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Hala Gorani Tonight
Priest Killed in Terror Attack in Normandy; Hillary Clinton to Make History. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 26, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:30] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, a special edition of the WORLD RIGHT NOW live from the Democratic National Convention.
We are hours away from a historic moment. Hillary Clinton set to become the first woman to be nominated by a major political party for the office
of president. We will have live coverage, of course.
Our top story tonight: we start with another terrorist slaughter, this time, a priest giving mass in his own church. How France is responding to
the latest gruesome attack.
Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are live in Philadelphia. A lot to get through this hour. Thanks for being with us.
This is the WORLD RIGHT NOW.
(MUSIC)
GORANI: Well, it's spurring the buzz here behind. We are in Philadelphia. We'll get to the momentous night ahead for Hillary Clinton in just a few
moments.
By the way, the crowds are starting to stream in, as you can probably hear. But we're going to start tonight with yet another terrorist attack on
European soil. This time, it was in the north of France, in a Catholic Church. An 86-year-old priest was murdered, his throat slit, and another
person seriously wounded.
A nun who escaped the horror said the attackers filmed themselves during the ordeal that they put these people through. The two attackers were shot
dead by police.
The French President Francois Hollande said the attack was committed in the name of ISIS. He spoke in the last hour. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through interpreter): Catholics of France and the world are wounded and all French people, whatever their
convictions and their confession, feel harmed, hurt within themselves by attacking a church, going inside and killing a priest is profane. The
republic, which protects the freedom of conscience, of faith, because what terrorists want is to divide us, to separate us, to oppose us, to destroy
us. And faced with this threat which has never been so great in France as in Europe, the government shows determination, absolute determination in
the fight against terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Our Phil Black is in that village of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. He filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Catholic Church, the target of the latest Islamist atrocity to tear at the heart of
France. Two terrorists on the church during morning mass taking a priest, two nuns and two churchgoers hostage, brutally 86-year-old priest Jacques
Hamel by cutting his throat.
PIERRE-HENRY BRANDET, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: The suspects were shot dead by the police services.
BLACK: Police carried out raids nearby and took one man away in handcuffs. Another man was arrested near the church in connection to the attack.
French police sources tell CNN one attacker was identified as a local man who had tried to leave for Syria last year but was turned back at the
Turkish border. He was ordered by a judge to wear an electronic bracelet in March this year.
President Hollande frequently rushing to scenes like this. He was quick to say it was a terror attack in the name of ISIS, calling it a cowardly
assassination.
HOLLANDE: Daesh has declared war on us. We must fight this war by all means while respecting the rule of law, what makes us a democracy.
BLACK: The Vatican called it barbaric. In a statement it issued the most severe condemnation of all forms of hatred, so the pope was appalled
because this horrific violence took place in a sacred place.
President Hollande is appealing to Catholics in the country to remain calm, though it is an attack on secularist fabric of France, and it's just the
latest in what seems to be an increase in attacks on soft targets.
Less Thanks for joining us two weeks ago in Nice, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a 20-ton truck to a promenade packed with people during Bastille Day
celebrations. Eighty-four were killed and more than 200 injured. ISIS claimed responsibility. But there is no indication the group had firm
connections with Bouhlel.
PETER NEUMANN, DIRECTOR INTL. CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF RADICALISATION: ISIS has set out as a deliberate part of its strategy to empower these loners.
[15:05:00] It is actually saying to all these people, you can use our brand, you do not actually have to be linked to our movement, you do not
have to be part of the sort of command and control structure.
BLACK: President Hollande has vowed to double the number of officials monitoring terror suspects. But Monday's attack underlights the struggle
French authorities are having, trying to monitor the thousands of domestic Islamic radicals on their radar, and it's just the latest in a deadly
streak this summer in Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: While we're waiting to hear from the very latest from France, we'll bring you the French prosecutor's press conference live in Paris as
soon as it happens with more details on the investigation. Phil Black is in the village of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, and France 24 international
affairs editor, Melissa Bell, who's in Paris.
First, Phil, let's talk a little bit about the investigation. What more are we learning?
BLACK: What we see tonight here, Hala, is that many hours after the attack, 9:00 p.m. local time, the sun is going down. There is a wide
police area that has been cordoned off. We've seen, CNN colleagues have witnessed raids searches near the church.
The police confirmed earlier they had taken one person into custody. We saw yet what seemed to be a further arrest, another person taken away in
handcuffs. The police, the authorities have not yet revealed just the how they believe they were connected to all of this. As you say, we expect to
hear an update from the prosecutor soon.
What we'll be listening for really closely there is to what extent they reveal what they know about the two men who carried this out, particularly
because French authorities have told us that one of these men was known to authorities as someone who had tried to get to Syria only last year, tried
at least twice, on one of those occasions was returned or intercepted by Turkish authorities, returned to France, spent time in jail here, and
earlier this year ordered to wear an electronic bracelet of some kind, a tracking device.
