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Trump Meets with Mexican President; Trump Immigration Policy. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 31, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:07] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN. Thank you for being with me. Let's get to it. The breaking news.

A major moment here on the Race to the White House. We're now waiting to see an image sure to send shock waves to political world here and beyond our borders. Why? Because Donald Trump will be standing by the president of a nation, Trump has maligned really ever since the first couple of minutes to this campaign talking about Mexico. And Trump's own adviser tells CNN that the photo op was really one of the prime reasons Mr. Trump has traveled here itself at the border to Mexico City.

You do have to wonder after Trump meets this afternoon with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, will the nominee make any last minute changes to his big immigration speech tonight? Remember, this is a big day for Mr. Trump not only is he going to Mexico, he's been turning around and traveling to Phoenix, Arizona for a major address this evening. It is still not clear when exactly these two men will see one another, will meet behind the close doors but Trump's opponent here, Hillary Clinton, had this to say moments ago about building relations with other nations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You don't build a coalition by insulting our friends or acting like a loose canon. And it's certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again. That is not how it works. It's more than a photo op, it takes consistency and reliability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's begin our coverage this hour with John Vause who is live there in Mexico City. And John Vause, first question, simple question, you know, because of everything that Mr. Trump has said about Mexico for the last 14 or so months, why did Mexico extend this invitation to Trump?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's a good question. A lot of people are asking that question today. It could be as simple, as the President here wanting to improve relations with the man who might end up being the president of the United States, trying to work through some of the issues of immigration, of trade, of security. A lot of people though are very angry about all this. There's been two protests here in Mexico City so far today. There was one a few hours ago. Few people turned up to that, it wasn't particularly a big protest but there is another protest which got underway in the past hour or so. And there's been a lot of anger expressed in local media, the President here is being described as a sellout of the former Mexican President Vicente Fox here on CNN that Enrique Pena Nieto could actually be seen as a traitor because of this meeting with Donald Trump, because of everything that Donald Trump has said about Mexicans and about Mexico and about Mexico's leaders for the past 14 months.

But, it is important to say, Brooke, that, you know, this was an invitation which was extended not just to Donald Trump but also to Hillary Clinton. So, it might just be simple as, you know, the President here wanting to make of both these candidates to work with one of the very important relationship between Mexico and the United States. But right now, a lot of people are asking, why is this man, why is Donald Trump now in Mexico or soon to be in Mexico on an official visit?

BALDWIN: I know. Well, we'll be in touch with you watching for whatever pictures we will see as far as the meeting or a join statement afterwards. John Vause, thank you, in Mexico City for us.

And as John -- I just pointed out, you know, Donald Trump not exactly a popular guy in Mexico neither actually is the nation's current president who's approval ratings are the lowest of any Mexican president in the last quarter century. Some Mexicans are absolutely outraged by Trump's mere presence on their soil, they're furious with their own leader for extending that invitation. The two men have exchanged harsh comments in recent months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assumed, are good people.

Our politicians are stupid and the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning, and they send the bad ones over because they don't want to pay for them, they don't want to take of them.

ENRIQUE PENA NIETO, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Whoever insults and talks bad about Mexico doesn't know Mexico. Whoever insults Mexicans, doesn't know Mexicans. It seems to me that they are hurting the relationship that Mexico has sought out with the United States.

TRUMP: We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back. Some will come back, the best through a process. They have to come back legally.

PENA NIETO (through translation): In the past, some leaders addressed their societies in those terms. Hitler and Mussolini did that. And the outcome, it's clear to everyone. It resulted in devastation and tragedy for mankind.

TRUMP: We're going to build a great wall. The wall is going to be paid for by Mexico. People are not going to be able to tunnel because we're going to have tunnel technology. We're going to have strong border, we're going to have a tremendous wall, we're going to have a wall that Mexico pays for which will be very easy because they are making a fortune with us.

[14:05:12] PENA NIETO: There's no way to have Mexico pay that wall. But any decisions inside the United States is a decision of its government.

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: But under no circumstances would Mexico pay for that wall?

PENA NIETO: There is no way that Mexico can pay a wall like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. So that was the Mexican president with Fareed not too long ago.

