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U.S. Officials: Jihadists Likely Planted Bomb with Timer on Plane; GOP Candidates Clash on Immigration, Foreign Policy; Interview with Eric Cantor. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired November 11, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:31] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY. Of course, we'll have more on the Republican debate in a moment.

First, some other news.

This morning, Egyptian officials confirming the NTSB will join the investigation into the crash of MetroJet Flight 9268. This as we learn more about how jihadists may have planted a bomb on board that doomed plane.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has been following that angle very closely for us and joins us with the latest.

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

Now that National Transportation Safety Board experts may join the investigation, this will give the U.S. for the first time a direct look potentially at some of the evidence that is being collected. But right now, absent that direct evidence, they are developing a working theory at least inside the administration based on intercepts, the satellite flash we've talked about, video photographs of the scene.

Now what we are being told by several administration officials, yes, they do believe most likely a bomb. Now, based on what they see, the intensity of this potential explosion, they believe likely it was C4 military grade type explosive. That's something that is readily available in that region, that most likely would be available to ISIS in Sinai.

As they look at all of this, they are also looking at the prospect that maybe this bomb had a timer on it. In other words, you know, it went off in midair. That's maybe close to 30 minutes in flight. The plane was on the ground for some time. This may have had a bomb or a timer on it of more than an hour -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. The latest developments from Barbara Starr. Thank you so much.

This morning, gunfire outside Afghanistan's presidential palace as thousands of protesters demonstrate at the gates. They are demanding top leaders step down for failing to deal with Islamist militants following the beheadings of civilians in the southeastern province. A group of protesters tried to breach the palace gate when security forces began firing into the air to try and disperse them.

Back here at home, investigators are trying to determine what caused a small plane to crash into an apartment building in Ohio. Look at that, sparking a giant inferno. There are reports that there were at least nine people on board the plane and they all died. No one on the ground was injured. Authorities say the plane plunged to the sky Tuesday afternoon as the pilot attempted to land, hitting power lines before crashing into that apartment complex.

University of Missouri police are investigating threats of violence made on social media. But say there is no active threat on campus currently. This comes after racial turmoil on campus forced the university's president and chancellor to step down.

Meantime, Missouri professor Melissa Click apologizing now for trying to block media access to a campus protest. An online video here shows her confronting a student photographer calling for, quote, "muscle" to have him removed. Click has resigned from a special post in Missouri's journalism school.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The word "lie" is arguably an abused buzz word in this election but sometimes there is a right and wrong. Listen to this line from Marco Rubio about the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For the life of me, I don't know why we have stigmatized vocational education. Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: More welders, less philosophers. True? Not true? That's one of the many things we can vet for you. We're going to do it all, right ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:39:01] PEREIRA: Did you watch the debate last night? Certainly a lot of claims were made at that debate. How many of them were true?

We put chief business correspondent Christine Romans on the task of giving us a dose of reality the morning after.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPODENT: Good morning, Michaela.

A lot of talk about the minimum wage, a very popular topic last night. Let's about that. Some advocates want it raised to $15 an hour. Ben Carson thinks that is a bad idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By the time we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people increases.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Not exactly. Let's look at these numbers. In 1997, the minimum wage went up and unemployment fell steadily each month for several years. It happened other times, these other years as well, 1950, 1961, '67 with, '78, '96. You can see that.

On top of which economists debate the linkage between minimum wage and job loss. There are really a lot of disagreement on that. So, we can tell you this morning that that claim from Ben Carson is false.

Now, let's go on to Marco Rubio this morning, who tried to make case for more vocational training.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:40:05] RUBIO: Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more money and less philosophers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now, there is a real argument about vocational training and focus on that. But on this claim in particular, this is what we found. It turns out philosophers make more money than welders. That's right. The median salary for philosophy professors is $63,000 -- almost $64,000. The median salary for welders is about $37,400.

If you look at philosophy majors, the gap gets even bigger, just philosophy majors make more than philosophy professors. The final there, false, actually. Marco Rubio is wrong on this.

And, finally, the debaters trying to illustrate just how complicated and ugly the tax code has become. Senator Ted Cruz compared the tax code to the most popular book in the world. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are more words in the IRS code than there are in the bible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: OK. So is that true? Well, turns out it is true. The tax code has nearly 4 million words. The King James Bible contains only 800,000 words. So there you go. You can use that in your next trivial pursuit game.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: You've stayed up late counting the words in the bible.

ROMANS: Counting. I already knew them by heart.

CUOMO: Of course you did.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much. That is always interesting to check the facts afterwards, Christine. Thanks.

CUOMO: All right. Now, a lot of this winds up to getting to which is better also. There are plans and ideas out there.

Let's bring in CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar with us.

We finally now saw a lot of dovetailing --

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Yes.

CUOMO: -- and some what JB would call fault lines, in terms, of, you know, where these candidates are going to separate themselves.

FOROOHAR: Yes.

CUOMO: What stood out for you on tax policy? Seems to me we were hearing flat tax. They don't want to call it that necessarily. But a lot of the tax policy seems similar. What do we need to know?

FOROOHAR: Well, basically, none of these tax policies with the exception of Rand Paul, if you use some pretty expectations about growth will actually cut the deficit, and that's a big deal, because Republicans are claiming that if we cut taxes and lower the deficit, that's the formula for growth.

There's also no real evidence that cutting taxes in the last two decades or so has increased growth, because if you look back under Clinton, we raised taxes in '93, we got great growth. Under Republican administration in 2001, 2003, we cut them, we got meager growth. So, I think that that formula, that sort of old-fashioned Republican formula, trickle-down formula of cut taxes, cut red tape, you get growth isn't quite working.

I didn't see a lot of the candidates grappling with the underlying changes in the economy, the fact that technology is replacing jobs, globalization is replacing some jobs. We got talk about China which was interesting. You saw a big split between the far right and the populist camp, the Cruz camp, Fiorina talking about crony capitalism, and the more moderate Republicans, Bush, Kasich, Rubio.

CAMEROTA: In fact, we saw a heated exchange between Ted Cruz and Kasich last night about their philosophies on bailing out the banks. Let's watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Governor Kasich, why would you then bail out rich Wall Street banks but not Main Street, not mom and pop, not Sabina Loving?

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wouldn't. I wouldn't.

CRUZ: But you just said an executive --

KASICH: No. No, I didn't say that.

CRUZ: -- knows to step in and bail out a bank.

KASICH: They were talking about what you would do with depositors. I would not let the people who put their money in there all go down.

CRUZ: So, you would bail them out?

KASICH: No. As an executive I would figure out how to separate those people who can afford it versus those people who are the hard- working folks who put their money in those institutions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: The crowd didn't like that. What was wrong with what he was saying?

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, I think it's interesting on both the far right and far left, there's a feeling we shouldn't have bailed out rich financiers and shouldn't help people under water with their mortgages post-financial crisis.

CAMEROTA: Wasn't that the point he was trying to make?

FOROOHAR: Well, I think that, you know, unfortunately, saying you need to save the financial institutions post-2008 in order to save the financial system is not a popular message still.

I think another thing that was interesting, though, you didn't have anybody coming up with real solutions about how to make the financial system safer. You did have Jeb Bush saying, OK, we need to raise capital requirements. Frankly, that's almost a done deal. I mean, international requirements are going to make that happen in the U.S. anyway.

But I saw a lot of populist rhetoric which frankly plays to both sides of the political aisle right now. There's a lot of populism in this race.

CUOMO: It's also too in the weeds. I mean, you know, you have the FDIC. Depositors are guaranteed up to a certain amount. That takes care of the mom and pop. These are bigger issues.

FOROOHAR: That's right.

CUOMO: The leverage in the system, the ability to borrow against what you actually have in the game is the big issue that we see these banks, and how do you deal with that.

FOROOHAR: Well, that's something I think Republicans should be making much more hay with, because you could talk about tax reform, and you could talk about how we need a tax code that actually doesn't reward debt so much and allow companies to offshore money and pay incredibly low rates on it and have tax holidays that don't create jobs. You know, you need a tax code that rewards savings and equity. That's a conservative message. But I don't see anybody rallying around that.

[06:45:01] CAMEROTA: Did anybody say anything that caught your attention on the economy or taxes or anything last night?

FOROOHAR: You know, Marco Rubio started to grapple with the fact that, look, this is not just about cutting taxes. This is about underlying changes. He made an interesting point that Candy Crush had gotten within a few months 100 million users.

That's speaking to the real change in the economy. We have job destruction. We're competing in global economy. That's what Republicans are really going to have to grapple with I think particularly in the general election.

