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Trump Makes Play For Party Unity After Rough Week; Trump to Unveil Economic Plan Monday; Officers Charged Ready to Tell Their Side of Story; Obama: Trump Unfit to Be Commander-in-Chief; Brazilians Delay Parenthood on Zika Fears; Florida Critical Battleground State. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired August 06, 2016 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:59:56] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. So glad you are with us. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We begin with politics. And after a week long standoff, Donald Trump's icy relationship with GOP leaders appears to be thawing to some degree. The latest truce forged just last night became breaking news as Trump ended weeks of speculation by coming out and endorsing House Speaker Paul Ryan and other high-profile members of his own party after he said earlier this week he wasn't quite there yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Moments later, Donald Trump also publicly backed Republican senators John McCain and Kelly Ayotte. Both are in pretty tough battles to hold on to their respective Senate seat, both have found themselves at odds with their presidential candidate this week. Along with those endorsements, Trump also scheduled a campaign stop in New Hampshire. He is set to speak there in just a few hours. The reason for that stop, it could be this.
Brand-new polling out of the granite state shows Trump behind Hillary Clinton by 15 points. The nationwide poll know better for Trump. It shows him falling 15 points behind Hillary Clinton.
Joining me to talk about the week that was and what's ahead and a pretty sudden about-face we've seen from Trump. I'm joined by my panel, CNN political commentator, Washington correspondent for The New Yorker Ryan Lizza, Democratic strategist and Hillary Clinton supporter Maria Cardona and a former Regan White House political director and Trump supporter Jeffrey Lord. Thank you so much, guys. I appreciate it.
JEFFREY LORD, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Hello, Poppy.
MARIA CARDONA, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Thanks, Poppy.
RYAN LIZZA, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORKER": Thanks, Poppy.
HARLOW: Hey, Ryan, to be a fly on the wall in whatever meeting I surmise Donald Trump had on Thursday night that made him come out and tweet Friday morning that he was wrong about that video he said existed of seeing the money come off the plain in Iran to, frankly, then coming out last night and endorsing McCain, Ryan, and Senator Ayotte, what do you think happened in that room if that meeting did take place?
LIZZA: I mean having watched the campaign for a year now, I mean it's just been mesmerizing to watch Donald Trump suddenly respond to traditional political pressure and act a little bit like the head of the Republican Party, not someone who is just off on his own and completely unwilling to bend to the will of the Republican establishment. Look, I think in this case, on Paul Ryan, he is more ideologically in line with Paul Ryan's opponent in that primary than he is with Paul Ryan. I think that has gotten a little bit lost in this.
HARLOW: Right.
LIZZA: But when you are the nominee of the party, you don't buck the Speaker of the House, the guy who if you are president is going to be sheparding your agenda through the House. And look, as others have pointed out, that district where Ryan is, if Trump has any chance of winning Wisconsin, that district is really important as well. So this is the first time in a year, I really can't think of a bigger episode where Trump is listening to the party leadership, acting a little bit more like a traditional Republican, and bending to the will of the establishment.
HARLOW: Jeffrey Lord, to you, as a staunch Trump supporter, look, in the past few weeks we have now had three of the past four CIA directors come out and say that Donald Trump not only are they not supporting him, they are saying that he would be dangerous for this country. I mean most recently you had Mike Morell come out and say, he would quote, "pose a threat to our national security." You have also got Hayden, who is a director under George W. Bush coming out and distancing himself from Trump. What does your candidate do about that? Are you concerned about that?
LORD: No I'm not concerned about it, Poppy.
HARLOW: Why.
LORD: I'll tell you why. These are establishment figures and this is the big gripe with the American people, that all these people in a sort of bipartisan fashion are all carrying the same water. They've all been responsible for the mistakes. In the case of the CIA, where we are today in terms of the shape of the world, whether it's Secretary Clinton or some of the CIA directors, they are all part and parcel of the same thing.
So when they come out they are talking to each other. When somebody writes an op-ed in the New York Times they are not talking to the vast majority of the American people. They're talking to a handful of intellectual and policy elites in New York and Washington and that's what they are doing.
HARLOW: But at the same time, I mean, look, we are not talking about all Democrats here.
CARDONA: Right.
HARLOW: You know, when you look at Haden, he was under Bush, et cetera. I mean, they are not mincing their words when they talk about their concern about Donald Trump in terms of the safety of this country. Doesn't concern you at all?
LORD: Well, I mean the safety of this country is in peril right now. And they are in charge, or have been in charge. So, you know, and let me just say one other thing in terms of these posers. The Reuter's poll out Friday night that has him behind by only three points now. So, I think things will change. I was with Donald Trump on Monday evening here in Pennsylvania a few miles from my home at a local high school. He was in good form. He stayed on message. And I can assure you the place was filled to the rafters and there were thousands outside trying to get in that couldn't get in. And their passion was pretty strong here. The enthusiasm for him is running strong.
[17:05:21] HARLOW: Yes. We saw obviously a lot of enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders as well.
CARDONA: Yes.
HARLOW: But it doesn't always translate into numbers.
CARDONA: That's right.
HARLOW: But Maria, Cardona, I know you and your team if you will of Clinton supporters like these poll numbers. However she is still bogged down in the e-mail issue. She comes out late this week late in the week, she says, well, you know, all this back and forth over the e-mails I guess I could have short circuited in the way that I answered the question. I mean, the Washington Post gave her four Pinocchios, think she was cherry-picking facts by saying that everything she said was truthful when in fact the FBI Director James Comey said what she said to the FBI was truthful --
CARDONA: Right.
HARLOW: -- but he testified July 7th that some of what she said to the American people was not truthful about her e-mails. Why does she continue to be hampered by this? And why not come out more directly to the public that clearly has a trust issue with her?
CARDONA: I do think she should come out more clearly and pick actually the words that Comey did say. And this is exactly what she tried to do Friday in terms of clarifying her comments. He said a couple things that were really important. The first one is that they have absolutely no evidence that she lied to the FBI. And the second thing is in his Congressional testimony he said that those three e- mails that he talked about, those three out of 30,000 e-mails that he says were classified, after questioning from Democrats, he came out and admitted that those classification markings were so poorly done that even somebody that specializes in classifying material could have overlooked those. And so, in essence, he did not expect Secretary Clinton to know that those were classified.
HARLOW: Well, he also said she was quote, "extremely careless." He said extremely careless, too.
CARDONA: In that context, well, that's right, he said that in his press conference. But again, if we are going to talk about what he said, he said that somebody specializing in classification material would not be expected to even know that those three e-mails were classified.
HARLOW: He also said that she should have known that an unclassified, you know, that that was not the appropriate system for those conversations.
CARDONA: A State.Gov e-mail wouldn't have been an appropriate system for classified material anyway, Poppy. So that goes back to the whole issue of classification in the U.S. government needs to be fully redone because it is a bureaucratic mess. It is an interagency fight most of the time, which is a big reason why this whole issue has become a big issue to begin with.
HARLOW: All right.
CARDONA: But again, this is the weeds. And what I think she needs to do is to focus on her apology, she understands that having a private server was not the right thing to do. She has apologized and has taken responsibility for it and moving forward focus on her message of national security which right now she beats Donald Trump.
HARLOW: I have to jump in. Ryan Lizza, I have 30 seconds to you. My question to you is the American people care about these emails as much as we talked about them because her camp says they don't but people have an honest and trustworthy issue with her. Which is it?
LIZZA: I think people care about. I mean, it is a serious issue, it's a major mistake she made as secretary of state. And I think Comey's presentation, you know, for anyone that was skeptical about how serious this was, I think the fact that the FBI spent that long investigating it shows how serious it was. But as a candidate she is blessed with Donald Trump, who has had two weeks of self-inflicted wounds. I mean, sometimes you wonder just why doesn't Hillary Clinton spend the month of August at the beach or some other fabulous place and just let Trump do his thing? Because he has had such a tough week. And it reminds you that any other -- more traditional Republican candidate might be having a much closer race with Clinton at this point.
HARLOW: Ryan, Jeffrey, Maria, thank you so much. Nice of you to be on. Spirited debate this Saturday evening.
