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Keeping the Country Safe A Major Theme in GOP Debate; Candidates Outline Plans to Defeat ISIS; British Astronaut's First Full Day on the ISS; U.S. Federal Reserve Poised to Raise Rates. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 16, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:01]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I am Rosemary Church.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN HOST: And I am Errol Barnett. Thanks for joining us for this special hour of CNN Newsroom.

CHURCH: The Republican Presidential candidates are all making the case that they would best protect the U.S. from a threat of terrorism. The top nine White House hopefuls took to the stage in Las Vegas Tuesday night, outlining their plans to defeat ISIS and keep Americans safe.

BARNETT: Of course, front-runner Donald Trump was a prime target. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush criticized Trump's plan to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald, you're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. That's not going to happen. Leadership is not about attacking people and disparaging people. Leadership is about creating a serious strategy.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With Jeb's attitude, we will never be great again, that I can tell you. We will never be great again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We also saw several clashes between Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz over immigration, government surveillance, and this exchange on foreign policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can't carpet bomb ISIS if you don't have planes and bombs to attack them with. If we continue those cuts that we're doing now, not to mention additional cuts, we're going to be left with the oldest and the smallest air force this country has ever had, and that leaves us...

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of the problems with Marco's foreign policy is he's far too often supported Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama undermining governments in the Middle East that have helped radical Islamic terrorists. We need to focus on killing the bad guys, not getting stuck in Middle Eastern civil wars that don't keep America safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Jonathan Mann, host of Political Mann on CNN joins us now to talk more about this. They all came out swinging from the start.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN HOST, "POLITICAL MANN": They did. It was fun, but it was serious. There were no -- I thought, foolish questions. There were no dismissive inappropriate answers, but there was a lot to chew on. It was a televised debate. In a form like that, it's going to be a combination of personality and policy. The policy issue, national security was the theme of the debate, focused on ISIS, Islamic extremism, and immigrants. And Trump who has driven the conversation for the Republicans, with his plan to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and ban all Muslims from entering this country, wasn't backing down.

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TRUMP: We are not talking about isolation. We're talking about security. We're not talking about religion. We're talking about security. Our country is out of control. People are pouring across the southern border. I will build a wall, it will be a great wall. People will not come in unless they come in legally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: But it wasn't just Trump who offered strong measures in the name of national security. Here's Senator Ted Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: What my legislation would do is suspend all refugees for three years from countries where ISIS or Al Qaeda controls substantial territory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: No refugees from war-torn countries where people are seeking refuge, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson advocating government surveillance of mosques.

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BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't care whether it's a mosque, a school, a supermarket, a theater, it doesn't matter. If there are a lot of people getting there, engaging in radicalizing activities, then we need to be suspicious of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: That's the policy half of the equation. Let's talk about personalities. Donald Trump has of course, been the surprise front- runner for five months. Way behind him has been the surprise also Jeb Bush. Bush clearly decided it was time to be more aggressive and he took on Trump's plan to bar Muslims from the U.S.

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BUSH: This is not a serious proposal. In fact, it will push the Muslim world, the Arab world away from us at a time when we need to re-engage with them, to be able to create a strategy to destroy ISIS. So Donald is great at the one-liners. But he's a chaos candidate. And he'd be a chaos President.

TRUMP: Am I talking, or are you talking right now?

BUSH: I am talking.

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TRUMP: You can go back. You interrupted me. Are you going to apologize, Jeb? No. It's very sad that CNN leads Jeb Bush, Governor Bush, down a road by starting off virtually all of the questions, Mr. Trump this, I think it's very sad.

BUSH: If you think this is tough and you're not being treated fairly, imagine what it's going to be like dealing with Putin or President Xi, or dealing with the Islamic terrorism that exists. This is a tough business.

TRUMP: And you're a tough guy, Jeb.

BUSH: And we need to have a leader that's tough. You're never going to be President of the United States by insulting your way to the presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: You get the sense it's not just business, it's personal between those two. There will be more Trump, more Bush -- that's probably his best hope.

