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Mail Bomber is Apprehended; Trump Rallies Continue with Midterm Elections Drawing Near; Obama Speech Aimed at Trump's Message; Can Civility in Politics Make a Comeback? Dodgers Take Game Three in a Record-Setting 18 Inning Game. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired October 27, 2018 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alleged serial bomber is custody in south Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty-six-year-old Cesar Sayoc, they have confirmed at least one of Sayoc's fingerprints from one of the envelopes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are also learning as well about the political agenda that he plastered all over the van he was actually living in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was covered in photos of President Trump and Vice President Pence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a sad result of someone who is very sick, didn't get the help, that became a loaner and then found a cause. He found a father in Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must unify as a nation. We have seen an effort by the media in recent hours to use the sinister actions of one individual to score political points against me.

BARAK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Calling them enemies of the people and then suddenly pretending that you're concerned about civility. Come on.

ANNOUNCER: This is "New Day Weekend" with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: It took just four days to track him down to south Florida but federal agents say the man who sent at least 14 mail bombs to prominent Democratic figures and Trump critics is now in custody.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN HOST: The man you see on your screen there, 56- year-old Cesar Sayoc told investigators he didn't want to hurt anyone but the FBI director Chris Wray says under the right conditions those packages could have gone off and Wray says there may still be more packages working their way through the U.S. Mail. so DNA, fingerprints, cell phone pings, tower -- the cell phone tower,

all of that is what led authorities to an auto parts store parking lot in south Florida and that is where they arrested Sayoc yesterday morning.

BLACKWELL: Now for more, let's bring in CNN Senior Washington Correspondent, Joe Johns. He's live from the federal detention center in downtown Miami. Joe, what do you know this morning about how this will be moving forward?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Well, 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc is locked up at the federal detention facility here in Miami, as the authorities try to piece together as much of this story as they can. And the picture that is emerging is of a man who harbored some very dark thoughts, particularly about minorities and others in this country, particularly on the left.

But what he is accused of is essentially going that further step, by putting bombs in the mail, political violence, and now, authorities are trying to find out if the 14 bombs they know of are the end of it.

A nationwide man hunt ending with an arrest in connection to this week's mail bombs. Fifty-six-year-old Cesar Sayoc facing federal charges and up to 48 years in prison. The Justice Department announcing they were able to track Sayoc to Plantation, Florida, through evidence gleaned from at least one of the packages.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR OF THE FBI: They uncovered a latent fingerprint from one of the envelopes containg an I.E.D. that had been sent to Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

(END VIDEO)

JOHNS: At least 14 pipe bombs were mailed to Democratic politicians and high profile activist; two of those sent care of CNN's offices in New York. Four more devices were discovered Friday and the FBI director warns that more packages may still be on the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

WRAY: Today's arrest doesn't mean we are all out of the woods.

(END VIDEO)

JOHNS: Sayoc has an extensive criminal history dating all the way back to the early 1990s including a 2002 threat to blow up a utility company, suffering a fate worse than 9/11. A law enforcement official says Sayoc was initially cooperative, and claimed he did not intend to harm anyone. Although none of the devices actually exploded, Wray insisted the bombs be taken seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

WRAY: These are not hoax devices. They did contain energetic material, which if subjected to the right combination of heat or shock or friction could be dangerous to the public.

(END VIDEO)

JOHNS: Details in the criminal complaint show some of the bombs included photographs of the targets with a red x across their face. Another key piece of evidence in the investigation, this white van, seized during the arrest. Authorities say Sayoc was living in it, after being kicked out of his parent's house. It is plastered with pro- Trump images and one "CNN Sucks" sticker, a popular crowd chant at Trump rallies.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

CROWD CHANT: CNN sucks. CNN sucks. CNN sucks.

(END VIDEO)

JOHNS: Sayoc was captured on video at one Trump event last year holding a "CNN Sucks" sign and his social media accounts are filled with memes attacking the same targets the bombs were addressed to. Friday night President Trump still denying his fiery rhetoric may have influenced the would-be bomber insisting he toned down his language and again attacking the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: I could really tone it up because, as you know, the media has been extremely unfair to me and to the Republican Party.

[06:05:00]

JOHNS: But the president did acknowledge the suspect was a supporter. The FBI would confirm nothing on motive. The attorney general did admit this may have been political in nature.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JEFF SESSONS, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: This is utterly unacceptable. Political violence, or the threat of violence, is antithetical to our vigorous system of self government.

