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Trump Denies Phone Recordings; Latest Business Headlines; Man Rescued from Burning Car. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 13, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:58] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, no endorsement, but the seeds of unification were planted during Donald Trump's meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump's position on immigration has put him at odds with a lot of folks in the Republican Party, including one particular voting bloc, Hispanics. Let's talk more about that with former United States Treasurer Rosario Marin, who served under President George W. Bush.

Rosario, thank you so much for being with us. I want to talk about Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee, the fact that he is the fact that he is the presumptive nominee. I want to talk about the meetings between Trump and Ryan that took place yesterday. But I want to start with something that just broke this morning. "The Washington Post" published some recordings in an article which suggest that Donald Trump, over the years, has sort of posed (ph) as his own publicist in phone calls with reporters to spin his own accomplishments, and they have recordings of this. So I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE). What's your name again?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Miller.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you work with Donald Trump (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's correct. He's starting to do tremendously well for the (INAUDIBLE). So he (INAUDIBLE) the other day and, you know, totally unanimous, and he's really been working hard and doing well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, so we're really hearing this sort of for the first time right along with you. I guess my first question to you is, does that sound like Donald Trump to you? And if yes, what does it say about a person who would do something like that?

ROSARIO MARIN, FORMER U.S. TREASURER: I think it only confirms what we all have seen all along. This is the guy that - that - he's so ego maniac. He's just - it's all about him. It's just about himself. And I'm not surprised. I mean, this is - this just confirms what we've seen all along. BERMAN: Does it surprise you that he flat out denies it, despite the

fact that there are several people, contemporaneous witnesses to it over the years wo say that, yes, it happened. Listen to what he said on the "Today" show just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): No, and I - it 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. But, yes -

TRUMP: Wow, you mean, you mean you're - 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, and under a presumed name.

TRUMP: OK. Well, OK. The answer is no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He denies it. And then he insults the interviewers.

MARIN: Yes.

BERMAN: Surprised? No. No, he's done it all along. That's why - that's where - that's why he is where he is because he just uses all of these techniques that he just denies it. He has died so many things that we both have seen on TV. You know, maybe this happened 25 years ago, whenever it was, but we've seen throughout the campaign where he's done things, his campaign has done things, his campaign has done things, and then he denies it flatly on TV. It's - it doesn't - it's not surprising. It's just confirmation of who he is.

BERMAN: So, Rosario, you're a long time Republican, an activist, right? I mean you were big in Jeb Bush's, you know, run for the White House. And this time around, you say these things, you say it's not surprising, you say you don't like it. I guess the question now is, what are you going to do about it?

MARIN: Well, I'm certainly not going to vote for this guy. I mean, this little orange man is just - has done everything to unearn my vote. And I have been a loyal Republican activist. I have been on the trenches. I have done everything to try to get Latinos to vote Republican for the last - more than two decades. I've been there. And with his comments about Mexicans, about immigrants, he has just, with one stroke, undone my voting for him. BERMAN: You called him a name there. You know, we couldn't help but

notice, you called him a name now. You know, I don't know, I haven't known you for a long time. Has he dragged you down to his level with the name-calling?

[08:35:03] MARIN: No. I'm just describing what he is. He's a little orange man. That's just the way he is. Everybody knows. When I say that, everybody knows who I'm talking about. I don't say his name. You guys say it all the time. I don't. But I - everybody understands, you know, when I talk about the little orange man, everybody understands that.

You know, he has offended me as a woman by insinuating that if you're menstruating you can't do your job. He has offended me as a Mexican. I was born in Mexico. To suggest that everybody that comes here is either a rapist or a drug dealer is just very insulting. He has insulted me as the mother of a child with a disability. My son has Down's syndrome. And when he made fun of the reporter, that was just the last stroke. This guy has done everything to unearn my vote. I certainly cannot vote for him. I certainly cannot ask anybody to vote for this little orange man.

