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New Day
Tropical Storm Warning for Florida's Gulf Coast; Top ISIS Leader Killed in Syria; Police Release 911 Calls From Orlando Club Attack; Trump Heads to Mexico Before Immigration Speech. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired August 31, 2016 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:31:10] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Florida's Gulf Coast now under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch. As this tropical system strengthens, the storm is expected to intensify and bring heavy rain and winds to the area.
CNN's meteorologist Chad Myers joins us with the latest.
How's it looking, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: When you put, Alisyn, a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, one, that's going to hit something because it's a big circle and you're going to hit either Mexico, Florida, Cuba, or Texas, or anywhere along the Gulf Coast, but you get it in very warm water. That's why it's going to strengthen.
I think this thing will likely be close to a hurricane when it makes landfall. There's the cloud cover. It truly blew up overnight, a much stronger storm than it was yesterday. There's your hurricane watch from Apalachicola almost down to Tampa. And tropical storm warnings on land for tropical storm force winds, by about -- oh, maybe this time tomorrow, making landfall this time tomorrow to around midnight Thursday, a big storm.
Something else I want you to notice, too, as this storm leaves and gets back into the gulf stream, there's a chance it tries to pull a north or northwesterly course back into the U.S. Don't know if that's going to happen because the middle is here and the far outer edge is way out here, but I just want you to know that the New York City area, the Boston area, not truly out of the cone for this later in the weekend, and it's a busy weekend along the Gulf Coast, along the East Coast.
It could see some rip tides from this thing. It would be a very large rip event. We have to maybe stay out of the water. Probably don't want to do that on a Labor Day weekend. Lots of rain coming down for sure, two storms headed to Hawaii. And so is the president. Watch that later in the week.
CUOMO: Chad Myers, thank you very much f| giving us all the possibilities. We will stick with you. Thanks. All right. So, a top ISIS leader has been killed. I know you hear that from time to time, but this guy, this could be a really big deal. We'll tell you why, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:36:51] CUOMO: ISIS vowing revenge, of course, after it says one of its top leaders was killed in Syria. Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, he was the official spokesman for ISIS who called for attacks in the West. The Pentagon isn't confirming his death yet, but he would be one of the most high-profile ISIS members killed to date.
For some perspective, CNN contributor, co-author of "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror", and senior editor at "The Daily Beast," Michael Weiss.
Now, as I was saying in the lead-up to this, people will often report, big guy in ISIS killed, big guy. The expectation is, you know, this is like a worm. You cut off one end, it grows back.
But maybe not so with this guy because he had a very specific purpose that he was uniquely effective at.
MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, and the irony here is they're actually underselling his role. When we call him the official spokesman of ISIS, that's true, but this guy was leading all the foreign operations of ISIS.
So, all the terror --
CUOMO: What does that mean?
WEISS: All the terror attacks from Paris to Brussels, Indonesia, everywhere around the world that was coordinated he had prior knowledge to and had to sign off on.
So, essentially, this guy was almost the head of ISIS's CIA or its director of national intelligence, if you like.
CUOMO: And the reason that's relevant to the current state of play, according to our sources, is that recruitment of foreign fighters, how to get guys back into the country, how to turn thugs into terrorists, that was this guy's domain. Do you believe that? And if so, what's the significance?
WEISS: Yes, and, you know, what's interesting about him is he's one of the veteran fighters of ISIS. He was part of this organization before it was formally founded. He met Abu Musab al Zarqawi who's the head of al Qaeda in Iraq around 2002. He was recruited in Aleppo. Adnani was born in Idlib. So, he's a native Syrian, which is more powerful in terms of what ISIS has become today because it's a completely Iraq-ized franchise. So, to have a Syrian leading the movement within Syria, a former ISIS defector told me, look, Adnani runs all of Syria for ISIS, because he knows the terrain very well.
So, he would have been the guy recruiting people within Syria, training them up in the mountains and countryside of Raqqah or overseeing their training and then dispatching them back into the west.
CUOMO: And he was a star for them in a perverse way because he was able to, hearing it from the French point of view on this, you know, these thugs they're dealing with in these disenfranchised communities, this is a kind of guy would send you a video and say, I was just like you. And now, I found purpose. Now I'm a hero. And you can be a hero too.
And this was a very effective tool.
WEISS: And I think the most powerful aspect of his persona, if you like, was his longevity. This was a guy who fought the Americans for almost a decade under U.S. occupation in Iraq, survived imprisonment in the internment facility. He was captured in about 2005. So, he would have been in prison while Zarqawi was being killed on the battlefield and AQI was undergoing its transformation.
Let out of prison, and what does he do, 2010, you know, starts to whip up discontent among the Sunni population in Iraq against the Maliki government, then goes across the border to Syria and finds jihad over there as well.
[06:40:04] So, he's stuck in the game, and he's evaded killing or capture for so long that he had almost this mythical aura. He was part of ISIS longer than Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the so-called caliph.
CUOMO: So, is there potential for an Obi-wan Kenobi effect where he's more powerful dead than he ever was alive? Or no, this guy was a logistics guy, he was on the ground, and if he's not around, it's bad for ISIS.
