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Donald Trump Press Conference after Clinching GOP Nomination. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired May 26, 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] DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Didn't do well in West Virginia. And, you know, I think she made a big mistake and catering and ultimately jobs and incredible people, miners. I asked a couple of them, why don't you go into a different profession? They said, because we love going after coal. I'll never forget the answer. You know? You think it's dangerous and you're going deep down into these incredible crevices. I said, wow. But they love doing what they do. That's what they do. It's like me. You know? I grew up. My father was I real estate. Now I'm in politicians. He wouldn't believe what happened. He's looking down saying, what happened? With the coal miners they love doing what they're doing. Hillary Clinton -- such an important product. Hillary Clinton should not be putting them out of business.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Building on that, would you be for bringing more refineries to the U.S.?
TRUMP: I want to be energy independence, yes. Absolutely. I want to be energy independent. I haven't spoken to Harold about that. I would say energy independence is what we all want and we also want to sell our energy to other places that don't have great natural resources that we have. Don't forget. Through modern-day technology we found we're sitting on energy. I'm talking about it in a minute but we're sitting on energy like nobody would believe. I want to be energy independent and the answer is yes to your question.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Paul Ryan still not endorsed you. What policy concessions are you willing to make to get his endorsement?
TRUMP: We'll see. We've had great conversations. We'll see what happens.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: After today, do you still believe and would you want to ban all foreign Muslims from the United States on a temporary basis, is that still your policy?
TRUMP: As of this moment, I'm unhappy looking at the world of radical Islam, unhappy with it. We'll find the problem and we're going to come up with a solution. Obama could never come up with a solution. Number one, he is incompetent. Number two, the solution just is never out there for him. He won't even mention the words radical Islamic terrorism. I have many Muslim friends. Thank you. Thank you. This is a problem. It's a problem that has to get solved. We have to have turn-ins. When you see people looking to do tremendous destruction like in California with the 14 people killed, they lived in a house where they had bombs all over floor. Everybody knew that they were up to bad stuff. Nobody reported them. People have to report when they see. OK. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Trump, does your ban still stand?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Trump, you have said multiple times to bring coal mining jobs and I'm a reporter in Wyoming.
TRUMP: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Largest --
(CROSSTALK)
I know. I see it. By far. I was very impressed.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: One of the main factors -- poor decision making by coal companies.
TRUMP: And by government.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Also because of slowing international demand. So, do you believe you have power as the president to actually bring those jobs back? How?
TRUMP: I think ultimately coal will be inexpensive and got to rid of some of the regulations. I spoke to some mine owners and they were surrounded by some of the miners and they were showing some of the regulations where it's on a daily basis going in checking, checking, checking and it's out of control.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What would you do about those market forces?
TRUMP: Well, the market forces will be whatever they are. All I can do is free up the coal and totally do. Get the companies back to work. Market forces, that's something I don't want to get involved with. That's a beautiful -- do me, market forces are a beautiful force.
Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I think I'm the only Canadian press here. Keystone Pipeline caused a disruption of relations. Would you approve the Keystone EX Pipeline project?
TRUMP: Yes. Totally.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you.
TRUMP: Should be approved. I'm not saying it shouldn't be a better deal. See Obama would approve or not approve it. Right? Hillary probably not going to approve it from what I understand. But I look at it differently. I will absolutely approve it 100 percent but I want a better deal. Here's the difference of Harold Hamm and myself and you or Obama, who doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Here's the difference. I'm going to say, folks, we are going to let you build the pipeline but give us a piece. We have to use eminent domain. Remember the conservatives said imminent domain? If you read the documents on the Keystone Pipeline, the whole big section is devoted to imminent domain and without it that pipeline wouldn't go ten feet. You understand that. I want the Keystone Pipeline but the people of the United States should be given a piece, significant piece of the profits. Right now, Obama would have said yes or no. And most politicians would say yes, we'll approve it, no, we won't. I'm saying yes, approve it. I want it built. But I want a piece of the profits because we're making it possible for it to happen through imminent domain and other things, I want a piece of the profits for the United States. That's how we make our country rich again. It's just one way out of thousands and how we make our country rich again and make America great again. OK. You understand what I'm saying?
