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Trump Will Accept Results; If He Wins; Trump under Fire for Remark. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 20, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN. Thank you for being with me. Here we go.

Another day in this story. The race for the White House is taking another wild turn. Less than 24 hours after refusing to say he would accept the results for the presidential election, Donald Trump is doing a reversal, perhaps trying to undo the damage his debate comments incited. Many Republicans have been outraged over Trump's claims of this rigged election. Right, he's been saying there's widespread voter fraud, including Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. More on that in a second.

But, first, let me play some sound. This is Donald Trump moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election if I win.

Of course I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result, right? Right?

And always, I will follow and abide by all of the rules and traditions of all of the many candidates who have come before me, always.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you heard that. Those words are significant. That was Trump just today. Now here was Trump from last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WALLACE, MODERATOR: Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely - sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this election?

TRUMP: I will look at it at the time. I'm not looking at anything now. I'll look at it at the time. WALLACE: Are you saying you're not prepared now to commit to that

principle?

TRUMP: What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense, OK.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, Chris -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "I'll keep you in suspense." CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash is with me.

Dana Bash, I was watching you in that spin room. You do what you do well. You grabbed Kellyanne Conway, the Trump campaign manager, and, you know, her line to you in this whole, I'll keep them in suspense bit is, well, hang on, remember Al Gore in 2000? What's going on here?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. You saw the cleanup happen almost instantaneously. You saw that Kellyanne Conway, the campaign manager, come out and say what it appeared maybe they had hoped inside Trump world that their candidate had said on the debate stage.

Let me just play you, just so you get a sense, you played what Donald Trump said just a couple hours ago in Ohio, but let me just kind of put together what Kellyanne Conway said to me last night with one of the line from Donald Trump today to give you a sense.

BALDWIN: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Donald Trump will accept the results of the election because he's going to win the election.

TRUMP: I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election if I win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That was kind of the quippy part, if you will. But what Kellyanne Conway also said to me, which Donald Trump said today, that they will accept the results but reserve the right to challenge anything that seems questionable. So that is - you know, it's different from what he said last night, which is, I'll keep you in suspense, which, of course, sent Hillary Clinton down the road that she clearly prepared to pounce on that, saying that she can't believe what she's hearing and going through all of the - all of the things that she's had in her opposition research file about the times that he has said he wants to challenge things, including when he didn't win Emmys.

BALDWIN: Right. There was that. He said he should have won.

Now you have all these Republicans, it's like this domino effect from what Trump said last night. Tell me what John McCain is saying.

BASH: John McCain, I just actually replied when I saw the e-mail - what - to what he said, wow, because it was - it was so telling as to where many Republicans want Donald Trump to be, not because of the party, but because of what this country is all about. And I'll read you part of it. It was a pretty long statement. I'll read you part of what John McCain said.

"I didn't like the outcome of the 2008 election, but I had a duty to concede and I did so without reluctance. A concession isn't just an exercise in graciousness, it is an act for respect of the will of the American people. I don't know who is going to win the presidential election. I do know that in every previous election, the loser congratulates the winner and calls them 'my president.' That's not just the Republican way or the Democratic way, it's the American way."

[14:05:15] Brooke, I was in Phoenix, Arizona, that night when he conceded.

BALDWIN: I remember.

BASH: I was covering the McCain campaign and it was - it was not easy. Now, the results of the 2008 campaign, the election, they were pretty decisive. It was, you know, it was not a question of - of whether or not he won or lost, but it's the point that he's trying to make here is that he immediately made clear that the country needs to get behind the new president and that is something that has been a cornerstone of this country since the beginning - since the beginning of this - of this - you know, of its conception. So that's why you heard that from him and also others who don't have that personal experience, like Senator John Thune, who has already come out and said that Donald Trump, he doesn't endorse him anymore because of that tape from "Access Hollywood." But he's in leadership in the Senate and the Republican leadership in the Senate, he also came out and said this is not the way you act when you're a candidate for president.

BALDWIN: Republican, Democrat, there just is the concession and there's the transition and you move on.

Dana, thank you. Dana Bash.

BASH: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Moments ago, Vice President Joe Biden, he weighed in on Trump's remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Speaking of meanness and pettiness, I'm not going to - I'm going to be serious for a few moments about Trump and I'm not looking for people to cheer or boo about him. I'm not looking for any applause lines. I just want to tell you straight from my heart why this bothers me so much.

