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Can Libertarian Ticket Survive "Aleppo" Gaffe?; Trump: Putin a Better Leader Than Obama; North Korea Claims to Have Conducted Another Nuclear Test. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired September 09, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: So you just heard from Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld as the clock ticks on them qualifying for the upcoming presidential debates. Was the Aleppo misstep by Johnson a disqualifier?

For more on this and much more, let's bring in CNN political commentator and host of CNNs "SMERCONISH", Michael Smerconish. Good morning, Michael.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, HOST, CNN "SMERCONISH": Good morning.

CAMEROTA: OK, so the Aleppo thing where Gary Johnson didn't immediately know what was being referred to with Aleppo, is that a hiccup? Is that a disqualifier? How do you categorize it?

SMERCONISH: I think it's an embarrassment. And I think that the timing is terrible because we're, right now, in that crunch period, as you and Chris have pointed out, where the polls that will determine who gets on the debate stage are about to be commissioned. But I don't think it's a disqualifier.

I want them on that debate stage. I think that they would provide a valuable service to the nation if they were on that stage and presenting their message of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism. I happen to think that's where the majority of the nation stands and that those viewpoints won't be represented unless Johnson and Weld are on that stage, so I hope they can get past this.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: What does it mean when you don't immediately identify Aleppo as the northern city, as the epicenter, as where the refugee crisis is -- when it doesn't trigger that in you right away? What does that mean as someone who wants to be president?

SMERCONISH: I think he probably -- well, I'll give you two responses. One is I think he probably had a brain freeze. He should have known. I am not making an excuse but when you parse the tape and you look at Barnicle asking the question, it was offered without context. And I think that if it had been explained as what do you think of the situation in Syria relative to Aleppo you'd have gotten an answer from Gary Johnson.

But Chris, here's the second answer. I think -- and this has not been discussed. I think it also shows that this is a ticket not fixated on what's going on in the Middle East. And maybe that's not a bad thing because one of the hallmarks of the Libertarian ticket is to say we don't want to so many foreign entanglements. And so that was another message I took away from it.

And third, as Gov. Weld pointed out, when "The New York Times" has to publish two corrections to its own story on this gaffe and explain what Aleppo is, it tells you that Gary Johnson has a lot of company.

CAMEROTA: Well, speaking of which, Michael, I mean, after all of the misstatements or at least confusing statements that Donald Trump has made for the past year, this is going to get rid of -- one thing, one word -- Aleppo is going to get rid of Gary Johnson? I mean, what are the rules in this campaign?

SMERCONISH: It's true, and there was a radio interview that Trump gave very early on in the candidacy where there was a word association and a name association that he played and he lost, and it was not a setback. Look, again, it's a gaffe, it's an embarrassment. He should have known. Having said that, I think it's the sort of an issue that fixates those of us in the chattering class and I don't think will resonate among Americans.

And my cards are on the table. I'm not saying I'm voting for Johnson- Weld, but I do want them on the debate stage. These are two eminently qualified individuals. They bring more executive experience than either of the other tickets. And I think that they deserve to be there by virtue of the fact that they're going to be on all 50 state ballots.

And yes, Chris, you're right. One hundred or so other people are running but they're not going to be on 50 state ballots.

CUOMO: Now look, that's a fair point. And as you well know, nobody's been more accommodating of the ticket than we have here on NEW DAY --

SMERCONISH: I know.

CUOMO: -- and at CNN. But I think you should prepare for disappointment because the Commission's going to say, as they've said in the past, we have to draw a line and that number is still so low. They're still trending under 10 most of the time, and a lot of this is optics.

Let me ask you about a different dynamic, though, that should be more obvious. Do you think, in an election where we would have lost bets all day long about what might happen, that you would ever hear a Republican, who takes the name of Ronald Reagan as something holy on a regular basis, say that the leader of Russia is superior to the president of the United States?

