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U.S. Readies For Pope Visit With High Security; Pope's Arrival Just Hours Away; Our Job Is To Protect Pope No Matter What; Concerts In Central Park; Pope To Visit With Most Vulnerable; New Shape Of GOP Field; Pope Francis's Arrival in the U.S.; Carson on the Muslim Comment Controversy. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 22, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And just a little bit more than two hours or so from now, Pope Francis will land right here in the United States on this flight from Cuba. And when it does, it will activate one of the country's largest security operations in U.S. history.

Consider this. The level of protection given to the pope is either equal or exceeds the protection given to the president. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary, Jay Johnson, has now designated the visit as a national special security event. This is a rare designation to streamline the federal response with local and state agencies. The U.S. secret service is taking the lead working with 10 other agencies to coordinate transportation, crowd management and oversight of air space.

Our Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto is joining us via Skype right now. He's at Joint Base Andrews right outside Washington in Maryland. That's where the pope is scheduled to land around 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Our National Correspondent Deborah Feyerick is in New York. We'll get to her in a moment. And the former U.S. secret service agent will join us from Atlanta.

But, Jim, set the scene for us. I understand there's a security procedure going through Joint Base Andrews right now.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via Skype): That's right. I've been here a number of times as I know you have been. But the security here always very severe, this time unusually so. Right over my right shoulder here, that's where the pope's Alitalia jet will pull up when he does land here about 4:00 Eastern time.

The reason I'm doing this by Skype is because they still haven't completed the security sweep over where they'll have normally the reporters but they'll be some 300 young Catholic students here. Most of them from Catholic schools greeting him, 300 of 2,700 the pope's going to meet with during his visit to D.C.

It's an enormous security operation, national security special events, a designation, as you mentioned, Wolf, normally reserved for summit visits for the political conventions. But really pulling out the stops here. You have the FBI doing the lead in intelligence and you have the secret service doing the lead on security.

But not just to focus entirely on the security because I have to tell you, Wolf, the sense of anticipation here is enormous. You're going to have those 300 students a part of the group greeting here. The president and his family are going to get a very special private meeting with the pope when he arrives at the terminal here. They'll get to meet with him by themselves, with the president's children, the first lady, of course, and just a White House photographer present, before you have a whole host of others greeting him. The governor of Virginia is here, the mayor of Washington D.C., the archbishop of Washington, D.C. as well. Just a sense of the warm welcome, the warm embrace that this country -- that the capital city, certainly, but that the country is going to give the pope as he visits the U.S. for the very first time.

BLITZER: It's pretty extraordinary for the president and the vice president and the first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, all of them to go to Joint Base Andrews to receive the international leader like the pope. It doesn't happen all of the time, does it?

SCIUTTO: No, it does not. And, of course, you mentioned the vice president as well. I mean, it is -- this is a true red carpet welcome.

And think of this, the U.S. is the world's fourth largest Catholic community, an enormous Catholic community here. But also, a Catholic community that's in something of a crisis. You have many people leaving the church. And this pope seen not just as a religious leader, but as a world leader and he is inspiring some to come back, and not just Catholics but non-Catholics as well, to look at the church differently. He has a message here of openness really to people of all kinds.

And I think that what you're going to have is folks listening to him as he arrives in a different way than they might have listened to past popes as they've come to the U.S. He's an enormous pulpit, bully pulpit as you say, as he comes here to speak at a joint session of Congress. That's very special but also, of course, at the U.N. General assembly where you have a chance not just to address Americans, of course, but leaders all around the world. And it all begins here. It'll be just about three hours. It's going to be a great welcome. It's going to be an historic welcome as well, I think, Wolf, to watch here and to witness here.

BLITZER: History will be made, there's no doubt about that. Jim, stand by. I want Deborah Feyerick to join us from New York right now.

