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New Day
Top 10 CNN Heroes of the Year; Bourdain Explores Puerto Rico in Crisis; Bourdain on Weinstein Effect; Trump Vacillates on Terror Suspect; Trump Blasts Criminal Justice System; Trump on Russia Investigation. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired November 02, 2017 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:33] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: 2017 marks the 11th year of CNN Heroes. Now, we've shared lots of stories with you about these everyday people who are changing the world. And this morning we're revealing the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2017. And that means --
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC 360": Dun, dun, dun, dun.
CUOMO: The man himself, Anderson Cooper with the big reveal.
COOPER: That's right. We are unveiling the top 10 CNN Heroes. And these are all people that were selected after you, the viewers, decided -- sent us the information on who should be CNN Heroes. So here are the top 10 Heroes for 2017. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys need any meals?
COOPER (voice-over): From Missouri, pit master Stan Hays and his team of volunteers have responded to dozens of natural disasters, providing nourishment and comfort to survivors and first responders.
Samir Lakhani from Pittsburgh recycles and distributes discarded bars of soap from hotels across Cambodia, improving hygiene and creating jobs.
Amid violence in Chicago, Police Officer Jennifer Maddox give young people on the south side a safe haven to learn, grow and succeed.
Mama Rosie Mashale is raising a generation of abandoned and sick children in her impoverished South African community, many who've lost parents to AIDS.
Iraq War veteran Andrew Manzi's free surf camps on South Carolina beaches bring therapy and healing to fellow vets and their families.
In memory of her son, Leslie Morissette provides computers and robots to children battling serious illnesses, keeping them connected to school and friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is walking.
COOPER: Mona Patel helps fellow amputees rebuild their lives through peer support, resources and transformative athletic activities.
Khali Sweeney's Books Before Boxing program provides mentorship and academic tutoring, guiding kids from Detroit's toughest neighborhoods towards a brighter future.
In southern California, Aaron Valencia teaches car restoration to young people in need, giving them trade skills, guidance and hope.
And, finally, Amy Wright, through her non-profit coffee shop in North Carolina, she's creating jobs and community for young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: So, 11 years, hosting ours at the 10 year mark last year, which was wonderful.
COOPER: Yes.
HARLOW: You do it with the wonderful Kelly Ripa.
COOPER: Kelly Ripa is going to be the co-host. It's live December 17th.
HARLOW: Yes.
COOPER: Got a lot of people coming out to give awards to these folks. And one person will be selected to be CNN Hero of the Year. They'll get an additional $100,000.
But everybody can start voting today. Voting is open right now. You go to cnnheroes.com. You can vote ten times a day per method by e-mail, FaceBook blog and our FaceBook Messenger.
HARLOW: Ten times a day?
COOPER: You can actually vote up to 30 times a day total for however many areas (ph) you want.
HARLOW: That's what Chris does all day.
CUOMO: Yes.
COOPER: I know he does.
CUOMO: I vote for Coop and it never happens.
COOPER: That's not possible.
CUOMO: So the amazing part of this is that you see these everyday people doing extraordinary things.
COOPER: Right. HARLOW: Yes.
CUOMO: The horrible part of it is picking one of them.
HARLOW: Yes.
COOPER: Well, also, I feel that by the end of the broadcast, I go through -- like I cry, I laugh, I have fun --
CUOMO: Weepiness (ph).
COOPER: And then I feel that --
CUOMO: Hair almost moves.
COOPER: I feel completely insignificant and that I've really done nothing with my life, because these people have done so much and have done such cool things.
HARLOW: Right. It was true. You walk out feeling like that.
COOPER: I mean it's inspirational, but it's motivational as well.
HARLOW: And if people aren't nominated this year and they say, oh, I know someone who should be a hero, you can get started.
[08:35:01] COOPER: Nominations start the day after December 17th.
HARLOW: Right.
CUOMO: And it is amazing how just being involved changes their operations, changes the --
COOPER: Yes.
HARLOW: Sure.
CUOMO: Whether they win or not, the exposure --
COOPER: Right.
CUOMO: Because they're all so worthy.
HARLOW: It's huge.
COOPER: Yes, I mean --
CUOMO: Great stuff.
COOPER: A lot of these people are -- you know, their organizations are very small. They just -- you know, they had an idea, they saw a need, they started to do it. So any little bit helped.
HARLOW: You and Kelly make it fun. Sunday, December 17th.
COOPER: Cnnheroes.com to vote. HARLOW: Thirty times a day. Chris will get you started.
All right, amazing people. Go to cnnheroes.com. Vote for whomever inspires you the most.
