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New Day
Interview with Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Texas; Ted Cruz Booed After Refusing to Endorse Trump. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired July 21, 2016 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:03] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I integrated the language. I didn't check the speech. I didn't do -- whatever. I made a mistake. OK. That means it happened.
There is zero chance that maybe you even knew it happened. Manafort knew, the team knew. They decided to deny it. That's lying. It happens.
But is there any other version of reality on this?
COREY LEWANDOWSKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Here's what I think happened. Meredith put out a statement yesterday.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: She's the woman who helped Melania write the speech.
LEWANDOWSKI: She's been a friend of the Trump family and a good, responsible employee for a long time. What she said happened, and I believe her because she has no reason to be disingenuous about it.
She was working with Mrs. Trump to put some ideas together. And her and Mrs. Trump talked some of those ideas down on a piece paper, and incorporated it into her speech.
CUOMO: Right.
LEWANDOWSKI: Whether Paul knew about that or not is irrelevant, because what the bottom line is, is that Meredith said it's her responsibility.
And that's what good people do. She took the blame. She said it was her responsibility.
My guess is, look, running a convention is a very, very difficult job.
CUOMO: I don't think it matters who did it. People make mistakes. That was never what this was about. It was never about Melania, which I think is a little bit of cheap trick, to be honest.
This wasn't nice to Melania. This wasn't fair to Melania. I can't say it more times. Both of us. She did a good job. Good for her.
This was about how the campaign dealt with it. Paul Manafort came on this show and said Hillary Clinton was running this story because she wanted destroy the character of a strong woman. That can't be true. We understand that now because a statement came out.
CHRISTINE QUINN, VICE CHAIR NY DEM. PARTY: You know what it speaks to. We've seen over and over by the Trump campaign that they don't take responsibility. And that makes you question what Donald Trump will be like as president. Will he take responsibility?
Look, I've heard the press in office say, this isn't true.
CUOMO: You support somebody who had the exact same problem and many voters would suggest on a much higher order. The proposition right now, who lies about bigger things?
(CROSSTALK)
LEWANDOWSKI: She offered her resignation. She's an honorable person.
CAMEROTA: Last word, Alice.
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That should have happened an hour after the speech, not three days later.
CUOMO: This is not about the writer. It's not about Melania.
CAMEROTA: Got it.
Panel, thank you very much.
LEWANDOWSKI: Thanks.
CAMEROTA: Great conversation.
All right. GOP's V.P. nominee, sort of rhyming there, Mike Pence, makes his national debut at the convention last night. So, what do those who know him best think about how he did? We talk to his good friend from Congress, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[06:36:38] GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You have nominated a man for president who never quits, who never backs down, a fighter, a winner. Until now, he's had to do it all by himself against all odds, but this week with this united party, he's got backup. And on November 8th, I know we will elect Donald Trump to be the 45th president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: They were happy in the convention hall last night listening to Donald Trump's running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
He was making the case obviously for Trump in his first major address. To many in the American public, the voters, even do national Republicans, this was his introduction. One of Pence's closest friends joins us right now, a Republican, of
course, a congressman, of course, from Texas, Jeb Hensarling. He also endorsed Donald trp.
Congressman, thank you for being here. Congratulations, as a Republican, and as a Mike Pence friend.
Where was his head last night going into the speech?
REP. JEB HENSARLING (R), TEXAS: Oh, it was in a wonderful place. Mike, I think, has a voice as close to Ronald Reagan's voice as any, so he knew what he had to do. He had to tell his own story. He told it with self-deprecating humor. Never underestimate the quality of just being likable in politics.
It was his introduction. He was cool. He was calm. He was collected.
He showed that he could come out, tell his story, stand on principle, be likable, and defend his candidate, and also go toe to toe with Hillary. So, I know it's still baseball season. I think he hit it out of the ballpark.
CUOMO: So, you're a friend and a colleague. When the governor came to you and said they want me to be the VP, what do you think? What was your advice?
HENSARLING: Well, I'm not sure I want to reveal everything I said in private. You can't turn something like that down.
CUOMO: Sure you could. People have. He had members of the party who expressed not having an interest. You know, Governor Kasich, most notably.
HENSARLING: Mike feels a call to duty. I'm not sure he, quote/unquote, "wanted it". I mean, you know, he's sitting here, the governor of the state of Indiana.
CUOMO: Doing well, yes.
HENSARLING: He has an incredible record there. He felt it was a call to duty. He knows America is in precarious shape. We can't take four more years of the status quo. You know, where we have our friends overseas who know longer trusts. Our enemies who no longer fear us. We have an economy that's not working for working people.
So, Mike feels a call to duty. That's what his life is about, public service. He got the telephone call.
I never doubted for a moment that he would turn it down. I don't know this is good for Mike Pence's career, but I think it is great for the Republican Party. I think it's great for the United States of America that he accepted this.
CUOMO: How do you think Governor Pence will deal with being the running mate of Trump when they do not line up on a lot of issues and they do not argue their case the same way by any definition?
