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Trump Imposes $200 Billion In New Tariffs On Chinese Goods; How Women Who Voted For Trump Will Vote In Midterms; Police Say Border Patrol Agent Confessed To Killing Four Women; CNN Reality Check: The History Of Chaotic Supreme Court Confirmations. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired September 18, 2018 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:32:55] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time for "CNN Money Now."

Overnight, China announced it plans to retaliate after President Trump hit China with a fresh round of tariffs.

Our chief business correspondent Christine Romans has the latest -- Romans.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "EARLY START": Good morning.

The Trump administration slapping that new round of tariffs on China, this time on $200 billion worth of goods. Now, they go into effect later this month, John. They start at 10 percent and jump to 25 percent at the end of this year.

Combined with $50 billion in tariffs enacted earlier this year, roughly half of all products China sells to the United States will not be subject to American taxes. That means you, the consumer, will likely pay a little more for a number of products. New items include a wide array of tech products like routers and circuit boards and other I.T. equipment.

It's bad news for companies like Facebook and Google. They rely on Chinese electronics for their cloud computing and their data centers.

Apple, however, will catch a slight break. The Apple watch and other Bluetooth devices are exempt for now.

Yesterday, President Trump threatened additional tariffs and called on China's leaders to take swift action to end their country's unfair trade practices and that didn't go over well. Overnight, China announced it will be forced to take countermeasures, but no specific numbers yet.

It's unclear, Alisyn, on what the status is of trade talks between the U.S. and China at this point.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, keep us posted.

ROMANS: You're welcome. CAMEROTA: Thank you.

So, we are now 49 days away from the midterm elections and we thought it would be a good time for one of our signature voter panels. We wanted to take the pulse of the all-important demographic female voters in swing states.

You're about to meet six women, all of whom voted for Donald Trump. Half of them now say they are disappointed and disillusioned by the president.

But what does that mean for the midterms? As you're about to hear, it's complicated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: How many of you feel that you want to send a message of some kind with the midterm vote? Tell me more.

NELL JUSTILIANO, REGRETS VOTING FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I feel, at age 44, when I am living paycheck to paycheck and concerned about my future but more importantly, my daughter's -- I feel like there's a lot riding on the elections coming up.

[07:35:00] CAMEROTA: Because you're from Wisconsin.

JUSTILIANO: I am.

CAMEROTA: And so, that was a state that handed President Trump a victory that was unexpected, let's just say.

JUSTILIANO: I voted for Obama in '08 and I ended up voting for Trump. It was very difficult for me but I knew at that moment that I wanted change. And for me, he represented that change.

CAMEROTA: What is your plan for how you plan to vote now for the midterms?

JUSTILIANO: At this point, I plan to vote Republican. I am very confident in the economic status of where we're at now -- what Trump has done and hopefully, what he can continue to do in the future if he has the support behind him. He is a very flawed human being, but aren't we all?

ANNIE ANTHONY, REGRETS VOTING FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I kind of am a split person. My children say I'm a very confused Democratic because I vote Republican. But now, I find that the -- I like, at the local level, the Democrats -- the ones who are affecting my life every day.

CAMEROTA: Why do the Democrats speak to you more now?

ANTHONY: I think that they're more into social justice and the social programs. We want to make a difference in the lives of these people that are not seeing what everyone else is seeing. CAMEROTA: Is any part of your vote in the midterm going to send a message, you hope, to President Trump? Do you feel differently about your vote today for him?

ANTHONY: Oh, I definitely feel different about my vote for him. You know, he -- I voted my Christian values. I was hoping he would probably be more of the candidate that would deliver that for me. And I still maintain hope that his Supreme Court picks are going to have made voting for him more a fit for me.

AMELIA KENNEDY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I'm standing behind Donald Trump because of his conservative values, you know. Having the faith-based community with him is very important to the Latino community. So yes, I am voting Republican and I did not register ever until 2015.

CAMEROTA: Is that right?

KENNEDY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: So you had never voted until this presidential --

KENNEDY: Never.

CAMEROTA: -- election?

KENNEDY: No. I felt that, you know, our faith-based community needed support.

CAMEROTA: And what was it about President Trump that made you think that he had those Christian values?

KENNEDY: He was actually talking to faith-based communities.

RUTH BIRCHETT, TRUMP SUPPORTER: For me, for the midterm, my message is more to Democrats than Republicans. My local elected officials are the reason for -- and have -- are the reason for the deterioration of our community. It is Democrat decision-making that has widened the divide between the haves and the have-nots.

