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Donald Trump the Unifier?; Clinton Rolls Out New Anti-Trump Ads; Prince Death Investigation: DEA, U.S. Attorney's Office Officially Join Case. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired May 05, 2016 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[09:00:01] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump, a Republican uniter? Or divider? Riling the Republican Party. Could some conservatives now eyeing a third party candidate?
And Hillary Clinton facing her own dilemma. Counter punch or steer clear of the presumptive nominee's attack?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think we can take a risk on a loose cannon like Donald Trump running our country.
COSTELLO: Plus Prince's siblings revealing the star's complicated history with painkillers. What they're saying about his longtime addiction and how it could have played a role in the singer's death.
Let's talk, live at the CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me.
Donald Trump, the last Republican standing and long considered one of the least likely to become the party's standard bearer in November. And that view is still held by many in the party. Republican Senator Ben Sass of Nebraska re-energizing his anti-Trump effort and standing by his Facebook statement he made back in February, quote, "If Donald Trump ends up as the GOP nominee, conservatives will need to find a third option."
And then there's Senator John McCain, the party's 2008 nominee. He believes Trump endangers his reelection bid. Listen to what he tells supporters at a private fundraiser in this audio recording obtained by Politico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I have no doubt that if is Donald Trump at the top of the ticket here in Arizona with over 30 percent of the vote being Hispanic votes, no doubt that this may be the race of my life. People are angry. They're upset. They feel that there is this disconnect. So if you have friends here when you listen to or watch Hispanic media and in this state or in the country, you will see that it is all anti-Trump. The Hispanic community is aroused in anger in a way that I've never seen in 30 years. And so this is going to be a tough campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's Phil Mattingly, live in Columbus, Ohio, with more. Good morning.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Carol. John McCain in that recording, echoing what we've heard from a number of different Republican campaign operatives as they've started to get their minds around the fact that Donald Trump is in fact the Republican nominee. It's something many are grabbling with, Senate campaigns, House campaigns, the Republican Party in general. They thought this was a possibility. Now they're facing the fact that this is real.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm even surprised by it.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Donald Trump's elevation to presumptive nominee of the Republican Party happened suddenly, even for Donald Trump.
TRUMP: I thought that I'd be going longer.
MATTINGLY: His ascent now has conservatives scrambling, deciding whether to back a billionaire unabashedly vocal about his disdain for the party.
TRUMP: The Republican system is rigged, but much more -- in a much more sophisticated way.
MATTINGLY: Both former presidents Bush have made it clear they will not support Trump. According to close aides, Bush 41 is, quote, "retired from politics, and his son does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign."
In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Trump is looking ahead and hitting his clearest target, the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, falsely accusing her of being the first to speculate on Obama's citizenship.
TRUMP: You know who started it? Do you know who questioned his birth certificate, one of the first? Hillary Clinton. She's the one that started it. She brought it up years before it was brought up by me. And, you know, so she can talk.
Look, here's a person under investigation by the FBI. She's only going to get the nomination because of some rigged deal, and frankly, maybe she won't even be able to run.
MATTINGLY: The new standard bearer of the Republican Party outlining some of his potential policies, taking a cue from Bernie Sanders, asked if he'll raise the minimum wage.
TRUMP: I'm actually looking at that because I'm very different from most Republicans. I mean, you have to have something that you can live on, but what I'm really looking to do is get people great jobs so they make much more money than that. So they make much more money than -- more money than the $15. Now if you start playing around too much with the lower level -- the lower level number, you're not going to be competitive.
MATTINGLY: And vowing to implement his ban of all Muslims from entering the U.S.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You're sticking with this temporary ban?
TRUMP: Until we figure out what's going on. We have to be very tough. We have to be very vigilant, yes.
MATTINGLY: Trump now focused on potential running mates.
TRUMP: I'm starting to think about it very soon and will be vetting them.
MATTINGLY: In a possible push to unify the GOP, name checked the previous rivals who have since supported him.
TRUMP: You know, I'm going to set up a committee, and I may put Ben Carson on the committee. I may put Chris Christie on the committee. I've had a good relationship with John. I've gotten along with him well. But John will -- whether he's vice president or not, I think he'll be very, very helpful with Ohio.
MATTINGLY: John Kasich has always said there is zero chance that he would be Trump's VP. But his future is still left unknown.
