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Hillary Clinton Returns to Campaign Trail Today; Clinton Responds to Powell's Hacked Emails; Donald Trump Talks About His Health on "Dr. Oz"; Trump Gives Big Economic Speech This Morning. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 15, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:26] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Hillary Clinton hitting the campaign trail for the first time since pneumonia sidelined her and raised new questions about her health. Just about an hour ago, Mrs. Clinton appeared on "The Tom Joyner Morning Show," and she said she will address health concerns with a more complete release of her medical records.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: More information, I think, will be, you know, very shortly because, you know, we really want to respond to legitimate questions that people might have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

All right. So let's begin our coverage this morning with Jeff Zeleny near the Clinton home in Chappaqua, New York. Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Hillary Clinton clearly trying to move beyond her bout of pneumonia, both physically and politically speaking. She will be leaving her home in a few hours and heading to North Carolina for her first trip back to a battleground state in a week.

Now, a lot has changed and happened since she's been recovering here from pneumonia. Donald Trump is at par with her in most battleground states, slightly ahead of her in other battleground states, but this campaign now has become a conversation about transparency, battling back and forth about who's released more medical records.

And on that score, Hillary Clinton is ahead. Her release of that doctor's report last evening saying that she is in good health certainly is more than Donald Trump has done. But he talked about his own medical records earlier this morning on Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did all the tests. I did every tests. I did it last week and the samples all came back, and I guess I wouldn't be talking to you right now if they were bad. If they were bad, I would say let's sort of skip this, right?

DR. MEHMET OZ, HOST, THE DR. OZ SHOW: How's your cholesterol?

TRUMP: Let's skip my -- well --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, maybe no more fast food, huh?

TRUMP: Yes, that -- the cholesterol, I think, is quite good. Everything is really good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: And he has acknowledged that he would like to lose some weight and he doesn't exercise. But, Carol, we will be getting, we're told, more of a picture of at least his scant medical records after the airing of Dr. Oz later this morning here. Very unusual way to release these medical reports. But it's unprecedented for a candidate -- he is 70 years old, she will be 69 next month -- to, A, have them, you know, this old but also have less information about them than ever before.

But the Clinton campaign is trying to make a distinction here. They say that they have released 24 more points of information than Donald Trump has on the medication she's taking and other things here. So, you know, this talk of medicine is going to dominate the campaign discussion at least for this morning. But the Clintons also wanted to point out that they've released tax returns, Donald Trump has not yet done that, Carol. So another day not talking about issues here on the campaign trail. Carol?

COSTELLO: Interesting. Jeff Zeleny reporting live from Chappaqua, New York this morning. Don Lemon joined "The Tom Joyner Radio Show" this morning, and he asked Hillary Clinton a few questions on behalf of CNN. Don asked her about Colin Powell's leaked e-mails, about hubris and arrogance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have to ask you about something that's new in the news. The former Secretary of State Colin Powell in his hacked e-mails has criticized you and your, quote, this is his saying, minions for trying to drag him into your e-mail server problem. He concludes by saying, quote, everything HRC touches, she kind of screws up with hubris, and that's the end of the quote.

How do you answer him and critics who say, whether it's your e-mails or disclosing your health issues or even pointing out Trump's flypaper-like ability to attract racially insensitive or deplorables as you call them, somehow the message gets screwed up?

CLINTON: You know I have a great deal of respect for Colin Powell, and I have a lot of sympathy for anyone whose e-mails become public. I'm not going to start discussing someone else's private e-mails. I've already spent a lot of time talking about my own, as you know.

What I think is really important about these e-mails is the chilling fact, Don, that the Russians are continuing to attempt to interfere in our election. And, you know, I have to say I'm increasingly concerned by how we've seen Donald Trump's alarming closeness with the Kremlin become more and more clear over the course of this campaign. It's deeply concerning.

And there's a lot that Trump should answer for because these attempts by Russia to interfere in the election are ones that go right hand in hand with his closeness to the Kremlin, his flattery of Putin.

[09:05:09] And it's not just me that is noticing this. It's fellow Republicans of foreign policy and national security experience, NATO leaders, so I'm going to keep, you know, raising the alarm about Russian influence and that, of course, raises questions about who Trump actually does business with.

LEMON: Can I just follow and say that by "hubris," he's saying that you're stepping on your message. He's insinuating that you step on your message through hubris or arrogance or not being transparent. How do you respond to that specifically?

CLINTON: Again, you know, I'm not going to comment on anything that is said in a private e-mail. I think I was --

LEMON: And even to critics beyond the former Secretary?

CLINTON: Well, but I think I've worked very, very hard to be more transparent than not just my opponent but really in a comparison to anybody who's ran. You know, the medical information I've put out, and we're going to put out more, meets and exceeds the standards that other presidential candidates including President Obama and, you know, Mitt Romney and others have met. My tax returns are out there, 40 years of transparency about my tax returns.

So I think that the real questions need to be directed toward Donald Trump and his failure to even meet the most minimalistic standards that we expect of someone being the nominee of one of our two major parties.

LEMON: Do you know when your medical records are going to -- the rest that you said you'll release because he says he's releasing some soon? Do you know when you're going to release the rest of yours or more information?

CLINTON: More information, I think, will be, you know, very shortly because, you know, we really want to respond to legitimate questions that people might have. I'm very touched by the concern that's been set forth about my health. I'm really glad that I did finally follow my doctor's orders and take some days to rest, instead of just trying to keep powering through, which I think is a common experience for people.

So we're going to put out more information, and that will be then twice as much as he's put out. And we'll see what, if anything, he's willing to disclose.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Interesting, right? Don Lemon is with me now. And it's very interesting.

LEMON: Very interesting, to say the least, yes.

COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about Colin Powell's e-mails first because you asked her about that, and she sort of punted on that question.

LEMON: Yes.

COSTELLO: But I think she's in a difficult place with commenting on Colin Powell's e-mails because, A, he's very well respected within the African-American community and, frankly, she needs African-American votes, right?

LEMON: Yes.

COSTELLO: And also, many Democrats like Colin Powell, so she can't come out and say, oh, my gosh, that was a horrible thing to say and what a horrible man.

LEMON: Yes, yes. Well, and he's respected in still -- conservatives still respect him, you know, those who are sort of never Trumpers, right? But you're right, I think you answered the question. She is in a very difficult position when it comes to Colin Powell, and that's why she said, I really don't want to comment that.

And you do have to have a bit of sympathy for Colin Powell because if you -- some of the e-mails that you write or I write, they may not be for public consumption. I mean, his were a little bit harsh in the criticism of the Clintons, but they may not be for public consumption. And then you see them on the front page of "The New York Times" or, you know, on the front page of some other newspaper.

So you do have to have a little bit of concern for him, which I think she's right on that. And I'm sure there are some e-mails that she has written, you know, to people about other people or about things that she would not like to see, you know, on the front page of the newspaper.

COSTELLO: But still, what Colin Powell said in those e-mails many people think --

LEMON: Think and many people believe, yes.

COSTELLO: -- and in that way, his e-mails were quite refreshing. So that she couldn't respond to charges that she was arrogant, which are out there anyway, is, what, kind of disturbing? Shouldn't she have an answer for that now?

LEMON: She should have an answer and that's why I pressed her on it, on her hubris, basically saying that she is arrogant and that she steps on her own message, which she does many times. Which is why I asked the question because at the time -- at right now, she's dealing with the e-mail issue, right? That she didn't follow good advice and that, you know, supposedly she took his advice and he's saying, no, you did not take my advice. I didn't advise you to do that.

She's also dealing with the health thing and people say she should have been more transparent about. If she had been more transpent about it, perhaps we would not have the video of her wobbling getting into the van. And then, you know, the other issues that she's dealing with that people don't find her to be truthful about.

