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Trump Signs GLOP Pledge; New Video in Fox Lake Cop Killing Case; S.C. Will Seek Death Penalty Against Charleston Shooter. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 03, 2015 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:05] DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I'm not going to let Japan rip us off. Japan is devaluing their yen. Very hard for Caterpillar and other companies to compete against Kamatsu, their big tractor maker, and others. We're not going to let this happen anymore. They do -- you talk about a trade imbalance. They have in Japan the biggest ships you have ever seen pouring cars into Los Angeles, pouring them in. I have never seen anything like it. We send them beef. And they don't even want it. It will end. And they're going to like us.

In this building, I have the largest bank in the world, right up in the elevators. It's a bank from China. By far, it's the biggest bank in the world. I get along great with China and Japan and Mexico. I love the people.

I love the people of Mexico. I love the Hispanics. I have thousands of Hispanics right now working for me. Over the years, I have employed tens of thousands of Hispanics, many from Mexico. I have unbelievably great relationships. And in the package that we gave you, you'll see there's a poll and I'm number one with Hispanics. You saw that, number one with Hispanics.

So, look, for our country to be great, we have to be able to make great deals. We're going to be great to the vets. We'll be terrific. The military will be unbelievable. All of these things. We'll get rid of Obamacare and come up with something that's much better and much less expensive. We're going do get rid of it. Repeal it. It's going to be out. Should have been out a long time ago and it should have never happened.

But we are going to take care of our country and we're going to bring back jobs and we're going to bring back wealth to the United States so we can afford to save Social Security, which I'll save without cuts. So that we can afford to do the kind of things so we have to do to make America great again.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. And here is your --

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Here is your pledge.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

TRUMP: They put it in, yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

Somebody else wrote it, so. We'll change the date.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

TRUMP: No, it's a bubble waiting to explode. I've been saying that for a long time. I have been saying what they're doing in China is a bubble waiting to explode. And just remember something. When it's a bubble, it's a bubble. We can't be brought down by that bubble. They have done things to cause it. We can't be brought down by the bubble.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You have been listening in to Donald Trump following his meeting with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and signing a pledge of allegiance to the Republican Party that he will not run as an Independent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's here to see me. Setya Novanto, one of the most powerful men and a great man, and his whole group is here to see me today, and we will do great things for the United States.

Is that correct?

SETYA NOVANTO, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, INDONESIA: Yes.

TRUMP: Do they like me in Indonesia?

NOVANTO: Yes. Thank you very much.

TRUMP: Speaker of the House in Indonesia. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Donald Trump surrounded by a lot of supporters, speaking to a whole gang of media who wanted to hear the result of this meeting with the RNC chairman.

I want to bring back the panel to discuss a lot of the different things that he discussed. We have Dana Bash there, among the media. We have Gloria Borger; Jeffrey Lord, CNN political commentator and Trump defender. Also with us, Ana Navarro, a CNN political analyst; and we have a Trump supporter, Katrina Campins, a former contestant of "The Apprentice."

Lots to talk about guys. Gloria, I'll start with you.

He signed the pledge. He said he's not going to change his mind. Does that calm the critics who have said he's not conservative enough, not loyal enough to the party?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think it calms the Republican National Committee and Reince Priebus. I mean, their personal nightmare would have been if Donald Trump refused to do it and had threatened to run as an Independent candidate because that would throw the election to the Democrats because as we see in the polls he's got a substantial amount of support. Number one, this is good for Reince Priebus. What I heard from Donald Trump that was interesting to me was he did say under no circumstances could he see taking this back. He also said all he wanted -- what's the Aretha Franklin song, with a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T -- which he clearly got.

[14:35:] CABRERA: Respect and fairness.

BORGER: Yes. He got from the Republicans. And hitting Jeb Bush hard on the fact that he's a tool of Republican big money and a tool of Republican lobbyists. And as we sat here listening, to Donald Trump, Jeb Bush's super PAC put out a video comparing Trump to Hillary Clinton, saying that they belong to the same thing. Expect this ping- pong fight to keep going.

