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Pence Potential VP; RNC Convention Speakers; Trump Family. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired July 14, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Strong Hispanic support there. I-4 corridor is critical and in the GOP platform Puerto Rico is being pushed as being our 51st state. So that's not so bad.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We - we've got to go, unfortunately. We'll continue this conversation. I'll see you in Cleveland in the coming days. Thanks very much.

That's it for me. The news continues next right here on CNN.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf, thank you so much.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Great to be back. Thank you for being with me.

We begin with major breaking news in the race for the White House. Multiple sources now saying that the staff for Indiana Governor Mike Pence has been told he should prepare to be named Donald Trump's running mate. Pence's deputy campaign manager, sources tell CNN, is now headed to New York City. Our own Jeremy Diamond was on the same plane as Marc Lotter, who is helping run Pence's re-election effort. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC LOTTER, DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER, PENCE FOR GOVERNOR: I'm on this airplane with you. I've got nothing to offer.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you, are you on here to meet with the campaign, anything?

LOTTER: I'm here to have meetings.

DIAMOND: For the Pence campaign, not for the Trump campaign?

LOTTER: (INAUDIBLE) for the Pence campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So those are just some of the signs that Pence is the man thought, though we have no official word of any sort of formal offer yet. Trump, a pageant producer, reality TV star, businessman, a master of making the most of the final round here, he has hailed his big VP reveal just 21 hours from now. We know it happens tomorrow morning, 11:00 Eastern. Let's begin this hour with CNN's Jason Carroll and Sunlen Serfaty. Sunlen, you're covering Mike Pence's movements. Every - every move

here. You're outside the governor's mansion there in Indianapolis. So let me just begin with you. What more do we know about Trump's decision to go with Mike Pence?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, I can tell you, there are considerable signs that all point to Mike Pence. But, of course, nothing confirmed or official just yet. As you said, we are outside the governor's mansion where Governor Pence, we believe, is still inside where he's been hold up for the last about three hours now. We have seen just a flurry of activity over the last few hours. Just a few minutes ago, a flower delivery, a large display, a bouquet, came up the driveway. We also saw his lieutenant governor come and go. And you could see Pence at the door sending him off. And that's important because that could be the man, if Pence is chosen for VP, that could potentially take over as governor.

We know from CNN's Dana Bash's great reporting today that the Pence team is also preparing the necessary paperwork to get him off the ballot here in his re-election campaign for governor here in Indiana. An important step widely seen as a trigger that would potentially indicate that he has been chosen.

And it's been interesting to watch Donald Trump really wrestle with the qualifications that he's looking for in a vice presidential candidate. As little as just a few days ago, he was saying he really wanted a fighter. He really wanted an attack dog. A lot of people said that was not Mike Pence. He is known as being mild mannered, well- disciplined in his words. And then just in the last 24 hours, Donald Trump shifting and saying, no, no, I'm not looking for an attack dog. I'm actually looking for someone solid, someone who's strong, who's policy focused. A lot of people, Brooke, believe that is Mike Pence.

But, again, just a flurry of activity here as so many people wait to hear what's coming out of the governor's mansion.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: You mentioned Dana. We'll get the scoop from Dana Bash in a second. I love that we're at the point where we are reporting on flower delivery activity. That is what happens in anticipation of a VP pick. Sunlen, thank you so much.

And, Jason, to you. You are across the country there in sunny California. I know Trump is there. He's scheduled to have a couple of fundraisers. What are you hearing?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a number of things, Brooke. First of all, as you know, Trump was able to raise $51 million just last month in terms of fundraising. And some of the folks out here in southern California feel as though Mike Pence would add to his fundraising efforts here in this state. And there are a few reasons why - several reasons why, in fact.

They feel as though Mike Pence - and you've heard about this many times before - that he checks a number of boxes. He speaks to evangelicals. He speaks to Christians. He speaks to social conservatives. He speaks to those people who are nervous - still nervous within the GOP about coming over to the side of Trump. And so those who I've spoken to out here in southern California feel somewhat excited about having the prospect of a Mike Pence on the ticket. But I have to tell you, they also feel excited about the prospect of having a Governor Chris Christie on the ticket as well. They feel as though that was the man who really could have gone after Hillary Clinton in many ways.

