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Carter Announces Cancer; Trump Leads in Florida; Ex-Subway Pitchman to Pay Victims. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 20, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:07] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much for being with me. It's 2:00 Eastern. I am filling in today for my good friend Brooke Baldwin and we start with the U.S. president as candid and as humble as any of us have ever seen before. President Jimmy Carter opening up about the cancer diagnosis that left him thinking he just had weeks to live, also his legacy and his biggest regret. The 39th president of the United States telling the world that melanoma has spread throughout his body and four spots were found on his brain. But at 90 years old, he has still got a whole lot of fight in him and he begins radiation treatment today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I felt that it was confined to my liver and that they had - the operation had completely removed it. So I felt relieved. And then that same afternoon we had an MRI of my head and neck and it showed up that it was already in four places in my brain. So I would say that night and the next day, until I came back up to Emory, I just thought I had a few weeks left.

QUESTION: So the message to other patients, is your message one of hope? Is it acceptance?

CARTER: Well, it's one of hope and acceptance, yes. Hope for the best and accept what comes. You know it - we've - I think I have been as blessed as any human being in the world with - with having become the president of the United States of America and governor of Georgia and the work of the Carter Center and a big and growing family, and thousands of friends. So I don't think - and living to be 91 years old, the first of October, so I've had -- everything has been a blessing for me so I'm thankful and hopeful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: With a smile throughout.

Let's talk about this more with CNN chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You were there at the press conference at the Carter Center, Sanjay. Also joining me, CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. Also the author of "The Unfinished Presidency," a book on President Carter.

Thank you, gentlemen, both for being here.

Sanjay, let me begin with you. How treatable is this form of melanoma with four spots on the brain?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a tough diagnosis, Poppy. You know, this is one of the more challenging cancers to treat. Certainly regardless of your age it would be a tough cancer to treat. Having said that, you know, the type of treatment that he's going to get, the chemotherapy type treatment, is a relatively new medication. It was just approved in September of last year. So, you know, we don't know really how well these drugs are going to work in the long term. Some - one of these drugs could actually offer a lot of benefit to someone like President Carter and that's, obviously, what they're hoping for.

In addition to that, as you mentioned, Poppy, this afternoon he's going to start getting separately from the chemotherapy, he's going to get radiation therapy to his brain for those four spots that he talked about. So this is - this is ongoing. He's in very good spirits. He walked into that room, a lot of energy. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, made a few jokes and got right down to it. So he seems like he's in good spirits. He's overall in good health besides this and they're going to - they're going to try these therapies starting now.

HARLOW: Yes. Yes, and really saying, you know, this - this is in God's hands and talking about what a remarkable, wonderful life he certainly has had.

To you, Douglas, when you look at this press conference, one very revealing moment of the interview came when he was asked about his biggest regret. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: And anything you wish and sorry that you had not done or that you'd done differently?

CARTER: I wish I had sent one more helicopters to fit the hostages and we would have rescued them and I - I would have been re-elected, but that may have - and that may have interfered with the foundation of the Carter Center. And if I had to choose between four more years and the Carter Center, I think I would choose the Carter Center.

QUESTION: Thank you.

CARTER: Could have been both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Douglas Brinkley, you wrote a book on him. Does that - does his answer surprise you there at all?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: No, not at all. He's said that a number of different times and I think he means it. You know, the Iran Hostage Crisis situation in 1980 really was the albatross around his re-election campaign. He had other challenges. Ted Kennedy had gone after him from the left and Scoop Jackson from the right within his own Democratic Party, but it was the hostage crisis that really doomed him and allowed the Reagan revolution to take hold. And President Carter would always tell me, it wasn't so much that he lost, but he didn't like the idea that Ronald Reagan came in and tried to do away with a lot of his policies, including taking solar panels off the White House right off the bat, which Jimmy Carter had put on it.

HARLOW: Sanjay, back to his age, 90 years old, how does that complicate the treatment process? I mean how big a factor? He's in very - very good health otherwise, but he is 90.

[14:05:04] GUPTA: Yes, you know, Poppy, it's one of these things - and certainly you pay attention to chronological age when you're thinking about these treatments and medicine overall. But, you know, I think what a lot of doctors would tell you is that the physiological age, I think, is more important. So you have 90 years old who have a physiological age of 60 years old and vice versa.

