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Donald Trump Faces New GOP Resistance; Debate Over Debate Schedules; Paul Ryan Faces Paul Nehlen in Wisconsin GOP Primary. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 09, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[09:00:01] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump tries to reboot.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to jumpstart America. It won't even be that hard.

COSTELLO: While more Republicans revolt. But if they're not with him --

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't let a friend vote Trump.

COSTELLO: Will they be with her?

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me. Donald Trump losing ground and desperately trying to find traction with a change of message. But even as the billionaire businessman pivots to a perceived strength, rejuvenating the economy, he faces another avalanche of defections. Dozens of fellow Republicans including a U.S. senator and national experts, say he is potentially too dangerous to earn their vote.

CNN's Jason Carroll is here with a closer look. Good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. You know, Trump says that that open letter is politically motivated. In that letter national security experts say that Donald Trump lacks the basic knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and U.S. laws.

Trump says he does have the right temperament to be president. But a number of people within his own party simply do not believe it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): Another prominent Republican coming out this morning against Donald Trump. Maine Senator Susan Collins penning an op-ed in the "Washington Post" explaining why she cannot vote for her party's nominee.

"I've become increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comment and his inability to admit error or apologize."

This as 50 Republican national security officials warning in an open letter that Trump is unqualified to be commander-in-chief. The experts, who served in Republican administrations from Nixon to George W. Bush, labeling Trump as dangerous, reckless and lacks the character, values and experience to be president.

MATTHEW WAXMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Our system has produced a candidate who is fundamentally unfit for office.

CARROLL: Trump firing back at those who signed the letter, calling them part of the failed Washington elite who made the world such a dangerous place.

TRUMP: I want to jumpstart America. And it can be done. And it won't even be that hard.

CARROLL: The GOP nominee unveiling a new economic plan Monday, hoping to reset his campaign after hitting a rough patch since the convention.

TRUMP: She is the candidate of the past. Ours is the campaign of the future.

CARROLL: Trump is revising his tax plan now, calling for three tax brackets with the highest rate being 33 percent for individuals and capping the corporate tax rate at 15 percent. And in an effort to appeal to working class voters, he hopes to make child care expenses deductible.

TRUMP: At the center of my plan is trade enforcement with China.

CARROLL: Trump once again called for renegotiating trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership.

TRUMP: A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for TPP.

CARROLL: Wrongly claiming that Hillary Clinton supports it.

CLINTON: He wants to basically just repackage trickledown economics.

CARROLL: Clinton slamming Trump's plan, saying there is little in there for the middle class.

CLINTON: Economists left, right, in the middle, all say the same thing, that Trump's policies would throw us into a recession. The last thing we need.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Trump's daughter Ivanka also attended that economic speech yesterday in Detroit. She spoke to the "Detroit Free Press" and came to her father's defense, saying that he does have the right temperament to be president. Clearly, though, a new poll seems to show otherwise. Poll just out today showing Clinton at 46 percent, Trump, there you see there, at 34 percent.

You know, Carol, Trump talked about needing to jumpstart the country, jumpstart America. It's very clear that he needs to do a little bit more to jumpstart his campaign.

COSTELLO: All right. Well, we're going to talk about that. Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

So let's talk. Jason Osborne is a Donald Trump supporter and a former strategist for the Ben Carson campaign and Brian Morgenstern is a Republican strategist.

Welcome to both of you.

OK. So I'd like both of you to take a look at all of the Republicans disavowing Trump. Put the picture up. Put the graphic up now. Put it up. We're looking for it. There's a lot of them. We know there's more than 50. We had this special graphic made. Here it comes. I'm building up the drama.

Anyway, you get the drift, Brian. So, you know, I ask you, what is happening to your party with so many Republican defections?

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, it's not a great position to be in, but it's in August. And so I suppose there's time to fix this, or you know, the rift within the party. We've seen so many people breaking off, though, over the course of this campaign in part because of the scorched earth primary campaign that Donald Trump ran where he, you know, sort of took no prisoners, and went after Ted Cruz's spouse.

[09:05:08] And now coming into the fall, you know, taking on the Khan family I think was not just wrong but politically, you know, miscalculated. So there have been a number of steps along the way that have cast doubt on Donald Trump's judgment. And so I think this is the result of those decisions. And he's got a heavy lift in the next few months to try to repair the damage.

COSTELLO: And, Jason, I didn't mean to make light of all of those Republican defections. But this is unprecedented. It is something we've never seen before. Why in your mind is this happening?