So, very difficult questions for the French authorities about how this man, who was clearly known to them, was on a watch list, was being tracked, was
still able to carry out this attack here today, Hala.
GORANI: There must be such a sense of frustration. It appears as though no matter what authorities do, that some people terrorists are still able
to commit some of these acts.
Melissa Bell is not with us, I understand? Or is she? OK.
We're going back to Phil. Apologies. As you can imagine here, it's quite loud behind me, we're having issues in the control room.
No problem, though.
Phil, let's get back to you. That is my question to you, if you track someone. If you have an electronic bracelet on them and they are on
terrorist watch lists, and they have been in prison, what more can authorities do at this stage?
BLACK: I a very reasonable question, really, H. Again, it simply exposes how a country committed to maintaining its freedoms to a fairly high degree
is ultimately fairly vulnerable to people who are determined to exploit those freedoms in order to carry out the sort of terror we witnessed here
today. It's difficult to imagine what else the police, the authorities could have done. So what we see here, though, is that these groups, these
individuals are determined, they are committed, they are using increasingly simplistic means, not sophisticated by any means, two men with knives had
gone in and carried out this attack.
And according to the witnesses that we've heard from inside, it was truly terrifying, truly barbaric, really as the Vatican itself has said today.
One of the nuns who witnessed all this talked about the men recording themselves on video, giving some sort of sermon in Arabic around the altar
before eventually forcing the 86-year-old priest, Jacques Hamel, to his knees and cutting his throat.
That's when some of those witnesses, some of those hostages were able to escape. And police responded quickly and when they did respond, they
confronted the two men as they were trying to leave the church and they were shot dead at that time. So, a quick response, from police, but still
not enough to stop this attack and potentially others like it from happening in the future -- Hala.
GORANI: Phil, stand by. I want to get to Melissa Bell. She's joining us now from Paris. By some counts this is the 11th ISIS-inspired attack in
France, Islamist-inspired attacks in France, 236 victims since the attack on "Charlie Hebdo" in January of 2015. What is the mood across France?
What do ordinary citizens want their government to do?
MELISSA BELL, INTL. AFFAIRS EDITOR, FRANCE 24: Well, there is this growing since of anger actually, Hala. We've seen over the course of the last few
months, the position of the opposition in France hardening, and that reflects a growing anger of the French population, social cohesion and
national unity, the political unity that had followed in the wake of the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in January of 2015 and then the 13th of November
attacks last year that we covered together, Hala, has now gone.
[15:10:12] And there is a sense that the French people are fed up. Hala, the position of the opposition in France hardening, reflecting a growing
anger, the political unity that had followed in the wake of the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in January of 2015 and the 13th of November attacks last
year, that we covered together, Hala, has now gone. And there is this sense that the French people are fed up with these sorts of attacks.
] As you mentioned, it isn't simple the big ones that we see covered worldwide before of the last year, but it is the smaller scale attacks, the
ones in which there is one or two victims, where weapons like knives are used, where people are inspired by the Islamic State organization, even
where they have not been specifically and actively commandeered by it.
The French people feel they're under siege. And you've seen moving of this sort of attacks from -- away from the French capital, first in Nice 12 days
ago, and now in, a sense that no one is safe anywhere as they go about their daily business.
One point on that investigation into the man who was involved today, who tried twice to go to Syria. If indeed Francois Molins, who's about to
speak, the French prosecutor, confirms that this man was indeed the one that's been identified by police, that he tried and failed twice to go to
Syria, that he was not simply being watched by French security services, but that in fact he had been charged with terror-related activities, and
that he was the subject of active surveillance by the judiciary, wearing a bracelet, having to report to authorities every day, it's going to be a
reminder of how difficult the task is for French authorities.
Even somebody under that sort of surveillance can walk into a church and commit the atrocity we saw today. It adds to the sense that the
authorities are fighting against something that they don't have the means to battle against effectively.
GORANI: Right. There has to be at this point a sense of helplessness in France. Thanks very much, Melissa Bell. And Phil Black is in Saint-
Etienne-du-Rouvray.
By the way, as Melissa and Phil were both mentioning, we're expecting the Paris prosecutor Francois Molins to update us on the investigation with
more details on how these two attackers in fact slipped through the net. One of them at least twice prevented from going into Syria over the last
several years.
All right. Back to Philadelphia now. We're just hours away from watching history unfold right here at the DNC. Hillary Clinton will officially
become the first woman ever nominated for U.S. president by a major political party. Regardless of your party affiliation, this is a huge
moment.
Talks are under way, we understand, for Bernie Sanders himself to put Clinton's name into nomination in an effort to bring about party unity.