(END VIDEO)

JOHNS: Some pictures now of the federal detention center here in Miami. As authorities hope the end of this drama is near. Of course, huge questions remain. Among those questions, are there any more of these packages still in the postal system or have the authorities been able to identify all of them? Obviously, there is also a question about motive. Why, specifically, did this suspect do it, if in fact, they do have the right person. They think they do. Back to you.

PAUL: And Joe, not just motive but what about money? How did he afford -- is there any gauge how he afforded the materials that he sent through the mail and the mailings themselves?

JOHNS: Well we do know - right. We do know that he did have a job. He worked for quite a while and was seen as a very diligent and, if you will, hard-working employee, who nonetheless expressed some of his dark views about minorities, gays and others. So he had a job here in south Florida and made money that way. But also most interesting I think is the fact that authorities say he lived out of his van. So he certainly wasn't paying apparently for housing because he had been kicked out of his parent's house. That picture of course, still has to be filled in a bit more.

PAUL: All right, Joe Johns, we appreciate it so much, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Joining us now to talk more about this investigation and what comes next, CNN Law Enforcement Reporter Mark Morales and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig. Good morning to you. Mark, let's start right there with this van and if he, as law enforcement officials say, lived in that van, this is just a trove of evidence moving forward, to try to build this case against Sayoc.

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Absolutely. Investigators can have a field day with what is going on in there. But as far as what New York is concerned, the latest I'm hearing is so far there haven't been found packages during the overnight hours. That is something that's always subject to change as we've seen the last few days. Investigators are still very much trying to search postal inspectors are looking. Everyone is sort of searching for anything that sort of fits the hallmark.

BLACKWELL: Because he stopped speaking with investigators, he's not really a source now to try to figure out if there are more packages out there.

MORALES: Right, right. So it is almost like the onus has gone on the people that are handling the mail, the postal inspectors and anyone else who sort of seen these packages and could sort of link up the hallmarks of the package, the manila envelope and the six postage stamps.

BLACKWELL: Postage stamps and the labels and all that.

PAUL: So Elie, I wanted to ask you, and the scene at the restaurant as Joe is talking about, says he was a self-described white supremacist. Based on who he targeted and how characterizes himself, when we talk about the five federal charges against him, is there a possibility some sort of hate charges could be on the way as well?

ELIE HONIG, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: That is a possibility down the line. But I think the whole idea of political motivation, ideological motivation is going to be central to the case as we see it develop against Sayoc.

PAUL: Does that not fall under the parameters of a hate crime?

HONIG: Hate crimes tend to be more state-level offenses and federally there are certain sentencing enhancements that can apply if there's a hate motivation but there is not a free-standing hate crime statute federally speaking; there are in some states. The political motivations will absolutely be relevant here. It is relevant to proving who did it, look at the van, look at who the targets were, why he did it, what we call motive. It links Sayoc to the targets, it links the targets to one another so I do think eventually as this case plays out in court, you will see evidence of the stickers in the van window, his Facebook post, his tweets, that kind of thing.

BLACKWELL: Elie, let me come to you with this and then Mark, I'm going to follow-up with you with the same question from a law enforcement perspective. I want you to listen to an attorney for Sayoc's family. This is Ronald Lowry on with Anderson last night about the possibility that he was not working alone in this effort. Let's watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ROBERT LOWRY, ATTORNEY FOR THE SAYOC FAMILY: He never seemed sophisticated enough to do something like he's accused of. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that there were either others who helped prod or encourage him to do this, or that the bombs in fact, were so crudely made they never could have worked because he didn't seem to have the intellectual capacity to plan a conspiracy like this in my opinion.

(END VIDEO)

BLACKWELL: Based on the profile that is coming together of this man, does this look like someone who acted alone?

HONIG: It could be. One of the big questions that investigators are certainly asking right now, is there anyone else out there?

[06:10:00]

They are certainly looking for other bombs out there that may still be in the mail. But you absolutely want to know, is there another confederate. This does not look to be extremely sophisticated, the way he put the bombs together, the way he packaged them and mailed them. It wouldn't surprise me if it's just him. There's nothing about it that screams there had to be somebody else involved. There could have been unwitting accomplices. There could have been people, for example we believe some of the packages were delivered by couriers. It doesn't mean those people were in on it, unless they somehow knew, but you wouldn't ordinarily expect that. So it's probably one of the top questions on investigator's minds right now.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

HONIG: It wouldn't stun me if he acted alone.

