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Donald Trump Meets with Republican Congressional Leaders; "Washington Post" Releases Audio Allegedly of Donald Trump Self- Promoting; Lee McCullum from "Chicagoland" Killed; Melissa Rivers Settles Malpractice Lawsuit In Mother's Death; Sanders Pushes For Contested Convention. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired May 13, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Now, yesterday when Donald Trump met with House Republicans and Senate Republicans, he spent a lot of time listening to concerns over immigration to judges to abortion. He even promised to nominate conservative justices to the Supreme Court. At the end of the day, senators actually said they actually liked him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it was great meeting. We had a -- we discussed a lot of things.

RAJU: No endorsements, but a more united front in the GOP following Thursday's critical meeting between Republican leaders and their presumptive nominee.

TRUMP: For the most part, we agree on a lot of different items, and we're getting there. I don't mind going through a little bit of a slow process. It's a very big subject. I mean, we have a lot of things.

RAJU: House Speaker Paul Ryan using the meeting as an opportunity to get better acquainted with Trump before giving his full endorsement.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: This is a first, very encouraging meeting. But again, in 45 minutes, you don't litigate all of the processes and all of the issues in the principles that we are talking about.

RAJU: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, confident that the party can present a united front come this fall.

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: A positive first step toward unifying our party. It was a great meeting and that's the only way it can be described. It had very good chemistry between the two of them.

RAJU: After the meeting, I asked Trump's former rival, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, about the rest of the party falling in line.

RAND PAUL, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Parties usually work things out. I think we'll get there. RAJU: South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, among Trump's most

strident critics, saying this back in December.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: We know how you make America great again -- tell Donald Trump to go to hell.

RAJU: Changing his tone, graham said in a statement, "I had a cordial, pleasant phone conversation with Trump. I congratulated him on winning the Republican nomination for president."

Now, all eyes will be on the party's next steps and what endorsements, if any, will follow.

RYAN: From here, we're going to go deeper into the policy areas to see where that common ground is and how we can make sure that we are operating off the same core principles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: Now, we're still waiting for Paul Ryan to make the full throated endorsement. And he will probably soon after he and the Trump team start to discuss policy ideas and that election year agenda that the House Speaker is working so carefully on and he does not want Donald Trump to undermine. So they'll continue to work on that.

But later this morning, actually Republicans on Capitol Hill will be meeting with top Trump campaign officials as part of the effort, that outreach effort into win more support from Republicans on Capitol Hill. But one thing that will help Donald Trump is the support of a big name endorsement, that is Sheldon Adelson. He is a billionaire casino owner, on the GOP's most influential donors and a sign that the big money donors could be falling Donald Trump's way, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Manu Raju in the white hot crucible of intrigue surrounding this candidacy. Thank you very much for the reporting.

Let's discuss the meeting, the matters that were at the meeting, the path forward, and this new intrigue surrounding Donald Trump with Mr. Joseph Borelli. What is your correct title now within the campaign?

JOSEPH BORELLI, CO-CHAIR, DONALD TRUMP NEW YORK CAMPAIGN: Co-chair of the campaign here in New York.

CUOMO: So for the New York part of the -- good. You're the co-chair. It's good to have you here.

BORELLI: Thanks.

CUOMO: Let's talk policy first. One of the things that shows this potential shift of Trump trying to unify, trying to get along better, seem to be with one of his signature issues -- Muslims and the problem he believes they present to the United States. Let's play a clip of what he had said originally and what he is saying now and why the difference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald J. Trump is cling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

We have a serious problem. It's a temporary ban. It hasn't been called for yet. Nobody has done it. This is just a suggestion until we find out what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, you're councilman, you're elected here in New York City, was it the 51st district?

BORELLI: Yes.

CUOMO: You know what happens with positions. This is a signature position. It worked very well for him with the part of the base, he is strong, he's firm, he's definite. Now he is taking a big step off of it. Why isn't this seen as a red flag for people as opposed to something that shows flexibility, as he says?

BORELLI: Right. I think he was even clear in his statement that he doesn't want to allow Muslims until they can be verified. And I think he is actually even on FOX News last night in an interview, he has clarified and said this is really about Syrian immigrants. A lot of people, including myself, who live in a city like New York don't believe we should have bane or some religious litmus test. Rudy Giuliani has had sort of the same position in many interviews. But that said, people like me who live in a city look to these European capitals who had unrestricted access of people from Syria, and they see the problems not just with terrorism, but with social upheaval, with violence, with assaults, and they think someone like Donald Trump who has this position where we should be regulating is actually quite practical.

