PBS NewsHour full episode Sept. 11, 2017

JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.
I'm Judy Woodruff.
On the "NewsHour" tonight: Irma turns its fury on Georgia and the rest of the Southeast,
after leaving much of Florida underwater and without power.
Then: across the Caribbean, scenes of devastation and the struggles to bring aid to the region's
islands.
HEATHER ROBINSON, Hurricane Victim: We went through our rubble and found some -- like,
a thing of peanut butter and some crackers and biscuits and stuff, but we -- it's not
going to keep us much longer.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Plus, I sit down with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to talk fighting the
opioid epidemic as a national crisis and vital lessons from rebuilding after another hurricane,
Sandy.
All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."
(BREAK)
JUDY WOODRUFF: The storm that was once Hurricane Irma is churning into the Deep South tonight,
after moving up the entire peninsula of Florida.
It lost more of its punch today, but not before it left at least 34 dead across the Caribbean,
five dead in Florida and two more in Georgia, more than seven million power customers in
the dark, across Florida, and a growing tally of damage, including in some cities like Jacksonville,
where floodwaters have been surging.
P.J. Tobia begins our coverage.
P.J. TOBIA: The sun rose on vast stretches of coastal Florida, waterlogged and still
without power, after the howling winds and lashing rain of Hurricane Irma ravaged the
state yesterday.
Irma's power weakened to a tropical storm earlier today as it churned across the Florida
Panhandle.
It's on track to sweep through Georgia before veering west toward Alabama.
Those states were scrambling to prepare.
The National Guard was on the scene in this Orlando community, where homes were inundated
with murky floodwaters.
Other residents waded through knee-deep water to see the damage for themselves.
Like many areas in Florida, this Pine Hills neighborhood regularly experiences flooding.
But despite days of planning and pumping thousands of gallons from a nearby lake, county officials
say they have never seen water levels this high.
Rescues were also under way in Jacksonville as the storm battered that area today.
Officials there warned people to get out as the Saint Johns River rose to historic levels.
LENNY CURRY, Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida: We have search-and-rescue teams ready to deploy.
Something that represents a white flag that can be viewed from the street, if you are
in this very isolated and very specific flood threat, which is along the river.
P.J. TOBIA: Governor Rick Scott deployed state resources to help.
GOV.
RICK SCOTT (R), Florida: In Jacksonville, in Northeast Florida, storm surge is three
to five feet on top of more than a foot of rainfall, which is causing record and historical
flooding along the Saint Johns River.
They also explained to me this morning in a weather briefing that Hurricane Jose is
also pushing water into the northern part of our state.
P.J. TOBIA: One major issue throughout the state: no power for millions of homes and
businesses.
Hundreds of trucks from power companies around the country arrived in Florida today to aid
the effort to restore electricity, but authorities warned that it could take weeks.
In some places, the damage was far worse.
In Naples, some roads were made impassable by the floodwaters, others by downed trees.
Whole neighborhoods in Fort Myers were inundated.
Some people there sought shelter in a hockey arena, only to see the water come seeping
in.
WOMAN: Irma went over.
Oh, good, we survived.
And then all of a sudden, I guess some of the panels came off the roof and we started
getting water pouring down in different places.
P.J. TOBIA: Hundreds of thousands of Floridians are still in shelters as they wait for the
all-clear to return home.
One woman's family rode out the storm in their Pasco County home.
She vowed it would be the last time.
WOMAN: I wouldn't stay for another one.
It's just the intensity, not knowing what could happen, flying debris, a tree.
So, I wouldn't stay.
Thankfully, we're OK, but in the future, no.
P.J. TOBIA: People in the Tampa and St. Petersburg area had been bracing for their first major
hurricane in 100 years.
But Irma's wind speeds had dropped by the time it struck there overnight.
Irma first made landfall in the Florida Keys as a roaring Category 4 hurricane.
After the storm rolled past, the Keys lay eerily still, trailers and boats overturned,
roadways washed away, and few signs of life as communications with the mainland remained
largely severed.
Authorities began door-to-door searches today for anyone stranded on the Keys.
The state's eastern coastline was also blasted by the storm.
As sheets in Miami's of water rushed through Miami's downtown boulevards yesterday, it
was hard to tell where the city ended and the bay began.
But, today, the floodwaters had mostly receded.
Entry to Miami Beach was still cut off as officials began to clear debris and assess
the damage there.
DANIEL ALFONSO, Miami City Manager: The biggest thing that we want our residents to understand
is that it is still dangerous to be out in the street.
And for us to clean streets and do so in a safe way, it is best to not have people driving
around.
P.J. TOBIA: In coastal Brevard County, an entire chunk of roadway caved in.
South Florida's airports remain closed, and thousands of flights were canceled today.
There were also disruptions at the world's biggest airport, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson,
as the storm heads in its direction.
Georgia Governor Nathan deal said the forecast looked better for the state's coastal areas,
but issued a warning.
GOV.
NATHAN DEAL (R), Georgia: We urge you to not get on the roads until you have been given
clearance by everyone that is required to give the clearance, so that we do not have
the kind of confusion that can result from a mass exodus.
P.J. TOBIA: Meanwhile, Cuba is reeling after Irma plowed over its coastline on Friday as
a Category 5 hurricane.
WOMAN (through translator): We never thought the floodwaters could rise to such a height.
The water in our house was as high as my waist at the beginning, and then it almost rose
to the height of my neck.
P.J. TOBIA: Power is still out in most of Cuba's capital, Havana.
Here in Orlando and across Central Florida, curfews are being lifted in different counties
as the state begins the long and difficult slog of rebuilding from Hurricane Irma -- Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: P.J., I know you have been in the state for a few days.
You have been talking to people who live in the community.
What are they telling you?
P.J. TOBIA: Well, folks here, if they have had damage done to their properties, they're
just thankful to be alive and thankful that their families are safe.
When those things are destroyed, they say, it is, after all, just stuff.
I was covering Hurricane Harvey in Houston last week, and it's a similar kind of sentiment.
Today, we were in a neighborhood and we saw people who were being rescued by high-water
vehicles because their houses were flooded out.
And their houses were going to be total losses.
And as they would get down from the vehicles, I would go up and talk to them.
And they would say, you know what?
Those are just things.
Thank God I'm OK, the people I care about are OK, and pretty soon we're going to get
to the process of rebuilding, and we're looking forward to that future.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It is remarkable the character that comes out at a time like this.
P.J., I know you were also telling us there are people who have come to Orlando other
places, including from the Florida Keys, which have been truly dealt a huge amount of damage.
What are they concerned about?
P.J. TOBIA: Since I have been here -- I got here on Thursday, and since that time, I have
been talking with a lot of folks from the Keys who came up.
They call themselves hard conchs.
They're folks who live down there and it's a different kind of lifestyle.
Many of them had never evacuated for a storm before, but they knew that Hurricane Irma
was going to be different.
And at first, many of them were just happy to be out of the storm's path and they were
hoping it would pass quickly.
But now that pictures, images are starting to come out of their hometowns in places like
Key Largo and the total devastation that's happened to their homes and their neighborhoods,
a lot of worry written on their face and some fear about what they are going to find when
they get home.
And they're really trying to get home soon.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And I guess the forecast is it's going to take some time to take care
of the damage, to make it a place where you can travel much less inhabitable.
So, P.J., are people there looking for government help, local help?
Are they saying, we can do this on our own?
P.J. TOBIA: Well, it's a little bit of both.
In talking with county and city officials in different places that we have been to,
you know, we have crisscrossed this part of Central Florida from the Atlantic Coast to
the Gulf Coast talking to mayors and other officials.
They say it's going to be a combination.
In places like Tampa, when I interviewed the mayor on Saturday, he said that they have
a kind of rainy day fund, if you will, for such just an event.
But, yes, they are going to be looking to the federal government, but also state government
for help in that regard.
For people here, though, in Orlando in this neighborhood, you know, they're without power
right now, and it's really in the hands of the city to turn the lights back on.
They tell me that the city's told them that it may be weeks before the lights come back
on.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And that will be a test for all of them.
Well, we're wishing them the very best.
P.J., thank you for your hard work today and in the last days there in Florida.
Thank you.
P.J. TOBIA: Thanks so much, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, the eye of Irma passed right over Naples, Florida, knocking out power
and water and downing phone lines.
Bill Barnett is mayor of Naples.
We spoke on the phone a short time ago.
Mayor Bill Barnett of Naples, thank you very much for talking with us.
You have said that Naples was spared, in effect, that the 15-foot storm surge didn't materialize.
But we have seen some pictures of pretty significant damage.
®MD-BO¯ BILL BARNETT, Mayor of Naples, Florida: Yes,
we -- Judy, we have really taken a hit.
And, you know, I have said that we didn't get that storm surge that was predicted by
pretty much everyone, and that's a blessing.
But driving around the neighborhoods in Naples and seeing stop signs uprooted, we had just
put new road signs, street signs in, and to see them uprooted, coconut palms that are
stately just lying across roads, just a total -- you just kind of shake your head when you
drive by a street.
And the people are -- you know, our citizens are out there trying to move palm fronds.
And the city staff are certainly out there with all the emergency crews, utilities, and
streets, and storm water, and everything you can imagine.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I think I read you had winds of up to 130 miles an hour.
That's pretty hard to prepare for.
What is the main thing that you need as a community right now?
BILL BARNETT: That the one that's a one-word answer, power, because the last count I heard
was six million Floridians without power from one end of the state to the other.
But I will tell you, it's a harsh realization, whether you're a mayor or whomever or whatever
your responsibility is, to go for a day or two or three without the necessities that
we're all so used to.
I mean, just planning a meal, none of the food stores -- there's no grocery stores open.
We did get a 7/Eleven that opened up, but it's very tough to deal with, and especially
with this heat.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I was just curious to know, any lessons learned?
Do you feel you did all you could ahead of time to get ready?
BILL BARNETT: We did.
We really pre-prepared well, not only from the beginning, where the first hint that this
storm might get to Florida, and then as it was tracking toward Florida, our people early
evacuated, which was great.
And I have said before I think Harvey was a real wakeup call.
But then, as you said, when this thing came roaring through here, and we had gusts of
143 miles an hour yesterday, it was -- there's no other word than say scary.
And today is just -- you know, it's kind of an emotional day.
But I go out there and I see everybody pitching in and working.
We have got a small crew even at city hall, which is open.
So, lessons learned, every hurricane, you're going to learn something.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, Mayor Bill Barnett, I know the country is watching and wishing you
and everyone in the Naples community and the entire state of Florida the best.
BILL BARNETT: And thank you.
Take care.
Bye-bye.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And moving up Florida's Gulf Coast, the Tampa/St. Petersburg area feared
a massive storm surge from Irma.
Thankfully, it was spared the worst, but there are challenges, especially, as we have heard,
when it comes to power and planning for future hurricanes.
I also spoke by phone late today with Tampa's mayor, Bob Buckhorn.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn, thank you for talking with us.
So, how much of this storm did Tampa get?
BOB BUCKHORN, Mayor of Tampa, Florida: Well, not nearly as much as we thought we were going
to get, Judy.
This could have been a knockout punch for us.
Instead, it was just a glancing blow.
We got a lot of winds.
We got a lot of rain.
There's a lot of debris on the ground, some trees that are falling down, but the surge
didn't occur, for which we are eternally grateful.
So, the crews are out clearing the streets right now.
The one lingering issue is the power that's out and I would imagine, in some cases, might
be out for a couple of days.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, that's what I wanted to ask you about.
What are the main things that you're dealing with?
BOB BUCKHORN: Well, it's predominantly power.
We have been at it since about 3:00 this morning, when our police crews starred checking every
street.
And we deployed about 1,000 officers yesterday.
And so we got a good analysis of what was wrong, where the standing water was, where
the trees were down, where the power lines were down.
And much to our surprise, it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be.
No surge to any extent.
The flooding was almost minimal.
So, the only remaining issue is the power outages.
And, you know, that's going to be a big issue.
And there will be folks who will be inconvenienced for a couple of days, which, as you know in
Tampa in the middle of September, is not a pleasant thing.
JUDY WOODRUFF: No, it's not.
I do want to ask you about -- we know there's some analysis that has been pointed out to
us, analysis going back several years, experts saying that Tampa is one of the most unprepared
cities in the country to deal with a major hurricane, in terms of the fact that you're
at sea level, that you have got so much water so close.
How do you -- do you think the city was prepared, as prepared as it could have been?
BOB BUCKHORN: I do.
Some of those things that were referenced in that story were not of our making.
Some of it is the fact that we are a low-lying city right on Hillsborough Bay.
Our infrastructure is like every other infrastructure in America.
It's aging.
It's 100-year-old pipes trying to deal with 2017 growth.
I think, in terms of our preparation and our ability to react to this storm, I think we're
in great shape.
Even though we haven't been hit in 90 years, Judy, we train for this all year long because
we know at some point our number is up.
And I thought a day ago that our number was up.
So we were ready.
We were deployed.
We had assets deployed.
We had our people ready.
Our command posts had been up and running for three days.
I think if it had been a Cat 3, Cat 4, Cat 5, we would have reacted the same as we did.
Fortunately, it wasn't.
But, you know, there are some things that we can't fix here that Mother Nature has given
us, but, you know, in terms of infrastructure and hardening of our infrastructure, those
are things that this country needs to have a discussion about.
And, certainly, if the president is interested in helping America's mayors, an infrastructure
bill would be much needed.
And these storms are a great indication of why it's needed.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And I know a lot of people are talking about that right now.
Very quickly, finally, how long do you think it will take to clean Tampa up, get it back
in the shape it was in?
BOB BUCKHORN: I think we will have the place cleaned up over the next two days, and I think
back to normal by tomorrow.
I think schools are closed tomorrow, but city hall is open.
I think the power will be the remaining issue.
And that will be a function of how quickly all of those out-of-state line men can get
into the state to help their sister utility companies get this power hooked up again.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The mayor of Tampa, Florida, Bob Buckhorn, we thank you very much.
And we're so glad, along with you, that it wasn't worse than it was.
BOB BUCKHORN: Well, thank the country for their prayers, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, across the Caribbean, at least three dozen people are dead in Irma's
wake.
Officials are struggling to get aid to the region's islands devastated by what was then
a Category 5 storm.
In the British Virgin Islands, thousands have no electricity or shelter.
That's where Penny Marshall of Independent Television News picks up our coverage.
PENNY MARSHALL: These paradise islands now look like an alien landscape.
Nature has been scorched, every tree on the island stripped of its leaves.
And the infrastructure's been destroyed, every building on the island blown apart.
FELICITOR MOSES, Hurricane Victim: Most every people have their part of their home destroyed.
PENNY MARSHALL: Felicitor Moses survived by hiding in a cupboard.
His house didn't.
So, what were you doing when you were in the cupboard?
FELICITOR MOSES: Praying to almighty God for this one piece to stay around to shelter,
to save us.
PENNY MARSHALL: But now all hope is with the British, whose help has just arrived.
Royal Marines are spreading out across the islands to reestablish order.
Extra police have also been flown in from other parts of the Caribbean.
And if there was a delay getting help in here, there is now a clear urgency about trying
to get it out to those who need it most.
But those who can't wait are desperate to fly out to safety.
Families are sheltering at the airport, waiting for places on planes that so far haven't come.
Heather Robinson and her baby son Luke are waiting.
They have lost everything.
HEATHER ROBINSON, Hurricane Victim: I mean, our house literally got swept away from around
us.
PENNY MARSHALL: You have nothing left?
Everything you own is gone?
HEATHER ROBINSON: Everything.
PENNY MARSHALL: This is all that's left of your home?
Their entire worldly possessions have been reduced to one black bin bag.
They nearly died.
Luke survived strapped to his mother.
You must be desperate to get out?
HEATHER ROBINSON: Yes.
I mean, I'm really scared.
Like, we went through our rubble and found some -- like, a thing of peanut butter and
some crackers and biscuits and stuff, but we -- it's not going to keep us much longer.
PENNY MARSHALL: This pregnant island restaurant owner is also desperate to get to the safety
of Britain.
CLAUDINE VOURDON, Hurricane Victim: I'm not able to help right now, so I may as well get
out and don't become a problem.
Like, if I go into early labor, and then someone has to look after me, and that's not fair.
PENNY MARSHALL: Those who had little here now have nothing.
And those with more are worried about how long the recovery is going to take and how
much help they're going to get from the British.
With most of the island's tourist marinas also obliterated, this place has lost its
main source of income too.
The pace of the aid operation is picking up.
But the planes need to come back again and again if this British protectorate is to get
the help it needs to recover.
JUDY WOODRUFF: That was Penny Marshall reporting for Independent Television News.
In the day's other news: The death toll from last week's powerful earthquake in Mexico
has risen to at least 96.
Authorities also say 2.5 million people are in need of food, water and electricity.
The 8.1-magnitude quake struck Friday near Mexico's border with Guatemala.
It damaged at least 12,000 homes, and that number is expected to rise.
Today was the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and somber ceremonies honored the
nearly 3,000 people who died that day.
In New York, thousands gathered at Ground Zero, former site of the World Trade Center,
for the annual reading of victims' names.
In Washington, President Trump laid a wreath at the memorial to the Pentagon victims and
later sounded a warning.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: The terrorists who attacked us thought they
could incite fear and weaken our spirit.
But America cannot be intimidated, and those who try will soon join the long list of vanquished
enemies who dared to test our mettle.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, Vice President Pence took part in an observance for victims of
the passenger jet that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
He hailed the courage and sacrifice of those on Flight 93 who fought the hijackers.
Eighteen Egyptian police officers were killed and seven wounded today when Islamic State
militants ambushed their convoy.
It happened on the Sinai Peninsula, part of Egypt that borders Israel and Gaza.
The militants used roadside bombs to destroy four armored vehicles.
And then gunmen opened fire with machine guns after commandeering a police pickup truck.
The United Nations has voted unanimously to impose new sanctions against North Korea over
its nuclear activity.
It's a watered-down resolution that doesn't include U.S. demands to ban all oil imports
to Pyongyang.
The sanctions do ban imports of natural gas liquids, and they cap imports of crude oil.
They also bar exports of all textiles.
California is the latest state to sue the Trump administration over its decision to
end the DACA program.
The lawsuit filed today charges that it's unconstitutional to rescind the presidential
memorandum that shielded young undocumented immigrants from deportation.
California is home to one in every four DACA participants.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has ordered the president's travel ban on
refugees to stay in place, at least temporarily.
A lower court ruling could have allowed another 24,000 to enter the country, but the U.S.
Justice Department appealed.
The department didn't appeal another part of the ruling.
It exempts grandparents and other relatives from the ban on entries from six Muslim countries.
And on Wall Street, stocks rallied after reports that Hurricane Irma's destruction in Florida
is not as bad as initially feared.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 259 points to close at 22057.
The Nasdaq rose 72, and the S&P 500 added 26.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on the opioid epidemic
and lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy; refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos in
desperate need of mental health treatment; and much more.
It was five years ago this fall when Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Northeastern United
States, leaving a death toll in the U.S. alone of more than 150 people.
By the end, 24 states were affected, damages totaled over $70 billion, and it all happened
at the height of the 2012 presidential election.
New Jersey was the site of landfall for what became known as Superstorm Sandy and what
developed into a defining moment for that state's governor, Chris Christie.
Today, Governor Christie is also leading the response to a different national emergency,
as head of the White House Commission on Combating Drug Addiction in the opioid crisis.
And Governor Christie joins me now.
Governor, welcome to the "NewsHour."
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), New Jersey: Hi, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, thank you for being here.
We know that Irma, the storm, is still wreaking havoc on the Southeastern U.S., but based
on what you have seen, your own experience, do you believe that government at all levels
have done everything they could have to prepare for that storm?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Yes, it looks like Governor Scott worked well with the feral government
and his local authorities to get millions of people evacuated, which is the first challenge
for a governor, then to have the shelters ready to be able to house people, as many
as need that type of housing.
And now the next challenges are going to come as the storm dissipates and they see what
it's wrought and how to recover.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you believe that there is going to be aid for Florida and other states
that need it in a way that aid wasn't necessarily there timely after Sandy?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, I hope that they learned their lesson in Congress.
It appears they did by how quickly they moved to vote for Hurricane Harvey aid for Texas,
even though those folks were not nearly as quick to get that aid to the Northeast in
the result of Superstorm Sandy.
So, I think they have learned that lesson.
That mistake was made.
I hope it will never be repeated, because it really set back recovery here much more
than it ever would have had to.
And it caused anxiety among people that is completely unnecessary.
As a nation, when we have a national emergency like this one, we need to stand together and
help each other, regardless of what region of the country we come from, what political
party we're in, or what philosophy we follow.
JUDY WOODRUFF: We know federal dollars are scarce, Governor.
Is there a formula for how much after a natural disaster like this is the federal government's
responsibility, the state's responsibility, private citizens' responsibility?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, listen, I think most of it is the federal government's responsibility.
Now, those who have private insurance and other means will not necessarily be able to
access government programs, which are meant for those who are most truly in need.
But there's infrastructure that needs to be rebuilt and other things that, regardless
of your economic level, you need to have there for your state to be able to operate.
I think this has always been predominantly a federal government responsibility.
States will contribute to it, but a lot of these states like Florida and Texas now, their
economies will be damaged by this storm and, as a result, their tax revenues will be lower
at the local and the state level.
And so all this moves us towards the need for a federal response.
And there's no doubt that this is one of the things the federal government is there for,
to deal with the health, safety and welfare of the American people.
And so I don't think Congress will hesitate to be able to put the funds in place that
are necessary to rebuild what's been destroyed in Houston and in Florida.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I want to ask you about the other crisis that you're very much involved
in now, and that's, of course, the opioid crisis that has been gripping this country,
chairing the president's commission.
You urged the president to declare a national emergency back in the middle of the summer.
He eventually did that.
It took a while for it to happen, but he did.
But it's now been over a month.
I think a number of people are starting to ask, where are the results?
What is going to happen as a result of declaring this emergency?
Where is the action?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, Judy, I know from -- I was just at the White House last week to discuss
this with the president's senior staff.
I know they are focused on putting a number of the recommendations that the commission
has made in their interim report into place.
I'm anxious to see that happen, like everyone else, because I think what we're going to
hear pretty soon, Judy, is that, in 2016, we had over 60,000 Americans die of a drug
overdose.
This is much greater than the AIDS epidemic in terms of numbers.
This is more than automobile accidents kill folks every year.
This is an extraordinary crisis in our country's history, and I'm anxious to have those interim
report recommendations implemented.
And I know the White House is working very hard now to make sure it's done in a way that's
most efficient and most effective.
I know the president and I know his heart on this.
And I know that he's ready to do what needs to be done to get this implemented the right
way.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, my question is, what's the holdup?
The reporting is that there's disagreement inside the Trump administration about how
much resources, how many funds to put into this.
What is the holdup?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, there always will be debate and discussion among the president's
staff, depending upon their point of view and what areas they're responsible for.
Here's where there is no indecision the president of the United States has said very clearly
that we're going to spend substantial resources to deal with this problem.
He has said it to me personally.
He's said it to other members of the commission.
And most importantly, he's said it publicly to the American people in August.
And so I think what they're doing now is twofold.
One is to make sure, as I said before, it's done efficiently and effectively, so that
we do see some lessening of the human loss as quickly as we possibly can.
And, secondly, to be fair, Judy, we have had two major national emergencies intervene since
August with Hurricane Harvey and now Hurricane Irma.
And so, you know, the administration is focused on making sure that's dealt with, and they're
also on a parallel track working on making sure that we efficiently and effectively implement
the recommendations in the interim report of the commission.
I'm absolutely committed to that.
I'm committed to urging the president to move as quickly as possible.
And he's told me that's exactly what he's instructed his staff to do.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Two other quick things I want to ask you about, Governor.
One is, we know you were, as you mentioned, at the White House last week.
You were there meeting with the president the day after he cut -- struck that deal with
Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi over the debt limit, spending
on Hurricane Harvey.
You were there to talk about this project, this tunnel between New York and New Jersey,
among other things.
There were Democrats in that meeting.
Is it your sense the president is going to be doing more deals like that with Democrats?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: It is my sense, Judy, that what the president wants is to get things
done for the American people.
And I don't think he, quite frankly, cares whether he gets those things done with Republican
members of Congress, Democratic members of Congress, or both.
But what I believe he wants to see happen is accomplishments on major issues on behalf
of the American people.
And whether that's on infrastructure, as we were discussing with him on Thursday and the
Gateway Tunnel project, whether that's on tax reform, which we need to do to further
grow this economy, or whether it's on health care, the president will work hard with anyone
of good will to get something done.
He showed that with Hurricane Harvey by working with Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Pelosi
and other Republicans to get that done.
And, listen, I have always known Donald Trump -- I have known him for 15 years -- to be
a person who cares most about results.
And I think that's what the actions of last week showed the American people.
And my guess is, they're encouraged by it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Governor, you're talking about the president.
You know him well.
You played a big role in his campaign.
You were not asked to be part of the administration.
I want to ask you about something Steve Bannon, who was the president's former chief strategist,
said in an interview over the weekend with Charlie Rose.
Charlie asked him about the "Access Hollywood" tape involving its former anchor Billy Bush,
when the president made some comments that were interpreted by many to be beyond inappropriate.
You were critical of those.
But here's what Steve Bannon had to say.
Here's just a quick bit of that exchange.
STEVE BANNON, Former White House Chief Strategist: Billy Bush, Saturday, to me, is a litmus test.
It is a litmus test.
When you side with him, you have to side with him.
And that's what Billy Bush weekend showed me.
CHARLIE ROSE: You took names on Billy Bush Sunday, didn't you?
STEVE BANNON: I did.
I got a -- I got -- I'm Irish.
I got to get my black book, and I got them.
Christie, because of Billy Bush weekend, wasn't looked at for a Cabinet position.
CHARLIE ROSE: He wasn't there for you on Billy Bush weekend, so, therefore, he doesn't get
a Cabinet position?
STEVE BANNON: I told him, the plane leaves at 11:00 in the morning.
If you're on the plane, you're on the team.
Didn't make the plane.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Governor, was it your -- what you said, your unwillingness to stand up for
the president after that "Access Hollywood" tape, do you think that's what shut you out
of the Trump administration?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, a few things on this.
First is that that conversation that Mr. Bannon references in his interview never happened.
Never had any conversations with him.
I didn't need to convey those kind of feelings to staffers.
I was speaking to the principal, to the man who's now president of the United States.
Secondly, I was there the whole Billy Bush weekend.
I was there during debate prep, leading debate prep for the second debate both on Friday
and Saturday.
And, by the way, if I was off the team, then why did I lead debate prep for the third debate?
Third, this I was coffered Cabinet positions by this president.
It's been widely reported and it's true that I was offered Cabinet positions that I turned
down.
So I suspect this little black book that Mr. Bannon is talking about, the only one who
read that black book was Mr. Bannon himself.
I know that no one else cared about it.
And now that he's been fired, no one is going to really care about anything else Steve Bannon
has to say.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you stand by your views of the president's comments in that "Access
Hollywood" tape?
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Sure.
And I -- most importantly, and the reason the president and I have been friends 15 years,
and the reason that we both value each other's friendship is that we speak the truth to each
other.
On that weekend, I spoke the truth directly to the president of the United States.
And I didn't need to go on the air or do it publicly or to self-aggrandize myself now,
as, you know, Mr. Bannon is doing by giving a "60 Minutes" interview.
This, I suspect, is his last 15 minutes of fame.
And that's fine.
I hope he enjoys it.
My intent is, as it's always been, not as somebody who was just Donald Trump's friend
for a year, as Mr. Bannon was, but for somebody like me, who's been his friend for 15 years,
I want him to be a successful president first and foremost for this country, secondly, because
I like him personally, and, third, because I believe that the country will benefit ultimately
if Republican policies on tax reform and on infrastructure are put into place to make
this country bigger, better and stronger.
And, you know, so, listen, you know me, Judy.
I have very broad shoulders, and I have had much tougher characters than Steve Bannon
lie about me in the past.
I just keep soldiering on and moving forward, and I will always be here for the president
to tell him the truth, which is exactly what I have always done and why we're still friends
and why I was at the White House Thursday, while Steve Bannon was off doing an interview
with "60 Minutes."
JUDY WOODRUFF: Chris Christie, the governor of the state of New Jersey, thank you very
much.
GOV.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Judy, thanks for the time.
Always a pleasure.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Time now for a closer look at the White House handling of Hurricane Irma,
President Trump's fraught relationships with his own party, and more.
It's Politics Monday, with Tamara Keith of NPR and Stu Rothenberg, senior editor for
Inside Elections.
Welcome to both of you.
But let's first ask about what Governor Christie just had to say.
Tam Keith, he was pretty emphatic that that's not what happened, whatever it was that Steve
Bannon said.
(LAUGHTER)
TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Yes, that was a barn-burner at the end of an interview.
That was incredible.
Chris Christie doesn't hold back.
And the interesting thing to me is, as critical he was of Steve Bannon, he was praising the
president, even used the, "I have broad shoulders," which is a phrase much used in the Trump administration.
JUDY WOODRUFF: He said, "I'm a soldier for Donald Trump."
STUART ROTHENBERG, Inside Elections: Take that, Steve Bannon.
(LAUGHTER)
STUART ROTHENBERG: I wrote down two things.
One, still a Trump loyalist.
That absolutely came through loud and clear.
And bad blood between Governor Christie and Steve Bannon.
It was so obvious, the personal animus.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Does that say something about Trump world, or is this just a sideshow?
What do we think, Tam?
TAMARA KEITH: Trump world is -- has many orbiting planets.
It's a complicated place, because Steve Bannon, in that "60 Minutes" interview, portrayed
himself as sort of the flame keeper of what is Trumpie.
He is there to defend Trump.
He said he was going to be his wing man on the outside.
Well, Chris Christie obviously sees himself as the president's wing man, too.
And I think there are a lot of people who see themselves in that role.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But, Stu, it was Steve Bannon who ended up going into the administration,
and not Chris Christie.
He's heading up this opioid commission, which is important, but he doesn't have a job.
STUART ROTHENBERG: Which makes you think that something happened to deny Chris Christie
a post in the administration, or at least one that he likes, because he said he was
offered some.
So, it may be in this case Bannon and Bannon's folks won that battle.
But, as we now see, they're both outside the administration.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, what we're focused a lot on right now, understandably, Tam, is
these terrible storms.
After Harvey, right away comes Irma wreaking destruction across the Caribbean.
We're now seeing it in the state of Florida.
It's moving across into Southeast.
How is the president handling all this?
TAMARA KEITH: The president has kept a relatively low profile.
He has not been sort of tweeting himself, though his account has tweeted videos of him.
He has made remarks here and there.
He's really put Tom Bossert, who is his homeland security adviser -- that's not the correct
title.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Homeland.
TAMARA KEITH: Homeland security adviser.
He has put Tom Bossert out there, also his FEMA director.
One thing that President Trump did is, when he formed his team, he brought in people who
had some experience in dealing with natural disasters, which is a mistake that the Bush
administration made.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Stu, we know from a lot of experience that presidents can get into
trouble when there is a natural disaster.
It seems to me President Trump is trying very hard not to do that, to stay focused on...
STUART ROTHENBERG: Yes, I think, so far, so good.
He hasn't been demeaning Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.
He hasn't been attacking people.
He's been able to adopt a role that is more presidential.
Now, people may argue whether he looks more presidential.
That's a different question.
But at least he's able to talk about national unity and responding to the crisis and laying
wreaths at the 9/11 anniversary.
So, this is better for him, probably better for the country.
I don't -- personally, I don't expect it to last.
I think when we get back to politics as usual, we will see behavior as usual.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But, quickly, Tam, there are some sticky questions coming up I asked Governor
Christie about, about the money the federal government is going to have to spend on places
like Florida, on top of Texas.
Is the president, is the administration prepared to deal with that?
TAMARA KEITH: Well, there certainly is a large congressional delegation from Florida.
They had to postpone votes in the House today because there are so many members of the House
that come from Florida.
So, there will certainly be pressure to have additional funding.
And, actually, the money that was put in place for Hurricane Harvey is not going to be enough.
So, this will be something that will come up.
There are many must-pass legislative vehicles coming up in the next few months.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, a lot of issues.
And, Stu, I'm asking this because we know FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
is just about out of money already, even before Irma hit.
STUART ROTHENBERG: Well, I think there's going to be money for these natural disasters.
But I do think, the further we go from the incidents, the further the calendar passes
on, I think there will be more calls for offsets and for fiscal responsibility.
But, for right now, I think the photographs, the pictures, the videotapes are pretty compelling
to get even members of Congress to spend money.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we will see.
Another thing, Tam, I asked Governor Christie about is the president's deal, the deal that
he cut with Democrats last week.
And, you know, he and other Democrats -- Republicans and Democrats met with the president the day
after that Pelosi-Schumer agreement to talk about this New Jersey-New York tunnel project.
But what are you hearing?
Are you hearing concern among Republicans?
Are you hearing -- what are people saying you're talking to about this?
TAMARA KEITH: This is a president who came back from visiting the damage from Hurricane
Harvey, talking to people who were affected.
And he -- what I'm hearing, he just wanted to get something done.
He wanted something to show for it.
He wanted to help those people whose kids he hugged and who he took pictures with.
And so he did a deal.
Also, this president knows that, among a lot of people, a lot of people who voted for him,
he's a whole heck of a lot more popular than the leaders of the Republican Party in Congress.
I mean, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are rapidly becoming the enemies of Republicans,
of rank-and-file Republicans.
STUART ROTHENBERG: So, in the short term, I think that's a plus for the president, but,
long term, it's a little different.
I don't see how the president benefits by belittling and criticizing the Republican
leadership on the Hill.
I don't see how he benefits by making it seem as though they're inept, incompetent and can't
pass anything, and only he can make a deal.
I don't see how that helps him in the midterms, because, if they lose, if the Republicans
lose in the midterms, the president loses.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, do we have reason to believe that this is -- something I was trying
to tease out what Governor Christie thinks.
And he said, yes, he will continue to cut these.
But is this the thinking, Tam, that this is something that he is going to continue to
do if he sees that it is in his interest?
TAMARA KEITH: I think there's a math analogy here about one point doesn't make a line.
(LAUGHTER)
TAMARA KEITH: It's hard to form a trend from one data point.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I was really good at math.
(LAUGHTER)
JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm not going to wade into that one.
But to extend that out, you now have Republicans who are looking at whether they are going
to stay in Congress or not, Stu.
There are a couple of moderates.
This is another case of, do one and one make three?
You have got a couple of Republicans who are now saying they're not going to run for reelection.
STUART ROTHENBERG: Well, you have four recent Republicans, one in Florida, one in Washington
State, and, most recently, Charlie Dent in Pennsylvania and David Trott in Michigan,
who have announced they're not running for reelection, two in Clinton districts, and
two in Trump districts.
You have Bob Corker, Senator Bob Corker, from Tennessee...
JUDY WOODRUFF: And speculation.
STUART ROTHENBERG: ... kind of talking about this.
I actually talked to Senator Corker last week about this.
And he told me the very same thing.
But he also told me he's not sure whether it would be good to lose his voice in the
Senate.
So, I'm not sure he's actively thinking about whether to run or not run.
I think he just is delaying a general decision.
But there is no doubt there is nervousness among House Republicans, and there is much
more talk about potential -- about additional retirements from House Republicans, particularly
moderates, who just are uncomfortable with the direction of the administration.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It just looks like the landscape has been shaken up once again.
TAMARA KEITH: Yes.
And, basically, every two years, there are a lot of retirements.
You would expect some retirements.
The thing is that this gives Democrats some hope that -- you know, when they're incumbents,
they're harder to beat.
When there is no incumbent, it's more of an open race.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, it's early, but it's not early, if...
(CROSSTALK)
TAMARA KEITH: No, it's 2018 already.
JUDY WOODRUFF: ... if you're running -- if you're running...
STUART ROTHENBERG: Remember, the Alabama Republican runoff middle of September, the establishment
vs. the outsider.
Keep an eye on that.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I have got it on my watch right here.
STUART ROTHENBERG: Good.
Good.
(LAUGHTER)
STUART ROTHENBERG: Write it on your hand.
(LAUGHTER)
JUDY WOODRUFF: Stu Rothenberg, Tamara Keith, thank you both.
STUART ROTHENBERG: Thanks.
TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Politics Monday.
Years into the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe, human rights activists have
accused the European Union of turning a blind eye to Greece's treatment of refugees and
migrants now stuck on the island of Lesbos.
Many of the refugees there suffer from serious mental health problems.
The charity Doctors Without Borders is raising alarms that health services for the vulnerable
are now being cut.
From Lesbos, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Mohammed Karimi from Afghanistan uses this makeshift gym to eliminate the frustrations
of being stuck in a refugee camp on Lesbos for the past 17 months.
MOHAMMED KARIMI, Refugee: Exercise is better for all people, for everything.
It supports a good mind.
When I come to training, I feel so relaxed and my mind is relaxed.
If I never training one day, I never good feeling.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The gym was installed with a day center run by a Swiss charity called
One Happy Family, in the hope that exercise might make a small dent in the growing mental
health crisis in Lesbos.
GREG KAVARNOS, Psychologist: We are sitting on a bit of a time bomb.
The future for these people is dark.
I mean, there's not much hope.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Greg Kavarnos is a psychologist at this clinic in Lesbos run by Doctors Without
Borders.
Their recent study showed that 80 percent of migrants they examined had severe mental
health problems.
GREG KAVARNOS: Most of the problems we're seeing are as a consequence of their experiences,
and their experiences being left untreated from their home country and untreated here,
because currently people are trapped on the island.
The longer you leave it untreated, the more likely it is to develop into something more
permanent.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The psychologists' concerns center on Moria.
It was set up as a transit shelter two years ago.
But since the migrant trail north was closed down in the Balkans, it has effectively become
a permanent internment camp that is despised by its 6,000 or so occupants.
This video from the start of this year shows police trying to prevent a migrant from hanging
himself on the fence.
Volunteers on the island say the man succeeded in committing suicide some time after this
attempt.
Outside the wire, we met a Nigerian man called Frank.
He asked us not to identity him.
He's afraid that he will be deported for speaking out about conditions inside Moria.
He says life in the camp has a debilitating effect on the mind.
FRANK, Refugee: During those nightmares, I don't sleep.
I was being transformed to another place.
Sometimes, I see myself in the river.
I see myself in a big ocean.
Some kind of things come into my mind.
I see some dead people in the river, which is not normal because of my -- because of
the prison.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Frank fled Nigeria after participating in violent protests.
He has been in Moria for eight months, and he says the pressure of the camp caused him
to attempt suicide.
FRANK: I was like, let me just hang myself and forget about life, instead of trying to
kill somebody.
MALCOLM BRABANT: But you didn't do it.