[09:05:09] GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have always said that the Lord has a purpose for me as he has for everyone. And as I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith that the Lord will show me the way forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And Carol, Donald Trump and his top advisers have said that given time, the party will unify. People will come around. And yesterday, we did see a number of top officials say regardless of their views of Donald Trump, they would in fact be voting for the Republican nominee who is Donald Trump. But all eyes on the officials who haven't weighed in. And that includes here in Columbus, Ohio. John Kasich, just suspending his campaign last night. As you heard, Donald Trump willing to consider vetting him for vice-presidential nomination. Kasich not even willing to say whether or not he will commit to backing Donald Trump.
So, Carol, a lot of dissension in the Republican ranks right now as they try and get their head around the idea that Donald Trump, the man who many dismissed or even mocked at the start of this campaign season, knocked off one of the deepest and most talented Republican fields perhaps in the party's history in a presidential campaign, now he is the standard bearer, now the party either has to unify or risk major losses come November.
COSTELLO: All right. Phil Mattingly, reporting live from Columbus, Ohio, this morning.
So let' talk about that divide in the Republican Party. I'm joined by national political commentator for USA Radio Networks and Trump campaign surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes and Deborah DeMoss Fonseca -- I apologize. She's the spokeswoman for Conservatives Against Trump.
Welcome to both of you.
SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, NATIONAL POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, USA RADIO NETWORKS: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Deborah, good morning. Deborah, you called Trump a reckless political opportunist. But he appears to be who the voters want. Isn't it time to give it up?
DEBORAH DEMOSS FONSECA, SPOKESWOMAN, CONSERVATIVES AGAINST TRUMP: Well, I don't think so, Carol. There have been approximately 10 million voters in the primary who have voted for him, but there are more than 15 million voters in the Republican primary who have voted for somebody other than Donald Trump. And he is the most divisive candidate going into the general election, assuming that he gets his nomination ratified, that we've probably ever seen. So he is not going to be able to unite the Republican Party.
And the down party, the down ballot candidates are going to have trouble regardless. So I think that Republicans need to think very seriously how we're going to win with the other candidates on the ballot, how we're going to help them, the local and state candidates, when we have somebody as divisive as Donald Trump has been. He's offended just about everybody since he started this campaign. Journalists, Latinos, Muslims, POWs, disabled people. Everybody, from top to bottom. He has offended. And that is not a uniter.
COSTELLO: OK. So, Scottie, like it or not, Mr. Trump does need to unite Republicans, all different kinds of Republicans. He has to bring in independents into the fold. But how can you do that when so many Republicans who are running for office are blaming Trump because they fear they may lose. You heard one example that Senator John McCain. Even Texas Republican Louie Gohmert says he is worried about his colleague John Boozman in Arkansas.
This is a local ad made by Boozman's opponent. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She ate like a pig. I'd look right in that fat ugly face of hers.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: He once sent a picture of herself with the words, "The face of a dog." SEN. JOHN BOOZMAN (R), ARKANSAS: I'll support the candidate,
regardless of who we pick, whether it's Donald Trump. It's certainly would be a lot better presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK, so, Scottie, this ad goes on for two minutes. So how can Donald Trump unite Republicans when he may cost them their election campaign?
HUGHES: Well, first of all, there was -- and that tracking firm has just released, Carol, more than $75.6 million was spent in this campaign so far to defeat Mr. Trump. And the last time I checked, Mr. Trump is now the only one standing with the majority of voters in America as well as the delegates winning him in the Republican Party.
COSTELLO: But is that what Mr. Trump tells these candidates running for office?
HUGHES: Well, you know, I don't think you should blame Mr. Trump. Maybe they should look at their own record. In regards to Senator John McCain, I don't think it's Mr. Trump, when we have record voter turnout in Arizona. Maybe these senators and congressmen need to look at whether they represented themselves while in office, their own beholdings or the people.
And you know, you look at Senator John McCain who was for amnesty, who was sitting there and was one of the leaders of the Gang of Eight, they're the same thing that basically took out Senator Rubio from the presidential ticket. And now he's in the state of Arizona, who's having to deal with this right there on the border. That's probably one of the main reasons why Senator John McCain should be worried about his race. Not necessarily the record voter turnout of Arizona who did not approve of him being involved in the Gang of Eight bill.
[09:10:02] COSTELLO: And Deborah, on the other hand, if a whole bunch of Republicans oppose Trump or push a third party candidate, say, won't the Republicans lose?
