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Colin Powell Voting for Hillary Clinton; Health Care Debate; Clinton Campaigns in Florida. Aired 15-15:30p ET

Aired October 25, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:02]

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we're going to do that, along with other positive changes.

But we are not going to change the fundamental values that made America the greatest nation in the history of the world.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: You know, I think it all started -- I think this all started when George Washington refused to become a king, right?

Now, Donald Trump probably would have called him a loser.

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: Instead, that was one of the most important decisions any president has ever made.

Eight years, it's time to move on. We fought a revolution, so that we would not have a king, we would not be subjects. We would be independent citizens. I cherish that idea.

So, here's the good news. Americans are coming together. At the very moment when Donald Trump is making an unprecedented attack on our democracy, millions of people are registering, voting early and volunteering in this campaign.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And here's something very exciting. We have reached a milestone.

More than 200 million Americans are now registered. And that includes 50 million young people, the most ever in history.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And you know what? More than six million people have already voted. And more than one million of them are right here in Florida.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) CLINTON: So, I think you only see numbers like this when people are standing up for what they really believe in. And that includes not just Democrats, but Republicans and independents, coming together to reject hate and division.

And I am so excited about what that means. But the energy we are seeing across Florida and America is not just because of what we are against. It's about what we're for. It really is. It's about fighting for that future where everyone counts, everyone has a place, and no one is left out or behind.

But I want you to know, we still have a lot of work to do. I feel good, but, boy, I am not taking anything for granted. I'm going to work as hard as I can between now and the close of the election that's two weeks from today.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And, you know, it's so important for Florida. There are so many issues that we need to remind people about. You know, last time I was here, I campaigned with Al Gore. And he said a lot about the climate crisis.

And you know why? Because we're seeing the reality of climate change every day in Florida. We are seeing areas in Miami, even on sunny days without a drop of rain, where the streets are flooding and the ocean is rising.

And what we have got to do is make sure that this issue, fighting climate change, creating clean renewable energy jobs, stays at the top of the priorities. And that's why you need a new senator like Patrick Murphy.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: I have to say, nobody should want to wake up on November 9 and wonder where there was more you could have done. I hope you will wake up on November 9 proud that you took a stand and voted for an America that belongs to all of us, where we set big goals and we work together to achieve them.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: I got to tell you, I believe America is great because America is good.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And I want to tell you one other thing. I want to say one other thing that's really very important to me. We should honor the men and women in uniform who fight for our country.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: That's why I was so appalled when Donald Trump tweeted that the new effort under way to push the terrorists out of the key city of Mosul is already -- and I quote him -- "a total disaster" -- and that our country is -- again a quote -- "looking dumb."

Really? He's declaring defeat before the battle has even started. He's proving once again he is unqualified to be commander in chief of our military.

[15:05:03]

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Here's another example.

He was asked if he would defend our allies. He said, well, first he'd want to know if they had made any payments to us to defend them. And when asked specifically about Israel, and he said -- and I quote again -- he would love to be neutral.

Now, we can't have a president who says he's neutral on Monday, pro- Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday, because, in his mind, everything is negotiable.

I have a different view. We stand with our allies. We stand with those who will help us defeat terrorism.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: So, I get pretty excited about what we could do together. And with your help, we're going to make the biggest investment in new jobs since World War II, jobs in infrastructure and advanced manufacturing and clean renewable energy and small businesses.

I want us to make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: We can create millions of jobs and protect our planet at the same time.

And I have got to say, no state, no state should care more about this issue than Florida, right? And, you know, I will tell you something that it's kind of sad, to be honest with you. I have traveled all over the country. And in New Jersey and Massachusetts, they have more solar power than the Sunshine State. Why?

Well, because you have a governor and a legislature who, like your current senator, doesn't want to believe the science of climate change, doesn't see the opportunity that Florida has to be literally the global leader in clean energy.

And so I want to deploy a half-a-billion more solar panels by the end of my first term and enough clean energy to power every home in America within 10 years.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And we're also going to strengthen education at every level, starting with universal pre-K, and working -- working with our teachers to make sure every child has a good school with good teachers in every zip code.

And here's what I want all the students to hear. We're going to make college more affordable for everyone.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: You know, after our primary, which was hard-fought -- and I was proud of the primary we ran, because it was about issues -- Senator Sanders and I got together, came up with a plan to make public colleges and universities tuition-free for any families making less than $125,000 a year.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: That's the vast majority of families. And if you're over that, we are going to make it debt-free. So, pay what you can afford, but I don't want to see young people and their families going into debt.

I view this as an investment. And that's why we're going to make it easier to -- for you to afford to pay back your college debt, pay it down and pay it off. And I also want more pathways to good jobs that don't require a four-year college degree.

Let's return technical education to high schools. Let's do more with our community colleges. Let's have more apprenticeship programs, so that everybody has a chance at a good job.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And, you know, in addition -- in addition to making the economy grow and making sure people are ready with the skills to do these jobs, I want to make it fairer. That's why I want to raise the national minimum wage. If you work full-time...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: ... you shouldn't still be in poverty. And don't you think it is finally, maybe past time to guarantee equal pay for women's work?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And, you know, I always tell crowds this is not a woman's issue, it's a family issue. If you have a wife, a mother, a sister or a daughter working, it's your issue.

And that's why we have got to get this fixed once and for all. And let's make child care affordable, and let's have more profit-sharing, and let's do the kinds of things that will lift everybody up.

Now, when I talk about raising equal pay for women as one of my primary issues, you know, Donald Trump or somebody always says, well, there she goes playing the woman card. [15:10:03]

And I have got to tell you, I don't believe that is what it is. I think we're playing the smart card, because we want everybody's incomes to go up. That's how we're going to get this economy really moving forward, creating new jobs. And so, if that's playing the woman card, you know what we say. Deal me in.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: I have also said I will pledge not to do anything that would raise taxes on people making less than $250,000 a year, because we don't need to do that. We can go where the money is, the millionaires and the billionaires, the corporations, to make them pay their fair share to support the kind of growth that we need in our economy.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: We are going to close the loopholes and make sure no -- no multimillionaire can get away with paying a lower rate than a nurse or a police officer or a teacher.

Now, remember -- remember when we learned in one of the debates that Donald Trump hadn't paid any federal taxes?

(BOOING)

CLINTON: For about 20 years is the best guest we have got.

And his excuse -- I loved his excuse. His excuse was, well, he lost a billion dollars in a year. I have been really pondering this. How does anybody lose a billion dollars in a year, especially when you're running casinos? Think about it.

Has ever anybody here ever been to a casino? Well, you know, usually, they say the house wins. So, Donald Trump said it was smart for him to avoid paying taxes. Well, if losing a billion dollars is smart, I think that's kind of upside down and backwards. I think people should be working hard to make their incomes to support their families.

And that is what we're going do, because we don't want...

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to pull away from this.

But we have been listening to Hillary Clinton here. You heard the crowd initially singing happy birthday. By the way, it's her birthday tomorrow.

She pointed out how, in the last debate, what bothered her the most was that Trump refused to say whether or not he'd respect and accept the results of the election, reminded everyone the last time she was in Florida, in that area of Florida, was with Al Gore, and just then talking about affordable child care.

But, Jeff Zeleny, let me bring you in at the event, our senior political correspondent there.

One of the big notes today, biggest headline is on Obamacare, on this report out today that the premiums are up on average 22 percent. And this could help, obviously, Republicans, and this is something I have not heard her mention just yet. Am I wrong?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: You're not wrong, Brooke. She has not mentioned any of the rising health care premiums in the wake of Obamacare or Affordable Care Act.

She didn't say that so far in this rally. It's still going on. Her campaign advisers have pointed us to previous statements she's made. We actually asked some of her advisers on the flight down here from New York if she was going to address it. And they said, look, she knows that the system needs to be improved upon.

And they have issued a statement, a very brief written statement. But she did not respond to that here. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton in North Carolina today, he did. He was talking about it.

But the reality is that this is an 11th-hour liability for her. Of course, it's a challenge for Republicans as well. Repealing the law is not what the majority of Americans wants either. But, Brooke, I can tell you she will not be able to get through the next two weeks of this campaign not talking about this issue on the campaign trail.

BALDWIN: It's important for Floridians. I know 47 percent of those exit polls from four years ago said they would want to repeal Obamacare. That was in the state of Florida. Premiums going up 19 percent there, it's an issue there in Florida.

(CROSSTALK)

ZELENY: Right, that was four years ago, though.

BALDWIN: That's what I said. Yes, yes, yes, four years ago.

(CROSSTALK)

ZELENY: Right. Right.

BALDWIN: Jeff, keep listening, because let's be fair. If she does bring it up, I want to know. And I want to know exactly what she says.

Jeff Zeleny, thank you.

Let's do talk a little bit more about this.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a senior Trump adviser, and Michele Jawando is vice president of Legal Progress with the Center for American Progress.

So, ladies, thank you so much for being with me.

MICHELE JAWANDO, VICE PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Thank you.

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, SENIOR TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: You bet. Good afternoon.

BALDWIN: Still have my ear out to see how Hillary Clinton addresses that. And also Donald Trump is speaking today. We will see how he again addresses the premium spike for Obamacare next year.

But, Michele,let's just begin with you. Republicans are saying, we told you so. Are they right?

[15:15:00]

JAWANDO: The Congressional Budget Office looked at the ACA. And we knew that we were going to see this spike.

But contrary to popular belief, we are not in crisis. We are in a situation where we have a one-time correction. And the reality is, the ACA has now -- we now have coverage for 90 percent of Americans nationwide.

And so, when you think about that, for those who haven't lived a charmed life, who had to constantly deal with the panic of like a medical bankruptcy, we are now in a situation where they can rest assured that there's coverage and not only that there's coverage, but there are tax credits to reduce the amount that individuals and families have to pay.

BALDWIN: Now, let me just stay with you, because I realize that Democrats are saying we knew this would happen. We started with the premiums really low.

But when you look state by state and you look at a state, for example, Arizona, which I know Hillary Clinton is hoping to turn blue, the premiums are going up there 116 percent.

Granted, in Mike Pence's home state of Indiana, it is going down. You see on the right side it's in negative territory. But even so, Republicans will pounce on this. Trump could, Michele, win these states like perhaps in Arizona, perhaps in Florida, on this issue. Do you think?

JAWANDO: The reality is we know that 72 percent of people will still be able to afford a plan where they will pay less than $75 a month.

And we also know that Hillary Clinton has been very clear in saying that we need to make this more affordable, that we have to do things like provide a public option and an opt-in for families and individuals.

But Donald Trump has not laid out a plan to actually fix the problem. You hear Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump saying let's throw it away. And for 20 million people across the country, that's not a viable option.

BALDWIN: Sarah, will you respond? Respond to what you have heard so far from Michele. And to her point, what is Trump's plan? We hear him say repeal, reject, but then what?

HUCKABEE SANDERS: Look, let's go back to one of the things that she said that I think is one of the saddest comments I have heard in this entire debate.

They said that they knew that this would go up. Where was that comment when we were talking about this in the first place? Because I never remember anybody saying that premiums would go up. If anything, they said that that wouldn't happen.

They have lied to the American people about this program from day one. This was supposed to be the Affordable Care Act. This has been anything but affordable. And it will go on to bankrupt some states because those subsidies will be passed down and they can't afford to operate under that.

It's a terrible, terrible plan. Donald Trump does have a plan, not just to repeal it, but to replace it with tax-free health savings accounts, but also to create competition across state lines. Something that has to have happen is to have competition so that you can bring costs down.

That's something the Democrats have failed to do. And, frankly, I think it's sad and almost pathetic that they have lied to the American people about this plan from day one, knowing premiums would go up. And they completely ignored that. They said you could keep your doctor. You couldn't.

This has been one failure after another since this plan started.

BALDWIN: Michele, she said you lied twice. I want you to respond to that.

JAWANDO: I'm so glad you came back to me, Brooke, because the reality is, what's pathetic is, we're talking about 20 million people in this country, let me be clear, 20 million people who don't have to worry about medical bankruptcy, who don't have to worry about being denied coverage because they're a woman.

And we know there are certain people, like Donald Trump, who have an issue with women. And, quite frankly, our health care system had a problem with women as well. You couldn't -- in some places, being a woman was a preexisting condition.

When you look at the fact that we are now at a record low, 90 percent of Americans had some coverage in 2015, and more than 72 percent of Americans in this country will have plans less than 75 percent -- $75 a month. That is progress.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I'm hanging on your every word. Hang on.

But we are now officially 14 days out from Election Day. This is a big story today. This helps Republicans, make no doubt about it. And, again, I go back to Arizona, the state that I know Hillary Clinton would love to grab from Trump. How much, Michele, does this story worry you?

JAWANDO: You know what? I'm not worried, because Hillary Clinton has laid out a plan not only to make the affordable care stronger, but more competitive and more affordable for families across the country.

I have yet to hear from Ms. Huckabee Sanders or anybody else a real plan for the American people. And that's a major distinction. If you go to bookstores across this country right now, you can pick up "Stronger Together." There's a full litany of Hillary Clinton's policy proposals.

There are others like me who talk about what we can do to make the system better. Until you have a plan, I don't think the American people are interested in hearing the hyperbolic rhetoric.

BALDWIN: Go ahead. Go ahead, Sarah.

HUCKABEE SANDERS: Well, first of all, let's go back to medical bankruptcies. Some people may not be facing medical bankruptcy, but our country is going to face bankruptcy, because we cannot afford this program.

[15:20:00]

Hillary Clinton -- it's already too much to pay for as it is -- and Hillary Clinton wants to double down and expand it beyond what it is.

A state like Arizona cannot survive under this.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me just jump in. Is this something we will hear? Will he stay on this issue, he being Donald Trump, for the next two weeks? Will he hammer this home?

HUCKABEE SANDERS: Absolutely, and rightfully so.

The Democrats have put a plan in place that we can't pay for. They lied about it throughout the entire process with absolutely zero transparency. And now a lot people and states are going to be penalized and go bankrupt because they cannot afford this program.

We should absolutely hammer it home. It's another example of the failed policies of the Obama/Clinton machine, and something that Hillary Clinton is going to have to wear around her neck. Her own husband even said it was crazy.

And I think that tells us a lot and everything we know to know about how bad this has been for our country and how bad it will be moving forward, if we don't have somebody from outside of the broken system that can come in, shake things up and make some drastic changes in Washington.

And Hillary Clinton is anything but somebody that can change Washington. BALDWIN: We have to let the voters be the judge. We have heard

fairly from both sides. I'm sure we will continue to do so for the next two weeks.

Michele and Sarah, thank you both. Thank you.

JAWANDO: Thank you.

HUCKABEE SANDERS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, for a man who doesn't let down his guard, Donald Trump made a pretty big admission today about which state he says he needs to win the White House.

Plus, she is the woman in charge of managing Donald Trump. CNN goes behind the scenes for a day in the life of Kellyanne Conway.

And I will speak live with a veteran who was forced to repay his bonus for joining the military and going to war. Hear what the Pentagon told him when he complained.

I'm Brooke Baldwin, and this is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:55]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

All eyes -- let me say, all eyes, all campaign eyes on the state of Florida today. We just heard from Hillary Clinton just north of Fort Lauderdale speaking moments ago on the eve of her birthday, and then you have Donald Trump speaking any moment in Sanford, Florida.

And, as we talk Florida, I have our chief political correspondent, chief, yes?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You got it.

BALDWIN: OK, good. I think I have said it only a thousand million times, my friend Dana Bash.

Before we get to your piece, on Florida specifically, a man -- I was joking earlier, a who doesn't always acknowledge things, admit things, Donald Trump this morning said on FOX, yes, I need Florida to win the election.

BASH: Right, which is -- a very sophisticated way of putting it is duh.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: Now, having said that, he could win without Florida. It's just incredibly hard, incredibly hard to do it mathematically.

He'd have to turn several red states -- blue states red, whereas, with Florida, he'd have to do that in fewer other states at a time where turning all or any of the blue states red is going to be difficult. But it's why he's been spending so much time down there.

And just like in the primary, where he did extremely well against a sitting senator, remember, Marco Rubio, they're hoping that the fact that he is such a well-known figure there, it's like a second home because of Mar-a-Lago and other properties, that there's that familiarity.

BALDWIN: Quickly, before we get to your piece, want to throw a minor curveball at you, but Colin Powell. So, we're waiting to get confirmation.

Let me just pass along to you what we first. Colin Powell, former secretary of state in the George W. Bush Cabinet, told a Long Island group during a luncheon that he will vote for Hillary Clinton. His chief of staff confirmed his comments to Elise Labott, our correspondent.

Important to remind everyone, General Powell supported Barack Obama in '08 and in '12, so, still, though, he's a Republican.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Yes. No, it's a moment in time, a moment to mark, no question about it.

BALDWIN: Are you surprised?

BASH: I'm not surprised.

BALDWIN: You're not?

BASH: I'm not surprised for two reasons.

One is, he's been voting for a Democratic president for the past two elections, one president, Barack Obama, as you mentioned. But also his whole life is foreign policy. And he certainly has said with regard to the Iraq War, he and the Bush administration made mistakes.

But this is Donald Trump's whole foreign policy argument, is it was a disastrous mistake, and he's been hitting the Bush administration pretty hard. He's one of the people who was in the Bush administration.

BALDWIN: But what about -- we reported e-mails and they were sitting around the dinner, Hillary Clinton, both former secretaries, the note on the suggestion of private e-mail, and then maybe he felt like the Clinton team threw him under bus. There's all that...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: There's a lot of baggage. Yes, there's a lot of baggage.

But separate from the baggage, you made a really good point. She did the job that he did. But if you take away the personal questions, the questions of disclosure, the question of throwing -- one throwing the other under the bus on that issue of e-mails and the server, at the end of the day, he knows how hard it is to be secretary of state, clearly.

He knows that he she can do the job. And I'm not sure exactly how he phrased it, but I suspect that he said she would make the best commander in chief, end of story.

BALDWIN: We will wait to get the actual transcript. I don't have it in front of me, but again former secretary of state under President George W. Bush says he is with her just now at a luncheon in Long Island, New York.

We're going to tease your point. I'm going to hold you over a commercial break.

But the tease is this. She just spent essentially two days with Kellyanne Conway. You see her on TV now all the time. She's now been parodied by "Saturday Night Live."

Did you know, I mean, this is a man -- this is the woman who is the campaign manager for Donald Trump. She has four little ones back at home. How does she do this? Behind-the-scenes look coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)