[08:05:01] CUOMO: Except -- what you just said is fine reasonable. You hold that opinion. A lot of people would share it. That's not what he said. What he said is, there is a problem with Islam. He was talking about all of them. Let's keep all of them out.

Now he is saying it's a suggestion. He is not as definite about it. If Hillary Clinton did something like that, Borelli, you would be all over it on this show, saying what a vacillating flip-flopper she is, look at this. She supposed to believe something, now she doesn't believe anything like it. She is moving away. Why aren't you aghast? It seems like that is what he could be seen he is guilty of. But you're saying no. Why?

BORELLI: Donald Trump made those comments in December. He has never run for public office before. He had a position that was very hard and firm at that point then. I think he has been doing this --

CUOMO: Hold on one second, because I keep hearing this. He has never run for office before. BORELLI: He hasn't.

CUOMO: Right. Does that mean he doesn't know what he believes about a religion or doesn't?

BORELLI: No, but he said something a professional politician like myself may not actually say.

CUOMO: Called the truth? You're supposed to say how you actually feel, right? This isn't, are your taxes going to go up?

BORELLI: But go back to the same clip because even on December 1st, he said we don't want to allow Muslim immigrants to come until they can be verified and until the country can do a better job regulating who comes in. He said that clearly.

CUOMO: Sure, but he's also saying it's just a suggestion. He doubled down on the "Today" show this morning, NBC, saying everything I say is just a suggestion. I'm not the president. It seems to be a softening, a weakening, from a guy who is all about strength and saying I'll never change on this. I'm the only one saying it. What are we supposed to believe?

BORELLI: I don't think people should believe for a second that he is weakening his position on this or a number of issues. And we see that as evidenced by some of the polls by Quinnipiac and some of these swing states. Not only is he tied and winning in Ohio, but when we look at the cross tabs, we see him beating Hillary on specifically terrorism. So I don't think people should take away to any degree he is being weak on terrorism or somehow hedging his bet.

CUOMO: Another thing popped up this morning about the campaign. You could see it as funny or a little concerning depending on your disposition. "The Washington Post" says they have tape from 25 years ago of Donald Trump posing as his own PR guy, calling them on the phone, calling different reporters on the phone and planting stories about himself. Here is a clip of the tape they say is him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: That is your name again. Yes, tremendous, they get advice, and you know, totally unanimous, working hard and doing well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Does that sound like Trump to you?

BORELLI: I have no idea. You know --

CUOMO: Does that sound like Trump to you?

BORELLI: I have absolutely no idea whether that was Donald Trump disguising his voice or whatever the case may be. Look, this is a person who in his own books has done things that traditional politicians would not have done. So the thought that just because some tape has surfaced shouldn't be surprising to people. He's never taken a position where I'm going to run for office by whole life and he's focused entirely on doing that. So if things like this happened in his past, number one, it is not surprising. This is a person who has lived in the public life his whole life. I think you're going to see a lot of drumming up things form his past. This is the only thing Hillary Clinton can do.

CUOMO: She isn't doing it. It's the "Washington Post."

BORELLI: This is the only thing Clinton campaign can do to try and detract --

CUOMO: It is not the campaign. It's the "Washington Post" and a bunch of witnesses that it's him. Why am I bringing it up? Everybody has a life. Everybody does whatever they want to do. Not everybody micromanages their existence because they think it's going to look good for others in public office. The question is, how do you deal with who you are and what do you tell the truth about? Here is what he said about this this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "The Post" says this is something you did rather routinely, that you would call reporters and plant stories and say either you were John Miller or John Barron, but in fact it was actually you on the phone. Is that something you did with any regularity?

TRUMP: No, that was not me on the phone. It was not me on the phone. And it doesn't sound like me on the phone. I will tell you that, and it was not me on the phone. And when was this, 25 years ago?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the early '90s.

TRUMP: You mean you're going so low as to talk about something that took place 25 years ago about whether or not I made a phone call? I guess you're saying under a presumed name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, under a presumed name.

TRUMP: OK, the answer is no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: He is doing a little bit of the blame the media, media is bad thing. I'm fine with your explanation. We all have lives. This isn't a crime. It is actually kind of funny.

