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Trump Arrives in Cleveland for RNC; Sources; Kasich Turned Down Deal Offered by Trump; "Bikers for Trump" Roll into Cleveland; CEO Roger Ailes in Talks to Leave Fox News. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 20, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00] DAVID CATANESE, SENIOR POLITICS WRITER, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT: I've had Republicans say to me, 2020 will be the harder election for Hillary Clinton. 2016, fine, we may lose this. But 2020, watch her try to get re-elected and have 16 straight years of Democrats.

ANA MARIE COX, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, MTV NEWS: I would say I completely agree with this. In some ways this is an unfortunate situation for Hillary because she's not having to work as hard as she might have to beat Donald Trump. She's able to play to her own strengths in this regard. All she has to be is the adult in the room and she's probably going to win. And this is an opportunity for the RNC, the Republican Party to learn some lessons.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

COX: In some ways I feel like they've had a lot of shots at that. Often refuse to learn it. But this might do it. I guess you're right. I think --

(CROSSTALK)

MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think you are right about Hillary as well, that she needs to present as the adult in the room. She's still bad at that. The two together are quite --

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll pause. I know we have amazing voices here. There is so much going on, on this Wednesday. This is day three. If you're just turning in, we've seen airplanes, choppers, Donald Trump, we've seen Governor Pence. We have so much to talk about. Don't move. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We beat 15 of those candidates.

(CHEERING)

[14:35:07]CRUZ: We just didn't beat 16. Our party now has a nominee. And I don't know --

(BOOING)

(CHANTING)

(LAUGHTER)

CRUZ: All right. That was pretty well orchestrated.

(LAUGHTER)

But, Jess, did you e-mail them to fly the plane right when I said that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my goodness. This is amazing. Ted Cruz there, pointing out that he got "this close" of maybe taking this nomination away from Mr. Trump. Cue the Trump plane buzzing the tower.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: We know he's on ground.

We're talking about the incredible entrance here of Donald Trump. His running mate, Mike Pence, meeting him on ground. That just happened. We'll roll it back for you so you can see his entrance.

Meantime, a lot of other themes today, including the governor of state, John Kasich, who, too, once upon a time, wanted to be here as the nominee instead.

Here is the news. This is what we learned, according to Governor Kasich sources, that in the search for Trump's vice president, that Trump's son, Don Jr, actually reached out to senior aide on the Kasich team to see if Governor Kasich would be interested. Apparently, in the initial conversation, according to the sources, Don Jr said Kasich would be in full charge of all domestic and foreign policy, and that if he agreed on, according to "The New York Times" reporting -- and Alex Burns, I'll bring you in, in a second -- this aide then asked back to Don Jr, well, then what would Mr. Trump be in charge of, and the response was, well, he'd make America great again. The Trump folks today saying this is absolutely entirely false.

Alex Burns, thoughts? Alex --

ALEX BURNS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, Brooke. I think what you've seen today and for the last few days just how awkward it is for the Republican Party to try to unite behind Donald Trump. This news about the overtures from the Trump campaign to Governor Kasich to try to bring him inside the tent clearly were not well received and turned embarrassment to this point. Kasich and now Ted Cruz over the last few days speak in ways that their supporters see as a tacit signal that they are looking to 20 as opposed to trying to rally the party. You've had boos from Trump supporters to Congressional leaders like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan and for Governor Kasich's name when it was submitted on the floor of the convention. You have this heroic effort from Trump and his allies to try to project this image of a strong r and unified party but, Brooke, the reality is, it is just not there yet.

BALDWIN: Not only in that you talk about the bad blood that is sort of bubbling right now in Cleveland because apparently they didn't actually -- the Trump team didn't go far as officially vetting Governor Kasich but some documents were put together and to quote this I guess, "Trump campaign, Kasich's vetting read like a trashy novel." That's what we're hearing now.

And also look at the timing here. This is the vice president's day, this is Mike Pence's day and this is when all of this is coming out.

Joe Boreli, care to respond?

