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Melania Trump to give Speech; Commentators Question Whether Melania Can Lecture on Family Values.Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 03, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:13] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You are watching CNN. Thank you for being with me.

Count them with me, five days to go, five, and high drama on the campaign trail. Any moment now, Melania Trump will be stepping behind that podium there, stumping, of course, for her husband, making her first solo speech on the trail and her first speech since the Republican National Convention over the summer in Cleveland.

She is far from the only one. Today, Ted Cruz, who, remember he called Donald Trump a sniveling coward, but he will be on the stump for Mr. Trump today. Also, on the flip side, President Obama holding two events in Florida, including one just a short time from now. Also you have Senator Bernie Sanders appearing with Hillary Clinton tonight in North Carolina. we haven't seen the two of them together I think since he endorsed her some time ago back in New Hampshire.

But back to these live pictures. This is the Philadelphia suburb of Berwyn, Pennsylvania. She will be giving a speech any moment now where, by the way, we just learned the Clintons and the Obamas will be appear together, not in Berwyn, but in downtown Philadelphia next Monday night on the eve of Election Day.

So let's start where we're looking here in the suburbs with Sara Murray standing by ahead of Melania Trump's speech.

And, listen, let's just rip the Band-Aid off. We remember that RNC speech. We remember how it was wonderful and then we remember how the world learned she borrowed some words from the first lady. Can we - what do you know as far as how she's been preparing for this one, Sara?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, right, Brooke. And that was a very upsetting moment for Donald Trump and for the campaign. They sort of felt like their staff let them down in terms of vetting the speech and insuring Melania had this flawless moment in the spotlight. So she's been working with Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump's campaign manager, on her speech for today. We're expecting her to deliver it from a teleprompter. And she's practiced it with staffers a couple of times and say it's going to be fantastic.

But the fact that she's working with Kellyanne sort of gives you a sense of not just how much Donald Trump trusts Kellyanne, but how her relationship has grown with Melania. And, look, Kellyanne and Melania but know the kinds of message that she wants to get out there today. Donald Trump is clearly the attack dog of this campaign. Melania wants to deliver a more optimistic message. She wants to talk about what she is going to do as first lady. And she wants to talk about what Donald Trump is like as a husband, but also as a father to their young son Baron. And I think we have seen a little bit of hesitation from Melania to get out there back on the campaign trail, but sources are telling me that really has a lot to do with the fact that she's saying publicly and privately her most important goal is to be at home raising their son.

But at any rate, it will be interesting to see what she has to say today. We're expecting it to be a relatively short speech, about 15 to 20 minutes, but no doubt a high profile one given how rarely she's on the campaign trail.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Sara, thank you so much. We'll take Melania live as soon as we see her.

In the meantime, Mrs. Trump was at her husband's side, day one of his campaign. We remember the pictures. The escalator ride there in Trump Tower. That was June 16, 2015. It would turn out to be a presidential campaign unlike any other. And since that day, the former model has stepped in and out of the spotlight. Here is a look back on how Melania Trump arrived at this moment today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we going to see more of her on the campaign trail?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think very much so.

Melania, say a few words. Come on.

MELANIA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S WIFE: Hello, Iowa. This is very, very special night and you're voting for your next president.

I will be me. I will be different than any other first lady.

From my young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life.

D. TRUMP: Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone love it. It's fantastic. They think she's absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech and people get on her case.

She's actually going to make two or three speeches.

M. TRUMP: Oh!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Remember that moment on "Good Morning America"? She's like, wait, oh, I am?

As we wait for Melania Trump, let me bring in CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash, "USA Today's" Washington bureau chief Susan Page, who is covering the presidential campaign number 10, Juliet Williams, a professor of gender studies at UCLA, and Emily Jane Fox, a staff writer for "Vanity Fair."

So, ladies, good to talk to you today.

[14:05:00] And, Dana Bash, let me just begin with you. I made the point with Sara, listen, we won't harp on it, but we remember the RNC speech. It didn't go so well. Can you tell me more about what you've learned, the thinking behind this speech and who really wrote it?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Who wrote it, you know, it's is unclear. As Sara was reporting, she has be working hand in glove with the campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, on the speech. But I think that - to be - to be fair, that that was very embarrassing for Melania Trump by all accounts. She was not happy about it. Neither was her husband. Because the fact is, she's not anywhere near a politician. She's not one of those spouses who is incredibly active politically, who understands the nuts and bolts of politics. It's not even close to where she comes from by way of background.

