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Graham Leaves Race; Americans Killed in Afghanistan; Driver Slams into Pedestrians. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 21, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'll be back 5:00 p.m. Eastern in "The Situation Room." For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next. For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" today with Don Lemon starts right now.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf Blitzer.

I'm Don Lemon, in for Brooke Baldwin today. Hope you're doing OK.

We're going to begin with some major political developments that is first on CNN. Republicans now have just a dozen main candidates to choose from for the race for the White House. Lindsey Graham ending his run for president. Since announcing his campaign in June, the senator from South Carolina has not been able to really breakthrough in the polls, hovering around 1 percent. He declared his dropping out in an interview, a one-on-one exclusive interview with our very own Kate Bolduan. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, I - my campaign, I'm going to suspend my campaign. I'm not going to suspend my desire to help the country. I'll probably go back to Iraq and Afghanistan and get another update. Thirty-six trips has informed me. But the one thing I feel really good about is that I did it with a smile on my face. I talked about things that are important to me and somebody better fix one day.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why are you getting out of the race?

GRAHAM: Well, because I've hit a wall here. You know, my campaign has come to a point where I need to think about getting out and helping somebody else. Here's what I predict. Again, I think the nominee of our party is going to adopt my plan when it comes time to articulate how to destroy ISIL.

BOLDUAN: Can't you do more in pushing that conversation be being in the race than by leaving it, though?

GRAHAM: Well, to be a viable candidate, you've got to have finances and you've got to, you know, get on the big stage. My biggest -

BOLDUAN: What's the final straw, though?

GRAHAM: My biggest problem is that a lot of people like what I say but not many people hear it. This whole process started in a kind of strange way. You couldn't get on the main stage unless you polled at a certain level. Well, if you've never run before, that's pretty hard if you're - if you don't come from a political family, that's pretty hard. If you come from a small state versus a large state, that's pretty hard. If you've got a lot of money, you're going to do better.

So here's what I would advise the Republican Party to do in the future, never do this again. The bottom line is, people are coming my way in terms of a more robust foreign policy. Jeb and Rubio, Marco, are very much in sync with where I'm at. I think Kasich and Christie. And, you know, Donald Trump talks tough and he's trying to act tough. And, you know, if he gets to be the nominee, I'll give him my two cents' worth about a plan that I think can keep the country safe. And I'll make another prediction. I think Hillary Clinton is going to adopt most of this before it's over with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Very interesting. There's Kate. She's with me now. He's been polling about - first of all, I should say, he seems like, haaaaa, right?

BOLDUAN: In one regard it seems like that. In another regard it seemed like he was still grappling with it. At one point in the interview I actually had to say, you're telling me you're dropping out but you kind of - you still sound like you're running, because he still wants to push his message still.

LEMON: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's true.

LEMON: But he really has had trouble getting - and he talked about it there.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Yes.

LEMON: He said, you know, my regret is that I didn't get on the big stage or part of the main tier of the candidates. Is there one particular thing that made him want to get out of the race?

BOLDUAN: He definitely blames the debate structure, this new debate structure, of the undercard debate and main stage debate, but he simply said he didn't see a path. I mean we hear that from - when candidates drop out.

LEMON: Right.

BOLDUAN: He didn't see a path forward. He looked at the calendar. He can't - if he - after what was reviewed as - well reviewed for performance in our CNN debate in Las Vegas -

LEMON: Right.

BOLDUAN: He saw no bump out of that. He doesn't see -

LEMON: Because people think that he - this undercard debate now is going to be boring without Lindsey Graham.

BOLDUAN: I mean he's known for his one-liners.

LEMON: Yes.

BOLDUAN: I mean that's one of the best parts about, you know, what we - you can't - you don't - you never know what you're going to hear from Lindsey Graham when he takes the debate stage.

LEMON: Right.

BOLDUAN: So he didn't see a path.

There's also, if you look at the calendar, though, he and the campaign will say it had nothing to do with it. Today was the filing date, a deadline, to get your name off of the South Carolina ballot. So it helps to avoid what could potentially be an embarrassing showing for Lindsey Graham. But throughout all of this, one thing he kept telling me is how proud he was in pushing the conversation on national security. And so that's why I asked him a lot - a little bit more about that. And here's a little bit more of our interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: You often talk about the men and women in the military -

GRAHAM: Yes.

