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Interview with Rand Paul; Interview with Eric Cantor. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 28, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:02] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you're going to have a lot of people drop out. I guess Rand Paul has got to drop out. I guess - I mean Pataki has never really been in. He's got nothing. But you have four or five people that are going to have to drop out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: That was Donald Trump predicting that Senator Rand Paul will drop out of the presidential race. Joining us now to respond is GOP presidential candidate and Kentucky senator, Rand Paul.

Great to have you in studio here.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to be here.

CAMEROTA: I'm sure you love hearing that sound from Donald Trump. What's your response to him?

PAUL: It kind of reminds me of the funniest moment, I think, of the second debate, when out of nowhere, complete (INAUDIBLE), he starts going after me and it's - I guess it's part of his bravado, his stick (ph). But I'll tell you this, I think we'll be around just as long as Trump or longer.

CAMEROTA: We do have that moment in the second debate when, out of nowhere, he went after you and even sort of took a swipe at your looks. Let's see if -

PAUL: What's a guy to do, you know?

CAMEROTA: I mean, well, let's see if we can play that for a second.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: First of all, Rand Paul shouldn't even be on this stage. He's number 11. He's got 1 percent in the polls. And how he got up here, there's far too many people anyway.

I never attacked him on his look. And, believe me, there's plenty of subject matter right there. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What are you thinking when that's happening?

PAUL: I'm thinking, how did we get the race for the most important office in the free world to sink to such depths, and how could anyone in my party think that this clown is fit to be president? So I think, really, ultimately, we're going to get to the truth. Ultimately, we're going to get to substance. But it just takes a while. But by no means am I finished. I'm just getting started. We -

CAMEROTA: OK, so let's talk about that because it's not just Donald Trump. There's also this piece in Politico this weekend that also was predicting your imminent demise. Let me just read a - read a portion.

PAUL: Oh, please, spare me, spare me.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, basically, look, it say "Rand Paul's campaign reeks of the same stench of death that surrounded the Perry and Walker efforts before their demise. His fundraising is lagging, his campaign is disorganized. The Kentucky GOP is going to pressure him to concentrate on the U.S. Senate race."

PAUL: Yes, actually - yes.

CAMEROTA: "There is no path to victory for him."

Now, I want you to set the record straight here because what is the path to victory?

PAUL: Well, the thing is, is I think we have a unique message. One, our message is that war ought to be the last resort. That we shouldn't be eager for war and that we want less intervention in the Middle East, not more. That the boots on the ground over there need to be Arab boots on the ground, not American boots on the ground. I think that's a unique position actually in both primaries.

I think that being the one champion against the government collecting all of our phone records is also a unique voice. And I think also being the one who says, you know what, to be a conservative, you can't be for unlimited military spending and say, oh, we're going to cut welfare spending but we're going to increase military spending. The problem in Washington really is that you have an unholy alliance between right and left, and they're both bankrupting the country. And that is a point that I will bring out and I'm the only one on the stage who will. So I think I need to be in the debates and also I think that there are a plurality of Americans who are no longer Republican or Democrat, and I think that I bring the right mix together to find people who are independent.

CAMEROTA: I mean so it must make you just want to punch someone in the nose when you read - perhaps me - when you read articles like that because it is so early in the game.

PAUL: It is very early. And, I mean, we're doing a lot of organization. We wouldn't do all of this is we were planning on dropping out. We have 350 college campuses. We have over 1,000 students in Iowa that are committed to caucus for us. We have 15 college campuses in Iowa that we've organized. So we're just getting started. We're calling through all the lists. We're identifying our voters, doing all the traditional campaigning, but that doesn't show up because we've decided that this election, it's all about national polling. National polling has nothing to do with the race. Absolutely nothing to do with the race.

CAMEROTA: Today, Donald Trump is unveiling his tax plan and I want to get your take on it, OK, because I -- we know a few details. He hasn't revealed all the details, but here's what we know. No businesses will be taxed more than 15 percent. And I think we can put up the slide so that you can look at it as well. No federal income tax for individuals earning less than $25,000 or couples earning less than $50,000 a year. The highest individual tax bracket will be 25 percent, no longer 39 percent. Eliminate or reduce deductions and loopholes for high income taxpayers, like the hedge fund owners that he talks about. What do you think of that?

