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Ivanka Trump at G-20 Summit; New CNN Poll on Democratic Race; Candi Gauff Interviewed on Daughters Win at Wimbledon. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 02, 2019 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Ivanka Trump played a -- I can't believe you didn't run with that one.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I know, but why?

CAMEROTA: But just for fun.

BERMAN: Just for fun.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: OK.

CAMEROTA: OK.

Ivanka --

BERMAN: I laughed. I'm laughing. I'm still laughing. It's a --

CAMEROTA: Ivanka Trump played an unusually prominent role during the president's G-20 trip last week, attending high-level diplomatic meetings with foreign leaders.

Back at home, Donald Trump Junior re-tweeted an attack on Twitter questioning Senator Kamala Harris' race, which he then later deleted.

Joining us now to talk about the adult children's unprecedented roles, we have Mike D'Antonio. He's a CNN contributor and author of the book, "The Truth About Trump." He also has an op-ed on cnn.com today titled "Ivanka Trump and Don Junior put on a ludicrous show."

Michael, great to see you.

Of the many surreal moments during the G-20 Summit, you found Ivanka's presence as a sort of -- in a diplomatic role at some of these high level meetings I think to top the list.

What did you see?

MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you saw in her a person almost acting as decoration, a representative, a face that the president wanted the world to see. But I don't think it was possible for her to make a concrete contribution to any of the talks. Her background is in real estate and television. She is an aide to the president, but her main qualification is that she's a Trump.

And in a lot of ways this is what we should have expected. Donald Trump has always run his enterprises as family affairs, so we have the first daughter playing a big role in the summit and in North Korea. And we have Donald Junior playing politics with an eye on the 2020 election.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and I'll get to the politics side of it in a second, but -- and I think that domestically people did assume that Ivanka would be an advisor to the president. He relies on her a lot. But I think where the confusion comes in is the international summit quality of this.

So you've studied the family. You're saying she has no background in international relations. She didn't study at some school of foreign service?

D'ANTONIO: No. Actually, she followed the same path that her father blazed, transferring to Penn in her third year and getting a degree -- a bachelor's degree, and then going off to work in the family business. And this was what she expected of her life. But there's been this dramatic turn for all of the Trumps where they're now essentially running the United States government.

John Kelly, before he left as chief of staff, said that Ivanka plays government but everybody has to really respect her territoriality because she is the president's daughter.

CAMEROTA: Well --

D'ANTONIO: So we have this strange spectacle of an untrained, inexperienced person in the middle of our diplomatic mission.

CAMEROTA: Here's one of moment of the spectacle. And this was put out by French President Macron's official palace Twitter. And it was a moment where Ivanka seemed to interject herself into a conversation with heads of state. And you'll just see what happened when Theresa May was making a point and then Ivanka tried to make a point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Social logistics and --

IVANKA TRUMP: It's (INAUDIBLE). Yes.

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: As soon as you charge them with that economic aspect of it though --

TRUMP: Yes.

MAY: A lot of people start listening --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TRUMP: People start listening.

MAY: Who wouldn't otherwise listen.

TRUMP: And the same with the defense side of it.

MAY: Yes.

TRUMP: In terms of the whole sort of business that's been very male- dominated. So --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. Look, taken out of context, who knows what she was trying to say or do there. But you could see Christine Lagarde of the IMF not want to engage, turn her body away and not look at Ivanka at that moment, and that is just something that Twitter felt was cringy.

D'ANTONIO: Well, it is a little cringy. You have elected leaders of some of the most powerful nations on earth who have the franchise granted them by their people. And you have Lagarde, who was head of the world -- this world economic body, lifetimes of experience, and then this young woman whose essentially bringing a cocktail party expertise to this conversation. She's no more qualified to join a discussion on policy at that level than you and I would be. And so it is uncomfortable for everyone, yet she's the president's daughter, so you have to somehow accommodate her even though her presence seems to have no value.

