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CNN Live Event/Special

Dignitaries and Guests Arrive for the Funeral Service of George H.W. Bush; Stock Markets Open as Dow Futures Plunge; Funeral Service for President George Herbert Walker Bush in Texas. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 06, 2018 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:25] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN's special coverage of the final farewell to George Herbert Walker Bush.

Today the Bush family says goodbye to their patriarch in his adopted home state of Texas. We expect it to be the most personal tribute yet.

We're live here at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas. Good morning. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting.

We're standing by for the start of the service at President Bush's home church, St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston. It's the same church where former First Lady Barbara Bush was memorialized after her death in April.

Inside this house of worship, nearly 12,000 Texans paid their respects as the president lay in repose. Delivering eulogies, President Bush's best friend James Baker, his former secretary of State and chief of staff, and the president's eldest grandson, George P. Bush, the son of Jeb and his wife Columba.

Right after the service, an historic moment in this state funeral. The president and the family will be carried aboard this train, painted in the colors of Air Force One, led by an engine called Bush 4141 for a 100-mile journey to College Station, Texas. The locomotive, by the way, was built back in 2005 specifically to honor President Bush's life.

We're joined by John King, Dana Bash, Mary Kate Cary, the president's former speechwriter.

John, this is going to be different today than what we all saw yesterday. Much more personal.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Much more personal in the president's adopted home state. If you think back to early in the career, there were times when people questioned to see a real Texan. Put that away. You know, remember, he had an apartment in Houston where he became not just the president but a pillar in the community in Houston, 50 years he attended that church with his wife. An Astros fan, a Texan fan.

In the old days there were jokes about he doesn't really like pork rinds. Guess what, he liked pork rinds. And so it'd be much more personal today and then you come to the place that -- I was here for the dedication back in 1997, this library. You're also reminded this is a passing of the generations. Jerry and Betty Ford were here for that. So was Nancy Reagan. So was Lady Bird Johnson when they dedicated it.

So there is a generational passing here that is, A, very important to remember and, B, sad in a way.

BLITZER: Yes. And it's going to be a moment that will sort of wrap these last few days up.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And as you mentioned, yesterday it was very big. It was very powerful. It was very official Washington -- the most official Washington kind of send off you could have in the National Cathedral. Beautiful, beautiful cathedral. And this is personal. This is who he was.

I was here when the late president passed away on Friday and over the weekend and went by St. Martin's. It's a beautiful, beautiful church. And you can see why -- and obviously knowing and hearing the pastor speak yesterday, the rector speak yesterday, why it was such an important place for the late president and his late wife.

And I just want to echo what you were saying, having spent a little bit of time on the ground here over the past couple of days in Texas and more importantly in Houston, he and his wife, George and Barbara Bush, were -- people described it to me as royalty in Houston. They helped so much with fundraising. They would go to an event and it would draw, you know, as many people as could fill the place, as many checks that could be written.

And that is something that you can't overlook when you're talking about not just the final personal send off but his adopted home.

BLITZER: Mary Kate, you know the family well. What are you anticipating?

MARY KATE CARY, FORMER GEORGE H.W. BUSH SPEECHWRITER: You know, I think it's going to be a mix of things today. I think it's going to be sad, of course, because it's going to be hard to watch him be buried. But there is also a sense of celebration, I think.

One of the things here at Texas A&M, every time you come, they start with howdy. And just a very friendly place. And at Mrs. Bush's funeral, which I was at, I remember seeing how many volunteers there were to check people in and get them to the right bus and all this. And I remember turning to my husband and saying, I think it's kind of overstaffed. And he said, no, no, no. These are people who want to be here volunteering. They want to say there were a part of this for the rest of their lives.

And I think we're going to see that tenfold today. If they were doing that for Mrs. Bush, for President Bush it's going to be a huge community outpouring here. There was shots on the local news last night. The flyover on Air Force Once and the streets were full of people who came out of buildings to wave. Very sweet. BLITZER: Our coverage today is only just beginning.

CARY: Yes.

BLITZER: Anderson Cooper is going to be with us obviously throughout the day as well -- Anderson.

[09:05:02] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much. A lot to look for. I want to talk to our guests here in Washington as we await the beginning of this service.

Jamie, I'm wondering what you're hearing about what we may expect inside during the service.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: So the eulogy from James Baker, his oldest friend, went back so far that James Baker was a Democrat when George Bush first met him. Since -- they have always been close, but since Barbara Bush passed, James and Susan Baker have been with him almost every day. They were there the last day when he passed.

COOPER: And there was a remarkable moment that the reverend talked about yesterday.