He is a - you know, he's been a very energetic guy. He was planning on going to Nepal this fall.

HARLOW: Right.

GUPTA: Fly into Kathmandu and then take a puddle hopper down south to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. I was just in Nepal a few months ago. It's challenging to get around there. And yet this is what he was going to do. He may still do it depending if he can fit it in around his treatments.

So it - like I said, Poppy, it's a tough cancer. It's going to be a tough treatment. It would be a tough treatment for anybody, even if he was four or five decades younger. So it's going to be a factor. He said when he started his chemotherapy already, he said he had some right shoulder pain, for example. Joint pain is a known side effect from this particular chemotherapy. So it's going to just be a question to see how he does. Some people tolerate it really well, some people need more assistance with it.

HARLOW: Yes. And, Doug, I know that he wrote a poem - he wrote a poem with a bit of humor about what happens when he does die.

BRINKLEY: Yes, he did. You know, it was a - he is a poet and also wrote a wonderful novel about the Amirian revolution in Georgia. But the poem you're referring to, he was contemplating what happens when he passes, how will people respond and how will the Carter Center go on. Remember, the institution of the Carter Center is really the spirit of Jimmy Carter. And so he was realizing that he was going to be a burden some day for people to have to deal with all of this, so he wrote a poem with a little bit of humor about it, making it easier for all of us to talk about.

HARLOW: Just remarkable to watch him throughout and how he carried himself at that news conference despite this diagnosis. It could teach us all a lot.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Douglas Brinkley, thank you both.

BRINKLEY: Thank you. HARLOW: Coming up next, to politics we go. Welcome to the Trump show. The billionaire is the star of the race and candidates like Jeb Bush are starting to take notice. Their new strategy of attack - attacking The Donald.

Also, Donald Trump says he could force CNN - CNN to pay $10 million or refuse to attend the next debate which will air right here. I'll tell you why.

Also, moments from now history will be made. Two women becoming the first in history to complete Army Ranger school. We will carry it for you live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:12:03] HARLOW: Donald Trump sits at the top of all of the Republican polls. He is even beating Jeb Bush in Florida. That is Jeb Bush's home state. Chalk some of that up to all the media coverage that Donald Trump has been getting. He is on the cover of this week's "Time" magazine. The cover story, "The Donald Has Landed, Deal with It." In it he defines a clear difference between him and every other opponent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When all of these candidates accept all of this money, they're puppets. Nobody played the game better than me. But they're all puppets. They do whatever you want, especially if they're not finished with their careers, if they're going to run again, because they want this money coming in the next time. They're all puppets. So with me, the one thing - and I think one of the reasons I'm doing so well in the polls is the fact that I'm definitely not a puppet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: One of the reporters on that story, Michael Scherer, he joins me now from Washington. He is "Times" Washington bureau chief.

Thank you for being with me. Great story.

MICHAEL SCHERER, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: Let's get right to it. I want to show this to you. Not only is Donald Trump on the cover of "Time," he is also on the cover of "The Hollywood Reporter." You see him right there. He is sucking up all of the oxygen. Whether it is print, whether it is digital, video, you name it, he's getting the coverage. The town halls exemplified it last night. I think Trump versus Jeb Bush. Marco Rubio in Detroit today unveiling an economic plan and no one is talking about it. What's going on?

SCHERER: Well, it's not just the coverage, although the fact that Trump will sit for hours at a time on the record on a daily basis talking to reporters probably helps that, when a lot of the other candidates, you know, hardly hold availed. It's also the response from the Republican electorate. I mean if you look back at the two town halls in New Hampshire last night, there was a huge difference not only in the coverage but also in the attendance. Jeb Bush wasn't able to draw the kind of crowd that Donald can draw.

And one of the reasons for that is that he has this sort of celebrity appeal. Another reason for that is, I think, voters feel he's more authentic than some of the other candidates running, which is incredibly ironic if you consider that Donald Trump is a salesman who spent his life exaggerating the goods he is selling. But compared with the other politicians, lifelong experienced, accomplished politicians running for the race, he can - he can stand next to them and sort of beat them in the credibility game right now.

HARLOW: What surprised you most in this interview?

SCHERER: As we were walking out of the building after the interview, he kind of ran an idea by us. He said, well, what if I tell CNN you guys are going to be hosting the debate, the second Republican debate next month -

HARLOW: Yes.

SCHERER: That I'll only show up if they give $10 million to charity. They can pick the charities. Because I know that if I go on CNN and I attend that debate, the ratings are going to be through the roof. And if I don't come, the ratings will be, you know, 2, 3 million instead of 24 million. And we were all kind of stunned at the I guess audacity, boldness of his proposal. But I - I think it really spoke to, you know, sort of how he is breaking all the rules that, you know, the national democratic process has long adhered to. And at least for the moment it's working.

[14:15:16] HARLOW: Well, and thinking like a businessman, right?

SCHERER: Yes.

HARLOW: Let me pull up that - that quote. We have it from your piece, just so people can see exactly what he said. He said, "if I'm in it," talking about the next debate on September 16th here on CNN, "if I'm in it, they'll get this crazy audience that they're going to make a fortune since they're selling commercials every time we take a break. Would you ever say to them, would you ever say, I want $10 million for AIDS research, for cancer, for this type or not, or is it too cute?" Was he serious?

SCHERER: You know, a lot of what he does is too cute. So in that way, yes, I do think he was serious. I don't think he would actually not attend a debate unless Jeff Zucker came up with $10 million for AIDS research.

But, you know, that - he was proposing a prank, basically. And pranks have gotten Donald Trump very far. The last time I can remember, he appeared somewhere for millions of dollars that went to charity, it was a World Wrestling Federation event in which he pretended to beat a guy in the head and then shaved Vince McMahon's head in the middle of a wrestling ring. So Donald Trump is not above and beyond pranks, even in his current incarnation as the Republican front-runner for the 2016 nomination.

HARLOW: Something stood out to probably everyone who read the article and that is the eagle.

SCHERER: Yes.

HARLOW: All right. There you go. What's with the eagle?

SCHERER: Uncle Sam is his name. He came up from Texas for the shoot. He doesn't live in the Trump Tower. It was an idea that the photographer, Martin Scholer (ph), who did the shot - did the shoot as a way of sort of visually personifying the attraction of Donald Trump. I don't think "Time" magazine has ever photographed a presidential candidate with a live animal before, but it seemed appropriate this time. And when the photographer proposed it, the candidate loved the idea.

HARLOW: So it - it was live?

SCHERER: It was - it was a live eagle. And I wasn't at that shoot. I was writing the piece at the time. But I was told afterwards that at times it was a little - it was a little hairy. The eagle, at one point, knocked a bunch of stuff off the desk and was flapping around.

HARLOW: Wow.

SCHERER: I don't think - it's not the natural habitat for a bald eagle, but -

HARLOW: You know what, there have been so many firsts in this campaign and in the Trump run so far, I am - I am not surprised that it was a live eagle.

SCHERER: That's right.

HARLOW: Michael Scherer, it's a fascinating article, cover story of "Time" right now. Thank you very much.

SCHERER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Coming up next, ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle set to plead guilty to sex charges involving 14 young victims and we'll speak with Chris Hansen ahead. He has interviewed more than 300 child predators. What is his take on this stunning news?

Also, any minute we will speak to two women who just became the first in history to complete Army Ranger school. They are expected to speak live at any moment. We will bring that to you as it happens. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:22:15] HARLOW: For at least seven years, as Jared Fogle was pitching you Subway sandwiches, he was allegedly preying on children. That is not only what federal prosecutors say, but also a reporter who says she befriended Fogle and later notified the FBI about some disturbing conversations. As we have learned, Fogle married - who is a married father of two, is expected to plead guilty to federal charges of child pornography and traveling across state lines to have sex with minors. The reporter told our affiliate WWSB that she worked with the FBI for four and a half years recording her conversations with Fogle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jared Fogle to you is what?

ROCHELLE HERMAN, REPORTER WHO BEFRIENDED FOGLE: Is a monster. He's a monster. I'm numb. I'm shocked. I'm relieved, most of all. He just found great comfort in talking with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He mentioned to you that he, in fact, did have relations with underage children?

HERMAN: Yes, he did. Yes, he did. And from here in the United States to when he was on his international tours and then visits to Thailand. Why would I be the only one? He had something that was compelling him inside that wanted to reveal what he was doing. Did he want to get caught? I don't know. So it - I'm not an actress and I don't claim to be one, but it took everything I had to do what I needed to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Joining me now, journalist Chris Hansen, known for the former series "To Catch a Predator." He is currently the host of "Killer Instincts with Chris Hansen" and his upcoming show "Hansen Versus Predators," now in production.

You have interviewed 300 child predators.

CHRIS HANSEN, HOST, "KILLER INSTINCTS WITH CHRIS HANSEN": That's right.

HARLOW: What is similar when you talk to so many in a row? What do they have in common?

HANSEN: Here's what they have in common, Poppy, and that's, they don't stand out in the crowd for the most part. I mean, yes, we've seen guys with "creep" tattooed on their foreheads, but most of the guys we saw in our investigations could be somebody standing next to you at the dry cleaners on a Saturday morning. We saw doctors. We saw teachers. We saw executives, police officers. People from all walks of life.

HARLOW: And that's - I mean that's so many people were so stunned -

HANSEN: Oh, yes.

HARLOW: To see what the Subway pitchman, but you've seen it time and time and time again. His attorney, Fogle's attorney, spoke of his client getting, quote, "healthy again," and, quote, "charting a course towards recovery." For some people, that's hard to swallow, to some, to believe. HANSEN: It is. And here's the situation in terms of what I found

during all those years of doing the investigations. And I'm not a psychologist.

HARLOW: Right.

HANSEN: I play one on TV. But I think these guys come from three different categories. You've got the first time offender, the young guy who's socially awkward and turns to the Internet, who's in his early 20s, that guy can be fixed. You've got a middle group of guys who have a prevolition (ph) for this activity but wouldn't be doing this without the Internet. The addictive quality, the anonymity and the access 24 hours a day. And then those guys can be fixed with some sort of punishment and rehabilitation.

[14:25:14] HARLOW: Right.

HANSEN: And then the third category are the heavy hitters. Nothing's going to save these guys. They have to be incarcerated.

HARLOW: You think rehabilitation, though, is possible?

HANSEN: In some cases. I mean in our society we want a one size fits all solution to this.

HARLOW: And there just isn't.

HANSEN: There isn't. Each case is different. Each human being is different. Some can never be in society again.

HARLOW: The informant who we heard some of in that interview clip -

HANSEN: Right.

HARLOW: Said that Fogle made comments about how he thought middle schoolers were quote/unquote "hot." And at the time, you know, I think a lot of people would brush that off. It's a little weird. Wouldn't make something of it. What - what do you say to that?

HANSEN: Well, I think, in hindsight, obviously, since he was obviously getting pornography from the employee of his foundation, child pornography, if you talk to the experts in the field who work with the marshals service or any of the other federal agencies who have interviewed, you know, these predators in prison, they will tell you there is a direct correlation between viewing child porn and offending in this way. And every single offender interviewed, almost without exception, who has done this sort of thing, also has viewed child porn. There's a direct and consistent link.

HARLOW: Well, he will now, we know, pay restitution -

HANSEN: Right.

HARLOW: Of $100,000 to each of the 14 victims. Is that common?

HANSEN: I have not seen a lot of it, quite honestly. HARLOW: Right.

HANSEN: And of the 300 or so fellows who surfaced in our investigations, you know, 260, approximately, were convicted and I keep a pretty close eye on those cases. And while there have been cases of restitution, I've never seen one at that level.

HARLOW: Right. And he's going to serve prison time.

HANSEN: Yes.

HARLOW: There's no question about it.

HANSEN: Absolutely. Yes.

HARLOW: For child pornography, I believe it's a five-year minimum sentence. He's looking at anywhere between five and 13?

HANSEN: Exactly. Yes.

HARLOW: Does that sound -

HANSEN: It sounds about right. I mean I think it's capped at 15. But you've got to remember, you know, some people who want to write off child pornography as, you know, a victimless crime. But every time that image is viewed, the child is being victimized again.

HARLOW: Of course.

HANSEN: And that's why the penalties in the federal judicial system are so hard.

HARLOW: Yes, but that sounds in line with you -

HANSEN: Yes.

HARLOW: That sentence?

HANSEN: Yes, I think it's a 15-year cap and they can't ask for any less than eight.

HARLOW: All right, Chris Hansen, thank you.

HANSEN: Poppy, thank you.

HARLOW: Nice to have you on. I appreciate it.

HANSEN: Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: Coming up next, Shaun King, a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, now facing some tough questions about his own race. Some people say he is actually white. Our Don Lemon has been in contact with Shaun King. He joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)