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AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Sanders Leads Clinton in New Hampshire, Trump Leads GOP; Refugees Desperate for Shelter Held at Hungarian Border; Refugees Rescued form Tiny Boat with 5 Kids; Obama Speech on Federal Contractors, Sick Leave. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 7, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton is now the underdog in New Hampshire. Does that mean her campaign is in trouble?

Hungry, tired, and desperate for shelter. Thousands of migrants, refugees waiting for help as their crisis pushes Europe to a tipping point.

Plus, rescued at sea after becoming stranded in a tiny rubber raft- like boat. The dangerous trip across the water as many of these refugees and migrants try to find a better and safer life.

And bodyguard duty. A Texas teenager in a selfie with a cop providing backup to that deputy as she pumps gas. The reason, wanted to make sure she would be safe. Want to talk to both of them straight ahead.

Hi, every. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. John Berman and Kate Bolduan have the day off. Thanks for being here with us on this Labor Day.

Workers getting Labor Day love from President Obama. The president is giving hundreds of thousands of workers paid sick leave and he's doing it by signing with his pen, the executive order. You're going to hear from President Obama on this issue at any moment now because he's about to take to the podium at the Greater Boston Labor Council Labor Day breakfast. Lots of dignitaries in advance of the president. You're looking at live pictures now. The president, by the way, is going to order all companies that do contract work with the federal government, they will have to provide seven days of paid sick leave annually. Just so you know what the numbers mean, it means 300,000 people, employees, are going to get new access to paid sick leave and an additional number of workers will have the ability to earn more sick leave than they ever had before. This new rule would affect government contracts that begin in 2017. So a little bit of breathing room before all that kicks in. The president hopes this move is going to pressure Congress to pass some similar kind of legislation for people who aren't with those government contract jobs, the private sector. People who work for those private companies. Congress hasn't been too crazy about that up until now but we're going to take you live to Boston for the president's remarks just as soon as he starts speaking live.

In the meantime, let's get you right down to some Labor Day politics because this is the season. It looks like Hillary Clinton has some work to do, serious work ahead of her, because we have some new numbers from an NBC/Marist poll, and if you haven't heard of them, buckle up. It shows that Democrat Bernie Sanders has a stunning nine- point lead over Hillary Clinton in the state of New Hampshire. Let's be clear. Just two months ago though she was leading him by 10 points. Bernie Sanders is also gaining ground in the state of Iowa, gaining ground on Mrs. Clinton. In the meantime, more bragging rights for the Republican front-runner Donald Trump. The latest polls, that momentum is still there, folks. He's leading in both Iowa and New Hampshire. All the candidates are not taking this day off. They are out in force on Labor Day because Labor Day is often seen as the unofficial kickoff to the campaign season.

Our correspondents are also working hard today. They're on the campaign trail. Jeff Zeleny joins us from Hampton, Illinois. And Sunlen Serfaty is in Milford, New Hampshire.

Jeff, let me start with you.

Take me to where you are and where all the action is there today.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: We're just outside of Iowa at a Labor Day picnic that's going to be starting in just a little while from now. Hillary Clinton is going to be here making her case to those key Democratic activists. As you mentioned she has some work to do. She has some selling to make. We have heard her for the last six months saying she's not expecting a coronation. It's clear now she's not going to get one. It's clear now that Bernie Sanders here in Iowa is on her heels. She still has an 11-point lead but, Ashleigh, that's cut in half from only six weeks ago. She's now slightly ahead of him but the reality is Democrats, those liberal progressives, want to hear more fire. That's what that they tell me. They like what Bernie Sanders is say being this populist rhetoric. Today she will be talking mostly about Republicans. She loves to fire up Democrats by taking on Republicans but at some point soon we will have to see how she takes on Bernie Sanders.

BANFIELD: Up until now that's been very little mudslinging, if any actually. I do believe there's a "Wall Street Journal" or a "Washington Post" -- "Washington Post" piece about how the Democrats are just not taking potshots at each other.

Jeff, stand by if you would for me in Illinois.

Because I want to zip over to New Hampshire. A lot of news that's being made in New Hampshire today.