WEISS: In a way. I mean, I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I would consider Adnani to be more irreplaceable even than Baghdadi. Baghdadi's luster comes from the fact that he has actual scholarship under his belt. He has PhD in Islamic studies, by being caliph and thus claiming descent from the house of the Prophet Muhammad. Obviously, there's an aura that surrounds him.
But, yes, Adnani was the chief strategist for ISIS. The role of spokesman, I shouldn't discount that, because he was known for his rhetoric. His nickname was the attack dog, because it didn't matter who he was talking about -- the Americans, the West, the Syrian regime, or al Qaeda. Remember, ISIS and al Qaeda split in 2013, 2014. He was so full of vituperation and scorn.
This was a guy who had the cojones to accuse Ayman al-Zawahiri, who's the head of al Qaeda, of being a has been and sellout, because Zawahiri told the ISIS at one point when it was noticed that the Islamic state of Iraq, look, what are you doing coming to Syria? We have Jabhat al Nusra, we have our own franchise. Stick to your domain in Iraq.
And Adnani came out and said, who are you to talk about the border? This is a transnational, global jihad. You're an old man. We're the new guys on the block.
That took a lot of guts and arrogance, you might say, but he rallied the troops. A lot of people who are in al Qaeda defected and joined ISIS because he was the one saying we're going to establish the state now. Enough waiting. Time is now.
CUOMO: So, we'll wait more confirmation, but if he's gone --
WEISS: Well, ISIS has said he's dead. And they usually would -- I mean, they wouldn't create that --
CUOMO: Doesn't help them. All right. Good.
Michael Weiss, thank you so much for helping us understand this. Appreciate it.
WEISS: Yes.
CUOMO: Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: All right, Chris. The story you and I both covered in Orlando, these frantic calls for help. Orlando police releasing now the 911 calls capturing the panic inside the Pulse nightclub when a terrorist opened fire there. We have a live report, next.
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[06:46:20] CAMEROTA: For the first time, we're hearing the frantic calls for help from inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando after that terrorist opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring dozens of others. Obviously, this is disturbing stuff. If you would like to turn the sound down on your television, now would be the right time.
CNN's Martin Savidge is live in Atlanta with more.
Martin, what's the latest here?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Alisyn.
Well, we've had transcripts of these 911 calls. In other words, you've been able to read the words of 911 callers. This is the first time you're actually going to be able to hear them. They are by no means all of the calls. But they do give us some very strong insight into the chaos and the confusion and the killing.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLER: My girlfriend is hiding in the club Pulse.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): They are the first 911 calls to be heard from the Pulse nightclub attack.
CALLER: He's still in the bathroom and he's bleeding. He got shot. Nobody's going in for him. SAVIDGE: Spanning three hours, beginning minutes after the first
shots are fired.
DISPATCH: How many shots did you hear?
CALLER: More than ten.
SAVIDGE: None of these calls are from inside the club during the shooting. One is from a man who's just managed to escape.
DISPATCH: And you're not injured?
CALLER: No, no, no. I'm fine. We were leaving the club, and then as soon as we left, gunshots were just going like crazy.
SAVIDGE: Others from the family members and friends receiving desperate calls or texts from those inside, relaying to authorities a chilling glimpse of the unfolding horror.
CALLER: One of our friends sent us a text and said that he's been shot and he's in the bathroom and no one sees him.
SAVIDGE: One man overcome with fear and frustration after multiple calls, unloads on the operator, unable to understand why police have not rescued his girlfriend.
CALLER: There are now four dead in the bathroom and two shot. They're bleeding out. If somebody doesn't get there soon, they're going to die.
DISPATCH: OK, sir.
CALLER: And this is like (EXPLETIVE DELETED) fifth time --
(CROSSTALK)
DISPATCH: Sir, we have people there.
SAVIDGE: These are the rollover calls, calls that went to the Orange County sheriff's department after the Orlando 911 call center became overloaded. Operators try to get information.
DISPATCH: Where is your brother located in the club? Did he say?
SAVIDGE: And try to console desperate family members.
DISPATCH: We are in the club. We're searching for everyone. We're pulling victims out.
SAVIDGE: It will be hours more before the world learns the extent of the mass killing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: And again, just so people understand, these were released by the orange county sheriff's office. There are hundreds more of these 911 calls that the Orlando Police Department has. Right now, they're still tied up by the investigation and potential litigation.
But again, just a sampling and they are deeply, deeply moving -- Chris and Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: They are. I mean, they are chilling and to know, because we were down there reporting. The frustration of everyone on the outside saying, why aren't police going in, why aren't they doing more? We're getting cell phone calls from everybody.
And, of course, then the police have their side about how they were trying to methodically box in the terrorist, but it's just -- it brings it all back to hear the calls from that night.
CUOMO: And, Martin, you did a good job with that. It's always a tough call because you're reliving people's worst moments and people will ask why. Again, it is important to remember what's happened. That gives you the momentum to make sure it doesn't happen again.