CAMEROTA: Rana Foroohar, great to have you this morning.

FOROOHAR: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much for all the analysis.

So, the stakes were high for Jeb last night. Did he deliver? Will the divided Republican Party unite behind one theme, one candidate?

Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor here next with his impressions.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald is wrong on this. He is absolutely wrong on this.

[06:50:00] We are not going to be the world's policemen, but we sure as heck better be the world's leader.

And the idea that it's a good idea for Putin to be in Syria, let ISIS take out Assad and then Putin will take out ISIS, that's like a board game, playing monopoly or something. That's not how the real world works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: You heard it time and again. Last night was a critical test for Jeb Bush. So, how did he do?

Joining us this morning is former House majority leader and Bush supporter, Eric Cantor.

Eric, thanks so much. Great to have you here in studio with us.

ERIC CANTOR (R), FORMER HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: What were your impressions watching Governor Bush?

CANTOR: Well, you know, listen, I think clearly Jeb was back. He had a strong performance last night. He was really the serious candidate on stage with the command of policy, both domestic and international. And he demonstrated an ability to take on Hillary Clinton.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Was it strong enough? You heard all of the pundits beforehand, this was the moment, this was the moment that was going to define sort of his campaign going forward. Did he do enough?

CANTOR: I think what this demonstrated was, the campaign went through a series of reset days over the last couple weeks and I think it just paid off. I mean, Jeb clearly was prepared. He was the one most focused on identifying where conservative policies play out and benefit working people of this country. And was prepared to take on Hillary and did so last night more so than anybody.

CUOMO: Metaphor moment for you, Eric, is this. Let's play Jeb Bush talking about Hillary Clinton's feelings about the Obama policies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton has said that Barack Obama's policies get an A. Really? One in 10 people right now aren't working or have given up altogether, as you said. That's not an A.

One in seven people are living in poverty. That's not an A. One in five children are on food stamps. That is not an A.

It may be the best that Hillary Clinton can do, but it's not the best America can do.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANTOR: You know, Jeb was absolutely right on and strong in that moment. Again, it's this difference between what we believe and what Jeb believes is common sense conservative policy and what he can do for working families versus the sort of norm that's been accepted by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

So, that's where the crux of a Republican debate should lie and the difference between what we believe and what is actually, unfortunately, the new norm under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

CAMEROTA: Last night, you heard that the Republicans do have some differences on issues, particularly immigration. As you know, Donald Trump says he wants to build a wall. Other candidates took issue with that and with what to do with the illegal immigrants and undocumented workers who are here.

So, listen to Ted Cruz talk about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: The Democrats are laughing, because if Republicans joined Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What do you think about that? Do they all need to be speaking with one voice?

CANTOR: I think Jeb Bush said it best last night. If you have more of the antics that are about what Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are saying on immigration, you've got Hillary Clinton high-fiving in her green room.

I think that Jeb's clearly focused on winning this campaign, will win this campaign and I think his position on immigration is where most Republicans are and certainly most of the country is. You can't sit here and assume that 11 million people are somehow going to get rounded up and deported. Jeb talked about ripping apart families and that we don't want to do that.

CAMEROTA: Then, what's the answer? If you're not going to rip apart families and send them back, it is amnesty.

CANTOR: What Jeb has laid out and consistently said, was that we're a country of laws. That people have to earn the right, they have to pay a fine, that they have to be law abiding, that they have to learn English, and that we're a country of immigrants but we're a country of laws. One of the reasons why that we have so many people that want to come here is because of our laws. And there's a clear recognition by Jeb that we've got to do that. I think he was spot on last night.

CUOMO: It's a big distinction you have to make better, right? There is an assumption that amnesty or they all go. Even Cruz would tell you, there's a whole menu of legal options in between. But you haven't articulated them which -- not you, Eric. You're out of the game, former majority leader, today just an intelligent man.

When you look at your party, though, it still has your head and your heart. There's a lot of division in your party right now, because although you heard a lot of arguments last night, Trump and Carson are at the top of the numbers, almost prohibitively at this stage. What does that tell you about who will be your choice?

CANTOR: What it tells me is that we're still unbelievably so early in this process, we've got nearly three months until the first vote is cast in Iowa. I think there's a lot of factor of people wanting to turn on and just sort of, you know, just soak it all in right now.

