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Trump Campaign's Chief Says Deportation Policy to be Determined; Zika Spreads to Parts of Miami Beach; More Than 50 Killed at Turkish Wedding; Trump's Campaign Under New Leadership; Inside the Mind of Trump's New Woman in Charge. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired August 21, 2016 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:19] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. Top of the hour at 5:00 Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow joining you in New York. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. So glad you're with us.
Donald Trump doubling down on his new outreach to African-Americans saying at his latest rally that he wants the GOP to become the home of the black vote. But as he works to bring in more supporters, is he also changing his tune now on immigration in a major way?
Univision reporting a Texas immigration lawyer who was in this meeting that Trump held yesterday with Hispanic leaders says that Trump acknowledged in the meeting that deporting the 11 million undocumented workers in this country is, quote, "neither possible or humane." That would be a major departure from the "build a wall Donald Trump" that we've heard so far.
Trump's camp tonight pushing back, saying their candidate said nothing in the meeting that he hasn't said before and a separate Trump supporter at that roundtable tells CNN he didn't get the impression that Trump was open to legalizing undocumented workers.
So here's what Trump's new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me play something from what Mr. Trump has said previously. Listen to what he said back in November.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're going to have a deportation force and you're going to do it humanely and very inexpensively.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI, MSNBC HOST, "MORNING JOE": What, are they going to be ripped out of their homes?
TRUMP: Can I tell you?
BRZEZINSKI: How?
TRUMP: They're going back where they came. If they came from a certain country they're going to be brought back to their country. That's the way it's supposed to be.
BASH: So does Donald Trump still support that, a deportation force removing the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: What he supports -- and if you go back to his convention speech a month ago, Dana, what he supports is to make sure that we enforce the law, that we are respectful of those Americans who are looking for well-paying jobs, and that we are fair and humane for those who live among us in this country.
BASH: So --
CONWAY: And as the weeks unfold -- as the weeks unfold, he will lay out the specifics of that plan that he would implement as president of the United States.
BASH: Will that plan include a deportation force, the kind that he just -- you just heard in that sound bite and that he talked about during the Republican primaries?
CONWAY: To be determined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So could Trump's immigration stance be determined this week? He will be out on the campaign trail in a major way. He is set to hold rallies in the key battleground states of Ohio and he'll be in Nevada this week. But he's also going to Texas and he's going to Mississippi. Those are two states that should be in the bag for the Republican candidate. Frankly, Mississippi and Texas haven't gone blue since 1976.
Let's talk about all of this with my political panel this hour. Joining me now Democratic strategist and former spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee Holly Schulman. She supports Hillary Clinton. And also with us again tonight Amy Kremer, she supports Donald Trump. She's the co-chair of Women Vote Trump.
Thank you, ladies, for being here. All-woman panel this evening.
Amy, since day one, since we saw Donald Trump come down that gold escalator at Trump Tower, he's been running on this platform of immigration, immigration, immigration reform, talking about building a wall. Now we heard what his campaign manager said TBD on whether he'll soften his position. Are you concerned now, just two months away or so from the election, that it's unclear where he stands?
AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: No, Poppy. I'm not concerned about it at all. And I know that there have been leaks that have come out of these meetings from people in attendance, but I wouldn't hold -- I wouldn't take any of that seriously until it comes out of Mr. Trump's mouth. And I think he's going to be honest with us. That's one thing he said last week in one of his speeches. I will always tell you the truth. And so I think they are working on this immigration plan. He knows what the issues are, he knows what the American people are concerned about. And I think he's going to come out with a plan and he's going to tell us exactly what he intends to do.
HARLOW: So let me ask you one question on that because -- I mean, it's become very clear in the last week, CNN's new battleground map shows this, that even if he were to -- even if Hillary Clinton were to lose every battleground state, she still has a path to 273 electoral votes. So it's definitely a realization that he needs a lot more than white working class voters.
There was this forecast out of Wharton School where Donald Trump went. And what it forecast was that his plan to deport 11 million or so undocumented workers would result in four million job losses for the U.S. economy by 2030. Do you think that Trump is looking at numbers like this, looking at the polling, looking at the reality of the map and saying, I may have to change what I said before on deporting all of those immigrants?
