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Trump & Clinton In Dead Heat In Key Battleground States; Sen. Angus King: I Will Vote For Hillary Clinton; Bipartisan Congressional Task Force Tackles Policing; Trump's VP Search Enters Frenzied Phase; What Influence Does Trump's Family Have On Him? Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 14, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:33:00]CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You know, about 90 percent of those who say they support Trump or Clinton say they ain't going to change their minds. So people who are Independent, people in the middle, very, very important, especially when we see the polls knotted up in all the key states.

Whether it's Ohio -- you have Pennsylvania, Florida -- very tight, very tight numbers. So -- and this is now what we're seeing consistently in polls, right? It's not just one that's shocking us. So who each gets to support them, especially the big names -- the Independent names -- matters.

Joining us now, Independent senator from Maine, Angus King. Senator, I see you have your favorite tie on today with the Maine lobsters. That usually means business coming from you, and you say you have an announcement, sir. What is that announcement?

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: Well first, Chris, I want to set up what I want to talk about because as -- a lot of the work I do here, probably 50 or 60 percent, involves foreign policy. And a short while ago I had an experience that really shook me and influenced what I'm about to tell you.

I went over to Andrews Air Force Base and got on an airplane, that I never knew existed, called the NAOC, National Airborne Operations Center, otherwise called the "doomsday plane". It's an up-armored 747 and its mission is to provide command and control in the case of a nuclear attack.

We went up, took off across the country, and then had a nuclear attack exercise where an Air Force officer played the president and the Secretary of Defense, and we heard in our ear -- the first thing we noticed was there was a big clock. They were showing missiles leaving -- the big clock said 28 minutes. That was the time the president had to make a decision.

What got me, Chris, that is was almost physical, was that in that situation there's only one person. There's no checks and balances, there's no Congress, there's no Supreme Court, there's no consultation. There's one person making a decision about the future of civilization. When I got off that plane, you know, my knees were a little weak with

that realization how much power is in this one person, and then I thought about Donald Trump. And it's a question of judgment and temperament, and this guy has not demonstrated to me the kind of coolness that you need in that situation. The president is probably going to be in a helicopter being evacuated when having to make that decision.

The other thing that I thought about was Hillary Clinton sitting at the Benghazi hearing for something like 11 hours. Never lost her temper, never lost her cool, never lost her patience, answered every question. Was very solid. And I think most people, even people who were opposed to her, felt that that was an amazing performance. That's as good as you're going to get as a photograph of somebody making decisions under pressure.

Putting those two things together and realizing the incredible importance of the presidency, particularly in foreign policy where, as you and I have talked about, Congress is largely abdicated, I've got to vote for Hillary Clinton. I just can't, in good conscience, put somebody in that airplane whose coolness and sort of patience and judgment I have doubts about.

CUOMO: So, Senator Angus King, the Independent from Maine, says he will vote for Hillary Clinton. That will be the headline, but let's test the premise because you just said something that is both very poignant and practical. What was it like for you to think about what would happen in that situation and what is necessary for the survival of the country?

KING: As I say, it was -- it was deep. These are these things you can talk about and think about intellectually, but to be up in that airplane and see that 28-minute clock ticking down and hearing the voices in the headphones talking about what we have to do and determining the facts. Is it really an attack? Is it a flight of geese that are confusing the radar? How do we confirm the information? Information is coming in from all over the world.

It was a visceral gut-level experience for me and it was -- it was one of the strongest experiences of that nature that I've ever had. It's one thing to think about things, it's another thing to feel them. And all I could think about was man, in this situation I want somebody who's deliberative and cool, who has been in these kind of decision- making situations. And, you know, I just don't -- I can't -- I can't say that this guy is somebody that I would -- I would be comfortable with.

And this is real. The one thing I've learned here, Chris, working on intelligence and armed services, the incredible power of the presidency in foreign policy. And presidents -- candidates talk about domestic issues -- immigration and the dead, and all of those kinds of things.

But you get in office and at least half of what the president does is dealing with a very dangerous world and there are all kinds of judgment calls. Should we -- what do we do in Syria, what do we do with ISIS, how much do we escalate? Do we send troops in? What's the level of troops in Afghanistan? Whether we put nuclear tactical weapons in Eastern Europe. It's unbelievable the complexity of these decisions and the danger of the world.

And, you know, Hillary Clinton has been there. She's been in the public eye for 30 years, but she's been there as a first lady. A very active first lady, but also as a senator and then, of course, in the caldron of being Secretary of State during this dangerous time.

CUOMO: But you're not calling it an endorsement. You're saying you'll vote for her. That's who you support, but you don't endorse. Why? Why not use that word?

KING: Well, I don't know. I'll use the word endorse. I don't know what the means. I don't think the people of Maine are holding their breaths to see who I'm going to endorse. I've always thought endorsements are kind of artificial.

CUOMO: Right.

KING: You can call it either way, whatever you can use on your Kyron (ph). Any word you choose.

CUOMO: Our lower third. We'll say it. Senator Angus King, thank you for making this announcement on NEW DAY. Thank you for telling us, more so, why you're doing it because that's where the country's head has to be right now in figuring out why they want to choose what they want to choose.

I also want to ask you to come back on the show so we can talk about some of the other issues that are going on out there with policing in America and how you see the upcoming conventions. So, please, come back soon, Senator.

KING: We'll be with you, Chris, thank you.

CUOMO: All right, and thank you for the big news. Senator Angus King from Maine says he has to vote for Hillary Clinton because of this experience that it came down to in his own mind. Living through what would happen in that moment of crisis -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Chris, thank you so much. Coming up on NEW DAY, lawmakers, police, Black Lives Matter representatives, all coming together trying to find solutions after the deadly police shootings, protests, and the attack on those Dallas police officers. What will a new task force really accomplish? We'll speak to representatives on all sides, next.

[07:41:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Protests over police shootings of black men in the recent horrific attacks against police officers are pushing Congress into action. Today, House representatives from both parties are meeting to find solutions, they say, and address concerns about policing and violence. Joining us now, live from Washington, are two members of that task force. Democratic congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Republican congressman Will Hurd of Texas. Gentlemen, thank you for joining us. What is the aspiration here? What do you think you can achieve?

[07:45:00] REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), NEW YORK, WHIP, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS: Well, the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and those five hero police officers in Dallas shocked the nation and, once again, put front and center the issue of the tense relationship between the police and the community. It's clear that we've got a national problem that requires, Chris, a national solution and times like this need leadership.

The House is stepping up -- Democrats, Republicans, people on different sides of the ideological divide -- to try to find common ground to this problem and propose real, concrete solutions in a dispassionate, evidence-based, intelligent fashion to try to prevent us, as America, from being in a situation again, and again, and again.

CUOMO: Will, I hear what Hakeem Jeffries is saying and we applaud the effort. You know we, here at CNN, we're calling for Congress to do something about this situation. But the reality is this is a state issue, this is a local issue, and we saw that President Obama put together a task force -- a commission, it was called then -- after what we saw in Ferguson. Recommendations came out that, you know, were good, logical, practical, and very few have adopted them in localities across the country, so how can you do better?

REP. WILL HURD (R), TEXAS, COMMITTEE FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, I think the difference is the commitment from both sides of the aisle on this issue. You know, the first step is to show that despite the circus atmosphere that we see up in Washington, D.C., despite this being an election time, that we can actually work together and talk about these issues in a dispassionate way.

The reality is that it's 2016 in the United States of America, and if you -- whether your skin is black or brown, or your uniform is blue, you shouldn't feel unsafe walking the streets of America. And we can solve this problem. We've got to make sure that we don't let people sow fear into our hearts and minds.

And, you know, I think the different is the example the five lawmakers in Dallas made. You know, these are -- these are men that put them -- that gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect people that were protesting law enforcement. This is, you know -- protesting peacefully is a very American thing and we've got to use them as an example. And I think that the tone is different and the commitment from both sides is different than it has been in the past.

CUOMO: So, Hakeem, how's this going to work?