BLACKWELL: And from the law enforcement perspective, I know you're following the New York element here, are they expecting that there might be other people involved, and if there are independent copy cats, the concern for that as well.

MORALES: Well, that is always a concern, the independent copycats. The idea that there might be others is definitely something at the forefront of investigators' minds. They are definitely searching for that. The likelihood that there's somebody else involved - it's hard to say at the moment, but they're definitely pursuing those angles to make sure there isn't anybody else.

PAUL: So let me ask you this. Within a 48 hour period, essentially, that's when most of these packages were found. If one pops up now, does that point to the possibility that somebody else is out there sending, just based on the time frame because now he is in custody?

MORALES: I think a lot of it depends when he actually mailed the packages and when the individual couriers received these packages. There is very much a chance that a lot of these packages might have been mailed days ago and haven't been sorted out yet or somebody might have remembered, "hey, I remember seeing that package," kind of like the one that ended up at Robert de Niro's. Somebody remembered seeing the images on television, linked back, and said I think it is one of the packages and it ended up being one in the same.

BLACKWELL: Mark Morales, Elie Honig, thank you both.

PAUL: Thank you both for being here.

So President Trump has acknowledging the mail bombing suspect was his supporter but did not disavow his support.

BLACKWELL: No at this rally in Charlotte last night, he blasted the media's response after the suspect was caught. A CNN White House reporter Sarah Westwood is up and live for us this morning, Sarah, give us an idea what the president said at this rally.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Victor, President Trump was renewing his calls for unity, but in the same breath, going after the media. Now, we've seen him express his frustration over the past few days that in his eyes what he saw is GOP momentum heading into the midterms has been sort of stalled by the wall-to-wall coverage of this serial mail bomber.

President Trump has said as much on twitter, and even as over the past few days, he has been encouraging Americans to come together. He has been pointing the finger at the media for stoking anger this country, and that's what we saw from him at his rally in Charlotte last night. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: Everyone will benefit if we can end the politics of personal destruction. We must unify as a nation in peace, love, and in harmony. The media has a major role to play, whether they want to or not.

CROWD CHANTS: CNN sucks. CNN sucks. CNN sucks.

TRUMP: And they do indeed have a major role to play, as far as tone, and as far as everything.

(CROWD CHEERING)

TRUMP: And we all say this, in all sincerity, but the media's constant unfair coverage, deep hostility, and negative attacks, you know that, only serve to drive people apart and to undermine healthy debate.

(END VIDEO)

WESTWOOD: Now, President Trump has tried to turn the conversation back to the caravan of Central American migrants heading to the U.S. border. He's wanted immigration the focus of his closing argument to Republican voters. Relatively speaking, that was a more restrained tone that we've seen from Trump not just in Charlotte, but also at his rally in Wisconsin this week since the bombs were sent to various Democratic figures and CNN. But Victor and Christi, it is hard to reconcile the president's attacks on the media with his calls for unity.

PAUL: Yes. Sarah Westwood, we appreciate it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right, coming up, what else we have learned about this mail bombing suspect. You will hear more from his former attorney, who is describing him as a person with mental health issues, and an identity crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

LOWRY: This was someone lost. And he found a father, he found a father in Trump.

(END VIDEO)

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[06:15:00]

BLACKWELL: We are learning more now about the man arrested for allegedly mailing bombs to prominent Democrats. Fifty-six-year-old Caesar Sayoc from Florida. He has a criminal history and also ties to the city of New York.

PAUL: His former lawyer told CNN's Anderson Cooper that Sayoc struggled for years with quote "a lack of comprehension of reality" and although his family urged him to get medical treatment, he apparently refused. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

LOWRY: Well, when I first met him, the first thing I noticed was his vehicle. At the time, he had another vehicle, and it was plastered full of Indian materials, regalia, posters, paintings, all on the exterior, and I of course saw that as strange. Most people don't drive around with plastered vehicles.

