Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

Hillary Clinton Takes Campaign on the Road; Marco Rubio to Announce White House Bid; President Faces Tough Sell on Iran & Cuba; Should Second Officer Be Charged in Shooting? Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 13, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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


BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: ... 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)

[07:00:04] KEILAR: And Hillary Clinton had been very active, of course, recently, with her family foundation, the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. We've learned, Chris, that she is stepping down or has stepped down from the board of directors, so that she can not only concentrate on the campaign but also to avoid a conflict there, which is certainly would be.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And maybe to blow on some of the criticisms that's going that way about who invests or donates to the CGI. But that's going to come anyway.

Brianna, thank you very much. We'll check back with you in a bit.

So, Clinton is closing in on Iowa by car, right? That's a metaphor for her back-to-basics 101 strategy that Team Hillary hopes works better than what happened in 2008, when she finished 3rd in the caucuses there. So let's get to Iowa. CNN senior White House correspondent Joe Johns is there ahead of Clinton's arrival.

Good to see you, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

We do know Hillary Clinton will be here on Tuesday and Wednesday. We know her first swing through Iowa is expected to talk about the economy. The campaign is clearly trying to maintain tight control in order for the candidate to interact with people on a personal level. So difficult for her because of the entourage she brings, including Secret Service, as well as the news media.

We do expect her to do two small events that would include an educational round table at a community college, as well as a business round table at a fruit company just outside of Des Moines. Nothing big, nothing flashy. Humble seems to be the watch word the campaign is using right now, somewhat reminiscent of her early days in New York. The campaign says still larger events are weeks away.

People here in Iowa are certainly ready to hear from Hillary if you talk to them on the streets. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE BRAUN, IOWA VOTER: Just by being here and connect with the people. Because that's what Iowa is about, is all the connections everybody has with each other. We're the small-town, you know, people. So be here and connect to people. Just tell them what you're about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: we do expect her to have other meetings here in Iowa, but those meetings so far are unannounced. Other meetings that are going to occur with business people and just regular people as Hillary Clinton tries to listen to Iowa.

Alisyn, back to you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Joe, we know you'll keep an eye on all those meetings for us. Thanks so much.

Well, a son of Cuban immigrants set to become the third Republican candidate to enter the race for the White House. Florida Senator Marco Rubio planning his big announcement tonight from Miami's Freedom Tower. And that's a place where Cuban immigrants used to be processed after fleeing the Castro regime.

Let's bring in CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, live from Miami. So what are we expecting today, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Well, it's interesting. Inside the building behind me, the Freedom Tower, it's actually not that media-friendly when it comes to the television cameras that come for the kind of announcement that Marco Rubio is going to have today. But they kind of put that aside, because symbolism trumped that for the reason you just said.

He wants to and has been playing up his Cuban roots, playing up the kind of American dream theme, optimistic theme that you saw in the video that they put out to preview this and what he's been saying, really, since he hit the national stage and even the stage here when he was a very young 34-year-old house speaker of the state house.

Now, Alisyn, it's very interesting, because what you see on the ground here is a little bit of a tug of war. Because Marco Rubio was, and is, in many ways, the protege of Jeb Bush.

So when Bush made clear in a surprise way in December that he was very likely going to run for president, a lot of Republicans here in Florida, who are very close to both, thought that Rubio would pull back and say, "You know what? I'm going to wait my turn." He's not doing that. So it's been a very kind of tough situation for not just money people, which is going to be important for both of them, especially Marco Rubio, but also some of their long-time supporters, because they have been extremely, extremely close, the two of them. So it will be interesting to see if he even gives a nod to Jeb Bush when he speaks later today.

But Chris, his aides are saying that they feel that this is a good time for him to run, because there is so much pessimism out there that he wants to talk about what he even says in his new tag line, the new American century, about the need for things to be better. You know, the kind of thing that they don't think politicians do enough of. That's what he says he wants to bring to the field.

CUOMO: Everybody likes better, Dana. The question is who can bring it to you? Is Clinton your best choice? Team Hillary says yes. So let's test their case.

