Return to Transcripts main page
New Day Saturday
Clinton Campaign Gets Envelope with White Powder; Trump to Outline 10 Policy Principles Today; Security Firm: Webcams, DVRs Used in Cyberattack; Fighting Underway as Iraqi Troops Near Mosul; WikiLeaks Releases Another Batch of Clinton Emails; Candidates Fight for the White Working-Class Vote; NY Giants Kicker Suspended for London Game. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired October 22, 2016 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[07:00:20] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Remember, folks, it's a rigged system. That's why you've got to get out and vote. You've got to watch, because this system is totally rigged.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Make no mistake: by doing that, he is threatening our democracy.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We still have a path to 270 through several different ways.
TRUMP: We will win. We will shock the world. This is going to be Brexit plus.
CLINTON: We know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship.
TRUMP: We have a lot of babies running our country, folks. They're losers. They're babies.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish we were in high school and I could take him behind the gym. That's what I wish.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, look who's up early. It's good to see you. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell.
And today, candidates are zeroing in on the battleground states, making a last-minute appeal to undecided voters. Hillary Clinton and running mate, Tim Kaine, they'll be in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump will be there as well, in Gettysburg, where he'll make what he's calling his closing arguments, outlining a ten-point plan for his first 100 days in office.
PAUL: His choice of venue, the same city where Abraham Lincoln made his famous speech, uniting the country in a time of war.
In the meantime, the Clinton campaign headquarters on alert after receiving a suspicious package with a white powdery substance. And NYPD was called in, initial tests on the powder had come back negative for any harmful substances.
BLACKWELL: All right. CNN's Brynn Gingras is following that story for us.
Brynn, tell us what happened.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor, according to the NYPD, that letter was sent to Clinton campaign headquarters in Midtown Manhattan and then got transferred here to downtown Brooklyn, where it was opened by some staff members here in the headquarters. And that's when they found that white powdery substance.
Authorities were called in, including the NYPD, the Office Emergency Management, and the Secret Service. And we're told by authorities that one floor of the headquarters had to be evacuated, but the good news is, again, that substance was tested, it came back negative for anything hazardous, and we did receive a statement from the Clinton campaign.
And it read, "The four individuals involved have reported no health issues, rather, and following a full examination by medical personnel were each released to go home. Our office will remain open through this period and will remain open without interruption throughout tomorrow morning," meaning this morning.
So certainly, business as usual for the Clinton campaign here headquarters in downtown Brooklyn. But certainly tense moments. But Clinton, as you guys mentioned, is campaigning today in Pennsylvania.
BLACKWELL: All right. Brynn, thanks for staying on top of it for us. Thanks so much.
PAUL: Well, this political campaign, obviously, has been very divisive and it's been divisive on both sides.
The white powder mailed to the Clinton campaign, you have the firebombing of a Republican Party headquarters in North Carolina last weekend.
BLACKWELL: Of course, there's the name-calling at the debate, especially that final debate, and Trump's allegations of a rigged election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Remember, folks. It's a rigged system. Just remember it. It's a rigged system. It's a rigged system. Don't ever forget it. That's why you've got to get out and vote. You've got to watch, because this system is totally rigged.
REPORTER: Do you think he wants you to win? TRUMP: Well, maybe not, because maybe he wants to run in four years
or maybe he doesn't know how to win. Maybe he just doesn't know how to win.
I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election, if I win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. Now, Trump is headed to Gettysburg to talk about unity.
Let's bring in CNN politics senior reporter, Stephen Collinson.
Stephen, after this really divisive campaign, there are many people who are paying close attention to the intentional site for today's address. Let's call it that, because you're going to Gettysburg, Trump's address today.
And why is the campaign going there?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think you're right. They want to spread this message unity. I think Donald Trump's critics, particularly the Clinton campaign, will say, it's a little bit late for that. You know, he's been accused of being one of the most divisive candidates in modern history with his rhetoric on Mexicans, on Muslims, for example.