JOSEPH BORELI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think it is surprising the Trump campaign maybe had informal conversation with team Kasich about being vice president. That was something kind of widely reported anyway. I don't want to speak about Alex's reporting, your friend, but I highly deny Donald Trump Jr would actually say that.

BALDWIN: "Make America great again" line?

BORELI: Yeah. Why would you say that someone who's not even an ally with the campaign. So I doubt that is accurate. As far as Governor Kasich overall, despite how he feels about Donald Trump, we've seen so many polls here in Ohio where he's doing good, if not outright beating Secretary Clinton without spending a dollar. So it's one of those moments where leave, follow, get out of the way, Governor Kasich. I would say at this point, get out of the way.

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I was going to say, I don't think Dick Cheney was given that offer in 2000.

(LAUGHTER)

This is not the first time that an offer -- let's assume that an offer like this was made. Ronald Reagan's people offered Gerald Ford the opportunity -- former President Gerald Ford a position on foreign policy if he ran as his running mate. I think it shows -- these are terrible leaks. There have been awful leaks the last couple of days. Melania Trump's speech issue I found most importantly, not because of plagiarism -- I'm a college professor. It is a bad thing.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Don't do it. Don't do it.

NAFTALI: Don't do it. It's not just that. But former George W. Bush people leaked the initial story because they didn't want to be targeted. Having written a speech and then committing plagiarism. Now we have Kasich, this is a bad leak. That's going to hurt Trump and Pence as they try to win in Ohio because they need the Kasich organization to win this state.

[14:40:33] COX: What's interesting about the story is it shows sort of the complete lack of understanding of how the mechanics of policy and how rivalries and how alliances are formed. Trump thinks it is really like a sports game, like you all shake hands on the field. Like he doesn't see there is a need to actually bridge policy differences, that once he's won, you can just collect your all-star team.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let's also not forget that Ohio is so crucially important in every presidential election. I believe Mr. Trump said last night I will win Ohio but we heard from lieutenant governor of Ohio and she said, she said without Kasich's support, Trump won't have it.

Go ahead.

CATANESE: Look, Trump is in a dead heat right now. Kasich has been a problem. I attended a speech Kasich gave yesterday and it was striking.

BALDWIN: How so?

CATANESE: He never mentioned Donald Trump's name but he said he was troubled by three things that are going on in America, an increase in nationalism, an increase in anti immigrant policies and rhetoric, and anti trade rhetoric. That is the Donald J. Trump campaign for president. Kasich's going around to these little lunches, little briefings, not talking against Trump but talking against his policy platform. That's a real problem as Trump tries to message through this convention because that's what he's running on, ripping up trade deals, building a wall and make America great again, America first. Kasich is out there and he's just hitting him with a knife and really --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Last word, Mary Katharine.

HAM: Bring this together with the Melania story, a politician like Kasich is looking at this campaign and watching the Melania story play out, which could have been in bed early, they decided to go down the road of denying it for two days, then deciding to put out a statement right before we get to step on entrance with the statement. So he's looking at that beast and going, I'm not riding that bronco. That's not where my future lies. That's the decision that every single Republican has had to make.

BALDWIN: I just want to thank all of you for an hour of television this week in Cleveland.

Thank you all so much.

Still ahead, they're rolling into Cleveland under the banner Bikers for Trump. I talked to the founder, who says, as I hopped on the back of his Harley yesterday, by the way, talks to me about why they're here and who they want to protect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What do you have in there?

CHRIS COX, FOUNDER, BIKERS FOR TRUMP: Well, I've got a vest on. I'm not very well received by certain demographics right now for the simple reason of being so outspoken. So what I understand there are a lot of people who would like to do some harm to me

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:01] BALDWIN: Back here live in Cleveland, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me today.

Donald Trump arrived at the RNC by chopper. Some of his most ardent supporters have their own ride, Bikers for Trump. Bikers from all around the country have descended upon Cleveland here. Thousands are patrolling the streets, not only to back their nominee, but they told me to act as a force to protect police against dissenters.