[14:35:23] UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would like to build a pipeline and Mr. Hamm to ship the oil in Saskatchewan --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: This is a different pipeline?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Upland Pipeline with 300,000 barrels a day and TransCanada --
TRUMP: Do you like the idea?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It's great --
TRUMP: Do you like the idea as reporter? You're not supposed to say that. That's OK. But do you like the idea?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm the only person in Saskatchewan who writhes on energy. I love the idea.
TRUMP: I'll look at anything. I'm going to look at anything. A lot of times pipelines are so much better because instead of trains and having all of the problems caused by that, it's underground and environmentally they're better in many cases. But we'll take a look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The difference is this pipeline to allow Mr. Hamm to export into Canada, overseas through a Canadian port.
TRUMP: OK. I'm not aware of that one. We would certainly take a look at it and tell you my basic bias to approve. For jobs and the concept of pipelines is OK going from the right place to the right place. OK? So we'll take a look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sir, a local small business magazine and for main street small businesses and Chambers of Commerce across America what are the keys to economic vitality? TRUMP: Two of them very, very important are lower taxes. We're the
highest taxed nation in the world by far. Lower taxes and the other one is we're overregulated and I will tell you, I made a speech last night and I said regulation and this surprised me. Really surprised me. I have seen it ever since I'm doing this for ten months or so and regulation is even more of a problem for people than the taxes, which surprised me, but they're both problems. So we'll lower taxes very substantially, as you know, for businesses, for everybody. So taxes are going way down. We'll allow trillions of dollars to pour into the country that are right now outside of this country where people and companies want to bring it in. They can't. We'll get rid of the tremendous numbers of rules, regulations. Probably 75 percent of which are absolutely terrible for our country. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She seems to have made it her job.
TRUMP: Who? Pocahontas?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Is it offensive? You tell me.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Very offensive. Sorry.
TRUMP: Oh, sorry. Sorry about that.
Pocahontas? Is that what you said?
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Elizabeth Warren? She is --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE QUESTION)
TRUMP: No, no. She tweets about me. I'll tweet and when I tweet, you know, not that many people are watching her tweets. I will say this. Look. She's a Senator that's highly overrated. Passed very little legislation. She has been a real disaster for a lot of people including Democrats and frankly can't stand her many of them. Ask Hillary Clinton how she likes her. I would say this. I'll debate anybody. I don't care. I'd debate her. But she's done very little for Massachusetts and the beautiful thing is when I won Massachusetts with many people running against me. I got up to almost 50 percent and she was fighting me. So I really think if her record was exposed and the fact that she was a native American, she said she was native American and not able to document it, she said I'm a high cheekbones and I don't know if you call it a fraud or not but she was able to get into various schools because of the fact she applied as a native American and probably other things. I think she's as Native American as I am. OK? That I will tell you. She's a woman that's been very ineffective other than she has a big mouth. Go ahead in the mouth. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You said that you would do a debate with
Senator Sanders and raised the issue of raising money for women's health issues. Is that the particular charities that you would like to --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I would like to go women's health issues. We have raised a lot of money. On Tuesday we're going to be releasing a tremendous list of the money we have given with the debate when I decided that I wanted to do this instead of a particular debate with a cable network that actually has been unbelievably fair over the last few months and I felt I wasn't treated right and during the speech I said let's raise some money for the vets. We raised a lot of money. On Tuesday I think we'll have a press conference in Trump Tower at 10:00 or 11:00 and release a full list of the people, almost $6 million worth of money was raised. Now, when I started that I said maybe -- well, I started it and weren't going to raise anything and came to me. And I said you know what? Let's raise money for the vets and one of my friends who was there, very substantial person, Phil Ruffin, offered a million dollars. Carl Icahn gave half a million dollars and another good friend, Steven Wright, I believe, gave $1 million. I love seeing it. On Tuesday, we'll release a list of the different veterans groups that got the money, close to $6 million worth of money. And that was great.