SMERCONISH: I'm wondering how those comments play. I've been shocked that this cozy relationship that he has enjoyed with Putin, thus far, has not had blowback. And now I'm wondering about the other events that you're reporting on, this situation in the overnight with North Korea. Maybe it's just me, but I draw an association between nations like

Russia and nations like North Korea as not being friendly toward the United States. Might, today, Americans say you know, maybe it's not such a good thing when Donald Trump is speaking well of Vladimir Putin at a time when there's been some type of a nuclear test in North Korea. Is that really the kind of posture we want our leader to adopt?

[07:35:00] CAMEROTA: OK, so the Putin comments. Then we had the candidate forum about commander in chief. We had more Clinton email stuff bubble up this week. We had Hillary Clinton taking a real press conference -- I mean, press conferences, meeting with the press, fielding dozens of questions this week. Who do you think was up and down this week? Who do you think won the week?

SMERCONISH: OK, on substance I would say her. And yet, overall, you're going to be surprised, I'm giving it to him. When that CNN/ORC survey came out immediately post-Labor Day, even though it was our survey I was kind of dubious of it. I mean, what does it really mean that it's a national survey and he's up by two?

And my question was what's going on in the swing states? OK, she's still leading in the swing states but those gaps have narrowed. And so, at the end of the week, this critical first week post-Labor Day when he is narrowing the gap, he's got to be doing something right. I'm not sure what the hell it is but he must be doing something right.

CAMEROTA: Michael Smerconish, always great to get your insights on a Friday. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend.

SMERCONISH: You, too.

CAMEROTA: And you can check out "SMERCONISH" Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

CUOMO: Hillary Clinton -- we were just talking about her and there's no question she's dealing with criticism herself following the commander-in-chief forum. But did the Republican National Committee chair cross the line with what he tweeted? It is a debate about gender and how it's playing in the race, next.

[07:36:25] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:39:50] CAMEROTA: Hillary Clinton got some criticism after Wednesday's commander-in-chief forum and not all of it was about her answers. RNC chair Reince Priebus tweeted "@Hillary Clinton was angry + defensive the entire time - no smile and uncomfortable." Donald Trump has also said Clinton lacks a "presidential look". Lots of people consider these not so veiled sexist remarks.

[07:40:00] Let's bring in two of them. Joining us now to discuss is CNN political analyst and "USA Today" columnist, Kirsten Powers and CNN political commentator and contributor for "The Atlantic", Peter Beinart. Great to have you both.

Kirsten, let me start with you. What did you hear in Reince Priebus' tweet of she wasn't smiling?

KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: Well, look, was Donald Trump smiling? I don't remember that. And I think that -- I think a lot of women hear that and they think -- they think that it's sexist. This expectation that she's supposed to be smiling while she's talking about very serious issues while she's, frankly, kind of under attack by the moderator.

And look, this isn't the Miss America pageant. This is a -- this is a serious forum to talk about serious issues. And it is a double standard, I think, that we have this expectation that she's supposed to be smiling and -- somehow in a way that we don't expect Donald Trump to be doing.

CAMEROTA: Yes. You know, you sent out a tweet, Kirsten, right away that said, "You have no idea how sick women are of being told to 'smile' by men." I sometimes want to slap people who tell me to smile.

POWERS: Yes, exactly, and I don't think people realize it's not just -- it can happen to a woman and you're just standing on the street and somebody walks by and they're like, smile. And it's like why, I'm just standing here. You know, it's not -- or when I'm having a serious conversation on a panel with other men and people will be tweeting me why aren't you smiling? It's like, I don't know. Why am I not smiling when I'm talking about Syrian children being killed? I -- you know -- it's a serious topic and the men aren't smiling.

CAMEROTA: I know, we get it all the time. I mean, it's really valuable that you're pointing that out -- how often we are told that as women --

POWERS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- and as women, obviously, in the public eye. Peter, what's your take on this? I mean, you know, a lot of men don't like Hillary Clinton, but how do you know that that's sexism? Maybe they just don't like her?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, CONTRIBUTOR, THE ATLANTIC: Right. Look, Hillary Clinton is not perfect. I've written critically about her, myself. But, her unfavorable ratings among white men are off the charts, 20 or 30 points higher than the unfavorability ratings among white men for Barack Obama and John Kerry when they ran. I don't think you can explain that simply by her email scandal or the Clinton Foundation. In fact, PolitiFact says she's been an unusually truthful candidate.

