Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

VP Joe Biden Discusses His Legacy; Tim Kaine & Mike Pence Face Off Tonight In VP Debate; Hurricane Matthew Takes Aim At East Coast; Clinton Retakes Lead In New CNN National Poll; Johnson: "I Still Can't Name A Favorite Foreign Leader". Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 04, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:03] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I disagree. Any day you escape a grizzly bear --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Is your best day.

CUOMO: -- is your best day ever.

CAMEROTA: I see why you see it that way. I can't believe that he escaped. I mean, when you stumble upon two bear cubs that's when you know, uh-oh, something bad might be about to happen.

CUOMO: Almost nobody walks away from that. He is a lucky man and now he has to deal with that hard question of survivors. Why did I survive, what am I supposed to do with my life? Those big question because he's been given a blessing, that's for sure. Lucky man, lucky man.

All right, let's get some more of our exclusive interview with Vice President Joe Biden. He was very spicy in this interview. He opened up about why this race matters, why the middle-class needs to be addressed. He also talked about why he didn't run. I pushed him about it because seeing what this race is now it would have played right into Joe Biden's wheelhouse. Here's a taste.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: How are you handling watching this race when, clearly, every fiber in your being wants you to fight against Donald Trump?

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well --

CUOMO: How are you handling not being in the race right now when you say there's so much at stake?

BIDEN: Well, I'm working like hell for Hillary. I'm working like hell to make sure we have a Democratic Senate. And, you know, I've been all over the country. I don't know how -- I hope I'm some value added to them. But it is about just reminding people who we are as Americans.

CUOMO: Some in your party suggest nobody can make the case for the Democrats when it comes to fighting for the middle-class the way you can. Seeing what this race has become -- we didn't see this coming a year and one-half ago -- we didn't see this state of play. Do you feel that if you had known back then what you know now about what this race is you would have made a different decision?

BIDEN: I lost part of my soul when my boy died. And you should never, ever, ever commit to run for president unless you know you can look the people in the eye and say I guarantee you, you have all of my being, you have all of my energy, all of my family's energy to get this done. And I wish I were a better man but I just wasn't ready to do that. But I'm doing my very best as I can to see to it -- I'm confident Hillary will be a first-rate president.

And, you know, everybody thinks when they're considering running they only consider running if they think they'd be better but that all changed for me when Beau passed. And so I'm working like the devil to make sure that Hillary wins.

CUOMO: The debate for the vice president --

BIDEN: Yes.

CUOMO: What do you want people to remember when they watch that?

BIDEN: I want them to remember that whomever the vice president that they're looking at supporting is someone who has the trust and confidence of the president -- their candidate -- and believes what their candidate believes because it is not -- no longer is it sufficient for a president to be able to handle everything himself or herself. They need additional help. And one of the great, great gifts that I've had being vice president is the president's given me major responsibility, turned it over and said just do it. Presidents from now and in the future are going to have to do that.

And so, if you have a candidate like -- I have a feeling, I don't know -- that Mike Pence is, and I don't if he really thinks a lot of what Trump is saying makes any sense. What a hell of a way to make a living to be vice president and have to get up every morning and support someone you don't agree with. Maybe he does. And if he does agree with him then people can see the difference in policy here.

I know Tim Kaine. He's smart as hell. He has significant experience and I know she trusts him and I know he'll be able to fulfill that role.

CUOMO: Legacy -- what are you going to be most proud of when this term is over?

BIDEN: That I left the job, hopefully, with my reputation intact and my Republican colleagues, as well as my Democratic colleagues, knowing that I never, ever, ever misled them.

CUOMO: What about the moonshot?

BIDEN: The moonshot is something I'm going to stay involved in as long as I'm around.

CUOMO: The fight for cancer. For finding -- BIDEN: The fight -- and by the way, we can. I mean, we're on -- we're at an inflection point in the fight against cancer. When Nixon declared a war on cancer he didn't have any tools or any army. We now have all these tools. In the last five years, for the first time, all these different disciplines are actually working with one another. The virologists, the immunologists -- you know, the whole group. And it takes an entire interdisciplinary effort to make the kind of changes.