But I do think that last night's debate was a substantive debate that we saw candidates talk about policy. Clearly, I think it lent itself to Jeb Bush in saying that, you know, I am the one who's had the experience in Florida in a very dynamic state, a state full of immigrants and that one that is actually seen an ascension, if you will, up the ladder of job creation and standard of living.

[06:55:06] CUOMO: Why isn't it resonating that? You know, the number one Google search for him before is, is Jeb Bush still running? And it didn't change throughout the course.

CANTOR: I think he put that to rest last night. I think clearly, he was in the debate. He was a solid and strong performer in the debate.

I know that much, much better than ten days ago in the last debate and looking forward to a robust month. I mean, he left immediately after the debate, on his way to Iowa, very charged up. I know that the campaign team as well is energized.

CAMEROTA: So, what's it like for you to watch all of this as an outsider now? As just a viewer and a voter? Do you wish you were still on that stage or in that game?

CANTOR: Listen, Alisyn, I have landed in a great place. I'm vice chairman at Moelis & Company. And we're a global independent investment bank, and focused on helping businesses grow jobs, you know, across this country and focus on the competiveness of America.

Obviously, there's a lot of discussion last night about the tax system and what we need to do to fix it. I see firsthand right now the impact of a disadvantaged tax code. And the imperative for when we elect Jeb Bush president that we get this tax code fixed so we can continue to grow as a country.

CUOMO: I know you get contacted all the time by both parties for your take on what's going on, as you should be. What is the biggest thing you've learned that you are not as aware of when you were in office? What is that guidance that you have for those in the game?

CANTOR: I think that, you know, there is, in the end, it's not just about arguing on the differences, that we've got to remember there are real consequences to working people, real consequences to small and large business for what goes on in Washington, and frankly for what doesn't go on in Washington.

That's the one thing that is, I'm growingly concerned about is not just that -- what's being done but what's not getting done. The very simple aspects of getting a regulatory system straight and getting it right so we can continue to be a country that leads in this world. I think that is the one thing that I am seeing first row in the private sector, both impacts working families and businesses.

CAMEROTA: Eric Cantor, great to have you here. Always great to get your take on this.

CANTOR: Terrific to be here.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

All right. We're following a lot of news this morning. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Putin wants to go and knock the hell out of is, I'm all for it.

BUSH: That's like a board game, that's like playing monopoly or something. That's not how the real world works.

RUBIO: Either they win or we win. We better take this risk seriously.

KASICH: We all know you can't pick them up and ship them back across the border. It's a silly argument.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's naive to the point of being something you might hear in junior high.

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obamacare has to he repealed because it's failing.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thank you for not asking me what I said in the tenth grade. I appreciate that.

CRUZ: There are more words in the IRS code than there are in the bible. And not a one of them is as good.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton, Secretary Clinton. Hillary Clinton. Wait until you see what Hillary Clinton will do to this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY on this Veterans Day.

Issues take center stage in the latest GOP debate. Personal attacks not the focus this time with the 2016 Republican hopefuls, focused on policy, including immigration, national security and the minimum wage.

CUOMO: All right. Seems every candidate came in with a mission, Jeb Bush was looking to stay relevant. Ben Carson looking to get past questions about his past. So, where do we stand this morning?

CNN's John Berman is here with the recap.

JB, what did you see?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's really interesting. Normally after a debate, every campaign likes to basically declare victory and say it won. This is really one of the very first debates I've seen where each campaign can credibly make the claim that it did exactly what it wanted to do.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (voice-over): Fewer candidates on stage? Yes. More policy? Maybe. Less tension? Not a chance.

KASICH: Come on, folks, we all know you can't pick them up and ship them across -- back across the border. It's a silly argument. It's not an adult argument. It makes no sense.

BERMAN: John Kasich blasting Donald Trump's build a wall immigration plan.

Donald Trump blasting back.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: -- built an unbelievable company worth billions and billions of dollars. I don't have to hear from this man, believe me. I don't have to hear from him.

BERMAN: Immigration was a central topic. Jeb Bush worried about a mass deportation message.

BUSH: They're doing high fives in the Clinton campaign right now when they hear this.

BERMAN: Ted Cruz disagreed.

CRUZ: If Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose.

BERMAN: Foreign policy also a flash point between candidates, including a Rand Paul citing.

RUBIO: I know that Rand is a committed isolationist. I'm not.

PAUL: How is it conservative to add a trillion dollar expenditure for the federal government that you're not paying for?