And I also recall, he pulled out a scrapbook and he immediately wanted to show me newspaper clippings, photographs of him with this exotic dancer, or wrestler, or him body building, and I recognized very quickly that he suffered from certainly an identification issue, as to who he was, he needed people to be impressed with him. He had issues of insecurity. I then began to realize that he also had what I considered a lesser I.Q., substantial emotional problems. He was like a 14-year-old in an adult's body.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: So do you know why he all of a sudden became, whether, I don't know if politically active is the right word, but certainly engaged with the Trump Presidency, going to rallies, driving around in that van, plastered with stickers, do you have any sense why that happened?

LOWRY: Well, I have my opinion. I mean obviously, I don't know with certainty, but it is my opinion that he was attracted to the Trump formula of reaching out, Trump reaching out to these types of outsiders, people who don't fit in, people who are angry at America, telling them that they have a place at the table, telling them that it is okay to get angry. I believe that that was a motivating factor.

Do I blame the president solely? No. This is a sick individual. I actually blame all of us. We have to start arranging for treatment of people when we start to see the problems. We don't have to wait for it to become violent. We're not socializing these people when we recognize signs like living in vans, or doing stupid actions like threatening a power company. We need a socialization plan to work on these people that are outsiders. It doesn't require psychiatrists and expensive doctors.

COOPER: Early on, you said he embraced the idea he was Native American even though I believe there is no evidence. The family says there is no evidence, and he wasn't actually Native American descent, but now, something about this last election that became the focus of whatever his resentment or anger or whatever his emotional problems were, that's what you believe?

LOWRY: Well -- well -- well, he was clearly not Native American. His father was Philippino and abandoned him as a child and his mother is Italian. And he adopted this claim to being a Seminole because he was trying to create an identity. And if you asked me, again, my layman's opinion, is that manifested from his lack of a father and his desire for an identity. This was someone lost. He was looking for anything and he found a father - he found a father in Trump.

(END VIDEO)

PAUL: Meanwhile, an elite unit of postal workers is working alongside the FBI, to try to frantically trying to decide if any bombs are out there, and if so, where are they. A former inspector talk to us about the clues that led them to that suspect and what they're doing now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:00]

PAUL: So glad to have you here on a special edition of CNN "New Day", live from New York, this morning. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

PAUL: We want to follow the arrest of this man FBI says mailed dozens of explosive devices to critics of President Trump.

BLACKWELL: Even with the arrest, officials warn there could be more bombs in the mail. The FBI has teamed up with the U.S. Postal inspector police. This is an elite unit that helped track down the suspect, and it is always on alert for suspicious packages. CNN spoke with a former postal inspector for his take. Brian Todd has that.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the ground, with FBI agents in Florida, as the suspect's van was being processed, U.S. Postal inspector police.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

FELIX NATER, FORMER U.S. POSTAL INSPECTOR: They are a major component of this investigation. Probably safe to assume they were monitoring, tracking the suspicious parcels after they were informed by the well- trained postal employees that are around the nation. So they're there, because they're part of that team.

(END VIDEO)

TODD: Felix Nader was a U.S. Postal inspector for 26 years. His concern now, even with the arrest of suspect Cesar Sayoc, more bombs could be in the system.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NATER: We're hoping that the heightened sense of awareness would put people on cue to be more aware and alert of anything that might be suspicious.

(END VIEO)

TODD: Nader won't give away specific techniques for screening bombs but he and current postal service officials say they have sophisticated screening devices, surveillance cameras to monitor suspicious behavior and elite members of the postal inspector police looking for explosives.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

GARY BARKSDALE,US. POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE: These dangerous mail investigation specialists are highly proficient in the use of state of the art equipment.

(END VIDEO)

TODD: What patterns do those specialists look for in dangerous packages?

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NADER: They're written in certain styles. There's patterns of writings on the face of the envelopes or the mailings. There are indicators of suspicious behavior that at least begins the suspicious inquiry as to what is going on here.

(END VIDEO)

TODD: Nader says whether it is discovered on the sending or receiving end, any suspicious package is quickly and carefully isolated. A key question now, how would some of the mail bombs this week gone through the mail system to their destinations without cancellation marks on the stamps? Nader says those cancellation marks are done by machines, which aren't foolproof.

[06:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NADER: It may not show up at all if it goes through a machine and it's not the right dimensions.

