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Trump Says He Imagined the E.U. Could Dissolve; UK PM Cameron: New Leadership In Place By October; Tony Blair Discusses UK Vote To Leave EU. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 24, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: He said you go down the highways in a brand new truck that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars -- it's virtually destroyed. They have to bring it back and have it rehauled because they're hitting potholes all over the place on highways.

Our infrastructure is crumbling in the United States and we spent, probably, if you add it up now, $4 trillion -- maybe more than that in the Middle East -- and we have a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: No, it's not --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: All right, we have been listening to a press conference there with Donald Trump. He's in Turnberry, Scotland and at first, when he came out and gave his statement, he talked just really about his golf course and about the Turnberry Resort. But then, of course, the press wanted to talk about the Brexit vote and he has been talking about that ever since.

We want to bring back our panel of David Gregory and John Avlon. A lot of remarkable moments in this. John, tell us what has jumped out at you.

JOHN AVALON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "THE DAILY BEAST": Well, first of all, he's blamed, effectively, the failure of this vote -- the success of Brexit -- on President Obama backing the idea that Britain should remain. So, he politicized President Obama's own standing with Cameron, saying it would be bad for Britain if they left the E.U. Saying that this is, essentially, his fault. The world doesn't listen to Barack Obama.

A lot of, clearly, domestic messages that Donald Trump uses throughout this, drawing a direct line, however belatedly, to the idea that frustration about jobs, immigration, porous borders, have led people to this decision. And he also then predicted that other states in the E.U. might be following by implication, France and The Netherlands, and others. So, this puts him clearly on the side of the leave -- the split-away. He said he imagined the E.U. could dissolve, a position that would be -- delight no one more than Vladimir Putin and other folks. He is putting himself on the side of a lot of the separatists in the E.U., saying it's a vindication of his campaign and a rejection of President Obama and Hillary Clinton.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: And just to keep things somewhat straight, Trump has said very often here in the United States that he was against the war in Iraq. We've had a very hard time -- well, to be honest, we can't find it. I can't find him ever having said he was against the war until it was well underway and everybody was saying they were against it.

He said that he thought the Brexit vote would come out this way, and he did say that in an interview. He said that he didn't --

CAMEROTA: In March, with Piers Morgan --

CUOMO: Right, that he --

CAMEROTA: -- he said I think Britain will separate from the E.U.

CUOMO: Right, and he had said I don't have any preference but I think this is going to happen because that -- he was calling that he predicted this in advance, Christiane. It's just more of a fact- checking thing than it is whether or not that's the right decision.

Now, what he just said there up on the podium is I think the E.U. should dissolve, and he has said that before. That's it's become very difficult with bureaucracy and it's really screwed up with immigration. How do you think those statements will play, especially at this time?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think people will expect exactly those statements from Donald Trump. He's made it very clear that that is his view.

Certainly, he backed the Brexit. He did, you know, talk about it before it happened and he's backed it since it's happened, and that is, of course, what really worries not just Donald Trump, but the actual fact of what might the British example be in terms of the effect it might have on Europe as a whole.

So European leaders are incredibly aware, without Donald Trump's statements in any event around this vote, of what they must do to make sure, you know, the single market continues, that Europewill continue. But I think, you know, you heard a lot of they've taken back their country, they've taken back their country. And the thing is, from what? Because it doesn't apply here to Britain but it is the most powerful line that the Brexit has used.

And Boris Johnson and all the main faces of the Brexit campaign said take back control, take back control, take back control, and that is what sunk into people's minds. It was an incredibly powerful mantra. But what did it really mean because this is a sovereign country? It makes most of its own laws -- the overwhelming majority of its own laws -- governing just about everything from, obviously, war and peace, from tax, finances, all of that.

In Parliament, behind me, there is a small number of laws, relatively, that are made in Europe and they are about the big global problems that need to be addressed. For instance, the environment. For instance, you know, regarding trade in the single market. For instance, obviously, the free movement of people but that's part of the European project.

So, this "take back control" was incredibly successful but didn't really mean that there was no sovereignty in this country. So, it's a slogan, but it's an effective slogan.

CAMEROTA: And I believe that part of what it means -- Clarissa, you can address this -- is take it back for the people who belong here. He spoke a lot about Germany. He said that he has friends in Germany who used to be very proud to be German but now they're considering leaving. These are the issues that precipitated this vote. He spoke, obliquely, about what the problems are he referred to in Germany, but we can decipher that he means the immigration issue.

[07:35:00] CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Alisyn. I mean, one of the mantras of this speech you just heard -- take back their borders, take back their borders, take back their borders. And there's no question that the issue of immigration has galvanized and divided this country.