CAMEROTA: So you're basically sending a message to your local politicians.

BIRCHETT: Exactly, because the local politics are why I am Republican today.

CAMEROTA: The latest poll numbers show that only 36 percent of the country approves of the job that he is doing. With women, it's lower. Only 29 percent of women approve; 65 percent disapprove.

Why do you think that is, Ally?

ALLY BROSS, REGRETS VOTING FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, it starts with talking about women's facelifts, I think. It's disrespectful. I think the majority of women -- I don't think that they seem him as a respectful pro-woman kind of man, especially people my age. In my age demographic it's a huge deal that he's not supportive of

easily accessible women's health care, in terms of Planned Parenthood. They feel like they're losing the right to birth control, pap smears, abortions.

CAMEROTA: So, Ally, you're not happy that you voted -- is that a fair -- is that a fair characterization? You're not happy that you voted for President Trump?

BROSS: Yes.

A part of the reason I voted for him was because I thought he was going to be the one of the two candidates to make our national security a high priority and make us safer on our own grounds, in our own territory. But when you're making fun of foreign leaders and becoming buddy-buddy with Vladimir Putin, it shakes me up a little bit.

ANTHONY: My fear with President Trump is that his extramarital affairs will make it more of a norm. That the children will think this is acceptable behavior and it's not. It's hurtful behavior.

JILLENE GARNET, VOTED FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The whole Stormy Daniels thing -- I don't agree, obviously, with what has gone on in the past.

If I could only vote for a candidate who has been perfect his or her entire life, I could only vote for Jesus Christ.

BIRCHETT: Well, I'd like to press the reset button on, as Aretha Franklin would say, who's zoomin' who. That's not my concern. They are all adults.

My expectation of an elected official is that you do the job that me, as a constituent, sent you, voted for you -- or even if I didn't vote for you and you're elected, you're now there to serve me.

[07:40:14] CAMEROTA: So is it fair to say that you are happy with your vote for President Trump?

JUSTILIANO: I am happy in terms of the direction with unemployment -- economic status. That's what I'm happy about.

CAMEROTA: What about all the other stuff?

JUSTILIANO: The other stuff, to me at this point, is noise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: And there you have it. I mean, I learned a lot from this voter panel because they are just so -- half of them are quite disappointed with some of the things about President Trump, but it doesn't mean they're going to vote Democratic.

BERMAN: No, I think there's like three things going on at once there. That was one clear message that I got there, that Democrats should be careful. Just because people are frustrated with Trump doesn't mean they're going to vote against a Republican representative.

CAMEROTA: Doesn't mean that they're going to -- yes. Like, some people think that his sagging poll numbers means there's going to be a blue wave. Not if you ask these swing state voters.

BERMAN: I will note, though, that there was at least one who was definitively anti-Trump at that point and you had a turn --

CAMEROTA: Correct.

BERMAN: -- and that might be enough. Just that one or two peel-offs, percentage-wise, might be enough.

CAMEROTA: Guess what? She says she's not going to vote in the midterms.

BERMAN: Oh, that's interesting.

CAMEROTA: The one who is the peel-off, but she says she's not going to vote in the midterms -- not because of apathy but because she hasn't had time to research all of the sort of local candidates and -- on that level. So she's more engaged at the national presidential level.

But I reminded her --

BERMAN: Right.

CAMEROTA: -- that there are 49 days to do that research and she says that she's going to attempt it.

BERMAN: And lastly, to bring it all to today -- Annie, who was sitting in the bottom left there -- who has got serious issues with the president's morality and seems like she's had enough of him -- pointed to his Supreme Court picks as something that will keep her in line, which shows I think why the president is being so incredibly careful in how he's handling the controversy surrounding Judge Kavanaugh right now.

CAMEROTA: Great point because we hear that from a lot of voters about how important his Supreme Court picks are to them. It could be their single voting issue.

BERMAN: Right.

New emerging details about a Texas border patrol agent accused of being a serial killer. Just how well did he know his alleged victims? We have a live report, next.

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[07:45:38] BERMAN: We have new information about the Texas border patrol agent who authorities say confessed to killing four women and assaulting a fifth who managed to escape. Police say he knew his victims.

CNN's Ed Lavandera live in Laredo with the very latest -- Ed.

ED LAVENDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, investigators here in Laredo describe Juan David Ortiz, the 35- year-old border patrol agent who rose up through the ranks in a nearly 10-year-long career to an intelligence supervisor -- that he targeted his victims in a cold and calculating way.

