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First Republican Primary Debate Tomorrow Night; GOP Debate Preview; Trial for Hunter Guide in Zimbabwe; Experts Analyze Plane Parts in France; Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 5, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:01] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'd rather go straight down the middle but you don't know what's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: He's spoken, Jeff, in a lot of generalizations at this point. Do you think that we are going to see specifics coming from Donald Trump tomorrow?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Who knows if there'll be time for specifics, Brianna, with all those superlatives. We know he's going to say he's terrific, we know he's going to say he is fantastic. He is the best. And the reality is, even though the debate is a two-hour debate, with 10 candidates on the stage the debate format really does not allow a lot of specifics so in that respect it could actually be right up his alley in terms of just, you know, sort of giving, you know, quick answers to building the wall.

He said Mexico is going to pay for it. Well, someone could ask him -- these moderators are very good. Without question they're going to follow up on him. This is a live interview and he's going to perhaps have to answer that. But as Dana knows very well from having just interviewed him, he is not very steeped in substance.

The question, though, do voters care? At this point they really like his -- you know, his brash style, he's not a politician, he's a successful businessman, so I think we'll get a little meat on the bones tomorrow night, but don't look for a policy lecture or a policy speech. It's just not going to happen.

KEILAR: Dana, go ahead.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I agree. If I could just add to that. Jeff is -- Jeff is exactly right. I'm told by several campaigns that the rules for this debate, because there are 10 candidates on the stage, that every candidate has one minute. So 60 seconds to answer each question. There's not a lot of time to get really deep into the substance of policy in 60 seconds.

They will also, I'm told, have 30-second time limit to rebut anybody who says anything specific about them by name. But that's why it is going to be difficult with all those people on the stage, even though it is going to be two hours. KEILAR: Jeff, you have, next to Donald Trump in this debate, Jeb

Bush. And this is a big night for him. Even though he isn't the frontrunner and he's trailing Donald Trump considerably, how much pressure is he under to really have a strong performance?

ZELENY: I think he's under a fair bit of pressure. He needs to show that he is the leading alternative, that he is the mature Republican, perhaps, in the room. That he is the -- you know, the person who is -- you know, he's so familiar with the White House, of course, having a father and a brother in the White House but he also has to show that he has some fire in his belly. He's very good in a town hall format. Dana's seen him out there. We all three have. And he answers questions after question.

You know, but this is -- as we just talked about, this is a very different format. This is a quick format and he is not always as succinct as passionate as some of his rivals up there. So I think this is a big moment for him. But he is not going to change who he is. He's a substantive candidate and that's what we are going to see tomorrow I think. But I think more people are more likely to go after Jeb Bush than almost anyone else up there. There's far less risk of going after Jeb Bush than going after Donald Trump.

BASH: You know what, that's exactly right, Brianna. Jeb Bush -- I do think he has perhaps the most to lose aside from the obvious frontrunner Donald Trump. But there is so much focus on him as a substantive guy. On him as maybe the adult in the room that he's got to prove that tomorrow night.

And, you know, the other thing he's got to prove is that he's really been able to brush the rust off. To polish himself off as a politician who hasn't been out there for, what, eight, nine years because it has been that long since he left politics, since he left the governor's mansion in Florida. This week, just yesterday with his comments about women in New Hampshire, hit the forum that he had a couple of days ago, weren't his best performances.

Even people close to Jeb Bush admit that. So he's got to show that he can be a different kind of guy. Going into this, a lot of people were saying, well, maybe he can be -- use Donald Trump as a foil to show he's a different kind of guy. The question is whether or not the format is going to allow for that. Whether or not he might be asked point blank, you know, respond to what Donald Trump said about Mexican Americans and about your wife being a Mexican American.

KEILAR: Imagine that.

BASH: We'll see. Those are opportunities he might have, you never know.

KEILAR: I cannot wait and I can't wait to talk to you guys about it.

Dana Bash, Jeff Zeleny, thanks, guys.

And we have so much more debate coverage still ahead with a big showdown tomorrow night in Cleveland. We will preview the six big things you should watch for from the frontrunners to that invisible candidate on the stage. We'll cover it all next.

