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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Clinton, Kaine Rally In Pennsylvania; Former Reagan Staffer: Vote for Clinton; Reagan Loyalists Split on Trump; Trump: Chelsea Clinton Did "Very Well" Last Night; Trump: I Wish Ivanka, Chelsea Weren't Friends. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired July 29, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With that we'll say thank you very much. "Anderson Cooper" starts right now.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Welcome to the first day of the final stretch of the presidential campaign unlike any we've seen before and we're seeing plenty more of it tonight.
Both candidates holding events throughout the day and during the program in states that could swing the election this fall. So there is that to report. Here's our interview with Julian Assange who published the Democratic Party e-mail of someone or some country possibly Russia stole and leaked. And we begin on that now with breaking news.
Apparently a new facet of that same DNC computer hack this time directly involving Clinton campaign data. CNN Jeff Zeleny joins us now with the latest on that and the rest of the Clinton/Kaine tickets first day on the trail. Jeff, what are you learning?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, in a statement just a short time ago the Clinton campaign said this. They said, "We have no evidence our internal systems have been compromised." But there is evidence that law enforcement officials are telling CNN that part of that DNC hack actually spread to other entities across the Democratic Party's organization. It has to do with the -- via voter files and voter information files here. So they're still looking into that tonight.
But, Anderson, all of this is happening as Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine started their post convention, bus tour right here at Temple University, they believe they're leaving Philadelphia with the Democratic Party that largely united. Now the question is, what about those voters in the middle?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: The new Democratic ticket is taking its show on the road.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As of tomorrow, we have 100 days to make our case to America.
ZELENY: Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine on a three-month sprint to Election Day.
CLINTON: What better place to kick off this campaign than right here in Philadelphia where it all started 240 years ago?
ZELENY: After a convention steeped in nostalgia, their challenge now, tapping into the country's hunger for change.
CLINTON: I'm not telling you that everything is just peachy-keen, I'm telling you we've made progress, but we have work to do and we're going to make sure everybody is included.
ZELENY: Their fight with Donald Trump is now fully joined as they try making him an unacceptable choice.
TIM KAINE, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The Republican convention was like a twisted and negative tour. It was a journey through Donald Trump's mind and that is a very frightening place.
ZELENY: So today, the Democratic candidates set off on a bus tour of Pennsylvania and Ohio, evoking memories of another journey back in 1992 with the Clintons and Gores.
This time, the Clintons are alongside Tim Kaine and his wife Anne, still focusing on the economy.
CLINTON: We're going to be visiting a few places where people are making things. Donald Trump talks about make America great again. He doesn't make a thing in America except bankruptcies.
ZELENY: A Democratic convention rich in history ...
CLINTON: I accept your nomination for president of the United States.
ZELENY: ... is now the script for how Democrats hope to defeat Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Russia, if you're listening ...
ZELENY: She said he doesn't have the temperament for the oval office.
CLINTON: A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.
ZELENY: Safety and security now a central piece of her argument.
CLINTON: Donald Trump says and this is a quote, "I know more about ISIS than the generals do." No, Donald, you don't.
ZELENY: After a week in historic Philadelphia, Clinton made clear the history making moment that matters comes in November.
CLINTON: I believe every time we knock down a barrier in America it liberates everyone in America. Every parent in this country could look at their son or their daughter and now say the very same thing, "You, too, could be president of the United States." Thank you all. God bless you. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Jeff, talk a little bit about why the Rust Belt now is so important?
ZELENY: Anderson, the issue of trade, the argument of trade is front and center in this campaign, and for the next weekend, the next three days it is even more so. The Clinton campaign trying to push back against Donald Trump's arguments, but the Clinton supported all this trade agreements. They're doing it in a very personal way to Donald Trump talking about all of the outsourcing he has done for his various products or so, but that's another reason.
Anderson, if Hillary Clinton closes down Donald Trump's path through the Rust Belt here, through Pennsylvania, through Ohio, through any chance in Michigan or Wisconsin. They believe that they've expectedly extinguished his path to the White House at all because states with more diverse populations like Florida, like Virginia, Nevada, Colorado, they believe are already in their corner. That's why they're starting after this convention right here in the Rust Belt. Anderson?
[20:05:08] COOPER: All right, Jeff, thanks very much. Jeff Zeleny.
Donald Trump speaks shortly tonight in Denver. He spoke earlier in Colorado Springs. We plenty say that Hillary Clinton acceptance speech more on that from our Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Just remember this, Trump is going to be more Mr. Nice guy.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump on offense taking aim at Hillary Clinton on the heels of this week's Democratic National Convention.
TRUMP: I've been saying let's just beat her in the November race, but you know what? No. No. You know what? I'm starting to agree with you, I'll tell you.
After watching that performance last night, such lies. I don't have to be so nice anymore. I'm taking the gloves off, right?
CARROLL: Trump is also ignoring the advice of a friend who he says told him to stay focused on Clinton.
TRUMP: I was going to hit one guy in particular, a very little guy. I was going to hit this guy so hard his head would spin. He wouldn't know what the hell happened.