Going to the moon -- there's only one moon. There's over 200 cancers and it takes an awful lot of work. We're making progress. I'm convinced we can change people's lives, extend their life, and cure some cancers.

[07:35:00] CUOMO: You've got a lot of life left, God willing. When people think about your time as vice president, Joe Biden... Finish the sentence.

BIDEN: Joe Biden was value added to Barack Obama. They took the nation through the second most difficult economic time in history and they put it on its feet, and it's growing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Wow, Chris, great interview. He makes it sound as though he's OK with his choice for having not run for president. What did you feel and sense from him?

CUOMO: He can't be OK with it. It has to be tearing him up. And look, everybody can understand what his motivation was, personally. I knew his son. Beau was one of the most special people in public service I'd ever met. He wanted his father to run for president. I was raised by a man who agonized over his decision not to run for president.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Mostly because of outside optics. But Joe's going to have to deal with that, too -- the vice president, Joe Biden. He's going to be -- when this is all over, no matter how it comes out --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: -- people are going to say but what if he had been in? And that's one of the things that politicians, who some think could be great, that they have to deal with.

CAMEROTA: Right.

CUOMO: But he's -- he was really good to give us the interview and to give us some thought into these deeper areas, you know?

CAMEROTA: Well, the two men hoping to be Joe Biden's successor will make their case tonight. Mike Pence and Tim Kaine square off in their one and only debate. What will they say to help their running mates tonight? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00] CUOMO: Big night of the V.P. variety. Governor Mike Pence of Indiana, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia going face-to-face just a few hours from now. We'll put up a clock so you can keep track of it. This will be the first and only vice presidential debate. A new CNN national poll shows voters are evenly split over who will come out on top.

Let's get some good discussion on this. Mark Preston, "CNN POLITICS" executive editor and Jim Nolan, a reporter with the "Richmond Times- Dispatch". Jim has covered Tim Kaine extensively. Thank you for using that cell phone as an IFB. Our coms aside, we'll have a good discussion.

Mark, what do you see as some of the main battle lines tonight?

MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "CNN POLITICS": Well, you know, tonight these two gentlemen, Chris, are not necessarily going to be battling one another, they're going to be trying to prop up their running mates, as well as trying to take them down.

Expect Tim Kaine to talk about Donald Trump's taxes and to try to put Mike Pence on the defense. Mike Pence has released his taxes. Also, some of the other issues that they've dealt with such as trade. Mike Pence and Donald Trump have been on opposite sides.

On the flip side, you're going to see Mike Pence come out tonight and try to talk about Benghazi, try to talk about Hillary Clinton and the fact that he doesn't think that she's necessarily too honest, and really try to take her down a notch, especially coming off a pretty strong debate that she had last week.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Jim, we like the cell phone prop because it looks like you're getting breaking news -- this just in. So, Jim, you've covered Virginia politics and Tim Kaine for many, many years. Tim Kaine has the hometown advantage tonight. What are you watching for?

JIM NOLAN, REPORTER, "RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH": Well, I'm looking for pretty much the same thing that the other side was. Tim Kaine is there to be Hillary Clinton's surrogate. He's a very able-bodied surrogate, especially in Virginia where he has served as a city councilman, a mayor, a lieutenant governor, a governor, and a U.S. senator.

Of course, the hometown advantage is taken a little bit farther when you think about Farmville which is, essentially, right near where the Civil War ended and it's also where the Civil Rights Movement began. Kaine has dedicated his life and public service to racial reconciliation. He was a Civil Rights attorney in Richmond. He spent time in Honduras as a missionary.

And just outside of Farmville -- in fact, just outside of the Longwood campus is Moton High School, where Barbara Johns staged a student walkout in 1951 that led, eventually, to the Brown versus Board of Education case that the Supreme Court decided several years later desegregating schools in Virginia and elsewhere.