BORELLI: To some degree.

CUOMO: But don't you have to own it?

BORELLI: He is saying it is not him.

CUOMO: There were a lot of witnesses.

BORELLI: What was Hillary Clinton doing at the same time? What was she doing as our senator for three years? This is a woman who is trying to portray herself as a Washington insider, a mover and shaker. She passed three bills in the Senate. So if we're going to focus on what Donald Trump did 25 years ago, maybe we should focus on --

CUOMO: Does it matter if he tells the truth about it?

BORELLI: I think it does matter. He answers for it. He said into the camera on TV --

CUOMO: So all these witnesses who say it's true and he did do it and he used to joke with them about it and all that?

[08:10:00] BORELLI: You'll have to ask him. I was 11 at the time so I didn't know him back them.

CUOMO: I don't believe that. You look barely over 11 now. We Italians, most of us can grow a beard by nine.

BORELLI: We do age well. We do age well.

CUOMO: Mr. Borelli, thank you for making the case as always, appreciate it. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As for the Democrats, Bernie Sanders says that he is fighting for the nomination. He is going to keep doing that. We'll be seeing if that's a reality. We'll be talking to his campaign manager ahead.

Oh, we have Chris Frates. Pardon me, I actually have a broken teleprompter, so I was just hoping that was a tease, Chris Frates, but you know what, we're going to you. So tell us about what is going on because this is still very much a primary battle that Hillary Clinton is facing against Bernie Sanders.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still very much a primary battle, you are exactly right. He was in -- he took his long shot campaign to South Dakota, Brianna, and even stopped at Mount Rushmore yesterday, firing up the faithful with reasons to believe that he can beat Hillary Clinton.

It is mathematically impossible for Sanders to win enough delegates in these remaining contests to clinch the nomination. So Sanders instead is arguing that he could still win more pledged delegates than Clinton when the primaries end next month. But even that, it is a pretty high bar. Sanders would need 67 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to beat Clinton by just one delegate. And even then, Sanders would need super delegates, the party big shots who also get to vote at the convention. He would need to flip them and get their support from Clinton in order to win, and that is very, very unlikely.

Sanders says he is still in the best position to take on and beat Donald Trump, but when he was pressed yesterday, he acknowledged that Clinton could also defeat the presumptive GOP nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not here to say that Hillary Clinton can't defeat Donald Trump. I absolutely believe that she can. But I believe quite honestly that Bernie Sanders is the stronger candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: Now, Clinton has maintained a lower profile than Sanders. Her only event yesterday was a meeting with AIDS activists at her Brooklyn headquarters. And she has no events scheduled today. Now Sanders, meanwhile, will be in Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris Frates, thanks so much.

We have a sad story to tell you about right now. His rise from Chicago's gang culture to high school graduate was featured in the documentary, "Chicagoland," but now Lee McCullum has become the latest victim of Chicago street violence. He was gunned down this week. Police still looking for answers. CNN's Ryan Young has more from Chicago this morning. Good morning, Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. This is a story and a conversation that so many people across Chicago are having because they think there needs to be more attention paid to the violence here. Lee McCullum was 22 years old and he shot just yesterday. He was shot in the head. So far, we're not sure what kind of information police have in this case, after he was just left there in the street.

What we do know, we saw this kid's transformation. He went from being a gang member to a student leader, to even prom king. We watched on that show as he was able to even get admitted to college. But so far, you can see, it didn't turn out the way so many people hoped it would with this kid. We saw Elizabeth Dozier try so hard to keep this kid alive and keep it real with him all the time. Listen to this part of the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have to think what's the long-term plan, you know, for your life and who you want to be as a man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have a plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think about maybe in January, what do you think about going away to college or to a trade school?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't mind going away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me your word we'll meet up at some point next week. You know me, I keep 100 percent real. You know how I am. I don't want to be hearing nothing bad happening to you. I don't want to be going to your funeral.

(END VIDEO CLIP) YOUNG: And obviously, those words now sticking out, but if you just think about this back in 2014, he was shot in the leg when he was standing in a crowd, and just three weeks ago, he was with his girlfriend, when someone started shooting at another crowd and she was shot and killed right in front of him. This is just a part of the violence that's being going on in Chicago. It has been a very violent year and so many people are worried what is going to happen this summer with the violence already at an uptake, Chris.

