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Trump: Pence "Receiving Great Praise" For NFL Walk Out; Puerto Rico Asks Congress For $4 Billion More In Storm Aid; CNN Exclusive: A Look Into The Vegas Killer's Past. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 09, 2017 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:32:22] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Just minutes ago, President Trump tweeted about Vice President Mike Pence's very public exit from the Colts-49ers game in Indianapolis.

The president tweets the trip was long planned and that Pence "is receiving great praise for leaving the game after the players showed such disrespect for the country."

Sports columnist Gregg Doyel, of the "INDY STAR," was at the game. He calls Pence's exit staged.

Doyle writes, "North Korea and its nukes can wait. The White House has declared war on the NFL and on the First Amendment."

Gregg Doyel joins me now. Gregg, thanks so much for being with us.

So you were at the game. What did you see happen yesterday?

GREGG DOYEL, SPORTS COLUMNIST, INDIANAPOLIS STAR: I saw about 20-25 49ers kneeling on the sideline, and then I saw a tweet from Pence a few minutes later saying he was gone. And I saw all heck break loose on social media.

And let's make clear -- make this clear. I'm not saying it was staged, it was staged. This is not fake news -- hashtag fake news.

You have Pence, I guess, got praised in the echo chamber where he and Trump live, but they planned this. They -- Trump told him ahead of time --

CAMEROTA: How do you know that? How do you know?

DOYEL: He thinks --

CAMEROTA: But how do you know it was staged?

DOYEL: Oh, gosh, because Trump told him ahead of time because Trump, as he can't help but do -- he bragged about it and said yes, I told Mike if they kneeled you can go ahead and leave.

Well, he was -- he was watching the 49ers play. The 49ers kneel every single game. I mean, literally every game for two years, they kneel. This was going to happen. In fact, the political -- the press that follow Pence around were in the vans outside. Pence and his people said don't bother coming in, we're not going to be there long.

CAMEROTA: And, in fact, you did not see him leave. I mean, again, as you're saying, you only read about it on Twitter. So it was that sort of brief that you thought that he was still there until you read it on Twitter that he had left.

So what does that mean? That this was, to your mind, a quarter- million-dollar publicity stunt?

DOYEL: Yes, or a quarter-million-dollar piece of art, you know. People that voted for Pence and like what Pence and Trump -- voted for Trump -- like that argument. They love it. They see masterpiece.

People on the other side see graffiti. And I refer to it as a quarter-million-dollar piece of graffiti. That was -- that was his form of art expression.

CAMEROTA: So basically, isn't the vice president free -- I mean, look, if the guys -- if the 49ers were taking a knee to -- in protest and for their freedom of speech and the First Amendment, isn't Vice President Pence just doing the same and it's his freedom of speech to walk out?

[07:35:00] DOYEL: Oh, absolutely. Oh yeah, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. He's got the right to walk out.

The difference, and this is not subtle -- this is not subtle. The difference is it's one thing for regular citizens and by that, I mean NFL players, you, me, whoever -- regular citizens have their political speech and kneel or whatever they're doing, that's one thing.

When the two most powerful elected officials in our country, the president and the vice president, both come out against that political statement -- political speech -- and Pence makes his own speech by walking out, that -- that's -- you're crossing the line from political speech, which it is, to using your pulpit as a bully pulpit to shut down the other side. And all the other side is doing is exercising their First Amendment rights.

CAMEROTA: What do you think the Colts thought about what was happening yesterday? Did they think the vice president was there for a different reason?

DOYEL: Oh, yes, yes. They have a standing invitation to Pence. He's a former governor of Indiana, of course -- standing invite. Anytime you want to come to a Colts game we'll make a suite available for you.

Well, Pence took them up on that about two weeks ago and they thought he was coming to honor and celebrate Peyton Manning who -- the great Colt whose number was retired and he was putting the Colts ring of honor at the game.

They thought he was coming for that reason. They had no idea that this whole thing was planned out that Pence was going to be there for about five minutes and cost taxpayers -- I don't know, a quarter million dollars.

And I know there's a certain political party that votes in a way that they don't really appreciate government wasting money. And this is not fake news. The government wasted a whole lot of money yesterday and I wonder how they feel about that.

CAMEROTA: Here's what the San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid said about this whole incident. Let me play it for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC REID, SAFETY, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: This is what systemic oppression looks like. A man with power comes to the game, tweets a couple of things out, and leaves the game with an attempt to thwart our efforts.