I read, for this piece I wrote in "The Atlantic", dozens and dozens of studies about the way that both men and women respond to women in power and I have to say I was appalled. I was -- there's so much evidence that people respond differently to women in power. One study --

CAMEROTA: Yes, give us -- BEINART: A fictional male state senator and fictional female senator, right? The people in the study are supposed to read a biography of them and it says that this politician is ambitious. No negative reaction to the fictional male state senator. Outrage at the female state senator.

Men who are hired by female supervisors negotiate more aggressively over money than those who are hired by men. Men are more likely to send pornography, in these studies, to women who describe themselves as feminists than women who don't. There is so much evidence that helps us understand. Again, not to say Hillary Clinton is perfect, but to understand the totality of the outrage that she's experiencing -- the academic literature helps us understand it and it's frightening.

CAMEROTA: Kirsten, when you dive into that then you get a real flavor for what she and any female politicians or leaders are up against.

POWERS: Yes, look -- and also, she did this essay or a post on something called "Humans of New York" talking about how -- why she seems walled off and how she took responsibility --

CAMEROTA: And you know, we have that. I mean, that's really done.

POWERS: -- for that.

CAMEROTA: I want to get to that, Kirsten --

POWERS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- because this was an interesting venue that she chose. I mean, this isn't a network, this is an Instagram account, "The Humans of New York". And she said something really insightful. She said, "I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions. And that's a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don't want to seem 'walled off'." I mean, what a window into how Hillary Clinton has conducted herself.

POWERS: Yes, and also I have to say when I was reading it, though, it really made me angry that she -- and again, I'm not a huge Hillary Clinton defender, per se. I think there are plenty of things to criticize her about. But as a woman it's very upsetting to see her having to make excuses for basically behaving the way most men behave.

And, you know, so she has to explain -- and again, she's saying I'm taking responsibility. For what? She hasn't done anything wrong. She doesn't have an obligation to be emotional in public. If you look at Donald Trump, I mean, does anybody really feel that Donald Trump really cares about them?

I mean, I don't -- the idea that somehow she has to prove that in a way that he doesn't have to, it's just -- you know, it's just extremely frustrating that we are constantly demanding this from her and we're not demanding it from the male politicians. [07:45:00] CAMEROTA: Peter, is that -- I mean, has your research shown that the fact that voters want her to emote more and want her to seem less walled off -- sometimes people say robotic -- is that about her being a woman or is it that her personality is not giving as much as some other politicians like, say, her husband?

BEINART: You know, the most remarkable thing that I found in all these studies I've read is the impact of the way you are being perceived has on the way women actually act when they're in power because women in positions of power are not given legitimacy, in general, that men are.

And, tragically, that could actually produce -- this is a study by a professor at Yale -- a kind of self-reinforcing cycle in which -- because you are not perceived as legitimate, because you know you are being judged by a different standard, it can make you more defensive and it can actually have a negative impact on the way you behave.

I think if you look at the Hillary Clinton scandals going back to the 1990s, the pattern you see is that it starts with something relatively small and she reacts defensively and she makes the problem worse. And I think part of that has to -- again, I'm not excusing her for everything. Part of that has to do with that she always has been judged by a different standard and she has responded to that. And I think that's part of what you're seeing in that post.

CAMEROTA: Look, it's a really interesting hypothesis and interesting research. Everybody should read Peter Beinart's piece in "The Atlantic". What's your take on all of this? You can tweet us @NewDay or post your comment on facebook.com/NewDay. I'm going to go over and arm wrestle Chris Cuomo now.

BEINART: (Laughing)

CUOMO: And smile while you beat me. Smile while you beat me. The latest snapshot from some key swing states is showing a tightening race with just 60 days to go until voters hit the polls. We're going to show you the numbers and try and figure out what's moving them and where the leverage is in these neck-and-neck contests.

CAMEROTA: But first, a programming note. In a pair of documentaries, CNN talks to the people closest to Hillary Clinton and to Donald Trump to learn more about them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I accept your nomination.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For the presidency of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "THE ESSENTIAL HILLARY CLINTON".