GANGEL: Where he massaged his feet for a half hour and you saw the former secretary of State -- James Baker is a pretty tough guy. When you see him break down, it's very powerful. And I think you're going to hear about their friendship from him.

And then we're going to hear from George P. Bush, the eldest grandson, the only member of the Bush family right now to be holding public office. He is Texas Land commissioner, which, by the way, in Texas is a very powerful job. And don't think for a moment despite the fact they don't like the D word, dynasty, the L word, legacy, there is a number that they often use for George P. about where he might be president, right? 41, 43, 40-something.

And he went to college in Texas. And he spent a tremendous amount of time with his grandparents. He was very close to them and spent Thanksgiving with them. He's a Floridian. He's Jeb's son. He was raised in Florida but he has made his career in Texas. And he sat at that table and listened to his grandparents and I think we're going to hear a lot about that today.

COOPER: And then talk about this train that's going to be taking the 41st president.

GANGEL: So everyone keeps wondering what is it with George Bush and trains? And he loved them. He campaigned on them. He used them a lot. When his presidential library first opened I was lucky enough to be a guest, and we all took the train to College Station. So people know that he has this fondness for them. But I think the story that a lot of people don't know is that in 1942 his father took him to Pen Station to send him off to basic training and 41 used to say it was the only time he ever saw his father cry. So there is --

COOPER: I mean, his father hadn't wanted him to join up when he did.

GANGEL: He did not want. They wanted him to go directly to college at Yale. They hoped he would change his mind. Obviously, they didn't stand in his way. He was 18 years old. But it was a very emotional time. And I do think there is a connection there as well.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Also about George P., politically, is he's the -- I think maybe the single member, but you would know certainly better than I of the Bush family who has actually been vocally supporting Donald Trump, which is something someone may have to do when they run for office in Texas. But even given, you know, Jeb Bush's differences --

GANGEL: And he is Jeb's son. Right?

BORGER: He's Jeb's son and even given, you know, "Low Energy Jeb" and all the rest of it, George P. has been out there tweeting unity with Donald Trump from pretty early on.

GANGEL: Although there have been times it didn't work out. There was something recently where he spoke out and all of a sudden Donald Trump Jr. canceled a fundraiser for him. So

BORGER: Fundraiser, yes.

GANGEL: So it goes back and forth.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, I saw George P. here at CNN yesterday, and I said, oh, man, George P., because I remember covering 43 and we'd see him on the campaign trail, but we'd certainly talk about him a lot. And being Land commissioner in Texas is very big political job and seen as a spring board. And his dad, you know, President Bush 43, they all talked about him as the future. And he said yesterday, yes, no pressure there.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: It's so interesting to talk about the Bushes in Texas. I mean, it's really -- it was a choice that George H.W. Bush made to go to Texas and sort of create his own path. His family was obviously much more East Coast. He went to Yale. He could have stayed in that kind of -- in that family dynamic. And yet he really chose to kind of forge his own path.

JEFFREY ENGEL, SMU PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY DIRECTOR: Well, and he went there really to, as you said, forge his own path. I mean, that's where the economic development was. If this had been the 1850s, he would have gone for the UConn territory, he would have gone to California. Texas was booming in the post-war period, especially in the west Texas oil fields, which is where Bush went to really make his mark and then moved down to Houston after a few years, really because I think he wanted a more cosmopolitan experience and also a more political opportunity down there.

But throughout the entire period, whenever someone would ask Mrs. Bush in particular where you're from, she would say, we're from Texas. GANGEL: Yes.

[09:10:03] ENGEL: And then the question would be responded of course, no, really, where are you from?

(LAUGHTER)

ENGEL: And she would say, we're from Texas. And that was always the answer.

TIMOTHY MCBRIDE, FORMER PERSONAL AIDE TO PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: I would take a little issue with the adopted home state because it really was home to the Bushes. It's where they spent their holidays, their vacations. They had a home there. And to Jeff's point, it was their home. Notwithstanding that he had been born in the East Coast and grew up there. In his formative years Texas was home to them. All things Texas.

CARY: Without a doubt. Without a doubt. And I think Jeff, King, and Dana Bash said that being down there. And they said this, people in Texas know they were part of their community. They were invested in their community. They were loyal. They were friends. They were there. They supported everything that they could. And actually when George Bush became president of the United States, he helped to in some ways put Houston on a global map.

He brought the economic -- the G8, the economic summit, down there. He wanted his convention to be there in 1992. So he was loyal to his state.

GREGORY: Can I add one point to the (INAUDIBLE), in which, you know, you talk about George W. Bush and I'm sure there's a lot made about, you know, his Texas roots, which in the second generation were so real for him. That's really his -- who he was.

GANGEL: He founded Texas.

