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Donald Trump's Campaign Criticized for Going Off-Message; President Obama's Approval Rating Reaches High in Second Term; Trump Insists Campaign "United" Despite Backlash. Aired 8-8:30 a ET

Aired August 04, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Chris is off. John Berman joins me. Great to have you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be here.

CAMEROTA: OK, Donald Trump insists that his campaign is more united than ever, this despite reports that party leaders and senior advisors are frustrated with some of his repeated self-inflicted wounds.

BERMAN: Donald Trump back on the campaign trail, and he is talking about good news for his campaign. They brought in $80 million in donations last month. That's the good side. The downside for Donald Trump, his poll numbers heading in the other direction. New numbers show him trailing Hillary Clinton by double digits. Let's begin this hour with CNN's Phil Mattingly. What are you learning?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know this for sure, John. The escalating concern bordering on freak out among some top GOP officials and donors is very real. But so, according to Trump advisors, is Donald Trump's path back on track. One key thing here -- he just needs to stay on message.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The campaign is doing really well. It has never been so well united.

MATTINGLY: Donald Trump pledging unprecedented unity within his campaign after days of turmoil.

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

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

PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIR: The campaign is focused. The campaign is moving forward in a positive way.

MATTINGLY: Those 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 is $80 or $82 million.

MATTINGLY: Despite closing the gap with Clinton, it is proving difficult for Trump to collect checks from the country's top donors. His campaign war chest trails Clinton 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 unforgiveable in politics. And so I'm not going to support Hillary, but 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 anymore.

MATTINGLY: Trump's decision not to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his primary battle infuriated 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.

MIKE PENCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I strongly support Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his reelection. He is a longtime 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 made, telling the "Washington Post" Trump is helping Hillary Clinton to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is.

NEWT GINGRICH, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the last couple of weeks, he has been remarkably underperforming.

MATTINGLY: Gingrich Later backtracking, telling "Politico" he is, quote, "100 percent for Trump."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And that was a message reiterated in a private phone call to the Trump campaign by Newt Gingrich, according to a person familiar with that call. Also stated on that call, very complimentary of Donald Trump's two rallies down in Florida yesterday, where for the most part Trump's advisors say he stayed very on message. And that really is the issue. With money, with a series of negative stories about Hillary Clinton they feel like they can take advantage of. The opportunities are there, but Alisyn, it is just a question of whether or not Donald Trump can take advantage of them.

CAMEROTA: All right, Phil, let's talk about all of this with Trump's national campaign co-chairman and policy adviser Sam Clovis. Good morning, Sam.

SAM CLOVIS, TRUMP NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRMAN: Good morning, Alisyn. How are you today.

CAMEROTA: I'm doing well, Sam, thank you.

So has there been frustration within the Trump campaign that Mr. Trump hasn't always stayed on message and has been diverted sometimes with some issues that haven't necessarily helped his campaign?

CLOVIS: Well, I think for all of us, we have an idea of where we ought to be and what we ought to be doing, and every once in a while we'll have occasions when, you know, personally, you'll sit there and say, well, this is something we'll have to deal with.

But I think by and large, I was up in New York yesterday myself. I think everything is on track. We've got a lot of support from people. And you know, I've always, I am a sports guy. I put a lot of baseball analogies out there.

[08:05:04] And what you have to take a look at is the season is a long season. You have to make sure that you go out and try to win more than you lose. And if you win more games than you lose, the more likely to be in the playoffs. We're in the playoffs, and then we have to get ready for the World Series. We'll get there Labor Day and we'll start pushing it in then.

CAMEROTA: Even I understand that sports metaphor, Sam. So thank you for dumbing that one down.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: But Same, I mean, it's not just that there have been these reports in the campaign that you all have been frustrated that your candidate can't always stay on message. We hear this outside of the campaign as well. There are Republican leaders, even, let's say, Newt Gingrich who was of course on the V.P. short list. Let me play for you what he has said about Donald Trump's lack of focus. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: Trump is still behaving like as though it was the primaries and there were 17 candidates. He has no made the transition to being the potential president of the United States. I think some of what Trump has done is just very self-destructive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What is your response, Sam?

CLOVIS: Well, I know Mr. Trump. I've been around him a fair amount. I will tell you that there are moments for a candidate, I've run for office myself, that there is oftentimes there's a recognition that finally, there is something that's different, something has changed. And I think that we're in that process. We've come out of the conventions. I think that we see a lot of things that are settling in. We're out here trying to raise money. We're trying to build coalitions. We're working on our get out the vote effort. We have a very strong team that is out here doing a lot of these things.

And I think what will occur, what will occur is that this -- there will be a recognition, and then we'll start to a see the prize. And the prize is November 8th, and we'll focus on that, and I think this is exactly what is going to happen.

