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Clinton: Trump Falls Short of My Transparency; Trump Rally Turns Violent in North Carolina; Pence, House GOP Leaders Hold News Conference. Aired 10-10:30a ET
Aired September 13, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the "Newsroom," Hillary Clinton takes on the political frenzy over her health.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal.
COSTELLO: Cue the heavy hitters. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on the trail. And Donald Trump on the attack.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton has been running a hate-filled and negative campaign.
COSTELLO: Will this one stick? Plus, he started this protest and Colin Kaepernick isn't backing down, kicking off his NFL season by taking a knee. Let's talk live in the CNN "Newsroom."
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COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me. The presidential election is drawing closer, if not clearer. We're just 56 days out from the election now and just ten days before the first days begin early voting. Both campaigns pushing back against accusations, that they're not being transparent enough. In a CNN exclusive, Hillary Clinton downplaying Sunday's health scare and not disclosing the pneumonia diagnosis that came two days earlier.
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CLINTON: Well, I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal. If we weren't fast enough, you know, I've talked to my staff. We, you know, take responsibility for that. But the information is out there. You can't say the same thing about Donald Trump.
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COSTELLO: CNN's Jeff Zeleny is here to break it all down for us. Good morning.
JEFF ZELENY, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. Hillary Clinton is acknowledging she and her staff could have been more forthcoming about her pneumonia diagnosis. You heard it right there. But few people on her campaign staff even knew about it which made it far more difficult for them to react to it after she became ill at that 9/11 ceremony. Now the campaign was trying to walk a fine line I'm told between avoiding feeding conspiracy theories about her health while actually sharing critical information that most voters may surely understand. But now Secretary Clinton is pushing back. She's telling Anderson Cooper that she's been more transparent than Donald Trump.
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CLINTON: Compare everything you know about me with my opponent, I think it's time he met the same level of disclosure that I have for years. You know you've got a medical report on me that meet the same standard as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Donald Trump's doctor said he'd be the healthiest president in history. That's just not even serious.
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ZELENY: Now former President Bill Clinton who is filling in for her on the campaign trail today at fund-raisers in California said this has happened before. He sat down with Charlie Rose and explained.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Rarely but on more than one occasion over the last many, many years, the same sort of thing's happened to her when she just got severely dehydrated.
ZELENY: Now, Hillary Clinton told Anderson she has, in fact, been dehydrated before. She said it's something that has occurred a few times over the course of her life. She said I'm aware of it and I usually can avoid it. Now, that simply may add more questions here. But the Clinton campaign says they will release additional medical records here. The only information they have released was a letter from her doctor more than a year ago. But that of course is more than Donald Trump has released so far, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. In the meantime, Donald Trump goes on the offensive. And at least one of his supporters goes on the attack.
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COSTELLO: These pictures from Trump's rally last night in Asheville, North Carolina. A Trump supporter, coxes his fist, grabs and shoves a protester. Then that same man grabs another protester by the hair and shoves the woman in her face who was with that other protester. That he grabbed by the hair. The protesters are led out. The violent Trump supporter is allowed to stay at the rally. All of this unfolding as Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of running a hate-filled campaign. Trump blasting Clinton for calling half his supporters a basket of deplorables.
TRUMP: She call these Americans every name in the book, racist, sexist, xenophobic, Islam phobic. She said they were not even American, right? (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joins us now with more. Good morning.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning too Carol. Well, Trump campaign officials tell me that Donald Trump will indeed keep up the attacks over Hillary Clinton. Overall this today at this event in - Iowa, they really want to clearly keep this gaffe of Clinton's front end center. Trump last night, he elevated this one step farther as well at his rally. He called up a group of supporters on to the stage to give testimonials as to why they are not deplorable. But even as a Trump campaign tries to stay on the offensive on this, -- Trump's running mate Mike Pence, he's getting some heat for his interview on CNN, when he was asked about some of some of the support their campaign has attracted from white nationalists, including from David Duke, of course is a former KKK leader. Pence disavowed his support. But importantly, he refused to use the word deplorable. Here's what he told Wolf Blitzer.
