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Mayor of Pittsburgh Talks About What Today's Economy Needs; Hillary Clinton's Convention Bounce Is Waning; A Peek Into Tonight's CNN Documentaries on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump; Hermine Lingers in New York; Hillary Clinton Takes Inaugural Flight On Her New Plane. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 05, 2016 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00] MAYOR BILL PEDUTO (D), PITTSBURGH: It was dreamers and planners back in the 1980s that were creating one of the first supercomputing centers in the world. Creating the first robotics degree programs, and PhD programs in the world. And sort of planted the seeds throughout our economy, of a diverse economy that we see today. The education ...

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And a diverse economy with an eye on modern technology. So when candidates say, "you know what? I'm going to bring back manufacturing. I'm going to bring back the coal industry. And I'm going to make your life better." Is that realistic?

PEDUTO: Well actually the economy has shifted. And I think in those areas where that message may resonate, especially to our South and West Virginia, and some of the coal producing counties of Southwestern Pennsylvania. We have to learn -- steel didn't go away overnight. And we didn't plan to fail, we failed to plan.

And as the world's shifting away from fossil fuels we have to be able to find the new industries that can take over in these areas. We have an opportunity to learn from the past, from the 80s and 90s. It happened right here in the city of Pittsburgh where we lost more people than New Orleans lost after Katrina. Where we had 19 percent unemployment, higher than in the great depression.

And now today we're being realized as a global center of innovation. With companies from throughout the world wanting to locate here. You have to plan and the world's not going to stop and wait. So when a candidate comes to Southwestern Pennsylvania and talks about the good old days and how they're going to bring it back, there's some hesitation with people out here ...

COSTELLO: I ...

PEDUTO: We did live through it, we know.

COSTELLO: I also want to talk about the minimum wage. Because we hear a lot from Democrats that it's important to raise the minimum wage. Did you raise the minimum wage in Pittsburgh? Did that help the city rebound? PEDUTO: Well the state prohibits us from raising the minimum wage. So what we did is we acted on behalf of city employees and we've raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour phasing it in until 2019. We're partnering with our larger employers to do the same thing. The state's largest employer, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, employs nearly 60,000 people. They're taking it up to $15 an hour.

And we do it in a way in Pittsburgh that we understand. It's through collaboration and working together. That's how we got through our economic collapse. And that's the real way that Southwestern Pennsylvania, and some of those areas that have been left behind will, too.

But on this day I have to say this, those people like my grandfather, who struggled in a steel mill for his entire life, who fought and built this country, every skyscraper, every bridge, but more importantly they built the middle class. And though our economy has shifted, it hasn't shifted for everyone. So as we see these service employees that are out there, we can't leave behind the battles that those who fought earlier were able to win. We have to bring them along for this new economy as well.

COSTELLO: I so agree with you. My father, too, was a steelworker. Thanks so much Mayor Bill Peduto for joining me this morning. As the summer ends ...

PEDUTO: Thank you, Carol. Happy Labor Day.

COSTELLO: ... you, too. As the summer ends, the campaigning heats up. And Donald Trump cuts into Hillary Clinton's lead. Can that boost his confidence going into the first debate?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:37:42]

COSTELLO: This Labor Day weekend it's not just summer Hillary Clinton is bidding farewell to. She's saying goodbye to bed post convention bump. After July's DNC, you may recall, Clinton led Trump by 11 points. But what a difference a month makes. Mr. Trump closing in on that gap in August, now trailing Clinton by five points, the latest poll of polls.

While Trump is gaining ground, he has only 64 days left to make his case. So let's talk about that and more with Larry Sabato. He's the Director of the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia. And Julian Zelizer is a historian and professor at Princeton University. Welcome to both of you.

JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN, PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Thank you.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Happy Labor Day, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, happy Labor Day. Thanks for laboring along with me, I appreciate it. Larry, Clinton's post-convention bounce is waning. What should we take away from that?

SABATO: Actually, it's exactly what you would expect with one pre vanzo. Her post-convention bounce was a lot larger than Donald Trump's and has lasted longer than convention bounces usually do.

So actually that's good news for her. She's up by five, she's actually up by more in many of the key swing states, which are where the election's decided. And let's recall, President Obama won by four percentage points in 2012. And that produced a large majority in the electoral college.

COSTELLO: Yeah, and going back, just because we did look back, so Julian we looked back at past Labor Day polls. And it shows the frontrunner went on to win about 75 percent of the time. In 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama held a small lead over Senator John McCain and Mitt Romney in August. He went on to win both elections.

And we have to note that the pollsters (ph) actually had it wrong in 2000 when then Vice President, Al Gore, had a small lead over George W. Bush. So with all the myth in mind, I'll ask you the same question. What should we take away from these poll numbers right now?

