Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

USPS Chief: "Outrageous" To Ask If He Compensated Others For Trump Donations; USPS Chief: "Fully Capable" Of Delivering Ballots On Time; USPS Chief: "No We Do Not" Need More Funding To Deliver Ballots; Trump Formally Nominated For President At Day 1 Of RNC; Trump's Sister Says "He Has No Principles" In Secret Recording. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired August 24, 2020 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): You want to create some efficiency and save some money and make us work better. When you think though that you might take into consideration the context and if you didn't a good CEO when you saw unintended consequences which your testimony would have us believe, these are unintended.

You take measures quickly to ameliorate the unintended consequences, namely scaring the public health to death about the reliability of the postal service. Lots of anecdotal if not empirical data that in fact it materially affected the delivery of mail as the new Postmaster General you don't want to be seen as the guy who actually damaged the 244 reputation of the postal service and scared voters into believing that their ballots won't get on time because of your service, do you?

LOUIS DEJOY, POSTMASTER GENRAL, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE: So I - I understand the context and I think when we took in terms of the context it was a summertime. Mail volume was down. You know, significantly. So it was not at a - we are getting ready for the peak season and election is three months away. It was a good time to start to try to roll this out. Again, the request was just run your trucks on time. Put a plan to run your trucks on time. OK?

CONNOLLY: OK.

DEJOY: I mean, the impact, the impact is probably about - for that, because if the mail gets processed and the truck leaves, that mail will move on the next truck or the next day, all right? So these long stories of nine days and so forth were not impacted. Those service levels if we add one day--

CONNOLLY: Forgive me for interrupting. I have limited time that's why I have to interrupt you. You made a statement before the Senate the other day to Senator Gary Peters; you have had no contact with the Trump Campaign during your tenure. Is that correct?

DEJOY: I have not - I've not contact with the Trump Campaign. I have not - I mean I've spoken to the president. I have spoken to Steve Mnuchin. I have spoken to other people but I have not - I have no contact - I've not spoke to anybody about the Postal Service. CONNOLLY: Did you not tell the Board of Governors this month in August that in fact you have had contact with the Trump Campaign to ask them to stop their attacks on the Postal Service and voting by mail?

DEJOY: I have put word around to different people that this is not helpful to--

CONNOLLY: So you did have contact with the Trump Campaign for a good purpose?

DEJOY: I'm trying to think of where - the Trump - when you say the Trump Campaign, I have not spoken to Trump Campaign leadership in that regard. I have spoken to people that are friends of mine that are associated with the campaign, yes.

CONNOLLY: One of whom was Steve Mnuchin?

DEJOY: Steve Mnuchin is Secretary of Treasury.

CONNOLLY: I know.

DEJOY: Yes. I never spoke to Steve about telling the president to not do something.

CONNOLLY: I thank you, Mr. DeJoy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gentleman's time is expired but you may answer his question, OK.

DEJOY: What was the question?

CONNOLLY: I'm sorry. The question was what conversations did you have with the Secretary of Treasury Mr. Mnuchin about the Postal Service, your hiring and the consequences that seem to have unfolded with these operational efficiencies?

DEJOY: The conversation I had with the Secretary been when I came here we had this note that was kind of stuck in the mud and I worked with him to get the note done. It was really, you know, we are going to - it was I'm going to try and control cost and grow revenue and it was very high level thing and let's tries and gets the deal done so we have the loan. That was really it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Mr. Jordan is now recognized.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Thank you, Madame Chair. Mr. DeJoy, was it the Postal Service's fault that it took six weeks after the June 23rd Chairwoman Maloney's primary election for her to be declared the winner? Was that you guys fault?

DEJOY: I'm not fulfilled with the details but I know it took a long time.

JORDAN: But I'm asking, that wasn't your fault, was it?

DEJOY: No. JORDAN: Was it the Postal Service's fault that New Jersey was still counting ballots four weeks after the primary election last month?

DEJOY: No, sir.

JORDAN: How about the Democrats' Iowa Caucuses? Was that the post office's fault that we didn't know who won the Democratic - I don't know if we still figured out who won the Democrat Iowa Caucus? Is that the post office's fault?

DEJOY: No, sir.

JORDAN: So just a couple of facts, I want to just be clear. You got $14 billion cash on hand; you got $10 billion line of credit. Is that right?

DEJOY: Yes, sir.