So, yes, she needs to address that. But she's going to continue to turn this around, to a Donald Trump being transparent, and also the e- mails, hacking, and Russia's influence in the election. That's where she's going to pivot to at this point.

COSTELLO: That is her line of spin at the moment.

LEMON: Yes.

[09:10:18] COSTELLO: Speaking of Donald Trump and health, you know, "The Dr. Oz Show" is on right now. We have --

LEMON: Is this happening?

COSTELLO: It's happening now, Don. We have a bit more of what Donald Trump said to Dr. Oz on his show, so let's listen together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. OZ: How do you stay healthy on the campaign trail?

TRUMP: Well, it's a lot of work. You know, when I'm speaking in front of 15,000 and 20,000 people and I'm up there using a lot of motion, I guess, in its own way, it's a -- it's a pretty healthy act and I really enjoy doing it. A lot of times, these rooms are very hot like saunas. And I guess that's a form of exercise, and, you know.

DR. OZ: So everyone's talking about the candidates' medical records.

TRUMP: Right.

DR. OZ: So I'd like to clear up some questions that folks weren't asking about your health. Is that OK?

TRUMP: OK.

DR. OZ: Now, I'm hoping to go with these exact same questions with Secretary Clinton. Now, see, as a doctor, when I have someone in front of me and I don't know much about them, I do something called the review of systems. We all do, we learn this in medical school. And it's a checklist, head to toe, of what's going on in your body.

TRUMP: OK.

DR. OZ: I'll walk through these questions, if it's OK. We start with the head. So have you ever had a neck issues?

TRUMP: No.

DR. OZ: Neurologic problems? Strokes, headaches?

TRUMP: No.

DR. OZ: Any problems with --

TRUMP: Do we have water around here? Here.

DR. OZ: Oh, water. Water, OK.

TRUMP: OK. No, the answer is no. We've had -- I've had -- I mean, no, no problem.

DR. OZ: Hormone problems, like thyroid issues?

TRUMP: No.

DR. OZ: Blood sugar problems? Diabetes?

TRUMP: Nope.

DR. OZ: Any heart problems?

TRUMP: No.

DR. OZ: I know you're on Lipitor, or some type of statin drug.

TRUMP: Yes. I do take -- I take a statin.

DR. OZ: Right.

TRUMP: I don't know if I should mention the name. I would, but --

DR. OZ: You don't have to.

TRUMP: I take a statin. And, actually, I've experimented with three statins and one seems for me to work the best. And it's really brought my cholesterol down into a good range.

DR. OZ: How long have you been on it?

TRUMP: A couple of years, I would say. A couple of years.

DR. OZ: Lung complaints, asthma, wheezing?

TRUMP: No, nothing -- I mean, really nothing. It's been -- people are amazed because I don't get much with the colds. Sometimes in the spring or in the fall, I'll get a little hay fever and that comes and goes. Actually, I don't know why this would be. It used to be worse when I was young. Maybe it's given up on me.

DR. OZ: Yes.

TRUMP: But when I was young, it was -- it could be pretty, you know, pretty rough, the hay fever. But very, very little now. And I don't know if that's something that you're not that surprised at, but the hay fever is not very big. But that would be about the only thing. I don't -- I haven't had a cold in a long time, years.

DR. OZ: Stomach problems, intestine issues, reflux, diverticulitis?

TRUMP: No.

DR. OZ: Bladder or prostate issues? I saw the one letter that was released had a low PSA figure.

TRUMP: Yes, my PSA's been very good. I've been -- I don't know what's going on, but so many of my friends are having problems where they're getting the operation or they're going for radiation. And it's always the first number I ask for. I said give me that number, I want to know. And my number's been, as you said, a very good number. It's been very, very good.

DR. OZ: Any history of personal cancer?

TRUMP: No, none so far.

DR. OZ: Skin issues?

TRUMP: No, very little. I mean, probably, you could say, you -- I try and stay out of the sun for the most part. I wear a hat. I play golf and I wear a hat, but I've had no problem. No major problem but certainly no problem with skin.

DR. OZ: Blood clots or any other blood problems?

TRUMP: No, no.

DR. OZ: Let me turn to the family history --

TRUMP: I have to be very boring for you. Really, it's --

DR. OZ: No, no. I'm --

TRUMP: It's got to be very boring.

DR. OZ: This is what I do as a doctor.

TRUMP: I would tell you -- I would tell you, you know, my wife's a big fan of your show, and I would absolutely say because I view this as, in a way, going to see my doctor. Just a little bit public, that's all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right. By the way, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is listening to all of this. He's going to join me a little bit later to give you his take on it, but I want to bring in Lynn Sweet -- she's the Washington Bureau Chief for the "Chicago Sun-Times" -- and Paul Singer, Congress and Politics Editor for "USA Today." And you guys will join Don Lemon in our discussion of this.

So you hear Donald Trump on "The Dr. Oz Show." Dr. Oz is asking him these questions. He's giving them great answers about his health. Do you feel relieved, Lynn?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: No. First of all, to Dr. Oz, who could sit there as a physician and have somebody tell you that waving your arms is exercise and you don't do a follow- up question?

LEMON: Thank you, Lynn. Thank you very much.

SWEET: Please. OK.

LEMON: That's exactly what I thought. That's not exercise.

SWEET: That's preposterous. That is preposterous.

LEMON: It's just ridiculous.

SWEET: And if you really were there to help the American people understand the health of a presidential candidate, you don't do this fake medical history, letting Donald Trump just filibuster and eat up time.

[09:15:10] Ask him crisp questions. And you know what, why doesn't he get to the lead first? And I don't believe he did not know or could not have known the numbers ahead of time and then asked a crisper interview. But this was a TV show, and if this is what Donald Trump thought was a business-like way to talk about a serious topic, the health of a 70-year-old presidential candidate, then I think, think again if he really wanted to put a lid on questions about his health.

COSTELLO: Well, here's --

[09:30:00] SWEET: Just give out the information.

COSTELLO: : Here's the thing, you know, he talked about being, you know, he's standing in a hot room. Well, he said that at a Canton, Ohio, rally last night, Paul. He said could Hillary Clinton stand in this room, which is at 122 degrees, which, by the way I think was a little bit of an exaggeration.

It wasn't quite that hot. But still he said standing in this hot room. He said, could Hillary Clinton do this? So, this isn't going to stop, right, Paul?

PAUL SINGER, CONGRESS AND POLITICS EDITOR, USA TODAY: No. In fact it is hard this time in an election cycle to change the narrative about either of these candidates. We know a lot about both of them. Yet, Hillary Clinton's stumble, maybe a minor faint, perhaps, last weekend, has changed the dialogue.

We're now talking all about the health of these two candidates, which is a better conversation for Donald Trump to be having and for Hillary Clinton to be having. People don't trust Hillary Clinton and this has opened the door for an actual conversation, one of the first conversations, questions she'll be asked at the first debate is, how is your health? This was a good moment for Donald Trump and even his TV show had no

real medical value but it was a great presentation for Donald Trump. It's good TV.

Once again, he has managed to insert an issue into this debate, into this campaign that we did not think was going to be the major topic we'd be discussing a few weeks before early voting starts.

COSTELLO: I want to talk to my colleague Don Lemon you know that's going to be the conversation all day today. It's going to be about Donald Trump's health, his appearance on Dr. Oz and Hillary Clinton's release of her medical records later today.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That's what it is. He's a showman and objectively I s fair to say this is all about show business. We learned nothing from that Dr. Oz interview about Donald Trump. It's like, Carol, do you have high cholesterol?

COSTELLO: No, Don, I don't.

LEMON: Have you had your heart checked? What information, what good does that do to the American public? Nothing.

If he really wanted to be transparent, what Donald Trump would do is release his medical records and be done with it. Show the actual numbers and be done with it. Not go on a television show.

It's his prerogative to go on. But this is nothing but a show.

And just to go back just a little bit, because we were talking about Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell in these e-mails also had some scathing words to say about Donald Trump as well and where he thinks Donald Trump is taking this election. Hillary Clinton mentioned the hate that she believes is happening in this election and so did Colin Powell call him out on the hate and saying the birther thing with the president was racist and awful, and that he was appealing to the lowest of the Republican electorate by going after the president.

And by, by, you know, what he's doing in this election. Not just Hillary Clinton that he's criticizing, this is all a big show right now. And what we really need to know, the actual numbers from the candidate.

LEMON: OK, we're going to talk more about this, though, everybody stick around. As I said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he's watching "The Dr. Oz Show", Donald Trump is still talking. And Sanjay will break it down for us after a break. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:22:08] COSTELLO: Donald Trump due to deliver a big speech this morning with running mate Mike Pence right by his side. Trump is expected to give more detail and to clarify his policies when it comes to the economy. This comes at a time when CNN polls show him building a lead in key battleground states.

CNN's Sara Murray in New York this morning to explain.

Good morning.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Carol.

Well, not expecting Donald Trump to lay out entirely new policies today. But just to sort of tie together some of the things he's laid out before and what he cease as his economic vision. That we are expecting him to say what this would do to economic growth, his estimates, and his economic team's estimates, and how many jobs that would create.

It's unclear if they're going to explain a little bit more about how he plans to pay for these policies today or if that's going to come later in the week. Aides really weren't clear on that earlier this morning. But the backdrop of all of this is some pretty good news for Donald Trump if you look at some key battleground states.

Our new CNN/ORC poll shows Donald Trump pulling ahead in Ohio. If you look at that four-way race there you see Trump at 46 percent. Meanwhile Hillary Clinton is trailing at 41 percent.

And Florida right now, Carol, just looks like a dead heat. Again, a four-way race here you look at Trump, he's at 47 percent, Clinton at 44 percent. That's within the margin of error.

So, essentially, a tied race right now. But certainly stunning news for Donald Trump as we head into the end of the week -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Sara Murray reporting live for us this morning -- thanks so much.

As I told you before, Mr. Trump is on "The Dr. Oz Show" right now, it's airing nationwide for the first time. We've been listening to it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta I still listening to it in its entirety.

But we do have a bit more to show you from the Dr. Oz show this morning. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MEHMET OZ, THE DR. OZ SHOW: When was the last time that you had regular physical exam?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I -- I try and do it every year. I've had the same doctor for a long time. And someone would say oh, why don't you change? I said, you know, I've been lucky. I'm here. I'm sort of, are we a little superstitious? I'm not looking to find some genius and all of a sudden -- I just want -- I have a very good doctor.

I think he's been -- he's done a really good job for me. He's a member of Lenox Hill Hospital. Respected person. And I went to him on Friday and I had a test. I had a -- and I just got the -- I literally just got the results.

OZ: Of your medical test?

TRUMP: Of my medical test.

OZ: And this is with Dr. Bornstein?

TRUMP: Dr. Bornstein, yes, respected guy. Good guy. I've been with him for a long time.

And a lot of people say, well, you could change doctors. I say you know what? I've been with him probably over 30 years. I think the last thing I want to do is switch doctors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Lynn Sweet is back with me, with Paul Singer, Brian Stelter is also here. Brian has also been watching "The Dr. Oz Show".

And I'll start with you, Brian.

[09:25:01] Were you surprised that Donald Trump used the same doctor who wrote, "If elected Mr. Trump I can state unequivocally will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency"?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I could say I was surprised but I'm not. He says he's been with this doctor for decades, doesn't want to change now and he does Dr. Oz all these details about his health including his weight, 236 pounds, his testosterone level and details like that. As you mentioned, Sanjay Gupta watching --

COSTELLO: His testosterone level?

STELTER: He does, and he gets the Dr. Oz seal of approval. I think that's the takeaway from this. It really is a show, isn't it, Carol? He's getting Dr. Oz's support and backing for his health.

And I think it's also important to mention that at the very pop of the program Dr. Oz says he would like Secretary Clinton to come on the program as well. He has invited Clinton on and she is considering the invitation.

Meantime, though, Trump does, you know, he talks about why he is deciding to do this. Why he wants to share this. He says it's like going to the doctor in cameras. He also says that in some ways, going to these rallies is a form of exercise. That he works up a sweat campaigning.

COSTELLO: All right. So, Lynn, should Hillary Clinton accept Dr. Oz's invitation and appear as well on his show to talk about her health?

SWEET: Well, I don't want to give media strategy advice here. I think that the fact is, if you are interested in addressing different audiences about your health, then you consider invitations for all kinds of media, including Dr. Oz. So, it's reasonable, if she appears on it. Just like a few years ago, you know, '92 when Bill Clinton ran for president we thought it was a big deal that he went on a late night show and played the saxophone. So, there's all kinds of media environments and can they pick and choose? OK, Dr. Oz. Michelle Obama was just on "Ellen." The candidates go on all the late night shows.

But let's just say if you want really just want to know the facts, then there's a serious way of doing it. You write the numbers down on paper and let independent sources evaluate them. If you want a show, then you follow Trump around.

But one quick thing I wish people would do when they interview Donald Trump when he uses that rhetorical device, other people are telling me. What about the -- I should change doctors. Other people say this.

Would somebody just say, who? What? Are really people calling you up and saying change doctors?

Perhaps he's addressing the controversy made when Dr. Bornstein did an interview with NBC where he came off as kind of not as serious as potentially probably would have liked in talking about the letter he whipped up in five minutes. But I just wish when he uses these rhetorical devices that the people who are interviewing him on camera when they can just say let's just do the question, not what the straw men and straw women are saying.

STELTER: To your point, Lynn, he says people are amazed by his health. I wonder who.

COSTELLO: Well, let me -- to the -- to that fact and this is the question I was going to pose to you, Paul, on "Fox and Friends" this morning Mr. Trump said hey it was good. If the physical was bad I wouldn't have even been talking about it, right?

Hillary Clinton then releases her letter, and it's pretty good. There's nothing in there that's completely worrisome, right? She's back on the campaign trail.

Are we all making too much of this? Because what are we really going to find out --

SINGER: No, but keep in mind --

(CROSSTALK)

SWEET: 2015 --

COSTELLO: That's true.

Paul?

SINGER: This is a fact re-election cycle. People he repeated over and over again that they're not particularly bothered by the facts. And Donald Trump has been able to capitalize on that. Whether or not it is true, whether or not the facts play out in detail

the way we're going to analyze them on the shows, don't matter to most voters. By and large, they are looking at the image that is being projected and sort of the ideology that they feel this is not in a position. And we've been doing this the entire campaign season, fact checking these candidates day and night, and nobody really seems to care all that much other than those of us sitting at this table.

So, I think we have to think about this again as understanding the way the electorate views this election, not the way we view the election.

SWEET: That's true but quickly. It doesn't mean we accept a new normal I think it's as reporters it's extremely important even talk of you can't just say oh, well, and go like that when any candidate says anything preposterous and this election is really when you say people are a lot of people are hardened into each camp, but the election is on a small group of persuadables, and particular states and maybe information does make a difference.

So, I think the it's fact free for the decideds. Perhaps not for the undecideds.

SINGER: I don't think there's many undecided. I think this is a turnout election now.

COSTELLO: OK, I've got to leave it there.

Brian Stelter, Lynn Sweet, Paul Singer, thanks to all of you. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)