All right. So, we're going to take a break right now. Donald Trump has a big meeting with Mexico with the president there. What a context after more than a year of heated anti-Mexico rhetoric.
[06:50:01] Who wins in this situation? What happens on the other side of it?
We're going to ask a former Republican official who is supporting Hillary Clinton.
Plus, Mike Pence and Vicente Fox coming up at 8:00 a.m.
NEW DAY, not a show to miss today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMEROTA: Donald Trump making a surprise visit to Mexico today to meet with Mexico's president. Trump accepting the invitation following more than a year of harsh rhetoric against Mexico and its people.
Joining us now is Rosario Marin. She's a Mexican immigrant who became U.S. treasurer under George W. Bush, the first U.S. treasurer ever to be born outside of the U.S. She is a lifelong Republican who recently announced she will vote for Hillary Clinton because she cannot condone Donald Trump.
Ms. Marin, thank you so much for being here.
ROSARIO MARIN, FORMER U.S. TREASURER UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH: Alisyn, it's my pleasure.
CAMEROTA: What do you make of this invitation from the Mexican president to Donald Trump and Donald Trump accepting it?
MARIN: Well, it's very unusual. I've never heard of anything like that happening before. I understand the president of Mexico trying to soften the rhetoric that has taken place. But there is no mistake about this. There is universal condemnation from the people of Mexico to the rhetoric that he has employed from day one of his campaign, specifically against Mexicans.
CAMEROTA: But is that what you think the president of Mexico is doing? You think he's inviting Donald Trump to get Donald Trump to soften his rhetoric?
[06:55:05] MARIN: I would want to believe that is the intention. You know, he is the head of state, unlike the candidate. Something has to happen, Alisyn, you know, this -- this is just unacceptable.
He has taken rhetoric to levels that we have never seen before, against not just immigrants but specifically Mexico. What's unusual toe also is for him accepting it. It's one of two things will happen. He will either go out there and say, "I am really sorry, they're not really all rapists and murderers and criminals" and try to soften that, or he would go out there and say, "I want to tell him to start paying the wall."
It's one of those two things. I don't know which one is going to appear, especially on the eve of the immigration, you know, speech that he's going to give in Arizona no less -- a state that has obviously been very colorful when it comes to immigration.
CAMEROTA: Yes, it will be very interesting to see how his visit with the president colors the immigration speech that Donald Trump gives later on today. Is there any chance that the topic of the wall doesn't come up?
MARIN: Oh, no, there isn't --
CAMEROTA: So they'll discuss it. What could -- I mean, since the president of Mexico has said there's no way that Mexico can or will pay for this wall, what will the outcome of this conversation be on that?
MARIN: I don't know. You know, one thing is for sure. I mean, what the little orange man wants us to do is to be talking about him all the time. That's what we're doing.
So, his strategy of just getting media coverage 24/7 is working. I don't know whether advancing policies that make sense is in his strategy. Obviously, that is not the case.
There is no way he can make Mexico pay for the wall, period. There is no mechanical way. There's no policy that he can cite. There are no laws he can implement to get Mexico to pay more that.
So, that's just nonsense. But it riles his campaign.
CAMEROTA: And, Ms. Marin, when you say the little orange man, I assume that you're referring to Donald Trump. Why won't you use his name?
MARIN: I don't. Just thinking and talking about him makes my stomach ill. So I refuse to call him by his name. CAMEROTA: You also wrote an op-ed for Univision in which you talked
about this is bigger than Donald Trump. You blame the Republican Party for letting him get this far. Let me read a portion of this for our viewers.
"The party left me and my community all alone again. It has had plenty of time to stand up for my community, but it has chosen not to do so. I have come to this devastatingly painful realization that my party doesn't want my vote nor that of my community. Evidently, it is not important or not as important as some other voting bloc."
So, you feel that the Republican Party has shunted aside Hispanics?
MARIN: You know, painfully, I have to say that's just a reality. It just pains me, Alisyn, because I have worked for this party for specifically 22 years, but more so for 32 years I've been voting Republican, ever since I became a U.S. citizen. And to realize that they really don't care about the vote of the Hispanic community, it's just very painful, because otherwise, they would have done something. They would have said publicly, this is something that is completely and totally unacceptable from day one. They chose not to do that.
It comes to the point that he's the nominee by insulting every single group imaginable out there. The party has just let him ride this.
This has been just very painful, and I will not be part of that. I am from California. I was here when 187 happened. I have seen the devastation to the Republican Party in California, having that kind of rhetoric, alienating an increasingly important part of our voting groups, especially the Hispanic community. For the national party not to understand and realize that we are losing this voting bloc is just painful.
CAMEROTA: Rosario Marin, thank you so much for coming on NEW DAY and sharing your thoughts this morning.
MARIN: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: All right. We're following a lot of 's get right to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHANTING)
VICENTE FOX, FORMER PRESIDENT OF MEXICO: I'm not going to pay for that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) wall.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: This is going to be your victory. It's going to be your victory. It's going to be your victory.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump heading south of the border today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to get rid of the criminals. You have to secure the border.
TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.
