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ISIS Attack in Kirkuk; Barbs Traded at Charity Dinner; Political Fundraising. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 21, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:55] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We're following breaking news out of Iraq. Clashes are intensifying between Iraqi security forces and ISIS in the city of Kirkuk. ISIS targeting police stations and security offices. Iraqi and Kurdish forces are engaged in heavy fighting against ISIS as they try to push forward to Mosul.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is live on the front line near Mosul.

What's the situation, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That unexpected attack against Kirkuk really a bit to throw the Peshmerga, who control that oil rich city, on their back feet. Continuing fighting, 30 ISIS militants involved, seven of them dead we know so far. They've been attacking security headquarters. I should also tell you know, the United Nations, give you a snapshot of how brutal this is, have just warned that 550 families may be being used as human shields by ISIS. Some of them, in fact, forced to walk on foot from the village where they live a matter of days ago.

The front lines here, very violent. ISIS not yielding any territory unless they absolutely have to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): Day four, and perhaps the biggest push yet from the north into the plains around Mosul. Trying to dislodge the determined and deranged remnants of ISIS, but the Peshmerga backed with staggering air power.

But now common sight of American special forces, who the Pentagon says are advising, not assaulting position in front of the attack. The work is slow, destructive. Begging the question, what becomes of the wreckage under new masters?

Suddenly, in the sky, a hail of bullets. They've spotted a drone. Trace rounds dance around it and finally take off its nose. ISIS used them to spot targets for artillery, even drop small bombs. This one tumbles down. Its wreckage picked over. It's still unclear whose it is.

Yet progress down the road is Horsabad (ph) is agonizingly slow.

WALSH (on camera): This is a source of so much they're fighting this morning, but still full of ISIS. And, in fact, we've heard that Peshmerga have listened to those militants on their radios this morning discussing how they should wait and only launch a counterattack once the Peshmerga are inside.

WALSH (voice-over): Two Peshmerga are killed by a mine and others injured in intense clashes when they flank the town, heading left across barren farmland. ISIS, still here, haunting the dust, pushed back moments earlier.

We reach one unit pinned down on a hill. They say the drone is observing them, but also dropping tiny bombs on them, like grenades, we are warned. Rocket after rocket lands. Over the hill, there is fiercer fighting. And, still, the rockets come in. Exposed, trudging through land turned arid in the fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Now we know some sad news from the Pentagon, that a U.S. soldier lost his life in the last 24 to 48 hours or so. Minimal details as is customary when a U.S. death is announced. We know that this soldier was hit by an IED, a mine in you or I language, and that caused him to die from his injuries later on after being evacuated from the battlefield. But it's not clear if he was involved in that specific onslaught against Mosul. Highly likely, frankly, that he was. You saw in that report how close to the front U.S. special forces are. The Pentagon say they're not involved in the assault but, frankly, there it does look like they're always in that first wave heading against ISIS.

[08:35:05] John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, some half of the 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq said to be involved in some way or another, and many are in harm's way. Nick Paton Walsh for us. Thanks so much for your reporting, Nick.

All right, so car accidents in the United States, the leading cause of death among teens. This week, CNN hero Jeff Payne is trying to reduce that problem, teaching teenagers how to handle themselves behind the wheel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF PAYNE, CNN HERO: A lot of parents would never toss their kid a loaded gun and tell them to have fun, but many of them just don't think twice about throwing them the car keys. We just throw the kids out there on the road and expect them to be prepared to handle every situation. And that's just not the case. We're just doing our jobs so we can make a difference out there and make the roads safer for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: For more on Jeff's efforts, go to cnnheroes.com.

And next Wednesday, right here on NEW DAY, Anderson Cooper will reveal the top ten CNN Heroes of 2016. You do not want to miss that.

CAMEROTA: I will be here for that.

BERMAN: You have to be, it's in your contract

CAMEROTA: I - yes, it is.

Up next, we're talking cash, cold hard campaign cash that could break records. So we are crunching the numbers for you. Who's spending more? Who's bringing in more? That's "The Bottom Line."