CAMEROTA: OK. Lisa Caputo. She's a former Hillary Clinton press secretary and Clinton 2008 senior advisor for her 2008 campaign. And Neera Tanden, former policy director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign and president of the Center for American Progress.

[07:05:05] Ladies, it's great to have both of you. Obviously, you were steeped in the 2008 campaign. So what's going to be different this time around, Lisa?

LISA CAPUTO, FORMER HILLARY CLINTON PRESS SECRETARY: I think this is all about getting out the vote. Earning each vote one by one. It's about American families. It's about the American people. I think she has learned an enormous amount from the last race. And I think you can see the way this has been rolled out. It's very heartfelt. It's very humble. It's all together; we're in this together. Even the logo depicts a way forward. Right? This is about the American people and about the American dream, and it's something that she wholeheartedly believes in. And that's what she's all about.

CUOMO: Let me ask you something. First, one point of disclosure: Are either of you going to be a part of the team this time?

NEERA TANDEN, FORMER POLICY DIRECTOR FOR CLINTON'S 2008 CAMPAIGN: No.

CAPUTO: No.

CUOMO: No. You're just friends of?

CAPUTO: Friends of.

CUOMO: All right. Just so the audience knows.

Policy, OK, that is a word that is giving a little bit. I know it's early; it's just an announcement video. But there weren't the policy considerations that seem to have been what Hillary was suggesting was needed by Obama the last time. You know, where is his policy? He's always hope and change. How? There was not a lot of how in here. Why? TANDEN: Well, I think -- I think she was really trying to talk

about what her primary concerns are. And I think that -- I think Lisa said it right, exactly. She's focused on the country's concerns. And that's why she's going to have this period where she's really hearing from folks, listening to their concerns, hearing what their anxieties are.

But she did talk about what kind of the primary concerns she already sees, which is that people are, you know, trying to get ahead, and the deck seems stacked a little bit against them. More and more is going to the top instead of everyday Americans. And so I think you'll hear over the next couple of weeks not her only listening, but Americans listening to her as well.

CAMEROTA: As we look back to 2008 and some of the early themes that she hit on and throughout her campaign, affordable health care, that's been taken care of. The deficit. She talked a lot about restoring respect for America and renewing the promise of America. Was that too vague? Was that too scattershot?

CAPUTO: I don't think it's vague at all. I think this is about American prosperity. When you saw the video yesterday, you saw real people talking about their plate. And this is about, you know, giving everybody an opportunity to succeed, however they define it.

A wise man once said, "It's the economy, stupid." I fundamentally believe that. It's about people's pocketbooks, how they're feeling. Can they afford healthcare? Can they afford to take care of their families?

And as Neera said, you know, she is a policy person. She has ideas, but she is out embarking on a bit of a listening tour here, I think it's fair to say, because she wants to engage in a dialogue about ideas, about solutions, about problems that these people are facing.

CAMEROTA: So it's that one-on-one attention that's different the last time around.

CAPUTO: Absolutely. Absolutely. But it's vintage Hillary. It's vintage Hillary. It's where she excels.

TANDEN: I mean, I worked on the 2007 campaign, as well, and she started that campaign like this, as well. Is she really got into people's living rooms, and she heard their concerns. And it shapes the kind of policy she put forward, because she was hearing from people.

CUOMO: 2000 is an interesting model. Maybe even more so than 2008, because when Lazio walked across the debate floor up in Buffalo, everything changed. And I don't mean this as a criticism of Lazio. But that -- the dynamic of coming at Hillary is something that can backfire. Now, do you see that as just a gender issue, or is it just a reflection of what happens when negativity is too intense early on, on somebody? CAPUTO: Well, I think you've already seen negativity out there,

actually before she even declared. I think she is going to rise above that and really...

CUOMO: So you think she -- does that mean she won't take it on? Like, when they say what about the e-mails? What about Benghazi?

CAPUTO: Of course, she'll take it on.

CUOMO: She's going to take it on.

CAPUTO: Of course she'll take it on. She'll answer the questions. She's already begun to do that.

