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Trump Doesn't Correct Man Who Calls Obama a Muslim; Clinton Comes to the Defense of Planned Parenthood; Pope Travels to Cuba Tomorrow; Clock-Making Teen Transferring to Another School. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired September 18, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a problem in his country. It's called Muslims. We know our current president is one. You know, he's not even an American.

[07:00:08] JOHNS: The Republican frontrunner back in the headlines after his vague and evasive response to this anti-Muslim supporter at a town hall in New Hampshire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But anyway, we have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That's my question. When can we get rid of them?

TRUMP: We're going to be looking at a lot of different things. You know, a lot of people are saying that...

JOHNS: Trump taking heat for not correcting the man the way Senator John McCain did while running for president in 2008.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't trust Obama. I have read about him, and he's not -- he's an Arab. He is not...

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No?

MCCAIN: No, ma'am. No, ma'am.

JOHNS: Trump's camp claiming the billionaire did not hear the question about Obama being a Muslim, saying, quote, "The media want to make this an issue about Obama, but it's about him waging a war on Christianity."

Still, Democrats quick to pounce. Hillary Clinton, at a substance abuse forum in New Hampshire earlier in the day, tweeted "Not denouncing false statements about the president and hateful rhetoric about Muslims is disturbing and wrong. Cut it out."

This as Jeb Bush ratchets up a strategy to keep his debate momentum going on the campaign trail, joking at a rally in Las Vegas.

BUSH: I hope I will be so brilliant and so eloquent and so high- energy.

JOHNS: And calling out Trump's gaps in foreign policy knowledge.

BUSH: I'm not going to get my foreign policy based on "watching the shows" or say, "Don't worry about it, I'll figure it out later."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.

BUSH: You need a president with a steady hand because this is a dangerous world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: And the chair of the Democratic National Committee called Trump's comments at the rally "horrendous but unsurprising."

What makes this latest Trump story more controversial is the history. In 2011, Donald Trump publicly challenged President Obama's citizenship and asked for him to release his birth certificate, which he later did -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Joe. Thanks so much for that.

House Republicans, meanwhile, are planning to force several votes today aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood, with some conservative members even threatening a government shutdown at the end of the month. This as Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton comes to Planned Parenthood's defense.

CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux on the campaign trail with Clinton in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

Well, Hillary Clinton and her team, they are welcoming this fight, this battle, the controversy over Planned Parenthood. They are in the middle of a three-day swing here in the critical state of New Hampshire, and four polls show her main opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, in the lead, 23 points on one poll with independent and new voters.

So this is an issue that certainly resonates with a group of people that she believes she can reach. She is trying to reach those female voters, the new voters, independents and moderates.

She distinguishes herself very clearly from the Republican candidates who are now calling to defund Planned Parenthood. Some members in Congress, Republicans, who are now threatening to shut the government down over this. And she talked to my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, about this, made it very clear she's been consistent in defending this organization.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We ought to be very clear that Planned Parenthood has served to provide health care, necessary health care for millions of women. And I think that it deserves not only our support, but the continuing funding from the federal government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You're going to hear more of that talk later today. She's going to continue to drum that forward. She's also going to talk about making college more affordable when she goes to Concord later today. Again, going after those young voters and those moderates who she desperately needs -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Suzanne. Thanks for all that.

Joining us now to delve into all the issues of the 2016 race is former Republican senator of Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Good morning, Senator. Thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, FORMER SENATOR OF TEXAS: You bet. It's great to be here. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about Carly Fiorina. Let's start there. And let's talk about the moment that many people felt was the most powerful of the GOP debate. This was between Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump. She was responding to his original comments about her face. Let's watch this for a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it's interesting to me, Mr. Trump said that he heard Mr. Bush very clearly and what Mr. Bush said. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.

TRUMP: I think she's got a beautiful face, and I think she's a beautiful woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Senator, what did you think watching that exchange?

HUTCHISON: Well, I thought she handled it perfectly. But, of course, any kind of a personal attack like that just -- it's just hard to bring it back. And then to come back with the "You're beautiful" was disingenuous, kind of a '50s answer to a 2015 comment. I just was -- I thought Carly handled it so well.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and there were other moments. And that was not just the only moment that she mixed it up with Donald Trump. There were several moments.

Let me show you her poll numbers before the debate. Before the debate, Carly Fiorina was at 3 percent. This is among Republican women voters. This is the latest CNN/ORC poll from last week. What do you think will happen in the next poll? How big of a bump do you think she'll get? HUTCHISON: Well, I think she has put her stamp on this race now. I

think her excellent performances in the debate are going to have results. I think women now have seen a strong, competent, very disciplined person that they didn't know before. And I think she's coming on the scene strong. I really do.

