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Trump Defiant and Defensive; Trump 2020 Campaign; Kentucky Shooting Suspect Tried to Enter Church. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 29, 2018 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00] CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Area I represented for years. And I will tell you that they take security seriously. That they are -- there were threats against Jewish Community Centers a couple of years ago, all across the country.

It's hard -- I think that the general discourse in this country, political discourse, has been degraded significantly over time. And it predated Donald Trump. But people feel uninhibited. They say things and some of them act out on these very ugly impulses.

I do think that the president's tone has certainly helped to degrade where we are as a country. We just heard Kellyanne Conway talking about America first, not a term I would use at a time like this given the historical connotations. And I think that there's too much of a -- I hear too much negativeism (ph), isolationism, protectionism. I think that also contributes to this very ugly, negative tone when it comes to situations like this.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I asked Kellyanne, Senator Lieberman, about nationalism, which the president now pridely (ph) states he supports. She brought up America first proactively. She said, you know, the president is very much for that.

Do you believe that there are those who perceive those to be anti- Semitic dog whistles when you see the -- one of the closing ads of his campaign, George Soros, Janet Yellen, Lloyd Blankfein from Goldman Sachs with dark, ominous pictures and talking about the money and the international banking? Is that something that sends a message?

JOE LIEBERMAN (I), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Yes.

Well, the first thing I want to say is that, in my opinion, this brutal murder in Pittsburgh over the weekend really had to -- was committed by a hateful loner who was probably more stimulated by anti- Semitism in social media than by anything else going on around him. He was against President Trump. And it's real -- a real -- I was glad to see that this website is taking itself down for a while and all the social media people have to ask whether they're becoming vehicles for this kind of hatred.

But, more generally, I think all of us have to -- beginning with the president, Democrat and Republican leaders in Congress, people in the media, conventional media and the more unconventional social media have to ask ourselves, to what extent are we contributing to the division in our society?

Charlie Dent and I have worked together in a group called No Labels, trying to overcome the way that parties have become like warring tribes.

But this goes beyond that, of course. And none of us want that. So what would I say when the president makes a constructive statement about unity, let's praise him for it and urge him to build on it and think about ways in which he can act so that no one can ever say he somehow was responsible for violence or hatred.

BERMAN: I appreciate that. And I think we all did play the statements that the president made condemning anti-Semitism and calling on unity.

LIEBERMAN: Right.

BERMAN: But at the same time, you know, he's not an infant. This isn't reinforcing good behavior to him so that can you prevent the bad behavior because ever since he put out that statement, and, congressman, I'll put this to you, he's made statements about Tom Steyer, calling him a lunatic. He's been on Twitter criticizing the media, somehow suggesting this is all the media's fault and made every sign that he's not going to tone down the political rhetoric from the podium at his rallies. So what's his role?

DENT: Well, certainly the president's role is to set a better example. He needs to tone down the incendiary, inflammatory rhetoric.

But this is not just about the president of the United States. I mean I can look at the left, too. You know, I remember Maxine Waters saying get into people's faces. And you see people, you know, confront Mitch McConnell in a restaurant with his wife, or Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a restaurant. I mean this type of in-your-face politics, I think, is just -- it's just terrible for the country.

I mean I, as a Republican, somebody in the center right movement, let's call -- call me that, I mean I've often thought that we should be talking about stability, order, discipline, temperance, incremental change, measured statements. These are good virtues frankly not only for Republicans, but for Democrats. And I think we need to get back to that. And it's -- I'm proud to work with Senator Lieberman. I agree with just about everything he said. You know, he's trying to -- you know, we're trying to bring people together, not divide people. And the president's got to help -- got to do more to unify us rather than divide us.

BERMAN: Charlie Dent, Joe Lieberman, thank you very much for being with us. We'll let you get back to the work of unifying the country. You have your work cut out for you. Thanks, guys.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John, it's only eight days until the midterms. President Trump's first-time campaign manager is speaking out about the rhetoric and the rallies. That's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD PARSCALE, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN MANAGER: They are becoming shows. Fans walk out now and say, that was awesome.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He's putting on a show?

[08:35:00] PARSCALE: I mean I think we -- I think part of it is we put on a show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: President Trump is making his final push ahead of the midterms elections with a new glossy TV ad. CNN's Dana Bash spoke with President Trump's 2020 campaign manager, and she joins us live from Washington.

You're getting a jump on it, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I am. But, you know, more importantly, they're getting a jump on it. And it's really unprecedented, Alisyn, and it's the latest example of the president busting through political norms. As you mentioned, I talked to the president's campaign manager about that and, of course, asked about the president's rhetoric. I should note, we spoke on Friday before 11 Jews were murdered at their synagogue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice over): A 2018 midterm closing GOP argument, paid for and produced by the Trump 2020 re-election campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But this could all go away if we don't remember what we came from.

BRAD PARSCALE, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN MANAGER: What this ad shows is things are getting better. We need to continue to vote Republican.

BASH: Brad Parscale is campaign manager for Trump 2020. The fact that the president already has a campaign --

[08:40:00] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I, Donald John Trump --

BASH: Filed for re-election the day he was inaugurated, is unprecedented. Never mind what Parscale says is a $6 million ad buy on TV and digital when Trump's not actually on the ballot yet.

PARSCALE: Sometimes success can bring complacency. And we have to go and remind them, the economy is not just a given in the United States. This actually takes work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's more opportunity and security to invest in the ones that matter.

BASH: It's produced to be more Super Bowl commercial than political ad. The same emotional approach used to sell Trump 2016. PARSCALE: You have to make people feel things. I think that's what

commercials are, from a commercial for a car, a phone, or anything that might be, they want you do it (ph). I mean the first iPhone was sold by how exciting it was to look at pictures of your family, not how great a phone it was.

BASH: Trump 2020 has already raised a whopping $100 million plus, causing some hard feelings among Republicans running now saying --

BASH (on camera): The Trump campaign is gobbling up all of our dollars, makes it hard for us to raise money.

PARSCALE: Yes, well, I think that's, you know, unfortunate, but I think we're doing everything with that money that we can to help them. I would say that the president being at their rallies and being able to pay all those is significant. They are becoming shows. They are -- fans walk out now and say, that was awesome.

BASH: He's putting on a show?

PARSCALE: I mean I think we -- I think part of it is we put on a show. I mean it's politics and marketing politics is a presentation.

BASH (voice over): Part of the Trump show tends to be harsh rhetoric toward political opponents and the media, which Cesar Sayoc lapped up at a Trump rally last year. Federal authorities say they have proof that Sayoc sent 14 mail bombs to critics of Mr. Trump, including two former presidents. Another package bomb forced the evacuation of CNN's New York offices after it was discovered in our mail room.

BASH (on camera): Does the president, his rhetoric, bear any responsibility?

PARSCALE: I don't think. And I -- and any -- the president or myself or this campaign, we don't condone violence in any way. I want to be very clear about that.

Do I think there is a fight against the media and the Democrats? Yes. But I think it's one that's done with our heart and our minds. And don't believe it's something that's ever being done with a fist. And I would never, ever believe that or try to do anything that would ever condone violence against anyone in the media, in the Democrat, anybody in this country. And I don't think this president does either.

BASH: The president of the United States attacking -- you know, calling the press the enemy of the people, do you think that that -- given the events that we've seen -- goes too far?

PARSCALE: No, I think this president wants to fight for the American people. I think that's what he's doing.

BASH (voice over): It's not only rallies. Trump's campaign sends fundraising e-mails attacking the media, specifically CNN. Parscale apologized for the timing of one sent under Lara Trump's name the day a pipe bomb was found at CNN, but not the content.

BASH (on camera): The specific line, it's time for us to give the media another wake-up call for the American people.

PARSCALE: Yes.

BASH: You see how somebody can take that and say, oh, that means I can -- you know, it's --

PARSCALE: Yes. Well, a wake-up call is to show them 100,000 names that don't like it. You know, there's a lot of different wake-up calls. We should not always assume that everything's violent.

BASH: But what about people who take it that way, who don't have all of their mental faculties?

PARSCALE: Yes, well, that's unfortunate. I mean there's not much you can do about those kind of people. And I'll tell you, as one of the lead Trump people and kind of the -- I would say the campaign manager of the army of Trump, that I would never want any single person to do anything violent against anyone. I don't think that's how you change the minds. I don't think that's how you change the country for the better.

BASH: Given the events, are you going to sort of think differently about how fundraising e-mails, things that you control -- you can't control what the president says, I get that --

PARSCALE: Yes, no, I --

BASH: Are going to be worded?

PARSCALE: No, I don't -- I don't think so. I mean, look, again, I think this -- it's unfortunate, you know, and I don't -- this should never happen to anyone. But I -- but to say that we're not in a fight for what we believe is not true either.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: So, first of all, Dana Bash, that's amazing. I've never heard Brad say so many words out loud in one place. What a phenomenally fascinating interview. Number two, though, talking about the media, the idea the press is the enemy of the people. Let me just note, the president went to bed last night attacking the media, woke up this morning doing the same.

BASH: Yes, he did.

BERMAN: This is a huge part of his campaign pitch.

BASH: Huge. Look, as you saw there, he's not giving an inch, the president isn't giving an inch, you spoke with Kellyanne Conway, she's not giving an inch on the idea that they believe that this is an ideological fight against not just Democrats but the media. And it is incredibly unfortunate because we are not the enemy of the people. We are just trying to get the facts out and certainly the media make mistakes, because we are human, but not the enemy. And, you know, we're going to continue to press and hopefully change the language. But I wouldn't hold your breath. BERMAN: And even as the president calls for unity, he increases the

volume of his attacks.

Dana Bash, thank you. Again, that was a fascinating interview. Appreciate it.

BASH: Thanks, John.

[08:44:59] BERMAN: We've been talking about the violent murders over the weekend. And there were other incidents that took place last week. We're covering so much. What we learned about the suspect accused of killing two African-Americans in Kentucky, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We now know that a man accused of gunning down two African- American men at a Kentucky grocery store was caught on surveillance video trying to enter a black church minutes before that attack.

Our Ryan Young is live in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, with the very latest.

Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, another tough story where people feel like they're not getting enough attention when it comes to this because they believe Gregory Bush was up to no good when he tried to get inside that church. In fact, there was a witness outside who believes they saw him trying to open the door to the church. And when that didn't happen, police believe he came to the Kroger behind me. And what he did inside has many people asking, what is just going on here? In fact, when he walked inside, according to police, he aimed his gun at Maurice Stallard, and we'll show you a picture of this man, he was a grandfather with his grandchild on the inside when he was shot and killed inside the Kroger behind me. And then when he came running outside, Gregory Bush, according to police, he then saw a woman, Vickie Jones, who was in the parking lot, and he shot her as well.

[08:50:10] There was someone in the parking lot who had a gun and they tried to start shooting back and forth with him as well, trying to stop him from this crime. But so many people are asking questions about why this and how this could happen here. In fact, there was a small vigil out here last night where people were trying to see, what will the next steps be? There is people in this community also calling for this to become a hate crime. They want to see those charges go against this man. A lot of questions about what drove him, not only to the First Baptist Church, but then to come here to the Kroger. A lot of questions that will go unanswered for right now.

John.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I'll take it, Ryan. There were so many questions from last week's hate crimes. Thank you very much.

Well, they were fixtures in their community. So we remember the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:01] CAMEROTA: Pittsburgh becomes the latest American city devastated by gun violence and hate. We want to pay tribute to the 11 lives taken at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: (singing)

ON SCREEN TEXT: David Rosenthal, 54.

Cecil Rosenthal, 59.

Daniel Stein, 71.

Jerry Rabinowitz, 66.

Joyce Fienberg, 75.

Melvin Wax, 88.

Richard Gottfried, 65.

Rose Mallinger, 97.

Irving Younger, 69.

Bernice Simon, 84.

Sylvan Simon, 86.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Poppy Harlow. We're glad you're with us this Monday morning.

[08:59:50] And this morning two suspects are in court today for two different hate-fueled crimes. One, a serial mail bomber who targeted political enemies and the free press. The other, an anti-Semitic gunman who killed 11 people this weekend at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. It marks the deadliest attack on Jewish people in the history of this country.