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Donald Trump to Speak in Connecticut; New Hack Leaks Private Information About Democrats in Congress; Trump Vs. The Media; Record Flooding in Louisiana; Real Life Plot Twist to "Making a Murderer" Case; Trump's Trouble with Women Voters; Battle for Florida; DEA Will Not Reclassify Marijuana. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 13, 2016 - 16:00   ET

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


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[16:00:31] NICHOLAS MARCHESI, CNN HERO: Most people take for granted putting a fresh clean set of clothes on for someone who is sleeping rough (ph) and who really doesn't have access to washing and drying their clothes, this is something that's continually overlooked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: There you have a clip from one of our CNN Heroes. You can nominate someone you think should be a 2016 CNN Hero at cnnheroes.com.

All right. Top of the hour. You are life in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We begin with presidential politics. Donald Trump set to speak tonight at a rally in Fairfield, Connecticut. We'll take you live there for a preview in just a moment.

Yesterday the Republican candidate was squarely focused on his opponent, Hillary Clinton in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. He told his supporters there that he is so confident of victory in the state, there is only one way that he will lose. Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R), REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're going to watch Pennsylvania go down to certain areas and watch and study and make sure other people don't come and vote five times. Because if you do that, and I know you are all voting -- is everybody here voting? If you do that, if you do that, we're not going to lose. The only way we can lose in my opinion -- I really mean this, Pennsylvania, is if cheating goes on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump by a large margin if you look at the recent polling. Let's pull up the four swing state polls and show you what we're talking about. We'll do that in just a moment.

The Democrats have a different concern this weekend. Another hack. Somebody has hacked sensitive information about Democrats in Congress. We're talking about cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses, their private information. Not a direct hack on Hillary Clinton's camp. Former House Speaker Nancy Pell Posey's office just says she is being bombarded with messages described as obscene and sick.

Let's go to straight to Jeremy Diamond. He is live for us in Fairfield, Connecticut tonight where Donald Trump will give a speech in just a few hours. Jeremy, the key question is, Connecticut has been blue since 1988. That's the last time Connecticut went red in a presidential race. Why is Trump spending time and energy in Connecticut?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, this is a bit of an unusual stop. And we have seen Donald Trump say repeatedly that he wants to flip certain states that have been blue traditionally. Saying he wants to campaign even in his home state of New York, which has bee blue for decades as well, campaign sources have told Dana Bash or own CNN's Dana Bash that Connecticut is one of those states that they think they can flip. But still a very unusual move that is perplexing a lot of Republicans who have been involved in presidential politics for a long time who wonder why Trump is spending time here in Connecticut when he should be focusing on the battleground states where he is actually slipping now in the polls.

HARLOW: You know, it's also not just -- it's not just Connecticut, right? His team is putting a lot of energy -- not a lot of energy, but some energy in Maine, which they think they can flip. Again it's 1992 is the last time Maine went red. Also there are some questions about a lack of focus or concentration in one of the most key counties in Ohio.

DIAMOND: Absolutely. You know, as we've seen the polling that has come out this weeks that shown Donald Trump struggling not only in the battleground states, the crucial states he needs to win in November in order to become president of the United States, but also lagging in some of the states that have leaning Republican. You know, states that Mitt Romney won't in 2012 and John McCain won't in 2008. You know, we're seeing Hillary Clinton's campaign now upping resources in some of these states, including Georgia for example, where they are starting to edge into Donald Trump's, you know, favored lead there as a republican candidate.

So, you know, we're seeing the map changing. Not necessarily the way Donald Trump wants to change it, by turning blue states and making them red but we're some states that are either solidly red or at least leaning red going in Hillary Clinton's favor. So Donald Trump and his campaign really trying to refocus now especially after this last week that we've seen where Donald Trump made these comments about 2nd Amendment people and what they might be able to do to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing a liberal supreme court.

Donald Trump and his campaign now trying to get back on message, back on track. We saw the Republican National Committee Chairman Rhines Priebus with Donald Trump on the stump yesterday in Pennsylvania. And we'll have to see how they're going to go forward. Poppy.

