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Trump Ends Blacklisting; Trump on Birther Issue; U .K. Building a Wall; Obama at Laos Summit; Trump and Clinton's Planes. Aired 9:30- 10a ET

Aired September 07, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:40] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

CNN has learned Donald Trump will end the black listing of certain news outlets. A practice, of course, many journalists think he should have never started in the first place.

Brian Stelter has more on this developing story.

Good morning.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol, for weeks now there's been pressure inside the Trump campaign to get rid of this so-called blacklist. This is the idea that news outlets like "The Washington Post," Buzz Feed, Politico, "The Daily Beast," Univision, "The Huffington Post," they've all been denied press credentials to attend Trump rallies. What that means in practice is, it's harder for the reporters to cover the events. They have to show up in line hours ahead of time and go in like members of the general public.

What Trump was doing by blacklisting these outlets was punishing them for a reporting he thought was unfair. And this had been happening for months. But now it is changing. As of tomorrow, the Trump campaign tells me there's no more blacklists. These outlets will be allowed inside Trump events, just like all other reporters.

And Trump has issued an interesting one sentence statement. We can put it on screen. Maybe a tongue and cheek statement. He says, why is he doing it? Because "I figure they can't treat me any worse" than they already do. That's classy Donald Trump.

Of course, his anti-media campaign continues, Carol, even though he is now loosening the restrictions on news outlets.

COSTELLO: All right, Brian Stelter, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Dr. Ben Carson, who was trying to whoo black voters into Donald Trump's camp says apologize already. He told Jake Tapper his candidate should say he is sorry for forcing the nation's first black president to produce his birth certificate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think it's time for Donald Trump to acknowledge that all that birther nonsense was a mistake and to apologize?

DR. BEN CARSON (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that would be a good idea. Absolutely. I suggest that on all sides. Let's get all of the, you know, the hate and ranker out of the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mr. Trump is not heeding Dr. Carson's advice. At least he wasn't last night on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So you think your birther position has hurt you among African-American?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't know. I have no idea. I don't even talk about it anymore, Bill --

O'REILLY: No, I know.

TRUMP: Because, you know, I just don't bother talking about it.

O'REILLY: But it's there. It's on the record. You know --

TRUMP: But I don't know. I guess -- I guess with maybe some. I don't know why. I mean I don't -- I really don't know. But I don't think -- very few people -- you're the first one that's brought that up in a while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now is Basil Smikle, executive director of the New York State Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton supporter, and Paris Dennard, a Republican political commentator and Donald Trump supporter.

Welcome to both of you.

BASIL SMIKLE, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Thank you.

PARIS DENNARD, REPUBLICAN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so, so, Paris, the birther issue. Lest you forget, Mr. Trump led that movement for two years, starting at the height of the recession in 2009. It culminated in a history making presser by the president of the United States. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, I know that there's going to be a segment of people for which no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest. But I'm speaking to the vast majority of the American people, as well as to the press. We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We've got better stuff to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So then President Obama produced his birth certificate for all the world to see. So, Paris, why doesn't Mr. Trump apologize for this?

DENNARD: Well, you know, Carol, I agree with President Obama, we don't have time for this. We have better things to do, like focus on the economy, like focus on jobs and focus on things that matter. I think what you see now is that --

COSTELLO: That was a fabulous pivot. Paris, come on --

DENNARD: No, I --

COSTELLO: Dr. Ben Carson says Mr. Trump should apologize for this birther controversy, and he should finally come out and admit once and for all that President Obama was born in Hawaii, in the United States of America, something he hasn't done. Should he do that now, now that he's trying to whoo African-American voters?

DENNARD: I think the idea that the birther issue that was actually started by a dog whisper campaign by the Clinton campaign, which Jake Tapper highlighted on CNN a few days ago --

COSTELLO: Paris, really? Donald Trump forced President Obama to produce his birth certificate and forced the president to speak about this on the world stage to the embarrassment of many in this country.

DENNARD: Carol, once --

COSTELLO: You know that Donald Trump was the head of this birther movement. Should he apologize or not?