ZELIZER: Yeah I think that she tends to be in pretty good shape. It's a little bit like when a presidential candidate wins a huge landslide and brings in large majorities into Congress. The midterms will go poorly for them two years later. But they can still be in pretty good shape overall. And I think she has a very significant lead right now, still. Even in those battleground states.

We also haven't heard much from her for the last few weeks. She's been focused on fundraising, she's been quiet as Trump did most of the talking. And I suspect as we hear more from her in the next few weeks we might see the poll numbers increase in her favor once again. But there's still uncertainty and especially with the debates upcoming, I don't think we should discount the possibility that Trump is still a viable candidate.

COSTELLO: Yeah, and let's talk about that very first debate on September 26. Within the Clinton camp it's been said that the bar is so low for Donald Trump, it may be kind of hard for her to win no matter what.

SABATO: Well of course that's spinning on the Clinton side. They're trying to say -- they're trying to set the expectations very low for him so that people will say, "well the expectations were very low for him and actually Hillary Clinton did well." Both sides participate in that.

What's really going to matter is fundamentally how the candidates come across. If they both do reasonably well, nothing much is going to change. Because in the modern era, most people have made a tentative decision by the time September 26th comes around, they tune in to those debates to cheer for their side.

It's only when you get a tremendous differential between the performance of the two candidates, or you get a terrible gaffe, that you actually change things up, mix things up, with a debate.

[10:41:37]

COSTELLO: So Julian, everybody's expecting this big like, amazing debate that will be a debate like no other. But is it possible both candidates will just play it safe?

ZELIZER: Well for sure. I think Hillary Clinton probably will play it safe, that's what she does as a candidate. She's a very skilled debater, she will be able to get under his skin. But I don't think she's going to do anything dramatic on the stage, that we don't expect. Donald Trump at this point, I don't know what he's going to do but it will probably be a variation, a toned down variation of the Republican debates.

But Larry is right, these are not game changing moments, traditionally. Especially with a polarized electorate. So it will be very hard for the debates to fundamentally reshape the direction of the polls.

COSTELLO: All right, I have to leave it there. Larry Sabato, Julian Zelizer, thanks to both of you.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

SABATO: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the Newsroom -- you're welcome -- Hillary Clinton talks about how she got through the Monica Lewinsky affair. And Ivanka Trump says there's no way her dad is sexist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:46:35]

COSTELLO: Tonight on CNN, a look at Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump like you've never seen them before. In these two documentaries, one for each nominee, you'll hear the candidates and their families speaking openly about subjects they rarely discuss.

For example, here's Hillary Clinton talking candidly about the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: How difficult was it to go through something so private, so personal, under the glare of the spotlight of the First Lady?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was really hard. It was painful. And I was so supported by my friends. My friends just rallied around. They would come, they would try to make me laugh, they would recommend books to read. We'd go for long walks, we'd hang out, eat bad food. I mean, just the kind of things you do with your friends. And it was something that you just had to get up everyday and try to

deal with while still carrying on a public set of responsibilities. So it was very, very challenging.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And here's Ivanka Trump responding to her father being called sexist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well asking you as a daughter, a mother, a businesswoman, much has been said about how he regards women. And so if I ask you the question flat out, is he a sexist?

IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: Absolutely not a sexist. There's no way I could be the person I am today if my father was a sexist. I would not be one of his senior most executives, and I would not be working shoulder-to-shoulder with my brothers. I would be working for my brothers, if at all.

So you know, I think actions ultimately speak louder than words. My father has forty years of history of employing women. I think in terms of the nomenclature he uses, the labels, that's you know (ph) ...

BORGER: Bimbo, you know the words ...

TRUMP: Yeah. A lot of people say that -- but you know what, he calls men some pretty rough names, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Fascinating. Joining me now to talk about these documentaries, CNN Justice Correspondent, Pamela Brown. And CNN Chief Political Analyst, Gloria Borger. I cannot wait to watch these documentaries tonight.

BROWN: Thank you.

BORGER: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I really cannot wait. So it's interesting that Hillary Clinton agreed to sit down and talk with you. Donald Trump did not ...

BORGER: No.

COSTELLO: agree to talk -- but Ivanka did.

BORGER: Yes, and you know we made repeated requests of Donald Trump over a period of months. And he made a decision that he didn't want to sit down for this. But his adult children did. His three business partners, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka. And there were -- it -- they're devoted to their father. And what's different about them from other campaigns I've covered is

that they are so involved in this campaign. Not just as surrogates but they are -- and Jared Kushner, who is Ivanka's husband, is effectively running the campaign along with the campaign manager and the rest of the staff. So these are business partners and political partners with their father.

COSTELLO: And also family members of you know, people who -- it's just, would be a strange place to be in for them, you would think. But ...

BORGER: Yeah, yeah.

COSTELLO: ... I'm sure we'll get into that. Hillary Clinton. I'm actually surprised she answered questions about Monica Lewinsky.

BROWN: You know, I think, I think she did herself a favor, as we were talking about, Gloria. Because she's human. And you hear her talking about how painful that was. Her girlfriends rallying around her. You know, this is a different side of her that we haven't seen.

And I think that when you see this personal side of her, having emotion, dealing with challenging times in her life -- and to her credit, she was very open, very accessible talking about these difficult subject matters. And what we try to do with this documentary, for both of us, is we sort of put together a portrait of these candidates as human beings. Aside from politics, aside from policies.

And no matter what you think about Hillary Clinton, what I think it shows is that she is a fighter. That she's come back from these hardships like dealing with Monica Lewinsky under the glare of the spotlight, and after that ran for Senate and won. And you see these different times where she's come back in her life and she's had to fight. And that is just one theme in this documentary. And I know you have your own views as well.

[10:50:59]

BORGER: Yeah. Well they -- these are two candidates who've been in the public eye for decades in different ways. She's been in the public eye largely through public service ...

COSTELLO: I know, you would think that we'd all intimately know them, right?

BORGER: Right. But well, Donald Trump has been in the public eye, whether it's through tabloids when it came to his divorces, whether it was through reality television when it was The Apprentice, or whether it was his business dealings in New York and moving into Atlantic City. And like Hillary Clinton in many ways, you know he took a big fall. He took a big fall that he had to deal with in Atlantic City. Corporate bankruptcies, almost came this close to personal bankruptcy.

And so we look into that as well because he did, he did come out of that in a different -- with a different business model, but he, but he came out of it. And so they're candidates you might think you know ...

BROWN: Right.

BORGER: But I'm hopeful that you're going to learn something more about them.

COSTELLO: Now honestly (INAUDIBLE) ...

BROWN: I certainly was surprised. I thought when they gave me this project, I thought, "how am I going to find anything new about Hillary Clinton?" There's books written about her -- I will tell you I personally was very surprised. And particularly learning about her life before she was in the public eye.

And hearing those insights, as you did Gloria with Donald Trump, from the people in her inner circle ...

BORGER: Right.

BROWN: I mean some of them have never really spoken publicly before, in depth.

BORGER: Mine are all businesspeople. Aside from the family, who have known him the best. So for me, as a political journalist, I'm used to interviewing political guests. Businesspeople on camera can be honest.

COSTELLO: That's nice, you're saying nice things (ph). Gloria Borger, Pamela Brown. Like I said, I can't wait to watch and thanks for stopping by on this Labor Day.

BORGER: Thank you.

BROWN: Sure.

COSTELLO: Tune into both special reports tonight starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern with "Unfinished business- The essential Hillary Clinton." Followed at 10:00 p.m. Eastern by "All business- The essential Donald Trump." That's right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:57:11]

COSTELLO: Hermine is still churning a few hundred miles off the coast of Long Island. Beachgoers in the Northeast are facing high surf and dangerous rip currents. Nearly 7 million people now under tropical storm warnings. Brynn Gingras live in Montauk, New York with more. Hi Brynn.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, how you doing, Carol? You know we have some good news. We were talking to some officials, we're almost reaching the peak -- or at least the point of high tide. And the water isn't coming too close to the coastline. So that's some good news. But you mentioned the danger here, it's those rip currents. You can

see those waves crashing here on the shore and also the barricades that are now in front of us, and lifeguards here on the shore as well. Double reinforcement to make sure no one goes onto the beach, and certainly not into the water.

And you can imagine the frustration from some people since this is a surfer's dream right now with -- to get into those waves. We've actually talked to some officials who have had to tell surfers, "get out of the water." Because that is the major concern right now as Hermine sort of goes to the North at this point.

But really, that's the danger, not to go in the water, those rip currents. But for the most part, I will say a lot of people here just coming out with their cameras taking a look at it. Because not always getting to see waves this big and really this beautiful at this point, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Brynn Gingras, thanks for the good news, we appreciate it, thanks so much. OK Hillary Clinton has boarded her plane as we've been telling you for the last two hours. She boarded her brand new plane. It is big enough to fit her press core and reporters are on board. That plane took off just about 45 minutes ago from this airport. And it's going to fly into Cleveland.

We understand that Hillary Clinton has already been back to the press area of her plane. She was welcoming everyone to the inaugural flight. And someone -- OK here are pictures of that right now. She somewhat sarcastically said, "I've just been waiting for this moment." And then she added, "I'll come back and talk to you more formally, but I wanted to welcome you onto the plane."

Now later today in Cleveland, she's going to sit down with David Muir from ABC in a one-on-one interview. The last time she had a face-to- face interview with a reporter live and in-person was back on July 31st, although she did give a phone-in interview with Anderson Cooper in late August. But we look forward to what Hillary Clinton has to say on ABC.

And of course, as she goes back to greet the press one more time on her plane, and to agree to answer a few questions, we'll keep you posted on what she answers to those questions, too. Thank you so much for joining me today, I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.