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Michelle Obama's Speech; Mothers Address Convention; Bill Clinton Speaks at Convention. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 26, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: That is the story of this country. The story that has brought me to this stage tonight. The story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done, so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so there is a taste. Some other themes hit on as well. Let's discuss why this speech mattered so much with our panel, CNN political analyst and presidential campaign correspondent for "The New York Times," Maggie Haberman, CNN political analyst David Gregory, and CNN political commentator and political anchor of Time Warner Cable News, Errol Louis.

So, Maggie, that was talking specifically to some of the women's issues here involved, the ceiling, her kids, what that means. Why did that note resonate in the hall, and what were the other high points?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think that it was an overwhelming powerful speech. I heard from Republicans who likened, in some cases support Donald Trump, last night who said, they thought this was the best speech out of either convention so far, which is pretty telling.

I think that when you heard her talk about what it meant to be a woman shattering glass ceilings, it resonated for a couple of reasons. But one of them is that, you know, the Obamas and the Clintons had a lot of tensions after 2008. It took a while for those divisions to heal. She is speaking to the historic nature of a candidacy at a moment when a lot of younger voters especially will say they believe there will be a woman president at some point anyway and they don't know that it necessarily has to be Hillary Clinton. I think that was energizing.

The other point that she made about children, she said something that I thought was very powerful last night and that got overlooked largely, which was, she talked about her daughters and how it was for them to grow up hearing their father have his faith questioned and his citizenship questioned. And sort of describing this through the eyes of children was very poignant, it was very humanizing, and it was really in contrast to a lot of how we heard, even in the most resonant moments of the Republican Convention, Donald Trump described. This was very, very different. And I do think that this is going to be an enduring speech. It also helped, frankly, turn around what was a pretty rough day earlier and I think that was very important.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Maggie, you make such a good point.

David, it's hard to hear something new about Barack Obama's citizenship. But last night we did. I had never thought of it through the lens of how his daughters experienced that. I mean she really made it personal without seeming to overly affront it.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. I mean I think it was very well said by Maggie. I mean I think the framing of being a parent, and the kind of example that you want to set in public life, that was the contrast to Donald Trump. And any of us who are parents have been embarrassed, frankly, to watch the Republican debates and the kind of vulgarity that have come - that has come from Donald Trump. You know, I've got an 11-year-old son. Just to have to apologize for some of the stuff. He was trying to be, you know, civic minded and watch the presidential process. She was able to do that. And so that's the choice here. And at the same time was able to really hammer Donald Trump, to remind people that he was the original birther, to talk about some of his vulgarity and to take on some of the other aspects of it.

Yes, so I thought that - very powerful. Also, look, a statement of values for the Democratic Party. What they hope to aspire to be, and also where Hillary Clinton is coming from. A very important testimonial from her.

CUOMO: She didn't just hit the heart, either. She also hit the head. Here's another piece of sound from what she said last night, making the case for Hillary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: When she didn't win the nomination eight years ago, she didn't get angry or disillusioned. She - Hillary did not - Hillary did not pack up and go home. Because as a true public servant, Hillary knows that this is so much bigger than her own desires and disappointments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: There was a lot of this last night, where that language wasn't just a character assessment of Clinton, Errol, but it was a character attack on the Republican opponent about the pettiness. How did it read to you and why so much applause?

[08:35:02] ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, there was, of course, her just elevating above all of the petty feud. Not just with the Republicans, by the way. I mean some of this was really indirectly aimed at some of those Bernie Sanders supporter whose had been booing Hillary Clinton's name for, you know, at that point about six hours, really sort of trying to sort of give them some perspective that, you know, you're now part of something bigger. You're now part of a party organization that's going to try and select the next leader of the free world. That you're, you know, you're a delegate. You're not an outsider. If you want to stand outside and throw rocks, you can leave the arena. But, you know, here you are, here we are, and sort of taking them through some of the history.

You've got to keep in mind, when we talk about some of these young Bernie Sanders supporters, this might be the only president that they remember, right? I mean if you're 22 years old, where were you eight years ago, right? Maybe you're just now sort of coming to your political consciousness. Maybe you're thinking that it's - it's the natural state of things to have an Obama in the White House. And I think she reminded everybody how extraordinary it is, how much work it took, how some people, including Hillary Clinton, had to take a political loss in order to try and, you know, in order to make this happen. But that with maturity, you take the loss, you stay on the team, you come back up fighting. And these are themes that, of course, that the Clinton campaign has been trying to emphasize all along.

