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New Day

Some Republicans Turning to Clinton; Obamas' First Date; Beyond the Call of Duty. Aired 8:30-9:00a ET

Aired August 26, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:54] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, time for the five things to know for your new day.

Number one, Donald Trump not softening. He says undocumented immigrants will have no path to legalization unless they leave the country. He also called Hillary Clinton a bigot.

Hillary Clinton ramping up her attacks on Donald Trump, tying his campaign to the extreme alt right movement. Clinton accusing Trump of bringing hate groups into the mainstream.

Italy declaring a state of emergency in areas hit hard by this week's 6.2 magnitude earthquake. The death toll has now risen to 267 people, as more than 400 aftershocks hit parts of the region.

U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte charged by authorities in Rio. The Olympic athlete is accused of falsely reporting a crime. Police say Lochte made up the story about being robbed at gunpoint after he allegedly vandalized a gas station bathroom.

Apple urging iPhone users to update their operating systems immediately. This comes after an Israeli based company apparently created software allowing hackers get virtually access to everything on a person's iPhone. I'll be going to do that right now.

For more things - for more of the five things to know, you can go to newdaycnn.com for all of the latest.

Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Terrorism is a constant threat in Kenya. The extremist group, al Shabaab, you've heard of them, well, they're leaving many struggling to survive. This week's CNN hero, Umra Omar, left behind her successful life in America to help those in her homeland. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UMRA OMAR, CNN HERO: We have about six villages that have absolutely zero access to health care. When an individual is in the remote area, and has an absolute emergency, it's considered a matter of destiny.

I feel like there's no purpose if you don't challenge your comfort zone and do something that's a little bit bigger than who you are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A little bit bigger than who you are. To watch one of Umra's lifesaving missions, visit cnnheroes.com. And while you're there, remember, you can nominate someone that you think should be a 2016 CNN hero.

CAMEROTA: Well, he's worked closely with President George W. Bush, but he's not voting for the Republican presidential candidate in this race. Why one Republican says defeating Donald Trump will save his party. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:38:04] CUOMO: Our next guest has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980 and served under President George W. Bush. He says this year he's voting for Hillary Clinton. Why? To save his party. His name is James Glassman and he joins us now. He's the former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.

It's good to join us.

Donald Trump has an answer for people like you. He says that you are the establishment. You are what the GOP is that made it losers and he is the new wave of the party, that's why he got the most votes. You need to get on board with what the party is today. Do you accept that?

JAMES GLASSMAN, FOUNDING EXEC. DIR., GEORGE W. BUSH INSTITUTE: Not at all. I think that Donald Trump's betraying the Republican Party, betraying our principles. You know, just now, with all this talk about - about racism, I mean, the - you know, the Republican party was founded under Abraham Lincoln. We were responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Bill in 1964. And, you know, I proudly served with the president who got 11 percent of the black vote, 44 percent of the Hispanic vote. No, things have taken a very, very bad turn.

And let me just say that - that it's not just members of the so-called establishment who are - who are - who are saying that they're not going to vote for Donald Trump. About 5 million people, based on the Quinnipiac poll, 5 million Republicans are now saying they're voting for Hillary Clinton. So there are lots of people, normal Republicans, who can't stomach Donald Trump and want to vote for Mrs. Clinton as a way to defeat him.

CUOMO: Now, there's another angle of pushback, which is, OK, I get it, you don't like Donald Trump as a traditional Republican. I get it. But that Hillary Clinton is so unacceptable to traditional Republicans that they could never vote for her. So not only are you saying what, you know, is not unusual to hear, which is that Donald Trump upsets you as a Republican, but that you're going to vote for Clinton. Why are you doing that as opposed to just saying, well, I don't know, maybe I'll go third party. Maybe I'll write somebody in, which we've heard from other Republican leaders. [08:40:08] GLASSMAN: Right. And I think this is really the most

important question. There are lots and lots of people like me. That Quinnipiac poll that I was talking about says that roughly one quarter of Republicans say that they disapprove of Donald Trump. But many of them are on the fence. They don't know what to do.