But when he talks about taking charge of your country, the real question is what does the future now look like for Great Britain because we are now in unprecedented territory and there is not a clear path ahead. The prime minister announcing his resignation. He will only be prime minister for the next three months and then it will be up to a new government to essentially navigate the very murky waters ahead as Britain starts to extricate itself from the European Union.

And there are a lot of questions here, Alisyn, in terms of whether the E.U. intends to make this easy or very hard for the U.K. Clearly, they don't want to set a precedent. They don't want to set an example to other E.U. countries that may also consider trying to exit the union. So, while everyone on the leave campaign may be trumpeting this result today and saying we're going to take charge of our country again, there are still a lot of questions as to what the future will look like for Great Britain.

CUOMO: Well, there's no question about that. I mean, even, you know, short estimates have it at taking two years to unwind. The implications, several years after that to figure out.

So, in terms of assessing how he played this so far you do have, David Gregory, Donald Trump getting sideways with the leaders of the European Union and Angela Merkel because she's just put out a statement saying that the European Union must remain strong and is strong enough to have the right response to the U.K. leaving and that it is necessary, so he's putting himself in that point. But, on the plus side that we were debating here at the desk, he

didn't go after Muslims when he was talking about immigration. He was noticeably non-committal about defining --

CAMEROTA: He alluded to it.

CUOMO: That was not to Avlon or Camerota's satisfaction. But, you know, for Trump, that could be seen as progress.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HOST, "THE DAVID GREGORY SHOW" PODCAST: Well, the bottom line is that he is tapping into the anxiety in Europe and the brand of politics that he is bringing to the U.S., as well, that has made him successful but has also alienated a lot of people.

He is now wading into the deep waters of our relationship with Europe and the future of the Europe. The economic shocks that may result from all of this. And this can expose real gaps in what he knows about international affairs or even gaps in his communication of how he would try to govern in that atmosphere. He talked a lot more about this is a business guy than he did as a potential world leader. There's pluses and minuses to that. This is the first draft of what Trump put out there today.

CUOMO: All right, David, John, Christiane, Clarissa, thank you very much for doing this. We're just starting to figure out what happens here and we'll keep covering it throughout the morning.

CAMEROTA: We sure will. We'll have much more on all of this breaking Brexit news from the U.K. We will be speaking with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. What does he make of everything that's happened today? As well as Sen. Bernie Sanders.

CUOMO: What a team those two would make, huh? Look at them on your screen. First, we're going to break down what you just heard from Donald Trump. He is applauding the Brexit result. He's saying he called it. It's a good thing, and it's especially good because he believes the same thing is about to happen here. Is this the type of outcome that would put Donald Trump over the top -- next.

[07:38:20]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:10] CUOMO: Trump threw us a curveball this morning. He was tweeting and on Facebook about the Brexit. Then he took to the podium and for about close to 15 minutes didn't say a thing about it, but the press got a hold of him and he started to discuss it. Made a lot of statements about why it happened and what it means back here. Says it's a great thing for the U.K. and he thinks it would be a great thing if the European Union, itself, were to disband.

Let's discuss. We have our CNN political director, David Chalian. We have CNN political commentator and Trump supporter, Kayleigh McEnany. And former New York City council speaker and Hillary Clinton supporter, Christine Quinn. Brother Chalian, we begin with you. What is the plus-minus for Donald Trump in this situation?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, listen, I think it is a cap to a pretty good week for Donald Trump. You take the immigration ruling from the Supreme Court yesterday -- or non-ruling -- add this to it and he gets to start putting a full message together that resonates with not only his supporters but, potentially, some folks in America who are just starting to tune in and just starting to pay attention.

Listen, he did not go there and sort of bang the drums of independence as much as you may have thought. He just sort of went to that podium and when he started taking questions on it, Chris, he sort of explained why the U.K. voting to be a free and independent people is something that makes sense to him and he looks forward to an election in November where Americans can express their free will, as well.

I think that this sort of -- all the events this week kind of put a narrative thread together for him that was not about the wall, that was not about deporting 11 million. These are the things that have been dividing his party so terribly. He's starting to talk in a way that, I think, is trying to stake out his positions in a way that invites more people into them.

CAMEROTA: Christine, you are a supporter of Hillary Clinton. What can her campaign glean from everything that we've seen over the past 24 hours?

CHRISTINE QUINN, FORMER NYC COUNCIL SPEAKER, PRESIDENT & CEO, WOMEN IN NEED: Well, first, I want to say I think what the American public and the world can glean from Donald Trump's performance this morning is 15 minutes on golf and the size of bedrooms, and only discussing this major international development when asked by reporters.