CABRERA: I want to talk more about the comments of Jeb Bush in just a moment.

Let's go to Dana, since she was there during the press conference, and a great perspective how things went down.

What was it like?

Dana, can you hear me? It's Ana in New York. What is your takeaway?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's a connection that's a little bit bad.

(LAUGHTER)

CABRERA: I'm sure you're surrounded by a lot of noise where you are. Set the scene for us there. What was it like in that room at that press conference? Who was he surrounded by?

BASH: His top aides, one of his sons was here, and a lot of press, as you could see. Probably a lot of press. I couldn't count the number of cameras as I'm looking at you, and the others next to them.

But I think that, you know, some of my colleagues were talking about the fact that this was kind of a different Trump, in tone, in tenor. This is -- he's kind of evolved to this at times. He changes when he's pushed as he said. He counter-punches and he's not shy about doing that. But the bottom line is that this is a man who as the latest poll we have been reporting on today shows is on top, is riding high. He's at his highest yet in this Monmouth poll today at 30 percent. And so he feels like he's got to sort of be the leader and take the pledge. That's what he said.

However, we should also point out some of the realities here. And that is, number one, I'm not sure if you guys have mentioned this yet. This is not binding. He said under no circumstances asked about the fact that it's not binding, under no circumstances would he at this point go ahead and run as an Independent, which is something he's never promised to do before. But still, you know, Donald Trump has been unpredictable and changed his mind before.

The other thing that we should just kind of reality check here is that there are some important states, especially South Carolina, which is a first in the south primary states, which doesn't allow somebody to run for the primary, presidential primary without promising to be a Republican. So there's some of those facts that are just out there. And, yeah, there is that, despite the fact that I have been told that the calls that they were getting upstairs in the office were overwhelmingly trying to tell him not to take the pledge, from the staunch supporters, and much prefer him to be kind of a maverick Independent guy than the, you know, establishment part of any party guy. He's got to get beyond the supporters to get the nomination and got to appeal to some of the party faithful who aren't going to support anybody unless they know that he is part of them and that is part of that.

CABRERA: Katrina, I know you have been a big supporter of Trump. He's been your boss in your work world. What do you make of him signing the pledge?

KATRINA CAMPINS, TRUMP SUPPORTER & FORMER CONTESTANT, THE APPRENTICE: Well, I think that the fact that they actually asked them to sign a loyalty pledge -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- and I don't think it's been done before, just shows the strength of Donald Trump and the big threat that he is to, again, the Democratic Party, but also, other Republicans running. I'm -- you know, expect the unexpected from Trump. I didn't know if he would sign it or not. I understand why he did. And hopefully the fact that he signed this pledge now will allow us to focus on other more important issues rather than the candidates fighting amongst each other.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Did you want him to sign the pledge?

CAMPINS: You know, I wanted Donald Trump to do whatever he felt was right in order to win the presidency because I believe that he has the best chance to correct the political corruption in this country and the fact that he is Independent from all of the lobbyists and special interest groups. And what I love about Donald Trump is that he stands firm in his truth. I have so many Republicans that have told me that they can't vocally, you know, support him to the public, but come election time, they will, if he's the Republican candidate. And Democrats are telling me to vote for him. For the first time in history, he's actually allowed people to, you know, sway from party to party because he's just speaking truth, which people want so desperately and we need in this country. It's really the first time in a long time that I'm proud to say that I'm an American and I'm passionate about it. And that's why I come on here and speak about these issues, because I believe in Donald Trump and I believe that he can make it all the way to the White House.

[14:40:36] CABRERA: Trump has sparked a passion. That's for sure. He has people who are very into the political race this early in the cycle.

