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Race for 2016; New Movie Based on Real-Life Hostage Situation. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 18, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00] MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What happens.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK.

CARDONA: It's a great debate for the party. And regardless how you compare it with Republicans, Democrats will be the ones that will represent mainstream America and help middle class families -

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CARDONA: And that's what people are looking for.

CAMEROTA: There you go.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, this is a good debate.

CAMEROTA: Wow.

CUOMO: It actually made Ben switch off early.

CAMEROTA: Wow, Ben just - just (INAUDIBLE) his satellite right there.

CARDONA: There you go.

CAMEROTA: Ben Ferguson, Maria Cardona, thanks so much.

CARDONA: Thank you so much.

CAMEROTA: Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: I'm just spying who's in our green room. A good looking man there. David Gregory is here, the renowned political journalist. He joins us next, weighing in on the Trump - on the Trump - for 2016 and, look at that, he's got a new book. We'll chat with him ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a problem in this country. It's called Muslim. We know our current president is one.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know he's not even an American.

TRUMP: We need this question -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His birth certificate (INAUDIBLE). But anyway, we have training camps growing where they want to kill us.

TRUMP: Uh-huh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my question. When can you get rid of them?

TRUMP: We're going to be looking at a lot of different things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right, well, that was Donald Trump responding to and not correcting a man who called President Obama a Muslim. And now Trump is coming under fire for that moment. So here to weigh in on that and so much more is the renowned journalist and author of the new book "How's Your Faith?," David Gregory.

[08:35:14] David, great to have you on NEW DAY.

DAVID GREGORY, AUTHOR, "HOW'S YOUR FAITH?": Thanks. Good to be here.

CAMEROTA: So it must be interesting for you to be watching all of this political presidential race from the -

GREGORY: Yes. Yes, I miss it.

CAMEROTA: I bet you do. So particularly with Donald Trump in the race -

GREGORY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean, what do you make of Donald Trump's campaign?

GREGORY: I think he's a roman candle that's destined to burn out. But it's not exactly clear when and how it burns out. I mean I think he's tapping into this anger and a desire for something truly unconventional on the Republican side. They've got a lot of sorting out to do. But I think campaigns are a lot about temperament and leadership. That moment is about temperament. Do you have an ability to say, look, you know, that's just - the president's not a Muslim. You know, there's lots of ways to criticize him and I don't like him. But, you know, let's not go other the line. And that's - you know, he's not willing to do that. So he's playing to a part of that conservative base that's angry, willing to engage in that kind of ignorance and name calling and trying to ride it as long as he can.

CAMEROTA: It's impossible, of course, to have a crystal ball in terms of politics, but do you feel that that moment, coupled with what we saw at the CNN debate this week, is there a tipping point afoot? Has - will something shift now for Donald Trump and the other candidates?

GREGORY: I think what's important is that the more Trump is challenged by his challengers and by journalists on very specific issues. You know, you talked about how nobody's talking about North Korea. Well, if he's president of the United States, let's hear about how he'd confront North Korea, how he'd get China to try to influence North Korea's behavior, what the consequences would be if he were to confront Russia if they start flying sorties over Syria. Expose him, you know, for what he is. Instead of trying to make a judgment about it, just kind of get in there and call - and ask him questions and let him reveal himself. I mean that's true with all candidates.

CAMEROTA: I mean, look, Hugh Hewitt tried to do that. There have been moments -

GREGORY: Right.

CAMEROTA: Where people have pressed him and tested him but somehow he still manages to get passed them sort of unscathed.

GREGORY: Right. I think conservatism right now is about temperament, it's about a feeling. There's a lot that the Republican Party is trying to work out as it gets back into power. Don't forget, there's a lot of voters who say, hey, we're not going with the establishment choice. We did that with Mitt Romney, it didn't work. We did that with John McCain and it didn't work. Let's try something unconventional. You look at the polling, whether it's Fiorina or Carson or Trump, a real outsider is gaining a lot of steam right now. But there's still a long way to go.

CAMEROTA: What did you think was a particularly telling or compelling moment from the debate?

GREGORY: Well, two things. I thought Carly Fiorina was really strong. I think she had a lot of opportunity. She seized it. And her moment with Trump calling him out for his sexist, you know, observations about her appearance speaks for itself, gives her kind of a new entree for all kinds of voters.

I also think Jeb Bush, with that low five moment with Trump, is something that he'll want back. I covered George W. Bush, who was great at debates. He had some off debates. He would have never been looking for Donald Trump's affection on any level.

CAMEROTA: Great point.

Let's talk about your book. It's called "How's Your Faith?" How is your faith?

