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CNN NEWSROOM

Republican Party's Unpopularity with African-American Voters Examined; Secret Service's Challenges Protecting Presidential Candidates Assessed; Bill to Introduce Federal Safety Regulation for Amusement and Water Parks Opposed by Association of Amusement and Water Parks. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 13, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:00] JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, this is a problem for the Republican Party for decades. They have struggled to win the African-American votes. They have been on the wrong side of many issues, such as voting rights recently, so it has diminished the support. And then comes Donald Trump, which doubles down on the damage.

So I think they are very worried about this. It has cost them in certain states like North Carolina in the last few election cycles. So I think this is in part congressional races, but really more of a long term issue.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Are you clear on what issues, you know, the RNC is trying to focus on that would appeal to African- American voters? Because in a lot of the material that I wrote, that I read, you know, it is not really specific about what those issues are, and if the issues that appeal to African-Americans are different than the issues that appeal to most Americans.

ZELIZER: Well, traditionally, they do focus on alternatives on economic policy. We have seen this since the 80s talking about enterprise zones and ways to revitalize African-American communities through private incentives, and that is I assume what this will be about.

But then you have issues like voting rights which the Republican Party will need to address, especially when Donald Trump is calling for the private citizens to monitor voting right now. I think they're going to have to have a much broader look if they really want to be serious about this.

WHITFIELD: And then, Jason, you wrote an op-ed for The Root that reads in part, "The team is tasked with the impossible -- sell the Republican Party to black voters in the era of Donald Trump. The mission is tougher than just finding to make Trump palatable to black voters, something akin to convincing a vegan to add the bacon double whopper to his diet. What do you mean?

(LAUGHTER)

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICAL EDITOR, THEROOT.COM: What I know is I know a lot of vegans, and I know a lot of black Republicans. I did an interview with Ashley Bell who is based here in Georgia and who was just brought in to be part of their outreach team. And they're having trouble. There are some long-term committed African-American Republicans, but it is very difficult to sell these down ticket races when you have got Trump at the top of the ticket who has been cavorting with members of the Klan, whose rallies often have racial invective being thrown around going all the way back to him questioning Barack Obama, whether or not he is an American citizen. So it has been a really hard sell.

I don't know if the Republican Party can get Trump to one percent black vote in Ohio to the 15 he needs to be competitive.

WHITFIELD: I wonder, is that the mission for this election for Donald Trump, or is it a bigger picture scope of worried about the Senate and House seats.

JOHNSON: That's the thing, Fred. It depends on who you ask, because you have some people who are really committed saying, look, this is part of what Chairman Reince Priebus has been saying all along. This goes back to the big 10 of 2013. The problem is Reince Priebus is out next year. There's going to be a new RNC chair. They don't know if they're going to win this presidency or not. So we don't know if any of these efforts will continue past November 8th.

WHITFIELD: OK. And Julian, the Trump campaign held a big event at a black church in North Carolina last weekend. We had a couple of people advocating for it, organizing, that said that this is the usual. It wasn't an unusual thing to try to get this particular church to be on board with the Donald Trump or at least the pa pastor there advocating for Donald Trump. So is that and anomaly, or is there is a wave of, I guess, advocacy for Donald Trump in the African- American community already being exhibited?

ZELIZER: I don't think there is much evidence of that that we can point to. There are stories such as that, but there is no data to support any kind of wave. He's going to have to do a lot more than certain appearances and even certain statement which he hasn't made yet to really change this. I don't think that Donald Trump can change the kinds of percentages that he has seen, and I think that is why this is coming from the RNC. And you know, as with the immigration, there are parts of the party that say this is the wrong direction if we are going to be competitive in the next few election cycles.

WHITFIELD: And Jason, there are a lot of African-Americans who can't get the past the "there's my African-American" out of the words of Donald Trump -- out of the mouth of Donald Trump.

JOHNSON: If that was the only thing, it would be fine. It's not like Bill and Hillary Clinton haven't said thing. But it is the housing discrimination. It's the "I don't want black guys counting my money." It's all these different things that Donald Trump has said.

And I will be honest, I think that some the surrogates haven't been helpful ooh either. I know lots of black voters who aren't convinced by Pastor Darrell Scott. I know lots of black voters who don't find many of his surrogates to be convincing. And I don't think the effort is sincere. There is money that can be spent by the RNC and the Trump campaign to get African-Americans back on the boat. Remember, George Bush got so 10, 12 percent, and they are not doing it.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jason Johnson, Julian Zelizer, thanks so much to both of you, gentlemen, appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

ZELIZER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, Donald Trump is campaigning in a historically blue state today, Connecticut. His campaign manager says it is up for grabs this year as Trump is facing fierce competition in other traditional battleground states. And he made two stops in Pennsylvania on Friday.

[14:05:02] Joining my right now to talk more about this is CNN investigations correspondent Chris Frates. So Chris, Trump is making some very serious charges about the state of the race in Pennsylvania, that if he loses, it must be because it's rigged or it was stolen by Hillary Clinton.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is exactly right, Fred. In fact we saw this last night in Pennsylvania, making this argument that the only way he could lose the state is if there is funny business at the polls in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only way we can lose in my opinion, and I really mean this, Pennsylvania, is if cheating goes on. So I hope that you people can sort of not just vote on the 8th. Go around and look and watch other polling places and make sure that it is 100 percent fine, because without voter identification, which is shocking, shocking, that you don't have it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: Now, Trump didn't provide any evidence of cheating in Pennsylvania, and that is not unusual when he makes these kinds of allegations. He has made them throughout the primary and now into the general. But he has discussed concern that Pennsylvania and other states without the strong voter I.D. laws could be targets for election fraud come November, and he even has page on the website where people can sign up to be election monitors in November, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And what is the believed to be fueling this out of Donald Trump?

FRATES: Well, Fred, as you know, when Donald Trump is ahead in the polls, he will be the first to tell you those surveys are tremendous, they're fantastic. But when he is losing, he'll argue that the system is rigged. And, Fred, he is losing badly right now in a lot of different key states.

Let's start in Pennsylvania where we just came from. A recent Quinnipiac poll of likely voters shows Clinton beating Trump by ten points. Then if you are looking around the country, things don't get alto better for Donald Trump. A recent NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll shows Clinton leading Trump in four different battleground states. In Florida she is up, North Carolina, nine, Virginia, Clinton is leading by 13, and in Colorado, she's riding a little bit of a rocky mountain high there leading by 14 point, so largely double digits all the way around.

And with all this ground he has to make up in these swing seats, why is he in solidly blue Connecticut today? That is a question a lot of Republicans in D.C. have scratching their heads, Fred. Neither Pennsylvania nor Connecticut have voted to put a Republican in the White House for nearly in 30 years.

But in Pennsylvania, Trump is trying to buck that trend. He's going after the white working class voters in the rust belt, and it is not the same rationale in Connecticut which is home to a lot of women and college educated voters. Those are the populations that really are not Trump fan. So that is frustrating some Republicans. And, you know, the Trump camp, though, still insisting that they have a shot there, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Chris Frates in Washington, thank you so much.

FRATES: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Up next, fence jumpers, building scalers, stage rushers, how the Secret Service is working overtime to protect this year's presidential candidates.

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[14:11:39] WHITFIELD: The Democratic Party is once again the target of hackers. They'll calling themselves Guccifer 2.0. The hackers have released personal cellphone and email addresses of Democratic House numbers. They also targeted Democratic aides and released some login information for the Congressional campaign committee. An earlier hack of the Democratic National Committee ahead of the party's national convention forced the resignation of chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and three other top officials.

Individuals charging the stage, fence jumpers, fist fights, and even a man scaling the Trump Tower, this election year has been anything but relaxing for the Secret Service. So how exactly are they able to keep the candidates safe? Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the middle of Hillary Clinton's rally, a protester rushed the stage. The Secret Service quickly responded. The woman was subdued and hustled out. In March, a man rushed Donald Trump's podium in Dayton, Ohio. Trump was startled. The agents quickly handled the situation. This year the challenge of protecting candidates has reached new heights from a man using suction cups to climb Trump Tower, to two party conventions with fence jumpers and other security headaches. And a multitude of candidates who attract passionate crowds. At a Bernie Sanders' event in California he was rushed by several people. What is that moment like for a Secret Service agent?

LARRY JOHNSON, FORMER SECRET SERVICE SECRETARY AGENT IN CHARGE: You want to get between them and the protectee, and cover their hands and make sure you've got an area to touch and reach and feel for anything inside of a coat or a jacket.

TODD: Former Secret Service agents tell us at that moment, one or two agents have to go to the threat, and take down that person. Another agent secures the candidate, and other agents immediately check for other threats.

ANTHONY CHAPA, FORMER SECRET SERVICE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Other are running to other areas, so you have 360 degree coverage at all times in an instant.

TODD: The Secret Service is constantly training for these scenarios, sometimes roleplaying with a fake candidate. But this year, another challenge, a candidate whose rallies are often marked by fights in the audience, a candidate who sometimes incites violence himself.

TRUMP: I would like to punch him in the face, I will tell you.

You see somebody getting ready to throw the tomato knock the crap out of them, OK. I will pay for the legal fees, I promise.

TODD: Is Trump himself frustrating the Secret Service by inciting some of these people and saying the things that he says?

JOHNSON: Hundred percent that protecting Donald Trump is a challenge. But so was President Obama as the first African-American eight years ago.

CHAPA: It creates a unique challenge for sure. Look at what happens to presidents when they are in a war footing and they start to talk about the enemy.

TODD: And former agents say each one of these events is a Super Bowl for the Secret Service, and losing that Super Bowl isn't an option.