But I think there is a feeling strangely enough that Donald Trump, for all his massive media coverage, we're two weeks away from the general election and Donald Trump has gone through all the debates, gone through the big set piece moments of this campaign, so he really has to drive media coverage and drive a narrative. And I think that's one of the reasons they've picked this politically symbolic spot.
On a political sense as well, Gettysburg is an area of rural Pennsylvania where Donald Trump really needs to drive up the Republican vote if he's to make up for the Democratic advantage in the Philadelphia suburbs, for example.
[07:05:11] So, that's the sort of more naked political reason why he's doing it, but, you know, let's face it, the expectation is going to be pretty high. The Gettysburg address by Lincoln was one of the high points of American history. And, you know, one of the most fated uses of the English language itself.
So, Donald Trump is certainly going to have high expectations with this speech.
BLACKWELL: We should point out that the Trump campaign and Trump supporters would take issue with that divisive claim, also saying that Hillary Clinton called half of his supporters that basket of deplorables, she later apologized for saying half.
So this is not just about set dressing today. Donald Trump is going to lay out what today, about his first 100 days in office. Something he actually did four months ago.
COLLINSON: Right, I think it's, you know, not a bad idea to remind voters, as they concentrate on this election. You know, some voters weren't looking at the election four months ago. They have sort of tuned in through the period of the debates. We don't know exactly what Donald Trump will say, but I think the fact is he's in Gettysburg. After all, the Gettysburg address was primarily about dedicating land to honor the war dead of the civil war.
So I think we'll see Donald Trump certainly talk about veterans. I think we'll see him say in his first hundred days, he'll start to renegotiate trade deals, for example. I think we'll see him talk about how he'll reform the immigration system in the first hundred days if he were president.
So, I think there will be some meat on the policy bones. At the same time, if this represents a reset or a reboot for the campaign, it's kind of getting late for that. We're 17 days away from the election. People are already voting.
So if it's an attempt to sort of turn it around after the debates, it seems to be a little bit late.
BLACKWELL: And we'll have to see if Donald Trump sticks to prompter. I mean, that has been an issue for him over the last couple of weeks actually, moving a prompter out of the way, saying he prefers to speak without it. But this is an important punctuation mark in his campaign, as he makes his closing arguments.
Stephen Collinson, thanks so much.
PAUL: So, are you wondering what happened to Netflix the other day? If you couldn't watch, it's because your home DVR may have been used against you. We're learning some new details this morning on that widespread cyberattack. We'll more on that, just ahead.
BLACKWELL: Plus, Iraqi forces gaining ground as they push towards Mosul. We've got the latest on the fight to reclaim that ISIS stronghold.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:10:54] PAUL: So, was your Internet acting a little wonky yesterday? A lot of popular sites came under a widespread cyberattack. In fact, we're learning now those Internet -- the internet-connected DVRs, or say the web cams that may be in your home may have been used to carry out this attack.
BLACKWELL: We're talking some sites that are visited often. We're talking Netflix, Spotify, Twitter, and there were others that went down throughout the day. And now, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, they are involved. It's not clear who's responsible just yet, but it's clear this attack affected a lot of people and a lot of businesses worldwide.
PAUL: CNNMoney correspondent Samuel Burke has some of the new details for us this morning.
Hi, Sam.
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi.
This is one of the largest and most serious cyberattacks we've ever seen in the history of the Internet. In fact, we now know that hundreds of thousands of those devices that you were referencing, DVRs in people's homes, web cams in people's homes that were connected to the internet were actually helping this attack, which hit so many places, especially the northeast in the United States, as well as London, here in the United Kingdom.
And basically what happened was a middle man company, when you type in Twitter, this company makes sure you get to Twitter.com, they were attacked over and over again. So amazing to think that maybe the DVR is sitting in your house that might be recording the show was taken over by hackers and then used to take down that company, which supports all these websites.
PAUL: Oh, my gosh, it's something else.
Talk to us about this tweet, too, from WikiLeaks, that had some people shaking their heads.
