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Donald Trump Holds Rally in Dallas, Texas; Upcoming GOP Presidential Debate Examined; Floods Hit Parts of Utah; California's Valley Fire Spreads to Three Counties; North Korea Threatens to Use Nuclear Weapons Against U.S.; Delta State University Shooting Suspect Dead. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 15, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:02] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning to set the stage, a new CBS News, "New York Times" poll. Look at it. Donald Trump 27 percent. Big headline could say Dr. Ben Carson catapulting six percent to 23 percent just since August. Is he the Trump alternative?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Donald Trump passing up an opportunity to prepare for the debate in order to campaign in Dallas last night, whipping up the crowds with calls to build a wall along the border with Mexico and calling America, quote, "The world's dumping ground." This as hundreds of the Latinos marched outside in a "Dump the Trump" rally.

CNN brings you the best political coverage on television, and it begins with Athena Jones. She is live in Simi Valley, California. Give us the latest, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. You heard of doubling down. Last night Trump tripled and quadrupled down on his fiery, controversial rhetoric about illegal immigration while also attacking his critics. The crowd in Dallas seemed to eat it up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Just hours away from the CNN GOP debate the frontrunner shrugging off mounting attacks from his rivals.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hear they are all going after me. Whatever. Whatever.

JONES: Donald Trump boasting about his 13 point lead to a crowd of 18,000.

TRUMP: We are killing it.

JONES: And none of his competitors were off limits.

TRUMP: Carly is giving me a little bit of a hard time even though her poll numbers are horrible.

Ben Carson, he's a nice man. I think he's in second place. You have Jeb Bush, governor in Florida. You have a sitting senator in Florida, Marco Rubio. And a poll coming out the other day, Trump is leading in Florida.

JONES: Again striking heavy on style, light on substance approach, the billionaire candidate neglected to talk policy Monday night, instead claiming success with women voters.

TRUMP: I'm surging with women. I have such respect for women.

JONES: Though he also highlighted his controversial comments about FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly.

TRUMP: We're going to have to so many victories that at some point they are just going to be coming out of your ears. I have to be careful about what I say about coming out of somebody's ears. Have to be careful.

(LAUGHTER)

JONES: Inside, cheers on a hot button issue -- immigration.

TRUMP: We have to end this sanctuary cities crap fast. The whole subject of anchor babies, we didn't say that somebody could be pregnant for nine month, come across the border, have a baby and now it is ours and we have to take care of the baby forever.

JONES: While outside hundreds of Latinos protested Trump's harsh rhetoric on the issue, marching under the slogan "Dump the Trump".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His words have hurt many people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to respect each other. We're human beings and we're here to stay.

JONES: Now the big question remaining, will Trump tweak his strategy before taking center stage Wednesday night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's had the most television training of any candidate in the modern political era. He's a highly skilled television professional, so he's not going change is that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: I've got say I agree with Hugh Hewitt there. Trump hasn't given any indication he's going to change his manner of speaking or his approach to the other candidates. We'll hear again from him later today when he gives a speech on national security to veterans aboard a retired battleship. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, that will be interesting. Athena, thanks so much.

Let's bring in now Ed Gillespie. He's the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, former advisor to the President George W. Bush, and the senior counselor to the Brunswick group. Ed, great to have you here in studio with us.

ED GILLESPIE, FORMER REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Good to be with you, Alisyn. CAMEROTA: Let me look with you at these new numbers just released in

the past hour. That is CBS News, "New York Times" polls, and it has some interesting findings. It shows Donald Trump in front at 27 percent. That is not the most stunning part. The most stunning part is what's happened to Ben Carson. He has catapulted up the ladder. He was at six percent the last time they looked at this. He is now at 23 percent. How do you explain it?

GILLESPIE: I think you what you're seeing, you see Carly Fiorina was an asterisk before, and now --

CAMEROTA: Yes. Those are the only three candidate who have shown growth.

GILLESPIE: So it is not people who are just outside Washington. It's people who are outside of the politics, not in elected office. And I think it shows the frustration out there with Republican voters, frustration with Washington D.C., elected officials. I think you see that frustration a little bit on the Democratic side as well with Bernie Sanders surge on the Democratic side. There's frustration in both parties, but you're seeing it very pronounced in the Republican primary right now.

CAMEROTA: Ed, I had to laugh when I read the research packet that the producers sent to us and it described your credentials. I just want to read it to you because it says "Ed Gillespie is the quintessential establishment Republican." Ouch. Do you feel like you are living in some new world order in the past few months where that doesn't work anymore?

