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State of the Union

Interview With Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards; Interview With Hillary Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook; Interview With Donald Trump Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway; Donald Trump Courts African-American Voters; The President's Annual Vacation. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired August 21, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:15]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Regime change. A radical power shift at the top tier of Trump Tower and a first from the candidate.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I regret it.

BASH: Can Trump's new team lead him to a win, or is it too little, too late? His new campaign manager will be here in moments.

Plus, Clinton cash. The Clinton Foundation says it will no longer take donations from foreign governments. Are they already feeling the heat from the new Trump CEO, who produced a bestseller following the money?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American people are tired of being sold out.

BASH: And muddy waters. The devastating blood in Baton Rouge becomes a political lightning rod, as Trump visits...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're glad you're not playing golf in Martha's Vineyard.

BASH: ... and the president doesn't. The governor of Louisiana will be here live with the latest.

Plus, the best political minds will be here with insights on the campaign trail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Hello. I am Dana Bash, in for Jake Tapper, where the state of our union is reaching out?

After a campaign shakeup this week, Donald Trump last night made a fresh pitch to minority voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: The GOP is the party of Abraham Lincoln. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And I want our party to be the home of the African-American voter once again.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Trump also convened some of Hispanic supporters at Trump Tower yesterday. And a bombshell report by Univision says he told people in the room that he would roll out a plan to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants.

That would, of course, be a major reversal from his call in the primary to deport all estimated 11 million. Univision, the Spanish- language network that's battled with Trump, also reports Trump said he regretted his previous comments about Mexicans.

So, what really happened at the meeting?

Joining me now is Donald Trump's newly minted campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway.

So, Kellyanne, let me just get some clarity, since you were at this meeting. Does Donald Trump still support setting up a deportation force and removing the 11 million, or estimated 11 million, undocumented immigrants from America, yes or no?

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: So, what Donald Trump said yesterday in that meeting differed very little from what he's said publicly, Dana, including in his convention speech last month in Cleveland.

It's that we need a -- quote -- "fair" and -- quote -- "humane" way of dealing with what is estimated to be about 11 million illegal immigrants in this country. That was part of the discussion. It was a very robust discussion.

I have seen him very animated in meetings like this, where he is learning, he's taking notes, he's asking questions, he is receiving information. And the rest of the conversation, frankly, was about job creation, economic revitalization, the fact that small business growth among Hispanic and Latino Americans is on the rise.

And we talked about the inability to get access to capital for many of them. We talked about homeownership as being very important, religion and family being very important to Hispanics. It was a very long, very far-reaching conversation. But nothing was said yesterday that differs from what Mr. Trump has said previously.

BASH: Well, let me play something from what Mr. Trump has said previously. Listen to what he said back in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You're going to have a deportation force. And you're going to do it humanely and inexpensively.

QUESTION: Are they going to be ripped out of their homes?

TRUMP: Can I tell you?

QUESTION: How?

TRUMP: They're going back to where they came. If they came from a certain country, they are going to be brought back to that country. That's the way it's supposed to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So, does Donald Trump still support that, a deportation force removing the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants?

CONWAY: 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.

(CROSSTALK)

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.

BASH: OK.

Let's talk about Donald Trump's tax returns. Back in April, you said on CNN that you want Trump to be transparent. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I wanted to ask you about this alliance between -- you first, Kellyanne -- between John Kasich and Ted Cruz, this alliance, shall we say, that Donald Trump is calling collusion.

[09:05:04]

LEMON: Is this fair game?

CONWAY: Of course it's fair game.

LEMON: Are they playing by the rules here?

CONWAY: Oh, absolutely. It's completely transparent. Donald Trump's tax returns aren't. I would like to see those be transparent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: OK, now you're in charge of his campaign. Given that, given how you feel, are we going to see Donald Trump's tax returns soon?

CONWAY: So, now that I am on the inside, I know something I didn't know then, which is, he is under audit and what that means.

And he has said very clearly -- and I back him up completely -- that when the audit is completed, he will release the tax returns.

And let me just say something about transparency. It comes in many different forms, Dana, as does accountability and as does truthfulness. And we can't imagine going up against a less transparent, less accountable, more sort of rigged and corrupt individual as our political opponent than Hillary Clinton.