GREGORY: And the counterpoint to the idea of just kind of pure ambition. The idea that she's so dedicated to service. That's why she keeps at it. Not just trying to climb the ladder and become president, but just, you know, a point of service.

CAMEROTA: And, Maggie, just not the typical first lady speech.

HABERMAN: No, it was - it was - it was, look, I mean, what was strike about it too is that Michelle Obama has not really enjoyed a lot of the public aspects of campaigning -

GREGORY: Right.

HABERMAN: Of being in the White House. She was very clear about that in 2008 and she's been very clear about that all along. So that she was really the unifying voice last night. And that line about, sort of, you didn't become anger and disillusioned if you were Hillary Clinton and sort of take your ball and go home, a lot of that is at the Bernie Sanders people who were in the hall, who they are trying to appeal to, to say, this is going forward -

GREGORY: Yes.

HABERMAN: This is about defeating Donald Trump.

But you did hear something that you heard less of in Cleveland. Last night it was sort of equal parts. You know, Trump is, in their minds, dangerous and problematic, and here's our statement of values, as David put it. Most of what you heard in Cleveland night after night was chants of lock her up, Benghazi. It was very much the anti-case and a negative case. This was the anti-case, but also something of a positive message, and that was what Mitt Romney lacked in 2012. He made the case against Barack Obama, but not really so much for himself. Last night you saw Michelle Obama really more than any speaker make the case for the Democratic Party.

CUOMO: Never said Donald Trump's name once.

HABERMAN: That's right. That's right.

CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you.

GREGORY: Thanks.

HABERMAN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: They call themselves the Mothers of the Movement. Moms of black men killed by police or gun violence, and they will address the Democratic Convention tonight. What is their message to America? We have them here, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:47] CAMEROTA: The theme of tonight's Democratic Convention is a lifetime of fighting for children and families. It's a theme that these next moms know first-hand. Their sons, unarmed black men, were killed in a police encounter or by gun violence. They're called the Mothers of the Movement and they're taking their message to the DNC stage. Two of them join us now. Lucy McBath, she's the mother of Jordan Davis, and Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner.

Thanks to both of you for being here.

LUCY MCBATH, MOTHERS OF JORDAN DAVIS: Thank you so much.

GWEN CARR, MOTHER OF ERIC GARNER: Thanks for having us.

CAMEROTA: Lucy, you're speaking tonight. What do you - what are you going to say to the crowd?

MCBATH: Well, a lot of it will be my love for my child. My expectations for Jordan. And why Hillary Clinton is the best choice for president of the United States.

CAMEROTA: And let's talk about that. Why is Hillary Clinton, I mean, with all of the violence that we've seen, we've seen far too many, obviously, young black men, unarmed, who were the victims of excessive police force violence. We've also seen the police feel under siege.

CARR: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And them be victims of this heinous crime. Why do you think that Hillary Clinton knows how to solve that?

MCBATH: Well, we know Secretary Clinton, even as Senator Clinton, has been dealing with these kinds of issues with gun violence. Gun violence prevention, mass incarceration, criminalization, poverty. She's been dealing with these kinds of systemic issues all along. So her record speaks for itself.

So she didn't just join the gang. She's been doing the work already. She's been in the trenches. So she understands dynamically the way to move forward, to be able to change this kind of climate that we see with gun violence. So that is the reason why she is completely qualified. CAMEROTA: Gwen, what about you? You've supported her always through

this primary season. Why?

CARR: Oh, yes, I have. Well, Hillary, she reached out to us. She was the first candidate that ever reached out to the mothers and she was genuinely concerned about our pain and about what we were going through. She had a private meeting with all of us. It was about 12 or 13 of us. And she listened to our stories. She listened with compassion. She took notes. She took notes. Not her cabinet. Not her press people. She didn't even have press when we were there. It was a private meeting, and a private place, when no one knew where it was.

CAMEROTA: And you felt it was genuine.

CARR: It was genuine. I could feel that it was genuine.

CAMEROTA: Lucy, remind us of what happened to Jordan your son.

MCBATH: Well, Jordan was with his father in Jacksonville, Florida, for Thanksgiving holiday. He was actually living with his father at that point. And I was in Chicago with my family having Thanksgiving. And I remember Thanksgiving Day, Jordan called and he was so excited, you know, Black Friday the next day. Mom, I'm going to go with my boys. We're going to go and we're going to shop and we're going to go look at girls, that kind of thing.

