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Trump's Foreign Policy; President Obama Visits Cuba. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired March 21, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:02]

DEVRY BOUGHNER VORWERK, U.S. AGRICULTURE COALITION FOR CUBA: Well, I mean, I think it's to be expected, actually, because this is the first time that the two president have come together to actually negotiate some of these -- these issues.

And I think what it -- what it really is, is, it's the beginning. It's not the be-all and the end-all. This will be a very long road. And clearly the two presidents didn't agree with everything. And, again, we wouldn't expect that. But what we're seeing here is that they have set -- it's like a springboard for the beginning of a more close relationship.

And from where we come from, as we're looking at kind of commercial advancements, what it's telling us is that both presidents are committed to this relationship. Will they agree on everything? No. And I think that is going to become something that even commercial players, as we're looking at deals that have been signed, and whether it's a commercial travel or advancements in agricultural, what we will be looking for is continued commitment to dialogue. We won't be looking for continued agreement all the time.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: So how significant will this meeting be?

The president of the United States just referenced there that he's going to be meeting with human rights groups tomorrow. And he is going to do that. That's something the Cuban government obviously doesn't want him to do. They have denied that they have political prisoners as well, as you just heard in that rather bizarre statement from the Cuban president.

How significant can that meeting be? This is very important for President Obama to draw a line, to say where the United States stands on this issue.

VORWERK: Yes.

And I think it's significant because it's creating even transparency, greater transparency around the issue. And if you look at some of the groups that are out there, like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, they're actually supportive of advancing these relationships and supportive of moving toward ending the embargo. So, it's significant they're not going to solve all these issues. And there will be lasting issues that they will need to continue to discuss.

BURNETT: Now, obviously, you heard that this went longer than they -- they both said -- President Obama said I'm going to go a little bit longer. I have some more things I -- points I want to make. They took questions.

They had long answers to those questions. What do you make of the significance though of the fact that there were questions at all? This was something until a few hours ago we did not know if there were going to be questions. We actually anticipated it was very likely there might not be, simply because that's not something that Raul Castro does.

VORWERK: We're seeing a lot of new and innovative communication actually coming out of the Cubans. The point that they actually took questions is important.

In fact, we have been seeing the Cubans tweeting recently. So they're using technology in a way that's starting to get their messages out, but also the rest of the world can start to see and understand what they're talking about.

BURNETT: A big question here on a day when the Republicans are going to be giving major speeches at the American Israeli Conference, you have Barack Obama here in Cuba, something that Ted Cruz, for example, is adamantly, stridently against, lifting this embargo.

President Obama, as you heard him there say, the embargo's going to be lifted. And this is going to continue after he leaves office. Look, the reality is, a lot of what he's doing right now is what is a personal thing that he was committed to doing. A lot of it is by executive order.

It can be undone on the first day of the presidency of a president who doesn't support it. That's got to be a big issues. It's not that there's going to be a sudden overnight change here, because why would people bet on that if it could all be completely reversed in less than a year?

VORWERK: Right.

It won't be undone because over 70 percent of the American public is in support of this. And contrary to what people are hearing, sort of the negative narrative, that's actually a side narrative.

He's mentioned that he's brought bipartisan congressional members with him. Actually, there are two comprehensive bills in the Senate led by Senator Klobuchar and Senator Moran and there is a comprehensive bill in the House led by Congressman Emmer.

And these are -- when you go up to the Hill and you talk with members, the majority of members are supportive of ending the embargo. I think it's a matter of time. I think this is a political problem, not a policy problem. I think generally Americans and legislators agree with the policy of ending the embargo. BURNETT: And one of the other things they talked about was President

Castro kept emphasizing his point of view. Here in Cuba, there is free health care. There's free education for children. The United States doesn't have that thing. Therefore, the United States is violating human rights. And he was saying it could actually more so than Cuba, because again he was denying any sort of political prisoners here.

What's your take on that, why he kept saying that, kept saying that? And President Obama acknowledged that. And said, I acknowledge that some people see the constructive criticism I believe were the words he used to refer to issues in the United States.

VORWERK: Yes. I think he's talking about this constructive coexistence, right?