[16:05:11] HARLOW: It is interesting, Jeremy, and we have heard Trump using a little bit more pessimism. He said he was very concerned about Iowa -- Utah rather. Very concerned about Utah. Need a lot of help in Utah. Also pointed to some concerns in Virginia as well. So we're hearing a change in tune, I think, from the Republican candidate about some of those states as well. Jeremy, thank you, we'll bring you Trumps remarks live tonight in Connecticut.

All right, Trump takes his love/hate relationship with the media to a new level. During an appearance in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump told the crowd the media is, "the lowest form of life."

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TRUMP: These people are the lowest form of life. I'm telling you. The lowest. They are the lowest form of humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. Then just about an hour ago Trump tweeted the failing "New York Times" has become a newspaper affliction. Their stories about me always about quote non-existent unnamed sources. Very dishonest.

Our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter is with me. Also the host of "RELIABLE SOURCES". It's a new level. He has gone after the media throughout this election because it plays really well with voters. This is a new level.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: For sure. Today for example he is mad "New York Times" story come out tomorrow print edition suggesting real chaos behind his campaign.

HARLOW: All right. They say they have talked -- speaking with 20 different sources in his Trump example.

STELTER: It is a very well sourced story. And as someone who is working in "New York Times" I know, you cannot publish a story with anonymous sources without your editors and your bosses who those sources are. So, I do have confidence in the story.

But let's remember, let's go back to 200 years. Politicians have always hated journalist. Thomas Jefferson, 1807, he wrote to a newspaper editor and he said nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. You're right Poppy, Trump has taken it to brand-new levels.

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STELTER: Donald Trump's campaign is all about getting attention, media attention.

TRUMP: Look at all those cameras.

Look at all the red lights. I'm here for the ratings but it's a little bit ridiculous.

STELTER: But Trump likes to have it both ways. His favorite show is beat the press.

TRUMP: These people are the lowest form of life, I'm selling you. This sleesy guy right over here from ABC, he is a sleaze. The Washington Post, one of the most dishonest papers in the world.

STELTER: When the going gets tough Trump gets tough on the people covering his campaign. Right now, especially CNN.

TRUMP: Fox has been fair. But CNN has been catastrophic, it's so dishonest.

STELTER: Lately, he doesn't seem to want the attention at all.

TRUMP: They cover things that are -- that should not be covered.

STELTER: Hillary Clinton does face daily scrutiny especially about her e-mail server. But Clinton usually keeps her media critiques right. Trump tweets his on a hourly basis. CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, he's objected to a dozen things just this week alone. On Friday he called CNN ratings challenged. But odds are he is watching this program right now. Watching cable news and then reacting it to is a defining feature of his campaign.

TRUMP: You want to see this news organizations look yesterday, when I said Obama, right? Did you see that? The Obama is the founder of ISIS.

STELTER: Time and time again, he says the media is rigged against him.

TRUMP: The media is rigged. It's rigged. It's crooked as hell.

STELTER: He is far from the first candidate to blame the media.

SARAH PALIN, (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: And I think here's a little news flash for those reporters and commentators -- I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion.

STELTER: Sometimes when campaigns are down in the polls the anti- press talk gets even louder. The difference with Trump is the intensity. He is not just running against Clinton. He is running against us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Yes, he is, it's an anti-media campaign which as you Poppy has been effective in the past. It is a savvy campaign technique we've seen applied by others. However, it goes that further and it seems like he's trying to delegitimatize the very purpose of the press. And I think it's helpful when he, for example, rail against the New York Times to explain how they have sources and procedures, and how we do try our very best at least to be fair. We sometimes fall down the job but we're try our best I think.

HARLOW: Yeah. And you're working around the clock trying your best.

STELTER: Are we are.

HARLOW: Brian Stelter, thank you. Stay with me.

STELTER: Sure.

HARLOW: Because I want to take also just a look, a big picture look at two major campaign events this week that caused a lot media blow back. First on Monday the father of Omar Mateen, the shooter in the Orlando nightclub was seated behind a Hillary campaign at a rally in Florida. Trump was quick to criticize her campaign for not catching that.

But literally as he spoke, a controversial figure was seated behind Trump. Disgraced ex-congressman Mark Foley who resigned in 2006 after sending sexually explicit messages to under-aged boys. You see him right there.

