Return to Transcripts main page

State of the Union

Brexit Fallout; Interview With Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders; Interview With Tennessee Senator Bob Corker; President Obama Attacks Donald Trump; New Polls Clinton Leading Trump; Celebrity Golf Buddies in This Week's "State of the Cartoonion". Aired 9-10a ET

Aired June 26, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:05]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Aftershocks. The Dow drops more than 600 points after the Brexit vote, as markets worldwide are sent into upheaval. What might the Brexit vote suggest for the U.S.?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think it's a fantastic thing. People are angry. All over the world, they're angry.

TAPPER: Donald Trump weighed in from the U.K. The presumptive GOP in Scotland, promoting his new golf course, characteristically breaks from protocol.

TRUMP: If the pound goes down, they're going to do more business.

TAPPER: And Democrats go on the attack.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't have time for charlatans, and we don't have time for hatred, and we don't have time for bigotry. We don't have the luxury of just saying whatever comes to the top of our heads.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TAPPER: Plus, who will get Bernie Sanders' vote in November?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In all likelihood, it will go to Hillary Clinton.

TAPPER: After admitting he will not be the Democratic nominee, why has Sanders not endorsed Clinton? I will ask him live in minutes.

Plus, the best political minds will be here with insights from the campaign trail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Hello. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is trying to maintain a stiff upper lip. The stunning outcome of the U.K. vote to leave the European Union

reverberated around the world this weekend, including on the campaign trail.

Donald Trump returned from a trip to Scotland late last night, during which he admonished President Obama and Hillary Clinton for their public stances and, in the president's case, campaigning for the U.K. to remain in the E.U.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What happened was going to happen. It was sad for David Cameron. It was very pathetic for President Obama. And it was certainly pathetic for Hillary Clinton. They called it wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: This morning, Hillary Clinton, who was not out in public this weekend, responded this way to Trump's trip to promote the reopening of one of his golf resorts, as unpresidential.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Every president is tested by world events, but Donald Trump thinks about how his golf resort can profit from them.

TRUMP: When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The British campaign around the vote focused on immigration, on trade, and on frustrations with the government, not unlike the campaign for president here in the U.S.

Joining me now to talk about what these voter trends might mean in the U.S. and much more is Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Senator Sanders, good to see you. Thanks for joining us.

SANDERS: My pleasure.

TAPPER: Let's start with this week's historic Brexit vote.

Do you think some of the forces that caused the U.K. to vote the way that voters there did, resentment towards elite, resentment toward trade deals, do you think that some of those same forces have been fueling your campaign here in the United States?

SANDERS: Well, look, I think there is massive resentment throughout Europe and the U.K. and in the United States about a global economy which works very, very well for large multinational corporations, who are able to shut down in this country and go to China and Mexico and hire people there for very low wages.

But it's a global economy that is not working in many ways for the middle class and working families of this country. Jake, I visited 46 states throughout this campaign. I talked to the workers who saw their jobs go abroad. I talked to workers who are working longer hours for low wages, people who are worried to death about the future of this country and what happens to their kids.

So, the question is, with all of the increase in technology and productivity, and all of this great global economy, why is it that the middle class continues to shrink, the gap between the very, very rich and everybody else goes wider and wider, and we got 47 million people in this country living in poverty?

What ordinary people are saying is, hey, get an economy that works for all of us, and not just the people on top. And I think that is to a significant degree what this Brexit vote was about.

TAPPER: Donald Trump, I know you disagree with him on a lot, but you do have some overlap when it comes to talking about the elites in Washington and opposition to trade deals. Mr. Trump says he sees a great parallel between the Brexit vote and his own campaign.

Does it make -- does it give you any moment of pause and alarm you about the possibility that Mr. Trump might win in November?

SANDERS: No, I don't think Mr. Trump is going to win, because I think the American people understand that it's absurd for a billionaire to be campaigning on giving hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to billionaire families like his own.

The American people understand what Trump does not understand, that climate change is very, very real, that it threatens our country and the entire world, that Mr. Trump is not right when he tells us what every other scientist -- what every scientist in the world acknowledges. Climate change is real, and we have to transform our energy system.

[09:05:03]

And, most importantly, after all of the decades and decades and centuries of struggle that we have had in this country to combat discrimination, whether it is race or whether it is gender, to have a candidate for president going around insulting Mexicans and Latinos and Muslims and women and African-Americans, that is not the candidate that the American people are going to support in November.

