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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Rents Iowa Theater for "Benghazi" Movie; New Videos Show Officer Killing Black Teen; "The Person who Changed my Life". Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 15, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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


[10:29:50] AMANDA CARPENTER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIR FOR TED CRUZ: I mean Cruz bet, and his wife Heidi took out a loan betting on themselves because they believed in running for the senate. That's a pretty big risk to take -- four people who have good jobs. I mean Heidi Cruz believes in her husband so much right now, she quit her job at Goldman Sachs to work at the campaign.

And so I think it's a symbol of commitment but other people want to make other things of it. I don't see eye to eye with them on that.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You can't complain about crony capitalism and benefit personally and professionally.

CARPENTER: Where's he supposed to get a loan? I mean is Heidi supposed to go to one of her competing banks where she's never worked to get along. Is he supposed to barter chicken in order to run for senate? It's just such a ridiculous sling. It's like saying --

AVLON: What would that scenario look like, Amanda -- and what are you suggesting?

CARPENTER: What are you suggesting that Ted Cruz can't go get a bank loan --

AVLON: Just the chicken reference is sort of weird, that's all. You're a communication professional. It was a loser for Ted Cruz -- this whole exchange is a loser for Ted Cruz and he's got to be careful. If he wants to try to be the nominee and be President of the United States you got to find out a way to unite America and not divide it for deep demagogue and political gain.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. I'm going to have to leave it there. That was interesting.

John Avlon -- good morning, John Avlon, Amanda Carpenter, thanks.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Hollywood usually swings left in politics but a new movie about Benghazi has a presidential front runner handing out free tickets.

That story is next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benghazi is under attack. We need immediate assistance --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:25] COSTELLO: Donald Trump is just minutes away from the start of a big day in Iowa. First up a rally in Urbandale kicking off in just about a half hour followed by a campaign even that may be the first of its kind.

Mr. Trump is actually renting out an entire movie theater and he's handing out free tickets to see the movie "13 Hours" -- that's the Michael Bay movie about the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's under attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got the U.S. Ambassador at risk, you've got to send us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not the first responders. You will wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not even supposed to be here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Losing initiative.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I was hoping you'd hear him -- there it is. "Stand down" -- that's what I was waiting for. That stand down can be taken as an attack on Secretary Clinton but so far, no congressional investigation has found that to be true although one investigation is still underway.

Still, the Republican candidates wasted no time firing off attacks about Hillary Clinton and why Benghazi makes her unqualified to be president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton famously asked "what difference does it make" how four Americans died in Benghazi. Mrs. Clinton -- here's what difference it makes. When you do not stand up and say the truth that this was a purposeful terrorist attack, when you do not say the United States of America will retaliate for that attack, terrorists assume it's open season.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton would be a national security disaster. Think about, she wants to continue down the path of Iran, Benghazi --

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Someone who lies to the families of those four victims in Benghazi can never be president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. With me now to talk about this is former Reagan adviser, Charmaine Yoest, she's also a former senior adviser for the 2008 Huckabee campaign. I'm also joined by CNN political commentator and former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign manager, Patty Solis- Doyle.

Welcome to both of you.

PATTY SOLIS DOYLE FORMER HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Hi, Carol.

CHARMAINE YOEST, FORMER ADVISER TO HUCKABEE CAMPAIGN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Hi, thanks for being here. Charmaine, this Benghazi movie "13 Hours", will it bolster Republican claims that Clinton didn't send help in time to save the Americans who died there? Is this the leftist Hollywood's gift to the GOP?

YOEST: It's absolutely a gift to the GOP and the entire stage last night did a really good job of subtly connecting this new movie and the Benghazi theme to what's really foremost in American's minds right now which is the image of Americans on their knees with their hands behind their backs -- behind their heads on the deck of an Iranian war boat.

So the timing of the movie release of having people so concerned about terrorism and then tying that together in their behinds with Benghazi is really, really damaging for the Democrats as a whole but Hillary in particular, of course.