Deb, I want -- first of all, listen to what the mayor of New York, Bill De Blasio, had to say about security in New York City getting ready for the pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We have a very strong anti-terror apparatus within the NYPD. We work, again, very close with the FBI and the secret service. So, I think we're going to have extensive, careful security. But we have to recognize that if his holiness wants to stop and greet people, it's our job to protect him no matter what he wants the does. And he will make that choice. So, it's a balance that we're striking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: It's really amazing what's happening in New York City right now. They're also gearing up for world leaders at the United Nations general assembly, including President Obama. Give us a sense of what's going on.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really is incredible. If you think about it, the United National general assembly is going to host 170 presidents, prime ministers and other dignitaries. And the pope is going to be actually addressing them on Friday morning.

[13:05:08] Plus, the day the pope leaves, you've got this huge concert in Central Park with Beyonce and Cold Play and Pearl Jam. And so, there are so many different events that are going to take place here in New York City. The pope himself is only in Manhattan for a 40-hour period. But everything is carefully choreographed from the moment he lands at FJK and arrives at St. Patrick's Cathedral to his residence and then to other locations as well.

You've got the United States secret service that's really handling his security along with the pope's personal detail. They are the ones who are going to be in charge of getting him from point A to point B. Then, you've got the NYPD, 35,000 police officers, they are going to be around the perimeter, on the outside of the perimeter. Because if you think about the pope and then there are -- there are, basically, circles of security around him just to make sure not only he is safe, but also those at the events are safe and those outside of the events are safe.

There will be fences that are going up to protect those who have actually gone through the screening process from those who haven't. Nobody wants anybody who's not been screened to throw anything over a fence or hand a bag or a gun or anything like that. So, it's just everything that you can think of possibly going wrong.

If something that the United -- something that the secret service has already addressed, what happens if he's in an elevator and the power goes down? All of that. Plus, there's the traffic flow. And, don't forget, should there be and attack, there is also an evacuation plan in place. And that's why, when we talk about gridlock, there is a reason. They want to make sure that the can get in and get out quickly. And if there is a crisis, to make sure he is brought to safety.

So, there is so much thinking. This has been going on for nine months, this planning. And they are looking at everything, even who is up in the windows, who is up in the balconies, how do the doors open, who is in the bushes. It's pretty extensive.

BLITZER: Yes, it's very similar what's going on here in Washington, D.C. as well. Deb, stand by. Dave Wilkinson is a former FBI secret agent. Give us a sense -- compare this level of security to other historic visits.

DAVE WILKINSON, FORMER FBI SECRET AGENT: Well, I tell you, this one's off the charts, Wolf. As you can imagine, and as you said in your intro, this is a collaborative effort by all the federal, state and local agencies with the secret service serving it as the lead.

But as you also said, the key to this is really making sure they've got a contingency for every conceivable emergency while, at the same time, minimizing the disruption to the community. And that's a huge undertaking. They've spent the last 10 months -- 10 months or so, excuse me, turning over every stone, working out every detail they possibly can, thinking about every scenario from a terrorist attack to a lone gunman, to a chem bio attack, to a demonstration of protest. And I can tell you, these guys are ready for it and it's game day for the secret service.

BLITZER: Because I take it some of the concern has been generated as a result of ISIS threats on the Internet, social media, directly aimed at Christians, especially the pope, right?

WILKINSON: Well, I'd say that's absolutely true, Wolf. And I would say communications is a key ingredient to the success for the security plan for this event. Not only the communications between all of the federal and state and local law enforcement agencies add to the -- as to the intelligence gathering, but also the communications to make sure all these resources are in the right at the right time, traffic is shut down at the right time and at the right place, the air traffic control is shut down at the right time. The communications for that, not just for the intelligence reasons but for the entire visit, it absolutely crucial.

And, of course, they've been planning that, doing tabletop exercises and really looking at every possible scenario and communicating that on the real-time basis to make sure this goes off without a hitch.

BLITZER: The pope, as you know, he likes to interact with the public, with real people out there. How do you protect him when he goes into a crowd, Jim?

WILKINSON: Well, there's probably made out of that than there should be, because the secret service is ready for that. I mean, they're ready for that on any visit of any protectee they have. And, obviously, with the -- with the pope, this has become a significant issue with his visit to the United States. And I'll tell you that they plan for that. They are prepared for that. They will have buffer zones in certain areas where they will have civilians and guests there that the pope can reach out and touch and that sort of thing. And they'll be prepared for him to do that.

