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At This Hour

Hillary Clinton Addresses Supporters in Cincinnati Alongside Elizabeth Warren. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired June 27, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: But the housing crash in 2008 wiped out her parents' savings and their small business. So to get her college degree at a public university, Erica wound up $100,000 in debt. We cannot let this student debt crisis continue; we have got to give hard-working students and families relief.

And you know what Erica (ph) is doing now? She is volunteering for our campaign and working to elect Democrats across Ohio.

(APPLAUSE)

Stan is volunteering with us, too because he, like so many people across Ohio and across the country know that we are fighting for a better future.

I got into this race because I wanted to even the odds for people who have the odds stacked against them. And this is not a time for half measures. To build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top, we have to go big and bold. So...

(APPLAUSE)

We need to take -- we need to take that frustration, the fear, the anxiety, and yes, the anger, and after we have vented it, we need to work together to achieve the kind of changes that will give everybody in this country of better shot.

So, let's set five ambitious goals for our economy. Let's break through the dysfunction in Washington, and make the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II.

(APPLAUSE)

Let's do what we need to do to invest in infrastructure like President Eisenhower did with the Interstate Highway System.

(APPLAUSE)

That is when Republicans used to believe in building America and putting Americans to work. That is what we are going to do again.

(APPLAUSE)

Let's set the goal of making college debt-free for everyone, like Erica (ph).

(APPLAUSE)

And let's provide debt relief -- let's provide debt relief as soon as we can, as soon as we start to work, Elizabeth. We'll take the day off for the inauguration, and then the Senate, the Congress, the White House, we're going to get to work to give students and their families relief from this debt.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, we have got more work to do, so let's set the goal of rewriting the rules, so more companies share profits with their employees, not just their executives.

(APPLAUSE)

Instead of shipping profits and jobs overseas. We have got the greatest country and the greatest economy in the world -- let's start acting like it, and let's make it clear that the companies have to be part of that greatness.

(APPLAUSE)

And let's set the goal of making sure that Wall Street and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes.

Now, there are a couple of ways of doing this. I have been proposing a number of them, something called the Buffet Rule, after Warren Buffet. No millionaire should pay a lower tax rate than somebody working for him, like his secretary.

(APPLAUSE)

The people -- the people who have profited the most, even since the Great Recession, are people who now need to give back. This country has given so much to all of us, and everybody should share the burden.

So, I have made a pledge. I will not raise taxes on the middle class, but we are going to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

(APPLAUSE)

And don't you think it is about time that we put American families first? We are not living in the '50s or '60s anymore. We have got to catch up to how Americans actually live and work in the 21st century.

I have met so many stressed-out young parents. I have met so many stressed-out middle-aged and older folks, young parents, because they are trying to balance what should be the joy of their lives, like our new grandson is for us and our granddaughter.

(APPLAUSE)

I remember -- I was talking to Elizabeth on the phone when she was visiting her family, her grandchildren, and we talked about all this important stuff and what we have to do and then she said, well, I got to go because I have to go buy my granddaughter some sparkly shoes.

(LAUGHTER)

There is no greater joy but to see young parents struggling so hard, and to see older people taking care of their parents. We've got work to do. We shouldn't make it so difficult to do your job at home and to do the job that puts food on the table and a roof over your head.

Let me just say a word about rewriting the rules. You know, there are a lot of businesses thriving right here in Ohio who see their employees the right way. They see them as assets to invest in, not costs to cut.

(APPLAUSE)

But unfortunately, there are too many who take the opposite view and their behavior contributes to stagnant wages and lower economic growth. That's why, as president, I will work to reward companies that share profits with their employees, on top of paying a good wage. Because if they can do it for their executives, they sure can do it for their workers.

(APPLAUSE)

And we will encourage companies to invest in worker training and to build high-quality apprenticeship programs where you earn while you learn, and we will strengthen unions, because they are the bedrock of a strong middle class in America.

(APPLAUSE)

Unions helped bring back the auto industry in Ohio and they will help bring back America from coast to coast. So here is our message.

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Here is our message to every corporate boardroom. Do the right thing, by your employees and your country, and we will stand by you. But cheat your employees, exploit your customers, pollute our environment, or rip off taxpayers and we will hold you accountable.

