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New Day

Trump And Clinton Sharpen Attacks On Their Records; Clinton Hits Trump For Failed Business Ventures; Trump Hints He May Self-Fund General Election Campaign; One-on-One Interview with Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired June 22, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Sonny and Cher!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, hey now, Sonny and Cher.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clever jokes.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: They failed. Let's move on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm the rock star, let's go. I'm the actress, right?

CUOMO: It's good to see you both. Have a nice time home on the subway, John. She'll be taking the car.

All right, so what do you think about this? Any of these names resonate with you? Is there anything you like or don't like about this? Please post your comment on facebook.com/newday or you can always tweet us, alisyncamerota with a "y."

CAMEROTA: I read them all.

We're following a lot of news. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on the attack. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The United States of America doesn't do business Trump's way.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you really look at her record, her record is a disaster.

CLINTON: Everything seems to be a game for him. Well, it isn't for a lot of us.

TRUMP: But she's getting her money from the Wall Street guys. As far as I'm concerned, I would be very happy to continue to self-fund.

CLINTON: He's written a lot of books about business. They all seemed to end at Chapter 11.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wife of this gunman watched as he left angry and armed with a bag full of guns. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are trying to learn everything we can leading up to this attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are we going to wait for, a third time? A fourth time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have Republicans running around saying "radical Islam" to anybody who will listen. But they don't do anything about it.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Steve King tries to keep Harriet Tubman off the $20 bill.

CUOMO: Why he says the change is racist and sexist.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: A pretty look there at sunrise. Racist and sexist, not falling into --

CUOMO: Make the case.

CAMEROTA: I can't make the case!

CUOMO: I thought you were going to say that to me.

CAMEROTA: We'll talk more about that in the program this morning.

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. First up, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton ramping up their attacks. Trump shrugging off any suggestion that he has a cash crisis or any kind of chaos within his campaign when it comes to fundraising. And he says, let me show you how to truly insult an opponent. Today, he's going to give a big speech, calling out Clinton's record.

CAMEROTA: Clinton, meanwhile, with a preemptive strike, calling Trump, quote, "dangerous and unfit for the presidency," claiming that his plans for the economy would bankrupt America. So let's begin our coverage with Sara Murray. Good morning, Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Alisyn. The war of words continues today. Of course, it hasn't been a great couple of days for Donald Trump, between some disappointing fund-raising numbers and dismissing his campaign manager, but he's trying to move beyond all of that today and turn up the heat on Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: So many of the things she said were outright lies.

MURRAY (voice-over): Donald Trump is aiming to put Hillary Clinton on defense.

TRUMP: You know, she's crooked Hillary. Let's face it. She's crooked Hillary. She always has been and nothing's going to change. MURRAY: The presumptive GOP nominee preparing to deliver a speech in New York City today targeting everything from immigration to Clinton's e-mail scandal and even accusing the former first couple of improper dealings when Clinton was secretary of state.

TRUMP: Her record is a disaster, in addition to taking in tens and tens of millions of dollars from people for lots of different things and lots of different ways, and countries that should not be giving her money or her husband money.

MURRAY: On Tuesday, he fired off preliminary shots, even questioning Clinton's faith at a gathering of religious leaders.

TRUMP: She's been in the public eye for years and years, and yet there's no -- there's nothing out there.

MURRAY: Trump's focus on Clinton coming as he tries to pivot from days of staff shake ups and dismal fundraising. Trump ended last month with $1.3 million in the bank, compared to Clinton's $42 million. But the real estate mogul argues her dollars come with a price.

TRUMP: All of the money she's raising, that's blood money. That's blood money.

MURRAY: The billionaire businessman still dangling the idea of self- funding in the general.

TRUMP: I'll be honest, you know, I've never raised money before for this because I've never done it before. I think I would be very good at it. As far as I'm concerned, I would be very happy to continue to self-fund.

