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Trump Unleashes Tirade Against 'Sleazy' Media; Clinton Endorsed by California Governor; Police Investigate Boy's Family in Gorilla's Death; 'Mystery' Third-Party Candidate Revealed. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired June 01, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump and all his bigotry is not going to stop our path forward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had to get shot and killed, and why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The power of those animals is beyond immeasurable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really raises a lot of questions. What is the proper response?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The child would not be here today if they didn't do what they did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is very fierce fighting on the entrances to Fallujah. It will be a very bloody battle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're being used as human shields. They have absolutely no way out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is definitely getting more dangerous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. Ana Cabrera joins us here in Studio G. Great to have you.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Great to be here.

CAMEROTA: OK. A busy news morning. Donald Trump taking no prisoners, and he says you better get used to it. The GOP presumptive nominee launching a tirade against the media, calling reporters sleazy and dishonest for trying to scrutinize the money trail from his veterans' fund-raisers in Iowa.

Also raising eyebrows the just-released high-pressure playbook used by the now defunct Trump University.

CUOMO: One, just a look at his intemperance. The other one, though, may be about tactics. But here's the reality, if you look at polls, there's the reality of how things are going for Mr. Trump. He's supposed to be a big underdog against Hillary Clinton. Doesn't look like it. They are neck and neck.

Now, this big event yesterday was supposed to be all good. It was about Donald Trump coming out and showing, "Here's how much money we have raised for veterans' charities instead of going to that debate that night back in January."

Instead, he turned it into a shaming for reporters. And what did that mean and why did he do it?

Another big event in the campaign was that Hillary Clinton just got a big endorsement a week before the critical California primary. So what does all this mean? Let's discuss. We've got the 2016 election covered the way only CNN can.

Jason Carroll, live from Trump Tower, start us off.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Chris. You know, I think you said it best. Coming on the heels of Memorial Day, many people thought this press conference would be an opportunity to celebrate the millions of dollars that Trump has raised for veterans' organizations, but instead, it turned into another tirade against the press.

TRUMP: I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I've ever met.

CARROLL: Donald Trump going off the rails on the media again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What I don't want is when I raise millions of dollars, have people say, like this sleazy guy right over here from ABC. He's a sleaze. In my book.

TOM LLAMAS, ABC NEWS: Why am I a sleaze?

TRUMP: You're a sleaze, because -- you know the facts, and you know the facts well. Excuse me -- excuse me, I've watched you on television. You're a real beauty. Find out how much Hillary Clinton's given to the veterans. Nothing.

CARROLL: The rant during Trump's press conference announced he raised $5.6 million at a January event and distributed it to more than 40 veterans' charities.

TRUMP: I wasn't too involved in picking the organizations, other than I gave $1 million to the Marine, the Law Enforcement Marine...

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, guys!

CARROLL: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump's likely opponent in the general election, responding to Trump's public media scolding.

CLINTON (via phone): He bragged for months about raising $6 million for veterans and donating $1 million himself, but it took a reporter to shame him into actually making his contribution and getting the money to veterans.

CARROLL: Her campaign pouncing, trying to draw a contrast on veterans' issues.

CLINTON: Much of the work that I've done has meant tens of millions of dollars in increased benefits to veterans and their families, as well as a personal commitment.

CARROLL: This as the public gets a glimpse into Trump's business tactics, outlined in the now-defunct Trump University so-called playbook; 400 pages of training material released as part of a class- action lawsuit reveals how team members were instructed to identify students with the most money and urged to, quote, "close the deal" on the most expensive package, the Gold Elite, costing nearly $35,000.

The lawsuit alleges students paid their money and never learned a thing. The newly-released documents cast light on how the university was marketed, but what they don't show is what happened in classes after the sale was made.

TRUMP: I have a judge who's very, very unfair. He knows he's unfair, and I'll win the Trump University case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And Ana, a Quinnipiac poll released just this morning shows that, if the election were held today, Clinton would stand at 45 percent versus Trump at 41 percent. But there is a margin of error at 2.5 percent that show, still a very, very close race.

As for Trump, we'll have to see if he has any more to say about the press. He has a rally later on this evening in Sacramento, California -- Ana.

CABRERA: But it is not a two-person race just yet. There is a third person, Bernie Sanders, still in it on the Democratic side; and he says he is still committed to taking his fight all the way to the convention, no matter what happens in next week's big primaries in New Jersey and California.

[06:05:06] However, Clinton just got a big boost out west with the endorsement of California Governor Jerry Brown. Let's get to CNN senior correspondent Joe Johns, following the latest in the Democratic battle this morning -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ana.

Bernie Sanders continues to make the case on the campaign trail that the Democratic nominating process will not end when the primaries are over, which plays well to his supporters but gives heartburn to the party establishment.

Meanwhile, Governor Jerry Brown of California giving a big endorsement to Sanders' opponent, Hillary Clinton, citing the fact that, mathematically, she's so close to sewing up the delegates needed to get the Democratic nomination. Brown also cited his concern that the stakes could not be higher,

that this is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other. And he cited her experience in government, as well as the fact that Donald Trump is the Republican standard bearer now.

Sanders responded by suggesting Brown is one of the establishment Democrats he's been fighting against. He has said that, after the primaries are over, it will be up to Hillary Clinton to reach out to his supporters, and she says she's already doing that.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON (via phone): I will certainly do everything I can to unify the Democratic Party. Our campaigns have been reaching out to one another. We will continue to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The Democratic front-runner is on the East Coast right now raising money in New Jersey, where her campaign thinks they will have a good chance to win the primary. She's also doing a fund-raiser this evening in Boston with music legend Jon Bon Jovi -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Joe, thanks so much for all of that.

Let's talk strategy now with former New York City council speaker and Hillary Clinton supporter Christine Quinn. Christine, thanks so much for being here on NEW DAY.

CHRISTINE QUINN, FORMER NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK. Let's talk about the strategy, or at least what Hillary Clinton tried to do yesterday to counter or even undermine Donald Trump's press conference, where she announced that he had raised $5.6 million for vets. Let me put it up on the screen, some of the things that her campaign did yesterday.

Clinton herself phoned into two networks, CNN included. Her campaign hosted a national press call to try to sort of alert reporters to what she had done for vets versus what Donald Trump had. They released press statements outlining how they said Donald Trump had disrespected vets in the past. She dispatched surrogates in key battleground states with talking points and oppo research about Trump's past disparaging comments about vets and yet, Christine, all of that was pretty much eclipsed by this remarkable press conference that Donald Trump had.

So what is the Hillary Clinton camp supposed to do?

QUINN: Look, I think if you look at Donald Trump's press conference, it says a lot. In a way it speaks for itself all about why Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the United States. He showed in that press conference a temperament that is exactly

not the temperament you want leading the free world. He showed that he may want to stand up and perform in front of the press.

But he doesn't actually want to answer questions, and when he gets hit with a tough question, he acts like a schoolyard bully and calls reporters and calls people names. That's the opposite of presidential, and it's the opposite of what the American people have always looked for in their leader.

CAMEROTA: You know, during that press conference, Donald Trump challenged the press to scrutinize Hillary Clinton's donations to vets. And thought that that actually was a valuable exercise. So here at CNN, we looked into that. At NEW DAY we did.

Here is what we came up with, from the years 2006 through 2011, here are the donations we found. These are made from the Clinton family foundation, OK? So these are her -- her donations to vets. They total $105,000.

During a four-year span before yesterday's big donation that Donald Trump made of $5.6 million, according to "Forbes" magazine, Donald Trump had contributed $57,000. So Hillary Clinton, almost twice as much.

And yet, again, she has eclipsed, because he's setting the agenda. He's making a splashy press conference. He has this big total now that he can trumpet, pardon the pun. And so her donations, you know, she didn't talk about them. They get a little lost.

QUINN: Look, I think we're assuming that yesterday's press conference at the end of the day is a net positive for Donald Trump, and I don't really think that is the case. Because I think the more the American public sees of his behavior, and his temperament, and his bullying, the more questions that they are going to have.

CAMEROTA: But I mean, forget his behavior for a moment. Isn't the headline he's raised $5.6 million for vets? I mean, doesn't that...

QUINN: I think the headline is also, he only wrote the checks after "The Washington Post" asked, "Show me the money." And the dates, he can say whatever he wants. But the date of when "The Washington Post" started asking and pushing, the checks are right after that.

So unlike the contributions we see from the secretary, which came because she thought they were top-notch places to support and vets needed support, these came after the press pulled back the curtain and said, "Oh, no. You didn't live up to your commitment beyond that."

So Donald Trump says he didn't give the money yet, earlier, because he hadn't finished vetting. But this station uncovered a number of the groups he gave money to he really didn't vet. He didn't check their federal tax statements. And there are some groups, and there are some good, but some of serious questions and groups that should not be funded.

