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Trump Visits Detroit Church To Appeal To Black Voters; Trump Speaks at Church in Detroit; FBI Releases Documents Concerning Hillary Clinton Email Investigation; Trump Tours Detroit with Ben Carson; Interview with Ben Carson. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired September 03, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

BISHOP WAYNE JACKSON, GREAT FAITH MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL CHURCH: -- this is the Jewish heritage study bible and we have it especially for you and we have one for your wife.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.

JACKSON: Because when things go down, you can study the word of God. When things seemed like is almost impossible, if thou can believe. All things are possible.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We just lost that signal there from the Great Faith Ministries Church there in Detroit. You saw right there, Bishop Wayne Jackson, who was giving an Israeli prayer shawl, putting it around the shoulders of Donald Trump there after Donald Trump delivered his written message.

He says it was his written message, messages and thoughts that he had jotted down just a few days ago leading up to this invitation to appear before this congregation and he talked about being able to promise or hoping to promise prosperity to everyone, even saying that he was here to learn.

His words, I'm here to learn. I want to reform the system. He said, quoting, "I believe we need a civil rights agenda, great education, and great opportunities."

He wants to build and rebuild Detroit, offering a lot of vision, a lot of promises, but is this what this congregation wanted to hear, is this what the African-American community voting block wanted to hear from Donald Trump who admits that this is his first time, his campaign admits this the first time before a predominantly black community two months before the election -- of the general election.

All right, with me now, I want to bring back our panel, politics editor for theroot.com and Morgan State University professor, Jason Johnson, and CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic," Ron Brownstein, and CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter, Kayleigh McEnany.

All right, good to see all of you. All right, so Jason, let me begin with you because the bottom line message from Donald Trump, he wants to be able to promise as president of the United States to help reinvigorate Detroit. And really in large part, to the entire African-American community, he wants to help bring prosperity that hasn't been there for some communities. So was it a convincing argument and statement from Donald Trump?

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICS EDITOR, THEROOT.COM: That was the worst afternoon infomercial I've ever seen in any life. That's all it was. It was an infomercial. It was an opportunity for the pastor -- you can buy those same prayer shawls at the church. It was a commercial. It was a commercial for that local network and church.

I was listening to hear Donald Trump actually explain a plan and there was no plan. He said, "I have a civil rights agenda." I don't see a civil rights agenda that he explained a civil rights agenda.

I go to the Donald Trump web site all the time. He specifically talks about how Mexico was going to pay for the wall. He specifically talked about what he wants to do about criminal justice issues, but I didn't hear a civil rights agenda when he sat there and talked to that church.

So again, this was a big show. I'm sure that lots of people within the isolated Trump campaign think that they did a good job. This is not going to move a needle at all and it was an opportunity for different kinds of people to get free air time but nothing was accomplished.

WHITFIELD: Kayleigh, do you believe the campaign will feel that it hit the mark?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think viewers can see for themselves. The applause he got at that church was so touching to me that he said we are all brothers and sisters united by one God. That is something I deeply believe.

I know it's something that he deeply believes and we're in a very divided country right now. You know, this election has been tough on a lot of us, but to hear him say and to hear the applause he got, I think speaks for itself.

To see that bishop give that beautiful cloak to him, I speak personally, and it gets very tough in this election, you know, having to constantly be on the defense and to have him have those uplifting words.

When you feel broken and down, God will lift you up, and to give him that personal bible was a very touching personal moment that we got a glimpse into and it was a great moment for Donald Trump.

WHITFIELD: So to follow up on that, though, Kayleigh, we live in a great divided community and you know, there are enough a lot of people who say it is Donald Trump who has actually divided many communities with his campaign.

MCENANY: There is an effort to paint him as a divider and all of these horrible things, but he's not that. You know, his message of wanting to bring border security is one that's deeply important to a lot of Americans.

Hundreds of which have lost their children to people who shouldn't have been in this country. You can paint his message as divisive. Not you personally, Fred, but the Clinton campaign.

But I think it speaks for itself that he's not a divider. He's a uniter and this is a moment I think you got a glimpse into that.

[12:05:05]WHITFIELD: So Ron, he comes into this church and the word choice that Donald Trump used, it sounds as though he wants to be a savior?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's interesting. It's better that he was there than not there. It is important that both parties are competing for the votes of all Americans and certainly there are many areas on which it is reasonable for Republicans to say conditions could be better in the African-American community and the Hispanic community.

And really, you know, every community in America. I was struck that his tone and he was reading. There wasn't that free-wheeling that you often see at his rallies.

