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Erin Burnett Outfront
Vice President Biden Says "No" To 2016 Bid; Donald Trump Holding Campaign Rally in Iowa; Authorities May Be Closing in on El Chapo; Assad Makes Surprise Visit to See Putin in Russia; Person in Custody in Road Rage Killing of 4-Year-Old Girl. Aired 7-8:00p ET
Aired October 21, 2015 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:08] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, Biden is out. The Vice President deciding against a run for president. What does it mean for Clinton, Sanders and Donald Trump?
Plus, Trump live this hour as the latest poll gives him one of his biggest leads yet, a lead he has held for 100 days. And we're live on the ground as heavily armed Mexican marines search for one of the world's most wanted criminals, incredibly dangerous assignment for our reporter on the ground tonight. Hunting for El Chapo. A live report. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, Joe a no. Vice President Joe Biden making his surprise announcement in the Rose Garden where the President traditionally speaks. Biden saying it's too late to run and that his window to win the Oval Office and that Rose Garden for a term has closed. Biden's decision changes the race. According to one poll, Biden the only democrat who could top Trump in the general election. Now, as for Hillary Clinton, she is still happy anyway. The most recent CNN poll showing a race without Biden means as much stronger lead in the democratic field for her. Clinton and Trump both had kind words for Biden today and Trump added that he prefers to run against Clinton because, quote, "her record is so bad." Donald Trump is about to speak at a rally in Iowa and Sarah Marie is there tonight. We'll going to talk to her in just one moment. That's where he'll be speaking.
I want to begin though with Jeff Zeleny on Joe Biden. And Jeff, what finally decided this for Joe Biden?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Erin, in the end Joe Biden followed his head, not his heart. Of course he wanted to be president. He's wanted to be president for most of his four decades in Washington. But at the end of the day after make all these calls, after looking in to how difficult of a path this would be, he finally decided that there just wasn't time for him to win the nomination and he didn't want to go out a loser.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY (voice-over): Joe Biden walked into the Rose Garden to extinguish a dream.
VICE PRES. JOE BIDEN (D), UNITED STATES: Unfortunately, I believe we're out of time. The time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination.
ZELENY: With those words today, the Vice President closed the door to weeks of self-induced speculation about joining the 2016 presidential race. It turns out he wasn't firing a warning shot this week at Hillary Clinton over her suggestion that Republicans are the enemy.
BIDEN: I don't believe like some do that it's naive to talk to Republicans.
ZELENY: He was offering an optimistic lesson to fix a broken Washington.
BIDEN: I believe we have to end the divisive partisan politics that is ripping this country apart.
ZELENY: Of all the places to make his announcement --
BIDEN: Mr. President, thank you for allowing me the Rose Garden for a minute.
ZELENY: The Vice President picked a spot he strived to reach since arriving in Washington more than four decades ago with presidential aspirations.
BIDEN: And that I will well and --
ZELENY: Biden may never win the White House, but he's an elder statesman now, he made clear that's a role he intends to play.
BIDEN: But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent. I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully to influence as much as I can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation.
ZELENY: He offered no endorsements, but said Democrats should embrace President Obama.
BIDEN: This party, our nation, will be making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the Obama legacy.
ZELENY: Another unspoken message to Clinton, the party's frontrunner, who has broken with the President on a few key issues.
BIDEN: Democrats should not only defend this record and protect this record, they should run on the record.
ZELENY: After the announcement, Clinton praised the Vice President saying in a statement, "I'm confident that history isn't finished with Joe Biden. As he said today, there is more work do and if I know Joe, he will always be on the front-lines always fighting for all of us."
BIDEN: Thank you all very much.
ZELENY: This week, our CNN ORC poll found with Biden on the sidelines, Clinton's lead grew to 23 points over Bernie Sanders. She's the biggest beneficiary of his decision.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: Now, Hillary Clinton was one of the first two people who placed a call to the Vice President after he left the Rose Garden today. Their private conversation did not lead to an endorsement for now. But Hillary Clinton is certainly breathing a sigh of relief tonight that one obstacle is out of her way. But of course there is little time for celebration. Tonight she's preparing to appear before that House Benghazi Committee for that long awaited testimony tomorrow -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Jeff. This is poignant to watch him speak. And of course, he wanted to make that decision before the Benghazi hearing. So, it will not appear political in his machinations. You are now looking at the other beneficiary of course of this could be Donald Trump. Donald Trump is going to be speaking live where you're looking right now at a campaign rally, it's in Burlington, Iowa.