In terms of what's happening out here in southern California, Trump expected to attend a number of fund-raising events out here. One big one in Bel Air later on this evening. Tickets topping out at some $400,000 in order to meet with Trump. Trump expecting to hear a lot from folks out here in southern California about the VP pick. But in terms of some of those that I've spoken to, they are excited about the prospect of having Pence on the ticket.

[14:05:06] Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. So, rumblings of Pence, Christie, Newt Gingrich. We'll get into all of that. Jason and Sunlen, thank you both so much.

Now, one of Governor Pence's competitors for the VP slot, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, he may provide a big clue in this hour as far as whether Governor Pence is the ultimate VP selection. We know that Gingrich told our own correspondent MJ Lee that he is expecting to learn Trump's choice around 1:00 or 2:00 Eastern today, which is right about now. And Gingrich, who, make no mistake, wants the job, he does see the appeal of Mike Pence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: In all fairness, you look at what Mike Pence did in the Congress, and then you look at what Mike Pence has done in Indianapolis as governor, building on the extraordinary record of Mitch Daniel. Indiana has a great story to tell. But his style is different than mine.

In many ways, Donald Trump is like a pirate. He's outside the normal system. He gets things done. He's bold. He's actually like a figure out of a movie. In a lot of ways my entire career has been a little bit like a pirate. I've taken on the establishment in both parties. I've been very prepared to fight in the media.

One of the really hard questions he's got to weigh on the way to California is, do you - I mean do you really want a two-pirate ticket?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. So much to discuss. Two pirates and beyond. With me now, CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash, Pete Seat, former communications director for the Indiana Republican Party and is now with the Hathaway Strategies, Rich Galen, a Republican strategist who used to serve as press secretary for Newt Gingrich, and our chief political analyst Gloria Borger.

So welcome welcome to all of you.

And, Dana Bash, just - I defer to you with the scoop. What are you learning at this very second?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as far as we know, the call has not been made, which is really, really key, Brooke, because until Donald Trump picks up the phone and says, Governor Mike Pence, would you be my running mate, and Mike Pence says yes, it is not a done deal.

And I have to say, you know, Sunlen and Jason were just reporting on kind of the ins and outs. But just kind of broadly in following Donald Trump for all these months, over a year, how unusual it would be for someone like him to pick somebody he doesn't know or has just gotten to know over the past few weeks.

But it's not just that. He also has - Mike Pence has not been the kind of good soldier that Donald Trump really likes to hold dear. Someone like Chris Christie, who has defended Trump to the nth (ph) degree, even in Trump's darkest of days. And remember Mike Pence didn't even endorse Donald Trump in the Indiana primary.

BALDWIN: Right.

BASH: He endorsed Ted Cruz, who ended up losing by double digits to Donald Trump and then dropping out shortly after.

So, Mike Pence makes a lot of sense on paper for all the reasons that you heard Sunlen talk about, the fact that he is a Christian conservative, that he is somebody with experience in Washington. He's not going to rock the boat. He's kind of the ying to Donald Trump's yang. But it's not usually the way he operates.

And one of the - and which is usually based on loyalty, I should say. And one of the things I just want to kind of share with you based on the experience that I had, I was in Indianapolis yesterday where there was this really unusual public display and scramble as people were being kind of shuttled back and forth is that Donald Trump had plane troubles and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, and his wife, Ivanka Trump, and brother, Don Jr., flew last-minute early in the morning to go have breakfast with Mike Pence and his wife. They flew Senator Jeff Sessions, who today is saying he is a Mike Pence fan, in, in order to spend the time with Donald Trump. That just, even though we are hearing based on sources that those people, including Jared Kushner, is very much in the pro-Pence camp, just watching the way that they have operated -

BALDWIN: Yes.

BASH: In trying to kind of circle the wagons and urge and push Donald Trump to go with Mike Pence as opposed to Chris Christie is very interesting.

BALDWIN: Let me piggyback off of that, Dana. A lot of great information there.

Gloria, let me just to you and ask you.

So on the family note, and I know we're going to get into this later, but, you know, you think of Donald Trump. You think of how he's really almost like produced this whole thing like a "Celebrity Apprentice," right, where you see everyone sort of trotted out. And we've had the lunches. And the advisors were speaking to media.