[16:10:12] So let's about this Brian with you and also with Bill Briggs. He is a campaign consultant. He's also a former advance coordinator for a number of campaigns. And for our viewers, what that means is you're one step ahead of the campaign always and you're looking out for stuff like this. So Bill, thank you for being with me. Let me get your take first on both of those issues that popped up literally behind the candidates this week. Your take?

BILL BRIGGS, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Well it's one of those things that you're just -- when I first happened with Hillary, you couldn't believe it. As a former advance person you think a lot about what could go wrong. You think about folks that could disrupt the candidate which happened actually earlier last week with Hillary when the Secret Service had to come onto the stage and you think about the technical details that could go wrong. But you don't think about the father of a mass murderer showing up at your event and getting screened and getting in and not doing anything.

And then with the Trump event, you know, sometimes when the other campaign messes up it is a chance for you to make sure and double down that you got your places -- your systems in place so that you aren't messing up and making the same mistake. And then two days later Mark Foley is in your audience. It's 2016, and it makes you wonder.

HARLOW: Brian, I think the question also becomes how much can you have control over all the people, especially at the Trump rallies which are enormous.

STELTER: Yeah absolutely it is difficult. And yet at the same time campaigns are sort of practiced for the bureaucracy of government, especially the Clinton campaign. It has hundreds of staffers. So it's sort of a test for how this person, this man or this woman would lead a government, how they lead their campaign is sort of a test run.

And so when you see a mistake like this, we'll do (ph) an unforced error. You know, it is something to notice because it does tell you a little bit about how the campaign operates. You know, most people eventually, they vote with their gut and their heart, they with the candidate they believe will support them the most but these mistakes, the imagery in particular can be embarrassing. It was embarrassing this week for both sides.

HARLOW: You know, it's interesting Bill the Trump has repeatedly promised that we will see a more disciplined "Presidential Donald Trump." He will stay on message. We'll see more him on teleprompter. We saw some of that. And now we're not seeing as much of that. What do you think is behind that? Do you think this is a campaign divided from their -- a camps divided from their candidate?

BRIGGS: Yeah in some ways I do. I think -- you know, I know some of the folks who worked with Trump. They're true professionals, they're friends of mine. And, you now, professional, they know their stuff. Some of them worked for other presidents before and they know what they are doing.

And the fact that, you know, they don't want to make mistakes and they don't like this stuff to happen, and I think it's kind of -- you know, Trump really runs a top-down organization. And it's his show and it's show first. And so the staff and the folks responsible for the imagery are responding to that a lot.

HARLOW: Brian to you as well, I mean, for Trump going through his mine, the "New York Times" report that we were just talking about talked about the fact that Trump believes that going his way worked extraordinarily well for him in the primary. So why should he change tactics now?

STELTER: Absolutely. The subtext of the "New York Times" story by Maggie Haberman this afternoon ...

HARLOW: Right.

STELTER: ... is that the aids, the family members are frustrated by the candidate. But as Corey Lewandowski wrote on the board many months ago, let Trump be Trump. That's what was so effective during the primaries. Of course, Lewandowski is no longer there. There's many new people in Trump circle, a new campaign manager, many others. And so he's getting a lot of new advice from all sorts of new directions. And you can understand why that might be frustrating for Donald Trump.

HARLOW: Brian Stelter, thank you. Bill Briggs, nice to have you on the program. Thanks for joiniung us.

BRIGGS: Thank you.

HARLOW: Still to come next.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is as worse as I've seen in my -- that's accurate number. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: And it is horrible. Record flooding in Louisiana. Already claimed at least two lives. It has led to more than a thousand rescues. And the rain not through yet.

Also on the campaign trail, Donald Trump has a problem attracting female voters. Just look at all the polling. But here's what his daughter Ivanka Trump told me last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: What would a president Trump do for women in this country?

IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGTHER OF DONALD TRUMP: He'd be amazing for women in this country. He would be incredible for women in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: She is now much more a part of the campaign. So why is Donald Trump trailing in the double digits when it comes to the female vote? We'll debate it ahead.

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[16:18:00] HARLOW: All right. Heavy rain and fast moving flood waters prompting the governor of Louisiana today to declare a state of emergency in his state for the next month. So far, two people have died in this flooding in Louisiana. The water is so strong, some caskets are getting dislodged and floating down the street.