TAPPER: One of the things that you and your team has been focused on right now is working within the Democratic Party to hammer out the Democratic national platform this week.

Now, you were not -- your views were not accommodated when it came to the Pacific trade deal, Israel and the West Bank, a ban on fracking, a carbon tax, or replacing private insurance with Medicare for all. But you did have a lot of victories in these battles, the party moving in your direction on a number of significant issues, including breaking up the big banks, a $15-an-hour minimum wage, ending the death penalty, imposing a multimillion millionaire surtax, expanding Social Security, shutting down private prisons, and on and on. Are you ready to declare victory, embrace the platform and endorse...

SANDERS: No. No.

TAPPER: ... Hillary Clinton as the nominee?

SANDERS: I think you're right, Jake. I think you captured exactly what happened in Saint Louis the other day.

We won some very, very important victories in our effort to try to make it clear to the American people that the Democratic Party stands with the middle class, stands with working families, and is prepared to take on Wall Street and the big money interests.

But we lost some very important fights. We're going to take that fight to Orlando, where the entire committee meets in two weeks. And if we don't succeed there, we are certainly going to take it to the floor of the Democratic Convention. And that is what this discussion in Saint Louis did not include, as you indicated, the need to deal in a very strong way with the crisis of climate change.

We need a tax on carbon. We need to end fracking. We need to be very, very clear that the minimum wage must be raised to $15 an hour. In my view, we need a Medicare-for-all singer-payer program. So, we have made some good gains, and I want to thank all of the people who participated in that process. We have more to do.

TAPPER: Senator, you have said you want to do everything in your power to ensure that Donald Trump does not become president. According to a new Bloomberg poll, barely half of your supporters, 55 percent, plan to vote for Hillary Clinton; 22 percent say they will vote for Donald Trump. Another 18 percent favor libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

Do you think Hillary Clinton can win if almost half of your supporters do not plan on voting for her?

SANDERS: You know, we got a long, long way to go to Election Day. And the world changes, as you know, every week.

When I think is that, if Hillary Clinton -- and this is what we are trying to do right now -- we are trying to say to Secretary Clinton and to the Clinton campaign, make it clear which side you are on. For example, one of the areas that I think resonated very strongly across this country is the understanding that, today in 2016, we need to make public education include free tuition at public colleges and universities.

Truth is, Secretary Clinton has some good ideas about higher education. Doesn't go far enough. In terms of health care, it's not good enough to say that 90 percent of our people have health insurance now, because many of those insurance policies are really quite inadequate. We need to be much more aggressive.

The Affordable Care Act has done good things. We need to go further than that. So I think, right now, what we are doing is trying to say to the Clinton campaign, stand up, be bolder than you have been. And then many of those voters in fact may come on board.

TAPPER: Listen to what you said on Friday when you were asked if you will vote for Hillary Clinton in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Are you going to vote for Hillary Clinton in November?

SANDERS: Yes.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: When the day comes in November and Sanders has to cast his vote, to whom does it go?

SANDERS: In all likelihood, it will go to Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: "In all likelihood, it will go to Hillary Clinton."

Now, I know you told Chris Cuomo when he pressed that you don't want to get into semantics. But when your supporters hear you say that, in all likelihood, your vote will go to Hillary Clinton, do you think they come away thinking that maybe you will run as a third-party candidate, maybe it's not that important to you whether or not she wins?

I mean, there's a hesitation there.

SANDERS: Well, look, Jake, I think media focuses on politics as a game. What we are talking about and what this whole campaign is about is transforming the United States, dealing with the issues that led to Brexit, understanding why the middle class continues to decline and the top one-tenth of 1 percent now owns as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent, making sure that we address the fact that 47 million people live in poverty and the kids can't afford to go to college.

[09:10:10]

That is what this campaign is about. And what we are doing right now, by the way, is, by the many, many thousands, engaging people, working people, young people to get involved in the political process and to run for office. We're trying to build a strong progressive political movement which takes on big money interests and, which over a period of time, in fact, creates a government that works for all of us and not just the 1 percent.

TAPPER: Well...

SANDERS: That is my focus right now. Defeating Donald Trump is clearly my other focus.

