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How Will The Candidates Handle Trump?; Trump: ISIS, Hezbollah Leaders "Won't Be There" In A Year; Will Fed Raise Rates? Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired September 15, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:33] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, at least eight people are dead after heavy rain ravaged Hilldale, Utah. We're showing you live pictures now as the search continues for five people that are still missing.

The flash floods were so strong, it swept away two cars. We watched a dramatic rescue caught on video, crews rushing to frantically pull people out of the car, nearly under water. You can see the women climbing out of the car. A young boy was also plucked and pulled to safety.

A former Charleston, South Carolina police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man in the back has been denied bond. A judge ruling the release of Michael Slager would pose an unreasonable danger to the community.

Slager faces murder charges for killing Walter Scott as Scott tried to flee from the officer. That deadly encounter took place after Mr. Scott was stopped for a broken taillight.

More than a year after the shooting death of Michael Brown, a reform panel is calling for the consolidation of all St. Louis area police departments and municipal courts and the scaling back of the use of police force.

The 16-member panel appointed by the governor after the riots in Ferguson recommends retraining officers and the establishment of a statewide database to track police abuses. Chris, over to you.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, clearly there's going to be one big target on stage at the Reagan Library, Donald Trump. The question is, how do you deal with that target? And how does Donald Trump carry himself tomorrow night.

"New York Times" political correspondent, Patrick Healy, has been tracking how the candidates are preparing for tomorrow night, and CNN national political reporter, Maeve Reston back with us.

Maeve, we saw your tweet. You really think we need big boots to go there? You really think there is going to be a lot of downpour there?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: This is not typical California weather. It is a torrential downpour at the moment.

CUOMO: So your suggestion is that the oncoming debate --

RESTON: Good for the drought, right.

CUOMO: The oncoming debate, I believe this is your suggestion, tell me if I'm wrong, the consequences are so huge, it's changed the weather in California already?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Do you agree with the fire and brimstone, cats and dogs, do you believe the stakes are real and if so, for who and how?

PATRICK HEALY, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": The stakes are unquestionably real. Jeb Bush needs to come out of this debate and show voters as well as his donors that he has got some fire to go up against Donald Trump, that he is not a wimp, not someone who can't take on Donald Trump how's he going to take on Vladimir Putin?

He needs to be someone who conveys strength and passion and can get to it and can show he can stand up to the sky. He's got lines that he's been rehearsing. The question is does he deploy them or as we've seen in debates in the past, does he get jumbled up.

[07:35:03] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Patrick, I want to stick with you for a second because you have some new reporting whereby you write that they are preparing, quote, "aggressive new tactics" for this debate and entering a more combative phase. What will that look like tomorrow night?

HEALY: For Jeb Bush it's going to look like from everything calling Donald Trump to a New York liberal, pointing out his donations to Democrats, his view on abortion rights. We saw businesses going bankrupt or giving money to Democrats in order to help his corporate interest. The question is does he deploy any of this? Right now in our new poll this morning, he's down from 13 points to 6 points.

CAMEROTA: Jeb?

HEALY: Jeb. Scott Walker has tumbled from 10 points to 2 points. The question becomes, does level of desperation start coming off so that they get a little worried about whether they want to go on the attack too strong because they might be seen as flailing, as sinking?

CUOMO: It also looks look player hating. Why go after Donald Trump? His people love him because of his message. Carly Fiorina, for example, she had ample opportunity to go right at him and insult him for what he said, but she didn't.

She put out an ad that says let's look at the face of women in leadership. You say you're not surprised, that she could very well come with her own agenda that has nothing to do with Trump.

RESTON: Absolutely. She is -- she's got lots of lines ready, I am sure, and she's certainly going to be able to be a good foil to Trump in the sense that she does that in an artful, charming way that appeals to voters.

That's the tricky line that all of these candidates have. Is that with Jeb Bush who's obviously been planning a very aggressive strategy, he's really been trying a lot of that over the last couple of weeks.