There are only 13 people in American history who have ever served in the Senate as long as I have. I've seen an awful lot of people come and go. Wonderful women and men. And I've worked with eight presidents. But, ladies and gentlemen, the things that Donald Trump is saying and doing is genuinely a threat to the democratic process, which is based on trust.

Think about what it is. No democratic process can be sustained without a sense of trust. Trust. Not only is he disqualified by what all the press is talking about today, and he's been talking about, because he's questioning not the legitimacy of our elections, but the legitimacy of our democracy. If you question, if you - if you assert that a Democratic election is fixed, you are attacking the very essence of the notion, whether we have a democratic system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's begin there. I have standing by Anita Dunn, once served as an advisor on the Obama campaign and former White House communications director. Steve Cortes is back, a Trump surrogate, who's a member of Trump's Hispanic Advisory Council. And CNN's special correspondent Jamie Gangel, who's been getting all kinds of reaction from a lot of Republicans on this.

So great to have all of you on.

And, Steve, let me - let me just begin with you first here. I mean, you know, the line from the debate, the whole, "I'll keep you in suspense" from Mr. Trump, it sounds like a line that a reality TV show producer would say, not something that the nominee for the president of the United States should say, no?

STEVE CORTES, TRUMP'S NATIONAL HISPANIC ADVISORY COUNCIL: No, Brooke, I - no, I disagree. I really have to say that I think this is much ado about nothing. I think this remark and this supposed scandal is a huge deal in New York newsrooms and perhaps it is in K (ph) street in Washington, D.C.

But I would quote Joe Scarborough from this morning - who is no fan of Donald Trump by the way - and he said this morning on his show, he said, do you really believe that voters in Scranton, Pennsylvania, care about this? About whether or not Donald Trump pre-promises to concede? I think what they care for more about are things like Obamacare, which are sending their health care premium deductibles skyrocketing while their care stays the same. I think they care about taxes, which many Americans just filed, if you're a procrastinator like I am, you just filed this week and taxes are far too high and far too complicated. So they have bills to pay, security to worry about. Whether or not he pre-promises - I think that's an absurd notion. What he has told us -

BALDWIN: OK.

CORTES: That if it's an orderly election, which I anticipate it will be, that of course he'll concede.

BALDWIN: Well, I don't think we've actually - well, we did hear that from him in the first debate.

CORTES: We - we just heard it today.

BALDWIN: But then we heard a very different version of that now.

Anita, I want you to respond to Steve. What do you think?

ANITA DUNN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I think that had those remarks not come at the end of a week in which, Steve, he has not been talking about Obamacare or taxes, he's been talking about a rigged system and attacking the fundamental process of voting in this country and the majority rules that, by the way, has worked pretty well for over two centuries here. I think that the remarks wouldn't have elicited so much reactions had he not been laying the groundwork for saying the election's fixed because he doesn't want to have to admit he's going to lose.

[14:09:58] And, you know, Brooke, it is - I thought it was striking last night that he was given a second opportunity by Chris Wallace. That Chris basically said, oh, come on, you know, here's another shot, get it right this time, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. Had he said last night what he said today, we wouldn't be in this situation, but he didn't say that. Instead, he basically went out there and said that he was going to wait and see whether he liked the results before he was going to decide whether he would accept the results. And that's actually not the way American elections work.

BALDWIN: It's the caveat, Steve, that I think people are having issues with.

CORTES: Sure.

BALDWIN: I think, you know, if he were to say, and if I were to lose decisively, I would accept the results of the election as well, and that's just what he's not saying now.

CORTES: Sure. And, look, Brooke, I'll be the first to concede, you know, I hate that we're talking about this today because I thought he had a great night. You know, if it were a prize fight, I think he won 12 out of - 11 out of 12 rounds. But, instead, we're talking about this.

I wish he had phrased it more elegantly. He's not a politician. He's not scripted often and he doesn't always say things as artfully as perhaps he should.

But before we allow the Democrats to get on their high horse about the sanctity of democracy, I hope we're also going to talk about Project Veritas (ph) and the videos from this city, Chicago, where I am right now where their paid operatives started a riot where there was literally bloodshed, including police blood, in the streets so that they could suppress a Trump rally and our First Amendment right to hold a rally and to have free speech.

So if they're going to get high and mighty about democracy, I think we need some answers about what they were doing with guerrilla on-the- ground tactics and Project Veritas did a great job of unveiling that. BALDWIN: Sure. I was talking to a Hillary campaign person yesterday.

