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NEW DAY SUNDAY

Trump Takes Heat Over Chicago Shooting Tweet; Vigil Today In Memory Of Dwyane Wade's Cousin; Trump Takes Heat Over Chicago Shooting Tweet; Clinton Slammed Over Mentor's Former Ties To KKK; Southwest Flight Lands After Major Engine Failure; Donald Trump's Chicago Shooting Tweet; 49ers' Quarterback Refuses To Stand For National Anthem; Latino Journalist Blasts Donald Trump; Rescuing Furry Victims of Louisiana's Flooding. Aired 6-7a

Aired August 28, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The cousin of NBA star, Dwyane Wade, a great guy, Dwyane wade, was the victim of a tragic shooting.

TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The tweet isn't important. What's important is this horrible crime. Sympathy for the family is the thing we ought to be feeling.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton called black youth super predators. Remember that?

KAINE: He's got guys connected with the Klu Klux Klan. They're claiming him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Passengers on board a Southwest airlines flight feared the worst when they heard a big boom as one of the plane's engines blew.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt like half of the plane almost like capsized.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're definitely grateful that we were still safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Round of applause for the captain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. We're always so grateful to have your company. Welcome to Sunday. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. Listen, we've got a lot to talk about this morning, including quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, stirring up controversy by refusing to stand during the national anthem. There have been a lot of reaction to that. We'll get to that. But first, the Trump campaign on the defensive again. This

time the GOP nominee is taking heat for this tweet following the death of NBA superstar, Dwyane Wade's cousin.

And this is what he sent out, "Dwyane Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago, just what I have been saying. African-Americans will vote Trump."

PAUL: So in other words, that was the first thing that he tweeted as soon as this happened. After critics slammed him online, he tried to redirect the conversation on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP (via telephone): It's so unfair to have a mother walking down the street with a young daughter, a young boy, and somebody gets shot whether it's the mother or the child. It's happening all the time. You look at what's happening in the communities. You look at the tremendous violence. We can stop that immediately. We can over a longer period of time fix the education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: The Clinton campaign was quick to blast Trump's initial response. Vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, saying he struck the wrong tone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We ought to just be thinking -- we ought to be extending our sympathy to the family. That's the only reaction that's appropriate right now and maybe a sadness about this gun violence issue, which we know it's complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now Sunlen Serfaty is in Des Moines, Iowa at Senator Joni Ernst annual Roast and Ride fundraiser.

BLACKWELL: Yes, that's following the Trump campaign and the backlash to Trump's Saturday tweet. Sunlen, hello.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONENT: Good morning, Christi and Victor. Donald Trump causing quite the uproar over social media tweeting about the tragic killing of Dwyane Wade's cousin and noting that he believes the uptick in inner city violence is one of the main reasons he believes that African-Americans will vote for him in November.

These sort of comments met with immediate criticism, especially as he brought up this recent tragic killing, noting that he was politicizing the moment, that he's inserting himself into this tragedy.

Donald Trump here in Des Moines speaking to a predominantly white audience again trying to reach out to African-American voters and specifically he brought up this recent killing. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: More than 6,000 African-Americans are the victims of murder, of murder, every single year. Just yesterday the cousin of NBA star, Dwyane Wade, a great guy, Dwyane Wade, was the victim of a tragic shooting in Chicago.

She was the mother of four and was killed while pushing her infant child in a stroller just walking down the street, shot. It breaks all of our hearts to see it. It's horrible, it's horrible.

And it's only getting worse and this shouldn't happen in our country. This shouldn't happen in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And adding to the criticism is Senator Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate, who while he was out campaigning, criticized Donald Trump for highlighting this case. He said the only response right now that is appropriate is expressions of sympathy to their family -- Christi and Victor.

PAUL: All righty, Sunlen, thank you so much. Trump's message comes amid this surge of gun violence in the city. We've been talking about it with you for months. According to the "Chicago Tribune," look what the headline is this morning, "Three people have been killed and at least 15 others have been injured in shootings since yesterday afternoon," not even a 24-hour period.

