Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Referee Tackled; Apple Unveils New Product Line; Trump Attends Rally to Stop Iranian Nuclear Deal. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired September 9, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:17]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hour two. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

Let's begin with a big-name bromance playing out on Capitol Hill right now. You have Republican presidential candidates, obviously both rivals who are vying for their party's nomination. Donald Trump here and Senator Ted Cruz just finished addressing thousands of supporters gathered on Capitol Hill's west lawn, and they may be rivals in this race for the White House, but they today stood together at this Stop the Iran Deal rally.

This is the six-nation deal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It's really expected now to go through and this week it garnered enough support to withstand any kind of opposition in Congress, but that did not silence Cruz or Trump today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Never, ever, ever in my life have I seen any transaction so incompetently negotiated as our deal with Iran, and I mean never.

Now, Ted and everybody else have gone through all of the details and we can talk about the 24 days, which is ridiculous. We can talk about the $150 billion, which, by the way, they get even if the deal isn't approved. They get it just for going to the table. We can talk about the fact that we have four wonderful people over there, and frankly they are never going to come back with this group.

And I will say this. If I win the presidency, I guarantee you that those four prisoners are back in our country before I ever take office. I guarantee that.

They will be back before I ever take office, because they know that's what has to happen, OK? They know it, and if they don't know it, I'm telling them right now.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's worth remembering that, if this deal goes through, we know to an absolute certainty people will die. Americans will die, Israelis will die, Europeans will die.

Osama bin Laden never had $100 billion. He was filled with bilious hatred and using rudimentary tools, murdered nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001. We're now talking about giving the Ayatollah Khamenei, a theocratic homicidal maniac who hates America every bit as much as bin Laden did, giving him $100 billion to carry out his murderous plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, let's be transparent. It was the senator, Senator Cruz, who invited Donald Trump to this event, speaking frankly, saying, listen, an army of cameras follows this Republican front- runner wherever he goes, so bring on Donald Trump.

And Trump himself, he really told our own chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, that he is indeed a big fan of Ted Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, it is a little bit of a romance. I like him. He likes me. He has backed me 100 percent. When I came about illegal immigration, he was the one person that really -- yes, there were a couple of others of the candidates, but Ted Cruz was out there and he really backed me very strongly, as you know as well as anybody else, and I always respected that.

I thought that was very nice. And he actually asked me to get along here, come along, and I guess he figured that we'd get a big crowd and we certainly have gotten a big crowd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: After Donald Trump and Ted Cruz spoke, you see here Sarah Palin. She was up at the podium, but you see this melee in front of her. It appears that a heckler disrupted her speech. Not clear who or what his complaint was, but our cameras captured that.

Let me if to our CNN political reporter Sara Murray, who is there now as well.

Sara Murray, you just spoke with Donald Trump. What did he tell you?

SARA MURRAY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I did just speak with Donald Trump, and I did not ask him about Iran, but I asked him about another crisis that the entire world is dealing with right now.

And this is this influx of Syrian refugees, and I asked him, after we have seen these heartbreaking, gripping images, what he thought America's role should in helping these refugees. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think we should help, but I think we have to be very careful because frankly we have very big problems. We're not going to have a country if we don't start getting smart. We cannot help everybody throughout the world. Europe should help,

Russia should help. China, big beneficiary, they are not doing anything. The Gulf states are doing nothing, whether it's Saudi Arabia, Qatar, any of the Gulf states. They are doing nothing. They should all help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: And it's interesting, Brooke. You hear him there basically saying the U.S. can't be everyone's savior, that these other countries need to step up to help these Syrian refugees.

[15:05:01]

I think that's really the first time we have heard Donald Trump weigh in on this crisis.

BALDWIN: It is one of those questions several of these candidates now are responding to. Sara Murray, thank you very much.

Speaking of this Iran deal, we this was a rally, an anti-Iran nuclear deal rally, but Hillary Clinton spoke this morning weighing in on this as well. The Democratic front-runner said that without the agreement Iran could at any moment be months away from amassing enough material for a nuclear weapon. Here she was this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My approach will be distrust and verify. We should anticipate that Iran will test the next president. They will want to see how far they can bend the rules. That won't work if I'm in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now for some analysis on this Iran nuclear deal, let me bring in our CNN political commentator Peter Beinart and Jennifer Rubin, opinion writer for "The Washington Post."

Thank you both for joining me.