TAPPER: With all due respect, Senator, I'm not viewing this as a game. I'm looking at the fact that I talk to your supporters all the time, and many of them do not want to vote for Hillary Clinton. They feel very negatively towards her. And if it is important to you, as you say it is, to defeat Donald Trump, I wonder if you're truly doing everything you can do to defeat Donald Trump.

SANDERS: I am going to do everything that I can to do to defeat Donald Trump.

But a lot of that responsibility about winning the American people over to her side is going to rest with Secretary Clinton. Is she going to address the issues that many -- we got something like 12 million, 13 million votes.

And those people voted for me, I believe, because they said it is time to have a president prepared to have the guts to stand up to big money interests, to stand up to the greed of corporate America, to end these disastrous trade policies, to make certain that the wealthiest people, largest corporations start paying their fair share of taxes, to rebuild our infrastructure, to create health care for all people.

So, it's not just Bernie Sanders saying, oh, yes, just vote for Hillary Clinton. It is Hillary Clinton standing up and saying, you know what? These are the things we need to do. And if she does the right thing, I am absolutely confident that the vast majority of my supporters will vote for her.

And that is the process we are engaged in right now. We're working on the Democratic platform. We are talking to the Clinton campaign. And I hope very much that Secretary Clinton understands that not only is it good public policy, it is the right thing to do, it is good politics to begin to move in that direction.

TAPPER: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, thanks so much for joining us. Always a pleasure to have you on, sir.

SANDERS: Thank you very much, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up: One of the ultimate Republican businessmen and cabinet secretaries say a Trump presidency is, in his view, unthinkable. Is Donald Trump losing support within the GOP? I will ask one of his biggest supporters coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:51]

TAPPER: Welcome back.

The vote for the U.K. to leave the E.U. surprised many pundits. President Obama almost instantly walked back his remarks that the U.K. would have to go to the back of the line or the back of the queue if they left the E.U., as he said while campaigning for the country to remain in the European Union last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: While the U.K.'s relationship with the E.U. will change, one thing that will not change is the special relationship that exists between our two nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Talks began this weekend to try to figure out the speed and strategy of Britain's exit, with no agreements made yet, as shockwaves from that Brexit vote continue to reverberate around the world.

Other shockwaves within the Republican Party establishment continue to be felt from that other vote that stunned so many pundits, Donald Trump becoming the GOP presumptive presidential nominee.

Within just the last few days, President George H.W. Bush's national security adviser General Brent Scowcroft and President George W. Bush's Treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, have said they will vote for Hillary Clinton. And prominent conservative pundit George F. Will has said he will leave the Republican Party because of Trump.

Joining me now to discuss all of this, Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and the pride of Chattanooga.

Senator, thanks for being here.

I want to get to that Brexit vote in a sec.

But, first, I do have to ask you about something going on within the Republican Party, Scowcroft and Paulson saying that they're going to vote for Hillary, George Will saying he's leaving the Republican Party over Donald Trump. This must really disturb you.

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: Well, look, those are all people that I highly respect and have worked with some of them very, very closely.

I will point out that, in the Brexit vote that you are going to talk to in just a moment, almost the entire establishment in the U.K. was in the remain camp. So, look, there's something happening in our society. It's happening in Western societies, where there's tremendous anxiety over economic stagnation, the whole issue of refugees and immigration that's changing the context of countries, and then this faceless bureaucracy that's not really responding to people.

And so the genius of what's happened with the candidacy of Donald Trump is, he has given voice to that, just as was given in the U.K. recently. And the question is, can you take that and do something that's very, very constructive for our country?

So, I understand there's a lot of turmoil, a lot of people taking different positions. Those are people that I respect, but the question is, can we take this moment and shape it into something that is great for the American people?

TAPPER: Let's talk about Brexit, the U.K. obviously voting to leave the European Union.

You said -- quote -- "A free people should choose their own way." But given that the vote threw financial markets into chaos, sent the Dow tumbling more than 600 points, do you think that the Brits voted the right way? Was this the wise path?

CORKER: You know, Jake, I meticulously stayed out of it. I was very offended when the foreign ministers of U.K., France, Germany, and of the E.U. were in the United States trying to count -- you know, shape senators' opinions of the Iran deal.

[09:20:12]

So, I stayed out of this. Obviously, the context of European Union is going to change without the U.K. being a part of it. They added some polarity and made it something that was more U.S.-centric, if you will.