And it is very desperately needed, if last night was any indication. The convention got off to a pretty difficult start. We heard some boos from
Bernie Sanders' supporters. Sanders tried to calm the storm when he took to the stage and he did receive a rock star reception. Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
GORANI: Sanders said Clinton will make an outstanding president, urging his supporters to back her. Listen to Bernie Sanders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, FORMER U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need leadership which brings our people together and makes us stronger.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Not leadership which insults Latinos and Mexicans, insults Muslims and women, African-Americans and veterans and seeks to divide us up.
By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of
the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, another big showstopper, it has to be said, the star of the night, First Lady Michelle Obama. She electrified the crowd, a deeply
personal speech, choking up at one point when talking about her family and what Clinton's nomination means for children across the country. Listen to
Mrs. Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And I watched my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:15:03] GORANI: A woman can run for president, a woman can be nominee. She's not elected yet, though.
Plenty of excitement for the speaker lineup tonight. Former President Bill Clinton is the headliner and will make a case for his wife probably like no
one else can. The Vice President Joe Biden did a walkthrough of the stage earlier. He's speaking tomorrow night along with President Barack Obama.
Biden stopped to talk with reporters about Bernie Sanders' frustrated delegates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: They'll be fine. Look, they worked hard. We're going to show a little class and let them be frustrated a little
while. It's OK. Hey, they're all going to end up voting for her.
Do you think any of these guys are going to walk in and vote for Trump? Raise your hand if you think any of the people who protest in here or
hollering are going to vote for Trump.
REPORTER: Some say they will.
BIDEN: Then they didn't support what Bernie stands for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's go to CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza. He's also the Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker".
Thanks for being with us.
All right. So, let's -- a quick word about last night before we move on to this evening. Michelle Obama, I mean, whatever you think of the race,
whoever you support, that has to be considered one of the best political speeches delivered in recent memory.
RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely. It was personal. She kind of came in after all of the divisiveness of the day, right. This
convention floor was really -- a lot of people had their heart for Sanders, it was almost as much a Sanders convention yesterday as it was a Hillary
Clinton convention. After all that drama played out, the boos and venting of grievances and frustrations by the Bernie people, she kind of came in as
this outsider, right?
GORANI: Above it all.
LIZZA: Yes, had a kind of tortured relationship of course with the Clintons. They were not close friends after the 2008 race. It took a long
time for the Clintons and the Obamas to get over that race. And she spoke as someone who had been part of a tough fight and said, look, you know, now
is the time to come together.
It was a nice way for these guys, the delegates, the Democrats, to end the evening.
GORANI: But also someone who knows Hillary Clinton personally one on one. I mean, if you look at the Republican National Convention, there were no
party heavyweights there. Donald Trump had to kind of bring out every single kid he had apart from the ten-year-old.
Here you had a situation where these big, established names, very, very well-liked people like Michelle Obama, are vouching for her.
LIZZA: It's a totally different vibe here compared to the Republicans. As you pointed out, what happened in the Republican Party is Donald Trump
swept in. The analogy I think a lot of us use is, it was a hostile takeover. He went in there, won the hearts and minds of the voters of the
Republican Party, never the establishment, never the elected officials, and it showed last week in Cleveland, where either you just didn't go if you
didn't like Donald Trump.
GORANI: Like the bushes.
LIZZA: Like the bushes. And John Kasich, the governor of the state where the convention was happening, or if you went, maybe you don't talk about
Donald Trump. You talk about senators that you wanted to see win or members of the House.
GORANI: Or like Ted Cruz.
LIZZA: Or Ted Cruz who got up and talked and don't even endorse.
So, you know, there are divisions in both parties, but they're different. The divisions in this party are policy.
GORANI: Absolutely. But the issue and the big problem for Hillary Clinton is that in the polls, A, she's not leading, and in some cases, she's behind
in swing states, but B, her unfavorability rating is sky high still, in the high 60 percent.
LIZZA: Absolutely.
I think if the Republicans nominated anyone but Donald Trump, we would be talking about a much different race, a much more competitive Republican
nominee. But Donald Trump came out of his convention with a bounce, I think a lot of people weren't sure that that would happen, it did. Several
polls show him in the lead right now.
Donald Trump could win this election. I think a lot of Democrats this week are starting to grapple with that reality.
GORANI: OK. I'm being told that Alicia keys is getting ready to perform. This girl is on fire. That's we were hearing sound checks while we were
discussing this terrible France attack once again.
This is going to start any minute now. I've got to ask you, this evening, of course, Joe Biden is tomorrow, but we have Bill Clinton tonight. I
wonder, though, whether after Michelle Obama's speech, everybody will be compared to Michelle Obama. But Bill Clinton is a fantastic speaker.
LIZZA: He is. Well, two things, one on the Biden comments that sort of expressed or caught him on stage. I felt like he was a little bit
dismissive of the Bernie Sanders supporters, which is not the tone the Clinton campaign wants, right? The Clinton campaign is going out of their
way to mollify Sanders' supporters. And Biden just came in and --
GORANI: Let them have their moment to be frustrated, it sounded kind of condescending.
LIZZA: Condescending, right?
GORANI: Right, right.
