Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

President Trump Escalates War On The Media; Iraqi Forces On The Verge Of Driving ISIS From Mosul. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 03, 2017 - 06:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR:The White House says he reiterated his message that unity is critical to defeating terrorism, promoting stability in that region.

[06:30:05] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Day three of a government shutdown in New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie ordering lawmakers back to work this morning to try to end this budget standoff, 35,000 state workers are furloughed and that means that all state parks are closed, ruining July 4th plans for hundreds of thousands of beachgoers.

But not for the governor and his family, the Christies had Island Beach State Park all to themselves because the governor's residence is located there. When asked about it, the governor said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: No, it didn't, Claude, but go ahead. I didn't get any sun today. No. No. There's no one on the beach state park, no lifeguards. There's no one to pick up the garbage. There's no one providing any services at Island Beach State Park. Next. Next! I'm -- excuse me. Next. Next. I'm done. We're talking about the closure of government, and you're talking about your TMZ stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: No, you can't pass on this one, Governor, because unfortunately there is a little something called photo evidence. And it surfaced of Christie and his family on the beach and when that happened, his aide explained the comment about not getting any sun from the governor was because, quote, "He had a baseball hat on."

BERMAN: He got caught in a lie. I mean, let's just say it, you know, Governor Chris Christie got caught in a lie. He said he wasn't out there enjoying the beach, I didn't get any sun today.

CAMEROTA: I'm not sure that baseball hat covers everything.

BERMAN: No, I mean, keep your face, you know, depending on what is -- although your neck, the back of your neck sometimes.

CAMEROTA: You know, John, the Jersey Shore is one of the best places on earth.

BERMAN: Not today. It is under a shutdown.

CAMEROTA: To deprive hundreds of thousands of people of it on Fourth of July weekend is a crime.

BERMAN: And to lie about it. Except for hundreds of thousands minus 10 who apparently the Chris Christie family on the beach enjoying the sun at Island Beach State Park right there.

CAMEROTA: Hopefully they can resolve it today.

BERMAN: We'll see.

All right, the Fourth of July, whether story, appears to be a study in contrast depending on where you're planning to celebrate. If you're celebrating with one of the Christie family, let's get to meteorologist, Jennifer Gray for a look at the forecast -- Jennifer.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CAMEROTA: OK, Jennifer, thank you very much for all of that. You'll be monitoring it for us for the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, President Trump takes his media bashing to a new level. The new attacks are drawing scorn from members of his own party, so are media experts going to discuss what's next here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: President Trump's anti-CNN video posted on Twitter raises concerns about violence against journalists, but the president's Homeland Security adviser says he does not consider it a threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS BOSSERT, WHITE HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: I think that no one would perceive that as a threat. I hope they don't, but I do think that he's beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to. And that he does that regularly and so --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't think that's a threat to anyone. You don't think that's sending a message, do that to the media, do that to CNN?

BOSSERT: No, I certainly don't. I don't think so. I think importantly here he's a genuine president expressing himself genuinely and to be honest I think that's why he was elected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, let's discuss it with our media analyst, CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABILE SOURCES," the busiest man on television, Brian Seltzer, and Tim O'Brien, executive editor for "Bloomberg View" and author of "Trump Nation: The Art of Being the Donald."

Brian, let's just consider the source here because somebody -- there are lots of people who say this is harmless fun, the president is having harmless fun, he's seen as wrestling CNN.

If you look at the source of this video, the first place that people could find it posted is on this disgusting site of this man or woman who posts anti-Semitic imagery, racist rants. So this is what the president is retweeting.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: And what I want to know today is how it get from this troll on Reddit, this hateful troll who posts anti-Semitic racist trash against CNN and lots of other people and outlets, how did it get from this person to the president's Twitter feed?

We don't know the answer to that. There's a lot of clues online about how this thing started but now how it reached the president's desk. I hope the White House answers that question because this is not the first time we have seen some sort of meme from the swamps of the internet make its way to the president's Twitter feed.

BERMAN: It could be a question maybe on camera briefings they'll be holding in the briefing room over the next few weeks. I'm saying that facetiously, folks.

Tim, there are people here who say, look, including the president, I should say, who says he understands the current media landscape better than anyone else. He knows how to use new social media methods right now.

This is some kind of grand strategy, but you who have been covering this man before he was president for a long, long time, say, you know, look, it is a fool's errand to look for a coherent strategy here.

TIM O'BRIEN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "BLOOMBERG VIEW": Yes. I don't think he's a strategic thinker. He's been doing this now for probably the better part of four decades. I don't think it is new for politicians to set the media up as a punching bag when they're concerned about broader threats to their agenda.

