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Consistency in Way Electorate Dividing Between Clinton and Trump; The Faces of Heroin Addiction in America; Hillary Clinton Being Treated for Pneumonia; interview with Rep. Michael McCaul. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired September 12, 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] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANHOR: Johnson, again, heavy at 12.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: And then, Georgia, Trump is ahead --

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

CAMEROTA: -- 44 to 42 percent. What do you see in these states?

BROWNSTEIN: Right. So for all the turmoil and tumult in this race there's actual enormous consistency in the way the electorate is dividing around these two candidates. And it's those demographic patterns that are driving the geographic patterns.

We see Donald Trump's coalition, his blue collar whites, older whites, non-urban whites. Hillary in a -- struggling among millennials and minorities. And he's underperforming any Republican ever -- literally ever -- among college-educated white voters, trailing again among them in "The Washington Post", like I said.

So what that means -- what that translates into is when you look at the Rust Belt swing states that are predominantly white, heavily blue collar, whether it's Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, to some extent. Pennsylvania, he hopes. New Hampshire, he's competitive there.

He is underperforming Republicans in many of the Sun Belt swing states. Virginia and Colorado, which have been traditional costly fought battlegrounds are pretty much off the boards this year. Those are states that are younger, more diverse, and more white collar. North Carolina heavily in play. And then what you see is Arizona and Georgia, which have not been competitive states, coming in because they fit the same profile --

CAMEROTA: So what does that mean --

BROWNSTEIN: -- Georgia tougher.

CAMEROTA: -- in terms of Rust Belt versus Sun Belt? Which ones wins in terms of numbers?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you can win either way. Clinton still has the upper hand in the electoral college because basically if you take the states that have been reliably Democratic -- what I call the blue wall -- 18 states that have voted Democratic since '92 -- 242 electoral college votes -- you add to them New Mexico, Colorado, and Virginia, you are knocking at the door. She could lose Ohio, and Florida, and North Carolina and still win this race.

CUOMO: The inside the numbers will be interesting. September 6th to 8th -- 5th to 8th is when these polls were done. That's before capturing the Johnson mistake about not knowing Aleppo. It's before all these health concerns.

BROWNSTEIN: And it's worth noting, Chris, that the biggest falloff from Hillary Clinton from the Obama coalition are millennials. They don't like Donald Trump -- high, high unfavorables. But she is -- Trump may have a 75 percent unfavorable. She's pulling only about 45- 50 percent among millennials because that is where Johnson --

CUOMO: That's what Johnson is grabbing.

BROWNSTEIN: Johnson's grabbing the biggest share of his vote and that is the biggest -- that may be the easiest piece for her to move back in her direction. But look, until Trump solves his problem with college-educated white voters -- again, trailing 46-40 in "The Washington Post" yesterday -- 62 percent say he's not qualified to be president. Almost 60 percent say he's racially biased. Until he solves that it is very hard for him to get to the low 40's -- into the mid or high 40's and truly threaten her.

CAMEROTA: Ron Brownstein, thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Great to see you.

CUOMO: And you know what could help both candidates? Talking about one of the biggest scourges in this country, one of the biggest risks to our health that nobody's doing enough about. America's heroin epidemic. Now exposed in a way that some people are criticizing.

(Video playing) Who are these parents passed in front of their kid, in the backseat, from a heroin overdose? This is what the reality all over this country looks like for far too many. We're going to talk to the people who made this decision. It's being called controversial. Do you think it is -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:36:55] CAMEROTA: This is a shocking picture. You're about to see two adults passed out from a heroin overdose in the front seat of their car, but what might be most shocking about this image is the small child that you see behind them. Defenseless, strapped into his car seat, four years old.

Officials in the small city of East Liverpool, Ohio, one of many communities facing a heroin epidemic, released this picture to show what they say they deal with every day. And we are now joined by two of the people who decided to release this image. We have East Liverpool service safety director Brian Allen and police chief John Lane.

Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here.

CHIEF JOHN LANE, EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you.

BRIAN ALLEN, SERVICE SAFETY DIRECTOR, EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Guys, when I saw this picture -- I mean, mission accomplished. I stopped what I was doing on Friday night when I saw this and I just tried to read everything that I could about the scenario behind this picture because it is so haunting. I didn't know if the woman was dead. I mean, they're discolored. It looks like something out of a horror movie. Chief, why did you decide to release this to the public?

LANE: Well, we need to raise awareness to it. People do not understand what this drug is doing and how it affects the families overall and the little kids that get caught up in this. We need to do everything we can to try to raise that awareness and help these kids and the families.

CAMEROTA: And so, Mr. Allen, it did grab people's attention. It certainly grabbed mine. It grabbed everybody who sees this haunting photo. But now what? I mean, we know that there's a heroin epidemic. What's the call to action here?

ALLEN: I think the call to action is for the communities to get involved. The non-drug using public to actually get involved and help their neighbor -- help people out. We need some help at the state and federal level. They've kind of forgot about us little guys on the -- in the big picture and we need some help.

CAMEROTA: Chief, what was the internal debate that you two had about whether or not to release this photo, particularly since this is a family and there's a little boy in the back seat.

LANE: Well, you obviously have concerns for the child. After we sat and we thought about it and debated over it, it would be in the best interest and it will get him the help that he needs. Get him out of that environment and get him where he needs to be, in a safe environment and a loving environment.

CAMEROTA: Mr. Allen, can you tell us the back story of this photo and how it came to happen? Why did officers know to pull over this car?

ALLEN: The car was driving erratically behind a school bus believe it or not, of all things. And when the school bus stopped -- the officer was actually on his way into work and he stopped behind the vehicle. When the school bus pulled out the vehicle continued on very slowly but then came to a stop. So the officer immediately exited his vehicle, approached the car, and he actually put the car in park and shut the car off.

CAMEROTA: And then he decided --

ALLEN: And it was on a very steep hill.

CAMEROTA: It was on a steep hill and he was drivingerratically and he saw the child in the back. And then what compelled him to take these pictures?

[07:40:00] ALLEN: That officer didn't take these pictures. He immediately attended to both of the victims in the front seat, radioed for additional help, and called for an ambulance to the scene. This was a third officer who responded to the scene who actually took these photographs.

CAMEROTA: And what happened to this couple?

ALLEN: The driver of the vehicle has plead guilty and received a sentence of 360 days in jail. The passenger plead not guilty and has a hearing this week.

CAMEROTA: I mean, had they not been pulled over, would they have OD'd? I mean, would this couple have died had the officer not intervened here?

ALLEN: Oh, most definitely and, quite possibly, could have injured quite a few more children who had just stepped off that school bus.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh. Chief, what do you need to fight the heroin epidemic? Beyond awareness, and this really brings it home -- this picture that you released -- but what more can you do?

LANE: We need the resources to battle this. We need to be in the schools where we can educate students from kindergarten all the way through high school. We need to have a place to put -- when we get ahold of somebody like this, a treatment facility, whether it be in a hospital or even in the jails. Like this guy got sentenced to 360 days. He needs to be treated for this and shown how to break free from this addiction.

It just needs to be -- have the resources to fix the problem. Putting a Band-Aid on something that's as bad as a bullet hole is not going to get it done. We need to be able to help these people and follow them all the way through so they can get completely broken away from this addiction.

CAMEROTA: Have this man and woman talked about knowing that they are featured in this photo? Have they talked about that you saved their lives?

LANE: No.

CAMEROTA: It would be fascinating to know how they feel today and we will be very interested in following their course and, hopefully, their recovery. Chief Lane, Mr. Allen, thank you very much for sharing what's going on in your town with us.

ALLEN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: I'd love to know what you think about that. You can find me on Twitter @AlisynCamerota. Let's get to Chris.