GREGORY: Right. He really -- he had the access. And he obviously campaigned there and was a politician there. He was governor of the state. But it was so heartfelt for him. And I remember before his inauguration in 2001 after the election, the last event was in Midland, Texas. And he -- it was another moment of high emotion for him. He said, basically, I'm going off on this adventure, but Midland will always be home.

It's where my heart is and he choked up then. And that's the first place he went after he left office. He went through Midland on his way back home. And so the Texas roots, for a father to move there for the son who becomes president, very much part of it.

COOPER: We're going to take a short break.

Coming up, George H.W. Bush's children and grandchildren gather one more time. You're getting a look inside the church for a more intimate farewell to their family and patriarch. How they will honor him. We'll talk about that next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00] WOLF BLITZER, HOST, NEWSROOM: Guests are already arriving at Saint Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. They're getting ready to say good-bye to the 41st president of the United States. This will be a very personal service. We want to once again welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

John King is with us, Dana Bash, Mary Kate Cary is with us as well. President George H.W. Bush knew how he wanted to be remembered. Listen to this exchange he had back in 1999, an exchange he had with -- 1996, I should say, that he had with Bernie Shaw, the Cnn anchor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNARD SHAW, RETIRED JOURNALIST: How do you want to be remembered for all time?

GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, FORMER LATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That I did it with honor, duty, honor, and country. You know, I hope people will go back and starting to say we did the right thing in facing down this aggression, setting it back, restoring credibility not only in the U.S., but of all those who want to stand against aggression.

That's it, that's a point in history. But I want to be remembered as a guy that did it with honor, that did his best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Those are powerful words, John, and a lot of people are going to contrast that with the critics of the current president of the United States.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the athlete in President Bush there, did it my best. He was a baseball player, loved baseball, and I always think, you know, play your best game. You're not always going to get it right, you're going to make mistakes, but play your best game.

And I think that he's being buried here is fitting. Because if you go into this library, and Mary Kay knows it well, she does some work here, at dedication day, he was sheepish because President Clinton, President Ford, all these people were lavishing praise on President Bush, he was staring at the floor because he didn't like it to be about him.

Inside here, you would love the Gulf War section in here, when he's sitting with Bernie Shaw there, he mentioned standing down aggression when he sees Bernie, he thinks Bernie was in Baghdad when he was bombing Baghdad. And it's a great fitting tribute, the Gulf War section in here, the life and times.

There are some wonderful black and white footage of then George Bush in Kennebunkport learning how to walk. So it's sad that we talk about presidential libraries mostly on days when we say good-bye to presidents, but he wanted this place to be both a remembrance of his four years in office, but also as a school for public service.

And I think that's the part there that he gave it his best. He was in the arena, not just as president, not just as vice president. We talked about this when Senator McCain died, a man who was just in the arena for his entire life who -- yes, he made some mistakes, yes, there are people out there who disagreed with that policy or this policy.

But from a young man, a young congressman from Texas through the presidency and then his post-presidency, public service, volunteer, helped people, point of life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And --

BLITZER: Clearly done, mission accomplished, he did do --

KING: Right --

BLITZER: He did serve with honor.

DANA BASH, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, and I think what you're getting at, Wolf, there's no question that when you hear him in his own words asked straight up, how do you want to be remembered? And he talks about honor and of course we've heard the words decency and gentlemen and country first.

And all of the things that we've -- that everybody, Democrats, Republicans, world leaders from halfway around the world, adjectives used to describe him. It is of course maybe the second, third thing you think is, it is a contrast to what we're seeing today. It's not intended as a criticism of what we're seeing today. It's just the reality.

KING: It is.

BASH: It just is what it is, to quote John McCain, another person who reminded us all of the differences between the politics of now and the politics of not that long ago.

BLITZER: Yes, right, go ahead Mary.

MARY KATE CARY, FORMER SPEECHWRITER FOR GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH: You know, before he left office, one of the last speeches he gave was to the points of life who had been named every day, and they all flew in for him to thank them, not for them to thank him.

[09:20:00] And if he ended the speech, he said I want to be remembered as a point of light, and I'm going to do that now as I leave the office --

BASH: Yes --

CARY: And he went on to found World's Largest Volunteer Organization, 250 million volunteers, he also went on to found the Bush school as you were just saying, John, and it's a tremendous legacy. He wants to get young people who can afford to go into public service without a lot of debt from their college education.

And it's a tremendous thing, it's got the highest number of graduates who actually go into public school -- I mean, public service from any school in the country.

BASH: And am I right that he -- that the family, instead of flowers and so forth, they wanted --

CARY: They are there --

BASH: Donations to go right there.

