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Clinton: We Respect the Choice of UK Voters; UK's Vote to Leave EU Hits Wall Street. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired June 24, 2016 - 11:30   ET

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


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[11:32:48] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: History made overnight. One of the U.S.' closest allies is breaking from the European Union. Former secretary of state and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had urged the U.K. to stay. Now that U.K. voters have said go, what's the impact here?

Joining me now is Hillary Clinton's campaign press secretary, Brian Fallon.

Brian, thanks for the time.

BRIAN FALLON, HILLARY CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN PRESS SECRETARY: Thanks for having me on.

BOLDUAN: Of course. So is England having a Donald Trump moment, Brian?

FALLON: Well, I don't know that you could say that. Obviously, as you mentioned, Secretary Clinton had weighed in that she felt the U.K. remaining in the E.U. would make for a stronger Europe, and that would be in the overall best interest of the United States. But she respects the will of the U.K. voters.

I think, however, the response from the two candidates that you're seeing today here in the United States is just another example of why Donald Trump is unfit to be president. He is over there. He clearly timed this visit to his Turnberry golf course to coincide with this Brexit vote and now in the midst of this market instability as American households are wondering about the fate of their 401(k)s, he's basking in this outcome and suggesting that maybe it will help personally profit.

You know, it reminds me of when he said in 2006 at the height of the housing crisis that he was rooting for the bubble because he saw an opportunity to make money there. So, I think overall this is showing why Donald Trump is unfit to be president and clearly this reset that the Trump campaign tried to embark on this week replacing their campaign manager hasn't changed the candidate's approach.

BOLDUAN: But you do say that you don't think you can say this is a Donald Trump moment in the U.K. but when you look at what's playing out in the U.K., it's a populist, protectionist, anti-immigration message winning in the U.K.

Who does that sound like here in the U.S.?

FALLON: Well, look, Kate, you know, Hillary Clinton was in Raleigh, North Carolina, this week and she gave a speech on the economy. It followed a speech she had given the day before in Columbus where she talked about why Donald Trump is unfit to manage the world's largest economy here in the U.S. You know, he likened it today to running golf course, as if raking sand traps can be compared to managing the world's largest economy.

She laid out the choice on a speech on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, she laid out other own affirmative plans and talked about how she recognizes that people here in the U.S. are still anxiety-ridden.

[11:35:04] There's still a lot of unease, even though we have done a lot of work and made a lot of progress in coming from the brink of a recession in 2007-2008, there's still a long way to go and she laid out detailed plans about how she would me these types of investments necessary to put more people back to work and get incomes rising again in this country.

By contrast, Donald Trump is offering a lot of slogans, a lot of sound bites that don't have plans behind them. Hillary Clinton has actual detailed plans to make a difference for people and get incomes rising again in this country. So, I think we acknowledge there's a lot of unease and lingering anxiety in the country right now but she is answering that.

BOLDUAN: But isn't it the fact of the matter, as you said, Hillary Clinton said what would be best for the United States was that the U.K. remain. Hillary Clinton came out in favor of remaining in the E.U. Donald Trump said that U.K. should leave, but Donald Trump supporters and the campaign says that Donald Trump is in line -- he understands the U.K. voter just like he says he understands the U.S. voter and what he's tapping into what they're feeling.

Are you guys out of touch?

FALLON: Well, look, I think the presidential election here, the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump cannot be likened to the vote of the U.K. and their decision to remain in the E.U. I think overall, voters here in the United States -- I think we're already seeing that voters here in the United States are determining that Donald Trump can't be trusted with his finger on the button. He's somebody who said that his foreign policy experience comes from running the Miss Universe pageant. He's now likening managing the U.S. economy to running a golf course.

This is somebody who would be in over his head. His policies are fundamentally dangerous for the country.

Hillary Clinton, by contrast, is recognizing that continuing unease that exists out there with the public in terms of the state of the U.S. economy. She is answering those concerns, putting forward plans. So, we're confident that the voters will decide that Hillary Clinton actually has the proposals to make difference and Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president of the United States.

BOLDUAN: Brian, while I have you, Bernie Sanders making some news today on CNN saying that he will vote for Hillary Clinton, specifically this was his wording though. "In all likelihood, it will be Hillary Clinton." Is that the kind of full-throated endorsement you guys were looking for from Bernie Sanders?

FALLON: Well, look, Bernie Sanders is going to have to make up his own mind about what he decides to do in coming weeks. Obviously, our campaign remains in conversations with his. But, look, I think that what you're seeing is a consolidation of the Democratic Party right now.

BOLDUAN: What's the message that you heard then in those words from Bernie Sanders this morning?

FALLON: Well, I think that those words matter less than, for instance, the fact that we have earned the endorsement in the last couple weeks of President Obama, Vice President Biden. We're going to be campaigning with Senator Warren next Monday.

So, I think you're seeing all kinds of signs of the party coalescing around Hillary Clinton as the nominee of this party. Meanwhile, you have divisions remaining on the Republican side. You have some of the people that have come out and endorsed Donald Trump now regretting that, Paul Ryan comes to mind. So, I think the Democratic Party is going to have no problem uniting by the time of the convention and the Republicans continue to be in disarry.

BOLDUAN: Brian, do you take this as an endorsement, what Bernie Sanders said this morning?

FALLON: Bernie Sanders is going to have to characterize his own words for himself. So I'll let him speak for himself. We're happy with the progress we're making in uniting the party and I think there will be no problem with going into the convention with a very unified party behind Hillary Clinton.

BOLDUAN: OK. Brian Fallon, thank you so much. Thanks for your time.

FALLON: Thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

We're going to give you a live look. We've been tracking it, a live look at the Dow, 464 points down right now. What does it mean for your 401(k)? We'll put it in perspective. We'll get another live update from the New York Stock Exchange. That is coming up.

But also this, Donald Trump says the United Kingdom today reclaimed control over its borders and the economy. Could the vote across the pond help his message here at home? The political implications. A lot of people have an opinion on that. That's next.

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[11:43:08] BOLDUAN: Two hours into the trading day on Wall Street. The market reacting to Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

Alison Kosik is there, has been there all morning for us in the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest.

Alison, what are you seeing right now?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We are, Kate, seeing the losses accelerate and the losses are sticking with the Dow down 465 points. Still a little better than it was earlier. We did see the Dow down as much as 539 points.

But we still continue to see that flight to safety, to those considered to be safe haven investments like gold and U.S. treasuries. We are seeing yields really fall, and that could wind up affecting interest rates in a big way, especially if you carry a mortgage. It means your mortgage rate could go down. That's good news if you're looking to finance or refinance your home.

Also, one other good bit to this to give you a little bit of a bright spot on this Red Friday or this black Friday as you can call it, oil prices down 4 percent. That could translate to the gas station as well -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Watching it closely. Alison, thanks for that update. We're keeping a close eye on that. It will be a volatile day ahead, maybe a couple of days ahead.

Let's bring back our conversation, though, to talk about not only the global economic impact but the politics of it now. Rana Foroohar is back with us. Steve Elmendorf is back with us. Also joining me now, CNN political commentator and Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany, and Republican consultant Brett O'Donnell.

Bret, important to note for this conversation, did consulting work for the vote leave campaign in the U.K.

Guys, great to see you once again.

Brett, Hillary Clinton's campaign did not agree with me when I posed this to them just a short time ago. I will ask you though. Is the U.K. having a Donald Trump moment?

BRETT O'DONNELL, CONSULTANT, UK'S "LEAVE" CAMPAIGN: Well, in some respects. People in Britain were very frustrated with immigration and the loss of control of their borders. They face a situation where there's free movement amongst 28 nations, the prospect of five others joining and the overstretch of their public services left them in a situation where they believed immigration was a huge problem facing the country.

[11:45:08] So, in that respect, immigration being important was certainly a driving issue in the race.

BOLDUAN: One of the things that Donald Trump in his remarks today, Rana, he said that immigration was a key part about this, maybe the driving part behind this vote. When you look at Brexit from your perspective, how much of it was immigration and anti-immigration sentiment and how much of it was economics?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: You know, certainly, a big part of it is immigration, but immigration is really part of the whole process of globalization. If you think about what globalization is, it's the free movement of people, capital, and labor across borders, and I think that what voters were saying is that their questioning this. They're questioning the economic benefits of it.

I think that there is sometimes a nationalistic, xenophobic part of that, but there are also legitimate reasons that one might want to control migration. Unfortunately, I think that the real legitimate economic debate got lost in a lot of the anger, you know, which, of course, culminated in the murder of an MP in the U.K.

BOLDUAN: You know, in reacting to this, Donald Trump is in Scotland -- an unconventional candidate with an unconventional first overseas trip itinerary and an unconventional then response after this historic vote. He spent the first ten, maybe just short of 15 minutes promoting his golf course. As I was listening to him, he's talking about an entirely new sprinkler system and how great the suites are and everyone should see the suites at the Turnberry resorts.

The world was watching. I don't think that's an overstatement. Here and abroad we're watching to see how Donald Trump is going to react to this. That's how he spends a big chunk of that conversation as he takes to the microphone. Is that how you would have advised him to take it on, Kayleigh?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he handled it perfectly today --

BOLDUAN: Why?

MCENANY: -- because the first thing he said when he got off the plane is that he's proud of England. This is a big moment for the United Kingdom. He acknowledged it and then he did what he intended to do which was to be there for his son. It was a big moment for his son. He was a father who was there for his kids.

He knew that the moment would come ten minutes later during a press conference where he had the ability to address what happened, and what happened was you had Barack Obama go to the United Kingdom, you had -- alongside Christine Lagarde, alongside the prime minister, alongside Hillary Clinton who stayed back here and advocated for this globalist sort of policy, and you had the United Kingdom, the voters rejected.

And northern England you had huge working class turnout saying, we don't want this, it's not good for us, we're tired of regulations. The E.U. is about to put in regulations on hair dryers and kettles. And you can't even make a croissant without going through all of these Orwellian regulations. That --

BOLDUAN: Don't hit with my croissants, Kayleigh. Don't hit my breakfast.

MCENANY: I won't. BOLDUAN: So, I know you've got a lot to say.

As we just heard from Brian Fallon, they are jumping on his words in the way what Donald Trump said today, saying that they think what he said today shows that he is even less qualified for office. He doesn't have the temperament to be president of the United States.

But play this game with me, I like to do sometimes, Steve -- Hillary Clinton, though, woke up this morning, saw this headline, she was pro remain, U.K. decided to leave and she said what?

STEVE ELMENDORF, FORMER DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER, JOHN KERRY '04: Well, she put out a statement and talked about the problem here, but I think Donald Trump's press was bizarre. I mean, the fact that you would spend ten minutes talking about how building a government golf course is like building a country and trying to sell suites at your golf course when we're having this moment of world economic crisis, when people are worried about their 401K, (VIDEO GAP) he's talking about himself which is what he does this whole campaign is talk about himself, and talk about these events are going to impact him and his business.

BOLDUAN: Kayleigh, does it fly in the face of what was a strong message, one of the strongest lines, she says I'm with her. I'm with you, American people. Does that fly in the face of it?

MCENANY: I don't think so at all, because here's the thing. The reason he was articulating, you know, the prestige of this new golf course is because this is what his son built. He took a moment away from the campaign. Ten minutes, I think we can all afford 10 minutes to praise the work of his son.

I think that's a great thing for a father to do, and then he pivoted to what is a very important issue. He handled this brilliantly. He was spot on today.

BOLDUAN: Brett, I want you to weigh in. What do you think -- and everyone has an opinion on this. What do you think the impact of the Brexit vote over there, what does it mean over here? Does it help Donald Trump's message? Does it help Hillary Clinton? What does it help more?

O'DONNELL: Well, I think it hurts Hillary Clinton and it hurts Barack Obama significantly. Both of them have campaigned or were support of (VIDEO GAP) rejected, and I think interfering in the British political system was a bad move for both of them. I certainly --

BOLDUAN: But wouldn't they have also been criticized if they hadn't given an opinion o it?

O'DONNELL: Well, maybe, but I think they should have respected the will of the British people to vote. I mean, this was an important moment where Britain decided to take back control of its borders, of its economy, and of its democracy, and I think that's what it represents. Now, how it plays in the United States we'll have to see but it super

charges the immigration issue and sends a signal that worldwide, people want borders.

[11:50:03] BOLDUAN: And also put that on the heel of this, coming on the heels of the very important, very non-conclusive, conclusive Supreme Court decision on immigration. Immigration once again front and center in this election.

Guys, thank you very, very much. I appreciate your time. Thanks, Brett, great to see you.

We're waiting right now. President Obama's first live remark since the U.K.'s historic vote. The president pushed hard for the U.K. to stay in the European Union, even saying that leaving would put the U.K. towards the back of the line when it comes to trade deals with the United States. What does the president say now? An important moment for Barack Obama.

We're going to bring you those remarks live. We'll be right back.

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BOLDUAN: This week's "CNN Heroes", a young man from Columbia who grew up with a serious disability. Today, he's in law school and he's dedicated his life to helping other kids. Just like himself. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have cerebral palsy. A doctor told my mom I would amount to nothing.

What we've been enabled to accomplish through our work is to change that story.

[11:55:01] We have transformed the lives of thousands of children with disabilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: You can watch his full story at CNNheroes.com. While you're there, why don't you nominate someone you think should join this stellar list of remarkable CNN heroes?

Thank you so much for joining. Our breaking news is going to be continuing. We are watching the markets.

Right now, the Dow is down 469, 468 points. A volatility day ahead. Soon, we're going to hear from President Barack Obama. His first live remarks since the U.K.'s historic vote. We're going to bring that to you as soon as it happens.

We'll be right back.

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