LIZZA: So, Bill Clinton tonight -- look, he has spoken at more Democratic conventions than probably any party official. Last year, he was the
secretary of explaining things, that's what the Obama people called him.
[15:20:02] He came in at a time when Barack Obama was not necessarily doing such a great job explaining his won case for his own reelection, I said
last year, I meant 2012.
GORANI: Yes.
LIZZA: And he gave probably what was greeted as one of the best speeches in 2012. A very different role here tonight. Now, he's speaking for his
wife. He has this complicated balance to strike.
He has to talk about her from a personal perspective but also bear witness to her successes, sounding more than just a husband, right?
GORANI: Yes.
LIZZA: But he can't just talk about the '90s and how great they were and compare them unfavorably to the Obama years. He's got to strike a balance
of saying things need to get a little better, that's why you need Hillary, but without criticizing Barack Obama's tenure.
GORANI: All right. It's going to be a tricky -- it's a tightrope. Ryan Lizza of "The New Yorker." I believe this is --
LIZZA: Alicia Keys?
GORANI: No.
LIZZA: You've got the wrong guy on for pop culture, let me tell you.
GORANI: No, I can tell even from the JumboTron that's not her. But we're expecting her this evening.
In fact, I'm told we can go to Paris where the prosecutor is give us more information about the investigation into that attack in Saint-Etienne-du-
Rouvray. Let's listen in for a moment.
FRANCOIS MOLINS, FRENCH ANTI-TERROR PROSECUTOR (through interpreter): Everybody ready? We'll start.
Ladies and gentlemen, they can strike in any moment, at any place, in any circumstances. That is the criminal, fanatical, propaganda of Daesh which
goes into the minds of individuals of various, varied profiles. Whether it's people who have gone to Syria and came back to the national territory
to strike the French soil, which has become the target of the organization or jihadists commanded by those in Syria and Iraq from terrorist
organizations, or whether they are individuals who have never gone to the zone to be mandated by members of Daesh or going through -- carrying out
imitation acts or people known by the intelligence services, the anti- terrorist services, or on the contrary, completely unknown.
Whether this is about individuals who have already been found guilty of infringements of common law or even terrorist acts or otherwise have never
committed a crime, known or not in all of these hypotheses, invariably these individuals, in the words of the terrorist organizations, attacking
innocent victims, victims of terrorists to whom my thoughts go, the nearest and dearest of those who died, victims of the wounded who have been wounded
in their flesh forever, victims of terrorist attacks, and those who fanaticize.
This morning, around 9:25 a.m., once again terrorism struck our national territory. That's the time, the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, two
individuals carrying blank weapons, carried insurgency inside the church during morning mass, attacked the priest, three nuns and two members of the
congregation. One of the nuns managed to leave and called the police. They attempted to negotiate with the terrorists through a small lateral
door of the church, the sacristy. The police carried out the incursion but were not able to get inside the church because three hostages were by the
curtains.
A little time afterwards, the two nuns and the parishioner left the church immediately, followed by the two terrorists carrying a bladed weapon. And
they shouted "Allahu Akbar". The two individuals were neutralized by the search organizations. One of them was found to be the carrier on the
stomach of a false, a fake explosive belt.
[15:25:01] Others -- the other one was carrying a kitchen timer. And you have also a fake explosive on him. These are disgusting, vile terrorists
claimed by the organization and their propaganda agency with the service, the ministry, and attacked a priest who was 85, 86. And despite his age
was still working. And he was attacked in the throat, in the thorax.
There was somebody else who was attacked, whose life is not in danger, and he was wounded by a knife attack. An inquiry was immediately handed over
to the authorities. A crime of ill doing, wrongdoing, has been carried out, due to the person belonging to a religion, sequestration of the
organization, sequestration and voluntary liberation before seventh day, any crime connected to a terrorist organization. Thus this was confided to
the judicial police under the sub-direction, coordinator of -- as well as the general direction of internal security.
One of the two authors has been formally identified at the end of the because of his fingerprints and papers, Adel Kermiche, born March 5th,
1997. It appears that this individual, who does not have any criminal record, is nevertheless known by the antiterrorist organization because on
the 23rd of March, 2015, a member of his family pointed out that the young man had disappeared. The young man was questioned on the same day by the
German authorities when he was using his brother's identity to go to Syria.
Adel Kermiche was held and placed in police custody on the 23rd of March, 2015. He was then questioned. Adel Kermiche was placed under judicial
control by the examining judge, banned from leaving, having to sign on at the police office near his residence once a week and to have a professional
-- not allowed to have professional activity.
On the 11th of May, 2015, approximately two months later, it appeared that Adel Kermiche had left his family home. His national arrest warrant was
then made towards him. He was found and held in turkey on 13th of May, 2015, coming from Geneva. Adel Kermiche was found with his cousin's
national identity card.