[08:05:01] GILLESPIE: First of all, however they want to describe me they're free to describe me. I've proud of my career, but the fact is --

CAMEROTA: That used to be a feather in your cap. No longer.

GILLESPIE: Here is thing. People have to run on their policies. I ran as the candidate last year. I was able to bring together our Tea Party friend and liberty movement friends and the traditional Republicans to almost win a Senate race in Virginia. You can do that, and I think that what we're going to see over the course of the next few months are these candidates starting to put out greater policy detail. And we're seeing that now, and I think that is going to be a turning point in the campaign.

CAMEROTA: Meaning you think that the establishment candidates are going to surge at some point over the outsiders?

GILLESPIE: No I think that -- I think that's possible. I think it's possible it doesn't happen. I think the voters are going to looking now for policy. And you see Donald Trump has pout immigration policies. He's been clear on what his immigration policies are.

Scott Walker had a speech yesterday about labor reforms. He's put out specifics on healthcare policy in replacing Obamacare. The -- Jeb Bush has put out his policy on tax reform and economic growth. I think you are going to see more of that and I think you're going to see the attentions start to shift to that. And I think the challenge for someone like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, is to say yes, now I've gotten the attention, I've gotten the support. Here is what I'm going to do with it and here are the policies I'm going to put in place if I'm the next president of the United States.

CAMEROTA: Of all the candidates who do you think has the most at stake tomorrow night?

GILLESPIE: The frontrunner always. And I think Donald Trump is going to be literally and figuratively front and center in the debate. He's got a lot of stake to continue to try to build on the momentum that he has. But so does everyone else. If you are in the third tier you have got to try to get yourself into the second tier. If you are the second tier you have to try to get yourself into the first on a stage this big, 11 people. And so the stakes are high for everyone, but it is not going to be decisive tomorrow night, but it is part of a building pattern that you have to take into account.

CAMEROTA: Is it possible something decisive will happen tomorrow night, meaning the candidates in the first debate at 6:00 p.m., those four candidates who didn't make it to the main stage, is it possible that after tomorrow, if they don't get a bump on Thursday, could you see somebody drop out of the race within the next week?

GILLESPIE: Yes I do think -- I think we're at the point, obviously we've seen with Rick Perry we're at the point where people are going to start to drop and the field is going to start to be winnowed. And it is conceivable that someone who needs to get a bump tomorrow night and doesn't will conclude in a week that the money is not there, the volunteers aren't coming, the support is not showing up, and they may drop out.

CAMEROTA: Who do you think is most vulnerable?

GILLESPIE: It is hard to say. Look, this is a year where clearly the conventional wisdom has been turned on its head and it is hard to say who's most vulnerable. But that's for people to decide for themselves, anyway.

CAMEROTA: I want to pull up the poll that just came out in the past few minutes again. I want to look at Jeb Bush. He was in August at 13 percent. He has now dropped to six percent. He has so much money. I mean, he was the sort of frontrunner, so well-funded. What's going wrong?

GILLESPIE: I think nobody anticipated the big demand out there for the non-elected official candidates. Not just candidates from outside Washington, like I said, but from outside elected office. And he does have enough money for staying power. He's someone who has clearly made clear he wants to try to have a big debate tomorrow night and to punch through a little bit. And, you know, he's got the resources and the people and the staff to be able to, you know, get through a slump, and if he can come out of it, sustain himself. CAMEROTA: We keep using the lingo "punch through." Do you think that

the other candidates -- would you recommend that the establishment candidates land some punches on Donald Trump? Or should they ignore him.

GILLESPIE: Whether establishment candidates or non-establishment candidates, or however you want to brand them, the fact is he is the front runner. And if you are going to make gains those gains have to come at his expense. And I think what we are going to see tomorrow night, again whether you are branded establishment candidate by the pundits or non-establishment or right wing or however the pundits want to brand you, you are going to have to treat him as the frontrunner, and I suspect that's what we're going to see tomorrow night.

CAMEROTA: Does that mean they go after him? Or let him hurl an insult first or they put the first punch out?

GILLESPIE: I think it depends on your own campaign strategy. But look, there is only a finite number of voters. And what you are seeing in the poll is Donald Trump is commanding the lion's share. If they are going to make gains, he's going to have to come down over time. And you are going to either hope that happens or you're going to try to affect that happening. And we'll see who tries to affect it happening tomorrow night. But look, Alisyn, there is risk too. You have to be who you are. And there is always risk of a candidate overreaching and comings across awkward because they are not being who they are.

[08:10:04] CAMEROTA: A lot of people are going to be watching Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump, particularly after he said look at that face. So they want to see how she is going to respond and how they're going to interact. Do you think it's OK how he has spoken about women?