Democrats aren't angels either. But with regard to one other video, you know, it's - I think it's just clear to point out, the Hillary Clinton campaign didn't have anything to do with that.

That said, I want to stay on Republicans. Jamie Gangel, you have incredible sources and incredible connections with a lot of Republican leaders in this country. And with regards to these words that Mr. Trump used, are they - do they feel like they need to respond to them and how are they reacting?

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, they're very upset. Despite what Steve just said about how many rounds he won before he got there, the Republicans I spoke to - my phone was blowing up last night with, you know, Republicans, these are veterans, these are elected officials, nine of the 10 that I spoke to have said publicly that they are voting for Trump. They felt that he knocked himself out by saying this about holding us in suspense and they're very concerned because they feel as if it's not only self-sabotage for Trump in that everything that came before that sort of is in the shadow of this statement, but as Anita just said, after a week of talking about rigged elections, they're very concerned about what this does not just to the presidential election, which frankly most of them said to me they think it's over, but they're very concerned about down-ballot.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GANGEL: Will, you know, will the Republicans hold the Senate? There are a lot of people I'm speaking to who think it's a toss-up. They're very concerned about those races. So when Trump goes out and says something like this, it affects the party as a whole.

BALDWIN: There's that piece of it and then, Anita, let me just come back to you because moving on, because of Trump, would you agree that Hillary Clinton actually avoided fully answering a lot of tough questions?

DUNN: Well, I think it - I think because of Donald Trump, you didn't have the same level of substance around a lot of issues last night that you had at the beginning of the debate.

BALDWIN: But did she avoid it? I mean she didn't give proper answers on - you know, when she was asked about her husband, Clinton Foundation, immigration, WikiLeaks, e-mails, just to name a few.

DUNN: Well, let's - let's just - well, let me just start with the WikiLeaks. I can't believe that anyone should have to answer questions about material that the Russian - that state sponsored hackers, the Russian government, according to our own government, which everyone except for Donald Trump seems to have figured out, are putting out there in an attempt to influence our elections. I believe that those things, as Marco Rubio has said, should not be part of the campaign discourse.

But she did address those issues. She did address immigration. It is very hard for her to address issues in depth, however, when you have Donald Trump over there muttering into his microphone and interrupting her constantly. So I would just say that I thought there was the opportunity for an interesting and substantive debate last night which Donald Trump decided to hijack.

And, you know, if it was a heavyweight fight, as Steve said, he was the guy that was punching himself in the face most of the time.

BALDWIN: Well - well, hang on, because on that, I think, you know, you can give Trump - and I think others are doing the same - giving Trump credit, off the bat, I thought it was substantive when they were talking about, you know, Second Amendment. They were talking about - they were talking - just, multiple issues, immigration, campaign finance reform. And then, Steve, you know, Trump was, I think, pretty disciplined. He was temperamentally sound. But then you have Hillary Clinton, she started pushing his buttons and he went for the bait.

[14:15:11] CORTES: Well -

DUNN: Well, and let me just -

CORTES: Again -

DUNN: Let me just jump in here because I agree with you, Brooke. I agree, the first half hour was probably the most substantive half hour of any of the debates.

BALDWIN: Yes.

DUNN: But, again, he decided he wanted to get on the crazy train and take it off the rails and there's not a lot she can do at that point.

BALDWIN: Steve, care to comment on the crazy train?

CORTES: Brooke, once again - right. One - no, we're not on a crazy train, we're on the Trump train. And again, most regular Americans, I'm very comfort, care very, very little about exactly how he concedes if he loses. I believe he's going to win and it's not going to matter. But if he does lose in an orderly election, of course he's going to concede. But that's not the point. The point is do we have -

BALDWIN: But the question wasn't about conceding, it was about the bait. He took it.

CORTES: OK, but we have a - right, regarding the debate. We have a few (INAUDIBLE) -

BALDWIN: Putin, took it.

CORTES: I think he made a powerful, powerful case on the negative side of why Hillary Clinton is a fundamentally flawed candidate who is unfit to be our commander-in-chief because of her many, many scandals. And scandals, by the way, that don't just result in her own financial gain, although those are terrible, but even worse, that have resulted in the loss of our national security of the United States, things like Benghazi and her hidden e-mails and her private server in her basement. But then he also made the positive case of, here's the way out. OK,

that's the darkness. This is how we light the candle for economic growth and for security. If he continues to make that case over the next few weeks into the finish line here, I believe - we're clearly the underdogs, but I believe we're going to rally and we are going to win.

