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CNN Live Event/Special

Donald Trump Holds News Conference

Aired August 14, 2015 - 18:57   ET

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

[18:57:40] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Donald Trump is taking reporters' questions in New Hampshire. Let's listen.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do something very strong. It does have a big problem. I've been hearing it from everybody. Bigger than any place else.

Yes, ma'am?

REPORTER: When are we going to see you roll out specific policy?

TRUMP: It will be very soon. Yes. I mean, I have some of the most brilliant people in the country working on tax, which I'm involved in very much because I understand the system very well, probably better than anybody that's ever run for office, if you want to know the truth, because I am part of the system.

But we have some amazing people working on immigration. So, I would say over the next two or three weeks, probably sometime during September. OK?

REPORTER: Aren't you worried about what Putin has done over in Ukraine --

TRUMP: So, Ukraine is a problem. But at some point, don't you think that the countries of Europe should be a little bit more involved than they are? We are leading all these fights, and Ukraine is a big problem.

Germany is a very rich, powerful country, Germany, economically tremendous power -- tremendous unbelievable unleashed economic power. Why isn't Germany -- do we have to lead every fight?

So, Ukraine is a problem. We should help them. But let Germany and other countries over there that are directly affected -- let them work it. Let them work it.

We've got enough problems in this country. We have to rebuild our country. China and other countries have drained us. China has created the greatest theft in the history of the United States.

I mean, if you think about it, it's the greatest theft in the history of the United States. The money they have taken out from us. It's a one-way street. So, we have enough problems. Now, we back our folks and we back our friends and we want them

to straighten out Ukraine. And I want to see it straightened out also. But don't you think maybe Germany and those countries directly affected should be fighting -- it's almost like they don't even care. They don't even care.

(INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: I think I get along great with them. I get along great. Who knows? But I think I'd get along great with them.

REPORTER: How are you doing?

TRUMP: How are you?

REPORTER: Rand Paul spent three days here in New Hampshire and he spent those days criticizing you.

TRUMP: Well, that's because --

REPORTER: What did you do to tick him off?

TRUMP: Yes. No, Rand Paul -- you have to understand -- is a disaster in the polls. He's a disaster on military and defense. He is getting decimated by everybody. And other than giving him a lot of money for an eye center at his request -- he asked me, could I have money? I said, absolutely. Because I thought it was worthwhile. But I gave him a lot of money for an eye center, which is very hypocritical when you think of it. But other than giving him a tremendous amount of money for his eye center, which I'm happy about, frankly, because I'm sure they do good work, I hope they do good work, he is doing so badly that he figures he has to attack Trump because I'm leading by a lot everywhere.

And I don't mind. I think he's -- he is never going to make it. Never going to make it. Can't make it. Got the wrong message. I mean, this is not a time to be weak on defense. Okay? And I'm the opposite. I want to make our military so strong, so powerful, so great that nobody is going to mess with us. And I want to take care of our vets who are treated like third-class citizens. You know, two weeks ago on Wednesday, our vets, as you know -- you probably reported on it, because you have a big problem here with vets that are not taken care of properly. Our vets had the longest wait in the history of the V.A., waiting for doctors in rooms. They wait four, five, six days. And in one case, they waited five days and the doctor said, sorry, I'm going on vacation now.

So our politicians all talk, no action. They're all the same. Our politicians have let the vets down. Rand Paul has let the vets down. He has let the vets down. You know, I don't blame him. He is doing so poorly in the polls so he attacks the person -- you know, hey, look, I've been attack now by Perry of Texas. And he went peeing like a rocket ship except in the wrong direction. I was attacked by Lindsey Graham. And he had two points. Now he has zero. Now, Rand Paul has very few points. But I think he's going down, too. I will say one further thing about Rand Paul then let's not waste a lot of time. But Rand Paul is using the people of Kentucky.

Either run for Senate and do a good job or run for president. You don't run for president and by the way, if I don't make it, I will become your senator reluctantly. If I were somebody -- a good, strong republican from Kentucky, I would run against him in a heartbeat. And you would win. Because the people of Kentucky are being used by Rand Paul. Now, think of it. They're saying is, oh, if he doesn't make it, we will take him. That's not the way it works. The people of Kentucky should get a senator that wants to represent them, not a senator where it's a backup plan. So, if I was in Kentucky, I would run against him. Believe me, I would win. Yes. Hi. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand that you care a lot about vets.

TRUMP: I do, a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad about that. I work as a veterans claims advocate, the disabled veterans.

TRUMP: Good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The problem I have helping with them is that it takes over three years to process one claim.

TRUMP: Unbelievable. You hear that, it takes over three years to process one veteran's claim.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And my question to you is, do you think the V.A. has run out of money to help them because it's been out --

TRUMP: No. I think they have run out of competence. They have incompetent people running it. And it starts with our senators and our congressmen and our president. And I run things properly. What I run runs properly. One of the things I will do is take care of our veterans. It's going to be very important. You know, you are a perfect example when you say three years to process a claim that should take 24 hours. Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On a lighter note, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has challenged you to take the ice bucket challenge. Is that something you will do?

TRUMP: Look, he's a clown Marty Walsh. I don't even know who he is. This guy Marty Walsh, he spends all this time and effort and money on an Olympic bid and then he goes out and, you know, he is talking about ice bucket challenges. Get a real mayor. You know, he came out and he was strongly against -- when we had the original problem with, as you know, when I was totally misquoted. Now everybody has apologized to me. Illegal immigration, I don't like Trump's statements. Now, everybody apologized because I turned out to be right. And you have had massive crime. You had beautiful Kate in San Francisco and so many others, even three days ago a 63-year-old woman -- in fact 66-year-old woman was raped, sodomized and tortured by an illegal immigrant. And they caught him. And it's just disgraceful what's going on.

So I brought up -- and I'm so proud of it. I brought up and I took a lot of heat that first week, week and a half. A lot of heat. They called it incoming from you people, incoming. Now so many people have apologized to me. And it has become a main stay of everybody's campaign. The problem is they don't know what to do about it. I do. I know how to solve the problem. And it starts with building a wall. Believe me. Okay. Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Baker has said that some of your recent comments were reprehensible about women --

(CROSSTALK)

[19:05:17] TRUMP: I don't think he said that. No, I don't think he said that. Let me tell you something. Jeb Bush said that on women's health issues that he won't fund them. He apologized. Are you okay? Jeb Bush said that on women's health issues, he won't fund them. Whose phone is that? You ready? Third time. Ready? Jeb Bush said that on women's health issues, he won't fund them. Then he said, I misspoke. I'm so sorry. I cherish women. Women will be taken care of better with a President Trump than anybody else republican or democrat. Anybody else. And you know you can look at my company. I have many women executives. They make in many cases more money, because the second question, how many do you have, many.

And I am going to be introducing them over a period of time, too. They are unbelievable executives. And they are paid almost -- I think they are paid more. We're looking into it. We're studying it right now. But they get paid more. They are phenomenal. They are incredibly talented. And even years ago, in charge of major construction projects. I've had women in charge, which years ago was unheard of. So I've been way out in front. And Governor Baker should only dream about doing for women what I've done and what I will do. But on the women's health issue, I will -- there will be nobody better than Donald Trump.

(INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

It might be more. You know what it means? Whatever it takes. That's what it means. Whatever it takes. Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie Sanders has gained a lot of traction over Hillary Clinton --

TRUMP: Bernie Sanders has gained a lot of traction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- in New Hampshire. What do you think the voters are looking for (INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: Well, they're looking for real change. You know, Obama said they're looking for a change. And look what we got. We got change. But they're looking for something different than what they have. And you know, Bernie Sanders is not going to end up being the standard. But certainly he and I are getting by far the biggest crowds. I mean, look at the crowd tonight. Other people have 51 people, 54 people. We have 2,500 people and 1,000 people or more than that are standing outside listening to microphones. And loudspeakers. So we have had, you know, we've had tremendous growth. I had 15,000 in Phoenix. We've had, you know, every crowd is a record crowd. Every crowd is totally sold out. And he has done the same thing on the other side with a very different philosophy, to put it mildly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Trump, Rand Paul has come out with this ad that sort of strings together comments about --

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- healthcare and single payer healthcare and supporting Hillary Clinton. How concerned -- you said your positions have evolved. But how concerned are you that people are going to --

TRUMP: I don't think so. Look, I built a net worth of more than $10 billion. I've been a world class businessman. All over the world I build. I have some of the great assets of the world. And I don't say that in a braggadocios way. That's the thinking that our country needs to take our jobs back from China and Japan and Mexico and clean up the border, by the way, speaking of Mexico. But that's the kind of thinking we need to take back our jobs, bring back our money, bring back our manufacturing. You take a look at China, what they have done. They have taken our money, our jobs, our base, our manufacturing. And we owe them $1.4 trillion. That's like a magic act. They have taken everything and we owe them money.

You know, we owe right now China $1.4 trillion. It's like a magic act. They get everything and we owe them money. Not the other way around. Because we're led by people that don't have a clue. Honestly, I think we're led by stupid people. I don't think they're bad people. You know, it used to be they said it's so bad it has to be that they're bad people. I actually don't think -- I think they're very stupid people. Our leaders don't have a clue. They're incompetent. And China is a great example. I met with Carl Icahn, one of the great business people. And I had dinner with him two nights ago. And I said, Carl, if O do this, I'm going to put you in charge of China and I'm going to add in Japan. And you know what? Everything is going to be just fine for us.

Going to be just fine. We have people negotiating for us that -- they have no idea what they're doing. They're not even business people. And remember this, Bush and Hillary and all this -- they have a lot of money. They raised a lot of money from my friends. I used to be one of them. I contribute to everybody. And they're always there for me. But that's not good for the country. That's not good as a system. But Jeb has raised $114 million, approximately. Everybody that puts money up for Jeb Bush, it's like he is a puppet. He is totally controlled by these people.