You know, and then he says initially, oh, I want an attack dog and he would want something splashy. And then, you know, fast forward to the family, you know, the family introduction to potentially this Mike Pence. Maybe family being more protective versus a gut choice from Trump.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

BALDWIN: How do you weigh all of that?

BORGER: Well, I think if Donald Trump had gone with his gut, it would be Chris Christie.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: You know, he values loyalty. Chris Christie ended his presidential campaign, went to Donald Trump, has been a loyal soldier. They like each other. They've known each other a long time. But what we saw, what Dana was just describing with the family rushing to Indianapolis is essentially an intervention kind of saying, you know what, wait a minute, you can't do this. Hold on. Let's look at Mike Pence because he checks all of these boxes. You know, conservatives are suspicious about you. He's a conservative. Check. He deflates the anti-Trump movement. He was a Cruz guy. Check. And on down the list. You're an attack dog. You don't need another attack dog. Check.

[14:10:15] So they go to Indianapolis. And then we watch his opinion change. And he - he plays a candidate. You've got to give him credit. He plays out his internal conversations publically.

BALDWIN: Externally.

BORGER: And so we actually do know what he's thinking because he tells people what he's thinking.

BALDWIN: Who was it that laughed, was it Pete or Rich, when Gloria said the - made the intervention comment? Which one of you guys?

PETE SEAT, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, INDIANA REPUBLICAN PARTY: It wasn't me.

BALDWIN: Rich, go.

RICH GALEN, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR NEWT GINGRICH: I was saying -

SEAT: I smiled.

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Rich. GALEN: Well, I think - I think everybody - you know, now we're going

to say the same thing 57 times. But the thing about Newt and Christie are that they - they can be attack dogs without being on the ticket. They can make news by themselves. They don't need - Trump doesn't need them on the ticket to play that role, number one.

Number two is, Pence does know how Washington works. Obviously so does Newt. Christie does not. He's never been on the national scene. He does, you know, he does all that stuff. But they're - you know, the equivalent - the political equivalent of "thank you for playing, take our home game with you," is that maybe Newt gets to be secretary of defense and Christie gets to be attorney general.

BALDWIN: Right.

GALEN: Pence gets to be VP and everybody goes home happy.

BALDWIN: So maybe that's what happens, but to my Indiana man on the panel here, Pete Seat, you know, Rich mentioned, yes, so Pence was a - six terms in the U.S. House. Ultimately, you know, ranked number three in terms of House leadership during the uprising of the Tea Party and the Tea Party caucus. But I want you to tell me why perhaps Governor Pence may not be such a swell idea.

SEAT: Well, the only con that I see is that he doesn't come from a battleground state. He doesn't come from an Ohio or a Florida or a Virginia. I think he would play well in a lot of the rust belt states, like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, because of his record here. I think he is the most well-rounded of the individuals on the short list, as has been discussed.

I would also say that to the point made about Christie and Gingrich, that would be a Donald Trump pick. A pick that makes him feel good.

BALDWIN: Exactly.

SEAT: Mike Pence is an olive branch pick.

BORGER: Right.

SEAT: And it is a pick about saying to people who don't support him right now, hey, look, I'm going to bring good, smart people into my administration. This isn't just going to be about rhetoric and being outlandish. I really want to be president and do a good job. That's what he would signal with Mike Pence.

GALEN: Well, just -

BALDWIN: That's the Paul Ryan, you know, deep, you know, sort of sigh of relief pick, right?

GALEN: This was -

BORGER: Well, and it tells you -

GALEN: This might be the most important pick for VP since Kennedy chose Johnson that actually accomplishes something that's important politically. So I absolutely agree.

BALDWIN: You think?

BORGER: Well, it also tells you something about, in a way, about how he would govern because, you know, this is his first presidential decision, and what - if indeed he makes that phone call to Mike Pence today -

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: Which we expect him to do, it tells you that he is willing to say, OK, my gut was Chris Christie, but you know what, I'm listening to other people and I need to hear them and these are conservatives and they don't trust me. So, you know what, I'm going to do something so they start trusting me.

BASH: And -

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Dana.

