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Erin Burnett Outfront
Up To 20,000 Gathering To See Donald Trump; Awaiting Donald Trump Speech in Dallas. Aired 7-8:00p ET
Aired September 14, 2015 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:10] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, breaking news, Donald Trump speaking live in this hour, bringing his boisterous style to an estimated crowd of 20,000 supporters and hundreds of protesters in Dallas.
Plus, with the CNN debate less than 48 hours away, how does Jeb Bush take on the king of the one liners, Donald Trump? And turn around his own fading poll numbers.
And Carly Fiorina, she turned a Trump insult into her advantage. Will she double-down at the debate and try to goad Trump into another? Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Jim Sciutto in again tonight for Erin Burnett. And OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news, Donald Trump stages a Texas-sized rally. The GOP frontrunner minutes from now addressing a big, boisterous crowd at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. This arena, normally home to the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, seats up to 20,000 people. The tickets are free tonight but scalpers getting as much as $100 a piece for the chance to see Trump's live. And as you could see there, those seats are filling up very quickly. The inside crowd in that arena may be excited but there is a crowd outside that is angry. Latino protesters marching from a nearby cathedral to the arena staging what they call a dump the Trump rally.
A new poll from Marist reflects that anger. It shows 70 percent of the Latino voters view the GOP front-runner negatively. Still, Trump's two-month ride atop of the polls climbing only higher. A Washington Post ABC News poll giving Trump 33 percent of the vote, that is his highest standing yet. Fellow billionaire Mark Cuban, he is owner of the NBA team that normally is filling seats in the arena tonight wished Trump well, tweeting, "The buzz in Dallas is amazing. You will crush it." All of this heading into Wednesday night's crucial republican debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California which will air right here on CNN. Trump's big lead makes him the biggest target at that debate, something that Trump says, he is prepared for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I guess I'm going into a lion's den. I don't know if they're -- some people say, I will be, some people say, I want -- somebody will attack. You know, somebody like a Rand Paul who is down at two percent, he will maybe attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Tonight, Ed Lavandera is on the street with the dump the Trump protesters. Sara Murray is live inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas for tonight's rally. Sara, I want to begin with you. What is the scene tonight? What is the energy tonight? What are they expecting?
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, they are certainly expecting a very big rally. And like you said, the capacity for the stadium is 20,000 people. It's not full yet but nonetheless the crowd is very festive. Look, it's the normal concession stand thing going on here. It's like a sporting event. People are buying beer and wine, chowing down on pizza and hot dogs. And there was one Trump's super fan in particular that we had to find a little time to talked to earlier today. Take a look at why she said she loves Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA TOMASINO, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: You cannot show up at a Donald Trump rally and not make a statement. Like Donald. So I am wearing Trump. I have my Trump purse and my Trump shoes and I'm all about Trump. Oh, I love Trump. From "The Apprentice" to everything, you know, I mean, he does put his foot in his mouth sometimes, but don't we all?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Now, she said she woke up at 10:00 a.m. to start making that dress, Jim. So, that was a big investment for her. And a lot of folks here are just here for the festivity and they want to see Trump up close and are looking ahead to the CNN debate. That's where they want to get a lot more substance from the candidates on stage, including Donald Trump -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Well, we're just minutes away from that Trump event and as we've mentioned crowds not only gathering inside American Airlines Center but also outside and you're looking at live there at hundreds of Latino protesters, they are taking part in a so-called dump the Trump march. That is our Ed Lavandera who is there with them protesting Trump's hardline stance on immigration. You can hear them chanting on the background.
Ed, tell us what you are hearing from them and also how big is that crowd tonight.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ed, it is a growing crowd, Jim, and we are just a few blocks away from the American Airlines Center and the showdown, if you will, up Trump supporters who have been showing up in the arena here this afternoon, already in large numbers and this crowd has been growing as the march has been going on for about a mile and so from the cathedral here in downtown Dallas and now just a few blocks away from the American Airlines Center. As you mentioned, the dump the Trump theme of this march, really protesting and voicing their anger towards what they see is Donald Trump's divisive comments, especially on multicultural issues and Latino issues here in the United States. A lot of pro-immigrant messages here. Several Donald Trump
Pinatas which I'm told will be whacked at here within the hour or so as Donald Trump begins his speech here in downtown Dallas. But as Sara mentioned, this is an arena that used for sporting events, Mavericks, hockey games, concerts, and this is exactly the kind of theme and spirit and kind of scene that we're seeing here in downtown Dallas this afternoon -- Jim.
[19:05:30] SCIUTTO: Chanting USA behind you there. I know this is always difficult, but are the police making any estimate of the size of the protests that are there alongside with you?
LAVANDERA: Well, it's far. If we can't see the very end of it but I'm guessing by this point it's close to about 1,000 people. There's a designated protest area just outside the arena where they have been pinned up. There's a stage there and more. This particular event will continue go down as Donald Trump begins his show inside the American Airlines Center. But probably estimate -- it's hard to tell right now but it's probably close to 1,000 people on the streets here making their way towards the American Airlines Center.
SCIUTTO: Ed Lavandera with those protesters there. And you see that contrast, the excitement generated outside from his opponents, his critics, and inside certainly a great deal of excitement as well.
OUTFRONT now, CNN's chief political analyst Gloria Borger. Gloria, you know, you look at those pictures from inside the arena.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
SCIUTTO: Thousands of people, an estimated 20,000 people. Looks like he's going to meet that number because I can't spot an empty seat in that crowd. People scalping tickets. But here's the key question. How does he and can he translate these crowds at early events like this in the primary votes?
BORGER: You know, we really don't know the answer to that yet, Jim. Donald Trump is not about a plan, he's not about an ideology. He's about an idea. And the idea is, I'm an outsider, I am different. And what voters are doing right now or potential voters are doing right now is they are window shopping. This is early on. And after the window shopping comes the scrutiny. So we don't know, honestly, enough about Donald Trump yet. And more importantly, we really don't know enough about the primary voters yet. And all of the polls we're looking at, we don't know which of these voters are going to be actual participants in the primaries or which of these folks are actually filling that arena and other places because they want to get a look at a celebrity and they want to hear him and they love Donald Trump. But we're not sure if these are the same folks that are actually going to go to the polls in Iowa, in New Hampshire and South Carolina. We don't know yet.
SCIUTTO: And he's the kind of candidate that supposed conceivably could bring people to the polls that don't normally go.
BORGER: He could. SCIUTTO: Tomorrow you have Trump heading to California. He's
going to be on the "USS Iowa" the battleship to speak on national security about veterans affairs. In an area where as we know, he's shown some weakness.
BORGER: Sure.
SCIUTTO: But she also spoke in more detail over the weekend about his tax plan. I wonder, in those statements, in those speeches, are you seeing Trump making an effort to be a more serious candidate, in effect?
BORGER: Yes, a more presidential candidate, absolutely. Now that he's gotten everybody's attention -- and by the way, I think it's a really smart thing to do to give a speech on national security before he gets on that stage at the CNN debate because he know he's going to be asked about foreign policy questions. So, he can then say, oh, as I said the other day in my speech on national security, he understands the kind of scrutiny that he's going to get. He understands that he's got to put meat on the bones and he's starting to do that because what his opponents are doing is they are attacking him from the right and they are saying, you know what, Donald Trump is not a real conservative, he used to be a democrat and so he's got to sort of fend that off and let these potential voters know where he stands on the issues, aside from immigration, for example, which is the one issue that we know exactly where it stands.
SCIUTTO: Gloria Borger, part of our A-team that is going to be out there for CNN's republican debates on Wednesday.
BORGER: It's going to be interesting.
SCIUTTO: Great to have you on, as always.
BORGER: Thanks to you.
SCIUTTO: OUTFRONT, next, a reminder, we're standing by for an appearance by Donald Trump. He's speaking before a big crowd in Dallas. That is the crowd there. It's just minutes away.
Plus, in a new poll, Trump is winning over four times as many voters as Jeb Bush. What does Jeb Bush need to do to turn those numbers around?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:12:38] SCIUTTO: Breaking news, Donald Trump just minutes away from taking the stage. In Dallas tonight, you're looking at live pictures from the American Airlines Center where thousands, it's estimated as many as 20,000 people have gathered to hear the republican front-runner hard to spot an empty seat inside in that arena right now. But outside the arena, there are hundreds of protesters, they are marching against Trump's immigration policies. Even some Trump Pinatas in there as you can see. Tonight's speech for Trump, part of a well-planned buildup to Wednesday night's republican primary debate. And while Trump is campaigning, the other candidates are taking the night off, prepping for the debate, knowing that Donald Trump is the candidate to beat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I guess I'm going into a lion's den.
