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New Day

Trump Attacks Clinton, Warren, And Martinez; 11 States Sue Obama Over Transgender Directive; Interview with Sen. Jeff Sessions. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 26, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:32:30] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump launching attacks on three prominent women this week, targeting Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and New Mexico governor, Susana Martinez. Could this hurt Trump with voters in the general? Let's discuss. We have Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. He serves on the Armed Services and Judiciary Committee.

He is also chairman of Trump's national security advisory committee. He was the first senator to endorse Trump. We'll get to the political implications of Mr. Trump's most recent targets, but let's deal with what matters first and foremost with you as national security advisor, the chairman of that advisory committee, and being on the Judiciary Committee and Armed Services Committee. Senator, please tell our audience why you believe that Donald Trump is ready to be commander in chief of the United States?

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: Chris, Donald Trump gets it on foreign policy. First, you've got to be aggressive with people who have direct threats to the United States, but he also believes, as I've come to believe, that we've gotten too involved in many extended conflicts, and (ph) Wilsonian nation building around the world. It is draining or wealth and our financial strength. And if you're not strong financially, you can't be strong internationally. So I think he is exactly where we need to be fundamentally on the national defense and foreign policy issues.

CUOMO: Points of pushback, Jeff Sessions -- the Jeff Sessions that I know would not be in favor of a position like Trump took when he was against the war, which was in fact to do nation building instead, or to sit down and engage with the despot that runs North Korea, or to say flattering things about Vladimir Putin. These are not things that Jeff Sessions would say. How do you forgive them in Donald Trump?

SESSIONS: Well, you know, I've been in the senate 20 years now, I've gotten a bit older. I supported President Bush all the way on Iraq, but it didn't end well, Chris. It just didn't. And American people know that and American people I think are fundamentally correct, and I think Trump is fundamentally correct on that. And with regard to Russia, there is no strategic reason that we remain on the cycle of hostility. I think we could do better. May not, but Donald Trump is a tough, effective negotiator. He's not going to give away the interest of the United States. But it would be a marvelous thing, and I don't think impossible, that we could begin to put America-Russian relationship on a better path. CUOMO: And with Kim Jong-un, saying, sure, I'd talk to him, and the

inference that, yes, maybe more people should have nuclear weapons? How do you like that idea?

[08:35:05] SESSIONS: Well, that's not a fair statement, Chris.

CUOMO: How so?

SESSIONS: What he was asked was, would you talk to him, and he said he would do that, and then with regard to nuclear weapons, he sent Japan and South Korea a message. They're not paying their fair share of their defense and they've got to do more, and he said, well, if you don't want to be under our nuclear umbrella and participate sufficiently, then maybe you need your own nuclear weapons. But he didn't advocate that. He was just using that as a negotiating point, I think. And that would certainly be a matter to be discussed so carefully with our good allies, Japan and Korea, but they need to do more.

CUOMO: What we see with his attacks on Clinton or Warren or now Martinez, is an issue of temperament, that if you mess with Donald Trump, he comes at you with both barrels, and he'll tell you that. You call it a counter puncher, but if Jeff Sessions says something he doesn't like, he's going to say something bad about Jeff Sessions. Do you have anything, senator -- do you have a concern about temperament?

SESSIONS: Well, he is a strong leader and he pushes back. He is not like the normal politician, that's true. And he is -- he has hit a lot of men, too. You mentioned women, but there are some men pushing up -- politically pushing up daisies right now as a result of those exchanges. And I think people value his strength and his willingness to defend himself.

CUOMO: But I'm saying that there's one context when you're going after political opponents, right, there's one standard. It's another if you're now a leader on the national stage and if Vladimir Putin says something that you don't like, you start making up weird nicknames for him -- this is the kind of antagonism that -- isn't that different on that stage than when you're talking about your political rival?

SESSIONS: Well it is different, and I think that will be obvious, and I don't think he's done anything that would indicate otherwise. But yes, it is a different thing to be on the world stage, to deal with world leaders, but Donald Trump, I think, will attempt to see if we can't somehow do a better job of getting along both with our allies and our adversaries, to break down some barriers. He believes we've gotten too involved in having to spend too much money and send too many people around the world, in a way that has not been effective for America's interests. He puts national interest first. That's the most important thing in a president. Does he serve the people's interest of America? I think he understands that deeply and that's one of his strengths.