KREMER: Well, Poppy, I'm not familiar with that exact study that came out, but I know that Donald Trump is concerned about jobs and the economy but he's also concerned about our safety and national security and about people upholding the law.
[17:05:06] And what he's talking about is not immigration, legal immigrants. What he's talking about illegal immigrants. And Jason Chaffetz and the House Oversight Committee had a hearing earlier this year, on April 28th, I believe, and he cited that out of 86 million immigrants that were released by ICE, they had been convicted of crimes. 231 crimes that they were convicted of. And of 196 of those illegal immigrants that were released by ICE, 196 of them had committed homicide and been convicted of it.
And those are things also that Donald Trump is concerned about. So that's part of being a commander-in-chief is you have to weigh those things out and you have to figure out a solution for all Americans. But it's about the American people.
HARLOW: Holly, to you, let me bring you in here. A new CNN-ORC poll, this was taken after both parties' conventions found more than half of voters thought Hillary Clinton has a better handle on immigration than Donald Trump. But now if Trump does change his tune, if he does soften it, if he does say, OK, we're not going to deport these 11 million undocumented workers, we're going to find a path, and I'm not just saying a path to legalization, but something different, does that make him a lot more appealing to voters that are undecided right now?
HOLLY SHULMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It doesn't matter. Look, here's where we are. We're 80 days from the election. He has no serious plan on immigration, as my colleague Amy said. You know, he -- you know, it's still to be determined, as Kellyanne said this morning. And so I think that we're going into an election with a candidate who has implied that foreigners are dangerous, who has implied that Mexicans are all rapists in his first --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: He didn't say all. He did not say all.
SHULMAN: And -- and now he is pushing policies that reflect that vision, whether it's building a wall, which even Rick Perry says is unrealistic. And so, you know, that's where we are in this election. We know where Donald Trump stands. He's made it very clear. Anything he does to try to change his mind this week I think is, one, disingenuous, and should have been said in public and not in private --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Would you disagree, Holly -- would you disagree that this has been a relatively good week for Donald Trump compared to the previous three weeks?
SHULMAN: I don't think that this has been a particularly good week for Donald Trump. I mean, like you said, he's spending his time campaigning in Texas, in Mississippi, and states that should be in the bag for him.
HARLOW: Yes.
SHULMAN: And he's either there because he's nervous about those states or because other Republicans in vulnerable states have caused him to stay away.
HARLOW: Why -- let's ask Amy. Why is he doing that? I mean, Ohio, totally makes sense, Nevada I get. Why go to Texas? Why go to Mississippi? It's kind of like when he went to Connecticut a week ago, this solidly blue state. Texas and Mississippi haven't -- you know, they haven't gone blue since '76. Why is he going there, spending time and money there?
KREMER: Poppy, well, I personally believe he should be going everywhere. I believe all of these candidates should -- both of these candidates should be --
HARLOW: But why is that smart campaigning when it comes down to the electoral college and --
KREMER: Well, I mean, let me say this. At least he's on the campaign trail. Out of the month of August Hillary Clinton's only held 11 events. 11 events on her schedule out of the entire month of August. Donald Trump so far has held 24. I mean, I don't see a problem with it. I think he should be going there, and he should be going everywhere to his base, and voters want to hear from him. And quite honestly, I think every state should want to hear from him.
But that doesn't mean he's not focusing on the swing states. He's certainly focusing on the swing states. But instead of sending his surrogates everywhere like Hillary Clinton surrogates say -- her surrogates are going everywhere, she's not everywhere but her surrogates are, Donald Trump is reaching out and trying to touch every single voter that he possibly can and that's how the election is going to be won. HARLOW: So Donald Trump supporter, former New York City mayor, Rudy
Giuliani, had one take on it. Here's what he said on "FOX News Sunday."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, TRUMP SUPPORTER: She has an entire media empire that constantly demonizes Donald Trump and fails to point out that she hasn't had a press conference in 300 days, 200 days, 100 days, I don't know how long. Fails to point out several signs of illness by her. All you have to do is go online.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which --
GIULIANI: All you have to do is --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her campaign and a number of people defending her saying there's nothing factual to the claims about her health and that they're speculations at best.
