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Trump Lays Out First 100 Days in Office if Elected; Clinton Looks to Expand Electoral Map; GOP Pushes to Protect Congressional Majorities; Terrorists White Helmets in Syria Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize; Comedian Chelsea Handler's Rapid-Fire Responses on Politics. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 22, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:00) FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We have so much more straight ahead. Thanks for being with me.

My colleague, Poppy Harlow, up next.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: 17 days, folks, 17 days until the election. The candidates are on the trail making their case for voters.

I'm Poppy Harlow. So glad you're with us live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin with Donald Trump, who is set to take the stage in Virginia at any moment. He is in Virginia Beach appealing for every single last vote he can get in a state that perhaps you could call a swing state. Frankly, Clinton is up 15 points in the latest polling.

It is Trump's second rally of the day. It comes hours after he laid out his plan for his first 100 days in office if he becomes the next president. Trump spoke to a crowd in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of President Lincoln's historic address during the Civil War. But near the spot where Lincoln once tried to unify a nation and promised equality for all, Trump spent the first 15 minutes of his address railing against the system, the media, and threatening to sue the women that accused him of sexual misconduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Trump did get back to business at hand 15 minutes later and he began outlining his 100 day plan. Here are some of the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First, a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: I will announce my intention to totally re-negotiate NAFTA, one of the worst deals our country has ever made.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: We are canceling all federal funding of sanctuary cities.

(CROSSTALK) TRUMP: And illegal immigration Act --

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: -- fully funds the construction of a wall on our southern border.

It establishes a two-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentences of people coming in illegal, for illegal reentering the United States after a previous deportation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: CNN senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, is in Virginia Beach, where we will hear from Trump momentarily.

Much of his 100-day plan are things we've heard from him throughout the campaign, things like scrapping Obamacare, investing more in fossil fuels, et cetera. There are some new things he outlined. What stands out to you?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: There was one policy proposal dealing with immigration we had not heard before. A proposal for a mandatory min yum sentence for undocumented immigrants caught in this country having already been deported before. There was some new policy nuance in the speech we heard. It was pretty much a repackaging of proposals we have already heard from Donald Trump. What was most striking about that speech, it was not very Lincoln- like. It was not that kind of Gettysburg Address. This was very much an airing of grievances by Donald Trump. He talked about the news media, the women that have accused him of sexual assault. He vowed to sue them after the news media a find out if the Hillary Clinton campaign was involved. He went out just about every one of his targets. He talked about the proposed merge are of AT&T and Time Warner. That is something he would block as president of the United States. He has no shortage of targets these days.

I will say, here in Virginia, you mentioned this, Poppy, he has an uphill climb. He is down double digits in a state where Republicans in any other election year would be almost neck and neck with a Democratic challenger. This is a battleground state. It is not so much for Donald Trump. It is interesting to note we are on the campus of Regent University, which was founded by Pat Robertson. He is not only appealing to Virginia. He also wants them to turn out to vote. But he wants to make sure Christian conservatives stay in his camp. They are going to be critical to keeping him in this race. He really needs them to turn out on Election Day if he is going to make this election with Hillary Clinton close -- Poppy?

HARLOW: Jim, he clearly went off script, off prompter, spending the first 15 minutes of this so-called address, if you will, not talking about his plan to unite the country, not talking about his plan for the economy. Do you think his team was aware of that? It seems unlikely you would put something in Gettysburg for the sort of significant symbol, how symbolic that is, and then talk about suing women who have accused you of sexual assault?

ACOSTA: That's why I refer to those teleprompters, Poppy, as the rumble strips for Donald Trump. They warn him when he is going off the road, but they don't prevent him from going off the road. When you talk to his advisers and staffers, they will say, Donald Trump is going to be Donald Trump. That's not surprising he is going to vent his frustrations and anger, especially getting this close to the election and things aren't looking so good now. We have to wait and see what the voters decide. But, no, I would be shocked if every and adviser knew he was going to go out and make that statement.