This is really disheartening when everything that you were raised on -- everything that I was raised on was to be the best person I could be, to help people that need help. And the vice president of the United States is trying to confuse the message that we're trying to -- trying to put out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What do you think about these players speaking out like that?

DOYEL: That was brilliant. I don't know why you have me on here. He's a better speaker than I am. That was perfect.

You know, the argument against kneeling for the anthem -- because everybody's moving the goal post to a spot where we can live ourselves. We can live with ourselves if this is about military veterans. They're disrespecting veterans. That's what they're doing.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

DOYEL: Listen, I've seen the American flag worn by people as pants. I've seen it on people's rear end.

Nobody seems to mind that because we know what their intent is. Their intent is to show off we love the flag. Well, they're not disrespecting the military when they do that.

But apparently, NFL players are when they kneel about systemic inequality and social injustice in this country. It's all about viewpoint and the other side -- Pence's side don't even want to see the player's viewpoint.

CAMEROTA: Gregg Doyel, "INDIANAPOLIS STAR," thanks so much for giving us your viewpoint.

DOYEL: Thank, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Bill --

BILL WEIR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, coming up, a CNN exclusive.

The Las Vegas killer in his own words. Could a deposition from a lawsuit four years ago provide any clues into his motives for the massacre?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:50] WEIR: It is now weeks after Hurricane Maria made landfall and emergency workers in Puerto Rico are trying to prevent a grim humanitarian crisis. The governor says Congress needs to take action to provide relief for the island left battered by the storm.

And joining us to update on the very latest situation is the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello.

Governor, great to see you again. Last time we were in person together there in San Juan. I was there for about the first eight days after the storm and from then, on a scale of to 10, desperation level was around nine.

How would you characterize the need this morning?

GOV. RICARDO ROSSELLO, PUERTO RICO: Well, certainly, a lot of the things are being delivered to the people of Puerto Rico right now. We've increased capabilities. We have DOD that have increased their numbers, as well as other federal agencies, and logistics are getting through.

We're still, obviously, needing to do more. So, for example, we know we're delivering food to all of the municipalities, and water. There were some complaints that that water in some places was not getting to the people so I ordered an investigation -- a full investigation on that -- on that effort.

And as I stated before, if there is a place -- a locality that is not delivering food to the people of Puerto Rico that need it there's going to be some hell to pay. So we sent the National Guard, we sent auditors as well, and we sent the local Justice Department to evaluate this effort because we want to make sure that if food is being delivered, as we've been tracking it, as we've been sending it, that it gets to the hands of the people of Puerto Rico.

WEIR: But that seems outrageous that you would spend man-hours on investigating need when hundreds of thousands of people are drinking rainwater. I mean, according to the -- your Web site has had the stats up. The FEMA Web site actually pulled these stats down inexplicably for a while.

But right now, about 11.7 percent of Puerto Rico has power. You've got just over half with telecommunication service. Only about a little over 40 percent have access to clean water.

So the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, she's saying help us, please. This is a five-alarm fire and you've only sent two-alarm fire trucks.

You seem to be saying things aren't that dire. Where is the disconnect here, Governor?

ROSSELLO: Well, that's why we're investigating, I mean, and I disagree with your premise. I think that if there are places where water is being withheld and food is being withheld, we need to showcase it and we need to push it forward to the people.

So these are people that aren't necessarily fixing the energy grid or working on water delivery per se. So, they are doing an effort, they are doing a job. And, of course, a lot of the assets -- the great majority of the assets are going there so -- to make sure that we can reestablish water -- potable water to the people of Puerto Rico.

In the vast majority of areas now it's up to 65 to 70 percent. There is one area in the north where we're at 20-some percent. That is the area where we're focusing on so that we can deliver trucks of water and potable water to the people of Puerto Rico. So a lot of the actions are being taken.

There are some complaints at the granular level and what we want to make sure is that it is not because water is not being delivered but, rather, you know, the limitation -- or rather, that we can get every local leadership, every mayor, everybody to buy in and to make sure that as soon as resources get to the municipality or to their local area they can deliver it to the people of Puerto Rico.

[07:45:20] WEIR: After Carmen Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, put out another passionate plea, this was the head of FEMA, Brock Long, responding yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROCK LONG, ADMINISTRATOR, FEMA: We filtered out the mayor a long time ago. We don't have time for the political noise. The bottom line is that we are making progress every day in conjunction with the governor.

And in regards to the power failure, we're restringing a very fragile system every day. As we make progress, several thunderstorms pass through and knock the progress out.

