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Justice John Paul Stevens Funeral Today; President Trump Has Questioned American Values in the Past; Tory Party to Elect New British Prime Minister Today. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 22, 2019 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Dozens of his former clerks lined the stairs at the Supreme Court and served as honorary pallbearers. And one of them is with us now. Her name is Anne Voigts. She is a former clerk.

A hundred former clerks. Anne, I'm so glad you could be here with us. We know about the opinions and we've read the dissents. But tell us about the man. Someone that you say, above all, was so respectful of his colleagues.

ANNE VOIGTS, FORMER LAW CLERK, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS: He was. I think even when cases were particularly heated or, you know, there were -- there was controversy, one of the things that I think all of us as clerks learned from him, was to be able to put it behind you and to be able to disagree without being disagreeable.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Anne, in the decision that decided, in effect, the 2000 election, Stevens with the dissent there and making something of a prescient comment, that the court would be perceived as being partisan in the wake of that decision. Of course, we've had many decisions since then, divided along very partisan lines. We've had extremely partisan confirmation hearings now, no longer than 98 to zero votes, like the one that confirmed him.

TEXT: John Paul Stevens, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice: April 20, 1920 - July 16, 2019; Served U.S. Navy, 1942-1945, awarded Bronze Star; Sworn in to Supreme Court December 19, 1975 (Appointed by President Gerald Ford), Retired June 29, 2010; Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama on May 29, 2012

SCIUTTO: I wonder if in private, he lamented the direction of the court to you?

VOIGTS: I think he was someone who cared very much about how the court went, you know? And I think he was someone who -- for whom access to the court and trust in the court was really vital, as you see in his dissent in Bush v. Gore.

HARLOW: In terms of elevating women, this is something that a lot of people haven't spoken about with him, but you as a female who clerked for him say that he was instrumental in that, and that his mentorship was really unparalleled. VOIGTS: He really was. I mean, he was fundamentally this

extraordinarily kind, gentle, humble person. I think the anecdote that sort of sums up how attuned he was to some of the issues that people could face, there was a time when there were -- there was a gathering of clerks and justices, and a female clerk had been asked to serve the coffee.

And Justice Stevens walked in. And without making much ado of it, walked over and said, "I think it's my turn, now. Thank you so much." And then took over serving the coffee.

SCIUTTO: He was -- you know this well, as a clerk yourself. Supreme Court justices, they leave behind a legal legacy in their decisions, even their dissents, et cetera. But they also leave behind a legacy in clerks, many who go on to serve on many high courts, perhaps even the Supreme Court as well.

And we saw so many of you, dozens, lining the steps today as his body, as his casket was brought into the Great Hall there. Where -- tell us about the extent of where all these clerks are now.

VOIGTS: Well, I think you're right. His legacy isn't just paper, it's also the people he worked with and the people that he mentored. We have people who sit on the California Supreme Court, on the federal circuit courts, on the district courts. You have scholars and you have people working in public service.

So I think he has a legacy that extends beyond the opinions themselves, which would be enough for most people. But he also has this tremendous legacy of people who love him and who will always say that he was the best person they ever worked for.

HARLOW: What opinion of his, Anne, has meant the most to you or has struck you the most, either a majority opinion or a dissent?

VOIGTS: I'd say a dissent, and it's probably one that very few people have heard of in a case called Martin, where the court decided to preclude someone from filing without paying their filing fees, because he'd filed too many petitions that lacked merit.

And he dissented. Because he said there's a great tradition of access to the courts. And doing something like this, when it's really not that hard to deny a petition that doesn't have merit, is a barrier to that sort of access. And so he continued afterwards, whenever the court would apply that rule to other petitioners, he would continue to dissent.

SCIUTTO: Well, the nation, mourning this man of service. As we know, you are, Anne, someone who knew him personally. And we're just learning now that the president, President Trump --

HARLOW: Yes.

SCIUTTO: -- will be traveling over to the Supreme Court shortly, to pay his own respects.

Anne Voigts, thanks very much.

[10:34:07] And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. President Trump has been continuing attacks he's leveled against four Democratic congresswomen of color. Just this morning, he slammed the women once again, in another tweet. Big question is, is this part of an intentional strategy to win re- election in 2020?

Joining me now to discuss this is Trump 2020 senior campaign advisor, Mercedes Schlapp.

Mercedes, we always appreciate when you take time to join us.