So far, those attacking me, including Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush, when he started, he was at 18. Now he's at seven and eight. Now, I don't know if that's because of me but it certainly seems to be unlucky to attack me.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll campaign hard. If somebody comes at me, bam, I'll come back at them. Don't worry about that. I'll campaign hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: No one polling punches there. OUTFRONT, CNN political commentator Ana Navarro, she is live in Simi Valley, California. The site of course, CNN's republican presidential debate on Wednesday night. And Alex Marlow, he is the editor-in-chief of Breitbart News. And I want to start with you speaking about Jeb Bush. Wednesday night could be really a make or break night for him. He's sleeping in the polls. He's roughly at eight percent now. That's down from 12 percent. How does he take Trump on Wednesday night without, this is also a risk diminishing himself in the process or being someone that he is not in the process?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, Donald Trump obviously wants a fight. He's picking a fight with Jeb and with other candidates. Not just Jeb Bush. Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, you name it. And if Trump wants a fight, he should get a fight. I think Jeb and the others should give him that fight and draw a contrast between themselves and Trump. But also deliver shots -- that stick, that are memorable. Lines that are effective. You know, you need to -- land blows. It's not just about throwing blows. I also think he has a -- Jeb doesn't have the luxury that Trump has. No other candidate does, of being able to flub the policy. He needs to be right on the spot with it because people consider him the policy guy. And so he needs to be able to do both things at the same time. Deliver shots and be right on the policy.
SCIUTTO: Speaking on the policy, Alex, I want to ask you, because Jeb has gone after Trump for his attacks on Latino immigrants, as you know. And he released a new video today, in fact, campaign video featuring his wife Columba who was a Mexican-American. Listen to a clip from that video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have lived my life here. So, you know, I agree that we all have the same interests, the same feelings. We go to church every Sunday. We have celebrations with the family. We keep with traditions. You know, but at the end, it's just that, you know, faith, friends and family.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SCIUTTO: Tonight, you have protesters delivering a very similar
message. I wonder, Alex, is Trump considering softening that rhetoric in light of the growing power of the Latino vote?
ALEX MARLOW, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BREITBART NEWS: Right. It's a great question but, no, I don't think he's going to. I think if you polled the people who are protesting right now, you're not going to see a lot of people who are participating in the republican primary. At our website, Breitbart News, about 20 million readers, most of them are Grassroots conservative voters and some of them, they are very loyal and their number one issue has consistently been since last year immigration. And they are looking for someone who is going to seal the border and prioritize border security as number one, unlike the people who are outside. But those people are not going to be voting.
SCIUTTO: Ana, I have to ask you though because people have -- those voters have memories until the general election a little more than a year away from now. A New York Times op-ed today in fact welcoming Donald Trump to the race, calling him a God-send because and this was written by a Latino activists, because he has the potential to, quote, "unlock the potential of America's Latino electorate." Is Trump damaging the GOP's chances, Ana, in a general election?
[19:17:00] NAVARRO: You know, I think most Latinos are going to be able to tell the difference between Trump and some of the other people in the race. Certainly it's very hard to equate Trump to a Marco Rubio who is a Latino or to what Jeb Bush who is completely bicultural. So, you know, I just don't think it campaigned it all with broad strokes but what we've seen in this Republican Party and this republican field right now is a tremendous breath of diversity of thought. People have very different positions and opinions on issues like immigration. And so, no, I think -- you know, I think it's all going to depend Jim on who the nominee is. If it's Trump, we have a problem. Either he's going to have a problem with a Latinos. Those bridges are burnt. If it's not Trump, I think that there's a lot of growing room that can be done. It is going to require a lot of work but I think that, you know, another nominee can make strides with a Latino vote.
SCIUTTO: Alex, I want to give you a chance to respond. Do you think that voters will look at the candidates in broad strokes as opposed to remember this because remember, a lot of candidates are responding to Trump's hard line on immigration with a tax of their own.