And what I'd do if we do this debate, is something similar to pay this. In this case, a payment by the networks. Why should the networks have a debate like this, make a fortune, and put the money in their coffers? I would much rather give, and probably in this case, to various groups involved with women's health issues. I think it's appropriate. OK?
[14:40:45] UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sir, this Foster sister --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Yeah. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now that you have hit the magic number of 1,237 --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I'm so honored.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That is really --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I'm so honored to be in North Dakota.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We are glad you're here.
TRUMP: So honored by these people. They had great sense.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Exactly.
TRUMP: Right?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But now, now --
TRUMP: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- that you set your sights on being president, what do you do in the first 100 days? When's the first Donald Trump --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Many things to do. Number one, unwinding various executive orders and I'll be unwinding executive orders in particular having to do with the border where people are pouring into the country that aren't supposed to be here. And we'll be unwinding that. We'll have a lot of things to do. We're going to start rebuilding the military. We have no choice. We have no choice. It is like, oh, gee, do you want to do it? I saw the other day actually on CNN where the jet fighters were using parts from museums and graveyards, plane graveyards, taking old parts for our fighters, for F-16s. And they were interviewing some of the pilots. These are great people and they embarrassed and ashamed of what's going on. Shouldn't be the United States. So we're going to rebuild our military. The finest equipment in the world again. And nobody's going to mess with us. Very simple.
By the way, I'm the last person in terms of the draw. I won't have to worry about the draw. I'm the last person. I didn't want to go into Iraq unlike Hillary and other people, and we shouldn't have gone into Iraq. It was a mistake. And then the way Obama got out was a tremendous mistake. We're going to have a lot of fun that first 100 days.
How about a couple more?
Yeah. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm wondering, first, you have to get through the general election. How close do you think your campaign staff is to being ready for the general election campaign?
TRUMP: We are building. One of the reasons I made a deal with the RNC which to me is -- I think Reince has done a really good job and they built over years and years staffs in every state. Months. Now I just learned I got the nomination and again this was something that was going to happen according to some people in august and some people were saying because of the second convention which would have been ridiculous and many people said it was going to did into the July. And then we had a massive victory in Indiana. I won't forget the people of Indiana. That was a massive, massive victory. You know, so here I'm sitting and watching. I love watching Hillary and Bernie go after it. Bernie's given me great lines, which I'm using, believe me.
I'll say that as far as building the infrastructure of a campaign, the RNC is doing it for many years. Reince has really upped it, and all over the country, they have very good people. And part of the benefit is we get to use those people. And while I'm raising a lot of money for them and they're going to use it, not only for me, but also for other people running for office, it's really been an honor because I met some of the people in different states. I met a big group of people last night from different states that work essentially from the RNC. And you can't do that over a period of just a short while, because we have November coming up very rapidly. It will be very soon and they are set up with great infrastructure.
How about one or two more?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Foster's sister called your comments to "The Washington Post" cruel irresponsible and wrong.
TRUMP: Well, the question was asked about Vince Foster and it was asked of me, what do you think of Vince Foster? I really know nothing about the Vince Foster situation. Haven't known anything about it. And somebody asked me the question the other day. I said that. A lot of people are skeptical of what happened and how he died. I know nothing about it. I don't think it's something that, frankly, unless some evidence to the contrary of what I've seen, comes up, I don't think it's something that should really be part of the campaign. But again, if you people reveal something to me, I'll answer it the appropriate way.
OK. One more?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Donald Trump? Donald Trump?
TRUMP: Yeah?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Here in North Dakota fracking is on the forefront of everyone's mind.
TRUMP: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Bernie said he would ban fracking completely. Hillary said higher regulation.