But the fact that she is where she is today, the fact that she is not only in Pennsylvania, not only in the Philly suburbs, Brooke, but in Chester County, which, of the four Philly suburbs, was the only one to go - just barely, five-tenths of a percent point for Mitt Romney shows you what their goal is, which is, get out the vote, increase the turnout among the people who she can reach and appeal to, and that is suburban women and men, but mostly women, who live in those areas, who, according to sources I've talked to there, they say polls dropped dramatically in and around the "Access Hollywood" tape coming out but are coming back up. So she's clearly trying to seal the deal with a lot of those voters. And as one source has said to me so many times, the Trump family presents well and that includes his wife.

BALDWIN: You know, I think it's important to point out exactly where, and you did, where she is speaking.

And, Emily, let me just turn to you because you've written about Melania Trump in "Vanity Fair" a couple of times, but you're also from this general neck of the woods outside of Philadelphia.

EMILY JANE FOX, STAFF WRITER, "VANITY FAIR": That's right.

BALDWIN: And you wrote this, "it's an area cosmopolitan enough to warrant both a soul cycle and a fly wheel, one in which Goyard totes and Mercedes SUVs with an extra third row are derigueur at school pickup. It's not hard to imagine the women of suburban Philadelphia being entranced by Melania's glamour." Tell me more.

FOX: Sure. So I think Melania is an interesting curiosity to everyone in America. That's why everyone's been interested to tune into her. She does present very well, as Dana said. Do I think this is necessarily going sway voters? We don't know because Melania has not been on the campaign trail. And it's very interesting to me that the campaign is trying to test something brand new five days before the Election Day. Does Melania play well to Philadelphia and suburban voters? We don't know because she hasn't played to them before. So it's an interesting strategy.

BALDWIN: Susan Page, how much is this about, you know, what she says growing up in Slovenia, coming here wanting to be an American, doing it the proper way, versus just the fact, you know, to Emily's point, that she is just finally speaking, period.

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": Yes. You know, she has a unique ability to be - offer a testimonial for Donald Trump and one that he needs. I spent some time in Chester County last month talking to college-educed white women voters who are the key target there. And they were - many of them were uncomfortable with Donald Trump and with his language about Muslims and about Mexicans and about women.

And this, it seems to me, is the number one thing Melania Trump can do. She can say he's really a good man. He really is. He is not a sexist man. He is someone that I trust. He's been good to me and to my son and to our family. And so when you have these concerns about his temperament and his demeanor and his attitude, especially toward women, she's one who can say, you can feel reassured you can go ahead and vote for him. Whether that works or not, we'll see, but it seems to me that is the number one goal that they have for her today.

BALDWIN: Well, professor, let me just go to you. I mean to Susan's point, she really could be this perfect female voice speaking to the Trumps, speaking to these women here in this particular part of Pennsylvania. But on the flip side, given what has been reported, given that Billy Bush/Donald Trump tape talking about sexism, talking about family values, what's the believability factor here for women watching?

JULIET WILLIAMS, GENDER STUDIES PROFESSOR, UCLA: You know, I don't think I'm the only woman who thinks it's a little bit too much to have Melania Trump now coming and lecturing us about family values. The question I'd like to ask Melania is, what do you say about this to your 10-year-old son? Do you say, look, honey, it's OK if you make jokes about grabbing women by the "p" word just as long as you keep in the locker room and don't let anybody tape record it? That's not good parenting. That has nothing to do with where this country needs to go. And I just don't think Americans are going to buy it.

BALDWIN: But she's also talked about her son Baron and how Hillary Clinton, you know, from a Trump perspective, perhaps from a Republican perspective, isn't exactly the - a woman who she would want her son look up to.

[14:10:07] WILLIAMS: What we need to do for all our daughters and sons is realize that this is a historic election. It's the first time we have a woman as a major candidate. And this is our opportunity to finally acknowledge that we have a huge gender problem in this country and we need to start talking about the issues that are going to make a difference for our sons, for our daughters, for our working mothers, for our men and our women. And these are not the issues that we are talking about when we keep getting diverted by the understandable horror at the Republican candidate's unbelievable potty mouth.