People are using boats to evacuate from their homes. More than a thousand people so far have been rescued there. Our Boris Sanchez is live with me today in Louisiana. The governor, John Bell Edwards coming out and conducting a fly over of the disaster areas declaring a state of emergency, Boris, for the next month?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Poppy. You can imagine the devastation you can see from the air compared to what we are seeing here on the ground. You mentioned a thousand rescues that have taken place. There are still ongoing right now. We heard confirmation that firefighters were getting people out of their homes in high water areas.

I want to show you what we're seeing here in the town of Amite. If you look just down there this is kind of an industrial yard. There's a body shop right there that does auto repair. You see that truck that got flipped like a toy. That was actually on the other side of the building. Just shows you how strong these flood waters were. You can see all around the asphalt that just got ripped up and thrown about.

A short while ago there was a man in a tractor helping folks get to their homes. The tractor ended up getting stuck in the water. And I want to point out something else. If you look across the street here, traffic doesn't get a way and you could see it. That white pickup truck that's become part of a river was a man that was trying to cross this way when the water was blocking the street. He clearly didn't make it across the street. He had to be rescued by officials as well. From what we understand, he did make it out, though.

And the last thing I wanted to point out, a neighbor that was living nearby had his trailer in this industrial yard. That's what's left of his trailer. His name is Mark. And I got a chance to ask him how he saw essentially his home flattened and in a state of disrepair.

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MARK LAHTI, LOST HOME IN LOUISIANA FLOODING: It's terrible.

[16:20:02] Gentleman has that tractor right there. He lost his house in the flood back in March. He just a couple weeks ago got his house back in north. And he lost everything. He has six, eight feet of water in his house. You know, that's terrible. I mean just people -- it's just -- you know, it's a sad thing to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yeah, Mark told me he has lived here about 30 years and that he has never seen anything like this. The water is starting to recede. It's starting to head south. So towns south of here are starting to prepare. The question is when is the rain going to stop.

HARLOW: Right.

SANCHEZ: But it's not for a short while. Now it's coming down again. Poppy, experts tell us at least until Monday.

HARLOW: At least until Monday. Boris live for us there in Louisiana. Thank you very much. We'll check back in with you later.

Coming up next, a surprising real life plot twist for all of those who watched that hugely popular Netflix show "Making a Murderer". We will discuss where one of the key murder cases now stands, and a judge's reversal. Next.

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HARLOW: Twenty million people watch the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer". Now stunning new developments in the real life case. A Federal judge in Wisconsin has overturned the conviction of Brendan Dassey. Dassey was the nephew of Steven Avery. They were both sent to prison for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach.

[16:25:08] Dassey was 16 at the time and had learning disabilities when he was interrogated by the police. Our Sara Ganim is following the latest development. I pretty wondered I think a lot of focus was on Steven Avery, the main character. What would happen to his conviction? This is the younger man who was also tried and found guilty in her murder. And now it's been completely overturned?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was his nephew, his 16-year-old nephew who about -- several episodes into the series, you see him emerge as a character. They go after him. They interrogate him. And he claimed at the time to have witnessed and participated in the murder. The federal judge though threw this case out, threw the conviction out saying that interrogation and the confession was not obtained properly because of Dassey's age, being 16 ...

HARLOW: Right.

GANIM: ... being a minor at the time. And also because of his I.Q., hit a below average I.Q. And when you watch the series, as many, many people did. We know that it was the third most streamed series in Netflix history.

HARLOW: Wow.

GANIM: This was a compelling part of the series, when we watched this interrogation.

HARLOW: I remember it. His mother was not in the room with him. He didn't have a lawyer present when he was being interrogated.

GANIM: And in addition to that, you can hear the police officers at times -- first of all they make him false promises. They tell him that, you know, if he just tells the truth that everything will be OK. But they also interject facts that they bring up first that Brendan Dassey doesn't seem to be aware of until after the police officers bring it up. We have clip to show you. Take a look.

(BEGI VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know, we just need you to tell us.

BRENDAN DASSEY, CONVICTED OF INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE: That's all I can remember.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I am just going to come out and ask had you, who shot her in the head?

DASSEY: He did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why didn't you tell us that?

