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Brexit Impact on U.S. Presidential Race; West Virginia Flooding; Lawsuit to Unbind Delegates. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired June 27, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:33:37] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We need leaders like yourselves at the local and state and federal level who understand how to work with other leaders to manage risks, who understand that bombastic comments in turbulent times can actually cause more turbulence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: That was Hillary Clinton blasting Donald Trump for a bombastic response, she said, to the Brexit vote. But what will the impact of Brexit be on the 2016 race? Could it end up helping Trump?

Let's debate with our CNN political commentator and "New York Times" op-ed columnist Charles Blow, and Ben Ferguson, CNN political commentator and host of "The Ben Ferguson Show."

Gentlemen, great to have you.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: Ben, I want to start with you. Were you comfortable with that presser that Donald Trump had on Friday from his golf resort where he seemed to talk more about the implications for his resort, rather than the global implications of Brexit?

FERGUSON: It's certainly not how I would have done a press conference if I was Donald Trump. I don't think I would have made that trip to promote businesswise. He said he was trying to support his son. I don't think it's going to hurt him. I think it's far away from the election day, so overall I really don't think this is going to have any major impact on this election.

I do think, though, that you really have to focus on everything that you're doing right now as a candidate to make sure that the optics of it are perfect for your election campaign. And this is one of those things where Donald Trump is probably just going to say, you know what, I'm going to be Donald Trump. I'm a businessman right now as well. I'm going to support my family. And this is not going to win or lose this election for me. [08:35:14] CAMEROTA: OK. Did you agree with that, Charles, that, you

know, no harm, no foul? He did - he talked more about Turnberry than he did the ramifications on the global market, but that's Donald Trump.

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I will agree with Ben on this one point. I don't think that people will show up at the polls, you know, in Mississippi or Michigan thinking about Brexit, right.

But there is a negative here that is very real for trump. I have been actually blown away, taken aback by how clumsy he has been in the face of these kind of disasters, whether it be the Pulse Nightclub, or here with the Brexit. All he has to do, he had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of those things politically, not just take advantage of a death or turmoil or volatility, but politically to just not be him, to rise above that and not make these situations about him. And he seems almost incapable of doing that, and that is what is required in order for you to present yourself as presidential. So although we won't show up thinking about, I'm voting Brexit or not Brexit and how I responded to it. It does keep adding to this idea that he simply cannot be a presidential person.

CAMEROTA: Ben, Charles seems to want Donald Trump's in - Donald Trump to not be himself.

FERGUSON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean isn't that what Donald Trump is, you know, consistently himself? Do you see it as a missed opportunity, what's happened - what happened after Brexit, and Orlando?

FERGUSON: I think messaging is where he usually misses opportunities. And I think when you saw the press conference he had earlier last week that was very clear and concise, on point, a lot of people loved it, saying, hey, we need more of this from you. The question is, does Donald Trump alienate his core base if he goes scripted, if he does start to use a teleprompter and really starts to focus in on his messaging.

He's going to have to do that to be able to turn these polls around and to beat Hillary Clinton. There are big opportunities he's had that I do think he's missed, just because of lack of messaging and focus. But one of the things that you saw him say about Brexit, for example, was the fact that he said, hey, these people understand, they're tired of being told what do by the political elite -

CAMEROTA: Yes.

FERGUSON: And they're tired of being told what to do by the European Union. This is why people support me and America. This is why my campaign is doing well.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

FERGUSON: This is why I got the nomination. Sticking with those points, I think, are not only just-they're not talking points. It's reality. That is why Donald Trump is going to be the nominee.

CAMEROTA: Yes, there you go. And do you, Charles, believe that in that way Brexit is a harbor of what will happen here in the presidential race? All of the same - many of the same themes are in play. The nationalism, the discomfort with immigration.

BLOW: Right.

CAMEROTA: All of that stuff.

BLOW: Right. But they're you're voting for or against an idea. You - now you got - in America you have to choose a candidate, right? So you have - you have to vote for one of the two candidates if you're going to vote in this - in this election. Maybe you could write somebody and maybe can wrote in independent, but in general we're going to vote between - pick between two people.

And what Hillary Clinton is doing - is doing, and, you know, also a surprisingly good job of being both on message and also the messaging itself has become more methodical. What had become - what had always been her negative was the kind of robotic nature, a methodical sensibility. She is now playing that up. If you play - if you pay attention to the way she now talks, it is even more methodical than it is before, because it is in contradiction to Donald Trump. And so she is playing up this part of her. And so when he tries to be on message and do the same thing she does, he - he's a poor imitation of her. So it's a positive for her.