CARROLL: Today, Trump going after former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who delivered a scathing attack against Trump at the convention.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (I) FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's running his business? God, help us. I'm a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one.
CARROLL: Trump tweeting this response. "If Michael Bloomberg ran again for mayor of New York he would aren't get 10 percent of the vote. They would run him out of town." Trump's prolific tweeting not lost on Clinton.
CLINTON: A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.
CARROLL: Trump firing back.
TRUMP: If somebody tweet, I do what I do. Who cares? I'll tell you, I think I have the best temperament or certainly one of the best temperaments of anybody that's ever run for the office of president, ever, because I have a winning temperament.
CARROLL: The GOP nominee as he has done so many times in the past calling Clinton several names on Twitter, all this while his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence took issue with name calling after the president referred to Trump as a homegrown demagogue during his speech Wednesday night.
MIKE PENCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't think name calling has any place in public life, and I thought that was unfortunate that the president of the United States would use a term like that, let alone laced into a sentence like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Jason Carroll joins us from Colorado Springs. So, Jason, I mean, it seems that Donald Trump was affected by the criticisms lobbied at him this week. I mean, his biggest comeback at Michael Bloomberg was calling him little.
CARROLL: Right. Well, look, it clearly angered him, but you heard in there, Anderson, he told the crowd here in Colorado Springs that he has the right temperament to be president. He also said that the reason why he goes on Twitter so much is because he told the crowd, "Look, I have millions of followers on Twitter, why wouldn't I go to Twitter?"
He also wanted to point out that when he said he was going to go after the little guy really hit him and hit him hard, he said he didn't mean that he was going to do physically, but he was gong to go after him with words.
But the point in all of this is, there was a story that he told the crowd where a friend had told him, "Look, don't go after people like this, stay focused on Clinton," and he didn't do that and that's why so many of his critics still within the GOP say this man is too thin- skinned, doesn't have the temperament, doesn't have the discipline, frankly to be commander-in-chief.
But, on the flip side of that when you're out here at these rallies, whether it's Colorado Springs, whether it's Iowa, whether it's Pennsylvania, these crowds respond to that name calling so in the eyes of the campaign, why should he stop? Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Jason Carroll thanks very much. Let's bring the panel now. A BET News Host, Marc Lamont Hill, 2008 Clinton Senior Campaign Adviser, Maria Cardona, New York Times Presidential Campaign Correspondent Maggie Haberman, she's also a CNN Political Analyst and also GOP Consultant and SiriusXM Radio Host Margaret Hoover, Trump Supporter, Scottie Nell Hughes and Trump Surrogate John Jay LaValle.
Maggie, first of all, congratulations on that interview you did with Donald Trump on foreign policy, you know, another fascinating interview.
I mean, the general election has begun now. I mean, the 101 days, the battle has been joined. How confident are each of these campaigns at this point?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, N.Y. TIMES PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENT: It depends on what is being said publicly and what's being said privately. The Clinton campaign feels increasingly confident coming out of this convention that they have a strong message to drive against Donald Trump. You heard Jeff talk about why they see the importance of extinguishing any Trump support in the Rust Belt because that is really where his base is.
The Trump campaign says it feels very confident that they believe that they have a lot of room to grow when you talk to their advisers privately there is still lingering frustration both with the fact that the campaign has not expanded as quickly as they had hoped it would, the fact that they have a candidate who they can't quite keep on message.
[20:10:07] You heard these messages in the last 24 hours. Hillary Clinton and a -- in array of speakers including a retired military general and Mike Bloomberg and the president of the United States and the nominee essentially describing him as a threat to the democracy and Trump is still giving rallies talking about little Mike, and I'm tweeting and things like that. And he -- I know that they think and he thinks this approach has worked for him and it did in the primaries, but this race is going to be settled by 100 million voters who did not vote in other party primary.
COOPER: John, I mean as a Trump supporter, does it concern you that he spent today, I mean reverting back to the name calling, labeling Mike Bloomberg little.
JOHN JAY LAVALLE, TRUMP SURROGATE: No, not necessarily. He has been on message. He's been laying out his plan, and you saw a speech last Thursday. I mean, he hit it out of the park. He was tremendous. We saw the next president of the United States.
COOPER: But in terms of specifics, he -- I mean, he continues not -- I mean, he hasn't -- doesn't talk about specifics and he's still -- I mean, today he rehashed, you know, every insult. You know, he rehashed mocking the disabled reporter which is continuing to pretend he didn't do. I mean, he was attacked the fire marshal today. You don't hear him give a speech about the specifics. LAVALLE: He's talking about that he's a counter puncher and he's going to continue to do that. But he also going to continue to lay out his message like he has been and the people reacting, we see the poll numbers moving. He keeps laying out his message and, you know, the media keeps just focusing on one sentence he says. He could speak for an entire day. He makes one comment and the entire evening is talking about one comment.
HABERMAN: But, that's called running for president.
LAVALLE: He is. And his people are reacting to it.
COOPER: Right. But it wasn't more -- I mean, I don't want to get better was way more than one comment. You know, I've listened to the speech.
LAVALLE: It could be a few. 70 percent of the American people don't trust Hillary Clinton.
COOPER: Right.
LAVALLE: They are beginning to trust him. His numbers are moving in a very positive direction.
COOPER: Scottie, do you think the campaign is moving the right direction, the Trump campaign. Do you think he needs to evolve as a candidate?
SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Anderson, I think there is a fine line I have to walk. On one hand, yes, I agree that -- yes, he looks more presidential. He's been saying that long. But on the other hand, he has also to keep up the engagement and one thing that Donald Trump has done very good from the very beginning is the relationships and making people engage in their campaign. That's a problem that Republicans have had for the last two election cycles, McCain, Romney.
When you have people staying home, the base staying at home, it's because they didn't feel like they were part of it. So you have (inaudible) and do two folds. Oh, yes, you might not like some of the comment to come, the overall picture of the speech continues to keep people involved, keep people excited and keep the momentums going forward. That is something that's not necessarily happening and we're seeing on the Hillary Clinton side.
COOPER: Margaret.
MARGARET HOOVER, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Well, and what he has to do -- Scottie is right. He has to keep up those engagements, but what he has to do is expand his engagement, right? He can't just have Republican primary voters, a plurality of them by the way not a majority of them show up at the polls of November.
He now needs to get single women, independent women, Republican- leaning independents, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, African-Americans. I mean, we all the demographic is not just simply isn't in his column now. So he has to mature beyond his primary personality and actually run a general election campaign.
COOPER: But, Maria, I mean for the Democrats, you know, they are essentially have the risk of selling the status quo. I mean, Hillary Clinton out today saying, you know, this isn't everything isn't peachy-keen to use a term I haven't heard since ...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Not exactly the most open of current ...
MARIA CARDONA, 2008 SENIOR CLINTON CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Modern.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: But, I mean, isn't out one of the dangers to the Democrats?
CARDONA: Well, it certainly something that we have to keep in mind than what you saw the convention these last four days were people who were focused not just on her biography and on the woman behind the resume, which I think was also something that was needed because a lot of people, again, they think they know her, but they don't -- they don't really know what mobilizes her, what motivates her.
But I also think what we did in these last four days and what they'll continue to do is to say, "Look, we understand the angst." Democrats understand that people are anxious about what is coming. That people are afraid. There was talk about ISIS that's why General Allen was there and that's why Leon Panetta was there, that's why Michael Bloomberg was there, that's why you had a lot of Republicans talking on her behalf and I think what you are going to see the way she's positioning herself is that, look, we are the greatest country in the world.
We can do better, but instead of choosing a demagogue who is going to talk about the demise of America and speak to the darker angels of our psyche, we are going to choose a leader that speaks to the better angels of our nature focus on together.
COOPER: I mean, there was certainly that message that sense of optimism coming out of Philadelphia that, you know, certainly a lot of Democrats and maybe Independent didn't necessarily hear from the Republicans.
MARC LAMONT HILL, HOST, BET NEWS: Yeah and for some, that's encouraging, right? For someone who sits to the left of Hillary Clinton and myself as a Green Party supporter. If I'm thinking, OK, I really don't want Donald Trump, but I need a message that is progressive and that sort of take someone what Bernie was talking about.
I'm looking to the Democratic convention for some encouragement. To some extent, I didn't get that. It felt -- I mean, it wasn't the Democratic Party at the CO-OP. It was normally Republican there.
[20:15:05] I heard about how awesome America was. I heard about American exceptionalism. I heard about deep patriotism. They essentially countered Donald Trump's message of demagoguery by saying we can out-patriot, you know, out-patriot the Republicans. Right, exactly. And so to some extent I didn't get the message of progressive economic policy. I didn't get a thorough ...
CARDONA: Was that our platform that we worked very closely with the Sanders supporters have to do.
LAMONT HILL: Absolutely. And there was tremendous progress on the platform.
CARDONA: Yeah and she talked about how we need to really implement that ...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Maggie, how many people are there to the left of -- I mean ...
LAMONT HILL: The Bernie road. I mean the whole Bernie crew.
COOPER: 90 percent of the Bernie supporter already said they're going to vote for Hillary Clinton. So isn't the bigger outreach needed to those independents, needed even to those Republicans who are ...
LAMONT HILL: You're so cynical tonight, Anderson.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I got to be cynical on both sides. That's my job.
HABERMAN: No, I think that's exactly right. I mean, that there is certainly were some disruptions on the floor of the convention last week. We saw it while several people were speaking. General Allen literally shouted down the protesters and Hillary Clinton had their supporters ...
COOPER: Right. I'm not even sure how many viewers at home knew all those chants of "USA, USA" were essentially drowned out.
HABERMAN: That's right. Those are not people who I think were likely to vote for her regardless. And so, I think she has gotten who she was going to get. She does have to reach out to the other side and they are making the bet, the campaign that I think Maria is right, their bet is and we will see whose bet is right, but their bet is, you know, yes, we are saying the status quo is OK, there is more to be done, but it's not that bad and usually the more optimistic message wins.
COOPER: We have to take a quick break. We're going to have more with our panel. We're going to expand them the question of tone and tail into conventions, whatever your political beliefs that contrast and how each candidate sees the world, how each portray the world on stage is worth exploring including with voters may make of it all. Also, we're bringing the latest in the campaign trail. The Democratic ticket speaking shortly, Donald Trump at the top of the hour. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:28] COOPER: Welcome back. Donald Trump as you heard a moment ago had harsh words for Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech and last night Hillary Clinton was no kinder to his, that aside as we discussed before the break the two candidates and two conventions could not have sounded more different. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police and the terrorism of our cities threaten our very way of life.
CLINTON: Now, now America is once again at a moment reckoning. We have to decide whether we will all work together so we can all rise together.
TRUMP: Her plan will overwhelm your schools and hospitals, further reduce your jobs and wages and make it harder for recent immigrants to escape the tremendous cycle of poverty that they're going through right now.
CLINTON: Comprehensive immigration reform will grow our economy and keep families together and it's the right thing to do.
TRUMP: Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why, I alone can fix it.
CLINTON: Americans don't say, "I alone can fix it." We say, "We'll fix it together."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Two speeches, two conventions with the sound of it, totally different ways of looking at the world. Let's talk about that with our panel.
John, I mean, you certainly believe that the message of -- I mean, while the Democrats say it was doom and gloom, you don't interpret what happened to GOP convention is doom and gloom.
LAVALLE: No. It's reality. 70 percent of the American people believe this country is moving in the wrong direction. This is like AA. You first have to admit you have a problem and then you fix it. We have a problem in America. Our economy is not working. Americans are not working.
Donald Trump's message is very clear. It's about America first putting Americans back to work and making America strong again and then we can create some world order because we have a problem now, when America is weak the world is in chaos. And we're seeing that right now.
COOPER: Margaret. HOOVER: Yes and yes. Look, a majority of Americans believe that we're headed in the wrong direction, but they all have different reasons for believing we're headed in the wrong direction. Democrats believe we're heading in the wrong direction and they blame the Republicans and the Congress. Republicans believe we're in the wrong direction because they blame Barack Obama. Everybody have different reasons. The majority agree for their own reasons that it should go in a different direction.
HUGHES: OK, talk about some of those numbers, some of those reasons why.
HOOVER: Look, we know the economy is not we all agree sort of some of the problems with the Obama administration. We agree on a different destruction. These were two very different conventions, but let's just continue to make the point from the person who is a Republican but not a Trump supporter that that convention did not represent me as a Republican or frankly many elected Republicans of statutes (ph).
COOPER: So what are you going to do? Are you going to vote for Hillary Clinton?
HOOVER: But I decided not to go. Like, I was watching that speech last night looking for comfort to vote for Hillary Clinton and to me, she fell short. I mean, I didn't feel entirely (inaudible) that it was a great feat of oratory. But, again, like, we've been watching Hillary Clinton for 25 years. One speech isn't going to change the way any of us think about her. The question is, sort of watching these contents over the next.
COOPER: Well, Scottie, I mean, there are some Republicans I've heard from who are concerned that the Democrats did a good job of taking -- I mean, (inaudible) when taking messages which traditionally are GOP messages.
HUGHES: I was delighted ...
COOPER: Patriotism, you know national security, you know, a lot of the issues you wouldn't have -- faith, morality, you would normally hear at Republican conventions.
HUGHES: You would and you heard that a lot from the people on the stage. But I think what was interesting to watch was the reaction from the crowd. I mean, you heard people when you had the military up there and you had Republicans up there, but that didn't take a lot of guts for them to do. He had folks turn their backs or booing or shouting at them, "No more war." Then even have respect to them. When you had someone say, "Let's take a moment ..."
COOPER: I think you're talking about a very small number of people in the audience.
HUGHES: I'm talking about the audience. But it was still there, and I think the majority of Americans said, "You know what I don't want to be with someone that's shouting at the police officers. I want to stand with law enforcement and sit there and ..." CARDONA: I think they know that with Hillary Clinton.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: But they know that that was not something that represented Hillary Clinton.
HUGHES: You did never heard somebody -- you never heard anybody from the stage say, "You know what folk, let's show the respect for law enforcement. Let's show our respect for the military." You did not hear that at the RNC. Even if we did agree, what you heard ...
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: Hold on. What the Republicans were doing and we shouldn't been sharing them on.
[20:25:03] Were showing that we were actually opened minded, more open minded than we've been ...
CARDONA: Oh, that is not a word that people was ...
HUGHES: When we invite someone to speak from our stage that traditionally maybe in years past probably would not have had that position and they get a standing ovation for the words they say, that is a big step for Republican Party. That means that we're starting to show diversity. On the other side, you have the Democrats who's trying ...
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: First of all -- first of all, there were very few people who wanted to talk at the Republican National Convention.
HUGHES: That's not true. That is not true.
CARDONA: Including like ...
HUGHES: We had more speakers than we did with Romney.
CARDONA: Let me finish. Secondly, the people that were focused, that were speakers at the Democratic National Convention were more diverse in those four days on that stage than what the Republic Party is as a whole and in terms of what people are looking for, and I really do hope that you guys continue to think that Donald Trump's message is working because it did work for the primary, absolutely.
But to Maggie's point, you're not in the primary anymore. I hope you think you continue to be, because you have to expand the electorate for Donald Trump and you're not doing it right now. You're not doing it right now.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Let me raise that, probably with Marc. I mean, to Scottie's point, the Clinton campaign has spent millions already in advertising in a lot of swing states and we haven't really seen that from Donald Trump's campaign. They haven't begun to sort of really unleash negative ads. How big of a concern with that?
LAMONT HILL: Well, two things. One, he has a wildly unconventional spending style base on his presidential campaign so it sort of hard to handicap that and figure out what that means. Second, he's unleash negative ads because he is the one that walking negative ad. I mean, seriously. I mean, what he does every day that serves that purposes he's like a proxy for those ads.
So, again, I don't think it's -- traditionally that would be an interesting point or observation, but I think it's a little different in this context. I think that they both have different styles and approaches, but ultimately, Hillary Clinton hasn't moved the needle partly because she's not a thoroughly likable candidate. There are people who've just decided that they're going to hold their nose in going to poll ...
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Well, but it not -- in all fairness, do you want to see what the polling is after this convention?
LAMONT HILL: Actually, we're waiting for the buck.
CARDONA: We're waiting for the buck.
HABERMAN: I agree.
CARDONA: No, no. I'm good.
HABERMAN: It is true that her numbers have not really moved beyond. There are roughly 45 percent where they are and it is true that that is of concern to her campaign and I have heard this from several people. This is also a problem she has had throughout her political career, which is that basically her numbers stays the same until you're in a very clear head-to-head.
What is striking about this campaign so far is there is a very large number of undecided voters. So you have candidates with historically high negatives on both sides and then a very large pool that basically says, "I don't like either of them." A lot of polls they believe that the majority of those voters won't end up voting at the end of the day.
And so that ends up probably, if you're her helping her given all of the other factors, but, look, it's going to be very, very close for a while unless, I mean, we are not going to know whether she got a bounce out of this convention for another week or so.
CARDONA: That's right.
HABERMAN: And that is going to be the (inaudible).
COOPER: We're going to talk later in the program. Just ahead I'll talk to Doug Elmets, the life-long Republican who spoke last night at the Democratic convention urging his fellow Republican to vote for Hillary Clinton. He worked in the Reagan White House and he delivered a blistering attack on Donald Trump. More on that ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAINE: And such prospect for success for this country as Hillary Clinton, and I just want to say to her here and to President Clinton and to thank my wife, Anne for all ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:32:10] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Looking there at Tim Kaine getting ready to introduce the woman at the top of the ticket tonight in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton made history last night when she accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president. A milestone met in the packed arena with tears and cheers.
On the very same stage, not long before Clinton's vogue, Doug Elmets marked his own milestone, a lifelong Republican. He served in the Reagan White House. He said, in November, he'll -- for the first time in his life, vote for a Democrat and urged fellow Republicans to do the same. And he didn't mince words when explaining why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG ELMETS, FMR. REAGAN STAFFER SUPPORTS CLINTON: Trump is a petulant, dangerously unbalanced reality star who will coddle tyrants and alienate allies. I'm here tonight to say, I knew Ronald Reagan. I worked for Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump, you are no Ronald Reagan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The message was aimed directly at people who like to draw comparisons between the campaigns and personalities of former President Reagan and Donald Trump. People like CNN political commentator Jeffrey Lord who's in Harrisburg tonight, but not at the Clinton rally. He and Doug Elmets have known each other for decades, worked in the Reagan White House together. They both join us now. You guys are friends. I appreciate both of you being with us.
Doug, how is it possible that two people who worked for President Reagan could have such wildly different interpretations, the legacy as it relates to Donald Trump? Is there anything in your mind Reagan asked about Donald Trump?
ELMETS: Nothing at all. I mean, really, when you think about it, Ronald Reagan believed in a shining city on the hill. And Donald Trump calls America a divided crime scene. So, I just find it fascinating that Jeff, who I have a great deal of respect for and others wrap themselves in the Ronald Reagan flag. It just doesn't fly.
COOPER: Jeff, I want you to respond to that, but first, I want to play a clip of Ronald Reagan talking about immigration in Mexico during the 1980 campaign. Let's play this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, 40TH UNITED STATES. PRESIDENT: Rather than making them or talking about putting up a fence, why don't we work out some recognition of our mutual problems, make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit. And then while they're working and earning here, they pay taxes here. And when they want to go back, they can go back and they can cross and open the border both ways by understanding their problems. This is the only safety valve right now they have with that unemployment that probably keeps the lid from blowing off down there. And I think we could have a fine relationship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And Reagan also did talk about border security. But how is Donald Trump's following in Reagan's tradition? Not substance even, but tone.
JEFFREY LORD, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Sure. The difference, you know, first of all, let me just say to my friend, Doug, welcome aboard the other train, I guess. I, too, worked for Ronald Reagan, and Hillary Clinton is no Ronald Reagan.
Look, Ronald Reagan ...
ELMETS: And you also worked for John Heinz as my recollection, too.
LORD: Yes, I did.
[20:35:00] ELMETS: Who would probably be rolling over in his grave right now if he knew that you were supporting Donald Trump.
LORD: Well, one of John Heinz's last conversations with me was that he was getting more conservative here. But that's who decide here.
Let me just say in terms of what we're talking about here with Ronald Reagan. That was in 1980, this is 2016. The fact of the matter is sadly, we've had a lot of changes for the negative here. The Reagan -- the bill that Reagan signed into law frankly in 1986, and I was there, has not worked. So we need to do something else ...
COOPER: But just overall, I mean, not just talking about immigration, just how is Donald Trump Reaganesque?
LORD: Well, you know, they even have the same slogan, "Let's Make America Great Again." That was on some of the Reagan campaign buttons in 1980.
COOPER: OK, so, besides the slogan.
ELMETS: Jeff -- can I just say one thing?
COOPER: Go ahead.
LORD: Sure.
ELMETS: To quote our old boss, there you go again. I mean, it is just not even believable to try and compare Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, they are -- their personalities are so different.
LORD: Doug, Doug, as I've said many times on Anderson's show, no two human souls are alike. So, let's get over that? Are there qualities about them? Yes, there are, of course they're, you know, I mean I think that's ...
COOPER: Well, I get, what are the qualities about Donald Trump that are like Ronald Reagan?
LORD: Well, Ronald Reagan was number one, competent unlike Hillary Clinton. Just think for a moment of Benghazi and the contrast with Grenada when there were American med. students down there who were hostage and Ronald Reagan literally sent in the Marines and rescued those students.
Hillary Clinton was responsible for the human -- the Americans killing ...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: All right, so Jeffrey, you're saying both that Donald Trump is Reaganesque because Reagan was competent and Donald Trump is also competent?
LORD: And Donald Trump is also competent. You know, I find it very interesting listening to all those stuff back and forth about Mayor Bloomberg. The day I met Donald Trump for the first time, he was proudly showing me pictures of himself with Mayor Bloomberg opening this golf course in The Bronx and it was quite clear that Mayor Bloomberg thought the world of him.
I mean I was looking at all of the material, and suddenly now, Mayor Bloomberg says, "He's insane." That's the case. Well I mean, what was Mayor Bloomberg doing within then?
COOPER: Well, I mean, Donald Trump also said Mayor Bloomberg was a great mayor in his last year, and now, he's saying he was a terrible mayor. But so, so you're saying what they share in common is that they are both competent? I mean ...
LORD: Competence, and to a degree, ideology. I mean what Doug is saying is he wants the Supreme Court to be in the hands of liberals for the next 60 years. Ronald Reagan would definitely roll over in his grave.
COOPER: Doug, is that what you want?
ELMETS: Actually, I didn't say that, Jeff, but I appreciate you're trying to put words to my mouth.
LORD: But that's what will happen if Hillary is elected, right? ELMETS: Well, no, I mean, not necessarily. And I think that that's a Trojan horse. The reality is that if we managed to maintain -- the Republican's managed to maintain control of the Senate, you know, it's not -- sort of a guarantee that they're going to approve Democrats.
But I will just say this, that there are so many differences between Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump in terms of personality. Let's talk about the fact that Donald Trump ...
LORD: That's fine, that's fine.
ELMETS: Well, -- OK, I just want to say one thing that Donald Trump takes his own council, which we know because he's going to solve all the problems, where Ronald Reagan surrounded himself by great advisers and you probably know one, Jeff, maybe you were one.
And I just think that it's just -- it's such a different personality that we're dealing with and we're moving into -- I just also think that I think what's happened is that Donald Trump has hijacked the Republican Party. It's no longer the Republican Party, it's the party of Trump and you know it as well as I do.
LORD: Doug, one of the reasons for this, and if I may be a gentle critic of our old boss, and quote our friend Ed Rollins, he put George H.W. Bush on the ticket and in Ed's words in his memoirs that he felt that the enemy had the moderate Republican enemy had been invited into the camp and set up a succession of moderate Republicans, and that is in fact, what happened. And so the Republican Party has drifted left, if you will, all these years and you've got all these spokes out here at the grassroots level who are sick and tired of it. And all the insiderdom, and the lobbyists, and the consultants, they are tired of it.
ELMETS: Yeah, I, you know, I don't necessarily disagree with you, Jeff. But I would just say this that I believe that Donald Trump is left of where George Bush and Ronald Reagan ever were. And frankly, I am not even sure he is within the realm of the current Republican Party. I mean, he didn't necessarily even agree with many of the things that are on the party platform.
COOPER: It's a ...
LORD: Well, you expropriated (ph) the platform, but, you know, there is Peter Teal on there, I think that's a mark of where Donald Trump is on, for instance, LGBTs, right? Yes?
COOPER: I don't know where he is. I mean ...
LORD: Oh, not you, Anderson, I mean, Doug.
ELMETS: Well, you know, and I defer to you, Jeff, because you're the one who knows most about Donald Trump, but ...
