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New Day

GOP Shifts Focus to Border, Dems Keep Drumbeat on Abortion; James Cameron Discusses Avatar Sequel in Post-Pandemic World; Immaculate Concussion, the Truth Behind Havana Syndrome. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired September 23, 2022 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: A tale of two elections playing out across the country with midterms here just less than two months away, and our Jeff Zeleny is on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARYLOU BLAISDELL, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: Two years ago, if you would have said to me four years ago Roe v. Wade will be overturned, I would have said you're crazy, that will have never happened, but it happened.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For Marylou Blaisdell, the fall election is first and foremost about abortion rights.

BLAISDELL: I thought my generation had that issue solved but apparently we don't, and we're starting over again.

ZELENY: But for Gary Hendricks, the November vote is primarily about President Biden.

GARY HENDRICKS, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: People aren't happy with what Biden is doing, number one.

ZELENY: And a chance to put a check on Democratic policies in Washington.

HENDRICKS: It was just anti-oil. I mean, I can see you want to, you know, save the environment but do it at a pace that the -- that's not going to hurt the world.

ZELENY: It's one midterm election but two decidedly different campaigns are under way here in New Hampshire and across the country. Democrats are trying to tap into an urgent desire to protect abortion rights and democracy. That message resonates with Laura Miller, a pediatrician who said she paid little attention to politics before the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade.

Did that make you more motivated to vote?

LAURA, MILLER, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: Yes, definitely, where now I feel like, okay, we need to get out and actually vote, not -- I don't even know that it makes a difference but I feel now I need to because I have an opinion.

ZELENY: And was that ever something that you thought could happen in your lifetime?

MILLER: No, I didn't. No, and that's what scares me with politics.

ZELENY: Yet Republicans believe inflation, crime and immigration will motivate voters to change course. Mike Gillespie owns a small business and said economic concerns are paramount.

MIKE GILLESPIE, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I mean, my costs to operate my business are astronomically more than they used to be. Finding employees is next to impossible.

ZELENY: Do you hope that November brings a change in Washington in terms of who controls Congress?

GILLESPIE: Absolutely, absolutely.

ZELENY: This tale of two elections is playing out in a crush of campaign ads from coast-to-coast. On crime, Republicans are hammering Democrats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's more worried about criminals than victims.

ZELENY: Spending more than $21 million on ads in the last month alone, while Democrats have invested less than $5 million.

On abortion Democrats are dominating the airwaves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry Lake is serious, serious about criminalizing abortion.

ZELENY: Spending $46 million over the last month in ads, Republicans, only $4 million.

[07:35:00]

In New Hampshire, where key races will help determine control of the House and Senate, election integrity is now also at play.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 2020 election was undoubtedly stolen from President Trump.

ZELENY: Inside her store, Blaisdell said friends of all political persuasions voice concerns about the country's deep divide. The question is whether that becomes a voting issue in the final weeks of the race.

BLAISDELL: We should all be standing up and supporting this country and this democracy, because there are those who are trying to tear it down through their anger and their false information that's out there.

ZELENY: Jeff Zeleny, CNN Nashua, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Our thanks to Jeff for that.

So, we have new CNN reporting this morning. We've learned that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will unveil his version of the Republican Party platform today. It's what he wants people to run for as they run for Congress. 50 days to go until the midterms elections, he wants them to focus on the economy and border.

With me now is CNN Political Commentator and former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush Scott Jennings and CNN Contributor and Detroit's former health director, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

And, Scott, I want to start with you. Kevin McCarthy says the economy and border. A, do you think that's the right focus? B, do you really think the Republican candidates will stick to it?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: A, yes, I do think it's the right focus. If you look in the national polling that's come out lately, the issues where Republicans have the biggest advantage are those issues that he's emphasizing, inflation, border, crime, quality of life, cost of living.

In the NBC News poll that came out this past weekend, there was a simple question, what's more important to your vote for Congress, a candidate who focuses on cost of living or a candidate who focuses abortion? Cost of living was 59 percent, abortion was 37 percent. I think what Republicans are emphasizing here puts them in the biggest bucket of voters from which to compete.

BERMAN: If they emphasize on it, which gets to question B.

