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Tempers Flare, Punches Land in GOP Debate; Trump Lashing Out After Debate; Key Dem Defies White House, Opposes Plan. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired August 07, 2015 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00] MEGYN KELLY, DEBATE MODERATOR: You don't like, fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account --
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Only Rosie O'Donnell.
KELLY: For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O'Donnell.
TRUMP: Yes, I'm sure it was.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Too tough on Trump? The Donald says FOX was mean, calling Megyn Kelly angry and overrated.
Plus, the president's push for support on the Iran nuclear deal suffers a major blow. Why powerful Democrat Chuck Schumer will vote no. And --
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": Rather than saying good-bye or good night, I'm just going to say, I'm going to go get a drink.
COSTELLO: Jon Stewart signs off but not before a star-studded and emotional sendoff.
Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me this morning.
One frontrunner is still simmering and lashing out hours after top Republicans share a crowded stage for their first presidential debate. And guess what? It was the most watched primary debate ever. More than 10 million people watched it. So let's begin with some of the key moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRET BAIER, DEBATE MODERATOR: Is there anyone on stage -- and can I see hands -- who is unwilling tonight to pledge your support to the eventual nominee of the Republican Party and pledge to not run an independent campaign against that person?
(CROWD CHEERING AND BOOING)
BAIER: Again, we're looking for you to raise your hand now, raise your hand now, if you won't make that pledge tonight. Mr. Trump.
TRUMP: I cannot say I have to respect the person that, if it's not me, the person that wins. If I do win -- and I'm leading by quite a bit -- that's what I want to do. I can totally make that pledge if I'm the nominee.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's a -- you know, that's a completely ridiculous answer. I want to collect more records from terrorists but less records from other people. How are you supposed to know, Megyn?
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Use the Fourth Amendment.
CHRISTIE: How are you supposed to --
PAUL: Use the Fourth Amendment.
CHRISTIE: No, I'll tell you how you --
PAUL: Get a warrant.
CHRISTIE: Let me tell you something. You don't --
PAUL: Get a judge to sign the warrant.
CHRISTIE: When you -- you know, Senator.
KELLY: Wait, wait. Governor Christie, make your point.
CHRISTIE: Listen, Senator, you know, when you're sitting in a subcommittee just blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that. When you're responsible for protecting the lives of the American people, then what you need to do is to make sure --
PAUL: Here's the problem.
CHRISTIE: Is to make sure that you use the system the way it's supposed to work.
PAUL: Here's the problem, Governor.
KELLY: As president, would you bring back water boarding?
DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, thank you, Megyn. I wasn't sure I was going to get to talk again.
KELLY: We have a lot for you. Don't worry.
TRUMP: With Iran, you're making a deal. You would say we want him, we want him, we want our prisoners. We want all these things. We don't get anything. We're giving them $150 billion dollar plus. They are going to be -- I'll tell you what. If Iran was a stock, you folks should go out and buy it right now because you'll quadruple. This what's happened in Iran is a disgrace.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The court has ruled and I said we'll accept it. And guess what? I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay. Because somebody doesn't think the way I do doesn't mean that I can't care about them or I can't love them.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to have to earn this. Maybe the barrier -- the bars are even higher for me. That's fine. I've got a record in Florida. I'm proud of my dad and I'm certainly proud of my brother. In Florida they call me Jeb because I earned it.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's what this election better be about. This election better be about the future, not the past. It better be about the issues our nation and the world is facing today, not simply the issues we once faced. If I'm the nominee we will be the party of the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, but the most explosive moment in last night's debate was this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: One of the things people love about you is you speak your mind and you don't use a politician's filter. However, that is not without its downsides, in particular when it comes to women. You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account --
TRUMP: Only Rosie O'Donnell.
(LAUGHTER AND CHEERS)
KELLY: No, it wasn't.
TRUMP: Thank you.
(LAUGHTER AND CHEERS)
KELLY: Your Twitter account --
(CHEERS)
TRUMP: Thank you.
KELLY: For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O'Donnell.
TRUMP: Yes. I'm sure it was.
KELLY: Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women's looks. You once told a contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice" it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees.
Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president? And how will you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton who is likely to be the Democratic nominee that you are part of the war on women? TRUMP: I think the big problem this country has is being politically
correct. I've been --
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I've been challenged by so many people and I don't frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either.
[09:05:11] I've been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be based on the way you have treated me, but I wouldn't do that. But you know what? We need strength. We need energy. We need quickness and we need brain in this country to turn it around. That I can tell you right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Trump, perhaps realizing he messed up big time, is on the attack this morning shortly after the debate and again this morning calling FOX anchor Megyn Kelly mean, unprofessional and overrated.
So let the war begin. Joining me now from Cleveland, our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
So, Dana, you were there last night. What was that moment like?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was kind of amazing because, look, Megyn Kelly clearly understands the kind of person, the kind of candidate Donald Trump is. He did it way before he was even running for office. If somebody hits him, he hits back and he hits back harder. So it probably shouldn't be a surprise to her that on his Twitter feed this morning, as you say, he is going after her in a pretty aggressive way. And also on television he was on another cable network this morning trying to push back and perhaps better explain himself. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You know the question on the women, I didn't say many of those things. They said something and they were giving out some words. And I don't remember that on "The Apprentice." And I don't remember -- I don't know where they got some of these words, to be honest with you. In fact, I'm going to have somebody call up and find out where these words came from because I don't recognize those words. Not that I'm an angel, by the way, but I don't recognize those words.
So, you know, she was spewing out these words and I'm sitting there, and -- you know, when I said the Rosie O'Donnell thing, the room broke up. In fact it was the biggest you probably saw, it's the biggest event in terms of sound and in terms of combustion in the room. It was the biggest event of the evening. I mean -- and it really threw her off. It was very interesting because it totally threw her off. She thought, you know, this was going to be a cakewalk. And that really was an interesting moment, if you want to know the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, Carol, lucky for Donald Trump, your producers on this show have done a little bit of work for him, looking up some of what he has said in the past, particularly the quote that Megyn Kelly read him about being on your knees. This is something that happened during the "Celebrity Apprentice." It was Brande Roderick, former -- Playboy model, rather, trying to explain how much she doesn't want to be eliminated from "The Apprentice." And here's what happened.
Brande said, "I don't want to do this." Trump said, "Excuse me, you'd drop to your knees?" Brande said, "Yes." And then Trump said, "That must have been a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees." So that was what Megyn Kelly was referring to.
Now with the "Celebrity Apprentice," obviously that is entertainment. So, you know, certainly you can imagine Trump explaining it that way. You look at some other of his quotes that Megyn Kelly was reading back. And a lot of them were about Rosie O'Donnell being a fat slob, being a pig and so forth.
And the other thing I just want to point is that looking at Trump's Twitter feed this morning when it comes to slob that appears to be gender neutral. He's going after Republican pollster Frank Luntz in the big way this morning as well, calling him a slob because he didn't like the fact that Luntz had focus groups last night with people who came in as Trump supporters and many of them after watching the debate were not -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Dana Bash, thanks so much. Dana Bash reporting live from Cleveland.
With me now to talk about all of this, Peter Beinart, CNN political commentator and contributing editor for "Atlantic Media." Sabrina Shaeffer, executive director for the Independent Women's Forum and Robert Kiger, Citizens for Restoring USA and a Trump supporter.
Welcome to all of you.
Sabrina, I must start with you. According to a Quinnipiac poll, 37 percent of Republican women say they would never vote for Mr. Trump. And that was before this debate. Did Trump help himself with women last night?
SABRINA SCHAEFFER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Carol, I thought the whole thing was such a spectacle. And it was so disgusting. And I mean, part of me thinks, you know, who cares what Donald Trump says? He was a buffoon up there. He sounded ridiculous.
But it was a really missed opportunity for many on the GOP stage last night because it opened up an opportunity to really talk about women and some of the unique challenges that they face in the workplace with health care and the economy. Not one person stood up to talk about minimum wage or paid leave mandates or pay equity or child care subsidies.
This is the cornerstone of the Democrats' economic agenda and no one jumped on it. I thought that Trump was a disaster. And it was a lost opportunity for the GOP.
COSTELLO: So, Robert, I'll go to you next. You're a Trump supporter. When Trump admitted he called Rosie O'Donnell fat and a slob, the audience went wild. They cheered. Can you explain that for us?
[09:10:08] ROBERT KIGER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, first of all, thanks for having me back.
Sabrina, the latest Zogby poll has Donald Trump leading amongst women. But I thought it was a great debate last night. All the candidates were really, really good. But it should have been called the FOX "let's try to ambush Donald Trump" show. And it didn't work.