[14:45:03] TRUMP: Bernie will ban fracking. Hillary will ban fracking and abolish the Second Amendment. OK? Just in case you have any question. Abolish your right to own guns, abolish the Second Amendment. And I'm exactly the opposite and got the endorsement from the NRA, a great endorsement and an honor for me. They're great, amazing people. I'm a member of the NRA. My sons are members of the NRA.
But they want to absolutely -- and you do that, you're going to be back into the Middle East and begging for oil again. Not going the happen with me. We'll open it up. Be energy independent. We'll have all sorts of energy. We will have everything you can and I know a lot about solar. The problems it's very expensive. When you have a 30- year payback, that's the not greatest thing in the world. I have gone so solar on occasion and it eels a very, very expensive thing. Wind is expensive. Wind is without subsidy doesn't work. You need massive subsidies for wind and places maybe for wind. And if you go to various places in California, wind is killing all of the eagles. Shooting an eagle, they want to put you in jail for five years, and yet the windmills killing hundreds and hundreds of eagles. One of the most beautiful, one most treasured birds, and killing them by the hundreds and nothing happens. Wind is, you know, it is a problem. Plus, it's very, very expensive and doesn't work without subsidy. So -- despite that, I'm into all types of energy.
By the way, while we are in North Dakota I have to say this. I love the farmers. And the farmers are incredible. We have to remember this was largely a farm state. And they produce tremendous crops of tremendous different goods of which I eat a lot of them. And, and I just want to pay my respects to the farmers of North Dakota, because they have done a great job.
All right. One more. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: With that, will your mandate pass in 2022?
TRUMP: We'll look at that and meet with the governor of Iowa. Tremendous, tremendous guy, and a friend of mine, and we'll talk about it. We'll be making a decision fairly soon. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Given the low volume of crude oil exported since the regulations were lifted recently, what would you do to increase and stimulate growth in the volumes?
TRUMP: That will be -- I'll open it up to sell it. And that will be up to people like Harold. If he wants to sell to other places, he's -- I'm not going to help him. Nobody can sell like him. Now I would open it up and keep it open. Get rid of the regulations. And people like Harold Hamm and, you know, people that I know that are really competent, super competent. Believe me. We'll make so much money from that, from energy. We are blessed with something. You will hear numbers in a little while. We will make so much money that we'll start to pay down our $19 trillion in debt. And we'll start to lower taxes and we'll start to take care of the Social Security and Medicare. But we're going to open it up.
OK. Thank you all very much.
David, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now that a --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: He wrote a couple of good stories about me so I have to let him.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now that a --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: A couple of bad ones, too. Don't worry about it. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now that women have taken issue with the way
they were portrayed in a sort of --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: So honored by that, yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think you're done answers questions of whether you're a sexist? Do you expect more of that?
TRUMP: I think so. I was so honored. "The New York Times" did this massive story on the front page. And they quoted three women and another woman and the many of the women said we have great respect for Donald Trump. We really like Donald Trump. That's what we said or how it was portrayed. And they actually said this was going to be a wonderful piece. And "The New York Times" has been totally discredited and the construction person I just presented many, many e- mails, and I think I sent them to you, David, I did send them to you. Many, many e-mails where she's asking for her job back because after she was gone I never took her back and wanted the job back. She wrote a book and says the nicest things about me. She wrote me letters saying you're the least sexist person, you are not a sexist. I don't know why she mentioned it. Anybody to mention that in a letter is a little bit strange. Nobody accused me of it. She writes may letter. But she wrote many e-mails asking for the job back and she's been totally discredited. So "The New York Times" story has been totally discredited. "The New York Times," I can tell you from personal knowledge, is very, very embarrassed. It was a total hit job on Donald Trump. And to put a story like that above the fold with a massive picture of myself standing with Miss Universe contestants or maybe a Miss USA contestants, and which I owned, and sold recently to IMG. I sold the pageants to IMG. Good deal, by the way.