Rebuilding Puerto Rico is going to be a greater conversation for the Congress in conjunction with the governor on how they're -- you know, what the way forward is in the future of Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIR: Your reaction to him referring to the mayor there as political noise?

ROSSELLO: Well listen, from my vantage point, my only observation -- my only work as governor of Puerto Rico is getting results to the people of Puerto Rico, so I don't get involved in the fodder, Bill. What I do focus is on results and I've been willing to come to have a

conversation with anybody. I've been in communication, of course, with FEMA. We've been working together. I've also been in communication with the mayor.

So from my vantage point, I have the responsibility to make sure that results get to the people of Puerto Rico not only in the immediate term but also in the mid- and long-term.

And that's why we're making a plea to Congress to act quickly on an immediate relief package to Puerto Rico so that we can get what we've estimated as $4.6 billion of immediate relief.

WEIR: Right.

ROSSELLO: Later on, we'll talk about the recovery package -- but immediate relief, similar as was done in Texas. So our petition right now is that this gets moved forward, as well as other petitions we made to the administration so that we can start establishing normalcy and start rebuilding Puerto Rico stronger than before.

WEIR: Just as a point of comparison, Governor, at this point in the American response to the Haiti quake in 2010, there were 22,000 American troops on the ground in Haiti, a foreign country. Right now, we hear that you're hoping to get 8,000 in an American commonwealth.

ROSSELLO: No, that --

WEIR: Do you need more troops?

ROSSELLO: Well, those numbers are not correct. Right now, we have over 13,000 of DOD personnel. We have close to 3,000 EMACs that have come from different states to Puerto Rico --

WEIR: But that's half of Haiti.

ROSSELLO: -- in addition to all of the federal assets.

WEIR: That's half of the response to Haiti.

ROSSELLO: That's right --

WEIR: Could you use another 13,000?

ROSSELLO: Well, right now, those capabilities that we're using -- of course, comparing disasters is somewhat, you know -- it's somewhat misleading.

Right now, the assets that are increasing are helping us deliver food and water. They are helping us do air drops. They are helping us in engineering purposes and medical purposes.

We are now establishing medical centers in Humacoa, which is in the southeast part of the island, where they'll end in Aguadilla in the northwest part of the island, as well, to supplement what is a really fragile health care system right now in Puerto Rico. And, of course, right now we're also starting the effort with the Corps of Engineers and private sector to start rebuilding the -- and making stronger, which is also a petition of ours. And not just remaking an energy grid, not just putting it back as it was, but actually taking the opportunity to make it better.

WEIR: Right.

ROSSELLO: And that's why we've had conversation with innovators such as Elon Musk and Google to try to look at this situation in Puerto Rico and not only place it back together --

WEIR: Right.

ROSSELLO: Let's not -- let's not do that because then another storm will come and it will collapse again. Let's make it stronger, let's make it better, let's leapfrog into the 21st century. And that's one of the efforts that we're making -- one of the strong pushes that we're making right now.

WEIR: The one guarantee, Governor, is the storms are just going to keep coming and get bigger and stronger. So our hearts are with your people. We hope you get everything you need.

Thank you so much for your time this morning.

ROSSELLO: Thank you, Bill, and thank you for your reporting here in Puerto Rico.

WEIR: A pleasure. I hope to be back there as soon as possible.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

WEIR: There's so much need and the people are so agracious and grateful to get anything they can. And it's no knock on the people who are right there, you know, working sleepless days and nights trying to help, but they could use more help.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and it's so important to be on the ground to get the real picture of what it looks like.

WEIR: Oh, yes.

CAMEROTA: All right.

Meanwhile, we have a CNN exclusive for you. It provides a look at the mind of a killer. Could a deposition of the Las Vegas murderer from a lawsuit years ago provide clues into his motives for the massacre?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:57] CAMEROTA: Investigators still do not know what led a killer to open fire on thousands of people at the country music festival in Las Vegas last week.

Parts of the Vegas Strip dimmed their marquis last night to honor the 58 people killed.

CNN has exclusively obtained a copy of a deposition in which you can read the killer's own words. CNN's Kyung Lah is live in Las Vegas with this exclusive for us. What have you learned, Kyung?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, this is the very first time we're actually hearing the words from the suspect himself and he is describing himself. We are told by two sources that the FBI now has this deposition as they try to step into the mind of a mass murderer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): Before Stephen Paddock unleashed his murderous assault on an innocent concert crowd, he called himself the biggest video poker player in the world, gambling up to $1 million in a single night, overnight, sleeping during the day. Prescribed Valium for anxiousness.