GILLESPIE: She's already responded. I don't know if you have seen the video that she put out yesterday, but it is fantastic.

CAMEROTA: We have a portion of it. Basically she turned lemon into the lemonade by saying look at this face. This is the face of experience. Look at all of your faces, you women out there. They are the faces of the strength. And she turns it around.

GILLESPIE: Absolutely she did.

CAMEROTA: But to my larger question, do you think that he has been speaking in a sexist or pejorative way about women in general?

GILLESPIE: I don't think that the language he's used necessarily is going to translate well in a general election environment.

CAMEROTA: You don't think women will like it in general?

GILLESPIE: I don't think so. And I'm interested to see if he starts to change a little bit and shift his rhetoric in anticipation of potentially becoming the Republican Party nominee and trying to broaden his appeal to women voters, which are obviously, you know, a majority of the voters in the country today. So you want to appeal to them.

CAMEROTA: Beyond Donald Trump, who should we all be keeping an eye on tomorrow night?

GILLESPIE: It's hard for me to say. I am neutral in this. I think there are some folks who performed well in the last debate. John Kasich had a very good debate in the last debate, Marco Rubio had a good debate I thought in the first debate. But you didn't see the movement in the numbers for him like you did see with Kasich. I think Chris Christie needs try to get some momentum going again, Rand Paul as well. And Ben Carson has an opportunity. He's not front and center, but he's right in the middle of the stage. And I think he'll have greater attention on him tomorrow night than he had in the previous debate. And he has an opportunity to take advantage of what you are seeing in those polling numbers and seize that momentum.

CAMEROTA: It's going to be very interesting. Ed Gillespie, thanks so much for walking through it with us. Thanks for coming in.

GILLESPIE: Thanks for having me on.

CAMEROTA: Tomorrow is the big day, of course, so tune in for CNN Republican presidential debate. It starts at 6:00 eastern. That is the first debate. Then the primetime event with 11 candidates on stage begins at 8:00 p.m. You won't want to miss this high stakes event. We'll be live from the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley toward and on Thursday morning to bring you all the debates highlights and lowlights and analysis.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, there is a very serious concerning situation in Utah. Breaking overnight, deadly flash flooding hitting Hildale, Utah. At this point we know that eight have been killed and several more people are missing. We want to show you this dramatic rescue as raging water surround a car. Kyung Lah is live in Hildale with the latest on the situation there as light is still a few hours away.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, that desperate search. You saw the one rescue. The search is still going on. We're about a mile downstream from where some of two cars -- people in two cars were swept out of their vehicles. And what you are seeing here is heavy machinery that is still digging through mud and rock and heavy debris. And then just over here to the right to give you sense of the power of a flash flood, teams just a short time ago pulled that white car out of the debris. You can see how smashed in it is. And to the right of them you see all of those women, the women wearing the dark jackets. They are members of the FLDS religious sect. This area is home to that community, and they have been waiting here all night holding vigil, praying for a miracle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the front yard. LAH: Dramatic video this morning showing a massive and deadly flash

flood ripping law small town on the Arizona/Utah border. You can hear the screams from shocked residents stunned by the rushing water. Heavy rain falling in the mountains above the canyon town earlier in the day caused the river to rise rapidly catching onlookers off guard. Watch this video of rescue crews racing to save a car moments from being swept away, children pulled quickly from the car windows. The flood so strong trees uprooted by the current pile up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's pretty powerful.

LAH: A search is still under way for several people after two vehicles carrying a total of 16 parked to watch the flood were swept away by the intense rush of water. At least eight have been found dead, all of the victims mothers and small children, the youngest just four years old.

KEVIN BARLOW, ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF: There are still active flood waters and very dangerous, very treacherous. The banks are caving off. More significant flood than we've had for quite some time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:15:07] KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We spoke to a relative of the missing and she says the people who are missing is a mother, her children and a cousin -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: So, Kyung, so we saw how fast that water is moving. How swiftly the currents are going. Have they adapted the search area to beyond where it first started?

LAH: Yes. We are about the mile downstream from where those cars were swept away. There have been multiple search areas throughout. And what we see here -- you can see some of the machinery is moving back in. They are adjusting based on where they are clearing. This scene once it is cleared they are just going to continue to move down the river until they find all of the missing.

PEREIRA: All right, Kyung. Thank you so much for that update.

CAMEROTA: Michaela, in California, it's not water but fire, devastating three northern counties. The Valley Fire burning more than 60,000 acres, destroying hundreds of thousands of homes and threatening thousands more. And it is far from being contained.