GREGORY: Well, my faith is strong and getting stronger. It was a question that President Bush asked me when he heard that I had been studying about 10 years ago with a biblical scholar trying to deepen my faith and better connect with my wife's Christian traditions. I'm Jewish. And as we were raising our kids, she really wanted me to lead our family in - in faith. And so it was kind of a startling question and a bit of a blank page for me in terms of how I grew up. But I think this is really a book about my larger journey in life, which is turning my journalistic curiosity to the big questions in life. Who are we? Who are we trying to become? And it's something that's been really important to me for - for a long time. CAMEROTA: You suffered a public crucible of sorts -

GREGORY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: When you were unceremoniously fired from "Meet the Press" and from NBC. That had to be terrible.

GREGORY: Yes, it was really unpleasant. It was really disappointing. I mean I had 20 great years at NBC and I'm grateful for them and I miss the work. And it - and it - and it was difficult. And I think, you know, part of it - and part of what I write about in the book is a sense of, you know, what was my identity after not being on television since I was 18 and then to have that happen at 44. And I - I have struggled with that because so much of my identity was tied up in who I was on television. But I think one of the thing about pursuing a faith path and trying to connect to something larger than yourself and finding true meaning and purpose in life and ultimately for me a strong relationship with God is to understand that I have a truer identity and a bigger identity than just being a guy on TV.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about - I want to read a passage from your book -

GREGORY: OK.

CAMEROTA: And talk about your wife, who you just mentioned.

GREGORY: OK.

CAMEROTA: We - you write, "sitting on the patio that October day, Beth acknowledged something that she hadn't told me before. You know, I really did it for you, not our children, she said. I though you needed a spiritual life. My own faith gives me the strength and focus and I wanted the person I love to have that too." Tell us about that moment that your wife was talking about.

[08:40:08] GREGORY: So, my wife, Beth Wilkinson, and - is a wonderful woman who grew up a Protestant in the Methodist church. And when we got married, I met her covering the Oklahoma City bombing case, because she was one of the prosecutors in the Oklahoma City bombing trials. And, you know, and we got together and we're having kids, like a lot of couples. I'm Jewish. She's Christian. How are we going to raise the kids? And I really felt that I wanted to be a Jewish family and she said OK, but she challenged me with the question, look, I know who you are, but what is it that you actually believe? And she really inspired me to go down this path. And she also gave me a great gift, which is to sacrifice her own religious traditions and to not be able to share that with our kids.

I was quite unaware and selfish about what a big sacrifice that was for a long time. I think it took me getting farther down the path of being a more faithful person, having a stronger relationship with God, to really understand, that's a big deal for people and there's a lot of interfaith families around the country and I think our story touches on a lot of issues that people who are in interfaith marriages go through. That these choices are not easy. They require compromise and sacrifice and it's not without regret and it's not without some pain and - but I feel like we've created something that's really special.

CAMEROTA: Well, the book is really personal.

GREGORY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And it's thought provoking. And it's a great read. "How's Your Faith?"

David Gregory, thanks so much for being here. A pleasure to see you.

GREGORY: Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: Talking about faith, we're going to talk about it coming up, because we're going to take you inside a new movie called "Captive," based on a real-life hostage situation. We sat with one of the main actors and the very woman the film is based on. How she says faith and that incident changed her life forever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:54] PEREIRA: All right. Here we go with the five things for Friday. No. 1, Donald Trump taking some heat for not correcting a man at a town hall in New Hampshire who called President Mohamad [SIC] Muslim and also said that the U.S. needed to get rid of Muslims. The campaign contends Mr. Trump did not hear that part of the man's comments.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, warning Republicans not to shut down the federal government over Planned Parenthood funding, blasting the GOP candidates for what she calls their, quote, "hateful rhetoric and lies."

That Muslim teen who was arrested for brining a homemade clock to his Texas school, he's not going back to that school. Ahmed Mohamed's family saying he has too many painful memories so they are now looking at other schools.

Croatia tightening its borders now after thousands of migrants poured into that nation. Officials initially welcomed the refugees, however they now say there is no more room.

Pope Francis heading to Cuba tomorrow as he begins his highly anticipated tour of the island and the United States. He'll arrive in Washington Tuesday. The pontiff will also visit New York and Philadelphia.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdayCNN.com.

Ali.

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela. We're going to take a deeper look at that new movie called "Captive" with one of the actors and the brave woman at the heart of this story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:45] (CLIP FROM "CAPTIVE")

PEREIRA: That is a scene from a very intense new movie called "Captive" which tells the real-life story of Ashley Smith who was taken hostage back in 2005 by escaped Atlanta courthouse killer Brian Nichols. After a harrowing seven hour ordeal, Smith found an unexpected way out. She read Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" aloud to her captor and he let her go.

Ashley is joining us on NEW DAY today along with the star of the film, David Oyelowo. What a pleasure to meet you both.

I don't even know where to start because both of you have such tremendous stories. Ashley, I think we have to start with you.

Is it hard to relive your ordeal when you see the images on the screen, even the fact that the film is coming out?

ASHLEY SMITH, NEW FILM "CAPTIVE" BASED ON HER STORY: Yes, it's very surreal. I've seen the film I think ten times and each time I tell myself, I've seen it all, you know, it's going to be fine, and each time I grip my seat or each time I let a tear far. So it's definitely very emotional for me still today.

PEREIRA: Sounds like it's cathartic for you.

SMITH: Yeah. So then a different scene will bring back a different emotion and one that it didn't the first time. So it's still a healing process for me, too.

PEREIRA: Sure. Well you are a courageous woman and I want to talk to you about that. But David, I can imagine it is a very different type of role when you realize that this is somebody's real-life. This is a real-life story. Not just torn from the headlines. It was the headline. I remember when this story made the news. Does that change the experience for you as an actor?

DAVID OYELOWO, ACTOR, STAR OF THE NEW FILM "CAPTIVE": It really does change the experience. Not at least because four people lost their lives that day. And, you know, in respect to the loss that the families still feel we felt a need to be very faithful to the story. Not embellish it. Not embellish it, not glamorize anything that happened.

PEREIRA: You talk about not wanting to glamorize or glorify someone who is serving time in jail currently. Do you struggle with fine points in how you deliver that every moment of your acting?

OYELOWO: Brian did something cold-blooded that morning. And at the beginning of the movie we wanted to show that. And in movies you have tropes of a guy with two guns, he was a big guy, Brian, so I had to bulk up to play him. But then I truly believe that his encounter with Ashley is what brought in his humanity. And you don't want to sort of make it feel like you are exonerating him for what he did, but he was still a human being. PEREIRA: Well, and that is the point. These two lives came together in

March of 2005, Ashley, and what I found so powerful is that you're a flawed person at this time in your life. He was clearly a flawed person at that time of his life and something brought you together. And you saw an opportunity in this book.

SMITH: Yes.

PEREIRA: You read to him from this book. What do you think it was? Did you see a moment when you saw that a message was getting through to him?

SMITH: Well, I know exactly there was definitely a life-changing moment that happened and in the story and in real-life. I was faced with a decision, whether or not I was going to use drugs with Brian Nichols or not. You said I was a flawed person at the time. I was going through an addiction to meth and I happened to have some in my apartment that night. And I was asked by Brian Nichols three times if I wanted to do it with him, was I going to do it with him, did I want to do it with him, and I promised you it was like Jesus Christ for that one moment took the body of Brian Nichols. And he was asking me, do you want a new life or do you want to continue living the same life you've been living? Because if you want to continue living this life, you do those drugs and I'm going to bring you home. But if you want a different life you say no and so I said no not knowing if I was going to have a new life for five minutes or 50 years, but a new life for five minutes was better than the way I was living. And I began to realize that Brian Nichols was a sinner saved by God's grace just like I was. And yes, he made four horrifying bad choices in taking those lives, but I chose drugs over my daughter, I mean, that was only one of the bad decisions I made leading up to that point. And when God looks down on us, I believe that he saw Brian Nichols and I as two of his children saved his God's grace. We were --

[08:55:05] PEREIRA: You showed uncommon grace, my dear, in that and I'm so glad that this film is being brought to a wide audience. Thank you both very much. You can catch the movie "Captive" open in theaters today.

Back to you.

CAMEROTA: Looks fascinating, Michaela. Thanks so much. "The Good Stuff" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: "Good Stuff," "good stuff," "good stuff."

CAMEROTA: It's "The Good Stuff" and it's sports "Good Stuff," OK, so prepare yourself.

PEREIRA: Fire away, girl.

CAMEROTA: 17-year-old Wilson High School senior, Cynthia Brown (ph), is a kicker on the football team. Now her team was down 14 points at half-time when she and her teammate, Kevin Whitfield (ph), had the play of the game. On fourth down Cynthia passes to Kevin who carries the football a whopping 52 yards all the way to the endzone. It is believed to be the first time a girl has thrown a touchdown pass in a varsity game in Virginia's history.

PEREIRA: This is what I love. Atta girl.

CAMEROTA: That's awesome.

PEREIRA: You must feel fantastic. Girl power on Friday.

CAMEROTA: Sweet.

PEREIRA: Let's continue the girl power and pass it off to "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Exactly, because you know it, my alma mater, Kent State University, a female field goal kicker