BARNETT: We don't see him campaigning with that exclamation point after his name. That's very telling. Thanks, John. We will see you later this hour. Thank you very much. Now what we saw for about two hours, you had all the Republican candidates trying to win over more voters and make strong impressions.

CHURCH: Yeah, the proof of how they did will come in the next round of polls, of course. But earlier, I spoke with CNN Political Commentator Tara Setmayer, and I asked her what American voters will be talking about the day after the debates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think there were a few

stand-out moments, of course, the jabs between Trump and Jeb. It was not a -- it wasn't a great moment, I don't think for the debate in general to see that kind of bullying by Trump and just very petulant attacks against Jeb. But he walked right into it, and that's happened every single debate. So I think even though Jeb had a stronger debate performance than he's had in the past, it's not going to matter. Trump was right when he said Jeb is around three percent, and I don't see that this debate is going to change that dynamic at all.

Another part of the debate that I thought was very interesting was the Achilles heel exposure for Marco Rubio. I think people thought the cage match was going to be between Trump and Cruz. But it was actually between Cruz and Rubio, and Rand Paul and Rubio. Both Ted Cruz and Rand Paul went after Marco Rubio really hard on the issue of immigration, which has been his weakness since 2013, because of his involvement with the gang of eight immigration reform bill with Democrats in 2013. So I think this debate is where you really saw where the kinks in -- excuse me -- in Marco Rubio's armor on the issue of immigration, and I think that's going to continue to haunt him in the GOP primary.

CHURCH: Interesting. That takes us to who you think were the winners. Who were the losers, and who needs to leave the stage?

SETMAYER: Yeah, I think tonight the winners were Ted Cruz, for sure. He put in his strongest debate performance. He had a little bit of a time there when he was arguing with Wolf Blitzer, but beside that misstep I think he had an overall strong debate tonight. Also Chris Christie had a strong debate. National security is his wheel house. He reminded us several times he's a federal prosecutor. But that resonates with people in the tri-state area, where I am, but that resonates with people because 9/11 is still in people's minds, particularly in this climate with ISIS and with what happened in San Bernardino. And Chris Christie handled those issues really well.

So Christie, Cruz, I think Marco Rubio was strong on everything except immigration. He'll probably score well with moderates, not so much with the base. Trump was Trump. He showed a little more humility tonight than he has in the past. I think that was a calculated move on his part, because he needed to do that to balance things out a little bit and throw a wrench into anybody's analysis of him and try to figure him out. But as far as who shouldn't be on the stage anymore, honestly, Ben Carson, God bless him, he's an extraordinary man, with an extraordinary record, but he is not equipped to be President of the United States, and he tried really hard tonight to show that he knew something about foreign policy, but he just didn't cut it.

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He really looked like he didn't belong on that stage, compared to the more heavyweight serious policy guys up there like Cruz, Rubio, and even Jeb Bush.

CHURCH: What about Jeb Bush, though? You mentioned him just there, though. Does he deserve to go further?

SETMAYER: Well, if we went strictly by numbers, Trump loves to go by the polls all the time and show how he's dominating. By the numbers, Jeb Bush is a dead man walking and he has been for many months. But he as an enormous bank account. So as long as he has money in the bank, he's going to continue on.

CHURCH: All right, Tara Setmayer, always a pleasure to talk to you. Many thanks.

SETMAYER: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: As you know, the debate in Las Vegas was the last chance this year for all the major Republican candidates to face off.

CHURCH: A short time ago, CNN's Jake Tapper sat down with a panel of reporters and commentators to talk about which candidates came out ahead.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think there were any clear break-out winners, but there were losers obviously. We're down to five people who have a possible path to this nomination, Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Chris Christie. All of them are not equal, of course. But we need to see the Cruz/Rubio fight play out a bit more. There are some real distinctions happening there. And immigration has -- somehow Marco Rubio has been able to escape this for most of his campaign year, shocking to me, actually. We're not sure if it's already baked in some conservatives who were opposed to his immigration views, or if this is still going to play out, something to watch. But Chris Christie, you know...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold the phone. I want to play some of the Cruz/Rubio back and forth that you were just referring to.

