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New Day
Trump Officially Becomes Republican Nominee; Republican Speakers Make Case Against Clinton; Ben Carson Links Hillary Clinton to Lucifer. Aired 7-7:30a ET
Aired July 20, 2016 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF DONALD TRUMP: For my father, impossible is just the starting point.
[07:00:31] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I am so proud to be your nominee for president of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump is a man of vision.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: A couple of years ago, Bill and Hillary camped out in my state, telling anyone who'd listen why they ought to vote against me. Tonight I'm here to return the favor.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Hillary Clinton, the charge of putting herself ahead of America, guilty or not guilty?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to see a woman be president, but not that woman. Not today, not now, not ever.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Fellow Republicans, let's see this thing through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY.
We are live in Cleveland at the Republican National Convention. Donald Trump is now officially the Republican nominee for president 13 months after launching his improbable bid. Two of Trump's children making very personal cases for their dad with the voters last night.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: First, there are still divisions in the Republican Party, but one thing that seems to be unifying them is their dislike for Hillary Clinton.
There were chants last night in the convention hall of "lock her up." They filled the arena more than once. So Dr. Ben Carson will join us live here on NEW DAY in a moment to talk about all of that. But we do have this convention covered from every angle. So let's begin with CNN's Phil Mattingly. He's inside the convention center.
Hi, Phil.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn.
Well, last night, according to one Trump official, was about turning the page, moving away from a rather turbulent first 24 hours of the Republican convention. They got a lot of help from two very important people: the unquestioned stars of the show last night, Donald Trump's own children.
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D. TRUMP JR.: It is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight. Congratulations, Dad. We love you.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Donald Trump formally clinching the Republican nomination.
D. TRUMP: I'm so proud to be your nominee for president of the United States.
MATTINGLY: Trump's children stealing the spotlight with emotional speeches about their father.
TIFFANY TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: Donald Trump has never done anything halfway, least of all as a parent.
MATTINGLY: His 22-year-old daughter, Tiffany, getting personal.
T. TRUMP: I still keep all of my report cards, some dating back to kindergarten, because I like to look back and see the sweet notes he wrote on each and every one of them. Contrary to what you might expect from someone who places an emphasis on results.
MATTINGLY: Eldest son Donald Trump Jr. calling his father his mentor and best friend, casting him as the blue-collar billionaire.
D. TRUMP JR.: I was there with him by his side on job sites, in conference rooms from the time I could walk. He didn't hide out behind some desk in an executive suite. He spent his career with regular Americans. He hung out with the guys on construction sites, pouring concrete and hanging sheet rock.
MATTINGLY: Trump's children from different marriages delivering powerful testimonials of their dad.
D. TRUMP JR.: For my father, impossible is just the starting point. That's how he approaches business projects. That's how he approaches life.
MATTINGLY: Twenty-four hours earlier, Trump's wife Melania's well-received speech overshadowed by charges of plagiarism.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You work hard for what you want in life.
MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: That you work hard for what you want in life.
OBAMA: That your word is your bond, that you do what you say you're going to do.
M. TRUMP: That your word is your bond.
MATTINGLY: The campaign repeatedly denied wrongdoing. First on NEW DAY...
PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: To think that she would be cribbing Michelle Obama's words is crazy. This is once again an example of, when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton, how she seeks out to demean her and -- and take her down.
MATTINGLY: Then hours later in a press conference.
MANAFORT: The American people did focus on what her message was. You all are focusing on trying to destroy that message.
MATTINGLY: The campaign dismissing calls to fire or discipline someone over the speech controversy.
COREY LEWANDOWSKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Whoever was the staff person who wrote this speech should be held accountable and should be fired it. I know accountability in the Trump campaign. I know what it's like to be fired from the Trump campaign.
MANAFORT: We think that Melania Trump's speech was a great speech.
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MATTINGLY: The Trump campaign, Alisyn, not giving an inch. For those of us who have covered the campaign, we recognize this strategy. It's not going to change any time soon -- Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Sure looks like that, Phil. Thank you very much for that.
