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Trump To North Korea: "Do Not Try Us"; Democrats Sweep Races One Year After Trump Wins; Growing Calls For Reforms To Sexual Harassment Policies In Congress; Former T.V. Anchor Wins Race For Virginia House. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 08, 2017 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I say to the North, do not underestimate us and do not try us. We will defend our common security, our shared prosperity, and our sacred liberty.

The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer, they are putting your regime in grave danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: John Kirby, you oversaw these kinds of messages.

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY (RET.), CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY, THE PENTAGON: Yes.

CUOMO: Right message, right way?

KIRBY: Yes. Look, I think the speech was adequate to the task. This was no Churchillian moment.

I don't think we should make more of it than it was. He solidified what has been his administration's general approach to North Korea.

And look, I've been given them high marks for the measured, deliberate way that they've tried to approach this problem which, in their defense, is much more urgent than it was just a couple of years ago.

So I think it was adequate to the task. Right message to the South Korean people, right message to Pyongyang. Certainly, right message to China and Russia.

And for those who say well, he kept the door open for diplomacy. While I won't disagree on the face of it, he also put conditions on that open door -- they have to stop all their aggression, they have to dismantle their nuclear program -- that are simply not going to be acceptable to Pyongyang. So he really didn't advance any diplomatic balls last night.

CUOMO: Mr. Woolsey, how big is the task of getting North Korea to change, and do you believe there's any likelihood of it happening?

AMBASSADOR JAMES WOOLSEY, CHAIRMAN, THE FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES, FORMER DIRECTOR, CIA, FORMER ADVISER TO THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN: I think the chances are very slim.

It has lied -- the North Korean government, under three Kims, has lied, and lied, and lied. And every time they promise something -- we'll do this if you just give us some relief from the sanctions, if you give us this, if you give us that, they double-cross us. It -- you really, I think, have to be pretty credulous to think that the North Koreans are going to keep their word.

I think it's important, though, that we have a situation with the vulnerability of our electric grid to nuclear detonation up above the United States -- say, in a satellite -- that we have to deal with. And North Korea talks about this and then the President of the United States doesn't report it. They've -- several times -- four or five times they've threatened the use of electromagnetic pulse and we need to pay some attention to that and not just brush it aside.

CUOMO: Those watching would be well-instructed to go Google an EMP and see what the vulnerabilities are and what the options are.

Mr. Woolsey, Mr. Kirby, value added, as always. Thank you, sirs.

KIRBY: Thank you.

CUOMO: Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK.

Now, to the Russia investigation. Carter Page told the House Intel Committee that he gave the Trump campaign a head's up about his Moscow trip. What else did the panel learn during his hours of testimony?

We ask a Democratic lawmaker, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:36:36] CAMEROTA: Democrats coming away with victories in two governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey last night. What does this mean for the 2018 midterms?

Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier. She's a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Good morning, Congresswoman.

REP. JACKIE SPEIER (D-CA), MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, SELECT INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: So, what do you glean for Democrats? What lessons are there for Democrats heading -- after last night, heading into the midterms?

SPEIER: Well, it's a new day for Democrats. I think that they electorate -- the Democratic electorate woke up.

And we woke up earlier this year to a nightmare, recognizing that it was time to deliver.

So, I think the Women's March, which was the biggest march in the history of this country -- all around the country -- really enlivened the interest in Democrats to reach out and to be counted, and that's exactly what happened last night.

CAMEROTA: It's not all good news for Democrats. Let me pull up for you the latest CNN polling and it shows real enthusiasm sort of slipping, at least the favorability numbers.

So let me just show you what's happened from March in terms of Democrats favorability. It was 44 percent in March, then it slipped in September to 41 percent, and now, it's at 37 percent.

So what does that mean?

SPEIER: Well, it means that we have to make very clear what our message is and I don't think we have done an excellent job of doing that. And, they want to know what we're going to produce.

We know what the Republicans are producing in terms of a tax guide. It's a huge scam and a huge tax cut for the wealthy and for corporations.

But what are we promoting? What are we producing? So I think we're going to have to be much more alert to showing what the differences are.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the latest in the Russia investigation because I know that Carter Page, former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, came in front of your House Intel Committee and revealed some new interactions and new e-mails that he had had with senior Trump campaign officials about a trip that Carter Page was going on to Russia in July of 2016.

He basically bounced it off of Corey Lewandowski, among other senior Trump campaign officials, and asked is it OK if I go and do you have any sort of message, or what do you think of my message. Let me know if you want it tweaked, we now know from these e-mails.

Corey Lewandowski has kind of been all over the map in terms of who Carter Page was to the campaign. At one point in January, Corey Lewandowski said I don't know Carter Page. He just pretended -- well, whatever. He acted as though -- he said I don't know who Carter Page is.

So, now where are you with all of that? Do you want Corey Lewandowski to come in and appear before your committee?

SPEIER: Well, there's a whole slew of additional people we want to invite to come in to speak to us.

