Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pro-Trump White Nationalist Ad Stirs Outrage; Clinton Campaigns in Florida. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired November 01, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:51]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: We continue on. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with us.

Any moment now, just a heads-up to you, we are awaiting to see Hillary Clinton step up there in Dade City, Florida, and address the crowd. Her stop in Dade City, by the way, is one of three stops she is making today in this one key state of Florida, as we are now officially in the homestretch of a pretty intense election season, we can say.

Here's the map for you. You can see who's out for everyone. Hillary Clinton, her top surrogates, as well as Donald Trump and Mike Pence, they're all over the country crisscrossing several key states, as CNN's poll of polls shows the race is tightening nationally. Look at these numbers, seven days to go.

In this final week, Hillary Clinton is trying to shift the focus back to her qualifications and away from that latest e-mail controversy involving a top aide. She actually just released a new ad attacking Trump's character.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing. When I come home and dinner's not ready, I go through the roof.

Grab them by the (EXPLETIVE DELETED). And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS: More accusers coming forward to say they were sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.

TRUMP: I will go backstage before a show and everyone's getting dressed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump walked into the dressing room while contestants, some as young as 15, were changing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Maeve Reston. She's joining me live ahead of this rally here. As we wait for Hillary Clinton, take away from the ad using Trump's own words. MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Tough ad.

BALDWIN: Going back to that -- yes, using his own words and also speaking to women. Talk to me about the young woman who will be introducing her in Florida in a moment.

RESTON: So, today, she's actually -- Clinton will be introduced by Alicia Machado, who of course was the Miss Universe contestant who came out and talked about how Donald Trump had made fun of her weight gain and said other things that she found to be derogatory and insulting.

Clearly, what Clinton is trying to do here after being on defense over the last couple days is shift the conversation back to Donald Trump and women, as we just saw in that very tough ad right there. What Clinton needs to do right now is really get female voters excited.

We're seeing sort of a dip in enthusiasm some of the tracking polls for her campaign. And clearly that's what she's trying to do by having Machado come out today and introduce her in Florida, which then is state also where Clinton needs rally young millennials, Latinos and African-Americans in particular, so Machado can help with that.

BALDWIN: Maeve, thank you.

As we watch and wait for that event to get going in Florida, let me bring in my panel. Kirsten Powers is a CNN political analyst and a "USA Today" columnist. Carl Bernstein is a CNN political commentator, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of "A Woman in Charge: The life of Hillary Rodham Clinton."

So, ladies first here.

Kirsten, let me begin with you.

You heard Maeve talking about the Hillary Clinton camp trying to bring up that enthusiasm, speaking to women, again, more of the scathing ad that they have just released today in battleground states. Is it enough?

KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, yes, I think it will end up probably being enough, but this is the main problem she has right now is getting people amped up to vote for her, getting them excited to vote for her, because people are not particularly excited about either of these candidates of course because they have high disapproval ratings.

But for Hillary Clinton, I think one of her best organizing principles would be around Donald Trump and the fact people don't want to vote for Donald Trump and in particular women don't want to vote for Donald Trump. And so I think she really has to hit that message hard.

BALDWIN: Carl, we were on TV together on Friday when all hell was breaking loose, and all the news with the FBI. You wrote the book on her.

[15:05:02]

Do you think she and her campaign -- is this a sign of success in the attempts to turn the ship and the conversation away from what's happening in Washington?

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Two things.

I think since the Comey -- quote -- "bombshell," we actually have seen her at her best, in battle, staying calm and being on point, making the conduct of the director of the FBI, rather than the conduct of herself or Huma Abedin, the real issue here, and the conduct and life of Donald Trump.

The more she hits at those themes, the better off she is. And she seems very successful at having some proportion that she is conveying to the voters about this.

BALDWIN: Do you think, Kirsten, with all that's going on, do you think the Hillary Clinton camp is confident or are they nervous?

POWERS: Well, you're going to be nervous in this situation, because the polls have tightened up.

But I think that in talking to some of the people on the Clinton campaign, that they have a lot of confidence in their ground game and they have a lot of confidence in the fact that they're ready for this and that the map is much more friendly to her in terms of getting to the Electoral College count, that she's in better shape than he is.

And it's not just that she has a good ground game. It's that he doesn't really have a ground game to speak of. And so I think going in as long as she's a couple points up and then a good ground game will get you one or two points, you know, I think she's probably in the end going to pull it out.