So, let's get right to Dan Simon. He's live in Middletown, California, one of the hardest hit communities by the wildfire.

What does it look like, Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, well, we found yet another neighborhood that has sever more destroyed homes.

At this point the images are very familiar. You see all the twisted metal. It is just a mess. You know, you can't really even make out anything. At this point, you have 600 homes that have been destroyed in this

fire. You take that number alone and it is the worst fire we've seen in quite some time in California, maybe even one of the worst fires we've seen along the West Coast in a number of years.

At this point, the weather I should say is getting a little better. It's cooler, the humidity is rising. So, hopefully, that will help firefighters but at this point the fire is only 10 percent contained.

At this point, we should tell you about the one fatality, a heartbreaking situation. This was a 72-year-old woman who had multiple sclerosis. Her caregiver, she wasn't there at the time. She alerted authorities and said that this woman needed help, but by the time the authorities got there the flames had already engulfed her home.

What a terrible situation. More people have still unaccounted, so it's likely the death toll is going to rise.

Michaela, let's send it back to you.

PEREIRA: And that is the concern -- folks that don't have the ability to get out in time. Hopefully they will make more progress in evacuating people as this fire continues to burn.

Dan, thanks for that update.

I want to overseas now where there's some breaking news for you. New threats out of North Korea this morning. The regime there claiming they have restarted or revamped all their nuclear weapon production plants and ready to use them against the U.S. and any other foes at any time.

CNN's Kathy Novak live in Seoul, South Korea, for us, has the latest for us -- Kathy.

KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Michaela, North Korea has for some time been promising to restart operations at this key nuclear complex. And now it is saying that the complex is indeed fully operational. This is a site that includes a uranium enrichment plant a plutonium production reactor and the North Korea is saying that it is developing nuclear weapons to protect itself from what it sees as the threat from the United States. And it's issuing a threat of its own.

Here's what it says in its state news agency, KCNA, "If U.S. and other hostile forces persistently seek their reckless policy towards the DPRK or North Korea. The DPRK is fully ready to cope with them with nuclear weapons at any time. That is threat of course that some question whether or not North Korea really does have this type of capability but one that both the United States and South Korea are taking very seriously, especially because North Korea is preparing to mark a key anniversary in just a few weeks time. And there has long been speculation it is planning a provocative act."

It is also saying it is preparing to launch a new satellite. Now, for many that is just code for a the ballistic missile technology test and that is the kind of technology North Korea would need to deliver the nuclear weapons it says it has to the United States -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Kathy, thanks so much for all that reporting.

Meanwhile back at home, a man suspected of killing a professor at Delta State University in Mississippi and a woman that he lived with is dead. He was found by authorities with a self inflicted gunshot wound.

CNN's Alina Machado is live with the very latest.

What do we know, Alina?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Alisyn, authorities say Shannon Lamb told investigators he was not going jail and when they finally caught up with him overnight, they say he pulled out a gun and killed himself.

Now, Lamb an instructor at Delta State University was wanted in connection with the death of Ethan Schmidt. Schmidt was a history professor at the university. Police say he was shot in the head in his office on campus yesterday morning.

[08:20:01] No gun was found at the scene. Only two shell casings were left behind. And even though police got there within two minutes, Schmidt's killer was able to get away.

The shooting prompted a lockdown as local and state law enforcement agencies launched a manhunt, and we later learned that Lamb was also wanted in the killing of 41-year-old Amy Prentiss. She was found dead in another city in Mississippi, some 300 miles from campus.

Police say she lived with Lamb and they believe she was killed earlier in the morning. Now, so far, authorities have not released any information on the possible for the professor's killing. All we know is that Lamb and Schmidt taught together at Delta State.

We've also learned that classes are canceled there today. They want to give faculty and students an opportunity to grieve and cope with what's happened. And they're planning a candlelight vigil tonight to honor Professor Schmidt's life -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Just so tragic and still so mysterious, what the motives were.

Thanks so much, Alina.

PEREIRA: I have to show you this crazy, crazy video. Day of fun on the water almost turned out for the worse for a pair of kayakers. They were kayaking off the coast of Central California. Watch.

That is the giant hunch back whale breaching suddenly.

CAMEROTA: Oh my God! PEREIRA: Nearly crushes the people in the kayak. The video was actually taken by some people, whale watching on board Sanctuary Cruise whale watching tour.

The kayakers apparently were knocked into the water you can see there. They were not hurt. I love to kayak. And now I have a new concern.

CAMEROTA: You're rethinking it?