BASH: And I'll tell you what - I'll tell you what has been kind of odd and I am sure that this is playing into the anguish in making this decision, which is that Chris Christie, I sort of call him Donald Trump's political north star. He has been, since, as Gloria said, Chris Christie dropped out of this race and began to support Donald Trump, has been not just a supporter and a public advocate, he has been a private advisor and confidant because this is not easy for anybody, especially somebody who's never run for public office before. But now he can't ask Chris Christie for that advice because Chris Christie is somebody who he's considering. So it's - to Gloria's point, the decision that he's going to have to make based on what - again, his family believes, based on what other Republicans and advisors believe that he needs versus what he wants in his heart of hearts and in his gut.

BORGER: Right.

BALDWIN: OK. Gloria, Rich, Dana and Pete, thank you all so much. I appreciate it.

GALEN: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We'll continue to watch and wait. Thanks.

Meantime, tennis balls, canned goods, hammers, among the items banned from the event zone at the convention next week in Cleveland. But find out what you actually can bring. We have that for you.

Also, Republicans reveal their speaker list for the convention next week, which includes celebrities, former Trump rivals and his kids. We have those names for you.

[14:14:49] And in Dallas today, another funeral underway for an officer slain in the ambush on police. Family, friends giving their emotional tributes. We will remember the officers' service ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

A Calvin Klein model, an astronaut, a ton of Trumps and the Antonio Sabato Jr. The Republican Party dropping its unconventional convention speaker list. But don't think we will escape the usual faces at next week's Republican Convention in Cleveland, including some former Donald Trump rivals.

So let's go live to Phil Mattingly, who is in Cleveland for us ahead of the big convention.

And before, Phil, we get into specifics as far as who's taking to the stage, let's talk about the bizarre rules for this convention event zone.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So security is obviously paramount here. And, look, Brooke, I'm going to preface this with this segment will probably be your favorite of the entire day.

BALDWIN: That's a high bar.

MATTINGLY: Seventy-two items are not allowed in the - inside the event zone. Among those 72 items, and, again, this is for security purposes. It was decided by the city and the city's police department in May. They include tennis balls, stoves, containers of bodily fluid, umbrellas. It's kind of an eclectic mix of things that maybe you wouldn't expect would be on a list of things you can't bring into an event.

[14:20:11] Something that's not on that list, guns. Now, Ohio is an open carry state. I've actually been to Donald Trump rallies in this state during the course of the primary where people have brought guns to those rallies. Totally legal. So those can be brought into the area. But a list of 72 items, somewhat random items, can't, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Note to self, no containers of bodily fluids.

That said, let's talk about the speaker list - let's talk about the speaker list out today. You know, sort of this eclectic mix. Run through who will be on that stage.

MATTINGLY: So what's interesting is, Donald Trump made very clear, this was going to be an unconventional convention. This wasn't going to be a list of speakers that you were going to expect. But he is including some traditional GOP stalwarts. You've got Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. You've got Marco Rubio, who has committed to speak by video during this convention.

Who you don't have, top Republican leaders like the 2012 nominee or the 43rd or 41st president. In their place, you have kind of a more entertainment focused group. You've got Dana White, head of the UFC. You've got Antonio Sabato Jr, the actor, a former underwear model and, of course, Tim Tebow, the former Heisman winning trophy quarterback.

Now, obviously, this is not the kind of traditional way Republicans go about holding their convention. But in talking to Trump advisors, they made clear this, it's a cross section of people that they think will reach a broader group of viewers in America. People who wouldn't normally tune in might be interested to watch Tim Tebow, might be interested to catch up with what Antonio Sobato Jr. has been doing over the last decade or so.

And so, Brooke, I think while it's not the traditional way of doing it, you're going to see a very different convention in Philadelphia with the Democrats. For Trump, it works for him and it's definitely new but it's something they're willing to try, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Phil Mattingly, favorite segment of the day. Thank you very much. We'll see you in Cleveland in a couple of days.

Let's keep talking about Trump here. You know, keeping it in the family. Let me bring in Kristen Soltis Anderson, "Washington Examiner" columnist, Republican strategist and pollster, author of "The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials are Leading America and How Republicans Can Keep Up." And with me here in New York, Michael D'Antonio, a Donald Trump biographer who wrote, among many, many books, "The Truth about Trump."