[07:55:00] These are Stephen Paddock's own words as he testified in 2013 in his lawsuit against the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas. The suit stems from this moment. Security cameras catching Paddock slipping and falling in a casino walkway.

In the 97-page deposition obtained exclusively by CNN, Paddock testifies about that fall and gives us fresh insight into his mind four years before the shooting.

Paddock moved from Las Vegas casino to casino, at one point staying maybe upwards of three weeks out of a month, he said. A high roller, his hotel stays were comped 95 percent of the time. "That's range from $100 to $1,350 each time I pushed the button."

Speaking of a peak year, asked an attorney, how many dollars are we talking? "I averaged 14 hours a day, 365 days a year, over 200 million coin through." When Paddock says on a given night he'll bet a million dollars, an attorney replies "That's lot of money." "No, it's not."

Paddock called video poker a game of discipline, at times appearing condescending and sarcastic as he explains to his attorney why he stays sober while gambling. "At the stakes I play, you want to have all your wits about you."

Paddock's home in Mesquite, Nevada suggests an upper middle-class retired life.

For easy access to a doctor, Paddock testified he paid a yearly retainer free to Nevada internist, Dr. Steven Winkler. Paddock says Winkler prescribed him Valium. Why? It's for anxiousness.

Rage, aggressive, and irritability are among the possible side effects of taking Valium, according to the manufacturer of the drug.

The "LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL" reported that Dr. Winkler prescribed him Valium in June of this year. CNN could not independently confirm that information.

Despite all the claims about his high-rolling ways, Paddock testified on the day he fell in the Cosmopolitan he wore his typical clothing. "I always wear black Nike sweatpants that are nylon or polyester." On his feet, black flip-flops that he wore 98 percent of the time.

"Life was better before the economic meltdown," he testified, saying Vegas casinos comped less and less, meaning he visited Sin City less. "What happened to the economy in 2007", he said, "it tanked. Las Vegas went into the gutter with a lot of other things. They quit giving away freebies. It just wasn't worth coming out here as often."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: An arbitrator ultimately found in favor of the Cosmopolitan hotel as far as that lawsuit. We are hearing that from two different sources.

And something we noticed, Bill, is that throughout this deposition he was asked many times -- a handful of times, at least, about his mental health issues. Did he have any mental health issues, did he have any addictions, and he always said no -- Bill.

WEIR: Kyung Lah with some fascinating crumbs -- clues into the mind of this man. Thanks so much.

For the survivors of the attack the healing process is an hour-by-hour endeavor.

Music star Jason Aldean who was performing in Las Vegas when the shots rang out, appeared in a cold open of "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" over the weekend to pay tribute to the victims of the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON ALDEAN, COUNTRY MUSIC STAR: We hurt for you and we hurt with you. But you can be sure that we're going to walk through these tough times together every step of the way because when America is at its best our bond and our spirit, it's unbreakable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIR: Aldean then played a rendition of the late, great Tom Petty's hit song "I Won't Back Down."

On Sunday, he flew back to Nevada, visiting survivors of the massacre laid up in hospitals there.

CAMEROTA: Music is so powerful and, you know, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" has done that really effectively. At different times during different tragedies and crises they do a cold open with music --

WEIR: Right.

CAMEROTA: -- and it just sends the message.

WEIR: And such a pitch-perfect choice to lose Tom Petty on the same week as that tragedy.

We're following a lot of news. Let's get to it this Monday morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EUGENE SCOTT, POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: I'm sure Corker is not going to forget the insults that Trump leveled at him.

CAMEROTA: Corker saying Trump's threats could put the U.S. on a path to World War III.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People in private say this all the time and things much worse than that.

WEIR: The White House releasing its wish list for a deal to protect Dreamers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is very hard for Democrats to say yes to.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: America made a promise to our Dreamers. America should keep its promises.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've known Harvey Weinstein for a long time. I'm not at all surprised to see it.

CAMEROTA: Media mogul Harvey Weinstein fired from his film company after multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: He's a pretty bad guy who did some really awful things, and people that took money from him should probably give it back.

(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 Monday, October ninth, 8:00 in the east.

Chris is off this morning. Bill Weir joins me. Great to have you here.

WEIR: It's great to be with you this holiday.

CAMEROTA: We'll get to all of those stories but first, President Trump's feud with a top Republican escalates.

Senator Bob Corker says the president's threats could put the nation quote "on the path to World War III." And, he believes that the president is --