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Ryan Backing Trump; Candidates on Economy; Sanders Fights On; NBA Game Three. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 08, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:29] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And, good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

Republicans are still reeling from Donald Trump's attack on Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk unendorsed Trump because his remarks about the judge were, quote, "too racist and too bigoted" for him. House Speaker Paul Ryan also called Trump's remarks racist, but he still backs Trump. And that has left some who admired Ryan perplexed.

I'm joined on the phone by Jerry Bader. He's a conservative talk radio host on WTAQ in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Good morning.

JERRY BADER, CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO HOST (via telephone): Good morning.

COSTELLO: Hi, Jerry. Thanks for being with me this morning because I know you have a show to do. "The Daily News," it published a cover this morning, and this is what it looks like. It says, "I'm with racist," and it has Paul Ryan and Donald Trump on the cover. Your thoughts about this?

BADER: I don't know how you can dispute that. And as you set it up, Paul Ryan is trying to walk a tight rope here that he just -- he can't do. You cannot -- you cannot disavow the racism without disavowing the racist. And that is what Senator Kirk did yesterday. But, quite frankly, that's too late. That's out of political expediency. Obviously he's doing it now because he feels he has to politically. The right thing to do for Paul Ryan and other Republicans is to admit that Donald Trump is racist. He's not just playing one on TV. And they should disavow and not endorse him.

COSTELLO: And you're a Paul Ryan fan, correct?

BADER: I am a huge Paul Ryan supporter. He's been on my show. And, listen, Carol, I want to speak directly to him right now. And here's -- here's what I want to say. Down the hallway from me is a -- a coworker and a dear, dear friend who happens to be African-American and she has an expression, there are cut the rope moments in people's lives. And what it refers to is, if you're in a crowd, a lynch mob, would you have the courage to walk through the crowd and cut the rope? Right now Paul Ryan is averting his eyes, staring down, shuffling his feet and he is considered one of the most honorable, descent men in Washington. People are looking for him to act. Speaker Ryan, cut the rope.

COSTELLO: Paul Ryan did try to clarify his remarks on another radio show. I'd like you to listen to -- to those comments from Paul Ryan. Here it is.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying that Donald Trump he's racist?

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: No, I'm not. I'm saying the comment was. I don't know what's in his heart. I can't speak to that whatsoever. What I'm saying is to suggest that a person's race disqualifies them to do their job is textbook. That's what I'm saying. I'm not saying what's in his heart, because I don't know what's in his heart and I don't think he feels that in his heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:35:10] COSTELLO: So is it possible to say something racist and not be racist?

BADER: Yes, maybe, once. If we -- if this was a one off, that would be one thing. Can someone miss speak? All right, first, can someone misspeak? Can someone say something and really not understand what they're saying? There was a clear motive behind what Donald Trump was saying. He was suggesting, by his heritage, Judge Curiel was -- should be disqualified. Two, come on, we've been going through this for a year. This is nothing new. And more so, Speaker Ryan knows that -- and others know darn well this isn't going to be the last. OK, next week, what's Paul Ryan going to do when there's another one, and another one, and another one, and another one. This now should be the time to say, yes, the man and the words are one in the same.

COSTELLO: Jerry, Mr. Trump lost the state of Wisconsin because you, like many other Republican voters and conservative talkers, frankly, think Trump is bad for the Republican Party. Yet Wisconsin's Ryan did endorse him, and you're not very happy about that. But I wanted to read you what Erick Erickson writes about Paul Ryan's continued support of Donald Trump. He said, quote, "have Republicans no shame? They're handing their nomination to a gold plated fraud who will cost the party not just its integrity but also its chances of winning for at least a generation." Do you agree with that?

BADER: I think it's entirely possible. A generation, I don't know. Does it do severe damage to the Republican Party and the conservative movement? Absolutely. And Erick Erickson has it exactly right. He has not -- and I'm referring to Trump -- he has not the character, nor the temperament -- but mostly the character, to be president of the United States. But moreover, he is a complete fraud. He's not a conservative. There is -- look, I understand. I understand loyalty to party and all of that, but that's everything that got Donald Trump the nomination. It's not doing what the establishment tells you to. You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and sleep at night. I could do neither by voting for or advocating on the air for Donald Trump. And I -- and, yes, this is a moment when people are going to have to tell us who they're -- what their character really is.

COSTELLO: Jerry Bader, thanks for joining me this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, she wants party unity, he's not ready to call it quits. Can the Democratic Party come together with enough time to take down Donald Trump? We'll talk about that next.