Now, it's my belief that voting for Hillary Clinton is important because it will actually defeat Donald Trump. And I agree with the 50 foreign policy experts, people like two homeland security secretaries, two deputy secretaries of defense who say that Donald Trump does not have the character, the values or the experience to be president of the United States. And while I don't agree with Hillary Clinton on everything that she says, and while I certainly have some problems with this question of surrounding the e-mails and so forth, I think she'd make a better president than Donald Trump and I also think that it's the way to save the Republican Party. So I'd like to see Republicans who are on the fence get off the fence and say that they'll vote for Hillary Clinton for president.

CUOMO: The reality within your party is that he got the most votes of any GOP primary runner ever. And the reason in large part, other than his charisma and what he was saying, was that he tapped into disgust of the status quo. And for many of his supporters, Hillary Clinton checks every box of status quo, and that's the metaphor effect of what the e-mail scandal or the Clinton Foundation situation plays into. Why don't you see it their way?

GLASSMAN: Well, you know, I don't like the status quo either. I don't think many people like the status quo, period. But, you know, he also received the most votes against him of anybody in my party. And my problem with Donald Trump is temperament. I don't think that he is qualified or fit to sit in the Oval Office. You know, this same group that I just quoted said that he would be the most reckless president in American history. Now, I don't know what - there's no way we can prove that, but I really do think that his actions, certainly during the campaign, and probably over the last quarter century or so, show that I - any reasonable person would be very worried about someone in his position making decision, let's say, about what to do about North Korea now getting missiles that can be put on submarines and can reach the United States perhaps at some point. That's not the kind of person that I want in the White House.

CUOMO: James Glassman, a very interesting conversation. Never had one like it in any election before this one. Thank you for being on NEW DAY. Appreciate it.

GLASSMAN: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Well, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle on their first date. That's the inspiration for the new movie "Southside with You." What did Barack Obama do to win Michelle over? We're talking to the star and the film's director, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [08:47:01] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack, you seem like a really sweet guy. But how many times do I have to tell you, we're not going out together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Michelle, thank you for saying that. You seem like a real sweet girl, but I have to correct you, we are in fact out and we are in fact together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But not on a date. This is not a date.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Imagine being a fly on the wall for Barack Obama's first date with Michelle. This new movie gives us a chance to do just that. It's called "Southside with You" and it follows a young Barack Obama and Michelle, then Robinson, through that fateful summer day in 1989, and the movie opens today.

Joining us now, one of the stars, Parker Sawyers, and the writer and director, Richard Tanne.

Gentlemen, great to have you here.

PARKER SAWYERS, ACTOR: Good morning.

RICHARD TANNE, WRITER, DIRECTOR, "SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU": Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Parker, your performance as Barack Obama is being called uncannily on point.

SAWYERS: Oh, wow. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: How much - sure. How much - that was "The Washington Post," but I agree -

SAWYERS: Right.

CAMEROTA: I mean you - you have nailed it. So how much did you study his cadence and his body language?

SAWYERS: Right. Well, I had heard that I resembled him probably three or four years ago.

CAMEROTA: You think?

SAWYERS: Yes. And so I started - I started working on his voice just as like a joke on sets I would do it at lunch or something. And then - and then I thought, yes, I'd play him in like 10 or 15 years in like the big biopic (ph) and then this - this popped up.

CUOMO: So how do you balance mimicking him -

SAWYERS: Yes.

CUOMO: With acting in a role? Because it's different than what the late night guys do, right?

SAWYERS: Right.

CUOMO: They're trying to be straight parody. You wanted authenticity, which is kind of the opposite.

SAWYERS: Right, right, right. So I just focused on him being 28 years old and a little looser. He's not he in the public eye, so he's - it's a private moment with Michelle. And he's younger and hungrier and, yes, he's more playful.