MURRAY: Even though he spent Tuesday evening looking to shore up his campaign coffers at a New York City fundraiser.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reince, how are you feeling about the campaign?

MURRAY: As Trump and top GOP allies put on a happy face and downplay concerns about the candidate's campaign war chest, going into a head- to-head battle against Clinton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now ever since Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, Republicans have been saying, look, the fastest way to get the party to rally, to unify behind him is to go after Hillary Clinton. Today, we will see just how well he prosecutes that case, and if he puts some of the Republican skeptics at ease -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Sara, we'll be watching for that. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile going after Trump's business record. Clinton criticizing Trump for making some of his own products overseas while going after others for doing the same.

CNN's Chris Frates is live in Washington with more. Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Alisyn. Well, Hillary Clinton used Donald Trump's business record against him yesterday, painting the billionaire as a bankrupt deadbeat than a business genius, who would be a danger to the world's economy as president. And it folded neatly into her larger message that Trump is unfit to hold the nation's highest office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:05:06]CLINTON: He's written a lot of books about business. They all seemed to end at Chapter 11.

FRATES (voice-over): In the battleground state of Ohio, Hillary Clinton hit Donald Trump where it hurts, his business record.

CLINTON: Trump ties are made in China, Trump suits in Mexico, Trump furniture in Turkey, and I would love for him to explain how all of that fits with his talk about America first.

FRATES: Trump responded directly to the charge.

TRUMP: It's true. You know why? Because they devalue their currencies and they make it impossible for companies to compete. Unfortunately, my ties are made in China.

FRATES: Clinton is also calling out the four bankruptcies that Trump filed for casinos he once owned in Atlantic City.

CLINTON: We can't let him bankrupt America like we are one of his failed casinos.

FRATES: And branding Trump as dangerous to the economy.

CLINTON: Trump would take us back to where we were before the crisis. He'd rig the economy for Wall Street again. Well, that will not happen on my watch. I can guarantee you.

FRATES: Trump responded to the attacks in realtime, live tweeting as the hits kept coming, "How can Hillary Clinton run the economy when she can't even send e-mails without putting entire nation at risk."

And, "I am the king of debt. That has been great for me as a businessman." Trump even posting this video response on Instagram as Clinton continued unloading.

TRUMP: Hillary Clinton's only right about one thing. I understand debt and how to handle it. I've made a fortune with debt. But debt for this country is a disaster and Obama has piled it on and she's been there watching.

FRATES: The latest CNN/ORC poll shows that voters believe Trump would be better at handling the economy than Clinton, a perception she's hoping to turn around.

CLINTON: He has no real strategy for creating jobs, just a string of empty promises. But then maybe we shouldn't expect better from someone whose most famous words are, "you're fired."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRATES: Now, today, Clinton will continue to talk about the economy, but instead of trashing Trump, she's going to double down on the vision she laid out in the primary detailing plans to make college debt free, expand Social Security, and raise taxes on the super rich.

And a little later this morning, she's going to meet with House Democrats on Capitol Hill, as she continues to try to put that tough primary battle behind her, and unite the party -- Chris.

CUOMO: And a little later, Chris, she's going to get a big punch in the nose from Donald Trump when he gives his own rebuttal speech about taking on her record. We'll cover that on CNN, of course.

Now, let's get to the truth of the matter here about how much money Trump has and can he fund his campaign? Michael Cohen is the executive vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel of Donald Trump, and if anybody knows what the books are, you do.

What is the reality, Counselor Cohen? Does he have the liquid cash -- because Mark Cuban came out and said he's not liquid enough and that's been picked up now as a narrative about Trump. What's the reality?

MICHAEL COHEN, SPECIAL COUNSEL TO DONALD TRUMP: First of all, Donald Trump has a lot of cash and Donald Trump is a very wealthy man, but I've never seen a fascination. We've gone almost two days of news cycle about Donald Trump's money. Oh, my God, Hillary Clinton has $46 million. For Mark Cuban to come out, as far as I'm concerned, I find Mark Cuban to be politically bipolar.

