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Anti-Trump Protesters Turn on Police; Democratic Senators Consider Ousting DNC Chairwoman; Taliban Announces New Leader. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 25, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:14] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good Wednesday morning. I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for spending the part of your morning with us.

Donald Trump, the nomination, now within reach. The anger he inspires getting out of hand. An anti-Trump protesters unleash their fury in Albuquerque, New Mexico. You see right here. They are outside his rally to condemn his remarks on Hispanics and immigrants, but they soon turn on police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now lots of protesters are throwing rocks at police. This has now descended into chaos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So as tension cede, the political drama fades, it seems overnight. Trump scoops up more delegates in Washington state. He now stands just inches from clinching the nomination. And meanwhile, the tone gets even nastier, Trump gets personal and Hillary Clinton is under his skin. Five months before the election, the trench warfare appears to be underway.

There is a lot to cover as you see, and our correspondent and guests are here to break it all down for us. So let's begin with Jason Carroll and the anti-Trump violence -- Jason.

CARROLL: And good morning to you, Pamela. Trump said during his speech that he is doing great with Hispanics and then he's going to win them over. Clearly, he has not won over those who protested in the streets last night, nor has he won over New Mexico's Republican governor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): Overnight, police in riot gear, blasting pepper spray.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Push her, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to the ground.

CARROLL: And using smoke grenades to disburse anti-Donald Trump protesters outside his rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, hours after the presumptive GOP nominee's speech.

Dozens of protesters stomping on police cars, and throwing rocks and bottles at police, injuring several officers.

Earlier during Trump's speech at the city's convention center, protesters breaking through the metal barrier surrounding the venue, some making their way inside only to be dragged out by security.

Inside Trump criticizing New Mexico's Republican governor, Susana Martinez, who is also Hispanic. Martinez has not endorsed Trump and said she was too busy to attend his rally.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Since 2000, the number of people on food stamps in New Mexico has tripled. We have to get your governor to get going. She has to do a better job, OK.

Hey, maybe I'll run for governor of New Mexico. I'll get this place going.

CARROLL: But the bulk of Trump's personal attacks were set on targeting Hillary Clinton, Trump opting to make fun of her voice.

TRUMP: I will never say this, but she screams. It drives me crazy.

CARROLL: And using some of his harshest language yet against Clinton.

TRUMP: I see this lowlife, she puts on an ad.

CARROLL: Trump angry Clinton is painting him as a greedy billionaire. This based on comments he made back in 2006 when he said he hoped to profit when the housing market collapsed.

TRUMP: They've got some clip of me from many years ago when I'm saying yes, if it goes down, I'm going to buy. I am a businessman, that's what I'm supposed to do.

CARROLL: Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren going after Trump for his past business practices.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Donald Trump was drooling over the idea of a housing meltdown because it meant he could buy up more property on the cheap. What kind of a man does that? It is a man who cares about no one but himself. A small, insecure money- grubber who doesn't care who gets hurt so long as he makes a profit off it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Trump called Warren a, quote, "total failure." Also calling her Pocahontas, a reference to Trump's claim that Warren faked her Native American heritage, a claim she denies.

Trump's next rally -- his next rally will be in Anaheim, California, where law enforcement there, Pamela, already preparing for more unrest.

BROWN: In the wake of what happened there in Albuquerque. Jason Carroll, thank you so much for that.

And let's talk about all of this, I want to bring in our panel this morning. CNN political analyst and editor in chief of the "Daily Beast," John Avlon, along with political editor for RightAlerts.com and Donald Trump supporter, Scottie Nell Hughes, and campaign director for the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Hillary Clinton support Emily Tisch Sussman.

Thank you to -- to the three of you for coming on. This Wednesday morning a lot to discuss here and break apart.

Scottie, to you first, on the heels of what we just heard from Jason's report, Elizabeth Warren really going after Trump both on social media and that speech we saw. She seems to be getting under his skin. It seems to be working here. This morning, Trump tweeted, "Goofy Elizabeth Warren, sometimes known as Pocahontas, bought foreclosed housing and made a quick killing, total hypocrite."

