Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Trump National Security Adviser on His Doctrine; "Earnings Recession" Gets Worse; Trump Doubles Down on "Woman Card" Attack. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 28, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:59] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it's severe, all right. Tornados, thunderstorms, hail, all part of this storm system that's punching the Midwest this week. Omaha, Nebraska, the latest area to see a tornado touchdown. Thankfully, no major damage was reported. But it's one of more than a dozen twisters reported in nine states just this week, and more severe weather could bring flooding to Texas and Oklahoma.

Our meteorologist Chad Myers is looking ahead for us about what we can expect going into the weekend.

How is it looking?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, another round of storms, Michaela, on Saturday. Now, this is what we expect in spring, I get it, but on Tuesday, we had more than 200 reports of hail and wind damage and about a half a dozen tornados.

Yesterday, 17 tornados on the ground and I think we get a lull today, but the storms are back on Saturday. Especially Oklahoma and Texas, that's where I'm really concerned about. Large hail and the potential for tornados on the ground. Scattered, widely populated area for today and tomorrow, but still, if you get a large tornado on the ground whether it's Omaha, Oklahoma City, Wichita Falls or Dallas, there's always that threat of damage.

Yesterday, my hometown got hit. I watched the tornado on video. Luckily, not too much happened there. When I grew up in Omaha, they said Omaha never gets tornados. Yesterday that proved that theory wrong.

Scattered rain showers across Oklahoma and Texas and get heavy into Arkansas for the weekend and that's where the potential for severe weather and flooding could be -- Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Just keep coming, Chad, so please keep us on it and I hope everybody in your hometown is all right.

MYERS: They are.

CUOMO: America first, That is the Donald Trump mantra. It was a one- line speech that he then went into more suggestions about how that will apply around the world. A Trump advisor on national security is going to speak exclusively to CNN about why this speech is the right medicine for America, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:53] CUOMO: America first, full stop. That will be the foreign policy approach of a Donald Trump administration, but what does that mean given all the complexity of the world?

CNN's Kyra Phillips spoke exclusively with one of Trump's national security policy advisors and she joins us now.

Key interview at the perfect time. Thank you for bringing this to us, my friend.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: You bet, Chris. It's my pleasure.

You know, people have called Trump outrageous, right, controversial. You know, this candidate that shoots from the hip, but a word that Trump likes to use, unpredictable. And that unpredictability, Chris, is why Rear Admiral Chuck Kubic says he should be our next president.

We started our conversation with Trump's thoughts on Iran and nuclear weapons. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RETIRED REAR. ADM. CHARLES KUBIC, TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE: I think he was very clear on Iran that the answer is no nuclear weapons, no way, no how, never.

PHILLIPS: So how is he going to do that?

KUBIC: I think it starts with articulating, you know, the end state and he's going to have to use the means available to the president up to and including the threat of force to bring them back.

But I think if you do start to put the economic power of the U.S. to work, the Iranians are also practical people. Not all of the Iranians support their tyrannical regime, and I think, in time, we could bring about an implosion of their regime and bring them back into the nations of the world.

But again, that's just my personal opinion. I think the tactics that would be used to do this, to implement it, a lot of those will become as Mr. Trump says, not predictable, they'll remain flexible and won't necessarily broadcast them.

PHILLIPS: Well, he's made it clear he's not afraid to go to war, but he is only going to do it if indeed --

KUBIC: I think he was stronger than that, Kyra. I think what he said was that war will always be the last resort, that he will try economic power, diplomatic power, all of these things before he goes to war, but he was basically reassuring our military that if he decides to fight, we fight to win.

PHILLIPS: So when it comes to Iran and nuclear weapons --

KUBIC: Uh-huh. We can't let them have it.

PHILLIPS: So it could mean war.

KUBIC: Hopefully not.

PHILLIPS: So if Japan and South Korea could not defend themselves and North Korea did come after them, would the U.S. step in?

KUBIC: I think as General Dunford said, our strategy will be classified and as Mr. Trump said, our response will be unpredictable. So they would have to work that calculus themselves. I don't think anybody's going to telegraph that.

PHILLIPS: From your experience in the region, from what you know, look, you've been to the DMZ. You know about this cat and mouse game that takes place. What would you advise?

KUBIC: My advice would be classified and I would agree with being u unpredictable at this point.

[06:40:00] PHILLIPS: Let's talk about things he said in the past. I mean, he's made some controversial comments, for example, we're not only going to go after the ISIS fighters, but we're going to take out their families. You as a commander, I mean, would you ever tell your troops to do something like that?

KUBIC: Well, not in those words. I think he is prone to drawing very stark contrasts when he's trying to make a point. I think his point was that we are playing by different rules of engagement than the enemy and he was saying that if they're going to play tough, then we have to be able to play tough and if that means you know, taking another look at our rules of engagement, we do.

PHILLIPS: Do you think he honestly believes in everything that he's saying or is some of this for show?

KUBIC: I can't say it's for show, but if you look at the politics of getting elected, there is an awful lot of drama in that act going back through our history. So when you talk about do you mean everything you say, you're talking about issues, you're trying to crack into a shell of common speak that -- and to bring up topics that have been taboo and in some cases in order to do that, you have to be kind of brusque and he's doing that.

But underlying that is a genuine concern for America and for the direction he sees America heading, which may be the wrong direction and he wants to put it on the right direction. So, underlying all of the brusqueness is a deep love of America and a deep respect for the American people and a desire to set policies that will make America first.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: You know, in his speech yesterday, too, Trump said, Chris, that if he's elected president, that ISIS is gone. And when I asked Admiral Kubic how exactly Trump would do that, Kubic's simple answer, because he's Donald Trump.

CUOMO: Well, that's a big part of the sell here, right, is that his charisma, his perceived strength that that will be a salve that we'll apply going forward. But as we're discussing earlier, foreign policy is not as easy to finesse as the to say strong things about what you'll do at home.

Now, one of the things that was somewhat of a big tell yesterday was that Trump was working off the prompter. And that is a nod to people who like him that maybe he'll be more malleable going forward. You got anything on that?

PHILLIPS: Oh my gosh! That's so interesting that you ask that and I love that you asked that, because when we all walked in the room and we saw the teleprompter, Chris, everybody sort of looked at each other and we said, all right. He's going to stay focused. This is great. He's not going off the rails for hours and hours.

It was interesting, really, and then when you listen to the speech, yes, it was more presidential. His tone was different. It was historical. He didn't use curse words. You know, he talked about specific issues.

You know, Kubic told me he reminds him a lot of Ronald Reagan. Kubic worked in the Reagan White House. Reagan, when he didn't understand something, he listened to his advisers. He asked questions. He digested it quickly and then he reacted.

So, Kubic definitely made it clear that Trump is listening to his advisers and he's being educated.

CUOMO: What an interesting contrast. You've got Kubic there talking about Donald Trump with Kyra Phillips, and you come away with it saying, hey, look, they say he listened and he didn't use any curse words. What a bar we've set for this particular state of play.

PHILLIPS: Hey, and his numbers keep rising. I mean --

CUOMO: And, obviously, that's the justification for him at this point.

Kyra, thank you so much for this interview. Really help.

Alisyn?

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Chris.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris.

It looks like an ugly day for stocks. Global markets are rattled this morning. What does it mean for your money? Christine Romans joins us next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:48] PEREIRA: It is time for CNN Money Now. Our CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans in the Money Center there.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. It's looking like an ugly day for the stock market. I say that with a big smile on my face, sorry guys.

Dow futures are down about 150 points. European stock markets are down more than 1 percent. A huge drop in Tokyo overnight after Japan's central bank decided against more stimulus.

