Return to Transcripts main page
Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Donald Trump's Speech in Iowa; Donald Trump Spars With Univision Anchor Jorge Ramos; Trump and Megyn Kelly. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired August 25, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And he knows it is wrong. He is going to say, no, no, no, we don't want that, Ford. We don't want you to go. We are going to charge you of tax because, you know, the way you do it, you charge a tax. And then he is going to be hit by his lobbyists. They give him millions. He has $135, $140 million. I don't want anything. I don't want money. I'm just taking little small contributions for people. The woman said $7.32. And I was so -- with a beautiful letter. It's amazing. I like that because that's like an investment. That adds up to the fuel for the plane for a trip to Iowa, OK? It all does, but who cares? I don't want that because I don't want to be controlled.
Last week, you heard me say this. I turned down $5 million by a big lobbyist. Not a bad person. You know, a tough guy. Not a bad person. But when he gives me $5, he's not doing that because he thinks I have beautiful hair. It's not that bad. And it is my hair. Is it my hair? It is. It is actually. People don't know that. I proved that, you know, in Alabama. It was really hot. It was rainy. I took off my hat and everybody said it is really his hair. It's weird. I don't have to do that tonight. Sort of nice.
But you know, so we would go over and the lobbyists would say, no, no, we gave you millions of dollars, Mr. President. And you owe it to Ford. Let (INAUDIBLE). You have the lobbyists. You have (INAUDIBLE). And after about ten minutes he is going to say I can't really do that. They really helped me in my campaign.
With me, they're going to call me because I know all these guys. But they never did anything because I don't want money. I turned the money down. I turned down so much money. I feel like such a stupid person. No, it's true. First time in my life I feel stupid. Guys are giving me, offering me millions. Don, I would like to give you million. Wait, I'm telling you, $5 million. I could have it right now and I turn them down. I go back and say, do you think I'm doing the right thing?
How about - I will just take a vote. How about if I take all these money and promise, I swear to you, that I won't do anything for these people. What about that? No? That's what I thought. I feel so stupid. But you know what? That's the way it has to be. Because I think one of the things they like about me is they don't -- nobody is going to buy me. Nobody is going to buy me.
All right. So after about ten minutes, Bush goes out and he says, all right, you can build your plant. Build it. I'm sorry. Please, I dare me. I mean, it was so terrible that I even thought about doing that, you know, because you contributed money. OK. Me, different. I'll call him up and say I have to go. I don't want you in Mexico. I love Mexico. I love the Mexican people. I have thousands have Mexican people that have worked for me over the years and even to this day. I mean, I love the Hispanics. The spirit. I love them. They are incredible people. But we have leaders that can't compete with their leaders. Their leaders are too smart. So I would say to the head of Ford, sorry. You will pay tax. Every car and every truck and every part that comes across that southern border, you're going to pay a 35 percent tax. OK? That's what's going to happen. And this is too easy. I don't need any of the killers. I'm going to use them anyway. But this is too easy. This is like forget it. This is taking candy from that beautiful little baby, OK. So easy.
So what happens is they're going to say, no, no, no, and they're going to have people call me. But these are people that I didn't take any money, I didn't take anything. I don't want their money. So they are going to have people call me. And I'm going to say get out of here. And if I know them, they'll be friends of mine, maybe. I'll say I'm not interested. And I would say, let's say this whole process starts at 12:00 noon. I would say by 4:00 in the afternoon, the head of Ford will call me and say Mr. President, we've decided to build in the United States. That will happen. OK? That will happen. If they're really tough, they'll wait until the next day. But I guarantee you by 5:00 the next day, they're back. And that's great. That's what we need. We need jobs. We can't keep giving out our jobs.
You know, college debt. I go all over and I see the vets are mistreated in this country so badly. Believe me. You know, they did a poll. I'm like the most popular person with the vets. You know, I built the Vietnam memorial in downtown Manhattan, OK. And the vets like me a lot. And they did a poll and people were shocked. Why would you be shocked? Because I'm going to take care of the vets. The other one, college. College debt. It is out of control. And I go around and I see students. And by the way, you see what's happening with the college? I mean, you talk about like what they're doing. The prices of these colleges. The way they're rapidly raising. And students are borrowing money from different people but also from the government. It is the thing that the government makes money on, college students. No, it's true. They're making a lot of money on college debt.
And the big thing we need is jobs. And students come up to me and they say, Mr. Trump, I'm borrowed and I can't even -- I don't know how I'll ever pay it off. This is somebody that is a junior or a senior in college. And it is almost like they have no hope. To me, it is one of the saddest things I've seen in making the rounds. College students, college debt. And they say, and then I apply for jobs. One was telling me from a very good college. Actually a college in Iowa where I was, a great college. And they were saying, you know, I worked hard. I became a great student. I just became one of the top students in my college. And I can't get a job, he said. And a lot of them can't get jobs. So now they have the debt and they can't get jobs because China has our jobs and Japan has our jobs and so many other places have our jobs. We don't have jobs. So they get out and there is no place to go and they don't know what
to do. We're going to solve the problem because we're going to bring back the jobs from China and we are going to bring back the jobs from Japan. And we're going to be fair.
But if you look at the deficit, the trade deficit that we have with China, it is astronomical. People have said ho are going to balance the budget? How about like making some good deals with China and Japan? Look at the trade deficits.
I was in Los Angeles two weeks ago. I saw ships that were so big. I've never seen anything like it with cars from Japan. They're pouring off. We sell them, actually, you sell them some beef, right? This is one of the beneficiaries, beef. But honestly, if you ever look at the difference, the numbers here, it is so crazy. We send wheat. They send cars. That's all going to change. And we're going to have great relationships with these people.
And you know, the amazing thing, every country in the world, thinks the United States is represent by stupid people, and they're right, of course. No, they're wrong. Very stupid people. And every country in the world, I mean, every country in the world, everybody makes money. And the funny things is we don't get along with anybody. Think of it.
Here we have deals that are all bad and everybody hates us. I just came in. And I'm watching on television. That we're really in a very bad place with Russia. Now, we're working on the Ukraine and I think that is fine, but why isn't Europe sort of like leading that whole charge? Why do we always leading? We're working on the Ukraine. I think that's terrible and all that stuff. We've got a lot of problems.
We're sending an f-22, brand new, gorgeous. And we have fighters, our best military people are going over there. And we're worried about the Ukraine. I think Ukraine is great. I think we should worry about the Ukraine. But you know, Germany is over there. Germany is far richer than we are. Germany has made a fortune. We protect Germany for no money, OK. We protect South Korea for no money. So Germany is over there, right? And they're not worried about it. But Obama is talking about the Ukraine. Germany said let these dopey people take care of us. And all the European countries. So we are sending our fighters.
Now in North Korea, you have a situation where, you know, he's raring his head again. I just were had 4,000 sets for (INAUDIBLE). And 4,000, that's a lot of sets. They're all made in South Korea. They don't make them in Iowa. I wish. Does anyone make television sets? They don't make them in Iowa. They don't make them anywhere in this country. So I ordered 4,000. Samsung, it is LG, it is all of them. Right? They're all from South Korea. Sony is from Japan. Their sets aren't as good anymore, but that's OK. But they're good sets. They are great. I paid a fortune. Enough saying, they make a fortune.
Look at the deficit that we have that South Korea. I love South Korea. I love all these countries. But why is it that we protect them? So this guy raises his head. Nuclear this, I'm going to wipe them out. We immediately send, we have 28,000 troops over there which is nothing compared to the million that they have in North Korea, a big army. OK. They don't pay us anything. What are we doing?
And you know what? Somebody said that's not nice. You're asking them to pay. How can we police? We're watching the Ukraine, we are watching South Korea, we are watching Germany, we are watching Japan. We protect Japan. We have a treaty with Japan. If Japan gets attacked, we have to immediately go to their aid. OK? If we get attacked, Japan doesn't have to help us. That's a fair deal. No, no, that's the kind of deals we make. They have nothing. Don't worry about it. But if they get attacks, we have to go to Japan. Did you ever fly -- that's a long flight.
So we need smart people. And we can straighten this country out. We can make this country so -- we can make it better than ever. We can make it better than ever. Saudi Arabia, I love Saudi Arabia. The people are very nice to me. They buy my apartments, you wouldn't believe it. It's true. They'll pay me anything. They have nothing but money. They have nothing but money.
I have a beautiful plane. All of a sudden it doesn't look so good when I look at some of their planes. I'm jealous. It's terrible. I'm jealous. No, but Saudi Arabia, they make a billion dollars a day. In all fairness, that was before the, you know, oil went down. But now, let's say it is a half a billion. That's pretty good. You make a half billion a day.
We protect them. We get nothing. And every time -- if you think in Yemen those folks are after Yemen, then you ought to leave the room right now because you are not very smart. Yemen, did you ever see the border? It never ends. It is a straight line. It never ends. And you know what is on the other side, Saudi Arabia? The oil.
If you think they are stopping at Yemen, they're looking for the oil. Don't forget I'm the one, the most militaristic person. I would build a military so strong, so powerful, so incredible, nobody would ever use it. Nobody would ever -- we would never have to use it. I would have the best everything.
You know, we have a military where we give to the allies, our allies. We give it to the wrong allies, by the way. You know that. We give it to the wrong allies. We don't give to the Kurds. We give to people. One bullet shot in the air, 2,300 humvees (INAUDIBLE), the best in the world. So I heard they left. And one day they abandoned 2,300. I said no, no, no, you mean 23. You mean three. You mean two. You can't leave 2,300. They abandoned 2,300 armor plated, the best in the world humvees, 2,300. Because one shot was fired in the air. These are the people we're helping. These are the people we're helping. And now the enemy has the humvees armor plated. And we have the ones where the non-armored plated and our wounded warriors who are the greatest people we have in this country. They are the greatest. The greatest. And our soldiers aren't protected. And the enemy is because they have these great vehicles that they took. And that's just the humvees. You can go on to everywhere. They have the best equipment. So we have to get smart. And we have to know what we're doing. And I
would build, I'm telling you. I am so into it. But in 2000 -- and Ann Coulter knows this. In 2004, as much as I am into the military, which I love and respect. I'm a huge fan of General Patton. I'm a huge fan of General Douglas MacArthur. To this day, he has the highest marks, I'm a person I believe in like marks and students and education. I think it is great. General Douglas MacArthur to this day has the highest rates in the history of west point. That means something. Nice thing.