DENNARD: First of all, I don't think anybody forces the president of the United States to do anything. And I know that for a fact that it was the Clinton campaign --

[09:35:02] COSTELLO: You heard what he said. I just played you a clip.

DENNARD: It was the Clinton campaign who started this whisper campaign back in 2007/2008.

COSTELLO: Mrs. Clinton does not, to this day, think the president was born in Kenya.

SMIKLE: No, no, I -- I -- I -- I -- if I can interject for a second. First of all, Hillary Clinton and -- nor did her campaign actually start it. It came from a volunteer, somewhere in Texas, on the Internet. The campaign and the candidate at that time had nothing to do with spreading this nonsense.

DENNARD: They did (INAUDIBLE) --

SMIKLE: That said -- that said -- and they -- and they have since denounced it and Hillary Clinton has been forthright in saying --

DENNARD: Since denounced it.

SMIKLE: That -- that the president is -- is an American, number one. Number two --

COSTELLO: OK. So -- so, Basil, just let me ask Paris this.

SMIKLE: Sure.

COSTELLO: OK. You say that the Democrats should denounce it. So why shouldn't Mr. Trump? I'll play along.

DENNARD: I just don't think it is -- is -- I don't think it's an issue right now that the American people are -- especially African-Americans are focused on. We are focused on jobs, the economy, crime, that is plaguing our communities. You saw what happened in Chicago, hitting 500 homicides this year. Those are issues that are -- are more --

COSTELLO: Basil, is that true, do African -- do African-Americans care?

SMIKLE: Of course they care.

COSTELLO: That Mr. Trump believes the president of the United States, the first black president, was not born in this country?

SMIKLE: Of course they care because it wasn't just about being born elsewhere. It was an effort to delegitimize the first African-American president of this country. It was a -- it's a proxy statement that basically says the first African-American president cannot and is not qualified to govern. And that -- that sends a far broader message to say that as an African-American you cannot be at the table with anybody else. And that's something that has lingered for years. And I -- you know, even if Donald Trump apologizes it -- apologizes for it today, I don't think any African-American will forget that the person that they largely supported for the White House is being told by a Republican standard bearer --

COSTELLO: Well, I don't know about that. I think apologies go a long way in the United --

SMIKLE: I -- well --

COSTELLO: I think Americans are very forgiving people.

SMIKLE: Sure.

COSTELLO: So, again, Paris, why not just say, you know what, the president was born in Hawaii. That was just a thing I did. And -- and move on from there?

DENNARD: I just don't think -- Mr. Trump did a speech and he said he apologized for things that he might have said that might have been taken out of context or offensive. He's apologized. African-Americans --

COSTELLO: Is that one of them?

DENNARD: It could be. If people find that offensive, then they should take that as an apology to them. But at the end of the day, Carol, two polls have Mr. Trump at 8 percent amongst African-Americans, which is growing and climbing, which is above what Mitt Romney got at 6 percent --

COSTELLO: Well, I haven't seen those polls and that's what -- not what the CNN/ORC poll says.

DENNARD: It's the -- it's the -- well, the CNN ROC -- that CNN poll shows him leading with independents, leading on the issue of how to handle terrorism, leading --

COSTELLO: I'm talking about African-American voters.

SMIKLE: Well, and I -- and if I could just --

DENNARD: And I'm talking about the NBC/Survey Monkey poll which has him at 8 percent, the Economist/YouGov poll --

COSTELLO: We don't recognize that Monkey poll. We don't recognize that poll.

SMIKLE: And -- and -- and I -- and I -- and I would just say, look, I don't begrudge any community, any church for hosting a presidential candidate.

DENNARD: Then don't do it.

SMIKLE: But the truth of the matter is --

DENNARD: Then don't do it.

SMIKLE: But the truth of the matter -- but the truth -- the truth of the matter is that Donald Trump, less than three months from the election, just over two months from the election, is just now starting his outreach to the African-American community.

DENNARD: That's not true. Basil, that's not true.

SMIKLE: It is true.