But I think in this instance, the negativity attacking her, really, before she even declared and then on the day of her announcement, is -- it's telling. But she's focused on what she's going to do and how she wants to run this campaign, which is, you know, to take it to the heart of America, as she is doing, road trip in a van.

TANDEN: And truthfully, I think, look, you saw this with the ads that already came out. I think she's really -- people, the problems for this race for Republicans is, you know, they're going after -- there's a lot of them going after a base. So each one of them is going to want to score points attacking Hillary.

But over the long term, you're going to see that she's going to be engaging in major issues. I think they're going to look small. And I think it's going to remind people about the polarization in Washington and how that's part of the problem.

Well, I think it will actually help her, because you know, she's always talking about the American people's concerns.

CAMEROTA: Jeb Bush came out yesterday and made a statement about what he wants to remind people of when they look at Hillary Clinton. Let's take a look at his.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: America should be respected by our allies and feared by our enemies. That's why it's critical we change the direction our country is heading. We must do better than the Obama-Clinton foreign policy that has damaged relationships with our allies and emboldened our enemies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:03] TANDEN: Everything he's involved in, our enemies or damage our allies, that unfortunately Jeb Bush, so I think it's really hard for him to launch an attack like that. And I also think it's relatively petty to be so negative early on.

CAMEROTA: Well, his point is that she's tethered inextricably to the Obama policies. He calls it the Obama-Clinton policies. She was the secretary of state. There's no way to differentiate herself from that, is there?

CAPUTO: I think her record on foreign policy will stand on its own. I'm not sure what Governor Bush's record is on foreign policy. But let me set that aside.

I want to go back to what Neera said, which is people across the country are fed up with the way Washington is working. It's dysfunctional, unfortunately.

When Hillary Clinton was senator, it's really important to note she worked across the aisle on a number of legislative policies. She knows how to roll up her sleeves and actually get the job done. Building consensus, bridging both sides of the aisle together. You have to do that to govern. She understands how to not just legislate but also to govern. You govern from the middle.

CUOMO: One -- one of the blessings she'll have is that, when are you the focus of a lot of negativity, it allows to you make the point that negativity is bad. And certainly, the American people are there, right? They've had it, any way you want to measure it.

The flipside of that is you then have to offer them something better than the negativity. Otherwise, the negativity becomes more attractive.

What I didn't hear yet is, you know, her being the first female president got to be the first top of the list, checking the box of what her draw is going to be. I didn't hear her putting that out there. Do you believe it's just going to be implicit in everything about her, because she is a woman? Or is she going to start making the case?

CAPUTO: I don't think she has to put that out there. I think what she's going to put out there is Neera said earlier, is her ideas. You know, her ideas and solutions for what people are facing, how to make the country better, how to make our stature in the world, you know, solid.

And I think, you know, it's not wearing -- being a woman on your sleeve. Her record there is clear. It dates all the way back to her time at the Children's Defense Fund, first lady of Arkansas, trying to reform the education standards in Arkansas, bringing the home instruction program for youth into Arkansas. Fighting every day for women and children is part of the fiber of her being. So it's not because she's a woman. It's because she has the best ideas.

CAMEROTA: Neera, Lisa, thanks so much. You guy have given us some insight, as true insiders can. Thank you -- Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take it, guys. All right, Congress is back in Washington this morning, ready to go to battle with President Obama over two big foreign policy issues. There's mounting criticism on the White House following the president's meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro and the deal on Iran's nuclear program. So can the White House sway lawmakers to their side? We want to turn right now to White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, with all the latest. Good morning to Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela, when you look at these momentous moves with Iran, with Cuba, I mean after decades, decades of sanctions, trying to have relations with these countries, you can see why they are so difficult, complicated, controversial and riling up a deeply divided Congress.

This week, the administration makes an even bigger push to win over lawmakers. They're going to be holding closed-door briefings. But on Tuesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee takes up this bill that looks to have Congress do an up or down vote on the Iran deal. And already the rhetoric has reached just head-turning levels, even for Washington.

I mean, Senator John McCain calling Secretary of State Kerry delusional over the deal. The administration in turn calling McCain naive and reckless, Michaela.