Sara Murray is there. And Sara, Donald Trump weighed in on Biden's decision quickly. Hillary Clinton may have been the first call in but Donald Trump was quick to comment.
[19:05:16] SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Donald Trump is always fast to Twitter and today was no different. He said I think Joe Biden made the correct decision for him and his family. Personally, I would rather run against Hillary because her record is so bad. But Erin -- different story, if you look at our CNN ORC poll, it shows that Hillary Clinton beats Donald Trump by just five percent, 30 percent 45 percent in a head to head match-up, that was a wider gap when you look at Donald Trump head to head against Joe Biden and that potential match-up, Joe Biden draws 53 percent support and ten points ahead of Donald Trump. And a FOX News poll echoes those results showing Joe Biden winning by an even larger lead in a potential match- up that will never come to pass -- Erin.
BURNETT: That's right. And of course in that one, you had Trump beating Clinton in that FOX News poll, but not beating Joe Biden. Now, Sara, do you expect Trump to talk about this tonight, to talk about Hillary Clinton since he took to Twitter or Joe Biden?
MURRAY: Well, it's always difficult to predict exactly what Donald Trump will do as we've come to learn by now, but he usually goes after Hillary Clinton. I'm sure today will be no different. And I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't made a couple of comments about Joe Biden. As far as Donald Trump goes, we went pretty gracious in terms of dealing with one of his opponents.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Sara. And of course Sara will be back with us as Donald Trump takes to the stage where we're watching to see whether does comment on Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton.
Now, I want to bring in our political analyst Gloria Borger and our commentator and former senior advisor for President Obama, Dan Pfeiffer.
Gloria, let me start with you. Because I know you have new reporting. You know, just watching Jeff's piece there, it was poignant to see Joe Biden. You know, maybe I'm just seeing what I wanted to see, but it looked like he was moved almost a tears at the end there. How did he finally reached his decision now?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think you're right. You know, this is a man who spent his entire life in politics. It's all he knows. It's public service. And what he was saying today was, that's over for me after the next 15 months. And I think what happened was that the longer this dragged on, the more he realized that he was running out of time. Someone close to him said to me that this whole thing kind of caught him off guard. At first, this whole movement for Joe Biden after his son Beau passed away from cancer. And then he sent his staff out to go do the due diligence and you clearly and you could hear it today, Erin, right? He clearly wanted to run.
BURNETT: Yes.
BORGER: He clearly thinks he should be president. And it was a very difficult decision for him. But in the end, I was told that he realize that it would take two great a toll on him both personally and to his legacy. That did he really want and this was a real possibility to be a three time loser --
BURNETT: Right.
BORGER: -- for the presidency. I don't think so.
BURNETT: Right. Dan, you know, Ben Carson, obviously Donald Trump has been watching this very avidly. I mentioned that poll, FOX News poll actually showed that Donald Trump could beat Hillary Clinton but not Joe Biden. Ben Carson was asked about what this meant today and here's how he answered the question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It pretty much guarantees that Hillary will be the person that we're running against.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about Bernie Sanders?
CARSON: Pretty much guarantees that Hillary will be the one we're running against.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. The polls obviously, Dan, say Carson is right. But does Bernie Sanders still have a slim shot? You know, we look back at, you know, when Hillary Clinton was running against Barack Obama, the margin was much wider at this point and he obviously triumphed.
DAN PFEIFFER, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Bernie Sanders does have a shot. His shot is now a longer shot without Joe Biden in the race and that it would be because basically there are some number of Democrats, you know, seven to ten percent in these polls who are people who would choose Hillary Clinton in a two way race with Bernie Sanders, but would chose Joe Biden in a three-way race. And so Hillary Clinton is strengthened. She's particularly strengthened in New Hampshire which is Bernie Sanders' mass win state.
BURNETT: So, Sanders is doing well in those early voting states to your point, Dan, I'm just curious. Five points of Clinton in Iowa, that's how close he is. And up ten points in New Hampshire. Obviously, yes, that's a pretty significant. Totally plausible if he wins those states but that could change the equation, right?