JENNINGS: Question B, yes. The most disciplined candidates will do this and those will have the most chance for success.

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's exactly the point, right, is that Republicans are not talking about these issues. Instead of talking about the economy in the ways that they say they want to, they continue to talk about these stunts that Republican elected officials are pulling and whether or not Donald Trump ought to be guilty of any of the three investigations that are going on about him.

They keep pointing to abortion and thinking that that's a winning issue despite the fact that the overturning of Roe v. Wade for so many Americans has been the crossing of a red line. And so I don't think Republicans have the kind of focus, the kind of discipline to really focus on the issues that matter, and on top of that they have nothing to run on. It has been Democrats that have been focusing on solving the issues of the economy that emerged from a pandemic that really ought to have been prevented if we'd invested in the government means to do that in the first place. BERMAN: I will stipulate that I think Scott disagrees with that last statement you just made, but I want to move forward, if I can. If the Democrats were to put forward a mission statement like this, like Kevin McCarthy, as he's saying economy, the border, what are the two things the Democrats would run on?

EL-SAYED: I think it would be freedom and it would be an economy that was fair and just for all, right? Freedom means more than what Republicans have tried to hem in it as. It's also the freedom to choose what happens to your own body, which is what Republicans have been coming after for decades.

When it comes to an economy, right, what we're seeing here is a massive investment in the kind of economy that creates fair, just jobs that actually deliver the kinds of earnings to people who are living their lives across this economy.

And so while inflation is an issue right now, the question of what you build to protect us from the future inflation, what you build to protect us from future job losses, that is exactly what the Biden administration has been focused on since they took office.

JENNINGS: I do think the Democrats are running on the economy at all. I mean, they're running on Trump and abortion.

It's interesting from just an analyst perspective, the two campaigns, the two parties have two totally different issue sets. We think of campaigns as like there's a set of problems and then the candidates argue about who has got the right solution. The electorate doesn't even agree on what the problems are. You have the Republicans and, I think, independents on one side and Democrats on the other. And so it's like two ships in the same ocean but really on two vectors, never to cross.

It really is kind of a fascinating idea where Republicans I think are smart is to continue to hit inflation, regardless of what issues you talk about. It is still the biggest issue in the country.

EL-SAYED: If I can respond to that. I think you want to be talking about the economy. The truth of the matter is the Republicans continue to fight a culture war. If you look at what the Biden administration has accomplished, whether it's a bipartisan infrastructure deal, whether it's the Inflation Reduction Act, whether it's the Chips and Science Act, all of these things are about the economy. And so, yes, I see that Republican advantages can be gained by talking about the economic issues at hand, it's just not happening.

And if you look at where the election has gone, 96 percent of Trump- endorsed candidates won their elections despite the fact that there are only 12 percent of them. And so if you look at where your party is headed, they are going the way of the culture war and that's just not what Americans want right now.

JENNINGS: I mean, you saw Jeff Zeleny's report, Democrats are running ads about abortion, Republicans are running ads about inflation and immigration. I do think Democrats think they're on offense on the culture war stuff, although I continue to believe the most disciplined Republican campaigns will be the most successful and those that stick to the quality of life, cost of living issues.

[07:40:06]

BERMAN: Scott, Doc, great to see both of you. Thanks so much.

EL-SAYED: Thank you.

BERMAN: New this morning, a tropical depression forming in the Caribbean. It could set its sights on Florida and neighboring islands.

KEILAR: And Director James Cameron sitting down with CNN ahead of the much anticipated avatar sequel. The interview, next.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know one thing, wherever we go, this family is our fortress.

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[07:45:01]

KEILAR: Excitement is building for Avatar, the Way of Water, which is, of course, the sequel to James Cameron's 2009 film. The movie is set for release in December but the decision to re-release the first installment in theaters today 13 years later is something Cameron hopes drives a new generation of fans to the theaters for the sequel.

CNN's Jason Carroll sat down with him.

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JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 13 years after its initial release, moviegoers can once again see Avatar as its creator intended, on the big screen.

JAMES CAMERON, DIRECTOR, AVATAR, THE WAY OF WATER: There's a whole, I guess, generation of film fans that are coming up that have only ever had a chance to see it on streaming or Blue Ray.