[08:35:22] PAUL: Well, my tax plan actually gets rid of the entire tax code and we have one rate for everybody, 14.5 percent. My tax plan would actually cut taxes. His, I think, is going to keep taxes level the same. What I've heard, and I haven't seen it yet, is that he's going to have a revenue neutral, which means that the people won't have any more money remaining in the private market. Mine will have nearly $3 trillion that will remain in the private market. Mine gets rid of the whole tax code and with my plan you'll be able to fill out your tax return on a postcard. It's 14.5 percent for everybody. And I think we'll have a great deal of enthusiasm for our plan as our plan gets more attention.

CAMEROTA: Would yours still be 14 percent even for those - that lower bracket of people who are couples making $50,000?

PAUL: The - the low - the lower bracket don't pay any now and they won't under mine. Under $50,000, you don't pay much of an income tax currently and you won't under mine. Mine is similar to Steve Forbes' plan, such that a family of four would have about a $50,000 family exemption. So really people under $50,000 wouldn't pay anything. And in my plan, everybody gets a tax cut. Whether you're rich, middle income or poor, everybody gets a tax cut.

And I think it's a mistake. This is something Trump and Bush have been for. They say, oh, those people in private equity, those people in the hedge funds that are making - are paying a tax of 15 percent, we're going to punish them by bringing them up. I would bring everybody down to their level. I would have the same rate for everyone, but I wouldn't bring anyone up. I would actually bring people down so everybody pays the same rate.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about what's going on on Capitol Hill. How surprised were you on Friday when Speaker Boehner announced his resignation?

PAUL: I was a little surprised but I - I'm out there all the time and I see the frustration of the conservative grassroots and the conservatives, myself included, are frustrated that really Congress hasn't used the power of the purse. We control the House and the Senate and the people who elected us are frustrated that we're not doing anything with it.

CAMEROTA: So, who's next? I mean who's going to be able to reign in all of these different parts of the warring GOP?

PAUL: Well, I think the next thing is, is we do need to promote using the power of the purse. There are some who have said in the Senate where you need 60 votes to defund anything. It's actually the opposite. If spending expires, then you need 60 votes to affirmatively pass anything. And to my mind, there are thousands of programs that really shouldn't be there at all. For example, I'll give one quick example, we spent $300,000 last year studying whether Japanese quail are more sexually promiscuous on cocaine.

CAMEROTA: And are they?

PAUL: Yes (ph). I think we can poll the audience and figure that out and save $300,000. So -

CAMEROTA: I think that you won't get any argument from a lot of people. Senator Rand Paul, always great to talk to you. Thanks so much for coming on NEW DAY.

PAUL: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks for being in here.

Let's get over to Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Are they? Is that what you just - is that what you just said?

CAMEROTA: I was mildly curious about that.

CUOMO: More on Speaker John Boehner's resignation. What will happen for the GOP? Will things get better or worse? We're going to talk to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the house when we come back.

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[08:40:28] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back. I'm Christine Romans with "CNN Money Now."

Brand new details about Donald Trump's tax plan this morning. It's a populist agenda that taxes Wall Street and cuts taxes for the middle class. He would slash most tax deductions for the rich, lower corporate taxes to 15 percent and shrink seven individual tax brackets down to four. His plan would eliminate federal income tax for those people earning less than $25,000 a year or any married couple earning less than $50,000. Right now, about 36 percent of American families pay no income tax. If Trump has his way, that would grow to about 50 percent. We'll hear from him himself at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

More NEW DAY right after this.

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MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Here is Monday's five things.

We'll start with President Obama and Vladimir Putin headlining the first day of the U.N. General Assembly meeting. Today, Obama and Putin will meet face to face later this afternoon.

Russia reaching a new pact in the battle against ISIS. Officials say they'll share intelligence about the terrorists with Iraq, Syria and Iran.