[13:34:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The stakes are high for the first Republican primary debate of the campaign. We got a bit of a preview earlier this week when 14 of the 17 candidates took part in a Republican forum. So what are some things to watch for tomorrow night?

CNN politics and finance reporter MJ Lee joins us from Cleveland to discuss.

And, MJ, you say there are six things to watch. You say number one, can Jeb Bush avoid stumbles. How important is this?

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna. While there's a lot riding on Donald Trump and a lot of attention on Donald Trump tomorrow night, I think there are plenty of people who are really curious to see how Jeb Bush performs tomorrow night. We got a little preview Tuesday night at the forum in New Hampshire. And he didn't really have his best performance. He didn't really bring his A-game. He stumbled a little bit. A lot of people noted that he seemed a little nervous.

And I think Thursday night will be a way for him to prove to critics that he can perform better. He's obviously someone who hasn't really run for office in a very long time and people have wondered for a while, is he a little rusty? And I think that Thursday night will be an important moment for him to prove himself.

[13:40:03] KEILAR: Number two, MJ, on your list, you say that we should watch to see if someone in the middle tier is going to break out and then number three you say keep an eye on those 5:00 p.m. debaters. We've been jokingly referring to this as the kiddy table, those who did not make it in this top 10. What does it take for them to break out and do they also have an opportunity not sharing the stage with Donald Trump?

LEE: Right. Look, as you know, because Donald Trump has sucked up so much of the energy out of the room the last couple of weeks for all of the candidates involved, all 16 of them, it has been very difficult for them to get attention, for them to get media coverage.

I think for the candidates who are standing on stage next to Donald Trump, a lot of it will have to do with how do they handle him, do they engage him, do they find ways to sort of ignore that he is on stage, and you know, find ways to talk about their policy issues and look presidential.

Obviously Thursday night is an important opportunity for some of these candidates to make a good first impression to voters across the nation. For some of the lower tier candidates, the 5:00 p.m. debaters, it's an important opportunity for them, too.

I was speaking to former presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, who obviously has done this before and gets what goes into having a good debate performance and he was making the point look, some of the 9:00 p.m. candidates tomorrow night won't actually end up being the 9:00 p.m. candidates in another debate. Some of the 5:00 p.m. candidates tomorrow might have a better showing and might see their poll numbers go up.

The fortunes of presidential candidates can fluctuate a lot in a short period of time. So I think for everyone involved this is a very important opportunity.

KEILAR: Number four, and I love that you flagged this. You say the moderators, because they may have to wrangle Donald Trump or they could force another candidate to say, hey, respond to what Donald Trump said. And then there's the person that you call the invisible candidate on the stage, Hillary Clinton. We know that they're going to hit her but I love your last one here, MJ. And on your list it simply says, oops, because as we know, there are always these memorable moments when someone kind of messes up. How much is riding on this if they have a gaffe?

LEE: The "Oops" obviously refers to Rick Perry's gaffe in 2012 and the 2012 cycle when in the middle of the debate he said, "I want to shut down three government agencies." Named one, named two, and when he got to the third one just couldn't think of it and uttered the words that you should -- or one where that you should never hope to utter when you're debating on stage and that is "oops."

It's unclear whether that ended up hurting him and whether that ended up being fatal. He obviously didn't get the party's nomination. All of these candidates on stage tomorrow will want to avoid that moment that could haunt them for the next couple of months.

KEILAR: Yes. And he may be trying for redemption, although he is at that early hour. We will see.

MJ Lee, love your list. Thanks for joining us from Cleveland. Appreciate it.

And now we have some new developments in the Hillary Clinton e-mail saga. Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall, has confirmed to CNN the FBI is looking into the security of the private e-mail that she used while she was secretary of State. In particular, that server at her home in Chappaqua, New York.

The "Washington Post" is also reporting that Kendall has been questioned about a thumb drive he has with copies of Clinton's old work e-mails. Clinton herself is not accused of any wrongdoing. Her spokesman reiterating Clinton has never sent nor received any e-mails that were marked classified at the time.

And for the latest headlines and in-depth political news, head on over to CNNpolitics.com.

