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Mom Suspects Lead in Water Caused Miscarriages; Dad of Slain Teen Football Star Backs Trump; Kasich: People Say, I'm The Adult in GOP Debate; CNN Series Reveals Dirtiest Campaigns in U.S. History. Aired 3:30-4:00p ET

Aired March 4, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:05] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Just in to CNN, the mayor of Flint, Michigan, just announcing the city has kicked off a $55 program to replace lead contaminated pipes in the city's water system.

Meantime, we are learning more about the human toll of this water crisis that is still happening right now. My colleague Sara Sidner spoken with a woman who said she paid the ultimate price for drinking her city's lead contaminated water the price being the death of her unborn children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Well, I hope you all just get that on. Yes, put that one on. I will help you with that one.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nakiya Wakes moved to Flint with her family in 2014, just as the city changed to a different water supply. Wakes eventually became pregnant with twins and was using the tap water like everyone else.

NAKIYA WAKES, FLINT RESIDENT: I noticed that every time that I took a shower or took a bath, I would have breakouts.

SIDNER: Then, at five weeks pregnant, she miscarried one of the twin babies, but the other survived.

WAKES: I was like, you know, this is going to be my miracle child.

SIDNER: Then, at 13 weeks, she miscarried again. Her sorrow turned to rage when she returned from the hospital.

WAKES: I come home and look in my mailbox and I see something from the city of Flint saying that pregnant women and people 55 and over should not be drinking this water. And I'm like, are you serious? And I'm just coming home to losing my babies and now this could have been the water that did this?

SIDNER: Residents still had no idea lead was leeching into their tap water. When Wakes finally did hear about the lead, she had her children

tested. Both had lead in their bloodstream. Then Wakes found out lead in pregnant women can cause miscarriages. No one knows for sure if that's what happened to Wakes.

Michigan state officials are now investigating whether the water crisis had had any effect on the number of miscarriages in Flint. So far, it's too early to tell. In the meantime, the fury of residents is only growing. With the recent e-mails released by the governor's office, even before led was discovered in the water supply, one exchange reveals some of his top aides warned there were "problems" with the water supply and that it should be switched back "ASAP."

SIDNER (on camera): In 2014, the governor's deputy council and senior policy advisor e-mailed his chief and staff and several others saying they should stop using the Flint River as a water source due to health concerns. "I see this as an urgent matter to fix," she writes.

SIDNER (voice-over): Minutes later, the governor's legal counsel responds by saying, "my mom is a city resident. The notion that I would be getting my drinking water from the Flint River is downright scary." But it took a full year before officials made the switch back to the original safer water supply.

SIDNER (on camera): What should happen to the people responsible?

WAKES: I really feel like they should be incarcerated or resign is really like a slap in the face to me.

SIDNER: Put in jail?

WAKES: Yes. I think that they should be put in jail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: The crisis there in Flint will be a major thread there in our democratic presidential debate this Sunday night live here on CNN, 8:00 Eastern, definitely tune in for that, please.

Coming up next, I'll be joined live by a man who is supporting Donald Trump for a very personal reason. His son was murdered by an undocumented immigrant and ever since he has been on a crusade to get immigration laws changed in this country. We'll talk to him about when he met Donald Trump and his story and role in a recent Trump ad coming up.

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[15:37:41] BALDWIN: The debate of immigration reform in this presidential race is not just another political talking point for one Los Angeles father, it is deeply personal. Jamiel Shaw, Sr. has thrown his support behind Republican front-runner Donald Trump. He publicly endorsed Mr. Trump last summer and is now featured in a Trump campaign ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm Donald Trump and I approve this message.

Jamiel Shaw was a 17-year-old football star who was gunned down just side his home. His killer, an illegal immigrant gang member who just got out of prison. Yes. His dad Jamiel is supporting Donald Trump for president because he knows he will illegal immigration.

JAMIEL SHAW, SR., SON WAS KILLED BY AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: Trump is the only one saying you're going to be dealt with, we're going to enforce that. We've going to enforce that. That's a beautiful thing. I believe Donald Trump wants to make us great again and he loves America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Shaw's son, 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw, Jr., was murdered in cold blood eight years ago, three doors from his home, by an undocumented immigrant, and Shaw's father actually heard the gunshots. His mother, an army sergeant, was in Iraq at the time on her second tour of duty. The man ultimately convicted of Shaw's murder, Pedro Espinoza, now sits on California's death row. Espinoza was released from jail days before the killing. And Jamiel Shaw, Sr. joins me now live from Los Angeles. Mr. Shaw, thank you so much for joining me. And I know it was eight years ago, but my condolences for the loss of your son.

SHAW: Oh, thank you, yes. Seems like yesterday, eight years is -- that doesn't mean nothing.

BALDWIN: Can't begin to imagine. Can you tell me a little bit about him, first of all, and exactly what happened?

SHAW: Yes, he was a good kid, you know, just moving on to his teenage years, you know. We were -- he was MVP, three-time MVP, player of the year, all-city, getting recruited, Stafford, Wreckers, a lot of small schools. He thought he had, you know, he thought he did something really good. He stayed out of trouble, no gangs, never been arrested, never been suspended from school, had his grades intact. He believed in the dream. And he was, like, getting ready to cash in on all that hard work, all that training, everything he had to do to keep his mom and dad happy. And he made it. He was right on the cusp so to speak of doing something really great for himself, you know?

And along came illegal alien gang banger, documented gang banger on his third gun charge. I mean, mean, come on, you got illegal alien on his third gun charge and nobody calls I.C.E., they release him on a Saturday night, Sunday, he's in my neighborhood, looking for Blacks to kill, and shoots him in his stomach, shoots him in the head. I mean, come on, that boy didn't deserve that. You know, I was home when it happened. I heard the gunshots. I just called him on the phone, hey, where are you, right around the corner. And I hear two gunshots. I'm like, oh, my God, don't tell me this boy is dead.

I go outside and look and he's laying in the street. Come on. And find out somebody illegal in the country on their third gun charge, documented gang banger, nobody calls I.C.E. We were promised that from Obama. Obama said if you let me do what I want to do, then I'm going to go after those guys. I'm not going to let those guys stay around here. He was released from jail. Come on. On his third gun charge. That's unacceptable.

BALDWIN: He now sits on California's death row. But that was 2008. Fast forward now to this current presidential election. Here you -- you met Donald Trump. Tell me when you first met him.

SHAW: Oh, when I saw him on TV, when he came out and said what he was going to do when he caught illegal aliens, rapists. I was like saying, hell, I mean, excuse me, I was like saying, you know, what about the murderers? My son was murdered. He was being nice. People on his case saying about rapists. I'm like, you know, rape is really bad. The murder is worse than that.

So, I saw that and, you know, I was on the "Fox and Friends" show, he saw me, we talked, and, hey, ever since then, I believe that he wants to do what he says he's going to do. People didn't say what they want to say. I've met him. I've talked to him. He has a good talk. When I explained to him what happened to my son, the look on his face was the look of people that I have seen from people who is like, ouch, that's bad! You know, he doesn't want that to happen to him.

BALDWIN: When the campaign approached you as far as putting your son's story in the ad, did you for any second hesitate, for fear of, you know, your son's murder being politicized whatsoever?

SHAW: Let's talk about it, you know, the boy's dead. He's not the only one. He had thousands of people have the same problem I'm having. But for some reason I'm the one. I don't know. I didn't expect it. I don't want this. It's just -- I just happen to be the one. So I got to try to live for all these dead people and try to get something done for all the families that are out there thinking, what about us? What about us? So, I'm living for my son. I'm living for all the people. And Trump wants to do something. He wants to do something. They came to me --

[15:42:38] BALDWIN: Forgive me for jumping in, but I have to jump in for the critics of Donald Trump who would say that he is a xenophobe, he is a racist, he has offended every single sort of section of humanity, you know, you stand so strong with him. What would you tell those critics?

SHAW: Well, how many times have I been to Washington, D.C. three times and spoke before Congress? I spoke in the state capital. L.A. board supervisors, city council. None of them give a damn. Nobody cares. So it's like, what would you do? I tell people all the time, what would you do if someone did in your family like that? What would you expect of someone running for office to do? If he heard there's Americans being murdered by illegals? He supposed to do what he's talking about. We were promised this by Paul Ryan, I mean, pretty much of Mitch McConnell, every politician in the United States pretty much said, they were going to do the exact thing Trump says, he's going to do. They never did it.

BALDWIN: And you believe what Donald Trump that there will be true follow-through. Jamiel Shaw, thank you so much for sharing your story.

SHAW: We believe him. We believe him.

BALDWIN: And thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it.

SHAW: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Donald Trump wants to be president. So does the Ohio Governor John Kasich wants to be president. My conversation with him in just a moment.

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[15:47:59] BALDWIN: Welcome back, I'm Brooke Baldwin. You know, Ohio could change everything, that is the hope at least of John Kasich, Ohio's governor, who says when, not if, but when, he wins his home state primary, March 15th, he first sees the possibility of a brokered convention. But is his voice resonating, I mean, the kakofonie of insults and attacks from his rivals. I talked to the Ohio governor just last hour who told me that he's taking the high road, he has actually prompted some Trump supporters to turn to Kasich supporters.

On the stage last night in Detroit, I mean, when you hear what was being thrown around about the size of Trump's hands and Cruz telling him to breathe and count to ten and Rubio's line about yoga and being flexible. Governor this is the race for the White House, what is happening?

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, I'm controlling myself there. I just kind of watch some of it. But yes, I don't pay that much attention. I just do think that the idea, first of all, you're not going to beat Trump by calling him names. You beat Trump with the record and the vision that can respond to the very deep concerns that Americans have. And they are worried about their jobs. They haven't had a wage increase. They're getting no interest from the banks where they put their money. Their sons and daughters are living in their basement with a lot of debt from college. I get all that.

BALDWIN: How are you feeling going into the all-important March 15th Ohio?

KASICH: I feel good. We have to work there. I have to show people in Ohio that, you know, and ask them for their support and remind them of what they've achieved in the state and hopefully they'll come out and vote for me. I mean, it's really critical. Because I think if you can't win your own home state, I think you've got to think about calling it a day.

BALDWIN: So on that note, if you do not win, would you have a real, as we would say in the South, come to Jesus moment? I mean, would that potentially be the end for you?

KASICH: Well, I kind of have a come to Jesus moment all the time every day, you know. Look, we're going to win Ohio so what's going to be interesting is we're probably going to end up in a brokered convention.

BALDWIN: Final question, all these months on the road, on the trail, what has surprised you the most?

KASICH: No question about it that people have come to my town halls and I don't know by the grace of God, I guess, they tell me some of the most intimate things that bother them in their life and they say it in front of other people, where I guess they feel safe. And sometimes all they want is a hug. Sometimes all they want is a picture. Sometimes all they want is for somebody to listen to them. And you know, I found there's a lot of lonely people in America and we need to reach out to them. I've just been privileged to see this happen. It's changed my life, it's slowed me down and I'm a better man for it.

BALDWIN: Governor Kasich at CPAC. Thanks for swinging by. Meantime the Republican debates, yes, may have hit a new all-time low. But a new upcoming CNN series reminds us, news flash, politics have always been quite nasty. One of the historians featured in the race for the White House joins me live to take a look back at the dirty campaign between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:56:05] BALDWIN: All right. This year's presidential race may go down as one of the nastiest in history but listen, it's in good company. A new CNN original series "Race For The White House" chronicles the six most down and dirty political fights in American history premiering this Sunday night. The focus is on Kennedy and Nixon, a scandalous campaign that shocked the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kennedy had serious health problems. Addison's disease. He had a hormonal deficiency that could have killed him. In fact his father put medicine in safe deposit vaults all over the United States so that Kennedy would never run short. So what Johnson does is he makes it a campaign issue. The Kennedy forces denied it vociferously and had doctors come out and say that he was above average in health and energy and vitality and he had never had so-called Addison's disease and they lied through their teeth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Lying in politics? Get out of here.

Joining me now one of the experts featured in that clip, Tim Naftali, former director of the Nixon Presidential Library and author of "George H. W. Bush: The American Presidents Series" professor at NYU, the title goes on. So nice to have you.

TIM NAFTALI, FORMER DIRECTOR, NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: Thanks Brooke. Well, yes, titles.

[15:57:19] BALDWIN: Titles, smitles, it matters. I mean, you know your stuff. And so my first question is, we're talking about the past. Had some of this come out about Kennedy, could that have changed the future?

NAFTALI: Oh. There's no -- first -- the first thing is the press, the media handled their business differently now than they did in 1960. In 1960, there were people out there who were saying that John F. Kennedy had affairs. The press didn't cover it at all. The press felt that your private life was none of your business. These days we talk about the size of people's hands. Then they wouldn't talk about his affairs. Secondly, nobody, nobody, nobody followed up on what came out in the convention about Kennedy's illness. It was Lyndon Johnson. Lyndon Johnson who was then Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson thought he was going to win in 1960.

In the '60 campaign the primaries didn't matter as much. John F. Kennedy went into the primaries to show the bosses of the Democratic Party that he was a winner and that he should be taken seriously in a sense he was shaking the establishment at his time. But you couldn't win enough delegates in the primaries in 1960 to be the nominee. So he didn't know that he would win. And LBJ, Johnson thought he might win. So, to mess things up in the summer of 1960, his people spread the rumor, which turned out to be true, that John F. Kennedy had Addison's disease and was not a well man. Now, in that era, John F. Kennedy denied it. The Kennedy people denied it and the press accepted it. Of course things are different now. You couldn't do it that way anymore. But in 1960 you could because there was a sense that your private life was private.

BALDWIN: The televised debate, that Nixon/Kennedy debate, the sweat. I mean, that made all the difference. Sixty seconds.

NAFTALI: OK. The thing about it is that Richard Nixon thought he was a better debater than John F. Kennedy. He had been a championship debater in college and high school. He also thought he understood television better than any other American politician. He had used television to save his job as a running mate of Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. He used television to stare down the -- of his job, a Soviet leader in 1959. So, in 1960 his people supported the Kennedy push for supports for debates. Little did he know --

BALDWIN: Little did he know.

NAFTALI: -- that under pressure he couldn't do it. That Nixon under pressure looked worse than Kennedy.

BALDWIN: Can you please come back over appeared over and over again? Tim Naftali. I would love to have you back because I would love to hear you marinate on what's happening currently and compare it to the past. Thank you so much.

Do not miss "The Race For The White House" Sunday 10:00 Eastern here on CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin, have wonderful weekend. "THE LEAD" starts now.