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Trump and Clinton Face Off in Debate Tonight; Clinton Campaign Wondering Which Donald Trump Will Show Up; Interview RNC Chairman Reince Priebus; Interview with Clinton Press Secretary Brian Fallon. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 26, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:01] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. and we're live here at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We're now just a few hours away from tonight's presidential debate. The first chance for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to share the stage and to directly challenge each other over policy and politics. The game has been (INAUDIBLE) in grandstanding facts and potentially fiction. An estimated 100 million people here in the United States and many millions more around the world will tune in for what amounts to be a pressure-packed job interview.

Here are some of the particulars. Hillary Clinton will be stage left. Donald Trump will be on the right. Hillary Clinton's lectern will be a little shorter because she's shorter than Donald Trump. She'll also get the first question and two minutes to answer. Donald Trump will then have two minutes to respond. Then begins 10 minutes of open debate and conversation.

The debate is expected to last 90 minutes, no commercial interruption. It will be divided into six sections with no breaks. Once again, no commercial interruptions.

In the Republican and Democratic primary debates, of course, we heard a lot from the audience, lots of cheers, lots of booing. Tonight, the audience here at Hofstra University has been instructed to be respectful and to be quiet.

You can also forget about any electronic noises, as in buzzers Moderator Lester Holt will be the sole timekeeper and he'll keep the candidates honest and on time.

While Hillary Clinton has been hunkered down preparing for tonight's debate, Donald Trump is taking a less traditional approach. Trump is apparently not a fan of mock debates so how has he been preparing?

Reince Priebus is the chairman of the Republican National Committee. He's joining us from New York City right now where he's been in close touch with Donald Trump.

Reince, thanks very much for joining us.

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATINOAL COMMITTEE: Thank you, Wolf. Happy to be here.

BLITZER: So, give us some insight into Trump debate preparation process. What has he been doing?

PRIEBUS: Well, I mean, he's got a group of trusted folks around him and he's studying and he's preparing. And they're going through hypotheticals and what scenarios might come up. But he's very comfortable. He did a great job in our primary debates. He's also been through, what, 14 seasons of season finales. And, I mean, he's a -- he will be prepared. He's always showed up for the big dance, and he will be prepared and he'll be ready to go tonight.

BLITZER: Has there been a mock debate? Has someone played Hillary Clinton, for example?

PRIEBUS: Oh, well, we don't want to get into all those details. But I can tell you, though, he has taken it very seriously. But the truth is, you look at Hillary Clinton, Wolf. She's been doing this almost 30 years. I mean, she's preparing to try to hit this thing out of the park. People are expecting her to. It's a pretty high bar but she's going to -- she's expected to do that. She's mock debating even today. And, you know, I expect that she's going to want to get in the weeds on every policy that she's ever involved with, even though she hasn't been able to deliver when she's had the opportunity.

BLITZER: The House speaker, your good friend, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, he's a veteran of the national debate stage, as you know. He had some advice for Donald Trump on "Face The Nation." Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RYAN (R), U.S. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Look, Hillary Clinton's been doing this most of her life. She is the consummate pro. This is new for Donald so I think he should, obviously, over prepare for it. And the thing I believe -- obviously, I prepare for these myself. You have to offer the country a vision, go on offense, prosecute your case, hold your opponent accountable, then show the country the direction you want to go. And prepare, prepare, prepare. And I hope he's doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He was the vice presidential nominee, what, four years ago. Doesn't sound like Trump, though, is over preparing. Should he be listening a bit more closely to Paul Ryan's advice.

PRIEBUS: Well, first of all, over prepare. What does that mean? I mean, it -- he's preparing and everyone prepares in their own way and he's going to be ready.

But he is right about the fact that Hillary Clinton's been doing this forever and she's going to be held to a pretty high standard. She's got to hit it out of the park.

And the other thing, the last part of what he said is true, too. You know, you prosecute your case. You hold your opponent accountable. Offer a positive vision for America. I mean, that's what people are looking at.