[06:05:05]And that number doesn't include one of the more high profile shootings, the killing of Nykia Aldridge. She is the cousin of NBA superstar, Dwyane Wade. Family and friends are planning to hold a prayer vigil for her later this afternoon.

She was shot in the head and arm while she was simply out with her newborn baby in a stroller. She died a short time later at the hospital, leaving behind four children. That baby was not hurt. Of course, now that baby is going to grow up without a mother, so physically not hurt, we should point out.

Rashan Ali has been checking out the latest with this. We understand they have -- police have talked to a couple of people of interest.

RASHAN ALI, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Right. A dispute involving an Uber driver led to the shooting of Dwyane Wade's cousin according to Chicago police. So far no arrests have been made in this case. Investigators say two men had an argument with the driver that escalated this gun fire on Friday.

Nykea Aldridge was headed to school to register some of her other children when she was caught in the cross fire. The mother of four was simply pushing her 3-week-old newborn baby in a stroller at the time.

A special prayer vigil is planned in her honor this afternoon at Pastor Jilanda Wade's New Creation Church. This isn't the first time a relative of Dwyane Wade has been the victim of violence.

Back in March of 2012, Wade's nephew was shot twice in the leg during a robbery attempt in a Chicago convenience store. One man was killed and five others including Wade's nephew were hurt.

Aldridge's death comes one month after the Chicago Bulls superstar joined fellow NBA players on stage at the Espys pleading for an end to racial profiling and gun violence.

On Thursday, just one day before the shooting, Wade took part in an ESPN round table discussion about violence in his hometown of Chicago. At least 455 people have been shot to death in Chicago in the first of seven and a half months of 2016. That's according to the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper, which has been tracking every homicide in the city.

PAUL: We're going to have a larger conversation about this with Cedric Alexander in just a little while about Chicago and what to do and how to move forward here. So Rashan, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the political implications now and bring in the political panel this morning, A. Scott Bolden who is the former chairman of the Washington, D.C. Democratic State Committee and a Hillary Clinton supporter along with Donald Trump's senior adviser, former congressman from Georgia, Jack Kingston. Good morning to both of you.

Congressman, I want to start with you. Stewart Steven summed up the criticism of Trump's tweet this way. "As ever Donald Trump experiences human tragedy through one prism, what's in it for me?"

Why did Donald Trump in this tweet pair this tragic death of his mother with African-Americans will vote Trump?

JACK KINGSTON, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: I think number one he did express sympathy very abundantly at the Ohio rally and --

BLACKWELL: Three hours later.

KINGSTON: And I think what he's doing is under scoring the fact that we do have problems in the inner city, often affecting African- Americans more than other populations.

And I think the big story here isn't what he tweeted, it's the 6,000 African-Americans who have been murdered this year. That's where we need to be focusing.

The fact that a Republican candidate or any candidate is reaching out and talking about that should be a positive thing, not just for African-Americans but for all of the country.

If you look at the failed policies that we have seen in so many of the inner cities run by Democrats and the fact that the murder rates in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and Newark, New Jersey, and of course, Chicago have skyrocketed this last year, that should be a campaign issue.

It shouldn't be about what was tweeted and was wasn't tweeted. It's about what are we going to do about this.

BLACKWELL: All right, so Scott, you hear what the congressman is saying there. The candidates often use tragedies to discuss specific issues and their plans for them. His statement is this is something that should happen. Your response?

A.SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN WASHINGTON, D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, it certainly should not happen. This was a crass -- who Donald Trump is, he saw a tragedy, a woman who's left the family, who's been killed tragically and his first response is black people vote for Trump. She just got shot and killed.

Highly, highly, highly in appropriate that's the first thing. So there's no real answer to that. That's Donald Trump because when his handlers got to him, then he offered his condolences.

Listen, this is not a black problem secondly. This is an American problem. This happens in poor communities, black, white and brown. And so -- and we have a Republican governor for the state of Illinois, we have a Republican Congress.

This is all of our problem. I'd like to have the Republicans work with Democrats on reducing gun violence, shutting down the gangs in Chicago, which make up 70 percent of these shootings and get some reasonable gun control in place. Stop gun sales at gun shows and do reasonable background checks.