CARY: To go to the Bush school is where -- that's where their hope is. And instead of flowers, everybody will donate to the Bush school, it's great!

KING: And before we came on, here you were making a point that is both funny and a reflection of the depth of the family's life in politics. This is the George Bush Presidential Library, but they need to change the name to the George H.W. Bush --

CARY: Yes, they are in the process, yes --

KING: Library because there is a W. library up the road --

CARY: That's right --

KING: Here in Dallas.

BASH: Right.

BLITZER: And the wonderful thing about the 41st president of the United States, he not only lived his life throughout his life with honor, but he's now being remembered so beautifully.

KING: It is the word friendship keeps coming up. Again, he was everything. If you look at the resume, no offense to anyone else who's held the office or anyone else seeking the office, you look at George H.W. Bush's resume and it's mind-blowing.

For somebody who -- you know, for such a career in public service and what he did after he left office. But this -- the striking part is you just keep hearing the word, yes, he led the Gulf War. Yes, he, you know, broke his signature political promise and paid price for it, raising taxes, people thought that was the right thing to do for the country.

But what does everything want to circle back to? Friendship, kept in touch, kept his word, checked in when I was down. That's why I'm still looking forward to Secretary Baker today. Think of Secretary Baker has been around everything. The fall of the Berlin wall, the Gulf War are trying to keep the world together at that period of time.

What is he going to talk about? A friend who kept him in the game, kept his spirits up when his first wife died, a friend who was always with him. So a life of huge achievements, but a life of the small little things that all of his friends remember.

BASH: And graciousness, I covered his son's time in the White House. I didn't know him at all, especially compared to you and didn't cover him the way you two did, but one of my most vivid memories that I cherish is covering the McCain campaign in 2008.

And while Barack Obama was in Europe with tens of thousands of people cheering for him literally, John McCain went to visit George H.W. Bush and Kennebunkport, and what did the former president do? He took all of us reporters, who are not revered by a lot of politicians around and gave us a tour of Walker's Point, showed us everything that, you know, that we wanted to see.

He wasn't that mobile --

CARY: Yes --

BASH: But he wanted to make sure, and he walked us all around. He did not have to do that, and I don't know that any other person would have done it the way he did.

BLITZER: The biggest surprise I saw yesterday, Mary Kate, was the former Secretary of State James Baker, the president's best friend. And I covered him extensively when he was Secretary of State, White House Chief of Staff. I got to know him and I traveled with him when he was Secretary of State, went to Kazakhstan with him after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

And he was a powerful figure. But when he broke down, we saw --

CARY: Yes --

BLITZER: Him crying yesterday because his best friend was gone, that was a surprise to me because that --

CARY: Yes --

BLITZER: Side of James Baker I had never seen.

CARY: I agree, I had never seen him cry either all these years. He's a tough hombre, and I was surprised at that. And I interviewed him, you know, for "41 on 41", and he never broke down. When I interviewed Bob Gates for "41 on 41", he broke down, and he's another guy that does not cry easily.

But he said, I would walk through fire for George Bush. And that's this feeling of camaraderie, loyalty going up as well as down, and lifting up his friends when times get tough.

BLITZER: Yes, really --

CARY: He's right there.

BLITZER: It was a beautiful moment. Indeed, we're anticipating his eulogy, that's coming --

CARY: I can't wait to hear it.

BLITZER: Very soon, and we're all looking forward to that. The Bush family is arriving soon over at Saint Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston for this very personal service. We have details on the famous friends who will remember the 41st president of the United States, we'll be right back.

[09:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: Breaking news to tell you about in just minutes before the opening bell of Wall Street, a sharp selloff in pre-market trading after Tuesday's dramatic 800-point plunge. Joining me live is Kaitlan Collins, and at the White House, also Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, let's first go to you, what's going on? What's behind the selloff?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, you know, the market right now, the market sentiment is so fragile that just news of an arrest is going to set off a wave of selling when the bell opens, when the bell rings in about one minute.

The arrest I'm talking about is the chief financial officer of Huawei, that's the Chinese tech giant that makes up more -- that sells actually more Apple iPhones, that sells more -- sorry, I'm hearing myself. That sells more smartphones than Apple does.

The chief financial officer was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States. And the way investors and analysts feel at this point is that the timing of that arrest seems very political, and it seems -- it seems political, and it seems like it's just going to be escalating the China-U.S. trade war. Anderson?

COOPER: So the opening bell should be any moment now. We'll see what happens. I also want to go to our Kaitlan Collins who is standing by at the White House. Kaitlan, any response from the White House of what we've been watching in the markets?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they haven't responded so far to the latest news about this arrest, but we know that this chief financial officer was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States.