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Clinton and First Lady Rally. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 27, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:12] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go. Top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

In a matter of moments, we will be seeing - we'll call them the candidate and the closer, Hillary Clinton side by side with Michelle Obama, where the pictures on the left side of your screen are coming from, from Winston Salem, North Carolina. The first lady, referred to as closer, for her ability in previous presidential campaigns to really rally voters, especially in that final stretch. This will be the first time these two women will be appearing together on the campaign trail.

And on the right side of your screen, live picture from the Trump rally, Springfield, Ohio, where Mr. Trump is set to speak. Boris Epshteyn, you've seen him on this program many, many times, a Trump surrogate, advisor, getting the crowd fired up. Donald Trump, he's blitzing the battleground state of Ohio. Three events there today.

And new polls elsewhere indicate he is cutting away at Hillary Clinton's lead, triggering a new CNN electoral map. So, check this out. We have move Nevada and Florida from leans Democratic, light blue, back to battleground yellow. New state polls show Trump and Clinton in a dead heat in these two states.

So let's first go to that Clinton first lady event there in Winston Salem. Jeff Zeleny is there, our senior Washington correspondent, where Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, this is - this is the first time the significance of North Carolina is part of this story. You know, you've been covering Hillary Clinton for months and months and months, but this is a huge deal if these two ladies will share a stage.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, it certainly is. I mean this is the biggest moment at least in her North Carolina campaign for now. And the reason that Michelle Obama is here today is because early voting, which we talk about so often, is happening starting today right here. So that's why there's such a big rally behind me here in this arena. They'll be taking the stage shortly. They're trying to get students and others who are on the campus of Wake Forest University out to vote some 12 days before the election. They want to bottle those votes, bank those votes right now.

But, Brooke if you're wondering how important North Carolina and its 15 electoral votes are, this is also the state where Secretary Clinton made her first appearance with President Obama back in July in Charlotte. So North Carolina we say again and again, really is the test state here. Mitt Romney won in 2012. Barack Obama won it in 2008. And it is the Romney state where Donald Trump is having the most trouble in.

But what is really going on here is they are - Secretary Clinton is trying to really capitalize on the argument and Michelle Obama, I'm told by advisors, is going to talk more about Hillary Clinton in this rally. We've seen her, across the country, talking about why she believes Donald Trump is not good. Today, I'm told, she'll be talking more about Hillary Clinton. So we'll see if that actually takes place.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Jeff, thank you. Our eyes are on that event. We'll take it live momentarily.

But let's bring in our - our voices on all of this. CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash is with me. CNN's senior political analyst David Gergen joins us as well. He's also a former presidential advisor. And Kate Andersen Brower, author of "First Women." She's with as well.

So great to have all of you on.

And as we watch and wait for this event the in Winston Salem, Dana, just, you know, to you first. The White House is referring to the first lady's appearance sort of as this closing argument. And I have to imagine, you know, not only does she have these huge approval ratings, but she also can sort of say and do things about Hillary Clinton that Hillary Clinton can't really say about herself.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Look, that's true for any candidate to have somebody who is - who can stand up and say that they know you and that they vouch for you is important. Somebody who with the kind of approval ratings that Michelle Obama has, you can't beat it. Somebody who can reach the specific areas that they need, particularly in a place like North Carolina, millennials, obviously African-American voters and women. So that's kind of a - kind of a demographic hat trick for Michelle Obama.

But I think more important than all of the specifics is the imagery and the reminder that this is a current first lady who is going to be standing up saying vote for one of my predecessors, a former first lady, who, by the way, was senator, who, by the way, was secretary of state, who now wants to be president. And is, you know, obviously since she was first lady, is a woman. It's he minding everybody of the historic nature of a potential Hillary Clinton presidency and appealing to the heart strings of men and women who think maybe it is something to be - there's something to be said for voting for a woman.

[14:05:05] BALDWIN: David Gergen, I want to hear from you next just on the historic significance of this. But just to those of you watching, I mean the state of North Carolina, this is a state that President Obama lost four years ago by fewer than 100,000 votes. This is something that the first lady, even standing in North Carolina recently, I mean she was breaking it down county by county and in precinct. You know her point was that truly every vote matters.

David Gergen, what will you make of this joint appearance?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, as a native North Carolinian, I'm particularly interested in how the politics of our state are changing. It's a very sharply polarized state. And who wins this is going to have a major impact not only on North Carolina but upon the south itself, historically.

But I think what's so striking is, we frequently had appearances by the two most powerful political figures in the country, you know, being out together. What we've never had as a get together are the two most powerful people being women. And I think that that - you know, that symbolically is extremely important. I think Michelle Obama clearly has a capacity to motivate younger voters and Hillary Clinton has had some challenges in that regard, and get them out there to vote.

But I also must say, Brooke, at a - at a - when a - at a time when the opposition candidate has been embroiled in a lot of controversies about whether he has respect for women, for the Democratic Party to put two of them up there together, you know, is a resounding response to that.

BALDWIN: Kate, I want to bring you in, too, but just - we'll come back to you all. We need to first go to this Trump rally and listen in to Mr. Trump speaking in Ohio.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Wow, tremendous. Oh, wow. Thank you very much. Thank you. Unbelievable. People don't know, I worked in Ohio.

TRUMP: Wow, tremendous. Wow. Thank you very much. Thank you. Unbelievable. People don't know, I worked in Ohio, did you know that?

(APPLAUSE)

And I had a great experience.

(APPLAUSE)

And if I didn't have a great experience starting out when I was very young, maybe I wouldn't be here right now, who knows? You need that, it was great for confidence also. In 12 days, we're going to win Ohio...

(APPLAUSE)

And we are going to win back the White House.

(APPLAUSE)

A brand new poll from Remington Research -- highly respected -- has just a few minutes ago come out, and in Ohio we are right now, four points up.

(APPLAUSE)

Early voting is underway, so make sure, get out and vote, we don't wanna -- we don't wanna give this away.

AUDIENCE: No!

TRUMP: You know, we have a movement going on like they've never seen before in this country. Drain the swamps, you've gotta a "drain the swamp" sign back there, we're going to drain the swamp, believe me.

(APPLAUSE)

But this is a movement like they've never seen in this country before, and every place is packed, and the greatest people on Earth, and we're going to turn our country around, we're going to turn it around fast.

(APPLAUSE)

Seventy-five percent of the people think our country is headed in the wrong direction. We know it's headed in the wrong direction. We're going to fix it, we're going to take our country back, and it's going to be put very quickly on the right track.

(APPLAUSE)

Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing Obamacare.

(APPLAUSE)

It's just been announced that Americans are going to experience another massive double-digit hike in Obamacare, you see that.

(BOOING)

Including premiums like in the great state of Arizona, where they're going to go up at 116 percent. Don't worry, you'll be there very soon, unless I win in which case you're not going to have to worry about it.

(APPLAUSE)

Even Bill Clinton admitted that Obamacare is quote, "The craziest thing in the world, where people wind up paying their premiums which double, and their coverage is cut in half."

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Bill Clinton is a (inaudible)!

TRUMP: Job killing...

(APPLAUSE)

Job killing Obamacare is just one more way the system is rigged. Remember the name Jonathan Gruber, the architect of Obamacare?

(BOOING) He said they could pass Obamacare --- when he didn't know he was being recorded -- he said they could pass Obamacare, because the stupidity of the American voter will allow it to take place.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: The only stupidity was that incredible stupidity shown by our politicians when they forced this bill through over the furious objection to many politicians, in all fairness, many, many politicians, but really the American people. And it was very, very sad. And in all fairness to the Democrats, had our President not lied 28 times -- remember, you can keep your plan, you can keep your doctor, it passed by this much -- they would not have gone for it. But they believed him too, like everybody else believed him.

They've caught them in a lot of lies lately, folks. Hillary Clinton, talking about liars, wants to double down...

(CHEERING)

Hillary Clinton wants to double down on Obamacare and make it even worse. So, here, I'm going to repeal it, replace it. We're going to have a replacement that is so much less expensive and so much better. You don't even get to use Obamacare (because) the deductible is so high and, you know, it's just... Look, it is so -- it is so out of control, you'll never get to use it. Four or five thousand dollars before you can start taking... Just this and just happened, Hillary Clinton declared that Obamacare -- do you remember this -- not so long ago as one of the greatest accomplishments of President Obama, of the Democratic Party, and of our county. It's a total disaster.

(BOOING)

Here in Ohio, another five insurance companies are dropping out of Obamacare. Good luck, good luck in negotiations, folks. That means that all the residents covered by plans from these companies will be getting cancellation notices very soon. Obamacare is really -- and you know this -- a catastrophe -- it's a catastrophic event for Ohio workers and is making it impossible for many parents to pay their bills, support their families, or get quality medical care to their children. Repealing Obamacare is one of the single most important reasons we must win on November eighth.

(CHEERING)

Have to win. Real change also means getting rid of the corruption in Washington, D.C.

(CHEERING) Hillary Clinton bleached and deleted 33,000 e-mails, lied to Congress under oath, made 13 phone calls, I mean 13, 13 phones, made them disappear, sometimes with a hammer. Right? Wrong, wrong. Let's get rid of these... And then told the FBI she could remember 39 different times.

The Clinton crew gave more than $675,000 to the wife of the Deputy Director of the FBI, and the man who was overseeing the investigation into Hillary's illegal server, a server we now know Obama knew about. Just found that out yesterday. WikiLeaks. The more e-mails WikiLeaks releases, the more lies between the Clinton Foundation, the Secretary of State's office, and the Clintons' personal finances, they all get blurred.

Just today we read about Clinton confidante Doug Brand (sic), bragging that he had funneled tens of millions of dollars to Bill Clinton, Inc., through the Foundation donations, paid speeches, and consulting contracts. Mr. Band called the arrangement unorthodox. The rest of us call it outright corrupt. In fact, the Clinton Foundation even hired a law firm to find out if their pay to play scheme would jeopardize their charitable status with the IRS.

If the Clintons were willing to play this fast and loose with their enterprise when they weren't in the White House, just imagine what they'll do given the change to once again control the Oval Office. And we've had enough. Honestly, I think we've had enough of the Clintons, in all fairness. Right? Don't you agree?

(CHEERING)

Had enough. I mean at what point, at what point do we say it? Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt person ever to seek the office of the presidency.

(CHEERING)

I propose a contract with the American voter that will end the corruption and give the government back to the people. I want the entire corrupt Washington establishment to hear and to heed the words I'm about to say. If we win on November eighth, when...

(CHEERING)

OK, OK. When we win on November eighth.

(CHEERING)

We don't want to take it for granted, but we are winning in a lot of states, I have to say. The media now, they're going wild. The media's going wild. Because they're saying, you know, this guy's winning in Florida, he's winning in North Carolina, he's winning in Iowa, he's winning in Ohio. All right. When we win, right, we are going to Washington, D.C., and we are going to drain the swamp.

(CHEERING) A lot of spirit in this room -- it's a good one. That includes a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress. At the core of my contract is my economic plan. That plan can be summarized in three very beautiful words, especially for the people in this area and this room -- jobs, jobs, jobs.

CROWD: Jobs, jobs, jobs!

TRUMP: No, it's terrible what's happened, what's happened in this area, what's happened in this country with jobs is terrible. Hillary Clinton promised to bring upstate New York 200,000 jobs when she ran for Senate. Instead the jobs left. They didn't come in, they left. She been there for 30 years and hasn't fixed anything. She's just made things worse, except for herself and her husband.

Forty-seven million Americans are on food stamps, and 45 million Americans live in poverty. Nearly one in four Americans, in their prime earning years, are not working or able to work. Seventy million American women and children are in poverty or on the brink of poverty, and nearly half of African-American children under the age of six are living in abject poverty.

Our national debt has doubled in eight years, and our infrastructure throughout our country is crumbling, bad shape. Our airports, our roads, our bridges, our tunnels, our schools, our hospitals. Our trade deficit with the world is now nearly $800 billion a year. We are living through the greatest jobs theft in the history of the world. Think of it. And that's so true. The single greatest jobs theft in the history of the world.

What our politicians have allowed to happen to this area, but to all areas of our country. NAFTA, TPP they want to approve. A disaster. Ohio has lost one in four manufacturing jobs since NAFTA, a deal signed by Bill Clinton and supported strongly by Hillary Clinton. Remember, every time you see a closed factory, a wiped out community in Ohio, it was essentially caused by the Clintons. It was NAFTA. It was caused by the Clintons. Why a deal like that was allowed.

We've lost 70,000 factories. Think of that one, 70. I tell everybody, it's a typo. Can't be 70,000. It is. We've lost 70,000 factories since China entered the World Trade Organization, another Bill and Hillary- backed disaster. Just this year, Eaton Corporation in Ohio closed its plant, laid off 152 workers, and moved their jobs to Mexico. And you've had many. I could -- I could name them all day long.

TRUMP: Under my contract, if a company wants to fire their workers, move to Mexico or other countries, and ship their products back into the United States, we will put a 35 percent tariff on those products.

(APPLAUSE)

And folks, just in case you have any questions, when that happens you're not losing your companies anymore. And if you do, at least the country's gonna make a lot of money. OK? We will immediately begin renegotiating NAFTA, and if we don't get the deal we want - right now it's a one-way highway. We lose our jobs, we lose our companies, we lose everything. We lose our cash. They get the cash, they get the jobs, they get the companies. We get the drugs, we get the unemployment. That's what we get. We get nothing. We get less than nothing.

We will terminate NAFTA and get a much better deal for our workers if we can't renegotiate it properly. We're gonna get a better deal for our workers and for our companies. Because we cannot continue to be the people led by stupid people. We can't. We can't.

(APPLAUSE) As part of our plan to bring back American jobs we will lower taxes on our businesses from 35 percent down to 15 percent. We will also cut taxes for middle class families by 35 percent and massively simplify taxes for all Americans. We will be a rich nation once again.

(APPLAUSE)

But to be a rich country, we must also be a safe country. Hillary Clinton unleashed ISIS onto the world, you know that story. And spreading violently, it's spreading now into the United States. There are now 1,000 open ISIS investigations in the United States. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide against Christians in the Middle East, or what they call the Nation of the Cross. OK. The Nation of the Cross.

They are crucifying, drowning and beheading their victims. This is something that we would read about in history books. And not since medieval times, right? Have you heard the beheadings and all the things that are happening. So we have no choice. We will stop ISIS and we still stop them fast.

(APPLAUSE) And unlike what they've done in Mosul, which is turning out to be very difficult, we're not giving three and four months notice. We're coming in. We're coming in. You think General George Patton would say, "We're coming in in three or four months, get ready"? What a bunch. They're throwing people off buildings, hanging their victims from meat hooks. They're hanging their victims from meat hooks. The New York Post just published reports about ISIS crushing children to death and burning adults alive.

Now Hillary wants massive immigration from the most dangerous regions of the world, where ISIS operates, including a 550 percent increase in Syrian refugees over and above the thousands and thousands that President Obama is taking.

(BOOING)

We don't want ISIS in our country. The Hillary refugee plan would leave us with generations of terrorism, radicalism and extremism inside of our shores. I only want to admit people who will support this country and love its people. SO important.

(APPLAUSE)

Keeping our families safe is the highest obligation of the president of the United States. A Trump administration is going to suspend immigration from terror-prone regions. And we will suspend the Syrian refugee program. That was easy.

(APPLAUSE)

We're not going to take the risk when it comes to the safety of the American people. No longer. So let me state this as clearly as I can. If I'm elected president, I am going to keep radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country.

(APPLAUSE) CROWD: USA! USA! USA!

TRUMP: Hillary also said she wants totally open borders.

(BOOING)

No one who supports open borders can ever serve as president of the United States. Totally open borders. A Trump administration will also secure and defend the borders of the United States. And yes, we will build a wall.

(APPLAUSE)

Have to. We have to.

CROWD: Build that wall. Build that wall. Build that wall.

TRUMP: And who is going to pay for the wall?

(APPLAUSE)

One hundred percent. Mexico, in terms of our trade deficits, is making a fortune off the United States. Their leaders are doing a much smarter job. But you know what? We'll be happy with Mexico. Mexico's gonna be wonderful, we're going to have a great relationship with Mexico, with China and with other - we don't even have good relationships now. They rip us off and we still don't get along. At least they should be nice to us. They're not even nice. They'll be nice.

Thousands of Americans have been killed by illegal immigrants. Right here in Ohio. Sixty-year old Margaret Costleman(?) was murdered in cold blood by an illegal immigrant. Earlier that day her killer shot another woman in the arm while she was with her children in a nearby park. Police encountered the man more than three weeks before the crime scene, but federal authorities refused to take him into custody, even though people were saying, "Please, please don't let him out. Please take him in."

Then there is the case of 90-year old Earl Olander, a Minnesota farmer who was brutally beaten by illegal immigrants and left to bleed to death in his home. Earl's body was found with his hands bound behind his back with duct tape. A blunt force injury to his head. His killers had criminal records but they did not meet the Obama administration's priorities for removal.

(BOOING)

But others that knew him and others that knew them were pleading, were pleading, "Don't let them out. Don't let them into our society." I have a message for the cartels, the drug dealers and the gang members. When I win, your long reign of crime and terror and horror will come to a very beautiful crashing end.

(APPLAUSE)

We will also repeal Obama-Clinton defense cuts and rebuild our badly depleted military.

[14:30:02] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hello, Winston Salem. Hello Wake Forest.