CUOMO: How so?

COHEN: I mean, one day he's Dr. Jekyll, the next day, he's Mr. Hyde. He's calling Mr. Trump and offers him the Maverick Center.

CUOMO: Trump did have an event at the Maverick Center. Cuban set that up for him?

COHEN: He sure did and he was incredibly complimentary. Then the next day, Donald Trump doesn't have any money. If it's some sort of recognition that he wants, someone please go into the guy's Twitter account, and tell him how great he is, and call it a day.

But this nonsense about how much money Donald Trump has and how much he raised. He could write a check tomorrow and take out for $46 million in a heartbeat.

CUOMO: But does he have the hundreds of millions that he would need in cash to fund --

COHEN: He doesn't need it and what he showed during the primaries, it's not necessary. He spent $1 per vote and Hillary Clinton spent $15 per vote. She's a massive multiple, on top of that, the $1.2 or her $46 -- the real question that you have to look at is not how much how much money, but where is her money really coming from?

CUOMO: Why?

COHEN: Well, because it goes back to the whole Clinton Global Initiative, where you start to have companies, for example, you have the top 15 law firms in the country donating to Hillary Clinton's campaign.

You have the top ten pharmaceutical companies donating to Hillary Clinton's campaign -- I mean, actually, your Time Warner is a donor. What do you think they're looking for? They're looking for political favor.

And when you have this political favor, it's not going to help the United States, it's not going to help the American people to find jobs. It's only going to help Hillary Clinton.

[07:10:05]CUOMO: So you're saying that he doesn't want the money because of where you have to get it from? But then how does he deal with the infrastructure and the needs to have print and commercial time to rebut the presumptions that come up in the race?

COHEN: He'll raise the necessary money that he deems necessary --

CUOMO: From who? If you don't go to the banks or law firm, who's going to give it to you?

COHEN: Many people. Last night, there was a great event. They raised about $6 million here in the city. I myself have raised $3 million for Mr. Trump in the last five days. He will have plenty of money in order to make this campaign what's necessary to win.

CUOMO: Now, here's what you're going to hear about this. Two questions about the money so far. One, the Clinton Global Initiative, I know that's a big ticket for you and you believe foreign governments donated for influence. We saw that in the "Washington Post" as well. It's certainly out there in the campaign.

Do you think it's fair criticism of Trump to say, you've had foreign dealings with some of these guys also. You've rented space to Gadhafi to put up his big tent. You did deals with Dubai. You do deals --

COHEN: Donald Trump wasn't secretary of state --

CUOMO: But you've shown you're willing to do business with bad people?

COHEN: Well, first of all, the whole thing with Gadhafi, he didn't do business with Gadhafi. It was through some intermediary third party who was unnamed. When they found out who it was, he was never pitching the tent on the property, and that was the end of that. He had no idea that it was Gadhafi.

CUOMO: You don't think it's the same kind of compromise for Trump as for Clinton?

COHEN: Absolutely not. She's secretary of state. There's not even a comparison that could be drawn. I'm a little shocked by the question.

CUOMO: Don't be shocked by the question, it's coming from me, just in terms of making it a parallel playing field. The Clinton campaign, it's not like he's averse to doing business with people just because they don't support LBGT rights.

COHEN: There's a big difference. When you're secretary of state and they're giving you money not because of anything that you can do for -- that they want --

CUOMO: They gave it to the foundation.

COHEN: They gave it to the foundations which is no different than giving to it Clintons. Arty, and who knows where that Clinton Global Initiative money is going. As far as I'm concerned, part of the money for her campaign may be coming from the same people.

It's to garner political benefit and those political benefits come at our expense, yours, mine, our children, grandchildren. The American people have a right in order to prosper. You cannot prosper when you have foreign governments with influences taking place inside the highest level.