But nobody wants it to be this close. And there's the big unanswered question is, will we have people turn out who don't typically turn out, those people who are excited about Donald Trump?

BALDWIN: Which is exactly why you see someone like President Obama, right? He's out campaigning today in Ohio. He will be out multiple times this week especially saying to those younger African-American or Hispanic voters, get out, vote.

Carl, do you think with president and his popularity, can he help pull Hillary Clinton across the finish line?

BERNSTEIN: Well, as you know, I wrote a piece about four weeks ago saying it might take Obama to drag her across the finish line.

BALDWIN: Drag, right.

BERNSTEIN: By stressing those common principles that they share, to go to the Democratic Party base.

But let's take a look at what is happening here in terms of, this is a close race. And Hillary Clinton I think needs to say the house on fire, the national house is on fire unless we save it.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Isn't she doing that? Isn't she doing that in these ads?

BERNSTEIN: I think she's doing in the ads. I think there is a cohort of very, very specific people that have to be reached that are still undecided.

And the message has to be we cannot put this country in the hands of a sociopath. And that's really going to -- whether that message gets through and reaches those that it has to, that it goes to the base as well as these undecided voters -- and there's another factor in this, and that is the horrible threat of the third parties and that they could take votes, particularly the Libertarians and Jill Stein, from Hillary Clinton here in a few battleground states.

Bill Weld, the candidate for vice president on the Libertarian line, has more or less said, I want to see Hillary win this thing, but he hasn't gone so far yet, as he said and indicated he was going to do a few weeks ago, to saying, look, don't vote for me, vote for Hillary Clinton, we cannot have Donald Trump as president of the United States.

We are really down to the wire here.

BALDWIN: You had though Donald Trump and Mike Pence today. They were tag-teaming in Pennsylvania. They were on message. Trump was reading from the teleprompter. They were talking Obamacare, which I know really resonates for a lot of voters.

And the most powerful Republican on Capitol Hill essentially saying, yes, I voted and, yes, I voted for the Republican nominee, but he couldn't even his name. Here was Speaker Ryan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I stand where I have stood all fall and summer. In fact, I already voted here in Janesville for our nominee last week in early voting. We need to support our entire Republican ticket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: If Republicans, Kirsten, are trying to say to fellow Republicans who haven't quite gotten there, come home, how is that helping them come home?

POWERS: Let's give Trump his due here. I have to say, you consider the fact that he has so much of the leadership of the Republican Party against him and he's faring as well as he is the polls, we're talking now a couple-point difference between him and Hillary, and, look, Republicans are coming home.

So I think that he needs them to come home a little bit more, but they are coming home for the most part. So I really think the issue is you have people who want a real change and then you also have the added fact that a lot of those people don't like Hillary Clinton.

[15:10:02]

And so Donald Trump is the one who is representing change and that sort of is the argument I think is happening in the final days. It's going to be people deciding, do I want to change? Am I willing to take risk on this person? Or has Hillary Clinton convinced me that it's just too dangerous? Even though I don't really like her, I'm going to go with her because I'm just not wanting to take a chance of Donald Trump.

BALDWIN: Yes. Trump has been saying, if you elect her, the next couple things, you are going to have years of drama, years of investigation, so, therefore, vote for me. It's close.

Carl Bernstein and Kirsten Powers, thank you both so much.

POWERS: Thank you.

BERNSTEIN: Good to be with you.

BALDWIN: And as we talk a lot of people have already voted, coming up, we have got some new numbers I want to share with you, new early voting numbers just into the CNN decision desk. We will see if the Clinton campaign, to my question a second ago, if they have reason to be nervous.

Also, if Clinton wins, how would she and the director of the FBI, right, who just announced the reopening of this investigation, how would they work together? Would they even work together? Let's talk about that.

And one of the nastiest attacks of this campaign season here in 2016. This white supremacist supporting Donald Trump launches a robo-call calling Evan McMullin, the independent candidate for president, a -- quote, unquote -- "closet homosexual."

The Trump camp has denounced this, but let's discuss what's happening here in 2016. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:15]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch have now just recently seen one another face to face. Sources tell CNN these two talked Monday essentially on the sidelines of a national security meeting, but it was the first time they spoke since Director Comey revealed the FBI is reviewing e-mails that could be connected to Hillary Clinton's use of a private server when she was secretary of state.