MERCEDES SCHLAPP, SENIOR ADVISOR, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, first, let's begin. You, other campaign and White House officials have said that the president disavowed those "Send her back" chants. But to be fair, over the last weekend, the president has tweeted or retweeted comments against the Squad, some 10 times. We counted.

But there was one retweet that was particularly noticeable. This, from the British columnist Katie Hopkins, who's a frequent Trump supporter. She said, "Send her back" is a new campaign slogan for 2020. And the new "Lock her up."

TEXT: Katie Hopkins: New Campaign slogan for #2020? "Don't love it? Leave it!" Send her back is the new lock her up. Well done to #TeamTrump

SCIUTTO: So I wonder, if he has truly disavowed this chant, why is he amplifying the same attacks there?

SCHLAPP: Well, he also wanted to highlight that, you know, he -- when the speech had started, he continued to -- onward with the speech, considering the fact that he came out and said that he disavowed the chant.

[10:35:07] He is not pleased with it. He is not happy about it. He expressed that --

SCIUTTO: But then --

SCHLAPP: -- last week. His --

SCIUTTO: -- why retweet --

SCHLAPP: -- main point is, is that he's --

SCIUTTO: -- that, saying -- you saw the tweet there. It says that this is the new chant for 2020. And the president, using his platform with more than 50 million followers, just distributed that again, amplified that "Send her back" chant again.

SCHLAPP: Look, again, he disavowed that chant. He made it very clear last week. He also talks about the importance, that those individuals in North Carolina are patriots.

I mean, it's very disconcerting when -- if these individuals are expressing that they're upset and frustrated by these radical policies that these liberal Democrats are pushing, that they're expressing themselves, that then they're going after these people of North Carolina who are --

SCIUTTO: I mean, it seems like you're saying --

SCHLAPP: -- patriots and who love America.

SCIUTTO: It seems like you're -- well, the love America thing, I do want to get to. Because you have called the Squad anti-American. The Squad, as they're known. The president has repeated that.

As you know, President Trump, both as a candidate and as a sitting president, has leveled sometimes brutal criticism against his own country. Have a listen and I want to get your response as to how those criticisms are different. Have a listen for a moment first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country?

How stupid is our country?

General George Patton, General Douglas MacArthur are spinning in their grave at the stupidity of what we're doing in the Middle East.

BILL O'REILLY, HOST, FOX NEWS: Putin's a killer.

TRUMP: A lot of killers. We got a lot of killers. What, you think our country's so innocent?

We are so far behind the times. And by the way, the world is laughing at us because they can't believe these policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Why aren't those criticisms anti-American, then?

SCHLAPP: Let's remember that those -- he's focusing on the policies. The Obama-Biden era policies, that basically took America, not in the right direction when it comes to foreign policy. He also disagreed --

SCIUTTO: He called Iowans stupid.

SCHLAPP: -- with Bush, he also disagreed with President Bush on the Iraq War.

SCIUTTO: Right. SCHLAPP: So he did not agree with those policies. His policies, and

where his vision has been for America, is that of America First. It's getting out of any of these entanglements and these endless wars across the globe, being focused on defeating ISIS, making sure that we are strong from a domestic standpoint.

And what we have seen are very strong accomplishments coming from this president, in terms of our economy, in terms of wage --

SCIUTTO: But you see the point --

SCHLAPP: -- growth and in terms of unemployment for all Americans, including blacks --

SCIUTTO: But you see the point I'm making there --

SCHLAPP: -- women --

SCIUTTO: -- is that our country is built on that kind of dialogue, where people from one party criticize the policies --

SCHLAPP: So, Jim, let me ask you. Do you believe --

SCIUTTO: -- of another, but why does that --

SCHLAPP: -- do you believe --

SCIUTTO: -- make it anti-American?

SCHLAPP: Because when you look at the Squad and you literally dissect their statements, it is incredibly concerning, OK? When you look at Omar and when she focuses on, "Let's be compassionate and tell a judge that," you know, "we need to be compassionate towards these men who are planning to join ISIS."

When they start going after Jewish lawmakers, saying that there's dual loyalty, when you have another congresswoman, part of the Squad, saying that she has a calming feeling about the Holocaust, that is incredibly concerning. When you have --

SCIUTTO: Well, to be fair --

SCHLAPP: -- the fact that you have Cortez, basically --

SCIUTTO: -- Mercedes, you know well --

SCHLAPP: -- calling our Border Patrol agents, Nazis, and our detention centers --

SCIUTTO: OK.

SCHLAPP: -- concentration camps while these Democrats have done nothing, very little, to --

SCIUTTO: Mercedes, some of those --

SCHLAPP: -- stop the continued --

SCIUTTO: -- some of those --

SCHLAPP: -- humanitarian crisis that we're seeing at the border, that to me is concerning. When they are --

SCIUTTO: OK. That's a policy distinction. But I do --

SCHLAPP: -- pushing forward socialist ideas, Jim. That are not --

SCIUTTO: OK. That's a policy -- that's a policy question --

SCHLAPP: -- should not even be -- this is -- that are anti-American, that's a problem.

SCIUTTO: OK. But let me -- a couple points there. One, some of the comments, to be fair, you took out of context. I do want to quote the head of the Anti-Defamation League, which, as you know, extremely sensitive to and is fighting every day to fight anti-Semitism in the country.

Here's what Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted. He says, "Anti-Semitism is on the rise. Donald Trump using Israel to defend his blatant racism only hurts the Jewish community. He doesn't speak for any of us. We call on all leaders across the political spectrum to condemn these racist, xenophobic tweets and using Jews as a shield."

That's from the Anti-Defamation League, as the president and others have basically used this as a way to attack the Squad members. I wonder what your response is to him --

(CROSSTALK)

SCHLAPP: There's no better friend to Israel than the president of the United States. And we stand with the prime minister, we stand with the Jewish people. I think what we have seen, where you have had Congresswoman Omar make anti-Semitic remarks, and then you have the House of Representatives decide to basically lightly slap her hand and not even include her in the resolution.

[10:45:02] Yet when it comes to Donald Trump, their focus and their hatred towards him, they break the rules in the House of Representatives to push past a resolution, that's problematic.

Look, this is very clear. That these -- the Squad members have made it a point to say that anyone who disagrees with them is a racist. Even to --

SCIUTTO: Wait, but --

SCHLAPP: -- Nancy Pelosi. They even --

SCIUTTO: -- isn't the president --

SCHLAPP: -- implied that Nancy Pelosi, their own leader who disagrees with them at certain points, is a racist. SCIUTTO: -- isn't the president saying --

SCHLAPP: We need to be very careful, how --

SCIUTTO: -- he's attacking anybody who --

SCHLAPP: -- that word is being used.

SCIUTTO: But, Mercedes, to be fair, the president is using this anti- American thing for a whole range of criticisms of him and his administration. The kinds of criticisms he himself has used.

I mean, after all, you heard the sound. He compared the U.S. --

SCHLAPP: No, the sounds were talking about the policies.

SCIUTTO: -- to Russia.

SCHLAPP: They're (ph) talking about the policies --

SCIUTTO: I know, but the president --

SCHLAPP: -- that President Obama and -- and Vice President Biden --

SCIUTTO: No.

SCHLAPP: -- pushed along their way.

SCIUTTO: The president compared his country --

SCHLAPP: Where in essence, it was more government-controlled -- more government control in our health care and in certain aspects of our lives --

SCIUTTO: I --

SCHLAPP: -- and pushing our country in a direction where it's become more about identity politics --

SCIUTTO: But what you're describing, Mercedes --

SCHLAPP: -- as opposed to finding real solutions to our immigration crisis --

SCIUTTO: I know --

SCHLAPP: -- and also to building our economy.

SCIUTTO: Mercedes, just a moment here. Because what you're describing there are reasonable policy disagreements. What's the right approach to immigration, et cetera.

SCHLAPP: Right. So what has happened?

SCIUTTO: But you had the president here, equating America to authoritarian Russia. He has praised Kim Jong Un, said he has a love affair with him. Kim Jong Un is responsible --

SCHLAPP: Oh.

SCIUTTO: -- for the death of a young American.

SCHLAPP: Goodness. Yeah. As the president was --

SCIUTTO: So I'm asking if -- if that --

SCHLAPP: -- critical about that. But let me tell you what --

SCIUTTO: -- is that patriotic?

SCHLAPP: -- the president's also trying to push forward. Oh, come on, Jim. I mean, you know --

SCIUTTO: Is that patriotic -- it's a --

SCHLAPP: -- we need to focus on denuclearizing and the Korean Peninsula. That has been a goal of this president, and it is why he has engaged in dialogue with the North Koreans while continuing a maximum pressure campaign.

SCIUTTO: Oh, I --

SCHLAPP: You know that, I know that.

SCIUTTO: But the point --

SCHLAPP: What had the past administrations done on North Korea?

