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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Trump Speaks At First Campaign Event Since Debate; Polls: Trump Leads In New Hampshire And Iowa; Jeb Bush Blasts Hillary Clinton On Iraq; Clinton Handing Over Private Email Server; Prisoners Left Behind: Guards Beat Us; Protest Over Death Of 19-year old Christian Taylor. Aired 9-10p ET.
Aired August 11, 2015 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:47]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. 9:00 P.M. here in New York and in Birch Run, Michigan where Donald Trump tonight made his first campaign speech since the GOP debate in Cleveland and the controversy that followed with new polls out tonight showing him leading in New Hampshire, and for the first time, also ahead in Iowa.
Mr. Trump appeared to be at ease. He told reporters covering the event to the poll numbers proved him right about his waging the campaign. And again, he left the door open to running as an independent if the party does not treat him in his view fairly. After that, he turned to the large and vocal crowd who assembled and waited much of the day. Here's a sample of what he talks about in the news conference leading up to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.
We're going to do very well with the Hispanic vote, we're going to do great with the women vote, if you look at -- in Nevada they did the poll and I'm leading in the Hispanic vote because I create jobs and I'm going to -- I will be creating tremendous numbers of jobs. So I think we're going to do great.
And then the women's health issues, I'm for that. I cherish women. I hope that I will be the Republican nominee because that's the best way to win. I'm going to keep the door open on the other. If I'm be treated fairly and the word is fairly it doesn't mean well, it means fairly. If I'm not treated fairly, we'll see what happens.
And then you have the killing of Kate in San Francisco -- beautiful Kate. And it's like, it just happens. This guy came in five times and the fifth time was a disaster for a family -- a great family, a family that I've gotten to know a little bit and a family that I've spoken to on numerous occasions, and a family that I don't think the president has yet called which is incredible. He hasn't called. Think of it. He hasn't called. And the media look at all those people back there. Scavengers, they're like scavengers, they're like scavengers. So many. Hello, now I see a couple that I really like there are some that I really like.
Melania, she'll make a very beautiful first lady I can tell you. And a great first lady, she's got a great heart, a great heart. She who cares more about those women issues that Bush doesn't care about. She cares more about that between Melania and Ivanka believe me.
So I said let's say that Jeb Bush is president. Now he's not a stupid person. I don't -- I agree with you but, you know, he was so nice to me at the debate and by the way, they said I won the debate? Is that nice? Is that nice? Right?
The polls came out and said I -- and boy, did I have nasty questions. I stood up there and said I don't believe this -- some of these questions.
Actually, Rosie O'Donnell saved me. This is one time, sir (ph). She saved me. I never thought I would be giving credit to Rosie but in this case, she was great.
Jeb and Hillary on the same day, they said Donald Trump has too strong a tone -- too strong. We have heads being chopped off because they're Christian in the Middle East. We have borders where people are being killed all up. The world is cracking up and they're worried about my tone?
I should be toned down, down the last two weeks because I've hired many of the lobbyists. That's true. I hire lobbyists, they're great. They're terrific people. They can do whatever the hell you want them to do, OK, it's true.
So I've had a lot of them then call me there is we want to contribute it's amazing when you go to number one how this guys they want to give you money, you know, if you're number 12, I guarantee you, Rick Perry is not getting a lot of calls from lobbyists and neither is Lindsey Graham.
The two guys that hit me the hardest were Perry, right? Perry and Graham hit me harder than anybody else.
[21:05:00] Now, it is Rand Paul. Do you believe it? He's the new one. I said, "Rand, I've had you up to here. I've had you."
UNIDENTIFED MALE: Trump. Trump. Trump. Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Donald Trump speaking tonight in Michigan to a very lively crowd. 360's Gary Tuchman talked to some of them about why to them this candidate is different.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARSHA BODARY, TRUMP SUPPOORTER: I think I got an extra one.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Susan Kuhn and Marsha Bodary were the first people who lined up to see Donald Trump seven hours before he was scheduled to speak.
SUSAN KUHN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: He is like this generation's movie star. I mean he has got charisma, he has got glitz, he has great ideas, he tells it like it is.
BODARY: I'm on the Trump train, babe. I'm on the Trump train.
TUCHMAN: The Trump train is speeding down the tracks but how much longer will it be running?
BOB PARSONS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: He speaks his mind and he is not a puppet.
TUCHMAN: Bob Parsons also showed up to see Trump and life-long Republican believes the reality show host and real state tycoon will win the nomination.
Out of all the candidates you voted for president in your lifetime from most recently Mitt Romney to Ronald Reagan in 1980, does Donald Trump rank up there as one of the top candidates?
PARSONS: Yup. Him and Reagan about the ones I've had the most passionate for.
TUCHMAN: The Trump event here in the small down of Birch Run, Michigan, is a Republican fundraiser. And not everyone who wanted to go could go because it sold out. The owner of Benji's Carwash in the center of town wasn't able to get in. But says he's intrigued by Trump because he is making the other Republicans squirm.
JIM TARDIFF, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think he can't get the nomination for the republican I hope he goes as independent.
TUCHMAN: So you'd support him as an independent?
TARDIFF: Yeah, I would.
TUCHMAN: Trump discussed that keeping his options open for a possible independent bid in CNN's "New Day".
TRUMP: I have to keep that door open because if something happens where I'm not treated fairly, I may very well use that door.
TUCHMAN: However, even some of his most fervent supporters would rather he not go that route.
Would you support him? If he run as an independent, if he did not get the republican nomination?
KUHN: Probably not because I am a dyed in Republican and always will be.
TUCHMAN: But many of those here who support Trump feel that's a loop point because they believe his going to get the Republican nomination.
TUCHMAN: Do you think he can win the presidency?
BODARY: I do. I do think that.
TUCHMAN: Do you think he can beat Hillary Clinton?
PARSONS: God, yeah.
TUCHMAN: Other Republicans are saying though that he can't beat Hillary Clinton. How do you feel to hear that?
KUHN: No, absolutely wrong, wrong, wrong.
TUCHMAN: Why is it wrong?
KUHN: Everybody can beat her.
TUCHMAN: Whether that match-up happens remains to be seen. But the trump train continues to steam ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And in did tonight. Gary joins us from Birch Run. I understand you asked Trump a question about how he's conducted his campaign.
TUCHMAN: That's right, Anderson. I ask Donald Trump a question to see if he was ready to do some soul searching. I asked him a question about whether he's made any mistakes, whether he feels he's made mistakes while on the trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Mr. Trump in all candor, do you think during this campaign there have been sometimes where you feel you have gone over the top?
TRUMP: I have what?
TUCHMAN: Gone over the top.
TRUMP: I don't think so at all. I mean I look at the polls. I can only go by the polls. A new poll came out 32 percent that's the highest for anybody yet. So I can only go by the polls. The people that we're dealing with and whatever has happened it is what it is. You just look at the results.
I guess I would just came out a little while ago and leading in Iowa, leading in New Hampshire, leading in North Carolina, leading in South Carolina, leading in Nevada, leading everywhere. So that's all I can go by.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Mr. Trump does not appear to have any qualms. This event lasted about 50 minutes. The biggest applause line when he talked about building a wall on the border with Mexico, people stood in this room and clapped about 45 seconds. When it all ended, the song played over the P.A. system that plays after most of the rallies. It was Twisted Sister's "We're not going to take it". Anderson?
COOPER: All right. Gary, thanks very much. I appreciate those. I want to bring in our CNN political commentator and Trump supporter, Jeffrey Lord, also Amanda Carpenter former Communication Director presenter of Ted Cruz and Democratic strategist Paul Begala who runs a pro-Clinton Super PAC.
Amanda, you've been pretty down on Trump but it is hard to argue. I mean he certainly was fired up tonight, hitting a lot of big issues very at ease, talking in front of this crowd even with reporters seem pretty at ease. Where is this big Trump stumble that so many of his critics have been say is imminent?
AMANDA CARPENTER, FORMER COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR FOR SEN. TED CRUZ: Well, first of all, I have to say it's amazing to see him in Birch Run, Michigan which is just steps away from the little town where in Montrose where I grew up. So this isn't a typical Republican stronghold. There's a lot of disaffected union Democrats that I believe are probably in that audience...
COOPER: (Inaudible)
CARPENTER: ... but the people showing up there I think largely are Republicans who probably traveled from around the state. And their support for him is really the ultimate expression of saying Washington, you are fired. If you were going to come up with bumper sticker today, I think it would be "Elect Trump, Fire Washington". And it would sell like bananas because people are just supporting him as a way of protesting the old way of doing things.
[21:10:03] And I think you saw that some of those interviews.
COOPER: It's entering Jeff. And when you hear Donald Trump say as he did tonight that his favorite book of all time is the "Art of the Deal", which he happened to write, second only in greatness in his view -- and he did say this tonight -- to the Bible, is that why people don't care, he doesn't give politics, you know, specifics because the policies specific because there some kind of distracted by -- I mean his self-confidence is extraordinary.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, Anderson, I think in presidential politics there's a -- I'm being a little inexact here but such a thing as the sort of broader canvas of a personality.
And the American people, Republicans in this case, know Donald Trump's personality. They know exactly the kind of attitude he would bring to the presidency. So they respond to that and then the fly spec and specifics, you know a policy here, a policy there. There will be plenty of time for that but they responded to Ronald Reagan this way.
I mean if you'll recall Ronald Reagan was a public personality for 40 years or more by the time he ran for the presidency. They really felt they knew Ronald Reagan and they knew that they could count on him that his word was his bond, et cetera.
I really do think they have that feeling about Donald Trump and it is also interesting in terms of Senator Cruz, Senator Cruz has moved up in these polls and between the two of them, I think that they've got some portion of the same message here which is what people are responding to it is very much an anti-establishment message.
COOPER: Yeah. And Paul, I mean listening to Trump tonight. You're a Democrat I think you would acknowledge he has an energy and a persona and one of the things he attacked Jeb Bush on is energy. The guy -- its -- I mean in the word that Trump saying that he has no energy. And then his tone and it was interesting to hear Donald Trump talk about tone because that's one of the things he's been criticized for. He stands out in a big way and that matter is on politics doesn't it.
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Absolutely. It's not a bug, it is a feature, right? He takes that criticism that his tone is over the top. He says "No, that's what we need". And it's just brilliant and everybody who watch that debate saw -- not only saw Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, they where standing next to each other.
Roger Ailes did an enormous favor for -- I guess they did it by poll numbers but whatever. The fact that Jeb was standing next to Mr. Trump really highlighted the disparity in energy and Jeb just slept walked through that debate and you really saw the difference.
But I can -- believe me, I guarantee that he said the Bible was the only book better than the "Art of the Deal". I guarantee you. That Mr. Trumps favorite passage in the Bible is Judges Chapter 15 verse 16 which of memory serves as in Samson said, "Ye, I have slain thousands of men with the jaw bone of an ass." And I think it's exactly the kind of energy and kick butt attitude that this Trump exudes.
COOPER: But you're not at all worried as a Democrat or somebody that supports Hillary Clinton, you're not worried if he is in fact the nominee? You think matched against Hillary Clinton -- what?
BEGALA: 40 states for Hillary.
COOPER: Really?
BEGALA: Like 40 -- yeah, I mean I'm just not. I don't want to change it. There is no chance that he is the nominee. But I'm wearing my knees out praying that he will be.
COOPER: Why 40 states?
LORD: You know, Anderson...
BEGALA: Where do you see those numbers?
BEGALA: Look at Mississippi and Utah. I mean there's just some states not open to Democrats but no, this guy is not to be the president of the United States.
LORD: Anderson, you know... COOPER: Jeff? Yeah. Go ahead, Jeff.
LORD: ... you know, I mentioned to you what's the two things here a poll from December of 1979 that showed Jimmy Carter beating Ronald Reagan 60 percent to 36 percent. And listening to Amanda described her home area of Michigan, we all remember the phrase, or some of us do at least, Reagan Democrats which were not apparent in that December 1979 poll. I'm wondering from her description of the kind of folks that might be there, union blue collar workers, et cetera, whether we're beginning to see the arrival of Trump Democrats.
COOPER: That's interesting. We got to take a quick beak we all going to return just a second.
New polling numbers out today. Donald Trump is trumpeting. No doubt about it also some surprises and the number about his less well known challengers. Some of them appeared to be in joining a balance from there own debate performances. Well talk about at.
And also Jeb Bush speaking tonight at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California given what's being build as a major foreign policies speech. We'll look at that when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:18:06]
COOPER: You're looking at Jeb Bush tonight speaking at the Reagan Library laying out his vision for the country's foreign policy will bring the sample shortly. First more on those the new poll numbers out that Donald Trump tonight calls them a validation of his campaign and how he did at the debate in Cleveland.
Dana Bash has more on that and some the other second tier candidates are spiking upward because of their debate performance and how some of the candidates trailing Trump hope to bring him down a notch. Here's her report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the first contest state of Iowa, Donald Trump is leading for the first time according to a new Suffolk University poll edging out Wisconsin governors Scott Walker who spent months treading lightly around Trump and is now taking the gloves off.
SCOTT WALKER, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDAITE: Donald Trump is just using the same old tired talking points of the Democrats. And they had worked in the past. They're certainly not going to work in Iowa.
BASH: Trump's rise in Iowa comes as he told CNN's Chris Cuomo, he still won't rule out running as an independent.
TRUMP: I have to keep that door open because if something happens where I'm not treated fairly I may vary what used that door.
BASH: And of the bombastic billionaire is defined convention once again admitting to and owning being a whiner.
TRUMP: I am a whiner and I'm a whiner and I keep whining and whining until I win.
BASH: Trump is trying to redeem himself with female voters after a public feud with Fox News' Megyn Kelly.
TRUMP: I cherish women. I will be so good to women. I will work hard to protect women.
BASH: The new Iowa poll shows that despite the controversial remarks about women Trump is at 14 percent winning with female voters in the first caucus state. This GOP opponent isn't buying it.
RAND PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Vulgarity does not equate with insight because someone can stand up and say you're stupid and you're ugly does not equate with a vision for the country.
BASH: Trump's lead has narrowed in the first primary state of New Hampshire. On the upswing, to breakout stars from last weeks debate.
[21:20:00]
JOHN KASICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, you know, we just keep plugging. We're like the little engine that can and...
BASH: Ohio Governor John Kasich catapulted from barely registering in New Hampshire to third place. Conservative voters in a live free or die state apparently not turned off by comments about same-sex marriage.
KASICH: I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay.
BASH: And former CEO Carly Fiorina couldn't even get on the main debate stage last week moving up in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: The candidates who are not doing as well are as much of a story as those who are. Chris Christie for example his basically living in New Hampshire and his numbers have dropped so much that he's only at 3 percent in this new poll there.
Rick Perry is struggling so much that his campaign is no longer paying staff. Instead they're asking them to volunteer. And though Jeb Bush was never banking on a win in Iowa, he is now in seventh place there which is troubling to some supporters. Dana Bash CNN Washington.
COOPER: Yeah, particularly given all the money he's raised. Back with panel Jeffrey Lord, Amanda Carpenter, and Paul Begala. Amanda, so Trump you have him leading in Iowa still leading in New Hampshire, not exactly to the implosion that some predicted after slap at Megyn Kelly, it does seem -- and we've said this over, over -- but that things that would cause problems for any other candidate just don't cause problems for Donald Trump.
CARPENTER: Is really incredible. He has a Teflon-like quality and I think it's because he absolutely owns his persona. It's like a lot of, you know, politicians get involved in scandal. Once they admit a moment of weakness, once they say they're sorry, they're pretty much done. Donald Trump never says sorry and so he's commanding an odd degree of respect among the voters for it.
But one thing that sticks to me also about the polls, the people that are dropping are the ones who I don't think are fighting against Washington, the people who are rising are perceived as new to the presidential stage or have already created a persona of being fighting the establishment, fighting Washington, call it what you will.
And so with this people that are dropping down the polls such a Jeb Bush, such as Scott Walker, I think they have to tap into that energy that Donald Trump has harnessed.
COOPER: That's interesting I mean you look at Fiorina, you look at Cruz, you know, Carson obviously, even Kasich, you can make that that same argument for. Jeffrey, 55 percent of Republican voters in Iowa now said they're less comfortable with Trump as a presidential candidate after the debate, 70 percent in New Hampshire either don't support him or don't think he has the temperament to be president. Does -- do those numbers matter? Do they pose a risk for him?
LORD: Well, marginally maybe but I think at this stage I mean this is August...
COOPER: Right, we're so early.
LORD: ... at 2015. Right. I mean I -- any number of things, as we've already seen can, you know, interfere here. You know, I like to say one thing you had Michael Gerson on earlier who I'm sure is a terrific guy and he had that column. I answered some columns of his -- at the conservative review today.
He talked, as does a lot of the establishments about, you know, Donald Trump, if you go down this path, the Republican Party will fail. And I have to point out respectfully, that the Bush presidency -- and I like president bush, certainly -- but a CBS New York Times poll four days best left office had him at 22 percent approval, 73 percent I think it was disapproval, which was the worst numbers in like 70 years since the Gallup had started taking these polls.
And you have to believe that that the audience that was there in that room tonight has some understanding of this. They see this is an establishment it just utterly fails as politically speaking and they're ready to go in a different direction.
And, you know, so the more that people say, "Well, you can't go with Donald Trump because he's going to be a failure here," they're looking back at the Bush years and they're saying...
COOPER: Yeah.
LORD: ... "You know, this really didn't work out too well."
COOPER: Paul, you know, Rand Paul hit back against Donald Trump. And he's clearly been trying to hit it Donald Trump early since this debate. And he, he hit back at Donald Trump tweeting because Trump tweeted that he reminded him of a spoiled brat. I want to play some of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: You know, I don't know. I think if we're talking about who is a spoiled brat or not my kids all work minimum wage jobs. Do you think any of the Trump kids have been working at the local Pizza Hut? So I live a pretty ordinary life. And I'm not begrudging him as well, but there is nothing about me or my family that's spoiled. I worked from a young age, my kids all work and we're proud of them for working minimum wage jobs, delivering pizzas, working in a pizza place, working in a call center, all my boys work. And they work and they're proud and we're proud of them for working.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Did that surprise you that he I mean, I was kind of shocked that he went after Donald Trump's kids.
LORD: Really big mistake. Low class, your kids should be off limits its even adult kids. If Mr. Trump's kids are adults and successful but they're not run afraid there...
COOPER: Right.
LORD: ... and they ought to be off limits. It was -- I think really unfortunate in a cheap shot by the way not the first in this race, Jeb Bush already took a shot at Chelsea Clinton.
[21:05:03] Thank you very much Jeb. There is plenty to criticize each other about in this race, they shouldn't be attacking family.
COOPER: Amanda, Rand Paul is not the only Trump opponent to go after the frontrunner Scott Walker and we just saw has started attacking Trump after basically deflecting his jabs for weeks. Is that a sign that he feels he's not getting momentum, that he's not getting attraction and he hopes this is going to help?
CARPENTER: Yeah, I think it is a sign of desperation so to speak. But here's a thing, we've seen a number of presidential candidates trying to define themselves by going after Trump. Perry did it. Rick Perry did it. He gave a speech kind of bashing Trump. Look at where he is now, he's not even showing up Iowa polls.
Rand Paul has done it a few times, it always seems to back fire. The -- this guy should not be defining themselves by bashing Trump. There's a lot of time left, they need to showing the voters what they're for, what they're going to, you know, pledge to do as president. And it's just a bad idea, because it feeds into the Trump circus that they are not going to win.
COOPER: But I mean I...
LORD: You know...
COOPER: ... I got to -- I keep coming back Jeffrey Lord. You talked about how early we are in the race, I mean the level of interest in this race at this stage is just incredible and I mean just someone who has covered it...
LORD: Yes.
COOPER: ... its fascinating and exciting and I'm -- I can't wait to see what happens on all sides. Jeffrey its good to have you, Amanda Carpenter...
LORD: Yeah.
COOPER: ... I'm sorry Jeff, yeah we got to leave it here actually we're kind of overtime. Paul Begala obviously...
LORD: OK.
COOPER: ... we have you on tomorrow. Up next, breaking new Jeb Bush laying out his foreign policy plans if elected and taking directly aim at Hillary Clinton over Iraq. That and more when we come back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: And that effort should also involved even greater engagement with the Sunni tribes, who's fighting units, serves....
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:30:20]
COOPER: Welcome back. There's more breaking news. Jeb Bush taking aim at Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration tonight in what his campaign calls a major foreign policy speech to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: No leader or policymaker involved will claim to have gotten everything right in the region, Iraq especially. Yet in a long experience that includes failures of intelligence and military setbacks, one moment stands out in memory as the turning point we had all been waiting for. And that was the surge of military and diplomatic operations that turned events toward victory.
And where was Secretary of State? Where was Secretary of State Clinton in all of this? Like the president himself, she had opposed the surge then joined in claiming credit for its success then stood by as that hard won victory by American Allied Forces was thrown away.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Let's talk about that with our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger. It's interesting to hear Jeb Bush talking about Iraq. I mean given the stumbles he had earlier on his campaign.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. It took him about four days to admit that going into Iraq was a mistake. It's clearly the family issue there that weighs on him. And just in that clip, you know, we just heard, he blamed Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama by rushing to get out rather than and called it a failure of intelligence to get in, rather than blaming it on his brother.
And so, what he is saying tonight and what he said in the speech is that we ought to augment air power in Iraq. And he agreed with a lot of other Republican Candidates who are talking about making a greater use of limited forces there. Not combat forces but increasing the number of forces which is now about 3,000 or so.
COOPER: And Hillary Clinton's already responded in her campaign, yes?
BORGER: Yes. Hillary Clinton's campaign wasted no time in firing back. And they said if Jeb Bush wants to spread the blame for the situation in the Middle East, he doesn't need to look much further than his next family reunion.
COOPER: Wow.
BORGER: And the statement goes on from there. So obviously their feeling is, "OK, you want to talk about Iraq? Talk about your brother. Don't talk about Hillary Clinton and her haste to get out of Iraq."
COOPER: It is so interesting just on a night where Donald Trump is sort of speaking off the cuff to see Jeb Bush speaking. The tones could not be any more...
BORGER: Right.
COOPER: ... different as Trump himself talked about tonight. Did Bush in any way kind of create any daylight between him and his other GOP challengers?
BORGER: You know, there are a lot of Republican candidates out there who are quite muscular on, you know, increasing...
COOPER: Lindsey Graham, certainly.
BORGER: ... Lindsey Graham, Perry, Walker, Kasich have all said they're open to the idea of more troops in Iraq. Kasich, you know, has said it might take combat troops but most are saying, you know, what we need some troops that are in support roles. But, of course, those troops would then be in harm's way.
But don't forget, American public opinion, given the beheadings we've seen from ISIS and the rise in ISIS, American public opinion has also shifted in that more hawkish direction. So it's not like they're taking a real risk... COOPER: Right.
BORGER: ... within the Republican Party on that.
COOPER: Gloria, I appreciate you being with us.
BORGER: Sure.
COOPER: Breaking news at the meantime as well from Clinton camp tonight, Hillary Clinton handling over the private e-mail server she used while she was Secretary of State to the Justice Department.
CNN's Elise Labott, joins us with more on that.
It's interesting because back in March, Clinton was saying she would not turn over this server. So what's changed?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's changed now Anderson is that the U.S. government, the Department of Justice has been asking for server. Originally this was by Congressman Gowdy who is heading the select -- House Select Committee on Benghazi. That was really seen as a -- by the Clinton camp as a political witch hunt to go after her and ruin her political chances for president. But now at the Department of Justice, there's been a lot of questions about the security of the server, not only that but about this thumb drive that her attorney David Kendall has.
So if you read the statement that the Clinton camp put out tonight, she said Secretary Clinton pledged to cooperate with the government's security inquiry. So she not going to give the Benghazi Committee any fuel to add to the fire but she wants to be seen as being cooperative to any concerns the government and the Department of Justice have.
COOPER: Where does the investigation go from here?
LABOTT: Well, which investigation?
COOPER: Right. You're right.
LABOTT: There are so many.
COOPER: Yeah, take your pick.
LABOTT: I mean, right now the FBI is investigating whether there was any classified information on that server. Whether there was a potential breach of compromise of classified information, not only by Clinton but possibly by her staff.And we're not talking about her actually passing around classified information.
[21:35:03] This is class information that has since been classified. It wasn't marked as such but then you have any series of investigations by various committee chairmen, senate, judiciary committee, Chair Chuck Grassley has asked for a lot of information related to Clinton's e-mails, the classified information. Then there are e-mails about her staff, Huma Abedin and her, special arrangements and work status of the State Department. So what's happened really is this one Benghazi investigation by the Select Committee has kind of morphed into snowball into so many various investigations that I think the Clinton camp is really just trying to blunt this before it goes any further.
COOPER: Elise Labott. Elise, thanks very much for the update. Up next, Donald Trump drawing a huge crowd in Michigan. This morning he spoke with our Chris Cuomo one-on-one and Chris asked him why he won't give any specifics on what he'd do if elected. His answer with that a much more when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Donald Trump ended his day in front of an enthusiastic and very friendly crowd. He began his day on the other hand with respectful but tough questions from "New Day's" Chris Cuomo. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know exactly what I want to do. I just don't want to announce it yet. But one of the things...
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: I don't get what that means, Mr. Trump.
TRUMP: ... we have to do, Chris, is simplify our tax cut. It's too complicated.
CUOMO: Help me with that because if I were sitting across from you, making you a pitch to do anything for you, I said look, I have a plan but I'm not going to tell you yet.
[21:40:07] You know, I think I'd get an eye roll...
TRUMP: I'm going to say it. I'm just not prepared to tell you right now in your fantastic show that's getting better ratings all the time because you have Trump on so much. OK?
CUOMO: This is the first time I've had Trump on, if I may speak about you in the third person.
TRUMP: I'm thinking about -- when I'm saying Trump or I'm saying Trump or Trump-related.
CUOMO: I got you.
TRUMP: Trump-related, definitely.
CUOMO: Well, look as you know, we...
TRUMP: And you can have me on again.
CUOMO: ... offer an open forum to everybody.
TRUMP: I know that. CUOMO: I want you to get these ideas out there. You've talk about the military. You say you handed to ISIS. The Iran deal stinks. People are going to want to know how you...
TRUMP: What did you said I would hand what the ISIS?
CUOMO: You would hand it to ISIS. You would give it to them. You know you would really take them on. You said...
TRUMP: So your definition of hand it is a lot different than mine.
CUOMO: Yeah. I'm not saying that you would give something to them.
TRUMP: ... I would say I'm not going to knock the hell out of them, there's no question with that.
CUOMO: How would you knock the hell out of them?
TRUMP: I would take their oil away. I'd take their money away. I would take their sources of money away.
CUOMO: How do you take the oil?
TRUMP: I would make sure that Saudi Arabia and by the way, Iran, which gives plenty of money to ISIS, I would make sure -- believe it or not, Iran is funneling money into ISIS too. And Iraq is going to Iran just I predicted in 2004...
CUOMO: How do you do it? You put troops on the ground?
TRUMP: I would go in and take oil and I would put troops to protect the oil. I would absolutely go and I would take their money source away and believe me, they would start to wither and they would collapse. It is not about Megyn Kelly.
CUOMO: She didn't come up at all when you're talking about her?
TRUMP: It's not about that. Look, there was a misinterpretation of what I said and look, what I said was obvious. There was nothing wrong unless you're a deviant, you don't put those words in and I met, you know, a couple of people, they try to make a big issue out of it. That's not it.
CUOMO: But you know what it was?
TRUMP: Roger Ailes -- Roger's done an amazing job at Fox. He called me and I have no problem.
CUOMO: You know what it was. The reason that people were inclined to see it that way was because of the other things you've said in the past about women which is why I started this early on about whether or not you wanted to apologize for them.
TRUMP: I don't know what it is exactly but I don't know how you could have behaved. Hey, look, I went to the hardest school to get into the best school in the world. I guess you could say the Wharton School of Finance. It's like super genius stuff. I came out. I built a tremendous company. I had tremendous success. The "Art of the Deal", "The Apprentice," everything, who would make a statement like that? I didn't make -- in fact Chris if you look at that...
CUOMO: Smart men aren't always good to women though, right? I mean, you know...
TRUMP: I've always been good to women. And there will be nobody better to women as a president because I'll take care, when I talk about health issues. I will take care of women like nobody else can.
Certainly, Jeb Bush doesn't know what he is talking about. He admitted that the other day. And believe me, that will be his 47 percent. That will be the statement just like it took down Romney to 47 percent. His statement on women's health issues will take him down and by the way, Hillary Clinton won't. She won't take care of it like I will. Believe me.
CUOMO: How can you say that? How can you say Hillary Clinton won't take of women like the way you will?
TRUMP: Because I know my capability and I think I know her capability and I'm much more capable than she is.
CUOMO: But some would say that for women just on the issue of being pro-choice alone would give her an advantage.
TRUMP: Well, some would but there are plenty of women that agree with me on that issue, with the exceptions, you know that. But there are plenty of women that agree on that with me on that. I mean we're not just talking about me. Many women agree. You know that's not just a man issue. That's a woman issue too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Coming up, a shocking new report concerning escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat from that Upstate New York prison. Prisoners left behind say guards beat them to try to find out any information about the escape. This is from a New York Times' report. I'll speak with one of the reporters who investigated, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:47:15]
COOPER: Welcome back. There's new and troubling details tonight surrounding the prison break by two killers of the maximum security lockup in Upstate New York back in June. Details about what allegedly happened to prisoners who were still at the Clinton Correctional Facility after the escape.
The investigation by The New York Times found that some were beaten, choked, even threatened with water boarding as guards tried to find out what they knew about how Richard Matt and David Sweat managed to escape.
Michael Schwirtz of The New York Times joins me now.
So these allegations of prisoners who were left behind at the prison, the idea was that this was an attempt by guards to get information about the escape?
MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ, NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER: Exactly. In the hours and days after the escape obviously there was a frantic search for these two inmates who were extremely dangerous. Both convicted murders, convicted of gruesome crimes. And it seems in the rush to try to find information, correction officers according to these accounts, used tactics that might have violated departmental policy. They punched inmates in the face, knock their heads against walls, choked them, put bags around their heads.
COOPER: Do you know about how many inmates this allegedly happened to?
SCHWIRTZ: We spoke to or contacted about 10 of these inmates and through the an organization called Prisoners Legal Service, we found out about a total of over 60 inmates who are making similar complaints...
COOPER: Wow.
SCHWIRTZ: ... about abuse, about being thrown into solitary confinement afterwards, and about moving around and losing a lot of their property. A lot of their property was thrown out, stolen or lost or damaged. And so, that's some of the complaints we got.
COOPER: Did they start filing complaints? The prisoners I mean who did they go to file complaints?
SCHWRITZ: A lot of them filed complaints to these previous legal services. This represents indigent inmates. We contacted several of them through their wives. We have been contact with the number of the wives of the inmates...
COOPER: OK.
SCHWRITZ: ... from the very beginning and began reaching them that way.
COOPER: You talked to an inmate who was in the cell next to Richard Matt.
SCHWRITZ: Richard Matt.
COOPER: And Governor Cuomo had actually spoken to this inmate.
SCHWRITZ: Yup.
COOPER: And I think we actually have some of that exchange on camera. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK ALEXANDER, INMATE CLINTON CORRECTIONAL: Some of it.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: Must have kept you awake with all that cutting?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So the, obviously, you know, he's sort of intimating that the guy must have heard something. But the guy, what did he tell you? That he got in trouble for that exchange?
SCHWRITZ: The assumption obviously was these individuals cut -- these two -- Richard Matt and David Sweat cut through back of their cells using hacksaws, would have had to have created a sound...
COOPER: Right.
SCHWRITZ: ... which is an obvious assumption. This inmate, Patrick Alexander, who was a neighbor of Richard Matt said he heard nothing and was sort of baffled by all of this.
[21:50:08] Nevertheless, he was taken and interrogated several times. On one of these occasions, taken to a broom closet, beaten up fairly badly. This was one of the individuals who had a plastic bag placed over his head, he claims, and was beaten in an effort to gain -- get information out of him. And when he didn't provide that information or didn't provide the information that correction officers wanted, he said the beatings got more severe.
COOPER: And what's been the response from the facility? I mean, do they deny this? Do they...
SCHWIRTZ: They don't deny. They said that these allegations have been under investigation for some time. They have turned over some of the complaints to the state's inspector general, which investigates various state agencies.
COOPER: And are all of these inmates still in the facility?
SCHWIRTZ: No, after the escape, many of them were sent to various prisons around the state. Some of them stopping first for several weeks at a time in solitary confinement, and that's one of the complaints that a lot of inmates have was that these were, you know, they were some of the best behave inmates in the prison. Many of them haven't had many serious disciplinary infractions and yet they were put into solitary confinement as if they had done something wrong and then sent to different parts of the state -- different prisons.