Jeffrey Lord, I know you have been a Trump supporter. One thing that stood out to me is he didn't fling a bunch of insults and one person to go on the attack against was Jeb Bush. Yet, in this most recent poll, Donald Trump at 30 percent. Jeb Bush is at 8 percent. He's continuing to fall in the polls. Why do you think he keeps going back against Jeb?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think Jeb is the, if you will, the leader of the insider pack. I mean, I think there's two groups of people here, the insiders and the outsiders. And Jeb for a long time has been, I don't know after this, frankly, whether he will be seen as the leader of the insiders but that's probably one of the reasons he goes after him. I have to say, watching this and listening to this, I had two other thoughts. One is he really looked presidential. This is what a president looks like. In command, firm. Answered questions. Took as many questions and the second thought I had was the contrast with Hillary Clinton, who sort of doesn't want to get into these kinds of situations with the press. She has the business of somebody that worked on the server taking the Fifth Amendment and other aides are testifying. It's a mess over there. I think the contrast is pretty stark.

BORGER: You know, the way he attacked Jeb was so interesting to me because it was sort of more in sorrow than in anger.

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: It's a different kind of tone, don't you think, than we have heard in the past? He sort of said, he is a nice guy but I saw him in morning on morning television and he was a little bit sad. Because he was supposed to be number one and now I'm number one.

(LAUGHTER)

CABRERA: Ana, do you agree with this?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: To me, Donald Trump today sounded like maybe this press conference interfering with his nap time. He sounded and, you know, what is Donald Trump wattage, low energy, a different tone.

Look, he's going to wage attacks against Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush is going to answer back. That is where we are. That is what it's come to. And I think that's what we're going to continue seeing. I think it's a good thing that he signed this pledge. Like Dana said, he changed his mind a lot on things like abortion, on things like the health care system. So I, you know, I don't put all the eggs in this basket that he's not going to change his mind this time. But the idea of Donald Trump not running as an Independent, not

running a third party, is -- is a relief for Republicans because it would mean certain doom. And, you know, this guy is a perfect storm in a candidate. He's got the money. He's got the celebrity status. And he's tapping into angst and concern. If he didn't have the money and the celebrity status, he would be a guy ranting. He has all the different factors that make him a difficult person to deal with as a third-party candidate.

CABRERA: Let me bring up the comment that he made just this week about Hispanics and about Jeb Bush and his attack against Jeb Bush. He criticized him for speaking in Spanish with some of the voters and supporters that he was speaking to just yesterday. In fact, let me read what he says, "I like Jeb. He's a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States."

Gloria, does that further alienate Trump among minority voters?

BORGER: Let's say Donald Trump is not likely to win with Hispanic voters. He has an 82 percent unfavorable rating and what he was doing with that comment was playing to his base, which is the conservative white voters in the Republican Party. He knows exactly what he's doing. And it's a way to differentiate himself. And he understands, even though he said, "I love the Hispanics," as he put it, even though he said that today, it's very clear that in criticizing Jeb for speaking Spanish, he was talking to his core constituency.

CABRERA: Jeff, can Donald Trump win the general election, if he keeps making comments like this?

LORD: Well, you know, there was an interesting column of Peggy Noonan in the "Wall Street Journal" the over day talking to a Hispanic friend who listens to Spanish language radio, apparently in New York and was saying that when these kind of controversies come up about Donald Trump and Hispanics, the hosts get a number of -- lots of calls from Hispanics supporting Donald Trump. They're opposed to illegal immigration, too. She called the radio station and talked to the host and said, yes, this is true. So I would leave the door open here that what he says may well turn out to be true about this.

[14:45:31] CABRERA: There was another poll recently showing that 82 percent of Hispanics view Donald Trump unfavorably so you --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Right. He's --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: -- it's not adding up.

LORD: He's turned the unfavorables around by considerable numbers, from 27 percent to 60-some odd percent, but to show it can be done. And one other thing that Gloria is saying, and she is right about this, in terms of the base, Rush Limbaugh spent considerable time on the radio show discussing this and saying how stunned he was that it is controversial at all to defend speaking in English. And I can tell you that really will resonate with the conservative base. Sort of roll their eyes at this. That is not going to help Governor Bush.

CABRERA: Katrina, has Donald Trump --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Speaking English is --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPINS: I'm sorry. I can't hear you.

NAVARRO: Let's not pretend the controversy is that Jeb Bush doesn't speak English. He speaks English.

