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Angry Protests Erupt Outside Trump Rally; Clinton Looks To Shatter Trump's Populist Appeal; Trump Praised & Defended Clintons in Past; Clinton Demands Trump Release His Tax Returns; Bill Cosby to Stand Trial in Sexual Assault Case. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 25, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:03] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Vause. This is NEWSROOM L.A. and we are following breaking news out of Albuquerque, New Mexico where crowds of protesters outside a Donald Trump rally now breaking up. Police say the demonstrators threw rocks and bottles while chanting anti-Trump slogans.
SESAY: Officers responded with pepper spray to try to clear the crowd. At least one person was arrested inside the rally.
VAUSE: CNN's Dan Simon live in Albuquerque, New Mexico where these angry protests have been taking place. But Dan, it does now appear it's pretty much a cat and mouse game in seems between the police and the remaining protesters on the streets.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, things are definitely calm now in downtown Albuquerque. But you walk around and these are some of the remnants on the street. This is an empty canister of pepper spray we saw police employing that tactic just a short time ago to try to get crowds to calm down, if you will.
I mean, you had hundreds to begin with. Then as the police pushed the protesters down the street in the middle of the main thoroughfare in downtown Albuquerque, you had the crowds begin to disperse. But quite a chaotic situation all evening.
This really began when you had a group of protesters breakthrough a barricade that police had set up to prevent protesters from going in the convention center where Donald Trump was giving his speech.
They got close to the door, but police in riot gear kept them at bay, and from there I have to say things quickly descended into chaos. You had protesters, as you said, throwing rocks and bottles at police.
Police were showing remarkable restraint with these protesters, basically hoping that things would calm down. But things only escalated. They went to a main thoroughfare a couple of blocks away.
Some were bouncing on police cars. They were lighting things on fire and things were just completely out of control and then police started using pepper spray. They started firing tear gas canisters into the crowd.
And ultimately that seemed to do the trick to get these crowds to go home but quite a scene. This is now what we expected when we first got here this afternoon.
We saw well over 1,000 anti-Trump protesters congregating. This was a peaceful protest when Donald Trump came into town. Then as you had nightfall, mainly young people, not clear if they were part of that original protesting.
Police say they weren't. They were just troublemakers, but clearly they caused quite a scene here in Albuquerque -- John and Isha.
SESAY: Yes, and Dan, you were out there for most of this or all of it. Were you able to speak to anyone, any of these protesters? What were you able to hear? What did they say to you?
SIMON: Well, they were shouting, you know, negative things about Donald Trump. Some of them were using vulgarities, to be quite honest with you. They were holding offensive signs and just trying to get their message across.
I mean, keep in mind that New Mexico has the highest percentage of Latinos in the nation. So in terms of the original anti-Trump protest you had a lot of folks who were peacefully protesting Donald Trump's rhetoric when it comes to illegal immigration.
Also talking about some of Trump's comments about women. Again, they were peaceful protesters and then once you had that initial breakdown of the barricade and they rushed the convention hall, that's when things sort of took a drastic turn.
And you know, if they were trouble makers or if they were part of the anti-Trump protest, not really clear. But as the night were on clearly they weren't the parties originally protesting.
These were people who just wanted to cause trouble. Again, burn things and throwing things at police officers. That was not democracy. That was not a peaceful protest. That was ugly and police really did what they had to do to bring the crowd under control.
VAUSE: Dan, do we know at this point if any arrests have been made? Because we know one person was arrested inside the convention center who was escorted out and arrested. But how about outside? Has anyone been taken away?
SIMON: You know, I was surprised that throughout the evening I personally did not see a single person arrested all night. You know, and police certainly had ample cause to arrest quite a few people. I mean, they saw in plain sight some of these people who were
throwing rocks, and they could have arrested them, but for whatever reason they didn't. And so that was a bit surprising, I have to say.
[01:05:07]VAUSE: OK, Dan, thank you. Dan Simon, please stay with us. Dan Simon there on the streets of Albuquerque. Giving us the very latest information as it seems the remnants of this anti-Donald Trump protest starts to die down.
Let's bring in Dave Jacobson, a Democratic strategist and John Thomas, a Republican strategist, as well. As people around the country, they tune in to these images, and it's not the first time we've seen this, and it's at a Donald Trump rally.
It's not happening on the other side of politics here. What is it about the Republican side of politics this year, John, that is causing so much anger? Is it just Donald Trump's rhetoric? Is it his language? What is it?
JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Well, let's be fair. Ferguson had nothing to do with Donald Trump and that was quite violent and disgusting as well.
VAUSE: But I'm talking about political rallies here. You don't see this kind of stuff going on at a Hillary Clinton rally or Bernie Sanders rally. I mean, this has been mostly in Chicago and in Kansas and now in Albuquerque.
THOMAS: Well, because he's saying a lot of things that are polarizing to some Americans. So obviously you're going to see peaceful protests and that's healthy. That's part of our process. That's what you would expect.