[06:10:11]BLACKWELL: Congressman, let me ask you about this because it appears to be that there is a pattern here. Let's put up the tweet from June after the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.

Trump tweeted, "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism. I don't want the congrats. I want toughness and vigilance. We must be smart."

If you didn't want them, why acknowledge them instead of first acknowledging the loss of those families and the deaths of those victims? There is a pattern here. Why does Donald Trump through these tweets, again I don't know the man, I don't know what's in his heart, think me first, at least by this rhetoric from the tweets?

KINGSTON: Victor, remember, Donald Trump is not a politician. He's never held --

BLACKWELL: He is a politician. He's running for president.

KINGSTON: OK. Is this not a little bit ankle biting here when you're saying let's focus on the tweets and not the bigger problem. Forty nine people were killed in Orlando and the murderer's, the terrorist's father goes to a Hillary Clinton rally. And he's a pro-Taliban guy. That's very scary to me.

BLACKWELL: Congressman, let me push back on that because it's not as if I'm digging for something that was not supplied by the candidate himself. He tweeted out that message on June 12th. He tweeted out the message yesterday. These are things that he is offering. He is a politician because he's running for president.

KINGSTON: You know, in his speech yesterday in Iowa he spent a lot of time on this. He was very eloquent. He was very sincere, both in his sympathy to the Wade family but also to the bigger picture.

And the bigger picture is not guns. It's interesting that the Democrats rush in after a tragedy and talk about gun control, but that's not political. But when Donald Trump does whatever he says it's political.

I mean, a little bit -- let's be honest with ourselves about this. The reality is in the inner cities you have failed education programs. You have the decimation of families. You don't have the jobs and opportunities, and that affects all populations.

I agree with Scott on that. It's not an African-American problems. It's all of our problems and Donald Trump is saying what do you have to lose to look at the alternatives?

And to me what I've said is if I'm selling you a car and you've already told me you're not going to buy it from my competitor, well, I'm not going to be as competitive as I could be.

I think the best thing not just for African-Americans but for all populations is to look at both parties and see what they have to offer instead of just shutting one out.

BLACKWELL: Scott?

BOLDEN: Well, let me just say this, it's an excellent point. What are the Republicans offering African-Americans, right? African- Americans are very interested in equal rights, gun control, criminal justice reform, human rights, civil rights, abortion rights.

Republicans got any of that on their platform list? No. That's why African-Americans are with Democrats who fight to protect those rights and fight for more of those rights and fight against Republicans who try to block that at every stage in Congress.

So it's one thing to say you want my vote as an African- American. It's a completely different thing, what are you offering me? When you want my vote, you've got to ask me out on a date and give me some reason to stop seeing the person that I'm seeing. Right now the Republicans don't have anything to offer. Thanks but no thanks.

BLACKWELL: Well, the argument that the Republicans have been making is that there has been very little if any progress in this city. As we just heard from Christie, that headline, three dead, 15 wounded in just the last 20 hours or so. Both of you stay with us. We're going to continue this

conversation in just a moment. It's good to have both of you with us this morning -- Christie.

PAUL: We have to talk about Trump and Clinton trading barbs over who would be better or worse for African-Americans and Latinos. But Hillary Clinton is being attacked for describing a former member of the KKK as a friend and mentor. Victor will talk more about that in a moment.

Also panic and fear on board a Southwest flight as major engine trouble forces it to make an emergency landing. That's what is happening inside.

Also, a star NFL quarterback taking a stance by sitting down for the national anthem. As you can imagine, a lot of debate over this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:29]

BLACKWELL: All right, back now with our political panel. Hillary Clinton supporter, A. Scott Bolden, and Donald Trump adviser, former congressman, Jack Kingston.

Trump retweeted a message from his high profile supporters Diamond and Silk, two sisters who often are on the road with him. Here's the tweet.

"Crooked Hillary getting desperate on TV bashing Trump. @cnn she forgot how she said a KKK member was her mentor. I think they're discussing late West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd.