CAMEROTA: And what does that tell you?

QUINN: It tells me that at the end of the day -- end of every day -- Donald Trump is about Donald Trump. Everything he does is to move his business, his brand, which is a sad word to use when you're talking about president of the United -- running for president of the United States to move it forward. It's not about the American people or the world for Americans.

CUOMO: That said, we haven't heard from Clinton yet, Christine.

QUINN: No, but it -- well, remember, he's in a different time zone. It's early in the morning and you will hear from Sec. Clinton, but you can rest assured she's not going to spend 15 minutes talking about a golf course or anything of that nature. She's going to talk about this from a world view and talk about what this means, Ibelieve, about people's desire for greater income equality, for creating jobs, for moving the country and the world forward to greater economic opportunity.

And also, you know, David mentioned the issue of the issue of the immigration ruling. I, obviously, completely disagree with this kind of ruling/non-ruling. That said, I think it is only going to underscore the terribly racist message that Donald Trump has put out around immigration.

And this morning, even the commentary you all were having, were kind of noting he didn't attack Muslims. Since when did we judge candidates for president of the United States and give them gold stars or brownie points because they didn't attack people?

And he used the word you'll get to decide the people who are "appropriate" for your country. Whether you say it politely or you say it blatantly, "appropriate" -- what does that mean? Looks like you, people you feel comfortable with, not diversity, not immigration.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First, I want to point out that the reason Donald Trump started out by speaking about his golf course is because this is about his son. This is a trip celebrating what his son has achieved. This was about his family. He did the right thing by starting and talking about Eric's achievements and then he pivoted and when he talked to reporters he talked about Brexit.

And, in fact, when he first got off the plane he said this is a great day for Scotland. And then, when he talked with reporters he said, in a very humble statement, if I'm given the opportunity to be president of the United States I'm not even going to be thinking about my business. I'm separating my ties. I'm not thinking about it. I'm thinking about the $400 to $500 billion deficit with China.

And this is a very powerful day because it allows Trump to say Hillary Clinton wants to take you where Europe is. And the Europeans, at least in Great Britain, and polls show in France, have rejected that vision. They've rejected corporate governing, they've rejected unbridled immigration that has allowed 400 ISIS fighters to get into Europe. They have rejected this. Hillary Clinton wants to take you where Europe is rejecting.

QUINN: But not for nothing. Scotland voted to stay in, A, and I don't -- you know, if he wants to go across the world and congratulate his son on a job well done, I think that is lovely. But he is also, yes, a father, but the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for president of the United States, so he could have gone and said congratulations, Eric, great golf course. Didn't have to give us the dimensions of the bedroom and the thread count in the rooms, and then moved on to world affairs.

CAMEROTA: OK.

QUINN: You could do both, not 15 minutes. And he didn't speak of Brexit, he answered questions. That's very different.

CAMEROTA: OK, David, settle this argument. Should he have immediately addressed Brexit because that's -- he was on the global stage, or was he just there as a supportive father? CHALIAN: I think at the end of the day this doesn't really matter. This is, you know -- once the new cycle moves on 15 more minutes, this debate about what he said about his golf course at the top will go away. I think it obviously opened some -- he opened himself up to criticism that his opponents will certainly make note of.

But I think the larger divide -- the Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump race sharpened today in the sense of, you know, Donald Trump representing a faction -- trying to appeal to a faction in the country that does not want to see all the change that is going on versus this sort of inexorable demographic change that we're seeing in our country. And I think that demographic divide is where this Trump-Clinton race is going to live through November.

CUOMO: All right, appreciate it, guys. There's a lot to be decided in what Brexit means abroad and in the E.U., and how it will reverberate back here at home.

CAMEROTA: OK, so in our next hour we will speak with Sen. Bernie Sanders about the Brexit vote and we'll ask why he is still in the race. That is coming up at 8:30 eastern.

CUOMO: First, our top story, the U.K. voting the leave the European Union. The people were given the power and they made the decision. What does this mean for the U.K.? Former Prime Minister Tony Blair knows better than most and he's next.

[07:49:25]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months. But I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination. This is not a decision I've taken lightly, but I do believe it's in the national interest to have a period of stability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Breaking news this morning. In a stunning decision the people of the U.K. voting to leave the European Union. That decision costing Prime Minister David Cameron his job. Joining us now to discuss the fallout is former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Prime Minister Blair, thank you for being here.

TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: I know you did not want Britain to exit the E.U. What do you make of what's happened in your country today?

BLAIR: Well, it's a huge decision. A momentous decision with enormous consequences and implications for Britain, for Europe, and probably for the global economy, as well. We've got to try and stabilize our situation in the short term because I think in the days and weeks ahead there will be a lot of uncertainty.