CAMEROTA: What do you think about that, Ben, that she's turned this liability into an assets, saying, yes, now - you might not want somebody who's unpredictable.

FERGUSON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I'm quite predictable.

FERGUSON: It's going to be an asset until you put the two of them on stage and then it becomes her biggest liability. Hillary Clinton on stage, looking like a robot, compared to Donald Trump, having a real blunt conversation, that is when he is going to shine, and I think this race is going to tighten significantly. He's one of the best debaters that I've ever seen in politics. Definitely the best trash talker I've ever seen in politics. And when Hillary Clinton tries to go with talking points on stage with him, that's her - that's her vulnerability. And that's where I think Donald Trump also fuels his own fire. He gets pumped up after the debates. If you remember, after the debates, he would come out and have four or five incredible days of campaigning. I think the closer we get to the debates with Hillary, and after those first debates happen, he's going to be on fire going out with the American people, and that's when people are going to really watch and decide, hey --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

FERGUSON: Who do I trust more, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

CAMEROTA: OK, Ben, Charles, thank you very much.

FERGUSON: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Victor.

[08:39:59] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, I want to take you to West Virginia. You've seen the aftermath of the flooding of historic proportions. Well, the death toll is rising. And, believe this, more bad weather is on the way. A live report, next.

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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: More than two dozen people confirmed dead in these historic floods that are just slamming West Virginia. President Obama declared a major disaster in the state, but that's about money and resources. But the problem is going to continue with more downpours today.

We have CNN's Brynn Gingras live in one of the hardest hit areas.

Brynn, how are people not just dealing with what happened, but preparing for what's going to happen again?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, to that point, they say it's like PTSD (ph), they usually get an alert on their phone that says flash flooding, and they said they usually ignore it. Now, they're taking warning.

Now, this particular county, Greenbrier County, saw the most deaths out of any other country related to the flash flooding across this - this state. And the devastation, it's just everywhere.

I want to point out this house in particular. Chris, this house isn't supposed to be here. Actually, residents don't even know how it got here or where it came from. Well, actually, they do know how it got here. It was from floodwaters that pushed it here. And among all of this devastation, there are also incredible stories of survival.

[08:45:11] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

GINGRAS (voice-over): As flames tore through homes submerged in floodwaters, Christian Nahuse felt helpless, hearing his neighbor scream for help.

CHRISTIAN NAHUSE, FLOOD SURVIVOR: I kept hearing, you know, somebody saying "help, help," you know. And I told my dad, I was like, there's somebody behind this house. And I could just see her legs hanging off from this tree here.

GINGRAS: Nahuse and his family were trapped in the attic of his own home, the water rising around them, they went into survival mode, creating a makeshift zip line and sliding across the river to safety.

GINGRAS (on camera): So you guys were standing right in that opening - NAHUSE: Yes, ma'am.

GINGRAS: And tied a rope over here.

NAHUSE: Yes, ma'am, to this power poll right here. I didn't know what these houses were going. I knew they were on fire and I knew they were moving down. And I knew that if we didn't get off there, that we had a high risk of death.

GINGRAS (voice-over): It's one of many stories coming from the town of White Silver Springs, a community destroyed by flash flooding. Homes here were ripped off their foundations and twisted, as if a tornado had blown through. Others, charred. This one ignited in flames and floated down the creek.

KIMBERLY GREENE, FLOOD SURVIVOR: You know, you try to stay calm as much as you can because you know you're going to have to save your life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really brings you to tears, the devastation that we have.

GINGRAS: Canine units continue searching for missing people along the river banks. The historic Greenbrier Resort was set to host the summer's next PGA Tour event. It's now canceled, as debris litters the golf course.

JAMES JUSTICE, GREENBRIER OWNER: And when you go out on the golf course here and you're finding people on the golf course, you're finding bodies, the golf course really doesn't matter. I mean, we'll fix the golf course.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And as you look at this house, as you can see, it's destroyed. A quick story about it. The woman who owns this house, she's pregnant. She's about to have a baby girl. She was hoping to bring that baby back here. Obviously, now she can't.

Yesterday, she was here. She actually went into the house and the ultrasound picture of that baby, it's dry. It was sitting on the counter. So that was saved. So incredible stories coming out of here, but certainly as we approach today, the weather that's coming, there is fear of what's to come.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, Brynn, just the devastation that you're showing us and how scary it is for all of those people in those homes. I mean I can't imagine being pregnant, must less just living in one of those homes while that happened. We know you'll stay on it. Thank you for all of that reporting.

Well, this is the lawsuit that could turn the Republican Convention on its head. Coming up, we will talk to the delegate who is suing so he does not have to vote for Donald Trump. We'll explain. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:17] BLACKWELL: Welcome back.