Peter, just straight to you, you know, it was fascinating sort of this take that you have, you write about, how, you know, your argument is basically that it was Donald Trump who inadvertently helped President Obama get this deal through, getting conservatives' eyes off that particular ball. Can you explain how you mean?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure.

I don't think Donald Trump was the main factor by any means, but one of the things that happened when Trump really went in the race is that the media focus turned to the issue that he was pushing. Of course Trump is against the Iran deal, but his bigger focus was on Mexico and actually on China.

And during this critical period in August, when the anti-deal side needed to basically block out the sun by focusing on this Iran deal, the media attention followed Trump and paid more attention to illegal immigration. That was the point I was making.

BALDWIN: Jennifer, I want to ask you about what Trump said today. But you want to respond to that argument from Peter?

JENNIFER RUBIN, COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes. I don't think that's the case at all it.

I think it came down to whether the Democrats were willing to go up against the White House and go up against Harry Reid and you saw the very painful statements, Cory Booker being the best example, where he essentially criticized the deal very strenuously and then wound up voting for it or saying he would vote for it.

So I think this comes down to politics. There was plenty of discussion on both sides, and frankly just about every senator said on the record and privately that this was one of the most discussed, one of the most lobbied issues that they can remember in years. They had plenty of discussion.

BEINART: Yes, but, Jennifer, they also said that the opponents had provided no reasonable alternative.

(CROSSTALK)

RUBIN: But that's not true, Peter.

BEINART: That's why they came out and supported it, even though they criticized.

(CROSSTALK)

BEINART: No, in fact, it is true. When the Europeans especially said this sanctions regime will collapse, the Republicans had no answer for that.

RUBIN: Yes, they did. In Senator Menendez's statement, Senator Schumer's statement, they lay out a very coherent plan to increase pressure on Iran, to go back and renegotiate the deal.

Senator Menendez concedes that it was a mistake not to push forward on his sanctions last year when they had the opportunity to. I don't think this president could get a better deal, but I'm absolutely certain the next one could, including Hillary Clinton.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Hold on, hold on. Hang on, hang on, hang on, because the deal is basically done. Let's just -- let's be on the same page. The train has left the station, so to speak, but Jennifer to you.

In listening to Donald Trump, he wasn't up at the podium for very long today on the Hill. When you -- it was not a lot of details, not a lot of substance, heavy on insults, heavy on what a lot of Americans seem to really love in him, talking about winning and then losers. It's working for him. If, if, Jennifer, he were to get the Republican Party nomination, you talk to a lot of Republicans, they say, my goodness, that will damage the brand.

RUBIN: Oh, yes. I mean, all the Republicans are simultaneously praying and working to make sure that that doesn't happen.

I think just about any Democrat, including Bernie Sanders, would beat Donald Trump in a general election. I think the effort right now on the Republicans or the hope is that as fall turns into winter and we get closer to the actual balloting, that voters will get more serious, that they will start looking at the issues and start thinking about someone like that having his finger on the button.

Isn't that an absolutely petrifying thought? And they will make a selection from one of the many qualified candidates. Unlike the Democrats, the Republicans have many choices. They are not stuck with a preordained front-runner.

BALDWIN: They will all be on the stage next Wednesday night. It will be interesting to see how they all respond to certain foreign policy questions and how detailed they will get.

But, Peter, I mean, on Hillary Clinton, who also spoke this morning on this Iran deal, you know, if something does go awry with the deal, say, over the course of the next 14 months, because this morning she took a bit of credit -- if something were to go awry, she would take some heat as well, no?

BEINART: Yes, I think that's true and I think it's also true that Republicans are focusing very heavily on foreign policy as they attack Hillary Clinton.

I think that's in large part because the economy is improving, so their attack on the Obama/Clinton administration as it were on economics is not as strong, so they are turning towards foreign policy. But I think if you look at voters' priorities, it's not very likely I think that that's going to resonate enough.

[15:10:05]

The reason Trump is resonating is, as crazy as he is -- I agree with Jennifer -- he's actually making more of an effort to appeal to people who have not benefited economically over the last 15 years. And that's where the Republican Party I think really has some trouble.

BALDWIN: We hear him over and over, I'm a successful businessman I can help with these deals.

And I'm sure we will see some of that next Wednesday night.

Jennifer and Peter, thank you so much.

And a reminder: The Republican presidential candidates, they will be facing off in back-to-back debates. We want you to tune in next Wednesday night, September 16, at 6:00 and 8:00 Eastern here on CNN. And we want to hear from you. We want to hear from you. What do you want to hear from the candidates? Tweet us your debate questions. Use #CNNdebate.