I think the prime minister's got an enormous job on his hands for the time that remains to try and bring people together. You know, there's no hiding it. It is a huge decision because we've got a whole set of relationships that have grown up over the last four decades in Europe of an economic and political nature and somehow we're going to have to disentangle them.

CAMEROTA: And what worries you the most of that disentanglement?

BLAIR: I think the economic side, primarily, because half of our goods and services are traded into the European single market so we need to have access to that market. We're now going to have to renegotiate all those agreement and one of the complications is we're going to have to renegotiate them with all 27 other governments. Most of them will have votes in their Parliament. Some may even have their own referendums. And then, of course, you've got the European Parliament.

[07:55:00] Now look, the British economy is a strong economy. The British people are resilient people. But, you know, there's no hiding the fact it's going to be a big challenge. And then, I think it's got big implications for politics right across the world because this was a movement -- a very strong insurgent movement. It took people from the left and from the right in unity against the European Union, immigrant being probably the biggest factor. But it's a big experiment in that type of insurgent politics.

CAMEROTA: Is Donald Trump right to see this Brexit vote as a harbinger of what might happen with other countries in the E.U.?

BLAIR: I think, you know, a lot depends on what actually happens in the next few days. I mean, just today we have -- the pound has fallen in a way not seen for decades. We have, I think, roughly $200 billion wiped off our financial stock market. And I hope this doesn't happen but there is talk of downgrading our credit rating which would shove up foreign costs and therefore put pressure on spending and taxes.

So I think a lot depends on what happens over the next months. But, for sure, there's a huge feeling across Europe. I mean, Britain has voted but the rest of Europe is also in a state of anxiety about Europe -- the direction. These issues, like immigration, are enormously powerful issues in politics today.

The problem is, and one of the things I'm saying to my colleagues from the center right and center left is the center ground has got to get its traction back. We've got to rediscover our ability to find radical, powerful answers in a climate that is often driven by anger and by a revolt against what is perceived as established wisdom in the political class.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BLAIR: But, often, it's people trying to make difficult decisions in difficult circumstances.

CAMEROTA: And, Prime Minister Blair, how did you lose your footing? How do you explain why the people of Britain seem to feel so differently than the political class?

BLAIR: Well, first of all, by the way, this is a really divided result and actually a divided country. I mean, 52 percent, 48 percent -- it shows you how strong the feeling was on both sides. I think there were a lot of people who were labor voters who disliked the government and saw this, in part, as a protest movement and a protest vote whereas, of course, it was an actual decision.

But I think the issue of immigration -- you know, we've got to understand people see this force of globalization changing the world and they worry about it because it's changing people's lives and their communities. It's displacing jobs. Now, my view is that the answer is not to shut ourselves off from the world. In fact, isolation makes all our problems worse.

But, you know, this is a big argument we've got to have and we have to accept, from my side of the debate, that we lost that argument yesterday.

CAMEROTA: What do you think this means for the U.S.-U.K. relationship?

BLAIR: We've got to do everything we can to keep it strong because it's such an important part of the way the world works. But, I've always believed that Britain is a better ally for the U.S. and I strongly believe in our alliance together if Britain is also part of what is the biggest political union in the world, which is the European Union.

So if we are marginalized within Europe, I worry about the consequences of our ability to partner effectively. But, obviously, we've got to work on that and try and make sure we do everything we can to preserve the relationship because it's so important.

CAMEROTA: Prime Minister David Cameron immediately announced his resignation following the results of this. Was that the right decision?

BLAIR: I mean, I -- look, I understand why he did what he did. I mean, I think the important thing is he's going to stay for the next couple of months or so and that will be important because I think what actually happens in these next days and weeks will be really important. We're going to have to try and bring our country together. We'll have to stabilize our situation. We'll have to try and think what new relationship we can have with Europe because we do have this intense trading commercial economic relationship.

So there are a whole set of economic, political, security stretches that we'll have to reevaluate now. So I think it's important that with the experience he's got as prime minister that the stays for at least this initial period. But, you know, obviously it's going to be difficult and we'll have problems in Scotland and others parts of the U.K. because Scotland, of course, voted strongly to stay in Europe and I fear there will also be renewed calls -- in fact, there already are renewed calls for another Scottish referendum.

CAMEROTA: Former prime minister, Tony Blair, thank you so much for taking time today for us on NEW DAY.

BLAIR: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right, we're following a lot of breaking news this morning so let's get right to it.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your new day. It is Friday, June 24th. It's 8:00 in the east. There's a lot of breaking news this morning. The U.K.'s historic vote to split from the European Union -- it is a stunning decision.