And it doesn't seem to be getting him very far at this point. So it's unclear what attacks will actually stick with Trump. I mean, if you have a policy heavy agenda you're trying to contrast against that, is that what people really want to hear right now?

It seems like when you talk to voters out on the trail, that they want to talk about the anger and frustration that they are feeling and so Jeb Bush really has to find a way to tap into that and show that he feels it.

CAMEROTA: Chris Christie was asked last night about what his plans are for tomorrow night. Let's play a bit of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ),PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I feel like there's something I need to say on Wednesday night, I will say it. But we're also running for president of the United States. I think people want to hear about our ideas for the country's future. And not just get in a food fight. I've watched this Jeb Bush/Donald Trump food fight. Let me clue them in on something. Nobody cares.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: IS he right about that or do people actually like the food fight right now?

HEALY: People love the food fight. It's entertaining. The thing for Christie, John Walker, some say for John Kasich, this was supposed to be the year of the governor. We want someone with executive experience, who will go in, know how to pass laws and push agendas.

You haven't seen any of these guys catch fire. Chris Christie, you would think might be the one person that can turn people on, be able to grab people because of his sparky personality.

But part of is that Trump is just obscured all of these guys, but the other thing is they haven't quite figured out also how to master these debates. Does Chris Christie become a guy that jumps in on Jake the way that Rand Paul did in the last debate? Does he mix it up?

CAMEROTA: Maeve, Patrick, it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow night. Thanks so much for all of the insights.

CUOMO: The CNN Republican presidential debates, there's not one, there's two, 6:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow, governor, senator, governor, senator, that's your stage. Prime time, 8:00 p.m., that's when you have the big field to be taking it on -- Mich.

PEREIRA: You probably recalled when the Donald fumbled when a conservative radio host asked about the leaders of a major terror group. He later called it a gotcha question. How is he and how are his rivals going to do when foreign policy questions come up tomorrow in the debate? We'll take a look at that, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:18]

CAMEROTA: Set your clocks because we're counting down to tomorrow night's debate right here on CNN. It is a safe bet that foreign policy will come up. So how will Trump and all the others handle that thorny topic?

Joining us live is Mike Rogers, a CNN national security commentator. He is the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Mike, I don't think it's you that looks unbalanced. There you are. You're perfect on camera now. How are you, Mike? Great to have you on "NEW DAY." So Mike --

MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: It must drive you crazy when you hear people like Donald Trump glossing over their foreign policy plan and not -- and saying they don't need to know the names of various foreign terror leaders.

ROGERS: You know, one of the things we know is the very first day, Hillary Clinton even said this in her speeches, the president -- the next president will be tested. So January 21st, 2017 is a very important day for the next president of the United States.

You have to have a good basic understanding of the challenges and the nuances, if you're running around saying we're going to send the 101st airborne division to solve all of the world's problems, you have a problem or if you say we're not doing anything at any time, you have a problem.

You have to have a nuance understanding of national security. It does drive you crazy when the candidates don't spend the time they need to spend to have a better understanding to engage in this topic.

CAMEROTA: To Donald Trump's point when Hugh Hewitt was asking him all of the questions about somewhat obscure terrorist leaders. I mean, do they at this point in the game need to know General Solomani (ph)? Do they need to know Zawahiri is a bit of a household name, but Al- jalani, Al-Baghdadi, are those gotcha questions?

[07:45:06] ROGERS: I do. You really don't have to know the names of the terrorist groups. You want to get a feel, can they handle the notion of the nuance between Hamas and Hezbollah and where those organizations get their funding and how you would move forward on a foreign policy issue.

That nuance is important. Knowing who the Hamas leader is versus the Hezbollah leader is by name, I think is a bit of a gotcha question. You want to find the basic policy knowledge of these individuals or their principles that they would apply to really tricky national security problems.

That we have today and are only going to get worse, as I said, will test that next commander in chief on the first day they're sworn in.

CAMEROTA: Let me play for you how Donald Trump responded when Hugh Hewitt asked him about those names.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): When you start throwing around names of people, where they live, give me their address, I think it's ridiculous.

HUGH HEWITT: I wouldn't do that. That's crazy.