CUOMO: When you look at the money structure so far, Trump has been giving money into the campaign as loans. Now, I know that this is complicated. People should go online and Google it because loans within a campaign structure are different than typical loans. But there's a list of items of where Trump is paying related companies for him to do services like if it's flying him around or whatever --

COHEN: It's all FEC rules and regulations. He himself has said he thinks it's ridiculous, but you've got to be compliant. If not, you end up with another complaint.

CUOMO: Has he made money on the race?

COHEN: Absolutely not. And once you get these FEC complaints that will be the next two days of stories. FEC complaint filed against Donald Trump. Let me something to you. Donald Trump is about three things.

All this is doing, whether it's this money issue, all this is doing is distracting the American people from what they really want to talk about, and that's jobs, the economy, and national security of which Donald Trump ranks higher than Hillary Clinton by a multiple.

That's all they really want to talk about, but you won't allow it because it's a dishonest liberal media that wants to change the narrative. No, I'm not talking about you. You're great.

CUOMO: Thanks very much. It's a good thing I'm sitting across from you right now.

COHEN: That's true. Otherwise, if it was behind your back, I would be saying it. CUOMO: Is it a fair criticism, though? He can talk about whatever he wants? When he goes up there to the podium and comes and sits in the chair, he can talk about whatever he wants --

K COHEN: No, he can't, because you're asking the question --

CUOMO: Since when do you answer the question you're asked? You don't even do that, let alone these politicians --

COHEN: I'm answering your questions right now. The bottom line is the American people --

CUOMO: He can talk about whatever he wants.

COHEN: -- these people are suffering. The only people who aren't suffering are the Clinton Global Initiative, right, Hillary, Bill, Chelsea, nobody gave them money for them to fly private with her $22 million in airfare. You know, I saw in the same "Washington Post" article, she demands for her $750,000. She demands a G-450 or better. That's a $40 plus million aircraft. There are five rooms --

CUOMO: But they're paying for --

COHEN: -- paying $750,000 for 15 minutes.

CUOMO: So Trump's high ground is going to be she's too deluxe? He lives one of the most deluxe existences in --

COHEN: He's paid for it himself. He's earned that money. She's taken that money from people like you and me who donate money because we want to be philanthropic. They're taking that money and using it as a slush fund for themselves.

CUOMO: Most of the deals we're talking about where she demands a big price tag and things, people were paying for her to come and speak.

[07:15:06]COHEN: Because she's extremely interesting and nothing that she says is coming really from her --

CUOMO: People are willing to pay for her words. So you leave it to them.

COHEN: They're paying for access and paying for political favor. That's what you have.

CUOMO: That's the speculation. You would have to prove it.

COHEN: It's not speculation. If you are an American and you want to see this country prosper, you need to vote for Donald Trump. And I'm going, one last thing with Bernie Sanders' people, look to see who the people are who are following Bernie Sanders, the young, predominantly college students. And why?

Well, because he's trying to give them a reason, all right, to take the education because they're all educated, and they're all ambitious. They want to get out there into the world and make their mark. The problem is, there's no jobs.

If you're going to vote for somebody, you have to vote for Donald Trump. He's the only one who can create jobs. Hillary Clinton has never created a single job in her entire life.

This is not, this is not -- it's not to be argumented this is fact. She's never created a single job in her life. Donald Trump is a job creator. All he wants to do is fix America. He wants to make America great again and he wants to put Americans first.

CUOMO: Trump -- look, I know all the slogans. Trump is invited on a regular basis to this show to sit exactly where you are and make the case for how he'll make jobs, how he'll put America first, and how he will make it even greater than it is because I don't accept the premise that it's not great right now. But he's got to take the invitation.

COHEN: If you go to places outside of New York City and you see the suffering, which I know you have, and I know you do, on your travels, you know America is not doing great.

CUOMO: It's not doing as well as it could. This is the best country in the world, though, Michael, and you know it.

COHEN: A 100 percent. But if we have a strong America, we have a strong world. When we have a weak America, we have a weak world. Right now, we're a weak America and that's why there's a weak world.