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GOV. MIKE PENCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not really sure why the media keeps dropping David Duke's name. Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly. We don't want his support. And we don't want the support of people who thinks -
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Will you call him a deplorable? You would call him that? --
PENCE: No, I'm not in the name calling business, Wolf, you know me better than that.
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SERFATY: In the Clinton campaign, they have pounced right back on that
[10:05:16] tweeting out, "If you won't say the KKK is deplorable, you have no business running this country." So Carol clearly the Clinton campaign here sensing some small opening to try to reclaim some of the narrative around this word deplorable, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, reporting live from Washington. Thank you so much. So Clinton swears she will - she will be more transparent. Donald Trump said he will attempt transparency on the "Dr. Oz Show" on Thursday where he may or may not talk about himself and gives the details of that physical that he took this week. Here's what his campaign manager told CNN about that issue this morning.
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KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Allison this is what the -- this is what I expect from the Clinton campaign, I really don't expect it from journalists. We're talking about Hillary Clinton and her pneumonia and what happened on 9/11, which we all saw with our own two eyes. -- It takes us about ten words to get to Donald Trump. -- So he had a physical last week. He said he'll release them probably this week or whenever the doctor has the report prepared.
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COSTELLO: As for Trump's tax return, well that is not going to happen. So let's talk about transparency and whether there is a double standard. With me now, Larry Sabato, he is the Director of the University Virginia Center for Politics. Ryan Lizza, he's here with me, he is a CNN political commentator and Washington correspondent for the New Yorker. Welcome to both of you.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thank you.
RYAN LIZZA: CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORKER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: All right. So Larry, is in there a double standard when it comes to transparency?
SABATO: Well, it is certainly true, as the Clinton campaign asserts that they have been more transparent than the Trump campaign. Just look at -- not just the health records but I think the much more important one is the tax returns. Trump is absolutely refusing to release even one year of tax returns, including the years where he's not under audit. It's become very obvious that he's hiding something, either a very low rate of paying taxes or very low charitable deductions or something. And we really need to see those. He's the first candidate since the 1970s not to release his tax returns. But I also have to say that it's a pretty low standard to call yourself transparent compared to Donald Trump. The Clintons have a long history of not being transparent and of telling this, the absolute minimum that we need to know until they're forced to tell us more. This was a disaster over the weekend. It was stupid, Carol.
COSTELLO: Ryan, Larry caught me on that last remark. I'm sure many people would agree with you Larry that it was stupid just to keep this under wraps. Because Ryan, why not just come out and say I'm not feeling well, I'm going to skip this event. They were fund-raisers. It's not like she's going to a political rally. -- Friday I mean.
LIZZA: Yes. I agree with just about everything Larry just said. You know, there's this old line about the United States the way it operates in the world that they always do the right thing after trying everything else, something like that. The Clintons with transparency, they eventually do the right thing after trying everything else. And -- Hillary Clinton is correct, that, you know, she's been in the public eye for so long that we do know more about her than just about anyone at this level of politics. But it usually takes lots of scrutiny, lots of questions and some kind of, you know, forcing mechanism to get the information. - I think it's a little bit unique to Hillary Clinton but that's with most politicians unless we're asking the questions, putting pressure on them. They don't natural want to reveal things. So I think this pneumonia issue is a classic example of that. Obviously she had the diagnosis. They made the decision among a small group of aides that it didn't need to be public. And they probably thought, well, it's just something that could be treated by antibiotics, it's not something that that's serious, why should the public know. That was the wrong answer I think, most people agree now. And you know, there are two other aspects of this. Hillary Clinton does not have what we in the journalism business call a protective pool around her. And by this time in the campaign, both candidates should have that. Now, Clinton is also right that she, you know, is the least transparent candidate running except for Donald Trump. And we do know more about her medical history than Trump. We do know more about her tax returns than Trump. And I think it's absolutely fair, you know, to have a conversation about both candidates. -- So it's very hard for the Trump campaign to take advantage of this when they are equally resistant to some of these basic transparency issues. --
COSTELLO: Right. But here's the thing, Larry, the Clintons did release decades of tax returns and we do know that Hillary Clinton takes medicine for her thyroid. We know she had a concussion. We know she takes blood thinners. We know that she had a problem with blood clotting not too long ago. - So how are they on the same transparency level, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton if we do know
[10:10:16] those things?