MARLOW: You know, I completely disagree with Ana here and I don't think it's actually helpful for the Republican Party to say that he's doing damage with Latinos. I think Trump is growing the big tent. You're hearing people like Richard Trumka, the AFL-CIO say nice things about him. You heard a rapper, Azalea Banks say, black rapper say that Trump's policies are appealing to blacks. There are even some polls out there like a survey USA poll saying, Trump is actually doing fine with Latinos. Presumably, the ones who are already citizens and not ones who are here illegally or hope to bring family here illegally but those are the core voters and those are the voters we really want.
SCIUTTO: Ana Navarro and Alex Marlow, we have to leave it there. Thanks for coming on tonight. OUTFRONT next, we're waiting for Donald Trump. He's about to address a big crowd in Dallas. It's his first trip to Texas since his controversial visit to the Mexican border. And Latino protesters infuriated by Trump's immigration remarks staging a noisy protests outside that rally. We are live in Dallas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:12] SCIUTTO: Breaking news, you are looking at live pictures of the American Airlines Arena in downtown Dallas where Donald Trump is expected to take the stage in just a few minutes. The stadium seats up to 20,000 people. Looking there at those live pictures. Hard to find an empty seat. Looks like he's filling most of them. And CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson is right there in the crowd. Ben, you live in Dallas, you host a conservative radio talk show there. I'm curious, how broad is the excitement over Trump's candidacy in the republican base because you always have this question, how many folks are coming out to support him? How many folks are coming out to watch the show, in effect?
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think a lot of the people here are definitely here to support Donald Trump. The people walking in the building were certainly excited about him being here. It almost had a concert-like feel to it. Like, do you have a ticket, are you going? You know? And there seems to be an awful lot of people here today that really like Donald Trump, they like how blunt and bold he's talking and being. You know, they got everybody rounded up by singing the national anthem and pledge of allegiance. And so, if you can hear behind me, this crowd is very electric, they can't wait for Donald Trump to get here. And this is why he's polling at 32 percent.
SCIUTTO: Thirty three percent. Now, though, the highest we've seen in the latest --
FERGUSON: Thirty three percent, yes.
SCIUTTO: I want to ask you, in no state we know, the immigration issue more front and center than in Texas. You have those protesters outside. Their numbers is not matching the numbers inside but it's a sizeable showing. And I'm just wondering, how much of a divisive issue is that there in Texas right now?
FERGUSON: Well, it's certainly a big issue but a lot of people in Texas have been talking in a real blunt way about immigration reform. A lot more often than maybe other states around the country because it's a border state. So whether it be the governor putting the National Guard down there, Governor Perry, great example. And this has been a very normal conversation and you really did not have a massive amount of protesters. You had some of them, yes. But not what I think some people were expecting and there's a lot of people that have connected with Donald Trump specifically in Texas over this issue. I mean, you put it in comparison. Rick Perry was loved in this
state. Rick Perry could not have gotten a crowd anywhere I think close to this a week ago when he was still on the campaign. And Donald Trump has come to Dallas and this is a big arena and he has filled the majority of an up and that's because he's blunt, straight talking and they think he's going to do something on the border or build that wall that he's been talking about for so long and that's why a lot of these people are here.
SCIUTTO: You can see and hear now that energy, Ben Ferguson, thanks for taking us through it live from the scene. We are just moments away from Donald Trump taking that stage there. We're going to stay with this. Please stay with us for this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:29:52] SCIUTTO: Breaking news tonight, Donald Trump expected to speak at any moment. This is a live shot inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas where Trump will take the stage surrounded by a massive audience. The city's slogan, "Big Things Happen Here," and tonight it appears to be true. Up to 20,000 supporters rallying inside that arena while protesters against Trump's immigration policies marching outside. They are holding a so-called dump the Trump rally tonight. You could see some of them there. This coming as the republican front-runner now polling at his highest rating to date. This just two days before CNN's debate at the Reagan Library.
Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT with those protesting outside the Trump rally. Tell us what the crowd like there right now, Ed?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Intense outside here. This is the designated protest area.
I would say a couple of thousand protesters, mostly Latino protesters that have come out here. A lot of signs out here protesting the comments and what has been perceived as highly divisive comments made by Donald Trump over the last few months since he started his race for the presidency.
So, a lot of signs that say "Trump is a racist", "Dump the Trump", in trying to really attack his anti-immigrant -- what they perceive as his anti-immigrant message that has been so soundly kind of many ways made him so popular among other segments across the country. But this rally going on just outside. You can see the crowd out here, we're just outside the American Airlines Center. Inside here, behind these gates, behind these walls, these gates, is where Donald Trump will be speaking here at the American Airlines Center shortly.
But this is a crowd that has marched more than a mile from the Catholic cathedral here in downtown Dallas, all the way around here and this crowd stretches here on the north side of the arena, several thousand people. And there's a stage over there where they will begin doing speeches here shortly as the crowd has continued to grow in anticipation of Donald Trump's appearance here in downtown Dallas -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Rallies competing national anthem we've heard there.
I want to head inside that Trump event. That's where our Sara Murray is OUTFRONT tonight.
Sara, inside that arena where it looks like not a seat is empty. Set the scene for us tonight.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, the crowd is roaring already, and so far, it's the speakers who are warming up the crowd for Donald Trump.
He is in the building. He actually met with family members who were killed by undocumented immigrants. So, you can expect to hear more from Donald Trump about immigration rhetoric and more talk about sealing the borders, and more talk about what he plans to do.
But as of right now, it's a very energetic crowd even though the arena is not entirely full, it's clear that these people are very excited to see Donald Trump.
SCIUTTO: All right. Sara Murray, inside there.
We're listening to Scott Hughes, one of the last speakers to introduce Donald Trump.
Please stay with us until right after this break. We're going to come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:36:57] SCIUTTO: Welcome back.
And breaking news: you are watching live pictures here from Dallas. This is the American Airlines Center. We were just moments away from a live speech by Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner.
He has just been announced, you can see the crowd there looking and as he comes out on stage waving to the crowd, last person to introduce him, Scottie Hughes, a Tea Party activist.
The crowd there estimated at some 20,000 people. This is normally where the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA play. But as we've been looking at the picture, we can barely find an empty seat there. You can see the excitement as he's signing caps, most likely with the "Keep America Great Again" logo on it which he has become famous for.
Outside, we should note, there had been protesters in the hundreds. Latinos who marched on the American Airline Center tonight to protest Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies. But it is safe to say that the crowd inside is larger than the one outside. Tremendous amount of energy tonight. We heard earlier the national anthem being sung.
Watch as Donald Trump approaches the podium. This event in planning, you can say, leading up to Wednesday's crucial GOP presidential debate. That will be live here on CNN on Wednesday night in Simi Valley, California.
This part of an orchestrated advance of that debate, you might say. Tomorrow, Donald Trump is going to be speaking about his national security plans and veterans also out in California on board the USS Iowa.
Let's have a listen to the GOP front-runner, Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wow! Wow!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Amazing. Amazing! Thank you. Wow. So exciting.
Do you notice what's missing tonight?
Teleprompters. No teleprompters. We don't want teleprompters.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
That would be so much easier. We read a speech for 45 minutes, everybody falls asleep listening to the same, old stuff, the same old lies. So much easier.
So, you know, I have a little debate coming up on Wednesday.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And I hear my -- let's call them opponents. Can we call them opponents? We're allowed to do that, right?
You know, New York was very nice to you last night. You know that, right? Did they hand you that game? They handed it.
I said, I am going to have the friendliest audience. Sit down. I am going to have the friendliest audience. I wasn't sure, was I happy or was I sad.
But Jerry Jones is a great guy and deserves everything he gets, quite frankly.
[19:40:01] And, you know, another great guy is Mark Cuban. Really.
(CHEERS AN D APPLAUSE)
And I think -- you know, he's been talking a little bit about maybe some day doing this himself. I think he'd do very well. We may not have the exact same feelings about where we are going, but that's OK.
But Mark was great, he actually called me literally a few days ago and said, you know, if you want to use the arena, which is, by the way, is a beautiful arena. This is a great arena. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And Dirk, I love him. He's one of my favorite players, one of my favorite. And the mavericks have been fantastic. It's just a great team.