CAMEROTA: One more question on this. Does she know -- you've studied the family. You know they're dynamics. You have interviewed people around the Trumps and them. Does she know she's out of her depth or does she feel that this is exactly where she deserves to be?

[08:35:07] D'ANTONIO: I think at this point they all think they deserve to be in these roles by virtue of Donald Trump's election and his presence as the chief executive of the United States. They have a family business approach to governing, and so this means that the only qualification is that the president recognize you as the person he wants in that role. He sees Ivanka, I think, as a very attractive, very appealing person. And there's an interesting parallel with many other things that the president does where the ceremony or the display precedes the accomplishments.

So I think he hopes that by putting on a good show, something good will follow. Usually it's the other way around, that you do the work and then you celebrate the achievement. But this is reverse engineering.

CAMEROTA: Well, very quickly, Don Junior, tweeted something offensive about Kamala Harris and her -- retweeted, and her race and then quickly deleted it. And so is it your -- I mean I think that you're saying that he's picking up the birther mantle.

D'ANTONIO: Well, he is picking up the birther mantle. I actually spoke with Don Junior and Ivanka and Eric about this birtherism issue back when it was used against Barack Obama. The younger Trumps are uncomfortable with it. And I think that's why he deleted the tweet. So he doesn't have quite the devotion to this mission that his father would have. He went on for years with birtherism.

I think he tried. You know, this is -- it's an interesting thing to see this new generation trying to take up this mission, but reluctantly.

CAMEROTA: Really insightful. Michael, thank you very much for sharing your reporting and thoughts with us this morning.

D'ANTONIO: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: John.

BERMAN: All right, so what are the secrets inside the new CNN poll? Which numbers should candidates be most worried about? The moment you had been waiting for, Harry Enten's inside look, you will tank us for it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:10] BERMAN: All right, a brand new poll from CNN shows really a reshaped Democratic field, a whole bunch of movement. But whatever we all see in the polling, Harry Enten sees more.

There is something about Harry.

CAMEROTA: He's a seer.

BERMAN: Let's get "The Forecast" now.

Seriously, you're the one guy who dives into these numbers and pulls out just really interesting things. What's the message which you're getting?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICS SENIOR WRITER AND ANALYST: Right. And I'll tell you, I'm wearing a suit today because I'm very super serial (ph) right now about what's going on.

So, OK. So I basically pulled three different polls here, which is the most recent one from CNN, the Monmouth in mid-June, and then our previous CNN poll. And what I think is clear first off, right off the top of the bat, is Joe Biden was at 32 in both the two previous polls. Now he's at 22. That's a drop of 10 points.

Kamala Harris, that's the other thing that's clear. She was at 8 percent in these two pols. She's up to 17 percent.

Warren is a more interesting story, right, where she's up from our CNN poll at 7 percent back in late May, but compared to the Monmouth poll mid-June, she didn't really see a jump. So I think the clear picture here, folks, the clear picture is that Joe Biden dropped post-debate and Kamala Harris rose post-debate.

CAMEROTA: And that's all debate oriented, you think? It has nothing else to do with just people getting to know candidates now?

ENTEN: I believe this is all debate oriented because this is literally -- this poll was taken just about two -- a week and a half before the debate. And we can see that major drop for Biden and that major rise for Harris.

BERMAN: And Warren was already up before the debate. They maintained.

ENTEN: Exactly.

BERMAN: All right, where is that support coming from, from that debate?

ENTEN: So this, I think, is very key. This is an African-American cross tab so we can take a look at our April and May combined samples compared to the June sample. And what do we see? We see Joe Biden dropping by 13 points from April and May to 36 percent now. Kamala Harris, she's up 18 points from 6 percent in April and May, up to 24 percent now. And that's a key thing, John, because it's key because we have been wondering all along, can Joe Biden actually maintain this African-American support despite the fact that we have two African- American senators running. Kamala Harris took Joe Biden on and it seems that she has been able to crack that nut and she has been able to get her support up among African-Americans. And this is the Joe Biden base. And if he goes bye-bye, he may go bye-bye. And so this, to me, is very, very key.

