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Officials Demand Justice for Rose; Americans Losing Confidence in Democracy; Potential Summit with Putin. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired June 27, 2018 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:33:26] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities are investigating a deadly explosion at a construction site on a hospital campus in central Texas. One construction worker was killed, 12 others were injured in the blast Tuesday at the Coryell Memorial Hospital facility. Officials say no patients were injured and all patients were evacuated from the campus, which includes a nursing home, assisted living facility and independent apartments.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: In Kansas, search and rescue efforts underway after a tornado hit the city of Eureka Tuesday night.
BERMAN: Wow.
HILL: At least five people were injured. Look at those pictures. One person in critical condition. Here's more of that damage. You can see, obviously, the trees uprooted, buildings destroyed. We can also tell you a number of power lines were toppled. Thousands left without electricity. The governor, perhaps not surprisingly, has declared a state of emergency.
BERMAN: White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders expected to receive Secret Service protection as early as today. Two sources familiar with the decision tell CNN it's not clear how long it will last. The move comes amid the uproar after Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant because of her role within the Trump administration. Sanders did not respond to CNN for comment.
JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, revenge of the late night hosts. One day after President Trump bashed Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert at a rally in South Carolina, they teamed up with a little help from a friend, firing back with identical cold opens last night. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Got it. It's surprising Trump is orange because if you ask me he is bananas. I'm done. Great monologue.
[06:35:01] JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Hey, low life.
COLBERT: Hey, lost soul. What are you up to?
FALLON: I'm doing anything.
COLBERT: Be a man.
FALLON: I'll try. What are you up to?
COLBERT: Oh, I'm busy having no talent.
FALLON: Did you see Trump's rally last night?
COLBERT: Nope.
FALLON: Me either. I heard he said some pretty bad stuff about us.
COLBERT: Really? That doesn't sound like him.
FALLON: I heard he said we're all low talent, low lives, lost souls.
COLBERT: Well, that's not right. That's Conan.
Hold on. I'll get him.
CONAN O'BRIEN, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Oh, hey, guys, what's up?
FALLON: We were just talking about what President Trump said.
O'BRIEN: President who?
COLBERT: Trump.
O'BRIEN: Donald Trump? The real estate guy who sells steaks? He's president?
FALLON: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Wow. How's he doing?
COLBERT: Not so good.
O'BRIEN: Oh. Well, guys, give him time, OK? And, remember, please, be civil. If we're not careful, this thing could start to get ugly.
Hey, I'm about to start shaving my chest. You guys want to watch?
COLBERT: No thanks.
FALLON: Hey, are we still on for lunch?
COLBERT: Yes. Where do you want to eat?
FALLON: Red Hen.
COLBERT: Red Hen.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HILL: There you go.
AVLON: Red Hen.
BERMAN: Look, it's really interesting to see them do that. It's highly unusual to see direct competitors finding it so important to team up. And, yes, it was funny, but I do think they are sending a message to the country and to the administration at the same time --
HILL: Without question.
BERMAN: That, hey, you're going to pick on us, we're not going to take it.
AVLON: Donald Trump bringing people together. Even Conan and Fallon brought together by Trump. But I like the lost soul, low talent -- low talent exchange.
BERMAN: I do. I thought the Conan thing was actually the funniest part of all.
HILL: (INAUDIBLE).
BERMAN: And in some ways the most apolitical.
AVLON: Yes.
BERMAN: That was more about Conan and the whole late night thing than anything else.
HILL: And where you been, right? And he took it very well.
It's also fascinating too because it does bring us back to, and we've talked about this, the fact that the people the president is going after, right, he's going after late night talk show hosts and going after comedians, as opposed to focusing on what's happening in the country. And so that in and of itself and the fact that, you know, as you point out, they're teaming up, these rivals teaming up to say, all right, really, this is what you got? Here we are.
AVLON: Yes.
BERMAN: Just six children reunited with their families in the last week and the president's talking about late night comedy.
AVLON: That's exactly right.
BERMAN: And Conan had a great tease, though, because shaving your chest is always a good tease. Just saying.
HILL: I'm going to recommend we leave it there.
BERMAN: Yes. Yes.
HILL: And, by the way, those of you watching, you're welcome. On a much more serious note, two scares on two different flights. We
can tell you -- they're OK, but, boy, talk about some tough moments. That's ahead.
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[06:41:32] HILL: Elected officials demanding justice for Antwon Rose. The unarmed 17-year-old was shot and killed by Pittsburgh police last week. The officer involved has not been charged. Protesters calling on the district attorney now to step down and more demonstrations are being planned.
CNN's Athena Jones is live in Pittsburgh this morning with the latest for us.
Athena, good morning.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.