And the senator did tell CNN that his association with the group was, quote, "The biggest mistake of his life." But Scott, is this a fair point the sisters are raising and then Donald Trump is endorsing here?

BOLDEN: Not at all. Because Donald Trump, this is more tit for tat. The bottom line is Robert Byrd 80 years ago was a member of the KKK. He denounced it 40 years ago or 50 years ago. He's one of the longest -- if not the longest serving member of Senate.

So this tit for tit policy, you can't equate both of them because Hillary Clinton is not retweeting the messages of white supremacists. She's not embracing the Alt-Right. She doesn't have a CEO from Breitbart.

So the credibility when he calls her a bigot or says that this tit for tat rings hollow. It's going to continue to ring hollow until the Donald Trump talks directly to the African-American community and makes himself accountable for all of these flaws in how he deals with race issues and class issues.

BLACKWELL: Scott, let me add this to this conversation because you discussed Robert Byrd being a member of the KKK several decades ago. Of course, he died several years ago, but this was a man who while serving with Hillary Clinton used the n-word on television in an interview in March of 2001 while they were colleagues and she then called this man a friend and mentor.

If you're going to, if it is fair to pair Steve Bannon's history at Breitbart with Donald Trump's beliefs and intentions, is it not also fair in this conversation if you're going to say that Robert Byrd was a friend and mentor that the Clinton campaign should expect the questions about Robert Byrd's history?

[06:20:02]BOLDEN: I don't know whether they should expect it or not. I think they're comparing apples and oranges. One, Senator Byrd is wrong for him to use "n" word in an interview in 2001. I'm sure that Hillary Clinton does not embrace that, chastises that or whoever would use that word.

But they worked together in the Senate. Here and currently Breitbart's CEO is running Donald Trump's campaign. Donald Trump is gratuitously retweeting the messages of white supremacists.

And white supremacists and neo Nazi groups are supporting him. David duke said we're about to take over the Republican Party.

BLACKWELL: Let me get Jack in here. Congressman?

KINGSTON: well, I have to say this, I don't know anything about Donald Trump retweeting anything from David Duke. I do know this.

BOLDEN: I didn't say from David Duke.

KINGSTON: I do know this. When Sadiq Mateen sat on the front row of Hillary Clinton's rally, a pro-Taliban father of a terrorist, Hillary Clinton waited and waited before she denounced his support.

I do know this, that as somebody who has developed private clubs in Florida, Donald Trump was absolutely on the front end of inclusiveness with African-Americans and other groups that have traditionally been excluded from them.

I do know this, Jessie Jackson has recently praised Donald Trump for opening up real estate to his Rainbow Push Coalition. And I do know this. Donald Trump has run hundreds and hundreds of businesses. And if he had a history of discrimination, believe me, we would all know about it.

BOLDEN: We're living that history in this campaign right now.

BLACKWELL: We've got to move on here, but this is certainly discussed in the "New York Times" this morning, a really detailed piece about some of Donald Trump's practices and the practices of his father. We may get to those later in the show. But A. Scott Bolden, Congressman Kingston, thank you both for being with us.

Jake Tapper's exclusive interview with Republican vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence, that's coming up on "STATE OF THE UNION." They'll talk about what's next in this fierce battle for the White House. "STATE OF THE UNION" today is on at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: You can imagine some frightening moments for passengers aboard a Southwest flight when the plane was forced to land after major engine issues. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was an attack or that the plane was going to go down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt like half of the plane almost like capsized on the other side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:57]

PAUL: Seriously think about how you would have reacted in the moments on a Southwest Airlines plane like this. It made an emergency landing after its number one engine failed mid-flight. No injuries to the 105 people aboard. Kudos to those pilots obviously, but it freaked people out as they told CNN affiliate, WESH.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like an explosion.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (voice-over): Some of the 99 passengers on board a Southwest Airlines flight headed to Orlando from New Orleans feared the worst when they heard a big boom as one of the plane's engines blew.

JULIE STEPHENS, PASSENGER: I thought it was an attack and that the plane was going to go down.