[09:05:07] Why does this line of attack, Scottie, seem to be getting under his skin more than other attacks from people?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, POLITICAL EDITOR, RIGHTALERTS.COM: Well, I think because it's actually what he said. Hypocritical. I mean, you look at Hillary Clinton going after Mr. Trump and saying that he was, you know, making out -- demonizing him because he took advantage of a situation. He made the comments, so yes, I hope it burst because I will make money, and that's, you know, things that Warren Buffett has said. A key Democrat contributor.

That is something that these businessmen do. They do make money on these downturn economies and they seize the opportunity. And you look at -- and I think he's going to look at people like Elizabeth Warren, he's looking at Hillary Clinton, he's looking even at Bernie Sanders, who were in office and voted for things like Dodd-Frank, voted for things that encouraged subprime mortgages that actually caused this housing bubble. So it's very hypocritical for them to go after him, who actually used it to -- I hear the --

BROWN: Was that a sigh, John Avlon?

HUGHES: That was such a sigh on -- but you know, let's --

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, that was a sigh because Dodd- Frank was the correction of the problem. Not the cause of the problem.

HUGHES: No, it --

AVLON: You should know that.

HUGHES: Really? It did not correct the problem.

AVLON: Yes, Dodd-Frank came after the fiscal crisis. It was designed however perfectly to fix it. Maybe you're thinking about Glass- Steagall but Dodd-Frank was after the crisis. It's designed to fix it. HUGHES: No, you look at these -- these politicians, you cannot sit

there and blame people and -- for the crash in '08, the housing crisis in '08, based on the people that were actually (INAUDIBLE). You have to blame the politicians that made those laws, and those were people like Elizabeth Warren --

AVLON: No.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: And Hillary Clinton, those folks who voted for it.

BROWN: OK. Let's broaden this out --

AVLON: Scottie, don't talk about economics, about the great recess. Defend your guy.

HUGHES: I can't think --

AVLON: But at least use logic.

HUGHES: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Let's broaden this out quickly. Hold on. Emily, let me just broaden this out because it does seem like beyond this debate about, you know, the housing market and everything, that Elizabeth Warren has really struck a nerve with Donald Trump. This is not the first time they've gone after it over Twitter. So what do you think, Emily? Do you think that this is Hillary Clinton's secret weapon, a way for her to basically stay above the fray while Elizabeth Warren really goes after him?

EMILY TISCH SUSSMAN, CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND: Look, I think the reason that Warren gets under his skin is because she is smart. She knows her stuff. But whether or not it affects Trump is actually really not the real question here. It's what he represents. And it's who he is talking to. And it's who he's going to bring people together.

Right now Republicans are doing everything they possibly can to say, I guess this is our nominee. We'll reluctantly coalesce behind him. But the reason these comments are important, and unlike any of the Republican attacks before this, is the attacks before this basically showed that he's rich, OK, so fine. We know that he's rich. But what we didn't know directly from his own quotes, I think we indicated it, was that he was willing to profit off the workers for his own self- dealing.

And that's exactly what this shows. The difference between him and every other businessman who said something, like, you know, the fact that they would make money off a downturn in the economy, is that he wants to be president. He wants to represent these people. When he files for bankruptcy, he is protected, but it is the small business construction workers that get screwed. It is the casino workers that get screwed. And now he says that he has their interest at heart and he's representing them? That rings very, very false.

BROWN: OK, so John, then why is he doing so well amongst millions of Americans?

AVLON: Well, I think Donald Trump has been very effective at tapping into cultural and economic resentment. And the perception that Washington is out of touch and the game is rigged and vomited by special interests which is a message he shares with Bernie Sanders. Well, Hillary Clinton is not particularly well positioned to answer. But the reason these attacks are getting under his skin is because they're going at a core strength. His business practices.

And there is nothing wrong with buying low and selling high. The difference is cheerleading for a crisis in which a lot of people get hurt. The very middle class who have been squeezed for decades that Donald Trump is trying to appeal to.

And look, as an independent, we've got to use equal standards on both sides. For example, the protests last night that generated into violence, that is a bad move for the Democratic Party and Trump opponents. Because if they degenerate into violence, imagine what would have happened if folks on the right had protested so violently and danced on police cars. There would be a totally different tone and conversation today.

(CROSSTALK)

SUSSMAN: Well, I think opponents right, I mean -- look, it is the tone set by Trump. I think we're already have a turning point in American history.

HUGHES: No.

SUSSMAN: That are we going to seriously consider a presidential candidate when this is the tone that he sets. He encourages violence at his rallies and people are responding to it. Look, we've seen acts of violence all over the country where people are acting out against Hispanics and against people of color, and saying that it's because they're inspired by Trump's message. We are at a real turning point.

AVLON: Which is incredibly dangerous.

BROWN: Scottie, go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: Hold on. You cannot sit there and blame last night on Trump. The only place, if I remember -- actually to serve correctly, my memory serves correctly is Nevada, at the Democratic convention there, where there's actually violence that happened by the Bernie Sanders supporters there. The only place that we've actually seen violence encouraged by the actual supporters of a candidate are on the Democratic side. Not the Republican. And I'm not going to sit there and let you smear last night to be Mr. Trump.

AVLON: You -- HUGHES: You're looking at people that were sitting there -- hold on.

My turn to respond. There were sitting people at -- they were chanting, they were proud that they were illegal, and they were proud of it.

[09:10:04] They were sitting waiving the Mexican flag. They might have some real grievances with what Mr. Trump has said, but I'll be honest with you, like you pointed out, this is not the way to get your point across and this only emboldens the American people to realize that we have a real issue with the illegals in this country who felt like they deserve to be here and that we should just give them everything they want. Our economy cannot pay for it any more. We are $19 trillion in debt. We need to turn off the spigot and get our country in line before we continue giving to others.

BROWN: John?

AVLON: Pamela, we're not even doing dog whistle any more. We're just doing making us against them. I condemn the protests and the violence, peaceful protests have moral authority. But when all of a sudden we start saying that, you know, that the real issue is it shows how unlawful illegals are, that's dangerous demagogue stuff that reflects the rhetoric of Donald Trump throughout the campaign, and that's where this gets tricky and difficult and becomes something we need to confront directly.

BROWN: Let me ask you something, too, because something else has been a consistent theme in Donald Trump's campaign and this whole notion of conspiracy theories, and he's been talking about it with the Clintons as well, most recently, in an ad he had on social media.

Emily, older voters have heard Trump's conspiracy theories before, but millennials are new to this fight. Do you think that Clinton needs to come out and respond to attacks more directly -- stronger than she has to this point?

SUSSMAN: I don't think so. I think that what Trump is doing is he's just looking for -- I mean, he's doing what he does best, that he's creating media narratives. He's bringing up things that have been litigated, tried, put to bed. And he just continues to bring them up because it gets him media attention. I don't think that's what people want to see, forward looking president. Someone who's going to set an agenda that's actually going to realistically help their lives. If he's talking about -- look, he was talking about the downturn in the housing crisis and rooting for it, that is real people. That is real people being thrown out of their homes.

And if she can decide whether she's going to respond to 20-year-old scandals of things that have been totally put to bed and totally tried or if she's going to talk about moving the country forward, and getting people back in those homes and getting them jobs, I do not think she should waste any time trying to respond to him.

BROWN: Last word, Scottie.

HUGHES: Mr. Trump is just simply responding to $136 million of a Hillary Clinton minion, AKA, her super PAC, that has gone after Mr. Trump on the women's issue and he was just exposing it wasn't just one victim, there are 17 victims, one even actually ended in an $850,000 settlement that Bill Clinton settled with it.

(CROSSTALK)

SUSSMAN: The super PAC you're referring to is actually a Republican super PAC. I mean, I think that the super PAC that he's responding to --

HUGHES: No -- no, that's actually Hillary Clinton super PAC.

SUSSMAN: But it's his own words.

