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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump About To Speak At Ohio Rally; Earlier: "I Don't Know That We Can" Stop People From Chanting "Send Her Back"; Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ) Is Interviewed About President Trump's Response On Whether He Will Stop The Crowd From Chanting "Send Her Back"; Trump: Biden "Limped Right Through" 2020 Debate; Biden Says He's "Feeling Good" After Debate Despite Multiple Gaffes And Repeated Attacks By His Rivals; Harris Defends Record After Coming Under Fire During Debate. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired August 01, 2019 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: To our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WOLFBLITZER. Tweet the show @CNNSITROOM. Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, President Trump about to speak at a rally live now claiming he doesn't know if he can stop this crowd from chanting the offensive cry 'send her back'. Will we see the racist repeat. Plus, Kamala Harris taken to task when it comes to marijuana. The man who got Harris to admit that she inhaled and smoked, Charlamagne tha God is out front. And Joe Biden calling the attacks on former President Obama bizarre. Is the former president really the one Democrat should be targeting? Let's go out front.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, Trump's racist tease. The President is in Ohio right now about to begin speaking at a rally. It's in Cincinnati and it is his first since the racist to send her back chant about an American Congresswoman broke out. Now, tonight the President's seeming to suggest he may let it happen again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Cincinnati at your rally tonight, are you prepared to tell your supporters to stop if they begin chanting something problematic?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know what's going to happen. I can't tell you whether or not they're going to do that chant. If they do the chant, we'll have to see what happens.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you stop them, sir? Do you think you will?
TRUMP: I don't know that you can stop people. I don't know that you can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He doesn't know if you can stop them. Well, except he can because the only reason that they even said such a thing, send her back, was because he tweeted it. Remember, why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. So when the crowd at last month's Trump rally seized his words and started chanting send her back about that American Congresswoman he tweeted about, he claimed he knew exactly how to stop them and in fact he said he did stop them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, if I may, when your supporters last night were chanting send her back, why didn't you stop them? Why didn't you ask them to stop saying that?
TRUMP: Well, number one, I think I did. I started speaking very quickly. It really was loud. I disagree with it, by the way. But it was quite a chant and I felt a little bit badly about it. But I will say this, I did and I started speaking very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, except of course he didn't start speaking quickly. He didn't try to stop them. He stood there for 13 seconds. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Omar has a history of launching vicious anti-semitic screams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He can speak more quickly than that. He looked around. He took it all in only again speaking once the chant died down. Now, the President now claims he disagrees with the chant that it's offensive. Of course, it came from his tweet. And if he does disagree with it, why in the world would he say today that he doesn't know if he can stop it, that we'll see what happens. That is blatantly encouraging them to do it again.
Because, of course, let's be clear, when he was asked today what he will do if they chant send her back, he could have just said what the Republican Congressman who represents Cincinnati said today. He said, quote, I would hope the President would silence the crowd and tell them, "Hey, don't do that. There's no place for that. It's not helpful. It's not right."
But that's not what President Trump said when he was asked about it. He encouraged them, we'll see. But if it happens, President Trump still has a chance tonight to do the right thing to stop it, to follow the lead of another Republican who was running for president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's an Arab. He is not ...
FORMER SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): No, ma'am. No, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No? MCCAIN: No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a decent family man citizen that
I just happened to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about. He's not, thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Abby Phillip is out front live outside the White House. Abby, the President did not go that way this afternoon. Will he do the right thing if it happens tonight?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll find out in a few short minutes, Erin. But President Trump seem to make it clear that he may not be able to stop the chants from starting but he might very well be unwilling to stop them once they have. And this is exactly the thing that many Republicans were afraid of, that this chant, this sentiment might become, ingrained in President Trump's tweets, just becoming a part of a typical Trump rally, and that the President might decide to just let it go.
[19:05:02] President Trump has not since that first disavowal, repeated his disavowal of the chant. He continues to praise the supporters saying in response to the questions from reporters today that the message he has for his supporters at the rally tonight are that he loves them and that they love him. He did not say to them that this is not something that he would want to be repeated at his rally.
