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Future of DNC Chair in Doubt; Clinton Goes After Trump on Business Acumen; Trump Rally in Anaheim Following Violent N.M. Protests; Trump Goes After N.M. Republican Governor. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 25, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00] MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Absolutely not. Claire McCaskill is one of Hillary Clinton's earliest supporters on Capitol Hill and the Senator recognizes that issue here. Bernie Sanders' camp knows and believes that Debbie Wasserman Schultz has not been fair. They believe that she's tilted the scales in Hillary Clinton camp's favor and Claire McCaskill, like other Senators, want to head into Philadelphia with a united party. McCaskill would not call on Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step aside, but she came pretty close -- Brianna?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL, (D), MISSOURI: Well, I think it will get worked out over time. The role of the DNC chair is always a supportive role, not a starring role. And I think because of what has occurred, it's hard for her to avoid a starring role. And so I -- I hope it will all get worked out. I understand that, fair or unfair, why is seen by many of the Bernie Sanders supports as a problem. And, you know, that may not be completely fair to her, but it's a reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, Brianna, I can tell you I asked her also about the discussions happening on Capitol Hill. She said Democrats are trying to figure out how to land this plane right now and one of the ways to land the plane is to how to deal with the Democratic National Committee's chairperson. Other Democratic Senators are not willing to throw Debbie Wasserman Schultz a lifeline either. I talked to Chuck Schumer, the number three Democrat and the presumptive leader in the next Congress, and I said do you have confidence in Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the DNC chairwoman, and he said, "No comment." And that speaks volumes on their confidence in Debbie Wasserman Schultz --

(CROSSTALK)

RAJU: -- on Capitol Hill.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And you have someone like Claire McCaskill, who is very supportive and a Hillary Clinton surrogate, and I know we're hearing from the Clinton campaign that she, Clinton, supports Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but you would think that someone who is so tied to the campaign isn't exactly doing this in a vacuum, right? RAJU: You would think that. She says she's acting as most Senators

do as an independent agent but clearly as we move for war the Hillary Clinton camp is going to have to consider this going forward as they discuss with Bernie Sanders the way his role at the convention and try to alleviate the concerns from the Sanders' camp. You have to think that this is on Clinton campaign's mind because, after all, they are the ones at the end of the day that are going to make this decision -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Manu, thank you so much.

A short time ago, on CNN Senator, Barbara Boxer reacted to the calls for Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down saying she's heard nothing about it on the hill and the other Senators who are talking anonymously need to show their faces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARBARA BOXER, (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, let me just tell you after years and years, 40 years in elected life, if you believe something, look in the camera and say it. Don't do some anonymous. Don't quote me. Because, you know, what, that's wrong. If someone has a problem with Debbie, chapter and verse, what is it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, is in Los Angeles and joins us.

Jeff, let's put this into what would happen if this goes down, some trying to push Debbie Wasserman Schultz out there. And Senator Boxer saying, if you want this to happen, there needs to be a groundswell for it. What would this do to the Democratic Party and convention, that's here very soon, as they are trying to unify the party if Debbie Wasserman Schultz were to go?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, first and foremost we did just hear that from Manu Raju right there. When Chuck Schumer says no comment, if the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee would stay in her position, you've covered Capitol Hill for a being lo time, no comment means that he is not supportive of her here so there know, believe this, but to your point about going forward here.

I've been talking to a lot of people. This is going to be sort of three people, three groups will make this decision, the Clinton campaign, the Sanders campaign and the Obama Wyatt House, sort of three different leaders of this Democratic Party now, and there are some who say, look, we don't want a big leadership fight right now. The ultimate questions who could they all agree to, but, again and again when you talk to people, it comes up that if this is one way to get unity, if this is one way to get Bernie Sanders on board, then this could be worth it.

And a possible exit strategy for the chairwoman of the party is that she has her own primary fight in Florida. That primary is in August, so she, you know, could always say she's running -- she needs to focus her attention on that hard here. It's hard to imagine who they could find who could reach consensus here. If this is one way to unify the party, this could actually happen -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Jeff, stand by for me for just a second.

I do want to toss to some sound that we have of Hillary Clinton just moments ago taking on Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:35:03] HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: He said profiting off working people losing their homes would be, A, quote, "good result." So a good result in Donald Trump's world is he gets his and you get hurt. So instead of dividing Americans, we need to unite Americans.

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: And one of the ways I'm going to do that is by promoting more infrastructure jobs because the state of our infrastructure is a national emergency. We have bridges that are right now too dangerous to drive on, although people take a deep breath and drive across them. We have roads that are so rutted and pitted and potholed that people driving them are having to pay hundreds of dollars to repair the damage. We have airports that are stuck in the mid-20th century instead of the 21st century. We have water --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right. Let's go back to Jeff Zeleny there in California.