Now, what's more significant is if he were to go outside that general, you know, forecasted area that he might want to shake hands with and try go outside even that. And that's when the head of the secret service's detail leader, if you will, and the Swiss Guard leader will need to go to him, basically, and sort of rein him back in just a little bit, if that can be done. But I think I would summarize it by saying, they are ready for that, prepared for that, and I think that will go all fine.

BLITZER: All right. So, Dave Wilkinson, thanks very much. Deborah Feyerick, thanks to you as well.

As part of his commitment to help the most vulnerable, Pope Francis will visit the Washington offices of Catholic Charities. The head of that group here in the nation's capitol is standing by to join me next and we'll talk about his hopes for the pope's visit.

[13:10:08] And later on, we'll turn to politics here in the United States. Scott Walker is out of the race for the White House. He's asking other GOP candidates to follow his lead. Will anybody listen? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We are just hours away from the arrival of Pope Francis here in the United States, and huge majority of the Catholics are ready to welcome him warmly. In a brand new CNN-ORC poll, almost 80 percent of Catholics in the United States say they're looking forward to the pope's visit. As for his position on key issues, seven percent say he's too conservative, 18 percent say his views are too liberal, 76 percent say they're just about right. They call him the people's pope and much of his focus has been on people in need.

Monsignor John Enzler is CEO of Washington's Catholic Charities, one of the places the pope will visit during this trip. Monsignor, thanks very much for joining us. Give us a little sense of what you hope to achieve when the pontiff comes and visits the Catholic Charities in Washington?

[13:15:08]

MONSIGNOR JOHN ENZLER, CEO, CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF WASHINGTON: Well, Thursday morning, after he leaves the Congress, where he'll speak to Congress, he'll come to our place, which is at G (ph) Street here in Washington, where our offices are, and there we serve a meal every Wednesday night to about 250 to 300 men and women. He'll come to share that saint (ph) of an experience. A little different experience because we'll have tables set up in the street. There will be white cloths, tablecloths, on tables, and he'll have a chance to actually bless the food and hopefully greet the people and mix with them outside (ph).

BLITZER: I'm sure it will be a lovely lunch. There are so many homeless people here in the District of Columbia. I know you try to help them a lot and you're -- you're hoping that the pope will meet with some of them?

ENZLER: He will definitely meet with them. I'll walk in the -- St. Patrick's Church. There will be 250 of our clients there. And he'll walk out in front, there will be 300 outside. So 550 clients of Catholic Charities -- we serve 120,000 people a year -- will be there to greet him, to see him and maybe (INAUDIBLE) conversation (INAUDIBLE) walking around greeting people, shaking hands, hopefully have a chance to really say to each of them he cares about them and is here to support them.

BLITZER: And when you, as part of Catholic Charities, reach out to these homeless individuals in the nation's capital, you never ask them what their religion is.

ENZLER: Never. Our belief is basically, we do this not because they're catholic, but because we're catholic. We're catholic, as we do as Catholics. So the question only is, how can we help you?

BLITZER: And this pope has become a role model for you. Tell us why.

ENZLER: Well, first of all, his love of the poor. He said, I want a church that's poor for the poor. To the priests, he said, go out and smell like sheep. Get in there. He says to us, go with the periphery. So he's speaking what we do every day at Catholic Charities and what many non-profits do is say, let's get out there and be among the people who are in need. So he is -- he is truly a hero for me, a role model of how we're all called to live our catholic faith.

BLITZER: How did this originate, the idea that after his address before a joint meeting of the United States Congress he would come to you, Catholic Charities, meet with homeless for lunch. Who came up with that?

ENZLER: I think Cardinal Wuerl, most of all. I think -- our archbishop. We had, you know, this -- every week meal. The cardinal's been down to serve a number of times. He loves it. It's a chance for him to get down with the people a little bit. And I think when it came down to picking what would be the best charity, we're the most comprehensive social service agent in the Washington area. We're the biggest. Sixty-five different programs. And he said that's really a good sign that we do, it's a good symbol of what we do. We do it every week. Let's do it with the pope here as well.

BLITZER: Monsignor, have you ever met with the pope before?

ENZLER: I actually met John -- Pope John Paul with my mom years ago on a tour, but this is my first time to really be with the pope for any extended time. I can't wait. I just can't wait.

BLITZER: So give us a little sense of your excitement.

ENZLER: Well, you know, to think about it -- first of all, he's my hero. He lives the Gospel in the way I want to live it myself. He tries to say yes to people who need help and support. He tries to make sure that people all feel they're included. That's my priesthood, too. That's what I'm trying to do. So when I have a chance to meet him and, frankly, just be with him, I'm going to be lifted up myself. I just couldn't be more excited. And, frankly, I've said to people, I'm really psyched. I'm really psyched. I can't wait.

BLITZER: I believe that -- I'm sure you are. Monsignor John Enzler, CEO of Washington's Catholic Charities. And if people want to help Catholic Charities in D.C., it's catholiccharitiesdc.org, right? ENZLER: Right. That's right.

BLITZER: And you're more than happy to accept the contributions.

ENZLER: We certainly would.

BLITZER: You could -- you could use the money.

ENZLER: Well, time, talent and treasure. Come volunteer as well. We can us money and volunteers.

BLITZER: Volunteers too, they can just come over.

ENZLER: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Father, thanks very -- so much for joining us.

ENZLER: Thank you, Wolf. Thank you so much.

BLITZER: Up next, politics and religion. Dr. Ben Carson facing more questions about his stance on Muslims in America as he tries today to clarify his position. We're going to let you hear what he said on the subject just a little while ago. Much more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:42] BLITZER: Let's go to politics now. The Republican presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, says it's time to ignore hypotheticals when asking him about whether he'd be OK with a Muslim president. Here's what he said in a speech in Ohio just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't care what a person's religious beliefs are or what their religious heritage is. If they embrace American culture, if they embrace our Constitution and are willing to place that above their religious beliefs, I have no problem with them. I heard from a lot of Muslim-Americans just within the last 24 hours that I've worked with, that I've trained, that I've operated on, who say, we know you and we understand exactly what you're talking about. This theoretical issue about Muslims, it is not an important issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, joining us now, our CNN political commentators Donna Brazile and Amanda Carpenter, also our chief political analyst Gloria Borger.

Gloria, how long is this issue going to follow Dr. Carson?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I think he's going to continue to get asked about it. I'm not sure it has any impact whatsoever in the Republican primary process. I think the people who are Dr. Carson's supporters agree with his argument that what he was saying was he wouldn't support a theocracy under any circumstance, but I think the people who support Carson are not going to leave him because of his statements that other find -- others find offensive on Muslims.

BLITZER: You agree, Amanda?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, here's the thing, Dr. Carson has had -- he has a habit of somehow saying thing and walking back. He is not up to speed on the issues, aside this comment. But this is completely brought upon himself and Donald Trump. Donald Trump was the highest profile birther in America and Dr. Carson followed him down that path. Scott Walker's departure from the race yesterday was really a rejection of the way this party is going on this issue, in a way that he's trying to unify the anti-Trump vote. So I do think we're seeing people trying to put an end to this and stop it and that's largely positive.

BLITZER: You're a good Democrat, Donna, how does this play from the Democratic perspective looking down the road?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think most Americans, regardless of their party affiliations, are just appalled at the kind of conversation we're hearing on the Republican side. One week it's anchor babies and this week it's, you know, there's a religion test all of a sudden. I think this is bad for the Republican Party. It's bad for America. This level of incivility and tolerance has no place in our democratic process when we're talking about the highest, you know, office in the land.

[13:25:14] I was campaign manager when we selected a Jewish-American. I was so proud of having Joe Lieberman on the ticket. I mean the notion that we could now put Americans of all faith on the ticket, the top or the bottom, it is just ridiculous. So --

BORGER: But the question -- the question is whether this is going to affect him in the Republican Party. I would argue it probably won't at this point.

BRAZILE: Well, I heard the question. I heard the question. I thought Amanda did a good job. So I took my answer to my next road.

BLITZER: Well, let me --

CARPENTER: Well, the other thing, I think it does show that Dr. Carson is not adept enough to answer the questions in the way that's productive for the public discussion.

BORGER: That's true.