BURKE: Well, of course, everyone wants to know who was behind this attack. And all of a sudden, we see this tweet from WikiLeaks -- if we can just put that up. It says, "Mr. Assange is still alive and WikiLeaks is still publishing. We ask supporters to stop taking down the U.S. Internet. You've proved your point."
So, it doesn't look like WikiLeaks is taking credit there. And I've been in touch with the company that was hacked here and they've been telling me they actually don't know who is behind it. It's clear that it was coming from all around the world, but nobody is pointing any fingers yet.
But, of course, based on what we've seen in the past few weeks, the United States pointing their fingers at Russia for some of the leaked e-mails. There is a heightened sense of alert when it comes to the internet, but so far, no specific group taking credit. And no particular nation or state having their finger pointed at them, at least not yet.
PAUL: And that might be what feels so troubling to so many people.
Samuel Burke, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Let me show you this intense fighting that's underway in cities around Mosul right now. Iraqi forces launching new attacks within just the last few hours, hoping to drive ISIS out of Iraq's second largest city. We'll get you the latest on this in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:17:21] PAUL: Right now, there is fierce fighting going on outside the Iraqi city of Mosul. I want to take you to that area now, so you can see the fight underway in the north and the south of the city. One of those clashes just six miles north of the ISIS stronghold.
BLACKWELL: The other part of a large scale operation by Iraqi forces launched just a few hours ago. And all of this as we learned at least 40 people were killed and dozens more wounded in an ISIS counterattack in Kirkuk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Attack helicopters swoop overhead and fire. A truck bomb is detonated by forces on the ground. "That's what's left of it," 25-year-old Corporal Mohammad Elyaz (ph) has said as we push forward.
His Humvee has been hit so many times, he can barely see through the bulletproof glass.
"When we finish liberating Mosul, I'm going to ask for my sweetheart's hand in marriage," he tells us.
He dreams of the future, but now has to focus on surviving the present. A bulldozer barricades side roads, to defend against one of the biggest ongoing threats, suicide car bombers.
(on camera): It's one of the ways that ISIS was mounting its weapons, firing troops as it's coming down.
(voice-over): We're with the counterterrorism division of special forces, the men are tired. They've been fighting nonstop since ISIS swept into Iraq more two years ago. But morale is high. They've reached the town of Bartillah, just 20 kilometers from Mosul.
(on camera): The forces have been pounding this area. This is the front line and being this close to the fighting, one can't help but to think, but to wonder about the fate of the civilians who potentially might be trapped inside.
(voice-over): Thankfully, it seems, there are none. The vast majority fled this peaceful Christian enclave two years ago.
That's when we were last here, just after ISIS captured Mosul. When Youssef (ph) and his friend tried to pretend that everything was normal. When 22-year-old Mariana (ph) swore that she would stay, even if she was the only one left. And when Father Benham Lalu's (ph) church was a tranquil sanctuary.
This shattered community, this shattered country has already suffered so much.
[07:20:05] Staff Sergeant Sarhan (ph) doesn't tell his wife and four children he's at the front. He doesn't call them to say good-bye before heading into the fight.
"What would you tell your wife and children, if you could call them now?", I ask. "God willing, I will return home when we have liberated all of Iraq's lands," he responds.
But liberating the land is only the first part of the battle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: Now, the Iraqi army has managed to advance from the north of Mosul, as well. Now, in its closest position to that city that it has been to date, other significant advances happening throughout this very lengthy front line.
But as these troops advance, they are encountering more resistance and we are seeing more of is' tactics when it comes to using civilian populations as human shields. The United Nations is reporting that since this offensive began on Monday, there are around 550 families that ISIS as forcefully taken from their villages on the outskirts of Mosul, intending to place them around buildings within the city that it uses for administrative purposes or other buildings that ISIS believes would potentially be targets of coalition air strikes.
And we did hear from an intelligence official that some 246 men and boys were executed in three different locations inside Mosul for, according to this intelligence official, attempting to try to resist being used as human shields. Quite chilling, especially when you take into consideration the fact that Mosul has upwards of 1.2 million people still living in it that ISIS could be using as human shields.