DASSEY: Because I couldn't think of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now you remember it? Tell us about that, then.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: You see, he -- the police officer says who shot her in the head? And that's the first time that you hear Dassey then say he did. You know, the judge gave prosecutors 90 days to make a decision if they want to retry this case and move forward.

HARLOW: Right.

GANIM: And if they decide not to, he will be set free, his lawyers saying lasts night that they are overwhelmed and thrilled for him. HARLOW: Is he out of jail now?

GANIM: Bo, he is in jail, serving a life sentence at the moment. But that's not been over for him.

HARLOW: They have 90 days.

GANIM: Prosecutors have 90 days to make a decision.

HARLOW: What about the victim's family? I mean what are they saying in the midst of all of this.

GANIM: You know, they haven't commented as far as we know today on this. Throughout, they like every other family have been seeking justice. It's going to be interested to see how all of this plays out as Steven Avery's appeal also moves forward. You saw the popularity of this series.

HARLOW: Yeah.

GANIM: And there were petitions even, you know, at the federal presidential level there were -- people were asking for pardons. Of course that couldn't be done because these were state cases. But Steven Avery, this was the main witness. This was a huge piece of evidence in his case. So this is now gone, and Brendan Dassey is no longer, you know, cooperating. What happens to that appeal?

HARLOW: It's Steven Avery case. We'll be watching, Sara Ganim, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Coming up next, back to presidential politics and the critical female vote. Donald Trump has a problem attracting female voters despite what his daughter, Ivanka Trump told me last fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: What would a president Trump do for women in this country?

TRUMP: He'd be amazing for women in this country. He would be incredible for women in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So why does Donald Trump trail Hillary Clinton by double digits when it comes to the female vote? We'll talk about it next.

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[16:32:06] HARLOW: Sagging in the latest polls in key battleground states, where is the runway for Donald Trump? Where could he pick up much need support? Could it be from women? Let's just take a look at the numbers. Because it is clear he needs to do better with female voters.

This is a McClatchy-Marist Poll from last week. It shows him 20 points behind Clinton among female voters. In a recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll has his 16 points behind Clinton. Not to mention the defection of a number high-level Republican women who have abandoned Trump, ex-Senator Susan Collins, H.P Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, and long time Chris Christie aide, Maria Comella.

Donald Trump's daughter, though, Ivanka Trump told me this when we sat down in October.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: What would a president Trump do for women in this country?

IVANKA TRUMP: He would be amazing for women in this country. He would be incredible for women in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Recently, Chelsea Clinton took Trump to task on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHELSEA CLINTON, HILLARY CLINTON'S DAUGTHER: How would your father do that given it's not something he spoken about, here are no policies on any of those fronts that you just mentioned on his website.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So let's talk about trump and the female vote with my all- star panel of women, CNN political commentator Tara Setmayer, Republican strategist. Also Jennifer Lim is with me. The founder of Republican Women for Hillary. And Amy Kremer, co-chair of Women Vote Trump. Thank you for being here.

And Amy, first of all, my apologies, I pronounced your last name wrong last hour. So that is on me. I'm sorry. Considering these poll numbers, OK. Here's the broader issue. If you look back to 2012, about 10 million more women voted in the presidential election than men. That's according to this new Rutgers study.

So, you got to turn the female vote around. How do you do that if you are the Trump camp right now?

AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: Well, Poppy, I think that what you do is you go out there and talk about the issues that matter and issues that women are concerned about is. I think that is about safety and security not only for our own families but our nation. And also jobs and the economy and health care and education. Those are the issues that women vote on.

HARLOW: SO he's been doing that, though, Amy. Like what needs to change?

KREMER: Well, I mean, honestly, Poppy, I mean, he has been hit in the media -- and I know everybody says oh, this media bias. But, I mean, it's the little things that have been said and the media take it and run with it. And we need to get back to the issues that matter.

HARLOW: Like what? Like what?

KREMER: I mean just, you know, different like when I was on with you earlier today and talking about what happened with the voter, you know, rigging -- the systems rigged. That's were the thing. Let's get back to the issues that matter, the issues that people are going to vote on.

HARLOW: Well that is a big issue. It is big issue when a presidential candidate says the system is rigged without any evidence. That is an issue and we're right to be talking about it.