CUOMO: Ryan, you know the story so well and the situation and the life for so many of these young people, and here you had one who was saying they wanted to get out, they wanted to do something else. They realized the threat, and yet still become a victim. Ryan, thank you very much. We'll stay on the story.

Another headline for you this morning, Melissa Rivers, you know here, settling a malpractice suit against the New York endoscopy clinic. That's the clinic that her mother, Joan Rivers, died at. Rivers said in a statement she wanted to ensure that those responsible for her mother's death were held accountable. The 81-year-old comedian stopped breathing during routine throat surgery there in August 2014.

[08:15:00] Joan Rivers died a week later. That is the substance of this lawsuit. The terms of the settlement with Melissa Rivers not disclosed.

KEILAR: Well, they were looking for a thrill but they didn't expect this. A plane carrying 17 skydivers crashed into a California vineyard. Everyone is OK, thankfully, just minor cuts and scrapes.

The pilot reported engine trouble. He is getting some credit here for maneuvering this crippled aircraft underneath some power lines, just missing a house, and crash landing the plane upside down. And can you believe no one was injured?

CUOMO: Wow.

KEILAR: Really, in a real way, yes.

BERMAN: All right, this election cycle just got a whole lot funnier and CNN right in the middle of it all. You may be surprised, now, who's throwing their hat into the ring, sort of. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dana Bash, CNN.

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": Oh, hey Dana, how are you? (CHEERING)

BASH: Jimmy, can you confirm that you told Jake Tapper, of CNN, that, and I quote, "You don't need a number one to make a number two." (LAUGHTER)

KIMMEL: You know, Jake's right there. You could ask him yourself. He's next to you. (LAUGHTER) BASH: Did he say that?

JAKE TAPPER, HOST, "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER": He did.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Jimmy, will you build a wall?

KIMMEL: Will I build a wall? Yes, I will it but I'll tell you this. I will build it on the northern border to keep the Mexicans out of Canada. (APPLAUSE) Thank you.

BLITZER: Jimmy, why are running for vice president?

KIMMEL: Wolf, I'm running for vice president because I love this country. I was born here, you know that. If this country -- I love this country so much if it was a woman I would have sex with it. (LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Will you be going out on the campaign trail?

KIMMEL: No, I will not, Jake. I get carsick and buses smell really kind of bad. (LAUGHTER) I will operate from here at my headquarters in Los Angeles.

BLITZER: Jimmy, do you think you're making a mockery of this election?

KIMMEL: I think it's too late for anyone to do that, Wolf. (LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

TAPPER: Jimmy, are you prepared to become president if the president dies?

KIMMEL: Jake, if the president dies, God forbid, I am planning to be buried with him or her. (LAUGHTER) That is the kind of support I am prepared to give my running mate.

(CROSSTALK)

KIMMEL: I'm sure you have a lot of questions. That's all the time I have right now. I'm in the middle of a show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: There is no overtalking at CNN.

BERMAN: Never happens.

CUOMO: Never happens.

BERMAN: Not even at all.

CUOMO: We all know our place.

KEILAR: Do what?

BERMAN: Let the record show that Tapper was the one who couldn't keep a straight face.

CUOMO: Oh, no, no.

BERMAN: And, Dana Bash --

KEILAR: He was doing a good at first and then he cracked.

CUOMO: I thought that he played it perfectly and I thought the CNN people all acquitted themselves well. I like that Jimmy said -- which are you going to run with? He said both because it increases my chances of running for V.P. with both candidates.

KEILAR: I sort of feel like anything could happen, though, in this cycle --

CUOMO: That was good.

KEILAR: -- so you never know.

CUOMO: And, CNN at the center of it --

BERMAN: As always.

CUOMO: -- as always. Bernie Sanders' campaign not mincing words, saying Hillary Clinton would be a disaster if she becomes the Democratic nominee. Is that desperation talking? We're going to talk to his campaign manager about it. Stayed tuned.

[08:18:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:22:00] KEILAR: Bernie Sanders is back on the campaign trail today. He's in North Dakota. And the Sanders campaign still believing that a contested convention is possible and that he, not Hillary Clinton, is the stronger Democratic candidate and best suited to face Donald Trump.

Let's talk about all of this with Sanders' campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. Jeff, thank you for being with us, and I have to ask you about a fundraising email from you, actually, to Sanders' supporters --

JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS' CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Sure.