CAMEROTA: But when you say something has changed or something will change, it sounds as though you're admitting Mr. Trump has at times had problems focusing on issues that you might want him to, but you think that now he is going to buckle down and do that.

CLOVIS: Well, I've seen it. I've gone through this process, you know. When we first started the campaign and I joined the campaign, I have still vivid memories of meetings where Mr. Trump would come into the meeting and you can see in him the notion that, yes, we can get it, we can go to the top of the polls. Yes, we can win these early primaries. Yes, we have a chance to run up the score in delegates. Yes, all of these phases take place, and then finally Indiana happens, and boom, here we are. And then we go off to the convention, and now we're off to the races, and we still have the summer to go.

And, I mean, this is something that a lot of people, you and I worry about this stuff, because we look for fourth decimal place clarity in almost everything we do, Alisyn. You and I talk about this all the time. But I think that maybe the American people are still waiting to settle in, and I still think Labor Day will be the -- we'll start to have to pay attention a lot closer on Labor Day.

CAMEROTA: Sam, do you think we'll see Mr. Trump endorse fellow Republican and House Speaker Paul Ryan?

CLOVIS: I think there will be strong support out of the campaign for all the strong Republicans that are out there, and that's really, I think that we want to be careful about endorsing in any primary race because it casts a shadow over issues, and right now we ought to concentrate on our own campaign.

CAMEROTA: But I mean, he is the highest ranking Republican in the country. He did come out and endorse Donald Trump. So why wouldn't Mr. Trump return that favor?

CLOVIS: Well, I think that's something that we'll have to look at as we get closer. The primary is next week, and we'll see what happens over the next few days.

CAMEROTA: But what is the hold up? What are you still looking at? CLOVIS: I think that we're reluctant to endorse in any primary. We

have a strong opponent in Kelli Ward out in Arizona going up against Senator McCain. There are strong races in Louisiana and other places that -- where we have a strong field of primary candidates. A lot of people have approached the campaign asking for help. And I think it would not -- it is not an appropriate move on our part to endorse in these primaries because it just simply isn't what we ought to be doing. And because we worked through the primary process, we went through 16 other candidates. And so this is, you know, we have to take a look at those kind of things, and we probably ought to let these things run their course.

CAMEROTA: Sam, I want to ask you about something that Katrina Pierson said on the air yesterday. She is your campaign's national spokesperson, as you know. And she was talking about connecting Hillary Clinton to some of the -- or many of the deaths that we've seen in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let me play this sound bite for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:10:00] BERMAN: Katrina, the words that you used, "probably cost his life," President Obama and Hillary Clinton changed the rules of engagement that probably cost his life. You do acknowledge now that there you were just wrong?

KATRINA PIERSON, TRUMP CAMPAIGN NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: Well, absolutely. That's why I used "probably," because I was just going through the timeline, because since then we have had tens of thousands of soldiers that have been lost, 1 million wounded, $6 trillion later. How can we possibly put any of the onerous on Donald Trump?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So sam, those numbers were wrong that she was using. The amount of people killed, soldiers killed in Iraq are 4,424, in Afghanistan, 2,349. Obviously staggering numbers there, you can see them on the screen, of wounded and killed. But they're not in the millions.

CLOVIS: No. And honestly, I didn't see that. I have no way to comment on that.

CAMEROTA: Where does she get her information?

CLOVIS: You have to talk to Katrina about that. I know where I get mine. I don't know where Katrina gets her information.

CAMEROTA: But Sam, I mean, look, you're part of a concerted campaign effort. And are facts important to your campaign?

CLOVIS: Facts are important to me. And I think that, you know, I do my own research. I know that we have the RNC is helping with a tremendous amounts of information that we have outflow there. And honestly, I have no idea. I'm not throwing Katrina under the bus, but I have no idea. I didn't hear the report. I didn't see the report. I have no idea where she got her information.

CAMEROTA: I understand. I know you're not responsible for Katrina, but when something like that happens and there are erroneous facts put out by the campaign, then what happens inside the campaign the next day?

CLOVIS: I think we're fixing it. I guarantee you that won't happen with her, that's for sure. And it won't likely happen with anybody else, because when you do go out and you have responsibility, and I'm not, again, I think as a person who spends a lot of time on your show, I think it is important to come on here and have accurate information and present our case in the best possible way we can and to be as firm and as assertive as we can be. And I think facts always help you, the truth always helps you, and I think that's always where we ought to be.

CAMEROTA: Sam Clovis, we appreciate you coming on NEW DAY. Nice to talk to you.

CLOVIS: Good seeing you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's get it over to John.