KREMER: Yeah. But it's also a big issue that Hillary Clinton has 33,000 e-mails.

HARLOW: Yes. We talked about it all the time.

KREMER: But we don't talk about it all the time.

HARLOW: I do.

[16:35:08] KREMER: Well, I mean -- the thing is at the end of the day, the voters are going to vote on the issues that matter to them. I mean, you know, women are going to vote on what affects their family. We want to be able to take care of our families, our children. And I think that at the end of the day, that's what women are going to vote on and that's where we need to be focused.

HARLOW: OK. And so do you, Jennifer, I mean you are a republican who is voting for, advocating for helping Hillary Clinton try to win this election. Donald Trump has a powerful, powerful advocate and partner in Ivanka Trump. I wonder how much you think she could help him get a number of female voters on board. What does Ivanka Trump need to do and say?

JENNIFER LIM, FOUNDER, REPUBLICAN WOMEN FOR HILLARY: You know, unfortunately, Poppy, this is far past anything Ivanka can do at this point. You know, Donald Trump continues to show through his actions rhetoric on women, especially how he speaks about female news reporters.

You know, there is just nothing Ivanka can do. Of course, you know, she is a well respected woman. But, you know, as we can see from the recent high level defections to the Hillary Clinton camp, the more important thing is more women like me are turning to Hillary Clinton as a more reasonable candidate for this election.

HARLOW: It's interesting, Senator Susan Collins when she walked away from any Trump support this week did not go so far as to say she is supporting Hillary Clinton. Tara, you're not voting for either Clinton or Trump. You have sort of had it in this election?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right.

HARLOW: Let's look in historical context of because I think the "New York Times" puts it in really important perspective, right? They talk about 72 percent of Republican women that do say they will vote for Trump but they compare it to past presidential elections, right, the past three Republican presidential nominees in 2012, Mitt Romney got 93 percent of Republican women. 2008, John McCain got 89 percent. And then George W. Bush, 2004 got ...

SETMAYER: 93.

HARLOW: 93. So, how concerning do you think that should be for Trump that he is at 72?

SETMAYER: These are disastrous numbers for Donald Trump. You know, no presidential candidate has been able to win the presidency with numbers like this since at least 1980. And women have been outvoting, turning out in larger numbers than men since 1980 ads well. And that gap continues to widen n.

In 2012, 4 percent more women voted than men, 63 to 59 percent. So with Donald Trump polling so terribly with women, I mean consistently it's been at around 65 to 69 percent of women have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump. These are things just, you know, just like my colleague just said, Ivanka Trump is not going to turn that around. These are baked in now at this point.

KREMER: I disagree.

SETMAYER: People have been exposed to Donald Trump the last year. Well you can disagree all you want but the polling trend is going down. Pennsylvania which is a state that we have been discussing that Donald Trump seems to think he has a chance in. Women have a 27 percent support for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. So no amount of alleged voter fraud is going to turn that around.

HARLOW: Amy, you say you disagree. Why?

KREMER: I do agree because I think there is room for improvement and I think those poll numbers can change. Just as it trends down it can trend back up. And I think at the end of the day women are going to vote on the issues that matter. And Hillary Clinton is not a job creator. And women don't want four more years of what we've had the past eight years. That's a fact. I mean, we want jobs. We want national security. And when you are having terrorist attacks here on our own homeland, that is -- that's a huge issue for women.

HARLOW: And Amy let me ask you this, I thought it was interesting when we played at the beginning Chelsea Clinton responding to, you know, Ivanka Trump and saying why is it nowhere on the Trump campaign website where it outlines specifically what he would do for women as a president. We went back and checked today to see if it had been updated at all. And it hasn't. Do you see that as a missed opportunity for the Trump camp to really come out and bullet point, here are the things I would do differently for you, the female voter?

KREMER: Well, I don't think it's a missed opportunity. It's definitely something that if it's not there -- and honestly I haven't gone and looked. But if it's not there, then it needs to be there. I mean, it's an important issue. And women are going to decide -- I'm not disagreeing with any of you. Women are going to decide this election. But it's not ...

HARLOW: And they don't like Donald Trump.

KREMER: Yes. And they don't trust Hillary Clinton either.

(CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: Why do you think 69 percent of women don't like Donald Trump?