We could also see charges as soon as today in the incident that led to the shooting death of Antwon Rose last week. The Allegheny County Police Department has announced that a juvenile arrested on Monday, on separate charges and detained, is expected to be charged in the drive- by shooting that police were investigating when they pulled over the car that Antwon Rose was riding in last Tuesday night. They believe that this individual is the third person who was in the vehicle with Rose, a young man who also ran from police.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Police have begun working 12-hour shifts, that started yesterday, in anticipation of protests. And we did see protesters hit the streets early yesterday morning after a two-day hiatus to lay Antwon Rose to rest. They are demanding accountability. They marched to the Allegheny County Courthouse demanding that the district attorney bring charges against the officer involved in this case. Some also want to see the state attorney general take over this case from the district attorney's office because they feel that would be more fair.
These protesters are getting some support from state and local officials, especially when it comes to bringing charges. We heard from Pittsburgh's mayor, Bill Peduto, who wants to see a jury trial in this case. And I spoke with State Representative Ed Gainey (ph), who spoke to protesters yesterday. He told me that if law enforcement wants to build trust with the community, they need to show that they're willing to discipline one of their own.
And, Erica, as you mention, there are more protests planned. Nothing has been formally announced for today. There is rain in the forecast all day. That can reduce turnout. But we do expect to see protesters hitting the streets at some point over the next couple of days. They're vowing to keep the pressure on until they see this officer charged.
Erica.
HILL: We'll continue to follow it. Athena, thank you.
And ahead in our next hour, we'll be joined by a family friend of Antwon Rose.
BERMAN: So a hijacking scare at New York's JFK Airport. It turned out to be a false alarm. Thank goodness for that. JetBlue Flight 1623 was about to take off for Los Angeles when police surrounded the aircraft and SWAT team officers boarded the plane. Passengers were ordered to put their phones away and put their hands up. And, in the end, a radio glitch mistakenly caused a hijacking code to be sent to air traffic controllers. Whew!
HILL: Another scare in Atlanta, where a half-naked man interrupted a Delta flight. So here you see him there on the tarmac running up to the plane wearing only his underwear.
BERMAN: I think he's more than half-naked. I'm just saying.
HILL: Like a quarter -- like three-quarters naked? Is that what we're going with?
BERMAN: Mostly -- mostly naked.
HILL: OK. At one point police say he actually jumped onto the wing, pounded on the windows. Imagine being in that seat as someone's pounding on the window. Authorities say the man, who has been identified as Jared Jones (ph), scaled a fence at the airport before making his way onto that taxiway. He's 19. He was arrested within minutes. As for the why here? Well, at this point, that is still not clear.
BERMAN: Look, obviously he looks very troubled.
HILL: Yes.
BERMAN: We don't know the cause for this. But what it does show is, you know, a security weakness at that airport and how vigilant you have to be.
HILL: And that is a very, very busy airport, to put it mildly.
BERMAN: Yes.
AVLON: Yes.
BERMAN: He got right up next to that plane.
AVLON: Yes, I mean, three-quarters naked and either deeply disturbed or on some kind of bender. That guy showing up on your wing, that's going to be pretty despiting (ph).
HILL: Yes.
AVLON: Not good for security. Not good for moral (ph). [06:44:57] BERMAN: All right, we've got a lot of news this morning,
including this new poll which shows that a majority of Americans are concerned about the state of democracy.
Stick around.
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BERMAN: A new poll from the bipartisan Democracy Project finds that a majority of Americans are concerned about the state of America's democracy. Fifty-five percent describe America's democracy as weak, with 68 percent of those polls saying it's getting weaker when you break it down by party. Sixty-eight percent of Democrats, 39 percent of Republicans agree.
And joining me now, foreign affairs columnist Bobby Ghosh.
Bobby, thanks so much for being with us.
This isn't saying we're concerned about the future of the country. This is flat-out saying, we're concerned about democracy. That our foundational core is somehow in jeopardy right now. Do you buy it?
BOBBY GHOSH, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COLUMNIST: I think we should. Look, I deal with foreign affairs. A lot of the people I talk to live in countries where democracy either does not exist or used to and has been destroyed by authoritarian leaders over the years.
When I speak to people in those countries, they keep asking me, why aren't Americans seeing it? We're seeing from the news in America how some of the things that happen in our country are beginning to happen in the United States. Don't the Americans get it? Don't you people see what's going on?
[06:49:59] Well, what this poll shows us is that quite large numbers of Americans actually see it, actually feel it in their gut. And that's probably, you know, in the -- in the realm of looking at things glass half full, it's a good thing that large numbers of Americans are actually seeing and are concerned about it. What they do about it is the other question.
BERMAN: It feels a little partisan to me because when you do break it down along party lines, 68 percent of Democrats are describing democracy as weak. Just 39 percent of Republicans. Democrats are the out party. They think the system is somehow not working for them. Republicans are the in party. Fewer of them think it's, you know, it's a problem.
GHOSH: Still 39 percent, John, 39 percent of Republicans. That's a very large number. I mean this is the United States. Ten percent of this country should be thinking like that. No more than that.
BERMAN: How much do you think the president is responsible, not for the partisanship, but for his attacks on institutions themselves?
GHOSH: I think that's a -- that's a very, very big part of it. When we talk about democracy, it's not just a matter of going and voting. When you see the most powerful man in the land attacking the very institutions that are -- we've been taught this since childhood. That the very institutions that make up our democracy, protect it from attack, the very same institutions, he's attacking them day after day after day, that is bound to have a corrosive effect over a period of time. Even, as we've seen, even among his own followers, 39 percent of Republicans.
BERMAN: You know, it's interesting, it may not be a giant issue right now, but it does matter when there's a crisis, whether it be an economic crisis, a terror attack, a war, you need to have the people believing in the country and have faith in the institutions themselves.
If I can shift gears, Bobby. We're learning that John Bolton, the national security adviser, is in Moscow meeting with Russian leaders, Vladimir Putin, setting up this possible summit between the president and Vladimir Putin, which we understand right now is possible that it will happen actually before the president meets with NATO leaders.
Once again, we're presented with this dichotomy of the president meeting with someone seen as an adversary of the United States right around a time when he's meeting with countries considered allies of the United States. And it will be interesting to see his reception and his presentation to each various group.
GHOSH: Look, under a normal presidency, there's a normal chain of events. Before you go out to meet the man who represents the greatest danger to the west and to the democratic world, you first go and consult your allies, get your notes together, you get your talking points together and then you go and meet Putin.
But given this president's tendency to basically antagonize our allies, it might not be a bad thing. He does not want to -- we don't want him to go meet Putin having just gone and burned some more bridges with NATO because that would weaken his position. I'm less concerned with the timeline of this than the lack of any sense of what it is he's going to meet Putin for. What is the agenda? When Reagan went to meet Gorbachev, he knew what was on the agenda. When American president's go to meet people like Putin, who -- who are sort of, you know, no friends of ours, the agenda's very clear, we know what it is that they're seeking to get out of that meeting. Here, apart from another photo-op, just as he had with Kim Jong-un in Singapore, apart from another phot-op, we're not clear what he wants.
BERMAN: Well, relationships matter.
GHOSH: Yes.
BERMAN: Working relationships matter. And the United States is still engaged in some kind of complicated plan inside Syria with the Russians. So they could talk about that.
GHOSH: Oh, sure. Look, two world leaders meet, there's plenty to talk about. But this is not just, I'm dropping in for coffee. This is a meeting, this is a summit meeting. Summits are supposed to have a clear plan. We are supposed to know, this is what the president of the United States wants from Putin. And this is what he's going to demand from Putin.
BERMAN: What does Putin want from the president of the United States.
GHOSH: Well, Putin is -- is basically -- has had it his own way for years and years now. All he wants is for the world to know that the president of the United States is eager and anxious to come meet him. That's good enough for Putin.
BERMAN: It sounds like what you're saying is what Putin wants is more, please.
GHOSH: Yes.
BERMAN: Just more of this, please.
GHOSH: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. The -- to be seen as an equal. To be seen as -- listen, Russia's economy is smaller than that of Italy. And the president of the United States is treating him as if he was some major, major world power.
BERMAN: It does indicate to me, in a domestic sense, that perhaps the president is less concerned about the Russia investigation if he's OK with a picture in the middle of the summer standing side by side with Vladimir Putin in extensive meetings.
GHOSH: I think he's -- he's walking and chewing gum at the same time. I think he -- he can -- he can show his base that, look, I'm a world power. I'm going in. I'm not afraid of people like Putin. And I can go and meet them face-to-face. All of the stuff that's going on with this investigation, it's not -- it's a -- it's a -- it's like a double bluff. If I really were worried about the investigation, would I go and shake hands with Putin? It's hard to know.
BERMAN: Bobby Ghosh, always great to talk to you. Thanks for coming in.
GHOSH: Any time.
BERMAN: Erica.
[06:54:49] HILL: Just ahead, a primary stunner on a couple of fronts. Not only what this means for Democrats in midterms, but also what it could mean for Republicans with two victories for candidates President Trump's supporting.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BERMAN: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me. Also here is John Avlon.
We do have break news. A political stunner. One of the most powerful Democrats in Washington
suffering a stunning upset. Congressman Joe Crowley, the fourth ranking House Democrat, and, most importantly, one seen as a possible House speaker should the Democrats take over, he was beaten and beaten badly in his New York City district. The upset winner, a political newcomer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Just 28-years old, supported by the Democratic Socialists of America. Republicans will repeat that often. She ran to the far left in this race. So what does that tell you about where the energy in the Democratic Party is? What does it tell you about the party's chances in November?
There were other big results overnight. Mitt Romney picked up the Republican nomination in Utah. And Republicans that the president backed also prevailed.
[06:59:58] HILL: Meantime, also breaking overnight, a federal judge in California issuing a nationwide injunction to stop the Trump administration from separating families at the border. The judge also ordering families be reunited within 30 days. If a child under age five was separated, that reunification must happen
