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Trump Backs Immigration Plan; Bill Significantly Flawed; Call From Mexico; Test-Launch Missiles; Mexico and Boy Scouts Contradict Trump; Trump Weighed in on Son's Statement;. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired August 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, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Moscow. Wherever you're watching around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, President Trump tackled some major issues, including new sanctions leveled against Russia and a new plan to limit legal immigration into the United States.

The president has just signed a bill to impose additional sanctions on Russia, but it also restricts his ability to ease those sanctions against Moscow.

And just a little while ago, the president announced a plan to dramatically overhaul the immigration system in the United States. It's called the RAYS Act. The president says it would give priority to highly-skilled workers and limit the number of unskilled immigrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This competitive application process will favor applicants who speak English, financially support themselves and their families, and demonstrate skills that will contribute to our economy.

The RAYS Act prevents new immigrants and new immigrants from collecting welfare and protects U.S. workers from being displaced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And the Trump administration hasn't given up trying to repeal and replace Obamacare but some Republicans are now breaking with the president on health care and other issues.

But let's begin with Russia sanctions. The bill passed by Congress by an overwhelming margin. And it gives lawmakers, not the president, the power to ease those sanctions on Russia.

Let's bring in our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta and our Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles, he's up on Capitol Hill.

Jim, the president signed the bill but he certainly didn't celebrate the event. Tell our viewers what he's saying about this new sanctions' law.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. And we should point out, unlike other acts that the president has taken here at the White House, this did not happen in front of the cameras. He signed this behind closed doors and then issued a couple of statements.

One of those signing statements that accompanied the signing of this legislations which imposes some new sanctions on Russia's energy industry. Also limits the president's ability, as you said, to lift sanctions on Russia.

You'll recall, after the 2016 election, the Obama administration slapped sanctions on the Russians, ejecting them from those diplomatic compounds on the Maryland eastern shore in New York.

But the president, along with that signing of the legislation, issued a statement that he disagreed with portions of it. And we can put this on screen. He's essentially saying that it's not constitutional.

And here's what he has to say in one of these statements. It says, while I favor tough measure to punish and deter aggressive and destabilizing behavior by Iran, North Korea and Russia, this legislation is significantly flawed. In its haste to pass this legislation, the Congress included a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions.

So, that is a suggestion there, Wolf, that even though this bill has become law, the president has signed it, the president does intend, the administration does intend to exercise its authority, in terms of the implementation of this law.

And we should also point out, Wolf. There was another statement that was put out by the White House from the president on all of this.

And it said that he signed this bill for the sake of national unity which is a very interesting statement, Wolf. Because it obviously acknowledges some of the deep concerns that exist, not only on the Democratic side, but even on the Republican side, about the Russia investigation. About what's going on over here at the White House.

If you'll recall, it was just yesterday when Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, acknowledged that the president helped craft that misleading statement from his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., about that meeting he had with Russians during the campaign.

And so, it appears in the signing of this legislation and the statements that went along with it, that the White House is trying its best to move on and deal with some of the fallout, the public relations fallout, P.R. fallout, of this Russia investigation which is ongoing -- Wolf.

BLITZER: You know, Ryan, you're up on Capitol Hill. The bill passed by a vote of, what, 98 to two in the Senate, 419 to three in the House of Representatives. So, Congress would have been able, clearly, to override a presidential veto. There was no veto. He signed it into law.

But the he's message he sending lawmakers is very clear. This is significantly flawed, he says, and contains unconstitutional provisions.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. And I think, by the margins that you talked about there that this passed by so overwhelmingly, it's, quite frankly, the bipartisan thing that this Congress has done in 2017. It shows that both Republicans and Democrats don't necessarily trust the White House all that much as it relates to Russia.

And even Bob Corker from Tennessee, who's largely been supportive of the administration, and he was the lead negotiator in the Senate and was in open conversations with the White House about this particular bill.

He said publicly that the fact that the White House has not really given strong statements, as it relates to Russia, is one of the reasons that this bill had to be passed. And provide more controls by the Congress, as it relates to the implementation of sanctions like these.

[13:05:09] So, this is another indication, Wolf, of, kind of, the rocky relationship between Capitol Hill and the White House right now. And it's not just Democrats. There are more and more Republicans that are uncomfortable with that relationship. It even tracks back to the health care debate.

So, this was a loud and clear message from this Congress that they are a co-equal branch of government and part of their job is to keep the White House in check.

BLITZER: Yes, the president clearly does not believe that. We're going to get into that a little bit more. Ryan Nobles, Jim Acosta, guys, thanks very much.