But he said if you want to use the arena. I said, Mark, when? How about Monday night? That was like in four days. And you had a big holiday in between.
And he said, I think they really like you in Dallas. They really like you in Texas. Maybe you can get a lot of people.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Because we were coming here and we thought maybe we would get 1,000. We never get 1,000. It's always like the same thing.
You know, we went to Alabama. We started off with a 500-person ballroom.
And after about two minutes - look at all these guys, paparazzi, ay yai yai. Look at this. We got everybody here.
We started off, by the way, with a 500-person ballroom. And after about two minutes, the hotel called up begging for mercy. We can't do it. They were inundated. So, we went to the convention center. And that was 10,000. That was wiped out in about an hour.
So, we went to a stadium. We had 31,000 people which is, by far, the largest, they say like ever for an early primary. It's probably true.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
When I see these seats full, can you people see me up there?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
I don't know. Man. I said to them, don't fill up the upper rings, it's not fair. You are great. Thank you all. I appreciate it.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
So I want to thank Mark and I want to thank -- where is Pastor Jeffries. Where is he?
Come here. I love this guy. Come here.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
I shouldn't say this, I should not say this, pastor, because, you know, I need all the help I can get. I will say I'm leading with the evangelicals big league, and I really want to thank you, because you've been so good. He said, he may not be perfect, but he's going to make this
country great. He's a leader. That's what we need.
I want to thank you, pastor. I really appreciate it.
He's been so great. I am Protestant. I am Presbyterian just in case anybody wants to know.
So the polls come out and we're really killing it. We are killing it.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
They mentioned a little while ago, Scottie, about the silent majority, it's back. And it's not silent. I think we should call it, maybe we should call it the noisy, the aggressive, the wanting to win, wanting to win majority. That's what it is.
We want to win. We're tired of being pushed around by incompetent people. We are just tired of what's happening. We are sick and tired of what's happening, and it's going to change. It's going to change.
But before I get to that because that's unpleasant, but it's going to be pleasant because I finished this speech last week. And I have to say, we're going to have so many victories that at some point, they are just going to be coming out of your ears.
Though, I have to be careful what I say about coming out of somebody's ears. Have to be careful. Nose, ears, eyes, those are the only places I'm talking about. The only.
But we're going to have so many victories and they're going to be great victories. And we're going to have them all the time because we have an amazing country.
[19:45:01] We have a country that is dying. They just want to have victory.
We don't have wins anymore. We don't have it.
So, the debate. I hear they're all going after me. Whatever. Whatever. No, I hear it.
Everybody, you know all these geniuses, the talking heads, some are great. Actually some have come around.
You know at the beginning, three, four months ago -- well, he's just doing this for fun. He's doing this for his brand. I need this like for my brand, OK? But he's doing it for his brand. One person, a real loser said, he's a clown. He's a clown.
Now, they're saying, oh, how do we stop this guy? No more clown. I haven't heard the word clown in a while. Tell you, they don't use that word anymore. They don't use it. There's a group of pundits out there, I don't think they're
smart. I think they pretend they're smart. You know, they wear the heavy glasses and they look and they look and they look, I'm not talking about Perry who happens to be a nice guy. Really. He is a nice guy.
But he came after me hard, didn't he? Man. You know, I had dinner with him a couple of years ago, I thought he was terrific, then he came after me very hard. You know, I gave him a really good -- it's easy when somebody drops out of a race. I'm going to say good about everybody, everybody. But I like that man and frankly, he tried.
But I'm talking about the guys that sit around the tables and they talk about us. They talk about me. And they say, well -- but most of them are now saying, we think he's going to win. Can you believe it?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Now, we still have a few out there, the hatred is so incredible, it's so incredible, absolute hatred. I watch some of these guys. Like this guy, should I mention names?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
OK. I will. The problem is when I mention them, they can never, ever support me. That's the problem.
And you know, look at all those live television feeds. It's always tough. Every time I speak, they put me on live television so I have to make different speeches. These guys go around and make the same speech, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of time. Nobody cares.
It's true. It's true.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
It's true.
You know, you've got CNN live, you've got them all. And who needs -- no, they're 50 percent good, 50 percent. They've been pretty nice.
