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Both Candidates Make a Final Pitch to Voters; President Obama Campaigns for Hillary; . Aired 15-15:30p ET

Aired November 07, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:03]

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She gets -- illegally, illegally -- she gets the questions to the debate. She then takes those questions and gives them to crooked Hillary Clinton.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: Now, does crooked Hillary report it? Does she say, I shouldn't have these questions or these answers? I think they gave them the answers also, right? No, she doesn't.

I wonder if she had -- I wonder if she had the questions in my debates. I don't think so, because she didn't do that well. I don't think so. I don't think so. But the years of betrayal wild end, and they will end, and they're going to end quickly. They're going to end as of the day we take office, which is going to be very, very soon.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: The theft of North Carolina jobs will end. You have taken it harder than most states. Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing Obamacare.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Sadly, it has just been announced that the residents of North Carolina are going to experience massive double-digit premium hikes; 95 of the 100 North Carolina counties will only have one insurer in the Obamacare exchange next year. Lots of luck negotiating.

Honestly, it is not going to matter, because we are going to win and we're going to terminate it. You're going to have such great health care for much less money. It won't matter.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Premiums are surging. Companies are leaving. Insurers are fleeing. Doctors are quitting.

By the way, doctors, they're leaving. They're quitting. I have a friend who's a doctor. He said, I have more accountants than I have nurses. It's so complicated.

And deductibles are going through the roof. Yet Hillary Clinton wants to double down and expand Obamacare and make it even more expensive.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: I'm asking for your vote, so we can repeal and replace Obamacare and save health care for every family of North Carolina.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

AUDIENCE: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!

TRUMP: People are pouring in, folks. They're pouring in. Did you see last night in Michigan, the crowd we had? And the crowd we had -- by the way, how about 24,000, maybe 25,000 right next to Fort Bragg? You saw that the other night?

And we went to Minnesota. Minnesota has been treated very, very badly. We went to Minnesota, where we're doing very, very well. Everyone said, why Minnesota? That doesn't go Republican. It's going Republican this year, I will tell you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Minnesota. Great place.

And, you know, you have been watching and you have been seeing -- and these people are being driven crazy, the dishonest media. We're winning Ohio. We're winning Iowa. We're winning, we think, New Hampshire. We're going to do great in New Hampshire.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: I hear we're winning North Carolina big, I hear.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We're winning Florida. Winning Florida. Doing really well. Headlines today on Drudge how well we're doing in Florida. And I think we're going to win the great state of Pennsylvania. I do.

And we're winning plenty of other places. So, we have to go. The big key, you have to go. We're in a rigged system, folks. We're in a rigged system. You got to go. You got to vote. You got to make sure that vote gets registered in there.

Real change also means restoring honesty to our government.

AUDIENCE: We want Trump! We want Trump! We want Trump! We want Trump! We want Trump! We want Trump!

TRUMP: Thank you. Wow, great, great spirit.

I have a job right now to -- we have a beautiful, beautiful property right next -- right near Charlotte. You know about it, folks? It's great, right? Some of the people.

But it's an amazing place. It's an amazing place to work and to live and we love it.

[15:05:03]

Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt person ever to seek the office of the presidency of the United States. She threatened national security. She sold her office to the highest bidder.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: And then, to cover her tracks, she deleted 33,000 e-mails after receiving a congressional subpoena. And nothing happens to her. Nothing happens.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: She's being protected by a totally rigged system, folks. She's being protected.

You know, James Cartwright, General James Cartwright, current general, four-star general, two weeks probably going to jail for up to five years for doing nothing by comparison. In fact, he said he did it for national security reasons. And I can understand that. Going to jail for up to five years.

General Petraeus, his life was destroyed. And here she is. She is running for president. She's done 25 times worse than anybody's ever dreamt. It's a rigged system. It is a rigged, rigged system.

AUDIENCE: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!

TRUMP: Don't worry, folks, the cameras will never spin around and show this crowd. They never do. They show my face and the two behind me, not the thousands behind me.

They never do. They never do. So dishonest. There they are. There they are, my group, Women for Trump. Women for Trump.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: They have been following me, these ladies, for a long time.

How are we doing? Are we doing well?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Great people, Women for Trump.