CAMEROTA: So what is his voice? Give us - give us a couple sentences.

SAWYERS: Well, it's something like this. This is the older Obama. And everything is considered. And pronounced in sort of a - not a southern drawl, but it's there.

CAMEROTA: Oh, that's good. That is really good.

Richard, how much research did you put into figuring out what they really did do on their first date?

TANNE: Well, the basic contours of the date are sort of out there as public knowledge. They've talked about the date in the first campaign and in the second, the re-election campaign. So it's out there. But the details, there's not a lot of meat on the bones. It was just sort of anecdotes. So I just sort of read as much as possible about the Obamas and their life experiences and kind of extrapolated from there what they might have talked about, what might - what might have brought them together, what might have brought them apart. How could - you know some credible way for them to fall in love.

CUOMO: Let's play another clip of the movie. We have two choices. I leave it to you in the control room. Whichever you want.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what's this boy's name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack o what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's half white. His father is from Kenya and his mother is white.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So why isn't this a date?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We work together. It's inappropriate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe, but you are spending the day with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:50:03] CUOMO: What did you want out of this movie? Obviously it's not just a depiction of a single event. There's a projection quality here. What do you want?

TANNE: Well, actually, for me it was a depiction of a single event. But I also calculated that everybody else would bring their own projections to it. So from the very beginning, our job was just to focus on how can we make this feel real, how can we recreate this moment in time. But then assuming that every single audience member would bring their own extra layer of politics, their relationship to the Obamas, their own sort of feelings about the administration, and that will change over time, it will be different for every person. But for us, this is just a love story.

CAMEROTA: Have you heard from Barack or Michelle Obama about the movie?

TANNE: No. Not personally. One of our executive producers is John Legend and he was saying a few days ago that he did have a conversation with the president about the movie and they're aware of it. He told them he - John Legend told the president that he loves the movie and thinks he'll enjoy it. So I think the invitation's out there.

CAMEROTA: That sounds great. So what did you figure out? How did he win? Michelle Obama didn't want to go out with Barack Obama.

SAWYERS: Right.

CAMEROTA: So what did you figure out, in making this and in starring in it, how did he win her over?

SAWYERS: Just talked and talked and talked. And they walked and talked all over Chicago on one, yes, summer day. And I think it was like a little - like just 20 minutes more, 20 minutes more, one hour more, and he charmed her and he showed her that he was a good guy.

CUOMO: I mean isn't it often the case that way? Didn't you have to like just keep going back to your current husband and saying please, please -

CAMEROTA: Begging him, begging him to talk more.

CUOMO: Didn't it take a while?

CAMEROTA: Yes, as a matter of fact. But speaking of the walking through Chicago and just this summer day, you know, your movie is being likened by "The Washington Post" to the Richard Linklater, "Before Sunrise," which is like the most magical, romantic movie ever. I mean that's - it doesn't get higher praise than that. And it is just sort of - not a lot of action.

TANNE: (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: But yet something chemical happens.

TANNE: Yes. Yes, yes. I mean and that chemical thing that happens is just a kind of intangible thing that happens with Parker and Tika when you put a camera on them. It's the thing that happens with Spencer and Tracie (ph), Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, et cetera, et cetera. Look at all the great on screen couples -

CUOMO: High praise.

TANNE: They have it.

CUOMO: High praise from the director.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

TANNE: When the camera goes on, they have that romantic chemistry, and it makes the movie work.

CUOMO: So then you have, you know, you can't escape I guess what would be called the historisity (ph) of it, right, which is where this moment winds up leading us ultimately. And you have the first date that they had and then you have their moment after they enter the White House together, which is going to be a pivitable (ph) one as well. How do you see the transition of this?

TANNE: From movie to movie?

CUOMO: Yes.

SAWYERS: Well, I'm not signed up to do a sequel.

CUOMO: Uh-oh. That's it, work the leverage. They need you to make the next one. Work the leverage. Do you see this as a potential continuum?