BOLDUAN: That you meet in your travels.

GRAHAM: Yes.

BOLDUAN: That you served with.

GRAHAM: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And you say, you are there to fight for them. You're the one that is running that will fight the most for them.

GRAHAM: It's not -

BOLDUAN: Is there anyone left in the race that you trust, senator, to fight for them?

GRAHAM: Well, I think there's some - some really - I think Jeb and Marco get it. I think - I think everybody loves the military. It's not that I care about them more than anybody else. I just think I understand their world and they truly want to win.

Let me give you a story that kind of just caps it all off for me. There was a lieutenant commander, Philip Murphy Sweet (ph). He was an engineer. And it was his job to take an Iraqi armed base and turn it into a rule of center in really one of the worst parts of Baghdad. So they were going to dedicate the courtroom while I was there. So I flew over with Colonel Martin (ph), who was my boss. He's Petraeus' legal advisor. And we took a tour of the facilities with Commander Sweet and his team. And he showed me around. And as I left, I said, man, you've done a hell of a job. I mean this came about in record time. He said, I'm in it to win it.

[14:05:27] And I took off and I went one way in a helicopter. A few hours later he left and he was killed. And I remember when I went back home and I called his wife. And I told her how sorry I was and how proud she should be. She said, don't worry, I wanted him there. And she wrote a letter that they read at the memorial service that just knocked everybody to their knees. She's got four kids. He could have gone home, but he stayed. And they determined that I would meet him and he would get to tell me about what he was so proud of and the accomplishments he had made. And most of it's been lost and it really pisses me off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow.

BOLDUAN: You don't often see that kind of emotion in someone who's just saying he's dropping out of the race.

LEMON: He really cares about men and women in uniform and he did push on national security (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: And he says he will continue to. And you kind of see that motivation and that passion in his face in that interview.

LEMON: Great interview.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you.

LEMON: Good to see you. Good to see you, of course.

Lindsey Graham, you know, may have been slow to gain in the polls, but his quick wit won over a lot of admirers. He was known not only for his comic chops, but his candor as well, especially against rival Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neil had a drink every night. If I'm president, we're going to drink more.

I wasn't the best law student. By the end of this debate, it would be the most time I've ever spent in any library.

What he said about John I think was offensive. He's becoming a jackass.

Ted, getting in bed with Iran and Russia to save Assad is inconceivable.

HUGH HEWITT, MODERATOR: Senator Santorum, let me ask you.

GRAHAM: Princess Buttercup would not like this.

Wouldn't you like to export natural gas to cut Putin's legs out from under him? I'm not afraid of a guy riding around on a horse without his shirt. The guy's got a pair of twos and we've got a full house and he's walking all over Obama.

Donald Trump has done the one single thing you cannot do, declare war on Islam itself. ISIL would be dancing in the streets. They just don't believe in dancing.

You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, there you go. Lindsey Graham is the fourth major candidate to end his run for the White House. Let's discuss now. Joining - excuse me, joining Rick Perry, Scott Walker and Bobby Jindal. So, how does Graham's exit impact those left on the campaign trail, let's discuss now with the author of the book "Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Betrayed the Reagan Revolution to Win Elections and How it Can Reclaim its Conservative Roots." That is a long title. Conservative writer Matt Lewis is also a senior contributor at "The Daily Caller." And also here with me, political commentator - CNN political commentator Peter Beinart, who is also a contributing editor to "The Atlantic" and "The National Journal."

You guys have long titles.

Matt, you just wrote a piece saying that the undercard debates will now be, quote, "unwatchable," correct?

MATT LEWIS, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, "THE DAILY CALLER": Yes, I think they need to end it today. This is it.

LEMON: Why?

LEWIS: Well, the only thing that made it like redeeming at all was Lindsey Graham, both because he was funny, but also because he was so passionate and eloquent about his foreign policy approach, whether or not you agree with his world view, by the way. And I will say this. you know, at the most recent debate in Las Vegas, nobody on the main stage, whether it was Rubio, Jeb, Kasich, Christie, nobody made the case defending the sort of George W. Bush era foreign policy as well as Lindsey Graham did in the happy hour debate.

LEMON: Yes.