CLINTON: We are stronger together in charting a course for the future. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "THE ESSENTIAL DONALD TRUMP".

TRUMP: I love you and we will make America great again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All on one blockbuster night. Clinton has been called the most famous person no one knows.

CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER OF HILLARY CLINTON: I never understand that. It's so clear to me who my mother is. She never forgets who she's fighting for and she's fighting, first and foremost, for children and for families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump has a passion for business and the spotlight.

DONALD TRUMP, JR., SON OF DONALD TRUMP: No one's going to outwork him. No one's got more energy than him.

IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: He always said to us, find what it is that you're passionate about and pursue it with your full heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their stories from the people who know them best. CNN special report, Donald Trump at 8:00, Hillary Clinton at 10:00.CNN, tomorrow night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:48:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:50] CUOMO: The numbers, the numbers, the polls, there's so many. What do they mean? We've got you covered. There are new poll numbers out right now. We showed you some earlier in the week. The race for the White House between Trump and Clinton is tightening, period. But why, and how will it impact on what you see going forward? And how does the electoral college map play into this? That's a real question.

We're going to get some great insight right now with CNN's political director, David Chalian. It is good to have you with us, Professor. You have these new polls out. You've got Quinnipiac, you've got some key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's right.

CUOMO: Take us through them with an eye toward whether or not they reflect what we saw in our national numbers.

CHALIAN: Well, listen, this is a tight race and these are battleground states for a reason, Chris, right? We expect this to be where the battle is joined by both candidates. Let's look at those new poll numbers by Quinnipiac.

In Pennsylvania, a key state, we see Hillary Clinton 44 percent, Trump 39 percent. Five-point lead there for Hillary Clinton. Take a look at Ohio. You see here Trump has a four-point lead, 41 percent to 37 percent. Now we're going to look at Florida -- this is a dead heat in these Quinnipiac polls -- 43 percent, 43 percent. It doesn't get tighter than that, Chris.

And in North Carolina, we got two polls out yesterday. First, in Quinnipiac, showed Clinton up four, and then a Suffolk University poll showed the reverse result. Had Trump plus three in North Carolina, again showing that that is going to be a critical battleground state.

CUOMO: North Carolina -- OK, now we had heard a lot of favorable talk about that state going Democrat from the national party just a week or so ago. Where's that stand?

CHALIAN: Well listen, North Carolina is that state that Barack Obama was able to flip from red to blue in 2008 and then he lost it to Mitt Romney in 2012, so this has been on the Clinton campaign target list. They really want to bring that back to the Democratic column. You've seen both candidates there quite a bit, including Hillary Clinton yesterday in Charlotte. But that's going to be one of the key factors here.

And when you look at the electoral map, Chris, because this is what matters is the path to 270. This is our latest assessment of sort of red state leaning, blue state leaning, and the remaining battleground. And you see here, if it goes this way, Hillary Clinton is already above the 270 that she needs, meaning that Donald Trump could win all of these yellow states and still not get there. He's going to need to dig into Hillary Clinton's territory.

Let's just give him Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio, the three states that we just looked at in the polls. He was ahead in Ohio, he was ahead in one poll in North Carolina, they were tied in Florida. You see, he's still not there. Again, he could get Nevada and Iowa, too, and he wouldn't be there. So --

CUOMO: So --

CHALIAN: -- he has to get something like Pennsylvania. If he had Pennsylvania --

CUOMO: OK, that's what I was going to ask you. So why is Pennsylvania so important?

CHALIAN: Well, listen it is the -- it's a big prize. It's 20 electoral votes and this has been a state that's gone Democratic since 1988 but you know that we have seen a ton of activity there. We're going to see Clinton surrogates out there today. I believe both Bill Clinton and Elizabeth Warren are out campaigning in Pennsylvania. Chelsea Clinton was just there. So the Democrats are not taking this one granted.

[07:55:00] And it's key because of its size. This -- if he -- if Donald Trump can flip Pennsylvania, Chris, he opens up new paths to 270 that, at the moment, seem blocked off to him.

CUOMO: All right, let's just geek out on this for one more second. CHALIAN: OK.