And it's really a gift to Donald Trump. This is a really brilliant move of his to show the movie in Iowa because it fits right in with his kind of reality TV show campaign and gives him the opportunity to talk about a movie instead of delving into the fine points of policy and to talk to Americans on a very -- on a level we all like to talk about a movie.

And so this intersection of entertainment and the campaign is really a remarkable moment in a campaign season that already is characterized by a lot of different approach.

COSTELLO: Ok. Just an observation about the movie, Patty, reviewers say the movie is strangely apolitical. There's no mention of Hillary Clinton in the movie or of Susan Rice blaming the violence on the video. It's more like a patriotic violent feel good film. Does it really matter so much in the political world?

DOYLE: Look, I think it's great that Donald Trump is providing more entertainment to his supporters and in addition to his circus like candidacy. But this is what this movie is, it's entertainment. It's based not on fact but on fiction and box office draw.

I think that if the American people want to get a good grasp on what happened in Benghazi, instead of watching the movie, "13 Hours", they should watch 11 hours of Hillary Clinton's testimony in front of the Benghazi committee because that's a real reflection of what went on.

YOEST: We know the reality Patty though is they're not going to watch that testimony. They're going to watch the movie. And that's the reality of American political life these days. And if there's anything that we're learning from this political campaign cycle, it's that our politics is moving towards entertain.

[10:40:00] Really although going back to something that is near to me, Ronald Reagan taught us that politics is about theater, it's about the big stage. And Americans want someone who speaks in that language and is able to connect together the themes of patriotism and the American flag and how we're going to stand up in the world.

COSTELLO: Ok. You know, interestingly enough, Patty, some analyst say the film, "The Big Short", is a propaganda film meant to help Bernie Sanders. Is it?

DOYLE: Well, I have not seen "13 Hours". I did see "The Big Short" and it is wildly entertaining. I will say that. I'm a big fan of the stars.

Look, guys, this is Hollywood. This is entertainment. This is not real life. This is not politics. I think Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have each given their view of Wall Street and their ideas on Wall Street reform and that's what voters need to base their votes on. Not Hollywood movies.

COSTELLO: Charmaine -- have you heard that? That "The Big Short" -- go ahead.

YOEST: Well, I was just going to say sure, they need to pay attention to policy and that's what all of us care about so deeply. That's what gets us into politics. But listen, I've been to so many of these debates.

But last night in the audience I have never been to a debate where there was so much interaction with the audience. They were raucous, they were engaged. They were heckling. They were booing. They were cheering. I've never seen anything like it.

This was an audience that really wants to be part of this campaign and it's vey different than what you usually see.

COSTELLO: I would have to agree with that. Charmaine Yoest --

DOYLE: I do too.

COSTELLO: Patty -- yes, Patty Solis Doyle -- thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, new cries this morning for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to stand down but the mayor stands firm. Hear what he says about the quote, "cancer of police abuse".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:25] COSTELLO: All right. As you know, there've been calls for the Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down over alleged police brutality. In that town, there's an MLK breakfast being held this morning. Amid many, many protests, Rahm Emanuel spoke to the people attending to breakfast. Let's see what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL (D), CHICAGO: To deal with the violence that claims lives on our streets, mostly the lives of young African American men, we also have to root out the cancer of police abuse because the quest for safe and secure neighborhoods and against violence demands trust between the community and the police. When there is no trust there is no safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. All of this arises out of the release of a new video showing the final moments of 17-year-old Cedric Chatman's life. This is surveillance footage. You can see Chatman running away from police after an apparent car jacking. Officers chase him down the street. You can see that officer there. He's at the ready and he shot and killed Chatman.

It turned out Chatman was not armed with a weapon. Instead he had an iPhone case. Of course, this is causing a lot of unrest in the city of Chicago. These protests are going on right now. Do we have shots of the protests that we can show people? All right.