(LAUGHTER)
But for them to put a story like that have the fold in "The New York Times," I can tell you, they are they are very ashamed of the story, And for the women to come out, Rowanne, as an example, to be brave. I did not speak to her when she did that. I spoke to her recently. Thanked her, because it took courage to do that, and for her and others to come out and go forward and say, you really, really mistreated us by writing the story, the way you wrote it, we have great respect for Donald Trump and like Donald Trump very much. "The New York Times" was totally discredited. And honestly, they should be ashamed of themselves.
[14:50:47] So it been a great event for me. I hated reading the story even though this was not, you know, major allegations of very much stuff as you understand. One of them accused of me saying don't eat that candy. In fact, a friend of mine called up said it's not too serious. They made it like it was such a big violation. Don't eat that candy. So, I appreciate. I sent it to you. I appreciated the story you wrote about it because "The New York Times" has been totally discredited and I will tell you they are very embarrassed by that story. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What role will Congressman Cramer play in the administration?
TRUMP: Just a talented person. I mean, he's been there for a long time. Right? Pretty much right from the beginning.
Come here. Get over here. Get over here.
REP. KEVIN CRAMER, (R), NORTH DAKOTA: Hey!
Been there right from the beginning. Right?
(LAUGHTER)
CRAMER: You've changed my life. I guess, if you're one of the first seven or eight members of Congress to endorse somebody, your life changes. Mine changed. But I'm glad you're here and appreciate Harold's invitation and appreciate your comments on energy and looking forward to hearing the rest of it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you missing --
(CROSSTALK)
CRAMER: I missed voting for the energy and water appropriations bill that failed miserably. So didn't miss a thing.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Thank you, everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Speaker Paul Ryan is withholding his endorsement because he wants --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Let's see what happens.
Thank you, everybody.
BRIANNE KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Donald Trump wrapping up his press availability there in Bismarck, North Dakota, ahead of his energy rally.
I want to bring back Dana Bash, Nia-Malika Henderson. Who else do we have, also? We also have David Catanese.
David, thank you for sticking around with us.
DAVID CATANESE, SENIOR POLITICS WRITER, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT: Sure.
KEILAR: OK. There's so many things to talk art. I want to start with the Bernie versus Donald debate. OK? He says, Dana, I would love to debate. He's a dream. But the thing is he wants a lot of money put up for charity. He said upwards of $10 million towards a women's health issue. And Trump needs help with women. What do you make of this? It seems sort of antithetical against the Bernie Sanders philosophy to go along with something like this, even if it is for charity.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I guess it could be and Jeff Weaver was on with Wolf Blitzer in the last hour taunting Donald Trump to do this kind of debate. He said he wished -- he hopes he doesn't chicken out. I think he used that phrase like three times and he even said he's not sure whether Donald Trump has the guts to do it. We were joking as we were watching that it was almost as if he was using a PhD in psychology's handbook on how to get someone like Donald Trump to come to the table. It sounds like he is interested in doing it. You know, maybe I'm old-school. I'm sort of, you know, somebody who thinks that people are debating as a matter of kind of public discourse that, you know, they can debate all they want matter of kind of -- an issue for voters to decide or a candidate versus candidate for voters to decide on who to vote for, that's not what this would be at all. It's --
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: A spectacle, right, in a way?
BASH: It could be a spectacle.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: He said he wants a stadium. That's exactly right. He wants it to be --
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: That's what it would be.
KEILAR: A big arena.
BASH: Exactly. And I mean, the fact to try to raise money for it and so on and so forth, you know, I just want to disabuse our viewers of any notion. I think I'm speaking for myself here but that would be a sort of journalistic endeavor to help voters decide because they're not running against each other right now.
KEILAR: Yeah. I have been e-mailing with Jeff Weaver during this to get a sense of whether they would be up for this. In one hand, he seems to kind of scoff at the idea of this saying maybe the networks sponsor put up some cash which, of course, pushes it off and hard to see where a network sponsor does that. I said so officially is this something that the campaign is saying they're not going to do? He wouldn't completely shut it down and said I would just say it's all an open question right now. So he's not dismissing that.