CAMPINS: I'm sorry, what was that question?

NAVARRO: The controversy here is that --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Just a minute.

NAVARRO: He speaks Spanish and Mr. Trump, I guess, finds that offensive. And I find that --

LORD: No, no, no.

NAVARRO: If you know more than one language and can express yourself in it, why not? I hope more people learn more languages. It is a huge asset in business, a huge asset in life.

LORD: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Jeffrey, respond, and then I have a question for Katrina.

LORD: Sure. It's not just Spanish. It's all languages. The implication here that springs from this illegal immigration situation is that the country is being forced in other words to a different culture than the one it has. The American culture. That it's being in the words of Victor David Hanson, "ethnic triumphalism." And that's not a good thing. And to the extent that Governor Bush would be perceived to be on the side of that, in one way or another, that is not helpful to him.

CABRERA: So, Katrina --

NAVARRO: Jeffrey --

CABRERA: -- let me ask you --

(CROSSTALK) NAVARRO: -- for $500 million, because he thinks that's what it's worth to him to reach the Hispanics, the Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the United States.

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: For Jeb to set an example? Maybe he should set an example and drop the suit. I don't understand why if he's so offended he would want to --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: He is not offended --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: -- to be in a network --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPINS: He is not offended.

NAVARRO: They broke a contract with him. He's suing them because they --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: Right. Ana, Univision wrote a contract with him. He has --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Right. A contract with him to carry his pageants in Spanish for the Spanish speakers in the United States. The people that he finds --

(CROSSTALK)

LORD: You don't get a pass in breaking a contract because you speak Spanish.

CABRERA: Let me get -- let me let Katrina get into the conversation.

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: That's not the point --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: -- I know you have a thought.

CABRERA: Go ahead, Katrina.

CAMPINS: Yeah. I think the whole anti-Hispanic idea that, you know, Trump is universally against Hispanics, the root of that really started with immigration. And the root of that started because people misinterpreted what he was saying about immigration and all of a sudden people think that Trump is anti-Hispanics and he is not. But all of this back and forth has caused Hispanics to really truly believe that. And I get a lot of support from Hispanics that tell me we understand, Katrina. We support Trump because we understand that that was not what he meant to say and misconstrued by the media and others believe everything they hear and see in the media. As a Hispanic woman, who has known Donald Trump since 2004, he is not anti- Hispanics. I'm so proud of my culture. I'm so proud. I'm a Cuban- American. My parents came here at a very young age and I want legal immigration to work the right way and not pay for illegal immigrants and tax dollars so that they can get better health care than I can as an American. That's the point of Donald Trump. All of anti-Hispanic stuff is just --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Maybe, Katrina, people, Cuban-American, get all of it for free under the Cuban Adjustment Act after they come here illegally.

CAMPINS: First of all --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: -- and set foot in the United States.

CAMPINS: I'm talking about --

(CROSSTALK)

GLORIA: Can we just --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: I'm talking about --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Right. People like your parents that Cuban-Americans, many of my friends, have an advantage over other immigrants that nobody else has. There's something called the Cuban Adjustment Act for all sorts of benefits, OK?

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPINS: So talk about the other immigrants. Let's talk about the other immigrants, because my husband's actually going through immigration right now and very familiar with the topic, and he is doing it the legal way and it's costing him a lot of money. And why should he do it the legal way and then people come into the country illegally, and we, as Americans, are paying because they can't afford to be here? That's all Donald Trump is saying. Do you want your tax dollars to go to support illegal immigrants when the health insurance is a bloody mess?

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPINS: We don't have jobs for Americans in this country. [14:50:21] BORGER: Donald Trump is changing the tone on immigration.

Because when this entire --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPINS: Not changing his tone.

BORGER: He is changing his tone. When Donald Trump was out there --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPINS: He is not.

BORGER: -- was more bombastic and talking about quote/unquote, "Who's doing the raping," and the rest of it. This is why --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMPINS: What's happening is --

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: Can I finish, please?

CAMPINS: What's happening is --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Gloria, go ahead and finish, Gloria.