HARLOW: Jennifer, to you, if you were -- let's take the hypothetical scenario that you were hired by the Trump camp tomorrow. Something tells me that's not going to happen but hey let's say you were. What would you do? You'd say, you know, we have got 86 days left to go. We're going to turn this around. Here's what we're going to do.

LIM: You know, to turn Donald Trump around, you know, for any of the minority groups he has offended, the disability groups he has offended, religious groups he has offended, he would have to at least start apologizing for these huge missteps.

[16:40:05] There is nothing that he can do at this point to save his, you know, his vote with women. And I think my panelists colleague s right that women are going to vote on the policy that matter to them. And Donald Trump really hasn't put forward policies that are Republican, core policies that women would be able to get behind.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: I got 30 seconds.

SETMAYER: He is too busy arguing with gold star families and, you know, talking about a rigged system and going on about second amend things. Not things that women find, you know, competent in a president of the United States.

KREMER: When this administration wants to allow 10,000 Syrian immigrants into this country and there is no way to document every single one of them, and Hillary Clinton had said she will increase that up to 65,000, and there is no way to document them. I mean, if you were able to vet 99 percent of them, 1 percent is another 650 San Bernardinos, Paris, Brussels, how many is too much?

HARLOW: I have go to leave it there.

LIM: I think that's what women care about.

HARLOW: Jennifer, Tara, Amy, thank you. We appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

HARLOW: Coming up next, turning to Florida. Florida always seems to play a pivotal role in presidential elections. Coming up we will look at the one group that may have the power to decide which candidate wins in Florida this fall. You are live in the CNN News ram room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:14] HARLOW: All right. When you look at the race for the White House, it all comes down to a few key states. One state in particular is the sunshine state, it is Florida. Florida is a battleground with a new population of voters that really didn't exist in such numbers in any election in the past. Our Chris Moody reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MOODY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Florida's I-4 corridor stretches from Daytona to Tampa and it's one of the most contention political battlegrounds in the country. You know what, why don't I just show you.

The people who live in the counties along this highway are some of the most sought after in presidential politics and region is changing before our very eyes. The bankruptcy crisis in Puerto Rico has set off a mass migration from the island to central Florida. Puerto Ricans who live on the island are not eligible to vote in a presidential election. But because they are U.S. citizens if they move to the mainland they can. Which has set off a political gold rush to register them and make a good impression.

ESTEBAN GARCES, FLORIDA STATE DIRECTOR, MI FAMILIA VOTA: Central Florida is a key region in this wing-state and there's a swing vote and a swing region in the swing state. And that's the Latino vote. Here in Orange County, in Masala (ph), specifically it's the Puerto Rican.

MOODY: Esteban Garces is the Florida state director for Mi Familia Vota, a progressive Hispanic advocacy group that's registering voters across the state.

GARCES: Our job this year is to make sure that we do everything we can to help them realize this power by registering them to vote. Because if we don't get to that point they won't have a chance to realize (ph) their power and we won't be able to (inaudible) Latino voting block for the next four years.

MOODY: There is already more than a million Puerto Ricans in Florida. A number just reviling (ph) the Cuban population. And you can already see it transforming the landscape. Shopping malls like Plaza Del Sol have undergone complete makeovers to make the migrants feel at home. Offering Puerto Rican naming sections of the mall at the streets of San Juan and giving Latino entrepreneurs an affordable place to start businesses. And the parties are kicking notice.

Hillary Clinton's campaign has mobilized, sending dozens of paid staffers and an army of volunteers who are fanning out across Florida.

NORMA PEREZ, FIELD ORGANIZER, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN: Here we are with a phone bank. These are all volunteers. We are excited to be part of the campaign. And as you can see, we have tons of people. It looks like we're having a party but we're working hard to get the vote out. MOODY: Donald Trump's campaign is not nearly as organized yet. But the Republican Party of Florida has made an effort to reach Puerto Rican voters by having a presence at Latino festivals, churches and community events.

FRANCHESKA MARKUS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA: We have been building a network, a grassroots network for the past year and a half. We've been on the ground. So, we have people all throughout the state that are empowering volunteers in their community so that they can become community leaders and really talk and engage with all these new voters.

MOODY: But trump's rhetoric about Hispanics could make their job more difficult.

TRUMP: They are bringing drugs. They are bringing crime. They are rapists.

MOODY: Meanwhile the conservative LIBRE Initiative is working with newcomers from Puerto Rico to help them make the transition.

DANIEL GARZA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE LIBRE INITIATIVE: We have had workshops, training, seminars on how to transition to the U.S. The Puerto Rican voter in a state that figures massively in the electoral math is a force reckoned with. And anybody who ignores them ignores at their peril.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: And Chris Moody is live for me now in Washington. On top of this, Chris, just this week, a Republican spokesman in Florida quit. Why?

MOODY: That's right. He was citing Donald Trump and his comments he has made about Latinos and a lot of the policies he has proposed which a of the lot of Republicans as the former guest you had on just a few minutes ago said it's not a lot of Republican policies.

So the Hillary Clinton campaign sees this group of people that are coming over to Florida as a key into their big puzzle to win this election. And they are the ones who are putting a lot of infrastructure into this. As we mention in the piece, Donald Trump's campaign still is not organized and getting on top of this. But Hillary Clinton's campaign is. Poppy.

HARLOW: Florida, Florida, Florida. You don't have to look past the 2000 election to see how critical that state can be.

MOODY: Which was won by just over 500 votes. So, every vote counts.

HARLOW: 537. So go to the polls.

MOODY: That's right.

HARLOW: Chris Moody, great report. Thank you so much.

MOODY: Thank you.

HARLOW: All right. Coming up after the break a major change in marijuana laws in this country. Not though the change that some doctors and some researchers wanted to see. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:53:15] HARLOW: Welcome back. Marijuana legalization enthusiast disappointed this week when the DEA announced that it will not reclassify marijuana from being schedule one drug. That is the same class as other drugs like heroin. But the DEA did say it will expand the number of growers allow to grow marijuana for research. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been one of the leading voices in advocating for more marijuana research. Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, you know, I think the most important question that sort of comes out of this, is research going to be easier to do to study the benefits of medical marijuana? And I'm not clear from the DEA's decision now whether that's actually going to happen. I'm not sure it's going to be easier for the researchers to get this done.

Let me sort of paint a picture for you. What happened is that the DEA is saying we're going to allow more research grade marijuana to be grown. We're going to allow different institutions to apply for licenses to grow that and we're going to have more of this marijuana to be studied for research.

But the problem is it's still hard to get the studies approved and funded. It's almost like you grow a lot more of the product, in this case marijuana, and you still leave it behind this locked door. If the door is still locked, it's very hard to get access to it obviously.

So, that's the issue. It can be challenging to get the schedule one substance study is actually down. Take a look again, Poppy, what schedule one means. Something that has a high risk of abuse, but also it's already deemed to have no medicinal benefit. It's a catch 22 in some ways. They say we need studies to prove that has a medical benefit. And the researchers say it's too hard to do the studies because of the laws around it. So, that's why the studies aren't done.

There's going to be more to come on this, Poppy, I think.

HARLOW: Yeah.

GUPTA: As we get it, we'll bring it to you. Back to you, Poppy.

HARLOW: And Sanjay has been in front in all of this. Thank you very much, Sanjay.

[16:55:05] All right. Coming up next hour. Donald Trump suggesting that voter fraud can cost him the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Tonight, we will hear from the Republican candidate. We will see if he doubles down on that. Stay with us. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right. In today's Fit Nation, it is man versus machine at the iron horse bicycle classic in Colorado.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: This is the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic a grueling 47-mile race through the mountains against a train.

JOE WILLIAMS, IRON HORSE BICYCLE PARTICIPANT WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE: To ride the iron horse, you have to have the mind-set that you are going to suffer. It's the same for me the same as it is for everyone else.

GUPTA: But for Joe Williams, it's not the same. What he faces every day is far more challenging.

WILLIAMS: Receiving the diagnosis was shattering. The chief neurologist came out, Williams, you have Parkinson's disease.

GUPTA: The left side of his body would freeze up, but soon he discovered he could reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's by cycling.

WILLIAMS: Today, I'm 66, and I should have declined physically, but each year, I believe my health is improving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, Joe, go!

WILLIAMS: I won. I beat the mountain today. I didn't beat that train. I'll never beat that train.