CUOMO: Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, thank you for making the case for Donald Trump on NEW DAY, sir. SESSIONS: Thanks, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Alisyn --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. There are some new developments to talk about in the legal war over transgender bathrooms. Leaders in 11 states taking the Obama administration to court over this. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:09] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Five things you need to know for your NEW DAY. Donald Trump blasting Hillary Clinton over the scathing department reports on her e-mails. Meantime, Trump on Jimmy Kimmel agreeing to debate Bernie Sanders for charity before the California primary. Clinton herself not backing down, responding to that inspector general's report. She says it changes nothing and she's keeping her attacks on Trump.

President Obama at the G7 summit in Japan, deflecting a question about Clinton's e-mail use, but he answered one about Donald Trump, saying world leaders are rattled by Trump because his proposals display, quote, ignorance of world affairs.

One person is dead after shots rang out at this hip hop concert featuring rapper TI in New York City last night. Three others were injured. Police are now looking at surveillance video hoping that will help them track down the shooter.

And dozens of young wordsmiths going head to head today in the final rounds of the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The winner will take home $40,000 along with some other prizes. I'm nervous for them. Good luck.

For more of FIVE THINGS TO KNOW, go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest. Alisyn --

CAMEROTA: Well, 11 now states taking the Obama administration to court. They argue the President went too far in telling every school district in the country that they should allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. CNN correspondent Nick Valencia is live in Atlanta with more. Hi, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This legal battle is just warming up. Good morning, Alisyn. Officials in 11 states and three school districts are suing the feds after a controversial order was handed down just a couple of weeks ago, that order of course saying that transgender students in public schools must use the bathroom of their choice, not the one that necessarily corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate. Immediately after those guidelines were issued by the feds, we saw the Lieutenant Governor of Texas come out in perhaps the most firm stance against it. He is now being joined by nearly a dozen states. Here is what they said in that lawsuit filed. In part, it said, defendants have conspired to turn workplaces and educational settings across the country into laboratories for a massive social experiment, flouting the Democratic process and running roughshod over common sense policies protecting children and basic privacy rights. Leaders in many of those states see this as a battle for the moral ground of the country, a battle for conservative values. The feds have responded to those allegations and to the lawsuit, saying in part, schools have a responsibility to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students, including transgender students. President Obama has said himself that this is not a battle for morality, but a battle for what's right in this country. He says that this will protect those most vulnerable to bullying in public schools. Chris --

CUOMO: That's very interesting, Nick, because it's fundamentally a culture question that has now morphed into the law. It'll be interesting to see where it comes out. Appreciate the reporting, my friend.

VALENCIA: You got it.

[08:45:02] CUOMO: So, they say, video killed the radio star, but it also gave birth to a decade of music videos that just defined a generation. We reveal our favorites as we look at some of the best music from the 80's.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NILE RODGERS, MUSIC PRODUCER: She understood the vibe and the look and the sound. It all came together with her.

MADONNA, MUSICIAN: Everyone underestimates you, you keep giving them little surprises. If they get you all in one glance, then what's going to make them look again?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Pre-English accent.

CAMEROTA: Her voice keeps changing.

CABRERA: Wow. She looks so different now.

CUOMO: A little touch.

CABRERA: Wow. Flashback, tonight's new episode of the CNN original series, "The 80's", is all about the music that defined the decade. Pop, new wave, hip hop, they were all the rage, and MTV was born. Remember the network's first music video back in 1981, Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star", so let's take a stroll down memory lane, with Christopher Farley, senior editor at "The Wall Street Journal", and Joe Levy, contributing editor at "Rolling Stone", and host of "Incoming" on Spotify. Gentlemen, how ironic is it that that first music video was, "Video Killed the Radio Star"? You could probably argue, Joe, that video made the music star in the 80's.

[08:49:56] JOE LEVY, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ROLLING STONE: The music star. And it was hopeful, wishful thing on MTV's part. That was their statement. Here we are, we're going to change things. We're going to kill the radio star -- didn't do away with radio at all. Fed the music industry, fed radio, at least fed stardom, but for a different group of stars.

CAMEROTA: OK, let's get in our time travel machines, everyone. OK, we're going back to the 80's. I want to look at all of our favorite music videos from the 80's. Joe, your favorite was "Borderline" by Madonna?

LEVY: I just like Madonna. I would say this is probably my --

CABRERA: That says so much about you, Joe.

CAMEROTA: Let's watch a moment. Oh, it is good. Oh, a phone booth, what? A phone booth, when is the last time you saw one of those? I can see the magic.

