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Clinton Launches 2016 Presidential Bid; Turkey Upset Over Pope's Genocide Remarks; U.S. Increases Strikes on Anbar Province. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 13, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


[06:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: She is dominant over even the closest challengers. She seems inevitable. That's good, right? It's also what was said in 2008. So not so much.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us to discuss all of this is Maggie Haberman, presidential campaign correspondent for "The New York Times", and a CNN political analyst. And Jason Zengerle, he's a contributing editor for "The New York" magazine. He wrote this month's cover story on Hillary Clinton's chances of becoming the next president.

Great to have both of you with us.

Jason, I want to start with you, because your cover story in "New York" magazine was titled "Is Hillary Clinton any good at running for president?" What's the answer to that?

JASON ZENGERLE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, NEW YORK MAGAZINE: I think the jury is still out on that. You know, in 2008, she was very bad and then she was very good, or at least that was what her campaign advisers thought -- they thought before she lost in Iowa, what she was sort of flying too high. She seemed kind of haughty and entitled.

And then after she lost, she got her back against the wall. She became a better candidate, they thought. She was closer to the ground, she did more intimate events, she seemed like she was more with the people. And I think that's what they want to duplicate this time around in 2016.

CUOMO: You know, Maggie, when you think about Hillary Clinton, is there anybody you think about in recent political history who has more baked-in positives and negatives?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It is the narrowest sliver of the electorate that is going to end up deciding this, right, in a small number of states.

One of the things that I think is very helpful to her, you know, good or bad, she has been around so long. There is a whole crew of younger voters who actually don't know about the 1990s, don't remember what happened. For them, videos like what we saw yesterday is going to look pretty fresh and new.

But I do agree, there is so much known about her. It's very hard for Republicans to find a silver bullet against her. There is a lot of led out there. The e-mail issues will not go away. She will get asked about that. It will be interesting to see if she gets asked about that in Iowa tomorrow.

But, right now, there is no clear hit on her.

CAMEROTA: Well, yet, I mean, obviously, there is, as you say, ammunition out there.

In fact, Jason, you write about what you think the most recent biggest gaffe of Hillary Clinton was, it was in this moment, this interview with Diane Sawyer when asked about her finances. So watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We came out of the White House not only dead broke but in debt. We had no money when we got there and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea's education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, Jason, I mean, she said they were dead broke and in debt. That technically is true. They were in debt by at least a half a million dollars. But now that she wants to be the champion of the middle class, does that -- will that be some sort of road block for her because after all, they were the Clintons and they do command millions of dollars in speaking fees?

ZENGERLE: Well, I think it's, you know, how she deals with the issue. I mean, if you talk to, especially Republicans who spend a lot of time studying her, they say that she's very aware of her vulnerabilities. But then, the problem with that is she overcompensates for them.

And that leads to comments like the dead broke -- the dead broke when she has been taking criticism for her highly paid speaking fees. And then she says something like dead broke to try to explain why she's doing it.

And so, that's sort of a pattern. She will repeatedly do that. I think that, you know, that will be something to watch in the coming months. She does want to portray herself as the champion of the middle class. Can she actually do that?

CAMEROTA: What do you think of that moment?

HABERMAN: I thought that it was a really bad gaffe that you're going to hear come back over and over again. But where I think it was coming from is she has I agree with Jason, she does overcompensate when she doesn't feel naturally. You saw this when she was with Elizabeth Warren in the fall, campaigning for Martha Coakley in Massachusetts. She way overdid the Warren populist rhetoric and she got herself in nuts.

But she has genuine anger over the legal fees over the Republican investigation. That was why they weren't dead. It wasn't that they accrued the debt because they bought a lot of cars. And that is where that is coming from. That's not a great answer for people who actually are dead broke and went to the recession. She's going to spend a lot of time having to erase that comment.

CUOMO: She also has a uniquely intense and numerous critic base. You know, in the media and outside the media, Carl Bernstein who wrote a book that was no easy wash on her says she is right. We're going to have him on the show later today. She is right to worry about her enemies. They are uniquely intense.

You've covered her for a long time, the sensitivity to criticism. Is it true that back in Bill's day, she was the hardliner, she was the protector for him. He was the one that let it wash over you, I can take it. I'll be OK. So that's her disposition.

HABERMAN: Absolutely. Look, during his campaign, she was the creator of the department of defense. This was getting back at some of his opponents. She was very much, hit them hard, hit them hard. She helped run her husband's defenses against scandal, against all sorts of issues in these candidacies.

So, her natural inclination is to punch back. It's actually very hard for her sometimes to just sort of swallow that. She was good I will say in the 2000 Senate race. That first race is what her folks are looking back a lot as a template.

