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Marco Rubio Picking Up Support; Candidates Take Turns on Late- Night TV; Pope Expected to Arrive in U.S. Shortly; Pope Popular in U.S. with Catholics, Non-Catholics; Some Top Iranian Military Brass Wary of Nuclear Deal; U.S./China at Odds as Chinese President Visits. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 22, 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] GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And I think that the public took a look at him at this young Senator who is very, very well spoken, and who comes across with great authority, I thought, and started to giving him a second look.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Tea Party Republicans want an alternative in case that Ben Carson or Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio is going to be the second choice, and you see that reflected in that poll.

BLITZER: A lot of Democrats privately said they fear Marco Rubio, because they believe he can be a very effective candidate.

BORGER: Even Jeb Bush fears Marco Rubio.

(CROSSTALK)

AMANDA CARPENTER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN: They are not playing up the rise in the polls. They're running a very smart, disciplined campaign. They don't want to surge to the frontrunner status on to --

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: And there is going to be a loss of enthusiasm if people don't come out to vote.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens.

All right --

BORGER: And being the second choice is good place sometimes.

BLITZER: And more debates, and we'll see what happens.

Thank you very much.

The presidential candidates are becoming a fixture on late-night TV. Last night, we saw Carly Fiorina, Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Bernie Sanders take their turns.

Let's start with Carly Fiorina on "The Tonight Show" singing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER CEO, HEWLETT- PACKARD: I have two dogs, Snickers and Max. They're Yorkshire Terriers. But I have to explain. I make up the song. And my mother and I used to sing together all of the time.

(LAUGHTER)

And I sing to my granddaughters. And --

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: It is dorky?

FIORINA: Dorky?

FALLON: Yeah.

FIORINA: Well, my dogs are not dorky!

(LAUGHTER)

FALLON: No, no, no, no. Is the singing dorky because --

(CROSSTALK)

FIORINA: Oh, I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

FALLON: Well, I mean, I sing to my dogs and they are dorky.

(LAUGHTER)

FIORINA: You want to hear it?

(SINGING)

(APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Very cute.

And Senator Ted Cruz was on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert where he said he's having fun on the campaign trail. The conversation turned to issues like same-sex marriage and states rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The 10th Amendment says, if it doesn't mention it, it's a question for the states. That's in the Bill of Rights. Everything that is not mentioned is left to the states. So if you want to change the marriage laws -- STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE SHOW: I am asking you what you want.

CRUZ: I believe in democracy. I believe in democracy. And I don't think that we should --

(CROSSTALK)

COLBERT: Guys, guys. However you feel, he is my guest, so please don't boo him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Nice touch from Stephen Colbert.

And finally, Bernie Sanders took his turn having some fun with Larry Wilmore on "The Nightly Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY WILMORE, HOST, THE NIGHTLY SHOW: We've never had a Jewish president, right? That we know of, right?

(LAUGHTER)

You know what I'm saying, right?

You may the oldest person to ever become president. What are you, 74?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah.

WILMORE: If became president, god forbid something happened -- I'm not saying that is. I'm just trying to keep it honest.

(LAUGHTER)

Would you be comfortable with say like a "Weekend at Bernie's" situation --

(LAUGHTER)

-- for that getting up for the rest of the administration?

SANDERS: Why not? I think that the good news is that I have been blessed with good health and a lot of endurance.

WILMORE: If you can just do this for me, just in case, Bernie, could you put on these sunglasses on --

(LAUGHTER)

SANDERS: Thanks.

WILMORE: -- just in case we have to do the "Weekend at Bernie's" thing,

(LAUGHTER)

SANDERS: How's that?

WILMORE: That's awesome.

(APPLAUSE)

(CROSSTALK)

WILMORE: Oh, that is awesome, there, Bernie.

SANDERS: Thanks.

WILMORE: No, you may need to keep those, because you may need them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: "Weekend at Bernie's."

All right, still to come, the evolution of Pope Francis, how he transformed from a humble scholar into a religious rock star. And that is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:57] BLITZER: In a little bit more than two hours from now, the plane carrying Pope Francis is scheduled to touchdown at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, D.C.

That is where our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, is right now.

And, Jim, set the scene for us. Who is going to be greeting the pope when he lands?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me give you the range of the people greeting the pope. Arriving now as the high school band from Dematha High School, and he is going to meet about 300 of the children there. And the pope is very interested to meeting the young people. And right next to them you will have the president and the vice president and the daughters and granddaughters to greet the pope.