DENNARD: The National Diversity Coalition for Mr. Trump was created over a year ago and been on the ground supporting him and that's a very diverse coalition. Mr. Trump met with -- repeatedly with African- American pastors. He has held meetings and he was the first Republican on stage during the debates to say that that confederate flag of South Carolina can come down. So he has had consistent -- consistent engagement with African-Americans.

SMIKLE: On -- on -- on -- on his -- on -- COSTELLO: I -- OK, I just want to stop this to make -- just for one second, Paris, I just want to ask you this question --

DENNARD: Do you believe that President Obama was born in Hawaii?

DENNARD: President Obama showed his birth certificate and it said -- which showed that he was born in Hawaii. It's a done deal. It's not an issue. The issue that I'm focusing on is how to best equip this country to make America great again. What is a candidate that's going to do that and really support my community and make my community better? I believe it's Donald Trump. When you look at all the crime, you look at the education that -- and the public educational system in many of our urban cities, Mr. Trump is the one who supports school choice, charter schools, the Sorry (ph) Act (ph) and a lot of other things that are important to my community. That's what matters to me. And those are the focus issues that we need to be focused on, not these side shows, because we see Mr. Trump is engaging with the community. I believe the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democrats are running scared.

COSTELLO: OK, I have to --

SMIKLE: We're not running scare at all, sir.

COSTELLO: I have to leave it there.

SMIKLE: Not at all.

COSTELLO: Basil Smikle, Paris Dennard, thanks to both of you.

DENNARD: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, there is a big new wall going up, but it ain't around Mexico. We'll tell you where, next.

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[09:43:33] COSTELLO: This sounds awfully familiar. The U.K. is pushing ahead with plans to build a, quote, "big, new wall" at the Port of Calais on the French coast. The 13-foot high wall will built along the stretch of road to bolster efforts to prevent migrants from jumping on to trucks or trains to cross the English Channel into Britain. Critics say it's a poor use of taxpayer dollars.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is following this story. She's live in London.

Good morning.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

That's right, they're calling it the "Great Wall of Calais." Some comparing it to Donald Trump's plans for Mexico, but there are some key differences here. First of all, it's going to stretch about a kilometer long or just over half mile long, separating a migrant camp known as "the jungle" from the main road leading to a port. It's been mutually agreed upon by both the French and British government and the U.K. is footing the $2.5 million price tag. Take a listen to what the British immigration minister had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GOODWILL, MINISTER OF STATE FOR IMMIGRATION: The securities -- the security that we're putting in at the ports is being stepped up with better equipment. We're going to start building this big, new wall very soon as parts of the 17 million package that we're doing with the French (INAUDIBLE). There are people still getting through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a fence, not a wall, isn't it? We don't want to confuse --

GOODWILL: We built a trench (ph). Now we're doing a wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Now, earlier this week, there were protests there in Calais. Truck drivers are outraged at what they say are the increasingly aggressive tactic migrants have been using to try to get on board the trucks. Everything from setting up barriers, to throwing object at the trucks. But the Truck Drivers Association says a wall is not the answer. They'd rather see the money put towards more security at the port. And aid organizations say this isn't the answer. They're also saying that simply what this is going to do is make it more dangerous for the migrants, but it won't deter them.

[09:45:29] Carol.

COSTELLO: Erin McLaughlin reporting live from London this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, we haven't seen much of President Obama on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton, but, oh, that's about to change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:07] COSTELLO: A White House source tells CNN, President Obama's looking forward to getting back out on to the campaign trail in support of Hillary Clinton. Right now he's in Laos for the summit of the southeast Asian leaders that's just getting underway with a welcome banquet. There you see it. He's also been talking to some of the country's young people. CNN's Michelle Kosinski is traveling with the president.

Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Well, this part of the trip is historic for President Obama. He is the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos, try to build this relationship, after the Vietnam War, which was 40 years ago. So he's wanted to spend real time here.

And, today, we saw him get out, go to a different city and sit down with victims of the U.S. bombs that are still on the ground here from Vietnam and still explode to this day. He also sat down with some young southeast Asian leaders and that gave him the chance to do what he likes to do and talk up the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, his huge trade deal with Asia that the president sees as what's supposed to be the jewel in the crown of his rebalance to Asia. He thinks that this would be great for U.S. businesses, as well as U.S. workers. And, you know, there are plenty of even Republicans in Congress who agree with him on that, but Congress won't take it up. So he saved some words for them as well. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe that we'll get it done. But it's always going to be hard. Nothing is easy in the U.S. Congress right now. Maybe there was a time when it was, but I haven't seen it. It sure hasn't been easy since I've been president, all right. But we'll -- eventually we'll get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: So what about President Obama in 2016? You know, we haven't seen very much of him. He did that one event with Hillary Clinton in Charlotte shortly after he endorsed her. There were two fundraisers after that. But that's been it. And a White House source tells us he wants to get back out on the trail. He sees the enormous stakes involved here. He sees the poll numbers. He wants to make his point again that he feels Hillary Clinton is the only one qualified to be president of the United States.

So where does that leave us? Well, this month is going to be difficult, not just because of this trip that we're already on, but the U.N. general assembly is coming up, so he does have one event planned for next week in Philadelphia and then there's a fundraiser in New York. That leaves October. There have been reports that he's going to spend virtually the entire month out on the trail, but we are told he doesn't have that kind of time. That's going to be tough. But do expect to see much more of him on the trail then.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Michelle Kosinski reporting for us this morning. Thank you.

Checking some other top stories at 52 minutes past.

After years of accusations and denials, Bill Cosby will face criminal trial for the first time next year. A judge set a June 5th court date for the 79-year-old entertainer. Cosby has pleaded not guilty to three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault. The charges stem from a 2004 case involving an employee at Temple University. She claims Cosby fed her a mix of pills and wine, leaving her incapacitated and unable to consent to sex.

Tens of thousands of students left in the leach after ITT Technical Institute abruptly shut down it's more than 100 campuses across the country. It comes after the Department of Education barred the for- profit college from enrolling new students who rely on federal financial aid. A move ITT called unwarranted and unconstitutional. ITT has been under federal and state investigations for several issues over the years, including its lending practices.

Hillary Clinton now crisscrossing the country on her newly minted campaign jet, but how does it match up to Trump's?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:06] COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton's got some company on her newly minted campaign plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": And I saw that Hillary Clinton got a new plane. And she told reporters she's so happy to finally have enough room for them to travel with her. Then she threw on her noise canceling headphones and two sleep masks and said, talk to you never.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But, seriously, does Clinton's jet match Trump's? Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Coming soon to campaign stops nationwide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plane. The plane.

MOOS: But which plane? Is it Donald Trump's customized 757 or Hillary Clinton's blue 737. On its maiden voyage as a campaign plane, Hillary's ended up parked within sight of The Donald's. When Hillary was asked how she felt seeing his plane --

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I didn't feel anything. Was I supposed to?

MOOS: Trump's plane is more "Fantasy Island."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His 24 karat gold plated sink. You'll notice the seat belts, as well as everything else, are 24 carat gold plated.

MOOS: While Hillary's is a more normally configured plane carrying 96 passengers, Trump's carries only 43, but puts them in seats adorned with the Trump family logo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we are in Mr. Trump's bedroom.

MOOS: Mrs. Clinton doesn't have her own bedroom on her plane.

MOOS (on camera): One major difference, Hillary's plane is a rental.

MOOS (voice-over): While The Donald bought his jet used, it's now 25 years old. The Donald makes up for all that gold plating by sending out photos of himself eating McDonald's and KFC, albeit with a knife and fork. Both candidates held airborne gaggles with reporters.

You know, when Hillary had a coughing fit, allergic to Trump she had quipped, she broke off her gaggle.

CLINTON: I'll be right back.

MOOS: One critic coined the #airallergy, while another Photoshopped surgical masks on the press.

[10:00:03] MOOS (on camera): But there's no question whose plane is bigger, the president's, Air Force One.

MOOS (voice-over): Trump's is bigger than Hillary's, and The Donald told "Rolling Stone," "it's bigger than Air Force One."