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Trump Admits Obama Born in U.S.; Clinton Camp Responds to Trump Birther Claims; Congressional Black Caucus Members Respond to Trump Birther Claims. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 16, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:00] DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot of facts are emerging and I'm starting to wonder whether or not myself if he was born in this country. Perhaps it's going say Hawaii. Perhaps it's going to say Kenya.

(voice-over): Last week, somebody came out with a very strong statement saying he stated himself that he was born in Kenya and was raised in Indonesia.

(on camera): Was it a birth certificate? You tell me. Some people say that was not his birth certificate. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You don't believe it was?

TRUMP: I don't know. Nobody knows. Can I tell you why?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is he a natural-born citizen?

TRUMP: Who knows? Who knows? Who cares right now? We're talking about something else, OK? I have my own theory on Obama. Someday I'll give -- I'll write a book. I'll do another book. It will do very successfully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: So this morning, Donald Trump wouldn't address the issue, he said in an interview, "We have to keep the suspense going." He has a major announcement, one in which his campaign said he would address the Birther issue. Instead, he had more than a dozen veterans join him on stage, people who deserve to be honored, for something like 30 minutes telling him how great he is.

As Hillary Clinton has taken no time in calling him out. She tweeted this: "What Trump just did is a disgrace. Leading the Birther movement is deplorable. Attempting to say it did a great service to the president, who Trump attacked, is asinine."

Let's go straight to the Clinton campaign headquarters. Brian Fallon is with me, a press secretary for the campaign. Brian Fallon, welcome back.

BRIAN FALLON, SPOKESMAN, HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let's begin with the first of two false statements from Mr. Trump today, the fact that he says it was Hillary Clinton who started the Birther nonsense. No, she didn't. CNN has been disputing that, I know, for years. I want you reaction.

FALLON: Absolutely that's a lie. It's been debunked on multiple occasions by independent fact checkers and I have to tip my hat to CNN and other fact checkers calling it out as a lie in real-time.

I think Donald Trump took the stage today in Washington, D.C., and thought he'd be given credit for finally acknowledging the president was yes, indeed, born in the United States of America. But I think what's clear is that Donald Trump is not going to get any credit for admitting a base I can fact that only a hate-filled conspiracy theorist like him would deny

And what was remarkable about his comments is what he didn't say. He didn't own up to his role in promoting this hate-filled Birtherism movement. He didn't explain why he continued to prosecute this case against the president, our first African-American president, even after the birth certificate was released in 2007 subpoena and he didn't offer a sense of remorse to this president or country. He lied more. Trump cannot conceal his role in promoting this Birther movement. The Birther movement was to Donald Trump's political rise, what that loan is from his father. It is what made him. And no matter what he said today, he's not going to be able to disavow or disown it. I think it's backfired already today.

BALDWIN: In the wake of the words today, we were live on Capitol Hill, it was Manu Raju who sat down with the number one Democrat in the Senate, Harry Reid, called Trump in this interview a liar, a bully, a con artist, a phony. I was listening to the news conference with CBC folks, words I jotted down disgusting, fraud, arrogant, bigot, disrespectful, racist. Do you -- does the Clinton campaign agree with all of those words, all of those adjectives.

FALLON: This Birther movement, which Donald Trump used to essentially put himself on the political map in the Republican Party, is just the latest in a pattern of bigoted comments and behavior from Donald Trump throughout his life. If you look back in the 1970s when he was first getting his start in New York real estate, he was sued by the Justice Department for not renting apartments in his buildings to African- Americans living in New York City. Just look at the comments he's made throughout this campaign. I think back to when he demean add federal judge born in Indiana based on that judge's Mexican American descent.

BALDWIN: So --

FALLON: The reality is Donald Trump insults everybody, even the media today. He insulted the media's intelligence by convening this press conference under false pretenses, then using veterans as a human shield to deflect from this issue of this Birtherism controversy. And then he took the press on a tour of his hotel. Again, trying to use this presidential campaign to promote his private business interests. And refused to allow reporters to trail with him and ask him follow-up questions. I think he's outraged and insulted everybody today.

BALDWIN: Do you consider him a liar, flat-out a liar?

