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Trump Speech At White House; Possible Hurricane Headed Toward U.S.; Las Vegas Gunman Leaves Behind A Note With Numbers. President Trump Comments That An Evening He Had With The Military Members May Be 'The Calm Before The Storm'. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 6, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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


DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (live): No matter who we are or where we come from, we are all Americans and we are all bound together by our love for this country and for its flag and for each other. Great love. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

In that same spirit of unity, togetherness and love, we are truly thrilled to have all of you right here at the White House. The White House. What a special place, right? You've read about the White House. You've heard? Who was at the White House before? You have some of the Congressmen that were. Right. Right. Not too many. It's a very special place.

But this is a celebration of Hispanic heritage month, right? That's a big deal. That's a great thing. From our earliest days, Hispanic- Americans have enriched our country and helped shape our history. Their contributions through the generations through art and music and literature, to science, scholarship and exploration are extraordinary.

The spirit and creativity that shines through Hispanic heritage is woven into the very fabric of our great nation. Our amazing Hispanic- American communities embody our great American values of faith and family and security and hard work and freedom.

Their commitment to those values is why countless citizens of Hispanic dissent have served in uniform to defend our country, our citizens and our flag. Sixty Hispanic-Americans have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their outstanding bravery in battle. Did you know that? Sixty. That's a lot. That's a lot.

It's a great, great medal of honor. Did you say we have? Oh, wow, that's so fantastic. Do you mind if I go up and shake hands? I'll interrupt our speech. I want to shake hands with somebody.

I heard you were here. I'm glad I got to meet you. I heard you were here. The medal of honor, that's the big deal, right? That's the big deal. Thank you for being here. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Today, we're grateful to have more than a quarter of a million Hispanic-Americans serving in our military. We salute all of those who defend our nation and who defend our way of life. Each of you here today represents a vital part of the fabric of this nation and the nation that I love and that you love.

You teach our children. You lead our churches. You protect our communities. And you defend our nation. Among you are leaders in government, faith and business. Fantastic people in this audience. I know some of them. And, believe me, they are very tough and they are very smart. Sometimes they're too tough. That's OK. I have to deal with it. I have to deal with it. Fantastic people.

In fact, today, Hispanic -American owned small businesses are growing at a tremendous rate, especially among the Latinas. Raise your hands. Go ahead. That's -- it's tough to compete with, I will tell you. Who are leading the way in starting new businesses. You're leading the way. You are leading the way. You guys better get going.

And once we pass our historic tax reform plan, and we are having not only reform, we are having the largest tax cuts in the history of our country (INAUDIBLE.)

Does anybody in this room mind getting a massive tax cut? Does anybody? Does anybody object to paying less taxes? I don't see any hands. OK.

[13:05:04] But Hispanic American businesses and families will prosper like never before. This tax cut and tax reform is going very well and it's going to be a tremendous boost for our country, including the fact that with the highest taxed nation in the world, and we will go from that to being down on the lower rung on taxes.

So, we'll be paying far, far less. So, that's very important for keeping our businesses and our jobs. We're working every day to secure a future of peace, prosperity and sovereignty for every American citizen. And we hope for a future of freedom and prosperity throughout the western hemisphere.

That's why under my administration, we have taken decisive action to stand with the good people of Cuba and Venezuela. Great people. Great, great people. As I announced before a wonderful crowd in Little Havana earlier this year, we will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until it delivers full political freedom for the Cuban people.

The same failed communist ideology that brought oppression to Cuba has brought nothing but suffering and misery everywhere and every place it has been anywhere in the world. Communism is the past. Freedom is the future.

We also stand with the people of Venezuela who are suffering under the ruthless socialism of the Maduro regime. We reject socialist oppression and we call for the restoration of democracy and freedom for the citizens of Venezuela.

Many Hispanic Americans understand very personally why it is so important for us to defend our nation. God-given freedom. We want God-given. It's God-given freedom. And uphold the rule of law. Our commitment to these values has been the source of America's prosperity, the foundation of our security. And these values has made us a beacon, an absolute beacon, to the nations of the world.

As we celebrate Hispanic heritage month, we are grateful to all of you who have contributed to our communities and for your continued leadership in America. With your help, we will strengthen our country's great foundations of faith and family and freedom. And we will build together one great American future.

It's a tremendous honor to have you all at the White House. I want to thank you. I want to God bless you. God bless the United States of America. God bless the United States of America.

And with that, I'd like to welcome a very special person who is doing a tremendous job as our secretary of labor, Secretary Acosta. Alex, keep it up. Keep it up, Alex. Thank you. Thank you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So, there is the president of the United States, speaking during this moment in the east room of the White House, celebrating Hispanic heritage month.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

Let's unpack a little bit of what we just heard from the president. David Gregory, our CNN Political Analyst is with us. Julie Hirschfeld Davis, our CNN Political Analyst, the White House correspondent for "The New York Times" is with us as well.

For an audience like this especially, he touched all the right notes, Julie. He spoke about what's going on in Puerto Rico. He said the U.S. has 15,000 federal personnel on the ground. He spoke about the help that the U.S. is giving Mexico following the earthquake.

Obviously, he mentioned the mass murder in Las Vegas. But then, he went on to, really, attack the regimes in Cuba and Venezuela. For this audience, those are welcome words.

JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, absolutely because a lot of his supporters within the Hispanic-American are, of course, Cuban-American exiles who are very much against the Castro regime.

[13:10:03] We're very happy to hear him say he was going to take a harder line, even happier this week when he -- when the United States announced they were going to expel those 15 Cuban diplomats.

And so -- and he -- and he did have, kind of, a message of inclusion. The one thing you mentioned, he, kind of, hit all the notes but he didn't mention immigration at all. And typically, when you have a gathering of Hispanic-Americans who are politically active, that's an issue that presidents have talked about. It's been a difficult one.

He has been on a few sides of the immigration issue. And right now is in the midst of this very complicated negotiation with Democrats on whether he's going to actually cut a deal on that. He stayed, you know, clear on that which I thought was interesting. BLITZER: Yes, he stayed clear of a lot of sensitive issues, for

example, the dreamers. He didn't mention the dreamers. He didn't mention the wall. Although, there was one individual in the audience who had a hat saying, build the wall.

So, there's a lot that he didn't mention. But what he mentioned was, at least to the 200 or so guests who were invited, the Hispanic community leaders from around the country, pretty welcomed words.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, and he's also talking about issues that affect a lot of family members, Hispanic-Americans who may be living in America but who have family, whether they're in Mexico, in Puerto Rico who are affected by immigration. And that's been a real mixed bag for the president, in terms of how he's been received on these issues. So, important to touch on them here.

There's a lot more that we need to touch on. Everybody, stand by. We've got a lot more coming up.

But there's some breaking news we're following right now on CNN. New Orleans right now bracing for a possible hit from a killer storm spinning in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Nate is already blamed for more than 20 deaths in Central America. And now, Louisiana, New Orleans in particular, by the way, on alert with hurricane warnings on the coast, extending east to the Alabama-Florida line.

Nate is expected to be a hurricane before making landfall late tomorrow night, Saturday night, into Sunday morning.

Joining us now from Atlanta, our Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Allison, what's the latest forecast on what is still a tropical storm but expected to develop into a full-scale hurricane?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. So, the models are starting to come together on this and really line up, in terms of the track. What that means is if you're in the track, you really need to start to get the ball rolling on your evacuation plans and things like that.

Right now, tropical storm Nate winds about 50 miles per hour. They're gusting up to 65. But the big concern will be once it crosses over the Yucatan Peninsula and gets out over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico.

This is one that one that is expected to intensify. For that reason, obviously we have the tropical storm watches and warnings, as well as hurricane watches and warnings basically from areas around Lafayette, Louisiana all the way over towards Panama City, Florida.

Now, here's the thing. We talked about when it gets back over open water. This is where the intensification process will take place. The question is, how much can it intensify before it ends up making landfall?

At this point in time, the National Hurricane Center believes it will likely end up only being a category one storm. But there are some models out there that think this could end up being a low-end category two. Others say it's just not going to be able to intensify that quickly as it moves through the Gulf.

Once it makes landfall, it will then continue up over portions of the Eastern U.S., bringing with it very strong winds and very heavy rainfall in some spots, Wolf. So, this won't just be a problem for where it makes landfall, but likely for at least another dozen states in the Eastern U.S.

BLITZER: Just what we don't need, another hurricane. Allison Chinchar, we'll stay in close touch with you.

Other important news we're following right now, especially in Las Vegas, where we're learning that the man responsible for the country's deadliest mass shooting wanted to make his aim even more accurate and his arsenal even more lethal.

A law enforcement official now tells CNN, just weeks before the attack, the shooter tried to buy tracer ammunition at a gun show. It's a type of bullet that would have shown the gunman where he was shooting and what he was hitting.

Around the same time, he tried to buy the deadly ammo, the killer also booked two rooms overlooking popular music festivals, including one in Chicago and another in Las Vegas. These very frightening details only add more pieces to an already very complicated puzzle.

Police say that even as they learn more about the shooter and what he did in his final weeks, they still can't find a clear motive. They are hoping, however, that this single note left on this table in the gunman's hotel suite will offer answers. The note reportedly contains numbers that investigators are currently trying to decipher. Certainly, that could be critically important.

Let's go straight to CNN's Brian Todd. He's joining us live from Las Vegas. Brian, you actually went inside a room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and got a very similar view to the one that the killer would have had. Tell us about that.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf. We got access to a room on the 34th floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, just over my left shoulder here. This was two floors up from the killer's room and just down the hallway but with a similar view.

[13:15:02] And we brought a former Las Vegas SWAT team member up there named John Sheahan. And what really struck him is within moments of seeing the view that the killer had was that he positioned this. He planned his acquisition of this room, his renting of this room, so that snipers, police snipers could not get to him, because directly across from his room, there is no building directly opposite where a sniper could get a level position to fire directly on his room.

There are buildings to the left and to the right. There's part of the Mandalay Bay just to the right of this man's room, but you're firing at an angle where the bullets might bounce off. There was no angle directly opposite at a level position from his room where police snipers could have taken him out. And John Sheehan, that former SWAT team member, Wolf, believes, he told us, he says that was by design. He believes that this killer, Stephen Paddock, knew that that would be the case, that police snipers may not be able to take him out because of the positioning of his room.

Interesting you mentioned (INAUDIBLE) that all really speaks to the detailed nature of this killer's planning. You talked about the tracer bullets that he tried to purchase. This law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation telling CNN that in those weeks before the killing, he tried to buy these tracer bullets from a Phoenix gun show. For some reason he couldn't purchase those. He bought a lot of other ammunition, but he couldn't buy those tracer bullets which are coated with phosphorus and essentially glow in the dark.

We're told by law enforcement officials and experts on this that tracer bullets allow you to see what you're hitting and possibly be much more accurate. One former Las Vegas SWAT team member told me he casualty count could have been much worse had he had those tracer bullets, Wolf. But a law enforcement official telling us that with the ammunition that he did use, he was probably just spraying bullets and couldn't see his targets that accurately, Wolf.

BLITZZER: Yes, he had 47 guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, lots of explosives, electronic devices. And FBI local authorities, they're going through all of that right now.

Brian Todd, thank you very much.

I want to bring in someone who's worked very closely with the men and women leading this investigation in Las Vegas, Lieutenant Chris Carroll, ,retired from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He's joining us live from Las Vegas.

Chis, thanks very much for joining us.

Let me first show you a picture of the note inside the hotel room that was found on a table under what looks like a roll of tape. The shooter was a gambler, as you know. Could the numbers on the note have something to do with that or does it seem likely this paper was left there intentionally?

LIEUTENANT CHRIS CARROLL (RET.), LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE: Well, you know, we don't know what's on that note yet. The police department has that information and I'm sure it will eventually come out. So it's hard to say what the story is with the note at this time.

BLITZER: A situation like this, does a mass murderer, a killer of this nature, normally leave some sort of note, some sort of evidence, some sort of explanation of why?

CARROLL: Yes. From what we've seen from mass shootings around the country, some of the more famous, the more deadlier shootings, there's usually some sort of manifesto left behind for that person that lets us know what that motive is. And at -- on this one, at this point, that doesn't appear to be the case. BLITZER: They're looking for it, though, very, very hard. A law

enforcement official, Chris, tells CNN the gunman tried to buy tracer ammo just weeks before the attack. What does that tell you?

CARROLL: Well, it tells me that he knew exactly what he was going to be doing. You know, tracer ammunition is the type of ammunition that allows for more accuracy. If you're shooting from great distance, usually with automatic or semi quick -- semiautomatic type of firing. And it probably would have made his shooting even more deadlier than it was.

One of the downfalls of -- from his point of view with tracer ammunition is it also allows people on the ground to see where the shooter is. So that was something else for him to consider.

BLITZER: Well, we don't know why he didn't purchase that tracer ammo. Do you have any explanation of why, in the end, he looked at it, asked questions about it, but he didn't buy it?

CARROLL: No, I have no idea. And tracer ammunition is not illegal. And it can be bought over the Internet. There may be some states where it might be illegal, but it's readily available.

BLITZER: Chris Carroll, thanks very much. We'll get back to you as well.

There's other developments we're following. The gunman's hairdresser speaking out about their encounters, including what he told her about the girlfriend now being questioned by the FBI.

Also, President Trump's very alarming comment while standing next to the top U.S. military brass. Why did he tease this is the, quote, calm before the storm? I'll ask a colonel who just left the U.S. military.

And new details just in on the fate of the president's secretary of state. CNN now reports Rex Tillerson's days are seen as numbered. You're going to hear what's happening behind the scenes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:24:10] BLITZER: President Trump sets off alarm bells with a rather cryptic remark about a coming storm. The president's comments came during a photo op with military leaders and their spouses, just ahead of a White House dinner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You guys know what this represents? (INADUIBLE) Maybe it's the calm before the storm.

REPORTER: What's the storm?

TRUMP: Could be the calm before the storm.

REPORTER: From Iran?

REPORTER On ISIS?

REPORTER: What storm, Mr. President?

TRUMP: We have the world's great military people in this room, I will tell you that. And we're going to have a great evening. Thank you all for coming.