The Turkish authorities then expelled him to Switzerland from where he had come and the Swiss authorities handed him over to the French judicial
authorities with the execution of the arrest warrant which was on the 22nd of May, 2015, 23rd of May. Then he was held for this, and his judicial
control was then revoked. He was then, until the 18th of March, 2016, held in detention.
The date on which the instructing judge ordered he's placed under judicial control in the framework of house arrest with an electronic tag, with a
certain number of commitments and obligations, in particular to keep his residence as the family home, to keep to the hours from Monday to Friday,
from 8:30 to 12:30, on Saturdays and probably holidays, 8:00 to 6:00 p.m., not allowed to leave the apartment, having to sign on once a week at the
police station of his residence with the obligation of justifying his professional activity.
And finally, having to hand in his national identity card and passport, the prosecutor's department of Paris put him under judicial control,
maintaining his provisional detention.
[15:30:06] The appeal court of Paris, on the 25th of March, 2016, made a decision confirming the decision of the instructing judge of freeing him
with house arrest and electronic tag.
The second terrorist, neutralized by the specialized forces, his formal identification is still being carried out in the framework of this inquiry;
an individual, a minor, born on the 18th of August, 1999, in Algeria. This is the brother of a saboteur, an arrest warrant for having gone to Iraq or
Syrian zone, with the (inaudible) identity papers. Raids are still being carried out, have not been finished. I will certainly keep you informed of
the advancement of these -- this investigation. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: All right; Phil Black is in the village of St.- Etienne-Du-Rouvray. What's the main takeaway here, Phil?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESONDENT: Some interesting details there, Hala, about the event itself, this morning; about the way the event actually unfolded.
We knew the men had walked into the church, that they had terrorized these people, then one of the nuns was able to escape, called the police; the
police say that at that point they responded. They tried to negotiate with the two men while they were inside, still holding that small group of
hostages. They were not able to get into the building because of the hostages that were visible at the window there.
At one point, the two attackers, they came outside with their hostages all together at once. They were heard to shout "Allahu Akbar" or god is great,
and at that point the police shot them. The reason why the police shot them, because at that point, making that cry, given the circumstances, they
would have feared that these men were carrying some form of improvised explosive device.
After the shooting they determined the men were carrying fake, but wearing what appeared to be fake explosive devices; so something in order to give
the impression that they were, in fact, explosive devices. You can only assume that under those circumstances, these men walked out of that church
fully expecting to die.
The prosecutor there also talked about what was already known about one of these men. One of them has already been identified, Adele Kamish. This is
a man who didn't have a criminal record. As we've been hearing from French security sources through the day, he was known to anti-terror officials
here because, at one stage he went missing and his family alerted them. It was believed he was trying to get to Syria. He was put on some sort of
judicial control. He then disappeared again and was found after an international arrest warrant was issued; was found in Turkey; returned from
Turkey and it was here that he was put under strict controls. He was kept in prison for a time and then released, and then made to adhere to a
curfew, to report weekly, to wear an electronic bracelet and so forth; yet somehow he was still, today, able to carry out this attack.
The second man, the authorities there have said they are still attempting to identify, Hala.
GORANI: All right; Phil Black there in that Normandy village where this horrific attack took place; once again innocents slaughtered. Thanks very
much for that. We'll have more on this story as more details become available.
When we come back, we'll cover this Democratic National Convention. Of course we have special guests coming up here in Philadelphia; do stay with
CNN. We'll be right back. Shots of the floor for you, coming to you live; stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:36:12] GORANI: Welcome back to Philadelphia. After months of battling Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, Bernie Sanders now says the United
States must elect her as president. That is not the message that his followers - the followers of his so-called political revolution necessarily
want to hear. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am proud to stand with her tonight. Thank you all very much.
[Cheers and Applause]
GORANI: Cheers and some boos were heard and Sanders endorsed Clinton Monday night, but the Vermont Senator came back swinging on Tuesday; he
even chastised some of his own supporters. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Elections come and go. In my view, our immediate task, what we must do or forever look back in regret, is defeat Donald Trump and elect
Hillary Clinton.
[Booing]
SANDERS: In my view, it's easy -- it's easy, -- it is easy to boo, but it is harder to look your kids in the face who would be living under a Donald
Trump presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right; it's easy to boo but it will be harder to look your kids in the face if you let a Trump presidency happen, was basically the
message of Bernie Sanders. I'm joined now by the Democratic Governor of Connecticut, Donald Malloy. Thanks very much for being with us.
GOV. DONALD MALLOY (D-CT): It's great to be with you.
GORANI: All right; so, to our international viewers, we heard the boos. We heard the frustration from Bernie Sanders supporters. What do you say
to them and many Americans are watching around the world, on why they should support Hillary Clinton?
MALLOY: Well, I think she's the best prepared candidate for president of the United States in a very, very long time. I think she has the right
disposition. I think she has the right track record. And she certainly has the right belief system. This is the person who has committed her life
to making other people's lives better, starting the day she graduated from Yale Law School, when she could have gone anywhere in the world and made
any amount of money she wanted to. What did she do? She went to work for a not for profit, arguing the case of poor children. It's the kind of
person that America (inaudible).