But when it turns from peaceful to violent it's disgusting. I read a few minutes ago "The New York Times" reported that these protesters were throwing rocks at the police horses. I mean, who does that?
VAUSE: Clearly the people on the streets of Albuquerque.
THOMAS: I think it's fresh evidence, guys, that this is downright terrifying and this is just a preview of what we're going to see in the months ahead of the general election.
I think it's a direct result of Donald Trump inciting violence and fear and scare mongering and dividing people with his race evident and sexist comments that he's spewing out across the country.
SESAY: So, John, you know, to listen to Dave, clearly regardless of who was behind these protests, they will be tied to Donald Trump. They started outside of Donald Trump's rally. The question is will there be louder calls for him to change his rhetoric, to do his part to tamp down the anger?
THOMAS: Sure, there will be calls from Senator Sanders supporters and Hillary Clinton supporters. SESAY: I mean, among the GOP establishment.
THOMAS: I don't think so because I think in fact this may serve as a uniting force within the GOP to remind people that look, this is chaotic, America's on the wrong track, we need a new direction in America, and we're not getting it from the current administration, and it started with Ferguson.
You know, this is not alone. No, I don't think you're going to so much see it from the Republican side. I think it does hand an opportunity to Secretary of State Clinton. She's going to go on a uniting theme. That's what we're going to see for the next couple of days.
VAUSE: John, I mean, we made the point last hour. Donald Trump is not responsible for the people outside throwing rocks and bottles and setting fires and all this kind of stuff.
But Dave, I guess I'm wondering as someone who's running for the highest office in the land, someone who's saying I want to be the leader of this country, I want to be the heart of the free world, doesn't that come with certain responsibilities?
Whether you like it or not, whether your rhetoric works for you in a primary campaign or whatever, there's a certain level of responsibility that comes with that campaign that you have to take claim of?
DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Sure. Because the end result in January of 2017 is you know, when you are sworn in as president of the United States you don't just represent Republicans and or independent or Democratic voters, you represent all Americans.
And that's ultimately what the next president's going to have to do. And I think that's going to be the struggle for Donald Trump moving forward, is how is he going to make the case to sort of main street Americans that he's going to be able to unite the country, bring everyone together, and move the country forward?
SESAY: And John, there's a real issue for Trump here, it is this rhetoric that has boosted his appeal amongst his base. How do you tamp that down when you've benefited from it? There's a real political calculation to be made here.
THOMAS: Sure, there is. And he's going to have to shift his rhetoric on some things. I think we saw on the wall, I don't think he's going to walk away from that, but he may soften his rhetoric in terms of banning all Muslims. He has to soften some of that.
But I'm remembering back to Republicans protest it too. This Tea Party protests and others, but were peaceful about it. The fact is the violence has to end.
And I think both candidates are going to have to come together and call for an immediate end because we don't want to see this escalate. No party does. VAUSE: I mean, as we move towards the convention, that's obviously going to be a key moment here. But the politics of all of this, if you're an independent voter, if you're sort of on the fence, and this is to you, if you're on the fence or an independent voter and you see this, which way do you go?
Is it like I can't believe they're trying to shut down Donald Trump, he has a right to say what he says, or is Donald Trump causing this? Where does it lie?
JACOBSON: I think it's the latter. Donald Trump is causing this. I think it speaks to his temperament and his judgment. And the fact that again, I keep saying this, I feel like a broken record.
That he's spewing out the hateful rhetoric that's really dividing the country. And Hillary Clinton's now got this new message, this brand she's trying to create for the general election, that says hey, we stronger together.
She's trying to bring in moderate Republicans, independents, and all the Democrats, both her Democratic supporters and Bernie Sanders supporters to unite behind here.
VAUSE: Do you make a campaign out of this or just let it go and speak for itself?
[01:10:06]JACOBSON: I think if you're the Clinton campaign you let it speak for itself. You don't want to capitalize on it.
THOMAS: I think the problem is it's a clever slogan, but 66 percent of Americans in the latest Gallup poll said that America's on the wrong track and Hillary Clinton represents the establishment. So you can't have taking either two, it's very difficult.
SESAY: Yes, but Trump's unfavorables are pretty high as well and this kind of stuff doesn't help him regardless of whether it's his fault or not. That will be debated. It doesn't help him.
THOMAS: Certainly, if this happens night after night, it's not good for Donald Trump. The question is, is it a one-night thing or does it happen night after night? I think it's going to die down. I think are Americans are disgusted at what happened tonight and I hope we don't see more of it.
JACOBSON: I think also, John, you're right in a certain level. This is where someone like Paul Ryan could potentially come in and say Donald Trump, let's tone down the rhetoric. You want my endorsement? Let's sort of calm the nerves.
Let's talk about issues. Let's talk about policies. Let's talk about the economy and now we move the country forward. I think if Donald Trump listens to someone like Paul Ryan who's sort of sort of cool, calm and collected when it comes to the presidential campaign, I think that's going to bode well for Trump.
SESAY: And also John (inaudible). THOMAS: I don't think Donald Trump listens to many people. I'm not holding my breath. Good idea, though.
VAUSE: That is the thing. There is that report out there by ABC that Ryan is ready to endorse Trump. But when you watch these images from tonight if you're the speaker of the House, very influential Republican, do you say, well, hang on, I've got to hold that back for a bit?
THOMAS: Yes, you may not want to do it in tomorrow's news cycle. But I think he's still going to endorse the Republican presumptive nominee. And again, it's not Donald Trump's fault that people got violent tonight.
And there are protesters outside of Obamas events. There are protesters outside of Sanders' events and Clinton's events. I guess, the difference is they haven't turned too violent, although Senator Sanders did say that the convention would be messy.
SESAY: Well, we haven't seen tear gas.
THOMAS: We're not at the convention yet.
SESAY: Guys, thank you.
VAUSE: Dan Simon is back with us for an update of exactly what's been happening on the streets of Albuquerque. Dan, when we saw you a few moments ago, it did seem as if the police are finally getting an upper hand. What's the latest?
SIMON: That's right. You know, from what I understand, you still have a few people basically on the outskirts of downtown but certainly you don't have a situation which you had earlier.
You have a few police officers basically standing outside the convention center making sure things don't descend into chaos once again.
But I would say for the most part people have left the area but boy, it was quite a situation earlier. It was scary for me and our crew out here.
We inhaled some of this pepper spray that was fired by police into the crowd. We got tear gas in our eyes. At one point we were almost trounced by an officer on horseback.
So police did what they had to do to try to get these crowds to disperse. You saw a number of these protesters earlier throwing rocks and bottles at police trying to start a fight with them.
I have to say, I've been to a lot of these protests over the years and here in Albuquerque police showed remarkable restraint in comparison to what I've seen in other places.
Police had ample opportunity to arrest a number of individuals. They saw creating problems and they decided not to for whatever reason.
But the bottom line is at this power things have calmed down. For the most part throughout the afternoon it was a peaceful protest. You had well more than 1,000 anti-Donald Trump protesters here outside the convention center.
And then when you had a small group try to go inside, that's when things quickly spun out of control and things got really tense -- John and Isha.
SESAY: Dan, at this stage do we know were the police expecting protests or were they effectively caught off guard?
SIMON: They were certainly expecting the protests. After all, they were here in riot gear. Whether or not they expected this type of protest, would they see it escalate to this level, I don't know.
That will be a good question to ask them. We did see on social media over the past several days that a number of anti-Donald Trump people were going to congregate here.
So that had been in the works ever since Donald Trump announced he was coming to Albuquerque, but we talked about it earlier.
You know, when we see people wearing gas masks and other things around their faces, clearly they're here to cause trouble. No question about it. That's what police had to deal with.
VAUSE: And Dan, very quickly, what was the timeline between the moment the violence erupted until now, what period are we looking at here?
SIMON: I would say maybe two or three hours it took to get this crowd under control. So it was a good chunk of time I have to say. Right before Donald Trump started speaking I think is when things really descended into chaos.
[01:15:02]And then maybe two hours after he was finished, you know, which is about right now. That's when things drastically calmed down. But it's been quite a night. I have to say. We weren't expecting this when we arrived earlier. No question about it.
VAUSE: Clearly. Hey, Dan, thanks so much.
SESAY: Very much appreciate it.
VAUSE: Live reporting from the scene and very chaotic and at times violent situation there in downtown Albuquerque. Appreciate it.
SESAY: Yes, thank you.
VAUSE: Short break here. When we come back, Trump rallied his supporters inside that arena with many chanting "build that wall."
SESAY: Several anti-Trump protesters were removed by security officers. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Don Riddell with your CNN World Sport Headlines. Real Madrid are hoping for an 11th European Cup title this weekend, but is Cristiano Ronaldo's participation in doubt? CR-7 has been struggling with a thigh injury, and on Tuesday he limped away from training for the third consecutive session. But he says he will be ready to play on Saturday.
The path to another French Open title is much clearer for Serena Williams. The two women who beat her in the last two majors, Roberta Vinci and Angelique Kerber, have been eliminated. As has arguably her biggest rival, Victoria Azarenka has been in good form lately, but in the last couple seasons she's never far from an injury.
And unfortunately for her a knee problem forced her to abandon her first round match against Kerry Knapp. She was making a decent match of it, but she was forced to throw in the towel four games into the decisive set.
Barely a week seems to go by without further revelation of doping in Russian sports. Tuesday's news is that 14 of their athletes have failed retrospective tests from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Although we don't yet know officially the identity of any of them.
The Russian Olympic Committee says they've been informed of the results by the IOC and athletes compete in three different sports. The ROC is now working to provide the IOC with additional samples for the athletes in question. That is a look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Breaking news out of Albuquerque, New Mexico where police say a small crowd of troublemakers remains on the streets outside a Donald Trump rally which ended a few hours ago.
Authorities say police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd after some there threw rocks and bottles as well as setting small fires. Trump rallied his supporters inside the arena with many chanting "build that wall."
SESAY: Several anti-Trump protesters were removed by security officers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:20:08]DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a chance to be something so special as a country, and really we want to take care of everyone. We want to take care of those protesters that got ripped out of here. I mean, we want to take care of them and very gently taken out. But we want to take care of everybody. We want to be inclusive. We want to include everybody, folks. We have to. We're a group that's very well unified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: While all of this was going on Republican voters in Washington were casting their ballots. Trump the big winner there with 76 percent of the vote so far.
SESAY: He now has an estimated 1,229 delegates. Just eight shy of the number he needs to clinch the nomination.
VAUSE: Democrats spent the day on the campaign trail here in Southern California hoping to appeal to voters before the state's primary in two weeks. Bernie Sanders wrapped up a rally in San Bernardino a few hours ago. His third event of the day.
SESAY: And frontrunner, Hillary Clinton kicked off her swing through the western U.S. with three stops around Los Angeles. Jeff Zeleny has the latest from Riverside.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John Isha, Hillary Clinton still competing with Bernie Sanders in this California primary, but making clear she's going after one man and one man alone. That is Donald Trump.
On Tuesday evening at a campaign rally here in Riverside, California Secretary Clinton making clear from the very beginning Donald Trump was in her sights.
From immigration to climate change to housing policy, she went after Donald Trump throughout her entire speech. She said it's important to take Donald Trump seriously and urged voters to do so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've got to sort of pinch yourself. When you hear some of what Donald Trump is saying and it is something we've got to take serious, my friends. It may have started out as entertainment, but now it's really, really concerning.
And I don't want what he says to go unanswered. And I will continue to stand up and speak out against what he say says, the kind of positions and policies he's putting forward, the way he treats people, how divisive he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Now, it's clear that Hillary Clinton is trying to urge Democrats to come to her side to leave Bernie Sanders and join her campaign. She said she needs a strong finish here in the California primary in other states that are also voting on June 7th from New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico, and the Dakotas.
But it's clear that Hillary Clinton fighting hard here in California, but so far looking ahead to Donald Trump. She believes the time is now to identify him, to define him, to show voters he should be taken seriously, should be going hard after him I'm told for the rest of this week and into next week.
She's clearly fighting a two-front war with Bernie Sanders, but her aim is entirely on Donald Trump -- John and Isha.
VAUSE: Our thanks to you, Jeff Zeleny. Joining us now, Democratic strategist, Dave Jacobson and Republican consultant, John Thomas. They've been with us most of the night. It's great having you on a night like this.
Let's talk about the Clinton campaign rolling out a new line of attack against Donald Trump first with a new campaign ad, pretty much using Donald Trump's own words about the housing collapse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP (via telephone): I kind of hope that happens, because then people like me would go in and buy. If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know, you could make a lot of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Then later at a campaign stop Hillary Clinton essentially said Trump is dangerous for the American economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: And he has experience in bankruptcy. Right? So you know, I don't know if that's one of the qualifications for running for president, but I kind of doubt it. He's bankrupted companies. I said yesterday, I don't know how you lose money running casinos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Dave, this really seems to be a concerted effort to go up to Donald Trump on the economy. After a night like tonight, do you stick with that or do you go with the earlier sound bite that we heard from Hillary Clinton talking about how divisive Donald Trump is?
JACOBSON: I think you battle him on both fronts. But I think in terms of the economy message I think she's embracing the 2012 playbook President Obama's campaign took against Mitt Romney. And I think Clinton's campaign is trying to make Donald Trump the Mitt Romney of 2016.
To go in and sort of define him early as the greedy multibillionaire, big business guy who made his -- all of his money on the backs of poor working families.
And just sort of go in and say this guy talks a big game about creating jobs, but the reality is he's exploited workers, he's taking advantage of sort of the free trade policies that he comes out against and his ship jobs overseas to China and Mexico for his own Trump clothing brand.
[01:25:06]THOMAS: That's not going to work. Because first of all she has to attack him on the one issue where he dominates, and it is all about the economy. That's what this election's going to come down to.
Tonight is terrible. It's terrible to see this violence. But at the end of the day, Americans are going to think about pocketbook issues, which is the economy.
VAUSE: This will play.
THOMAS: He said look, I know how to make money in up and down markets.
VAUSE: That's why people like him because he made a lot of money. It's called capitalism.
SESAY: As you talk about this fading, I want to bring to our viewers' attention a tweet Donald Trump just put out. This tweet coming after the scenes we've just been talking about for the last couple of hours.
This is what he said. "Great rally in New Mexico. Amazing crowd. Now in L.A. big rally in Anaheim." No mention of the protests.
VAUSE: Great rally.