I would say about Carter Page -- you know, he did not provide us with a scintilla of documentation that we asked for. And then, he would slip up in his testimony and it was only because we had documentation from others and then was -- provided it to him that all of a sudden his amnesia was rectified.

So he is, I think, a witness that was not as forthcoming as we would have liked. We're going to see what he produces in terms of documentation.

[07:40:00] I also think that he was someone who was looking for gigs in Russia. And anything to somehow embellish his curriculum vitae was what he was in business to do, and using the Trump campaign was part of it.

I think the Russians identified him as someone that they may be able to use, whether it was wittingly or unwittingly, and therefore, he was invited to the New Economic School to give a speech. And then, spoke with the foreign minister and others when he returned in December.

CAMEROTA: OK. Last topic, sexual harassment. As you know, there is this movement -- this nationwide -- worldwide, it feels like, movement -- the hashtag MeToo -- of so many people coming forward and speaking out about their experiences.

And you've done that. You've come forward and been public an experience that you had years ago in the halls of Congress with a powerful staffer -- Congressional staffer when you were a junior staffer and how he basically forced himself on you.

Tomorrow night I'm doing a CNN town hall on this topic of sexual harassment because it does feel like the floodgates have opened.

And I'm just wondering about the things that you've said about current day that you feel as though it's still a breeding ground or that it's still rampant in the halls of Congress. Can you just tell us what that means?

SPEIER: We still have a serious problem in Congress, in part because we've never addressed it. There is no requirement -- mandatory requirement for sexual harassment training for members and staff. I have a bill to do that this year.

It looks like Congress, particularly in the House, is going to address that. Meanwhile, all of the federal employees are required to do so.

But, more importantly, we have a problem with a system that is really there to protect the accused and to diminish the victim. And to the victims I've talked to who have had current cases before the Office of Compliance, it's a nightmare what they have gone through. So, it's no surprise that three-quarters of those who are sexually harassed don't even report it.

So we've got to change the system so that these nondisclosure agreements are not required, that they have the opportunity to be represented by counsel, and that their claims are given serious attention. CAMEROTA: Well, sure. We talk -- we really appreciate you coming on to talk about all of this and shed some light on all of the things that need to change there and elsewhere.

Congresswoman Speier, thank you very much --

SPEIER: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: -- for being on NEW DAY.

Be sure to watch CNN's town hall "TIPPING POINT: SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN AMERICA" at 9:00 p.m. tomorrow night.

CUOMO: Up next, winter is coming and it's a little bit early, so we're going to see record low temperatures. Where are they, why are they, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:47:05] CAMEROTA: A blast of Arctic air expected to hit parts of the Midwest and the Northeast. It's an early taste of winter.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has our forecast. What are you seeing, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We're already seeing -- starting to see some cities begin to drop back. Charlotte, North Carolina, for example, going to be about 15 degrees cooler today than they were just yesterday. Atlanta, about 10 degrees cooler.

But that's not it. It's going to get even cooler.

So this forecast is brought to you by Humana. Start with healthy.

So we take a look at that cold air that's going to start to push down from Canada. It begins in the Midwest, moves through the Great Lakes region, and into the Northeast. And for some of these cities we're going to drop 15, 20 degrees below average.

Take, for example, Chicago. Normal high is 52. We'll be a few degrees below that today but a high of only 33 on Friday.

New York -- normal is 57. We'll be 20 degrees below that Friday afternoon.

But, Chris, it's not just that it's also the record low temperatures as well. We could be looking at two dozen of them Saturday morning for a lot of these cities.

CUOMO: Not good for fall fishing. All right, thank you very much. Appreciate the information.

Up next, his girlfriend was killed on live television. What a journey the new lawmaker on your screen has had. The former news anchor now heading to Virginia's House of Delegates.

What motivated Chris Hurst to take this step? A big interview, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:30] CUOMO: A former T.V. anchor decided to do a lot more with his life and he's back in the spotlight this morning and heading to his state's capital. His name is Chris Hurst and you probably first learned that name, at least on the national level, after a gunman killed his girlfriend Alison Parker on live television two years ago.

In an electoral upset, Hurst defeating a three-time GOP incumbent. You know, no small irony -- backed by the NRA. He gets an A-minus from them. And Hurst beat him in the race for the 12th District of Virginia's House of Delegates.

Chris Hurst joins me now. It is good to see your face again, my friend.

CHRIS HURST (D-VA), DELEGATE-ELECT, VIRGINIA STATE HOUSE: Good to see you, Chris. Glad to be with you.

CUOMO: Congratulations on your win. Why do you think you won?

HURST: I think we won because we had an approach in this campaign, just like I had an approach in journalism. When I was evening anchor for WDBJ7 we had 26 counties that we covered.

And my district covers Giles County, Montgomery County, Pulaski County, and the city of Radford in southwest Virginia and we were everywhere. We left no part of this district untouched. We employed a strategy where we went where normally people in my party, the Democratic Party, don't go.

And that allowed us to be able to bring our message of economic opportunity, of bringing good-paying jobs, raising the minimum wage, having people live with a living wage, expanding Medicaid, and investing in our schools to everybody and people connected with that message across the district.

CUOMO: An unusual and painful journey took you to this place. When I met you, you were dealing with the worst thing that you'd ever imagined happened to you. What did that moment do to you in change -- in terms of changing you and putting you on this path?

HURST: I remember very vividly when I met you. I met you outside of our television station the day after Alison was killed.

I told people since, and I'll tell you and your viewers now that Alison and Adam Ward's death connected me to humanity more than anything else. That I, through tragedy, had a shared experience and a common bond with so many people who have gone through tragedy, who have gone through loss. And now, unfortunately, as we have seen in recent events, have also gone through the tragedy and horror of losing a loved one through gun violence.

[07:55:00] But it connected me to my community. It galvanized me to my community. You know, only through fire can that steel be forged stronger.

And it made me want to stay in no place other than in southwest Virginia and Appalachia but I couldn't stay at the station anymore. It became too emotionally difficult for me to stay there.

And so, what could I do, though, to be a natural progression to be able to give back to a community -- to a people that gave me so much strength, love, prayer, and support when I needed it, and this seemed like the right thing to do.

CUOMO: Well, you were put through quite the crucible there, Chris. There's no question about that.

So then, you wind up head-to-head with an A-minus rating from the NRA. What did it mean for you to take on that point of view, as well as that politician?

HURST: You know, we really have not been focused on gun violence in this race at all, you know.

I have been telling people from the beginning that I'm a gun owner. My brother gave me a shotgun for Christmas. We used to enjoy shooting skeet and trap and going to the range at Thanksgiving and at Christmas.

But this race has been more about education. It's been more about expanding Medicaid, finally in Virginia. And now, with the Democratic wave at the top of the ticket on down to my race at the General Assembly level maybe we can finally do that here in Virginia.

This, I think, presents a fantastic opportunity for us to address issues that impact people's lives on a daily basis. And that starts, first and foremost, with being able to make sure that people have access to affordable health care here in the commonwealth.

Four thousand people in my district alone, 400,000 Virginians would be able to benefit from expanding Medicaid here in Virginia and we may finally, after three years, be able to accomplish that goal.

CUOMO: You know, there's no question that health care's a specific concern in your state.

And the reason I brought up gun violence isn't just because of what you've lived through, but it's because it is being framed as a public health issue now. Not only do we see it as an extension of domestic violence and a threat to women's health and life, but of the 30 or so thousand deaths every year by gun, two-thirds of them are suicide.

States are taking the lead in the absence of any kind -- you know, the vacuum of any power and action. On the federal level you see states doing it.

What do you think needs to be done when you look at your own state's laws in terms of access to weapons in the wake of these mass shootings and what we've learned to endure, but not change? HURST: Well, I was proud back in 2016 that our governor was able to get the Republicans and the General Assembly to support a possession prohibition for abusers who have had a permanent protective order issued against them.

Maybe let's look at temporary protective orders as well. This is a time when women are very susceptible to domestic violence and to gun violence. Maybe we should extend that position prohibition from permanent protective orders to temporary protective orders.

But you also bring up a key statistic that two-thirds of all gun deaths are from suicides, and there are some states that have had individuals who have suicidality, who have suicidal thoughts. Be able to volunteer and sign away their gun rights and turn in their guns for safe storage because they know they don't want easy access to that very powerful and effective tool if they were to act upon their plan of those suicidal thoughts. And maybe that's something that Virginia decides to take a hard look at.

You know, I think it is a new day in Virginia where we have not only a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general now for the next four years again, but we have the possibility of being able to have a majority in the House of Delegates.

So every single idea that could possibly address and reduce the number of people who are dying from gun homicide, suicide, and accidental firearm deaths, I think, now, is finally on the table.

And for so many people who have been impacted by gun violence across the commonwealth, even here in my district, they are, I think, just humbled, grateful, and looking forward to the opportunity of passing legislation that will tangibly reduce deaths here in Virginia from firearms.

CUOMO: So, Chris, your win is significant on two levels. Your party needs help at the state seat level. Some of its biggest losses that don't get talked about, so you helped them there. But you also showed people that you could turn personal pain into purpose.

And I'm sorry for what it took you to get to this point but it's so good. It makes so many who get to -- got to meet you that way -- it feels good to see that you did something with your life to turn your pain into purpose.

Congratulations. I look forward to having you on the show in the future.

HURST: Thank you, Chris. Good to be with you this morning.

CUOMO: All right. Be well.

There's a lot of new this morning. What do you say? Let's get after it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH NORTHAM (D-VA), GOVERNOR-ELECT: Virginia has told us to end the divisiveness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you see is a lot of people frustrated with the inability of the government to function.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Republicans, they need to contemplate do you embrace Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They didn't get health care done. They've got to show a record of accomplishment.