CAMEROTA: You know, poll numbers are, of course, interesting to look at. We love showing them here and watching the horse race.

But what is more important -- and I don't have to tell you -- to the race is money and dollars. This summer, Carly Fiorina had raised about a million dollars. And that is roughly the same as Rick Perry. Rick Perry, as you know, just dropped out last week. So do you believe that this will translate for her to dollars, and if not, how far can she go?

HUTCHISON: Well, I think your point is a good one. You have to have money to have ads, to travel, to see the people and campaign. And I don't know if it will.

But certainly, I think you have seen already one drop out. Probably there will be more, because it is very expensive to run for public office. And if you can't raise the money, then unless you're going to be a self-funder, as some of our candidates are, you're going to probably end up dropping out. But who knows? I don't.

CAMEROTA: Yes. You're referring, of course, to Donald Trump. and I do want to get your thoughts on Donald Trump and what he's doing in this race.

Something happened last night at a town-hall meeting. Donald Trump was asked by a member of the audience what many consider to be a repugnant question about Muslims. Let me show you his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a problem in this country. It's called Muslim. We know our current president is one. You know he's not even an American.

TRUMP: We need this question. His birth certificate (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But anyway, we have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That's my question. When can we get rid of them?

TRUMP: We'll be looking at a lot of different things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Senator, what do you think of Donald Trump's response there to that man?

HUTCHISON: Well, that, I think, is a freshman mistake. When you haven't been in the arena and you have open-mike questions, that you're going to get some of the people who are so far over. Ad I think he just didn't know how to handle it.

I think John McCain handled it perfectly when it happened to him. That's what experience gives you.

I hope that Donald Trump didn't agree with that man. He didn't say he didn't, but he may want to clarify that later.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

HUTCHISON: Because those are the kinds of things that you can't let stand.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, I hear you, that that was a rookie mistake, but it also speaks to his instincts. And his instinct wasn't to shut that man down.

HUTCHISON: Well, I think that you have to disassociate yourself when you're in public office from comments that are off-base, personal attacks as have been made by Mr. Trump. And also when someone says something that just isn't true about your opponent or the president or anyone else.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

HUTCHISON: So I would hope that that would -- I just hope that we get more civil discourse on the issues in these debates and in the campaign.

CAMEROTA: That would be nice.

One last issue to ask you about. This week, there's a looming battle on Capitol Hill over Planned Parenthood and the funding of Planned Parenthood. Some conservative Republicans like Ted Cruz are threatening to shut down the government over this fight. Is that a winning strategy for Republicans?

HUTCHISON: Well, it's very difficult. The shutting down government is kind of -- it's a stage thing that gets attention, but people want government to at least work and for you to have the basic security and the basic needs that people have from government.

CAMEROTA: Sure.

HUTCHISON: And so it's -- that's a tough decision. Now, I think the idea -- well, I just disagree with what Planned Parenthood does in selling parts of fetuses.

CAMEROTA: I mean, of course they say...

HUTCHISON: And aborted babies.

CAMEROTA: ... that they're not selling them. They say that they're recouping their costs. But again, do you believe that Ted Cruz should -- should have this battle about shutting down government over this?

HUTCHISON: Well, that's a very tough question about shutting down government on a principle.

I agree with Ted Cruz's principle, but shutting down government, that -- that has a lot of consequences to a lot of people. And I think that it would be wrong to shut down government. I think we need to just keep this issue in front of people, let the people vote. But I don't think -- I think you have to govern.

CAMEROTA: Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, thanks so much. Great to see you on NEW DAY. Thanks for being here.

HUTCHISON: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: And in case you missed the debate, CNN is re-airing the Republican debate tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Also, mark your calendars. In just three weeks, CNN and Facebook will host the first Democratic candidates' debate. That is on Tuesday, October 13 in Las Vegas. We'll bring that to you -- Chris.

CUOMO: Debate shemate. I'll give you a big event. Pope Francis is going to Cuba tomorrow. Tomorrow he begins his highly anticipated nine-day tour of that island and the U.S. He's coming here, as well. Three big cities: D.C., Philly, New York.

But let's start in Havana. That's where CNN's Patrick Oppmann is with a preview.

Hey, Patrick, I'll see you soon.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: See you soon, Chris.

And the pope, as he so often does, did something unprecedented last night. He addressed the people of Cuba via state TV, and his message was very simple. He said he's looking forward to meeting them, shaking hands with them, praying with them. This is one of the place he'll be doing that.