On the other hand, I would be less than honest if I didn't say that this creates for me some anticipation and a degree of excitement, in that, if seeing has what happened there can cause Western civilization, if you will, to realize that the direction we're going is not a good direction, I think it's our job to make something good out of this.

To make comments about them going to the back of the queue, sort of sophomoric threats, I mean, the fact is, if anything, my guess is, the response of the American people is going to be to draw closer to Great Britain, to United Kingdom, or whatever is left of that.

So, look, it's our job to make something happen out of this that is very good. My sense is, we're going to be able to do it. And it's going to take a long time, Jake. I mean, you're talking about one country dealing with 27 countries that in some ways are dysfunctional.

This is going to take place over many, many years. And my sense is something very, very good can come out of this.

TAPPER: Well, let me ask you, because you just talked about you didn't like foreign ministers from other countries trying to shape your view about the Iran deal. And then you noted that President Obama took the unusual step of lobbying the U.K. against Brexit.

Let's play that tape of what he said back in April while visiting London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I think it's fair to say that, maybe some point down the line, there might be a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement, but it's not going to happen any time soon, because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done. And U.K. is going to be in the back of the queue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, here was the reaction from the leader of the Brexit movement, Nigel Farage. Take a listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIGEL FARAGE, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Our friends in Washington do not want us to be an independent, self-governing, democratic nation. They want us to be part of a political union in Europe. Well, who cares what they want?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you think President Obama may have played a role in fueling the Brexit movement?

CORKER: You know, I don't think anybody -- I know I did not respond well, for instance, when Prime Minister Cameron was doing what he was doing in our country relative, again, to the Iran deal. We had personal conversations about it. I did not appreciate it.

I don't imagine the people of the U.K. appreciated much another president from another country weighing in, but I really can't say what -- how it affected the dynamics within the country.

What I do know is that, you know, change is under way, and it's our job, it's my job as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and others to make something very, very good come out of this, and that's my goal.

TAPPER: Donald Trump was in Scotland on Friday for the reopening of his golf course and resort. He believes that Obama's comments may have played a role in Brexit.

He also had this to say about the falling British pound. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Look, if the pound goes down, they're going to do more business. When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly. And the pound has gone down, and let's see what the impact of that has.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The Clinton campaign says that's the exact wrong reaction for an American leader. They say he's putting his own pocketbook first, and leaders have to actually put -- they actually have put these remarks in a new television ad -- and leaders have to take the position of more broadly looking at voters and people.

What did you think of that comment?

CORKER: You know, I was able to see this event live, which is unusual.

I thought it was one of his best events. I'm sorry. I know I'm an outlier, based on polling that I have seen you do. But I thought it was one of his best events. I mean, here he was, as a businessperson, an outsider. He happened to be in the country when the -- right after the Brexit vote had taken place, supporting his children, and demonstrating that he was an outsider.

So, I thought his answers -- I know he began talking about the development itself. He knew reporters were going to ask him about Brexit. I thought it was one of his best events. And I didn't take it that he was -- he was giving an example which is obvious, that when the currency fluctuates, as it does, I mean, more Americans are going to be able to travel to the U.K. more cheaply.

Some of their exports may go at greater value. I thought it was just demonstrating, you know, an anecdotal statement relative to its effect. So, again, I thought it was one of his better events.

[09:25:10]

TAPPER: It's been just two weeks since the deadliest mass shooting in the modern history of the U.S. There was a lot of action on Capitol Hill this week on gun control.

The Senate voted on a measure by your Republican Senator Susan Collins that would allow the Justice Department to block people on two key federal terror lists from purchasing firearms, with a chance to appeal if somebody was wrongly included on one of the lists.

Eight Republicans voted for the measure. You voted against it.

CORKER: Yes.

TAPPER: I think a lot of Americans watching, and the overwhelming body of the American people, including Republicans, want people on the terror watch list to be banned from buying guns.

They feel that, you know, somebody put accidentally on the list is not more important than keeping guns out of the hands of, say, the 50,000 people suspected to have ties to al Qaeda who are on the list or the 73,000 people suspected to have ties to al Qaeda in Iraq.

What do you say to them?

CORKER: Well, I was working very closely with Susan Collins.

And I want to tell her, I want to say she did a Herculean job in trying to pull people together. I think people may have missed what the Johnson amendment said, where it would -- actually, it had a series of things that would keep hands -- guns out of the hands of terrorists for 27 days while law enforcement officials were able to do their job.

At one point, Susan's bill was going to have an up-front determination. And I think, had she been able to get there -- I think those negotiations broke down -- but I think she would have ended up with a very, very good piece of legislation.

And, Jake, I don't think this is over. My guess is, we're going to continue to work on it. I will say, again, if you go back and look at the Johnson bill, nobody really wanted to study that, but it was really, really good. And my sense is that, between the nuance of his bill and her bill, there's still a place that we can get to that protects Second Amendment rights, but also ensures that we keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.

So, I don't think it's over yet. At least, I hope it's not.

TAPPER: Senator Bob Corker, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

CORKER: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: When we come back: President Obama goes after Donald Trump for opening a golf course while the markets drop after the Brexit vote.

Will these attacks from the president work? The panel will join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:31:36]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't have time for charlatans and we don't have time for hatred, and we don't have time for bigotry, and we don't have time for flim-flam, and we don't have the luxury of just popping off and saying whatever comes to the top of our heads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Attack-dog-in-chief on the stump this weekend in Washington State. Here with me to talk about this and everything else, Martin O'Malley, former Democratic candidate for president and governor of Maryland, now a Clinton supporter, former Arizona governor Jan Brewer who backs Donald Trump, Ken Cuccinelli, former Virginia attorney general who has endorsed Ted Cruz, and Nina Turner, former Ohio state senator and backer of Bernie Sanders.

Governor Brewer let me talk to you first. Some tough words from President Obama calling Donald Trump a charlatan and a flim-flam man. Do you think that this ultimately might hurt him, Donald Trump?

JAN BREWER (R), FORMER ARIZONA GOVERNOR: No, I don't believe it. President Obama just always comes tearing after Republicans constantly. Calling names and calling people bigots and racists, and that's their big comeback and absolutely ridiculous.

TAPPER: It's actually an interesting point though, governor --

BREWER: To see a president speak like that is offensive, period.

TAPPER: But we've heard President Obama in three -- this will be the third presidential election where President Obama has understandably gone after the Republican nominee twice. They were challenging him directly. Is there kind of like a built-in numbness that the American public might have to this, given that he's gone after Mitt Romney and John McCain and now it's Donald Trump. I mean, maybe they just tune it out.

BREWER: And me.

MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), FORMER MARYLAND GOVERNOR: No, I think that --

TAPPER: Have he went after you? Is that what you're saying?

O'MALLEY: I think there's something very, very different here, Jake. Governor Brewer, President Obama doesn't say this about all Republicans but he does say rightly that Donald Trump is a bigot. Donald Trump is a racist. Donald Trump in fact is making fascist appeals. That's why many self-respecting Republicans are not supporting Donald Trump for president.

Look, being president of the United States is the toughest job in the world and I can tell you, as someone who has worked with Secretary Clinton and competed against her that she is a tough person who is ready to do this job. Donald Trump is an unstable charlatan who is appealing to the worst instincts in people, and I believe ultimately the American people are going to reject that. This is a very different sort of candidacy. This is not the party of Lincoln.

TAPPER: Let me, Ken --

BREWER: You know, Martin.

TAPPER: OK. Governor Brewer.

BREWER: Martin, you know --

O'MALLEY: Yes, Governor Brewer?

BREWER: We need to discuss policy and every time with...

O'MALLEY: I'm willing to do that. Let's talk about immigration, governor.

BREWER: ... President Obama and Hillary Clinton, every time you disagree with them it doesn't matter which subject it is, you're a bigot or you're a racist.

O'MALLEY: No, that's not true. Let's talk about --

(CROSSTALK)

BREWER: ... immigration until we go on all night. Absolutely.

TAPPER: Let me bring in Ken Cuccinelli.

O'MALLEY: Let's talk about immigration.

BREWER: Absolutely. TAPPER: Governor, let me put one breaker here for a second. I want to bring in Ken Cuccinelli.

KEN CUCCINELLI (R), FORMER VIRIGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Look, Governor Brewer is absolutely right about that. This is a fall back when you have a president who cannot defend his policies and their outcomes and so he jumps immediately to the race card, racist card in particular, it's a common tactic for Democrats.

TAPPER: Have you endorsed -- have you endorsed Donald Trump?

CUCCINELLI: I expect to vote for him in November. So -- but I have seen this -- I've seen this tactic. I've seen this -- it's not November yet. I've seen this tactic over and over and over. We've all seen it.

[09:35:00]

And frankly the media plays along with it. They publish it and it's the first question we're talking gives it legitimacy. Look, I supported --

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: We're just playing a quote from President Obama.

CUCCINELLI: But look, he's got -- I understand that. He's got plenty -- what you cover matters and he's got plenty of, you know, inflammatory statements for the --

(CROSSTALK)

NINA TURNER (D), FORMER OHIO STATE SENATOR: That's very (INAUDIBLE) to say that about the president.

CUCCINELLI: And it -- well, I'm not saying that about that President I'm saying about Donald Trump. He's got plenty of inflammatory statements --

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: The president doesn't go off every day calling people bigots but what he has said about bigotry and what Mr. Trump is shaking up within the American people is very real. And as a leader, somebody who wants to be the next president of the United States of America, he does have a responsibility not to enflame.

Now on the other hand side of that though as Americans we do have to deal with racism. I mean Mr. Trump didn't put a sleeper spell on folks who voted for him. I'm not saying everybody who voted for him are racist but we have deep seeded racism in this country that we need to deal with. But to say that the president plays to that when Mr. Trump is the one that called him a birth, you know, the leader of the birther movement trying to delegitimize his presidency. You want to talk about race? This is real but the president is on to something that we don't have time for this. TAPPER: Let me ask you a question, Governor Brewer. I get your point that every time in your view that Republicans do or say something that Democrats don't like, Democrats accuse them of being racist.

BREWER: Right.

TAPPER: But have you heard anything from Donald Trump that you consider to be at the very least racially tinged or offensive on a racial level?

BREWER: I think that Mr. Donald Trump is new to the political arena and that he has said things that he had to walk back a little bit, things that I wasn't comfortable with, but dang it, I get fed up that we hear over and over and over again from the president of the United States that every time somebody wants support on the constitution and the rule of law, that we are out there because we are racist and bigots, and we who live in Arizona...

O'MALLEY: That's just not true.

BREWER: ... have lived with diversity our whole lives.

TURNER: But governor -- he doesn't say that, governor.

BREWER: And it's unbelievable that they (ph) constantly -- Hillary does the same thing. Look at Hillary out there.

(CROSSTALK)

BREWER: Hey, that's ridiculous.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Governor O'Malley.

O'MALLEY: Let's look at what Donald Trump actually says. I mean in the recent case, I mean, he was running the (INAUDIBLE) and the flim- flam to try to rip people off with Trump University.

BREWER: Oh, please, Martin.

O'MALLEY: And the judge -- the sitting judge on that case, governor, was a judge whose parents happen to be of Mexican descent.

TURNER: Not happen to be, they are.

O'MALLEY: And Donald --

TAPPER: They're from Mexico. The parents are from Mexico.

O'MALLEY: Donald -- but the judge was born in the United States, and Donald Trump tried to get that judge -- tried to say the judge isn't qualified because he's of Mexican background. Because Donald Trump hates Mexicans, that means that judge can't do his job. Now surely, governor, you can't agree that that is proper behavior for a man who is running for president. TAPPER: Governor Brewer, I'll give you the last word and then we'll have to take a break.

BREWER: In that respect I think that Judge Curiel has a stunning reputation and I don't believe that Donald Trump meant it in the manner that he said it. I believe that he felt that he was being treated unfairly in regards to this issue.

O'MALLEY: Because he hates Mexicans?

BREWER: No.

O'MALLEY: I can't believe you're supporting Donald Trump, Jan.

BREWER: Believe it --

TAPPER: Let's take a -- let's take a --

O'MALLEY: I just can't believe it.

TAPPER: Let's take a very quick break, a very, very quick break, got to pay some bills. We're going to come back. Stay with us. We have a rather intense debate going on here. Also if you want to be Donald Trump's vice president, you better call him now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a lot of people that want it. I will tell you one thing I'm getting calls from a lot of people and they want it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: A lot of people want it. Who's in? Who's out? Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:48]

TAPPER: New polls are out this morning, divergence in the size of the chasm but they both show Hillary Clinton with a lead. The new "Washington Post/ABC News" poll shows Clinton up by 12 points, 51-39. "NBC" -- pardon me. The "NBC News/Wall Street Journal" poll shows Clinton up only by five, 46-41.

The panel is back here to discuss this all. First of all, you're in Arizona which could be a battleground state. I know you're saying it probably won't be, but do you think it's closer -- which poll do you believe I guess is my question, 46-41, five-point gap for Clinton or 12-point gap for Clinton?

BREWER: You know, all these polls that are being ran nationally it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's all about winning the states. It's all about winning the states and so it's early on, so I don't pay a whole lot of attention to any of them. TAPPER: Governor O'Malley, when they found out you were going to be our guest a Republican group called America Rising was nice enough to put together a clip of these greatest hits of things --

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Things that you said about Secretary Clinton, about Wall Street, foreign policy, gun control. We'll run a quick clip of that. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'MALLEY: Put out your proposal on Wall Street, it was greeted by many as -- quote -- unquote -- "weak tea."

Can you point to one incidence in our foreign policy where a secretary of state, Secretary Clinton had an understanding of what was coming after the toppling of the dictator?

Hillary Clinton flip-flops in the wind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I think that last one was with me. Your response?

O'MALLEY: You're (ph) the interviewer.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: You're response?

O'MALLEY: Yes. Look, we had a very hotly contested primary in our party. Went all the way to the end with Senator Sanders hanging in there through California. And I believe that, because of that primary, Secretary Clinton is actually stronger than she was before the primary.

And the bottom line is this, Jake. Look, we're down to a choice between two people, and I can tell you, as somebody that campaigned my heart out, out there in Iowa, Hillary Clinton is a tough person. She is ready to do this job and Donald Trump is not.

I mean here's a man who declares bankruptcy in serial fashion. This man who is a total hypocrite when he talks about manufacturing -- being offshore and yet that's how he makes his products. Look, there is a clear choice here.

[09:45:02]

This is about our country's future.

CUCCINELLI: Oh, come on.

O'MALLEY: And in this contest there is -- Secretary Clinton is clearly the only one of these candidates that's ready to lead.

TAPPER: Ken, I want to come to you on VPs. So just give me one --

CUCCINELLI: She has such a terrible record. One quick thing. I mean, her record as secretary of state as we have greater relations with two countries in the world, Iran and Cuba. Everyone else is worse. That's her record, and four dead in Benghazi.

She -- you want to talk about records, Donald Trump has his own issues in his record. She has dead Americans on her resume, and that's her 3:00 a.m. phone call.

You are right on November 22nd, she has never been right about the outcome of the various foreign policies that she has led the effort to change.

TAPPER: What do you mean -- what do you mean he was right on November 22nd?

CUCCINELLI: I watched your interview and the date was November 22nd.

TAPPER: November 22nd.

CUCCINELLI: And he's been absolutely -- he was absolutely right about toppling dictators and the utter failure to have any preparation for what comes after.

O'MALLEY: But let's not forget it was your party that actually led us into these devastating wars.

CUCCINELLI: Libya?

(CROSSTALK)

O'MALLEY: ... to the massive death --

CUCCINELLI: Oh, come on, toppling Gaddafi, that's what you were talking about on November 22nd...

O'MALLEY: No.

(CROSSTALK)

CUCCINELLI: ...and now it's controlled by ISIS.

O'MALLEY: No. Right now I'm talking about the disastrous foreign policy that President Bush led us into that as a nation we are still struggling to recover from.

(CROSSTALK)

CUCCINELLI: I think you find a lot of Republicans that don't really think that that record by George Bush was that great in foreign policy. I don't think there's necessarily a partisan divide. I think you may see areas where there's agreement across what Washington normally thinks of as party divides and foreign policy is one of them.

TAPPER: Nina, I want to -- TURNER: That's part of the problem though.

TAPPER: Well, I want to ask you a question about Bernie Sanders.

TURNER: Yes.

TAPPER: You're a Sanders supporter at this table.

TURNER: Yes.

TAPPER: I have to say --

TURNER: Proudly.

TAPPER: A proud Sanders supporter, yes. Do you think, as somebody -- well, first of all are you going to vote for Hillary Clinton in November?

TURNER: I'm going to the convention. We will see after that.

TAPPER: So you're not even necessarily saying you're going to vote for her?

TURNER: I'm still fighting this.

I mean, Senator Sanders said who he's voting for. I'm in this space going to the convention and let's see. This is about the people for me and I'm not about to sacrifice my values or my principles.

Who I'm voting for is not as important as who the American people will see and need to be their leader to lift them. And Senator Sanders was absolutely right. He has continuously asked the question about where his voters are going to go, what they're going to do.

The senator has said from the beginning that he's going to do everything possible to defeat Mr. Trump but at the same time, the entire burden about whether or not his surrogates and supporters support the secretary, that entire burden is not on him. It is also on her to earn those votes.

TAPPER: Are you still hoping that he becomes the nominee somehow?

TURNER: Well, the math is not there. We get that, but we are going to that convention to fight for the most progressive platform possible. And until I see that happen, until I know how that's going to happen, I'm going to continue to fight.

TAPPER: Does this concern you, governor, if somebody who wants Hillary Clinton to be the next president, I mean you saw the polling that I presented to Senator Sanders and hear the leveling eloquent Nina Turner right here talking about she doesn't know who necessarily she's going to vote for in November. Are you worried?

O'MALLEY: I am not worried. What I'm actually encouraged by is the fact the platform has become a much more progressive platform. I mean, the Democratic Party that is very unified on issues of gun safety, the repeal of the death penalty, we understand that America is a nation of immigrants that in fact immigration reform is -- and the necessity for predictable immigration laws that are fair rather than the sort of massive internment camps where Joe Arpaio locked them all up for violating the law.

(CROSSTALK)

BREWER: And supporting the constitution and the rule of law and the bill of rights?

(CROSSTALK)

O'MALLEY: And let's support having the statue of liberty...

(CROSSTALK)

O'MALLEY: ... wire fences.

TURNER: The voters are being left out of this, Jake. I'm trying to bring it back to that and the governor can't judge, you know, who I choose to vote for or not vote for as well as anybody else. We are Americans in this country...

TAPPER: I appreciate it.

TURNER: ... and people have a right.

TAPPER: This is such a great table. I got to go. Can we book you guys for next week? OK we're booking you for next week, hotel rooms, planes, all booked. I'm committing right now.

BREWER: Hillary is not a truth teller.

TAPPER: All right. Thank you, governor.

After the break, hitting the links with Donald Trump, who is the best? Who is the worst? And who is giving the ball a little kick into the hole? It's all in this week's "State of the Cartoonion" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:36]

TAPPER: Donald Trump was in the U.K. this weekend not to show his support for the Brexit campaign but to attend the opening of his newly remodeled golf resort in Scotland. He even took the press corps around the course as he answered their questions. Trump famously loves to hit the links with celebrities and politicians on his properties. It's the subject of this week's "State of the Cartoonion."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (voice-over): Donald Trump made a case against Hillary Clinton and her husband this week.

TRUMP: Bill and Hillary used the State Department to enrich their family at America's expense.

TAPPER: Quite a turnaround considering Trump once donated to the Clinton Foundation.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He has been, believe it or not uncommonly nice to Hillary and me.

TAPPER: That's right. It seems like a long time ago, but there was a time when the big dog and the Donald were buddies.

TRUMP: He's probably got the toughest skin I've ever seen, and I think he's a terrific guy.

TAPPER: But the days of their bromance will soon be revisited when the Clinton Library releases a trove of photographs documenting a visit the former president made to Trump Tower in 2000. Moreover, Bill and Donald used to golf.

CLINTON: I like him, and I love playing golf with him.

TAPPER: Golf outings confirmed by an unlikely third party, actor Samuel L. Jackson, who told Seth Meyers he was invited along for a round. We assume followed by royales with cheese.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: Always calls him Samuel L. The don. Who? The don.

[09:55:01]

Oh, Mr. Trump, how are you doing? Are you busy today? No. You want to play golf? Sure but I got a friend who wants to play and we're going to play at my club. And when I got there, it was President Clinton.

TAPPER: Jackson also says that Trump is a cheat, a charge Trump vehemently denies, claiming he's a natural on the links.

TRUMP: I would say putting probably is my biggest strength, for whatever reason.

TAPPER: Several of Trump's other celebrity golf buddies from Alice Cooper to Tom Brady pleaded the fifth when asked if Trump is a cheater on the course.

Sports writer Rick Reilly had to weigh in. And he says there's only one guy who cheats at golf as much as Donald Trump and that's Bill Clinton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Thanks for spending your Sunday morning with us. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington.

"FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" is next.