GIULIANI: So go online and put down Hillary Clinton illness, take a look at the videos for yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Amy, there is in -- that FOX News host is correct in saying there is no factual evidence that there's anything going on right now with Hillary Clinton's health. Why are his supporters saying this and why isn't Trump coming out and putting a stop to it? Should he?
KREMER: Well, I can't speak for Donald Trump, but I can tell you that people are concerned about it across the country. Look --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Who?
KREMER: Voters, Poppy. Voters. I mean, Americans --
HARLOW: About Hillary Clinton's health?
KREMER: About her stamina. When she's only campaigned 11 days in the month of August and Donald Trump --
[17:10:07] HARLOW: Can you point to one person outside of yourself I guess who is concerned about Hillary Clinton's health right now?
KREMER: Obviously, Rudy Giuliani. He just mentioned it himself. I mean, you all can laugh all you want, but the bottom line is --
HARLOW: I mean outside of his campaign.
(CROSSTALK)
SHULMAN: I'm sorry, I forgot to bring that for this interview today. I mean, this is a conspiracy theory from the other side. KREMER: You know what? First of all, why is this a conspiracy
theory? We want to -- we want to know --
SHULMAN: Because his doctor said that she's fit to serve. He released a more detailed report than Donald Trump's doctor.
(CROSSTALK)
SHULMAN: Pushing forward conspiracy theories or Donald Trump --
KREMER: Holly, I'm sorry --
SHULMAN: -- to be president of the United States.
KREMER: I am sorry but she has had an incident where she fell and had a major concussion and then she had a blood clot in her head. A very serious blood clot. I mean, that's something to be concerned about.
HARLOW: That was years ago. And she's been cleared by her doctor.
KREMER: Poppy, and you know what.
HARLOW: Amy --
KREMER: No, let me say this. The NFL has had major lawsuits from players having concussion years ago. It is a serious issue and the people want it answered. Why not just release her medical records?
HARLOW: Are you -- hold on. Hold on. Are you comparing Hillary Clinton's health and --
KREMER: No. You said that was a long time ago.
HARLOW: -- the state of her brain to an NFL player who has a serious concussion after multiple hits? Well, what is the comparison?
KREMER: No. You said that was a long time ago, and I'm saying, yes, and NFL players have also had --
HARLOW: So you are making the comparison?
KREMER: My point is, it doesn't matter how long ago, Poppy, just release the medical records. I think all Americans have a right to know about our commander-in-chief. And I don't have a problem with them releasing Donald Trump's medical records.
HARLOW: So, Amy --
KREMER: I think we have a right to know.
HARLOW: Hey, Amy, on that point about right to know and transparency.
KREMER: Yes.
HARLOW: So should Donald Trump then release his tax returns?
KREMER: Donald Trump is going to release his tax returns from my understanding.
(CROSSTALK)
SHULMAN: Really? Because he has said so many years ago --
HARLOW: It doesn't sound like before the election.
KREMER: Well, this is what I'll say is that Donald Trump's tax returns have no impact on how he's going to run the country. Their health, both his and Hillary Clinton's health, have an impact on how each of them will run the country.
HARLOW: Right. Holly, final word. Final thoughts.
SHULMAN: Yes, I just want to jump in here. Obviously Trump is making the case based on his business experience that he's the right commander-in-chief. And to say believe me is something that's not enough when you're running for president and it's time that he releases them. Period.
HARLOW: All right.
KREMER: And same for her medical records.
HARLOW: Holly Shulman, Amy Kremer, thank you both.
A lot ahead this hour. Returning home, families in flood-ravaged Louisiana get the first look at what' is left of their homes after being forced to grab what they could and run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't even to get that. So I feel bad. It makes me -- I said, I'm going back. I don't care how deep it is. To get her things that she wanted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you put it on the boat?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I argue with her before and I said, I'm going to go back and get your mama's things, I said, even though it's hard because I said people saying it might be eight foot or so. And that's what got me, just the little things that her mama gave to her and I said it wasn't important to bring it because it's never going to get that high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Heartbroken families. We'll take you live to Louisiana next.
Also, a deadly explosion at a wedding in Turkey overnight killing more than 50 people. The suicide bomber believed to be as young as 12 years old.