CAMEROTA: Did you look at moderates versus progressives?

ENTEN: Yes, so I think if there's one sort of silver lining for Joe Biden, it's this. Among moderate to conservatives who make up about 50 percent of primary voters, Joe Biden only saw a drop of 7 percentage points. And this is the difference between our May 28 to 31st, versus our June poll. No one else at this point in June, in late June, now we're obviously in July, is above 11 percent besides Joe Biden. So he is holding his own among that. It's going to be interesting to see if Harris can break through.

But, John, you know, you have pointed out all along that Biden was holding his own even among those who didn't necessarily -- not his quote/unquote lane. But now he has considerably dropped off. His support got chopped in half among the liberals. And now Kamala Harris actually leads among that group.

BERMAN: She doubled among liberals there.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: That's really interesting.

All right, this, the effects not lasting, is this a lesson about what debates have made in the past?

ENTEN: Right. So I think -- let's take a little caution, people. This is just one poll. One poll. And, you know, I pointed this out last week. After the second GOP debate back in 2015 on the Republican side, we saw Donald Trump dropping by 5 points. And that was in an average of polls which actually sort of keeps the effects down, while Carly Fiorina, who had a good second debate, she rose by 4 points. She actually rose considerably more in our own CNN poll.

So the one thing I keep in mind is, yes, this is major poll, yes, it shows a big finding (ph), but let's see where things go down the line.

CAMEROTA: OK, what do you have to tell us about health care?

ENTEN: Yes. So I think that this is fascinating. And I made -- our question was worded a little differently, but I simplified it both for me and for the viewers at home. So there was this whole Democratic debate, right? Should we have a public option or should we have a Medicare for all and only a public plan? And I broke it down by all voters and I broke it down by potential Democratic primary voters. And what do we see here? The Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders position is really not that popular. Only having a public plan, even among Democrats, only 30 percent of potential Democratic primary voters think we should do that, versus 49 percent think we should have private plans and a public option. And among all voters, it's very, very clear, they do not want a Medicare for all option. They want private plans and a public option.

[08:45:15] But this, I think, is also important, they do want that public option, a majority, 19 percent plus 32 percent gets you over 50 percent.

BERMAN: They don't want to lose their private insurance altogether.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: That's what the polls show.

What else do you have on health care?

ENTEN: And I just want to point this out. Specifically, among Kamala Harris supporters, this is very key, even among them, and she's kind of waffled back and forth, but among them, they want the public option. Sixty-six percent of them want that public option.

One other thing. They all pretty much raised their hands for government insurance for undocumented immigrants. That's a popular position among potential Democratic primary voters. Sixty-one percent. But among the general electorate, not a popular position. So this is a question, folks, as when they transition to the general election, will they be able to tack back towards the middle?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: What are you doing for the Fourth of July, Harry?

ENTEN: Well, I just want to point out, look at this, happy Independence Day today, sort of. The Congressional Congress actually voted to declare independence on this day back in 1776. It wasn't until two days later in which they actually approved the Declaration of Independence. But this, today, is an Independence Day, sort of. So, Happy Independence Day, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank you. BERMAN: Sort of.

CAMEROTA: Let's start celebrating.

ENTEN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: On that note, thank you very much, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right, and more reason for a family to celebrate. A 15- year-old making her Wimbledon debut, knocked off one of her idols, five time Wimbledon champ Venus Williams. So the proud mom of this tennis phenom, Coco Gauff, is going to tell us all about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:46] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Standing ovation. Coco Gauff conquers Venus Williams. That's the battle of two very different generations. Venus, as crushed as she has to be, so cordial and classy. She can't believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What a moment. An historic moment. The youngest player at the tournament beats the oldest player of the tournament. Fifteen-year-old Coco Gauff defeating her idol, Venus Williams, in the first round of Wimbledon.

CAMEROTA: So joining us now from Wimbledon is the tennis phenom's mother Candi Gauff.

Candi, congratulations.

Tell us about that moment when your daughter won.