Peter, who - who's going to be the beneficiary of Graham getting out?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the interesting person will be to watch will be Rubio. You know, what Lindsey Graham has going for him is he has John McCain's endorsement, which will be interesting. He also has the enforcement of some important people in his home state of South Carolina. And his foreign policy views match up pretty well with Rubio's. So I think the interesting question will be, does some of that support go to Rubio?

LEMON: So who's next, Peter, to leave?

BEINART: I would look at Mike Huckabee. He's already had to give - he's already had to slash payments to his - to his staffers. And that would be a - that would help Ted Cruz. That would open up more conservative evangelicals in Iowa for Ted Cruz.

LEMON: And, Matt, who do you think is the next to leave?

LEWIS: Well, I think Huckabee is a good bet. Keep an eye on Rand Paul as well. But - but I think what Peter is getting at here is a problem for Rubio and the establishment lane. It's much more likely, I think, that people leave that would help Ted Cruz. And I think Cruz is already on his way to winning Iowa. So at what point does someone like a John Kasich or a Jeb Bush call it quits? That's the real question. And until that happens, it's going to be a real problem for someone like Rubio or Christie that's trying to consolidate that lane.

[14:10:20] LEMON: Hey, Matt, what about a vice presidential contender? Do you see Graham maybe being a vice president or a vice presidential candidate?

LEWIS: I don't see him as vice president. I see him as secretary of defense. I think he helped himself by running here. You know, a lot of times some of those people run and they embarrass themselves and they wish, you know, wish they had never run. Other times people do it to get like a cable TV spot or something maybe less than noble, raise their profile. In the case of Lindsey Graham, I think he has really comported himself well and been impressive. And if somebody like Rubio becomes president, who would be a better secretary of defense than Lindsey Graham?

LEMON: All right, let's turn now to who is in the race now for - and I'm talking about Donald Trump now demanding an apology after Hillary Clinton said this during the Democratic debate on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is becoming ISIS' best recruiter. They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Matt, it's not true.

LEWIS: Yes.

LEMON: And he's demanding an apology. Should Clinton apologize?

LEWIS: Well, you know, I - LEMON: Should she address it? I mean the question is, should she address it? Is this her - is this her thousands of Muslims celebrating 9/11 moment?

LEWIS: Look, morally and ethically, yes, she made a mistake and she should do what Bernie Sanders did, which is to apologize. But politically it would be - it would be a mistake for her to do so. I mean, you know, so - so Hillary will not apologize. And they're trying to spin it right now. As you've probably seen, the Democrats are basically saying, well, she didn't mean a video. She meant that - that, you know, radicals are using Trump's rhetoric on the Internet to - to exploit.

LEMON: They're showing it online and that's pointing to specific people.

LEWIS: Yes. Yes.

LEMON: Peter, what do you think?

BEINART: I'm really surprised by how ham handed they've been. First of all, why did she say that? There was no evidence for it whatsoever. And once they realized that she had said something, which was not true, clearly not true, they should have ended it right away by saying she misspoke. That would have been over. They've let this now - she had a very strong debate performance, but they're letting this now overshadow that strong debate performance and they don't have a leg to stand on. She clearly doesn't -

LEMON: So do you think she should address it?

BEINART: I think she should have - I think she should have said she was wrong. They should have gotten out that she was wrong right away. She still should because Donald Trump's not going to let it go and as hard as it is for me to say this, in this case, Donald Trump is actually right.

LEMON: Yes, you know, this -

LEWIS: Yes, I -

LEMON: Go ahead. Go ahead.

LEWIS: I was going to say, too late now to apologize. I think she has to - I think she has to double down. But this does re-enforce the stereotype about Hillary Clinton -

LEMON: I was going to say that.

LEWIS: That she's - yes, that she's (INAUDIBLE) -

LEMON: Yes, she's not truthful.

LEWIS: That she's less than truthful.

LEMON: Yes. LEWIS: That's a problem.

LEMON: Yes. You know, things are getting more tense now between Trump and Jeb Bush now. So let's listen to the two of them rail against each other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just one other thing - I've got to get this off my chest - Donald Trump is a jerk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's an embarrassment to the Bush family. And, in fact, he doesn't even want to use the Bush name, which is interesting. Jeb is an embarrassment to himself and to his family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK, so that was - I mean that is low. So I mean does this - does this help Bush at all because clearly, clearly, Matt, this is Donald Trump's territory. This is where he lives. Does Bush really want to go into this territory?

LEWIS: Well, he is there and I have to say, look, I don't think Jeb Bush, you know, took down Donald Trump in that last debate or even now, but I think he's finally holding his own. I think now finally Jeb - it took him - remember, this is a guy who hasn't run for political office in a dozen years and I think he was rusty and I don't think he was familiar with how negative the political environment, how toxic things are today. But he's finally kind of catching his groove. Unfortunately, I think it's too late. I think Trump defined Jeb as a low energy candidate and I - it's just too late to turn that around.

LEMON: Stuck. Yes, I did see - Peter, I'll give you the last word.

BEINART: Yes, I think in a weird way this is becoming kind of a side show. I mean Jeb is focusing his attention on Donald Trump. The real fight increasingly is between Cruz and Rubio. And Jeb has kind of, in some ways, become a side show at this point.

LEWIS: Yes.

LEMON: All right, thank you, Peter. Thank you, Matt. Appreciate both of you.

LEWIS: Thank you.

LEMON: If I don't see you, have a merry Christmas.

Coming up, breaking news, U.S. troops are among those killed in a motorcycle suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. Is this a sign that America's longest war is far from over? Our Barbara Starr is going to join us from the Pentagon with the latest. Also, disaster on the Vegas Strip. What we just learned about the

driver who police say veered her car on to a crowded sidewalk striking dozens of pedestrians just feet from the casinos. Why police say this was no accident.

[14:15:05] And Miss Universe, did you see this? If you didn't, you missed it. This was a mistake heard around the world, really around the universe. We're going to talk with someone who was there when the wrong winner was announced and what the confusion was like backstage and the conspiracy theories are now swirling everywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to apologize. This is exactly what's on the card. I will take responsibility for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Don Lemon in for Brooke today.

This is our breaking news in the war in Afghanistan. American troops are among the dead after a suicide bomber on a motorcycle - motorbike detonated near a joint Afghan NATO patrol. It happened near the Bagram Air Field. For more on this deadly attack, I want to bring in CNN's Barbara Starr now, our Pentagon correspondent.

Barbara, how did this attack happened and do we know yet how many Americans died?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Don, at this hour, we are still waiting for the official word from the Pentagon, six killed, three injured. It was solely a U.S./Afghan mission outside of Bagram Air Base when they were attacked. So we're waiting for that final word on whether all six killed in action were indeed American troops. We know that some Americans were killed. The Pentagon expected to make an announcement in the coming hours.

As - just as you say, it was a motorcycle apparently packed with explosives. A suicide bomber approached them, detonated, and the result, terrible news for American and perhaps Afghan military families as well. We are - we - as we await this word, it appears that they were outside of a vehicle. They had gone to attend some sort of outdoor meeting. They were outdoors when this happened.

[14:20:10] This is coming, Don, as the situation in Afghanistan clearly is beginning to deteriorate. We are seeing insurgents and Taliban resurge in many areas.

Don.

LEMON: Let's talk more about that because we're also hearing today the Taliban has seized control of a key district in Helmand province, correct? How much of a loss is this, Barbara? STARR: Well, this is very significant, of course. Helmand province in

southern Afghanistan has been a very traditional stronghold of the Taliban and insurgent movement. They have been down there fighting for months now taking back bits of territory. They lost it as the Afghans advance. Things go back and forth. But perhaps the underlying issue here is because we're seeing the back and forth of territory, albeit small bits in certain places, it means that the Afghan forces still, after all these years, just simply not able to hold on to territory over the long haul.

Don.

LEMON: Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent. Barbara, thank you very much.

STARR: Sure.

LEMON: Up next, horror on the Las Vegas Strip as a car speeds into crowds of pedestrians leaving one person dead, injuring several others. What police are saying about the driver of that car. That's next.