FONSECA: Well, I think that there is a good chance that the Republicans can lose any way. I do not see how Donald Trump can beat Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders or whoever the candidate is. Donald Trump has been on almost every side of every issue throughout his lifetime. In fact, had he known that Hillary Clinton was going to be having legal troubles at this point in time, he probably would have run as a Democrat.
HUGHES: That's just completely false. How can you make a statement like that? That right there, you know, you might as well be conservatives for Hillary in the way that all of you are talking right now. I understand your --
FONSECA: No, I don't' think --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: Your feelings are hurt.
FONSECA: No, I don't think you can question any of our credential.
HUGHES: You cannot -- well, no, I actually, I can question them right now. Because you know what, where were you when we were fighting Mitt Romney or John McCain or these establishment candidates who I had to go in and vote for because I believed in the Republican Party. Where were you? Did you have a strong fight for them? You were not. You were silent. So these same people who forced us to go into the voter booths for them are now saying that they don't want to vote for Mr. Trump.
COSTELLO: But I see where Deborah is coming from.
FONSECA: Excuse me. I don't --
COSTELLO: Mr. Trump is opening the door to like increasing the minimum wage, that's not exactly --
HUGHES: No, he didn't open it. Here is the deal, he said --
(CROSSTALK)
FONSECA: Of course he did.
HUGHES: He said -- no, he wants to --
FONSECA: He's not had conservative principles ever. And excuse me, you're not going to compare him --
HUGHES: That is a lie right there.
(CROSSTALK)
FONSECA: To Mitt Romney or any of the other --
HUGHES: He is better. He is more of a conservative.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Scottie, let Deborah talk.
FONSECA: You don't know me and you cannot ask -- you cannot question my credentials. I am somebody who has never been questioned in the conservative movement. I've been a conservative activist for 35 years or more. OK. You're younger than I am, so maybe you don't know me, but I am somebody who was with Senator Jessie Helms for 15 years. There's nobody who was more conservative who's ever walked the halls of Congress than he has. OK.
And I'm somebody who has been unequivocally pro-life and every other conservative issue all the way down the line. Donald Trump has not been there sharing our values. And somebody like Mitt Romney was far more aligned with Republican principles and values than Donald Trump has ever been.
HUGHES: What, amnesty? Opening our borders? Look, Deborah, look where your --
(CROSSTALK)
FONSECA: Donald Trump has not had that position.
HUGHES: You know what, we do have evolved and he has been a registered Republican since --
FONSECA: Look at the people he's hired.
HUGHES: Deborah, may I speak please? When you sit there -- all these people are saying he's not conservative. What has he shown in this campaign that's not been conservative? When it comes to the minimum wage, he said he's open to it. He wants to bring people to the table. He wants to have a discussion.
FONSECA: He is open to everything.
HUGHES: Deborah, that's the problem with Republicans today. They've been so close minded. They've been black and white. An issue like this is not black and white. We do have people that are hurting. We do have people that are suffering. We do have people that are dying because of the health care.
FONSECA: I am not closed-minded. I have voted --
HUGHES: No, that is very --
(CROSSTALK)
FONSECA: I have voted for every Republican presidential candidate until now.
HUGHES: Then let's bring them to the table. Let's find a solution.
COSTELLO: Scottie, let -- Deborah, last word.
FONSECA: I have voted for every Republican candidate up until now because they have shared my core values and principles and because they have been qualified. He does not share the core values and principles that we as Republicans have, and he is not the one who is going to be able to take the party of Lincoln and Reagan into the future. He does not represent the majority of our party. And we will not be able to win with him at the head of the ticket. So I think we will --
HUGHES: Well, then enjoy getting Hillary Clinton right now you're electing --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: I've got to leave it there now, ladies. I got to leave it there. Scottie --
FONSECA: We are not --
COSTELLO: Deborah DeMoss Fonseca, thanks to you both.
FONSECA: Thanks very much.
COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about -- you're welcome.
Let's talk about the Democrats now. Hillary Clinton has not locked her party's nomination but she's seizing on the GOP's squeamishness with nominee Trump. Listen to part of a new attack ad that Hillary Clinton's camp has rolled out on her Twitter account.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I am a unifier. We're going to be a unified party.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: He is a con artist.
MITT ROMNEY, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: A phony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is the know-nothing candidate.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald, he is a bully.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And Clinton is not just letting her ads do the talking. CNN's Chris Frates has more on an exclusive interview with Clinton. Good morning.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. You're exactly right here. Hillary Clinton has wasted no time hitting the freshly minted presumptive GOP nominee. She's been slamming Donald Trump in an exclusive interview with our own Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINTON: I think he is a loose cannon and loose cannons tend to misfire.
FRATES (voice-over): Hillary Clinton says she is ready to take on Donald Trump in the general election, brushing off his "Crooked Hillary" moniker and repeatedly calling him a loose cannon.
CLINTON: I've seen the presidency up close from two different perspectives. And I think know what it takes. And I don't think we can take a risk on a loose cannon like Donald Trump running our country. You know, Donald Trump has said it's OK for other countries to get nuclear weapons. I think that's just downright dangerous.
FRATES: But elsewhere, Clinton is treading more lightly, declining to say whether she agrees with this tweet from Senator Elizabeth Warren, saying Trump, quote, "built his campaign on racism, sexism and xenophobia."
[09:15:00] CLINTON: I think Elizabeth Warren is very smart.
ANERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Do you agree with that statement? (LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: I think anybody who has listened to him and how he has talked certainly can draw that conclusion.
COOPER: Do you think he is a racist?
CLINTON: I'm going to let people judge themselves.
FRATES (voice-over): Clinton also seems unfazed by Trump's more personal barbs.
COOPER: He has made references to your marriage, your husband. Are you prepared --
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: Well, he is not the first one, Anderson. I just can't -- I can't say this often enough. If he wants to go back to the playbook of 1990s, if he wants to follow in the footsteps of those who have tried to knock me down and take me out of the political arena, I'm more than happy to have him do that.
COOPER: You're ready for that?
CLINTON: Oh, please.
I mean, look, this -- this is -- this is to me a classic of a blustering, bullying guy who has knocked out of the way the Republicans, because they were just dumbfounded.
FRATES: And fresh off of his Indiana primary victory over Clinton, Bernie Sanders is also criticizing the abrasive campaign tactics at his rally last night.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know there is a lot of nervousness around this country that Donald Trump may become president.
(BOOS)
Ain't going to happen.
(CHEERS)
The American people will never elect a candidate who insults people every single day in incredible ugly ways.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRATES: So as you hear there, Sanders focusing his fire on Donald Trump. He didn't mention Hillary Clinton at all in his speech, but it really remains to be seen if this kindler, gentler Bernie Sanders will continue, because remember, it is mathematically impossible for Sanders to win enough delegates in all these remaining contests to clinch the nomination. But the Vermont senator has vowed to take his fight to the convention, hoping to convince enough super delegates to switch sides and hand him the nomination, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Chris Frates, reporting live for us this morning -- thank you.
Still to come in THE NEWSROOM, could charges be filed in Prince's death? New information about the music icon's history with painkillers, next.
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[09:21:24] COSTELLO: Charges could be filed in the death of Prince. The DEA, the U.S. attorney's office announcing they are officially joining the investigation. Two weeks after Prince was found unresponsive in that elevator. This, as the former attorney for two of Prince's siblings say the late musician had an addiction to Percocet decades before his death.
CNN's Stephanie Elam outside the late singer's compound with more on this.
Good morning.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, we're hearing from this attorney who used to represent these two half siblings of Prince, who said years ago that he was told by half brother Duane Nelson that not only did he use Percocet to come down from the performances, but sometimes procure it for him.
What you need to know about Duane Nelson, at one point he did work here at Paisley Park for Prince, and then was fired and ended up suing his famous half brother, and since this brother and the other sibling, they've already passed away, they could not independently verify these claims.
But that's just one piece of the puzzle here that we're hearing, adding it into what we heard from the doctor yesterday. I just also, Carol, he wants to alert you, a little bit to some sound that I got yesterday. I interviewed two of Prince's former band members, they were with him in the family, a group that recorded nothing compares to you.
Well, yesterday to match up with the lyrics of the song, they released a new version as a tribute to Prince, but while I was talking to them, Eric Leeds and Paul Peterson, they also told me a little bit about the vault. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: The number of recordings you say that you were part of is leading credence of the idea of the vault and that there are hours upon hours of music in there. What do you guys say to that? PAUL PETERSON AND ERIC LEEDS, FORMER BAND MEMBERS: I can tell you on
behalf of the family, I know there is a two for sure two songs that are unreleased that we recorded in 1985. They haven't come out yet. I know those are there, but you did so much more recording with him.
Probably 90 percent of what I recorded of him is in the vault and has never seen the light of day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: So interesting to talk to these gentlemen, who spent so much time with Prince, and saying that he leaves in the music. That's what he did all the time. So he was constantly recording the fact that that room is temperature controlled and humidity controlled, and well cataloged, he said, back when he was in there, in the '90s, but giving us an about how detailed he was about taking care of his creations, Carol.