TRUMP: By the way, the names you just mentioned probably won't even be there in six months or a year.

HEWITT: I don't know, Nasrallah has got such staying power.

TRUMP: Let's see what happens. In that case, first day in office or before then, right the day after the election I'll know more about it than you will ever know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Do you want to see Hugh Hewitt take that tact again tomorrow night?

ROGERS: I don't. I think trying to get into the nuance of what the names of the individuals of these terrorist groups are is a complete waste of time. I hope what he's trying to do is push this understanding that we have the relationship between these groups.

You should know what Hezbollah and Hamas is and you should know how they relate to ISIS and how it relates in the Middle East because you're going to have to weave through those cones in order to get to a good policy decision on how to deal with this.

That is a fair question about these groups. I think the names of these individuals is a step too far. I wouldn't -- that's like asking who the president of (inaudible) is and shoving a mic in someone's face.

I just don't think that is -- will give anybody an understanding of what their policy chops are going to be moving into a really difficult challenge for the next president of the United States.

CAMEROTA: Got it. Mike Rogers, thanks so much. We'll be watching for all of their answers and how they navigate that tomorrow night. Great to see you. Thanks so much -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: The answer is Blaze Compiori.

All right, another question and a countdown that is on. This one of a different story, will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates this week given all the instability in the markets, is now the time or should they wait? We'll discuss it ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:03]

PEREIRA: The Federal Reserve set to make a big decision this week. Chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, is in the money center with CNN money now. All right, decision time.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. Will the fed finally raise interest rates? The economy has come back, but money is still cheaper than ever before. The fed raising rates is the final sign of the economy returns to normal.

The normalcy is going to pinch a lot of people in the wallet. When the fed increases rates, banks raise the prime rate at the benchmark index used to set all kinds of the consumer loans.

We are talking about credit cards, car loans, home equity lines of credit, and private student loans. Will the rate hike come this week or maybe later this year? It is all Wall Street can talk about. It is going to affect everyone. We'll know for sure on Thursday -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, we will look forward to you updating us then. Christine, thanks so much.

The presidential race is the gift that keeps on giving late night comics. In case you were sleeping, here is a bit of what you missed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, for anyone wondering this a comedy show. Would anyone like to hear a joke? Knock knock.

AUDIENCE: Who's there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orange.

AUDIENCE: Orange who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speaking of Donald Trump --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see this during a speech in Miami, Jeb Bush attempted to liven things up at the campaign event when he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal an old Reagan/Bush campaign t-shirt -- worst stripper ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Who wins?

PEREIRA: Jimmy. Jimmy wins on that one, as far as I'm concerned.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I don't think Stephen Colbert's was even really a joke. It was just a set up to a joke, but still. Of course, what will they do? What will they do if people start dropping out of this race? It is just such rich material.

PEREIRA: And think about it. What Colbert was saying, it is going to get richer and rich for these comedians as time passes.

CUOMO: I still think it is the space for Colbert. Yes you pointed out John Oliver has done a good job as well, but smart talk about the politics. It doesn't just turn everybody off. Smart. It's true.

CAMEROTA: SNL back soon too.

CUOMO: I wonder who they will parody the most? Donald Trump -- that's not my answer. I'm segueing to him. He's making his own rules. And will he be ready for the big showdown? Has he already won the first round of the debate by not prepping?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:58:57]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Carly's given me a little bit of a hard time even though her poll numbers are horrible. Ben Carson, he is a nice man. I think he's in second place. Nobody is going to be able to do the job that I'm going to do, nobody.

CAMEROTA: Republican debate just one day away now.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If someone comes at me, bam, I'll come back at him. Don't worry about that.

CHRISTIE: Let me clue you in on something. Nobody cares.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least eight dead, several more missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the victims are mothers and small children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in a battle with nature.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tens of thousands evacuate from monster wild fire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came down there was fire everywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, September 15th, 8:00 in the east. We are just 34 hours from the crucible of political competition known as the CNN Republican debate. We begin to set the stage a new CBS News/"New York Times" poll.