PEREIRA: I'm curious what the reaction you're expecting, because Congress will have to react to the growing criticism of the White House's handling of that meeting with Raul Castro in Cuba.

KOSINSKI: Right. Right. And it's just another one. And surprising in some ways that the president hasn't already moved on the State Department's recommendation to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terror. He says that his advisers are still going to take a look at that recommendation and after that, there's going to be 45 days during which period Congress can vote on that.

Now, that may very well be a prerequisite for Cuba to allow the U.S. to open up an embassy there. There are a number of things for Congress to vote on here. There is that. There is removing the trade embargo, confirming an ambassador to Cuba. But even if Congress decides not to do any of that -- and that is a possibility -- there is still a way for the administration to effectively have diplomatic relations on some level with Cuba -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Heading back to work today. We'll watch to see what comes of it. Thanks, so much, Michelle Kosinski -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: An update now to the South Carolina shooting story. Calls are growing louder for a second officer to face charges for the Walter Scott shooting. It's alleged that he omitted key details from his report and did not provide first-aid as claimed. Scott was laid to rest Saturday, and vigils were held in his memory Sunday.

[07:15:02] CUOMO: Did you notice Russia has been kind of quiet lately? Well, not anymore. A Russian fighter jet bearing down and intercepting a U.S. plane over the Baltic Sea in what the Pentagon calls an unprofessional, unsafe maneuver. U.S. officials say an Air Force reconnaissance plane was flying in international air space right near Poland, and then it was intercepted by a Russian fighter jet last week.

The Defense Department calls the move aggressive and careless. Russia is accusing the U.S. plane of approaching its airspace. PEREIRA: A frightening takeoff caught on video in the U.K.

You've got to see this. The pilot fights fierce winds, turning sideways just feet off the tarmac before gaining control and altitude. It happened last week at Birmingham Airport as the region was being slammed by all sorts of bad weather. The pilot of that plane not the only one facing trouble. We're told a number of incoming flights barely made it to the tarmac safely.

CAMEROTA: I don't like that. I do not like that.

CUOMO: It wound up being fine.

CAMEROTA: No, it wasn't fine. They should have switched airports. They should have rerouted them. Where were they?

CUOMO: It was taking off.

CAMEROTA: But they say -- Michaela said a lot coming in were also struggling, as you can imagine, to land.

CUOMO: There are issues when you fly.

CAMEROTA: I don't like that.

PEREIRA: I don't like it either. I'm with you.

CUOMO: You have to keep it in perspective. Still, very safe move. We're having this discussion, because it's very important that we all continue to stay in the air to do our jobs. I don't like this defection to the bus. You're not Hillary.

PEREIRA: It's going to take a lot longer to get you there.

CUOMO: You're not driving to the next scene.

CAMEROTA: All right. Meanwhile, back to that -- the story that we told you about in South Carolina so much. Did the second officer in that shooting fudge a police report about Walter Scott? And should more charges be filed? The former police chief of North Charleston will join us with his take next.

CUOMO: The most anticipated obvious occurrence was Hillary running. So now she's in. Hype aside, is what she's offering better than what you're going to get from the rest of the field? John King will have that and more, coming up on "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:43] PEREIRA: Calls are growing for the arrest of a second police officer in South Carolina following the Walter Scott shooting. The account of the second officer is being called into question after the now-infamous tape suggested that he omitted key details from his report and that he didn't provide first-aid to Mr. Scott as he claimed he had.

How can these discrepancies be reconciled as the community pays final respects to Mr. Scott?

Joining us is Sheriff Al Cannon of Charleston County, South Carolina. He is also the former police chief of North Charleston.

Good to have you back on the program, sir. I wanted to ask you a little bit about procedures, if you can help us understand that, about this Officer Clarence Habersham, who was also on scene at the time of the shooting or after the shooting. He submitted this very short incident report. According to "The New York Times," it was two sentences long, and there were many significant details left out of it. Since he was not the responding officer to that immediate incident, is that sort of standard operating procedure?

