Return to Transcripts main page
Wolf
ISIS Suspected of Using Chemical Weapons in Iraq; Trump, Helicopter Will Be Stars in Iowa; Meet Donald Trump's Children; Iowa State Fair Known for Food. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired August 14, 2015 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: He said, "We are clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, among these is Cuba's continued denial of universal human rights. Dissidents are being detained and beaten. We must remain steadfast in championing the rights of all citizens to speak freely, assemble peacefully and think differently. I will take this message to Havana."
And we're going to take a quick break. Coming up, new reports ISIS fighters may be using chemical weapons. What this says about the terror groups capabilities and how it changes the fight. We'll talk about that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BASH: ISIS may now be using chemical weapons in Iraq. The United States is investigating claims that Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were victims in a chemical weapons attack near Erbil.
Joining me now is Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.
Barbara, do we know what kind of chemical agent was used there?
[13:35:15] BARBARA STARR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the working theory right now, Dana, is that it is mustard agent. That is a chemical weapons agent that is referred to as a blister agent. Blisters the skin, causes eye problems, respiratory problems. Generally people don't die from it broadly speaking but it's very serious because if they are using this mustard agent on the battlefield against the Kurdish fighters, the Kurds have no real protection against it. They don't have protective gear and it's really a weapon of fear and intimidation. Besides the very tough physical symptoms that are presented. I think you're seeing video that there that has emerged from the area, people who have turned up at the local hospital with blistering of their skin, respiratory symptoms. So the U.S. is looking to get some samples from this area so they can test it and come to a definitive conclusion about what is may really have.
BASH: Barbara, obviously ISIS uses a lot of scare tactics, not the least of which is beheadings. Is this the first time that we believe, at least, that they've used chemical weapons?
STARR: Well, there may have been additional attacks weeks before. This activist group in the area has been reporting it. The U.S. says it has good reason to believe there was a previous attack in northeast Syria and we don't want to get too much into chemistry 101 but there's another agent, chlorine, that both the Assad regime and ISIS may have used in the past. It's not quite the category of a chemical weapon but a lot of people in various areas have turned up with those symptoms. Is has already perfected the terrible skill of mass killings, beheadings, mass murder. This is mass fear, invoking fear in the population there is that is controls so it's one of the reasons the U.S. Wants to get a handle on what is happening here.
BASH: Barbara, you mentioned the Assad regime and chemical weapons. They did use chemical weapons in the Syrian government against rebel fighters in the past. Is this where ISIS could have gotten what they're using or do you think they're sophisticated enough to make something like this on their own?
STARR: There's three logical places is could have gotten this. Iraq, leftover or something from the regime of Saddam Hussein. His weapons stores were not always well guarded, at the end especially from the Syrian regime. Bashar al Assad, the Syrian president was supposed to give up everything he had for destruction under an international agreement. The intelligence community has worried he didn't declare all of his inventory. The third option, it is possible that ISIS has learned how to make this. Mustard agent is not that hard to make. It comes from available chemical stocks out there. Could ISIS have made it on its own? The initial analysis is these attacks have been very rudimentary. That might point to it being made on its own and that's a concern because if they can make it on their own that's something the intelligence community wants to know about.
BASH: I'm sure. Even if it is rudimentary Barbara it's got to be concerning for the U.S. and coalition troops who are trying to fight ISIS.
STARR: It's very concerning. On the ground in Iraq, Iraqi troops already struggling to make progress against ISIS. This weapon of fear could be very demoralizing to them and to the Kurdish fighters on the ground in Syria and the small group of rebels is U.S. is trying to train, also a weapon of fear. This is what ISIS does. That I move in with their fear tactics and the people on the ground often feel that they have no option. That they have no freedom, that they can not make a choice because ISIS is overwhelming to them. That's one of the things the U.S. wants to get a handle on.
BASH: Barbara, appreciate our excellent reporting and insight, thank you so much, great to talk to you.
STARR: Thanks, Dana.
BASH: Coming up, we will turn back to U.S. politics and we're going to introduce you to Donald Trump's five children, and learn, what's it like to grow up Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:44:21] BASH: There are lots of ways Donald Trump is different from the rest of the Republican field. Take, for example, being able to offer children rides on his own personal helicopter around the Iowa State Fair. Now, Iowa State Fair officials had told the billionaire, nope, you can't do that. There was no place to accommodate any of Trump's 12 Sikorsky helicopters. But Republican operatives in Iowa, not with the Trump's campaign, confirm it will happen outside the fairgrounds. No campaign official confirmation coming from inside.
But joining me to talk about this and all things Trump, CNN's political reporter, Jeremy Diamond.
Jeremy, I want to talk about that. Let's talk about the helicopter ride. Can you score one of those?
(LAUGHTER)
[13:45:09] JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, I'm not sure I'll be able to get on. Apparently, you can get about five passengers in there so it will probably be a kid or two with Trump maybe, maybe not. So maybe we'll have a camera. Not sure I'll get a ride myself.
BASH: Let's talk about his organization in Iowa. You know just following him around a little bit myself and watching the difference between the Trump campaign and everybody else, he seems to be campaigning a lot less, doing some of it from the Trump Tower. Obviously, he has a lot of what they call earned media. He's doing interviews all the time but you need organization on the ground in states like Iowa to get people to the caucuses. He's got a pretty important veteran operative working for him in Iowa. Tell us about that.
DIAMOND: Yeah, so Trump's campaign in Iowa is run by a veteran Iowa operative, Chuck Laudner, who was famous for driving literally driving Rick Santorum to victory in 2012. He drove him around in his pickup truck called the chuck truck. Chuck tells me it has about 250,000 miles on it and still running but don't expect Donald Trump to be getting into that truck and going around to Iowa doing the classic retail politics. He's running a very different campaign out here and Chuck Laudner, who I just spoke with earlier today me that that's OK they're trying to do things differently. Trump is able to draw big crowds out here in Iowa when he does come and when he's not here the campaign operatives -- they have ten staffers here including chuck -- they're going around and attracting people when they go around with their Trump-branded bus, even without the candidate they're attracting crowds of 50 people at a time signing up, enthusiastic about Trump's candidacy. And that's their ground game.
BASH: I can't imagine Donald Trump in a pickup truck, that wouldn't work on so many levels. What are you hearing at the fair about any kind of passion for Trump? Is there a passion or just more of a curiosity at this point?
DIAMOND: There's no middle ground. Folks, regular fair goers, they either love him or really hate him. That's pretty much is sentiment out here. But when I was walking around with Chuck Laudner, he's got a Trump button and he has people coming up saying, "Is Donald Trump coming today?" "No, he's coming tomorrow, but be there." And Trump operatives are preparing for a crazy scene. They've been
walking around, security planning things out and they have stops they want to make but they've been clear, nothing's guaranteed given the craziness they're likely to encounter tomorrow.
BASH: Craziness, indeed. I've been a part of it. It's crazy, sometimes even dangerous
Jeremy, thank you so much for that.
You mentioned the celebrity factor. Donald Trump has a pretty glamorous family. Trump's wife is a model, actress and businesswoman. His children have businesses of their own in addition to helping build the global Trump brand.
Our Randi Kaye introduces us to the children behind the Donald.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Five children from three different women, Donald Jr, Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Baron.
ERIC TRUMP, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: I think being Trump and having Trump genetics we wanted to be in his family business since we were born.
KAYE: Eric Trump, the youngest son of Donald and Ivana, attended Georgetown. Today, he's an executive vice president for his father's company. He's married and owns and operates Trump Winery. He's also raised millions for St. Jude Research Hospital through his Eric Trump Foundation. At this foundation event, Twisted Sister rocked out with the Donald and his kids.
(SINGING)
KAYE (on camera): Donald Trump Jr, the oldest son, was just 12 when his father and Ivana divorced. He's fluent in Czech like his mom and spent summers outside Prague with his grandfather hunting and fishing. He earned a degree in finance and real estate from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton school. Donald Jr is also an executive at the Trump Organization.
DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: My primary job is not to build buildings with the Trump name on it, but to be the caretaker of that annuity of kind of making sure not to kill the golden goose.
KAYE (voice-over): Donald Jr met his wife at a fashion show. The couple now have five children.
Perhaps the most well known of Trump's children with Ivana is daughter, Ivanka. She oversees acquisitions for the family business but also has her own jewelry and accessory lines. Ivanka, who, in 1997, graced the cover of "Seventeen" magazine, also graduated from the Wharton School. She later created this online venture for working women.
IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: The website has a rally compelling and inspiring narrative to encourage these women to pursue their dreams.
[13:50:10] KAYE: Ivanka married into another real estate family. The couple has two children.