Next, all eyes on Apple unveiling its new product line. It's already generating a huge amount of buzz. We will walk you through some of the big surprises so far. Have you heard about this Apple Pencil?

Also ahead, a refugee crisis at its breaking point and CNN is there on the front lines walking alongside families, sharing these remarkable stories. We will speak live with someone who wants the United States to act now.

And just in to CNN, it has happened again, another moving vehicle targeted by gunfire in the Phoenix area, nine targeted thus far. Is this the work of a serial shooter? We have the very latest on the investigation.

You're watching CNN. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:52]

BALDWIN: This is CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

School officials in Texas trying to figure out why two high school football players just up and tackled this referee, blindsiding him, tossing him down to the ground. Administrators held an emergency hearing today to discuss whether any rules were violated.

You see in the video. We have it spotlighted. The unsuspecting official here, wait for it, you see player one, player two, taking him down, swooping in, slamming him. The ref has been identified as Robert Watts, a 14-year veteran. The players say he hurled racial slurs during the game, those allegations under investigation.

Then add this to the mix, this man here. This is assistant coach Mack Breed. He's now on administrative leave. He may have instigated this whole thing, allegedly ordering the hit on the ref, telling the players that Watts must -- quote -- "pay for cheating us."

Officials at today's hearing not happy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIL GARZA, ATHLETICS DIRECTOR, DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT: I read where this in this ball game, there were multiple ejections. There was punches thrown throughout parts of the game. There was trash-talking and gestures to bring attention to oneself and not the team, unsportsmanlike penalties, arguing with officials, including coaches, late hits, players complaining over and over throughout the game, what many would call an assault on an official, clenched fists as you cross the lines to shake hands.

That is -- seems to me like a time bomb waiting to happen and it did happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The case is now being treated as an assault on a school official.

Joining me now, Ronald Oswalt, the COO of texashsfootball.com, also known Robert Watts for nine years, a business relationship, very familiar with him. Several entities have railed against what these players are accused of doing.

Sir, welcome. Thank you so much for joining me.

RONALD OSWALT, COO, TEXASHSFOOTBALL.COM: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: Let me just begin because obviously we haven't heard publicly from, you know, your friend, this referee, Robert Watts.

I know you have spoken with him. What has he told you? Has he said, yes, I uttered racial slurs on the field, yes, that's the reason why I was taken down or not at all?

OSWALT: He has not responded back to me. We had messaged through Twitter.

But the biggest thing was, I have known him for nine years, and in a professional capacity. There's no way I would ever see this individual hurting someone, verbally assaulting anyone or anything. He's only ever been pleasant to people in our community. And these officials do not get paid enough going through everything this man is having to go through in his life right now. And it's just really sad, a sad day for Texas high school football.

BALDWIN: Is it possible, Ronald, and, again, you have known him -- and I hear you have a lot of respect for him in a professional setting.

But under the bright lights, Texas football, is it possible his temper got the best of him?

OSWALT: No. I would never see that out of this individual.

I have seen him at large events and other things and Robert would never do anything to hurt anybody at all.

BALDWIN: What can you tell me about this assistant coach who apparently told these players allegedly to teach this ref a lesson? Do you know anything about him?

OSWALT: The reports that we're getting are probably about the same that you're getting right now, and the reports are just stating as of hearsay at this time. And just like the racial slurs, they are really just hearsay at this time.

BALDWIN: I grew up in Georgia. I have several dear friends who are African-Americans who played high school football. I was just back at my high school with one of them recently and he was telling me that absolutely part of his Friday night experience was hearing racial slurs hurled at him. He never, of course, would take out a ref, but it would just give him a little bit more impetus to tackle someone.

Is this a reality of Texas football? You tell me.

OSWALT: I'm sorry. It broke up.

[15:20:00]

BALDWIN: Gosh. How do you I -- is any of this part of just Texas football? This is the South, you know, the heat of the games, this is a huge deal. Gestures, racial slurs, does that happen in Texas?

OSWALT: Sure.

I mean, you're going to have trash-talking during the game to a point, but it's a very much minimum. I have worked with Texas high school football and high school football back from Mississippi since 1989, and we always see that level of professionalism; 99.999 percent of the time, nothing ever happens.

BALDWIN: All right. Ronald Oswalt, we will be following it.