And once the troops do reach the city itself, the battlefield itself is going to change, making calling in those air strikes all the more difficult, Victor.
PAUL: All right. Arwa Damon, thank you so much for the update. We appreciate it.
BLACKWELL: Also this morning, we want to let you know that Defense Secretary Ash Carter has arrived in Baghdad for an unannounced visit. He's going to get an update on the fight for Mosul, also meet with the Iraqi prime minister there. And we'll bring you any news that comes out of that meeting.
PAUL: A new batch of embarrassing leaked e-mails for the Clinton campaign. WikiLeaks purportedly revealing a strained relationship between Hillary Clinton and Al Gore.
BLACKWELL: Plus, the white working class, a large part of the electorate and most of those voters supporting Donald Trump. We'll talk about the attraction there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Well, mortgage rates were mixed this week. Here's your look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:26:26] PAUL: Welcome back. So good to have your company. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.
WikiLeaks releasing more e-mails from the Clinton campaign. The chief concern right now by the Secretary Clinton attended a Clinton Foundation summit in Morocco a month after announcing her bid for the presidency.
The email suggests her appearance would he been in exchange for a $12 million contribution from the king of Morocco.
Trump, seizing on the moment, calling it proof that Clinton engages in pay-for-play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now from WikiLeaks, we've just learned she tried to get $12 million from the king of Morocco for an appearance, more pay-for-play. That's why I'm proposing a package of ethics reforms to make our government honest once again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Ultimately, Clinton did not go. Bill and Chelsea, however, did.
This is not the end of it. In dramatic fashion, WikiLeaks is leaving us, some might say, in suspense, teasing another e-mail leak. The hackers are going as far to tweet this, "We have a surprise in store for Tim Kaine and Donna Brazile." That's all we know.
A lot to unpack here, though. I want to bring in Angela Rye, CNN political commentator, former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus and a Hillary Clinton supporter. And Amy Kremer, a Donald Trump supporter and co-chair of Women Vote Trump.
Ladies, so good to have both of you here this morning. Thank you.
Let's talk about the e-mails about Morocco. They show, they are e- mails from November 2014, Huma Abedin, top aide there, pointing the finger directly at Clinton. Here's what she wrote, "It will break a lot of China to back out now, when we had so many opportunities to do it in the past few months. She created this mess and she knows it," referring there to Hillary Clinton.
Some of these e-mails, Huma Abedin seems to say that the trip to Morocco was Hillary Clinton's idea.
Angela, these e-mails do squarely put the blame on Clinton. Is it smart for her to continue to ignore these leaks?
ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. I think that they are addressing the leaks as they come. But the most important thing that they said is that these e-mails were illegally obtained and they have been -- they been tampered with.
As a former Hill staffer, I just have to acknowledge this, because I think it's so important that context really matters. You cannot commit to doing an event and then completely backing out of it.
I want to know when Donald Trump talks about this, there's pay-for- play, what is the pay-for-play here, exactly? She wasn't running for president when they booked this event. Huma Abedin is saying, from a scheduling standpoint, it is a mess. And that's true.
As a former staffer, again, I've said this. You can't commit to something, boss, and back out later. It's your word against theirs. It causes massive frustration.
This is not quid pro quo. This is what you call a bargain for exchange. In contract law, it's simply consideration. We shouldn't make more of this than what it is, and we also need to start focusing on the real issues. It's not WikiLeaks here, is that there's a child running for president and his name the Donald Trump.
PAUL: Well, but in terms of your argument that these are obtained illegally and nobody is disputing that, and we have had those discussions on Russia, but what is -- but how the information is being leaked does not negate the information itself. And some of this does seem damaging.
RYE: And I would agree with you that some of it may seem damaging, but, again, we don't know what's been tampered, Christi, we really don't.
[07:30:04] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we have to believe that -- because nobody from the Clinton campaign has come out and said any of this is in dispute. Nobody has said this is absolutely false. Surely, by now, these leaks that have been trickling out could have been authenticated or proven to be false at this point.