PFEIFFER: Absolutely. If he wins Iowa, it will greatly strengthen his hand in New Hampshire and if he wins both of those, it will greatly strengthens his hand in South Carolina. The challenge for him is, if you look at aggregate of the polling since the debate, Hillary Clinton has strengthened her position in New Hampshire. In some polls she's leading, and the race is narrower. And he still has a very good shot and he's in a -- he still has a good shot to win New Hampshire, but his chances wanting the nomination go down without Biden in the race to split the establishment vote with Hillary Clinton.
BURNETT: All right. So now, let's talk about the other winner here Gloria. Obviously, Hillary Clinton as you both is pointing out.
BORGER: Sure.
BURNETT: OK. But then there is Donald Trump, right, that poll --
BORGER: Always the winner.
[19:10:08] BURNETT: Right. That poll showing he would beat Hillary in a head to head race but lose to Joe Biden. So, Donald Trump understandably is very excited. You see there on the top. Trump 45 to Clinton 40. He would have been crushed by Joe Biden.
BORGER: Right. Well, at this point in time. These are polls taken now, yes, before Joe Biden got in the race. And you know, all the rest of those caveats. Look, the thing, the problem Donald Trump has is his high unfavorable ratings. If you look at in the aggregate among all voters, some polls have shown it close to 60 percent unfavorable. It is less unfavorable among Republicans obviously. But that's a problem for him. Hillary Clinton is not the best liked candidate in the world. She has high unfavorables, too, as does Jeb Bush. But Donald Trump has high unfavorables among independent voters. And that's the real problem for him which is why we sort of thought like the summer that we were seeing a shift in his behavior. Right?
BURNETT: Yes.
BORGER: Because he needed to ask more presidential and less bullying towards his competitors although that goes on and off. So, you know, we're a long way from these head to head match-ups.
BURNETT: All right. Well, you know, it will be interesting to see when they ask voters, you know, what word you think of, among the top words for Donald Trump were stupid, for Hillary Clinton were liar, that would be a race to watch.
BORGER: Not a great race. Yes.
BURNETT: All right. You have to be polarizing for the attention. Thanks so much to both of you.
And next, we're awaiting Donald Trump, he is going to be speaking live in Iowa at that podium. Whether he does speak about Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.
Plus, tonight our special coverage continues of the manhunt for El Chapo. Our Martin Savidge today on a dangerous mission to the last known place the drug lord was hiding. He's live on the ground for us tonight. And breaking new, New Mexico police announced they have a person of interest in the killing of a 4-year-old girl shot and killed. The victim of road rage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:15:28] BURNETT: You're looking at live pictures of Donald Trump, he is speaking to supporters at a rally in Iowa. And let's listen briefly here.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's the one, that's the one I've been. You know, when you're sort of like if you have a baseball team or a football team, you sort of get your heart set on something, that's the one we want to go against because you go against that record, you go against that record, you just going to win. We'll going to win. We're going to win big. We're going to win. So many mistakes. You know you look at the world, the world is a tinderbox, it's falling apart, it's blowing up. We are a mess. What has happened to this country between the Iran deal and the Bergdahl, five for one, I call him Mr. Five for one, we get a -- right. What did we used to do to traitors? Boy, that guy's -- you know, they came out with a report, they don't think he goes to --
BURNETT: All right. So he's talking there live and we got in there quickly. I wanted to let you hear what he had to say about running against Hillary Clinton and how he says he's very excited to do that. It is now today officially 100 days of Trump on top. One hundred days. Let me say that again, Donald Trump has led the republican race for president. The new poll out today shows that Trump has 32 percent of the GOP vote. Obviously, that's a significant lead. It's ten points over number two and it's more than triple number three. But at the same time, another controversy for Donald Trump.
Mark Preston is OUTFRONT with that. And Mark, the newest Trump controversy is about comments he made about the war in Afghanistan. So, let's just show viewers exactly what happened. First, here is Donald Trump on October 6.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We made a terrible mistake getting involved there in the first place. We had real brilliant thinkers that didn't know what the hell they were doing and it's a mess. It's a mess. And at this point you probably have to because that thing will collapse about two seconds after they leave just as I said that Iraq was going to collapse after we leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. And then Mark, he was asked about his comments about the Afghanistan war being a terrible mistake, right? Which you just heard him say there. He was asked about that yesterday here on CNN. And he said that he didn't say that at all. Here he is.