Let's bring in our Senior Latin-American Affairs Editor Rafael Romo. I mean, you have been to Mexico many times, you have talked to people -- I think you and I talked on T.V. about the Trump pinatas not too long ago. I mean, how are Mexicans overall feeling about Trump's trip today?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN-AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Hey Brooke, let me tell you about some of the things that Trump's visit to Mexico has prompt but first of all, an opposition party in the Mexican Senate is urging President Enrique Pena Nieto at this moment to cancel the meeting with Trump, saying his mere presence in Mexico is an insult to all Mexicans. Then there's a legislator from the PRD Party who went as far as saying, welcoming Trump to Los Pinos, the Mexican presidential mansion should be considered an act of treason against their motherland. There's also a protest and John was talking about this being planned at the Angel of Independence, that's a monument on the iconic Reforma Avenue where Mexicans from all walks of life will be congregating to protest Trump's visit.

And there's also been a media firestorm. It's probably the first time that you see columnists in Mexico from both the right and the left united in the denouncing something. And let's remember, Brooke, Enrique Pena Nieto is the same man who compared Trump to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. And the President trying to explain this on Twitter said the following. Let me read what President Enrique Pena Nieto said. He said, "I believe in dialogue so that we can promote the interest of Mexico around the world and mainly to protect Mexicans regardless of where they are." However, the rest of the country is not seeing things the same way the President is, Brooke.

BALDWIN: We should start to get some pictures of anything if there are more protests popping up along that Reforma and around that Angel of Independence statue. Rafael Romo for now, thank you very much. You know, this trip is arguably the exclamation point after weeks of Trump's Hispanic outrage efforts. Keep in mind, Mr. Trump met with his National Hispanic Advisory Council some 11 days ago. It would help disseminate his message to Latino voters specifically. One of the advisors, Pastor Alberto Delgado, he leads the Alpha and Omega Church in Miami.

So Pastor, first of all, thank you so much for taking the time today. I appreciate you, welcome.

PTR. ALBERTO DELGADO, TRUMP'S LATINO ADVISOR: Blessings to you and to all your audience.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Before we get to his speech this evening, right. This is a big day for Mr. Trump. You'll be listening to some of our coverage ahead of his visit to Mexico City. Pastor, what do you make of this sudden trip to Mexico?

DELGADO: I think it's an excellent thing. I think -- first of all, that's what -- if he becomes the president of the United States, for sure, he's going to have to have some peace with our neighbors. And I think that Pena Nieto doing this is also showing the ability to connect with Trump. And I think that also Trump has going to have the -- will have the opportunity to clarify certain things that are upsetting to Mexican community.

BALDWIN: Let me get to the clarification in a second but, I mean, the former president of Mexico Vicente Fox said the current president of Mexico call him a traitor. Do you think that's fair?

DELGADO: Vicente Fox, he represents the feeling of some of the Mexicans of course. The Mexican people are very nationalist. I understand their feeling. And I'm not putting a question to the position of ex-president Fox which I'm sure he's a patriot but he was also very friendly with the Bush family. And we cannot avoid thinking that between Jeb Bush and Trump there was a tremendous friction and so perhaps Fox is not only projecting his feeling, about how Mexico feels but how we feels, about his friends and the Bush family.

BALDWIN: So here you are Pastor, you're there in Miami but I also note to your point about clarification in his immigration speech, you know, immigration is very, very personal for you. I understand you were separated from your parents when you were just a little boy, just two years of age, you were brought to the U.S. from Cuba. I mean, when you talked to Mr. Trump not so long ago.

DELGADO: I was 14 when I left, yes.

BALDWIN: You were 14 when you left. Did you share with Mr. Trump that -- your personal story and will you tell me about that conversation please, sir?

DELGADO: No, no, I haven't share with -- all the people from his campaign. First of all, you know, I'm not in the campaign of Trump.

[14:10:05] BALDWIN: I know this. I know. DELGADO: I'm not representing Trump. I am not representing either the Republican Party. I'm representing the evangelical Hispanic community. And not only that I am a Hispanic, I'm a citizen of this country. I'm representing the feeling of the people of the Latino people on what we will like to advise Trump and that's why I went there for.

BALDWIN: What did you say to him?

DELGADO: I believed that there were -- well, I cannot say everything I said to him because I don't want that to really -- the thing is that we have to wait now what's going to happen today. Everybody is waiting. We expressed ourselves, they talked about the budget, they talked about unemployment. I spoke mainly about what mainly concern me and the people I represent which is the religious liberties and of course the national motto that was signed by Eisenhower in 1956, "In God We Trust" that now is becoming a joke and we want to reactivate it again.

So that was my main thrust here. To be sure that our liberties, religious liberties are maintained. But of course, everybody, after everybody spoke their portion, we have to talk -- touch about immigration because this concerns everybody. So we wanted to be sure that we express ourselves to a more humane manner of looking and how he's going to handle the 11 million people?

BALDWIN: Exactly. That's exactly what I wanted to ask you about and the word "humane" is a word Mr. Trump has used. I mean, what do you -- tonight, when he stands in Phoenix giving a very important speech, what do you want to hear him say as far as what happens to the 11 million undocumented immigrants who have never committed a crime?

DELGADO: Well, first of all, as we spoke there, for sure, we all agreed, and as I said it was only a couple of pastors in the group so not everybody was a pastor, and we all agreed that the border has to be secure for sure. We all agree that the criminals must be taken out yesterday out of here. And something has to be done because no doubt that nothing has been done. And if it would have been easy they were have been done already. The Republican haven't done anything, the Democrats haven't done anything and the only one that has spoken about this has been Trump.

And I tell you one thing, I would have gone to Hillary if she would have call also that the people that were there and myself and try to tell here how we feel. But the one that invited us was Trump not Hillary so he showed concern about our feelings and about how we felt about the situation. And we explained, and we advised him in what we think should be done.

Now, if he's going to pick up our advice or not, we'll find out tonight.

BALDWIN: I guess, we'll find out. We'll all found out together this evening tonight when he speaks in Phoenix, Pastor.

DELGADO: Of course. BALDWIN: Pastor Alberto Delgado, thank you. We'll be listening and we'll see if any of your advice paid off I supposed. Thank you so much.

Politically speaking here on this trip to Mexico today, what are the risks, what are the rewards, both for Mexico and for Donald Trump? We'll discuss that ahead.

Also, breaking news today, a U.S. official says, it is, "laughable" that Russia is now claiming it killed a spokesman for ISIS. Now the terror group is also vowing revenge, we have new details for on that. I'm Brooke Baldwin and this is CNN's special Live Coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:17:39] BALDWIN: All right, back to our breaking news here. We may get word any moment now that Donald Trump has landed in Mexico. The meeting he's set to have with the Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is private, so private in fact that the details are actually tough to get a hold off. But the fact that Trump is in the country where he has outraged many, many Mexicans during his run including actually the former president, Vicente Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICENTE FOX, FORMER MEXICAN PRESIDENT: He is not welcome to Mexico. By a 130 million people, we don't like him, we don't want him, we reject his visit. I don't understand why President Pena has offered this opportunity. I think it's nothing more than a political stunt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That interview set off this exchange on Twitter.

Trump, "Former President Vicente Fox who is rallying against my visit to Mexico today also invited me when he apologized for using the F- bomb." Well, Vicente Fox responded, "Donald Trump, I invited you to come and apologize to us Mexicans, stop lying. Mexico is not yours to play with. Show some respect."

So, let's talk all of this over with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach who says he helped craft Trump's border wall policy, CNN political commentator Bill Press who went and supported Bernie Sanders, Matt Schlapp is here with me in New York, chairman of the American Conservative Union and a Trump supporter, and Ricardo Reyes, a Republican who supports Hillary Clinton, who co-founded the Pro- Clinton Group R4C16.com.

So, my goodness, welcome to all of you. Quite the lead up to this landing in Mexico City. Matt, let me just turn to you here. We've heard a bit from a Trump advisor basically saying, hey it's -- that as far as why he's going to Mexico City today really to look presidential and to have a great photo op. Is it more than that?

MATT SCHLAPP, AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION CHAIRMAN: I think this is like a real moment. You know, this whole question about immigration has been bubbling in our politics for quite some time. And Trump, when he announced, he just popped that bubble and we've been talking about it this whole campaign season. And for him to now take the invitation that was given to him by the president of Mexico and go down there, I think it's very unorthodox, it's surprising, I think it's brilliant, I think it's respectful. I actually think it's going to be a really good thing for him. I actually think he'll be politically rewarded for doing the right thing. Although, we don't know what's happened yet.