LEVY: It's just my favorite Madonna look, which counts for so much with Madonna. Of course, she made bigger, more spectacular videos, but this was that first moment when video was coming into its own when people were specifically tailoring their look for this, and you know what, I thought this was the Madonna that we would all fall in love with, and we did. The New York street girl.

CABRERA: Let's move on to Christopher's, because yours really does make a statement beyond the music. It makes something about culture. Share with us your favorite.

CHRISTOPHER FARLEY, SENIOR EDITOR, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yes, I love MTV, I love music videos, but there were a lot of things wrong with MTV. They didn't always play the videos they should have. They didn't play a lot of soul music, they didn't play a lot of rap music, they didn't play a lot of country music, so I wanted to pick a video that really represented all the people who are sort of raging against MTV during the 80's, saying, play our videos. One of those artists was Public Enemy, we have "Fight the Power", a great video. It also was featured in Spike Lee's terrific film, "Do the Right Thing" --

CAMEROTA: Let's watch it.

CUOMO: Flavor Flav used to wear a big clock around his neck.

CAMEROTA: Used to?

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Fast forward to the 2000's, right?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris has an interesting -- there's an interesting window into Chris' soul, with his music video. It's A-Ha, "Take On Me". (laughter) Watch this.

CUOMO: There's so many layers. First of all, from just a sheer artistic standard, his voice was revolutionary. I had never heard a guy go that high, and still, like you know, be like so appealing to me. And the graphics and the race and is she going to be killed? It all captured it at once.

CAMEROTA: It makes sense. I'm loving it now. OK, mine is awesome, because you've never seen --

CUOMO: As is everything about her.

CAMEROTA: Yes, but you've got to see this. You've never seen a more low budget video, ever, by Scandal. Look at this. They just go into a white room and they play their guitars. Watch this.

CAMEROTA: Well, first of all --

CUOMO: "Goodbye to You".

CAMEROTA: "Goodbye to You". First of all, I would sing it into my hair brush and jump on my bed, that I liked.

CUOMO: She was a real rocker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's this very uncomplicated -- there we go, we can really rock.

CUOMO: And you feel that none of them remember making that video.

CAMEROTA: There is not a special effect to be found.

CABRERA: OK, true confession. I was very young in the 80's, born in '82, so I'm dating myself now, but the one that of course stands out to me is "Thriller", because it is such a classic, and while I don't love the song itself, it is so catchy because of the dancing. The dancing scene is the best.

Yes, a little bit more high budget here than yours, Alisyn.

CUOMO: I think it was the most expensive ever at the time, right?

CABRERA: Half a million dollars.

LEVY: Transition to feature films. Exactly.

FARLEY: Again, another video that still holds up, still is great. You see the dance moves still repeated in movies and parodies, even today. So it's a great video.

CUOMO: And, they did something that was unique at that time. They did the sound mix, you could hear them dancing and stomping around while they were singing. So you had like a layered effect of it. And it was a little scary with the zombies.

CAMEROTA: Anybody want to see pictures of us in the 80's?

CUOMO: Sure.

CAMEROTA: I know you do. OK, here we go. This is Chris and me. We didn't go together to school, but we could have.

CUOMO: Wow. Are those Sergio Valente?

[08:54:58] CAMEROTA: They were Jordache.

CUOMO: Jordache. With the horse on the back.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: My hair went curly at puberty.

CABRERA: So this is after puberty.

CAMEROTA: And here's a picture of an embryo, and Ana. (laughter)

CUOMO: Here was a twinkle in her parents' eyes.

CABRERA: All right, we've got to leave it there. Flashback to the 80's tonight at 9:00 pm Eastern, only on CNN. THE GOOD STUFF, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Time for THE GOOD STUFF. In Pittsburgh, Morgan (ph) Behan is battling a very serious brain tumor. When she was invited to the Wish Upon a Teen organization's prom, Morgan knew exactly who she wanted her date to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Morgan is the hugest Red Wing hockey fan there is. She loves these guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: So, she wrote a letter to the Detroit Red Wings' forward, Riley Sheahan, saying, do you want to go? Although Morgan didn't hear back, Riley showed up to surprise her and go as her date to the prom.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh.

CUOMO: How awesome is that?

CAMEROTA: That's fantastic.

CABRERA: I love those stories.

CUOMO: All right. And we don't like to forget members of the family here. It is not right, just because you're 50 years younger than we are, that we didn't have -- here is a picture of you back then. There she is.

CABRERA: That is my real hair, by the way, not a wig.

CUOMO: I mean, what is that about? That's a wig. There you go.