TRUMP: We made a mistake going into Iraq. I have never said we made a mistake --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our question was about Afghanistan. That day on October 6 --
TRUMP: OK. I never said that. OK. It wouldn't matter. I never said it. Afghanistan is a different kettle. Afghanistan is next to Pakistan, it's an entry in, you have to be careful with the nuclear weapons. It's all about the nuclear weapons. By the way, without the nukes, it's a whole different ball game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. He's saying he misunderstood the question now the first time around. Is that possible, Mark?
MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: Look, anything is possible, but let's go back to what he said on October 6. And this is where it's problematic for him. Let me just read you the one line that's problematic for Donald Trump right now. He said just as I said that Iraq was going to collapse after we leave, so what is he comparing that to? At the time they were talking about Iraq, they transitioned that conversation into Afghanistan. So interestingly enough, Donald Trump never backs down, Erin, and he certainly dug his heels in on this. But you to question, what was he comparing to at that time?
BURNETT: So, this isn't the first time Mark that Trump has claimed there was a misunderstanding especially on an interview in foreign policy. Here is he last month on Hugh Hewitt show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGH HEWITT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Are you familiar with General Soleimani?
TRUMP: Yes. Go ahead, give me a little. Go ahead, tell me.
HEWITT: He runs the Kurds Forces.
TRUMP: Yes. Okay. Right.
HEWITT: Do you expect his behavior --
TRUMP: And I think the Kurds by the way have been horribly mistreated by us.
HEWITT: No. Not the Kurds, the Quds Forces. The Iranian Revolutionary guys, Quds Forces, the bad guys.
TRUMP: Right.
HEWITT: Do you expect his behavior to change as a result --
TRUMP: Oh, I thought you said Kurds, Kurds.
HEWITT: No, Quds.
TRUMP: I'm sorry. I thought you said Kurds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Mark?
PRESTON: Well, you known, interestingly enough, Hugh Hewitt is known for asking this very tough difficult foreign policy questions and Donald Trump should have been prepared going on. Now, listen, could he have misheard it at the beginning? Sure. But Hugh Hewitt said it time and time again. You know, interestingly enough, Erin, I was talking to the Bush campaign today and just asking them, how are you going to deal with Donald Trump moving forward, all he does is attack you, he says Jeb Bush is low energy. And they said they think the Achilles' heel right now for Donald Trump is on foreign policy. And don't expect the Bush campaign, Erin, if you go after Donald Trump, every day on every moment, news of the day, but they do see this has an opening against Donald Trump.
BURNETT: Interesting. All right. Thank you very much, Mark.
And now the former White House, Reagan White House Political Director Jeffrey Lord, a Donald Trump supporter and our political commentator S.E. Cupp.
S.E., look, people make mistakes and they do to mishear things. Do you believe that that's what happens here?
[19:20:14] S.E. CUPP, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, I think there is no way to know. And I think even if you take Donald Trump at his word, that he missed her, that he really didn't mean to say that. I mean, there is a lot that you could still take issue with with the things that he says he did mean to say. So, I mean, there is a whole lot of substance to pour through when it comes to these issues. Donald Trump I think, you know, pretty consistently either misspeaks or doubles down on something that most people would find insensitive or offensive or ignorant. And so we all try to sort of scramble to figure out what he actually meant. I think that's kind of maybe a waste of time. I think for his supporters they seem to defend almost everything he says.
BURNETT: Right.
CUPP: He seems to have total immunity. I think the personality is so much more important to his supporters than what he actually says.
BURNETT: Jeff?
JEFFREY LORD, FORMER REAGAN WHITE HOUSE POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, I have to say, Erin, I've talked to Donald Trump over the last three years. I've heard him repeatedly talked about Iraq in terms of being a mistake. I've never heard him once say that about Afghanistan. So, I think, you know, perhaps he misspoke there. I've just have never heard and say than, you know, we were sort of in that general area of foreign policy. So, that's number one. But number two, I think although I would change the description from S.E. just a bit, I don't think this is a call to personality. I think these are voters who are demanding serious change.
And I think when you reach that point where you've got an overwhelming number of people who want change, you're very forgiving of things that come along that might, you know, disrupt what other people think should be a stumbling block of some sort. I think frankly we saw this with President Obama when he was running in 2008. Just as an example, since today is the day Vice President Biden got out of the race, back in 1987, I was the White House source that told the "New York Times" that he had plagiarized Robert Kennedy. The New York Times ran with a front-page story, a week later he was out of the race. I mention this in 2008 and no on one cared. And, you know, at that point it was pretty clear, the American electorate was determined to get pass the Bush ear and elect Senator Obama and they didn't care what Joe Biden had said. So, I just think this kind of things doesn't matter.