LORD: Thanks, Poppy.
HARLOW: Thank you very much. CARDONA: Thank you.
HARLOW: All right. Well, Donald Trump says his business know-how will make America great again. Next, live here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I will speak with a campaign adviser to Donald Trump.
Also the CEO of a major corporation and we'll talk about whether he is the man for the job. That's straight ahead.
Also, the current president not holding back. President Obama calling Donald Trump unfit to serve, among other things. We will debate that.
And we'll take you to Florida. A pivotal state once again, in this election, like so many in the past. This one no different. What will it take to win the sunshine state?
You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:13:12] HARLOW: Welcome back. Donald Trump is set to unveil his economic plan on Monday in Detroit. And job creation is expected to be a major part of the Republican presidential candidate's plan. According to the Trump camp, it focuses on quote, "Empowering Americans by freeing up the necessary tools for everyone to gain economically." Let's talk about this with CKE Restaurant CEO Andrew Puzder, he is Trump campaign adviser. His company operates thousands of fast-food restaurants including Carlos Jr. and Hardies among others. He also co-wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, "Puzder: The Trump economy beats Clinton." Thank you so much for being here.
ANDREW PUZDER, CAMPAIGN ADVISOR TO DONALD TRUMP: Great to be here, Poppy, thank you.
HARLOW: Of course. As we look ahead to Donald Trump making the speech at the Detroit Economic Club, he has said, I am going to be the greatest job president this country has ever seen. Look, you lead a big, big company. What's the number one thing he can do policy wise to achieve that.
PUZDER: Well, you need to generate economic growth. They have had very, very miserable economic growth since the recovery ended.
HARLOW: Right.
PUZDER: And the way you do that is by having tax policies -- he wants to lower taxes on incomes and on capital gains which will encourage investment. Hillary Clinton's tax plan wants to tax wealth and therefore discourage capital investment. He has got a regulatory plan where he wants to eliminate a lot of the burdensome regulations that have been drawing the American businesses down over the past seven years. Hillary Clinton every problem she sees, she sees regulation as a solution.
And he wants to release our energy resources and have a policy that's more oriented towards growth and using our energy resources rather than Hillary Clinton's energy policy, which is directed towards climate change. So everything with Trump will be directed towards growth and towards eliminating income inequality, you know, increasing wages, creating jobs, opening paths through the middle class all through the one thing that can do all of that which is economic growth.
HARLOW: So, let's talk about, you talk about increasing wages. What is really fascinating to me in this election when it comes down to the jobs and the economy both of the front-runner, Clinton and Trump both want to raise the federal minimum wage. Trump says $10 an hour. Clinton says $15 an hour as a base. You operate thousands of fast foods, quick service restaurants, Carl's Jr., Hardies, do employ a lot of these people that make at or just above minimum wage. Do you agree? Should all of your employees make at least $10 an hour?
PUZDER: Well, first of all, the minimum wage argument addresses the wrong problem. Let me answer your question first up.
HARLOW: Can you just answer --
PUZDER: Let me answer -- let me answer your question, first. I think that the minimum wage should be raised to the point where it doesn't eliminate a substantial number of jobs. Now the Congressional Budget Office two years ago said that at $9 an hour you would eliminate about 100,000 jobs. And at $10 you would eliminate about half a million of jobs. Half a million job is too many. But that was two years ago so that the $10 an hour number may not be unreasonable at this point. I don't think Trump has come out with his economic policy that confirms that that $10 number, I know he did say it.
HARLOW: He said to Bill O'Reilly on FOX News.
PUZDER: I know he did. I remember that. But let's see where it comes out in the plan, that's number one. Number two, you can raise it to the point where it doesn't kill jobs and that's fine. If you are raising to the point where it kills job, then you're discouraging not only economic growth which were killing those jobs for entry level employees for those young Americans where the unemployment rate is so high.
If you make the cost of employing them more expensive, employers will employ fewer of them. What we need to get wages up isn't an increase in the minimum wage, it's economic growth that creates jobs. So instead of employees competing with employees with jobs you have employers competing four employees, because they need them for the jobs. That will drive wages up.