TRAVIS STEPHENS, PASSENGER: It felt like half of the plane capsized on the other side so I was kind of worried about that.

TAMMY RICHARD, PASSENGER: I had my 5-year-old sitting next to me. I looked out the window. There was a lot of smoke and then I kind of held him real close to me and I looked back and it was gone. I just saw metal flapping.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Passengers tell us as oxygen masks deployed, the pilots and crew members stayed calm telling them the flight would be diverted. Minutes later they were touching down in Pensacola without further incident.

TRAVIS STEPHENS: Round of applause for the captain.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And later a different plane brought all from Flight 3472 to its rightful destination, Orlando International safely. RICHARD: I know God was with us the whole time. Had that punctured the interior cabin, we'd be dead.

JULIE STEPHENS: We're definitely grateful that we were still safe and watched over and we had good pilots.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, thanks for that report. Trump now giving some specifics about his plan for immigration, including what he would do on day one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Mortgage rates inched up this week. Here's your look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:26]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade, a great guy, Dwyane Wade, was the victim of a tragic shooting.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The tweet isn't important. What's important is, you know, this horrible crime -- sympathy for the family is the thing that we ought to be feeling.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton called black youth super predators. Remember that? Super predators.

KAINE: He's got guys connected with the Ku Klux Klan. They're claiming him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. Good to be with you on this Sunday morning.

The Trump campaign is trying to redirect the conversation this morning after Donald Trump tweeted this response to the death of a mother of four in Chicago. And some people are accusing him of politicizing her death.

"Dwyane Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago, just what I have been saying. African-Americans will vote Trump."

PAUL: The Clinton campaign was quick to blast Trump's initial response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAINE: ... family owned business. It is also a family (INAUDIBLE). Let's take that -- TRUMP: It's so unfair to have a mother walking down a street with a young daughter, a young boy, and somebody gets shot. Whether it's the mother or the child it's happening all the time. You look at what's happening in the communities. You look at the -- the tremendous violence.

And we can stop that immediately. We can -- over a longer period of time fix the education.

KAINE: We ought to just be thinking -- we just ought to be extending our sympathy to the family. That's the only -- that's the only reaction that's appropriate right now. And maybe a sadness about this gun violence issue which we know is complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN political commentator and political anchor of Time Warner Cable News, Errol Louis is joining me now.

Good morning, Errol.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Christi.

PAUL: So I want to start with the tweet on Dwyane Wade's cousin more than an hour later after that initial one just talked about. Trump tweeted again saying, "My condolences to Dwyane Wade and his family on the loss of Nykea Aldridge. They are in my thoughts and prayers."

It was an hour later. Is the message too late at that point? I don't want to -- I don't want to discount the fact that he -- that he put it out there. It's what, I think, most people were thinking when they first heard about it but is anyone in his camp working with him on say his Twitter etiquette? Because I'm wondering what the camp thought when they saw that first tweet go out.

LOUIS: Well, to be honest with you, I think, I would discount it. Because, you know -- look, some people have done some forensics on this and pointed out that that second tweet came from an iPad. Donald Trump has said he doesn't use iPads. So it's safe to assume that maybe somebody else in his camp did that in an attempt to --

PAUL: Tweeted it for him.

LOUIS: Tweeted it for him in an attempt to sort of clean up what was an unusually obnoxious and insensitive and really disgusting kind of a statement.

I mean, the notion that this kind of tragic murder would lead people to vote for Donald Trump. I mean, if that's true, he should go to the south side of Chicago. He should hold a rally on the south side. He should address the people who he claims are now going to vote for him because of this horrible violence and really make it real.

I think the key thing that you just played, Christi, is him saying we're going to stop this immediately. PAUL: Immediately. Yes, I was just going to ask you about that. Because (ph) you think if -- if you could stop it immediately, wouldn't somebody have done it by now?

LOUIS: Well, look -- yes, that's -- see, now you're thinking logically.

[06:35:01]

I think it's really more importantly -- and I think this is all going to come home to roost for Donald Trump. Not simply on Election Day but in the debates and in other encounters what exactly does he mean, we can stop this immediately? Who? How? What are you going to do?