So welcome to both of you.

And, Michael, let me just turn to you. You know, we were talking about it a second ago, but I'm so fascinated with Trump leaning into his family, right? So talking to Dana Bash, who I defer all things political to, you know, if you were going with a gut, perhaps he would choose - and we still don't' know - a Chris Christie. But it seems like, with Gloria Borger, who called it an intervention, the family coming into Indianapolis, having breakfast at the governor's mansion. How influential Ivanka, Eric, Don Jr., Jared Kushner?

MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, DONALD TRUMP BIOGRAPHER: Supremely. I mean these are people who have his back and they have always protected him, especially the three adult children. They've intervened in the past. They actually told me that they'll get together and if they think that their father's off on the wrong track, as a group they'll sit with him. Now he doesn't always take their advice, but -

BALDWIN: I was about to say, does he listen?

D'ANTONIO: No. No, not always. And sometimes they'll have a cover story. Like there was a moment when the birther issue was raging and it was reported that the kids went to him and said, look, you've got to back off a little bit on this. Later they had deniability, but I'm pretty sure they did it because they have a different sensibility. They're aware of what a variety of people perhaps outside of Donald's orbit may be thinking and how they're responding to his performances. And so they will - they will rein him in and protect him from himself.

BALDWIN: You know, the next obvious thought is, if Trump were to be elected, and we're watching how close he is with his family and their influence, how - what kind of influence they would have if he were in the Oval Office.

D'ANTONIO: Well, I think it would be very positive, actually.

BALDWIN: You do?

D'ANTONIO: Yes, because, again, he's a fairly isolated guy and he does deal from the gut. And his gut is pretty reliable when it comes to business.

BALDWIN: But what if the family goes against the gut?

D'ANTONIO: Well, you know, then they'll have a conflict and one would assume he'd have a chief of staff who will be part of this process. But America would see something very different from what we've ever seen before. We'd have a family really engaged. You know, the Trump organization is a family business, and Donald actually played a similar role with his own father back in the day. So he was the guy who was out front for his dad and protecting him sometimes against his own instincts. So this is a familiar pattern for them.

BALDWIN: We know, Kirsten, just turning to you, you know, Tiffany, Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka, his wife Melania, they're all on the speaker list for next week in Cleveland. Who among them are you most excited to hear from?

KIRSTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, COLUMNIST, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": I'm very excited to hear from Ivanka. I think for all of the things that people have that are criticisms of Donald Trump, that are completely valid, when you look at how Ivanka has turned out, I think that, you know, that's one really good thing that Donald Trump has done is raised a very eloquent, very poised daughter.

[14:25:07] Ivanka Trump has built her own brand. She's built an empire in terms of fashion. You know, you walk into almost any department store these days and there are Ivanka Trump clothes and shoes and accessories. She's got a presence online and a presence in media that is not particularly political, but that is, you know, really one that I think resonates with a lot of young women who would aspire to have, you know, great careers in business.

And when her father has asked her to give, you know, speeches out on the trail, she is always extremely eloquent. So she's somebody that I think is really poised to have a big rising star - or a big star moment at the convention.

BALDWIN: What do you think she'll say?

ANDERSON: Well, I think she's just very proud of her father. Again, I don't necessarily view her as being a hard right conservative or even necessarily strongly political, but certainly strongly loyal to her father. And I expect that Trump's children will really try to use the opportunity to talk about their dad as a person. There are plenty of other speakers who are these congressmen or leaders in the Republican Party who I expect will have a political message about making America great again or, you know, the different policies Trump has talked about. But I suspect that his children will be there to talk more about the person that they know and have grown up with.

BALDWIN: The personal. Absolutely. And, Kristin and Michael, thank you so much.

D'ANTONIO: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up, a highly anticipated document about to be declassified. The Saudi government's alleged ties to the 9/11 hijackers. The 28-page secret document about to be revealed. We'll have a live report on that straight ahead, why that's significant.

Also ahead, the state of policing in America after an extraordinarily difficult week of high-profile shootings, the only African-American Republican in the U.S. Senate delivers a sobering message to his colleagues. We'll play that for you coming up.

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