BERMAN: So you are a lifelong Republican. You are active in the Republican Party. Donald Trump, or whatever name you choose to call him, just went to Washington meet with party leaders, your party leaders, yesterday, including Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan didn't endorse, but now he says they're totally committed to the same thing. Other leaders down there did endorse. A whole lot of people seem to be coming around to Donald Trump. What's your attitude going to be to these people who are now supportive of Donald Trump, if not directly, at least supportive of his election?

MARIN: Yes. You know, they're doing that. There is - they really see that they have no choice because they're the leaders of the party. But I have a choice. I have a choice. And - but he - you know, the way that he has talked about immigrants, I am an immigrant. John, I came to this country. This is the greatest country in the world. But when he offends everybody, when he's so nativist (ph) about it, you know, he's forgetting the essence of who we are as Americans. And when he insults immigrants the way he has done, when he insults groups - entire groups of people, you know, that's not - we don't elect - the United States does not elect just the president of the United States. We elect the leader of the world. And he has no business being the leader of the world.

He has divided our party. He will divide the nation and he will divide the world. That is a scary thought. This is the land of opportunity. This is the land of immigrants. And when he has - listen, just one thing. One small thing. Twelve percent of our population is made of immigrants right now. Fifty-one percent of companies in the Silicon Valley were created by immigrants. That includes Google, eBay. The gentleman from Instagram, he came on an H1B visa. But the way this little orange man talks about immigrants, you know, taking away jobs, when we are creating jobs, is just - it's just unacceptable.

BERMAN: Rosario Marin, some strong views. I appreciate you coming on NEW DAY this morning. Thank you so much.

MARIN: Thank you, John.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, FaceBook facing questions over alleged bias in trending topics. Now the CEO is ready to face questions from angry conservatives. More on that next on NEW DAY.

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[08:42:29] BERMAN: Time for "CNN Money Now." CNN Money correspondent Alison Kosik in the Money Center.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Mark Zuckerberg inviting top conservatives to meet with him and talk amid allegations of political bias. The FaceBook CEO denying the company suppressed stories of interest to conservatives from its trending topics, though it admit human editors do play a big part in picking those topics. Hmm.

The no tipping policy at Joe's Crab Shack is no more. The casual seafood chain has been testing out no tipping at 14 locations since August, but the company is moving back to accepting tips. Those locations lost an average of 10 percent of its customers because of increased prices on its menu items because that money, Chris, was going right to pay those labor costs.

CUOMO: Well, that's a bad connection to be sure. Thank you very much for the money report, my friend.

KOSIK: You got it.

CUOMO: So, she came from California to donate clothes 25 years ago. But what Paula Claussen saw in Tijuana, Mexico, broke her heart. So this week's CNN Hero started up a non-profit to help those in dire straits. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA CLAUSSEN: It's important to remember that these families that we're helping in Mexico are our neighbors. They're just right across the border. It's night and day, the difference. We are helping the communities come together. And we are teaching them that there is love in the world. That other people do care about them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: To see how Paula can change an entire family's life in just one day, go to cnnheros.com. And while you're there, please nominate someone that you think deserves to be a CNN Hero.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Controversial policies are one thing, outright deceit is another. Did Donald Trump take an assumed name and act as his own spokesman, and did he tell the truth about whether or not he did or did not do that? We'll talk about a possible fallout with the top congressional conservative, Steve King.

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[08:48:20] CUOMO: All right, it's happening right now. Donald Trump denying "The Washington Post" report that he used to pose as his own publicist back in 1991. Trump saying phone recordings from two decades ago are not him.

Let's discuss with Congressman Steve King. He was co-chair of Ted Cruz's presidential campaign.

Congressman, always a pleasure. You are now saying that Trump is the man who should be president. Let me play you some of this tape that's making the rounds this morning.

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning. What's your name again?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Miller.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you work with (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's correct.

He's starting to do tremendously well for (INAUDIBLE). So he got (INAUDIBLE) the other day and, you know, totally unanimous. And he's really been working hard and doing well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, there's a lot of this tape, there are a lot of reporters who say, yes, Donald Trump used to do this. Most found it funny. Some found it creepy. There are all these other connections about Trump having acknowledged in the past that he used the same pseudonyms that are used in the tape. But then this morning, on the "Today" show, he said it wasn't me on the tape. I didn't do it. And how can you go so low as to bring something like this up. Do you think that this is irrelevant?

KING: Well, I don't know if I can say it's irrelevant, Chris, but this is completely news to me in that I had not picked up on this story at all this morning and so I'm hearing an audio that is pretty scratchy. And I think that will be resolved here probably before the day is over as to whether that is Donald Trump's voice or not. But it's not something surely that I would encourage, nor be supportive of, nor excuse away. I think that we - the American people ought to see what the truth is and the straightest of things we can do is just tell the truth every time and let the American people weigh their decisions on who should be the next president of the United States based upon that.

[08:50:13] CUOMO: Well, you tend to be a straight shooter. You own positions, even when unpopular. That is who you are. But, you know, the question that is raises is, who cares about the tapes. A lot of people think it's funny that he did that, or some kind of insight into, you know, how he kind of made his personal brand. But the concern is, wow, if you'll lie about something that means nothing, assuming he is not telling the truth here, what would you do about actually what does matter, what has consequence. How important is that quality in a leader?

KING: Oh, I think - I think that honesty and integrity is a very important quality. And, you know, we're dealing with most - the most likely nominees will be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Now, this could be some acting going on here. It seems to me like that's the case for whatever reason or motive it is. But if it - you know, if it's verified that that's Donald Trump's voice, then he needs to be called into account for how he characterized it.

But here are some things that I have heard. Hillary Clinton, for example, came into a classified briefing right after Benghazi and I can't tell you what she actually said in there, but I can tell you I went there to hear her. She would walk back the story that it was a videotape that caused the assaults in Benghazi. And I can tell you she didn't walk back the story. She left everybody in there believing that the government's narrative that was five times repeated and on your network too by Susan Rice, that that was the reason for the assault. We know today that she knew better. So that's misinforming the United States Congress. That's a pretty heavy charge. And I haven't seen that that be very much on a topic before the American people or the media, Chris.

CUOMO: Right. Look, you want to have people who tell the truth. When I say right, I'm talking about the concept, not your appraisal of that hearing, because the complication with your analysis when it comes to Clinton and Benghazi is, you had a lot of reviews and one of the things that they share is this understanding that the story changed on the intel side very often with Benghazi. Was it terrorism? Was it a mob? Was it the video? What was it? There seems to be no question that Secretary Clinton was getting different accounts of why it happened, but you won't give her the benefit of that being the explanation for her changes in the story, what she was being told. Why not?

KING: Well, because I sat down with a top State Department security officer who was on - at his post on duty conveying this information to Hillary Clinton's chief of staff in real time. And I was thoroughly convinced that Hillary Clinton had to know the real truth within at least three and a half hours of the beginning of the operation. So that gives me a conviction that's deeper than most because I had drilled into that and looked the man in the eye who was putting that information in front of Hillary Clinton through her chief of staff. And I - and some will say that she knew the truth within 12 minutes. I don't know that. But I'm convinced that she knew the truth within three and a half hours, and this briefing before - classified briefing before Congress should have at least been qualified. She should have started to walk it back, but that was a narrative as they put out and I believe that the motive was in order to protect the reelection of the president, the American people were denied the truth. And now Hillary Clinton wants to be the commander in chief, the president of the United States, the leader of the free world. And how does she work with the United States Congress if we can't take - even take her at her word in a classified hearing, a classified briefing?

CUOMO: That's going to be a big issue for the voters, that's for sure, if she gets the nomination. She's not where Donald Trump is yet as being the presumptive nominee.