Let me tell you something. This tactic that the media seems to have with Donald Trump about beating him up on every single thing, that first question shouldn't even have been asked. That's been asked and answered so many times about his campaign pledge. And it's a moot point because guess what? Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee. He's going to be the next president of the United States. So it doesn't matter. The question is totally moot.
COSTELLO: OK. Got your point, Robert. Thank you.
So, Peter, I couldn't help but think because during the happy hour debate Carly Fiorina was -- she was pretty fantastic, right? She has the Twitterverse abuzz this morning. And I think that she has the best Trump slam. And a part of me wanted her on stage. But first let's listen to her slam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I started as a secretary. I didn't inherit anything. I am a self-made woman. And I understand how the economy works, how the world works. How to cut bureaucracies down to size and how technology can be used against us or for us. I am plenty fit to be the leader of this nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, Peter, with her performance and Trump's comments about women, could Trump's comments about women in a weird way help Carly Fiorina?
PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think the Republican Party clearly has a problem with women, especially unmarried women. And the problem they have with Donald Trump is that he's exacerbating that problem for the party. The other candidates don't want to take him on because they don't want to get into a pissing match with Donald Trump. You get in -- you know, you get in the mud with Donald Trump, it's not a good place to be.
On the other hand, with Latinos, with some women in particular Donald Trump is exacerbating what already is a significant problem of the Republican Party faces with key demographic groups. And I think Carly Fiorina would be someone who could answer those charges better than most of the other people on the stage. SCHAEFFER: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Yes, with that said, Sabrina, wouldn't it have been nice that she was on the stage last night, the prime time stage instead of the --
SCHAEFFER: Yes.
COSTELLO: -- happy hour stage?
SCHAEFFER: Absolutely. And first of all, I mean, she absolutely proved herself in that, quote, "happy hour" debate. I thought she did a fantastic job. But what's missing from the Republican sort of narrative up there is an actual conversation about a lot of these economic issues that women care about. And that the other men up there unfortunately just are not as effective at communicating.
This was not even, you know, Carly Fiorina's best performance last night. Many people have written about all the ways that she's been much more impactful. And I've been up there on stage with her and I heard her speak in just a tremendous, you know, volume. I think that she lends an important voice and I think that she's sort of naturally going to escalate up and we'll see her on the main stage in future debates.
COSTELLO: OK. So, Robert, final question to you. Do you think Donald Trump cares about women?
KIGER: Absolutely. Why is he ahead in all the polls amongst the other Republican candidates?
COSTELLO: So specifically, what has he said that makes you believe that Donald Trump cares about women? Specifically, what policy has he articulated that would make you think that?
KIGER: Let me answer Peter's question. You know, I mean, I just -- I just am surprised about, you know, that he's not leading amongst women, he's not leading amongst Hispanics. They both hate him. Guess what? He's leading in both of the polls in both of those things. Specific women's questions, to answer Peter's question, guess what, the mediators missed the opportunity. They didn't ask good policy questions.
They want -- the show was about the -- the people on the panel asking the questions. You know, they should have taken their owned advice. And their own advice a few days ago was -- to the candidates, you know, don't smirk, don't scratch your head, et cetera, et cetera, and you've got Chris Wallace smirking when Donald Trump tried to answer a question about his bankruptcy.
Why didn't they ask Ben Carson? You've had thousands of operations over the years, what about those four patients that you lost in the last 10 years? Can you tell us about those?
COSTELLO: Well, I will only say, Robert, that Donald Trump had another opportunity this morning to outline policies that might help women but what did he do? He attacked Megyn Kelly, calling her mean and unprofessional. Really?
KIGER: What was the question?
(CROSSTALK)
SCHAEFFER: I don't really think that the image of the party --
KIGER: What was the question?
SCHAEFFER: The conservative side has a real problem with women. As Peter said, with unmarried women in particular.
[09:15:00] I've been hearing women between last night and this morning just absolutely aghast at the way women were being discussed last night as if they are some sort of some minority. They are more than 50 percent of the population.
There was a lost opportunity to talk about real economic issues, from Obamacare to education to cultural shifts to the workplace to what's happening in politics. This was a tremendous loss. Trump did a real disservice not only to the party but to women. It was very insulting.
BEINART: FOX didn't ambush Trump. Trump ambushed himself.
COSTELLO+ : Peter Beinart, that's a way to wrap it up. I got to wrap it.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: I'm sorry. Robert Kiger, Sabrina Schaeffer, Peter Beinart --
BEINART: Thank you.
COSTELLO: -- thank you so much.
ROBERT KIGER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Thanks, guys.
COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about something good. Good news on the economy this morning: 215,000 jobs were added last month with the unemployment rate holding steady at 5.3 percent. Now, that's slightly below most estimates, but it's still the lowest unemployment rate in over seven years.
Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: President Obama's Iran fight with Congress may have gotten just a bit more difficult. A key lawmaker, a powerful Democrat says he will vote no.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:18] COSTELLO: The White House loses a key Democratic ally in its ramp-up campaign to sell the Iran nuclear deal. Senator Chuck Schumer, arguably the most powerful Jewish Democrat on Capitol Hill, now says he will fight the agreement when it faces a congressional vote next month and that could mean some big problems for President Obama and the legacy he is trying to build. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joins me now liver from the White House with
more.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Senator Schumer support would have been key for the White House, but certainly, this is a big hit for them. Senator Schumer coming out with a statement overnight saying he opposes this deal because, quote, "I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power."
Now, this could potentially pave the way for other Democrats who are opposed to the deal to come out and announce their opposition. And quickly after we saw Representative Engel of New York who had a one on one meeting with President Obama just last week, he came out and announced his opposition to the deal among others.
The White House, though, has been downplaying this, pointing to a string of Democrats who have jumped on board with the deal, most recently just yesterday, Senator Shaheen and Senator Gillibrand from New York. A White House official suggesting that Schumer's announcement, it came only after they potentially felt like enough Democrats had jumped on board to support this deal.
This potentially indicates that there's some sort of confidence within the White House that they do have enough votes secured. But the Senate is set to debate this early next month when they return from recess, Carol.
And President Obama, he goes on a two-week vacation today. This afternoon, he'll leave for Martha's Vineyard. But White House officials say he will continue to drum up support -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, reporting live from the White House this morning, thank you.
President Obama is brushing off criticisms that he went too far in attacking Republicans who oppose the Iran deal. He compared them to hardliners in Iran who vowed to destroy America. The president is making no apologies for that comparison.
Here's some of that wide-ranging exclusive interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: In your speech at American University, you made a comparison. You said that Iran's hard-liners were making common cause with Republicans. It's come under a lot of criticism. Mitch McConnell says even Democrats who opposed the deal should be insulted.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I said is absolutely true factually. The truth of the matter is inside of Iran, the people most opposed to the deal are the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds force, hard-liners who are implacably opposed to any cooperation with the international community.
The reason that Mitch McConnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who opposed this jumped out and opposed it before they even read it, before it was even posted is reflective of a ideological commitment not to get a deal done.
ZAKARIA: You don't think --
OBAMA: In that sense, they do have a lot in common with hardliners who are much more satisfied with the status quo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And you can see all of Fareed's exclusive interview with the president this weekend. Tune in "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS", Sunday 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Checking some other top stories for you this morning, at 23 minutes past the hour.
Russia is now the main suspect in the hacking of an e-mail server used by the Pentagon's joint chiefs of staff. That's according to a U.S. official familiar with the investigation. The Pentagon says hackers did not penetrate any classified networks. But CNN sources say they did gain access to some sensitive information like the president's schedule.
On the French Riviera, Formula 1 driver Jenson Button and his wife were robbed this weekend while they slept in their rented villa. A pricey engagement ring was taken, along with other jewelry. The spokesman for the couple says the burglars may have put anesthetic gas into the ventilation system to knock them out, to make them go to sleep.
And in the western Pacific, schools and government offices in Taiwan are closed today as a powerful typhoon bears down on the island. Landfall expected early tomorrow, with strong winds and heavy rain. This is the tenth typhoon to hit that part of the world this year.
Still to come in THE NEWSOOM: Carly Fiorina's big night. How the former Silicon Valley CEO made a big name for herself last night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:29:04] COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
Republican candidates packed the debate stage last night, pitching their vision for this country. After the debates, one of the candidates, Carly Fiorina may have surged on Google and Trump may have soared on Twitter. But the real prize is yet to be won, and that would be the support of the undecided voter.
Joe Johns is following that story in Des Moines, Iowa, for us.
Good morning, Joe. JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
We watched the debate last night with 11 undecided Republican voters. At the Pella Historical Society, just about 50 minutes outside of Des Moines, and one of the big takeaways from that group is almost everybody had a negative reaction to the performance of Donald Trump, especially to the way he answered the very first question of the debate, which was more or less about whether all of the candidates on the stage could support the eventual Republican nominee, whoever it is.
Listen.