TANNE: Not - not for me. Yes, I - for me it was - the date was the thing. You know, that was what I was interested in.

CUOMO: There's only one first.

TANNE: Well, we've - yes, there is. We've witnessed - we've seen the after. So it was interesting to go back to the before.

CAMEROTA: Yes, well, it's really a charming movie. It was really fun to watch. Parker Sawyers, Richard Tanne, best of luck.

TANNE: Thank you.

SAWYERS: Thank you, guys.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you guys on NEW DAY.

CUOMO: All right, so a police officer pulls over a swerving car. Inside, a woman confesses to having bags of heroin. What happens next changes her life forever. But it's not what you might expect. Find out when NEW DAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:57:06] CUOMO: All right, so this happened almost a year ago. A drug addict's worst nightmare came true, an officer pulled her over, then arrested her for having heroin in her car. It's a serious charge. But now the nightmare was turned into gratitude. The woman involved here, who's now in recovery, tracked the officer down to thank him for what happened between them. Victor Blackwell explains in this edition of "Beyond the Call of Duty."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA BYNES, RECOVERING ADDICT: I saw an officer pull behind me. I moved over to the lane, hoping he would pass me, but he didn't.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When then 31-year- old Brianna Bynes was pulled over on that August night a year ago, she had no idea the traffic stop would change her life. Martin County, Florida, Sheriff's Deputy Justin Albauer stopped Brianna for swerving out of her lane.

JUSTIN ALBAUER, DEPUTY SHERIFF, K-9 UNIT: Her hands were shaking. You could tell she was abnormally nervous.

BLACKWELL: And as Deputy Albauer would soon learn, she had good reason to be nervous.

ALBAUER: After, you know, a brief conversation, she just - she just came clean.

BYNES: I had two bags of heroin, and paraphernalia.

ALBAUER: I've never had it where somebody is open and says, you know, I have narcotics in the car.

BLACKWELL: Brianna said she explained her years' long struggle with opioid dependency, and that she and her mother had spent the day calling detox centers but had had no luck getting into one. But for Brianna it wasn't just that Deputy Albauer allowed her to tell her story, it was that he listened.

BYNES: He was there to help me, and he did just that.

ALBAUER: I don't judge anybody.

BLACKWELL: Brianna was arrested that night and just before Albauer took her to her cell -

ALBAUER: I let her know that, you know, that she could call me if she needed to, and that I wished her the best of luck.

BLACKWELL (on camera): After a short stint in the county jail, Brianna checked into a drug rehab program, and then a halfway house, and a drug court program. And as she tried to turn her life around, she never forgot about the night she was pulled over here.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Brianna, who says she's now drug free, eventually reached Albauer at the sheriff's office and passed along a letter.

BYNES: Deputy Albauer, this time a year ago you forever changed my life. Words cannot express how thankful I am for you. Ever since that night, you made me realize that I have a great purpose here in life. ALBAUER: I stopped, pulled over and read it, and it's a - yes, it hit you.

BLACKWELL: Victor Blackwell, CNN, Stewart, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: You hear that story from time to time. Sometimes an arrest saves people's lives.

CUOMO: Oh, absolutely. And very often, you know, the officer follows up. It's not just about the law for them. And there's something to take away from this. Opioid dependency, her inability to get into a detox, this problem is back in a way that we've never seen it before. And detox is necessary for these people and they can't get it. You've got to get the body right before they can get their mind right.

CAMEROTA: It's so nice for the police officer to have had so much compassion for all of that.

CUOMO: And for her to remember him.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. It's great on all - all fronts. So we'll end the week on that.

Thanks so much for joining us today. Right after the show also I'm going to be talking to the star and director of "Southside with You" on FaceBook Live. So you can go to facebook.com/cnn to watch that.

[09:00:07] And now it's time for "Newsroom" with Erica Hill, in for Carol Costello.

CUOMO: FaceBook Live. (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: Yes, tune in.

CUOMO: Where's my phone?