CRUZ: The front line with ISIS isn't just in Iraq and Syria. It's also in Kennedy Airport and the Rio Grande. Border security is national security. One of the most troubling aspects of the Rubio/Schumer Gang of Eight Bill was that it gave President Obama blanket authority to admit refugees, including Syrian refugees, without mandating any background checks whatsoever. Now, we've seen what happened in San Bernardino. When you're letting people in when the FBI can't vet them, it puts American citizens at risk.

RUBIO: As far as Ted's record, I am always puzzled by his attack on this issue. Ted, you support legalizing people who are in this country illegally. Ted Cruz supported a 500 percent increase in the number of H1V guest visas, and doubling the number of green cards.

CRUZ: I understand that Marco wants to raise confusion. It is not accurate what he just said, that I supported legalization. Indeed, I led the fight against his legalization and amnesty bill. And there was one commentator that put it this way, that for Marco to suggest our record's the same is like suggesting the fireman and the arsonist have the same record because they're both at the scene of the fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You heard Professor Zeleny now say there are five candidates with the path to the nomination. I noticed Ben Carson was not one of them. But he added Jeb Bush and Chris Christie to the list. How do you think Bush did tonight?

NIA-MLIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: I think in some ways -- Jeb Bush -- it might be too much to say that he was reborn, but I think he made the case that he should be back in this fight, talking to people in New Hampshire, texting back and forth with them -- very much looking for Jeb to have a good debate. They like the fact that he took on Trump and he took him on consistently and also mentioned that Rubio should take Trump on. He's doing the Cruz strategy, Rubio is by avoiding Trump. It seemed to me that Bush is obviously making a different strategy that the establishment wants to see somebody chop Bush -- chop Trump down to size and in general, he's the person that emerges and does that down to his benefit.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": To be that anti-Trump, John, is it that you are the most forceful one, or you have the best chance of beating him?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Look, we're about to move into -- you have to beat him in a state. Trump is dominating and is growing his lead. The Iowa vote's in 48 days. Trump's whole premise is winning. Right now Cruz and Trump are locked in a dead heat, or maybe Cruz advantage in Iowa. Most people on the ground think Cruz is going to win Iowa. Move to New Hampshire, Trump is ahead right now, that's Christie's and Bush's and Kasich's. Lot of the establishment is saying Rubio is going to be our guy against the outsider Trump and the evangelical Cruz. That's fine, and clearly he's a good debater. We've talked about this. He's the best athlete on the field. The question is, is he ready for the major leagues? He's got to win somewhere. He's not winning anywhere.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should also point out New Hampshire is much different than Iowa in the sense it's a primary, so independent voters can participate. And it gives a better chance ostensibly to a center right establishment candidate. There's just a glut of them, and the endorsement by the Manchester Union Leader of Chris Christie has given him some energy. I thought he did well tonight. So Jeb Bush did have a more energetic performance tonight. But the question is, is it enough? And you know I suspect maybe not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: We've shown you the highlights, but don't miss the entire replay of the debate right here on CNN. Set your DVR's now to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday in London, 9:00 p.m. in Berlin.

CHURCH: Makes for good television. And more on the Republican Presidential debate after this short break, including reaction from the Middle East of what we heard just a few hours ago. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had Assad been bombed when he used chemical

weapons two years ago, ISIS would be in charge of all of Syria now. We have to have a more realistic foreign policy and not a utopian one where we say we're going to spread freedom and democracy and everybody in the Middle East is going to love us. They're not going to love us.

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GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would talk to Vladimir Putin a lot. I would say to him, listen, Mr. President, there's no-fly zone in Syria. You fly in, yes, we would shoot down a plane of Russian pilots if they were stupid enough to think that this President was the same feckless weak link that the President we have in the Oval Office right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: new Jersey Governor Chris Christie there during the Republican Presidential debate. The candidates were very vocal about their positions on foreign policy in Syria and Russia.

