Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With John Berman And Poppy

Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With John Berman And Poppy Harlow 20171020

Fredricka wilson listened to the call. And donald trump said fake news is going crazy with the whacky congressional woman. My emphasis today is on my constituents, and helping them lay our hero to rest. Thats where my head is today. Im also concerned about him and his last moments. I want to know why he was separated from the rest of the soldiers . Why did it take 48 hours to find him . Was he still alive . Was he kidnapped . More on the fbis pursuit of these answers in just a moment. First, lets go to the white house. Cnns joe johns is there, and joe, this morning, the feud very much continues. We cant hear joe johns. This happens and well get him back in a moment. Yes, this is news that the fbi is involved in the investigation. We will get more on that and talk about the ongoing feud. Joining us is the president and founder of taps, Tragedy Assistance Program for survivors. She worked in the white house for reagan and bush 41, and she was awarded a medal in 2014. Thank you for being with us. Thank you. You are a veteran and your husband was a veteran before he tragically died in a plane crash serving this country in 1992. What do you make of the back and forth . The president hits the congresswoman and then the Congress Hits back. What do you make of it . Regardless of how that death occurs, my heart is with the families. As a nation we come together very publicly mourn all who served and died and then for those left to grieve its a very private matter. Look, thank goodness that you do what you do, and thank goodness you stand behind these families and honor them. Are they being honored now in this back and forth and i dont think anybody is looking good between the white house and congress as this goes on. With taps we are fortunate, we have the close relationship with the casualty officers and we are coming alongside officers to offer care, comfort and resources and support that those only that truly walked the journey before them can give them. Its about the love and life and its about honoring and remembering the service, and thank you all for bringing those names forward, and thank you for showing us the lives lived and the incredible sacrifices made. You know, bonnie, one thing we have heard in the last 24 hours is one of the calls that the president did with the widow of another Fallen Service member in afghanistan, and this is the only time we have heard one of the phone calls for ourselves. I am so sorry to hear about the whole situation, what a horrible thing, and except that hes an unbelievable hero. And all the people that served with him are saying how incredible he was, and he was an amazing guy. Hes a great hero. Thank you, President Trump. Those words are very high and he was an amazing man and husband and an amazing soldier. I could not be more proud of my husband. That is natasha carr. You said theres no right or wrong way to say these things. There just isnt with families . Yeah, i say to families, i wish i could go back in time and bring their loved one back, but what we can do is walk alongside them. Taps is has family coming toget. We see on average 16 newly bough received family coming to taps each and every day. This is americas family of those that served and sacrificed. Thats a great point. General kelly gave a powerful statement about sacrifice and what these men and women provide this country. He also talked about the message the president was trying to convey to the widow of sergeant johnson, talking about the fact, he knew the risks and decided to go into this line of work. In his way tried to express that opinion, that he was a brave man, a fallen hero. He knew what he was getting himself into because he insisted. Nobody even and today representative wilson said his widow do not appreciate that at this time, and you have been in the solve situation and most americans dont know what its like to be in that moment. Can you understand why there may be two interpretations of the same conversation . Well, absolutely. It has been extraordinary to get to know robert through general kelly, and we have become friends and its beautiful to have new memories of my husband through the memories of those he served with, and thats what we can do for those grieving, bring their loved ones back to life by sharing stories and memories. I believe thats what anybody whether the president or a wellmeaning friend endeavors to do is to bring solace by sharing those precious memories. Before you go i would like to put all the politics and bickering aside. One wonderful thing that has come from this is gofundme page put up by congresswoman wilson has raised 600,000. Many families that lose the breadwinner will not have that. Americans watching this, and they want to help, what do these men and women who serve us need . Taps. Org is a charity, and we provide Financial Assistance for all those grieving a loved one, meeting all their needs, and ensuring their kids from education, and they go to a grief camp. So Many Services made possible by the generosity of americans that recognize what taps can provide. Thank you for what you do. An island of decency for us this morning. So wonderful to hear your words and i