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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield
Coverage of the Presidential Race; Trump Delivers Measured Victory Speech. Aired 12-12:30p ET
Aired June 08, 2016 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much for being with us.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, guys.
BERMAN: Appreciate it.
BOLDUAN: Thank you guys so much for joining us AT THIS HOUR.
BERMAN: LEGAL VIEW with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Thanks to you, we've reached a milestone.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The last thing we need is Hillary Clinton in the White House.
CLINTON: Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander in chief.
TRUMP: To all of those Bernie Sanders voters, we welcome you with open arms.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people in my view will never support a candidate whose major theme is bigotry.
TRUMP: We're only getting started and it's going to be beautiful.
SANDERS: We are going to fight hard to win the primary in Washington, D.C.
CLINTON: We are stronger together. Let's go out and make that case to America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And welcome to LEGAL VIEW.
It is a general election for the record books. Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump. After winning four of the six states holding contest yesterday, including the biggest prize of all, California, Secretary Clinton acknowledged that she is the first woman nominee of a major party. She noted this special moment with this tweet, "to every little girl who dreams big, yes, you can be anything you want, even president. Tonight is for you." Clinton thanked the voters, of course, and gave a shout out to the person who inspired her most, her mother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Thanks to you, we've reached a milestone. The first time - the first time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nominee. Tonight's victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible.
I learned this a long time ago from the biggest influence in my life, my mother. She was my rock from the day I was born until the day she left us. She overcame a childhood marked by abandonment and mistreatment and somehow managed not to become bitter or broken. My mother believed that life is about serving others. And she taught me never to back down from a bully, which it turns out was pretty good advice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Also weighing in, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, sending out this emotional tweet, and I quote her, "speaking is hard for me, but come January I want to say these two words, 'Madam President.' #imwithher."
On the other side of the political race, Donald Trump gave a more measured victory speech with a teleprompter. He sought to reassure the GOP that he understands the weight of the office for which he is running. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle. And I will never, ever let you down. Too much work, too many people, blood, sweat, and tears. Never going to let you down. I will make you proud of your party, and our movement, and that's what it is, is a movement.
Some people say I'm too much of a fighter. My preference is always peace, however. And I've shown that. I've shown that for a long time. I've built an extraordinary business on relationships and deals that benefit all parties involved, always. My goal is always, again, to bring people together. But if I'm forced to fight for something I really care about, I will never, ever back down and our country will never, ever back down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I want to talk more about the race with CNN political commentators Tara Setmayer and Marc Lamont Hill. Also with us, CNN political - senior political analyst David Gergen. And, David, I'd like to begin with you. That last thing that you just
heard from Donald Trump, I will never let you down. I immediately thought of just the 24 hour news cycle that we've come through in which Paul Ryan said that his comments about the judge were the textbook definition of a racist comment. That's a letdown. Governor Brian Sandoval, Nevada, saying you can't defend the indefensible. Tom Ridge saying, if you've concluded that he's wrong for America, then why would you conclude he's right for the Republican Party? Senator Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, change the approach he's taking. He needs to change. Senator Mark Cook, Republican, he does not have the temperament to command our military. That is the textbook of letting your fellow Republicans down. Where is there the disconnect?
[12:05:21] DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there's no question that - that he - that he let down lots and lots of top Republicans and the ripple effects have still not quieted down, Ashleigh. I think the issue now is, was last night - does he feel chastened by what he went through and is he really going to now play a different rule as Donald Trump? We saw it last night, that he looked more presidential, but will that last more than 24 hours? A lot of Republicans, you know, worry that it won't. And they're not going to endorse him, they're not going to give him more support until he has a sustained period of a change of tone, taking this - the office more seriously, as he said he would do last night. And he really demonstrates that through, you know, a period of time. He's going to have to earn back the trust or earn the trust of a lot of top Republicans before they're going to rally around him. He needs to do it before - before the convention.
BANFIELD: And speaking of earning, Hillary Clinton was trying to do some earning as well because if she's going to try to bring in Bernie Sanders' supporters into the Democratic fold, she's got some work to do. This is what she said during her speech last night about the famous glass ceiling remark she made eight years ago and she compared it to today. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
We are all standing under a glass ceiling right now. But don't worry, we're not smashing this one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So, Tara Setmayer, I'm going to get you to put on two hats right now. One as a woman in politics, seeing the monumental occasion that we are witnessing with the first woman nominee of a major party, and, two, why that particular woman continues to be target of opportunity number one for not just Donald Trump but Republicans. She is the one they love to hate.
TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. So, you know, my mom and I were actually having a conversation about this where I said, you know, I do acknowledge the historical significance of this. When I was in fourth grade, I was very excited to be Geraldine Ferraro in a mock presidential - vice presidential debate in my class. I didn't know politics back then. All I knew was that she was the first woman vice presidential candidate and that I wanted to be that. So I think that picture of her with the little girl and the tweet, I think that's very powerful.
But, for many of us who look at her in her ideology and look at her positions on things, and their 30 year very questionable history with the Clintons, I feel she's the wrong woman. That's great that we've got a woman, but she's not the right one, so it takes a little bit of excitement away from me because I know her record.
But I think that she cannot rest on her laurels with just this. I think you've seen that in - with - because women have achieved so much and we've seen a lot of the firsts, I don't know that this is going to be as significant now as it would have been in 2008 because you had Barack Obama being the first black president, which was a big deal, and now women, especially millennials, they look at how she's doing with millennials, terribly, when you have - against Bernie Sanders, who's a 70-something-year-old, you know, socialist, she was getting creamed in those categories. So she - she can -
BANFIELD: Glad you brought that up.
SETMAYER: She can't just rest on her laurels and, yes, that's great, she's a woman, go women, but now we need to talk about politics.
BANFIELD: Glad you - I'm glad you brought that up because Donald Trump, Marc, was reaching out to Bernie Sanders' supporters last night.
MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
BANFIELD: Before we go to that element, which I'm sure will become a big part of it, Bernie Sanders is going to be meeting with the president. How much crystal blue persuasion does the president need to give Bernie Sanders to get him to give up on this fight all the way to the convention, as he's putting it?
HILL: He's going to have to make a heck of a persuasive argument to Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders can see the numbers. He knows that he's pretty much out of field when it comes to both pledged delegates and super delegates. Whether the system is fair or not is a different issue. And I agree with Bernie that it's not fair. But at this point he knows he's not going to be the nominee for the most part. So the question is -
BANFIELD: He's still not saying that.
HILL: He's not saying it, but he - but he knows it, just like Hillary has - didn't say she was the presumptive nominee before last night, but she knew it.
BANFIELD: He's (INAUDIBLE) going to go all the way to the convention. HILL: He is saying that because he wants his agenda, which is a radical, or at least progressive economic vision to be in the platform of the Democratic Party. That's a reasonable thing to do. I hope Bernie goes all the way to the mat. I hope Bernie never gives up. I hope he takes it all the way to the convention floor because we need an actual progressive in the party and on the platform in terms of the general election, and it's not Hillary Clinton and it's darn sure not Donald Trump. So I say if Bernie - I'm a Jill Stein (ph) green party person. I can't choose either of them (INAUDIBLE). But if I were to choose one, it will be Bernie. So let him - let him keep fighting. Make the party what it's supposed to be.
BANFIELD: OK. So much more to go still, but, Tara, thank you, Marc, thank you, and, David Gergan, as always, thank you to you as well.
[12:10:00] And Hillary Clinton is talking to CNN about clinching the nomination. Don't miss that interview tonight on "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer, coming at you at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. So make plans or set your DVR.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: With every political gain he makes, Donald Trump either makes his supporters more convinced that he's the right guy for the job, or he drives away even further the people who say no Trump, never Trump. Not that he needed it, but Donald Trump crushed it in the California Republican primary. He got more than 75 percent of the vote. But, get this, Governor John Kasich, who dropped out of the race more than a month ago, got more than 11 percent of California Republicans still voting for him yesterday over Donald Trump.
And don't believe that Trump enjoys across the board support in the United States Senate. Just in the past 24 hours, add two Senate Republicans to the list of those backpedaling now away from Trump. Mark Kirk of Illinois on the right, Susan Collins of Maine on the left. They both said put us in the no Trump column.
And this from a former Pennsylvania governor and member of George W. Bush's cabinet.
[12:15:01] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR: The notion that he's going to carry the mantle of the Republican Party, it - it would be obviously wearing new clothes because he certainly hasn't been carrying it the past year.
The bottom line is, is if you have major policy differences with a candidate, if you find his actions and his demeaning nature unacceptable, if you have legitimate questions about his character and his temperament and his disposition, if you have concluded he is wrong for America, then why would you conclude that he's right for the Republican Party? It's not about blind allegiance, it's about endorsing somebody you believe in. And I suspect you're probably going to see other defections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Former Homeland Security secretary as well.
Robert Zimmerman, Democratic strategist and Hillary Clinton supporter, is with us in the middle. Boris Epshteyn is a GOP strategist and Donald Trump supporter, on the right of your screen. And Jonathan Tasini, political strategist and Bernie Sanders supporter, on the left.
And first to you, Boris, you got to answer for that. A lot of Republicans are maybe taking that off ramp that a fellow Republican, Lindsey Graham, may have been offering them on Sunday by saying, if you've had enough, the Mexican judge comments may have been the off ramp. And then this sort of cascade of other Republicans. And the same time Donald Trump is saying, I don't want to offend anybody. You know, I want to keep you all in the, you know, in the tent.
BORIS EPSHTEYN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, most important are the voters, right? And over 12 million people have voted for Donald Trump. And it will be up to right about 13 once all the votes are counted. Now, as far as California goes, it's important to know that a lot of that is early voting. So a lot of those votes were mail-in votes. So the votes that did not go for Trump could have come in back when Kasich was still in the race. So that's important to note.
Now, as far as some of these folks that you talked about who are coming out and saying that right now they're not in a position to support Donald Trump, that is absolutely their God-given right and they can do that as citizens. I think it's a mistake for the Republican Party. We do need to unite behind the nominee, behind the person that more Republicans have voted for than in any other Republican primary in history. So that's the way to go.
BANFIELD: Which guy - which guy is going to continue on the campaign trail, though, the guy on the teleprompter last night who was conciliatory towards fellow Republicans and the voters who were watching, or the guy who oftentimes after a performance like that goes right back to saying "Mexican judge"?
EPSHTEYN: You're going to get both, and here's why, because both has gotten Donald Trump to where he is now. When he got in this race right about a year ago, a little less, he was somebody who was not expected to do anything in this primary, right? To make a blip and go away, maybe with 5 percent of the vote. Now he is the standard bearer. Why? Because he's someone who is brash, he's someone who speaks his mind, and as someone who appeals to the voters in that way. But you're also going to get that person from yesterday. And no one person, as you know well, Ashleigh, is only - has only one side to him, right? We all do. We all have a spectral of personalities, as does - does Mr. Trump.
BANFIELD: You should see with my kids. Boy, are you right.
EPSHTEYN: I'm sure you are - I'm sure - I'm sure you amazing - I'm sure your amazing with them.
BANFIELD: It's not this calm, that's for sure. ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Ashleigh, let's be realistic about this. Right now you're seeing Donald Trump's campaign team trying to give him a political facelift when he needs a political organ transplant. And the viewers can figure out which organ they may want him to have. But the bottom line here is -
EPSHTEYN: Robert loves (INAUDIBLE).
ZIMMERMAN: The bottom line here is -
BANFIELD: (INAUDIBLE).
ZIMMERMAN: The bottom line here is, we're seeing not two sides of Donald Trump, we're only seeing who he - we're seeing who he really is. And that is a man who's built his campaign on divisive, hateful rhetoric towards Hispanics, towards Muslims, with policies that - but he doesn't even have policies, he's got tweets.
BANFIELD: He's also trying to get Bernie Sanders supporters.
EPSHTEYN: I will disagree.
BANFIELD: I mentioned this in the bloc before. And Jonathan Tasini, maybe you can tell me, since you know a lot about Bernie Sanders supporters, how many of them will listen to that message that Donald Trump was giving from the teleprompter last night about coming to his side? How many of them will do what perhaps President Obama is going to ask Bernie Sanders to ask him to do, and that is join the Hillary Clinton team?