CUOMO: Well, there's certainly a lot of concern about that in the country. And again, you, your boss, always welcome to come and sit in the chair and talk about --

COHEN: I'll see you tomorrow.

CUOMO: Take care, Michael.

All right, so join us tonight. There are other names that need to be considered here. There's all of this talk, I want another choice. I want another choice. Here's one of your options of another set of choices, the Libertarians.

You have two former governors there, Gary Johnson and William Weld from New Mexico and Massachusetts, respectively. What are they about and how are they different? You'll get those answers tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, a new gun control effort to keep guns away from terrorists is now on the table. The bill from GOP Senator Susan Colins has cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. Four other measures failed this week, but GOP leaders hope to vote on this bill adds early as tomorrow. It calls for a ban on gun sales for people on terror watch lists with an appeals process for those who are denied. The NRA is against this.

CUOMO: A Vietnam vet is going to receive the Medal of Honor five decades after exemplifying heroism in battle. Charles Kettles is his name. He saved dozens of soldiers ambushed by the North Vietnamese troops in 1967.

Now typically, the award is given within five years of the heroic act, but lawmakers drafted legislation waiving that rule for this moment. The 84-year-old will now be honored for his bravery by the president next month.

CAMEROTA: The House Rules Committee quickly stopping a Tea Party congressman's attempt to keep Harriet Tubman off the $20 bill. Iowa's Steve King had filed an amendment Tuesday blocking Treasury spending for a redesign of the bill.

King is quoted as saying it is both racist and sexist to say a woman of color or a person of color should be added to the currency, calling it, quote, "Liberal activism."

CUOMO: All right, which side do you want? Let's make the case on each side you take the Tubman should be on the dollar bill.

CAMEROTA: OK. Do you want me to go?

CUOMO: Go ahead.

CAMEROTA: Women and people of color have been woefully underrepresented in our history books and our currency. Not because they weren't a part of our history, but because we didn't recognize their part in history. It is not revisionist history to say that they should now be recognized. Go ahead.

CUOMO: We're out of time we have to go. That was a very strong case, though.

CAMEROTA: Very clever!

CUOMO: I have some really big points to make against it. One thing you could have added, when they were doing the initial speculation, Jackson was seen as the weakest of those who were on the currencies because of his tenure as presidency, so he was in there and vulnerable to begin with.

CAMEROTA: That's not the other side, but I'll take your point.

CUOMO: Good, because you're crushing me.

All right, so is this the year a third party candidate is going to break through? There's certainly a lot of discontent among you voters with both of the main candidates right now. And our polls show there could be an opening.

Up next, we'll talk live to the Green Party's candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, about her campaign and the issues, why she says she should be your choice, next. Good to see you, Doc.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:23:54] CAMEROTA: In this election year with Clinton and Trump scoring record unfavorable ratings, voters do have a choice of third party candidates. Of course, the odds are stacked against these candidates. They have to hit 15 percent in national polls to even make the debate stage and that has not happened since Ross Perot in 1992.

Our next guest is suing the Commission on Presidential Debates to get that rule changed. We want to welcome Green Party presidential candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, who joins us now. Good morning, Dr. Stein.

JILL STEIN, GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Great to be with you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you here. Let's take a little snapshot of how voters perceive you at the moment. This is a poll that was taken last month. And I just want to show our viewers, because it's interesting, 2 percent strongly favor you, 3 percent somewhat favor. But if you go all the way down to their perceptions, 87 percent don't know you or don't know enough about you. How do you plan to turn that around?

STEIN: Well, what's really interesting, is that even before we've been covered at all by mainstream media, and you know, this is about my first coverage by mainstream media, even before we've had any visibility whatsoever, we're already at 7 percent in the latest CNN poll.

[07:25:08]And I think this is happening because people are so distrusting and disliking of the two major candidates and their political parties. I think word is spreading by itself because I'm the one candidate actually who will not only make higher education free, that is, public higher education free.