And later, she is now the first female campaign manager of a Republican presidential nominee. So who is Kellyanne Conway and why was she tapped for the job? We'll take a look at her political chops. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:16:48] HARLOW: The governor of Louisiana saying his state needs your help recovering from the country's worst natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy. As the floodwaters are receding there in Louisiana, victims going back to their homes seeing if anything is left of them. Well, Governor John Bel Edwards saying this morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" his state desperately needs your assistance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: This is a historic unprecedented flood event. And because it wasn't a hurricane or a tropical storm, this rain event didn't have a name, we have folks around the country that I think are just now realizing how significant it was, and so we really need help. Typically by this point in a storm I think Red Cross would be receiving a lot more donations. I think there would be more volunteers signing up, although we have some of that in place now.
It would be very helpful if people would donate to the Red Cross, to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and also to come in and volunteer to help people get back in their homes as quickly as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right. And consider these numbers. This state has seen nearly seven trillion gallons of rainfall in just about a week. 13 people have died. And more than 60,000 homes have been damaged.
National correspondent Polo Sandoval joining me now from Gonzales, Louisiana. You've been there for days reporting on this, Polo. I mean, we heard the heartbreaking sound from one father just a minute ago about all that they've lost and what they've going through. I mean, are they getting any relief?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's what they hope, Poppy. We are outside one of those 60,000 homes that were extremely damaged here. And as we give you a wider look, Poppy, you know, those seven trillion gallons of rain that you mentioned, this is what it leaves behind. Widespread devastation. And as you're about to hear, extreme emotional heartbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW LEBLANC, GONZALES RESIDENT: This is where the kitchen was right here. The water got up to about two and a half foot in the house.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Step through Drew LeBlanc's door in the city of Gonzales and you'll see what hundreds of homes in southern Louisiana look like today, a bare interior stripped of any comforts of home.
D. LEBLANC: We had to gut everything totally in the house. SANDOVAL: LeBlanc only saved what he and his son Alec (PH) could
carry out as the water approached his doorstep last Monday. Most of what was left behind had to be discarded and now sits soaked on the front lawn.
AMBER LEBLANC, GONZALES RESIDENT: It happened fast and it's sad. You do what you got to do. We saved a lot. We -- thanks to him and my brother, they put everything as high as they could.
SANDOVAL: LeBlanc saved his family and the small, irreplaceable items, including his mother-in-law's albums.
D. LEBLANC: Her stuff, she kept it this blue tote. And this is what gets me. I said, we -- I said, we're not going -- we don't need to get that. So I felt bad the next day. Because I didn't want it destroyed. And I said, I'm going back. I don't care how deep it is, to get her things that she wanted. This is a damn shame.
SANDOVAL: Alec used his cell phone to capture that return home, along with his son.
D. LEBLANC: I didn't even remember it was his birthday, because of all the trauma that was going on.
[17:20:05] SANDOVAL: There was time for a brief celebration amid the heartbreak, though. Dad fashioned a makeshift cake out of whipped cream and a few cookies.
D. LEBLANC: I actually sang happy birthday to him while we were standing in the water in the house.
SANDOVAL: Like many of the families on his block, LeBlanc has help from friends, neighbors and coworkers.
D. LEBLANC: I'm living in my camper. And it's going to be rough for the next two months, but we, you know, all of us are safe. We're alive.
SANDOVAL: Even with those helping hands, he says it will be weeks, perhaps months, before he turns his house into a home again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: And back out live, you know, the LeBlancs are really just the face of this. There are so many other families just like them that are now struggling to rebuild. Especially as you see this. There's just pile after pile of people's belongings that are now on their front lawns. Even after you just heard the LeBlancs still consider themselves to be the lucky ones. You see, they had flood insurance. There's some of the few that will cover their home, but as for the contents, what you see back here, Poppy, they will have to rely on federal government as they try to get as much of it back.
HARLOW: Such an interesting point, an important point about 12 percent of the folks there, that's the estimate, only 12 percent have flood insurance. Polo, thank you very much reporting for us from Gonzales, Louisiana,
tonight.
If you want to help, just go to CNN.com/impact. We have a whole list of ways that you can help the flood victims. You heard from the governor. They need every cent they can get.
All right. Coming up, a Florida mother is staying inside. She's wearing long sleeves in the middle of summer. Why? Because she is pregnant and she lives in Miami in the middle of a health scare. How the Zika virus is affecting her and so many others in Miami. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:25:00] HARLOW: The Zika virus is prompting fresh warnings for people in Miami right now. The CDC saying that pregnant women should not travel to parts of Miami Beach where local transmission has been confirmed.