CUOMO: People like them all over this country. Every community, no matter where you are, is dealing with that same problem. And if you check and see how many detox centers you have you're going to be disappointed.

All right, so there was a big revelation from Hillary Clinton's doctor. The Democratic nominee is being treated for pneumonia. Coming up, what we know about her diagnosis. More importantly, what we don't know. Health is now a focus in this campaign. We have two of the oldest candidates ever hoping to be president. Let's bring back Dr. Sanjay Gupta and get the real deal on Clinton and what we should know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:00] CUOMO: All right, so here's what we know. Hillary Clinton left the 9/11 memorial in New York City on Sunday after becoming overheated and dehydrated. (Video playing) And then we saw this video. This is not just overheated and dehydrated. She was obviously struggling. She had to be carried into that van.

We then learned that the candidate is being treated for pneumonia. She was diagnosed last Friday. We only learned about it yesterday. This raises the question of what we don't know about Clinton and Donald Trump.

We're joined right now by CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Let's start with Clinton and we'll -- and we'll work backwards on her and then outward to, in general, what we don't know. Pneumonia -- are you satisfied now that that would explain what we saw in the video?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think it's probably a combination of things. I think it could still make sense. We don't have all the information still. We don't know what type of pneumonia this is, we don't know the particular bacteria that's causing it. And that stuff's important because some are easier to treat than others and they have longer recuperative time periods and can cause more symptoms.

But, pneumonia in general, in combination with the medication that she's been taking for thyroid, the antihistamine that she's been taking which can be quite sedating, it could make sense. Somebody could be quite affected by that.

CAMEROTA: Meaning the stumble --

GUPTA: The stumble.

CAMEROTA: -- that you see there as she gets into her van. Couldn't that -- I mean, what does that look like to you? Somebody who is faint?

GUPTA: It looked -- well, first of all, it was quite noticeable, right? This wasn't -- this wasn't equivocal at all. And she's, first of all, supporting herself it looks --

CUOMO: And I don't know that it really meets the definition of stumble. I mean, they had to help her into the van. Stumble is like you trip off the curb.

GUPTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Stumble is you miss a step. Not have two people carry you into a van. I mean, she looked like she was out on her feet.

GUPTA: It's very noticeable. I would say this. When someone becomes profoundly dehydrated, which can happen, you can lower your blood pressure. In athletes they call it bonking --

CUOMO: Yes.

GUPTA: -- for example, and that can really be significant. So whether it was something like that or something more we don't know, but it could be explained by pneumonia which causes you to have a fever and you become dehydrated. Thyroid medication can sometimes increase your heat intolerance so you feel overheated. Antihistamines can dry you out and make you sedate. So again, a combination of things, perhaps.

CUOMO: But let's be honest about why it raises a question specifically --

GUPTA: Yes.

CUOMO: -- with Clinton. It's not an oh, this is very interesting what pneumonia can do. This is oh, she's light on her feet again. This reminds us of the blood clot in 2012, or what was called the blood clot in 2012 -- the ones earlier. Look at your screen right now. Sanjay helped us work this out just to get a little touch of the history. Ninety-eight, blood clot right leg; 2009, blood clot legs; 2012, concussion; 2102, blood clot, head.

Now, you raise an interesting question. You said that at the time of 2012 when he got the blood clot she was on blood thinners --

GUPTA: Yes.

CUOMO: -- and that was interesting to you, you explained to me, because usually that would keep you from getting a blood clot.

GUPTA: Yes, it's an interesting point and I don't want to make more out of it than maybe we should because I don't know what it means. But if you're on blood thinners one of the biggest concerns is that if you fall and hit your head you're going to have a bleed in the brain. It's a huge concern. Anytime doctors put someone on a blood thinner we always have to counsel them about this.

When she hit her head in 2012 while on blood thinners, from what we hear from her medical report she did not have a bleed in her head, she actually developed a clot in one of the blood vessels around her brain. Why she would do that, even on blood thinners, is still a little bit of an unknown. I don't know that we can read anything into it.