HARLOW: On the wage question, it sounds like you are on the fence. If you do think that all the employees at your restaurant should make $10 an hour or more. If they did, what would that do to your business?
PUZDER: Well, in California, where we own the majority of our restaurants, the minimum wage is $10 an hour. And I can tell you it has had a material impact not only on our company but on our franchisees and our competitors. It raises labor costs which you can only offset by increasing prices, hiring fewer people or automating and all you have to do is this. And not just our restaurants. Visit even the casual dining restaurants and you will see the indications of that. You will see automation. You will order on a screen. You won't talk to an employee. So, when you discourage people from hiring by increasing the costs of employing people, you are going to drive down the number of jobs. So, that's the fear.
HARLOW: So, let me ask you this, Donald Trump has come out in his plan, he already said that he wants the corporate tax rate to come down to 15 percent.
PUZDER: Right.
HARLOW: At the same time, he has said, and he said this to The Washington Post, that if he is president in eight years, he could eliminate the $19 trillion national debt. How do you square those numbers? You decrease corporate taxes that much, but then also say that you can eliminate the $19 trillion national debt, which every economist I've talked to said is not possible. How do you square the numbers as a chief executive?
[17:18:25] PUZDER: Well, I think you will hear a lot more about that on Monday when he gives his speech and releases his economic plan. But the idea with reducing the corporate income tax to 15 percent is two things. Number one, it would really spur growth in this country. And as you know when you spur growth, tax revenues go up. Number two it would encourage companies that are sending or keeping cash overseas to bring that cash back to the United States which would further lead to growth.
And there is about $2 trillion overseas. So, if you can encourage companies to bring that back with a lower tax rate rather than what we have now which is the world's highest tax rate, go down to 15 percent, which is below the 20 percent average they can bring that money back and generate growth. And as you know, Art Lampreys Curve shows that even with lower cash rates you may generate more income.
HARLOW: Sure. But I mean, you are not only a CEO who is supporting Trump. You are adviser to his campaign. I mean, can you square the numbers or find one economist who says that as the President you can actually come in and make enough cuts and make it work to eliminate $19 trillion in debt.
PUZDER: Well, I don't know if I could find an economist who would say that I know there are very good economists working with Mr. Trump on this plan including Steve Moore and Larry Kudlow and Art Laffer. And I have every confidence that they are going to come up with a plan on Monday where we would increase the debt substantially less than it currently is.
HARLOW: Is it possible?
PUZDER: Well, I think he is going to have to make changes to his tax plan so that he doesn't increase the debt materially. And I think you will probably see that on Monday. I think that's one of the big elements with this, you know, this second version of the tax plan.
HARLOW: We will be listening on Monday for sure in Detroit. Hey, before I let you go. Yesterday Donald Trump comes out and he announces his entire economic time team of advisors. It's 13 people. Six, five of them, five of them are named Steve. There is no women. Why?
PUZDER: I have absolutely no idea. I wasn't consulted on who would be on the team. I know there are other advisors such as myself that aren't listed on the team. And you would have to talk to somebody from the campaign. I know he is looking for the best people he can find and I don't think it has anything to do with your sex, your race, or your religion. I think he is just out there trying to find the best people.
HARLOW: Do you think there should be some women added to the team? Diversity of thought.
PUZDER: I don't have any problem with women being added to the team. I don't have a particular woman in mind that I would have to the team. But it's not my decision. And I'm sure there are women in the list. I know there are women advisers. The number one adviser to the campaign is Ivanka.
HARLOW: That's true but she is not on this list of 13 economic advisors. Do you have a problem with no woman being included as an official economic advisor to Donald Trump when there are 13 listed?
PUZDER: I'm not going to comment on what the make-up of that list should or shouldn't have been. I'm not on the list and I wasn't consulted about who would be on the list. You need to talk to somebody from the campaign who put it together, I'm sure they'd have a very good explanation. I don't have one.
HARLOW: I ask just because you are a CEO who advising the team. So, we'll see if that changes. And we'll listen on Monday in Detroit.
Andy Puzder, thank you so much.