(APPLAUSE)

Because when companies take taxpayer dollars with one hand and give out pink slips with the other and ship hundreds of jobs overseas, we are going to make them pay back those tax benefits and we are going to take that money and reinvest it in workers and communities and we are going to slap an exit tax on companies that move their headquarters overseas to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

(APPLAUSE)

We will defend American jobs and American workers by saying no to bad trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and unfair trade practices like when China dumps cheap steel in our markets or uses weak rules of origin to undercut our carmakers. I am going to appoint a trade prosecutor who will report to the president so we are going to end the abuse of our market, our workers, our people.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And you know what? We are going to compete and win in the global economy by not letting anybody take advantage of our workers -- not China, not Wall Street, not anyone. And we are going to defend and strengthen the tough rules to rein in Wall Street that were put in place after the crash. When corporations paid fines for breaking the law, those fines should cut into executives' bonuses.

(APPLAUSE)

And if laws are violated individuals, not just corporations, should be held accountable.

(APPLAUSE)

And I will veto -- I will veto any effort to weaken protections for consumers. And while we're at it, we are going to finally make Wall Street, big corporations, and the super wealthy do more that's not only fair in terms of paying taxes, but which is right. Because we can use that money to make these big, bold investments.

That help us build a stronger economy for decades to come. And you know what? That is not only good for families and workers, that is good for companies, for businesses.

We are a 70 percent consumption economy, my friends. That means the more money that you have in your pocket that you can spend, the better that is for the economy. And the way things are for right now, people are afraid, they are holding back. We have got to liberate the American consumer by protecting and helping the American worker.

And we're going to make more things in America. We're going to ensure we have the most competitive auto and auto parts industries in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

And when we invest in infrastructure, we are not just going to investing in roads and bridges and tunnels and ports and transit and water systems, we are going to connect every home to high-speed broadband so they can get into the global marketplace.

(APPLAUSE)

And we are going to fight climate change by making America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century.

(APPLAUSE)

And I want to complement your mayor, Mayor Cranley, who is here, your State Rep, Alicia Reece. Cincinnati is already one of the biggest cities in the country to run 100 percent on clean energies.

Congratulations. (APPLAUSE)

And I will tell you what, Mayor, I hope you don't mind if I go around the country and saying, if you can do it in Cincinnati, you can do it anywhere. That is what we need across America.

(APPLAUSE)

And while we are at it, we're going to raise the national minimum wage -- $7.25 an hour is a poverty wage. Workers deserve better. They deserve a living wage and a job with dignity. Families deserve real support, like quality affordable child care, paid family leave and equal pay for women.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I know when I talk about these things, Donald Trump says, I am playing the woman card. Well, I will to you what, if fighting for families is playing the woman card, deal me in.

(APPLAUSE)

So -- do I have to say now, in order to achieve these goals, we have to go after and end the political dysfunction that is holding our country and economy back.

So, let's overturn Citizens United and get unaccountable money out of politics.

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Let's shut off the revolving door in Washington, and make sure the foxes aren't guarding the hen house.

(APPLAUSE)

And -- and let's learn how to listen to each other and work together again. I am determined to break through the gridlock, to get things done for working families.

CLINTON: I know Democrats and Republicans can work together. I know it, because I have done it. I worked with Republicans and Democrats to create the Children's Health Insurance program, which today ensures eight million kids. I worked with Republicans and Democrats to bring jobs back to upstate New York and to help New York City heal and rebuild after the 9/11 attacks.

I proudly served as secretary of state and I did not just represent Democrats, I represented all Americans, because you know what...

(APPLAUSE)

We are all on the same team. It is time we start acting like it. There is no limit to what we can achieve if we do.

Now, I confess, I confess, it is true, I can be a little wonky. But I have this old-fashioned idea. If you're running for president, you should say what you want to do and how you will get it done.

(APPLAUSE)

So now, now that you have heard some of my plans for the economy, ask yourself, what are Donald Trump's plans?

Well, best I can tell he has no credible strategy for creating jobs and maybe we shouldn't expect better from someone whose most famous words are "you're fired."

(BOOING)

Now, he rails against other countries, doesn't he? He says he's for our workers, but Trump's own products are made in a lot of countries that aren't named America.

(LAUGHTER)

Trump's suits were made in Mexico. He could've had them made in Brooklyn, Ohio. Trump Furniture is made in Turkey, instead of Cleveland. Trump Barware is made in Slovenia, instead of Toledo.

So how does that all fit into his talk about America first? But that is just the start. This is a man who plays coy with white supremacists and mocks people with disabilities, who talks about banning an entire religion from entering our country, who advocates getting rid of gun free zones in schools, letting more countries have nuclear weapons, defaulting on our national debt, turning back the clock on marriage equality -- and just like Elizabeth, I could go on and on.

This is someone whose reaction to the horrific mass shooting in Orlando was to publicly congratulate himself. And on Friday, when Britain voted to leave the European Union, he crowed from his golf course about how the disruption could end up creating higher profits for that golf course, even though, within 24 hours, Americans lost $100 billion from our 401(k)s. He tried to turn a global economics challenge into a infomercial.

Imagine Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office the next time America faces a crisis.

(BOOING)

CLINTON: Imagine him being in charge when your jobs and savings are at stake. Imagine him trying to figure out what to do in case of an emergency. So it is no wonder, is it, that risk analysts listed Donald Trump, a Donald Trump presidency, as one of the top threats facing the global economy, ahead of terrorism.

(APPLAUSE)

Well, we are not going to let Donald Trump bankrupt America the way he bankrupted his casinos.

(APPLAUSE)

We need to write - we need to write a new chapter in the American dream and it can' be chapter 11.

(APPLAUSE)

If you believe that Donald Trump is wrong for America and our best days are ahead of us, please, join us in this campaign. We are stronger together, we are stronger when we grow together, when we lift each other up, when our economy is working for everyone, not just those at the top.

(APPLAUSE)

Let's get to work, Ohio. Let's knock on doors and register voters. Let's send Ted Strickland to the Senate with Sherrod Brown. Let's send Alicia Reece (ph) back to Columbus. Let's get more strong progressive leaders like Senator Warren in Washington and state Houses.

This November, let's take our country in the right direction with confidence and optimism. That is what we can do together. Thank you, Ohio (ph), and God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

[11:20:43] JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Former secretary of state and presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, addressing supporters in Cincinnati, Ohio, the intense battleground state of Ohio. There she is standing alongside Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. It was quite a speech, full of vinegar and -- towards her opponent Donald Trump. Full of feisty populist approaches towards the economy. And, boy, some hay-makers thrown by Elizabeth Warren.

Let's go to Jeff Zeleny in Cincinnati covering this.

Some really tough attacks against Donald Trump there. And, Elizabeth Warren, really, I think, a lot of people a few years ago, Jeff, thought of her as a dry college-professor type. She is anything but.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Anything but, indeed, Jake. This is the best of Elizabeth Warren from the liberal perspective. You can see behind me right now on stage, they are still really just lighting this crowd up.

And the reality is Elizabeth Warren can deliver a stronger, more succinct, more punchier message than Hillary Clinton has. But, Jake, seeing the two of them on stage together, we talk a lot about chemistry, we talk a lot about energy, I can tell you more energy here than I've seen at a Hillary Clinton rally in a very long time.

Of course, that raises the question, is she really being considered as a running mate here? I am told she is. I am told she is, indeed, being vetted, as well are some others.

But, Jake, today was not only about that. Today was about joining this Democratic Party, about sort of fusing over any differences between these two, and about getting the left side of this party in check. You have to wonder if Bernie Sanders has missed out on a moment here, because Elizabeth Warren energizes this segment of the party here. And whether she ends up joining her ticket or not, there's no question, Elizabeth Warren's main job for the next four months is going to be campaigning for Hillary Clinton and trying to win the Senate back for Democrats. She showed she can do it today. I'm told they had a very warm conversation this morning in Secretary Clinton's hotel room.

So, Jake, today was what I'm guessing is the first of many appearances between these two Democrats -- Jake?

TAPPER: It's interesting, Jeff, you wouldn't know from their appearance today that Elizabeth Warren was the only Democratic woman Senator who did not endorse Secretary Clinton during the primary. She stayed neutral until recently. One wonders whether she was just trying not to pick a side or if she thought by being neutral during the primaries she would, Elizabeth Warren, would be able to play this role of getting the populist left excited about Hillary Clinton, getting progressives on board when Secretary Clinton has lost so many of them during the primaries against Bernie Sanders.

ZELENY: Jake, it's a mix of both, no question about it. Elizabeth Warren was always sort of apprehensive about endorsing Hillary Clinton because she has a movement of her own, a giant list of grassroots activists, many of whom supported Bernie Sanders, and she did not want to alienate them. Increasingly, as it becomes clear Hillary Clinton was going to win, Elizabeth Warren was looking for an entry point. She made that entry point today in Cincinnati. Yes, she's done it by Twitter. She's done it in other speeches. Today, here, at the Union Terminal in Cincinnati, she made that point so clear.

Jake, just a bit of history. This building where I'm standing in, a former train station, is where George W. Bush delivered his prime-time address to the nation about going to war in Iraq in 2002. Boy, what a difference, you know, more than a decade makes in there. Of course, no one has brought up Hillary Clinton's war vote that split the Democrats so much there.