Havana's Plaza de La Revolucion is the center of power. It's usually where Fidel and Raul Castro spoke over the years. And we're expecting hundreds of thousands of Cubans to pour in from around the country, join the pope here on Sunday.

This is going to be something of a victory lap for this pope who has been so crucial in improving U.S./Cuban relations.

Then, from the other end of the island, he'll do something that no pope has ever done before, Chris. He will fly directly to the United States. There in the U.S., he will go to Washington, D.C., where he will address a joint session of Congress; then on to Philadelphia and New York. This is a pope that so often likes to go off-script, do unprecedented things, break protocol; and we're expecting he will do exactly that during this trip to Cuba and the U.S.

Back to you, Michaela.

CUOMO: I'll take it. Because we want to make sure that everybody knows, Patrick, that you're going to be on TV a lot, taking us through Cuba and all the big moments with the pope. We're going to have comprehensive coverage of the pope's trip to Cuba and then, of course, coming here to the U.S. It will begin tomorrow and all of next week. I'm going to take off a little bit early today to get to Havana and start our coverage there tonight. We'll give you every different angle we can on this big visit -- Mick.

PEREIRA: All right. At 12 minutes past the hour, we're learning now more about the Muslim teen who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock that he invented to his Texas school. This family is now saying he's not going to return to that school for classes.

CNN's Nick Valencia joins us live from the CNN Center in Atlanta with the latest. So some negative but a whole lot of positive coming out of this story, too.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An outpouring of support. What a week for 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, Michaela.

He was arrested on Monday, charged with accused of making a fake bomb. By Wednesday, that came that outpouring of sport. He had received internship offers from Reddit and Twitter and even an invitation to the White House from President Obama. You see him there on Monday in handcuffs.

Last night in Irving, Texas, his hometown, his supporters rallied around him, holding signs, "I stand with Ahmed," that now-famous slogan. His supporters say that his arrest an example of the Islamophobia in this country and the deep racial divisions.

Ahmed himself said that his arrest reminded him of all the times that he was bullied and made fun of in middle school, simply because of his ethnicity. Earlier this week, he gave an interview to talk about all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED MOHAMED, ARRESTED FOR HOMEMADE CLOCK: They told me, "No, you can't call your parents. You're in the middle of an interrogation at the moment." They asked me a couple of times, "Is it a bomb?"

And I answered a couple of times, "It's a clock." I felt like I was a criminal. I felt like I was a terrorist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: His father says he is not going back to the school where he was arrested. There's too many painful memories there.

Meanwhile, the Irving Police Department, the chief there defending his officers' actions, saying they had limited information, and the detention was justified.

Meanwhile, that clock that you're looking at there that Ahmed invented on Monday, that's going to be returned to him. The police say he can pick it up whenever he's ready -- Alisyn. CAMEROTA: OK, Nick. Thanks so much.

Here's another story about a police incident and a teenager. The family of the California teenager filing a formal complaint against the Stockton Police Department after their son was arrested by nine officers. This video shows the officers tackling the unidentified 16- year-old, who appears to be crying. They bring him to the ground there.

He claims he was stopped for jaywalking. But police say that the teenager was obstructing a lane that was for buses only and refused to move. They claim the situation escalated when he tried to grab an officer's baton.

PEREIRA: Holy cow. That's a huge response.

CAMEROTA: It is a huge response.

CUOMO: And now we're going to have to find out why they say they brought so many units on scene, why they say that type of force was justified. There will be another window into policing and whether or not the force that's used in a situation is appropriate or not. At a minimum when we have the opportunity to look at it, we should.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, you always need to know what happened the moment before the camera started rolling.

PEREIRA: Yes, yes.

CAMEROTA: But when the camera starts rolling, that seems excessive.

CUOMO: Right. It doesn't help to ignore it. It doesn't help to exaggerate it. The best thing to do is to look at it, get the facts and move from there.

All right. Let's take a little quick break.

When we come back, we do want to talk about Pope Francis. This is very, very exciting. It's a historic trip to Cuba, and certainly, to the United States. And the fact that this pope will be the first to address Congress. What is he going to say in Cuba? What is he going to say here? We're going to speak with the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, also known as the Vatican, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Pope Francis. Francis, Il Poverino, the poor one. Such a statement Pope Francis made when he took that name. and now he's ready to make another big statement. He's going to Cuba.

He arrives in Havana tomorrow. It's going to be a very closely watched trip to Cuba. And then when he comes here to the United States. The Holy Father is going to head to Washington on Tuesday. He's going to get -- also here in New York, and he's going to finish up in Philadelphia at Council of the Families. It's a big deal. He's coming here while he is wildly popular. Nearly two-thirds of Americans have a favorable view of the pope.