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[08:40:04] CAMEROTA: The Al Smith Dinner, known for self-deprecating humor and big laughs. And while Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did take shots at their opponent, they saved their best lines to make fun of their own campaigns. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it. It's fantastic. They think she's absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech, and people get on her case. And I don't get it. I don't know why. And it wasn't her fault. Stand up, Melania. Come on. She took a lot of abuse.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: This is such a special event that I took a break from my rigorous nap schedule to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I love the nap one.

BERMAN: You love nap jokes.

CAMEROTA: I do. The nap humor, it gets me every time.

CNN political director David Chalian joins us now with "The Bottom Line."

What did you think of last night?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I thought the Melania joke was the best joke of the night. And, you know, political strategists will always tell their candidate, when you're doing humor, self-deprecating is the way to go. That's how politicians should always do humor. There's plenty of material. Just make fun of yourself, it's charming and the audience walks away with it. Both of these guys did not take that to heart all the way through their routine.

BERMAN: Thank you Cheky (ph) Chalian right there for that.

David, there is some news overnight about money and the money that is being raised in this campaign. What can you tell us?

CHALIAN: Yes, this is like the last fundraising report that we're going to see before the elections to sort of get insight into where it stands. So take a look, for the month of September, what the candidates raised and what they spent here. So, again, Clinton advantage all the way down the line, raised $72.6 million, spent $82.6 million, and was left with about $60 million cash on hand. If you look down the Trump line, he raised $53 million in September, spent $70 million, which is twice as much as he spent the previous month in August, and he is left with about $35 million, a little more than half of what Hillary Clinton has in cash on hand.

CAMEROTA: But, David, you know, we've talked a lot about how Donald Trump has not had to spend as much as Hillary Clinton, certainly with all of the media and the press that he got during the primary season. So what has Trump spent his money on?

CHALIAN: So, yes, again, just looking at September here, this is what the new FEC reports show us. Trump has spent his money on TV and radio ads. That's about $23 million. This digital firm, $20 million. That is a huge budget. The Trump campaign has invested a ton into digital advertising. We'll see how that plays out. And then you see that former campaign manager payout for $100,000 to Corey Lewandowski as part of his separation from the Trump campaign.

CAMEROTA: That's good money.

BERMAN: That $20 million for the digital firm there is something that, you know, I think we'll try to learn a lot more about in the coming months maybe after this campaign because it is a lot. It does jump out at you right there. Hillary Clinton has raised a ton of money, and so too has her super PAC. I mean people are talking about her being a billion dollar candidate. Would that be a milestone, David?

CHALIAN: Well, it would be a milestone. We've been to billion dollar campaigns, but a billion dollar candidate would be a big deal, no doubt. Listen, here's - here's what you have to remember, she has raised a lot more money, and, obviously, has been spending much more on the airwaves.

As you're saying, John, I think there's going to be a whole sort of excavation after this campaign about, does TV advertising really work the way it used to? Does it pack the punch? Is digital now going to take over television and advertising budgets? We haven't seen that in politics yet. But I think we will learn a lot from this campaign.

But what you do see, both these candidates are emptying their pockets right now. It's the final stretch and they are just spending all the money that they can to try to reach every voter.

CAMEROTA: And -

BERMAN: Yes, October's always a good month to be a political consultant, I will say that, because that's when a lot of checks come in.

CAMEROTA: If you're going to get into the business, do it now.

So it's fun to check in with the political predictions and where they are in terms of who's going to win. Obviously it's just a snapshot. There are 18 days left. But where are we today?

CHALIAN: Well, this is different than just polls, although we've got a couple different models here. CNN's political prediction market, this is pivot. They - this is all based on sort of online betting, not real money, but the marketplace, if you will, of where people think the race is going to go.

"New York Times" and 538 blog (ph) is based more reliantly - they rely on polls. But look at that, 95 percent in the CNN pivot political prediction market think Hillary Clinton is going to win. Those odds are astronomical, 92 percent for "The New York Times," 86 percent for 538.