He did talk about, quote, "draining the swamp in Washington, D.C." He did hit on messages and themes that a lot of Republicans will like. When they get distracted about going after his accusers and news media and the enemy of the day, that's when some Republicans get disillusioned and want to change the channel -- Poppy?

[15:05:52] HARLOW: Jim, thank you. We appreciate it.

We will bring Trump speaking live when he begins

Let's talk more about this 100 day plan that he did lay out.

Joining me now, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, Larry Sabato; CNN political commentator and former policy director for Mitt Romney; Lanhee Chen; and professor of history and public affairs, Princeton University, Julian Zelizer.

Lanhee, let me begin with you.

This is the head of your party. What's your reaction to his 100-day plan in terms of how it will sit with other Republicans? Namely, what Jim Acosta outlined, a mandatory minimum sentence for undocumented workers in this country.

LANHEE CHEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it is interesting we are hearing this 100 day plan now with 17 days left in this election. Usually, this is the kind of thing you might roll out right after the national convention or earlier on in the fall campaign. Look, Poppy, as to the substance of this, there is a lot tension in this plan. There are elements that Republicans will feel very familiar with, the appeal and replacement of Obamacare and tax and regulatory reform. There are elements like this very rough immigration policy, this anti- free trade policy.

HARLOW: Julian, give us some historical context. Trump said, I will sue every single one of those women who has come forward and accused me of sexual assault or harassment as soon as the election is over. A twofold question here. Has a sitting president ever sued someone like he is saying he will do while they are in office? Or do you read this as Trump hinting that he doesn't expect to win and will sue them post election back as a private citizen?

JULIAN ZELIZER, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: I can't think of a comparable example of a president doing this. I am sure he isn't thinking I won't be president and will sue you as a private citizen or unlikely unleashing some threats on any more allegations coming out in the last few days. I think he is sending a clear signal there will be retribution on his part because of what's happened.

HARLOW: Larry, let's talk about some other things he outlined here. He said a few things about immigration, not just mandatory minimum sentences but he says that Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the wall he will build and the mandatory minimums. How realistic would you mark the immigration points? They resonate extraordinarily well with his base. I heard raucous applause when he talked about sanctuary cities. He doesn't need his base. He needs to bring in people on the fence.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Of course. He is just doubling down on his base. Just about everything he said in that speech either has already been said or was designed to generate potentially a higher turnout among the people who tend to support him. Poppy, come on. We listen to that speech. We are all familiar with the Gettysburg Address. Let's just say Abraham Lincoln about.

HARLOW: Let's dig into the economic points he hit on. He said that middle class families with two children will get a tax break of 35 percent. That's a huge tax cut. He also said he would be able to create 25 million jobs over the next decade. Just for perspective for our viewers, President Obama has created 15 million jobs coming out of the deep recession. A reality check on those two claims, Lanhee.

CHEN: It is a huge challenge. A lot of economists, both left would make t argument there is room for some changes to policy to help jump- start economic growth. We have been stuck around 1 percent GDP growth year over year for the last couple of years. There is room for growth. Certainly, tax reform would be part of that. There has to be point at which a tax reform plan becomes overly burdensome looking at our debt load.

(CROSSTALK)

CHEN: The question is how is he going to pay for it?

[15:10:11] HARLOW: Lanhee, that's exactly what a tax study came out from Wharton. They said, yes, his tax proposal would spur growth at the outset for a few years but fast forward, eight years to 2024, you have to increase federal debt that results in less economic growth. You can't offset that unless you Social Security and Medicare, and he said he won't touch those. How do the numbers add up?

CHEN: So far, it is very difficult to tell. I do tend to think as the study implies, there is some room to get the tax system reform to create growth. On the outside years we are talking about, no question in my mind that entitlement reform has to be part of the package. In reforming Social Security and Medicare, which puts him at odds with Paul Ryan and the rest of the party and the last three or four Republican nominees. This is an interesting economic plan because of the tensions within it. The tax plan is one example of situation where there are elements that conservatives might like but elements they look at and shake their heads at a bit.

