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Trump Holds 3 Events in Critical Ohio; Florida, Nevada Back to toss-ups; Wikileaks Memo Outlines Bill Clinton's Paid Speeches. Aired 10-10:30a ET
Aired October 27, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN "NEWSROOM" starts now.
And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me. CNN redraws the election map. Florida and Nevada now too close to call. They had been leaning Democratic but by our count if the election were held today, Clinton still has more than enough electoral votes locked down to win. But with a dozen days before voters head to the polls, the campaigns are stomping on the gas. Donald Trump has three stops in the critical state of Ohio. Hillary Clinton appears in North Carolina with her not so secret weapon, Michelle Obama. Trump this morning doubling down, there will be no guarantees if he loses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS CHIEF ANCHOR: If she wins, are you prepared to work with her? -
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just want to make that decision at a later date. I'm not saying I'm not or I am. Hopefully I won't have to make that decision. I really believe we're going to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We are covering all of the angles this morning as usual. Chris Frates is in Springfield, Ohio, where Trump holds the first rally of the day. And Joe Johns is following the Clinton campaign. Let's start with you, Chris. Good morning.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning Carol. Well, you're right, Donald Trump returns here to battleground Ohio. A place where a couple of most recent polls, including the Suffolk University poll, has Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tied at 45-45 and he starts the day here in Springfield, that's between Columbus and Dayton, in a town that's had really tough go of it in the last 15 years. Household income has declined more than 25 percent. And the adults here, about 15 percent have a college education so this is really Trump country. And expect to hear a little bit about how Hillary Clinton will be bad for the country. This is what Donald Trump told "Good Morning America" a little bit earlier this morning. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She's so guilty. She deleted 33,000 e-mails. They're missing boxes of e-mails. She's so guilty. How can she even run? But there's such anger in this country over what she got away with.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The FBI director appointed by a Republican said -
JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: No reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.
TRUMP: He made a mistake. OK? Or whatever, I don't even call it a mistake. I think something happened. Look, something happened.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What happened?
TRUMP: Well, I think somebody talked to him. I think, hey, look, how can President Clinton win? -
STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you're saying the head of the FBI is corrupt?
TRUMP: George. George. She's so guilty. Congress sends a subpoena. She deletes all of her e-mails, OK? She deletes them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: So, Donald Trump there, throwing some serious shade at FBI director James Comey, questioning why he didn't bring criminal charges in that e-mail investigation. Also expect him to continue to make this point that he believes the election is rigged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANOPOULOS: You talked a lot about the fact that you think this election could be rigged. I want to go back to 2012. You sent out a tweet --
TRUMP: I think the system is rigged. Election system is rigged. --
STEPHANOPOULOS: Election night 2012, "This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!" How is the 2012 election -
TRUMP: Because I look at the way the media treats the Republicans and conservatives and I see the way it's so skewed. --
STEPHANOPOULOS: You called the whole election a sham and a travesty.
TRUMP: Well, I think it was horrible the way they were treated in the media. The only thing worse is the way I'm being treated. Look, -- hey, its record-setting bad treatment what I'm getting. It's the greatest pile-on in American history. I go to these rallies and they're starting to hate the media because they see it is all a big lie. Not all. But a lot of it is a big lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FRATES: So, maybe a preview of what we expect to hear from Donald Trump here on the campaign trail in Ohio, a state where he's campaigned more than any other. He's been here 12 times, 21 events. That continues today here in Springfield in just a little while. Then he goes to Toledo and Geneva. But he's not the only politician in the buckeye state today, Carol. Tim Kaine, also campaigning here, his running mate, Hillary Clinton, however, she is in another swing state. She's in North Carolina with the first lady, Michelle Obama. Carol?
COSTELLO: All right, Chris Frates reporting live from Springfield, Ohio this morning.
In her battle to win the state of North Carolina, Hillary Clinton is bringing out one of her top surrogate, Michelle Obama. The two will make their first joint appearance of the campaign trail today at a rally in Winston-Salem. And CNN has learned the first lady will pivot from her previous criticisms of Donald Trump and instead focus on why Hillary Clinton is the best choice for the White House, that event coming as new revelations from those hacked "WikiLeaks" e-mail continue to overshadow her campaign. CNN's Joe Johns joins me now with more on that. Hi, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. The latest notable stolen "WikiLeaks" e-mail lays out an apparent relationship between former President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Foundation and Teneo Holdings, that's a consulting company that was started in part by a guy named Douglas Band, one of the people whose name has come up again and again in connection with the foundation. The stolen document was written apparently to shed light on the Clinton Foundation's activities, apparently written by Dep Band, who was also, once a key assistant to former President Clinton and helped found the Clinton global initiative. It suggests Bill Clinton profited personally from some of the same donors who gave to the charity.
"Since 2001, it says President Clinton's business arrangements have yielded more than $30 million
[10:05:16] for him personally, with $66 million to be paid out over the next nine years should he choose to continue with the current engagements."
Important to say, CNN can't independently verify the authenticity of the document. There's been no finding of any inappropriate quid pro quo involving any of the foundation's activities and the federal government. Important also to say, that when we were looking through these, we've talked to the campaigns again and again. They repeatedly said there just was no quid pro quo involving the charitable giving piece or speeches or any part of the government.
Now, we do have a bigger picture graphic that we want to show you, appears to show a breakdown. President Bill Clinton's secured paid speeches and donors to the Clinton Foundation, UBS, $900,000, around 2011 to 2012, Ericsson, -- $1.1 million, BHP, $175,000, Lightning $1 million, Barclays, $700,000. So, CNN did reach out to Teneo to ask them about all of this and they put out a statement that said they did not receive any financial benefit from their relationship with the Clinton Foundation. They say, Teneo worked to encourage clients, where appropriate to support the foundation because of the good work it does all around the world. Carol?
COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johns reporting live for us this morning, thank you. For his part, Clinton's campaign manager, well, he's now warning against voter complacency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBBY MOOK, CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Donald Trump has been going around telling people not to listen to the polls and saying that he can still win this race. Well, you know what? He's absolutely right. Hillary's got the wind at her back but we can't become overconfident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So, let's talk about all of this. David Gergen is here, he's the former presidential advisor to Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton and Patricia Murphy joins me too, she's a columnist for "The Daily Beast" and "Roll Call." So, David, the latest revelations from the "WikiLeaks" hack. Will it hurt the Clinton campaign?
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR TO NIXON, FORD, REAGAN, CLINTON: Carol, it's contributing to I think this movement toward Trump. It's a modest movement but there's no question of the Trump supporters can take heart today with the polls slightly moving in their direction. One Fox poll, -- moving very strongly in their direction, the two states that CNN has now moved, got of the lean Democrat to battleground toss-ups, and that is Florida and Nevada. So, and I think that the "WikiLeaks" story is having a corrosive effect. I don't think it's a bombshell. It's nothing like the stories of the women and Donald Trump, for example, it doesn't have that impact but it is corrosive and it's obviously quite intentional on the part of the "WikiLeaks" people to hurt the Clinton campaign.
COSTELLO: And Patricia, let's focus a little bit on those national polls because they do appear to be tightening but when you look at the electoral map, Hillary Clinton still wins handily and that's really what's important here, right?
PATRICIA MURPHY, COLUMNIST "THE DAILY BEAST" AND "ROLL CALL": It is what's important, of course, but you only win the electoral map once you dig into those states and as David said, for a state like Florida to be moved into a toss-up column, very, very concerning this close out, Nevada also super-close. These are states that Hillary Clinton really does need to win.
I think, we all agree that the electoral map tends to favor Hillary Clinton but that's why we are seeing Robby Mook say, please, please get out and vote. The Clinton campaign, I think can take heart and that they have an excellent turnout operation, certainly pars to that of the Republicans but this is just a wildly unpredictable election year.
We know people who are going to vote for Donald Trump. Who don't say they are going to vote for Donald Trump. There's a concern among Democrats that that could be a larger phenomenon than maybe anybody is giving credit to. So, I think there's concern, there's reason not to consider this in the bank for the Clinton campaign at all.
COSTELLO: -- By the same token, Trump supporters are a little worried, too. David, I want you to listen to how one Trump supporter, Republican Congressman Chris Collins of New York, how he thinks Trump could win. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHRIS COLLINS, (R) NEW YORK: My confidence is he gets to 269 and this race gets tossed into the House of Representatives where he does win. It comes down to Ohio, North Carolina, Florida are a must. They take him to 253, if you look at the Romney states and add back the two that Romney lost in Ohio and Florida, then he needs 16, Nevada, Iowa, New Hampshire are 16 electoral college, it takes him to 269. He's tied in Nevada, winning in Iowa and he's down three or four in New Hampshire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So then he gets 269 and then it goes to the Republican-led House of Representatives and Donald Trump becomes president. Have you ever heard of such a scenario?
GERGEN: No. And I continue to think it's unlikely. The odds still favor her. Let's talk about his biggest
[10:10:16] and most important path to victory, is to win Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Three of those right now are toss-ups. They could go either way. He needs all three of them. Plus Pennsylvania really leans pretty strongly toward Hillary Clinton and has been. It's been a heartbreak state for Republicans for a long time. They always get close. Think they may win it, and then long hold the Democrats pull it out. And you have to say that Pennsylvania is very likely to go Hillary Clinton. And if he can't win Pennsylvania, then he's got to get everything else. So the odds favor Hillary Clinton but I think the Clinton people are absolutely right to - Patricia is right about this. The Clinton people cannot be complacent. You know, we don't know. This thing is still competitive and he's still nipping at her heels. And the amazing thing is after all the drubbings he's taken, after all the avalanche of bad publicity, then he's still out there so close.
COSTELLO: Well, he did something interesting this morning, Patricia. Mr. Trump appeared with his wife alongside him and his children on "Good Morning America." He left the safe confines of Fox News to talk to the American people via national television. Good move on his part?
MURPHY: Yes. It's a very good move on his part. I think everybody feels like Donald Trump is at his best when he's surrounded by his family. Certainly surrounded by his children who are obviously just supposed to say very nice things about him but also portrays him in a much more favorable light as a family man. I think it also helps him take his own rhetoric down. I think he's at his worst when he's alone in Trump Tower with his Twitter feed and just spouting off craziness.
But then he has the checks and balances of his own family around him, he comes off as a much more subdued, responsible human being. So, -- he probably should have been doing this all along. There's nothing scary about talking to George Stephanopoulos with your family there to protect you while you're doing it. So, I think, he should have been doing this a long time ago.
COSTELLO: The most interesting exchange, I think is you know, Donald Trump sitting next to Melania Trump and he suddenly says you know, Melania is going to deliver two or three speeches and she's like what? But she's a charming woman so maybe that will help, David, especially with the deficit that Donald Trump still is experiencing among women.
GERGEN: Oh, I think so. Ivanka obviously is a positive influence out there for him, too. Listen, the person who could beat Donald Trump is Donald Trump. And that's been true all the way along. And you know if he could -- the degree to which he pulls himself together, he could potentially help himself, and he's still edge up and maybe -- I still think we're looking at Hillary victory but you can't tell. You can't tell for sure. Stay tuned.
COSTELLO: Stay tuned. We've got 12 days to go. David Gergen, Patricia Murphy, thanks for being with me.
Coming up in the "Newsroom," Paul Ryan's support of Donald Trump lukewarm? Could that land him in hot water with House Republicans? Is he about to lose his speakership? We'll talk about that next.
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[10:17:15] COSTELLO: For Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, the message to the Republicans is clear. It is time to "come home and elect Donald Trump."