If there's any integrity to that statement or to the point that he's trying to make by jumping into the middle of something like this without ever addressing the family or even contacting them, well, let's hear it, you know? I mean, let's -- let's talk about this seriously. If he's --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: So now the onus -- now the onus is on him to explain that line of, we could stop this immediately.

LOUIS: Exactly. Him or any -- any of his many, many surrogates who are usually left dangling trying to clean up after what are really sort of spur of the moment kind of exclamations that have no substance behind them.

PAUL: OK. Let's talk about immigration really quickly.

I know that -- we wanted to listen to something that Donald Trump said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: On day one, I'm going to begin swiftly removing criminal illegal immigrants from this country, including removing the hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal immigrants that have been released into the United States and United States' communities under the incompetent Obama/Clinton administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK. So the keyword in this -- in this sound here is criminal. And he was very -- he's being very specific about it now. Is the change in verbiage helping?

LOUIS: Well, I'm still a little curious about it. Here again the details really do matter, you know.

So for example, we know that almost all of criminal law enforcement happened at a very local level. So let's say some sheriff's deputies stop somebody on suspicion of having burglarized a home or something like that and it turns out that their citizenship papers are a little wobbly, are a little bit unclear. What on earth are you going to do from Washington to sort of make something happen along those lines?

So we've got kind of once again an unclear promise and assertion that's being made. I'd also say, though, Christi, that, you know, Donald Trump -- if he were to become president, would be hard pressed to match what the Obama administration has done. I mean, that was the whole meaning of some of the executive orders he issued that got so much condemnation from republicans where he said, look, we're going after the criminals. We're not going to just try and round up everybody whose papers are out of order because that's an impossible task.

PAUL: So --

LOUIS: We should prioritize the people who've committed the crimes.

PAUL: So, Errol, let me ask you this. Because, you know, we see the difference in tone, whether it came from him or somebody on his staff yesterday with the Dwyane Wade situation. We see a lot of questions about where his stance is on immigration.

Is he flip-flopping? Is he changing things? Are we seeing, in your opinion, Donald Trump simply trying to say what he wants to say to win him votes? Or are we witnessing a man who as Jack Kingston said to Victor just a little while ago, this is not a politician?

Are we seeing him learning as he's on the campaign trail? And what is the learning curve? Because he announced his -- he announced his run June 16th of last year. So it's been over a year. What is the learning curve?

LOUIS: Well, they are certainly -- they are building the plane as it's taking off. The problem for Donald Trump and his campaign is that they're running out of runway. They're running out of days. They're running out of news cycles.

He is frankly on the immigration question, he just described, he's doing what is traditional politics. He's doing what is frankly the responsible thing if you want to lead a nation of over 300 million people, which is to sort of stake out your values and your position. You know, get through your primary season and then try to adjust it in such a way that it can, sort of, keep its core but also bring in some of the swing voters, some of the undecided voters, some of the non- partisan voters. And so that's really what he's doing.

You could call it a flip-flop. I mean, you know, you're going to get push back when you try to do that depending on how vociferous you were about claiming that you are going to stick to one position. But he's doing what any politician would do to see if he can actually win a majority, get to the White House and then implement his policies.

The problem is he's doing it in such a clumsy way. And he was so, so, so vociferous. He was so caustic about it all through the last year. Very hard to see how he's going to get back to the middle now.

PAUL: All right, all right. Well, Errol Louis, always appreciate your insight. Thanks for being here. LOUIS: Thank you, Christi.

BLACKWELL: And Errol is going to stay with us for this next story. This popular NFL quarterback is facing some tough criticism this morning over his decision to sit during the national anthem. We'll talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:21]

BLACKWELL: An NFL quarterback caught in controversy this morning, but also starting an important conversation.

Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the national anthem before Friday night's game. Some people are calling him, shallow, ungrateful. Others though are defending his right to stand up or sit down for whatever he believes.

This is a statement from Kaepernick and this is a quote -- "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me this is bigger than football. And it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

Let's bring back A. Scott Bolden who's the former chairman of the Washington D.C. Democratic State Committee, and CNN political commentator Errol Louis.

Errol Louis, I want to start with you and what you think about what we are reading that from that statement from Colin Kaepernick and his expression of protest sitting during the national anthem.

LOUIS: A very interesting young man and -- interesting and weighty decision that he made.

Let's keep in mind, he's trying out. He's essentially on a job interview. One of the toughest job interviews you can imagine trying to become the starting quarterback a couple of weeks out from opening day. This is the last thing he needs.

And so let's take him seriously when he says that this means a lot to him. He's putting a lot on the line, not just his endorsements but indeed his job. And, you know, I am one of the people who believes that, you know, free speech means free speech from everybody especially the speech that you don't want to hear.

So it's not something I would have done during a job interview or pretty much any other time. And I think he's going to get a lot of push back. He's going to -- it's going to -- it's going to cost him a lot in condemnation, possibly endorsements, possibly the job that he's seeking.

[06:45:02] But that, I think, just underscores how serious he is about this. And, you know, I think we should wish him the best of luck in getting through this.

BLACKWELL: The criticism, Scott, is that at least from those who are criticizing what he's doing and how he's doing it, is this is not the time to display that dissatisfaction, that anger, whatever that emotion he's feeling during the national anthem while you are playing for your city, for this team.

A. SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN, WASHINGTON D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, when is a good time to protest? When is a good time to exercise your first amendment right? Is it connected to his income or football or the national anthem? When is the good time to do that and stand up against police violence?

He has an active social media campaign. He's talked about this police violence. And this is his manifestation of his protest. He has every right to do it. And I admire his courage for all that he is putting at risk, notwithstanding his long-term contract. He is trying out for a job.

Athletes historically when they stand up with their social consciousness have always been roundly criticized because fans, black, white, yellow and brown put them in a sports box and say that you cannot move out. Muhammad Ali moved out and other Olympic athletes historically have moved out and they've been roundly criticized. That comes with courage and exercising your first amendment.

BLACKWELL: The NFL released a statement. Let's put it up on the screen.

It says, "Players are encouraged but not required to stand during the playing of the National Anthem."

And I just want to make sure we got that in there. Errol Louis, Scott Bolden, thank you both.

BOLDEN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Of course this will be a conversation that continues throughout the season if he continues to hold that spot. Christi.

PAUL: Donald Trump said he'll get rid of criminal illegal immigrants on day one of his presidency. CNN's Brian Stelter is going to have more on his immigration plans and some reaction from a key constituency. Hey, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.

Jorge Ramos perhaps the best known anchorman for Spanish speaking Americans said, Donald Trump is in panic mode. I'll show you what he said right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:36]

PAUL: Fifty minutes past the hour right now.

And Donald Trump is trying to court Latino voters, despite sending mixed signals on immigration many way. One Latino journalist contends his outreach is too little too late. Let's bring in CNN's senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" of course, Brian Stelter.

I know that you spoke to you Univision anchor Jorge Ramos. What is he saying people are saying about Donald Trump, immigration and the alleged flip-flop?

STELTER: Yes. Ramos says he's channeling the views of his audience, his Spanish speaking and bilingual viewers who are very skeptical of Donald Trump.

Here's what Ramos told me about this week's mixed messages from Trump about immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORGE RAMOS, JOURNALIST: Who knows what he's thinking about the deportation, possibilities for the deportation force? He's backtracking on his flip-flop.

I honestly think that Donald Trump is in panic mode with Latinos. I think he realized too late, Brian, that he cannot win the White House without Latinos. And I've seen the latest polls. Univision says that he might get 19 percent of the Latino vote. And Mitt Romney with 27 percent lost the election.

So I think he's realizing that he can't win Nevada, Colorado, Florida without Latinos. And then he's exploring. But I think Latinos will remember what he said. He said that Mexican immigrants were bringing drugs, that they drug traffickers, and that they were rapists. And even if he's shifting his position right now, they'll remember that on November the 8th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: So Ramos they're saying that, Donald Trump is in panic mode among Latinos.