[19:10:14] Jeb Bush is controlled by the people that put up the money. And so are the other candidates. I don't want money from people. Other than small donations, because I have so many people -- one woman sent $7 and other one sent one. I love that where they invest in my campaign. They invest. I don't want that for the money. I want that because psychologically I think it's great. But Jeb Bush has $114 million. What's he going do with it? He's start hitting me with ads, I guess, you know, at some point he has to. Because he's going down the tubes. The guy is going down the tubes. There's no energy. So, when Jeb and Hillary and all of these other candidates start spending money, remember this, that money was given by people that have total control over them. And those people, many of whom I know very well, they don't care about him, they don't care about the color of his hair, they don't care anything about him. And they don't care about the country in many cases. They only want whatever they want. And they will get plenty. Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many of people who have contributed, we don't know who they are. Would you call on Jeb Bush to have his PAC released the names of the donors?

TRUMP: They should release the names of the donors. I think we should be much more open, talking about campaign finance. I think we should be much more open. If somebody contributes a lot of money, we should know who those people are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Citizens United, did you think that was a bad decision or did you agree with it?

TRUMP: Well, it's not a great decision for me. And they are friends of mine. David Bossie, they're friend of mine. Because I'm putting up my own money. So, here you have other people putting up money into other campaigns where they will have total control. A hundred percent Katie, they will have control of those people that are running for office. One of the reasons I've done so well in the polls is because everyone knows I'm not going to be controlled. I'm going to do what's right for the country. No lobbyists. I know them all. I've hired many of them over the years. They're very good. But when they give a million dollars or $5 million to Jeb Bush, they have total control over him. He will do like a puppet whatever they say. With me, there's none of that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, would you push for legislation to change that?

TRUMP: I love the idea of campaign finance reform. And one of the things you should do is everybody should be known. If somebody gives a million or two million or five million it should be known. And I will tell you this nonsense with PACs where they have millions of dollars raised, a hundred million dollars raised and they don't coordinate with the other people. I mean, Bush puts his best friend in there. They don't talk. You are not allowed to talk. Do you really believe that that doesn't happen? Okay. They're not allowed to talk. Okay? They play golf on Saturday, but they don't talk about the $100 million and where they're going to invest. Come on. We're not babies. It's a shame. It's a disgrace. And what I would like to see is if you put money up, you can put money into either or both. Do whatever you want. But there has to be transparency. You have to know where the money is coming from. And that would help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about limits --

TRUMP: Limits, okay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about Al Gore running, have you heard about that?

TRUMP: I would love to have -- I think the concept of a woman running with me would be fabulous. Too soon to say. It's too soon to say.

(INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

Well, I think that they will be probably involved at some point, because there's a lot of pressure on Hillary right now. It has been brutal. It has been brutal for Hillary. And I think at some point she's perhaps not going to be able to run. She's going to have to end her campaign. That seems to be the thinking by so many. And I was saying that two months ago. And everyone thought, well, you, you know, you are not right. But it looks to me like what they have done -- this is top secret stuff. Look, General Petraeus, his life was destroyed with a tiny fraction of what she's done. So, it's very unfair to him if they're going to destroy him over doing by comparison nothing, I don't see how she can run. I think she has got much bigger problems than running for office. Yes, ma'am?

(INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last question.

TRUMP: Okay, last question. We will do two more questions. Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- Giving donations is bad for the country. Does that mean when you were giving donations to politicians, you were doing something bad for the country?

TRUMP: No, I don't think donations when people don't know who is donating are good. I think the concept of donations should be people should know who they are and who is contributing. I would rather see that. Don't forget, while I'm friends with Citizens United and I like David Bossie who is the head of it all. I love him. I think he's a great guy. But to me that doesn't help me. Because I'm spending my own money. Okay? So, on a personal basis, I don't love it. I think there should be better transparency. And I think when the money comes in, you should be able to use the money and do what you want. Because that's what they do anyway. Everybody does it, unfortunately, not us because I'm not doing it. But these candidates are doing it illegally. Because they're telling the people that are running the PACs exactly what to do. And if anybody thinks they're not, they're children.

[19:15:18] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are headed to the Iowa State Fair next week --

TRUMP: I will be doing jury duty -- can you believe? I'll be doing jury duty on Monday morning. I knew you would ask me that question, Katie. I will be doing jury duty on Monday morning in New York City. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Criminal court or district court?

TRUMP: I don't know. It's one of the courts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you looking forward to it?

TRUMP: Yes. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's fine. It's going to be rolled out soon. Thank you very much. I will see you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you still going to give free helicopter rides?

TRUMP: I don't know. Are we giving helicopter rides? I think so. To the kids.

(INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

Well, I don't think it's going to be Hillary. But we're going to find out pretty soon. Okay? Thank you.