And one top lawmaker has done just that. After withdrawing his endorsement of Donald Trump for the sake of his wife and daughters, Representative Jason Chaffetz has now tepidly jumped back on board, the Trump train. The House oversight chairman tweeting, "I will not defend or endorse Donald Trump but I am voting for him. Hillary Clinton is that bad. Hillary Clinton is bad for the USA." Chaffetz, appearing to change his view on Trump, here's what he told Don Lemon just 19 days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ, (R) UTAH: I'm out. I can no longer endorse Donald Trump for president. There's no possible way I vote for Hillary Clinton. But these are abhorrent. They are wrong. To use a baseball metaphor, I've got to call balls and strikes the way I see them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So you can add Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, to the list of Republicans lukewarm in their support of Trump. Paul Ryan could pay for it. Let's talk about that. I'm joined by Arizona Congressman Trent Franks, who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, the group that could ultimately try to oust Ryan from his speakership after the election. Welcome, sir.
REP. TRENT FRANKS, (R) ARIZONA: Thank you, Carol. Good to be here.
COSTELLO: Nice to have you here. You heard what Jason Chaffetz said. 19 days ago he says for the sake of his wife and daughters, he just could no longer endorse or support Donald Trump. And now he says, he's he got to vote for him. For many Americans that doesn't really make any sense.
FRANKS: Well, you know, Carol, it seems like all of us in the political world want somehow to sound more civilized than our contemporaries and that would be fine in those times when maybe civilization itself is not at stake. I have great personal respect for Paul Ryan and even Jason. But the fact is, in my mind, I have expressed bitter disappointment because I believe that Republicans who by commission or omission do anything to increase the chances of Hillary Clinton becoming President of the United States, put our children on a path I believe to nuclear terrorism, to national bankruptcy and to the complete abrogation of the United States Constitution which we, -- as Members of Congress swore before Almighty God to uphold to support and defend.
COSTELLO: So, when you say civilization is at stake, you know, with President Hillary Clinton, civilization would be at stake?
FRANKS: Well, I just mentioned the three points that I think were most significance. That you know, I have 8-year-old twins, and I think that they very easily under the effects of a presidency
[10:20:16] by Hillary Clinton could see their Constitution abrogated completely. I think that's a probability. I think it's very likely that Iran gains nuclear weapons and completely upends the world map in ways that are more frightening than I can articulate. And I think it puts us on the path to national bankruptcy. Those are civilization and components in my mind.
COSTELLO: So, for Republicans like Paul Ryan, let's say, he said he's no longer defending Mr. Trump. He's not endorsing him. -- So, in your mind, since you guys hold the power in your hands for his speakership, is he in danger of losing it?
FRANKS: I would say simply this. That some of the things that Donald Trump has said are absolutely indefensible. Everyone knows that. He knows that. But the fact is that Hillary Clinton -- he's made those statements in the backdrop of a lifetime of Hillary Clinton doing for deception and corruption what Stonehenge did for rocks. Bill and Hillary Clinton are the last people on this planet that have any credibility to attack anyone for disrespecting women. -- And I just think that we need to keep an eye on the big picture here. COSTELLO: -- Here's the thing. Donald Trump is having major problems with women voters and that includes Republican women voters. They are really concerned about what he said on that bus with Billy Bush. They are concerned. There's no doubt about that. By continuing to throw your support fully behind a man who says these things that upset so many women, isn't the Republican Party in danger of alienating women for good?
FRANKS: I truly believe that to put Hillary Clinton in the White House is to do the worst for women in the long run. I believe that with everything in me. - I have to tell you, with all due respect, Carol --
COSTELLO: That's not what the polls say that women think, though.
FRANKS: Well, I think that, you know, we have always had a gender gap as they say and yes, it's more decided in the case of Donald Trump. And I understand that. But the fact remains that if we are really trying to do the best for our children, we have to keep in mind that putting Hillary Clinton in the White House I think should make every American sleep with the lights on. - I have to say this too.
COSTELLO: Going back, because I really want to understand. So, going back to the gender gap, you said the Republican Party has always had a gender gap. Why in your mind -
FRANKS: Ronald Reagan had a gender gap but swept 49 states.
COSTELLO: But why is that so?
FRANKS: I think it's because, unfortunately, Democrats have successfully sold themselves as pro-children. Hillary Clinton has certainly done that. And yet, yet, this person supports allowing children to be killed moments before they are born and if that doesn't give us all pause, then I don't know what does. And you know I have to say, you know, the question you hear is pretty clear. I mean, CNN and a lot of the other media should probably be legally required to list the cost of covering this race as a campaign contribution in kind to Hillary Clinton. It's astonishing how we talk about -
COSTELLO: Well, we were criticized for over covering Donald Trump in the primaries. So, maybe we pulled out. --
FRANKS: Well, I think that was deliberate. We now have media collusion with the campaign that we have e-mails that back up - that the media was deliberately trying to elevate Donald Trump. --
COSTELLO: I want to go back and I want to concentrate on women. Because I have talked to many Republican women who are sorely disenfranchised this time around with the Republican Party and it's because of Donald Trump. So what do you say to those women to bring them back in the fold that make them think that the Republican Party cares about them?
FRANKS: I guess I would say something like this. If someone comes to your house when it's burning down with everything you love inside and the firemen get out and do everything they can to put the fire out, to save what you love, sometimes they may say things, they may talk crass, they may use terrible language and that's unconscionable but the reality is you got to look at the big picture. - Someone's trying to save you and everything that you care about that I think women could take care about their children in the future. --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: But sir, many women say this was more than crass language.
FRANKS: Well, I suggest that they are right. I have never tried to defend that. Donald Trump has not tried to defend it. And I don't try to defend it here, now.
COSTELLO: But sir, -- if you are saying, it's right that it's more than just crass talk, and Donald Trump was really talking about sexual assault, what can you say to women to say you know what, I can excuse that talk because of this. Like what in your mind would make women believe that?
FRANKS: I just tried to say that. Because I believe that it sets their children on a better and more hopeful path to the future.
COSTELLO: Their little girls?
[10:25:16] FRANKS: I absolutely believe that their little girls and their little boys will be far better off in a world that still has the American Constitution intact, that still has the American government solvent and that doesn't have a nuclear Iran roaming around the world doing everything they can to destabilize the cause of freedom. And I will just say to you one of the main reasons that I support Donald Trump, it's not because of the things that he says and does at times, but it's because -- to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, I don't want to spend my sunset years explaining to my children what it was once like in America when men were free. I'm trying to look beyond that. A statesman looks to the next generation, not just the next election.
COSTELLO: You don't think men will be free if Hillary Clinton is in office?
FRANKS: I think freedom as we know it, will be severely damaged because I think the Constitution will be abrogated by the Supreme Court Justices that she puts on the Supreme Court.
COSTELLO: I want to talk a little bit about Paul Ryan before you go. Is his speakership safe?
FRANKS: I think at this point it is. Paul Ryan is dealing with an equation where the Senate rules create a constant wedge in the House and the media is derelict for not explaining that to the country because there's a complete lack of accountability in that area because people don't know what's really happening there. So I think Paul is dealing with that equation. It's difficult to deal with for anyone. And I just hope that whatever we do going forward, that it's about doing what we promised the American people that we will support and defend - the Constitution and do what is right to the future of our children.
COSTELLO: So, will Paul Ryan, sir, have your support after the election?
FRANKS: I have to see who is running. Right now, Paul has both my support and my respect. I don't know what the equation will look like. But I would just say what Mike Pence has said to everyone. So much is at stake here. Everything that we believe as Republicans is profoundly affected by this election. And it's time to come home while there still is one.
COSTELLO: Congressman Trent Franks, thank you so much for joining me this morning. And I just want to correct something I've said. Paul Ryan has endorsed Donald Trump. He is no longer defending him.
Still to come, we're talking more about the women's issue and the Republican Party. Can Donald Trump close that gap? We will talk to two women next.
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