All right. Here are the protests. This is outside of that prayer breakfast where you heard Rahm Emanuel speaking to those assembled. It was organized by Bishop Tavis Grant. He joins us now live with reaction. Good morning, sir.

BISHOP TAVIS GRANT, ANTIOCH NETWORK: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. When you watch that video, what goes through your mind?

GRANT: My heart was broken. Many of these victims from Phillip Coleman, (inaudible), Darryn Hannah who have lost their lives in brutal, heinous, cold-hearted ways; and it is very much depressing.

COSTELLO: So you heard what Mayor Emanuel said. He said that the city of Chicago has to work to rid the city of this cancer of police abuse. When you hear the mayor say such things -- what do you think?

GRANT: I think rhetoric without results leaves one to wonder how serious you are as relates to action. The last that we heard from the mayor he gave the city a lecture rather than giving it leadership and during that time his lawyers were in court making every attempt to suppress the material that we saw on yesterday. And as your viewers just saw, this young man was killed in some type of cowboyism shoot them up western style in broad daylight where several citizens were on the street, young people, children out of school. He did not have a weapon. He did not pose a threat. He did not turn into the direction of the officer and he lost his life.

And even more so, one of the officers stand over him with a foot on top of his body as if he is some type of wild game. This kind of behavior is unacceptable. It's unethical. It is illegal and above all else it's immoral.

COSTELLO: And it took a great effort on a part of people like you to get this video released to the public. Mayor Rahm Emanuel obviously is trying to make up for past transgressions and that's why he said such things at the breakfast. Is there anything the mayor can do to restore trust in your mind?

He could have said today that he has informed the corporation council, law department to release all dash cam, all audio, all video

He could have said to the community over 400 cases have come before April. This one case came before April. its investigator and African American lawyer Lorenzo Davis lost his job. The former chair quit his job and they ruled this shooting justifiable.

I mean it is outrageous to think that we're still going around in circles rearranging the chairs on a Titanic.

[10:50:07] We need results. We want justice. We want fair investigations. Just two weeks ago a grandmother and young man were killed and many of your reports have detailed that police officers even turned in false claims to the coroner's office.

This is a systemic. It's a culture. Mr. Baker was released from prison last night after serving nine years in prison due to police officer misbehavior and corruption. It's a culture of corruption. The mayor must give us results and must give us leadership" or we're not going to stop marching, we're not going to stop protesting and we're not going to turn our voices down. We want change and we want change for everybody.

COSTELLO: All right. Bishop Tavis Grant -- thank you for being with me this morning.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:12] COSTELLO: All right. I want to take you out to Urbandale, Iowa. This is a Donald Trump rally about to begin. You can there are already a lot of people assembled. Donald Trump is set to take the podium maybe at the top of the hour or 11:30 Eastern. I'm not sure which but when he does, of course, we'll dip in for you.

Finally this morning -- I want to take you a step back for a moment and think about your life, where you're at, what you've achieved, who you are. Is there someone who comes to mind as the person who helped get you there, the person who changed your life?

For me, there is. While I was reluctant at first, ultimately I cannot wait to share them with you on CNN's upcoming week long series. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My son helped make me change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people changed lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you believe we're back here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Join the familiar faces of CNN as they share their special someone with you.

MICHELLE PEREIRA, CNN HOST: The voyage that your suggestions sent me on.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I learned this from you. You have to ask important questions on the most important issues of the day.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Without my mom I am certain I would not be where I am.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: If you were to ask me someone important is a mentor. And if they told you, nothing important it probably means they never had a great e. .

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at that dot. That's the letter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You found it.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Very few people who tell you the truth. You do that.

"THE PERSON WHO CHANGED MY LIFE", a week-long CNN event starts Sunday on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: "THE PERSON WHO CHANGED MY LIFE", starts this Sunday only on CNN.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BOLDUAN" after a break.

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