And in Trump's case, I think I've said it before, I think here, I think there is usually two ways of understanding what motivates what he does, self-preservation or self-aggrandizement. It is usually not strategically driven.

And I think in this case, a lot of this is coming out of self- preservation. The Russia issue is a real issue. He can say it is a witch-hunt. He can say it is -- or others can say it's a nothing burger, but it is not.

This cuts to core issues in Trumplandia. I don't think it is necessarily collusion or obstruction that preoccupies him. It is the money trail and what it might say about his business relationships and his past financial dealings.

CAMEROTA: So much of Twitter is such a cesspool, if I can be honest, that I know that you were curious as to whether or not this -- a lot of people were curious as to whether or not this video rose to the level of harassment of journalists. Some people think that it is just having fun, poking fun, some people felt this is -- there is violence depicted here and in this day and age, that's worrisome for journalists. If you talk to Twitter about it, do they think this -- how do they categorize?

STELTER: It took the company about six hours to get to the bottom of this, to make a decision, eventually the decision was, no, it does not meet Twitter's definition of harassment or hateful conduct.

But there were Twitter users actively clicking on the button, reporting tweets, saying this is harassment, this is inappropriate. I heard from some of those user on Sunday that were disturbed by this.

I think, you know, on one level, it is funny. On one level it might be clever. Then there is the other level where it is scary and it is scary for CNN colleagues who have already faced threats.

There is a heightened state of alert, not just in this newsroom, but other newsroom across the country and by the way, not just about journalists either, of course. We see violence against conservatives, violence against liberals, there has been an uptick in political violence in general.

We all unfortunately witnessed it recently in Alexandria, Virginia. I think that's the broader context for something like this, even though it is a cartoonish video, randomly edited together on someone's computer.

BERMAN: Not even from a good era of professional wrestling. I think it is a little bit post peak when it comes to pro-wrestling. What is the best way for the media to respond here? Because there is a good way that we can.

O'BRIEN: Well, I think to ignore it, move on, frankly. I don't think it should be entirely ignored. I think it is a serious issue. We have a president who is repeatedly fomented violence at his campaigns. He did it at his rallies.

He is now doing it on social media. That's of concern, but I think that journalists have the privilege of being able to express our concerns for our work. And I think to sit there and sort of woe is me, the president is kicking us in the head again, my feeling about that is acknowledge it, move on.

STELTER: Yes. We don't want to lower ourselves to his low standard I think in this kind of situation. There has been a lot of talk about high standard versus low standards. CNN had three journalists resign last week because of mistakes that were made. We don't see that kind of accountability from the White House. Put that aside. We'll have high standards no matter what standards he has.

O'BRIEN: I don't think journalists covering the political landscape that we're in right now are taking the same kind of risks, say, as a journalist overseas in a war zone, for example.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. O'BRIEN: And I'm not saying that anyone is comparing the two or equalizing them.

STELTER: CNN's statement was pretty bold yesterday, saying, we're going to keep doing our jobs, the president should start doing his. That gets to the idea that when he's tweeting videos, pro-wrestling, CNN is --

CAMEROTA: What Americans are interested in? Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary, had some tweets that I want to get your impression of, he said, "I never minded a good fight with the press. It is part of our democracy, but this goes too far."

Number two, "Some will think it is funny, I find it is in poor taste." Number three, "The reason the president does it, it is because the press made themselves so unpopular. It is a fight that the president actually wins with much of the country."

So that's the part I want to ask you about, Brian, very quickly. Again, is there any soul searching to be done from the press about what does he mean we made ourselves so unpopular? What are we doing that is making us have such low approval ratings with the public?

STELTER: There has been soul searching, there should be more soul searching, partly these are self-inflicted wounds over the course of decades, but a lot of the reasons (inaudible) distrust the media has to do with politicians like President Trump telling people not to trust the media. We could do a better job telling our own story and explaining how this is real and it's not fake news.

BERMAN: I would point at one thing. The most damaging perhaps articlae about the Russia investigation to come out in the last five days was that Rupert Murdoch on "Wall Street Journal," and he did not attack that specifically. So the president, you know, interesting where he decides to pick his fights.

STELTER: Great point.

CAMEROTA: Brian, Tim, thank you very much. Great to see both of you.

BERMAN: All right, we're going to change something to a much cheerier --

CAMEROTA: Your favorite topic. Your favorite man.

BERMAN: Tom Brady. Tom Brady breaking his silence on the concussion comments made by his Super Model wife, what is the greatest quarterback ever, pause, saying about this? We'll have details on the "Bleacher Report" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Patriots Tom Brady is speaking out regarding his wife's comments that he has had concussions that were not reported by the Patriots. Coy Wire has more with this morning's "Bleacher Report." Good morning, Coy, COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. Gisele Bundchen told CBS back in May that her husband, Tom Brady, had concussions last year and that comment raised a lot of questions because he was never listed as having a head injury by the Patriots.