You're hearing her make this argument, Jeff, against Donald Trump, like she has been trying to turn what he is touting as his business acumen into casting him as a businessman predator type. Is this something that you think has legs or that the campaign feels is really going to be effective for them?

ZELENY: Brianna, the campaign does feel this is going to be effective. We've seen this argument for the last 24 hours or so and seen Democrats across the party echoing this so this is something that's a concerted effort from the Clinton campaign, but all along Hillary Clinton has been trying to say she's a fighter for you. You may not like me as much as some other people, but I will fight for you. They are trying to point out here that Donald Trump is in it for his own success, that he's not fighting for you. They are trying to go after some of the independent voters, voters in the middle, who are sort of settling into the idea, you know, Donald Trump could sort of disrupt the system and might be just fine. She's trying to get that back and really point out -- going right to the heart of his strengths here by saying, look, he was in it for himself and not fighting for you.

Brianna, the thing is there's so much audio and so many words and so many interviews that Donald Trump has given over the years, this is one piece of it about the housing situation in 2008, so this is going to be a sound track of Donald Trump's campaign. Her campaign is going to be a sound track of his own words her, sort of throwing them back at him but the Clinton campaign believes this is effective. Of course, voters will make that ultimate judgment.

KEILAR: I suspect there is a library of those comments that we will see doled out over the coming weeks or so.

Jeff Zeleny, thank you.

ZELENY: No doubt.

KEILAR: Next, moments from now, Donald Trump is expected to speak in Anaheim, California. This is a day after violent protests erupted outside of his rally in New Mexico. We're live outside and inside. Outside, police are giving a warning to protesters there.

Plus, Trump ripping apart a Republican governor on her home turf. This is a governor who is mentioned as a possible running mate for Trumpet. Was this a bad move on Trump's part?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:35] KEILAR: The city of Anaheim already knows firsthand how passionate people are for or against Donald Trump. Back in April, children were pepper-sprayed, not clear by whom, during this chaotic scene outside of city hall. Someone even fired a taser, according to local reports. On the agenda that night was a resolution denouncing the presumed Republican nominee. Ultimately, city leaders took no action. But before that decision, Trump supporters clashed with opponents in the crowd and on the council.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRIS MURRAY, ANAHEIM CITY COUNCILWOMAN: This is just a statement saying to the residents of Anaheim who have been on the receiving end of those attacks, we don't agree with the rhetoric that's been used, and we've got your back.

TOM TAIT, MAYOR, ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA: This is not the job of city government, to get involved in politics, election, federal election politics. Not the place inside city hall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Well, How is the city now preparing for today? With me now to talk about this is Anaheim Police Sergeant Darren Wyatt. He is also the city's public information officer.

So, Sergeant, we see some of the protests behind you. So far, this has not erupted into any chaos that we see, but what are you doing? What is the department doing? And you're looking off to the right, sir. What are you seeing?

SGT. DARREN WYATT, ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT & ANAHEIM PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: A lot of people are moving over to that direction. It just appears that there's some Secret Service agents moving through the area. The police are there. Nothing really to look at. Just had to take a look and make sure we're OK here.

You asked about the preparation. We have up-staffed significantly for this event. We've called on mutual aid partners and have a large Anaheim police presence as well as the Orange County Sheriff's Department. And virtually every municipal police agency within Orange County has sent us resourced to help with this event. We're hoping for a very peaceful event but are prepared should it go a different direction to take swift and decisive enforcement action.

KEILAR: I'm sure when you were discussing this with your officers and how you're going to prep for an event like this, where we've seen chaos elsewhere, so you're talking about who the protesters are. These are local folks? Do you worry that maybe people are coming in from out-of-the-area to maybe stir up some trouble?

WYATT: I think any time we have an event like this, it's a mixture of both. There's a group of local people that will come in and protest, but we've seen through history that they do come in from other areas and are encouraged to come in by certain entities that want to see this go a different direction. So it's kind of a mixture and not that big of an event. I think we've got maybe 15 protesters out here. And we're well under control and we're prepared to deal with it.

[14:45:05] KEILAR: We've seen some video of the measures your department is taking, different barricades, and some appear to be plastic, almost like a plastic rope in a way, and then there's also the bicycle racks, which are connected. They also have zip ties to use for handcuffs should they need to. What -- how are you prepared to this? You saw what happened last night in Albuquerque. I'm sure that you looked at that and studied that. How are you prepared to deal with protesters if they do try to push their way in?

WYATT: Well, I think that we he a much larger presence here than what was there last night, from what I saw. And that's not knocking them. I think that we have prepared significantly for the event. We do have plenty of police personnel on scene. We also have officers on horse back, which is an excellent way to assist us in moving a crowd in a direction that we need them to move and block them from gaining access to certain areas. The areas that are demarked and blocked off, that's the Secret Service protected zone, so that's not something that we've done, it's the Secret Service has done it. But it has helped us to try to separate the attendees from the protesters so that we can try and avoid a conflict

KEILAR: Thank you so much, Sergeant Darren Wyatt. We do appreciate the update.