Coming up, the Safari hunting guide who helped an American kill Cecil the lion is speaking out to CNN. What he had to say about the public outrage and why he's calling the charges against him frivolous. [13:44:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: I want to take you quickly to France where officials are talking about the discovery of that flaperon and we're going to perhaps find out if it is from MH-370. Let's listen.

NAJIB RAZAK, MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER: They have our deepest sympathy and prayers. I would like to assure all those affected by this tragedy that the government of Malaysia is committed to do everything within our means to find out the truth of what happened. MH-370's disappearance marked us as a nation. We mourn with you as a nation and I promise you this, Malaysia will always remember and honor those who were lost on board MH-370.

Thank you. That's all. Thank you very much. That's all I have to say.

KEILAR: All right, we are going to continue to monitor that, but experts are analyzing plane parts in France and we are awaiting new information there. We're expecting perhaps to hear from that team that has been investigating.

All right. Let's turn now to another story, a man suspected of leading the hunt that resulted in the death of Cecil, Zimbabwe's famous protected lion, appeared briefly in court today to face poaching charges. His trial was postponed until late September to allow the defense more time to prepare.

[13:50:10] CNN's David McKenzie caught up with this professional hunter to hear his thoughts on the charges against him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera)): The killing of Cecil the lion has sparked worldwide outrage but the focus has shifted here to this tiny magistrate court in Zimbabwe. And Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter who is with Walt Palmer during that hunt faces poaching charges that could get him 10 years in prison but he told me that it's all very unfair.

THEO BRONKHORST, HUNTING GUIDE: I think it's frivolous and wrong.

MCKENZIE: And you think you'll come through this?

BRONKHORST: I've got a good legal team and I hope so.

MCKENZIE: What is your feeling about the issue of hunting in Zimbabwe?

BRONKHORST: It's an integral part of our country and it's got to continue. And if we do not use wildlife sustainably there will be no wildlife.

MCKENZIE: And do you feel you had all the right permits and everything was above law?

BRONKHORST: I believe so.

MCKENZIE: And so what do you think about the way you've been prosecuted like this?

BRONKHORST: Crazy.

MCKENZIE: Zimbabwean Parks Authorities have banned hunting on the margins of Hwange National Park but, in fact, one senior official of Zimbabwean parks told us they want to hunting to resume and this furor to die down so that they can get revenues into these communities and into conservation. Bronkhorst's trial resumes in late September.

David McKenzie, CNN, Hwange, Zimbabwe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Let's head back to following MH-370. We just dipped in briefly to a press conference there in Toulouse, France from Malaysian officials. And we -- I'm just literally hearing in my ear that officials there have confirmed that that debris found on Reunion Island is from Malaysia flight -- Malaysia Air Flight 370.

I want to bring in Saima Mohsin. She is on the ground there in Toulouse, France, where this investigation has been going on.

Saima, catch us up here.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna. Yes, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak making that surprise press conference there to sympathize both with the passengers and the crew members families to say that he stands united with them and committed to finding out the truth shortly after announcing that the piece of aircraft found on Reunion Island, as he put it, was indeed from MH-370.

That means that obviously the investigators that arrived here just a few hours ago, Brianna, have conclusively decided together that this flaperon, which we knew since the weekend was from a 777 aircraft is now conclusively matched to MH-370. Of course there were a lot of hopes and a lot of fears tied to this announcement and we were expecting a press conference from the French prosecutor's office shortly, but it seems that the prime minister and the Malaysian government decided that they should be the ones to make this announcement.

Of course, he was the one to make the announcement initially last year to confirm that they believe that this claim was lost in the Indian Ocean and that is where it ended its journey as he put it then last year -- Brianna.

KEILAR: So this wing part from Malaysia Flight MH-370, the first sign that we've seen of it since it went missing a year and a half ago.

Saima, this was a process that was conducted with the utmost care, right? You talked about -- this was in a sealed container and it's being treated essentially as the singular clue from a crime scene.

MOHSIN: Yes, absolutely. A crime scene, by the way, because here in France a manslaughter case has been launched by the four French nationals on board, families, a manslaughter case pending terrorist incident or hijacking on board MH-370 and that is why one of the reasons, as well as of course the international aircraft investigation that it's so sensitive and so delicately dealt with.