But you know who really, when you think about it, who has to do this? So I come out today. How many live feeds you have? Look at all those cameras back there. Take a look, everybody.
Now, if you like the media, give them a big hand. If you don't, give them a big boo.
(BOOS)
I had a feeling. You know, the truth is, there's some really great people, I'm
dealing usually in the world of financial. That's easier, it's like numbers. You're either good, you're not good, it's sort of much easier.
But I found the press to be much more honorable in the financials, the financial media. But the political media -- and I found some great ones. There are some great ones. But should I mention some? I'm not going to do that because you leave some out.
But, OK. So George Will is a disaster. The guy is a disaster. Honestly, another one, Karl Rove.
(BOOS)
No, he's terrible. Terrible. He's terrible. He still thinks that Mitt Romney won. He's still going around saying, I think he won.
This guy raised, think of this, he ought to be in Wall Street. He raises money pretty well.
He raised last cycle, the last presidential election, he raised $434 million and didn't win one race. Can you believe that? Can you believe it?
I understand it because I saw some of the commercials that he made. I saw a commercial he made against Barack Obama, and I called up and I said, who did that commercial? It's one of the best commercials I've ever seen. I've got to use that firm, they're phenomenal.
But I didn't realize it was against Obama, it was so good for Obama.
[19:50:03] That was the one with Germany and this. Remember? Do you want a rock star?
Do you want a -- I said, he's not a rock star. We have an incompetent president. This is not a rock star.
We have a president that doesn't know what the hell he's doing.
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So Karl Rove, every night -- you know, some of these guys like George Will and Karl Rove and a few others, but those I'll mention, they like anybody in the real estate business, right? A couple of us. I love real estate.
Let me just tell you, one of the great people. Andy Beal. Beal Bank. Stand up, Andy. Stand up, come on. He is a shy man. He's only worth about $6 billion. He's been a great friend of mine. I don't want to borrow any from him because he expects it to be paid back in full and on time, right, Andy?
But you look at some of these guys and they're like boilers, real estate. Boilers. Bill O'Reilly said the other night -- and Bill O'Reilly is a good great. Great guy. Great guy.
Although he's tough and he's tough with me. That I can tell you. People say, how can you say he's a great guy? But he's fair. I saw Karl Rove on the show the other night and the name Trump came up. And you could see, it was like a boiler ready to explode.
I think the guy is a total incompetent jerk, but him and -- and there are others. But I would say this -- anybody that gives him, Karl Rove and others, the group of losers, anybody that gives them money, you're losers yourself. Doesn't make sense, because they don't know what they're doing.
So, the polls come out, and everybody is surging but Trump. They don't want to say I'm surging. I went up to 40 percent today in New Hampshire. You saw that -- 40 percent!
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Second -- second is, I think, 11 percent or 12 percent, right? And I won't mention names because he's actually a nice guy. I'll mention names. Why shouldn't I? Should I? Yes. Right?
It's Ben Carson. He is a nice man. I think he's in second place at 11 percent or 12 percent.
Now, I'm at 40 percent and it's actually 41 percent but they don't want to say that. They don't want to give me the benefit of a couple of -- you know, if I'm 40.9 percent they'll say I'm at 40 percent. Do you understand that?
So, Ben Carson, good guy, I think he's 11 percent or 12 percent. And they're saying -- here is the headline. Carson is surging!
I said, what about me? Where's my name? I'm at 40 percent. Where is my name? It's unbelievable. Do you know where my name is?
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They don't know where my name is either.
By the way, can you see in the back? They have the best view. Can you see, it's really my hair?
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Well, that's the other thing. I mean, I get killed on that. I had an article recently -- it's true. They have the best view. They know.
Not that bad, right? I mean, I've seen worse. I have friends, it's over. I have many friends, the hair is over.
But I had the article the other -- the other day. A great article. They said Trump is a financial genius, right? They said all good things. They said he's doing great, doing great here and -- but they said he wears the worst hairpiece ever -- the writer said this -- wears the worst hairpiece. And I said that's terrible. If I can't show the article to anybody, even though it was a good article.
But in the polls it's been so amazing. We started off, and everybody said -- you remember this -- I won't run. I won't run. And I said, why do they say that? I'm telling you I'm going to run.