The reason this matters is because this is where people clearly think the race is going, and that psychology often has impact on how people cast their vote.

[08:45:00] BERMAN: What they're looking at is, you know, right now the CNN poll of polls has an eight-point spread between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Even if he cuts that in half, it's still four points in the national vote, and that leads to a big electoral map victory in all likelihood, David.

CHALIAN: Yes, John, a four-point victory in today's political environment, that's a big victory in presidential politics. That's why I don't think even the Clinton campaign thinks that they're going to end up with an eight-point victory on Election Day. This thing will likely narrow in the next 18 days, but you would rather be in her position than his when it narrows because she's got quite a cushion.

BERMAN: David Chalian, great to have you with us. Thanks so much, friend.

CHALIAN: Thanks, guys.

BERMAN: All right, so does either candidate have what it takes to become comedian in chief? We will look who won at the Al Smith Dinner last night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, a night of comedy just two and a half weeks before Election Day brought some laughs and also some boos, but does either candidate have what it takes to be comedian in chief? Let's bring in "Daily Beast" contributor -

CAMEROTA: Don't ask me that yet.

BERMAN: And host of "The Dean Obeidallah Show," Dean Obeidallah is with us, and CNN's senior media correspondent host of "Reliable Sources," Brian Stelter. You know, Dean, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, their families love

them. They may be very nice people. Neither of them, I think it's safe to say, are known as great comics.

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, HOST, "DEAN OBEIDALLAH SHOW" (SIRUSXM): No. I don't think they are. And compared to President Obama, who I think is the modern-day best comedic president ever, even in person. I had the honor of meeting President Obama last year and I said, you have great comedic timing. And he paused and he goes, I know. So right there - like, I'm not kidding, like one-on-one. So following President Obama, a tall order for anyone. Neither one's close. I think Hillary did a little bit better, but neither was great.

[08:50:13] CAMEROTA: OK, but what was your favorite joke of the night?

OBEIDALLAH: Objectively speaking, the Trump joke about Melania, and the speech thing, that was - brought the house down. That was it. He should have left. Trump was - goodnight, he's out - I'm out of here. That's it.

CAMEROTA: Drop the mic and walk out.

OK, what moment did you like?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, I appreciated Clinton's acknowledgment of this recent controversy involving a rigged election. The stolen election. You know -

CAMEROTA: Let's play it for everybody so that they know a little moment of humor. Listen to this.

Oh, whichever. They - they're saying we -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm up here after Donald. I didn't think he'd be OK with a peaceful transition of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I will say, the anticipation made it even funnier.

STELTER: I think we needed that. Yes, it did. I mean she needed to figure out some way to acknowledge this week and the sort of horror that was Donald Trump saying he wouldn't accept the results necessarily. I think she did that very effectively.

OBEIDALLAH: Yes.

STELTER: She's normally quite stilted in these sort of situations, although she did play herself - not play herself, she did play a character on "SNL" very effectively last year. I'm sure we'll see that again between now and Election Day. And this did seem like a nice warm-up for her to be a little more comfortable in a setting like this. BERMAN: So Al Smith V was here, and he's been to a bunch of these dinners, and he told me, he said, you know, the environment in that room was different and it was probably a little more awkward than he's ever seen before and people are saying that they've never heard boos like that before. Both candidates went after each other really hard. Let's just listen to some of the burns that went back and forth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics.

Everyone knows, of course, Hillary's belief that it takes a village, which only makes sense, after all in places like Haiti, where she's taken a number of them.

CLINTON: I am so flattered that Donald thought I used some sort of performance enhancer. Now, actually, I did. It's called preparation.

But Donald really is as healthy as a horse. You know, the one Vladimir Putin rides around on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OBEIDALLAH: A joke, OK, that was a good joke.

BERMAN: That was a joke.

CAMEROTA: You liked that? The crowd didn't like that. They -

OBEIDALLAH: I liked it. Objectively speaking, it's a good joke. Trump did so bad at the end, Cardinal Dolan (ph) gave his campaign last rites, that's how bad - folks, all be here all week. No.