She has had a terrible week when it comes to being transparent and accountable, whether it's the revelations of the pay for play at the -- in the State Department that -- that I know that you, CNN is very much on top of and your reporting is, Dana, as well as -- as well as the -- what happened at the Clinton Foundation.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: And we are -- and we are talking about that, for sure. But in this particular interview and these questions are about Donald Trump.

And you mentioned the audit. According to his lawyers, the years 2002 to 2008 are no longer under audit. So, would you release those tax returns?

CONWAY: No, I would not.

And this entire tax return debate is somewhat confounding to me, in the following sense. I don't think that it creates one job, gets one more individual who does not have health insurance covered by health insurance, particularly under the disaster that has been Obamacare with these private insurers pulling out our exchanges now and reporting billions of dollars of losses.

What I think happened -- I think people are most concerned about is, how would a President Trump or how would a President Hillary affect their tax bill? Everyday life is becoming increasingly unaffordable for Americans, and they deserve the kind of relief that he laid very strongly out in his speech.

If we want transparency, if we want specifics, the most relevant thing that people can look at is, what is his plan for their tax bill to make everyday affordability, job security and rebuilding the American economy, whether it's energy-based, whether it's bringing back manufacturing, as he promised, as Governor Pence in Indiana has been able to accomplish on his watch.

So, we want Americans to look at the actual plans that affect them.

BASH: You mentioned Hillary Clinton a few times. Back in 2005, you had some pretty tough words for Hillary Clinton. Here is what you said. I will 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 will 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. The irony, since I made that comment, Dana, the irony for Hillary Clinton is, she was a United States senator. She since lost a presidential nomination contest to Barack Obama three years later, even though a majority of the voters were female in the Democratic primary that year.

And, as secretary of state, I think she has got a record that's worthy of review. How did she stand up to North Korea? Aren't they more strong now? Aren't they more capable as a power to do the destruction? What's happened with Iran since she became secretary of state? Why in the world did the State Department just reveal that indeed we did exchange $400 million for four hostages? We all know it was ransom.

It wasn't what she said -- quote -- "old news" and...

BASH: And do you think...

CONWAY: ... what President Obama said -- quote -- "manufacturing outrage."

So, we know -- it turns out we know exactly how she would stand up to those powers. And it's very unimpressive record.

BASH: And, as you said, you made that comment a long time ago. But it sounds like you're saying that those character traits that you're discussing about her work at the State Department are the same that led to her staying with her husband?

CONWAY: No, I am not saying that at all, nor should anybody presume that I am saying that. We don't need to conflate the two. What I'm saying is, when people look at presidential...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: But you did that back in 2005. I'm just trying to get a sense of where you are now.

(CROSSTALK) CONWAY: Well, you know, Dana, there are millions of women in this country who made the opposite choice too. And that's a right. My mother certainly did.

She was left with a young child at the age of 26 with a high school degree, not a Yale Law School degree. And she certainly wasn't first lady of the country and had to pull herself back up and find a way to support us. And God bless her. She did.

So, no, let's not conflate the two. But let's really look at what Americans are seeking in the next president. They want leadership. And leadership is shown by doing things like heading down to Louisiana on Friday, as Trump and Pence did, to actually help people.

[09:10:00]

You don't stop and say, gee, is it a swing state? Gee, should we go? You go where people need help.

I thought that Governor Romney should have gone to New Jersey, for example, when we were suffering here after Hurricane Sandy. And so -- so, I'm glad that, when you want to talk about being presidential or you want to show leadership, leaders show up where people in need are, and they hear them, and they help them. And you saw that on full display on Friday. That's a leader.

BASH: And we're going to talk about that later in the show.

But I want to ask about "The New York Times" reporting that Donald Trump convened a meeting about his campaign last week that included you, Steve Bannon and Roger Ailes, who, of course, is the former chairman of FOX News.

Can you confirm that Roger Ailes was in that meeting?

CONWAY: He was not in a meeting where I was present.

But I know that Roger Ailes and Donald Trump are old friends and that their friendship preceded FOX News, preceded a presidential run by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump has -- has been a very successful businessman here in New York. He knows many people and talks to many people frequently.