So, with me now, Jeffrey Toobin, our CNN senior legal analyst. Jeffrey Toobin, officials have said the conversation was friendly. We

know the deal. We know Lynch and Justice disagreed with Comey's decision to do this. We weren't there, but what the heck do you think that conversation looked like?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, what's done is done.

And I think Loretta Lynch made clear her view and the Justice Department made clear its view that Comey should haven't done what he did, but he did. And he's still the director of the FBI. She's still the attorney general. They have a lot of serious work to do together. National security. Prevention of terrorism.

They are certainly both big enough people to put this controversy aside, but it's a real controversy and it's not going away.

BALDWIN: It's not going away. And just James Comey, he is an Obama appointee. Let's play this out. He has seven years left on his 10- year appointment. If, Jeffrey Toobin, if Hillary Clinton gets elected after this, would she clean house, replace him, replace others, or would he beat her to the punch?

TOOBIN: Well, no, I don't think there is any way Hillary Clinton politically could fire him. Now, she could. She would have the legal right as president.

Keep in mind that her husband, Bill Clinton, did fire the head of the FBI when he was president. He fired Bill Sessions and then named Louis Freeh to replace him. As it turned out, Bill Clinton wound up having a very frosty, even poisonous relationship with Louis Freeh. So this kind of relationship between the FBI director is not unprecedented.

But I think clearly the last thing Hillary Clinton would need upon taking office would be the kind of firestorm that would be generated by firing Director Comey. I think they would have to figure out a way to work together. And, again, they're both serious people. They recognize how important that job is to the whole country, so they have just to deal with each other.

BALDWIN: What do you think made those relationships that you just mentioned just so tenuous?

TOOBIN: Well, I think, you know, the FBI director can be very -- it's a very high-profile job that deals with very much controversial subjects. There was not a lot of controversy about Bill Clinton's decision to fire Bill Sessions. That was not something that generated a lot of controversy.

But Louis Freeh decided that he thought Clinton's fund-raising, Bill Clinton's fund-raising deserved criminal investigation. He worked very closely with the congressional Republicans on that. And that was something that generated tremendous tension with the White House.

Here, you have a situation where Hillary Clinton, if she wins, would go into office having overcome this real obstacle that Director Comey threw in her path to the White House. Nobody would mistake them for being best friends. I would certainly love to be a fly on the wall the first time they see each other after all this.

But, again, I think both have to recognize that this is a very serious job with very serious responsibilities and they just have to put their problems aside.

BALDWIN: One more for you. We have learned a senior Clinton aide just talked to reporters on the campaign plane and they said that Huma Abedin is in Brooklyn, she's there, she's available to FBI investigators for questioning, but apparently the FBI hasn't reached out yet.

And, again, right, these were her e-mails seized on her now estranged husband's laptop that started this whole thing on Friday. Does that surprise you that the FBI hasn't reached out to her?

TOOBIN: Not really, because they don't know what to ask her until they have read the e-mails, until they know what was on her families' computer.

And that is going to take a while. The one thing we know for sure is that every lawyer in the world, including Hillary Clinton's lawyer, including Huma Abedin's lawyer, will tell them both don't discuss this matter with each other. Don't open yourself up to the possibility that someone is saying you're obstructing justice, you're lining up your stories.

[15:20:00]

So Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton can talk about the election, they can talk about their families, they can talk about whatever, but they cannot talk about their e-mails without risk, serious risk, to both of them.

BALDWIN: Well, we Huma Abedin hasn't been on the plane the last couple of days and we have to imagine this has to do with that.

TOOBIN: I think so.

BALDWIN: Jeffrey Toobin, you think so, you think so?

TOOBIN: I think so.

BALDWIN: Jeffrey Toobin, thank you.

TOOBIN: She you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Next, the Trump campaign is denouncing this nasty robo-call from an avowed white nationalist and he's a Trump supporter, the outrageous accusation he is making against the independent candidate for president, Evan McMullin, who has a shot at winning Utah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:10]

BALDWIN: One week until Election Day, it's a mad dash to close the deal with you, the voter. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stumping in battleground states and getting help from some big-name surrogates on the campaign trail.

In Trump's case, though, an unwelcome supporter is now being condemned by his campaign. It's really important that we point that out, this after a white nationalist started making inflammatory robo-calls in the state of Utah against third-party candidate Evan McMullin.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

WILLIAM JOHNSON, WHITE NATIONALIST TRUMP SUPPORTER: Hello. My name is William Johnson. I'm a farmer and white nationalist. I make this call against Evan McMullin and in support of Donald Trump.

Evan McMullin is an open borders amnesty supporter. Evan has two mommies. His mother is a lesbian married to another woman. Evan is OK with that. Indeed, Evan supports the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.

Evan is over 40 years old and is not married and doesn't even have a girlfriend. I believe Evan is a closet homosexual. Don't vote for Evan McMullin. Vote for Donald Trump.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It's ridiculous. Ridiculous.

Former Virginia Governor and Republican presidential candidate Jim Gilmore is joining us. He's a Trump supporter. Also back with us, Jim Geraghty, who is a senior political correspondent for "The National Review" who cannot stand Mr. Trump.

So, gentlemen, thank you both for being here.

Governor, to you first, and let me just say again the Trump campaign has denounced that ridiculous robo-call.

My question to you, sir, is this really how low this race has gone?

JAMES GILMORE (R), FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: Well, I just don't think it's important, Brooke.

As far as the Trump campaign goes, he didn't have any -- the Trump campaign doesn't have anything to do with it. It's just one of those unfortunate things that happens sometimes in campaigning, but it's really unconnected to the real political process.

BALDWIN: Thousands and thousands of calls going out. This is someone who could win Utah.

Jim, to you, North Carolina. The battle is close. Also important, we have a Republican senator there in a tough reelection race. He is out there. He's talking about putting a bullseye on Hillary Clinton. Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) SEN. RICHARD BURR (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Nothing made me feel any

better than I walked into a gun shop, I think yesterday, in Oxford, and there was a copy of "Rifleman" on the counter. It's got a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it. I was a little bit shocked that that didn't have a bullseye on it.

(LAUGHTER)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: "Didn't have a bullseye on it."

You hear the laughter. Senator Burr has since apologized. But, again, we don't have to spend a lot of time on that initial question of the robo-call, but, again, is this the kind of thing, Jim, is this the kind of comment that could really potentially shift a race, especially in a state so important like North Carolina?

JIM GERAGHTY, "THE NATIONAL REVIEW": I'm sure Richard Burr doesn't want it to. I'm sure he'd prefer to be judged by his whole career.

That entire comment, I think the chuckling at the end, kind of the reaction of other people kind of thinking that was fine and OK and nothing to be upset about, is a little disconcerting.

That statement is going -- that statement is going fine, going fine, and then just you cringe at the idea of, oh, why didn't somebody put a bullseye on it?

Now, there are times this could be overhyped. I think you remember "The New York Times" making a big issue out of the bullseyes that were drawn on certain congressional districts on Sarah Palin's Web site before the Tucson shooting. Look, saying something doesn't make some nut job do something.

But having said that, you don't say things like this one week away from Election Day.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

GERAGHTY: Don't give the opposition a stick to hit you with, although I guess I shouldn't say that, because then if somebody hits Burr with a stick, then I'm in trouble.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Governor.

GILMORE: Well, you know, Brooke, the real key to the election at this point seven days out is Hillary Clinton and this misbehavior with the e-mails, the fact that more e-mails have showed up by surprise.

The FBI director had to come out and correct the record. She was basically saying the whole e-mail thing was over with. That was not true. He had to correct the record. She has got an economic program that is going to slow growth policy and keep people out of work. These are the issues that are facing and confronting the campaign

right now. And I think that's probably why, at the end of the day, Trump probably ends up carrying a lot more states than you think and he may win the election.

BALDWIN: He very well may.

But I'm glad you brought up the e-mails, because I wanted to ask, Governor, about the FBI, about James Comey. Here he was this summer, came out early July, said the investigation, conclusion not criminal. This summer, he was slammed by Republicans, praised by Democrats. Now it's total 180.

GILMORE: The other way around, yes, complete reversal.

BALDWIN: Total 180 reverse.

I have Evan Perez, our justice correspondent, talking to his law enforcement sources saying that Comey doesn't have a partisan bone in his body. He stands by his decision. What do you make of that?

GILMORE: Well, his reputation is impeccable.

And I have met him before. And I know his reputation is just terrific. But here's the deal. He was actually drawn into this by the attorney general of the United States, who said, well, after the meeting with Bill Clinton on the tarmac, she wasn't going to make the prosecutorial decision. She was going to leave that to the director of the FBI, which is totally...

BALDWIN: That didn't help him out.

GILMORE: Which -- well, it didn't help him, but it's also totally improper.

So, he was drawn into this thing.