We do know that subsequent to that she had testing of both her brain and the clot, and by her doctor's account they both were fine. The blood clot had resolved and she had no lingering effects from the concussion -- the brain injury.

CAMEROTA: So she had to wear the glasses. I mean, she had the double vision and she had to wear the glasses for a longer time than we knew how long these symptoms were.

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, so the follow-up testing was done about a year later so we know at least at the year later point she seemed to be fine, according to her medical reports. But you're right, the prism glasses, for example, that's usually an indication that someone has had double vision. Maybe they've had some sort of injury to one of the nerves that controls the eyes. That's why you typically wear those types of glasses.

This was not an insignificant injury. She seems to have recovered but it wasn't an insignificant injury, just like pneumonia is not an insignificant diagnosis. It is still a serious diagnosis. Eminently treatable, absolutely. A lot of people get it, certainly in this age group, but it is still a serious diagnosis.

CUOMO: Now, Sanjay was trying to raise this issue, in fairness to him, when we got the Trump silly letter about his health. You know, you were -- you know, we know you. You were trying to be reasonable about it, but it bothered you that something as important as the health of two of the oldest candidates we've had for president was being kind of joked off by this medical letter.

GUPTA: That's right.

CUOMO: You believe the time has come that the voters know what they're buying when it comes to these people.

GUPTA: I think -- I think -- look, there is a balance here. I think people are entitled to some degree of privacy when it comes to things. I think anything that affects the performance of the job. So certainly heart, lungs, brain, things like that that affect not only how someone's judgment maybe, but their overall health. I think those things are important.

[07:50:00] I think that whether it's releasing the medical records to an independent panel of doctors who are not doctors that are also your friends because I think that does -- that does make the relationship a little bit more challenging.

CAMEROTA: As we've seen --

GUPTA: As we've seen.

CAMEROTA: -- from Donald Trump's doctor who says he's in spectacular health -- the best ever.

GUPTA: Astonishing. CAMEROTA: Astonishing.

GUPTA: Astonishingly spectacular.

CAMEROTA: But Sanjay, let me ask you this because just this morning, in the past hour, Donald Trump has said that he just had a check-up --

GUPTA: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- and he's going to release the results of that. Is that enough, from one check-up? Will that be satisfactory?

GUPTA: You know, I think that it depends how the doctor sort of summarizes it. As part of the check-up, what the doctor will typically do is look at all the medical records and then be able to really develop some conclusions.

I still think the medical records are better and here's why. You know, we doctors, like journalists, want to have more information certainly, but there are things that you can sort of conclude from looking at medical records.

John McCain -- Sen. McCain, in 2008, released all of his medical records to a few reporters and let us into a room and just look at them for several hours. And there were things about those medical records that had never been reported, never been told. They weren't part of any kind of summary.

CAMEROTA: Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: Got it, thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right, well, 15 years after the September 11th attacks the threat of terror obviously very real. Are we safer? Let's discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:54:55] CAMEROTA: It has been 15 years, of course, since the September 11th attacks, so are we any safer today than we were then? Here's what Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says keeps him up at night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEH JOHNSON, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: There this new phenomenon now of the terrorist-inspired attack, the lone wolf, and that's the thing that presents the challenge most directly from our -- for our homeland. It's, frankly, the thing that keeps me up at night and it requires the whole of government response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now is House Homeland Security chairman Mike McCaul, just taking his seat.

REP. MIKE MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: Just in the nick of time.

CAMEROTA: Wow, we are cutting it close. Congressman, thank you very much for being here. He's a Republican from Texas who has endorsed and advised Donald Trump. Great to see you.

MCCAUL: Yes, and thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: Thanks for rushing in.

MCCAUL: Sure.

CAMEROTA: Are we safer today than we were 15 years ago?