So, Tim Kaine is in a good position. I imagine he'll hit on his Civil Rights record and I think he'll also start to reinforce the Clinton narrative, which is that Trump is unfit to be president. He lacks the temperament to either handle foreign policy or to understand the struggles of average working Americans.

CUOMO: Jim, the Trump campaign has, therefore, used a preemptive punch on some of what you're calling out as Kaine's credentials. They have an ad out there Willie Hortonesque, talking about how Kaine defended horrible murderers and that he spent a lot of time with a Marxist in South America, also known as a Catholic priest. Do you believe that these will have a chance of knocking Kaine off his game?

NOLAN: I think they're going to try but Kaine is a very seasoned debater and he's -- sometimes he's pretty much the smartest guy in the room and his genius is is that he doesn't let you know that. So I'm sure Kaine is very well-prepared for this. This was a narrative that was put forward when Kaine was running for office in Virginia some time ago. It was pretty much dismissed early on.

I think Kaine is going to try and keep Pence on the defensive, frankly, about Trump -- about some of his comments with regard to veterans with PTDS. I also expect to hear a little bit of a narrative about the Supreme Court.

Of course, key demographic in this race, one that's up for grabs, suburban white women, both educated and non-educated. Kaine is going to paint himself and Clinton as positive for women. He's probably going to try and paint Trump, especially in light of the Alicia Machado comments, as someone who's somewhat hostile to women.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Mark, you know, no voters that you ever talk to say I'm going to vote for this person because I sure like their V.P. pick. So what do these guys need to do tonight?

PRESTON: Well, you know, what's interesting about Gov. Pence is that when he was selected by Donald Trump there was a big sigh of relief that came out of Republican circles. There was some concern among some real ultraconservatives -- social conservatives about some of the things that he had done in Indiana.

The bottom line is Mike Pence has been a very able surrogate on behalf of Donald Trump. Tonight, he's going to have to do a lot of cleanup, you know. He will have to address a lot of the things that Donald Trump has said which, by the way, is certainly out of character for the way that Mike has governed as well as the way Mike Pence has dealt with his personal life, so we'll see a lot of that tonight.

[07:45:00] What's interesting about Mike Pence is that he calls himself this. He calls himself a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order. So it will be interesting tonight to see if he does that to try to see if he can try to draw in any of the real undecideds or even those sitting on the fence -- some of the Republican conservatives who are concerned about Donald Trump. So we will see that tonight. I don't expect we'll see a whole lot of fireworks between these two men directed at each other. I mean, they both were governors, they have similar backgrounds.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PRESTON: But here's the interesting thing. They are both political insiders. Mike Pence spent several years in the House of Representatives, Tim Kaine in the Senate. Tim Kaine, the DNC chair. So I can't expect that they will be fighting amongst that tonight --

CAMEROTA: Right.

PRESTON: -- when we see them on the stage.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and they both pride themselves on being nice, as well, and not name-calling, so we'll see what happens when they're under the white-hot glare of the spotlight. Gentlemen, thanks so much for talking this through with us. Great to talk to you.

Well, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson holding steady in the polls despite several high-profile gaffes. Can his ticket make a move or even swing this election? We're going to speak with him live, next.

CUOMO: There is he.

CAMEROTA: There he is. Hi, Governor. Talk to you in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:49:45] CUOMO: We have to keep updating you on this Hurricane Matthewsituation. Just take a look at this issue -- image. This is from space, OK? This is from the International Space Station. You see that little hole in the middle? That is the eye of Matthew. This is how massive this hurricane is. It's very big and also moving very slowly, and that's why there's so much concern about what's going to happen when it hits Haiti with its full force, Cuba, and then this new track that has it coming up our East Coast.

CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest. The new information is bad information.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. Here's what happened overnight. The models all turned left and we rely on these models. They are 30 of them and the models all now are taking this storm -- a dangerous category three storm -- very close to Florida. And, in fact, the cone well on to Florida. Well on to South Carolina or even North Carolina.