CARROLL: Director James Cameron is also hoping audiences will be so excited to not only visit or revisit his mythical world of Pandora, they'll flock to see Avatar 2, the Way of the Water, when it hits theatres this December.

CAMERON: I guess we have got our fingers crossed that the market has rebounded enough that the kind of numbers that we did on the first film or even just that we need to breakeven on this one are still possible.

CARROLL: The first Avatar is still the highest grossing film of all time. It has raked more than $2.8 billion. Titanic, another Cameron epic, also at the top of the box office list, but much has changed in this post-pandemic world.

Despite recent blockbusters, like Top Gun, Maverick, summer ticket sales were roughly 30 percent behind pre-pandemic levels. Earlier this month, Cineworld, the world's second largest movie chain, filed for bankruptcy, add to that streaming, which has taken a huge chunk out of the market with many opting to stay home and binge rather than go out.

Does that add extra pressure for you now that Avatar 2 is soon to be released?

CAMERON: I suppose it does in the sense that we've banked a lot on this idea of a franchise. So, while we may make a lot of money, we may not be profitable. And you don't do something that's not profitable for very long.

CARROLL: Industry insiders say there is positive buzz surrounding Way of the Water.

BRENT LANG, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, VARIETY: The interesting thing about James Cameron is that people always bet against him. And each time, he has proven people wrong, he has proven the naysayers wrong.

CARROLL: Like its title suggests, Cameron's ambitious Way of the Water focuses on the oceans of the mythical world Pandora.

CAMERON: I thought more like an explorer.

CARROLL: His interest in this world's oceans has been a lifelong obsession, as CNN saw firsthand when visiting him off the coast of Papua, New Guinea, during Cameron's solo deep dive expedition to the Mariana Trench in 2012.

CAMERON: I think you know that, you know, I've kind of got water on the brain. I love the oceans. I've been passionate about the oceans before I even met an ocean.

CARROLL: He's confident audiences will see that passion in Way of the Water. Behind the scenes, shots show how Cameron used 3D cameras new technology to bring his aquatic fantasy to life. He says, actresses like Kate Winslet and Sigourney Weaver got so good acting under water, they could hold their breath in the six to seven minute range.

And like Avatar, he says Way of the Water audiences will not just be wowed by special effects but also by the film's message.

CAMERON: It's equal to the first film in terms of its environmental consciousness. But, once again, very much like the first film, it's entertainment first, it's character first, it's the journey of being in that world first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (on camera): Way of the Water opens in theatres December 16th. And, Brianna, it should also be noted that Cameron told me he's also working on three other sequels but all of that really depends on how well Avatar 2 ends up doing in theatres. Brianna? KEILAR: I bet it will do great. I'm still hung up on holding your breath for six to seven minutes.

CARROLL: Six to seven minutes, unbelievable.

KEILAR: I can't get past that. Oh my goodness. Jason, thank you.

In a new CNN special, Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates the mystery surrounding Havana Syndrome. He's going to join us next with a preview.

BERMAN: And a surprise from the NBA overnight, the Celtics suspended their coach for an entire year. Details ahead.

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[07:50:00]

BERMAN: So, a new CNN special report, we'll be taking a closer look at one of the most controversial health mysteries in recent years. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates a cluster of unexplained concussion-like symptoms first reported among American officials and covert personnel in Cuba back in 2016. Sanjay spoke to the CIA's first investigator into the situation, Dr. Paul Andrews, who himself became a victim when he traveled to Havana to investigate. This is a preview.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When Andrews and his two colleagues landed in Havana in April of 2017, the incidents were still classified. Patients were told to not even discuss this with their own families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a van from the embassy pick us up and take us to the hotel. I get into the room and I looked around. I hadn't seen this before, between every set of rooms was a small door and it was a service chase. It was unusual.

GUPTA: Did you think there was somebody in that space.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

GUPTA: This is that service chase, potentially large enough for a person to stand inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked out the window. I was on a high floor and I saw nothing out there that concerned me. There was no other building at a height that would have a direct ability to shine something in my room, say.

