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Pope Visits Catholic Charities; Hillary Clinton Interviewed by Lena Dunham; Trump Responds to Rubio Criticism; Pope Francis Service Tomorrow at Ground Zero. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 24, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] MSGR. JOHN ENZLER, CEO, WASHINGTON'S CATHOLIC CHARITIES (voice-over): He did bless the food, but a very short blessing. He went right into the crowd. A number of children who were part of our program, were there, greeted them, and that kind of drew him to the crowd. He spent 15 minutes or so in the crowd, walking through them, tight, tight mass of people, walking through, shaking his hand and touching him, getting selfies with the pope. It was an amazing experience.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Monsignor, this is something this pope is known for, kind of making -- unexpectedly going into the crowd and taking time for people. I mean, you know, everyone's made kind of all of the unexpecteds, and he's riding around in a Fiat, not the normal entourage a VIP would be riding around when he's in Washington. What is the real impact of that aspect of the pope, do you think?

ENZLER: I think number one, believe that his actions speak louder than words. The Fiat says something. It says, talked about the environment, talked about people trying to be more careful with the use of resources. The Fiat makes a message. It says that I believe that we need to take care of people in need and we should not basically neglect them. We should find a way to reap out to them. The impact of what he does when he goes to the crowd, when he spontaneously does what he does so often, I think it makes him more human. It makes people say he's one of us. If you are locked into an agent, you feel like you're more robotic. We love the fact he's so spontaneous, so open, so outgoing. It's been a great experience to have him here.

BOLDUAN: You can see the spontaneity. I can't get enough of his entrances and exits because of these interactions he has with the crowds everywhere he goes. This is the first time, the first visit by the pope to Catholic Charities. Obviously, a momentous occasion for you and your organization. Why do you think the organization was picked?

ENZLER: Well, in Washington, we have the most comprehensive -- so we're pretty big. Cardinal Wuerl has been to our dinner program on numerous occasions and served dinner with us. So Cardinal Wuerl, he said, you could come to Catholic Charities. I've seen what happens there. I've seen the staff and the volunteers. That would be a great site for the pope to get a sense of the needs of the people. I think he came because of that. And Cardinal Wuerl couldn't have been more excited the pope was coming to one of his favorite charities. BOLDUAN: One of the times when a bright spotlight is shown on an

organization is a wonderful thing and that has happened for Catholic Charities in Washington today.

Monsignor, thank you so much for your time.

ENZLER: Thank you. What a gift to us. Thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

Much more of our coverage of the pope's visit ahead.

But also, next, a very special conversation with Hillary Clinton. Actress and the star and creator of "Girls," Lena Dunham, she's joining me to talk about her sit-down with the presidential hopeful. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:37:37] BOLDUAN: Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, is reaching out to millennial voters as part of a new sit- down interview with award-winning actress Lena Dunham, the star and creator of the HBO series "Girls." She's also a vocal Clinton supporter.

In the one of the clips that's been released, Dunham asked Clinton whether she identifies herself as a feminist. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LENA DUNHAM, ACTRESS & CREATOR, "GIRLS": I think the question is do you consider yourself a feminist?

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, absolutely.

(LAUGHTER)

You know, I'm always a little bit puzzled when any woman of whatever age but particularly a young woman says something like, and you've heard it, something like, well, I believe in equal rights but I'm not a feminist. Well, a feminist is by definition someone who believes in equal rights. I'm hoping that people will not be afraid to say that doesn't mean you hate men. It doesn't mean you want to separate out the world so that you're not, you know, part of the ordinary life. That's not what it means at all. It just means that we believe women have the same rights as men, politically, culturally, socially, economically. That's what it means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It's one part of the conversation.

Lena Dunham is joining me right now by phone.

Lena, thank you so much for jumping on the phone to discuss this. DUNHAM (voice-over): Thank you for having me. We're really, really

excited about the interview. It's an honor.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much for joining us.

So I understand, as I read, that you taped this interview earlier this month. Tell us, how did this interview come back?

DUNHAM: This interview came back -- I have been an active Clinton supporter for a long time, and I have been very excited obviously by the fact that she's running, by the fact that her campaign headquarters are in my own borough. I paid a visit to the campaign headquarters and talked about this new project my creative partner Jenny and I have launched, and they were kind enough to grant us access to Hillary for the first issue of our newsletter which comes out September 29th.

BOLDUAN: Tell me more about what you've hit on. You touched on the idea of feminism. What are the topics you discussed?