GORANI: But poll numbers don't indicate, especially on her favorability numbers, that most Americans believe her to be trustworthy or believe her
to be truthful. 68-percent say they don't believe that she's either; 68- percent according to the latest CNN/ORC Poll. How does she improve on those numbers?
MALLOY: Well, I mean, listen, she's come through a primary process where she won the majority of the delegates. A lot of money has been spent, will
be spent on trying to demonize her. Quite frankly, a lot of money has been spent, time has been spent over the last 30 years trying to demonize the
Clintons, but they bounce back. They're pretty strong. She has a real focus on making a better America. It's a very different vision of the
world than Donald Trump. Donald Trump is very dark. He wants to convince us that Connecticut - that my country, the United States is not great.
Nobody in the world out there thinks that America is not a great nation.
GORANI: But after that speech many people thought that this is so dark that maybe even some of the people leaning toward him but on the fence will
be put off. Instead, he got, I think, a four or five percentage point bump after the convention.
MALLOY: The average bump, since the Second World War, has been eight points.
GORANI: Okay.
MALLOY: So he got a bump -
GORANI: So you're saying that that was lower?
MALLOY: So he got a bump half the size of the average since the Second World War.
GORANI: Now you gave a speech. You're saying that Mike Pence, his running mate, and Donald Trump are essentially "bullies", that's your word.
MALLOY. I said they're bullies. I think they're in a contest to see who can discriminate against more people sooner. I mean, you know, Governor
Pence turned down $80 million to extend an early childhood education program to [15:40:02] 4,000 low-income kids in his state. He passed a bill
that would legalize discrimination against Americans for exercising their constitutional rights and loving whoever they love. That's --
GORANI: That's Mike Pence from Indiana. By the way, we have Alicia Keys performing behind us.
MALLOY: Yes.
GORANI: Are you an Alicia Keys fan?
MALLOY: Yes, I am. You're keeping me away from this. There's one song she has, "New York," I'm going back.
GORANI: You're going right now. Let me ask you about these leaks of DNC and Trump - I'm sorry, I should say, Hillary Clinton's staffer e-mails.
They reveal, definitely, collusion between party officials and Hillary Clinton supporters. The DNC is supposed to be neutral. does that worry
you?
MALLOY: Well, first of all, we should not be surprised that people have personal preferences and many of the e-mails you're talking about are
expressions of just that, their personal preferences. In fact, many of these, or several of these e-mails that I've personally now have had time
to review, indicate that this was that person's point of view but that the boss disagreed.
GORANI: But it was strategy -- there was strategy involved in trying to discredit Bernie Sanders there; bringing up his religion as a line of
attack.
MALLOY: But not as an official DNC position. This is something a person saying this is something we could do or should do, but in that particular
memo, but the boss doesn't agree.
GORANI: All right; Governor Malloy of Connecticut, thanks so much. I won't keep you from Alicia Keys any longer.
MALLOY: All right. All right.
GORANI: Thanks for joining us on CNN. Still ahead, Team Sanders or Team Clinton? Emotions run high at the Convention as we've been discussion in
that as supporters get behind their candidate. We'll speak to a Sanders delegate and a Clinton delegate, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Now, so far in this election Donald Trump seems to be winning the social media war but some say the campaign is about much more than snappy
tweets. Earlier I spoke with President Obama's 2012 campaign manager. Here is some of what he had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MESSINA, CEO, THE MESSINA GROUP: I tell people all the time, if you don't follow Donald Trump on Twitter, if you don't watch him, you're
missing a master class on social media but I think presidential elections are about something bigger than that. They really are, as Bill Clinton
said, about of message, about the future. They really are about a vision. Americans understand this is about a really important decision and Hillary
has a great social media operation. a bunch of people that used to work with me for Obama are helping her, but it's not about tactics. it's about
message. It's about a vision for the future.
GORANI: But look at the polls though. Her unfavorability rating is sky high. It's actually, according to a CNN-ORC Poll released yesterday, at
its highest ever recorded, 68-percent think she's not trustworthy.
MESSINA: Well, Hala, you and I -- you know this from my background, I think [15:45:02] all public polls should be shot, right? Not that they're
all garbage, they're trying to measure a moment in time and not an overall - these elections in America -- America is now the most partisan country in
the world. Only between seven and ten-percent of Americans are really undecided in this election and those people are going to look at a vision
and compare these two candidates and they're not going to do it on a Twitter feed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, there you have it; Jim Messina, someone who is very familiar with campaigns, who, in fact, advised David Cameron on the Brexit
Referendum, didn't go the way his candidate wanted.