So let's get some perspective. Ambassador Kenneth Hackett, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, also known as the Vatican.

Ambassador, I bought a new suit for this. That's how excited I am. I hope it holds up in the Havana heat and humidity.

Let's start with why Cuba. Why is he going there?

KENNETH HACKETT, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE HOLY SEE: Well, as you know and your viewers know, the U.S. and Cuba announced in December of last year that there was a rapprochement, an agreement to work more closely together.

And the Vatican, the Holy See and Pope Francis were, in a way, instrumental. Certainly, they gave credibility to the U.S. and Cuba talking to each other and changing the relationship that had been stale for five decades. So...

CUOMO: But what does he want to do there? What does he want to accomplish in Cuba?

HACKETT: Well, first of all, I think he wants to be a pastor, and he wants to extend his concern to the Cuban people.

It's highly likely that he would raise some concern about the persecution of people and the jailing of people, human rights activists. He wants to support the church; and he wants to encourage government and church to work more closely in the future.

CUOMO: You think he's going to openly ask the Cuban government to allow more free practice of religion there?

HACKETT: Yes, I do.

CUOMO: Really?

HACKETT: Pope Francis doesn't hesitate when he feels strongly about something. And I think that's an issue that he feels strongly about.

CUOMO: Now, there is much discussion that, when Pope Francis comes to the United States, he's going to give capitalism a big punch in the nose. Do you think that he will be that direct in kind of making some direct criticisms of the nature of America and its money culture?

HACKETT: No. I don't. And I think that's an exaggeration. He sees problems with the excesses of capitalism and just the excessive striving after profit so that it affects people; and people fall through the cracks and the poor are hurt. That's where he will focus.

He is somebody who has a great concern. He knows about hard work and he knows that Americans work hard every day and the majority of Americans are striving to feed their families and educate their kids. And that he will applaud. But it's the excesses that he's concerned about.

CUOMO: Do you think the message will be the same throughout, or do you think it will be specifically tailored once he gets to Congress?

HACKETT: I think it will be the same throughout. He has strongly held values which he repeats over and over again. The care for creation. He's concerned about the persecution of Christians and other minorities in parts of the world. He's concerned, obviously, about people who fall through the cracks, the homeless, the migrants. Every day in Europe, we see a new migrant flow. And -- and he's aware of that, as well. And he may raise that issue when he comes to the United States.

CUOMO: We're expecting the comments about capitalism, the excesses, global warming. That will all have political implications. But then it's how he addresses the Catholic community.

And as you know, there is a division here for those conservatives who are worried about what the Catholic identity is and is, even by suggestion, Pope Francis softening the faith? What do you think his message will be?

HACKETT: Oh, I don't think he's softening the faith. He's talking about a faith that's full of mercy and compassion and care. He's saying the Christian faith is one of love. And he's not diminishing or laying aside important dogmatic issues within the Catholic faith. He's just raising up other issues. And as I say, mercy and compassion, care for people. That's what he wants.

CUOMO: It's interesting, though, the timing, Ambassador, that he comes here just as we're clashing in this culture war, the crucible of which seems to be the acceptance of alternative -- not lifestyle, but you know, that you have the gay community and LGBT and their assertion of rights and the gay marriage decision. And now comes the pope.

Do you think he'll weigh in?

HACKETT: I think he has already said over and over again, respect for human dignity. Everybody's human dignity. Concern for people as they are. And if they're trying to strive to live a good life, then he expressed his concern and compassion for people.

[07:25:11] So he's not saying exclude people. He's saying bring them in. Welcome them warm -- warmly and with love.

CUOMO: A message the country needs. We'll see which portions of it accept it. And we will remember that the pope is the first pope to use the word "gay" and to say, "Who am I to judge?" If -- there was a big context there. And we'll see how he makes it contextual when he gets here.

Ambassador, I'm sure you're excited. I know we are. And thank you very much for the insight.

HACKETT: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. So be sure to tune in to a "CNN SPECIAL REPORT" to kind of set the table for you: "The People's Pope." We'll have it for you next Tuesday night at 9 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Mick, you'll get a really good sense of who the man is that became

pope. Because it's really instrumental in understanding why he does what he does.

PEREIRA: We're looking forward to seeing that, and that suit looks fantastic.

CUOMO: Thank you very much.

PEREIRA: You're welcome.

All right. So the big debate happened. Now we're just starting to see the ramifications coming to light after that debate here on CNN. Which candidates are rising? Whose candidacy could be in jeopardy? We're going to assess the field, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)