But we need to start talking about issues like pay equity, issues like raising the minimum wage when we realize that the majority of low-wage workers in country are women. We need to start talking about sexual violence and a whole host of other issues that are really going to make a difference in addressing our gender problems.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me - let me just hit pause on this conversation. I want to stick a quick break in.

Again, we're watching and waiting to hear from Melania Trump herself. We are five days away from Election Day. We have every race and result covered for you. Make sure, of course, you stay with us all day next Tuesday, but we will take Melania Trump live. We want to hear what she has to say coming up next from Pennsylvania.

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[14:15:36] BALDWIN: Welcome back.

Live pictures of - where we are waiting to hear from Melania Trump. This is the first time, really, that she's spoken alone, publically, since the speech at the Republican National Convention over the summer. She's done a couple of interviews since then.

I've got Dana Bash, Susan Page and Emily Jane Fox still with me.

And just a quick reminder to everyone as, of course, we talk about bigger picture in Pennsylvania, a battleground state. We also learned today that on Monday night, election eve, the Obamas and the Clintons will be holding a mega rally in Philadelphia.

But, Dana Bash, let me - let me just continue our conversation with you. We know Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, just held a bit of a press gaggle and she was talking a bit about some of the themes that we'll hear in Melania's speech. What did she say?

BASH: Yes, and as you're asking me that, I'm just pulling that up on my phone. She was talking about the fact that what she - what Melania Trump is going to address are the things that she would do as first lady. So she's not going to talk about the, you know, the elephant in the room, so to speak, about questions about what she thinks about what her husband has said and done in the past. But she's more going to be talking about that and also, this is from Kellyanne Conway, she'll talk about how social media can be a tool for good and it certainly is in our country, but at the same time it can be devastating to the image and self-worth of a lot of teenagers. That is really specific and something that is kind of on a real micro level this close to the election. But, obviously, what they're trying to do is have her come up with a very tangible thing that she can talk about, where she can relate to a lot of moms out there, and dads, about concerns about social media, that people have more and more on a daily basis, especially parents of teenager, about how that affects their lives. So it's the relatability factor. Looks like she's going to try to do with that one example.

BALDWIN: OK.

And, Eric - forgive me, I'm talking to the control room - you just got in my ear. Do you want to listen to something? OK, we'll roll on.

Emily, another point you were making, and feel free to react to the news that social media would be her platform, especially knowing who she's married to and how much we know Mr. Trump is atwitter. Just note that. That, you know, a lot of times wives, potential first ladies, are brought out to really soften the image of their husband candidate. Or, in this case, we know one is a woman. Does she soften Mr. Trump?

FOX: So I think that's been the strategy all along. I don't think it's necessarily worked. I think Melania sounds a lot like Donald when you listen to her. I think we've only seen her a handful of times and every time we've seen her, she kind of comes out as an attack dog, which is great, and she has the right to stand up for herself and for her husband and I think many wives can relate to that as well. But in terms of really softening his image, she kind of seems a little bit more on the offense than on the defense.

I think it is smart, in this audience - I have a sister who lives there who's a mom and I think playing to that social media bully side of things would appeal to moms everywhere and in that area. But as - what we've seen before from Melania, this is really not her strongest suit in terms of softening her husband.

BALDWIN: This is Karen Pence, by the way, everyone watching. This Governor Mike Pence's wife. So she's the one who's introducing Melania. So that tells me we're very close to the main event, to the headlining speaker here in Mrs. Trump.

So before we get there, Susan Page, what will you be listening for? How can Melania help her husband five days out and especially in a place that has been pretty solid for Hillary Clinton, although I know Donald Trump has been gaining ground in Pennsylvania.

PAGE: Yes, and, of course, it's a place where Republicans traditionally have done pretty well and a place where Republicans have to do well if they're going to carry the state of Pennsylvania. So, obviously, a very critical place.

You know, the whole issue of cyber bullying is something that Melania Trump has talked about before and she's talked about it in terms of her own experiences. You remember some of the photos that were taken of her when she was working as a model got spread all over the world on social media and she defended herself then. And this is something that, you know, I think women in general, maybe mothers in particular, do worry about with their kids and even with themselves about what goes on sometimes in social - in social media. So that strikes me as a pretty good issue for her to talk about if that's something she can talk about from her own heart and from her own experiences. And all of that goes to portraying her husband as a more three dimensional figure when it comes to some of these issues that he seems like himself when he is out there, the one speaking at the podium. [14:20:20] BALDWIN: So, that's a piece of it. But also, Dana, I know you mentioned that Kellyanne said that she'll also be talking about her immigration story, right? I mean where she comes from, her life growing up in Slovenia was not an easy life. Ultimately moving to the states. Her desire to become an American and immigrating legally ten years later.

BASH: Right. I mean, look, it's the personal story. It's, just as Susan said, it's - it's making Donald Trump and the people around him not just a caricature but somebody who they can relate to or understand or want to hear about because it turns out that maybe the glamorous life that she's living now wasn't exactly what it was beforehand. That, you know, to sort of see and hear where she came from.

You know, look, this is kind of, in many way, politics 101, marketing 101, that you want to make the person or the product or whatever it is that you're selling somebody who you want to - you want to hear more about and that you understand. There's a reason why, you know, "Us Weekly" and "People" magazine are as popular as they are because of that - of that notion and that - and that dimension out there. So that's, no question, what - what this is about, in addition to the basic attempt to soften Donald Trump, whether or not that is really possible.

BALDWIN: We are moments away from hearing from Melania Trump. A quick break. We'll be right back. You're watching CNN.

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BALDWIN: Let's go. Here she is, Melania Trump.

MELANIA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S WIFE: Thank you, first lady of Indiana, Karen Pence. Thank you. That was very nice.

CROWD: We love you!

TRUMP: Thank you.

CROWD: We love you!

TRUMP: We love you, too.

What a wonderful welcome here in Pennsylvania. It has been more than 500 days since my husband, Donald Trump, announced he would run for president of the United States.

[14:25:04] I remember that day in June, 2015, vividly, surrounded by our family and speaking to an audience of millions, Donald promised to campaign on behalf of those who feel the system is broken and does not work for them, those who just want a fair shake, an opportunity for a better education, a better paying job, a better future.

He pledged to restore integrity to Washington and respect for America abroad. This is not an ordinary campaign. It is a movement. A movement in which people feel included, inspired and involved. I

have seen it firsthand. We are deeply grateful to the millions of Americans who believe in my husband because they know he believes in you. He believes in America and he will make fantastic president of these United States.

I come here today to talk about my husband, Donald, and his deep love and respect for this country and all of its people. I have come here to talk about this man I have known for 18 years and I have come here today to talk about our partnership, our family, and what I know for sure in my heart about this man who will make America great again.

I know exactly what that means. I grew up in a small town in Slovenia near a beautiful river and forests. Slovenia is a small country that back then was under communist rule. It was a beautiful childhood. My parents were wonderful.

Of course we always knew about the incredible place called America. America was the words for freedom and opportunity. America meant if you could dream it, you could become it.

When I was 10 years old, we learned that a man named Ronald Reagan was elected president of the United States of America. We heard what he was saying and doing. President Reagan's "Morning in America" was not just something in the United States. It began to feel like morning around the world, even in my small country. It was a true inspiration to me.

Later, I lived in Milan and Paris, working hard as a fashion model. I worked with people from all over the world. Fashion is a business of glamour, but it is also hard work. There are ups and downs, high highs and ridicule and rejection, too. I loved my work and as a young entrepreneur I wanted to follow my dreams to a place where freedom and opportunity were in abundance. So, of course, I came here.

Living and working in America was a true blessing, but I wanted something more. I wanted to be an American. After a ten-year process, which included many visas and a green card, in 2006 I studied for the test and become a U.S. citizen.

It is the greatest privilege - it is the greatest privilege in the world. I'm an immigrant, and let me tell you, no one values the freedoms and opportunities of America more than me, both as an independent woman and as someone who immigrated to America.

Love for this country is something we immediately shared when I met Donald. He loves this country and he knows how to get things done, not just talk. He certainly knows how to shake things up, doesn't he? He knows how to make real change. Make America great again is not just some slogan. It is what has been in his heart since the day I met him.

[14:30:10]