CUOMO: If he loses Pennsylvania it's still not over for him if you put into the calculus some swings in the Rust Belt. What can he do there to make up, even if he loses Pennsylvania, electorally?

CHALIAN: Well, right. So, Wisconsin and Michigan -- add those together. That's 26 electoral votes so that can overtake the 20 in Pennsylvania. And you're right, if he loses Pennsylvania but is able to dig into a place like Michigan and Wisconsin, that could be very helpful.

But you've got to imagine, if Donald trump is winning in places like Michigan and Wisconsin he's probably darn close to making Pennsylvania in his column, as well. I would imagine that Pennsylvania might be an easier target for him to try to make some inroads that Michigan or Wisconsin, which have been trending a bit more Democrat.

CUOMO: Mr. math, let me ask you this. Why don't we see the things that he says registering in the polls more? Even a week like this -- we'll see new numbers by the middle of next week -- him saying that Putin is a better leader than Obama. In the past you would have said holy cow, it's a death sentence for a Republican. Probably not this time. What's the disconnect?

CHALIAN: Here's where I think we have seen it, Chris. When Donald Trump says something that is controversial that divides the Republican Party, much like after the controversy about the Gold Star family -- the Kahn family -- that's where you see him suffer a bit in the polls because he doesn't have that fortified base of support of all Republicans.

I heard a lot of Republicans yesterday concerned about his Putin comments. I don't know if we'll see that reflected in the next round of polls. As you said, we don't have polling that indicates a reaction to those comments just yet. But if the party divides on something he says that tends to hurt him more than just generic controversial things he would say.

CUOMO: Little surprise we haven't seen a more active and exercised John McCain about Trump's Putin talk, given how strong and negative his feelings are towards that Communist leader. All right, David Chalian, thank you for making us smarter, as always.

CHALIAN: Thanks, Chris.

CUOMO: The numbers matter. There's a lot of news that will affect those numbers, so let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: North Korea launching its most powerful nuclear test yet.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will continue to put some of the toughest pressure that North Korea has even been under.

TRUMP: We have a man who now it looks like he's getting more and more hostile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Successful test makes him, now, a nuclear power.

CLINTON: He prefers the Russian president to our American president. That is not just unpatriotic, it is scary, it is dangerous.

TRUMP: He is really very much of a leader.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country and that's going to change the day Donald Trump becomes president.

TRUMP: In Iraq, I opposed going in. And I opposed the reckless way Hillary Clinton took us out.

CLINTON: He is on record as supporting it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to your new day. It is Friday, September 9th, 8:00 in the East, and we do have breaking news overnight.

A seismic event detected in North Korea, allegedly it's most powerful nuclear test yet. The test leading the U.N. Security Council to call for an emergency meeting this morning.

CAMEROTA: Kim Jong-un's government says it can now make nuclear warheads small enough to mount on a missile. Many worry that missile could reach the U.S.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is here in the studio with more. Barbara, great to have you here. Are they right? Are their claims right?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what we don't know right now. But the fact that they're making this claim is so significant. North Korea is saying it tested a nuclear warhead. You have to have a miniaturized warhead to put on a missile to put on a launcher that could eventually attack the United States.

This puts them further down the path of being able to do all of that. The U.S. intelligence community, I have to tell you, for the last several weeks has been increasingly concerned. They are seeing North Korea do test after test after test and the tests are working. They are just simply having more and more success. They're having a lot of success with their missile tests and it is unsettling the region.

You can bet on the fact that South Korea and Japan, right now, are pretty much on a continuous state of some type of missile alert at all times. The North Koreans are firing missiles towards Japan. And this puts the Obama administration in a very difficult position. What do you do about all of this, you know? You going to call Kim

Jong-un on the phone and say please don't or we'll have more sanctions. The U.N. meets in a couple of hours. They're in New York this morning. Hard to see where this goes.

CUOMO: Is there any measure to be made in finding those who are helping, right, because one of the suspicions is they're not coming up with all this technological advancement on their own.

STARR: Right. So, you know, we're not casting stones at anybody but typically in the past Iran, Pakistan have been known to help with nuclear programs around the world. But this time it's difficult to say.