Sunlen, you're in -- is it Milford? Is it the Milford Labor Day parade?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ashleigh. We're here at the Milford Labor Day parade where we will see Senator Bernie Sanders I would suspect with a little extra spring in his step fresh off those new poll numbers as you reference. He's taking a lead from Hillary Clinton here in New Hampshire by nine points. Now, there will be other Republicans that will march here in this Labor Day parade, too, and fresh on their mind is Donald Trump with all the momentum here in New Hampshire. A commanding lead, leading by 16 percentage points, more than any other candidate. He has a lead in Iowa as well. But as this campaign starts to shift towards a post-Labor Day season, we'll likely see a lot of candidates start to hit the reset button and no more so than Jeb Bush who this poll reveals he's lost half of his support here in New Hampshire, half of his support in Iowa. You know, Jeb has acknowledged that this is a long campaign. He's really trying to take on Donald Trump much more aggressive will you but he's also starting to take the long view and that's why, Ashleigh, we'll see a big push by Jeb Bush to roll out his tax policy on Wednesday. His campaign is also out with a new TV ad, his first of the campaign season here in New Hampshire. So he's trying to move past or trying to move past the summer of Trump.

[11:05:16] BANFIELD: The money is going to start flowing differently after Labor Day. There's going to be some big input in a lot of places where candidates are concerned.

Jeff Zeleny, Sunlen Serfaty, thank you. You both look like you're in nice places for Labor Day. It's almost like you're not working, almost.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you guys.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Knew I'd get a giggle out of them.

So Hillary Clinton is starting to look a little like the brand new underdog in one state at least. But Donald Trump, nothing is really changing for him. It just keeps getting better for him. He's holding firmly to that top dog status.

I want to bring in Democratic strategist, Robert Zimmerman, with me live; and Republican consultant, Bruce Haynes, join me.

Thank for being with me on Labor Day. Appreciate it.

First, I want to go to you, Robert.

Holy friholes, is all I can say. Should anybody be freaking out about the numbers or is this just New Hampshire and is she just going to let it go?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: For people with real lives like yourself, of course it's shocking and startling. Then there are people like me who live with these numbers year in and year out and the reality is every time you have a Democratic presidential primary and a candidate is from a battleground state, they have won that state with only one exception. So, of course, it's going to be a real election in New Hampshire. Bernie Sanders is from neighboring Vermont. He's also doing a very good job in terms of carrying a strong message that appeals to segments of the Democratic base, but this is great for the Democratic party to have a real competition, and those who said this was going to be a coronation, our political pundit friends, they got it wrong again.

BANFIELD: So, Bruce, jump in here, if you would. I know you said in the past that Hillary is running against herself. But then you're actually pushing it a little further forward today by saying that if, in fact, Joe Biden gets in the race, within a month he's going to take leadership status. How can you be so sure or is this whole New Hampshire thing helping you get there?

BRUCE HAYNES, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Well, it's helping me get there. Goodness gracious, I think someone should freak out. You look at the poll numbers for Hillary Clinton, that's a free fall. I feel sorry for -- I want to hand her a parachute. You know, you don't want to see her hit rock bottom. I do think you look at -- what Democrats are saying is it's not so much about Bernie Sanders. Serious Democrats are saying they want a choice. Because just like they did in 2008, I think they took a really hard look at Hillary Clinton, the candidate, and they just weren't thrilled. The buyers aren't buying. And if you see someone like Joe Biden get in the race, really warm guy, very likable, two-term vice president, the rightful heir to the Obama legacy and also probably the rightful voice as a champion of the working man his entire political career and working woman, the rightful voice for Democrats on issue like income inequality which is a big issue in the Democratic party that's lighting a fire under the Bernie Sanders campaign. I think if you see Joe Biden get in the race, I don't know if he races straight to the head of the pack but it's very easy to see how with Sanders holding onto his lead of millennial and liberal voters, Biden pulling away from Clinton, the more centrist, the working class voters, you could see Hillary Clinton in third place pretty quickly.

BANFIELD: Does Hillary Clinton have to pivot left? Bernie Sanders has a lot of progressives behind him. Does Hillary Clinton need to do that and then do the Etch-a-Sketch if she ends up getting the nomination and go back to a centrist policy?

ZIMMERMAN: The era of YouTube has replaced the Etch-a-Sketch so you can't Etch-A-Sketch any more.

BANFIELD: It's hard.

(CROSSTALK)

And people are very crafty and they get their disciples to do it for them.

ZIMMERMAN: They try. But Hillary Clinton doesn't have to pivot left. Hillary Clinton has got to draw more comparisons between herself and the Republican candidates because that energizes, as Jeff Zeleny pointed out, the Democratic base.

BANFIELD: But, Robert -- I'm going to get you as well to weigh in on this, Bruce, in a second -- but Robert, while we look at this sort of juggernaut of Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire, does the rest of the country look like this? How many other states look a little like this could happen to them? ZIMMERMAN: Hillary Clinton's approval ratings are among Democrats are

ranging between 70 percent and 80 percent. I'm supporting Hillary Clinton but Bernie Sanders is keeping a positive message as well. Yes, this race is going to tighten up. No one will win the nomination by 40 percentage points. But what's most important is being number two is being number two now is not the issue. Being number one now is much tougher.