HENSARLING: Well, one, I think it speaks well of Donald Trump in picking Mike Pence. He obviously didn't pick a clone of himself.
CUOMO: No, he did not.
HENSARLING: This is a little bit of the political odd couple. There's a little of that going on here.
So, number one, mike is his own guy. He knows who's going to be president, but at the same time, Mike has his way of stating things.
Again, I think it's a voice that's very much resonating of President Reagan. He speaks from the heart. He comes from the heartland.
[06:40:01] He has those values. I think a lot of people are going to identify it. But I think people also saw a guy who can go toe to toe with Hillary Clinton, make the case against her, make the case for Donald Trump. I just think it was very impressive.
So they don't have to be alike. You know, I don't know if Hillary Clinton's about to pick a clone of herself to where we get two, you know, extremist liberals for the price of one. I guess we'll know by Saturday.
CUOMO: Yes, that comes next. Let's stick with where we are.
Do we have the moment of Trump trying to plant one on Pence there when he came out to introduce him? If we can put it up.
That was funny. So, he's coming out to give the speech. Trump is introducing him.
And Trump goes to plant one on him, give him a kiss. Your man Mike Pence gives him the strong arm. Look at that, giving him the iron shoulder. You're not kissing me, Donald Trump.
Midwest Mike doesn't like a peck on the cheek. Is that fair to say? What happened there?
HENSARLING: Well, there's an embrace. They're not doing it that way in Indiana. Maybe they do it that way in New York. There's a little difference in the style.
CUOMO: They're going to have to figure that out. Congressman, congratulations to your friend. Thank you for helping us know him a little better. Appreciate it.
HENSARLING: Welcome.
CUOMO: All right. So one of Donald Trump's advisers is now in a little bit of hot water because of what he said about Hillary Clinton. It got the attention of the Secret Service. We're going to tell you why and what will happen, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:45:21] CAMEROTA: Welcome back.
We're following some breaking news for you out of New York City. This is the scene. Police are in a standoff right now with a suspect that they believe targeted officers with a fake bomb.
Officials say the device was tossed into a police car near Times Square about seven hours ago. The suspect was in a car and then drove off. That car was later tracked to Columbus Circle, where that's the area you're looking at right now. The bomb squad and hostage negotiators still trying to resolve this situation. We'll bring you updates as we get them.
CUOMO: A New York Miami police officer placed on administrative leave after shooting an unarmed behavioral therapist in the leg. Charles Kinsey is the man. And he was trying to calm down an escaped autistic patient who had found his way to the middle of the street, was standing there with the toy.
The police arrived and ordered him to the ground. Kinsey listened. Now you can listen closely as cell phone video captures Kinsey pleading with officers not to shoot while he is lying on his back with his hands in the air.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES KINSEY: All he has is a toy truck, a toy truck. I am a behavioral therapist at a group home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: Kinsey asked the officer why he shot him. We believe he was hit in the leg and will be OK. He claims the officer replied, "I don't know."
CAMEROTA: The Secret Service is investigating a Donald Trump adviser who said Hillary Clinton should be executed. Al Baldasaro is also a New Hampshire state representative. He called for Clinton to be put on a firing line on a conservative radio show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL BALDASARO, CO-CHAIRMAN OF DONALD TRUMP'S NATIONAL VETERANS COALITION: To me, is the Jane Fonda of the Vietnam. She is a disgrace for the lies that she told those mothers about their children that got killed over there in Benghazi. Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Baldasaro also told "The Daily Beast" he believes Clinton committed treason for using a private e-mail server as secretary of state.
CUOMO: The problem of angry talk. All right. Yet another incredible night at the RNC. Things we didn't
expect to happen. Ted Cruz encouraging people to vote their conscience and did not endorse Donald Trump, only mentioned his name once.
Now, what does that mean for tonight, the big night? We have a little hint of what surprises could be in store.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:50:56] CAMEROTA: Donald Trump, of course, known for his showmanship. So, why is the RNC riddled with some production problems?
Joining us now is CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES", Brian Stelter, and CNN's senior reporter for media and politics, Dylan Byers.
Guys, great to have you here.
So, there have been some technical and timing problems, Brian. Let's talk about the timing. What's gone wrong?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: There have been times where some of the best speeches were before the 10:00 p.m. hour, and the 10:00 p.m. hour matters because that's when the broadcast networks join this and show an hours worth of the events.
The truth is Fox and CNN are rated higher in many cases than the broadcasters nowadays. CNN's numbers are more than double where they were from the 2012 Republican convention.
So, something is going on. People do care about this convention, but not the traditional way. They're watching cable instead.
However, overall, the ratings are not that high. That might be a harbinger or a problem for the GOP in the fall.
CAMEROTA: So the ratings for this one are not as high as 2008, 2012?
STELTER: That's right. They're basically mellow. They're not much higher, not much lower. You would think with the Trump show, you would have had a Trump ratings bump. We haven't really seen that.
So, there's these timing issues, production problems, and there hasn't been a sense of must-see TV, except on cable, where it's become an election year.
DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR REPORTER FOR MEDIA AND POLITICS: This guy blew the debate ratings out of the water. You go back to the first debate --
STELTER: Twenty-five million viewers.
BYERS: Should have had 3 million in an election year. Here you have the convention, and we're not seeing those ratings. CUOMO: Well, what's the difference? The difference is in the
debates, it's all about Trump. He was on the whole time. That's why you were watching. Here you're only getting a little taste, until tonight.
BYERS: Until tonight -- and tonight should be different. In some ways, you're getting a taste of Trump, and there isn't that much star power in the arena outside of Trump. I mean, certainly, Mike Pence's speech was a big deal. Laura Ingraham is a big deal among the right. So more of these people are just like a dog's breakfast, D-list talent.
CAMEROTA: Dogs breakfast.
STELTER: But I would say, where was Trump on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? I'm surprised he chose not to speak more. If he had spoken more, if he had given long speeches, we probably would have ridiculed him and said he was trying to make it all about himself.
CAMEROTA: Aren't they trying to build up tonight?
STELTER: I suppose they are. We heard a lot of bluster from campaign aides and from Trump himself about how much this would be an unconventional convention. Maybe it turned out not to be a little bit. I think that shows the limits of one person's ability. This convention --
BYERS: Or unconventional on all the wrong way.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: So what's he going to do tonight that will really surprise us? I was favorably impressed by his entrance. Do you remember this? Play the video.
STELTER: Oh, on Monday.
CUOMO: I love a smoke machine. Bringing in Freddie Mercury, with great irony aside, that's playing at the RNC. Queen, "We Are the Champions." silhouette first, turn to the side, the signature profile, the hands and the prayer. Then he enters. Full-on World Wrestling Federation.
BYERS: This is the sort of energy we need to see from him tonight. If you think about everything else we've been talking about, we've been talking about plagiarism, we've been talking about Ted Cruz not endorsing him, we've been talking about technical glitches that were inside the hall.
CAMEROTA: Let's talk about that. What technical glitches?
BYERS: You're watching these speakers, and all of these screens, which make conventions these sort of huge events that they are, they fill the room with energy, start flashing and going out all over the place. At one point, they just have to go black.
I talked to a lot of people watching on TV. Clearly that didn't translate. In the arena, people were distracted.
CUOMO: They had some trouble with the acts too.
STELTER: The wrong biographies for people.
BYERS: How does that reflect? Trump has said, I do things better than anyone else. Then you have this convention with technical glitches. I'm a great negotiator. He can't get Ted Cruz to endorse him. I hear the best people. He can't hire a speechwriter. He's not going to plagiarize from the Obamas.
Not only does this convention not reflect well on the party, I don't think it reflects well on Donald Trump.
STELTER: I don't mean to totally rain on the parade, but to keep in mind, the convention is like a bureaucracy. It's like a preview of what running a government is like. It's a giant aircraft carrier that's hard to turn on a dime.
[06:55:01] So, Trump may have wanted to come in and make a lot of changes in these plans, but that wasn't possible. This has been planned for years.
CAMEROTA: Brian, Dylan, thank you. We'll be watching tonight, of course.
So what will people remember from this convention, and will Ted Cruz's actions overshadow Trump's big address tonight? That doesn't seem possible. We break down the final night of the convention. That's coming up next.
CUOMO: What's the theme song going to be when he enters? What do you think?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: America is crying out for something new.
(CROWD CHANTING)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Stand and speak and vote your conscience.
(BOOS)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: To paraphrase Ted Cruz, if you want to protect the Constitution of the United States, the only possible candidate this fall is Trump-Pence ticket.
(CROWD CHANTING)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R) FLORIDA: Democrats have not led us to a cross roads. They have led us to a cliff.
GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: Hillary, enough is enough. America deserves better.
ERIC DONALD, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: Never have I been more proud to be a Trump.
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. We are live in Cleveland as we have been all week at the Republican national convention. Things continue to get curiouser and curiouser and more exciting and more exciting.
Republicans unleashing their anger on Ted Cruz this morning after Trump's runner-up refused to endorse Trump during his primetime speech last night. Instead, Cruz urged Americans to, quote, "vote their conscience".
CUOMO: The theatrics overshadowing speeches by Trump's vice presidential nominee and Trump's son Eric. Party unity, right, that's what this is supposed to be all about. It now comes down to today.
What will Trump say? How will he say it? And what impact will it make?
Those are the questions. Let's get toward the answers.
We got every angle covered. Let's begin with CNN's senior political reporter Manu Raju inside the convention hall. Good morning.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Chris.
This convention was the scene of a rather tense and dramatic moment as Republican delegates were waiting for that endorsement from Ted Cruz to Donald Trump. When that endorsement didn't come, they got angry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I want to congratulate Donald Trump on winning the nomination.
RAJU (voice-over): It was all downhill from there. Ted Cruz delivering a 25-minute speech that may follow him forever, refusing to endorse Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.