I met the founder of this group, Chris Cox, and hopped on the back of a Harley to go for the ride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COX: Thought we were coming here several months ago to stand up to the establishment that would be trying to steal the nomination. After Cruz and Kasich dropped out, we thought we'd be coming here for a victory dance. We feel like it is open season on cops, an assault on decency. We're obviously here to stand with Donald Trump. But we are also here to back the badge. We want to show support for the police department, first responders and firemen, not only here in Cleveland but across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

BALDWIN: You all are Bikers for Trump.

COX: Right.

BALDWIN: You started this whole thing.

COX: Yes.

BALDWIN: But the priority this week is protecting law enforcement.

COX: Yes. And it is pretty sad that civilians feel they have to come forward to protect the police officers. And our hearts are going out to the officers and not only in Baton Rouge but in Dallas.

BALDWIN: Cleveland police, really police from all around the country are here. How do they feel about being protected?

COX: It's our job to see that we stand up for one another. Our last line of defense are police officers and law enforcement. And the event that that institution crashes, we're going to have chaos and mayhem in the United States. We feel inclined to be here to protect the police if they need it.

BALDWIN: What has the reaction from police been to you guys?

COX: We couldn't have a better reaction. Last night, as I left the convention, I was getting a lot of pats on the back and thumbs up --

BALDWIN: From cops?

COX: -- from cops. They know exactly who we are and why we're here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is why we need Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Last night, we saw the protesters, the Code Pink. What was your interaction with her?

[14:50:08] COX: Well, as soon as I realized what was going on, I heard the boos, I stood up, I looked around and I reacted almost like a German Sheppard. It was only a split second before I was heading that direction. When I recognized it was a small petite woman, I knew I had to be gentle in the situation. I wanted to make sure I didn't touch her or wasn't too intimidating. I just wanted to keep the banner from being read. And I wanted to try to put my hand in front of her face without touching her just so she wouldn't be recognized around the country and patted on the back for having disrupted the RNC. We have to be very careful not to agitate the agitators, not to makes things worse.

BALDWIN: You're not here to intimidate.

COX: No, by no means.

If we come across a police officer who is being overwhelm and overpowered with, we'll certainly step in. We're not here to take the law into our own hands. We've only got one guy here who's carrying and he is a retired police officers with a lot of experience. We aren't trying to pour if he fuel on the fire.

First ingredient of a biker, a patriot, is courage. That's the first thing that we roll on. Then the second ingredient that we're going to bring into effect is diplomacy.

BALDWIN: What do you have in there?

COX: Well, i've got a vest on. I'm not very well received by certain demographics right now for the simple reason of being so outspoken. So from what I understand there are a lot of people that would like to do some harm to me. At my mother's request, I am wearing a flak jacket right now.

BALDWIN: You are ready to take fire?

COX: Oh, yeah.

BALDWIN: To protect these guys?

COX: If it comes to that, we certainly are.

BALDWIN: You're prepared for that?

COX: Well, in the event I'm collateral damage, it is only going to bring more patriots forward. We're patriots who happen to enjoy riding motorcycles.

BALDWIN: OK.

COX: We don't have any one percenters in our group. That's a totally different breed. I don't have anything bad to say about those guys but these are mostly patriots, these are retired police officers, and the majority of the guys are veterans.

BALDWIN: Have you met Mr. Trump?

COX: Yes, I have. I've had dinner with Mr. Trump. He saw me in the crowd. He pulled me to the side and he told me I was doing a very good job and invited me to come in to the back room and have dinner with his family and Donald Trump three nights ago tweeted out, "Thank you, Chris Cox and Bikers for Trump. I'll never forget what you've done for us. Together we'll make America great again."

He got my attention when he started about fighting ISIS, calling it radical Islam. He got my attention when he started talking about building a wall. We're hoping that Donald Trump can re-invent the party as Ronald Reagan re-invented the party.

BALDWIN: Explain though what it's like to ride with these guys on the streets here in Cleveland. What does that feel like?

COX: It feels good.