So, Jake, this Democratic Party is united going forward. Much more so than the Republican party is -- Jake?

TAPPER: That seems to be the case. Although, according to recent polls, slightly less than half of Bernie Sanders supporters are right now supporting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential run. That could be problematic for her in states like Ohio. But Elizabeth Warren playing a very aggressive attack dog role.

Let's roll a little bit from her comments about Donald Trump from just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:25:16] SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Donald Trump calls African-Americans thugs, Muslims terrorists --

(BOOING)

WARREN: -- Latinos rapists and criminals, and women bimbos. Hillary Clinton believes that racism, hatred, injustice and bigotry have no place in our country.

(CHEERING)

WARREN: She fights for us. She fights for us. And we will fight for Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Very, very strong advocacy. She makes a case that Hillary Clinton from Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Massachusetts.

And, Dana, she makes a tough case for Hillary Clinton that Hillary Clinton has a tough time making herself. It's not such an uncommon dynamic. Usually surrogates are more effective than somebody talking about themselves. But Warren, very feisty.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my goodness. She said Donald Trump wants to crush you into the direct. She called him a small insecure money grubber, a nasty man. And those are the nice things she said about Donald Trump.

Look, I think there's so many things to unpack with this. First of all, to Jeff's point, that the Democratic Party does appear to be united. Hillary Clinton still has some challenges but much more so than the incredibly fractured Republican side. There was a "Washington Post" poll that showed about 80 percent of Democrats are behind Hillary Clinton, which is not bad considering where we were a month or two ago with a very, very tough fight with Bernie Sanders.

Which brings me to my next point. Bernie Sanders, why wasn't he the guy on that stage? He was the one who ran. He was the one who had the movement behind him when it came to millions and millions of votes of Democrats who wanted to see a populist message. And he hasn't formally endorsed Hillary Clinton yet. It seems to me, he still has time, but he missed this moment. This could have been his moment, his leverage to use. It was Elizabeth Warren, who, maybe because of what you were talking about with Jeff Zeleny, that had a little more credibility because she stayed on the sidelines, that she was able to do this. And because she just kind of has the touch when it comes to energizing a rally like this.

TAPPER: Jeff Zeleny, in Cincinnati covering this rally for us, when I interviewed Sanders yesterday and asked him when he was going to endorse Secretary Clinton, he suggested he will vote for her, but when is he going to throw his weight behind her candidacy, he has now acknowledged he won't be the Democratic nominee. He's still fighting platform fights. They fought some in, I think, it was St. Louis and they have -- there are more meetings coming up. Even though he and his team are winning victory after victory on the Democratic platform committee, he is not yet prepared to declare victory on the platform debate and endorse her. He's still slugging it out behind closed doors.

ZELENY: He is, Jake, and he's holding on to the little bit of leverage he has. The Clinton campaign is fine with those discussions on the platform. Party platforms do not win elections. Party platforms don't really matter to the general election electorate there. So the Clinton campaign is certainly giving him space to do that.

But, Jake, when Elizabeth Warren and Clinton came into this room, I can tell you, for nearly two minutes, embraced and were waving to the crowd, this is the Democratic Party joining together. Yes, not all of his voters will support her, no question about it. But the voters I talked to here today in Cincinnati, the ones would like Bernie Sanders, say they like Warren that much more.

Now a challenge here as we move into the running mate conversation, which we're only about three weeks away from knowing who these running mates are going to be, Elizabeth Warren, of course, is the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts. The governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, is a Republican. So Hillary Clinton, if she wins, also wants a Democratically controlled Senate. That is one of the leading complications here for picking Elizabeth Warren among other things. But, Jake, the chemistry was something the campaign was watching. Back at the Brooklyn headquarters, they were watching it on television very carefully. But this is a personal decision by Hillary Clinton. I'm told by people close to her, don't rule out Warren. She's still leaving her very much in the mix here.

You have to wonder what Tim Kaine thought of this, the Senator from Virginia, who we're told is also in the mix. He cannot light up a room like this, no doubt about it. But he certainly could be a safer pick.

TAPPER: Jeff Zeleny covering this Democratic rally in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It's been such a jam-packed, news-filled morning. Let's recap one of the other big events from just a few minutes ago, and that is the U.S. Supreme Court striking down, in a 5-3 ruling, striking down Texas laws, which would have imposed further restrictions on abortion clinic.

And Jeff Toobin and Jonathan Turley are with me here in studio as well.