JORDAN: And changing out the sorting machines and removing and changing out mail collection boxes is nothing different than happened before, right? Every Postmaster General, every year we do those sorts of things. Is that right?

DEJOY: Yes, sir.

JORDAN: Yes. So there's no different. In fact what was the number?

[12:05:00]

JORDAN: I think between 2011 to 2016 it was like 12,000 mail collection boxes that were removed changed out by the Obama/Biden Administration. Is that right?

DEJOY: It was a lot.

JORDAN: Yes, it was a lot. And you didn't order a reduction in overtime or reduction of hours? I think you testified that earlier?

DEJOY: I did not.

JORDAN: So why are these guys out to get you? What is it?

DEJOY: I don't - they have their own concerns. I assume they're legitimate with them and--

JORDAN: Well, you assume they're legitimate? Why are they out to get you? Mr. DeJoy, they have people protesting at your house last night. They have been doing it for weeks and neither some of these have already called for you to resign.

They passed a bill before they even talked to you, before they even had a hearing. They're not interested in a bipartisan solution. As evidence by the fact that the Chairwoman wouldn't even contact the White House Chief of Staff who had a bill that he worked with the previous Chairman the late Chairman Cummings a bipartisan bill to address concerns at the post office. So I'm asking why they are after you. You were appointed by the Board of Governors, right?

DEJOY: I was appointed by unanimous by bipartisan of Governors.

JORDAN: Unanimous vote, bipartisan not all Republicans. Democrats thought you were the right guy for the job, right?

DEJOY: Yes.

JORDAN: So why are they out to get you?

DEJOY: I have - I have no idea. I do have a lot of support out there amongst the employees and people in America, though. I receive it every day.

JORDAN: you got an amazing record in business. You got an amazing history of community service. You help kids with their education. You serve your community; serve our country and these people out to get you. None of the facts - as "The Wall Street Journal" said this is one giant conspiracy from the Democrats.

I'm just - I just want to know what could be their reason? What could it be, Mr. DeJoy? We know it's not based on the facts. What could it be? Might it be politics? Might it be? Might it be the election coming up? Might it be the fact that they actually want to wait and count votes after Election Day?

Maybe they want six weeks after the election. Maybe they want to be counting votes six weeks after the election, the presidential election, the biggest election we're going to have. Maybe they want to be counting votes six weeks after like they did in the Chairwoman's race or four weeks after like they did in New Jersey or maybe they want to wait forever like they did in the Democrat Iowa Caucuses.

Might that be the reason? The chaos and confusion that we saw with all three of those elections maybe that's what they want, could that be the reason, Mr. DeJoy?

DEJOY: I don't know what motivates people to have different opinions of me.

JORDAN: Well, they have called you all kinds of names today already. Protesting outside your house last night, weren't they?

DEJOY: Yes, sir.

JORDAN: Banging pots and pans outside your house, disrupting your neighbors and disrupting you. The facts as you've testified are not anything close to what they've been saying for the last three weeks. What they said Saturday on the House floor?

This is - we know what this is about. We all know what this is about. This is about these guys wanting chaos and confusion because they - I think they know this. I think they know on election night President Trump is going to win. They know on Election Day the vote count on Election Day President Trump's going to win.

And they want to keep counting, six weeks, four weeks, Iowa Caucus, whenever, I don't know when they decided that and I still don't know if they've declared a win. I don't know it was Bernie or Biden or whoever was running then.

That's what they want. And they're willing to go after a guy like you who has served our country, served his community, helps kids with their education, amazing record in business. They're willing to go after you and you've been on the job 70 days and everything you've testified is nothing new, same thing's been done by other Postmaster Generals and yet they come after you because that's how much they want do get this president.

It's disgusting. We all know what's going on and the fact that you know it, too. You won't say it. I think that shows your character, as well. But I'll say it because it's the truth and the American people understand it and see right through it. I yield back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gentleman yields back. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi? You're now recognized.

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Good morning, Mr. DeJoy.

DEJOY: Good morning.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Before becoming Postmaster General I believe you appropriately resigned from being the finance Chair for the Republican National Convention, correct?

DEJOY: I did, sir.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: And I say you appropriately resigned because even in your written testimony you said we should keep the nonpartisan tradition of the USPS and in this case occupying a high level political post at the same time you'd be occupying a high level USPS post would create at the least appearance problems if not more right?

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: I'm John King in Washington. We're going to take you now. We're watching a contentious hearing up on Capitol Hill the House Committee with the Postmaster General.