BERMAN: Thanks, Alisyn.

Donald Trump got a bounce from his convention, Hillary Clinton from hers. President Obama got one maybe from both. The president's approval rating now at its highest level in his second term. A new CNN national poll shows that. We'll joined by CNN political director David Chalian to break it all down. David?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: John, let's take a look at that number, 54 percent. That is Barack Obama's approval rating right now in our new CNN/ORC poll, 45 percent disapprove. As you said, that is his high water mark of his second term so far, no doubt, a good birthday present for the president today.

Take a look at where he is historically, John. And 54 percent, president Obama now, 30 percent, how does that compare with George W. Bush, he was at 30 percent in July, 2008. Bill Clinton was at 57 at this point in his second term, Ronald Reagan at 54 percent. So you see Barack Obama is now near historic highs in the modern era for two term presidents.

How does this impact Hillary Clinton? Take a look at the perception among people. Two-thirds of Americans tell us Hillary Clinton's policies will be the same as Barack Obama's. Only a third tell us that they will be different from Barack Obama. So with him at a high water mark in his second term and two-thirds of the country thinking she'll head down the same road, that's a good sign for Hillary Clinton.

Now, let's take a look at how things are going in the country. Are they going well or are they going badly? We asked this question to get a mood of the country. And 54 percent, majority, say things are going badly. But remember, in that number are people who support Barack Obama. So they may think things are going badly in the country because of frustration with Congress or just the gridlock in Washington. And 54 percent badly, 46 percent well.

It also matters where you stand in terms of partisanship. Take a look at this. Among people who say things are going well in the country, 76 percent of them are Democrats, 42 percent are independents, and only 17 percent of them are Republicans. So it really does matter what your party I.D. is in terms of how you see sort of where the country is headed right now.

And then, finally, and perhaps most importantly, this number about the people who are most enthusiastic, very enthusiastic about voting in this election in November, take a look. Among those folks, 51 percent say things are going well. Only 38 percent say things are going badly. This is a warning sign for Donald Trump. He is trying to paint the picture of the country headed in the wrong direction, but the most motivated voters who are really enthusiastic about this election, they believe things are going well. So he has got to work on that messaging with much of the country.

CAMEROTA: OK, David, thanks so much for all of that.

We want to dive in deeper on all those numbers and find out how President Obama's approval ratings will impact the 2016 race. So we'll talk about the effect on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:18:38] BERMAN: Donald Trump says his campaign is more united than ever, big unity in a big fundraising haul in July.

But that comes with new polls showing a big and widening gap. He trails Hillary Clinton nationally. It is a new key state polls as well. This amid continued reports about angst inside the Republican Party, maybe even inside the Trump campaign.

Let's bring in "Washington Post" reporter Phillip Rucker, who just wrote an article about the Republican Party concerns, and our own CNN political director, David Chalian.

Phil, I want to start with you, this story has been hard to keep up with. Where are we now this morning on unity versus disunity? Newt Gingrich yesterday, there were some stunning quotes in your article from Newt Gingrich about his thoughts yesterday about where he thought the Trump campaign was going wrong. He may have changed his mind by today.

But where are we at 8:19 in the morning Eastern Time?

PHILIP RUCKER, WASHINGTON POST: Well, there is a lot of concern among Republican leaders. I think people want to see Trump really reset the campaign. They feel like he has had a week opportunities, of gratuitous attacks of very damaging self-inflicted mistakes.

And there is a call for him to really hit the reset button, to start over, to try to recast this race, take that change mantle, talk about national security, talk about jobs. Stop talking about the Khan family. You know, get behind Paul Ryan. Do the things that would help bring the Republican Party together.

[08:20:02] Remember, the convention was only two weeks ago, and that was supposed to be the moment of party unity, and here we are, divide in a party as deep as it has ever been.

CAMEROTA: So, David, we had Sam Clovis, co-chair, and he said yes, we're hitting the reset button, I mean, not in so many words. But he thinks that the candidate is going to now be more focused. Last night, he had two rallies that pundits say went well.

Are we seeing some sort of shift in the campaign now?

CHALIAN: Well, he stopped picking fights with Republicans yesterday. So, that was a good first step for Donald Trump.

To Phil's point about, remember the convention. It was supposed to be the point of unity you see how fragile it was now because it disappears as soon as Donald Trump does something against the grain of his own party.

So, for instance, I thought one of the most unifying things that we saw in Cleveland is when they took the fight to Hillary Clinton, right? All that stuff about Hillary Clinton is really what animated the -- all the delegates on the convention floor. That's what Donald Trump wants to be doing. That's what Republicans are looking for each day to go out there and just take the fight to Hillary Clinton. And not be distracted by anything else.

BERMAN: One of the problems in g breeds losing, right? So you have Republicans looking at the polls, looking at the FOX New poll, ten points gap, CNN poll from a few days ago, a nine-point gap. And some new state polls just out this morning, showing Donald Trump trailing by nine in Michigan, 11 in Pennsylvania, 15 points in New Hampshire.

You know, Phil Rucker, based on the Republicans you've been talking to, how nervous are they right now that Trump is slipping so far behind that it could start dragging the party behind?

RUCKER: They're very nervous. Take New Hampshire for example. Trump is 15 points behind there in the WBUR poll. There's a hot Senate there.

Kelly Ayotte, one of the stars of the party is running for reelection. That same poll has her 10 points behind her Democratic challenger. That's trouble for her. That's trouble for Republicans trying to keep the Senate, and that's why there is so much urgency among Republican leaders in Washington to get Trump to change the direction of this campaign.

CAMEROTA: So, if Trump is going to change, would it involve endorsing Kelly Ayotte? We just heard that, you know, he's on the sidelines. He doesn't want to endorse John McCain, Paul Ryan, Kelly Ayotte, because he has had issues with them. CHALIAN: I'm not sure Kelly Ayotte wants Donald Trump's endorsement

right now if he is 15 points behind Hillary Clinton in the state of New Hampshire.

I think what you're seeing here, Donald Trump understands he is not of the party. In fact, that's one of his calling cards, one of the things his supporters love the most.

So, I don't see him becoming a party man, like chairman of the RNC and getting behind every candidate. He just has to stop -- just boggling their minds with the things he says. He has to stop the internal consternation and hand ringing in the party. He can do that, if he stays consistently and taking it to Hillary Clinton.

Phil's point about the Senate is critical, but so too are these states if New Hampshire is out of reach, if Michigan is actually off the table. If Pennsylvania is slipping away from him, his path to 270 is narrow, if they are not a post convention bounce, if this is the new reality for the next 96 days, his path to 270 has just narrowed tremendously.

BERMAN: So, Phil, those are the bad numbers for Donald Trump. The less bad numbers are 96, David just brought up, 96 days until election, and $82 million, which is how much he raised in July. He did bring in a lot of money in July, small donations, the type the Republican Party hasn't been able to tap into as successfully as Democrats, President Obama and Bernie Sanders have in the past.

Signs of encouragement for the Trump campaign, yes?

RUCKER: Very encouraging. Remember, two months ago, Trump wasn't even raising much money at all, and there were real doubts whether he would be able to fund a serious general election campaign. And here we are, he has basically flipped the switch.

That's very powerful for him. It will keep him funded through the November election. And you know, one of the few sort of bright signs right now for the Trump campaign.

CAMEROTA: Hey, David, let's talk about the polls you just took us through. The new polling shows, talks about President Obama's approval numbers. It is at 54 percent. You pointed out that's exactly the same as Ronald Reagan at this point in his second term. It is also President Obama birthday today. You said this is a good birthday present.

I want high approval ratings for my birthday.

CHALIAN: Now that he is 55, he wants it to match his age.

BERMAN: Alisyn Camerota is just 29, 29 is not a good approval rating.

CAMEROTA: What effect will this have on Hillary Clinton and/or Donald Trump?

CHALIAN: Well, listen, Hillary Clinton would much rather have Barack Obama at 54 than at 45, 96 days out.

There is a strong correlation when the incumbent party president is popular to help the person of that party trying to succeed him. Not always. Al Gore is an example where that happen, but al gore was running away from a popular Bill Clinton.

Hillary tied herself to Barack Obama.

[08:25:02] You saw it in Philadelphia last week and you're going to see it through the fall. He is critical to her success because getting that Obama coalition out, African-Americans, Hispanics, young people, single women, that's how Hillary Clinton is going to win this election. So, having a popular Barack Obama makes a big difference for her.

BERMAN: David Chalian --

CAMEROTA: David Chalian, Philip Rucker, thank you very much for sharing your reporting with us.

Well, the U.S. sent $400 million in cash to Iran, at the same time American prisoners were freed. Some call it a ransom deal. Our national experts debate this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: "Wall Street Journal" is reporting senior Justice Department officials did not want to send a plane with $400 million to Iran at the same time the prisoners were released. Critics say it amounts to ransom. The White House says, no, it doesn't.

Joining us to discuss, CNN national security commentator and former Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers. He's also the host of the CNN show "Declassified." And Kimberly Dozier, CNN global affairs analyst and contributing writer for "The Daily Beast."

Mike, Mr. Chairman, Congressman, talk to me about what you think the key issue is here. We knew that the Iranians were getting money when this deal was struck.