People aren't going to be watching this debate, saying, you know, I kind of like that pro-growth plan better than that growth plan. They're going to be looking at two people. And people are -- and this electorate is a change electorate. And they're going to want to figure out whether or not the change candidate, whichever one they choose, which it can't be Hillary, is ready to be president of the United States.

So, that's what this is about. It's about a -- it's about a demeanor. It's about being presidential. It's about debate is about what people view as the best choice in the White House. That's what matters tonight.

BLITZER: One question the Clinton campaign keeps asking is, which Donald Trump will show up tonight?

[13:05:03] The Clinton spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, told reporters last week, and I'm quoting her now, "We are preparing for different Trumps that might show up. He may be aggressive or he may lay back and that's hard to game out." So, which Donald Trump is likely to show up tonight?

PRIEBUS: Well, I think it's -- you know, the reality is that Donald Trump is going to take the approach that best suits the situation. If you've seen Donald Trump over the last five weeks, it's been a very measured, mature, disciplined candidate. And he's been delivering policy messages every single night. Almost every day of the week. In the weeds on everything from education to community and black and Hispanic community engagement. Every topic you can imagine, he's been hitting these topics with great detail.

And that's why, in the polls today, he's gaining ground. He's passing Hillary Clinton in national polls. He's already passed her in most battleground states. And the Hillary Clinton campaign, they're flipping out. They're working with Mark Cuban and creating ridiculous high school stories that we've had to respond to.

They know that they're in trouble. And so, now, what she's going to do is come out with, you know, loads and loads of policy detail which isn't going to matter because she had the opportunity to implement those details and she failed miserably.

BLITZER: Is Trump still a hundred percent committed to participating after this debate in the two additional presidential debates?

PRIEBUS: Well, sure, he's going to participate in the other two debates. And a -- he said he would and I expect that he will. And Mike Pence is going to participate in the vice presidential debate.

BLITZER: Reince Priebus, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Thanks very much for joining us.

PRIEBUS: You bet, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, let's get the view from the other side right now. In the primaries, Democrats held nine debates, but Hillary Clinton has a longer history on the debate stage, from both the 2008 presidential campaign and her successful run for the U.S. Senate in New York state.

Here with me is Clinton campaign press secretary, Brian Fallon. Brian thanks very much for coming in.

BRIAN FALLON, PRESS SECRETARY, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

BLITZER: Is it true, she's still rehearsing, practicing, mock debating today?

FALLON: I don't know if there'll be another mock session today. But she's certainly taking some last-minute preparations. She takes these debates seriously.

You know, I have to point out something that Reince Priebus just said. You know, he stressed -- you asked him about Donald Trump's qualifications and his approach tonight. And he's stressed that he's had 14 series' finales of "The Apprentice." And I think they really are hoping to coast on style and his television showmanship. And there's no doubt about it. During the primary debate, that did carry him.

But I think on this stage here with this -- one of these two candidates standing behind those two lecterns will be the next president of the United States. And I think the bar is higher for Donald Trump tonight. It's not just to come out and put on a good show. He has to show a command of the issue.

Another thing Reince Priebus said was, this isn't going to be about who has the best pro-growth policies. Yes, it should be. The American people tonight, I think, are going to hold Donald Trump to a higher standard. They want to hear him clearly explain what his policies are.

BLITZER: So, which Donald Trump are you bracing for? Which Donald Trump will show up? A more presidential type Donald Trump, speaking about policy issues, national security or someone who's going to be much more aggressive in going after her?

FALLON: That's the perfect question, Wolf. And I think that I agree with my boss, Jennifer Palmieri, there. Earlier in this process, we were preparing for both Donald Trumps because the possibilities seemed endless about which of his personality might show up here.

We've seen, in the last few weeks, that his campaign handlers have been trying to get him to behave in a more presidential manner. And he's given more speeches off a teleprompter.

