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North Korea Issues Deadline to South Korean to Stop Propaganda from Loud Speakers; Donald Trump to Hold Large Rally in Alabama; New Poll: Trump Leading Bush in Florida. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 21, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Escalating tensions between north and South Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can absolutely stage an attack on almost no notice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: North Korea is a very, very dangerous country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most tense place on the planet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they on the brink of war?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, they're calling it the summer of Trump.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Trump is now leading among Republicans in Bush's home state.

TRUMP: I don't see how he's electable.

JEB BUSH, (R) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: It's not about how great you are, how rich you are. That's not leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An activist for racial justice now accused of lying about his own race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you legally black? Are you legally white?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. Guess what. It's Friday, August 21st, 8:00 in the east. And we do have breaking news. North Korea's military poised for war with South Korea. North Korea's state run media reporting leader Kim Jong-un has ordered frontline troops to be on war footing after both sides traded artillery fire over heavily fortified borders.

South Korea is vowing to strongly retaliate if North Korea follows through with an attack. North Korea has issued threats before. So is this latest rhetoric empty or will it follow through this time? We have this story covered the way only CNN can. We begin our team coverage with CNN's Will Ripley live in Beijing. What do we know at this hour, Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, Just within the last few hours North Korea's ambassador to China held an emergency press conference here in Beijing saying that North Korea troops, hundreds of thousands of them, are now mobilized along the entire length of the DMZ, and they have been authorized to conduct surprised attacks according to the ambassador if South Korea does not meet the 4:00 a.m. eastern time deadline tomorrow to stop blasting propaganda on huge loud speaks across the border, something the South says it does not intend to stop.

Now, this has all been escalating for several weeks. The reason for it, the joint military exercises that started on Monday and go until next Friday, 30,000 U.S. troops working with 50,000 South Korean troops. They do this twice a year, and twice a year North Korea gets very angry.

But something changed on August 4th when the South says North Korea placed land mines on the demilitarized zone, almost killing two South Korean soldiers. Then on August 10th South Korea started blasting propaganda on those huge loudspeakers, something they haven't done in a decade. On Saturday North Korea promised in discriminate strikes. Then on Thursday they sent a warning letter to South Korean. And then on Thursday afternoon, the worst exchange of fire that these two countries have seen in some five years. And today Kim Jong-un, the leader, saying that his troops are ready in a wartime state. We've heard rhetoric before, but it appears this situation is getting more tense and more dangerous by the hour. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Will, thank you very much. So the question is, will South Korea concede to the North's deadline to stop propaganda broadcasts by tomorrow morning? Let's check in with CNN's Kathy Novak live near the DMZ with that part of the story. What are the chances, Kathy? Can you hear me or no? All right, issues there. We will get back to her as soon as we can. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile we know that the U.S. is closely monitoring the conflict between the two Koreas. This escalating tension comes as U.S. and South Korean are holding these annual military exercises leading to more threats from the North. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is live in Washington with that part of the story for us. Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. The U.S. definitely concerned about the level of rhetoric coming out of North Korea, very vitriolic, very personal, a lot of worry about that. But what they are looking for right now, what U.S. intelligence wants to see is any fundamental change in the disposition of North Korean forces on the ground near the DMZ.

North Korea maintains a large contingent there, hundreds of artillery pieces. They have the capability, they have the mobility, the ability to launch an attack against South Korea on virtually no notice or very short notice. So what the U.S. needs to find out right now is, is there a fundamental change in those North Korean troops. Are they massing? Do they have their artillery weapons pointed at the South? Is there all the logistics that they would need for a military campaign, food, fuel, ammunition, all of that the key things that North Korea would need to carry all of this out.

Make no mistake, the rhetoric is concerning. North Korea has the ability to launch an attack. But what the U.S. is looking for is what part of this is theater from North Korea and what is the military reality on the ground? Chris.

CUOMO: Those are good questions, Barbara. Let's get a little perspective on that. Let's go back to CNN's Kathy Novak. She is live near the DMZ in South Korea. What is the chance that South Korea accedes to the wishes of the North and stops these broadcasts?

[08:05:06] KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As far as the vice defense minister is concerned, Chris, none. He has confirmed that it will continue to broadcast these propaganda messages. And because of that, he says there is a high prosecute that North Korea will strike these propaganda speakers tomorrow when that deadline hits. South Korea is prepared for that.