GOP frontrunner Donald Trump today expected to unveil his tax plan. Amongst the proposal, hit the rich harder and set a, quote, zero rate for low income Americans.

Pope Francis is now back home after his first U.S. visit. On his flight to Rome, he said consciousness objection is a human right in religious freedom cases. He also said clergy who covered up sex abuse cases are responsible as well for the crime.

This morning, former prison worker Joyce Mitchell will learn her punishment. She faces up to seven years behind bars for smuggling tools that allowed Richard Matt and David Sweat to bust out of an upstate New York maximum security prison back in June.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

All right, ahead here, what will John Boehner's resignation mean for the Republican Party? We'll get some insight from this man, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. He's here with us live.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:48:04] JOHN BOEHNER (R), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I was planning on leaving at the end of last year. When my friend, Eric Cantor, lost his primary election in July of last year, it occurred to me that I just couldn't leave, that I had to provide a transition for the next leaders. So I planned on serving through this year and on November 17th, I was going to make an announcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: John Boehner on CBS talking about his surprise resignation as Speaker of the House, and from the House all together. His decision could mean the government will not face another shut down at the end of this week, it could not mean that also. It's unclear what Boehner's exit means for the already fractured Republican Party moving forward.

Here to give us some insight is Eric Cantor, according to John Boehner, the man responsible for this resignation. The former House Majority Leader, current vice chair and managing director of Moelis and Company. Private sector is treating you well. You look good. You say I was as surprised as the rest of you. Is that true?

ERIC CANTOR, FORMER HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: I was stunned. I think pretty much everybody was. I mean, John had not told anybody, other than his very close staff, that this was going to happen. I think he did it just in classic Boehner style. You know, he -- as he told the nation he was an alter boy when he was little, he's been a devout Catholic, and to crown off his career on Capitol Hill with a visit by the Pope was a big deal.

CUOMO: It's huge. It was huge. I think it had a better impact than even Mr. Boehner, Speaker Boehner, could have imagined. But the timing, I know that he's emotional, I know that that can make you impulsive in politics and life, but he has his biggest moment and then he does this. Why didn't he just wait?

CANTOR: Listen, and he said that he wanted to put the institution first. There has been and have been in Washington a lot of murmuring and struggling around the question of where the party is going, where the conference is, leadership and the rest. And, you know, I think that the Speaker just decided he didn't want to damage the institution and felt that he would go out on top.

[08:50:05] CUOMO: How does this help the GOP moving forward?

CANTOR: I think what this does is it gives the Republican Conference, the members there on Capitol Hill, an opportunity to come together and then to really begin to discuss what can be accomplished in a divided government. Some of the problem has been that there are false expectations being set and representations being made that just can't occur when you have divided government. If you don't have the White House and you don't have 2/3 of Congress, trying to enact something, which is to force the president into submission, is probably not going to happen.

What the party has done since it has been in the majority, it has blocked Obama's legislative agenda. If the leaders and the ranking file members don't agree with what the president is doing, they have every bit of authority and the power to block. But somewhere along the line, there have been voices in my party who have begun to say, hey, wait a minute, blocking is not enough. If you can't get something done, if you can't pass it and change the law, then you're just a sellout. Well again, the president is there. He's got the veto pen. You need 2/3 of Congress to overrun that.

CUOMO: Right. But action by inaction is inherently unsatisfying, right? I mean, it makes a philosophical point, it makes a political point, but at some point, the people who put you there want you to do things and create an agenda. Does this help that happen or does it empower this part of your party that says we got Boehner out, let's get more conservative, let's really tighten it up now, we got him out, no more deal making, let's go full throttle? Do you think that can happen?

CANTOR: People are frustrated. I'm frustrated. Conservatives like I am are frustrated that we continue to see the kinds of sort of disregard of some of the rule book by the administration and this president. So of course they're frustrated. But I do think that this gives the party on the Hill, and frankly, our presidential candidates, the opportunity to really begin to think what we can do if we did have the power to affect the outcome totally. We don't have that now, and that's really the basis of the beginning of this discussion.