Let's discuss all these late-breaking developments. I'm joined by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R), LOUISIANA: Thank you, Wolf. Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: So, you were a part of the 98 who voted in favor of the Russia sanctions legislation. You know President Trump, he just signed the sanctions bill into law but he also said it was significantly flawed, contains clearly unconstitution -- a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions.

And he then added this to the statement and let me read it to you because it's very significant. My administration will give careful and respectful consideration to the preferences expressed by the Congress in these various provisions and will implement them in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations. He seems to be suggesting, Senator, he's going to decide what is constitutional, not constitutional. He's not simply going to implement what you guys on Capitol Hill wanted. Your reaction?

CASSIDY: So, there's always been tension between the executive and the legislative when it comes to -- when it comes to foreign affairs. It goes back to at least Henry Cabot Lodge and Woodrow Wilson.

On the other hand, we, as a legislative body, wanted to clearly say that Russia's recent actions are beyond the pale and that they deserve some response.

If the president decides to have something which is a half measure, then obviously Congress has their own tools. But I'd rather think that the president and Congress will work together with each other, as opposed to against each other.

BLITZER: Yes, he clearly has that threat in there. He will decide how to implement it, not you guys.

And then, he goes one step further, Senator, and he really slaps the U.S. Congress in a separate statement, personal statement he released. Quote, "The bill remains seriously flawed, particularly because it encroaches on the executive branch's authority to negotiate. Congress could not even negotiate a health care bill after seven years of talking. By limiting the executive's flexibility, this bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people."

And then, he adds this. I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars. That is a big part of the reason I was elected. As president, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress.

He's really giving Congress a slap right there. I want you to react to that.

CASSIDY: I'm kind of chuckling. That's such a Trumpian statement.

The fact is, though, is if the legislative branch has a role in this, we're exerting that role. If the president comes up with a better deal, I'm sure Congress will be open to that.

On the other hand, we felt there had to be a response to some of the actions that Russia has taken recently. And I'm glad we passed the agreement.

BLITZER: Yes, he basically suggesting what you passed and what he actually signed, even though he says it's unconstitutional and significantly flawed. He's basically suggesting he will decide how to implement it, whether to implement it, and he's not going to really pay that much attention to it.

But let's get on to some other critically important issues, Senator, while I have you. As you know, he's had a series of meetings with some of your Republican colleagues. Later today, he's extended an invitation to Senator Portman to come over. Has this outreach worked so far? Because increasingly, we're hearing a lot of grumbling from Republican senators.

CASSIDY: Well, the president clearly still wants to replace Obamacare and that's a good thing, from my perspective. And I think we've made some progress.

But we're doing it differently. We're bringing in governors, hearing from their Medicaid directors, finding out what would make a bill work for them.

If you look at the data, if you look at a state which increases coverage, it has much more to do with the actions of a governor than it does with the individual mandate.

So, if you really care about coverage, we need to get the governors engaged. The president's doing that. I'm working with the White House as well. I think it's a really good direction to go in.

BLITZER: Let's talk about the immigration policy that he unveiled today. He announced that the United States would like -- he wants the U.S. to switch to what he called a merit-based system.

Do you -- giving preference to skilled workers to come to the United States, entrepreneurs, people who speak English. Do you think this is something that could work and do you think the votes are there to make a significant change like that?

CASSIDY: You know, I think that's been proposed in the past and absolutely I think that that would be well received. I'm not -- I don't have a clear read of what Democrats would say about that.

[13:10:07] But we want folks who will make our economy more prosperous. And the folks that will are those that come with skillsets or with capital that can, again, create jobs for Americans who are already here. That is the sweet spot in immigration policy. If the president advances that, I would like to think there'll be bipartisan support for that.

BLITZER: Because a lot of Democrats and some Republicans are already saying what he announced today goes against the tradition of just to welcome in rich people or people who speak English, but welcome immigrants of all types and give them an opportunity to experience the American dream. What do you say to that?

CASSIDY: Because this is not just about those who are coming, it's also about those who are here. And those who are here will be more prosperous, if an entrepreneur comes into their depressed community, creates a business which then creates thousands of jobs.

We have to consider not just those coming, but first those who are here. I think the president is doing that. I think that's the better way to go.

BLITZER: You're a physician. A final question on health care right now. You're a member of the Senate Health Committee as will. The chairman of that committee, Lamar Alexander, a man you know well, he announced that the committee will hold bipartisan health care hearings. He really wants to work with the Democrats now, now that repeal and replace has failed in the Senate.

Do you believe there is an opportunity now to come up with some bipartisan legislation that will fix many of the problems of the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare?