So there was this mock trial last night amid chants of "lock her up." At times, Donald Trump's coronation at the GOP convention felt more like a prosecution of Hillary Clinton. Speaker after speaker slammed her.
[07:00:09] CNN's senior political reporter Manu Raju joins us now with that angle. Hi, Manu.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alisyn.
Now Chris Christie led this charge against Hillary Clinton in what is becoming a convention full of anti-Clinton messaging. But what we're seeing are convention goers eating it up.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lock her up! Lock her up!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lock her up! Lock her up!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lock her up! Lock her up!
RAJU (voice-over): A second night of stinging attacks against Hillary Clinton, becoming the rallying cry of the Republican National Convention.
CHRISTIE: Hillary Clinton lying to the American people about her selfish, awful judgment in making our secrets vulnerable. What's your verdict? Guilty or not guilty?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
RAJU: For 15 minutes, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie prosecuting Clinton in a mock trial before a national audience.
CHRISTIE: In Libya and Nigeria, guilty. In China and Syria...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
CHRISTIE: In Iran and Russia and Cuba...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
CHRISTIE: And here at home for risking America's secrets to keep her own and lying to cover it all up...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty!
RAJU: Christie's prosecutorial takedown drawing sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle.
The Clinton campaign tweeting soon after, "If you think Chris Christie can lecture anyone on ethics, we have a bridge to sell you."
Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake also tweeting, "Clinton now belongs in prison? Come on, we can make the case that she shouldn't be elected without jumping the shark."
Trump's other former rival, Dr. Ben Carson, going as far as to link Clinton to Lucifer.
DR. BEN CARSON (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of her heroes, her mentors was Saul Alinsky. He wrote a book called "Rules for Radicals." On the dedication page, it acknowledges Lucifer. So are we willing to elect someone as president who has, as their role model, somebody who acknowledges Lucifer? Think about that.
RAJU: Speaker after speaker linking Clinton's e-mail and Benghazi controversies to a lack of trust.
MCCONNELL: She lied about her e-mails. She lied about her server. She lied about Benghazi. She even lied about sniper fire.
Why in the world would Democrats put forward such a candidate?
GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R), ARKANSAS: A Hillary Clinton presidency will endanger our national security.
LESLIE RUTLEDGE, ARKANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: Deception and dishonesty are all second nature to Hillary.
MICHAEL MUKASEY, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: No way, Hillary. No way on earth.
RAJU: And House Speaker Paul Ryan scarcely mentioning Trump, focusing his attention on the risk of electing Clinton.
RYAN: Watch the Democratic Party convention next week. That four-day infomercial of politically correct moralizing. You can get through four days of it with a little help from the mute button, but four more years of it? Not a chance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: Now, expect that messaging to continue tonight when Mike Pence, Donald Trump's running mate, will address the convention as well as Ted Cruz, Trump's former rival who may not endorse Trump but will certainly attack Hillary Clinton -- Chris.
CUOMO: All right, Manu. Appreciate the reporting. We'll check back with you in a little bit.
Joining us right now, former presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson. Doctor, thank you for joining us. It's been a while. Good to see you. So last night, you went out there, you gave your speech, the
crowd was with you, to be sure, but you seemed to perform a little bit of a miracle. You seem to have come up with the one attack on Hillary Clinton that not everybody wanted to fully embrace. I kept hearing on the floor, "I don't think she embraces Lucifer. I think that this was just" -- and then they would go on with their explanation.
Why so heavy-handed in trying to tie Hillary Clinton to Lucifer?
CARSON: Well, first of all, recognize that this is a very famous book, "Rules For Radicals," and on the dedication page, he even acknowledged Lucifer in an admirable way...
CUOMO: Right.
CARSON: ... saying that he's the original radical who gained his own kingdom. And then if you read the book -- I don't know if you've ever read it...
CUOMO: What I did was I read the studies of the book, just to figure out where you were going with this. Please, continue.
CARSON: But please read the book, because it's very interesting how it uses controlled anarchy...
CUOMO: Right.
CARSON; ... in order to change us from a democratic republic to a socialist society.
CUOMO: Right.