SHERIFF AL CANNON, CHARLESTON COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, it's standard to the extent that supplements generally are going to be very brief. Most of the incident narrative is going to be in the incident report, itself. With respect to the complaints per the voice primarily through the news media, I am certain that SLED is looking at all aspects of this case to include that. That's certainly in the context of what's occurred, was not the primary focal point. But I'm satisfied that, during the course of the investigation, obviously, they have taken a full statement from the officer, and they will be looking at that in the context of other things, his supplemental report as well as any audio that might be out there, and as well as, maybe, statements from other witnesses like EMS and some of the other officers. And they'll be cross-checked and cross-referenced.

And one of the things that occurs to me, Michaela, is this. You know, obviously, they -- we go out and we look to find any companies that may have or businesses that have cameras that might have shown the incident. They also look at those cameras from the standpoint of trying to locate other witnesses.

PEREIRA: Right.

CANNON: Identify and locate other witnesses. So that's been an ongoing process. There has not been a great deal of conversation between the investigative agency and the North Charleston Police Department. Historically, that's because there is concern to insure that nobody thinks that there is any collusion.

PEREIRA: Right, right.

CANNON: A minimal amount of information that comes to North Charleston. And they've not heard anything, as far as I know, about this particular aspect of the investigation.

PEREIRA: OK. Let's talk about the report from Officer Habersham, with some of the details that he apparently admitted from the report, the idea that Slager had walked away, had picked up what appears to be a Taser and then dropped it near Mr. Scott's body. Anything significant to you in that action?

CANNON: Well, I would think that would be one of the key elements of that interaction that SLED is going to focus on in the context of the statement that takes a much more in-depth statement that they would have taken from the officer when they sat down with him after the fact.

PEREIRA: Clearly, you can understand...

CANNON: Clearly, that's one of the disturbing aspects of it.

PEREIRA: Right. Well, you can understand why we want to ask these questions.

CANNON: Absolutely. Very disturbing.

PEREIRA: Another thing was that he mentioned in this report that he had offered aid to Mr. Scott, but the video doesn't show evidence of any kind he, nor any of the other officers responding, giving aid to Mr. Scott. His body lies there lifeless. That is significant and troubling, as well.

CANNON: Well, again, and I think SLED will look at that. That aspect of it may come more into play in the administrative part in the investigation, but SLED is going to look at every element of that interaction in particular, as well as the other officers. Each of those officers -- EMS, technicians that responded, any firefighters that might have responded. And the firefighters respond to -- most of them are paramedics. They respond to incidents where there's injuries. So if there were any of them, they will be taking statements from them, as well.

[07:25:08] PEREIRA: Before we leave you, I want to just ask. I understand you were a part of some of the commemorations over the weekend. If you can give us a quick idea of how things are going on the ground there and the process of healing, if it's begun.

CANNON: Well, I tell you, the last couple days, in particular, for me personally have been inspirational. I came to confront my own shortcomings as it relates to attending church. I went to the funeral service. I've met with the mother and the brother, and then at the funeral with the father and then nephews. Beautiful service, funeral service. And I have to tell you, I'm not a big fan of Reverend Sharpton. But he came here. And I think he was spot-on. He had some very positive things and spent a lot of time with.

PEREIRA: That's fantastic.

CANNON: On Mayor Summey and the police chief. It was just inspirational, and I told him that. Reverend Rivers, Nelson Rivers after Reverend Sharpton left added to that, made some comments to the effect that comments had been made in the presence of some major city African-American mayors saying here in the Deep South...

PEREIRA: Sheriff -- Sheriff Cannon, I have to -- I'm so sorry.

CANNON: We're able do it right.

PEREIRA: Right. They are able to do it right. We're so glad that that process is beginning. Thank you for joining us and adding your voice to the conversation. We'll continue it with you -- Chris.

CANNON: Thank you, Michaela.

CUOMO: All right, Mick. In political news, Hillary Clinton is in the race and motoring to a town near you, if you live in Iowa. Florida Senator Marco Rubio is also set to join the race. He will be the third first-term senator from the GOP saying he should be president. It is Hillary against the field, and John King will give you the odds on "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)