SABATO: Well, they're not on the same level. I think in all of campaign history, the silliest letter ever released by a campaign was the letter from Donald Trump's doctor. I'm not going to -
LIZZA: Completely absurd.
SABATO: But it is Donald Trump's doctor. Well, we don't need to get into it. -- Anybody who wants to see it can go online. But -- not only was it not revealing, it was absurd in its assertions that Donald Trump would be the healthiest president ever to sit in the oval office. --
LIZZA: It was almost mocking the idea of transparency and that the idea he needed to tell us anything about his health.
SABATO: Yes, exactly. --
COSTELLO: Well, here's the other thing. He's going to go on the "Dr. Oz Show" on Thursday, Ryan, and he may or may not release the results of this physical that he just under went. We don't know. But he will be talking about health. Is that the right forum?
LIZZA: Dr. Oz? Look, I don't want to say anything bad about Dr. Oz. But, you know, I don't think that's the right forum. I think what we need is his own doctor. Not someone who plays one on TV. To come forward with the same -- at the very minimum, the same level that Hillary Clinton had -- previously released a year ago. These candidates are not spring chickens, right? Most people who run for presidents are on the older side anyway. These two are -- on the older edge of presidential candidates. And this is just basic information that the public needs to know to make a decision this fall. You know, we don't want to go back to the bad old days where people -- where candidates hid their illnesses. And it is at this point always fair to point out yes Clinton has been more transparent about these issues than Trump. And you know that is important to note. I don't want to you know make a false equivalency here between the two of them.
COSTELLO: And, Larry, just one more question. So Mr. Stump still refuses to release his taxes because he says he's under audit. Even though you are right, his tax returns from 2008 to 2012 are not under audit and he could release those without a problem. I don't know what he'll release about, you know, his physical. We'll just have to see. We'll just have to take him at his word I suppose that he's going to release the information that the public needs to determine if he's a healthy man, right? So -- but he's still -- the polls are really close. The national polls are close. He's not losing by very much. Some polls show he's a smidge ahead. So does it really make any difference if Donald Trump is transparent or not?
SABATO: Well, it ought to make a difference. And I think it is incumbent upon the press and those of us who are analysts to keep focusing on the fact that these candidates haven't been transparent, especially Donald Trump on tax returns. And just to re-emphasize what - Ryan just said. This is actually the oldest pair of candidates running for president in American history. We do have a right to the details about their health care, as well as the tax return information.
COSTELO: So you don't believe 70 is the new 40?
SABATO: I'm getting close, Carol, and I can tell you. 70, is the new 69.
COSTELLO: Got you.
LIZZA: But just look what happened, we've learned new information this week from that interview with Bill Clinton and obviously, you know, from this very public episode with Hillary Clinton. We didn't know she had a history of dehydration where she faints. Now, is that the most serious thing in the world? Doesn't seem like it. But that's something we didn't know. And it took a public episode, you know, to force it out. On Trump's health, we really don't know much at all. --
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see. Thursday's coming. He's going to be on Dr. Oz. We'll see what happens. Ryan Lizza, Larry Sabato, thanks for joining me this morning. In Washington, Hillary Clinton's handling of her e-mails is once again in focus.
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COSTELLO: These are live pictures from The House Oversight Committee, which is now holding a hearing on the preservation of Clinton's e- mails while Secretary of State. But a key witness, the man who set up Clinton's private server, will not be testifying after all, citing his previously invoked Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. This hearing comes as Mike Pence meets with his former house colleagues for their weekly conference. Pence, is also expected to meet privately with the House Speaker Paul Ryan. Of course we'll take you there live when that happens. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Still to come in the "Newsroom," President Obama makes his case to voters in the key battleground state today. Could the Commander-in-Chief be Hillary Clinton's Trump card this election?