And I think, Dana, as even CNN's own Erin Burnett and Brian Stelter said on a show where I -- on her show, where I appeared earlier in the week, they said, who wouldn't want Roger Ailes giving them advice, and that Brian was remarking how kind and how helpful Mr. Ailes was to Brian when he was making the transition to CNN.

BASH: So, just to be clear, is Roger Ailes actively advising Donald Trump at this point?

CONWAY: He obviously has no formal or informal role with the campaign. But Mr. Trump speaks to many different people. Roger Ailes is a genius when it comes to television, when it comes to

communicating with people. But so is Donald Trump. I think what you saw this week is -- is Donald Trump, the communicator, the connective tissue between him and people taking his case right to the people, and it working.

BASH: Kellyanne Conway, thank you so much for your time this morning.

CONWAY: Thank you for having me, Dana.

BASH: Coming up: Trump's team says he's already preparing for the first debate. How is Hillary Clinton getting ready for their first showdown?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:09]

BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Dana Bash.

Bill and Hillary Clinton celebrated the former president's 70th birthday this weekend in Martha's Vineyard.

And while there are a lot of questions about what role Bill might play if Hillary Clinton becomes president, we now know one he won't. The ex-president said this week he will step down from the board of the Clinton Foundation if his wife is elected.

The foundation also announced that, if Clinton wins, it will stop accepting donations from foreign governments and corporations, a move that even some supporters should have happened years ago.

And joining me now is the Clinton campaign manager, Robby Mook.

Robby, thanks for joining me.

My first question for you is about the Clinton Foundation. It announced on Thursday it will not accept foreign donations if Hillary Clinton is elected president. Forty percent of the foundation's top donors, those giving more than a million dollars, are foreign.

So, if it's not OK to take this money as president, why was it OK to take it as secretary of state?

ROBBY MOOK, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, first of all, when the rules were put in place in 2009, they were a big burden on the foundation.

And it's important to remember what the foundation does. Over 10 million people around the world get important AIDS medication, lifesaving AIDS and HIV medication because of the foundation. The foundation has reduced the cost of malaria drugs by 90 percent.

So, this is important, lifesaving work. And there were some foreign governments, like Australia and Norway, that were -- that had existing donations to the foundation, and the foundation wanted them to be able to follow through on their commitments, so that this work could be protected.

But it was an unprecedented step they took back in 2009. And the foundation is saying they're prepared to make an unprecedented step, should Hillary become president, to go even further in terms of disclosure and limits.

BASH: But if this is the right policy now, why not do it now? Why wait until the idea of her being president? Why not do it when she is running for president?

MOOK: Well, the foundation is doing an enormous amount of work, and it takes time when you're in a number of countries around the world to retool, refocus the mission and adapt. As you said, they receive a great deal of funding through these streams. And it will just take some time for them to readjust.

Look, what we're focused on right now is making sure Hillary Clinton is elected president, so nobody wants to get ahead of themselves. But we're glad to hear that they have once again taken an unprecedented step in terms of transparency and rules.

BASH: But, Robby, I know you understand this. Part of the issue with a lot of voters keeping her from being president, keeping voters from going into the booth and voting for her is they think that, you know, that there are lots of questions about the integrity or honesty of her experience in politics, and that this is one of them.

So, considering that, why not, if you're going to take this step, do it now to make clear that there is no issue here with her accepting foreign donations or others from people who might be trying to affect her and trying to get around giving it to the campaign, the way anybody else would?

MOOK: Well, what the foundation did was unprecedented, as I said, and what they're going to do is going to be unprecedented as well.

You talk about transparency. Donald Trump hasn't released his taxes. Donald Trump hasn't released a serious health letter yet. Donald Trump refuses to disclose the full architecture of his financial debts and obligations around the world.

We just read yesterday in "The New York Times" that -- that he is a debtor to the Bank of China. No one had disclosed this.

[09:20:02]

BASH: But, Robby, I asked about Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump. We are going to talk later about that.

(CROSSTALK)

MOOK: Well, but -- but my point is that there's -- there is all this scrutiny because Hillary Clinton has been transparent.

I don't think you heard these questions when members of the Bush family continued to serve on boards for the first President Bush's foundation.

So, as I said, the foundation is taking unprecedented steps here. We're very proud that they're doing that. But, right now, we're focused on making sure Hillary Clinton becomes president and letting the foundation do the retooling that they need to do.

BASH: A new batch of State Department e-mails were released last week showing Doug Band, a counselor to the Clinton Foundation, asking Clinton advisers Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, who were both State Department employees at the time, for a -- quote -- "favor."

And he forwarded an e-mail from a Clinton Foundation donor and told them it was important to take care of the request. And Huma wrote back, and here's what she said: "We have all had him on our radar. Personnel has been sending him options."

Is this the kind of back-scratching that has Americans just turned off and done with people who have been in Washington a long time?

MOOK: Well, first of all, Dana, the e-mailing question from Doug Band was coming from his private e-mail account. It had -- or his Clinton.com e-mail account. It was not related to the foundation.

And the foundation at every step -- or, rather, excuse me -- the State Department at every step was following all the appropriate protocols. This was someone who had a relationship with the Clintons long before Hillary became secretary of state.

BASH: But -- excuse me -- but -- but, Robby, the issue is not so much where the e-mail is coming from. It's the request in general and who the request is going to, right?

MOOK: Well, again, this is someone who had a longstanding relationship with the Clintons, who had wanted to provide some insight into a matter.

And, obviously, the Clintons have staff that facilitate those sorts of communication. But there was no quid pro quo or anything like that here. And, as I said, the e-mail was originated from President Clinton's private office.

BASH: A federal judge on Friday ordered Hillary Clinton to provide written testimony about her private server. You are going to get the questions by October 14, and you're going to have 30 days to answer them.

So, theoretically, you won't have to answer the questions until after the election. You were just talking about transparency and how transparent Secretary Clinton has been. Given that, in the name of transparency, will she work to produce those answers and make them public before the election on November 8?

MOOK: Well, as you mentioned, the judge has set a deadline whereby the group in question needs to submit those. And when they're received, I know that the secretary will get to work right away on answering them. But let's step back and look at the origin of all of this. The right

wing and Republicans in Congress are not satisfied with the answer that the career professionals at the FBI and the Justice Department gave. They said there was no case here.

This is just another example of a right-wing group just trying to keep this, the questions coming and keep this issue alive. The American people have all the information. The e-mails have been released. They have enough to make a judgment at this point. We -- we at the campaign just want to move on and talk about the issues that people actually care about in this election, like jobs, college affordability and health care.

BASH: That sounds like a no.

MOOK: As I said, as soon as she receives the question, if the judge asks her to answer those questions, she will get to work right away on getting those questions answered.

BASH: You're facing an incredibly delicate task. You are looking for somebody to find to play Donald Trump in mock debates for Hillary Clinton's debate prep, somebody who is going to bring up some topics that your candidate probably would rather forget.

Have you settled on that person?

MOOK: Well, we haven't yet.

It's very hard to find someone to mimic the reckless temperament and the hateful instincts and divisive instincts of Donald Trump. Preparing for a debate with him is a challenging task.

BASH: Is it...

MOOK: But Secretary Clinton is looking forward to the debate. I think you will see a real difference between steady leadership and a very reckless temperament.

BASH: Is it that, or is it finding somebody who is willing -- who knows Hillary Clinton well who is willing to say some pretty tough things to her?

MOOK: She -- look, she has been in this game a long time. She has had a lot of tough things said to her. That's not the challenge here.

The challenge is finding someone who -- who can recreate the kind of reckless temperament, the kind of hateful language and divisive language that's become Trump's hallmark. But we will get it done. We're looking forward to the debates.

BASH: Robby Mook, thank you so much for joining me this morning.

MOOK: Thanks so much.

BASH: Coming up: Trump visit the victims of Louisiana's historic flood. And hours later, the president announces he plans to go too. Should Obama have arrived sooner?

[09:25:01]

I will ask Louisiana's governor. He is here live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Dana Bash.

The flooding in Louisiana that began last weekend is now the worst disaster to hit the U.S. since Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

A new report estimates 110,000 homes are damaged. And the Red Cross says cleanup will cost $30 million. Republican candidates Donald Trump and Mike Pence visited the flood zone on Friday and hit President Obama for not being there.

