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Top Republicans Furious as Donald Trump Refuses to Endorse Paul Ryan, McCain; Ibtihaj Muhammad Will be First Woman to Compete in Olympics Wearing Hijab; Ivanka Trump Clarifies Her Position Regarding Sexual Harassment. Aired 10:30-11a

Aired August 03, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:33:35]

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Donald Trump, the Republicans' nominee and standard bearer, now facing anger at the very top of his party, is over his public refusal to endorse two GOP leaders, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senator John McCain.

Today we're learning RNC Chair, Reince Priebus is furious, especially at the snub of Ryan, the top Republican in Congress and a close, personal friend. CNN's Senior Political Reporter, Manu Raju is here with more on this. Good morning.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Carol. Now what has really irked Republicans here in Washington is not just Trump's refusal to back Paul Ryan and John McCain, but how he outwardly criticized them during his interview with the Washington Post.

Now this is what Trump had to say about Ryan yesterday. He said, "I like Paul but these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership, we need very, very strong leadership. And I'm not quite there yet, I'm just not quite there yet." And of course that sounds a lot like Paul Ryan talking about Trump with our colleague Jake Tapper back in May. When he initially declined to endorse him by saying, I'm just not ready to do that at this point. I'm not there right now.

Now with John McCain he was even tougher. McCain himself has actually endorsed Donald Trump because he's the Republican nominee. But Trump sharpened his attacks on McCain in the aftermath of the Arizona Senator criticizing Trump's comments about the Khans -- the Gold Star family who lost their son, fighting in Iraq.

This is what Trump had to say about McCain. He said, "He has not done a good job for the vets. And I've always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets. So I've always had a difficult time with John for that reason." Now McCain told me in an interview in May that he would not appear alongside Trump on the campaign trail unless Trump retracted his criticisms of POWs, something that Trump has not done so far, Carol.

But so far, Carol, neither McCain nor Ryan have retracted their endorsements of Donald Trump. But as our colleague Dana Bash has been told, Reince Priebus has told Donald Trump in no uncertain terms that he did not appreciate those comments about his close friend, Paul Ryan. It does not bode well for the Party if they're not united headed into November, Carol.

[10:35:50]

COSTELLO: All right, Manu Raju reporting for us this morning, thank you. Just last month the RNC Chair, Reince Priebus, had a positive tone, explaining to ABC's George Stephanopoulos that Trump has plenty of room to grow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I know how he is in private. I know what we talk about and what we have meetings about. And he's there. He knows the pivot is important. He has been better and I think he's going to be great, moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now is Julie Pace, Inside Politics contributor and White House Correspondent with The Associated Press. CNN Political Commentator, Ana Navarro is here. And John Avlon, a CNN Political Analyst, Editor in Chief of The Daily Beast. Welcome to all of you.

Julie, we're talking a lot about Donald Trump this morning because a lot of the things that have happened in the past couple of days are just plain unprecedented. So can you make sense of it for us?

JULIE PACE, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, ASSOCIATED PRESS: I wish that I could but I'm not sure anyone can right now. It just feels like it's this endless cycle. And we keep using these words like "extraordinary" to describe so many things that he's done. But I do think that this idea that he is not able to support someone like Paul Ryan, who has really put his neck out there for Donald Trump, it is extraordinary.

And it's unclear what that means for Trump going forward. We're not seeing a rush among Republicans to pull their endorsements from him. Yet we're also not seeing a rush from Republicans to go out and campaign for him. Or even back many of his policy proposals. So I think the idea that Republicans came out of this convention as a united party has really been undermined by the last couple of days.

COSTELLO: John, is there any indication in your mind that the Republican Party is unified in any way?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: No, of course not. And I don't think this is even a moment of mediating stasis where people are trying to figure out how to keep the proper distance. The horses aren't spooked here, the rats are running off the ship. This is a time of real panic. Because the Republican Party thought they could effectively channel Donald Trump's populist anger -- as they did with the Tea Party before -- and turn it into a quasi-responsible, competitive general election candidate. And guess what? Donald Trump's going to be Donald Trump. This is

unprecedented in America but this is not unprecedented in a broader tableau of global politics. This is the behavior of an erratic, would-be, tinpot dictator. Who, the Party is realizing now, that they cannot appease, and they should not appease. And people with character need to come out and condemn it.

COSTELLO: Ana, through all of this we are not talking much about Hillary Clinton, frankly. And some of the Trump supporters on air this morning have said that that's wrong. But because what Donald Trump is doing is so unusual, it's hard not to talk about it.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The reason we're not talking about Hillary Clinton is because we can't stop talking about this train wreck that is Donald Trump. What we are watching right now is the wheels coming off. Listen, Hillary Clinton had a disastrous, disastrous interview on Fox on Sunday. We should be talking about that.

But the Trump surrogates, Mr. Trump himself, have chosen to continue a fight with the Gold Star family and parents of Captain Khan. And that has put all my focus, all my outrage, I have no more outrage to give this week. I am so offended by the idea of an attack on the mother and father who buried their son because of service to country, and sacrifice to country. I am so outraged by the idea of Trump surrogates comparing his failing marriages, or the building of a building to the sacrifice of losing a child, the sacrifice of serving your country, that I really can't even focus on Hillary Clinton.

So yes, in the back of my mind I know she had this horrific interview. And I will tell you, I am seeing Republican after Republican -- and I get Facebook messages, I get emails, I read op-eds from friends of mine, people who have been in the trenches. Loyal Republican soldiers for decades and decades who have helped elect Republicans who have walked the walk. Not just talked on T.V., who have actually been doing the work for decades.

And I get emails and op-eds, and all sorts of links from them saying they're leaving the party, or they're not voting for Trump. It's not panic, it's sadness, it's resignation, it is heartbreak. It is excruciating right now to be a Republican and feel that this Party has been taken over by a person who does not represent the party of Reagan, does not represent or embrace Republican values.

COSTELLO: But still, Julie, I would say that Trump does have a core group of very dedicated supporters. They don't like established Republicans, right? They like these things he is saying. They don't care whether he endorses Paul Ryan. And they don't care if he endorses Senator McCain, frankly. They like that he's this firebrand kind of guy.

[10:40:50]

PACE: Absolutely. And this is the broader question that Republicans have to grapple with after this election. This split in the Republican Party isn't going to stop after the November election. There is a segment of the Republican Party that no longer feels like Republican leadership in Washington represents their interests. On issues like trade, on issues like immigration.

And so you do see Republicans who are on the ballot in November feeling like they need to appeal to these Trump supporters because they are part of the Party. But it's very unclear, going forward, whether Trump wins or loses, whether the Republican Party as we know it can stick together, given how divided the voters are.

COSTELLO: And John, just my ...

AVLON: But, Carol ...

COSTELLO: uh huh? Go ahead.

AVLON: Just building on that, you know I think what's really relevant is that Paul Ryan and John McCain have primaries. And what people in Congress are more terrified than anything over the past decade in change, is that they will be primaried by a relatively small group of folks who are ideologically extreme, or conservative populous.

The issue now is becoming, for most folks, what kind of a drag can Donald Trump be on a general election ticket? Especially if you are in a swing state. And in those areas, that game of footsie is becoming self-evidently toxic. This is part of a bad deal the Republican Party has made. And how it plays out in the reconciliation will be fascinating.

But already last night we've seen something fascinating happen. A pro-gay marriage, Navy SEAL won the Republican nomination for governor in Missouri. Tim Huelskamp, a very conservative guy who challenged John Boehner, lost his primary to a self-described moderate in Kansas.

So the deep divisions of the Republican Party are real. There is a train wreck going on with Donald Trump. There is also something positive going on, countervailing amongst the center-right in some of the states right now.

COSTELLO: All right I have to leave it there, Julie Pace ...

NAVARRO: But let me just say that John is ...

COSTELLO: I ...

NAVARRO: ... oops ...

COSTELLO: Go ahead.

NAVARRO: John is right that John McCain, Paul Ryan, even Kelly Ayotte have tough elections in front of them. But Trump loses more from not being with them. Those are all swing states. And I will tell you something as a friend of all three of them, thank God Trump is not endorsing them. That means they won't owe him a thing.

And once this is over they can be free of those chains that bind them, they can be free of Trump. They can speak their mind, they can speak their conscience, they can be true to their principles and their convictions.

So as far as I'm concerned, Trump not endorsing Paul Ryan, not endorsing John McCain, attacking Kelly Ayotte, good for them. Badge of honor.

COSTELLO: All right, well I really have to go. Julie Pace ...

AVLON: Amen, Ana.

COSTELLO: Ana Navarro, John Avlon, thanks to all of you. And don't forget Anderson Cooper moderates a town hall with the Libertarian ticket, Gary Johnson and William Weld, tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. Still to come in the, in the Newsroom, the Olympics just a couple of days away. And for one U.S. Olympian, win, lose, or draw, she will end up in the record book. Her story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:48:05]

COSTELLO: We are just a couple of days away from Rio taking the world stage. Olympic opening ceremonies are on Friday. And win, lose, or draw -- can you draw in the Olympics? I don't know, but win or lose, one American athlete is guaranteed to make History when she becomes the first U.S. Olympian to compete wearing a hijab. CNN Special Correspondent, Jamie Gangel talked with her about her Olympic moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under that star spangled mask lies a fierce competitor. Who's lightning fast with a ferocious yept (ph).

IBTIHAJ MUHAMMAD, OLYMPIC SABRE FENCING, UNITED STATES: I enjoy having to chase my opponent down the strips in order to score a point.

GANGEL (voice-over): But 30-year old Ibtihaj Muhammad is no ordinary member of team USA. The Rio-bound sabre fencer is making history, becoming the first American-Muslim woman to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab.