I think it was indicative of how much of a step into foreign territory this may have felt for him. Look, Donald Trump was not born today.

He is dealing in the African-American community with the legacy of things he has said and done for many years, and particularly his role in trying to de-legitimatize President Obama through promotion of the birther argument.

I think it's going to be very, very difficult for him to make any meaningful progress and overcoming that. But having said that, I think it is better than not that both parties are trying to talk to this community.

WHITFIELD: And so Kayleigh, is this a moment of rebranding? Is it the feeling from Donald Trump or his campaign that the many African- Americans who have said that they feel very skeptical in large part because of the birther movement that he helped, you know, commandeer that he is rebranding himself?

That people will forget that and that this moment will help them see a new different Donald Trump as it pertains to the African-American community or people of color in general?

MCENANY: I think he's trying to show his heart to this community and I know he does have a heart for the African-American community. He was the first Republican candidate to stand on that stage and say that the confederate flag down in South Carolina needs to come down.

He was praised by Jessie Jackson as a friend and I know people like to dig into the past and whatnot, but he does have a plan. He wants to bring school choice to these communities that are badly hurting.

He's standing in a city right now that has a 40 percent poverty rate and he believes that his economic vision can change that around. So I think these are issues that voters really care about.

And I think he wants to bring it directly to this community. He was criticized for weeks for not going to a black church, for not going into these communities. He's listening to voters and he's responding and he's doing it.

WHITFIELD: So Jason, is there too much looking back?

JOHNSON: No. No. Let's be clear about a couple of things. Number one, the African-American church is the easiest place for any candidate to go to because black folks are going to clap politely. We actually call it a church clap, right?

They're going to clap politely at anybody so I'm not surprised that people clap when Donald Trump was there. People are polite there in their Sunday best.

But here's the thing. Voters have long memories. The African- American community is still holding Hillary accountable for saying super predators 20 years ago. They are holding Hillary Clinton accountable for things she said in the 2008 primary campaign against Barack Obama.

Do you think black folk don't remember things that Donald Trump said two weeks ago? This is not looking at the past. This is looking at the present.

And Donald Trump's own behavior, if this was supposed to be his signature moment of saying, look, what I have said in the past is not the man I will be in the future, he blew it.

Because there was nothing that he said today that indicates that he either wants to repudiate or disagree or change what he said in the past.

WHITFIELD: So then, Ron, you know, this is Donald Trump's moment. You know, he was in the spotlight at this church and on national television here on CNN.

But voters are still going to make their comparison, Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton and third-party candidates and some would say third-party candidates are gaining a lot more particularly in recent weeks.

But as it pertains to comparing these two major leading parties, voters are going to be looking at track record and they are going to be measuring how, you know, their track record can amount to painting a picture for the future.

BROWNSTEIN: Right. Donald Trump was not born this morning. Donald Trump has a long record on issues relating to really all of the growing diverse communities in America and it is on that front where he is facing potentially historic deficit.

If you look at polling, you have over 70 percent of voters of color saying that they believe Donald Trump appeals to bigotry or is biased against women and minorities in both the Quinnipiac and ABC/"Washington Post" polls.

That's a big legacy to be carrying and he faces, as I've said before, the prospect of not only very large deficits among African-Americans, but the widest ever among Hispanic-Americans.

The plan he put forward this week on immigration calls for massive cuts in the future in legal immigration, which will primarily affect the Asian-American community and it's entirely possible that he could face record deficits there as well.

You know, the challenge is going to be I think that the Republican Party, win or lose, after this election, even if you can squeeze out a majority by mobilizing enough white voters uneasy with the demographic changes.

Can they repair the damage that is being done across the board in these growing, diverse communities all of which together will be a very large share of the electorate in 2016 than they were in 2012 and will be a larger share in 2020 than they were in 2016.

[12:10:09]WHITFIELD: And so Kayleigh, voters are going to be measuring who is most genuine. Simply put, that is the bottom line.

MCENANY: I think you're right. I would look to the Fox poll which showed more than a majority thinks that the attacks against Trump calling him a racist are unfair and likewise more than half think the attacks against Hillary Clinton being called a bigot are unfair.

I think voters don't want to hear this tit for tat back and forth, I'm going to call you this and I'll respond by calling you this. I think you're right. It's who comes across as the most genuine.

But also who has the plan to better my family to ensure that my child can get into a college and afford it, to better the economy, to make sure I have a job, to make my wages go up.

You know, there is a huge disparity between black and white wages that is so unfortunate. You know, the average white person makes a $140,000 that's the net wealth and the average African-American makes $11,000. You know, that's a disparity that shouldn't exist. Donald Trump wants to remedy that.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder, Kayleigh, we heard Donald Trump saying, was heartbreaking to see the shops closed. He says we're going to turn those around, but the flip side of that is he is a developer. He's somebody in the business of vision, of recreating, et cetera.