CASSIDY: Well, already, I think the chairman has an agreement with the ranking member to work on the cost sharing reduction payments, at least through 2018. Those families who are looking at 40 percent increases in their premiums, Republicans tried to address that recently. We failed, unfortunately to get 50 votes. Nevertheless, that would address this issue through 2018.

So, it's a -- if you will, already a bipartisan solution for an immediate problem. Going forward, I've always been about, personally, getting something bipartisan. I think it's the better way to go and I continue to work to that end.

BLITZER: Senator Cassidy, thanks for joining us.

CASSIDY: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Good luck.

Up next, President Trump says his Mexican counterpart called him to praise his work on border security. But guess what? Mexico's president says that call never happened. We have new information.

Plus, the U.S. says it's successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile today. As tensions with North Korea escalate, this comes as one key U.S. senator says war with that rogue nation is now inevitable.

[13:12:20]

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:27] BLITZER: Other news we're following, the Boy Scouts and Mexico's president, they're denying recent claims made by President Trump about complementary phone calls. The president's claim about the Boy Scouts came after his controversial speech at the group's jamboree. In an interview with "The Wall Street Journal," obtained by Politico, the transcript obtained by Politico, the president says, and I'm quoting now, "I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them," close quote.

The Boy Scouts ended up apologizing actually for President Trump's speech and an official tells CNN they're not aware of any phone call between the group's leadership and the president.

And here's the president's claim about a phone call from Mexico's president. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Even the president of Mexico called me. They said their southern border, very few people are coming because they know they're not going to get through our border, which is the ultimate compliment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The Mexican foreign ministry denies this, saying, and I'm quoting now, "President Enrique Pena Nieto has not been in recent communication via telephone with President Donald Trump."

Let's bring in our panel. Joining us, our CNN political analyst, David Gregory, CNN politics reporter and editor at large, Chris Cillizza, and national politics reporter for "The Washington Post," Matea Gold.

So, Chris, what about these phone calls? The president makes a hard statement, quickly denied by various groups.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR AT LARGE: Yes, and a hard same that paints him in the most possible favorable light, right? They said it was the greatest speech ever delivered.

You know, he is an exaggerator. He is a serial exaggerator. This is not new. Everything is the best, the newest. It doesn't always matter what he's talking about.

But there is a trust issue not related. These are relatively trivial things. But if you are willing to let's say stretch the truth, they -- possible make it up from whole cloth, but at least stretch the truth regarding phone calls or what was said or if you made them at all.

It should, and I'm certain does raise doubts about what you are saying that can be believed and what can't. Obviously when you're the president of the United States, not only when you're dealing with the Congress, when you're dealing with foreign leaders, if there's a pattern in which you either exaggerate a lot or don't tell the truth a lot, that's a big problem.

BLITZER: David, how do you see it?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, mean it's a shame it's not colonial America. He might have a shot to become king, which I think he'd actually like.

Look, the real problem with this beyond how ridiculous it is that the president of the United States exaggerating this way, is that it -- he can't be -- he can't be believed. I mean he says things that aren't true to the press, to the American public and about not only organizations but his -- other leaders around the world, his peers. And that has a real impact.

Again, not today, not as we sit here, but if something really bad happens, and the president needs to sit aside the world stage with credibility, he's undercutting that, again, over small matters that are simply about his own aggrandizement over and over and over again.

BLITZER: You know, the other issue, Matea, I want to get to, you remember the controversial meeting that his son, Donald Trump Jr., and others had with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in New York City last summer. Initially the president's private attorney, Jay Sekulow, said the president had nothing to do with the statement that was released saying the president was not involved, didn't know anything about it. But yesterday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, she said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president weighed in, as any father would based on the limited information that he had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:20:02] BLITZER: So that's clearly a shift. Is this significant?

MATEA GOLD, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I think what we're seeing now is this constant pattern of false and misleading statements is going from beyond the political realm to having broader implications. So our indefatigable fact checkers at "The Washington Post" have actually logged 836 false and misleading claims by Trump in the first six months. That's more than four a day if you can believe that. And, for the most part, these have been a political issues, like, do they cause political damage.

At this point, though, now, there's a special counsel investigation. Robert Mueller is very likely going to take a look at the interactions that Trump had in crafting this statement and the role he had in putting out an initially misleading impression of this meeting. And so I think this is -- the president gets on to dangerous terrain when he is participating in these efforts to promote not necessarily a fulsome picture of what's going on.