JONATHAN TASINI, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Well, first of all, as a supporter of Bernie Sanders from the beginning, we know that he's still in the race. And it -
BANFIELD: It ain't over. I knew you were going to say that.
TASINI: It ain't over. I know - I have to say that. There's a primary next week and I am in it until the last moment, till he decides what to do.
Look, there - there -
BANFIELD: By the way, I just want to let you know that I didn't give David French any opportunities to still be in the race either.
TASINI: So there -
BANFIELD: But - but there's a reason we use the word "presumptive nominee."
TASINI: Fine. There is zero - I'm going to have a caveat at the end, but there is zero chance that any more than a smattering of people are going to support anybody but Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nominee. Donald Trump is a misogynist, he's a racist -
EPSHTEYN: OK, here we go. TASINI: He's un-hinged, deranged person. He is not fit to be president of the United States. I - the one caveat I will say, which is a danger to the Democratic Party, which I say to my friend Robert that we have to address is, when Donald Trump says that NAFTA was a disaster, he is absolutely right and that could appeal to people in the industrial -
EPSHTEYN: He just said it was (INAUDIBLE). And I was right.
TASINI: Into - into the industrial areas, like Ohio and Pennsylvania. We have to take a very firm stand against bad trade agreements -
BANFIELD: Hold on.
TASINI: To - to just appeal and to be clear to people who might be inclined to hear that message.
BANFIELD: Boris was taking issue with what you said about Donald Trump. But I'm going to play for you what Donald Trump said about Hillary Clinton just last night. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The Clintons have turned the politics of personal enrichment into an art form for themselves. They've made hundreds of millions of dollars selling access, selling favors, selling government contracts, and I mean hundreds of millions of dollars. Hillary Clinton turned the State Department into her private hedge fund. The Russians, the Saudis, the Chinese, all gave money to Bill and Hillary and got favorable treatment in return.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:20:22] BANFIELD: All right, selling favors, selling access, government contracts, her personal hedge fund, favorable treatment from rogue nations. Where is that fact check? Where does he get that?
EPSHTEYN: Hillary Clinton said when she became secretary of state that the Clinton Foundation would not accept any money from foreign governments. We've had to (INAUDIBLE) four years of tax returns because they did end up taking -
BANFIELD: Favorable return. Favorable treatment in return?
EPSHTEYN: They did end up taking - yes, there was an article in "The New York Times" about a Russian company - funded by the Russian government that was - that give - was given permission from the secretary - from the secretary of state, from the department of state, to move on an uranium deal exactly while the Russian government was giving money to the Clinton Foundation. So there's absolutely facts behind this. And as delve deeper into the general election, we find out more and more about Qatar, China, Algeria, again, Russia giving money to the Clinton Foundation while Clinton was secretary of state. You will see all of this come out that she was not only (INAUDIBLE) secretary of state but a (INAUDIBLE) one, in fact.
BANFIELD: A quick comment - OK, a quick comment from each of you, and when I say, quick, I mean it. First to you.
TASINI: Got it.
ZIMMERMAN: That uranium deal, that Boris refers to, began in the Bush administration. Nine federal agencies approved of that process. It wasn't just the State Department. More importantly, that kind of rhetoric is why the Republicans have lost the vote in five of the six last elections.
BANFIELD: Jonathan.
TASINI: It's - well, first of all, a negative campaign is not going to work. What I want to ask is, does anybody know -
EPSHTEYN: You called him a misogynist. (INAUDIBLE).
TASINI: Does - does anybody - does anybody know what Donald Trump stands for?
EPSHTEYN: Yes.
TASINI: Does he?
EPSHTEYN: (INAUDIBLE) -
TASINI: He doesn't - there's not a single policy thing in any of the attacks that he's mentioned yesterday or in the past week. Actually, no, other than building a wall and all this other rubbish, what are his positions about -
EPSHTEYN: Four tax brackets, lower corporate tax rates.