CAMPINS: -- beginning to understand.

BORGER: That's why --

CAMPINS: What's happening --

CABRERA: Go ahead.

CAMPINS: Go ahead.

BORGER: That is why his unfavorable rating of Hispanics has skyrocketed. What I can tell you is that Mitt Romney lost the last election. He had 27 percent of Hispanic voters. In talking to Mitt Romney about that, Romney was the first one to say the Republican Party has to do much better than I did. When George W. Bush won the election, he had 43 percent, 44 percent of Hispanics. The Republican nominee has to do at least that well. And so at this point, Donald Trump has to figure out a way to navigate that, what has become a very, very difficult terrain for him.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: I want to ask one last question to Katrina before we head into a break.

Has Donald Trump said anything or done anything, though, that strikes you shockingly, and which you wish he hadn't said?

CAMPINS: No. Donald Trump is Donald Trump. That's what people love about him. I'll tell you another thing. A lot of Hispanic clients of mine told me that they're going to vote for Trump. They just don't want to go out in public and expose themselves. And this tells you right then and there that they understand what he's trying to say.

I'm so proud. I want to emphasize this. I'm proud of my culture and I'm a Hispanic-American. And there's a lot of people telling me they'll vote for Trump and they're Hispanic.

CABRERA: All right.

We'll end it there and we'll continue the conversation coming up.

Do stand by with me, panel.

We'll have more on that in just a moment.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Up next, breaking news in that desperate search for the three suspected cop killers in Illinois. We are getting word that a video has now been turned over that could offer a key piece of evidence.

Plus, breaking news involving the man behind the massacre inside a Charleston church. Hear what the prosecutor wants to do now.

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:] CABRERA: Welcome back. We have breaking news in that hunt for the three suspects in the murder of a beloved police officer near Chicago.

Our Rosa Flores continues to follow the story from Fox Lake just north of Chicago.

Rosa, there was an announcement about some new video. What did investigators say?

ROSE FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, this surveillance video could be key evidence, according to investigators. Because, remember, up the now the only description of those suspects is very vague. Two white males and a black male.

Here's what they tell us about the video. It was recovered from a system of a home nearby. The homeowner turning it over to police.

Here's the key. The fact that this surveillance video is consistent with the fact that there are three suspects in this case.

Now, here's what the investigator told us moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE FILENKO, SHERIFF, LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We have retrieved as late as last night what we believe to be some significant video. That's been turned over to the Department of Homeland Security for processing. And I'm expecting some results from that video as late as this evening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, that commander also telling us, about 30 minutes ago, another key piece of evidence was recovered, the gun. The officer's gun was recovered on the scene, he tells us, but he will not go into the details, although he does tell us that that gun was sent over to a crime lab and that all of the evidence recovered there is also at a crime lab.

And then what's happening now, Ana, right now, more than 100 agents in the region either following leads, looking through video or scouring this area looking for those three suspects -- Ana?

CABRERA: Of course, all this happened now almost three days ago and so the physical pieces of evidence will be huge in breaking this case.

Rosa Flores, thanks for staying on top of this.

We have more breaking news. A prosecutor in South Carolina says the state will seek the death penalty against the alleged church shooter, Dylann Roof, the man prosecutors say admitted to gunning down nine African-American parishioners inside a historical black church in Charleston. Roof, who's white, faces 33 federal counts of murder, including hate crimes.

Let's bring in CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Philip Holloway.

First, explain what needs to be argued in court to meet the death penalty standard in South Carolina, Philip.

PHILIP HOLLOWAY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Nice to be with you, Ana. What they have done is they have filed documents that said this crime meet it is definition for death penalty litigation in that state, specifically that more than one person was involved. I have said all along, I think back in June, I wrote an op-ed for "CNN Opinion" on this, and I said, look, South Carolina, despite the fact of no hate crime legislation, is well capable of telling a jury that this was racially motivated, that this was a hate crime, and that he is probably on the express lane to the death chamber. And I think what I have predicted back in June is playing out in court right now.