Investigators say that he had met with all his victims numerous times. They wouldn't say for how long he had struck up a relationship with these victims but it was long enough to develop trust and confidence of his victims to lure them into his truck before taking them into the outskirts of this border town and shoot them.

The very stunning details that investigators describe and border patrol officials -- we asked if there was any kind of red flags in his disciplinary record to suggest that there might be some odd behavior on Ortiz's part and border patrol officials say that there was only one minor blemish on his disciplinary report in his nearly 10 years on the border patrol force.

But it is that relationship that investigators here in Laredo say that he was able to use and gain the confidence of his victims before killing them.

Now, Ortiz is still being held in jail here in Laredo on a $2.5 million bond and prosecutors say there's still a chance that they could upgrade these felony murder charges to capital murder where Ortiz would face the death penalty -- John and Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: What a chilling story. Thank you, Ed, very much.

So, Syrian president and the opposition in Syria are both praising a deal by Russian and Turkey to establish a demilitarized zone over the Idlib Province.

Opposition officials say it spares the rebel-held region, a bloody government offensive, and will thwart President Bashar al Assad's aim of recovering all of Syria. But, Assad vows to continue his quote "war on terrorism until it liberates every inch of Syrian terrority," he says.

BERMAN: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un hosting South Korea's president for their third summit this year. The meeting is taking place in Pyongyang with the goal of negotiating a peace agreement on the Korean Peninsula.

At the summit, Kim credited President Trump with bringing stability to the region, but North Korea's state-run media blames the U.S. -- or just blamed the U.S. over the last 24 hours for the lack of progress in denuclearization talks.

CAMEROTA: The Trump administration is capping refugee admissions to their lowest level since 1980. Thirty thousand refugees will be allowed into the country next year. That's a 33 percent cut from the previous record low of 45,000. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defends the move, claiming the numbers alone do not reflect the administration's commitment to humanitarian efforts.

BERMAN: That's particularly jarring because the economy, of course, is booming and there is refugee crisis around the world.

So, key historical figures including, we are told, Helen Keller, could be disappearing from the Texas social studies curriculum. The state's Board of Education held a preliminary vote to streamline what students learn, saying there is too much required content to pack into one year.

Officials say teachers can still discuss the figures, it just won't be mandatory.

CAMEROTA: That's Hillary Clinton on the left, not --

BERMAN: Yes, Hillary Clinton on the --

CAMEROTA: I'm --

BERMAN: Frankly, I'm not sure actually what this all means. It means I don't know what history they're going to teach -- modern political history they're not going to teach?

Helen Keller -- I mean, Hillary Clinton was first lady and a presidential nominee.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: It seems like they would bring that up.

CAMEROTA: She was. That seems important to history.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean, it's true that there's more and more history every year and you have to figure out what to expunge, but are they expunging any men or just Hillary Clinton, who seems to be a vital part of our historical record?

And, Helen Keller? What do you have against Helen Keller? That was rhetorical -- don't answer that.

OK.

The drama surrounding the Supreme Court hearings for Brett Kavanaugh are not the first time we've seen this kind of controversy. We'll get a reality check from John Avlon, next.

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[07:53:17] CAMEROTA: All right.

As chaotic and controversial as the Kavanaugh confirmation is becoming, it is not the most controversial by a long shot.

John Avlon takes a supreme walk back through history --

BERMAN: Diana Ross.

CAMEROTA: -- in today's -- I hope there will be singing --

BERMAN: Diana Ross.

CAMEROTA: -- in today's "Reality Check."

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That'll just be for you guys after the segment, but I look forward to it.

No -- instead of that, there is an "intergalactic freak show." That what Republican Sen. John Kennedy is calling the Supreme Court hearings with Brett Kavanaugh.

But as surreal as this confirmation battle seems, it is far from the first to descend into supreme chaos.

The most obvious analog is Clarence Thomas, accused of sexually harassing former colleague Anita Hill. Now, the parallels are striking.

Neither Anita Hill nor Kavanaugh's accuser Christine Blasey Ford wanted to come forward but they said they felt a sense of civic duty to do so. Both women's names became public at the so-called Eleventh Hour of confirmations and both men categorically denied the accusations.

But Thomas, famously calling the proceedings this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARENCE THOMAS, THEN-NOMINEE FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: It is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: In the end, the all-white and all-male members of the Judiciary Committee attacked Anita Hill's credibility and Thomas went on to be narrowly confirmed 52 to 48.

But there was a political backlash. The next year, in 1992, was called the year of the woman as a record 24 women were elected to the House and four women joined two others in the Senate.