In Florida right now the President of the United States if you look at the right of your screen has now gone over the top. Donald Trump has been re-nominated as the Republican - Nevada, the State of Nevada, I'm told did that just moments ago.

The President of the United States has been re-nominated as the Republican nominee. He is on his way to Charlotte.

[12:10:00]

KING: Just moments ago the Vice President of the United States spoke at that meeting, down there the Republicans doing it a bit differently from the Democrats. Number one they have a daytime session. Number two, both the president and the vice president in a room in the presence of delegates as we go into this convention.

The president will speak momentarily. When he gets there we'll bring you that live. I believe to discuss this moment, we have with us our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash, Ryan Nobles is on the scene for us in Charlotte Seung Min Kim of "The Washington Post" with us as well.

Ryan, you are there on the ground, a daytime session. Delegates in the room, a very different look from the Democrats and most importantly the President of the United States re-nominated for the first time four years ago at a contentious convention. There was a talk of a floor fight when Donald Trump arrived at the coronation in 2016, this very much a coronation in 2020?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. You know, this is something that the Republicans have been working on essentially since President Trump won the election four years ago.

They wanted this convention to be smooth sailing for the Trump/Pence ticket, they didn't want there to be any kind of disagreement as to who the Republican standard bearer was going to be and even in the midst of Coronavirus and all the other things that have been thrown at President Trump and this ticket they were able to pull that off.

In many ways the Republican Convention this week not only what we're seeing here this morning but what we're going to see during the prime time programming throughout the week is really all about Donald Trump, even more than it is about the Republican Party broadly.

You are going to see a member of the Trump family speaking every night of the week. You're going to see the president himself making an appearance in some respect every night of the week and even as you go through the roll call from all the various states across the country as they cast their delegates and their ballots in favor of President Trump there are some sort of nod to the work that President Trump has done over the past four years.

So if there was any ambiguity about where the Republican Party stood since 2016 it has been made very clear here this morning and will be throughout the rest of the week. This is Donald Trump's party and he hopes to continue that on with a win in the fall. John?

KING: And, Dana that point, you could in some ways call this Trump National Convention. Donald Trump Jr. will speak, Eric Trump will speak, Ivanka Trump will speak, Tiffany Trump will speak, Melania Trump will speak and more members of the Trump family will speak as well in addition to the president appearing every night.

And I say that - oh. Sorry, we're going to go back to the proceedings now. Listen to a little bit of the roll call. Hang tight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump. New Mexico, 22 delegates with following banned delegates, 22 President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madame Chair? On behalf of the good people of the State of New Mexico, a land of blue skies, limitless horizons and - a land where faith, freedom and family dominate our values. We all saw Mr. Trump come down that escalator and he gave voice to the fears and the anguish that we all felt for this country.

And then he began to speak words of strength and purpose, words like courage and liberty, prosperity, truth, hope and life. And we saw him begin to rebuild this country. Then we saw that rebuilding interrupted by the COVID-19. So now we have a choice, a choice to continue the rebuilding, the revival, the renewing of this great land.

New Mexico is proud to vote for that renewal, that revival by casting its 22 votes for Donald J. Trump, the next President of the United States of America!

KING: See more of - State of New Mexico adding to President Trump's total. He of course not challenged at this convention in Charlotte. Sorry for the interruption our panel. Ryan Nobles is in Charlotte Seung Min Kim of "The Washington Post" is with and our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash.

And Dana, the RNC member from New Mexico there as he gave the state's votes to Donald Trump essentially framing what this convention is about. If you watch the Democratic Convention Joe Biden and his team want to say this is about the pandemic, this is about from late January to today and what their view as Donald Trump's failed leadership in the pandemic.

Yes, they raised character questions from before then but the Democrats want this to be a referendum on the last seven months and then through the election on American life. You heard the New Mexico delegate three saying well, this country was doing great. The economy had rebounded up until the pandemic let's go back to those days.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. We heard even more broadly, we were listening while we were also in the coverage of the hearing, the postal hearing on Capitol Hill, the Vice President giving a real indicator of where the themes are going to be this week?

Talking a little bit about what we heard from the gentleman from New Mexico, but even kind of at a higher level about the fact that Joe Biden is part of the radical left that is probably a term that can be easily used for a drinking game this coming week.

[12:15:00]

BASH: Then we heard about lower taxes, about as you say getting the economy back on but also, they're trying to frame it as freedom, as an idea that Democrats will curb and will put the screws on your freedoms and we will make sure that that won't happen.

I think that is the kind of thing that the vice president was talking about and that is the kind of thing that we are going to hear as the through line throughout this week. One of the things you can't miss is law and order.

The vice president talked about the thin blue line of law enforcement, back the blue, back the blue is another term I think we're going to hear a lot this week as the prime time events begin to start.

KING: Reminiscent in many ways, a lot of people drawn this comparison. My first campaign was 1988; Michael Dukakis came out of his convention with a lead. George H.W. Bush then the Vice President of the United States at the time running a law and order campaign especially targeting American suburbs.

Look at those results. Look at the Philadelphia suburbs; look at the Cleveland suburbs 32 years ago. Seung Min Kim, again I was talking about before head about how much this is a Trump party now, so much so the president will appear every night, his family members are speaking just about every night.

Missing are a lot of Republicans you would normally expect to see at a convention this close to the election. We are now ten weeks away. Endangered Republican Senators like a Cory Gardner of Colorado like a Susan Collins of Maine. Traditionally you would see the party saying OK, we have embattled incumbents, let's find a way to highlight them, give them a boost given them a national profile at this key moment but the Trump's party doesn't work that way.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Republican Senators that you mentioned, also missing from the list are the previous living presidents and the party's presidential nominee Mitt Romney and George W. Bush not on the speaking list for this convention.

What are more surprising - Republican Senators who will not get a speaking list I thought was Thom Tillis of North Carolina. We know he is fighting a tough re-election race. But remember, the Republican festivities are in Charlotte North Carolina so for the home state Senator to not have a position at least that we know of is speaking position in a Republican National Convention is a pretty surprising move.

Because you do see while Republican Senators can't completely extricate themselves from Trump he is the top of the ticket after all, you do see how they're trying to distance themselves in their campaign back home and focusing on their own record.

KING: Especially in North Carolina, a state where they're having this convention there they had to get special permission to put the delegates in that convention center hall there the state is still grappling very much with the Coronavirus pandemic as are many others. But the numbers still pretty high in North Carolina.

I would ask everybody to stand by. We're going to take a quick break. We're tracking the Republican National Convention. You see the count. The president now has surpassed by 200 just about, just shy of 200. The delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Donald Trump the incumbent president is the Republican Nominee now officially for 2020. Also tracking that contentious hearing for the Postmaster General up on Capitol Hill, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:00]

KING: Welcome back. You see in the right of your screen the proceedings at the Republican National Convention beginning today in Charlotte, North Carolina. The President of the United States re- nominated just moments ago. Donald Trump now officially not just the incumbent president but the Republican Nominee for 2020 he will speak momentarily we will take you there live.

In the meantime, let's continue the conversation. CNN's Ryan Nobles in Charlotte at the convention site for us. Our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash and Seung Min Kim of "The Washington Post" join us, as well.

Ryan, to you first, this is very much contrast to the Democratic Convention. Dana was noting earlier the heavy law and order emphasis. You have the president saying give me four more years I'll bring back the economy.

The interesting thing to watch will be do they try to project a big tent like the Democrats did with a number of Republican speakers a great deal historic levels of diversity? So far you look at the speaking lineup tonight is includes the McCloskey's, a couple from suburban St. Louis who came out of their house with weapons strong.

When "Black Lives Matter" protesters were marching in their neighborhood Mark McCloskey was on Fox News this morning explaining just why he decided to walk into that confrontation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MCCLOSKEY, AIMED GUN AT PROTESTERS IN ST. LOUIS: We have a God- given right to defend ourselves; right of self-defense is one of the most basic civil rights, one of the most basic human rights. And that the world, that you cannot have freedom and an opportunity to advance unless you have basic safety and security and that it's not just limited to big cities. They bring it to a neighborhood near you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: That sounded very almost like a president himself talks about that all the time. President says this you elect Joe Biden you'll bring chaos and insecurity crime to the suburbs.

NOBLES: Yes, you're right about that John. And one other thing that the Trump campaign has done is they tried to do amplify these culture wars as a way to try and drive angst particularly among suburban voters of which polls have shown that the president is falling behind.

And you're right while the Democrats try to project this big tent image, with you know a wide variety of speakers from across not only the political spectrum but a lot of diversities as well. You really see the Republicans kind of retreat to these kinds of building block issues that President Trump has been championing for his four years in office.

And even when they will present speakers that come from diverse spectrum, there are a number of African-American speakers that will tonight including Senator Tim Scott of course from South Carolina, will be one of the prominent speakers tonight. They're still going to talk about things in this vein that President Trump is talking about, right?

They're going to echo that law and order sentiment. They're going to talk about the issues having to do in inner cities and talk about Democrat-led cities and the Democratic leadership that has led to the violence and unrest in many of these places.

[12:25:00]

NOBLES: So even when they offer up that diversity it's not necessarily the diversity of thought that we got from the Democratic Convention a week ago it is really going to fall much in line with what President Trump has been talking about all this time and really stoking those culture wars that President Trump does as good as any politician.

KING: That is a reflection, Dana, of what we've seen throughout the Trump Presidency. There were a lot of the president's advisers who tell him you need to dial it back. You can't tweet as much; you need to have a softer tone when you talk about issues important to America's suburbs.

But the president resists that because what he would say is it's the same people who told them he couldn't win in 2016 and he did. He is very much trying to recreate this map and as Ryan noted a very base driven convention a lot of immigration, a lot of law and order.

One of the challenge is here is I mentioned how of a party of Trump this is right now. The president will speak every night. Donald Trump Jr. will speak, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump.

One person who will not speak though who we did hear from this weekend is the president's older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, who was a federal judge who had the secretly recorded audios by her niece Mary Trump in which she has a scathing rebuke of her brother saying he is a liar, saying he is a fraud. At one point hearing his immigration policy she reacted this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARYANNE TRUMP BARRY, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S SISTER: All he wants to do is appeal to his base. He has no principles. None, none and his base, I mean, my God, if you were a religious person you want to help people. Not do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: These tapes and stories about them being released on the weekend between the Democratic Convention and the Republican Convention just a scathing character assassination, attack on the president from his older sister who is a highly respected federal judge. One of the president's goals this week is to move on. Change the topic as soon as possible. BASH: Yes and who can blame him. Look, these are scathing is a really good word to use to describe, Cringe worthy. It is kind of remarkable when you think about it. Again, if you play the game, imagine if this is anybody else but Trump, this would be all we would be talking about and the president would have to react over and over and over again.

And that would be the issue dominating but this is another data point in an existing narrative that has been there since he came down the escalator in June of 2015. And the president and the people around him understand that.

And what's fascinating to me is that something even close to analogous to this is "Access Hollywood" tape four years ago. And Democrats and even a lot of Republicans said game over. The Democrats in particular have learned and they have watched a tape like this and said OK, not great but certainly not a game changer.

And they understand on the Democratic side and also on the Trump side that this kind of thing is baked in to the Trump character, to the Trump narrative, to the Trump story even if it is his own sister doing this which is why you're going to see Republicans try to keep it big picture about you think you really want to fire this guy?

Well, think about who you're going to hire and if you really want to hire Joe Biden and define him the way that they want him to be defined as opposed to what we heard the last week about why Donald Trump should be kicked out of office or should not get a second term.

KING: And that's why Seung Min these next four nights are critical for the Republicans and then we move into debate season in this condensed Democratic race because of the Coronavirus. But one of the most fascinating parts to me is how the two teams at least at the moment have decided to go about this differently.

You see the vice president and the president. We're going to hear from the president momentarily in Charlotte. They're out in a room with delegates. Many of the delegates in that room we're told not wearing masks. The Former Vice President Joe Biden, his running mates now Senator Kamala Harris deciding we're going to cautious, we're going to be careful.

We think the best approach in a pandemic is not to do much travel, not do to a lot of face to face campaigning. We're not even sure if they're going to do any face to face campaigning. So that in and of itself will be part of the contrast here.

KIM: Definitely. You saw - President Trump can't exactly replicate the big, massive rallies and convention halls that he is in right now for social distancing reasons, for public health guidelines. So his campaign and his team are really trying their hardest to replicate that in other ways that are bit more plausible.

I was traveling with him and one of his campaign events in Pennsylvania last week and it was sort of a big, big venue outdoors, very, very enthusiastic supporters along the motorcade and at the facility. But he did lose one of his most potent campaign tools and those are rallies.

And a lot of what you are seeing and how you're seeing like each side approach their campaigns is kind of what their approach - what each party's approach has been to dealing with the virus.