So, there's really no telling how damaging it might be, because so many people believe that's out there. Now, on that end, some have a challenge to the Clinton Foundation during the debate that a lot of people haven't talked about yet, but certainly stark moment. Let's take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So I would like to ask you right now, why don't you give back the none from certain countries that treat certain groups of people so horribly. Why don't you give back the money? I think it would be a great gesture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Amy, some people would say it's a strong argument. The question is, why isn't he using it more? Because his poll numbers are not doing him any favors right now.
AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: Well, Christi, I agree, he should use it more. And back to the pay-for-play. She was questioned about that in the debate and she never answered the question. She was also asked by Donald Trump about returning the money an she didn't answer that question either. But I do agree that this is a strong issue for her, against her, that
she has taken money from these foreign governments that treat gays and women horribly. Why would she take that money? She should return it.
And as far as pay-to-play goes, Angela, you and I both know that she was going to run for president at that point. And I believe the conference happened after she had announced -- after she announced her candidates --
PAUL: The conference was supposed to be in May 2015.
KREMER: But the thing is that, she had an opportunity to answer for it during the debate and she didn't. And it's going to continue to be an issue for her, because appearance -- I mean, perception is reality. And the perception is, it was pay to play. I'm sorry, that's the way it is. I don't know how else you can explain it.
PAUL: Perception is a problem, but, Angela, go ahead. I want to give you a chance to respond.
RYE: So, a couple things here, when you talk about returning money, I wonder if that means that Donald Trump will discontinue establishing hotels and these partnerships with countries that have horrible and abysmal human rights records. This also at some point needs to be parodied, right? We can't continue to compare apples to oranges in this instance.
I'm also going to argue this. We did not know that Hillary Clinton was going to run for president when they agreed to do the conference. We're not talking about when the conference happened. She did not go to the conference.
I also think it is extremely important that we acknowledge at some point, Peter King, who is now a Donald Trump supporter, said that WikiLeaks needs to be classified as a terrorist organization. Hillary Clinton, at the same time --
KREMER: Angela --
RYE: I'm not done! -- in 2010, said the same thing. There is a reason for that, and we're trying to dumb this down now because it creates some perceived advantage for the Republican Party --
(CROSSTALK)
RYE: I'm still talking! It's fine that you perceive it as a problem. I perceive it as a different kind of problem, because I have a homeland security background. We need to deal with this organization as it is, and not just say, oh, this information is really juicy, because we couldn't get ahold of the real e-mails.
KREMER: It's not that it's juicy, just because you say it's stolen.
RYE: It is stolen!
KREMER: No one in the Clinton camp has said that they're not true and the fact that they're stolen doesn't change the content of them.
RYE: It definitely does change the content. They have been tampered with.
KREMER: I think that says a lot.
RYE: No, but -- do you know the reason why she resigned from the DNC?
KREMER: Angela, I'm not doing -- you can tell me what, but it doesn't change the content. And more and more of it will come out and it's a problem for the secretary.
PAUL: The thing is, WikiLeaks claims that they've hacked 50,000 e- mails from Podesta's accounts, 25,000 have been published thus far. We don't know what else might come out, but you are both right in many instances, in the fact, Angela, that this is an organization that CNN cannot verify anything that they have released, nor can the Clinton campaign or will they do so.
Amy Kremer, we appreciate you being here, Angela Rye. Thank you, ladies. I know it's a lot to unpack in a short amount of time and we appreciate your voices.
RYE: Thank you.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton leading in the poll, but struggling with one major group that Donald Trump is -- his message is resonating with. We're talking about the white working class. We'll ask why. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:38:17] PAUL: Oh, people, just 17 days to go. Hillary Clinton leads nearly all of the national polls right now, but she is struggling to get support from one major group. We're talking about working class white voters.
BLACKWELL: These voters are a huge chunk of the electorate, and they overwhelmingly support Donald Trump.
CNN anchor and chief national correspondent, John King, takes a look at some of the biggest issues these voters are facing and how it's affecting their votes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The white working class was about 44 percent of the electorate back in 2012. And if you've been following 2016, you know, the white working class, the core foundation, the bricks, if you will, of Donald Trump's support. What drive the politics of the white working class, at its core? Economic anxiety.
Look at the pessimism here, 50 percent, much higher than among white college graduates, black working class, Latino working class. Fifty percent of the white working class think their children will be worse off than they are. Flunking, if you will, the American Dream question. Parents looking at their children, thinking they're going to be worse off. Fifty percent of the white working class has that pessimistic view this year.
They're also very skeptical about government, thinking the government doesn't care about them. How well does government represent your views? The percent saying, not at all well? Fifty-six percent of the white working class.
Again, look, a much higher number than white college graduates, Hispanic working class, the black working class. Fifty-six percent of the white working class looks at government and thinks, they don't get me, they don't understand me, they don't care about me, they're not working for me. It fits with Donald Trump's message about changing Washington, right?
It also has a very dim view of immigrants. The white working class tells us this, immigrants today, burden the country or strengthen the country? Nearly half, 47 percent view, immigrants as a burden on the country, only 40 percent think diversity bringing new faces, new ethnicities into the United States strengthens the United States.
[07:40:05] Again, you understand why they might back Donald Trump.
Another big issue with Trump with the white working class -- trade. Trade agreements have created U.S. jobs. The white working class just simply doesn't buy that. Cost U.S. jobs? Nearly seven in ten think trade agreements are bleeding jobs out of the United States, 21 percent say they haven't made much of a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right, our thanks to John King for that.
To talk more about the white working class vote and how important it is. Joining me now, J.D. Vance. He's the author of "The Hillbilly Elegy", which takes a look at these voters and struggles. These voters we know are the core of Donald Trump support.
J.D., good morning to you.
J.D. VANCE, AUTHOR, "HILLBILLY ELEGY": Good morning. Thanks for having me.
BLACKWELL: Certainly. So, this, I find to be one of the more fascinating alliances of this cycle, where you have white working class voters who are supporting a billionaire real estate developer who's married to a former model, lives in a gold-encrusted penthouse over Fifth Avenue in New York City. What is that appeal?
VANCE: Yes, well, so, part of it is just that Donald Trump represents a rejection of the old Republican orthodoxy. So, if you think about the past 20 or 30 years for these voters, things have continued to get worse in their communities. They've continued to be worried about how things are going, and they've gotten the same message from the Republican Party.
Think about the debate stage, who was the one guy saying, let's go in a different direction? It was Donald Trump. So, that may not be the right direction, but because it's different, he gets a lot of support.
BLACKWELL: Beyond Republican orthodoxy, let's look at Hillary Clinton and you saw from John King's piece that the majority of white working class voters that the trade deals, especially those of the '90s, hurt American workers and jobs.
So, how much of this is a rejection of Hillary Clinton and the Clinton's time in the White House in the '90s, versus really believing that Donald Trump can bring back those jobs?
VANCE: Well, I think it's a little bit of both, but I definitely think it's much bigger a part of rejecting the role that Democratic politics and Republican politics had for a very lock time on these voters. So I really don't see a lot of voters thinking that Trump is going to solve all their problems. What they do think is that things haven't worked. So, they're willing to maybe roll the dial on somebody who's going to change things.
BLACKWELL: All right. So, let's play part of what you said at, it was a ted talk last month about the voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: If you think of where I'm from in the South and Appalachia and Southern Ohio, it's very unlikely that kids like that will rise. The American Dream in those parts of the country is in a very real sense just a dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: That is powerful, that they think that the American Dream, potentially, is for someone else. You know, we talk about these groups and I interviewed Asian American voters and Nick Valencia is going to Georgia. His story is coming up.
But tell us, because this is your community, something that we may not know. We may not understand that l part of this equation in how to decide who to vote for.
VANCE: Sure. So, one thing that I think is relatively underreported is that we often talk about whether Trump's voters are motivated by just economic anxiety or racial animus or racial anxiety. And the sense they get is that while both of those things are part of the story, there's a lot else going on in these communities. They're struggle in a lot of ways that aren't clearly economic. If you think about the heroin epidemic, if you think about the rates of family breakdown and rising divorce rates, these communities are real struggling in a lot of complex ways.
And so, one of the things that does is create an opening for a political entrepreneur to say, look, you've got these problems, the things we've tried for the past 30 years on both the left and the right haven't worked, so give me a try.
BLACKWELL: Hmm. All right. The book "Hillbilly Elegy", J.D. Vance, thank you so much.
PAUL: All right. In the historically red state of Georgia, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton neck and neck among voters, in a state that's voted Republican for decades now seems to be up for grabs. We'll talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:47:57] PAUL: Well, in Georgia, a typically red state, voters are already casting their ballots in the race for the White House.
BLACKWELL: Yes, an "Atlanta Journal Constitution" poll shows that Donald Trump is leading Hillary Clinton, but by just two points. This is a statistical tie in Georgia.
CNN correspondent Nick Valencia is here to give us a detailed look as the tide turns among conservative voters, at least among some in the Peach State -- Nick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Christi, Georgia is a historically Republican state. It's been nearly a quarter century since the last time the state voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. But with this election, all that may change.
(voice-over): It's Friday at the Mosqueda household. The sun hasn't even come up yet and they're already talking about their futures.
Alberto and his wife Keisha (ph) moved from Virginia to Georgia about two years ago. This will be their first presidential election as state residents. And it's people like them who are changing the historically red state purple.
ALBERTO MOSQUEDA, HUSBAND: You can tell everybody's looking at him.
VALENCIA: Mosqueda is a conservative. He didn't vote for President Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012, nor does he really support Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, but he says he's voting for her anyway.
A. MOSQUEDA: If it wasn't for the candidate that's running now, I would have voted for that candidate other than Clinton.
VALENCIA (on camera): You would have voted Republican?
A. MOSQUEDA: More than likely.
VALENCIA: What is it about her that it's hard for you to totally accept her?
A. MOSQUEDA: The e-mails and Benghazi stuff, being military guy, you take all of that into account, Benghazi, especially the e-mails and the security, and all that. And it's like, just direct breaches and direct violations of what simple things that they teach even as a lower enlisted guy in the military.
VALENCIA: You smell it? It smells good.
(voice-over): The Mosquedas are a house divided, while husband Alberto usually votes Republican and relies on his Christian values, he says he can't bare to vote for Trump, especially after what he said about Latinos. His wife Keisha has always voted Democrat. Her vote she says is guided by what she wants the future to look like for her 5-year-old son Solomon.
[07:50:02] KEISHA MOSQUEDA, WIFE: I'm very concerned about him in the future. A minority male, that's something that's just always on my mind.
VALENCIA: Solomon might not yet the importance of his parents or the effect their votes could have in Georgia, but he knows this much --
K. MOSQUEDA: Which color are you voting for?
SOLOMON MOSQUEDA, SON: Blue.
VALENCIA (on camera): The Mosquedas say that their house is complicated. Mrs. Mosqueda says that she actually thinks s is more conservative than her husband although he votes traditionally along Republican lines. Both of them however agree that there's nothing Donald Trump can say at this point that will change their minds about him -- Victor, Christi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: All righty. Thank you.
And listen, coming up, NFL drawing renewed rage after its revealed a New York Giants kicker suspended for just one game for domestic abuse, apparently admitting to abusing his former wife in the past. We're going to have details for you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Well, the NFL is under fire for banning a player for just one game amid domestic violence allegations. New York Giants kicker Josh Brown did not travel to London with his teammates for Sunday's game.
PAUL: He is on paid leave right now for the alleged incident with his ex-wife, happened back in 2015. This is the latest punishment for the dispute that that drew sharp criticism when it happened. Now it's back in the headlines, because Thursday, they released this statement from brown that was written in March of 2013.
He said, "I have physically, verbally and emotionally abused my wife Molly and I have been a horrible husband and stepfather."
[07:55:02] CNN sports analyst and sports columnist for "USA Today", Christine Brennan, joining us now.
Christine, always good to see you. Thank you.
The NFL we know has claimed that their new stance on domestic violence would be a top priority for them. There's a policy in place where first-time violators are suspended without pay for six games, but we understand he is suspended right now. He was suspended for one game, but now he is suspended indefinitely with pay.
What do you make of what we're seeing unfold this morning?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Christi, this is an absolute failure of the NFL's plan and policy to eradicate domestic violence or at least to punish it when it occurs. Everyone remembers, of course, the Ray Rice video from two years ago. The NFL changed its policy, six-game suspension rather than a piecemeal two-game suspension or what have you.
And the NFL did some good things. It really did. And talked a good game and did some things. And now here we are two years later and this man fell through the cracks or people ignored things, the NFL for example the pro bowl moved his now ex-wife room. The NFL knew that and moved those kids out of the room because they were concerned for their safety.
How was that information about what was going on at the pro bowl not allowed to be given or the investigators from the NFL a new security team the NFL hired to make sure these things don't happen. They apparently didn't know that or if they did it was somehow covered up or ignored. There's little things, big things, overall, this is a P.R. nightmare for the National Football League.
PAUL: Do you anticipate that with the release of these documents the NFL will take some action against Brown?
BRENNAN: I do, Christi. He is not on the trip to London. He is on the commissioner's exempt list, this might sound familiar.
PAUL: What does that mean, he's on the exempt list?
BRENNAN: Right. This allows the league to get him out of playing, get him out of the limelight and obviously as a P.R. thing, they have to do this. They cannot have him representing the league, representing the New York Giants in London this weekend. He can get paid and this is basically just getting him out of the way. And it's agreed upon by the union and by the commissioner.
It worked in the sense of Greg Hardy, a monster, literally a monster who thankfully now is out of the league and Adrian Peterson. So. that's where it came up a couple years ago.
It's a stopgap measure. It's not the best answer. Of course, Brown should have been suspended six games. My sense is he will be suspended and we won't see him again just like Ray Rice, but that's what that list is.
PAUL: Does the fact that they are now divorced and the fact that the charges were dropped play into this whole instance at all? BRENNAN: Well, it shouldn't because what the league decided admirably
a couple years ago was that the police are not doing the job that I think a lot of us would feel they should be doing and a lot of these cases seem to the wayside. So, the league and Roger Goodell said, let's get tougher. That's what they learned from Ray Rice. So, they had their own internal looking at it.
What's clear is that the NFL cannot get information from some of these law enforcement organizations. There's got to be a way for the league to be able to have better connections to get this information.
So the league is saying, it only information the same time all of us did when it was leaked to the media. That is a huge problem because if you got private investigators inside the NFL trying to do their own investigation, they can't get the documents, they are clearly hampered by that, and they got to figure out another way to do this.
PAUL: Real quickly, a couple years ago NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this women's panel, what happened to that panel?
BRENNAN: Well, there have been a lot of symposiums even. I was on one at the Super Bowl talking about women and the advancement of women. But you're right, the NFL has talked a good game. We clearly see now that that is not actually happening in practice.
And this is really unfortunate because the NFL could be a leader in this and has been in some ways. And now we see how to use a cliche they've dropped the ball.
PAUL: All right. Christine Brennan, always appreciate hearing your perspective and insight on this. Thanks for being here.
BRENNAN: Christi, thank you.
PAUL: Of course.
I know that's a heavy one and there is more heaviness to be had this morning.
BLACKWELL: Yes, next hour of your NEW DAY starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Remember, folks, it's a rigged system. That's why you've got to get out and vote. You've got to watch, because this system is totally rigged.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Make no mistake: by doing that, he is threatening our democracy.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: We still have a path to 270 through several different ways.
TRUMP: We will win. We will shock the world. This is going to be Brexit plus.
CLINTON: We know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship.
TRUMP: We have a lot of babies running our country, folks. They're losers. They're babies.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish we were in high school and I could take him behind the gym. That's what I wish.
(END VIDEOTAPE)