BERMAN: But jokes - the thing is, is that - I mean you know that not every joke works. Some jokes bomb.

OBEIDALLAH: Believe me, I know. I bomb many times.

BERMAN: That's what I'm saying.

OBEIDALLAH: But Trump didn't bomb.

BERMAN: It - but people are looking at the Trump thing and they're saying, oh, you know, is it more than just some jokes bombing? Is there any deeper significance to this? Because I'm not sure there really is.

OBEIDALLAH: But that's not - bombing - and to be frank, I have bombed as a comedian. It's silence. It's uncomfortable. People looking away. They were booing. They were angry. He turned the room against him. That was a whole different thing because this, it's supposed to have a history of civility. It's a good natured time. Last - four years ago, Obama and Romney actually complimented each other and their families at the end. It was a great moment bringing people together. Different.

STELTER: I'll try to give significance to this. Let me see if I can pull this off, see if you agree.

CAMEROTA: Good. OK. (INAUDIBLE).

STELTER: Most of that room knows Donald Trump is likely to lose in a couple of weeks. You all just showed the numbers with David Chalian about how all of the political prediction markets say he's likely to lose in a couple of weeks. What Trump's going to be like, what's he going to sound like, how's he going to act after the election? This might have been a preview of that, right? We were watching him -

BERMAN: Tell bad jokes?

STELTER: Tell bad jokes. Well, we were seeing what it's like for him in a room of New York City elites. We were seeing what it's like for him around media figures and around religious leaders and others and he didn't really pull it off. He wasn't able to be self-deprecating. He took some shots at his rival. It was a little bit uncomfortable. I wonder if that's sort of - in that room the people know he's likely to be the loser.

CAMEROTA: What will -

STELTER: And we sort of saw what losing looks like.

CAMEROTA: What will late night laughs look like after the election? What will the humorous and the late night hosts do after the election because they have made a lot of -

STELTER: Oh, I think Hillary Clinton's pretty funny if Trump does lose.

BERMAN: Do we have some sound?

CAMEROTA: OK.

BERMAN: Do we have some sound from last night?

CAMEROTA: Yes, let's listen to last night.

BERMAN: Let's listen to last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": Clinton and Trump are at a dinner together. The Al Smith Dinner. Hillary and Donald are one seat apart with Cardinal Timothy Dolan sitting between them, like an unhappy couple hoping to get their marriage annulled.

STEPHEN COLBERT, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": And Chris Wallace asked Trump if he would accept the election results.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'll keep you in suspense.

COLBERT: Suspense. That's presidential. It reminds me of - it reminds me of FDR's first inaugural.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing we have to fear is - stay tuned to find out!

COLBERT: Ah, spoiler alert. Ah, it was Nazis.

TRUMP: I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election - if I win.

[08:55:04] COLBERT: You've got to give it to him. You've got to give it to him. You know, you really got me for a second there. I actually believed you had a shred of integrity. You know. What an amazing psych-out, you know. A national psych-out. It's like that classic joke where you offer to shake somebody's hand. When they go to shake it, you undermine our system of government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Funny stuff. OK, so what are your predictions for "SNL" this weekend? What are they going to do?

OBEIDALLAH: Obviously the debate has to be a big part of it. Maybe the Al Smith Dinner, booing. Trump doing some kind of comedy stand-up audition would be kind of a great thing. Like a late night comedy thing.

CAMEROTA: Oh, that would be good. That's good (INAUDIBLE).

STELTER: As Bill Carter said here yesterday, it was as if Trump was acting like Alec Baldwin. So maybe Alec Baldwin will try to reverse that, flip it around, double down. I'm not sure what you do when life imitates art imitating life.

CAMEROTA: Life, and then it's like wrapped in an enigma and dipped in mustard.

STELTER: Yes. That's where we are.

BERMAN: I've got a headache right now. All right, guys, thanks so much.

CAMEROTA: Guys, thanks so much.

Have a great weekend.

"NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello picks up after this very quick break. Have a great weekend, everyone.

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