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Louisiana Flooding Relief Efforts; President Obama Meets with Putin; Trump Preparing for Debates?. Aired 15-15:30p ET

Aired September 05, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am so happy to have all of you with me.

QUESTION: Have you missed us?

CLINTON: I was just waiting for this moment.

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: That's for -- no, really. And I will come back and talk to you more formally, but I wanted to welcome you on to the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, Trump says he didn't know about the debut of the Clinton press plane.

However, he did say that he, too, will allow reporters on his plane, but not necessarily every day. Trump also talked about the presidential debates, which are just three weeks away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think I'm preparing somewhat like I prepared for the other debates. I think I'm preparing.

I -- you know, I enjoyed the debating process. I did -- obviously, I did well in the debates, according to the polls, the online polls that they did right after the debates. And I think I'm doing the same thing.

QUESTION: Are you doing a lot of prep work? And...

TRUMP: I'm doing some. I'm doing some. I have seen people do so much prep work that, when they get out there, they can't speak. I have seen that.

QUESTION: Is someone playing Hillary in your prep work?

TRUMP: No, no. I haven't done that. QUESTION: Do you plan to have -- I'm sorry. Do you plan to have mock

sessions where someone does play her?

TRUMP: I hadn't planned on it. I never did it before.

QUESTION: And you're definitely going to do all three of these debates?

TRUMP: Well, as of this moment, yes. Well, as of this moment, yes.

QUESTION: OK.

QUESTION: What could cause you to change your mind? You say as of this moment. So, what could cause you to change your mind?

TRUMP: Hurricanes, natural disaster. No, I expect to do all three.

QUESTION: Only an act of God can stop...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No, I look forward to the debates. I think it's an important element of what we're doing. I think you have an obligation to do the debates. I did them with the other -- in the other cases. We had, I guess, 11 debates. No, I look forward to the debates.

QUESTION: They came out with the moderators last week. Are you happy with those?

TRUMP: I like them. I respect the moderators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK.

So, let's talk to Sara Murray, who is following the Trump campaign, and Dan Merica, who was on Hillary Clinton's plane when she spoke with those reporters. And he took that photo.

And you're at this event right where we're waiting to her and her running mate speak.

But, Dan Merica, let me just begin with you. Can you just take me inside that moment where we saw Hillary Clinton sort of step beyond the curtains? What did that feel like for the traveling press?

DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICS PRODUCER: It was interesting.

We have spent 17 months covering her campaign, no press plane. We flew either commercial or on another plane. She flew on her own plane. And she made her way back to the press pen. The press makes up the last 25 percent of the plane, 42 seats in all. There's a section for Secret Service, a section for her aides, and then Secretary Clinton and some of her top aides who are traveling with her in what would be called first class. She came back, she told U.S. that, somewhat sarcastically, she was

happy to have us here. I think she's giving up a very, very nice plane to get on an equally nice plane, a Boeing 737 that is about 14 years old. It used to fly for Air Berlin, made in the United States. And it was painted and kind of retrofitted in Roswell, New Mexico, and Texas as well.

She came back, she said she would have a formal -- take formal questions. We're expecting that later today. But it's interesting, because she has been standoffish with the press, and the plane makes that more difficult. We will be on her plane. We will see her more regularly. You will see her get on and get off.

And so, as you said in your setup, this is the sprint to Election Day. We're hoping that that also means more access, more questions to Secretary Clinton.

BALDWIN: I hear you, 275ish days and counting, I know, since her last formal news conference. Stand by, Dan.

Sara, let me just bring you in.

We see Trump talking to press on his plane, although he said he had no idea Hillary Clinton would be doing that with her new plane today. He made a stop at a place called Goodys. Can you tell us about Trump's day?

SARA MURRAY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brooke, just amazing how this works. Right?

One candidate talks to the press and then, all of a sudden, another candidate talks to the press. I'm sure it was a total coincidence, though.

Look, Donald Trump's day today looks much more like a traditional candidate's. He held a roundtable with union leaders today. He stopped by Goody Restaurant, a local diner there in Ohio. And then later this afternoon, we're expecting him to visit a fair that's actually one of the largest fairs in Ohio.

And remember this is a guy that when he jumped into the race a little bit over a year ago, he really didn't do retail politics, he really didn't shake hands, he really didn't talk to voters. And so I think what you're seeing is a large evolution of the candidate.

But one thing Donald Trump is still not doing is what Hillary Clinton has now started, which is letting the press travel with him on a regular basis on the campaign plane.

