we lived through that.

CARTER: Yes.

CAMEROTA: In the 90s, that's already dead. Is it time to do this again, because - for people who missed the 90s chapter?

CARTER: Well, you could -- it's legitimate. If you want to do it, why not?

CAMEROTA: It is legitimate, even though...

STELTER: I think it's a fair questions.

(CROSSTALK)

CARTER: There's a - there's an entire conservative media out there. They can do it, they can do it if they feel like this is unfair.

CAMEROTA: They do do it, but they're saying the mainstream media...

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: But "The New York Times" also has to do. And by the way, I think "The New York Times" will be doing it. (CROSSTALK)

CARTER: I think they will do it.

STELTER: They probably should have published that before they published the Trump story just in terms of, like, strategy and how "The Times" is going to be impacted (ph).

CARTER: But don't you see, there's a little bit of a different context about one is the actual candidate. The other - you're telling me (ph) guy and his -- the woman and her husband, it's a little different.

CAMEROTA: Well, sort of, but what -- Donald Trump has tried to make it about Hillary Clinton by saying it was her actions.

CARTER: But saying she was an enabler.

CAMEROTA: It's her actions.

CUOMO: You could argue her stuff - that what - what he's pointing out about her is more central to what this campaign could be about than his stuff. His case is, you're talking about me, my sexual peccadilloes, you know, back when I wasn't even in the game. I'm pointing you back to the Clintons and in terms of what they did, how it shaped what was going on in government at the time and what it means about how they lead this country.

I think it's going to be revisited, and I think that this is a nice reminder in terms of Trump. This is what Trump does. His supporters need to know this. He plays the victim. He's not a victim. The man controls the media as well as anybody I've ever dealt with on the business and he plays positive and negative just as well. He has called us the best and the worst within hours of each other.

CARTER: Yes, yes.

CUOMO: So you have to know that as well. That's part of the truth here. You know, I have been the best and the worst, beginning and end of a sentence.

STELTER: The answer to these media bias questions is all of the above. Sometimes there are examples of bias, sometimes there are not. Bu I do think those stories about Clinton, about her -- they have to be written, they will be written. There are six months to go in this election.

CARTER: I think - when -- when she is out of this cycle, he's now out of - there's no longer a race on the Republican side. There's still a story about her running.

CUOMO: True.

CARTER: So, he's actually the nominee and she's not yet.

CUOMO: True. CAMEROTA: Bill, Brian, thank you. Nice to talk to you.

CUOMO: A lot of news this morning to tell you from all over the world, so let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Are you considering running?

JOHN KASICH, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I'm not going to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's impossible for it to work. It was a ridiculous effort, so I passed.

BEN CARSON, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have no intention of running for office.

KASICH: I don't think it's appropriate. I - you know, I - I just don't think it would be the right thing to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a suicide mission.