With having such a big red "X" on me, I'm surrounded by patriots. I'm here because, as a civilian, we don't have a lot of opportunities to serve our country and I see myself serving my country right now. And I'm with guys from across the nation. I didn't know any of these guys when I got here five days ago. Whenever I go into a city, I don't know the guys. I roll in alone and within a week or so I'm hanging out with 300,000, 400,000, 500,000 guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: Chris Cox, thank you again so much for that.

By the way, my mother is watching and was, like, you're riding on the back of a motorcycle? Mom, they went slow, sort of slow.

Let's move on to the other story dominating conservative media today. One of the media's most powerful ousted. FOX News CEO Roger Ailes is in talks to leave the network following sexual harassment allegations from on-air talent, including the prime-time host, Megyn Kelly.

Brian Stelter is back with me, along with CNN political commentator and author of "Women in Charge, The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton," Carl Bernstein.

Stelter, what's the latest?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: As of today, he's in the building, running the network but it won't be long. They're negotiating an exit deal. One thing is clear, his bosses, the Murdochs decided he must leave amid allegations of sexual harassment. He's denied the allegations. He vows to fight Gretchen Carlson in court, but he won't be doing that as the CEO of FOX News.

BALDWIN: If we were sitting in Cleveland and the RNC being the dominant story, we would be covering this from top to bottom.

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & AUTHOR: Roger Ailes --

(CROSSTALK)

BERNSTEIN: -- a nefarious genius, is the most important non-office holding political figure of the last 20 years. He has influenced America as no non-politician has. The cultural wars, he is the ultimate cultural warrior of the right. He has put this organization together that claims to be fair and balanced when it is neither. Advocacy to so-called news organization, and he has built an empire on conservatism that's undermined liberalism in this country in a way no other force has.

[14:55:21] BALDWIN: There are so many people in there that are extraordinarily loyal to this man. My question is, when he goes, who will follow?

STELTER: Bill O'Reilly, Greta Van Susteren have clauses in their contracts that allow them to walk out the door if Ailes is out the door. It is possible even if not right away some of those stars could leave. Question is what is going to do? Start a new network that rivals FOX? Does he want revenge? Or does he want to actually take it easy for the first time in his life.

(CROSSTALK)

BERNSTEIN: The nature of the settlement, he's hired Susan Estrich as a lawyer, who's known as a feminist. He's vowed to fight as hard as he can without coming forward with any admissions. That's the state of play right now that I can gather. He's very active, and has been, with Donald Trump. But one of the interesting things we've seen in this campaign is, FOX has driven Trump's candidacy less than Matt Drudge. Drudge is really great new factor in this election in terms of media. He is -- Drudge, that site has been unapologetically in Trump's pocket from the beginning. And I would say a large measure of why Donald Trump is the nominee goes to Matt Drudge in much the way that FOX has -- when you use the word kingmaker, I'm not sure it goes quite far that way, but is an influence unequalled. It started with right wing talk radio.

(CROSSTALK)

BERNSTEIN: It started with right wing talk radio. And Roger Ailes came out of the Nixon White House where he was also a nefarious genius and helped humanize Nixon in terms of Nixon always was stiff and awkward and made him much more palatable to audiences. He couldn't do ultimately anything in Watergate to help Nixon, but he tried. And then he found a way to take the techniques of P.R. and mold them with politics to create this entity such as it never existed. But a lot of it came from right wing talk radio. And for a while, the left, I think, in the 2008 election, coalesced around "The Huffington Post," the first time there was a kind of community -- news community the left could move towards. But nothing equal to --

(CROSSTALK)

BERNSTEIN: Nothing whatsoever.

STELTER: Without Ailes, is there still a FOX? And we don't know.

BERNSTEIN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: That is the bigger question.

I know you are following all of this, making phone calls as much as you can.

Gentlemen, thank you both so much.

BERNSTEIN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I appreciate it.

Coming up next here on CNN, we have just learned what happened behind Melania Trump's now-infamous prime-time speech Monday night. The staffer responsible is now speaking out.

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