JEFFRIES: Well, the task force is going to be led by the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte, on the Republican side and John Conyers, who is the dean of the House of Representatives and the lead Democratic on the Judiciary Committee on the Democratic side with members from all across the country who have different perspectives but who, as well, have indicated -- have a commitment to talking about this problem in a manner that doesn't automatically lead to people retreating to either of their ideological corners, but is directed by a genuine, good faith effort to try to find real solutions to this issue.

I think we can start with areas where I think Democrats and Republicans already agree, such as the need to incentivize local police departments with financial assistance, perhaps, to purchase body cameras. That's something that law enforcement and people on the Black Lives Matter side of things have embraced as something that could help bring accountability and a window into what actually happens on the streets from the perspective of both sides.

And then to tackle some of these difficult questions that we're going to have to tackle because, Chris, this is a recurring problem, and if we're going to solve it then, this time, has to be different. And I think the task force is an effort to make sure that this time is different.

CUOMO: And this is one of those few situations, Will, where talk is not cheap. We need to have a conversation. These issues have to be not just felt, but spoken about in reason. Now, one of the practicalities that comes out of these because, unfortunately, we've had a lot of examples of this problem over the last few years, or at least a perception of it, is that when you have an excessive or a questionable use of force, OK -- the question being that it might be excessive -- an independent review board of those cases, so that it's not that local police, it's not that local prosecutor.

That's it's taken away from what people say they don't have confidence in. That seems to be something that gets a lot of traction but never actually happens because, again, it's state-by-state. Is that something that the federal could have any impact on?

HURD: I think it's important to review all these cases and what were the preconditions that were there that existed before the activity happened. Are those preconditions existing in other places around the country? Is there a way we can get ahead of the problem by understanding and reviewing the previous activity? So yes, this is a --

[07:50:00] CUOMO: No, but Will, I mean that actual incident. I'm not saying like -- what the DOJ does right now is it has a very limited scope of what it can actually charge, right, so it goes in and it reviews what happened at the state level. But what they then ask for is no, no, no, we don't want it after the fact, we want it in that present sense. We want this investigated, initially, by an independent body. What do you think of that idea, and could Congress motivate it?

HURD: Well, I think that's already happening in St. Paul right now. It is an example of that. You know, the reality is we have to look at everything and we've got to make sure people feel comfortable with law enforcement, and that law enforcement feels comfortable with their communities. And if there's outside entities that can help in that, if there's a role for federal view, these are some of the conversations that should happen and do it within the existing frameworks that are there.

I think this is a problem that can be solved. It's not going to be easy, it's not going to be done overnight. This is -- this is about making sure that we're understanding the problems first, and then articulating some of the solutions.

CUOMO: Will Hurd, Hakeem Jeffries, thank you very much. Our pledge is you get the information to us, we'll get it out. We'll keep this conversation going, especially in the interest of progress. Gentlemen, thank you --

JEFFRIES: Thank you, Chris.

HURD: Thank you.

CUOMO: -- Poppy.

HARLOW: All right, we are just hours away from finding out who will be Donald Trump's number two. Who will be his vice presidential pick and how does Trump make these big decisions? We're going to get into the brain -- the brain of the candidate, next, with a key biographer. Stay with us.

[07:51:20] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:15] HARLOW: Donald Trump's big announcement tomorrow morning could be on one of the biggest decisions he makes in his new political career. Who will be his number two? Frankly, how are you number two to Donald Trump? That's a tough job, right? What goes into the process? How does his mind work?

Let's talk about it with someone who knows that really well, Michael D'Antonio. He is the author of the new Trump biography called "The Truth About Trump". Thank you for being with us.

MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, DONALD TRUMP BIOGRAPHER, AUTHOR, "THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUMP": Good morning.

HARLOW: Look, not only did you spend a lot of time with Donald Trump writing this, you spent a lot of time with all of his children, all of his former wives --

D'ANTONIO: Yes, yes.

HARLOW: -- and current wife. Take us into the mind of the man. What's he thinking right now? Chris doesn't buy that he doesn't know who he's going to pick as V.P., but he says I don't know yet.

D'ANTONIO: Well, I think you have to think about this the way you'd think about a T.V. show. Donald is the producer, director, and star of a T.V. series and the T.V series is the campaign. So he's going to offer us a lot of possible --

HARLOW: So he's playing us. D'ANTONIO: -- storylines. He's playing us. He's always playing us. Now, I think -- I agree with what Chris said. He probably knows who it is but it's too much fun for him to keep the drama going. We're watching, we're talking about it all morning. It's working.