This is what the defense ministry has to say, "South Korea will strongly retaliate if there is additional provocation from North Korea." South Korean knows just how much North Korea hates any kind of psychological warfare. As Will was saying, it hasn't done this in more than 10 years. In fact, these speakers have been set up along the border since about five years ago, 2010, when those tensions were last at a high level. But because North Korea was threatening at the time to shoot down the speakers, South Korea decided not to go ahead and use them.

Well, this time around it is using that psychological warfare, because it says it is in retaliation for land mine attacks that badly injured two of its soldiers. North Korea denies that it planted those land mines. It is demanding that the psychological warfare stop. As we know it has given South Korean an ultimatum, a deadline. And all eyes are on tomorrow when that deadline hits. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Kathy, so thanks for all of that. So are the North and the South on the brink of war? Let's bring in our CNN global affairs analyst and managing editor of "Quartz," Bobby Ghosh. Bobby, great to see you to give us some context in all this. How do you see what's going on in the border there?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: The rhetoric on both sides has always been quite hostile. This is the worst it has been in five years. Five years ago there was an exchange of artillery shells, four South Koreans died. The trick is to find the off ramp. It's always the case with North Korea. They ratchet up the rhetoric on their side and then it falls to the south with the U.S. and with Chinese intervention to find some kind of a face-saving exit.

CAMEROTA: And what is that normally?

GHOSH: In the past it is varied. It could be something as simple as South Koreans saying we're going to turn off the loud speakers, because, let's face it, the loudspeakers don't really do very much. It's not like you can reach Pyongyang from the border with loudspeakers. It's an act of aggression from both sides. What is different this time is that the South Koreans are not shaping up for any kind of conciliatory gesture. Instead they are saying, you know what, we've had enough of this. We're not going to switch off the loudspeakers. The deadline is 5:00 p.m. local time, 4:00 a.m. on Saturday our time. And we'll see if the south backs down.

CAMEROTA: Isn't that because they're not acquiescing to the north because it hasn't served them well in the past? They haven't gotten anything in the past when they've done this, the south.

GHOSH: Yes and no. If given a face-saving opportunity, the north will usually back down. They have always backed down in the past, which is why things haven't gotten a lot worse. They are now nuclear armed. So if they carry out that threat, things could get very, very bad.

But there's another important difference this time is that you have a very young leader, 32 years old, Kim Jong-un, who needs to show his, shall we say, military prowess to his population. That is how North Korean leaders, his father, his grandfather, always defined themselves.

The thing that I worry about is that the report that there are trucks going around Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea with loud speakers there warning the population that we are in a state of semi - semi-war like state. That means he can't simply walk away from that. He's warned his people that we are ready to go to war. He need that face saving gesture so he say to his people, we won, in some way. And the south essentially is going to have to provide that.

CAMEROTA: So Kim Jong-un is spoiling for a fight. This all began because these two South Korean soldiers were severely injured, almost killed, by land mines planted in the DMZ. Was that a provocation or an accident?

GHOSH: The north denies it but very likely they placed the new mines because this is one of the most heavily mined places in the world. But the patrols on both sides know exactly where those mines are. Mines don't just suddenly turn up by accident. So yes, it's very likely that the North Koreans put those mines there.

Also, if you sort of go further up to 30,000 feet to take the bigger picture, this is the time of year when the United States and South Korea do their military drills. And that is something that always gets North Korea very hot and bothered. They are constantly looking for some ways to show we're not going to take this quietly. Putting a couple of land mines in is one way of a South Korean is one way of showing that.

CAMEROTA: So when the tensions get ratcheted up between these two countries, how does the U.S. typically respond?

GHOSH: Well, the U.S. typically has to be, we always are on the side of the South Koreans, because that is the side of sanity really. [08:10:01] The crucial question is now hot the U.S. is going to reach.

It's how China is going to react, because the Chinese are the only people who have any kind of control over North Korea. North Korea depends on China for everything. It's an isolated country. China is really the only country with which it has regular trade, regular political relationship, regular military relationships. If anybody has any kind of control over the North Koreans, it's the Chinese.

CAMEROTA: Does Beijing still have control over Kim Jong-un?