NBC came over. And as you know -- I like NBC. For years we had "The Apprentice." It was a tremendous success, one of the great successes on television. And their head of Comcast, I'd say his first name is Steve and he is a phenomenal guy. Steve Burke, one of the great people. A great guy and a great manager.
He came over with a group of people from NBC. Steve is one of the -- he is the head of Comcast. And they said, we're going to renew "The Apprentice." And by the way, it's a lot of money. Did you see in my certified financial statement what I made with "The Apprentice"?
[19:55:00] When I gave that up "The Apprentice", I mean, I made $213 million. Can you believe it? From a television show.
And I had -- I had these announcers say, oh, no. I think he only made a million dollars. Guys like Joe Scarborough, who is a good guy, right? Yes. He said, no, no. He's got a prime-time show for years. It's got to be -- when they checked it, 200.
So, NBC renews "The Apprentice." and I told them don't do it because I'm running for president. I'm going to make our country great again. Don't renew it.
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Now, you know if I make $213 million over a -- you know, run of 12 years or whatever, that's a lot of money. Even for me, it's a lot. That's a lot of money. That's pretty good, right? Considering it's not my main business.
But I made this money, and the people come up, and they say, oh, well. We're going to renew it anyway because he's not going to run. So NBC renewed "The Apprentice." They announced it. They renewed it. They said that Donald Trump will do another season, and I told them not to do it.
Then I told them that I'm not doing it again. And they went in the up-front arena, and they were so angry at me. They were so angry.
But you know what, I give up a lot when I -- when I do this, I give up a lot. I miss all of these deals. I love my business. I love what I'm doing.
Andy can tell you that. Tom Benenson can tell you that. I love -- Club Corporation of America, by the way, in case you have never heard of Tom Benenson.
But I lose a lot. Not only I don't do "The Apprentice" and get paid a fortune. It's also I lose opportunity, all these deals. I have a deal in China. I have deals all over the place that I could do. Boo, boo. But it's true. It's like picking up a check. It's
like picking up a check. But I give up a lot.
You know, when a politician, all talk no action, politician runs, what do they give up? They give up nothing. They run. You know what, they run, they lose, they win, they don't care, all they want to do is be re-elected or run again if they fail, right?
With me, it's -- it's a whole big deal. It's a whole big deal. And you know, I'm self-funding my campaign. I'm not taking all of this blood money. Not doing it.
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I'm not doing it. And I feel a little bit awkward and a little stupid. I have guys offering me millions and millions of dollars. You know, when you're in number one place, then the blood-suckers come out -- the lobbyists, the special interests, the donors.
Don, we love you. Guys I haven't heard from in ten years. Don, we love you. You know, 40 percent in New Hampshire, winning Iowa.
We're killing in Iowa, incredible people. New Hampshire, incredible people. South Carolina, incredible people. Incredible numbers there too.
We're winning in Florida! Think of it. You have Jeb Bush, governor of Florida. You have a sitting senator in Florida, Marco Rubio, and the poll comes out the other day. Trump is leading in Florida!
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Can you imagine? Big lead.
How about this? Have you ever heard of the great state of Texas?
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Leading in Texas. How does that happen?
So -- so it's been an amazing period of time. I have never experienced anything like it, and I have been well known for a long period of time. That's why I got chosen for "The Apprentice" in the first place.
In fact, I don't know if you just heard. They called me up today, NBC, couldn't be nicer. They finally calmed down. I settled my lawsuit with them. Did you hear? Did you hear?
Yes. She heard.
I settled my lawsuit with them last week. A lot of litigation. Settled it. They couldn't have been nicer.
And they called me today and wanted everything, you know -- they want me on their side, and I am on their side because I really like the guys at NBC. And they have announced or will soon announce, you know who will take the place of Trump? Arnold!
Arnold. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Good, right? I think he's a good choice. And he's a friend of mine. And I approve him 100 percent and I'm with him 100 percent. And I think he's going to do great and we'll raise a lot of money for charity.
You know, I'm still in it because I have a big chunk of it. A lot of people don't know that. These are minor details.
But I think Arnold is going to do great. And so, they just announced today that he's going to be doing "The Apprentice" because I'm not allowed to do it because I'm doing this. So, I wish Arnold well.