CHURCH: They also talked about what they would do to fight ISIS and some criticized Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. CNN Anchor Becky Anderson joins us now from Abu Dhabi. Hi there, Becky. So we saw the Republican Presidential candidates clash over global terror and national security, and Jeb Bush attacked Donald Trump on his controversial plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. So how did this all play out overseas, and what reaction will there likely be once it's all analyzed and digested? Particularly in the region you're in.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, "CONNECT THE WORLD": And that's a key question, because this was slap bang in the middle of the night, this debate. So we'll have to wait to see the reaction we get. But the fact that Donald Trump defended this provocative call to ban Muslims from the U.S., will it be noted by people in this region, where the hope is that he is more pantomime villain than serious contender. I am by no means dismissing the shock and dismay felt after he originally made those comments, Rosemary, stinging rebukes from business leaders in the gulf to those comments initially. But I think amongst the mainstream public, there's a sense that anti-Islam and anti-Muslim further amongst the Republican contenders is being used to whip up or curry favor with voters in what seems to be an environment of fear so far as national security is concerned.

It will come as no surprise to you that the Bush family doesn't get a lot of support on the Middle Eastern street. But as you point out, Jeb Bush's line that Trump is a chaos candidate and he would be a chaos President likely resonated with those who did watch. I was struck by these words from one commentator. Who said it's easier to frighten than inspire, it's easier to ban Muslims and war refugees from the U.S. than it is to admit that the world is a complicated place and that ISIS feeds upon our fear and demagoguery. Much of the Republican debate has to be said in this region, seen as alarmist at best, xenophobia at worst.

Lest me not forget where this is a region where many feel let down by Washington, George W. Bush they say overreacted or overreached. Many think the current President has under reached. A lot of people here will tell you that drawdown provided a vacuum for ISIS now terrorizing and displacing many people across the Middle East, Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, Becky Anderson joining us from Abu Dhabi there. We'll wait a few more hours to get more reaction from the region. Appreciate that so much, Becky.

BARNETT: And another interesting point we want to digest during Tuesday's debate, U.S. Presidential candidate Ted Cruz took the Obama administration to task over its policy toward Syrian refugees.

CHURCH: Was he spot on, or did he miss the mark? We asked CNN's Tom Foreman to check the facts.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ted Cruz wasted no time in going directly at the White House and the Democrats for what he called a failed policy in Syria.

CRUZ: Even worse, President Obama and Hillary Clinton are proposing bringing tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to this country, when the head of the FBI has told congress they cannot vet those refugees.

FOREMAN: Let's talk about the numbers first. Since the civil war broke out in 2011, about 2,200 Syrian refugees have come to the United States. The White House has proposed bringing another 10,000 next year, and there is a provision at the State Department that could bring a good many more, but we have no idea yet if that will be tens of thousands as he said. What is more beyond that, yes, the FBI Director has said it's very difficult to vet all of these people, to get through all of those numbers, but there is a very stringent program in place to try to vet them, to try to learn everything they can about them.

[03:25:01]

Can it be improved? Yes. And administration officials say it's steadily being improved. So his suggestion that somehow there's going to be this massive numbers and they can't be looked at all, that's simply false. You can find out a whole lot more if you go to CNN.com/realitycheck.

BARNETT: And we'll have much more on the Republican debate in our second half hour, but at this moment, let's check some other news making headlines at this moment.

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BARNETT: We'll have more on the Republican Presidential debate coming up, including reaction from the Muslim community.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact of the matter is, not all Muslims are Jihadists. But the reality is all Jihadists are Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it violate anybody's first amendment rights if somebody shows up because they want to listen and see if there's something that's a little nefarious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are responsible for the growth of ISIS because they precipitously withdrew from Iraq in 2011 against the advice of every single general and for political expediency. It's not these people up here, it's Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Fighting words there from Carly Fiorina at the GOP debate. Welcome back. I am Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I am Errol Barnett. Let's update you on our top story.

The U.S. Republican Presidential candidates are trying to sell themselves as the best choice to fight terrorism and keep the country safe. That was the main theme Tuesday night in their last debate of the year. The candidates also went after one another. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio clashed over several issues, including surveillance and immigration reform. And Jeb Bush struck at front-runner Donald Trump several times during the debate.