And now it's up to the American people to deliver the justice that we deserve at the ballot box tomorrow, at the ballot box. We're going to win. I think it's a great way of showing what we have to show in light of what's going on with justice in this country. I really do.

I think it's a great way. You show it tomorrow. You show it tomorrow. My contract with the American voter begins with a plan to end government corruption and to take our country back from the special interests. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And, folks, I was on the other side for a long time. It's a very good place to be.

But I love the country. I love this country. I have really gotten love the people of this country because I have been everywhere. We have the greatest people on Earth, but I love this country. And I couldn't watch it when they make the Iran deal. They give them $150 billion, a terrorist state.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: A state that was ready to collapse until we made them rich and powerful. We gave them a path to nuclear weapons. They were ready to collapse. We gave them, remember, $400 billion, right?

We gave them $400 million. Then we found out that was wrong. It wasn't $400 million. It was $1.7 billion in cash, in cash. You know what $1.7 billion in cash is? You could take that whole side of the arena and you wouldn't have enough room.

How stupid are we to allow this to happen? Our leaders are incompetent. President Obama is campaigning today with Hillary Clinton, because she can't campaign. She can't campaign.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: So, Obama is taking Air Force One, which costs a fortune. You know, he's very much into the environment. And you don't take a massive old engine, 747, very much into the environment, very much into the ozone layer, and yet he will fly that 747 all over the place to campaign for crooked Hillary.

And I don't think it's going to work. And she's not getting any crowds, so she gets Beyonce and Jay-Z. I like them. I like them.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: And you know what they do? I get bigger crowds than they do.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: It's true. I get far bigger crowds. Look at this place.

I mean, look at the crowds we had in Michigan. By the way, Michigan is in play. You know, it hasn't been in play for Republicans for 30- something years. Michigan is in play because they are tired of watching their car factories be taken out. They're tired of losing their jobs to Mexico.

[15:10:02]

Ford -- Ford right now moved all of its small car production to Mexico. They're building the biggest plants in the world in Mexico.

And Michigan's going to vote for Trump, because I have been complaining about it for five years to Michigan.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: No, we're going to have some -- tomorrow's going to be a very historic day. I really believe that. I think it's going to show -- I think it's going to be a Brexit plus, plus, plus. Does that make sense? Plus, plus, plus.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: It's going to be amazing. Going to be amazing.

I want the entire corrupt Washington establishment to hear the words we're all about to say. This is a phrase, I told you, I didn't like it. I thought it was hokey, but it's not hokey. It's called drain the swamp.

We're going to go to Washington. We're going to drain the swamp. Can't believe it. I told this story, I hated that expression. I said, no way I'm going to say that. No way. That's so hokey. And I said it, and the place went crazy.

Then I said it to another place, it went crazier. Then I said it with more confidence because, you know, confidence is -- and it went wild. Now I love the expression. I think it was genius.

AUDIENCE: Drain the swamp! Drain the swamp!

TRUMP: Drain the swamp. Drain the swamp.

AUDIENCE: Drain the swamp! Drain the swamp!

TRUMP: Is there any place better to be than a Trump rally? Are we having fun? Are we having fun?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: No. And I don't have a guitar and I don't have a piano.

All we have is great concepts for our country, which is the most important thing, because, frankly, when people get on stage -- and they're entertainers, and they entertain in order to get people to fill up a room for Hillary Clinton. And, by the way, they used the dirtiest language the other night. Many of the people left.

You know, they're political people. They heard words they have never heard before. They left. So the place was half empty by the time -- actually, it never got full, even with them. Then it was pretty much empty midway through. And then most of the people just left.

And when Hillary got up, there was practically -- she might as well just have started with a few people. It would have been easier. But she hears those words. I won't use the words. I won't even address the words, because, if I do, the crooked media will say, did you hear what Donald Trump said today?

(LAUGHTER)

(BOOING)

TRUMP: But, honestly -- yes. Those words were disgusting.

If I ever said those words that Jay-Z said or that Beyonce said the other night, you know what would happen to me? The reinstitution of the electric chair. It would be -- how about if I got the answers to the debate or if I got the questions?

Supposing, instead of Hillary getting the questions to the debate, which is cheating -- she's a cheat. She is a cheat. She never reported it. She's a cheat.

So, supposing, instead of her -- supposing somebody gave Donald Trump the questions to the debate, headlines all over the world. He must withdraw from the race. You don't even hear anything about crooked Hillary. She got the questions. To me, that's such a big deal.

Some people say -- my people say, oh, don't mention that. It's just -- I said, to me, it's a big deal. It's a big deal. But it's not a big deal for the dishonest media, see? They don't want to report it. But just think about it, supposing it was us.

At the core of my contract is my plan to bring back our jobs, bring them back to America.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And, by the way, you have a great governor. Support your governor. He's a great guy. Where is he?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: He's here someplace. He's a great guy. And he's in a tough fight, and he's going to win that fight, but he's a great guy. So, hopefully, you will support your governor.

North Carolina has lost nearly half of its manufacturing jobs since NAFTA, a deal signed by Bill Clinton and his lovely wife, Hillary.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Now, think of it. Think of it. Think of the numbers of jobs. Here's the one that gets me the most. Two things get me the most, two things that just don't seem real, because we're going to take care of our veterans, right, like big league, because our veterans are great.

But two, two statistics I can't believe, 22 suicides a day for our veterans. Think of it. You wouldn't think that's possible, because they're treated so badly. They wait online for six, seven, eight days for a simple procedure that could solve their problem or for a prescription.

[15:15:11]

But two -- two numbers, I don't -- it just doesn't make sense, 22 suicides a day for our veterans. OK? It doesn't make sense. And here's another one. America has lost 70,000 factories. Now, I thought they meant 700 or 7,000 maybe. It's 70,000 factories since China entered the World Trade organization, another Bill- and Hillary Clinton-backed disaster.

Think of it, though. Think of what 70,000 factories is. So, those are the two numbers. They just don't seem to be real. Sad numbers, sad numbers, especially the vets, to be honest with you.

We're living through the greatest jobs theft in the history of our world. There's been anything happen to a country like has been happening to the United States. Our jobs are fleeing. Our companies are being taken and leaving and leaving. A Trump administration will stop the jobs from leaving America and we will stop the jobs from leaving North Carolina, believe me.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: If a company wants to fire their workers and leave, as an example, North Carolina, and move to another country, and then ship their products back into the United States through what will be a very strong border, by the way, we will make them pay a 35 percent tax on every product that they ship back here.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And here's what's going to happen. They're not going to leave. They're not going to leave.

Now, your politicians, some of them, don't understand it. And the ones...

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we wanted to just dip in and listen to Donald Trump here on this election even in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We have talked so much about North Carolina, how it really could come down to that state as one of the key battlegrounds. Hearing a familiar chorus, drain the swamp, talking about how this could be Brexit, plus, plus, plus, staying on point, staying on message, talking about those rising premiums under Obamacare next year.

That's a flavor of Donald Trump. That is part of his closing argument to you, the voter, ahead of Election Day.

By the way, I should tell you, Hillary Clinton and her campaign plane just landed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so we will be looking for her momentarily as we zigzag along with these campaigns.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me here, as you're watching CNN's special live coverage here from our nation 's capital.

Let's bring the panel in and let's have a big conversation over all of this today. CNN's senior political reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson, is joining me now. Also with us, CNN political director David Chalian. Bob Cusack is here, editor in chief at "The Hill," and CNN political commentator Kirsten Powers, also a columnist for "USA Today."

Welcome to what is a beautiful Monday afternoon in D.C. Thanks for having me in your town.

Let me begin with you, David Chalian, on just as we look at the different states where these candidates are in this 11th hour, Hillary Clinton, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, midnight rally, where Donald Trump just was, Trump today, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Michigan.

Michigan hasn't gone Democratic since 1988. Why is making an 11th- hour push there?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Right. They're both there today. The president is there today.

BALDWIN: The president is there today.

CHALIAN: Bill Clinton has been there twice in the last week. This is Hillary Clinton's second visit in the last four or five days.

Nobody anticipated that Michigan would get this much attention right at the end. It's because both campaigns see the race really tightening there. It actually makes a lot of sense when you think back, Brooke, to the beginning of the general election season.

When Donald Trump first became the nominee, everybody sort of immediately looked to that Upper Midwest-Rust Belt region as a place where his trade message, his economic message, his change message...

BALDWIN: Would resonate.

CHALIAN: ... and his voter profile, those would all sort of converge together as real opportunity.

But, of course, the whole problem and challenge for Donald Trump this entire time with the electoral map is that he needs both. He needs to be able to sweep the tossup states and he needs to dig into some of that blue-leaning territory. As you said, it hasn't been Republican since 1988.

So, they couldn't just make one decision, OK, we're going to park Donald Trump for six months in the Upper Midwest and just do the industrial blue-leaning states. They had to play both places.

I wonder, looking back now, maybe he should have tended to that soil a bit more there now that they see that opportunity. Anyway, that's why we're seeing them both there at the end. The data at both sides is pointing to Michigan as in play at the end.

BALDWIN: What about, as we think North, I'm also thinking South, I'm thinking Florida, how the Hispanic voter could turn out to be the story of this election process, from just looking back to 2008 to how many folks have shown up to 2016.

[15:20:01]

It's up 103 percent, which is huge. The African-American vote not quite what it was, but the Hispanic vote is larger.

What do you make of those numbers, Bob Cusack, in Florida specifically and how could Trump have a path if most of them turn out for her?

BOB CUSACK, "THE HILL": I think that, you know, it's going to be very difficult for Trump if a lot of them show up for Hillary Clinton.

I think you have to look at the African-American vote, independents. Polls have been all over the place on independents. I think he will win independents by double digits. That speech was about anti- Washington, anti-corruption and also gave some red meat for the base.

That's his strategy. That's his closing strategy. It's not a bad one. But, as David said, he's got to win these close races and pick up an upset like a Michigan. If he wins Michigan, you're looking at a President Trump.

BALDWIN: What about, Kirsten, Paul Ryan, the most powerful Republican in Congress? Didn't say Donald Trump's name when he voted for him. He just did some radio this morning, Charlie Sykes, and the headlines from this radio interview, he says he's running again for speaker. Didn't say Trump's name in this radio interview, but said he is sticking with Trump because he wants to avoid infighting that hurts, of course. He's so concerned about down-ballot.

But he said he honestly doesn't know if Trump will win tomorrow. Is he lowering the expectation on purpose or is he speaking the truth?

KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, I think an honest analysis of where we stand right now suggests a Hillary Clinton win. The fact he's been trying to distance himself from Trump, then it would make sense he would just given a sort of honest analysis.

He did mention his name when he was with Mike Pence the other day.

BALDWIN: He did. He did.

(CROSSTALK)

POWERS: So, we do have to give him credit for that.

But, generally he's tried to keep him at arm's length. And even, honestly, if Donald Trump loses, and this distancing could still harm Paul Ryan after the fact, because there are so many people in his caucus who do support Trump. There are so many voters who do support Trump, Republican voters, who are going to be angry and blame the Republicans who didn't get fully behind him for the loss.

BALDWIN: What about looking ahead to tonight? I know I'm zigzagging all over like the candidates. But I'm looking ahead to tonight and I'm thinking about Pennsylvania. And I'm thinking the folks who live in that house. They are en route eventually to Philadelphia, mega- rally, the Clintons, the Obamas.

How unprecedented is it to have a sitting president be so integral in a current campaign?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's certainly unprecedented if you think about the last cycles. Right? Nobody wanted to be near George W. Bush in 2008 because his approval ratings were in the 30s.

Al Gore wanted to go his own way in 2000. He didn't want the sort of baggage of the Clinton campaign, even though Clinton had very high approval ratings at that point. This is something we haven't really seen. My goodness, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have put everything out there. I mean, they have been campaigning so hard.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: We have never seen anything like this.

HENDERSON: We have never seen this. We have never seen this.

Of course, we saw Obama in Ann Arbor today, University of Michigan, rallying those students there, millennials. He said, he voted. He voted for Hillary Clinton. And he kind of revised or revived his speech from the convention, saying, you have got to carry Hillary Clinton in the way that you carried me.

So, you know, they are all in on Hillary Clinton. This is their candidate. And I talked to some folks in Cleveland about this and the way they're sort of using Michelle Obama vouching for Hillary Clinton to bring in African-American women voters who might have -- particularly younger African-American women who have been skeptical in some ways of Hillary Clinton because of the crime bill, also Michelle Obama, vouching for Hillary Clinton as a tool to bring in African- American women.

So, it's been really strategic and I think helpful to have them out there.

CHALIAN: And I just think, Brooke, that tableau, the picture that they're going to have tonight of Bill and Hillary Clinton together with Barack and Michelle Obama, it strikes me that usually at the end of the campaign, you see the full ticket, the presidential, the vice presidential, but that is the ticket.

The Obamas have been Hillary Clinton's running mate in this entire campaign.

BALDWIN: Good point.

CHALIAN: And so is the final tableau that they're sort of going to leave in voters' minds.

BALDWIN: With that tableau, Kirsten, and with the Beyonces and the King James and the James Taylor and the Stevie Wonder and you can go constantly down the line of all these celebrities that are stumping for Hillary Clinton, she's only still a couple points ahead from some of these, you know, national poll of polls I'm seeing.

I can just hear Kellyanne Conway's voice, right? I'm trying to be fair to both sides.

POWERS: But, David can correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it somewhere -- if we look at -- if we're taking averages, we're talking about three to six points, right? That's not bad.

(CROSSTALK)

HENDERSON: It's actually pretty good in a national...

POWERS: In a very polarized electorate, that's actually not that surprising.

So, I mean, six points would be a very decisive, huge win, bordering on a landslide. So, I think that she's actually doing pretty well. And, look, you have these people coming out who are really about -- they're not converting people to vote for Hillary Clinton.

[15:25:01]

They're getting people out to vote, so, somebody who may just be just not energized enough to get out and vote. But I think that the Trump campaign says, well, you know, look how well she's doing because -- look at all these people she has coming out for her and she's not doing as well as she is.

Well, A, it's not true she's not doing well. And, B, the better question is, why don't they have people coming out for them? Why don't they have all the stars of the Republican Party.

HENDERSON: Scott Baio.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Chachi, Ted Nugent.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes, but, seriously, they don't have even the stars of the Republican Party, the Marco Rubios, the Paul Ryans, out.

CHALIAN: Although, I would just say, Donald Trump is a draw in a way that Hillary Clinton is not. Right? He is able to bring tens of thousands of people...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: People wait hours. They wait hours.

HENDERSON: You see that crowd there in Raleigh, North Carolina. That's Wake County.

That's a place where if you're Hillary Clinton you really need to do well. I'm sure they're looking at those crowds wondering about what kind of energy is down there.

BALDWIN: How about in terms of energy? You guys have seen the numbers, Florida, right? This e-mail just crossed that more people have voted in the state of Florida early voting and absentee than all of 2000 in the state of Florida. What does that tell you?

CUSACK: Well, listen, two weeks ago, this race was basically over before the FBI announcement and after the third debate. Hillary Clinton won the debates.

Those numbers in Florida are getting Democrats nervous, because something about the polls has got to be wrong. You can't have this amount of Hispanics and minorities voting for Hillary Clinton, and yet we have this neck-and-neck race. Overall, Democrats are feeling cautiously optimistic, but they're going to be very -- they're going to be fretting tomorrow.

BALDWIN: Do we know yet -- because I'm thinking ahead to tomorrow, and I think this is the first time ever you have had both candidates in the see city, both in Manhattan very, very close to one another, their respective parties. Do we know, will they be campaigning tomorrow? Will there be any final stunts?

CHALIAN: I don't think we do know that. I think we anticipate both of them will vote tomorrow. And we will probably see that. So, they will be voting in New York.

(CROSSTALK)

CHALIAN: But we have not heard about the rest of their campaign activities.

HENDERSON: But I bet one of the things you will see, because this is what happened in 2012, is maybe Barack Obama will be calling into black radio stations. I bet there will be some sort of last-minute push out -- yes, push for the vote.

(CROSSTALK)

CHALIAN: And Mitt Romney did a fly-around on the last day, on Election Day in 2012. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them decided to get on a plane and make a stop somewhere. But I don't think we know.

BALDWIN: OK. Thank you all so much.

And, actually, stick around. We know that President Obama, Hillary Clinton, they are speaking just a short time from now.

And do not forget, tomorrow is the big day. It is the Super Bowl of politics. It is Election Day in America. We have every race, every result for you. Stay with CNN until that very last vote is counted.

You're watching CNN's special live coverage. We will be back after this.

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