Won't there be people in Detroit who will say where have you been all of this time as a developer? We heard from Alicia Bell, a commissioner with the county earlier who said he's a designer. He manufactures his clothes.

That stuff could have been manufactured right there in Detroit and in other parts of the United States. How does he answer to that when voters are looking at who is being genuine, disingenuous, an opportunist or something else? MCENANY: You know, Donald Trump was a private businessman. He's built a big company on major cities. He's built big hotels. He also opened his doors, his office space in Wall Street to Jesse Jackson and --

WHITFIELD: We're talking about Detroit, his observations in Detroit and we've heard from people who are there in Detroit who are saying where have you been? You know, you have the talent, the know-how, and the intellect to make things happen, why are you just now talking about it here in Detroit?

MCENANY: He hasn't been in politics. He hasn't been in a place to make change, but Hillary Clinton has and the Democrats have and President Barack Obama have and the disparities have never been worst economically.

So I think you can look to someone who's never been in politics and criticize him, but I also think that there needs to be a glaring look at people who are in charge of making public policy and those public policies have failed Detroit and this community.

WHITFIELD: OK, we're going to pick up this conversation when we come back. Much more on the visit of Donald Trump to a church there in Detroit. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:50]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. You just heard from Republican nominee, Donald Trump, who just spoke to a congregation at the Great Faith Ministries International Church in Detroit this morning.

He sat in the front and held a baby over his shoulders and read from scripted remarks. This is a little bit more of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The African-American church has been the conscience of our country. So true. It's from the pews and pulpits and Christian teachings of black churches all across this land that the Civil Rights Movement lifted up its soul and lifted up the soul of our nation.

It's from these pews that our nation has been inspired toward a better moral character, a deeper concern for mankind, and spirit of charity and unity that binds us altogether and we are bound together. I see that today. This has been an amazing day for me.

Our nation is too divided. We talk past each other, not to each other and those who seek office do not do enough to step into the community and learn what is going on. They don't know. They have no clue.

I'm here today to learn so that we can together remedy injustice in any form and so that we can also remedy economics so that the African- American community can benefit economically through jobs and income and so many other different ways.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Before the event started, protesters were outside in full force and many of them were actually shouting out, "dump Trump."

We'll talk more about all of this. Let's bring in Reverend Wendell Anthony. He is the president of the Detroit National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Good to see you, Reverend.

REVEREND WENDELL ANTHONY, PRESIDENT, DETROIT BRANCH NAACP: Good morning. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so before this event actually took place, you released a statement. I want to read what you said. You said, "Less we forget this same Donald Trump who would have us to believe that he is seriously concerned about doing something for the African-American voter is the same Trump who led the way for the birther movement against President Barack Obama questioning his legitimacy as a U.S. citizen."

And you say this is the same Donald Trump who refused to come to the NAACP National Convention held down the street practically from the Republican National Convention which occurred at almost the same time citing scheduling conflicts.

Please note that Mr. Trump has a private plane, private helicopters, private vehicles, Secret Service, and the police surveillance so that he is never caught up in any traffic jam. He creates them. He could have easily gotten in and out of the convention in a very timely manner.

Then we heard from Donald Trump today at the Great Faith Ministries International Church, who said I have a lot to learn and he says he is very much impressed for the gathering of the church there and he wants to promise prosperity as president of the United States.

So was your view, in any way, changed based on what you heard from him today compared to your statement before his arrival in Detroit?

ANTHONY: Thank you, Ms. Whitfield. As you know, and part of my statement also the fact that P.T. Barnum, who was one of the great masters of circus performers said that there's a sucker born every moment because he had various kinds of acts that people float to.

I'm glad that Mr. Trump did not say 1 John. This is a scam. Mr. Trump is 70 years old, I believe. The election is less than 70 days from now. It's going to take a whole lot of conjecture and planning and program to undo what has already been done.

Before you talk about the can do, let's talk about the undo. Let's undo what Mr. Trump has done. Part of what he said was that we need to unite the country. Well, his policies or lack thereof, his commentary and rhetoric is going no more than dividing this nation. [12:20:04]When you talk about I don't want black people counting my money. I'd rather have short (inaudible) counting my money that's divisive.

WHITFIELD: You stated that in your statement from a book that was written about Donald Trump?

ANTHONY: Of course. When you have so many lawsuits relative to the implementation of blacks and brown folk who are trying to get in your housing, that's divisive.

If you want to do economic development, let's start with where you are right now. How many black firms have you joint ventured with, Mr. Trump? How many black lawyers, black accountants, black engineers, do you have working on Trump Towers?

If you come into the city of Detroit on Labor Day, why are you not talking about an increase in the livable wage so that black folk and brown folk and white folk can have a decent living. Your platform as leader of the Republican Party does not speak to a civil rights agenda.

You're talking about civil rights when you engage in civil wrongs to the degree that your party doesn't speak to it. You have never spoken to and we don't know who Donald Trump really is.

When he leaves Detroit today and goes to another city tomorrow, what is he going to articulate? He was just in Mexico talking about one thing and came back to America and talking another thing. Will the real Donald Trump please stand up? Because right now we don't know who we know.

This is tantamount to a wolf coming to the farm house asking the sheep to let me lead you to greener pastures when the pastures that you're going to lead us to have no water, have nothing but weeds and dandelions in them and do not increase us but yet they diminish us. It's nothing but a rouse and a scam.

WHITFIELD: So Reverend, you've heard from a number of Trump supporters today and as soon as ten minutes ago, they say he is vowing to make a difference from this point forward.

ANTHONY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And perhaps the past isn't enough in which to measure him. What do you say to them?

ANTHONY: Well, Fredricka, the bible says since he was in the church, by their fruits you should know them. You cannot determine the nature of a tree by the bark that it wear or by the fruit that it bears.

Donald Trump has borne bad fruit. There are worms in it. When you eat it, you get sick. When you go to the hospital, he don't even want you to have Obamacare. This is no more than an old, southern strategy wrapped up in a new suit in 2016. It's the same strategy that Lee Atwater used for Richard Nixon, for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. It was devised back in the '70s and '80s and '60s. Let's use the southern Democrats who right now are voting Democrat and divide them away from the Democratic Party.

And let's use law and order and states rights. Let's use language but not go there directly, but we can divide them and get their vote by using black people as the target to demonstrate as to why they are suffering economically and they use that target.

Donald Trump has learned no more than a page out of that playbook. Lee Atwater would be pleased because the same message that he gave back then to elect Nixon and Bush and Reagan is what Donald Trump is using in 2016 in the city of Detroit and around the country.

If we don't know him by now then we will never ever never know him, but we do know you and what we know is we don't like what we see.

WHITFIELD: So reverend, to African-American voters, some of whom may have been in that congregation who said they are not necessarily sure and if it's an issue of trust or they can trust Hillary Clinton particularly in light of more reveal from the FBI on the 47 pages of their note taking in her 3-1/2 hour interview.

And they are not completely sure about Donald Trump, but they might measure him based on some of the people that he underscored today who are in his concern, former Republican presidential candidate, Ben Carson, who is from the Detroit area.

And he says, you know, that he is surrounded by other prominent African-Americans should say something about how genuine he is about the message.

ANTHONY: Ms. Whitfield, God bless you. You do such a nice job. I recognize as a pastor, when folks come to my church, they are going to be nice. They are going to give them the proper etiquette and protocol. That's what he got.

But when you talk about folks like Ben Carson, Mark Burns who has been discredited who filing false information on his bio as a Kappa and as getting degree.

[12:25:04]When you talk about Steve Bannon, who is now one of the major campaign directors of the Trump campaign, who said after the nine folks were killed in South Carolina this is a glorious flag and helped lead the way towards birtherism against President Barack Obama.

When you look at the record, when you look at what he is saying, when you look at what he is doing, the two don't match up. If you're going to compare -- black people, Fredricka, black people -- and people misunderstand this. We don't go for the party, we go for the plan. It is the plan, y'all.

It is the plan, the focus. Where do you stand on the voting rights act about re-tuning it? I want to see who was on your list of 11 candidates that might be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. He gave it to Paul Ryan, to Mitch McConnell and Reince Priebus. Give it to the African-American community. Why don't you tell us who you were considering for the United States Supreme Court?

If you really want to be connected to the African-American community, take the same message of civil rights around to Utah. Take it to Iowa, to communities down south and say we need a civil rights agenda to uplift up African-Americans and all people.

If you're going to say it in Detroit, say it somewhere else. If you don't do it now, then you'll never do it.

WHITFIELD: He's got under two months in which to do it, right?

ANTHONY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Reverend Wendell Anthony, thank you so much from Detroit. Appreciate your time. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:30] WHITFIELD: All right. Still pictures right there inside the Great State Ministry International Church there in Detroit. You see Omarosa, you know she's a very popular television personality who was a star in one of his "Apprentice" shows, Donald Trump is there. And then you see one of his surrogates in the front row too, Katrina Pierson. Right now, a prayer and music there at that church just moments ago.