CHURCH: Tuesday's Republican Presidential debate was full of zingers aimed at front-runner Donald Trump.

BARNETT: We shared a few laughs as we watched. Here are some of the highlights.

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PAUL: Trump says he ought to close that internet thing.

BUSH: Donald is great at the one-liners, but he's a chaos candidate.

CHRISTIE: This is what it's like to be on the floor of the United States Senate, endless debate about how many angels on the head of a pin from people who have never had to make a consequential decision.

BUSH: Donald, you're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency.

CARSON: It's actually merciful if you go ahead and finish the job rather than death by a thousand pricks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're ok with the death of thousands of innocent civilians?

PAUL: So when you ask yourself, whoever you are, that is supporting Donald Trump, think, do you believe in the constitution?

TRUMP: They can kill us, but we can't kill them? That's what you're saying.

FIORINA: If you want something talked about, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.

PAUL: I think if you're in favor of World War III, you got your candidate.

TRUMP: Virtually, the entire early portion of the debate was Trump this, Trump that. I've gotten to know him over the last few days, he has a wonderful temperament.

RUBIO: Ted, you support legalizing people in the country illegally?

CRUZ: For Marco to suggest our record is the same is like suggesting the fireman and the arsonist have the same record because they're both at the scene of the fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready to reassure Republicans tonight that you'll run as a Republican and abide by the decision of the Republicans?

TRUMP: I really am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Peter Beinart joins us from New York to discuss what we all witnessed at the final GOP debate of the year, Peter, great to see you. Donald Trump was friendly with Dr. Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, patted him on the back, said he was just fine, rather than a maniac and sparred aggressively with Governor Jeb Bush, insulting his low poll numbers once again. What kind of response do you think there will be to Donald Trump's performance?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think Donald Trump did anything to shake the people who support him. He has a strong basis of support, especially among non-college educated older white voters. I don't think he did anything in this debate. He was less outrageous in this debate than he has been in previous moments. If they weren't disconcerted by things he'd done before tonight's debate, they weren't swayed by anything he said tonight.

BARNETT: Meanwhile, Jeb Bush during that performance coined the term chaos candidate for Donald Trump, but he still sits at the bottom of the polls. Did he do enough to turn it around?

BEINART: No. It may have been a marginally better performance, but he's a poor debater. In an era in which Republicans hate their leaders and want outsiders, he's the ultimate insider. So I think his candidacy has been dead for a while now. The only thing keeping it afloat is the fact that his family's financial network gave him his super Pac, all of this money at the beginning. But really, I think he's an afterthought in a three-way race between Trump, Cruz, and Rubio.

BARNETT: You saw Senator Rand Paul sparring with Governor Chris Christie, suggesting Christie would be the World War III candidate, even bringing up Christie's Bridge Gate scandal. What do you make of Senator Paul's performance? Was it enough to get him ahead?

BEINART: No. His numbers are so low that he barely made it on the stage at all. The debate between Christie and Paul is interesting, because they represent different strands in the Republican Party. Christie is a more national security hawk without much concern for civil liberties. Rand Paul is less supportive of American military intervention. But in reality, the only stuff that really mattered in this debate was the three-way dynamic between Trump and Cruz and Rubio. Because I think right now, this campaign is between the three of them.

BARNETT: And what do you make of Marco Rubio's performance? He's much more experienced in an environment like this, but in a time when Republicans seem to want an outsider candidate, he's still fighting against that momentum?

BEINART: Rubio's a very effective debater and he was quite good at times tonight. The problem is he doesn't seem to have right now a clear constituency among Republican voters. He has a small constituency among Republican donors, he's their favorite. But Ted Cruz has established himself as the candidate for conservative evangelicals. Donald Trump has a strong base among non-college- educated older white voters. And Marco Rubio doesn't have a strong base graphically or geographically. He's not even close to leading in any state. That remains his problem after tonight.