MUHAMMAD: I wish that it wasn't the case. I wish that there had been tons of women before me who had achieved this.

GANGEL (voice-over): Getting to this point hasn't been easy. Muhammad grew up in a big family in Maplewood, New Jersey. And as a devout Muslim, only allows her face and hands to show.

MUHAMMAD: My mom was always changing the uniform for me by adding long sleeves, or adding long pants, where my teammates wore tank tops or shorts.

GANGEL (voice-over): In most sports, that made her look and feel different. Then one day while sitting at a stop light with her mom, she saw something that would change her life forever. MUHAMMAD: They had on long pants, they had on long jackets, and they

had these masks on. And I clearly remember my mom saying, "I have no idea what that is but when you get to high school, I want you to try it out."

GANGEL (voice-over): She did, with huge success.

MUHAMMAD: It was the first time in my athletic career that I could remember being seen solely for my skillset.

GANGEL (voice-over): Muhammad went on to compete at Duke, a three time All American. And win gold as part of team USA in the 2014 World Fencing Championships. But she couldn't change how people looked at her off the fencing strip.

GANGEL: When you walk down the street, when you travel, when you go through TSA, what is your reality?

MUHAMMAD: Nightmare. I mean, TSA is a nightmare. I'm sure it's a nightmare for everyone. Always randomly selected for a special search, always.

GANGEL: Always randomly ...

MUHAMMAD: Always randomly selected for like, special screening. And when you travel as much as I do as an athlete, that can be frustrating.

GANGEL (voice-over): The current political environment also frustrates Muhammad. Driving her to do something most Olympic athletes usually avoid. Talking politics. Specifically, she's taken on Republican Presidential Nominee, Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANGEL (voice-over): Starting with his call in December for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., tweeting "friends don't let friends fight (ph) Trump."

GANGEL: I say the words, "Donald Trump," and you say? What do you say?

MUHAMMAD: Where do you start?

GANGEL: Do you think he's dangerous?

MUHAMMAD: I think that his words are very dangerous. When these type of comments are made no one thinks about how they really affect people. I'm African American, I don't have another home to go to. My family was born here, I was born here. We've -- I've grown up in Jersey, all my family's from Jersey. It's like, well where do we go?

I'm hopeful that in my efforts to represent our country well as an athlete, that they change the rhetoric around how people think and perceive the Muslim community.

GANGEL (voice-over): That's one of the reasons she was invited to the Islamic Center of Baltimore this year for President Obama's visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told her to bring home the gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUHAMMAD: We don't have ...

GANGEL (voice-over): And much to her surprise, being different has now made her one of the celebrities of the U.S. Olympic team. With a stream of profiles, photo shoots, and lucrative endorsements.

MUHAMMAD: I'm solely focusing on just preparation.

GANGEL: Train, train, train.

MUHAMMAD: Train, train, train, yes.

GANGEL (voice-over): And hopefully, gold.

MUHAMMAD: I always say that if I'm blessed to win a medal this summer that it will be icing on the cake.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:52:50]

COSTELLO: CNN's Jamie Gangel joins me now. She's impressive.

GANGEL: She is very impressive. And you know what? Words do matter. When she walks down the street, people yell at her. Sometimes people follow her. She's been scared. It's really rough. I think it's very nice, thought, for young girls coming up. When she was growing up there were no role models like her at the Olympics. Now there will be one.

COSTELLO: Anushay Hossain was on my show yesterday. And she talked about the Khan family being the role model the nation needs to project Muslims in the fashion that they ought to. Does she feel the same?

GANGEL: So we did this interview a while back. She is in Rio right now. And we reached out to her about the Khan family and she doesn't want to comment on it now. She's getting ready to compete in just a couple of days. But from everything she said when we talked to her, I can't image that she wouldn't feel this way.

And she thought, look, athletes do not like to go public and talk about politics in a time like this. So I think that by saying these things, and doing these interviews, she's really hoping that whether it's her story or the Khan family's story, that it will put a face to Muslim Americans.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much, Jamie.

GANGEL: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:58:15]

COSTELLO: A word about sexual harassment on the job. Donald Trump said he hoped his daughter, Ivanka, would find another career or company if she were sexually harassed. Trump's son Eric piled on when he said his sister was strong and powerful, and would never allow herself to be harassed.

Well as a strong and powerful woman who was sexually harassed in my 20s, I see that's not true. Anyone could be harassed. I wish I could've left my job but frankly, at the time, I needed the money and I loved my job. It's also scary to report abuse. I feared being blackballed in my field. That's why I did not report it. Ivanka Trump did try to clarify her father's remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: I think it's -- sexual harassment is inexcusable in any setting. I think harassment in general, regardless, sexual or otherwise, is totally inexcusable. And if it transpires it needs to be reported. And it needs to be dealt with on a company level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Thanks for trying, Ivanka. Powerful voices are so important. And again, a shout-out to Gretchen Carlson. You're one courageous lady.

Thank you so much for joining me today, I'm Carol Costello. AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan, right now.