We understand Donald Trump will soon be led by a Detroit native, former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson through parts of Detroit to get kind of a very personal tour there, perhaps. Even meeting, greet with some of the people who live there in Detroit. We'll get back to it when we got those images.

All right, meantime, the FBI's release of notes from their interview with Hillary Clinton over her private e-mail server is breathing new life to the controversy that has dogged her campaign. In the interview, Clinton told the investigators 39 times that she either didn't remember or didn't recall specific training on classified information. The FBI and Clinton supporter say notes don't provide a criminal smoking gun but her critics say these are more examples of Clinton being untruthful.

Here's CNN's Phil Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Less than two months after the FBI recommended no charges against Hillary Clinton.

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: We are expressing to Justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case.

MATTINGLY: The private notes of the FBI agents investigating her use of her private e-mail server revealed. Redacted but unprecedented nonetheless, the notes lay out the probe in details Clinton's own interview with the law enforcement officials.

COMEY: Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information. There is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.

MATTINGLY: The documents revealed that Clinton told FBI agents she couldn't recall any training or guidance on the handling of sensitive information. Clinton said she relied on her aides "Use their judgment when e-mailing her and could not recall anyone raising concerns about information sent to her private account."

The notes also show that the FBI presented Clinton with copies of e- mails discussing the classified U.S. Drone program. Clinton responded that she thought drone strike information classification, "Depended on the context'. Noting that the subject "Frequently in the press." Clinton was also asked about the markings on an e-mail that denoted classified information.

COMEY: I think it's possible, possible, that she didn't know what a "C" meant in when she saw it in the body of an e-mail like

MATTINGLY: Clinton told the FBI she was unaware what the marking meant in question the classification.

The public release comes after the FBI provided the documents to lawmakers. Some Republicans expressed outrage at the Justice Department's decision not to bring charges against the Democratic nominee.

JASON CHAFFETZ, UTAH U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: We believe you have set a precedent and it's a dangerous one.

MATTINGLY: And in the wake of Clinton herself, offering her clearest apology yet on the issue on CNN last month.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I try to explain what happened, it can sound like I'm trying to excuse what I did and there are no excuses. I want people to know that the decision to have a single e-mail account was mine. I take responsibility for it. I've apologize for it. I would certainly do differently if I could.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That was Phil Mattingly reporting. Donald Trump responded to the release of the notes saying, "Hillary Clinton's answers to the FBI about her private e-mail server defy belief. After reading these documents, I really don't understand how she was able to get away from prosecution." From Donald Trump.

All right, be sure to watch "Unfinished Business, The Essential Hillary Clinton." Monday night, 8:00 Eastern and that's followed by "All Business, The essential: Donald Trump." at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:37:40] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. OK. So moments ago, you know that Donald Trump was inside the Great Faith Ministry's international church there in Detroit. And now we're seeing images that we've just received. He was climbing back into the car after apparently checking out the childhood home of Dr. Ben Carson who took him on a very personal tour there at Detroit. Ben Carson a native son of Detroit here and you see right there some interaction with Donald Trump and a young lady there, we don't know right now what is being said but it will be nice to hear what kind of conversations may have come. And from this sort of orchestrated but also spontaneous shall we say, arrival there in this Detroit, Downtown city neighborhood.

Donald Trump supporter, Kayleigh McEnany is still with me now. And you're seeing these images for the first time, too, correct, Kayleigh? So, we talked a bit about the message that Donald had when he was inside the church and really promising prosperity particularly for voters in the community and also promising if he as president, he will help bring jobs to Detroit. He talked about touring Detroit earlier and saying how disheartening it was to see so many closed shops.

Now he's in a neighborhood of Detroit. So help me understand and help everyone understand how this is going to be a moment for the Donald Trump campaign to help reinvigorate perhaps even or even inspire more support, particularly among African-American voters that he is in Detroit. And he's doing that on this Saturday.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Yes, I think it's an important moment, especially with regard to Ben Carson. You know anyone who knows Ben Carson story knows that he grew up in a tough community. He did not have, you know, great wealth. He grew up in a single-family home and his really inspired him.

He ended up being a world class neurosurgeon. He is the example of the American dream. And unfortunately for far too many, they're stuck in a cycle of poverty and violence. I'm speaking of inter city, communities when I say they. And Donald Trump wants to fix that.

One of the things he's proposed is there are these Visa called J-1 Visas where we give 100,000 out a year to foreign workers who come in and temporarily work various businesses and he wants to give those to people who need them, an American who need them, Americans who can't find jobs particularly in inner city community. So I think Ben Carson has -- this is an important story he's highlighting and he's brining these policy to this community which is great.