JASON OSBORNE, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, you know, I think Brian was right. I mean, we did have a very contentious primary. I mean, there were 17 candidates out there. And, you know, Trump was able to come in and beat them all.

I think what we're seeing right now is a number of people to Donald Trump's point that these are -- a lot of these are the Washington elite, that have relied on years and years of relationships with insiders here in Washington for contracts, et cetera. And so when they see a candidate like Donald Trump, who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in, and he may not speak in the language that they're used to, they get afraid. And so they're looking for, you know, what is -- the hope is that he

loses this fall so that they can then attach themselves to somebody in 2020 and come out and run again. And I think that's the wrong approach. I think we have to look at what is the fundamental difference between a Republican and a Democrat. And that is government is not the answer. Donald Trump yesterday said, you know, that we need to spur growth in our economy, whereas Hillary Clinton's approach is let's throw more government grants out there that don't create jobs.

COSTELLO: Well, here's the thing. Going back to the Republicans who are now disavowing Trump. Mr. Trump responded to these -- there were 50 national security officials. He responded to them in the usual way. You know, he's a counterpuncher, so he counterpunched. And this is his quote. He said, "These insiders along with Hillary Clinton are the owners of the disastrous decision to invade Iraq, allow Americans to die in Benghazi, and they're the ones who allowed the rise of ISIS."

So all of these prominent Republicans, Brian, they allowed Americans to die at Benghazi? They're the ones who allowed the rise of ISIS?

MORGENSTERN: Yes. You know, misdirected rage I think is probably one of the reasons why this letter was published in the first place. And during the primary where he essentially accused President George W. Bush of lying to get us into Iraq, that's not exactly going to be a coalition builder in terms of building the Republican coalition he needs to win in the fall, attacking, you know, your fellow party members and accusing them of things they didn't do probably isn't the best way to win their votes. I'm just guessing.

COSTELLO: Well, and Jason, you know, he was supposed to unify the party during the Republican convention, right? But it seems like he is just simply unable to unify the Republican Party. And frankly how can you win a presidential election without your own party?

OSBORNE: Well, you know, I disagree that he hasn't been able to unify the party. I mean, you're picking out --

COSTELLO: Really?

OSBORNE: You know, a small number of people given the vast number that vote in the election.

COSTELLO: It's not a small number of people. It's more than 50 people now.

OSBORNE: Right. But I think if you -- there have been stories out there of Democrats that are average people out there that aren't working in the government that have come out and said that they support Donald Trump now over Hillary Clinton because of what Hillary Clinton and her failed leadership as secretary of state.

You know, this is a woman that claim to -- when she was running for Senate that she would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in New York. And there has not been one job. In fact they've lost jobs in New York.

Here is a man that has created hundreds of thousands of jobs in the private sector. And I think as we move along, and we've got, you know, several months now before the election, that he is able to articulate what his tax policy is, what his trade policy is, what his energy policy is, and how he's going to make America stronger.

COSTELLO: But --

OSBORNE: Whereas Hillary wants to go back to a failed leadership.

COSTELLO: But here's -- here's the concerning thing. Here's the concerning thing. Hillary Clinton is picking up Republican voters as the "Washington Post" points out, quote, "The Democrats' outreach to Republican moderates during the DNC had an effect. 17 percent of Republicans plan to support Clinton after the Democratic convention."

So you would have to think with all of these prominent Republicans coming out, Brian, that that percentage will rise.

MORGENSTERN: Well, look, this is like an endorsement letter. I don't know how much effect it will actually have. But, you know, the Clinton campaign has been reaching out to Republicans. The unfortunate part that many Republicans, myself included, hope that the Trump campaign would try to do is to bring other Republicans along and stop giving them reasons to doubt his ability to be president. Stop being -- stop giving them reasons to doubt his judgment. Because the candidate on the other side just lied to the country in a series of statements about how she handled classified information.

[09:10:06] And that is a really important topic that Republican national security experts should be pouncing on instead of their own candidate. So if their own candidate stops giving them reasons to do that, maybe we'll see a different election going into the fall.

COSTELLO: OK. I have to leave it there. Jason Osborne, Brian Morgenstern, thanks to both of you.

In a little over six weeks Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will finally meet face to face as the first presidential debate takes place at Hofstra University on Long Island. And while Mr. Trump has railed against what he says is a rigged debate system, Mrs. Clinton is throwing down the gauntlet to her Republican rival.

CNN's Joe Johns has more on this for you this morning. He joins us from Washington. Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. The debate over the debates just getting started. As we all know, just a single moment or two in a debate can be critical to helping voters make their decisions.

Last night Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman went on the record in a statement, saying, "She plans to be there," appeared to be an attempt to challenge Trump to state his intentions. Donald Trump has grumbled publicly about the fact that two of the

three debates occur on night when there are NFL football games and suggested the games could reduce the television viewing audience. His campaign has asked for new dates. The RNC has said it supports Trump on that.

The Clinton camp's statement last night said, "Secretary Clinton looks forward to participating in all three presidential debates as scheduled by the Independent Debate Commission. With so much at stake in the fall election, she believes these debates will provide the American people with an important opportunity to hear from candidates on critical issues."

Now here's the critical part, I think. She said it's concerning that the Trump campaign is already engaged in , quote, "shenanigans" around these debates. Not clear if he's trying to avoid debates or just toying with the media to try to create more drama. And went on to say the only issue now is whether Donald Trump is going to show up at the dates and times and places that have already been set.

I think part of what's going on here really is that the Trump campaign essentially has accused Hillary Clinton of trying to game the system with the scheduling. Certainly the Clinton campaign denies that. The first one is supposed to be on September 26th -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. So we'll be watching. Joe Johns, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, House speaker versus Harley riding businessman. Paul Ryan's primary fight goes to the polls today. Will anti-establishment anger win?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:39] COSTELLO: It's turning out to be a primary to watch in Wisconsin. The House Speaker Paul Ryan facing off against businessman Paul Nehlen today. And despite anti-establishment anger, Ryan is heavily favored to win, this less than a week after that belated Trump endorsement.

CNN's Manu Raju is with voters in Janesville this morning.

Good morning, Manu.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Carol.

Now, remember, this is more Ted Cruz country than it is Donald Trump country. Back in the April presidential primary, this district voted overwhelmingly for Ted Cruz, which is one reason why Donald Trump perhaps belatedly turned around and endorsed Paul Ryan, knowing he needs to do well in the southern part of the state, in fact, Mike Pence, his running mate, will be in the Milwaukee area tomorrow as part of that effort to take back Wisconsin.

Now, in this primary for Ryan's house seat, Paul Nehlen would have to pull off an upset. He is heavily favored to win, Paul Ryan is, after spending a lot of time, money and effort in this district and just having the name recognition here, that Paul Nehlen simply does not.

But Paul Ryan's campaign views, his back and forth with Donald Trump is nothing more than a distraction. Yesterday, in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, he was asked by a voter about Donald Trump and whether or not Donald Trump could be removed from the ballot and Paul Ryan could jump in. Paul Ryan shrugged it off and said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Our party's different than the Democratic Party. They have what they call super delegates, where party leaders can sway the nomination.

Our party doesn't work like that. Our party is a pure grassroots party. So, the primary voter votes and the person who wins the most delegates bound to those primary votes wins the nomination fair and square. So, it's a grassroots decision.

And he won the votes fair and square. He won more votes than everybody else, enough delegates to get the nomination. And the convention occurred a couple of weeks ago where he got the nomination, so he is the nominee.

And that's how it works in our party. It's grassroots. He got 14 million votes. Nobody else got close to that. That's just the way the system works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Not the most resounding endorsement of Trump. That's kind of the way this relationship between Paul Ryan and Donald Trump has really played out. Paul Ryan after that whole back and forth has kept a low profile, had a couple of events yesterday, but did not talk to the media today or yesterday, and will talk to the press after the polls are called and presumably after he wins tonight.

So, we'll have a chance to talk to him then, and also, Carol, also voted by absentee. So, Paul Ryan keeping a low profile before he gets back on the campaign trail to try to save that House majority that is increasingly at risk if Donald Trump's standing continues to decline, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Manu Raju, stay right there.

I want to bring in CNN's Chris Moody. I want him to join the conversation now. Welcome Chris. Thanks.

So Chris, Donald Trump belatedly endorsed Paul Ryan. Does Ryan really care about Trump's endorsement?

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, I think this endorsement was a lot bigger than just his House reelection campaign. This is a national thing really. It goes back to early on when right here on CNN Paul Ryan would not endorse Donald Trump for preside and eventually came around.

[09:20:01] And then he did endorse him.

And then when Donald Trump had the opportunity, he said the very same thing, that he, quote, was it goes back to early on when right here yet.