CAMEROTA: All right. Well, it seems like yesterday, he put a lot of that to rest. He also, I believe, sent out a tweet yesterday that I think you have.

QUINN: Probably.

CAMEROTA: A big bet, actually. He says, "I'm getting credit for my press conference today. Crooked Hillary should be admonished for not having a press conference in 179 days."

Should she have more press conferences?

QUINN: Look, I think the question of candidates having more press conferences is a fair one. And I think candidates, having been -- not for president but for mayor -- should stand up in front of the press.

CAMEROTA: Why doesn't she?

QUINN: But let's not confuse what Donald Trump did yesterday with an appropriate professional press conference.

CAMEROTA: Is his style of press conference. That is what he says we can expect from him.

QUINN: But is that answering questions? Is that giving the public information? Is that telling the public how you're going to lead? No. It's standing up and doing a version of "The Apprentice" in front of the national press corps? That is not dispelling information, answering questions and putting your platform out there. Very different.

CAMEROTA: Should Hillary Clinton have more press conferences?

QUINN: I think every presidential candidate should stand up in front of the press and answer questions. But that's not what Donald Trump did. He stood in front of the press and made a show and put on his Vegas act. He didn't answer questions.

CAMEROTA: Let me show you what's happening in New Jersey in the latest Monmouth poll that has just been released. They are very close, neck and neck, almost within the margin of error. Hillary gets 38 percent; Donald Trump gets 34 percent in this Monmouth poll. Democrats have won New Jersey since 1992. How do you explain how close the numbers are?

QUINN: You look at where President Obama was four years ago, eight years ago as it relates to the Republican nominees in each of those races. They were equally close.

We're in a situation where the secretary is both running against Donald Trump, because she is going to be the Democratic nominee, and finishing the Democratic primary. That makes two races at one time challenging for voters. Once the Democratic primary is over, I have no doubt the party's going to coalesce, and you're going to see the numbers change to where they really are, which is the secretary leading significantly.

CAMEROTA: We shall see. Christine Quinn, thanks so much for coming in to NEW DAY.

QUINN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you here. Over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right. So we are following this situation that continues to grow around the Cincinnati Zoo. And internationally, outpouring of emotion about that gorilla being killed.

And now a new focus by the police on the family of the little boy who somehow slipped into that gorilla's enclosure. Are they going to face charges?

We have CNN's Jessica Schneider following developments for us in Cincinnati -- Jessica.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, the prosecutor is not ruling out criminal charges, and that's why the police are now focusing their investigation on the actions of -- the potential inactions of those parents.

They're going to focus in on exactly what happened in those minutes leading up to when their 3-year-old son came face-to-face with that gorilla. We've all seen the intense Internet scrutiny. The mother has faced the bulk of that scrutiny. A lot of posts online. A lot of people wondering and asking, where was she in the moments leading up to this, and why wasn't she watching her child?

Of course, police will be asking those same questions. They're already asking to talk to witnesses, and they're already asking for people who may have shot more video than we've already seen.

Now, also developing overnight, there's been a post from world- renowned primate expert Jane Goodall. She posted an e-mail that she sent out to the Cincinnati Zoo director on Sunday. In that e-mail, she said she was sorry for what happened. She expressed her sorrow.

But she also said this. She said it looked as though the gorilla was putting an arm around the child, like the female who was rescued -- who rescued the child from the Chicago exhibit. Jane Goodall there talking about a 1996 incident at a Chicago zoo, where a 3-year-old toddler, a boy, also fell into a gorilla enclosure. The gorilla in that case was a female gorilla. She scooped up the boy. She guarded him from other gorillas, and she waited until a zoo keeper there could take that little boy to safety -- Ana.

CABRERA: We want to see the best in those animals. A tough situation. Jessica Schneider, thank you for that report.

We have breaking news right now in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804. Investigators now saying a French navy boat has detected an underwater signal. They believe it could belong to one of the doomed aircraft's flight recorders. The black boxes. Now, it's just picked up in the search area at the crash zone in the Mediterranean Sea. And EgyptAir Flight 804, you'll recall, dropped off radar en route from Paris to Cairo last month. Sixty-six people were onboard, all presumed dead. We'll bring you more of the breaking details as we get them here on CNN.

[07:15:04] CAMEROTA: A travel alert for Americans headed to Europe this summer. Be aware the risk of terrorism. This is a warning from the State Department, and they say this alert is not based on a new threat, but rather for big, upcoming events. The Tour de France, the European soccer championship and the Catholic Church's World Youth Day in Poland will all draw large crowds. The worry is that could make them targets for ISIS-inspired attacks.

