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Pastor's Emotional Poem On White Privilege; Trump Sues Fired Campaign Aide For $10 Million; Theresa May Takes Over As British Prime Minister; Traveling Pianist Plays "Imagine" At Police Memorial. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 13, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNA HARTMAN, LEAD PASTOR, BANNER CHURCH: -- never been watched or followed around. My kids don't play in parks and then gunned down. I don't know anyone murdered for selling cigs or CDs, I've never been choked out or shot at by corrupt men in PDs. So I won't pretend to know how you feel but I have something to say that's true and it's real.

And that I'm sorry for how we've behaved starting the very moment that you were in play, since we came in our boat and shackled your hands and shipped you back here to work on our land. I'm sorry for scars you bared then and bore then and bear now because of wounds we have caused or allowed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: With me now is Savanna Hartman. Savanna, thanks so much for being with us. Just want to ask, you know, what made you finally write that poem? What made you share it and are you surprised at this point it's been viewed 17 million times?

HARTMAN: I'm surprised, yes and no. I'm surprised, yes, because I wrote it and I'm just a regular person. So I can't believe that it was me, but I'm not surprised because I think deep down no matter how we were raised we all want the same thing and we all understand the value of a human life and we all stand against injustice.

And I think members of both communities were able to join hands and see that it was a message that they could get behind. It was just, you know, I kind of had enough. You can let injustice go on for so long before you say something.

I think a lot of us struggle with that bystander effect, you know, someone else will say something so I won't have to. Finally, I got to the point where I was just like I can't not say anything anymore and so there it was.

BERMAN: You know, when anyone posts something online, it gets on Facebook, 17 million people see it. I imagine there are a lot of comments on both sides. Talk to us about some of these comments, both pro and I imagine there have got to be some con, as well. HARTMAN: I'd say really about 85 percent of the reception has been positive. One of the main comments that we got that was kind of more negative was that my family or my husband and I or our church were anti-cop and that's absolutely not the case. We love cops.

We have people in our family who are cops. We support cops. In the same way that we don't want a community to be spoiled because of one or two bad actions. We don't want people to think that we don't like cops because of one or two bad apples.

And so we love and support cops, but really that's the only negative commentary that we've gotten, was the question of our support of cops and we both think we can love cops, but still address a broken system and that's what we did.

BERMAN: It's interesting, I've been talking to Don Lemon, Van Jones, some of our friends here at CNN, and they talked to us about the talk that young African-American kids need to get from their parents or that parents give their African-American children about how to behave, how to react if they are faced with police officers, just how to react and behave in society.

One of the things that Van and Don have been saying is that they think now that white parents need to have conversations with their white children. I'm wondering what you think those conversations should be?

HARTMAN: I actually think it is kind of crazy that a black parent would have to tell their black child how to behave in front of a cop. You know, when I was raised, my mom and my dad didn't have to tell me how to behave in front of a cop because they raised me with manners and with respect.

I think that black parents all over the world raise their kids with manners and with respect and I don't think they should act any differently around a cop than I would. And so I think in both sides of the community it shouldn't be an issue of, you know, because you are black this is how you have to act around a cop.

I think it should be because you are human, we want to honor and respect other humans. So we're going to walk in honor and integrity. We're going to respect authority. We're going to be loving. We are going to value human life and we're going to be upstanding citizens.

I think the majority of those talks are what parents are having with their children. I just think that it is a shame and that it is sad that black parents are having to give their kids more rules and restrictions for how to behave than I would have to give my two, you know, I have two young sons who are white and I don't have to tell them a special way to act around a cop.

They just know to be respectful. I think black parents are teaching their children the same thing and I'm sad that they have to teach them something more than what I'm having to teach my kids.

BERMAN: Savanna Hartman, thanks so much for being with us. All right, tonight at CNN Town Hall, Don Lemon brings together all sides to discuss what is going on between police right now with the community of color. Don't miss, "Black, White& Blue: America 2016." Live tonight at 10:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Next, the CIA director challenges Donald Trump's call to bring back waterboarding. What he says he would do if Trump is elected president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:01]

BERMAN: Just in to CNN -- this is interesting -- Donald Trump now suing a fired campaign aide for $10 million. CNN national politics reporter, MJ Lee joins me now. MJ, who is the aide and what's Trump accusing him of?

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: The aide is Sam Nunberg. If you remember he is the aide who was fired months ago after some racially charged posts that he had made on Facebook came to light. Now this is what we have confirmed and I just want to be careful to not talk about details that we haven't really confirmed yet.