CARPENTER: If he wanted to come out and say, listen, I'm a Christian, people go to Iowa all the time to convince Iowa voters that they are Christians and they reflect the same values and beliefs that they have. That's a proper way to steer the conversation rather than just saying, ah, no -- no Muslims apply here.

BLITZER: Gloria, they -- Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor, once a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, all of a sudden saw his support evaporate and announcing why he was dropping out of the race last night he said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R-WI), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that I'm being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current frontrunners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So are other Republican candidates going to follow his advice?

BORGER: Well, I think eventually some of them will. But this was a shot across the bow to Donald Trump and saying to candidates who are asterisk, I would assume Lindsey Graham for example, George Pataki for example, get out of the way and let the real fight begin. And telling Donald Trump and Ben Carson, I would argue, these sort of outsider candidates, that you're not leading the party in the direction we need to be led, to Donna's point, and that we need to have the serious conversation that we -- we should be having if we want to win this election because talking about whether you would vote for a Muslim for president is -- or whether Carly Fiorina is robotic is not the kind of discussion that Republicans want to be having.

BLITZER: Who do you think's going to be next as far as a dropout is concerned?

CARPENTER: Well, frankly, I would have -- you know, if I were Scott Walker, I would say Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, you first. But I do wish that Scott Walker would have taken the extra step to actually make an endorsement. If you want to influence the direction of the party, that would have been a prime time moment to say, I'm dropping out of the race and here's who I'm getting behind so that the Republicans can win. I would have taken longer to make that decision, stayed in the race, but if you really want to influence where we're going, be bold, get out there, stay and have influence in the direction of the party.

BRAZILE: He was in danger of being kicked down to the baby table. And rather than sit on the stage with my governor, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum and Mr. Pataki and Mr. Graham, he decided to get out. This was one of the shortest campaigns in American history. Seventy-one days, $22 million. Wolf, I can imagine, $22 million in 71 days and he didn't get any lift. And it's not just Donald Trump. He didn't have a message. He had a very big campaign and it weighted him down. He had four positions on some of the big issues, and I don't think Scott Walker had a message for the American people.

BORGER: He was a bad candidate. You know, honestly, he was a bad candidate. He was untested. BRAZILE: Yes.

BORGER: He changed his mind on a bunch of things. He couldn't say, you know, whether Barack Obama was a Christian, for example.

BRAZILE: Right.

BORGER: Fighting ISIS was like fighting labor unions in the state of Wisconsin.

BRAZILE: Absolutely.

BORGER: So he was a -- he was a candidate who didn't perform well. And if he had endorsed, what good would that have done anybody who he endorsed?

CARPENTER: Well, (INAUDIBLE).

BORGER: I mean right now there's a scramble on for his donors.

BRAZILE: Yes.

BORGER: But they're independent kind of people, those donors. They want to be courted a little bit.

BLITZER: He rejected Trump, though, pretty -- pretty bluntly (ph).

BORGER: Yes, pretty, pretty boldly (ph).

CARPENTER: Yes. Absolutely. And I do want to make a note on Walker dropping out. It is -- he was a flopped (ph) candidate. He did not -- he did not show he was able to get up to speed on the issues quick enough. But it is remarkable that two governors with highly successful state records were the first to drop out. I'm even stunned by that. I didn't think either of them would take the nomination, but I'm stunned that they're the first out (INAUDIBLE).

BLITZER: Rick Perry and Scot Walker.

CARPENTER: Yes.

BLITZER: Gloria, you know who's doing well, relatively speaking, the Florida senator, Marco Rubio.

BORGER: Yes.

BLITZER: In our new poll he's now in fourth place, 11 percent. What's driving his surge?

BORGER: First of all, his debate performance. You know, Marco Rubio is a first-term senator. We've had a first-term senator as president and a lot of Republicans say you need more experience than being a first- term senator. What Marco Rubio showed in that debate was his mastery of foreign policy. And by comparison to Donald Trump, for example, or Ben Carson, for example, Marco Rubio, you know, did very well. And I think the public took a look at him at this young senator who is very, very well spoken, who, you know, comes across with great authority, I thought, and started giving him -- you know, started giving him a second look.