[14:20:11] BALDWIN: Ricardo, you -- I think I just heard a laugh. Did I hear a laughter?

RICARDO REYES, R4C16 CO-FOUNDER: Well, I think -- look, I don't know about brilliant, I think it's an astute move. It makes a lot of sense. You have the president of your neighbor inviting both candidates, by the way, to come over.

BALDWIN: Yeah.

REYES: I don't think that President Pena Nieto ever imagined that his invitation would be accepted so quickly. I think it's an astute move by the Trump campaign. But I think from Pena Nieto's point of view, this is a -- this is the most important relationship that Mexico has.

He wants to -- he knows that there is a new neighbor moving in next door, a new owner of the house is moving in next door. And I think he sent out an invitation to the neighbors and then stop by for coffee sometime. And I think of the two potential owners of the house, and I think Trump -- the Trump campaign very astutely quickly said, how about we come over tomorrow and we're bringing a group of people with us. And I think it is ...

BALDWIN: So they sort of called about on the invitation and said yes.

REYES: Yes, he said, yes, come over for coffee sometime before you move in and he said, how about tomorrow with a group of people. And so, I think President Pena Nieto is in a tough position. You have to have good relationships with Mexico's most important economic partner. At the same time, you have a candidate who has insulted the Mexican citizenry and mass and his responsibility is to both to maintain political and economic relationship and make sure that doesn't go under, but at the same time defend his citizenry and his elector.

BALDWIN: So, this is why it's so fascinating because the rewards could be huge. But actually, Kris, let me go to you because to go with this coffee analogy, Trump is saying, hey, yeah, I'll have a coffee and I'm having coffee with you today and I'm flying there today and I'm going to do this thing. But when you look at the, you know, the approval ratings for Enrique Pena Nieto, they're not so high. And I mean, is there a potential, given the fact that a lot of Mexicans are not so thrilled that Trump will be on their own soil, that this whole thing could backfire and, you know, that the President could walk away and say, it was a horrible coffee meeting and he's a horrible man.

KRIS KOBACH, KANSAS SECRETARY OF STATE: Yeah, I suppose there's always that potential but I don't think it's going to happen that way. I think it's much more likely that both sides to say this as a win- win. As Matt already mentioned, the Trump team obviously sees this is as a win, their candidate is there. For the first time, really, outside of the United States representing the United States in what everybody recognize is a discussion about some very tense issues with the country of Mexico. And he'll look very presidential doing it and he'll show that he is sticking up for what he has always said in the campaign.

And on the other side, President Nieto recognizes that there's a good chance this guy could be president and there are going to be some big changes in the relationship including possibly the reduction in the $23 billion of remittances that Mexican illegal aliens sent home to their country, mostly illegal, sent home to their country every year. That's going to change the economics of Mexico if the deportations begin quickly and it starts with criminals, you could have some felons coming back very quickly, the President would want to know when and where they're going to be deported. So he's got to show that he can govern and deal with this change of relationship and I think he gains by in having this meeting too.

BALDWIN: Bill Press, how do you see this playing out? And should Hillary up on a plane too?

BILL PRESS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, she's got an invitation, I think she'll probably go down there too. But let me just say, I have to admit that in the short term, this is good move on Donald Trump's part, a smart move for his campaign.

BALDWIN: Matt Schlapp is smiling.

PRESS: No, because, look, we're talking about it. That's all -- people have been talking about all day and then tomorrow morning, the picture on the front page of every newspaper in this country is going to be Donald Trump and President Pena and that will overshadow whatever he says in his speech tonight in the short term. I don't think in a long term will help them politically. And let's just be honest, this is nothing but a stunt, this is nothing but a photo op for both presidents. You cannot insult the people of Mexico for 14 months, you cannot call them murderers and rapists and the President cannot compare Donald Trump to Hitler and Mussolini and then expect that they're going to get together and have coffee and anything is going to happen. Donald Trump is not going to come home with a check. Nobody is going to build that wall.