MCCAUL: Well, I think we're in the highest threat environment since 9/11 but the threat has changed. Prior to 9/11, bin Laden, spectacular events but as communications were different, Kays (ph) and couriers today.

We have a new generation of terrorists who are very savvy on the Internet. They know how to recruit, train, and radicalize from within, so they've recruited 40,000 foreign fighters from 120 different countries. And they radicalize people from within the United States over the Internet.

That's the greatest challenge I think that federal law enforcement has today versus pre-9/11.Now, having said that we've created a lot of apparatus, both on aviation security, intelligence sharing, that has made us much safer.

CAMEROTA: So, are you comforted by that or are you anxious at night?

MCCAUL: I'm always worried because I get the briefings and I hear about the numbers of plots going up against the West. The number of individuals arrested in the United States -- over 100, now, ISIS followers. And we have a thousand investigations in all 50 states. It's a global phenomenon over the Internet and that's what worries me the most.

CAMEROTA: Hillary Clinton sat down with Chris Cuomo this weekend to talk about what she thinks the biggest threat is and what she thinks the honest conversation that needs to happen with the American public is, so I want to play you a portion of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that if there are ways to do business with Russia we should always be open. That's what the reset accomplished. We stand by our friends and allies. We're willing to work with anybody including, of course, Putin. I've had many conversations with Putin. But we're not going to do it by just rolling over and adopting his wish list, which is exactly what Donald Trump has done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, that is not the sound bite that I was hoping for. I wanted to tell you what she was saying about ISIS, so let me quickly read you that.

She says, "It's time for a candid, honest conversation about what we face because it's not just ISIS. I think it's intensifying our efforts against ISIS could lead to their defeat but it is a basically generational struggle. It's violent Jihadism." Is it time to just say we're not going to be able to wipe out ISIS overnight? It's not going to be a bombing campaign that works.

MCCAUL: Well, I don't think it's mutually exclusive. We need a military strategy -- we haven't had one in four years -- to deal with ISIS at its root core, and that's the Islamic State. But I think I agree with her in the sense that the political diplomatic solution is important, but the counter-narrative to the ideology.

This is a long-term generational struggle, not unlike what we had with Communism. We were going against an ideology when we had Communism raging. President Kennedy called it a long twilight struggle. That's what we're facing today, I think. The American people need to understand that. It's not going to go away tomorrow. It is going to be a generational fight and it's one that's over ideas that drone strikes alone cannot kill.

CAMEROTA: OK, now let's talk about Vladimir Putin. You had a conversation with Donald Trump recently, maybe even a couple of days ago, about Vladimir Putin. What did he say?

MCCAUL: Well, I was with him at the 9/11 memorial service -- a very moving ceremony. Both presidential candidates were there. I think we all advise caution with Mr. Putin. Mr. Putin is not our friend. He doesn't always have our best interest at heart.

CAMEROTA: So then -- I mean, what do you think about Donald Trump being complimentary of him and saying that he's a strong leader -- stronger than our president?

MCCAUL: I think -- I think what he is expressing in his way is that he has respect for the man because of his strength. I think Mr. Trump thinks he has strength, as well, and is in the best position to sit down in the room and stare him down, if you will. Peace through strength is important here.

I think, as Sec. Clinton mentioned, we can't just lay down and let him get what he wants. His interests in the region are very different from our interests. The one thing we share in common is our fight against ISIS.

CAMEROTA: But are you comfortable with the somewhat flattering tone of strength for a dictator?

MCCAUL: That's his style. Take personalities off the table. Our military is the weakest it's been since World War II and I think he will strengthen our military. I do think that if we can work with Russia to take out ISIS in the region that's great, but I would urge caution with the man. Again, he's not our friend. He has not been our friend in the past.

And you look at what they're doing in the cybersecurity world, as well, in addition to what they're looking at doing with our elections.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Mike McCaul, thanks so much for being here in the studio.

MCCAUL: Alisyn, thanks for having me.