CUOMO: Let's shift gears. Here's some entertainment news that's practically perfect in every way. Disney's "Mary Poppins" getting a sequel. Yes, British actress Emily Blunt is going to take over for the legendary Julie Andrews as Poppins, and Broadway legend in the making, Lin-Manuel Miranda is going to star -- you know, you know him from "Hamilton" and from "In the Heights." He's going to play a new character, a street lamplighter named Jack. "Mary Poppins Returns," expected in theaters Christmas day 2018.

CAMEROTA: I'll buy my tickets now. My kids will be very interested in that.

CUOMO: Miranda is, like, you know, a Broadway superhero.

CAMEROTA: Phenom. I know.

CABRERA (SINGING): Just a spoon full of sugar...

(SPEAKING): I can't help myself.

CUOMO: That's what I'm talking about.

CAMEROTA: Me, too!

CUOMO: Finally. Some talent. A star! We love it but can't do it.

CAMEROTA: There's no talent.

Going to take my kids again.

CABRERA: Uh-oh. All right. Let's turn back to the "never Trump" movement. May have found its last best hope in a man named David French. So who is he, and can he pose a serious challenge to Donald Trump? And could it also impact Hillary Clinton? We'll discuss that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:20:44] CUOMO: The so-called "never Trump" movement hoping conservative writer David French can be the independent alternative to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. So who is David French? And could he actually have an impact? Let's bring in CNN political commentator, former White House

political director Jeffrey Lord. Good to have you in the studio. And former senior adviser for Mitt Romney's 2014 campaign, Kevin Sheridan. Kevin, good to see you, as well.

David French. Tell me who he is, Jeffrey Lord. You know him.

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't know him personally.

CUOMO: You know who he is.

LORD: I certainly do. I read him. He writes for "The National Review." He's a good conservative and all of this.

But I have to tell you, I was waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting to find out who's this person. I mean, with no disrespect intended to David French, I mean, you could nominate me. You could nominate, you know, my neighbor. I mean, this is just not going to go anywhere. With all of the build-up, I mean, there is a long distance between somebody like Mitt Romney, who they were trying to get, and David French.

CUOMO: Fair -- fair criticism, Mr. Sheridan? Was this underwhelming to you? Is this someone who has any possibility of having an impact?

KEVIN SHERIDAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO MITT ROMNEY'S CAMPAIGN: Well, running for president takes a very specific set of skills, to paraphrase Liam Neeson. And we don't know yet if he's going to have any ability to get noticed. He's got no name recognition right now, but you know, he is a good American. He's a great writer. He, you know, has a Bronze Star. He could be somebody that disaffected conservatives and people who don't think Donald Trump is fit for the office could go to.

I don't know how you get his name out there quickly enough, though, for that to really happen. But this is Bill Kristol trying to continue to find a place for people to go.

CUOMO: Now, something that's interesting about this is your man Trump's response.

LORD: Right.

CUOMO: Which goes far beyond David French. The idea of people within his own party who aren't behind him, or aren't behind him yet. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The real story is how fast we're getting together. Now, if I have a Republican that's not on my side, I -- I'm not going to -- why should I be particularly nice to that person? I'm not going to go after them like I would Hillary or Crazy Bernie. But you know what? Why should I be nice to that person? If I have a person that's not going to support me, I have no obligation. Now politically, I may be right. I may be wrong, but that's who I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Temperament. That's the word. It's always been the word. Everything else has been noise. What you saw yesterday...

LORD: Yes.

CUOMO: ... with him calling someone a sleaze.

LORD: Right, right.

CUOMO: Him mocking Jim Acosta, who you know is a quality journalist.

LORD: Right, right.

CUOMO: You don't do that. Your mother wouldn't be happy if you did. You wouldn't let your family, you wouldn't let kids do it, but you excuse it in him. Why?

LORD: Chris, here's -- here's the problem. Outside of media circles, the American people, lots of them, not to mention the conservatives, really think -- and I'll say this plainly. They think the media is arrogant, liberal, out of touch. That they are projecting not "the news" but their opinion.

CUOMO: Is the New Mexico governor? Is the New Mexico governor out of touch?

LORD: The New Mexico...

CUOMO: Is the judge out of touch?

LORD: Yes. Yes.

CUOMO: How?