We do have a lot to learn from each other as societies. And if you take it to that higher level where he was talking about equality, equal pay for women, which I'm definitely supportive of, and access to education and health care, what he's saying is, we can learn from each other.

And that's what we're experiencing as commercial players, having done business for many, many years and continuing to come down here. We are seeing that we are more similar with the Cuban people than not.

BURNETT: Yes. Do you know, at the very end of that moment, you know, when they walked from the podiums, they walked to each other. And sort of Raul Castro lifts Obama's arm in some sort of strange salute, lifted it up sort of like that. What did you make of that?

[15:05:11]

VORWERK: I didn't notice that. So I didn't notice that, but I think these two gentlemen are getting to know each other, and that's what's important for Americans and for Cubans, is the more time they spend together, the more reconciliation takes place and the more our two economies can enhance our commercial ties, our social ties.

So they're just getting to know each other, would be my take on it.

BURNETT: All right, well, Devry, thank you very much. And certainly a historic moment there in very many ways, not just this entire visit, but that press conference with Raul Castro and Barack Obama. A lot there that many did not expect.

Donald Trump has a very major speech today that he's going to be giving in front of the American-Israeli Conference later on today. He announced his foreign policy and he's now giving a press conference and we want to listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With that all being said, if you have any questions, please raise your hand.

Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: That has nothing to do with this, but that's OK. We met with Senator Sessions and some of the great people in Washington. And you pretty much know who was there, I would imagine. And we had a great meeting. We had a really good meeting.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Yes. Well, I don't have a list now, but we have various energies. Yes, various senators and congressmen.

We can provide a list for you, if you would like, OK?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: No, not at all. No, not at all. We're very inclusive.

Frankly, Jeff and some of the other people just invited a small group. And we're doing very well. It looks like we're doing very well in Arizona and very well pretty much everyplace else. And I think we're going to maybe easily that number of the 1,237.

We should make it pretty easily, based on what I'm seeing. So we won't have to worry about fighting at a convention.

Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Well, I think I'm very different from Hillary Clinton, to put it mildly.

I think we have a very different style. I don't think she will be one that's going to do much with our trade agreements, which are killing our country. People have no idea how important that is. The money that is being drained out of our country is enormous. And that's not her thing. It's totally my thing.

I think she will be very, very weak on the military. I think she will be very weak with other -- frankly, with other countries and the amount of money we subsidize them without...

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to take you away from Donald Trump. I know it's a bit of ping-pong, but this is just how we roll on live TV.

Taking you back to Havana, President Castro seeing President Obama off. It's just a moment. It's a beat. Let's take a look. All right. All right, so, again, extraordinarily significant. Just the pictures, just to see President Obama standing next to the president of Cuba, this is history in the making. We know that they reopened the U.S. Embassy there.

There was a bipartisan delegation that went last August and now to see this, this is a big deal. And as the president mentioned, he goes on a lot of trips, but this is the first in a while that his two teenaged daughters have accompanied him. So, there is that, the first family traveling with the president there in Havana, Cuba.

We promise we won't go too far from that. But let me take you back now. And if we want to rerack it, let's rerack it, back to Donald Trump, standing in front of what will be his new hotel in Washington, D.C., Mr. Trump speaking about a meeting he had today on Capitol Hill ahead of his speech at AIPAC later this evening.

TRUMP: ... solvent. And we have to make our country, frankly, rich if we're going to save all these things. And we have to rebuild our military. It's been in very bad shape. It's decimated, just decimated over a period of years.

And we have got to get the right equipment, not the wrong equipment. We have got to get equipment that isn't there because of political experience and political know-how. We want to get the equipment they really want, not the equipment that they're getting because politicians have access to certain companies.

And we're going to rebuild our military. And I think that's going to be a big difference also.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Well, she doesn't know anything about my policy. She wouldn't know anybody about it.

Her policies obviously didn't work. All you have to do is look at Libya. Look at anything you want to look at. And they haven't worked. And I think if you look back at my projections and my prognostications, they turn out to be very, very accurate. Sir.

[15:10:05]

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Well, I'm going to make a speech about two hours, so...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Well, I also said -- no, I said I what I said.

Remember, I said that I want to look into it. I want to speak to governmental people in Israel and here. I want to speak to various senators and various people, including Senator Jeff Sessions, who's highly -- Jeff is highly respected. And actually Ted Cruz I think respected him more than any senator. And he thought he was going to get endorsed by Jeff Sessions and he didn't.

Jeff Sessions endorsed me, which is a very big endorsement. And Ted Cruz still doesn't believe what happened. He couldn't believe it, because they work together. And it doesn't say much about somebody when you have almost no Senate endorsements. You have Lee, but you have almost no Senate endorsements and you work with the people all the time.

So we worked very, very closely with many people, like Jeff Sessions. We worked closely with top people from Israel. And I'm going to be making a speech about it in a little while.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Say it again.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Not so much evolved. I said I want to make -- I was asked certain questions. I said I want to make a decision. I will announce it in the not-too-distant future. And that's what I'm going to do today at about 5:00. OK?

Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Thank you.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Are you talking about here? We're doing some of that actually already. We have been very much involved.

Why, what are you looking for? What kind of a position? Come up here. Come here. She looks so smart and good.

You mind if I do a job interview right now? We need good people. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm fine.

TRUMP: So what's your experience, in front of the world?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I design. I do reefs. I do all types of decorations.

TRUMP: And you like this building?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do.

TRUMP: OK, so here's what I'm going to do. There's the man. Stand right over here.

If we can make a good deal on the salary, she's going to probably have a job, OK? All right. Good. Have a good time. Thank you, sweetie. Thank you.

Thank you. So nice. Really nice.

Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) TRUMP: Just to start getting together with some of the people that I have known over the years, politicians. In just about all cases, they were senators or congressmen. Jim DeMint was there, who I have great respect for, and some others.

And we just had a really good meeting, just a meeting. And they can't believe how far we have come, because, you know, I think a lot of people maybe wouldn't have predicted that. I think people that know me did predict that. But some people would not have. And it was really just a meeting. It's a beginning meeting. But it was a very good one with a lot of the most respected people in Washington.

BALDWIN: All right, let me bring in my panel.

Let's walk through what's happened in Washington and a lot actually has to do with Mr. Trump.

I have with me here in New York our correspondent Phil Mattingly. Also with us, former Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller. He's vice president and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Also with us, CNN international political Maeve Reston and global affairs correspondent Elise Labott.

So, wonderful to have all of you brilliant people on to talk through a couple of points.

Number one, Aaron David Miller, I would be remiss not to begin with you here. We know that Mr. Trump and a couple of folks met with "The Washington Post" editorial board and for the first time now, we have names. I'm seeing five, maybe you have more, five of the individuals who are part of a team with regard to, you know, a foreign policy advisory team.

Can you walk me through some of these names beginning with the person who will be chairing this, Senator Jeff Sessions?

AARON DAVID MILLER, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS: Jeff Sessions, I don't know personally, but obviously I know of him.

Walid Phares, I know. He's actually done some pretty good analysis on Arab politics and on Islam. The other two that are mentioned that I have seen, I really don't know.

And, of course, campaign advisers and advisers in preliminary phases of a campaign can change. Clearly this group will have to grow. It's a cruel and very unforgiving world out there. Having people around you who are prudent, wise, who are prepared to use force at times, but also understand the relationship between means and ends, thinking issues through, and more important than that, Brooke, is one primary mantra, and that is knowing what you don't know, and being in a big hurry to find out.

[15:15:06]

I worked for half-a-dozen secretaries of state. Frankly, all of them, without exception, more or less abided by that fundamental rule. That's really, really important. Ideology is great. Sound bites are phenomenal. But when you actually have to govern, you're going to have to usually make choices between the bad and the imperfect, certainly, in the area of the world I'm most familiar with.

So, this foreign policy apparatus is going to have to grow in sophistication, in size and hopefully will represent a wide variety of views.

BALDWIN: Sure. And I think your point about knowing what you know and knowing what you don't know applies in a lot of walks of life.

But with regard to these five names, Elise Labott, I know you have been -- you're familiar with some of these names. Let's go to you and if you can walk through some of these folks and what sort of experience do they have to be advising Mr. Trump?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Some of the names, Brooke, I would say most of them wouldn't not be considered what you call, as Aaron was saying, foreign policy establishment.

A lot of the conservative and Republican foreign policy establishment had lined behind Bush, Marco Rubio, now some of them moving to Ted Cruz. So Walid Phares, as Aaron said, a counterterrorism analyst, a Lebanese-American, but not very well known. You also have Carter Page, who is an energy consultant, runs a kind of capital energy firm in New York.

Georgios Papadopoulos is also an energy consultant. And then you have a couple of former military men who, again, are not very well known. And I think we will have to wait and see if Donald Trump becomes the nominee. I think you will see some foreign policy establishment lining behind Donald Trump to try and educate him, because I guess the common wisdom, if you will, is he has not laid out many concrete foreign policy platforms as some of the other candidates have.

One of the things I think tonight when he addresses AIPAC, people will be looking to see what his foreign policy vision is, because they really don't know. You heard Hillary Clinton today lay out a lot of specifics, I think, trying to paint herself as the anti-Donald Trump, who has not laid understand specifics.

We understand tonight Donald Trump has hired a speechwriter. He's worked with some Jewish groups. We think we might see some more policy specifics specifically on Israel tonight.

BALDWIN: People have called for specifics specifically with regard to foreign policy. People have been calling for names. So we have, Elise, five names here.

You mentioned Hillary Clinton. She did speak earlier today. Let's listen to a little bit of the former secretary of state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, we need steady hands, not a president who says he's neutral on Monday, pro- Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday, because everything's negotiable.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Well, my friends, Israel's security is non-negotiable.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So on that, Aaron, let me just return to you, she never name-checked Donald Trump, but I think we can all put two and two together on who she was referring to.

I just want your reaction to Secretary Clinton speaking at AIPAC and also why, you know, it's much anticipated that Mr. Trump will receive a much cooler response with a number of people scheduled to walk out.

MILLER: Just for the record, I'm not associated with any campaign. I voted for R's and D's. I have worked for R's and D's. I'm not interested...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: That's why you're the perfect person to talk to on this. Right.

MILLER: Right.

So, I listened very carefully. I was just at AIPAC actually making a presentation on the impasse in the Palestinian/Israeli issue. I listened very carefully to what Hillary Clinton had to say. The fact is, you know, she's a Clinton. And she has a rare sensibility, even with her support in laying the groundwork for the Iranian nuclear agreement, something that most of the pro-Israeli community here opposes.

She was actually quite good and extremely effective. She has a rare sensibility and rare capacity, like her husband, to understand the Israeli narrative and the Israeli story. I accompanied her to Leah Rabin's funeral in the year 2000 and she really had an extraordinary ability to relate to a wide variety of Israelis.

So, I think frankly that she did an extremely good job. And the only guy who may get a more warmer reception would be Ted Cruz because his positions are persistently and consistently pro-Israel with no nuance. He will talk about moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, for example.

[15:20:05]

He said he would do that in the first day in office. Mr. Trump, interestingly enough, back in December, to the dismay of the Republican National Jewish Coalition, who he addressed, dodged the question. He has subsequently come out and said that he would move the embassy.

But I think Trump's reception, it is going to be a tough one. It won't be so much on the Israel-related issues. I think he will go through all the obligatory nods. And I think he probably is. He did a campaign commercial for Benjamin Netanyahu in 2013. His daughter Ivanka -- he's got two Jewish grandchildren now.

I think by and large, that isn't going to be the real concern. The real concern I think among the R's and the D's who sit in that 18,000 AIPAC community are going to wonder whether, given some of the positions Trump has advanced on women, on immigration, on Muslims, whether or not they think he has the stature and the character to get into that small boat that Lee Atwater famously said contained only a small group of people who have the character and the stature to be president.

I think that's what the AIPAC community is going to be looking for. And to the extent he stays away from those issues, he reads from a prepared text, he actually advances policy positions that are coherent, he has an opportunity I think perhaps to make a dent.

BALDWIN: Stature and character. When you speak, Aaron David Miller, we listen. That is Mr. Trump. That is I believe at 5:00 Eastern at AIPAC.

Let me pivot, Phil and Maeve, and bring you in on the fact we also know Mr. Trump went to Capitol Hill today and he met with a number of rank and file Republicans, Trump supporters, including Senator Jeff Sessions, who we know will chair this foreign policy advisory council.