And next, a highly respected Republican governor says she will not be bullied into supporting Donald Trump. So in her state, Trump takes her on.

Plus, who were the protesters who caused so much violence and chaos last night? I'll be speaking with someone on the ground there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:50:38] KEILAR: Police in Anaheim, California, are on alert and at the ready right now in case this protest outside of a Donald Trump rally turns violent, like last night's Trump event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where some officers were injured by rocks that were thrown. There were even small fires at that event. Now, Trump is condemning that behavior. But this time, his tone is turning nastier. This is what he said, quote, "The protesters in New Mexico were thugs who were flying the Mexican flag. The rally inside was big and beautiful, and outside, criminals."

This comes at a time in his campaign where he needs to be wooing Latino voters and some Republican leaders. Yet, he had this to say about New Mexico's governor. She is arguably the most powerful Latina in the Republican Party. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: We have to get your governor to get going. She's got to do a better job, OK?

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Your governor has got to do a better job.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: She's not doing the job. Hey, maybe I'll run for governor of New Mexico. I'll get this place going.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining me now is Dan Boyd, the capital bureau chief for "The Albuquerque Journal."

Dan, before we get to this relationship between the governor and Donald Trump, I know you were at this rally last night. Tell us what that was like.

DAN BOYD, CAPITAL BUREAU CHIEF, THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL: It was surreal almost to be inside the convention center there. And Governor Martinez was not there at the time. But then having, you know, Donald Trump come to New Mexico and take her on and insult the governor kind of on her own turf, so to speak, was a pretty interesting experience.

KEILAR: It certainly was. And, of course, we were watching that, for sure.

I do want to provide some context here because there's been a little bit back and forth before Trump said this. The Martinez camp is now saying that the governor won't be bullied into supporting Trump, but she's really been at odds with him over a lot of his immigration positions, his talk about building a wall. What's this dynamic between these two? BOYD: Yeah. I can mention this has been kind of an ongoing back and

forth. She's been non-committal. Hasn't said whether she will support him. And is also the chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association, a national group that is working to get Republican governors elected this fall, so she's kind of kept an arm's length from Mr. Trump. But I think it got a little more personal and maybe nasty last night.

KEILAR: And this idea of her not going to the Trump rally, she was asked, you know -- and I should say it was rumored at one point that she might be on the V.P. list. But she said no, that's not going to happen. She was asked why she's not going to the rally and she said, quote, she's "really busy," and I hear that, and it seems like the equivalent of someone being asked on a date and they say I can't go because I'm washing my hair. Certainly, this was felt as a snub an intended as a snub, right?

BOYD: That's right. We're all really business, and usually if a presumptive nominee would be in your state you would make an effort to be there. She wasn't traveling out o4 state yesterday and it was perceived as a snub and certainly Donald Trump responded in kind.

KEILAR: I think a lot of people are looking at this and they see Susana Martinez, she's a prominent female politician, a very prominent Hispanic politician, two groups that Donald Trump needs to court in New Mexico and states in the west and other states as well. How do you think this back and forth plays? Does this affect his attempt at getting some support, if there is such an attempt, with some of these groups out west?

BOYD: I think certainly here in New Mexico it could complicate things. Suzanna Martinez is a Republican but she's won here in a state that voted for Barack Obama twice, and certainly instead of extending the olive branch, you know, Mr. Trump went out of his way to insult her. So we're still kind of seeing how that plays out here. But I think we can put to rest that speculation, at least for now, the vice president talk. That seems pretty up likely at this point.

KEILAR: Definitely, it does.

Thanks so much. Really appreciate you joining us, Dan Boyd, with "The Albuquerque Journal."

BOYD: Thanks so much.

[14:54:50] KEILAR: Well, moments from now Donald Trump is taking the stage in Anaheim. On the defensive as Hillary Clinton and Democrats hammer him over his past remarks on the economy.

Plus, Elizabeth Warren hasn't even endorsed Hillary Clinton yet, but she's suddenly becoming one of her most important, I guess we could say, surrogates at this point. How she is taking on Donald Trump. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Top of the hour. I'm Brianna Keilar, in today for Brooke Baldwin.

At any minute, Donald Trump will speak inside the Anaheim convention center, and outside, his supporters are facing off with anti-Trump protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got to do something right here. Come on. Come on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:59:45] KEILAR: This may be loud and intense, as you can see there and hear there, but, so far, it's not violent. Police, though, are on scene in full force, knowing how Trump's last rally went just hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)