KEILAR: -- that your candidate has been asked about and is creating quite a lot of attention. In it, it says, you words, "The Democratic Party must decide if they want the candidate with the momentum who is best positioned to beat Trump, or if they are willing to roll the dice and court disaster simply to protect the status quo for the political and financial establishment of this country."

You're taking a lot of incoming for suggesting that going with Hillary Clinton is to court disaster against Donald Trump. What's your response?

WEAVER: Well, the election of Donald Trump would be disaster and so I -- you know, it's clear from all the evidence --

KEILAR: But, you're inclined that if she's the candidate that -- and so I think people are making that association that you're saying courting disaster is to go with Hillary Clinton, not just Donald Trump being elected. You're saying that it's Hillary Clinton.

WEAVER: No, what I'm saying is is that Bernie Sanders, by all the evidence, is a stronger candidate against Donald Trump. And if you choose the candidate that's not the stronger candidate then you're courting disaster, and that disaster would be the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States.

And the evidence is pretty clear, Brianna. The polls have been consistent. Bernie Sanders runs much stronger against Donald Trump than does Sec. Clinton. That's just empirically the case with the polls. You know, the recent battleground polls in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and to Florida, where the secretary was losing to Trump in Ohio and was only one point up in Florida and Pennsylvania.

It was a very, very difficult situation for Democrats. You've been on the campaign trail, I know, covering this campaign the whole time. You've seen the energy that Bernie Sanders brings to young people. Millions of young people have come out. Independents vote for him in overwhelming numbers.

Will the secretary be able to capture those people in the fall if she's the nominee? Maybe, but maybe not. But we know Bernie Sanders has, so he is clearly the stronger candidate. And I think it would be courting disaster to go with this weaker candidate against Donald Trump. Donald Trump would be just a phenomenally bad president.

KEILAR: A lot of people look at those head-to-head polls and they say they're interesting, but they're not really reliable. They don't really tell us a whole lot about what would actually happen in November.

WEAVER: Well, I don't know that that's the case. I mean, we've had a long primary campaign now. All the candidates have received substantial exposure in a wide variety of states across the country. We're down to nine states left to go in the process.

So, people around the country are very familiar with Bernie Sanders, they're very familiar with Hillary Clinton, they're very familiar with Donald Trump, and I think that these polls really are a very strong indicator of what will happen in November, at least at his point. Obviously, things can change. The campaign is not over. The voting's not tomorrow.

But at this point, coming out of the gate, if we were to start the general campaign today Bernie Sanders starts off in a much, much stronger position in large part, again, because of his strong support from young people and from independent voters.

[08:25:00] KEILAR: He is suffering with support from, certainly, some of the other important demographic groups in the Democratic tent. And by his own -- I was at an event the other day, this week, where he says we've won 45 percent of pledged delegates. But he would need to win 67 percent of pledged delegates going forward.

This is someone who needs to up their grade by 21 percent. It's considered basically impossible just to get to that pledged delegate match with Hillary Clinton. That is considered basically impossible in the scheme of how politics kind of work their way out in the primary season.

With that in mind, how is he not just prolonging this and damaging Hillary Clinton's performance for a general election?

WEAVER: Well, let me say this about that point. I think we saw in 2008 when Sec. Clinton went all the way to the end when she was running against then-senator Barack Obama, he was an extremely strong candidate in the fall. And so I think that myth of a long primary really was dispelled back in 2008.

In addition to that, the fact that the Democratic primary is still going on means that issues of importance to Democrats are being discussed on the air. Issues like raising the minimum wage, dealing with health care, dealing with trade policy, how we create jobs, how we deal with a rigged economy, how we deal with a corrupt campaign finance system. But once this process is over all those issues will just evaporate and what we're going to have is Donald Trump monopolizing T.V. and attacking whoever the nominee is.

So, as long as this process goes on there's still going to be a discussion of important issues to Democrats and important issues to Americans. And so this process, actually, makes whoever comes out of it a much stronger candidate on the back end.

KEILAR: All right, Jeff Weaver, thanks so much for your time. We do appreciate it. I'll see you out there on the trail. John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right, thanks, Brianna. Donald Trump denies he posed as his own publicist years ago with phone calls to plant stories about himself. What is this all about? What does this say about the candidate and his character?