What do you think, David?
[14:55:21]CATANESE: I mean, look. After the election year that we have had, I would never rule anything out. I think it is more unlikely than likely. But look. A great thing for the Sanders camp to put out. It's click bait. The media loves the story. And Hillary's not debating him.
KEILAR: Right.
CATANESE: So he's picking the next biggest alternative for him to go at and that's Donald Trump and that would be great, great for him. It would be great for media.
KEILAR: OK. Nia, we are getting a little bit of a preview here. Some of the Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton stuff. He says she can't close the deal. We heard that before. He's using the moment where a lot of people paying attention crossing this number finish line to say everyone thought I would have a contested convention and look at her. She is still fighting a primary battle, as well, on this e-mails issue and inspector general's report previewing what he is said about that, that this is bad judgment as we have heard from one of his top aides, to paint her as sort of Obama's third term and less ethical.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yeah, bad judgment. He said that. They've been talking about that for a while, about the e-mails and very strong language in that press conference today. He even brought up the specter the idea of Whitewater. You know? Welcome to the '90s. I guess I should make a "Murphy Brown" or "Alf" reference at some point. So yeah, you have seen him do that. Vince Foster came up in this press conference, as well. But yeah, I mean, it seems like we sort of know what playbook he's going to go for. I think the question still remains is it going to work? This is something that Republicans have tried for quite sometime and if you look at the Clintons just collectively, only people able to beat the Clintons is a Democrat. It's Obama by moving to the left in that primary eight years ago and it looks like at least for now Donald Trump wants to kind of dredge up the '90s and looks like maybe some of the best material we have seen that talking about the Clintons and for instance trade deals and that works. Brought up coal, as well. Seems like a viable line of attack for her, particularly in a state like West Virginia and even a state like Pennsylvania. If you look at Pennsylvania, for instance, a state Democrats won for decades and decades and in 2012 Obama won that state by 300,000 voters and if he flips the states like Pennsylvania, like Ohio, he certainly has a chance. Here, I do think also he is trying to fix his woman problem. Right? He basically I guess he was throwing the Huffington Post under the bus saying that --
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: Misquote Manafort.
HENDERSON: And said that, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: He also said he didn't read it so --
HENDERSON: Right, he didn't read it and "Huffington Post" --
KEILAR: Do they cover politics? (LAUGHTER)
HENDERSON: Throwing shade at Jeff Weaver phrase. So yeah, you saw that. Even this sort of stunt of the debate, again, he is saying, oh, I want this $10 million, $15 million to go towards women's health, whatever that means.
KEILAR: On the issue, Dana, of the tax returns, and this is key because in the interview with the "Huffington Post," Paul Manafort said he's not sure if Donald Trump will release the tax returns, and Donald Trump poured cold water on that, saying that Manafort misquoted, one, and said we're releasing after the audit. And threw shade at the IRS sort of raising this issue of I keep getting audited. I wonder what that's about.
BASH: He did. Just to kind of, you know, thread the needle here on a bunch of these issues that Trump was asked about, I think one common thread if you will was him kind of distancing himself from some of the more controversial things that Paul Manafort said in this interview that he gave. The idea that he's not looking at women or minorities to be his vice presidential candidate. Trump didn't -- kind of skirted it.
KEILAR: Said they would be considered.
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: About top jobs, and wanted to counter that narrative. Right? And number two, the whole question of taxes. Well, no, we'll release it. He's not being defiant like one of his top aide, Paul Manafort. And this is coming after Paul Manafort was on Capitol Hill last week, and according to Manu Raju, saying that they were telling Senate chiefs of staff that they can distance themselves from Donald Trump if they think they have to. And then he goes and trashes Susana Martinez a couple of days ago, who was distancing herself from him. So I think that --