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[09:41:43] COSTELLO: The economy, it is issue number one in this election, and so far the majority of voters say they think Donald Trump would do a better job improving the economy than Hillary Clinton would. So what does Clinton need to do to prove that she's the one you want handling America's money.

So let's talk about that with CNN Money chief business correspondent Christine Romans.

Hi, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol.

You know, it's so interesting, economists we talked to say that Hillary Clinton's best idea is this big infrastructure spending. It's something that all three of the remaining major candidates believe in, a big infrastructure build. Think, you know, road, tunnels, rails, the kinds of things that move goods and create job. This is her infrastructure plan. At least 275 billion in funding, create something called the National Infrastructure Bank so the government can fund it but companies can be evolved as well and they can make investments in projects and get returns from building projects. And probably have to be paid for in part at least with this America bonds program.

But Hillary Clinton has very specific ideas on this. Donald Trump also says an infrastructure plan with less details, but he still seems to be the one who gets the cred, the street cred for having good business sense, even though economists say they really like her details about the infrastructure plan. She has some other economic proposals. She's really talked about giving Americans a raise. I think you're going to hear a lot more about this in the months ahead, raising the minimum wage. She talks about a college tax credit of $3,500 per student and a business tax credit for profit sharing with employees.

We know that the economy is issue number one. Has been this whole -- despite what you hear on the campaign trail. What we hear from voters is they care about the economy, 19 percent there, and that includes jobs and job creation. But when you ask about which presidential choice is best at handling the issue, Donald Trump continues to trounce her on the economy by 10 points. On jobs, by 9 points. But on education, she has the upper hand there. The question is, what will team Clinton do in the weeks ahead to show that she has pro-growth policies and specific details. She does have a lot of specifics. And, some ways economists are saying she's very specific and smart in policy wonk, Donald Trump has the sentiment about, I'm just great, I can create jobs, and they're seeming to believe him on that. Will she be able to sell her pro-growth policies?

COSTELLO: We'll see, Christine Romans, thanks so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Last summer it was Sanders' take on the economy, Bernie Sanders I'm talking about, and his promise to bring down the big banks that ignited his campaign. And while millions are still feeling the Bern, the Bern is feeling the pressure to drop out. But so far, Bernie Sanders is staying in the race, undeterred by Clinton's calls for Democratic unity.

With me now to talk about that is Lincoln Chafee, the former Democratic presidential candidate.

Welcome, sir.

LINCOLN CHAFEE, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. A pleasure to join you.

COSTELLO: Thanks for -- thanks for being here.

Senator Sanders vows to fight on, but the numbers are not in his favor. Clinton has won 32 states and territories compared to Sanders' 23. She's garnered 15 million plus votes to his 11 million plus votes. So why is Bernie Sanders staying in?

CHAFEE: Well, what he's saying is that when you look at the best candidate to take on Donald Trump, he's saying that he does better in every poll is what Senator Sanders is saying. But I think reality is going to set in with what happened, especially in California. And as I've heard the Clinton supporters say, Senator Clinton -- Secretary Clinton's supporters say, give him some space, and he does deserve that.

[09:45:01] COSTELLO: But here's the thing, Senator Sanders has convinced his supporters that the system is rigged. When he does decide to drop out, how can he now convince his supporters that he's lost fair and square?

CHAFEE: Considering the foil that is Donald Trump, everybody I know that has supported Senator Sanders is willingly enthusiastically going to support Secretary Clinton.

COSTELLO: Really? Even young people?

CHAFEE: Just because the stakes are so high. Oh, absolutely. The stakes are so high. And the Nader experience is still fresh in our minds that brought us George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. We just can't have that again. And I think Donald Trump scares people more than even Dick Cheney.

COSTELLO: So it's not so much as we love Hillary as we're really afraid of Donald Trump? For Democrats at least.

CHAFEE: Yes. Yes. And -- COSTELLO: And independents?

CHAFEE: Yes. And I think Senator Sanders is, in time, as this plays out, as this process plays out, is also going to be an enthusiastic supporter of Secretary Clinton, the Democratic presumptive -- the Democratic nominee.

COSTELLO: But still she -- Hillary Clinton has to say something to get Bernie Sanders' supporters on board. Might it be a simple as picking the right running mate, because Elizabeth Warren's name has been floated out there, and she is like a big opponent of Wall Street. She wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, et cetera, et cetera.

CHAFEE: Well, of course, having Senator Sanders as the VP certainly would be a message of unification.

COSTELLO: Do you think that Hillary Clinton should pick him, Bernie Sanders, as a running mate?

CHAFEE: It sure would be a fabulous message of unification. And as you just mentioned, all those Sanders supporters and the perhaps ambivalence, which I don't agree with, about going forward and energizing that base, Republicans have been so successful in the past about energizing the base, the Democrats, if they picked -- a nominee Clinton picked Sanders, that would energize that base, no doubt about it.

COSTELLO: Back to Elizabeth Warren for just a second, because some people say Elizabeth Warren would not be a good choice because it would be two women on the ticket, perhaps that would be too much. Do you agree with that?

CHAFEE: It's a factor. It's certainly a factor. I think Senator Sanders has more --

COSTELLO: Do you think a two woman ticket would -- would turn people off?

CHAFEE: Well, I think there are other issues also. Senator Warren has a relatively brief electoral experience. Senator Sanders has been the mayor of the city of Burlington, he's been a House member, he's been a senator. A little more experience. I think that's important.

COSTELLO: All right, Lincoln Chafee, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, deja vu for the NBA. Steph Curry and LeBron James face off tonight in game three. Why King James says it's do or die time for the Cavs.

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[09:52:227] COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 52 minutes past.

Shocking surveillance video out of Florida as a man appears to try to abduct a 13-year-old girl. You're going to see it here. A 30-year-old, Craig Bonnello (ph), he grabs the teenage girl and begins dragging her across the floor at this Dollar General store. There it is. There you see it. Unbelievable. That's the girl's mother lunging after her daughter. After a short struggle, Bonnello releases the girl and he runs away. That's when an off-duty officer who just happened to be in the store's parking lot arrested him. Bonnello is now in custody facing kidnapping and child abuse charges.

Five people are dead and four others injured after a truck plows through a group of bicyclists near Kalamazoo, Michigan. Police say the bicyclists were riding on the shoulder of the road when they were struck by a blue pickup truck.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As I'm walking out after he tried running over my foot, he swerved back on the road and then got back over. And then before I can tell the bikers to move or watch out, that's, boom.

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COSTELLO: The driver of that truck now in custody. Authorities say three different police agencies received phone calls about 15 mines before the crash regarding the truck's erratic driving.

The first of three days of events honoring the legacy of Muhammad Ali kicks off in his hometown today. The I Am Ali Children's Festival gets underway next hour in Louisville. A public memorial service honoring the late boxer is set for Friday. Hundreds of people began lining up at the box office early this morning. Tickets to go to the service go on sale in the next hour.

Get ready for a showdown tonight. Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors facing off against Kim James and the Cavaliers. Game three of the NBA finals. Andy Scholes, it's nerve-racking for a Cleveland girl.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm sure it is, Carol. You know, if Cleveland wants to have any hop of ending that 50 year -- 52- year championship drought, you know, they've got to win the game tonight. No team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit in an NBA playoff series. And LeBron, you know what, he knows what's at stake tonight.

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LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS FORWARD: I'm the leader of this team and, you know, we have other guys that's ready to step up. Obviously this is a do-or-die game for us. Can't afford to go down 3-0. It's (INAUDIBLE) and especially a team that's 73-9 in the regular season. And (INAUDIBLE) what they're playing. So it's a do-or-die game for us and we understand that. So, you know, we're going to come in with a -- we'll give it everything that we've got and leave it on the floor.

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SCHOLES: All right, good news for the Cavs is they are a perfect 7-0 at home during the playoffs. Now, Kevin Love is questionable for tonight's game as he continues to recover from a concussion that he suffered in game two. Tip-off tonight is at 8:00 Eastern.

[09:55:10] All right, we had a bench-clearing brawl last night in Major League Baseball and the two players who sparked the brawl, the Orioles' Manny Machado and Royal's Yordano Ventura. Well, they have history. Ventura hit Machado last season. Then the two had exchanged words during the second inning of this game and Ventura threw inside on Machado. Then watch this in the fifth inning. Ventura beams him with the 99 mile-per-hour fastball. Machado, obviously not very happy about it, charges the mound. It looks like he actually landed a right hook when he -- when he got up there. Both players ejected from the game, likely going to be fined, possibly suspended. But this brawl, it actually sparked the Orioles, Carol, because they would go on to win this game easily, 9-1. And the entire stadium was chanting "Manny! Manny!" (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: I bet they were. Does it seem to you that these baseball fights are getting more violent?

SCHOLES: Well, there's definitely been more punches landed this season than we've seen probably in the last ten combined between (INAUDIBLE) --

COSTELLO: Usually they just push each other around.

SCHOLES: Yes. This -- people are running into these brawls, Carol, looking to land punches this year. Social media probably.

COSTELLO: All right. Yes, we blame it on everything, so why not that?

Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

SCHOLES: All right.

COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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