TASINI: Nonsense. He doesn't - he doesn't have any -
EPSHTEYN: What do you mean nonsense? I'm giving you answers to your questions.
TASINI: He doesn't - he doesn't have any policy prescriptions that would be about -
EPSHTEYN: A 15 percent tax bracket.
TASINI: That would be about the issues that we're talking about.
EPSHTEYN: For corporations.
TASINI: Foreign policy. That people care about, actually.
EPSHTEYN: Foreign policy. Making sure that countries pay 2 percent of their GDP, our allies, as they're supposed to, a part of NATO.
BANFIELD: But I will weigh in on this as far as the name calling goes. No one has the monopoly on that. Yes, she may have called him a misogynist, but we've also heard time and time again, crooked Hillary. So there's a lot of name calling, you know, I think we could say on both sides here. Guys, thank you.
EPSHTEYN: Thanks.
BANFIELD: And, clearly, buckling up. Buckle up for the next few months.
EPSHTEYN: Thanks.
BANFIELD: Clear your schedules.
I'm going to ask Boris to stick around for a moment.
Trump now says that he - his universally condemned remarks about the federal judge were misconstrued and thus he is not taking them back. He also says his Republican critics should, quote, "get over it." We're going to talk that out when LEGAL VIEW continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:27:11] BANFIELD: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That is how a senior Donald Trump campaign advisor today describes to CNN the inner workings of the Trump political machine. Polished, scripted, and presidential one day. Undisciplined and attacking the next. One more thing, again from this senior advisor, a source from the Trump campaign telling CNN that Trump's ever-changing approach is based on who is advising him, someone who is afraid of him and someone who is not afraid of him. We'll have more on that in just one moment.
But the backdrop for all of this is Donald Trump's criticism of a federal judge with Mexican heritage. The same judge who is overseeing two lawsuits against Trump University. And if you think Trump is taking that criticism back, he is not. I'm quoting here about Republicans angry at his attacks on the federal judge, Gonzalo Curiel. "They have to," quote, "get over it. They shouldn't be angry for so long."
It started with that speech in San Diego when Donald Trump did something nobody in his position nor higher has ever done before, calling out a federal judge by name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: But I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump. A hater. He's a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel.
I think I'm going to do very well with Latinos or Hispanics. You know I employ thousands of Latinos. I employ, over the years, thousands of Mexicans. They're great. They're great. I deal with them. I sell them apartments. I deal - you know, I deal with them.
JOHN DICKERSON, CBS NEWS: If it were a Muslim judge, would you also feel like they wouldn't be able to treat you fairly because of that policy of yours?
TRUMP: It's possible, yes. Yes, that would be possible, absolutely.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: If you are saying he can't do his job because of his race, is that not the definition of racism?
TRUMP: I don't think so at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: I don't think so at all. Definition of racism. Speaker of the House said it is the definition of racism.
Back with Boris Epshteyn now, a GOP strategist and 100 percent Trump guy.
EPSHTEYN: That's a new (INAUDIBLE). Is that my new cyron (ph) now?
BANFIELD: That's your new cyron now.
EPSHTEYN: The people on - people on Twitter will be really upset about that one.
BANFIELD: Why? You think so?
EPSHTEYN: Well, they get very angry at me. I get a lot of angry tweets.
BANFIELD: You have every right to speak in this - in this country and to support the candidate you want, as do the voters. And I think that's been a big point of yours.
Jim Acosta, just an intrepid reporter who - who Donald Trump calls a beauty.
EPSHTEYN: He's a real beauty.
BANFIELD: He's a real beauty. I believe he's a real beauty for different reasons.
EPSHTEYN: He's a handsome guy.
[12:29:43] BANFIELD: He had this phenomenal interview with a senior Trump advisor who said that it is Jekyll and Hyde. That Corey Lewandowski is afraid of Donald Trump. That Paul Manafort is not. And that it's the Paul Manafort who got ahold of him last night and put him on the teleprompter and told him to haul it back. And yet we get those thing like, you know, get over it. To someone like the speaker of the House, a significant, you know, position within the Republican Party, I guess the question is, you eluded to it in the last segment, but the Republican Party