Let me ask you something, congressman. We always come at you guys for not getting anything done down there, but it sounds like there's a heck of a lot of work going on behind you right now. What's going on down there in the rotunda?

KING: Well, just a lot of noise. There's tourists coming through and it's a fairly active day. I didn't really look around very much. I came up the elevator to get in front of this camera as fast as possible. But it's a - it's an active place with a lot of background noise and I'm fortunate that I've got a dual set of earpieces today so we can - we can talk in this arena, Chris.

CUOMO: Well, you sound fine but it sounds like you guys are doing some trap shooting down there or something.

Congressman King -

KING: I'd be down there if that was the case.

CUOMO: I know you would. I hear you're a good shot. Thank you for being on NEW DAY, as always. Have a good weekend, congressman.

KING: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, John.

BERMAN: All right, Chris.

A man rescued from a burning car by two police officers. We have a look at how they went beyond the call of duty.

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[08:57:31] CUOMO: As heroes often do, two Maryland police officers say they were just doing their jobs when they raced toward a burning car. The officers' quick thinking saved a man's life and it was all captured on tape. Here's CNN's Brynn Gingras showing us how these men went beyond the call of duty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFFICER CODY FIELDS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) I'm on scene and the entire car is on fire.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Cody Fields. The Montgomery County, Maryland, police officer had been dispatched to car crashes many times before. But this was a first.

GINGRAS (on camera): What did you say in your head or out loud when you pulled up?

FIELDS (on camera): Yes, I - I hope there's not somebody inside.

GINGRAS (voice-over): But there was. A 34-year-old man who had fallen asleep and crashed along the concrete barrier of busy Interstate 495.

FIELDS: (INAUDIBLE), he's not conscious right now or alert.

GINGRAS (on camera): Your heart must have been pounding.

FIELDS: Yes, absolutely. I saw that there wasn't any access other than to go through the fire in order to get the guy out of the car.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Officer Fields would soon get some help from veteran Officer Brian Nesbitt.

OFFICER NESBITT, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: At one point the fire was coming up underneath and hitting Officer Field's legs, and that's when I said to him, we've got to go now or we're going to be in trouble. We never took his seat belt off. We just both didn't -

FIELDS: We didn't cut it.

NESBITT: We didn't cut it with anything. We just ended up pulling him out of it somehow.

GINGRAS (on camera): Did you know he was going to live?

FIELDS: I had no idea. But he was barely breathing when Officer Nesbitt and I pulled him out.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Miraculously, neither officer was burned. Soon after wiping the soot from their faces, they realized the dashcam recorded the harrowing rescue.

GINGRAS (on camera): When you saw that video, what were you thinking?

FIELDS: Wow, is that us? It was like almost unbelievable. Like, you know, we actually did that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer Fields rushed to the -

GINGRAS (voice-over): They never shared this video with their superiors. It was a colleague who later put in a request that they be honored for their heroism. And they were at a ceremony in March. They shook the hand of Rashad Israel for the first time, the man they saved.

GINGRAS (on camera): When you first met the officers, what did you say to them?

RASHAD ISRAEL, MAN RESCUED FROM CRASH: I said, thank you. But they made it seem like it wasn't no big deal to them.

GINGRAS: They were doing their job.

ISRAEL: Yes, they were doing their job. But their job meant the world to me. GINGRAS: You get that call again in the future, car burning, possibly

someone inside, what's the thought that goes through your head?

FIELDS: Hey, I hope I have Officer Nesbitt with me.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, Gaithersburg, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:00:00] BERMAN: Good for them.

CUOMO: Boy, oh, boy.

BERMAN: Good for them.

CUOMO: And the man, Rashad, said it right, they say they're just doing their job -

KEILAR: Amazing.

CUOMO: But their job meant the world to me.

BERMAN: All right, time for "Newsroom" now with Carol Costello.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much.