I think, at this point, if I had to put my money down, I would bet that we're going to see a more subdued Donald Trump tonight. I think he's going to make a desperate last ditch effort to seem presidential on this stage. I think they recognize that the showmanship of the primary debates, insulting his opponents, lying Ted, low-energy Jeb, little Marco. I think they realize that doesn't play on this stage. So, we're expecting that. We're preparing for that. And I think that him just coming in and not having an outburst, not being his usual bombastic self will not be enough to qualify him for a passing grade. He needs to come prepared to discuss detailed policy, and he needs to come here and stop telling the lies that have marked his campaign. He was PolitiFact's liar of the year last year. 70 percent of his --

BLITZER: But Donald Trump makes it clear. If you hit him, he's going to punch you right back a lot harder. So, I assume Hillary Clinton is going to come out swinging, if you will, going after him?

FALLON: I think that, actually, her first, second and third objective tonight is to lay out her positive vision. We really view this as an opportunity on the stage tonight. It's hard to be heard above the din of the back and forth of the normal campaign day to day. And I think she wants to use tonight to talk about why she's running for president. That is really a natural fulfillment of her lifetime of public service. And what she wants to do as president.

[13:10:00] I think Donald Trump needs to come prepared to talk about that affirmative vision, too. Hopefully, we can treat the American people, the 90 million to 100 million or so viewers that are expected tonight to a serious, honest conversation about the two different paths that these two candidates want to take this country on.

BLITZER: Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who, himself, has a reality television show, a very successful show. He's a Hillary Clinton supporter. You've invited him. He'll be here tonight, right?

FALLON: Yes.

BLITZER: He'll be sitting and one of the first here. We've just learned that Donald Trump's campaign has invited some family members from the Benghazi -- from the Benghazi terror attack who, obviously, are supporting Donald Trump. We want to get your reaction to that.

FALLON: Well, obviously, Hillary Clinton has spoken to this, that the Benghazi terror incident was a horrible, horrendous thing that happened. And Hillary Clinton, since the day that it happened, has been committed to making the improvements in our diplomatic security to ensure that an incident like that never happens again. She met with the family soon after that and continues to express sympathy and extend her condolences to --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: We're told he's inviting -- I should correct this. A Benghazi survivor who supports Donald Trump who's going to be here as well.

FALLON: Point stands. I think that, you know, both -- in the debate hall tonight, both campaigns, it is a tradition to invite many of their supporters and surrogates. People that have been out there on the campaign trail for them. So, it's no surprise that Donald Trump is doing the same thing. I think that the attention of the viewers will be on the two candidates on the stage. BLITZER: And what's the major point she's going to go after Donald

Trump on tonight? What's going to be her main argument?

FALLON: Again, I think that there is going to be two different visions of the country that you're going to hear from tonight. Hillary Clinton thinks that we're stronger together. That means on the economic side, a building an economy that works for everybody, not just those at the top. Donald Trump presents an alternative view. He thinks that we can continue to build our economy by lavishing tax breaks on the wealthiest Americans like himself. He wants to give himself a $4 billion tax cut just on the estate tax.

And then, when it comes to keeping us safe, Hillary Clinton has a real plan to work with our allies, to defeat ISIS. She's laid out a detailed proposal. Donald Trump says he has a secret plan to defeat ISIS. He thinks he's smarter than the generals and wants to abandon our allies and NATO.

So, I think you're going to hear very different competing visions tonight. And it'll be up to the American people which path they want to choose.

BLITZER: And we'll see if she comes out swinging, if he comes out swinging, how lively it gets or if it stays on a relatively high-level of policy, national. We shall see.

FALLON: I think that Kellyanne Conway and Roger Ailes, I would be willing to bet, are giving him the advice today to try to come out and surprise people. And be counterintuitive by coming out and being semi-coherent, having an even temperament for as long --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: So, she'll try to get under his skin?

FALLON: No, I'm not saying that. But I think that the reaction to when Donald Trump comes out and he tries to maintain his composure should not be to be surprised to say he's won the debate just on that. We should hold him to the higher standard.

This is a job interview. And when two candidates are competing for the same job, you don't judge them based on two different sets of qualifications. You hold them to the same bar. The decisions that they'll face in the Oval Office are the same no matter who wins this election. And so, they're making a virtue out of the fact that he's not taking this debate seriously and not preparing. I think that's a mistake.

BLITZER: All right, Brian, thanks very much for joining us. Brian Fallon is the press secretary for the Hillary Clinton campaign.

We're live here inside the debate hall at Hofstra University. Just hours from now, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will finally face off in the first presidential debate. The race, a virtual dead heat. So, the stakes couldn't be any higher. What does each candidate need to do to win the night and win over voters? We'll discuss that and a whole lot more when we come back.

[13:13:33]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:22] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. We're here at Hofstra University ahead of this evening's presidential debate.

As distinct as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are as candidates, they also bring both - they bring very different strengths and weaknesses with them into tonight's debate. So how will that factor into their performance?

I want to get our political panel in here. David Chalian is CNN's political director. Mark Preston is the executive editor of CNN Politics. Jackie Kucinich is a CNN political analyst, the Washington bureau chief for "The Daily Beast."

All right, David, what is she bringing to the table tonight, Hillary Clinton, her strength?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I think her biggest strength is the mastery of policy. She's been doing this her entire public life, her career, and I think knowing the policy inside and out is her biggest strength. I'm not - I don't think voters are looking for full white papers when they're watching a debate, but the fact that that is a full comfort zone for her allows her to focus on other things. And I think that means that that's a strength for her.

BLITZER: What is her strength from your perspective, Mark?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: well, I mean, obviously, her number one strength is what David said. But I think that she does her homework. And we've seen that in the debate prep, you know, over this past weekend and all the way - all the way through. So going into tonight she's absolutely going to be prepared. For her, though, it's going to be, can she then take what she has learned and put it out there in a way that the voters will embrace?

BLITZER: What do you think her biggest strength is?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I would also agree with the policy. And the other thing is, it's how she explains it. She goes point by point and is very comfortable with very complex issues, particularly on foreign policy, particularly on terrorism and explaining her own record of secretary of state. She's very, very - it's very precise and it's - and it's - and voters can understand it.

BLITZER: Listen to this. This is from one of the Democratic primary debates. Hillary Clinton expressing her knowledge of some of these issues. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Given the threats that ISIS poses to the region and beyond, as we have sadly seen in our own country, it is important to keep the Iraqi army on a path where they can actually take back territory, to work with the Sunni tribes in Anbar province and elsewhere so that their fighters can be also deployed, to work with the Kurds to provide them the support. But they're doing the fighting. We're doing the support and enabling.

A vote in 2002 is not a plan to defeat ISIS. We have to look at the threats that we face right now and we have to be prepared to take them on and defeat them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That's one of the strengths, as you were suggesting, right, David?

CHALIAN: Yes, it's exactly that. She shows her knowledge of the issues. She also was cleaning up a political vulnerability a bit on her vote for the Iraq War. I just think that primary season debates is all they have. They're studying this game film. There's no doubt about that. But, Wolf, they're instructive only so far because you have to remember, in a primary season, the opponent she's going after, she actually wants his supporters eventually. And - and her - and the people in the audience like - her people like Bernie Sanders during the primary season. That's a different - entirely different scenario than going up against Trump.

[13:20:27] BLITZER: All right, let's talk about Donald Trump's strength. What do you see his biggest strength going into this debate?

PRESTON: Well, he does a good job of conveying a populist message, right? He doesn't get into specifics clearly, but the way that he delivers it in these bite-sized morsels, which are being embraced right now by white working class voters who feel like they've been left behind, not just by Democrats, but by Washington as a whole, and that really has helped fuel his success so far.

KUCINICH: Yes, and he does - he does have a very compelling message. And it is in a way that people can understand and he does speak in sound bites. You're absolutely right. He's also very confident. Sometimes to a fault. But it does play well. He understands television. He understands how to play to the cameras. And for that, this could be a very good venue for him.

BLITZER: Here's an exchange he had with Jeb Bush at one of the Republican primary debates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald, you know, is great at, at the one liners, but he's a chaos candidate. And he'd be a chaos president.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Jeb doesn't really believe I'm unhinged. He said that very simply because he has failed in this campaign. It's been a total disaster. Nobody cares. And, frankly, I'm the most solid person up here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You see somebody attacks him, he goes right back.

CHALIAN: Right, so the counterpunch, that is clearly a strength of his and you see it there. Also, to what Jackie was saying, he is a master of the medium of television.

KUCINICH: Yes.

CHALIAN: He understands it really well. He's a reality - former reality TV star. Just his facial expression when Jeb Bush first spoke there in that clip, he - that is Donald Trump understanding what television can do.

BLITZER: So if Hillary goes after him, Hillary Clinton goes after him tonight, is he going to take the high road or is he going to respond as he did in those Republican primary debates?

PRESTON: Well, I think initially he's going to try to take the high road. But if she does go after him, specifically using his own words against him, like we've seen in the television ads that she's running, I don't know how long he can stay on that high road where he just goes off the cliff and goes right at her. And then this stage behind us really turns into a boxing ring.

BLITZER: Yes.

KUCINICH: Well, and then - but she's been very good at turning it around on people. Remember the, you're likable enough, Hillary, in the primary debate with President Obama. She is very good about sort of taking - if someone looks like they're being unfair or frankly a jerk, she's very good at capitalizing on that.

BLITZER: He's had some excellent trainers, if you will, helping him prepare for this debate. Some people with a lot of debate experience?

CHALIAN: Certainly in sort of political professionals, like a Rudy Giuliani or a Chris Christie that have done this, there's no doubt he's helped there, too. But Roger Ailes not only has political debate -

BLITZER: Former head of Fox News.

CHALIAN: Former head of Fox News but former Republican operative, too, back in the Reagan and Bush years. And so he has had experience on this kind of stage, as well as the master of television and Fox News, that he created. So that is a lot of help for Donald Trump as well.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll see how all of that help unfolds behind us later tonight.

We've discussed the candidates' strengths, but how will Trump and Clinton try to exploit each other's weaknesses? The panel is us. We're going to continue on that right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:27:55] BLITZER: We're back. We're here at Hofstra University on Long Island in New York ahead of this evening's presidential debate. The candidates, they have their strengths, but also bring certain weaknesses to the table as well. How could they make each of them potentially vulnerable?

I want to bringing back our political panel, David Chalian, Mark Preston, Jackie Kucinich.

Let's talk about Donald Trump's weaknesses right now, and he's got some coming into this debate.

CHALIAN: Yes, the first one is the truth. That is a weakness of his. And so, obviously, you've seen a lot of coverage about the counterfactual statements that he has made in just the last week. We've seen this from lots of news organizations and we've done it ourselves. We've checked a lot of the things he's said. So that's a problem on a debate stage because both Hillary Clinton and Lester Holt presumably are going to feel the need to correct, if he tells a whopper, if there's a real incorrect statement that he puts out there, to correct the record in that moment. And that's - that is going to be - I know Donald Trump thinks, oh, that's just the press doing their thing. But the American people have a right to know what's factual and what's not factual and so I think that that's a problem for Donald Trump. That's a -

BLITZER: Is Lester Holt, the moderator, going to be doing that kind of fact checking, because the presidential commission - the debate commission, they've said that's not necessarily the role of the moderator. That's the role of the opponent, the other presidential candidate.

PRESTON: Right, and Gina Brown (ph) said it here on "Reliable Sources" on Brian Stelter's show yesterday where she - where she said that publicly, which was interesting that she came on and said that.

Talking to Brian and his sources inside NBC have said that, in fact, Lester Holt is not going to be a potted plant on the stage. What does that exactly mean? You know, we don't necessarily know. I suspect a couple of things. One is that he will probably be very focused and deliberate on which ones he actually steps in on. And I would offer up this advice. And, Wolf, we've done so many debates together, and David. The bottom line is, Lester Holt might be smart at the top of the debate to lay out the ground rules of what - about how he plans to act during it so there are no surprises.

BLITZER: What about Donald Trump's weaknesses? What do you see?

[13:29:54] KUCINICH: You know, he has a very thin skin. And sometimes he lets his ego take over. And if we see that tonight, we talked a little bit about that, if we see that tonight, that could - that could be a big problem for Donald Trump. We know that he can give a speech. We know that had can be serious. But on the debate stage, he kind of like gets carried away sometimes. But we haven't seen him in this forum. And he hasn't done it against...