[13:40:00] DUNHAM: Well, it was really important to us to ask Hillary about topics that are important to our Lenny readership. Those range from college debt to spreading the vote to reproductive rights and justice to getting out the vote to police brutality. To getting to know Hillary as a person, to show young women she was also at one point, you know, a woman at a crossroads. She wasn't always this sort of political figure she presents us today.

BOLDUAN: It's really interesting you say that. That was one of the things. This interview is seen as part of a move by Hillary Clinton and her campaign to appeal to younger female voters, something that you are wildly successful at targeting that kind of an audience. Why do you think -- you talk about humanizing her and making her -- showing us maybe a softer side of her which is something the campaign's doing. Why do you think she struggled to excite that generation that you have such a connection with through your work?

DUNHAM: Well, I do think that millennials have an interest in meeting a wide-ranging and fresh set of candidates, and that while Hillary does have a connection to a previous presidential decade, we -- she actually has something very modern and very fresh to bring to us. Really what we wanted was just to present Hillary outside of being a presidential candidate as a feminist role model, as someone who represents so much of what is interesting and challenging and unique about being a woman in America at this time, and I do think we expect really different things in terms of likability from our female candidates than we do from our male candidates and that's a longer conversation for another tie, which is why sometimes when people use terms like we want her to get her act warm or act likable. Those are frustrating terms because it's different terms than we apply to a male candidate.

BOLDUAN: Her campaign was talking about more heart and humor from Hillary. It is something we know they have struggled with. I would actually love to hear what you would -- how you would advise Hillary Clinton in terms of how to connect with that kind of an audience, because you are so successful at drawing that younger, especially finale, viewer or voter, that demographic, you're very successful at drawing them to your work. What advice would you give Hillary Clinton?

DUNHAM: Well, thank you so much for that compliment. I really felt in our time with Hillary, what she was able to express to us was a really great mix of honesty and candor about issues that are important to women. And people of my generation. And also a vulnerability and really making it clear that she is not super human, that she's someone who has had the range of experiences that all Millennial women are currently struggling with. I thought she did a wonderful job. I know everyone in the room was impressed and moved by the interview. It was an honor for us.

BOLDUAN: I also read that the comedian and really I kind of call her the woman having quite her moment right now, Amy Schumer, she also makes a cameo in this -- in your interview. Can you clue us in to how that plays out? Give us something. Give us a little bit of color here.

DUNHAM: Amy Schumer does make a cameo. We're very, very excited to debut that. It came about really organically. Amy is a close friend of Jenny and mine and we consider her sort of a sister in arms. Night before, we texted her, and I said, are you by any chance a Hillary girl? She said, I am indeed and I'll be there at 10:00 a.m.

BOLDUAN: So this wasn't necessarily preplanned, you're just texting with a friend the night before and she shows up and makes a cameo in your interview?

DUNHAM: Exactly, 100 percent. And that's, you know, just gives you a sense of how supportive women in comedy are of each other in this moment in history.

BOLDUAN: So then you can give me your cell phone number, I'll text you, so we can coordinate, so I can show up and make a cameo on "Girls" sometime. That might be fun.

DUNHAM: Sure.

BOLDUAN: We'll discuss it.

DUNHAM: That sounds ideal.

BOLDUAN: Just consider it. You can mull it over later.

DUNHAM: Great.

BOLDUAN: I do want to get your take, Lena, of course, obviously, we're talking about you've been an early and vocal supporter of Hillary this election. You've also campaigned in the past for Obama and Biden. What do you think about the prospect of Hillary in the race but also the prospect of Vice President Biden jumping in?

DUNHAM: You know, I am a huge -- I've loved every moment of supporting President Obama. I'm so grateful for what I think -- for the strides I feel he's made for this country. And I have for a long time felt like it was an exciting time for a woman with Hillary's experience and authority to step to the forefront.

BOLDUAN: Lena Dunham, great to have you jump on the phone. Thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.

DUNHAM: Thank you.

[13:44:52] BOLDUAN: For all of our viewers, I know Lena was talking about it, the conversation between Hillary Clinton and Lena, featured on Dunham's new newsletter, her new project, lennyletters.com. That is going to launch Tuesday, September 29th.

Lena, thank you for joining us.

Coming up for us, Pope Francis prepares for a visit to ground zero. The powerful service that he has planned tomorrow at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum with families and first responders. We're going to get a little preview coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:49:52] BOLDUAN: We have a new number on the race between Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton still holds a sizable lead in the latest Quinnipiac University poll. She's at 43 percent. Sanders at 25 percent. Joe Biden obviously still has not declared he's going to run. He sits at 18 percent.

Now as we look at the Republican side, Donald Trump remains in the lead with 25 percent. That's down from August. Ben Carson sits in second place at 17 percent. And Carly Fiorina getting the post debate bump is in third at 12 percent. It's Jeb Bush right beyond that at 10 percent.

And a big moment for Florida Senator Marco Rubio, on the rise. He has leveled his own criticisms on Donald Trump and that led to this, maybe not surprisingly, coming from Donald Trump earlier today on "New Day."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Look, Marco Rubio sits behind a desk sometimes and reads stuff. He's in committees. That's all he does. I create jobs all day long. I'll know more about all of this than all of them put together. We'll have a winning strategy. If Marco Rubio is good, how come we're doing so badly? We have to win. These guys don't know how to win. Marco Rubio, he's like a kid. E he shouldn't even be running in this race as far as I'm concerned. He's a kid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: There you go, the latest from Donald Trump.

Also Donald Trump's boycott on FOX News. That could be over soon. FOX now says that the chairman spoke with Trump this morning and they are going to meet next week to talk about the front runner's complaints that FOX is treating him unfairly. As we know, Donald Trump thinks quite a lot, almost everyone treats him unfairly when they criticize him.

Back to our main major story of the day, you're looking at the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan in New York. Tomorrow, Pope Francis is going to be heading there to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to lead an inner- faith service for survivors, family members and first responders. During his visit, the pope is also going to get to see some of the artifacts that took on religious significance in the wake of the terror attacks. Chief among them is the famous steel-beam cross recovered from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.

Joining me to discuss is Joe Daniels, the president of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Joe, thank you for being here.

It's so -- I'm fascinated you're here today because the lost time we spoke was right when the museum was just about to open last year.

JOE DANIELS, PRESIDENT, 9/11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM: Absolutely. We have been open about 15 months. I think that Pope Francis' visit is an indication of how this museum has been embraced and how the story of what happened on that day needs to be shared with the world.

BOLDUAN: Joe, give us a run down of how this all came about. When did you hear that the pope -- I don't know if the invitation was extended, but how it came about that he was going to visit the memorial?

DANIELS: When the pope was coming to the U.S., it started out just in Philadelphia. Then an idea to come to New York. As soon as we heard that, there was a lot of talk with the arch diocese and folks from the Vatican that if you're coming to New York City, this is a place that tough come to and we showed his team the site, the memorial, the museum and it happened pretty quickly after that.

BOLDUAN: Give me more detail about what the pope is going to see, who he's going to interact with and what is on the agenda?

DANIELS: So tomorrow after he addresses the general assembly, he'll come down to the memorial. He will stop before the south pool exactly where the South Tower stood and remember the names that are on the memorial and the people behind them. He will then go into the museum and we're going to have an interface service that the archdiocese is hosting, so representative of all the major religions with Pope Francis giving a message of peace.

BOLDUAN: Have you spoken to the families of the first responders, the survivors, their thoughts on this?

DANIELS: We have had so many incredibly powerful visits since we have opened. But Pope Francis, the way the families are talking, you can imagine this spot is one of the most sacred in the United States. To have this pope who is so beloved come and remember their loved ones, the families and the first responders really couldn't be more honored to have this happen.

BOLDUAN: I'm fascinated to hear what the pope says about his impressions of the memorial. You walked me through it. It's not something you can describe in words. It's something you have to feel when you go. It will be so fascinating.

DANIELS: I will be there during parts of it. Some of the artifacts that are so important, the cross, which essentially revealed itself during the very difficult nine-month recovery period, to have Pope Francis in front of that cross has the world watches will be historic.

BOLDUAN: What do you hope is the resounding message coming from this visit? Obviously, it's wonderful having any world leader, high profile person highlight the memorial. What's the message?

[13:55:05] DANIELS: I think the bottom line is this pope and this visit will reinforce the positive legacy of 9/11, which is that in the seconds after the attacks took place, people came together with limitless compassion and love for one another, and Pope Francis, there's literally no one better in the world to reinforce that message.

BOLDUAN: It will be a moment, absolutely, that everyone will be watching. And you'll be right there.

DANIELS: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Joe.

DANIELS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you for coming here. I really appreciate it.

And thank you all for joining me today. Wolf will be back very soon. That's it for us.

CNN's special coverage of the pope's visit to America continues after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:05] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Brooke Baldwin. And you are watching CNN's special coverage of the pope's first visit to America.