[20:40:03] LORD: Oh, I mean, you know, there was Peter Teal on the platform, and think that was a pretty, you know, pretty firm statement, and he said he thanked the Republican Party as a Republican for being so open about it.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... of his -- of Ronald Reagan's sense of optimism, his view of America as, you know, Doug referred to as a shining city on a hill. Do you get any of that, Jeffrey, from Donald Trump?
LORD: Yes. Absolutely. I do.
COOPER: Where do you see that? Where do you hear that?
LORD: I think he is a very optimistic man. I mean, look ...
COOPER: But he have said in the recent -- most recent interview with the "New York Times" that the U.S. shouldn't lecture to other countries about, you know, human rights or tell Turkey what to do because of the way the United States is. That doesn't sound like that the United States, is a shining city on the hill.
LORD: Anderson, I -- here's where I disagree, Anderson, you know, Geeky Me went back and took a look at Franklin Roosevelt's acceptance speech of 1932, and FDR makes a pretty dark picture of why ...
COOPER: OK, OK. I'm not talking FDR. I'm talking Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
LORD: Right. I'm talking about presidential candidates who paint a dark picture of reality and this is a pretty bad reality that we're in here.
COOPER: OK.
LORD: And there's need for change.
COOPER: It just seems like even in the darkest days, and Doug correct me if I'm wrong, Ronald Reagan saw the best in America and Ronald Reagan talked about the best in America.
ELMETS: Absolutely. And that -- I think that is the huge difference. And ultimately, Anderson and Jeff, I think that would be the deciding decision that a lot of Republicans will make on November 7th when they go into that polling booth.
I really do believe that sanity will prevail on Election Day. And Hillary Clinton will get elected because she's more prepared to be president than really anybody in the generation.
LORD: Dough, she's got her e-mails all over the place. She killed people in Benghazi. I mean, she's an incompetent person. What can I say?
COOPER: You're saying she actually killed people? You really believe she killed people?
LORD: What I'm saying is she set up Benghazi. She'd left those people there to die. COOPER: OK.
LORD: Yes. I mean there was somebody -- Benghazi survivor who was at the Democratic National Convention who is really angry about this.
COOPER: Right.
LORD: That is exactly ...
COOPER: We got to ...
LORD: She didn't rescue them.
COOPER: We got to take a quick break. We're going to continue this conversation when we come back. All right. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:45:20] COOPER: Welcome back. Continuing the conversation with two old friends and colleagues from the Reagan administration and who are now on the opposite side of the presidential campaign, Dough Elmets and Jeffrey Lord.
Jeffrey, just before the break, I mean, you've said Hillary Clinton's responsible for the deaths of people in Benghazi, you're actually going a lot further than the, you know, to the House committee which investigated this.
LORD: Well, all right. Well the Committee was not with us. As I understood, Trey Gowdy, he said that he was not asked to draw a conclusion.
COOPER: Well, they been pointing fingers to Hillary Clinton, they said they were certainly bureaucratic inertia and there were lapses and they should have taken more security precautions but you've just said she is responsible for their deaths.
LORD: Anderson, I assure you, if Ronald Reagan had invaded Grenada and those kids were killed as a result or not killed as a result, well, you know, he would have been held responsible.
COOPER: Well, there was a massive bomb in it, wasn't there a massive bombing? Doug, correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't there a massive bombing at the U.S. Embassy -- wasn't there a massive bombing in the embassy in Lebanon under Ronald Reagan?
ELMETS: There was.
LORD: Yes, there was and he was the responsible officer of the government. That is exactly right.
COOPER: Right.
LORD: And what did he do? He took the troops out of there.
COOPER: Right. LORD: He reacted and he set forth the plan. He set forth the plan later, which is a matter of fact, John is very much with Donald Trump, go on and compared them.
COOPER: Right. It's not -- I'm not defending Secretary Clinton, I'm just telling you what the House of Benghazi Committee said and it's not what you said.
LORD: I understand. I understand.
COOPER: And she was in the president which Ronald Reagan was the president.
Anyway, Doug, how hard was it for you to make this decision, to actually, you know, come out of the closet, if you will, and go on that stage and, you know, basically urge fellow Republicans not to vote for Donald Trump?
ELMETS: Well, I will tell you that it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be. You know, when Donald Trump disparaged John McCain, I looked at my wife, and I said, you know, I mean, that's the end of his campaign. And as I saw his campaign continue to pick up and he became the nominee, I realized that I had to do something. And I remembered, and Jeff will remember this as well, that in 1980 there were Democrats for Reagan, and I thought to myself, well, why not Republicans for Hillary. And candidly, I have become a big follower of Hillary Clinton.
I do think that she will lead this country with a steady hand. And we are -- as we all know and really tumultuous times, I just can't imagine giving the nuclear codes or frankly, the Oval Office seat to, as I said last night, to a petulant, unbalanced reality T.V. star. And that's really what he is.
COOPER: Jeffrey.
LORD: Have you read Gary Burn's book about Hillary Clinton, Doug?
ELMETS: And so?
LORD: She sounds pretty petulant and temperamental to me.
COOPER: Dough.
ELMETS: I think we should let the American people make that decision.
LORD: I agree.
ELMETS: There's probably no comparison.
COOPER: Jeffrey, in terms of Ronald Reagan, I mean who, you know, spent a lot of time with public service. I mean who served as the governor of California after his film career. You know, he dedicated himself to serving the public, and that's one of the things I think people admired him that he went from a film career to this. Does Donald Trump's lack of really a lifetime of public service or any kind of real public service concern you at all? Because he would be the first president ...
LORD: No.
COOPER: ... to -- who comes from a purely business background for quite some time.
LORD: Right. Anderson, I was very inspired as a kid by President Kennedy, and I kept a print if his portrait on my office wall in the Reagan White House. And, you know, the whole ask not what you can do for your country, unfortunately, I think we've gotten to a point where people think that public service that just being and holding office is it. That's what she do.
Unfortunately, everybody else in America has to go live a life. They have to have businesses. They have to have jobs. That's what Donald Trump has done. Hillary Clinton has never done that for a day in her life. Not once. She's never created a single job. She doesn't have a clue.
ELMETS: I do think it says a lot though about Donald Trump, and frankly, his emissaries that they have to spend most of the time trying to defend his actions, rather than talking about the great things he's done. I mean we could certainly talk about the fact that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth versus Ronald Reagan who really always believed in his humble roots.
COOPER: Yeah.
ELMETS: We can talk about his relationships with women, which is, I mean embarrassing in and of itself.
COOPER: We have to leave there. We'd love you to have you both back on. Doug Elmets, appreciate it.
ELMETS: Thank you.
COOPER: Jeffrey Lord as well. Good discussion.
ELMETS: Thank you.
LORD: Thank you, Anderson. Thanks Dougie.
COOPER: Two other friends on opposite sides of presidential from politics, Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump, each playing pivotal roles in their parent's campaigns. The question, is their friendship holding up behind enemy lines, so to speak? What Donald Trump said this afternoon when we continue.
[20:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Back in the 2016 campaign trail, again this afternoon, Donald Trump slammed Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech last night at the Democratic National Convention, but he did offer a tiny bit of praise for another Clinton, Chelsea Clinton. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I thought her daughter did very well, by the way, Chelsea. I thought she did very well. My daughter likes Chelsea and Chelsea likes my daughter. What are you going to do? That's the way it is, right? That's OK. That's OK. My daughter likes Chelsea. Ivanka, I love did great, right? But I asked Ivanka, I said "Do you like Chelsea?" "I do, dad." "Really?" "No, I really do." "Ah, I wish you didn't, it would be a lot easier."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Last night, Chelsea Clinton introduced her mother at the Democratic Convention. A week earlier, Ivanka Trump, of course, did the same for her dad at the Republican convention. Born just two years apart, the two are indeed friends even though their parents are battling it out for the White House.
Tom Foreman, tonight reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Lying crooked Hillary. I love this one because she's a liar.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Donald Trump talks about make America great again. He doesn't make a thing in America except bankruptcies.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amidst the campaign's fury and unlikely alliance, Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton, fierce political foes, steadfast personal friends.
[20:55:09] Chelsea says it's so.
CHELSEA CLINTON, HILLARY CLINTON'S DAUGHTER: Our friendship had nothing -- has nothing to do with politics. We were friends before this election, we'll be friends after this election.
FOREMAN: And Ivanka does, too, telling "People Magazine" We're both incredibly supportive of our parents, as we should be, but we also continue to have great respect for one another."
A dozen years ago, when their families were friends, the two met and found they had things in common. They still do. Both are married, mid-30s with Ivy League educations and children. Both grew up with famous fathers facing personal turmoil and both have taken a deep interest in their parents bid for the White House. Indeed, introducing them at their party's conventions.
C. CLINTON: My mother.
IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER: My father ...
C. CLINTON: ... and our ...
I. TRUMP: ... next president. C. CLINTON: Hillary Clinton.
I. TRUMP: Donald J. Trump.
FOREMAN: But there are sharp political differences, too. For example, after Ivanka praised her father's record for hiring and promoting women, promising he'll do the same as president ...
I. TRUMP: He will fight for equal pay for equal work.
FOREMAN: ... her friend, Chelsea, quickly shot back.
C. CLINTON: How would your father do that given it's not something he's spoken about, there are no policies on any of those fronts that you just mentioned on his website.
FOREMAN: With the race growing only nastier and each woman pushing so hard for her parent to win, it's fair to wonder if their cross-party friendship can survive.
H. CLINTON: A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.
D. TRUMP: I just beat 16 people and I'm beating her.
FOREMAN: Amid the scorching rhetoric, Ivanka says they've not seen each other lately, although asked about a daughter summit to ease campaign tensions, Chelsea said ...
C. CLINTON: Well, it's something that had occurred to me, but it's certainly something I would consider.
FOREMAN: ... not a bad idea. After all, Thomas Jefferson famously said he never thought anyone should lose a friend over politics.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: There's a lot more ahead in the second hour of "360". We're waiting for Donald Trump to take the stage in Denver, that's just a minutes away. We'll take you there, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