[12:40:04] WHITFIELD: All right, Kayleigh. We have Jeremy Diamond who is reporting there on the scene. And I understand that Jeremy is able to be with us right now. And you've got Dr. Ben Carson. All right, let's talk. What's happening there?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. We're here with Dr. Ben Carson, right in front of his childhood home actually. Dr. Carson. This is where you grew up and you decided to bring Donald Trump here. He's about to leave BEN CARSON, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I, you know, this was our dream home and we have the wait here for several years. It was always our dream to get back here. And I just I want him to see a little bit about, you know, what it was like, what the neighborhood was like.

And we also went through some of the more blighted areas of Detroit which when I was growing up was a prosperous city. It was once the most prosperous city in America and has unfortunately undergone some pretty awful things. I think maybe there are things that we can learn as a society. Because in order for our country to be great again, every aspect has to be great, including our inner cities.

DIAMOND: And we just saw Mr. Trump here. I asked him how did it go and he said great and he said he learned a lot of things. What do you think he took away from today?

CARSON: My hug gauge. Hold on.

DIAMOND: OK. It looks like Dr. Carson is going to try and find his luggage and he'll be right back with us.

But this is where we are right here. We're right in front of the home of Dr. Ben Carson and this is where he grew up actually. And he just brought Mr. Trump here. Trump came here for just a few minutes. He walked over here, spoke with this woman down here in the driveway who is the owner now of Mr. Carson's home and he's actually back with us again.

WHITFIELD: Oh, good. That means luggage found.

DIAMOND: So we're going to continue. You found your luggage, is it all OK?

CARSOND: Yes. It's been taken care of.

DIAMON: Been taken care of it.

CARSON: Yeah.

DIAMOND: So tell us, what do you think Mr. Trump learned from coming here and also speaking at the church service? Did he speak his people? What was ...

CARSON: Yeah.

DIAMOND: What were the private interactions there?

CARSON: He and trying to speak with several people. More importantly he had an opportunity to see, you know, some of the parts of the city that are not prospering. And a chance to talk to some of those people as well as at the church. And I think it I think it just fortifies, you know, every time I've talked to them about Detroit and about the problems in the inner city, he gets very, animated. He's very anxious to do something about it. DIAMOND: What is his plan exactly to address cry in inner cities? Because I've heard him on his stump and he talks about jobs back, bring jobs back and all that stuff but it doesn't seem like there's enough concrete, specifics.

CARSON: Well, there's not a one specific thing. It's a host of things. For instance, you know, using a lot of the -- the trillions of dollars that are overseas, repatriating that money, incentivising it to come back and then using a portion of it, because the stipulation would be, when I going to tax you but 10 percent of it has to be used, enterprise zones, to create jobs for who are unemployed, underemployed, on welfare.

And really what that does is its two fold. First of all would be the biggest thing of this package since FDR's (ph) new deal. Number two, it gets businesses and corporations, once again, interested in reaching out to the communities and helping people in the communities which is what they used to do before the government took over it. And you know the government has plenty on its hands. Without doing things that we, the people, should be doing for each other.

DIAMOND: Right. So it seems like you, what you have -- what Donald Trump has is an economic plan, right, for the country. But does -- is there something specific that he needs to do to address the problems that are very different in the inner cities of America that's more than just stimulating economic growth in the country?

CARSON: Well, a large part of the problem is economics, you know. It's like in a marriage. You know what are the two things that make marriages go bad? Economics and sex. Well, we'll take the sex out of it but economics, you know, it's the same kind of thing. You know, for a society when things become tense economically it creates a lot of other problems that don't need to be there.

And, you know you look at a city like Detroit which was once a hub of innovation, an entrepreneurial risk taking in capital investment and you look at what has happened to it because of the enormous number of regulations that just stifle that creativity. And that's not helpful to us as a nation.

You know, we Americans have always been created people that can do attitude. We don't want to trade that for that what can you do for me attitude because that always runs out. You know, all the societies that have gone that way end up looking the same way, who had a small group of elites at the top who control everything. A rapidly diminishing middle class and a vastly expanded dependent class. We don't need that.

DIAMOND: When Donald Trump talks about poverty in the inner cities and he talks about crime in the inner cities. He describes a world in which you say, you know, you walk out your door and you can get shot.

[12:45:04]And his solution to that is more police, that's what he said. Is bringing more police into the community ...

CARSON: Well, that's one ... DIAMOND: Is that enough?