CUOMO: All right, coming up next, why is the president taking on the U.S. judicial system? Why would he call it a joke after the New York City terror attack? A time that we need justice most? By all accounts the system's working. Republican Congressman Peter King with his perspective on this and other pressing matters, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: What are you doing on Sunday night? I know what I'm doing. I'm watching "Parts Unknown." Anthony Bourdain. This is a special one. They're all special. But this is a visit, the time he spent in Puerto Rico, speaking to the people there that were already struggling in the face of huge bankruptcy, economic disaster. That was before Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, "PARTS UNKNOWN": Puerto Rico, it's America, right? It's ours and we've held on to it fiercely at times since 1898 after taking it by force during the Spanish/American War.
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": I want to take you to one of the worst-performing economies in the developed world.
[08:40:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $73 billion in debt.
ZAKARIA: The unemployment rate is only 35 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The highest sales tax of any United States jurisdiction, 11.5 percent.
ZAKARIA: Forty-five percent live in poverty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history?
ZAKARIA: Over the last 10 years, more than 5 percent of the population has fled.
BOURDAIN: But what's it like for Puerto Ricans, for the people who live here, whose families have lived here for generations. Many have left for an easier life in the states. More keep leaving, but not all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Anthony Bourdain joins us now. I'm so glad that clip began with you saying, it's America, right? It's important to remind people, 3.5 million Americans there --
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, "PARTS UNKNOWN": Yes.
HARLOW: And they need to be treated equally to all of those who went through the hurricanes in Texas and in Florida.
BOURDAIN: Yes. But they're not.
HARLOW: They're not. Your thoughts now. You filmed most of that before the hurricane. Now, I know you guys have been trying to get in touch with the folks you profiled.
BOURDAIN: It's incredibly painful and it makes me angry. The place was already in a terrible situation. I mean, imagine, they can't vote for president. They serve in the military. They're Americans, but they can't really vote and in any determine their own destiny. And now they are so in debt, mostly to hedge funds, the type of hedge fund that is often called by some a vulture fund, who bought their debt, and are now -- they are now administered essentially by an unelected -- a small, unelected group of representatives of these hedge funds who can squeeze the place dry any way they like. They decide this much goes to schools, this much is coming out of retirement accounts, you don't need this hospital. The people owed money, they get paid first.
HARLOW: Right.
BOURDAIN: At whatever rate they want.
HARLOW: And the president talked about at one point, you know, forgiving their debt, wiping it out. He doesn't have the authority to do that. And so these folks are left -- I couldn't believe, 11.5 percent sales tax. That's higher than we have here in New York.
BOURDAIN: Yes.
HARLOW: I mean this is unsustainable for them. You talk about them having no power to control their own destiny. I mean what do you want people to walk away from Sunday night with?
BOURDAIN: Look, I'm not a hard news reporter, but I'd like people to watch this show and see who -- who these people are. You know, meet them and hear them and admire the people who stayed, the teachers who stayed, the doctors who stayed, when they know they can make a better living for themselves in the states. They're determined to stay and fight it through and do what they can for their people.
HARLOW: And the pretty incredible individuals who have gone down there, like Chef Jose Andre (ph), served a million meals, made such a difference as one person.
BOURDAIN: He's well on his way to 3 million.
HARLOW: Oh, my gosh.
BOURDAIN: And, in fact, he served, as I understand it -- Jose went down there without any organization. He went first. He had a world -- oh, my God, I'm forgetting it, World Central Kitchen, a non-profit, behind him.
HARLOW: Right. BOURDAIN: But when he arrived, he had -- he had nothing other than a will to cook and help people. He has served more hot meals than FEMA or the Red Cross or any other entity.
HARLOW: Wow.
BOURDAIN: In fact, the Salvation Army was asking him for food at one point.
HARLOW: The power --
BOURDAIN: He's an extraordinary individual.
HARLOW: The power of an individual.
All right, let's -- let's turn the corner here to something very significant that you have been outspoken on that has your mind working a lot right now, sexual harassment culture pervasive and it is finally coming out into the open, being discussed, debated, punishments, hopefully, being handed down for some of these people that have carried out these horrifying acts. But you've said that you, at one point, you feel some guilt for providing a validation of a culture. What do you -- what do you mean?
BOURDAIN: Look, I come -- you know, I spent nearly 30 years in the restaurant industry. An industry and a culture that has been traditionally and pervasively hostile to women. I celebrated that -- it was a very difficult 30 years. And in my first book, "Kitchen Confidential," which basically made my career, I think I tended -- I was so proud of having survived that I romanticized that culture. I celebrated it in a way that I think unintentionally but it validated the sort of worst instincts of meat head bro culture and simply did not help women's situations.
HARLOW: Look, first, it's just acknowledgment. And you're talking about it in a way that many people wouldn't acknowledge. So where is your head now on, OK, what can I do, how can I use my platform, my fame, to advance it in the other way?
BOURDAIN: Well, look, I think, unfortunately, it's unrealistic to expect people who have been in the business for a long time, men in particular, to change their hearts and minds.
[08:45:02] HARLOW: Why?
BOURDAIN: I would like they --
HARLOW: Why?
BOURDAIN: I would hope that they do.
HARLOW: Why is that unrealistic?
BOURDAIN: I just don't -- I'm not that optimistic about the human, you know, the human race. I do think what has changed, however, is that people are -- for reasons of self (INAUDIBLE) are going to have to consider what they see and how they behave. You know, people who stood by and observed harassment, coercion -- what we are learning now is that to stay silent has real -- a real cost. You will be called into account for that. You will be asked what you did when you saw this. And so whether you have a good heart or not, I think the reality of the situation in this rapidly changing field is that people will be forced to do the right thing.
HARLOW: Is this -- this is a moment of reckoning for sure across industries.
BOURDAIN: No doubt.
HARLOW: But is it a tipping point? Meaning, it went from Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, you know, Harvey Weinstein, Mark Halperin. There -- there are more out there. Is it a tipping point where change -- I know you're not overly optimistic --
BOURDAIN: Well --
HARLOW: But is it -- is it -- could this be a moment of actual change?
BOURDAIN: Any -- any company, any -- certainly any restaurant group of any size that hopes to continue to make a profit are going to have to, have to, have some viable human resources department, some avenue for women to go and have their complaints and their allegations addressed in a credible way.
BOURDAIN: You know what -- you know what Gretchen Carlson, who obviously brought down Roger Ailes said to me and so many others, and writes in her book, HR isn't always there for you. Who's HR paid for -- by, right? I mean --
BOURDAIN: Well, look, HR is going to have to change. I mean if a credible -- a credible, you know, outlet where -- that could be trusted by people to go and say, this is what happened, and I expect you to investigate and do something about it. I think that's at least -- I think we can expect that at least.
HARLOW: Is it incumbent, finally, on men and women of powerful positions and voices to come out and be really honest, uncomfortably honest for them. It's not comfortable for you to sit here and say I contributed to this culture. I didn't stand up when I should. But is this a point where they have to say, here's where I screwed up. Don't do this.
BOURDAIN: I think a lot of us will be rightly called out and we'll have to say something. And we were talking -- you know, we both have kids.
HARLOW: Yes.
BOURDAIN: You know, I'm going to have to talk to my daughter some day and she's going to ask me what I did. HARLOW: What did you do?
BOURDAIN: What did you do, daddy, when you were confronted or when you saw --
HARLOW: When you're (ph) viewing (ph) it.
BOURDAIN: Or, you know, what -- what did you do? Which side were you on?
HARLOW: We were looking at onesies for our son on the way, and we -- I saw one that said "feminist." And I said, oh, let's get this for Sienna (ph), our daughter, and my husband said, let's get that for our son. Something I was glad to hear that.
BOURDAIN: That's a good start.
HARLOW: That's a good start.
Anthony Bourdain, thank you. I can't wait to see Puerto Rico Sunday night.
BOURDAIN: Thank you.
HARLOW: We appreciate it.
"Parts Unknown," Sunday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
Chris.
CUOMO: Hey, Tony, that's why people love you. You're about a lot more than food, and that's why your show is so intriguing to so many. Good to have you on.
So, President Trump wavering on where he thinks the New York City terror suspect should be tried. And that's not as a criticism. The president seems to have faced the facts that his initial position just isn't true. Republican Congressman Peter King with his take on that, taxes and more, next.
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[08:51:32] CUOMO: President Trump commenting again on the terror attack in New York City amid concerns that he is politicizing the issue, and he is. But his latest tweets recognize that the facts don't support his furor. The idea that sending a terror suspect to Gitmo sounds good, sounds harsh, but it's also unrealistic. And he says that now. He uses that word. The president, though, also looks at the criminal justice system that he says should prosecute this man and calls it a joke and a laughingstock.
President Trump, though, however, is saying at least the New York suspect should be tried here. He also says he should be executed, something prosecutors didn't want to hear because it can taint a jury.
Joining us now is Republican Congressman Peter King of New York. Always good to see you, sir. You doing well?
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: I'm doing fine, Chris. How about you?
CUOMO: All right. Thank God. All good.
Let me ask you this. These comments, the turnabout at least about Gitmo, you know the numbers. In no way I'm going to condescend to you about this. You know your facts. You know that the prosecutions are better off in our federal system. You know Gitmo is no expedient machine. Are you happy that the president turned around on that and is at least partially embracing the federal system?
KING: I am in this case (ph). Now, I'm not the person who's opposed to Guantanamo. I think in some cases, especially when a person is captured overseas --
CUOMO: Sure.
KING: Where there's a certain (ph) advantage to go to Guantanamo as far as being able to get information without having to necessarily give all the rights that a person would have if they're a U.S. citizen or here actually in the U.S. itself.