And already you're hearing a message from Donald Trump Jr., for example, who spoke just before the President earlier tonight at this rally in Cincinnati, a message that everyone is using racism against the President and his supporters. So that is something that the campaign does want to use in this context, saying that this is all political correctness gone amok. But the question is, will President Trump allow this to happen yet again, creating some more heartburn for his own party, as they felt like this really did cross the line, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Abby, thank you very much and I want to go now to Democratic Congressman Donald Payne Jr., a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and here with me on set tonight. Congressman, thank you so much for your time. So you heard what President Trump was asked on his way to Cincinnati, "If they start chanting, send her back, what are you going to do?" And he said, "I don't know that you can stop people. We'll see."
He didn't say it was wrong, he didn't say it wasn't OK, there's no place for this sort of thing. That's not what he said. Can the President stop them?
REP. DONALD PAYNE JR. (D-NJ): Well, thank you for having me, first of all, and just as you played the clip of the Senator when Obama was called an Arab, he corrected her directly. The President could step in and say that it's not right, but he has no interest in doing that. It is stoking the racial divide in this country. He has made it OK for this type of thing to go on and it's just unconscionable.
BURNETT: Last time he said, "Oh, I jumped in quickly." Of course, he looked around for 13 seconds. The chants died down and he then continued his speech. Why do you think he allows it?
PAYNE: Well, I think it's who he is. It plays to his base and he just cannot help himself. It is unfortunate but the President of the United States is a racist and a bigot and it's just a sad time in this country to have the leader of the free world act in this manner.
BURNETT: Look, you have taken a stand. You said you support an impeachment inquiry. Now, I want to say people might hear you say he's a racist and a bigot. You thought that way for a while. You did not publicly come out until after the Mueller hearings. You heard what Mueller had to say then you came out.
Moments ago, your fellow Democratic Congressman Pete Aguilar has announced he is onboard. So now you're almost there, 117 out of 235. You only need one more Democratic vote to have the majority of the caucus behind starting impeachment proceedings publicly. Do you have any more Democrats who are ready to get onboard?
PAYNE: Not to my knowledge. We're back in our district right now, so it could happen any day. We're really at the tipping point.
BURNETT: Do you feel like you've got the momentum?
PAYNE: I believe so, yes.
BURNETT: So Speaker Pelosi, of course, has dismissed the idea of impeachment. Here she is in June when asked about what happens when your caucus is there. Here's the exchange with Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If a majority of your caucus wants to go forward with an impeachment inquiry, would you go for it?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): It's not even close in our caucus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That was June 11th. Tonight, we are one vote away.
PAYNE: Right.
BURNETT: You're not close. You're there.
PAYNE: Right.
BURNETT: OK. And today, she was asked about it and here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Speaker Pelosi, your reaction to a majority of your caucus supporting an impeachment inquiry?
PELOSI: (Inaudible) ... UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible) said she is with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: She didn't want to talk about it, seem to say she'd have a statement soon. Of course, we don't have one. Does she need to back impeachment proceedings as soon as the majority of House Democrats are onboard? I mean, does she have any other ground to wait?
PAYNE: Well, Speaker Pelosi is trying to make sure that it is the will of the American people, I believe, in discussions with her, that has been one of her main interest. There have been many of us and many of my colleagues that have wanted to go prior to this. But Ms. Pelosi has a lot of things that she has to take into consideration in doing this and one of her main interest is making sure that is the will of the American people.
BURNETT: So you want her to get there, but you're not saying once we get that one vote she better be there or I'm livid. You're not in that camp.
PAYNE: No, no, no.
BURNETT: OK. Look, last night as we talk about the topic of race and the President's rally about to begin, Joe Biden pointed out the diversity in the Democratic primary field and it is in many different ways diverse. He played off Trump's telling people to leave, send her back. Here's Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:10:09] JOE BIDEN, FORMER UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. President, this is America and we are strong and great because of this diversity, Mr. President. Not in spite of it, Mr. President. So Mr. President, let's get something straight. We love it. We are not leaving it. We are here to stay and we're certainly not going to leave it to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I know, Congressman Payne, you support Cory Booker for president. You have known him for a long time, obviously, from New Jersey. You've worked with him. What do you make of Vice President Joe Biden delivering that message?
PAYNE: Well, I have been a great supporter of the Vice President and I'm not surprised. He's a man of great integrity and has been helpful and has worked with diverse communities throughout his time in the public service, so I'm not surprised.
BURNETT: But he's not your guy.
PAYNE: No. I am with Senator Booker right now. It would be a great opportunity for the Senator to be the President of the United States and I support him wholeheartedly at this time.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Congressman Payne, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
PAYNE: Thank you.
BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, former Vice President Joe Biden misspeaks again and again and again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330 and help me in this fight. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Is that a problem for someone who is now trying to convince voters that age is not an issue? Plus Charlamagne tha God, the radio hosts every Democratic candidate for president sits down with who he says was the clear winner last night. And the 2020 candidates turn on the most popular Democrat, former President Obama. Why?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:15:50] BURNETT: New tonight, President Trump slamming Senator Kamala Harris' performance at last night's Democratic debate and offering a backhanded compliment to the former Vice President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think Biden did OK. He came through. He came limping through as I say about sleepy Joe. He limped right through it, but he got through it. He really did. I think he was OK. I think Kamala had a bad night last night, I would say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Out front now National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation, Joan Walsh, and former Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania and former Chair of the DNC, Ed Rendell, a Joe Biden supporter. Thanks to both of you.
So Governor Rendell, you just heard President Trump, "Kamala Harris had a bad night at the debate and Joe Biden came limping through as I say about sleepy Joe. He limped right through it." Is that how you see it?
FORMER GOVERNOR ED RENDELL (D-PA): Well, I think he did better than limp through. I think he appeared to be strong in command of the facts. He did a good job defending his position. He did a good job pointing out the differences in his position and some of the other candidates.
I think overall he had a very strong performance. Kamala Harris, we can't judge her by our first debate performance because she did terrifically well in that debate. She didn't do nearly as well in this debate, but Kamala Harris is a force to be reckoned with. There's no question about that. Kamala Harris is a bright intelligent, a dynamic person and she didn't
have as good of a debate as she did in number one, so I would disagree slightly with the President but I can't believe that I'm actually thinking he did a good analysis.
BURNETT: Well, he seems to be reflective of what a lot of people are thinking, Joan. What would you say, limping through for Joe Biden?
JOAN WALSH, NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, THE NATION: No, absolutely not. Vice President Biden had a much better night than he did in Miami last month for sure. He had some rough patches. I would say that Senator Harris did not, objectively did not have the same kind of night that she had. But her second half was much stronger.
But I don't think the Governor or I really or the Senator or the former Vice President care at all what Donald Trump says and I don't think Democrats should be baited into reacting to what he thinks of our debates, because it really doesn't matter.
BURNETT: There is a real conversation out there though, let's be honest about it, Joe Biden, and whether how well did he do last night and did he do as well as he needed to, where was the bar. I mean, Governor Rendell, there were multiple instances where Joe Biden misspoke. I mean you say command of the facts, but there were some moments that were a bit awkward to watch. Here's a few examples.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Four more years of Donald Trump will go down as an aberration, hard to overcome the damage he's done but we can overcome it. Eight more years of Donald Trump will change America in a fundamental way. If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330 and help me in this fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean I'm not trying to make light of it, Governor, but, of course, eight more years of Donald Trump would change America in a fundamental way because a president can't serve three terms. I mean, look, he misspoke there and he was ...
RENDELL: It will change the Constitution.
BURNETT: ... right. I mean he's trying to show that age is not an issue here and it's not relevant. Do moments like that hurt?
RENDELL: No. No one is here to take an isolated moment out of context. They're going to view his overall performance. And his overall performance was very strong, Erin. You're probably too young to remember Ronald Reagan's first debate against Walter Mondale in 1984.
BURNETT: You know I watched it.
RENDELL: He was awful.
BURNETT: I don't remember all of it, but I did watch it with my parents and I remember sitting there watching it.
RENDELL: He was awful.
BURNETT: But you're right, I wouldn't have been able to judge in the way you are now.
RENDELL: Right. He seemed completely incoherent and you really were deeply troubled because in a 60, 90-second presentation he seemed to lose track of everything. He went on to win, I think, 49 United States. So the 4,000 of us who make our living out of politics, we seem to isolate those facts and give them emphasis. The average voter doesn't. I believe Joe Biden's lead in the polls will be as strong if not stronger than it was before this debate.
[19:20:01] BURNETT: So to that point, Joan, Biden had loud applause multiple times during the debate. We're having some technical issues, so I can't play it, so we don't have the sound bite, but there were several. When Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, she said he wrote an op-ed, showed that he opposed working mothers and he came back and he's like, "What are you talking about? You were there with me and my deceased wife worked, and my wife -" I mean he got a lot of applause and there were many moments like that where he did seem ready.
