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Jeb Says George W. Is Foreign Policy Adviser; Intelligence Gathering Under Scrutiny; President To Discuss Trade Deal; Brady: No "Time To Digest" Deflate-Gate Report. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 8, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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


JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Let's go "Inside Politics." With me this morning to share their reporting and their insights are Tamara Keith of NPR and Lisa Lerer of the AP.

Let's start with the Chris Christie comeback trail. It begins and some people think it may end in New Hampshire, but Chris Christie, you know, a week or so after these bridge-gate legal maneuvers. He's up in New Hamspshire.

He's trying to prove to people this will not deter me, I did nothing wrong, the facts will support me. He decides yesterday one of the things is to go after Hillary Clinton. You were just in Nevada.

Hillary Clinton made a bold statement on immigration going even to the left of President Obama saying there should be a full and relatively quick path to citizenship. Not legal status, citizenship for the 11 million or so undocumented in the United States. Chris Christie says wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I think the path to citizenship issue is a problem. You know, for folks who have been waiting the appropriate wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, right.

CHRISTIE: And so I think we have to have a much broader conversation than just pandering. We should not just be pandering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Chris Christie there if you can't hear him saying she's pandering, she's pandering in that circle there. Number one, he's drawn a sharp line with her, all of the Republicans are. This issue guaranteed to be front and center, when it comes to Chris Christie's calculations, putting the conservative flag down here.

TAMARA KEITH, NPR: Yes, even though he in theory is trying to run in the moderate lane. And there's this theory that Hillary Clinton went to Nevada and set a trap for the Republicans. She went to Nevada and talked about immigration, went to the left of President Obama and was essentially saying I dare you to say something that will make Latino voters not like you. And Chris Christie seems to in some way be taking the bait. He's at least taking the same conservative position that basically the rest of the GOP fields has taken on this issue.

KING: And it is interesting setting a trap in the sense that, you know, her priority clearly is keep the Obama coalition. And more than two-thirds of Latinos in two consecutive presidential elections look at Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, look at Florida, even a state like Virginia, the Latino population is growing.

Is it that clear cut for the Clinton campaign? Do they feel on such safe ground here to number one put her on the left, and number two, throw a log on this Republican fire?

LISA LERER, "ASSOCIATED PRESS": Yes, I had a Democrat once several years ago explain to me why Democrats feel immigration is such a great issue for their party. It's not only because of the Latino vote and winning huge margins there.

It's also because there's an idea in the Democratic Party that the right wing of the Republican Party can't help, but take the bait. So it falls, you know, and people like Steve King or other sort of outspoken anti-immigration advocates say comments that maybe come off as a little bit racist or a little bit intolerant and that paints the entire party with that stereotype and that helps Democrats.

So it's not just about immigration, Latinos and that policy. It's about for Democrats and I think for the Hillary Clinton campaign tagging the whole party with this intolerant past backwards looking label.

KING: And so Hillary thinks it helps her when she looks at the path to 270, the National Electoral College Map. But what do we make of this. The poll in New Hampshire shows Hillary Clinton six points behind Jeb Bush, five points behind Marco Rubio right now. Four points behind Rand Paul right now. Tie there with Scott Walker and plus one over Ted Cruz.

So struggling in a state that has traditionally been a swing state but has been in the last several presidential elections more blue, more Democratic. Now, Democrats up there say it's just cause she hasn't been there that much. This will be fine. Is it?

KEITH: New Hampshire is Hillary Clinton territory. If there's a state that is a Hillary Clinton state, it's New Hampshire. I think it's kind of hard to get animated about a poll 18 months out.

KING: What are we going to do every day?

KEITH: I'm sorry. But it is 18 months out and this poll has proven to be relatively volatile in the past.

KING: It is 18 months out. You're exactly right, but we also talk about in national polls a lot how, yes, it's 18 months out, but she starts nationally seems in a commanding position, she's ahead at least several points. This one here I think a little bit of a flashing light saying we've got some work to do.

LERER: And it also comes after, you know, a tough couple of weeks for Hillary Clinton. There have been a lot of questions about the foundation, a lot of questions about her and her husband's paid speeches.

Are a people not to tout the home team, but we had a poll last week that found more than six out of ten voters thought that the word honest didn't really accurately describe Hillary Clinton.

That's the kind of thing if you're seeing that pop up in polls now when the narrative gets set that's the kind of thing that starts to concern campaign strategists.

KING: So what do we make of this one? In a private meeting in New York yesterday, Jeb Bush meeting with fundraisers said his top adviser when it comes to the Middle East is his brother, George W. Bush. Some people in the room say they understood he meant Israel, not the broader Middle East.

If he's the nominee or maybe even some Republican will bring that up given the unpopularity of the Iraq war, is that what he wants to be saying?

KEITH: Well, he did say it behind closed doors so maybe he thought he was safe. Nothing is safe behind closed doors. I think what he was doing in theory was he was responding to a flap earlier about one of his advisers not being in the right place on Israel.