COSTELLO: Did these two band members ever notice him taking Percocet?
ELAM: No, when I asked them about did they ever see -- because we heard about the stage fright, coming from Duane Nelson via his attorney. He would get quiet, a ritual he would do, a prayer, before he became Jehovah's Witness, so it's non-dominational, but they say it wouldn't surprise him in the early days if he had some stage fright, but not later on. He really did live for the music.
COSTELLO: He lived for the music, but they never thought he was addicted to anything, because of his stage fright? Or because of any pain that he suffered after a performance?
ELAM: There was none of that that came up, no. There's nothing of that they saw. They just saw a very dedicated and a very driven performer, who also knew very much what he wanted and they would spend 12, 13, 14 hours rehearsing before a performance.
COSTELLO: All right, Stephanie Elam reporting live for us this morning.
My next guest is working with legislatures to work on opioid treatment reforms.
With me now is medical examiner and forensic pathologist, Dr. William Morrone.
Welcome back, Doctor.
DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, MEDICAL EXCAMINER: Good morning.
[09:25:00] Good to see you.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
We now know Prince was seeking help for some kind of addiction, right, he called this famous doctor to come in and help him. The doctor sent his son. The doctor's son brought with him to Prince's house a certain controlled substance, and you sent us a picture of what that looks like. Can you tell us what it is?
MORRONE: The name of the drug is buprenorphine, it is made as a film or tablet and it's made to go under the tongue so it slowly absorbed, and we skip the stomach. The reason why that is very important is sometimes when you're in withdrawal and you need to start this drug and you've had problems with addiction, you're vomiting all the time. So you can't put things in the stomach. You can just keep it in your mouth, you still absorbing it.
What it does is goes into the brain, and it protects the brain by blocking all the sites that Percocet or morphine or heroin would go to, and they can't get to the brain. Second thing it does is it stops cravings. So if it protects you from using and it stops the cravings, those are the two things you need to stabilize the brain so that the real treatment, the counseling, can held you with the coping skills to make your life changes.
COSTELLO: So, Doctor, if a famous person called you and said you know, I really need help with addiction, would you send someone else with that drug?
MORRONE: Well, you have to ask questions. If you call my business and you ask to get screened to be a patient, we ask you questions.
One of those questions is, have you ever overdosed? And as soon as you overdose, as soon as you have history of an overdose, the level of treatment that you need is high enough that the risk may require you to go inpatient, especially if it is a recent overdose.
Overdosing is a hallmark in looking for treatment. Everybody is looking for help. Everybody has had problems. But as soon as you overdose, that is when whoever contacts me, I would say you need to go to a hospital, you need to get admitted, you need to be cleared, and I wouldn't make you wait.
But the doctors that were involved, or the doctors involved, he is certified, and he is well-known. And he knows what to do, and he American Board of Addiction Medicine Diplomates. But it is difficult. You need to screen them with that question. Have you ever overdosed before and then the standard of care you offer has to meet the standard of risk they present.
COSTELLO: OK, so we know that Prince's plane landed after he performed in Atlanta, and we know that he overdosed, right? Would the doctor -- well, the doctor may be -- I mean, I don't want tout -- I don't want to accuse him of anything, but it was public knowledge that Prince did indeed overdose. So you would advise such a patient to go to the hospital immediately?
MORRONE: Immediately, because it's the same thing as a suicide. Your life is at risk. That's one of the key elements you click off on a checklist. If you call a hospital and say you need help, say you're depressed, they're not going to help you.
As soon as you say but you know what, I'm suicidal and may hurt myself, they have to put you into something. And the other thing is, we talked about last week, the reversal drug becomes really important as soon as you have a history of overdose.
And there is very easy form, this a form I showed you, the available through the prescription, your doctor can write out a prescription, it is a nasal spray, you have to get that immediately. That is the second thing. Besides the evaluation, and being sent to the hospital, this can be a lifesaving drug if people around you, it takes 16 minutes on national average for an ambulance to get to a call. You need this in two or three minutes to stop the brain damage.
COSTELLO: Well, help came too late for Prince sadly.
Dr. Morrone, thank you so much for your insight. Always appreciated.
Still to come in THE NEWSROOM, Hillary Clinton may not be calling herself the presumptive nominee, but she is sure acting like it with this new attack ad.
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