HARLOW: I have to wrap it up. You are all going to be back.

When we do come back, Julian, you are going to talk to me about comparisons with Richard Nixon in '60 and '62.

Stay with us guys.

So much ahead this hour. Trump's first 100 days in office, if he is elected, could certainly transform America. We'll get into the details of his economic plan and talk about what could work and what isn't realistic.

Also, Trump's campaign has left some candidates running scared. And the GOP bracing for potential defeat at the highest level. We'll talk about what Republicans are doing to save Congress if they can't win the White House.

And live pictures from Virginia Beach. We are waiting for Donald Trump to speak on a day when he laid out his plan for this country, all ahead live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:37] HARLOW: Welcome back. You are looking at live pictures of people gathered, waiting to hear from the Republican presidential candidate. He is expected to be live. We will dip in as soon as he gets on stage.

Meantime, in Utah, Hillary Clinton making a big play in that state. It is a state she has yet to visit as a candidate as candidate. She hasn't run any TV ads there. It hasn't gone blue since 1964. We have just learned that five new Clinton staffers will call Utah their new home for the next few weeks. There will be visits from some high- profile surrogates from the Clinton camp in these final weeks. This all comes to CNN from a Clinton campaign source close to the campaign.

Here is why. A poll published first by the "Desert News" last week found Clinton and Trump tied in this traditionally red state. Independent, and Utah native, Evan McMullin, currently stands at 22 percent. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, at 14 percent. Clearly, Clinton thinks this is a state in play. Both Utah and Arizona have moved respectively from solid and leaning Republican to battleground states. The other two battleground states, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida.

Let's take a look at the electoral map, just a snapshot, not a projection. Clinton with 307 suspected electoral vote wins, Trump with 179, 52 votes in the Electoral College still undetermined, up for grabs. Nothing matters until you go to the polls on Election Day.

Let's bring back in my panel.

Let's dive into this map.

Larry, let me begin with you.

This is what you do. You look at these and you give us a reality check. Is Utah really in play?

SABATO: Utah is in play only because Donald Trump and Evan McMullin, the Independent, are splitting the two-thirds of the vote that's Republican. That's why Hillary Clinton is in the race there. I would tend to guess that the winner in the end by a few percent would either be Trump or McMullin.

Much more significant, Poppy, is Arizona. The fact that Arizona, which didn't vote Democratic from 1948 until Bill Clinton's re- election in 1996, and hasn't voted Democratic since, is now very much in the hunt for Hillary Clinton, that is what is significant. We are at the end of the campaign and we are talking Georgia. What does that tell you?

HARLOW: It's stunning. Clinton is up five points in the latest Arizona poll. The secretary of state there just came out and said when it comes to registering new voters the Democrats now have a leg up by about 5,000 voters to the Republicans there.

Clinton, Lanhee, is betting on two main groups, Millennials and Hispanics. Can she excite them, energize them, get them to come out like the so-called Obama coalition or not?

CHEN: This is the challenge. She's looking at two voting blocks that tend to be, at least with the Millennial group, a low propensity voting group. It is going to take some urging and some sort of repeated reminders to get them out to the polls come Election Day.

I think the big issue also is what does this mean for down-ballot Republicans in states that are competitive. Arizona is an example. There, John McCain is running for re-election. It looks like he is relatively safe. If you move to a state like North Carolina, you have a challenge for the incumbent Republican Senator Richard Burr in a very tight race.

HARLOW: Or New Hampshire.

CHEN: Or New Hampshire with Kelly Ayotte. You have a lot of Republicans that are very concerned about what a weak Trump candidacy is going to mean down the stretch.

HARLOW: Julian, give us the history lesson here, al right? Put your professorial hat on. Let's talk about Nixon and the losing the governor's race in '62 in California or '60, the presidential race, and going on to win the presidency in '68. Is Trump sounding a lot like Richard Nixon? [15:19:54] ZELIZER: In 1960, he lost to Kennedy in the presidential

race. He believed there had been vote fraud in Illinois. In the end, because Republicans were pushing him not to do it, and recounts weren't turning up votes, he didn't make a big issue of it. In '62, he loses the gubernatorial race in California. Comes on the following morning and blasts the media for being unfair and biased. He tells them, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." That's a lot like what Donald Trump sounds like in this final month when he is making the rigged system the centerpiece of his campaign.

HARLOW: He sort of reinvented himself and came back to win in '68. He did something that if Trump loses, could he take a page out of? It is different. It would be eight years later. He would be 78 years old.

ZELIZER: Nixon did it. He remade himself as this diplomatic statesman. He campaigns for Republicans in '66. So the party really likes him. It's different. Nixon had a long history in politics and with the Republican Party. Yet, a shrewd sense of how to remake himself. It's unlikely Trump has that in him. And he's burned so many bridges with the GOP right now, it's difficult to image him embraced by the party in a few years.

HARLOW: Lanhee, do you see this election looking more and more like the final weeks of '96 when Bill Clinton was leading so much that the party looked down ballot and focused on that intensively until the election?

CHEN: I think a lot of people feel this is quickly coming out of reach. Paul Ryan, the House speaker, is going to be out here in California next week campaigning for some endangered House candidates. I think the message, one of the messages he is going to be out there saying, look, it is important to elect Republicans as a check on a Hillary Clinton presidency, in effect, kind of conceding the ground on the presidential election. I do think a lot of Republicans feel that way. A lot of Republicans are trying to convince other folks it is really important to vote down-ballot, to vote for Republicans precisely to be a check on Hillary Clinton. That shows you how they feel about Donald Trump's chances.

HARLOW: Lanhee Chen, Larry Sabato, Julian Zelizer, thank you all. We appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Coming up, Marco Rubio fought Donald Trump hard in the primary, as you all well know. He then made nice with him as he turned to a Senate race. He is just one Republican who could be in trouble as Trump's poll numbers fall. We'll talk about that next, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:10] HARLOW: Republicans and Democrats started this campaign season hoping to win the White House. Republicans wanted to take it back. While it could still happen, party officials and their allies are now taking measures to make sure that if Trump loses, it doesn't also cost them control of Congress.

Manu Raju has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): GOP officials fear if Donald Trump loses by a landslide, he could take down the congressional majorities.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN, (R), TEXAS: I am concerned about the presidential race and the impact on the down-ballot races, including the Senate.

RAJU: In New Hampshire, Republicans sound like they are treating a Trump defeat as a foregone conclusion.

ANNOUNCER: Maggie Hassan's record --

RAJU: -- with an ad that attacks Democrat Maggie Hassan, saying voters need a send a Senate GOP majority to keep a Clinton White House in check.

ANNOUNCER: Just imagine what she would do unchecked in Washington with a new president.

RAJU: If Clinton wins, Democrats need four seats to take back the Senate majority. Republicans seats in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire are in danger of flipping. Democrats have a serious shot at winning in red states like Indiana, North Carolina and Missouri. The battle for retiring Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's seat in Nevada is a true toss-up.

Reid tried to tie Republican Joe Heck to Donald Trump.

SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: This man we have running for the Senate here in Nevada, who is meme Trump, Joe Heck.

RAJU: Heck revoked his endorsed of Trump after the GOP's nominee's vulgar words about women were caught on a hot mic.

SEN. JOE HECK, (R), NEVADA: I cannot in good conscience continue to support Donald Trump.

RAJU: Heck's opponent Catherine Cortez Masto is not letting up.

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, (D), NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: After nine months of being his biggest supporter and realizing now that Trump's ship is sinking, now he's trying to save his own political career? No, you don't get credit for that.

RAJU: In the House, Trump has become so toxic --

TRUMP: How 'bout it, huh?

RAJU: -- that Speaker Paul Ryan is scrambling to prevent Democrats from picking up the 30 seats they need to win back the majority.

But Ryan's refusal to defend Trump is causing some conservatives to threaten his speakership.