WALSH: Right. I had a different reaction to some of that, Erin. I think that one of the issues for the Vice President and I would say this to Senator Harris as well, is not being defensive. I know it's tough. We know it's tough, but when he said to Senator Gillibrand, "Oh, you went to Syracuse University with me and you've praised me. We've worked together."
BURNETT: He said, "You came with me and said it was wonderful, I'm passionate about the concern for working women."
WALSH: Right.
BURNETT: It sort of turn it back on her.
WALSH: But, he's done this several times. He did this with Senator Harris. She knew Beau. He personalizes things and I think that that puts him off of his game. He needs to understand he's gotten in the race kind of late, all of these people think they should be President not him. It's not personal. They've been friends. They will be friends again.
And there's a tone, sometimes, that he takes that I think sounds a little bit like entitlement and it also, I think, puts him off his game.
BURNETT: So Governor, let me ask you, because I'm curious because you've known him for a long time, OK? What you think is happening in a couple of these moments? We know that this is a guy every story I hear about him, Governor, is about how, "Oh, we gave Joe Biden four minutes and 31 minutes later," literally that's an exact quote from somebody.
The guy doesn't ever want to be quiet. It's part of what defines him. And yet in the first debate, there were a lot of moments like this. It got a lot of attention and let me just play it, this was with Kamala Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I agree that everybody, once they're inside - no, my time is up. I'm sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And, of course, Governor he got criticized for that. What, was he scared? He did not know what he wanted to say. What was the problem? Now, last night everybody is going running over their time and then the moderators keep cutting them in. Joe Biden he handled it slightly differently, but let me play what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: If the 160 million people who have it say they like their employer insurance, they should have a right to have it. If they don't, they can buy in to the Biden plan which is Obamacare with a ...
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you.
BIDEN: And they can buy the gold plan and they're not going to have to pay. Anyway.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
BIDEN: If you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It's a crime. It's a crime and it's not one that in fact --
LEMON: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So Governor Rendell, what was that? He didn't try to talk over, he didn't try to finish his thought. He almost seemed relieved to be told to be quiet. What do you think happened there?
RENDELL: I think he's a polite human being. A trait not found in many of us politicians.
BURNETT: Joan, what do you think?
WALSH: I think perhaps he's been warned that he's too careless that he runs over, that he talks too much and maybe he's self-correcting, I don't know. A couple of times it did seem like he'd run out of steam and I think he's got to be worried about that too. He should not look like he's running out of steam or running out of answers. He's got to take up all his time. He's got to take up space in the room and so I don't think it looks good for whatever the reason is.
BURNETT: Well, we'll see what will happen. Yes, quick final word, Governor.
RENDELL: He did take up all of his time. He just stopped when he was told to stop.
WALSH: Well, he's very --
RENDELL: He actually stop when someone ask him to stop. Shocking, let's drum him out. He actually did what people asked him to do.
WALSH: Right. No, I'm not - certainly, Governor, I'm not saying draw saying drum him out, I'm just saying he could finish the sentence. There was something a little bit strange about it, but maybe he was just being overly polite. It's possible.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much. And next, Kamala Harris defending her record after being accused of jailing people for minor offenses, marijuana offenses, despite this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, HOST, THE BREAKFAST CLUB: Have you smoke?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: OK. Like in college or ...
HARRIS: And I inhale, I did inhale.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Did you inhale? Did you inhale?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: You did inhale? Oh, you did inhale, OK.
HARRIS: It was a long time ago, but yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The man who conducted that interview, Charlamagne tha God is my guest. Plus, Dems are critical of President Obama at last night's debate. Today though is a very different story and there's a real question as to why when you look at the polls. Can dems have it both ways?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:28:29] BURNETT: OUTFRONT tonight, Senator Kamala Harris today on defense after her performance in last night's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Maybe if I could have had three minutes instead of 60 seconds, it's 30 seconds or 15 seconds, that would have - if I could have done things differently that would have certainly been one of my choices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Harris on her heels after coming under attack last night by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TULSI GABBARD (D-HI), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Harris says she's proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she'll be a prosecutor president. But I'm deeply concerned about this record. There are too many examples to cite but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. That exchange, the one about laughing about it that Gabbard refers to came from an appearance Harris made on the popular radio show The Breakfast Club, which is hosted by my next guest, Charlamagne tha God. It has become a must stop on the campaign trail. Here's the moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Have you smoke?
HARRIS: I have.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: OK. Like in college or ...