BALDWIN: Listen, if you were to win, and you could - you could win, you know, you would change the math from the electoral map, but you need the women. You need specifically the suburban white females.

CORTES: Right.

BALDWIN: And Jamie Gangel, let me just, final question to you, you know, watching that debate, the question about the accusers coming forward, the way he speaks about him, Hillary Clinton jumping in and saying, you know, you're criticizing their looks, and then the comment towards the end where he - when he says, "you're a nasty woman." I mean for women watching, Jamie, did he - did he do any favors?

GANGEL: Well, that's now gone - that's - that's now gone viral. It's been turned around on FaceBook with people saying, I'm voting for a nasty woman or I am a nasty woman. Look, we say this after each debate. He needs to go into these debates with these huge audiences and broaden his base. And who does he needs? Women. Suburban women. Independent women.

There was nothing about what he did last night, according to my Republican leaders, elected officials that helped him do that.

CORTES: OK, but in fairness -

GANGEL: And just those kinds of comments -

BALDWIN: OK. OK.

GANGEL: Are not helping him.

BALDWIN: OK.

CORTES: But you keep citing Republican officials. I'll be the first to concede on team Trump. If it were up to the Republican elite, we wouldn't even be the nominee. We wouldn't be in second or third place in that primary.

GANGEL: But, Steve, these - these are -

CORTES: It's up to rank and file voters. We are after the Washington establishment and many Republicans - and you've named a few - many are part and parcel of that. A crony institution that has benefitted itself at the expense of America, of our growth and security. And so do they feel threatened by Donald Trump? You bet they do, and they should, because he is the voice of the people against Washington.

BALDWIN: Jamie, you get the last word. GANGEL: But, Steve, these are people - these are people who have said

they're going to vote for Donald Trump. Some of these people spoke at his convention, and they feel as if this is hurting, not just Donald Trump with women, but the entire party, and they may lose the Senate as a result of it. They don't think they're going to lose the House. They think they're going to lose some seats in the House. But they feel that what he has done is really hurting the party as a whole and they have been supporting him publicly.

BALDWIN: Let me - let me end by saying this. Steve, he could take it, but when you say out of one corner of your mouth, you know, I am the most respectful of women you've ever met, and then five beats later says, you're a nasty woman, you question that.

CORTES: What was it she - she says - she does say nasty things.

BALDWIN: You question that.

We've got to go. Thank you all.

CORTES: She called us deplorable. She says nasty things.

BALDWIN: I don't - I don't disagree with you. It's just, this is what's happening, 19 days, thank you all so much. It's an important piece of the conversation. Thank you.

Coming up next, the folks coming across the border are, quote/unquote, bad hombres. This is according to Donald Trump speaking last night. He's in big trouble today for that remark, but his supporters say, are you kidding me? It's not offensive. Is it? Let's talk about that.

Also ahead, we'll speak live with Trump's daughter-in-law about his comments about women and what happened after the debate. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:23:37] BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Donald Trump's hardline approach to immigration has alarmed a number of Hispanics in this country, and last night he dropped a memorable line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: One of my first acts will be to get all of the drug lords, all of the bad ones, we have some bad, bad people in this country that have to go out. We're going to get them out. We're going to secure the border. And once the boarder is secured, at a later date, we'll make a determination as to the rest. But we have some bad hombres here's and we're going to get them out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's have a chat about that. Marco Gutierrez is the founder for the group Latinos for Trump. Also here, Maria Echaveste, former White House deputy chief of staff to Bill Clinton, President Obama also nominated her as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, but she later withdrew her name.

Welcome, both of you, to CNN.

MARIA ECHAVESTE, FORMER W.H. DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF UNDER CLINTON: Glad to be here.

BALDWIN: Marco, let me just being with you. Bad hombres, straight up, were you offended?

MARCO GUTIERREZ, FOUNDER, LATINOS FOR TRUMP: Not at all. Not at all. I think Donald Trump is trying to communicate to us. He's trying to speak our language.

BALDWIN: I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Why do you - who do you think he felt the need to speak in Spanish?

GUTIERREZ: Well, he's trying, you know? Bad hombres, he tried to say that, you know, he's just calling us bad - it's like saying bad dudes.

BALDWIN: Maria, are you - are you laughing? Shaking your head?