And so it was about 10:30 at night, and I just happened to go upstairs to the bedroom and I saw Jordan's father pop up on the phone and he said, where are you? And I said, I'm here in Chicago. And he says, but where are you? And I said, I'm in the house, why? He said, where is Earl, my cousin, go get him. And I said, why do I need to go get him. And he - basically once he told me what happened with Jordan, i jumped on the plane, went down.

[08:45:08] I did not know what happened to Jordan until I got to Jacksonville. And when I got to Jacksonville and understood that Jordan and the boys were simply shopping on Black Friday, had stopped at the gas station for three and a half minutes -

CAMEROTA: Yes.

MCBATH: And in those three and a half minutes, Michael Dunn came in, shot ten rounds into the car because they were playing loud music.

CAMEROTA: Yes, he didn't like the loud music.

MCBATH: No.

CAMEROTA: We all remember how shocking that case was.

And we all remember the story of your son, Eric Garner. What, Gwen, do you think is the answer to the tension that the black community - some in the black community are feeling with the police and vice-versa?

CARR: Well, there's not enough communication in the black community. They have police there policing the area that don't know the people in the area. And that's wrong. Because you should always know the people that you're policing. Because if you form a relationship, then there would be less violence. They would be - one would be more respectful of the other. And this is what we have to do. We have to get more respect, more, you know, consciousness in the neighborhoods.

CAMEROTA: You want community policing. We've heard time and again from the police and from the community that that is the answer, the community policing, when you know the kids in your community.

CARR: Yes.

CAMEROTA: But, Gwen, what do you say to people who don't like these black lives matter mantra? They think that blue lives matter. They think all lives matter.

CARR: Well, all lives does matter. That goes without saying. But when we say "black lives matter," we just want them to pay attention to us. Don't treat us less than a human being, because we are American citizens also. So, you know, respect us as we respect your lives. You know, they don't respect our lives like we respect every - like me, I respect everyone's. Everyone deserves to live. Nobody's life deserves to be taken.

CAMEROTA: And everyone will hear you tonight when you take to the stage and share your message for the country. We'll be watching very closely. Thank you so much -

MCBATH: Thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: For being here and sharing your stories with us.

CARR: Yes.

MCBATH: Thank you.

CARR: Yes. Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Four years ago, Bill Clinton gave President Obama what many consider to be the speech of the convention. Will he deliver the same jolt tonight for his wife? We'll discuss that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:00] CAMEROTA: OK, just a few hours from now, Hillary Clinton will make history by becoming the first woman to be a presidential nominee of a major party. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will be tonight's headliner. So what will he say to sway voters to her. Let's discuss it with our panel. We have Maggie Haberman, David Gregory and Errol Louis. Maggie, what are we expecting from Bill Clinton?

HABERMAN: I think we're expecting the case that Obama helped, you know, save the economy essentially in a terrible economic time. It's going to be something similar to what we heard in 2012, frankly, when Bill Clinton took the convention stage there. I think he has a tricky line to walk to some extent. He can't be seen as sort of taking too much ownership of his wife in a couple of days. He is also, you know, a living, breathing avatar of the 1990s, which is an era that a lot of this convention and a lot of the platform shaping has been about rejecting, specifically in terms of things like trade agreements, in terms of things like don't ask don't tell. The country has moved a lot since the 1990s.

GREGORY: The crime bill.

HABERMAN: The crime bill. And so criminal justice reform.

GREGORY: Yes.

HABERMAN: And so I think he has a bit of a careful line to walk. That having been said, he was a very popular president. The economy was booming under him. And I think that is a lot of what you're going to hear.

GREGORY: And he was the president, right?

HABERMAN: That's right.

GREGORY: And - and - and he's incredibly popular in the Democratic Party.

HABERMAN: Correct.

GREGORY: And he can speak to parts of the electorate that she has a hard time -

HABERMAN: Yes.

GREGORY: Reaching in parts of the country that they would like to make battle ground states anew. Think North Carolina, Georgia, which might be a stretch.

HABERMAN: Right.

GREGORY: You know, Arizona. So he can do all that. He can also be much more personal about her. This is her husband after all.

HABERMAN: That is very true. That is very true.

CUOMO: That's a key -

GREGORY: And I think that's really what he's going to try to do.

CUOMO: That's a key point.

GREGORY: And, by the way, I don't think anybody really knows what he's going to do.