Before Hillary Clinton can make history here tonight, delegates at the Democratic National Convention will go through a time-honored American
political tradition, it is called the roll call. Delegates from each state will state their preference. Bernie Sanders' name is still on the list,
that is despite the fact that Clinton withdrew her name before the 2008 Democratic Convention, letting Barack Obama take center stage. Now, to
unite the Party, some high profile Sanders supporters are now urging Democrats to back Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SILVERMAN, ACTRESS & BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Hillary heard the passion of the people, the people behind Bernie, and brought those passions
into the party's platform and that is the process of democracy at its very best and it's very cool to see.
[Cheers and Applause]
SILVERMAN: Hillary is our democratic nominee and I will proudly vote for her.
[Cheers and Applause]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Sarah Silverman, the comedienne here in the United States. She also called out Bernie supporters and said the neverHillary
crowd are being "ridiculous."
My next guests will be directly involved in today's roll call; Allie Cohen is a Bernie Sanders delegate from Florida. Allie Cohen, welcome.
ALLIE COHEN, DELEGATE, FLORIDA: Thank you.
GORANI: Rachel Gonzalez is a 17-year-old Clinton delegate from Missouri. So, Allie, you will be 18 years old by November 8th which means you can be
a delegate.
GONZALEZ: Yes, will turn 18 October 16th; so I barely made the cutoff to be a delegate. I'm super excited to be here.
GORANI: Okay; obviously your first convention; obviously one of the most important moments of your life. Tell us how you're feeling before you're
able to express support for your candidate, Hillary Clinton.
GONZALEZ: I'm super excited. I think my senator, Claire McCaskill, is doing the roll call. I plan to stand right next to her while she does it.
GORANI: All right; and Allie, let me ask you this, were you one of the delegates booing yesterday?
COHEN: I was not booing.
GORANI: You must have been disappointed, though?
COHEN: Totally heartbroken.
GORANI: How did you express that?
COHEN: Lots of tears.
GORANI: So you were on the floor crying?
COHEN: I was on the floor crying.
GORANI: But you knew this was going to happen?
COHEN: Yes; but I'm a glass half full person. I was holding out hope.
GORANI: Okay, so what was your - obviously, today it's going to make it official. Your candidate, Bernie Sanders, is not going to be the nominee.
It will be Hillary Clinton. He is telling his supporters, in other words you, you've got to get behind Hillary Clinton because you can't look your
kids in the face if Trump makes it into the White House.
COHEN: Yes; he asked us to come and cast our vote for him during the roll call today, and that is what I'm here to do. I still support Bernie
Sanders and that's what I'm here to do today.
GORANI: Will you vote for Hillary Clinton in November, though?
COHEN: I am definitely going to support the platform we put together that was very progressive, it was put together with Hillary people, and I
support that platform totally.
GORANI: Okay; explain to our international viewers what the role of a delegate is here today. What will you be doing? What will you,
practically, be doing on the floor tonight?
GONZALEZ: Practically, on the floor, we'll be voting on who we are a pledged delegates to. So, I'm a pledged delegate to Hillary. She's a
pledged delegate to Bernie. In Missouri, we have 71 delegates. We have 36 Hillary delegates and 35 Bernie delegates. So we will officially announce
that tonight.
GORANI: And why - you're at such a young age are you so politically involved?
GONZALEZ: Well my first campaign rally was in 2008. It was actually a Hillary --
GORANI: Oh, because you've met Hillary Clinton.
GONZALEZ: Yes; I was 9 years old, and it was at my high school that I currently go to. So I'm super excited.
GORANI: And that's what sparked for you this interest into politics.
GONZALEZ: Absolutely.
GORANI: But why Hillary specifically, why not Bernie? I mean, Allie is more the demographic, I think, probably, of Hillary supporters. The very,
very young supporters in the Democratic Party are usually behind Bernie in this case. Why are you for Hillary?
GONZALEZ: I think Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate running for president. She's been our first lady eight years, a senator, and
secretary of state.
GORANI: So you think, well, she has the experience; there's no denying that. Donald Trump, it's his first political campaign -
GONZALES: Absolutely.
GORANI: I don't think either of you have any probably intention of supporting him. Now you crowdfunded, I understand, your way here because -
-
COHEN: I did.
GORANI: -- you are a special education teacher.
COHEN: Yes.
GORANI: But you also wait tables to make ends meet.
COHEN: I do.
GORANI: And you have three children.
COHEN: I do.
GORANI: So you have to raise money so you could make it here so you could [15:50:01] cry on the floor.
COHEN: That's exactly right -
GORANI: On the convention floor.
COHEN: -- and I would do it all over again for Bernie.
GORANI: Talk to me about this process you went through and why it was important for you to be here.
COHEN: Well, it's interesting; I kind of consider myself to have been a slacktivist. I was marginally involved before in politics, and I was just
completely energized by Bernie. I got my children involved. We volunteered.
I just wanted to be a part of the political process and for them to see that too, and it just kind of went from there. I really had no idea what I
was getting into. I appreciate the people who supported me.