BALDWIN: Well, let me just jump in because the Hillary campaign, they are jumping on this, right. So they're ripping Trump on this. And they have taken virtually every single tweet in the, you know, in the history of Twitter for Donald Trump when he has ever, ever mentioned Mexico. And we're just going to scroll through as they've compiled this on Hillary Clinton's website. You know, tweet after tweet after tweet, right?

PRESS: Yeah. And you don't undo that with one rush meeting down there or one photo op, one secret meeting.

BALDWIN: Do you know, Matt Schlapp?

SCHLAPP: You do. I actually think this is going ...

PRESS: Oh, man.

[14:24:56] SCHLAPP: Wait, no, Bill, this is true. This is a way to reset the whole question. What we think is going on between the United States and Mexico is the fact that, you know, there's not enough respect paid to Mexico. That actually not what's happening here at all. What's happening is that Mexican governments subsequently have not done anything to take care of this very serious problem. Immigration not being controlled from Mexico and from countries to the south of Mexico. They have a real responsibility to make sure that we know who's coming in to our country.

If they are great ally, which I want them to be, we've got to solve this problem. Americans know this. Americans know this in their heart. They know this is a serious problem. And they know politicians have been lying to them for too long, Bill, and they shouldn't do it.

PRESS: But you don't -- Matt, you don't solve the problem by insulting them and denigrating them for over a year.

SCHLAPP: He's going to their country. He went to their country, that's not an insult.

PRESS: For over a year, and then get down there and expect anything different.

SCHLAPP: You don't get it both ways.

PRESS: No, let me tell you. I think his presence in that country is an insult to the people of Mexico.

SCHLAPP: Oh, nice try, it's not.

PRESS: It is. It is. I mean, hasn't even saw the 130 million people and then expect to be welcome to Mexico. This doesn't work.

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Kris.

KOBACH: But, you know, the president of Mexico invited him. I don't -- I think it's ridiculous to characterize this as an insult to Mexico. And we also have to recognize there's many examples in American history of the president of our country talking tough about the leader of another country and then the two individuals meet in person and then they start to talk in productive terms.

You know, this is nothing new and I think it's probably going to be very important going forward if Mr. Trump is president that they have a personal relationship that begins now. So it's a good thing all around.

BALDWIN: What do we think is best case, Matt, just turning back to you because we know we have reporting from Elise Labott. U.S. Embassy in Mexico apparently advised the Trump campaign against doing a hastily arranged trip. Why the rush? And especially today ahead of the speech.

SCHLAPP: Because this is what President Obama does best, right? Which is he uses his official capacity, the same thing when the House of Representatives invited Netanyahu.

What the president should do is take a step back and, you know, Mitt Romney and other presidential candidates have gone to visit allies of ours in the past, Mitt Romney went to Israel, you know, other candidates have gone other places. This is the perfectly responsible thing to do, Obama stay out of it.

And by the way, this is an important bilateral relationship. It's important no matter who wins the White House. And I think Hillary Clinton should go down there and they should go to Israel. And they should go to our European allies. And I think it's a good thing.

BALDWIN: Go ahead Bill.

PRESS: Hey, Brooke, I just want to answer, why the rush? You know, why the rush? Because Donald Trump's campaign is failing particularly on this immigration issue. For the last 10 days there's been confusion. You and I talked about it. Every single day, nobody knows where he stand, now he's got the speech, he's desperately trying to turn the page on immigration. He gets his invitation and he says, oh, here's a way to capture the headlines, Chris Christie -- Chris, man I say go down there. Trump says fine, fire up the jet. It's a one day story period. Will not accomplish anything.

BALDWIN: All right. Kris, Bill, Matt, and Ricardo, thank you. We'll see if this could be on the cover of every paper tomorrow, short term versus long term. That was a good point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Still ahead you ahead. Here though, why there are no media, right? Still kind of a guessing game what happens. Donald Trump leaving campaign reporters stranded in Phoenix ahead of his speech there as his making the sudden high profile trip to Mexico City. Why did he do that? We'll talk to our go-to media guy Brian Stelter.

Also ahead, Russia taking credits, saying it was one of their air strikes over the skies of Syria that may have been taken out that top ISIS militant, that spokesperson. U.S. officials reacting, calling that claim, in a word, "laughable." Lots to talk about on this Wednesday. You're watching CNN.

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