The doom and gloom in stocks recently is thanks to some bad corporate earnings, so bad it's being called a bad company recession. Overall, S&P 500 company earnings so far this quarter are down 8 percent, profit down 8 percent. That marks the third quarterly decline in a row, the worst since 2009.

But Facebook is not a part of all that gloom and doom. Profit at the social network surged 200 percent last quarter, revenue jumping 52 percent. There are now 1.65 billion people across the globe using Facebook each month.

This morning Chris, they're calling him King Zuck. Stocks probably going to be up today.

CUOMO: King Zuck has a ring to it. Thank you very much, Christine Romans.

The war of words between Trump and Clinton over playing the woman card, the attacks and possible fallout for Trump in the general election. Which way do you see it? Check in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:53:02] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She is a woman. She is playing the woman card left and right. She didn't play it last time with Obama. But she's playing it much harder this time. And she will be called on it.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If fighting for women's health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Well, that was Donald Trump repeating his claim that Hillary Clinton is quote, "playing the woman card", and Hillary Clinton responding. Donald Trump also claims that she would not be winning primaries if she were a man. Is that an effective attack line?

Let's bring in CNN political commentator and Trump supporter, Kayleigh McEnany, and CNN political commentator and Republican consultant, Margaret Hoover.

Ladies, great to have you here.

Margaret, I'll start with you. Will this be an effective attack line for him?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, this is playing into Hillary Clinton's hand. Look, if you could genetically breed a candidate less capable or really predisposed to running for president you would breed Donald Trump. I mean, he's a bully, he attacks women all the time, he's got this litany of attack against women over the last three decades that can just be pulled up and already has been by Republican challengers, let alone Hillary Clinton.

I mean, this is going to be very difficult, because as we all know, the female vote has the majority of the electorate. It's slightly more than 50 percent, and Mitt Romney lost that by 12 percentage points. I mean, if you're going to get a winning coalition together you've got to be better with women and he's already at a more than 70 percent unfavorable rating with them.

CAMEROTA: Kayleigh, does that fit into that narrative that we're talking about?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I understand what Margaret is saying, and I think definitely it's more effective to attack her on her record as secretary of state. Her failed record I would add.

But, look, I think there's a divide between older women and younger women. And younger women resent when Hillary Clinton plays the victim card in debate against Rick Lazio, against Bernie Sanders when he accused her of shouting or said excuse me.

She played directly into the gender type that women are weak and women are victims. She acted as if that was a sexist remark. It's insulting to women who are young and are trying to be strong and trying their best to be strong powerful women, when she stands on the stage and instead of attacking Bernie Sanders for his record, attacks him for being sexist.

[06:55:09] That falls on deaf ears with young women.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, Margaret?

HOOVER: Well, I mean, Kayleigh points out a really interesting point, which is that millennial women are actually for Bernie Sanders by almost 30 percentage points over Hillary Clinton. So, there is a generational divide.

CAMEROTA: That is a vulnerability for Hillary Clinton.

HOOVER: Yes, the problem is millennial women, yes, they don't really particularly like Hillary Clinton. They just dislike Donald Trump more. CAMEROTA: Let's look at those favorables and unfavorables with women.

If we pulled those up, Donald Trump has many more unfavorables than Hillary Clinton does. He is at 66 percent. She is at 48 percent.

So, Kayleigh, given that, I mean, given this is a vulnerability for this as well, why is he s line of attack?

MCENANY: Well, that's the thing. That's why he should resist giving her a softball because I agree with everything he said. I think it was accurate and spot on, but when you're trying to move those unfavorables, it's more effective to go after her record.

But I think he can move those numbers. We see with Republican women, people were taken aback by him at first. But he's won Republican women in 17 of the 25 states where CNN has conducted exit polls. So I think he can move those numbers.

HOOVER: Those are Republican primary voters, and we know those who vote for Donald Trump is really stalwartly in his camp.

CAMEROTA: I accept that. What Kayleigh is talking about if there was a trend line, and the trend line is that for people who were scared off by him at first and his bluster, that maybe some Republican women are warming to him.

HOOVER: I don't know that we -- we still see a very strong number of Republican women who say I mean, between 30 and 40 percent who say they will not vote for Donald Trump. And Hillary is already targeting them in her rhetoric, as she tacks toward the center as well.

I mean, the best way to run against the first female president is to run exactly the way Bernie Sanders has. Keep it above board, take her on the issues and run an aspirational campaign that's something about much larger than yourself. I mean, that's what's been effective with millennials and young women with Bernie Sanders. I think Donald Trump could actually take a page out of the play book.

CAMEROTA: Yes. How about that, Kayleigh? I mean, of all the things he could attack her on, why is he going for the woman card?

MCENANY: Because I think it's an important thing to bring up. Republican women especially understand the line of attack that I brought up earlier that she does play the victim card so with Republican primary women, that's an effective line of attack right now. But as we pivot to the general election, he needs to emphasize Planned Parenthood, I am for funding for women's health issue. That will fall on --

CAMEROTA: Yes, but that's a tough one after saying women should be punished. Of course, he walked it -- for abortion. Of course, he then spent the rest of the day putting out different positions.

But coupled with the attacks on Carly Fiorina's face, on saying this stuff about women and abortions -- I mean, this is continuing what some of his critics think is a negative feelings that he has toward women. MCENANY: But here's the thing, and this is what Melania said, his

wife, I think that is very true. He's attacked men, he's attacked women, he treats men and women equally. We can play the 30-second sound bytes that he said about Carly Fiorina. But he said like things about other candidates, Jeb Bush, he was just attacking Kasich.

His attacks are not reserved for the female gender. If they were, that would be (INAUDIBLE), but they're not.

HOOVER: They're especially harsh against females, though. I mean, if there was just one or two things, I'd be hard. I mean, we all know like, you can put together a litany of attacks he's had against women that are particularly below the belt and do sort of ring true to this misogyny. And when you're running for the first female nominee for the president it makes you particularly vulnerable.

CAMEROTA: But do you think that it's working? Working for the Hillary Clinton attack that some people who like Donald Trump do think she's playing the woman card?

HOOVER: Yes, that's right. They're Republican primary voters. They are not the people you need to win in the general election in order to get over the line and a have a coalition that's going to get you the 70 plus million votes you need, 120 million votes you need to win the presidency.

CAMEROTA: Does he tone it down for the general?

HOOVER: I think so. But, look, Hillary Clinton will bring up these statements repeatedly and I think he's going to very effectively say you want to bring up my statements from the 1990s? Let's see what your husband was doing and how Linda Tripp says you were on your office alongside demonizing victims of sexual assault.

HOOVER: That will be kryptonite. I mean, truly that is where you play directly into her strongest point.

Your point is that Hillary Clinton is playing the victim card, not the woman card. That's exactly how you play in their hands. Make her a victim again.

Remember, I'm old enough to remember the 1990s. I'm old enough to remember that Hillary Clinton won that round because Hillary Clinton was a victim of her husband's indiscretions, his husband's impeachment trial, all of the drama from that.

CAMEROTA: Wait, we have to leave it there, but he has telegraphed that he's going to do that in the general. So, fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Kayleigh, Margaret, thank you very much.

MCENANY: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: We're following a lot of news. Also, Carly Fiorina will join us live. Let's get right to it. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Our goal is peace and prosperity, not war and destruction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's all concede that foreign policy is not Donald Trump's strongest suit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Donald Trump's got it about right.

TRUMP: There's ISIS. Their days are numbered.

CLINTON: I will do everything to keep this country safe.

TRUMP: Our ambassador was murdered. Hillary Clinton decided to go home and sleep.

CLINTON: When I hear the kind of reckless rhetoric coming from Donald Trump, it's not only offensive, it is dangerous.

CARLY FIORINA (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our country is being taken away from us.