I did speak to Sam on the phone and he confirmed that he is in fact the aide that is being sued. He referred all questions to his lawyer. I just got off the phone with the lawyer and he says that Nunberg is being accused of violating certain confidentiality provisions by talking about Donald Trump after he was let go from the campaign.

The lawyer also tells me that this has to do with information within the campaign, as well as relationships between various people within the campaign, but he would not elaborate. As though the trump campaign needed more drama today.

[15:40:05]BERMAN: We knew that Trump had confidentiality agreements. We now know that he plans to enforce them via lawsuits. MJ Lee, thanks so much. Appreciate you being with us.

Donald Trump also making other headlines today. He is demanding that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg resign from the bench. This is what he said on Twitter.

"Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot. Resign."

This all started when Ginsburg shared her opinions on Trump in several interviews in an unusual way telling CNN, quote, "Trump has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment." Now the White House is weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn't earn the nickname the notorious RBG for nothing. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, joining me now is CNN's Michael Smerconish, host of "SMERCONISH." Michael, what do you think? You know, who's taking it too far here, Donald Trump or Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Everyone we've spoken to says they've never seen a Supreme Court justice using the type of language that she's been using.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, "SMERCONISH": Well, in the end, the answer to your question is both have taken it too far. It is a shame for Trump that he couldn't just stop short of questioning her competence and saying something like, "The New York Times" editorial page and "The Washington Post," at least in this instance speak for me.

Because, John, when you get the "Times" and the "Post" editorial pages to take the side of Donald Trump as opposed to Justice Ginsburg, boy, you really know that something has been said that's out of the box and that's what this is.

What I'm reminded of is the fact that no member of the district court, the federal bench district court, could say the sort of things that she could say because they would run afoul of the code of judicial conduct. But the code of judicial conduct doesn't apply to the Supreme Court justices.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting, Michael, I did speak to the Clinton campaign earlier today, Brian Fallon. Despite the fact that the "Times" and the "Post," you know, and legal experts that we've spoken say this is virtually unprecedented, probably not a good idea for a Supreme Court justice to do. The Clinton campaign won't criticize Ruth Bader Ginsburg, not even close.

SMERCONISH: Well, I think that's a mistake. I think for credibility purposes you've got to call them as you see them and sometimes get away from the talking points. Look, John, just coming in to this segment, you reported on a story where there's now litigation -- he's a litigious guy.

There's now litigation between Donald Trump and a former employee. He's involved in all sorts of private lawsuits, Trump University, among them. I don't think that it's out of the question that if he were president of the United States, there would be a challenge of his executive powers or maybe there would be something that pertains to his conduct as a private citizen that would rise to the level of the Supreme Court of the United States.

She would have to recuse herself from any of those things. And, frankly, people would look at the court generally and wonder how they're divided politically based on what she has said. She didn't do her colleagues any favor. That's my view.

BERMAN: All right, more news about the executive branch, Michael. The CIA director just responded to Donald Trump's repeated call to bring back waterboarding. In Washington today, John Brennan said, if a president wants that type of action for terror suspects, he wouldn't comply. Listen.

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JOHN BRENNAN, CIA DIRECTOR: I can say that as long as I'm director of CIA, irrespective of what the president says, I'm not going to be the director of CIA that gives that order. They will have to find another director.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Chances are if Donald Trump became president, he probably would find another director, I think that's safe to say at this point, Michael.

SMERCONISH: I think you're right. What's interesting to me about this is, you know, in the blogosphere, you read these allegations, these insinuations that perhaps some in the military command would not be responsive to the orders of a commander-in-chief named Donald Trump.

But there are never names associated with these charges, with these allegations. This is pretty significant that you get Director Brennan saying, look, if I were in that position, I'm not following that lead.

He could not, guess, in good conscience serve Trump and I'm sure that would to be to Trump's satisfaction.

BERMAN: All right, Michael Smerconish, thanks so much for being with us. Do not miss "SMERCONISH" Saturday at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Next, the new British prime minister meets the queen and she faces the daunting task now of leading the U.K. out of the European Union. We will tell you everything you need to know about Prime Minister Theresa May.

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[15:48:34]

BERMAN: It is official, Britain has a new prime minister, Theresa May. She is the second woman to assume Britain's highest office, I suppose not including the queen. She did meet with Queen Elizabeth a short time ago. In keeping with British tradition, actually it was the queen who made her prime minister, invited her to form a new government.

Theresa May takes the job from David Cameron, who resigned earlier today as Britain grapples with how to pull out of the European Union. David Cameron addressed the media as he and his family departed 10 Downing Street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It has been the greater honor of my life to serve our country as prime minister over these last six years and to serve as leader of my party for almost 11 years. And as we leave for the last time, my only wish is continued success for this great country that I love so very much. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, that was the old. Let's talk about the new. CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from London. You know, Nic, Theresa May, she has been in office as home secretary for quite some time. What do we know about her?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This is a woman who plays her cards close to her chest who generally doesn't come out and talk to the media very often. She's really highly regarded as somebody who, once they give their word, she keeps her word.

She's somebody who's seen as working very hard behind the scenes, somebody who's perhaps at times better read-in than some of the officials who work for her. She's respected. She's seen as somebody who can bring the party together and that's what we're already seeing here.

[15:50:06]She's already announced some of her key cabinet positions, the positions of her top officials and she's brought on the man who was working against her in the leave campaign, Boris Johnson being given a very senior role as British foreign secretary.

The former foreign secretary has now become the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the head of the Treasury, if you will. That is the top job. He was one of the "remain" people. So she's sort of playing it, bringing both sides of the leave and remain camps back together to try and unify the Conservative Party.

She's also talking about a more compassionate type of conservatism of one nation, Britain, where the poor will get a better leg up, where the fat cats of the big companies, if you will, could face certainly more scrutiny about their salaries.

That's how she's portraying herself at the moment and when we stand here and listen to all of the different members of parliament coming through here, giving us their views, she is very much well regarded by them.

They are all singing her praises. But she also had a very, very stern clear message for the Scottish people, who are thinking about the possibility of a second independence referendum. She reminded everyone that her party is the Conservative and Unionist Party. This is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Not everybody knows this, but the Full title of my party is the Conservative and Unionist Party. And that word unionist is very important to me. It means that we believe in the union. The precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But it means something else that is just as important, it mean we believe in a union not just between the nations of the United Kingdom, but between all of our citizens. Every one of us, whoever we are and wherever we are from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Precious, precious bond, that is a motive language. This is not a prime minister who is going to let Britain break up easily -- John.

BERMAN: A lot of Americans getting a first look at Prime Minister Theresa May today. We're going to see a lot more of her in the days and weeks ahead. Nic Robertson, thanks so much.

Next, a moment of calm in the tragic aftermath of Dallas, a traveling piano player shared his music with people gathered at a memorial there. He joins us live to explain what moved him to play.

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[15:56:46]

BERMAN: Davide Martello was a traveling piano player who brought his music to war zones and communities struck by terror, Dallas no exception. The wake of the deadly ambush on police there, Martello tweeted, "The colors of my piano keys inspired me to come to Dallas today. I will play in front of the memorial to promote peace." And then he did.

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BERMAN: Davide Martello joins me now. Davide, it's great to see you because I swear I've seen you before. I was in Paris after the attacks there and you played. You do this. Explain to me why and how on earth do you get from place to place with your piano?

DAVIDE MARTELLO, PLAYED "IMAGINE" AT DALLAS POLICE MEMORIAL: Yes, I'm traveling around the world. I want to promote peace and music. This is something I'm doing for about five years now. The first time I did it was in Turkey during a protest.

And that time was the first time for me that I saw actually how music could heal such moments and can help promote peace in the moment. So that's why I'm doing this once in a while, and during my travels, sometimes it is happening that some violent situation are coming, and I'm using my piano has a way to promote peace.

So I choose the "Imagine" song because this song is for me one of the most powerful songs (inaudible) and it contains all of the words that we need right now and that's why I played it and I will always do it.

BERMAN: What did you see when you were in Dallas playing that in front of the beautiful police memorial. What did you see?

MARTELLO: I saw people that very hearted people and family members of the police officers, I couldn't resist the emotional, so I went away after I played the song, and I saw a little pain. And it was -- I can't describe the emotions. So -- yes.

BERMAN: Well, Davide Martello, thanks so much for being with us and thank you for what you do. I know from the other places you have played, it is always welcome to have that music to help us get through those moments. Davide Martello, thanks so much.

MARTELLO: Thank you, too.

BERMAN: All right, thanks so much for being with us here today on NEWSROOM. I'm John Berman. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Berman. Will Donald Trump go with his head or with his gut? THE LEAD starts right now.

Donald Trump says it's probably down to two candidates, but which two? We are not quite sure. Will be Gingrich or Pence or Chris --