GHOSH: That's a good question. He's a new player in the scene. He's not as well established as his father or grandfather were. But he can't ignore China. If he gets a phone call from Beijing, he has to answer that call. So in addition to the Americans, I'm going to guess that there are phone calls between Washington and Beijing saying, what's going on here? What can you do to help?

CAMEROTA: Let's hope something gets resolved by 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Bobby Ghosh, thanks so much for all of the insight. Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Donald Trump, we have a new poll out that shows a real change in his race with Jeb Bush. Here's the hint. It will hit close to home. A better hint is what's on your screen right now. Trump is beating Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, in Florida. Trump is now preparing for what's expected to be his biggest campaign rally yet today in Alabama. Let's go to CNN's Athena Jones with the latest on the 2016 campaign this morning. Athena, they keep moving the event to get more and more space. True or true?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's true, Chris. Good morning. And I should mention in the face of these polls, in the face of these big crowd, Jeb Bush is now getting a little help from his big brother. The former president sent out a fundraising e-mail, telling supporters Jeb has a tough road ahead, and that, quote, "With his strength and your support, he will succeed." That fundraising help is coming as Jeb is facing his biggest hurdle yet, a massively popular Donald Trump drawing these huge crowds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: It's the summer of Trump. You know they're calling it the summer of Trump.

JONES: The Donald Trump tour is making its way from the northeast to the south today. The Trump campaign hosted a Friday night pep rally in mobile, Alabama, possibly boasting its largest crowd yet.

TRUMP: There are going to end up being 30,000 to 40,000 people in Alabama.

(APPLAUSE)

JONES: The bombastic billionaire has been known to exaggerate his numbers.

TRUMP: And outside, sadly, we have thousands of people who can't get in.

We have a lot of people outside, hundreds and hundreds of people standing outside.

JONES: But perhaps this time the proof is in the tickets. So many claim that tonight's event has been relocated, twice. It was first scheduled to take place here in this civic center theater, occupancy 1,900, then the cent's larger arena, occupancy 10,000. But now after the campaign says at least 35,000 have claimed tickets, the pep rally will kick up the turf here at this football stadium, capacity 43,000.

Meanwhile, one of Trump's leading rivals getting some unwanted questioning after using a phrase many consider offensive in a radio interview this week, "anchor babies."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret using the term "anchor babies" yesterday on the radio?

JEB BUSH, (R) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: No. I don't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't regret it?

BUSH: No. Do you have a better term?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm asking you.

BUSH: You give me a better term and I'll use it. I'm serious. Don't yell at me behind my ear though.

JONES: Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton's suggestion instead, how about babies, children, or American citizens? An uncharacteristic defense for Bush, strikingly similar to Trump's unapologetic use of the phrase on Wednesday.

TRUMP: What else would you like me to say? You want me to say that? I'll use the word "anchor baby." Excuse me. I'll use the word "anchor baby."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: And one more point about that "anchor baby" term, the center Hispanic leadership network which lists Jeb as one of its advisors said in a 2013 memo to avoid the term "anchor baby" because it's offensive. Michaela?

PEREIRA: Yes, so many people uncomfortable with the term. All right, Athena, thanks for watching that.

A development here for you. The Missouri man that was shot by police this week and sparking major protests, he died from a single gunshot wound to the back according to "The St. Louis Post Dispatch." Authorities say two officers fired at him after he pointed a handgun at them. They say he was trying to run from some sort of raid. A witness told police he dropped the weapon before shots were fired. In the meantime, though, other witnesses have come forward saying the 18- year-old was not armed at all. CAMEROTA: Breaking overnight, a downtown Los Angeles high-rise hit by

an underground blast. Fire trucks and emergency crews crowding the scene, as you see. At least five people suffered minor injuries.

[08:15:00] Investigators believe a generator on the ground floor caused that explosion. Look at this. The blast so powerful it caused the power to go out during a nearby Shania Twain concert.

CUOMO: Oh.

CAMEROTA: We're happy to report it only took a few minutes to get the sound back up and running.

CUOMO: Ever feel like cooling off in the summer by jumping into a neighbor's pool? That's exactly what six bears did in New Jersey. A mother bear and five cubs decided to beat the heat by jumping in the pool.