And far-less remembered was the time drugs derailed a Republican Supreme Court nominee Douglas Ginsburg.

This 41-year-old conservative jurist smoked pot in college and continued as an assistant professor at Harvard. Hey, it was the 70s. But this was a bad fit for Reagan's "Just Say No" approach to the war on drugs and Ginsburg withdrew. [07:55:01] But he was seen as a safer pick than Judge Robert Bork, whose nomination was so controversial the man became a verb -- to "Bork," as in to block a nomination.

The self-described originalist believed, for example, that the 1964 Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional. But it was politics that finally did him in. Democrats weren't going to reward him for his role in Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre and his confirmation failed 42 to 58.

Another legendary fail was Nixon nominee Judge Harrold Carswell, who came under fire for things like supporting segregation, not to mention a stunning 58 percent reversal rate.

An underwhelming hearing led one Republican senator to declare, quote, "There are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers and they are entitled to a little representation, aren't they?"

This was not a winning argument and Carswell was voted down 45 to 51.

There have been other failed and scandalous nominations to be sure. For example, just after his 1937 confirmation, one FDR appointee, Justice Hugo Black, was found to have been a member of the KKK. Despite the outcry, he was not impeached and became an unexpected liberal voice on the court.

Even killing a man was not considered disqualifying at one point. Back in 1890, Judge Henry Billings Brown was accused of fatally shooting a burglar. And although the story could have tarnished his name, many saw him as a hero instead and his confirmation sailed through.

Finally, it is stunning to reflect that three members of the Supreme Court were former Confederate soldiers, literally doing violence against the Constitution, including a one-time chief justice Edward Douglas White.

The point is that civics standards change in ways that can be hard to comprehend today. Culture wars often play out in Supreme Court hearings.

And whichever way Brett Kavanaugh's nomination turns out we will still be a nation of very imperfect people trying to form a more perfect union.

And that's your "Reality Check."

BERMAN: And the stakes, of course, are nearly permanent. You're talking about a lifetime appointment.

AVLON: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: All right. We look forward to some more supreme singing, John.

Meanwhile, late-night comics -- they take on the controversy surrounding Brett Kavanaugh. Here are your late-night laughs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, NBC HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, on Friday, struck a deal to cooperate with the Mueller investigation. And then, Trump struck a door, two walls, and Eric.

CONAN O'BRIEN, TBS HOST, "CONAN": A new version of the Emergency Broadcast System is going to allow President Trump to send texts to all of our cell phones. That's true -- that's a true thing -- yes, starting tomorrow. Trump said I thought I'd try announcing emergencies instead of just causing them.

That was funny. I'm freaked out by that.

MEYERS: According to CNN, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has hired an attorney amid new allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman while they were in high school. Well, I hope he hired a good attorney because these allegations are very -- (photo of Rudy Giuliani) oh, no. Oh, Brett, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I didn't see that coming. I didn't see that coming there with that one.

CAMEROTA: I didn't, either -- and that's not who he hired.

All right, we're following a lot of news. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I believe her. Many, many women in America certainly believe her.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: I talked to him on the phone. He wasn't at the party. So clearly, somebody's mixed up.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd like to see a complete process. If it takes a little delay, it will take a little delay.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: If Judge Kavanaugh lied, that would be disqualifying.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: This hearing should take place only after the FBI investigation.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Democrats have spent weeks searching for any possible reason that the nomination should be delayed.

DEBRA KATZ, ATTORNEY FOR CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD: She's telling the truth and we all know what she's going to have to withstand as a result of having come forward. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no way to go back 35 years and prove it or disprove it. We're going to have a circus on Monday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: All right. Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, September 18th. It's 8:00 in the east.

Professor Christine Blasey Ford says that 36 years ago Judge Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her, and when she tried to scream she said he put his hand over her mouth.

She says she was attacked by a Supreme Court nominee. Judge Kavanaugh says it didn't happen.

So who will the Senate believe? We will find out in dramatic fashion. This will play out before our eyes next Monday when both Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh are scheduled to testify before the Senate.

CAMEROTA: CNN has learned that the White House strategy will be to bring out supportive women who will back Kavanaugh's character, including some of the 65 women who signed a letter of support when the sexual assault claim surfaced.

The hearings echo Anita Hill's dramatic testimony in 1991 when she accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Hill was grilled on graphic details before a committee made up of white men.

How will senators change their tactics today when they question Kavanaugh's accuser in this #MeToo era?

BERMAN: All right.

Joining us now is Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. He is on the Senate Judiciary Committee and announced yesterday that he opposes Kavanaugh's nomination.