HUGHES: Hillary Clinton super PAC -- they are the ones right now, and there are other issues that they're sitting there and doing this advertising campaign. He is just responding to that. He is on the --

(CROSSTALK)

AVLON: Look, this is -- it is Donald Trump doing deflection because of his own vulnerabilities on this issue. But I do think it's touch for someone who avoided to play the victim on these issues. It's smart politics to play offense and Trump deflects and anticipated attacks on your own character, your own personal life. The self- inflicted sex scandals in the Clinton era, that's out there. It's when he starts dipping his toe in conspiracy theories, and dignifying the crazy, that it becomes totally unconscionable.

BROWN: But doesn't it also put more focus on his past, John, and -- I mean, he's had a colorful past himself. Doesn't -- by going after Clinton in the past controversies --

AVLON: Pamela, what -- what exactly do you mean by colorful, Pamela?

BROWN: I'll leave that to the imagination.

(CROSSTALK)

SUSSMAN: We actually don't have to. He admitted that he'd had affairs. Right? Like he's fully admitted it.

AVLON: Yes, and he acted as his own PR agent to brag about it.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: All of his ex-wives, all of the women that were supposedly, you know, against him in the "New York Post" article have all come out and endorsed him. When the 17 women that supposedly were victims of Bill Clinton and when they endorse Hillary Clinton then we can stop this conversation.

AVLON: Scottie --

BROWN: I think what this does -- AVLON: Scottie, your guy was defending Bill Clinton to the hilt in

the late 1990s because that's when he was telling the truth and nothing political.

BROWN: All right. Hey, guys.

AVLON: This is an act of political deflection and that's what -- that's the reality of the situation.

BROWN: John, Emily, Scottie, thank you for that colorful discussion. I do appreciate it. Great to have you on.

HUGHES: Thank you.

AVLON: Thanks, Pamela. Bye.

BROWN: And meantime, on the other side, Democrats are looking ahead to the party's convention in July but there's already talk of unneeded baggage, specifically the controversial leadership of the DNC chair. The Bernie Sanders campaign accuses Debbie Wasserman Schultz of a pro- Clinton bias and some lawmakers now fear she has become too divisive to unify the party behind a single nominee.

Joe Johns is in Washington with the very latest -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, the head of the Democratic Party again coming into focus after Bernie Sanders went after her over the weekend in the middle of a pitched campaign battle for California, the biggest prize in the primary season. No indication that any Democratic senators have launched a formal effort to get rid of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but the Sanders campaign can claim credit this morning for starting a conversation about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): On Capitol Hill, Democratic senators discussing removing Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the head of the party.

[09:15:01] One source saying many feel it would be a good idea. The source telling CNN there is fears she has become, quote, "too toxic" in the ongoing Democratic civil war.

The feud between the DNC chair and the Sanders campaign reaching a fever pitch, after chaos erupted at the Nevada Democratic Convention.

JEFF WEAVER, SANDERS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: She has been throwing shade on the sanders campaign since the very beginning.

JOHNS: Sanders accusing the head of the DNC of supporting Hillary Clinton before the primaries even began. Something she vehemently denies.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: San Bernardino, thank you.

JOHNS: Sanders fighting on, hoping to defeat Clinton in the upcoming delegate rich primary in California. Secretary Clinton less than 100 delegates away from clinching the nomination, looking towards the general election.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I need your help in this upcoming primary, because we want to finish strong.

JOHNS: And pledging to stop Trump.

CLINTON: Why on earth would we elect somebody president who actually rooted for the collapse of a mortgage market?

JOHNS: But Sanders believes that he would be the best challenger against the presumptive Republican nominee.

SANDERS: If we get the Democratic nomination, Donald Trump is toast.

JOHNS: And in the fight to gain traction, the sanders campaign calling into question the results of last week's Kentucky primary.