And this one isn't some quick dip. They didn't like, you know, jump and run. This is no hopping here. They stayed for an hour.

They also enjoyed some quality time with toys around the yard. Don't worry, the kids who live inside were inside and out of the harm's way and probably enjoyed watching them.

PEREIRA: Best video ever. You know, when I lived out in L.A., I live near in the foothills and Angeles National Forest, sometimes mountain lions and bears would come down. There was a report of a bear just hanging out in somebody's hot tub.

So, I had a pool, and I used to come home and look, just to make sure I didn't have any unwanted company before I decided to run out into a cannonball.

CAMEROTA: Good thinking.

PEREIRA: Right?

CAMEROTA: I don't blame you.

PEREIRA: That's great video.

CUOMO: They brought nothing to the house, no cookies, nothing.

CAMEROTA: They were empty handed.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: So good.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: All right. There's a new poll out showing more Republicans backing Donald Trump over Jeb Bush. But here's the interesting wrinkle -- this is in Bush's home state of Florida. What does Ana Navarro say about this? She's straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:09] CUOMO: They are calling it the summer of Trump.

CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE)

CUOMO: They.

CAMEROTA: Who is that?

CUOMO: Who is they? Good question, Camerota.

One of them is certainly Donald Trump himself. He is bringing his campaign to a football stadium in the Deep South. Why? Because he needs for capacity he says.

And a new poll shows why he may need more capacity. Trump pulling ahead of Jeb Bush in the former Florida governor's home state. Relevance? Definitely. Context? Needed.

CNN political commentator and Jeb Bush supporter, Ana Navarro, is here. And Jeffrey Lord, he's a CNN political commentator, former White House political director.

Good to see you both.

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, guys.

CUOMO: Ana, they obviously didn't pick up and get you on the phone when they were doing this poll. How do you explain what is going on in Florida?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh God, Chris. It's August. You know how hot it is? We all have heat stroke.

CUOMO: You look great, by the way.

NAVARRO: That's the only explanation I can -- that's the only explanation I can come up with.

Listen, if you look at the poll, first I think Donald Trump stands alone when it comes to the mad as hell caucus, the mad as hell voters. We're not going to take it anymore. We're fed up with politics as usual. We're fed up with the Washington dysfunction.

Let's also remember, there's a bunch of other guys running who are from Florida. And they are splitting up the Florida vote. I think there's a lot of people who are like me, who say, you know what, I love Marco Rubio. I love Jeb Bush. For me, I've just loved Jeb longer.

But, you know, there's a lot of people in my position, who are like, OK, do I vote for Jeb or do I vote for Marco? You put the two of them together, 11 percent and 17 percent and they beat Trump.

CAMEROTA: OK. NAVARRO: And also if you look at that poll, both Marco and -- Rubio and Jeb Bush do much better against Hillary Clinton than does Donald Trump.

CAMEROTA: OK. That's interesting, Ana.

Jeffrey, what do you think of her logic? Because -- and here's something in Ana's favor, while Trump is leading in Florida, 21 percent to 17 percent, look at the favorability disparity. Jeb Bush has an 81 percent favorable rating in Florida over Trump's 55 percent.

LORD: Well, I mean, you would expect that. This is Florida. I mean, the news is exactly is as you said. That Donald Trump is leading at all. I mean, under normal circumstances, you would think he would be down around 3 percent or 4 percent. And there he is riding high at 21.

I think what's happening in Florida is why the stadium is going to be filled in Alabama. The other night in New Hampshire, there were 2,500 people at the Trump town meeting, and 200 at the Bush town meeting. I mean, I think whether it's Florida, New Hampshire or Alabama, we're seeing the same animal, just different parts in different states.

CUOMO: Ronald Reagan -- I just like to say his name because it makes Jeffrey stop. Ronald Reagan was known for bringing a positiveness. And look, if people don't like Ronald Reagan, tweet me and say, no, he wasn't.

But he won the election in large part because he brought a positive narrative to being American. Donald Trump, many say, is using a negative narrative to build momentum. Do you believe that anchor baby is now a metaphor for what Trump is stirring up with voters, a pejorative message about what's going on with immigration?