PUZDER: OK. Thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: After the break, claims that the Baltimore state's attorney had an agenda in going after police in the death of Freddie Gray. You remember that case. Look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The goal is to get to the truth. She wasn't interested in the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: What some of the officers who had been charged in the case are now saying, and what the state's attorney has maintained from the beginning?
Jean Casarez reports straight ahead live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:25:39] HARLOW: In Baltimore, a second prosecutor who had been set to try the remaining officers in the case over the death of Freddie Gray left the Baltimore state's attorney's office this week. Both prosecutors who left had cited concerns about the case against those six officers. Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby dropped the remaining charges last week and the resignations of these two prosecutors come as some of the officers charged in that case are now sitting down and telling their side of the story to our Jean Casarez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April 2015, drone surveillance footage just released by the FBI shows the city of Baltimore up in flames days after the death of Freddie Gray. Now with acquittals of some officers charged in connection with Gray's death remaining charges dismissed by Judge Barry Williams and the gag order lifted defense attorneys for some of the officers are ready to talk and believe this prosecution was politically motivated by State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
MARC ZAYON, ATTORNEY FOR EDWARD NERO: I am a former prosecutor myself. And the goal is to get to the truth. She wasn't interested in the truth.
CASAREZ: But Mosby says the truth was what she thought for from the very beginning saying police never even had the probable cause to arrest Gray.
MARILYN MOSBY, BALTIMORE STATE'S ATTORNEY: The knife was not switch blade and is lawful under Maryland law.
CASAREZ: Defense attorneys say they listened to that press conference last year, and their own investigation was telling them something very different.
MICHAEL BELKSY, ATTORNEY FOR LT. BRIAN WHITE: We began to understand that various people had told the state's attorneys that this knife was an illegal knife. In a statement of probable cause that Ms. Mosby read on the steps of the memorial plaza and she said that the knife was legal, we knew that was in contest with the very things the state Attorney's office was told by the people who are investigating this case. And that raised a red big flag to us.
CASAREZ: We reached out to the State Attorney's office on this serious allegation. Their office told us they are commenting. While attorneys were dealing with those issues, their clients were facing personal attacks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I can tell you, walking the court, people would scream killer cops out their windows, people yelling at us, yelling at him. That being said he obviously wants to continue policing in Baltimore City and he is hopeful that he can get back on the street and do the job that he loves. CASAREZ: The Attorney Grievance Committee will not comment but CNN
has confirmed at least one complaint has been filed against State Attorney Marilyn Mosby asking for her disbarment. Still, Mosby said in a recent press conference, her office remains committed to the charges she brought against the officers and to seeking justice in Baltimore.
MOSBY: We fight each and every day to ensure that perpetrators of crime see their day in court and our held accountable.
CASAREZ: Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Jean, thank you very much for that.
Coming up, President Obama did something this week sitting presidents don't usually do during a campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. He keeps on proving it. He's woefully unprepared to do the job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:32:17] HARLOW: Right now, President Obama and his family are spending their summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard. Before leaving, the president had some words about Donald Trump this week in that press conference Thursday, calling him unfit to serve as commander-in- chief, and making it clear which candidate he is backing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Just listen to what Mr. Trump has today and make your own judgment with respect to how confident you feel about his ability to manage things like our nuclear Triad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: According to a new FOX News poll, when it comes to temperament, President Obama is not alone in those feelings. Look at this. People were asked who has the temperament to be president, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. 64 percent said Clinton does. 37 percent believe the same of Donald Trump.
Let's look at the historical context.
Julian Zelizer, a professor of history at Princeton and a CNN contributor.
That entire press conference, the president really laid into Donald Trump talking about being unfit, his inability to handle the nuclear codes, laughing off Trump's remarks that the election is rigged. When have we seen in history a sitting president so vocally go after the opposing party's candidate?
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Not in modern times. There are moments when presidents step in and support the candidate who is George W. Bush said with McCain in 2008 he will protect the nation against threats in an effective way, implying that Obama wouldn't. But we haven't heard a president call the opponent unfit, unable to handle the job. These are tough words coming from the president.
HARLOW: Obviously, that's part of his effort to get Hillary Clinton elected, right? So it's about that. But isn't it also about his own legacy, and who follows him?