CARSON: And I don't think that those things are consistent with the principles and the basis of this nation.
CUOMO: Right, but you seem contextually to make it like Hillary Clinton's carrying it around in her back pocket. It's something she mentioned in 1969 in a thesis.
[07:10:06] CARSON: Well, here's the point: We all have people who are our mentors. We all have people that we admire. As a college student at Wellesley, she was on a first-name basis with Saul Alinsky. He offered her a job after she finished, but she decided to go to law school. They were very close. You look at some of the letters.
But, I also had a mentor. It was my mother. And you know, she had a difficult upbringing, but she never let me be a victim. And the person that I am today has a lot to do with who I admire and who is my role model.
CUOMO: You also said in this campaign many times, "Don't judge me, Ben Carson, by my worst moments from 100 years ago." And you've many times contextualized criticisms of you as saying, "When was that? How long ago was that that I said that? Why can't you judge me on what's going on now?" You do not give Hillary Clinton the benefit of that analysis. CARSON: Well, actually I do, because -- you know, in the real
world, and particularly in business, if someone is doing something that is inappropriate, what you do is you maybe give them remedial training or you demote them.
Here, we have a situation where you had a person who was the first lady, who was a United States senator, who was the secretary of state, who doesn't have the knowledge or the judgment to treat classified information or even understand what it is in an appropriate way that doesn't jeopardize the country. And instead of sending her for remedial training and demoting her, you're saying, "Let's promote her to the highest position in the land."
CUOMO: Legitimate argument, certainly different than blaming her for what she wrote in college. That's why I'm asking you. I get that Lucifer is a powerful term, especially with a group that is faith sensitive, but do you feel that it was going too far in retrospect?
CARSON: Again, when you look at the principles that are espoused by Christ, by Christianity, and you look at what's espoused by evil, and then you look at things like killing babies, you look at things like redefining marriage away from what the biblical definition is, I think that there's pretty good consistency there.
CUOMO: But don't you think it's a little dangerous to tie gay marriage, equality of marriage, respect of LGBT, with being evil? Don't you think that's a little bit too far, once again?
CARSON: Well again, that's your interpretation.
CUOMO: Well, how am I wrong? How am I wrong?
CARSON: What I am saying is that we are talking about electing to the presidency an individual who embraces someone who obviously is not someone who is consistent...
CUOMO: I'm just saying this is when she was in college, that's all.
CARSON: So are you saying she no longer believes that?
CUOMO: I'm saying I've never heard her mention the man as a mentor in all of her years in public office. I've never heard it on -- oh, I'll ask. I'll ask. There's no question about that. We'll go to the campaign today. I think I can predict what their answer is going to be.
But I just think I wanted to ask you about why you saw that as the best way to go in the convention, and I was wondering if it was just because you have to use Lucifer.
CARSON: It's perspective. And, you know, when I tell -- you know, when I told Alan Colmes about this on his program the other day, he said, "Oh, that was a joke." He just put that in there...
CUOMO: Oh, I'm not saying that. It was an obvious basis and something that was personally important to her in 1969. I think there's no question about that. It's just what you choose to use as criticism, especially as somebody who has said many times, "Don't judge me by something that long ago. Judge me by right now."
CARSON: Except you have to also use your brain. And you say, if she believed that at that time -- and now you look at her actions, you look at what she advocates -- the killing of babies, the dissolution of the traditional family, all these kinds of things -- those are pretty consistent, quite frankly.
CUOMO: So that's the case against her.
In terms of the case for Trump, are you happy with what's going on in the convention in terms of making a constructive case for why Donald Trump should be president, in terms of positive for him?
CARSON: Absolutely. I see a tremendous sense of coalescing going on, and that's only going to continue.
I think even those individuals who are in the never-Trump camp will at some point begin to understand that it's not about their feelings, it's about the future of this country, and this is a pivotal election because we're deciding if we're going to be a country of, for, and by the people, or of, for, and by the government.
And I'm not necessarily saying that the secular progressives who want government to control everything are bad people. I'm saying that they have a philosophy that is antithetical to the philosophy for the founding of this nation.
CUOMO: Dr. Ben Carson, thank you for being on NEW DAY. Appreciate your perspective as always. Talk to you again. I know you say you're not going to run for public office again, but I'm betting against it. So, we'll see you again.
Now that Trump has officially sealed the deal in terms of becoming the nominee for the Republican Party, what's going to happen leading up to his big speech? Tonight we have the vice-presidential nominee, Mike Pence. Is there going to be a shift toward pro-Trump and not just negative Clinton? We'll discuss with two conservatives next.
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[07:19:35] CAMEROTA: Donald Trump securing the GOP mantle on day two of the Republican National Convention. But as we head into the third day of the convention, are we learning any more about Trump's vision for the future, or are the speakers focusing too much on Hillary Clinton? Listen to this.
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D. TRUMP JR.: If Hillary Clinton were elected, she'd be the first president who couldn't pass a basic background check.
[07:20:00] CHRISTIE: We didn't disqualify Hillary Clinton to be the president of the United States. The facts of her life and career disqualify her.
RYAN: They are offering a third Obama term brought to you by another Clinton. And you're supposed to be excited about that.
MCCONNELL: Friends, not since Baghdad Bob has there been a public figure with such a tortured relationship with the truth.
RUTLEDGE: And as first lady, you viciously attacked the character of women who were sexually abused at the hands of your husband.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Let's discuss all of this with former lieutenant governor of South Carolina and Donald Trump supporter Andre Bauer; and CNN political commentator and senior writer for "The Federalist," Mary Katharine Ham. Great to see both of you this morning.
Mr. Bauer, too much Hillary Clinton?
ANDRE BAUER, FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA: I think so. I want to be the party that is positive energy and people go out to the polls not to vote against someone, but because they're excited about a new opportunity, a new vision, a new direction. Not only for the president but for the Republican Party.
CAMEROTA: Then why are they taking this tone?
BAUER: Well, they're not listening to me. I'm not giving them their run-down. But I want to see an inclusive party that we do more and more to do exactly what Lee Atwater from South Carolina said in the '80s. Broaden the tent, welcome new folks in. And Donald Trump has the potential to do that, but he needs to get people on stage pushing that message.
CUOMO: Well, the proposition that the governor just put out there -- and I know it was lieutenant governor, but having been raised by a lieutenant governor, he said, "Always say 'governor'."
Mary Katharine, what fights the governor's conclusion there is that Trump, in fact, has not been a broad based builder, despite the votes that he got the most ever in a GOP primary. Isn't that why we're seeing the true galvanizing principle being anti-Clinton?
MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, that's coming from this tension. He did bring in a lot of primary voters who maybe were reliable general election voters in the past. We're not sure what the general is going to look like. And that's what's always been my question. Do you subtract more than you add? I think the likelihood is that he will.
But the tension there is why Hillary Clinton is the focus because that's the thing that unifies. Because everyone in that room, whether they agree on Trump or not, agrees that she isn't an acceptable choice.
CAMEROTA: What about the challenge, Mary Katharine?
HAM: I think this is designed to be a festival of your positive attributes as a party. Right? And it's not going to be that. And it was never going to be that once there was this tension on Trump.
And I don't think Trump is designed to be a guy who does a fluffy, positive attributes three days. And I think you're going to see that continually through this convention.
CUOMO: Dr. Ben Carson was just here. He is not an exemplar of who the party supposedly wants to be, but Trump put him up there. He says Hillary Clinton likes people who like Lucifer. Crowd goes crazy. He equates her positions on right to choose and LGBT inclusion in our democracy as being tied to anti-biblical, which I read as therefore evil notions. Is that who you want to be?
BAUER: Not who I want to be. And I don't want to just pander to the crowd that's in that building. They have hundreds of millions of dollars in free advertising, just like right now, where they can get a message out to folks who will never be at a party meeting, will never meet one of these elected officials, but they can get that message out.
And this is an opportunity every time someone walks out on that stage. And so I would rather not cater to the several thousand folks that are there but reach out in the suburbs to people that are working, trying to find the answer to making their life better.
CAMEROTA: Help us remember what conventions used to be like before the Trump era. Were they just sort of wonky policy discussions? What did it used to feel like?
HAM: Well, it was a lot of artifice. Right? And I think that's what people like about Donald Trump, is that you're getting this like -- everyone says the theme yesterday was making America work, and we didn't hear about that. Of course you didn't. This is a Donald Trump convention.
Look, I think it's fine to point out that Alinsky is a poisonous force in American politics. And I think that's actually true. Going to Lucifer is not helpful to your message.
But I think there were people on the stage last night that Donald Trump could take notes from, including his son and Chris Christie. Chris Christie stayed on message, went after Hillary in a very hard way, and it's something that Trump has been unable to do when he's on the stump, when he has an opportunity. He makes one, you know, passing reference to Hillary and then moves on to talking junk about Susana Martinez.
CAMEROTA: But Chris Christie also worked the crowd up to a lather, to the point where there were chants of, you know, "Lock her up, lock her up."
HAM: All of these are steps, like, a little too far in my book. But Donald Trump... CUOMO: That's the opening, the problem of going after the
Clintons in the past has been overreach. You have her. She got caught in the e-mail thing. But it wasn't a crime.
But the message inside that room universally is, oh, no, it was a crime. She committed a crime. She knowingly sent classified information to people who did not have that classification or status. That happens to be not true, according to the head of the FBI.
HAM: The statute is gross negligence. And many people will say you don't actually need intent...
CUOMO: It had never been prosecuted on the basis of gross negligence.
HAM: ... the actual statute so it's not...
CUOMO: Yes, but facts matter. The head of the FBI said -- this has been...
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[07:25:15] CUOMO: Right, but it's been prosecuted twice in, like 100 years, both times on the basis of intent.
HAM: And here's the thing. A lot of people in that room, and me included, would say, "Hey, it seems unfair that the get-out-of-jail- free card -- and I don't mean literal jail -- the get-out-of-jail-free card is to run for president. Like, you've passed the point where we can punish you for something that was very, very bad. Because there are punishments for this, even if they're not criminal punishments.
She will not be subjected to any because she is the nominee for president. And I don't think that's a fair situation.
BAUER: I actually thought Leslie Rutledge, the attorney general of Arkansas, did a great job on the negative Clinton perspective from a woman's point of view, a perspective from an elected point of view, and someone from Arkansas. I thought she did a good job of beating up Hillary and exemplifying an elected woman that's a Republican.
HAM: I just want to make the point about Donald Trump Jr. He's up there, and think he sort of illustrated a generational divide in that room and in the Republican Party that I feel...
BAUER: He stole the show.
HAM: I think some older voters look at Donald Trump and go, "Yes, that works for me." And many young voters on the Republican side do not. But I saw -- I see the Trump kids and I go, "Well, that's something I recognize." He's talking about school choice. He's thought through some constitutional issues. He's put together a speech that it feels like he thought about for a while. I appreciate that.
CUOMO: What does it mean for Trump's son to give the endorsement of him that you should have had from, like, the Senate majority leader, you know, or a big official?
HAM: They know him very well, so I will keep that in mind and trust it to some extent. I think this is always -- they've always kept it in the family. That's one of the questions I have about what an administration would look like. But certainly, Donald Trump Jr. did his dad some favors.
CUOMO: Absolutely.
CAMEROTA: Mary Katharine, Mr. Bauer, thanks so much for being here on NEW DAY.
We have a reminder for you: NEW DAY will continue to be live, starting at 5 a.m. Eastern all week.
CUOMO: You know, when you say that, it makes it true.
CAMEROTA: Well, I had heard that it actually was true. So I'm...
CUOMO: You learn anything from this election, you keep saying something, people start to believe it.
CAMEROTA: But you're denying that we're live at 5. We really are live at 5.
CUOMO: My eyelids won't allow it.
Hillary Clinton is weathering blistering attacks at the GOP convention. According to her people, it's even more than they expected here. Chants of "lock her up" during Chris Christie's speech.
Clinton, however, refusing to lay low. She's going to fight back, we hear. Someone on her VP short list, an Ohio senator, is here to make the case, next.
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