But look at the number. This is the dangerous thing that I'm seeing right here. That's a 120 mile per hour storm off the Cape. Now, whether that's left or right we'll have to see, but you need to know, Florida, that you're in the way.

Here's what it looks like right now. The storm is making landfall on that peninsula in Haiti. It's going to get into the Bahamas. It's going to get into the Turks and Caicos and then, maybe, hopefully, turn to the right. If it doesn't turn to the right in time, all of the sudden we have a land-falling hurricane, a major hurricane, into the United States.

And the models yesterday were well out into the ocean. Today, the models are not into the ocean. The models have turned to the left. They have turned toward the United States. It's a coupleof days away but you need to take precautions now. Keep watching this storm. We'll have a new track at 11:00. The models are rerunning now so we'll see what happens then, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chad, thanks so much for keeping an eye on that for us.

Turning now to the 2016 race, we are joined by Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson. Our new CNN national poll shows him holding steady with seven percent in a four-way race. That's with Hillary Clinton back on top. Only 35 days left to go before Election Day. So let's bring in Governor Johnson now. Good morning, Governor.

GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hi, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you here. So let's talk about a couple of the awkward moments first before we get to some other stuff. And I just want to ask you about some of the foreign policy flubs that you've had publicly lately. First, there was the Aleppo moment where you didn't know what Aleppo was, and then you couldn't name your favorite foreign leader. So, what's going on with you and foreign affairs? How do you explain those moments?

JOHNSON: Well, Alisyn, what is it, five days now after the name your favorite foreign leader? I still can't do that.

CAMEROTA: Why not?

JOHNSON: Well, one of the surprises I had never --

CAMEROTA: Why can't you name -- but, I mean, why not?

JOHNSON: Favorite -- favorite foreign leader. I can't name a -- you know, getting involved in politics having never been involved in politics before, I held a lot of people in this country on pedestals. And then I get to meet them up front and personal and I find out that they're all about getting reelected, that they're not about issues. A lot of empty suits that I held up on pedestals. So I'm a real skeptic when it comes to elected leaders.

And, OK, so I point out an elected leader -- a foreign leader that I admire and then all of a sudden I've got to defend them against things that I'm not even aware of. So, in that context, Alisyn, look, if that's a disqualifier to run for president, so be it.

And then with regard to Aleppo -- look, why can't we admit to, in this case, we're involved in Syria. We're involved in a civil war where hundreds of thousands of innocent people have died and because we're involved in both sides of this crossfire we have to take some responsibility for a lot of those people that have died.

But I guess because you can -- you can dot the i's and cross the t's on foreign leaders and geographic locations that now somehow you're qualified to put us in that situation? Hey, if that ends up to be the case, so be it. I guess I wasn't meant to be president. If you want somebody that's honest in the office, that's going to admit to mistakes -- and by admitting mistakes you can move forward by first admitting mistakes.

But we've got Trump and Clinton that neither of them will admit mistakes. Trump, right now, with his tax return. You know, he's presented himself as this guy who's omnipotent when it comes to investments and, clearly, he's made money, he's lost money. How about just admitting to be a human being? Well, he's never done that.

CAMEROTA: Well, look, Governor, this is a new explanation and it's an interesting one. That you didn't want to name your favorite foreign leader not because you don't know foreign leaders, but because you didn't want to name a favorite. But the way it came off was that you weren't engaged. That you sort of hadn't studied up on foreign affairs. Here's what the "Washington" --

JOHNSON: Well, that's just -- well, and that's what -- that's what angers me about this process is because -- and in this case an emphasis on being able to do that as opposed to -- how about an emphasis on common sense? How about an emphasis on representing our military in ways that don't put them in horrible situations? And we've put our military in horrible situations. A crossfire that -- like I say, we have to bear partial responsibility for what's happening.

[07:55:00] CAMEROTA: Here's what the "Washington Post" said this weekend after you didn't name your favorite foreign leader. They said, "Does Mr. Johnson's running mate, former Massachusetts governor William Weld, who is much sharper, really want to help Donald Trump win and be remembered as the Ralph Nader of 2016? This is not a case of having to choose head over heart and vote strategically. Mr. Johnson is a good-natured but wholly unprepared, and unwilling or unable to learn."