FRANK: No, I didn't.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Did you try?
FRANK: Yes, I tried.
I got the rope.
I went to the bush.
At this stage, I have a thought come inside me.
Are you stupid?
Do you want to kill yourself?
Are you crazy?
What is wrong with you?
Will you go back?
MALCOLM BRABANT: The psychologists say the nature of the journey to Europe often exacerbates
the migrants' mental health problems.
Fridoon Joinda is from Afghanistan.
He was attacked by robbers in a forest.
FRIDOON JOINDA, Refugee: The guy, he put a gun on my head.
In five seconds, I saw all of my life, my past, my future, my family, my friends.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Fridoon's therapy is making videos like this one.
He comes from an entertainment family in Afghanistan that had to flee the country after they mocked
the government on television.
FRIDOON JOINDA: I'm trying my best.
All the time, I'm listening to videos, positive videos, on how to like even -- like, during
the night before I go to bed, I watch the videos about how to treat myself, like a doctor,
because we don't have any access to psychologists.
I don't have -- I have to be my own psychologist.
And I'm trying to find videos, how can I sleep?
How can I remove the stress from my body?
MALCOLM BRABANT: The One Happy Family day center is meant to be an oasis of tranquility
for the occupants of the Moria camp.
But staff acknowledge that they can only provide the psychological equivalent of a Band-Aid
for people at the end of their tether.
BRIDGET CHIVERS, Volunteer Nurse: I feel very frustrated and upset in my work that I'm referring
all these patients and can't help them whatsoever.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Bridget Chivers is a volunteer nurse from Australia.
BRIDGET CHIVERS: People are saying: I don't want to live.
I don't want to be here.
I don't know what the best option is.
Is it to be in Syria with ISIS?
Is it to be in Afghanistan with the Taliban?
Or is to sit in Greece for two years, waste my life, and might be sent back anyway?
Like, the stress is enormous.
MALCOLM BRABANT: And according to psychologist Greg Kavarnos, that stress is compounded by
the realities of life in Moria.
GREG KAVARNOS: If you ever visit one of these camps, it's quite clear that, even if you
didn't have a psychological problem, you're going to develop one if you're in this camp
for any period of time, the facilities, the setup, the way that people are treated in
the camp, the hopelessness.
MALCOLM BRABANT: For example, as this phone video shows, more than two years into the
refugee crisis, Moria still suffers from water shortages that make good hygiene impossible.
GREG KAVARNOS: All of these things serve to compound or to fray a person's psychological
well-being.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The European Union has literally been throwing aid money at Greece.
The latest handout was in July, when Brussels promised a contribution of $250 million.
The migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said it was essential that there was solidarity
within Europe, and he said that Europe had been standing alongside Greece since day one.
He also said that, in total, $1.5 billion had been placed at Greece's disposal to handle
the migration crisis.
We repeatedly asked to interview Greece's migration minister, Yiannis Mouzalas, but
he declined to talk to us.
Outside Moria, Algerian asylum seeker Akram Ashouli was in no doubt about who to blame
for conditions in the camp.
AKRAM ASHOULI, Refugee: The government for Greece is bad.
They treat us like animals.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Last year, the E.U. promised Turkey $3 billion if it could help to stem
the migration flow.
And this is what their policy looks like from the perspective of a migrants' rubber dinghy.
A woman screams, "You're going to kill us" as the Turkish coast guard cutter comes close
to ramming the small vessel.
DIMITRIS CHRISTOPOULOS, International Federation for Human Rights: I think that this is a collective
disgrace of the European Union, since the whole union wants to make itself more -- less
attractive for people to come.
So, if Greece is attractive, then it means that the union is more attractive.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Dimitris Christopoulos is president of the International Federation
for Human Rights.
DIMITRIS CHRISTOPOULOS: It's not only that the European Union is turning a blind eye
to what is happening to Greece.
We are talking about an implicit, absolute complicity between the European Union, the
European Commission and the Greek authorities in order to leave the situation as it is,
to function as a deterrent, so that people will not continue their journey.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Despite the exit from Lesbos being blocked, Afghan asylum seeker Fridoon
Joinda is confident that eventually he will be able to leave.
FRIDOON JOINDA: And just I have to be patient.
And also I'm trying my best.
And I'm just inviting all people, all humans to please just think, sometimes, just think,
why you are allowed to fly?
Why I shouldn't?
MALCOLM BRABANT: Across the Mediterranean, there's growing evidence that Europe is wrestling
back control of its frontiers, but its border force, Frontex, is still rescuing people.
Although there appears no way out of Greece, they keep coming, increasing the pressures
on their fellow migrants and those trying to help them.
They may have a vision of Lesbos as a springboard to freedom, but come the dawn, the reality
of their plight will soon become apparent.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in Lesbos.
JUDY WOODRUFF: On the "NewsHour" online right now: Many in the path of Hurricane Irma faced
impossible choices.
We revisit a trailer park in Orlando where many residents did not evacuate.
See how they weathered the storm on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.
And that's the "NewsHour" for tonight.
I'm Judy Woodruff.
Join us online and again right here tomorrow evening.
For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, and we will see
you soon.
Ang Probinsyano September 11 2017 How Washington is handling a historic hurricane season isibaya 11 September 2017 Christie: After Sandy, Congress learned its lesson for Harvey aid PBS NewsHour Weekend full episode Sept. 10, 2017 Isibaya 11 September 2017 Irma floods out Florida, knocks out power for millions WATCH LIVE: President Trump speaks at 9/11 ceremony at the Pentagon WATCH: Sarah Sanders holds White House news briefing Tears and tributes as nation remembers 9/11

PBS NewsHour full episode Sept. 11, 2017

Latest Posts