CUOMO: I read in there that the shutdown less likely now. Why isn't it more likely now?

CANTOR: Well, think John Boehner has said that there's not going to be a shutdown. Obviously, in a couple days, the fiscal year will end and there needs to be a continuing resolution, as there's not agreement on a larger spending package. I believe that that will get done because I do think that the Democrats in the House don't want to see a government shutdown. They'll be joined by, I'm sure, well over 100 Republicans to fund this government.

CUOMO: But this Planned Parenthood stuff that's going on - which by the way, does it make sense to you that there's this urgency to defund before you investigate the allegations?

CANTOR: Well, I mean, I think they are pretty apparent. I don't know what you need to investigate when you see the videos of dismemberment of fetuses and then going off to try and talk about selling some of the parts. I mean, that's just really grotesque.

CUOMO: I totally get that perception, but you know that the video that shows that baby that Carly Fiorina talked about is highly, highly doubtful, in terms of its authenticity. You know that these people who are speaking on there take everything they say as the truth. You still have to investigate. You still are dealing with a handful of people that are now going to reflect the funding of an entire institution?

CANTOR: Well, I don't think, even given what evidence is out there, that the American people want their tax payers going to that kind of activity. So investigations that will unfold certainly need to happen but I don't think you want to keep putting tax payer dollars to work--

CUOMO: Technically they don't go there. You know this better than anybody.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: The abortions are not what they get the money for.

CANTOR: De facto, money (INAUDIBLE) we all understand how that works. So de facto, yes, the money is going to benefit those who are performing those procedures. So again, I think this is a question that is unequivocal. The president disagrees.

CUOMO: And couldn't that cause a shutdown, is what I'm saying, if it's that important to this part of your party?

CANTOR: Well, again, I think that there are enough votes of people who say, you know what, we disagree vehemently with the president on this issue but we don't want to deprive the other arms of government the necessary funding. And again, we went through this in October of '13 and failed to counteract this narrative that somehow if you weren't for shutting down the government, that you supported Obamacare. That's ridiculous. Of course we didn't support Obamacare, but why would you want to deprive a veteran of his or her rights to medical services.

CUOMO: Strong point.

CANTOR: Why would you want to deprive a child - God forbid - having to go to a clinical trial for pediatric cancer? You don't want to do that. So again, I think that there are enough people who realize setting false expectations like so many are doing right now and some of the presidential candidates are doing, that this is going to affect the positive outcome to shut down the government -- they're just wrong. I think there are enough people who counter that and say, hey, we'll keep the government open.

[08:54:59] CUOMO: Eric Cantor, we wish you very good luck in the private sector, but please know that you're always welcome here to help us understand what's going on in your party and in the government.

CANTOR: Pleasure.

CUOMO: All right. Appreciate it. Eric Cantor.

What do you think? Think this is good for the GOP, that Boehner is stepping down, leaving Congress altogether? Is it bad? What do you think is going to happen? Tweet us, use #newdayCNN or post your comment on Facebook.com/newday.

All right. So we hear news, cops are called to clear out a panhandler, but what did they do next? That's "The Good Stuff" coming up.

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CUOMO: It's time for "The Good Stuff." Two Florida deputies recently called to move along a panhandler. Move along, move along. This was no ordinary panhandler. She's a struggling mother. She had a sign that read, "Please help. Need food for family."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: She was saying, talking to somebody about, she didn't make enough money for food.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: We both immediately said, hey, we need to do something for this young lady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: So out of their own pockets and out of their own goodness -- the officers took the woman to Walmart, bought her enough food to keep her family going for awhile, meant everything to the woman who officers say couldn't stop saying thank you and that meant everything to the officers, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: That's the most rewarding part, is just a thank you is nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Oh, that's so wonderful. They are a testament to police officers. We see it all the time here on "The Good Stuff." They're doing - They're just helping their community.

PEREIRA: They really are.

CAMEROTA: It's so wonderful.

PEREIRA: All right. That's it for us on NEW DAY.

CAMEROTA: OK, so let's get to Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour for CNN's Special Coverage at the U.N. today.