CANDI GAUFF, MOTHER OF CORI "COCO" GAUFF: That was a very exciting moment. It felt as if all her dreams were coming true at that one moment. And I was just ecstatic for her. As a parent, you don't get that moment to see your child live out their dreams. And, at that moment, I saw my child living out her dreams.

BERMAN: What is she doing today? I mean what do you do the day after you beat one of your idols at Wimbledon?

GAUFF: Well -- well, the day after what you do is you rest. And right now Coco is currently practicing and getting ready for her next opponent.

CAMEROTA: So, Candi, were the emotions mixed for Coco? I mean because she grew up idolizing the Williams sister and, you know, them being an inspiration to her, was she just -- was she really happy when she won or was it a little bittersweet? GAUFF: It's a bittersweet moment. Of course, when you're a competitor,

when you go out there, your job is to win, and that's one of her jobs. But, at the same time, you're looking at a person who paved the way for young black girls, or young girls in general, to play the sport. And so she was grateful and humble at the opportunity to play one of her idols. So I think she was very grateful but also ecstatic that she won.

BERMAN: Yes, Venus Williams, I think, had already won two Wimbledon's and four Grand Slams by the time Coco was born.

And then I heard Coco say she cried. After she won, she cried. And it's the first match she said he ever cried at after winning, as opposed to losing.

Why did the emotions, do you think, get to her?

GAUFF: Everything was there. You're in Wimbledon, one of the biggest tournaments, one of the best grand slams and you're on this huge court, court one, and you're playing Venus Williams. So, yes, and you -- you won. You're the winner. So it was a bit overwhelming for her, and she was just grateful. And I think all the emotions at that one moment just came flooding and it came flooding out of tears of joy.

CAMEROTA: Also what's remarkable is how young she is. Fifteen years old, to have had this achievement. And I'm just wondering, what did you and your husband do so right? Give us some parenting tips.

GAUFF: One of the things -- I was a former athlete and, as a mom, I wanted to tell her so many things. But a couple years ago I had to back off in that role because I felt that she had her dad and I want to tell her so many things. So I allowed my husband to be the coach, to be that athletic mind-set and I'm going to be that mom. I'm going to make sure that I raise a child first and that we go through the stages of childhood development. And that's one of the things that was important to me that I be her mother first.

BERMAN: At 15, I mean you're still a kid in so many ways. And we got a sense of that, and we have some sound here we can play, she's talking about a science test. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORI GAUFF, YOUNGEST TENNIS PLAYER TO QUALIFY FOR WIMBLEDON DRAW: After my science test, I guess some of my teachers saw the interview. So now, before the -- before that match, only one teacher knew I played tennis. And I didn't -- I don't think they knew I was pro. And now all of them except one know I play and they're all like cheering me on. And I ended up getting a "b" on the exam, which was pretty good considering I took it at 11:00 at night and I had to wake up the next day for a match.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:55:03] BERMAN: Just going on there. Number one, the fact that she's still dealing with science tests while playing at Wimbledon. And, number two, her teachers -- her teachers didn't even know she was a world class tennis player. That's amazing.

GAUFF: Well, one of the things that we try to do is just give her as normal of a life that she possibly can have. And that's one of the things is that we try to compartmentalize. And keeping school and her tennis life separate was important to us. So that's one of the things that we tried to do.

CAMEROTA: Well, Candi Gauff, you've achieved it, it sounds like. So, congratulations on all of the success with your daughter and give Coco our best. We really appreciate you taking time to talk to us this morning.

GAUFF: Oh, thank you. Thank you.

BERMAN: Yes, all I can say is, watch that world.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

BERMAN: Watch out.

CAMEROTA: And she seems like also such a lovely person --

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Talking about her school and how she hid -- not hid it from her teachers but I just she just didn't emphasize that at school.

BERMAN: She's 15. You hear a lot of analysts say by the time she's 20 they'd be shocked if she's not number on in the world.

All right, the brand new CNN poll revealing the entire 2020 race shaken up after the first debates. Much more, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END