Phil, to you first. What do we know about the meeting, who he met with, and one important point, no Republican -- no members of the leadership?

(CROSSTALK)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Brooke.

I think it's important to note rank and file. You weren't seeing Mitch McConnell. You weren't seeing Paul Ryan. You were seeing kind of the elder statesmen of the Capitol Hill crowd.

But you were seeing rank and file members, members that were kind of approaching it in two separate ways. One, they just wanted to hear what he said. Two, they're either already behind him. He doesn't have a long list of congressional endorsements like a lot of candidates either did that already got out of the race or currently do.

But he does have a handful, particularly in the House, of Republicans that are willing to go with him, that are following him and that are willing to work with him in November, perhaps to help their electoral chances here. I think a lot of people are just trying to feel this out.

One of the most interesting developments was former members that were coming in. And Bob Livingston, a former member of House leadership, showed up there today. People that are curious want to see what it's all about, and I think a lot of it is they want to talk to him behind closed doors and see...

BALDWIN: What he's really about.

MATTINGLY: Right. Exactly.

Ben Carson came out during his endorsement and said when I talked to him behind closed doors, he's a different guy than what you see on this stage. I think what you're seeing from a lot of members right now as he makes his stop in Washington is they want to see if what Ben Carson saw is what they will see too behind closed doors.

BALDWIN: Maeve, to you. In addition to that, we also have reporting from Dana Bash that this anti-Trump, you know, super PAC is sending I think the word was a tracker. I don't know if you want to call the person a spy, someone with a camera who wants to track down Mr. Trump and these members of Congress who he's meeting with today to grab some video to be able to turn it around and spin it however which way they want to.

Will that really hurt Donald Trump in the end, do you think, though?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, potentially. What I'm hearing, too, from the anti-Trump forces is that they are still rolling on this effort to stop him, raising money.

You know, they will have the resources to send out trackers wherever he is, potentially do more ads. I think what's so fascinating about today is it just sort of underscores the myriad hurdles that Donald Trump is facing in his campaign right now.

Normally, this would be a time when the whole process kind of slows down. Instead, he's not only having to worry about the delegate hunt here, winning these contests and then the delegate chase to make sure he could potentially win at the convention, but he's having to establish his foreign policy credentials.

This is an area he hasn't spent a lot of time focusing on in his career. He's already dealing with a frontal attack from Hillary Clinton, as we saw at AIPAC earlier today. So it's sort of this fascinating -- I'm sorry -- I even forgot about, you know, walking around, trying to convince the Republican establishment that he would be comfortable in that role of commander in chief, trying to get allies on the Hill.

It's just sort of a mind-boggling number of things that he's having to juggle right now. We have looked at him steamroll through all of these primary contests. But there's a lot of things he's having to handle on the sides as he tries to advance this presidential campaign.

BALDWIN: All these sort of trip wires that different people try to put in his way and he just keeps stepping on over.

I have so much more. I want to get through a quick break. More on this closed-door meeting today on Capitol Hill with Republicans, more looking ahead to his AIPAC speech and of course the big night here on CNN tonight. All five candidates speaking with us in Washington.

[15:25:05]

Quick break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:14]

BALDWIN: All right, let's talk a little bit more about Mr. Trump in Washington making a bit of news.

Of course, different candidates will be speaking, actually except for Bernie Sanders, will be speaking at AIPAC today in Washington, so more on that, some specific hits from Hillary Clinton toward Mr. Trump. How might he respond this evening? And of course tonight's the big night, the candidates speaking to CNN in a big CNN forum this evening. So please watch for that.

Let me bring in Gina Loudon. She's a Trump supporter, and a radio and a TV host. Clay Aiken is here. He's a former Democratic congressional candidate from North Carolina. And Carrie Sheffield with us. She's a contributor at "Forbes" magazine, founder of Bold.Global, and, we should also mention, not a fan of Mr. Trump's.

So, that said, Carrie, let me just begin with you.

We were talking a moment ago, now that a lot of people have been calling for Donald Trump's sort of specifics on foreign policy...

CARRIE SHEFFIELD, "FORBES": Right.

BALDWIN: ... which we should be hearing later today at AIPAC, but also naming names on who is advising him.

And so he now has released these five names.