And this is the first time that the president and the vice president have ever come here to meet a world leader here to give a sense of how important the meeting s and not only them, but the mayor of Washington, D.C., and this is an example of the red carpet rolled out for this very important visit, and the firs first visit by Pope Francis, and not just the pope, but in his lifetime, and what a welcome the people of Washington are giving to the pope.

BLITZER: And once the pope arrives, he is going inside of the diplomatic reception room to have a private meeting with the president and the vice president, right? SCIUTTO: That is exactly right. He will be coming to the terminal

here which is a VIP greeting terminal to sit down with the pope, and along with the first lady and his two daughters, and them, and private greet along with the White House photographer, and they will have a moment. And -- and a gift from an Argentine woman. And there are often gifts given to the pope. And not only that, but she has brought some of his favorite tea from South Africa, and she is going to offer it to him, and we'll see if he takes it. He has taken it before from crowds. But that is another example of the welcome, the very warm welcome literally and figuratively he'll get here at Joint Air Base Andrews.

[13:40:16] BLITZER: Historic, indeed.

Thanks, Jim. We will get back to you.

The pope is riding a wave of popularity among Catholics and non- Catholics, which is unprecedented. A new CNN/ORC poll shows that 63 percent of Americans view the pope as favorable.

But becoming the man he has become didn't necessarily happen overnight.

A CNN special report, "The People's Pope," tells that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHEERING)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY (voice-over): He is a pope, like no other.

(CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER: Tens of thousands of fans coming out to see the pope.

CUOMO: Pope Francis is changing the Vatican and challenging tradition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he really opened a new chapter in the history of the church.

POPE FRANCIS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(CHEERING)

CUOMO: From the slums of Buenos Aires to the seat of St. Peter --

(CHEERING)

CUOMO: -- we trace his extraordinary journey with those who knew him best.

POPE FRANCIS: Are you ready? Are you ready?

(CHEERING) CUOMO: Pope Francis, rock star --

(CHEERING)

CUOMO: -- reformer --

(CHEERING)

CUOMO: -- "The People's Pope."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That is CNN "New Day" co-anchor, Chris Cuomo, who is joining us to talk about this special documentary.

You are in charge of that, Chris. A humble man with humble roots starting out in the church a lot differently than he wound up. Tell us about that.

CUOMO: No doubt and it, Wolf, a privilege for me to work in this cog in the machine of the documentary unit. They do brilliant work. And it is so exhaustive that this treatment of the pope as a man really takes you back to the place where it began, and not just Buenos Aires, but to where he started and in order to understand the message. And the authenticity of it whether it is authentic or manufactured as dogma, you have to understand the person. And so we go back to not only where he is from, but from whom he is from, and the friends who have known him longest, and Oscar Krespo (ph), who has known him for 60-plus years, and the pope's rabbi, and why would he have a rabbi, and you will learn in the documentary tonight.

And one anecdote, and he is a child with small handwriting, and today, he has small handwriting and the teacher says, Jorge, your writing is so small that you are trying to trick me, and he says you need larger handwriting, and he says, who am I to have big handwriting, and he carries it as a humility the. And so they carry it as a crucible to carry forward to what matters and the rule.

And the pope says that the rules don't come first, love and mercy comes first, and if the rules don't enable the love and mercy, then they are worth nothing. So it is a big dividing moment within the church to figure out who it is. And we see it in politics, too, as the pope comes to town, and it couldn't be better, and understanding the man couldn't be more important.

BLITZER: What surprised you most, Chris, about Pope Francis?

CUOMO: The authenticity. And maybe it is cynicism, and I am Catholic, and one of the reasons that the numbers are adduced because we have six Catholics running on the GOP side, and also, we have three in the Supreme Court justices, and so people molded to the goals. And the aims of the job, but this man, you may honestly say you may not agree or like what he is about or preaches on certain levels, but it is him. It is always has been him, and it is him to the core.

BLITZER: Chris Cuomo, an amazing job, and you and the entire documentary unit, and we can't wait to see it later.

Chris, thanks very much.

You should know, by the way, that the pope's plane on the way to the United States is now just going to be going into the U.S. air space.

And once again, "The People's Pope" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern only here on CNN.

Up next, Iran is flexing the military muscle and top commanders are weighing in on ISIS and the nuclear deal. What they say might surprise you. We are going to Teheran. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:44:11] BLITZER: Iran flexes its military muscle during a parade in Teheran. And despite the show of force, some of the country's top brass are concerned the nuclear deal with the West could weaken Iran's military.

Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, has a special report from Teheran that you will see only on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

[13:49:32] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A massive show of force as Iran kicks off its sacred defense week under the eyes of President Hasan Rouhani. Rouhani praised the army for its efforts fighting ISIS while top commanders laughed off any notion of cooperation with the U.S. in a battle with the extremists.

"You must be dreaming," the military's chief tells me. The Americans are the ones who created ISIS. American officials are hypocritical in two ways, they lie in politics and lie in security."

"The Americans have a totally different nature than us," this top Revolutionary Guard commander says. "These differences will never allow us to cooperate even if we have common interests."

While Hasan Rouhani said the military will become stronger after the recent nuclear agreement, some top commanders have been highly critical of his talks with the West and the deal.

(on camera): The sacred defense week commemorates the end of the war in 1980, but this year, it has special significance because many in Iran's military leadership fear the country could be weakened because of the nuclear agreement.

(voice-over): Iran's military faces sanctions that prevent the country from acquiring a lot of sophisticated equipment. The generals wanted those restrictions lifted from the nuclear agreement but most of them will remain in place.

The commander of the militia tells me he's generally wary of the deal.

"I think the Americans have built tricks into the deal to deceive us," he says. "We have to be very careful we can't fall into their trap."

The head of Iran's ground forces is more positive.

"It took some trust to sign the nuclear agreement in the first place," he says. "But the trust building needs to continue and the Americans should really change their threatening language."

As Iran celebrates the martyrs of past wars and the military's current strength, some of its leaders are concerned about the future of the force as the country embarks on a new phase in relations with the West.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Fred Pleitgen is joining us live from Tehran.

Fred, what can you tell us about an announcement today by Iran's Revolutionary Guard?

PLEITGEN: Absolutely, Wolf. This came through state run media and the guard commander for defense and aerospace announced there would be new ballistic missile tests that they are going to conduct. They didn't give a time frame. Only that they would be conducted soon. Also made a point to say these tests will be conducted despite the recent nuclear agreement. Of course, even with that nuclear agreement, Wolf, we know there are still restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile programs, especially ballistic missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads. So the Iranians are saying, despite that, there are still going to be these tests. They believe they still have the right to do that.

But it all plays into the big debate that's going on here in Iran about whether or not Iran should latch on to the nuclear agreement. There are some highly critical, as you just said, in the military as well. We had that debate only a couple days ago when the IAEA was able to go to the military site with the Iranians, once again, making clear that this was a courtesy visit and that there were no IAEA inspectors on hand when samples were taken from that site -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Excellent reporting. Great access, Fred. We're going to be checking back with you. Thank you very much for that report. Fred Pleitgen in Tehran, live.

China's president, meanwhile, begins his trip to the United States. How his visit could lead to a new understanding of the cyber battles between the two countries. We have new information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:57:33] BLITZER: Let's get to Wall Street for a moment. A quick check of the market right now. There you see the Dow down 243 points. Analysts say there isn't one big event driving the sell off, but lower prices on oil and other commodities have been adding to investors' negative outlook.

Pope Francis isn't the only high-profile visitor to the U.S. this week. China's president just landed in Seattle just a little more than an hour ago. While there, he will visit Microsoft and other big high-tech companies before moving on to Washington, D.C. and a visit to the White House. Lately, the U.S. and China have been at odds over trade fights and cyber battles.

As CNN's Samuel Burke explains, it means there's a lot of work to do on this trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Streets are already closed just behind us for the President Xi's monumental visit here to Seattle. Xi's doing things differently from some of his predecessors. Former Chinese presidents usually go to Ivy League schools. Instead Xi is visiting a Tacoma high school. A high school visited on a previous trip.

But at the heart of all of this is technology. Xi's coming with some of the most important leaders from China, the heads of companies that will be meeting with the most important American tech CEOs. Scheduled to meet are the heads of Amazon and Apple. And many American companies that have real concerns about what's going on in China. They'd like to make a presence or increase their presence in China, but they are concerned about the Chinese government having an ever tighter grip around the Internet there.

At the same time, this all lays the foundation for what could happen when Xi goes to Washington and New York. Many people are expecting the Obama administration and Xi to announce some type of accord. But it won't address the cyber hacking, which the American government alleges is targeting American corporations. But they say this framework could be some type of a way to set standards so the two countries agree not to go after the critical cyber infrastructure. This means the banking system, the power grid as well as hospitals.

I'm Samuel Burke, reporting from Seattle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thank you, Samuel.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching.

For our international viewers "Amanpour" is up next.

For our viewers in North America, "NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.