PEREIRA: I don't think I'm rethinking it. But, boy, you can't contend with a whale if it decides to breach on top of you when you have the entire ocean to sort of meander through.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you're right. The whale is being greedy with ocean space. But you can't pay for that kind of tour.

PEREIRA: That's insane. No, you want to two whale watching, look at that. Isn't that insane?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PERERIA: I'm so glad that they're fine. How frightening would that be.

CAMEROTA: All's whale that ends whale.

PEREIRA: She did. She did it.

CAMEROTA: You're welcome.

PEREIRA: She said on purpose, just to steal Chris' bad jokes.

CAMEROTA: That's so good.

PEREIRA: Not even here to acknowledge it.

CAMEROTA: I know, he should enjoy it.

Meanwhile, 15 GOP presidential candidates gearing up to square off tomorrow night's debate right here on CNN. Of course, what's at stake for the presidential hopefuls going head to head? We're going to break it down, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:25:58] DR. BEN CARSON (R), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope we will focus more on the issues and what our vision is and what the solutions are. But you know, sometimes it's hard to resist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right. That was presidential candidate Ben Carson hoping to sidestep controversy he says in tomorrow's highly anticipated GOP debate. So, will Donald Trump once again eclipse the field? Or will a new

star emerge?

Here with their predictions are CNN political commentator and former Reagan White House political director, Jeffrey Lord, and the CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, Kevin Madden.

We have installed you both already in Simi Valley.

And, Jeffrey, there are the podiums behind you where all the action will be happening tomorrow night. Great the see you both.

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to see you too.

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That is right. Let's debate.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, let's do that. Let me show you guys. This is a new poll, hot off the presses. It just came out this hour. It's CBS News and "The New York Times". Let me show you the numbers.

Donald Trump is now at 27 percent. That's not the surprising part. Ben Carson is the surprising part. He is at 23 percent when in August the same poll, similar, he was at 6 percent. And also, Carly Fiorina has surged up to 4 percent from zero, hashtags. Jeb Bush has gone from 13 percent down to 6 percent.

Given all of that, Jeffrey, who will you be keeping your eyes on most tomorrow night?

LORD: The outsiders without a doubt. You know, this is just gone on now to the point where it's pretty clear that what people are saying out there in all of these polls is, they are interested in the outsiders. They are interested in Donald Trump. They're in Ben Carson. There is some interest in Carly Fiorina. They have had it with the professional political class. I think that's the real message.

I'm even wondering if this sort of one-two thing keeps going with Trump and Carson whether or not we're seeing the emergence of the Republican ticket.

CAMEROTA: Hmm, that's interesting. So, Kevin, obviously, we'll be watching the outsiders. There is a lot of buzz of them.

As an establishment candidate what do people like Rubio and John Kasich need to do tomorrow night?

MADDEN: Yes, I think they want to -- look, they really want to capture more energy. They really want to break through. The one thing that has happened with Donald Trump's entrance into the race is he's created his own news cycle, one news cycle after the other. It's all been focused on Donald Trump.

And as a result Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, so many of them have gotten left out of the conversation. So, voters -- as voters have tuned in to those outsiders, as Jeffrey has pointed, and these candidates have to break through and a have a real moment of strength. Debates at their core are performances and they are judged on the moments of the strength or moments of the weakness. So, these other candidates, they have to break through and remind voters why they would be a better candidate who elect somebody or to represent the party in a general election in a way that maybe Ben Carson or Donald Trump because of a lack of electoral experience wouldn't be able to.

CAMEROTA: OK. Very quickly, guys, lightning round, let me just hear like a sentence from each of you in terms of what you're looking for tomorrow.

Let's start with Fiorina -- Jeffrey.

LORD: She's going to try to take on the Donald in some form of fashion.

CAMEROTA: OK. Kevin, what do you think?

MADDEN: I think that's right. But also she sees this a huge opportunity talk directly to voters, because she's also not as well known as some of these other candidates.

CAMEROTA: OK, Jeb Bush, Jeffrey. What are you looking for?

LORD: Survival.

CAMEROTA: And what would that look like?

LORD: He's got a real problem. Well, you know, an assault on Donald Trump? I really don't know. He's had all of these debate practices. He's got a problem and he knows it.

CAMEROTA: Is that what it is going to take? An assault on Donald Trump?

MADDEN: I think any time you are your candidate's goal to be survival, that is a bad thing. I think you want more than that.

One of the problems is Bush is he's got to go out and establish his conservative credibility. So many Republicans believe that he hasn't done enough to really establish that. And his resume as a conservative governor, I think you will see more of that in this debate.