This advisory is coming after five new cases of Zika were traced to a 1 1/2-square-mile stretch of Miami Beach.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports on a mother who is almost never leaving her home right now as a result.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carla McGuire helps her mother-in-law get her son's stroller out the door. And that's it. McGuire stays behind while grandma gets to play with little Rafael.
(On camera): Mommy's at home and you're here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
COHEN (voice-over): That's because Rafael's mother is pregnant in Miami where Zika is spreading.
CARLA MCGUIRE, EXPECTING MOTHER AND OB-GYN: I don't want to be outside unnecessarily.
COHEN: And she knows what she's talking about.
(On camera): You're not just any other concerned pregnant lady.
MCGUIRE: Yes. I'm an OB-GYN as well.
COHEN (voice-over): She's an obstetrician and assistant professor at the University of Miami. Dr. McGuire is doing everything she can to protect Rafael's future little brother.
(On camera): So we got to go out with Rafael and his grandma but you had to stay home. Is that hard? MCGUIRE: It is tough because one of the things I like doing with him
since he's so energetic is playing outside so being inside and kind of entertaining myself inside is sad. But I'll get through it.
COHEN (voice-over): She knows one mosquito bite could potentially give her baby microcephaly, a devastating birth defect.
(On camera): When things go wrong with Zika, they go really wrong.
MCGUIRE: And I think that's what people are most afraid of, and especially my pregnant ladies. It can be pretty devastating.
COHEN (voice-over): Dr. McGuire hardly leaves the house except to go to work. And when she does, she's slathered in bug spray.
(On camera): So that's it. So you've got, let's see, one, two, three, four bottles of bug spray.
MCGUIRE: And one in each bag I carry, so I'm prepared at all times.
COHEN (voice-over): Her baby is due in February and, until then fun with her son means staying indoors.
MCGUIRE: It's hard. And I have a pretty long way to go in pregnancy, so -- but I'm just trying to take it one day at a time.
COHEN: And that's what she tells her patients, one day at a time as Zika spreads in Miami.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Surfside, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: All right, Elizabeth. Thank you.
Still to come, the unthinkable in Turkey. A young boy detonating a suicide bomb in the middle of a wedding. What the country's president is saying about it all, who is responsible, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:31:23] HARLOW: We are following two developing stories tonight out of the Middle East. Overnight in southern Turkey right by the Syrian border, a boy believed to be as young as 12 years old, detonated a suicide bomb during a wedding celebration killing 51 people. Turkey's president blaming ISIS.
Also we're also following a stern warning to Russia and to Syria from a top American commander, Lieutenant General Steve Townsend vowing to defend U.S. Special Operations in northern Syria if Russian and Syrian attacks continue in the areas where U.S. troops are known to be.
Let's discuss these developments with CNN global affairs analyst and "Daily Beast" contributor Kimberly Dozier. Let's begin with what happened in Turkey. The unthinkable, a complete massacre, a boy as young as 12 or 14 goes into this wedding celebration in this town right near the Syrian border, blows himself up. 50 people at least were killed. And now President Erdogan is saying that they believe ISIS was behind this.
If it was ISIS, Kimberly, why use a child to carry this out?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Poppy, sadly, using children is something that ISIS does. Analysts who have looked at the numbers of people that ISIS has claimed have carried out attacks by studying the suicide videos, say something like 89 teenagers and preteens last year were noted as having carried out these attacks.
They use them because no one sees them coming. This was an outdoor wedding on a street. Nobody looks at somebody 12 or 14 as a potential threat.
HARLOW: And when you look at the totality of what we've seen in Turkey of late, I mean, this attack follows the attack on Ataturk Airport in Istanbul just a few months ago. 44 people were killed in that attack.
What is it, Kimberly, that you think is leading to so much volatility within Turkey? I mean, obviously, part of it is the increased air campaign against ISIS from Turkey, but what else?
DOZIER: Well, there are a couple different things going on. Yes, Turkey is cooperating with coalition and the U.S. to attack ISIS. So it's put itself in ISIS' target sites because of that.
HARLOW: Right.