It was delivered here in that sealed container, as you mentioned. All the groups that were going to analyze it had to be like present at the same time when the sealed container was going to be opened. They arrived here around 2:30 local time and stayed in there for about two and a half, three hours, and then they left with great speed and it's not long since we've -- after that since we've heard from the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak.

Now, Brianna, the tests we understand, they would have conducted things like sonograms, x-rays, even 3-D imaging. CNN went inside the lab that carries out air crash investigations just yesterday to look at what exactly they can do. Now of course, the first step and the priority was always to be able to match this part, the flaperon from a 777 aircraft to MH-370. Now they can perhaps reveal in weeks to come how that plane went down in the Indian Ocean -- Brianna.

[13:55:10] KEILAR: Just to -- Saima Mohsin, there for us in Toulouse, France, where this process of examining that flaperon that you see right there is concluded in knowing that it is indeed part of MH-370. We've learned this from the Malaysian prime minister. He is there -- he is -- Malaysian officials, of course, are there in Toulouse, France. He announced that from a live press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

I want to bring in now Peter Goelz, he's a CNN aviation analyst. He's a former NTSB managing director.

Let's talk about what this one piece that we now know is part of Malaysia Air Flight 370 means. It is -- it is a flaperon and so that tells you that -- what does that tell you about how this plane may have met its demise?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I mean, it confirms the sad truth that the plane ended up in the water with all of its passengers and crew and that there were no survivors. That's the fundamental truth of today and the confirmation on how it went down is still many months away, but this confirms that the plane is in the ocean.

KEILAR: Some experts have suggested that the fact that this was separated from a plane has to do with air speed being so tremendous that it became separated before the plane would have gone in the water.

What would that tell us about whether these investigators will be able to ultimately retrieve, say, a black box that does re-record every two hours?

GOELZ: Yes, it's going to be -- this is a very difficult investigation. It's going to continue to be one. It does look to many of us from afar that this flaperon could have separated on the way down because there's no real depression damage, no real damage that would result from 500 or 600-mile-an-hour impact with the ocean, so it's very likely I think that it separated, but being able to, you know, trace back currents, it's impossible. The search is going to be painstaking, it's going to go on for months.

KEILAR: Peter, stay with me here.

Erin McLaughlin is going to join us live from Reunion Island where this flaperon was found. She's joining us right now.

This must have been the suspicion there, Erin, obviously from the get- go of folks who found this. You have an island there of people who have been searching for even more pieces of debris since this has been found. Are people at all -- I imagine not, I imagine it's very early in the morning there, but what do you think the reaction is going to be?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, I think people here are going to continue to search, and I think if anything this news will mean that those searches may just intensify and they are not just searching here on Reunion Island. They are also searching in nearby Mauritius and they're searching in the Seychelles Island which are over 1200 miles from here.

People I've been speaking to say they're dedicated to solving this mystery. They say they feel a connection to MH-370, not just because the flaperon washed up on the shores of this island but because this is a close-knit island, very family-oriented. There are many religions on this island and they were absolutely horrified when they first heard the news of MH-370, shocked at the idea that loved ones could just disappear without explanation so they are dedicated in helping this effort.

And they say they're going to be vigilant, vigilantly looking on the beaches and in the waters surrounding here for the days and weeks to come.

KEILAR: Will Ripley in Beijing, I want to get to you real quick. There are a number of victims there in China. Family members who have been looking for some clue, some confirmation about what happened to their loved ones. Are you -- are you hearing from them or what was their expectation ahead of today?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than 150 family members here in China, and they are active on Chinese social media right now. They have these -- these group messaging systems where they have been sharing information and people were awake. They were watching and, of course, as you might imagine this is devastating for -- for these families who have been bracing themselves for the possibility that this might be a piece of MH-370.

But, again, they still, until this plane is found and until these people who were on board -- 239 people were found, some family members may still hold on to hope, Brianna, that somehow people made it out alive, even though it appears that is against all possibilities at this point.

KEILAR: Devastating news confirming suspicions.

Will Ripley in Beijing.

That is it for me. We will continue to follow this story. If you are viewing internationally "AMANPOUR" is next. For our North American viewers, "NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.

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