SCIUTTO: -- I'm raising there is not the policy issue. The point is the words that he used to describe his country.

SCHLAPP: Nothing. They haven't been able to -- but you're talking specifically on North Korea, and I'm answering you on the North Korea question, which is very clear, Jim. That he has taken bolder steps than the past administrations.

The past administrations had - it's been a very complicated process and a delicate process. And we're engaging to solve this issue in North Korea --

SCIUTTO: No question.

SCHLAPP: -- basically for the stability of the Korean Peninsula.

SCIUTTO: I get it, I get it. There's the bigger picture point. Listen, let's keep up the conversation. Because the point is, you can disagree on the policy. And there are reasonable disagreements. We see it every day. That's Washington.

But to accuse of anti-Americanism when you disagree on fundamental questions of policy, that's the issue that I want to --

SCHLAPP: Look, to me, it's anti-Americanism when -- SCIUTTO: -- is that where you want the political dialogue to be in this country today?

SCHLAPP: Look, look. I even feel that there are Democrats out there who feel very uncomfortable, where the Squad is taking the Democrat Party. They are the ones that -- that are -- the Democrat leadership and these presidential candidates need to ensure that they're in good graces with the Squad, because the Squad has become the loudest voice of the Democrat Party. And they are pushing very extreme --

SCIUTTO: They're four of more than 220 members of Congress to be fair --

SCHLAPP: But -- OK, but tell me how much you've covered of the 220 members. You all seem to be doing a lot of videos and a lot of takes on the Squad. Let's be real. I mean, they're the ones --

SCIUTTO: And the president as well, to be fair --

SCHLAPP: -- making the news.

SCIUTTO: -- and the president as well, to be fair.

SCHLAPP: Because the president wants to highlight the policies that the squad is pushing forward, that is making sure that this country's being pushed far to the left.

I mean, the fact that they align themselves in terms of not condemning al-Qaida, that is problematic, where they basically did not even support humanitarian aid going to the border.

SCIUTTO: OK.

SCHLAPP: And they call it a manufactured crisis. Yet we know that there is a humanitarian crisis on the border, where children are being smuggled --

SCIUTTO: Again --

SCHLAPP: -- where there's human trafficking happening.

SCIUTTO: A policy disagreement as opposed to whether it makes someone unpatriotic, for criticizing those policies --

SCHLAPP: I don't know, for -- for --

SCIUTTO: -- as the president has done himself, at times, Mercedes.

SCHLAPP: -- let me tell you, as the daughter of an immigrant who fled communism, I will tell you, it comes across being very anti-American, when you spend your time criticizing America, pushing socialist policies, and also making these comments, which are very concerning for those of us who love America.

SCIUTTO: I love America as well, and I'm sure sitting members of Congress do as well. Mercedes Schlapp, thanks very much. We do appreciate you coming on the program. You're always welcome and we'll be right back.

[10:49:21] SCHLAPP: Thank you. Thanks, Jim.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Major changes on the way to one of America's most important allies. The U.K. will get a new prime minister.

HARLOW: Yes. Tomorrow morning. All signs pointing to likely Boris Johnson, but let's go to our international correspondent Erin McLaughlin. She's following the developments from London.

So, what are you thinking, Erin?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the contest closes in just a few hours' time, Poppy. A hundred-sixty thousand members of the Tory Party get to make this critical decision between current foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson.

TEXT: Who is Boris Johnson? Widely expected to become Britain's P.M.; Member of the Conservative party; Backed Brexit in 2016; Served as London mayor from 2008-2016; Served as U.K. foreign secretary from 2016-2018

MCLAUGHLIN: Boris Johnson is widely expected to be the next British prime minister, which is, as we're seeing, already having a polarizing effect here in the U.K. Several ministers have announced their intentions to resign over Johnson's plans for Brexit, specifically the fact that he wants to keep that no-deal option on the table to try and gain leverage in Brexit negotiations with the European Union, which is really contentious here.

[10:55:18] Although President Trump has spoken out in favor of Johnson, says he likes Johnson, thinks he'll do a good job handling Brexit. A key question for the relationship, going forward, is will those good vibes continue. All eyes will be on who Johnson proposes to put forward to replace Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to the United States.

HARLOW: OK. Big day. We'll know a lot in a few hours. Erin McLaughlin, thank you for being there for us. We appreciate it.

Back to Puerto Rico, where protestors are packing the streets there, highways shut down. I mean, look at those shots.

This morning out of San Juan, these are all people demanding the governor of Puerto Rico step down. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]