[06:35:01] CAMEROTA: Jason, what do you think will be different this time around?

ZENGERLE: I think, you know, it's going to be what we are seeing these days, trying to run a much smaller, you know, closer to the ground campaign in some ways I think actually making her almost secondary to, you know, what we saw in the video yesterday, having other people out there, having her be more of a champion for other people than putting herself out there as, you know, the prime mover.

CUOMO: And one dynamic that we'll see how it plays out, Maggie just mentioned the 2000 race for Senate. One of the things that helped for her a ton in that, she's getting intense criticism, right, when Rick Lazio walked across the podium at the debate and said, what about this? And she seemed like, oh, all of a sudden everything switched. It was wow, you are not just attacking this political monster machine, you are walking up to this woman and scaring her and everything shifted in the dynamic -- one of the cautions of early heavy criticism over her.

HABERMAN: Absolutely. No question. That was a definitional moment.

CUOMO: Talk about a gaffe.

HABERMAN: It was the debate in Buffalo. It was -- and all the reporters for the most part that night thought Lazio had won the debate. It wasn't until the next morning that it became clear that the reception was very, very different.

CAMEROTA: So interesting how those things shift.

HABERMAN: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Over a good night sleep.

Maggie, Jason, thanks so much for all of that.

So, what do you think? Is Clinton the inevitable nominee? What will she do differently this time? And can someone steal her thunder again?

Sound off on our Twitter page, or on Facebook. You know how to find us.

All right. Moving on to other news, Turkey at odds with the pope, ordering their envoy to the Vatican to come home now. Turkish officials furious with the pontiff for his remarks at Sunday mass. What did Pope Francis say?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:35] CAMEROTA: Turkey taking on the pope. Turkish officials upset about remarks Pope Francis made during Sunday's mass calling the 20th century mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, quote, "genocide". The Turks denying that happened, and now, summoning their ambassador to the Vatican home.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman joins us live from Rome with the latest -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn.

Well, what the pope says during this special mass marking the 100th anniversary of the massacre of the Armenians in World War II was this was the first genocide of the 20th century. These were words he was quoting from pope John Paul, ii, who said those words back in September 2001.

But for the Turks, it is a very sensitive subject. They insist the death of as many as 1.5 million ethnic Armenians under the Ottoman Empire were a result of intercommunal fighting between Muslims and Christians. Historians dispute thing, saying this was a part of an organized official government campaign by the Ottoman government to crack down on ethnic Armenians.

Now, as a result, of course the Turkish government very unhappy has recalled its ambassador to the Vatican and in the meantime, it also has summoned the ambassador to Turkey to express its unhappiness with the statement from the pope. The Turkish foreign minister tweeting that the pope's statements are out of touch with both historical facts and legal basis -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Ben Wedeman live for us from Rome -- thank you.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: There are growing calls this morning for charges against a second officer to arrive on scene after Officer Michael Slager was shot and killed Walter Scott in South Carolina. It's alleged that he omitted key details from his report and didn't provide first aid as he claimed he had.

Scott, meanwhile, was laid to rest Saturday. Vigils were held in his memory on Sunday. There are calls for a mass demonstration today against police brutality.

CUOMO: Proof of the danger Iran poses. The Tehran bureau chief of "The Washington Post" will go on trial soon in Iran on espionage charges. His name is Jason Rezaian, and he's been held in an Iranian jail for the past nine months. But the charges against him were just disclosed last week.

Now, our Tony Bourdain spoke to him shortly before his arrest. And he discussed how Iran was modernizing. "The Washington Post" calls Iran's allegations, quote, "absurd and the product of fertile and twisted imaginations."

CAMEROTA: Four people are dead after their plane crashed down in a Florida nature preserve. It is unclear what the problem was. No injuries were reported on the ground.

PEREIRA: All right. A little levity for you here. "Saturday Night Live" getting a jump start on Hillary Clinton's presidential announcement. Kate McKinnon brilliantly impersonating Hillary, offering her take on the road to the Democratic nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's refocus on your candidacy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And remember, the new Hillary is humble and gracious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, got it.

I know the selection season won't be easy. I am sure I will face some stiff competition from my fellow Democrats, people like Martin O'Malley, who could really give me a run for my money.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry. I broke. It's too funny.

Martin O'Malley, he sounds like a Simpsons character. Ha, ha, ha, OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: You have to see this in its entirety.

The sketch marking the return of the former "SNL" cast member, now the shows announcer, there he is.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: Bill Hammond as Bill Clinton, prompting Hillary to ask, aren't we such a fun, approachable dynasty?

CUOMO: My favorite part was the laugh to the OK. OK.

PEREIRA: Really good.

CAMEROTA: We're going to play more of that for your morning viewing pleasure later in the program.

CUOMO: All right, back on the news for you as well.

There is a new strategy for the U.S. fighting ISIS that sounds like the old strategy, increasing airstrikes. But ISIS is not slowing in key areas.

[06:45:00] We will take you to Iraq to where they are and what's happening in terms of a takeover.

Also, the brand-new CNN original series "HIGH PROFITS" tells the extraordinary story of two American marijuana entrepreneurs. It's coming this Sunday. Let's give you a sneak peek.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're parasites.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have got no contribution to this society.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are preying on our community and our kids. This is going to end badly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have got exactly $100,000 in cash back in his car. I bet there's guys in prison right there for doing just what we're going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want the Breckenridge cannabis club to be a household name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a pioneering a new industry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going after every resort town in Colorado.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His plan is really good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a big boy operation now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not Amsterdam. We're Breckenridge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is absolutely unbelievable to us this happens so quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when the town erupted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All hell could break loose.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have an image to protect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The powerful elite has definitely put the pressure on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone is playing everyone. They're going to have a target on their back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a real threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's $2 billion to be had next year. I plan to get my fair share.

ANNOUNCER: "HIGH PROFITS" series premieres Sunday night at 10:00.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:19] PEREIRA: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY.

The United States is expanding strikes on Anbar province in Iraq, part of the effort to defeat ISIS. Shiite militias have been trying to attack the group on the ground, but have struggled to push them back. Now, word comes that ISIS is targeting Iraq's largest oil refinery, which could be a major coup after losing to Tikrit.

I want to talk about it all with Lieutenant Colonel James Reese. He's former U.S. Delta Force commander and a CNN global affairs analyst. And we should point out, he just returned from Iraq where he was able to see first hand the fight against ISIS. And we'll talk to you in a moment about your experience there.

Good morning to you.

Let's start with this news about key oil refinery that ISIS is claiming that it has taken control of. If it's true, how significant is this?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE (RET), CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good morning, Michaela.

Well, I tell you right now, I'm not sure it's real true.

PEREIRA: OK.

REESE: And we'll have to wait to see -- we'll have to see what waits -- comes out the next couple days. And I know Arwa Damon is over there and she will find it out.

One of the key aspect of Baiji is it's the town that kind of the main town that sits between Tikrit which the Iraqis have just liberated and Mosul. But it also is a large refinery as you said and it has been a constant fight over the last couple months going back and forth between the ISIS forces and -- I'm sorry the ISIS forces and the Iraqi forces.

PEREIRA: So, we'll wait and see how that plays out. Stick with CNN to work that story.

Let's talk about the airstrikes that are going on right now. The Shiite militia withdrawing in Anbar, so the U.S. military can step up those ISIS -- those airstrikes against ISIS. Give us a sense of how that air effort helps things on the ground?

REESE: Well, Michaela, I will tell you right now, when you have to fight in a built-up area, a city, to go in there alone as ground force to ground force to defending element and right now that would be ISIS or Daesh, they defend those cities out in al-Anbar, they have the advantage and it's a difficult slog. It's a difficult fight to get if there and go building and it's deadly.

When you have the air support that comes in that can literally walk in front of you and destroy these tanks, these outposts, these security positions that are defending the cities, it's a great motivation for the ground forces. But if we pull back -- I mean, everyone knows the U.S. has the finest air power in the world and when we're not supporting, it becomes a -- you know, it becomes a one on one brawl.

PEREIRA: We understand Shiite military withdrew in order for these airstrikes to happen, give us a sense of what that took. Did that involve coordinating with Iran? Because they're said to be backing the Shia militias.

REESE: Well, actually, no, it doesn't have to -- the U.S. doesn't necessarily have to coordinate with Iran. The Iraqis have excellent relations with Iran right now. They have their joint fight observer points that are talking with the Iranians and so they can make this happen.

But I will tell you that I watched it in Tikrit. Very quickly, you know, a lot of the Iranian-backed militias were mobilized. They started moving up. And they started helping the Iraqi forces.

The battle corps which we all know and have all heard of for years, which is a literally political aspect within the Iraq too was a major force going, you know, in parallel with the Iraqi security forces in Iraqi, federal police in Tikrit. So, having them pull back, that's the Iraqi government has to work those negotiations with, you know, those militia. But it does, it causes friction and sometimes we can hold that big lollipop out there, which is our air power to, you know, kind of influence what we want to do.

PEREIRA: You just returned from Iraq. You were able to meet with some of the people from Iran's elite Quds forces. What were you able learn from them? What sense did it give you?

REESE: You know, Michaela, it was an awake awakening moment for me.

PEREIRA: Really?

REESE: For all the years -- yes, for all the years I spent as a special operations force, you know, the Quds forces is their special forces. Me as a special forces guy got to stand near my enemy that I thought of for all my 25 years. I got to talk to these guys, I got to watch what they were doing.