GORANI: Why specifically Bernie, though, if you could explain that to me? He got you interested in politics again, right, because you said you were a
slacktivist, in other words, not so passionately engaged.
COHEN: Well, you were here last night. Bernie touches people in a way that is just -- it's unique. He is a man of great character and integrity.
When you hear him speak, he says the same things over and over again. He says what he means. I just believe in him. It just completely energized
me.
GORANI: Rachel, what do you say to Bernie Sanders supporters and delegates who are very upset right now, and they believe, and I'm sure some of you
saw those leaked DNC-Hillary Clinton campaign emails, where it appears the party was, you know, trying to - was basically colluding with the Hillary
supporters and staffers. What do you say to her?
GONZALEZ: I would say that I'm definitely not anti-Bernie. I appreciate Bernie and him making this most progressive platform that we've ever seen
in the Democratic Party and engaging so many young voters. I am chair of high school democrats Missouri. I've definitely seen the voter contact go
up in the state of Missouri with young people. I think that that's super amazing but I think that it is time to unite the party and win in November
to defeat Donald Trump because this is a very important election.
GORANI: Now, one of the things that you said, Allie, is that you said is you support the platform but you didn't come out and say that you'd
definitely come out and vote for Hillary. Have you not made up your mind yet?
COHEN: I am here today to vote for Bernie and after today, and the convention is over, I will make my decision.
GORANI: All right; Allie Cohen, thanks very much. Rachel Gonzalez, a Hillary Clinton supporter, Bernie Sanders supporter, both delegates, they
will be participating in the role call this evening. We really appreciate your time.
Some of the biggest names in the Democratic Party will be speaking at this week's convention on behalf of Hillary Clinton. They include her daughter
Chelsea and her husband, and former American President, Bill Clinton, who is speaking in the coming hours. Sunlen Serfaty has those details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After the Trump family's star turn at the Republican Convention, Hillary Clinton is getting ready to deploy her
family assets this week.
B. CLINTON: She's the best change maker I've ever known.
SERFATY: With former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton both set to deliver high profile speeches in Philadelphia.
CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER HILLARY CLINTON: I don't think I've ever had the chance to vote for someone as qualified as my mom.
SERFATY: It's a role they've been playing on the campaign trail.
C. CLINTON: My Mom, Dad and I are in three different states.
SERFATY: The Clinton family fanning out across the country, where Donald Trump has been a frequent target.
B. CLINTON: At some point you also have to say, what are you going to do? You can't spend all your time saying everything everybody else did was
wrong and they're all doofuses.
C. CLINTON: The racism, the sexism, the homophobia, the Islamophobia, the anti-immigrant rhetoric, the anti-worker's rights rhetoric, the rhetoric
against Americans with disabilities, I mean, the list just goes on and on and on.
SERFATY: Bill Clinton is writing his own speech for his Tuesday night address, where mission number one could be firing up the base after the
fractured primary.
B. CLINTON: You have a chance not only to bring a long primary season to a close by giving Hillary a victory and sending her on to a united
convention, but to begin the general election.
SERFATY: The former president and beloved by Democrats and an effective messenger, giving a standout address at the 2012 Democratic Convention,
making the case for reelecting President Obama.
B. CLINTON: I want to nominate a man who is cool on the outside but who burns for America on the inside.
SERFATY: But after Ivanka Trump's introduction of her father -
IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER, DONALD TRUMP: My father and our next president, Donald J. Trump.
SERFATY: -- Chelsea Clinton's speech on Thursday might be just as anticipated, setting off a face-off among friends.
I. TRUMP: She's been a great friend to me. I've been a great friend to her.
C. CLINTON: I love Ivanka. I just am so grateful to be her friend and I'm grateful to know she feels the same about me.
SERFATY: Chelsea has made early childhood education and women's rights a focus on the campaign trail.
C. CLINTON: What matters most to me now, as a mom, myself, is that my mom has been fighting for making progress on issues that really matter to me.
[15:55:01] SERFATY: She recently gave birth to her second child, which has helped her mother reveal her softer side.
H. CLINTON: I've talked so much about being a grandmother, now I'm sure I'm going to talking doubly about being a grandmother.
Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, "You Can't Always Get What You Want"; "It's The End of the World as We Know It"; "We Are the Champions"; all iconic rock songs and all
used as filler music at Donald Trump rally's. It's often not music to artists' ears to hear their songs used as political soundtracks for Donald
Trump. Comedian John Oliver picked up this story on his HBO show Last Week Tonight and brought in some big names to make the point.
You may have recognized some of those faces singing that catchy diddy: Usher, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Bolton, just to name a few. Of course the
George Harrison estate, Brian May of Queen, all saying don't use our music without permission.
Don't forget you can get all the latest news, interviews, and analysis on our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn. this has been "The World
Right Now." thanks for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN. "The Lead" with Jake Tapper begins right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