(END VIDEO)

TODD: Post office officials say it is not just the postal inspector police who are now on the lookout. Some 600,000 postal service employees across the U.S. are now in effect investigators. Are they in danger from possibly more bombs still in the system?

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NADER: If it doesn't get identified and it makes it through the system, and somebody unintentionally mishandles it, the device, improperly, designed by an amateur, and it explodes. There can be ancillary damage to those that might be in the area.

(END VIDEO)

TODD: Nader says enhanced security measures will be put in place to protect postal service employees while there still may be threats inside the system. In the meantime, he says, U.S. Postal inspector police are very likely taking part in the interrogation of the suspect. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

PAUL: For more on this CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst and former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes with us now. Tom, thank you so much for being with us. We know the FBI Director Christopher Wray cautions that there could be more potential explosive devices that have yet to be detected as we saw there. With that said what is different today, in terms of the protocols, the procedures, at the post offices and elsewhere? What is different today than say what was happening yesterday?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think Christi, the main thing would be they're so alert and they know what they're looking for in terms of the way these packages, the size, color, postage, the labels that were put on them, the style of type that was put on them, and this would be, you know, advised to all postal system employees, all over the nation, all over the world, to be on the lookout for that. And to Brian Todd's piece, the postal inspectors are very much unsung heroes in many of these investigations. The use of the mail is a very important component of many types of crimes, and particularly putting hazardous material or explosive material in the postal system is one of those areas.

BLACKWELL: Tom, let me ask you about this van that we all watched be towed to a federal facility yesterday. Just give us an idea of how these investigators are combing through the potential evidence here, and what they're looking for?

FUENTES: They would be looking for any -- any microscopic type evidence that might be in it that would have obviously his DNA, that would match the insides of the packages but any remnants of the explosive material that he might have used, the wires, and any additional timers that he had in those packages, anything that looks like it was part of the devices that were put in those packages, would be one.

But particularly, the hairs and fibers that would be, let's say imbedded in the carpeting, if there is carpeting in the back of that van, or whatever the floor is, because humans continuously shed particles of skin. We all do that nonstop. So they would be looking for that, obviously, to establish that it is his van, that he was in the back of that, and match that to whatever DNA material or fingerprint material they've gotten out of the inside of the packages that are being examined right now by the FBI laboratory. So that is a key thing and especially if they can place something that is unique to the van, like carpet fibers, to one of the packages, showing that that came from his van.

PAUL: One of the things I think that is so perplexing in this is when you think about how many packages were sent out that we know so far, 14, and that one person was able to coordinate that, was able to send them, not all by post office, some by courier, we don't even know what else is out there, do you believe, tom, that he was capable of doing this on his own, knowing that, you know, his attorney saying he doesn't think he had the capacity to do so.

FUENTES: Well, the capacity to put these packages together would not require a lot, so to me, even a moron with access to the internet could look up some of the components that would go in a package. Whether he actually assembled them in a way to explode, we really haven't heard yet. The FBI director Wray yesterday said it did contain the materials that potentially could explode.

Did he actually wire it in a way, and if he didn't, is it because he is stupid or is it because he didn't want to, or any of that? And we may never know. If he at this point doesn't want to talk, which is his right, we may not get to the bottom of that fact. As far as the mailings, whether he could have done that by himself -- the actual mailing of the devices -- he could have taken six months to manufacture the packages.

PAUL: Right.

[06:35:00] FUENTES: But that is going to depend really again back to the postal inspectors, determining when exactly those packages got into the postal system, where that was, what time it was, do they have video of someone putting those either in a postal box, mailbox, delivering it to an actual postal facility, because again, he did not go up to a counter and have someone meter the packages and charge him for the postage. He put the stamps on there, or whoever sent the packages put the stamps on there, and put enough, in his mind, to send the packages through the system.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Yes.

FUENTES: They would not have to be at the facility with a human postal worker.

PAUL: Right, right, the fact that they all got out in a 48-hour period, to so many different, from California to New York, it is something else. Tom Fuentes, always appreciate having your insight Sir, thank you.

FUENTES: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: President Obama is calling out President Trump for slamming the media after the mail bombing suspect was caught and then calling for civility.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: In recent days, we've had a broader conversation about the tone and civility of our national dialogue. Everyone will benefit if we can end the politics of personal destruction.

(CROWD CHEERS)

We must unify as a nation in peace, love, and in harmony. The media has a major role to play, whether they want to or not.