The White House says that the president will travel to Louisiana on Tuesday.

Caught in the political crossfire is the state's Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, who joins me live now from Baton Rouge.

Governor, thank you so much for taking time away from the crisis to join us.

I want to talk about those politics in a minute.

But, first, what are your most urgent needs at this point?

GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: Well, Dana, 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.

BASH: And you are getting what you need with the federal gov -- from the federal government, rather?

EDWARDS: Yes. And Dana, this time last week I submitted the formal request for a national declaration. And the president granted that within a few hours and called me, and I will tell you that the cooperation we've had with our federal partners at FEMA has been extraordinary this week.

I don't have any complaints at all about the relationship that I've got with FEMA. The assistance they're providing, the timeliness of that assistance. But we have now transitioned from response to recovery, and this is going to take many months.

BASH: So Donald Trump and Mike Pence came down to Baton Rouge on Friday. You dismissed the visit as a photo op and you said you wished that Trump would make a donation to a relief organization instead. We did, by the way, check with the campaign. And they said Trump made pa $100,000 donation to the Greenwell Springs Baptist Church where he visited. But here is what your fellow Democrat, former Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu said about the visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY LANDRIEU (D), FORMER LOUISIANA SENATOR: I want to thank Mr. Trump for coming to Louisiana. He brought attention to our state and we need that now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So Governor, why is she wrong?

EDWARDS: She is not and -- but you mischaracterized what I said. I didn't dismiss his trip as a photo op. Before he came down I said I -- we welcome him here. We want him to be helpful and we hope that doesn't turn into a mere photo op. So you got the story backwards.

BASH: OK. So, was he helpful? Now that it's come and gone was he helpful? Was it a good thing that he came down?

EDWARDS: Well, I think -- yes, for the reasons that I stated earlier because it helped to shine a spotlight on Louisiana and on the dire situation that we have here, that it was helpful. And I will tell you that I also appreciated the good phone call, the conversation that I had with Governor Pence, who was sincere and genuine when he called and we spoke for a long time on Friday morning about their desire to be helpful.

BASH: Now, following Trump's visit the White House announced that President Obama will travel there on Tuesday. That came after a local paper, "The Advocate," that you're familiar with, published an editorial calling on the president to cut his vacation short and come down.

Now you defended the president saying that you'd rather him delay his visit to preserve resources. I just want to be clear did you ask the White House not to come down? Did they want to come?

EDWARDS: I would never ask the White House not to do what the president wants to do.

BASH: Did the White House want to come down earlier?

EDWARDS: But I've been talk (ph) -- the White House asked me -- in fact, the president and Valerie Jarrett asked me when would be a good time for a visit. I asked them to let us get out of the response mode where we were still conducting searches of houses and we were still making rescues. I didn't want to divert these police officers, sheriff's deputies and state troopers and other essential resources and assets to providing security for the president while they were need in this region to undergo those -- or to undertake those response activities. And I asked that if he could wait until the response was over and we got into the recovery phase, which I predicted we would do over the weekend and certainly next week would be a better time for us to visit. But the president is welcome to come to our state anytime that he wants to.

BASH: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani released a statement harshly criticizing you this week. He said the Democratic governor's criticism of Mr. Trump's visit to Louisiana is an outrage and completely inconsistent with their criticism of President Bush's decision to not go to New Orleans immediately after Hurricane Katrina.

I was a White House reporter back then. I was with President Bush when he visited five days after Katrina hit. And a lot of folks, especially Democrats, complained loudly at that time that it wasn't soon enough. Is there a double standard here?

EDWARDS: No. And I'll tell you that I believe that Mayor Giuliani got it completely wrong perhaps for the same reason that you did.

I have not been critical of Mr. Trump's visit. I have tried not to comment because I don't want to get tied up in the politics of whether it's the president, whether it's Hillary Clinton or whether it's Donald Trump.

[09:35:08]

I have tried not to comment. And the comments that I have made have been very reserved. And so I think he was off base there with that comment.

As for when the president visits, I think I just went over that. He is welcome to visit when he wants to, but because we were undergoing the response here in the capital region, I asked that they consider coming next week, which ultimately is what he is going to do.

BASH: All right. Well, governor, you've got a lot of important work to do. I want to -- don't want to keep you any longer. I just want to reiterate for our viewers what you said at the top of the interview, that the biggest help people can give, who want to give is to call the Red Cross, to donate there. And you can also, for more information on how to help, volunteer or where to donate, go to CNN.com/impact.

Governor, thank you for your time. Good luck to you.

EDWARDS: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: There are just 79 days to go until the election, but is the wildest stretch still to come? What a top Trump advisor says they have in store for Hillary Clinton come September. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:22] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That was Donald Trump making a pitch to African-Americans this week, saying Democrats haven't produced for them. He promised that in four years he would win 95 percent of the black vote.

Joining me to talk about this and much more is Martin O'Malley, former Maryland governor and Democratic presidential candidate. Corey Lewandowski, former Trump campaign manager and CNN commentator who we should know is still receiving severance payments from the campaign. Andre Bauer, CNN political commentator. And Symone Sanders, former press secretary to Bernie Sanders.

I have to start with you. What do you think about the outreach? Do you think there is a chance it's going to work?

SYMONE SANDERS, FMR PRESS SECY, BERNIE SANDERS: I think outreach is an interesting word to use, Dana. I wouldn't use that word at all. Look, I think, a little bit of rhetoric from Donald Trump is not going to erase what we already know about him.

This is the man that started his campaign saying Mexicans are rapists and are taking our jobs. He has built a campaign of divisive rhetoric, of inflammatory rhetoric and at times racist rhetoric. And what we saw last week is -- it wasn't real outreach. All of the speeches that Donald Trump gave were to predominantly white crowds. And if Donald Trump is very interested in reaching out to communities of color specifically African-Americans, perhaps he should have taken invitations from some of these minority serving organizations that asked him to come speak. The Urban League, the national -- the NAACP, the National Association of Black Journalist and Hispanic journalists. So I find it very hard to believe that Donald Trump is interested.

Secondly, it is -- that only (ph) disingenuous but downright insulting the way in which Donald Trump has chosen to do this quote -- unquote -- "outreach". Your schools are failing. Your -- you have no jobs. Does Donald Trump think all black people are poor? And furthermore that all black people are Democrats because they're not?

So I really think that the Republican Party and the Trump campaign for that matter they have to take a very hard look at what outreach looks like, what their definition of outreach is. I know there are some very capable people that they have now hired...

BASH: Let me --

SANDERS: ... at the committee and that they're not letting them do their job.

BASH: Let me get Corey in there. COREY LEWANDOWSKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know what is amazing is the hypocrisy of these statements.

Donald Trump is saying we want to include African-Americans as part of the GOP. The Democrats have failed you and taken advantage of you. And now he is being criticized for asking for their support when the criticism prior to that was he has done nothing to reach out to them.

When the criticism -- you know, Donald Trump yesterday spent some time in New York having a leadership meeting with his prominent Hispanics from across the country talking about what he can do as the next president to make sure that, you know, they have their interests represented. And we don't see that.

What we have is the hypocrisy of saying, we don't like the way he's doing it as opposed to saying, you know what? It's about time. It's a good thing. And growing and asking people to be part of the GOP, reminding them it's the party of Lincoln, is a very good thing for the party and it's a good thing for the country.

SANDERS: The modern-day GOP is--

(CROSSTALK)

MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Dana, it would be good thing where (ph) not for the fact of total (ph) hypocrisy of Donald Trump. I mean, Donald Trump cannot talk about the party of Lincoln. Donald Trump's immigrant bashing and racist rhetoric would make Lincoln roll over in his grave, Corey.

I mean, the fact (ph) -- truth of the matter is Donald Trump wouldn't even repudiate the support from a Klan leader. He retweets racist memes that are put in. He says, oh, I'm a not really making that up, Corey. He says, these are just things I'm repeating that other people do.

I don't think that was really outreach to the very diverse African- American voters throughout this country. That was a reinforcement of a stereo type about black people generally. I mean, you want to see some success of the American dream? Look at so many of the African- American families here in Maryland, look at those young people on the Olympics winning gold medals. That is what our country is about.

BASH: Andre, before I bring you in -- Corey, do you want to respond to that?

LEWANDOWSKI: I think -- I think, to be clear, you know, Mr. Trump has repudiated the Klansman who have said that they supported him. He said, no, I don't want his endorsement. I want nothing to do with them. I want to be very clear about that. He has said that.

Moreover, if you look at what he has done recently, and he has met with African-American pastors around the country, you look at the people who spoke at the convention. Whether it's Darrell Scott or Mark Burns who are consistently at his rallies talking about what that is -- SANDERS: Darrell Scott who just on this network this week said that all black people believe in satire. Darrell Scott who engages in the race baiting and the racist rhetoric...

LEWANDOWSKI: If you want to attack -- if you want to attack Pastor Scott that's up to you. You're welcome...

(CROSSTALK)

LEWANDOWSKI: ... Symone.

SANDERS: ... that Donald Trump does? These are the facts, Dana.

LEWANDOWSKI: You're welcome to do that. But here's the...

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: The modern day Republican Party...

LEWANDOWSKI: ... Democratic Party has failed the African-American community (ph).

SANDERS: ... is not the party of Lincoln.

[09:45:03]

LEWANDOWSKI: Look, the Democratic Party has failed. The Democratic Party has failed. Barack Obama has failed the African-American population.

SANDERS: The modern day Republican Party is a radical, conservative party. That is the party (INAUDIBLE) Donald Trump (INAUDIBLE) we have currently.

LEWANDOWSKI: There are less people -- look, the African-American population today makes less on average than they did four years ago.

SANDERS: Corey, do you know there are black Republicans?

What outreach has the Trump campaign and the Republican Party for that matter --

LEWANDOWSKI: What outreach has Hillary Clinton done?

SANDERS: Pardon me. We can get to that in a second. But answer my question.

LEWANDOWSKI: No. Let's talk about Hillary Clinton. She is the one who's on the ballot.

SANDERS: What outreach has the Trump campaign -- I know he wants to deflect. But what outreach has the Trump campaign...

LEWANDOWSK: What?

SANDERS: ... and the Republican Party for that matter done to reach out to prominent African-American Republicans in their own party? There are prominent African-American --

LEWANDOWSKI: He's had dozens of meetings.

SANDERS: But Corey, I'm telling you that the prominent African- American Republicans (ph), people that I know have said that there has been no outreach to them from the Trump campaign or the Republican Party.

Secondly --

LEWANDOWSKI: There have been dozens of meetings that were covered wildly.

SANDERS: Secondly -- secondly, Donald Trump launched -- Donald Trump's campaign -- this is laughable to me. Donald Trump's campaign launches African-American outreach effort without Donald Trump -- without Donald Trump in North --

LEWANDOWSK: He was in a meeting.

SANDERS: No, no, no, no, no -- in North Carolina just a couple of weeks ago. So --

(CROSSTALK)

LEWANDOWSKI: That's not true. Symone, you're actually factually incorrect. You're factually incorrect.

SANDERS: So to say that Donald Trump is interested -- I don't want to know this (ph). To say that Donald Trump is actually interested in reaching out to African-Americans, that is not the way to actually do it.

BASH: Let me -- let me bring -- let me bring Andre who has been waiting patiently and let's just look at the data. Clinton -- with African-American voters according to an "NBC/Wall Street Journal" poll last taken, Clinton 91 percent support from African-Americans. Trump, one percent.

I get the idea of reaching out, but doesn't he have more groups that are more likely to come to him that he should be reaching out to since this is such a huge disparity in terms of support?

ANDRE BAUER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first let's say that both parties have left the African-American community, quite frankly. They've been taking for granted for far too long. It's been a hand -- a hand in the wrong direction.

There were so many opportunities that help people lift themselves up, they've been missed. And so I'm glad t Republican Party and Donald Trump under his leadership is now doing something about it. We can criticize him all we want but he is making an effort and I am glad he is making an effort.

Democratic Party ought to reach out and do a better effort as well. I'm not criticizing -- I'm not -- I'm trying to tell you that for once I'm happy that somebody is doing something positive. And so it's easy to get caught up and beat (ph) him (ph) down I wouldn't -- he's not doing it the way I would do it possibly.

BASH: Let's -- let's -- let's turn, governor, quickly to the other side of the aisle, to the other candidate running, Hillary Clinton.