DOZIER: But it's also reached out to Russia and has talked about restoring economic ties. There have even been news reports that they might allow Russia to use Turkish air bases to conduct anti-ISIS attacks. So that's put them in the firing line. That said, and a lot of U.S. officials have sort of had a disagreement amongst themselves, are we seeing a rise in attacks in Turkey because ISIS is losing territory inside Syria or were they going to do this all along because the plan was to destabilize anyone who was working with the coalition or anyone who wasn't enforcing a strict Islamic State and their definition of that.
HARLOW: And Turkey is such a key partner for the United States in terms of combating ISIS in Syria and Iraq. So it's critical to the overall effort.
I do want to get your take on this, what one of the top U.S. commanders said, Lieutenant General Steve Townsend. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GEN. STEPHEN TOWNSEND, COMMANDER OF U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ AND SYRIA: We've informed the Russians who tell us they've informed the Syrians where we're at. And I just say that we will defend ourselves if we feel threatened.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: And that's the general in charge of war operations based in Iraq. I mean, this is an indication of growing tension between the United States and Russia, some would say, how do you read his warning there?
DOZIER: Well, this came from a few specific incidents, this is where either U.S. allies or last week, specifically, special operations forces felt threatened by nearby bombing from Syrian jets.
[17:35:12] They tried to contact the Russians. The Russians said they're not our jets, but we'll see if we can pass the message along. So this has come from a basis in fact. And they want to let the Russians know if this happens again, there will be consequences. They scrambled jets at the time to protect the special operations forces on the ground, but this has become a pattern where either Syrian or Russian jets hit close to U.S. allies and then afterwards -- or they hit U.S. allies, and then they say, oh, we didn't know they were there.
HARLOW: Right.
DOZIER: The Americans are sending the message, this isn't going to wash anymore.
HARLOW: Kimberly Dozier, our global affairs analyst, live for us tonight in Washington. Thank you so much, Kimberly.
Coming up next, the Trump campaign tries to tame the turmoil by putting a major Republican pollster in charge. Her name Kellyanne Conway. You've seen her all over the airwaves this week, but who is she? And can she help Donald Trump win the White House? Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Manafort out. Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway in. Team Trump has new leadership and we are already seeing the impact of it on the campaign trail.
[17:40:03] The new brain trust advising Trump wants to get him back on message and up in the polls while letting Trump be Trump. That's the goal for Republican pollster now campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
Our Dana Bash spoke with her this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Back in 2005, you had some pretty tough words for Hillary Clinton. Here is what you said. I'll put it up. "The fact is that Hillary Clinton could not stand up to a cheating husband, so how in the world would she stand up to North Korea and some of our other enemies around the globe." Were you suggesting that someone who reconciles with a cheating spouse is weak?
CONWAY: No. The context of that particular comment, I don't know what it was, but I'll stand by in the following sense. I think people are looking for a strong, tough leader. And many American women have to make the choice that she made or have to make the opposite choice. But the fact is that people are looking for strength, and people are looking for leadership, and people will peruse all types of decisions you have made throughout your life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So what else do we know about Kellyanne Conway? Our CNN investigative correspondent Chris Frates takes a look at the career of the first female campaign manager for a Republican nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A more disciplined Donald Trump on the campaign trail.
TRUMP: Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And believe it or not I regret it.
FRATES: Why the change? The tone bears all the hallmarks of his new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, a longtime Washington pollsters helped shape campaigns for GOP heavyweights including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 1996 vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Indiana governor and now current vice presidential candidate Mike Pence.
And she's challenged the idea of a Hillary Clinton presidency for more than a decade.
CONWAY: The high watermark for Hillary Clinton in most admirable women was in 1998 at 28 percent. That was the year that her husband used her like a doormat. He cheated on her. He humiliated her which suggests to me that --
(CROSSTALK)
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: But she never left the man's side, Kellyanne. That's --
CONWAY: I admire her when people keep saying -- I admire her, and I actually feel sorry for her.
FRATES: In 2005, even Conway might not have backed a Trump candidacy.
TRUMP: It's time for a change. We need a change.
FRATES: Saying in the interview that, quote, "Although Americans love to pretend they have this great love affair with change and choice, and options and revolution, they order the same thing at McDonald's every single night. They really don't like change, they like consistency, they adhere to certainty." Now her mission is to help Trump craft a winning message.