(CROWD CHANTING)

(END VIDEO)

BLACKWELL: Well, the former president, President Obama, last night, in Detroit, he did not name President Trump, but the person he was referring to, it is pretty clear. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

OBAMA: I would like to think that everybody in America would think it's wrong to spend all your time from a position of power vilifying people, questioning their patriotism, calling them enemies of the people, and then suddenly pretending that you're concerned about civility. Come on.

(END VIDEO)

PAUL: Those comments come as President Trump is facing renewed scrutiny for his rhetoric and questions about whether his words continue to fuel the sharp divisions in the United States. So President Obama there basically saying the words have consequences.

The fate of the mail bombing this week, reopens the discussions about the of the off the rails tone of our politic, and it has a lot of people searching for answers to this question, how do we turn off what former Vice President Biden called the political quote "hate machine?"

BLACKWELL: Yes, senior political analyst, John Avlon has some ideas in this morning's "Reality Check."

JOHN AVALON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Trump has attacked CNN by name on twitter during his administration and called the press "the enemy of the people" at least 18 times since taking office. He is obsessed with Hillary Clinton, tweeting about her 109 times; Obama, 137. Former CIA Director John Brennan has been an intense critic of the president and Trump blasted him 26 times in tweets and speeches. Former AG Eric Holder is likewise, not a brightwing(ph) media, especially since this.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ERIC HOLDER, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: When they go low, we kick them.

(crowd laughter)

(END VIDEO)

AVALON: And that was after one of Trump's favorite targets, Maxine Waters called on Democrats to do this.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

SENATOR MAXINE WATERS, (D) CALIFORNIA: If you see anybody from that cabinet in the restaurant, you push back on them and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

AVALON: This increasingly confrontational style, from street protests to neighborhood restaurants, can fuel a backlash. It gave Trump his closing argument, jobs, not mobs and inspired an entire campaign from the RNC called, The Left, an Unhinged Mob."

It's a message that's been echoed in chyrons on "Fox News" as well. Our country is caught in a fear and anger fueled feedback loop where extremes feed off each other and create their own justification. It is important not to take the bait. First, don't get infected by the epidemic of selective outrage at situational ethics. Neither party holds a monopoly on virtue you or vice but the Trump White House can't credibly lecture people on the need for civility and decency in politics. Incivility is the man's brand; he is a brawler and a name caller. He rose to political prominence on a racist conspiracy theory.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: I want him to show his birth certificate. There's something on that birth certificate that he doesn't like.

(END VIDEO)

AVALON: During the campaign he raised the specter of second amendment solutions to Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know.

(END VIDEO)

AVALON: And just last week, he praised a congressman for assaulting a reporter while trying to defend Saudi Allies who murdered a "Washington Post" columnist.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: Any guy who can do a body slam, he's my guy.

(END VIDEO)

AVALON: And this is a very, very short list. Which brings us to the second trap to sidestep. We are not going to heal our nation's wounds by fighting fire with fire. All we will do is succeed in burning down the whole house. Politics needs happy warriors. It also needs more honest brokers. The solution is pretty simple. We need to apply the same standards no matter what party the person is from. If you're a Democrat outraged by pipe bombs and white powder, you should feel equally offended when members of the Trump family have white powder- filled envelopes mailed to their homes. If you're a Republican offended the Democrats might fight back, then you should also be offended when Republicans demonize people they disagree with.

Perspective is the thing we have least of in politics, but it is the thing we need most of all. And that's your reality check.

BLACKWELL: John, thank you. let's bring in CNN Political Commentator and Political Editor of "Spectrum News", Errol Louis. Errol, good morning to you.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: Before we talk about generalities, let's talk about the specifics here. On that spectrum between responsible for, which most people are staying away from in relation to the president, and completely unrelated. Where do you think the president's rhetoric and what we saw from allegedly Sayoc this week, where does the president fall there?

LOUIS: Well look, I think the president has created and contributed to an atmosphere in which this happened. The reality though, is that if you look at what happened with the actual messaging by Sayoc allegedly, it's not really pointed to any particular policy. It is really just kind of the same sort of broad hate-fueled anger that we wonder if the president has really been sort of encouraging it. I personally think, Victor, that when you see somebody doing what demagogues do, and we just saw a taste of it from president Trump, and even candidate Trump, I think those people are being led by the crowd.