While all of them were successful in their own right, Trump's hit show, "The Apprentice," really propelled his three children into stardom.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Don and Eric will be my advisers. Ivanka, how will they be judged?
IVANKA TRUMP: I will be judging --
KAYE: With his second wife, Marla Maples, Trump saw the birth of his daughter, Tiffany, in 1993.
Tiffany tossed to Oprah in 2013.
TIFFANY TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: My relationship with all of my brothers and my sister are getting stronger, so if my father, of course.
KAYE: Unlike her siblings, Tiffany is pursing a career in fashion and music. Big sister, Ivanka, reportedly helped her get an internship at "Vogue." In 2011, she cut her first single, "Lake a Bird."
(SINGING)
KAYE: The baby of the family is 9-year-old Baron, born to Trump's third wife, Melania. When he was just five, his mother told Joy Behar Baron spoke both English and Slovenia.
MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: He's a very mature 5 year old. He's bossing everybody around.
JOY BEHAR, TV SHOW HOST: Really?
MELANIA TRUMP: He has fired nannies and housekeepers.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: He's taking after the Donald.
MELANIA TRUMP: He does. And it's very cute, you know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And when we come back, the Iowa State Fair is known for its food innovations. The candidates are there, too, but we're going to focus on the food. Stay tuned for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:55:53] BASH: Let's face it, there are two main reasons that we go to the fair, the rides and the food. From fried peanut butter and jelly on a stick to ultimate bacon brisket bomb to deep fried nacho balls, candidates hang out there each year at the Iowa State Fair. Sure, there are also candidates for president as they have each year, but let's go and talk about the food for a minute.
Back to the Iowa State Fair with CNN's Chris Moody.
Chris, I understand that you've been sampling all of the goods. During the break, I asked how many calories you think you consumed just today and you said too much to count, right?
CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Far too many. Here at the Iowa State Fair alone, you can probably do it over the 10 days, although I would not recommend it. I tried many of them. Take a look and see how I did.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MOODY: Almost every politician that comes to the Iowa State Fair is on the soap box to speak with the voters. But also to walk down the food promenade. There are more than 70 fried foods on stick. It doesn't get more American than this than fried apple pie on a stick.
And a bucket of fries. Bacon maple funnel cake. Are you kidding? How is it? God bless America.
Deep-fried Wisconsin white cheddar cheese curds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pork chop on a stick.
MOODY: We're going to get to that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is the very best.
MOODY: We're making our way.
Deep-fried all beef corn dog.
(MUSIC)
MOODY: Chocolate dip salted nut roll. Teriyaki beef on a stick. And pineapple, if you want to be healthy. Pork chop on a stick.
Oh, look. They have First Aid on a stick?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MOODY: So as you can see, there's plenty of choices here and candidates really as a rite of passage, they have to eat something.
We saw Jeb Bush at the pork chop tent flipping the meat there.
And there are pitfalls. There are foods you may want to avoid. Not the best photo op. Today, we had Martin O'Malley walking around. He could barely answer
questions with a big old pork chop in his mouth.
BASH: I want you to know, I think you can safely expense the Alka- Seltzer. But check this out. He's holding it kind of Fred Flintstone style, trying to talk about a serious issue that Jeff Zeleny is asking him about, and he can't get the words out because he's chewing so much on this pork chop.
MOODY: But he nailed it. That's exactly what the fair is about. If you want a traditional experience, don't come to the fair. This is something special.
Yesterday, we spoke to a couple of old-time political hands that have been to the fair dozens of times. They took us through and showed us exactly how to manage the fair as a candidate. You stand on a soap box, eat fried food, meet with people and try to be authentic. That's what the candidates will do today and over the next few days.
BASH: The pitfalls, as you mentioned, if you can't pull off being authentic in this situation?
MOODY: It's hard to pull it off for some people. A couple of years ago, Brett Thompson was here and wore expensive Italian shoes and got hit for it.
The Donald Trump is going to be here flying on a helicopter that will land around the corner. Maybe we'll have a bit of a challenge coming off as an everyday man, but it's going to be fun to watch, for sure.
BASH: When I think your own personal helicopter, I think you're an every day man. No question about it.
MOODY: Don't we all?
BASH: Chris, thanks so much.
That was such a fun piece. Thanks so much.
And that's it for me.
For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.
And for our North American viewers, "Newsroom" with Randi Kaye starts right now.