REP. MARK MEADOWS, (R) NORTH CAROLINA (voice-over): A lot of people who believe so desperately that we need to put Donald Trump in the White House, that question the loyalty of the speaker. So I do think there will be real discussions after November 8th on who our leadership will be and what that will look like going forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: Paul Ryan is in a difficult position. A lot of it, his chances of remaining speaker, depends on how big the House GOP majority is after the election, assuming they can keep the majority. They are expected to lose upwards of 20 seats or so. But if it's 30, they'll love the majority. Democrats will retake it. But even if they keep the majority, many Republicans moderates are expected to lose, meaning conservatives will have more sway over the speaker. When the speaker has another re-election vote on the floor, he cannot afford to lose many votes to get the 218 needed to be reelected speaker. Every vote will count, including those Trump supporters, who he has angered by saying he will not defend Trump anymore -- Poppy?

HARLOW: Manu, thank you for the reporting.

Coming up next, we take you to Syria where a group of everyday civilians were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. They are members of what has been known as the White Helmets. They rush into bombed- out buildings and save injured people trapped inside, including infants. A new documentary tells their harrowing story. Just incredible. You will hear from the director who met them and spent five weeks with them on the front lines up next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:00] HARLOW: Live pictures of a big crowd waiting for Donald Trump to speak in Virginia Beach. This is his second campaign stop of the day after making that address in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We will bring it to you live.

Turning to Syria, if this description of what is happening fails to get the world's attention, it is hard to imagine what else could. The U.N.'s top human rights official says the siege and bombardment of eastern Aleppo are crimes of historic proportions. Regime forces, backed by Russian war planes, are taking a brief humanitarian pause after pounding the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo.

When the bombs fall, a small group of volunteers, called the White Helmets, run into smoldering rubble and rescue injured and trapped victims, including infants and little children. They saved the life of this 5-year-old boy named Omran earlier this summer, his bloodied shell-shocked face becoming a stark reminder of the tolls of this war. They say they have saved more than 60 thousand lives, a feat that earned them a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. "The Washington Post" has called their job among the most dangerous in the world. But even bravest have broken down from the horror of this war. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CRYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(CRYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The motto of the White Helmets, is, "To save life is to save humanity."

A new Netflix documentary explores every day these parents, spouses, friends, the civilians who risk their lives to save others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSION)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: Missile attacks in rebel areas have left up to 50 civilians dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(EXPLOSION)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:28] HARLOW: Joining me now, the director of that film, Orlando von Einsiedel, and Producer Joanna Natasegara.

Thank you guys for being here very, very much.

ORLANDO VON EINSIEDEL, DIRECTOR: Thank you for having us.

Thank you.

HARLOW: You have spent five weeks in Syria with the White Helmets there on the Syrian border. You experienced this war through their eyes. They believe when they save a life, they are saving humanity.

Joanna, what was your takeaway in terms of what drives them to do this?

JOANNA NATASEGARA, FILM PRODUCER: We actually spent five weeks on the ground in Turkey and to watch these men that come out from Aleppo and to see them be in a relatively safe country and still be carrying the war with them was really profound. These are ordinary people as you said and these are people that save lives, and choose to do so, on a voluntary basis. It is extraordinary work. HARLOW: Orlando, you wrote about this and you wrote that you began to

question yourselves asking if you could be as strong, if you were in their shoes.

VON EINSIEDEL: Sure. When we were making this film, we asked ourselves this a lot if war like what these guys are experiencing in Syria came to London, New York or Washington, could we do the same as them? Up and risk our lives to save complete strangers? I think if I'm really going to be honest, I don't know if I could do it.

HARLOW: Some of these men are our parents and they have their own children at home and they are risking their own life to save infants, like this one or the 5-year-old Omran. You write, "In the West, far too often, we are subjected to negative stereotypes of Muslims. In stark contrast, these men were among the gentlest and kindest we had ever met."

Joanna, what surprised you most about them after you spent those five weeks together?

NATASEGARA: I was probably one of the only women onsite living with these guys for five weeks. At no point did I ever feel anything but welcomed, safe, protected, and included. I think that's a message that is really worth sharing globally. They're the best of humanity.

HARLOW: You also talked about only being able to show a tiny percent of the horror. I have just seen bits and pieces of the film in the trailer. It is nothing like being on the ground or hearing from them when they come back from Syria, back into Turkey.

Orlando, for what Syria will become, what they are fighting to help the country become by saving these lives?

VON EINSIEDEL: Yeah. It is quite extraordinary. What they face every day. The three main characters in our film are from Aleppo. Every week, they are experiencing hundreds of bombs and seeing the most horrendous civilian casualties and in spite they still have hope they still have hope that at some point this conflict will end. Us, as a global community, we also have to have hope, too.

HARLOW: We know many people around the world in these countries are questioning the international community. President Obama talks about the situation in Syria as something that haunts him as he looks at his legacy as president of the United States.

Joanna, did they speak to you about the international community? Do they feel like the international community has failed them?

NATASEGARA: I think it is not in question there is a failing here when this level of violence continues. All they want is for that violence to stop, for the bombs to stop, for the incidents to stop. Certainly, we hope that in small part when people watch this film, they can see the actual situation on the ground both at governmental level and on a public level. It is quite easy to see what is really happening on the group. [15:39:57] HARLOW: I think, Orlando, often times, in wars, for

people sitting at home on their couch in the United States, in the U.K., it is hard for them to relate. They see the atrocity, the horror. How do they relate to it? What do you hope your film does to make progress on that front?

VON EINSIEDEL: Absolutely. It is so true. I have certainly felt over the years as this war has dragged on, it is so hard to engage with it. The story of the White Helmets, this is a story of real-life heroes, a story of hope. We believe it resonates globally.

HARLOW: Thank you very, very much. I can't wait to watch the entire film.

Again, "The White Helmets."

Thank you, Orlando and Joanna, for bringing it to all of us.

NATASEGARA: Thank you.

VON EINSIEDEL: Thank you so much for having us.

HARLOW: Of course.

Still to come, back to politics and Trump's plan was for the United States. Some of his ideas, of course, will have a global impact if he does become president. Trump outlining his 100-day plan. Today, we are going to dive into it, especially what he says about the economy and jobs next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:50] HARLOW: We are waiting to hear from Donald Trump. He is set to speak live at any moment in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a state that is not so much a battleground anymore. Hillary Clinton is leading Trump by 15 points in the latest polling. We will bring you that as soon as he begins.

In the meantime, this morning, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he laid out his plans for the first 100 days in office if he does become the first president. A big part of that plan, creating millions of new jobs. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act, an economic plan designed to grow the economy 4 percent per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction, and simplification in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: CNN's global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar, is with me. She's also the assistant managing editor at "Time."

Rana, let's dive into this. First, let's get into the 35 percent tax cut for middle income families. Families with two children will get a 35 percent tax cut. Previously, all the analysis from economists had pretty much agreed most of his tax cuts go to the upper 1 percent, 2 percent. Is that changing?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: No, it is not really changing. More importantly, this notion that we can tax cut our way to fundamentally flawed. A number of mainstream economists have looked at Donald Trump's plan. They don't believe it is going to create near the number of jobs he says or certainly that it will push the economy at 4 percent growth. That would be historically we are under that right now. What most economists believe to create growth is a little more fiscal stimulus from the government. We have had a lot of monetary policy that has voided global markets. That hasn't trickled down to Main Street. I don't see Donald Trump addressing those issues.

FOROOHAR: He has talked about a major infrastructure spending plan.

FOROOHAR: That's true. Getting that through Congress is part of the deal. I think the fact that he has been so fractious and the protectionist rhetoric, some things that have alienated Democrats are going to be tricky for him. It is all about being able to bring people together at this point to get government to do something for the economy. My level of trust in his ability to do that is not extremely high.

HARLOW: So if we were to break down this 25 million jobs that he says he could create as president over 10 years, over a decade, it would have to extend beyond his presidency if he were to win two terms. You have to look at this in sort of four pockets. Two of them that are good for growth are tax cuts and less regulation. That's arguably good for growth, of restrictions on global trade. Frankly, cutting rates down on immigration has been proven to be bad for growth.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: How does he square two to get to million jobs?

FOROOHAR: I am going to tweak that a little bit. We have not seen proof that tax cuts have created any kind of major growth in this company. It didn't happen in 2001, 2003 for Bush and didn't happen for Obama. We can tax cut our way to growth. I think that is conventional trickle-down theory. I do think you are making a great point about immigration. One of the things I have found amazing about the immigration debate in this country is that we don't acknowledge the fact that America has better demographics, because we have allowed more immigration. GDP growth is good demographics plus productivity. So you want demographics to be good. You want more immigrants. You want higher birth rates. Immigrants tend to have higher growth rate. Both would be good for economic growth.

HARLOW: Quickly, President Obama has seen 15 million jobs created in his two terms. How realistic is two million under President Trump over a decade?

FOROOHAR: Not very realistic for two reasons. You are going to need a major fiscal stimulus plan to get to that. Infrastructure is great. We are going to need some major changes in education and retooling for a 21st century workforce. There are big structural changes in the economy right now, major tech-related job destruction going up the white collar food chain. We have to address all of that to tool up the next generation workforce.

HARLOW: Rana Forhoohar, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Still to come, here in the NEWSROOM, we'll have a little bit of fun.

But first, we're waiting for Donald Trump who is speaking live any moment following his -- one of his top surrogates, Rudy Giuliani, interesting him. We'll bring that live.

Now for the fun part, Chelsea Handler. I put her on the hot seat, quizzing her. A little bit of rapid-fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:50:00] HARLOW: President Obama.

CHELSEA HANDLER, COMEDIAN: Michelle.

HARLOW: Michelle Obama.

HANDLER: Lunches.

HARLOW: What? Like the healthy food thing?

HANDLER: Yeah.

HARLOW: Do you want to try that again?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Her next, better answered rapid-fire, ahead.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Comedian Chelsea Handler gets real about politics. Like really real. It's very clear who she supports in this race. I sat down with her this week in California and as you're about to see, her rapid-fire answers on politics had me in tears.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Word association rapid-fire.

Full disclosure, stealing this from "Politico." "Saturday Night Live, "SNL".

HANDLER: Donald Trump.

HARLOW: President Obama.

HANDLER: Michelle.

HARLOW: Michelle Obama.

HANDLER: Lunches.

HARLOW: What? Like the healthy food thing is this.

HANDLER: Yeah.

HARLOW: Do you want to try that again?

(LAUGHTER)

HANDLER: Carbs.

HARLOW: Yeah.

Donald Trump.

HANDLER: Icky.

HARLOW: Hillary Clinton.

HANDLER: Badass.

HARLOW: Bernie Sanders.

HANDLER: Hairy.

HARLOW: His hair.

HANDLER: Yes. That's what hair is. Hairy.

HARLOW: His arms?

HANDLER: Everywhere coming out.

HARLOW: The pig out.

HANDLER: Unjust.

HARLOW: Tim Kaine.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

HANDLER: I'm trying. I don't have to be in love with Tim Kaine.

HARLOW: Mike Pence.

HANDLER: Loser. He should be sent to Utah and like locked up in a little barn there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:32] HARLOW: Why are you hating on Utah?

Chelsea Handler had a lot more, including if she would have Donald Trump on her show. You will see that at 7:00 p.m. eastern tonight.

Meantime, we're waiting for Donald Trump to speak live in Virginia right after former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani finishes introducing him. We'll bring you that live any minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF PAYNE (ph), CNN HERO: A lot of parents would never toss their kids a loaded gun and tell them to have fun. But many don't think twice about throwing them the car keys. We just throw the kids out on the road and expect them to be prepared to handle every situation. And that's not the case. We're just trying to make a difference out there and make the roads safer for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: For more on Jeff Payne's (ph) nonprofit and how you can help, go to CNNheroes.com.