You know, we are really calling for is leadership, resisting the urge to be the angriest person in the room. Resisting the urge to sort of take people where unfortunately a lot of people want to go. And because a midterm is a base election, where the idea is to pull out your whole base, the president, I think, is really, really playing with dynamite. He is really walking down this path, further and faster than most people, and a lot of politicians play this game, and President Trump is really going pretty far. So I think, you know, look, he ends up holding a lot of the responsibility just because he is president and he also bears extra responsibility because he has gone further and faster and more determined, and a more determined manner than most politicians are.

PAUL: And recordings like that don't lie. It is him saying it on camera and you can juxtapose what he is saying about unity, with all of what he was saying there, with that said, is there a gauge of what the White House Administration itself is trying to do to reconcile those two presidents that are wrapped up in President Trump, as we're so close to midterms.

LEWIS: Well here again, I think -- look, as a country, we've got ourselves into this mess, and we as a country are going to have to get ourselves out of it. President Trump is the man at the podium again trying to be angriest guy in the room, but all the people around him who are chanting "lock her up" or throwing out all kind of crazy incitements that he has not shown the personal restraint and acted responsibly to try to literally just tamp it down, just stop it.

He has chosen not to do that; for political reasons, for personal reasons. It is not part of his style. And even in a moment of danger, when we have this mass possible assassination plot, with all of its fear spreading throughout the country, hundreds of thousands of postal workers who are literally exposed to danger, nothing - nothing -- nothing from him. He has just chosen not to do it. He just kind of left the podium empty so to speak.

So I think it is more important not to say, look, where's a consequence, you haven't said the right word, Mr. President. He is not going to say those words, I think we should be clear about that, but we ourselves have to decide, you know, I mean it is basic to marketing, that you can't sell somebody a chicken dinner if they don't want to eat chicken, right? There are a lot of people out here who want to hear this kind of stuff. The president is going to give it to them every single time. He is more led than leader when it comes to that sort of a thing. We as country I think are going to have to decide, what do you do? And

we have been talking about this in the media for a couple of years. Do you air the angry rally? Do you not air the angry rally? Do you put in commentary? Do you sort of feed the base, not feed the base? It is a tough question.

BLACKWELL: What's remarkable in that sound bite that we just played from Charlotte last night was how quickly that reversal happens from the crowd applauding the need for civility, and then going right into "CNN sucks" and later "lock her up" and all of that. Errol Louis, thanks for being with us.

PAUL: Thank you Errol.

LOUIS: Thank you.

PAUL: So listen, stay with us. We are live at the Miami detention center where the suspected mail bomber is being held this morning. And the manhunt might be over but the FBI director says listen, there could be more package bombs out there.

BLACKWELL: And a record-breaking game between the Dodgers and the Red Sox. The Hollywood ending to the longest World Series game ever. Next.

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PAUL: Seven hours and 20 minutes. Game three of the World Series; the longest in history.

BLACKWELL: Coy, who took home the W?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: It was the Dodgers, 18 innings, one for the record books. Let's go right to the moment - the moment. Well past midnight on the West Coast. Bottom of the 18th, after all of those hours, the Dodgers' Max Muncy goes yards and we want you to watch the incredible moment when the home team and the home crowd realized the guy who spent all of last season in the minors just ended this thing.

Dodgers win, 3-2. Game four is tonight at 8:09 Eastern. The game last night ended at 3:30 Eastern. So there will not be much time for rest. I think it is safe to say we have a series, folks.

PAUL: Oh, my goodness. All right, hey Coy, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you Coy.

WIRE: You're welcome.

BLACKWELL: So every fall, we honor ten ordinary people who are making an extraordinary difference.

PAUL: And I want to introduce to you Brad Ludden. He was one of the Top 10 Heroes of 2016. [06:55:00]

BRAD LUDDEN, TOP 10 CNN HERO: In 2016, the CNN Heroes featured us on an international stage and since then, we've been approached by a bunch of different patient advocacy groups inquiring as to whether or not our programs would apply to their populations. Those conversations led us to believe that young adults with M.S. could benefit from this type of adventure-based healing.

We're excited to pilot our first program for young adults with M.S.

I'm pretty overwhelmed with how far the organization has come. I'm just so humbled by it.

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