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Tennessee Lawmaker Plans Assault Rifle Giveaway; Tennessee Lawmaker Weighs In On Gun Control Debate; NBA Finals: Lebron, Cavs Force Game Seven; Is Trump Campaign Hitting A Wall? Dyson Calls For Protests At GOP Convention. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired June 17, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Search teams recovering the cockpit voice recorder from EgyptAir Flight 804. The black box, as it is known, was in pieces. But investigators were able to retrieve the crucial memory unit that's now on its way to Egypt for further analysis.

Crews are still searching for the aircraft data recorder. Flight 804, you'll remember crashed last month on a flight from Paris to Egypt with 66 people on board.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: A 1400-acre wildfire raging dangerously close to homes in Southern California this morning. The flames jumped Highway 101 in the coastal canyons west of Santa Barbara overnight. About 800 firefighters and a fleet of aircraft are battling the flames. But terrain is rough. The weather has been dry and windy as it is this time of year, and the brush hasn't burned in decades.

CAMEROTA: Scary moments for rock singer, Meatloaf, as he collapses on the stage while performing in Canada. Cell phone videos shows the singer there tossing like down before falling to the stage floor. The music stops and several people then come to his aid.

Meatloaf had canceled a show earlier this week due to illness. Still, no word on the singer's condition. Let' hope that we can find something out in the next few hours while we are on the air and bring everybody developments.

GREGORY: Yes, you have to think, some combination of dehydration, exhaustion. Hopefully, it is nothing more serious than that.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I guess. We'll bring you updates as soon as we have them.

GREGORY: OK, meanwhile, after a break, in the aftermath of an Orlando terror attack, a Tennessee lawmaker raising eyebrows by giving away two assault rifles at a campaign fundraiser. Why is he doing it? We'll ask him when we talk to him coming up next.

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[06:38:14]

GREGORY: Back now on NEW DAY, the country is still reeling from the Orlando terror attack and while this is happening, a Tennessee lawmaker plans to offer two AR-15 assault rifles as door prizes at a fundraiser later this month.

It is the same type of weapon used in the Orlando massacre that killed 49 people. Tennessee State Representative, Andy Holt, is the lawmaker we are talking about that. He joins us now.

Representative Holt, good morning. Thanks for being here.

ANDY HOLT (R), TENNESSEE STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Good morning, David. Appreciate the opportunity to be here with you.

GREGORY: I should point out that this was a campaign event and a giveaway that you had planned well before the Orlando massacre. Why still do it given be what's happened? Are you lacking some sensitivity about this massacre by moving forward with this giveaway?

HOLT: I think it is hard for anybody to imagine just having seen the images displayed here this morning and also hearing the stories that have been told by the individuals you have on and other media outlets that you have on, not to feel a great deal of sympathy for these individuals and I do.

No reason for any American to have to endure the kind of suffering these individuals have suffered. But I think that we need to be very clear that we don't need to allow again a crazed Muslim terrorist to derail or change the plans or activities that we have as Americans.

I think there is no more that this particular individual would love, this terrorist, than to think that he has changed a significant number of plans for Americans and also that maybe gun control measures will actually be instituted regarding the use of firearms here in the United States because of his actions.

I am sure that there is nothing that he would have liked more than for that to occur. I don't concede to the idea we should change our plans because this individual inappropriately used a firearm.

GREGORY: Right. But Representative Holt, you are making a slightly different argument, which is that somehow a terrorist is going to change our American lifestyle.

[06:40:09]HOLT: That's what we are allowing to happen.

GREGORY: Well, but I think others would have a different point of view, which is that in this particular case, you have a weapon of war that happened to be used in 14 other mass assaults and murders in our country in recent years.

And that by giving away a gun like this right after this kind of massacre, you can understand a lot of people saying, there is a lack of humanity in doing something like this, not recognizing a lot of people think the gun culture had something to do with this, the wide availability of a gun like this.