THOMAS: Well, inside I'm sure it was, but he has to shift the topic. He doesn't want this to be the story, the violent protesters. He wants to shift about how he's uniting the party and coalescing the party.
But I would say something about Hillary Clinton's comment about how I don't know how you go bankrupt or lose money in a casino. She doesn't know how you make a job either. That's her problem.
I think Donald Trump is going to start contrasting that as we move forward, and she can't just call her husband and ask how to create jobs. She has to understand and she doesn't.
SESAY: Dave, do you let the Trump campaign try to push what happened tonight off the screen and then carry on with business as usual talking about big rallies in Anaheim?
JACOBSON: Well, look I think her new message of we're stronger together, we're uniting together, I think that implies that Donald Trump is the opposite of that. He's the divider in chief.
He's the one sort of splintering the American electorate and pitting people against each other. And I think simultaneously going back to the jobs front, I think yes, it would be political malpractice for Hillary not to capitalize on President Bill Clinton's record when it comes to the economy.
He created 23 million jobs when he was president. We saw the largest expansion of the American economy in modern times. Moreover, he balanced the budget with a surplus at the end when he was president. So I think she's not going to run from that legacy. She's going to --
VAUSE: Let's move on to California very quickly. Bernie Sanders, he held a very peaceful, big rally in California. He also -- he's also releasing a very slick new campaign ad. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): What choice do Californians have in this election? The biggest one of all. You have the power to choose a new direction for the Democratic Party. To break the back of a corrupt system of campaign finance that keeps a rigged economy in place.
To stand up to Wall Street and make the wealthy pay their fair share. To fight for tuition-free public colleges and universities. California, it's a long way to Washington, but you can send them a message they can't ignore. I'm Bernie Sanders, and I approve this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Positive message, not attacking Clinton.
JACOBSON: Yes, and look, the whole point of this is send a message, California. Send a symbolic message that I've still got enough steam to keep going and that there's a reason to continue moving forward and to vote for me. Because the reality is every single report that has come out has shown that mathematically it's impossible for him to lock up the 2,383 delegate figure.
THOMAS: He didn't need to mention Hillary Clinton. She's the 800- pound gorilla in the room. The ad was about a new direction running against the establishment. Hillary Clinton is the establishment. He didn't need to go negative and largely his brand has been uplifting and positive. I think that (inaudible).
SESAY: Look at you (inaudible) with joy there.
THOMAS: By the way, he's only down nine in most tracking polls. So who knows?
JACOBSON: There's a poll that came out today showing him 17 points --
SESAY: All right, put a lid on it.
VAUSE: OK. Thanks guys.
SESAY: All right, time for a quick break. We're keeping an eye on the situation in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
VAUSE: Where police are trying to clear the last protesters after a Donald Trump rally. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:05] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Just gone 11:32 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. Our top story this hour. In Albuquerque, New Mexico police say a small group of troublemakers is still in the streets outside a Donald Trump rally. Earlier, some protesters broke through barricades, set fire to Trump merchandise, and threw rocks and bottles at police. Officers broke up the crowds by using pepper spray.
VAUSE: Meantime, Donald Trump moving closer to officially clinching the Republican presidential nomination with an easy win. In the Washington primary no one else is running. So far he's got 76 percent of the vote. Former candidates John Kasich and Ted Cruz trailing far behind. Their names were just left on the ballot.
SESAY: The Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is here in southern California campaigning. On Tuesday, she held a rally in Riverside. It's just one of the stops she's making in the Golden State.
VAUSE: Bernie Sanders also fighting to win here in California. He spoke to supporters at a rally in San Bernardino. Sanders refuses to back down before the Democratic Convention in July, even though he trails Clinton in the delegate count.
SESAY: All right, well, let's get to Eric Bauman, the Democratic Party vice chair for California.
VAUSE: And KABC talk radio host and Trump supporter, John Phillips. A wild night in Albuquerque. John, what's your take on this? What does this do for the Trump campaign? Does he come under pressure regardless of who's to blame here or who you blame here? Does he come under pressure to dial it back?
JOHN PHILLIPS, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, ORANGE COUNTRY REGISTER: No, I think this helps him. I think the silent majority is watching these criminals on "CNN TONIGHT" assault police officers, attack public property, go after police cars, and they're appalled at what's going on. They see the Mexican flag out there.
We've lived through this in California in 1994 when Proposition 187 was on the ballot, when Governor Pete Wilson was running for re- election. And we saw protests that were very similar to this, and there was a backfire, a boomerang effect that happened.
And Proposition 187 ended up passing, and Pete Wilson ended up coming back. He was down double digits in the polls. He ended up winning a second term decisively.
SESAY: Eric?
ERIC BAUMAN, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY VICE CHAIR: And since that day, no Republican has ever won in office in California. Every Latino voter virtually to the one in California votes for the Democrats. And I think what you have seen as is evidenced by voter registration in California, that Donald Trump has fired up Latinos all across America.