ZELIZER: Absolutely. It's much more than Hillary Clinton.
HARLOW: Yeah.
ZELIZER: Part is he thinks there is a risk to all the things he is thinks he achieved in domestic and foreign policy both from Republicans in Congress but obviously from Donald Trump. Part is different. I think he believes Trump is playing to some of the worst sentiment in the electorate on issues like race and immigration, and that's the antithesis of what he was about.
HARLOW: But it also plays into his presidency, right, and the state of the American electorate right now, and why that is working for Trump with so many voters and how they feel.
ZELIZER: Absolutely. In two ways. One is how they feel about these kinds of social issues. But the other is about the economy. And this is something other presidents have faced and will face that even when we have economic growth there is a lot of unrest and anxiety in the electorate. That's what Trump is tapping into.
[17:35:09] HARLOW: Whenever there is a political or presidential transition, you have often the candidate, you know, from another party walking into the White House and they have what is supposed to be a cordial handoff. There is the constitutional duty for the handoff. What can you imagine that looking like if Donald Trump is elected? And what historically have we seen in terms of opponents then becoming friends after their terms?
ZELIZER: Well, usually they do it. There is some level of civility. There hasn't been any rough moment in these kinds of transitions. And I think President Obama, who is very polished in front of the cameras, would do what is necessary. I don't know what Donald Trump would do in that kind of situation. But at this point, I think the Democrats are hoping they don't reach that point.
HARLOW: So, David Axelrod said something that struck me on "New Day" this week on our morning show. He said, "If Donald Trump were trying to lose this election, and I'm not saying he is, but if he were, I'm not sure he would behave any differently than he has in the last few days." He said, "This is something we've never seen before." What do you make of those comments? ZELIZER: Well we've seen candidates do poorly. Barry Goldwater in
1964 ran a terrible campaign and said things like telling older people that Social Security is a bad policy but no one could believe he was actually doing. But Donald Trump has taken it to a new level. What we have seen in the past week, including his war on the Republicans, seems to be he's subverting his own chances of winning.
HARLOW: He's really turned the corner, though. He came out last night, endorsed Paul Ryan, Kelly Ayotte, John McCain. He tweeted that he was wrong about the Iran payment video.
ZELIZER: Well, he did. We'll see if that lasts. That was a moment in a long week. The question with him isn't can he have moments like that. He has had moments where he contains himself but can he sustain that formal scripted civil attitude? I'm not sure. I don't think a lot of Republicans are confident with these endorsements that this is a new Donald Trump.
HARLOW: Julian Zelizer, nice to have you on. Thank you so much.
ZELIZER: Thank you.
HARLOW: We appreciate it.
Coming up, President Obama's campaign had the winning formula in Florida for the last two elections, but can he deliver those votes for Hillary Clinton? A victory in the Sunshine State is critical. We'll talk about it, next.
You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:41:09] HARLOW: Well, some couples in Brazil are choosing to delay starting a family due their concerns over the Zika Virus. They are worried about the possibility of devastating birth defects. At the Olympics in Rio, some athletes are skipping the games entirely because of Zika while Brazilians are taking their own precautions.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reports from Rio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All across Salvador, Brazil, rooms sit empty like this one, no sign of the child this woman hoped to have.
(on camera): Is it tough to see this room empty?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(SINGING)
GUPTA (voice-over): They were high school sweethearts and children were always part of the plan. But late last year, Ana and Roberto decided the time was finally right. ANA CASSA MIRANDA, FROZE EMBRYOS BECAUSE OF ZIKA (through
translation): We were planning to get pregnant this year but because of Zika we decided to wait more. There isn't much we can do about it.
GUPTA: When a link between Zika and birth defects became clearer, the Brazilian government gave a stern and heart-breaking warning, don't get pregnant.
(on camera): These are the tanks?
DR. GENEVIEVE CUELLO (ph), FERTILITY DOCTOR: The eggs in the tanks that we keep the embryos, the eggs and the semen.
GUPTA: So Ana's embryos are in one of these tanks?
CUELLO (ph): Yes.
GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Genevieve Cuello (ph) has been a fertility doctor in Salvador for 10 years. She first saw Ana a year ago for help with fertility but then Zika started to spread.
CUELLO (ph): I suggested freeze your embryos and later when there is a solution or a light at the end of the tunnel with all these things with the subsidy of the virus you can decide.
GUPTA: At a cost of $8,000 this is not an option for most of the population here where the average income is just a few hundred dollars a month and many don't have access to birth control.
For most people like Bruno and Vanessa, delaying is the only option. For the time being, they are also living with an empty room.
(on camera): How long will you wait? What's next for you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We hope with all the research it gets better in two or three years.
GUPTA: Two or three years? You can wait that long?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I will try. It has been really hard.
GUPTA (voice-over): It is difficult to imagine entire towns, even countries with hardly any new babies for two years, hard to imagine the loss economically, socially, culturally, no babies crying or laughing.
In the meantime, rooms will stay empty, even as names are already chosen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): The child isn't born but she already has a name. The girl is going to be named Valenina.
GUPTA (on camera): Do you have names picked out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John, John. GUPTA: You are confident you will have a baby one day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I'm so sure. I'm really confident this home will have three people in here instead of two. It's just a matter of time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Poppy, this was an emotional story. As you might imagine, you are a new mom yourself. Some of the things that we showed there, again, in term of the planning, the options that some people have, that is not available to the vast majority of people here in Brazil, in large, part because of cost. It's going to be a certain amount of time to come but that's a little bit of a glimpse into what is life like I think for these new couples.
HARLOW: Really, unimaginable. And everyone can just -- it's hard to imagine being able to put yourself in those family's shoes, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Yeah.
HARLOW: The president -- President Obama, on Thursday, came out and really went after lawmakers for taking a vacation before approving funding for a vaccine. Where are we on the funding fight for a vaccine and just on the science behind it?
[17:45:04] GUPTA: Yeah. And I will just say that now that we are starting to see these cases in Florida, as with what happened with Ebola, suddenly, it does start to capture people's attention. I think we will see that happen again with Zika.
Here's the thing with the vaccines. There's is a lot of people who want to make that happen in the public world, private world, all these various partnership. And there are things that have shown significant promise in animal models, even in what are called non-primate humans, animal, gorilla models. But even if you have that, you have got to test it, prove it's safe in humans and prove it's effective in humans. That takes time. There is no two ways about it. You can't cheat the science. You are still talking about 18 months to two years, likely not in time for this epidemic. But if this happens again, hopefully, we can be right hand.
HARLOW: Sanjay Gupta, for us in Rio tonight. Sanjay, thank so much.
GUPTA: You've got it, Poppy. Thank you.
HARLOW: We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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HARLOW: The Sunshine State, critical in this election, just as it has been in so many elections past. Florida awarded its electoral votes to the winner in every election for president since 1992, including the 2000 cliffhanger when the margin of victory was just 537 votes out of nearly six million in deciding the entire presidency. Again, this year, Florida stands out as a make-or-break state for both candidates. Marc Caputo joins me live from Miami, the Florida political reporter for "Politico."
Nice to be with you, Marc. Thanks for joining us.
[17:50:19] MARC CAPUTO, FLORIDA POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO: Good to see you again. How are you?
HARLOW: Good, thanks.
This new poll, Suffolk University poll, it shows Clinton leading Trump, 48, 42, among likely voters in Florida. For Trump to turn that around, what do voters that you talk to on the ground there want to hear? Because you've noted, look, Trump did well in Florida in the primary, but it's a closed primary, and it's very different in a general, not to mention what you see as sort of a lack of organization among the Trump camp on the ground there.
CAPUTO: Right. Florida voters really reflect the nation. We're kind of a mini nation. And I think what you hear from Florida voters here is what you're hearing everywhere. Donald Trump kind of needs to start getting the message and staying on the message, seems to be doing well when he talks about jobs. Problem is he's not talking about jobs. The poll you just referenced is interesting in that it was only a 500-hundred person sample poll. We have a significant African-American and Hispanic community here. 15 percent of the electorate is Hispanic. That poll undoubtedly under sampled Hispanics. And if you look at most surveys, including some recent ones, Donald Trump is getting slaughtered among Hispanics in Florida. And he's also doing very badly among African-Americans. If that trend holds, he's got a real uphill climb in the state.