HOLT: I think you have made a couple of incorrect assessments here. First of all, you called this a military weapon or an assault weapon and it is no such thing. It is a semiautomatic rifle. That's very similar to any other semiautomatic rifle that's out there on the market.

I think that we need to be very clear that there is not a failure of the gun here in this particular situation. There is obviously a failure of the FBI. There is a failure of other government agencies that should have been overviewing this particular purchase.

As I have sat here this morning and waiting to come on with you, we recognize that the gun shop owner actually reached out to the FBI. Failure after failure after failure. What are they planning on doing?

GREGORY: You are an elected official. That's an important point. If you are a supporter of the second amendment as are others that are looking at measures that would close this terror gap as it's been called, which is if you are on a watch list, should you be able to buy a gun?

He was not on a watch list, which is why there is an amendment now being suggested by the Democrats to say if you are on a watch list within five years, you still shouldn't be able to buy a gun. Given be what you are saying, of an FBI failures, would you support such a measure?

HOLT: Well, I am a state lawmaker so I don't really get to make those kind of decisions, but maybe one day if I go to Congress, I will have the opportunity to do that.

GREGORY: But you are a citizen who is speaking about these second amendment issues.

HOLT: I think there is a reason for terror suspects not to get firearms. Here in the United States, we see a man that has very much devoted himself to ISIS and radical Islam. That's a precursor that should disallow an individual to have a firearm, to keep and bear firearms here in the United States. Anyone who has pledged support to an institution or an organization that is inherently anti-American, probably doesn't need to be able to have firearms.

GREGORY: And even if they are not on a watch list currently but have been within the past five years, would you support a crackdown in that regard and not allow someone to get a weapon?

HOLT: I tell you what I would support. I would support our federal government implementing laws and being strategic in their implementation of those laws. And what we can see is that until there are significant policy changes related to -- again, in my opinion, the argument should be radical Islam and gun-free zones.

I think that's the specific areas of focus. Unfortunately, the media characteristically wants to always focus on the AR-15, the gun, not the person who is pulling the trigger of that gun. I think that's where the focus needs to be. We can villainize this firearm all we want to. Ultimately, what we are leading ourselves to is further control.

GREGORY: You are talking about what the media may be doing here. Let's take the media out of it for a second. Why don't we point to one of our leading commander's in the field in Afghanistan and Iraq, a gentleman you probably know, General Stanley McChrystal, who talks about a weapon like the AR-15 in an op-ed that he's written for the "New York Times."

And absolutely refers to it as a weapon of war. You are talking about giving away an AR-15 at your campaign event so that people can defend themselves. The idea that if people in this nightclub had had an AR- 15 or similar weapon that they would become safer.

Here is what General McChrystal writes in part this morning. I'd like your reaction to it. "Today, some of our politicians and the people who back them, seem to promote a culture of gun ownership that does not conform with what I learned in the military.

Here at home, many of us are alarmed by the carnage, alarm by the loopholes that let felons and domestic abusers get hold of guns without a background check. We are alarmed that a known or suspected terrorist can go to a federally licensed firearms dealer where background checks are conducted, pass that background check, legally purchase a firearm and walk out the door.

Sir, this isn't the media. This is General McChrystal. How do you respond to his concerns about a gun crisis that he sees in the country?

HOLT: Again, General McChrystal has not talked about the failure of the weapon. He's talked about the failure of the government. Has he not? He said multiple times, people that have been convicted of felonies or domestic abuse. Those folks in my opinion don't merit the ability to keep and to bear arms.

But what we are focusing on here is the fact that the FBI failed. Obviously there is background checks that are failing. The process is again, in my opinion, it is not scary for a lawful citizens here in the United States to own and keep arms.

The problem is when we have a failed system that allows individuals who should not get these arms when arms fall in their hands. That exact same tool. That's what a firearm is. It is a tool that can be used for different things.

In the hands of a crazed criminal, guess what, it is a dangerous things. In my hands or the hands of another law-abiding citizen, it is actually a tool that can be used for self-defense and other purposes.

GREGORY: Representative Holt, we are going to leave it there this morning. Thank you very much for your views.

HOLT: Thank you, sir. GREGORY: OK, back to you, Alisyn.

[06:45:09]CAMEROTA: All right, David. We are going to talk about sports. What is going on with Steph Curry? The Warrior superstar losing his cool in game six of the finals. We have the "Bleacher Report" next.

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CAMEROTA: The NBA finals coming down to a winner takes all game seven on Sunday. Coy Wire has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hi, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Alisyn. The city of Cleveland hungry for a championship. They haven't celebrated a pro sports title in over a half a century. Now they are just one win away. They can thank their hometown boy, Lebron Raymond James.

He scores 41 points for the second game in a row, out to prove he is still the most imposing player on the planet. How about the Cavs defense, though? All over the Warriors like white on rice the last three games.

Check out Lebron with a sick block on Steph Curry and then the stare down. Curry gets hotter than a boiling pot. Late in the fourth quarter, he fouls out, throws his mouthpiece, hits a fan and then for the first time in his career, he is out of there.

He gets ejected from the game. After the game, Steph's wife, Ayesha, known for speaking her mind on Twitter says, "I have lost all respect. Sorry, this is absolutely rigged for money or ratings. Not sure which. I won't be silent. Just saw it live, sorry." She later deleted a tweet and apologized. Those are some big, bold accusations from the wife of the league MVP.

[06:50:03]USA came to play. Big win over Ecuador last night in Seattle and the guys are now just one win away from making it to the Copa America finals.

Early in the match, Dempsey puts his team ahead. Puts America up 1-0. They go on to win 2-1. They advance to the Copa America semifinals. They either get Argentina or Venezuela that will be in front of a hometown crowd Tuesday in Houston.

That's the first time in over 20 years Team USA has made it this far. It's extra special that this is 100th anniversary of the Copa America, and the first time a match has been played in the U.S.

GREGORY: Let's go. We're going to turn to politics next. Donald Trump keeps butting heads with Republican leaders, even turning a former Bush administration adviser to the other side. Are they signs of trouble ahead in the Trump campaign?

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CAMEROTA: It's been a tough couple of weeks for the Trump campaign. Trump's unfavorables are at a record 70 percent high in a new national poll. He also seems to be at odds with some party leaders.

Now, a former George W. Bush administration adviser says that he will be voting for Hillary Clinton. So joining us now to talk about all of this is Georgetown professor and author, Michael Eric Dyson.

He has a new piece in "The New Republic" called, "We Must March on Cleveland." We'll get to that in a moment, and also CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter, Jeffrey Lord. Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here.

Jeffrey, let's start with the words of this former deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, who says he will be voting for Hillary Clinton.

Let me just read these, "If Donald Trump is the nominee, I would vote for Hillary Clinton. He doesn't appear to be a Republican. He doesn't appear to want to learn about issues. So I'm going to vote for Mrs. Clinton."

[06:55:09]Jeffrey, how big of a setback is that?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I laugh because Rich Armitage was the figure who leaked Valerie Plain's name and let it fall on Scooter Libby. I believe I am connect in saying he was a close associate and deputy to Colin Powell, who couldn't bring himself to vote for either John McCain or Mitt Romney. They were too far out there for him.

CAMEROTA: So you are dismissing it? This is not important to you.

LORD: I am dismissing it exactly with amusement.

CAMEROTA: I can see that. Michael, what do you make of what's happened in the past few days since this terrible massacre in Orlando where Donald Trump is breaking with Republican orthodoxy and saying, yes, I don't think people on the terror watch list should have guns. What effect do you think that will have on this campaign?