You know, there have been a million and a half voter registrants in California since the first of the year. And the largest number of Latinos voter registrants ever. They're all registering as Democrats. And this is going on in state after state after state because of the kind of demagogic language that he's used from his wall on down.
SESAY: And John, just quickly -- PHILLIPS: Yes.
SESAY: -- before you -- I want to read Donald Trump's tweet --
PHILLIPS: Sure.
SESAY: -- in the aftermath of all of this. This is what he said. "Great rally in New Mexico. Amazing crowd. Now in L.A. Big rally in Anaheim." Is that good enough as a response to all of this just to put that out and not to directly address the scenes we saw on the street?
PHILLIPS: Absolutely. He's not responsible for the violence that was going on outside the building. The people who are committing those acts of violence are responsible for it.
And I've got to say this. Eric is a guy who, if he was there in Albuquerque, he would be out there with the voter registration forms or maybe the picket signs. He wouldn't be burning things down. He wouldn't be attacking police officers.
If you don't like what Donald Trump is saying, there a right way of responding to it, and there's a wrong way of responding to it. And what you're seeing tonight is the wrong way.
SESAY: And to be fair, the police in Albuquerque did say, however, the scenes we saw towards the end of the bite, those were the most anti --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Yes, but I don't know why they want to bend over backwards to make excuses for these people when the violence just didn't start a few minutes ago. The violence has been going on throughout the evening. So there were fires. There were rocks being thrown. There were laws being broken long ago.
BAUMAN: John was right. There's a right way and a wrong way to respond to it. And if you find what you saw distasteful and if you find what Donald Trump says and does wrong, you vote for the Democrat for president. That's the best response.
PHILLIPS: The consummate salesman.
BAUMAN: Absolutely.
SESAY: Never let a moment go to waste.
VAUSE: OK, let's get to some of the campaign politics right now, because, you know, Donald Trump, he's going way back to the '90s. He's digging up all these campaigns. So let's all of us get in our little hot tub time machine here, and let's go all the way back to 2007 and 2008 when a certain Donald J. Trump had this to say about Hillary Clinton and her chances of winning the Democratic nomination and also about Bill Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I know her very well. She's very talented, and she has a husband that I also like very much. I think she's going to get the nomination rather easily.
Look at the trouble Bill Clinton got into with something that was totally unimportant, and they tried to impeach him, which was nonsense.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: OK, John, that's quite some evolution. And don't give me the line it was all about business, because he had to stay friendly with the politicians.
PHILLIPS: Yes, look, times change. People change their minds. Back in 2008, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hated each other's guts. Now they're bosom buddies. Politics has a strange way of turning yesterday's enemy into today's friend.
SESAY: Eric, you're groaning.
BAUMAN: Bill Clinton left office with the highest approval ratings of any president in the last century other than perhaps Ronald Reagan and continues to be amongst America's most popular political figures. I think to try to resurrect these stale, ridiculous stories from 1996 and 1997 is preposterous to try to used that to win an election today.
And by the way, part of Hillary Clinton's strength in this is that for 25 years she's been attacked from every side about every issue, from everything from how she wears her hair to how she wears her shoes. And you know what? She keeps moving forward.
SESAY: For the past 25 years, the concern is among some is that he's revitalizing these issues for young voters who maybe weren't aware of it and that it would gain traction with them. What do you say?
BAUMAN: I don't see any of those young voters voting in the Republican Party. I see them all signing up for the Democratic Party.
VAUSE: But John, I'm just curious, because, you know, Bill Clinton, you know, apart from the comment sections on Breitbart and people who listen to Rush Limbaugh and, you know, conservative radio, he remains very, very popular in this country. So what is there to be gained by trying to trash the guy?
PHILLIPS: Yes, he's popular personally, but look at what Hillary Clinton's doing with his policy. She's running almost as much against Bill Clinton as she is against Donald Trump. She's running against the Crime Bill. She's running against welfare reform. She's running against free trade.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Well, those are huge achievements in the Clinton administration. BAUMAN: But she's not -- she's not -- but she's not running to be the
third term of Bill Clinton. She's running to be the first term of Hillary Clinton. And you know what? She is a brilliant woman who has had her own successful career, who has served in the United States Senate and as a Secretary of State and who has led on children's issues. So she needs to be her own person. She doesn't need to speak and defend her husband's term.
SESAY: Hillary -- I'm going to just throw this in, because Hillary is not going back to the 1990s. In fact, she's going after Trump on his business record, going after him for not releasing his tax returns. Let's run that sound so we can --
PHILLIPS: Sure.
SESAY: -- get your reaction to that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It may be that he hasn't paid ever any federal income tax. That's why we want to see his tax returns. Everybody else has had to turn over their tax returns who has been the nominee of a party running for president, so we're going to keep asking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Is this an issue voters care about?
PHILLIPS: No, voters care about their tax return, not the presidential candidate's tax return. I think it's relevant when you're talk about someone who's been in government for years and years and years and they're a multimillionaire several times over. Then there's -- it's relevant to peek into their taxes and find out what's going on. He's been in the private sector his whole life.
VAUSE: Eric?
BAUMAN: So here's somebody who's supposed to help our economy who has repeatedly bankrupted his own businesses, who claims to be worth billions of dollars, who claims to give all this money. Even his million-dollar contribution to the veterans that he claimed he made four months ago didn't get made until this week when he got questioned by a reporter about it.
I think voters do care about his finances. They do want to know what he's doing and what he's really all about.
VAUSE: OK. You got the last word last time. You get the last word this time. Call it quits. It's all even.
SESAY: Gentlemen, a pleasure.
VAUSE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Thank you. SESAY: All right. See, and a handshake. Time for a break.
Major developments in the sex assault case against comedian Bill Cosby. He's now facing a trial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. Police have broken up violent protests outside a Donald Trump rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They used pepper spray to clear out the remaining demonstrators a short time ago.
VAUSE: The demonstrations started on Tuesday with some protesters breaking down barricades and throwing rocks and bottles at police. Albuquerque police just tweeted a number of officers are being treated for injuries after being hit by rocks.
SESAY: Well, now Bill Cosby is going on trial for sexual assault. As the comedian sat inside a Pennsylvania courtroom Tuesday, a judge ruled there is enough evidence against him to move ahead with a criminal trial.
VAUSE: Cosby faces three counts of felony indecent assault in a case from 2004. Since then, dozens of women have accused him of sexual misconduct. If convicted the 78-year-old faces up to 30 years in prison.
Let's bring in, Segun Oduolowu, a pop culture contributor to "Access Hollywood Live," and Areva Martin, a civil rights attorney. Guys, thanks you for being with us.
SESAY: Yes, welcome to you both.
VAUSE: I want to go over the legalities here first with you, Areva. Legally, on what basis did the judge make this decision that this -- there was evidence that this trial should move forward?
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY & LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: So it's important to note that this was a preliminary hearing today. It wasn't a trial. So the standard that the judge used is much lower than the standard would be when the trial actually starts.
So the standard today was preponderance of the evidence. And all the prosecution had to do was present enough evidence to establish that it was more likely than not that Bill Cosby committed a crime.
And what we saw today was the affidavit of probable cause that was presented via a detective that was involved in the investigation. So Constand, the woman that is making the charges, didn't actually testify today. People were waiting outside, hoping that she maybe would take the stand. But that didn't happen, and it's not required in a preliminary hearing such as today. So a very low standard for the prosecution to meet.
SESAY: So a trial will go ahead. From what we saw today, what did we glean about the defense strategy? MARTIN: We learned a lot today about the defense strategy. What we
learned is that the defense is going to present a case that says this woman has given very inconsistent statements and testimony and that she's not credible.
So you saw the defense attorney, even though she wasn't on the witness stand, attacking her credibility, talking about the fact that after the incident she went to dinner with Cosby. She bought him a gift. She and her family went to a concert with him in Canada, that she called him on multiple occasions, that she asked for concert tickets.
So we're starting to see these facts dropped by the defense attorneys, not so much for what was going on in the courtroom today, but for the court of public opinion and to start shaping the --
VAUSE: Yes.
MARTIN: -- narrative around this woman who's making the allegations.
VAUSE: And with that, let's bring in Segun.
SESAY: Yes.
VAUSE: This is -- this is one of the very important parts or interesting aspects of this story. There have been so many lurid and disturbing details already. We're about to hear a lot more. Do you think people are numb to it by now, or is this nation ready to be shocked even further?
SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: I think that the nation is waiting with bated breath to see what happens, especially in Hollywood. Hollywood has long existed with a culture of you have to give some to get some. And a lot of these women, the stories almost ring the same. I was an actress. He promised me this, and then I was drugged and I couldn't move.
And to a lot of Hollywood, it kind of operated that way. And I think a lot -- and power. This is a power struggle. I mean here's a powerful, rich man who was basically using that and drugging these women.
Let's first put on the table that I, for one, believe that he's guilty of rape. I've always said that. I stand by that.
If 50 women have come forth, if 49 are lying, if only 1 is telling the truth, you're still a rapist. And in this trial what Areva mentioned is the defense attorney -- the defense is doing a little bit more than that. What they're doing with public opinion by saying that he -- the woman went to dinner with him and that was still friendly with him, that's like a woman who's been abused and she still comes back to her abuser.
Do we say that punches weren't thrown? Can we -- can we actually as human beings look at these cases and say that something wrong didn't happen here?
Because one the -- and correct me if I'm wrong, because you know the law much better than I do -- I believe that in his initial deposition he admitted to buying Quaaludes for the purpose of drugging women for sex.
MARTIN: He did.
ODUOLOWU: So to me, this should be a slam dunk.