HARLOW: OK, so if he knows who it is, then who is it because for a while he was saying I want an attack dog and Chris Christie was that attack dog who could go after people. Newt Gingrich, as well, especially when it comes to Hillary Clinton. But then last night on "FOX NEWS" he comes out and he says I don't need an attack dog, I'm an attack dog.

D'ANTONIO: Well, right, and then he says that there are four possible candidates, but I'm thinking about two.

HARLOW: Yes, so you don't know anything about that?

D'ANTONIO: Right, and so what he's going to do, I think, is try to make an unconventional or a surprise choice. So last night I thought it was Mike Pence because I saw the children coalescing and they are pretty influential and they act as a block and that's, I think, an interesting thing to consider.

HARLOW: So who -- you think it is going to be?

D'ANTONIO: Oh, I can't tell you.

HARLOW: I know. All right --

D'ANTONIO: You know, I'd tell you. If the kids are really driving it --

HARLOW: Yes.

D'ANTONIO: -- I think it's Pence.

HARLOW: You do? OK, so let's talk about the kids because the name that gets put out there the most as the most influential on her father is Ivanka Trump. Is that correct?

D'ANTONIO: She's most influential on matters of style, brand, and public perception. So I think if she's really engaged in this she's thinking about balancing him out. They really do love him and they really do look to protect him, almost from himself.

HARLOW: There's no question about that.

D'ANTONIO: Yes.

HARLOW: I mean, when I interviewed Ivanka Trump it was right after the Megyn Kelly comments, et cetera -- the heat of the women issue stuff -- and she was so -- in such staunch defense of her father.

D'ANTONIO: Support, right, right.

HARLOW: That was very clear. What do you see, though, as Trump's vulnerabilities where his children can't help him?

D'ANTONIO: Well, he will go rogue at any moment because that's his character.

HARLOW: But, how -- you can't call that a vulnerability because it's got him here.

D'ANTONIO: Absolutely. And they will say to -- they've said to me look, we will go in and we'll say we disagree with you on X, Y, and Z and they will sit as a group. But they believe that he's the homerun hitter and they're not going to mess too much with that. So, he also says my life is a comic book and I'm the leading character in it, so he's very cued into this drama.

HARLOW: Well, on that point because this isn't a comedy. This is the future of the free world.

D'ANTONIO: Right.

HARLOW: And when he made that comment to "The New York Times" about the fact that, you know, maybe I'll become president and then say I don't want the job and not take it. Maybe he was joking, but how do you say that?

D'ANTONIO: It's sort of consistent with who he is. Long ago he said, about the presidency, that I might like to run and I might like to win, but I might not like to be president.

HARLOW: So then, let me ask you. How do you read that? Did he mean it, half mean it? Was it a total joke?

D'ANTONIO: I think he -- I think he meant it at the time. That was the late 1980's. He had no --

HARLOW: What about now, when he said it last week?

D'ANTONIO: Oh, I think it's half serious. He -- everything is about what suits his brand and his image, so if he's going to make a choice I would say -- I'm actually leaning toward Pence. I think he's leaning toward something that balances him out.

HARLOW: Right, we've got to go. The man who knows the mind of the man who's running --

D'ANTONIO: No one knows.

HARLOW: -- for the presidency. Thank you so much.

D'ANTONIO: Thank you.

HARLOW: Again, "The Truth About Trump" is the name of the book, thanks. We've got a lot of news to get to and let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: I'm at three, potentially four.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vice presidential spot at this point, it's up to him.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Certainly, I'm one of the people who will be sitting by the phone waiting.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: It's very humbling to be considered for a position of this magnitude.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am confident that he will make America great again.

TRUMP: In my own mind, I probably am thinking about two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will not let the act of a coward break us.

QUINYETTA MCMILLON, MOTHER OF ALTON STERLING'S SON: We all come together to say that we want peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a one-way conversation about the police, but not including the police.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not even close to being where we want to be.