LORD: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Not only do you not know enough about that judge, but there's nothing on the basis of their opinion that you could say, "No other judge would have done this." To say he's Mexican. To say that she stinks...

LORD: Chris -- Chris -- Chris, the judge is apparently an illegal -- I mean, I've looked. An illegal immigration activist. He helped give a scholarship to an illegal immigrant who went on to get a law degree and is now a -- well, Chris, he's not an American citizen, and he gets a law degree in America? Paid for, you know, with a scholarship?

CUOMO: Not the judge you're talking about. You're talking about the person he helped.

LORD: The judge voted to give the kid a scholarship. CUOMO: It sounded like you were talking about the judge.

LORD: No, no, no.

CUOMO: Just trying to be clear.

LORD: The judge is clearly an activist of some sort. All I'm saying is how does the judge give a fair decision if he's already, you know, on the other side of the issue?

[07:25:02] CUOMO: Mr. Sheridan, when you examine the issue of temperament, I don't care what Donald Trump says about me. It puts a smile on my face, because I'm not relevant in the process. This is about testing him. That's my job. You know that.

When you hear him say those things, you wouldn't let your kids say them. Your parents would be angry if you said them. They're excused when Donald Trump says them. Is temperament an issue?

SHERIDAN: Yes, it certainly is an issue for many Republicans and many independents and voters all around. But I think, you know, he's somehow insulated himself, because he says so many outrageous things that he's allowed to get away with things that others don't.

What I really heard yesterday was somebody who was changing the narrative once again. He went after the press. He knows that by attacking the press, the press loves to talk about itself. He was going to find a sympathetic ear in many conservatives especially, who think the media doesn't always give conservatives and Republicans, a fair shake.

So when he attacks them, he takes the focus off of the Trump University documents, and the vets' questions and Hillary's counterattack. And everybody's talking about the media today.

CUOMO: Which is clever. Right? Because he's got the New York A.G., who you'll write off as a politically motivated guy.

LORD: Not to mention the lawyers involved in these class-action suits. One law paid -- one law firm paid the Clintons, Bill and Hillary, over -- around a half million dollars for speeches, and they're involved in this lawsuit? I mean -- hello.

CUOMO: Well, but they're plaintiffs' attorneys. That's what they do.

LORD: Chris...

CUOMO: What do you think? That lawyers have a conscience when they bring these cases? There are lawyers in America who wouldn't bring it if they think...

LORD: What I'm saying is that these lawyers are presenting themselves as, you know, "Oh, we're objective; we're helping the little guy."

CUOMO: No, they're advocates. They're not objective at all.

LORD: They're advocates for the Clintons.

CUOMO: No, they're advocates for the plaintiffs. That is RAA reasoning. Remember that when you were growing up, ridiculo ad absurdum, pushing it to the point of nonsense.

LORD: This is where the liberal thing doesn't pick up on it.

CUOMO: I'm not saying it's not a good tactic. Because we're not talking about those Trump documents, which you know, if they had "Clinton" written on them instead of "Trump," you'd have a pocket full of them right now.

What I'm saying is that, when he says he's going to go after you; if you don't back him as a Republican, he's bringing it your way like he did to the governor, like he'll do to Sheridan, like he did to Romney. Is that the way that you'd have the temperament for president?

LORD: Well, let's put it this way. We tried it Governor Romney's way. We tried it Senator McCain's way.

CUOMO: So you solicit (ph) yourself; you're OK with it in here? Because you wouldn't do it yourself.

LORD: Look, I think Donald Trump should be Donald Trump. That's all I'm saying. We used to say in the Reagan White House, let Reagan be Reagan. There were plenty of people who thought, in the day, that Ronald Reagan was an extremist; he was out of touch; he was...

CUOMO: I grew up in that era. Nothing like that.

LORD: No, no, no. I'm just saying, you know, they didn't like him. They didn't like him. And they brought up all sorts of reasons.

I mean, Donald Trump is going to be Donald Trump. The American people have known him for 40 years.

SHERIDAN: He's also -- he's also said -- he's also said he was going to pivot, and we haven't seen that pivot yet. He said he was going to be so presidential that we'll all be bored, and none of us are bored.

CUOMO: Not yet.

Kevin, Jeffrey, as always, a privilege. Thank you.

LORD: Thank you, sir.

CUOMO: Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Some sad news to talk about. That difficult decision at the Cincinnati Zoo to kill its gorilla Harambe, now making other zoos think twice about their emergency protocols. Will Harambe's killing result in change? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)