REPORTER: What storm, Mr. President?

TRUMP: You'll find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What storm, Mr. President? You'll find out.

Let's bring in our panel to discuss that and much more. CNN military analyst, retired Army Colonel Steve Warren, CNN military and diplomatic analyst, retired Rear Admiral John Kirby, and David and Julie are still back with us as well.

[13:25:06] What do you make of that remark? The White House press pool was brought back in. It was not schedule to be there. Brought back in and then we heard that little exchange.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICSL ANALYST: I think it's frightening. I think it's -- it's obviously cryptic. It's pretty flip. I don't like it. I don't like it when the commander in chief talks that way surrounded by military grass at a time when he national security team seems to be falling apart, when he can't seem to hold anybody in the job who works for him, at a time when we are on the brink of perhaps a confrontation with North Korea, maybe even Iran for that matter.

I think a lot of Americans have to look up and wonder what the hell is going on inside both this president's head and inside this White House at a time that's volatile like this. So it raises a lot of questions in my mind.

BLITZER: Yes, and, Julie, you are a White House correspondent for "The New York Times." It's pretty unusual for them to, all of a sudden, after they say no more photo ops, gather together a group of reporters, a small group of reporters, photographers, and go in. So clearly the president wanted to say something.

JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Absolutely. It's clear that he wanted that picture. But also he volunteered that comment, right? I mean it wasn't that somebody shouted a question and that was his response. He said to the group, do you know what this represents? And then he volunteered the calm before the storm. So clearly he was trying to get at something. But as David said, it's very unusual for a president to make such an ominous sounding comment in the presence of his entire military team at a time when there are all these threats around the world and there are the questions on the table in front of him right now about how -- what to do about them.

And rather than doing what a president normally does, which is try to calm the public and make it clear that everything's under control and he's getting good advice and he's making deliberate decisions, he seems to be telegraphing the opposite.

BLITZER: And he's refusing, at least so far, and the White House staff, to clarify precisely what he meant. Was it just a sort of flipped comment or was there some serious problem that's just awaiting all of us?

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY (RET.), CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYLST: I think that's because we have to allow for the possibility that this was just showmanship. That he found himself with all these glittering uniforms and that fancy dining room and he decided to wrap himself in a cloak of jingoism. I think that's all this probably was.

But David's right, he's the commander in chief of the United States military. The most powerful military in the world. There's consequences to the things you say. And at no time should the president issue an idle or a vague threat like that. It's irresponsible.

BLITZER: Maybe he was though sending -- I don't know what he was actually doing, Steve, but you're a former Pentagon spokesman, maybe he was trying to send a message to North Korea or Iran or maybe someone else.

COLONEL STEVE WARREN (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think he's always trying to send those types of messages. But a lot of times I don't think he thinks completely through them.

I saw this really as no more than a verbal tweet. And a lot of his tweets are just kind of out there. They just kind of hang out there And you can't figure out what they mean. And I think this may be one of those cases. He was right in the middle there when he talked about being surrounded by some of America's finest and he truly was in that case.

BLITZER: There was another stunning comment he made yesterday, a different venue, but with the military brass, the top military leadership there. Public criticism, in effect, of his own military. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Moving forward, I also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options, when need, at a much faster pace. I know that government bureaucracy is slow, but I am depending on you to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Hey, John, that's pretty unusual, a public criticism of the top military leadership. You've got to work. We need you at a much -- at a much faster pace.

KIRBY: Even if he's right, and I think there's an argument to be made that he may not be right. I know most of the men around that table. They're not -- they don't hue to bureaucracy very well. They're pretty good, pretty strong, effective planes. But even if he's right, the time and the place to do that is not in front of cameras. You don't publically rebuke all you military leaders all at once like that. They thrive on having the trust and confidence of the commander in chief and I can bet you that that felt like a gut punch to many of them and they have to question whether they actually still had that trust and confidence.

BLITZER: Somebody we know, our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, says this is pretty astounding to hear the commander in chief speak like this publically about his military leadership.

WARREN: I think it is astounding. And, frankly, surprising as well. You know, for the president to come out and tell his generals and admirals, the most senior members of his joint staff, that they're moving too slow, this isn't something that we've ever seen before. And I don't think it's really a place for it either, frankly. These guys work very hard to get their plans put together as rapidly as possible, as effectively as possible. And for them to be criticized like that on TV, it's very unusual (ph).

[13:29:43] GREGORY: Can we just pull back and look at the state of affairs in Washington where we all kind of get together collectively and are stunned by what this president says or tweets. The fact that he cannot get along with people with whom he worked, with top congressional leaders, And everyone who is in power is quite reluctant to take him on for fear of how he might criticize them. But that's the state of affairs in America at a really volatile time, at a time when our own government is divided over the future of this Iran deal for example. And even though there seemed