So that was their take, is that you seemed unwilling to engage in terms of yes, look, you don't want to put our military into harm's way, but you have to know what the harm is first.

JOHNSON: You bet, and that's what, it seems, has been lost in this whole equation. The country ought to be outraged over what we are doing militarily. The country ought to be outraged that we involve ourselves in regime change, and because we do that the unintended consequence is a less safe world. That we bear responsibility for what's happening in the world. And nobody seems to want to bear responsibility. Everybody wants to keep doing more of the same and it doesn't work.

So, back to honesty and integrity. Look, where is it? Neither Trump nor Clinton -- I would love to see a poll, head-to-head, Johnson versus Clinton, Johnson versus Trump. I think that would really be revealing.

CAMEROTA: I think that would also --

JOHNSON: I think I'd be the President of the United States in that poll.

CAMEROTA: You do -- you think that you would beat Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head matchup right now?

JOHNSON: Head-to-head, yes. How about -- how about commissioning that poll, CNN?

CAMEROTA: That would be interesting.

JOHNSON: Not you, Alisyn. I know you'd do it if you had the chance.

CAMEROTA: Come on, I could be a pollster in my spare time. But, Governor -- but, right now, what we have is the four-way polls and in that you're getting seven percent. So given the --

JOHNSON: Well, and in that seven percent, Alisyn -- in that seven percent, millennials are not even -- they're non-applicable in that very poll that you're citing. And among millennials, right now, we're tied for the lead with Clinton. Significant in being tied with the lead with Clinton is that we've come up from nowhere to be tied.

CAMEROTA: Well, wait a second.

JOHNSON: And millennials -- the Internet -- they don't have a filter when it comes to the media. They're getting it direct.

CAMEROTA: Hold on one second here. We have those. Hold on, Governor, let me put these up. So, we have likely voters under age 35, choice for president in the four-way race here, Clinton gets 50 percent, you get 17 percent. So how is that tied with Clinton?

JOHNSON: Well, maybe I was looking at the wrong -- maybe I was looking at the wrong poll that you're citing right now, but a recent poll that I looked at yesterday that had me at seven percent -- I thought that's the one that you're talking about -- has an N/A after those 50 and under -- not applicable.

Well, if I'm at seven percent and you have a non-applicable age group under the age of 50, you know, that's where I draw my votes. I'm leading among Independents. Now, like I say, I apologize if yours is a different poll than the one I looked at prior to coming on here.

CAMEROTA: OK. Governor, we'll take -- we'll take that. Governor Gary Johnson, thanks so much for sharing your passion on NEW DAY this morning --

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: -- on all of that. We'll see you soon.

JOHNSON: Thank you very much. CAMEROTA: We're following a lot of news. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I made my money following the law. Hillary Clinton made her money as a corrupt public official.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Trump was taking from America with both hands and leaving the rest of us with the bill.

TRUMP: I have legally used the tax laws to my benefit. I have brilliantly used those laws.

CLINTON: This is Trump to a tee. It's Trump first and everyone else last.

TRUMP: When people come back from war and they see things that a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over, and you're strong and you can handle it. But a lot of people can't handle it.

BIDEN: This is an ignorant man. How can you be so out of touch and then ask to lead this country?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, October 4th, 8:00 in the East.

Up first, Hillary Clinton retaking the lead in a new CNN national poll. She apparently got a boost after the first debate, as you can see there. Clinton now with a five-point lead over Donald Trump. She gets 47 percent to his 42 percent. That is in a four-way race. This, as Trump digs in over his tax turmoil.

CUOMO: Johnson getting seven percent. Alisyn just did a good interview with him. You should watch it online. We'll have it up there soon.

We also have an exclusive interview for you this morning with Vice President Joe Biden. We ran down to Florida. He's trying to help Clinton in that state. The polls going back and forth, very tight. He was very spicy about this election, why it matters. The case for the middle-class.