CARSON: That's one of the things that you've heard but the thing that you haven't maybe concentrated on is him talking about providing the right kind of education and educational choices for people because that changes the trajectory in their lives. You haven't yet heard him talking about what kinds of things we need to do in order to strengthen the family because, see, a lot of these young men in inner cities like this, they grew up in single parent homes with no father figure.

That creates problems because people frequently don't learn how to react appropriately to authority. And the first authority figure that they meet is a policeman or someone who's better than they are. In either case it doesn't work out well. And frequently they really never even had a chance. We need to have policies that bring families together. And, also, when you look at the recidivism rate in our prisons, we have 5 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of other prison inmates. That means there's a problem. He knows that and we'll be talking more about that. But the people that go into those prisons with no education and no skills and they come out with no education and no skills. What they're going to do? GO right back to what they were doing before.

We have an opportunity to alter that pathway. It means we also need to get involved in helping people when they finish their prison sentence to be able to obtain work and change the direction of their lives.

DIAMOND: Do you think when Donald Trump says, you know, what the hell do you have to lose. You know, we spoke today with a number of community leaders who are outside the event this morning, protesting. And one of the things that they said is, "Listen, we have a lot to lose, actually by, you know, our voting rights, our civil rights, the number of gains that African-Americans have made over the decades."

CARSON: That's not going to happen.

DIAMOND: When Trump says what do you have to lose, is that the wrong language to use?

CARSON: But why would anybody think their voting rights are going away? What ...

DIAMOND: Is that the right language to use, I guess? To say what do you have to lose, what I told you?

CARSON: OK. I just can't let that question go by without saying this. Who was it that fought voting rights in the civil rights movement? Democrats. Who was it that was a party, the Ku Klux Klan? Democrats. Who was the part that was established as evolutionist party? The Republicans. So, then the Democrats said, well, what happened is, you know, in the '60s it all changed and the Democrats became the Republicans. You probably heard that myth yourself. Total garbage. 1 percent of people change. DIAMOND: But we're talking about in 2016, Donald Trump saying to African-Americans, what do you have to lose by voting for me? How does that language ...

CARSON: Well, what you have to do is listen to what he's actually saying. He's saying that 50 years of these kinds of progressive policies have not led to a good place. So, you know, why would you continue to go down that pathway and expect something different to happen?

And, you know, there are lot of people who want to concentrate on, well, he said this and he said this, without actually asking themselves, what is he saying? What is the actual message? And that's part of the problem that we have in America today. We don't listen to what a person is saying, we listen to how they said it.

You know, case and point. Go back and do some homework and look at Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address in 1995. And you will find a section where he says illegal aliens are creating big problems in our country and they're getting welfare benefits and they're getting employed. We need to stop them from doing that. We need to deport people. We need to get border agent.

Now, if Donald Trump says the same thing, they say he's hate longer, you know. What does that say to you about our society? It says, when it's the person who says it rather than what's being said, we're not using our heads.

DIAMOND: But there is, of course, and I'm sure you would acknowledge this. A lot have heard, it seems in the African-American community towards the words that Donald Trump has set. You know, he's dismissed Black Lives Matter. When a Black Lives Matter protest was roughed up, he said maybe he should have been roughed up. This was back in the fall. And he's made a number of comments, you know, from the recent description of African-American lives it's, you know, painting it as all poverty, now jobs, all crime.

CARSON: Well, you know, but if you ...

DIAMOND: Is that language helpful? Is there a way he can ...

CARSON: Well, if you ask him about those comments, though, and allow him to explain it. You'll see, he says very readily, I have a lot of African-American friends who are very wealthy, who do very well. And I know that majority of black people don't live that way but he problem is we have a very large percentage of people in our inner cities who are not experiencing any of the benefits of our society.

[12:50:04] And that's a problem for all of us.

That's the real message. That's the message that really should resonate with anybody who actually cares about what's going on as opposed to who has a political agenda.

DIAMOND: So what's -- how, many African-American votes you're going to win? What percentage of the African-American votes do you think that he can win in this election?

CARSON: I don't know. But I do know that in the NBC survey monkey poll a couple of weeks ago he was polling at 1 percent. A week later he was polling at 8 percent. It will be interesting to see. Because in -- what the African-American community, the reason that they've stuck with the Democrats is because nobody else has reached out to them and they feel they don't have any other option.

I think this is a good thing that he is actually making a concerted effort to reach out. And it's not a pandering effort. It's an effort to strengthen the entire fabric of the country because he knows that America cannot be great if we have big pockets of dysfunction.