CONWAY: We're going to make sure Donald Trump is comfortable about being in his own skin, that he doesn't lose that authenticity that you simply can't buy and a pollster can't give you. FRATES: For Trump, that also means winning over women voters. A
group Conway has spent her career reaching.
CONWAY: We're going to fight for everybody's vote and we recognize that all issues are women's issues and we're going to earn their votes.
FRATES: The first woman to serve as a campaign manager for a Republican presidential candidate, Conway is viewed as the yin to street fighter and campaign CEO Steve Bannon's yang and now has Trump's ear.
CONWAY: But the advice I would give him is to be authentic because that's what Americans appreciate and we've seen with Hillary Clinton what happens when you're inauthentic, when you're trying too hard to be something you're not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: That was Chris Frates reporting.
Coming up next, more on Kellyanne Conway, Trump's new campaign manager. She co-wrote a book on how women voters are shaking up the American political landscape. Her co-author, a Democrat, will join me on the other side. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:47:25] HARLOW: This week Donald Trump chose a woman named Kellyanne Conway to manage his campaign and reshape his presidential bid. One of Conway's most valuable skills is understanding female voters and the issues that matter most to them.
She is a veteran GOP pollster who devoted much of her career to helping conservative men reach female voters. Now Donald Trump must persuade more in that group to side with him if he wants to win in November. You've seen the polling.
In 2005 Conway co-authored a book "What Women Really Want: How American Women are Quietly Erasing Political Class and Religious Lines to Change the Way We Live."
Joining me now is the co-author of that book with Conway, Celinda Lake. She is the president of Lake Research Partners. Thanks so much for joining me.
CELINDA LAKE, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: It's fun to be here. Thank you.
HARLOW: You are a Democratic pollster, Kellyanne Conway is a Republican pollster.
LAKE: Yes.
HARLOW: Let's talk about this strength you think a pollster brings in managing a campaign. It's a different job and frankly some potential weaknesses. LAKE: It is a different kind of job. But the thing I think that a
pollster brings is a real ear for the public and Donald Trump has been a little tin-eared in a lot of different settings.
We do -- we spend a lot of time looking at how people hear different kind of language. And women in particular pay a lot of attention to language and how you say things and what you say. And that's an important quality. And women make up their minds later than men. They gather more of their information late in the campaign. So these are important qualities.
I think that also hopefully we can bring an impartial view. I think pollsters are the greatest Democrats because we bring the views of the public to the candidates and help them break out of family and inside networks and their own instincts.
HARLOW: So --
LAKE: To hear how people are really hearing them.
HARLOW: So you know Kellyanne Conway very well. I mean you two wrote a book together. You say that she gets more done before noon than anyone else gets done in a day. She co-wrote the book with you while running her company and having twins at the same time. Pretty incredible.
LAKE: Yes.
HARLOW: Did you hear the Kellyanne Conway effect, if you will, when Donald Trump said this week, I regret, and basically, you know, apologized, and then also when he in the last few days has been making a major outreach to African-American and Hispanic voters? Is that the Kellyanne Conway effect?
LAKE: I think it is a big part. I mean, I'm not privy to any of the decisions. But it's very much in keeping with what she would know and what she would think. But the great news for Democrats is she still has to work with Donald Trump. And while he may deliver her lines in those speeches he can't stay on message very long without blowing it or saying something Donald Trump-ism and --
[17:50:06] HARLOW: I don't know. He's been using that teleprompter a lot.
(LAUGHTER)
LAKE: He has. And then he comments on the side and it's a disaster.
HARLOW: So let me ask you this. Back in 2005, I want to pull this up. Back in 2005, Conway said this about Hillary Clinton. Let me quote. "The fact is that Hillary Clinton could not stand up to a cheating husband, so how in the world would she stand up to North Korea and some of our other enemies around the globe?" She said that on MSNBC. And then this morning my colleague Dana Bash asked her about that. And, you know, she said she was not trying to suggest that women who stick with straying husbands are necessarily weak, but she was suggesting that all of Clinton's decisions on and off the political stage must be scrutinized.
Do you think that that is a type of attack on Clinton we can now expect from the Trump camp with Kellyanne Conway in charge?
LAKE: Well, those are the kinds of attacks that we were seeing with and without Kellyanne. And she has had a long-term view that she's articulated many times. You showed a number of pieces of footage about this. I think this is -- this was not something in the book, and I think frankly it's fundamentally flawed.
First of all, this is a very personal decision, and many women are grateful to Hillary Clinton for her actions at the time, and many, many women feel that's their marriage, I'm not going to judge it, I've got enough problems with my marriage. And marriages take a lot of work and they go through a lot of periods, and so I think that's a fundamentally flawed line of attack, but it's something that she's articulated for a long time.
HARLOW: So we know from Kellyanne Conway that debate prep in team Trump started this weekend. To be a fly on the wall, right, with either of these candidates in their debate prep.
LAKE: Yes.
HARLOW: But you know her well. What does debate prep look like with Kellyanne Conway?
LAKE: I really couldn't say, but I think probably some of the things that I think are her trademarks, I don't know if they're Donald Trump's trademarks, she does her homework. She really is thoughtful. She will base what she says on research. She's very values oriented in her approach, and she realizes, as our book did, we did a typology of eight different kinds of women and we realized that women were not monolithic and really went in depth in the books to different kinds of women.
So I would assume she brings all of the expertise. She'll be attuned to tone, which is very important to women, and I think it's an interesting counterbalance to her campaign partner who has some of the harsh rhetoric that Trump has, and it's wildly unsuccessful with women.
HARLOW: You point out, women as a voting bloc not monolithic at all, obviously. But when you're Donald Trump and you're 20 points down among female voters, you wrote all about this. You wrote a book on this. What does he have to do to garner more female support?
LAKE: Well, I think it may be too far gone. I mean, this -- Donald Trump is like the worst date that many women have ever been on, and I think many women have formed their opinions, and that's why we have a record gender gap. But what he has to do is open the door with some women who are more swing and who may be later decideres. There were three groups in the book that I think would be targets for him. Suburban caretakers, the suburban moms, if you will, who seek security and caring as their function. Waitress moms, blue-collar moms. Kellyanne's own mom was a single blue-collar mom, a Democrat actually. And senior survivors. Donald Trump does better with older women than he does with younger women.
So I would image if I were advising him, I would take a couple of groups of women and try to talk about security, try to talk about an economy that will work for their families. But in many ways, honestly, I think women have already decided to excuse themselves from this dinner. They're headed to the ladies' powder room and they're not coming back.
HARLOW: I don't know, we still got 80 days to go. A lot could happen.
LAKE: There you go.
HARLOW: Celinda Lake, nice to have you on the program. Thank you so much.
LAKE: Nice to be here. Thank you.
HARLOW: All right. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:57:52] HARLOW: He's a wanted murderer on the run, and tonight John Walsh is asking for your help to track him down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WALSH, HOST, "THE HUNT": It's always about the money. You know how cops always say follow the money trail, you know? It sound too simplistic, but he was after that money and he did get ahold of that money. She actually started an account with his name on it so he could do his inept. He wasn't even good at it. He was a good con man but he was a lousy day trader and he started to lose massive amounts of money that I figure must have taken her years to save.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did access a GMail account that Sue had and in those e-mails, we could see over the course of time that whatever relationship she had with Jorge was rapidly disintegrating into 2010 and certainly before. It seemed that she would try to learn information about what was going on with her investment and other aspects of their lives. He would not respond in a timely manner or his responses would be short and curt and clearly not satisfactory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right, don't miss a brand new episode of CNN's "THE HUNT" with John Walsh. It is tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only right here on CNN.
Top of the hour, 6:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We begin tonight with politics and new claims that Donald Trump may be changing his stance on immigration and perhaps backing off one of his campaign's biggest promises. This one day after Trump made aggressive plays for minority voters, not only saying he wants the GOP to be the home of the black vote but also hosting a roundtable meeting with Hispanic leaders yesterday. Univision tonight is reporting that multiple sources say that Trump
may be changing his tune on immigration. They quoted an immigration attorney from Texas in the meeting who said that Trump acknowledged that deporting 11 million undocumented workers in this country is, quote, "neither possible or humane." If that's true, it would be a major departure from the build the wall Donald Trump. Trump's campaign tonight pushing back hard saying their candidate said nothing in the meeting that he hasn't said before.