In a statement, the campaign says it's, quote, "requesting a full and complete recanvass of everyone, of the voting machines and absentee ballots." Sanders lost to Clinton by a razor thin margin of roughly 1,900 votes. A Clinton aide accusing Sanders of using the issue to raise more money for his campaign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: And the tempo in the California primary is clearly picking up this morning. Bernie Sanders has added some stops to his campaign schedule there. The Hillary Clinton campaign expected to continue its attacks on Donald Trump today for his comments and business activities around the time the housing bubble burst -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Joe Johns, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there.

Let's dive a little bit deeper on this. With me now is CNN chief political correspondent, Dana Bash.

Good morning to you, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Pam.

BROWN: So, what are you hearing about this and the possibility of a shake-up?

BASH: Well, you know, it is talk at this point. That's my understanding. You know, those of us who have spent sometime on Capitol Hill, particularly at times of inter or intra party crisis know that when we hear about a lot of discussion, it means that senators in particular, when they're gathering for a vote on the Senate floor or at a lunch or in the cloakrooms off the Senate floor, they're chattering, and they're basically having discussions informally about whether or not it would be the right thing to do for Debbie Wassermann Schultz to step aside before the convention. Now, let me just -- the context of this is that the senators, all

except one, those who have endorsed, have endorsed Hillary Clinton. So, these are not people who are kind of on the Bernie Sanders side who have really butted heads with Debbie Wasserman Schultz. These are people looking ahead to Philadelphia, to the Democrats convention, concerned about chaos, frankly, and talking about whether or not it would be -- it would alleviate chaos for her not to be there.

I should say, as I toss it back to you, Pam, that the Democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, put out a statement strongly supporting Debbie Wasserman Schultz. There were others who have done the same and that she in particular, through a spokesman, said, look, I've got my head down, I'm doing my job, and I'm trying not to pay attention to this stuff.

BROWN: All right, Dana Bash, thanks so much for that.

And still ahead on this Wednesday morning, the Taliban waists n wastes no time. What we're learning about the militant group's new chief, after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:23:05] BROWN: New details about the war on ISIS. ISIS has allowed civilians to leave the terrorist strongholds of Raqqa and go to the countryside, according to a resident. It's unclear whether it is ongoing or has stopped. And this is important because an alliance of U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab forces are trying to retake areas north of the city. Of course, we will continue to follow developments and bring you new details as soon as we have them.

In the meantime, the Taliban moves quickly and announces this man, right here, will be the militant group's new leader. The Taliban now making its first public statement that his predecessor, Mullah Mansour was killed in Pakistan last weekend, but hopes a new chief could usher peace are fading, after a suicide bomber rips through Kabul, killing ten people.

Let's get right to CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh -- Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pam, yes, Haibatullah Akhundzada is a man in his 50s who has a pretty lengthy association with the Taliban tribes around Kandahar and the south of Afghanistan, which much to Taliban's constituency as he tries to be the leader of this insurgency. He's no more a cleric than a military leader and was the deputy to Mullah Mansour --

BROWN: We're having some technical difficulties there. We'll get back to Nick Paton Walsh very soon.

And still to come on this Wednesday morning, Trump courts the big money men. Will they open up their checkbooks? One real estate mogul did just that, and he thinks other business leaders will do the same.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: Well, good morning to you. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Carol Costello. Thanks for joining me.

Donald Trump is ramping his fundraising push as he swings through California, making an appearance at a $25,000 a plate dinner in Los Angeles tonight. It comes just a day after a smaller event in New Mexico, a move that didn't do unnoticed by Conan O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN: Donald Trump is holding his first ever campaign fund-raiser, but he says he is only doing it because the Republican Party asked him. Yes. Trump thought he should do this for the Republican Party, since he turned down their first request, don't be our candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And the man hosting tonight's fundraiser, billionaire real estate investor Tom Barac.

He sat down with CNN's Cristina Alesci, who joins me now with more.

So, what did he have to say, Cristina?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really interesting because Barrick and Trump go back for years, in the 1980s. They met over a deal, a real estate deal. Barrick sold Trump the Plaza Hotel in New York.

And what I asked him was, you're one of a very select group of people who are publicly supporting Trump and backing him and I kind of pressed him why other wealthy donors just weren't there on Trump. Listen.