DIAMOND: So that's actually the -- one more thing that I wanted to ask you about is Donald Trump over the past, nearly three weeks has in every single rally speech talked about African-Americans directly, made that direct appeal which is rare to see from a Republican nominee. But he's done so, of course, before predominantly white audiences and we saw him yesterday meet with some African-Americans. Today go in to a black church. How important do you think that was and were you part of encouraging him to do that?

CARSON: Well, it's important to speak before all audiences. Because the problems that we are having quite frankly in our inner cities affect all of us. We're all in the same boat and if part of the boat goes down, the rest of it I going down too. So it affects everybody.

And I -- but I think it was very important for him to start talking about it before he came to the black community because you want to sow the seeds of peace and cooperation before you go there. And it makes it less likely that the agitators can create a big raucous.

DIAMOND: So you think the fact that he made that outreach, even if it was before predominantly white audiences, helped set him up for more receptive?

CARSON: Absolutely.

DIAMOND: You think so, yeah.

CARSON: Absolutely.

DIAMOND: Well, thank you so much, Dr. Carson. We really appreciate you taking the time.

CARSON: All right. Take care.

DIAMOND: Bye-bye.

WHITFIELD: All right, that was a great moment.

DIAMOND: Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: I've got (inaudible) from where -- wants to be a write a tour of his home with Donald Trump and then he took the time there to answer our host of questions there. So, Kayleigh, you know, in large part, is there a feeling from the Trump campaign that this will make a big -- a rather sizeable impact as it pertains to appealing to voters who may have been, in large part, reluctant about Donald Trump?

MCENANY: I think so. I think this trip today shows just how much he cares about this community. You know, you have Romney who largely ignored the African-American community, didn't make that direct outreach. And you hear people like Allen West praising him and saying, "Look, I'll stand on the stage with him. I appreciate what he's doing."

So I think this is a very big move and I think the biggest part of the interview we just heard from Dr. Carson is that, when I bring up the inner cities, Donald Trump is engaged. He's interested in what I have to say. He's interested in fixing the problem. He realizes we're all brothers and sisters and if one pocket of this country is hurting, we all hurt.

WHITFIELD: All right Kayleigh McEnany, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. And thanks to Dr. Ben Carson too who was nice enough to engage in that interview with you even though for a moment he thought he lost his luggage and then there seemed to be a pesky bee or something around, too. All right, thanks, everybody. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:57:16] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Donald Trump's outreach to minority voters continues in Detroit at this hour. We saw Donald Trump being welcomed there and spoke at the Great Faith Ministries International church there. You see -- he's, you know, supported by a number of people on his, you know, surrogate. You see Katrina Pierson. And you saw Omarosa as well outside, however, quite the contrast. Outside the Great Faith Ministries church over the crowd of protesters out there. Many of them saying dump Trump.

So how did this go for Donald Trump and his campaign today especially after promising there would be greater prosperity particularly for the African-American community? And he also promised to help rebuild a very blighted Detroit.

Let's check in with Bishop Edgar L. Vann. He's the pastor of the Second Ebenezer Church. Bishop, thank you so much for being with me. Perhaps you heard Bishop Wayne Jackson following Donald Trump's comments today. And he said, you know, let's add one more title. Let's call you preacher. So were you impressed by the words of Donald Trump today?

BISHOP EDGAR L. VANN, SECOND EBENEZER CHURCH PASTOR: No, I wasn't. I don't think that this particular visit has very much value for him. I mean, remember, politics is not a religion. It's a science. And let's look at the numbers. In 2008, John McCain got 3 percent of the African-American vote in Detroit. In 2012, Mitt Romney got 2 percent of the African-American vote. I think it's more than likely that Donald Trump will not even get 1 percent of the African-American vote. So I think you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

WHITFIELD: Does he get credit for making the impression he did today? VANN: I don't believe that he does necessarily. He's got to rise above many of the racist, xenophobic, misogynist comments that had been made throughout this entire campaign. The alienation that has taken place for the African-Americans, with Mexicans, with Muslims, with women, he's made tons of statements about that that are hard for him to overcome at this point.

WHITFIELD: OK. And quickly, what do you want to see next? We've got 30 seconds left.

VANN: Well, I just really believe that there needs to be a real debate. I was looking forward to a great debate of issues and policy in this campaign.

I think the two-party system, what it does is it allows us to have a true view of the actual issues that are facing us and we have not had that in this campaign yet. And I'm looking forward to hearing from both candidates as to what their issues and policies.

WHITFIELD: OK. And we'll have to leave it right there. I don't want to lose you because our satellite window closes in any second now. Bishop Edgar L. Vann, thank you so much for your time.

VANN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

All right, hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm --