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Trump Insists Campaign 'United' Despite Backlash; Obama Approval Highest for Second-Term President Since Clinton; American Killed in London Stabbing Spree; Trump, Pence Differ Over Backing Ryan; Interview with Rep. Sean Duffy. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 04, 2016 - 07:00   ET

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

MATTINGLY: -- capitalize on their attacks on Hillary Clinton. Now if they can only get their candidate on message.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:00:06] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The campaign is doing really well. It's never been so well united.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Donald Trump pledging unprecedented unity within his campaign after days of turmoil.

TRUMP: I would say right now it's the best in terms of being united that it's been since we began.

MATTINGLY: It's a message echoed by his top advisers, at least publicly, who tell CNN Trump's team is under control.

MANAFORT: The campaign is focused. The campaign is moving forward in a positive way.

MATTINGLY: Though sources insist there is frustration within his staff with the candidate. Getting back on message, Trump putting Hillary Clinton directly in his crosshairs, attacking her record as secretary of state.

TRUMP: It was Hillary Clinton that she should get an award from them as the founder of ISIS. That's what it was.

MATTINGLY: And touting his latest fundraising haul.

TRUMP: And we just took in this month, I think it's 80 or $82 million.

MATTINGLY: Despite closing the gap with Clinton, it's proving difficult for Trump to collect checks from the country's top donors. His campaign war chest trails Clinton's by $20 million.

TRUMP: We're raising a lot of money for the Republican Party, and the money is coming in. We're just doing great.

But small contributions -- I think it was $61 each. And few Republicans can do that. Maybe no Republican can do that. MATTINGLY: And with several Republicans now saying publicly they

won't support Trump, including rising GOP star Adam Kinzinger, there's still great cause for concern within the party.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R), ILLINOIS: Donald Trump, for me, is beginning to cross a lot of red lines of the unforgivable in politics, and so I'm not going to support Hillary. But you know, in America, we have the right to write somebody in or skip the vote and vote for Mark Kirk in Illinois, for instance, and that's what it's looking like for me today. I just don't see how I get to Donald Trump any more.

MATTINGLY: Trump's decision not to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his primary battle, infuriating RNC chair Reince Priebus, Trump's most stalwart establishment backer. Even Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, splitting with him over Ryan, giving a full-throated endorsement.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IL), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm strongly supporting Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his re-election. He's a long- time friend. He's a strong conservative leader.

MATTINGLY: And the controversy is leading some top supporters to question Trump's perceived self-sabotage. Newt Gingrich, a finalist to be Trump's running mate, telling "The Washington Post" Trump is helping Hillary Clinton win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: In the last couple weeks, he has been remarkably underperforming.

MATTINGLY: Gingrich later backtracking, telling Politico he's, quote, "100 percent for Trump."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And Newt Gingrich followed up those public comments with a private phone call to the Trump operation, according to one adviser, where he complimented Donald Trump on two very solid and on-message rallies down in Florida.

And John, that's really the big issue here. People obviously recognize that discipline for Donald Trump might have a different meaning than other candidates. But if he can stay disciplined, if he can stay on message, there are real opportunities going forward.

BERMAN: It's the big "if." That "if" has lasted several months now. Phil Mattingly, thanks so much.

Let's discuss with CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen, a Hillary Clinton supporter. And Trump campaign senior adviser and pollster, Kellyanne Conway.

Kellyanne, I want to start with you. Because you have told me within the last 24 hours that Donald Trump has a great opportunity if he continues to talk about Hillary Clinton, if he talks about ISIS, if he talks about law and order issues in this country. Now, yesterday he seemed to be doing more of that. Yes, he said that

Hillary Clinton, you know, should get an award for founding ISIS, which is factually questionable given the timeline and perhaps, well, it is hyperbolic.

But he's talking about Hillary Clinton. He's talking about ISIS. This is the Donald Trump, Kellyanne, you want to see every day.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, POLLSTER/TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: No question. And this is the Donald Trump that really has been very competitive with Hillary Clinton in most of the polls up to this point.

This election, as Hillary knows, will be fought mostly in September and October. And I'm really pleased that Mr. Trump got back on message yesterday. And in addition to training his focus on Hillary and the Obama administration record; whether it's the Iran $400 [SIC] ransom, whether it's the disaster that is Obamacare with 16 of the 23 co-ops already failing, millions of people who are expecting coverage not having it, others who had coverage no longer have it.

All of these things that he touched upon in his convention speech really provide a road map for the issues and the substance that many voters want to hear.

So we're thrilled to see it. I'm here in Raleigh today with vice- presidential nominee Governor Pence. You're going to hear more substance from him. We feel like we're going to have great days ahead in the Trump campaign.

BERMAN: That's the road map. But there are still indications, even on what you call a good day, that he can't follow the yellow brick road, if you will, because as part of these events yesterday, he still brought up "The New York Times" reporter he'd been discussing. He still brought up comments he made about Megyn Kelly that are now part of a Clinton super PAC commercial.

[07:05:12] Let's listen to what Donald Trump said about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Those commercials were so false. Just like Hillary's commercials. They're so false. They're so false. Like she's got the one with blood coming out of her eyes. And I meant her nose or her ears or her mouth. But these people are perverted, and they think it was another location. Unbelievable.

And you know the truth? I cut it short, because I was talking about either taxes or economic development, so I said "or whatever." And I wanted to get back on the subject.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Kellyanne, tow, that's not talking about ISIS. That's not talking about terrorism. That's not talking about the Iran, you know, payment either. That's talking about the type of thing that in the past has pulled Donald Trump off the message you would like to hear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONWAY: Well, I mean, that's a cherry-picked snippet of a very full day of rallies and conversations and TV (ph), John.

However, remember that Donald Trump also does best when America thinks that he is defending himself, and that silence has become acquiescence.

Look at the way many Republican presidential candidates have just been quiet about the critics, never -- never punching back or explaining themselves.

I also want to say something else. There are two candidates in this race. And I know it's much more fun to cover Donald Trump, because she's boring and many Americans believe Hillary lies for a living.

But she's relevant. And she makes comments like this constantly that don't get covered, calling pro-life Republicans, quote, "terrorists." I think that's terrible and worthy of a breaking news alert, frankly, for three days. She has -- she insults Donald Trump constantly. And when she doesn't, Elizabeth Warren does her bidding for her as her attack dog. So let's not pretend that there's some one-sided insult game going on here, and she's in the church choir.

ROSEN: Live by the sword, die by the sword. Donald Trump can't -- you know has begged for TV attention for months and months. And now that he gets it on negative issues, you know, there's a little bit of complaining. Oh, that CNN is terrible, you know, the media is rigging the election.

CONWAY: I didn't say that. Candidates.

ROSEN; Here's the issue. Which is normally if you're running a campaign, you look around and say, "Do I have the team that can have the focus and the discipline to work for the next few months to get us to the finish line, to grow the electorate, to expand the base beyond where I am in the primary."

And you're figuring that out. Who are all the pieces. You are, what are all the players we need. How do we do that?

But John, as -- as we all know, if the candidate is actually the problem, where the lack of focus and discipline is, there's not that much you can do about it. So what you have is kind of this constant to-and-froing between sort of substance and process. And Donald Trump just can't seem to get through the day without being his own political analyst or without, you know, whining about how people are hurting him.

Look, there's nobody in America who has had more negative attacks and more negative focus than Hillary Clinton. And what does she do? She focuses on what matters to the American people. She goes out every day in these communities, in rallies and town halls and small meetings and says, "How can I help make your life better?" Donald Trump's focus is just consistently about his own feelings, who's attacking him.

BERMAN: Just to be clear, first of all, the Democratic convention was a lot about Donald Trump. Much of her convention speech was about Donald Trump. She talks about Donald Trump a lot, including yesterday on the stump in Colorado when she went to a tie factory. Granted she was talking about where ties are being made.

ROSEN: But it's about where you're going to get jobs.

BERMAN: I understand, but it was about Donald Trump. Her campaign very Trump-focused. Hang on, hang on. Let me finish, let me finish.

You're also painting a picture of a Trump campaign in disarray. I am unfamiliar with any campaign in disarray that's ever raised what they raised in July. You know, $82 million they brought in, in July right now. They have 74 million on hand.

Granted, the Clinton team was able to bring in more, but Donald Trump just brought in a lot of money in one month, Hilary, in ways that Republicans haven't been able to do in the past. So he may be running a campaign that's self-destructive in certain ways, but in other ways, he's doing things, Hilary, that other candidates haven't been able to do.

ROSEN: Yes, and I'm in not in the camp, by the way, that says that this is a runaway. You know, Kellyanne Conway and the team around him is -- you know, they're smart folks. I very much believe that Donald Trump, in the next couple of weeks, is going to take a look at these sinking poll numbers, and he will get his train back on track.

This election, in my view, will stay close, will be close up to election day. We have third-party candidates that, you know, may appeal to disaffected voters. There is no question in my mind that this will continue to be a very, very close election.

[07:10:01] BERMAN: On that note, Kellyanne Conway, pollster, someone who knows polls very well, there's this new FOX News poll that came out last night that has Hillary Clinton up ten. There are some state polls -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Hampshire -- that came out just this morning which show a widening lead.

Those are key states, too. Widening the lead for Hillary Clinton. Kellyanne, I'm curious -- and you're not going to tell me what you have in your internal polling, but have you seem slippage, or do you accept that there has been some slippage for Donald Trump over the last week?

CONWAY: Well, what you see reflected in these polls, too, is I think the state version of Hillary's convention bounce. The Democrats had a very good convention. You're right. Donald Trump's name was front and center almost the entire time.

Hillary Clinton delivered the eighth or tenth most dynamic magnetic speech at her convention. A lot of -- a lot of stars in the Democratic Party were out there. And it reminded many people that she will have the full force and effect of the current president and a former president and the like.

But that fundraising haul cannot be understated. "The New York Times" gave us the first positive headline in as long as I can remember, because numbers don't lie. And the $80 million haul in July, John and Hilary, really shows you how many Americans believe enough in Donald Trump's candidacy and don't want Hillary Clinton to be president, that they're willing to send in this money. A lot of small donors.

Just as you see all these folks supporting Donald Trump at rallies, standing in line for hours, these are the kinds of folks who are now -- who have now donated to the campaign. They think he can win. And I agree with Hilary. Hilary and I have been around a long time. You see these -- see these ebbs and flows. You know the polls will go up; they'll go down.

But I think nothing trains the mind and focuses one's attention quite like being behind.

BERMAN: All right. We're going to leave on agreement, since you agreed on one thing. We will leave it there. Kellyanne Conway, Hilary Rosen, thanks so much for coming on this morning. Appreciate it -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: You were just going to keep going until you found that one agreement. Wow.

BERMAN: Absolutely. We got it though.

CAMEROTA: Well done, John.

All right. What do Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and President Obama all have in common? They're all enjoying a bounce in the polls after the convention. A new CNN/ORC national poll gives the president his highest approval rating in his second term.

CNN political director David Chalian joins us now to break down those numbers.

What do you see, David?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Alisyn.

You are right. This is his highest approval rating in his second term. Fifty-four percent approve; 45 percent disapprove. It happens to be Barack Obama's 55th birthday this morning. I think he probably wants to keep his polling where his age is at from here on out. This is quite a birthday present to wake up to.

Take a look at how this fits historically with other presidents at this point in their second term. So again, President Obama at 54 percent, president Bush at 30 percent at this point in July 2008, 57 percent for Bill Clinton, who was still riding that post-impeachment bounce, and 54 percent for Ronald Reagan in July of 1988.

So you see Barack Obama is in historic territory, historic highs for this point in a second term. And how does this impact the presidential election? Well, it does a

lot, because take a look in the public's mind about how tied Hillary Clinton is to Barack Obama.

We asked, would her policies be the same as Barack Obama or different? Nearly two-thirds of the country, 64 percent, think her policies will be the same as the president's. Only a third say they'll be different.

This comes after a convention where she tied herself very closely to Barack Obama, which is why him being at a high of a second term right now is so critical.

And now we also want to take a look at how things are going in the country. This is what we asked people. Are things going well or badly? Forty-six percent say they're going well. Fifty-four percent, a majority of Americans, still tell us that things are going badly.

So how can that be if the president is doing so well? Well, remember, some of that 54 percent that say it's going badly, they support the president. They think it's going badly, because the gridlock in Washington. They blame others -- Congress, elsewhere -- not just the president.

And look at the partisan divide here. Seventy-six percent of Democrats say -- 76 percent of the folks that say things are going well are Democrats. Forty-two percent are independents; 17 percent are Republicans. It depends on your party I.D. as to how you see the country, whether it's going in the right direction or the wrong direction.

And again, what about the impact on November? This, I think, is one of the most interesting numbers in our poll. Among the extremely enthusiastic, the very enthusiastic voters, 51 percent of them say things are going well. Only 38 percent of them say it's going badly.

This is a warning sign for Donald Trump, because he's trying to sell that things are going badly, but the most motivated voters, the ones that are most enthusiastic about the election, they think it's going well. So this is a bit of a warning sign there for Donald Trump.

BERMAN; Really interesting stuff. David Chalian, thanks so much.

We do have some breaking news. We have just learned the woman killed in a London stabbing spree, she was American. CNN's Nima Elbagir is live at the scene with this new information. Nima, what have you learned?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we now know that two Americans were caught in this horrifying attack. One woman in her 60s was killed. She died at the scene. Already passers-by have begun leaving flowers in memorial.

A second American has been injured alongside a Brit, an Australian, and an Israeli. Police say that they believe this attack was entirely spontaneous. A

Norwegian citizen of Somali origin. There is no evidence currently that he was radicalized. But John, they are continuing to search his premises. They're speaking to his family. They're speaking to his neighbors. Of course, this is an ongoing investigation.

The reality of where all of this happened, Russell Square, so close to the Russell Square underground station, the site of horror that had unfolded here previously. So of course, police are taking this all very, very seriously and refusing as it stands to fully rule anything out, John.

BERMAN: Nima, thanks so much -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. Can Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan mend fences? Up next we talk to a Wisconsin congressman who is close to Ryan yet supports Trump about the candidate's rift with the GOP.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:15] CAMEROTA: This morning, Donald Trump and his VP pick, Gov. Mike Pence, disagreeing over whether to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan. So, how's that working? Joining us now is Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy. Congressman Duffy has endorsed Donald Trump.

Good morning, Congressman.

REP. SEAN DUFFY (R), WISCONSIN: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Great to see you. What do you think of Donald Trump, thus far, refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan?

DUFFY: Well, first off, Paul Ryan hasn't asked for Donald Trump's endorsement, but obviously, this has become a little bit of a controversy. And I think it's important to look at Wisconsin as a whole. Paul Ryan is loved in our state, because he's a conservative who has advocated for conservative policies. And Donald Trump coming out, saying favorable things about Mr. Ryan's opponent, doesn't add to the number of voters in Wisconsin that will support Donald Trump.

He did the same thing in the Republican primary. He went after Scott Walker. Scott Walker's loved in our state because of his conservative viewpoints and policies that he's implemented.

So, you go after a Scott Walker and a Paul Ryan, you don't add to the number of voters that you need to win Wisconsin. You detract from them, big mistake. Paul Ryan will win and we'll get beyond this after next Tuesday. I don't think it's very smart on the front of Donald Trump.

CAMEROTA: So why is Donald Trump doing it?

DUFFY: I'm sorry, what was that?

CAMEROTA: So why, then, is Donald Trump doing that? DUFFY: Listen, I can't tell you why. I think that he was concerned about some of the things that -- that Paul Ryan has said about him and his campaign, but it doesn't make sense, because this is a game of addition. We need to add people to the Republican Party, those independents who can swing either way, and this is only detracting.

And so I can't tell you why. It doesn't make sense. Maybe there was just a lack of understanding of what we are in Wisconsin and how we feel about Paul Ryan and Scott Walker.

But, Alisyn, I can't -- I can't get in the mind of Donald Trump and tell you why he's going it, because it makes no sense. And, Alisyn, Wisconsin is a swing state. Donald Trump can win it. We're up here in Hayward, Wisconsin, right now. The northern part of our state loved Donald Trump. What he needs to do is win southeast Wisconsin, which is around Milwaukee. And it's statements like this about Paul Ryan that hurt him the most in southeast Wisconsin, where he needs the most work to make up those lost votes.

CAMEROTA: But it sounds like what you're saying is that your hunch is that it's not policy-based. He doesn't disagree, necessarily, with Paul Ryan on something. It's payback.

DUFFY: It could be, but it's interesting, because that comes after both Paul Ryan and Scott Walker speaking on Donald Trump's behalf at the convention.

The Donald has to move beyond -- I don't know if this is petty politics, I don't know what you want to call this -- but move to the game of how do I win in November, and that's bringing people on board. And playing personal politics never goes in the direction of winning elections. It actually costs elections when you do that.

CAMEROTA: Congressman, do you think this puts Mike Pence, VP nominee, in an awkward position, because he is so close to Speaker Paul Ryan?

DUFFY: No. Listen, I think Mike Pence is a guy who always marches to his own beat and will do what he thinks is right. He's also a conservative. The two of them have worked closely together, meaning Paul Ryan and Mr. Pence, together in the Congress.

And I think Mr. Pence knows how effective Paul has been advocating for conservative budgets that actually balance at one point in our history. And it's that kind of leadership we need in America if we're going to save America if we're going to reduce that $19 trillion debt. Mike Pence gets that and I think that's why he came out and endorsed Paul Ryan.

But listen, I've got to tell you this. I couldn't reject Donald Trump's statements more -- more effectively. Again, Paul Ryan is the gold standard for conservatism. I don't know what Donald Trump is doing.

CAMEROTA: You know, we have seen some Republican leaders come out and say that they can't, in good conscience, vote for Donald Trump. I'm thinking of CEO Meg Whitman, Congressman Hanna of New York. Where are you right now with support for Donald Trump?

DUFFY: Well, I have a choice, Alisyn. I have a choice for Donald Trump or for Hillary Clinton. And I know there's been some angst and heartburn over some of the recent comments about the Gold-Star parents this week from Donald Trump, but the bottom line is those are just words.

You have to look at the other choice, which is Hillary Clinton and what she did with the four men in Benghazi. She didn't lift one finger to save those men over a 13-hour period of time. Not one plane wheel rolled, not one chopper took off, not one drone left over 13 hours to save those men, and they worked for her.

And a homebrew email server that exposed American secrets to our enemies puts America at risk; puts Hillary Clinton first and America second.

The Middle East is burning. She was the Secretary of State. We have ISIS on the rise. A bad deal with Iran. A reset button that failed with Russia. All of these things sit at the feet of Hillary Clinton.

And so when you look at Donald Trump's words, but you compare them to Hillary Clinton's failed action, again, I think Hillary Clinton is unacceptable, and those are the only choices that you have.

And so I ask those who aren't going to support Donald Trump because of some concerns that you might have, that I'll share with you -- but the alternative is Hillary Clinton, and she has failed through and through with regard to foreign policy. So the only choice left, I think, is Donald Trump.

Again, Alisyn, we have the two most unlikeable primary candidates that we've ever had in our history; and so we're picking the best of the worst, and I think Trump is better than Clinton through and through.

CAMEROTA: Congressman, on a lighter note, I can't help but notice your shirt this morning. I believe it's called lumberjack chic that you are sporting. What's going on out there?

DUFFY: Yes, we're up here in Hayward, Wisconsin. This last weekend was the Lumberjack World Championships. Chopping, sawing, log- rolling, tree-climbing. People from all over the world come in and compete in these skills of the old-time lumberjack. So you caught me up here, so I'm only having my flannel, no jacket and tie, so you've got to forgive me. But it's a great weekend for your viewers. Last weekend in July, the Olympics of the forest here in Wisconsin, not Brazil.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and we see that you won the speed climbing competition a year ago I guess, or a couple of times you've won it, so just impressive, Congressman.

DUFFY: It was a few years ago. I was a little thinner, Alisyn, and a lot stronger. But it's a great competition. Think ESPN4 at 3 a.m. in the morning to see it.

CAMEROTA: I like it. Congressman Sean Duffy, thanks so much for joining us on NEW DAY.

DUFFY: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's go to John.

BERMAN: Monty Python said he's a congressman and he's OK.

All right. The Libertarian ticket hoping to get your attention and land on the presidential stage this fall. Fresh off their CNN town hall, former governors Gary Johnson and William Weld, they join us live. What they want you to know, next.

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