But, no, in this case I think that -- all it would do is delay it on and on. And I think, again, the southern district of New York is extremely efficient. The evidence is there. And, to me, it's the right thing to do and to go ahead.
As far as, you know, talking about capital punishment, I understand why, as a human being from his gut, the president felt this way. But, again, I go back to the days of Richard Nixon where he called Charles Manson a murderer during the trial and almost caused a mistrial. Presidents have to realize that whatever they say can be used by the defense council to either cause a mistrial or to have the trial delayed.
CUOMO: Now, we just had Speaker Ryan walk behind you and he is somebody who has been conspicuously quiet about what the president does. You, at least, have taken the opportunity to talk to us on camera. We appreciate that.
So, let me ask you, do you believe that our justice system is a joke? You're a world traveler. Do people say it's a laughingstock?
KING: No, they don't. I would say, again, there's criticism here on both sides. When you have people from the left who talk about how it's so pro-police and it's anti-minority, people on the right who say that it's -- you know, it's a giveaway to terrorists. No.
With all its faults, and we do have faults, it is by far the best legal system in the world. I haven't practiced law in many years, but I can tell you, the adversarial system and the judicial system, the jury system, it's a great check on power. And it's a -- it does protect peoples' rights, but it also gets the job done. And, again, on terrorist cases, certainly in New York, they've got excellent results. From the Chelsea (ph) bomber from last year, again, that's already gone to trial. So, no, this is -- we have the best system in the world.
CUOMO: Right. So if he's wrong on the facts, and he is impugning the integrity of our justice system, shouldn't that be called out by other elected leaders?
KING: Well, listen, I basically support the president on some of his key issues. But I think on this it is important for me, as an American, as a member of Congress to say, you know, our imperfections in the legal system, I can disagree with Supreme Court decisions, I can disagree with decisions by prosecutors. I think sometime prosecutors go too far. Sometimes defense councils will too far. But, again, in the human system, it -- with all the imperfections we have as human beings the -- as your father, who served, would have said over the year (ph), this is the best system we could ever have. It allows for human imperfection. And it does its best to control it and to restrain it and to channel it toward justice.
[08:55:15] CUOMO: So, let me ask you something. We're looking at this Russia investigation You've seen the first indictments. The surprise, obviously, was Papadopoulos cutting a deal because he lied. We could put up a graphic, if we wanted to. You have, including family members, about have a dozen people who have materially mislead about meetings with Russians, with different degrees of severity to what that could mean to an investigator. We have them on the screen right now.
In your estimation, does this have nothing to do with the campaign in light of what we've learned so far? Do you think that's a fair statement to say, this has nothing to do with the campaign?
KING: Well, the Manafort indictment has nothing to do with it. And, again, I'm on the Intelligence Committee. I have to watch how I say this because we're doing the investigation. I have seen no evidence yet indicating any collusion. You could have people saying misstatements (INAUDIBLE) there for Roger Stone, for Michael Cohn, for John Podesta, you know, for all -- almost all of the main figures I've been in there for, there's no evidence yet linking anyone to collusion. Even in the case of Papadopoulos, where we've only seen -- just in the media reports of the e-mails -- where his -- first of all, the president did say that he wanted to open up more relations with Russia. I disagree with that, but that was his position. So I can understand why a staff person would think he's -- would be getting out front.
But when he -- he actually e-mailed, having -- setting a meeting, they said, well, we couldn't do this anyway until we clear it with our NATO allies. So if you're involved in collusion, you're not going to be clearing it with your NATO allies. And even the meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., you know, when you look at that, if anything that shows there was no collusion in that the person who's setting it up, who's actually talking about the Russian government and helping -- putting this in an e-mail, he's taking pictures of himself checking into Trump Tower, and the meeting lasted, what, ten to 20 minutes.
So, I think, again, these mistakes were made, but as far as any collusion, I just don't see it yet. But, again, I'm keeping an open mind.
CUOMO: Congressman King, thank you for taking the opportunity to talk about it with us.
KING: Thank you, Chris.
CUOMO: It is not that common these days. You're always welcome here.
KING: Well, you know, us guys from Queens, it's the way we talk, you know.
CUOMO: It's true. It's true. You're -- you got a better head of hair, but otherwise we're from the same place.
You be well, sir.
KING: And you're better looking than your brother. So, there you go.
CUOMO: Oh, that's a low bar, but true. But very true.
All right.
KING: OK.
CUOMO: There's a lot of news for you this morning. We're going to get after it. CNN "NEWSROOM" with John Berman, the stronger part of the team is sitting next to me, but he'll pick it up right after the break.
HARLOW: You just like the brother (INAUDIBLE).
CUOMO: Oh, absolutely.
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