And, of course, the press has a pretty low approval rating. We understand most people don't really care about our problems, but there is value to being on the plane with a candidate. You see what they are like with their running mate, you see how they interact with their top advisers.

[15:05:01] And in many cases, you can also see their reaction when big major news

events are happening. And so there's value in all of that. And we're supposed to sort of be the eyes and ears for regular voters who don't get to see that day in and day out.

BALDWIN: The sprint is on. It's a good thing to be close to the candidates you are covering.

Dan Merica, Sara Murray, thank you for this is -- wow, what is it, just two more months or so. Again, we're watching and waiting to hear from Hillary Clinton there in Cleveland. We will take it.

And now to the bigger conversation. With me, CNN political director David Chalian and chief political correspondent Dana Bash.

So, I think it's just worth, David Chalian, underscoring, Dan just said it and I think I remember hearing Hillary Clinton on the plane saying to the traveling press, you ready to run?

This is the -- right? This is the final, crucial race to the finish.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, this is it. We have got nine weeks to go. There's been a lot of setup to this. And, quite frankly, Brooke, look where we are.

We're kind of where we were before the conventions, before the summer controversies, before each candidate was able to sort of have that unfiltered pitch to voters or a somewhat unfiltered pitch to voters from their conventions. And here are in a really tight race.

And this is where you turn on the turbo engines, because you have got these debates. They are going to help form opinions. And people start voting in just three weeks. Early voting begins.

BALDWIN: Wow.

CHALIAN: So, when you talk about the sprint, you have to remember this isn't just to November 8. Lots and lots of votes are going to start getting banked at the end of this month.

BALDWIN: I am also fascinated in these conversations that both candidates have had with reports on the planes today, right, and how much that will happen between now and November 8. And I know both of you have been on planes like this.

Dana Bash, I want to hear. I would love just to give your color on what this is like for the press, but also let me just play a snippet. This is a part of the conversation. Someone had a question about immigration, being confused. Here was Trump today on the plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: We're confused. A lot of Republican plans have talked about letting people have a legal status, just being able to live here, work here, people who lived here for a long time and contribute to society. TRUMP: We're going to make that decision into the future, OK? Good question. I'm glad you asked me. That decision will be made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That decision will be made.

Do you feel less confused, Dana Bash?

(LAUGHTER)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No. No, I don't. But that's the point.

The point is that he's punting. And he's doing so pretty overtly on the question of what to do with the undocumented immigrants currently in this country who are upstanding members of society who aren't the criminals or the bad ones who Donald Trump has talked about and made clear he will kick out of the country.

He's trying to make it very clear to people who want to hear a more tolerant Donald Trump that he is that guy, but also not anger conservatives who voted for him thinking that he's going to kick everybody out.

For people who are die-hard on the question of whether anybody here illegally should be allowed to stay, they will consider anything even remotely close to maybe as potentially Donald Trump going for amnesty.

The question is again, as we have been asking for so long, does it matter for those people? Because where are they going to go? They are not going to vote for anybody but Trump at this point, so I think that's clearly part of the calculation that Trump is making in punting on that question.

BALDWIN: And then intentionally perhaps keeping it murky, thus trying to have it both ways.

And as we talk immigration, I think of someone who said on sat on that bipartisan Gang of Eight, someone who Donald Trump has just recently been picking fights with in Arizona. I'm talking, David Chalian, about Senator Jeff Flake, someone who says, no, I'm not voting for Donald Trump, no, I don't like how he's been talking about immigration in this country moving forward.

But what does Donald Trump, David, what does he have to gain by needling this Arizona senator?

CHALIAN: I can't figure out what he has to gain. I actually don't think there's much.

I think if you look at when Donald Trump brought in new campaign management, Kellyanne Conway, his new campaign manager for a few week now made note of the fact you don't see him sort of going after and doing personal attacks anymore on Twitter, and yet he obviously couldn't resist this needling. Jeff Flake got under his skin. This is the kind of stuff that some of the Trump critics have been

warning against temperamentally with him. But, listen, when he has picked fights with Republicans with like, it has not worked in his favor. So I think if indeed he has the right people in his ear right now, maybe this is one that will not really last long like it did with Paul Ryan or maybe not endorsing John McCain.

I think it clearly got to him. He tweeted and we will have to see if this is a fight he wants to sustain because I think your question is a good one, Brooke.

[15:10:00]

I don't think picking a fight with an incumbent Republican senator, even if you disagree with him, does much for him.

BASH: And, Brooke, this is the kind of thing that drives the Republican Party chair crazy, because his whole job is to keep the party together, to make Donald Trump understand that there are Republicans who are going to disagree with him and going to disagree with him openly for lots of reasons, but one of them is because that's important for them to do politically for their constituency.

Jeff Flake might have lots of reasons for doing this. Just maybe for him it's just his personal view of Donald Trump and his position on immigration, but this is the kind of thing that as Reince Priebus and the RNC have been trying to kind to get Donald Trump back on track -- and, as David has said, successfully for the most part -- this just kind of makes him nuts.

BALDWIN: Sorry. I was listening to you, but I also -- who is the he here? I'm talking to my executive producer. Oh, here he is

Trump, he is at a fair in Canfield, Ohio. Shall we just listen for a second?

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Thank you. Unbelievable reception. We're going to bring jobs back to Ohio. We're going to bring jobs back to our country. We're not going to make these horrible trade deals anymore. We will bring our jobs back. Thank you, everybody. I love you. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Incredible. What an incredible group. Thank you, everybody.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BALDWIN: How about that? I just wanted to make sure we heard it.

Dana, forgive me. I was hanging on your every word until the very last second.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: I finished my point.

BALDWIN: But hang on just quickly. And then I will let you all go. This is the county that's so, so important, where it voted Dem. Right. Explain the context of why he's here, here.

CHALIAN: Listen, this is one of the critical counties in Ohio. This is where that play for white working-class voters that Donald Trump believes will be his success here in a battleground state this like, this is where he believes he can go in and dig in and try to upend some of the advantage that has existed before for other Democratic politicians, but here against Hillary Clinton make the case against her with this white working-class, not college educated, crowd of voters.

So it's exactly this kind of community. And we have got to note here, Brooke, we're seeing Donald Trump do something we don't see a lot of. We normally see him at rallies, on stage, giving speeches.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: He's in the middle of everyone.

BASH: Exactly.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CHALIAN: Retail politicking in the middle of the fair, this is a different kind of image now, again, turning that corner for the fall campaign.

This is how he's going to -- to keep this up, this is how you woo voters, get local news coverage, and start putting yourself in position to show yourself understanding the plight of the voters you're seeking.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: And to circle back to the beginning of this conversation, Brooke, you have Donald Trump doing the most typical thing a candidate can do, which is walk around a state fair and shake hands. He's not doing it for very long, but he's doing it.

BALDWIN: Long enough.

BASH: Which is different from what we have seen.

And him and Hillary Clinton having members of the press corps on their plane, I feel like I'm actually, just for a split-second here, covering a traditional presidential campaign.

BALDWIN: What is going on?

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: I don't even know what to do with myself.

BALDWIN: Oh, my gosh. Wow. Dana and David, thank you. I would agree with you and I feel such the page-turning and nine weeks to go, ladies and gentlemen, nine weeks to go.

Just ahead here, President Obama, he has weighed in on this whole NFL quarterback refusing to stand up during the national anthem, upsetting a lot of conservatives. We will let you know what the president has said here all the way from China.

Also, he's asked whether Russia is trying to hack the U.S. elections. The president responds with a rare warning about what America is capable of.

Also, stunning new CNN reporting that ISIS planned for the terror attacks in Paris to be far worse. And we have new details about a mysterious operative linked to the terror cell. So much happening on this Monday. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:13]

BALDWIN: Some breaking developments today out of the G20 Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin telling reporters that a deal with the U.S. to -- quote, unquote -- "ease tensions" in Syria could come within days, this after a 90-minute meeting with President Obama, who described the discussion as candid, blunt, businesslike. Those were the president's words here.

Obama seemed to have a more cautious take though on whether a deal could actually be reached.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have had productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like that would allow us both, the United States and Russia, to focus our attention on common enemies like ISIL and Nusra.

But given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me bring in CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

Nic, on that last note, just knowing that Putin said days, that's a mighty confident statement.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, look, what President Putin is doing here and what we have heard over the days running up to the G20 was the Russians putting forward a more positive spin, saying it was close, it was possible.

The United States, we heard from President Obama, Secretary Kerry as well has also sort of been more cautious on this. The Russians have created the optics here where they're in the driving seat, this is up to time if they deliver the sort of terms and conditions that the United States can agree to for some kind of cessation of hostilities.

And the reality is, if we look at what Russia has done all this year since the talks, the peace talks for Syria started in Geneva back in January, those talks keep having to go on hold because Russia continues along with Bashar al-Assad's forces there to try to surround that city, take control of all the rebel areas.

[15:20:11]

And guess what? We're still in the same place, stop, start, stop, start on the talks. Just yesterday, once again, Russian forces along with President Bashar al-Assad's forces surrounded the rebels in the city of Aleppo.

And here we are. President Putin is saying, yes, a deal is just around the corner. He's putting himself in the position of being on the world stage and saying, you want a deal, deal with me on some other issues. Ukraine is one of those issues. He wants some of the sanctions lifted there, the economic sanctions for invading and annexing Crimea.

BALDWIN: What about also -- there have been concerns potentially of a hack, a potential Russian hack on the U.S. elections in some weeks. And we know the president waded into that.

Let me just play what President Obama said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What we cannot do is have a situation in which suddenly this becomes the Wild Wild West, where countries that have significant cyber-capacity start engaging in competition, unhealthy competition or conflict through these means when, I think, wisely we have put in place some norms when it comes to using other weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Just wanted to play President Obama's response to that as well.

Nic Robertson, thank you so much for joining me from London.

Coming up next here on CNN, we have obtained documents from inside the investigation into the Paris attacks from last fall -- what we have learned about the suspected terrorists who were stopped before they could take part.

Also, more than a dozen musicians are teaming up tonight to raise money for the tens of thousands who have lost everything in the recent flooding down in Louisiana. Randy Jackson, who will co-host tonight's Louisiana Rising concert, will join me live here on CNN in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:33]

BALDWIN: It has been nearly a month since a major flooding disaster for parts of Louisiana just totally underwater. Waters were so high and the force was so strong, they were able to push over a semitruck.

The governor says at least $8.7 billion in damages are left behind. Just look at this. Look at that.

Now a Grammy Award-winning record producer is planning a benefit show for the victims still struggling to pick up the pieces. The telethon will provide relief to families affected by the flooding, especially to children.

That's happening tonight.

With a preview, I have the man behind this concert, co-host Randy Jackson.

Randy Jackson, nice to see you.

RANDY JACKSON, RECORD PRODUCER: Hello, Brooke. How are you? Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: I am all right. I tell you, I tip my hat to you and also Harry Connick Jr. and this entire cost of musicians and production folks and everyone.

But, for you, Randy, first, just on a personal note, you're Baton Rouge boy, born there. Are your folks, your friends, everyone...

JACKSON: I'm a Baton Rouge boy.

BALDWIN: Yes. Is everyone OK?

JACKSON: Yes, everyone's doing fine, thank God.

I'm a Baton Rouge boy. Harry is from New Orleans. So we thought we'd come here to try and help. This is -- there have been a lot of people reaching out. Raycom Media is helping out. The American Red Cross is doing amazing things and some of the first-responders.

This is the worst U.S. disaster since superstorm Sandy, I mean, over $20 billion in damage. It's unbelievable.

BALDWIN: But it's like to see the damage on TV, as we're all doing, as we're rolling pictures as I'm talking to you, that's one thing, but to be there and to see this in person with your own two eyes, have you had a chance? Tell me what you have seen.

JACKSON: It's amazing. It's amazing, what has happened. I just can't even believe it.

And today, I'm here today. We're doing the benefits show tonight and it's raining still. So, the relief here is just -- it's interesting. You know what I mean? I have never seen anything like in a long time.

BALDWIN: Tell me what you have all ahead of tonight. Who is playing? Why is this so important for you?

JACKSON: It's important for me because it's important to give back to the proud state of Louisiana, a place that I grew up and I still love and I still call home, and so does Harry.

We have a lot of people showing up tonight. Governor John Bel Edwards is here. Harry and I are co-hosting. We have got Eli Manning, Britney Spears, Matthew McConaughey, Ellen DeGeneres, John Goodman. We got Aaron Neville performing, Better Than Ezra. A lot of great Louisiana support.

BALDWIN: And just as people are tuning in, this is about what? Music is such this great unifier, right, and people can tune in, lift up the good people of Baton Rouge and hopefully help them out a little bit.

JACKSON: Hopefully donate to the Red Cross, American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

I'm telling you, listen, we're trying to do everything we can to help the proud people of this state.

BALDWIN: And where can we find it? Where is the concert tonight on TV?

JACKSON: The concert is 7:00 to 9:00 Central time. It's over 100 stations. And also you can stream it live over the Internet.

BALDWIN: Randy Jackson, thank you so much for your time. Good luck. Good luck tonight with the concert and the telethon.

JACKSON: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: I appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Coming up: Hillary Clinton, she just started speaking in Ohio. And she actually, notably, had a horrible coughing fit. She turned it around and said she's allergic to Donald Trump.

We will dip in live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)