[14:25:00] ECHAVESTE: I'm laughing - I'm laughing because it was just another example of the way Mr. Trump throws out references to people, clearly thinks that the only immigrants - illegal immigrants are those that are coming from south of the border, but really fundamentally doesn't understand the nuances and complexities of the fact that the majority of Americans want our immigration system to be fixed. And so saying bad hombres was just simply reminding his supporters that he's after - he's going to be tough on those Mexicans. So it's offensive, but what's more offensive is his lack of knowledge on these very difficult issues.

BALDWIN: On that, Marco - Marco, Ana Navarro, she's a CNN contributor, she's a Republican, Nicaraguan born, she came on CNN and she said, quote, "at least we know Trump has two Spanish words in his vocabulary, hombre and taco." She's not a Trump fan if you haven't figured it out. "Though I will tell you with a 13 percent favorability rating for Latinos, I think a lot of us would agree Trump is a bad hombre and add loco to that as well." How would you respond to - how would you, Marco, respond to Ana?

GUTIERREZ: Ana Navarro is a bad mujer. She's an angry woman. And you guys need to stop. You know, Hillary Clinton, she has the vocabulary, she has the dialogue, she can extract and express herself better, but Donald Trump speaks the language of the heart. And I understand what Donald Trump is saying and most - 90 percent of the people out there understand what he's saying because he's not an intellectual like you guys, he doesn't speak the way you want him to speak. That doesn't mean he's not saying what he's saying. And we understand what he's saying. I talk to every taxi driver here. I talked to everybody in the university. Everybody understands what Donald Trump says, except you guys. BALDWIN: OK. OK, first of all, please don't "you guys" me. Don't throw

me in or make blanket statements. I take offense to that. Second of all, you, Marco, made the comment in a recent interview saying that "a vote for Hillary Clinton would equal a taco truck on every corner." And speaking of taco trucks, there was a wall of taco trucks in front of Trump's Vegas hotel yesterday. This was the culinary workers' union. They oppose Trump. So not everyone agrees with you.

GUTIERREZ: I - yes, I stand by my comment. The result of a sick economy, the result of an economy in decay is flea market commerce. And we're going to have taco trucks on every corner because we, as Hispanics, when you push us out of the economy, we know how to survive. We have taco stands in every coroner in Mexico, and that's what we'll do here. And we're not going to participate in the economy but -

BALDWIN: Maria, let me - I understand. I understand. And, Maria, let me actually just push you as well, because I want to play a moment from the debate. This is when Trump turned it on Hillary Clinton and called her out for her record on walls or fencing. H ere was that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton wanted the wall. Hillary Clinton fought for the wall in 2006 or thereabouts. Now, she never gets anything done, so naturally the wall wasn't built. But Hillary Clinton wanted the wall.

CHRIS WALLACE, MODERATOR: Well, let me -

TRUMP: We are a county of laws.

WALLACE: But, wait, sir, let me - let me - let me -

TRUMP: We either have - and, by the way -

WALLACE: I - no, wait, I'd like to hear from - I'd like to hear from -

TRUMP: Well, well, but she said one thing -

WALLACE: I'd like to hear from Secretary Clinton.

CLINTON: I voted for border security and there are some -

TRUMP: And the wall.

CLINTON: There are some limited places where that was appropriate. There also is necessarily going to be new technology and how best to deploy that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Maria, I think that was news for a lot of viewers. And just to be precise, she voted in 2006 for border fencing. President George W. Bush signed that into law. Did you know that? ECHAVESTE: Absolutely, because that effort in 2006, she's been

consistent about trying to get comprehensive immigration reform, which involves border security, which involves a path to citizenship, it involves reducing backlogs and ensuring that, in fact, we are providing legal pathways for the various like high tech here in Silicon Valley. So that particular piece under the - in 2006 was the first step of what many of us who have been working on immigration reform thought we would end up with was a package.

Now, here's the thing. She's been consistent about the fact that you - we, as a country, need to be comprehensive in addressing this issue of immigration. All that Donald Trump keeps referring to is a wall, a wall, and that shows the lack of knowledge and nuance he brings, not just to this issue, but whether it's the economy, his notion that we're going to create - you know, Marco talks about the economy and taco trucks, his plan for creating jobs is -

BALDWIN: Well, he's right on the economy. He's right on creating jobs and not pushing Hispanics out of the marketplace.

[14:29:56] ECHAVESTE: What I'm saying is that Donald Trump's idea of how to create jobs is to have a tax cut for the wealthy and have yet another version of trickle down economy economics which has been shown over and over again not to be the way to create jobs. Hillary's plan