COOPER: So where do things go from here? They're still being investigated?
SCHWIRTZ: It's being investigated. We know no names of correction officers who might have been involved in this. The state is invest -- the Corrections Department says it's investigating. The state inspector general is supposed to be issuing a report in the next weeks and months about all of the security failings that went into this.
COOPER: So the inmates didn't want to give you names of those?
SCHWIRTZ: The inmates didn't know the names, in fact, a lot of them told us that this beating occurred -- when the beatings were occurring, the correction officers doing the interrogation and not have the name tags that typically wear on their uniform. And a number of them -- a number of the inmates told us that they didn't -- they couldn't identify the corrections officers. They were from the other facilities or other parts of Clinton and they didn't recognize them.
COOPER: Michael Schwirtz, I appreciate your reporting and thanks for being with us.
SCHWIRTZ: Thanks for having me.
COOPER: Yeah, we'll continue to follow it. Just ahead, protests over the death by an unarmed 19-year old by rookie police officer in Texas. A live report and the latest on what's now happened to that police officer, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:56:03]
COOPER: The rookie police officer shot and killed an unarmed 19-year old at Dallas in a car dealership has been fired. The local police chief saying that officer Brad Miller exercised poor judgment in the incident that left Christian Taylor dead. After he was called in surveillance video damaging property, Ed Lavandera reports tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The night 19-year old Christian Taylor vandalized and broke into Arlington Texas Car Dealership, rookie police officer Brad Miller made troubling and catastrophic decisions. That's the scathing critique from the city's police chief.
CHIEF WILL JOHNSON, ARLINGTON POLICE: The facts available demonstrate that Officer Miller exercised inappropriate judgment.
LAVANDERA: This is how investigators say the events unfolded leading to the shooting death of Christian Taylor. Taylor has driven his jeep thought glass wall into the show room area of the dealership. Police radio traffic captured when Taylor is spotted inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw a guy in the building has a hat on, a straw hat.
LAVANDERA: Officer Miller broke away from his partner and entered the building alone against department protocol. Miller told investigators Taylor was screaming obscenities and moving towards him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got shots fired.
LAVANDERA: Investigators say Miller fired his first shot when Taylor was 7 to 10 feet away. Investigators say there was no physical altercation. The officer's partner and training officer Corporal Dale Wiggins then deployed his taser and right after that, Miller fired three more times, killing the 19-year-old football player.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: We have mission (inaudible)
LAVANDERA: Miller told investigators he feared Taylor would overpower him. But the police chief says he has serious concerns about Miller's justification for the shooting.
JOHNSON: This fear and feeling of isolation was the result of his poor decision to enter the building without assistance and without an arrest plan.
LAVANDERA: Adrian and Josh Taylor are Christian's older brothers. They can't explain the 19-year-old's behavior in that care dealership last Friday morning.
ADRIAN TAYLOR, CHRISTAIN TAYLOR'S BROTHER: It was just tough to watch. We just know that wasn't him in that video. Not in his right mind, not everyday, the little brother we grew up with, you know, we're still looking for answers, as well.
LAVANDERA: Taylor's family doesn't understand how the young football player who was 5'7" and weighed 170 pounds could hurt two police officers.
Do you think there's any way that Christian could have threatened these officers' lives?
JOSH TAYLOR, CHRISTAIN TAYLOR'S BROTHER: knowing my brother, he wouldn't there and may -- he go and hurt anybody ever, never ever, ever actually, you know, would harm anybody.
A. TAYLOR: I just fail to see the immediate -- the want to had if he's unarmed, to feel like that was the best option or best route to go?
LAVANDERA: Arlington Police investigators agree with Taylor's family. And now, a 49 year old rookie police officer has been fired and a grand jury will decide if Brad Miller will face criminal charges for the shooting death of Christian Taylor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And there's no video of the actual shooting, correct?
LAVANDERA: That's our understanding that the officers here in Arlington are not required to wear body cameras. We spoke with the car dealership owner. They have -- we were told they have 32 cameras around the outside of that property -- a few of them that can rotate around. But from what we understand, none of those captured the actual shooting and the police chief said the same thing tonight that no video has emerged yet.
COOPER: And we have 30 seconds left, the investigation, where does it go from here?
LAVANDERA: Well, as we mentioned, all of this is being -- the investigation is not officially over. All of these officers that were involved in the shooting or in that incident were interviewed over the course of the last few days. And the police chief wanted to get that narrative out of there and inform people about it. But all of these -- as soon as the investigation is complete, all of the files will be turned over to prosecutors and then they will present that to a grand jury.
So it will take something but there is a serious chance of this officer facing criminal charges.
COOPER: All right, Ed Lavandera, I appreciate the update. That does it for us. We'll see you again one hour from now, 11:00 P.M. Eastern in another edition of 360.
[22:00:00] I hope you join us. "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon" starts now.