Plus, Steve Harvey crowns the wrong miss universe last night. A very awkward mistake. And the online world has not been kind. I'm going to talk to someone who was backstage last night. Make sure you stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:03] LEMON: More breaking news to discuss now. This one is out of Las Vegas in that deadly hit-and-run on the Vegas Strip. The sheriff identifying the suspect who will now be charged with murder. The sheriff's name is Joe Lombardo. He says Lakeisha Holloway, a 24- year-old homeless woman from Oregon, deliberately and repeatedly plowed into a crowd of pedestrians killing at least one person. And she did it with a small child in the car. But the sheriff says it does not appear to be an act of terror. So here's the sheriff from just a few moments ago. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE LOMBARDO, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: The suspect, Lakeisha Holloway, repeatedly drove her car over pedestrians. Some jumped on her car and ran up to the window and banged on it, trying to get her to stop, but she didn't. As of now, one person was killed and over 30 people were taken to area hospitals. Three are critical with head injuries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The crime happened on a very popular part of the strip. It's highlighted there for you in red on that map and located between the Paris Hotel and Casino and Planet Hollywood, where the Miss Universe Pageant was being held. Witnesses say the car, you can see it here, it jumped the sidewalk not once but three or four times. The Las Vegas district attorney says Holloway will be charged with murder. Again, she will be charged with murder.

So let's bring in CNN's Stephanie Elam. Stephanie in in Las Vegas. And Danita Cohen. She is a spokeswoman for the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada.

Stephanie, I'm going to begin with you. What do we know about what this woman was doing in Las Vegas?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That doesn't seem to be like a very long history at this point, Don. Police believe that she'd only been here for about a week or so based on what she told them, that she came from Oregon, that she said that this was her car, but they believe she was living out of her car going from different parking garages with her three-year-old child. They do believe that she may have been estranged from the father of her child and may have been trying to get to where he is in Texas and this was a part of the stopover. None of this explains, though, why this woman would do what she did and intentionally drive her car through a very crowded sidewalk at around 6:30 in the evening here in Las Vegas right on the strip, Don.

LEMON: So, Danita, you know, the sheriff says that the medical center received several of the injured. What are their conditions? How many in critical? How many still hospitalized and the types of injuries?

DANITA COHEN, SPOKESWOMAN, UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER OF SOUTHERN NEVADA: The events last night, Don, that happened show us how extremely quickly life can change last night. Las Vegas was full of these visitors and in just a few quick seconds then they were headed to our trauma center. Originally we received 15 patients. Of those 15, one did pass away. And this morning, we've had many discharged and now we have three in critical condition and two more in serious condition.

LEMON: Three in critical, and two in serious, right, you said. What kind of - what kind of injuries?

COHEN: We saw a lot of head injuries last night, lacerations and broken bones. Thankfully, many of our patients were able to walk out on crutches last night. But the patients who are still with us today are getting one-on-one nursing care and could be recovering for some time.

LEMON: OK. Again, you said you received 15 patients, correct?

COHEN: Correct.

LEMON: One of them died. You said many more were injured, three critical, two serious. And none life-threatening at this moment?

COHEN: The patients who are critical are indeed life threatening injuries and time will tell. Sometimes it takes a couple of days to see how head injuries will resolve themselves. Again, they're getting one-on-one nursing care in our trauma center right now. Their families are here with them. So not only are we taking care of our patients, but also our family members who also could have been victims last night, were maybe just inside the casino when this happened and then - and came to us as well. So we're caring for both patients and their families right now.

LEMON: Yes, you don't know when it comes to head injuries and these sorts of things, sometimes the symptoms show up days later. Critical, sometimes non-life threatening. But in this case, they may - it may be critical but life threatening.

Any children involved in this, Danita?

COHEN: We did have a pediatric patient who came to us last night, an 11-year-old. Thankfully that patient has been discharged. We do, though, have some other young family members who are with us waiting and wondering how their family members will be doing. So, again, caring for both patients and families this morning.

LEMON: And, Stephanie, at the scene now, are things as normal as they can be - or get back to normal or getting back to normal as much as can be?

ELAM: Yes, we've been out here all night, Don, and we've watched The Strip open back up. Traffic is moving through there. People are walking through there again. But people are still shaken up hearing about this.

And one of the things that keeps coming up as I walk and I listen to people is whether or not this was someone who was acting out of terrorism. I mean we heard that addressed by the officials. They say that they do not believe that this was terrorism, but they can't 100 percent rule it out at this point because of the fact that they know so little about her and it took so long for them to actually identify this woman. So because of that, they say they can't rule it out. But based on their conversations with her and based on what they've seen, they do not believe that. She did give her reasoning, but they didn't give us that reason in the press conference simply because they said they don't want to taint the jury pool. So while they may have an idea, we still do not.

[14:30:12] LEMON: Yes. It is certainly awful no matter what the