He was on a goodwill trip to Asia and Brady explained that Giselle is a caring and concerned spouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK: She's there every day. We go to bed every night. She knows when I'm sore, tired, when I get hit. We drive home together. So but she also knows how well I take care of myself. You know, she's a very concerned wife and very loving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: So Brady neither confirming nor denying that he had a concussion last season, but he has been incredibly healthy throughout his career. The five-time Super Bowl champ hasn't missed a game due to injury since 2008.

Alisyn, remember, Wimbledon starts today and the women's side is wide open as Serena Williams, last year's champ is out, pregnant with her first child. Roger Federer looking to add to his record of 18 grand slam titles.

CAMEROTA: Coy, thank you. All John Berman heard was that Gisele Bundchen is the perfect wife and very caring and sleeps in the same bed every night with Tom Brady.

BERMAN: I can't remember who I'm more envious of.

WIRE: I will get that raw video of that interview and send you the whole thing, John, so you can watch it all day.

CAMEROTA: OK, Coy, thank you very much. That was revealing of you.

BERMAN: Just saying.

CAMEROTA: All right. We have to move on to this very important story, only on CNN, this is inside the battle for Mosul. We have an exclusive look at the fierce fighting as Iraqi troops battle for the final few blocks being held by ISIS. This is a live report only on CNN next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Iraqi forces are calling this a turning point as the effort to drive ISIS from Mosul is on the verge of completion. After weeks of fighting, Iraqi troops are locked in a very fierce battle for last few blocks of Western Mosul that ISIS still controls.

So we're getting a closer look at a Brazilian photographer embedded with Iraqi Security Forces has shared his extraordinary footage, exclusively with CNN. Our Nick Paton Walsh has more from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From here to the river is all ISIS has left of Mosul and this is the story of how it fell on the streets around the mosque, they once held sacred but then destroyed.

Brazilian photographer, Gabriel Chaim (ph), is on foot with Iraqi Special Forces. Every foot fall could hit a booby trap. An eerie silence holds in just about everything endless soot. Streets empty, and each human they meet is either desperate to escape or the enemy.

In the alley ways, two men approached them. One is carrying a bomb. They rush in to help their wounded. The second man carrying a much larger device. Gabriel struggles to breathe.

The dust also means they can't see if there are any other bombers or if there are three dead and a dozen wounded colleagues lie. The advance continues up to and around the mosque, and civilians, human shields for weeks, stoop on the gunfire or are oblivious to it.

Some never leave the underground. Loud constant blasts in the darkness. Unable to walk, first man faints, ignorance, but admits ISIS were on the roof and have mined the entire street.

The interrogator later tell his team the man is himself ISIS. For the past week, the desperate rush to life that continued. The U.N. estimated 150,000 people were trapped here, but in the end nobody had any idea or how many are left behind them in the rubble.

Water, water, I'm dying, she screams. In crippling heat and panic, pray you never know thirst like this or what it is like to carry your family out lifeless on a cart.

This is his mother. For God sake, help me carry him, he cries. They try running to the closest point in the narrow street a vehicle can reach. Stop the blood loss, they plead. It is unclear if the boy survived. Even when this dust is cleared of ISIS, the killing won't stop. The private hell of memories won't suddenly be washed away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: My gosh, you don't often think of the children until you see their faces and how much they're struggling and what the people there are faced with every single day.

BERMAN: Look, this is an important reminder, Mosul may fall, may leave ISIS hands, but the struggles and the tribulations of the people there, they will not end today, tomorrow, or the next day, and they're going to need help, a lot of help going forward.

CAMEROTA: Our thanks to Nick Paton Walsh from bringing us all of that. Our thanks to our international viewers for watching, for you "CNN NEWSROOM" is next. For our U.S. viewers, we are talking to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about today's biggest headlines. NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I'm president and they're not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first amendment is the beating heart of the American experiment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president in no way form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at all forms of election irregularities, voter fraud, registration fraud.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This isn't about party, this is about personal privacy of voters.

BERMAN: President Trump working the phones ahead of this week's G20 Summit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The potentially historic meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump has chosen to focus on Ukraine and Syria instead of the Russian hacking allegations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These two leaders have an awful lot to discuss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. Chris is off this morning. John Berman joins me. Great to have you.

BERMAN: Great to be here.

CAMEROTA: So we begin with President Trump, targeting CNN in his escalating war on the media. The president posting a weird wrestling video that has been widely criticized as juvenile, and leaving many of his members of his own party in disbelief.

This as the president prepares for the G20 Summit in Germany and his first face-to-face encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin.