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State of the Union
Interview With Ohio Governor John Kasich; Interview With Donald Trump; Interview With Carly Fiorina. Aired 9-10:00a ET
Aired August 09, 2015 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:38]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Trump on the attack, his shocking complaint about debate moderator Megyn Kelly.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. And, you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her whatever.
TAPPER: With Republican outrage mounting, will he apologize? I will ask him in moments.
Plus, the only woman in the Republican race reacts.
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have had lots of men imply I was unfit for decision-making because maybe I was having my period.
TAPPER: After a star turn in her debate, can Carly Fiorina break through?
And Ohio Governor John Kasich, he won over the hometown crowd at the debate. Will that translate in the polls?
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do believe in miracles.
Plus, the best political team on television will be here with insights from the campaign trail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Good morning. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is tuned in; 24 million people watched Thursday's first Republican debate, a record, and we are feeling the fallout now.
This morning, conservatives are pushing back on comments Donald Trump made on CNN about moderator Megyn Kelly. RedState.com editor Erick Erickson disinvited Trump to the conservative gathering this weekend. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ERICK ERICKSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF, REDSTATE.COM: I actually think
it's really weak and pathetic to take a tough question from a journalist and assume she's having her period and that's why she asked you a tough question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Republican candidates have responded, some slamming Trump. Senator Lindsey Graham issued a statement saying his comments -- quote -- "are not worthy of the office he is seeking."
Others taking a softer approach, praising women at large without taking on the front-runner directly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Megyn Kelly was a colleague of mine for six-and-a-half years when I was at FOX. She's one of the most remarkable people I know, intellectually, unsurpassed. As a broadcast journalist, she has great integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: We will hear from two other candidates, Carly Fiorina and John Kasich, in a moment.
But, first, joining me on the phone is the man at the center of it all, the Republican front-runner, Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump, thanks so much for calling in. We appreciate it.
TRUMP: Good morning, Jake.
TAPPER: So, I want to start by playing for you what Jeb Bush said yesterday in response to your comments about Megyn Kelly. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come on.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Give me a break. I mean, are we -- do we want to win? Do we want to insult 53 percent of all voters?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BUSH: What Donald Trump said is wrong. That is not how we win elections. And, worse yet, that is not how you bring people together to solve problems. That is not the way to do it.
So, your decision, I think, was the right one. Mr. Trump ought to apologize.
ERICKSON: Thank you. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Mr. Trump, your response to Jeb Bush?
TRUMP: Well, I think it's amazing, because, three days ago, he was talking so negatively about women's health issues.
And I thought it was disgraceful, frankly. And I think that will go down to haunt him, and maybe be the same as Romney's 47 percent, which possibly cost him the election. Jeb was very negative on women's health.
And when you're negative on women's health, you can forget about it. And I'm the exact opposite. I cherish women. I want to help women. I'm going to do things for women that no other candidate will be able to do. And it's very important to me.
So, you know, it's sort of interesting. He then went back and apologized the following day, and said he misspoke. Well, he really did misspeak, and I thought it was disgraceful. So now he's telling me, or telling you, about what was said.
Well, let me ask you, what was said? She was very angry because I bested her with a question that was a very fair -- unfair question. So, she was very angry. And when I was speaking about it on a CNN show, by the way, which was interesting, but I was speaking about her, I said blood was pouring from her eyes or out of her eyes, which is a very common statement.
And, by the way, I said the same thing about Chris Wallace.
TAPPER: That's right.
TRUMP: Nobody said anything.
TAPPER: You did.
TRUMP: But I said the exact same thing about Chris Wallace.
TAPPER: But then you said she had blood...
TRUMP: Correct. And then I said...
TAPPER: Then you said blood coming out of her wherever.
TRUMP: I said -- no. I said blood was pouring for wherever, because I wanted to finish the sentence, because I went to something -- I wanted to get off of the whole thing and get back on to the subject of jobs or whatever we were talking to -- about right after that.
So, I didn't even say anything, because I didn't even finish the thought. I was going to say nose and/or ears, because that's a very common statement, blood flowing out of somebody's nose. It's a statement showing anger. She had great anger when she was questioning me, especially since I mentioned something. That was the Rosie O'Donnell statement, which everybody said was, by far, the loudest applause of the entire day of all of the speakers. And I think you would agree.
[09:05:24]
TAPPER: Well, Mr. Trump, let me ask you, so...
TRUMP: And she became very angry.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: And all I was -- all I was doing was referring to her anger. I said nothing wrong whatsoever.
TAPPER: So, Erick Erickson...
TRUMP: And only -- and, by the way, Jake, let me just tell you this.