CUOMO: Well, that's what - you know, Joel Benenson was on here. Obviously he was working with the Obama campaign then. But now, you know -

GREGORY: Sure. CUOMO: Even now he's saying, he was like, oh, I didn't know in 2012 what he was going to say either. I think they have a better -

HABERMAN: Well, that was true.

GREGORY: Right.

HABERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: I think they have - I think Bill Clinton has changed over time. I think there's a better chance that they know what he's going to say, that he's more susceptible to this type of coordination. But that's an insider point. What David just said about going personal about Hillary Clinton, and what Maggie said about walking a delicate line, you could make the case that this is similar to 2012. He's got to be careful not to overshadow Hillary Clinton, but also the personal. How do you think you can marry those two, Errol?

LOUIS: Well, I mean I think by - by being who he is and who they are, because the personal for them includes a lot of wonky policy talk. I mean that really is who they are. They dedicated themselves to public life in the early 1970s and have never looked back. So the - what we might think of as a couple sort of tender, intimate moments for them might involve campaigning for somebody. Campaigning for McGovern (ph) in the past (ph).

CAMEROTA: So romantic.

LOUIS: I mean, but, it is what it is, right? And anything else starts to sound fake. I mean, but, if you think back, as much as we know about Bill Clinton, what's the tenderest, most personal intimate moment you ever remember him sharing with the public about his wife? It's just not part of their public vocabulary and presentation. So I think he's going to stick with policy. I think he's going to talk about why he thinks she's so qualified, why he thinks she's so tough, why he thinks she's so brilliant and insightful, and why, as she often says -

CUOMO: Missed (ph) opportunity.

LOUIS: She's better qualified than he -

GREGORY: I disagree a little bit because I think he'll lace it more about the personal, about why he loves her. How - you know, what he was first attracted to, about her intellect. And so there's (INAUDIBLE) that too.

HABERMAN: And her as a mother and her as a grandmother.

GREGORY: Yes, absolutely.

HABERMAN: But I do think that Errol's right, that he has to be a little bit careful because -

GREGORY: Yes. HABERMAN: A lot of his character witnessing for her in the last year has been about the honesty question that she has faced a lot since the e-mails.

GREGORY: Yes.

HABERMAN: Going there is not exactly a benefit. It's just going to remind -

CUOMO: What if he does it in a way that he hasn't done it before. There's a lot of talk at this convention about, will Hillary do anything that shows any contrition? Will she try to own the advantage against a Trump, who doesn't believe he needs to apologize for anything in his life. What's the chance that bill Clinton does that and takes the blame for some of if not most of the laser light focus on Hillary all these years? What's the chance that he would say something like, I'm sorry that because of what I did, so many of you have gone after her?

HABERMAN: I think that it's a very slim chance because I think -

CUOMO: Slim and none and slim just got on the bus?

[08:55:02] HABERMAN: Well, but not - but not, I think - I think - I think - I think not because he doesn't feel that way, which I believe based on conversations with folks around him he does. But I just think that - you don't, in politics, you don't inject something into the conversation -

GREGORY: Yes.

HABERMAN: Without it having (INAUDIBLE).

GREGORY: And he is defensive of the '90s.

HABERMAN: And he is - that's exactly right.

GREGORY: He's always partying like it is 1999.

HABERMAN: Right. Right.

GREGORY: He's going to defend that Clinton record.

HABERMAN: Yes, but the question is how he defends it.

GREGORY: Right.

HABERMAN: Does it sound defensive as he defends the -

GREGORY: Yes. Right.

CAMEROTA: And is there a wildcard note to this? Might he do something unpredictable, as he sometimes does on the campaign trail?

LOUIS: Well, you know, I think, in the course of defending his policies, that's where you might find it, because, you know, he doesn't think that he did wrong when he, you know, went into Bosnia.

GREGORY: Yes.

LOUIS: He doesn't think he did wrong when he did the crime bill. I mean we saw him, you know?

GREGORY: Apparently he's still working on the speech. So somebody would like to have eyes on it before - before he actually goes out there.

HABERMAN: But that happened last time too -

GREGORY: Yes.

HABERMAN: It was worked on throughout the day of the final day.

CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you very much. Great to get your insights and your humor with us here at the CNN Grill. It's been quite a morning.

GREGORY: Oh yes.

CAMEROTA: And tomorrow will be the same.

Thanks so much for watching us. "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello will pick up after this very quick break. We'll see you then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:12] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thank you so much for joining me.