VAUSE: And despite all of that, though --
SESAY: Yes, Bill Cosby --
VAUSE: -- Cosby and his defense team --
SESAY: -- have denied anything.
VAUSE: -- have denied everything. They're not guilty, so this trial will move forward.
MARTIN: Let me clarify that. In the deposition that you're making reference to, he did admit to buying Quaaludes, but he did not admit to giving Constand Quaaludes.
SESAY: Yes.
MARTIN: So there's a big difference between I bought Quaaludes to give to other women and what happened in this particular case.
SESAY: As we talk about the court of public opinion --
ODUOLOWU: Wow, Areva's splitting hairs there.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: It's the law.
ODUOLOWU: I know, but that is spirit of the law and letter. That's really fine. Like I bought Quaaludes to give to women for sex, but I didn't give them to this particular woman.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: But there is a real issue about whether that deposition testimony is even going to be admissible. And you can expect to see World War III break out between the defense attorneys and the prosecution over whether that deposition testimony will even come into evidence.
SESAY: So Segun, you talked about the court of public opinion and Hollywood and the way business is done around here. Do you see those famous public supporters of Bill Cosby making statements now that this thing has gone to trial, or do you see everyone just stepping back now?
ODUOLOWU: Oh, I think they're pulling back and they're pulling back as fast as they can. His shows have been pulled. TV Land pulled reruns of "The Cosby Show." He was in deals with Netflix and different streaming services for airing of his shows. They've all withdrawn back. You don't hear his friends or supporters. I mean, he made millions of dollars for a lot of people.
And I think what others -- the other fact that I want people to understand is a conspiracy of this kind, these many women over these many decades, we're talking about a 78-year-old man who's been famous for more than five decades. For 50 years Bill Cosby's been in the public eye. You can't hide this kind of stuff without help.
So if it is one of those things, I think powerful people are hoping that their names are not even brought up into this, because it could just be -- as I said, it's the tip of the iceberg or the Titanic.
VAUSE: OK, let's hear from Gloria Allred, who represents many of Cosby's alleged victims. She was talking today. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: If she was unable, because she was unconscious or in and out of consciousness, to say anything, then she couldn't say no, and that cannot lead to the conclusion that she therefore consented.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Areva, that's essentially the prosecutor's argument. Right?
MARTIN: That's going to be their argument. But again, what we're going to see is a really aggressive attack on Constand by these defense attorneys.
And I know it's hard for laypeople to understand how in a case where you have 50 other women making similar allegations that Cosby could get away with this, but the reality is those allegations may also be deemed inadmissible. We may not hear --
VAUSE: We don't know this yet, though.
ODUOLOWU: Yes.
MARTIN: -- we may not hear from any of those women. Again, that's going to be another big battle.
Even though the judge talked about a trial going forth in July, I think this trial is probably months off and maybe even a year off because the motion practice, the fights over this evidence is going to be so hard fought, going to be up on appeal at the state appellate court level. This may not see the inside of a courtroom.
ODUOLOWU: Do you believe he did it? You believe he's guilty? Because you're the only lawyer here. Do you believe he's guilty?
MARTIN: Yes, I, like you, am appalled by the admissions in the deposition that --
VAUSE: Yes. MARTIN: -- we learned more today, even allegations -- admissions by
Mr. Cosby that he had sex with teens.
SESAY: Yes.
ODUOLOWU: Thank you.
VAUSE: And this is why we have a trial, though, to find out definitively once and for all.
SESAY: Absolutely.
VAUSE: People are going to sit back in the cheap seats and pass judgment. People are going to think what they want to think at home.
SESAY: It hasn't been to court.
VAUSE: At this point, there will be a trial, and we'll find out.
MARTIN: And the trial standard, beyond reasonable doubt.
VAUSE: Reasonable doubt.
MARTIN: A much heavier burden.
ODUOLOWU: Yes, but not beyond any doubt.
VAUSE: OK.
SESAY: Areva, Segun --
VAUSE: Thank you.
SESAY: -- you guys are great. Thank you.
MARTIN: Thanks.
ODUOLOWU: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, Donald Trump is already moving on to California after those violent protests in Albuquerque. We're staying on top of the situation there as police continue to try to calm the situation on the streets. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico have broken up a crowd of violent protesters outside a Donald Trump rally. Officers fired pepper spray after some people threw rocks and bottles and broke through police barricades.
VAUSE: Police say a number of officers are being treated for injuries after being hit by rocks. At least one person was arrested, but that was inside the Donald Trump rally.
SESAY: Well, U.S. President Barack Obama is on his way to Japan, his next stop on his week-long trip to Asia. He just boarded Air Force One a few moments ago. Showing you these pictures as he goes up the steps. This comes after a town hall meeting with young leaders in Ho Chi Minh City.
VAUSE: And from there, Mr. Obama heads to Japan for a meeting with G- 7 leaders. He'll also be visiting Hiroshima, the first sitting U.S. President to do so.
SESAY: And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: And I'm John Vause. We're be back with more after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