Listen to what Newt Gingrich said this week about Trump campaign plans regarding Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: I was privileged to sit through a two-hour briefing over at the Republican National Committee outlining all the things they've learned about Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. It is so staggering. We haven't seen 10 percent of what we're going to learn in September. She is going to drown under the impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Have Republicans -- has the Trump campaign been holding on to something that egregious and you're going to wait until September?

LEWANDOWSKI: OK. What --

BASH: What does he have?

LEWANDOWSKI: What you have now is that the American people are starting to refocus on the campaign. It has been very clear and everyone understood that.

That's why you've seen this week Donald Trump has had the best campaign week. He has been on message. He has been spot on. He has delivered phenomenal speeches.

Some people say the best raw political talent in a hundred years. And what you've seen right now is that campaign is squarely focused on going after Hillary Clinton. What you will see post Labor Day is those ads which Newt alluded to.

BASH: Governor, you ran against Hillary Clinton this year. You probably have some -- have some opposition research files. Is there anything that you're worried about that hasn't come out that will?

O'MALLEY: I think that the Clintons, both President Clinton and Secretary Clinton, are probably the most vetted, pecked over and investigated couple in the history of the republic. And I don't believe that -- I don't believe that we're going to hear anything that we have not heard before.

Corey talked about Donald Trump being a raw talent. He's raw, but it's not talent. It's the -- it's the rawness of scapegoating others. I mean, the man finally comes out with his first political campaign of the season, and it's attacking Syrian refugees.

People -- you know, people have come to our country, Corey, with last names like Lewandowski and O'Malley not because we're a nativist white America only for white Americans sort of country. We're a place that's a beacon of hope for people like that little 5-year-old Syrian boy.

And what does -- what does -- what does Donald Trump do?

(CROSSTALK)

O'MALLEY: He wants an add saying that we're being overrun with immigrants...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: I'm sorry --

O'MALLEY: ... from (ph) Syria. Give me a break. He's raw, but it's not talent.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: We're going to have -- we're going to have -- guys, I'm sorry.

LEWANDOWSKI: ... killing Americans that will be a problem.

BASH: We are going to have to continue this.

O'MALLEY: It's raw (INAUDIBLE) is what it is.

BASH: Promise everybody we'll come back. We're going to continue this conversation. Thank you all for that very lively discussion. Appreciate it.

And coming up, the bitter politics of vacation? How will the presidential summer break become anything other than a day at the beach?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:54:11]

BASH: President Obama returns from his summer break in Martha's Vineyard today, but like many of his predecessors, Obama was reminded that just because you leave Washington it doesn't mean you're off duty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: Having a great time as always.

BASH (voice-over): For president even being on vacation doesn't necessarily mean getting away.

After a historic flooding hit Louisiana this week, the Baton Rouge newspaper, "The Advocate," demanded President Obama break his annual trip to Martha's Vineyard to visit the victims. Instead, he went golfing and Donald Trump seized the moment to make his own trip. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not playing golf in Martha's Vineyard.

TRUMP: Somebody shouldn't be.

BASH: The White House announced later that day that Obama plans to visit on Tuesday.

[09:55:01]

He's hardly the only president to resist pressure to interrupt his time away from the White House. President Bush decided to stay on his Texas ranch as Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005, a decision he later told Oprah Winfrey he regretted.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I shouldn't have flown over and looked. I made a mistake. I should have landed. The problem is that when the president lands, resources are taken off the task at hand. I didn't realize a picture of me looking out would look like I didn't give a darn.

BASH: Of course a president is commander in chief, no matter his location. It's a point presidential press secretaries have been making ever since Teddy Roosevelt made the working vacation the norm, by relocating most of the White House staff to his summer home in Oyster bay, New York.

The press corps has been chasing presidents on summer vacations ever since. From Eisenhower on the links of Augusta National to JFK on his sailboat at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis.

Nancy Reagan defended her husband's frequent visits to their Santa Barbara ranch by arguing that presidents don't get vacations, they just get a change of scenery. And Nixon said escaping Washington kept him from being isolated from the realty of American life.

But as President Obama was reminded this week, the realities of politics never go away, even when you're at the beach.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Thanks for watching.

"FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" is next.