TAPPER: Yes?
TRUMP: Only a deviant would say that what I said was what they were referring to, because nobody can make that statement. You almost have to be sick to sort of put that together, I think.
TAPPER: Well, among that list of deviants would be Erick Erickson...
TRUMP: Well, take a look at his past.
TAPPER: ... Jeb Bush, Lindsey -- Lindsey Graham.
TRUMP: First of all, he's a loser.
TAPPER: Carly Fiorina.
TRUMP: Jake -- Jake, Carly Fiorina. OK, give me a break. She's got -- she's got zero chance.
TAPPER: But a lot of -- why do you think so many conservative -- why do you think so many of your fellow colleagues, fellow candidates, so many conservative commentators are saying that they don't believe your explanation?
TRUMP: Because they want to be politically correct. They want to get points.
I'm leading in the polls by a fortune. They wouldn't -- by a tremendous margin. They wouldn't have had -- do you think they would have had 24 million people watching that show if I wasn't on? If I wasn't on that show, Jake, in all fairness -- and I say it in all due modesty -- you would have had two million people, not 24 million people. And you can ask any expert about it. But 24 million people was
not there to watch Carly Fiorina or Jeb Bush, that -- or Lindsey Graham, who, by the way, has zero in the polls. I mean, he's been...
TAPPER: Let me ask you a question, sir.
TRUMP: He's been my biggest...
TAPPER: Yes.
TRUMP: He's been my biggest critic, and he has zero in the poll and, by the way, came to me asking for campaign contributions and everything else. People don't say that.
Perry of Texas, he started attacking me quite viciously, and he went down in the polls, Jake.
TAPPER: That's...
TRUMP: So, I mean, you know, this is one of those things that I have to put up with.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Let me just ask you a question, sir. Do you -- I understand you're saying that you did not mean to suggest that Megyn Kelly was having her period. You were saying...
TRUMP: Of course I didn't, Jake.
TAPPER: OK.
TRUMP: Who would say that? Hey, Jake, I went to the Wharton School of Finance. I was an excellent student. I'm a smart person. I built a tremendous company. I had a show called "The Apprentice" that NBC desperately wanted me to do another season.
TAPPER: Yes, I'm familiar with your work, sir.
TRUMP: OK. I do all this stuff.
Do you think I make a stupid statement like that? Who would make a statement like that? Only a sick person would even think about it.
TAPPER: Why do you think that there are so many people jumping on you, stating that that is what you were saying? So many -- we're not talking about...
TRUMP: Because they're -- Jake, Jake...
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: In all due respect, sir, we're not talking about the women's studies department at Oberlin. We're talking about conservatives. We're talking about the Concerned Women for America issuing a
statement saying -- quote -- "Every presidential election since 1964 has been carried by women. Women don't like mean, and we certainly don't vote for men or women we don't trust."
A lot of conservatives really upset, not...
TRUMP: But, Jake, you're asking me, why are these people coming and saying this?
TAPPER: Yes.
TRUMP: Right?
TAPPER: Yes.
TRUMP: And most of them, most of the ones that -- that I have seen are just opposing candidates.
I'll tell you, it's a stupid question, Jake, in all due respect. If they're running against me, some of them like Carly are very low in the polls. I hope she goes up. I would like to see her go up, actually. But she's very low in the polls. Lindsey Graham, all these people that came out, they're running against me, Jake. They're running against me.
I would say it, too, if I was at 1 percent or 2 percent or zero percent. I would say it against me because, I don't know if you just saw, but North Carolina, South Carolina just came out massively. It's Nevada. New Hampshire, I'm winning big in New Hampshire, winning big in Iowa, winning big -- they're incredible people -- winning big in Iowa, winning big all over the place, Jake.
Georgia just came out.
TAPPER: No, you're...
TRUMP: And the national polls, I'm winning by double digits.
TAPPER: And this is what's interesting
TRUMP: So, then you ask -- and then you ask, why are these people...
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Well, I didn't mean -- I didn't mean your opponents. I meant conservative activists, people like Erick Erickson, the Concerned Women...
TRUMP: Because a lot of them are for other people, Jake.
TAPPER: OK.
TRUMP: Erick Erickson, I hear, folks -- look, he has such a spotty record. Have you seen what he said about women and other things over the years?
I have -- I have seen things that he said where he was admonished. But look at what this guy said. The guy's a loser. He's backed so many candidates that have lost.
And I -- frankly, I didn't want to do his event in the first place. But somebody said, oh, you -- you know what? It was even a small event. And tell me, what happened at his event when I didn't show up? Do you know the unrest and do you know how -- how devastated people were when I didn't go there?
TAPPER: I wasn't there.
TRUMP: They were very unhappy.
TAPPER: I know -- I'm sure there were people that were upset about it. You have a lot of fans.
This is what's interesting about your campaign. Every time you make these comments or you make comments that a lot of pundits or Republican candidates say are going to end your campaign, whether it's comments about Mexico sending in illegal immigrants, or your comments about John McCain's war record, every time you do that, pundits say, "Oh, he's gone," and then you go up in the polls.
[09:10:07]
I'm wondering if you think, though, that going after Megyn Kelly, who is beloved by conservatives, beloved by Republican voters, I wonder if that's the wrong target, that this might actually hurt you.
What do you think?
TRUMP: Well, look, I have nothing against Megyn Kelly.
I think her question was extremely unfair to me. Her whole questioning was unfair to me. And when you say beloved, I will say this. On social media, I'm the one that's beloved, OK, because if you look at social media and what's happening, they are really coming out strongly in favor of Donald Trump. They agree.
And this whole thing with this political correctness in this country is out of control. We have a country where you -- you take a look at what's happening all over the world. They're chopping off people's heads if you happen to be a Christian all over the Middle East, or -- and they are for plenty of other reasons, too.
The border, I turned out to be so right on the border. It's so dangerous and so bad. And then you see what happens to Kate in San Francisco, where people are crossing the border like it's water. And it's -- you know, it's terrible what's going on.
And all we worry about is political correctness. Jeb Bush, who came out so, I mean, horribly with the women's issue the other day, with the women's health issue, Jeb Bush comes up and he says, I don't like Donald Trump's tone. Well, we need a tougher tone in this country, and we need a lot
more enthusiasm, because these people don't have any energy. There's no energy. We need to bring our country back, make our country great again. Our country is going down into the ground. We're really getting decimated on trade deals, everything we do. The Iran deal is so bad.
We have people that are incompetent running our country, and we have to bring it back. And you can't do that by nice low-key tone, like Jeb Bush. He's got no energy. I mean, the man has no energy. And then he gets up and criticizes me over the weekend about something that I didn't even say.
TAPPER: Very interesting.
Donald Trump, as always, we appreciate your calling in. We appreciate your taking my questions. I hope you have a good Sunday. Thank you, sir.
TRUMP: Thank you very much, Jake. Great honor.
TAPPER: Appreciate it.
TRUMP: Thank you.
TAPPER: Coming up: She has said there is no excuse for Trump's latest remarks. Carly Fiorina, the only woman in the Republican race, will be here. Does she buy Donald Trump's explanation?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:16:08]
TAPPER: Welcome back.
Some called it the happy hour debate. They called it the kiddie table debate. But Carly Fiorina turned the smaller stage into a launching pad. She earned rave reviews and, at one point, more Google hits than Donald Trump after her performance Thursday night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Joining me now is Republican candidate for president Carly Fiorina.
Thanks so much for being here. Really appreciate it.
FIORINA: Thank you for having me.
TAPPER: Congratulations on all the -- all the great reviews you got for your performance at the undercard debate the other night.
I want to ask you, obviously, about what's inflaming the political world this weekend. Let's remind our viewers again what exactly Donald Trump said to CNN's Don Lemon Friday night when discussing the presidential debate. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. And, you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her whatever, but she was -- in my opinion, she was off-base.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Your reaction?
FIORINA: Well, you know, I think presidential campaigns test character under pressure and over time. And so it's a moderator's job to ask tough questions.
All of those moderators asked tough questions of everyone. And so there's no excuse for personally attacking one of the moderators for asking a set of questions he didn't like.
TAPPER: But are you offended by him personally attacking Megyn Kelly? Or are you offended by how many are interpreting his remarks about blood?
FIORINA: They were completely inappropriate and offensive comments, period.
TAPPER: But do you think that Trump's remarks were sexist? Do you think he was specifically referring to Megyn Kelly -- I can't believe I'm even saying this -- having her period?
FIORINA: You know, look -- you know, look, I can -- I started out as a secretary.
And, as I made my way up in the business world, a male-dominated business world, I have had lots of men imply that I was unfit for decision-making because maybe I was having my period. So I will say it, OK?
TAPPER: I did say it.
FIORINA: When I started this campaign, I was asked on a national television show whether a woman's hormones prevented her from serving in the Oval Office.
My response was, can we think of a single instance in which a man's hormones might have clouded his judgment?
TAPPER: I can.
FIORINA: The truth -- yes, me, too, maybe in the Oval Office.
TAPPER: Yes.
FIORINA: The point is, women understood that comment. And, yes, it is offensive.
TAPPER: Let's talk about something else he said. Donald Trump had this to say specifically about you.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TRUMP: It takes a lot more than being glib.
But -- but she's not going to win. But she got fired and she ran for office and she lost in a landslide. I don't see that as being necessarily great credentials.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
TAPPER: That's him taking a whack at you, glib, you lost in a landslide against Barbara Boxer, and you got fired from Hewlett- Packard.
Let's just focus on the Hewlett-Packard part of it, not the first person to criticize for you for your tenure at Hewlett-Packard, and the board of directors did ask for your resignation.
FIORINA: Yes, absolutely.
Look, I led Hewlett-Packard through a very tough time, dot-com bust, post-9/11, the worst technology recession in 25 years. And tough times, unfortunately, require sometimes tough decisions. But despite those tough times, we took a company from $44 billion to almost $90 billion. We quadrupled the revenue growth rate. We quadrupled the cash flow.
We tripled innovation to 11 patents a day. And we went from lagging behind in every product category and every market segment to leading. Yes, I was fired. I have been open about that from the day it happened. I was fired in a boardroom brawl.
And you know why? Because I challenged the status quo. It is what leaders must do. And when you challenge the status quo, when you lead, you make enemies. It's why so few people lead.
[09:20:05]
But guess what? It is the kind of leadership we need now in the Oval Office, because the status quo of Washington, D.C., which has been managed by Democrats and Republicans for way too long, isn't serving this nation anymore.
By the way, here's some other people who got fired because they challenged the status quo, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, Mike Bloomberg. I feel like I'm in pretty good company.
TAPPER: When you ran against Senator Barbara Boxer, she went after you. It was 2010. It was almost a preview of the way Democrats would attack Mitt Romney two years later, went after you for outsourcing jobs and defending it, went after you for the 30,000 jobs that were lost as a part of a merger with Compaq, although I know that jobs were gained later on, but the point being, how can you reassure Republicans that, if you got the nomination, it wouldn't just be the exact same way Democrats took down Mitt Romney? FIORINA: Oh, I'm sure the Democrats are going to use every
single one of those talking points.
And you know what I think a lot of American voters think is, wouldn't it be nice if, for once, we shrank the size of the federal government? Wouldn't it be great, knowing, as we know, that you can sit in a federal government job and watch pornography all day long and earn the same pay, pension and benefits as somebody trying to do a good job -- most Americans would say, that person ought to get fired.
Most people are appalled that the Veterans Administration has failed to serve our veterans for decades. Congress passes a bill saying the top 400 senior executives ought to get fired, and not one of them has been fired. Maybe one. The point is, leadership calls for tough decisions sometimes. It's never easy.
TAPPER: One other thing that you want to change is, you want to repeal Obamacare.
FIORINA: That's right.
TAPPER: I should point out that you are a survivor of breast cancer, and we're all very grateful for that.
Didn't your experience show you that the preexisting condition part of Obamacare is crucial, that there are so many people out there like you, but without your means, who wouldn't be alive if it were not for the part of the law that says, insurance companies have to take on people with preexisting conditions?
FIORINA: I absolutely endorse that goal. I did at the time.
But guess what? None of that has worked. Demonstrably, if you look at the results of Obamacare, what you see is emergency room visits are up over 50 percent. Health insurance premiums are up almost 40 percent now. We're dumping more and more people into Medicaid. Medicaid is a program that fewer and fewer doctors will accept patients from.
That isn't helping anyone with cancer, I can assure you. The problem is this.
TAPPER: But the expansion of the pool allows the insurance companies to pay for the people with preexisting conditions.
FIORINA: What is happening to the health insurance market right now, as we speak? And it's what I predicted. Who helped write Obamacare? The health insurance companies and the drug companies.
And guess what's happening? Those companies are consolidating. That's called crony capitalism. Let's have a big program, let's get bigger to deal with it, and, meanwhile, people are getting left on the sidelines.
TAPPER: There's been a lot of talk this week about maternity leave, because Netflix is now offering paid maternity leave, a full year for new mothers. You're opposed to any kind of mandated paid maternity leave. Why?
FIORINA: Well, when I was the chief executive of Hewlett- Packard, we also offered paid maternity leave and paternity leave.
The government -- for the government to tell others how to do things, when the government hasn't gotten its basic house in order, is not only ineffective; it's hypocritical.
TAPPER: What do you mean basic house in order? The government shouldn't tell anybody that they have to offer paid maternity leave?
FIORINA: I don't think it's the role of government to dictate to the private sector how to manage their businesses, especially when it's pretty clear that the private sector, like Netflix, like the example that you just gave, is doing the right thing because they know it helps them attract the right talent.
What I mean by the federal government not having its house in order, the federal government is in a shambles right now. It's inept. The -- TSA fails 96 percent of the time. That's ineptitude.
TAPPER: I don't understand what that necessarily means about why you oppose paid maternity leave.
FIORINA: I'm not saying I oppose paid maternity leave. What I'm saying is, I oppose the federal government mandating paid maternity leave to every company out there.
TAPPER: All right.
Carly Fiorina, thank you so much. Appreciate your coming in.
FIORINA: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Coming up: the debate's hometown hero, Ohio Governor John Kasich. He stood up for Trump on the debate stage. Will he stand by him now? We will ask him live after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:28:50]
TAPPER: Welcome back.
After a late entry to the presidential campaign, Ohio Governor John Kasich barely squeaked his way onto the main debate stage. But once he got there, he impressed a lot of people, and he distinguished himself by standing up for Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASICH: Donald Trump is hitting a nerve in this country. He is. He's hitting a nerve. People are frustrated. They're fed up.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
KASICH: They don't think the government is working for them. And for people that want to just tune him out, they're making a mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Joining us now live, Republican candidate John Kasich.
Mr. Kasich, I'm not going to spend this entire debate talking about Donald Trump, but I do want to know, what do you think?
(LAUGHTER)
TAPPER: He says he was -- he says he was talking about Megyn Kelly's nose. Carly Fiorina clearly doesn't believe him. Do you?
KASICH: Jake, let me tell you what I -- what I know.
I have got strong women in my family. I have got strong women in my administration. And I have strong women in my campaign. In fact, my campaign manager is a woman.
And I have found that, whenever women touch anything, they clearly make it better than we do, as guys. And so, you know, I'm not getting into this or that or he or she said. I'm just telling you that -- my perception of how it's worked in my lifetime. And I actively seek out and recruit women to be involved, because, like I say, they make things better.
TAPPER: And now a lot of Republican women are really upset at what Donald Trump said about Megyn Kelly. Are you afraid of directly criticizing him?
KASICH: No. I just don't want to be negative, Jake. I mean, I think the problem a lot of times in our party is that instead of being positive and talking about our record, my experience, budget committee chairman, chief architect, the balancing of budget, the welfare reform, defense experience, turning Ohio around, why am I spending my time talking about something negative? That's just not in me to do that.
So, look, I don't appreciate what he said. But I've just told you how I feel about women and I think it's more important for me to tell you who I am and what I think than spend my time on the negative side of the street. I just don't want to be there.
TAPPER: I want to talk to you about immigration, specifically in 1993, you co-sponsored a bill in Congress that would take away the birth right citizenship that is the citizenship automatically given to babies born in the United States, even if they are born to undocumented immigrants.
In 2010 when you were running for governor you reiterated your longtime support for ending birth right citizenship. Immigration a big issue on the campaign trail. Is that still your position? KASICH: You know, let me tell you what I think we ought to do
with immigration. First of all we ought to finish the fence. And even if special interests don't want it done we should get it done. The 12 million -- 11 or 12 million who are here we ought to find out who they are. If they've been law abiding over a period of time they ought to be legalized and they ought to be able to stay here. There are people who contribute to a lot to the United States of America.
If you have violated the law, we're going to ship you out. And once that fence gets built, Jake, I don't -- I think we should make it clear, anybody who sneaks in, you're going back home. And in addition we need a guest worker program so that people can come in and work and be able to go back and support their family. That's how I feel about it.
In terms of these people who brought -- who were brought here, young children, you know, in our state they can get driver's licenses. We treat them with respect. But we need to get this thing fixed, and as you know, from your time in Washington, we're not getting it fixed because there's too much fighting and people are spending too much time being negative, instead of building a fence, getting through this, and moving on.
TAPPER: I appreciate that.
Would ending birth right citizenship be part of this larger immigration approach?
KASICH: I don't think we need to go there. I think what I've outlined here is what we need to be doing.
TAPPER: It's been exactly one year since Michael Brown was killed. Michael Brown the unarmed African-American teenager shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Obviously a very controversial and upsetting case.
You have faced your own incidents in Ohio. Ones in many ways even more stark than the Michael Brown incident. There was the shooting of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy killed by police. The incident in Cincinnati where the policeman at the campus there was charged with murder.
Are you doing enough in Ohio to ensure that routine traffic stops, routine 911 calls, don't end up with dead bodies?
KASICH: Yes, Jake, I'm glad you asked that.
First of all, we have a thing called the Miracle of America and we need to make sure all Americans feel they can be part of it. And there are many in the African-American community who think that the government doesn't just work for them but works against them.
I created a collaborative, very broad -- Nina Turner, a former state senator ran against Republicans, was one of the chair people of it along with my head of public safety. We have community leaders, we have ministers, we've got law enforcement, and we came out with a unanimous recommendation to create a statewide policy on the use of deadly force, and examination of recruiting and hiring practices.
And now what we're doing, Jake, is what's really critical. Really critical, that the community can understand the challenges of police, and that police can understand what is going on inside of the community. A collaborative effort. And this moves forward in our state.
And as you know, we've done a lot of things to try to lift the minority community, including things like set-asides to create entrepreneurship. To be able to change the criminal justice system. I mean, we're doing -- reforming our schools. Where many in the minority community have been frustrated. I am totally dedicated to this.
TAPPER: Right.
KASICH: And you know, fortunately I received 26 percent of the African-American vote, and I'm not bragging about it. I'm just pleased that people are giving me some recognition that I hear them, I care about them, and I want them to rise.
TAPPER: There are Democrats in your state, as you know, pushing legislation that would require all officers to wear body cameras. Would you sign such legislation?
[09:34:54] KASICH: Yes. First of all we have to see what passes. But I'm open to anything that's going to improve practices.
But, Jake, we have to realize there's a balance here. There's a balance, so that the community has to realize that there's a family at home waiting for an officer to come home at night, and they don't want to hear that he's been wounded or killed. And that happened in Cincinnati, as well. And we also need the police to understand the concerns of the community.
Unwarranted stops, you know, what we just saw in Cincinnati with an officer who's just been indicted for murder. I mean these are tough issues. But at the heart of it is an ability to give people a sense that the system is not rigged against them. That they, in fact, can be hopeful. That, in fact, America can work for everybody.
And Jake, that's why I don't want to spend time talking about the negative stuff on the campaign. We have too much to do to build this country up so that everybody feels that they are a part of it. And we are doing that in the state of Ohio but we've got a long way to go, Jake, but we're trying our best. I promise you that.
TAPPER: Ohio Governor John Kasich. We look forward to joining you on the campaign trail. Thanks so much. Congratulations on the good reviews for your debate performance.
KASICH: Thank you, Jake. Always a pleasure.
TAPPER: Coming up, Hillary Clinton pounced on a comment Jeb Bush made this week deriding funding for women's health care. And he tried to walk it back. Will she seize on Donald Trump next? Her former campaign manager
will join our roundtable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:32] TAPPER: Fight night may have been scheduled for Thursday but the punches are still being thrown long after the closing arguments of debate.
With me now to discuss it all the best political team on television. Patti Solis Doyle, CNN political contributor, Ken Cuccinelli, President of the Senate Conservatives Fund, Bakari Sellers, CNN political contributor, and Ana Navarro, CNN political commentator. You're a commentator. These two are contributors. Just so you know. I just want to make sure.
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: They contribute something. I just talk.
BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (ph): Working our way up (INAUDIBLE).
KEN CUCCINELLI, PRESIDENT, SENATE CONSERVATIVES FUND: They just found me on the side of the road.
(LAUGHTER)
TAPPER: Ken, let me just ask you, Donald Trump says he was talking about Megyn Kelly's nose and her ears. Carly Fiorina didn't seem to buy it. John Kasich, I couldn't really tell what he thought. But I don't think he bought it either but he didn't say that.
What do you think?
CUCCINELLI: You know, I actually think he was just spewing that he didn't much think about it. But you're a candidate for president. You're the front-runner. Whenever you're going down that line, it's going to be interpreted in as many different ways as it can be.
It was a huge mistake. He ought to admit it was an error, apologize, and try to move on. I don't think he can really move on and set this one beside (ph) -- behind you. But the other comment that some of the candidates have made is look, if you're going to whine about how Megyn Kelly treats you, how are you going to deal with Vladimir Putin?
TAPPER: Or before that Hillary Clinton. So Jeb Bush --
NAVARRO: Or Jake Tapper in the next debate.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank god we're not going to be asking this discussion about you, Jake.
TAPPER: Well, we'll see. We'll see. So Jeb Bush took on the Donald and you heard what he had to say, Mr. Trump. He said -- he started talking about Jeb Bush's gaffe the other day talking about I don't know that we need a half billion dollars spent on women's health issues. And he started going at Jeb Bush, who you support very strongly.
What did you think of that?
NAVARRO: Look, I think it's just the Trump shtick, right? That's what he does.
He's now beginning to be incredibly repetitive. To me it's Groundhog Day. It's a broken record.
I am rich. Lindsey Graham has no polling. Jeb Bush is this, has no energy. I mean all he does is go after the people running against him, and you know, Trump himself up.
I mean, this is a man that is so appropriately named because all he does is blow his own trumpet. And absolutely we all know what he was talking about when he was referring to Megyn Kelly.
TAPPER: But you don't buy it? You don't buy the (INAUDIBLE)?
NAVARRO: The reason I don't buy it is because this is not an isolated occurrence from Donald Trump. Everybody should go on "The Washington Post" and read an article there today about his long lengthy years long record of disparaging women. Saying vile, mean things about women. Or frankly, anybody that may, you know, be somewhat critical of him.
This is not a guy that has got a presidential temperament. Period. Closed.
TAPPER: You obviously want (ph) --
(CROSSTALK)
SELLERS: But this isn't the end of Donald Trump.
TAPPER: No!
SELLERS: Just two weeks ago we were here talking about Donald Trump and John McCain. Is this going to be the end of his campaign? I'll sit back and laugh at my Republican friends because we've been getting ignorant attacks --
NAVARRO: We really appreciate that.
SELLERS: Ignorant attacks from the president from Donald Trump. This is the same man who took a $5 million bounty out on the president's birth certificate because he still believes he was from Africa. So, we're sitting back having a good chuckle because he's not doing anything but rising in the polls.
He's at 34 percent in South Carolina and that's dangerous. That's -- (CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Patti, let me ask you, you used to be Hillary Clinton's campaign manager back in 2008. She has been very, very quiet about Donald Trump, especially over the weekend. It could be a Trump versus Hillary match-up. Is this the right thing for her to do, just sit back and let the Republican Party destroy itself?
PATTI SOLIS DOYLE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Let them shoot themselves. Yes. Look, he's not going to be the nominee.
SELLERS: Let's hope so. I don't know. I mean --
DOYLE: He's not. As much as we would like it he's not going to be the nominee because he's just made himself unelectable in a general election.
TAPPER: With that comment about Megyn Kelly or in general?
DOYLE: Well, here's the deal. For a Republican candidate to win a national election they have to peel away at that coalition that Barack Obama built in 2008, and maximized in 2012. Right? And up until now their best shot at doing that was with Hispanics and with women.
Donald Trump has officially offended Hispanics and all women --
NAVARRO: Or as he calls them (INAUDIBLE) Hispanics...
DOYLE: Right.
NAVARRO: ...who supposedly love him in his parallel universe.
SELLERS: And the blacks. (INAUDIBLE) he loves the blacks too, the blacks.
DOYLE: Yes. So what he's done is he's put immigration and a war on women front and center in this election. And guess what? That's at the detriment of Republicans, and that galvanizes the coalition for the nominee on the Democratic Party.
TAPPER: Ken, (INAUDIBLE) let you have the lost shot and I want to move on to another topic.
CUCCINELLI: You know, the reason he's risen isn't, of course, these kinds of comments. It's because he is sort of this conduit for anti-establishment, just anger...
[09:45:01] TAPPER: Yes.
CUCCINELLI: ....at the Republican base. But on the Democrats' side that's a big part of Bernie Sanders rise is Hillary Clinton is viewed as the concrete, cornerstone of the establishment on the Democrat side. And so you see this massive rise over there. Very different person. Very different circumstances. But across this country, across parties, they're clearly fed up with the way Washington is doing business. And that candidates are going to do best in both parties who have a demonstrated record of being willing to challenge that kind of leadership.
TAPPER: That's interesting.
And let's talk about Bernie Sanders because he was in Seattle over the weekend and he was trying to give a speech...
SELLERS: Right.
TAPPER: ...in this big crowd and he was shut down by some activists with the Black Lives Matter group. There he is. They interrupted his speech and he wasn't able to talk.
And afterwards, some of these activists said that this demonstrates how out of touch Bernie Sanders is with the black lives movement. We've talked about this movement before. Now we see them really having, an effect, on Democrats, not Republicans on Democrats.
DOYLE: Right.
Look. I mean, (INAUDIBLE) we were talking in the green room (ph), I don't remember the last time that protesters and activists actually stopped a rally before. I don't remember that happening.
You know, I think this says to me this say force to be reckoned with. And the Democrats need to have answers to their questions.
TAPPER: Now, Bakari, I know you support Hillary Clinton. Supporters of Bernie Sanders say this guy has been fighting for civil rights and fighting against income inequality and for justice reform for decades. Why are they picking on him?
SELLERS: Nobody's picking on Bernie Sanders by any stretch.
Bernie Sanders has a real serious problem, though. He's been dismissive of the Black Lives Matter movement. Refusing to meet with them and other things. And he hasn't even put forth a criminal justice platform.
I was on his website this morning again, it's not even up yet. So, there are certain things that Bernie Sanders must do. He went a step in the right direction. I understand he just hired Simone Sanders, a new communications director for his campaign.
But look, you know, marching with Dr. King 50 years ago I understand that. My father did as well. But my father also understands that Black Lives Matter is a new movement, we need new answers for 2015. And that is what we're thirsting for.
We want those answers. We want him to address those questions and not just come out and be dismissive and say, hey, give me a pass because I marched with Dr. King 50 years ago. On the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown today, I can tell Bernie that's not going to cut it. TAPPER: You must be enjoying this the same way that the
Democrats are enjoying Donald Trump causing all the kerfuffles he is. You must be enjoying the sturm und drang about Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Black Lives Matter.
NAVARRO: I'm just sorry that it's not getting more air time. I'm just sorry that Donald --
TAPPER: I'm trying.
NAVARRO: You know, that Donald Trump is sucking up all the oxygen and we're not seeing all the division and strife and craziness that's going on on their side.
To me, it was unbelievable to see, frankly, what was a handful of protesters stop and disrupt and put an end to what were thousands of Democrats there. Thousands upon thousands waiting for over an hour, maybe even much more than that, to listen to Bernie Sanders. So I'm not sure that that is -- are they getting attention? Absolutely. Are they getting allies? I'm not sure that that's the best way of doing it.
SELLERS: You can disagree with the protest. That's not --
NAVARRO (ph): Right.
TAPPER: Social security and Medicare event.
SELLERS: You can disagree with the protest tactic. But what we saw two weeks ago in Cincinnati, shows that this is a real problem when the officer shot the young kid just point blank in the head. We have a new hashtag right now, Christian Taylor, another young African- American unarmed kid who was killed by police in Texas.
So, this is going on and on and on. And you may like the protest tactic or hate the protest tactic but that message is powerful and is going to be here.
TAPPER: All right. Bakari, Ana, Patti, Ken, thanks so much for being here. Great panel as always.
Up next, President Obama kicking off his summer vacation with a surprising celebrity friend. Who was he spotted with? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:53:12] TAPPER: Welcome back.
Police in Arlington, Texas, are asking the FBI to investigate the death of an unarmed black college football player who was killed by a white rookie police officer.
Brad Miller shot and killed 19-year-old Christian Taylor after Taylor allegedly drove his jeep through the front window of a car dealership showroom and then tried to flee, according to police. An emotional night at the pro football hall of fame as the
daughter of linebacker Junior Seau tearfully accepted the honor on her father's behalf. The San Diego Chargers' star (ph) committed suicide at age 43. A study of his brain concluded that he suffered from CTE, which is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head.
And President Obama officially kicked off his summer vacation in Martha 's Vineyard by teeing off with comedian and legendary misanthrope Larry David. Looks pretty nice. Pretty, pretty, pretty nice!
After the break, what you didn't see at the debate in this week's "State of the Cartoonion."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:58:36] TAPPER: Welcome back.
Republican race is so crowded they actually needed two debate stages on Thursday night. But plenty of people from outside the race, well, they made an appearance too. It's this week's "State of the Cartoonion."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER (voice-over): It was a crowded stage with three moderators and 10 top Republican candidates. And then it got even more crowded.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With Hillary Clinton, I said be at my wedding and she came to my wedding. You know why? She had no choice because I gave. I gave to a foundation.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ronald Reagan said trust but verify. President Obama is trust but vilify.
TRUMP: Border patrol, people that I deal with, that I talk to, they say this is what's happening.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John Adams said it was the spark that led to our war for independence.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need a president that shows the courage that Egypt's President al-Sisi did.
TAPPER: And then their relatives started to showing up.
MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Governor Bush. For days on end in this campaign you struggled to answer a question about whether knowing what we know now --
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I remember...
KELLY: ...we would have invaded Iraq...
BUSH: I remember, Megyn. (LAUGHTER)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My father was a bartender.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My father fled Cuba.
KASICH: My father was a mailman. His father was a coal miner.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My dad came home from serving in the army after having lost his father, worked in the Breyers ice cream plant in Newark, New Jersey. My mom was a secretary.
TAPPER: And then it got weird.
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm the only one to separate siamese twins.
[10:00:00] MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The money paid by consumption is paid by everybody. Including illegals, prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers --
TAPPER: And then --
KELLY: Senator Cruz, start from you. Any word from God?
TAPPER: No word on who God is endorsing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Thanks for watching. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington.
"Fareed Zakaria GPS," starts right now.