And we have to do something and we have to do it fast. We have to get the generals that are great. There was a general -- I won't use his name, but he's leaving. And they said to him the other day about ISIS on television, what do you think about ISIS? Can we beat them? Oh, I don't know. I don't know. It's going to be very hard to beat ISIS. And I said to myself can you imagine George Patton saying, oh, it would be hard? He would have them knocked out in three days and say where do I go from here? Where? Where?
General Douglas MacArthur getting out with his corn cob pipe right out of the airplane looking out over the land that he just took. Can you imagine him? First of all they wouldn't go on television. They're too busy fighting. They want to win. They are too busy winning. We don't have winners anymore. We don't have winners in this country. But we're going to turn it around. We are going to have winners.
Now, speaking of winners, this is so important. We all know about trade. We've covered it. It is horrendous. I'm going to get the greatest negotiations. We're going to make great trades. We're going to make a lot of money. We are going to be great. Everyone is going to love us, OK? We have -- they're going to love us.
So you know, funny before, in "Business Week" magazine, again, they had a story a while ago. The ten things the Chinese most want. Now, who is tougher, the Chines on me? I love them and I respect them. I just hate what they do to (INAUDIBLE). But who is tougher than me? The ten things, one of the ten things was anything Trump. Apartments, anything. Anything Trump. I say how could that be possible? Because maybe they respect me or maybe they respect us. I don't know. But anything Trump. OK.
So we're going to be respected. We are going to be really respected. We shouldn't to go to Iraq. We did. We made a mistake. But we went out. We should have kept the oil. And you would have ISIS believe. You wouldn't have. Now, people say that's such a harsh statement. She said take oil? Who the hell has the oil?
The Iraqi government is totally corrupt. ISIS is, just formed out of Iraq. So we shouldn't have gone in. And then the way Obama got out was a total catastrophe. And then I say total catastrophe.
And I said, Reuters, 2004, July. I said don't go in because if you do that in Iraq, and I'm one that likes to be, like I love the strength of military. You have to use it in the right location. If you do that, you're going to allow Iran to take over because you are going to decapitate. They would two powers that were equal. They fight. They would go ten feet, ten feet, ten feet, then they rest. This goes on for decades. They go ten, ten, right? Am I right?
So we decapitate one of them. Now, Iran is as we speak, meeting with Iraq to take over the country. And you know who is getting the oil, most of the oil? The stuff that ISIS doesn't have? China. Do you know that China is getting so much oil? Do you know what we get? Nothing. Thousands of lives. Wounded warriors who I love all over. $2 trillion, we have nothing.
In Afghanistan, which a lot of people don't know not, it is very rich in minerals. We're fighting in Afghanistan and they have very amazing mountains and ridges. We are fighting in Afghanistan over the years. And on the other side of the mountain, they have massive excavation equipment from China. They're taking out all the minerals as we fight.
We need people that are smart. We have people that don't get it. Look at the deal we have with Iran. Look at this deal. It is going to, in my opinion, lead to an arm race the likes of which there has never been. Countries are going to line-up for nukes. You are going to have perhaps nuclear proliferation. You are going to see things that you have never seen take place in a short period of time. This is the deal that just the other day, it was determines after months. Did you ever see a deal take so long? The deal has been going on forever. They had our prisoners. We never asked for our prisoners. How about that? Having a deal is good. But we should have doubled and tripled up the sanctions and negotiate from strengths. We could have done it so easily.
Instead we have Kerry that goes on bicycle races. He's 73 years old. 73 years old! And I said it the last time I spoke. I swear I will never enter a bicycle race if I'm president. I swear. I swear! He's in a bicycle race. He falls. He breaks his leg. This is our chief negotiator. He is walking in. They're looking at him like what smock this is.
I watched actually on Charlie Rose. I watched the chief negotiator being interviewed by Charlie. And after five minutes, I tweeted @realDonaldTrump. I tweeted. I said this guy is too smart for Kerry. I was right. So we didn't get the prisoners. And you know what the excuse was? We didn't ask for them. We didn't want to make the deal too complicated.
Think of it. They're fighting us in Yemen. We didn't ask anything about Yemen. Like don't fight us. We have a 24-day wait period. So if we think they're doing nuclear, we have to wait 24 days. But see, that's not the worst part. The worst part is the clock start ticking. It could be months. We have to notify. There is whole process. I mean, they could build, shoot and build a couple more shoot. And by that time we still wouldn't be in there checking. Like I can just see them sweeping the floor and painting it battle shipment gray.
You know, when I was with my father in Brooklyn, I used paint the Roger's battleship gray. I would always like. You know what I mean by battleship gray? Shiny battleship gray. I can see them doing it.
So what we're doing is crazy. So you have that. And then beauty of all and you heard it two days ago. After years, we just found out that they're going to do in the most important section, they're going to do their own inspections. Did you hear this? Iran. They are going to do their own inspections. Did you hear about this? With some of these guys didn't hear? Where the hell have you been for the last three days? Look at these guys. They're smart guys. Three days ago I heard it. Nobody knew. They are going to self-inspect. It is so unbelievable that you just can't even talk about it.
And here is another part. We're going to give them $150 billion plus. And even if the deal isn't approved, they get that. In other words, they get that regardless. You know, when I do a deal, when I buy something, I pay them when I guy product, right? Whatever it is. I buy a building. I buy a business. I pay them. I put up a deposit and, right? But I pay them when the deal closes. We're paying them even if the deal doesn't happen. I've never heard of this before. I don't know who came one this idea. It must have been Kerry. No, it must have been. Because I don't think the Iranians. You know, the Iranians, Persians are great negotiators. They are natural great negotiators. I don't believe they would have thought of this because it is so crazy. No, it's true. They wouldn't have actually said, let's do this because it is so far out. Who would have ever think of it?
They get $150 billion plus, plus, even if the deal is voted down and the deal doesn't happen which the deal will probably happen because we have a lot of weak people that are going to approve that deal just like they approved Obamacare.
You know, you elected people who would knock out Obamacare. They got to Washington. Something happened. I promise it is not going to happen to me. Something happens in Washington. They get elected. They're really going to do a job. They are all (INAUDIBLE). We're going to end Obamacare. We're going to fight. We are going to end this horrible thing with the $5 billion Web site that doesn't work to this day, by the way, $5 billion.
I have about 40 websites that cost me $3 and they work. So we're going to end Obamacare. You probably elected some of them of they go to Washington. I don't know. There is something about Washington. They look at the beautiful buildings, these beautiful halls. And all of a sudden, they become impotent. Is that an appropriate word? I think so. They become just -- it doesn't work. Put those two together. Something happens to them. And all of a sudden they're not fighters. I think they're so impressed. They show their wives. Look where I'm working. I'm working in Congress. Of course I have to vote for Obamacare. Isn't it wonderful? Look what I am doing. But they got elected to knock it out. What happened to these people? What happened?
So something happens when people get elected and go to Washington. The beauty of Washington. I'm building as you know, the old post office. Can you imagine? President Obama is in charge of government services who are tremendous people, by the way. They really are. They are very talented people. That's because they chose me. If they didn't choose me, I probably wonderful say that. But they are talented. They are great people. Now, we're doing a great hotel, one of the greatest hotels. I think
it will be one of the greatest hotels anywhere in the world. But think of it. Everybody wanted it. One of the most sought after pieces of property right smack on Pennsylvania between Congress and the White House. Best location.
You know, for the real estate people, they notice that any time you get a post office, it's good. You know, the post office was always there first. I have the old post office in Washington, D.C. So it is being converted to Trump international. It is going to be great.
And just think of that. I got it from the Obama administration. To this day, I say, are you sure we got that? I tell you. But we're doing a great job. And here's the thing. We are head of - think of this. Compare this to government. We're way ahead of schedule. And we're under budget. Did you ever hear that before? You don't hear that. So we have a great country. We have a country with tremendous potential. The potentials here are people. We have great people. We have problems all over the place, but they're problem that's can be solved. We have to incentivize people. We have to give people spirit.
When President Obama was elected, one thing I thought would happen, I really thought he would be a unifier. You look at Baltimore, you look at Ferguson, you look at St. Louis the other night, you look at Chicago, you look at so many different places, and you look at what's happening with the African-American youth. It has never been in worse shape. Never. You look at what's happening with so many other aspects of our country. And there's a racial divide, there is a divide, period. There's hatred all over the country. I've never seen it like this.
We have to unify the country. We have to spiritize (ph) the country. We have to create jobs. We have to do a tremendous amount of work. But it can be done quickly. I will say this. If the right person is not elected, come next year, I don't know if it can be brought back again no matter how confident and capable the person is. It is going to be too far down the line. No, it is going to be too far down the line.
So just in closing, and you know, normally I would do questions. But this has been such a good time and everyone has heard such a brilliant speech. And you know, I was with Elton John. Anybody like Elton John? And a lot of times, like he'll do this last song. And it is so great. It is so unbelievable. The place is standing and roaring and going incredible. And then they'll be like, they'll come back for like three more, right? And the three are not as good as the last one. And people go, let's get out of here.
So you know, you like to leave on a high note. And I just like to say this is a great audience. But I have -- thank you. I love you too. Thank you.
But you know, I have a statement. I say it all the time. And I told the story once before. And it is that the American dream is dead. But I'm going to make it bigger and better and stronger than before. Right?
Good. But I got home one night. And my wife said that was such a terrible thing you said. It was all over television. And the problem I have with television, look. They're all live. What do I do? Every night I'm on live television. I suppose to make speeches. How do you make the same speech? I'm trying to change it up. But every night, CNN, FOX, NBC, everybody. Look at them. They're all live. It's not fair. No, no.
These other guys, they go around, they make a speech in front of 21 people. Nobody cares. They make the - they read the same speech. They have Teleprompters. I say we should outlaw Teleprompters for anybody -- right? For anybody, for anybody running for president.
You how easy that would be? Instead of this. I'm working my ass off. OK? Instead of this I can just stand up. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much, it's wonderful to be in Iowa. You know, everybody is going to fall sleep and half an hour we leave. No mistakes. No problems. But I walk in but they are always live, these guys. I think we are going -- let's start canceling them a little bit. And by the way, they're getting phenomenal ratings. That's why they're live. They're getting phenomenal ratings.
And you know, the old days, when I was with the "Apprentice," they paid me a lot of money. They don't pay me anything. You know, for the debate, we had 24 million people. Now, normally there would be like two million people, right? When you say two million if they are lucky. They had 24. I won't take credit for but believe me, 100 percent it's me, 100 percent. It's true. It's true.