GREGORY: Can I just say, this is why the notion of his children being so involved is so harmful. Think about what Sarah Huckabee Sanders is saying with apparently a straight face, at least to herself, which is that, oh, he's just doing what any father would do. The president of the United States taking the lead and offering a misleading statement about his son's meeting with the Russians who were trying to manipulate our election and provide opposition material on the woman he was running against, who he threatened to put into prison, as any father would do to get in the middle of that. I mean it's just -- you don't want your children involved, let alone start lying about whether you're, you know, dictating the statement or not.

BLITZER: Well, let's get to the Russia sanctions legislation. The president signed it into law today. A major piece of legislation. There was no photo opportunity. He didn't bring in members of Congress. It was overwhelmingly approved in the House and the Senate.

He did issue a couple of statements, though, basically suggesting, you know what, it's unconstitutional. It's significantly flawed. I'll implement it the way I want to implement it because I'm the president of the -- I'm paraphrasing -- I'm the president of the United States.

CILLIZZA: Yes, but, I mean, that is essentially what he said. Again, a continuation. We've seen this with health care. We've seen it with other things where he doesn't -- he either doesn't grasp or doesn't believe in separation of powers. So it's hard to know which of those two it is, but that's clearly what's going on here.

He believes that if you work for him, and he views anyone in the federal government as someone who works for him. As senators have made clear, you know, we don't work for you. The whole Jeff Sessions matter with the Russian recusal, he did this to me. I'm his boss. Sure, but Jeff Sessions also has dual responsibilities to the American public. So he doesn't understand or care about that.

This statement is, and the way in which it was done, Wolf, as you say, and sort of no fanfare compared to some of the other things that he's signed in which there was Rose Garden ceremony. It shows you he's thinking, I'm doing this but I'm not happy about it and I almost certainly am not planning to listen to it.

BLITZER: And he says, I'm only going to implement it in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations, Metea. Then he goes one step further and he slaps Congress and he says, you know, you guys couldn't even negotiate a health care bill after seven years of talking. As president, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress.

GOLD: I think if he read this statement and didn't realize he had signed it, you would have thought it was a statement explaining that he'd actually -- the reason for not signing this legislation.

BLITZER: The veto.

GOLD: Exactly.

BLITZER: But the veto would have been overridden --

GOLD: Yes. Right.

BLITZER: Because of the lopsided majority in the House and Senate.

GOLD: Yes. And what the statement does is accomplish two things. One, it continues to drive a wedge between the administration and Congress. Already members of Congress, particularly in the Senate, are very frustrated with the administration and the blame that he's putting on them for the failure to repeal and replace Obamacare. This also continues to perpetuate this idea that the administration does not have a clear strategy on Russia. We had Vice President Pence speaking very forcefully about the administration's position about Russian, his travels this week, the same time that the president is all but rejecting this legislation.

GREGORY: And Europe is going to get very upset because you have a tit for tat. It seems like Putin has decided, let's ratchet up Cold War- style tensions with the United States. And you've seen it with military deployments in eastern Europe. That is going to upset NATO and our European partners. And here we have a president who doesn't really see Russia as a threat, although has now backed these sanctions. I think Europe is going to really, again, come complaining about this White House.

CILLIZZA: And important, by the way, I think to note how isolated Trump is. Not necessarily in the country, but within the Republican Party on Russia.

BLITZER: Right.

CILLIZZA: Lindsey Graham was on our air earlier today and he said, look, Donald Trump is the only person --

BLITZER: Yes.

CILLIZZA: That includes Mike Pence, who has this view of Russia.

GREGORY: Right.

CILLIZZA: Maybe Rex Tillerson you throw in there, given Rex Tillerson had some objections too.

But this is a man on an island. He does not have -- this is not a Republican view in any way, shape or form.

BLITZER: Yes, you heard Senator Cassidy, my our last interview --

CILLIZZA: Right.

BLITZER: Republican from Louisiana, say, when he -- when I read to him part of the president's statement, he said he felt like he should laugh hearing it, and he's a Republican from Louisiana.

CILLIZZA: A conservative Republican from Louisiana, right.

BLITZER: A very conservative Republican.

All right, guys, thanks very much, Matea Gold, Chris Cillizza and David Gregory.

[13:25:02] Coming up, the Trump administration is taking direct aim at affirmative action. A new report reveals the Department of Justice now exploring ways to sue universities over their policies that take race into consideration. And we're going to speak to the former president of the NAACP, Cornell William Brooks. He's standing by live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Is the Trump administration preparing to take on college affirmative action programs suspected of discriminating against white applicants. That's what "The New York Times" and other publications are now reporting. "The Times" says the Justice Department is recruiting lawyers to work on, quote, "investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions."