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Trump Welcomes NHL's Penguins Amid Feud with NFL, NBA; Harvey Weinstein Now Facing Sex Assault Allegations; Paltrow and Jolie Say Weinstein Harassed Them; Ivanka Trump Calls on Congress to Act on Immigration. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 10, 2017 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:00] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- I'm pleased to report that the Tanger is healthy and back on the ice this season where he belongs. It's going to be a great season for you. Yet many of the players really might agree that the biggest MVPs was your incredible loyal fans. The Pen's faithful packed the arenas for every single game, cheering Pittsburgh's boys of winter all the way. Great, great fans. Great state. Great place. In fact, every one of the Penguins home games for the past straight years has been to very much to Ron Burkle's happiness sold out. Right, Ron? Sold out.

So, while you are dominating the ice, the heart of the organization and its commitment to Pittsburgh shines just as brightly off the ice. The Pittsburgh Penguins foundation supports a number of great causes serving young people. Over a million dollars in grants were awarded to local charities last season. The annual food drive distributes thousands and thousands of pounds of food, and tens of thousands of dollars to local community food banks. Since 2010 the Pittsburgh Penguins foundation has also worked with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center sports medicine to combat concussions in young athletes.

Just last week, the Pens pledged two donations of $25,000 each toward relief efforts in Puerto Rico in a support of the victims and the first responders of the terrible attack in Las Vegas. They have worked so hard. The police, the first responders, for everything. Whether it was in Texas, or in Florida or Louisiana or Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, or that horrible, horrible situation caused by a very demented, sick person in Las Vegas. The police, every one of them, first responders, they have been incredible. They have been absolutely incredible. So, we should give them a hand. OK.

Just as much as your five Stanley Cup wins, your generosity has shown the true character of this incredible organization. You are true, true champions and incredible patriots. Now with hockey season again under way, I know you are ready to make yet another run at the cup. The NHL has not seen a three-peat in a generation, but I know you are ready for the challenge. I'm going to be watching so closely. Because you think you'll be back next year? I think so, right.

I have a feeling. I've been watching them. I go to those Ranger games, and you do a lot of bad damage to our Ranger games, don't you? Boy, oh, boy you do damage, but that's the way you want to do it. It's called winning, right, Sidney? It's called winning. I know the Capitals will be looking for pay back tomorrow night. So, we will let you get back to practice. I just again want to congratulate this incredible franchise on its so many victories. You embody the values of dedication, discipline and hard work. To every young American watching today, we encourage you to always strive to be your best, to do your best, and to give your all. We wish all the best of luck this season. You are going to have a great season. Coach is telling me your team is going to be better than ever. So, let's go Pens. Thank you all. God bless you and God bless the United States of America. Fantastic. Thank you very much. Congratulations.

[15:35:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: It's always fun for any president to get a championship team on over to the White House. This is Pittsburgh Penguins, the championship -- your Canadian, help me out, Stanley Cup, thank you. Thank you Rachel Sklar, forgive me, I'm from the South where we got a hockey team later in life. Forgive me. Stanley Cup, Pittsburgh Penguins. So, congratulates to them. The president didn't at all wade into anything with regard to football standing at the national anthem. We did though during that press briefing here Sarah Sanders stand by the latest statement from the Roger Goodell, the Commissioner at the NFL, saying we want our players to stand for the flag. There you have it the President with the Penguins.

We'll want to continue our conversation that we had before this event there in the East Room. More on our breaking news on Harvey Weinstein. Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie among the high- profile names now speaking about their own personal encounters with Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein. These new developments ahead.

Also, the political part of this story today, Hillary Clinton who accepted thousands of dollars in political donations from Harvey Weinstein, she is now breaking her silence with a statement. We'll have that for you coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:16] BALDWIN: Let's get back now to the bomb shell accusations against Hollywood mega producer, Harvey Weinstein. The "New Yorker" and "The New York Times" detailing more than a dozen accusations of sexual harassment and assault. I want to read to you one excerpt from one of Weinstein's accusers. Her name is Lucia Evans. She says she was this aspiring actress and student when she was raped by Harvey Weinstein. That's why I want to read this. This is her segment from the "New Yorker" piece.

When Evans arrived for the meeting, the building was full of people. She was lead to an office with exercise equipment and take out boxes on the floor, where she met with Harvey Weinstein alone. Evans said that she found him frightening. The type of control he exerted, it was very real, she told me. Even just his presence was intimidating. In the meeting Evans recalled, quote, he immediately was simultaneously flattering me and demeaning me and making me feel bad about myself. Weinstein told her that she would be great in Project Runway, the show which Weinstein helped produce -- premiered later that year -- but only if she lost weight. He also told her about two scripts, a horror movie and teen love story

and said one of his associates would discuss them with her. Quote, at that point after that is when he assaulted me, she says. Here's the quote. He forced me to perform oral sex on him. As she objected Weinstein took out his penis out of his pants and pulled her head down onto it. I said over and over I don't want to do this, stop. Don't, she said. I tried to get away, but maybe I didn't try hard enough. I didn't want to kick him or fight him. In the end, she said, he's a big guy. He over powered me.

At a certain point, she said I just sort of gave up. That is the most horrible part of it. And that's why he's been able to do this for so long to so many, many women. People give up and then they feel like it's their fault.

Rachel Sklar is with me. The founder of THEList. Amanda Carpenter, CNN political commentator, Hadas Gold, CNN politics, media and business reporter. Ladies, let's talk about this. Rachel just beginning with you. I mean, her account, multiple accounts just sounds like textbook sexual harassment.

RACHEL SKLAR, FOUNDER, THELIST: It does. It is textbook. It's been happening for three decades. So, he's been perfecting what works for him. It is shocking but not surprising. Because we have seen this playbook play out most recently. Well not actually not most recently, but certainly most notably a year ago with the President of the United States and multiple accusations of sexual assault and sexual harassment --

BALDWIN: Acquisitions.

SKLAR: -- by many women. But we also saw this with Roger Ailes, again, a systemic, over and over, repeated predatory behavior. And this is something that is endemic to our culture. Because women are, you know, the default position is men are to be believed and women are not. And that men have power and men exert that power over women in these circumstances.

BALDWIN: But to think it's allegedly been going on for three decades. And someone like Angelina Jolie, where according to this "New York Times" inclusive piece, she said she was assaulted. She said she tried warning other women. But this is the first time someone as seemingly strong and powerful and successful as she, hasn't gone public until now.

SKLAR: Because there is strength in numbers here. And the numbers only came out to a critical mass this time. I mean, every media organization is trying to get on the record saying that they've been trying really hard to get Harvey Weinstein in that gosh darn he lawyered up and they never quite got there. So, you see it takes, it's power, it's money, it's influence, and it's this, again, this culture of complicity in sort of enabling this behavior to go on from a powerful person.

BALDWIN: That's a huge piece of it. We'll come back to that. But Hadas, you've talked to -- I understand you've spoken directly to one of these accusers. Who is she and what's her story?

HADAS GOLD, CNN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER: Her name is Dawn Dunning and she was the last women in the most recent "New York Times" piece that quotes Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. She was like many of these other women. She was in her early 20s. She was waitressing. Doing a little bit of acting, in design school when she met Mr. Weinstein. And according to this "New York Times" report, she told them that he invited her to a meeting. The meeting ended up being in a hotel room where he appeared in a bathrobe. And he told her that she needs to engage in sexual behavior with him otherwise she wasn't going to be able to make it in this business and this is how this business worked.

[15:45:00] I emailed with her and she told me she's just surprised it has taken this long for this all to come out. When I knew him, it was clear by the way he and his staff acted that this was a regular occurrence. Now this is I think what a lot of people need to pay attention to. Now obviously, all of these acts are horrendous. But what is probably even more horrendous is the number of people who knew about this. The number of people who were in positions to do something about it. Executives at his company, that only now they're coming out and talking about it. What were they doing for decades just hiding this?

BALDWIN: The assistants, the producers, when you read the stories, that the people who led these young women to X, Y and Z hotel rooms where he was alone. It makes you wonder who knew what.

GOLD: Exactly. And I think that is the biggest thing here is the responsibility at a personal level, at the corporate level. Because these people clearly knew. And in a lot of these stories it is including also other female producers who were aware of it. Who were warning them. And it really is, as we were talking about earlier, the power in the numbers. The power of these women to come forward. We saw them with Roger Ailes. Gretchen Carlson when she submitted her lawsuit. That's when we all see these dominoes fall and more people coming forward and having the bravery to come forward and speak about this.

BALDWIN: So, we've talked so much and we'll keep talking about the voices coming forward in Hollywood and also, the silence. And then there has been, you know, some silence and now no longer from Hillary Clinton. Amanda, for you, just in the political sphere, Secretary Clinton released a statement saying that she is appalled and shocked. She had received thousands of dollars from Harvey Weinstein for her campaign. But still nothing so far from the Obamas. What do you make of this? The political silence on this?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's pathetic, number one. But I think we also have to look at why all this information is coming to light now. I seriously wonder if Hillary Clinton were President and Harvey Weinstein were the Uber connected powerful Democratic donor with access to the highest most powerful people in the world, if this would have come out now? Because again and again when these cases of sexual abusers who enjoy a lot of power, these dominos don't start tumbling down until they start to lose that power. We saw that with Roger Ailes. All this information came out after he left Fox News. We found out about all the settlements.

Harvey Weinstein paid out eight settlements over many, many years. People knew this, and now they are coming out he needs therapy. Like he didn't need it after he lost the first few million dollars or whatever it was. So, I think the key to uncovering a lot of this information is getting these guys to feel like they are losing power and influence, and that's when we find out all the information.

SKLAR: I'm not entirely sure I would agree with that. Roger Ailes was certainly very powerful at the time that she's stunning revelations came down. And then further revelations of settlements came out subsequently. But I find it so strange that people keep on trying to name Hillary Clinton as though she's culpable when --

CARPENTER: Hillary Clinton is not president right now because she enabled sexual abuse, let's be clear on that.

SKLAR: If George Clooney and Ben Affleck Ben who were working with Harvey Weinstein for many, many years, both have explicitly come out and said that they are just learning of this now. I don't think it's fair to impute and of this knowledge to Hillary Clinton.

CARPENTER: Hillary Clinton has a track record of being slow on the draw. Let's be frank, during the Clinton administration she covered up for her husband. She --

SKLAR: (CROSSTALK).

CARPENTER: -- calling Monica Lewinsky a crazy lunatic.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: We are talking about Harvey Weinstein.

CARPENTER: This is how he recovered himself from the Access Hollywood tapes, had she not done that he would not have had the card to play against her. Just look at what happen in the campaign.

SKLAR: I don't know what to say about this. I think this is a red herring and a distraction from discussing the fact --

CARPENTER: It's why we have Donald Trump.

Sklar: -- if I'm going to look a presidential candidate of 2016 analog to the Harvey Weinstein situation I think it's fairly clear that that analog would be Donald Trump.

CARPENTER: No, the analog is not being able to call --

BALDWIN: Ladies, ladies, ladies, listen, this conversation is taking us away from talking about these accusers, these alleged victims in the Harvey Weinstein story. If I may, let's stay on this. And I want to move on. If you all have not seen what fashion designer Donna Karen had said initially upon hearing the news with her friend Harvey Weinstein, she said, and what are we throwing out to our children today about how to dance and how to perform and what to wear, how much should they show. She continued, you look at everything all over the world today and how women are dressing, and what they are asking just by presenting themselves the way they do. What are they asking for? She says, trouble.

I need to point out that she walked it back slightly by saying I have spent my life championing women, and quote, and my statements were taken out of context and do not represent how I feel about the current situation concerning Harvey Weinstein. But, Rachel, her original statement as a woman is a bit concerning.

[15:50:00] SKLAR: Listen, if she walked it back, great. The point is that even for a moment, putting the onus on women and girls to not be assaulted by men or by anyone is ridiculous. The onus should be on men like Harvey Weinstein and Roger Ailes and others who we shall not name again, to not physically sexually harass and intimidate women. And also, the onus is on us to realize that this is a systemic issue. And to believe women. The onus is on us to believe women and to take the pressure off women to be perfect. And maybe we can try putting that pressure elsewhere. I don't know. On men?

BALDWIN: We'll leave it there. And yes, Rachael Sklar, thank you. Amanda Carpenter, thank you. Hadas Gold appreciate you.