HARRIS: And I inhale, I did inhale.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you inhale? Did you inhale?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: You did inhale? Oh, you did inhale, OK.
HARRIS: It was a long time ago, but yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Out front now, Charlamagne tha God. And I know we played that moment before, it was an important moment. You talked about how genuine she seemed and now obviously - you were talking about legalizing marijuana during that exchange. Congresswoman Gabbard has come out and put forth, oh, well, these people that she put behind bars for marijuana. What did you make of that moment in the debate last night?
[19:29:59] CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I didn't think it was a genuine moment simply because if you want to attack Senator Harris for, I guess, contributing to putting people in jail for drugs then why wouldn't you attack Joe Biden too. If you your purpose was to combat somebody for the war on drugs, I mean, the author of the '94 criminal bill and '88 crack laws was sitting in front of you.
So, I just thought it was kind of low hanging fruit to go after Senator Harris, but everybody should be questioned on their record.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: So, after Harris was attacked by Gabbard, right, the interview -- the debate ended. She came on CNN and did an interview. She then was talking about the moment with Gabbard.
And here is what happened, Charlamagne.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": Did you expect that from Tulsi Gabbard? Had you had interaction about that in the past? And how do you think it went?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I mean, listen, I -- this is going to sound immodest but I'm obviously a top tier candidate. So I did expect I would be on the stage and take hits tonight because there are a lot of people trying to make the stage for the next debate.
COOPER: Yes, for a lot of them, it's do or die.
HARRIS: Yes. And especially when people are at zero or 1 percent or whatever she might be at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. Does that swagger help or hurt her, Charlamagne?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I mean, it's the truth. She is a top tier candidate. You know her. You know Joe Biden on the stage were the big guns. Everybody was coming up against them.
BURNETT: Aiming.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: And, you know, Gabbard -- I can't pronounce her Gabbard. She is at zero percent.
BURNETT: So, you like the swagger. You like the "I don't mean to be immodest"?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: It's the truth. Yes, it's the truth.
Even though she should have had the swagger on the stage last night, because she did -- she was terrible on the stage last night.
BURNETT: OK, all right. Is she still your favorite?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes, she is still my favorite simply because our current president is a criminal and who better to go up against a criminal than a prosecutor, like Donald Trump needs to be prosecuted.
BURNETT: So, I want to ask you about a candidate we have had on the show, Cory Booker.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes.
BURNETT: You know him well from New Jersey, the senator. I asked you before which candidate was the least comfortable talking about race in all the conversations you had with him. You said without hesitation, Cory Booker. You told me we want to know exactly what type of agenda you have for
African-Americans and you said he wasn't prepared to answer. Did he change your mind at all?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Cory Booker won the debate last night if you ask me. I thought he did great. He brought up things I've been waiting for people to question. I wanted people to question Joe Biden on his tough-on-crime stance.
BURNETT: He did, yes.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I wanted people to talk about the Russian interference we know exists Robert Mueller talked about in the report, that the Senate Intel Committee talked about that I'm scared of because I'm private citizen that has to vote next year. I want a fair election.
BURNETT: So, let me play that moment, because that was a moment when Cory Booker connected those, race and Russia. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, this is one of the times where we're not staring at the truth and calling it out. And this is a case for the Democratic Party, the truth will set us- free. We lost the state of Michigan because everybody from Republicans to Russians were targeting the suppression of African- American voters. We need to say that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: What was it about that moment?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I love that simply because last week, I watched, you know, Robert Mueller say that there was Russian interference. I watched the Senate intel committee say there was Russian entertains. I watched Mitch McConnell block the election security bill after getting the information.
If that doesn't tell us the administration is in cahoots with Russia what will? So, me as a citizen having to vote, I want to make sure it's fair and balanced election.
BURNETT: And he linked it to suppressing the African-American vote. He was directed.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Absolutely. Two nights of debates with the Democrats and none of them are bringing it up. Shouldn't that be a pressing issue for us Americans? Like I (INAUDIBLE) tell us to vote in 2020, we don't know if it's a fair election in 2020.
BURNETT: So coming into the debate you were critical of Joe Biden.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Uh-huh.
BURNETT: You have been very direct about that with the crime bill, criminal justice reform, and its impact on black Americans. So, I just wanted to just make sure, I don't want if you saw this poll, Charlamagne, but a recent Quinnipiac poll had 26 percent -- when you look at the 53 percent of black voters who have decided who they're voting for say Joe Biden, 53 percent. Sanders is the next closest at 8 percent.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Uh-huh.
BURNETT: Then Kamala Harris at 7, then Elizabeth Warren at 4. And 2 percent for Cory Booker.
Why is this?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Because broism is real, like I said before. And I just think people are not really educated to Joe Biden's record. And once again, people can change. They can unlearn.
But I want everybody to keep in mind last night on that state, he called Cory Booker the president. I'm sorry future president. You know why? Because he clearly thinks all black politicians look alike. OK?
BURNETT: Whoa.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Nobody paid that no attention. You know what I mean?
I just want to -- Joe Biden, why can't he admit, hey, I made mistakes did some things wrong, I want to correct those things going forward?
BURNETT: So, you come out of this saying Joe Biden is not getting there.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Uh-huh.
BURNETT: Cory Booker wins.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Uh-huh.
BURNETT: But you are still as of now --
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I just think that.
BURNETT: -- picking Harris.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I think the Democrats as a collective are failing America. And the reason I think that they are failing America is because they are not being honest like Cory Booker said.
[19:35:01] Like we have a crisis in the White House. We have a president that seems like he has the fascist agenda to me. That's what I think, you know?
And I think that if we continue on this path democracy as we know it is going to be dead because it looks like the fight is fixed. He's got the Department of Justice on your side. You have the Senate, the Supreme Court. You got the national intelligence now and it's like and the Russians in 2020?
I'm not going to feel comfortable until some type of election security bill is passed and I know the fight is not fixed in 2020. And I don't understand why people aren't making a big deal of this especially the Democrats.
BURNETT: Charlamagne Tha God, thank you.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Thank you.
BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, he is the most popular Democrat. So, how does attacking President Obama's legacy help the 2020 candidates?
And Jeanne Moos on how the candidates are cashing in on their one liners?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN DEBATE MODERATOR: I'll come to you in a second, Congressman.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do know it, I wrote the damn bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, Joe Biden standing up for President Obama's legacy after the Democratic debates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I must tell you, I was a little surprised at how much incoming there was about Barack, about the president. I mean, I'm proud of having served with him. I'm proud of the job he did. I don't think there is anything he has to apologize for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The thing is, some of the Democratic candidates actually a whole lot are using Obama's record on immigration, specifically the deportations, the 3 million people that he deported over his two terms to hit his Vice President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:40:11] BILL DE BLASIO (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Did you say those deportations were a good idea? Or did you go to the president and say this is a mistake we shouldn't do it? Which one?
JULIAN CASTRO (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. Vice President, it looks like one of us has learned the lessons of the past and one of us hasn't.
BOOKER: Mr. President, you can't have it both ways. You invoke President Obama more than anybody in the campaign. You can't do it when it's convenient and then dodge it when it's not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Patrick Healy, our political analyst and "New York Times" politics editor, and Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst.
OK, thanks to both.
So, Patrick, look, Joe Biden has tied himself closely to Obama. If anything people sometimes criticize him for that refers to him as Barack, not the president. He is making a bet on that. Could this actually hurt him when some of Obama's policies which are now seen as positively right-wing by some running for president go on to the microscope?
PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Not yet. I mean, the reality is Joe Biden is running as Barack Obama's vice president, if he hadn't been Barack Obama's vice president for the last eight years, he wouldn't have the support with older voter, with a lot of the older voters, let's say, with some to many African-American voters. That service, those eight years, are core to who he is.
He has a story to tell about this vice presidency that is very different than what some of the Democrats running against him want to talk about. They want to appeal to younger voters and liberals who look at eight years of Obama and saw a lot of moderation. They were happy for Obamacare but want to go further now. They look at the deportations, and it's not quite Trump light but it was a prolog to what Trump is doing now.
And they're not happy with what all of what that record says. So he is going to keep taking the incoming fire. But I think for at least right now, for the older voters, for African-Americans, what Joe Biden did today in saying, I can't believe they are going after Barack, that works for him.
BURNETT: I mean, because, Gloria, look, President Obama is popular.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Very.
BURNETT: OK. When you look at the full Democratic base, his average approval rating among Democrats when he left office was 83 percent.
BORGER: Is that all? Yes.
BURNETT: And it might have gone higher right -- because you are talking about Democrats who have been living in the era of Trump, right? I mean, you know, going after him, smart move.
BORGER: Look, I think in the end it's a mistake for Democrats. I think that right now what they're trying to do is differentiate themselves. They have to figure out a way to say this is how I'm different from Joe Biden.
So, you saw Julian Castro --
BURNETT: So, he is running on Obama, then you have to go to against him. I mean, it's kind of logic --
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: So, on health care, so, it's Obamacare and it's immigration.
BURNETT: Right.
BORGER: But I also believe Biden could have had better answers on immigration in particular. He could say, well, who are the people -- let's look at this. What's the context of this?
Who are the people that we deported? We deported serious criminals. We deported people who had just come across the border so we could send them back, didn't have to put them, you know, in cages.
BURNETT: We selectively enforced the law.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: But this is why he did it and how. And defend what you did. But instead he said, well, I'm not telling you what I talked to the president about and --
HEALY: It's such a good point. He could have said we weren't putting children in cages. We weren't doing --
BORGER: Exactly.
HEALY: We weren't doing, you know, we weren't doing what the president is doing at the border right now. And instead, he found himself -- this went to a broader problem. You know, the nimbleness of surviving a debate these days, that wasn't on display.
BURNETT: No. So, let's talk about this because Biden, you mentioned this -- he refused to answer a question from Mayor de Blasio which maybe he should have refused because de Blasio was not moderator, but like a New Yorker he got in there and pushed his way in there and threw his elbows around. And, you know? Look, about deportation under President Obama, right?
De Blasio comes straight at Joe Biden. And Joe Biden did not defend Obama. He seemed to throw him under the bus? Can I just play this moment?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I was vice president. I am not the president. I keep my recommendations to him in private. Unlike you, I expect you would go ahead and say whatever was said privately with him. That's not what I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It felt like a big bus.
HEALY: Yes, that was not a good moment. Every time Barack Obama's name should have come up at the debate, you know, Joe Biden if he was, you know more of a nimble debater would have pivoted back to the closeness of the relationship to eight years together to what they did for America. And it was strange because instead of -- he is getting himself in a ground war with Bill de Blasio.
BURNETT: Right, answering his question. The answer was it wasn't me it was him is what it sounds like.
BORGER: Right.
BURNETT: Gloria, it wasn't just he implied I might have had the currently popular point of view. But I don't know what that guy did. I'm not telling you.
He then said, you know, this isn't what I do. I don't tell anybody what I talk about with President Obama except that's not true.
BORGER: Right.
BURNETT: He has many times discussed openly conversations he's had with President Obama about Osama bin Laden like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:45:09] BIDEN: I get to be the last guy to be with the president. We walked up toward the residence, toward his office. And I knew where he was going to go.
And what I always tell him when he said, look at me again. I said, follow your indistinct, Mr. President.
So, as he walked out of the room and walked upstairs, I said -- I told him my opinion. I thought he should go but follow his own instincts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He just didn't have an answer. So that's what he said, you know, to de Blasio. He didn't want to defend the policy which he defended for eight years, because he knew that he is talking to a different group of people, that the base of the Democratic Party has shifted.
So, instead, he said, well, you know, I'm not talking about that. Well, that's not -- that's not really an answer in a debate. And we know that Barack Obama probably couldn't win in this primary, if he were standing for the policies he stood for then.
BURNETT: But Joe Biden could have said, who are you, you're the mayor of the New York, and not the moderator. You don't ask the questions. I stand by Barack Obama, I mean, there was a way to just -- he didn't do it. BORGER: And here is what he did for eight years. You know what we
did eight years? I'll tell you what we did for eight years. He should be doing that and maybe he will now.
BURNETT: I got to give Gloria credit. I literally punched her in the face she didn't flinch.
BORGER: I did not flinch.
BURNETT: You should be up there.
BORGER: Because I raised boys.
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both.
And next, Kamala Harris record as a prosecutor, a major selling point on the campaign trail. Tonight, though, under new scrutiny.
Plus, Jeanne Moos and how Joe Biden's gaffe is paying off for Cory Booker, as only Jeanne can tell it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:23] BURNETT: Tonight, Kamala Harris is trying to fight back, defending her time as a prosecutor and as the attorney general of California, after her record faced a series of attacks last night.
Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kamala Harris returned to the trial. This former prosecutor defending her past.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People want to know the commander in chief has actually been in the business of prioritizing their safety. I've done that my entire career. They absolutely want public safety, so I'm not going to shy away from that record at all.
ANNOUNCER: Senator Kamala Harris.
LAH: Her career as a prosecutor is her central pitch to voters.
HARRIS: What we need is someone who is going to be on that debate stage with Donald Trump and defeat him by being able to prosecute the case against four more years --
LAH: An opening for attack against Tulsi Gabbard.
REP. TULSI GABBARD (D-HI), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I'm deeply concerned about this record.
LAH: Serving up a slew of attacks, Gabbard zeroed in on one part of Harris's record as San Francisco's district attorney.
GABBARD: She fought to keep the cash bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way.
HARRIS: I am Kamala Harris --
LAH: It is true. In 2004, Harris advocated for higher bail amounts for gun-related crimes. She had just been elected district attorney.
May 2004 audio first recorded by conservative website The Free Beacon captures Harris talking about her priorities, mainly increasing those arrested for bail in San Francisco, on par with nearby counties.
HARRIS: We're going to change the bail schedule in San Francisco. People come to San Francisco to commit crimes because it's cheaper to do it. You know, we have to do something about that.
Well, welcome.
LAH: The Harris campaign says as a prosecutor she acted to protect the public from rising gun crimes, the job of district attorney.
Fast forward 15 years, a new job, a new time, new priorities.
BIDEN: I tell you what, she's the best.
LAH: Now a California senator, she introduced bipartisan legislation to change the cash bail system, citing its disproportionate impact on the poor and people of color. Harris struck back at Gabbard's attack.
HARRIS: There were certainly inaccuracies about my record. There's no question about that, and, you know, from a person who has been an apologist for Assad, who is by all accounts a murderer of his own people, an accusation by someone who refuses to call him a war criminal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH: Gabbard did, indeed, meet with Bashar al-Assad in 2017 in a private meeting and then this is some context here, this is when Assad had already used chemical weapons on his own people. At a CNN town hall last March, Gabbard declined to call him a war criminal, and then, Erin, it was only after she was pressed repeatedly on CNN after the debate that she said she would not dispute the fact that Assad is, indeed, a murderer and a torturer -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kyung.
And OUTFRONT next, Jeanne, on the one liners that stole so much of the show at the Democratic debates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The first thing that I'm going to do when I'm president is I'm going to Clorox the Oval Office. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:53] BURNETT: Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a salute to debate one-liners, starting with the one that launched a thousand Clorox jugs, Oval Office strength.
GILLIBRAND: The first thing I'm going to do when I'm president is I'm going to Clorox the Oval Office.
MOOS: It inspired mopping by everyone from Mr. Clean to SpongeBob, though critics suggested, why don't you start by using Clorox on your friends? Showing Senator Gillibrand posing with Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein.
(on camera): Now, the senator didn't dream up that Clorox zinger on the spot. It's a line she's used before, then polished.
(voice-over): Egged on by voters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the first thing you'll do when you get in the White House after fumigating the White House?
(LAUGHTER)
GILLIBRAND: I was thinking Clorox wipes myself.
MOOS: She honed the line in New Hampshire.
GILLIBRAND: After I Clorox the Oval Office.
STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: Clorox the commander in bleach.
MOOS: Others are cleaning up with their one-liners.
Kamala Harris talked about being bused.
HARRIS: And that little girl was me.
MOOS: The campaign started selling "that little girl" t-shirts.
When Bernie Sanders got feisty --
SANDERS: I wrote the damn bill.
MOOS: -- the campaign offered "I wrote the damn bill" stickers to anyone who donated.
And after Bernie got loud, arguing with Tim Ryan --
REP. TIM RYAN (D-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't say we couldn't get there until 2040, Bernie. You don't have to yell.
MOOS: Ryan started plugging "you don't have to yell" stickers.
Even Kool-Aid quenched its thirst for promotion by tweeting about this Cory Booker gem.
BOOKER: You're dipping in the Kool-Aid and you don't even know the flavor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what's cool about being black? Is you can just makeup phrases and white people don't know it's real.
MOOS: When Joe Biden really did call rival Cory Booker.
BIDEN: Excuse me, future president here --
BOOKER: Well, first of all, I'm grateful that he endorsed my presidency already.
MOOS: Now, Booker selling "future president" vinyl stickers just because one liners stuck.
But careful with that Clorox, we ended up with a spill that made a splash.
Jeanne Moos --
(on camera): I hope they had better luck cleaning the Oval Office than we did.
(voice-over): -- CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Oh, no, I hope we can expense that, Jeanne.
Thanks for joining us.
Anderson starts now.