LORD: No, I don't. You know, two things here, Chris. Number one, you know, one of the minor controversies in Washington these days is the kind of memorial we're going to have for President Eisenhower. President Eisenhower instituted exactly the kind of program that Donald Trump is talking about and I hate to say this because this is deeply politically incorrect today.

But the formal name of the program was, quote-unquote, "Operation Wetback". They sent trains, busses, boats in some cases, they rounded up according to the INS figures of the day almost a million illegals and brought them back into the middle of Central Mexico. So, this has been done before.

CUOMO: But the program is probably not the reason for the monument, though, right?

LORD: Probably not. Nobody has said a word about this. This is exactly what Donald Trump is proposing essentially. I'd like to know --

CAMEROTA: But, Ana -- go ahead, Jeffrey. LORD: I'd like to know this debate over the 14th Amendment, Mark Levin has challenged Jeb Bush to a debate over this. I mean, this is becoming quite the issue. I'd like to know from Ana if Jeb Bush is going to accept.

CAMEROTA: Ana, do you know if he's going to take this on?

NAVARRO: I don't know. I think Mark Levin isn't running for president. And I certainly -- I'm not in charge of Jeb Bush's schedule. Are you in charge of Donald Trump's?

CAMEROTA: Ana, hold on one second.

LORD: No.

CAMEROTA: Hold on. Let me ask you about what has this dustup that has embroiled Jeb Bush, a little bit about the "anchor baby" term, he used it in a radio show. Let me play you what he said. And then we'll play you the response after that.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If there's abuse, if people are bringing -- pregnant women are coming in to have babies simply because they can do it, then there ought to be greater enforcement. That's the legitimate side of this. Better enforcement so that you don't have these, you know, anchor babies as they're described coming into the country.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. So, Ana, he couched it there. He used the term that is considered pejorative but that is sort of shorthand for these children --

CUOMO: He said as they're described.

CAMEROTA: He said as they're described. So, he couched it with that disclaimer.

But, of course, on the campaign trail reporters asked him if he meant to use that term. Let me play you that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Governor, do you regret using the term "anchor baby" yesterday on the radio?

BUSH: No, I didn't.

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: I don't, I don't regret it.

REPORTER: You don't regret it?

BUSH: No. Do you have a better term?

REPORTER: No. I'm asking you.

BUSH: OK. You give me a better term and I'll use it. I'm serious.

Don't yell at me behind my ear, though.

REPORTER: Sorry about that.

BUSH: Jeez.

REPORTER: The language "anchor baby," is that not bombastic?

BUSH: No, it isn't. Give me another -- give me another word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Ana, he seems testier than we've seen him before. What do you think of those exchanges?

NAVARRO: Good. I like testy, feisty Jeb. Good for him.

Listen, you know, I think the -- sometimes the political correctness police just got to get their full outrage in check. Let's put things in perspective here.

Was he using it as his own language? No. Was he using as descriptive as a term that other people use? Yes. Is he in favor of the ending birthright citizenship? No. Was he using the term as a pejorative slur? No.

So, you know, he's right on the policy. His heart is in the right place. He's got a lifelong record on these issues. And because he used the term that is not his own language, but that is being used out there as a descriptive term, people are going to get outraged?

Folks, come on. We've got bigger issues to deal with than being the semantics and word parsing police.

CUOMO: Jeffrey, Ana wins today because she asked and answered five questions in a row herself.

(LAUGHTER)

LORD: And I agree with her on that last one, the political correctness.

CAMEROTA: OK. There you go. We'll end on that note of agreement.

Ana, Jeffrey, thanks so much. Have a great weekend.

LORD: Thanks, guys.

CUOMO: Was that a good segment? Yes. Are we happy we did it?

CAMEROTA: Yes. CUOMO: Yes.

Is it important to focus on Trump because he's the frontrunner? Yes.

Do you want to hear for yourself why he defends his immigration positions and others? Yes. So, be sure to watch the CNN special report tonight, "The Donald Trump Interview". We sit down with him and go after his positions and test them and see how he explains why he believes what he thinks you should believe too. Tonight 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only here.

Mick?

PEREIRA: This is quite a story ahead. There are accusations swirling about the ethnicity of one of the Black Lives Matter activists. His name is Shaun King. He is now addressing reports that claim he actually isn't black. What is going on here? You'll hear what he has to say up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)