Next here, Ivanka Trump. Ivanka Trump weighs in on her father's policy on Dreamers after weeks of silence. This, as the first lady, Melania Trump steps out on her own to draw attention to the opioid crisis in West Virginia. We'll talk about the messages coming from two of the most powerful women in the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:55:33] BALDWIN: Despite the silence during the President's controversial decision to end DACA or really let Congress decide. The policy that protects hundreds of thousands of Dreamers, assistant to the President and first daughter, Ivanka Trump, is making her opinion heard. Speaking at Fortune's most powerful women summit, she waded into the immigration debate saying, it needs a long-term congressional fix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP, FIRST DAUGHTER AND ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT: I personally am of the opinion and the President has stated this, that we have to figure out a good solution that protects these innocent people. Many of whom were brought to the country as children. But, you know, there has to be a long-term fix, and it cannot be bandaged over at a Presidential level through another executive order that can be rescinded by a subsequent administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, Emily Jane Fox, CNN contributor and senior reporter with "Vanity Fair." So, Emily, hearing her obviously she was asked about DACA so she weighed in on that, but this is -- this is a woman who has really tried to stay above the partisan fray. We're also learning today that she wants to wade into helping her father out on tax reform. Something that she's not an expert in. What's her goal here? What -- is her role morphing?

EMILY JANE FOX, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think her role is actually staying closer to what she moved to Washington to do. She is being an advocate for the issues that she wanted to be an advocate for when she moved there in January. The problem was when the administration first took over in January was -- as one White House official recently described to me -- it was the wild, wild West in the West Wing. And there was no structure in place. There was no boss there telling everyone what they should do. So, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, felt they needed to be in every meeting just to kind of protect the President. They were not able to focus on the issues that they wanted to focus on. Because there was really no real structure in place.

Now John Kelly is in as Chief of Staff. Some people within the West Wing have said they've sort of been exiled a little bit from those roles. Some people categorize it more as now they are able to focus on the jobs they were there to do. That's why you see her talking about tax reform or a child care tax credit. That's why you see her in Detroit a couple of weeks ago talking about STEM education. These are things she wanted to do initially that align more with her personal brand, but she has been so off track because of the craziness within the West Wing.

BALDWIN: Now she's doing them.

FOX: Yes.

BALDWIN: I've also got Kate Bennett standing by, who was in or who was in West Virginia, which is where the first lady was today addressing the opioid crisis. And I think specifically with little babies. Tell me what she was doing.

KATE BENNETT, SENIOR REPORTER, VANITY FAIR: Yes, we just got back, Brooke. She was at a place called Lily's Place. Which specializes in helping babies born with opioid addiction. Clearly this is something the first lady is very passionate about. She said so today. She said, how can I help? How can I use my potion and my profile to help shed some light on this? This is an issue with the opioid crisis in the country that not a lot of people discuss. Lily's Place, again, focuses just on infants and babies and helping families. Kellyanne Conway was there today as well, as was some people involved in Lily's Place, and of the graduates who had gone through the program was there with her baby. It was a quick trip. But, again, the first lady's second solo trip on her own. And she certainly branching out and setting her place with this children's issues, which is going to be her platform.

BALDWIN: Do you think, Emily, we'll see more of the first lady out and about?

BENNETT: She has the highest approval rating of all of them I think. So, this is a good time for her to get out there. And these are the things she seems to care about. It's good optics for the administration at the very least. BALDWIN: Let's going go back to something, I was actually just

talking to Kate about this 24 hours ago. About Ivana Trump, Donald Trump's first wife. She has this book out and so she made news in an interview essentially saying, you know, I have the phone number, I have a direct line into my ex-husband and I'm the first lady. And surprisingly, I think to a lot of people, Melania Trump, vis-a-vis the spokeswoman, jumped in with a statement, sort of slapping her down.

BENNETT: all It was a phenomenal moment in American first lady history. I don't think we've ever --

BALDWIN: First lady-ness.

BENNETT: -- I don't think we've ever had a third wife in the White House before. So, to have a first wife on a book tour about the husband and her first children, and then a third wife as the first lady there to respond is a really remarkable moment in history. But the first -- the actual first lady was out there today doing her first lady duties. So, it was an interesting way to respond again by being there in West Virginia and sticking to her platform.

BALDWIN: OK. Emily Jane Fox, thank you so much, from "Vanity Fair," CNN contributor. Nice to see you. Kate Bennett fresh off the plane from West Virginia. Thank you so much for all things Melania Trump. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Keep it right here. Of course, Jake Tapper is going to pick it up in just a moment with all things, including the latest from the White House, the fires in California and beyond. I'm Brooke Baldwin here in New York. Thank you so much for being with me. We'll go to Washington now. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.