With anxiety growing over Donald Trump, nearly half of Republican voters now want someone else as their nominee. That's according to the latest CNN poll. Our next guest is behind a new lawsuit that's demanding that state delegates be free to vote as they wish. Virginia delegate and attorney Beau Correll.

Bo, good morning to you.

BEAU CORRELL, FREETHEDELEGATES.COM: Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So your lawsuit that you filed just a couple of days ago now claims that the state law that binds your vote at the convention to the primary results back in March is a violation of your First Amendment rights. How so?

CORRELL: Well, there's a long line of Supreme Court precedent stating that in supporting the proposition that when it comes to private association, such as the Republican Party, that we are not state actors, and therefore we are not bound by state law. This is not to say that there's no binding at all. I think that party rules and that the Republican Party's private association rules would apply. However, we're fighting this because we don't think the government should be in the business of compelling and commandeering the actions of private entities and individuals, such as myself, in how to vote in our national convention.

BLACKWELL: Understood. And the Supreme Court offers deference to the state party, but the state party rule 16 even binds your vote to the primary results. So even if your fight is with the party, as the rules are today, you still have to abide by the primary back in March, right?

CORRELL: Well, look, that's - I think that's the very heart of this issue. I mean state law in several states, Arizona is another one, and there is quite a bit others, including Virginia, compels these delegates how to vote in the national convention.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CORRELL: Sometimes with penalties. Like in Virginia, there's potential jail and a fine.

BLACKWELL: OK.

CORRELL: So we're fighting that tooth and nail.

BLACKWELL: So there is a legal argument, and still a political fight as well. Let's turn toward the political fight. You were the co-chair in Virginia's tenth delegate - district, I should say, for Ted Cruz.

CORRELL: Right. That's correct.

BLACKWELL: Would you be making this argument if Ted Cruz had won the primary, if he were the nominee?

CORRELL: Well, I think strong conservatives and those dedicated to philosophy are always hesitant of government overreach. Here, there's clearly government overreach of the state government telling delegates how to conduct their internal affairs. You know, at this particular point, I'm not necessarily supporting Ted Cruz. I just want to fight this fight because I just can't under my conscience vote for Donald Trump.

BLACKWELL: OK, so what do you say then to the more than 350,000 voters in Virginia who chose Donald Trump, the more than 14 million nationwide, the 37 states who chose him, that you are allowed to now go to the convention and essentially ignore the will of the people and vote your conscience without abiding by the rules that were in place before you joined the process?

CORRELL: Well, I disagree with that characterization.

BLACKWELL: OK.

CORRELL: I think that it's up to the private association, here the Republican Party, to determine the rules of their members. Now, some states, for example, tell their delegates to consider those votes as advisory upon the delegate and the delegates' decisions. Other states say that the party shall promulgate rules to - with regard to the allocation of delegates.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CORRELL: Now, those are more likely - more likely constitutional. Virginia just says, you know, forget what your internal rules are. We, as the state actor, are forcing you, a private individual, how to vote in this - this private election. I mean you wouldn't consider this - I mean you consider it very suspect, I would assume, if the state was trying to compel members of the Kiwanis Association -

[08:55:14] BLACKWELL: Yes.

CORRELL: How to vote in their national convention.

BLACKWELL: So vote -

CORRELL: It's the same general principle.

BLACKWELL: We're low on time here -

CORRELL: Sure.

BLACKWELL: But let's say you're successful in the courts, you're successful at the convention, and just 20 seconds here, if not Donald Trump, then who?

CORRELL: I'll keep my options open for that. But when it comes -

BLACKWELL: But after the convention, you've got essentially 15 weeks. CORRELL: Yes. Well, I think there's a lot of people that will be a lot

better than Donald Trump, that could mount a national campaign, because as we know right now, Donald Trump has failed at mounting a credible national campaign.

BLACKWELL: You've mentioned that there are potential fines, jail time. Are you willing to face those to avoid voting for Donald Trump? Quickly.

CORRELL: I stand on the side of the Constitution and the First Amendment first.

BLACKWELL: All right, Beau Correll has filed this lawsuit in Virginia to avoid having to vote for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention. Three weeks away.

Beau, thank you so much.

CORRELL: It's a real pleasure. Thank you, man.

BLACKWELL: We'll take a quick break. Thanks for joining us on NEW DAY. NEWSROOM with Carol Costello starts after this quick break.

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[09:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Great Britain in turmoil this morning and U.S. investors bracing for a big hit. Wall Street opening minutes from now and Brexit set to rock stocks. World markets closing in the red.