BARNETT: A lot of folks will be discussing this over the next few weeks. We'll see what impact it has on the polls. Peter Beinart, thanks for your insight. CNN Political Commentator joining us from New York.

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CHURCH: Well, the candidates were all running hard against each other, but for much of the time, it seemed like they were running against Muslims.

BARNETT: That was particularly true in the earlier debate which featured the secondary candidates who aren't doing quite as well in the polls, perhaps that's why they were so aggressive. Jonathan Mann, Host of Political Mann joins us now to talk about that strange aspect of this election.

MANN: You may have a point there, because it was really hard. It was just hard to hear. I was struck by what we were hearing them say. One of the world's great religions, or its followers being the focus of so much suspicion in any public forum -- any U.S. Presidential debate, we got in touch with Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations to hear his thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Let me ask you first of all, what were your thoughts and impressions watching the Republicans debate?

HUSSAM AYLOUSH, EXEC. DIR FOR COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: I wasn't surprised. I got what I expected to get, a lot of the bickering. A lot of the use of Islam and Muslims as the punching bag for the most part, different degrees of targeting Muslims, alienating Muslims, so not a lot of surprises there.

MANN: We heard one remark tonight. We heard a number, but let me draw your attention to former Senator Rick Santorum. Here's what he had to say.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact of the matter is not all Muslims are Jihadists and no one, including, I suspect Donald Trump would say that, but the reality is all Jihadists are Muslims. That's the reality. And we have to stop worrying about offending some people and start defending all Americans because we're not right now.

MANN: What goes through your mind when you hear that?

AYLOUSH: Many levels. There are problems with this statement. Number one, it's almost like saying not all Christians are KKK members, but all KKK members are Christians. That's false. Number two, to allow the usage of the word Jihadists as claimed by the terrorists of ISIS and Al Qaeda and others, is basically doing them a favor. For Santorum or for any other candidate, to allow for groups like these, ISIS, and others to hijack such terms is actually working or doing their work. For Muslims, Jihad is something noble you do to help society, to uplift society, to take care of the needy, to defend yourself, to be a good parent and many other good things that all people of all faith backgrounds engage in.

So for me, this kind of rhetoric is only enflaming. But obviously they're trying to appeal to a base that's angry, that responds well to fear mongering.

MANN: And something else here, from Mike Huckabee, he's proposing government surveillance of mosques. Let's listen to that.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It does not violate their first amendment rights to have someone go and listen to the sermons. You can go to any church in America. It's a public place. You can listen. If you go to my church, you'll probably get a real blessing and heck, it will be a wonderful experience. You go to some people's church, you may go to sleep. I don't know what happens in every church. But these are public places and folks are invited to come. So if it's a public place and people are invited to come, how it violates anybody's first amendment rights if somebody shows up because they might want to listen to see if there's something that's a little nefarious? MANN: Would American Muslims welcome government officials coming in

to listen and watch while they're at prayer? Is there something chilling about that to you?

AYLOUSH: I have some news for Mr. Huckabee, if he comes and visits any of your mosques, he will also be surprised. They're peaceful messages, messages of unity. Unfortunately, hate rhetoric has a price, and the price is as we speak, mosques have been attacked. Since the beginning of 2015, over 69 mosques have been vandalized in America, just a dozen since the horrific, barbaric attack in San Bernardino. So for elected officials or for candidates to engage in such fear mongering, they have to realize the price is being paid by innocent American citizens in their places of worship.

MANN: Hussam Ayloush of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, thanks so much for talking with us.

AYLOUSH: Thanks for having me.

MANN: Americans fear terrorism now more than any other time since 9/11. That fear is centered on Muslims and some Republicans aren't holding back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: John, I do want to ask you, what would be fascinating here would be a fly on the wall watching Hillary Clinton's reaction when she was watching the GOP debate, and certainly when we know some of the polling behind the scenes here. What do you think she was thinking? Rejoicing perhaps?