But also will actually cancel the student debt and bail out our students, like we bailed out the crooks on Wall Street, who crashed the economy. So, I think there's a lot of interest in our campaign and word is actually spreading all by itself. Just in the last month, we've come up from 2 percent to 7 percent. And that's, again, even before we've had coverage.

CAMEROTA: OK, so if this is your first major media appearance, let's just start at the big question. Why do you want to be president?

STEIN: Well, as you may know, I'm a medical doctor. I'm a physician, not a politician, and you know, I think we badly need a change. People are sick of the rigged economy and they understand if we're going to fix that rigged economy, we have to fix the rigged political system.

So I say, basically, I've been practicing clinical medicine. Now I practice political medicine because it's the mother of all illnesses. And we need to fix our broken political system if we're going to cure all the other things that very seriously threaten life, limb, and even survival itself.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about those issues and certainly the issues that voters think are most important. And let's see where your position is, versus someone like Bernie Sanders, with whom you align fairly closely. So let's look at some of these issues.

On stricter gun control, Sanders, yes. You, yes. Prioritize climate change? Yes, yes. Increase taxes on the wealthy? Yes, yes. Break up the big banks? Yes, yes. Keep using military drones. Here you diverge. You say, no, you would not use military drones.

And again, what you just touched on, free college, yes. But you go further than Bernie Sanders and you want to cancel student debt. So policy wise, are you the Bernie Sanders of the Green Party?

STEIN: I think you could say the Green Party itself is Bernie Sanders. I'm not unique in the Green Party. I think what's different between Bernie Sanders and myself or the biggest difference, really, is he was trying to have a revolutionary campaign in a counter- revolutionary party. I'm basically inside of a revolutionary party that supports this agenda and is not working like the Democratic Party, to basically bury that agenda.

CAMEROTA: One of the things that Bernie Sanders' critics hit him for was how, how do you pay for these things? How do you offer free college tuition and erase all of the debt that students have racked up? Somebody has to pay for that.

STEIN: Well, it's actually pretty simple. You may recall that we bailed out the bankers, actually to the tune of the $16 trillion, if you include all the free loans. But it was about $4 trillion or $5 trillion worth of quantitative easing, which as you may know, you know, it's kind of a magic trick.

That's really all you need to know about it. But basically, it's an expansion of the money supply. It doesn't actually cost taxpayers anything. So, if we bailed out the guys who crashed the economy through their waste, fraud, and abuse.

It's certainly time that we need to bail out our younger generation, who we rely on to really lead the way forward into the economy of the future. And in terms of the cost of public higher education, it's really important to remember, it pays for itself.

We were counting very carefully when we used the GI bill to pay for free college for returning soldiers and what we found after World War II, for every dollar that we taxpayers put into that, we got back $7 in return in revenues and benefits. So it's actually a very good investment for all of us.

CAMEROTA: You have gone after Hillary Clinton pretty directly. You're not a fan of her policies. Let me read a couple of tweets you just sent out yesterday. You say, Hillary hauled in $1.8 million for eight speeches she gave to the big banks. How could she possibly take them on #shesnotwithus.

And then you say, every day is national flip-flop day for Hillary Clinton. Remember when she supported the TPP or when she did not support gay marriage? So is that your strategy, Dr. Stein, is to peel off voters from Hillary Clinton?

STEIN: Well, you know, the case is, actually you don't really need to peel off the voters for Hillary Clinton. We know, in fact, from another CNN poll done a couple of weeks ago that the majority of Hillary Clinton's supporters actually don't support her. They merely oppose the other major candidate, Donald Trump.

And the same is true for the majority of Donald Trump's support, is they don't actually support him, they just oppose Hillary Clinton. At the same time, we know that about 60 percent of voters are clamoring for another voice and another choice, one that's actually an honest broker and is not part of this very corrupt two-party system that's been throwing everyday people under the bus.