[11:10:20] BANFIELD: Bruce, you have to admit -- and I'm going to steal the line from Robert Zimmerman because it is hilarious -- that polls are political Viagra. You do have to admit there's a lot of truth to that. I want you to weigh in on that same issue. Do you think that Hillary Clinton needs to do anything differently, and I love asking a guy who doesn't like Hillary Clinton, if she needs to do anything differently, seeing the poll results in New Hampshire and seeing Bernie's popularity from all the progressives? Does she need to tilt left?

HAYNES: Here is the problem, Ashleigh, I'm not sure there's anything she can do. She's one of the most well-branded figures in American politics.

BANFIELD: Other than Trump.

HAYNES: Other than -- well, but she's even been around longer. Everyone knows everything there is to know about Hillary Clinton.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Dear lord, I have been looking at the front page of the New York post for over 20 years and I would say that Donald Trump is as well known for more than Hillary Clinton because --

(CROSSTALK)

HAYNES: But outside of Manhattan, but outside of Manhattan as Robert said, out there where people are going about their daily lives --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Where people watch "Apprentice" and watched it for years.

HAYNES: Sure. And she's been first lady of the United States, secretary of state, and a United States Senator, and I think the problem for Hillary Clinton is that 80 percent favorable, when you're the only realistic lifeboat out there in a storm for Democratic voters, no one is going to turn thumbs down on that lifeboat. That's why I say if Biden gets in the race, I think all the dynamics change.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Last comment.

ZIMMERMAN: Bruce, it's important to remember these polls may force some of my Democrats to go into group therapy.

(LAUGHTER)

But the Republicans have to go through anger management therapy because their approach to this race while it may play to the Republican base and give Trump and Ben Carson a boost are is divisive playing on bigotry and divisiveness it makes them unqualified in this presidential election.

BANFIELD: Robert, you could say Donald Trump is their angry management. There are so many angry people out there, this is how they're venting.

ZIMMERMAN: Yes, but our country is not prepared to now deport undocumented workers or legal citizens, discriminate against gays and lesbians.

BANFIELD: Some are. Look at the poll numbers.

ZIMMERMAN: Sure. Look how he polls nationally. Hillary Clinton still has the best numbers of anyone in the field.

BANFIELD: Got to leave it there.

Robert Zimmerman, thank you. We appreciate it.

And, Bruce Haynes, thank you. Nice to see you.

Happy Labor Day for both of you. Thank you for working with us on this day.

HAYNES: Happy to be here.

BANFIELD: So you don't want to miss the next Republican debate, September 16th. It's coming at us fast, folks. Candidates will gather at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. CNN will also host the first of six Democratic debates. That begins October 13th. Mark your calendar or get your ticket to Nevada because that's where it's happening.

So what do you want to hear from the candidates because we're happy to have you tweet us with your debate questions. You just need to use the #CNNdebate.

Moving on, other big stories on this Labor Day, the pictures of migrants and refugees streaming across the border have been nothing short of appalling. Vulnerable people searching for sanctuary, some with just the clothes on their backs and a child in their arms. They're facing an uncertain welcome wherever they end up. We'll take you to the epicenter where we are live in the middle of this crisis.

And also the Minnesota dentist who killed Cecil the lion became a villain to millions of people. But after weeks in hiding -- don't ask him if it's hiding, he says he's just been taking his time -- he's now talking about the hunt that made him infamous, and his plea to leave his family and his co-workers alone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [11:17:12] BANFIELD: Thousands upon thousands of desperate refugees fleeing war and poverty in Syria and Iraq are finally reaching their destination, at least one of those destinations, Germany. More than 17,000 of these refugees reached Munich alone this weekend after that terrible human drama that we watched play out live last week. Families with babies waiting in the hot sun for days to get on a train to Hungary or just walk there, but the crisis is certainly far from over. Thousands more are still making their way towards Hungary and into Hungary faster than they seem to be able to clear them out of Hungary, a country which has made it quite clear Hungary does not want these refugees there. The government is promising to erect a fence to seal its border just a week from now.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, has more now from the Serbian/Hungarian border.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, what we have here is a sit-in being carried out mostly by the Syrians who make up a good bulk of the population here at what is supposed to just be something of a holding area before people are then transferred onto the transit camp where they begin the process of registration, but instead we have this sit-in. You see that sign the man is holding up, "We are human, we need help." This is something we have been hearing throughout our experience in Hungary at every single step of the way. They've been here for the last two days trying to live in these decrepit conditions in the field back there. And that is why at this point they're absolutely fed up. You have a man over there who has SOS written on his hand and another woman who on her arm also written is, "We are not animals." And here you have the police that's blocking their route. Down the road is actually the transit camp that they are all meant to be going to begin this process of registration.

Things have been fairly tense here in this border area and this is basically what greets the refugees when they finally do arrive from the end of these train tracks. These are the train tracks that they follow, Ashleigh, as they move from Serbia into Hungary.

BANFIELD: Arwa Damon doing an incredible job bringing this story to us.

There is also the other part of this story that doesn't involve Hungary. Instead, a group of refugees that were trying to reach Greece on a flimsy rubber dinghy that could best be described as something just for kids, that group has been rescued, thank god. They were making that same perilous journey across the across the Mediterranean from Turkey that killed this toddler and his older brother and his mother. It's just 14 miles to get that crossing, but the dinghies are so overloaded and so woefully inadequate, many of those who try to do this don't make it. The boat that we're talking about from last night lost its motor and essentially these people were just adrift. Any wave could have flipped them all over and the fate could have been the same.

CNN senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, was there when rescue crews pulled this group to safety. Ivan, take me back to what you witnessed last night and explain to

people who see this on the news day after day, what it really feels like and looks like where you're standing.

[11:20:54] IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We went out with volunteers from a Turkish search and rescue team who work to support the Turkish Coast Guard, and they have been going out every week several times a week to rescue migrants who embark from really what are resorts over here that attract a lot of international tourists but also refugees and migrants because the Greek island of Kos is actually only two miles away from where I'm standing right now. Only two miles away across a channel, and that's part of why people have descended on this area. Local officials tell me as many as 400, 500 people a night in past months and weeks have been trying to make this perilous crossing.

What we saw was not one, but two rafts completely overloaded with people, far beyond capacity with just a couple inches of clearance above the water line that were trying to make this journey that, listen, a strong swimmer on a good day could maybe make it just swimming, but here you've got in one case 23 people packed into an inflatable dinghy, among them five children, if you can believe it. And as it looked to me, any big wave could have easily swamped the thing and many of these people were wearing backpacks over their life jackets. Those could act basically like wearing an anchor around your neck. And what's even more incredible about it is as you pointed out, it's just four or five days ago that an entire family was practically wiped out drowning at sea, a mother and two little kids, and that has not deterred people from trying to take similar risks in their quest to try to get to Europe.

BANFIELD: Ivan reporting to us live from Bodram (ph), which is such a beautiful place. I have been there. It's a lovely tourist destination that's overwrought with this terrible sadness. I can only imagine, Ivan, they are leaving because what they're leaving behind is as dangerous or worse.

Ivan reporting for us. Thank you.

Ivan and Arwa have done amazing work on this incredible story. We'll continue to bring you their reporting throughout today as well.

And then there's this. After killing Cecil the lion, a Minnesota dentist faced a massive backlash. Protests that shut down his business, sent him into basically what looked like hiding, and now he's back and he's talking about what he calls are regrets over what happened. Hear what he has to say next.

Also, we've seen so many stories of tense police standoffs that it's really great to see a meeting between a teenager and a deputy sheriff that's so great it went viral for all the right reasons. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:27:15] BANFIELD: Welcome back. AT THIS HOUR, the president is laboring in Boston. He may be in the open shirt with the neck open but he's doing something very significant today. He is at the greater Boston Labor Council's Annual Breakfast so that he can announce an executive order he's signing that effectively will give sick days to any of those contractors that do business with the federal government. And we are talking about a lot of people who are about to get sick days, like 300,000 who are eligible, currently not eligible. This is a big deal and he's about to make this announcement and give the details of it, too, to this Boston group. Let's listen in.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- when I came into office, now we're on track to sell more cars and trucks this year than we have in more than a decade.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: American manufacturing had been declining for a decade, and then we came in and we nearly created 900,000 jobs in five and a half, fastest manufacturing growth that we've seen in a very long time.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: When I came into office business, leaders said the best place to invest was in China. Well, they don't say that no more. Now the number-one place to invest is right here in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That's because we got the best workers in the world. That's progress.

Now, we're entering into political season. I'm so glad I'm not on the ballot.

(LAUGHTER)

But it's political season. It starts earlier and earlier, and so now we're starting to hear a lot about middle class values. Everybody wants to talk about the middle class. But some folks seem confused about what exactly that means. So let me provide a refresher course. For me, for us, middle class values means providing tax cuts to 98 percent of Americans but then asking the top 2 percent to pay a little bit more. That's helping middle class families. For us, middle class values means protecting Main Street from another crisis with the toughest Wall Street reforms in history that your Senators helped to make happen. It means reforming --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: It means reforming student loans and increasing Pell grants so every kid can afford a college education. And we've got to keep working to make two years of community college free for everybody who is willing to work for it.

(APPLAUSE)