And so, I think that move was something pre-meditated in order to humiliate Paul Ryan, at least for the short term. And that got people like Reince Priebus, the RNC chairman, and other people in Wisconsin and in the party to scramble to Donald Trump, including Mike Pence as well, his running made and say, hey, look, we have to get this party united and together, and we can't screw around anymore more basically.

And, of course, Donald Trump came and endorsed Paul Ryan. I don't think it would have made much of a difference in the House primary we're talking about today.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Manu, a recent "Vanity Fair" article, quote, "Paul Ryan can't win", argues even if Ryan wins his primary today, he runs the risk of losing the GOP. Do you agree with that?

RAJU: I'm not entirely sure about that. You know, the real concern for Paul Ryan and the Senate Republican majority is that if Donald Trump is underperforming significantly states, that they could lose the House and Senate majority.

One of the things I've been told by senior Republicans is that if Donald Trump is losing by ten points in battleground districts and battleground states, it's going to be hard for those incumbents to hang on. And what we're seeing in a lot of the polling is that he is down by eight, 10 points in states like New Hampshire and states like Michigan.

So, that is the real concern for Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. One reason why they're advising their candidates to try to run their own race, to try to distance themselves from Donald Trump as much as possible, if they need to do that. And also, to raise a lot of money and tell these donors, give money down ticket. That could be a safer bet.

So, we'll see what happens in the coming weeks, but that is where the big risk is for Republicans to have Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. At least what they're saying right now.

COSTELLO: Chris, clearly that the GOP members are confused to say the least. The never Trump Republicans are growing in number. Many say they will actually vote for Hillary Clinton.

Jason Taylor, a conservative blogger, is angry at the Republican chair Reince Priebus. He wrote earlier this week, "The RNC chairman and his colleagues don't need an autopsy for the 2016 election cycle. They need a pen to write their letters of resignation."

Do you think, Chris, that Reince Priebus is regretting his support for Donald Trump?

MOODY: I think it would be impossible to psychoanalyze Reince Priebus, especially in what has been an unprecedented election.

But he was put in a very difficult position. He was kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't. When he was running the primary, his job was to make sure the candidates were treated fairly and the people had their voice heard throughout the country. And he decided not to take steps to block Donald Trump despite many voices and efforts within the party to do whatever they could to keep him from winning the nomination.

But now we've seen they are all in for Trump at the RNC. They made that decision. Earlier today, Reince Priebus deputy Sean Spicer sent out a memo defending why this election is so important to Republicans, pointing to Hillary Clinton on domestic policy and foreign policy and Obamacare and things like that.

So, they're dug in. The Republican Party will have an opportunity soon to decide if they want to have Reince Priebus again. I imagine that that meeting when they have that election for the new party chairman will be something to see. I would highly recommend any reporter get to that meeting and cover it. It's going to be wild, I imagine.

COSTELLO: What are you hearing from insiders about that?

RAJU: Well, not a whole lot right now other than the fact that they'll have to gauge what happens this cycle. Look, if they do pull off a miracle -- not a miracle, but if they do pull off what appears to be a difficult road ahead, which is winning the White House given how down Donald Trump is in the polls right now, that Reince Priebus and the Republican National Committee will have a lot to do with that.

They are essentially running the field operation for Donald Trump. Donald Trump had a skeleton organization before the RNC essentially took it over, when Trump became the presumptive nominee. So, if they win they'll get a lot of credit. Again if there's a loss, there will be a lot of fingers being pointed, a lot of folks trying to figure out who can lead them out of the wilderness -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Manu Raju, Chris Moody, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, battle lines drawn in the race for the White House and women voters are caught in the middle. Will Donald Trump's child care proposals be enough to woo women away from Hillary Clinton?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:58] COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Donald Trump has declared he will be a champion for women when he is in the White House. Recent polls show that female voters are just not into him, at least not yet. Among them a new post convention survey from the "Washington Post" and ABC News, which shows Hillary Clinton with a whopping 23-point lead among women overall. "The Post" notes that that is Clinton's highest support among this

group to date and it is due in part to Clinton's improvement with college educated white women, a group of voters that usually vote Republican.

But Trump is not ceding this ground to Clinton over this key demographic, announcing a policy plan that seems tailor-made for working families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: My plan will also help reduce the cost of child care by allowing parents to fully deduct the average cost of child care spending from their taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, let's talk about this. Kayleigh McEnany is a Trump supporter and a CNN contributor. Carol Evans is a Clinton supporter and founder of Working Mother Media.