[07:55:05]

I think I went to bed probably around 11:30. I slept in my jeans and a t-shirt in case I had to evacuate quickly. At about 4:56, 4:57, I was awakened with severe pain in my right ear. I had wild nausea and a terrible headache and I never suffered from headaches before. The amount of ringing in my ears was just astounding and things were getting worse and worse and worse and I started to hear the noise and I'm really in disbelief.

GUPTA: And you believe that that night, there was some sort of injury or damage to your inner ear, the nerves around your inner ear or your brain?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct, absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now.

Sanjay, in that two-minute clip already more information and explanation than I've heard since this began in 2016.

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, just to hear someone actually describe these unexplained health incidents, what transpires as somebody who never had these symptoms before, suddenly comes on, no advanced warning and no indication, I mean, concussion-like symptoms without a blow to the head. That's why they call this -- that's why we're calling it the immaculate concussion. It's hard to explain but you hear from somebody who is a physician himself, goes to investigate and develops that.

BERMAN: Okay. So, why? I mean, do you get to the why or how or what's really going on?

GUPTA: John, it's interesting, as a medical reporter, I really wanted to explain from a brain standpoint what happened to these folks' brains and a possible mechanism. The prevailing theory, as you probably know right now, is that this was some sort of directed energy attack, and that is a word that they use, an attack, so deliberate. And it's a pattern of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum, they believe microwave energy that is pulsed at very high levels and directed at somebody's brains causing these types of symptoms.

What I was surprised by was that these weapons have existed for a long time. This is not new. They've probably even been used for a long time. But over the years, over the decades, they've become increasingly sophisticated, and now we have a better idea of what they can do and what exactly happens to somebody who suffers one of these attacks.

BERMAN: Who are you able to get on the record about all of this besides the doctor there?

GUPTA: So, he was very interesting because he's a doctor and he was the first person to investigate. But many of the initial patients that came out of Havana, there's about two dozen or so, they did see doctors in Miami. They saw doctors in Pennsylvania. We have those doctors talking now, really, some of them for the first time describing exactly what they saw.

And keep in mind they saw these patients at a time when the patients themselves didn't even know are there other people like me out there, because people this could mass psychogenesis, for example. Well, they didn't even know if there were other patients. They thought maybe they were the only ones at that point. So, they didn't even tell their families at the point they were initially being examined.

BERMAN: Do the people have gone through this still have a sort of Cassandra Complex, where they feel like they're telling the world this is happening and no one is believing them?

GUPTA: I think there's been a lot of back and forth, because you've seen the news reports that maybe this I isn't even a real phenomenon. And for them, it's been really painful for some of these patients to say, hey, look, I'm suffering still, Dr. Paul Andrews. By the way, it's not his real name. That's a pseudonym. He is an agent. He has worked for the CIA. He's still worried about his own security. They worry that they're not being believed still. So, that's, I think, in part, really painful for them. Six years later for him and he is still very debilitated. Some of these patients recovered immediately. Some still have these lingering symptoms.

BERMAN: The attacks still happening, as far as we know?

GUPTA: Well, there's been concerns in China, in Austria and Russia that these attacks have happened. You may remember the vice president's delegation, there was concern at that point outside of Hanoi. It's unclear about these other attacks outside of Havana, but the ones in Havana, because they were so quickly sort of evaluated, I think that has the most evidence behind them.

BERMAN: Sanjay, and I'm not making this up, in this one conversation with this one clip, already more information about something we've been talking about and around for years now.

GUPTA: Several years, yes.

BERMAN: This sounds fascinating. Thanks so much.

GUPTA: You've got it, John, thank you.

BERMAN: Immaculate Concussion, the Truth Behind Havana Syndrome, begins Sunday night at 8:00 P.M. Eastern on CNN.

And New Day continues right now.

KEILAR: The U.S. in the crosshairs of a monster storm and Hurricane Fiona heading straight for Canada.

I'm Brianna Keilar with John Berman.

BERMAN: Fiona is hitting Bermuda this morning with winds more than 90 miles per hour and it is heading north with Canada now bracing for a once in a generation storm.

[08:00:05]

Let's get right to Meteorologist Chad Myers. There are serious concerns about this, Chad.