What's funny is it's the same thing we do advise and assist operation. They're out there. They're helping the Iraqis. They're helping them, you know, where their 50 cals. They're helping them target. They're giving them better ways of looking at it to be more lethal on the battlefield.

And my -- I guess, my disappointment was, is, yes, they are enemies at certain times.

[06:55:01] But what I didn't see and I was hoping was at least if I was a special forces commander right now, I'd be begging to get out and observe to see, you know, what those Quds forces were doing, what they look like, how they work, because it's probably the closest we have ever been to a Quds force.

PEREIRA: You are probably one of the people to do that.

Real quickly, before I run out of time here, I want to get your reaction to this news that we're getting about some of this propaganda video that ISIS is releasing, destroying the historic city of Nimrud, history there, ancient artifacts being destroyed.

What's their end game in that?

REESE: It's propaganda, Michaela. I believe that's tape that's already happened. We watched it going on live during March when we were there.

I think ISIS is looking at right now is they've slowed down. They don't have the momentum. That gives them the propaganda to build it back up.

PEREIRA: Build up momentum. It's really interesting to watch this. We have our own reaction. To get your insider's view we appreciate it.

So glad to have you back with us on American soil, Lt. Col. Reese, thanks so much for your time.

We're certainly following a lot of news on this Monday. So, let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hitting the road to earn your vote, because it's your time.

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: We must do better than the Obama-Clinton foreign policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a nice right to President Hillary Clinton. We need a president that is focused on the future like she is.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think precisely what some will say is her strength is actually her weakness.

CLINTON: And I hope you'll join me on this journey.

CUOMO: Senator Marco Rubio expected to hop in the presidential race tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is his chance to sort of remake himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: History was made at the Summit of the Americas.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States will not be imprisoned by the past. We're looking to the future.

PEREIRA: The actions of a second police officer now under scrutiny. Should that officer be prosecuted of an attempted cover-up?

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: And good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY.

Hillary Clinton hitting the campaign trail after announcing yes she is running for president. She's heading to Iowa on road trip, hitting the heartland because she says every day Americans need a champion.

CUOMO: As pumped as Team Hillary is, so are her Republican opponents. And they pounced with gusto. Rand Paul launching an entire Web site against Clinton. Ted Cruz and the RNC coming out strongly against her candidacy as well.

So, now, tonight is another night. Florida Senator Marco Rubio gearing up to declare his White House bid. Will he follow the "here's who and what I'm against" model or provide a positive message? We've got the race covered for the White House as only CNN can.

Let's start with senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar live in Washington -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Chris.

The campaign season is on. It really is. And Hillary Clinton is starting off with of the people outreach with this road trip, as she's trying to sell her candidacy. And as you said, Republicans are very much taking aim. .

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm getting ready for a lot of things. We are moving, just as she can belong to a better school.

KEILAR (voice-over): Hillary Clinton announcing her presidential campaign with a video of middle class Americans.

CLINTON: I'm getting ready to do something, too. I'm running for president.

KEILAR: Clinton outlined her message -- a populist, family- based rationale for her candidacy.

CLINTON: Every day Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion.

KEILAR: Her announcement quite different than her 2007 pitch.

CLINTON: I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation.

KEILAR: This time --

CLINTON: I'm back!

KEILAR: -- she tries to convince voters she's not taking her dominance in the field for granted.

CLINTON: I'm hitting the road to earn your vote.

KEILAR: When she said hitting the road, she was being literal. In Pennsylvania, she stopped at a gas station. A man who met the new candidate provided CNN these photos. Clinton is on her way to Iowa.

CLINTON: Together, we will make history!

KEILAR: Where she lost big in 2008.

Then, it's on to another early state, New Hampshire, where she pulled out an unexpected win after this emotional appeal.

CLINTON: I see what's happening. We have to reverse it.

KEILAR: Ultimately, of course, she lost.

CLINTON: Although we weren't able to shatter that highest hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks, to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.

(CHEERS)

KEILAR: Republicans want to stop her from shattering that ceiling in 2016. Rand Paul's campaign launching this ad.

AD NARRATOR: Hillary Clinton represents the worst of the Washington machine.

KEILAR: Jeb Bush, still undeclared, responding in advance of Clinton's video.

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: We must do better than the Obama-Clinton foreign policy.

KEILAR: But President Obama, who brings a loyal Democratic constituency, along with a potentially damaging foreign policy record all but endorsed Clinton during his trip to Panama.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She was an outstanding secretary of state. She is my friend. I think she would be an excellent president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And Hillary Clinton had been very active, of course, recently, with her family foundation, the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton foundation.