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, GEORGETOWN SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR: Well, it's one of the few bright moments within the Trump campaign. He has also reinforced his belief that Muslims should be banned from this country and speaking of xenophobia and anti-immigrant furor that has been unleashed in many of his campaign rallies.

So on the one hand, he is acknowledging that there ought to be common sense when it comes to talking about gun control in this country. A person who is on a no-fly list shouldn't be able to buy a gun.

It seems like common sense to most American citizens except the party that Donald Trump is part of doesn't seem to believe that. So in one sense, they are kvetching about Donald Trump.

But remember, Dr. Frankenstein is the name of the doctor not the monster. And so the Republican Party's inclinations have produced this full grown baby called Donald Trump. CAMEROTA: Jeffrey, Republicans don't seem to know what to make of Donald Trump's position that people on the terror watch list shouldn't have access to guns. It seems to have thrown them for a loop.

But in terms of discord within the party, in fairness to Donald Trump, let me read you a tweet that Reince Priebus sent out yesterday. He says, "Flying to Dallas now with Donald Trump. Reports of discord are pure fiction. Great events lined up all over Texas. Republicans will win in November."

That's different than what some of the other leading Republicans have said. What do you make of how he has seemed to have broken with some of the party message?

LORD: Well, I think Donald Trump is Donald Trump. I am not at all surprised that he would do something like this. In a moment of national tragedy, he is trying to find, as are some other people, a way to resolve the problem here. He is very much pro second amendment. I think that Reince Priebus has got it exactly right. Reports of discord are greatly exaggerated.

CAMEROTA: Michael, I want to talk about what's going to happen at the convention because you've just written this op-ed for the "New Republic" in which you basically are calling on people to protest at the Republican convention.

I'll read a port of it. "I know that these words can be read as a call to violence unseen at a national political convention since Chicago 1968. So be it. As Martin Luther King Jr. taught us, it is a risk we must take. We have a positive moral obligation to protest the nomination of this racist demagogue for president." But Dr. King was about non-violence?

DYSON: He was. But at the end of his life and during his life, he talked about aggressive non-violence. I'm not talking about violence committed by the people who are going to protest. I'm talking about enduring the violence from people who are there. At Donald Trump rallies, you know, pushing people around, suggesting that racism is an OK thing.

CAMEROTA: But the protesters have been violent at his rallies as well.

DYSON: They have not been violent in the sense of trying to physically assault anybody. They have articulate their viewpoints and most of them --

CAMEROTA: Wait a second, outside, we have seen protesters who are protesting Donald Trump cause all sorts of disruption. There has been vandalism. Look at this.

DYSON: I'm not speaking of that. I am talking of protesting in terms of expressing your viewpoint that Donald Trump represents something that is problematic in this country. I'm not speaking about protesters that will go anywhere and destroy anything.

CAMEROTA: But that is what they do.

DYSON: That is not what all of them do. That is what of some them have done. I'm suggesting that what I'm calling for to distinguish what you see going on there. What I'm calling for is a vehement expression and articulation of disgruntlement with what Donald Trump represents, the amplification of bigotry, xenophobia, and anti- Mexican, Muslim, black --

CAMEROTA: If violence happens, you say so be it.

DYSON: I am saying the violence against the people who were there. I am not in any way sanctioning violence on the part of the people who are protesting. The more likely scenario is endurance of violence. When I link that historically in that piece to what is going on with African-American protest, I'm talking about black people who have been subject to the vicious recrimination of those who despise them.

CAMEROTA: Jeffrey, what do you think about what might happen at the convention?

LORD: Well, first of all, I believe very strongly in the first amendment and I believe in anybody's right to protest anything. The key to it is, of course, nonviolence. That's where we get into trouble here.

I would certainly hope that Professor Dyson is going to lead a march on the Democratic National Committee at their convention and ask them to apologize for slavery. They have six platforms still standing in which they called for slavery in the United States.

I never hear anything about that. I never hear anything about that. I would think that that would be pretty bad here --