hope everybody is listening. Thank you so much. New this morning cnn has learned the fbi is investigating the ambush that killed those soldiers in niger. The investigators are now on the ground. Lets go to the pentagon. Thats where we find barbara starr. The fbi does not always get involved in the investigations, and its not unprecedented but its also not routine. I think all the indications are they are looking at the threat in that area. What is the intelligence about this group of attackers believed to be isisaffiliated, and believed to be this isis group that emerged in niger along the border in west africa. The pentagon indicated, you know, that they did not have the intelligence at the time the troops went out there leaving them to believe there would be an ambush and they would encounter hostile forces. There needs to be a thorough look at what that isis threat might be in that region, and thats the kind of thing, the counterterrorism analysis the fbi can provide. I want to go beyond that for a moment. The pentagon making the case it wants everybody to understand that there was a search, an urgent search for Sergeant La David Johnson when they could not find him at the end of the firefight. And mattis talked about it a little bit yesterday, dont rush to conclusions, the troops on the ground did everything they could. Have a listen to what the secretary said. The u. S. Military does not leave its troops behind, and i would just ask that you not question the actions of the troops caught in the firefight and question whether or not they did everything they could in order to bring everybody out at once. I would also ask you to not confuse your need with Accurate Information with our ability to provide immediately in a situation like this. The secretary, first, saying there was an urgent hunt but the facts still remain to be fully determined. Its just not clear. It may be clear to those with access to classified information, and its not clear how this sergeant was not found for 48 hours, and its still a question and the pentagon making it clear they did everything they could to look for him. Barbara, thank you so much. Joining us now, cnn military analyst, colonel steve warren. You heard barbara say the pentagon wants you to know everything was done that was possible to hear from sergeant johnson. But we heard from congresswoman wilson that she wants to know why it took two days . The congresswomans question is a legitimate question, and i have no quarrel with her desire and the familys desire to know details about sergeant johnsons final hours. What i will tell you is i believe secretary mattis is spoton when he says that the personnel on the ground, those soldiers on the ground on that fateful day, i have no question in my mind, having served in uniform for almost 30 years that those soldiers conducted themselves with honor, and those soldiers did everything they could to bring Sergeant La David Johnson back with the rest of the unit. You have to understand, john, a firefight is unlike anything else in the human experience. Its loud and scary and terrifying. Its absolutely confusing. The confusion is something that is very hard for anybody to understand who has not been through it. If you think about this force being under pressure, being fired upon, probably having to separate in order to get under some cover and some concealment, then helicopters coming in from different locations, and helicopters flown by different outfits, the french, contractors, and do the pilots speak english, dead guys, wounded guys having to be loaded on helicopters, and the ku confusion is different, and its easy to know that one member of the outfit could be separated. These four soldiers being killed and most people not knowing what they were up to is a game changer. The concern we are not regularly being briefed about these operations. What outside of johnson being alone for two days after he died or struggling to hang on to life, we just dont know, and what are your most critical questions about all of this . Most critically i would like to know how 50 isis combatants managed to mass in an area we had been operating in for sometime, and how 50 isis fighters were able to mass and execute the ambush . That is a surprise, frankly. We try to keep good Situational Awareness in operations and areas we are operating in, and the fact 50 fighters, thats a significant number. The fact that they were able to mass and spring this ambush on our personnel as they were going about their business, thats my biggest concern. I would like to know how that happened. Colonel warren, always great to have you with us and understanding the situation, what its like to be on the ground. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Hours after the president s chief of staff tries to get a feud under control, his boss reignites it. Also the president said he would give himself and team 10 out of 10 on the response of puerto rico. The san juan mayor says just a one. And people still unaccounted for there in puerto rico. 