Just quickly, do you know if at all Robert Watts will be speaking publicly, addressing this?

OSWALT: At this time, I have not heard he is, but we do have some breaking news with -- we have just reported -- there will be a report on texashsfootball.com. We were at the press conference.

And we also Periscoped it. So all of that will be available from Tyler Agnew, one of our reporters, today.

BALDWIN: Was there a headline?

OSWALT: Really, the biggest headlines that we came out of the meeting was that the UIL executive director, who is the governing body for football in Texas, says, I don't know what provoked these actions, but, you know, we're meeting with each school individually.

They said that the culture at John Jay High School was poor with fans and players. John Jay will play this week. Their game will go on as planned. Northside ISD, they said they will do everything they can this week, but they are increasing administrative and security this weekend at John Jay High School.

BALDWIN: Wow. How about that?

Ronald Oswalt, thank you so much for your time.

OSWALT: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: You got it.

Coming up next here on CNN, new calls for the United States to step in as hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees are streaming into Europe. We will speak with a former member of Congress asking the Obama administration to step it up.

Plus, Jeb Bush takes on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in a major speech today -- why he says his two big rivals are actually the same.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:24]

BALDWIN: As Syrian refugees stream into Europe, CNN is capturing powerful images of families in the midst of these excruciating journeys. In fact, this exclusive video here taken by our CNN cameras, this is just off the coast of Turkey, more than 30 people here crammed into this tiny pontoon boat being smuggled across the Mediterranean with hopes of reaching Greece.

Today, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the United States will take in more refugees from the crisis in Syria, though Secretary Kerry did not say exactly how many more refugees the U.S. will welcome. Thus far, the U.S. has brought in just 1,500 people trying to escape the war in Syria

And you know what? My next guest says that is not enough.

He is Tom Andrews, the president and CEO of United to End Genocide, also former member of Congress.

So, Congressman Andrews, thank you so much for joining me.

TOM ANDREWS, PRESIDENT, UNITED TO END GENOCIDE: Brooke, thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: Let's begin with this petition you started, MoveOn.org urging President Obama to act. We have been checking. It's up to, what, 1,400 signatures and counting. What do you think the U.S. role should be here?

ANDREWS: Well, first of all, in any debates along these lines, Brooke, so often, it's the shrill voices that appeal for the fear and fortress America.

What we're talking about here are desperate people. Over four million have been forced out of Syria. They are literally running for their lives. They need help. They need compassion. They need support, and the United States needs to do two things. Number one, we need to be open to more refugees; 1,500 is just -- it's almost laughable. It is such a small number compared to the number of the great need that we have here.

But, secondly, the United States has to play a leadership role, and by committing ourselves to taking more of our fair share of this burden, we can then generate support from other countries, particularly those in the region, to step up and do their fair share. We all have to work on this together. But these are not people just looking to get a better job next door. They are desperate people who are literally running for their lives and they need compassion and support.

BALDWIN: I am hearing you. I know this is such your realm of expertise. I was asking some folks to find me numbers. Apparently, we're told the United States takes in already between 55,000 and 70,000 political refugees each and every year.

I was just talking to this phenomenal woman in Berlin last hour who took in this family of four who left Aleppo. Just to you personally, Congressman, would you open your home to some of these people?

ANDREWS: You know, the amazing thing, Brooke -- the answer is yes.

And the amazing thing is, is that not only are we getting people to sign our petition to have their voices heard above the shrill voices of fortress America, but they're also writing and saying, look, we would like to help. We will open up our spare bedroom. Our church or our synagogue would like to help as well.

It's amazing. We're a nation of refugees. We were founded by people who were fleeing persecution. Yes, there's a lot of fear that is appealed to by some in the political world here in Washington. But you have got to believe there's an enormous amount of compassion out there, too, and common sense, realizing that the United States has to use both of those qualities and rise above the harsh rhetoric in order to come to a solution here that I think we will all feel good about as Americans. We need to act.

BALDWIN: There -- there are lots of people who want to act. I mean, when you look at your petition, there are people who are saying, I have a spare bedroom. I want to help.

Quickly here, how -- what would you say to these people who genuinely want to -- to offer a helping hand?

ANDREWS: Well, first of all, we have to change U.S. policy. There is a limit to how many people are being allowed in.

As long as that policy is in place, it doesn't matter how generous you are and how hopeful you want to be. There's a limit to how many people can be brought in. So, first of all, let's change -- let's change U.S. policy. Let's open our doors to more refugees.