So the ratings came out. They were so big and so -- it was the biggest rating in the history of cable television or something like that. And you know, I was a little obvious, but that is OK. So it happens. I'm saying to myself well, if it's not me -- I should go to CNN. They're doing the next debate. And I should I say that Jeff Zucker, a great guy, Jeff, I'm going to do the debate but I want $10 million for charity. American cancer society, AIDS research. We'll pick ten great, a million. Otherwise I'm not going to the debate. And honestly, I think they would pay me. I do. I'm -- 100 percent for charity. But it might not look right, I don't know, Ann. I'm going to have to think about it. I sort of like it. Does anybody like that idea? Then we go to Roger Ailes. He is a great guy at FOX and we say Roger, you know, they did so great at CNN. You did so great at FOX. Let's make it like 12, 15, 18, all for charity.
But I'm thinking about it, I am thinking about it, believe me. So I go home, my wife says to me, you know, what are you doing? What are you doing? It was a horrible thing you said. I said, why? What did I say? You said the American dream is dead. I said, I didn't say that. I turned on the television. TiVo is wonderful. I turn it on and they have it cut. It is the American dream is dead. Cut.
I said, what a terrible statement. But what I do say, and I say it all the time, the American dream is to a large extent, it is in trouble, but we're going to make it bigger and better and stronger than ever before. And, and we are going to win the nomination, and we are going to get the greatest people that have ever represented -- we'll get the smartest, toughest, best people to represent us against the world. And we are going to make our country so great again, you're going to be so proud of it. And it is an honor to be with you tonight, and I really look forward to being with you for many, many years to come. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you.
BERMAN: Donald Trump finishing a speech in Dubuque, Iowa. It lasted more than 50 minutes, walking off to Twisted Sister, "We're not Going to Take It," the theme song there. Hello, everyone. I'm John Berman, sitting in for Anderson tonight. What a night it was in Dubuque, where in addition to this 50 plus minute speech, Donald Trump also gave a news conference, and man, were there fireworks there. Univision anchor Jorge Ramos got bounced, thrown out of the room, then invited back. There were more shots as well from Mr. Trump aimed at Jeb Bush. A lot to talk about tonight, so let's bring in our panel. Amanda Carpenter, former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz. Republican strategist Alex Castellanos. Republican consultant and former top Trump campaign adviser, Roger Stone, and CNN political commentator Peter Beinart, who also teaches journalism and political science at the City University of New York and is a contributing editor for Atlantic Media.
Amanda, let me start with you, let's start on the speech. We have a lot to go over tonight, including Jorge Ramos getting thrown out of the news conference. But let's start with the speech. 50 minutes, hit a lot of subjects. Another way to say it is it was rambling. He talked about Iran, he talked about immigration, he talked about the economy, he talked about China and he talked about "The Apprentice." What struck you?
AMANDA CARPENTER, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR TED CRUZ: The thing that stuck out to me most from this speech, going forward, I think is that I, when I listen to Donald Trump, I have no idea what kind of economic conservative that he is. I've heard him talk about how we need a flat tax. I've heard him talk about how we need to tax the rich and hedge fund managers. I heard him in this one talk about a 35 percent tax on Mexico. He is all over the map on the economy. He is supposed to be producing a tax plan at some point in time. But I think there's just a lot of things to reconcile on that front for Donald Trump.
BERMAN: Roger Stone, you did some work for Donald Trump. You are no longer working for him. You hear that criticism from Amanda, you heard the speech tonight. I suppose the question I have is, does Donald Trump care? So maybe he doesn't have a coherent economic message yet. Does he want to have one?
ROGER STONE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN AIDE: First of all, that was a vintage Donald Trump speech. And it had its high points. The China issue, the bankruptcy and corruption of our system. The flood of lobbyist money, all of these are themes that have propelled Trump to the head of the pack. His book, "Time to Get Tough," came out on Monday in paperback. It's a conservative populist manifesto. It is all there. Job creation, terrorism, the economy, trade. For those who say that he has no plan, I urge them to read the book. BERMAN: He has that new book out, though, not one of his favorite
two. His favorite two are in second place, "Art of the Deal," and in first place, according to Trump in the speech tonight, the Bible. Alex Castellanos, you saw this speech. You've seen a lot of more traditional political speeches in your day. Your thoughts on seeing a 50-minute address from Donald Trump.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, GOP STRATEGIST: Never seen anything like this. Let's give credit where credit is due. Brilliant performance. Brilliant marketer. Brilliant salesman and a brilliant leader out there tonight. He wasn't talking about issues. He's talking about something much bigger than that. When you fear you're going to lose your country, when you have a big problem, you want a leader as big as your fears. And that's what he did tonight. He stood up there, as big as a house. And that's what people are attracted to. Small, you can -- a small vote, not in critical times. You want a big vote.
Now, he's not a Republican. He's not a Democrat.
[20:35:00]
He is not anything we've ever seen before. He is like a unicorn or Haley's comet. A rare thing that never comes by. He's a Trump. So we really don't know what he will be tomorrow, because he was completely different yesterday. He was a Democrat yesterday. Today he is a Republican. But a masterful performance from a brilliant, brilliant political presenter.
BERMAN: And now we can call him a politician, perhaps, not a Democrat, not a Republican, but a Trump and certainly a spectacle. Peter Beinart, how do you then judge something like that? If you can't judge it through a traditional political lens?
PETER BEINART, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ATLANTIC MEDIA: I think the key line in the speech was when he said, let's outlaw Teleprompters. I think that was the biggest applause line. I think that really was, that's what (inaudible), it is not about, there's no ideological coherence whatsoever. He barely makes any pretense of actually offering a serious argument about the issues. He -- what is fueling him is this revulsion and disgust about the phoniness of American politics and about the corruption of American politics.
It is amazing. When you listen to him talking about the way politicians are bought and sold. He sounds like Bernie Sanders. And it is appealing because both Republicans and Democrats believe that politicians are not authentic in the way they present themselves, and that they actually are serving the interests of the people who donate money to them. That I think is the core of Trump's appeal. And that's potent.
BERMAN: You've listened to Alex, you've listened to Roger. He is selling Donald Trump and he did it for more than 50 minutes tonight. And according to Alex, he did it in a masterful way.
We have to take a quick break. This was not the only show we saw tonight. There was quite a spectacle that we have to talk about when Univision anchor Jorge Ramos got taken out of the news conference. Forcibly removed. He was then invited back in. Does this moment help or hurt Donald Trump? Also, a new wave of attacks against Fox News's Megyn Kelly. Also, Jeb Bush, when "360" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:40:30]
BERMAN: You heard Donald Trump speaking before the break tonight in Dubuque, Iowa. You heard Alex Castellanos compare him to a once in a lifetime rarity, like Haley's comet, also a unicorn. You did not hear anyone call him an ordinary politician, nor do you see any evidence of conventionality in what happened in a news conference just before the speech. Univision and Fusion anchor Jorge Ramos, who has been trying for a very long time to get Mr. Trump to talk to him, showed up in Dubuque and tried to ask a question. This is what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Who is next? Yes.
(INAUDIBLE)
TRUMP: Excuse me. Sit down. You weren't called. Sit down. Sit down. Go ahead. No, you don't. You haven't been called. Go back to Univision.
Go ahead. Go ahead. Sit down, please. You weren't called. Yes, go ahead. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: A few moments after being hustled out of the room by a large man, Jorge Ramos was allowed to come back in, and asked a question which turned into a lot of questions. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JORGE RAMOS, UNIVISION: So here's the phone number (inaudible). Full of empty promises. You cannot deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. You cannot deny citizenship to the children (inaudible). You cannot build a --
TRUMP: Why do you say that?
RAMOS: You cannot do that.
TRUMP: Well, a lot of people think, no, no. Excuse me. A lot of people -- no, no. A lot of people think that's not right. That an act of Congress can do it.
Now, it is possibly going to have to be tested in courts. But a lot of people think that if you come and you're on the other side of the border -- I'm not talking about Mexico -- somebody on the other side of the border. A woman is getting ready to have a baby. She crosses the border for one day. She has the baby, and all of a sudden, for the next 80 years, hopefully longer, but for the next 80 years we have to take care of the people. I don't think this-- no, no, no. I don't think so. Excuse me.
Some of the greatest legal scholars, and I know some of the television scholars agree with you, but some of the great legal scholars agree that that is not true. That if you come across -- excuse me. Just one second. No, no. I am answering. If you come across for one day, one day, and you have a baby. Now the baby is going to be an American citizen. There are great legal scholars, the top, that say that's absolutely wrong. It is going to be tested. Okay?
RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1900 mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I'm a builder. That's easy. I build buildings that are 94 -- can I tell what you is more complicated? What is more complicated is building a building that is 95 stories tall. Okay?
(INAUDIBLE)
TRUMP: Do you think so? Really? I don't think so. A lot of people don't think so.
[ inaudible ].
TRUMP: I don't believe it. You're right, I don't believe it. And the drugs come. I see them -- they have pictures, they have everything, crawling over the fences, which are by the way, this high. You have fences that are not as tall as I am. They're coming by many different ways. But the primary way they are coming is right through, right past our border patrols, who by the way are tremendous people. And they can do the job, but they're told not to.
RAMOS: How are you going to deport 11 million?
TRUMP: Here's what we're going to do. Ready? OK.
RAMOS: Are you going to bring in the army?
TRUMP: No, no, let me tell you, we'll do it in a very humane fashion. Believe me. I have a bigger heart than you do. We're going to do it in a very humane fashion. The one thing we're going to do --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: The one thing we're going to start with immediately are the gangs. And they're real bad ones. And you do agree there's some bad ones. Do you agree with that or do you think everyone is just perfect? No, no, I asked you a question. Do you agree with that? We have tremendous crime. We have tremendous problems. I can't deal with this. Listen.
We have tremendous crime. We have tremendously -- we have some very bad ones. And I think you would agree with that, right? OK, there are a lot of bad ones. Real bad ones, because you know, they looked at some of the gangs, excuse me. They looked at some of the gangs in Baltimore, they looked at some of the gangs in Chicago, they looked even in Ferguson, they got some rough illegal immigrants in those gangs. They're getting out.
[20:45:00]
Do you mind if I send them out? If they come from Mexico, do you mind if I send them back to Mexico? No, no, do you mind if I send them back to Mexico? Okay. Those people are out. They're going to be out so fast your head will spin, all right? The rest we're going to do. Remember, you used the word illegal immigrant. Well, you should use it. Because that's what the definition is.
RAMOS: No human being is illegal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Having seen that, let's bring in the panel. Amanda Carpenter, former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos, Republican consultant and former top Trump campaign adviser, Roger Stone, and CNN political commentator Peter Beinart, who again, also teaches journalism and political science at the City University of New York and contributes for Atlantic Media.
Alex, the interaction between Trump and Jorge Ramos, getting him thrown out, telling him to sit down, saying go back to Univision, but then letting him back in. Before you said Trump was a unicorn during his speech. Well, what do you call that?
CASTELLANOS: I call that strength. That will help Donald Trump within the Republican primary, solidify a lot of the vote that he has now.
Again, when you think you're losing your country, when you think your borders are porous, your economy is falling apart, your system of education doesn't work, health care is out of control and too expensive, when you think the world does not respect you, you want a strong leader. And what we saw there was Donald Trump not letting the media get the best of him. And that will help him.
What we didn't see is, you never see Donald Trump though say we need less power in Washington, we need less power in the presidency. Donald Trump is a bigger government guy. He just thinks the wrong people, losers and stupid people, are running it. So he is not really a Republican. And the question for America is, do we think we're in rough enough shape that we're going to turn to a strongman, a political strongman, an autocrat like Trump, or are we going to try to fix our problems by getting money and power out of Washington and trusting the American people with it?
(CROSSTALK)
CARPENTER: If I can take the other side of Alex' point. I saw a candidate there that looked relatively weak. When I look at other presidential candidates, I'm sitting there wondering why this interaction is going on so long. And it is because Donald Trump has no communications team around him. He is flailing there. With a real seasoned presidential contender, I think you would have saw a team go to the journalist and say can we arrange something off camera, we'll arrange an interview later. There was no one out there helping Donald Trump. You saw the reporter going and going--
CASTELLANOS: That's his strength. Donald Trump is the most modern political communicator in this field.
CARPENTER: I'll give that you. He's a great communicator. But he is a man by himself.
CASTELLANOS: He is the most modern. He understands the Internet. He understands Twitter. And he understands the casual style of communication you have to have today. He doesn't stand behind a -- and read the Teleprompter, as he said, and give stiff formal speeches. He is the casual Friday when everybody else is wearing neck ties.
BERMAN: Peter, jump in.
BEINART: Here's the problem. When Donald Trump takes on Jorge Ramos and speaks to those people who feel like they're losing their country, right, Donald Trump used the term, silent majority, in his speech there. He is appealing to the silent majority. That is not a majority of Americans. That is older white Americans, who are deeply uncomfortable with some of the changes that are happening in the United States. That's not the majority of the country. It is a declining percentage of the country.
In fact, Latinos are very optimistic about the United States, and Donald Trump is in fact taking ownership over a cohort of people who are driving the Republican Party into the ground. That's the problem with what he did today with Jorge Ramos. It is the problem with his entire campaign.
CASTELLANOS: And John, as a Republican, can I actually agree with Peter on that? It isn't even the majority within the Republican Party. I think Trump is going to have that core vote that he has, and it might grow a little and shrink a little, but ultimately, the optimistic Reagan like wing of the Republican Party will defeat the Donald Trump wing.
STONE: Obviously, I disagree with that. First of all, I think that the voters are as fed up with elite media as they are with elite politicians, and they see the media and the political establishment scratching each other's back. Trump was wise to let Ramos back in. But then he played off of him in a banter. And in all honesty, Ramos was making a speech. He wasn't asking a question. He was making a speech, flatly saying, you can't deport 11 million people. Trump's assertion that he can build a wall is the can-do spirit that people like in Trump. Trump is a builder. He can build a wall. He's put out a program and he's been I think very successful in terms of defending the more controversial elements of it. The election, the nomination politics of that exchange was very strong for Donald Trump.
BERMAN: But Roger, you quit working for Donald Trump because he was picking fights with people in the media. He was picking a fight with Megyn Kelly at the time. We may talk about the new fight he picked with her in a little bit. [20:50:00]
But here he is you know, initially watching as Jorge Ramos is thrown out of the room, and then engaging in this back and forth with him. Is this a side show? Does this distract from the overall message?
STONE: No. Because that was an exchange about immigration, which is one of the key issues in this race. What I object to is the banter with media personalities like Megyn Kelly, who is not running for president. I think Americans want to hear Trump talk about Iran and China. Look, I'm the biggest Trump supporter there is, and I have been all over this network and others talking about why I think he is the guy to take on a corrupted system. He has the independence and the boldness to do that. But I want to hear Trump on issues, on immigration, on trade, on job creation. I think American presidential politics is about big, sweeping issues.
BERMAN: All right. Guys, Peter, Roger, Amanda, Alex, thank you so much. More to talk about next, including that war with Megyn Kelly and Fox News. The latest Twitter salvo and the remarkable Fox response.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Donald Trump not backing down on his tirades against Fox anchor Megyn Kelly, who was back on the air last night after a vacation. You'll remember he took exception with her questions at the first Republican debate. A series of remarks, tweets and retweets followed. Then he seemed to make peace with Fox, and Megyn Kelly went on vacation. She came back last night. Mr. Trump tweeted that she is really off her game, and then he tweeted this. "I like the Kelly File much better without Megyn Kelly. Perhaps she can take another 11-day unscheduled vacation." Trump also retweeted a comment calling Kelly a bimbo, quote, "the bimbo back in town. I hope not for long."
Today Fox President Roger Ailes released a statement calling Trump's attack on Kelly unacceptable, unprovoked, disturbing, and said Trump should apologize. Trump addressed the situation a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I thought her questioning and her attitude was totally inappropriate. So it just, well, all you have to do is look on the Internet today and you will see who people favor in that one. But I wouldn't -- it is a very small element in my life, Megyn Kelly. I don't care about Megyn Kelly. But no, I would not apologize. She should probably apologize to me. But I just don't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:55:00]
BERMAN: I don't think she is going to apologize. Back with us. Roger Stone joining us. Political commentator, Republican strategist Margaret Hoover, and CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter. Brian, there was this cease-fire between Trump and Fox and Roger Ailes. I guess it is over?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SR. MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: It is definitely over. It lasted for a few days. Maybe they'll try to reach a new truce. But for now, Fox is very much speaking out against Trump. That means its hosts, its stars, its commentators, some of its reporters, and most importantly, as you mentioned, Roger Ailes.
BERMAN: Roger Ailes, who watches the campaign very, very closely, is a kingmaker to say the least. Roger Stone, you, you know, as I said, you quit working for Donald Trump when he first went after Megyn Kelly, and that spat was a big part of it. Here he is doing it again. When you saw it happen, these tweets coming out overnight. What did you think?
STONE: Look, there's no greater supporter of Donald Trump. But I do think this is a distraction. First of all, Fox needs Trump and Trump needs Fox. Fox is a powerhouse for conservatives in terms of reaching eight out of the ten voters that Donald Trump and his campaign need to reach. Also, presidential politics need to be propelled by issues. It's issues that have propelled Trump. Not this kind of side show.
BERMAN: Can he not help himself? Why does he keep on doing it?
STONE: It's a question I cannot address. I know he has a very high regard for Roger Ailes. The two men made peace, and now this. So I just want to see him get back to issues and talk about the big picture items that had driven him to first place in the polls.
BERMAN: So Margaret, you see something like this. When it first happened with Megyn Kelly, we all sat here and said, well, this is finally going to hurt. We want to see the numbers. Roger, you famously said, let's see the numbers after this debate. The implication being they would suffer. But Margaret, they haven't suffered. He is winning by more in most polls, despite all this stuff. So do you think it will hurt him? He is leading among women in most polls.
MARGARET HOOVER, GOP STRATEGIST: I think this needs to stop being about when is this going to hurt or help Donald Trump. I am delighted to see a principled response from Fox finally about this and defending one of their top journalists. I am also delighted that Roger has seemingly given permission to the entire cast of Fox journalists and personalities to defend Megyn Kelly.
This is what I hope will ultimately be, and what I have looked for, for a long time on the right, a Sista Souljah moment. A moment where the 800 pound gorilla in the room, the real people with influence on the right say, no. Stop. This is enough. This is where Donald Trump needs to stop being a bully and it is going to force him (inaudible), not just erroneously throwing people under the bus, calling people names, pointing fingers, and to make this about substance. If you're going to be a Republican candidate in 2016, you need to stand for something more than hatred, bullying and disparaging people.
STELTER: Aren't you overstating the value of substance in August of 2015, with the election so far away? What you call bullying, I might call a show of strength. I think retweeting someone that calls Megyn Kelly a bimbo is absolutely out of line. Btu I do wonder if casual viewers who might have the volume down or might be flipping channels right now, if their takeaway might be, Trump is strong, Trump is tough.
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: I don't know any definition of strength that, you know, is equal to calling someone a bimbo.
STELTER: I'm with you on that. And let's say, it has been 19 days since this debate. Trump is still complaining about a tough question? If he had smart communication strategists around him, and I think he does, actually, Amanda Carpenter was suggesting he doesn't, I think he does. He must not be listening to them. I'm sure they're saying to him, stop picking on Megyn Kelly.
BERMAN: Go ahead.
HOOVER: Roger was the smart communications strategist. And Roger is right here.
STONE: Look, Donald Trump is unscripted. He is his own man. He decides what Trump will say. He is unhandled, he is uncoached, he is genuine. That genuineness, that bluntness got him to No. 1 in the polls. I actually thought in the actual exchange in the debate with Kelly, although she was very aggressive, he handled it fine. He flipped it into a question about political correctness. He said I'm not politically correct. If you don't like it, I'm sorry. And end of exchange. Had it ended there, I frankly would think it was a Trump victory.
HOOVER: What we know is he is too thin skinned. He can't handle if somebody is going after him. He takes it all as a personal attack. Brian is right to the extent that yes, it is early. It's early. There are 17 people in the race. Trump is leading because he is a celebrity and he cuts through. But I really -- we don't know how this is going to end. What I do know about Iowa voters, Iowa, the room he was in tonight, all of them are going to want to see him over and over and over again. And they're not just going to want to see him stream of consciousness for 45 minutes and totally incoherent statements. They're going to want to know substantively what he will do. That's what Iowa voters, they really are thoughtful when they go to the caucuses. I would like to see Trump if he is really this good, translate this into something real, because this is not real.
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: On top of tossing Jorge Ramos, on top of attacks on Megyn Kelly, on top of attacks against Jeb Bush. He says he can introduce a plan on college affordability in the next four weeks. Ladies and gentlemen.
STELTER: And he's leading in the polls.
BERMAN: Donald Trump. Margaret Hoover, Roger Stone, Brian Stelter, thank you very much for being with us. That does it for us tonight. "CNN TONIGHT" with Don Lemon starts now.