FALLON: Absolutely. He's Politifact's 2015 liar of the year. They measured that 70-plus percent of his statements have been fact checked as false, mostly false, or pants on fire. This is a guy who -- he's incorrigible. And he has no shame whatsoever. And today he went out and attempted to tell a lie about the origins of this Birtherism movement. His campaign and he are trying to take credit. They have the gal and temerity to suggest they were doing the president a favor by finally admitting in the final months of this president's tenure that he, yes, indeed, was born in the United States of America after delegitimizing him for the first seven-plus years of his administration. I think he's offended --

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[14:35:24] FALLON: Go ahead. Sorry, Brooke.

BALDWIN: I know. I know. He's offended and we have listed out the myriad groups in this country and beyond who he has. But I was listening to Dana Bash a moment ago. She was talking about some urban areas there's been a lacking of enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton. I was in a barbershop in Atlanta talking to folks and some people just weren't quite sure if they were going to vote on the national level. I'm wondering if, with what happened today with Trump, how it's so not over, if it backfired and if you think in the end this is a win for Democrats, this will energize specifically African-Americans to vote for Hillary Clinton?

FALLON: Well, any time that this type of hate-filled bigotry is promoted to the level of the Republican nominee for president of the United States, I think it's a bad thing for our country, so I hesitate to call anything that happened today a win. But the political strategy backfired on the Trump campaign. Literally in the moments before this press conference was held there were reports that on background Trump aides, his campaign staff, were saying these comments were going to take this issue off the table in order for him to not be confronted on in the first debate happening later this month. Gee, I can't imagine how they think this issue is going to go away. I think it will be talked about for a long time. And we have to come together and say this is unacceptable and this man is unfit to be president of the United States.

BALDWIN: One more for you Brian. I mentioned Harry Reid. Nancy Pelosi was on CNN today saying flat-out, guaranteeing Donald Trump will not be the next president of the United States. Do you take that very same view?

FALLON: We have to work hard in these next two months. We can not take anything for granted. Look at the polls that have come out this week. For everything he has said, this race is extremely close. There are a lot of Americans just tuning into this race and they're not aware of the things Donald Trump has said.

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BALDWIN: Why can't you guarantee it based upon everything you just told me about what happened today and his past?

FALLON: There are no guarantees when it comes to presidential elections in this country. We are going to have to mobilize and register voters, turn them out.

BALDWIN: Why do you think Pelosi and Reid are guaranteeing it, Brian?

FALLON: I don't think we can take anything for granted. If you ask about their race, the Senate races -- Harry Reid is working to try to elect his successor in Nevada. They're trying to win back the Senate. I don't think he is guaranteeing anything on that front. Nancy Pelosi is trying to win as many house seats as possible. I don't think she would guarantee anything there. But we need to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. That's why we're making the investments in the critical battleground states, and not just battleground but beyond in places like Arizona and Georgia. You saw a tremendous ad from the candidate in Missouri, the secretary of state running for Senate. These are all important races, not just at the top but up and down the ballot. And we should want to make a statement in this campaign in November. We need to not just turn out for the purposes of electing Hillary Clinton, as important as that is. We also need to make a statement as a country we won't tolerate or buy the sentiments or rhetoric coming from Donald Trump.

BALDWIN: Brian Fallon, Hillary Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn. Brian, thank you.

FALLON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next here, we're staying on this. A member of Donald Trump's diversity coalition will join me along with both sides of today's circus. That's what it was, a circus.

Plus, he is a Republican, the governor of a swing state, and can't stand Trump. Hear why John Kasich showed up at the White House today.

And moments from now, the first lady, Michelle Obama, making her first appearance on the campaign trail after firing up the Democrats at the DNC. She is in Virginia today stumping for Hillary Clinton. We'll take it live.

You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

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[14:42:40] BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

After four years of feeding the lies, Donald Trump admitted his Birther beliefs were wrong and stated clearly President Obama was born in the United States. Moments ago, members of the Congressional Black Caucus slammed Trump as a fraud.

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REP. G.K. BUTTERFIELD, (D), NORTH CAROLINA & CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: By any definition Donald Trump a disgusting fraud. He started this silliness years ago by saying President Obama is not an American citizen. He had no proof of it. And so he started this disgusting behavior seven or eight years ago questioning the president's citizenship. He would not have done that to a Mitt Romney, he would not have done that to a John McCain or any other white who was running for president of the United States, but he has leveled his criticism against President Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, veteran Navy SEAL & Trump supporter, Carl Higby; Bruce LeVell is with me, executive director of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump; CNN commentator, Bakari Sellers, who supports Hillary Clinton; and Symone Sanders, the former national press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. And Symone now supports Hillary Clinton.

Welcome.

Bruce, let me ask you the overarching question being yearly from Trump talking today he now has sort of publicly said, all right, Barack Obama was born in the U.S. For years, maybe, now, he's saying he knew this, but he kept pushing this theory, this garbage, and let it hang out there. My question to you, sir, what does that say about his character?

BRUCE LEVELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DIVERSITY COALITION FOR TRUMP: Well, you know, I can't -- I will tell you this, though, like I saw earlier, the Clinton campaign manager did admit that the whisper campaign came from -- if you want to call it the Clinton campaign, Clinton surrogate, whatever you want to call it but it was acknowledged --

BALDWIN: It wasn't the campaign.

LEVELL: Well, worked for the campaign, fired a staffer with no name.

But look here's the deal, it's not uncommon, Brook, for any candidate that runs for office, they check their residency, they check -- whatever, this is very common for -- they check -- you -- for example, they questioned John McCain being born on the islands or Senator Cruz being in Canada. So this is just normal processes with anyone that runs.

BALDWIN: I'm sorry, who's the "they" here?

LEVELL: Candidates who run for office historically, for example, when --

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[11:45:17] BALDWIN: Trump brought this up.

LEVELL: Well, no, ma'am. Check back when -- for example, when President Obama --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Ted Cruz, that you brought up, that was Trump.

LEVELL: When President Obama ran for office as a Senator he used that same process to disqualify someone else off the ballot. The whisper campaign on the Birther did formulate from the Clinton establishment if you want to call it that or not the campaign and there was some questions about it that did grow air to it, it went from all over the country where he was or was he not. That's not uncommon to question someone's -- if they're qualified to run for that office.

(CROSSTALK)

LEVELL: Another thing, too, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Sorry. Go ahead.

LEVELL: Donald Trump is a private citizen. He was a private citizen. And Donald Trump has been an official candidate since last year. There's been no mention of that. That's old news.

BALDWIN: It's been 16 months, Bruce.

LEVELL: Yeah, but, you know, it hasn't -- President Obama's not running for the president of United States. Hillary Clinton is.

BALDWIN: 16 months.

LEVELL: I notice when -- everyone says that, well, we asked Hillary Clinton that did you -- well, no, I didn't say that. We're talking about the same person that has 10 different stories on e-mails, who has the reputation of the American people of not being truthful.

BALDWIN: Trust me, we're talking about truthiness about both of the candidates, but today we're talking Trump.

Bakari, jump in, please.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think today Donald Trump gave three statements. He said that Hillary Clinton started the Birther movement, which is a lie. He then stated that Barack Obama was born in America, which is he acknowledged a fact, then he said somehow that he finished the Birther movement when, in all honesty, it finished in 1961 with the birth of Barack Obama. Spit in the face to many African-Americans throughout the country and good hearted people. Donald Trump put forth a wholehearted effort to disenfranchise and delegitimize the first African-American president of the United States. I don't need him to tell me Barack Obama was born in the United States of America, it was the utmost disrespect but my fear, though, Brook, and what I'm having trouble understanding are those people of good spirit, the white Americans who still support Donald Trump even understanding his xenophobic and bigoted language. I believe it's not a majority. I don't believe it's many but we have to wait until November 8th to see if that bears.

BALDWIN: Carl, I know you were on a couple days asking and you were asked do you believe President Obama was born in the United States and your response was "probably."

CARL HIGBY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.

BALDWIN: What's your answer today?

HIGBY: Still, probably.

BALDWIN: I mean, I believe -- if Donald Trump has put it to be bed, he's put it to bed. The funny thing is --

BALDWIN: It's not in bed for you?

HIGBY: I just don't care anymore.

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BALDWIN: There's a difference between not caring and saying probably.

HIGBY: Well, I really don't care. And I think the majority of the American public doesn't care. The Democrats can say it's a big, big issue. Just because they say it, doesn't mean it will.

For seven years the Democrats have been saying "Donald Trump has to put this thing to bed." Then he finally puts it to bed and says, yeah, he was born in America, and now they complaining he said that. This shows it's a politically partisan issue and they won't be happy either way.

BALDWIN: Five years later, Carl Higby. Five years later, and you did care before.

HIGBY: They were complaining about it for five years. And now he's said look, all right, guys, I concede he was born in America, let's make America great again.

BALDWIN: But he fueled the theories.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: He was the oxygen in the fire.

HIGBY: Yeah, sure, he fuelled it. So he got his information, now he's decided that Barack Obama -- in his mind, he decided Barack Obama was legitimately born in America. Let's move on. Who cares?

BALDWIN: Hang on. Hang on. This applies to both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. We talk about judgment and character and you have Donald Trump who asked at one point in time for Harvard to release President Obama's prescriptions, then you have what he called for which he sort of triumphs is that ultimately the White House had to go to Hawaii and got the long-form birth certificate, but you juxtapose the rest of it all, which is the fact that he hasn't released his tax returns. When you talk transparency, he hasn't released detailed medical records other than one sheet from his doctor. How is that fair?

HIGBY: Well, two things, first of all, Mitt Romney didn't release his tax returns until a month before --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I'm not asking about Mitt Romney.

[14:49:57] HIGBY: Well, we're talking about Barack Obama, so we can talk about Mitt Romney, too, I think. The fact is question need to look at -- Donald Trump is under audit. Let's say he releases his tax returns and the audit says --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: A, where's the proof? B, the IRS has made it clear you can release tax returns if you're being audited.

HIGBY: You can, sure. But he doesn't want to have to deal with the fallout of maybe he filed something incorrectly then they beat him over the head with it. So he'll wait to the audit is done. Tell Barack Obama to tell them and he'll get those tax returns out.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: I'm laughing. I'm laughing. That's good. That's good.

Symone, I'm looking at you, you're shaking your head. I want to hear your voice but I'm curious. You heard Congressman Butterfield bring up the point where he said he didn't think Trump would have questioned Mitt Romney -- Carl brought up Mitt Romney, so I'll bring up Mitt Romney. He would ask Mitt Romney to prove he was boring the U.S. or for John McCain, is that correct?

SYMONE SANDERS, FORMER NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY, BERNIE SANDERS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN & CLINTON SUPPORTER: I agree. I definitely think that's true, Brooke, we have to acknowledge there's a heavy race element into what Donald Trump has done with this Birtherism. He has engaged in racist rhetoric and bigoted language and we're wrestling with the issue of race. You have folks that are --

(CROSSTALK)

HIGBY: Because you guys keep bringing it up.

SANDERS: Pardon me, Bruce. Did anybody interrupt you? I'm speaking.

Donald Trump is the person that brought this up. His answer to the "Washington Post" --

(CROSSTALK)

HIGBY: He never brought race up into the Birther.

SANDERS: Bruce.

HIGBY: You did.

SANDERS: Black people in this country, people of color, Mexicans, Hispanic, native Americans, we can be the most educated folks in the room, the most knowledgeable people in the room, the most brilliant, but the moment we get in charge of somebody -- it seems someone is always questioning if we deserve to be there, if we are legitimately taking our place, and that is what is at the root of what Donald Trump's comments were about President Obama. So this is definitely an issue. And I know Republican pundits and commentators where going to get up here and make it seem as though it's not, but this is our country. This isn't who we are as Americans. And I think this is going to continue to be a topic of note. We'll have to talk about that at the debate because Donald Trump is running to be the president of United States of America, the president of black people, the president of Mexican Americans, the president of Hispanic folks, Native Americans. Just like he questioned President Obama's legitimacy of the United States, he questioned Judge Mark Curiel because of his heritage that he was Mexican, he could not be a judge in this case. This is an issue.

BALDWIN: Bruce, I want to hear from you. But one of the questions brought up at this CBC, Congressional Black Caucus, was the fact that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are in Washington today, and there was group today called the black Women's Agenda, I think it's 21 different group, there all together. She addressed this crowd. And we know Donald Trump was invited, too, and he did not attend. Do we know why?

LEVELL: I don't know. But I will tell you this, Brooke, I represent the National Diversity Coalition of Trump. We are the largest diversity coalition in the history of any Republican candidate. This has been ongoing since last year. We have hundreds of thousands of supporters in our organization. You can go to NDCTrump.com. We represent Indian-Americans for Trump, Hispanic-Americans for Trump, Muslim-Americans for Trump, African-Americans, pastors for Trump, the list goes on and on.

But I want to make this really strong point right here since we're in this black race deal here.

BALDWIN: Sure.

LEVELL: Donald J. Trump has never, ever -- you cannot find anything throughout in the land on this planet or this universe of him saying anything racially derogatory towards African-American people, period.

SANDERS: That is -- I'm sorry, Brooke that is absolutely not true.

(CROSSTALK)

LEVELL: Whoa, whoa, wait. Excuse me.

SANDERS: It's derogatory to question the legitimacy of the first black --

(CROSSTALK)

LEVELL: Excuse me. Excuse me. I didn't interrupt you.

SANDERS: It's derogatory to say, "That's my African-American over there."

(CROSSTALK)

LEVELL: Excuse me. I didn't interrupt you. Please let me finish.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: Go right ahead.

LEVELL: So to take this Birther movement and make it racial is absolutely preposterous. It's a fraud. It has no life to it.

Brooke, the reason why this is Donald Trump is gaining significantly in polls and touching the heart and soul of the African-American people in these communities. And the special interest group that you just had on the air earlier that some are tied to PACs, just like Harry Reid is tied to special interest groups, him saying all these negative things about Mr. Trump, all of this stuff is about to come to pass. This stuff has gotten so infected on Republicans, Democrat side, and the best thing we can do is try to put race into this and marry this Birther movement into it, which is absolutely false on Donald J. Trump.

SANDERS: Can I say something from the campaign perspective?

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Symone.

SANDERS: From the perspective of someone who has worked on many campaigns, yes, the polls are very close, and they're tight, and Donald Trump is up in some places, and there have been many polls that have come out that said lots of different constituency groups are not necessarily enthusiastic about what we're seeing on the Democratic side, so it makes zero sense for Donald Trump to have brought up and spoken about the Birther movement, especially from the Democratic side. This is galvanizing jolt to the Democratic Party, for races up and down the ballot. We'll keep talking about this issue. This will drag Donald Trump down so the assertion and notion that this is a ploy by the Democrats to drag race into this because, you know, we're not doing -- no, Donald Trump did this himself. This is bad campaign, Donald Trump is unfit to be president and he needs to consult with his campaign folks.

(CROSSTALK)

[14:55:50] SELLERS: Brooke, Brooke --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Hang on Bakari. I want to come in to you in a second.

It looks like our signal went out with you for a second.

Carl, I want to ask you, as I was watching Mr. Trump today with the veterans at his hotel, I talked to Brian Fallon, from the Clinton campaign. He referred to those veterans that deserve to be honored that Mr. Trump used them as human shields. You are the veteran. You are the former Navy SEAL on the panel, so I wanted to ask you about that. Your response for them to be called human shields.

HIGBY: I don't think it's the right thing to be called human shields. Keep in mind book, the people like myself, and me in the military, and an overwhelming majority who are voting for Donald Trump are willing to cast our vote because we trust him with our lives. We know at a moment's notice he could send us to write a blank check up to and including our life. We stand in front of him. If they want to call us human shields, fine. I'd prefer not to be called by that, but I would be a human shield for Donald Trump.

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Bakari.

SELLERS: There was a lot to digest and unpack in this conversation we have and I don't want to necessarily goo go into what Bruce was talking about, the issues of race and racism in Donald Trump's history and past whether or not he was talking about African-Americans being lazy or taking African-American people off his floor, discrimination in housing, the list goes on and on. I dare not have to repeat that again. But Carl made a point earlier today or attempted to make a point which is just not true. You can't come out and say he put this to bed. You can't say oh, we got beyond this.

BALDWIN: So what do you want them to do?

SELLERS: You simply can't just get beyond racism and say "oh, my god, I said he's born in America," without answering why did you think he wasn't born in America in the first place? Why did you propagate this for five years? Is and then the last question that I really want Donald Trump to answer is why don't you have the heart, since you want to be commander-in-chief, why don't you have the heart to apologize to the president of the United States and the many people who literally stood on street corners with signs that said, "I am a man," because they wanted their respect in this country. Donald Trump is a coward because he can not do that.

And my last point that I want to make is we've had these conversations about taxes and Carl went on this litany and it was really cute about what Donald Trump should do with his taxes but if Donald Trump is under an audit, Donald Trump should show the audit letter. That's first. And second Donald Trump said he went under an audit in 2008, so Donald Trump should show his taxes up until 2008. So we can be cute all you want but Donald Trump is out of excuses, out of excuses with African-Americans and the American public.

BALDWIN: I want to thank all of you for the conversation. Appreciate it, Bruce and Carl and Bakari and Symone. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: We need to get to the first lady, Michelle Obama. She is hitting the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton moments from now. Live pictures, Fairfax, Virginia, there. We will take you to the first lady momentarily.

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