BURNETT: An interesting anecdote. You've lived it. I mean, S.E., in terms of the republican electorate at this point, a lot of, you know, there's people who love Donald Trump, a lot of people who really don't like him, but they seem to be getting in line. Forty two percent of republican voters now say that Trump is the most likely to be the nominee, 43 percent say, he has the best chance of winning the general election. That's a pretty stunning turnaround in a lot of ways. Right? A lot of people in the establishment didn't accept him. Now they do. You're one of the people who doesn't like him. But do you now think that he is the one -- the one to put Republicans back in the White House.
CUPP: Look. Let's be clear. It's not that I don't like him, I know Donald Trump. I think he's incredibly impressive, talented person. He's a phenomenal father and a great businessman and a very entertaining guy. And frankly, I wish he were running a more serious and inclusive campaign that was going to grow the Republican Party and appeal to more conservatives. But my fear is that going forward, you know, when he talks about shutting down mosques and building fences and sending refugees home, this is going to give Democrats an advantage that they already have. An even bigger one. Look, if Hillary Clinton is the nominee and Donald Trump is the nominee, Hillary Clinton is already going to have a built-in advantage with women, with Hispanics, with minorities, with African-Americans.
Donald Trump is going to need to appeal to more than just this sliver of the country that is really animated by this anti-everything outsider rhetoric. And aside from telling -- as a woman, I have to say it, aside from telling me that he would cherish me, I don't really know what he would do for me. You know, I've got a dad, I have got a husband, I have a son, I feel very cherished. What is Donald Trump going to do for women, for Hispanics, for minorities, for all these demographics that he is going to have to, appeal to if he's going to have any chance of competing with Hillary Clinton.
BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to both of you. We'll see how those polls move. But as we said, a very stunning victory for Donald Trump 100 days on top.
OUTFRONT next, Martin Savidge, he is on the ground in the most dangerous drug capital in the world hunting for the world's most dangerous drug lord. And we're going back to the future. You're looking at live pictures as many of the stars from the hit movie are together tonight live. Very special screening. We'll be there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:25:50] BURNETT: And tonight, exclusive access in the hunt for the world's most dangerous drug lord, El Chapo. Our Martin Savidge is on the ground tonight as authorities scoured the mountains of Mexico's drug capital looking for the illusive billionaire.
Now, Martin Savidge spent the day on dangerous assignment visiting the last place El Chapo was seen as the hunt closes in on what may be an injured and desperate El Chapo. According to a source, the drug lord fell off a cliff and broke his leg running from police just days ago. He's been able to evade capture ever since escaping from a maximum security prison using this underground tunnel.
Martin Savidge is with me now OUTFRONT from Sinaloa, Mexico. And Martin, what did you see today? What can you tell us?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I hate to break your heart, but we did not find Joaquin Guzman. But you do find everywhere you go here in Sinaloa State. Evidence of how the incredible search to try to locate him is literally turning lives upside down. And by that I mean lives of local people here. Everything from the many check points and road blocks that have been set up by the military, but then on top of that, the military effort, we were just trying to get to Borrego, this is a town in Durango State. This is part of the golden triangle here where all the drug trade is known to be centered.
And in this community, over the weekend, apparently military troops showed up dropping out of the sky in helicopters. This is a very small hamlet. The people there were clearly terrified. They said that the force of just the rotor wash from the helicopter damaged a roof there. And then, the soldiers burst into their homes, began taking what little possessions they had, throwing them into the yard essentially trying to find El Chapo they began questioning an 82-year- old man and said, where is he? The man said, literally, do you think a man of his wealth would be hiding in my poor home? And so, then, the soldiers left.
So it just shows you how it is really changing and upsetting lives as they focus heavily trying to find him, but they have not found him yet.
BURNETT: What a story that is. I mean, Martin, do they think that El Chapo is injured? As we said, you know, could be injured with a broken leg. Obviously, that would be a much more desperate situation.
SAVIDGE: Well, they do. They do believe that is he injured. They not only say that he suffered either broken leg or injured leg and also something on his face, which raises the question medical help. How does he get it?