[07:35:04] And so he was trying to say, but look my brother is really great on Israel so I'm with my brother on that. Those words, I take advice from my brother on the Middle East, is not good for him.

LERER: And you know, he was at a fundraiser being hosted by Paul Singer, who is a major Republican donor hawkish on Israel, but I think this is a good teachable moment for Governor Bush, which is that nothing you say to donors is ever closed doors.

He's lucky there wasn't a recording device in there, but I'm sure maybe somebody has the tape on cell phone and that can pop back up as Mitt Romney, you pointed out, certainly learned in last time around.

KING: Also a bit of a Rorschach test where some conservatives might say great president bush's policies were strong but middle electorate say this is him trying to get away from the Jim Baker comments that angered a lot of conservatives.

Lisa, Tamara, thanks for coming in. As we get back to you in New York, Alisyn, one person who we thought might run for president, Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan says for sure he will not now.

We thought he was going to wait until the early summer, but he has decided to pull himself out. We are still waiting on Governor Kasich of Ohio, but the Republican field starting to take shape.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, there you go. Thanks so much, John. Have a great weekend. Make sure to watch john king and his inside politics panel break down the best political news of the week every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Meanwhile, thousands of ISIS followers said to be here in the U.S. We get reaction to the FBI's chilling warning from the White House next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:23]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You know what you're seeing right now? David Cameron is going to meet with Queen Elizabeth. This is what happened just moments ago. This is a trip David Cameron may well thought he would never make again because he was supposed to lose.

His party was supposed to take a beating. That's what all the polls said and it didn't happen. And just like that, just like that in one moment there's an entirely different political reality now for the U.K. and that means for the U.S.-U.K. relationships.

Let's bring in White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest joining us this morning to discuss this and another big issue with what's going on in Texas and what it reveals about our terror strategy. It's good to have you with us, Mr. Earnest.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Good morning, Chris.

CUOMO: Is it true that President Obama was taking down all his pictures of him and David Cameron because all the polls were suggesting his party was going to go down? How do you think those polls got it so wrong?

EARNEST: Well, Chris, it's hard to say. I think even pollsters would tell you it's an inexact science and highlights the importance in a competitive democracy of people actually showing up on Election Day and casting a ballot.

CUOMO: Were you guys surprised?

EARNEST: Well, I think we were following the elections like everybody else and we were looking at the polls and watching the news reports.

But I think everybody here at the White House particularly those of us who have been with President Obama for a while now and been through a couple elections with him understand that the ultimate decision is not made by the pollsters, but it's actually made by the voters.

This is a testament to the strength of a vibrant democracy. Obviously our close allies in the U.K. have exactly that. And, look, the president is proud of the strong working relationship that he's developed with David Cameron over the years.

And he's looking forward to continuing to strengthen that personal relationship, but also make sure we continue to deepen the relationship between the American people and the British people because the close relationship of our governments has served the citizens of our country very well.

CUOMO: So now you went from one situation where it was going to be the precarious nature of change to now an opportunity. Both these men have mandate, Obama and Cameron and both know they don't have to face another election because Cameron has pledged not to seek the prime minister in the next set of elections. Do you think this is an opportunity for the U.S. to ask the U.K. to step up involvement specifically in the war on terror?

EARNEST: Well, Chris, we've actually had a very strong partnership with the U.K. when it comes to the war on terror. And all of the efforts that we have undertaken to combat extremism around the world, particularly in our fight against ISIL we have relied very heavily on our allies in the U.K., who have committed to assisting U.S. military experts as we train and equip the Iraqi security forces they take the fight to ISIL in their own country.

We've worked closely with them in terms of launching military air strikes against extremists in Iraq as well. We're pleased with the kind of strong relationship we have with them. We're always interested in what more our allies can do to join us in this effort.

CUOMO: All right, so now let's talk about two big domestic issues here. Texas reveals the new face of the war on terror and it seems to be one that is a little bit ahead of our ability to stop it.

I say that because even the FBI director says these scary new words that came out of his mouth about how the recruiting and the planning and the executing is all going on so much faster now.

This all happens in the shadow of this big decision from a federal court of appeals that says the way that the NSA right now is taking data from communications of Americans is not legal.

And they suggest in their decision, as you know Mr. Earnest, that this requires debate and legislation. So where is the White House on the balance of what we need to do to stay safe with what people think they want in terms of freedom and privacy?

EARNEST: Well, Chris, in the mind of the president this is a debate he kicked off a year and a half ago when he called on Congress to put in place reforms to the Patriot Act and to the 215 program that would allow us to better reflect the need to balance.

The need to give our national security officials and experts the tools that they need to keep us safe while also making sure that we're protecting the privacy of the American people and the president's been calling on these reforms for a year and a half now.

CUOMO: But the criticism would be that the president is moving it towards privacy when you have people in the intelligence community and now all people witnessing Texas saying you need to move the other way.

We need to do more about what's going on in social media. We need more information to catch these types of people now who aren't connected to bad guys the way they used to be. Now it's more subtle. We need to be more invasive, not less.