With everything that's happening on the campaign trail, is the Secret Service under particular stress this year? A Secret Service official told us absolutely not. But former agent Larry Johnson says now that the conventions are over and there are fewer candidates to project, the agency is probably not as stressed as it was earlier in the year. But he points out there are still almost three months left in the campaign season, and a lot could still happen.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:15:10] WHITFIELD: And the country witnessed four amusement park accidents this week alone. Up next, Washington's role in preventing future tragedies.

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WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories, a police officer in New Mexico is dead and three suspects are in custody after a shooting during a traffic stop. Authorities say that 33-year-old officer Jose Chavez pulled over a car in the town of Hatch and was shot by one of the passengers. They suspect fled the scene and then allegedly carjacked another vehicle and then shot and injured the driver. Police were eventually able to disable the suspect's car with a spike strip.

And Puerto Rico has declared a public health emergency after confirming more than 10,000 cases of Zika. About 1,000 of them are pregnant women. So far two people have died. Officials say the number of infections are likely higher because many people don't experience symptoms and others have not been tested.

[14:20:00] And this week, a 10-year-old boy was killed on a waterslide in Kansas, and that child was laid to rest. Caleb Schwab was honored by his family, friends, and little league at a service today. He is one of four amusement accidents in just five days. And these accidents are casting new light on why there are no new national standards for the amusement or the water parks. Here is CNN's Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The week ended with the accident at an amusement park in Pennsylvania, a three-year-old boy injured when he was thrown from the rollercoaster. And it began horrifically with the death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab whose neck was broken after he was tossed from his raft on this, the world's tallest waterslide in Kansas City, Kansas.

JOHN POWELL, WATERSLIDE RIDER: We found out what happened and we were sick, thinking that oh, my gosh, this same thing likely happened where the raft went airborne, and this young little guy was killed.

TAPPER: Every year more than 4,000 children are rushed to emergency rooms because of the injuries at amusement parks. From May to September, 20 children on average everyday are rushed to the ER according to a study from Nationwide Children's Hospital. The study's senior author calls for a national system of regulations to, quote, "prevent amusement ride related injuries through better injury surveillance and more consistent enforcement of standards."

What, there are no federal standards, no federal body making sure that these rides are safe? That is right. The federal government used to regulate the safety of amusement parks such as the one in Kansas City, but in 1981, amusement parks at standing locations suddenly became exempted from regulations, a loophole inserted, critics say, without any deliberation or debate.

Complying with the federal regulations costs money, and though amusement parks are a $12 billion a year industry, leaving it up to the states is better for their bottom line. Jim Prager was the senior executive at Six Flags who helped to fight to create the loophole in 1981. He was also a board member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, or IAAPA. But Prager today told CNN he was wrong.

JIM PRAGER, FORMER SIX FLAGS EXECUTIVE: Children are not well served by the law as it now reads. We haven't done enough to make rides safe, and we should do more. Amusement parks don't want regulation because it costs money.

TAPPER: In 1999 then congressman and now Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts began a crusade to push a bill to close the loophole so amusement parks would again be covered by one set of rules and regulations nationally.

SEN. ED MARKEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: That loophole is responsible for a situation that now has major accidents occurring in huge amusement park all across the United States. Because of that, the federal government is prevented from investigating the accidents at amusement parks, sharing accident information with operators of the same ride in other states so that malfunctions are fixed before more riders are hurt, requiring manufacturing to correct design flaws and make the rides safer, and enforcing a full range of safety measures on amusement park rides.

TAPPER: What happened to the effort? Well, since around the time that Markey began that crusade in 1999, the IAAPA spent more than $11 million lobbying against his bill, among other items, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The IAAPA hired a pricey lobbying law firm in D.C. Williams and Jensen, which represents many different businesses and whose members and affiliates have poured more than $7 million into campaign contributions.

The IAAPA declined our invitation to talk, but its website says, quote, "States are best equipped to regulate amusement park industry." Oh, really? Let's look at Kansas, home of the Schlitterbahn Waterpark where Caleb Schwab was killed this year and where regulations are, according to experts, minimal. The opening of this ride where Caleb Schwab was killed was delayed several times due to safety concerns. All right, so after it opened in 2014, how many times did the Kansas Department of Labor inspect the ride? Well, zero, according to the "Topeka Capital Journal" which filed an open records request this week.

PRAGER: I believe that some of the horrific accidents that continue to occur could be avoided if there was more regulation.

TAPPER: The last time that Markey introduced his bill, the IAAPA president and CEO Chip Clearly released a statement opposing it, saying "The industry is already safe and well-regulated." The family of Caleb Schwab might disagree.

Jake Tapper, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE) [14:25:03] WHITFIELD: And in a statement, the waterpark said "Safety is our top priority at Schlitterbahn. All rides are inspected daily before opening." The park passed a safety inspection back in June conducted by an insurance company it hired. And we should note we heard from the Pennsylvania park where the three-year-old was hurt, and it said nothing has ever happened in the ride's 78-year history, and its rollercoaster is inspected daily before opening.

Thanks so much for being with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more straight ahead. Right now, time "Vital Signs" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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