You know, I have to tell you, that this is a very large area and there are many communities here that are sympathetic and that he has control over. So, it wouldn't be that hard for him to find, you know, say a clinic or to find medical personnel that would take care of him. He may even have that wherever he is hiding out.
The other thing that is going against the military and the national police is this terrain. I mean, we're not quite in the middle of nowhere, but we're definitely on the outskirts of it. The terrain here is both beautiful and also some of the most treacherous I've ever seen.
The mountains are just incredibly steep, difficult. The roads are almost nonexistent. We had pretty heavy duty truck here and many times we struggled to get up and down, trying to move troops over a road would be nearly impossible. Helicopters can't land at least not in many areas because of the thick underbrush that swallows anyone who wants to hide.
Clearly, nature is on the side of Guzman at least to this point. And he knows it.
BURNETT: Yes, we can see behind you the dirt and flooding there. I mean, a lot of people there where you are as you talk about being so remote, the people who are there, they like him, right? He's helped them, he's helped this area, they're on the lookout to help him now.
I mean, do you feel, Marty, like you've been watched? I mean, how difficult is the story for you to report? I mean, you're there trying to report on finding him in an area where he's beloved by many.
SAVIDGE: It's extremely difficult to report. Security is always paramount anytime CNN covers a dangerous area. We have the assistance of local people who will go out and scout ahead to try to find the places and the people we want to talk to. So they know that we're being watched.
We have that incident already today. We know there were three people outside of where we were staying. We decided to test it, we sent one of our crew off on an errand and sure enough two peeled off to follow him and one stayed behind to keep an eye on us where we were at. So, it shows you and we believe, by the way, that those are people that are working for the syndicate that is backing El Chapo. So, we are being watched, most definitely.
BURNETT: Well, that's incredible. So, you're being watched by El Chapo's cartel, by his officers themselves. And that is pretty much.
And, look, Martin, very much appreciate it you talking to us. Martin is on the move, literally stopping by the side of the road to talk to us, because it is a dangerous story, because it's hard for him to talk, and, you know, again, really appreciate him doing that.
I want to bring in Mike Braun now, former chief of operations for the DEA, who spent years tracking El Chapo. And also, former U.S. marshal, Art Roderick, who's been a part of many manhunt in Mexico.
Art, I mean, you see where Marty is right now and you can see right behind him a dirt road that was barely and a half navigable, flooded out. I mean, this is an incredibly difficult area. He's also talking about that people who work for El Chapo are following Marty and everywhere he goes.
ART RODERIK, FORMER U.S. MARSHAL: Well, I'm sure they all realize, both the military and the national police realize they're in his backyard. So, he knows the terrain, he knows the area. I'm sure he's got tunnels around there.
Obviously, he's hired people -- the syndicate is there protecting him. So, this is a very, very difficult area to search in. You're basically in somebody else's backyard trying to find the person that really owns that property there.
So, this is going to be a very difficult task. And when you look at what they had to bring into do that, I think from here on out, you see desperation and it's only going to get worse from here on out.
BURNETT: So, Mike, what kind of security do you think El Chapo has? I mean, certainly, he has at least three individuals today who were following Martin Savidge from CNN. What kind of security do you think he has where he's hiding?
[19:35:00] MICHAEL BRAUN, FORMER DEA CHIEF OF OPERATIONS: Well, he's got different levels of security, Erin. He has his internal security force that numbers over 300, very, very well-trained, very disciplined, very well-armed and equipped, assassins and thugs. And he has traveled with as many as 300 at a time. These guys are armed with fully automatic belt-fed PKM and M-60 machine guns, not to mention large numbers of assault rifles, AK-47s, M-4s, he's got rocket propelled grenades. The marines that attacked the ranch or raided the ranch in the
Sierra Madre just last week in pursuit of Chapo came under gunfire and the helicopters that were bringing in the raid force basically had to divert and they had to go to the contingency plan and go in on foot.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Art and Mike, thank you very much.
We're going to continue following the story, as we said, as Marty are on the front lines literally of this hunt.
OUTFRONT next, President Assad leaving Syria for the first time since the war began. Safe passage from Vladimir Putin. The White House is livid.
Tonight, we have a special report.]