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There was a horrible miscommunication between the president and between this family, and a lot of offense was taken, and personal baggage was tossed on top of the grief, and if you did not get it before, you should watch or read what general kelly said yesterday. This is good people wanting to make the best of a terrible situation. If everybody would just move on. The words im sorry at this point are not likely from the president. He never apologizes for anything. I dont know if general kelly is in a position where he could do that, if everybody could move on, i think we understand what really matters, theres a lot of people in the field and a lot of danger and theres something happening in Central Africa that we did not know about and we need answers to, and thats what everybody should be focused on. Yesterday, former president obama and bush were talking about the president without using his name. Bigotry seams emboldened, and we have seen nationalism distorted into nativism. Some of the politics we have seen, we thought we put that to bed. Thats folks looking 50 years back. Its the 21st century, not the 19th. It was long was not long ago where president s would not talk about who took their place. I think the issue of Donald Trumps presidency is personal for bush and obama. For bush, he is seeing a party he probably doesnt recognize anymore. You see a lot of republicans sharing that speech over and over again on social media and talking about it in conversations, and then for former president obama, he has a couple things to consider. This is a president trying to unravel a lot of what he did in his administration, and you saw him campaigning in virginia where they are trying to hold on to a governors race there. This is a party where its ranks have been december tphaeutd oim years. He was trying to get his Party Interested to vote. Then, paul ryan, you know, weighing in also. Paul ryan was at the al smith dinner, and he told a lot of jokes. I want you to listen to this and tell me if you think hes really joking. I know last year that donald trump offended some people. I know his comments, according to critics, went too far. Some said it was unbecoming of a public figure and his comments were offensive. Well, thank god he learned his lesson. Every morning i wake up in my office and scroll twitter to see which tweets i will have to pretend i did not see later on. They were kind of uncomfortable. They were jokes, but hes being absolutely honest about his feelings here. Add paul ryan to a person that he says hes embarrassed in some ways of the president on top of what we heard from the former president s. Its fascinating. Its striking. Paul ryan using the president as the butt of a lot of his jokes and drawing a lot of laughter. The president is not known for taking a joke about himself that well. What it does for their relationship, i dont know. It was all done in somewhat good fun. Paul ryan is yet another republican speaking out a little bit more. Bob corker, recently, you know, and ben sasse has been vocal, president bush yesterday. More republicans are speaking out and in contrast to President Trump, which is somewhat of a new development in it is more broad than just a couple fringe republicans. If you missed it this morning, a pretty eyepopping piece from peggy noonan. She writes theres no hard constituency in america for political incompetence. Is she right . I would say first and foremost that whatever peggy said is probably right. I am a big fan of hers and have been for a long time. What she is referring to in political incompetence, getting what might be a moment into a movement. When you have somebody like donald trump who is polling as low as he is and seems to be completely unconcerned with turning that around, that starts to look like political incompetence. I also think that having said all that, this ire among party base voters, you can imagine the president going back and campaigning against his own people. I have to say what i hear from former president bush and obama and paul ryan, and i can hear President Trump and his supporters listening to all the criticisms, going, yeah, so . We beat you in the primaries, president bush, and we beat you in the general election symbolically, president obama, and we beat you now, paul ryan. I think what is striking, though, is we are almost a year after President Trump was elected and we are still seeing the battles fought in clear and public view. That is what is a struggle for the Republican Party now, controlling all levers in power in washington, to get anything done theres an internal strife within the party, and they have not gotten past that. President trump has not done much to win over the Peggy Noonans and the paul raoyans of the world. We find ourselves again at this moment that is not different from the primary battles we saw with george w. Bush and donald trump having a war of words as jeb bush was running. It was open warfare, which is distracting for a party that wants to turn toward tax reform or get health care done. Thank you all. Nice to have you. Have a good weekend. Up next, a democratic senator on where do we go from here. Stay with us. More great camera features and more power. And more than just unlimited data, we give you unlimited plans with hbo included for life. Because you deserve more entertainment. And more spokespeople. Talking like this, saying the word more. At t. Its time for more. Am i too close . I feel like im too close. Get the iphone 8 and with all at t unlimited plans, get hbo for life. Only fro

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