EARNEST: Well, Chris, in the mind of the president what we can do is we can make sure we give our tools -- I'm sorry, we can give our national security professionals the tools that they need to keep us safe.

[07:45:11] And that's exactly consistent with reform proposal that's finally moving through Congress right now. It's got bipartisan support. And it would make sure that our law enforcement and our intel officials have the tools they need to keep us safe while also doing more to protect the privacy of the American people.

And we shouldn't have to choose about whether or not between those two things. We should be able to do both. The president's confident that we can do that and this is something that he's been calling on Congress to take action on for a year and a half now and we're pleased to see that those steps are moving.

What I will say, Chris, is we're going to need Congress to act before the end of this month. The Patriot Act does expire at the end of this month.

And there are important authorities that are contained in that legislation that allows our law enforcement and our intel officials to take some steps to keep us safe. So it's important that Congress acts before the end of the month. But that's what they're on track to do.

CUOMO: All right, so we also know that the president today is going to talk trade agreements and try and do what he can to get more jobs, which as we know is pretty much as close to a panacea as you'll find in politics right now. What is he doing today and what is the objective?

EARNEST: Well, Chris, what the president's doing is he's traveled to Portland, Oregon. He traveled there last night and he's going to do an event at the headquarters of Nike this morning.

And at Nike, they have made an announcement that if we're able to complete the Transpacific Partnership agreement that the president's currently negotiating with some countries in the Asia Pacific region that that will lead Nike to create 10,000 jobs right here in America.

And that could have a broader economic benefit around their headquarters of up to 40,000 American jobs. This is an indication of what the president's been saying for quite some time.

If we can level the playing field, if we can give American businesses access to overseas markets, level the playing field in those markets, we're going to expand opportunity for American businesses and give American businesses an opportunity to invest right here in America and create jobs right here in America.

So this is a pretty persuasive argument in the mind of the president about why exactly we do need to be engaged in countries around the world, why we do need to be considering agreements like this Transpacific Partnership agreement that would include enforceable labor protections.

Include enforceable environmental standards in a way that will actually open opportunities for American businesses overseas and lead to job creation and economic growth right here in the United States of America.

CUOMO: And as you know people are happy to reach out for trade abroad as long as it means cheaper goods back here at home. But they also need jobs here at home as well. Mr. Earnest, thank you very much as always for joining us on NEW DAY. A good weekend to you, sir.

EARNEST: All right. Thank you, Chris. You too.

CUOMO: All right -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady weighs in on the damning deflate-gate report. Wait until you hear what he has to say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:57]

CAMEROTA: That was the air drum that Chris plays during the tosses. New England Patriots' quarterback, Tom Brady, weighing in on the NFL deflate-gate report. Coy Wire has more --

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: I like the air guitar. Look, last night Tom Brady made his first public comment in front of crowd full of New England fans at Salem State University. Brady said that he has not had time to digest the Deflategate report. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK: It has only been 30 hours, so I have not had time to digest it, but when I do, I will let you know how I feel about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the Super Bowl tainted?

BRADY: What do you guys think? Neither do I.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has this, however, detracted from your joy of winning the Super Bowl?

BRADY: Absolutely not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, now Brady's agent has had time to digest the report, and he said Brady did not have any knowledge of football's being deflated.

This was after, of course, he released a statement earlier in the day calling the Wells report a terrible disappointment and saying it had tragic flaws. Now it's the NFL's move, will they suspend Brady? Will they fine the Patriots? We'll know soon. In baseball news, Yankees and Orioles last night, A-Rod looking to pass Willie Mays on the all-time home run list. He cranks this one. It's in the first inning. It's high. It's far, but down and young times it up, like a thief in the night.

Sorry, A-Rod, but he got another chance. Bang, zoom, you are going to the moon. That moves Rodriguez to fourth place on the list. And guys, it will be interesting to see if a-rod is still in pinstripes and closing in on Babe Ruth's record, and that's interesting.

CUOMO: Coy, thank you very much. Everybody is watching.

All right, so this is scary, but we are now told by the FBI that thousands of Americans can be in contact with ISIS, and the question is, can we handle it? We have Senator John McCain to tell us what is going on with laws that may change and make you less safe.

PEREIRA: Before that, though, this Sunday on CNN "PARTS UNKNOWN," Anthony Bourdain explores Scotland. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, "PARTS UNKNOWN": The Scottish islands, one of the most beautiful places on earth, and you get to shoot animals and drag them back and cook them and eat them. The problem is there are hills.

After that hill, there's another one and then another one and then another one and another one. Eight months ago, no way I would have made this walk. You would have been carrying me home by now, the most physically challenging episode of my life. It hurts. It hurts a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:59:32]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shocking, historic, unprecedented.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prime Minister David Cameron will keep his job.

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: My aim remains simple, governing on the bases of governing for everybody in the United Kingdom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hours before the attempted attack, the FBI sent a warning to police in Garland.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This bulletin was prompted by his social media activity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands of Americans are in direct contact with ISIS right now. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to allow this person to take more advantage of my career.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to fight for the rights of my daughters to live.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY.