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Trump and Putin Speaking; Merkel Visits Russia; Trump on Budget Deal; Trump on Shutdown; Clinton at Women for Women Forum. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired May 02, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Happening this hour, two major live events. Hillary Clinton speaking out. Our Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour interviews the former secretary of state live at the Women for Women fundraising luncheon in New York City. You're looking at live pictures. You'll see it right here just minutes from now.

Also this hour, we're going to hear directly from the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, at today's White House press briefing. Health care reform certainly will be a major topic for reporters asking questions as House Republicans continue to scramble right now to round up the necessary votes.

The briefing set to begin about a half an hour or so from now. We'll have live coverage of that as well. Two live events coming up this hour.

But first, Vice President Mike Pence, he's back up on Capitol Hill today. He's trying to whip up support for the new Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare. This was one of the key campaign promises, of course, by President Trump. The first attempt in March, it failed to advance even to a vote on the House floor. And this one seems to be a very close call as well with Thursday a possible deadline for a vote.

Our Congressional Correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is up on Capitol Hill. Sunlen, the Republican Congressional Conference, they met today. Do we have a better idea, right now, on how the vote looks, as far as this effort is concerned?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, Wolf, the outlook is pretty grim for Republican leaders up here on Capitol Hill. Put simply, they simply do not have the votes they need just yet.

And this is a message that was communicated to the full House Republican Conference this morning when they huddled here, updating members on where this process is and indicating how this could potentially go forward -- going forward.

They certainly are teetering very close to that tipping point. The point where, in essence, the bill cannot move forward. According to CNN's latest Web count, 22 House Republicans say they're opposed to this bill.

That means the Republicans -- if one more House Republican comes out against this bill and moves to the no column, that would stop this proposal from going forward, in essence, really stand in the way of Republicans getting the 216 votes they need if it even went to a floor vote.

That said, House Republican leadership is trying to project confidence as they try to woo members and shore up some last-minute support for this bill, trying to educate, they say, members here who have many questions, specifically over pre-existing conditions.

Here's what Speaker Ryan said earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: So, the purpose of our bill is to get more choices, to lower prices, while preserving the protections for pre-existing conditions. So, that is a very important thing. We're excited about this policy. We're making very good progress with our members and our president has been instrumental in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now, I'm outside now a meeting of the Tuesday Group. This is a group of moderate members up here on Capitol Hill. Many moderates in this room that are huddling at this moment are still undecided about the bill. Many of them have concerns over pre- existing conditions. Not only what they're hearing from the president but what the McArthur Amendment actually does about pre-existing conditions.

So, the people in the room could go very well go on to kill this bill. So, we will know a lot more about the fate of this bill, Wolf, after this huddle today.

BLITZER: Sunlen, the vice president, Mike Pence, he's meeting with the Republican members of the Senate. Lindsey Graham, one of those senators, just told our Kate Baldwin, he has no idea -- his words, no idea what's in this Republican health care bill that could be coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives.

So, what is -- what is going on? Is there actual legislation that members in the House and Senate can read?

SERFATY: Well, it's interesting, Wolf. We have heard that certainly from many members. This expression that they want to make sure that they're reading actual legislation. And certainly coming from the Senate side that's something we're hearing a lot.

They are the next step in this whole process. But when and if the House bill is voted on, they would potentially take over. But there is the expectation that when the Senate gets the legislative text from the House, if it is indeed passed, and that's a big if, that they're going to make significant changes to that legislation. Then, of course, it will go on to conference committee.

So, likely what we're seeing from Vice President Pence up here on Capitol Hill today, meeting with Senate Republicans is to get out in front of that, get in advance of that. Potentially the next step on Capitol Hill. But a lot of ifs and maybes if that step even happens anytime soon -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll see what happens. As you say, 22 Republicans now clearly, publicly have said they will vote no. All the Democrats in the House of Representatives will vote no.

[13:05:02] If one more Republican goes ahead and says he or she will vote no, that could be curtains for this second effort to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Sunlen, thanks very much.

President Trump was pushing for a vote on health care last week, but the extra few days certainly doesn't seem to have helped Republican efforts.

Let's deal with that. Joining us, our Political Analyst David Gregory is here. Our Senior Political Reporter Nia-Malika Henderson, our Senior Washington Correspondent Brianna Keilar and our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash.

What does it say, David, if the Republicans fail now for a second time to even guarantee enough votes and there won't be a vote, they delay it one more time?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's obviously a huge failure to go back at this and fail to it. It shows you how big the disconnect is between the White House, and particularly the president and Congressional leadership, when they're all in the same party.

And it shows a third thing, that John Boehner was right. The former House speaker said, there will never be a replacement of Obamacare because Republicans have never been able to agree on health care reform.

And the issue here is fundamental which is once a big entitlement has been given, it's very difficult to take it away. Two, there's huge disagreement between a more moderate Republican view of big government protections for the vulnerable and a totally free market view which takes government out of it and leaves people who are vulnerable less protected. That's what they're trying to divide -- to bridge here.

BLITZER: The fact is, right now, Dana, the first time it failed because conservatives were not on board. This time, it might fail because more moderate Republicans are not on board.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the legislative whack-a-mole that you always have to deal with. Generally, it's not within your own party. Generally, when you're doing something this big and this important, like health care for the entire country, the whack-a-mole is across party lines.

Democrats don't want to have any part of anything that repeals Obamacare so they're not even players. And the idea that Republicans still are having this much trouble getting votes amongst themselves, even though this is a promise, top of the list promise in campaign after campaign for the past, you know, three election cycles.

I'm told -- I was told this morning, by a senior administration official, that, by the end of the day, they'll know whether they have the votes for what they hope will be a Thursday vote. If they don't, then they won't schedule the vote on Thursday and it's lights out for health care right now.

BLITZER: It's pretty embarrassing, though, if they can't even have a roll call a second time.

BASH: It would be. It would be very embarrassing. The expectation and the hope is that there are about a handful of Republicans who don't want to vote yes. Would feel more comfortable politically back home voting no. But have told the leadership, if you need me, I'll be there.

The question is, as this is out there more and more, as we have very influential Congressmen like the former chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton, who said today, I'm not even going to vote for this because I don't believe that people with pre-existing conditions will be mandated to be covered. That's a big deal and it may make some of those on the fence, who are quietly talking to the administration, think twice.

BLITZER: They need, Brianna, 216 votes right now. Given a few vacancies in the House of Representatives, 216. The Republicans have the considerable majority but if 22 members, Republicans already are saying -- they're publicly saying they're going to vote no. And if one more does that, it's over.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Speaker Ryan in, sort of, his absence of saying that they have the votes, and in -- privately saying the House Republicans indicating that they don't, there is some way to go.

And just, I think, to spell out how difficult this is to do. When we covered -- Dana and I were up on the Hill covering Congress when they passed health care reform. Speaker Pelosi convinced, essentially, some Democrats to end their careers by voting for this.

This is an issue that is so personal, that affects people, the compromise, at this point, can easily be felt by some people as being penalized for having a pre-existing condition. This is the kind of thing that if the Republicans are serious about whipping, they will have to convince some of their members to maybe sacrifice their political futures to do this.

BLITZER: Yes, and a lot of members don't want to do that --

KEILAR: Correct.

BLITZER: Obviously, they --

GREGORY: They're not even going to do it for Trump.

BLITZER: They want to be -- they want to be reelected. That's a good point --

KEILAR: Yes.

BLITZER: -- as well.

They won't have time, between now and Thursday, if there is a vote for the Congressional Budget Office to score or to give a report to all the members of the House of Representatives what the actual impact of this legislation will be.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: That's right. And that was a big speed bump for the last piece of legislation because the CBO essentially said it would raise premiums from 10 to 15 percent over the next couple years and then lower them, at some point. And then, 24 million or so people would be uninsured over the next couple of years.

So, it's -- I think if you are a member of the House and you are wavering on whether or not to vote for this, do you really want to vote for something that hasn't been scored yet and possibly might come back showing a premium increase on more people uninsured? So, that's something that's certainly at play here.

[13:10:10] Folks in the Senate, in some ways, are saying, you know, if the House can't get it done, maybe they can get it done. But this is a tricky thing for this. And it hasn't helped that you have had White House officials essentially saying this is going to happen this week. Gary Cohn, of course, saying that on air earlier this week.

And it just might not happen. And if they can't get it done this time, does it actually come up again or, as Dana said,

BLITZER: Yes.

HENDERSON: -- it seems like (INAUDIBLE.)

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Gary Cohn, one of the president's top economic advisers.

GREGORY: Can they do anything?

HENDERSON: Can they do anything?

GREGORY: I mean, if they want to take on tax reform, which is a big, huge issue, there's also real world implications. You know, a lot of these members -- this has been a rather rushed process. The president is all over the place, generally.

But there's also -- take hospitals, for example. They want more coverage. They've gotten more revenue because of Obamacare. And it's taken a few years for it to actually settle in.

These are constituent groups, advocacy groups who are talking to these members who are just now learning about the certainty of what Obamacare means, warts and all. That's an issue that, I think, gives a lot of members pause.

BLITZER: Everybody stick around. There's a lot more coming up.

And Hillary Clinton, she will be interviewed, any moment now, at the Women for Women charity luncheon in New York City. You're looking at live pictures coming in. We'll have live coverage of that as soon as it begins. Our Christiane Amanpour will interview the former secretary of state.

The White House press briefing also, by the way, set to begin later this hour. Health care, North Korea, the president's tweet this morning calling for a good government shutdown are just several topics likely to be discussed. Much more coming up. Lots going on this hour.

[13:11:43]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:31] BLITZER: We're waiting for former Democratic presidential candidate, the former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton to take the stage at a Women for Women international event in New York City. You're looking at live pictures. She'll be speaking with our own Christine Amanpour. We're going to have live coverage of that. That's coming up.

In the meantime, President Trump is speaking right now, we're told, to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. They're speaking on the phone. While we wait for the White House to release details of the call, I want to bring in our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance who's joining us live from Moscow.

Matthew, this is the first time they've spoken since Russia denounced the U.S. military strike in Syria last month. Do we expect there will be more tension on the call because of that?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean certainly there will be if that issue is raised by President Trump or by President Putin. Certainly there was scathing criticism after those U.S. missile strikes last month against that Syrian air base, Syrian government, of course, of Bashar al Assad, strong ally of Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin at the time called it a violation of international law and an attack against the sovereignty of Syria.

Having said that, I mean since then, of course, Rex Tillerson, the U.S. secretary of state, has been in Moscow. He's met himself with Vladimir Putin. He's met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov as well and they both expressed the intention, Lavrov and Tillerson, to build better relations between the two countries.

And so, look, I mean this conversation, this telephone conversation, is only the third time that they've spoken on the phone since the inauguration of President Trump, but it's going to be scrutinized for any sense in which, you know, the - we can get an idea of what the U.S. policy towards Russia will be. I mean the Russians say they've had mixed messages over issues like Syria and Ukraine and, you know, the relevance of NATO as well. And so the Russians are going to be listening to this very closely, as are we, to get any sign of what the policy of the Trump administration is towards Russia moving forward.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it will be fascinating to get the details.

Amidst this, as you know, Matthew, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, she's in Russia, in Sochi, Russia, today for talks with Putin. It's her first time there since 2015. What do we know? What has come out of those talks?

CHANCE: Yes, the talks have already happened. They gave a joint news conference. And it wasn't great in terms of - if you're looking for signs that the relationship between Russia and Germany was improving, it wasn't great. Of course, Germany has been leading the charge, if you like, towards tightening sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The two of them publicly disagreed about the situation in Ukraine. Angela Merkel criticized Vladimir Putin for the treatment of gay rights, the treatment of gay men in Russia, particularly in Chechnya, where there have been lots of report coming out that we've been reporting of gay men being persecuted and even killed because of their sexuality in that part of southern Russia.

And so a pretty tense joint press conference and no sign that the relationship was improving. But, you know, it's all part of the diplomatic flurry that's taken place at the moment with Vladimir Putin right at the center of that diplomacy. Angela Merkel, President Trump right now, and, of course, tomorrow he's going to be meeting President Erdogan of Turkey. And so I think it underlines just how important Putin has become in global diplomacy.

BLITZER: Good point. Matthew, thank you. Matthew Chance reporting live from Moscow.

We're waiting for today's White House Press Briefing to begin. Take a look at live pictures coming in from the White House Briefing Room. We're expecting the press secretary, Sean Spicer, to take questions on the fate of the repeal and replace Obamacare legislation, the president's phone conversation with Vladimir Putin that's ongoing as we speak, and the North Korean nuclear threat. We'll go there live as soon as that White House briefing begins.

In the meantime, let's go to our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

Jim, the president spoke last hour during an awards ceremony for the U.S. Air Force Academy football team, and as he was talking about victories, he mentioned the budget deal. What did he say?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, he is framing and his White House is framing the spending bill that's expected to get through Congress and to the president's desk and get signed to fun the government through the rest of the fiscal year. They are portraying this as a victory, and you heard that from the president earlier this afternoon. He was describing the uptick in military spending over at the Pentagon, a pretty significant increase in spending over at the Pentagon, as well as border security. As you know, Wolf, he did not get funding for that wall on the U.S./Mexico border. They are hoping to fight that battle in the next fiscal year budget. But here's more of what he had to say about what they're describing as a victory over here at the White House.

[13:20:13] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After years of partisan bickering, and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the American people. We brought lawmakers together from both sides of the aisle to deliver a budget that funds the rebuilding of the United States military, makes historic investments in border security and provides health care for our minors and school choice for our disadvantaged children. Very importantly, there is no long term bailout for the insurance companies that the Democrats desperately wanted to subsidize, donors, the badly failing Obamacare.

Do you know what a donor is, fellows? You'll learn when you get a little older. You'll learn about donors. I used to be a donor. Used to get everything I wanted.

This is what winning looks like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: There you hear the president there, Wolf, saying, this is what winning looks like and made a remark there at the very end of those comments saying that he used to get what he wants. Obviously he didn't get everything he wanted out of this budget, did not get money for that wall on the U.S./Mexico border. And that is, I think, part of the frustration that you saw expressed by the president earlier today in that tweet when he said something about wanting a shutdown in September, a government shutdown potentially in September, to extract some of the things that he does want in the next fiscal year budget fight.

But no question about it, Wolf, they've got a lot of tough battles to wage this week, most - particularly the one on health care up on Capitol Hill. I talked to a source earlier this morning. Even though there's some enthusiasm over here at the White House, they believe that they might have the votes by Thursday to have some kind of bill go to the House floor and get passed to repeal and replace Obamacare. I talked to a key Republican source close to this process who said they are nowhere near that kind of certainty up on Capitol Hill. There's actually a lot of nervousness. Once again, here we are, another week, where there's nervousness up on Capitol Hill among Republican leaders because they're just not sure they have the votes there to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, good point.

Jim Acosta reporting from the White House. We'll get back to you.

The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, will most likely address the president's tweets earlier today blasting the procedures, the rules in the United States Senate. Among other things, the president tweeted this. "The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there. We either elect more Republican senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51 percent. Our country needs a good shutdown in September to fix the mess."

The president's tweets come ahead of a key vote on a bipartisan funding bill to avert a government shutdown this week, to keep the government running at least until the end of September, the end of the current fiscal year.

Let's bring back our panel.

And, David Gregory, this tweet where he says our country needs a good shutdown in September to fix the mess, I see you smiling.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I mean, it's just - the guy's great copy, let's be honest. I mean President Trump just keeps saying things that are so far out there that shakes up the whole system. And I do believe that's the point. I mean I think he's doing some of that on North Korea and I think he's doing it here with Congress. He's saying exactly what's on his mind, which is, you know, let's go to the brink to shake up how things get agreed to.

What's interesting is that he is practical enough, as you see in this short term spending bill, to give up on some of the things that you would think would be important to him, like the border wall, but he knew that would be a non-starter. So it shows that Democrats, when they hang together, have enough leverage and that Republicans are not hanging together, as we see in health care, sufficient to give him fits.

I'm a little surprised at how - how he has lacked better skill with Republicans in Congress thus far.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, because if there is, let's say, at the end of the September, a government shutdown with the Republicans in control of the White House, the presidency, the House, and the Senate, the assessment is that the Republicans will be blamed for the government shutting down.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: : No question. I mean it's hard to imagine anything else. But I think if you kind of take a step back, no question good copy. But my sense is that he got an earful or two or three or more from House Republicans not knowing a lot about what was in this deal that they cut with Democrats to keep the government running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

GREGORY: Right.

BASH: And watching the Democrats be very, very successful and very deliberate about taking victory lap after victory lap about what they won and Republicans didn't.

BLITZER: We see - we see the former Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, now sitting down. Christiane Amanpour will sit down. Christiane will start the interview, asking questions to the former secretary of state. She's at this Women for Women International Forum, this event in New York City. It's a non-profit that works with women in war-torn countries. Here's Christiane.

[13:25:04] CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you all for that great, warm welcome for Hillary Clinton. And I know that everybody always wants to hear from her.

We're here at Women for Women International, which both of us in our different ways have worked with and on behalf of for many, many years. I first knew it when Zainab Salbi and her husband Amjad actually founded it. And I say that because actually I think it's men and women together who empower women in the sense that you've been working for all your life.

So given the structure of this conference and this conversation is about women at the peace table, women being part of the solutions, and women being the change-makers to bring peace rather than war, give me a little bit of your vision about how that could work, particularly in some of the most intractable places that actually empower women -- Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan.

HILLARY CLINTON, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: Right, right.

Well, first, Christiane, thank you for being here and doing this. And thanks to everybody who supports Women for Women International. I look out at this audience and I see some long-time friends who have been in the trenches on behalf of women's issues, women's rights and opportunities, around the world.

And your question's especially important for this organization because, historically, Women for Women International has worked in some of the most difficult places in the world. Conflict zones, post- conflict zones, places where violence, particularly violence against women and children, is a threat for everyone. And they have gone, year after year, into these places to support women, to give women a voice, to give women job training, to give women access to markets, to try to ensure that women are represented when there are conversations about peace or trying to end the violence that afflicts their community or their nation.

So during the course of my years of working on behalf of these issues, this organization has been one that's really produced results. And I want everybody here who is supporting it to know you really make a difference. And your contributions, your front line work, help to change lives. Hundreds of thousands of women have been helped through Women for Women efforts. And your being here today keeps that process going.

Let me just quickly say, you know, if you look at the progress that women have made, certainly since the Beijing Conference in '95 that I was privileged to represent our country at --

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: That conference adopted a platform for action. And it called for equality in education, equality in health care, equality in inheritance and property rights, things that were denied women in much of the world at that time. And it also was a platform for action that nations were really called upon to try to implement themselves.

And in the United States we made real progress in those years, both under two Democratic presidents and one Republican president. And I want to give a shoutout to Laura Bush, who was very active on behalf of Afghan women. And she and I co-chaired that effort.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: So when I did a project that was looking at whether we had gone far enough, I learned that we'd made a lot of progress except in the areas that Christiane highlighted -- peace and security. Where women were the primary victims of conflict and yet were not really given the opportunity to be at those peace tables, to make their views known, to speak up.

Now, there were a couple of really remarkable examples of difference. Like women ended in many ways the civil war in Liberia. And if you haven't seen the movie "Pray the Devil Back to Health", you should because it talks about what women did. And out of that came a woman president, the first on the continent of Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

And so there are other places where women being involved has made a difference. And what we have to do is to raise up organizations like Women for Women International that are really on the front lines and do everything we can to institutionalize that. And I am going to publicly request that this administration not end our efforts making women's rights and opportunities central to American, foreign policy and national security.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)