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COSTELLO: All right, I want to take you live to Washington. You're looking at the GOP leadership. -- Just a short time ago, they sat down and they met with Mike Pence. You might recognize him there. That of course is Donald Trump's running mate. In a private meeting, Pence told House Republicans that he didn't know Donald Trump when they first met, but had gotten to know him well. -- He cited Trump's kindness and things he has done to show he's actually different than what people see on television. Pence also told the house leadership that the GOP ticket has momentum and when asked about its vulnerable with women voters, Pence told the leadership, that women voters are going to come out in large numbers for the GOP. Now, we do expect Paul Ryan to take the microphone very soon and of course I would suspect that Mike Pence will take the microphone too. But while we wait for them, let's listen to Congressman Scalise.
REP. STEVE SCALISE, (R) MAJORITY WHIP: It shows you that people are really responding to their message of making America great again. And as we talk about our message of a better way, the agenda that we've pushed as House Republicans to show how you can get the country back on track, how you can create jobs, how you can rebuild this middle class and how you can strengthen a military that's been depleted. It goes hand-in-hand with the message that Donald Trump and Mike Pence have been delivering all around the country. It's why you've got such great enthusiasm. It's why we're going to win this election and be able to finally start turning this country around again. So again, it was great seeing Mike before our conference.
[10:20:16] The members are excited. But more importantly, you're seeing people all around the country excited about the optimism that their ticket, the Trump/Pence ticket, is giving to make America great again.
REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS. (R) CONFERENCE CHAIRWOMAN: Well, it was - a highlight of this year actually to have Mike Pence here today addressing our conference. And we are very proud to have him on the ticket. Proud of the leadership that he is bringing. As you think about this election, it's been anything but status quo. Clearly, this country is hungry for new fresh dynamic leadership. And what we see being offered by the other side is the defense of the status quo.
It's the defense of the top-down government knows best approach. And what we've been offering as Republicans from the beginning of this year has been that bottom up, empowering people, making sure that their people's voice is restored in this government, that we have a government that reflects the consent of the governed, because at the end of the day, we need to be about the farmer, the builder, the stay at home parent or the veteran. It should not be one in which a government continues to think that it knows best. And that is the choice that faces the country this fall. We are excited about the leadership of Donald Trump and Mike Pence that they're bringing to this country to help make America great again.
REP. PAUL RYAN, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, it's good to see everybody. We had our last political conference today. And we are joined by someone who needs no introduction. For Hoosiers, Mike Pence is their governor. For Americans, Mike Pence is Donald Trump's running mate, next vice president. For us, Mike Pence is a friend. Mike Pence is a former colleague. 7 out of 10 Americans believe that this country is headed in the wrong direction. He is working with all of us to make sure that we put this country back on the right track.
We are offering an agenda to this country to show how we can get this country back on top. To show this country how we can get jobs. Show this country how we can fight poverty, rebuild our military, restore the government and the constitution, and that is why we're just honored to have with us today our friend and our colleague who we believe is going to be the next Vice President of the United States. Mike Pence join us today. Our members were excited to have him. We feel the wind at our backs. We're excited about getting this agenda and moving it into a law and if you want to learn more about it, go to better.gop and you can see what just in fact what we have in store for solving this country's big problems with our partners. With that I'd like to introduce Mike Pence.
PENCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you so much to this whole leadership team. -- It is a great privilege for me to be back among so many men and women who are -- live out every day a dedication to this nation. It's truly inspiring. I am grateful for the hospitality. It was, for me, an emotional return to a group of men and women that I served with for 12 years and have so admired. I know Donald Trump and I are so grateful for the support that we're receiving from this -- not just this leadership team but members all across this country who are rallying to the cause to make America great again. And to be -- to be at the House Republican conference today was a great privilege. Particularly want to express my appreciation to Speaker Paul Ryan, his development of the better way agenda.
So aligns with Donald Trump's vision to make America great again. The American people should be confident that 56 days from now, we can elect a president and re-elect majorities in the house and senate that will be ready on day one to restore American strength at home and abroad. The House's commitment to and plans to rebuild our military, reduce taxes, end the war on American energy, roll back job killing regulations, repeal Obama Care and support the kinds of policies that will result in a stronger more prosperous America. Represents an extraordinary start on the important work we have to do as a country. 7 1/2 years of the leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during her years as Secretary of State have weakened America's place in the world and stifled America's economy. And with the strong leadership that Donald Trump will bring to the White House with our strong partners in the House and in the Senate, leaders, members of which I'll be meeting with later today. We're very confident that we can bring real change in real time to the American people. And I leave here today with a grateful heart to be among
[10:25:16] my friends and those men and women that I hope and pray we have the opportunity to work together to make this country great again.
RYAN: Questions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, you're an -
RYAN: Hey. Hey. We don't do it that way. We don't do it that way. Go ahead.
(INAUDIBLE QUESTION)
PENCE: Let me say first and foremost I think millions of Americans were shocked and saddened to see Hillary Clinton refer to people across this country as a basket of deplorables in a prepared speech before wealthy donors in New York City on Friday night. She said that at the time half of the people supporting Donald Trump and I were irredeemable, were not American and, frankly, I've never heard a major party candidate in the United States speak about the American people with such contempt. I'm out on the campaign trail every day.
I'm campaigning with Donald Trump and for Donald Trump. And what Hillary Clinton apparently doesn't know is the people supporting this campaign are hard-working Americans who come out to our rallies, come out to our -- town hall, who stop us in diners, who visit with us at meetings, at factories. They're people that work with their hands, they're people that run businesses, they're veterans, members of the Armed Forces, they are law enforcement officers, moms and dads and farmers. For Hillary Clinton to express such disdain for millions of Americans I think is one more reason that disqualified her to serve in the highest office of the land.
Anyone who has that low on opinion of the American people should never serve as President of the United States of America. As I said this weekend, I'll say again, Donald Trump supporters are not a basket of anything. They are Americans and they deserve the respect of the Democrat nominee for President of the United States. Donald Trump I said -- his ambition is to be president of all the people of the United States of America. And as he said this weekend, we believe from our heart, even those who do not support us, even those who are critical of us or have strongly different views have our respect because they are Americans and we respect their right to their views and it would be the highest honor of our life to serve them.
Now, with regard to your question, I would tell you, I was asked yesterday, once again, a question that -- I continue to -- for all the world, I have no idea why this man keeps coming up. I mean, Donald Trump and I have denounced David Duke repeatedly. We have said that we do not want his support. And we do not want the support of people who think like him. And yesterday I was -- I was asked a question about that. I repeated that again. And the simple fact is I'm not in the name calling business. My colleagues in the House of Representatives know that I believe that civility is essential in a vibrant Democracy. And it's just never been my practice. But I'm also not going to validate the language that Hillary Clinton used to describe the American people.
I mean, look, millions of Americans know and frankly you all know Hillary Clinton wasn't talking about that bad man. She was talking about people all across this country who are coming out in record numbers to stand by Donald Trump and to stand with him in his vision to make America great again. So we'll call on her again to apologize and retract her comments. I mean, the only thing she said so far is she was wrong about the math I guess and she's sorry she said half. The truth of the matter is her remarks were deeply insulting to sincere people, all across this country, who know we can do better, who know we can be stronger. And we call on Hillary Clinton and her campaign once again to fully retract those offensive statements and apologize to the American people as she should.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor, do you have any concerns that -- whether it's David Duke or others who hold views that are considered racist or misogynist or any of those things, that they are attracted to your campaign and want to attach themselves to you? Again today David Duke talked about you specifically. Are you concerned that there's something about the Trump/Pence candidacy in this political times -