MANN: Well, American elections are typically won in the center. It's the people who can convince not the die-hard Republicans who vote in primaries, but the independents, the swing voters, the people who can't decide a few percentage points in every Presidential election. To see the Republican Party move to the extremes, something its own leadership said cost it the last Presidential election, Hillary Clinton has to be pretty glad. She knows from polls, she would beat Donald Trump.

[03:42:01]

In fact, everyone in the Republican Party has seen those polls, and those polls suggest that Marco Rubio would defeat Hillary Clinton. But interestingly, what we're seeing is that Marco Rubio cannot appeal to Republican primary voters on the basis of his electability. Donald Trump, who is probably not electable, even according to many Republican leaders, Donald Trump is really somehow winning the day. It's a fractured vote, he's got a minority of votes, but it's a strange thing when you know the election is ahead.

CHURCH: So presumably Hillary Clinton a happy woman today. Thanks so much.

BARNETT: Of course, you can find much more on the debate on our website, but there are some compelling views of Tuesday night's clash. CHURCH: CNN teamed up with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographer

Vincent La Fore and armed him with seven remote triggered still cameras positioned throughout the debate hall, CNN then turned its instagram feed over to him so he could post them instantly, and these are just a few of the shots you'll find there.

BARNETT: All right, still to come this hour, the U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to make a historic move. We'll explain how an interest rate hike could have an impact worldwide. We're back in seconds.

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BARNETT: And now we report to you from Space. Well, not really. But British Astronaut Tim Peek is spending his first full day on the international space station. Peek blasted off from Kazakhstan along with a Russian cosmonaut. He's the first British citizen on the space station.

CHURCH: Now, Peek did 6,000 hours of training and learned Russian in preparation for his stay. He and the other new arrivals will spend six months on the station, helping test new technologies for future missions.

BARNETT: All right, back down here on Earth, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to make a move it hasn't done in almost a decade. Raise its key interest rate.

CHURCH: Yeah, the Fed is expected to make that long anticipated announcement later on Wednesday. It would signal the U.S. government is increasingly confident in the strength of the U.S. economy and could have big impacts for consumers, businesses, and international trade.

BARNETT: Now that British astronaut launched went off without delay.

CHURCH: That's not the case with the Fed's rate hike, as Richard Quest shows us launching that increase has been delayed again and again until just the right moment.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Finding the right time for lift-off requires perfect conditions. Economic turmoil over the summer scrubbed earlier attempts to launch interest rates, and now with the meeting under way, the launch window is well and truly open. First of all, the rocket has been started. Janet Yellen promised data-driven decisions with the economy reaching full employment, growth steady, markets having recovered from their biliousness of the summer, the data are all pointing in the right direction. There is data consensus. Light another rocket. The Fed is in broad agreement that action is warranted. In previous meetings, one member has been agitating for an early rise in rates and now it seems everybody else is on board.

Now light the next rocket, the timing, the rate rise has clearly been telegraphed as said on this program, there will be great instability if the Fed does nothing. So they're meeting in Washington, and it seems there's no turning back. Because once they have launched this rocket of rates, no matter what speed they go up, the process will have begun. And that process will continue even if it's described by many as gradual.

BARNETT: Richard quest there now. Of course, any U.S. rate hike will likely have impacts, not just in the U.S., but all around the world. Let's turn now to CNN Correspondent Issa Suarez who joins us live from London. Hey there, Issa, the Fed has been hinting -- what is the expectation of what will happen here very soon?

ISSA SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Errol. I think it's not a question whether we'll have lift-off if we're continuing the metaphor. It's a question of what the lift-off will look like, what kind of language it will be. We know hearing from economists and investors who have come on CNN that they are expecting roughly about 25 basis points hike with the interest rates today. But really what we want to hear is the language. What we call in the world of business, forward guidance. Exactly what is Janet Yellen going to say? Quest was talking about consensus, was talking about the language. And what we want, looking in the crystal ball, what is Janet Yellen's plan? Does she was gradual rate hikes?

How many are we talking about here in 2016? I heard one economist saying this morning that perhaps we're looking at an additional three rate hikes in 2016. So this is the sort of language that markets and investors will be listening to very closely. Because as you know, we've been talking about this, many of our viewers would know we've been talking about this for quite some time. A lot of markets have already included the rate hike in their prices. The European markets opened not so long ago. But they were pretty flat last time I looked. There you go. They're turned around slightly, but pretty flat with the exception of the CAC 40 in Paris.

But Errol, in last day or so, we saw European markets turn around, one because of oil prices, but the second, because of the prospect of that rate hike, Errol.

BARNETT: All right, we'll continue to anticipate this announcement and see if it does in fact, lift off. Great to see you Issa Suarez joining us from London, thank you.

CHURCH: Well, fans have been waiting for this forever. The new Star Wars film hits theaters on Friday. And after the break, you will hear from someone lucky enough to have seen the movie, his review next.

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[03:55:01]

CHURCH: On a red carpet, in a galaxy far, far away, the new Star Wars film, the Force Awakens made its global debut.

BARNETT: All right, well the galaxy was not far away, it was just L.A., but Monday's premiere was so large, a half-mile section of Hollywood Boulevard was closed to traffic. The Force Awakens will make its European debut in London, Wednesday, but the question on everyone's mind, is it any good?

CHURCH: Joining me now to talk about the new Star Wars movie is Chris Beechem, he is the Managing Editor of GoldDerby.com and he joins us from our L.A. Studio. Thank you, sir for being with us. So you've seen the movie. Did it live up to all the hype?

CHRIS BEECHEM, MANAGING EDITOR OF GOLDDERBY.COM: You know, it really did, I had high expectations for this movie, because you know the first one came out when I was about eight or nine years old. And it really exceeded what I was thinking going in. Having a fresh perspective from somebody like J.J. Abrams probably was really what this movie project needed.

CHURCH: And this is the problem, though, with a movie like this, with so much hype, it's amazing, you as a fan felt it lived up to it. But were there parts of the movie that didn't work, or parts that worked better than others?

BEECHEM: I would say overall, it certainly works. It's one of my favorite movies of the year so far. I think the main thing to realize, as you think about taking your family to see this, it's so rare these days, just to have a rollicking fun kind of movie and that's what this provides, right from the very first moments, all the way to the end. Its nonstop action and lots of laughs, I was very surprised at how many times the whole audience was laughing out loud.

CHURCH: We like lots of laughs. What about the original characters, how did they fit into the whole story line in the movie? Did that all work?

BEECHEM: I thought so. You know I don't want to give spoilers. I hate it when people tell me things I don't want to know. But you have Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, you know, some of the droids and other -- what I found most interesting, as each character would make their first appearance, the audience that I was with, which was a very packed preview audience, would just erupt in applause. I thought that was wonderful.

CHURCH: And give us your rating out of 10 and whether you'd recommend this movie to our viewers.

BEECHEM: Well, I don't give up high ratings lightly, I got to tell you. I would say, honestly this is a 10 for me. When you exceed my expectations and this thing has been promoted for a year now. I just really, really thought the fun aspects of it, the laughter, the action, incorporating in the older characters and the new ones. The new ones are quite exciting. That really made it special for me.

CHURCH: Ok, so sounds like you're recommending our viewers get out and see this, right?

BEECHEM: If they can find a ticket.

CHURCH: All right. Chris Beecham, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

BEECHEM: Thank you.

CHURCH: How about that, 10 out of 10.

BARNETT: Yeah.

CHURCH: And some laughs.

BARNETT: The Guardian Newspaper in the U.K, they gave it five out of five stars. The New York Times saying it's good, it's got thrills. And you say you look a good laugh and it's there.

CHURCH: There it is, and to live up to all the hype, because there was hype.

BARNETT: Yeah, there was a lot of hype, and a lot of fans. Are you going?

CHURCH: I am going. As he said, though, if I can get a ticket.

BARNETT: Good luck with that. And we appreciate you all being with us this hour, everyone. I am Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: And I am Rosemary Church. Remember, you can connect with us anytime on social media. We want to hear from you.

BARNETT: That's right. We're off for now, but there's another edition of CNN Newsroom straight ahead. Have a great day.

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