And breaking news, police saying they have a person of interest in custody in the deadly case of road rage that killed this beautiful little girl.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, the White House slamming Russia for its, quote, "red carpet" treatment of Bashar al Assad. The Syrian president sneaking out of his country for the first time since the brutal civil war began there four years ago. He's an honored guest of Vladimir Putin in Moscow. We'll have a special report on that in just a moment.
But first, we have to show you these images, exclusive images of the Russian strikes bombarding Syria on behalf of Assad.
Our senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is live along the Syrian border tonight.
And, Nick, we'll continue to show this footage here, this exclusive footage. What can you tell us about what we are seeing?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's bizarrely intimate glance of what it must be like to be a moderate Syrian rebel on the front lines here. This from a group in fact that potentially been given weapons by U.S. and its allies, as well.
Now, we see them in these pictures firing at a drone in the skies over them, intense gunfire there and also how air strikes are slamming into the town near them, at one point fighters getting for cover on the ground. Intense bombardment, Syrian state TV talking about and showing how their armor is rolling towards that key population city of Aleppo, used to be the biggest in Syria, hundreds of thousands of people perhaps hiding in the skeleton of rebel-held areas there. We could be talking about an unprecedented humanitarian crisis if they do reach that city, the regime troops that is -- Erin.
BURNETT: And you, Nick, have reported in Syria, you are in touch with rebel leaders there, rebel fighters. What are they saying about how it is on the front line right now? I mean, we're hearing dozens, double that, triple that of Russian bomb a day. What does that mean on the ground?
WALSH: They have never seen anything like it, in the words of one moderate fighter we spoke to. They are deeply concerned about the territory they're losing. We've heard others saying they need assistance now. They need many more of these anti-tank missiles you may see in this video here which can target the regime armor. It's tense, it's minute by minute and that regime and Russian air strike power is making it hard to hold tear for that has been in their hands for the period of time.
The big humanitarian crisis we have to watch for, Erin, though, is they do move on that city of Aleppo. That's a game changer here, and hundreds of thousands of people could be on the move -- Erin.
BURNETT: Nick, thank you very much for us. Live from the Syrian border tonight, thanks.
And now details on the secret meeting between Bashar al-Assad and Putin. Jim Sciutto is OUTFRONT with that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's believed to be the first time he's left Syria since the civil war there began more than four years ago. Syrian President Bashar al Assad traveling to Moscow to meet face-to-face with the man propping his embattled regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The terrorism could have, without your decisions and actions, spread to even more territories and states, not just in our region, but to other regions too.
SCIUTTO: Two weeks into Russia's surprise military intervention in Syria in the air and on the ground, Mr. Putin promised Mr. Assad continued support.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are prepared to do whatever we can, not only in the course of military efforts to fight terrorism, but also in the course of the political process.
SCIUTTO: That's a process the U.S. would like to see result in Assad's ouster. Today, U.S. officials wonder how the visit will affect upcoming meetings Friday between Secretary State Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
The White House spokesman telling reports, quote, "We view the red carpet welcome for Assad who has used chemical weapons against his own people at odds with the stated goal by the Russians for a political transition in Syria."
But Russia's recent military activities may not end in Syria. President Putin reportedly sending a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister al-Abadi, expressing his support for the fight against ISIS on the Iraqi side of the border, raising the possibility of Russia filling a perceived void in Iraq left by the U.S.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE: These people in Russia and the Kremlin will say, OK, we have an opportunity here, we're going to drive our version of a Mack truck right through this area and we are going to control the agenda for the northern Middle East.
[19:45:011] And that is exactly what they're doing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: U.S. officials are saying they were not surprised by Assad's trip and the fact that it makes sense in light of the fact that he depends on Russia now for his survival, also certainly a propaganda element showing Russia's influence in the region. And the best demonstration of both of those things that Assad would leave his country to meet Putin on his turf in the middle of what by all accounts is a critical time in the Syrian civil war -- Erin.
BURNETT: Thank you very much, Jim Sciutto.
And OUTFRONT next, we have breaking news. Police just announcing they're holding a person of interest after this little girl just four years old was shot and killed, a victim of road rage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, moments ago police announcing they have taken someone in custody for killing a 4-year-old little girl.
[19:50:04] Lily Garcia was shot and killed during a road rage incident. The little girl you see here was riding with her parents and the car and another vehicle cutting each other off. The incident lasted two minutes. It ended in death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLER: I'm not sure what is going on. There's a red Ford F-150 in the center median. And then looks like some sort of medical emergency. It's not an accident, but there is an adult looks like an unresponsive child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Officer Tanner Tixier is spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department. He's OUTFRONT tonight.
Officer, it's just an absolutely horrible story. I know you have a person in custody tonight. The police chief had earlier mentioned a suspect who is a Hispanic man in his 20s. Is that who you have in custody tonight?
OFFICER TANNER TIXIER, SPOKESMAN, ALBUQUERQUE PD: It is an individual that does match that description, yes, ma'am.
BURNETT: All right. So, it matches that description. As I said, Hispanic man in his 20s as you all had said earlier today. Are you sure that this person is the killer, or are you still looking for other suspects at this time?
TIXIER: At this point, we need to be very careful with our verbiage at this point. He's only a person of interest. We need to gather a lot more evidence and information to bump him up, to call him our suspect and file charges against him.
We're hoping to gather that information and evidence through two or three different search warrants we're currently executing right now.
BURNETT: Those search warrants, I would presume looking for a weapon or do you have a weapon at this point?
TIXIER: No, we don't have the weapon at this point. We're hoping to collect that through one of the search warrants. We also need to get into a home where we believe he might have hidden the vehicle that he was in yesterday.
So, it's still a very fluid and dynamic investigation and it's going to be continuing throughout the night.
BURNETT: So what else do you know about how this horrific killing happened? We know it happened incredibly quickly but what else have you learned?
TIXIER: I think what is most troubling is it wasn't just the 4- year-old little girl Lily in the truck with their father, he had picked up her brother, as well, a 7-year-old young man in the back of that truck, as well. So, there were two children in this truck that this animal decided to open fire on just because he happened to get cut off on the freeway.
BURNETT: And in terms, I mean, you use the word animal, that's the word people think of when they see that little girl and realize she was shot and killed in road rage. I mean, it's impossible to really comprehend what happened here, how this was so unnecessary.
The man that you have and questioning -- is he cooperating? What has he been like thus far?
TIXIER: I'll be very honest with you, I don't know. I came over here as soon as we found out we had him in custody. So, I don't know if he's cooperating. I don't know if he's decided to obtain a lawyer and not answer any questions.
At this point, I just don't know where that aspect of the investigation has gone.
BURNETT: Well, Officer Tixier, that's OK, and I really do appreciate you taking the time to come over, talk to us, talk to everyone watching, and tell us about this. And thank you.
TIXIER: Thank you so much for having me on. Appreciate it. BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, a much lighter note for our show.
Michael J. Fox with the very first pair of self-lacing sneakers. This is for real, people. This is not a movie. This is real, next.
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[19:57:43] BURNETT: The sneaker made famous in "Back to the Future". Now, 26 years after its debut, the self-lacing Nike Mag is real, a reality. Four years ago, Nike Sold 1,500 prototypes. They raised about $5 million for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Today, Nike gave Fox the first working pair.
Here's Jeane Moos with tonight's "Money and Power".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cars and self-lacing shoes, two toys for grownups from "Back to the Future".
Though, none of them flew, it was a deluge of DeLoreans parked outside New York TV studios.
And even parked inside studios.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that your car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's not my car.
MOOS: But it was Michael J. Fox' self-lacing shoes that would become the breaking news.
For all these years, "Back to the Future" has provided hope to think this is too much trouble. Even Marty McFly was impressed.
MICHAEL J. FOX, MARTY MCFLY: Power laces, all right.
MOOS: The shoes designed by Nike didn't actually lace themselves, it was low-tech movie magic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was actually guys under the false floor that pulled the laces from beneath to make them actually tighten up.
MOOS: Twenty-six years later, the dream shoe has come true.
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN/TV HOST: Are those the shoes?
FOX: These are the Air Mags, Nike Mags.
MOOS: Nike designer and VP, Tinker Hatfield, sent Michael J. Fox an illustrated letter saying, "Although the project started as science fiction, we're now proud to turn that fiction into fact. We wanted you to be the first to receive a living pair."
They sure sound like they are alive.
KIMMEL: They lace up on their own? FOX: You want to see it tightens (ph)?
MOOS: Nike says the system senses the wearer's motion, a limited release of Nike Mags will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Nike says there will be further testing, no word when they might be sold to the general public.
Talk about shoes that breathe.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And thanks so much for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