HARLOW: So there's also been some fascinating reporting out about some of the wealthier, more gated communities in Florida that have been a huge boon to Trump, a huge asset to Trump. I think the question becomes to what extent and how can it counter what you said is a weakness among those minority voters.
CAPUTO: Right. If Donald Trump manages to boost non-Hispanic white turnout to kind of in historic levels in light of recent elections and if African-American and Hispanic turnout falls, yeah, he's got a much easier shot. The thing is, when you look at all those polls, national polls, he's not doing well among non-Hispanic white voters, as well as he should. So ease oozing all of his margins, black, brown, white. And eventually his campaign will have to start acting like a campaign, getting on the ground and reaching out to voters. It's doing that a little bit. But I got an e-mail today. The Hillary Clinton campaign has five events in different cities through Florida where they are registering voters. They are really taking the election seriously. They know, if you kill Donald Trump, you kill the Republicans in Florida, you basically kill his chances for the White House.
HARLOW: But the question becomes, to what extent, right, Marc, Hillary Clinton can bring out the quote, unquote, Obama coalition, right? The minority vote, the young vote, the female vote. To how much -- to how great of an extent she can excite that group to actually get to the polls. Because it's not just enough for Clinton -- or for Trump not to do well. She also has a responsibility on that front, as well.
CAPUTO: Again, I totally agree. She's doing the things she needs to do as far as registering voters, adding voters to the roles. You contact them, get to know who they are, they're easier to get to the polls. One of the interesting things President Obama said at the convention, he said to his coalition, his voters, we need to carry Hillary Clinton to the White House. That's true. But President Obama needs to carry his coalition to Hillary Clinton to get them to carry her to the White House. So the more Obama you see here, the more you see him doing outreach, the more it's going to answer those questions that you're raising.
HARLOW: And when Floridians were asked to rank the most important issues to them in this race, they say terrorism and national security. So it's not necessarily an economic argument as much for them at the top of their list. And we've seen in the polling that Donald Trump does better at least when asked who is best to combat ISIS. Does he have some strength there that he can play on?
CAPUTO: Oh, yes. I mean, Donald Trump has strengths in Florida. He wouldn't have decimated Marco Rubio, the sitting United States Senator, in his primary and won 66 of 67 counties if he didn't have a following in strengths. But if you look at other surveys, Hillary Clinton is winning by a double-digit margin among people no say who would you trust more with nuclear weapons. So when you factor in things like temperament, something Democrats are getting Donald Trump on, that where he gets in greater trouble.
HARLOW: We saw him falling far behind Clinton in terms of the temperament question nationwide in the FOX News poll. She almost doubled his numbers on that.
Marc, nice to have you on. Thank you so much.
CAPUTO: Thank you for having me.
HARLOW: Next hour, we're going to take you to Ohio, the battle for Ohio, the state that very likely could seal the deal for either candidate in this election. It is a must-win for any Republican seeking the White House, at leas that's what history teaches us. To Ohio, live, in the CNN NEWSROOM next hour.
[17:54:57] Also, tomorrow night, you won't want to miss this. How did the notorious drug lord, Joaquin Guzman el Chapo, evade authorities so many times? Our Chris Cuomo takes us inside his hideout. CNN's special report, "Got Shorty: Inside the Chase for El Chapo," tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. eastern, only right here.
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HARLOW: Finally this hour, sports as a saving grace. Scotsman, Davy Duke, struggled with alcoholism and homelessness after his father died but soccer helped him get his life back and now he's committed to helping others on and off the field. We want you to meet this week's "CNN Hero."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVY DUKE, CNN HERO: When you're homeless, you lose more than just the roof over your head. You lose your dignity, your self esteem. You isolate yourself. Football gives you a place where you belong. Confidence, fitness, friendships. I got my life back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right. You can go to CNNheroes.com to learn more about this story. While there, nominate your own "CNN Hero" of the year.
Top of the hour, 6:00 p.m. eastern, 3:00 out west. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow, in New York.