Ramos is arguably the best known news anchor on Spanish speaking TV, Univision, of course, the dominant channel among Spanish speaking Americans. And so Ramos is a very influential figure.

He's an advocate and makes no bones about that, an advocate for his audience and he's been trying to get an interview with Donald Trump for quite some time. Remember about a year ago he showed up at a press conference in Iowa, tried to question Trump. He was kicked out of the room then invited back in. He and Trump had quite a conversation then.

Ramos said he has been trying to get an interview with Trump ever since. He says there's very little outreach by the Donald Trump campaign toward Hispanic viewers. Christi.

PAUL: All right. Who else are you talking to this morning?

STELTER: We'll also have Stuart Stevens who was the Mitt Romney campaign strategist in 2012. He dislikes both Trump and Hillary Clinton. We're going to be talking about the media strategies of both candidates coming up at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.

PAUL: All right. Looking forward to it. Brian Stelter...

STELTER: Thanks.

PAUL: ... thanks so much. And be sure to catch him on "RELIABLE SOURCES" today 11:00 a.m. Eastern only here on CNN. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Another surge in violence in Chicago.

One report says that more than a dozen people were shot in fewer than 24 hours. And that number does not include the cousin of NBA superstar Dwyane Wade.

How this tragedy in Chicago is turning into a political battle over gun violence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:56:52]

BLACKWELL: This morning a search and rescue operation is on after a small plane crashed in the Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. (INAUDIBLE) rescued one person. Now the Coast Guard is still searching for two others.

Tens of thousands of people were forced out of their homes during the devastating flooding in Louisiana this month. Now a lot of people had to leave with just the clothes on their back, a few things that they could gather. And that meant leaving behind beloved family pets.

PAUL: Yes. PETA in fact estimates thousands of animals are separated from their families, their humans.

So volunteers are stepping up to care for these pets, but they're really hoping that these families come looking for them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LESA, STAUBUS, VETERINARIAN: This dog here, she came in yesterday. She was recovered by one of the field teams that found her out in an area where her -- the people had all been pushed out. And she was, you know, had -- you know, had had to leave her behind. You know, you just can't blame people when they have no home, no car and they -- no way.

We've had an army of volunteers working diligently, trying to keep up just with the cleaning and bedding and trying to make these animals comfortable. We just appreciate you so much, thank you.

The individuals that run this shelter, they've directly been affected by this flood themselves, their own homes. His own home was absolutely destroyed by the floods.

Come here, sweet darling.

Every day is a challenge, because there seems to be no end of animals that are still being found. There are so many areas that people are just now starting to be able to come back into.

Good dog. Good dog. Good dog.

As you can see, we have quite a collection of dogs here that have been displaced by the flood. And we're striving to shelter these animals to allow them to be reunited with their families. And the dogs are missing their people just like their people are missing their dogs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: That's got to be tough. You know, you're probably running out of the house and maybe you don't know where your dog is. Because I know a lot of people say, how do you leave them behind? Well, you're not there and you're not in the middle of it.

BLACKWELL: Well, you don't have time.

PAUL: You don't have time. And if they're not there you can't grab them and go.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: So hopefully -- they're doing such good work there.

Thank you so much for starting your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: We've got a lot more ahead on the next hour of your new day and it starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade, a great guy, Dwyane Wade, was the victim of a tragic shooting.

KAINE: The tweet isn't important. What's important is, you know, this horrible crime. Sympathy for the family is the thing that we ought to be feeling.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton called black youth super predators. Remember that? Super predators.

KAINE: He's got guys connected with the Ku Klux Klan. They're claiming him.

JULIE STEPHENS, PASSENGER: I thought it was an attack and that the plane was going to go down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passengers on board a Southwest Airlines flight feared the worst when they heard a big boom as one of the plane's engines blew.

TRAVIS STEPHENS, PASSENGER: It felt like half of the plane almost like capsized.

JULIE STEPHENS: We're definitely grateful that we were still safe.

[07:00:02]

TRAVIS STEPHENS: Round of applause for the -- for the captain.